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Governors State University Board Of Trustees Meeting Minutes - December 11, 2009, Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees Meetings Materials and Recordings

Agenda and Minutes for the Governors State University Board of Trustees Meeting - December 11, 2009

We Are…Marshall, December 11, 2009, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.

2009 Fall Commencement Program: Winona State University, Winona State University

WSU Commencement Programs

This is the Winona State University Fall 2009 commencement program. Commencement was on Friday, December 11, 2009.

Decision-Based Data Fusion Of Complementary Features For The Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease, Metin Ahiskali

Theses and Dissertations

As the average life expectancy increases, particularly in developing countries, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is the most common form of dementia worldwide, has increased dramatically. As there is no cure to stop or reverse the effects of AD, the early diagnosis and detection is of utmost concern. Recent pharmacological advances have shown the ability to slow the progression of AD; however, the efficacy of these treatments is dependent on the ability to detect the disease at the earliest stage possible. Many patients are limited to small community clinics, by geographic and/or financial constraints. Making diagnosis possible at …

Progress Toward The Total Synthesis Of Lyconadin A, Yu Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Lyconadin A is a pentacyclic Lycopodium alkaloid isolated from the club moss Lycopodium complanatum with antitumor properties. We have developed a novel 7-exo/6-exo acyl radical cascade cyclization as a method of making the bicyclo[5.4.0]undecane ring system of lyconadin A. The model products are trans-fused ring systems, while a cis-fused ring system is needed in lyconadin A. We have discovered a method to convert the trans-fused model cascade cyclization product into the desired cis isomer. Based on Donohoe's pyridone synthesis, we developed a method for the construction of 5-alkyl and 3,5-dialkyl-6-carbomethoxy-2-pyridones, the former of which …

The Association Between Lead Exposure And Respiratory Health In Children, Colleen Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The substantial impact of indoor air quality and environmental hazards in the home on one’s health has long been recognized in the field of public health. This cross-sectional study investigates the risk between home based hazards, specifically lead, and respiratory health in children. The objective of this study is to examine the extent to which children testing positive for blood lead exposure are at an increased risk for having poor respiratory health. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 977 children ages 1- 6 years was obtained from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Information from the …

Modeling Of The Biomass Power Generation And Techno-Economic Analysis, Shireesha Methuku

Theses and Dissertations

Biomass is one of the renewable energy sources being used widely for power generation. This research work includes developing a comprehensive model for a biomass based power generation system as well as analyzing the technical, economical, and environmental impacts. The research objectives include modeling of the system, stability studies, and sensitivity analysis using MATLAB/Simulink. A mathematical model for the gas turbine has been developed and successfully interconnected with the distribution network. Transient stability of the power system has been carried out for four bus and six bus test case systems. Maximum rotor speed deviation, oscillation duration, rotor angle, and mechanical …

An Assessment Of Reading Programs In North Mississippi Elementary Schools: A Comparative Analysis, Angela Delentheia Bluitt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of reading programs of students who used the Reading Program One, Reading Program Two, and Reading Program Three reading programs and those students who were taught using no basal reading program in North Mississippi. The study also assessed teachers’ perceptions of the various reading programs based on gender, age, educational attainment, and years of teaching experience. The research design for this study included a descriptive analysis. Ten elementary schools in North Mississippi using the Reading Program One, Reading Program Two, Reading Program Three, and no basal reading program were analyzed. …

A Method For Integrating Heterogeneous Datasets Based On Go Term Similarity, Chamali Lankara Thanthiriwatte

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a method for integrating heterogeneous gene/protein datasets at the functional level based on Gene Ontology term similarity. Often biologists want to integrate heterogeneous data sets obtain from different biological samples. A major challenge in this process is how to link the heterogeneous datasets. Currently, the most common approach is to link them through common reference database identifiers which tend to result in small number of matching identifiers. This is due to lack of standard accession schemes. Due to this problem, biologists may not recognize the underlying biological phenomena revealed by a combination of the data but by …

Soundings 2009-12, N/A N/A

Soundings

No abstract provided.

Osteogenic Regulatory Mechanisms Activated By Pressure In Aortic Heart Valve, Carol Andrea Pregonero Gamez

Theses and Dissertations

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most common cause of aortic valve failure and replacement in the elderly population, affecting 25% of the population over 65 years of age. Current pharmacological approaches for preventing the onset and progression of calcific aortic valve disease have not shown consistent benefits in clinical studies. Differentiation of valvular interstitial cells (VICs) into osteoblast–like cells is an integral step in the calcification process. Although clinical evidence suggests hypertension as a potential candidate contributing to the development of CAVD, the underlying molecular mechanisms that cause de-differentiation remain unclear. The present study investigates the role of …

Flow Structure/Particle Interaction In The Small Bronchial Tubes, Belabahen Soni

Theses and Dissertations

The laminar flow in the small bronchial tubes is quite complex due to the presence of vortex-dominated, secondary flows. Contributing to this complexity are the geometrical characteristics of the bronchial tubes that include asymmetric and nonplanar branching. These secondary flow fields play a crucial role in particle deposition; however, the actual mechanisms that determine the particle distributions are not fully understood. The research reported here increases understanding of this phenomenon by studying flow structure/ particle interaction in the small bronchial tubes for steady and unsteady respiratory conditions. Specifically, the effects of simultaneous nonplanar and asymmetric branching were investigated. The nonplanar …

Implantable Antennas For Wireless Data Telemetry: Design, Simulation, And Measurement Techniques, Tutku Karacolak

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in electrical engineering have let the realization of small size electrical systems for in-body applications. Today’s hybrid implantable systems combine radio frequency and biosensor technologies. The biosensors are intended for wireless medical monitoring of the physiological parameters such as glucose, pressure, temperature etc. Enabling wireless communication with these biosensors is vital to allow continuous monitoring of the patients over a distance via radio frequency (RF) technology. Because the implantable antennas provide communication between the implanted device and the external environment, their efficient design is vital for overall system reliability. However, antenna design for implantable RF systems is a …

Verification Of A Three-Dimensional Statics Model For Continuum Robotics And The Design And Construction Of A Small Continuum Robot (Scr), Ricky (Ricky Lee) Gray

Theses and Dissertations

Continuum robots are biologically inspired robots that capture the extraordinary abilities of biological structures such as elephant trunks, octopus tentacles, and mamma-lian tongues. They are given the term continuum robots due to their ability to bend conti-nuously rather than at specific joints such as with traditional rigid link robots. They are used in applications such as search and rescue operations, nuclear reactor repairs, colo-noscopies, minimal invasive surgeries, and steerable needles. In this thesis, a model that predicts the shape of a continuum robot is presented and verified. A verification system to verify the validity and accuracy of the model is …

Molecular And Biochemical Role Of Auxin And Cytokinin In Dedifferentiation And Organogenesis Of Arabidopsis, Aparna Kakani

Theses and Dissertations

Cell dedifferentiation is a cell fate regression process in which the cell fate memory of a differentiated cell is erased, leading to regain stem cell characteristics. Auxin regulates both cell dedifferentiation and differentiation in plants. It is unknown how auxin controls the two opposite processes. Here the minimal auxin requirements for cell dedifferentiation were found, molecular markers associated with the cell dedifferentiation event were identified. When cellular auxin concentration exceeds the level of meristem cell, most differentiated cells undergo dedifferentiation. In differentiated cells, the polar auxin efflux system prevents cell dedifferentiation by reducing auxin accumulation, particularly in the presence of …

Laser Induced Incandescence And Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Based Sensor Development, Kemal Efe Eseller

Theses and Dissertations

In this doctoral dissertation, two laser-based sensors were evaluated for different applications. Laser Induced Incandescence (LII) is a technique which can provide nonintrusive quantitative measurement of soot and it provides a unique diagnostic tool to characterize engine performance. Since LII is linearly proportional to the soot volume fraction, it can provide in situ, real time measurement of soot volume fraction with high temporal and spatial resolution. LII has the capability to characterize soot formation during combustion. The soot volume fraction from both flames and a soot generator was investigated with LII. The effects of experimental parameters, such as laser fluence, …

Feature Selection And Classification Of Maqc-Ii Breast Cancer And Multiple Myeloma Microarray Gene Expression Data, Qingzhong Liu, Andrew H. Sung, Zhongxue Chen, Jianzhong Liu, Xudong Huang, Youping Deng

Faculty Publications

Microarray data has a high dimension of variables but available datasets usually have only a small number of samples, thereby making the study of such datasets interesting and challenging. In the task of analyzing microarray data for the purpose of, e.g., predicting gene-disease association, feature selection is very important because it provides a way to handle the high dimensionality by exploiting information redundancy induced by associations among genetic markers. Judicious feature selection in microarray data analysis can result in significant reduction of cost while maintaining or improving the classification or prediction accuracy of learning machines that are employed to sort …

Fall Commencement Ceremonies, University Of North Florida

Commencement Printed Materials

Program for the Fall Commencement.

Analysis Of Electromagnetic And Seismic Geophysical Methods For Investigating Shallow Sub-Surface Hydrogeology, Eric M. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

An integrated electromagnetic (EM) and seismic geophysical study was performed to evaluate non-invasive approaches to estimate depth to shallow groundwater in arid environments with elevated soil salinity where the installation of piezometers would be impractical or prohibited. Both methods were tested in two study areas (semi-arid and arid respectively), one in Palmyra, Utah, USA near the shore of Utah Lake where groundwater is shallow and unconfined in relatively homogeneous lacustrine sediments. The other area is Carson Slough, Nevada, USA near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Amargosa Valley. The area is underlain by valley fill, with generally variable shallow depths …

Challenges Predicting Ligand-Receptor Interactions Of Promiscuous Proteins: The Nuclear Receptor Pxr., Sean Ekins, Sandhya Kortagere, Manisha Iyer, Erica J. Reschly, Markus A. Lill, Matthew R. Redinbo, Matthew D. Krasowski

Borch Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Faculty Publications

Transcriptional regulation of some genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification and apoptosis is performed via the human pregnane X receptor (PXR) which in turn is activated by structurally diverse agonists including steroid hormones. Activation of PXR has the potential to initiate adverse effects, altering drug pharmacokinetics or perturbing physiological processes. Reliable computational prediction of PXR agonists would be valuable for pharmaceutical and toxicological research. There has been limited success with structure-based modeling approaches to predict human PXR activators. Slightly better success has been achieved with ligand-based modeling methods including quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis, pharmacophore modeling and machine learning. In this …

Analysis Of Cat Oocyte Activation Methods For The Generation Of Feline Disease Models By Nuclear Transfer., Chunmin Wang, William F. Swanson, Jason R. Herrick, Kiho Lee, Zoltan Machaty

Department of Animal Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Somatic cell nuclear transfer in cats offers a useful tool for the generation of valuable research models. However, low birth rates after nuclear transfer hamper exploitation of the full potential of the technology. Poor embryo development after activation of the reconstructed oocytes seems to be responsible, at least in part, for the low efficiency. The objective of this study was to characterize the response of cat oocytes to various stimuli in order to fine-tune existing and possibly develop new activation methods for the generation of cat disease models by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Methods

First, changes in the intracellular …

Nutrient Management In On-Site Wastewater Treatment, Ayanangshu Dey

Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater and surface water contamination has been linked in the past to inadequate or failing on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems. The on-site wastewater systems installed in coastal areas have more potential for inflicting this kind of environmental damage. This work studied the regulatory compliance and environmental protection of the four types of on-site wastewater disposal systems found on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; i.e., vegetative rock filter, subsurface drip irrigation, sand mound, and sprinkler systems, by statistical techniques. Compliance was also evaluated for groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells installed at four corners of a disposal field. This work eventually …

Rapid Identification Of Aspergillus Spp. Using A Pcr Based Melting Curve Method And Characterization Of A Novel Chitinase In Insect Resistant Maize Lines, Biing-Ru Wu

Theses and Dissertations

Identification of fungal isolates is critical in studying Aspergillus flavus ecology and for developing methods to reduce aflatoxin contamination. In our efforts to track biocontrol applications of the atoxigenic A. flavus K49 (NRRL 30797), we have developed a rapid and accurate classification system for A. flavus based on PCR product melting temperatures (Tm). Using 18 primers and a total of 59 Aspergilli strains, including all 49 representatives of the Georgian peanut Vegetative Compatibility Groups (VCGs), a decision tree Tm flowchart was generated. The decision tree can classify all 59 strains using only 9 of the SSR primers and an average …

Improving Structural And Functional Annotation Of The Chicken Genome, Teresia Buza

Theses and Dissertations

Chicken is an important non-mammalian vertebrate model organism for biomedical research, especially for vaccine production and the study of embryology and development. Chicken is also an important agricultural species and major food source for high-quality protein worldwide. In addition, chicken is an important model organism for comparative and evolution genomics. Exploitation of this genome as a biomedical model is hindered by its incomplete structural and functional annotation. This incomplete annotation makes it difficult for researchers to model their functional genomics datasets. Improving structural and functional annotation of the chicken genome will allow researchers to derive biological meaning from their functional …

Incentives For Poultry Integrators To Contract Bio-Secure Producers And Implication For Government Indemnification Program, Yichen Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

These recent events of H1N1 flu outbreak illustrate the potential ramifications of infectious diseases on modern society and how society responds to these threats. This thesis addresses the specific case of avian influenza in U.S. poultry production. By building an expected utility maximization model for integrators contracting with growers of varying bio-secure levels, one can investigate the relationship between the bio-secure choice of the poultry industry and their production performance. The model is empiricized using the Phoon, Quek, and Huang (PQH) simulation technique to conduct numerical analysis. The model selects the optimal percentage of bio-secure farms for the integrators to …

Visual Perception And Gestalt Grouping In The Landscape: Are Gestalt Grouping Principles Reliable Indicators Of Visual Preference?, Mark Reinhardt Levy

Theses and Dissertations

Landscape visual preference research has indicated many potential indicators of preference; however a comprehensive framework concerning the relationship between visual preference and perception has not been solidified. Gestalt psychology, the predecessor to visual perception, proposes certain visual grouping tendencies to explain how humans perceive the world. This study examines if Gestalt grouping principles are reliable indicators of preference, and if they may be used to develop a broad context for visual assessment. Visual preference for 36 landscape scenes testing the proximity and similarity of landscape elements were ranked one through five by 1,749 Mississippi State University undergraduate, graduate, and faculty …

Waterfowl Foods And Use In Managed Grain Sorghum And Other Habitats In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Alicia Joy Wiseman

Theses and Dissertations

Grain sorghum provides energy-rich seeds for waterfowl. I conducted experiments in 22 sorghum fields in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana during falls 2006 – 2007 to evaluate abundance of ratoon grain (i.e., second crop after harvest), waste grain, and natural seeds. I also conducted surveys of wintering waterfowl in flooded croplands and moist-soil wetlands to evaluate if ducks and geese differentially used habitats. Fertilized plots in 2007 produced >4 times more ratoon grain (x = 219.57 ± 39.65 [SE] kg/ha) than other treatments. Fertilized plots in southern regions of my study area produced ~5 times more ratoon grain (x = 262.93 …

Movements, Relatedness And Modeled Genetic Manipulation Of White-Tailed Deer, Stephen Lance Webb

Theses and Dissertations

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been intensively studied across their range. However, many aspects of the white-tailed deer’s ecology have not been studied or are difficult to study. The advent of global positioning system (GPS) collar technology and molecular genetics techniques now allows researchers to collect fine-scale and cryptic phenomena. In addition, selective harvest of male white-tailed deer, based on antler size, has not been critically evaluated. Thus, development and use of quantitative genetics models will be useful for elucidating the effects of selective harvest on mean population antler size. I used GPS collar technology to further understand white-tailed deer …

The Ecological Importance Of Extrinsic And Intrinsic Drivers Of Animal Movement, Josh Earl Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

The movement of individuals is foundational to many ecological processes. For example, the movement of an organism from one place to another alters population density at both sites and has potential for affecting the genetic dynamics within the new population. Individual movement events may be in synchrony with overall trends in populations, e.g. spawning migrations, or may be atypical (asynchronous). This latter movement type can affect population and metapopulation dynamics, depending on its prevalence within a population. Nevertheless, given the complexity of interactions, the causative factors of movement are understood vaguely, much less for aquatic organisms. Drivers of movement are …

Analysis Of Regulatory T Cell Activation Markers In Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (Fiv)-Infected And Control Placenta Samples From Early And Late Term Pregnancy, Nikki Nikkia Lockett

Theses and Dissertations

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the leading cause of pediatric AIDS; however, mechanisms by which HIV compromises pregnancy are not understood. CD4+CD25+ T-regulatory (Treg) cells play a role in pregnancy maintenance. RNA from early and late gestation placentas and fetuses from FIV-infected and control cats were probed for expression of FIV gag and Treg markers CD25, FOXP3, and CTLA4, using real time reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR. High rates of vertical transmission and reproductive failure were detected in early and late pregnancy. In control animals, both FOXP3 and CTLA4 expression decreased with gestational stage, indicating a natural decline in Tregs. Expression of FOXP3 …