Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Systematics And Phylogeography Of The Genus Richardsonius, Derek Dee Houston

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The complex geological and climatic events that significantly altered the landscape throughout the Cenozoic Era impacted the diversification of many North American taxa, including freshwater fishes. Here, I employ an array of phylogenetic analyses using a multiple gene tree approach to address several questions regarding the phylogenetic relationships of the North American cyprinid genus Richardsonius and two other closely related genera, Clinostomus and Iotichthys. I also use divergence time estimates generated using fossil calibrations to qualitatively assess the phylogeographic implications of evolution within and among these three genera. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences show a sister relationship between Iotichthys and …

A Palestinian State, Jennifer A. Hileman-Tabios

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Should an independent, sovereign state of Palestine have the right to exist? The establishment of an independent Palestinian state is important because it could possibly end an extended period of violence with Israel, where civilian casualties have been high, and it could help to solidify a foundation of political tolerance and acceptance in the Middle East. Under the proposed two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state is possible. However, to determine if a Palestinian state is viable, it will be necessary to examine internal political struggles, economic resources, systems of communication, political systems and internal and external political policies. This qualitative …

Configurations Of Site-Based Financial Leadership Practice Within School Contexts, Sylvia Tegano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study employed an ethnographic perspective to generate a grounded theory that contributes to the understanding of financial leadership practice in four elementary school contexts: Non Title I School, Title I School, Empowerment School and Charter School. The literature, interviews, observations, document analysis, and review of relevant financial artifacts at each site were used to form an Innovation Configuration Map, which represented financial leadership practice.

Results showed that financial leadership practices are rooted in targeted resource tools, mindful internal accountability routines, and collaborative, inquiry based mindsets of school practitioners. Moreover, variations emerged such that financial leadership practices adapted to the …

Eminent Domain: The Unintended Consequences Of Kelo, Tracy Lynn Bower

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent years, local governments in the United States have increasingly used eminent domain to promote economic development, raising concerns among property-right advocates over what those advocates view as unlawful, or what should be unlawful, takings of private property in order to benefit another private property owner. This philosophical and legal dispute reached a crisis point in the 2005 United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London. In that decision, the court narrowly upheld a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling granting the City of New London permission to redevelop land that had been seized from existing homeowners …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of Palladium-Copper Bimetallic Systems For Pem Fuel Cell Catalysts, Timo Hofmann

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the main barriers to commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells systems is cost, which is largely due to the need of platinum (Pt)-containing catalysts. In this thesis we investigate bimetallic systems consisting of a base metal (copper) and a noble metal (palladium) that, as an alloy on the nanoscale, mimic the electronic properties that make Pt desirable as a catalyst.

We present a detailed investigation of the electronic structure of carbon-supported Pd/Cu nanoparticle catalysts, model bilayer thin film systems, alloys, and various metal reference samples. We have investigated the valence band structure of the catalysts using a …

Chinese Transnationalism And The Creation Of A Liberal Public Sphere, Lanelle Elizabeth Christman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis is a global comparative study tracing the functions and historical development of Chinese huiguan ["official organization"] and its leadership in China, Indochina, and San Francisco. Early Chinese immigration to America and Indochina involved the formation of huiguan, organizations based on dialect and native place, paralleling the functions and demography of merchant associations originating in China. The merchant elite representing its leadership were preeminent arbitrators of Chinese tradition and authority. French Indochina and America recognized their status as community leaders, further exalting the social standing of merchants and increasing their positions of authority. These organizations greatly influenced the lives …

Mitigation Of Impact Vibrations Using Impedance Mismatch In Cylindrical Structures, Sachiko Sueki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this work is to study the phenomenon of material impedance mismatch to determine its effect on the mitigation of high frequency accelerations in projectile and long bar structures within linear ranges of materials. In this study, the acceleration responses of structures with various materials and material combinations were studied experimentally, numerically and by the Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Air-gun tests conducted by the US Army Research Laboratory were modeled using FEA to simulate the acceleration pulse and shock waves experienced by artillery components during a launch. After the prototype of projectile was selected, further studies were conducted …

Communication Technologies: Diffusion Of Online News Use And Credibility Among Young Web Users In The Information Age, Chee Youn Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The increasing popularity and extensive usage of communication technologies, particularly the Internet and online news, makes it important to obtain an insightful perception of the new media. The purpose of this study is to examine the diffusion of online news use and credibility among young web users in terms of how these main users adopt, use, and trust the new media. This study attempts to find which online news sites are widely used by this group, based on the credibility of online news adopted among undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), in which demographic …

Predisposition Factors Of Career And Technical Education Transfer Students: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Study, Warren Glen Hioki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Various econometric, sociological, and combined research models (e.g., Hossler and Gallagher's preeminent Three-Phase Model on College Choice) provide help in understanding high school students in their decision-making stages and college experience. Many studies that utilize these models on college choice strongly substantiate and perpetuate the long-standing dichotomy between students who aspire to attend college in pursuit of upward mobility through the traditional baccalaureate pathway versus a community college Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathway. High school students' aspirations to attend a 4-year institution, and more recently, the community college, are a focal point.

A review of the literature as it …

Justifications Of A 21st Century Wind Ensemble Transcription Of Mozart's "Overture To The Magic Flute" Based Upon Late Eighteenth Century Ideology, Teresa Corinne Stewart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I will create a transcription for wind ensemble of the "Overture to The Magic Flute " by WA Mozart. By completing this transcription, a standard orchestral work will be available in comparable quality and difficulty for wind ensemble. Although several simplified and one large concert band transcriptions have been made available during the 20th century, these arrangements were not consistent with late 18th century ideals of size and balance. This transcription will remain loyal to the original work through embracing the ideology of the 18th century musical mind. Through treatises, period writings and performance practice of Mozart's time, I will …

Quantity-Based Cost Forecasting System For Street Construction Projects, Nipesh Pradhananga

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Construction projects typically are not withdrawn after going into the competitive bidding process. The decision of contracting authorities regarding which projects will proceed to the bidding stage depends, in part, upon the early estimates of probable cost. Efforts are made to make this estimate as realistic as possible. Irrespective of the estimate of probable cost, the actual project cost is established by the amount of the winning bid.

This study analyzed historical bid data of street construction projects undertaken by the Public Works Department, Clark County, Nevada, from 1991 through 2006. The focus of this study was on utilizing statistical …

The Commonly-Used Dna Probe For Diffusely-Adherent Escherichia Coli Cross-Reacts With A Subset Of Enteroaggregative E. Coli., A. M. Snelling, Louissa R. Macfarlane-Smith, Jonathan N. Fletcher, Iruka N. Okeke

Biology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rictor/Torc2 Regulates Fat Metabolism, Feeding, Growth And Life Span In C. Elegans, Alexander A. Soukas, Elizabeth A. Kane, Christopher E. Carr, Justine Melo, Gary Ruvkun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Rictor is a component of the target of rapamycin complex 2 (TORC2). While TORC2 has been implicated in insulin and other growth factor signaling pathways, the key inputs and outputs of this kinase complex remain unknown. We identified mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of rictor in a forward genetic screen for increased body fat. Despite high body fat, rictor mutants are developmentally delayed, small in body size, lay an attenuated brood, and are short-lived, indicating that Rictor plays a critical role in appropriately partitioning calories between long-term energy stores and vital organismal processes. Rictor is also necessary to maintain …

Vulnerability Of Rehabilitated Agricultural Production Systems To Invasion By Nontarget Plant Species, Sara G. Baer, David M. Engle, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kenneth A. Langeland, Bruce D. Maxwell, Fabian D. Menalled, Amy J. Symstad

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Vast areas of arable land have been retired from crop production and ‘‘rehabilitated’’ to improved system states through landowner incentive programs in the United States (e.g., Conservation and Wetland Reserve Programs), as well as Europe (i.e., Agri-Environment Schemes). Our review of studies conducted on invasion of rehabilitated agricultural production systems by nontarget species elucidates several factors that may increase the vulnerability of these systems to invasion. These systems often exist in highly fragmented and agriculturally dominated landscapes, where propagule sources of target species for colonization may be limited, and are established under conditions where legacies of past disturbance persist and …

Response Of Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Riverine Roosting Habitat To Changes In Stage And Sandbar Morphology, Paul Kinzel, Jonathan Nelson, Ashley Heckman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Over the past century, flow regulation and vegetation encroachment have reduced active channel widths along the central Platte River, Nebraska. During the last two decades, an annual program of in-channel vegetation management has been implemented to stabilize or expand active channel widths. Vegetation management practices are intended to enhance riverine habitats which include nocturnal roosting habitat for sandhill cranes. Evaluating the success of other management treatments such as streamflow modification requires an understanding of how flow shapes the sandbars in the river and how sandbar morphology interacts with flow to create crane habitat. These linkages were investigated along a 1-km …

"Rejoicing In The Beauties Of Nature" The Image Of The Western Landscape During The Fur Trade, Kerry R. Oman

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

While traveling along the Platte River on May 18, 1834, William Marshall Anderson stopped to pick up a human skull bleaching in the prairie sunlight. Anderson was from Louisville, Kentucky, and had been sent west by his physician to accompany a fur-trade caravan to the Rocky Mountains in hopes of regaining lost physical strength. He came west not as a typical trader or trapper, but as an attentive observer. What Anderson lacked in physical strength and fortitude, he made up for with a commanding vernacular and lively imagination. Later in the day, after carrying the skull for several miles, he …

"Daughters Of British Blood" Or "Hordes Of Men Of Alien Race" The Homesteads-For-Women Campaign In Western Canada, Sarah Carter

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

In May 1910 Mildred Williams, a young teacher in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, made headlines across Western Canada for her pluck and stamina as she waited for twelve days and nights on a chair on the stairs outside the door of the land office in Saskatoon to claim a homestead (see Fig. 1). She was determined to file on a half-section (320 acres) of valuable land near Kindersley. Williams put up with a great deal of inconvenience during her days and nights on the stairs. On the second day she was challenged by a man who wanted the same property and who …

Determination By Hplc Fluorescence Analysis Of The Natural Enantiomers Of Sex Pheromones In The New World Screwworm Fly, Cochliomyia Hominivorax, K. Akasaka, D. A. Carlson, T. Ohtaka, H. Ohrui, K. Mori, D. R. Berkebile

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Bioassays of six racemic synthesized candidate sex pheromone compounds against male New World screwworm Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) flies showed that the most potent bioactivity was found with 6-acetoxy-19-methylnonacosane and 7-acetoxy-15-methylnonacosane compared with four other isomeric acetoxy nonacosanes and a larger aliphatic ketone. As all these methyl-branched compounds have two asymmetric carbons and four possible enantiomers, characterization of the natural enantiomers was essential. All four enantiomers for the two most bioactive isomers of the natural sex pheromone were synthesized for bioassay. Hydrolysis and derivatization of these enantiomers with different fluorescent reagents was followed by columnswitched high-performance liquid chromatography. The use of …

Updating The 2001 National Land Cover Database Land Cover Classification To 2006 By Using Landsat Imagery Change Detection Methods, George Xian, Collin Homer, Joyce Fry

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The recent release of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001, which represents the nation's land cover status based on a nominal date of 2001, is widely used as a baseline for national land cover conditions. To enable the updating of this land cover information in a consistent and continuous manner, a prototype method was developed to update land cover by an individual Landsat path and row. This method updates NLCD 2001 to a nominal date of 2006 by using both Landsat imagery and data from NLCD 2001 as the baseline. Pairs of Landsat scenes in …

Gamebird 2006: Quail Vi And Perdix Xii, Sandra B. Cederbaum, Brant C. Faircloth, Theron M. Terhune, Jeffrey J. Thompson, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Foreword v

Acknowledgements vi

Editorial Panel vii

Sponsors x

Invited Manuscripts 2

Integrating Management, Research, and Monitoring: Balancing the 3-Legged Stool. Michael J. Conroy & James T. Peterson . 2

Management of Southern African Gamebirds: Opportunities and Threats. Tim Crowe . 11

Taking the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative to the Next Level. Donald F. McKenzie . 16

Restoring a Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) Population and the Future of Predation Control. G.R. Potts . 24

Abundance Estimation 27

The GWCT Partridge Count Scheme: A Volunteer-Based Monitoring and Conservation Promotion Scheme. Julie Ewald, Nevile Kingdon, & Hugues Santin-Janin . 27

Refining the …

The Identification Of Cattle Nematode Parasites Resistant To Multiple Classes Of Anthelmintics In A Commercial Cattle Population In The Us, Louis C. Gasbarre, Larry L. Smith, J. Ralph Lichtenfels, Patricia A. Pilitt

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Resistance to modern anthelmintics by ruminant nematode parasites is an increasing problem throughout the world. To date the problem has largely been reported in parasites of small ruminants, but there are increasing reports of such resistance in nematodes recovered from cattle. Until now there have been no published reports of drug resistant parasites from cattle in North America. In 2002 a producer in the upper Midwest who backgrounds young cattle acquired from the southeastern US experienced lower than expected weight gain as well as apparent parasitic gastroenteritis in his cattle during the fall. Fecal sample results supported the suspicion that …

A Disability By Any Other Name Is Still A Disability: Log Cabin, The Disability Spectrum, And The Ada (Aa), Gabrielle L. Goodwin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In EEOC v. Lee's Log Cabin, the Seventh Circuit followed the Supreme Court precedent of the last decade that has increasingly narrowed the determination of what constitutes a disabled individual under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2008, Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act in an attempt to restore the ADA to its original purpose and the original vision of the ADA's drafters and supporters. Whether these amendments will produce dramatic changes in the way the administrative agencies and courts apply the ADA remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the only way the ADA or its amendments will successfully protect against …

Coccidia (Apicomplexa : Eimeriidae) From The Lagomorph Lepus Tolai In Mongolia, Scott Lyell Gardner, Nathan A. Seggerman, Nyamsuren Batsaikhan, Sumiya Ganzorig, David S. Tinnin, Donald W. Duszynski

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

In 1999, a single specimen of the Tolai hare, Lepus tolai Pallas, 1778, from the Gobi region of Mongolia was examined and had a new species of eimerian parasite in its intestinal contents. Eimeria gobiensis n. sp. is relatively large; it possesses 2 oocyst walls and a very well-developed oocyst residuum. Oocysts of the new species possess a thick wall with a double layer, a massive 3-layered micropyle, and are ellipsoidal, with average length and width of the oocyst of 38.6 × 24.2 μm, respectively. The range in measurements of these oocysts extends from 27.3 to 49.2 μm in length …

Effects Of Β-Alanine Supplementation And High-Intensity Interval Training On Endurance Performance And Body Composition In Men; A Double-Blind Trial, Abbie E. Smith, Ashley A. Walter, Jennifer L. Graef, Kristina L. Kendall, Jordan R. Moon, Christopher M. Lockwood, David H. Fukuda, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise result in diminished stores of energy substrates, followed by an accumulation of metabolites, promoting chronic physiological adaptations. In addition, β-alanine has been accepted has an effective physiological hydrogen ion (H⁺) buffer. Concurrent high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and β-alanine supplementation may result in greater adaptations than HIIT alone. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of combining β-alanine supplementation with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance and aerobic metabolism in recreationally active college-aged men.

Methods: Forty-six men (Age: 22.2 ± 2.7 yrs; Ht: 178.1 ± 7.4 cm; Wt: …

Effects Of Β-Alanine Supplementation And High-Intensity Interval Training On Endurance Performance And Body Composition In Men; A Double-Blind Trial, Abbie E. Smith, Ashley A. Walter, Jennifer L. Graef, Kristina L. Kendall, Jordan R. Moon, Christopher M. Lockwood, David H. Fukuda, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise result in diminished stores of energy substrates, followed by an accumulation of metabolites, promoting chronic physiological adaptations. In addition, β-alanine has been accepted has an effective physiological hydrogen ion (H⁺) buffer. Concurrent high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and β-alanine supplementation may result in greater adaptations than HIIT alone. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of combining β-alanine supplementation with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance and aerobic metabolism in recreationally active college-aged men.

Methods: Forty-six men (Age: 22.2 ± 2.7 yrs; Ht: 178.1 ± 7.4 cm; Wt: …

Characterization Of Dictyocaulus Species (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) From Three Species Of Wild Ruminants In Northwestern Spain, Ramon A. Carreno, Natividad Diez-Baños, Maria Del Rosario Hidalgo-Argüello, Steven A. Nadler

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Specimens of Dictyocaulus spp. were extracted from the respiratory tracts of 3 ruminant hosts including roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) from wild populations in the province of Leo´n, northwestern Spain. The near-complete nuclear small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene, and 2 regions of the large-subunit ribosomal RNA gene, were amplified by PCR and sequenced. The SSU rDNA gene sequences indicated a high level of similarity between the isolate from C. elaphus and the published sequences for Dictyocaulus eckerti. SSU rDNA gene sequences were identical in the isolates from …

Systematic Position Of Pseudocorynosoma And Andracantha (Acanthocephala, Polymorphidae) Based On Nuclear And Mitochondrial Gene Sequences, Martín García-Varela

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Species of Pseudocorynosoma are North and South American acanthocephalans that use waterfowl as definitive hosts and amphipods as intermediate hosts, whereas species of Andracantha occur in fish-eating birds with a worldwide distribution. Pseudocorynosoma and Andracantha were originally described as Corynosoma (now restricted to endoparasites of marine mammals). Morphologically, Andracantha is distinct from other genera of Polymorphidae in possessing 2 fields of spines on the trunk, whereas Corynosoma and Pseudocorynosoma have a single field. A recent phylogenetic hypothesis based on morphological characters suggested that Andracantha is closely related to Corynosoma, whereas Pseudocorynosoma was of uncertain phylogenetic position within the Polymorphidae. …

Feasibility Of Infectious Prion Digestion Using Mild Conditions And Commercial Subtilisin, John L. Pilon, Paul B. Nash, Terry Arver, Don Hoglund, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Two serine protease enzymes, subtilisin 309 and subtilisin 309-v,were used to digest brain homogenates containing high levels of prion infectivity using mildly alkaline conditions to investigate prion decontamination methods. To establish that PrP^res infectivity was eliminated, we utilized the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) mouse-adapted scrapie model system for bioassay. Only one digestion condition (subtilisin 309 at 138mAU/ml, 55^◦C and 14 h digestion time pH 7.9) was considered to be highly relevant statistically (P < 0.001) compared to control, with 52% of challenged mice surviving until the end of the study period. In contrast, treatment of PrP^res by autoclaving at 134^◦C or treatment with hypochlorite at a concentration of 20,000ppm completely protected mice from prionosis. Further, in …

Magnetism Of Cr-Doped Diamond-Like Carbon, J. A. Colón Santana, Ralph Skomski, V. R. Singh, V. Palshin, A. Petukhov, Yaroslav B. Losovyj, Andrei Sokolov, Peter A. Dowben, Ihor Ketsman

Peter Dowben Publications

Chromium-doped hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (Cr-DLC) and chromium carbide hydrogenated DLC alloys were synthesized by plasma-assisted vapor deposition and investigated by x-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Structural and magnetic properties of the doped and alloy materials were investigated as a function of the Cr concentration (0.1–20 at. %). Toward the upper end of the concentration range, Cr precipitates in the form of chromium carbide (Cr₃C₂) nanoclusters. For low Cr concentrations, the systems are ferromagnetic at very low temperatures, whereas the chromium carbide clusters appear …

The Surface Core Level Shift For Lithium At The Surface Of Lithium Borate, David Wooten, Ihor Ketsman, Jie Xiao, Yaroslav B. Losovyj, J. C. Petrosky, J. Mcclory, Ya. V. Burak, V. T. Adamiv, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

The shallow Li 1s core level exhibits a surface-to-bulk core level shift for the stoichiometric Li₂B₄O₇ (1 1 0) surface. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy was used to identify Li1s bulk and surface core level components at binding energies –56.5 ± 0.4 and –53.7 ± 0.5 eV, respectively. We find photoemission evidence for surface states of Li₂B₄O₇ (1 1 0) that exist in the gap of the projected bulk density of states. The existence of surface states is consistent with the large surface-to-bulk core level shift for the Li 1s core.