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Isotopic Analysis Of Arctic Ground Squirrel Tissues And Potential Food Sources, Julee Shamhart

Master's Theses and Capstones

Given limited knowledge of the food sources of Arctic ground squirrels, an important arctic prey species, it is difficult to predict the implications of changes in food source availability that could result from climate change. I hypothesized that Arctic ground squirrels at two colonies, Atigun and Toolik, would have similar feeding habits and mushrooms would contribute to their diet The Arctic ground squirrels at Toolik had significantly higher del15N (3.7 per mill difference) and del13C values (1.3 per mill difference) than those at Atigun. Mixing models indicated that the signatures observed in the Atigun hair could result from a combination …

Compiling An Array Language To A Graphics Processor, Bradford Larsen

Master's Theses and Capstones

Graphics processors are significantly faster than traditional processors, particularly for numerical code, and in recent years have become flexible enough to permit general-purpose use, rather than just graphics use. NVIDIA's CUDA makes general-purpose graphics processor computing feasible, but it still requires significant programmer effort.

My thesis is that array programming can be an effective way to program graphics processors, and that a restricted, functionally pure array language coupled with simple optimizations can have performance competitive with handwritten GPU programs. I support this thesis through the research language Barracuda, an array language embedded within Haskell that generates optimized CUDA code.

Philosophy And Theology: Notes On Speciesism, Christopher Kaczor

Philosophy Faculty Works

The article discusses the rights of the human fetus involving a prejudice on a preference for one's own kind. It explains the important features, different theological justifications, and arguments for and against speciesism or birthism, which is like sexism and racism. It also cites the views of philosopher Immanuel Kant on human superiority over animals and the rights of handicapped newborns that does not justify giving similar rights to great apes.

A Clever Ruse, Timothy Shanahan

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Tooth Wear And Breakage In Rancho La Brea Sabertooth Cats And Dire Wolves Across Time, Wendy J. Binder

Biology Faculty Works

The carnivores preserved in the late Pleistocene Rancho La Brea tar seep deposits display a remarkably high incidence of teeth broken in life as compared with modern species. In a previous study examining tooth breakage, tooth wear and individual age of Canis dirus over different periods in time, we found that Pit 13 C. dirus (about 15,000 years before present [ybp]) exhibited heavier tooth wear and fractured their teeth about three times more often than those of the younger Pit 61/67 (about 12,000 ybp). No significant difference was found in the age structure of the population, suggesting this came from …

Capping The Bottle On Uncertainty: Closing The Information Loophole In The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, Jeffrey S. Dornbos

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Advocates, Agendas, And Nay-Sayers: Science And Technology In The Public Arena, Arthur Greenberg

The University Dialogue

No abstract provided.

The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: The Need For A Whistleblower Exception, Michael Hill

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

And Her Increase And Selected Stories, Catherine Hart

Theses and Dissertations

A recently freed slave strives for her independence and renegotiates her relationship with the white father of her children in the aftermath of the Civil War. Foreclosed homeowners find a literally explosive artifact. Co-workers cope with layoffs and a suicide. A fugitive witch struggles against a fantasy theocracy. A revolutionary tries to save an innocent man and her conscience. A doctor chooses to resist an oppressive regime in a dystopian future. The historical novel And Her Increase and these widely varying stories coalesce around themes of freedom and oppression, choice and desire.

The Development And Validation Of The Survey Of Attitudes Toward Research Methods, Elizabeth S. Dimond

Open Access Dissertations

Students' attitudes toward research methods may affect their learning approaches and outcomes in such courses. The four studies in this dissertation developed and provided evidence for the validity of the Survey of Attitudes Toward Research Methods (SATRM), a measure with which students' attitudes toward research methods can be better understood. The first objective was to develop the measure, including adaptation of items from an existing measure, the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (Schau, Stevens, Dauphinee, & Del Vecchio, 1995), to reflect research methods, and determining the factor structure and the questions best representing those factors. The SATRM was then administered …

Private Certification Versus Public Certification In The International Environmental Arena, Patricia A. Moye

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent decades, the world's various fisheries have seen a number of problems, primarily depletion of fish stocks due to overfishing. While the UN has created some soft law, including sustainable fishing standards, to deal with the problem of fisheries depletion, no binding international laws currently exist. Several entities have decided to deal with the problem on their own, through eco-labeling programs. The Marine Stewardship Council, a private entity not directly affiliated with the government of any country, has created such a program. In addition, some governments have created similar programs, including Japan through its Marine Eco-Label Japan program. While …

Soil Organic Matter Fractions And Aggregate Distribution In Response To Tall Fescue Stands, I. P. Handayani, Mark S. Coyne, R. S. Tokosh

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The study was conducted to evaluate the influences of tall fescue management on soil organic matter fractions and macro- and microaggregate distribution. Soil samples were collected from four paired adjacent fields consisting of five years of tall fescue mono and poly stands in Western Kentucky. Soil samples from 0 to 15 cm and 15 to 30 cm soil depths were analyzed for soil organic C and N, particulate organic matter C (POM-C) and N (POM-N), macro- and micro aggregate distribution and C-associated with macro- and micro- aggregates. Significant effects were observed between stands for all the properties, except total C, …

Prediction Of Human Systemic, Biologically Relevant Pharmacokinetic (Pk) Properties Based On Quantitative Structure Pharmacokinetic Relationships (Qspkr) And Interspecies Pharmacokinetic Allometric Scaling (Pk-As), Prajakta Badri

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed validated QSPKR and PK-AS models for predicting human systemic PK properties of three, preselected, pharmacological classes of drugs, namely opioids, β-adrenergic receptor ligands (β-ARL) and β-lactam antibiotics (β-LAs) using pertinent human and animal systemic PK properties (fu,, CLtot, Vdss, fe) and their biologically relevant unbound counterparts from the published literature, followed by an assessment of the effect of different molecular descriptors on these PK properties and on the PK-AS slopes for CLtot and Vdss from two species (rat and dog). Lipophilicity (log (D)7.4) and molecular weight (MW) were found to be the most statistically significant and biologically …

Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Litigation: Consensus And Confusion, John E.B. Myers

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Energy Reduction In Automotive Paint Shops A Review Of Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing, Claudia Patricia Arenas Guerrero

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Automotive industry is facing fundamental challenges due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, energy saving and environmental concerns. The need of sustainable energy development has motivated the research of energy reduction and renewable energy sources. Efficient use of energy in vehicle manufacturing is demanded, as well as an alternative energy source to replace gasoline powered engines. In this thesis, we introduce a case study at an automotive paint shop, where the largest amount of energy consumption of an automotive assembly plant takes place. Additionally, we present a summary of recent advances in the area of hybrid and electrical vehicles …

Beyond International Water Law: Successfully Negotiating Mutual Gains Agreements For International Watercourses, Alex Grzybowski, Stephen C. Mccaffrey, Richard K. Paisley

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Lots Of Moving Parts: Is Service-Learning Sustainable In A College Classroom?, Jessica Skolnikoff, Robert P. Engvall, Kc Ferrara

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Engagement in the immediate community has long been a stated goal of most colleges and universities. Grand university mission statements (including our own) often convey a “commitment to community service.” While our rhetoric is lofty, how do we actually commit ourselves to pursuing this objective? How might we truly “engage” a community of scholars with the larger community? Is “true” service-learning sustainable in a college classroom? This paper addresses one method of engagement that exists on our campus: one section of the Core Curriculum “Human Behavior in Perspective,” has been transformed into a service-learning course. This course integrates the model …

A Wake-Based Correlate Of Swimming Performance And Foraging Behavior In Seven Co-Occurring Jellyfish Species, John O. Dabiri, Sean Colin, K. Katija, John H. Costello

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

It is generally accepted that animal–fluid interactions have shaped the evolution of animals that swim and fly. However, the functional ecological advantages associated with those adaptations are currently difficult to predict on the basis of measurements of the animal–fluid interactions. We report the identification of a robust, fluid dynamic correlate of distinct ecological functions in seven jellyfish species that represent a broad range of morphologies and foraging modes. Since the comparative study is based on properties of the vortex wake – specifically, a fluid dynamical concept called optimal vortex formation – and not on details of animal morphology or phylogeny, …

Danger Of Zooplankton Feeding: The Fluid Signal Generated By Ambush-Feeding Copepods, Thomas Kiørboe, Houshuo Jiang, Sean Colin

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Zooplankton feed in any of three ways: they generate a feeding current while hovering, cruise through the water or are ambush feeders. Each mode generates different hydrodynamic disturbances and hence exposes the grazers differently to mechanosensory predators. Ambush feeders sink slowly and therefore perform occasional upward repositioning jumps. We quantified the fluid disturbance generated by repositioning jumps in a millimetre-sized copepod (Re ∼ 40). The kick of the swimming legs generates a viscous vortex ring in the wake; another ring of similar intensity but opposite rotation is formed around the decelerating copepod. A simple analytical model, that of an impulsive …

Phenotypic Plasticity In Juvenile Jellyfish Medusae Facilitates Effective Animal–Fluid Interaction, J. C. Nawroth, K. E. Feitl, Sean Colin, John H. Costello, J. O. Dabiri

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Locomotion and feeding in marine animals are intimately linked to the flow dynamics created by specialized body parts. This interaction is of particular importance during ontogeny, when changes in behaviour and scale challenge the organism with shifts in fluid regimes and altered functionality. Previous studies have indicated that Scyphozoan jellyfish ontogeny accommodates the changes in fluid dynamics associated with increasing body dimensions and velocities during development. However, in addition to scale and behaviour that—to a certain degree—underlie the control of the animal, flow dynamics are also dependent on external factors such as temperature. Here, we show phenotypic plasticity in juvenile …

The Evolution Of Euhermaphroditism In Caridean Shrimps: A Molecular Perspective Of Sexual Systems And Systematics, G. Curt Fiedler, Andrew L. Rhyne, Ryoko Segawa, Tadashi Aotsuka, Nikolaos V V. Schizas

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The hippolytid genus Lysmata is characterized by simultaneous hermaphroditism, a very rare sexual system among Decapoda. Specialized cleaning behavior is reported in a few pair-living species; these life history traits vary within the genus. Unfortunately, the systematics of Lysmata and the Hippolytidae itself are in contention, making it difficult to examine these taxa for trends in life history traits. A phylogeny of Lysmata and related taxa is needed, to clarify their evolutionary relationships and the origin of their unique sexual pattern. In this study, we present a molecular phylogenetic analysis among species of Lysmata, related genera, and several putative …

Effects Of Salinity On Reproduction And Survival Of The Calanoid Copepod Pseudodiaptomus Pelagicus, Cortney L. Ohs, Andrew L. Rhyne, Scott W. Grabe, Matthew A. Dimaggio, Erik Stenn

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Four experiments were conducted on the calanoid copepod, Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus, to determine the effects of salinity on survival, development time, reproductive output, and population growth in order to define the optimal salinity for culture. To determine the appropriate experimental salinity range we exposed nauplii and adults to abrupt salinity changes from 35 g/L to 5, 10, 15, 35, 42, and 48 g/L at 30 °C and determined survival after 24 hours. The second experiment stocked early stage nauplii into 1 L beakers after which they were cultured using standard procedures for 10 days at six salinities (10, 15, 20, …

Traumatic Events, Perceived Stress, And Health In Women With Fibromyalgia And Healthy Controls, Bruce W. Smith, Erin M. Tooley

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between trauma, stress and health in 41 women with fibromyalgia (FM) and 44 women who were healthy controls (HC). The participants were assessed for traumatic events, perceived stress and mental and physical health. Perceived stress was related to worse mental and physical health in both groups. Traumatic events were related to worse mental and physical health in the FM group but were unrelated to health in the HC group. Perceived stress partially mediated the effect of traumatic events on mental and physical health in the FM group. Finally, adult abuse partially mediated the effects of …

Bryostatins: Biological Context And Biotechnological Prospects, Amaro E. Trindade-Silva, Grace E. Lim-Fong, Koty H. Sharp

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral animals harbor diverse microorganisms in their tissues, including archaea, bacteria, viruses, and Bryostatins are a family of protein kinase C modulators that have potential applications in biomedicine. Found in miniscule quantities in a small marine invertebrate, lack of supply has hampered their development. In recent years, bryostatins have been shown to have potent bioactivity in the central nervous system, an uncultivated marine bacterial symbiont has been shown to be the likely natural source of the bryostatins, the bryostatin biosynthetic genes have been identified and characterized, and bryostatin analogues with promising biological activity have been developed and tested. Challenges in …

Whom Should A Catholic University Honor?: "Speaking" With Integrity, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

It has been more than two years since the announcement that our then-recently-elected President, Barack Obama, would be the featured speaker—and would receive an honorary degree—at the University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremony. No footnotes or citations are necessary for the report that the University's decision was controversial or the observation that the choice was both criticized and celebrated by students, faculty, alumni, political commentators, lay Catholics, and Church leaders.

In a USA Today opinion piece published a few days before the graduation ceremony, I suggested that the "angst at Notre Dame" was "not about what should be said at …

Affordable Private Education And The Middle Class City, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Journal Articles

This Essay, which was prepared for a University of Chicago Law School’s symposium on “Rethinking the Local Government Toolkit,” argues that affordable private schools serve an important urban-development function: They partially unbundle the residential and educational decisions of families with children. Thus, state and local officials hoping to make our make central city neighborhoods attractive places to raise children should consider employing a familiar urban development tool - tax incentives - to make quality private schools more financially accessible to middle-income families. The Essay proceeds in three parts. Part I builds the case for a middle class city. Part II …

In-Vitro Metabolism And Protein Binding Of 5-Hmf, A Potential Antisickling Agent, Taghrid Obied

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. 5-HMF is a potential antisickling agent forming a Schiff-adduct with hemoglobin (Hb). In-vitro studies were designed to identify the metabolic pathways of 5-HMF in human hepatic cytosol, to assess inter-species differences in its hepatic metabolism, and to predict in-vivo PK properties. Moreover, metabolism of 5-HMF in human RBCs was investigated. Finally, in-vitro studies were done to characterize 5-HMF binding kinetics with human Hb and albumin (HSA). Methods. NAD+ reduction was monitored at 340 nm in human hepatic cytosol for 5-HMF (26 mM) and prototypical ADH and ALDH substrates in the presence or absence of their inhibitors. Furthermore, concentration-dependency studies …

The Effects Of Mood And Dispositional Affectivity On Self-Reported Job Satisfaction, Cristina D. Kirkendall

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Job satisfaction has several antecedents, including situational factors (e.g., pay, job characteristics), personality factors (e.g., positive and negative affectivity), and social interactions at work. Job satisfaction is most often measured with self-report surveys which may not effectively capture unconscious attitudes or context effects such as mood. Mood at time of survey completion has been shown to have an effect on self-reported satisfaction measures. This study uses animal-related video clips as a mood induction and examines the effect of induced mood and personality factors on self-report measures of job satisfaction.

The Im-9 Cell Line: A Model For Evaluating Tcdd-Induced Modulation Of The Polymorphic Human Hs1,2 Enhancer Within The 3' Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Regulatory Region, Ruth C. Chambers-Turner

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a disrupter, of B-cell differentiation, induces binding of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) nuclear complex to dioxin responsive elements (DRE) within the mouse immunoglobulin heavy chain regulatory region (3'IgHRR), and produces a marked inhibition of 3'IgHRR activation, IgH expression, and antibody secretion in a well-characterized mouse B-cell line (CH12.LX). The mouse 3'IgHRR consists of at least four enhancers (hs3a; hs1,2; hs3b; hs4), and is highly homologous with the three enhancers (hs3; hs1,2; hs4) of the human 3'IgHRR. A polymorphism of the human hs1,2 enhancer (resulting in varying numbers of tandem repeats containing a DRE and κB site) has …

Population Fit Threshold: Fully Automated Signal Map Generation For Baseline Correction In Nmr-Based Metabolomics, Daniel C. Homer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Baseline correction of NMR-based metabolomic spectra is a key step in data processing to elucidate biomarkers of diseased and toxic states. Automated baseline correction methods often use human-selected parameters. Presented is a method for automated baseline correction using parameters selected from and without manipulation of the spectrum. The focus is on generating an accurate signal map based on the differentiating characteristics of baseline noise and signal. The presented method of signal map generation and baseline correction was developed and tested on 13C and 1H NMR spectra. The spectra were as simple as chemical standards containing less than 25 signal peaks …