Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning-Representation Practices On Concept Maps And The Development Of Quality Scientific Explanations, Lisa A. Finnegan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research project was to determine how my practice of implementing Universal Design for Learning-Representation (UDL-R) principles influenced my students’ understanding of content and enhanced their ability to organize their knowledge using concept maps. A secondary purpose of this action research project was to determine if student created concept maps served as a useful tool to enrich students’ written scientific explanations. Students in this study completed concept maps and wrote explanations about adaptations before and after participating in lessons enriched with UDL-R principles that included the use of multimedia sources, website searches, and trade books. The …

Magnetic Nanosensors For Multiplexed Bacterial Pathogenesis Identification, Charalambos Kaittanis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developing diagnostic modalities that utilize nanomaterials and miniaturized detectors can have an impact in point-of-care diagnostics. Diagnostic systems that (i) are sensitive, robust, and portable, (ii) allow detection in clinical samples, (iii) require minimal sample preparation yielding results quickly, and (iv) can simultaneously quantify multiple targets, would have a great potential in biomedical research and public healthcare. Bacterial infections still cause pathogenesis throughout the world (Chapter I). The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains, the potential appearance of bacterial pandemics, the increased occurrence of bacterial nosocomial infections, the wide-scale food poisoning incidents and the use of bacteria in biowarfare highlight the …

Geographic Variation In Post-Mating Immune Gene Expression In Drosophila Melanogaster, Cheryl Ann Pinzone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An organism's immune response may vary due to pathogen pressure in its environment, as well as due to interactions with other organisms. These factors, along with geographic rules (i.e. Gloger's rule) may influence the geographic distribution of the immune response within populations of a species. Here we use real-time quantitative PCR to measure the immune gene expression in six populations collected along the eastern U.S. of Drosophila melanogaster after mating. Antimicrobial genes did not show significant differences in expression due to location, whereas we did observe differences in anti-fungal and pro-phenoloxidase (anti-macromolecule) related genes. These differences in anti-macromolecule resistance are …

Electroconvulsive Shock Ameliorates Disease Processes And Extends Survival In Huntington Mutant Mice, Akanksha Baharani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating autosomal dominantly inherited neurological disorder caused by an abnormal expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeats in the gene coding for the Nterminal region of the huntingtin (Htt) protein, which leads to the formation of a polyglutamine stretch. The greater the CAG repeats, the earlier the onset of the disease. The polyglutamine stretch destabilizes the Htt protein leading to misfolding, abnormal processing, aggregation, and inclusion formation. Mutant Htt protein is believed to damage and kill neurons in the striatum by a mechanism involving increased oxidative and metabolic stress, and impaired adaptive cellular stress responses. A large …

Acetazolamide-Induced Decrease Of Apical Fluid Flow In Choroid Plexus Is Independent Of The Concomitant Changes In Aquaporin-1 Expression, Pouya Alexander Ameli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acetazolamide (AZA), the only drug approved for treatment of hydrocephalus, is effective in only 25-30% of patients while its effect on fluid flow in the choroid plexus (CP) is unknown. The drug reversibly inhibits Aquaporin 4 (AQP4), the most highly expressed „water pore‟ in the brain, and it is postulated that it reduces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production by modulating AQP1 (mostly found in the apical membrane of the CP). In this study, we sought to elucidate the effect of AZA on AQP1 and fluid flow in CP. Primary CP culture from p10 Sprague-Dawley rats and TRCSF-B cell line were grown …

Estimating Diet And Food Selectivity Of The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Matthew James Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effect of food abundance on feeding behavior can benefit conservation efforts in many ways, such as to determine whether impacted environments need food supplementation, whether different locations of threatened species contain different food abundances, or whether reintroduction sites are missing key components of a species’ diet. I studied the relationship between feeding behavior and food abundance in the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), an endangered subspecies endemic to the lower Florida Keys. Specifically, my study set out to measure the relative abundance of the primary plants within the natural habitat of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit …

The Communication Implications And Related Experiences Associated With Transracially Adopting A Child From Vietnam, Lan Marie Malin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the communication experiences of adoptive parents of children transracially adopted from Vietnam. Though adoption has been extensively studied in communication research, transracial adoptions involving children from Vietnam has not. Thus, this study examined adoptive parent communication experiences using dialectic theory and relational dialectics. By examining adoptive parents’ communication with their adopted child and others, we can determine tensions that occur in different communication experiences. Data were collected through eight qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with adoptive parents of children from Vietnam. Openness with both strangers and the adopted child(ren) and preservation of key aspects of the adopted children’s …

A Wearable Head-Mounted Projection Display, Ricardo F. Martins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional head-mounted projection displays (HMPDs) contain of a pair of miniature projection lenses, beamsplitters, and miniature displays mounted on the helmet, as well as a retro-reflective screen placed strategically in the environment. We have extened the HMPD technology integrating the screen into a fully mobile embodiment. Some initial efforts of demonstrating this technology has been captured followed by an investigation of the diffraction effects versus image degradation caused by integrating the retro-reflective screen within the HMPD. The key contribution of this research is the conception and development of a mobileHMPD (M-HMPD). We have included an extensive analysis of macro- and …

Transplantation Of Ips Cells Reduces Apoptosis And Fibrosis And Improves Cardiac Function In Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats, Sarah Elizabeth Neel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes leads to various complications including cardiomyopathy. Recent data suggests transplanted bone marrow stem cells improve cardiac function in diabetic cardiomyopathy. However, whether modified ES, iPS cells, or factors released from these cells can inhibit apoptosis and fibrosis remains completely unknown. The present study was designed to determine the effects of transplanted ES cells overexpressing pancreatic transcription factor 1 a (Ptf1a), a propancreatic endodermal transcription factor, iPS cells, or their respective conditioned media (CM) on diabetic cardiomyopathy. Methods: Experimental diabetes was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats (8-10 weeks old) by intraperitoneal STZ injections (65 mg/kg …

Water Resources, Health, And The Sustainability Of Interventions To Achieve Water And Sanitation Targets Of The Millennium Development Goals In A Changing World, Lauren M. Fry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation addresses sustainability of rapid provision of safe water and sanitation required to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Review of health-related literature and global statistics demonstrates engineers' role in achieving the MDGs. This review is followed by analyses relating to social, environmental, and health aspects of meeting MDG targets.

Analysis of national indicators showed that inadequate investment, poor or nonexistent policies and governance are challenges to global sanitation coverage in addition to lack of financial resources and gender disparity. Although water availability was not found to be a challenge globally, geospatial analysis demonstrated that water availability is a potentially …

Male Remating Success And The Frequency Of Copulatory Plugs In The Green Lynx Spider Peucetia Viridans (Araneae, Oxyopidae), Martina G. Ramirez, Angelik C. Achekian, Catherine R. Coverley, Rachel M. Pierce, Sarah S. Eiman, Melissa M. Wetkowski

Biology Faculty Works

Peucetia viridans males were allowed to mate with three virgin females and most matings resulted in live spiderlings, even when males lacked palpal paracymbial processes. Among females, the presence of copulatory plugs was inconsistent, and when present, their condition was not uniform; broken-off male paracymbia were often found in epigynal orifices. There was no size effect in a male’s ability to completely plug a female’s genital orifices, as well as no significant change in the pattern of plug production over consecutive mating trials. Among mated, field-collected females, the presence of plugs and paracymbia was variable, with females from some sites …

Proteomic And Physiological Responses Of Leopard Sharks (Triakis Semifasciata) To Salinity Change, W. Wesley Dowd, B. N. Harris, J.J. Chech Jr, D. Kültz

Biology Faculty Works

Partially euryhaline elasmobranchs may tolerate physiologically challenging, variable salinity conditions in estuaries as a tradeoff to reduce predation risk or to gain access to abundant food resources. To further understand these trade-offs and to evaluate the underlying mechanisms, we examined the responses of juvenile leopard sharks to salinity changes using a suite of measurements at multiple organizational levels: gill and rectal gland proteomes (using 2-D gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry), tissue biochemistry (Na+/K+-ATPase, caspase 3/7 and chymotrypsin-like proteasome activities), organismal physiology (hematology, plasma composition, muscle moisture) and individual behavior. Our proteomics results reveal coordinated molecular responses to low salinity …

Patch Selection By Wintering White-Tailed Deer : Consequences For Eastern Hemlock Regeneration At Local And Landscape Scales, Jill Christine Witt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) is a highly shade-tolerant, late-successional, and long-lived conifer species found throughout eastern North America. It is most often found in pure or nearly pure stands, because highly acidic and nutrient poor forest floor conditions are thought to favor T. canadensis regeneration while simultaneously limiting the establishment of some hardwood species with greater nutrient requirements. Once a common species, T. canadensis is currently experiencing widescale declines across its range. The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) is decimating the population across its eastern distribution. Across the Upper Great Lakes region, where the adelgid is currently being …

Golden-Winged Warbler Habitat Model Validation For Northern Wisconsin And Central Minnesota, Alexandra E. Wrobel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Between 1966 and 2003, the Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) experienced declines of 3.4% per year in large parts of the breeding range and has been identified by Partners in Flight as one of 28 land birds requiring expedient action to prevent its continued decline. It is currently being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. A major step in advancing our understanding of the status and habitat preferences of Golden-winged Warbler populations in the Upper Midwest was initiated by the publication of new predictive spatially explicit Golden-winged Warbler habitat models for the northern Midwest. Here, I use …

Influence Of Traumatic Impaction And Pathological Loading On Knee Menisci, Megan Leigh Killian

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Nearly half of the US population faces the risk of developing knee osteoarthritis (OA). Both in vitro and in vivo studies can aid in a better understanding of the etiology, progression, and advancement of this debilitating disorder. The knee menisci are fibrocartilagenous structures that aid in the distribution of load, attenuation of shock, alignment and lubrication of the knee. Little is known about the biochemical and morphological changes associated with knee menisci following altered loading and traumatic impaction, and investigations are needed to further elucidate how degradation of this soft tissue advances over time. The biochemical response of porcine meniscal …

Balancing Wildlife And Bioenergy Values On Private Forestlands In The Eastern Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Karl Makinen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

There is interest in developing a reliable, sustainable, domestic U.S. biofuels industry. A domestic biofuels industry has the potential to provide economic, environmental, and national security benefits on a local, regional, national, and global level. The Mascoma Corporation plans to develop a cellulosic ethanol facility in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula. The primary feedstock of the plant site would be trees sourced within a 150 mile supply radius. In the eastern Upper Peninsula, this radius encompasses Alger, Chippewa, Delta, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft counties. In these six counties there are 1,320,500 acres of NIPF (non-industrial private forestlands). These acres account for …

Clean Water In The Classroom : Understanding The Importance Of Water Quality , Emily Curry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This study’s objective was to answer three research questions related to students’ knowledge and attitudes about water quality and availability issues. It is important to understand what knowledge students have about environmental problems such as these, because today’s students will become the problem solvers of the future. If environmental problems, such as those related to water quality, are ever going to be solved, students must be environmentally literate.

Several methods of data collection were used. Surveys were given to both Bolivian and Jackson High School students in order to comparison their initial knowledge and attitudes about water quality issues. To …

La Yeguada Volcanic Complex, Western Panama : An Assessment Of The Geologic Hazards Using New 40Ar/39Ar Ages, Karinne L. Knutsen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

La Yeguada volcanic complex is one of three Quaternary volcanic centers in Panama, and is located on the southern slope of the Cordillera Central mountain range in western Panama, province of Veraguas. To assess potential geologic hazards, this study focused on the main dome complex near the village of La Laguna and also examined a cinder cone 10 km to the northwest next to the village of Media Luna. Based on newly obtained ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, the most recent eruption occurred approximately 32 000 years ago at the Media Luna cinder cone, while the youngest dated eruption at …

"May It Please Your Honor": Letters Of Petition As Historical Evidence In An African Colonial Context, Chima J. Korieh

History Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents some preliminary conclusions drawn from an ongoing project which aims to collect and collate letters of petitions in colonial Nigeria as primary source for historians and other scholars. The goal is to show the potential use of petitions as a foundation for gauging African reactions and responses to colonialism focusing on the petitions that emerged during the Second World War in colonial Eastern Nigeria. The paper is based on the collection of petitions located at the National Archives of Nigeria at Enugu written by people living in the rural and urban areas in colonial Eastern Nigeria during …

Integration Of Remote Lidar And In-Situ Measured Data To Estimate Particulate Flux And Emission From Tillage Operations, Vladmir V. Zavyalov, Gail E. Bingham, Michael D. Wojcik, Jerry L. Hatfield, Thomas D. Wilkerson, Randy S. Martin, Christian Marchant, Kori D. Moore, Bill Bradford

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Agriculture, through wind erosion, tillage and harvest operations, burning, diesel-powered machinery and animal production operations, is a source of particulate matter emissions. Agricultural sources vary both temporally and spatially due to daily and seasonal activities and inhomogeneous area sources. Conventional point sampling methods originally designed for regional, well mixed aerosols are challenged by the disrupted wind flow and by the small mobile source of the emission encountered in this study. Atmospheric lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) technology provides a means to derive quantitative information of particulate spatial and temporal distribution. In situ point measurements of particulate physical and chemical properties …

Carnosine Content And Antioxidant Activity From Poultry Co-Products, Protein Meal And Stressed Poultry Tissues, Paljinder Manhiani

All Dissertations

Four separate studies were conducted to examine carnosine levels and associated antioxidant activity in poultry co-products, in rendered poultry protein meal, in tissues from stressed or non-stressed chickens. In the first study, carnosine was extracted from poultry co-products (head, liver, lungs, tail, gizzard, brain and heart). Liver contained the highest (102.29 mg/gm) level, while brain contained the lowest level of carnosine (0.95 mg/gm). Except brain, all tissue ultrafiltrates (20.87-39.57%) and reconstituted dry powders (5.66- 14.47%) showed thiobarbituric reactive acid species (TBARS) inhibition. Head ultrafiltrate and reconstituted dry powder showed maximum while gizzard showed the minimum metal chelating activity. Free radical …

The Bible As A Law Book - Thomas Aquinas On The Juridical Uses Of Scripture, William S. Brewbaker Iii

Articles

No abstract provided.

New Media: A New Medium In Escalating Crises?, Joanna Ann Mei Siah, Namrata Bansal, Augustine Pang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose– The use of new media in crisis is a double‐edged sword. On one hand, its pivotal role in online monitoring and dissemination of information can help an organisation manage crisis. On the other hand, it can also create organisational crisis. The purpose of this paper is to examine how new media can be used to escalate crisis.Design/methodology/approach– Four crises were examined: the 2008 Edison Chen sex scandal in Hong Kong; and in the USA, New York Taco Bell‐KFC rats infestation crisis in 2007; JetBlue Airways crisis in 2007, and the Kryptonite locks crisis in 2004.Findings– The very characteristics that …

Cultural Preservation And Modern Development In The Amazon, Eric Linton

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

No abstract provided.

The Epistemology Of The Financial Crisis: Complexity, Causation, Law, And Judgment, Jeffrey M. Lipshaw

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

The focus on complexity as a problem of the financial meltdown of 2008-09 suggests that crisis is in part epistemological: we now know enough about financial and economic systems to be threatened by their complexity, but not enough to relieve our fears and anxieties about them. What marks the current crisis is anxiety that the financial world has evolved to the point that there are hidden structures, like concentrated "too big to fail" institutions and mechanisms, or like credit default swaps, that have widespread and adverse downsides. I propose an analogy between medicine and law in the sense of "regulatory …

Observational Learning In Wild And Captive Dolphins, Deirdre Yeater, Stan A. Kuczaj Ii

Psychology Faculty Publications

Many non-human species imitate the behavior of others, and dolphins seem particularly adept at this form of observational learning. Evidence for observational learning in wild dolphins is rare, given the difficulty of observing individual wild animals in sufficient detail to eliminate other possible explanations of purported imitation. Consequently, much of the evidence supporting observational learning in dolphins has involved animals in captive settings. This research suggests that dolphins have an affinity for mimicry, and that they are more successful at observational learning if they choose to imitate another rather than being asked to do so. These results, combined with those …

An Rfid Based Indoor Tracking Method For Navigating Visually Impaired People, Ruşen Öktem, Eli̇f Aydin

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This paper tackles the RFID based tracking problem in an obscured indoor environment. The proposed solution is an integral part of a navigation aid for guiding visually impaired people in a store. It uses RF signal strengths and is based on the Bayes Decision Theory. An observation vector is formed by received radio signal strength indication values, transmitted from three transmitters at distinct frequencies in the UHF band. The indoor area is divided into square grids, where each grid is considered as a class. The problem of tracking is expressed as classifying the observed radio signal strengths to the most …

Stewardship In West African Vodun: A Case Study Of Ouidah, Benin, Hayden Thomas Janssen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Indigenous, animistic religions inherently convey a close relationship and stewardship for the environment. This stewardship is very apparent in the region of southern Benin, Africa. The Fon peoples of this region practice a traditional religion termed Vodun, which manifested from the 17th century slave trade, and subsequently migrated to the Caribbean and Americas where it transmuted into Voodoo, among other religions. The migration of pre-colonial religious canon to the Western Hemisphere has garnered ample study; however, the pioneering religion, Vodun, has received far less scholastic attention, despite Benin’s recognition of Vodun as a national religion. In this thesis, I contend …

The Biogeography Of Ageratina Adenophora: A Mexican Trans-Global Invader, Heather Marie Evans

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Evans, Heather, Master of Science, May 2010 The Biogeography of Ageratina adenophora: A Mexican Trans-Global Invader Co-Chairman: Dr. Jeffrey Gritzner Co-Chairman: Dr. Ragan Callaway Invasive plants are a global problem often resulting in negative impacts upon populations of native plants and the environments in which they grow. Invasive plants inhibit native species and take over areas where they have been introduced. These invasive species create ecological problems for wildlife foraging, as they often transform the vegetation of native habitats resulting in conditions unsuitable for grazing. In addition, invasive plant species pose problems for humans in the areas of health, economics, …