Digital Commons Network^™

A Thesis On Utilizing High Altitude Platforms (Haps) To Provide Wirelss Communications Coverage To Close Coverage Gaps - Case Study: Providing Umts Service To The Non-Radar Coverage Area In The Gulf Of Mexico (Gomex), Amad El-Disi

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Structural And Functional Studies On Bk(Ca) Channels, Akansha Saxena

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The long term goal of this research is to study the structure and function of the BK_Ca channels, by focusing on the effect of a single residue mutation, the epilepsy mutation. BK_Ca channels are potassium channels, activated by voltage, Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. These factors control the opening and closing of the channel pore and thus regulate the large K+ current passing through them. Recently, a mutation D434G in humans, was found to make the channel hyperactive and more sensitive to the Ca2+ ions. The single residue mutation, resulting from a substitution of an Asp to Gly, was …

An Empirical Analysis On Point-Wise Machine Learning Techniques Using Regression Trees For Web-Search Ranking, Ananth Mohan

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Learning how to rank a set of objects relative to an user defined query has received much interest in the machine learning community during the past decade. In fact, there have been two recent competitions hosted by internationally prominent search companies to encourage research on ranking web site documents. Recent literature on learning to rank has focused on three approaches: point-wise, pair-wise, and list-wise. Many different kinds of classifiers, including boosted decision trees, neural networks, and SVMs have proven successful in the field. This thesis surveys traditional point-wise techniques that use regression trees for web-search ranking. The thesis contains empirical …

Dact Family Molecules In Wnt Signaling In Mouse Development, Daniel Fisher

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The Wnt: Wingless-Integration) molecular signaling pathways are known to be integral in the embryonic patterning of multicellular animals, and are misregulated in multiple types of cancer. Wnt signaling includes multiple biochemical signaling pathways downstream of the Wnt family of secreted proteins and their receptors. Many, and possibly all, of these pathways converge on the intracellular protein Dishevelled, whose interactions appear essential in determining the cell-autonomous effects of the Wnt signal. Dact: Dapper, Antagonist of Beta Catenin Targeting) proteins were identified based on their binding to Dishevelled. There are three Dact encoding genes in mammals, and these show unique expression patterns …

Optical-Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy, Song Hu

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Optical microscopy, providing valuable biomedical insights at the cellular and organelle levels, has been widely recognized as an enabling technology. Mainstream optical microscopy technologies, including single-/multi-photon fluorescence microscopy and OCT, have demonstrated extraordinary sensitivities to fluorescence and optical scattering contrasts, respectively. However, the optical absorption contrast of biological tissues, which encodes essential physiological/pathological information, has not yet been fully assessable. The emergence of biomedical photoacoustics has led to a new branch of optical microscopy--OR-PAM. As a valuable complement to existing optical microscopy technologies, OR-PAM detects optical absorption contrasts with exquisite sensitivity: i.e., 100%). Combining OR-PAM with fluorescence microscopy or optical-scattering-based …

Testing The Selective Chivalry Theory In Iowa : Gender Sentencing Of Rural Property Offenders, Maria Dorothy Herring Koeppel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

During recent decades, sentencing patterns of offenders based on gender have been the topic of criminological and sociological research. There has been particular attention given to the lenient sentencing of female offenders compared to male offenders. Several research studies have found that gender affects the sentencing process in ways that are advantageous to female offenders, such as lower incarceration rates and shorter prison sentences. Despite the existing research on gender and sentencing, there are still several specific areas that need to be studied regarding this topic, such as property crimes and rural areas. The current research adds to the existing …

Stress Reactivity, Stress Appraisal And Coping Responses In Schizophrenia, Zainab Delawalla

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Psychosocial factors have long been recognized as important to the etiology of schizophrenia. According to the stress-vulnerability model, the experience of stress is critical to the onset and/or maintenance of schizophrenia. Although there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that people with schizophrenia experience more stressful events than the general population, there is ample evidence that stress is linked with the course of illness. Traditionally, two lines of research have examined stress processing mechanisms: one focusing on the biological response to stress by studying the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal: HPA) axis and the other focusing on the psychological mechanisms delineated in the transactional …

Pediatric Venous Thromboembolism (Vte) Risk Assessment Tool, Andrea Prentiss

All Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Lower Body Warm Water Immersion And Submaximal Exercise On Hamstring Extensibility, Annica Ava-Gaye Morrison

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Context: A comparison of single and dual heating on acute gains in hamstring extensibility. Objective: To determine if active warm-up in conjunction with warm water immersion will have a greater effect on hamstring extensibility than active warm-up on land. Design: Crossover Setting: Research laboratory. Participants: Eighteen physically active males (20.4± 1.8 yrs, ht= 196. 2± 7.1cm, mass= 90.5 ± 22.5kg) experiencing limited hamstring extensibility and no low back or leg injury within 6 months prior to collection, or heat related illnesses that required medical attention. IRB approval was given. Intervention: During three sessions participants were measured before and after one …

Retribution And The Experience Of Punishment, John Bronsteen, Christopher Buccafusco, Jonathan S. Masur

Articles

In a prior article, we argued that punishment theorists need to take into account the counterintuitive findings from hedonic psychology about how offenders typically experience punishment. Punishment generally involves the imposition of negative experience. The reason that greater fines and prison sentences constitute more severe punishments than lesser ones is, in large part, that they are assumed to impose greater negative experience. Hedonic adaptation reduces that difference in negative experience, thereby undermining efforts to achieve proportionality in punishment. Anyone who values punishing more serious crimes more severely than less serious crimes by an appropriate amount - as virtually everyone does …

The Role Of Valuation In Federal Bankruptcy Exemption Process: The Supreme Court Reads Schedule C, David G. Carlson

Articles

In Taylor v. Freeland & Kronz, a debtor claimed a law suit was exempt. The bankruptcy trustee failed to object within the required period. Later, the law suit realized an amount that far exceeded the monetary limit to which the debtor was entitled. The Supreme Court permitted the debtor to keep all of the proceeds, even beyond the statutory limit, claiming that a deadline was a deadline. Recently, in Schwab v. Reilly, the Supreme Court overruled Taylor, holding that a claim to a monetarily limited item can only exempt the monetary limit. The Court tries and fails to "reconcile" these …

How New Is New? Rereading The New Women In Gold Dust Dynasty (Jin Fen Shijia), Yu Zhou

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Disciplines And Jurisdictions: An Historical Note, Peter Goodrich

Articles

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Use Of Ranking Tasks To Improve Student Conceptual Understanding In An Introductory High School Physics Course, Matthew Joseph Harding

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The focus of this study was to determine whether the use of Ranking Tasks during study of physics could improve conceptual understanding for introductory high school physics students. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by analyzing student performance on the Force Concept Inventory, and the Physics Class Attitudes Survey. As enrollment in introductory physics courses increases, and the variety of students studying physics broadens, instructors will be increasingly tasked with finding new instructional strategies that can benefit these student populations. Results of this study indicate promise for the implementation of Ranking Tasks for identifying student conceptual understanding in Newtonian …

Characterization Of The Role For Nmnat, Kinase Cascades, And Purines In Axonal Degeneration, Craig Press

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Axonal degeneration is a prominent feature of many neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease: PD), motor neuron disease, inherited, diabetic, and drug-induced peripheral neuropathies. It is now thought that axonal degeneration is an active process, due in large part to studies of the Wlds mutant mouse, which undergoes delayed Wallerian degeneration in response to axonal injury. Wlds mice have slower disease progression in numerous models of neurodegenerative diseases. The Wlds mutation results in the production of a chimeric protein that containing nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 1: Nmnat1). Increased expression of Nmnat isoforms are sufficient for axonal protection in vitro and in vivo. …

Mediating Moore: Uncertain Origins And Indeterminate Identities In The Work Of C. L. Moore, Jennifer Jodell

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

C.: Catherine) L.: Lucille) Moore, one of the earliest female science fiction writers, is widely regarded by SF writers, editors, and fans as one of the field’s most influential founding mothers, with female SF writer Marion Zimmer Bradley claiming Moore as the "mother" of all women who write science fiction. Yet, feminist science fiction criticism has yet to embrace its "mother" fully, and mainstream SF critics have not yet conducted general studies of Moore's work. In some circles, Moore's "value" to SF criticism and genre histories seems limited to Moore's ability to serve as a symbol for what are believed …

Roles Of Inhibitory Interneurons In Cerebellar Cortical Processing For Oculomotor Control, Shane Heiney

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The cerebellar cortex is usually offered up as the prime example of a well-worked out circuit; indeed, its basic neuronal composition and organization has been known for over one hundred years. Yet mysteries still abound about the computations that are performed within its layers, and how these computations contribute to sensation and behavior. This project was an effort to look inside the cerebellar cortical circuit during behavior to see if I could shed some light on the computations being performed. The dissertation is divided into three main sections. In the first, I present the results of preliminary work performed by …

A Processing Approach To The Working Memory/Long-Term Memory Distinction: Evidence From A Levels-Of-Processing Span Task, Nathan Rose

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Recent studies have raised questions about the extent to which working memory: WM) is dissociable from secondary or long-term memory: LTM). Although many similarities may exist between immediate retrieval on WM span tasks and delayed retrieval on LTM tests, important differences exist as well. To illustrate this point, Craik and Tulving's classic levels-of-processing paradigm was adapted for use in a WM span task: Participants made visual, phonological, or semantic judgments about 33 words using the same stimuli and instructions as Craik and Tulving: 1975), but were to recall words immediately after every 3 or 8 words: rather than after all …

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions: Synthesis Of Nitrogen- And Oxygen-Heterocycles, Haichao Xu

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Anodic oxidation has been shown to be a powerful method for initiating umpolung reactions that allow the coupling of two nucleophilic functional groups. Most of the work in this area concentrates on making carbon-carbon bond. Hence, the reactions are usually terminated with olefin nucleophiles. The use of heteroatom-based coupling partners to form carbon-heteroatom bond is less explored despite the wide occurrence of heterocyclic compounds as natural products, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic building blocks. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the application of heteroatom-based coupling partners in intramolecular anodic olefin coupling reactions for the synthesis of N- and O-heterocyclic compounds. First, a synthesis …

Metabolic Actions Of Insulin In Men And Women, Faidon Magkos, Xuewen Wang, Bettina Mittendorfer

Faculty Publications

Insulin is an important regulator of glucose, lipid and protein metabolism. It suppresses hepatic glucose and triglyceride production, inhibits adipose tissue lipolysis and whole-body and muscle proteolysis and stimulates glucose uptake in muscle. In this review we discuss what is currently known about the control of substrate metabolism by insulin in men and women. The data available so far indicate that women are more sensitive to insulin with regards to glucose metabolism (both in the liver and in muscle) whereas there are no differences between men and women in insulin action on lipolysis. Potential differences exist in the regulation of …

The Heaven And Earth Haggadah, Krista Hyde

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Modeling Decision Making Related To Incident Delays During Hurricane Evacuations, Robert Michael Robinson

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Successful evacuations from metropolitan areas require optimizing the transportation network, monitoring conditions, and adapting to changes. Evacuation plans seek to maximize the city's ability to evacuate traffic to flee the endangered region, but once an evacuation begins, real time events degrade even the best plans.

To better understand behavioral responses made during a hurricane evacuation, a survey of potential evacuees obtained data on demographics, driving characteristics, and the traffic information considered prior to and during an evacuation. Analysis showed significant levels of correlation between demographic factors (e.g., gender, age, social class, etc.) and self-assessed driver characteristics, but limited correlation with …

Inpatient Group Psychotherapy: Predicting Attendance And Participation, Sharon E. Silverberg

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Inpatient group psychotherapy is one of the primary talk therapy interventions offered to patients necessitating acute psychiatric treatment. Research indicates that patients who attend and participate in group psychotherapy sessions while admitted to psychiatric hospitals have a lower rate of recidivism and are more successful in the community utilizing lower levels of psychiatric care. Unfortunately, not all patients attend group psychotherapy while admitted to a psychiatric facility and therefore do not benefit, possibly contributing to non-compliance with community-based treatment and readmissions to inpatient psychiatric institutions for stabilization and safety. This lack of participation in group psychotherapy deprives the patient the …

The Administration Of Community College Blogs: Considering Control And Adaptability In Loosely Coupled Systems, Troy A. Swanson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study using a multiple case study method is (1) to further the understanding of how community college administrators and blog authors strike a balance between organizational control and adaptability when implementing and using blog technologies and (2) to create a model that will help administrators better strike this balance within a loosely coupled system of college units and individuals. The rise of Web 2.0 technologies, which allows for direct publication to the Internet, presents two conundrums for community colleges: the conundrum of control and the conundrum of adaptability. As the oldest implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, …

Adrift In The Wake Of Modernism: Music, Mind, And Meaning In The Works Of James Joyce, April E. Cook

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Since Joyce's rise to critical prominence over the course of the twentieth century, a diverse corpus of scholarship has emerged around the Joyce canon that is nearly as vast and as multifaceted as the works themselves. While many have explored Joyce's affinity for music and his unprecedented synthesis of musical and literary modes, relatively few have examined his works' musical properties in the context of the contemporaneous musical developments of the early avant-garde and jazz movements. This study explores the trajectory of Joyce's engagement with musical forms and techniques, ranging from the primarily allusive relations of his early works to …

Concentrations, Distributions And Chemical Speciation Of Zinc And Cadmium In The Equatorial And South Atlantic Ocean, Gonzalo G. Carrasco

OES Theses and Dissertations

Certain trace metals are important cofactors in enzymatic systems and are thus, essential for life in the world's oceans. Two of these metals, Zn and Cd, are required by phytoplankton for enzymes that facilitate carbon uptake (Morel and Price, 2003). In seawater the total dissolved concentration of a metal (MTD) is distributed among different chemical species and this chemical speciation dictates a metal's bioavailability. Strong organic metal-binding ligands greatly affect the metal's chemical speciation in the ocean, potentially limiting phytoplankton growth by reducing the concentrations of Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺, the bioavailable forms of these two metals to …

Predictors Of Developmental Screenings For Young Children, Janice Chandler Ranne

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study examines the usefulness of the New Model of Children's Health and its Influences for the identification of predictors for health service effectiveness. Health service effectiveness is measured by probability estimations of whether young children receive formal or informal developmental screenings. Screenings lead to prevention of communication delays in later childhood. Formal screenings with standardized questions are preferred over informal screenings, which are knowledgeable observations. The theoretical framework is a child-centered socio-ecological theory that is untested for use in health service effectiveness studies until the present one. Four developmental concepts of the theoretical framework, social environment, physical environment, biological …

The Responsibility To Protect And The Decline Of Sovereignty: Free Speech Protection Under International Law, William Magnuson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

State sovereignty has long held a revered post in international law, but it received a blow in the aftermath of World War II, when the world realized the full extent of atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis on their own citizens. In the postwar period, the idea that individuals possessed rights independent of their own states gained a foothold in world discussions, and a proliferation of human rights treaties guaranteeing fundamental rights followed. These rights were, for the most part, unenforceable, though, and in the 1990s, a number of humanitarian catastrophes (in Kosovo, Rwanda, and Somalia) galvanized the international community to …

The Conflict Between The Alien Tort Statute Litigation And Foreign Amnesty Laws, Carlee M. Hobbs

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since the landmark case Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, foreign individuals have increasingly utilized the Alien Tort Statute to raise claims of human rights violations in the United States federal courts. Defendants, however, have alleged that principles of international comity necessitate dismissal of the suit when the foreign country in which the human rights violations occurred has granted defendants amnesty. While the doctrine of international comity permits dismissal if the case requires a federal court to adjudicate the internal affairs of a foreign country, the Supreme Court held, in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, that the Alien Tort Statue grants U.S. courts jurisdiction over …

The Object And Purpose Of A Treaty: Three Interpretive Methods, David S. Jonas, Thomas N. Saunders

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the three most prominent uses of the term "object and purpose" within the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and, in each instance, offers a new method for applying the term. First, the rule that a treaty be interpreted "in light of" its object and purpose requires a process of interpretation that oscillates between a treaty's individual provisions and the logic of all its provisions as a whole. Second, for reservations, the term exists to preserve "rule coherence[,]" as that term has been developed by Professor Thomas Franck. Lastly, states are required upon signature not to …