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Role Of Amyloid Beta Assembly State In The Human Immune Response, Deepa Viswanathan

Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slowly progressing neurodegenerative disease that leads to dementia. Histopathological hallmarks that characterize AD are senile plaques formed by extracellular deposition of Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide and intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. The plaques, which are found in the brain parenchyma, comprise both 40 and 42 residue Aβ. Aggregation of Aβ is an established pathogenic mechanism in AD, but little is known about the initiation of this process in vivo. Several studies have revealed significant inflammatory markers such as activated microglia and cytokines surrounding the plaques. Plaques are a hallmark of AD, but they are …

Systemic And Microcirculatory Effects Of Hboc-201: A Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier, Bjorn Song

Theses and Dissertations

Top-loading This study compared the effects on oxygen (O2) transport of four fluids: 5.9% human serum albumin (HSA) a non-O2 carrying iso-oncotic solution (volume control);HBOC-201 (Hemopure, Biopure Corp., Cambridge, MA); MP50, HBOC-201 with a P50 of 18 mmHg; and lastly LP50, an HBOC-201 with P50 of 17 mmHg and higher viscosity (4 cP). It has been proposed that HBOC with a higher O2 affinity and a viscosity closer to that of whole blood will cause less vasoconstriction and thus a lower MAP than Hemopure (P50 = 40 mmHg and 2.2 cP). Intravital microscopic measurements were made on the spinotrapezius muscle …

Ecology Of Prince Of Wales Spruce Grouse, Aleya R. Nelson

Biological Sciences

Recently, spruce grouse on Prince of Wales Island (POW) in southeast Alaska have been proposed as a separate subspecies. Furthermore, life-history of spruce grouse on POW, which is temperate coastal rainforest, varies sufficiently from birds in mainland areas, mostly boreal forest, to warrant specific management. Therefore, I examined the ecology of spruce grouse on POW to determine how timber harvest influences their survival and habitat selection and ultimately to provide recommendations for their conservation. During 2007-2009, we found that the greatest variation in survival probability was attributed to breeding status. The annual survival of non-breeding birds was 0.72±0.082 (S±) while …

Waterbird Distribution And Habitat In The Prairie Pothole Region, U.S.A., Valerie Steen

Biological Sciences

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of north-central North America provides some of the most critical wetland habitat continent-wide to waterbirds. Agricultural conversion has resulted in widespread wetland drainage. Furthermore, climate change projections indicate a drier future, which will alter remaining wetland habitats. I evaluated Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) habitat selection and the potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of waterbird species. To examine Black Tern habitat selection, I surveyed 589 wetlands in North and South Dakota in 2008-09, then created multivariate habitat models. I documented breeding at 5% and foraging at 17% of wetlands surveyed, and found local …

The Effects Of Permafrost Degradation On Soil Carbon Dynamics In Alaska's Boreal Region, Jonathan A. O'Donnell

Biological Sciences

High-latitude regions store large quantities of organic carbon (C) in permafrost soils and peatlands, accounting for nearly half of the global belowground C pool. Projected climate warming over the next century will likely drive widespread thawing of near-surface permafrost and mobilization of soil C from deep soil horizons. However, the processes controlling soil C accumulation and loss following permafrost thaw are not well understood. To improve our understanding of these processes, I examined the effects of permafrost thaw on soil C dynamics in forested upland and peatland ecosystems of Alaska's boreal region. In upland forests, soil C accumulation and loss …

Scientists And Journalists: Framing The Interaction, Marie E. Gilbert

Communication

"Humans have sent fellow beings into space, created cyberspace, determined the likely origins of our universe, and identified the genetic origins of ourselves. As members of a variety of broader, general publics, each of us likely came to know about these scientific outcomes as the result of a journalist talking to a scientist, followed by the journalists' work reaching us through television, radio, a print medium, or the Web. Few members of the public are reported to understand much about science and scientists are portrayed as unable to communicate to the everyday person. The media, as the primary source of …

Constructed Identities: Lived Experience And The Struggle To Integrate The Sexual And Religious Identities Among Lesbians, Gays, And Bisexuals, Alan C. Fredericksen

Communication

"Most, if not all, Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals struggle at one point of their lives to reconcile their sexual and religious identities. This struggle can be either helped or hindered within the interpersonal communicative acts that lesbians, gays, and bisexuals encounter on a daily basis throughout their lives. This study uses narrative interviews to examine the impact and affect that various interpersonal communicative acts have had on five people, some of whom identified as lesbian, gay, and bisexual. Though there is much research available regarding the struggle of this population to integrate these two identities, none was available to this …

Characterization Of Subsurface Hydraulic Conductivity Along The Proposed Alaska Gas Line Corridor Using Geophysical Signatures, Peter A. Calvin

Engineering

"The objective of this research was to explore a cost-effective and non-invasive methodology to characterize spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity using airborne electromagnetic (AEM) signatures as an alternative to traditional techniques such as borehole sampling. The relationship of AEM measured apparent resistivity and magnetic field strength was explored using a small dataset that included 180 natural moisture (NM) content data and a total dataset of 546 grain size distributions that excluded the NM. The grain size distributions were used to develop soil indicator parameter and to estimate the hydraulic conductivity (K*) using pedo-transfer functions. Predictive models were developed using three …

Today - December 17, 2010, Loma Linda University

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- Camp Good Grief offers bereaved kids and teens a chance to heal
-- Study takes ischemic pre-conditioning to new heights
-- Nutrition students granted Nestlé Foundation research funds
-- The study of forensic bite marks
-- Public health alumna appointed to air pollution agency
-- Faculty from allied health and medicine honored as Harvard Macy Scholars
-- Medicine professor discusses AIDS with community group
-- 'Conversations with authors' continues with December program
-- School of Public Health partners with United Way
-- Loma Linda University opens Center for Dentistry and Orthodontics
-- Physical therapy students begin …

Nunivak Island Subsistence Cod, Red Salmon And Grayling Fisheries – Past And Present, Robert M. Drozda

Faculty and Staff

Nunivak Islanders (Nuniwarmiut) report Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus; atgiiyar) was a significant and consistent subsistence resource during the first half of the 20th century. Following an absence of at least 30 years, Pacific cod returned to Nunivak waters in the mid-1980s and were once again incorporated into the Nuniwarmiut subsistence round. This report presents an overview of traditional and contemporary Pacific cod fishing primarily collected as “traditional knowledge” from Nunivak elders, as well as from literature and archival sources. The report also summarizes the current state of the Nunivak Pacific cod fishery with results of subsistence fish surveys and documentation …

Variation In The Trophic Position Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias) In The Northeastern Pacific Ocean: An Approach Using Carbon And Nitrogen Stable Isotopes, Alexander George Andrews

Fisheries

"Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) are among the most abundant shark species in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). An increase in relative biomass of spiny dogfish in 2003 and 2007 inspired interest in this species as a commercial resource. However, very little was known about the ecology of this species in the GOA. This study investigated the trophic role of spiny dogfish in the GOA, British Columbia (BC), and Washington using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen. Specifically, we examined the trophic position (TP) of spiny dogfish in relation to length, sex, and geographic region. Weathervane scallops (Patinopecten caurinus) were …

First-Generation Effects On Development Time Of Outcrossing Between Geographically Isolated And Seasonally Isolated Populations Of Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha), Jesse D. Echave

Fisheries

Bootstrap analyses of hatch data collected during two independent experiments revealed that hybridization between pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) breeding populations separated at either a large geographic scale or a fine temporal scale can influence development time. Restricted maximum likelihood estimators also revealed that sire, dam, cross, and parental interaction can influence genetic variance associated with development time at either scale. Few studies have investigated the extent of local adaptation that results from fine-scale ecological variation, the genetic underpinnings of that adaptation, or the potential impacts outbreeding at that level may have on fitness. We tested whether or not local adaptation …

Ontogenetic Considerations In The Trophic Level Of Commercial Groundfish Species In The Gulf Of Alaska, Jennifer Marie Marsh

Fisheries

"Trends in trophic level (TL) estimates of commercial fishery catches are used as ecosystem-based indicators for sustainability, but these estimates often do not incorporate species-specific interannual and ontogenetic feeding patterns. This study provides a finer resolution of ontogenetic and temporal variations in the trophic position of four groundfish species in the central Gulf of Alaska (GOA), walleye pollock (Theragra chaleogramma), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias), and Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), using stable isotope analysis to assess TL and diet source. Samples were collected from the northeastern side of Kodiak Island, Alaska, from 2000-2004. Several Analysis of Covariance …

Chancellor's Report 2010-12, John Pugh

Chancellor's Report

No abstract provided.

University Of Nebraska At Omaha, December Commencement 2 0 1 0, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Connecting Religion And Work: Patterns And Influences Of Work-Faith Integration, Monty Lynn, Michael J. Naughton, Steve Vanderveen

Management Sciences

Religiosity can significantly impact human behavior yet little is known about how religious belief and practice integrate with work. Using the Faith at Work Scale, we surveyed Christian workers in the United States (n = 374) and found that work-faith integration was positively associated with faith maturity, church attendance, age and denominational strictness, and negatively associated with organizational size. Denominational groups varied in their degree of integration but displayed similar patterns across dimensions of integration.Work-faith integration was manifest most strongly in integration related to the self, and somewhat less so in areas related to others and in transcendent aspects of …

Crisis: Capitalism, Economics And The Environment, Raj Navanit Patel Mr

Undergraduate Economic Review

The basic thesis of this paper is that there is an undeniable tension between maximization of individual welfare and a sustainable and healthy environment in a finite world. Following from this, the further claim is that our current capitalist system of private production and ownership is fundamentally in tension with the environment and should be changed. Without a change in attitude toward our conceptualization of these problems, that is, without contextualizing these problems outside of the market-based solutions and free market solutions, crisis is inevitable. Homo economicus needs to be replaced by homo environmentus.

Racial Disparities In Healthcare: Challenges Faced By Hispanic Populations, Kaitlin Mcdowell

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Winter Commencement: December 17, 2010, University Of North Dakota

UND Commencement Programs

UND Winter Commencement program from December 17, 2010.

Reconciling Motor Performance Indicators From Theoretical Calculations And Laboratory Tests, Himanshu Hirlekar, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Stephen Ruffing

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Quite often because of the complexity in the design of large industrial motors, the theoretical motor parameter calculations do not match actual results from laboratory tests. Thus, it becomes important to predict the amount of discrepancy between the two methods to develop confidence in the motor parameter calculations. This paper discusses the development of multiple artificial neural networks (ANNs) designed to predict the ratios of measured parameters to calculated parameters, given the geometry and construction of the motor. These ratios represent correction factors which can be applied to the values calculated from the theoretical program, which, in this case, is …

Toward A Database Of Geometric Interrelationships Of Protein Secondary Structure Elements For De Novo Protein Design, Prediction And Analysis, Augustine Ada Orgah

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Computational methods of analyzing, simulating, and modeling proteins are essential towards understanding protein structure and its interactions. Computational methods are easier as not all protein structures can be determined experimentally due to the inherent difficultly of working with some proteins. In order to predict, design, analyze, simulate or model a protein, data from experimentally determined proteins such as those located in the repository of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) are essential. The assumption here is that we can use pieces of known proteins to piece together a "new" protein hence, de novo protein design. The analysis of the geometric relationships …

A Web Service For Protein Refinement And Refinement Of Membrane Proteins, Kapil Pothakanoori

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The structures obtained from homology modeling methods are of intermediate resolution 1-3Ã… from true structure. Energy minimization methods allow us to refine the proteins and obtain native like structures. Previous work shows that some of these methods performed well on soluble proteins. So we extended this work on membrane proteins. Prediction of membrane protein structures is a particularly important, since they are important biological drug targets, and since their number is vanishingly small, as a result of the inherent difficulties in working with these molecules experimentally. Hence there is a pressing need for alternative computational protein structure prediction methods. This …

A Framework Supporting Development Of Ontology-Based Web Applications, Shireesha Tankashala

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

We have developed a framework to support development of ontology based Web applications. This framework is composed of a tree-view browser, an attribute selector, the ontology persistence module, an ontology query module, and a utility class that allows the users, to plug-in their own customized functions. The framework supports SPARQL-DL query language. The purpose of this framework is to shield the complexity of ontology from the users and thereby ease the development of ontology based Web applications. Having high quality ontology and using this framework, the end-users can develop Web applications in many domains. For example, a professor can create …

Highly Sensitive And Selective Gas Sensors Based On Vertically Aligned Metal Oxide Nanowire Arrays, Jiajun Chen

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Mimicking the biological olfactory systems that consist of olfactory receptor arrays with large surface area and massively-diversified chemical reactivity, three dimensional (3D) metal oxide nanowire arrays were used as the active materials for gas detection. Metal oxide nanowire arrays share similar 3D structures as the array of mammal's olfactory receptors and the chemical reactivity of nanowire array can be modified by surface coatings. In this dissertation, two standalone gas sensors based on metal oxide nanowire arrays prepared by microfabrication and in-situ micromanipulation, respectively, have been demonstrated. The sensors based on WO3 nanowire arrays can detect 50 ppb NO2 with a …

Do Prekindergarten Teachers Design Their Classrooms To Enhance Early Literacy?, Joann Lorusso

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Young children develop language and early literacy interactions that are the building blocks for future skilled reading. This study was designed to evaluate the early childhood classroom to determine teachers‟ knowledge of early literacy. Based on the Literacy Environment Checklist (LEC) of the Early Literacy and Language Classroom Observation (ELLCO) tool, the classrooms scored 100% proficiency in the Book Area and Book Selection categories. The results indicate the prekindergarten teachers knew how to design their classrooms to enhance early literacy. The classrooms scored 86% proficiency in the Writing Materials category, 73% proficiency in the Writing around the Room category, and …

The Making Of Audubon Park: Competing Ideologies For Public Space, Nels Abrams

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of Progressivism at the beginning of the twentieth century influenced many aspects of American society. One of those aspects was urban parks. In the latter half of the nineteenth century Frederick Law Olmsted led a nationwide implementation of "Victorian" parks. These parks featured broad expanses of turf, waterways, and trees. Olmsted and the other Victorian park leaders designed the parks to cultivate Victorian values of self-restraint and independence among the citizenry. With the rise of Progressivism the ideals of the middle class changed. Led by Theodore Roosevelt, millions of Americans embraced the "strenuous life" and its emphasis on …

Place Matters: An Evolutionary Approach To Annie Proulx's "The Half-Skinned Steer"And "Wamsutter Wolf", Erin Walker

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In Annie Proulx's interview with Charlie Rose, she states that her stories come "from place." Ecocriticism has been the predominant lens with which to understand Proulx's work; however, ecocriticism's nebulous tenets and theoretical deficiencies perpetuate sentimental pastoralism of geographical determinism. The shaping impact of Wyoming's environment in Proulx's work lends itself to an evolutionary perspective. Proulx's fiction, like evolutionary theory, examines humanity's unique, reciprocal relationship with nature. The evolutionary approach provides readers with a framework to understand the human relationship to our environment, a theme Proulx's work examines. This approach also augments current criticism that notes the importance of place …

Water Quality Modeling Of Freshwater Diversions In The Barataria Basin, Jeevan Neupane

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A 1-D tidal, salinity and water quality model that analyzes the impacts of freshwater diversions with median and high flow on the water level, salinity and nutrient concentration of the Barataria Basin over a 2 period is presented here. The model predicts that the salinity of Lower Barataria decreases with the introduction of freshwater diversions. The model also predicts that nutrient concentration increases in Barataria Basin and decreases in Northern Gulf of Mexico with the introduction of diversions. The model shows the impact of freshwater diversions on water level except in the neighborhood of the diversion sites are small.

Multivariate Cluster Analysis Of The Mmpi-2 And Mmpi-2-Rf Scales In Spine Pain Patients With Financial Compensation: Characterization And Validation Of Chronic Pain Subgroups, Luis Aguerrevere

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Different psychosocial factors influence the experience and adaptation to pain. Previous cluster analytic studies using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2nd edition described psychologically different subgroups of pain patients that had been shown valuable in determining outcome. However, these studies had limited applicability to medico-legal pain populations because they did not use newly developed scales or describe important medico-legal factors that have large effects on symptom endorsement. Using three methods of clustering, the current investigation explored the subgroups that resulted when using all the MMPI-2 and the newly developed MMPI-2-RF (Restructured Form) scales on a large and well-described population of medico-legal …

Resilience Characteristics Of Master's-Level Counseling Students, J. Raul Machuca

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Resilience characteristics typically have been studied among children and adolescents. A new line of research on resilience is focused on exploring the resilience characteristics of adults exposed to short and long-term adversity. In the present study, 585 master's-level counseling students responded to the Resilience Scale (Wagnild & Young, 1993). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between counseling students' level of resilience and specific background variables (age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, education, income, employment, living situation, sexual orientation, and country of origin), counselor-education program variables (primary field of study, number of credits taken, academic status, professional affiliations, …