Digital Commons Network^™

2009-2010 General Education Assessment Report, Lindenwood University

General Education Assessment

2009-2010 General Education Assessment Report

Siamese Cooperates With The Cdh1-Like Protein Ccs52a1 To Establish Endoreplication In Arabidopsis Thaliana Trichomes, Remmy Kasili, Jason D. Walker, L. Alice Simmons, Jing Zhou, Lieven De Veylder, John C. Larkin

Faculty Publications

Endoreplication, also known as endoreduplication, is a phyogenetically widespread modified version of the cell cycle in which DNA replication is not followed by cell division. The SIAMESE (SIM) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana encodes the founding member of a novel class of plant-specific cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors and is a key regulator of endoreplication during the development of trichomes (shoot epidermal hairs). Here, we have identified mutations in the CCS52A1 gene as genetic modifiers of the multicellular trichome phenotype of sim mutants. Loss-of-function ccs52A1 mutations dramatically enhance the multicellularity of sim mutants trichomes in double mutants, whereas overexpression of CCS52A1 completely …

Effects Of Dietary Fat On Resistant Starch Fermentation In Mice, Diana Badkoobeh

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Yeasts From The Gut Of Cotinis Nitida Using Its And Lsu Rrna D1/D2 Gene Sequences, Kevin Campbell

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Cytotoxicity Of Nitrite And Nitrate In E. Coli, Aaron P. Landry

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Inheritance Of Traits Associated With Phosphorus Utilization Efficiency In Maize, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Glauco Vieira Miranda, Rodrigo Oliveira Delima, Leandro Vagno De Souza, Jaeveson Da Silva

Faculty Publications

The objective of this work was to determine the genetic effects that control the inheritance of characters associated with the phosphorus utilization efficiency (PUE) in maize, and to determine the relationship among them. A diallel between six maize cultivars was performed and 15 hybrid combinations were obtained from it. These cultivars were evaluated in high and low phosphorus availability in the greenhouse and field. Plant response to nutrient availability (RU) and traits associated to utilization and translocation efficiency were measured. There were significant interactions between hybrid combinations and phosphorus availability for plant dry matter mass (MSP), P concentration in plants …

University Of Central Florida Graduate Catalog, 2010 - 2011, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Low Cost Fpga-Based Software Defined Radios For Education And Research, Abhilash M. Purani

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a low-cost Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform for educational and research purposes. An evaluation of existing SDR platforms and design techniques was performed, identifying low cost hardware and software suitable for a laboratory environment. The idea behind the project is to provide undergraduate students with a generic hardware platform so that they can perform simple radio communication experiments. This paper compares and evaluates the existing research projects and educational lab experiments done for SDR. Basic AM and FM radios are created and simulated on the hardware. The detailed procedure to create a …

Terrorism Ideology And Perceptions Of Homeland Security In Tennessee Law Enforcement, Adam Baldwin

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Homeland security is a concept that has become firmly embedded in American society since the events of September 11, 2001. While recent research has begun to study the implications of homeland security in state and local law enforcement, few have focused on perceptions of homeland security ideology, policy, and practice. Therefore, this study focuses on the impact that homeland security ideology, policy, and practice has had on the local law enforcement community by examining the varying levels of individual understanding, agreement, and support for the concept. Moderate levels of agreement were found regarding homeland security clarity at federal, state, and …

Furthering Conservation Of Resources Theory: How Our Values Influence Out Stress Response, Neil Morelli

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989) theory is an increasingly applied conceptualization of the stress process (Hobfoll & Lilly, 1993; Neveu, 2007). To evaluate and expand this theory, an exploratory research study was conducted to determine the influence of personal psychosocial values (e.g., self-transcendence and conservation; Schwartz, 1994) on coping processes, using resource-importance appraisal as a mediating factor. The primary tenets of conservation of resources theory, as conceptualized by Hobfoll (1989), and personal values, as conceptualized by Schwartz (1992), were defined and linked using coping behavior as the common procedural outcome. Two studies were conducted using a student sample and an …

The Aortic Valve Endothelial Cell: A Multi-Scale Study Of Strain Mechanobiology, Scott Andrew Metzler

Theses and Dissertations

The aortic valve (AV) functions in arguably the most demanding mechanical environment in the body. The AV experiences fluid shear stress, cyclic pressure and mechanical strain in vivo. Recent evidence has shown the progression of degenerative aortic valve disease (AVD) to be an active cellular mediated process, altering the conception of the AV as a passive tissue. AVD has shown a strong correlation with altered hemodynamics and tissue mechanics. Aortic valve endothelial cells (AVECs) line the fibrosa (aortic facing) and ventricularis (left ventricle facing) surfaces of the valve. AVECs sense and respond to circulating stimuli in the blood stream while …

Determinants Of Living Arrangements, Health Status And Abuse Among Elderly Women: A Study Of Rural Naogaon District, Bangladesh, Ahmed Mohammad Munsur, Ismail Tareque, K. M. Mustafizur Rahman

Journal of International Women's Studies

In this study, the socio-economic backdrops, living arrangements, health status and abuse of the women aged 60 years and older in the rural Naogaon district of Bangladesh are examined. The data were collected from seven villages by using probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling and the results show that an overwhelming majority of the elderly women in the age group 60-69 years who are widowed, illiterate, have no education and income, economically dependent, living with married children, unhealthy, suffer from arthritis related illness and are taking treatment from village doctors. Furthermore, the study shows that, nearly 35 percent elderly women …

Waitlist-Controlled Trial Of Cognitive Behavior Therapy For Hoarding Disorder, Gail Steketee, Randy O. Frost, David F. Tolin, Jessica Rasmussen, Timothy A. Brown

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study investigated a multicomponent cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for hoarding based on a model proposed by Frost and colleagues and manualized in Steketee and Frost (2007).

Method: Participants with clinically significant hoarding were recruited from the community and a university-based anxiety clinic. Of the 46 patients randomly assigned to CBT or waitlist (WL), 40 completed the 12-week assessment and 36 completed 26 sessions. Treatment included education and case formulation, motivational interviewing, skills training for organizing and problem solving, direct exposure to nonacquiring and discarding, and cognitive therapy. Measures included the Saving Inventory-Revised (self-report), Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview, and measures …

A Web And Mobile System For Environmental Decision Support, James Carswell, Keith Gardiner, Michela Bertolotto, Andrea Rizzine

Books/Book chapters

Current field data collection methods for many of today’s scientific and other observer/monitor type applications are still entrenched in the “clipboard age”, requiring manual data transcription to a database management system at some (often much) later date, and only allows for visualisation and analysis of recently captured field data “back in the lab”. This chapter is targeted at progressing today’s pen & paper methodology into the spatially enabled mobile computing age of realtime multi-media data input, integration, visualisation, and analysis simultaneously both in the field and the lab. The system described is customized to the specific needs of the Canadian …

Desire In Marble: Vision, Classical Antiquity, And Homoerotic Spectacle In Melville's Travel Writing, David Greven

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Perimenopausal Obesity, Colleen Keller, Linda Larkey, Johanna K. Distefano, Edna Boehm-Smith, Kathie Records, Alyssa G. Robillard, Sharry Veres, Manal Al-Zadjali, Anne-Marie O'Brian

Faculty Publications

Obesity is recognized as one of the most important underlying risk factors for a wide variety of diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Women are particularly prone to obesity, and approaches that address life transitions across the life span suggest that a number of factors may converge at passage points, such as menopause, that contribute to weight accumulation in the aging woman. The menopausal phase of a woman's life brings a number of changes that may trigger and maintain weight gain. Although the prevalence of overweight and obesity is attributable to each of these factors, it is most likely the …

Automated Extraction Of Structures From Sketches Of Biological Specimens, Jamie Joseph Schirf

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of this study was to develop automated techniques to extract biological structures from sketches of biological specimens. This will form the basis for a searchable database of information about the specimens. Having such a database enables researchers to efficiently search for specimens with particular qualities or identify unknown specimens. After some preprocessing of the images, the important internal organs of the specimen are extracted using image analysis techniques. The shape, size, and organization of the organs are used to categorize and then to reorganize them in the image. Results using a large database of sketches of trematodes, in …

Negotiating The Gray Areas Of Ethical Decision Making: Deaf Therapists Working In The Deaf Community, Denise Alice Thew

Theses and Dissertations

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing psychologists, who provide services to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, face unique dilemmas when dealing with overlapping relationships. Similar to psychologists from other small or rural communities, dual relationships are generally unavoidable. The ethical guidelines for psychologists do not provide for the exceptional struggles that many Deaf therapists face in this regard.

This study was conducted to explore the decision-making patterns that Deaf therapists have used in negotiating nonsexual, multiple relationships with clients. Ten taped interviews were conducted to collect preliminary data on the overlapping relationship dilemmas of participants who are Deaf, licensed therapists and have been …

Assessment Of Mature Rural Adults Experiencing Depression, Penny Briese

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is well recognized worldwide as a leading cause of disability which reduces quality of life, particularly among mature adults. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the finding of a graduate project which explored depression in mature adults, with a focus on how to improve healthcare for this population in rural communities in North Dakota. A literature review was performed in order to compare rural versus urban practices in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of depression in mature adults. Medical professionals working in the fields of clinic, hospital, and emergency department healthcare were surveyed as to their current …

The Generation And Immunogenicity Of Pp7 Virus-Like Particles Displaying Target Antigens, Alex Medford

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The immunogenicity of an antigen can be increased by displaying it in a highly dense, multivalent context, such as on the surface of a virus or virus-like particle (VLP). However, for many viruses, the ability to display diverse antigens on viral surfaces through the construction of recombinant virus particles is limited because peptide insertions are not compatible with virus or VLP assembly. In this thesis, I examined the ability of VLPs of bacteriophage PP7 to have target peptides inserted into a single-chain dimer of its coat protein and form VLP that display the epitope of interest on the particle surface …

Genetic Contributions To Brain Fiber Architecture And Neuroanatomical Alterations In Alcohol Dependent Individuals: A Correlation Study, Vibhati V. Kulkarny

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Alcohol dependence (AD) is a complex addictive disorder, affecting 5.4% of the general population during a lifetime (Kessler, 2005) and has a complex heterogenous phenotype, with behavioral, morphological, and genetic components. Alcohol use can cause gray matter and white matter tissue damage. The extent of alcoholisms effect on brain matter structure in young adults is less known. Assessement of low and high alcohol dependent individuals was derived from DSM-IV. FSL based Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and quantitative fiber tracking derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) assessed morphological alterations of 6 gray matter structures involved in addiction and 10 white matter …

Ethno-Medicinal Plants Used For Gonorrhoea Diseases In Danta Taluka (Gujarat), N. K. Patel

Ethnobotanical Leaflets

The present paper deals with species of flowering plants commonly used by different Aadeevasee communities to cure gonorrhoea diseases. The cause of disease, its symptoms, and plant organs utilized and methods of preparation of remedies are provided. Tribes associated with specific remedial preparation have been mentioned, however, they may not be always exclusive since Adeevasee communities are of wide distribution in Danta taluka and have considered communication with each other. It is hoped that the present study will not only confirm earlier findings recorded in literature, but also provide additional clues in this field of vital interests.

Modification Of Water Application Uniformity Among Closed Circuit Trickle Irrigation Systems, Hani A.-G. Mansour, Mohamed Yousif Tayel, Mohamed A. Abd El-Hady, David A. Lightfoot, Abdel-Ghany Mohamed El-Gindy

Articles

The aim of this research was determine the ma- ximum application uniformity of closed circuit trickle irrigation systems designs. Laboratory tests carried out for Two types of closed circuits: a) One manifold for lateral lines or Closed cir-cuits with One Manifold of Trikle Irrigation Sys-tem (COMTIS); b) Closed circuits with Two Manifolds of Trikle Irrigation System (CTMTIS), and c) Traditional Trikle Irrigation System (TTIS) as a control. Three lengths of lateral lines were used, 40, 60, and 80 meters. PE tubes lateral lines: 16 mm diameter; 30 cm emitters distance, and GR built-in emitters 4 lph when operating pressure 1 …

Adapting Agriculture To Climate Variability: Executive Summary, Gary Lemme, David Mcinnes, Tony Szumigalski

Agricultural Experiment Station Circulars (1920-1915)

These paired conferences were an outgrowth of a joint meeting of Canadian and American agricultural leaders at Fargo, N.D., on Sept. 30, 2009, to explore the potential impacts of increased climatic variability on agriculture. A committee was formed to bring together agricultural leaders from the prairie provinces of Canada and the Northern Central Region of the United States of America to increase awareness of the importance of a proactive approach by the agricultural sectors in addressing the research, education, public policy, and technology transfer challenges associated with climate variability on the long-term sustainability of agriculture. Paired conferences were conducted in …

A South County Almanac, Nevan Richard

Senior Honors Projects

Since its publication in 1949, “A Sand County Almanac: With Sketches Here and There” has served as the benchmark for writing about the environment and nature. “Sand County” was written by famed environmentalist Aldo Leopold, who for most of his lifetime worked towards the conservation of wildlife, forests, and other natural resources. In “Sand County,” Aldo Leopold recounts his experiences and observations in various essays and journal entries from his many years of living in Wisconsin, as well his travels across the North American continent. With its publication following Mr. Leopold’s death, it changed the face of conservation, later inspiring …

Hematological Neoplasms: Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, Andrea Bakalakis

Senior Honors Projects

Hematological neoplasms, more commonly known as blood cancers, pose great concern within the United States healthcare system. These cancers originate within the bone marrow or lymphatic tissue and progress into the circulatory system. Hematological neoplasms are a result of genetic mutations in which the normal cell growth cycle is ex-changed for the uncontrollable growth of malignant cells. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, blood cancers accounted for 9.5 percent of all cancer related deaths in 2009. Every four minutes, a new patient is diagnosed with blood cancer and every ten minutes, someone dies from this malignancy. Research and development …

Talus Slope Processes In The Appalachian : An Analysis Of Rock Size And Shape On The Shawangunk Ridge, Northwestern New Jersey, Muhammad Hamidul Haque

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Sphericity, hardness, roundness, and size of talus boulders were analyzed to understand the mass wasting process on the Shawangunk Ridge in northwestern New Jersey. Similar studies have been conducted in other localities (e.g., Lassen Peak, California and Spitsbergen, Sweden) but few works were carried out in the eastern United States, particularly in the Appalachian region. During the Pleistocene, ice sheets advanced in North America, and glacial and periglacial (soil and rock affected by ice) environments existed throughout the Appalachians. Although the periglacial climate is not present in this region right now, rock falls are still active where weak joints are …

Conformational Motion Associated With Catalysis In Indole-3-Glycerol Phosphate Synthase From S. Solfataricus, Tomasz Kurcon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsIGPS) belongs to a broad family of (βα)₈-barrel enzymes. It catalyzes the fifth step in tryptophan biosynthesis, converting l-(o-carboxylphenylamino)-l-deoxyribulose-5-phosphate (CdRP) to indole-3-glycerol phosphate (IGP). Site selective mutagenesis was used to introduce a single cysteine in two loops near the active site, generating two recombinant proteins, each containing a single cysteine handle. The two construct were labeled, each with two different thiol-reactive probes generating four labeled constructs that were used for this study. Steady-state kinetic parameters of the labeled mutants and the wild type SsIGPS were well characterized using fluorescence spectroscopy. Subsequent experiments …

The Effects Of Triptolide On Cancer Cells, Michael E. Messina Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and with the rates of breast cancer increasing steadily over time there is a need to develop new anticancer treatments. This research seeks to investigate how triptolide, an extract from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells. Studies have shown that triptolide can act as an anti-proliferative, antiinflammatory, and anti-cancer agent in many different clinical applications. It has been used for over two centuries in Chinese medicine and is now used to treat certain autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. With …

A Novel Filarial Parasite (B. Malayi) Stress-Activated Protein Kinase As A Potential Drug Target, Akruti Patel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Lymphatic filariasis (or elephantiasis) is a major neglected disease with an estimated 120 million individuals infected and approximately 1.5 billion at risk in endemic regions. It is a highly disfiguring and debilitating disease and one of the major causes of global morbidity. Treatment options for this disease are few and new drug targets and therapies need to be identified. We have identified a protein kinase ortholog of human p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38) expressed in the filarial parasite, Brugia malayi (B. malayi), one of three causative agent of lymphatic filariasis. We hypothesize that this protein kinase, BmMPKl, is important for …