Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Phylogenetic And Cultural Content Of Learned Song, Nicole Creanza

Student Theses and Dissertations

In the oscine songbirds, song is learned by a juvenile from a tutor of the same species, in a pattern that is analogous to human language, and likewise has the potential to change over time by cultural evolution. The similarities between human languages have been studied for centuries, but historically the relationships between the songs of birds of different species have been seen as too divergent to be useful. Using a computational analysis of song databases coupled with genetic phylogenies, I have shown that there is indeed a significant correlation between genetic distance and song similarity in the oscines. For …

Regulation Of Polarized Protein Transport To Axons, Dendrites, And Sensory Cilia In Caeborhabditis Elegans Neurons, Tapan Apurva Maniar

Student Theses and Dissertations

Neurons are highly polarized cells, capable of receiving, processing and transmitting information, with the help of their specialized domains, an axon and one or more dendrites. The molecular dissimilarities between these domains are critical for neuronal function, and are a result of asymmetric trafficking of a large number of cellular components including ion channels, neurotransmitter receptors, synaptic vesicles, and signaling proteins. Yet, despite the significance of asymmetric protein transport in neuronal polarity, the molecules and mechanisms that direct polarized transport to axons, dendrites and cilia in neurons are only partly understood. In this thesis, I describe my effort at understanding …

Cell-Type Specific Translational Profiling In Huntington's Disease Mouse Models, Robert J. Fenster

Student Theses and Dissertations

Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are among the most vulnerable cell populations in Huntington's Disease (HD). Within this population, striatopallidal MSNs are more vulnerable than striatonigral MSNs, which may explain the typical progression in HD of chorea to hypokinesis. The biological basis for this differential vulnerability is unknown, although differences in transcriptional dysfunction caused by mutant huntingtin (mhtt) have been proposed as a possible mechanism. In order to determine the differences in gene expression caused by mhtt in these two populations, we selectively isolated translated mRNAs from striatopallidal and striatonigral MSNs in the R6-2 and YAC128 HD mouse models at pre- …

Defining Gene Expression In Normal Human Epidermal Keratinocytes And Melanocytes: A Prerequisite For Understanding Hyperplastic And Neoplastic Pathology, Erika De Wyllie Billick

Student Theses and Dissertations

To define pathologic alterations, a reference of "normal" cells is needed in order to interpret genomic methods that study gene expression of melanocytes and keratinocytes in growth-activated or neoplastic skin diseases. Historically, mRNAs isolated from cultured epidermal keratinocytes or melanocytes are used to define normal gene expression patterns. In this study, we profiled global gene expression in human epidermal keratinocytes on Affymetrix U133 plus 2.0 arrays from three different "normal" sources: 1) cultured keratinocytes, 2) FACS keratinocytes from dispase-separated epidermis, and 3) laser-capture microdissected (LCM) epidermis. For melanocytes, the precursor cell of melanoma, the attempt was made to isolate a …

Sensory Organ Morphogenesis In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Grigorios Oikonomou

Student Theses and Dissertations

Sensory organs are the gates through which information flows into the nervous system. In most animals, such organs consist of sensory neurons, which can transform stimuli into changes in their membrane potential, and glial cells, which establish a niche important for the morphogenesis and function of the neurons. Although similar glial compartments are seen throughout the nervous system, their morphogenesis is poorly understood. In the work presented here, I use the main sensory organ of Caenorhabditis elegans, the amphid, as a model system for understanding how glia form these compartments. First, by the interpretation of electron microscopy reconstructions of the …

Net Addition And Long-Term Survival Of Adult-Born Neurons In The Zebra Finch Hvc: Why Replace When You Can Keep Them All?, Clare Walton

Student Theses and Dissertations

The study of neurogenesis in adult songbirds focused initially on the canary, a species that learns new song elements each year. Many neurons in the canary song control nucleus, HVC, are discarded every year, with cell loss peaking at the end of the breeding season. New neurons numerically replace those that have died and this replacement process occurs at a time when vocal output is most plastic, suggesting adult neurogenesis may have a role in the learning process. It is not known, however, whether spontaneous neuronal replacement accompanies recruitment of new HVC neurons in the adult zebra finch, a species …

From Microarrays To Behavior: Genes Controlled By Feeding State In Mosquitoes And Flies, Shelli F. Farhadian

Student Theses and Dissertations

Across many species, animals carefully regulate their food intake according to their energy needs. They are able to do so through the ability to sense hunger or satiety cues. In vertebrates, these signals are released by the gastrointestinal tract and by adipose tissue, and reach feeding centers in the brain, where they stimulate the release of peptides that modulate feeding behavior (Benarroch, 2010; Berthoud, 2008). Although many of these neuronal populations have been identified in rodent models, the neural circuitry behind behavioral modification of food intake remains largely unknown. Insects like the blowfly and the locust have classically been used …

Expanding The Horizons Of Enzybiotic Identification, Jonathan Edward Schmitz

Student Theses and Dissertations

Recently, phage lytic enzymes (also known as endolysins or, simply, lysins) have received considerable attention as potential antibacterial agents. During the infective cycle of double-stranded DNA phage, these peptidoglycan hydrolases are responsible for digesting the cell wall of the host bacterium and freeing newly-assembled viral particles. At the same time, an increasing body of evidence has demonstrated that recombinantly-purified phage lysins—when added exogenously—can potently kill Gram-positive bacteria, whose peptidoglycan is accessible from the extracellular space. Consequently, lysins have been proposed as novel enzybiotic (i.e. enzyme-antibiotic) molecules that could serve as novel weapons in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria. Most lysins …

Mitotic Exit: Thresholds And Targets, Andrea Geoghegan Procko

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) are at the heart of the cell cycle. Throughout the cycle, these complexes modify many proteins, changing various aspects of their regulation (stability, localization, etc.). As cells exit mitosis, the CDK that has driven many of the cell cycle processes is inhibited and degraded, allowing many of the kinase substrates to return to their unphosphorylated state. This assures that each subsequent cell cycle is begun in the same naïve state, again ready for CDK-dependent regulation. The studies in this thesis focus on two mechanisms by which this restoration is accomplished in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae: …

Antigen Presentation: Influence Of Cell Type And Route Of Antigen Uptake, Alice O. Kamphorst

Student Theses and Dissertations

Dendritic cells (DCs), which maintain tolerance and orchestrate T cell immune responses, comprise a heterogeneous group of cells. For example, in the steady state, murine spleen contains pre-DC-derived CD8+DEC-205+ and CD8-DCIR2+ conventional DCs. To examine antigen processing and presentation in vivo, antigens were specifically targeted to CD8+ and CD8- DCs using chimeric monoclonal antibodies. We find that CD8- DCs are better than CD8- DCs for presentation of exogenous antigens onto major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules due to cell intrinsic differences. DCs are responsible for initiating T cell responses. However, during inflammation, monocytes become activated and acquire some DC-like …

Anthro Mountain Greater Sage- Grouse Population, O. Duvuvuei, Terry A. Messmer

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Protocols For Investigating The Effects Of Tall Structure On Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Urophasianus), Terry A. Messmer

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Ejaculation Frequency On Spermatozoa Survival In Diluted Semen From Pleven Blackhead Rams, Stanimir Yotov, Ivan Fasulkov, Nasko Vassilev

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The effect of ejaculation frequency on spermatozoa survival in diluted Pleven Blackhead ram semen was investigated. Thirty-two ejaculates were examined. From each ram 4 ejaculates were collected at 10-min intervals in the morning and in the afternoon. Semen parameters, namely, color, density, transparency, volume, concentration, motility, and abnormal sperm, for each ejaculate were determined. The sperm motility was assessed from the moment of dilution up to 60 min at 10-min intervals, then again at 90 min and 120 min. The semen characteristics were determined by means of "Motic Image Plus" equipment and the data were processed statistically. Sperm volume and …

Test Targets 10: A Collaborative Effort Exploring The Use Of Scientific Methods For Color Imaging And Process Control, Robert Chung, Elie Khoury, Pierre Urbain, Enqi Zhang, Franz Sigg, Scott Millward, Ivy Tian, Yi Wang

Books

Th ere are six papers that were written, peer reviewed, and published in Test Targets 10. Two papers focus on printing standardization and conformity assessment. Chung describes aims and tolerances specified in ISO 12647-2 and the use of color measurement and data analysis for conformity assessment. Urbain and Khoury describe data reception requirements in ISO 12647-2 and ISO 15930 and the use of a test pdf file to assess conformity of any pdf workflow.

Test Targets 10 will likely be remembered as the publication that covers OBA (optical brightening agents). Two papers focus on OBA. Tian and Chung report the …

Interrogation And The Roberts Court, Jonathan Witmer-Rich

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Through 2010, the Roberts Court decided five cases involving the rules for police interrogation under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments: Kansas v. Ventris; Montejo v. Louisiana; Florida v. Powell; Maryland v. Shatzer; and Berghuis v. Thompkins. This Article argues that these decisions show the Roberts Court reshaping constitutional interrogation rules according to a new (as-yet unarticulated) principle: “fair play” in interrogations. The Warren Court believed that suspects in police interrogation were vulnerable to inherent compelling pressures; the Court correspondingly created procedural interrogation rules under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments (Miranda and Massiah) to protect suspects. The Roberts Court does not …

Freedom And Governance In U.S. Arbitration Law, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Global Business Law Review

Professor Carbonneau will discuss the possible impact of recent United States Supreme Court decisions on international arbitration. The opinions he will refer to could indicate a reversal of the Court’s position on arbitration that would undermine arbitration’s prominence as a means of resolving international commercial disputes. He will then discuss the negative effects international commerce could experience as a consequence.

Table Of Contents, Journal Of Law And Health

Journal of Law and Health

No abstract provided.

Does Law Have An Outside?, Janet E. Halley

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

I’ve been pondering this problem as I participated in this sparking conference titled “Beyond the Law”: What, if anything, is “beyond the law”? The better parent’s risk aversion, the propertyless man’s hunger: should we insist that these are non-legal attributes about these characters which interact with legal rules to condition legally important decisions? Are they inside or outside of the law? We can think of it either way. Most of the time, to be sure, I’m engaged in descriptive projects that are basically attempts to extend the reach of law. Not that I want it to be big, I’m trying …

Harmonizing Through Judicial Review: Statutory Interpretation And Participation In Sub-Arctic Resource Management, Sari M. Graben

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This article describes how statutory interpretation by the courts can impact the effectiveness of co-management initiatives in Canada. Canada has recently undertaken a massive restructuring of the administrative regimes that license and permit resource development across the country to better incorporate Indigenous participation. These co-management boards now take part in governing resource use across Canada and most recognizably in parts of British Columbia, the Yukon Territories, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Nevertheless, the degree to which Indigenous participation may impact the regulatory output of co-management boards remains uncertain in law. This article uses one co-management statute in Canada, the Mackenzie …

Puzzling About State Excuses As An Instance Of Group Excuses, François Tanguay-Renaud

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

Can the state, as opposed to its individual human members in their personal capacity, intelligibly seek to avoid blame for unjustified wrongdoing by invoking excuses (as opposed to justifications)? Insofar as it can, should such claims ever be given moral and legal recognition? While a number of theorists have denied it in passing, the question remains radically under-explored. In this article (in its penultimate draft version), I seek to identify the main metaphysical and moral objections to state excuses, and begin to investigate their strength. I work from the ecumenical assumption that general understandings of modern states as group moral …

Dancing Through Hunger: A Dancer's Guide To Nutrition For Optimal Performance, Dominica Sorensen

Honors Capstones

Chronic energy deficiencies leading to impaired performance and injury are a prevalent problem in the dance world. This is due to a lot of dancers' misconceptions about nutrition as well as what and how much they should be eating to fuel their bodies. This is also due to a high rate of disordered eating and eating disorders among the dance population. This project explores the science behind what dancers should be eating, how much they should be eating, and when they should be eating. Recipes for healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are included as examples for quick and easy solutions …

Don't Sign Anything And Other Advice For Volunteering Abroad, Kyla Gardner

Honors Capstones

The process of writing my memoir began with brainstorming. I created mind maps - the webbed charts of bubbles of related ideas - furiously, trying to get as much from my experience down on paper, as many ideas and memories and facts and people as possible. From there, I reread the journals I had kept. They were helpful for putting together a time-line of more significant events, but were largely full of my complaints and worries and therefore disappointingly less helpful as a chronology of my day-to-day activities. During the writing process, it was helpful to read memoirs. I saw …

The Effect Of Audience Type On Written Argumentation, Chelsey Gibson

Honors Capstones

Many students have difficulty constructing a quality written argument, especially when they must consider an audience. The difficulty may be that they do not possess an adequate schema for constructing an argument. In this study, we manipulated two conditions: audience type (friendly, hostile, mixed) and instructions (tutor, no tutor) in order to determine the effect they have on number of rebuttals, explanations, counters, reasons, adaptations, appeals, and pejoratives, We hypothesized that participants in the tutor condition will perform better than those in the no tutor condition at all levels of audience type. We also hypothesized that students with a hostile …

The Effects Of A Serious Game On Learning, Gary Timmins

Honors Capstones

This study tested the hypothesis that video game attributes (e.g., points, competition, pedagogical agents) affect learning and engagement in a computerized learning environment. Thirty-two undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to two computerized learning environments meant to teach aspects of scientific inquiry (e.g., the need for control groups). Both groups read, critiqued and identified flaws in short descriptions of research. One group used a program that simulates a video game environment while the other used a traditional computer-assisted instructional format. Both conditions were given a pre-test and post-test. An interaction between time of test and the game was found, indicating …

The Evolution Of Childbirth : A View Over Three Centuries, Kelsei Fager

Honors Capstones

Childbirth is an ever evolving event that has changed dramatically over time and continues to make rapid changes even today. This work explores three centuries of childbirth, attempting to recreate the experience of each time period for the reader. My research focused on three main research questions: What changes have there been in pain management techniques for labor and delivery over the last three centuries? In what ways have birthing methods changed since the 18thcentury? How have the technology and instruments related to childbirth improved since the 1700's? The methodology of this study was a systematic review of historical literature …

Therapeutics For Coral Bleaching: Insight From A Novel Triterpenoid Metabolite, Hilary L. Coulombe

Honors Capstones

The focus of the work will be to use therapeutics try to fix and/or prevent coral bleaching. Bleaching is when the coral releases its colored zoozanthellae symbionts, causing a white color appearance. This is a stress response for the coral and is caused mainly by an increase in temperature. This is a problem because once coral bleaching starts it can continue even without the presence of the stressors. If the coral does manage to survive this period it will take a long time for the symbionts to grow back to their original proportions in the coral. This topic is of …

Web Design Principles, Lindsey Pagoria

Honors Capstones

A website that explores the principles of web design to assist amateur web designers in creating professional looking websites without needing extensive design experience. Utilizing skills obtained in Interactive Media Production classes and extensive research I have designed a website that explains web design while acting as a supporting example. I created the website by handcoding using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Web designers can use this website as a guide for the planning of a website, choosing a website structure, and designing individual pages. Each page has a "My Design" feature which allows the user to view my design choices …

Rulemaking 2.0, Cynthia R. Farina, Mary J. Newhart, Claire Cardie, Dan Cosley, Cornell Erulemaking Initiative

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Transparency, Accountability, And Competency: An Essay On The Obama Administration, Google Government, And The Difficulties Of Securing Effective Governance, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keep Away From Mouth: How The American System Of Food Regulation Is Killing Us, Eva Merian Spahn

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.