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The Relationship Of Testosterone And 5-Ht To Aggressive, Self-Aggressive, And Antisocial Behavior In Men, Anne Winston Mcintyre

Master's Theses

Studies of humans show an inconsistent relationship between aggression and T, as well as between T and antisocial and self-aggressive behavior. Other biological variables, including cortisol and brain serotonin, have been implicated as having an effect on the regulation of antisocial and self-aggressive behavior. Researchers have suggested that inconsistencies in the T-aggression relation may be due to the presence of moderating variables. One theory posits that serotonin moderates the relation between T and aggression. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between T (as well as cortisol and 5-HT) and aggression-related constructs. A second purpose was to …

Diet And Feeding-Related Morphometrics Of The Blackstripe Topminnow, Fundulus Notatus, In Allotropic And Syntopic Populations With The Blackspotted Topminnow, Fundulus Olivaceus, Charles Michael Champagne

Master's Theses

The Fundulus notatus species complex consists of three described species: F. notatus, F. olivaceus and F. euryzonus. Both F. notatus and F. olivaceus have broad overlapping ranges with many populations being found within and outside of contact zones. Contact zones are generally found in midreaches with F. olivaceus dominating headwaters and F. notatus in larger rivers downstream. Both species share similar ecological niches so the mechanism allowing for stable coexistence in contact zones is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine variability in diet and feeding morphology of F. notatus in syntopic and allotopic populations across …

Binge Drinking In Undergraduate Mexican-Origin Students And Its' Relation To Impulsivity, Rosalva M. Longoria

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Heavy drinking is more prevalent in college students ages 18 through 21 than non-students (NIAAA, 2010). Impulsivity and binge drinking have shown an association (Balodis, Potenza & Olmstead, 2009). An important aspect of this relationship is the influencing factors that may help in determining the effects of drinking on academic performance. In order to predict this behavior, we collected information on tendencies to be impulsive and those that have shown binge drinking behavior from 151 undergraduate students, 11 non-Hispanics, 3 Hispanics, and 137 Hispanics of Mexican-origin attending the University of Texas-Pan American. Of the Mexican-origin students, 37% reported binge drinking …

Business Competency For Ag Businesses; A Key To A Prosperous And Sustainable Future, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

Husker Ag SMARTS, a statewide professional business management training program was developed and is delivered by the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It is in conjunction with several partners, University of Nebraska Extension and financial institutions across the state. This joint effort has been financially supported by banking institutions and public funding through the North Central Risk Management Education Center. Local banks and cooperatives have been excited to see this program offered, and have been very supportive in giving scholarships, identifying possible participants and encouraging their clients to become involved.

The SMARTS portion of the program’s name is …

August 2011 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

A Hubel Wiesel Model Of Early Concept Generalization Based On Local Correlation Of Input Features, Sepideh Sadeghi, Kiruthika Ramanathan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Hubel Wiesel models, successful in visual processing algorithms, have only recently been used in conceptual representation. Despite the biological plausibility of a Hubel-Wiesel like architecture for conceptual memory and encouraging preliminary results, there is no implementation of how inputs at each layer of the hierarchy should be integrated for processing by a given module, based on the correlation of the features. In our paper, we propose the input integration framework - a set of operations performed on the inputs to the learning modules of the Hubel Wiesel model of conceptual memory. These operations weight the modules as being general or …

Development And Evaluation Of An On-Line Educational Module For Volunteer Leaders On Bio-Security In Washington State 4-H Livestock Projects, Jill L. Stevenson, Dale A. Moore, Jerry Newman, Janet L. Schmidt, Sarah M. Smith, Jean Smith, Susan Kerr, Michael Wallace, Pat Boyes

Journal of Extension

A module on disease prevention was created for 4-H volunteer leaders who work with livestock projects in Washington to better prepare them to teach youth about bio-security and its importance in 4-H livestock projects. Evaluation of the module and usage statistics since the module's debut were collected and evaluated. The module increases awareness of disease prevention and provides practical approaches to implementation of bio-security, but is underused by the target audience, possibly due to leaders' lack of computer access, time, or awareness of the module. Promotion of the module and incentives must be explored to increase module usage.

The Role Of Moral Exemplars In Stanley Hauer's Ethics, Timothy William Walker

Master's Theses

This thesis is on the virtue ethics of Stanley Hauerwas, with particular focus on the role of moral exemplars in his theory. Hauerwas emphasizes the role of what are called "moral exemplars" in his virtue ethics. These are people or characters of narratives that best exemplify virtue. A theory is exemplarist if the moral concepts of the theory are defined in reference to an exemplary person, moral knowledge is gained from knowledge of an exemplar, and moral exemplars are necessary for one's learning to be moral. This definition reflects the three types of roles exemplars could play in a moral …

The Impact Of Integrated Arts Instruction On Student Achievement Of Fourth Grade Urban Students In English Language Arts And Mathematics, Deborah Fagan Harloff

Education Doctoral

This study is a quantitative study of the impact of arts integration on the academic achievement in English language arts and mathematics of urban fourth-grade students. The data were the results of a federally funded Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant project from 2006-2009 implemented in a large urban school district. This secondary analysis used the data from 2009, the third and final year of the AEMDD study. The analysis used the New York State ELA and mathematics test scores of fourth graders as the measure to determine if arts integration had an effect on student achievement in …

Place As Plot: A Comparison Of The Use Of Place In C. S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces And John Milton's Paradise Lost, Jonathan A. Whitmer

Masters Theses

C. S. Lewis' fiction constantly relies on the depiction of physical place as a key device in addressing largely metaphysical issues and he does so in a way that goes beyond merely creative descriptions of scenery. What makes his use of place descriptions so unique and significant is the function of place as a key component in his theodicy for a post-Christian world. I especially compare Lewis' approach to theodicy in Till We Have Faces with Milton's approach to theodicy in Paradise Lost. My motive for this comparison comes largely from reading Lewis' A Preface to Paradise Lost coupled with …

Reaching An Agreement: Effects Of Tv Violence On Youth, Brittany T. Rawlings

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Over the course of a year, a child will spend 1,500 hours watching television, a significant amount when compared to the 900 hours he or she will spend in school (Herr, 2007). Violence is one of the dominating messages disseminated through the sensation of television, which plays an active role in entertaining and impacting the lives of today‘s young audience. Because of its prevalence, violence on TV has grown to be a controversial issue on which several studies have been conducted since the 1950s. This thesis explores past research and takes a critical look at studies conducted within the last …

The Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative: A Critical Realist Case Study, Shawna M. Margesson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized the ontological and epistemological foundations of critical realism posed by Margaret Archer (2000) to deepen social work's understanding of collaboration. Through the use of Danermark et al.'s (2002) stages of explanatory research based on critical realism, the author found that agential and structural interactions of the Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative emerged. These findings illustrate that critical realism can be used in social work research to broaden the discipline's perception of human and environment. Archer's (2000) grounding of agency in three orders of reality, that practice is pivotal and morphogenesis is transformative aids in rediscovering how structure constrains …

Trends In Logo Design Among Fortune 100 Companies, Juliane Bone

Graphic Communication

Using ten different criteria to rigorously inspect ten logo designs, this paper concludes that conceptuality is perhaps the most important component of a brand’s identity. Graphic Communication students, who are the future of the industry, offered up their conclusions of these logos and the success of the design. With the incorporation of articles and opinions of those in the field, trends in the latest logos are found.

Reactive Oxygen Species And The Regulation Of Hyperproliferation In A Colonial Hydroid, Neil W. Blackstone, Katherine L. Harmata

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Colonies of Podocoryna carnea circulate gastrovascular fluid among polyps via tubelike stolons. At polyp-stolon junctions, mitochondrion-rich cells in part regulate this gastrovascular flow. During competition, colonies hyperproliferate nematocytes and stolons; nematocysts are discharged until one colony is killed. Hyperproliferation then ceases, and normal growth resumes. Here, competing colonies were treated with azide, which inhibits respiration and upregulates reactive oxygen species (ROS). After the cessation of competition, azide-treated colonies continued to hyperproliferate. In azide-treated competing colonies, however, mitochondrion-rich cells were found to produce similar amounts of ROS as those in untreated competing colonies. Subsequent experiments showed that both azide treatment and …

Fruit Of The Vine: Understanding The Need To Establish Wineries' Rights Under The Right To Farm Law, Katherine Pohl

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Determining The Roles Of Dendritic Cells And Icam-1 In The Transpresentation Of Il-15 To Cd8 T Cells, Spencer W. Stonier

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The maintenance and generation of memory CD8 T cells is dependent on the cytokine IL-15. IL-15 is delivered by a novel mechanism termed transpresentation: IL-15 is presented by a cell expressing IL-15Ralpha to the CD8 T cell which responds via IL-2Rbeta/gamma_c. The identity of what cells transpresent IL-15 to support the survival and homeostatic proliferation of memory CD8 T cells is unknown. Using a transgenic mouse model that limits IL-15 transpresentation to DCs, I have demonstrated that DCs transpresent IL-15 to CD8 T cells. DCs transpresent IL-15 to CD8 T cells during the contraction of an immune response …

The Role Of The Androgen Receptor Cofactor P44/Wdr77 In Astrocyte Activation, Bryce H. Vincent

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Astrogliosis is induced by neuronal damage and is also a pathological feature of the major aging-related neurodegenerative disorders. The mechanisms that control the cascade of astrogliosis have not been well established. In a previous study, we identified a novel androgen receptor (AR)-interacting protein (p44/WDR77) and found that it plays a critical role in the control of proliferation and differentiation of prostate epithelial cells. In the present study, we found that deletion of the p44 gene in the mouse brain caused accelerated aging with dramatic astrogliosis. The p44/WDR77 is expressed in astrocytes and loss of p44/WDR77 expression in astrocytes leads to …

The Role Of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts In Lung Tumorigenesis, Jonathon D. Roybal

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The extracellular milieu is rich in growth factors that drive tumor progression,but the mechanisms that govern tumor cell sensitivity to those ligands have notbeen fully defined. In this study, we address this question in mice that developmetastatic lung adenocarcinomas through the suppression of the microRNA-200 (miR-200) family. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) enhance tumorgrowth and invasion by secreting VEGF-A that binds to VEGFR1, a processrequired for tumor growth and metastasis in mice and correlated with a poorprognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients. In this study, we discovered thatmiR-200 blocked CAF-induced tumor cell invasion by directly targetingVEGFR1 in tumor cells. In the context of …

Echogenic Liposomes For Nitric Oxide Delivery And Breast Cancer Treatment, Soo Yeon Lee Female

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Liposomes, also known as nontoxic, biodegradable, and non-immunogenic therapeutic delivery vehicles, have been proposed as a carrier for drugs and antitumor agents in cancer chemotherapy. Echogenic liposomes (ELIP) have the potential to entrap air or bioactive gas to enhance acoustic reflectivity in ultrasound and are used as a contrast agent. The innovative part of this study is based on a novel concept to encapsulate nitric oxide (NO) gas into ELIP, deliver it to breast cancer cells, and control its release via direct ultrasound exposure. Studies on the effect of NO in tumor biology have shown that a high levels of …

The Mechanism Of Tumorigenesis In The Immortalized Human Pancreatic Cell Lines: Cell Culture Models Of Human Pancreatic Cancer, Zhe Chang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The mechanism of tumorigenesis in the immortalized human pancreatic cell lines: cell culture models of human pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most lethal cancer in the world. The most common genetic lesions identified in PDAC include activation of K-ras (90%) and Her2 (70%), loss of p16 (95%) and p14 (40%), inactivation p53 (50-75%) and Smad4 (55%). However, the role of these signature gene alterations in PDAC is still not well understood, especially, how these genetic lesions individually or in combination contribute mechanistically to human pancreatic oncogenesis is still elusive. Moreover, a cell culture transformation model with sequential …

Assessment Of Collimator Jaw Optimization In Reducing Normal Tissue Irradiation With Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Sarah Joy

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Purpose: To evaluate normal tissue dose reduction in step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) on the Varian 2100 platform by tracking the multileaf collimator (MLC) apertures with the accelerator jaws.

Methods: Clinical radiation treatment plans for 10 thoracic, 3 pediatric and 3 head and neck patients were converted to plans with the jaws tracking each segment’s MLC apertures. Each segment was then renormalized to account for the change in collimator scatter to obtain target coverage within 1% of that in the original plan. The new plans were compared to the original plans in a commercial radiation treatment planning system (TPS). Reduction …

Downregulation Of Pax2 Suppresses Ovarian Cancer Cell Growth, Huijuan Song

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

PAX2 is one of nine PAX genes regulating tissue development and cellular differentiation in embryos. PAX2 promotes cell proliferation, oncogenic transformation, cell-lineage specification, migration, and survival. Unattenuated PAX2 has been found in several cancer types. We therefore sought to elucidate the role of PAX2 in ovarian carcinomas. We found that PAX2 was expressed in low-grade serous, clear cell, endometrioid and mucinous cell ovarian carcinomas, which are relatively chemoresistant compared to high grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Four ovarian cancer cell lines, RMUGL (mucinous), TOV21G (clear cell), MDAH-2774 (endometrioid) and IGROV1 (endometrioid), which express high-levels of PAX2, were used to study the …

Stat3 Controls The Neutrophil Migratory Response To Cxcr2 And Its Ligand Mip-2 (Cxcl2), Hoainam Nguyen-Jackson

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Among the first white blood cells to respond to bacterial and fungal infections, neutrophils are produced in the bone marrow, released into circulating blood, and recruited to inflamed tissue. The cytokine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G��CSF) is used clinically to induce neutrophil mobilization from the marrow. This process was previously demonstrated to require the STAT3 transcription factor (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), the principal signaling molecule activated upon G-CSF-binding of its receptor, but the mechanism was unknown. The chemokines KC (Cxcl1) and MIP-2 (Cxcl2), and their shared receptor CXCR2 (l8rb), also stimulate neutrophil mobilization, in contrast to SDF-1 (Cxcl12), …

Upregulation Of Reactive Oxygen Species During The Retrovirus Life Cycle And Their Roles In A Mutant Of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus, Ts1-Mediated Neurodegeneration, Soo Jin Kim

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Viral invasion of the central nervous system (CNS) and development of neurological symptoms is a characteristic of many retroviruses. The mechanism by which retrovirus infection causes neurological dysfunction has yet to be fully elucidated. Given the complexity of the retrovirus-mediated neuropathogenesis, studies using small animal models are extremely valuable. Our laboratory has used a mutant moloney murine leukemia retrovirus, ts1-mediated neurodegneration. We hypothesize that astrocytes play an important role in ts1-induced neurodegeneration since they are retroviral reservoirs and supporting cells for neurons. It has been shown that ts1 is able to infect astrocytes in vivo and in …

Novel Mechanisms Of Antigen Processing That Enhance Bcg Vaccine Efficacy, Christopher R. Singh

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, is the most lethal single infectious agent afflicting man today causing 2 million deaths per year. The World Health Organization recommends a vaccine as the best option to prevent this disease. The current vaccine, BCG, has a variable efficacy and does not protect adults. It is known that BCG vaccine becomes sequestered in special phagosome compartments of macrophages that do not fuse with lysosomes. Since lysosome fusion is necessary for peptide production and T cell priming leading to protective T_H1 immunity, we hypothesized that vaccine efficacy is reduced and occurs perhaps …

Aberrations Of A Putative Tumor Suppressor Gene Sel1l In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Qian Liu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death among males and females in the United States. Sel-1-like (SEL1L) is a putative tumor suppressor gene that is downregulated in a significant proportion of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It was hypothesized that SEL1L expression could be down-modulated by somatic mutation, loss of heterozygosity (LOH), CpG island hypermethylation and/or aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs).

Material and methods: In 42 PDAC tumors, the SEL1L coding region was amplified using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and sequenced to search for mutations. Using fluorescent …

Prediction Of Dna Methylation Based On Genomic Architecture And Applications Of Positional Weight Matrices, Juan Gallegos

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Gene silencing due to epigenetic mechanisms shows evidence of significant contributions to cancer development. We hypothesis that the genetic architecture based on retrotransposon elements surrounding the transcription start site, plays an important role in the suppression and promotion of DNA methylation. In our investigation we found a high rate of SINE and LINEs retrotransposon elements near the transcription start site of unmethylated genes when compared to methylated genes. The presence of these elements were positively associated with promoter methylation, contrary to logical expectations, due to the malicious effects of retrotransposon elements which insert themselves randomly into the genome causing possible …

Mechanisms Of Adenovirus-Mediated Autophagy, Erin White

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

A patient diagnosed with a glioma, generally, has an average of 14 months year to live after implementation of conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Glioblastomas are highly lethal because of their aggressive nature and resistance to conventional therapies and apoptosis. Thus other avenues of cell death urgently need to be explored. Autophagy, which is also known as programmed cell death type II, has recently been identified as an alternative mechanism to kill apoptosis- resistant cancer cells. Traditionally, researchers have studied how cells undergo autophagy during viral infection as an immune response mechanism, but recently researchers have discovered …

Mechanisms Of Adenovirus-Mediated Autophagy, Erin White

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

A patient diagnosed with a glioma, generally, has an average of 14 months year to live after implementation of conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Glioblastomas are highly lethal because of their aggressive nature and resistance to conventional therapies and apoptosis. Thus other avenues of cell death urgently need to be explored. Autophagy, which is also known as programmed cell death type II, has recently been identified as an alternative mechanism to kill apoptosis- resistant cancer cells. Traditionally, researchers have studied how cells undergo autophagy during viral infection as an immune response mechanism, but recently researchers have discovered …

Social And Spatial Relationships Driving Landowner Attitudes Towards Aquatic Conservation, Samuel Chambers

All Theses

Because of a gap between the science and practice of conservation planning, it has been suggested that there is a need for better understanding of the social systems within which conservation projects are embedded. Given that more than half of the land in the United States is privately owned and that private land covers the majority of the mapped endangered species habitat, understanding attitudes of private landowners towards biodiversity conservation may help to bridge the science-practice gap. Aquatic biodiversity is particularly imperiled throughout the world; in the United States headwater streams and small, isolated wetlands receive little protection through regulations …