Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Service Sire On Late Embryonic And Fetal Loss In Sheep, Tammy L. Holler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Very few authors have studied the effect of the sire on the outcome of pregnancy in sheep beyond differentiation, development, spermatogenesis, fertilization and early embryo survival. A major limitation in direct selection for increased sire competence is that males need to be selected mainly on the performance of their female relatives and females do not express lambing traits until at least one or two years of age. This selection process can be accelerated by studying prenatal survival ability of individual ram's progeny.;The objective of the present study was to identify occurrence of late embryonic and fetal mortality in relation to …

Effects Of Fixed-Time Reinforcement Schedules On Resurgence Of Positively Reinforced Problem Behavior, Tonya M. Marsteller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Resurgence of problem behavior following the discontinuation of DRA interventions may be prevented by response-independent reinforcer delivery. In basic research, response-independent reinforcer delivery following DRA prevented resurgence of the initially reinforced response and maintained alternative responding. The present study evaluated if these results were generalizable humans by assessing if fixed-time (FT) reinforcer delivery following DRA would prevent resurgence of problem behavior and maintain appropriate behavior with 4 children with disabilities. For all participants, EXT following DRA produced resurgence of previously reinforced problem behavior and reduced appropriate requesting, but FT reinforcer delivery following DRA did not produce resurgence of problem behavior …

Weightism: Can Personality Characteristics Predict Prejudice In College Students?, John E. Damm

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bias toward individuals who are obese is one of the last bastions of permissible prejudice. The people who are obese report discrimination in a variety of settings; they experience it with families, employers, teachers, and health-care professionals. Research regarding obesity bias indicates that attribution of personal responsibility is correlated with negative attitudes toward individuals who are obese. Attribution of causality and resulting bias has been linked to specific personality characteristics, specifically the Big Five traits Agreeableness and Openness to Experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality characteristics and obesity bias. Students at a large …

The Alex Beard Studio, James F. Qualls

Arts Administration Master's Reports (1984-2016)

The following thesis report is an analysis of The Alex Beard Studio where I completed an internship from December of 2010 to March of 2011. The Alex Beard Studio LTD is the umbrella limited liability company which covers the artist Alex Beard’s brand, children’s books series, and the physical art gallery which is located in New Orleans’ French Quarter. During my internship, I worked closely with the artist Alex Beard and his studio manager Brandi-Lea Harris, as well as briefly working with his former gallery director Randy Jackson and his new gallery salesperson Ryan Miner. This thesis report analysis will …

On The Cranial Osteology Of Eremiascincus And Its Use For Identification., William B. Gelnaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A persistent problem for Australian paleontology has been a lack of diagnostic characters for identifying lizard fossils. Eremiascincus is one of the most widespread genera in Australia, so it was examined for distinguishing features and how it fits into a model of skink evolution. Skulls of Eremiascincus were examined within five separate contexts: 1) a description of the cranial osteology, 2) a qualitative comparison of individual cranial elements of Eremiascincus to closely related Ctenotus, 3) a description of the cranial allometry in Eremiascincus using linear morphometrics, 4) using cranial morphometrics of skinks to deduce their phylogeny, and 5) using …

The Occurrence Of An Abdominal Fauna In An Articulated Tapir (Tapirus Polkensis) Recovered From The Miocene Gray Fossil Site Northeast Tennessee., Shannon M. Mcconnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The analysis of samples recovered from the abdominal area of an articulated tapir from the Late Miocene (4.5-7 million bp) Gray Fossil Site, revealed a rich palyno-fauna comprised of about 94% egg/oocyst-like structures and 6% pollen and other palynomorphs. In addition, a tight grouping of six hickory nuts (Carya) was recovered from the same area suggesting that the samples represent the abdominal contents. The analysis of a sample from immediately outside the tapir produced a sample with 98% pollen and less than 0.5% egg-like structures. The size, shape, and general morphology of egg-like structures were analyzed with light …

Narrow Grass Hedge Control Of Nutrient Loads Following Variable Manure Applications, John E. Gilley, Lisa M. Durso, Roger Eigenberg, David B. Marx, Brian L. Woodbury

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of a narrow grass hedge in reducing runoff nutrient loads following manure application was examined in this study. Beef cattle manure was applied to 0.75 m wide by 4.0 m long plots established on an Aksarben silty clay loam located in southeast Nebraska. Manure was added at rates required to meet none or the 1, 2, or 4 year nitrogen requirements for corn. Runoff water quality was measured during three 30 min simulated rainfall events. Manure application rate significantly affected dissolved phosphorus (DP) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in runoff on the plots without a grass hedge. However, …

Phylogenetic Diversification Of The Globin Gene Superfamily In Chordates, Jay F. Storz, Juan C. Opazo, Federico G. Hoffmann

Jay F. Storz Publications

Phylogenetic reconstructions provide a means of inferring the branching relationships among members of multigene families that have diversified via successive rounds of gene duplication and divergence. Such reconstructions can illuminate the pathways by which particular expression patterns and protein functions evolved. For example, phylogenetic analyses can reveal cases in which similar expression patterns or functional properties evolved independently in different lineages, either through convergence, parallelism, or evolutionary reversals. The purpose of this article is to provide a robust phylogenetic framework for interpreting experimental data and for generating hypotheses about the functional evolution of globin proteins in chordate animals. To do …

Mitostatin Is Down-Regulated In Human Prostate Cancer And Suppresses The Invasive Phenotype Of Prostate Cancer Cells., Matteo Fassan, Domenico D'Arca, Juraj Letko, Andrea Vecchione, Marina P Gardiman, Peter Mccue, Bernadette Wildemore, Massimo Rugge, Dolores Shupp-Byrne, Leonard G Gomella, Andrea Morrione, Renato V Iozzo, Raffaele Baffa

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

MITOSTATIN, a novel putative tumor suppressor gene induced by decorin overexpression, is expressed in most normal human tissues but is markedly down-regulated in advanced stages of mammary and bladder carcinomas. Mitostatin negatively affects cell growth, induces cell death and regulates the expression and activation levels of Hsp27. In this study, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of Mitostatin in PC3, DU145, and LNCaP prostate cancer cells not only induced a significant reduction in cell growth, but also inhibited migration and invasion. Moreover, Mitostatin inhibited colony formation in soft-agar of PC3 and LNCaP cells as well as tumorigenicity of LNCaP cells in …

Vitamin A Status In Wheezing Saudi Children., Sherein A. Shalaby, Khaild M. Al-Harbi, Shereen A. El-Tarhouny

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To examine the serum retinol levels of wheezing children, and to investigate the relation as an biochemical indicator of vitamin A status in wheezing children between serum levels of retinol and severity of wheezing. METHODS: A prospective cohort study including 400 wheezing Saudi children aged 3-36 months, who were treated in the pediatrics ward of Ohoud Public Hospital in Al-Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between January 2009 and August 2010. Patients were subdivided according to the course of wheeze into 93 patients with persistent wheeze, and 307 patients with acute wheeze. Severity of wheeze was graded mild, moderate, and …

Effects Of Gypsy Moth Outbreaks On North American Woodpeckers, Walter D. Koenig, Eric L. Walters, Andrew M. Liebhold

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We examined the effects of the introduced gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) on seven species of North American woodpeckers by matching spatially explicit data on gypsy moth outbreaks with data on breeding and wintering populations. In general, we detected modest effects during outbreaks: during the breeding season one species, the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), increased over pre-outbreak levels, while during the winter one species, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), increased and one, the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), decreased from pre-outbreak levels. Responses following outbreaks were similarly variable, and in general we were unsuccessful …

The 3 Creeks Grazing Allotment: A Study Of Livestock Grazing Management Across Public And Privately Owned Land, Taylor M. Payne

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Livestock ranching is the most common use of public rangeland in the western United States (Gates, personal communication). The newly formed 3 Creeks Grazing Allotment which consists of 136,000 acres and has 29 permittees serves as an example of scientifically based public land management using grazing livestock as a management tool. It is believed that livestock grazing is the most underutilized tool in natural resource management (Hopkin, personal communication). The newly formed allotment will consolidate nine separate allotments into one management unit. This unit is holistically developed to sustain grazing livestock and rural economies while benefitting the range resources including …

Assessing Phosphorus-Transport From Biosolids Land Application Sites In Utah, Mohan K. Kumar

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Phosphorus Site Index (PSI) is a phosphorus transport assessment tool used to estimate the risk of P transport from soils. Various components, such as soil erosion, P fertilizer application rate, plant available P in soil, etc. that have an influence on P transport from a site, are weighted and given ratings, and a combination of these components are expressed as PSI. This study has considered two biosolids land application sites in Utah, which received biosolids amendments over time, to develop a specialized PSI for the state of Utah.

Phosphorus from land application of biosolids has been considered a potential risk …

Teaching Communication In The Chinese As A Foreign Language Classroom, Xia Wu

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a collection of the author’s teaching beliefs and approaches regarding Chinese as foreign language teaching, which she developed during her time in the Master of Second Language Teaching program. The centerpiece of the portfolio is the author’s personal teaching philosophy. It is followed by three artifacts. The language artifact analyzes one of the complexities encountered by learners in the Chinese as a foreign language classroom: the three particles 的 (de), 地 (de), 得 (de). The culture artifact illustrates the difference between American and Chinese language teachers. The literacy artifact talks about using literature circles in the CFL …

Do Fee-Access Hunting Programs Conserve Wildlife Habitat? A Case Study Of Utah's Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Program, Adam L. Perschon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Landscapes in the American West are undergoing dramatic changes as land-use patterns shift to accommodate the region’s explosive population growth. Trends toward low-density settlement patterns, or exurban development, compound the problem by consuming a disproportionately large amount of land compared to the population they support. The result is the rapid conversion of the West’s most highly productive agricultural and range lands, many of which provide benefits to biodiversity that surpass those found in permanently protected areas. Ruralists, ranchers, and conservationists alike are seeking ways to protect these ecologically important private lands from future development. One method purported to mitigate rural …

Ordinary Life, Barbara Bean

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

A Short Story by Barbara Bean published in the Georgia Review

Theory-Derived Approaches To Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms Of Dementia, Bethany Speece

Theses and Dissertations

As the world's population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that cause dementia is expected to increase. Although there is some awareness of the dangers of psychotropic drugs used to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, all too often these agents continue to be used as first-line treatment. Nurses need to be cognizant of safer, efficacious, holistic nonpharmacological approaches and utilize these in an individualized, systematic manner. Two mid-range nursing theories, the Need-Driven Dementia-Compromised Behavior model and the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold model, provide conceptual frameworks for nonpharmacological interventions. This paper examines these models and describes …

Intergroup Forgiveness In The Middle East: Cognitive And Affective Antecedents To Intergroup Forgiveness And The Relationship Between Intergroup Forgiveness And Psychological Well-Being Among Israeli Jews, Alon Rice

Dissertations

In the past three decades, there has been a burgeoning interest in the scientific study of interpersonal forgiveness. However, only a few studies have elucidated cognitive and affective variables related to intergroup forgiveness. Moreover, no study has examined the degree to which intergroup forgiveness may contribute to one’s psychological well-being, nor has any study thoroughly examined intergroup forgiveness in Israel. Current study results have shown a significant relationship between quality of intergroup contact between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs/Palestinians, and Israeli Jews’ forgiveness attitudes toward Palestinians, a relationship mediated by Israeli Jews’ trust, attitudes, and empathy toward Palestinians, as well …

A Comparison Of Social Stories With And Without A Reinforcement Component, Erin Cuneo Perry

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of Social Stories ^TM (Gray, 2004) used in isolation and when combined with a reinforcement component to increase appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate behaviors. Treatment effects for socially inappropriate behaviors and appropriate replacement behaviors were tracked. The setting of the current study was in a school district. The diagnoses of two of the participants included Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and the other two participants were diagnosed with Autistic Disorder. All participants read a social story to their teacher prior to the time at which the target …

A Methodology To Develop A Communication Protocol For Visualizing Simulations In A Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment, Lacey Suzanne Duckworth

Dissertations

In the technology field, simulations and collaborative virtual reality environments (CVREs) are not generally combined because it is complicated to develop large scale simulations within CVREs. The complexity of combining these two technologies in order to form a better form of visualization stems from the lack of a methodology to help derive these scalable simulations. Simulations require very complex calculations that the CVRE cannot perform as it is overloaded in calculations for the maintenance and stability of the environment itself. Since the simulation cannot be held within the CVRE, the solution is to move the simulation external to the CVRE …

Contamination Running Deep: Oral Histories Of Environmental Racism, Injustice, And Outrage Of One Family In A Southern African-American Community, Deborah M. Dean

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into oral histories of five members of my family that are residents of a southern African American community, Hyde Park located in Augusta, Georgia. These members of my family, Eunice Jordan, Sharon Wells, Ernest Jordan, DeWanna Jordan, and Darius Jordan, have endured the environmental contamination and social injustices. These family members are children and grandchildren of Willie and Lillian Wells who moved to Hyde Park in 1950 with the intention of living the "American Dream" and creating a legacy for future generations that began with owning their land and home. Since then the family has learned …

Characterization Of Potential Health Promoting Lipids In The Co-Products Of De-Flossed Milkweed, Vicki Schlegel, Richard Zbasnik, Tammy Gries, Bo Hyun Lee, Timothy Carr, Ji-Young Lee, Curtis Weller, Susan Cuppett

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The floss and oil of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) seeds are currently used to produce comforters/pillows and skin care products, respectively. As an outcome of these products, copious quantities co-products (pressed seed meal and pod biomass) are disposed of each year despite the presence of potential health benefiting lipids. The objective of this project was to determine the feasibility of developing the lipid fraction from of these co-products for the fast growing dietary human health market. Although certain types of lipids were affected by the extraction solvent used (hexane and diethyl ether) as were overall amounts, analysis …

Abstracts 2011: Highlights Of Student Research And Creative Endeavors, Columbus State University

Abstracts: Highlights of Student Research and Creative Endeavors

No abstract provided.

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

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Prototyping Video Games With Animation, Richard Christopher Davis

Research Collection School of Computing and Information Systems

This paper outlines a proposed design for PlaySketch, a new video game storyboarding system. PlaySketch borrows ideas from the K-Sketch animation sketching system, which allows short animations to be created in minutes or seconds. We build on K-Sketch in four ways. key frame animation capabilities, a branching timeline view, microphone and web-cam support, and hooks to connect to online game design documents.

United States Food Law Update: The Fda Food Safety Modernization Act, Obesity And Deceptive Labeling Enforcement, A. Bryan Endres, Nicholas R. Johnson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The long-awaited enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most significant amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in several decades, provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with significantly enhanced jurisdiction to close some of the gaps in the domestic food safety system. The enhanced FDA authority, however, will have little impact on the shared governance system at the federal level that involves multiple agencies, as the Act does not address the U.S. General Accounting Office's (GAO) repeated calls for consolidation of the fragmented federal food safety system. Rather, the Act perpetuates the division …

The Integral Role Of Organizational Characteristics And Their Impact On Lean Implementation Success, John J. Cooper

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The increasingly competitive nature of the manufacturing industry has forced manufacturers to examine alternatives to traditional management philosophies. Although lean's success had been proven it was not uncommon for companies that opt to implement lean concepts to meet with mixed results and sometimes even outright failure. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between organizational characteristics and issues associated with lean implementation. The study identified the following organizational characteristics (a) organizational leadership, (b) organizational culture, and (c) organizational change and examined the role each played in lean implementation efforts. The study also looked at sixteen individual …

Cocaine Dependence: The Role Of Serotonin Genes In, Lorena Maili

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Animal studies have shown that behavioral responses to cocaine-related cues are altered by serotonergic medications. The effects of pharmacological agents on serotonin receptors 2a (5-HT2A) and 2c (5-HT2C), have yielded results suggesting that selective 5-HT2A antagonists and 5-HT2C agonists promote the disruption of cocaine-associated memories. One measure of cocaine related cues in humans is attentional bias, in which cocaine dependent individuals show greater response latency for cocaine related words than neutral words. Data from our laboratory shows that cocaine dependent subjects have altered attentional bias compared to controls. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the role of the …

Defining The Role Of Egfr Acetylation In Cellular Processes: Clinical Implications, Hui Song

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a cell membrane tyrosine kinase receptor and plays a pivotal role in regulating cell growth, differentiation, cell cycle, and tumorigenesis.  Deregulation of EGFR causes many diseases including cancers.  Intensive investigation of EGFR alteration in human cancers has led to profound progress in developing drugs to target EGFR-mediated cancers.  While exploring possible synergistic enhancement of therapeutic efficacy by combining EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) with other anti-cancer agents, we observed that suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA, a deacetylase inhibitor) enhanced TKI-induced cancer cell death, which further led us to question whether SAHA-mediated sensitization to TKI was …

Cop 9 Signalosome Subunit 6 Stabilizes Cop1, A Novel E3 Ubiquitin Ligase For 14-3-3Σ, Hyun Ho Choi

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

14-3-3σ, a gene upregulated by p53 in response to DNA damage, exists as part of a positive-feedback loop which activates p53 and is a human cancer epithelial marker downregulated in various cancer types. 14-3-3σ levels are critical for maintaining p53 activity in response to DNA damage and regulating signal mediator such as Akt. Here, we identify Mammalian Constitutive Photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) as a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase for targeting 14-3-3σ through proteasome degradation. We show for the first time that COP9 signalosome subunit 6 (CSN6) associates with COP1 and is involved in 14-3-3σ ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Mechanistic studies show that CSN6 …