Digital Commons Network^™

Recent Rates Of Forest Harvest And Conversion In North America, Jeffrey G. Masek, Warren B. Cohen, Donald Leckie, Michael A. Wulder, Rodrigo Vargas, Ben De Jong, S. P. Healey, Beverly Law, Richard Birdsey, R. A. Houghton, David J. Mildrexler, Samuel Goward, W. Brad Smith

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group Publications

Incorporating ecological disturbance into biogeochemical models is critical for estimating current and future carbon stocks and fluxes. In particular, anthropogenic disturbances, such as forest conversion and wood harvest, strongly affect forest carbon dynamics within North America. This paper summarizes recent (2000–2008) rates of extraction, including both conversion and harvest, derived from national forest inventories for North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico). During the 2000s, 6.1 million ha/yr were affected by harvest, another 1.0 million ha/yr were converted to other land uses through gross deforestation, and 0.4 million ha/yr were degraded. Thus about 1.0% of North America's forests experienced …

Maternal Separation Affects Dopamine Transporter Function In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat: An In Vivo Electrochemical Study, Jacqueline S. Womersley, Jennifer H. Hsieh, Lauriston A. Kellaway, Greg A. Gerhardt, Vivienne A. Russell

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is a well-characterised model of this disorder and has been shown to exhibit dopamine dysregulation, one of the hypothesised causes of ADHD. Since stress experienced in the early stages of life can have long-lasting effects on behaviour, it was considered that early life stress may alter development of the dopaminergic system and thereby contribute to the behavioural characteristics of SHR. It was hypothesized that maternal separation would alter dopamine regulation by the transporter (DAT) in ways that distinguish SHR …

Pluralism And Property, Gregory S. Alexander

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Welfarism is no longer the only game in the town of property theory. In the last several years a number of property scholars have begun developing various versions of a general vision of property and ownership that, although consistent with welfarism in some respects, purports to provide an alternative to the still-dominant welfarist account. This alternative proceeds under different labels, including “virtue theory” and “progressive,” but for convenience purposes let us call them collectively “social obligation” theories. For what they have in common is a desire to correct the common but mistaken notion that ownership is solely about rights. These …

Children’S Independent Mobility : And The Mobile Phone: 8 To 12 Year Olds, Catherine Underwood

Program monitoring and evaluation

Children who know how to use a mobile phone, as opposed to those who don’t, are more likely to move about their neighbourhood without adult supervision, research from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests. The study, by ACER Research Fellow Ms Catherine Underwood, examined the extent to which knowing how to use a mobile phone is correlated with children’s physical activity and ability to move through their neighbourhood without adult supervision, also known as independent mobility. More than 800 Victorian primary school children aged between 8 and 12 years participated in the research, of which 84 per cent …

Novel Amino Acid Transporter-Targeted Radiotracers For Breast Cancer Imaging, Fanlin Kong

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in the world. Its 5-year survival rate ranges from 23.4% in patients with stage IV to 98% in stage I disease, highlighting the importance of early detection and diagnosis. ¹⁸F-2-Fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (¹⁸F-FDG), using positron emission tomography (PET), is the most common functional imaging tool for breast cancer diagnosis currently. Unfortunately, ¹⁸F-FDG-PET has several limitations such as poorly differentiating tumor tissues from inflammatory and normal brain tissues. Therefore, ¹⁸F-labeled amino acid-based radiotracers have been reported as an alternative, which is based on the fact that tumor cells uptake …

Evaluation Of Deformable Image Registration For Improved 4d Ct-Derived Ventilation For Image Guided Radiotherapy, Richard Castillo

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Recent treatment planning studies have demonstrated the use of physiologic images in radiation therapy treatment planning to identify regions for functional avoidance. This image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) strategy may reduce the injury and/or functional loss following thoracic radiotherapy. 4D computed tomography (CT), developed for radiotherapy treatment planning, is a relatively new imaging technique that allows the acquisition of a time-varying sequence of 3D CT images of the patient's lungs through the respiratory cycle. Guerrero et al. developed a method to calculate ventilation imaging from 4D CT, which is potentially better suited and more broadly available for IGRT than the current standard …

Purinergic Signaling Regulates Filopodia-Induced Zippering, Jessica Lynn Bowser

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The molecular mechanisms that mediate endometrial cancer invasion and metastasis remain poorly understood. This is a significant clinical problem, as there is no definitive cure for metastatic disease. The purinergic pathway’s generation of adenosine and its activation of the adenosine receptor A2B (A2BR) induces cell-cell adhesion to promote barrier function. This barrier function is known to be important in maintaining homeostasis during hypoxia, trauma, and sepsis. Loss of this epithelial barrier function provides a considerable advantage for carcinoma progression, as loss of cell-cell adhesions supports proliferation, aberrant signaling, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and metastasis. The present work provides strong evidence that …

Entry-Level Student Affairs Administrators' Attitudes Toward Mental Illness In College Students., Jennifer A. Schum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Calls for universities to better serve college students with mental illness have been growing. While a considerable literature base supports Corrigan's (2004) Social Cognitive Model of Mental Illness Stigma and the complex relationship among stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, limited research has been conducted examining university administrators on attitudes toward and knowledge of mental illness in college students. Participants of the current study were 206 entry-level student affairs professionals who completed an online, modified version of Becker, Martin, Wajeeh, Ward, and Shern's (2002) Mental Illness Awareness Survey. Simultaneous regression was used to determine the significance of seven demographic variables (gender, age, …

Efficacy Of Child Parent Relationship Therapy For Caregivers Of Children With Attachment Problems., Margaret Sergeant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined the effectiveness of Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), a lO-week group model of Filial Therapy (FT), with caregivers of children with attachment problems. CPRT is an evidence-based treatment which is designed to strengthen relationship between caregiver and child. Research suggests that improvements in the relationship lead to changes in behavior and emotional regulation. Therapists treating children with attachment problems at Seven Counties Services, Inc. were concerned about the lack of interventions for children with attachment problems. This study used a randomized pre-test, post-test waitlist control group design to evaluate the effectiveness of CPRT for caregivers of children …

The Impact Of Ambrosia Trifida (Giant Ragweed) On Native Prairie Species In An Early Prairie Restoration Project, Krisztian Megyeri

Senior Honors Theses

As the ecological importance of prairies is becoming more recognized, the number of prairie restoration projects is increasing worldwide. One of the major challenges in restoring any disturbed ecosystem is the successful establishment of native species at the expensive of invasive species. While some weedy species are gradually replaced as other, more desired, species become established, there are invasive species that, due to their level of dominance, may out-compete native species indefinitely. The objectives of this study were 1) to quantify the impact of Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed) on the plant community of a newsly established prairie, 2) to assess …

Cultural Orientation And Drinking Behaviors Among Chinese University Students, Shiyuan Wang

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study aimed to develop a cultural orientation instrument among Chinese university students and to investigate the relationship between cultural orientation and their drinking behaviors. Four research questions were raised regarding these two objectives. A sample of 1421 students from universities in Beijing, Kunming and Wuhan participated in this study. The final instrument included 67 items consisting of 10 factors that loaded on two second-order factors: Chinese and Western culture. Thus, four categories of cultural orientation (Traditional, Western, Bicultural and Marginal) emerged, confirming the applicability of Berry’s acculturation theory in cultural orientation. The result also indicated that traditional oriented group …

Validation Of Chinese Women’S Alcohol Expectancy Instrument, Yue Qiu Yu

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present study was designed to develop and validate the Chinese Women’s Alcohol Expectancy scale; and to examine gender differences in alcohol expectancy. 134 interviewees from Canton, Kaiping and Hong Kong participated in study 1. 1,550 students from thirteen universities in three provinces, Beijing, Yunnan and Wuhan, China, completed the women’s alcohol expectancy questionnaire in study 2. The findings in study 1 revealed six prominent categories that inform women’s alcohol expectancy. Findings in study 2 provided 7-subscales (α > 0.7) for the instrument’s reliability and validity. Additionally, there were significant differences in alcohol expectancy by genders. Implications related to expectancy theory …

Examining The Effect Of Medical Risk, Parental Stress, And Self-Efficacy On Parent Behaviors And The Home Environment Of Premature Children, Kathryn Woods

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between medical risk and parenting stress and the extent to which parental self-efficacy moderates the relationship between medical risk, parenting stress, specific parenting behaviors (i.e., parental responsivity, acceptance of child, parental involvement) and the home environment (i.e., organization of environment, learning materials, variety in experience, and IT-HOME total score) of premature children. Participants included 72 parent-child dyads with premature children between the ages of 7 and 35 months corrected age. Measures included parent reports of medical risk, stress, self-efficacy, and the IT-HOME. Results show that medical risk was not significantly …

World Food Crisis: Imperfect Markets Starving Development, A Decomposition Of Recent Food Price Increases, Christine Costello

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The recent decade has experienced two rather substantial food price spikes. This thesis sets out to provide an in-depth look at the recent food price increases by achieving two goals: assessing the forces driving food prices, and determining the magnitude of those forces. These goals are reached by reviewing selected rhetoric on the recent food price increases, analyzing case studies, and lastly determining our modeling capabilities in decomposing food price changes. Additionally, this thesis will serve as a tool for stakeholder's to better address critical policy issues surrounding food, agriculture, and energy policies.

Adviser: Hendrik Van Den Berg

Characterization Of The Tolerance Response In The Soybean Ks4202 To Aphis Glycines Matsumura, Travis J. Prochaska

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Since the introduction of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, to the soybean growing regions of the United States, the soybean aphid has caused considerable economic damage and yield loss to soybean growers. The objectives of this research were to evaluate selected genotypes for resistance to the soybean aphid and characterize transcriptional changes in response to aphid feeding to better understand the underlying tolerant mechanism(s) in KS4202 and genes contributing to its tolerance response. A field study (2009) was conducted to evaluate selected soybean genotypes during their reproductive stages for resistance to A. glycines. The economic injury level (EIL) …

Adaptation And Validation Of Food Product Specific Analytical Methods For Monitoring Prebiotics Present In Different Types Of Processed Food Matrices, Rebbeca M. Duar

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prebiotic carbohydrates are now added to a variety of processed foods to beneficially affect the gut microbial composition and activities. However, published data remain limited on the stability of prebiotics during food processes, such as baking, extrusion, pasteurization, high temperature heating, low pH condition, etc. As the complexity of the food matrix may also affect the ability to test for prebiotics, product specific analytical methods, including UV-vis spectroscopy, GC and HPLC, were developed and validated to monitor the stability of FOS, inulin and GOS in different types of processed food (breakfast cereal, cookie, muffin, sports drink and a nutritional bar). …

Studying The Handling Of Heat Stressed Cattle Using The Additive Bi-Logistic Model To Fit Body Temperature, Fan Yang

Department of Statistics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Daily activities consume the energy of heifers, subsequently causing an elevation of body temperature, depending on the ambient conditions. A better understanding of the dynamics of body temperature (Tb) would be helpful when deciding how to process and handle heifers. It would also lead to specific recommendations on moving heifers under different ambient conditions, especially during the summer. In this study, a bi-logistic mixed model is used to describe the dynamics of Tb during the moving event. Data were taken from heifers in pens located at different distances from the heifer work station on four separate summer days under hot …

Federalizing Medicaid, Nicole Huberfeld

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article is one of only a small number of proposals over the past forty-six years for federalizing Medicaid. None of these proposals has grappled directly with the reasons that Medicaid does not satisfy federalism goals, and thus a key reason for modernizing Medicaid’s structure has been ignored. Despite being an area of “traditional state concern,” healthcare should no longer be left to the economic and political whims of the states, as Medicaid is not an effective Brandeisian “laboratory of the states.” Admittedly, some would oppose centralization on the ideological grounds that more federal government power is bad, and more …

Military Sexual Trauma Exposure And Heart Rate Variability Outcomes In Female Veterans, Elizabeth Ann Davis Lee

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Area of Investigation and Hypothesis: Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) has been used as a predictor of cardiac and all-cause mortality. Studies have documented decreased HRV in a variety of conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, age, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus (DM), and tobacco use but improvement with beta blocker (BB) treatment. No prior study evaluated the relationship between military sexual trauma (MST) exposure and HRV outcomes. The hypothesis of this study was that female veterans exposed to MST would have lower time domain HRV measures than a reference cohort reporting non-exposure. Methods and Procedures: Electronic medical …

Fundamental Rights In Latin America A Comparative Study Addressing Human Rights Violations In Venezuela, Colombia, And Argentina, Maria Eugenia Rios

HIM 1990-2015

Over the last few decades the importance of human rights has increased considerably in international relations. With globalization and democratization, more states and individuals develop concerns about the fundamental rights every human is entitled to; regardless of sex, religion and ethnicity. Latin American countries began obtaining their independence over 200 years ago while progressing into becoming working democracies. Yet, they have been plagued by oscillating authoritarian regimes and social conflicts that constrain and inhibit their hopeful development. The majority of the Latin American states have reached a point where further positive growth was expected; yet human violations have taken a …

Parental Accountability For Children In Florida Examining The Oxymoron Of Parental Liability, Marco Specoli

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis examines the concept of parental liability and the effect it has in deterring juvenile delinquency, with an emphasis on Florida Law. It will also consider the concept's ability to properly compensate victims of juvenile offenses. The thesis focuses on the circumstances in which a parent or guardian may be liable for the actions of a child and how liability insurance law plays a key role in compensating innocent victims. It discusses Florida's public policy of seeking justice by holding parents responsible and the problems that it faces by doing so. The thesis further examines what issues arise when …

An Exploration Of Chronic Pain Experience, Coping And The Neo Five Factors In High Functioning Adults, Juliana Stalter

HIM 1990-2015

Chronic pain affects nearly 48 million Americans (Haggard, Stowell, Bernstein, & Gatchel, 2008). Established guidelines for pain management encourage the use of personality assessment in chronic pain evaluation (Karlin, Creech, Grimes, Clark, Meagher, & Morey, 2005). In relation to the Big Five personality factors, low Openness relates negatively to treatment success, (Hopwood, Creech, Clark, Meagher, & Morey, 2008), and elevated Neuroticism scores also correlate with increased pain levels among individuals in hospital or rehab settings (Ashgari & Nicholas, 2006; Nitch & Boon, 2004). In contrast to these prior studies, this study identifies correlates in a relatively high-functioning population (college students) …

An Examination Of The Fraudulent Factors Associated With Corporate Fraud, Ronald Zmuda

HIM 1990-2015

Between the years 1998 and 2002, the United States suffered a time in which several large companies engaged in fraudulent behavior which eroded investor confidence in the stock market and to some extent destabilized the economy. Audits, which were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of a company's financial statements, were not detecting the material misstatements in the statements. As a result, both the US Government and the accounting profession needed to come up with a way to prevent these immense frauds from occurring in the future. As a response to these large frauds, in 2002, the US Government …

Spatial Ability And Experts Of Needlework Crafts An Exploratory Study, Shannon Kyle Tedder Bailey

HIM 1990-2015

In the Surface Development Test, self-perceived Sewing Expertise was significant in predicting participants' test scores. For the Paper Folding Test, Knitting and Crocheting Expertise were significant, suggesting expertise may mitigate age effects.; Spatial ability has been a topic of much research and debate over the past few decades. Yet, there are gaps in the current literature. Spatial ability refers to the aptitude of an individual to mentally rotate objects, visualize spaces, and recognize patterns (Linn & Petersen, 1985). A highly spatial task that is not addressed in research literature is crafting. Crafting may refer to knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other …

State Income Tax A Double-Edged Sword, Karla Burgos

HIM 1990-2015

States are facing tough economic times as a result of the housing market bubble exploding. States have been declaring budget deficits and major program cuts, since revenues have not kept up with expenditures and rainy day funds have been practically exhausted. State tax revenues have decreased, resulting from a decline in income tax revenues, one of the major sources of revenues for a large number of states (41 in total). A majority of these states have come to depend heavily on the revenue they collect from income taxes, which can represent as much as 40% of state tax revenue. This …

An Examination Of Supplemental Educational Services Expectations And Realities In A Large Public School District, Kristin Blair

HIM 1990-2015

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This sweeping legislation brought reform to every area of public education by establishing seven performance-based provisions. Supplemental Educational Services is a core aspect of NCLB, designed to meet two of the seven goals: improving academic performance of disadvantaged students and promoting innovative programs. SES tutoring is provided free of charge to parents for students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and that attend a Title I school that has not made Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, for three or more years. The …

Yoga As A Treatment For Low Back Pain A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Alison Diaz

HIM 1990-2015

Background: Low back pain is very common and has a tremendous economic impact. With the prevalence and incidence of low back pain on the rise, individuals are turning to alternative treatments. Yoga is the most widely used complementary and alternative medicine treatment for low back pain and it is not fully certain how effective this method is for resolving the symptoms. Objectives: The purpose of this manuscript is to systematically review the current literature for randomized controlled trials that assess the outcomes of yoga intervention in individuals with low back pain. Methods: An electronic database search was performed to analyze …

Political Participation And E-Petitioning An Analysis Of The Policy-Making Impact Of The Scottish Parliament's E-Petition System, Ross D. Cotton

HIM 1990-2015

Worldwide, representative democracies have been experiencing declining levels of voter turnout, lower membership levels in political parties, and apathy towards their respective political systems and their ability to influence the political process. E-democracy, and specifically E-petitioning, have been touted as a possible solution to this problem by scholars of electoral systems. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament reconvened for the first time in nearly three hundred years, and quickly set out to change the way politics were handled in Scotland by launching the world's first online E-petition system. Analyzing the Scottish Parliament's E-petition system, and assessing the extent to which it …

Human Resources: A Key Aspect In Company Innovation, Kristin Hall

HIM 1990-2015

Innovation is a key factor for companies. It is also essential on an individual scale for employees. To ensure they are utilizing employees to the utmost efficiency, companies must implement practices to ensure the attraction and retention of top employees. Human resource practices can help to define and explain essential techniques to help employees gain satisfaction from their work, creating intrinsic motivation, and allowing them to ultimately perform more efficiently and perhaps even creatively for the company, helping to generate significant profits. The intent of this thesis is to analyze human resource practices on an empirical study of eight companies …

Exploring The Relationship Between Music Participation On Math Scores And High School Retention, Marin Halperin

HIM 1990-2015

If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music.--Albert Einstein In the spirit of recent legislation, educational leaders are in search of ways to ensure a quality education for all students in America, vowing to leave no child behind. Unfortunately, most of the rhetoric surrounding quality in education fails to acknowledge the impact of the arts in standards-based reform initiatives. In fact, some school districts have discussed cutting the …