Digital Commons Network^™

Infectious Disease And The Worldwide Distribution Of Iq, Christopher Guiles Eppig

Biology ETDs

We show that infectious disease is a major contributor to the worldwide distribution of human cognitive ability, as measured by psychometric IQ. In areas where infectious disease is high, average human intelligence tends to be lower, and in areas where infectious disease is low, average human intelligence tends to be higher. In separate studies, we tested this across world nations (chapter 2) and across states of the USA (chapter 3). In efforts to disseminate our research to wider audiences, I reviewed the findings contained in chapters 2 and 3 using language that is accessible to non-biologists (chapter 4). Although it …

The Mayan People And Sandy (Shelton) Davis: Memories Of An Engaged Anthropologist, J.P. Linstroth

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

The purpose of this essay is to highlight the activism of Shelton Davis and his involvement with the Mayan people during the 1980s. Of particular importance is the portrayal of an immigration hearing of nine Kanjobal Maya defendants in 1983 and the circumstances surrounding the problems of immigration in the state of Florida at that time. The article also explores how Shelton Davis helped save a village of Kaqchikel Maya in the Department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Of importance is how to represent varying narratives from three close colleagues of Shelton Davis to an overall conceptualization of the epistemology of narrative …

Developing A Strawberry Yogurt Fortified With Marine Fish Oil 1, J. D. Estrada, C. Boeneke, P. Bechtel, S. Sathivel

Faculty Publications

Fortified dairy products appeal to a wide variety of consumers and have the potential to increase sales in the yogurt industry and help increase intake of long-chain n-3 fatty acids. The objectives of this study were to develop a strawberry yogurt containing microencapsulated salmon oil (MSO; 2% wt/vol) and evaluate its characteristics during 1 mo of storage. Unpurified salmon oil (USO) was purified (PSO) and both USO and PSO were analyzed for peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), total oxidation, free fatty acids (FFA), and moisture content. A stable emulsion was prepared with 7% PSO, 22% gum arabic, 11% maltodextrin, …

Student Academic Success As Related To Student Age And Gender, Margaret Jennifer Voyles

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the possible relationship between student age and student gender on academic achievement on a state mandated assessment for a cohort of North Georgia elementary school students in their first, second, and third grade years. Study results indicated that student age had a statistically significant impact on academic achievement for students in their first and third grade years on the mathematics portion of the assessment. Older students within the cohort scored at higher academic levels of achievement on the mathematics assessment than did younger students. Student age did not have an impact on scores for the reading portion …

How Sweet It Is!, Winston J. Craig

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Rubrics In Use As An Assessment Tool For Elementary Physical Education, Megan Marie Brown

All Graduate Projects

There are many health related benefits of participating in regular physical activity. A well-designed elementary physical education program will promote lifetime physical activity that may reduce the risk of disease. In implementing a quality curriculum for physical education, educators need to take in to account the standards when deciding the direction for their curriculum (NASPE, 2005). According to the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2008), physical education includes curriculum, instruction and assessment all implemented together. This project addresses the need for meaningful and convenient assessment tools.

Education And Partnering With Coaching Staff And Medical Providers Regarding The Use Of Performance Enhancing Substances In The Adolescent Athletes, Tamala M. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Feasibility Study And Best Practices For A Campus Community Garden On The University Of Arkansas Campus, Samantha Jones

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although community gardening on college campuses is not a new concept, campus community gardens have recently grown in popularity. Campus community gardens, however, have not been extensively researched. In order to better understand campus community gardens and to determine the feasibility of a campus community garden at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (UAF), this study was conducted in three components. An online survey of 88 campus community gardens in the United States and Canada served as the first national survey of universities and colleges with campus community gardens. The survey included demographic information, management, funding, liabilities, risks, obstacles and …

Chemotherapy Induced Mucositis: A Novel Porcine Model, Jamee Covington Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Chemotherapy-induce mucositis (CIM) is a dose-limiting side effect of cancer therapy with concurrent nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and decreased food consumption. Of the pediatric population approximately 40% of patients receiving standard dose and 100% of patients receiving high dose chemotherapy are afflicted. Although scientific advancements have improved pediatric cancer survival rates, occurrence of mucositis decreases quality of life, increases treatment interruptions or even delays therapy, and often reduces the dose. Currently, there are no relevant animal models studying the entire gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Based on these findings, we decided to develop a novel porcine model for CIM. Examination of the …

Protecting Human Rights: An Examination Of Judicial Independence And Treaty Compliance, Maegan Kay Traynom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

States agree to many human rights protections through treaty ratification. Often, however, states do not comply with the treaties they have ratified and human rights are abused. This study focuses on the role of the judiciary in holding the state accountable to their obligations under human rights treaties. Specifically, examining whether having an independent judiciary positively correlates with being compliant with human rights treaties. This is done through an exploratory case study of Brazil, which examines both its general court system and its military court system. While the general court system is very indepedent, the military court system is not. …

Transcript From Faculty Senate Meeting December 1, 2011, Frank Bove

The University of Akron Faculty Senate Chronicle

No abstract provided.

Sexuality Education, Eva Goldfarb, Norman A. Constantine

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Sexuality education comprises the lifelong intentional processes by which people learn about themselves and others as sexual, gendered beings from biological, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives. It takes place through a potentially wide range of programs and activities in schools, community settings, religious centers, as well as informally within families, among peers, and through electronic and other media. Sexuality education for adolescents occurs in the context of the biological, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental progressions and issues of adolescence. Formal sexuality education falls into two main categories: behavior change approaches, which are represented by abstinence-only and abstinence-plus models, and healthy sexual development …

A Multiple Case Study Of Principals' Instructional Leadership In "Level 5" Schools Of Excellence For Improvement, Janice V. Mccoy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After 28 years of federal and state policy development, regional and local initiatives and various budgetary appropriations, the status of American schools continues to decline. Lyne (2001) reported that Finland, Japan and Korea had the world's highest literacy in reading, math, and science, while the United States ranked 15 in reading literacy, 19 in mathematical literacy, and 14 in scientific literacy. Many factors may contribute to the decline in America's schools. However, with the prevailing economic decline in the United States schools continue to struggle with student achievement, especially students with who are low socio-economic. In addition, to meeting the …

The Food Waste Management System In A Southeastern Hospital, Amal Habadi

All Theses

Effective waste management has always posed a challenge to those in food service operations. This study investigated the amount of food waste from Bon Secours St. Francis Health System foodservice operations using the Trim Trax¨ program. Trim Trax¨ is a food waste management program in which employees measure the volume of waste produced in pre-production and post-production areas. The objectives of this study were to collect the amount of waste produced during meal preparations and compare it with three weeks of retrospective data kept by employees in the salad/baking pre-production area, the cooking/grilling pre-production area and post-production area. Results showed …

Vascular Consequences Of Metabolic Syndrome Related Shifts In Cyclooxygenase Mediated Arachidonic Acid Metabolism, Adam G. Goodwill

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The metabolic syndrome is a multi-faceted disease state in which the initial pathology of obesity leads to the development of a cadre of comorbidities including, but not limited to, atherogenic dyslipidemia, a prothrombotic state, a proinflammatory state, a pro-oxidant state, hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of obesity is drastically increasing both nationally and globally, indicating that understanding obesity related disease is more relevant now then ever before. The metabolic syndrome has been demonstrated to result in numerous deleterious consequences for afflicted individuals, not the least of which is peripheral vascular disease. While the study of peripheral vascular …

Community Leadership Motivation: Factors That Influence Individuals Holding Leadership Roles In West Virginia Communities, Kelly Nix

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Community organizations play a vital role in a community's quality of life. Many organizations must count on volunteers to provide core services (Clary, Snyder & Ridge, 1992). Over the years, the volunteer rate has declined in West Virginia (Volunteering in America, 2010). The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence individuals holding volunteer leadership roles in communities. The population for the study was 577 members of the West Virginia Regional Planning and Development Council and the West Virginia Economic Development Council. The participants received a mailed survey that included 89 questions. Seventy of the 89 questions …

The Effect Of Physical Activity On The Insulin Response To Frequent Meals, Michael E. Holmstrup

Exercise Science - Dissertations

Long, uninterrupted bouts of sedentary behavior are thought to negatively influence insulin sensitivity, and may impact metabolic function regardless of adherence to general physical activity guidelines. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined effect of physical activity (1 h continuous exercise v. intermittent exercise throughout the day) and meal consumption on glucose excursions, insulin secretion, and appetite markers in obese individuals with prediabetes. Methods: Eleven healthy, obese subjects (>30 kg/m2) with prediabetes underwent 3, 12 h study days including sedentary behavior (SED), exercise (EX; 1h morning exercise, 60-65% VO2 max), and physical activity (PA; 12 hourly, …

Supplementing Distillers' Grains In Extensive Beef Cattle Systems, Kelsey Rolfe

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A 3-yr study evaluated effects of supplementing modified wet distillers grains with solubles during summer grazing and subsequent feedlot sorting on long yearling steers. During summer grazing, supplemented steers had greater ADG and were more profitable than non-supplemented steers. At feedlot entry, supplemented steers were 48 kg heavier than non-supplemented steers. Feed efficiency and DMI were not different between supplementation treatments during finishing. Supplemented steers were fed 24 fewer days to reach a similar 12^th rib fat thickness, had greater LM area, and lower marbling compared to non-supplemented steers. Overall profitability favored supplementing steers because less expensive summer gains …

Nutrient Management In Beef Feedlots And Forage Replacement With Byproduct And Crop Residues, Annie J. Doerr

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Finishing cattle performance and mass balance was evaluated with Micro-Aid was fed in diets containing wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) at 35% (DM basis). Micro-Aid is a feed ingredient derived from a Yucca extract which contains saponins, and was included in the treatment diet at 1 g/hd daily in the supplement. There was no difference in performance and carcass characteristics between treatments. In the winter experiment, cattle fed Micro-Aid had a greater amount of OM and DM removed from the pen surface. Micro-Aid in the diet increased the amount of manure N and decreased N lossis in the winter. …

Evaluation Of Condensed Distillers’ Solubles And Field Peas For Feedlot Cattle, Anna C. Pesta

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Limited previous research has investigated feeding high levels of condensed distillers solubles (CDS) as an energy source for feedlot cattle. As an energy dense and relatively inexpensive by-product feed from ethanol production, CDS may provide another opportunity to replace high priced corn in finishing diets. Two feedlot studies and one metabolism study were conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding CDS in both corn-based diets, and in combination with other by-product feeds on cattle performance and carcass characteristics. Inclusion of up to 36% CDS, providing 9.4% dietary fat improved performance relative to a corn-based control, with the optimum level of …

Current And Future Directions In Frailty Research., Anita Mohandas, Joanne Reifsnyder, Mimi Jacobs, Tim Fox

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

The concept of frailty has been evolving dramatically for the past 30 years. Through its evolution, a variety of single and multidimensional models have been used to describe frailty. This article reviews the current literature related to the defining dimensions of frailty and identifies the gaps in the literature requiring additional research. A detailed literature review was performed to identify key dimensions and models currently being used to define frailty, classify interventions that have been developed to reverse frailty, and identify potential areas for future research within this field. Despite the large body of research defining the dimensions of frailty, …

Revising An Extension Education Website For Limited Resource Audiences Using Social Marketing Theory, Sarah L. Francis, Peggy Martin, Kristin Taylor

Journal of Extension

Spend Smart Eat Smart (SSES), a unique website combining nutrition and food buying education for limited resource audiences (LRAs), was revised using social marketing theory to make it more appealing and relevant to LRAs (25-40 years). Focus groups and surveys identified the needs and preferences of LRAs. Needs were cooking, basic health, and budget-friendly nutrition ideas. Preferences were limited text, more videos, graphics, and color. Usability testing of the revised site indicated users perceived the information valuable and the design appealing. By incorporating the needs and preferences of LRAs, SSES is now perceived as appealing as well as relevant.

An Assessment Of Current Feeding Practices In Louisiana Dairy Farms, C Leonardi, Vr Moreira, Rd Bardwell, Me Mccormick, M. Autin, B. Perez, M. C. Martinez

Journal of Extension

A survey of producers was conducted to determine feeding practices on Louisiana dairy farms. A 38.5% response rate among dairy farmers was obtained. Declared herd size averaged 108 Holstein milking cows producing 15,613 lbs/cow/year. Most producers relied on pastures as primary forage source for the cows. Pastures were supplemented with concentrates offered twice daily. Most farmers formulated rations and reported knowing dietary protein, but less than 20% of the respondents acknowledged dietary P content. Producers and company nutritionists should be targeted by Extension programs intended to inform about P feeding recommendations and environmental effects of excess P.

Effects Of Dietary Supplementation Of Conjugated Linoleic Acid In Horses, Shannon Headley

All Theses

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces inflammation via the inhibition of cyclooxygenase II , thus reducing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. Conjugated linoleic acid has a suggested osteoclast-suppressive role in bone remodeling and osteoarthritis, which are dependent on bone resorptive stimulator PGE2. Bone resorption marker, deoxypyridinoline (DPD), and bone formation marker, bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), have been modulated by CLA supplementation in other species. Recent research in equine exercise physiology investigated dietary supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids as a possible prevention and treatment for osteoarthritis, but CLA supplementation has putative effects on skeletal function or inflammation in horses has not been reported. …

Effects Of Larval Exposure To Bacterial Species In Three Genera On Life History Traits And Oviposition Behavior In The Southern House Mosquito, Culex Quinquefasciatus, Jonathan Gravgaard

All Theses

The biofilm is the most common niche for microorganisms living in aquatic environments. Forming a biofilm provides the means to resist shear forces, adverse osmolarity, chemical agents, and other environmental stressors. Biofilms also provide a major food source for aquatic arthropods like mosquito larvae. Culex quinquefasciatus larvae are found in freshwater pools with high organic content, and have the ability to graze on bacterial biofilms. To study how C. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes interact with bacteria in their environment I developed an experimental system that allows mosquito larvae to freely graze on bacteria in either the planktonic or biofilm state. The efficacy …

Can Antioxidant-Rich Berries Improve Risk Factors Associated With Cardiovascular Disease In Postmenopausal Smokers?, Jordan Alaine Teeple

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of smoking on risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and determine the efficacy of antioxidant-rich berries in ameliorating these risk factors in postmenopausal smokers. Menopause and cigarette smoking have been identified as major risk factors for CVD due to a decrease in antioxidant protection, increase in inflammation and oxidative stress, and adverse changes in serum lipids. Antioxidants, specifically flavonoid compounds found in blackberries and blueberries, have been shown to prevent low-density lipoprotein cholesterol oxidation and thus prevent downstream inflammation and oxidative stress. Healthy, postmenopausal nonsmokers (n=14) and smokers (n=31) …

Hear My Voice: An Examination Of The Views Of Parents Who Are Raising Children Of African American Descent, Chavez Maurice Phelps

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated that children who attend early childhood education programs benefit academically and socially (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2003). However, other researchers have shown that African American students may still lag behind their counterparts when they enter school (National Center for Education Statistics ([NCES], 2004). To explain this phenomenon, scholars and practitioners have relied on deficit theories, such as Ruby Payne’s (2005) culture of poverty theory or John Ogbu’s (1992) oppositional culture identity theory, which shift the blame solely on the child or their parents. However, there are other researchers who have stressed the importance of examining …

Econometric Analysis Of Erie County, Ny Schools: The Effects Of Poverty On Our Schools And Evaluating Possible Solutions, Ryan B. Keem

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

School districts in the Buffalo Metropolitan Area are very segregated by socioeconomic status which has resulted in very different educational outcomes for the region's students as measured by New York State assessment results at the 4^th grade and 8^th grade level in English Language Arts and Math. This study measured the correlation between average test score results for each school building in Erie County and the rate of low-income students in those schools. The multiple regression analysis performed controlled for race, percentage of students that had a disability, class size, and per-pupil expenditures by the district.

The study …

Protein Utilization And Requirements In Broiler Breeders, Ricardo David Ekmay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advances in the genetics of poultry have created unintended consequences to the broiler breeder industry. Excessive weight has been shown to have many negative effects, including double hierarchies, multiple ovulations, and fatty liver. In an effort to curb excessive body weight gain, both the protein requirements and feeding strategies of broiler breeders are being revisited. A series of studies were conducted to determine the protein and amino acid requirements of broiler breeders during the production phase and to determine the interrelationship between protein turnover and egg formation. In the first trial, a 2x3x3 factorial study was conducted to determine the …

The Effect Of Acceptance Training On Psychological And Physical Health Outcomes In Elders With Chronic Conditions, Patricia Mcdonald, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet, Laura Dehelian, Diana L. Morris

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This pilot trial investigated the short and long-term effects of Acceptance Training (ACT) intervention on acceptance, perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression in elders with chronic conditions living in retirement communities (RCs). The ACT intervention combined Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with music, relaxation, and guided imagery during six weekly 2-hour sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 African-American and 46 White elders across four data collection points in six randomly selected RCs using well-established measures of perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, and a measure of acceptance of chronic conditions adapted from a previous measure of acceptance of …