Digital Commons Network^™

Mother Country: Reproductive Tourism In The Age Of Globalization, Lauren Jade Martin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mother Country is a multi-sited, qualitative study of the United States fertility industry. I analyze the industry in two dimensions: as a particularly American institution and nascent profession, and as a destination for "reproductive tourism." The United States fertility industry, buttressed by lax federal regulation, free market principles, and high technology resources, is organized to benefit certain classes of American citizens and foreign nationals in their quest to have children. As such, the United States has become a prime destination for people seeking assisted fertility services such as commercial surrogacy, egg donation, and sex selection, which are unavailable, inaccessible, or …

Biosorption Of Heavy Metals Using Water Hyacinth Eichhornia Crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach: Adsorption Properties And Technological Assessment, Davis Anzeze Amboga

All Master’s Theses

The adsorption of heavy metal ions (Cd2+), Cu2+), Pb2+) and Zn2+) by untreated water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes obtained from Lake Victoria, Kenya was investigated under batch mode. A The effects of sample part, particle size, contact time, solution pH, and temperature, shaking speed, adsorbent dosage and initial metal ion concentration of aqueous solutions were investigated. The roots showed highest ability for the uptake of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) from aqueous solutions, therefore were used. for all subsequent sorption studies in this research. Maximum removal of metal ions took place at a pH of 4-6. The adsorption of …

Effect Of Host Plant Type On Feeding, Oviposition And Survival Of Liriomyza Huidobrensis (Blanchard), Liriomyza Sativae (Blanchard) And Liriomyza Trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidea) Leafminers In Kenya, Caroline Aluoch Okoth

All Master’s Theses

Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard), Liriomyza sativae (Blanchard) and Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) are multivoltine flies, which are highly polyphagous, prolific and invasive. They are currently important pests in areas where horticultural crops are grown in Kenya. Both the adult flies and larvae cause considerable damage to crops. Infestation results to reduced photosynthetic potential of plants, which translates to reduction of the expected yield and loss of the aesthetic value. In addition, these pests are of quarantine importance and stringent measures have been put in place to prevent movement of infested plant materials in the export markets. Controlling these agromyzid pests is difficult. …

Phenolic Constituents From Garcinia Intermedia And Related Species, Ulyana Muñoz Acuña

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Antioxidants from plants scavenge free radicals and prevent reactive oxygen species from having damaging effects in common ailments such as inflammation, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. As part of our ongoing studies of antioxidants from tropical edible fruits, we have studied Garcinia intermedia (Pittier) Hammel [synonym: Rheedia edulis (Seem.) Planch. & Triana], native to Central America. In the fruits the following compounds were identified: guttiferone A, guttiferone E, xanthochymol, fukugetin, volkensiflavone and fukugeside. A new compound was tentatively identified in the fruits of this species. The antioxidant activity of guttiferone A in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was IC50 = 46 μM. …

Probing The Trans-Sialidase Activity Of The Neuraminidase Derived From Human Influenza A (H3n2) Virus, Eva Kalemera Aluvaala

All Master’s Theses

Sialo-oligosaccharides are found on the distal ends of glycans present on mammalian cell surfaces. They play major roles in cell growth, function, and are determinants of many disease states. Due to the important physiological role of glycoconjugates, there has been increased focus towards the development of drugs and vaccines that are carbohydrate based. Sialo-oligosaccharides can be synthesized through chemical means or by use of enzymes. Enzymes are preferred in the synthesis process as they are cheaper, faster and capable of catalyzing the synthesis of molecules with the correct specificity. These being the case enzymes with activities capable of synthesizing glycoconjugates …

A Musical Instrument Using In Vitro Neural Networks., Eduardo R. Miranda, Slawomir J. Nasuto, Anna R. Troisi, Julia H. Downes, Antonino Chiaramonte, Matthew C. Spencer, Mark W. Hammond, Dimitris Xydas, Benjamin J. Whalley, Victor M. Becerra, Kevin Warwick

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This paper presents a musical instrument, which uses in vitro neuronal networks to synthesise sounds. Cultures of dissociated neurons are grown on a dish with an embedded rectangular array of electrodes (MEA). Isolated neurons reconnect with one another via an extensive network of synaptically connected projections to form a dense monolayer of neurons. Cultures are provided with stimulation, which influences their activity, and can modify the culture’s state. The core of the sound synthesis engine of our musical instrument is a monophonic additive synthesizer using sinusoidal oscillators. We devised a method to generate frequencies, phase and amplitude values for the …

Localization And Characterization Of The Interactions Between Basigin Gene Products And Monocarboxlate Transporters In The Olfactory Bulb Of The Mouse, Paul L. Gambon

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Basigin, the mouse form of the human protein EMMPRIN, is commonly found as a transmembrane homodimer with carboxy termini in the cytosol and extracellular amino-termini. Because of its important role as a cell-to-cell junction molecule, and possible implications for cancer research, a Basigin null mouse was developed in 1996 by Igakura et al., to aid in the study of this protein. Their early research demonstrated that Basigin plays a large role in embryonic development. Mice lacking the Basigin gene are blind from the time of eye opening, and have demonstrated a lack of aversion to offensive odors such as acetic …

Assessing The Effects Of Pollutant Exposure On Sharks: A Biomarker Approach, Christina J. Walker

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many hydrophobic environmental pollutants have been shown to bioaccumulate and biomagnify at high levels in sharks due to their high liver lipid content, high trophic level, and life history characteristics. Studies have demonstrated that the levels of pollutants present in shark tissues can not only exceed the recommended levels for human consumption, but that, in some cases, they are also greater than the threshold for physiological effect in other aquatic species. However, few studies to date have investigated the biological effect of environmental exposure to contaminants in sharks. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate, through the use …

Characterization Of Basigin And The Interaction Between Embigin And Monocarboxylate Transporter-1, -2, And -4 (Mct1, Mct2, Mct4) In The Mouse Brain, L Nicole Little

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Basigin and Embigin are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily that function as cell adhesion molecules. Studies of Basigin null mice revealed reproductive sterility, increased pain sensitivity, and blindness. It is thought that the mechanism causing blindness involves misexpression of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) in the absence of Basigin. It is known that the transmembrane domain of Basigin interacts with MCT1. In the absence of Basigin, MCT1 does not localize to the plasma membrane of expressing cells and photoreceptor function is disrupted. Studies of the Basigin null mouse brain suggest that MCT1 is properly expressed, which suggests a separate mechanism causes …

The History Of Intellectual Property Taxation: Promoting Innovations And Other Intellectual Property Goals, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Articles

No abstract provided.

A Special Rule For Compound Protection For Dna-Sequences Impact Of The Ecj "Monsanto" Decision On Patent Practice, Jan B. Krauss, Toshiko Takenaka

Articles

This article will analyze the Monsanto decision, and criticize the European Court of Justice's interpretation of Article 9 as being incomplete, in particular for failing to take account of all articles and recitals in the Biotech Directive relating to the scope of protection. It will argue that applying the concept of a function-limited protection is unnecessary if a claim directed to an isolated DNA sequence is properly interpreted. It will also discuss the possible impact not only on the protection scope but also on the patentability of gene patents.

Stranger Than Fiction: An "Inside" Look At Environmental Liability And Defense Strategy In The Deepwater Horizon Aftermath, William H. Rodgers, Jr., Jason Derosa, Sarah Reyneveld

Articles

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 20, 2010 initiated an environmental disaster that presented attorneys on both sides of the legal action with monumental challenges. Using the satirical format of a memo written by the corporate defense counsel to BP America four days after the spill began, this article investigates BP’s potential liability and strategic defense positions available in criminal and civil proceedings. Major federal environmental laws, including the Oil Pollution Act, the Clean Water Act and major wildlife protection statutes, are implicated by the Spill. The memo provides a clear picture of the existing opportunities for a responsible …

The Environmental Laws Of The 1970s: They Looked Good On Paper, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

Articles

This article looks at the "top ten" environmental laws enacted in the 1970s, including the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. It asks: What were the pin-up qualities that made these laws look good on paper? What were the features sponsors bragged about or critics deplored? How were they understood and described at the time of legislative birth? What was thought to be new, different, and better?

We know some of these things about all of these laws. I’ll exercise editorial judgment and declare four common features …

Understanding The Processes That Regulate Positive Emotional Experience: Unsolved Problems And Future Directions For Theory And Research On Savoring, Fred B. Bryant, Erica D. Chadwick, Katharina Kluwe

Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this paper, we focus on unanswered questions and future directions in positive psychology, with a special emphasis on savoring processes that regulate positive emotions. To advance our understanding of the savoring processes underlying positive experience, we highlight three unresolved issues that must be addressed: (1) discriminating the distinctive neuropsychological profiles associated with different savoring processes; (2) developing viable methods of measuring and analyzing the mediational mechanisms involved in real-time savoring; and (3) clarifying the developmental processes through which people acquire different strategies to savor positive experiences across the life span. We propose several potentially fruitful lines of attack aimed …

In Vitro Maturation And Fertilization Of Buffalo Oocytes: The Effect Of Recovery And Maturation Methods, Abid Mehmood, Muhammad Anwar, Sayed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi, Muhammad Afzal, Syed Muhammad Saqlan Naqvi

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Conditions for in vitro maturation (IVM) of primary oocytes without conventionally used fetal calf serum and hormones were optimized in order to reduce the cost of laboratory produced buffalo embryos. Comparisons were made between oocyte recovery methods (aspiration vs. slicing) and IVM in medium 199 (static culture method vs. flux culture method) supplemented with 4-5 × 106 granulosa cells mL-1 that contained either estrus buffalo serum (EBS) or fetal calf serum (FCS). Recovery methods were compared according to yield, i.e. cumulus oocyte complexes per ovary (COCs/ovary), the expansion rate (% of COCs that expanded), and nuclear maturation rate (% of …

The Effect Of Sex And Feed Supplementation With Organic Selenium And Vitamin E On The Growth Rate And Zoometrical Body Measurements Of Oat-Fattened White Kołuda® Geese*, Ewa Lukaszewicz, Artur Kowalczyk, Anna Jerysz

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This experiment was carried out on 200 White Koluda geese, 1 day old, randomly divided into 2 groups with 50 males and 50 females in each group. From the first day until week 13, birds from the control groups were fed basic feeds; in the experimental groups, feed was supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg of selenium and 100 mg/kg of vitamin E. Later on, all birds were fed for 1 week with 160 g of oat grain and 250 g of ground cereals per day, then with oat grain ad libitum. The body weight of each bird was measured individually on …

Molecular And Serological Evidence For Anaplasma Infection In Yaks, Miling Ma, Zhijie Liu, Guiquan Guan, Youquan Li, Jianxun Luo, Hong Yin

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is considered to be an important disease in China; large-scale investigations have not been carried out since the 1990s, however, and whether or not yaks can be infected by A. marginale has never been investigated. In this study, 2 yaks were successfully infected by the inoculation of blood infected with A. marginale under experimental conditions. Furthermore, an investigation of 482 field serum samples from yaks using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the recombinant major surface protein 5 (MSP5) showed that 84.4% of the results were positive. In consideration of previously determined ecological and …

Encountering Questions Of Religion In Psychotherapy: A Hermeneutical-Phenomenological Study Of Religious Patients' Experiences, Jonathan Ahern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a hermeneutical-phenomenological investigation of having one's religious or spiritual views called into question in psychotherapy. A review of the literature revealed very few studies exploring the experiences of religious or spiritually devoted psychotherapy patients and a complete lack of studies describing the lived phenomenon of having one's religious or spiritual views called into question in psychotherapy. Three self-described "religious" or "spiritually devoted" former psychotherapy patients provided in-depth descriptions of having their religious views or practices called into question in psychotherapy. Participants' descriptions--gathered first in writing and then by way of a hermeneutic interview--comprised the empirical qualitative data …

Relative Changes In Krillabundance Inferred From Antarctic Fur Seal, T. Huang, L. Sun, John M. Stark, Y. Wang, Z. Cheng, Q. Yang, S. Sun

Biology Faculty Publications

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is a predominant species in the Southern Ocean, it is very sensitive to climate change, and it supports large stocks of fishes, seabirds, seals and whales in Antarctic marine ecosystems. Modern krill stocks have been estimated directly by net hauls and acoustic surveys; the historical krill density especially the long-term one in the Southern Ocean, however, is unknown. Here we inferred the relative krill population changes along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) over the 20th century from the trophic level change of Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella using stable carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) isotopes of …

The Selaginella Genome Identifies Changes In Gene Content Associated With The Evolution Of Vascular Plants, J. A. Banks, T. Nishiyama, M. Hasebe, J. L. Bowman, M. Gribskov, C. Depamphilis, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

Vascular plants appeared ~410 million years ago, then diverged into several lineages of which only two survive: the euphyllophytes (ferns and seed plants) and the lycophytes. We report here the genome sequence of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii (Selaginella), the first nonseed vascular plant genome reported. By comparing gene content in evolutionarily diverse taxa, we found that the transition from a gametophyte- to a sporophyte-dominated life cycle required far fewer new genes than the transition from a nonseed vascular to a flowering plant, whereas secondary metabolic genes expanded extensively and in parallel in the lycophyte and angiosperm lineages. Selaginella differs in …

De Novo Characterization Of The Gametophyte Transcriptome In Bracken Fern, Pteridium Aquilinum, J. P. Der, M. S. Barker, N. J. Wickett, C. W. Depamphilis, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

Because of their phylogenetic position and unique characteristics of their biology and life cycle, ferns represent an important lineage for studying the evolution of land plants. Large and complex genomes in ferns combined with the absence of economically important species have been a barrier to the development of genomic resources. However, high throughput sequencing technologies are now being widely applied to non-model species. We leveraged the Roche 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing platform in sequencing the gametophyte transcriptome of bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) to develop genomic resources for evolutionary studies.

The Evolution Of Chloroplast Genes And Genomes In Ferns, Paul G. Wolf, J. P. Der, A. M. Duffy, J. B. Davidson, A. L. Grusz, K. M. Pryer

Biology Faculty Publications

Most of the publicly available data on chloroplast (plastid) genes and genomes come from seed plants, with relatively little information from their sister group, the ferns. Here we describe several broad evolutionary patterns and processes in fern plastid genomes (plastomes), and we include some new plastome sequence data. We review what we know about the evolutionary history of plastome structure across the fern phylogeny and we compare plastome organization and patterns of evolution in ferns to those in seed plants. A large clade of ferns is characterized by a plastome that has been reorganized with respect to the ancestral gene …

A Different Way To Think About Creativity: The Case Of Autism And Outsider Art, Rk Mckenzie

Plymouth Institute of Education

No abstract provided.

Questioning The Frequency And Wisdom Of Compulsory Licensing For Pharmaceutical Patents, F. Scott Kieff, Richard A. Epstein

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Many advocates for using compulsory licensing (“CL”) for pharmaceutical patents in developing countries like Thailand rest their case in part on the purported use of CL in the United States. In this paper we take issue with that proposition on several grounds. As a theoretical matter, we argue that the basic presumption in favor of voluntary licenses for IP should apply in the international arena, in addition to the domestic one. In the international context, voluntary licenses are of special importance because they strengthen the supply chain for distributing pharmaceuticals and ease the government enforcement of safety standards. Next, this …

Pollution Limits And Polluters’ Efforts To Comply: The Role Of Government Monitoring And Enforcement, Robert L. Glicksman, Dietrich Earnhart

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This is the first chapter of a book published in 2011 by Stanford University Press that examines empirically compliance with regulatory obligations under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In particular, it examines four dimensions of federal water-pollution control policy in the United States: pollution limits imposed on industrial facilities’ pollution discharges; facilities’ efforts to comply with pollution limits, identified as “environmental behavior”; facilities’ success at controlling their discharges to comply with pollution limits, identified as “environmental performance”; and regulators’ efforts to induce compliance with pollution limits in the form of inspections and enforcement actions, identified as “government interventions.” The authors …

Old Lessons For A New World: Applying Adoption Research And Experience To Art, Naomi R. Cahn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article suggests that knowledge derived from adoption-related research and experience can be used to improve law, policy and practice in the world of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), particularly with respect to sperm, egg and embryo "donations." While there are numerous and significant differences between adoption and ART, the article identifies several areas in which adoption's lessons could be useful. These include secrecy and the withholding of information; a focus on the best interests of children; the creation of "nontraditional" families, particularly as more single, gay and lesbian adults use ART; the impact of market forces; and legal and regulatory …

Association Analysis Of Aquaporin 7 (Aqp7) Gene Variants With Semen Quality And Fertility In Bulls, Tenghe Ma, Jifeng Liu, Ruifeng Zhao, Hao Jiang, Lisheng Dai, Yumin Zhao, Zhihui Zhao, Jiabao Zhang

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Aquaporin 7 (AQP7) gene as a candidate Antifreeze gene was investigated and associated with fresh and frozen semen quality traits in 45 Simmental and Charolais bulls. PCR-SSCP, PCR-RFLP, and sequencing method were employed to detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the AQP7 gene. Two mutations, A264G and G371C, were identified. The allele frequencies were A (0.97, 0.96) to B (0.03, 0.04) and C (0.97, 0.91) to D (0.03, 0.09) in Simmental and Charolais bulls, respectively. A264G substitution was significantly associated with acrosome integrity ratio (P < 0.01) and motility (P < 0.05) in frozen semen. Meanwhile, G371C substitution was significantly associated with acrosome integrity ratio (P < 0.05), percentages of viable sperm (P < 0.05), and motility (P < 0.01) in frozen semen. The results prove that AQP7 gene SNPs are useful for marker-assisted selection in early seed selection in the bull industry.

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Ovine Placenta Extract, On Mammogenesis, Lactogenesis And Galactopoiesis In Sheep, Gabriel Cotor, Aneta Pop, Marian Ghita

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of ovine placenta extract, obtained by affinity chromatography on immobilized wheat germ lectin, on mammogenesis, lactogenesis, and galactopoiesis in pregnant and lactating sheep. Placental extract (100 \mug/mL protein concentration) was subcutaneously injected to pregnant sheep in days 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13 of the experiment (totally 10 mL placenta extract/animal) alternatively on the right and left side of the neck. Placental extract induced a more intense development of udder parameters; udder circumference increase was of 16.73%, anteroposterior length increase was of 15.9%, and latero-lateral length of 11.1%. Placental …

Haematological And Biochemical Values Of The Blood Of Pheasants (Phasianus Colchicus) Of Different Ages, Tufan Keçeci̇, Ramazan Çöl

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This study was conducted to determine selected haematological and biochemical parameters of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) bred in Konya city in Turkey. Forty-five healthy pheasants of different ages (1, 5, and 12 months old) were examined. In the blood samples taken from these animals, haematological and biochemical values were determined. Comparing the haematological and biochemical parameters among the age groups, red blood cell counts, haemoglobin amount, haematocrit values, lymphocyte percentage, and total protein and albumin levels increased with the advancement of age. However, glucose, length and width of erythrocyte, length and width of erythrocyte nucleus, and percentages of monocyte and basophile …