Digital Commons Network^™

Cushop: A Simulated Shopping Environment Fostering Consumer-Centric Packaging Design & Testing, Charles Tonkin

All Dissertations

Consumer product packaging provides product damage protection, extends product shelf life, and communicates product usage instructions to the consumer. Its collective contribution to the waste stream is notorious, but its role in product salability is much less understood. Consumers now make the majority of product purchase decisions while present at the shelf, and since they do it very quickly (within 5-8 seconds), and do not appear to adhere to strong brand loyalty as was once more common, packaging (and more specifically, its aesthetics and contrast with its competitors) plays a dominant role in the decision-making process. It is difficult, however, …

The Effect Of Exercise On Cardiac Function And Doxorubicin Accumulation In Left Ventricular Tissue Of Rats, Brock Thomas Jensen

Dissertations

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic that has cytotoxic actions. The therapeutic use of DOX to treat a wide array of cancers is limited by a dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Although DOX is known to have several adverse side-effects, acute and chronic cardiotoxicity have received the most attention as both may eventually lead to heart failure. While exercise has been shown to protect against DOX cardiotoxicity, a clear and consistent mechanism to explain its cardioprotective effects is lacking. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a valuable instrument that can be used to evaluate cardiac DOX accumulation. We hypothesized that a reduction in …

Power Dynamics And Questioning In Elementary Science Lessons, Lori Ann Reinsvold

Dissertations

Discourse interactions between a teacher and students in an inquiry-based fourth-grade science classroom were analyzed to investigate how power dynamics and questioning strategies within elementary science lessons help support students in building their science understanding. Five inquiry-based classroom sessions were observed; verbal interactions were audio- and video-recorded. Research data consisted of observation transcripts, teacher interviews, student work, and instructional materials. Analyses were conducted on the frequencies of utterances, participation roles, power categories, and questioning categories. Results revealed that when students used more frequent power, (a) no significant differences were noted between frequencies of teacher and student talk, (b) the teacher …

Qualitative Study: People With Disabilities And Internal Barriers To Work, Patricia Ann Yeager

Dissertations

A great deal of work has been done over the past 40 years to make the built environment more accessible. Public awareness activities have been conducted to begin to change society's attitudes toward people with disabilities. Changes in government benefits now allow individuals to retain benefits while working. However, people with disabilities are still woefully unemployed. This study examined internal barriers to work that some people with disabilities on government benefits may experience. Using qualitative methods, the researcher uncovered internal barriers to work among people with disabilities on government disability benefits. Data were collected through telephone interviews with six individuals …

Transformation Of Arabidopsis Thaliana With Heat Stress-Related Genes From A Copaifera Officinalis Expressed Sequence Tag Library, Samuel R. Zwenger

Dissertations

This dissertation has three components: (1) discovery of genes involved in heat stress-related processes derived from a tropical plant known as the diesel tree (C. officinalis) by means of an expressed sequence tag (EST) library, (2) stable transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana with C. officinalis heat stress-related genes and (3) assessing the degree to which C. officinalis heat-stress associated genes provide thermotolerance in transgenic A. thaliana. This dissertation project has important plant biotechnological components as well as agriculturally important themes. Global climate change is predicted to result in elevated temperatures over the next century and so studying the influence of heat …

Survival Analysis Of Commercial Stock Pinus Radiata (D.Don) Outplanted In A Pitch Canker Infected Stand, Nathan A. Smith

Master's Theses

Fusarium circinatum (Nirenberg & O'Donnell) or pitch canker, has the potential to have a tremendous impact on the economies which depend on the harvest and refined processing of Pinus radiata (D.Don) saw/”fiber” logs. This negative financial impact is compounded with environmental implications. These reasons are why Chile, New Zealand, and Australia, the principal producers of exotic Pinus radiata have entered into a coalition under ENSIS with the title of the IMPACT project (Balocchi et al., 1999). The field trial associated with the IMPACT project was located at Swanton Pacific Ranch; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Ranch in Davenport, California. Soil …

Isolation Of Obligately Alkaliphilic Magnetotactic Bacteria From Extremely Alkaline Environments, Christopher T. Lefevre, Richard B. Frankel, Mihály Pósfai, Tanya Prozorov, Dennis A. Bazylinski

Physics

Large numbers of magnetotactic bacteria were discovered in mud and water samples collected from a number of highly alkaline aquatic environments with pH values of ~ 9.5. These bacteria were helical in morphology and biomineralized chains of bullet-shaped crystals of magnetite and were present in all the highly alkaline sites sampled. Three strains from different sites were isolated and cultured and grew optimally at pH 9.0–9.5 but not at 8.0 and below, demonstrating that these organisms truly require highly alkaline conditions and are not simply surviving/growing in neutral pH micro-niches in their natural habitats. All strains grew anaerobically through the …

Regulation Of Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (Bhv-1) Productive Infection By Cellular Transcription Factors, Aspen M. Workman

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) is a significant viral pathogen of cattle responsible for a variety of disease conditions, including: conjunctivitis, pneumonia, genital disorders, abortions, and shipping fever, a serious upper respiratory tract infection. Following acute infection in mucosal epithelium, BHV-1 establishes a lifelong latent infection in sensory ganglionic neurons. During latency, transcription is restricted to the latency related (LR) gene. Elevated corticosteroid levels due to stress and/or immune suppression can initiate reactivation from latency, resulting in virus shedding and spread to susceptible cattle. Additionally, administration of dexamethasone (Dex), a synthetic corticosteroid, to calves latently infected with BHV-1 reproducibly leads to …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Maternal And Umbilical Cord Blood From Pregnant Hispanic Women Living In Brownsville, Texas, Ken Sexton, Jennifer J Salinas, Thomas J Mcdonald, Rose M Z Gowen, Rebecca P Miller, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Venous blood was drawn from 35 pregnant Hispanic women living in Brownsville, Texas, and matched cord blood was collected at birth. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to measure concentrations of 55 individual PAHs or groups of PAHs. Results indicate that these women and their fetuses were regularly exposed to multiple PAHs at comparatively low concentrations, with levels in cord blood generally exceeding levels in paired maternal blood. While the possibility of related adverse effects on the fetus is uncertain, these exposures in combination with socioeconomically-disadvantaged and environmentally-challenging living conditions raise legitimate public health concerns.

Time-Dependent Crack Growth Behavior Of Alloy 617 And Alloy 230 At Elevated Temperatures, Shawoon Kumar Roy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Two Ni-base solid-solution-strengthened superalloys: INCONEL 617 and HAYNES 230 were studied to check sustained loading crack growth (SLCG) behavior at elevated temperatures appropriate for Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) applictaions with constant stress intensity factor (K _max = 27.75 MPa[checkmark]m) in air. The results indicate a time-dependent rate controlling process which can be characterized by a linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) parameter - stress intensity factor (K). At elevated temperatures, the crack growth mechanism was best described using a damage zone concept. Based on results and study, SAGBOE (stress accelerated grain boundary oxidation embrittlement) is considered the primary reason for …

Enhancing The Cultural Competence Of Women’S Health Nurses Via Online Continuing Education, Ella T. Heitzler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

By 2050, current minority groups will comprise almost half of the US population further challenging healthcare providers and nurses to deliver culturally competent care. Numerous organizations have published documents supporting cultural competence and its incorporation into nursing curricula has been encouraged since 1986. However, practicing nurses, specifically those providing care to childbearing women and families, continue to acknowledge their lack of cultural competence. This is concerning as large health disparities exist between culturally diverse women and cultural competence can lead to greater health equality and better client care. Studies have shown face-to-face education increases the cultural competence of healthcare providers; …

Expression And Characterization Of Protein Chimera With Embedded Activated Protein C Generation, Minjeong Schneider

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Increasing demand of medical implants has lead researchers to develop biomaterial surfaces that offer improved performance and lower thrombogenecity. There have been attempts to model biomaterial surfaces after the native endothelium as it represents an optimal non-thrombotic surface. Typically, when biomaterials are contacted with blood, they often invoke the activation of clotting cascades. Thus, to overcome surface mediated thrombotic events, proteins and molecules with anticoagulant attributes of the endothelium have been immobilized onto biomaterial surfaces. Protein C (PC) plays a main role in blood coagulation and acts as an anticoagulant when it is converted into activated protein C (APC). Activation …

Application Of Shredded-Tire Biofilter And Membrane Bioreactor For Greywater Reclamation, Meng Hu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Water scarcity is a pressing global issue. Greywater (GW) reclamation is a viable option to reduce freshwater demand. The objectives of this work were to: a) evaluate the feasibility of the combination of shredded tire biofilter (STB) technology and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology in GW reclamation; b) study the effects of various parameters on STB performance; and c) understand the fouling mechanisms to lower the energy consumption in MBRs. Bench-scale STBs and MBRs (flat-sheet membranes) were constructed to address the first two objectives, while an independent membrane (hollow-fiber membranes) fouling experiment was designed for the third objective.

It was found …

Medicalization As A Trojan Horse: Changes In Erectile Enhancement Advertising, Robert Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Medicalization as a Trojan Horse: Changes in Erectile Enhancement Advertising By Robert D Wood, M.S. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Sarah Jane Brubaker, PhD, Graduate Program of Sociology This thesis investigates the medicalization of “inadequate penis size” through an analysis of online advertising of “male enhancement,” or erectile enhancement (EE) products. The process of medicalization, as defined by Peter Conrad, is the process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as such (2007). With the advent and success …

Changing Dairy Market Environment: Effect On Cooperative Organization, Competition, And Price Risk Management: Comparative Analysis Between Germany And The United States, Pieter Vermeersch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dairy market environment in the United States of America and in Europe is changing partially due to a change in policies supporting free markets. The effect of the change in the dairy market environment in the United States and Germany on cooperative organization, competition, and price risk management is elaborated in this thesis by means of a literature survey including governmental documents, industry documents, and published scientific articles. The thesis provides a closer look to the interaction between two players within the dairy market chain, i.e. the farmers and the processors. Both players are confronted with increasing accessibility of …

Predicting Yeast Synthetic Lethal Genetic Interactions Using Protein Domains, Bo Li

All Dissertations

Synthetic lethal genetic interaction (SLGI) is an important biological phenomenon. Such interactions are of interest as they can be used to predict function of unknown proteins and find drug targets or drug combinations. High throughput biological experiments enhance the capability in identifying genetic interactions, but the large amount of protein pairs still make the task of genome-wide identification of genetic interactions overwhelming. Computational based prediction of SLGIs is promising but still hampered by the unclear molecular mechanism of SLGIs.
Protein domains with conserved functions serve as the building blocks of proteins. The genetic interaction that occurs between a pair of …

Inference In Reversible Markov Chains, Tara Steuber

All Dissertations

This dissertation describes the research that we have done concerning
reversible Markov chains. We first present definitions for what it means
for a Markov chain to be reversible. We then give applications of where
reversible Markov chains are used and give a brief history of Markov chain
inference. Finally, two journal articles are found in the paper, one that
is already published and another which is currently being submitted.
The first article examines estimation of the one-step-ahead
transition probabilities in a reversible Markov chain on a countable state
space. A symmetrized moment estimator is proposed that exploits the
reversible structure. …

Lipid Metabolism In Trypanosoma Brucei: Molecular Characterization Of Fatty Acid Synthesis And Uptake, Patrick Vigueira

All Dissertations

My doctoral studies focused on the fatty acid metabolism of the deadly protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei. Fatty acid metabolism in T. brucei can be broadly divided into two pathways, synthesis and uptake. In Chapters 2-4 I describe experiments investigating the parasite's fatty acid synthesis pathway. Chapter 2 contains the initial characterization of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in T. brucei. Knockdown of TbACC by RNA interference (RNAi) reduced parasite virulence in a mouse model, suggesting that TbACC has the potential to be utilized as a drug target. Chapters 3 and 4 explore the effects of two known ACC inhibitors, the …

Zoos As Experiment Environments: Biology Of Larval And Adult Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Holly Tuten

All Dissertations

Zoos are a unique environment where humans and animals are in close daily contact, potential mosquito habitats exist, exotic plants and animals are introduced regularly, and wild animals roam. Studies of mosquito behaviors in zoos will lead to a better understanding, both within and outside zoos, of disease transmission routes and mosquito biology. To investigate whether the unique assemblage of habitats in zoos affects mosquito behavior, I sampled larvae and adults in the Greenville Zoo and the Riverbanks Zoo, South Carolina, USA, from March 2008 to January 2011. The objectives of my study were to investigate mosquito oviposition behavior, blood-host …

Turkish Informal Housing Settlements As A Typology For Modern Generative Processes In Urban Design: A Case Study Of Karanfilkoy And Fatih Sultan Mehmet Neighborhoods In Istanbul, Turkey, Noah Billig

All Dissertations

Generative development processes adapt to existing conditions and unfold over time. Generative urban design theory proposes that successful communities must be planned and built incrementally, with current and future users participating throughout the process. The theory critiques the modern development processes of master planning and design that disregard adaptations through the building process. Successful examples of generatively built structures and neighborhoods are often cited from pre-20th century traditional societies and vernacular architecture. Generative approaches to urban design and planning need more modern 20th century examples and case studies of successful generatively built structures and communities.
Informal settlements are often cited …

Low-Resolution Vision For Autonomous Mobile Robots, Vidya Nariyambut Murali

All Dissertations

The goal of this research is to develop algorithms using low-resolution images to perceive and understand a typical indoor environment and thereby enable a mobile robot to autonomously navigate such an environment. We present techniques for three problems: autonomous exploration, corridor classification, and minimalistic geometric representation of an indoor environment for navigation.
First, we present a technique for mobile robot exploration in unknown indoor environments using only a single forward-facing camera. Rather than processing all the data, the method intermittently examines only small 32X24 downsampled grayscale images. We show that for the task of indoor exploration the visual information is …

Monumental-It: A 'Robotic-Wiki' Monument For Embodied Interaction In The Information World, Tarek Mokhtar

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Conventional monuments are concrete manifestations of memories without the capacity to reflect individual interpretations of history. In an increasingly digital society, however, there is a need for configurable monuments reflecting our contemporary, open and complex community. “Monumental-IT” reflects the dynamic and inclusive character of our time. Rather than static, Monumental-IT is a dynamic, robotic, intelligent environment reconfigured or “retuned” by citizens and by historical information accumulating on the World Wide Web. This information is periodically “coded,” altering the multi-sensorial physical-digital “Robotic-Wiki” components of Monumental-IT. Monumental-IT is designed to embody a new form of human-robotic interaction evolving from the monument …

An Integrated Approach To Assessing The Resilience And Sustainability Of Community Based Tourism Development In The Commonwealth Of Dominica, Patrick Holladay

All Dissertations

Despite millions of dollars invested in developing community-based tourism to diversify economies, reduce poverty and improve quality of life in the Caribbean, little is known about what conditions lead to resilience and sustainability of tourism dependent communities. Sustainability from a resilience theory perspective is the likelihood an existing system of resource use will persist indefinitely without a decline in the resource base or social welfare. Undertaking activities to enhance resilience and sustainability improves a systems' ability to persevere, adapt, and learn to meet challenges caused by unanticipated events such as stock market collapse, political upheaval, or natural disaster. This study …

A Theoretical Investigation Examining Dna Conformational Changes And Their Effects On Glycosylase Function, Allyn Brice

All Dissertations

Glycosylase enzymes initiate the process of base excision repair (BER) in order to prevent the irreversible modification of the genome. In the BER process a damaged DNA base is recognized, removed from the DNA sequence, and then the remaining abasic site is repaired. Glycosylase enzymes are responsible for the base recognition mechanism and catalysis of the base excision. One of the most studied glycosylase superfamilies is uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG). The UDG superfamily has demonstrated specificity for excising uracil, which is the deamination product of cytosine, from DNA sequences of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Mismatch-specific uracil DNA glycosylase (MUG) is a …

The Rights Of Children Affected By Aids: A Policy Paper Focusing On The Right To Education, Gita Jaffe

All Dissertations

HIV and AIDS have the potential to surpass every catastrophe in Africa's history, because they encompass all of the past vulnerabilities. Thirty years after the identification of HIV, a transition from medical disease to social epidemic has occurred. The impact on family and community is threatening current economic, medical and social systems. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the region most adversely affected, 14 million children have already been orphaned (UNAIDS, 2008). And at the core of the burgeoning orphan crisis, children affected by AIDS (CABA) are unable to exercise their rights, based on their position in society. This paper will concentrate …

Addiction And Sociality: Perspectives From Methamphetamine Users In Suburban Usa, Paul Boshears, Miriam W. Boeri, Liam Harbry

Faculty Articles

This article contributes to a growing body of literature that emphasizes the social nature of drug use, abuse and addiction. Current discourses of addiction tend to focus on the individual while limiting attention on the social environment and the role of sociality. We seek to contribute a more intuitive, insiders'' perspective of the drug trajectory and a broader conceptualization of addiction. Drawing from our qualitative study on 100 current and former methamphetamine users in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia (USA), we examined the trajectories of methamphetamine use to provide greater insight on what influences drug initiation, progression, cessation and relapse …

Father-Son Family Communication Patterns And Gender Ideologies: A Modeling And Compensation Analysis, Kelly G. Odenweller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to advance father-son research by investigating family communication and gender ideologies. Specifically, the study assessed the specific messages fathers transmit to sons regarding gender ideologies, relationships between family communication patterns and gender ideologies, and the utility of modeling and compensation hypotheses in intergenerational transmission of these behaviors and ideologies. Finally, this study addressed the association between gender ideologies and global life satisfaction. Fathers (N = 125) completed an online questionnaire to report their living fathers' and their own communication patterns and gender ideologies, as well as their transmission of gender ideologies to their sons. …

Characterizing Textural Attributes Of Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Fillets As Affected By Age, Sterility, And Storage Regimen, Aunchalee Aussanasuwannakul

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Trout fillets, subjected to refrigeration (4°C; 3 or 7 d) by frozen storage (-25°C; 0 or 30 d) combinations, were cooked; texture, determined by a novel, variable-blade (VB) attachment, was compared with a widely-used Allo-Kramer shear (AK) attachment to determined its sensitivity in detecting variation in fillet texture. Instrumental texture was related to sensory measurements to determine attachments' accuracy in assessing cooked fillet texture. Weight of raw fillets decreased after 30-d frozen storage. Fillet weight further decreased after cooking. Moisture content decreased while fat content remained constant. The AK attachment detected differences in energy of shear, which decreased after 30-d …

Characterization And Genetic Manipulation Of Ergot Pathway Inefficiency In Fungi, Prashanthi Mulinti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins that negatively affect humans and animals but also have useful pharmaceutical properties. Ergot alkaloids have been extensively studied in Claviceps purpurea, and also have been reported in other fungi, such as certain Penicillium spp., Aspergillus fumigatus, and several Neotyphodium spp. that are endophytes of grasses. There is a high degree of variation in the production of ergot alkaloids within an individual species and among producers from different taxa, which means different fungi accumulate different profiles of ergot alkaloids rather than a single pathway end product. These varied profiles result, in part, from inefficiency in the pathway …

Diabetes Group Medical Visits And Biophysical Outcomes Of Care In Uninsured Persons With Diabetes, Jennifer A. Mallow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Rural populations with low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of late diabetes diagnosis, poor diabetes control, decreased self-management, and development of complications. Diabetes Group Medical Visits (DGMVs) have been used to improve outcomes for persons with diabetes. A gap in the literature exists related to the effectiveness of DGMVs for uninsured persons with diabetes.;Aims. The aims of the study were to describe the characteristics of uninsured persons with diabetes cared for in a free clinic, describe the biophysical outcomes of care, explore the differences in biophysical outcomes of care before and after attending DGMVs versus receiving usual care, …