Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial Analysis Of Fatal Automobile Crashes In Kentucky, William Nathan Oris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fatal automobile crashes have claimed the lives of over 33,000 people each year in the United States since 1995. As in any point event, fatal crash events do not occur randomly in time or space. The objectives of this study were to identify spatial patterns and hot spots in FARS (Fatal Analysis Reporting System) fatal crash events based on temporal and demographic characteristics. The methods employed included 1) rate calculation using FARS points and average daily traffic flow; 2) planar kernel density estimation of FARS crash events based on temporal and demographic attributes within the data; and 3) two case …

Distribution Of Trace Elements In Cumberland River Basin Reservoir Sediments, Laura Mahoney Benneyworth

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District, maintains ten reservoirs in the Cumberland River Basin in Kentucky and Tennessee, and has been monitoring sediment chemistry in the reservoirs since 1994. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sediment data collected from the reservoirs from 1994 to 2010 to determine if there are any spatial patterns of the trace elements: arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc. The results indicated that trace element levels were consistent with national baseline concentrations measured by the U.S. Geological Survey. Center Hill reservoir had the greatest number of trace …

A Comparison Of Current Anuran Monitoring Methods With Emphasis On The Accuracy Of Automatic Vocalization Detection Software, Jacob Douglas Eldridge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Currently, a variety of methods are available to monitor anurans, and little standardization of methods exists. New methods to monitor anurans have become available over the past twenty years, including PVC pipe arrays used for tree frog capture and Automated Digital Recording Systems (ADRS) used to remotely monitor calling activity. In addition to ADRS, machine-learning computer software, automated vocalization recognition software (AVRS), has been developed to automatically detect vocalizations within digital sound recordings. The use of a combination of ADRS and AVRS shows the promise to reduce the number of people, time, and resources needed for an effective call survey …

Facial Expression Discrimination In Adults Experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Brian N. Lee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on adults’ ability to discriminate between various facial expressions of emotions. Additionally, the study examined whether individuals reporting PTSS exhibited an attentional bias toward threat-related facial expressions of emotions. The research design was a 2 (expression intensity) x 3 (emotional pairing) x 2 (PTSS group) mixed-model factorial design. Participants for the study were 89 undergraduates recruited from psychology courses at Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Traumatic Stress Schedule to assess for prior exposure to traumatic events. A median split was used to divide the sample into two groups …

Measuring Accessibility To Primary Care Physicians In The Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, Sami M. Almudaris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growing concern for the shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) prompted a government legislation to designate areas where shortage in the delivery of primary care services occurs. The implemented systems (e.g., HPSA, MUA, and MUP) analyze utilization of health services within confined administrative units and fail to account for spatial interactions that occur across administrative borders. This research examines the spatial accessibility to PCPs and the underlying demographic and socioeconomic settings. With the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as a study area, this study utilized data from the U.S. Census 2000 and 2010, as well as the known locations …

Scholarworks Statistics - December 2011, Scholarworks

ScholarWorks Reports

For the month of December 2011, ScholarWorks recorded a total of 13,606 full-text downloads and 18,802 page views.

Effects Of Synthetic Cortical Bone Thickness And Force Vector Application On Temporary Anchorage Device Pull-Out Strength As Related To Clinical Perspectives Of Practicing Orthodontists, Ira Rothstein

Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

December 2011.

A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry.

Background: Temporary anchorage devices (TADs) provide a versatile means by which orthodontic anchorage can be established without the need for patient compliance and complex force systems. Their use is predicated on their ability to remain stable throughout the course of treatment in which they are needed. This has been shown to be the result of "primary stability" which is achieved through mechanical interlocking of the screw threads with the surrounding bone immediately upon placement. Therefore, evaluating …

Genotypic And Phenotypic Variation In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Reveals Signatures Of Secondary Infection And Mutator Activity In Certain Cystic Fibrosis Patients With Chronic Lung Infections, Ashley E. Warren, Carla M. Boulianne-Larsen, Christine B. Chandler, Kami Chiotti, Evgueny Kroll, Scott R. Miller, Francois Taddei, Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus, Agnes Ferroni, Kathleen Mcinnerney, Michael J. Franklin, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Evolutionary adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the cystic fibrosis lung is limited by genetic variation, which depends on rates of horizontal gene transfer and mutation supply. Because each may increase following secondary infection or mutator emergence, we sought to ascertain the incidence of secondary infection and genetic variability in populations containing or lacking mutators. Forty-nine strains collected over 3 years from 16 patients were phenotyped for antibiotic resistance and mutator status and were genotyped by repetitive-sequence PCR (rep-PCR), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Though phenotypic and genetic polymorphisms were widespread and clustered more strongly within than …

Lack Of Fire Has Limited Physiological Impact On Old-Growth Ponderosa Pine In Dry Montane Forests Of North-Central Idaho, Eric Keeling, Anna Sala, Thomas H. Deluca

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reduced frequency of fire in historically fire-adapted ecosystems may have adverse effects on ecosystem structure, function, and resilience. Lack of fire increases stand density and promotes successional replacement of seral dominant trees by late-successional, more shade-tolerant species. These changes are thought to increase competition for limited resources among trees and to increase physiological stress of dominant, fire-adapted species. However, there has been little effort to directly investigate effects of lack of fire on the physiological status of old trees, especially in unlogged, protected forests. At four remote sites in the Selway-Bitterroot region of Idaho, we tested whether the physiological status …

Evolution Of Coordinated Mutagenesis And Somatic Hypermutation In Vh5, Barbara E. Wright, Karen H. Schmidt, Aaron T. Hunt, Dennis K. Reschke, Michael F. Minnick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The VH5 human antibody gene was analyzed using a computer program (mfg) which simulates transcription, to better understand transcription-driven mutagenesis events that occur during "phase 1" of somatic hypermutation. Results show that the great majority of mutations in the non-transcribed strand occur within loops of two predicted high-stability stem-loop structures, termed SLSs 14.9 and 13.9. In fact, 89% of the 2505 mutations reported are within the encoded complementarity-determining region (CDR) and occur in loops of these high-stability structures. In vitro studies were also done and verified the existence of SLS 14.9. Following the formation of SLSs 14.9 and 13.9, a …

Skeletal Muscle Function, Morphology, And Biochemistry In Ts65dn Mice: A Model Of Down Syndrome, Patrick Michael Cowley

Exercise Science - Dissertations

A common clinical observation of persons with Down syndrome at all developmental stages is hypotonia and generalized muscle weakness. The cause of muscle weakness in Down syndrome is not known and there is an immediate need to establish an acceptable animal model to explore the muscle dysfunction that is widely reported in the human population. Using a combination of functional, histological, and biochemical analyses this dissertation provides the initial characterization of skeletal muscle from the Ts65Dn mouse, a model of Down syndrome. The experiments revealed that Ts65Dn muscle over-expresses SOD1 protein but this did not lead to oxidative stress. Ts65Dn …

Phytoplankton Abundance And Species Composition In Relation To Environmental Paramenters In Coastal Mississippi Waters, Luz Karime Molina

Master's Theses

Phytoplankton pigments from Coastal Mississippi waters were measured to determine the spatial and temporal distributions and composition of phytoplankton communities. Concentration of phytoplankton pigments were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the compositional changes in phytoplankton communities were determined with CHEMTAX 1.95. Surface water was collected for two years (September 2007-November 2009) at three sampling sites on a monthly basis. The stations were located at the Bay of St. Louis (station 1), the Mississippi Sound (station 4) and the Mississippi Bight (station 8), following a salinity gradient. A time series of the observations documented the variability of different …

Formation Of Halonitromethanes And Iodo-Trihalomethanes In Drinking Water Summary, Tanju Karanfil, Jia Hu, Darryl B. Jones, Jesse W. Addison, Hocheol Song

Publications

The main purpose of this study was to examine the conditions and precursors involved in the formation of two emerging classes of disinfection by-products (DBPs), halonitromethanes (HNMs) and iodo-trihalomethanes (I-THMs), which are not currently regulated but have been observed in some drinking water systems.

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2011, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Specific Contributions Of Ventromedial, Anterior Cingulate, And Lateral Prefrontal Cortex For Attentional Selection And Stimulus Valuation., Daniel Kaping, Martin Vinck, R Matthew Hutchison, Stefan Everling, Thilo Womelsdorf

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Attentional control ensures that neuronal processes prioritize the most relevant stimulus in a given environment. Controlling which stimulus is attended thus originates from neurons encoding the relevance of stimuli, i.e. their expected value, in hand with neurons encoding contextual information about stimulus locations, features, and rules that guide the conditional allocation of attention. Here, we examined how these distinct processes are encoded and integrated in macaque prefrontal cortex (PFC) by mapping their functional topographies at the time of attentional stimulus selection. We find confined clusters of neurons in ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) that predominantly convey stimulus valuation information during attention shifts. …

A General Target For Mvps: Unsupported And Unnecessary, Curtis H. Flather, Gregory D. Hayward, Steven R. Beissinger, Philip A. Stephens

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In a recent article in TREE [1], we reviewed evidence for a consistent standardized estimate of minimum viable populations (MVPs) across taxa [2–4] and found that the universal MVP of 5000 adults advocated by Traill et al. [5] was unsupported by reanalyses of their data. We identified shortcomings in the original analyses, and found substantial uncertainty in standardized MVP estimates, both within populations of the same species and among species. We concluded that neither data nor theory supported a generally applicable MVP.

No evidence refuting the technical problems that we identified in their original analyzes was presented by Brook …

Antitrypanosomal Activities And Cytotoxicity Of Some Novel Imido-Substituted 1,4-Naphthoquinone Derivatives, Clarence Lee

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The antitrypanosomal activities, cytotoxicity, and selectivity indices of eleven imido-substituted 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives and nifurtimox have been studied. Compared to nifurtimox (IC(50) = 10.67 μM), all the imido-naphthoquinone analogs (IMDNQ1-IMDNQ11) are more potent on Trypanosoma cruzi with IC50 values ranging from 0.7 μM to 6.1 μM (p < 0.05). Studies of the cytotoxic activities of these compounds on a Balb/C 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line revealed that four of these compounds, IMDNQ1, IMDNQ2, IMDNQ3, and IMDNQ10 displayed selectivity indices of 60.25, 53.97, 31.83, and 275.3, respectively, rendering them significantly (p < 0.05) more selective in inhibiting the parasite growth than nifurtimox (selectivity index = 10.86).

Antitrypanosomal Activities And Cytotoxicity Of Some Novel Imido-Substituted 1,4-Naphthoquinone Derivatives, Franklin Ampy

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The antitrypanosomal activities, cytotoxicity, and selectivity indices of eleven imido-substituted 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives and nifurtimox have been studied. Compared to nifurtimox (IC(50) = 10.67 μM), all the imido-naphthoquinone analogs (IMDNQ1-IMDNQ11) are more potent on Trypanosoma cruzi with IC50 values ranging from 0.7 μM to 6.1 μM (p < 0.05). Studies of the cytotoxic activities of these compounds on a Balb/C 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line revealed that four of these compounds, IMDNQ1, IMDNQ2, IMDNQ3, and IMDNQ10 displayed selectivity indices of 60.25, 53.97, 31.83, and 275.3, respectively, rendering them significantly (p < 0.05) more selective in inhibiting the parasite growth than nifurtimox (selectivity index = 10.86).

Worldwide Distribution Of Allelic Variation At The Progesterone Receptor Locus And The Incidence Of Female Reproductive Cancers, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Global patterns of the incidence of cancer are often attributed to environmental and lifestyle differences between regions. Less attention has been given to global patterns of allelic variation of genes that may contribute to the risk of developing cancer.We genotyped samples from 21 populations for four variants of the progesterone receptor (PR) gene. One is an Alu insertion in intron 7 which defines the PROGINS haplotype. The others include a promoter region SNP 331+ G/A (rs10895068), a haplotype defining T/C substitution in intron 6 (rs561650), and an A/T substitution (rs608995) in the 3' untranslated region of the gene. All variants …

Characteristics Of Serial Title Changes And Recognition Of New Serial Works: Theoretical And Practical Implications, Mavis B. Molto

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

The paper reports findings from a study to identify characteristics of serials with title changes and then make recommendations for recognizing new works for these serials. Findings show title changes occur due to underlying subject, function, corporate, geographic, frequency, or format changes, with 80.8% of the changes being subject or function changes. It is recommended that reasons for title changes be determined from clear statements in text or elsewhere, and that new works be recognized based upon the requirements of a definition of a work. With the FRBR definition, a new work would be recognized only for a significant subject …

Vibrotactile Working Memory As A Model Paradigm For Psychology, Neuroscience, And Computational Modeling, Tyler D. Bancroft, William E. Hockley, Philip Servos

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of A Two-Dimensional System Of Rational Difference Equations Of Leslie-Gower Type, S. Kalabušić, M. R.S. Kulenović, E. Pilav

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We investigate global dynamics of the following systems of difference equations (Equestion Presented) where the parameters α 1, β 1, A 1, γ 2, A 2, B 2 are positive numbers, and the initial conditions x 0 and y 0 are arbitrary nonnegative numbers. We show that this system has rich dynamics which depends on the region of parametric space. We show that the basins of attractions of different locally asymptotically stable equilibrium points or non-hyperbolic equilibrium points are separated by the global stable manifolds of either saddle points or non-hyperbolic equilibrium points. We give examples of a globally attractive …

A Computational Investigation For Potential Improvements, Angela Grujicic

All Theses

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), colloquially known as a concussion, is the most common injury in modern wars. This domination of mTBI is hypothesized to be due to a combination of unconventional explosives and better protection and care of the patients, increasing survivability. While the majority of the body is covered in armor, the head is left relatively unprotected. The current Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) has been designed to protect the warfighter against ballistic impacts and impacts against a hard surface, with little to no regard to blast loading. Polyureas, a class of microsegregated, elastomeric copolymers, has been shown to …

Three-Dimensionally Preserved Integument Reveals Hydrodynamic Adaptations In The Extinct Marine Lizard Ectenosaurus (Reptilia, Mosasauridae), Johan Lindgren, Michael J. Everhart, Michael W. Caldwell

Sternberg Museum of Natural History Faculty Publications

The physical properties of water and the environment it presents to its inhabitants provide stringent constraints and selection pressures affecting aquatic adaptation and evolution. Mosasaurs (a group of secondarily aquatic reptiles that occupied a broad array of predatory niches in the Cretaceous marine ecosystems about 98-65 million years ago) have traditionally been considered as anguilliform locomotors capable only of generating short bursts of speed during brief ambush pursuits. Here we report on an exceptionally preserved, long-snouted mosasaur (Ectenosaurus clidastoides) from the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) part of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation in western Kansas, USA, that …

Assessment Of Bird-Management Strategies To Protect Sunflowers, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan, Scott J. Werner, Heath M. Hagy, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Even though avian damage to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is a worldwide economic issue, several of the current methods used to reduce sunflower damage were developed and tested in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States. An intensive research program was conducted in that area because of the regionalized concentration of sunflower production and the severe incidences of blackbird (Icteridae) depredation. During the past 40 years, federal and university scientists tested chemical and physical frightening agents, aversive repellents, bird-resistant sunflowers, decoy crops, habitat management, population management, and cultural modifications in cropping. Some of these techniques have broad applicability …

Gene Expression And Physiological Analyses To Study Metabolic Shifts In Medicago Truncatula Subjected To Biotic Stresses, Michelle Ryan Martin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plants are frequently under attack from pests and deploy various defense mechanisms to fight off predators. Many plant defenses are induced following herbivory or pathogen infection. An investment in defense could potentially lead to a diversion of metabolic resources away from primary metabolism, including reduction in plant commitment to photosynthesis. In this thesis, changes in expression levels of representative genes for primary and secondary metabolism were studied using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Medicago truncatula Gaertner subjected to beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua H¨¹bner) damage or Phoma medicaginis Malbr. & Roum. infection. Photosynthetic yield was also measured using chlorophyll fluorescence …

Surface Wetting And Friction Studies Of Nano-Engineered Surfaces On Copper Substrate, Julius Sheldon Morehead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nano-engineered-textures on a material surface can dramatically improve the wetting and non-wetting properties of a surface, and they also show promise to address friction issues that affect surfaces in contact. In this work, aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was used to produce nano-textures on copper (Cu) substrates. A study was performed to examine the effects of changing the annealing conditions and a-Si thickness on nano-texture formation. The creation of various nano-topographies and chemically modifying them using octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) was performed to control hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, and oil affinity of nano-textured surfaces. A video-based contact angle measurement system was used …

Perception Of Aquifer Depletion And The Effects Of Land Use Change Across The Madaba Plain, Jordan, Mohammad Salem

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Jordan, demand for water for agricultural purposes has put a high strain on aquifer resources. Water mining, erosion, and desertification have all increased as global temperatures rise. This along with fragmentation of the landscape have altered the environment in a profound way. The Madaba Plain was chosen for this study due to the agricultural activities that take place there, as well as the proximity to a number of population centers. The purpose of the study is to examine how fragmentation of irrigated landscape has affected the aquifers underneath, while taking into account perceptions of risk of the local population. …

Removal Of Disinfection By-Product Precursors Using Magnetic Ion Exchange (Miex(R)): The Effects Of Ph And Source Water Variability, Sarah Cousins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) form as an unintended result of drinking water disinfection, from chemical reactions between disinfectants (e.g., free chlorine) and naturally occurring dissolved organic matter (DOM). At present, 11 DBPs are regulated in treated drinking waters due to potential adverse health effects, including four trihalomethanes (THMs). Despite nearly 40 years of DBP research, compliance with DBP regulations remains a challenge for many drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), including the four DWTPs located on the Beaver Lake Reservoir in Northwest Arkansas. Due to the high net negative surface charge on DOM, anion exchange is one potentially viable method for removing …

Teachers’ Perceptions Toward Enhancing Learning Through Multiple Intelligences Theory In Elementary School: A Mixed Methods Study, Nouf I. Al-Wadi

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of multiple intelligences theory on elementary students’ academic achievement and to investigate teacher perceptions of multiple intelligences theory. The multiple intelligences school that was chosen for this study was Edwin Rhodes Elementary School. The study examined Edwin Rhodes Elementary School performance via the California Academic Performance Index. Edwin Rhodes School scores were compared with similar traditional school scores and with gifted and talented scores. The study found that the multiple intelligences school performance was between traditional and gifted and talented school performances. The study also explored teachers’ perceptions at Edwin …