Digital Commons Network^™

Modeling Human Immune Response To The Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria, Yevhen Rutovytskyy

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this project is to develop and analyze a mathematical model

for the pathogen-host interaction that occurs during early Lyme disease.

Based on the known biophysics of motility of Borrelia burgdorferi and a

simple model for the immune response, a PDE model was created which tracks

the time evolution of the concentrations of bacteria and activated immune

cells in the dermis. We assume that a tick bite inoculates a highly

localized population of bacteria into the dermis. These bacteria can

multiply and migrate. The diffusive nature of the migration is assumed and

modeled using the heat equation. Bacteria …

An Examination Of Third And Fourth Grade Tcap Scores And The Universal Breakfast Program In Unicoi County Tennessee., Harold Lamar Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of standardized test scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) of students enrolled in Unicoi County Schools, that offers a universal breakfast program, compared with mean scores of students in both public and private schools in the state of Tennessee during the 2007-2008 school year. Test results of 404 Unicoi County third and fourth graders were examined with only the mathematics and reading and language arts sections of the TCAP used in this research. The State means were calculated using data collected from TCAP mathematics and reading and language …

An Analysis Of The Handwriting Of Elderly Chinese Subjects., Dongfang Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays, one of the issues of concern that brought on by the aging population is legal disputes that have been increasing in number every year. One core problem in these legal disputes involves handwriting identification. There are however not many previous studies in China that have been concentrated on this field. Hence, the study on elderly Chinese subjects' handwriting has an extremely broad potential value for its application for academic usage and practical meaning. This study uses an empirical technique, gathering first hand data and analysing them by employing proper methods. There are 7 handwriting features and characteristics that have …

Synthesis Of A Resveratrol Glycinate Derivative., Shelley Marie Van Cleve

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the compound resveratrol has had media attention as an anti carcinogen. However, the bioavailability of resveratrol is low in the human system due to its hydrophobic nature. Therefore, it must be administered in high dosages to be effective. A plethora of derivatives have been synthesized that have the potential of resveratrol but sadly share low bioavailability. The first effort of this research was an attempt to produce a more hydrophilic ester of resveratrol. Failing this, the final product was synthesized using a glycine derivative to produce 4-[(1E)-2-(3,5-diacetyloxyphenyl)ethenyl]phenyl N-[(1,1-dimethylethoxy)carbonyl]-glycinate.

Flow Cytometric Analysis Of Crayfish Hemocytes., Sarah Kathryn Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Crayfish exhibit innate immune responses via hemocytes and their products. There are 3 hemocyte populations: hyaline cells, granular cells, and semigranular cells. Hemocytes from laboratory housed, untreated crayfish (normal crayfish) have been quantified on the basis of cell type, cell size, and cell granularity using Flow Cytometry. These data present the first overall picture of normal hemocytes from Red Swamp Crayfish with regard to cell type, cell size, and cell granularity and will serve as a baseline for all future studies in our lab. Experiments using crayfish injected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, or crayfish saline alone showed …

Power Analysis For Alternative Tests For The Equality Of Means., Haiyin Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The two sample t-test is the test usually taught in introductory statistics courses to test for the equality of means of two populations. However, the t-test is not the only test available to compare the means of two populations. The randomization test is being incorporated into some introductory courses. There is also the bootstrap test. It is also not uncommon to decide the equality of the means based on confidence intervals for the means of these two populations. Are all those methods equally powerful? Can the idea of non-overlapping t confidence intervals be extended to bootstrap confidence intervals? The powers …

A Predictive Model Which Uses Descriptors Of Rna Secondary Structures Derived From Graph Theory., Alissa Ann Rockney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The secondary structures of ribonucleic acid (RNA) have been successfully modeled with graph-theoretic structures. Often, simple graphs are used to represent secondary RNA structures; however, in this research, a multigraph representation of RNA is used, in which vertices represent stems and edges represent the internal motifs. Any type of RNA secondary structure may be represented by a graph in this manner. We define novel graphical invariants to quantify the multigraphs and obtain characteristic descriptors of the secondary structures. These descriptors are used to train an artificial neural network (ANN) to recognize the characteristics of secondary RNA structure. Using the ANN, …

Electrochemical Studies Of Reactions In Small Volumes Less Than 1 Femto Litres., Isaac Agyekum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical methods have been used to study electron transfer reactions at the interface between an aqueous phase of less than 1 femto liters in volume and a bulk organic phase. The small aqueous phase is formed at the end of a slightly recessed platinum electrode. When a negative potential is applied between the Pt electrode and the aqueous phase, Ru(NH₃)₆³⁺ in the aqueous phase could be reduced to Ru(NH₃)₆²⁺. Because the volume of the aqueous phase is very small, the electrochemically formed Ru(NH₃)₆²⁺ could instantly reach the …

Diel Periodicity In Activity And Location In The Web Of The Common House Spider (Achaearanea Tepidariorum)., Elise Wolf

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Circadian rhythm is a type of endogenous clock that controls daily behavioral patterns in most organisms. Spiders have been shown to exhibit both circadian and non-circadian rhythms in their behaviors. This rhythmicity may allow spiders to cope with diel changes in environmental conditions. Both diurnal and nocturnal behavior have different sets of costs and benefits to a species’ survival. Achaearanea tepidariorum is one species in which potential circadian rhythmicity has never been studied. Due to its foraging behavior, it was predicted that its daily activity would be arrhythmic. We recorded the positions within the web of forty individuals throughout the …

Impacts Of Goat Browsing And Disease On Lilium Grayi, Gray's Lily, On Roan Mountain., Joseph Powell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The flora of southern Appalachian high elevation balds has strong representation of northern disjuncts and regional endemics. Among the endemics, the showy Lilium grayi (Gray’s Lily), is most noteworthy for its historical significance and for a high public profile. As bald vegetation changes in response to human and natural environmental shifts, active bald management has been implemented on public lands. Among managed balds, the Roan Mountain massif supports a large population of L. grayi. The purpose of this study was to describe the demography of adult plants, compare browsed and non-browsed plots, and determine the extent to which disease …

The Effects Of The Vitamin E Isomers Gamma Tocopherol And Gamma Tocotrienol On The Nfkb Pathway In The Pc-3 Cell Line., Brittney Rudder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Regions along the Mediterranean and Southern Asia have lower prostate cancer incidence compared to the rest of the world. It has been hypothesized that one of the potential contributing factors for this low incidence includes a higher intake of vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols). This study examines the potential of gamma tocopherol (GT) and gamma tocotrienol (GT3) to reduce prostate cancer proliferation by examining their effects on the NFκB pathway. NFκB is known to inhibit apoptosis in cancer cells. Our data shows that both GT and GT3 are capable of down regulation of NFκB precursors and up regulation of Caspase …

The Effect Of Ultraviolet Light On Cell Viability, Dna Damage And Repair In Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome And Bj Fibroblasts., Mckayla Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Patients of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) display a rate of aging up to ten times that of normal human populations. It might be expected that HGPS cells would have a decreased ability to repair DNA damage through the cell cycle as compared to normal cells such as those of the BJ cell line since DNA damage accumulation is a hallmark phenotype of aging. On earth, we are exposed to far more ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280-315 nm) and UV-A (315-400 nm) than UV-C (100-280 nm) radiation, since the latter is filtered-out by the atmospheric ozone layer. The relative sensitivity of prematurely aging …

Role Of Stress In The Onset Of Diabetes Mellitus In Mice., Lindsey Brianne Mcamis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study investigated the effects of stress on the onset of chemically-induced diabetes mellitus in mice. Sixty male ICR mice were randomly divided into 6 groups of 10 mice. A factorial arrangement of 2 factors (streptozotocin (STZ) and stress) was used to produce 6 treatments. Three levels of STZ (0, 25 and 50 mg/kg bodyweight) and 2 levels of stress (stress and no-stress) were used. Stressed groups were exposed to restraint stress 6 hours daily for 18 days. Mice bodyweight, feed consumption and blood glucose levels were recorded regularly during the study period. At the end of the study period, …

Skeletal Development In Oviparous And Viviparous Populations Of Saiphos Equalis., Melia Baker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines ossification at different embryonic stages to develop a pattern of ossification and to look at differences between oviparous and viviparous populations of the same species.

Creating Gender In Disney/Pixar's Wall-E., Brittany Long

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis I will look at Disney/Pixar’s creation and portrayal of gender in the film WALL-E. In particular I will be looking at two areas of interest: (1) The ways in which Disney/ Pixar anthropomorphizes and creates gender for WALL-E and EVE, the two main robots featured in the movie, and (2) whether or not Disney/Pixar’s representations of masculinity and femininity follow the stereotypical representations of male dominance or if this representations challenge this stereotype. In this chapter, I will begin with a brief overview of previous studies in the areas of anthropomorphism, gender representation in children’s media, and …

The Graduation Rates Of Career And Technical Education (Cte) Concentrators In Tennessee., Richard Ernest Shadden Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare high school graduation rates between Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. School systems in the state of Tennessee that offered CTE courses for the 2007-2008 (120 systems) or 2008-2009 (118 systems) school years were used in this study. Fifteen northeast Tennessee systems were also examined to compare the graduation rates of CTE concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. The graduation rates of male and female CTE concentrators was also compared.

Research supported the notion that CTE concentrators could improve overall graduation rates for school systems, and female CTE concentrators on …

Alternative Scheduling In The Middle School: Considering Circadian Rhythms., James Edward Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The passage of No Child Left Behind has increased the level of accountability for all educators. There are many factors that affect student achievement. One factor that may be overlooked is the schedule configuration of schools. Addressing student needs through scheduling options may assist school systems and students in performing at the level they are being held accountable.

The population for this study was students from a rural East Tennessee middle school with a population of approximately 700 students. The low socioeconomic students represent 68% of the school total enrollment while 18% of the students have an individual education plan …

Perceptions And Actions Regarding Parent Involvement In A Small Northeast Tennessee School District., Randy Adam Watts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the perception scores and action scores of teachers in a northeast Tennessee school system in terms of parent involvement. Also, this study examined the relationship between perception scores and action scores of administrators and teachers across the district. Lastly, this study determined if significant differences existed in the perception scores and action scores between elementary, middle, and high school teachers.

Data were collected by questionnaires containing sections for demographic information, perceptions of parent involvement, and actions involving parent involvement. The population consisted of 437 certified teachers and 24 building level administrators. From …

Beyond Cyberpessimism And Cyberoptimism: The Dual Nature Of Social Network Site Interaction., Jeremy David Makely

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis applies methodological and micro-sociological insights derived from the pioneering social psychologist Georg Simmel (1858-1918) to the contemporary social media platform, Facebook. In opposition to previously-reported one-sided, polarized analyses (i.e. either/or, pessimistic or optimistic), this study suggests a more nuanced judgment: interaction viewed as social exchange reveals that individuality is often promoted though can occasionally be hindered; while most exchanges are ill-suited for sustaining interpersonal value, they ironically facilitate enhanced trust; and finally, the unique structure of site-based exchange generally facilitates rather than undercuts constructive conflict.

"No New Babies?" Gender Inequality And Reproductive Control In The Criminal Justice And Prisons System, Rachel Roth

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

International Criminal Court's Protection Of Women: The Hands Of Justice At Work, Tina R. Karkera

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Fate Of Alpine Species In The Face Of Climate Change: A Biogeographic Perspective, Madaline Cochrane

Macalester Reviews in Biogeography

Will global climate change affect the spatial distribution and abundance of biodiversity along mountains equally? The elevational gradients inherent as one moves up a mountain slope help define the many biological patterns that emerge as key indicators for species richness in an era of rising global temperatures. When global temperatures arise, the microclimates found along different elevational ranges on mountains also fluctuate. As abiotic characteristics such as daily air temperature, daily precipitation, and annual snowmelt change overtime, so will the biotic communities on a mountain. Some species may be able to adapt to their new environments, while other may have …

Linking Hydroperiod With Water Use And Nutrient Accumulation In Wetland Tree Islands, Xin Wang

Open Access Dissertations

Many large terrestrial ecosystems have patterned landscapes as a result of a positive feedback system between vegetation communities and environmental factors. One example is tree island habitats in the Florida Everglades. Although they only occupy a small portion of the Everglades landscape, tree islands are important features as the focus of nutrient accumulation and wildlife biodiversity in the Everglades ecosystem. The hardwood hammock community on the elevated head of tree island habitats can accumulate high phosphorus concentration in the otherwise P-limited Everglades ecosystem. In this dissertation, I examined two hypotheses derived from the chemohydrodynamic nutrient accumulation model, which suggests that …

Community And Functional Ecology Of Lianas In The Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot, Amazonian Ecuador, Hugo Geovanny Romero-Saltos

Open Access Dissertations

I studied the community of lianas in the Yasuní Forest Dynamics Plot (YFDP), in Amazonian Ecuador. I found that species diversity of lianas in valley habitat was higher than in ridge habitat, but liana abundance was similar. I also found that community structure (species composition and their abundances) of lianas in ridge was distinct from that in valley because of the differential distribution and abundance of certain species along the topographic gradient. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon deterministically, I took two approaches: (1) to explore if trait expression of leaf-based traits, wood specific gravity and stem growth rate …

The Word And The World: Exploring World Views Of Monolingual And Bilingual Chinese Through The Use Of Proverbs, Li Ma

Open Access Dissertations

Many thinkers argue that major differences among languages lead to major differences in experience and thought. Each speech community possibly embodies a distinct world view. The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of proverbs, the relationship between acculturation and world views among monolingual and bilingual Chinese, with proficiency in Chinese and/or English used a proxy for level of acculturation. Data were collected through questionnaires and qualitative interviews regarding attitudes to English and Chinese proverbs. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS and modified grounded theory methodology. The statistical and qualitative findings contradicted each other: the former …

Commencement Program 2011 May Graduate, Gcsu Special Collections

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Genetic Influence On The Placebo Effect Specific To Exercise Performance, Jennifer Wu

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Placebo treatments can be used to elicit many different physiological responses; however, the underlying mechanisms responsible remain unclear. Recent research has shown the possibility of a genetic influence on the placebo response in patients with mood disorders. In this study, we attempted to establish a similar relationship in healthy college-aged students. Force production was measured by isometric knee extension of the quadriceps muscles using maximum voluntary contractions (MVC). Subjects were given placebo treatments disguised as an undisclosed sports supplement with the information that the supplement was previously shown to provide immediate strength improvements following ingestion. Subject DNA was genotyped for …

Effect Of Diet Induced Weight Loss And Exercise On Hscreactive Protein In Sedentary Postmenopausal Women, Jennifer Donnelly

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, such as increased body fat, dyslipidemia, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are intensified in postmenopausal women. CRP has been reported as an independent indicator of risk for cardiovascular events. CRP is affected by multiple factors such as age, race, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity level. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of an exercise intervention on traditional (BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference, physical activity level) and non-traditional (CRP) risk factors for cardiovascular disease to a dietary intervention program in sedentary, postmenopausal women. Twenty apparently healthy postmenopausal …

Impediment Sensitive-Role Based Access Control, Joseph Frederick Blumberg

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This paper introduces a variation to the Role Based Access Control (RBAC) model called Impediment Sensitive RBAC (IS-RBAC) to be used for implantable and closely-worn medical devices. The IS-RBAC represents impediments including instrument failures, user failures, and environmental situations. IS-RBAC accommodates the impacts that the three types of impediments convey on two foundation set definitions, namely, the data set and the set of user role assignments. With these new definitions, IS-RBAC model strengthens the weaknesses caused to the protection of data from user and instrument failures and environmental situations, mitigates threats from users with elevated user role privileges, and ultimately …

A Bioaugmentation Approach To The Prevention Of Chytridiomycosis, Carly Muletz

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Symbiosis is defined as two species living together. This association between organisms is present at all taxonomic levels making it a ubiquitious phenomenon in ecology and evolution. I studied symbiosis among three species: a mutualistic bacterium, a parasitic fungus and an amphibian host. The first goal of my research was to examine how the mutualistic bacteria of amphibians’ skin are acquired. I demonstrated that a cutaneous mutualistic bacterial species, Janthinobacterium lividum, was transmitted environmentally, via soil, to the skin of an amphibian species, Plethodon cinereus. These results indicate that amphibians’ mutualistic bacteria can be acquired from the environment. Based upon …