Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of Electromagnetic Interactions Between Pet And Mri Systems For Simultaneous Mri/Pet Imaging, Sri Harsha Maramraju

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Multi-modality imaging in clinical and pre-clinical settings promises to forge new vistas for better diagnostic interpretation compared to stand-alone imaging systems. For in vivo imaging studies, accurate interpretation of diseased conditions is possible if structural, functional and metabolic information of the region of interest is provided at the same time. At Brookhaven National Laboratory, a small animal positron emission tomograph (PET) detector was integrated into a Bruker Biospin 9.4 T microMRI scanner to perform simultaneous PET/MRI studies in rodents. The custom-built MRI coils were optimized for simultaneous PET/MRI studies. The feasibility of acquiring simultaneous PET/MRI data has been demonstrated that …

Thou Met'st With Things Dying, I With Things New Born From King Lear To The Winter's Tale: Tragedies Transformed, Jessica Schnepp

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This paper looks back at King Lear through the lens of The Winter's Tale, not in the hopes of superimposing an alternate interpretation of King Lear as an individual play but of illuminating Shakespeare's own process of reevaluating and re-imagining his poetic project, his evolving understanding of theological truth, and his place during England's transition from the Medieval to Early Modernism. This paper will analyze the starkly dichotomous criticism of King Lear and, through detailed comparison with the plot, character, imagery and themes of The Winter's Tale, prove not only that a criticism of King Lear is incomplete without The …

Design, Synthesis And Evaluation Of Novel Taxane-Based Anticancer Agents, Yuan Li

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Taxol® (paclitaxel) and Taxotère® (docetaxel) are the most widely used pharmaceuticals in cancer chemotherapy. These drugs have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer, Kaposi Sarcoma, non-small cell lung cancer, etc. Both drugs are also under clinical development for additional cancer indications. Although established great success in the clinic, paclitaxel and docetaxel have exhibited a number of undesirable side effects as well as low efficiency against drug-resistant cancerphenotypes. Therefore the development of new analogs, which are expected to have higher potency and better pharmacological properties but fewer side effects, is of high …

Mindfulness And Authentic Creativity Developing A Healthy Lifestyle, Brittany B. Cockrell

HIM 1990-2015

The contemporary society of the United States of America is becoming an increasingly stressful environment to live in. Our rapid advances and developments in virtual, electronic, and high-speed technology have led us to a lifestyle that operates more quickly. However, our attachment to such a face-paced lifestyle has unfortunately led us towards an increasingly stressful lifestyle. This research focuses on identifying our current society's perceptual outlook and illustrating how the practice of mindfulness can help reduce the anxieties, struggles, and mental flaws which cloud our perception. The intent of this thesis is to show how the practice of mindfulness is …

Did The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico Become Greener After The Deepwater Horizon Spill?, Chuanmin Hu, Robert H. Weisberg, Yonggang Liu, Lianyuan Zheng, Kendra L. Daly, David C. English, Jun Zhao, Gabriel A. Vargo

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Assessment of direct and indirect impacts of oil and dispersants on the marine ecosystem in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (NEGOM) from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (April-July 2010) requires sustained observations over multiple years. Here, using satellite measurements, numerical circulation models, and other environmental data, we present some initial results on observed biological changes at the base of the food web. MODIS fluorescence line height (FLH, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass) shows two interesting anomalies. The first is statistically significant (>1 mg/cu m of chlorophyll-a anomaly), in an area exceeding 11,000 sq km in the NEGOM during August …

Fruit Presentation And Its Discovery And Removal By Frugivorous Bats (Phyllostomidae), May 2011, Emily Shelley

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Vegetation may obstruct echolocation signals bats use to forage. To compensate, frugivorous bats may use olfaction to locate fruits from a distance, saving echolocation to pinpoint fruits at close range. I observed how discovery time and total fruits taken by bats were impacted by foliage cover. Flight cage experiments found a significantly greater number of ripe fruits taken from feeding stations free of vegetation. Of 511 ripe fruits removed in total, uncovered fruits were taken 70 percent of the time. Also, fruits from uncovered stations were found significantly faster than fruits from covered stations. On average, uncovered fruits were discovered …

Influence Of Soil Ph On Abundance Of Mycorrhizae In A Coffea Arabica (Rubiaceae) Plantation, May 2011, Sarah Stahl

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Soil pH can have a large effect on the growth and fitness of plants. Coffea arabica (Rubiaceae) is an extremely important crop for the economy of Costa Rica. Coffee plants become more susceptible to the detrimental infection of Mycena citricolor, a fungus, with lower pH. pH can also have an effect on Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) amounts in the roots, therefore limiting the mutualistic fungus’s ability to help increase plants growth. Previous studies have also shown that M. citricolor increases closer to the forest, while mycorrhizae decrease slightly. This study, in Cañitas, Costa Rica, shows that pH increased significantly with distance …

Plants With Specialist Relationships Show Higher Rates Of Asexual Reproduction From Fragments, May 2011, Christine R. Isabella

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Sexual reproduction increases genetic variation and allows offspring to be transported away from their parent plant. However, many plants in tropical forests are capable of reproducing from fragments, leading to a high density of clones in close proximity to the parent plant. Most plants require animals for pollen and seed transport, and in some cases plants have a specialist relationship with an animal, relying exclusively on them for successful reproduction. Other plants have generalist relationships with pollinators and dispersers with many animals able to complete reproductive tasks for the plant. This is the first study to examine the relationship between …

The Interactions Of Herbivory, Ant Species And Mullerian Body Production In Cecropia Obtusifolia (Cecropiaceae), May 2011, Laura Hurley

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Mutualisms are prevalent in every ecosystem. The Cecropia-Azteca interaction is an example of a well-studied and prominent mutualism in the neotropics. Azteca ants act as biotic defenders by attacking herbivores and vines that assault the tree. In return, they receive nutrients from the Cecropia in the form of protein rich Müllerian bodies (MBs) and a place to live in the hollow stem of the tree. It is not a specialist mutualism, and while species show some preference to environmental conditions, multiple species of ants are able to live in one species of Cecropia. Different species of ants have different behaviors …

Sex, Size And Behavior In Wolf Spiders (Araneae, Lycosidea), May 2011, Nina Koroma

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Lycosids, or Wolf spiders, are widespread in many habitats and are important predators on leaf litter arthropods. They are highly territorial yet roam to forage. When they encounter another wolf spider they may fight, flee or court them. To determine whether Wolf spider size or sex determined agonistic or courting behavior, thirty spiders were captured and placed in pairs of male-male, female-female, and male-female for a short period of time. Size was not found to be a determining factor. However, female-female interactions elicited significantly more aggression than either male-female or male-male encounters. Additionally, avoidance was seen as the primary response …

Tropical Birds As Native And Exotic Seed Dispersers In Monteverde, Costa Rica, May 2011, Katherine M. Johnson

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

In Monteverde the practice of using non-native garden ornamentals is widespread. This practice could be economically and ecologically costly in the future if these non-native species escape gardens. Because many non-native invasive fruits are dispersed by birds, this study assesses non-native and native fruit species and tropical birds as non-native and native fruit dispersers. To determine whether fruits from an introduced species or a native species were preferred by dispersers and more frequently visited by birds, fruits from, Rubus rosifolius, a common roadside non-native, and Acnistus arborescens a common native garden ornamental were monitored for presence or absence and levels …

Ectoparasite Richness And Abundance On Three Species Of Neotropical Bats, May 2011, Roxanne Reiter

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Ectoparasitic arthropods can decrease the fitness or survival of their hosts by increasing host energy expenditure. Bats harbor many species of ectoparasites; host biology, grooming, and roosting habits can affect intensity of parasite infestation. This study assessed ectoparasitism on three species of Neotropical bats by Streblid batflies (Streblidae) and bat mites (Order: Acari). Bats were netted and ectoparasites identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Host species had a significant impact on ectoparasite richness and abundance (Two Way ANOVA, F = 41.25, df = 2, p < 0.0001). Anoura geoffroyi suffered the most intense overall parasitism and parasitism by Streblids, but Hylonycteris underwoodi hosted more mites and had a greater richness of mites per bat (Tukey’s HSD tests, p < 0.05). Carollia perspicillata suffered very low parasitism rates by all measures. Host sex did not appear to impact ectoparasitism across species or between males and females of the same species. Ectoparasitism is likely impacted by roosting dynamics, grooming habits, and density of individuals in the colony.

The Adaptive Function Of Leaf Fenestrations In Monstera Spp (Araceae) A Look At Water, Wind, And Herbivory, May 2011, Cassie Lubenow

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

A very important component of biodiversity in tropical forests is the vast variation in leaf morphology among different plant species. Leaf morphology is often a result of adaptations to the specific environmental conditions of a particular ecosystem or habitat. The Monstera genus of tropical plants in the Araceae family has very unique morphological leaf characteristics; it has large, deeply incised leaves with holes along the primary veins. There are many hypothesized adaptive functions of these holes, but no direct experimental studies have been completed to determine the functions they actually serve. This study directly tests the functional significance of the …

Transcript: The Brain Sciences In The Courtroom

Mercer Law Review

Morning Session featuring Oliver Goodenough and Richard Elliott, Moderated by Morris Hoffman; Abigail Baird and Theodore Blumoff, Moderated by Linda Hensel; Neal Feigenson and Francis Shen, Moderated by Stephen Morse

Afternoon Session featuring Julie Seaman, Edward J. Imwinkelried; Susan Bandes and Amanda Pustilnik, Moderated by Sarah Gerwig-Moore; Kathryn Kase and Emily Paavola, Moderated by Tim Floyd; Stephen Morse and Morris Hoffman, Moderated by Gary J. Simson

Functional Magnetic Resonance Detection Of Deception: Great As Fundamental Research, Inadequate As Substantive Evidence, Charles Adelsheim

Mercer Law Review

Essential to the law's pursuit of truth, justice, and the efficient resolution of conflict is assessing the veracity of statements made by individuals both in and out of court. In this judicial context, untruthful statements can be, and no doubt are, made regularly by plaintiffs, defendants, and other witnesses. Humans are generally very skilled at deceiving others, yet they are poor at detecting deception. Because of this disparity, there is a strong demand for reliable scientific techniques to detect deception. The most popular technique is currently the polygraph examination. However, polygraph-based evidence is inadmissible as substantive evidence in nearly all …

Interior Designer's Attitudes Toward Sustainable Interior Design Practices And Barriers Encountered When Using Sustainable Interior Design Practices, Leigh Bacon

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

The objectives of this study evaluated whether interior designer’s had a positive or negative attitude toward sustainable interior design practices.  Next, it evaluated the three areas of perceived barriers interior designers encounter when using sustainable interior design practices (project capabilities, transition to sustainability, and knowledge and skills associated with sustainable design).  The final objectives determined if attitudes and barriers affected the use of sustainable interior design practices, and determined whether the attitudes of interior designers and the barriers encountered by interior designers were related.  Overall, attitudes toward sustainable interior design practices were positive.  Barrier scores indicated that factors affecting project …

Ecotourism In Costa Rica: Environmental Impacts And Management, Emily Mckeone

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Globally we are witnessing growing environmental destruction, particularly to the natural resource bases of underdeveloped countries. If ecotourism can generate profits for local economies, while protecting and conserving the natural resource base of that community, it could be a strong alternative for numerous countries. Evidence suggests that the ecotourism industry has been expanding at a rapid rate in recent decades (Dasenbrock 2002). It is important to understand the positive and negative ecological impacts of the industry as this rapid growth rate continues.

The main objective of this study is to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the ecotourism industry in …

Improving Energy Sustainability In Pound Hall, Craig Adams

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This research project deals with improving energy sustainability in Pound Hall dormitory located on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s (UNL) city campus.  An investigation on the current energy usage of Pound Hall showed that its energy rates worsened between the years of 2009 and 2010.  These combined (electricity, steam, and water) energy rates were compared with those of the newly renovated Othmer Hall to emphasize the lack of sustainability in the older dormitory.  In order to improve Pound Hall’s energy rates, an energy benefit analysis of implementing a green roof was performed.  Having a green roof on this dormitory …

The Diffusion Of Environmental Literacy In An American Urban Community Through Children, Kelley Phillips

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Environmental literacy is a contentious issue in the United States of America because citizens feel it is forced upon them and interferes with our materialistic culture. Also, many Americans have limited access to green space and little time to devote to increasing their environmental mindset. This project documents a technique to introduce environmental literacy to American citizens by working with single communities in a common subset of American culture. Based on a model used by anthropologists in third world countries, the goal was to diffuse environmental literacy into a community by only instructing the children of that community in environmental …

An Assessment Of Stable Hydrogen-Isotope Analysis Methods To Assign Geographic Origin To Migratory Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis), Carla Marie Ahlschwede

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Stable-hydrogen isotopes are becoming an increasingly popular method of studying migratory birds, though sample preparation methods may affect results.  In this study I examined feathers from red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) to determine the relationship between measure of δD due to inter-feather variation or drying methods, assessed the accuracy of results by using two birds of known-origin and estimated possible natal origins of migratory red-tailed hawks.  Two feathers per individual were taken from 81 wild hawks caught at Hitchcock Nature Center near Crescent IA and from 2 rescued red-tailed hawks, Raptor Recovery Nebraska near Eagle, NE. 119 of the …

21rst Century Educational Farmstead, Trevis Carmichael

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

When Europeans began settling in the United States, farmsteads were built across the Great Plains. Out of necessity, these had to function in a self-sufficient manner; meaning the people had to produce their own food, use local materials, and be energy efficient for their transportation. Parents had to teach their children how to do all of the practical work it took to maintain their lives. This was the foundation that America was built upon. Having completed the first decade of the 21st century, the time seems right for a mental re-settlement that follows some of those same principles. Teaching our …

Analysis And Interpretation Of Factors Leading To Increased Aids Prevalence In Sub-Saharan Africa, William Kalhorn

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

My thesis research project focuses on the major factors that are contributing to the worst disease epidemic on the planet today. I have aimed to determine what may be some of the most important factors contributing to highly variable difference in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates are among the regions of East, West, and South Africa.  The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been growing and expanding to new areas of the world since the first case arose in 1959 in what is now called Kinshasa, Congo (Avert, 2011). The AIDS/HIV epidemic is believed to have originated on the African continent, and this is where …

Archaeoparasitology Of Chaco Canyon, Rachel Paseka

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Ancient cultures of the Colorado Plateau have been a focus of archaeoparasitology since its inception, and a vast parasitological history is recorded in coprolites preserved in this arid region. The inhabitants of Chaco Canyon dominated Ancestral Puebloan culture between 1050 and 1120 AD and were responsible for the construction of great towns, road systems, and early agriculture. Analysis of the parasites preserved in fecal remains contributes to an increased knowledge of ancient Chacoan health and culture. Nineteen coprolites from four sites in Chaco Canyon were rehydrated and analyzed microscopically for parasite remains. Rhabditiform and filariform nematode larvae were found from …

Educating Young Adults About Sustainable Development, Meghan Lewis

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This qualitative study on the types of environmental education on different age groups was conducted in Lincoln, Nebraska. The purpose of this thesis is to identify what age group and educational methods would be most effective to educate Lincoln citizens on the importance and benefits of sustainable development. Environmental education is an important aspect in implementation of new, environmentally friendly ideas.

Lincoln environmentalists are working to improve the city’s sustainability. Finding a way to consistently educate Lincoln residents on the importance and benefits of sustainable development will increase the public’s awareness of their efforts, leading to a greater interest in …

Parks And Obesity In Rural And Urban Nebraska, Michaela S. Wolf

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In order to better understand the role community design plays in obesity rates, this project studies a potential relationship between distance of parks from homes and obesity rates in four Nebraska counties. Park use may contribute to important health benefits, such as reducing risk of obesity by increasing physical activity levels. There are limitations to park use, such as crime rates and facility upkeep that are important to understand so that they might be managed and communities can reap greater benefits from their parks, including better fitness. This study examines park distance from homes as a potential limiting factor to …

Ec872 Crop Budgets: Nebraska 2011, Robert N. Klein, Roger Wilson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This publication contains crop production budgets for 13 crops and 50 cropping systems, as well as tables of power, machinery, labor, and input costs used to develop these budgets. Each budget consists of five sections: • Heading • List of representative field operations • List of materials and services used • Operations and interest tabulations • Overhead costs including real estate taxes and opportunitycharges The budgets are presented in a worksheet format with a “Your Estimate’’ column for recording cost modifications. Budget Divisions The heading consists of the crop name, source, amount, and method of water application, operating systemdescription, yield …

Student Use And Acceptance Of Video Podcasts In The Science Laboratory, Jessica Caron

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Educational technologies (e.g., computers, social software, personal response systems, and multimedia) have become commonplace in the higher education classroom; however, the full potential of this trend has yet to be realized in the laboratory setting. Technology integration into the undergraduate science laboratory is imperative if we are to, as Hofstein and Lunetta (2004) suggest, engage our current student populations in ways consistent with their experience, knowledge, and preferences. The incorporation of multimedia technologies into the laboratory is one way to meet this charge.Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM),this study investigated the student acceptance and usage of podcasting in the undergraduate …

The Application Of Creative Leadership Skills In The Education And Mentoring Of Social Entrepreneurs: A Graduate Level Course, Maria J. Rivera

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The purpose of this project is to fully comprehend the state of social entrepreneurship education through research, and consequently, to design a course on how to apply creative leadership skills to educate and mentor social entrepreneurs and to enhance their problem solving skills. The outcome of the project is a course proposal to build inter-disciplinary knowledge and skills.

Variation Of Spatial Strategies And The Telencephalon Of The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus) In Relation To Inferred Ecology, Peter Jung Park

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The importance of habitat type for the diversification of spatial strategies and telencephalon morphology was investigated in threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Field-caught samples from sea-run (ancestral) and ecologically diverse freshwater (derived) populations were studied. Freshwater habitats included shallow, structurally complex lakes with benthic-feeding stickleback, and deeper, structurally simple lakes with limnetic (planktivorous) forms. While stickleback employ a variety of learning strategies to navigate within their environment, natural variation of spatial learning was studied because, unlike other strategies, it covaries with the size of a neuroanatomical structure. Spatial learning in relation to inferred ecology, ancestry, and experience was investigated using …

Construction Of Papaya Male And Female Bac Libraries And Application In Physical Mapping Of The Sex Chromosomes, Andrea R. Gschwend, Qingyi Yu, Paul Moore, Christopher Saski, Cuixia Chen, Jianping Wang, Jong-Kuk Na, Ray Ming

Publications

Papaya is a major fruit crop in the tropics and has recently evolved sex chromosomes. Towards sequencing the papaya sex chromosomes, two bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries were constructed from papaya male and female genomic DNA. The female BAC library was constructed using restriction enzyme BstY I and consists of 36,864 clones with an average insert size of 104 kb, providing 10.3x genome equivalents. The male BAC library was constructed using restriction enzyme EcoR I and consists of 55,296 clones with an average insert size of 101 kb, providing 15.0x genome equivalents. The male BAC library was used in constructing …