Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Salivary Cortisol Levels And Stressful Behaviors Upon The Introduction Of A New Exhibit Mate In Captive Black And Gold Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Caraya) At The Hattiesburg Zoo, Cassie Mechelle Chandler

Master's Theses

Salivary cortisol levels were taken on a male and a female howler monkey and compared with behavioral observations during their introduction to one another into an exhibit at the Hattiesburg Zoo in order to determine the link between behavior and stress. This study sought to answer the following research questions: What behavioral responses occur when two howler monkeys are introduced into the same exhibit at a zoo? How stressed are the animals at different stages of the introduction? And, what is the correlation between behaviors and hormones, if any?

The study spanned four phases including a baseline phase, the initial …

Performance Analysis And Fitness Of Gpgpu And Multicore Architectures For Scientific Applications, Mohammad Bhuiyan

All Dissertations

Recent trends in computing architecture development have focused on exploiting task- and data-level parallelism from applications. Major hardware vendors are experimenting with novel parallel architectures, such as the Many Integrated Core (MIC) from Intel that integrates 50 or more x86 processors on a single chip, the Accelerated Processing Unit from AMD that integrates a multicore x86 processor with a graphical processing unit (GPU), and many other initiatives from other hardware vendors that are underway.
Therefore, various types of architectures are available to developers for accelerating an application. A performance model that predicts the suitability of the architecture for accelerating an …

Jackson, Mississippi, Contested: The Allied Struggle For Civil Rights And Human Dignity, Matthew David Monroe

Master's Theses

Utilizing monthly reports and correspondence of civil rights organizations, in addition to newspaper coverage, oral histories; and memoirs, this study shows that a grassroots, community-driven movement mobilized in Mississippi's capital to challenge institutionalized discrimination. Yet, racial identity did not dictate exclusively how White and Black Mississippians responded to the unfolding Civil Rights Movement. Conflicting and shifting motivations shaped the nature, extent, and pace by which Blacks and Whites challenged or protected status quo discrimination. The Jackson Movement began as early as 1955 and sustained protest activity into the 1960s. By the summer of 1965, Jackson's Black community secured most of …

Black Bear Conflicts And Safety And Utah Campgrounds, Barrie Gilbert

All Current Publications

Utah had its first black bear attack in June of 1992 when a young girl was dragged from a camper at Strawberry campground.

Analysis Of Food Web Effects Of Non-Native Fishes And Evaluation Of Stream Restoration Potential For The San Rafael River, Utah, Timothy E. Walsworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Native fishes of the Colorado River Basin have experienced dramatic reductions in range and abundance as a result of extensive human alterations to the basin’s waterways. Many of these native fishes are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act, while several others are subject to range-wide conservation agreements between state and federal management agencies. Three of the native species subject to range-wide conservation agreements are the flannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, and roundtail chub (hereafter, the “three species”). Each of the “three species” is still found in the San Rafael River of southeastern Utah, which has experienced habitat degradation and non-native …

Digitally-Controlled Deep Brain Stimulation Lead Implant System, Matthew Joseph Phillips

Master's Theses

Deep brain stimulation, the treatment of disorders by applying electrical stimulation to brain tissue, is a relatively new field of medicine with great potential to provide cures for neurological disorders. It utilizes a system very similar to a cardiac pacemaker and lead to electrically stimulate brain tissue. This electrical stimulation is programmed to disrupt or mask aberrant brain signals while not impeding the normal function of the brain. The advances in implantable pulse generators designed for deep brain stimulation have been remarkable, and the applications for deep brain stimulation continue to grow including multiple sclerosis (Berk, et al. 2002), severe …

Does Online Course Design Encourage Attrition? Assessing Usability Factors In Learning Management Systems, Lisa Theresa Richardson

Dissertations

Online coursework offers many college students flexibility and increased earning potential that they otherwise may not have due to personal or professional responsibilities and restrictions. Unfortunately, for students with disadvantaged technology backgrounds or disabilities limited accessibility compromises these opportunities for students who already face significant challenges to the completion of their post-secondary education. In the same manner that universal design of physical spaces increases usability of buildings and other facilities for all patrons, universal design of web-based courses could improve retention of course content for all learners.

In a case study based on cognitive load theory and constructivist pedagogy, the …

Movement Ecology Of An Intercontinental Migratory Bird During Spring Stopover, Emily Beth Cohen

Dissertations

Movement ecology is a component of nearly all aspects of animal behavior and an animal’s decision to move is likely influenced by a complex combination of exogenous and endogenous factors. Therefore, an examination of the causes and consequences of organismal movement provides a conceptual framework for understanding complex behavioral strategies. My dissertation research is focused on the movement ecology of an intercontinental migratory songbird during spring migration. I adopted experimental approaches to study the factors influencing how a songbird migrant, red-eyed vireos (Vireo olivaceus), makes decisions in unfamiliar landscapes from the initiation of spring stopover.

I simulated the …

Drosophila Piwi Functions Downstream Of Pirna Production Mediating A Chromatin-Based Transposon Silencing Mechanism In Female Germ Line, Sidney Wang, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

Transposon control is a critical process during reproduction. The PIWI family proteins can play a key role, using a piRNA-mediated slicing mechanism to suppress transposon activity posttranscriptionally. In Drosophila melanogaster, Piwi is predominantly localized in the nucleus and has been implicated in heterochromatin formation. Here, we use female germ-line-specific depletion to study Piwi function. This depletion of Piwi leads to infertility and to axis specification defects in the developing egg chambers; correspondingly, widespread loss of transposon silencing is observed. Germ-line Piwi does not appear to be required for piRNA production. Instead, Piwi requires Aubergine (and presumably secondary piRNA) for proper …

Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model In Context, Geert Hofstede

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

This article describes briefly the Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. It shows the conceptual and research efforts that preceded it and led up to it, and once it had become a paradigm for comparing cultures, research efforts that followed and built on it. The article stresses that dimensions depend on the level of aggregation; it describes the six entirely different dimensions found in the Hofstede et al. (2010) research into organizational cultures. It warns against confusion with value differences at the individual level. It concludes …

Music And Its Effect On Late Auditory Evoked Potentials In Elementary School Aged Children, Lee Helen Weeks

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Legislative Effects On The Morbidity Rates Of Meningococcal Disease Within The United States, Ashley Brown

Honors Theses

The main focus of this research is to compare the different methods used to control the outbreak of meningococcal disease and determine which one has the greatest effect on the morbidity rates by comparing the number of annual cases before and after the passing of the law. I hypothesize that the variation in state requirements will result in a difference in the incidence of meningococcal disease in each state. I predict that states requiring the vaccine will show a significant decrease in morbidity rates after the passing of the legislation.

Toward A Constructive Engagement: Agricultural Biotechnology As A Public Health Incentive In Less-Developed Countries, Chidi Oguamanam

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Discourses on global public health crises, especially as they impact the less-developed world, focus mostly on the issue of access to life-saving drugs for needy populations. Also, they implicate the misalignment of global pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) agenda with the health needs of the poor. Equally attracting significant attention is the role of intellectual property in driving up the cost of drugs and exacerbating the drug access freeze to needy populations. More often, the conceptual strings of these discussions are woven around a complex interaction of themes, including those of globalization, the development narrative, and strategic changes in international …

United States Food Law Update: Moving Toward A More Balanced Food Regulatory Regime, A. Bryan Endres, Nicholas R. Johnson

Journal of Food Law & Policy

For decades, the federal government has played a significant role in promoting healthy eating. In the early 1900s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) promoted a foundational diet of milk, proteins, fruits and vegetables, and grains. Most Americans are at least somewhat familiar, although perhaps confused, with the more nuanced healthy eating recommendations contained in the food pyramid - first employed in 1992. And virtually every American has experienced the federally supported school lunch program. In the first half of 2011, these two iconic programs underwent significant change as part of a stepped-up effort to improve the health of …

Legitimate Exercises Of The Police Power Or Compensable Takings: Courts May Recognize Private Property Rights, Terence J. Centner

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Under their police power, governments regulate nuisances and take actions in emergency situations. For protecting humans, animals, and plants from diseases and other pests (jointly referred to as diseases), governments order inoculations, quarantine items and people, and seize and destroy property.' With respect to plants and animals, the United States Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit the importation and movement of items than may be infested. The Secretary also has the authority to hold, treat, and destroy items to prevent the dissemination of plant and animal pests. State governments take additional actions to prevent the introduction and dissemination of …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Fall 2011, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

First Records Of Paralaoma Servilis (Shuttleworth, 1852) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Punctidae) In The Hawaiian Islands, Carl Christensen, Norine Yeung, Kenneth Hayes

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

We report the establishment of another globally invasive land snail species in the Hawaiian islands. Punctidae Paralaoma servilis (Shuttleworth, 1852) New state record Cowie et al. (1995) and Cowie (1997) reported the occurrence on the island of Hawai'i of an unidentified land snail tentatively assigned to the genus Striatura (Family Zonitidae). We now identify this species as Paralaoma servilis (Shuttleworth, 1852) (Family Punctidae) and report its occurrence also on the island of O'ahu (Fig. 1). 

Multiple Paths To Encephalization And Technical Civilizations, David Schwartzman, George Middendorf

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

We propose consideration of at least two possible evolutionary paths for the emergence of intelligent life with the potential for technical civilization. The first is the path via encephalization of homeothermic animals; the second is the path to swarm intelligence of so-called superorganisms, in particular the social insects. The path to each appears to be facilitated by environmental change: homeothermic animals by decreased climatic temperature and for swarm intelligence by increased oxygen levels.

Entrepreneurial Innovation As A Learning System, Robert M. Gemmell

Student Scholarship

We surveyed 172 technology entrepreneurs to explore links between learning style and learning flexibility and decision making behaviors hypothesized to produce entrepreneurial innovation and success. Our findings reveal a system of entrepreneurial learning and innovation with subtle and surprising interactions between learning processes and behavioral mediators.

The Use Of Virtual Reality To Demonstrate Trajectory Planning And Control Of A 3-Dof Underactuated Robot In A Horizontal Plane In Real-Time, Waladin K., Mohammed Y. Algailany

Iraqi Journal of Computers, Communications, Control and Systems Engineering

Real-Time 3D animation and Real-Time Simulation results are reported for a 3R underactuated robot moving in a horizontal plane using Virtual Reality Toolbox™, Real-Time Windows Target™,Real-Time Workshop®, and interfaced to Simulink® under the MATLAB® environment. The reason behind Real-time 3D animation and Real-Time simulation is to provide animated real-time tools in a realistic fashion to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controllers in tracking the desired trajectory and to provide a tool for researchers to test their proposed controllers and observe their behavior using 3-DOF underactuated manipulator in real-time.

Clinical Trial Enrollment In A Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer, Delora A. Domain

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Purpose: Clinical oncology trials are hampered by low accrual rates. Less than 5% of adult cancer patients are treated on a clinical trial. We aimed to evaluate clinical trial enrollment in our Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer Clinic and to assess if a clinical trial initiative, introduced in 2006, increased our trial enrollment.
Methods: Prostate cancer patients with non-metastatic disease who were seen in the clinic from 2004 to 2008 were included in the analysis. Men were categorized by whether they were seen before or after the clinical trial enrollment initiative started in 2006. The initiative included posting trial details in the …

Quantitative Comparison Of Cis-Regulatory Element (Cre) Activities In Transgenic Drosophila Melanogaster, William A. Rogers, Thomas M. Williams

Biology Faculty Publications

Gene expression patterns are specified by cis-regulatory element (CRE) sequences, which are also called enhancers or cis-regulatory modules. A typical CRE possesses an arrangement of binding sites for several transcription factor proteins that confer a regulatory logic specifying when, where, and at what level the regulated gene(s) is expressed. The full set of CREs within an animal genome encodes the organism′s program for development¹, and empirical as well as theoretical studies indicate that mutations in CREs played a prominent role in morphological evolution^2-4. Moreover, human genome wide association studies indicate that genetic variation in CREs …

Genetic Influence On The Working Memory Circuitry: Behavior, Structure, Function And Extensions To Illness, Katherine H. Karlsgodt, Peter Bachman, Anderson M. Winkler, Carrie E. Bearden, David C. Glahn

School of Medicine Publications

Working memory is a highly heritable complex cognitive trait that is critical for a number of higher-level functions. However, the neural substrates of this behavioral phenotype are intricate and it is unknown through what precise biological mechanism variation in working memory is transmitted. In this review we explore different functional and structural components of the working memory circuitry, and the degree to which each of them is contributed to by genetic factors. Specifically, we consider dopaminergic function, glutamatergic function, white matter integrity and gray matter structure all of which provide potential mechanisms for the inheritance of working memory deficits. In …

The Other Side Of Health Care Reform: An Analysis Of The Missed Opportunity Regarding Infertility Treatments., Nizan Geslevich Packin

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Recent studies show that one in eight American couples suffered from infertility. Infertility treatments are riddled with accessibility barriers including high costs, marital status, and sexual orientation. Despite President Obama’s promise of universal health care, his health care reform acts missed the opportunity to squarely address this widespread problem. In fact, the recent health care reform did not include any provisions specific to fertility. Despite this glaring oversight, this article argues that regulators interpreting the acts can still provide the desired relief. The minimum coverage requirements beginning in 2014 can be interpreted to include fertility care if infertility is treated …

Alignment-Free Methods And Its Applications, Ramez Mina

Student Work

Comparing biological sequences remains one of the most vital activities in Bioinformatics. Comparing biological sequences would address the relatedness between species, and find similar structures that might lead to similar functions.

Sequence alignment is the default method, and has been used in the domain for over four decades. It gained a lot of trust, but limitations and even failure has been reported, especially with the new generated genomes. These new generated genomes have bigger size, and to some extent suffer errors. Such errors come mainly as a result from the sequencing machine. These sequencing errors should be considered when submitting …

Marketing Dietary Supplements: Public Relations And The Ability Of Pharmaceutical Companies To Retain And Develop Consumer Relationships, Nicole Schmidt

Journalism

Dietary supplements have grown in popularity in recent years, with multivitamins the most commonly used. As the awareness of dietary supplements continues to increase, there are more chances for consumers to misuse or misunderstand the risks of taking dietary supplements. Public relations, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies should work to educate the consumer about the uses and risks of supplements. This paper addresses the issues associated with dietary supplements, particularly in the area of weight-loss supplements. Adverse side effects are addressed, as well as how public relations can influence the outcome of pharmaceutical companies’ relationships with consumers. Public relations can help …

Embodied Consciousness In Non-Fiction Illness Narratives : A Phenomenological-Sociological Approach., Kathryn A. Jacobi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses a phenomenological and sociological lens to explore how non-fiction illness narratives help us understand how perception of the self is disrupted because of serious illness or injury. Specifically, I use the French philosopher, M. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological thought concerning the body and the sociological perspective of medical sociologist, Arthur Frank and his types of narratives and how culture helps construct illness. I analyze the works of four different writers: Sarah Manguso, Oliver Sacks, Jean Dominique-Bauby, and Anatole Broyard. Chapter one serves as an introduction to the subject of illness writing and an overview of some of the material …

Early Detection And Control Of Potential Pandemics., Shengpeng Jin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early information is crucial for policy makers and public health officials responsible for protecting the public from the virulent spread of contagious diseases. Current indicators of the spread of contagious outbreaks lag behind the actual spread of the epidemic, leaving no time for a planned response. The studies of Christakis et al. in 2010 have shown that social networks can provide more timely information for prediction. Our focus, however, is on the effective control of the spread of contagious outbreaks in their early stages. We do this by defining a more effective way to chart the spread of contagious outbreaks, …

Narrative Comprehension Abilities Of Children From Low-Income Families : Role Of Temperament, Attention Skills, And Cognitive Engagement., Tara N. Weatherholt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated narrative comprehension ability in children from low-income families by examining the contributions of temperament, attention skills, and cognitive engagement. Research has identified narrative comprehension skills as significant for successful literacy outcomes, but few studies have examined the effect of individual level characteristics on comprehension ability. As reading and pre-reading skills in children from disadvantaged homes has been shown to be lower than that of children from more privileged backgrounds, it is critical to examine the factors that contribute to comprehension skills in this population. The current study focuses on the relationships among temperament, attention network skills, …

Age-Associated Periodontal Bone Loss In Normal And Tlr2- Or Myd88-Deficient Mice., Paul A. Ciero 1986-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Age-related alterations in innate immunity are poorly understood. The identification of those mechanisms, which are dysfunctional in old age, will shed light on potential therapeutic strategies for chronic inflammatory diseases prevalent in the elderly, such as periodontitis. Mice naturally develop chronic periodontitis as a function of age, which is characterized by periodontal bone loss. TLR2, a pattern-recognition receptor of leukocytes which mediates inflammatory responses in the periodontium, was expressed at higher levels in the gingivae of old mice (>18 months) compared with young mice (8 to 10 weeks). MyD88 is a signaling adaptor protein for TLR2 and other TLRs. …