Digital Commons Network^™

Wifipoz -- An Accurate Indoor Positioning System, Xiaoyi Ye

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Location based services are becoming an important part of life. Wide adoption of GPS in mobile devices combined with cellular networks has practically solved the problem of outdoor localization needs. The problem of locating an indoor user has being studied only recently. Much research contributed to the innovative concept of an indoor positioning system. By analyzing different technologies and algorithms, this thesis concluded that, considering a trade-off between accuracy and cost, a Wi-Fi based Fingerprint method is proved to be the most promising approach to determine the location of a mobile device. However, the Fingerprint method works in two phases-an …

Imagining Insects: Integrating The Fine Arts Into Writing, Literature, And Science Through Projectbased Learning Activities, Michael J. Letts, Kia Jane Richmond

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Music, Metaphors, And Politics In The Language Arts Class, Gregory Shafer

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of Conditions For Vitrification Of Aqueous Solutions Of Relevance To Cryobiology, Michael J. Baker

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Cryopreservation is a technology with wide ranging applications including helping to prevent specis extinction (Hopkins and Herr, 2010). However, the current applicability of cryopreservation protocols is limited. This limitation warranted experimentation that could contribute to the optimization of current protocols for cryopreservation. The experiments presented herein were designed to contribute to the plunge-cooling method of cryopreservation. The importance for further development of current plunge-cooling methods is for the cryopreservation of cell-types sensitive to the other method of cryopreservation, slow-equilibrium freezing. The purpose for plunge-cooling is to cool a sample from ambient temperature to liquid nitrogen temperature at a fast rate. …

Examination Of The Prevalence And Persistence Of Pathogenic Staphylococci On Euro Currency, Emma Gabriel

Theses

Staphylococci are a diverse group of bacteria that cause diseases ranging from minor skin infections to life-threatening bacteremia. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is the most common multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen in Europe estimated to cause 170,000 infections resulting in more than 5,000 deaths and additional healthcare costs of approximately €380 million annually (Kock et al., 201 1). Whilst rarely life-threatening, coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), in particular S. epidermidis are responsible for the majority of indwelling medical device failures, causing intrinsically resistant biofilm infections, estimated to cost $2 billion per year in additional healthcare costs in the U.S. alone (Otto, 2009).

It is …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Rotavirus Strains Gl, G3 5g9 5p[8] And P[4] Using Both Neighbour-Joining And Maximum Parsimony, Jenny Cotter

Theses

Globally rotavirus is one of the most important causes of gastroenteritis in children and affects nearly all children by the age of 5 years. It also infects adults with most severe symptoms in the elderly or immune compromised. The most common strains associated with human rotavirus gastroenteritis are G1-G4 and G9 along with P[8],[6]and [4].All previous studies used only neighbour-joining method in the phylogenetic analysis of rotavirus genes. In this study rotavirus genes VP7 and VP4 for rotavirus strains G1 .G3 ,G9 , P[8] and P[4] were analysed in MEGA4.0 using both neighbour-joining and maximum parsimony. The main difference in …

Purification And Applications Of A Bacteriophage-Derived Enzyme Chapk Against Problematic Staphylococci., Niamh Marie O'Shea

Theses

The bacteriophage K-derived peptidase CHAPk (Cysteine/Histidine-dependant amidohydrolase peptidase) can be produced from E. coli XL 1-Blue. Standard operating procedures for the production, purification and quality assessment of the peptidase were developed and set out in detail in this thesis. CHAPk exhibits strong antistaphylococcal properties and the purified enzyme was evaluated for its potential to eliminate S. aureus from the bovine udder and from human skin. As a teat dip CHAPk reduced the levels of S. aureus by three to five log cycles on both animal and human surfaces. CHAPk activity in milk was evaluated using challenge assays against the bovine …

Evaluation Of Novel Low Molecular Weight Antimicrobial Compounds Produced By Lactic Acid Bacteria., Jiahui Leona Guo

Theses

Fungal food spoilage plays a pivotal role in the deterioration of food and feed systems and some fungi are also able to produce compounds toxic for humans and animals. The mycotoxins produced by fungi can cause serious health hazards and include toxins which are cancerogenic, immunotoxic, teratogenic, neurotoxic, nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic effects and Kashin-Beck disease. In addition to this, fungal spoilage/pathogens cause losses of marketable quality and hygiene of foodstuffs, resulting in major economic problem throughout the world. Nowadays, food spoilage can be prevented using physical and chemical methods, but no efficient strategy has been proposed so far to reduce …

Direct Manipulation Tablet Apps For Education: How Should We Understand Them?, Rich Burkhard, Timothy Hill, Shailaja Venkatsubramanyan, Chang Kim

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

As the iPad and its competitors create a new product category – apps for mobile, multimedia tablets with touch and gesture interfaces – many are convinced that tablet apps will revolutionize education. For example, hand-controlled, direct manipulation features offer new ways to convey both spatial and abstract concepts, and progressive storylines can adapt to users in real-time. While the effectiveness of tablet apps for learning may seem obvious to new users, how and why particular apps might be effective is new research territory, and the relevance of existing learning theory is unknown. We describe a research program that will explore …

Mating Patterns And Breeding Success In The Larus Glaucescens-Occidentalis Complex, Protection Island, Washington, Andre E. Moncrieff

Honors Theses

Glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) and Western gulls (Larus occidentalis) are found along the Pacific Coast. Where their breeding ranges overlap in Oregon and Washington they hybridize, producing a continuum of phenotypic variation. Whereas most colonies containing these hybrids are found on islands along the coast, several, including a large colony on Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge, WA, are located in the Salish Sea. In 2010 I scored the henotypes of 81 gull pairs at the Protection Island cology using an index based on plumage melanism and bare-part coloration. Gulls from the entire range of phenotypes in the L. glaucescens-occidentalis complex, …

Developing An Intracellular Neurobiology Lab Sequence For Use In An Interdisciplinary Neurobiology Course, Aleksandra Kozlova-Harris

Honors Theses

The goal of my research was to evaluate procedures currently used in the Intracellular Leech Lab in order to modify the Neurobiology ZOOL475 Lab to increase the rate of successful intracellular recordings for future Neurobiology students. Two approaches were used: the first was to evaluate the possibility of using a less expensive leech species in order to allow students unlimited attempts at recording from ganglia without budget constraints. The second was to evaluate various raising conditions (water, temperature, and age) to optimize the quality of the leech ganglia. Both approaches provided useful information to improve lab success.

Coping Behaviour As An Adaptation To Stress: Post-Disturbance Preening In Colonial Seabirds, Shandelle M. Henson, Lynelle M. Weldon, James L. Hayward, Daniel Greene, Libby C. Megna, Maureen C. Serem

Faculty Publications

In humans, coping behaviour is an action taken to soothe oneself during or after a stressful or threatening situation. Some human behaviours with physiological functions also serve as coping behaviours, for example, comfort sucking in infants and comfort eating in adults. In birds, the behaviour of preening, which has important physiological functions, has been postulated to soothe individuals after stressful situations. We combine two existing modelling approaches – logistic regression and Darwinian dynamics – to explore theoretically how a behaviour with crucial physiological function might evolve into a coping behaviour. We apply the method to preening in colonial seabirds to …

Children Use Different Cues To Guide Noun And Verb Extensions, Jane B. Childers, M. Elaine Heard, Kolette Ring, Anushka Pai, Julie Sallquist

Psychology Faculty Research

Learning new words involves decoding both how a word fits the current situation and how it could be used in new situations. Three studies explore how two types of cues— sentence structure and the availability of multiple instances-- affect children’s extensions of nouns and verbs. In each study, 2½-year-olds heard nouns, verbs or no new word while seeing the experimenter use a novel object to perform an action; at test, they were asked to extend the word. In Study 1, children hearing nouns in simple sentences used object shape as the basis for extension even though, during the learning phase, …

Lepeophtheirus Salmonis, Parasitizing Three Species Of Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus Spp.): Host Variations In Load, Morphology, Fecundity, And Genetics Of The Salmon Louse, Stephen Flanagan

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The purpose of this study is to determine biological parameters of salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) as they parasitize different species of Pacific Ocean salmonids off the north Pacific coast of Washington State. Parasite load counts of L. salmonis were made and individuals were collected from salmonids in their natural environment. Louse morphology and fecundity were examined using microscopy. Parasite loads were equal between different species of salmonids (p = 0.231). Lice that infected chinook salmon (n= 48) were smaller in total body length (p < 0.001), cephalothorax length (p < 0.001), and cephalothorax width (p < 0.001) when compared to lice that infected coho salmon (n = 44) or pink salmon (n=45). Lice that infected coho and pink salmon were not statistically different in body length (p = 0.213), cephalothorax length (p = 0.996), or cephalothorax width (p = 0.149). Also, L. salmonis produced fewer eggs when infecting chinook salmon (n = 24) than when infecting coho salmon (p < 0.001) or pink salmon (p < 0.001). Whereas, lice that infected coho salmon (n = 41) or pink salmon (n = 22) produced similar number of eggs (p = 0.60). These results indicate that there are factors associated with infecting chinook salmon hosts that reduce the size and fecundity of salmon lice"--Document.

Bacterial Community Survey Of Sediments At Naracoorte Caves, Australia, Eric M. Adetutu, Krystal Thorpe, Esmaeil Shahsavari, Steven Bourne, Xiangsheng Cao, Ramin Mazaheri Nezhad Fard, Greg Kirby, Andrew S. Ball

International Journal of Speleology

Bacterial diversity in sediments at UNESCO World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves was surveyed as part of an investigation carried out in a larger study on assessing microbial diversity in caves. Cave selection was based on tourist accessibility; Stick Tomato and Alexandra Cave (> 15000 annual visits) and Strawhaven Cave was used as control (no tourist access). Microbial analysis showed that Bacillus was the most commonly detected microbial genus by culture dependent and independent survey of tourist accessible and inaccessible areas of show (tourist accessible) and control caves. Sediment bacterial groups were assigned to the Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. The survey …

A Large Cervidae Holocene Accumulation In Eastern Brazil: An Example Of Extreme Taphonomical Control In A Cave Environment, Alex Hubbe, Augusto S. Auler

International Journal of Speleology

A remarkable cervid bone accumulation occurs at a single passage (named Cervid Passage; CP) at Lapa Nova, a maze cave in eastern Brazil. CP lies away from cave entrances, is a typical pitfall passage and contains bone remains of at least 121 cervids, besides few bats, peccaries and rodents remains. There is no evidence of water (or sediment) flow at the site and in general bones lack post depositional alterations and display anatomical proximity, suggesting that the majority of the remains found inside CP (mainly cervids) are due to animals that after entering the cave got trapped in the site. …

The World’S Deepest Subterranean Community - Krubera-Voronja Cave (Western Caucasus), Alberto Sendra, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

International Journal of Speleology

Subsurface biota extends over a wide variety of habitats that can be spatially interconnected. The largest communities of this subsurface biota inhabit cavities and are well known mainly in caves where biologists are able to have access. Data about deep subterranean communities and arthropods living under one thousand meters was unknown.

An expedition to world’s deepest cave, Krubera-Voronja in Western Caucasus, revealed an interesting subterranean community, living below 2000 meters and represented by more than 12 species of arthropods, including several new species for science. This deep cave biota is composed of troglobionts and also epigean species, that can penetrate …

Management In A Neotropical Show Cave: Planning For Invertebrates Conservation, Thais Giovannini Pellegrini, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira

International Journal of Speleology

Lapa Nova is a dolomitic cave about 4.5 km long located in northwestern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The cave experiences intense tourism, concentrated over a single period of the year, during the Feast of Our Lady of Lapa. In order to evaluate the impacts felt by the invertebrate community from this tourism, a new methodology was proposed. Four types of areas (intense visitation area, outlying visitation areas, moderate visitation areas and no-visitation areas) were sampled for invertebrates. There was one sampling prior and another on the last day of the 128^th feast, to evaluate the effects of visitation on …

Temporal Dynamics Of Galapagos Marine Iguna (Amblyhynchus Cristatus) Haulout, Brianna Gale Payne

Master's Theses

Galápagos marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) briefly forage in marine habitats but spend their remaining time hauled out on land. A wide range of diurnal activities, from social and thermoregulatory behaviors to sleep and food processing, occurs during haulout. To understand the dynamics of haulout and foraging in relation to environmental factors, I fit compartmental models derived from ordinary differential equations to field data collected daily from 30 April to 16 May 2011 at two sites—one Sandy and one Rocky—at Cabo Douglas, Isla Fernandina. The best model for haulout at the Sandy site accounts for 77–80% of observed variability and includes …

La Integración De La Dimensión Ambiental En Una Institución De Educación Superior, Geralda Díaz

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

El estudio consistió en identificar los conocimientos y actitudes ambientales en los estudiantes de Psicología, a partir de los cuales se proponen estrategias de aprendizaje para la inserción de la dimensión ambiental como herramienta para aumentar el grado de conocimiento y actitud proambiental en una Institución de Educación Superior. Existen estudios que demuestran que las universidades han hecho esfuerzos por actualizar el currículo en todas las carreras, con el propósito de dotar de conocimientos y competencias a sus egresados sobre la dimensión ambiental. Sin embargo, los esfuerzos no han logrado materializarse en todas las universidades. La institución objeto de estudio …

Comparative Microbial Sampling From Eutrophic Caves In Slovenia And Slovakia Using Rida ®Count Test Kits, Janez Mulec, Václav Krištůfek, Alica Chroňáková

International Journal of Speleology

RIDA®COUNT test plates were used as an easy-to-handle and rapid indicator of microbial counts in karst ecosystems of several caves in Slovakia and Slovenia. All of the caves had a high organic input from water streams, tourists, roosting bat colonies or terrestrial surroundings. We sampled swabs, water and air samples to test robustness and universality of the RIDA®COUNT test kit (R-Biopharm AG, Germany, http://www.r-biopharm.com/) for quantification of total bacteria, coliforms, yeast and mold. Using data from swabs (colony-forming units per cm²) we proposed a scale for description of biocontamination level or superficial microbial load of cave niches. Based …

Relationship Between Carbon Dioxide In Balcarka Cave And Adjacent Soils In The Moravian Karst Region Of The Czech Republic, Jiří Faimon, Monika Ličbinská, Petr Zajíček

International Journal of Speleology

Carbon dioxide concentration, air temperature, and humidity were monitored at (1) two cave sites and (2) three adjacent karst soils. The data over a one-year period are supported by dripwater chemistry and cave visiting frequency. The results indicate that the sources of cave CO2 are anthropogenic and epikarstic ones in addition to ordinary soils. Epikarstic CO2 produced under almost stationary conditions probably control dripwater chemistry and cave’s CO2 maxima. Based on breathing and door opening, anthropogenic activity affects instantaneous cave CO2 levels, depending on site volume/position and visitor number. A conceptual model of the CO2 dynamics of the soil-cave system …

A Preliminary Study On The Potential Of Manuka Honey And Platelet-Rich Plasma In Wound Healing, Scott A. Sell, Patricia S. Wolfe, Andrew J. Spence, Isaac A. Rodriguez, Jennifer M. Mccoll, Rebecca L. Petrella, Koyal Garg, Jeffery J. Ericksen, Gary L. Bowlin

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine the in vitro response of cells critical to the wound healing process in culture media supplemented with a lyophilized preparation rich in growth factors (PRGF) and Manuka honey. Materials and Methods. This study utilized cell culture media supplemented with PRGF, as well as whole Manuka honey and the medical-grade Medihoney (MH), a Manuka honey product. The response of human fibroblasts (hDF), macrophages, and endothelial cells (hPMEC) was evaluated, with respect to cell proliferation, chemotaxis, collagen matrix production, and angiogenic potential, when subjected to culture with media containing PRGF, MH, Manuka honey, …

A Cognitive Theory Of The Aesthetic Experience, Gianluca Consoli

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

This paper aims at naturalizing the aesthetic experience on the basis of cognitive sciences. In traditional philosophical aesthetics, the aesthetic experience requires a specific attitude and a characteristic work of imagination. Today, cognitive sciences offer a rich set of empirically corroborated concepts useful in explaining these notions in naturalistic terms. This paper extends these concepts to explain how the aesthetic experience is integrated and how it affords knowledge.

Defending Everyday Aesthetics And The Concept Of 'Pretty', Thomas Leddy

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The paper defends everyday aesthetics against critiques inspired by Kant’s distinction between the agreeable and the beautiful, such as that of Christopher Dowling. It does this by focusing on analysis of the concept of the pretty. Following Carolyn Korsmeyer and A. C. Bradley, I posit a continuum for the aesthetic, from the pretty to the beautiful and finally to the sublime. After giving a history of the concept of 'pretty,' I consider its largely gendered nature and the feminist issues this raises. I conclude by arguing that limiting aesthetics to art or to art plus nature ignores the continuity between …

Parental Perception Of Child Weight Status In Wangcheng District, Hunan Province, People's Republic Of China, Nichole Buswell

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Objectives: This cross-sectional, quantitative study was designed to describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of schoolchildren (age 9-11 years) in central southern China. It also described parental attitudes about childhood overweight, physical activity, and eating patterns. In addition, this study described parental perception of and concern about their child's weight status.

Methods: This study was conducted in June 2011 at three elementary schools located in Wangcheng District, a suburb of Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province. Child anthropometric data were collected, after which surveys were distributed to be brought home for completion by parents/caregivers.

Results: …

Flows, Vortices, And Counterflows: Artification And Aesthetization In Chiasmatic Motion On A Mobius Ring, Yrjö Sepänmaa

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

My first question is the general orientation towards the aesthetic and artistic in our culture. Secondly, I deal with intentional and sought-for aestheticization and artification, which are driven particularly by art and aesthetic education. Thirdly, I concentrate on the effects of the change on people and culture, in general, and on art, in particular. The processes of art and the aesthetic have their counter-movements that create tension and dynamics. I characterize the flow pattern as chiasmatic motion taking place on a Möbius ring. Art and the aesthetic are a pair, the parts of which are related to each other through …

Aesthetization, Artification, And Aquariums, Thomas Leddy

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

‘Artification’ is a term recently coined and developed in Finnish aesthetic theory and proposed by Ossi Naukkarinen in this volume as the process of treating non-art objects as art. In this paper, I distinguish between a superficial sort of artification and a deep sort. The superficial sort is the one we need to worry about. In Part I, I consider various issues surrounding the definition of artification. In the process, I situate artification within the larger question of aestheticization. I understand aestheticization in terms of recent psychological work on supernormal stimuli and Virginia Postrel’s defense of style and surface in …

Everyday Aesthetics And Artification, Yuriko Saito

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Everyday aesthetics aims to illuminate the rich aesthetic dimensions of our lives that have been neglected in the modern Anglo-American art-centered aesthetic discourse. Artification, a new concept and practice, encourages us to experience various aspects of our lives normally not associated with art or aesthetics, such as business, education, and medical practice, from an artistic viewpoint. Both discourses are helpful in sharpening our aesthetic sensibility and enriching our aesthetic life. However, precisely because the aesthetic dimension of our lives exerts a considerable power in shaping our lives and the world, we need to cultivate aesthetic literacy and a vigilant attitude …

Love Your Enemies And Pray For Them: My Life As A Christian In The Middle East, S. Joseph Kidder

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.