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The Standard Auditor's Report: Preparer, User, And Student Reactions To The Pcaob Concept Release, Don E. Giacomino, Michael D. Akers

Accounting Faculty Research and Publications

Concerns about the usefulness of the Standard Audit Report (SAR) have been expressed by investors and other users of corporate financial statement for several decades. During 2011 the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) reacted to those concerns by issuing Concept Release on Possible Revisions to the PCAOB Standards Related to PCAOB Standards (“Release”). This article provides a description of the SAR, a short history (timetable) of the pressures (surveys) to improve the SAR and events that have led to the eventual Release by the PCAOB. Feedback (comment letters and surveys) from professionals and professional organizations regarding the “Release” are …

Mcquade Messenger- Winter 2012, Merrimack College

McQuade Messenger

Triannual newsletter outlining the activities, events, hours, features, and resources available at McQuade Library. Winter 2012, 3 pages.

Body Sensor Network For In-Home Personal Healthcare, Sheng Hu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

A body sensor network solution for personal healthcare under an indoor environment is developed. The system is capable of logging the physiological signals of human beings, tracking the orientations of human body, and monitoring the environmental attributes, which covers all necessary information for the personal healthcare in an indoor environment.

The major three chapters of this dissertation contain three subsystems in this work, each corresponding to one subsystem: BioLogger, PAMS and CosNet. Each chapter covers the background and motivation of the subsystem, the related theory, the hardware/software design, and the evaluation of the prototype’s performance.

Managerial Perseptions On Corporate Social Responsbility: A Transatlantic Comparison Between Forest Products Companies In Europe And North America, Aino A. Virtanen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) addresses the responsibility of companies for their impacts on society. The concept of strategic CSR is becoming increasingly mainstreamed in the forest industry, but there is, however, little consensus on the definition and implementation of CSR. The objective of this research is to build knowledge on the characteristics of CSR and to provide insights on the emerging trend to increase the credibility and legitimacy of CSR through standardization. The study explores how the sustainability managers of European and North American forest companies perceive CSR and the recently released ISO 26000 guidance standard on social responsibility.

The …

Inhibition Of L-Type Amino Acid Transport With Non-Physiological Amino Acids In The Pahenu2 Mouse Model Of Phenylketonuria, Kara R. Vogel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Phenylketonuria, an autosomal recessive Mendelian disorder, is one of the most common inborn errors of metabolism. Although currently treated by diet, many suboptimal outcomes occur for patients. Neuropathological outcomes include cognitive loss, white matter abnormalities, and hypo- or demyelination, resulting from high concentrations and/or fluctuating levels of phenylalanine. High phenylalanine can also result in competitive exclusion of other large neutral amino acids from the brain, including tyrosine and tryptophan (essential precursors of dopamine and serotonin). This competition occurs at the blood brain barrier, where the L-type amino acid transporter, LAT1, selectively facilitates entry of large neutral amino acids. The hypothesis …

Free Troposphere Ozone And Carbon Monoxide Over The North Atlantic For 2001-2011, Aditya Kumar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Ozone (O3) are considered to be one of the most important atmospheric pollutants in the troposphere with both having significant effects on human health. Both are included in the U.S. E.P.A list of criteria pollutants. CO is primarily emitted in the source region whereas O3 can be formed near the source, during transport of the pollution plumes containing O3 precursors or in a receptor region as the plumes subside. The long chemical lifetimes of both CO and O3 enable them to be transported over long distances. This transport is important on continental scales as well, commonly …

Exhaust Emissions Of Low Level Blend Alcohol Fuels From Two-Stroke And Four-Stroke Marine Engines, James Michael Sevik

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard mandates that by 2022, 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels must be produced on a yearly basis. Ethanol production is capped at 15 billion gallons, meaning 21 billion gallons must come from different alternative fuel sources. A viable alternative to reach the remainder of this mandate is iso-butanol. Unlike ethanol, iso-butanol does not phase separate when mixed with water, meaning it can be transported using traditional pipeline methods. Iso-butanol also has a lower oxygen content by mass, meaning it can displace more petroleum while maintaining the same oxygen concentration in the fuel blend.

This research …

Sleep Deprivation And Pain Intensity, Robert Arnold Larson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Little or poor quality sleep is often reported in patients suffering from acute or chronic pain. Conversely, sleep loss has been known to elevate pain perception; thus a potential bi-direction relationship exists between sleep deprivation and pain. The effect of sleep deprivation on the thermal pain intensity has yet to be determined, furthermore, sex differences in pain have not been examined following sleep deprivation. There is also a higher prevalence of insomnia in women, and reports indicate that sleep quality is diminished and pain sensitivity may be greater during high hormone phases of the menstrual cycle. In Study 1 we …

Effects Of Chemical Deicers On Amphibian Communites, Meagan Leigh Harless

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Roads and highways present a unique challenge to wildlife as they exhibit substantial impacts on the surrounding ecosystem through the interruption of a number of ecological processes. With new roads added to the national highway system every year, an understanding of these impacts is required for effective mitigation of potential environmental impacts. A major contributor to these negative effects is the deposition of chemicals used in winter deicing activities to nearby surface waters. These chemicals often vary in composition and may affect freshwater species differently. The negative impacts of widespread deposition of sodium chloride (NaCl) have prompted a search for …

Assessment Of Soil Erosion Vulnerability In Rural Communities In The Vicinity Of Motozintla De Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico : A Physical And Sociological Approach, Selene B. González-Morales

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Soil erosion is a natural geological phenomenon resulting from removal and transportation of soil particles by water, wind, ice and gravity. As soil erosion may be affected from cultural factors as well. The physical and social phenomena of soil erosion are researched in six communities in the upper part of Rio Grijalva Basin in the vicinity of Motozintla de Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico. For this study, the USDA RUSLE model was applied to estimate soil erosion rates in the six communities based on the available data. The RUSLE model is based on soil properties, topography, and land cover and management factors. …

Assessment Of Water And Sanitation Infrastructure At Primary Schools In Rakai District, Uganda, Colin M. Casey

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

“Addressing water problems will help improve sanitation.” This relationship identified by a primary school teacher in Rakai District, Uganda, was a key component in understanding how water and sanitation technologies interact and how identified successes, challenges, and improvements would enhance schools’ water and sanitation condition. In this study, researchers and Ugandan counterparts visited 49 primary schools in Rakai District to assess the existing water and sanitation infrastructure of government and private schools. Researchers were specifically interested in learning which technologies were being used and why they were working or not. Through the development of a unique water and sanitation assessment …

Augmenting The Piezoelectric In Portland Cement Paste For Structural Health Monitoring Applications, Benjamin A. Roskoskey

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This report details the outcomes of a study designed to investigate the piezoelectric properties of Portland cement paste for its possible applications in structural health monitoring. Specifically, this study provides insights into the effects on piezoelectric properties of hardened cement paste from the application of an electric field during the curing process. As part of the reporting of this study, the state of the art in structural health monitoring is reviewed. In this study it is demonstrated that application of an electric field using a spatially-coarse array of electrodes to cure cement paste was not effective in increasing the magnitude …

Effective Water Treatment For Rural Communities In Suriname : A Comparison Of Point-Of-Use Ceramic Filters And Centralized Treatment With Sand Filters, Ashlee K. Vincent

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

For countless communities around the world, acquiring access to safe drinking water is a daily challenge which many organizations endeavor to meet. The villages in the interior of Suriname have been the focus of many improved drinking water projects as most communities are without year-round access. Unfortunately, as many as 75% of the systems in Suriname fail within several years of implementation. These communities, scattered along the rivers and throughout the jungle, lack many of the resources required to sustain a centralized water treatment system. However, the centralized system in the village of Bendekonde on the Upper Suriname River has …

Suitability Comparison Of Rainwater Harvesting And Piped Water Systems In The Dominican Republic , Ryan M. Biehl

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has a long history and has been supported as an appropriate technology and relatively cheap source of domestic water supply. This study compares the suitability of RWH and piped water systems in three rural Dominican communities seeking to improve their water systems. Ethnographic methods considering the views of residents and feasibility and cost analysis of the options were used to conclude that RWH is not a feasible or cost-effective solution for domestic water needs of all households in the communities studied. RWH investment is best left to individual households that can implement informal RWH with incremental increases …

Using Contingent Valuation To Estimate Willingness To Pay For Improved Water Source In Rural Uganda , Steven G. Wright

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This research was conducted in August of 2011 in the villages of Kigisu and Rubona in rural Uganda while the author was serving as a community health volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps. The study used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the populations’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the operation and maintenance of an improved water source. The survey was administered to 122 households out of 400 in the community, gathering demographic information, health and water behaviors, and using an iterative bidding process to estimate WTP. Households indicated a mean WTP of 286 Ugandan Shillings (UGX) per 20 …

Upgrading An Intermittent & Branched Water Network To A Continuous & Looped Network: A Case Study In Coastal Peru, Jennifer A. O'Neill

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This case study sought to determine how the potable water network of Cerro Prieto, Peru could be improved. The network as it exists now is branched and operated intermittently, exposing residents to water contamination risks and inconvenience. Using EPANET, it was found that the as-built network can support continuous water service, all points could stay over 10 psi, and the current water consumption rate could be maintained. To keep all points over 20 psi, the height of elevated water tank must be increased 6 feet, and the pump switched on whenever the tank drains. It was also found that almost …

Alternating Current Dielectrophoretic Manipulation Of Erythrocytes In Medical Microdevice Technology, Kaela M. Leonard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Medical microdevices have gained popularity in the past few decades because they allow the medical laboratory to be taken out into the field and for disease diagnostics to happen with a smaller sample volume, at a lower cost and much faster. Blood is the human body's most readily available and informative diagnostic fluid because of the wealth of information it provides about the body's general health including enzymatic, proteomic and immunological states. The purpose of this project is to optimize operating conditions and study ABO-Rh erythrocytes dielectrophoretic responses to alternating current electric signals. The end goal of this project is …

Interpersonal Complementarity In The Mental Health Intake: A Mixed-Methods Study, Daniel C. Rosen, Alisa B. Miller, Ora Nakash, Lucila Halpern, Margarita Alegría

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

The study examined which socio-demographic differences between clients and providers influenced interpersonal complementarity during an initial intake session; that is, behaviors that facilitate harmonious interactions between client and provider. Complementarity was assessed using blinded ratings of 114 videotaped intake sessions by trained observers. Hierarchical linear models were used to examine how match between client and provider in race/ethnicity, sex, and age were associated with levels of complementarity. A qualitative analysis investigated potential mechanisms that accounted for overall complementarity beyond match by examining client-provider dyads in the top and bottom quartiles of the complementarity measure. Results indicated significant interactions between client's …

Preformulation Characterization And Formulation Development Of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Prodrugs For Potential Treatment Of Glacuoma, Tushar Hingorani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Relationship between smoking marihuana and a drop in intraocular pressure (IOP) was first reported in 1971. Research efforts since then have identified a number of constituents that could be linked to this observation. Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was one of the ingredients identified. However, four decades and numerous research efforts since the first observation, it has still not been concluded whether THC is effective in the treatment of glaucoma or not. Current therapy for IOP control in glaucoma, though effective, cannot prevent vision loss completely. Thus, identification of agents that can lower IOP as well as protect the retinal ganglion cells from …

Design And Development Of Drug Delivery Systems For Immediate And Sustained Release Utilizing Hot Melt Extrusion, Abhilasha Singh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polymers have indispensable role in pharmaceutical formulation development. Polymer choice is a critical factor to obtain the desired drug-release profile during formulation development for HME (Hot melt extrusion). Many commercially available, pharmaceutical-grade polymers can be used in HME formulations. The suitable polymer choice facilitates processing in the extruder. When choosing a polymer to use in a formulation, processing conditions and processing attributes of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) should be considered. The physicochemical and the mechanisms of drug release from drug delivery systems prepared by utilizing HME with various polymeric carriers were investigated. Amorphous forms of API can have as …

Anticancer And Antibiotic Leads From Marine Organis, Bin Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the past three decades, the development of marine natural products as drug leads has become a promising avenue for research. As our efforts towards the discovery of anticancer and antibiotic drug leads from marine organisms, modifications of anticancer drug candidate kahalalide F, isolations of new peptides from the mollusk, Elysia rufescens and anticancer drug leads from the NCI repository, as well as chemical regulation of antibiotic production from marine Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. Kahalalide F (KF) is a potent anticancer lead isolated from the herbivorous marine mollusk E. rufescens and its algal diet Bryopsis pennata. Our semisynthesis approach was …

Antimalarials From Plant Pathogenic Fungi, Mallika Kumarihamy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover antimalarial compounds from necrotropic plant pathogenic fungi. Various phytotoxins released by necrotropic plant pathogenic fungi may inhibit the plant-like metabolic pathways in the apicoplast, a chloroplast-like organelle, essential for the survival of apicomplexan parasites, such as Plasmodium which cause malaria in humans. This dissertation describes the isolation, characterization, and biological evaluation of secondary metabolites of eight fungal strains. In addition to the antiplasmodial assay, all the extracts were subjected to phytotoxic, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic bioassays. Isolation of metabolites was performed by chromatographic methods and identification was carried out by spectroscopic and spectrometric …

When The Legislature Robs Peter To Pay Paul: Pretextual Takings And Goldstein V. Pataki, Michael V. Bernier

MC Law Review

Note

Tribute, Leslie H. Southwick, Judith Johnson, Peter T. Fay, David W. Mockbee

MC Law Review

Tribute - In Memory of the Honorable Charles Clark

Osborne V. Neblett And The Separation Of Powers: Does The Legislative Power To Make Law Include The Power To Declare That Rights Under The Law Cannot Be Waived, Michael J. Bentley

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ledzewicz Applies Math To Health Sciences, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Arts & Issues Brings International Diversity, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Minear Teaches The Art Of Teaching Singing, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Davis Studies Gray Areas Of Human Sexuality, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Linguist Lafond Organizes Space Meeting, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.