Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Special Educators On Disproportionate Representation, Troy Daniel Gonzales

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Professional Basketball Consumer Behavior: An Analysis Of The Nba Servicscape, Atmospheric Music And Attendee Attitudes, Emotional Responses, And Behaviors, Crystal Southall

Dissertations

Sport is a unique product within the domain of entertainment and leisure services. Although the sport industry continues to grow, sport spectatorship has changed dramatically, with fans consuming sport through a variety of media outlets such as television and the Internet. Sport consumers can now watch live, delayed, or recorded sporting events when and where they choose, therefore sport organizations must focus their attention on sustainability through the creation of a competitive advantage in the staging of live sporting events. The National Basketball Association product is consumed in an increasingly stimulating consumptive landscape and therefore was the focus of the …

Regulation Of Alternative Carbon Metabolism In Candida Albicans, Arely Y. Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Candida albicans is the most important fungal pathogen of humans. Transcript profiling studies show that upon phagocytosis by macrophages, C. albicans undergoes a massive metabolic reorganization activating genes involved in alternative carbon metabolism, including the glyoxylate cycle, β-oxidation and gluconeogenesis. Mutations in key enzymes such as ICL1 (glyoxylate cycle) and FOX2 (fatty acid β-oxidation) revealed that alternative carbon metabolic pathways are required for full virulence in C. albicans. These studies indicate C. albicans uses non-preferred carbon sources allowing its adaptation to microenvironments were nutrients are scarce. It has become apparent that the regulatory networks required for regulation of alternative …

Anti-Apoptotic Mcl-1 Localizes To The Mitochondrial Matrix And Couples Mitochondrial Fusion To Respiration, Rhonda Perciavalle

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

MCL-1, an anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family member that is essential for the survival of multiple cell lineages, is also among the most highly amplified genes in cancer. Although MCL-1 is known to oppose cell death, precisely how it functions to promote survival of normal and malignant cells is poorly understood. Here, I report that different forms of MCL-1 reside in distinct mitochondrial locations and exhibit separable functions. On the outer mitochondrial membrane, a MCL-1 isoform acts like other anti-apoptotic BCL-2 molecules to antagonize apoptosis, whereas an amino-terminally truncated isoform of MCL-1 that is imported into the mitochondrial matrix is necessary to …

Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of A Preseason Strength And Conditioning Program For Collegiate Men's And Women's Lacrosse, Aaron Michael Randolph

Dissertations

Lacrosse participation in recent years has experienced tremendous growth. Though lacrosse has been documented as the oldest team sport in North America, lack of research exists regarding appropriate strength and conditioning systems for the sport. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two lacrosse-specific preseason strength and conditioning programs offered to NCAA DII men's and women's lacrosse players. This synthesizes literature covering lacrosse's past; lacrosse's current status; differences in play between men's and women's lacrosse; physiological profiles of male and female lacrosse athletes; injury prevalence in both genders; and the various strength training and conditioning …

Biogenic Amine Levels Correlate With Time Of Day, Age, Light Cycle, And Aggressive State In The Flesh Fly, Sarcophaga Crassipalpis, Veronica L. Fregoso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The biogenic amines serotonin (5HT), dopamine (DA), and octopamine (OA) have been indicated in the regulation of behaviors, including aggression. The flesh fly, Sarcophaga crassipalpis, was used to investigate ontogenetic and circadian changes in amines and aggression. Heads of male flies were analyzed for amine content using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) at 3 time points on each of 4 consecutive days in 2 light cycles, 12:12 LD and 15:9 LD. Both DA and OA levels decreased with age. Light-cycle dependent differences were observed for all amines in overall levels and patterns of change throughout the …

Venezuela As An Exporter Of 4th Generation Warfare Instability, Max G. Manwaring Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Almost no one seems to understand the Marxist-Leninist foundations of Hugo Chavez’s political thought. It becomes evident, however, in the general vision of his “Bolivarian Revolution.” The abbreviated concept is to destroy the old foreign-dominated (U.S. dominated) political and economic systems in the Americas, to take power, and to create a socialist, nationalistic, and “popular” (direct) democracy in Venezuela that would sooner or later extend throughout the Western Hemisphere. Despite the fact that the notion of the use of force (compulsion) is never completely separated from the Leninist concept of destroying any bourgeois opposition, Chavez’s revolutionary vision will not be …

India's Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional And Global Implications, Harsh V. Pant Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

View the Executive Summary

Since 2001, the situation in Afghanistan has afforded New Delhi an opportunity to underscore its role as a regional power. India has a growing stake in the development of peace and stability in Afghanistan; and the 2011 India-Afghan strategic partnership agreement underlines India’s commitment to ensure that a positive momentum in Delhi-Kabul ties is maintained. This monograph examines the changing trajectory of Indian policy toward Afghanistan since 2001, and it is argued that New Delhi has been responding to a strategic environment shaped by other actors in the region. U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces are …

Differential Surface Deposition Of Complement Proteins On Logarithmic And Stationary Phase Leishmania Chagasi Promastigotes, Amanda Ramer-Tait, Soi Meng Lei, Bryan H. Bellaire, Jeffrey K. Beetham

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Previous works demonstrated that various species of Leishmania promastigotes exhibit differential sensitivity to complement-mediated lysis (CML) during development. Upon exposure to normal human serum (NHS), cultures of Leishmania chagasi promastigotes recently isolated from infected hamsters (fewer than 5 in vitro passages) are CML-sensitive when in the logarithmic growth phase but become CML-resistant upon transition to the stationary culture phase. Visualization by light and electron microscopy revealed dramatic morphological differences between promastigotes from the 2 culture phases following exposure to NHS. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that surface deposition of the complement components C3, C5, and C9 correlated inversely with promastigote CML-resistance. …

Glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2) Knockout Increases Sensitivity To Oxidative Stress In Mouse Lens Epithelial Cells, Hongli Wu, Liren Lin, Frank Giblin, Ye-Sheh Ho, Marjorie F. Lou

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Glutaredoxin belongs to the oxidoreductase family with cytosolic glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) and mitochondrial gluraredoxin 2 (Grx2) isoforms. Of the two isozymes, the function of Grx2 is not well understood. This paper studied the effect of Grx2 deletion on cellular function using primary lens epithelial cell cultures isolated from Grx2 gene knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice. We found that both cell types showed similar growth patterns and morphology, and comparable mitochondrial glutathione pool and complex I activity. Cells with deleted Grx2 did not show affected Grx1 or thioredoxin (Trx) expression but exhibited high sensitivity to oxidative stress. Under treatment …

Rhythmic Proportions, Ashley Billings

Theses

Rhythmic Proportions is a story about shifting the balance between logical structures and artistic freedoms. Manifested through paintings and found objects from a piano, my thesis negotiates a series of missions through an evolution of creative methodology in the interest of discovering new potentials. Propelled by the ideas of Mark Rothko, Michel Foucault and Immanuel Kant, I connect cognitive philosophies with my most forceful visual influences: the ancient works of Islamic architecture and the contemporary works of video artist Hiraki Sawa, painter Gopal Chowdhury, and sculptor Diana Al-Hadid. As my methods evolve, a more organic style gains momentum, however a …

Fungal Biofilm Colonization And Succession On Artificial Reefs In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Amy Leigh Salamone

Master's Theses

This study represents the first characterization of natural mixed-species fungal biofilm communities on artificial reefs in the marine environment. Previous fungal biofilm studies have failed to observe the naturally-occurring biodiversity in coastal areas, which comprise the most utilized zone of the marine environment. Artificial reefs can increase fishing yields, amplify oyster habitats, contribute to shoreline stabilization, promote good water quality, and deter pollution. Proper management practices of artificial reefs require knowledge of the colonization of these new habitats by marine organisms and their subsequent succession. Fungi, along with bacteria, archaea, protists, algae, and diatoms, quickly form a complex biofilm on …

Profession Of Faith: Congressional Websites And Religious Expression In The 112th Congress, Molly Jaye Mcguffee

Master's Theses

The idea of culture wars in politics suggests that American voters have polarized according to their positions on moral issues, and a religious gap in the electorate also contends that voters are polarized on these issues according to their religious beliefs and practices. Research shows that members of Congress send cues about their faith to their constituents, who in turn use the information to assess their representatives and determine their members' position on these moral issues. To determine how these cues are delivered and who delivers the information, I combed 100 Senators' and 435 Representatives' from the 1121 h Congress …

A Place Like Home, Tabitha Denae Epperson

Master's Theses

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina changed many things. This storm destroyed buildings, businesses, places of worship, and homes. People lost their lives, possessions, way of life, and for those that survived, their lives now were measured in two eras - pre and post Katrina. Because this natural disaster turned their lives upside down, both in large and small ways, their lives would never be the same. This thesis . documents stories of those that for various reasons chose to stay on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina. Twenty-five interviews of residents of Pass Christian explore what exactly is a …

Assessment Of The Discriminative Stimulus Effects And Time Courses Of Salvinorin A And Two Synthetic Salvinorin B Derivatives, Methoxylmethyl (Mom) And Ethoxymethyl (Eom), Ethers In Rats Trained To Discriminate U69,593, Lisa M. Bell

Masters Theses

Research regarding the psychopharmacology of salvinorin A, the main psychoactive ingredient in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum, has been motivated largely by a recent increase in its recreational use and widespread media attention focused on this plant and its extracts. In addition, there is considerable evidence that drugs acting on kappa opioid receptors (KOR) may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of some neuropsychiatric conditions, including drug dependence and mood disorders. Although the neuropharmacological actions of salvinorin A are well established, only a few studies have explored the behavioral effects of this substance in comparison to the KOR agonist, …

How Facebook Friendship Transforms The Superior-Subordinate Relationship: A View From Relational Dialectics Theory, Raquel Hellenga

Masters Theses

This thesis project explores how Facebook friendship transforms the relationship between superior-subordinate dyads in the workplace through the lens of relational dialectics theory. A convenience sample of five superior-subordinate dyads (N=10) was used. Criteria for participation included: the superior must be full time and must be the subordinate's direct superior, the subordinate must work at least part time, both must have worked in the organization for at least three months, and the two must be friends on Facebook who communicate at least weekly through the site. This study utilizes qualitative, face-to-face, in-depth participant interviews. The interview questions are open-ended in …

"His Head Rolled Forth Onto The Floor:" Women, The Abject, And The Male Gaze In Old English Poetry, Jaime Michelle Myers

Masters Theses

Old English poetry features several female characters who challenge androcentric authority by violently killing men. I argue in this thesis that three of these women—Modthryth, Grendel’s mother, and Judith—are linked together by their rejection or reversal of the male gaze. In their forceful refusal to be visually objectified, each character is portrayed as abject—outside of normal and outcast from community. They cause disorder, illustrate the fragility of androcentric control, and force a confrontation with death. In so doing, they create ambiguity and, at times, reverse the subject/object and masculine/feminine gender binaries.

"Make Over Your Body": Conflicting Messages In Women's Fitness Magazines, Joy Zoodsma

Masters Theses

SHAPE Magazine is a women's fitness magazine that has been consistently popular since its initial publication in 1981. This study explores how the messages of health and beauty in this publication have evolved over the last three decades, especially in response to the cultural imperatives of consumerism and feminism. It critically analyzes the visual and textual messages on SHAPE Magazine covers and in letters from the editor, which offer important examples of the ways in which SHAPE attempts to “hail” readers – to draw them in, to convince them that what the magazine has to offer is relevant to their …

Carbon And Nitrogen Dynamics In High Intensity Minimal Exchange Shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) Raceways, John Henry Francis

Master's Theses

Three separate shrimp (litopenaeus vannamei) growouts were examined at The University of Southern Mississippi's Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center. The objectives of this project were to (1) determine if there was a significant difference in any water quality parameters between the 2 density treatments, (2) construct carbon and nitrogen budgets to see where the carbon and nitrogen went in the system for all growouts, (3) determine if plastic media had any effects on water quality parameters and shrimp production, (4) determine if plastic media allowed for a nitrifying bacteria population to establish more rapidly, (5) determine if the …

Deporting The Pardoned, Jason A. Cade

Scholarly Works

Federal immigration laws make noncitizens deportable on the basis of state criminal convictions. Historically, Congress implemented this scheme in ways that respected the states’ sovereignty over their criminal laws. As more recent federal laws have been interpreted, however, a state’s decision to pardon, expunge, or otherwise set-aside a conviction under state law will often have no effect on the federal government’s determination to use that conviction as a basis for deportation. While scholars have shown significant interest in state and local laws regulating immigrants, few have considered the federalism implications of federal rules that ignore a state’s authority to determine …

Instructing Juries On Noneconomic Contract Damages, David A. Hoffman, Alexander S. Radus

Fordham Law Review

   Gathering pattern contract jury instructions from every state, we examine jurisdictions’ treatment of noneconomic damages. While the conventional account holds that there is a uniform preference against awards of noneconomic damages, we find four different approaches in pattern instructions, with only one state explicitly prohibiting juries from considering noneconomic losses. Lay juries have considerably more freedom to award the promisee’s noneconomic damages than the hornbooks would have us believe.

   We substantiate this claim with an online survey experiment asking respondents about a simple contract case and instructing them using the differing pattern forms. We found that subjects routinely awarded more …

A Pillar Of Democracy: Reflections On The Role And Work Of The Constitutional Court Of South Africa, Kate O’Regan

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Visualization For Anomaly Detection And Data Management By Leveraging Network, Sensor And Gis Techniques, Zhaoxia Wang, Chee Seng Chong, Rick S. M. Goh, Wanqing Zhou, Dan Peng, Hoong Chor Chin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper studies the importance of visualization for discerning and interpreting patterns of data and its application for solving real problems, such as anomaly detection and data management. There are various ways to realize visualization to cater to the needs of numerous real life applications. Depending on needs, a combination of some of these ways may be required for presenting an effective visualization. The authors present visualization schemes for anomaly detection/condition monitoring and data management by leveraging network techniques and combining them with modern techniques such as sensor, database, mobile communication, GPS and GIS techniques. Two case studies are presented …

Use Of Rss Feeds To Push The Online Content To Users, Dan Ma

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Many websites use Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to actively push their online content to users rather than waiting for users to pull the content passively. In this paper, I construct a theoretical game model to study the profitability of an RSS-PUSH delivery mechanism. The model assumes a general profit structure for websites and heterogeneous users. To access valuable online content, users incur a variety of costs. They choose either to visit the website in the conventional way (the PULL model) or, if it is supported by the website, to use RSS (the PUSH model). Interestingly, I show that although …

Diffusion Of Software Features: An Exploratory Study, Ferdian Thung, David Lo, Lingxiao Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

New features are frequently proposed in many software libraries. These features include new methods, classes, packages, etc. These features are utilized in many open source and commercial software systems. Some of these features are adopted very quickly, while others take a long time to be adopted. Each feature takes much resource to develop, test, and document. Library developers and managers need to decide what feature to prioritize and what to develop next. As a first step to aid these stakeholders, we perform an exploratory study on the diffusion or rate of adoption of features in Java Development Kit (JDK) library. …

Agent-Based Virtual Humans In Co-Space: An Evaluative Study, Yilin Kang, Ah-Hwee Tan, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Co-Space refers to interactive virtual environment modelled after the real world in terms of look-and-feel, functionalities and services. We have developed a 3D virtual world named Nanyang Technological University (NTU) CoSpace populated with virtual human characters. Three key requirements of realistic virtual humans in the virtual world have been identified, namely (1) autonomy: agents can function on their own; (2) interactivity: agents can interact naturally with players; and (3) personality: agents can exhibit human traits and characteristics. Working towards these challenges, we propose a brain-inspired agent architecture that integrates goal-directed autonomy, natural language interaction and human-like personality. We conducted an …

Fibulin-2 Stabilizes Tumor Extracellular Matrix And Drives Malignant Progression Of Lung Adenocarcinoma, Brandi N. Baird

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The ECM of epithelial carcinomas undergoes structural remodeling during periods of uncontrolled growth, creating regional heterogeneity and torsional stress. How tumors maintain ECM integrity in the face of dynamic biophysical forces is still largely unclear. This study addresses these deficiencies using mouse models of human lung adenocarcinoma. Spontaneous lung tumors were marked by disorganized basement membranes, dense collagen networks, and increased tissue stiffness. Metastasis-prone lung adenocarcinoma cells secreted fibulin-2 (Fbln2), a matrix glycoprotein involved in ECM supra-molecular assembly. Fibulin-2 depletion in tumor cells decreased the intra-tumoral abundance of matrix metalloproteinases and reduced collagen cross-linking and tumor compressive properties resulting in …

Simultaneous Induction Of Nkg2d And Nkg2d Ligand For Promoting Immune Surveillance By Il-12 Plus Doxorubicin Treatment, Jiemiao Hu

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

NKG2D (natural killer group 2, member D) and its ligands interaction in tumor microenvironment directs tumor infiltrating immune cells to recognize tumor cells, stimulate cytotoxic effector immune cells, and therefore eradicate tumor cells. IL-12, a cytokine produced by antigen presenting cells, has remarkable antitumor effect by activating innate and adaptive immunity. Doxorubicin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent also boosts the host antitumor immune response to cause tumor cell death. Our previous publication suggests that IL-12 plus doxorubicin enhances NKG2D function-dependent inhibition of tumor progression and promotes CD8⁺T cells infiltrating into tumors. The purpose of this study is to …

Mutations In Stat3 Associated With Human Hyper Ige Syndrome Enhance Nfκb And Mapk-Mediated Gene Expression, Nathaniel Greeley

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Hyper IgE syndrome (HIES) is a multisystem disorder resulting in bone and immune system abnormalities. It is associated with mutations in STAT3, which disrupt protein domains responsible for transcriptional function. Patients with HIES display osteoporosis and enhanced inflammatory cytokine production similar to hematopoietic Stat3-deficient mice. Since osteoclast and inflammatory cytokine genes are NFκB targets, these observations indicate a possible deregulation of NFκB signaling in both mice and humans with STAT3-deficiency. Here, we sought to examine the role of STAT3 in the regulation of NFκB-mediated gene expression through analysis of three HIES STAT3 point mutations in both hematopoietic and non- hematopoietic …

Fancm And Faap24 Maintain Genomic Stability Through Cooperative And Unique Functions, Yucai Wang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare recessive genetic disease with an array of clinical manifestations including multiple congenital abnormalities, progressive bone marrow failure and profound cancer susceptibility. A hallmark of cells derived from FA patients is hypersensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslinking agents such as mitomycin C (MMC) and cisplatin, suggesting that FA- and FA-associated proteins play important roles in protecting cells from DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL) damage. Two genes involved in the FA pathway, FANCM and FAAP24, are of particular interest because they contain DNA interacting domains. However, there are no definitive patient mutations for these two genes, and the …