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Effects Of Reactive Oxygen Species On Life History Traits Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Samson William Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Evolutionary life history theory predicts that tradeoffs among fitness-related phenotypes will occur as a result of resource limitations and/or physiological constraints. Such tradeoffs are defined as the cost(s) incurred on one component of fitness (e.g., reproduction) by the increased expression of another fitness-related trait (e.g., longevity). Only recently have researchers begun to investigate the mechanistic bases of life history tradeoffs. A recent proposal is that reactive oxygen species (ROS) have a central role in shaping life history traits and tradeoffs. Research on disparate animal taxa has highlighted strong correlations between oxidative stress resistance and fitness-related life history traits, for example. …

Giving Voice To The Peace And Justice Challenger Intellectuals: Counterpublic Development As Civic Engagement, Tom Harry Hastings

Dissertations and Theses

"Let knowledge serve the city" reads the golden letters on a pedestrian bridge just 200 feet from my faculty office in Neuberger Hall at Portland State University. Public peace scholarship might allow knowledge to help the polis by keeping it out of war via changing the national discourse toward a strong and informed peace analysis. Educators have an uneasy relationship to public scholarship and mainstream media have a nervous attitude toward public peace intellectuals. Institutions of higher learning are also often either unaware or uncomfortable with a public promotion of a positive peace platform. Academic writing and research is hard …

Short-Term Plasticity At The Schaffer Collateral: A New Model With Implications For Hippocampal Processing, Andrew Hamilton Toland

Dissertations and Theses

A new mathematical model of short-term synaptic plasticity (STP) at the Schaffer collateral is introduced. Like other models of STP, the new model relates short-term synaptic plasticity to an interaction between facilitative and depressive dynamic influences. Unlike previous models, the new model successfully simulates facilitative and depressive dynamics within the framework of the synaptic vesicle cycle. The novelty of the model lies in the description of a competitive interaction between calcium-sensitive proteins for binding sites on the vesicle release machinery. By attributing specific molecular causes to observable presynaptic effects, the new model of STP can predict the effects of specific …

"We Were Privileged In Oregon": Jessie Laird Brodie And Reproductive Politics, Locally And Transnationally, 1915-1975, Sadie Anne Adams

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis conveys the history of reproductive politics in Oregon through the life of Dr. Jessie Laird Brodie (1898-1990). Brodie was a key figure in this history from the 1930's until the 1970's, mainly through the establishment of family planning programs through social and medical channels in Oregon and throughout Latin America. Oregon's reproductive legislation walked a fine line between conservatism and progressivism, but in general supported reproductive healthcare as a whole in comparison to the rest of the United States and Latin America. The state passed controversial contraceptive legislation in 1935 that benefited public health, but also passed eugenic …

The Influence Of Parental Gender On The Type Of Communication Between Incarcerated Parents And Their Children, Sarah Renee Lazzari

Dissertations and Theses

The number of children in the United States with an incarcerated parent continues to rise. Currently, more than 1.7 million children have at least one incarcerated parent. In addition, research has found that children with criminally involved parents are at a higher risk of also becoming offenders (Glaze & Maruschak, 2010). Research has shown that incarcerated parents' abilities to maintain communication with their children may decrease negative behaviors while incarcerated and may decrease the negative effects of being removed from their families. The current study utilizes secondary data to explore the types of communication incarcerated parents use in order to …

The Effects Of Hypoxia And Temperature On Developing Embryos Of The Annual Killifish Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Skye N. Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

Little is known about the physiology or biochemistry of hypoxia (reduced levels of oxygen) tolerance during development in vertebrate embryos. In most species, relatively brief bouts of severe hypoxia are lethal or teratogenic. An exception to such hypoxia intolerance is the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus, in which populations persist in hypoxic environments. This species inhabits seasonal ponds in Venezuela, surviving through the dry season in the form of diapausing embryos. Embedded in the pond sediment, embryos of A. limnaeus are routinely exposed to hypoxia and anoxia (lack of oxygen) as part of their normal development. Here, we exposed embryos to …

Resource Selection, Predation Risk, And Population Dynamics Of Woodland Caribou, Nicholas James Decesare

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) have experienced population declines and local extirpations across North America. Human disturbance has caused caribou declines indirectly through changes to apparent competition dynamics within the predator-prey community. Apparent competition occurs as a negative indirect interaction between prey species, mediated by their direct interactions with a shared predator. I first review apparent competition, and show that across many endangered species including woodland caribou, human disturbance often causes an asymmetric tilt to the balance among prey species.

Landscape disturbance such as forest harvest and energy development have created early seral-stage forests and linear features across the landscape …

The Importance Of Water-Based Ecosystem Services Derived From The Shoshone National Forest, Christopher Aden Armatas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is a wide range of goods and services being provided to humans by water resources (e.g. hydropower and recreation), but there is also a diversity of stakeholders that require or desire these benefits, also known as water-based ecosystem services, for everyday life. Land managers working for the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service in the semi-arid Rocky Mountain Region are tasked with the difficult job of managing scarce water resources in the face of competing human pressures and natural forces (e.g. climate change). Water management decisions on public lands can potentially impact the availability of a wide range …

Intimate Partner Violence During The Transition From Prison To The Community: An Ecological Analysis, Margaret Joy Freeland Braun

Dissertations and Theses

While extensive research has been conducted on the causes of intimate partner violence in the community, very little is known about rates and predictors of domestic violence perpetrated by offenders who have recently been incarcerated. Some evidence suggests that formerly incarcerated individuals may be at an increased risk to perpetrate intimate partner violence during the transition from prison to the community (e.g., Hairston & Oliver 2006; Hilton, Harris, Popham, & Lang, 2010; Oliver & Hairston, 2008). The primary goal of this dissertation was to examine the extent to which former inmates engage in domestic violence during the transition from prison …

What Predicts Terrestrial Invertebrate Subsidy Use By Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) In Headwater Streams?, Matthew Kestrel Wilson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Spatial subsidies provide critical resources for organisms in receiving habitats, particularly when production in those habitats is low. While it is clear that terrestrial invertebrates provide a critical subsidy for trout, including eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), we have limited understanding of what causes input and use of these subsidies to vary among streams. Among the watershed characteristics that may influence input and use of terrestrial invertebrates, I predicted that forest succession stage would be especially important due to differences in terrestrial invertebrate biomass in early and late successional habitats. To test this prediction, I measured terrestrial invertebrate biomass, input …

What They Consider, How They Decide: Best Practices Of Technical Experts In Environmental Decision-Making, Cassandra J. Hemphill

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Drawing from qualitative data gathered from environmental management professionals, this paper describes best practices for decision-making in environmental clean-up. Technical experts are knowledgeable about both cultural and technical rationality and employ both, as appropriate, to achieve more robust decisions. Experts use active, passive, and interactive communicative strategies to reduce uncertainties and manage tensions. Deliberation is used to achieve robust decisions. The analysis suggests that organizations can improve acceptability of decisions by authorizing experts to incorporate cultural rationality early in the decision process.

Wilderness, A Spiritual Antidote To The Everyday: A Phenomenology Of Spiritual Experiences In The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Ian Foster

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore, describe, and explain the phenomena of spiritual experiences in wilderness. The motivations for the research included: growing interest in empirical studies on the relationship between spirituality and human health, increasing concern over human’s loss of spiritual relationships with nature, and personal curiosity about the wild and spiritual nature of wilderness experiences. Research was focused on overnight visitors traveling by canoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of northeastern Minnesota. Data from thirty-two semi-structured interviews was used to question, update, and improve understanding of the phenomena. Phenomenological interviews (interviews that situate comments …

Dysfunction, Anna Kirsten Lemnitzer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

dysfunction examines how we perceive normalcy and in turn, differentiate those who are abnormal through visual metaphors of the interior structures and features of the home. My thesis exhibition explores psychological disorders through installation, painting, drawing, sculpture and performance. The viewer’s interaction with the installation, which references an individual’s domestic and very personal spaces, allows a physical awareness and appreciation of another’s personality and psychological characteristics. This is done in order to create a more in-depth understanding or empathy of abnormal psychology and various mental states, such as intense anxiety or anger, which exist within all of us.

Effect Of Lower Limb Compression (Normatec) On Glycogen Resynthesis, Nathan Alan Keck

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pneumatic compression pants on post-exercise glycogen resynthesis. Methods: Active male subjects (n=10) completed two trials consisting of a 90-minute glycogen depleting ride, followed by 4 hours of recovery with either a pneumatic compression device (PCD) or passive recovery (PR) in a random counterbalanced order. A carbohydrate beverage (1.8 g.kg-1 bodyweight) was provided at 0 and 2 hours post exercise. Muscle biopsies (vastus lateralis) were obtained immediately and 4 hours post exercise for glycogen analyses. Blood samples were collected throughout recovery to measure glucose and insulin. Eight finger stick …

Nanosatellite Fabrication And Analysis, Sam Harrison, Patrick Scott, Victor Zapien

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

The advancements in technologies used in the aerospace industry have allowed universities to experiment with and develop small-scale satellites. Universities are taking advantage of the relatively low development costs of nanosatellite programs to give students experience in the field of spacecraft design. The purpose of Santa Clara University's team, Nanosatellite Fabrication and Analysis, is to create a process to expedite the design, analysis, and fabrication phase of nanosatellite structures for students working on future satellite missions. The objective is to design four baseline nanosatellite structures to accommodate a range of potential missions where the designs are simple enough to be …

Factors Predicting Difficulty Combining Work And Family Responsibilities For Mothers Raising Children With Adhd, Eileen M. Brennan, Judy Kendall, Gail M. Houck, Michael Charles Leo, Claudia Sellmaier

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of presentation given at the Work and Family Researchers Network Conference in New York, NY, June 16, 2012.

Consequences Of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation In Crohn's Disease, Jenna Marie Benson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon (AhR), a ligand-activated transcription factor present in many immune cells, can trigger immunosuppressive responses through the generation of regulatory cells. Several AhR ligands exist in the diet including environmental contaminants, such as its prototypical ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD), and natural sources, such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and indirubin. Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory state of the gastrointestinal tract, affects millions worldwide; however, the exact cause is unknown and treatments do not cure the disease. The role of the AhR in mucosal immune responses is not well understood to date so we aimed to understand the consequences of …

Wisdom Of The Ages Or Dead-Hand Control? Patentable Subject Matter For Diagnostic Methods After In Re Bilski, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

In 1980, the Supreme Court gave a reassuring signal to the then-nascent biotechnology industry about the availability of patent protection for the fruits of its research when it upheld the patentability of a genetically modified living organism in Diamond v. Chakrabarty. Twenty-five years later, the Court seemed poised to reexamine the limits of patentable subject matter for advances in the life sciences when it granted certiorari in Laboratory Corporation v. Metabolite. But the Federal Circuit had not addressed the patentable subject matter issue in Laboratory Corporation, and the Court ultimately dismissed the certiorari p etition as improvidently granted. Five years …

Marine Snow Formation In The Aftermath Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico, Uta Passow, K. Ziervogel, V. Asper, A. Diercks

Faculty Publications

The large marine snow formation event observed in oil-contaminated surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) after the Deepwater Horizon accident possibly played a key role in the fate of the surface oil. We characterized the unusually large and mucus-rich marine snow that formed and conducted roller table experiments to investigate their formation mechanisms. Once marine snow lost its buoyancy, its sinking velocity, porosity and excess density were then similar to those of diatom or miscellaneous aggregates. The hydrated density of the component particles of the marine snow from the GoM was remarkably variable, suggesting a wide variety of …

Inheritance Rights Of Posthumously Conceived Children In Texas Comment., Allison Stewart Ellis

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Texas Legislature should update its legislation pertaining to posthumously conceived children. More than 20,000 children are born from artificial insemination each year, some of whom are conceived following their father’s death. Whether or not these children are entitled to a share in their father’s estate is a question for each state legislature. Many states have adopted a version of the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA). The UPA states that once paternity of a posthumously conceived child is established, the child is entitled to inherit from the deceased’s estate. Texas has adopted the UPA in part and has added stringent requirements …

The Weathering Of Oil After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Insights From The Chemical Composition Of The Oil From The Sea Surface, Salt Marshes And Sediments, Zhanfei Liu, Jiqing Liu, Qingzhi Zhu, Wei Wu

Faculty Publications

The oil released during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill may have both short- and long-time impacts on the northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystems. An understanding of how the composition and concentration of the oil are altered by weathering, including chemical, physical and biological processes, is needed to evaluate the oil toxicity and impact on the ecosystem in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This study examined petroleum hydrocarbons in oil mousse collected from the sea surface and salt marshes, and in oil deposited in sediments adjacent to the wellhead after the DWH oil spill. Oil mousses were collected …

Implementing Article 32 Of The Convention On The Rights Of The Child As A Domestic Statute: Protecting Children From Abusive Labor Practices, Hillary V. Kistenbroker

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Child Pirates From Somalia: A Call For The International Community To Support The Further Development Of Juvenile Justice Systems In Puntland And Somaliland, Danielle Fritz

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Discrimination Of Juvenile Red Snapper Otolith Chemical Signatures From Gulf Of Mexico Nursery Regions, Michelle Zapp Sluis, Beverly K. Barnett, William F. Patterson Iii, Alan M. Shiller

Faculty Publications

Age-0 red snapper Lutjanus campechanus from the 2005-2007 year-classes were sampled in six regions across the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) to develop nursery signatures from otolith element : Ca ratios (Ba:Ca, Mg:Ca, Mn:Ca, Sr:Ca, and Li:Ca) and stable isotope delta values (delta C-13 and delta O-18). Element : Ca ratios were analyzed with sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on dissolved right sagittae; isotope ratio mass spectrometry was employed to analyze pulverized left otoliths for delta C-13 and delta O-18. Otolith chemical signatures were significantly different among regions in each year. Year-class-specific quadratic discriminant function analysis (QDFA) distinguished nursery …

Recantations Reconsidered: A New Framework For Righting Wrongful Convictions, Adam Heder, Michael Goldsmith

Utah Law Review

Recanting witnesses face both judicial skepticism and complex procedural hurdles. This Article recognizes the validity of this skepticism. It also recognizes the valid judicial interest in preserving the finality of judgments. Nevertheless, just because most recantations lack credibility does not mean they all lack credibility. Thus courts, legislatures, and jurists alike have a common interest in ensuring that standards are in place that will precisely filter the reliable from the unreliable. This Article has identified a number of structural disadvantages facing recantations, though the larger problem remains in the dogmatic skepticism perpetuated by so many courts. Instead of relying on …

The Common Law Of Disability Discrimination, Mark C. Weber

Utah Law Review

If this Article demonstrates nothing else, it shows that the common law is both a fruitful and too often ignored means of remedying disability discrimination. The present era may be the “Age of Statutes,” but common law has a potential for vitality in the effort against disability discrimination and merits further development.

Incentive For Innovation Or Invitation To Inhumanity?: A Human Rights Analysis Of Gene Patenting And The Case Of Myriad Genetics, Laurie E. Abbott

Utah Law Review

Though international organizations like the United Nations have made definitive declarations regarding the human rights implications of intellectual property rights and specifically rights to the human genome, the international outcry about patenting isolated human genes has been minimal. Specifically, it is yet to be determined how the international human rights community will respond to the view of U.S. courts that genes are patentable subject matter. If the U.S. Supreme Court eventually hears the Myriad case, its decision will likely draw international attention as a landmark intellectual property decision. If the Court does hear the case, chances are the international human …

A Call For Standards: An Overview Of The Current Status And Need For Guardian Standards Of Conduct And Code Ethics, Karen E. Boxx, Terry W. Hammond

Utah Law Review

The role of trust in guardianships is rarely discussed, perhaps because of the assumption that court supervision of guardians reduces their power to act in any way other than trustworthy. However, as the number of persons needing guardianship protection increases while the resources available to courts to finance supervision decreases, the role of guardian is starting to become a more conventional fiduciary relationship complete with a hallmark downside—lack of supervision. Because of this trend, the concept of delineated standards for performance of a guardian’s duties has taken on critical importance.

Universities As Guardians Of Their Inventions, Liza Vertinsky

Utah Law Review

Universities occupy a central position in U.S. innovation policy as the engines of innovation. To fuel the development of new and socially useful technologies, federal and state policymakers charged with encouraging innovation channel billions of dollars into universities for the purpose of generating and disseminating knowledge. They expect universities to produce inventions that can be patented and moved into the private sector for commercialization, a policy approach that was hardwired into law with the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. The seeming success of this university-driven, patent-centered innovation strategy has prompted a number of other countries to pursue similar …

The Behavioural Consequences Of Reduced Sea Water Ph In Decapod Crustaceans, Kate De La Haye

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The studies presented in this thesis were designed to investigate the effects of reduced sea water pH on the behaviour of intertidal decapod crustaceans, both within the context of the variations occurring naturally in the pH of rock pool habitats, and in relation to predicted changes to ocean pH resulting from ocean acidification and potential carbon dioxide (CO2) leaks from carbon capture storage (CCS) sites. Recent studies on marine fish have shown behavioural disruptions as a result of increased CO2 concentrations in sea water and reduced pH, but the effects on crustaceans are as yet unknown. The first two studies …