Digital Commons Network^™

This Paper Is Only Skin Deep: The Socio-Cultural And Biological Reality Of Human Variation, Paige Jamieson

A with Honors Projects

This project is an anthropological study of human variation and "race".

Chemotherapy: The Physiological Cost Of A Cure, Megan Ellis

A with Honors Projects

This project focuses on the common long term side effects of cancer treatments, apart from cure. In addition to physiological function changes, it focuses on the chemical composition of chemotherapy drugs.

Impacts Of Soil Heavy Metal Contamination On Methane Flux And The Primary Production Of Phragmites Australis, Adam G. Piombino

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ, a mixed landscape encompassing areas of freshwater wetlands, was the site of an abandoned train yard and contains several areas in which soil concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, V and Zn occur above ambient levels of New Jersey soil. Human population growth and expanding urbanization are both placing an increased amount of stress on wetland environments. Methane, a greenhouse gas is both produced and consumed by the respiration of microorganisms in the soil. The methane flux rate and direction might be impacted by soil metal contamination. This variation could have broad implications …

The Effects Of Cancer, Mara Lapayne

A with Honors Projects

I chose to do a project related to cancer for my Painting 1 class. Using oil paint, I wanted to create a more symbolic representation of cancer. So I made a cloud-like, cancerous mass with streaks of chaotic color swirling around a central face. The face represents any person affected by cancer and has had to “shut down” their emotions in order to function. I wanted the skin texture to be almost metallic as if it is metal armor or robotic-like, to support the idea of “shutting down” one’s emotions. The blank expression also portrays this idea.

Global Workspace Theory, Its Lida Model And The Underlying Neuroscience, S. Franklin, S. Strain, J. Snaider, R. Mccall, U. Faghihi

CCRG Papers

No abstract provided.

Neuroglial Mechanisms Involved In The Anti-Inflammatory Effect Of Acetate Supplementation, Mahmoud Lotfy Soliman

Theses and Dissertations

Acetate supplementation increases brain acetyl-CoA and attenuates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation in vivo. To explain the anti-inflammatory effect of acetate treatment, we proposed that acetate treatment disrupts inflammatory signaling in microglia and astrocytes, and induces histone hyperacetylation known to be correlated with anti-inflammatory properties. To test this hypothesis, we measured the effects that LPS and acetate treatment had on histone acetylation, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and eicosanoid signaling. A single oral dose of acetate treatment (6 g/kg) in normal animals induced a time- and site-specific pattern of histone hyperacetylation, associated with reduction of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity …

Intimate Partner Violence: Implications For Northern Plains And Upper Midwest American Indian Mother-Daughter Dyads' Attachment Relationships, Julii Monette Green

Theses and Dissertations

An established body of research focused on family violence captures the experiences of women impacted by intimate partner violence (IPV), the implications for child witnesses of IPV, and the predictive risk factors of violence toward women. In an attempt to understand the unique experiences of American Indian women and children this study examined the intersection of American Indian identity, attachment relationships, and traumatic experiences to comprehend the short and long-term impact of IPV.

The current research study included 30 American Indian mother-daughter dyads who had a history of IPV. The findings suggested that participants' substance use during IPV episodes was …

Investigation Of Brown Recluse (Loxosceles Reclusa) And Black Widow (Latrodectus Mactans) Spider-Bite Diagnoses By Medical Professionals Across Three Regions Of Mississippi, Hillary Michelle Howell

Honors Theses

During 4 weeks of the spring of 2011 and 5 weeks of the fall of 2011, interviews were conducted with medical professionals practicing in Mississippi regarding the diagnosis of brown recluse {Loxosceles reclusa) and black widow {Latrodectus mactans) spider bites. During the spring, a total of 19 interviews were held with emergency room physicians and dermatologists practicing in urban and rural, non-medically underserved areas of Mississippi. The participants varied in their location of practice across the 3 regions of Mississippi. During the fall, a total of 5 interviews were conducted with nurse practitioners and one pediatrician practicing in rural, medically …

Perceiving And Reporting Domestic Violence Incidents In Unconventional Settings: A Vignette Survey Study, Hadar Aviram, Annick Persinger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Moore Is Less: Why The Development Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Might Radically Upend Property Law Concerning Human Tissues As We Know It, Osagie K. Obasogie, Helen Theung

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Synthesis Of Aquatic Science For Management Of Lakes Mead And Mohave: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1381, Michael R. Rosen, Kent Turner, Steven L. Goodbred, Jennell M. Miller

Public Lands Institute Publications

Lake Mead provides many significant benefits that have made the modern development of the southwestern United States possible. The lake also provides important aquatic habitat for a wide variety of wildlife including endangered species, and a diversity of world-class water based recreational opportunities for more than 8 million visitors annually. It is one of the most extensively used and intensively monitored reservoirs in the United States. The largest reservoir by volume in the United States, it supplies critical storage of water supplies for more than 25 million people in three western states (California, Arizona, and Nevada). Storage within Lake Mead …

Jerry Stone, Jerry H. Stone, Meg Miner

All oral histories

Jerry Stone taught in the Religion department from 1964-1992. He started as an Assistant Professor of Religion and within three years became a full Professor of Religion, and then became Director of Liberal Studies. A couple years before retiring, he returned to teaching.

Stone has also acted as pastor at a local church and in Cooksville during his time at Illinois Wesleyan University, and taught Sunday school classes at First Presbyterian Church.

Since retiring, Stone also taught a religions course for a semester at Heartland College.

Health Care Access And Insurance Availability In Nevada, Douglas L. Garner, Marie A. Wakefield, Tiffany G. Tyler, A. Dexter Samuels, Roger Cleveland

Social Health of Nevada Reports

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2012) defines healthcare access as “the timely use of health services to achieve the best health outcomes.” The Department specifies that efficient health care access is contingent on several steps, including (1) entry into the healthcare system, (2) availability of needed services, and (3) accessibility of providers with whom individuals can establish relationships founded on mutual communication and trust.

Child Abuse And Neglect In Nevada, Ramona W. Denby

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Child maltreatment in Nevada reflects the general social, economic, and health conditions within the state and its local communities. This chapter starts with various definitions of child abuse and neglect, focusing on the approach adopted by Nevada legislators and comparing it to competing definitions. Next, this report examines child abuse and neglect rates in Nevada and tracks the progress the state has made towards achieving its goals related to child welfare outcomes, including child protection and safety, child permanency, and child well-being. After that, the discussion moves to the most promising child welfare intervention practices and approaches. Finally, the chapter …

Environment And Sustainability In Nevada, Mark J. Salvaggio, Robert Futrell

Social Health of Nevada Reports

When the inaugural Earth Day launched the first environmental decade in the U.S. more than forty years ago, protecting our air, water, land and other natural resources seemed a relatively straightforward task. Environmental polluters and exploiters would be brought to heel by tough laws. The U.S. and other industrialized nations responded to quality of life concerns associated with environmental degradation by adopting dozens of major environmental and resource policies and creating new institutions such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to manage environmental programs. Following these national developments, states and local communities began systematic efforts to address environmental problems.

Oxidative Stress And Down Syndrome: A Route Toward Alzheimer-Like Dementia, Marzia Perluigi, D. Allan Butterfield

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most frequent genetic abnormalities characterized by multiple pathological phenotypes. Indeed, currently life expectancy and quality of life for DS patients have improved, although with increasing age pathological dysfunctions are exacerbated and intellectual disability may lead to the development of Alzheimer's type dementia (AD). The neuropathology of DS is complex and includes the development of AD by middle age, altered free radical metabolism, and impaired mitochondrial function, both of which contribute to neuronal degeneration. Understanding the molecular basis that drives the development of AD is an intense field of research. Our laboratories are interested …

Assessing The Therapeutic Effect Of 630 Nm Light-Emitting Diodes Irradiation On The Recovery Of Exercise-Induced Hand Muscle Fatigue With Surface Electromyogram, Dandan Yang, Xiaoying Wu, Wensheng Hou, Xiaolin Zheng, Jun Zheng, Yingtao Jiang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

This paper aims to investigate the effect of light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) on exercise-induced hand muscle fatigue by measuring the surface electromyography (sEMG) of flexor digitorum superficialis. Ten healthy volunteers were randomly placed in the equal sized LEDT group and control group. All subjects performed a sustained fatiguing isometric contraction with the combination of four fingertips except thumb at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) until exhaustion. The active LEDT or an identical passive rest therapy was then applied to flexor digitorum superficialis. Each subject was required to perform a re-fatigue task immediately after therapy which was the same …

Slow Counseling: Promoting Wellness In A Fast World, Randall L. Astramovich, Wendy J. Hoskins

Journal for International Counselor Education

Recent technological advances have spurred a fast-paced style of living that has become increasingly commonplace around the world. Professional counselors are therefore recognizing that many clients are seeking ways to reduce stress and cultivate a more balanced approach to life. Rooted in the Slow Movement, Slow Counseling offers counselors a wellness-focused foundation for addressing the time urgency and stress often reported by today’s clients.

Christine Jorgensen And The Media: Identity Politics In The Early 1950s Press, Emylia N. Terry

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

“Christine Jorgensen and the Media: Identity Politics in the Early 1950s Press” analyzes America’s first transgender celebrity and the interpretations of her identity by a seemingly celebratory press. Jorgensen, who rose to fame in December 1952, was propelled to stardom partly because of the cultural climate of the 1950s. The first portion of my essay begins by setting the historical context of how gender nonconforming individuals were treated in the press before Jorgensen, and then analyzes Jorgensen’s personal characteristics that also helped make her a media fixture. However, the veracity of Jorgensen’s female identity was doubted by the time she …

Las Vegas Strip Odor Remediation, Francell R. Rodriguez, Daniel Hoskins, Guadalupe Gutierrez

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The project described in our report looks at four alternatives to eliminate odor from the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd and Flamingo Rd: biofiltration, Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration, nitrate addition and the alternative of doing nothing. The odor is caused mainly by hydrogen sulfide, which escapes from the sewer system in this area. Each alternative was evaluated based on effectiveness, land usage, energy consumption, water and material usage, and cost. Cost was further broken down into initial costs and annual costs, and then a cash flow analysis was performed to evaluate the cost over a 30 year timeframe.

Nitrate …

Health Care Reform: Seeking The Cure For Tax And Social Justice On The Landscape Of Changing Familial Norms, Julia Higgins Foresman

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Psychological Culture: Ambivalence And Resistance To Social Change, Alexander Etkind

Russian Culture

"National character," "modal personality," "collective unconscious," "ethnic mentality," "cultural identity" -- these and similar notions are designed to capture psychological traits that distinguish one social group from another. Attempts to isolate such hypothetical qualities are not different in principle from efforts to describe religious, legal, or other social patterns found among people who have lived together for a length of time, except that psychological constructs tend to focus on subjective characteristics and are somewhat harder to identify. For the first time, the link between culture and psychology came under close scrutiny in the nineteen century. German linguists Steinthal and Lazarus …

Colonizing Chaos: Russian Literature At The End Of The Twentieth Century, Alexander Genis

Russian Culture

Culture sets the parameters of our reality, defines its boundaries, gives each of us a system of values and reference points and, most important, provides our subconscious with the materials necessary for an awareness of chaos and the universe, space and time, cause and effect. Beginning my essay with these broadest categories, I will attempt to sketch the coordinates of that landscape in which the stormy drama of post-Soviet literature is played out. This will be followed by an analysis of the literary situation in the period directly preceding our own. Coming next will be some brief sketches of nine …

Rethinking The Canon: Nonconformist Soviet Classics In Post-Soviet Perspective, Alexander Zholkovsky

Russian Culture

In the four-plus decades since Stalin's death, the Soviet literary canon has undergone a series of changes. Thus, Fedor Dostoyevsky, Konstantin Leontiev, and Apollon Grigoriev, seen in all their complexity, gradually resumed their pride of place in nineteenth-century literary history, while Gogol was allowed to be more of a conservative thinker and modernist stylist than during the period of High Stalinism. Twentieth-century literature welcomed back the early Vladimir Maiakovsky, then all of Aleksandr Blok (previously represented in the Soviet canon only by his The Twelve), and finally the entire Silver Age. The list of writers now rehabilitated, republished, and "recognized" …

Russian Architecture Between Anorexia And Bulimia, Vladimir Paperny

Russian Culture

The Russian visual sensibilities (if there is such thing) are formed by two contrasting influences. On the one hand, there is a natural attraction to decorative surfaces, to richness of colors and shapes. Historians tell us that in the 10 th century Prince Vladimir decided to convert to Christianity mainly because of the visual experience his emissaries had had in Constantinople: “The Greeks led us to the building where they worship their God,” they wrote to the Prince, “and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such …

A New Method To Derive Electronegativity From Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering, Stephane Carniato, Loic Journel, Renaud Guillemin, Maria Novella Piancastelli, Wayne C. Stolte, Dennis W. Lindle, Marc Simon

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Electronegativity is a well-known property of atoms and substituent groups. Because there is no direct way to measure it, establishing a useful scale for electronegativity often entails correlating it to another chemical parameter; a wide variety of methods have been proposed over the past 80 years to do just that. This work reports a new approach that connects electronegativity to a spectroscopic parameter derived from resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. The new method is demonstrated using a series of chlorine-containing compounds, focusing on the Cl 2p−1LUMO1 electronic states reached after Cl 1s→LUMO core excitation and subsequent KL radiative decay. Based on …

Evaluating The Convergent Validity Of The Measure Of Emotional Connotations, Daniel N. Erosa

McNair Poster Presentations

The Measure of Emotional Connotations (MEC; Barchard, Kirsch, Anderson, Grob, & Anderson, 2012) is a new test that has been developed to measure the ability to perceive the emotional connotations of written language. To examine its convergent validity, the MEC will be correlated with the two emotion perception tasks on the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT; Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, & Sitarenious, 2003). These MSCEIT tasks are valid tests of emotion perception; thus, strong correlations would provide support for the MEC as a valid test of emotion perception.

Health Status Effects On Human Female Mate Preferences And Sociosexuality, Tiffany Alexandra Alvarez

McNair Poster Presentations

Much literature suggests that the sociosexual strategies of females are highly sensitive and consequently responsive to change and its parameters. Through the investigation of an unexplored contextual variant—health status—this study aimed to broaden the understanding of the facultative nature of human female sociosexuality and mate preferences paradigms. We recruited normally cycling women between the ages of 18 and 30 when they were sick (A) had them complete a questionnaire designed to obtain, among other things, measures of their symptom severity and sociosexuality (B) had them evaluate the appeal of two computer manipulated markers of sexual dimorphism (those present in the …

Transcriptome Analysis Of Glue Secretion In Drosophila, William Mccurdy, Pawel Parafianowicz, Andrew Andres

McNair Poster Presentations

Steroid hormones control important developmental and physiological responses in animals, including humans. It is known that when a cell is exposed to a steroid hormone, there is an immediate change in the genes that are expressed into proteins. Of notable importance is steroid regulation in the salivary glands of larval Drosophila melanogaster and the corresponding physiological responses that are governed by treatment with the conserved insect steroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Exposure to the steroid hormone 20E causes a change in gene expression that facilitates the secretion of glue glycoproteins from inside the cells into the lumen of the tissue. Altered gene …

Genotoxic Effects Of Banding Procedure With Different Orthodontic Cements On Human Oral Mucosa Cells, Firat Öztürk, Şengül Yüksel, Ebubeki̇r Toy, Elçi̇n Lati̇fe Kurtoğlu, Eyüp Burak Küçük

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To assess the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of banding procedure with 5 different orthodontic cements on human oral buccal epithelium cells. Materials and methods: Fifty healthy volunteers (mean age: 14.54 ± 2.37 years) were randomly divided into 5 groups of 10. Preformed stainless steel molar bands (3M Unitek) were cemented to the upper and lower first molar teeth with 5 different orthodontic cements (Durelon, GC Fuji Ortho Band LC Paste Pak, Meron, Ultra Band Lok, and 3M Unitek Multi Cure) in each group. Genotoxic effects of the banding procedure for a 1-month period were evaluated using the micronucleus test (MNT). …