Digital Commons Network^™

Parts Of The Whole: The Virtue Of Books, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This column argues that the majority of commercial textbooks do not serve students well. Strategies for change include clearly distinguishing the textbook requirements of different priority subjects and assembling writers who can address, in addition to content development, the cognitive level of the children as well as writing in an age-appropriate way. A discussion of the forces that produce current texts leads to the recommendation that textbooks be a focus of research and improvement rather than the byproduct of an individual’s lecture notes.

Comparative Study Of The Numeracy Education And Writing Across The Curriculum Movements: Ideas For Future Growth, Cinnamon Hillyard

Numeracy

The percentage of American institutions with a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program grew from 38% to 54% over the 20-year period from 1987 to 2008. Meanwhile the trajectory of the numeracy movement from publication of the popular book Innumeracy in 1988 to the appearance of Numeracy in 2008 was similar to the trajectory of the WAC movement from the publication of “Why Johnny Can’t Read” (1975) to the appearance of the first WAC journal in 1994. Review of the WAC literature shows that the growth of WAC occurred despite numerous challenges: the need for institutional buy-in; assessment; orthodoxy of …

Quantitative Reasoning And Sustainability, Corrine H. Taylor

Numeracy

Quantitative Reasoning and Sustainability have much in common. Both are complex, nuanced concepts with rather long definitions that have evolved over time. Both subjects are “everybody’s business” on college campuses, and must be approached in courses across the curriculum, not merely in one course on QR or in one course on Sustainability. The growing, wider presence of both QR and Sustainability on college campuses is due to their applicability in individuals’ personal, professional, and public lives. Moreover, QR and Sustainability support and enhance each other in and out of the classroom. Sustainability is an important, authentic, relevant context for lessons …

The Geochemistry Of Water-Filled Sinkholes At Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Roswell, Nm : Implications For Hydrochemical Evolution And Trophic Support, Elizabeth Premo

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This study provides a hydrochemical baseline survey of water-filled sinkholes at Bitter Lake Nation Wildlife Refuge (Roswell, NM). Water samples from 10 representative sinkholes taken at 1.0m increments were analyzed for major ions, stable isotopes [δ18O, δD], and dissolved gases. Sinkholes are surface features at a constant head boundary found at the discharge region for the Roswell Artesian Basin, recharged by upwardly flowing artesian springs. Constant head is confirmed by a lack of measured change in depth during two sampling sessions (October 2008, May 2009), low relief (<10m change across study area), and deployment of autonomous sensors (sondes). Sinkhole waters – regardless of depth or season – fall along a common isotopic evaporation trajectory (δD = 3.387*δ18O – 19.38), and adopt a Na-Cl chemical endmember facies. Driven primarily by physical sinkhole geometry (e.g., depth and surface area), sinkhole water follows a predictable evolutionary progression from a spring-like well-mixed ("young"), to moderately saline well-mixed ("transitional"), to saline and stratified ("old" or "evolved"), based on the relative volume of water that has entered and subsequently been evaporated from the system. The modality of water column structure may be predicted by measuring the density, TDS or conductivity at sinkhole surface, as these parameters can be used as a proxy for evolutionary "age." Simple geochemical models reveal calcium- and sulfate-bearing minerals (calcite, gypsum) precipitate early in the reaction while halite and magnesium-containing minerals precipitate late, yielding increased Cl- and Mg+ concentrations in fluids subjected to prolonged evaporation. More complicated models are needed to fully consider precipitation of additional mineral species and water budget. Both PO4 and NH4 were present in biologically-significant concentrations in sinkholes with chemically controlled water columns, and photosynthetic bacteria were found to organize at the bottom of the photic zone. High NH4 and CO2 accompanying low O2 dissolved gas values confirm the increased biological control in stratified sinkholes. Resident fish populations are affected by water chemistry which reduces reproductive success or exceed the survivable range of habitable conditions. Results of this study may be used to aid with biological resource management and to predict stratified conditions using measurable proxies.

Regulation Of Lipogenesis By Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8-Mediated Control Of Srebp-1., Xiaoping Zhao, Daorong Feng, Qun Wang, Arian Abdulla, Xiao-Jun Xie, Jie Zhou, Yan Sun, Ellen S Yang, Lu-Ping Liu, Bhavapriya Vaitheesvaran, Lauren Bridges, Irwin J Kurland, Randy Strich, Jian-Quan Ni, Chenguang Wang, Johan Ericsson, Jeffrey E Pessin, Jun-Yuan Ji, Fajun Yang

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Altered lipid metabolism underlies several major human diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, lipid metabolism pathophysiology remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Insulin is the primary stimulator of hepatic lipogenesis through activation of the SREBP-1c transcription factor. Here we identified cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) and its regulatory partner cyclin C (CycC) as negative regulators of the lipogenic pathway in Drosophila, mammalian hepatocytes, and mouse liver. The inhibitory effect of CDK8 and CycC on de novo lipogenesis was mediated through CDK8 phosphorylation of nuclear SREBP-1c at a conserved threonine residue. Phosphorylation by CDK8 enhanced SREBP-1c ubiquitination and protein …

The Mediating Influence Of Child Self-Regulation On The Relationship Between Couple Attachment Security In Parents And Anxiety In Their Children, David P. Adamusko

Theses and Dissertations

This two wave panel study examined child self-regulation as a potential mediator of the relationship between marital attachment security in parents and anxiety in their adolescent child. Data for this study were taken from the two parent families in waves three and four of the Flourishing Families project which included 335 two-parent families with children between the ages of 14 and 16. Both parents and child completed the Novak and Clayton (2001) Self-regulation Scale with the child's self-regulation as the target, and both husbands and wives completed a modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, & …

Organic Carbon Burial Rates In Mangrove Soils: Global Context And A Preliminary Investigation Of The Coastal Everglades, Joshua L. Breithaupt

USF St. Petersburg campus Master's Theses (Graduate)

The ecological and economic contributions made by mangroves have been well documented in recent decades, and these coastal forests have been the focus of increased attention in terms of conservation and restoration. One aspect that has recently drawn increased attention is the role of mangrove environments in the global carbon cycle, particularly for their high burial rates of organic carbon (OC), also known as “Blue Carbon”, that would otherwise contribute to increased atmospheric CO2 levels. Globally, the amount of available data has more than doubled since the last primary literature review of OC burial in mangrove sediments (2003). The objective …

Blue Notes, July 2, 2012 (Issue 2012-03), Illinois State University, Department Of Chemistry

Blue Notes

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of Chemistry

Motivational Interviewing With Computer Assistance As An Intervention To Empower Women To Make Contraceptive Choices While Incarcerated: Study Protocol For Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer Clarke, Melanie A. Gold, Rachel E. Simon, Mary B. Roberts, L.A.R. Stein

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background:

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are important and costly public health problems in the United States resulting from unprotected sexual intercourse. Risk factors for unplanned pregnancies and STIs (poverty, low educational attainment, homelessness, substance abuse, lack of health insurance, history of an abusive environment, and practice of commercial sex work) are especially high among women with a history of incarceration. Project CARE (Contraceptive Awareness and Reproductive Education) is designed to evaluate an innovative intervention, Motivational Interviewing with Computer Assistance (MICA), aimed at enhancing contraceptive initiation and maintenance among incarcerated women who do not want a pregnancy within …

A Structural Perspective Of Antibody Neutralization Of Dengue Virus, Stephen Kyle Austin

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The four dengue viruses: DENV) are mosquito-borne flaviviruses and are considered the world's most significant arboviruses in terms of worldwide disease burden. Symptoms of dengue disease are classified into dengue fever, a mild, febrile illness, and the potentially fatal severe dengue, which can include hemorrhaging and shock. Antibody protection against DENV correlates with the production of neutralizing antibodies against the envelope: E) glycoprotein.

To understand the role of antibodies in DENV infection, we sought to dissect the relationship between epitope and function. Virologic studies had identified that the most potently neutralizing antibodies are against domain III: DIII) of the E …

Planar Shock Wave Interaction With A Multiphase Cylinder, Joseph Conroy

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

We present an experimental study that visualizes the effects of a planar shock front passing through air (or SF6) randomly seeded with glycol droplets or smoke particles. It was observed, using a high-speed multiple-CCD (charge coupled device) camera, that an instability occurs as the shock wave bypasses the slow-moving column of gas. This produced evident perturbation at the interface. The flow morphology of the gas column consists of a pair of counter-rotating vortices that develops downstream from the initial conditions as well as some secondary instabilities (in certain cases). Some images also show a trailing tail due to larger particles …

Analytical Interpretation Of The Patient Centered Medical Home: A Meta-Review Of The Literature, Bethaney Fehrenkamp

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Medical care in the United States is plagued by extremely high costs, inconsistent quality and fragmented delivery at best. In response to these issues new concepts of integrated health care delivery systems have been developed. The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is an increasingly popular health care delivery model that emphasizes continuous coordinated patient care. In theory, the PCMH takes a preventative approach to medicine that addresses the individual not the disease, and takes a holistic approach to health care. The PCMH model has been shown to lower health care costs while improving health care outcomes. Despite PCMH being a new …

State's Research Universities, Public To Reap Benefits From New Internet2 Connector Site, Admin

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.

To Use Or Not To Use: The Role Of Affect And Cognition In Changing Attitudes Toward Using Condoms Among African American Women, Kristina Hood

Theses and Dissertations

The current project involved three studies designed to examine which characteristics of persuasive communications change condom use attitudes. Study 1 investigated the effect of message type (affective versus cognitive) and source (male versus female) on attitude change among a sample of African American women attending college. In Study 1 (N = 146), the affective message and female source produced the most positive change in condom use attitudes. Study 2 examined whether message type and source were associated with favorable condom attitudes in a community sample and whether these findings differed from a college sample. Twenty-seven women participated in group discussions …

Sociodemographic And Clinical Characteristics Of Patients Attending Psychotherapy In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Oman, Zena Al-Sharbati, Claire Hallas, Hazar Al-Sharbati, Marwan

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: There is significant evidence that psychotherapy is a pivotal treatment for persons diagnosed with Axis I clinical psychiatric conditions; however, a psychotherapy service has only recently been established in the Omani health care system. This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of attendees at a psychotherapy clinic at a tertiary care hospital. Methods: An analysis was carried out of 133 new referrals to the Psychotherapy Service at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital. Results: The majority of referrals were females (59%), aged 18–34 years, employed (38%), had ≤12 years of formal education (51%), and …

“Between A Rock And A Hard Place” : The Discordant Views Among Medical Teachers About Anatomy Content In The Undergraduate Medical Curriculum, Ibrahim M. Inuwa, Varna Taranikanti, Maimouna Roychoudhry, Sadhana, Omar Habbal

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

The last two decades of medical education have been marked by a persistent push towards curricular reform. Anatomy as a discipline, the unshakable foundation of medical teaching for hundreds of years, has been at the centre of this development. Although it is widely agreed that for doctors to be competent, they need an adequate knowledge of anatomy underpinning medicine, there is much less agreement over the quantity required, and who should decide and define it. Many clinicians feel medical students are being under-trained in this basic medical science before reaching the clinical stages. Professional accreditation boards advocate the reduction of …

The Role Of Oxidative Stress And Antioxidants In Diabetic Complications, Fatmah A. Matough, Siti B. Budin, Zariyantey A. Alwahaibi, Nasar, Jamaludin Mohamed

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Diabetes is considered to be one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. There is a growing scientific and public interest in connecting oxidative stress with a variety of pathological conditions including diabetes mellitus (DM) as well as other human diseases. Previous experimental and clinical studies report that oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis and development of complications of both types of DM. However, the exact mechanism by which oxidative stress could contribute to and accelerate the development of complications in diabetic mellitus is only partly known and remains to be clarified. On the one hand, hyperglycemia …

Diversification And Conservation In The South American Dry Biomes: Distribution Modeling And Multilocus Lizard Phylogeography, Fernanda Werneck

Theses and Dissertations

The understanding of diversification of intraspecific lineages can shed light on speciation processes and ultimately biogeographic patterns across multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this dissertation I investigated the geographical and ecological factors promoting diversification across the South American dry diagonal biomes (i.e. Cerrado, Chaco, and Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests - SDTFs), through a coupled approach between multilocus phylogeographic and geospatial methods, in the larger context of interpreting the consequences of the resulting patterns for the conservation of biodiversity and evolutionary processes. In Chapter 1 I evaluate biogeographic hypotheses previously proposed and emphasize that the dry diagonal biomes are particularly …

Healing The Cartesian Split: Understanding And Renewing Pathos In Academic Writing, Travis Washburn

Theses and Dissertations

There have always been rogues who dared to go against the traditional "intellectual" writing style of science and academia, a style that seems bent on transcending the "merely personal." Those who take this risk are embracing the rhetorical tradition of pathos, one that goes as far back as Aristotle. Current academic trends support a genre devoid of pathos and lacking true ethos—a deviation from classic rhetoric, and one that supports the Cartesian split of mind-body dualism. Neurological studies done by Antonio Damasio and others suggest that a holistic view is a more accurate picture of how a human soul functions. …

The Evolution Of Conservative Attitudes As A Complement To Cognitive Threat Detection Mechanisms, Russ Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Conservatism reflects a general attitude structure characterized by a preference for traditional social practices and an aversion to uncertainty and threat. Though the social environment undoubtedly plays a role in shaping conservative attitudes, recent studies suggest that trait-level characteristics may contribute to their development as well. The present research investigated trait-level cognitive threat detection ability as a factor which may influence the development and maintenance of conservative social attitudes. A computer simulation indicated that socially conservative attitudes may function as a strategy for increasing the survival rate of an individual with poor threat detection ability living in a relatively dangerous …

Religious Participation And Attitudes Towards Homosexual Marriage And Civil Unions, Amanda A. Patrick

Research Papers

This study examines how religious participation and progressive attitudes serve to shape opinions on same-sex marriage and civil unions. Although several investigations have been carried out on the issue of same-sex marriage and civil unions, mostly in the area of the influence of religious participation, attitudes however, have not been given much consideration. This study therefore expands the literature on the issue of same sex marriage and civil unions by looking at attitudes and beliefs such as: being open to new experiences, belief in doing social and religious good, belief in the attribution of choice in homosexuality, the belief that …

Lanthorn, Vol. 47, No. 01, July 2, 2012, Grand Valley State University

Volume 47, July 2, 2012 - June 3, 2013

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Beliefs Of And Attitudes Toward Sexual Violence By A Diverse Group Of Self-Identified Male Collegiate Athletes, Belinda-Rose James

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to assess the beliefs of and attitudes towards sexual violence among self-identified male, undergraduate, athletes and non-athletes. Research has shown that there is an association between the subculture of athletics and the beliefs and attitudes towards sexual violence. Male, undergraduate, athletes have disproportionately been reported for sexual violence. This study examined common risk factors attributed to perpetration of sexual violence: rape myth acceptance, lower attitudes toward women, reactive aggression, and physical and verbal sexual coercion. Multiple-level risk factors were studied in order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of what possible associations between male collegiate …

Data Access And Visualization Benefits From Implementation Of A Hydrologic Information System, Stephen Brown

Civil Engineering ETDs

In 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) implemented new guidelines for all scientists applying for grants. A Data Management Plan (DMP) is now required for all proposals in which data are created or gathered while working under the grant. Several organizations have produced templates and applications to assist with the construction of DMPs. The data plans provide a good overview of data processing and storage but do not provide any guidance for managing data during the research process. Large temporal hydrologic data sets can provide a rich insight to complex hydrologic and ecological systems. Complications arise when attempting to query …

Newsletter Summer 2012

Newsletter

No abstract provided.

High-Resolution Niche Models Via A Correlative Approach: Comparing And Combining Correlative And Process-Based Information, Victor Bogosian Iii, Eric C. Hellgren, Michael W. Sears, Raymond W. Moody

Publications

Correlative and process-based approaches to describing the ecological niche in a spatially explicit fashion have often been compared in an adversarial framework. We sought to compare niche models developed via classic (correlative only), niche (process-based information), and hybridized (correlative augmented with process-based derived information) approaches, with the goal of determining if the added effort of process-based model development yielded better model fit. Correlative data layers (i.e., habitat models) included vegetation community types, Euclidean distance statistics, neighborhood analyses, and topographically-derived information. Mechanistic data layers were estimates of thermal suitability derived from field-collected datasets and biophysical calculations, and estimates of prey biomass …

Interaction Of Human Telomeric Dna With N-Methyl Mesoporphyrin Ix, John Michael Nicoludis , '12, Steven Paul Barrett , '13, J.-L. Mergny, Liliya A. Yatsunyk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

The remarkable selectivity of N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) for G-quadruplexes (GQs) is long known, however its ability to stabilize and bind GQs has not been investigated in detail. Through the use of circular dichroism, UV-visible spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assay we have shown that NMM stabilizes human telomeric DNA dAG(3)(TTAG(3))(3) (Tel22) and is selective for its parallel conformation to which it binds in 1:1 stoichiometry with a binding constant of similar to 1.0 x 10(5) M-1. NMM does not interact with an antiparallel conformation of Tel22 in sodium buffer and is the second example in the …

Audio/Video Inventory, The Jackson Laboratory

Media & Museum Collection

No abstract provided.

Videotapes, The Jackson Laboratory

Media & Museum Collection

No abstract provided.

Slides, The Jackson Laboratory

Media & Museum Collection

No abstract provided.