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Utah State University Commencement, 2012 – Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

125^th Annual Commencement of Utah State University.

Clemson Commencement Program, May 2012, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Roles For Chd7 In Zebrafish Development With Implications For Human Disease, Nicole Lynn Mcdaniels

Biology - Dissertations

The Chromodomain Helicase DNA Binding Protein (CHD) family consists of a group of nine known proteins that function in controlling DNA dynamics and transcription. The CHD family member of interest in this work, Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (chd7), has been implicated in human CHARGE (coloboma of the eye, heart defects, atresia of the choanae, retardation of growth and/or development, genital and/or urinary abnormalities, and ear abnormalities and deafness) Syndrome and Idiopathic Scoliosis, however little is known about the roles this gene plays during development.

Using zebrafish as a model system, morpholino antisense technology, whole mount in situ hybridization …

Models Of Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior, Jodi Canfield

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

This dissertation tested conceptual frameworks for models of physical activity and sedentary behavior based upon social cognitive theory and ecological models. The sample consisted of 527 7th and 8th graders from 3 rural schools in upstate New York. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that there were direct influences of environmental support, intrapersonal factors, parental modeling for physical activity, and physical health to levels of adolescent physical activity. Sedentary behavior was influenced by parental modeling for sedentary behavior and parental encouragement for sedentary behavior. In addition, using a mediating conceptual framework, intrapersonal factors mediated the relationships of environmental support, encouragement, mental health, …

Child Care Center Directors' Perceptions Of Continuity Of Care: A Qualitative Investigation, Desalyn De-Souza

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

Continuity of care, keeping a primary caregiver and children together throughout the first three years of the infant/toddler period or for the time that the child is enrolled in child care, is assumed to influence infant and toddler development positively. However, strong empirical support is lacking along with wide variation of implementation among early childhood programs. Employing a qualitative design, this study investigated child care center directors' perceptions of continuity of care as a quality indicator and best practice in early care and education programs. Twenty-one child care center directors were interviewed using a list of open-ended questions gauging knowledge …

Genome-Wide Mirnaprofiling Of Mantle Cell Lymphoma Reveals A Distinct Subgroup With Poor Prognosis, Javeed Iqbal, Yulei Shen, Yanyan Liu, Kai Fu, Elaine S. Jaffe, Cuiling Liu, Zhongfeng Liu, Cynthia M. Lachel, Karen Deffenbacher, Timothy C. Greiner, Julie M. Vose, Sharathkumar Bhagavathi, Louis M. Staudt, Lisa Rimsza, Andreas Rosenwald, German Ott, Jan Delabie, Elias Campo, Rita M. Braziel, James R. Cook, Raymond R. Tubbs, Randy D. Gascoyne, James O. Armitage, Dennis D. Weisenburger, Timothy W. Mckeithan, Wing C. Chan

United States Public Health Resources

miRNA deregulation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Using a high-throughput quantitative real-time PCR platform, we performed miRNA profiling on cyclin D1–positive MCL (n = 30) and cyclin D1–negative MCL (n =7) and compared them with small lymphocytic leukemia/ lymphoma (n =12), aggressive B-cell lymphomas (n =138), normal B-cell subsets, and stromal cells.We identified a 19-miRNA classifier that included 6 up-regulated miRNAs and 13 down regulated miRNA that was able to distinguish MCL from other aggressive lymphomas. Some of the up-regulated miRNAs are highly expressed in naive B cells. This miRNAclassifier …

Prioritization Of Biomarker Targets In Human Umbilical Cord Blood: Identification Of Proteins In Infant Blood Serving As Validated Biomarkers In Adults, Nicole Hansmeier, Tzu-Chiao Chao, Lynn R. Goldman, Frank R. Witter, Rolf U. Halden

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: Early diagnosis represents one of the best lines of defense in the fight against a wide array of human diseases. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is one of the first easily available diagnostic biofluids and can inform about the health status of newborns. However, compared with adult blood, its diagnostic potential remains largely untapped.

Objectives: Our goal was to accelerate biomarker research on UCB by exploring its detectable protein content and providing a priority list of potential biomarkers based on known proteins involved in disease pathways.

Methods: We explored cord blood serum proteins by profiling a UCB pool of 12 …

Technological Aspects Of Molecular Diagnosis Of Bacterial Infectious Diseases, Christine S. Booth

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is continually growing in its application, particularly in the field of molecular diagnosis of disease from clinical specimens. The main focus has been in the detection and identification of pathogens. However, quantitative PCR is increasingly utilized to determine initial pathogen load. A well-designed PCR protocol is required in all of these instances. Just as importantly, in the context of disease diagnosis; is the design of the sample processing methodology. The ideal method should concentrate the DNA and effectively isolate a high-quality DNA product, free of PCR inhibitors, while also being simple, reproducible and safe.

The …

Recreation Capital: Natural Resources, Amenity Development, And Outdoor Recreation In Bend, Oregon, Brent Olson

Geography and the Environment - Dissertations

This dissertation examines the production of recreational resources associated with amenity development. I argue that recreational resources are produced along lines similar to the production of timber, water, or mineral resources. Their production depends on the material characteristics of the resource, infrastructures of development, institutional arrangements, and the cultural symbolic value of rural and natural spaces. Scholars of amenity development have glossed over both the material elements of recreational resources and the history of resource development related to amenity landscapes. As a result, these scholars have overlooked insights concerning the production of resource spaces and evolving relationships between the city …

The Involvement Of Metal Ions In Copper-Zinc Superoxide Dismutase Related Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Megan Whitney Bourassa

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the motor neurons of the spinal cord. While most ALS cases are sporadic with no known cause, some are linked to mutations in the antioxidant protein copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), which is associated with the formation of small SOD1 aggregates in motor neurons. While the aggregation of SOD1 has been studied extensively in vitro, much less is known about aggregate-formation and its effects on metal homeostasis and neurodegeneration in intact cells and tissues. Therefore, the goal of this thesis was to understand how SOD1 aggregation plays a role in metal homeostasis …

The Banner - V. 147, No. 5 - (May 2012), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

6 - Editorial: Which Line to Toe? by Bob De Moor / 7 - Catch Your Breath: What’s That Smell? by John Luth / 8 - IMHO: The Blessing by Richard Vandezande / 8 - Letters to the Editor / 10 - News: Synod 2012 Asked to Make Climate Change Declarations / 18 - Pentecost Dreaming by Mary S. Hulst / 20 - On the Journey: “How’s Your Mom?” by Stacia Polinder Hoeksema / 22 - Leaders for a Growing Church by Sarah Van Stempvoort / 26 - The View from Here: Once . . . and Four ‘Alls’ by …

Hydrodynamic Evaluation And Characterization Of Capillary Channeled Polymer (C-Cp) Fibers As A Stationary Phase In Hplc Of Macromolecules, Kelum Randunu Pathirannahalage

All Theses

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is the most used analytical technique for the separation of samples in solution. HPLC of has progressed with successive use of new supports such as silica, polysaccharides, monoliths, and organic polymers. Although porous silica phases are very effective in small molecule separations, they suffer from certain drawbacks including pH stability, chemical robustness, high backpressure, and slow mass transfer for macromolecule separations. Thus, the most protein separations are carried out using nonporous, partially porous, and superficially porous phases to overcome mass transfer limitations. As a competing methodology, fiber based polymer support/stationary phases are also developed for …

Assessment Of The Rainfall Response On Headwater Streams In Lower Coastal Plain South Carolina, Thomas Epps

All Theses

Toward the goal of the assessment of the rainfall response on forested headwater catchments in the Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) of South Carolina, rainfall, streamflow, and groundwater elevation were monitored on two similar streams. Upper Debidue Creek (UDC) in coastal Georgetown County, South Carolina is slated for development and Watershed 80 (WS80) in the Francis Marion National Forest serves as an undeveloped reference watershed. Spatial rainfall variability was assessed at UDC and it was concluded that a single gage was sufficient to accurately measure rainfall for this watershed. Throughfall measurements at UDC indicate a seasonal difference that may influence seasonal …

Serving As Suppliers To Institutional Foodservices: Supply Chain Considerations Of Small And Medium Scale Specialty Crop Producers, Laura Westray

All Theses

Institutional foodservice, which includes schools, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, is an important food marketing channel. The centralized nature of the US food system effectively, and supply, logistic and other constraints, effectively precludes small and medium scale (SMS) specialty crop producers from serving as suppliers to these types of operations. Passage of The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and increasing public attention to food safety issues, further complicates this matter. While the FSMA Tester-Hagen Amendment provides regulatory exemptions for SME producers, it is likely that in the future food purchases on or behalf of institutions will require more stringent food …

Partial Pressures Of Co2 In Epikarstic Zone Deduced From Hydrogeochemistry Of Permanent Drips, The Moravian Karst, Czech Republic, Jiří Faimon, Monika Ličbinská, Petr Zajíček, Ondra Sracek

KIP Articles

Permanent drips from straw stalactites of selected caves of the Moravian Karst were studied during one-year period. A hypothetical partial pressure of CO2 that has participated in limestone dissolution, PCO2(H)=10-1.53±0.04, was calculated from the dripwater chemistry. The value significantly exceeds the partial pressures generally measured in relevant shallow karst soils, PCO2(soil)=10-2.72±0.02. This finding may have important implications for karst/cave conservation and paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

Inoculation Of Bats With European Geomyces Destructans Supports The Novel Pathogen Hypothesis For The Origin Of White-Nose Syndrome, Lisa L. Warnecke, James M. Turner, Trent K. Bollinger

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Promoting Hiv Prevention And Awareness Through Personal Communication: A Training Seminar For Hiv Positive Speakers, Allyson Snyder

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Nonparametric Clusterings In Relational And High-Dimensional Settings With Applications In Bioinformatics., Dazhuo Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in high throughput methodologies offer researchers the ability to understand complex systems via high dimensional and multi-relational data. One example is the realm of molecular biology where disparate data (such as gene sequence, gene expression, and interaction information) are available for various snapshots of biological systems. This type of high dimensional and multirelational data allows for unprecedented detailed analysis, but also presents challenges in accounting for all the variability. High dimensional data often has a multitude of underlying relationships, each represented by a separate clustering structure, where the number of structures is typically unknown a priori. To address …

Evolving Science In Adolescence, Kenneth Dodge, Dustin Albert

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Ellis et al. (2012) bring an evolutionary perspective to bear on adolescent risky behavioral development, clinical practice, and public policy. The authors offer important insights that (a) some risky behaviors may be adaptive for the individual and the species by being hard-wired due to fitness benefits and (b) interventions might be more successful if they move with, rather than against, the natural tendencies of an adolescent. Ellis and colleagues criticize the field of developmental psychopathology, but we see the 2 fields as complementary. Their position would be enhanced by integrating it with contemporary perspectives on dynamic cascades through which normative …

The Impact Of Vowels On Pitch Finding And Intonation In The Movable-Do Solmization System, Thomas Neuerburg

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The modern movable-Do solmization system based on syllables devised by Guido d'Arezzo was modified and pieced together over centuries by various scholars and pedagogues, each with their own rationale. To date, considerations of the movable-Do system have not sufficiently examined the effects of the vowels contained within its solfège syllables. While vowels have been thoroughly analyzed among vocal pedagogues, that information has not been adequately transferred to the realm of aural theory. Individual vowels contain perceptual qualities and intonational tendencies, due to their physiological articulation and acoustic properties. This document relates vowel characteristics with the solfège syllables used in the …

Integrating Ecology And Economics For Restoration: Using Ecological Indicators In Valuation Of Ecosystem Services, Eric T. Schultz, Robert Johnston, Kathleen Segerson, Elena Y. Besedin

EEB Articles

Because it can uniquely furnish insights into nonuse values for ecosystem services, survey-based Stated Preference (SP) valuation is widely used to estimate the benefits of ecological restoration. SP surveys ask respondents to select among restoration options yielding different ecological outcomes. This review examines the representation of ecological outcomes in SP studies seeking to quantify values for restoration of aquatic ecosystems. To promote the validity of ecological indicators used in SP valuation, we identified four standards: indicators should be measurable, interpretable, applicable, and comprehensive. We reviewed recent SP studies estimating the value of aquatic ecosystem services to assess whether ecological indicators …

Interplay Of The Glass Transition And The Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition In Water, Nicolas Giovambattista, Thomas Loerting, Boris R. Lukanov, Francis W. Starr

Publications and Research

Water has multiple glassy states, often called amorphous ices. Low-density (LDA) and high-density (HDA) amorphous ice are separated by a dramatic, first-order like phase transition. It has been argued that the LDA-HDA transformation connects to a first-order liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) above the glass transition temperature Tg. Direct experimental evidence of the LLPT is challenging to obtain, since the LLPT occurs at conditions where water rapidly crystallizes. In this work, we explore the implications of a LLPT on the pressure dependence of Tg(P) for LDA and HDA by performing computer simulations of two water models – one with a LLPT, …

Roles Of The Chaperone/Usher Pathways Of Yersinia Pestis In Interactions With Host Cells And Virulence, Matthew Ryan Hatkoff

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, encodes for a large repertoire of pili, which are hair-like fibers that extend out from the bacterial surface. Pili formed by the chaperone/usher pathway are adhesive structures that contribute to virulence in many Gram-negative bacteria. The Y. pestis genome contains eleven chaperone/usher operons. I sought to understand what roles these pathways have on the ability of Y. pestis to bind to host cells, cause disease, and contribute to virulence. I initially examined a panel of Y. pestis mutants containing deletions of the usher genes for six of these chaperone/usher pathways. I found that …

Mechanisms And Spatiotemporal Evolution Of Intracellular Ca2+ Alternans In Cardiac Tissue, Zhiheng Jia

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Instabilities in cardiac repolarization, presented as T-wave alternans (TWA) in the ECG, are a known precursor of re-entrant cardiac arrhythmias, e.g. ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). Alternations in intracellular Ca2+ cycling have been suggested recently as direct contributors to instabilities in action potential duration (APD) and TWA. Furthermore, both computer simulations and experiments have shown that subtle fine-scale intracellular Ca2+ alternans emerge much earlier than detectable VT and VF episodes, and can promote the initiation of VT/VF. Recent experimental results from our lab and others revealed that the alternans regions may be persistent during VT. Overall, these findings …

Development Of The First Comprehensive Neural Connectivity Map Of The Mouse, Vadim Pinskiy

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Brain function is dictated by its circuitry, but currently we know comparatively little about how the mammalian brain is connected: only 10% of all mesoscale connections in the most studied mammal (rat) have been catalogued and only perhaps one third have been probed at all. To address this knowledge gap, this dissertation is focused on the development of a semi-automated pipeline to enable high-throughput neuroanatomy in mouse, and the use of that pipeline to assemble the first brain-wide connectivity map in mouse. The pipeline was assembled in its entirety as part of this dissertation work, in a top-down design approach …

Condoms, Hiv/Aids, And Adolescent Men In Malawi: A Perspective, Eun-Sil Lee

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

HIV/AIDS has had a considerable impact on sub-Saharan Africa and its population for the past several decades yielding a range of consequences on the family as well as on the community as a whole. Malawi is one of the nations in this region that has not seen its HIV/AIDS prevalence rate decrease significantly over the years and is at an estimated 11% (UNAIDS/WHO, 2008). The AIDS epidemic in Malawi has been compounded by other health concerns, economics, education, and social networks which in turn impact prevention and intervention practices and policies. AIDS research has in recent years examined more social …

Evolution Of The Peconic Estuary `Oyster Terrain' Long Island, Ny, Juliet Kinney West Kinney

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This study of the relict `Oyster Terrain' in the Peconic Estuary of Long Island, NY using multibeam bathymetry, chirp sonar and sample analysis provides a history of estuarine evolution over thousands of years. More than 10,000 relict oyster reefs are exposed as mounds on the seabed within the Peconic Estuary, with more mounds imaged below the sediment surface. The tops of these relict oyster reefs are at water depths of ~6 m - 18 m and reef thicknesses of up to 6 m suggest active reef building over a few thousand years. At 28 psu, the present estuary is too …

Androginopolis: Dissident Masculinities And The Creation Of Republican Peru (Lima, 1790-1850), Magally Alegre Henderson

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation argues the representation of Lima as a city full of dissident masculinities was the transformative force behind the changes in hegemonic masculinity, during Peru's turbulent transition from Spanish colony to independent republic. Throughout the late colonial period (1790-1820), the sources of effeminacy and feebleness among Lime??o men were profusely discussed in Enlightenment newspapers, pamphlets, travel writing, and criminal records. Two causes were often attributed: the leniency mothers showed in male child-rearing, and European theories of climatic determinism positing the unavoidable influence of climate over the masculinity of the American peoples. A late eighteenth-century satire mocked the abundance of …

Application And Development Of Computational Tools In Drug Discovery, Trent Erik Balius

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

In this dissertation, I will discuss several interconnected projects motivated by drug development. These projects employ computational techniques to study molecular recognition of a ligand (drug) by a receptor (protein) characterized through use of structural and energetic analysis. In Chapter 1, an introduction to computational drug discovery is presented, and methods used here are discussed. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is an important drug target for the treatment of cancer. In Chapter 2, we performed all atom molecular dynamics simulations of clinically relevant mutations of EGFR complexed with erlotinib (Tarceva) and other inhibitors. The per-residue decomposition of intermolecular van der …

Optimization And Verification Of A Novel Trileaflet Polymeric Prosthetic Heart Valve, Thomas Edward Iii Claiborne

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Valvular heart disease remains a significant public health issue with Calcific Aortic Valve Disease (CAVD) its most life threatening form. Current treatment for CAVD involves open-heart surgical replacement of the diseased aortic valve (AV) with either a tissue (THV) or mechanical (MHV) prosthesis, with THVs being mostly nonthrombogenic but vulnerable to structural valve deterioration (SVD) and MHVs being highly durable but thrombogenic, thus requiring lifelong anticoagulant therapy. Alternatively, recently approved transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is now available for inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis. TAVR currently utilizes balloon- or self-expandable THVs. Polymeric valves (PHV) promise to avoid SVD and …