Digital Commons Network^™

Animals Speaking In The Fiction Of Jin And Malamud, Matt Prater

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Animals Speaking in the Fiction of Jin and Malamud" Matt Prater discusses "The Jewbird" by Bernard Malamud and "A Composer and His Parakeets" by Ha Jin as transcultural texts which involve non-human animals as major characters. Jin and Malamud examine differing representations of animal language and how these representations connect to the politics of both interspecies and transnational relationships. By applying critical animal studies and transnational discourse and by charting the interlinking of other-ings by theorists such as Carol Adams and Susan Kappeler, Prater attempts to show that animals figure into transcultural and transnational discourses in ways …

Hearing The Cry In Black Diasporic And Latina/O Poetics, Rachel E. Ellis Neyra

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Hearing the Cry in Black Diasporic and Latina/o Poetics" Rachel Ellis Neyra expands upon Edouard Glissant's notion of "the cry of the Plantation" and shows how to listen for it in literary arrangement of Derek Walcott, Piri Thomas, Pedro Pietri, Ralph Ellison, Miguel Algarín, and James Baldwin. Ellis Neyra also reads musical lyrics by Oscar D'León and Billie Holiday and the melodic nuances of salsa, jazz, the blues, and bomba for how they sound out what she calls the New World Cry, a mnemonic figure of the Plantation of the Americas and a metaphor for how estrangement …

The Development Of An In Vivo Microdialysis Collection Method Of Cytokines From Brain Tissue, Anthony W. Herbaugh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, different methods to improve the microdialysis collection procedure for cytokines from brain tissue are presented. The first method was based on stopped flow and results indicating that no significant difference in relative recovery between stopped flow and continuous flow are shown. The second method is an antibody bead-based enhancement method. With the antibody bead-based method, a 3.5 fold increase in the collected concentrations of Chemokine (C-C motif) Ligand 2 (CCL2) were observed. However, there was no significant increase in the in vivo collection efficiency of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) using the antibody enhancement. Finally the development of an in-house …

Influence Of Poultry-Litter Biochar On Early-Season Growth In Cotton, Taylor Dayne Coomer

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is known for being sensitive to cool, wet soils, especially in the early stages of growth. Amendments such as soil fertilizers and manures added to soil can aid cotton seedlings in development and nutrient uptake. However, soil fertilizers and manures can be costly and detrimental to the environment, and alternatives such as the addition of biochar have been considered. Biochar is a high-carbon, nutrient-rich charcoal produced from organic matter that has gone through pyrolysis. Biochar has been shown to improve plant yield, soil microbial response, soil structure, soil cation-exchange capacity, and water-use efficiency, however research on …

(Wp 2013-10) Neuroeconomics And Identity, John B. Davis

Economics Working Papers

This short paper discusses majority and minority views in economics regarding the value of neuroscience for economics – and thus the value of the neuroeconomics research program. It argues that neuroeconomics’ reception ultimately depends on whether economists adopt a philosophy of science thinking closer to what exists in other sciences. It then argues that an inadvertent product of this debate is whether people can be identified as relatively independent agents. The paper concludes with comments on what this debate implies about the conception of the decision-maker as a relatively independent identity.

Clustering And Classification Of Multi-Domain Proteins, Neethu Shah

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rapid development of next-generation sequencing technology has led to an unprecedented growth in protein sequence data repositories over the last decade. Majority of these proteins lack structural and functional characterization. This necessitates design and development of fast, efficient, and sensitive computational tools and algorithms that can classify these proteins into functionally coherent groups.

Domains are fundamental units of protein structure and function. Multi-domain proteins are extremely complex as opposed to proteins that have single or no domains. They exhibit network-like complex evolutionary events such as domain shuffling, domain loss, and domain gain. These events therefore, cannot be represented in the …

Access Magazine, December 2013, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Access Magazine

No abstract provided.

Titanic: Consuming The Myths And Meanings Of An Ambiguous Brand, Stephen Brown, Pierre Mcdonagh, Clifford J. Shultz

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Myths have come of age in consumer research. In the 22 years since Levy’s inaugural article, the literature has grown at an impressive rate. Yet important questions remain unanswered: What makes some myths especially meaningful to consumers? Why are certain consumer myths more prevalent and less perishable than others? This article argues that ambiguity is an influential factor. Using the RMS Titanic as an empirical exemplar, it unpacks the principal forms of myth-informed ambiguity surrounding “the unsinkable brand.” Predicated on William Empson’s hitherto unsung principles of literary criticism, the article posits that ambiguity in its multifaceted forms is integral to …

For Logs, For Traditional Purposes And For Food: Identification Of Multiple-Use Plant Species Of Northern Amazonia And An Assessment Of Factors Associated With Their Distribution, Anthony Ravindra Cummings

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the multiplicity of uses associated with tree and palm species of the Rupununi, Southern Guyana and the factors associated with their distribution. As tropical forests continue to decline the most significant response has been to understand the implications for the carbon cycle, with the impacts on forest dwelling peoples and wildlife, inadequately addressed. Multiple-use plants, individual species which at their most critical level provide food for wildlife, non-timber forest products and are commercially logged, provide a suitable lens for appreciating additional ecosystem services that may be compromised as tropical forests decline. I completed a plant inventory in …

Little Rituals, Bruce Johnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The following stories represent what I have accomplished in my three-and-a-half years in the Master of Fine Arts-Fiction program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. They are all realist stories, most of them with a minimalist leaning. Together for the first time, they are more than a mere sum of the writing I've done in my time in the MFA program. They are the stories that, when I read them now, still occasionally delight me. Most of the stories that I wrote as an MFA candidate do not pass this test, and thus are not included here. If there is …

Vitamin D Status And Bone Mineral Density In Triathletes, Michelle Konstantarakis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purposes of this study were first to assess the vitamin D status and bone mineral density (BMD) in male and triathletes (N=15), female triathletes (N=13), and non-athletes (N=14), and to determine if circulating vitamin D was correlated with body composition, BMD, dietary calcium and vitamin D intake in triathletes. The second purpose was to determine if triathletes have a different level of serum vitamin D, body composition, BMD, dietary calcium and vitamin D intake then non-athletes. The third purpose was to determine if BMD was correlated with body composition (body mass, percent body fat, BMI) in triathletes.

Methods: …

Going The Distance: Themes Of The Hero In Disney's Hercules, Amy Elizabeth Burchfield

Theses and Dissertations

Disney's Hercules is an apt modern reception of the ancient mythology of Herakles, acknowledging ancient and modern sources surrounding three types of classical hero: the archetypal hero, influenced by the ideas of Joseph Campbell; the Pan-Hellenic hero, distilled from ancient Greek exempla of heroism from epic and other genres of ancient literature; and the tragic hero, inspired by the heroic criteria presented in Aristotle's Poetics. By adapting these heroic types from their traditional ancient source myths, Disney's Hercules produces a new, contemporary definition of heroism—one informed by modern, Western family values. This adaptation renews the power of the myth of …

Development Of A Field Test For Total Suspended Solids Analysis, Jessica Branigan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Total suspended solids (TSS) are all particles in water that will not pass through a glass fiber filter with a pore size less than 2 μm, including sediments, algae, nutrients, and metals. TSS is an important water quality parameter because of its adverse effects on aquatic species and wildlife. The EPA has proposed a regulation for turbidity, a related water quality parameter, which has been stayed pending further testing. TSS is regulated through the EPA via the NPDES in many states. Since there are no accepted field tests for TSS, projects with TSS regulations must send samples to a laboratory …

The Effect Of Skew Angle On Average Queue Delay At Tee-Intersections: A Simulation Study Using The Texas Model, Manogna Kaluva

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the effect of intersection skew angle on average queue delay through simulation. The simulation model used is the TEXAS (Traffic Experimental and Analytical Simulation) model. This microscopic simulation model uses a general nonlinear car-following model. It simulates individual intersections and was designed to capture the interaction of traffic operations and intersection geometry.

Simulation models were developed for three stop-controlled, tee-intersections in Lincoln, Nebraska. Field data to develop and calibrate the simulation models were collected. All simulation models were calibrated by adjusting the car following parameters. An experimental design was developed to test the effect of skew angle …

Near-Infrared Surface-Enhanced Fluorescence Using Silver Nanoparticles In Solution, Michael D. Furtaw

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fluorescence spectroscopy is a widely used detection technology in many research and clinical assays. Further improvement to assay sensitivity may enable earlier diagnosis of disease, novel biomarker discovery, and ultimately, improved outcomes of clinical care along with reduction in costs. Near-infrared, surface-enhanced fluorescence (NIR-SEF) is a promising approach to improve assay sensitivity via simultaneous increase in signal with a reduction in background. This dissertation describes research conducted with the overall goal to determine the extent to which fluorescence in solution may be enhanced by altering specific variables involved in the formation of plasmonactive nanostructures of dye-labeled protein and silver nanoparticles …

Permaculture, Roslynn Brain, Blake Thomas

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sowing Seeds For The Future To Honor Tigua History And Tradition: Diabetes Prevention And Management At Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, Sean Patrick Bruna-Lewis

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation examines type 2 diabetes management and prevention at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, a federally recognized American Indian tribe in El Paso, Texas. Type 2 diabetes is a serious and growing concern at the Pueblo, and while the incidence is not as high as it is in other tribes in the United States, it is still much higher than the national average. Despite excellent biomedical research that shows how individuals can prevent diabetes, and countless translated diabetes prevention programs targeted to individuals and families to prevent the disease, the incidence of diabetes continues to rise. This dissertation argues that …

The Household Poverty Dimensions Infuencing Forest Dependence In Protected Area Neighboring Communities In Africa And The Mitigation Potential Of Tourism: The Case Of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, Ian Munanura

All Dissertations

Volcanoes National Park (VNP) in Rwanda is one of the important protected areas for conservation in the Albertine Rift ecoregion. It inhabits some of the most rare and endemic wildlife species including mountain gorillas. Despite such importance, it continues to be threatened by forest dependence practices of local residents such as, poaching for bush meat and the harvest of non-timber forest products. These practices have been attributed largely to high levels of poverty among park neighboring residents. It is believed that poor residents rely on forest resources to supplement their subsistence livelihoods. The relationship between poverty and forest dependence behavior …

Distribution, Ecology, And Trophic Relationships Of A Colonial Waterbird: The Double-Crested Cormorant, Kate Sheehan

All Dissertations

The realized distribution of an organism is dependent on the environmental characteristics of the landscape, biological interactions within the communities in which it lives, and geographic barriers to dispersal. Changes in habitat can influence landscape characteristics, and consequently, the distribution of organisms within the landscape. The Double-crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) is a piscivorous waterbird implicated in human-wildlife conflicts at aquaculture facilities and natural aquatic systems where they compete for resources (fish) with anglers and commercial fishing guides. Impacts of P. auritus on aquatic systems result from their consumption of fish stocks and their contamination of water and soil …

Identification Of Novel Genes Regulating Elastic Fiber Formation Through Expression Profiling Analysis Of Elastogenic Models, Erin Sproul

All Dissertations

Background: Particularly important to the mechanical performance of native arterial blood vessels is elastin, an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein deposited by VSMCs in the form of elastic fibers, arranged in concentric lamellae in the media of the vessel wall. In addition to serving as major structural elements of arterial walls, providing extensibility and elastic recoil, elastic fibers also influence vascular cell behaviors. For these reasons tissue engineers are attempting to exploit elastic fiber biology to enhance vascular graft design and patency. Therefore, developing a greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms of elastogenesis may offer opportunities to control elastogenesis in tissue …

Engineering Beta-Cell Spheroids For Type 1 Diabetes Treatment, Xiaoyan Liu

All Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus, the third most common disease in the world, is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by a failure of insulin production and/or an inability to respond to insulin. Specifically, type 1 diabetes is a disorder characterized by targeted autoimmune-directed destruction of a patient's beta-cell population within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. The current primary treatment for type 1 diabetes is daily multiple insulin injections. However, this treatment cannot provide sustained physiological release, and the insulin amount is not finely tuned to glycemia. Pancreatic transplants or islet transplants would be the preferred treatment method but the lack of donor tissue …

Validation Of Thermal Destruction Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Rendered Animal Products, Mary Hayes

All Dissertations

This study tested enumeration techniques for high fat food matrices and determined thermal death times in rendering animal products. Standard Class O phosphate/magnesium chloride dilution buffer series (Dilution Series A) and a modified (pre-warmed to 32oC) lecithin phosphate dilution buffer series (Dilution Series B) were used to enumerate a Salmonella cocktail from both poultry and beef rendering materials. Results of this study indicate use of a modified lecithin buffer did not improve Salmonella enumeration accuracy from rendering materials. Instead, the results suggested use of xylose lysine deoxycholate agar (XLD) with either buffer system accurately enumerated Salmonella from rendering materials. The …

Development Of A 16s Rrna Gene Sequence As A Biomarker Specific To The Gastrointestinal Tract And Feces Of Swine Based On Suppressive Subtractive Hybridization, Autumn Sayre

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fecal contamination of water bodies causes environmental issues and human health risks. Swine are a major contributor of fecal inputs to environmental waters due to their importance in American agriculture. Water quality currently is regulated using fecal coliforms, which have natural reservoirs in the environment and may not correlate with pathogens. In recent years there has been a shift towards microbial source tracking (MST). MST employs microbiological, genotypic, phenotypic and chemical methods to determine the source of fecal pollution in water bodies. Previous studies aimed at developing swine fecal biomarkers have had limited success. The overall objective of this research …

Association Of Individual And Combined Metabolic Risk Factors With Cancer, Ruchi Bhandari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: The prevalence of metabolic risk factors (MRFs), individually and in the aggregate, is growing rapidly. There is limited biologic and epidemiologic evidence indicating an association between MRFs and cancer. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the association between individual and combined MRFs with subsequent risk of overall and site-specific cancers of the breast, digestive system, and lung.;Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis on the association between metabolic syndrome (a cluster of MRFs) and breast cancer was conducted. In addition, associations between MRFs and risk of overall and site-specific cancers were assessed by multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression …

Influence Of Weight Loss On Metabolic And Mitochondrial Function In The Mature Horse, Jennie L. Zambito

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Obesity causes a multitude of metabolic issues in the horse, yet stepwise alterations in glucose and lipid metabolism, mitochondrial capacity and oxidant status during weight loss have yet to be analyzed. Skeletal muscle contains subsarcolemmal (SSM) and interfibrillar (IFM) mitochondria, which respond differently to physiological stimuli, impacting tissue and whole body oxidant status. We hypothesized that 8 light-type horses would display improvements in skeletal muscle mitochondrial subpopulation function and decreases in circulating oxidant status markers during weight loss from an obese (7 to 8) to moderate (5) body condition score (BCS). Additionally, we hypothesized improvements in morphometric measurements, circulating metabolic …

Exploring The Mechanism Of Shp2 And Egfr/Her2 Cooperation In Breast Cancer Cell Signaling, Zachary Raymond Hartman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) has been established as a critical mediator of cancer-related cell signaling downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases like EGFR and HER2. As such, targeting of SHP2 is being recognized as a potentially viable therapeutic option in HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancers. In this report, I employed molecular and cellular biology techniques to further elucidate the role of SHP2 downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases in breast cancer cell lines. In this way, I was able to contribute knowledge to how SHP2 controls triple-negative cell motility. In addition, the mechanism of SHP2 control of …

The West Virginia Friends Of Firewood Network: Engaging With And Exploring The Practices Of Firewood Producers, Elizabeth Basham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Firewood is the oldest source of energy for cooking and home heating and remains a primary heating source for half of the world's population, yet the industry remains relatively undocumented and immature both in developing and technologically advanced countries. Firewood is an environmentally friendly and renewable resource that is becoming popular once again in U.S. homes, 2.5 million of which utilize it as a primary heating source. However, firewood is also a proven vector for invasive insects and pathogens that are threatening the health of U.S. forests. In order to address the increasing trend of firewood use and prevent further …

Adjustment Of Initial- And Terminal-Link Response Patterns To Suddenly Equivalent Terminal Links, Shrinidhi Subramaniam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Three pigeons were trained on concurrent-chain schedules. Concurrent variable-interval initial links produced fixed-interval (FI) terminal links. Occasional `no-food' terminal links were interspersed pseudorandomly to obtain stop times, a single-trial measure of temporal discrimination. In rapid-acquisition conditions, terminal links were FI 10 s and FI 20 s. Across sessions, the location of the initial link leading to the shorter terminal link varied pseudorandomly. Both terminal links were FI 15 s in a uniform condition. In the rapid-acquisition conditions, initial-link response allocation tracked relative terminal-link immediacy and stop times tracked terminal-link FIs. Initial- and terminal-link pecking stabilized within the first half of …

Liquid Chromatography -- Tandem Mass Spectrometry Techniques For Drugs Of Abuse As Applied To Bacterial And Forensic Toxicology, Stephanie Marie Martindale

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The ability of bacterial species to transform complex chemical substances has been well documented. Some of these species are native to the human gastrointestinal tract and play an active role in the postmortem decomposition process. These species have potential to cause biotransformations that affect compound-to-metabolite ratios within the human body, especially after death. Postmortem changes such as these have rarely been evaluated or taken into consideration but they have potential to supply valuable information, especially concerning compound identification and confirmation.;The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis, and Clostridium perfringens on drugs of …

Characterizing Peripheral Cellular And Humoral Immune Responses To Haemonchus Contortus In Sheep, Jesica Rae Jacobs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gastrointestinal nematode parasitism is the most widely reported health concern among sheep producers worldwide. The most concerning of which is Haemonchus contortus; a blood-sucking nematode found in the abomasum of sheep. Worldwide anthelminthic resistance has prompted exploration of alternative methods of parasite control. Many studies have shown St. Croix hair sheep posses an immunologically mediated resistance to H. contortus infection, however no studies have utilized a true parasite naive animal for immune characterization. In this study, development of peripheral immune response was characterized in parasite resistant St. Croix lambs and parasite susceptible Suffolk crossbred Lambs. Lambs were separated into three …