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2013

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Development And Assessment Of Analytical Methods For Monitoring Current And Historical Exposures To Manganese : Blood, Urine, And Teeth, Meredith Lyn Praamsma Jan 2013

Development And Assessment Of Analytical Methods For Monitoring Current And Historical Exposures To Manganese : Blood, Urine, And Teeth, Meredith Lyn Praamsma

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Manganese, as an essential trace element, is a cofactor in numerous enzymes that aid in bone growth, cholesterol synthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism. Manganese can become toxic with overexposure, potentially leading to neurodegenerative effects and the disease manganism. Manganese concentrations in blood and urine have been widely used in monitoring current exposure and now there is interest in using manganese concentrations in teeth for monitoring historical exposure, especially in utero and in early childhood.


Trans-Relational Poetics And Outsider American Modernist And Postmodernist Poetry, Anna Elena Eyre Jan 2013

Trans-Relational Poetics And Outsider American Modernist And Postmodernist Poetry, Anna Elena Eyre

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation is concerned with how language mediates the relationship between self and other, and in particular, mythopoetic language. The political potential of myth has long been condemned, so much so that the word "myth" is now synonymous with "false." I argue that this is a result of what I term as heroic mythopoesis wherein the relationship between self and other is predicated on a violent separation that reinforces conceptions of identity. In contrast, in what I term as trans-relational mythopoesis this relationship is contingent on an embodied exposure between self and other that reciprocally translates and transforms conceptions of …


Phronesis After Situationism, Edward C. Dubois Jan 2013

Phronesis After Situationism, Edward C. Dubois

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Situationism, as put forward by John Doris' Lack of Character (2002) and several short articles by Gilbert Harman (2003, 2000, 1999), is the philosophical position that is skeptical of the existence of robust character traits of the kind that Aristotle described. Situationism posits that human beings lack robust character traits and are too easily made overconfident in their own behavioral abilities. Reams of social psychological data suggest that such 'thick' character traits do not exist. Doris and Harman suggest that subtle and potentially irrelevant situational cues may easily influence behavior. Moreover, situational pressures may cause people to deviate from expected …


A Study Of Habitat Selection By Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii) In Dutchess County, New York, Shannon Rauch Jan 2013

A Study Of Habitat Selection By Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii) In Dutchess County, New York, Shannon Rauch

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a New York State-listed threatened species with several disjunct populations located throughout the state. Blanding's turtles require a variety of habitat types including ponds, wetlands, vernal pools, and the surrounding uplands. Preserving these habitat complexes is necessary to ensure the persistence of Blanding's turtle populations, but this is becoming increasingly challenging in some locations due to significant development pressure. Key components of habitat protection are identifying preferred habitat types and gaining a better understanding of the variables that influence habitat selection. Previous landscape-level studies of turtles have found that land cover type, wetland type, …


Structure-Activity Relationship Of 2,3-Benzodiazepin-4-Ones As Noncompetitive Ampa Receptor Antagonists, Mohammad Shaban Qneibi Jan 2013

Structure-Activity Relationship Of 2,3-Benzodiazepin-4-Ones As Noncompetitive Ampa Receptor Antagonists, Mohammad Shaban Qneibi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

2,3-Benzodiazepin-4-one (BDZ-11) derivatives are a special group of 2,3-benzodiazepine compounds. These compounds have been previously synthesized as AMPA receptor inhibitors, and they are also potential drugs for the treatment of various neurological diseases involving excessive AMPA receptor activity. AMPA receptors are a subtype of glutamate ion channel proteins and are responsible for the majority of excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system. Specifically, they are critically involved in neuronal development and brain activities, including learning and memory. Overstimulation of AMPA receptors is associated with some neurological diseases such as ALS, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Despite the fact that hundreds …


Humoral Immunity To Ehrlichial Infection : Identification And Characterization Of An Igm+ Memory B Cell Population, Jennifer Lynne Yates Jan 2013

Humoral Immunity To Ehrlichial Infection : Identification And Characterization Of An Igm+ Memory B Cell Population, Jennifer Lynne Yates

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Immunological memory is a fundamental concept that is key to generating and maintaining immunity to pathogens. Humoral memory resides in part in antigen-specific memory B cells, which are classically defined as class-switched, somatically mutated, long-lived cells that are highly responsive to specific antigen challenge. Despite the focus on class-switched memory B cells, several studies have validated the existence of IgM memory B cells, and have demonstrated distinct functions of IgM and IgG memory B cell subsets. Based on the expression of CD11c, we have identified a large population of IgM memory B cells using a natural model of infection by …


The Structure Of Narratives In Political Theories, Wesley Dan Nishiyama Jan 2013

The Structure Of Narratives In Political Theories, Wesley Dan Nishiyama

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I use the ideas of Kenneth Burke and Wolfgang Iser to understand how narrative types, including: novelistic, historical, biographical, and hypothetical, are used as rhetorical devices to persuade the reader of the theory at hand. I will begin by


Making Sense Of Mason Jars : A Qualitative Exploration Of Contemporary Home Canning, P. Suzanne Pennington Jan 2013

Making Sense Of Mason Jars : A Qualitative Exploration Of Contemporary Home Canning, P. Suzanne Pennington

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The practice and popularity of home canning in the United States has dramatically fluctuated since John Mason’s 1858 invention of the ‘fruit’ jar, influenced by cultural trends and sociopolitical events such as war, economic oscillation, activist movements such as environmentalism, and the politicization of food. The contemporary social context in which popular interest in home canning has most recently revived is an era of high cultural awareness and activity regarding multiple food issues. Traditional American foodways, including food preservation techniques such as home canning, are regaining importance as many Americans look to the past for solutions to current needs. This …


Conditioned Arousal To Slot Machine Wins : An Examination Of Renewal Following Extinction, James Broussard Jan 2013

Conditioned Arousal To Slot Machine Wins : An Examination Of Renewal Following Extinction, James Broussard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The objective of this study was to explore whether an appetitive response extinguished in one context would remain extinguished when tested in the extinction context, but show renewal when tested in a different context. Forty college students played a slot machine while their physiological arousal (skin conductance and heart rate) and desire to play were being recorded. During the acquisition phase, wins on the slot machine were associated with a tone serving as a conditioned stimulus (CS) that preceded the machine's payout (US) and elicited conditioned arousal. During the following extinction phase, the CS was presented repeatedly without the US …


Btbr-Fvb Chromosome 4 Congenic Displays Rescue Of Behavior And Neuro-Anatomical Phenotypes, Jessica F. Gracias Jan 2013

Btbr-Fvb Chromosome 4 Congenic Displays Rescue Of Behavior And Neuro-Anatomical Phenotypes, Jessica F. Gracias

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Autism is commonly called the most genetic of neuropsychiatric disorders. Currently, the only diagnostic test is a behavioral evaluation performed by trained physicians and psychologists. There is an urgent need for biomarkers to diagnose autism instead of just relying on behavior and there is also a need to understand the basis of this disorder. One of the theories is that malformation of the corpus callosum is one of the factors that lead to the behavior deficits seen in autism. This theory is based on the fact that human MRI studies have shown that the corpus callosum is absent or malformed …


The Localized Manipulation Of The Extracellular Matrix Within 3d Collagen Cell Cultures Using A Biomems Device, Ashley N. Clark Jan 2013

The Localized Manipulation Of The Extracellular Matrix Within 3d Collagen Cell Cultures Using A Biomems Device, Ashley N. Clark

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Approximately 90% of all cancer related deaths can be attributed to the occurrence of metastasis. There are multiple changes that occur within the tumor microenvironment that have been correlated with the onset of metastasis. Different cell types, extracellular matrices, blood vessels, and soluble factors are some of the various components that make up the complex, heterogeneous microenvironment that exists within a tumor. The dynamic relationship between tumor cells and their surrounding environment makes it an ideal environment to study triggers of metastasis, such as the modification of the extracellular matrix. Changes in the multiple aspects of extracellular matrix composition have …


The Sxrna Platform : Biophysical Characterization Of Trans-Acting Rna Switches For Gene Expression Control, Christine Bazinet Jan 2013

The Sxrna Platform : Biophysical Characterization Of Trans-Acting Rna Switches For Gene Expression Control, Christine Bazinet

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the past decade, microRNAs (miRNAs) have become a hot topic in biochemical research. These very short ~ 22 nucleotide strands of RNA have been recognized as a functional RNA group and found to play a key role in mediating gene regulation along with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). For example, by binding to the histone stem-loop (HSL) region of the target mRNA, normally in the 3'- untranslated region (UTR), gene expression can either be activated or deactivated for up or down regulation of the gene product. The majority of miRNAs have been found to down regulate gene expression upon binding to …


Functional Roles Of The Insulin-Regulated Glucose Transporter-4 In The Hippocampus, Jiah Pearson-Leary Jan 2013

Functional Roles Of The Insulin-Regulated Glucose Transporter-4 In The Hippocampus, Jiah Pearson-Leary

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although a great deal of research has elucidated both localization and function of many glucose transporters (GluTs) throughout the brain, the function of brain insulin-responsive glucose transporter-4 (GluT4) remains unclear (McEwen & Reagan, 2004). Because type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; insulin resistance, i.e., impaired insulin signaling) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and because the signaling mechanisms insulin uses to mediate hippocampal processes and memory are unclear, a major purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether hippocampal GluT4, which is responsible for insulin's glucoregulatory and canonical effects in the periphery, is necessary for insulin's effects in the …


Population Genetics And Ecology Of Regional Malaria Vectors In Amazonian Brazil, Sascha Naomi Mckeon Jan 2013

Population Genetics And Ecology Of Regional Malaria Vectors In Amazonian Brazil, Sascha Naomi Mckeon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Species complexes are common among anopheline mosquitoes, but only some members of complexes are disease vectors. Research involving overall patterns of divergence, phylogenetic relationships and population structure is partly driven by the operational need to be able to reliably distinguish component taxa that may be involved in malaria transmission. Anopheles triannulatus, An. nuneztovari and An. albitarsis are broadly distributed species complexes that contain local and regionally important malaria vectors, whose genetic diversity has been largely overshadowed by studies involving An. darlingi, the principal vector of Central and South America. I have analyzed the ecological suitability of habitats and geographical ranges …


Feeling Knowledge : How Emotion And Identity Inform Student Learning, Rebecca M. Ossorio Jan 2013

Feeling Knowledge : How Emotion And Identity Inform Student Learning, Rebecca M. Ossorio

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The exploratory and descriptive purpose of this work is to better understand what might be happening when students have an emotional response to learning in school and to offer a way of conceptualizing emotion, identity and student learning as deeply interrelated. The data for this study comes from four in-depth, phenomenological interviews where contemplative educators were asked to recollect emotional experiences from their formal education and tell the story of how those experiences impacted their learning. Evidence suggests that when students have an emotional response to learning it is like a beacon alerting them to the self-relevance of what they …


Cultural Control And Agency : A Quantitative Analysis Of Mazama Sp. And Odocoileus Sp. Osteological Remains From MayapáN, Yucatan, Mexico, Vivian S. James Jan 2013

Cultural Control And Agency : A Quantitative Analysis Of Mazama Sp. And Odocoileus Sp. Osteological Remains From MayapáN, Yucatan, Mexico, Vivian S. James

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Mayan management of deer populations at Mayapán in the Yucatán, México has been suggested by historical texts, iconography, and archaeological investigation. Therefore, the main research question of this thesis is: Was deer management or husbandry practiced at Mayapán? Two Cervidae species are identified in the Mayapán faunal assemblage, Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) and Mazama americana (brocket deer). It is likely that Mazama pandora (Yucatan brocket deer) is also present and possibly another Odocoileus subspecies. Consequently, the second research question of this thesis is: How many deer species or subspecies were present in Postclassic Period Mayapán? There is a considerable non-overlapping …


Function And Regulation Of Intestinal P450 Enzymes : Insights From Conditional Cytochrome P450 Reductase Knockout Mouse Models, Yi Zhu Jan 2013

Function And Regulation Of Intestinal P450 Enzymes : Insights From Conditional Cytochrome P450 Reductase Knockout Mouse Models, Yi Zhu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The overall goal of this thesis work was to investigate the function and regulation of intestinal P450 enzymes (P450s). The central hypotheses are that 1) small intestinal (SI) P450s play an important role in the first-pass clearance of oral drugs and in bioactivation of chemicals that cause intestinal toxicity, 2) endogenous regulatory compounds produced by intestinal P450s are important for protection against chemical-induced colon inflammation, and 3) there is a cross talk between the liver and the SI that helps to maintain the overall xenobiotic-metabolism capacity of the digestive tract.


Literature Of Exhaustion : The Comic, Decolonial Politics And Healing In Pedro Pietri's Puerto Rican Obituary, Tito Núñez Jan 2013

Literature Of Exhaustion : The Comic, Decolonial Politics And Healing In Pedro Pietri's Puerto Rican Obituary, Tito Núñez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract


Study Of Key Factors Influencing Dust Emission : An Assessment Of Geos-Chem And Dead Simulations With Observations, Kevin Scott Bartlett Jan 2013

Study Of Key Factors Influencing Dust Emission : An Assessment Of Geos-Chem And Dead Simulations With Observations, Kevin Scott Bartlett

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Mineral dust aerosols can impact air quality, climate change, biological cycles, tropical cyclone development and flight operations due to reduced visibility. Dust emissions are primarily limited to the extensive arid regions of the world, yet can negatively impact local to global scales, and are extremely complex to model accurately. Within this dissertation, the Dust Entrainment And Deposition (DEAD) model was adapted to run, for the first known time, using high temporal (hourly) and spatial (0.3°x0.3°) resolution data to methodically interrogate the key parameters and factors influencing global dust emissions. The dependence of dust emissions on key parameters under various conditions …


Oneirospheres : Dream Worlds, Adam Joshua Heggen Jan 2013

Oneirospheres : Dream Worlds, Adam Joshua Heggen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract


Developmental Adaptation Hypothesis : Aerobic Capacity, Submaximal Arterial Saturation And Pulmonary Volumes In Peruvian Quechua Natives, Melisa Kiyamu Tsuchiya Jan 2013

Developmental Adaptation Hypothesis : Aerobic Capacity, Submaximal Arterial Saturation And Pulmonary Volumes In Peruvian Quechua Natives, Melisa Kiyamu Tsuchiya

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Quechua populations have inhabited the Andes for hundreds of generations. The ability to thrive in this hostile environment, leading an active and healthy life has generated research questions about the special phenotype of Andean highlanders compared to their sea-level counterparts, such as their higher pulmonary volumes and their outstanding work capacity in spite of the challenge of oxygen transport and delivery in hypoxia. In high altitude natives, there have been two main explanations for the origins of the aforementioned traits: genetic adaptation through natural selection and developmental adaptation through the exposure to hypoxia during growth.


Squaring Walter Benjamin's Religious, Political, And Aesthetic Positions, Randy Girard Jan 2013

Squaring Walter Benjamin's Religious, Political, And Aesthetic Positions, Randy Girard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract


Phage Life History Traits : Regulation Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And Evolution Of Phage Resistance Within The Drosophila Melanogaster Host Environment, Heather Lindberg Jan 2013

Phage Life History Traits : Regulation Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa And Evolution Of Phage Resistance Within The Drosophila Melanogaster Host Environment, Heather Lindberg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Due to the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria, there has been renewed interest in using bacteriophage to treat bacterial infections (phage therapy). This body of work examined different aspects related to the interaction between bacteria and phage within a host using the system of Drosophila melanogaster infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is then treated with lytic bacteriophage. Using this system four specific areas were addressed: I) How in vitro phage life history traits may be predictive of in vivo therapeutic efficacy, II) How the in vivo phage/bacteria dynamics differ for two different phages throughout the course of infection, III) How …


Nfl: The World Of Technology?: How Technology Made The Nfl The Cash Cows Of The Sports World, Jaron A. Moody Jan 2013

Nfl: The World Of Technology?: How Technology Made The Nfl The Cash Cows Of The Sports World, Jaron A. Moody

Senior Seminars

Sports coverage is highly focused on the image of the sport and how the fans experience the sport. Technology plays a huge part of that. The technology that's used to maintain the display of the game as well as the technology that holds the statistics that keeps fans fully aware about what's going on in the game. The IT department has to work with programmers to create these programs and they have to keep them up to date. Without this, the experience of watching sports on television would decrease rapidly which would send the value of the NFL to a …


Stars Of The East And West : The Anglo-American Invention Of The Circassian Girl, Alexandra E. Mcdowall Jan 2013

Stars Of The East And West : The Anglo-American Invention Of The Circassian Girl, Alexandra E. Mcdowall

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The choices a society makes regarding their entertainment speak to their deeper desires, fears, and values. A uniquely nineteenth century freak show attraction known as "Circassian Girls" represented a tension in the changing world. More than an entertaining spectacle of a person from a far-flung corner of the world, Circassian Girls became constructed symbols of race, nationalism, class, and gender. Through their manufactured perfection, these performers became a caricature of white, middle-class womanhood. This paper compares the freak show performers with other descriptions of Circassian Girls through the nineteenth century, placing them into the context of perceptions of the East, …


"The Centre Of Our Union" : George Washington's Political Philosophy And The Creation Of American National Identity In The 1790s, Ryan Staude Jan 2013

"The Centre Of Our Union" : George Washington's Political Philosophy And The Creation Of American National Identity In The 1790s, Ryan Staude

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

For most of his presidency (1789-1797), George Washington worked to establish the federal government's legitimacy in the eyes of America's citizens while trying to gain international respect for the new nation. Although there was a broad elite consensus at the start of the decade it quickly dissipated in the face of basic questions about the federal government's power and scope of authority. Domestic political issues became entangled with foreign policy problems to create an intractable divide between opposing groups of Americans termed the Federalists and the Republicans. The two parties contended to see not only who would administer the government, …


The Masking Effects Of Light On Circadian Activity And Sleep Rhythms In Drosophila Melanogaster, Aaron David Sheppard Jan 2013

The Masking Effects Of Light On Circadian Activity And Sleep Rhythms In Drosophila Melanogaster, Aaron David Sheppard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As organisms evolved, so did mechanisms for synchronizing behavior to the environmental light-dark cycle. Two main mechanisms provide this link: the synchronization of an endogenous circadian oscillator with the exogenous environment (entrainment), and a process called "masking", which functions independently from the circadian clock. Organisms have evolved these endogenous and exogenous mechanisms to adapt to the light-dark cycle of their niches in order to integrate their behavioral and physiological responses with predictable changes in their environments, in this case changes involving the daily light-dark cycle.


Role Of P450 Enzymes In Tobacco Dependence And Lung Tumorigenesis, Lei Li Jan 2013

Role Of P450 Enzymes In Tobacco Dependence And Lung Tumorigenesis, Lei Li

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The overall aim of this study is to better define the roles of P450 enzymes, particularly those in the CYP2A, 2B, and 2F gene subfamilies, in the metabolism and actions of tobacco-related chemicals. Tobacco smoke contains numerous compounds that are deleterious to health, including the primary addictive component nicotine and procarcinogenic compounds, such as naphthalene (NA) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Our main hypotheses are i) that CYP2A and 2B enzymes are largely responsible for nicotine metabolism, and they can impact nicotine dependence; and ii) that CYP2A, 2B, and 2F enzymes play important and tissue-specific roles in NA and NNK bioactivation, leading …


An Experimental Manipulation Of Body Checking And Mirror Exposure Over Time In Men And Women With High Shape Or Weight Concern, Dvora Catherine Walker Jan 2013

An Experimental Manipulation Of Body Checking And Mirror Exposure Over Time In Men And Women With High Shape Or Weight Concern, Dvora Catherine Walker

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although body checking and avoidance behaviors are associated with a range of negative behavioral, emotional, and cognitive outcomes and have been identified as maintaining factors in body dissatisfaction and eating disorder psychopathology, they have only recently begun to be researched as an important target of treatment. Few studies have used experimental means to examine the direct effects of body checking manipulations, and those that have were conducted on one occasion. Further, research published to date has only examined potential treatments aimed at reducing body checking and avoidance behaviors in female or predominantly female samples. The present study sought to address …


(S)-Trifluoroselenomethionine : A New Non-Natural Amino Acid With Enhanced Methioninase-Induced Cytotoxicity Toward Human Colon Cancer Cells, Stephene Nathele Lodge Jan 2013

(S)-Trifluoroselenomethionine : A New Non-Natural Amino Acid With Enhanced Methioninase-Induced Cytotoxicity Toward Human Colon Cancer Cells, Stephene Nathele Lodge

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract