Digital Commons Network^™

Rnase H2 Roles In Genome Integrity Revealed By Unlinking Its Activities, Hyongi Chon, Justin L. Sparks, Monika Rychlik, Marcin Nowotny, Peter M. Burgers, Robert J. Crouch, Susana M. Cerritelli

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Multicenter Evaluation Of The Vitek Ms Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry System For Identification Of Gram-Positive Aerobic Bacteria, Jenna Rychert, Carey-Ann D. Burnham, Maureen Bythrow, Omai B. Garner, Christine C. Ginocchio, Rebecca Jennemann, Michael A. Lewinski, Ryhana Manji, A. Brian Mochon, Gary W. Procop, Sandra S. Richter, Linda Sercia, Lars F. Westblade, Mary Jane Ferraro, John A. Branda

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Emerging Roles For Immunomodulatory Functions Of Free Isg15, Jessica A. Campbell, Deborah J. Lenschow

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Surgical Cyst Decortication In Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, Melissa Millar, Youssef S. Tanagho, Mohammed Haseebuddin, Ralph V. Clayman, Sam B. Bhayani, R. Sherburne Figenshau

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Self-Transcendence : A Missing Variable In The Pursuit Of Successful Aging?, Valerie Lander Mccarthy, Jiying Ling, Robert M. Carini

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

While successful aging is often defined as the absence of disease and disability or as life satisfaction, self-transcendence may also play an important role. The objective of this research was to test a nursing theory of successful aging proposing that transcendence and adaptation predict successful aging. In this cross-sectional exploratory study, a convenience sample of older adults (N = 152) were surveyed about self-transcendence, proactive coping, and successful aging. Using hierarchical multiple regression, self-transcendence, proactive coping, and all control variables (i.e., sex, race, perceived health, place of residence) together explained 50% of the variance in successful aging (p < 0.001). However, proactive coping alone was not a significant predictor of successful aging. Thus, this study did not support the theory that both self-transcendence and proactive coping predict successful aging. Self-transcendence was the only significant contributor to this multidimensional view of successful aging. Self-transcendence is an important variable in the pursuit of successful aging, which merits further investigation.

Civic Education And Democratic Capacity : How Do Teachers Teach And What Works?, Allison M. Martens, Jason Gainous

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Objectives In recent years, political scientists have found that civic education improves the democratic capacity of students, yet little research has been done to date on how and why civic education works when it does. In this study, we go inside the classroom to explore how teachers teach civics to find out what works best at preparing young people for responsible, democratic citizenship. Methods Using a survey of American students, principals, and teachers, we examine the varied instructional methods being employed by social studies teachers in ninth-grade classrooms across the country to determine which methods and which combinations of methods …

Diapause And Anhydrobiosis In Embryos Of Artemia Franciscana : Metabolic Depression, Lea Proteins And Water Stress., Steven Handel, Yuvraj Patil, Shumin Li, Nilay Charkraborty, Arpurva Borcar, Michael Menze, Leaf Boswell, Daniel Moore, Mehmet Toner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Metabolic depression is typically correlated with extended survival of environmental challenge and energy-limitation in early life stages of various invertebrates and vertebrates. Diapause is an ontogenetically-programmed reduction of development and often metabolism seen in many invertebrates. When embryos of Artemia franciscana enter the state of diapause, the overall metabolic depression is estimated to be greater than 99%. These embryos also contain trehalose and express multiple isoforms of Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins, constituents often present in a number of such anhydrobiotic animals. The mRNA levels for LEA proteins are highest in diapause and post-diapause embryos that possess desiccation tolerance, but …

Assessing Depression In Cancer Patients : A Longitudinal Comparison Of Three Questionnaires., Patrick Possel, Kerstin Knopf

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The article by Johns et al. (1) compares the Hopkins Symptom Checklist 20-item depression scale (HSCL-20) (2), the Short-Form 36 Mental Health Inventory five-item distress scale (MHI-5) (3), and the Patient Health Questionnaire nine-item depression scale (PHQ-9) (4) in 309 adults with cancer in a longitudinal study.

Asbestos Risk Assessment In Pakistan: Current Scenario And Way Forward, Adeel Ahmed Khan, Asaad Ahmed Nafees, Zafar Fatmi

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Cultural Values And Creativity: A Two Country Comparison Between The United States And South Africa, Junior A. Badibanga

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the influence of culture on creativity is in its infancy. Organizations world-wide may benefit from such research by implementing work environments that maximize creativity. In this article, the cross-cultural differences in creativity and the cultural values of cognitive uncertainty and desire for change were investigated. Three hundred eighty three undergraduate students from the University of North Florida and the University of Pretoria in South Africa participated in a study where creativity was measured using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA; Goff & Torrance, 2002) and the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ), particularly the portion of the CAQ identifying …

Do Military Personnel Feel Excluded And Ignored In Post-Secondary Education, Clark Ryan-Gonzalez

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study was conducted to investigate whether returning veterans feel ostracized (excluded and ignored) and if they experience its immediate negative impact (reflexive pain response and thwarted basic needs) on university campuses. Additionally, this study was designed to investigate veteran students’ feelings of perceived burdensomeness, and three caveats of student engagement: student faculty engagement, community-based activities, and transformational learning opportunities. Participants in the study were 118 civilian and veteran students at the University of North Florida. All data were collected through a world wide web surveying program that allowed each participant to respond on computers from any location. Both …

Myostatin And Tgf-Β Function In The Regulation Of Myogenesis In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), A Basal Teleost, Ian Morrison Jaffe

Open Access Master's Theses

Myogenesis in vertebrates is a complex and intricately regulated process, various mechanisms of which have been alternately conserved or lost throughout the course of vertebrate evolution. Mammalian myogenesis is highly regulated by myostatin, a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) family of cytokines, however, a similar role for myostatin in fish currently remains the subject of inquiry. Myostatin initiates signal transduction by means of the activin type IIb receptor, and shares considerable sequence and structural homology across vertebrate taxa, though its functional homology remains unclear. Two families of transgenic (TG) rainbow trout (RBT), one in which myostatin was inhibited …

A Difference In Perspective: A Comparison Of Ecosystem And Single-Species Focused Fisheries Management, Catherine M. Foley

Open Access Master's Theses

Currently, most fisheries management bodies utilize a narrow, single-species focus in decision-making processes. These methodologies, however, fail to recognize the interrelated nature of ecosystems, and as such are unable to produce realistic and valid estimates of sustainable yield. One proposed method of integrating ecosystem data into the decision-making process of fisheries management involves quantifying ecosystem diversity. This study evaluates historical fisheries management success in terms of changes in biological diversity and evaluates the potential use of length and species diversity measurements to aid managers in understanding fishery-induced community changes. To evaluate these relationships, a comparison of ecological and management outcomes …

Limited Entry In Rhode Island Tracing An Idea From Open Access To License Limitation To Catch Shares, Jonathon M. Peros

Open Access Master's Theses

For centuries fisheries institutions have shaped Rhode Island’s storied fishing tradition, a hallmark of which has been access to marine resources by the residents of the state. In 2001, after a series of moratoriums on commercial fishing licenses, Rhode Island embarked on an extensive public process through the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island to identify fishery management options based on the input of stakeholders. The outcome of that process was the passage of Senate Bill 2771 sub A – otherwise known as Rhode Island Gen. Law 20.2-1 (2002). The legislation ended a moratorium on the issuance of …

A Tunable Electromagnetic Band-Gap Microstrip Filter, Greg A. Lancaster

Master's Theses

In high frequency design, harmonic suppression is a persistent struggle. Non-linear devices such as switches and amplifiers produce unwanted harmonics which may interfere with other frequency bands. Filtering is a widely accepted solution, however there are various shortcomings involved. Suppressing multiple harmonics, if desired, with traditional lumped element and distributed component band-stop filters requires using multiple filters. These topologies are not easily made tunable either. A new filter topology is investigated called Electromagnetic Band-Gap (EBG) structures.

EBG structures have recently gained the interest of microwave designers due to their periodic nature which prohibits the propagation of certain frequency bands. EBG …

Does International Recruiting Make Sense In The Missouri Valley Conference?, Natalie Johnson

Honors Program Theses

The primary purpose of this research study is to examine the prevalence and effects of international recruiting on team performance of women’s swim and dive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. This research will evaluate the issues that influence coaches’ and athletes’ decisions to recruit or compete internationally, including evaluating the strength of in-state and regional recruitment pools, athlete retention rates by geographic region, and the correlation between the number of Top 8 finishes to the number of Top 8 finishers by region.

Climate Change Action Without Congress, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Congress has not enacted major environmental legislation since 1990, and no end to the paralysis is in sight. Nonetheless, there is a great deal that the Obama Administration can do with its existing statutory powers to fight climate change.

Modulation Of Cd8+ T Cell Responses To Aav Vectors With Igg-Derived Mhc Class Ii Epitopes, Daniel J. Hui, Etiena Banser-Tschakarjan, Yifeng Chen, Robert J. Davidson, George Buchlis, Mustafa Yazicioglu, Gary C. Pien, Jonathan D. Finn, Virginia Haurigot, Alex Tai, David W. Scott, Leslie P. Cousens, Shangzhen Zhou, Anne S. De Groot, Federico Mingozzi

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Immune responses directed against viral capsid proteins constitute a main safety concern in the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as gene transfer vectors in humans. Pharmacological immunosuppression has been proposed as a solution to the problem; however, the approach suffers from several potential limitations. Using MHC class II epitopes initially identified within human IgG, named Tregitopes, we showed that it is possible to modulate CD8⁺ T cell responses to several viral antigens in vitro. We showed that incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with these epitopes triggers proliferation of CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ T cells that …

Making Vaccines "On Demand", Anne S. De Groot, Leo Einck, Leonard Moise, Michael Chambers, John Ballantyne, Robert W. Malone, Matthew Ardito, William Martin

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

The integrated US Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) has made great strides in strategic preparedness and response capabilities. There have been numerous advances in planning, biothreat countermeasure development, licensure, manufacturing, stockpiling and deployment. Increased biodefense surveillance capability has dramatically improved, while new tools and increased awareness have fostered rapid identification of new potential public health pathogens. Unfortunately, structural delays in vaccine design, development, manufacture, clinical testing and licensure processes remain significant obstacles to an effective national biodefense rapid response capability. This is particularly true for the very real threat of “novel pathogens” such as the avian-origin influenzas H7N9 …

Cyclic Peptides Containing Tryptophan And Arginine As Src Kinase Inhibitors, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Alex Brown, Dindyal Mandal, Gongqin Sun, Keykavous Parang

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

A number of cyclic and linear peptides containing various combinations of amino acids were evaluated for their Src kinase inhibitory potency. Among all the peptides, cyclic decapeptide C[RW]₅ containing alternative arginine (R) and tryptophan (W) residues was found to be the most potent Src kinase inhibitor. C[RW]₅ showed higher inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 2.8 μM) than C[KW]₅, L(KW)₅, C[RW]₄, and C[RW]₃ with IC₅₀ values of 46.9, 69.1, 21.5, and 25.0 μM, respectively, as determined in a fluorescence intensity-based assay. Thus, the cyclic nature, the presence of arginine, ring size, …

Regulatory T Cell Epitopes (Tregitopes) In Igg Induce Tolerance In Vivo And Lack Immunogenicity Per Se, Yan Su, Robert Rossi, Anne S. De Groot, David W. Scott

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Tregitopes are a set of epitopes, derived from IgG, that bind to MHCII, activate nTregs, and promote tolerance. We have now confirmed that coadministration of Tregitopes with a range of proteins (autoantigens and nominal antigens, such as OVA) in vitro and in vivo leads to suppression of T cell and antibody responses to the test antigens. In this study, we demonstrate that Tregitopes are not immunogenic in vivo even when emulsified with strong adjuvants, such as IFA or CFA. Moreover, in vivo administration of Tregitopes with IFA or CFA does not induce Th1 or Th2 cytokine expression under restimulation conditions …

Implications Of Traumatic Brain Injury In The Military, Jeremy Rosene

Research Papers

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a disability that affects many different people in many different ways. The impact the TBI has on a person’s life varies considerably based on the severity of the injury and other psychosocial factors. TBI is one of the disabilities that can and does affect people from all cultures, all age groups, and all socioeconomic groups. It is also known to some as the “invisible disability” because it can present with no obvious visible manifestations and also because the nature of the disability can impact the individual with the TBI’s ability to fully understand their own …

Using Social To Go Local: Analyzing How National And Local Companies Use Facebook To Reach Customers, Brittney L. Edwards

Research Papers

Facebook has developed into an important marketing tool for many different companies. Facebook and other forms of social media allow businesses to generate and encourage two-way interactions with current and potential customers. This study examines the differences between how national and local business pages use Facebook to market and brand themselves and build online fan communities. The author conducted a content analysis of twenty Facebook business pages to ascertain how frequently businesses were posting content, what types of content were being posted, how many comments, likes and shares did the post receive, and were businesses replying to fan comments. The …

Under Pressure : Self-Compassion As A Predictor Of Task Performance And Persistence, Allison Landgraf

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-compassion is a characteristic composed of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness that promotes adaptive cognitive, behavioral, and emotional processing. A self-compassionate mindset in the face of difficulties can lead to less anxiety and more self-forgiveness, and because of these benefits, some evidence suggests self-compassionate individuals tend to persist longer on a task after an initial failure. This study focuses on the extent to which self-compassion can improve task performance and persistence under pressure. Participants first completed the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003a) to measure trait levels of self-compassion. Self-compassion was then induced by leading participants to think about a mistake in …

Program Evaluation In The Nonprofit Sector : An Exploratory Study Of Leaders' Perceptions, Gail A. Patin

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to understand the role of and capacity for program evaluation from the perspectives of leaders in the Northeast Florida nonprofit sector. The study was a two-phased qualitative design and had three research questions related to the role of program evaluation, the capacity for program evaluation, and the influence of the relationship between providers and funders on these efforts. The first phase was a nominal group process using the Delphi survey method. The second phase involved in-depth interviews. Study participants were chosen based on specific criteria.

The Delphi phase had four rounds of surveys. Findings …

Communication And Language Recovery In People With Aphasia: Using Gestures In Speech-Language Therapy, Amanda M. Mokaya

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Animal-Assisted Therapy And The Child-Animal Bond: Children's Well-Being And Behavior, Connie I. Jacobs

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Recognizing The Impact Of Personal And Environmental Influences On Type 2 Diabetes Management, Johna S. Brown

Research Papers

Globalization has drastically altered the way humans function. Modern ways of life have induced obesity and type 2 diabetes upsurges on a global level. Type 2 diabetes is a complex chronic illness that can be extremely difficult to prevent and manage. It requires strict consistency in terms of energy consumption, self-assessment, and physical activity. A wide array of variables impact human behavior and one’s ability to abide by such strict regimens. These variables can often be categorized as environmental or personal influences. Comprehensive understanding of these variables can provide insight to diabetics and health professions regarding barriers to diabetes management …

Optic Neuritis Due To Toxoplasmosis: First And Only Manifestation Of Newly Diagnosed Aids, Rajesh Kumar Md, Yehia Y. Mishriki Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Turing Test As A Defining Feature Of Ai-Completeness, Roman V. Yampolskiy

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The paper contributes to the development of the theory of AI-Completeness by formalizing the notion of AI-Complete, C-Complete and AI-Hard problems. The intended goal is to provide a classification of problems in the field of Artificial General Intelligence. We prove Turing Test to be an instance of an AI-Complete problem and further show certain AI problems to be AI-Complete or AI-Hard via polynomial time reductions. Finally, the paper suggests some directions for future work on the theory of AI-Completeness.