Digital Commons Network^™

Biochemical Assay Optimization And Computational Screening Efforts To Identify Potential Luxs Inhibitors, Keeshia Q. Wang

Master's Theses

Quorum sensing (QS) is a process of coordination of bacterial gene expression in response to cell population. System two QS is regulated by the small signaling molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2) and is implicated in the infectious behaviors of various bacterial species. AI-2 is biosynthesized from S-ribosylhomocysteine (SRH) by the enzyme LuxS and induces interspecies cell-to-cell communication. Inhibition of LuxS would therefore inhibit interspecies QS. Herein, a search for novel molecular species that will competitively bind with SRH in the LuxS binding site is performed in silico. Computational screening results are then validated in vitro using an optimized LuxS inhibition …

Kinetic And Kinematic Asymmetries During Unloaded And Loaded Static Jumps, Chris A. Bailey, Kimitake Sato, Brian Johnson, William A. Sands, Angus Burnett, Michael H. Stone

ETSU Faculty Works

Abstract available in the Annual coaches and Sport Science College.

Savage, Andrew Curran

Theses

"Savage" is a stop-motion, animated graduate thesis film. It was originally conceived as a story about the perils of socially constructed reality. The film follows a feral boy and his dog as they go hunting to close to civilization. One day the two come upon a farm and it is their undoing.

This film was made using traditional stop motion techniques, with the assistance of Dragon Stop Motion Software. The post work, mainly rig removal was done in After Effects and Photoshop.

The following is an attempt to outline my process from concept to completion.

Tennessee Comprehensive Annual Financial Report For The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2013, Tennessee. Department Of Finance & Administration.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports

No abstract provided.

Improving Lactose Digestion And Symptoms Of Lactose Intolerance With A Novel Galacto-Oligosaccharide (Rp-G28): A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial., Dennis Savaiano, Andrew J. Ritter, Todd R. Klaenhammer, Gareth M. James, Amy T. Longcore, Justin R. Chandler, W Allan Walker, Howard L. Foyt

Department of Nutrition Science Faculty Publications

Background

Lactose intolerance (LI) is a common medical problem with limited treatment options. The primary symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, flatulence, and cramping. Limiting dairy foods to reduce symptoms contributes to low calcium intake and the risk for chronic disease. Adaptation of the colon bacteria to effectively metabolize lactose is a novel and potentially useful approach to improve lactose digestion and tolerance. RP-G28 is novel galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) being investigated to improve lactose digestion and the symptoms of lactose intolerance in affected patients.

Methods

A randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled study was conducted at 2 sites in the United States. …

Online News-Seeking Behavior Among Three Generational Cohorts: Baby Boomers, Generation X, And Generation Y, Ivonna Cabrera Torres

Theses

News-seeking behavior has been a matter of study for many years now. With the rise of the Internet, online news has become a news interest for scholars studying the news field. This research surveyed 73 Generation Y, 46 Generation X and 54 Baby Boomers members at the Rochester Institute of Technology to understand the differences between the three cohorts when it comes to online news readership using the social network Twitter and to learn the differences between the preferred devices each generation uses to read online news.

Winning Hearts And Minds: Using "Ag-Gag" Outrage And Corporate Rebranding To Achieve A Public Image Makeover For The Animal Rights Movement, Alison J. Spasser

Master's Projects and Capstones

Despite limited legal victories—particularly in the realm of companion animal protections—the animal rights movement has failed to make substantial progress in other focal areas, including the acquisition of increased rights for food animals on factory farms. The public image of the movement has taken a hit in recent years, due in part to effective campaigning by opposing lobbies and corporate entities and in part to self-inflicted damage from failed messaging and tactics. The perceived alignment of animal rights advocacy organizations with extremism and the public distrust of activists leaves the movement in need of a critical public image makeover. However, …

Gendered Power: Looking At Mad Men, Power, And Its Limits, Ashley N. Cox

Honors Projects

This project examines the ways in which power circulates and moves in AMC's show, Mad Men, using Michel Foucault's definitions of power. In this paper, I examine the ways in which the movements of power are different in terms of gender and look at what the show reveals, through its visual narrative and its plot, regarding gender and power in America's late-stage capitalist setting.

Engineering Analysis Of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair, Thuy Pham

Doctoral Dissertations

Surgical treatment for severe functional MR often involves mitral annuloplasty to improve leaflet apposition and ultimately downsize the dilated mitral valve. However, the high rate of operative mortalities of up to 6 ~12% have limited the more expanded use of this procedure. Recently, minimally invasive percutaneous transvenous mitral annuloplasty (PTMA) approaches using entirely catheter-based methods have been developed to reduce procedural morbidity and mortality. One of the approaches is to utilize the proximal location of the coronary sinus (CS) to the mitral annulus (MA) to percutaneously deploy a PTMA device within CS vessel. When the device contracts, it indirectly reshapes …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Supplemental Educational Services In Large Texas School Districts, Carlos Lee

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

With the need for greater education reform, President George W. Bush and Congress enacted No Child Left Behind (U. S. Department of Education, 2001). The enactment of NCLB was accompanied by additional requirements concerning accountability for student achievement. The search for methods that provide educational enhancements continues through the work of schools and local community members (Hock, Pulvers, Deshler, & Schumaker, 2001). Supplemental Educational Services (SES) are defined as supplementary academic instructional services intended to raise the level of academic achievement of Title I students in schools that have failed to meet federal mandated AYP standards for three consecutive …

How Social Media Affect The Social Identity Of Mexican Americans, Kaitlin Eve Felsted

Theses and Dissertations

This is a thesis conducted qualitatively using the Grounded Theory approach where in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 legal Mexican Americans in order to understand how social media affect Mexican Americans' social identity. This effect was understood by discovering the relationships between social identity theory and integration. Results showed that Mexican Americans felt that social media helped them with their English skills and connected them to their friends and family in Mexico. Mexican Americans were able to use social media to connect to their in-group community, and Mexican American community leaders were able to connect Mexicans to their in-group within …

Changing The Costs: A Rational Choice Perspective On African Americans' Healthcare Consumption Decisions, Nicole Langston

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This paper makes the case for racial disparities in the consumption of healthcare and advocates for a large-scale cost-benefit change for healthcare practitioners and the African American community to ensure efficient consumption of healthcare by African American patients. Part I explores the history of African Americans and the healthcare system, arguing the history of this interaction fuels many of the present-day decisions not to consume healthcare.

Part II explores the current racial differences in healthcare treatment and outcomes for African Americans in order to lay the framework for racially disparate treatment in America's healthcare system.

Part III of this paper …

Interactions Of Peptide Triazole Thiols With Env Gp120 Induce Irreversible Breakdown And Inactivation Of Hiv-1 Virions, Arangassery Bastian, Mark Contarino, Lauren D. Bailey, Rachna Aneja, Diogo Rodrigo Magalhaes Moreira, Kevin Freedman, Karyn Mcfadden, Caitlin Duffy, Ali Emileh

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: We examined the underlying mechanism of action of the peptide triazole thiol, KR13 that has been shown previously to specifically bind gp120, block cell receptor site interactions and potently inhibit HIV-1 infectivity.

Results: KR13, the sulfhydryl blocked KR13b and its parent non-sulfhydryl peptide triazole, HNG156, induced gp120 shedding but only KR13 induced p24 capsid protein release. The resulting virion post virolysis had an altered morphology, contained no gp120, but retained gp41 that bound to neutralizing gp41 antibodies. Remarkably, HIV-1 p24 release by KR13 was inhibited by enfuvirtide, which blocks formation of the gp41 6-helix bundle during membrane fusion, while …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Eagle Battalion Hosts Fall Commissioning Ceremony
• Georgia Southern University Graduates Receive Degrees during Annual Fall Commencement

Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Reactive Oxygen Species In Neurodegeneration, Leah Farina

Honors Theses

Neurodegeneration leads to the loss of normal anatomy and physiology of the neuronal system in a human body. The hallmark of most neurodegenerative diseases is abnormal folding and accumulation of proteins within neuronal cell bodies that is not present in healthy people. These changes in normal protein metabolism often lead to neuronal cell death and failure of the affected regions of the central nervous system. Abnormal protein accumulation may be attributed to dysfunctional mitochondria and damage by reactive oxygen species. In addition to causing altered protein accumulation, dysfunctional mitochondria and an excess of reactive oxygen species also lead to errors …

Comparison Of Psychogenic Movement Disorder Patients With Non-Epileptic Seizures And Other Hyperkinetic Motor Manifestations: An Integrated Model Of Psychosocial And Neuropsychological Functioning, Bonnie Michelle Scott

Psychology and Counseling Theses

Psychogenic movement disorders (PMDs) represent a complex and severe form of psychopathology, which even after a century of research remains poorly understood. As previous investigations have neglected to differentiate symptom phenotypes and have approached assessment from the perspective of cognitive dysfunction apparent in PMD patient's neurological counterparts, the current study aimed to examine the neurocognitive performance and psychological profiles of PMD patients with hyperkinetic motor manifestations guided by a theoretical lens of frontal lobe pathology and informed by previous neuroimaging studies with this patient population. Subsequent to diagnostic confirmation of their condition by means of video-electroencephalographic monitoring or adherence to …

Ewing's Sarcoma Arising From The Adrenal Gland In A Young Male: A Case Report, Muhammad Nauman Zahir, Tayyaba Zehra Ansari, Tariq Moatter, Wasim Memon, Shahid Pervez

Section of Haematology/Oncology

Background: Ewing's sarcoma uncommonly arises from extraosseous soft tissue or parenchymal organs. Primary adrenal Ewing's Sarcoma, although very rare, is extremely aggressive and commonly fatal.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 17 year old Pakistani male was referred to the outpatient oncology clinic at our center with a three month history of concomitant pain, swelling and dragging sensation in the right hypochondrium. Abdominal examination revealed a large, firm mass in the right hypochondrium extending into the right lumbar region and epigastrium. His genital exam was unremarkable and there were no stigmata of hepatic or adrenal disease.Computed tomography scans revealed a large peripherally …

Research Brief: "Women Service Members And Veterans Returning To Colleges And Universities: An Exploratory Analysis", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief summarizes a scholarly article of the same name. It reviews research which analyzes the impact of being a transitioning woman veteran entering the student veteran sphere.

A Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance In San Francisco: The Solution To San Francisco’S Other Homeless Problem, Davi Lang

Master's Projects and Capstones

This Capstone explains the dog overpopulation problem in San Francisco where the increase in dog impoundments and animal cruelty cases, particularly ones involving dogs, has been straining its Department of Animal Care & Control’s already limited resources. At least 33 local governments around the United States have implemented mandatory spay/neuter laws for all dogs as a way to curb dog overpopulation. This Capstone argues for San Francisco to adopt a similar mandatory spay/neuter law, in which all dogs over the age of six months must be spayed or neutered, with certain exceptions. This will relieve the strain on Animal Care …

Silence To Signs: Bridging The Communiction Gap For Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Inmates In Prisons, Kayleigh A. Marshall

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper explores the failure of American prison systems to provide communication access to deaf and hard of hearing prisoners. Sign language is sparsely accessible to deaf individuals in prisons. Communication and access to language are key to the human condition and democratic participation. When prison administrations ban sign language, deaf individuals are prevented from accessing programs and services that would lead to lower recidivism rates, and they are prevented from participating democracy. Since use of sign language is a natural part of many individuals’ deaf experience, barring its use is also a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act …

Fall Commencement Ceremonies, University Of North Florida

Commencement Printed Materials

Program for the Fall Commencement ceremonies.

“Cause That’S The Only Skills In School You Need” A Qualitative Analysis Of Revenge Goals In Poor Urban Youth, Lena Janina Jäggi

Theses and Dissertations

Ample research shows that revenge goals are correlated with maladjustment and retaliation is an important factor driving youth violence. Still, in environments with limited institutionalized interventions revenge might be an indispensable tool to maintain social equilibrium. This qualitative secondary analysis of 50 (30 Boys) revenge scenarios from a larger longitudinal study (N=358 dyads of youth/maternal caregiver) expands existing one-dimensional knowledge of revenge from closed-answer vignettes to the rich real world experience of 10-16 year old youth from an urban community sample. Key findings showed significant qualitative differences in both cognition and emotions of revenge scenarios. Ten distinct patterns emerged and …

A Technological Approach To Reforming Japan's Consumption Tax, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Significant change has been forecast for the Japanese Consumption Tax. Revenue needs are pressing, and the Consumption Tax appears to be underutilized. Should the rate be doubled from 5% to 10%, or more? If so, will rate increases necessitate further structural changes – recasting this annual credit-subtraction levy into a European style credit-invoice VAT? These options have not proven to be politically palatable, but they are directions that have been under active consideration.

On October 1, 2013 the Japanese Cabinet Office announced that the Consumption Tax would rise from 5% to 8% effective April 1, 2014. The rate will increase …

Scenario Development And Analysis Of Freshwater Ecosystem Services Under Land Cover And Climate Change In The Tualatin And Yamhill River Basins, Oregon, Robert Wesley Hoyer

Dissertations and Theses

Humans make decisions within ecosystems to enhance their well-being, but choices can lead to unintended consequences. The ecosystem services (ES) approach supports decision-making that considers all environmental goods and services. Many challenges remain in the implementation of the ES approach like how specific ES vary through space and time. We address this research problem using the Tualatin and Yamhill river basins in northwestern Oregon as a study area. Freshwater ES are quantified and mapped with the spatially-explicit ES modeling tool, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST). In chapter II, we develop a simple urban land cover change modeling …

Challenges For Good Government Reformers In California: Shadow Lobbying & Astroturfing, Scott Alonso

Master's Projects and Capstones

Lobbying reform in California’s capital presents a complex policy problem for good government advocates and policymakers. Lobbyists have a large influence on political and policy matters in the state legislature and executive branch. Reform proponents naturally see the oversized influence of lobbyists as a problem. However, how big of a problem is lobbying? Further, what efforts underway now address lobbying? Lobbyists are defined in California law with a monetary and time limit requirement. We can look at current law to understand the failings of regulatory bodies and how the law fails to properly oversee lobbying activity. While there is not …

Corporate Social Responsibility And Its Effects On Corporate-Community Relationships: A Case Study Of Chevron's Richmond Refinery Fire In 2012, Afshan Khan

Master's Projects and Capstones

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a practical and strategic implementation process corporations often use to build social trust with the communities they serve. This process of developing social trust, according to Francis Fukuyama, creates conditions for corporations and communities to deepen their investments in each other, thus increasing the probability of economic prosperity. By seeking to balance social, environmental, and economic imperatives, corporations seeks to create a lasting, sustainable relationship with the communities they partner with. CSRs are not merely about re-branding and impression management, for they are about establishing a healthy, trusting relationship with the customers that corporations identify …

Molecular Evolution Of Protein-Rna Mimicry As A Mechanism For Translational Control, Assaf Katz, Lindsey Solden, S. Betty Zou, William Wiley Navarre, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Elongation factor P (EF-P) is a conserved ribosome-binding protein that structurally mimics tRNA to enable the synthesis of peptides containing motifs that otherwise would induce translational stalling, including polyproline. In many bacteria, EF-P function requires post-translational modification with (R)-β-lysine by the lysyl-tRNA synthetase paralog PoxA. To investigate how recognition of EF-P by PoxA evolved from tRNA recognition by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, we compared the roles of EF-P/PoxA polar contacts with analogous interactions in a closely related tRNA/synthetase complex. PoxA was found to recognize EF-P solely via identity elements in the acceptor loop, the domain of the protein that interacts with the …

Meeting Minutes, Wku University Senate

Faculty Senate

Meeting regarding American Association of University Professors (AAUP), SACS review, graduate council, curriculum committee and wellness program.

December Agenda, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting agenda.

Meeting Minutes, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting minutes.