Digital Commons Network^™

Breastfeeding And Obesity Among Mothers And Children: A Double-Edged Sword, Jasmin Marie Harpe

Public Health Theses

Obesity continues to be a public health issue, especially among children and women of childbearing age. Breastfeeding results in weight loss among postpartum women, as well as protects growing children from obesity. To date, no reviews have simultaneously analyzed the impact of breastfeeding on obesity for mothers and children. In addition, this review is novel in that it provides evidence from both observational and intervention studies. The primary objectives of this systematic review of studies in the United States (2000-2013) are to: (1) describe the association between obesity and breastfeeding across the developmental lifespan (2) identify the impact of breastfeeding …

Epidemiology And Characterization Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus From Swine Workers In Romania, Eileen Damin Huang

Public Health Theses

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a potent human pathogen associated with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Livestock are known reservoir for MRSA, which pose substantial health risks for livestock farmers and their community contacts. However, little is known about MRSA among swine workers in Eastern Europe. In this study, we conducted a prevalence survey of swine workers in Romania. Three livestock-associated S. aureus strains (spa type t034, t011, and t4872) and one community-associated S. aureus strain (spa type t321) were isolated from workers on seven commercial swine farms in Transylvania. The rate of MRSA carriage in workers was 6.8%. Veterinarian …

The Role Of Antibiotics In Microbial Interactions Of Copd, Kimberly Lay

Public Health Theses

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbations caused by bacterial infections account for more than 50% of all exacerbation episodes, with Haemophilus influenzae as the most frequently isolated pathogen. The role of antibiotics in treating COPD bacterial exacerbations remains unclear.

Objective: The current analysis evaluates the interaction of H. influenzaes with other pathogens while controlling for the use of antibiotics.

Methods: Data were from a longitudinal study of COPD patients conducted at a VA medical center from 1994-2010. Analysis was restricted to sputum samples collected over the course of one year in a total of 130 patients. Presence of Moraxella …

A Heroic Journey Within Videogames And The Effects Of Player Experience, Jeremiah Moffitt

Honors Program Theses

The popularity of videogames globally is increasing dramatically. The gamer explores first hand fantastic worlds. The story structure of many games follows the hero's journey-a rite of passage that social scientists view as a transformative experience. Although the content of the journey may be culturally specific, the similar structural components of the journey enable the hero to ultimately complete his/her journey as a changed person. I hypothesize that during the playing process, the gamer incorporates the experiences of his/her character and shares in some of these transformative processes. My research is based on participant observation and open-ended interviews with individuals …

An American's Paris: Tourism And The American Identity, 1947-1963, Margaret Nervig

Honors Program Theses

For my research I have decided to focus specifically on Americans traveling to Paris. In the realm of tourism, Paris is the epitome of American commodification. Americans who traveled to Paris could increasingly buy into a commodified version of Parisian culture, a culture that in many ways catered toward American tourists. The newly transnational period of the 1950s provides the perfect background for the examination of international tourism. Also interesting to this time period is the context of the Cold War and the great Red Scare that pervaded American thinking at this time. This thesis project will explain how the …

Going Offline: Personality And Its Effects On The Transition Of Online Relationships To The Offline World, Morgan Johnson

Honors Program Theses

Because the internet is a relatively new technology, few studies have researched the correlations between online behavior and personality. As such, this study set out to determine if online friendships and personality are related. In this study differences in personality were examined between individuals who have met their online friends face-to-face and those who have not. A survey was distributed online using the Five Factor Model to measure personality. Participants in this study were recruited from an online community called Nerdfighteria. The results found that the facets of the Five Factor Model of personality were largely found not to be …

Clean Up Our Home: Ellen Swallow Richards' Human Ecology And Emerging Environmental Ideologies, 1890-1915, Raeann Lillian Swanson

Honors Program Theses

In the late 1880s, after years of study and hard work, Ellen Richards began publishing her ideas on the home and the natural and urban environment. She called for the knowledge of basic scientific principles to be available to everyone. She believed that ignorance was holding back the public from altering their environment to make life healthier, happier, and safer. Over one hundred years later, Malcolm Gladwell wrote the book The Tipping Point. In his book, Gladwell explores the Broken Windows Theory that social scientists claimed they developed in the 1980s. The Broken Windows Theory states that there is a …

Uni's Dance Craze: A Psychological Analysis And Creative Documentary On 'The Interlude Dance' And 'The Dance Party', Ian Goldsmith

Honors Program Theses

The UNI campus has been part of an epidemic: a dance epidemic. “The Interlude Dance” and “The Dance Party” are two recent dance phenomena that have played a major role in my undergraduate experience. I sought to study these phenomena through an analytical approach. I sought to determine the psychosocial factors that lead to the initial and continuing success of “The Interlude Dance” and “The Dance Party”, and to build conceptual connections between both phenomena. This creative-research hybrid project culminated in a documentary short-film.

Leisure Trends And Technology Within Generations X, Y, And Z, Alyssa Eisenman

Honors Program Theses

A generation is defined as "a grouping of individuals who share birth years and thus share life stages" (Hunter-Jones, 2012, p. 2). This research paper will focus on Generations X, Y, and Z, inclusive of their general characteristics and the various ways in which each generation chooses to recreate and spend their leisure time. Generations X, Y, and Z make up a majority of today's population from our education system as students to the workplace as employees. They make up the current college student body, as some members of Generation X are in graduate school, and members of Generations Y …

Review Of Recent Studies And Issues Regarding The P300-Based Complex Trial Protocol For Detection Of Concealed Information, J. Peter Rosenfeld, Xiaoqing Hu, Elena Labkovsky, John B. Meixner Jr., Michael R. Winograd

Scholarly Works

In this review, the evolution of new P300-based protocols for detection of concealed information is summarized. The P300-based complex trial protocol (CTP) is described as one such countermeasure (CM)-resistant protocol. Recent lapses in diagnostic accuracy (from 90% to 75%) with CTPs applied to mock crime protocols are summarized, as well as recent enhancements to the CTP which have restored accuracy. These enhancements include 1) use of performance feedback during testing, 2) use of other ERP components such as N200 in diagnosis, 3) use of auxiliary tests, including the autobiographical implicit association test, as leading to restored diagnostic accuracy, and 4) …

Library Publishing Toolkit, Allison Brown, Cyril Oberlander, Patricia Uttaro, Katherine Pitcher, Kathleen M. Miller

IDS Project Press

Both public and academic libraries are invested in the creation and distribution of information and digital content. They have morphed from keepers of content into content creators and curators, and seek best practices and efficient workflows with emerging publishing platforms and services. The Library Publishing Toolkit looks at the broad and varied landscape of library publishing through discussions, case studies, and shared resources. From supporting writers and authors in the public library setting to hosting open access journals and books, this collection examines opportunities for libraries to leverage their position and resources to create and provide access to content.

The …

Short Chain Fatty Acid Production By Probiotic Organisms In The Gastrointestinal Tract, Elyssa Rautiola

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Interest in determining the mechanism by which pro biotic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract produce short chain fatty acids (SCFA) has increased over the past few years. This study uses gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to characterize lactate production in aerobic test tube cultures, aerobic bioreactor cultures, and anaerobic bioreactor cultures. To collect anaerobic bioreactor samples, a novel in vitro anaerobic model was developed. The pH and colony forming units of each bacterial sample was also measured in order to understand the correlation between lactate production and bacterial growth. The purpose of this study was to analyze production of SCFA …

Teaching Common Core Exemplary Texts For Today's Elementary Students, Elizabeth Drada

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This project explores the purpose and objectives of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as they apply to the instruction of complex texts for elementary students. This project includes an analysis and short history of the Standards and how to successfully implement a unit of instruction for elementary students, based on a text that the Standards identify as "exemplary" The information presented in the thesis is backed by online research and educational articles. The unit based on the novel Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis was created for a fourth grade class that adheres to the Standards and …

Investigation On Solid-Phase Crystallization Techniques For Low Temperature Polysilicon Thin-Film Transistors, Qinglong Li

Theses

Low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) has emerged as a dominant technology for high performance thin-film transistors (TFTs) used in mobile liquid crystal display (LCD) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) display products. As users demand higher quality in flat panel displays with a larger viewing area and finer resolution, the improvement in carrier mobility of LTPS compared to that of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) makes it an excellent candidate as a channel material for TFT. Advantages include improvements in switching speed and the ability to incorporate peripheral scan and data driver circuitry onto a low cost display substrate. Solid-phase crystallization (SPC) is …

Searching For An Answer: Defensible E-Discovery Search Techniques In The Absence Of Judicial Voice, Harrison M. Brown

Chapman Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Preemptive Copyright Ghost Lurking In Breach Of Contract Claims: Resolving The Copyright Preemption Analysis, Jessica Nguyen

Chapman Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Novel Visual Stimulation Paradigm: Exploiting Individual Primary Visual Cortex Geometry To Boost Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials (Ssvep), Marta Isabel Vanegas Arroyave

Dissertations and Theses

The steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) is an electroencephalographic response to flickering stimuli generated in significant part by activity in primary visual cortex (V1). SSVEP signal-to-noise ratio is generally low for stimuli that are located in the visual periphery, at frequencies higher than 20 Hz, or at low contrast. Because of the typical "cruciform" geometry of V1, large stimuli tend to excite neighboring cortical regions of opposite orientation, likely resulting in electric field cancellation. In Study 1, we explored ways to exploit V1 geometry in order to boost scalp SSVEP amplitude via oscillatory summation, by manipulating flicker-phase offsets among angular …

Design, Product Development And Risk Assessment Of Tin (Sn) Ring Electrodes As A Substitute To Silver-Silver Chloride (Ag Agci) Ring Electrodes For High Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Hd-Tdcs), Linford Leitch

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this research thesis is to test the viability of Tin (Sn) ring electrodes as an inexpensive alternative to sintered Silver-Silver Chloride (Ag|AgCl) ring electrodes for High Definition – transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS). Throughout our initial bench top testing of tin electrodes in combination with a ‘conductive electrode gel’, the passing of a 2mA direct current on agar block showed the formation of white cloud around the anode electrode and a cluster of air bubbles on the cathode. The analysis of pertinent literature indicates that the white milky substance produced during the stimulation at the anode is …

Toward Resolving The Problem Of Modern Piracy; A Case Study Of Somalia, Kamil Peter Kozlowski

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Failed Or Fragile States In International Power Politics, Nussrathullah W. Said

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Price Of Okinawa's Reversion; The Secret Negotiation Of Dr. Jones, Yoshida, And Their "Friends", Us-Japan Relations In Post War Years, Miho Setoyama

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics As A Simulation-Based Design Guide In A Microfluidic 3d Living Cell Array (3d Lca) Device, A.H. Rezwanuddin Ahmed

Dissertations and Theses

The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as a tool in the aerodynamics and oil industry provides a reinforcement to efficiency in the design of aircrafts or for understanding the flow through pipes. A similar approach can be taken towards microfluidics, where traditionally devices have been designed based on experience or physiological replication, and a CFD simulation is shown post-manufacture to show the flow and diffusion patterns present. In this study, a reverse approach is suggested, by designing the device first in CFD and perform simulations on variations of alterable parameters to get insight on how the changing parameters affect …

The Growing Phenomenon Of Sex Trafficking; Legal, Socioeconomic And Cultural Remedies, Anny E. Rosario

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Transport Pathway Across Hcaecs Uncer Convective Condtitions And The Role Of Apoptosis In Ldl Transport Through Hcaecs, Janpen Phupeerasupong

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

A Novel Biomaterial Enables Chemotactic Study Of Motile Central Nervous System-Derived Tumor Cells, Tanya Singh

Dissertations and Theses

"The local cell microenvironment plays an important role in maintaining the dynamics of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the cell-ECM relationship. ECM is a complex network of macromolecules with distinct mechanical and biochemical characteristics [1]. The multifaceted interactions that occur between cells and the ECM are crucial to the regulation of processes that maintain homeostasis. These mechanisms are often deregulated during cancer onset and progression, which cause the ECM to become highly disorganized, alter the cell-matrix interactions, and promote increased hypervascularity and metastasis as these components are indicative of cancer progression. Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most common, malignant …

A Model Of Transient Heat Transfer In A Packed Bed Of Alumina Particles, Samira Shiri

Dissertations and Theses

The present study seeks to develop a robust system-scale heat transfer model for a sensible heat storage system. A novel mechanism to simulate axial dispersion and heat loss from the boundary of the sensible heat system to the environment is introduced. The most challenging topics to develop a robust heat transfer model are related to heat loss term, selecting the more reliable method to calculate heat transfer coefficient between fluid and solid, and investigating the effect of neglecting temperature dependency of materials properties. As the storage heat system has a vertical storage vessel, the dominant heat transfer mechanism from the …

The Bauhaus 1919-1928 At The Museum Of Modern Art, N.Y., 1938; The Bauhaus As An Educational Model In The United States, Adrijana Sajic

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

International Relations Reflected Through The Camera Lens The West's Representation Of The Third World., Jihan Joseph

Dissertations and Theses

In the pursuit of studying international relations often the subject of culture is left out of the conversation. This thesis focuses on the unlikely subject of film to discuss the importance of culture in international relations. It analyzes at Western film's portrayal of the developing world and explores the connection of film and international relations.

International Law V. Traditional Norms Community And State Response To Domestic Violence In Bangladesh And Pakistan, Twafiqa Mohinuddin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the implementation of international human rights norms and treaty laws regarding domestic violence in Bangladesh and Pakistan and how compliance is hindered by traditional norms, which exist within communities and at the state level. While the focus of this thesis is on Pakistan and Bangladesh, the findings and lessons can be applied to countries who are suffering from patriarchal norms which facilitate domestic violence. Domestic violence is a worldwide epidemic that discriminates against woman regardless of her color, education, or social class. Domestic violence is a form of gender-based violence which exploits and hinders women from enjoying …

A Decade Of Failure; Missed Opportunities And The Escalating Crisis Over Iran's Nuclear Program, Louis Charbonneau

Dissertations and Theses

For the past decade the United States and its European allies powers have been unable to persuade the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt what appears to be a program to develop either a nuclear-weapons capability or an actual atomic arsenal. There is good reason to want to prevent Iran from acquiring atomic weapons, although it is too late to stop Tehran from acquiring the capability to produce a nuclear weapon should it choose to manufacture one. Tehran‘s desire to develop either a nuclear weapons capability or an actual arsenal is based on a realist assessment of its security environment …