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Natural Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Composites As Engineered Structural Materials, David B. Dittenber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this work was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP)'s ability to act as a structural material.;As a chemical treatment, aligned kenaf fibers were treated with sodium hydroxide (alkalization) in different concentrations and durations and then manufactured into kenaf fiber / vinyl ester composite plates. Single fiber tensile properties and composite flexural properties, both in dry and saturated environments, were assessed.;Based on ASTM standard testing, a comparison of flexural, tensile, compressive, and shear mechanical properties was also made between an untreated kenaf fiber reinforced composite, a chemically treated kenaf fiber reinforced composite, a …

Differences In The Health Of Domesticated Sheep (Ovis Aries) Pastured In Wild And Agricultural Landscapes, Corine Giroux

Biological Sciences

The purpose of this study was to compare the health of sheep grazed in a quasi-wild landscape (Norman’s Kill Farm, an abandoned dairy) as part of a targeted grazing research project, to that of sheep in a conventional agricultural pasture setting (Longfield Farm). This study tested the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the health and nutrition of sheep in a domestic setting and those in a wild setting. Sheep on the quasi-wild landscape were healthier than those on the agricultural setting, having healthier body condition scores. The mean body condition scores of the sheep at Longfield was …

Molecular Modulation Of Single And Multi-Species Biofilm Formation By Orally-Associated Bacteria, Daniel Sellers

Biological Sciences

Biofilms are aggregates of bacterial cells attached to a surface. Oral biofilms (“plague”) are major contributors to tooth decay (dental caries) and are a potential conduit for infection and disease. These biofilms have been shown to be resistant to removal by traditional oral hygiene practices. Novel prophylactic and in situ treatment methods are therefore needed to address this problem. While Oral biofilms have been shown to contain hundreds of species of bacteria we focus on three relevant organisms: Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Actinomyces naeslundii (A. oris). Of the many bacteria involved in cavity formation and tooth decay, S. mutans …

The Effect Of Epigallocatechin Gallate (Egcg) On Caeonorhabdits Elegance Exposed To Modelled Microgravity, Sieanna Marissa Blackwood

Theses (Pre-2016)

Antioxidants are substances found in many foods, nuts, grains, fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants protect cells from the damage caused from free radicals. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the main constituent of green tea. Studies show that EGCG protects against oxidative stress. There is indication that EGCG can prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease. Caenorhabditis elegans are used as model organisms to better understand the effect of zero gravity on organisms. With the widespread popularity of space flight, scientists continue to better understand the consequences of microgravity on organism. Microgravity weakens the muscular, skeletal, nervous system, reproductive and …

Lifetime Optimization Via Base Station Placement And Power Aware Scheduling In Wireless Sensor Networks, Yunan Gu

Theses (Pre-2016)

Recent years have witnessed the advent of wireless sensor technologies and proliferating applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in various fields. Network lifetime has been a critical design goal of any battery operated large scale WSNs. Especially for delay-sensitive WSNs, it is challenging to prolong the network lifetime, while meeting the delay requirements of different applications. In this thesis, we fisrt investigate how to prolong the lifetime of large scale WSNs via optimal placement of base stations (BSs). With multiple BSs placed, the sensor nodes can send their data to nearby sinks and may reduce energy consumption ofrelaying packets for …

The Butterfly House, Sarah Leander

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

No abstract provided.

Characterizing The Role Of Cortactin In Actin Pedestal Assembly By Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli (Ehec), Sarah E. Grout

Honors Scholar Theses

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a major foodborne cause of bloody diarrhea and renal failure. During colonization of the intestine, EHEC injects the transmembrane receptor protein Tir and the cytoplasmic effector protein EspFU into host cells to reorganize the actin cytoskeleton into adhesion “pedestals.” EspFU has been shown to bind and activate the actin nucleation factor N-WASP to drive actin polymerization into pedestals. However, EspFU can still assemble pedestals in cells lacking N-WASP, suggesting that this effector protein is able to also trigger N-WASP-independent pathways of actin polymerization during infection. Cortactin is an atypical nucleation factor that localizes to pedestals, …

Direct Reprogramming Of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Into Gabaergic Neurons, Nicholas J. Wasko

Honors Scholar Theses

Recent studies in which mouse and human fibroblasts were directly reprogrammed into functional neurons have demonstrated that lineage-specific transcription factors can override differentiation processes previously thought to be irreversible. Notably, three factors have been shown to be required for the induction of neural cell fate. Subsequent experiments have identified additional factors capable of generating specific neuronal subtypes, including motor neurons and dopaminergic neurons, but the factors necessary for inducing GABAergic neuronal fate have yet to be elucidated. Here, factors linked to GABAergic fate were transfected into mouse fibroblasts in order to identify candidate factors for inhibitory interneuron direct reprogramming. Results …

Chemical And Biological Triggers For The Improved Intercalation And Release Of Glucose Oxidase (Go) In The Galleries Of Α-Zirconium Phosphate Nanolayers For A Noninvasive Oral Alternative To Insulin Drug Therapies, Momina Kamal Afrede

Honors Scholar Theses

Noninvasive treatment alternatives for diseases from diabetes to hypercholerestemia are at the cutting edge of research. Although many noninvasive drug delivery routes, including oral nasal, buccal, dermal, and pulmonary have been investigated no one route has been fully approved for patient use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards as an alternative to current needle dependent subcutaneous insulin delivery. 10 12 This thesis focuses on two novel oral protein drug delivery systems α-Zr(IV) phosphate (α-ZrP)-protein-Divalent Metal Ion and α-Zr(IV) phosphate (α-ZrP)-protein- cationized Bovine Serum Albumin BSA. Glucose oxidase (GO) serves as a model protein in this thesis for noninvasive …

In Vitro Characterization Of Avian Influenza Virus Isolates With A Truncated Ns1 Gene Segment, Aaron Dick

Honors Scholar Theses

Avian Influenza Virus represents a significant threat to the world poultry population, and is a potential threat to humans due to the possibility of cross-species AIV infection. Our approach is to characterize a number of avian virus populations with respect to their content of biologically active particles that include hemagglutinating particles (HAP), plaque forming particles (PFP), interferon inducing particles (IFP), interferon induction-suppressing particles (ISP), defective-interfering particles (DIP), cell-killing particles (CKP) and non-infectious cell killing particles (niCKP) using unique in vitro assays developed for avian influenza virus in the Marcus-Sekellick Laboratory. Specifically, we will use a strain of Avian influenza virus, …

The Impacts Of The Zebra Mussel (Dreissena Polymorpha) On The Feeding Ecology Of Early Life Stage Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) And River Herring (Alosa Pseudoharengus And A. Aestivalis), Grace A. Casselberry

Honors Scholar Theses

Despite numerous studies of the ecological effects of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion in the Hudson River Estuary, the impacts on larval and juvenile fishes have been poorly characterized. In this study, changes in early life stage fish diets upon invasion of the zebra mussel were analyzed, focusing on the striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus and A. aestivalis). Changes in prey diversity, frequency of prevalent prey items, and a prey habitat index from 1988, before the mussels arrived, to 2008 were quantified. Sample years bracketed a period of increasing …

The Effect Of Landlocking On Intestinal Aquaporin 1 Expression In Alosa Pseudoharengus (Alewife), Emily Funk

Honors Scholar Theses

To determine the role of intestinal aquaporin 1 (AQP1), a passive water absorption channel, in the evolution of osmoregulatory physiology, I examined the differential expression of intestinal AQP1 between anadromous and landlocked ecotype of alewife in response to seawater challenges. I cloned and sequenced AQP1 from intestinal tissue of the alewife, following which I quantified the relative expression of AQP1 in each ecotype using Real-Time qPCR. In response to an acute seawater (30ppt) challenge, the anadromous alewives showed an upregulation of intestinal AQP1, while the landlocked alewives did not show a significant increased in AQP1 expression. After …

Evidence Issues In Indian Law Cases, Taylor S. Fielding

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

An Unreserved Attack On Reserved Water Rights: The Story Of The San Carlos Apache Tribe's Water Rights (Or Lack Thereof), Daniel Lee, Jacob J. Stender

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Slackwire Calliope, Lauren Dale Oetinger

Dissertations

This collection of essays and stories strives to consider questions of belonging and estrangement, family, and the many layers of the human experience. This collection is equally interested in questions of genre, and the potential for genre to stretch its own limits. Above all, this collection endeavors to question what makes a story, and what makes a story good.

Geometrical And Probabilistic Methods For Determining Association Models And Structures Of Protein Complexes, Himanshu Chandola

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Protein complexes play vital roles in cellular processes within living organisms. They are formed by interactions between either different proteins (hetero-oligomers) or identical proteins (homo-oligomers). In order to understand the functions of the complexes, it is important to know the manner in which they are assembled from the component subunits and their three dimensional structure. This thesis addresses both of these questions by developing geometrical and probabilistic methods for analyzing data from two complementary experiment types: Small Angle Scattering (SAS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Data from an SAS experiment is a set of scattering intensities that can give …

University Of Central Florida Graduate Catalog, 2013 - 2014, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2013 - 2014, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Does The Sat Predict Academic Achievement And Academic Choices At Macalester College?, Jing Wen

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

This paper examines the predictive power of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for Macalester students’ college success and academic choices. We use linear regression to study whether the SAT can predict students’ first year or four-year grades. Using Kullback-Leibler divergence and classification trees, we also examine the SAT’s predictive ability for other aspects of students’ academic experience, for example, major selection, or academic division of study. After controlling for major and course level, we find that the SAT does not explain a large proportion of the variability in Macalester students’ college success. However, the SAT does provide some useful information …

Kindergarten Readiness: The Impact Of Sensory Integration On Preschool Children's Readiness For The Transition To Kindergarten, Laura Alexandria Boyd, Shannon Logan Sobieraj

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The goal of this quantitative, descriptive pilot study was to identify the frequency of sensory processing disorders (SPD) in preschool students who are preparing for the transition into kindergarten. The research also explored the relationship between preschool teachers' perspectives of challenging classroom behavior and parents' reports of sensory processing in the home. Researchers distributed the Sensory Processing Measure for Preschoolers (SPM-P) assessment to parents and a behavioral questionnaire to teachers in three northern California preschools. Thirty-two SPM-P assessments were distributed to parents and 15 (47%) were accurately completed and returned. Of this sample, 2 (13%) student scores on the SPM-P …

Circles Of Connection: Finding Social Connectedness And Meaning Within Group Process, Julianna F. Bratsberg, Aundrea Marcella Roberts, Susan R. Untiedt

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Social participation is an area of occupation that can increase and enhance an individual’s participation in life. This is particularly true in senior housing communities where common issues of aging and adjustment can be addressed while reducing feelings of social isolation. The purpose of this demonstration project was to provide a venue where older adults living at The Redwoods, a senior housing community in Mill Valley, California, could share and develop meaningful strategies for living, and ultimately foster a sense of connectedness, which would affect quality of life. The project’s goals were to create and implement a series of process …

Bridging The Gap For First Generation Students (Bg4fgs): An Occupation-Based Peer Mentoring Program At Dominican University Of California, Victoria Danielle Rivera, Marion De Celis Sarte, Alison Jean Wiggam

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Attending college is a major milestone in the lives of students. The transition to college can be a challenging process for new students, particularly first-generation students, impacting their ability to meet the more rigorous academic demands and to integrate socially into the campus community (Prospero & Vohra-Gupta, 2007; Ramos-Sanchez & Nichols, 2007). To ease the transition to college, peer mentoring programs can assist new college students by offering guidance, one-on-one and group sessions, providing information about campus life and resources, and referring them to support services (Ferrari, 2004; Lennox & Leonard, 2007). The project developers collaborated with Dominican University of …

The Sound Of Music: The Influence Of Evoked Emotion On Recognition Memory For Musical Excerpts Across The Lifespan, Sherrie L. Parks

Theses

TITLE: THE SOUND OF MUSIC: THE INFLUENCE OF EVOKED EMOTION ON RECOGNITION MEMORY FOR MUSICAL EXCERPTS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen, 1999) posits that as people age, they selectively focus on positive aspects of emotional stimuli as opposed to negative as a way of regulating emotions. Thus, older adults remember positive information better than negative. This hypothesis has been tested extensively with visual stimuli, but rarely with auditory stimuli. Findings from this study provide support in the auditory domain. In this study, 135 younger, middle-aged, and older adults heard consonant (pleasant) and dissonant (unpleasant) musical excerpts. Participants were …

The Patriot Act: Liberty Afire, Mark Fox

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The USA PATRIOT Act was written and passed into law in the United States within weeks of the devastating 9/11 terrorist attack. Its purpose was to strengthen and realign U.S. policy to allow greater judicial power to better protect the U.S. from further acts of terrorism. However, as the legal tenets of the Act became more transparent, public concern mounted over the wide latitude given to the governmental agencies that seemed to threaten academic and intellectual freedom and overall civil liberties. The problems inherent in the USA PATRIOT Act are described, and potential amendments and improvements have been suggested.

Antibody Quality And Protection From Lethal Ebola Virus Challenge In Nonhuman Primates Immunized With Rabies Virus Based Bivalent Vaccine., Joseph E Blaney, Andrea Marzi, Mallory Willet, Amy B Papaneri, Christoph Wirblich, Friederike Feldmann, Michael Holbrook, Peter Jahrling, Heinz Feldmann, Matthias J Schnell

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

We have previously described the generation of a novel Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine platform based on (a) replication-competent rabies virus (RABV), (b) replication-deficient RABV, or (c) chemically inactivated RABV expressing EBOV glycoprotein (GP). Mouse studies demonstrated safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of these live or inactivated RABV/EBOV vaccines. Here, we evaluated these vaccines in nonhuman primates. Our results indicate that all three vaccines do induce potent immune responses against both RABV and EBOV, while the protection of immunized animals against EBOV was largely dependent on the quality of humoral immune response against EBOV GP. We also determined if the induced …

A Public Health Response Against Strongyloides Stercoralis: Time To Look At Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis In Full., Alejandro J Krolewiecki, Patrick Lammie, Julie Jacobson, Albis-Francesco Gabrielli, Bruno Levecke, Eugenia Socias, Luis M Arias, Nicanor Sosa, David Abraham, Ruben Cimino, Adriana Echazú, Favio Crudo, Jozef Vercruysse, Marco Albonico

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Strongyloides stercoralis infections have a worldwide distribution with a global burden in terms of prevalence and morbidity that is largely ignored. A public health response against soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections should broaden the strategy to include S. stercoralis and overcome the epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic challenges that this parasite poses in comparison to Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworms. The relatively poor sensitivity of single stool evaluations, which is further lowered when quantitative techniques aimed at detecting eggs are used, also complicates morbidity evaluations and adequate drug efficacy measurements, since S. stercoralis is eliminated in stools in a larval stage. …

The Limits Of Being Transgendered, Kristin Zimmerman, Linda Shuhaiber

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Society’s construction of what is acceptable and what is the norm excludes those struggling with the issue of gender identity. Stigmatization of the trans-community has led to a number of issues that have ostracized this group of individuals and created a divide within society. Judgments, misconduct, and assumptions about transgendered and transsexual individuals come as a result of a lack of awareness and knowledge regarding this misrepresented group of people. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that there is no quick fix to the issue at hand. Educating society, changes in policy and the practicing of social acceptance is …

Comparing Wearer Dna Sample Collection Methods For The Recovery Of Single Source Profiles, Corissa J. Harris, Amanda J. Cardenas, Steven B. Lee, Brooke Barloewen

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Wearer DNA is the deposit of epithelial cells on clothing worn by an individual. Detection of the last individual to handle or wear an item is often an important and desirable determination in forensic science. The most commonly used collection methods for wearer DNA include swabbing and scraping. These often result in mixture profiles. Recently, adhesives have been introduced as a possible reliable method for the collection of biological evidence. The goal of the research was to compare the current collection methods of swabbing and scraping with a gel film called Gel-Pak ‘0’ which shares similar properties with adhesives. Gel-Pak …

I. Norbornene As Organocatalyst: Unusual: Amination Ii. Stereoselective Synthesis Of 3, 4 Di-Substituted Β-Lactams; Classical Vs Microwave Method, Ravi Reddaboyna

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

I. Amine functionality is important in the preparation of biologically active and industrially useful molecules. Many approaches to form C―N bonds provide access to fine chemical building blocks, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and surfactants. Microwave irradiation is a highly recommended ecofriendly approach for the synthesis of medicinally important compounds. Organic catalysis is important segment in the field of organic chemistry, for the synthesis of many complex molecules by providing a number of advantages.

II. Cancer refers to a large group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell multiplication and the ability of these cells to enter other tissues and spread to other parts …

Nascent Nanocomputers: Dna Self-Assembly In O(1) Stages, Michael C. Barnes

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

DNA self-assembly offers a potential for nanoscale microcircuits and computers. To make that potential possible requires the development of reliable and efficient tile assembly models. Efficiency is often achieved by minimizing tile complexity, as well as by evaluating the cost and reliability of the specific elements of each tile assembly model. We consider a 2D tile assembly model at temperature 1. The standard 2D tile assembly model at temperature 1 has a tile complexity of O(n) for the construction of exact, complete n x n squares. However, previous research found a staged tile assembly model achieved a tile complexity of …