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Human Behavioral And Ecological Risk Factors For Lyme Disease Infection On Block Island, Rhode Island, Casey James Finch

Public Health Theses

Peridomestic exposure to infected Ixodes scapularis nymphs is considered the dominant means of infection with tick-borne pathogens in the eastern United States. Previous studies of risk of developing tick-borne infection established a positive association between the density of infected nymphs and Lyme disease cases at the population level. Studies examining the effectiveness of personal protective behaviors have not included measures of tick exposure. This study simultaneously assesses the effect of tick exposure and human behavior in Lyme disease infection risk using a longitudinal serosurvey study on Block Island, RI. Tick exposure risk at all Island properties was estimated by identifying …

Health Survey Of Households Near Shale Gas Extraction Sites, Ilya B. Slizovskiy

Public Health Theses

Abstract-- The Marcellus formation supports an advanced rate of extraction of shale-based natural gas, particularly as a result of the rapid development of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies. The confluence of these trends has spurred public concern about potential health impacts on residents that live in proximity to the putative environmental exposures related to the extraction activities, in largely rural communities of the Marcellus region.

A cross-sectional survey of 492 persons and 580 companion / backyard animals from 180 randomly selected households in an area of active unconventional natural gas drilling was conducted. Cluster analyses were performed to identify …

The Significance Of Genetics Across Disciplines: Genetic Counseling & Testing, Rachel Bertsch

Honors Projects

Genetics is a rapidly expanding field that encompasses a variety of disciplines, especially within the health care field. Since the advent of the Human Genome Project, the abilities of genetic research has greatly increased, allowing us to create genetic tests that can search many genes and find mutations indicating disease or risk for future diseases or disorders. The widespread use of genetic testing has necessitated more genetic counseling to assist in explaining and returning test results to patients and their families. Additionally, genetic testing brings up outside considerations that are important to think about. Direct to consumer genetic testing, the …

Heifers With Low Antral Follicle Counts Have Low Birth Weights And Produce Progeny With Low Birth Weights, Adam F. Summers, Robert A. Cushman, Karl Moline Moline, Jeff Bergman, Andrea S. Cupp

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

To determine the relationship of antral follicle count and heifer BW, reproductive tract characteristics, and first-calf performance, Red Angus-composite heifers were used over three years. High antral follicle count heifers had greater BW from birth through pre-breeding. Progeny birth BW was greater for calves born to high antral follicle count heifers compared to low antral follicle count heifers. Taken together these data indicate a relationship between antral follicle counts and BW through the first breeding season and corresponding progeny, and continues to support a possible link between genes that influence growth and development and establishment of ovarian reserve.

Economic Analysis Update: Supplementing Distillers Grains To Grazing Yearling Steers, Stephanie K. Moore, Andrea K. Watson, Terry Klopfenstein Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson, Walter H. Schacht

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A seven-year study from 2005-2011 was conducted to evaluate four grazing management strategies for backgrounding yearling steers on smooth bromegrass pastures. Economic budgets were used to calculate profit differences with current (April 2012) market prices. Overall, cattle receiving supplement had greater net returns, lower cost of gain, and lower breakeven prices. In recent years fertilizer prices have increased at a greater rate than land costs in Nebraska, making it more economical to use a lower stocking rate instead of fertilizing pastures. As land prices increase, the incentive to use either N fertilizer or DDGS supplementation increases.

Effect Of Stocking Rate On Cow Performance And Grain Yields When Grazing Corn Residue, Adam L. Mcgee, Jana L. Harding, Simon Van Donk Donk, Terry Klopfenstein, Leslie Aaron Stalker

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Cattle grazing corn residue at a low stocking rate maintained body condition score (BCS) and gained more weight than cattle stocked at a heavy level. Corn plant part digestibilities ranged from 69% to 31% and amount of leaf, leaf sheath, and husk was about 15 pounds per bushel of grain. Subsequent grain yields show no difference between grazed, baled, or ungrazed treatments. Grazing corn residue provides a good way to maintain BCS on cows through the winter without effecting grain yield.

Effects Of Corn Hybrid, Plant Density, And Harvest Time On Yield And Quality Of Corn Plants, Dirk B. Burken, Jana L. Harding, Adam L. Mcgee Gee, Thomas C. Hoegemeyer, Terry Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Corn plants were collected to determine the effects of hybrid and season length, plant density, and harvest timing on grain and whole corn plant DM yield and nutritive value. Although whole corn plant DM yield decreased with delayed harvest timing, whole corn plant TDN increased linearly due to increasinggrain concentration. Increasing plant density improved yields of grain and whole corn plant DM. This experiment suggests that hybrid and season length selection, planting density, and harvest timing affect whole corn plant DM yield and quality characteristics.

Using Ramp® For Receiving Cattle Compared To Traditional Receiving Diets, Cody J. Schneider, Brandon L. Nuttelman, William A. Griffin Griffin, Dirk Burken, David R. Smith, Terry Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Performance of newly arrived 570 lb. steer calves fed RAMP or a control ration was evaluated in two trials completed in 2010 and 2011. Treatment diets were fed for an average of 31 days in year1 and 24 days in year 2. Diets included a control receiving diet consisting of alfalfa hay, Sweet Bran^®, dry rolled corn, and supplement or RAMP which is a complete starter ration containing a high level of Sweet Bran and a minimal amount of forage. Across both years, RAMP improved F:G but was due to increased ADG in year 1 and decreased DMI …

The Effect Of Commensal Microbial Communities On The Fecal Shedding Of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. Coli (Stec) In Beef Cattle, Nirosh D. Aluthge, Yoshitha A. Wanniarachchi, Brandon L. Nuttelman Nuttelman, Cody J. Schneider, Terry Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson, Jayne E. Stratton, Samodha C. Fernando

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

This ongoing study compares the gut microbial community composition between shedding steers high in shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) counts and low-shedding steers. Shedders were identified among 170 beef animals over three time periods using selective microbiological culture media. The isolated bacterial cultures were confirmed to be STEC using PCR, 16s rRNA sequencing and a shiga toxin immunoassay. The most abundant strains found in the cattle feces were those belonging to the serogroups O111 (40.3%) and O157:H7 (37.3%), with O103 (8.3%), O26 (6.0%), O83 (4.5%), and O55 (3.0%) being detected in much lower numbers . Out of the 52 animals …

Hormonal Residues In Feedlot Pens And Runoff, Terry L. Mader, Leslie J. Johnson, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, William L. Kranz, Charles A. Shapiro, Simon Van Donk, David P. Shelton, David Tarkalson, Tian Zhang

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Two identically designed trials were conducted in separate years at the University of Nebraska Haskell Agricultural Laboratory, Concord, Neb., using 192 crossbred heifers (96/trial). Within a trial, heifers were assigned randomly to 2 groups (3 pens/group): 1) treatment (TRT) animals were administered synthetic hormones via subcutaneous implants (Ralgro and Revalor-H) and fed Melengesterol Acetate (MGA), or 2) control (CON) animals with no synthetic hormone provided.

Gains and feed conversions were 18.8 and 7.5% better, respectively, for TRT, while CON had 16.7% greater choice and prime carcasses. In runoff samples, progesterone was greater for CON. With the exception of androsterone, average …

Statistics Used In The Nebraska Beef Report And Their Purpose

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

The purpose of beef cattle and beef product research at University of Nebraska–Lincoln is to provide reference information that represents the various populations (cows, calves, heifers, feeders, carcasses, retail products, etc.) of beef production. Obviously, the researcher cannot apply treatments to every member of a population; therefore, he/she must sample the population. The use of statistics allows the researcher and readers of the Nebraska Beef Report the opportunity to evaluate separation of random (chance) occurrences and real biological effects of a treatment. Following is a brief description of the majorstatistics used in the beef report. For a more detailed description …

Genetics Of Non-Syndromic Autosomal Recessive Mental Retardation, Bushra Afroze, Bushra Chaudhry

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Non-syndromic mental retardation is one of the most serious neurodevelopmental disorders, which has a serious impact not only on the affected individuals and their families but also on the health care system and society. Previously research has been more focused on the X-linked mental retardation and only recently studies have shown that non-syndromic autosomal recessive mental retardation is extremely heterogeneous and contributes much more than the X-linked mental retardation. But very little is known about the genes and loci involved in nonsyndromic autosomal recessive mental retardation than the X-linked mental retardation. To date only thirty loci and ten genes have …

Aqueous Extract Of Nigella Sativa Seeds Suppresses Testicular Steroidogenesis In Mice Leydig Cells In Vitro., 5sheikh A. Saeed, Naheed Anwar, Qaiser Jabeen, Anwar Hassan Gilani

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

10ABSTRACT 11Nigella sativa (black seed) is an important medicinal herb with folkloric use in wide range of diseases. It is 12well studied for its biological activities. However, there is limited information regarding its effect on the 13male reproductive system. This study describes the effect of the aqueous extract of N. sativa (NSE) on 14 testicular steroidogenesis from mice Leydig cells in vitro. Mice testicular cells were incubated in a media 15 containing either no treatment or NSE or LH alone or combination of LH and NSE. Incubations were 16 carried out for three hours in a shaking water bath at …

Transport And Metabolism Of Glycerophosphodiesters By Candida Albicans, Andrew C Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glycerophosphodiesters are products of phospholipase B-mediated hydrolysis of phospholipids. Their transport and metabolism is elaborated in the fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, as compared to the non-pathogenic Saccharomyces cerevisiae. C. albicans contains four ORFs (CaGIT1-4) predicted to encode transporters for glycerophosphodiesters, compared to one (ScGIT1) in S. cerevisiae. Here I have identified the gene products responsible for glycerophosphoinositol (GroPIns) and glycerophosphocholine (GroPCho) transport. C. albicans strain lacking ORF 19.34, which codes for CaGit1, is unable to transport intact GroPIns. Transport activity can be rescued by reintegration of one copy of CaGIT1 back into the genome. Similarly, a strain lacking CaGIT3 (ORF …

Synthesis Of Substituted Pyrrolo[2,3-D]Pyrimidines As Microtubule-Binding Agents And Hsp90 Inhibitors, Lu Lin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An introduction, background and recent advances in the areas of microtubule-binding agents and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitors as anticancer agents are briefly reviewed. The work in this dissertation is centered on the synthesis of substituted pyrrolo[2, 3-d]pyrimidines as potential anticancer agents that act via microtubule inhibition or HSP90 inhibition..

Microtubule-binding agents are effective against a broad range of tumors and lymphomas and have been common components of combination cancer-chemotherapy in the clinic. Despite the unparalleled success, drawbacks among microtubule-binding agents such as multi-drug resistance, dose-limiting toxicity, poor pharmacokinetic profile and high cost have supported the sustaining momentum in …

Medication Cost And Utilization In Hospice Care: An Analysis Of 2007 Claims Data, Rachi Parekh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives:

1. Describe patient-related and hospice-related characteristics such as gender, average length of hospice stay, primary diagnoses, average daily census, number of admissions per year, net operating revenues, inpatient unit (IPU) operating costs, and medication expenditures of hospices in Ohio and compare it with NHPCO data.

2. Identify and analyze therapeutic drug classes and medications with the most frequent utilization rates and largest percentage of expenditures in hospice care.

Method:

Hospice Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) employ pharmacists to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care services for patients under hospice care and one component of pharmacist provided services include comprehensive medication review. To …

Biomarkers For Brain Disorders Electrochemically Detected By Broderick Probe Microelectrodes/Biosensors, Waqas Saleem, Patricia A. Broderick

Publications and Research

Here, we present results from two independent studies carried out using Neuromolecular Imaging (NMI) with miniature BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors. In the first study, we imaged neurotransmitters and neurochemicals in human epilepsy patients intraoperatively during early and late neurodegeneration. In the second study, we imaged neurotransmitters and neurochemicals in an experimental murine model using animals with and without neurodegeneration caused by Parkinson’s disease (PD). We compared our results derived from animals with lesioned group (PD) with non-lesioned group (non-PD), using the same in vivo NMI paradigm. NMI biotechnology enabled neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and neurochemical imaging of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), homovanillic acid …

"Individual Yet As One": Performing Deafness And Performing Community In Mark Medoff's Children Of A Lesser God, Mariah Crilley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the relationship between deafness, women, and performance in Mark Medoff's Children of a Lesser God. The play was a massive popular success, both in its run on Broadway and its movie adaptation. Deafness and deaf people had never been so visible in American hearing culture. More importantly, the play coincided with civil rights movements by people with disabilities, which culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disabilities, including deafness, were called into being as part of a national identity. These movements posited self-determination but ultimately relied and thrived on a communal and …

Molecular Evolution Of Hominoid Seminal Plasma Genes, Sarah Jean Carnahan Craig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When asking the question of what underlying genetic changes drive species to be different, it is debated whether protein coding or non-coding mutations are more important. The hominoids (humans, great apes, and gibbons) are a group of closely related species, yet vary widely in their mating system behaviors and predicted levels of sperm competition. In species where females mate with multiple males, sperm competition is hypothesized to increase the rate of adaptive evolution of proteins expressed in male reproductive tissues through recurrent selective sweeps (positive selection). Previous studies have shown this to be true for individual male reproductive genes. In …

Lessons For International Law From The Arab Spring, Rosa Brooks

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

In-Service Teachers’ Understanding And Teaching Of Humane Education Before And After A Standards-Based Intervention, Stephanie Itle-Clark

Education Collection

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which credentialed educators conceptualized, understood, and perceived humane education, as well as their intent to include humane education in personal practice and their knowledge of strategies for integrating humane education concepts into their classroom work. The group of 25 educators participated in an online eight-week professional development course and completed pre- and post-surveys. The participants consisted of educators from the United States, British Columbia, and Vietnam. Participants were 11 secondary educators, 10 primary educators, 2 substitute teachers, 1 administrator, and 1 librarian. Results indicate that after an eight-week professional …

Oil Pollution In Water Bodies Of Restricted Circulation, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Coastal lagoons and embayments near urban centers around the world share many common characteristics and problems. Physical impediments to free water circulation (spits, barrier islands, internal islands, tombolos, submerged sills) often lead to water stagnation and, in the presence of excess nutrients, eutrophication. Urban and industrial activities provoke (usually accidental) spills of hazardous materials into these confined water bodies, such as crude petroleum and refined petroleum products, leading to difficulties for resident biota and potential hazards for human health. The sluggish turnover of these water bodies (or low-energy zones within them) may retard the natural attenuation of the spilled contaminants. …

The Role Of Big Data In The Social Sciences, Steven Ovadia

Publications and Research

This article explores the role of big data in the social sciences and reviews some online sources of large data sets.

Isabel Archer's "Delicious Pain": Charting Lacanian Desire In The Portrait Of A Lady, Phyllis E. Vanslyck

Publications and Research

This essay offers a reading of Henry James's Portrait of a Lady that examines Isabel Archer's choices through a Lacanian lens. This reading traces Isabel's consistent turning away from, even against, the very postulates she claims to live by. Isabel’s discovery of love through the ideal image of herself she finds mirrored in Gilbert Osmond’s gaze leads to a reversal of her most noble impulses. Her choice of a suitor also points to something that would seem the opposite of desire, but which is, in fact, its foundation. In choosing Gilbert Osmond, Isabel seeks to experience, however unconsciously, what Jacques …

Peaceful Warrior-Demons In Japan: From Empress Kōmyō’S Red Repentant Asura To Miyazawa Kenji’S Melancholic Blue Asura, Jon P. Holt

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Strife, and the violence begotten from it, has long been a concern of Buddhism. Anger, ignorance, and greed, namely the three great evils, must be understood and overcome in order to advance towards enlightenment. Buddhism, as a syncretic religion, incorporated other religious figures from the Asian continent into it as a part of the process of appealing to new converts. The Asura embodies all three of these vices and yet in the process of being adopted into Buddhism, he was able to change from a violent demon into a peaceful guardian of the Buddha.

The Asura devas battled Indra in …

Ipeelee/Ladue And The Conundrum Of Indigenous Identity In Sentencing, Jeanette Gevikoglu

The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference

R. v. Ipeelee and R. v. Ladue demonstrate the dilemma courts face in their efforts to remedy the historic injustice and systemic discrimination indigenous people suffered in the criminal justice system through accommodating indigenous difference. This paper analyzes how the Supreme Court construes indigenous identity in the application of section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code when sentencing Ipeelee and Ladue. The Court’s treatment of the character of indigenous offenders, indigenous communities and indigenous legal perspectives is examined. The paper calls into question the Court’s rationale and concludes that Ipeelee/Ladue exemplifies how the criminal justice system uniquely particularizes indigenous identity and …

The Strange Double Life Of Canadian Equality Rights, Bruce Ryder

The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference

The paper examines the ways the tests for discrimination expounded in the statutory and constitutional contexts have coincided in Canadian law since Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia. Based on statistical evidence that there are many more final rulings by human rights tribunals on statutory equality rights than rulings of Canadian courts on constitutional equality rights, the decisions of human rights tribunals interpreting statutory prohibitions on discrimination are exerting the primary influence on the development of anti-discrimination law as a whole. Since Law v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) and British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. …

Computational Methods For Comparative Non-Coding Rna Analysis: From Structural Motif Identification To Genome-Wide Functional Classification, Cuncong Zhong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in biological research point out that many ribonucleic acids (RNAs) are transcribed from the genome to perform a variety of cellular functions, rather than merely acting as information carriers for protein synthesis. These RNAs are usually referred to as the non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The versatile regulation mechanisms and functionalities of the ncRNAs contribute to the amazing complexity of the biological system. The ncRNAs perform their biological functions by folding into specific structures. In this case, the comparative study of the ncRNA structures is key to the inference of their molecular and cellular functions. We are especially interested in …

Modeling Learner Mood In Realtime Through Biosensors For Intelligent Tutoring Improvements, Keith Brawner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer-based instructors, just like their human counterparts, should monitor the emotional and cognitive states of their students in order to adapt instructional technique. Doing so requires a model of student state to be available at run time, but this has historically been difficult. Because people are different, generalized models have not been able to be validated. As a person’s cognitive and affective state vary over time of day and seasonally, individualized models have had differing difficulties. The simultaneous creation and execution of an individualized model, in real time, represents the last option for modeling such cognitive and affective states. This …

Planning And Control Of Swarm Motion As Continua, Hossein Rastgoftar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, new algorithms for formation control of multi agent systems (MAS) based on continuum mechanics principles will be investigated. For this purpose agents of the MAS are treated as particles in a continuum, evolving in an n-D space, whose desired configuration is required to satisfy an admissible deformation function. Considered is a specific class of mappings that is called homogenous where the Jacobian of the mapping is only a function of time and is not spatially varying. The primary objectives of this thesis are to develop the necessary theory and its validation via simulation on a mobile-agent based …