Digital Commons Network^™

The Wright Message, 2013-2014, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Mathematics.

The Wright Message

Inside this issue:

-- Dear Department Alumni and Friends
-- Around Wright Hall
-- New Faculty: C. Adam Feldhaus
-- 2013 - 2014 Tenure-Stream Faculty
-- Faculty Spotlight: Syed Kirmani
-- UNI on the March
-- The Litwiller Bequest: A Gift that Keeps on Giving
-- Retiring Faculty Member: Glenn Nelson
-- The Center for Teaching and Learning Mathematics
-- David & Lois Kail: Donor Spotlight
-- Addresses by Mathematics Faculty
-- Department of Mathematics Goes Digital
-- Alumni Spotlight: Slade Hovick & Sarah Miesner
-- Student Spotlight: Jesse Moeller, Katherine Pearce, & Adam Feller
-- The 2013 Math Shindig …

Biology News, Winter 2013, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Biology.

Biology News

Contents:

-- Greetings from the Department of Biology
-- Focus on UNI Biology Alumni
-- Focus on UNI Biology Students
-- Microscopes purchased with Carver Trust Grant
-- Two-headed planarian!
-- UNI Day in the Capitol on February 11, 2013
-- Letter of appreciation......
-- Dr. Kimberly Cline-Brown Receives Excellence in Teaching Award
-- Joan Smothers attends national advising meeting
-- Public speaking engagements for Biology faculty
-- Pre-Vet Club project gives aid to shelter animals
-- Faculty on Professional Development Assignment
-- Tri-Beta
-- Reconnect with the Department of Biology
-- Retiring Faculty
-- New Faculty
-- Floyds receive …

The Effects Of Implementing The Cooperative Learning Structure, Numbered Heads Together, In Chemistry Classes At A Rural, Low Performing High School, Daniel Paul Baker

LSU Master's Theses

Due to the positive academic results in numerous studies on cooperative learning and the need and desire to improve academic results in East Feliciana High School Chemistry classes, the implementation of a cooperative learning structure called “numbered heads together” was studied during the spring 2013 semester at this rural, low performing high school. Numbered heads together was utilized during three units of a Chemistry class with 24 students and three units of an AP Chemistry with 11 students after completion of two units taught without the use of any type of cooperative learning structure. Using pre- and post-tests, learning gain …

Substrate Recognition And Translocation Catalyzed By Aaa+ Chaperones, Tao Li

All ETDs from UAB

Both E. coli ClpA and E. coli ClpB belong to the Clp/Hsp100 chaperone family. They share many common features, such as the same conserved motifs (Walker A, Walker B, Arginine finger, Pore loop, etc.), hexameric ring-shaped structure, and double nucleotide binding domains. ClpA and ClpB are closely related to each other. However, they participate in different protein quality control pathways. ClpA regulates cellular functions by either associating with ClpP to form the ClpAP complex (an ATP-dependant protease) to degrade unwanted polypeptides or remodeling inactive proteins to their biological active forms. ClpA can recognize specific sequences located on either N- or …

Effect Of Bitterness Blockers And Salt Substitutes On The Quality Of Low Sodium White Cheddar Cheese, Kennet Mariano Carabante

LSU Master's Theses

Reducing added salt in processed foods is one of the major challenges facing food industry worldwide. Salt (NaCl) replacement in a Cheddar cheese has been successfully achieved up to 25%, which qualifies it as “reduced sodium”. However, a low sodium cheddar cheese (less than 140 mg Na/ 50 g cheese) requires at least 50% of salt reduction. Bitterness is one obstacle for development of an acceptable low sodium cheddar cheese. In this study, sensory optimization of low sodium white cheddar cheese was performed. A 3-component mixture design was used: NaCl (30-60%), KCl (45-65%) and glycine (5-10%). A fixed level of …

The Influence Of Commerce Silt Loam Soil Texture On Reproduction And Pathogenicity Of Rotylenchulus Reniformis On Cotton, Déborah Magalhães Xavier

LSU Master's Theses

Greenhouse and microplot studies were conducted to evaluate the influence of soil texture on reproduction and pathogenicity of Rotylenchulus reniformis (reniform nematode) on cotton. A 45 day duration greenhouse experiment confirmed the pathogenicity of an isolate of R. reniformis from Avoyelles Parish on Stoneville LA887 cotton. A series of greenhouse experiments were conducted with three geographic isolates of R. reniformis (identified as Avoyelles, Evangeline, and Rapides to indicate the Parish of origin) on Stoneville LA887, Stoneville 5288B2F, and Phytogen 375WF cotton growing in soils with varying textures for 60 days. Soil types with sand, silt, and clay contents ranging from …

Impacts And Recovery Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill On Vegetation Structure And Function Of Phragmites Australis, Chad Robert Judy

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill on the common reed Phragmites australis, and the processes controlling species effects and recovery, via a greenhouse mesocosm study. In the greenhouse DWH source oil, weathered approximately 40% by weight and emulsified, was applied to the aboveground shoots of P. australis growing in marsh sods to produce the following treatment-levels: (1) oil coverage of the lower 30% of shoot-height, (2) the lower 70% of shoot-height, (3) repeated oil coverage of the lower 70% of shoot-height, (4) 100% oil coverage of shoots, (5) …

The Effect Of Teaching Biology Concepts With Animations Compared To Static Cartoons On Content Retention, Rebecca Adams Polk

LSU Master's Theses

This study explores the effect of animations versus static cartoons on students’ content retention in a high school biology classroom. Students were pre-tested prior to the introduction of content in three units of study: cellular transport, protein synthesis, and mitosis. After instruction on the topic via PowerPoint presentations, students were randomly assigned to either the test group or experimental group for each unit. The control group was removed from the room and given a series of static cartoons with captions to view. The experimental group viewed an animation on the topic, accompanied by teacher narration, which consisted of the captions …

Family-Related Risk Factors And Their Associations With Behavior Problems Of Children In Foster Care, Jena Leigh Ourso

LSU Master's Theses

Children in foster care are at risk for problems associated with breakdowns in their ecological system. Possible explanations for this may be that children’s daily interactions in early childhood are primarily with their parents. The relationship between child and parent (the dyad) is a crucial part of the way children grow and develop. Past research focuses on the child’s behavior problems as separate and isolated instead of focusing on the behavior problems as a symptom of the dysfunction in the dyad. This study explored the role of two specific risk factors for children in foster care and how these may …

The Feasibility Of Using Vanadium And Nickel To Track Oil Spills In Coastal Environments, Sean Patrick Kenny

LSU Master's Theses

Crude oil has been increasing in world demand over the past century. It is known that oil is resistant to weathering processes and if spilled, can cause serious environmental damage to an area, on land or sea. A complementary approach to current methods of tracking oil and identifying spill-impacted sediments may be to measure trace metals associated with crude oil. Trace metals, such a vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) are known to be elevated in concentration in some oil sources, but little work has been done on this topic. This research explored less expensive and time-consuming methods to track or …

Proteomics-Based Study Of Host-Fungus Interaction Between Soybean And Phakopsora Pachyrhizi Using Recombinant Inbred Line (Ril) Derived Sister Lines, Mala Ganiger

LSU Master's Theses

Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the causal agent of Asian soybean rust (ASR), has the potential to cause severe yield losses as all United States commercial soybean varieties are susceptible. In this study, 10 soybean recombinant inbred line (RIL) derived sibling lines of two populations (RN06-32-2 and RN06-16-1) were evaluated for differences in response to infection by P. pachyrhizi. These lines, which had previously shown differential responses to Florida soybean rust isolates, were evaluated using Louisiana soybean rust isolates under both detached leaf assay and greenhouse in planta inoculation conditions. Sibling lines showed significant differences in response to P. pachyrhizi infection under both …

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Identificaiton Of Shrimp, Venkatesulu Salla

LSU Master's Theses

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) time of flight mass spectrometry was used to identify shrimp at the species level using commercial mass spectral fingerprint matching software (Bruker Biotyper). In the first step, a mass spectrum reference database was constructed from the analysis of six shrimp species that are commercially important in the United States: L. setiferus, F. azticus, S. brevirostris, P. robustus, P. dispar and P. platyceros. In the second step, the reference database was tested using 74 unknown shrimp samples from these six species. Correct identification was achieved for 72 of the 74 samples (97 percent): 72 samples were …

Effects Of Physicochemical Properties And Macrohabitat On The Foraging Ecology And Condition Of The Centrarchid Assemblage Of The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Brett A. Miller

LSU Master's Theses

The Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB), Louisiana supports a diverse centrarchid assemblage, characterized by abundant populations of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus, warmouth Lepomis gulosus, bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, redspotted sunfish Lepomis miniatus, longear sunfish Lepomis megalotis and redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus. This dynamic floodplain ecosystem is comprised of a mosaic of macrohabitats, including natural bayous, shallow lakes, dead-end and open pipeline canals. I conducted an extensive feeding ecology study to determine the influence of these macrohabitats on foraging activity through stomach content and stable isotope analyses. I collected 2,036 centrarchids with electrofishing efforts in the summers of 2011 …

The Effect Of Frequent Quizzing On Student Learning In A High School Physical Science Classroom, Courtney Bailey Norton

LSU Master's Theses

This research explores the effects of frequent quizzing versus no quizzing in a high school Physical Science class. The study population included two freshman level Physical Science Honors classes. The content in this study included Classifying Matter, States of Matter, Atomic Bonding, Motion and Forces and Motion. For each chapter covered one class served as a control group, getting no quizzes, and the other class served as an experimental group, getting frequent quizzes. Prior to being taught information on the 5 chapters covered in this study, a 15-question pre-test was administered to the students. The information was delivered in the …

Soil Organic Carbon Determination For Louisiana Soils Via Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Sara Kathryn Nuss

LSU Master's Theses

As scientists work to investigate the mechanisms underlying the depletion of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems, there has been an urgent call for the development of test methods that offer reduced analysis times for soil organic carbon (SOC) determinations. Traditional laboratory techniques can be time-consuming and costly, making high-volume sample analyses problematic. Portable x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (PXRF) provides quantitative, multi-elemental data for soil samples in as little as 60 seconds; and, unlike other spectroscopic methods, differences in elemental concentrations between field-moist and oven-dry samples are considered to be negligible when soil moisture contents are less than 20%, by weight. This study …

A Survey Of Chemical Elicitors And Their Effectiveness As Promoters Of Plant Defense Against Herbivory By Spodoptera Frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), John Gordy

LSU Master's Theses

Insect herbivores can induce a range of plant defenses. Signal pathways can be activated that result in the production of secondary metabolites. Many of these compounds can reduce insect fitness, deter feeding, and attract beneficial insects. Additionally, organic and inorganic chemicals applied as a foliar spray or soil drench can activate these plant responses. Azelaic acid, benzothiadiazole (BTH), gibberellic acid (GA3), harpin, and jasmonic acid (JA) are thought to mediate plant response to pathogens and herbivores. The effects of these elicitors on the induction of plant defenses were determined by measuring the weight gain of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda …

Erosional Resistance Of Cohesive Sediments In Coastal Saltmarshes, Hem Raj Pant

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s saltmarshes, one of the most productive wetlands in the nation, are undergoing severe erosion due to hydrodynamic forces (storm surge) and sea level rise. The erosional behavior of coastal saltmarshes, which possess cohesive sediments as their integral components, are very difficult to analyze and understand. The erosional resistance of cohesive sediments determines the stability and sustainability of coastal wetlands. This erosional resistance is expressed as an erosion threshold or critical shear stress, which depends on various soil properties (e.g. water content, root content, organic matter content, and pore water salinity) affecting saltmarsh erodibility integratively. A cohesive strength meter was …

Reaction Of Green Leaf Volatiles As A Source Of Secondary Organic Aerosols In Fog Droplets, Amie Kathryn Hansel

LSU Master's Theses

Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a group of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) released into the atmosphere by vegetation when plants undergo stress or mechanical damage. BVOCs produce secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the gas phase; however, their oxidation as a source of SOA in the liquid phase has not been investigated. Once released into the atmosphere, water-soluble GLVs partition into atmospheric water phases such as fog, mist, dew or rain, where they are oxidized by hydroxyl radicals (ÿOH). Photochemical oxidation yields products that are higher in molecular weight, more polar, more oxygenated, and lower in vapor pressure. When the …

Approximate Sequence Alignment, Xuanting Cai

LSU Master's Theses

Given a collection of strings and a query string, the goal of the approximate string matching is to efficiently find the strings in the collection, which are similar to the query string. In this paper, we focus on edit distance as a measure to quantify the similarity between two strings. Existing q-gram based methods use inverted lists to index the q-grams of the given string collection. These methods begin with generating the q-grams of the query string, disjoint or overlapping, and then merge the inverted lists of these q-grams. Several filtering techniques have been proposed to segment inverted lists in …

Effects Of Meal Timing On Growth Hormones, Ghrelin, And Insulin Sensitivity In Male Holstein Calves, Erica Lynn Chartier

LSU Master's Theses

Eighteen neonatal Holstein bull calves (38.85 ± 4.71 kg) were assigned to one of two treatments at birth to determine the effect of feeding time on growth, nutrient intake, metabolic hormone secretion, and energy metabolism. Regularly fed calves (n = 9) were fed MR daily at 0630 h, and irregularly fed calves (n = 9) at 1030, 0800, 0630, 0830, 0530, 0930, and 0730 Monday through Sunday. Body weights were measured weekly from birth to 9 weeks. Water intake, fecal scores, and starter intake were measured daily. Serial blood collections were conducted at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks for …

Determination Of Cane Berry Pomaces Benefits Through In Vitro Model For Human Colonic Fermentation, M'Famara Goita

LSU Master's Theses

Cane berry pomaces have traditionally been considered waste products with little or no value. Yet these pomaces’ high levels of phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins, is a good source of dietary fiber. Because the pomaces are low in sugar and rich in fiber and dietary antioxidants, they have potential as food ingredients for the health food market. The pomace delivers health benefits associated with high fiber and the antioxidant polyphenolic compounds associated with whole fruits and juices without the high sugar content. Some dietary fibers are substrates for anaerobic fermentation by the microbiome in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The …

An Examination Of Induced Anxiety And Its Interaction With Trait Anxiety On Executive Functioning Tasks, Joseph Harris

LSU Master's Theses

Anxiety is a common human experience which has been shown to have detrimental effects on cognitive abilities, particularly the executive abilities of inhibition, shifting and updating. Previous studies in this area have been highly specific in their focus, leaving gaps in the literature. As a result, the general nature of anxiety’s effect on executive functioning has yet to be fully defined. The current study attempted to establish such a definition by exploring the effects of state anxiety and trait anxiety on each of the executive functions, both in terms of task performance and efficiency. In addition, because working memory has …

The Effects Of Peer Instruction On Ninth Grade Students' Conceptual Understanding Of Forces And Motion, Nicole Congine Harvey

LSU Master's Theses

Because students are often taught physics in a traditional, lecture-based classroom, the present study was undertaken to test whether the use of peer instruction, specifically concept questions embedded within a PowerPoint that allows for students to interact throughout the lecture, affects learner outcomes in a classroom setting. The outcomes from classes taught using peer instruction were compared to classes taught with traditional, lecture-based teaching strategies. Students in five different sections of a 9th grade Physical Science class were given pre-tests and post-tests to determine their learning gains on the topics of motion and forces. In the first unit of instruction, …

Value-Based Analysis Of Routine Pathologic Septal And Inferior Turbinate Specimens., James J Daniero, Jaemi S Chu, Brian J O'Hara, Edmund A. Pribitkin

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

This article was presented at the 2012 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO; September 9-12, 2012; Washington, DC.

Objective To determine the frequency and clinical relevance of unanticipated histopathologic results in routine sinonasal surgery and evaluate the necessity for histologic processing of nasal septal cartilage, bone, and inferior turbinate specimens. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary care academic medical center. Subjects and Methods A retrospective review of surgical pathology reports on adult patients undergoing sinonasal surgery during a 5-year period from 2005 to 2010 was performed. All cases with the preoperative diagnosis of sinonasal neoplasia, autoimmune disease, …

Intramural Electrical Uncoupling During Long-Duration Ventricular Fibrillation In Rabbit, Trenika A. Madden

All ETDs from UAB

Ventricular fibrillation is a lethal cardiac arrhythmia which alters electrophysiological properties of the myocardium while concurrently inducing global ischemia and is associated with high mortality rates. Studies on the organization of long-duration ventricular fibrillation (LDVF) have shown that an endocardial to epicardial (i.e. transmural) activation rate gradient exists during ventricular fibrillation in canine and human myocardium; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that the activation rate gradient reflects heterogeneous changes in tissue electrical resistivity resulting in differential transmural electrical uncoupling of the ventricular myocardium. LDVF (>5min) was electrically induced in anesthetized, open-chest rabbits using …

Mature Women Beyond Foster Care: Narratives On Fractors Contributing To Subjective Well-Being And Life-Sustaining Skills, Marie Elizabeth Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies show that African American children enter foster care at a higher rate and remain in foster care longer. The numbers of Black children in foster care increases in any given year. Studies found that even when controlling for risk and poverty, race affects the decision of whether to provide services or remove children from their families. Although poverty may serve as an indicator of risk, when race is included, it changes the decision threshold.

African American women who aged out of foster care and are living self - sustaining lives are small in number and there is an absence …

Changes In Perceived Teacher Self-Efficacy And Burnout As A Result Of Facilitated Discussion And Self-Reflection In An Online Course Designed To Prepare Teachers To Work With Students With Autism, Monica Boomgard

Doctoral Dissertations

A growing number of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who display complex learning needs present challenges to educators who struggle to meet their educational needs. Teaching is stressful and additional instructional challenges may increase teacher vulnerability to burnout, leading to a greater likelihood of attrition. Increasing teachers' knowledge of strategies specific to students with ASD within online professional development may create needed support networks increasing self-efficacy and decreasing perceived stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes special and general education teachers' perceived self-efficacy and burnout as a result of facilitated discussion and self-reflection embedded in …

Rhodopsin Trafficking And Retinal Function, Nicholas Joseph Reish

All ETDs from UAB

The health and maintenance of rod photoreceptors depends on the high-fidelity vectorial transport of rhodopsin from its site of synthesis in the inner segment to its final resting place in the outer segment disks. Multiple molecular interactions play a role in this process, including the interaction of the small GTPase rab11a with rhodopsin that was first described in vertebrates in amphibians. We found that the interaction of the small GTPase rab11a and rhodopsin is conserved in mammalian retina. This interaction is direct, is abrogated by human disease-causing truncation mutations in rhodopsin, and does not depend on the nucleotide binding status …

A Bioinspired Multifunctional Nanomatrix For Cardiovascular Applications, Adinarayana Andukuri

All ETDs from UAB

Bioinspired solutions for challenges faced by conventional therapies are rapidly emerging, especially as new and innovative improvements in medical devices are constantly being researched and developed. Stents are a common therapeutic device for cardiovascular diseases that have undergone incrementally developmental changes over the last two decades. However, there are concerns about in-stent restenosis with bare metal stents and incomplete endothelialization, late stent thrombosis, and late inflammatory responses with drug-eluting stents. New strategies for stents include the development of bioresorbable stents and the utilization of endothelial progenitor cell capture techniques. Despite the promise of recent developments aimed at overcoming the limitations …

Implications Of Hatchling Sex Ratios And Survival In The Recovery Program For The Endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle, Elizabeth Bevan

All ETDs from UAB

The Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle neared extinction during the mid-1980s, but due to intense conservation efforts its population is now gradually recovering. Hatchling sex ratios and natural predation on nests and hatchlings have been monitored at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico to optimize this species’ recovery. Sand and nest temperatures were evaluated for the 2009 - 2012 nesting seasons in the egg corrals and on the nesting beach. Temperatures were cool during the start of the nesting seasons (i.e. below pivotal temperature), and gradually rose and were at or above pivotal temperatures by mid–May. Temperatures remained warm for the remainder …