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Fall Commencement Program, December 14, 2013, Coastal Carolina University

Commencement Programs

Program of Commencement Exercises at Coastal Carolina University.

Commencement Program 2013 December, Gcsu Special Collections

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Call To Violence: Trends In Violent Content Of Video Games, Emily Molly Keller

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Violent content in video games has come under increasing scrutiny as the media highlights the potential involvement of violent games in deadly crimes. In addition, internet gaming disorder has been identified as a subject in need of further research in the DSM-V. The current study investigates whether year, genre, platform type, and victim and perpetrator identity influence the total amount of violent actions in 280 video game trailers. The hypothesis was that year, genre, and platform type would produce the most variance in total violence, but victim identity and perpetrator identity were significantly more influential. Thus, there is a tendency …

Healing Touch As An Integrative Therapy For Cancer Care: A Review Of Evidence And Implications For Nursing, Kelsey Irene Tirona

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Life expectancies and survival rates of adults with cancer in the United States have significantly increased in recent history, primarily due to advancements in technology and early detection. More people are living longer with cancer and it has evolved to a complex, chronic illness. Although progress is being made in the treatment of cancer, pain and other symptoms related to the disease and its treatment are poorly managed by conventional care (Chapman, 2012; Deng, 2005). The use of complementary and alternative therapies is becoming increasingly popular in this population, in addition to conventional treatment from their primary providers. Healing Touch …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 14, 2013, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Global Leadership Award - Marlene M. Johnson; Outstanding Graduate - Lianet Vazquez; King O'Neal Scholars - Jillianne Deal, Alyssa Dupere, Jessica Haggod, Ahad Khan, Rachel Powell, Emilio Ruiz-Linares, Mariam Saifee, Christopher Thomas Story, and Brandon Sweeting

A Novel Rcc1-Like Protein Is A Crucial Regulator Of The Intraerythrocytic Cycle Of The Human Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium Falciparum., Marcus Davon Skaflen

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Malaria is a deadly infection caused by a single celled protozoan of the Plasmodium genus. Plasmodium spp. are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, and initially invade the liver, but the disease is caused by the blood stage of the infection. Approximately 500 million cases of malaria are documented annually and over 1 million of those result in death. Plasmodium falciparum is the most lethal of five species known to infect humans. To further compound this problem, drug-resistant parasite strains have been documented for every currently available antimalarial drug, making the need to identify new drug targets more urgent than ever. …

Influence Of Initial Position And Stimulus Location Of The Paw On The Nociceptive Withdrawal Reflex In Intact Rats, Christopher Anthony Chrzan Ii

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Animals have the ability react to noxious stimuli from the environment via a reflex pathway known as the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR). The NWR is a spinal reflex that protects the body from stimuli that may be tissue damaging. In addition, the NWR is known to be supraspinally modulated, which alters the strength of response. Previous studies on the NWR have shown an influence of both stimulus location and initial posture on the NWR. The studies regarding the influence of initial position on the NWR, however, are more limited. Most of the research has been conducted on humans, and in …

Two Genetic Effects At The Irf5/ Tnpo3 Locus Are Independently Associated With The Development Of Specific Lupus Symptoms, Samantha Hawtrey

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that can affect every tissue in the body. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IRF5 and TNPO3 genes are statistically associated with the development of SLE. My research identified correlations between IRF5/TNPO3 SNPs and specific lupus symptoms. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using 101 genetic variants in the IRF5/TNPO3 region that were genotyped in over 6,000 lupus patients of different ethnicities, with admixture covariates applied. Three clinical phenotypes displayed significant correlation (p < 1.6x10-5) in subjects of European ancestry. For each of these phenotypes, a step-wise conditional analysis was conducted using two lupus associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at this genetic loci. In Europeans, lupus disease onset (p-valueEU=2.44x10-16, OR=0.67*) and the presence of anti-Ro (p-valueEU=2.09x10-7, OR=0.67) and anti-dsDNA (p-valueEU=4.15x10-7, OR=0.75) antibodies were associated with SNPs in the IRF5/TNPO3 genes. SNPs in the IRF5 promoter and those spanning IRF5 and TNPO3 were both associated with disease onset. The presence of anti-Ro and anti-dsDNA antibodies is only associated with SNPs in the IRF5 promoter. Genetic variants at the IRF5/TNPO3 locus are associated with lupus disease onset and production of anti-dsDNA and anti-Ro antibodies in lupus patients. SNPs in the promoter region of iii IRF5 (associated with rs4728142) and SNPs spanning the IRF5 and TNPO3 genes (associated with rs12534421) contribute independently to these symptoms.

An Analysis Of The Application Of Best Management Practices In Collaborative Watershed Management To Community-Based Sustainable Development, Rebecca Holthaus Sappenfield

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This research seeks to determine if BMPs from CWM can inform the broader concept of CBSD. In order to answer this question, I conduct a desk study, which involves an extensive review of the CWM literature in two areas: stakeholder participation and building trust among stakeholders. I then analyze my research to deduce BMPs for these areas of CWM. As part of this analysis, I also explore how effective environmental communication plays a fundamental role in achieving these BMPs. The culmination of this work is the production of guidelines of best practice for stakeholder participation and building trust among stakeholders …

Feasibility Study Of Installing Artificial Bathing Platforms At The Northeast Coast Of Malta, Darren Bianco

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The need to create additional bathing areas at rugged karst rocky shores of the northeast coast of Malta could be met by installing temporary wooden decking platforms, since current sandy beaches are very crowded in the peak summer season. Wooden decking platforms are also an acceptable alternative to beach nourishment projects, where the latter can have permanent negative environmental impacts. The old and eroded concrete platforms which cover large areas of the northeast coast of Malta represent an eyesore to the public. The option of overlaying these concrete platforms with a permanent rock amalgam composed of fiber-reinforced concrete which mimics …

Sustainable Management Of The Main Two Maltese Indigenous Grape Varieties For Winemaking, Jonathan Falzon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Ġellewża and Girgentina, the main two Maltese indigenous grape varieties that are used for winemaking, are grown in small parcels of land with an average size just over 0.1 ha. Policies and regulations that influence the sector have been set up and this increased the need for studies to understand the current management practices and how can they be more sustainable. Through interviews with 30 growers of the indigenous grape varieties it was found that most vines are trained as bush vines and cane pruned with 2 or 3 canes with about 5 to 10 buds in each. Nutrition is …

Mental Illness, Narrative, And Rhetorics Of Recovery, Anders Rains Bruce

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

No abstract provided.

Comparison Between Two Methodological Paradigms Of Conditioned Place Preference With Methlyphenidate., Bryce D. Watson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis is to examine the mechanisms of Methylphenidate (MPH) on Conditioned Place Preference (CPP), a behavioral test of reward. The psychostimulant MPH is therapeutically used in the treatment of ADHD, but has been implicated in many pharmacological actions related to drug addiction and is considered to have abuse potential. Past work in our lab and others have shown substantial sex-differences in the neuropharmacological profile of MPH. Here a discussion of the relevant mechanisms of action of MPH and its relationship to neurotrophins and CPP are reviewed. Furthermore, previous work is reviewed and a rationale for two …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 14, 2013, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctorate of Science - Richard N. Zare

Surveys Of Women With Hpv And Their Healthcare Experiences., Danielle Defayette

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Genital human papillomavirus infection is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, with almost 20 million Americans currently infected and an additional 6.2 million becoming newly infected each year. Women rely strongly on their health care providers to educate and comfort them regarding this distressing diagnosis. This study will use an online, self-completion questionnaire to obtain women’s opinions regarding their health care providers’ performances concerning the initial consultation after learning of their HPV diagnosis. Findings from this study provided insight as to how women prefer receiving information from their health care providers concerning their diagnosis of HPV. …

Impact Of Oxidative Stress On Female Fertility., Tasha Harris

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examined nutritional status and fecundity of women and was approved for patient enrollment by the ETSU Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once enrolled, participants filled out two food frequency questionnaires (FFQ, fruit/vegetable intake, fat intake), self-reported anthropometric data, and had one 5 mL vacutainer of whole blood (EDTA) collected for measures of oxidative stress (OS), coenzyme Q10 level, and fatty acid profile of the red blood cell (RBC) membrane. Participants were either designated to the case group (13 women experiencing fertility problems and an anti-mullerian hormone level of 1 ng/ml or less (AMH, <1 ng/mL)) or the control group (13 women experiencing normal ovulation cycles and no evidence of polycystic disease). This study hypothesized that the case group would have poorer plasma antioxidant status, consume more dietary saturated fat and have lower levels of omega-3 and higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids in the RBC membrane. Results showed that case participants had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) when graduating from high school, BMI upon enrollment in the study, and trended to gain more weight since high school. Antioxidant status of the plasma tended to be higher for the case group. This result was surprising as case participants consumed significantly fewer servings of fruits and vegetables (sources of antioxidants) than control subjects. FFQ results indicated that case participants consumed significantly higher amounts of total fat (g), saturated fat (g), unsaturated fat (g), and their diets had a higher dietary fat percent. No significant differences were noted in the individual fatty acids isolated from the RBC membrane or in calculated ratios of fatty acid between case and control groups. The fatty acid profile from RBC membranes are in agreement with self-reported fat intake from FFQ data and may provide a rationale for no differences observed between the two groups.

Spatial Analysis Of Air Velocity Distribution As Affected By House Size And Design In Commercial Broiler Production Facilities, Brian David Luck

Theses and Dissertations

Tunnel ventilation is the design practice of placing exhaust fans and air inlets on opposite ends of animal production facilities and moving air through the building via negative pressure. Increasing air velocity within tunnel ventilated broiler production facilities increases sensible cooling and reduces the need for latent cooling (panting), which improves production efficiency. An air velocity measurement system was developed and measurement density analysis for quantifying air velocity distribution was performed in a 12.19 x 121.9 m commercial broiler production facility. Results showed that axial measurement distances of 3.05 m and 40 measurement points per cross-section produced the most descriptive …

Determining A Developmental Window For The Effect Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) On Ultrasonic Vo, Hannah Duffy

Honors Projects

Commercial manufacturing and widespread use of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in the United States has left lasting negative effects today. These persistent contaminants continue to bioaccumulate in the food web because of their stable structure, long half-life, and high lipophilicity. Adding PCB to the diet of Sprague-Dawley rats during pregnancy and lactation alters the thyroid status of offspring, and the behavior of the dams and pups. To determine a critical period or “window” of development with the greatest impact of PCB exposure of females on offspring fitness, female Sprague-Dawley rats were mated and fed PCB diet (25 ppm PCB 47 and …

Glycosyl Thiocarbamates As New Building Blocks For Chemical Glycosylation, Sneha Chandrashekhar Ranade

Dissertations

Having multiple functions in biological systems e.g. fertilization, blood group determination, cell growth; carbohydrates have remained attractive subjects for the study. They are also involved in various life threatening biological processes, such as viral and bacterial infections, tumor development, etc. Understanding of these involvements/interactions of carbohydrates in such critical processes is essential for the development of carbohydrate based vaccines and therapeutics. Although carbohydrates are present abundantly in nature, their isolation is cumbersome and low yielding, which is why, the synthesis of carbohydrate units has been of interest to many scientists. Efforts have been made to make these synthetic methods more …

Xylo-Oligosaccharides Production From Corn Fiber And In-Vitro Evaluation For Prebiotic Effect, Aditya Samala

Theses and Dissertations

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are considered to be prebiotics. Prebiotics are defined as non-digestible food ingredients that benefit the host by stimulating the growth and activity of a limited number of bacteria, such as the Bifidobacterium genus, in the colon. Corn fiber separated from distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) could be a valuable feedstock for XOS production. The objective of the first chapter was to determine the efficacy for autohydrolysis to produce XOS using fiber separated from DDGS. Fiber was treated with deionized water in a Parr-reactor, at temperatures ranging from 140 to 220 °C to produce XOS. The maximum total …

164th Commencement, Fall

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Model-Based Autonomic Performance Management Of Distributed Enterprise Systems And Applications, Rajat Mehrotra

Theses and Dissertations

Distributed computing systems (DCS) host a wide variety of enterprise applications in dynamic and uncertain operating environments. These applications require stringent reliability, availability, and quality of service (QoS) guarantee to maintain their service level agreements (SLAs). Due to the growing size and complexity of DCS, an autonomic performance management system is required to maintain SLAs of these applications. A model-based autonomic performance management structure is developed in this dissertation for applications hosted in DCS. A systematic application performance modeling approach is introduced in this dissertation to define the dependency relationships among the system parameters, which impact the application performance. The …

A Framework For Identifying Appropriate Sub-Regions For Ecosystem-Based Management In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Coastal And Marine Environments, Jennifer Sloan Ziegler

Theses and Dissertations

Nearly half of the population of the United States lives in coastal regions, and millions of visitors from across the nation and world enjoy the coasts every year. Coastal and marine areas provide for recreation, economic activities essential for the financial health of the nation, and vital ecological services. As they provide so many benefits to the U.S., it is vital to protect and preserve the coastal and ocean areas from the increasing, competing demands they are facing. In order to protect and preserve these complex systems, a comprehensive approach incorporating science, engineering, humanities, and social sciences should be taken; …

Commencement Convocation Exercises - December 2013, Prairie View A&M University

Commencement and Convocation Exercises

No abstract provided.

2013 Fall Commencement, Harding University

Commencement Programs

Program for the Harding University Commencement on December 14.

Commencement Speaker: Steve W. Reeves

Population Genetics Of The Western Toad (Bufo Boreas) In The Central Valley Of California, Morgan Murrell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A worldwide decline in amphibian populations has intensified the need for data comparing the influence of habitats on population dynamics and the potential for local extinction. From a conservation perspective it is important to understand the connections between ecology, geography, and genetics across landscapes that are increasingly affected by human influences and other uncontrollable environmental events such as climate change. The purpose of this study is to examine the landscape-level genetic patterns of Western toads, Bufo (Anaxyrus) boreas, and to conclude if gene flow is occurring between ponds. This will allow conservation practitioners to understand geographic features that might impede …

Public Perception On The State Of Air Quality In Malta, Nikolas Cassar

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Public perception on the state of air quality is an unclear and hazy concept whereby every individual has different opinions and views. In fact, the state of air quality is a major concern in many countries, including in Malta. This problem arises from the emissions of a number of pollutants to the atmosphere from a host of processes such as the combustion of fuel to generate electricity and the internal combustion engines to manoeuvre cars. Amongst these pollutants, there are benzene and nitrogen dioxide, which are very hazardous since they cause problems related to human health and contribute in the …

Assessment Of Seawater Quality: Do Public Perceptions Of Seawater Quality Match Indications Given By Macroalgae?, Angela Bartolo

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Determination of seawater quality is an essential activity in coastal areas especially in ones that attract bathers. This study aims to investigate whether the Ecological Quality Status (EQS) of seawater in bathing areas in the Maltese Islands differs across sites. The study also aims to investigate the correlation between public perceptions and objective measures of seawater quality as well as factors affecting perception of seawater quality. Another objective of this study is to investigate the public’s knowledge about macroalgae and opinion on macroalgae. The EQS of seawater in six coastal sites in the Maltese Islands is investigated using the EEI-c …

Temperature Effects Of Dielectric Properties And Their Impact On Medical Device Development, Erin Elizabeth Colebeck

Theses and Dissertations

Dielectric properties play an influential role in the development of medical devices. Understanding the behavior of these properties and how they respond to external stimuli, such as heat, over an extended frequency has yet to be researched. The focus of this study is to examine the impact of temperature on dielectric properties from 500 MHz to 10 GHz in order to better match the antenna properties of medical applications to the dielectric properties of biological tissue in question; more specifically, microwave ablation, microwave hyperthermia, and thermal modeling of brown adipose tissue’s metabolic processes. The dielectric properties of biological tissue samples …

Meta-Heuristic Optimization Of Antennas For Biomedical Applications, Aaron Zachary Hood

Theses and Dissertations

Given the proper conditions, antennas applied in medicine can offer improved quality of life to patients. However the human body proves hostile to typical, analytical antenna design techniques as it is composed entirely of frequency- and temperature-dependent lossy media. By combining optimization techniques with numerical methods, many of these challenges may be overcome. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) models the solution process after the natural movement of groups such as swarms of bees as they search for food sources. This meta-heuristic procedure has proven adept at overcoming many challenging problems in the electromagnetics literature. Therefore, this dissertation explores PSO and some …