Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Embryotoxicity Of A Pentabrominated Diphenyl Ether Mixture To Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo) And American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius), Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Gary H. Heinz, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Sandra L. Schultz, Robert C. Hale

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) eggs from San Francisco Bay have been reported to range up to 63 µg g^-1 lipid weight. This value exceeds the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (1.8 µg g^-1 egg wet weight; ~32 µg g^-1 lipid weight) reported in an embryotoxicity study with American kestrels (Falco sparverius). As a surrogate for Forster’s terns, common tern (Sterna hirundo) eggs were treated by air cell injection with corn oil vehicle (control) or a commercial penta-BDE formulation (DE-71) at nominal concentrations of 0.2, 2, and 20 µg g …

The Effects Of Anatabine On Non-Invasive Indicators Of Muscle Damage: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study, Nathaniel Dm Jenkins, Terry J. Housh, Glen O. Johnson, Daniel A. Traylor, Haley Bergstrom, Kristen C. Cochrane, Robert W. Lewis Jr, Richard J. Schmidt, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Anatabine (ANA), a minor tobacco alkaloid found in the Solanaceae family of plants, may exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, which may be useful to aid in recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ANA supplementation on the recovery of isometric strength and selected non-invasive indicators of muscle damage.

Methods: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover design was used to study eighteen men (mean ± SD age = 22.2 ± 3.1 yrs; body mass = 80.3 ± 15.7 kg) who participated in two randomly-ordered conditions separated by a washout period. The ANA condition consisted …

Myeloid Cell-Specific Abca1 Deletion Does Not Worsen Insulin Resistance In Hf Dietinduced Or Genetically Obese Mouse Models, Xuewei Zhu, Soonkyu Chung, Xin Bi, Chia-Chi Chuang, Amanda L. Brown, Mingxia Liu, Jeongmin Seo, Helen Cuffe, Abraham K. Gebre, Elena Boudyguina, John S. Parks

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Obesity-associated low-grade chronic inflammation plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance. The membrane lipid transporter ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) promotes formation of nascent HDL particles. ABCA1 also dampens macrophage inflammation by reducing cellular membrane cholesterol and lipid raft content. We tested the hypothesis that myeloid-specific ABCA1 deletion may exacerbate insulin resistance by increasing the obesity-associated chronic low-grade inflammation. Myeloid cell-specific ABCA1 knockout (MSKO) and wild-type (WT) mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, mild hypercholesterolemia, and hepatic steatosis to a similar extent with a 45% high-fat (HF) diet feeding or after crossing into the ob/ob background. Resident peritoneal …

Identification And Assessment Of Markers Of Biotin Status In Healthy Adults, Wei Kay Eng, David Giraud, Vicki L. Schlegel, Dong Wang, Bo Hyun Lee, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Human biotin requirements are unknown and the identification of reliable markers of biotin status is necessary to fill this knowledge gap. Here, we used an outpatient feeding protocol to create states of biotin deficiency, sufficiency and supplementation in sixteen healthy men and women. A total of twenty possible markers of biotin status were assessed, including the abundance of biotinylated carboxylases in lymphocytes, the expression of genes from biotin metabolism and the urinary excretion of biotin and organic acids. Only the abundance of biotinylated 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-MCC) and propionyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-PCC) allowed for distinguishing biotin-deficient and biotin-sufficient individuals. The urinary excretion …

Effects Of Dynamic Stretching On Strength, Muscle Imbalance, And Muscle Activation, Pablo B. Costa, Trent J. Herda, Ashley A. Herda, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the acute effects of dynamic stretching on concentric leg extensor and flexor peak torque, eccentric leg flexor peak torque, and the conventional and functional hamstring–quadriceps (H:Q) ratios.

Methods: Twenty-one women (mean ± SD age = 20.6 ± 2.0 yr, body mass = 64.5 ± >.3 kg, height = 164.7 ± 6.5 cm) performed maximal voluntary isokinetic leg extension, flexion, and eccentric hamstring muscle actions at the angular velocities of 60°· s^-1 and 180° · s^-1 before and after a bout of dynamic hamstring and quadriceps stretching as well as a …

Relationship Between Serum And Brain Carotenoids, 𝛼-Tocopherol, And Retinol Concentrations And Cognitive Performance In The Oldest Old From The Georgia Centenarian Study, Elizabeth J. Johnson, Rohini Vishwanathan, Mary Ann Johnson, Dorothy B. Hausman, Adam Davey, Tammy M. Scott, Robert C. Green, L. Stephen Miller, Marla Gearing, John Woodard, Peter T. Nelson, Hae-Yun Chung, Wolfgang Schalch, Jonas Wittwer, Leonard W. Poon

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Oxidative stress is involved in age-related cognitive decline. The dietary antioxidants, carotenoids, tocopherols, and vitamin A may play a role in the prevention or delay in cognitive decline. In this study, sera were obtained from 78 octogenarians and 220 centenarians from the Georgia Centenarian Study. Brain tissues were obtained from 47 centenarian decedents. Samples were analyzed for carotenoids, 𝛼-tocopherol, and retinol using HPLC. Analyte concentrations were compared with cognitive tests designed to evaluate global cognition, dementia, depression and cognitive domains (memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functioning). Serum lutein, zeaxanthin, and 𝛽-carotene concentrations were most consistently related to better cognition …

A Global Standard For Monitoring Coastal Wetland Vulnerability To Accelerated Sea-Level Rise, Edward L. Webb, Daniel A. Friess, Ken W. Krauss, Donald R. Cahoon, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Jacob Phelps

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sea-level rise threatens coastal salt-marshes and mangrove forests around the world, and a key determinant of coastal wetland vulnerability is whether its surface elevation can keep pace with rising sea level. Globally, a large data gap exists because wetland surface and shallow subsurface processes remain unaccounted for by traditional vulnerability assessments using tide gauges. Moreover, those processes vary substantially across wetlands, so modelling platforms require relevant local data. The low-cost, simple, high-precision rod surface-elevation table–marker horizon (RSET-MH) method fills this critical data gap, can be paired with spatial data sets and modelling and is financially and technically accessible to every …

Use Of Nmr Logging To Obtain Estimates Of Hydraulic Conductivity In The High Plains Aquifer, Nebraska, Usa, Katherine Dlubac, Rosemary Knight, Yi-Qiao Song, Nate Bachman, Ben Grau, Jim Cannia, John Williams

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Hydraulic conductivity (K) is one of the most important parameters of interest in groundwater applications because it quantifies the ease with which water can flow through an aquifer material. Hydraulic conductivity is typically measured by conducting aquifer tests or wellbore flow (WBF) logging. Of interest in our research is the use of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging to obtain information about water-filled porosity and pore space geometry, the combination of which can be used to estimate K. In this study, we acquired a suite of advanced geophysical logs, aquifer tests, WBF logs, and sidewall cores at the …

Spatially Explicit Models For Inference About Density In Unmarked Or Partially Marked Populations, Richard B. Chandler, J. Andrew Royle

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Recently developed spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models represent a major advance over traditional capture-recapture (CR) models because they yield explicit estimates of animal density instead of population size within an unknown area. Furthermore, unlike non-spatial CR methods, SCR models account for heterogeneity in capture probability arising from the juxtaposition of animal activity centers and sample locations. Although the utility of SCR methods is gaining recognition, the requirement that all individuals can be uniquely identified excludes their use in many contexts. In this paper, we develop models for situations in which individual recognition is not possible, thereby allowing SCR concepts to be …

Capture Success Higher Near Roads For San Clemente Island Foxes, Nathan P. Snow, William F. Andelt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recently, island fox (Urocyon littoralis) populations on 4 of 6 California Channel Islands (USA) were greatly reduced by colonizing golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and a suspected outbreak of disease, creating concern for subspecies on all islands. Consequently, efforts of live-trapping foxes for research, monitoring, and vaccination has increased. Despite increased trapping efforts, evaluation of factors that influence capture success has not been conducted. We examined capture success of island foxes at 85 random trapping locations on San Clemente Island during 170 trap-nights during 2006–2007. We captured 98 island foxes, and found that traps placed ≤10 m …

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Comparison Of Two Perennial Grass Breeding Systems With Switchgrass, Kenneth P. Vogel

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Two breeding systems, between- and withinfamily selection (BWFS) and multistep family selection (MFS), were compared using three switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) populations to determine which system was the most effective in improving biomass yield and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). With BWFS, half-sib families are produced and evaluated on a family basis and then the best plants within the best families are selected for crossing to produce a new strain. With MFS, parent genotypes of the half-sib families being evaluated in the BWFS selection nursery are maintained and the genotypes whose progeny were the best in the BWFS …

Three Essays On Mutual Fund Ratings, Wee Seng Ng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The incessant growth of the mutual fund industry has made the task of selecting mutual funds an increasingly challenging one. Unsophisticated investors turn to low-cost and readily available ratings to guide their investment decisions. Unsurprisingly, mutual fund ratings are hugely popular and influential. Anecdotal evidence and academic findings both suggest that investors gravitate towards top-rated funds. Rating is a double-edged sword. Although the use of rating simplifies the otherwise onerous job of evaluating mutual fund performance, it can lead to adverse consequences. Investors who invest only in top-rated funds are inadvertently assuming that good ratings indicate good future performance. However, …

A Study Of The Imitation, Collection And Usability Issues Of Keystroke Biometrics, Chee Meng Tey

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The majority of authentication systems used today involves passwords, where a user is required to remember and key in the correct password to login. Keystroke biometrics is an alternative approach whereby users are identified by one or more features such as (a) the timing between keystrokes, (b) how long users hold each key and (c) how hard users press each key. It is being assumed in prior research that the way one user types a password/word is different from the way another user types the same password and this characteristic remains stable over time. Existing literature however left open three …

Exploiting Human Factors In User Authentication, Payas Gupta

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Our overarching issue in security is the human factor – and dealing with it is perhaps one of the biggest challenges we face today. Human factor is often described as the weakest part of a security system and users are often described as the weakest link in the security chain. In this thesis, we focus on two problems which are caused by human factors in user authentication and propose respective solutions. a) Secrecy information inference attack – publicly available information can be used to infer some secrecy information about the user. b) Coercion attack – where an attacker forces a …

Impact Of Multimedia In Sina Weibo, Xun Zhao

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Multimedia contents such as images and videos are widely used in social network sites nowadays. Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service, is one of the first microblog platforms to incorporate multimedia content sharing features. This thesis provides statistical analysis on how multimedia contents are produced, consumed, and propagated in Sina Weibo. Based on 230 million tweets and 1.8 million user profiles in Sina Weibo, we study the impact of multimedia contents on the popularity of both users and tweets as well as tweet life span. In addition to consider the multimedia impact on popularity, we also compare the user influence …

Towards Secure And Usable Leakage-Resilient Password Entry, Qiang Yan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Password leakage is one of the most common security threats for pervasive password based user authentication. The design of a secure and usable password entry against password leakage remains a challenge since twenty year ago when the first academic proposal attempted to address it. This dissertation focuses on investigating the difficulty in designing leakage-resilient password entry (LRPE) schemes and exploring the feasibility of constructing secure and usable LRPE schemes with the assistance of state-of-the-art technology. The first work in this dissertation reveals the infeasibility of designing practical LRPE schemes in the absence of trusted devices by investigating the inherent tradeoff …

Understanding And Rejecting Errant Touches On Multi-Touch Tablets, Ke Shu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Given the pervasion of multi-touch tablet, pen-based applications have rapidly moved onto this new platform. Users draw both with bare fingers and using capacitive pens as they would do on paper in the past. Unlike paper, these tablets cannot distinguish legitimate finger/pen input from accidental touches by other parts of the user’s hand. In this thesis, we refer it to as errant touch rejection problem since users may unintentionally touch the screen with other parts of their hand. In this thesis, I design, implement and evaluate new approaches, bezel-focus rejection, of preventing errant touches on multi-touch tablets. I began the …

Child Welfare Cases Involving Parents With Disabilities, Joshua Kay

Articles

Many families include at least one parent with a disability. These parents become involved in the child welfare system more frequently than nondisabled parents, and their child protection cases are more likely to end in termination of parental rights. Parents with cognitive and/or psychiatric disabilities are particularly at risk of child welfare involvement. Cases involving parents with disabilities present special challenges and opportunities in child protection litigation, and strong advocacy is needed to ensure that these parents’ needs are met by the child welfare system and their rights are fully protected. With appropriate services, many parents with disabilities can provide …

Three Puzzling Things About New York Times V. Sullivan: Beginning The Anniversary Conversation, Leonard M. Niehoff

Articles

This is the 50th anniversary of a watershed year in the history of the civil rights movement. During that year, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference mounted its anti-segregation campaign in Alabama; Commissioner "Bull" Connor turned dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators; activists were attacked; riots flared; George Wallace blocked the doors of a public university to keep black students out; President Kennedy dispatched troops to Alabama and called for the passage of a civil rights bill; Medgar Evers was murdered; the then-largest human rights demonstration in U.S. history converged on Washington; Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic speech at …

The Billable Hour Is Dead. Long Live…?, Robert Hirshon

Articles

The legal profession, of course, quickly comprehended that pursuant to the hourly approach to billing, two factors were paramount: the total amount of hours it took to complete a matter and the amount of dollars charged per hour. As both transactions and litigation became more complex, law firms found it necessary and easy to justify adding bodies (read: hours) to their clients' legal projects. With the number of legal projects increasing as a result of explosive economic growth in both developed and developing nations, the demand for top legal talent during most of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s was …

Distinguished Brief: People Of The State Of Michigan V. David Mark Cole, J.J. Prescott, Mirian J. Aukerman, Michael J. Steinberg, Kary Moss, John Minock

Articles

This amicus brief on behalf of the Criminal Defense Lawyers of Michigan and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan argues that defendants accused of first- or second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Michigan must be made aware that pleading guilty will result in mandatory, lifetime electronic monitoring after their release in order for any plea to be valid under Michigan law and the U.S. Constitution. To be lawful, guilty pleas must be knowing and voluntary, which requires that defendants be informed of any punishment that would be a direct consequence of their guilty plea. Lifetime electronic monitoring is a …

Symptoms Experienced By Post-Menopausal Breast Cancer Survivors On Aromatase Inhibitors: A Secondary Analysis Of Baseline Data, May Cao

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Background: Endocrine therapy for breast cancer with Aromatase Inhibitors (AI) is designed to reduce risk of recurrence and improve survival. AI therapy is associated with a variety of symptoms including musculoskeletal complaints, which have contributed to discontinuation of treatment. It is significantly important to explore the symptom profile of AIs that contribute to patients' quality of life and adherence behavior. Objective: The purpose of the study was a secondary analysis exploring the symptom profile of post-menopausal breast cancer survivors on AIs. Methods: Data were collected from self-reported demographic and medical forms from 36 women on AIs identified in the primary …

The Emotional And Spiritual Wellbeing Of Hospice Patients In Botswana And Sources Of Distress For Their Caregivers, Psyche Linnea Philips

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Background: Little regional data exists on the distress of people nearing the end of their lives and their caregivers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of life and the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of people at the end of life and the sources of distress for their primary caregivers in Gaborone, Botswana, in order to inform current and limited hospice resources and services. Design: This study employed a qualitative design. Setting/Subjects: Twenty-eight primary caregivers who cared for an adult who passed away fewer than 14 months prior to the interview date and were in the …

Endovascular Treatment Of Cerebral Mycotic Aneurysm: A Review Of The Literature And Single Center Experience., Mario Zanaty, Md, Nohra El-Chalouhi, Md, Robert M Starke, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris Md, L Fernando Gonzalez, Md, David Hasan, Md, Robert Rosenwasser, Md, Pascal Jabbour, Md

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

The management of mycotic aneurysm has always been subject to controversy. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the intracranial infected aneurysm from pathogenesis till management while focusing mainly on the endovascular interventions. This novel solution seems to provide additional benefits and long-term favorable outcomes.

Multifacted Role Of Tnf-Α During The Pathogenesis Of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Mula Ramanjaneya, Rangaiah Shashidharamurthy

PCOM Scholarly Works

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) a cytokine has been shown to be the key player during the pathogenesis of several autoimmune inflammatory disorders (presumably sterile inflammation) including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Several studies have shown that TNF-α is mainly involved in the proinflammatory responses. However recent studies have reported multifunctional role of TNF-α during the development of RA. Therefore, in this article we have highlighted the distinct functions of TNF-α during pathogenesis of RA

Isg15 Inhibits Ifn- A -Resistant Liver Cancer Cell Growth, Xin-Xing Wan, Hanchun Chen, Md. Asaduzzaman Khan, Ai-Hua Xu, Fu-Lan Yang, Yun-Yi Zhang, Dianzheng Zhang

PCOM Scholarly Works

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent tumors worldwide. Interferon-a (IFN-a) has been widely used in the treatment of HCC, but patients eventually develop resistance. ISG15 ubiquitin-like modifier (ISG15) is a ubiquitin-like protein transcriptionally regulated by IFN-a which shows antivirus and antitumor activities. However, the exact role of ISG15 is unknown. In the present study, we showed that IFN-a significantly induced ISG15 expression but failed to induce HepG2 cell apoptosis, whereas transient overexpression of ISG15 dramatically increased HepG2 cell apoptosis. ISG15 overexpression increased overall protein ubiquitination, which was not observed in cells with IFN-a-induced ISG15 expression, suggesting that …

Staff Guidebook, January 2013, Lindenwood University

Employee Handbooks

Information and guidelines for Lindenwood University staff.

Cardiovascular Disease In Women: The Differences In Genders, Kayla Sells Exum

Graduate Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Virtual World Problem-Centered Challenge Evaluation, Jennifer A. Maddrell, Ginger S. Watson, Gary R. Morrison

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper describes the two-year implementation evaluation of a problem-based engineering design challenge held in a virtual world. The team-based challenge was designed and facilitated by an aerospace research and education institute for middle and high school student competitors in both classrooms and afterschool programs across the U.S. An independent evaluation team examined participant experiences to consider the strengths of the challenge, as well as recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of future challenges. Overall, the evaluation team found that the problem-centered design challenge offered the student competitors a unique and valuable opportunity to engage in real-life science and …