Digital Commons Network^™

Reservoir Mixing Effect On Dinitrogen Gas Distribution Within The Metalimnion Of A Man-Made Lake, Mary Elizabeth Young

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The increasing environmental distribution of nitrogen has not only lead to changes in the global nitrogen cycle, but has also lead to many complex environmental consequences. Aquatic systems are particularly sensitive to high nutrient loading, and denitrification occurring in small lakes accounts for half the global release of dinitrogen. The objective of this study was to assess whether mixing events within the metalimnion increase denitrification rates. It was hypothesized that mixing events bring oxygen from the epilimnion and ammonium from the hypolimnion, simulating a coupled nitrification-denitrification process in the metalimnion. The dinitrogen-nitrogen (N2-N) concentration for three treatments of 0, 50, …

Influence Of Poultry-Litter Biochar On Early-Season Growth In Cotton, Taylor Dayne Coomer

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is known for being sensitive to cool, wet soils, especially in the early stages of growth. Amendments such as soil fertilizers and manures added to soil can aid cotton seedlings in development and nutrient uptake. However, soil fertilizers and manures can be costly and detrimental to the environment, and alternatives such as the addition of biochar have been considered. Biochar is a high-carbon, nutrient-rich charcoal produced from organic matter that has gone through pyrolysis. Biochar has been shown to improve plant yield, soil microbial response, soil structure, soil cation-exchange capacity, and water-use efficiency, however research on …

(Wp 2013-09) Virtual Currency And The Financial System: The Case Of Bitcoin, Abdur Chowdhury, Barry K. Mendelson

Economics Working Papers

Technological development and the increased use of the internet have led to the proliferation of virtual communities. Some of these communities have created and circulated their own currency for exchanging goods and services. Bitcoin is currently the most popular among these virtual or digital currencies and has been in news recently because of the wild fluctuations in its ‘value’ and also significant venture capital investment in entities associated with it.1 Bitcoin is relevant in several areas of the financial system and is therefore of interest to central banks, consumers and investors. Digital currencies are part of a broader group of …

(Wp 2013-10) Neuroeconomics And Identity, John B. Davis

Economics Working Papers

This short paper discusses majority and minority views in economics regarding the value of neuroscience for economics – and thus the value of the neuroeconomics research program. It argues that neuroeconomics’ reception ultimately depends on whether economists adopt a philosophy of science thinking closer to what exists in other sciences. It then argues that an inadvertent product of this debate is whether people can be identified as relatively independent agents. The paper concludes with comments on what this debate implies about the conception of the decision-maker as a relatively independent identity.

The Relationship Of Jazz Trombone Performance To Composing And Arranging: Interviews With Four Notable Trombonist/Composers, Adam Bartczak

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

In Their Words: Teachers' Journeys To Sustainable Direct Instruction Implementation, Tina Errthum

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Web-Based Rating And Annotation System For Trumpet Solo Literature For Middle And High School Levels, Christopher Donald Hahn

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mental State Understanding During Aging: An Examination Of Cognitively Effortful And Cognitively Efficient Mechanisms, Rena A. Kirkland

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of College Students' Retrospective Reports Of Perceived Parenting Style And Current Adult Attachment Style With Primary Caregiver, Romantic Partner, And College Adjustment, Emily Ann Richter

Dissertations

Given the continued need for a college degree, it is important for counseling psychologists to examine factors that relate to students' adjustment to college. Specifically, investigating students' retrospective reports of how they were parented, their adult attachment to their primary caregiver from childhood, and their adult romantic attachment and how these factors related to college adjustment might offer guidance for counseling psychologists who work with college students. Therefore, the current study sought to understand this area and used a sample of 191 undergraduate students from the Rocky Mountain region. Regression results found a significant relationship between levels of parenting style, …

An Experimental Study Examining Observational And Objective Methods Of Assessing Effort In An Undergraduate Sample, Aaron Gabriel Schrader

Dissertations

Psychological assessment is predicated on the assumption that the subject is putting forth maximum effort during testing. When the individual fails to do so, it is known as response bias. The assessment of response bias is an area of research that has garnered attention in psychology because of the implications it has on psychological evaluation validity. This study examined the assessment of effort and response bias through two means, observationally and objectively, with confederates who were instructed to put forth their best effort or suboptimal effort. While being video recorded, confederates were administered a commonly used cognitive task along with …

Clustering And Classification Of Multi-Domain Proteins, Neethu Shah

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rapid development of next-generation sequencing technology has led to an unprecedented growth in protein sequence data repositories over the last decade. Majority of these proteins lack structural and functional characterization. This necessitates design and development of fast, efficient, and sensitive computational tools and algorithms that can classify these proteins into functionally coherent groups.

Domains are fundamental units of protein structure and function. Multi-domain proteins are extremely complex as opposed to proteins that have single or no domains. They exhibit network-like complex evolutionary events such as domain shuffling, domain loss, and domain gain. These events therefore, cannot be represented in the …

Instability Indices For Matrix Polynomials, Todd Kapitula, Elizabeth Hibma, Hwa Pyeong Kim, Jonathan Timkovich

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

There is a well-established instability index theory for linear and quadratic matrix polynomials for which the coefficient matrices are Hermitian and skew-Hermitian. This theory relates the number of negative directions for the matrix coefficients which are Hermitian to the total number of unstable eigenvalues for the polynomial. Herein we extend the theory to *-even matrix polynomials of any finite degree. In particular, unlike previously known cases we show that the instability index depends upon the size of the matrices when the degree of the polynomial is greater than two. We also consider Hermitian matrix polynomials, and derive an index which …

Determining Parentage And The Effects Of Relatedness On Play Partner Preference In Belding's Ground Squirrels, Jessica Weidenbach

Master's Theses

I investigated 1) multiple paternity in Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) and 2) social partner preferences in juvenile U. beldingi. Prior work with blood allozymes demonstrated multiple paternity in U. beldingi litters. I evaluated paternity using microsatellite DNA analysis, which is more accurate than examining blood allozymes. My results indicate that multiple paternity in U. beldingi is more extensive than previously shown, occurring in about 90% of litters with more than one juvenile, and averaging 2.95 fathers in multiply sired litters. I also evaluated the hypothesis that play and other social behavior promotes bonding among juvenile female …

Building Women’S Solidarity To Advance Women’S Rights In Bolivia, Luzdary Hammad

Master's Theses

This paper takes a historical look at the deep-seated ethnic and class divisions between women in Bolivia. It also examines the cultural challenges that help explain the status of women in Bolivia and the obstacles women face to become politically active. It provides the theories of decolonization and depatriachalization as practical ways Bolivia can move past their colonial and patriarchal history. It also looks into what feminism means overall in Latin America and what strategies Latin American women have used to make change for women. It then provides a political history of Bolivia from 1994 to the present giving the …

Cell Phones, Police Recording, And The Intersection Of The First And Fourth Amendments, Conor M. Reardon

Duke Law Journal

In a recent spate of highly publicized incidents, citizens have used cell phones equipped with video cameras to record violent arrests. Oftentimes they post their recordings on the Internet for public examination. As the courts have recognized, this behavior lies close to the heart of the First Amendment.

But the Constitution imperfectly protects this new form of government monitoring. Fourth Amendment doctrine generally permits the warrantless seizure of cell phones used to record violent arrests, on the theory that the recording contains evidence of a crime. The Fourth Amendment inquiry does not evaluate a seizing officer's state of mind, permitting …

The Paper Chase: Securitization, Foreclosure, And The Uncertainty Of Mortgage Title, Adam J. Levitin

Duke Law Journal

The mortgage foreclosure crisis raises legal questions as important as its economic impact. Questions that were straightforward and uncontroversial a generation ago today threaten the stability of a $13 trillion mortgage market: Who has standing to foreclose? If a foreclosure was done improperly, what is the effect? And what is the proper legal method for transferring mortgages? These questions implicate the clarity of title for property nationwide and pose a too-big-to-fail problem for the courts.

The legal confusion stems from the existence of competing systems for establishing title to mortgages and transferring those rights. Historically, mortgage title was established and …

Getting Slapp-Ed In Federal Court: Applying State Anti-Slapp Special Motions To Dismiss In Federal Court After Shady Grove, Katelyn E. Saner

Duke Law Journal

In recent years, dozens of states have enacted anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) laws to counter SLAPP suits, or lawsuits filed to silence a defendant who has spoken out against a plaintiff. The goal of a SLAPP suit is not to win on the merits, but rather to discourage the defendant's right to free speech through the prospect of ruinously expensive litigation. State anti-SLAPP laws provide for special motions to dismiss, which allow a defendant to file an expedited motion to dispose of the SLAPP suit before engaging in costly discovery.

It is well established that a federal court …

Journal Staff

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Corpus Callosal Microstructure Influences Intermanual Transfer In Chimpanzees, Kimberley A. Phillips, J. Schaeffer, William D. Hopkins

Psychology Faculty Research

Learning a new motor skill with one hand typically results in performance improvements in the alternate hand. The neural substrates involved with this skill acquisition are poorly understood. We combined behavioral testing and non-invasive brain imaging to study how the organization of the corpus callosum was related to intermanual transfer performance in chimpanzees. Fifty-three chimpanzees were tested for intermanual transfer of learning using a bent-wire task. Magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor images were collected from 39 of these subjects. The dominant hand showed greater performance benefits than the nondominant hand. Further, performance was associated with structural integrity of the motor …

Call For Volunteers

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Ppc Update

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Discovering Music: Small-Scale, Web-Scale, Facets, And Beyond

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Tour Of The New Nasig Website

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Predator Removal On Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Urophasianus) Ecology In The Bighorn Basin Conservation Area Of Wyoming, Elizabeth Kari Orning

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The decline of greater sage-grouse distribution and population densities across western North America has led conservation, research, and management objectives to focus efforts on understanding sage-grouse populations across their range. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of direct and indirect predation effects on hen survival and nest success of sage-grouse. The project was conducted in Hot Springs and Park Counties in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. The study had three main objectives: 1) obtain and quantify the types and impacts of predators on sage-grouse hen survival and nest success, 2) compare the effect predator removals …

Effective Graph-Based Content--Based Image Retrieval Systems For Large-Scale And Small-Scale Image Databases, Ran Chang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Digital imaging was a great invention in the last century. Since digital cameras became popular in the public, a large amount of digital images emerged in the late of the twentieth century. How to manage the huge amount of images and find desired images among them became an urgent issue during the same period.

Techniques of retrieving a desired image are generally categorized into two basic classes. One relies on text-based key words to retrieve desired images in the image
database. The other one relies on image-based queries to retrieve desired images in the image database. The second technique is …

Park Valley, Utah's Shivaree Tradition: A Rite Of Social Acceptance, Rosa Lee Thornley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This investigation of the ritualized tradition of shivaree found in the isolated ranching community of Park Valley, Utah presents a unique version of the practice. The marriage custom of charivari/shivaree evolved from a punitive form of social control in Europe and Great Britain, to a raucous American celebration that welcomed newlyweds into a community. The cultural landscape combined with the contemporary rural society sets the backdrop to argue that Park Valley’s impromptu performances went beyond just offering a hand of welcome; their shivarees, performed after the formal marriage festivities, functioned as a complex rite of social acceptance.

The analysis of …

Determination Of The Expression Patterns Of Bovine Non-Classical Major Histocompatibility Complex (Mhc) Class I Proteins, Parveen Parasar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project was funded by the United States of Department of Agriculture (USDA), which funds research aimed at improving production and animal health. The aim of this study was to advance knowledge of maternal immune tolerance to the fetus and mechanisms bovine non-classical MHC class I proteins employ to interact with immune cells and render them inert towards the fetus.

A fetus is a tissue graft inside the mother’s uterus yet must be accepted by the mother to maintain a successful pregnancy. Reproductive insufficiency and pregnancy failure are major causes of production loss in cattle, especially in cloned animals. Knowledge …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Water Resources And Corresponding Adaptation Strategies Of The Nam Ngum River Basin, Laos, Dumindu Lasitha Jayasekera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Nam Ngum River Basin (NNRB) in Laos has received attention of foreign investors due to high hydropower development potential and low per capita electricity consumption. The NNRB is rapidly developing due to its hydropower generation potentials while water demands will increase for agricultural and domestic purposes due to population increase and land-use changes. Water availability conditions will be affected with the increasing water demand and climate change may worsen the water availability conditions. Climate is often defined as the weather averaged over time whereas weather describes atmospheric conditions at a particular place and time in terms of air temperature, …

Optimizing Systems For Cold-Climate Strawberry Production, Tiffany L. Maughan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Producing fruits and vegetables in the Intermountain West can be challenging due a short growing season, extreme temperatures, and limited availability of irrigation water. This is particularly true of strawberries, where commercial production is limited due to late fall and early spring frosts that shorten the growing season. With the increasing demand for local produce as urban populations grow and as consumer buying habits change, growers are looking for ways to overcome these climatic challenges. High tunnels are one option growers can use. High tunnels are similar to greenhouses, but less expensive to construct and to maintain. Another way to …

An Algorithm To Recognize Multi-Stable Behavior From An Ensemble Of Stochastic Simulation Runs, Eduardo Monzon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthetic biological designers are demanding tools to help with the design and verification process of new biological models. Some of the most common tools available aggregate multiple simulation results into one “clean” trajectory that hopefully is representative of the system’s behavior. However, for systems exhibiting multiple stable states, these techniques fail to show all the possible trajectories of the system. This work introduces a method capable of detecting the presence of more than one “typical” trajectory in a system, which can also be integrated with other available simulation tools.