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2014

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Articles 15991 - 16020 of 20611

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A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten Jan 2014

A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The development of agriculture and its spread around the globe is one of the most consequential events in the history of our species. The transition to agriculture is associated with many cultural developments, such as craft specialization, urbanization, and the creation of social hierarchies. Many social theorists believe that these changes associated with the adoption of farming were beneficial to the human condition, however, not all agree. The goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of the adoption of agriculture on human health. To do this, bioarchaeological analysis is employed, comparing the skeletal and dental health of Mesolithic …

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Probing Secondary And Tertiary Rna Folding Using Force And Temperature, William Stephenson Jan 2014

Probing Secondary And Tertiary Rna Folding Using Force And Temperature, William Stephenson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

RNA folding is the process whereby a single stranded RNA molecule assumes its three-dimensional functional conformation. Along with the protein folding problem, the RNA folding problem remains as one of the great unsolved problems in biophysics. Generally RNA folding occurs in a hierarchical manner whereby the sequence of an RNA (primary structure) determines which regions will form helical segments (secondary structure) before further rearrangement and base pairing of secondary structure motifs (tertiary structure). Due to the intimate connection between structure and function within molecular biology, increased familiarity with the thermodynamic and kinetic factors that govern RNA folding will permit the …

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Effects Of Extreme Hydrologic Events On Trout Populations And Fish Communities In A Catskill Mountain River, Scott Daniel George Jan 2014

Effects Of Extreme Hydrologic Events On Trout Populations And Fish Communities In A Catskill Mountain River, Scott Daniel George

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Extreme hydrologic events are becoming more common with changing climatic conditions. Although the impacts of winter and spring floods on lotic ecosystems have been well studied, the effects of summer floods on fish assemblages in mountain streams are less well known. This study took advantage of an extreme precipitation event during the course of an ongoing monitoring program, which allowed the opportunity to quantify the effects of a severe late summer flood on fish communities in a montane watershed. We also evaluated the effect of the flood on the density and age structure of two ecologically important populations of sport …

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School Psychologists' Early Numeracy Training And Practices, Jia Liu-Trofimovsky Jan 2014

School Psychologists' Early Numeracy Training And Practices, Jia Liu-Trofimovsky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

An emergent area of research pertains to early numeracy, or number sense. Early numeracy plays a significant role in the development of mathematics skills, and researchers have recognized its importance for overall academic achievement. This study surveyed practicing school psychologists to investigate current early numeracy training and practices. A nationwide sample of 279 school psychologists completed a Web-based survey modeled after the available early numeracy research. The majority of individuals reported receiving at least one professional development training for academic concerns per year. A larger number of participants had training for reading and early literacy compared to early numeracy. Related …

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The Role Of Glucose Transporter 4 During Cognitive Enhancement By Angiotensin Iv, Leslie Ann Sandusky Jan 2014

The Role Of Glucose Transporter 4 During Cognitive Enhancement By Angiotensin Iv, Leslie Ann Sandusky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized behaviorally by profound cognitive impairment. Currently, there is no cure for this disorder and available therapeutics only slow the progression of cognitive decline in a subset of the AD population Recent research has shifted to upregulation of the insulin signaling pathway as a mechanism to restore cognition in the AD population, as this system is known to be impaired in the AD brain. A possible novel therapeutic for the treatment of cognitive impairment is Angiotensin IV (Ang IV). Ang IV is an endogenous pentapeptide inhibitor of the insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) and …

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Refugee Protection And Assistance : Locating Gender In Refugee Policies, Programs, And Experiences, Mwaka Nachilongo Jan 2014

Refugee Protection And Assistance : Locating Gender In Refugee Policies, Programs, And Experiences, Mwaka Nachilongo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

REFUGEE PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE: LOCATING GENDER IN

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Meaning Making With An Ipad : A Case Study Of One Child's Engagement With Ipad Applications Within Her Family Activity System, Barbara Maria Vokatis Jan 2014

Meaning Making With An Ipad : A Case Study Of One Child's Engagement With Ipad Applications Within Her Family Activity System, Barbara Maria Vokatis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As children increasingly use digital technologies in interactions with their parents (Marsh, 2003, 2004, 2011; Robinson & Turnbull, 2005), such possibilities create new ways in which literacy is practiced (Barton, Hamilton, & Ivanič, 2000; Jewitt, 2008; Street, 1998). Yet, what the literacy field knows about interactions between children and parents comes mostly from studies on traditional print (Caspe, 2009; Halliday, 1975; Heath, 1983). The research attending to children's interactions with technologies suggests that while young children are immersed in a culture of digital media, research on young children's home literacy practices involving technologies is far from comprehensive.

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Reading After The End Of The World, Christina Thyssen Jan 2014

Reading After The End Of The World, Christina Thyssen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Reading after the End of the World is an investigation into challenges to our critical registers brought on by the increasingly visible effects of climate change and the era of the anthropocene. Its concerns are with how these realities can be seen as transformative of our notions of "reading" and with a literature that seems to anticipate such a moment of disarticulation. The project is organized around close readings of novels by Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, Toni Morrison and John Edgar Wideman and it traces in these texts what I refer to as a "positive nihilism," which serves as a …

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The Role Of Progestogen Neurosteroids In Behaviors Relevant For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Danielle Christine Llaneza Jan 2014

The Role Of Progestogen Neurosteroids In Behaviors Relevant For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Danielle Christine Llaneza

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects children across the U.S. and is characterized by deficits in social communication and restrictive/repetitive behaviors, for which few therapeutic interventions have been successful. Steroid hormones, such as progesterone (P4) and its metabolite, 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP), can exert neuroprotective effects, influence synaptic morphology, mediate behavioral outcomes, and influence stress-responding. In this thesis, the behaviors and baseline levels of the stress hormone, corticosterone, P4, and 3α,5α-THP are investigated in BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice, a proposed ASD model. It was hypothesized that BTBR mice would show abnormalities in behaviors and in levels of steroids and neuroendocrine factors. Results …

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From Pamphlet To Melodrama : The Resacralization Of The Queen In Dumas' Marie Antoinette Romances, Karen Elizabeth Keegan Jan 2014

From Pamphlet To Melodrama : The Resacralization Of The Queen In Dumas' Marie Antoinette Romances, Karen Elizabeth Keegan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Marie Antoinette was famously calumniated in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary pamphlets as being a debauched monarch who represented the corruption of the Ancien Régime. The transition of her portrayal from wicked queen to that of a martyr started to appear in earnest during the Restoration period of the early nineteenth century as literary genres evolved from libertine literature to pamphlet to melodrama. During the period of 1846-1855 Alexandre Dumas père wrote a series of historical dramas called the Marie Antoinette Romances in which he used melodramatic elements such as moral polarization, masks and mistaken identities, and the occult to paint a …

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Development Of Novel Technologies To Enhance Performance And Reliability Of Iii-Nitride Avalanche Photodiodes, Puneet Harischandra Suvarna Jan 2014

Development Of Novel Technologies To Enhance Performance And Reliability Of Iii-Nitride Avalanche Photodiodes, Puneet Harischandra Suvarna

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Solar-blind ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes are an enabling technology for applications in the fields of astronomy, communication, missile warning systems, biological agent detection and particle physics research. Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are capable of detecting low-intensity light with high quantum efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio without the need for external amplification. The properties of III-N materials (GaN and AlGaN) are promising for UV photodetectors that are highly efficient, radiation-hard and capable of visible-blind or solar-blind operation without the need for external filters. However, the realization of reliable and high performance III-N APDs and imaging arrays has several technological challenges. The high price and …

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Study Of Protective Role Of Cytochrome P450s In Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Cprlow Mouse Model, Xiaoyu Fan Jan 2014

Study Of Protective Role Of Cytochrome P450s In Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Cprlow Mouse Model, Xiaoyu Fan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are potent regulatory factors for inflammation. The synthesis of GCs involves several cytochrome P450 enzymes, such as mitochondrial CYP11A1, CYP11B1, and microsomal CYP21. Previous studies have indicated that the GCs, including those released from adrenal glands, and those synthesized in extra-adrenal tissues, such as intestine, exert inhibitory effects on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In a previous study using an intestinal epithelium (IE)-specific P450 reductase (CPR) knockout (IE-Cpr-null) mouse model, the results suggested that the intestinal P450s had a protective role in DSS-induced acute colitis. In this study, using a hypomorphic CPR mouse model (Cprlow), which presents a global …

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The Role Of The Simple Natures And Method In Descartes' Meditations, Thomas C. Fowler Jan 2014

The Role Of The Simple Natures And Method In Descartes' Meditations, Thomas C. Fowler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

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The Postsynaptic Regulation Of Synaptic Strength In Drosophila, Daniel Michael Gertner Jan 2014

The Postsynaptic Regulation Of Synaptic Strength In Drosophila, Daniel Michael Gertner

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Postsynaptic Ca2+ plays an important role in synaptic homeostasis and synaptic plasticity. Postsynaptic Ca2+ signals have been shown to regulate synaptic transmission at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ), however, these signals have not been well characterized. This will explore how these signals regulate synaptic strength and what channels are involved. In previous lab experiments Ca2+ transients were observed during evoked and spontaneous release (Desai and Lnenicka, 2011). It was further demonstrated that a reduction in synaptic strength occurs following synaptic stimulation. It was hypothesized that the increase in postsynaptic Ca2+ following synaptic stimulation activates the gCS and causes a …

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Proprioception And Literacy In The Digital Realm, Paul Michael Rappoccio Jan 2014

Proprioception And Literacy In The Digital Realm, Paul Michael Rappoccio

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Drawing on research in the fields of neuroscience, reading cognition, and the history of writing, the author explores the condition of reading today. Rather than accepting the apocalyptic pronouncements that the Internet is "dumbing down" current readers, the author argues for a more nuanced understanding of the effects of digital media. He argues that the literacies needed for the new digital realm are not new, but are literacies developed over thousands of years. The author argues for the need of more education and instruction in the use of digital media, and that the digital realm requires new proprioceptive (spatial awareness) …

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Old Tools, New View : Utilizing Species Distribution Models To Focus Conservation Efforts Under A Changing Climate, Samantha Hoff Jan 2014

Old Tools, New View : Utilizing Species Distribution Models To Focus Conservation Efforts Under A Changing Climate, Samantha Hoff

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In New York State, scientists have observed many changes in bird communities including population declines, range contractions, mismatch between behavior and resources, and changes in bird phenology as a result of climatic changes. Four objectives were addressed with this research: understanding how different bird species may respond to changing climatic conditions under a future IPCC emission scenario; determining how suitable habitat may change in the future and what bioclimatic variables are important to specific avian guilds; identifying hotspots of suitable habitat that may represent important areas for conservation investment; and investigating how managers can incorporate future climate predictions into management …

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Synergic Concepts Between English And Vietnamese, Ngoc Thi Bich Tran Jan 2014

Synergic Concepts Between English And Vietnamese, Ngoc Thi Bich Tran

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

One of the most common mistakes that foreign/second language learners make is inappropriate word choice, which results from the lack of knowledge of the conceptual content contained in a word. I have experienced this difficulty myself as a foreign learner of English for more than ten years; and as an English teacher for about three years in Vietnam, I understand that grasping the conceptual content of English words is quite challenging for Vietnamese learners. It has long been a tradition that the teacher gives the translation of an English word to the student, and the student consequently just puts a …

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Exploratory Study Of Student Instructional Choice In Online Learning, Andrew Hurd Jan 2014

Exploratory Study Of Student Instructional Choice In Online Learning, Andrew Hurd

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This exploratory study considers choice theory, decision theory, and the constructivist theory of education to explore college-level computer science learners' behavior when presented with multiple instructional modes (instructional methods for the presentation of course content, such as video, text, audio, animation, etc.) in an online learning environment.

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Atrazine In Maternal Drinking Water Supply Below The Federal Maximum Contaminant Level And Risk Of Preterm Birth, Small For Gestational Age, Cryptorchidism And Hypospadias, Daniel Rice Jan 2014

Atrazine In Maternal Drinking Water Supply Below The Federal Maximum Contaminant Level And Risk Of Preterm Birth, Small For Gestational Age, Cryptorchidism And Hypospadias, Daniel Rice

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The prevalence of preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and hypospadias has been increasing for several decades in the U.S resulting in significant morbidity and mortality and direct costs to society. Drinking water provides a mechanism for prolonged chronic exposure to environmental contaminants but is one of the least assessed environmental exposures in pregnancy and birth outcomes. To test the hypothesis that maternal exposure to atrazine through drinking water during pregnancy, or one or more trimesters of gestation, is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, small for gestational age, cryptorchidism and hypospadias a retrospective cohort study was …

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An Implantable Device For Manipulation Of The In Vivo Tumor Microenvironment, James K. Williams Jan 2014

An Implantable Device For Manipulation Of The In Vivo Tumor Microenvironment, James K. Williams

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the past decade, it has become increasingly recognized that interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) regulate metastasis. One such interaction is the paracrine loop between macrophages and cancer cells which drives metastatic invasion in mammary tumors. Tumor associated macrophages release epidermal growth factor (EGF), a chemoattractant which induces the migration of cancer cells toward the blood vessels. The cancer cells reciprocate by releasing a macrophage chemoattractant, colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), resulting in the co-migration of both cell types and subsequent intravasation. In this work, a new technology has been developed for studying the mechanisms by which …

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Sound Environment Programming The Post-1945 Moment : Charles Olson, Sun Ra, John Cage, And The Way Back In, Michael Peters Jan 2014

Sound Environment Programming The Post-1945 Moment : Charles Olson, Sun Ra, John Cage, And The Way Back In, Michael Peters

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

On the eve of 1945, when the Manhattan Project's machinations to split the atom were almost in place, another physicist published a little book--What Is Life? Applying physics to biology, Erwin Schrödinger described how genetic "code-script" could create aperiodic (non-repeating) new life from periodic materials, revealing the "secret" of life. This dilemma of life or death defines the post-1945 moment. Fraught with Hamlet-like uncertainty, I argue this moment is the apex of a long-fomenting, eco-historical crisis where Western thinking had severed "Man" from "Nature." Sound Environment Programming is a term I invented to detail how Charles Olson, Sun Ra, and …

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A "Silk-Shot" Voice : Constructing Social History In The Future-Bound Novels Of H.G. Wells, Sophie Moss Jan 2014

A "Silk-Shot" Voice : Constructing Social History In The Future-Bound Novels Of H.G. Wells, Sophie Moss

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT: This thesis argues that H.G. Wells' attempts to craft a successful narrative of the predicted future, as viewed through three primary texts (Anticipations, A Modern Utopia and The Shape of Things to Come) are not only trials at the most effective textual platform for his social ideology but also explicit attempts to create a new hybrid literature. The author first embarks on a close reading of Anticipations to analyze Wells' social ideology and his early theory of the role of fiction. Next, the author examines the two later novels, A Modern Utopia and The Shape of Things to Come, …

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Stirpiculture : Science-Guided Human Propagation And The Oneida Community, Alexandra Leah Prince Jan 2014

Stirpiculture : Science-Guided Human Propagation And The Oneida Community, Alexandra Leah Prince

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Between 1869 and 1879, the communal Christian group the Oneida Community undertook a pioneering eugenics experiment called "stirpiculture" by the group's leader, John Humphrey Noyes. Stirpiculture resulted in the planned conception, birth, and communal rearing of fifty-eight children, bred from selected members of the Oneida Community. This thesis concerns the scientific as well as the religious origins of the Oneida Community's stirpiculture experiment, and explores the ways in which the experiment changed the Community over time, especially as the "stirpicults," or children of the experiment matured and reoriented the Community away from the religious tenets on which it was founded. …

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Improving The Microbial Source Tracking Toolbox : Evaluating The Use Of Selective Enrichments And Artificial Sweeteners In A Multi-Tiered Approach, Stacey A. Helming Jan 2014

Improving The Microbial Source Tracking Toolbox : Evaluating The Use Of Selective Enrichments And Artificial Sweeteners In A Multi-Tiered Approach, Stacey A. Helming

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Microbial contamination of surface waters is a public health concern world-wide, with non-point source fecal input contributing to millions of cases of waterborne illness annually. Numerous techniques have been proposed to monitor for non-point source fecal contamination, but few studies have explored the correlation of multiple chemical and microbial fecal source tracking markers in ambient waters. Therefore, the purpose of these studies was to evaluate the use of multiple "ideal" markers of fecal contamination and improve upon any analytical techniques required to identify species-specific fecal contamination in surface waters. The use of selective enrichments to improve the sensitivity of end-point …

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Grade Retention Practices Within An Rti Framework : A Survey Of School Psychologists' Perceptions, Elizabeth Johnson Jan 2014

Grade Retention Practices Within An Rti Framework : A Survey Of School Psychologists' Perceptions, Elizabeth Johnson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The overall effects of retention have been identified as among the least effective of all educational initiatives; despite this, retention continues to receive support from a variety of professionals within the school setting. More recently, Response to intervention (RTI) has taken the forefront in terms of educational reforms, and many across the US are now implementing the model in an effort to conform to special education law and meet standards. Arguments are being made that practitioners should be implementing formative and evidence-based interventions, such as those found within the RTI framework, to improve the outcomes of struggling students in place …

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Lithic Analysis Of The Becker Site : Continued Reevaluation Of The Culture-Historic Approach, Christopher Joseph Sobik Jan 2014

Lithic Analysis Of The Becker Site : Continued Reevaluation Of The Culture-Historic Approach, Christopher Joseph Sobik

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Becker Site was originally interpreted as a River Phase, Late Archaic central base camp. While excavations at the site yielded numerous Normanskill projectile points, the diagnostic artifact for this phase, several rounds of radiocarbon testing yielded dates firmly in the Woodland Period. A literature review of the history of the use of the culture historic approach in New York State Archaeology, as well as several modern critiques on the same subject was undertaken with the goal of interpreting the site free of its constraints. A lithic analysis of both the formal tools and lithic debitage was undertaken in order …

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The Lipogenic Phenotype Of Her2/Neu-Positive Breast Cancer Cells, Jan Martin Baumann Jan 2014

The Lipogenic Phenotype Of Her2/Neu-Positive Breast Cancer Cells, Jan Martin Baumann

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recent work has shown that HER2/neu-positive breast cancer cells rely on a unique Warburg-like metabolism for survival and aggressive behavior. These cells are dependent on fatty acid (FA) synthesis, show markedly increased levels of stored fats and disruption of the synthetic process results in apoptosis. Supplementation of the growth media with physiological concentrations of saturated FAs induces cell death, whereas HER2-normal cells are not affected. This is particularly interesting in the context of new epidemiological data showing that a diet rich in saturated FAs is positively correlated with the development of HER2-negative disease, but not HER2/neu-positive disease.

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The Role Of Igf-Ii In Memory Enhancement : Implications For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy S. Kohtz Jan 2014

The Role Of Igf-Ii In Memory Enhancement : Implications For Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy S. Kohtz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Cognitive and memory impairments significantly affect multiple domains in life and play major roles in disease. Identifying critical mechanisms and factors that mediate memory consolidation and enhancement may represent an important approach for increasing cognition in normal adults and preventing or treating cognitive impairments. The expression of the C/EBP- target gene insulin-like growth factor 2, (IGF-II) is required for memory consolidation; furthermore, IGF-II administration during memory consolidation produces memory enhancement, increased memory persistence and prevents forgetting. In this thesis, I investigated the therapeutic potential of IGF-II to promote memory consolidation when administered systemically. In addition, I investigated one particularly interesting …

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For The Improvement Of The Breed Of Horse : Thoroughbred Racing And National Security In The Age Of Horsepower, 1776-1945, Elizabeth Redkey Jan 2014

For The Improvement Of The Breed Of Horse : Thoroughbred Racing And National Security In The Age Of Horsepower, 1776-1945, Elizabeth Redkey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

From Biblical times through the mid-twentieth century, humans relied on horses as a critical vehicle of war. But horses, unlike modern machines, could not simply be manufactured to the necessary specifications, in the necessary numbers, at the necessary times. In addition, cavalry warfare was the most physically demanding of all tasks to which humans have put horses, and required horses of exceptional endurance and athletic ability. Creating a pool of such horses to be drawn from in times of military need took careful breeding and planning. But the United States, with its fear of a standing military, and its decentralized …

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Molecular Actions Of The Vitamin D Receptor In Breast Cancer, Erika Laporta Jan 2014

Molecular Actions Of The Vitamin D Receptor In Breast Cancer, Erika Laporta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D) exerts anti-cancer actions through the vitamin D receptor (VDR) but the specific targets that mediate these effects remain to be defined. In these studies, growth and genomic responses to 1,25D were evaluated in a cellular model system derived from mammary tumors generated in VDR knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice. WT145 cells (derived from WT tumors) expressed VDR and were growth inhibited by 1,25D, whereas KO240 cells (derived from VDRKO tumors) lacked VDR and were not growth inhibited by 1,25D. KO240 cell clones stably expressing VDR (KOhVDR cells) were sensitized to 1,25D mediated growth arrest. Genomic profiling …

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