Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Self-Explanation And Strategy Training On L2 Reading Comprehension Using An Intelligent Tutoring System, Hongxia Fu

Theses and Dissertations

While research suggests that secondary language (L2) learners at postsecondary institutions face academic reading challenges, and that reading strategy training can improve primary language (L1) learners' reading comprehension, it remains a challenge to find scalable ways to deliver such training to L2 learners. Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) have been shown to be nearly as effective as human tutors while reaching potentially unlimited numbers of learners in a variety of subjects, including reading comprehension. However, few studies have explored the effectiveness of such systems for improving L2 learners' reading comprehension. Self-Explanation Reading Training (SERT) is an instructional model that combines self-explanation …

Advanced Reactors And Novel Reactions For The Conversion Of Triglyceride Based Oils Into High Quality Renewable Transportation Fuels, Michael James Linnen

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable energy continues to grow more important to all societies, leading to the research and development of a variety of alternative and renewable energy technologies. Of these, renewable liquid transportation fuels may be the most visible to consumers, and this visibility is further magnified by the long-term trend of increasingly expensive petroleum fuels that the public consumes. While first-generation biofuels such as biodiesel and fuel ethanol have been integrated into the existing fuel infrastructures of several countries, the chemical differences between them and their petroleum counterparts reduce their effectiveness. This gives rise to the development and commercialization of second generation …

Misusing Freud: Psychoanalysis And The Rise Of Homosexual Conversion Therapy, Jonathan Barrett

Psi Sigma Siren

Current ideas of conversion therapy often focus on extremist religious groups that wish to cleanse the world of what they view as an immoral abomination, homosexuality. However, conversion therapy started out as mostly scientific curiosity. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic research on human sexuality helped set the standards on psychosexual study in the twentieth century. Unfortunately, his views on homosexuality became distorted in the 1950s when psychoanalysts and psychiatrists used his methods of therapy but ignored his conclusions on homosexuality and sexual nature itself. Such distortions led to the destruction of many lives within the homosexual community.

Reparative therapy on homosexuals exploded …

Understanding The Wife Of Proverbs 31, Amy Sieg

Senior Honors Theses

Sometimes understanding the Bible is difficult, especially when one has no understanding of the cultural background for the passage. Having an example of what the Lord sees as an excellent wife is invaluable. The Proverbs 31:10-31 passage describes character qualities of an admirable wife that the reader can practically apply to everyday life. An understanding of the Hebrew culture aids in the understanding of the excellent wife in the passage. This paper will include cultural background information and word studies. It will also integrate other Old Testament and New Testament scriptures that will further contribute to the readers understanding of …

Messianic Jewish Liturgical Practices, Elizabeth Ames

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis explores the current liturgical practices of mainstream Messianic Judaism in the United States using literary and ethnographic research. It examines the historical, biblical, and theological basis for the worship practices used. The origins of their worship practices are evaluated to ascertain whether they reflect charismatic Christian, Jewish denominational or biblical practice. A combination of literary research and qualitative research are used to define the movement; give a brief but comprehensive history of it; and, finally, explain and examine its worship practices. Leaders of the Messianic movement were interviewed for the qualitative research. The findings revealed that a distinction …

The Grimm Fairy Tales Rewritten With Feminist Perspectives, Kylie Hammell

Honors College Theses

Three Grimm Fairy Tales - The Little Mermaid, The Seven Ravens, and Little Red Riding Hood, - rewritten with eco-feminist, radical feminist, and liberal feminist perspectives.

Animals' Capability To Bond And The Implications That Follow, Falyn Goldfarb

Honors College Theses

This paper explores the ways in which humans have historically viewed animals, with a focus on Descartes theory automata. Further concepts of the problem of different minds, inherent value, empathy, love, friendship, grief, isolation, anthropomorphism, and biochemistry (focusing on oxytocin, cortisol and the prefrontal cortex) are all explored. Numerous literature reviews are used as examples to fight against the argument that animals are merely machines and can therefore be used and abused. Animal social bonds, including parent-child, purely social, and animal-human, are analyzed for their evolutionary and biological purposes in attempt to highlight the relationships that are not obviously valuable …

Rat Hippocampal Responses Up To 90 Days After A Single Nanoceria Dose Extends A Hierarchical Oxidative Stress Model For Nanoparticle Toxicity, Sarita S. Hardas, Rukhsana Sultana, Govind Warrier, Mo Dan, Peng Wu, Eric A. Grulke, Michael T. Tseng, Jason M. Unrine, Uschi M. Graham, Robert A. Yokel, D. Allan Butterfield

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Ceria engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have very promising commercial and therapeutic applications. Few reports address the effects of nanoceria in intact mammals, let alone long term exposure. This knowledge is essential to understand potential therapeutic applications of nanoceria in relation to its hazard assessment. The current study elucidates oxidative stress responses in the rat hippocampus 1 and 20 h, and 1, 7, 30 and 90 days following a single systemic infusion of 30 nm nanoceria. The results are incorporated into a previously described hierarchical oxidative stress (HOS) model. During the 1-20 h period, increases of the GSSG: GSH ratio and cytoprotective …

"God Made Me Thisaway": Mary Wilkins Freeman, Flannery O'Connor, And Religiosity As Challenge To Heteronormativity, Anna M. Worm

Masters Theses

The fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman and Flannery O'Connor, especially Freeman's “A New England Nun” and “The Balsam Fir” and O'Connor's “A Temple of the Holy Ghost” and “Good Country People,” expose and challenge heteronormativity. Consideration of heteronormativity and compulsory heterosexuality, as well as religious themes demonstrates the way their works offer an avenue of challenge for characters struggling with societal forces that push them towards an unwanted or unfulfilling heterosexuality. Although Freeman's works suggest that a satisfactory life outside heterosexual norms is unrealistic, with community alienation the price for resistance, she envisions religion a valuable tool in such resistances. …

Impacts Of Gas And Oil Development On Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus Phasianellus) Nest Success And Predator Dynamics In Western North Dakota, Paul Curtis Burr

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in extraction technologies are resulting in rapid increases of gas and oil development in western North Dakota. This expansion of energy development may have unknown effects on local wildlife populations and the ecological interactions within and among species. Sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) are a popular upland game bird species that rely on grassland habitat found throughout the state. Potential impacts of gas and oil development on the nest success of sharp-tailed grouse is an area of particular interest as it is an important factor in avian reproduction. Similarly, it is equally important to understand the impacts …

The Influence Of Priming On College Students' Financial Valuation Of Art, Lenetta Choate

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of priming on college students' financial valuation of six artworks (i.e., three landscapes and three abstracts). This research study examined the independent variables of priming, gender, number of art courses completed, college class status, and college major on the dependent variable of college students' financial valuation of art. The sample for this study included 422 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university. Three research questions were examined. First, a t-test with an alpha of .05 was used to examine the difference in college students' financial valuation of art between college students …

Eco-Theatre, R. Murray Schafer, Eleanor James, Sarah Ann Standing

Publications and Research

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1933, and widely considered Canada’s leading living composer, Raymond Murray Schafer is also a librettist, educator, writer, and “soundscape” theorist. Schafer composes for symphonies as well as chamber orchestras, solo instruments (he has even composed a piece for snowmobile), and vocalists. His compositions have played throughout the world. Schafer’s operatic cycle Patria—a masterwork almost forty years in the making—consists of ten episodes, plus a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue The Princess of the Stars and epilogue And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon (also known as the Wolf Project) comprise an eco-theatre where Schafer places …

Modulatory Effects Of Gaba(B) Receptor Facilitation In A Model Of Chronic Inflammation, Michael A. Langhardt, Jefferson Kinney

McNair Poster Presentations

Inflammation within the brain (neuroinflammation) has been associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimerʼs disease (AD) (Solito et al., 2012). Within the brain, inflammation is defined broadly as prolonged activation of the brainʼs immune cells, known as glial cells. Excessive activation of glial cells within the brains of AD patients is a hallmark of the disease, however the mechanism by which this contributes to disease pathology is relatively unclear (Jo et al., 2014). Recently, studies have shown that glial cells, known as astrocytes, are able to synthesize and release the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (Charles et al., 2003). Further, …

Proust, The Suffering Artist, Matthew G. Buyachek

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

This thesis examines the interrelationship between suffering and art in the context of À la recherché du temps perdu by Marcel Proust. I first trace a lineage of suffering and art, conduct a literature review of relevant criticism on Proust's work and on suffering and art, and finally explicate volumes one and five of Proust's magnum opus. I interpret the scene of the goodnight-kiss to be the genesis of Marcel’s search and his path to artistry. In this scene, Marcel profanes his mother qua maternal and artistic ideal, and subsequently sublimates Mme de Guermantes and Albertine in an attempt to …

All Hands On Deck: New Jersey Law Revision Commission Recommends Modified Uniform Laws To Safeguard The Public And Address Disasters And Their Aftermath, Laura C. Tharney, Esq., Jayne J. Johnson, Esq.

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Plotting Devices: Literary Darwinism In The Laboratory, John Hay

English Faculty Research

Critics of literary Darwinism like to point out the weaknesses of its scientific scaffolding, but the real flaw in this research program is its neglect of literary history and stylistic evolution. A full-fledged scientific approach to literary criticism should incorporate the kind of work being done by Franco Moretti at the Stanford Literary Lab—a quantitative analysis of the history of literary form. While Moretti and the literary Darwinists are almost never mentioned together, I contend that their work is not only compatible but also necessarily so for a more consilient literary criticism. The Darwinian aesthetics promoted by Denis Dutton can …

Saving Oklahoma's "Save Our State" Amendment: Sharia Law In The West And Suggestions To Protect Similar State Legislation From Constitutional Attack, Steven M. Rosato

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ambulatory Extracorporeal Arterioveous Co2 Removal Via Subclavian Vessels, Alejandra Macias, Alvaro Rojas-Pena

McNair Poster Presentations

Lung transplantation is the last recourse for patients with severe respiratory failure. However, transplantable lungs do not keep up with the demand, and 15.4% of patients die awaiting transplant. An alternative therapy is extracorporeal life support (ECLS), which uses a pump and an oxygenator to serve as a bridge to transplant. However, this technology limits ambulation and requires ICU care. This novel study implements pumpless arteriovenous (AV) ECLS technology to remove CO2 via the subclavian vessels, providing respiratory support and hypercapnia (excessive CO2 retention) sympton relief for patients while allowing ambulation.

Clinical Manifestations, Complications, And Treatment Of Brucellosis: Evaluation Of 72 Cases, Şükran Köse, Süheyla Seri̇n Senger, Gülgün Akkoçlu, Lütfi̇ye Kuzucu, Yildiz Ulu, Gürsel Ersan, Fi̇li̇z Oğuz

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Brucellosis is an important disease in developing countries. We aimed to determine the epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of brucellosis, which still has a high morbidity in Turkey. Materials and methods: Seventy-two patients with brucellosis, monitored at our clinic from January 2004 to July 2010, were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The average age was determined to be 44.8 ± 18 years, and 40 of the patients were female (55.6%). The most frequent transmission route was the use of raw milk and dairy products, in 45 of the patients (62.5%). The most frequent complaints were joint pain, high fever, weakness, low back …

Efficacy Of Resuscitation With Intralipid In A Levobupivacaine-Induced Cardiac Arrest Model, Murat Karcioğlu, Kasim Tuzcu, Fati̇h Sefi̇l, Işil Davarci, Suzan Aydin, Ali̇ Sari, Akin Aydoğan, Rai̇f Özden

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Cardiac toxicity due to the administration of local anesthetics may be fatal. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of a 20% lipid solution combined with epinephrine in a levobupivacaine-induced cardiac arrest model. Materials and methods: A total of 14 New Zealand rabbits were sedated and mechanically ventilated. Asystole was induced with intravenous levobupivacaine injection. The rabbits were randomized into groups receiving the same volume of either 0.9% saline (CR group) or a 20% lipid solution (LE group) along with a 100 µg/kg epinephrine bolus, which were administered immediately upon asystole. Standard advanced cardiac life support protocols were performed. Results: …

Immunohistochemical Investigation Of Galectin-3 In The Skin Of Mice Applied With Origanum Hypericifolium Essential Oil And Irradiated With Ultraviolet B, Pinar İli̇, Nazan Keski̇n

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To demonstrate galectin-3-immunoreactivity in the undiluted essential oil of Origanum hypericifolium when applied to the ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiated skin of mice. Materials and methods: Female BALB/c mice were allocated to 4 groups, each comprising 6 mice (Group 1: control; Group 2: UVB irradiated control; Group 3: undiluted O. hypericifolium essential oil applied; Group 4: undiluted O. hypericifolium essential oil applied before UVB irradiation). One week prior to UVB irradiation, the undiluted O. hypericifolium essential oil was applied to the shaved dorsal skin of mice 3 times a week. Subsequently, the mice were irradiated 3 times per week with UVB …

Effects Of Linoleic Acid On Generalized Convulsive And Nonconvulsive Epileptic Seizures, Fati̇h Eki̇ci̇, Gönül Gürol, Nurbay Ateş

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To comparatively investigate the effects of linoleic acid on convulsive and nonconvulsive epileptic seizures. Materials and methods: Rats were divided into 3 groups: convulsive epileptic rats receiving only pentylentetrazole (PTZ) injections (group 1), convulsive epileptic rats receiving PTZ and linoleic acid (group 2), and Wistar Albino Glaxo rats from Rijswijk with genetic absence epilepsy receiving linoleic acid (group 3). The duration and severity of convulsive activity were determined in groups in which convulsive seizures were induced by PTZ. In group 3, intravenous linoleic acid was administered after 1-h baseline electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. The EEG recordings were analyzed. Results: When groups …

Are Teachers Prepared To Teach Sex Education?, Adrien Stolifer

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explored the history of the United States and its complicated relationship with sex, and how this relationship correlates back to the individuals who are responsible for teaching it to students. History was gathered beginning at the late 1800’s up to current national standards. Seven teachers from three schools around the Pittsburg KS area, including elementary, middle/junior high and high schools, were interviewed and asked what they thought about their experience teaching sex education. Through these first hand experiences, key elements surfaced of communication between teacher and student, disproving that all sex education communication is negative.

Interaction Of Stress And Stimulants In Female Rats : Role Of Dopamine In The Stress-Induced Reactivity To Methamphetamine, Eden Marie Anderson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Previous research in humans and animals suggests that exposure to stress alters the susceptibility and behavioral responses to drugs of abuse, including methamphetamine. Female rats have been shown to be more sensitive to the effects of stimulants and stress than males, but few studies have investigated the interaction between stress and stimulants in female rats. Therefore, the current study investigated whether stress potentiated the behavioral and dopaminergic responses to a methamphetamine injection in female rats. Adult female rats were either exposed to 10 days of stressors that varied by day and time or were left undisturbed except for daily weighing …

What Stages In The Phenology Of Corn Are The Most Correlated With Rainfed Corn Yields In The Corn Belt Using Remote Sensing?, Zachary Lee Braun

Theses and Dissertations

Two weekly and freely available remotely sensed vegetation indices, Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI), were assessed for state level corn yield correlation in the Corn Belt region of the United States for the years of 2007-2013. VCI and TCI were 16-km pixels which are derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Corn pixels were identified by downloading yearly USDA Cropscape pixels for corn in each state. Irrigated corn pixels were removed by using the 2007 Irrigated Agriculture Dataset developed by Pervez and Brown (2010) as a mask. Corn pixels were then resampled to 16-km …

Epoxy Resin Monomers With Reduced Skin Sensitizing Potency, Niamh F. O'Boyle, Ida B. Niklasson, Ali R. Tehrani-Bagda, Tamara Delaine, Krister Holmberg, Kristina Luthman, Ann-Therese Karlberg

Articles

Epoxy resin monomers, including diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A and F (DGEBA and DGEBF), are extensively used as building blocks for thermosetting polymers. However, they are known to cause widespread contact allergy. This research describes a number of alternative epoxy resin monomers, designed with the aim of reducing the skin sensitizing potency whilst maintaining the ability to form thermosetting polymers. The compounds were designed, synthesized, assessed for skin sensitizing potency using the in vivo murine local lymph node assay, and tested for technical applicability using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. All the novel epoxy resin monomers had decreased skin …

Role Of Bipa As A Modulator Of Gene Expression And Ribosome Assembly In Escherichia Coli, Promisree Choudhury

Theses and Dissertations

In Escherichia coli, ribosomes are the basic protein-synthesizing cellular machines. Hence, regulation of ribosome synthesis and assembly as well as regulation of protein translation are very important for bacterial cells. However, the cellular mechanisms of both these processes are not yet completely understood and thus both are active fields of research. It has been suggested that the BipA protein is involved in the regulation of both these processes. The research described here focused on understanding the cellular function(s) of BipA in regulating protein synthesis and ribosome assembly.

BipA is a member of the elongation factor family of translational GTPases …

Role Of The Α1a-Adrenergic Receptor In Synaptic Plasticity, Cognition & Neurogenesis, Brianna Lynn Goldenstein

Theses and Dissertations

Norepinephrine (NE) is a neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory. NE activates adrenergic receptors (ARs) and stimulating the α1A-AR subtype has been known to increase adult neurogenesis (ANG). We hypothesized that α1A-AR-induced ANG would enhance learning and memory. Constitutively active mutant (CAM) α1A-AR, α1A-AR knock-out (KO), normal wild type (WT) mice, and mice treated with the α1A-AR selective agonist cirazoline (CRZ) were tested on the Barnes maze. CAM α1A-AR and CRZ-treated mice performed better and α1A-AR KO mice performed poorer than WT. Long-term potentiation (LTP) experiments on aged CAM α1A-AR mice revealed enhanced LTP in CAM α1A-AR mice versus WT. …

Establishing Credibility Online Through Impression Management Strategies, Shauna Vanbogart

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This project sought to understand how individuals establish credibility online through impression management strategies. Applying Goffman’s (1959) impression management theory, the literature review highlighted four leading self-presentation tactics that bolster credibility effectively on the Internet: structure and aesthetics of personal websites, publication of content that is consistent, insightful and authentic, the use of self-disclosure, and verification of expertise through testimonials and references. These four self-presentation strategies were applied to analyze eight entrepreneurs who have successfully built a credible presence online. These case studies were further developed through the design of online course that teaches entrepreneurs how to use impression management …

Silent Voice: Buberian Philosophy And Nonverbal Disability, Elizabeth M. Minium

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Individuals who are developmentally disabled and nonverbal, possessing little if any symbolic expressive or receptive language, are virtually invisible in the United States. This study presupposes that all persons, including those who are nonverbal and/or developmentally disabled, have a unique “voice” and contribution to the communication practices of humanity and society. This philosophical study analyzes the qualities of communication of developmentally disabled, nonverbal individuals and their communication partners through the lens of Martin Buber’s dialogic philosophy. Conclusions suggest: 1) developmentally disabled, nonverbal persons do relate and communicate, and definitions of “communication” and “dialogue” should include those who do not think …