Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Dietary Β-Glucan Supplementation On Growth, Intestinal Functionality And Disease Progression In Selected Cyprinids (Cyprinus Carpio And Danio Rerio), Holger Kühlwein

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of a ß-(1,3)(1,6)-D-glucan derived from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, on growth performance parameters and intestinal functionality in mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) and on progression of a chronic, pre-existing mycobacteriosis in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The 1st experiment revealed that mirror carp fed diets containing 1% and 2% ß-glucan showed significant improvements in growth performance compared to fish fed both the control and the 0.1% ß-glucan containing diet. Equally, fish fed diets supplemented with 1% and 2% ß-glucan displayed significantly higher infiltration of leukocytes into the epithelial layer of in …

Computational Study Of The Mechanisms Underlying Oscillation In Neuronal Locomotor Circuits, Robert Merrison-Hort

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

In this thesis we model two very different movement-related neuronal circuits, both of which produce oscillatory patterns of activity. In one case we study oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia under both normal and Parkinsonian conditions. First, we used a detailed Hodgkin-Huxley type spiking model to investigate the activity patterns that arise when oscillatory cortical input is transmitted to the globus pallidus via the subthalamic nucleus. Our model reproduced a result from rodent studies which shows that two anti-phase oscillatory groups of pallidal neurons appear under Parkinsonian conditions. Secondly, we used a population model of the basal ganglia to study …

Novel Conditioning Protocols Focusing On Oxygen Manipulation To Enhance Stem Cell Transplantation, Brandon William Hanna

Theses and Dissertations

Musculoskeletal tissue engineering involves the creation of multiple tissue types that interact together to form a particular function related to motion and maintaining the body's frame. In order to create a fully functional musculoskeletal system, a concrete method for the creation of the different tissue types must first be completed. Of the different tissue components related to the function of a musculoskeletal system, these studies deal with preconditioning circumstances of stem cells that will differentiate into cartilage and bone. These studies also deal with methods for the creation of functional bone and cartilage to be combined for the creation of …

2014 Statesboro Citizen Survey, D. Alex Reams

Georgia Municipal Association Practicum (2013-2022)

No abstract provided.

2014 Sswc Program, Sswc Conference

Student Success in Writing Conference (1999-2021)

Program

Theorizing Anxiety : Psychodynamic Exploration Beyond The Medical Model, Daniel E. Weinbaum

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical study explores the phenomenon of anxiety and how it has been understood, articulated and treated over time in psychoanalysis. Formulations of anxiety in classical theory, object relations, attachment, interpersonal, relational and trauma theory will be explored, offering a counterpoint to the current medical model in which anxiety is primarily understood as a symptom to be eradicated through medication and "evidence based" treatments. The study argues that anxiety only exists within a relational and systemic context, and that reducing anxiety to a set of discrete disorders requiring prescriptive treatment protocols often overlooks the complexity of individual experience and need …

Developing Central And Eastern Europe As A Hub For Global Entrepreneurship: Budapest And Prague As Cases In Point, Bala Mulloth, Andreas Antonopoulos

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

It can be stated that Central and Eastern Europe is fast becoming a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. There appears to be a robust ecosystem where universities/business schools, venture capitalists and non-profit organizations are working together to promote entrepreneurship at several levels. This paper seeks to explore the entrepreneurial ecosystems prevalent in 2 prominent central and eastern European capital cities – Budapest and Prague, often referred to as the “Entrepreneurial corridor” of the CEE due to the straight line they represent geographically, cutting across the CEE region and being the main centers of entrepreneurial activity in this region. In the …

Using Verbal Autopsy To Measure Causes Of Death: The Comparative Performance Of Existing Methods, C.J.L. Mahende, R. Lozano, A.D. Flaxman, P. Serina, D. Phillips, A. Stewart, S.L. James, A. Vahdatpour, C. Atkinson, M.K. Freeman, S.L. Ohno, R. Black, S.M. Ali, A.H. Baqui, L. Dandona, E. Dantzer, G.L. Darmstadt, V. Das, U. Dhingra, A. Dutta, W. Fawzi, S. Gomez, B. Hernandez, R. Joshi, H.D. Kalter, A. Kumar, V. Kumar, M. Lucero, S. Mehta, Zul Premji, D. Ramirez-Villalobos, H. Remolador, I. Riley, M. Romero, M. Said, D. Sanvictores, S. Sazawal, V. Tallo, A. D. Lopez

Pathology, East Africa

Background: Monitoring progress with disease and injury reduction in many populations will require widespread use of verbal autopsy (VA). Multiple methods have been developed for assigning cause of death from a VA but their application is restricted by uncertainty about their reliability.

Methods: We investigated the validity of five automated VA methods for assigning cause of death: InterVA-4, Random Forest (RF), Simplified Symptom Pattern (SSP), Tariff method (Tariff), and King-Lu (KL), in addition to physician review of VA forms (PCVA), based on 12,535 cases from diverse populations for which the true cause of death had been reliably established. For adults, …

Harnessing Microbiome And Probiotic Research In Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations From An African Workshop, Gregor Reid, Nicholas Nduti, Wilbert Sybesma, Remco Kort, Tobias R. Kollmann, Rodney Adam, Hamadi Boga, Eric M. Brown, Alexandra Einerhand, Hani El-Nezami, Gregory B. Gloor, Irene I. Kavere, Johanna Lindahl, Amee Manges, Wondu Mamo, Rocio Martin, Amy Mcmillan, Jael Obiero, Pamela A. Ochieng’, Arnold Onyango, Stephen Rulisa, Eeva Salminen, Seppo Salminen, Antony Sije, Jonathan R. Swann, William Van Treuren, Daniel Waweru, Steve J. Kemp

Pathology, East Africa

To augment capacity-building for microbiome and probiotic research in Africa, a workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, at which researchers discussed human, animal, insect, and agricultural microbiome and probiotics/prebiotics topics. Five recommendations were made to promote future basic and translational research that benefits Africans.

Elucidating The Transcriptional Regulation Of Col2a1a In Zebrafish, Sonja Dabizljevic

Master's Theses

Cartilage is an important tissue in vertebrates beginning in the early embryo where it lays down the scaffolding for the skeleton, and continuing through adulthood where it makes up joints and intervertebral disks. The major component of cartilage is a filamentous protein known as Collagen type II, alpha 1 (Col2a1). Mutations in col2a1 in humans can lead to multiple congenital disorders and the early onset of joint and retinal deterioration. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the conserved transcriptional regulation of this critical structural gene utilizing the zebrafish, Danio rerio. Previously, we identified a 310 bp regulatory region (R2) 1.7 …

Environmental Drivers Of Leaf Breakdown Rate In An Urban Watershed, Ashley Rachelle Cook

Master's Theses

Leaf litter breakdown is a critical ecosystem process in urban streams, but environmental conditions in urban streams may generate confounding effects on breakdown rates. Reduced abundance of macroinvertebrate shredders may slow breakdown, but rates may increase if high nutrient concentrations stimulate microbial decomposers and if flooding enhances leaf fragmentation. We used the litter bag technique to measure the relative importance of multiple environmental drivers on breakdown of eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) leaves at 5 sites throughout the North Branch of the Chicago River watershed. Sites spanned a gradient of urbanization, but no specialized macroinvertebrate shredders were present at any sites. …

Role Of The Intestinal Microbiota In Gut Barrier Dysfunction Following Burn Injury, Zachary Earley

Master's Theses

Burn injury represents a major medical problem with half a million cases requiring medical attention and 4,000 deaths reported annually. Sepsis and multiple organ failure remain the leading causes of death following injury, and may be brought on by bacterial infections or toxins. The gastrointestinal tract contains approx. 100 trillion microbes; therefore, the indigenous commensal microbiota may play a role in leading to these complications or infections in burn patients. The overall objective of this project is to identify a potential mechanism whereby changes in gut bacteria may lead to intestinal inflammation or bacterial translocation--key factors which may lead to …

Life Histories, Diets, And Secondary Production Of Odonata Along A Temperature Gradient On The Copper River Delta, Alaska, Nicole Emilie Furlan

Master's Theses

Dragonflies (Odonata: Epiprocta) and damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera) are a conspicuous aspect of the biota in ponds on southcentral Alaska's Copper River Delta (CRD). Odonate densities, secondary production, and diets were assessed in sixteen ponds classified by delta region (east vs. west) and landscape type (outwash plain (OP) vs uplifted marsh (UM)).

Enallagma boreale (Coenagrionidae) comprised 48.5% of collected odonates. Leucorrhinia hudsonica (Libellulidae) and Aeshna juncea (Aeshnidae) comprised 36.6% and 10.4% of collected odonates, respectively. L. hudsonica densities and secondary production were significantly higher (p<0.001) in west UM ponds than in other pond types. Ostracods (Ostracoda) and water boatmen (Corixidae) dominated west OP A. juncea diets. Midge larvae (Chironomidae) dominated A. juncea diets in remaining pond types, occurring in 68% of foreguts. 27% of A. juncea foreguts demonstrated intraguild predation, and 6% of foreguts demonstrated cannibalism. Foreguts containing threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) revealed A. juncea's apex predator role in CRD ponds.

Reconsidering The Model Of Trim5Α Assembly: The Role Of The Linker2 (L2) Region In Trim5Α Assembly, Laura Johnsen

Master's Theses

The TRIM5α protein from rhesus macaques (TRIM5αrh) exhibits a remarkable ability to potently inhibit infection by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1). Extensive studies have shown that TRIM5α is capable of self-associating at many levels, eventually leading to the formation of a hexameric assembly that can superimpose on the hexameric lattice of the HIV-1 capsid. The mechanism underlying the self-association of TRIM5α and the molecular determinants of self-association remain to be completely understood. In this study, we show that the Linker 2 (L2) region of TRIM5rh is important for dimerization and higher order self-association, both of which are independent processes. Additionally, …

History Of Freshwater Invasions In Illinois: Learning From The Past To Inform The Future, Abigail Jacobs

Master's Theses

Rates of introduction and spread of non-native species continue to increase worldwide, with freshwater ecosystems highly impacted. Many non-native species crossed between the Great Lakes and Mississippi watersheds by traveling through waterways in Illinois. I assembled a comprehensive database of occurrences of aquatic non-native species (n=99) in Illinois inland waters. The arrival of non-native species accelerated since 1873. The Great Lakes Basin was the main source of established species into Illinois. From 1990-2012 the dominant vector was unintentional release of established species non-native to North America. Sixty of the 99 introduced species established. Eighteen established species had high or very …

Effects Of Instruction And Parent-Child Conversation On Children's Stem Learning And Transfer, Maria Marcus

Master's Theses

This study examined the effects of direct instruction and parent-child conversation on children's STEM learning, transfer abilities, and remembering. A total of forty mothers and their 5- to 6-year-old children (M = 5.87) participated in this study. Mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions that differed in the amount of engineering information they received prior to engaging in a building activity in a museum exhibit. The provision of engineering information fostered dyads building activities and their long-term recall of the museum visit. Implications for museum research and practice are discussed.

An Investigation Of The Role Of Vibrio Vulnificus Rbda And Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Sypa In Biofilm Formation, Cecilia Thompson

Master's Theses

Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are both bacteria that cause human infection. V. vulnificus has a polysaccharide locus, rbd, responsible for bacterial aggregation, a form of biofilm. This locus is conserved in V. parahaemolyticus and in the non-pathogen V. fischeri.

In V. fischeri, the polysaccharide locus, syp, has been extensively characterized and shown to be important for biofilm formation. In V. fischeri, the first gene, sypA, is critical for biofilm formation. V. fischeri biofilm-proficient strains form wrinkled colonies. In contrast, sypA mutants form smooth colonies, indicating a lack of biofilm formation.

To understand the function of RbdA and SypAVP, proteins …

A Study Of Functional Recovery And Axonal Plasticity Following Tbi And Anti-Nogo-A Immunotherapy, Jennifer Crystal Biesiadecki

Master's Theses

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally and often results in long term disability. Unfortunately, the success of rehabilitation techniques as therapy for TBI is limited, which may be due to the growth restrictive environment of the adult central nervous system (CNS). This environment is thought to result from glial scars, lack of neurotrophic factors, and the presence of an array of growth-inhibitory molecules. One such growth-inhibitory molecule is the protein Nogo-A. Our laboratory has shown that neutralization of Nogo-A with anti-Nogo-A immunotherapy after ischemic stroke results in improvement in functional recovery in the …

Justice In Hobbes’ And Rawls’ Ideologies And The Quest For Social Order In Africa: A Philosophical Reflection, Ujomu Philip Ogo, Olatunji Felix Olusanjo

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Divergent opinions and theories have been propounded towards attaining social order in human society as most of those theories are believed to have significant positive effects on the restructuring and reconstruction of society. This is done in the struggle for society devoid of manipulations, deceit, injustice, inequality among other problems confronting man in his relation to others around him. It should be pointed out from the outset that Thomas Hobbes’ theory on the Leviathan and that of John Rawls’ argument for justice as fairness are seen as significant in the reconstruction of the society and stand out among other models/theories. …

Preparing Young Writers For Invoking And Addressing Today’S Interactive Digital Audiences, Ewa Mcgrail, J. Patrick Mcgrail

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Twenty-first century technologies, in particular the Internet and Web 2.0 applications, have transformed the practice of writing and exposed it to interactivity. One interactive method that has received a lot of critical attention is blogging. The authors sought to understand more fully whom young bloggers both invoked in their blogging (their idealized, intentional audience) and whom they addressed (whom they actually blogged to, following interactive posts). They studied the complete, yearlong blog histories of fifteen fifth-graders, with an eye toward understanding how these students constructed audiences and modified them, according to feedback they received from teachers as well as peers …

Our Free Society Is Worthy Of Better': Caryl Chessman, Capital Punishment, And Cold War Culture, David Ruth

SOLON Law, Crime and History (previously SOLON Crimes and Misdemeanours: Deviance and the Law in Historical Perspective)

Convict author Caryl Chessman was the focus of international attention from 1954 until his 1960 execution at San Quentin. Americans used Chessman to articulate understandings about themselves, their society, and their place in the world. Many used the case to comment on new understandings of behaviour and its modifiability, the apparent post-war rise in juvenile delinquency, and the prospects for individual autonomy in an increasingly conformist society. Cold War concerns profoundly shaped the discourse about Chessman. For some activists, global save-Chessman sentiment pointed to the possibility of transcending bitter international divisions. Execution opponents believed commutation would highlight the progressive social …

Purpose And Design In Organisms And Artifacts: The Search For A Unified Philosophical Theory Of Function, Mark L. Bourgeois

Dissertations

This work examines the concept of function in both biological organisms and designed artifacts. Function is routinely attributed within both kinds of systems, yet it is unclear whether it can mean the same thing within each, and indeed whether function attribution within natural systems is legitimate at all. Function is typically understood to have teleological content; yet in true teleological causation, the end is somehow the cause of its own means. In artifacts the consciously envisioned design of an artifact is taken to be the cause of its parts and their roles. Yet in naturalistic science there is no prior …

Just Water: A Feminist Catholic Response To The Commodification Of Water, Rachel Noelle Hart Winter

Dissertations

Any Catholic ecological ethic today that does not focus sustained attention to our worldwide water crisis is inadequate, for it fails to engage one of today's core social justice violations and neglects to offer any moral guidance for one of the human family's most pressing challenges. A responsible Catholic approach to water justice that addresses the problems stemming from a commodified view of water must be informed by ecofeminist concerns and by the Catholic social justice tradition of moral reasoning. As populations grow and water sources run dry, access to water has become a pressing ethical issue. Today, nearly one …

Host Entry Factors For Human Coronaviruses, Taylor Heald-Sargent

Dissertations

Coronaviruses infect a diverse range of animals from birds to pigs and cats to humans. Coronaviruses employ RNA-based replicative processes and as such are genetically adaptable to acquire novel host ranges. A coronavirus from one species can jump to another by shifting its entry requirements. As we learned from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic, this shift in species can have detrimental consequences. Thus, it is imperative that we understand the virus-host interaction during the entry process.

This dissertation focuses on host entry factors that influence human coronavirus entry. Recently, a new class of proteases, the type II transmembrane …

Journey To The Neighborhood: An Analysis Of Fred Rogers And His Lessons For Educational Leaders, Jeana Lietz

Dissertations

Millions of children worldwide grew up watching Fred Rogers, aka “ Rogers,” as their childhood neighborhood friend on the television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood . How was a man able to produce one of the most successful, longest running children’s television programs and stay true to his moral principles? This study examines the life and work of Fred Rogers, and identifies the leadership attributes of Fred Rogers and the implications for educational leaders, through the lens of the five sources of authority described in Moral Leadership: Getting to the Heart of School Improvement by Thomas Sergiovanni (1992).

The central research …

Mutations In Phospholamban Alter The Structure And Function Of The Calcium Atpase Regulatory Complex, Neha Abrol

Dissertations

Phospholamban (PLB) is an integral membrane protein that plays an important role in regulation of cardiac calcium handling and contractility. PLB exists as a homopentamer in the membrane, which upon deoligomerization into active monomers reversibly inhibits sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA). Mutations in PLB that change the PLB monomer-pentamer equilibrium result in dysregulation of SERCA. To determine the structural and regulatory role of the C-terminal residues of PLB in the membranes of living cells, we fused fluorescent protein tags to PLB and SERCA. We then studied the effect of C-terminal alanine substitutions and truncation mutations on PLB oligomerization and SERCA …

Re-Examining The Female Voice In Chaucer's Italian-Sourced Works: A Study In Paleography, Textual Transmission, And Masculinity, Stacee Bucciarelli

Dissertations

Research on women in medieval literature is abundant but often focused on broad questions of narrative and character development. Among the areas seldom examined is what I will term "female voice," a term that encompasses the thoughts and speech of women in literature. This project analyzes the representation of female voice in Chaucer's work, and it explores alterations to female voices within the largely male worlds (both actual and literary) in which they were created.

This study broadens the analysis from the restrictive and traditional realm of women's studies and contextualize these alterations on a grander scale of textual and …

Luxury Romanticism: The Quarto Book In The Romantic Period, Matthew Hale Clarke

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the cultural presence of the quarto book in Romantic-era Britain and argues that the format classed the period's defining literary ideologies--from sentimentalism, to liberalism, to Wordsworthian Romanticism, to orientalism--as luxuries meant exclusively for the nation's wealthiest consumers. Chapter 1 situates the quarto within the context of the period's luxury debates and advances a conception of the quarto as the era's predominant luxury format. Focusing on Oliver Goldsmith's The Deserted Village, Chapter 2 argues that early quarto editions of the poem classed the sympathetic feeling it celebrated as the unique privilege of a readerly elite and describes how …

Investigation Of Pharmaceutical Mass Transfer Phenomena Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Yi Gao

Dissertations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has been widely used in understanding the physical basis of the structure and function of biological macromolecules. However, its application in pharmaceutical research is still at an early stage. This dissertation attempts to establish the use of MD simulation in studying several important pharmaceutical mass transfer processes. The three-series study included (1) the understanding of drug crystal dissolution at molecular level, (2) the elucidation of an unique mechanism for facile polymorphic transformation of crystalline drugs in solutions, and (3) the determination of drug-polymer interactions at water-crystal interface and the implications to crystallization inhibition.

A drug crystal …

Identification And Analysis Of Omentum Derived Suppressor Cells In Regards To Th17 Inhibition, Nick Huang

Dissertations

Omentum has been harnessed by surgeons for hundreds of years, providing an ideal environment for graft healing and acceptance. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms that promote the tolergenic environment of the omentum. We examined the cellular composition and role of activated omentum in regards to T-cell immunomodulation. We then tested activated omentum as a cellular therapy in a mouse allogenic lung transplantation model.

Our findings demonstrated activated omentum is mostly comprised of non-hematopoietic cells resembling mesenchymal stem-like cells (MSCs) and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Activated omentum exhibited anti-inflammatory properties through suppression of Th1 and Th17, while …