Digital Commons Network^™

Past, Present, And Future Of Water Data Delivery From The U.S. Geological Survey, Robert M. Hirsch, Gary T. Fisher

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

We present an overview of national water databases managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, including surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and water-use data. These are readily accessible to users through web interfaces and data services. Multiple perspectives of data are provided, including search and retrieval of real-time data and historical data, on-demand current conditions and alert services, data compilations, spatial representations, analytical products, and availability of data across multiple agencies.

Comparing And Contrasting The Us And German Banking System With Emphasis On The Financial Crisis In 2008, Sarah K. Gleissle

Honors College Theses

This thesis will compare and contrast the Financial Systems of the United States and Germany, the structure, institutions and regulations. Furthermore, we investigated the impacts that the Financial Crisis in 2008 had on Financial Systems, the outcomes and effects. First, we looked at both Systems and the structures more closely, and compared them to each other. Next we looked at the regulations and regulatory agencies in both countries and the work they do. We realized that the different competitive natures the banking systems are under influence their businesses and business decisions.

Cocaine Intravenous Self-Administration (Ivsa) In Adult Long-Evans Rats Perinatally Exposed To Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Mellessa Michelle Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous environmental toxins known to adversely impact human health. Ortho-substituted PCBs in particular are known to affect the nervous system and more specifically the brain dopaminergic system. Developmental PCB exposure in rats has been shown to produce alterations in the dopamine system that persists into adulthood. The reinforcing properties of psychostimulants are typically modulated via the dopaminergic system, so this project was conducted to evaluate whether perinatal PCB exposure would alter intravenous self-administration (IVSA) for the psychostimulant cocaine. Long Evans rats were perinatally exposed to 6 mg/kg/day or 3 mg/kg/day of PCBs throughout gestation and lactation …

Chitosan Sponge Microbead Delivery Composite For External Stimuli Responsive Local Drug Delivery, Alex Prentice Hoban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Orthopedic wound infections from complex trauma are a prevalent problem. Systemic delivery of antibiotics may result in sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotic in the wound site due to avascular nature of these injuries and can lead to development of antibiotic resistant infections. Local antibiotic delivery can overcome this shortcoming of systemic therapy. A customizable bio-polymer that can be loaded with antibiotics and be stimulated to release a drug on demand may provide an improved adjunct clinical therapy for preventing/treating infections in complex trauma injuries. The aim of this study is to incorporate iron oxide laden chitosan microbeads into the chitosan sponge …

July 22, 2014, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Optical Properties Measurements Of Rat Muscle And Myocardium At 980 And 1860 Nm Using Single Integrating Sphere Technique, Mohamed Almadi

Open Access Theses

The optical properties of a rat muscle and myocardium were measured at two wavelengths 980 and 1860 nm. The tissues used in this experiment were fresh and sliced to a specific thickness of 600 μm. A single integrating sphere system was used to determine the diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance, and collimated transmittance of these tissue samples. An inverse Monte Carlo algorithm was then used to calculate the optical properties from the measurements obtained from the single integrating sphere system. The system was calibrated and validated by using distilled water. The absorption coefficient of the rat’s muscles was found to be …

Sleep Disturbance, Depression And Pain In Adults With Sickle Cell Disease, Gwenyth R. Wallen, Caterina P. Minniti, Michael Krumlauf, Ellen Eckes, Darlene Allen, Anna Oguhebe, Cassie Seamon, Deepika Darbari

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background

Sleep disturbance and depression are commonly encountered in primary care. In sickle cell disease, depression is associated with pain, poor treatment compliance, and lower quality of life. The prevalence of sleep disturbance and its effect upon quality of life in adults with sickle cell disease is unknown. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbance and if it is associated with pain and depression in sickle cell disease.

Methods

Three hundred twenty eight adults with sickle cell disease enrolled on the Bethesda Sickle Cell Cohort Study were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index …

Late Stages Of Hematopoiesis And B Cell Lymphopoiesis Are Regulated By Α-Synuclein, A Key Player In Parkinson's Disease, Wenbin Xiao, Afshin Shameli, Clifford V. Harding, Howard J. Meyerson, Robert W. Maitta

Faculty Scholarship

α-Synuclein plays a crucial role in Parkinson's disease and dementias defined as synucleinopathies. α-Synuclein is expressed in hematopoietic and immune cells, but its functions in hematopoiesis and immune responses are unknown. We utilized α-synuclein(-/-) (KO) mice to investigate its role in hematopoiesis and B cell lymphopoiesis. We demonstrated hematologic abnormalities including mild anemia, smaller platelets, lymphopenia but relatively normal early hematopoiesis in KO mice compared to wild-type (WT) as measured in hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors of the different cell lineages. However, the absolute number of B220(+)IgM(+) B cells in bone marrow was reduced by 4-fold in KO mice (WT: …

Genome-Wide Determination Of Poly(A) Sites In Medicago Truncatula: Evolutionary Conservation Of Alternative Poly(A) Site Choice, Xiaohui Wu, Bobby Gaffney, Arthur G. Hunt, Qingshun Q. Li

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Alternative polyadenylation (APA) plays an important role in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Little is known about how APA sites may evolve in homologous genes in different plant species. To this end, comparative studies of APA sites in different organisms are needed. In this study, a collection of poly(A) sites in Medicago truncatula, a model system for legume plants, has been generated and compared with APA sites in Arabidopsis thaliana.

RESULTS: The poly(A) tags from a deep-sequencing protocol were mapped to the annotated M. truncatula genome, and the identified poly(A) sites used to update the annotations of 14,203 …

Estimating Sampling Effort For Early Detection Of Non-Indigenous Benthic Species In The Toledo Harbor Region Of Lake Erie, Jeffrey L. Ram, Fady Banno, Richard R. Gala, Jason P. Gizicki, Donna R. Kashian

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Toledo Harbor (Maumee River and Maumee Bay) is a “port of concern” for introduction of non-indigenous species into the Great Lakes due to the large amounts of ballast water from outside the Great Lakes discharged at the port, the amenable habitat for many potential invasives, and the large amount of ballast water transported from Toledo to other Great Lakes ports, making Toledo a potential source of invasives throughout the entire region. To estimate sampling intensity needed to detect rare or new non-indigenous species, 27 benthic grab samples from 13 locations near Toledo Harbor were collected during autumn, 2010. Benthic organisms …

Court Limitations On 'Cap And Trade' Regulation: Administrative Law Decisions Applicable To The Mechanism Of The Kyoto Protocol, E.U.-Ets, And U.S. Regulation, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

‘Cap-and-trade’ regulation is the regulatory 21st century tool used in environmental law and climate change regulation. It is a key mechanism employed under the U.S. Clean Air Act, integral to the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol for greenhouse gas control, and the regulatory foundation of carbon control legislation in every U.S. state which regulates carbon. This modern ‘cap-and-trade’ mechanism for environmental regulation has been challenged in recent litigation in the U.S. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in every one of five recent legal challenges has held EPA’s use of ‘cap-and-trade’ to be illegal. In only one case, …

Contrasting Leaf Shapes Vary In Extent Of Solar Tracking: Revisiting Darwin's "Service To The Plant", Kerri Mocko

Master's Theses

1. Solar tracking affects leaf temperature through the amount of direct light intercepting the lamina. However, leaf shape also affects leaf temperature due to heat transfer across boundary layers, and no studies have addressed the effect of leaf shape on solar tracking and leaf temperatures in the field.
2. We compare solar tracking, leaf temperatures, photosynthetic rates and leaf longevity in two co-occurring species with contrasting leaf morphologies: Pelargonium lobatum has a large, shallowly lobed leaf and P. triste has a highly dissected leaf composed of many small leaflets.
3. Pelargonium triste tracked the sun more closely than P. lobatum, although P. …

July 21, 2014: Choir Champs, Summer Bridge And Diversity Conference, Saint Mary's College Of California

SMC Bulletin 2013-2020

No abstract provided.

Reestablishing The Locale Of California's First American-Designated Place Name On Santa Catalina Island, Ivan H. Strudwick

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

From 1801 to late 1803, captains and co-owners of the Lelia Byrd, William Shaler of Boston and Richard J. Cleveland of Salem, Massachusetts, voyaged to the west coast of North America where they traded for sea otter fur that they then sold in Canton, China. They traveled to the Hawaiian Islands and made a gift of horses, the first in Hawaii, to King Kamehameha I, “the Great.” During 1804–1805, Shaler sailed back to the California coast to continue trading while Cleveland sailed to Boston. Shaler’s narrative of the 1804–1805 voyage is the earliest, most extensive account of California written …

Documenting The Paleontological Resources Of National Park Service Areas Of The Southern California Coast And Islands, Justin S. Tweet, Vincent L. Santucci, Tim Connors

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

Paleontological resource inventories for the parks of the National Park Service’s Mediterranean Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network (MEDN) indicate a significant Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic fossil record for the southern California coast and islands. These inventories document over 100 million years of biologic and geologic changes along the Pacific coast of southern California. During 2012, comprehensive paleontological resource data were compiled for Cabrillo National Monument (CABR), Channel Islands National Park (CHIS), and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO). This recent work expands the paleontological resource data previously compiled for each of the parks in 2003 and during the SAMO …

Prehistoric Occupation Of The Interior Of Western Santa Cruz Island, Michael A. Glassow

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

Although the majority of prehistoric habitation sites on Santa Cruz Island are located within interior areas more than 0.5 km from the coast, little is known about these sites and how their occupation articulated with coastal settlement. To address this lack of knowledge, small-scale excavation was undertaken at 2 interior habitation sites (CASCRI-555 and CA-SCRI-574) in the western sector of the island. Habitation deposits at both sites are <60 cm deep. Radiocarbon dating reveals that CA-SCRI-555 experienced occupation during 3 time intervals: 1800–1400 cal BC, ~2400 cal BC, and ~4400 cal BC. In contrast, dates for CA-SCRI-574 indicate only one time interval: 2800–1900 cal BC. Remains of marine shellfish and vertebrates in the deposits indicate transport of marine foods to both sites. The repertoire of shellfish remains implies that site inhabitants obtained marine foods from coastal areas closest to each site. These interior sites may have been occupied for one or more reasons: (1) as habitation sites occupied occasionally for the purpose of acquiring and perhaps consuming plant food or other interior resources; (2) as easily defended locations given their placement on ridgetops; (3) as way stations during travel to distant parts of the island; and (4) as locations where freshwater is available during dry seasons or years when water is scare at nearby coastal locations. The data resulting from small-scale testing makes evaluating these alternatives difficult, but the variety of food remains, the various types of stone tools, and the wood charcoal from hearth fires all indicate that at least some intervals of occupation were for periods that exceeded a few days. The results highlight the need for data from a large number of interior sites to understand island settlement patterns and ecological adaptation of the island’s prehistoric inhabitants.


Aunque la mayor parte de los sitos habitacionales prehistóricos de la Isla Santa Cruz están ubicados en áreas interiores a más de 0.5 km de la costa, poco se sabe sobre estos …

On The Inside Looking In: Methodological Insights And Challenges In Conducting Qualitative Insider Research, Melanie J. Greene

The Qualitative Report

As qualitative researchers, what stories we are told, how they are relayed to us, and the narratives that we form and share with others are inevitably influenced by our position and experiences as a researcher in relation to our participants. This is particularly true for insider research, which is concerned with the study of one’s own social group or society. This paper explores some of the possible methodological insights and challenges that may arise from insider research, and suggests several techniques and tools that may be utilized to aid in, rather than hinder, the process of the telling and sharing …

Mathematical Tasks And The Student, David Clarke, Heidi Strømskag, Heather Lynn Johnson, Angelika Bikner-Ahsbahs, Kimberly Gardner

Faculty Articles

Mathematics Education has at its core a conception of the mathematical performances that represent the aspirations of the mathematics classroom and curriculum. These performances are constituted through teacher and student participation in the activities stimulated by mathematical tasks selected by the teacher for the realization of an instructional purpose. In this nexus of activity, intention, interpretation and consequence, the mathematical task occupies a central place. This Research Forum provides an opportunity to explore and reflect upon the role that mathematical tasks play in the achievement of the goals of the international mathematics education community. Further, consistent with current curricular and …

Deafdigest: Gold Edition, July 20, 2014, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Gold 2014

No abstract provided.

Ontogenetic Diet Shifts And Prey Preference Of A Generalist Predatory Fish, Brittany Jalene Scharf

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marine ecosystems are highly dynamic and contain a diverse faunal assemblage that are subject to various natural and anthropogenic variability. Globally, seagrass ecosystems are located adjacent to coastal areas that are heavily impacted by human development and urbanization potentially altering the community structure within these ecosystem. Complex food webs connect many components of these systems, often in unexpected ways, and are ultimately based on one of two pathways: benthic (i.e., seagrass, epiphytes, microalgae, detritus) and planktonic (i.e., phytoplankton). Understanding the pathway which the food web is based gives further insight regarding the biological balance of the ecosystem; thus it is …

July 19, 2014 (Pages 4465-4984), Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau

Volume 44 (2014)

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Long-Term Physical Exercise On Blood Pressure In African Americans, Taunjah P. Bell, Katharine A. Mcintyre, Rosamary Hadley

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(3) : 186-193, 2014. Long-term physical exercise has been shown to noticeably reduce blood pressure (BP) and remarkably attenuate symptoms of hypertension. It is believed that physical exercise induces these beneficial effects by increasing the blood supply to the brain, enhancing the release of growth factors from skeletal muscles into the bloodstream, facilitating neurogenesis, stimulating angiogenesis, and influencing endothelial cell proliferation and subsequent endothelial cell membrane permeability. Previous findings also revealed that physical exercise significantly elevates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations which appear to increase dramatically in BP-sensing neurons during hypertension. Elevating BDNF levels is …

Leaving A Bequest: Living On Through Charitable Gifts, A Sargeant, C Routley

Plymouth Business School

Decisions taken in respect of the disposition of possessions often parallel a life transition or change in identity. In this article, we examine decisions taken in a will where disposition can be viewed not as a representation of the identities an individual wishes to shed, but rather as the continuation of those for which the deceased wishes to be remembered. We examine the meaning that such donors ascribe to their giving and the rich pattern of utility it offers both the individual and those he or she will ultimately leave behind. Using grounded theory, we report the results of 20 …

Menschenrechtsdiskurse Und Gender In Ausgewählten Werken Von Ingeborg Bachmann Und Uwe Johnson, Ute Bettray

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation examines how two German-speaking authors of the 20th century—Ingeborg Bachmann in her ”Todesarten”-Projekt (Ways of Death Project) (1962/63-1971/1972) and Uwe Johnson in Jahrestage (Anniversaries) (1970, 1971, 1973, 1983)—inscribe themselves into the Human Rights discourse. By employing newly developed theories of gender as they intersect with theories of Human Rights I argue that both authors consciously create complex gendered as well as sexual minority perspectives that allow the authors to focus on oppressed groups.

I investigate how Bachmann employs these perspectives, particularly in Das Buch Franza (The Book of Franza) (1965/66), …

The Emergence Of Home Advantage From Differential Perceptual Activity, Benjamin R. Meagher

Doctoral Dissertations

The creation and maintenance of physical territories are behaviors common to many species, including humans. One of the most well-documented outcomes associated with territories is the phenomenon of home advantage, the tendency for residents to prevail disproportionally over intruders during competition. Previous attempts to explain this effect have focused largely on a defense framework: residents, in response to an intruder, experience dominance motivation, which leads to more aggressive behavior. In the current work, I draw on ecological theorizing to develop an alternative account, arguing that differences in perceptual activity necessary for adaptive functioning produces distinct performance outcomes for hosts, …

Early Predictors Of Executive Function Abilities In School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Kelley Knoch

Doctoral Dissertations

Executive Functions (EF) are a set of cognitive processes that direct and regulate behavior for the purpose of future goal attainment. These processes include working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, planning, and fluency. Previous research has delineated impairments in individual processes of EF that may be related to the core social and communicative deficits typically found in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This line of research thus far has yielded mixed results, and further clarification is needed to determine if EF are directly related to clinical measures of ASD symptoms. Understanding the development of EF is critical, as …

Reading Hume’S ‘Of The Standard Of Taste’ : Taking Hume Seriously, Ka Wing Kwok

Lingnan Theses

This thesis presents an interpretation of David Hume’s essay ‘Of the Standard of Taste’. The most distinguishing feature of this interpretation is the emphasis placed on the significance of Hume’s general philosophical position in a faithful reading of this philosophical classic. The success of this interpretation will show that Hume’s essay should be read as an integral part of his system of philosophy.

There are three parts in this thesis. The first part is an overview of some key aspects of Hume’s philosophy which are relevant to my interpretation. Unlike many contemporary philosophers in the analytic tradition, Hume is a …

Modeling Giardia-Host Interactions: Mechanisms Of Barrier Dysfunction And Immune Suppression, Bridget Sutton Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The protozoan parasite, Giardia lamblia (syn. G. intestinalis, G. duodenalis), is a leading cause of pathogen-induced gastrointestinal disease throughout the world. Upon Giardia colonization of the proximal small intestine, epithelial barrier dysfunction is induced through enterocyte apoptosis and disruption of the tight-junction protein complexes. Intestinal barrier disruption promotes the translocation of luminal contents, including commensal bacteria and Giardia-derived excretory-secretory products (ESPs), into the mucosal tissue. In an attempt to elucidate the cellular mechanisms of giardiasis, we constructed a novel in vitro co-culture model of epithelial cells (Caco-2 cells) and macrophages (IC-21 cells) for evaluating long-term host-parasite interactions. We show that …

Interventions To Regulate Confusion During Learning, Blair Allison Lehman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Confusion provides opportunities to learn at deeper levels. However, learners must put forth the necessary effort to resolve their confusion to convert this opportunity into actual learning gains. Learning occurs when learners engage in cognitive activities beneficial to learning (e.g., reflection, deliberation, problem solving) during the process of confusion resolution. Unfortunately, learners are not always able to resolve their confusion on their own. The inability to resolve confusion can be due to a lack of knowledge, motivation, or skills. The present dissertation explored methods to aid confusion resolution and ultimately promote learning through a multi-pronged approach. First, a survey revealed …

Postales Para El Olvido, Alberto Bejarano

Nomenclatura: aproximaciones a los estudios hispánicos

No abstract provided.