Digital Commons Network^™

Solar Brine Concentrator, Aric Gregory Fisher

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In arid regions of the United States potable water is a valuable resource and is sometimes produced using energy intensive processes by removing salts from brackish water. Task 4 provides a solar option for producing potable water from brackish water; in competing in Task 4, H2OGS has developed a simple, cost effective solar desalination process to provide these regions with necessary, potable water. H2OGS’ design takes into account WERC requirements, including cost, energy usage, worker safety, and easily obtained materials. U.S. government regulatory requirements are also taken into account as the proposed location for this process is Alamogordo, New Mexico. …

Named Entity Recognition In Chinese Clinical Text, Jianbo Lei

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Objective: Named entity recognition (NER) is one of the fundamental tasks in natural language processing (NLP). In the medical domain, there have been a number of studies on NER in English clinical notes; however, very limited NER research has been done on clinical notes written in Chinese. The goal of this study is to develop corpora, methods, and systems for NER in Chinese clinical text.

Materials and methods: To study entities in Chinese clinical text, we started with building annotated clinical corpora in Chinese. We developed an NER annotation guideline in Chinese by extending the one used in the 2010 …

Saturated Free Fatty Acids Induce Cholangiocyte Lipoapoptosis, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Sally A. Ingham, Ashley M. Mohr, Cody J. Wehrkamp, Anuttoma Ray, Sohini Roy, Sophie C. Cazanave, Mary A. Smith, Justin L. Mott

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Recent studies have identified a cholestatic variant of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with portal inflammation and ductular reaction. Based on reports of biliary damage, as well as increased circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) in NAFLD, we hypothesized the involvement of cholangiocyte lipoapoptosis as a mechanism of cellular injury. Here, we demonstrate that the saturated FFAs palmitate and stearate induced robust and rapid cell death in cholangiocytes. Palmitate and stearate induced cholangiocyte lipoapoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner in multiple cholangiocyte-derived cell lines. The mechanism of lipoapoptosis relied on the activation of caspase 3/7 activity. There was also a significant up-regulation …

A Combined Therapeutic Regimen Of Buspirone And Environmental Enrichment Is More Efficacrious Than Either Alone In Enhancing Spatial Learning In Brain-Injured Rats, Christina M. Monaco, Kory M. Gebhardt, Sarah M. Chlebowski, Kaitlyn E. Shaw, Jeffrey P. Cheng

PCOM Scholarly Works

Abstract Buspirone, a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, and environmental enrichment (EE) enhance cognition and reduce histopathology after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adult rats, but have not been fully evaluated after pediatric TBI, which is the leading cause of death in children. Hence, the aims of this study were to assess the efficacy of buspirone alone (Experiment 1) and in combination with EE (Experiment 2) in TBI postnatal day-17 male rats. The hypothesis was that both therapies would confer cognitive and histological benefits when provided singly, but their combination would be more efficacious. Anesthetized rats received a cortical impact or sham …

Phytoscreening: A Comparison Of In Planta Portable Gc-Ms And In Vitro Analyses, Matt A. Limmer, Gregory D. Martin, Christopher J. Watson, Camilo Martinez, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phytoscreening Has Been Proven to Rapidly Delineate Subsurface Contaminant Plumes for Semiquantitative Site Assessment, with Minimal Impact to Property or Ecology through the Collection and Analysis of Tree Cores. Here, Three Phytoscreening Methods Were Applied Concurrently to Identify Multiple Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs) in a Phytoremediation Treatment System at a Contaminated Industrial Facility. Tree Coring, in Planta Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and in Planta Passive Sampling Showed General Agreement, with the in Planta GC-MS Providing the Quickest But Least Quantitative Results. the Portable GC-MS Sampling and Analysis Method Identified Six CVOCs in the Xylem of Hybrid Poplars (Populus Sp.) …

Comprehending Male And Female Levels Of Engagement In Subsets Of The National Survey Of Student Engagement: Explicating The Dynamics Of Gender Role Conflict As A Mediating Factor For Males, Jacob Glen Arndt

Dissertations

Male enrollment and graduate rates in higher education have paled in comparison to female achievement since the early 1980’s, and explanations as to the reasons behind why males are falling behind have not been fruitful in addressing these issues. One area that has received very little attention in the literature is the role that gender role conflict may play in male student performance.

The purpose of this research is to explore male and female engagement levels, while attempting to understand if levels of male gender role conflict are a mediating factor of engagement for men. This study utilized the three …

The Effect Of Art Therapy On Children's Self-Concept, Rifa Hidayah

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

The success of the child's social adjustment related to the concept of self. To improve self concept interventions among others through art therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of art therapy for children's self-concept. This study was conducted using experiments and involving 21 children. Experiment in the form of art therapy treatment by using images as the media, held for five sessions, each session lasting 90 minutes. Five sessions of art therapy implementation consists of (1) the session to know yourself, (2) I am among friends, (3) I am and my surroundings, (4) I am …

Review Of Methods To Assign The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Peaks Of Reductively Methylated Proteins, Kevin J. Roberson, Megan A. Macnaughtan

Faculty Publications

© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Reductive methylation of lysyl side-chain amines has been a successful tool in the advancement of high-resolution structural biology. The utility of this method has continuously gained ground as a protein chemical modification, first as a tool to aid protein crystallization and later as a probe in protein nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. As an isotope-labeling strategy for NMR studies, reductive methylation has contributed to the study of protein-protein interactions and global conformational changes. Although more detailed structural studies using this labeling strategy are possible, the hurdle of assigning the NMR peaks to the corresponding reductively methylated …

Carbonate Orientational Order And Superlattice Structure In Vaterite, Jianwei Wang, Fuxiang Zhang, Jiaming Zhang, Rodney C. Ewing, Udo Becker, Zhonghou Cai

Faculty Publications

© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Vaterite is considered to play an important role as a precursor phase in the formation of calcium carbonate phases, including those related to biomineralization. An accurate description of vaterite's structure associated with the order of carbonate groups is essential to understanding the formation, stabilization, and functionality of vaterite in organisms. Molecular dynamics simulations, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy have been combined in order to investigate the structure of vaterite. The electrostatic interactions between Ca and neighboring CO3 groups promote local and long-range ordering of CO3 groups, which may result in a …

Photoperiod And Temperature Effects On The Adult Eclosion And Mating Rhythms In Pseudopidorus Fasciata (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae), Shaohui Wu, Roberto Refinetti, Loke T. Kok, Roger R. Youngman, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Fang Sen Xue

Faculty Publications

Daily distributions of eclosion and mating activities of Pseudopidorus fasciata Walker (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) were recorded under natural and various laboratory conditions. Eclosion of this insect exhibited circadian gating in constant darkness (DD) but not in constant light (LL) at 28°C. Under natural conditions, the majority of adults emerged in midmorning with an eclosion peak around 1000 hours. The eclosion distribution was significantly affected by ambient temperature but not by photoperiod under laboratory conditions. Eclosion was more spread out at 22°C than at higher temperatures, and peak eclosion times were advanced at higher temperatures up to 30°C. Under natural and laboratory …

Assessing The Use Ofdynamic Video Profilingscientists In Conveying Astrobiology Concepts, Michelle St. Romain

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

An Entropy Approach To Bose-Einstein Condensation, Francesco De Vecchi, Stefania Ugolini

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Experimental Translocations: Pitfalls And Alternatives For Quantifying Animal Movement In Fragmented Landscapes, Luke L. Powell, Philip C. Stouffer

Faculty Publications

As anthropogenic change continues to fragment terrestrial habitats, conservation biologists are increasingly concerned with how wild animals move through fragmented landscapes. Experimental translocations have recently gained popularity as a technique to determine landscape permeability by wild animals in fragmented landscapes. In experimental translocations, researchers capture individuals — usually adults — and release them elsewhere in order to determine whether they are able to cross the landscape and return to their original location. We argue that most experimental translocations have two inherent confounding factors — age of the individual and homing ability — and that the narrow spatiotemporal scale of the …

Step Selection Techniques Uncover The Environmental Predictors Of Space Use Patterns In Flocks Of Amazonian Birds, Jonathan R. Potts, Karl Mokross, Philip C. Stouffer, Mark A. Lewis

Faculty Publications

Understanding the behavioral decisions behind animal movement and space use patterns is a key challenge for behavioral ecology. Tools to quantify these patterns from movement and animal-habitat interactions are vital for transforming ecology into a predictive science. This is particularly important in environments undergoing rapid anthropogenic changes, such as the Amazon rainforest, where animals face novel landscapes. Insectivorous bird flocks are key elements of avian biodiversity in the Amazonian ecosystem. Therefore, disentangling and quantifying the drivers behind their movement and space use patterns is of great importance for Amazonian conservation. We use a step selection function (SSF) approach to uncover …

Orientalism And "Authentic Homosexual": How "The Closet" Reinforces Hegemonic Knowledge And Binary Logic, Contributing To The Invisibility Of Non-Conforming Gender And Sexual Identities, Michelle Bonapace-Potvin

Theses and Dissertations

The critique of Orientalism's binary logic finds a complementary analysis in the questioning of static sexual and gender categories. There is already significant research that points to these intersectional critiques—for instance, Joseph Massad's Desiring Arabs and Jasbir K. Puar’s Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times. In this paper, I will use analyses of Orientalism to review the ways in which hegemonic knowledge and binary logic contribute to the invisibility of non- conforming gender and sexual identities. In other words, I will use the language and lens of critiques of Orientalism to observe, analyze, and comment on the current politics of …

A Remote Sensing Based Early Warning System For Algal Blooms In Kuwait Bay And Coastal Waters, Cameron Manche

Masters Theses

The Kuwait Bay and its coastal waters are being threatened by a perpetual hazard, the proliferation of harmful algal blooms (HABS). The frequency of HAB occurrences is a growing problem that is only reported subsequent to the onset of a HAB event. Little effort has been invested in investigating the spatial and temporal distribution of these events in Kuwait Bay and even less is known about their controlling factors. All previous studies within the Kuwait Bay have focused either on measuring nutrient availability and the biodiversity of algal species.

The overall study objective is four-fold: (1) to monitor the spatial …

A Game Of Skill: Video Game Enthusiasm And Confidence With Computers, Rebecca L. Sevin

Masters Theses

This study explores the relationship between recreational involvement with video games and an interest in computer science as well as confidence with computers. Multiple works have acknowledged that the content in video games and the video game culture is presently very hostile towards women. Simultaneously, the number of women pursuing computer science has been decreasing since the 1980s. Past studies have suggested that playing video games can increase confidence with computers and may lead to an interest in computer science. Using data collected from 1,124 college students, this study addresses this issue by using a variety of measures to gauge …

Ancestor Worship In The Middle Sicán Theocratic State, Go Matsumoto

Dissertations

The major focus of this dissertation is the ancestor worship that is inferred to have been practiced in the multiethnic Middle Sicán theocratic state (AD 950-1100) that prospered on the northern North Coast of Peru. The major objective is twofold: (1) demonstrating by archaeological means that ancestors were indeed worshipped in the Middle Sicán society and (2) elucidating the nature and role of the inferred ancestor cult and associated rituals and ceremonies. Ancestor (and the veneration of it) is one of the themes that have the deepest roots in the anthropological thoughts; nevertheless, many archaeologists have uncritically invoked ancestor veneration …

Uaa Graduates: How Many Stay And Work In Alaska?, Alexandra Hill, Gunnar Knapp, Blake Steenhoven

ISER Reports

More and more people have been graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage in the past decade. Do they stay in Alaska? What kinds of jobs do they have? How much do they earn? It turns out that most of them stay in Alaska for at least five years after they graduate, they work throughout the economy, and by five years after they graduate their average earnings double. Around one-quarter do leave within a few years. But Alaska’s population on the whole is transient, and it looks as if UAA graduates are no more likely than other Alaskans to leave …

Psychological And Genetic Contributions To The Development Of Social Cognition In Children, Jacqueline Marie Klaver

Dissertations

This study examined the development of social cognition in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as the influence of behavioral and molecular genetics on these higher-order cognitive abilities. Specifically, it was hypothesized that children with ASD would perform more poorly on all social cognitive tasks compared with typically developing peers. In addition, it was hypothesized that typically developing children who performed better on a simpler social cognitive task at ages 3 or 4 would perform better at follow-up (i.e., one time between the ages of 6-10). Lastly, it was hypothesized that children who had at least …

"I Don't Want To Hurt Anyone's Feelings": Using Race As A Writing Prompt In First Year Writing, Dianna Shank

Dissertations

First Year Composition (FYC) is one of the most important courses for any incoming college student. This course (often designated as English 101) provides students the rhetorical tools to fully engage in critical thinking and writing on the college level. One of the most common methods of organizing FYC is to use a topic as the center of all the reading and writing prompts. The use of outside subject matter to teach FYC is a common practice that is rarely interrogated for its effectiveness. However, the Hairston debate in the early 1990s opened up a public discussion of how FYC …

Psychophysiological Predictors Of Working Alliance Among Treatment-Seeking Women With Complex Trauma Exposure, Ashley Doukas, Wendy D'Andrea, Jennifer Doran, Nnamdi Pole

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Research has established that trauma-related symptoms may impede the formation of a strong working alliance (i.e., interpersonal connection, trust, and shared goals between therapist and client). As the alliance is critical in trauma-focused therapy, we studied how clients' pretherapy factors, including symptoms and psychophysiological arousal, predict treatment alliance. We examined symptoms and physiological responses in 27 women who had exposure to extreme interpersonal violence; all of whom were enrolled in therapy. All had symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clients completed measures of working alliance and were assessed before and after treatment on measures of symptoms and …

From Prix Fixe To A La Carte: Using Lesson Study To Collaborate With Faculty In Customizing Information Literacy, Eric Jennings, Hans Kishel, Jill Markgraf

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2012

The one-shot, prix fixe library instruction session has long been the reality for many information literacy programs. Learn how one library used lesson study, a collaborative process of planning, observing and assessing a single lesson, to put in motion ongoing collaboration with faculty across several disciplines. Through the collaborative process of redesigning a single lesson, librarians and teaching faculty confronted their respective expectations for and challenges in providing library instruction, and ignited the interest of faculty from English, nursing and the sciences. Through work with a variety of faculty, librarians learned that a single instruction model does not work for …

Performance Theory And Information Literacy: Using The Method To Establish Rapport With Students, Joshua Vossler, John Watts

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2012

First impressions matter. Instruction librarians face unfamiliar audiences who can be apathetic or even hostile to learning research skills. By deliberately establishing ourselves as competent and charming at the beginning of each session, librarians can create a positive learning environment in which apathy and hostility melt away. Stand-up comedy experts Carter and Ajaye, as well as acting theorists Strasberg and Adler have developed approaches for influencing first impressions. This lively workshop will draw from these two disciplines to provide a practical method that instruction librarians can employ to produce original and entertaining self-introductions.

Leadership In Building Communities: Carillon And Edgemont, Fitz Center For Leadership In Community, University Of Dayton

Dayton Neighborhood Studies

No abstract provided.

Cytokine Variations And Mood Disorders: Influence Of Social Stressors And Social Support, Marie-Claude Audet, Robyn J. Mcquaid, Zul Merali, Hymie Anisman

Brain and Mind Institute

Stressful events have been implicated in the evolution of mood disorders. In addition to brain neurotransmitters and growth factors, the view has been offered that these disorders might be provoked by the activation of the inflammatory immune system as well as by de novo changes of inflammatory cytokines within the brain. The present review describes the impact of social stressors in animals and in humans on behavioral changes reminiscent of depressive states as well as on cytokine functioning. Social stressors increase pro-inflammatory cytokines in circulation as well as in brain regions that have been associated with depression, varying with the …

Substrate Concentration Influences Effective Radial Diffusion Coefficient In Canine Cortical Bone, Kurt Farrell, Daniel O’Conor, Mariela Gonzalez, Caroline Androjna, Ronald J. Midura, Surendra N. Tewari, Joanne M. Belovich

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Transport of nutrients and waste across osseous tissue is dependent on the dynamic micro and macrostructure of the tissue; however little quantitative data exists examining how this transport occurs across the entire tissue. Here we investigate in vitro radial diffusion across a section of canine tissue, at dimensions of several hundred microns to millimeters, specifically between several osteons connected through a porous microstructure of Volkmann's canals and canaliculi. The effective diffusion coefficient is measured by a "sample immersion" technique presented here, in which the tissue sample was immersed in solution for 18-30 h, image analysis software was used to quantify …

The Predictive Validity Of Pre-Admission Measures On Podiatric Medical School Performance, Kevin M. Smith

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the influence of pre-admission measures on podiatric medical school performance. The purpose of the study was to predict which students are most likely to succeed in podiatric medical school when admitted, and potentially decrease the cost of attrition experienced by the student and institution. A review of the literature on medical school admissions was completed and used to develop this research.

Podiatric medical students from a Midwestern institution who enrolled between the years 2000 and 2015 were included as the sample for the study (n = 804). Pre-admission measures that were available for the subjects included Medical …

Psychometrics And Test-Enhanced Learning In A Patient-Centered Learning Curriculum, Syed Haris Ali

Theses and Dissertations

Validity and reliability of scores obtained on Multiple-choice questions (MCQs), as well as the benefits of test-enhanced learning, have been of interest to medical educator scholars. Presented in this dissertation are four composite studies on these themes. The following hypotheses were tested:

1. Increased MCQ distractor functioning increases the validity and reliability of obtained scores.

2. Correction of item writing flaws (along with enhancement of tested cognitive level) and replacement or removal of non-functioning distractors equally improves psychometric characteristics of MCQs.

3. Repeated testing via free-response items enhances the retention of knowledge of human anatomy, compared with repeated or once-testing …

Reproductive Health Education In Nctb Curriculum And Text Books: A Critical Review, Salma Akhter, Shah Shamim Ahmed, Muhammad Salahuddin

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Student Publications

The Education Policy-2010, paved the way to introduce Reproductive Health (RH) as part of curricula of few selected subjects for the secondary school children in Bangladesh, which can be considered as a first step in the right direction. Consequently subjects like Physical Education and Health and Home Science has been chosen to incorporate some aspects of RH for the students of classes VI-VIII, and Science are for the students of classes IX-X. This article aimed to explore, examine and review critically to what extent incorporation has taken place and whether this has fulfilled the learning needs of the adolescent groups …