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The Combined Effects Of Copper Sulfate And Hypoxia Stress On The Swim Performance Of Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Dustin D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Copper (Cu) is a component of several aquatic pesticides often used to target noxious algae, but at high concentrations may elicit toxic effects on non-target organisms such as fish. The severity of Cu toxicity varies widely by fish species, Cu concentration, duration of exposure, and water quality. Hypoxia is a widely occurring aquatic stressor that is also a potential side effect of Cu application due to increased oxygen demand from algae decay. Because Cu and hypoxia stress may occur in concert, it is important to understand and quantify their combined effects. Critical swimming speed (Ucrit) tests are an efficient and …

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 …

Effect Of Bronsted And Lewis Acids On Biochemical Conversion Of Various Lignocellulosic Feedstocks Into Biofuels And Chemicals, Srinivas Reddy Kamireddy

Theses and Dissertations

A biochemical process was investigated in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and value added chemicals. Kenaf, two species of sorghum (brown mid rib (BMR) & non brown mid rib (NBMR)), sunn hemp, sunflower hulls, and cornstover were used as feedstocks in this study.

Lignocellulosic biomass primarily consists of three different components, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. In order to separate different fractions, and acid pretreatment is generally employed. This was achieved by using a 300 ml internal volume batch reactor. The heating source used was steam. During acid pretreatment most of the hemicellulose is hydrolyzed into the liquid fraction. …

Pre-Traumatic Factors Of Career-Related Ptsd: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Michael G. Curtis, Russell T. Hurlburt

McNair Poster Presentations

This paper examined and synthesized the (limited) available literature on the pre-traumatic predictors of PTSD, specifically targeting populations in which traumatic events are experienced frequently because of the requirements of their positions, i.e., firefighters, police, and military personnel. A total of 21 articles were included in the final literature review and were used to assess the current available knowledge of the pre-traumatic traits of career-related PTSD, and address potential gaps in the literature. The culmination of this research was used to create specific risk profiles for each of the high risk careers included in this review, firefighters, police, and military …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Pt(Ii) Complexes For Anticancer Therapy, Mihaela A. Ciulei, Pradip K. Bhowmik

McNair Poster Presentations

The first platinum-based drug was discovered and approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1978 is cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin or CDDP). Cisplatin is used for about 50% of the chemotherapeutic cancer treatments along with its two analogues carboplatin and oxaliplatin. So far these drugs have been used extensively as treatment for ovarian, bladder, head and neck, and lung cancers. Although cisplatin has been used so often, it has toxic side effects and drug resistance.1-4 Due to these limitations other compounds have been synthesized. Specifically, our lab in conjunction with a biochemistry lab has recently published one article …

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, …

Thinking Like A Scientist: A Thematic Analysis Of Students' Experiences At The Sacnas Research Conference, Rosa Perez, Rachael D. Robnett

McNair Poster Presentations

The underrepresentation of minority students in STEM fields is a concern in today’s society. Research suggests that identity plays a major role in students’ ultimate success within these fields. Using identity theory as a theoretical framework, this study explores the ways in which identity affects the academic careers of underrepresented students in STEM. The participants of this study consisted of undergraduates from various colleges and universities around the United States that attended the SACNAS 2010 research conference. Thematic analysis was used to identify four overarching themes from a set of narrative responses collected after the event. The identified themes include …

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 …

Peer Leaders’ Views On A General Chemistry Workshop Program, A.E. Dreyfuss, Janet Liou-Mark

Publications and Research

How do Peer Leaders feel about their role organizationally? What motivates them to serve? Peer Leaders are the heartbeat of the PLTL instructional model. To improve any PLTL program, feedback from Peer Leaders is necessary and beneficial. Their experiences, ideas, and honest critiques will assist in shaping the program to meet its ultimate goal: To ensure all students are engaged in their learning process through an active community setting.

A Computational Perspective Of Schizophrenia, Ernesto H. Bedoy, Geoff Powell, Jefferson Kinney

McNair Poster Presentations

The etiology of schizophrenia remains largely elusive, thus dampening the effectiveness of current treatment strategies. Abnormal neural migration and neurogenesis in the hippocampus have been suggested to be involved in schizophrenia (Jakob & Beckmann, 1994). A few approaches, including computational modeling, have investigated schizophrenia as a network disorder. Computational modeling uses mathematics to predict the behavior of biological systems based on the input of a set of parameters collected from laboratory experiments. In this study, we constructed a computational model to explore the ramifications of additional PV neurons migrating to an aberrant location in the hippocampus and interfering with a …

The Expression Of Egfr, Cerbb2, P16, And P53 And Their Relationship With Conventional Parameters In Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of The Larynx, Hülya Şi̇mşek, Ünsal Han, Bi̇nnur Önal, Gülçi̇n Şi̇mşek

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To investigate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor¬-HER1 (EGFR), cerbB2 (HER2), p16, and p53, as well as the relationship of the expression of these genes with conventional parameters in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx. Materials and methods: Samples from 92 cases of diagnosed laryngeal SCC between 2001 and 2011 from the Pathology Department of Ministry of Health Ankara Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Teaching & Research Hospital were studied by immunohistochemistry using EGFR, cerbB2, p16, and p53 antibodies. Results: An increase in the TNM stage and pathological tumor size status correlated with an increase in EGFR and cerbB2 expression. …

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 …

Discovering Missing Heritability And Early Risk Prediction For Type 2 Diabetes: A New Perspective For Genome-Wide Association Study Analysis With The Nurses' Health Study And The Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study, Hüsametti̇n Gül, Yeşi̇m Aydin Son, Cengi̇zhan Açikel

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Despite the rise in type 2 diabetes prevalence worldwide, we do not have a method for early risk prediction. The predictive ability of genetic models has been found to be little or negligible so far. In this study, we aimed to develop a better early risk prediction method for type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: We used phenotypic and genotypic data from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals' Follow-up Study cohorts and analyzed them by using binary logistic regression. Results: Phenotypic variables yielded 70.7% overall correctness and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.77. With regard to genotype, …

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.

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 …

Coherent X-Ray And Laser Spectroscopy Measurements Of Diffusion In Concentrated Alpha-Crystallin Solutions, V.N.C. Karunaratne

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The mammalian eye lens is composed of a concentrated solution of water soluble proteins called crystallins. Alpha-crystallin, the most abundant protein found in the lens, plays a crucial role in maintaining lens transparency and lens accommodation. However, alpha-crystallins along with other ocular proteins suffer from irreversible processes such as oxidation. One cause of oxidation is radiation-induced radical formation which alters the inter-molecular interactions, thereby degrading the normal function of ocular proteins.;The main goal of this thesis is to quantify molecular scale dynamics of concentrated solutions of alpha-crystallins using coherent X-rays and visible laser light. I believe a detailed analysis of …

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 …

Indigenous Engagement And Resistance In The 21st Century: Empowering Indigenous Identity With Indigenous Film, Heather A. Hafer Cole

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Indigenous people of the United States have historically been and continue to be objectified and misrepresented in art, history, science, literature, and mass media. This continued colonization contributes to loss of respect for culture, identity crisis among indigenous youth, health disparities of epidemic proportions, poor performance in education, substance abuse, violence and poverty. This qualitative study expands upon existing scholarship in media anthropology (Dilworth, 1996; Ginsberg, 1991 & 2008; and Prins, 2002) and indigenous studies (Rader, 2011; Singer, 2001; and Tuhiwai Smith, 2012) by analyzing the indigenous voice expressed through media practice, storytelling as a tool for empowering indigenous identity …

Using General Systems Theory To Evaluate Channels Of Feedback In A Law Enforcement Agency, Trent Aaron Gerbers

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The principles of General Systems Theory and Management Cybernetics have been used, not only to analyze and evaluate organizational communication, but also to help improve communicative efficiency through the strengthening of message sending/receiving channels. This thesis continues the exploration of channel efficiency and feedback by examining the principles of General Systems Theory and Management Cybernetics through the daily interactions that occur at a municipal police department. The unique ranking structure and paramilitary nature of the law enforcement agency dictates policy that regulates the means of vertical communication between employees, but measuring the department’s current communication system against the principles of …

The Lamb As Leader: Identifying The Influence Of Communication Apprehension On The Leader-Subordinate Relationship, Heather Rene Gillespie

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The current study examined the influence that self-awareness of one’s own level of communication apprehension (CA) has on the leader-subordinate relationship. Specifically, the study considered how trait-like CA influences this relationship in the context of the organizational staff meeting. Participants were selected based on their roles as either leader or subordinate (some served as both) in their particular organization. Each participant was asked to complete a questionnaire, including McCroskey’s Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24). Follow-up questions were asked to assess the participants’ perception of their communication exchanges with either their leader or subordinate and the role they believed their …

A Post Feminist Look At Hbo's Girls: A Critical Analysis Of Characters, Career, Gender, And Sexuality, Aaliyah A. Miller

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Television plays an integral role in the lives of Americans, regardless of class, ethnicity, gender, race, or religion. Despite the fact that viewership on the major networks has decreased over the years, television continues to be a dominant cultural and informational force that does more than just entertain us -this medium has the power to influence and alter our attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, and actions. Gender bias as a result of gender stereotypes found in television has been an issue of concern for feminist, politicians, and social researchers. Research studies have found that gender stereotypes found in television negatively influence women …

Primary Prevention Of Childhood Obesity, Registered Nurses' Association Of Ontario

General Submissions: Community and Population-based Materials

The purpose of this Guideline is to provide nurses across all practice settings with evidence-based practice, education, system, organization and policy recommendations for the primary prevention of obesity in infants, preschool, and elementary-school-aged children.

Working With Families To Promote Safe Sleep For Infants 0-12 Months Of Age, Registered Nurses' Association Of Ontario

General Submissions: Community and Population-based Materials

This guideline has been developed to address the question of how health-care providers can partner with families to promote safe sleep for infants 0-12 months of age to reduce known risk factors for injury and death. It provides evidence-based recommendations for nurses and the interprofessional teamG who provide care, in all health-care settings, to parents/caregivers and families of infants. This guideline is intended to be applicable to all nursing domains, including clinical, administration, and education.

Assessing Ecological Condition Of Large Landscapes With Limited Human Impacts, William James Kleindl

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Our ability to measure global climate change has generated dire predictions in global ecosystem conditions. These predictions have inspired efforts to develop assessment metrics that examine alterations in ecological condition resulting from climate dynamics. As climate change drives future watershed- or regional-scale assessment model development, many questions will need to be addressed concerning potential tool constraints. Chief among these will be: to what degree is ecosystem condition affected by anthropogenic disturbance, climate-driven disturbance or natural variability, both individually and in combination? As a first step toward assessing impacts on ecological condition resulting from climate driven spatial or temporal disturbance gradients, …

Assessing Student Learning With Technology: A Descriptive Study Of Technology-Using Teacher Practice And Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack), Lara Elaine Ervin-Kassab

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2013, a majority of states in the US had adopted Common Core State Standards under the Race to the Top initiative. With this adoption came the opportunity to utilize computer-delivered and computer-adaptive testing. Although the computer-based assessments were intended to assist teachers in designing classroom assessments and using student data to inform instructional practice, teacher-reported data indicated that the areas in which teachers are most unprepared, lack confidence, or are in need of development were assessment (DeLuca, 2012; Wayman et al., 2007) and technology (Brush & Saye, 2009; Kramarski & Michalsky, 2010).

The Technology Assessment Practices Survey (TAPS) study …

Molecular Markers Of Weight Loss In Sleeve Gastrectomy Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study, Tamara C. Preda

Theses

Background:

Obesity is a polymorphic chronic disease that has reached epidemic proportions. Bariatric surgery including sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has an increasingly important role in long-term management of these patients. The molecular mechanisms post SG are complex and not fully understood.

Aims:

The primary study aim is to investigate the hormonal mechanisms by which SG effects weight loss and related health benefits by examining the association between SG weight loss and biochemical/hormone levels. A secondary aim was to assess the improvements in obesity related chronic disease states following SG.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective cohort study of obese patients undergoing SG …

The Same But Different: How People With A Partial Capacity To Work Are Governed In Recent Policy Changes To The Australian Income Support System And The National Disability Insurance Scheme, L St Guillaume

Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Fluoxetine On Self-Control In Betta Splendens, Kathryn Gwen Lamp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effect of fluoxetine on self-control in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). The subjects included 17 male Betta splendens that were exposed to varying levels of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that increases levels of serotonin, and instrumental choice trials were run. A subject began each trial in the start box and, when a guillotine divider door was lifted, entered one side of a divided goal box. The checkerboard side of the choice door represented either the smaller-sooner choice (SS) or the larger-later choice (LL). When the subject had entered one side of the goal …