Digital Commons Network^™

Food Matters Series To Explore Common Book Themes, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2014

• The Common Book introduces many issues related to food such as genetic modification, pesticides, working conditions, trade and more.
• Unless otherwise noted, all events will take place in Dina's Place and are free approved GLI cultural events.

The Echo: September 12, 2014, Taylor University

2014-2015 (Volume 102)

Under review – Eight perspectives on eight years – Larger screens and wearable tech – The breakup of Britain? – No safe haven – Under the Radar – America: the delusional battleship – Around The World – The transfers: who are they? – Burning Questions – Humans of Upland – Echograms #TaylorU – The Weekly Nugget -- #TaylorU’s Top Tweets – U2 has new songs to sing – Calling all actors – Bringing beauty to the community – Putting pen to paper – Reprimanding Ray – Stay safe – Let your voice be heard! – Volleyball spikes back – Cross …

Since I Know Myself: A Cultural Examination Of Medicinal Plant Use In The Commonwealth Of Dominica, Maureen Meyer

Geography ETDs

This research examines Dominican culture through exploring medicinal plant use on the island. Dominica, located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Archipelago, offers a distinctive setting because historically there has been an amalgamation of cultures that have participated in and influenced the formation of Dominican culture. This research sought to identify what plants were known and used on the island in order to assess cultural retention and syncretism that has evolved as a result of the comingling of these cultures. In so doing, it was evident that environmental knowledge gained through experience has been critical for survival throughout Dominican …

Usfsp Establishes New Living/Learning Community, September 12, 2014, Jessica Blais

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.

New Usfsp Grad Publishes Research In National Journal, September 12, 2014, Karlana June

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Ceas E-News 09.12.2014, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• 2014 Passport Day at the Parkview Campus Attended by More Than 350 Incoming Students
• Dr. Ala Al-Fuqaha Awarded $499,986 National Science Foundation Grant
• Dr. Steve Carr Awarded $400,000 National Science Foundation Grant
• Advanced Technology Summer Camp at WMU

Cardiac Fibroblasts Contribute To Myocardial Dysfunction In Mice With Sepsis: The Role Of Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation, Wenbo Zhang, Xuemei Xu, Raymond Kao, Tina Mele, Peter Kvietys, Claudio M. Martin, Tao Rui

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Myocardial contractile dysfunction in sepsis is associated with the increased morbidity and mortality. Although the underlying mechanisms of the cardiac depression have not been fully elucidated, an exaggerated inflammatory response is believed to be responsible. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is an intracellular platform that is involved in the maturation and release of interleukin (IL)-1 beta. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether sepsis activates NLRP3 inflammasome/caspase-1/IL-1 beta pathway in cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and whether this cytokine can subsequently impact the function of cardiomyocytes (cardiac fibroblast-myocyte crosstalk). We show that treatment of …

Detecting Concerted Demographic Response Across Community Assemblages Using Hierarchical Approximate Bayesian Computation, Yvonne L. Chan, David Schanzenbach, Michael J. Hickerson

Publications and Research

Methods that integrate population-level sampling from multiple taxa into a single community-level analysis are an essential addition to the comparative phylogeographic toolkit. Detecting how species within communities have demographically tracked each other in space and time is important for understanding the effects of future climate and landscape changes and the resulting acceleration of extinctions, biological invasions, and potential surges in adaptive evolution. Here, we present a statistical framework for such an analysis based on hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation (hABC) with the goal of detecting concerted demographic histories across an ecological assemblage. Our method combines population genetic data sets from multiple …

Public Services Annual Report 2013-2014, Deborah Mongeau

Public Services Reports

Annual report of the Public Services Department of the University of Rhode Island Libraries.

Alum On ‘Conservation Of Edaphic Floras In A Human Modified Landscape,’ Sept. 12, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Normative Beliefs About Drinking And Alcohol Use Among Native American And Non-Hispanic White College Students, Kylee Hagler

Psychology ETDs

Excessive alcohol consumption among college students has been linked to many negative consequences (e.g. Chou et al., 2006). Normative beliefs about alcohol use have been associated with college alcohol use such that students who estimate higher drinking among peers and students who perceive higher approval for drinking from peers tend to drink more (e.g. Neighbors, Lee, Lewis, Fossos, & Larimer, 2007). However, many studies examining normative beliefs have been conducted with only non-Hispanic White (NHW) college students. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between normative beliefs about drinking and four alcohol variables in a sample …

Measuring Disability In Chronic Pain: Factor Structure And Revision Of The Sickness Impact Profile, Mindy Mcentee

Psychology ETDs

Chronic pain is a complex condition that can adversely impact all areas of one's life. Despite a wealth of treatment options, complete pain relief is rare. Consequently, treatment goals often aim to improve functioning in physical, psychological, and social domains. Assessments play an important role in planning treatment and monitoring changes in functioning, but must balance comprehensiveness with patient burden. The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP; Bergner, Bobbitt, Carter, & Gilson, 1981) is a well-established general health measure that provides comprehensive clinical information across multiple domains, but remains limited due to its substantial length and questionable factor structure. While several short-form …

Consequences And Protective Factors For Sexual Victimization Among Ethnically Diverse Women: An Online Study, Rosa Muñoz

Psychology ETDs

This study examined the relationships among ethnicity, childhood abuse, adult sexual victimization, negative outcomes of victimization, and factors that protect women against negative outcomes after experiencing these events. Three hundred and fifty four women (n = 354) from New Mexico completed an online survey asking them about their victimization history, ethnic identity, religious beliefs, and perceptions of their physical and mental health. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships among variables. Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women did not report differential negative outcomes subsequent to trauma history and did not employ differential coping strategies in response to such a …

Criteria For Evolution Of Successful Proteins: Fold Fitness And Domain Dynamics Explored, Tyrel Bryan

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

The Haloacid Dehalogenase Superfamily (HADSF) is a ubiquitous family of enzyme with more than 32,000 members. A variety of reactions are catalyzed by HAD members, but a majority of HAD members are phosphatases. Dephosphorlyation of organophosphate metabolites are carried out in the conserved Rossmann-like core domain. The Rossman-like core domain houses the conserved active site residues necessary for catalysis and also supports domain inserts associated with substrate binding. This dissertation will focus primarily on investigating fold fitness and domain dynamics of HAD proteins more specifically three C2 capped proteins. The first part will focus on whether or not the prevailing …

The Parthenon, September 12, 2014, Codi Mohr

The Parthenon

The Parthenon, Marshall University’s student newspaper, is published by students Monday through Friday during the regular semester and weekly Thursday during the summer. The editorial staff is responsible for the news and the editorial content.

Functional Network Connectivity In Human Brain And Its Applications In Automatic Diagnosis Of Brain Disorders, Mohammad Arbabshirani

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The human brain is one of the most complex systems known to the mankind. Over the past 3500 years, mankind has constantly investigated this remarkable system in order to understand its structure and function. Emerging of neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have opened a non-invasive in-vivo window into brain function. Moreover, fMRI has made it possible to study brain disorders such as schizophrenia from a different angle unknown to researchers before. Human brain function can be divided into two categories: functional segregation and integration. It is well-understood that each region in the brain is specialized in …

Examining The Influence Of Landscape On Natural Resource Management In The American West: A Geospatial Approach, Robert Fonner

Economics ETDs

Landscapes can influence natural resource values and management in a variety of ways. These diverse influences can be generated by biophysical or social systems, or interactions between systems. This dissertation examines the landscape determinants of natural resource values and management. Chapter 2 examines moose habitat preferences with a spatial discrete-choice model. The study tests for spatial autocorrelation and compares the results to results from nonspatial models. The objective of this analysis is to explore the human-based and naturally occurring determinants of moose habitat selection while presenting a method and example for addressing spatial correlation between spatially positioned alternatives in a …

Harbor Notes, September 12, 2014, Jessica Blais

Harbor Notes

The September 12, 2014, issue of Harbor Notes.

Spectroscopic Studies Of Conjugated Polymer Nanostructures And Polymer/Acceptor Blends, Jian Gao

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

This dissertation presents the results of investigations into organic semiconducting systems at the nano- to mesoscales through spectroscopic and electrical imaging techniques. Particular emphasis was put on capturing the role of conformation and morphology on electronic properties and processes. The combination of experimental methods and data analysis techniques used in this work reveals useful insights into the correlations between polymer structures and their photovoltaic device performance, and provide clues to developing better performing organic solar cells. The main approach of this work is using prototypical conjugated polymer systems, either ensemble or in their nanostructures, to study the solar cell active …

Revisioning Reality: Normative Resistance In The Cultural Works Of The Lincoln Motion Picture Company, Nella Larsen, And Allan Rohan Crite, 1915-1945, Andrea Louise Mays

American Studies ETDs

Despite the fact that nineteenth and twentieth century biologist and Social Darwinists theories of race have been dispelled, the social residue of white supremacist ideologies continue to have social and political implications throughout American society. America's racial hierarchy, and whiteness as a social and racial construct instantiated within it, against which every other group of people has been relationally situated, has helped not only to define non-white racial subjects in inferior terms, it has also guaranteed a perpetuation of race-based structural and social inequalities in United States of America. African American Studies, Critical Race Theory, Whiteness Studies, and most recently …

Intimate Gestures: Race, Photography, And Spectatorship In Tijuanas Dumps And Irregular Settlements, George Luna-Peña

American Studies ETDs

Through a sustained engagement with the theoretical work of Roland Barthes and Frantz Fanon, this thesis traces the complicated lines of connection linking photography, racial difference, spectatorship, and self-making in Tijuana's dumps and irregular settlements. Understanding photography as a space and form of life and social death, this thesis explores the photographic work of two photographers in Tijuana that pictures the lives of those living in poverty: John Leuders-Booth and Ingrid Hernandez. Of these photographic projects, the thesis asks: How does the spectatorial relationship that is triggered by a photograph also initiate a relationship of value, where one side of …

Aging And Energetics' 'Top 40' Future Research Opportunities 2010-2013, Steven N. Austad, David B. Allison, Lisa H. Antoine, Scott W. Ballinger, Marcas M. Bamman, Peggy Biga, Victor M. Darley-Usmar, Gordon Fisher, Julia M. Gohlke, Ganesh V. Halade, John L. Hartman, Gary R. Hunter, Joseph L. Messina, Tim R. Nagy, Eric P. Plaisance, Mickie L. Powell, Kevin A. Roth, Michael W. Sandel, Tonia S. Schwartz, Daniel L. Smith, J. David Sweatt, Trygve O. Tollefsbol, Stephen A. Watts, Yongbin Yang, Jianhua Zhang

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: As part of a coordinated effort to expand our research activity at the interface of Aging and Energetics a team of investigators at The University of Alabama at Birmingham systematically assayed and catalogued the top research priorities identified in leading publications in that domain, believing the result would be useful to the scientific community at large. Objective: To identify research priorities and opportunities in the domain of aging and energetics as advocated in the 40 most cited papers related to aging and energetics in the last 4 years. Design: The investigators conducted a search for papers on aging and …

Shingles Risks Similar For The Ra Biologics, Staff

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: September 12, 2014, Eastern Illinois University

September

No abstract provided.

Liberal Discourse And The Hegemons Dilemma: A Realist-Constructivist Approach To The Study Of U.S.-Latin American Relations, Justin Delacour

Political Science ETDs

This dissertations approach starts from four basic premises. The first is that a Western power's interests in a liberal foreign policy course will exist alongside other interests of the state that casually conflict with its professed liberalism. The second premise is that, in order for the Western state to periodically pursue objectives that partially conflict with its professed principles, the state will present such objectives as liberal by understating the illiberal characteristics of foreign allies and overstating the undemocratic characteristics of rivals. The third premise is that, given the cultural authority of the state, its positions and narratives will have …

Coping Strategies Mediate The Relationship Between Alexithymia And Health, Jennifer Bernard

Psychology ETDs

Alexithymia, a construct of impaired emotion processing, has been shown to negatively impact mental health and is associated with higher physical symptom reporting. This study examined the relationship between alexithymia, coping, and health in a large ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate university students (N = 605; 65% female; 45% Hispanic). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to create a latent measurement model for emotional approach, active coping and avoidant coping. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized structural model for coping mediating the effects of alexithymia on mental and physical health. Results indicated the association between alexithymia and negative …

White Matter Integrity And Alcohol Use Disorders, Mollie Monnig

Psychology ETDs

Injury to the brains white matter is a signature injury of alcohol use disorders (AUD), yet research on its causes and correlates has yielded mixed findings. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test associations between clinical and demographic factors and variability in white matter integrity in heavy drinkers (mean age = 30.86 ± 9.08 years; 30% female; 62% treatment-na\xefve). Magnetic resonance imaging scans, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), were collected from 324 individuals who reported recent heavy drinking (at least 5 binge-drinking episodes in the past 30 days, or > 14 standard drinks/week for women and > 21 standard drinks/week …

Effects Of Intimate Partner Violence On Maternal Reflective Functioning And Attachment Relationship In Hispanic/Latina Women And Their Preschool-Age Children: A Qualitative Study, Patricia Martinez Burr

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Research indicates that thousands of women across the world suffer intimate partner violence (IPV) under the hands of their partner on a daily basis. Understanding the effects of intimate partner violence on their psychological functioning and maternal response to very young children is crucial to our understanding and provision of appropriate treatment. This qualitative study used a transcendental phenomenological approach designed to analyze the in-depth interview responses of ten Hispanic/Latina mothers of preschool-age children, who had been victims of IPV within the last year to examine these effects. Given the researchers desire to better understand the effects of IPV on …

Crime And Immigration In Albuquerque, Nm — Real Or Misperception?, Saundra D. Daras

Geography ETDs

The decade between 2000 and 2010 marked the largest increase of immigrant populations in U.S. history, however crime rates have seen a decrease during this same period. Recent research suggests that immigrant groups may actually be associated with this phenomenon. As immigration rates are expected to continue to grow in Albuquerque and the U.S., further research into the relationship between immigration and crime rates within historical destination cities (i.e. Los Angeles, New York) and new destination gateway cities, such as Albuquerque, is necessary. This study examines how violent and non-violent crime rates in immigrant neighborhoods compare to those of non-immigrant …

Effect Of Acute Dietary Nitrate Consumption On Submaximal Oxygen Consumption And Oxidative Stress In Hypoxia, Colin Carriker

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Reduced partial pressure of oxygen impairs exercise performance at altitude. Acute nitrate supplementation, at sea level may reduce oxygen cost during submaximal exercise in hypoxia. Therefore, we investigated the metabolic response during exercise at altitude following acute nitrate consumption. Ten well-trained (61.01±7.37 ml/kg/min) males (age 28±7 yr) completed 3 experimental trials (T1, T2, T3). T1 included baseline demographics, a maximal aerobic capacity test (VO2max) and five submaximal intensity cycling determination bouts at an elevation of 1600m. A 4-day dietary washout, minimizing consumption of nitrate rich foods, preceded T2 and T3. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover fashion, subjects consumed a …