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Greywater Management In The Monteverde Zone: Perceptions, Challenges, And Solutions, August 2014

Monteverde Institute: Culture, Community, and Health

Greywater is the wastewater produced by kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, showers and laundries. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, it is a popular practice to discharge untreated greywater into the local surroundings. However, there has been a growing awareness about the negative environmental impacts, an increasing concern in regards to public health risks, and a push for better greywater management strategies in the region. Over a six-week period, a research team, with collaboration and support from the University of South Florida, the Monteverde Institute, and the National Science Foundation implemented various anthropological and engineering methods to assess the perceptions and characteristics of …

Disaster Salsa, Linda A. H. Sirois

All NMU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

DISASTER SALSA

By

Linda A. H. Sirois

Disaster Salsa is an interrelated collage of essays, poems, letters, recipes, and stories that are juxtaposed to tell a narrative of what it is like to be the mother of a child who struggles with mental disorder. Our oldest son has had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) all his life; at the age of 11 he was struck with a baseball bat, which resulted in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Services that address, diagnose, and treat mental disorders have been abysmal for many years in parts of our country, and ten years ago …

Characterization Of Hcmv-Encoded Chemokine Receptor Us28 Transduced Msu1.1 Human Fibroblast Cells, Danielle R. Vanbeckum

All NMU Master's Theses

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes the G-protein coupled receptor US28. Using a mouse model system, US28 was previously found to be oncomodulatory, increasing proliferation, inducing anchorage independent growth and loss of contact inhibition. Similarly, in the human glioblastoma cell line U373, US28 activated VEGF expression. To determine if US28 is oncomodulatory in normal human cells, we engineered the human fibroblast cell line MSU1.1 to express US28 via lentivirus infection. MSU1.1 cells were transduced with pHAGE-US28-ZsGreen. Fluorescent confocal microscopy was utilized to detect the ZsGreen tag and confirmed the successful transduction of MSU1.1 cells with the US28 vector or empty pHAGE vector. …

Antidepressant Effects Of The Nts1 Agonist Pd149163 In The Forced Swim Test, Lawrence Carey Iv

All NMU Master's Theses

Neurotensin is a neuropeptide that influences monoaminergic neurotransmission in areas of the brain involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The forced swim test is a commonly used screening model for putative antidepressant medications. Drugs that have antidepressant effects in humans reliably decrease the time animals spend in an immobile posture in the forced swim test without increasing general locomotor activity as measured in an open field test. The present study sought to examine the effects of the neurotensin NTS₁ receptor agonist PD149163 and the tricyclic antidepressant drug imipramine on immobility in the forced swim test and on locomotor activity …

Endophytic Actinomycetes As Potential Agents To Control Common Scab Of Potatoes, Alaxandra A. Goodman

All NMU Master's Theses

Potato marketability and tuber quality can be decreased upon infection by a pathogen, Streptomyces scabies. Current disease control consists of expensive irrigation systems and using hazardous chemicals, which exert limited disease control and are potential hazards to those exposed. Biological control offers a cost effective method for controlling disease. Antibiotic producing Streptomyces have indicated their ability to combat plant diseases. Some Streptomyces species colonize within plant tissues without causing disease symptoms (endophytes). This research sought for the presence of endophytic Steptomyces or closely related species in potato plants that were grown in fields containing pathogen-inhibiting Streptomyces. To establish genus …

Around The Table, Rachel E. Mills

All NMU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Around the Table

By

Rachel Elizabeth Mills

This collection of nonfiction essays revolves around concepts of food and home. The essays focus on the universalizing nature of food, both from a personal perspective, and from a diasporic Middle Eastern perspective. In these essays I explore how food unifies and creates communities. The essays range from exploring my own upbringing in rural Upper Michigan, and how food creates bonds within my own family and community, to examining how food creates ties and communities within the Arab diaspora. This collective narrative, in focusing on the communal characteristics surrounding the human need …

Synthesis Of A Drug Delivery Vehicle For Cancer Treatment Utilizing Dna-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles., Tyler Brann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The treatment of cancer with chemotherapeutic agents has made great strides in the last few decades but still introduces major systemic side effects. The potent drugs needed to kill cancer cells often cause irreparable damage to otherwise healthy organs leading to further morbidity and mortality. A therapy with intrinsic selective properties and/or an inducible activation has the potential to change the way cancer can be treated. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are biocompatible and chemically versatile tools that can be readily functionalized to serve as molecular vehicles. The ability of these particles to strongly absorb light with wavelengths in the therapeutic window …

Using Citizen Scientists To Evaluate Light Traps For Catching Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs In Homes In Virginia, John D. Aigner Jr, Thomas P. Kuhar

Journal of Extension

More and more, citizen scientists are playing an integral role in research studies. This has been particularly evident as entomologists unravel the biology, spread, and management of the brown marmorated stink bug, which has plagued many homeowners in the mid-Atlantic U.S. in recent years. We used citizen scientists to evaluate different indoor light traps for catching the bugs in houses. Throughout the late winter and early spring months, these traps were tested inside homes and enabled us to determine that the most efficacious trap was an aluminum foil water pan trap, developed by—you guessed it—a citizen scientist.

Behavioral Responses Of Burrowing Owls To Experimental Clutch Manipulations: An Investigation Of Conspecific Brood Parasitism And Laying Determinacy, Jamie Lynn Groves

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

During 2012-2013, I investigated the behavioral responses of western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) in southwestern Idaho to experimental conspecific brood parasitism to determine if they were capable of egg discrimination, and if they would accept or reject a parasitic egg introduced into their nest. I experimentally added one egg derived from source nests to host nests either during the egg-laying period or just after adult females initiated incubation and examined acceptance or rejection of the parasitic egg in relation to control nests where eggs were handled but not exchanged. Burrowing owl responses to parasitic eggs varied with …

Osteoblast Oncostatin M Signaling In Modeled Spaceflight, Jacob Goyden

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Bone deterioration is a challenge in long-term spaceflight with significant connections to terrestrial disuse bone loss. Prolonged unloading and radiation exposure, defining characteristics of space travel, have both been associated with changes in inflammatory signaling via IL-6 class cytokines in bone. While there is also some evidence for perturbed IL-6 class signaling in spaceflight, there has been scant examination of the connections between free fall, radiation, and inflammatory stimuli in bone. Our lab and others have shown that the IL-6 class cytokine oncostatin M (OSM) is an important regulator of bone remodeling. We hypothesize that spaceflight alters osteoblast OSM signaling, …

Construction And Characterization Of Non-Toxic Bacterial Enterotoxins As Vaccine Adjuvants, Lavanya Vempati

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The development of adjuvants that can promote the delivery of purified subunit vaccines by mucosal routes, such as the nose or the mouth, is recognized as a top priority for vaccine research. The bacterial enterotoxins; cholera toxin (CT) and E.coli heat-labile toxin (LTI), have long been recognized as powerful adjuvants with the ability to stimulate specific immune responses to co-administered antigens when delivered to mucosal surfaces. Shiga toxin 1 (ST1) and pertussis toxin (PT) are structurally homologous bacterial toxins secreted by Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and Bordetella pertussis respectively. ST1 and PT also have reported adjuvant activity but it is less …

Braving Difficult Choices Alone: Children's And Adolescents' Medical Decision Making, A Ruggeri, M Gummerum, Y Hanoch

School of Psychology

OBJECTIVE: What role should minors play in making medical decisions? The authors examined children's and adolescents' desire to be involved in serious medical decisions and the emotional consequences associated with them. METHODS: Sixty-three children and 76 adolescents were presented with a cover story about a difficult medical choice. Participants were tested in one of four conditions: (1) own informed choice; (2) informed parents' choice to amputate; (3) informed parents' choice to continue a treatment; and (4) uninformed parents' choice to amputate. In a questionnaire, participants were asked about their choices, preference for autonomy, confidence, and emotional reactions when faced with …

New Beginnings: A Discussion Guide Adaptation For Living With Diabetes Among An Urban American Indian Community, Eudora Lynette Claw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diabetes is a chronic disease where the body has the inability to control the sugar levels in the blood to convert into to usable energy needed to fuel the body's cells. Some common diabetic complications include heart disease, stroke, amputations, and possibly blindness. It can be successfully managed with routine care of monitoring of sugar levels, eating a healthy diet, and daily exercise. The occurrence of type 2 diabetes is rising rapidly worldwide, but is a burden for AI/ANs (American Indian/Alaska Natives) at a substantially disproportionate rate. The purpose of this pilot study was to participate in a one-day curriculum …

Effects Of Lipopolysaccharide Induced Inflammatory Response On Early Embryo Survival In Ewes, Megan Renee Graham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early pregnant ewes, 5 or 6 day post coitus (dpc) were used as a model to study early embryonic loss via gram-negative bacterial infections, such as mastitis. Ewes 5/6 dpc were injected with a gram-negative bacteria cell wall component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&agr;), to induce an innate immune system acute phase response (APR). The induction of the APR and its reactant molecules, such as TNF-&agr; and acute phase proteins (APP), haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA), were initiated to study their effects on embryonic loss. In addition, ewes were also injected with LPS plus dexamethasone (Dex) …

Stoking The Flames Of Wellness: An Exploration Of Factors That Influence West Virginia Firefighters' Health Behaviors, Chelsea B. Wooding

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The concern over health and wellness among firefighters in the US has escalated recently due to increasing obesity rates, on-duty cardiovascular event risk, and job stress. Besides unique aspects of the work, a number of other barriers to health and wellness have been identified within the firefighter culture. Using a qualitative approach with multiple sources of data, the current study sought to answer the question, "what impacts the health of firefighters in West Virginia?" Eight focus groups, and Photovoice data from nine participants were inductively analyzed using guidelines from consensual qualitative research. House tours were also done to provide ethnographic …

A Poultry Litter Marker Gene Correlates With Pathogen And Indicator Bacteria Deposition On, Growth In And Transport From Poultry Bedding, Kameswari Sirisha Mantha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Poultry is one of the major contributors of inputs to U.S. environmental waters due to the large number of poultry grown per year in the U.S. and litter disposal practices. Two studies were conducted during this research: (1) to determine the temporal rate of deposition and growth or decay of microorganisms in poultry litter originating from poultry feces and (2) the release and transport of poultry litter associated microorganisms from soiled poultry litter applied as fertilizer through soil columns under simulated rainfall. First, deposition studies were conducted to evaluate the deposition rate of microorganisms on poultry bedding during the growth …

Experimental And Theoretical Studies Of Kinetics And Quality Parameters To Determine Spontaneous Combustion Propensity Of U.S. Coals, Xinyang Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spontaneous combustion is one of the most serious problems to mine safety and production in the global coal industry. It is considered to be the trigger for fires and explosions in underground coal mines especially for gassy mines. Such thermal events are not easily detectable since they normally occur in inaccessible gob and sealed area. It is also difficult to find the most likely hot point accurately. Admittedly, determination of the propensity for spontaneous combustion before mining activity should be a necessary step in the design of a mine and ventilation plan. However, due to the complexity of the chemical …

The Roles Of Resilience And Perceived Discrimination In Sexual Minority Identity Integration, Peter Alexander Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although researchers and theorists have long moved away from public disclosure of sexual minority identity (i.e. coming out) as the theoretical apex of lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity development, it is still considered an important process of overall identity integration. Unfortunately public disclosure of sexual minority identity may be dependent upon the social environment in which disclosure occurs. Given the variable nature of social contexts, public disclosure across domains of social functioning may be problematic. Previous research has suggested that disclosure is in part more or less likely to occur based on individual appraisal of discriminative experiences (Meyer, 2013). …

Formation Of 2-Halomethylene-4-Cyclopentene-1,3-Diones And/Or 2-Halo-1,4-Benzoquinones, Total Synthesis Of Methyl Linderone And Wacker-Type Oxidation Of Aryl-Substituted Alkenes, Hong Yin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

We have discovered a practical general method for the preparation of diverse 2-halomethylene-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones and/or 2-halo-1,4-benzoquinones. An in-depth study of the reactions of 4-(ethynyl)-4-hydroxy-2,3-substituted-2-cyclobuten-1-ones with N-bromo- or N-iodosuccinimide is described. This reaction was used in a short total synthesis of methyl linderone. Also, a series of facile, palladium catalyzed, direct, and regiospecific Wacker-type oxidations has been developed to yield various alpha-arylated ketones from aryl-substituted internal alkenes.

Serotonin (5-Ht) Increases Olfactory Responsiveness In The Tobacco Hawkmoth Manduca Sexta, Samantha Lynn Jusino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Behavioral states of animals change throughout the day and the brain has developed several mechanisms in order for neural circuits to modify network function in order to produce these states. Neuromodulation allows the animal to alter neural circuits to make them more or less responsive to a given input. Little research has been conducted to understand the functional role of serotonin (5-HT), a neuromodulator,on olfactory behavioral responses. In this study, we aimed to identify the functional role of 5-HT in Manduca sexta olfactory function. Using a Pavlovian-Conditioning Paradigm, we conditioned moths to 2-hexanone and tested them using two different assays, …

Belarus's National Narratives And Representation Of The Grand Duchy Of Lithuania, Jevgenijs Rjascenko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In its theoretical framework this thesis relies on the discussion of the existing approaches towards the study of nationalism such as the perennialist, the modernist/constructivist and the ethno-symbolist. The ethno-symbolist approach by Anthony D. Smith, however, is chosen as the most appropriate for examining Belarus's nation-building process and therefore, its ability to explain different expressions of Belarus's national narratives is emphasized. The empirical discussion of Belarus's post-independence nation-building process explains the peculiarity of the Belarusian case in which the official national narrative coexists with the alternative national narrative in Belarus's public sphere. The research question, however, is centered on the …

Surrogate Reservoir Model For Generating Pressure, Saturation And Compositional Characteristics At The Grid-Block Level; Sacroc Field, Scurry County, Texas, David Moreno

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nowadays, due to advancements in data acquisition technologies in oil and gas industry more data are available for generating reservoir simulation models. This leads to high fidelity reservoir simulation models which are highly complex and computationally expensive. The conventional reservoir management studies require hundreds realizations of the simulation models. As S. Gencer (2007) described, the reservoir simulation trend is towards "more: more users, more models, more cells, more wells, more cases, more data and more integration" [1]. In order to enhance the reservoir model descriptions, more computational power would have to be designed and engineered to keep up with our …

Conceptual Learning: Enhancing Student Understanding Of Physiology, Micah J. Waltz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Students are leaving undergraduate science programs without the knowledge and skills they are expected to have. This is apparent in professional programs, such as medical and veterinary school, where students do not possess the critical thinking skills necessary to be successful. Physiology is a required discipline for these professional programs and often before, as a pre-requisite. Physiology classrooms are an excellent place to teach critical thinking skills because the content consists of integrated processes. Therefore, in one study, it was investigated whether focusing on physiological concepts improved student understanding of physiology in both a non-physiological science course, Invertebrate Zoology, and …

The Hydroclimatology Of West Virginia Spatial And Temporal Trends And Their Relationship With The North Atlantic Oscillation, Carson Wright

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Global air temperature has risen 0.74°C over the last 100 years, and is one of several factors influencing climate and streamflow variability at global, regional, and local scales. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is another important factor contributing to climate variability by influencing the intensity of storms entering the eastern US. The Southeastern US is receiving less precipitation and streamflow is decreasing while the northeastern US is receiving greater amounts of precipitation and increasing streamflows. West Virginia is typically overlooked being on the border of both of these regions; therefore the objective of this study is to fill knowledge gaps …

Functional Characterization Of Phosphodiesterase-4a In Behavior And Obesity, Rolf T. Hansen Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cognitive disorders such as depression, anxiety, and senescent-induced memory loss are a growing pandemic in the world. Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder in America, affecting upwards of 50 million people a year; depression has a lifetime prevalence of 20% of the population, and it's predicted pathological memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) will reach exponential levels by the year 2050. While there are treatments for anxiety and depression, far less success has been reached with therapeutics for AD. Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) may be a potential novel target for future therapeutics aimed at combatting these psychiatric illnesses and neurodegenerative …

Functional And Genetic Analysis Of Choroid Plexus Development In Zebrafish, Hannah Elizabeth Henson

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The choroid plexus (CP) is an epithelial based structure localized within the brain ventricles and functions as the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). Under normal conditions, the CP is responsible for generating the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and regulating its components. Abnormal CP function has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, tumor formation in CP epithelia (CPe), and hydrocephalus. Despite the significant role of the CP in these disorders, little research has been done to characterize its functional properties and genetically dissect the pathways involved in normal CP development and disease. For this study, we have utilized zebrafish, (Danio rerio), as a model …

B. R. Wells Arkansas Rice Research Studies 2013, R. J. Norman, K.A. K. Moldenhauer

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Deanotes, College Of Science And Technology, Armstrong State University

College of Science & Technology Dean's Notes (Archived)

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Religion On Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use In Jewish Adolescents, Toby R. Levin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historically, the Jewish faith has used alcohol in rituals and religious holidays in which adolescents are permitted to fully participate and this exposure to alcohol may influence attitudes and beliefs about underage drinking among Jewish adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between the Jewish religion and attitudes toward alcohol among Jewish adolescents. The theoretical frameworks, on which this study was based, were the social bond theory and the social development theory. Each of these theories indicates that community is important to the individual. Using a cross sectional study design, 160 adolescents participated …

Alliance For Wild Rockies V. Salazar: Congress Behaving Badly, Edward A. Fitzgerald

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.