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Lion Tales: The Impact Of Educational Policy Discourse On The Perpetuation Of The Perception Of African American Academic Underachievement, Marshetta Shavon Brazley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Academic achievement for African American students has remained consistently low over time. Some researchers cite the disintegration of the black family as the cause. Others have argued that IQ is largely influenced by genetics, and that African Americans are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent than other races. One researcher traces the socio-historical connection between the institution of slavery and the current inequality inherent in the American education system. He also contends that the differences between African American culture and mainstream culture are so great that they adversely impact African American academic achievement. The purpose of the critical comparative discourse …

Mitigation Of Decubitus Ulcers By Moisture Reduction In Bedridden Catheterized Patients, Kory A. Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In today's society, decubitus ulcers are a serious and very common medical condition. Yet, they constitute a major complication threatening indiviuals in hospitals, nursing homes and family homecare environments. Decubitus ulcers usually represent a major burden of care and reduces the quality of life considerably for patients, as well as their care givers. Ironically, most patients develop decubitus ulcers after an extended stay in a hopital or acute care facilities. Decubitus ulcers present challenges to the healthcare industry because they are associated with increased risks of baterial infections, longer hospital stays and higher hospitialization costs. The purpose of this thesis …

Compulsory Science Policy, Student Performance, And Teachers’ Role: Uganda’S Experience, Joyce Ayikoru Asiimwe

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Using Lipsky’s concept of the street-level bureaucrat, this paper highlights how teachers may be contributing to students’ high failure rates within the framework of the recent educational reforms, with particular focus on the Compulsory Science Policy (CSP). Analysis of students’ performance in science and mathematics before and after the policy indicates that secondary schools have continued to register high student failure rates in mathematics and the core sciences. This dismal performance puts science teachers on the spotlight and threatens to undermine their professional competence. Over the years science teachers have often responded to the dilemma of high failure rates by …

The Grizzly, December 4, 2014, Rachel Brown, Mark Branca, Andrew Mackin, Andrew Simoncini, Lisa Abraham, Ayesha Contractor, Rayleen Rivera-Harbach, Jaime Bocanumenth, David Slade, Dana Feigenbaum

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

On-Campus Sexual Assault Investigated • Lights Installed on Roof of Pfahler • Main Street Freshmen to Move to Main Campus • Students Debut Independent Theater Production • Preparing for Final Exams in Myrin • Wallace Receives Award • UCARE Created by Three UC Students • UC Sorority Faces Extinction • Student Ambassadors Assist the Community • Opinion: Kim Kardashian Breaks the Internet; Ebola: A Controversial Clash to Prevent the Spread • Track Assistant is an Olympic Hopeful • Crossing Over • Women's Soccer had Season to Build On

Toward An Improved Understanding Of The Ionizing Radiation Induced Dna Damage/Response Networks In Human Malignancies., Daphne A Haas-Kogan, David R Raleigh, Adam Paul Dicker

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Molecular Dynamics Study Of The Opening Mechanism For Dna Polymerase I, Carol A. Parish, Bill R. Miller Iii, Eugene Y. Wu

Chemistry Faculty Publications

During DNA replication, DNA polymerases follow an induced fit mechanism in order to rapidly distinguish between correct and incorrect dNTP substrates. The dynamics of this process are crucial to the overall effectiveness of catalysis. Although Xray crystal structures of DNA polymerase I with substrate dNTPs have revealed key structural states along the catalytic pathway, solution fluorescence studies indicate that those key states are populated in the absence of substrate. Herein, we report the first atomistic simulations showing the conformational changes between the closed, open, and ajar conformations of DNA polymerase I in the binary (enzyme:DNA) state to better understand its …

Improving The Health Impacts Of Whole Grains Through Processing: Resistant Starch, Dietary Fiber Solubility, And Mineral Bioaccessibility, Jennifer A. Arcila Castillo

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whole grains are good sources of starch, dietary fiber, and mineral elements. Starch is an important source of energy but also can be transformed to resistant starch to impart lower caloric value and increase total dietary fiber. Dietary fibers impart physiological benefits to human body once they are fermented by the gut microbiota. Mineral elements are important co-factors of a wide range of enzymes involved for instance in glucose and lipid metabolism. In general human body is capable of absorbing only 21-28% of most mineral elements, and gut bacteria are only able to ferment 34% of the dietary fiber from …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Value-Enhancing Effects Of Nicotine, Bupropion, And Varenicline In Male And Female Rats, Scott Barrett

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Smoking and tobacco dependence are serious health concerns in the United States and globally. Reward via the pharmacological effects of nicotine are believed to be the principal motivating factor that drive tobacco dependence. Research reveals differences in sensitivity between males and females to the motivational effects of nicotine in tobacco use. Enhancement of reinforcement value of non-nicotine rewards contributes to overall nicotine reward. Similar value-enhancing effects have been observed by the two most commonly prescribed smoking cessation aids, bupropion and varenicline. The present dissertation investigated the value-enhancing effects of nicotine, bupropion and varenicline in both male and female rats using …

Analysis Of Drug Interactions With Lipoproteins By High Performance Affinity Chromatography, Matthew R. Sobansky

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) are lipoproteins previously shown to bind many basic and neutral hydrophobic drugs in serum. These interactions impact the distribution, delivery, metabolism, and excretion of drugs and are important in determining drug activity, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity in the human body. Information about drug-lipoprotein interactions and the strength of these interactions can be useful in determining the distribution of drugs following administration.

The research presented in this dissertation uses high performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) and packed columns to study binding of the drug propranolol to immobilized lipoproteins such …

Assembling 3d Objects With Artificial Spatial Intelligence, Eugene Koon

Theses

The focus of this thesis is to provide an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can develop spatial intelligence. A MATLAB application of a genetic algorithm AI system has been implemented. The AI system will incorporate three dimensional (3D) objects that can learn to maneuver in 3D space so that they may be assembled with each other. As an example, two rectangles with holes and a nut will maneuver itself onto a screw. The performance of the AI system will then be recorded as video results.

The Montclarion, December 04, 2014, The Montclarion

The Montclarion

Student Newspaper of Montclair State University

Genetic And Environmental Variation In Condition, Cutaneous Immunity, And Haematocrit In House Wrens, Scott K. Sakaluk, Laura A. Vogel, Alastair J. Wilson, E. Keith Bowers, L. Scott Johnson, Brian S. Masters, Bonnie Gp Johnson, Anna M. Forsman, Charles F. Thompson

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Background

Life-history studies of wild bird populations often focus on the relationship between an individual’s condition and its capacity to mount an immune response, as measured by a commonly-employed assay of cutaneous immunity, the PHA skin test. In addition, haematocrit, the packed cell volume in relation to total blood volume, is often measured as an indicator of physiological performance. A multi-year study of a wild population of house wrens has recently revealed that those exhibiting the highest condition and strongest PHA responses as nestlings are most likely to be recruited to the breeding population and to breed through two years …

The Alestle - Vol. 67. No. 15 - 12/04/2014, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

The Alestle

Vol. 67. No. 15

The Cowl - V.79 - N.12 - Dec 4, 2014

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 79 - No. 12 - December 4, 2014. 24 pages.

The Unseen World: Environmental Microbial Sequencing And Identification Methods For Ecologists, Naupaka Zimmerman, Jacques Izard, Christian Klatt, Jizhong Zhou, Emma Aronson

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Archaea, bacteria, microeukaryotes, and the viruses that infect them (collectively “microorganisms”) are foundational components of all ecosystems, inhabiting almost every imaginable environment and comprising the majority of the planet’s organismal and evolutionary diversity. Microorganisms play integral roles in ecosystem functioning; are important in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), phosphorus (P), and various metals (eg Barnard et al. 2005); and may be vital to ecosystem responses to large-scale climatic change. Rarely found alone, microorganisms often form complex communities that are dynamic in space and time. For these and other reasons, ecologists and environmental scientists have become …

A Scientometric Assessment Of Indian Himalayan R&D Publications During 2004-13, Brij Mohan Gupta Dr, Ritu Gupta

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper analyses 9909 global and 4862 Indian Himalayan R&D publications, as covered in Scopus database during 2004-13. It compares the contribution, citation impact and international collaborative publications share of top 10 most productive countries, and the place of Indiaamong them. It mainly examines Indian output, with a focus its annual average growth rate (13.21%), citation impact per paper (1.86%), distribution of citations (with 62.40% publications received one or more citations), share of international collaborative papers (16.29%) and contribution of leading collaborative countries, distribution of output by broad subject areas, publication productivity and citation impact of thirty leading institutions and …

Decline Of Diporeia In Lake Michigan: Was Disease Associated With Invasive Species The Primary Factor?, Courtney S. Cave, Kevin Strychar

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Populations of the freshwater amphipod Diporeia spp. have steadily declined in Lake Michigan since the late 1980’s. Prior studies have provided inconclusive data on possible reasons for their decline. However, some authors suggest that food competition and/or diseases associated with aquatic invasive species (AIS), such as zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), may have caused the collapse of Diporeia. In this project, the possibility of pathogens as the cause of the collapse of Diporeia has been examined. Linear regression modeling show a significant positive linear association between percent of Diporeia exhibiting a pathogenic infection and year (r=0.7202264, p2 = …

Stand Structure And Acorn Production Of The Island Scrub Oak (Quercus Pacifica), Mario B. Pesendorfer, Kathryn M. Langin, Brian Cohen, Zachary Principe, Scott A. Morrison, T. Scott Sillett

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

Island scrub oak (Quercus pacifica), a keystone chaparral species on Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina islands, provides habitat for a diverse assemblage of plant and animal species. The restoration of oak habitat is a management priority, but little is known about Q. pacifica stand structure and acorn production, 2 parameters that are important in the species’ recovery. To investigate whether species interactions and abiotic conditions have an effect on stand structure and acorn production, we sampled within-stand densities, tree sizes, and acorns in the 3 island populations that have been exposed to different herbivores, seed predators, …

Population Genetics Of Two Key Mosquito Vectors Of Rift Valley Fever Virus Reveals New Insights Into The Changing Disease Outbreak Patterns In Kenya, David P. Tchouassi, Armanda D.S. Bastos, Catherine L. Sole, Mawlouth Diallo, Joel Lutomiah, James Mutisya, Francis Mulwa, Christian Borgemeister, Rosemary Sang, Baldwyn Torto

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks in Kenya have increased in frequency and range to include northeastern Kenya where viruses are increasingly being isolated from known (Aedes mcintoshi) and newly-associated (Ae. ochraceus) vectors. The factors contributing to these changing outbreak patterns are unclear and the population genetic structure of key vectors and/or specific virus-vector associations, in particular, are under-studied. By conducting mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses on >220 Kenyan specimens of Ae. mcintoshi and Ae. ochraceus, we uncovered high levels of vector complexity which may partly explain the disease outbreak pattern. Results indicate that Ae. mcintoshi consists of a species complex …

Rambassadors: Making Student Leadership The Cornerstone Of Pbis Success, Adrienne Boisson, Andre Byrd, Chris Williams

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

The goal of this presentation is to share the impact of a successful PBIS student advisory organization. Presenters will give an in-depth explanation of the development of their program to include:

1. We are RAMS: the history of PBIS at Newton High School and how it influences school culture.
2. RAMbassadorS: Modeling the Ideal RAMS; using students to exemplify school expectations of success focusing on the following characteristics: mindset, service, and appearance
3. Laying the groundwork: Preparing student leaders for service from application process to active duty

"That's So Gay!" - Tools And Attitudes For Supporting Lgbtq Students, Em E. Elliott

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

N/A

Access To Information And Implications For Healthy Ageing In Africa: Challenges And Strategies For Public Libraries, Ifeanyi J. Ezema, Richard N. Ugwuanyi Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The elderly people are of intrinsic value to societies. Their health is Africa’s wealth. Unfortunately, Africa has serious health burden raging from diseases, poverty ignorance that hardly support healthy ageing. Development indicators from World Health Organization and the World Bank provide glaring evidence that Africa countries are far behind other regions of the world in health conditions of the citizens. This paper discusses the benefits that accrue from having a healthy old age population. Such includes poverty reduction, stress free ageing, assisting in taking care of young ones. It examines the role of information in enhancing healthy ageing in Africa. …

Principles For Optimizing The Scale Of Direct Potable Water Reuse: Economic Network Modeling Studies, Tianjiao Guo

Open Access Dissertations

The US National Research Council recently recommended direct potable water reuse (DPR), or potable water reuse without environmental buffer, for consideration to address rising US water demand. In addition, conveyance of wastewater and water to and from centralized treatment plants currently consumes on average four times the energy of treatment in the US. Moreover, scaling of DPR systems involves tradeoffs beyond those of treatment facility economy-of-scale versus cost and energy of conveyance. In particular, additional factors favoring distributed DPR include minimization of energy for upgradient distribution of treated water, and retention of wastewater thermal energy. Therefore, a network modeling study …

Contesting Risk, Precaution And Legitimacy: A Case Study Of Lafarge, Savitri Vasanta Gordian

LLM Theses

This thesis examines debates about the precautionary principle in a tribunal and judicial review proceeding where environmental groups and individuals challenged a proposal to burn tires and other non-traditional fuel sources at a cement plant in Ontario, Canada. Chapter 1 explores scholarship on the precautionary principle and outlines the unique analytical contributions offered by administrative constitutionalism theory. Chapter 2 sets out the case study methodology employed by the author. Chapter 3 explains the legislative context. In chapters 4 through 9, each participant’s arguments are analyzed in relation to the two paradigms of administrative constitutionalism: Rational-Instrumentalist and Deliberative-Constitutive. This thesis establishes …

The Design, Development, And Analysis Of An Extraction Device For Retracted Catheter Needles For Multiple Reuses On Simulation Manikins, Travis Fisher

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Science and Technology, Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Travis Fisher on December 3, 2014.

The Influence Of Salt Marsh Fucoid Algae (Ecads) On Sediment Dynamics Of Northwest Atlantic Marshes, M. C. Tyrrell, Carol S. Thornber, J. A. Burkhardt, M. Congretel

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Resilience is currently a key theme within salt marsh ecological studies. Understanding the factors that affect salt marsh accretion and elevation gains are of paramount importance if management of these ecosystems is to be successful under increasing synergistic stresses of storm surge, inundation period, and eutrophication. We present the results of salt marsh fucoid algae (ecads) removal experiments on Spartina alterniflora abundance, production and decomposition and the sedimentary dynamics of two marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The presence of the thick layer of marsh fucoids had a significant and positive influence on sediment deposition, accretion, concentration of water column particulates, …

Weekly News Digest 12/03/2014, Jenna Ray

Weekly Bulletin Archive

In This Issue:

● Art Club Holds Annual Art Sale

● Campus Hosts 2014 Scholarship Jubilee

● Work by Hall Featured in Linux Journal

● Dr. Jill Ostrem ’91 Quoted in Star Tribune

Questions Of Methodology: A Review Of The August 2014 History Of Education Quarterly Special Issue, Abigail Gundlach-Graham

Education's Histories

This methodological review examines the August 2014 issue of History of Education Quarterly, which focuses on American Indian education history.

Metabolic Toxicity Studies Using High Throughput Bioreactor Assay And Liquid Chromatography Coupled With Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms/ Ms), Dandan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Metabolic toxicity is one of main concerns in drug discovery and development. High efficient and low cost metabolic toxicity assessment is still a major challenge for pharmaceutical industry. This thesis focuses on the development of high throughput in vitro metabolic toxicity assay coupling with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for metabolic adducts generation, characterization and quantitation. The key technology was based on electrostatic fabrication of polyelectrolytes and biomolecules on magnetic beads to form bioreactors in 96 well plate format and acquired metabolites induced toxicity molecular information by LC-MS experiments.

Chapter one will address the goals and significance of the metabolic …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2014, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

The GPA measure, we believe, is a better representation of student achievement on statewide standardized exams. In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these "top 25 lists" will contain more than 25 schools as some schools' GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

After we present our overall snapshot of …