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Paleoclimate And Paleoenvironment Of The Prince Creek And Cantwell Formations, Alaska: Terrestrial Evidence Of Middle Maastrichtian Greenhouse Event, Susana Salazar Jaramillo

Geosciences

I studied the paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental conditions of the Prince Creek Formation, North Slope Alaska, and the lower Cantwell Formation in Denali National Park, Alaska. I used data from pollen analysis, clay mineral analysis and stable isotope analysis of clay minerals and organic matter applied to paleosols of the Prince Creek Formation. In the lower Cantwell Formation, I reconstructed the sedimentary environment, produced a terrestrial carbon stable isotope record and obtained a ~ 69.5 Ma radiometric age for the lower Cantwell Formation. Clay analysis in the Prince Creek Formation indicates that the genesis of the paleosols was strongly influenced by …

Osteology, Relationships And Paleoecology Of A New Arctic Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) From The Prince Creek Formation Of Northern Alaska, Hirotsugu Mori

Geosciences

The Liscomb Bonebed (LBB), found in the early Maastrichtian Prince Creek Formation of northern Alaska, is the single most productive site for the Arctic dinosaurs in either hemisphere. From the LBB, thousands of bones representing at least hundreds of individuals of a saurolophine hadrosaur have been collected, but they have not been previously described and their taxonomic status remains unresolved. In part, this stems from the fact that most material comes from individuals approximately one-half to onefourth of adult size. Another long-standing question concerns whether dinosaurs in the Prince Creek Formation overwintered in the paleo-Arctic or migrated elsewhere (presumably south) …

Ecological Mechanisms And Effectiveness Of Bioremediation In Alaska, Mary-Cathrine Christina Leewis

Biological Sciences

What drives microbial community structure and function is a fundamental question of microbial ecology. Soil microbial communities have wide ranging metabolic capabilities, which include performing oxidation-reduction reactions responsible for cycling of nutrients and organic compounds and biodegradation of pollutants. One major determinant of microbial function in soils is vegetation type. Considering plants are diverse in chemical composition, they impact the quantity and quality of carbon and nutrients available to microbes through root turnover, root leachates, as well as by altering pH and soil microclimate (moisture, temperature). Rhizosphere interactions, in the form of phytoremediation, can be capitalized upon to provide a …

Intermittent Hypercapnia Induces Long-Lasting Ventilatory Plasticity To Enhance Co₂ Responsiveness To Overcome Dysfunction, Bryan Patrick Mosher

Biological Sciences

The ability of the brain to detect (central CO₂ chemosensitivity) and respond to (central CO₂ chemoresponsiveness) changes in tissue CO₂/pH, is a homeostatic process essential for mammalian life. Dysfunction of the serotonin (5-HT) mechanisms compromises ventilator CO₂ chemosensitivity/responsiveness and may enhance vulnerability to pathologies such as the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The laboratory of Dr. Michael Harris has shown medullary raphe' contributions to central chemosensitivity involving both 5-HT- and y-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated mechanisms. I tested the hypothesis that postnatal exposure to mild intermittent hypercapnia (IHc) induces respiratory plasticity, due in part to strengthening of bicuculline- and saclofen-sensitive mechanisms (GABAA …

Behavior, Physiology, Biological Age, And Cultural Role Of Long-Lived Bering Sea Seabirds, Rebecca C. Young

Biological Sciences

This dissertation focuses on the intersection of behavior, physiology, and biological age. Biological age is a measure of an organism's progress through life, and it incorporates chronological age as well as the actions of environment and innate quality at the individual level. We estimate biological age using telomere length as a biomarker. Telomere degradation in relation to oxidative stress links it directly to purported proximate mechanisms of aging under the free radical theory of aging. Short telomeres, or telomere loss, have been related to ecological indicators of lowered fitness. Our work focuses on aging in the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), …

Causes And Consequences Of Variable Extrafloral Nectar Secretions In Quaking Aspen (Populous Tremuloides Michx.), Jonathon R. Newman

Biological Sciences

Extrafloral (EF) nectaries mediate a defensive mutualism in many plant populations, wherein plants attract predatory arthropods by providing nectar rewards. The primary objectives of this study were to identify abiotic and biotic factors that may affect secretion by EF nectaries in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and to determine how variation in secretion rate affects attractiveness of P. tremuloides ramets to predatory arthropods such as ants. I investigated the effects of water stress, defoliation, and genotype on extrafloral sugar secretions in P. tremuloides and tested how variations in EF sugar quantity affect ant visitation to P. tremuloides ramets in interior …

Spatial Variability In Plant And Soil Properties On New Zealand Seabird Islands, And The Effects Of Introduced Rats, Melody S. Durrett

Biological Sciences

Seabirds are ecosystem engineers with two major impacts on island ecosystems: they bring large quantities of marine nutrients to the terrestrial environment in the form of guano, carcasses, feathers, eggs, and spilled food, and they disturb the soil surface. Burrowing seabirds can denude the soil surface of all seedlings and leaf litter, plowing them under and loosening the soil. However, seabirds are colonial, and burrows are not evenly spaced over the surface of an island, producing spatial variability within a single island that might reveal how seabird activities control island ecosystem function. In this dissertation I review seabird island ecology …

The Anesthetic Isoflurane Influences Baseline Firing And Disrupts Chemosensitivity Of 5-Ht And Gaba Raphe Neurons, Sara L. Johansen

Biological Sciences

General anesthetics are widely used in clinical and scientific contexts, but their molecular mechanisms, and how these mechanisms give rise to the state of anesthesia, are poorly understood. We investigated the influence of the volatile anesthetic isoflurane on serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesizing raphé neurons. These cell types have been proposed as central chemoreceptors, cells that sense changes in arterial CO₂/pH and stimulate respiratory output to regain homeostasis. We tested the hypotheses that isoflurane inhibits 5-HT neuron baseline firing, enhances GABA neuron baseline firing, and disrupts the chemosensitivity of both neuron types. We performed extracellular recordings in …

Determining Amino Acid Propensity For Propagation Of The Prion Sup35 In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Emily K. Davis, James D. Knox, Kyle S. Maclea

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

Proteins are built based on a DNA sequence template and fold into distinctive shapes or conformations. Amyloids are beta sheet-rich proteins that can fold into two stable states, a normal form and an abnormal form. Prions, the infectious amyloids, are present in many eukaryotes, including humans, cows, sheep, and the baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and can cause the conversion of native protein structure into amyloid form. Unusually, yeast prion proteins have been shown to form amyloid structure on the basis of amino acid composition, independent of each protein’s primary structure. The most well-studied prion protein in yeast, Sup35, consists …

Targeted Mutagenesis Of The Oligopeptide Repeat Domain Of The Yeast Prion Sup35, James D. Knox, Emily Davis

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

The formation of prions in the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is determined by amino acid composition rather than the primary sequence of amino acids. The infectious amyloid proteins known as prions undergo nucleation and propagation, two distinct activities critical for prion formation. The ability for prions to be transferred from cell to cell, or propagate, is of interest not only in yeast prions but also in prion diseases such as the mammalian spongiform encephalopathies. Prion formation has been widely studied in yeast prions, however, the fundamental mechanisms behind the specific process of propagation of prions from cell to cell are …

Genetic Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Gene Silencing In A First-Year Scientific Research Learning Community, Tika Zbornik, Rhese Thompson

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

Our broad goal is to use Drosophila melanogaster to identify new genes required for a form of gene regulation known as gene silencing. As participants in iFocus, an interdisciplinary first-year orientation camp for undergraduate sciences that introduces students to scientific research, we learned how classical genetics is used to identify novel genes essential for a particular biological process such as gene silencing. Specifically, we learned how to determine which chromosomes are present in a fruit fly by observing that fly’s physical characteristics, or phenotypes. We further learned how mutations in genes are mapped to a particular location on a chromosome …

A Review Of The Literatures Of Gender Transformation, Metaphor, And Speech Acts In Anthropology, Gabriela I. Gonzalez

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

For this project, I compiled literature reviews to support Professor Hillary Crane’s research into Taiwanese Buddhist nuns’ gender transformations. This literature covers several themes pertinent to that research, including gender construction, the transformative nature of metaphor, and the potential role of speech acts in cultural change. Beginning with gender constructions and the possibilities of gender transformation of women, this literature reviews how gender is constructed in Asian cultures, particularly China and Taiwan, and how women work to accomplish gender transformations in these contexts. Secondly, this research examines theories about how metaphors are utilized in discourse, showing some of the functions …

A Closer Look At Relational Aggression, Tara M. Patton

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

This research examines relational aggression and its increasing prominence in our culture today, specifically with school-aged children. Relational aggression, behaviors that inflict harm through manipulating, damaging, or controlling of relationships, has been proven to be an issue, but it is not easily recognized. Research has found a majority of schools do not mention relational aggression in their bullying contracts. Rather, schools focus on physical aggression, which leads to uneducated students and adults on the issue examined. This research discusses the definition, affects, causes, and needed preventions of relational aggression. Studies found that many aspects of an individual’s life work together …

Purification Of Cortactin Using Anion Exchange Chromatography, Jacob Priester

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

Cortactin is an actin-binding protein that has been shown to be involved in cellular migration and metastases in cancer. Bacterially expressed and purified cortactin protein is often used in in vitro assays to examine cortactin’s role in promoting cell migration via actin remodeling. Cortactin has a theoretical molecular weight of 60 kDa; however, using SDS-PAGE analysis, the protein runs as two bands of molecular weights 80 kDa and 85 kDa, suggesting that cortactin has an unusual protein folding pattern. Our current lack of understanding of cortactin structure limits our ability to determine the role of cortactin in facilitating motility phenotypes. …

Race, Family, And The Plantation Legacy In United States And Caribbean Writers, Taylor Hagood

Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal

Valérie Loichot’s Orphan Narratives: The Postplantation Literature of Faulkner, Glissant, Morrison, and Saint-John Perse explores the ways plantation culture and its powerful reverberations stretch from the Caribbean through the United States South to the Midwest in the writings of four authors imbricated in that culture. Reading elements of what she calls the postplantation as hemispherically widespread, she presents a methodology of approaching this topic that could have a significant impact on framing Caribbean-United States critical discourse.

Agenda (Pdf), School Of Dentistry

School of Dentistry Research Day

No abstract provided.

Declining Gayborhood Or Homonormative Playground In The Making? South Beach Reinvented., Kai Kenttamaa Squires

Open Access Theses

In this study I investigate the “decline” of the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida as a gayborhood (an urban clustering of LGBT residents and businesses) since the 1990s. I also place this case study within a larger context of a global gay village decline (defined as the loss of gay businesses and residents) by evaluating theoretical models and arguments over the roles of gentrification, technology and generational cultural shifts in said decline. Necessarily, this includes a discussion of homonormativity, particularly in regards to tourism promotion and entrepreneurialism versus the needs and desires of the local LGBT community which …

Volume 49 - Issue 26 - Friday, May 16, 2014, Rose Thorn Staff

The Rose Thorn Archive

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman's independent student newspaper.

2014 Commencement Program, Whittier College

Commencement Programs

Whittier College's One Hundred Eleventh Commencement, May 16, 2014

Commencement Address: Father Boyle

Check And Connect With Secondary Education, Jarmarcus D. Johnson

Specialist in Education Degree (Ed.S.) Theses

Marks (2000) reported engagement in the classroom leads to achievement and contributes to students' social and cognitive development. There have been several studies on the Check and Connect (CNC) intervention, however there is little research on its effectiveness on high school students who lack engagement and display disruptive behaviors. In this study, a multiple-baseline across participants design was used to determine the effects of a CNC intervention on student disruptive behaviors among students with and without disabilities in the 9^th grade of high school. Three high school students age 13-16 with persistent disruptive behaviors participated in this study. Data …

Difference In Science Achievement For Students With Learning Disabilities Taught In Small Group Versus Inclusion Setting., Elizabeth G. Yeager

Specialist in Education Degree (Ed.S.) Theses

Placement of students with disabilities in their least restrictive environment (LRE) is an important part of a student’s individualized education plan (IEP). The debate as to whether LRE is a full inclusion classroom or mainstreaming a student into an inclusion classroom for part of the day and allowing them to be in a small group classroom when needed has yet to be determined based on the literature available. Therefore the research question for this study was as follows: what difference is there in learning for secondary students with learning disabilities in the area of science when taught in a small …

Laser Intensity And Ionic Strength Dependence Of The Aqueous Nitrate And Carbonate Ion Raman Spectra, Samuel White

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The geometry (and hence vibrational modes) of aqueous nitrate ion, NO₃^-, is known to depend on the solution composition—concentration, counter ions, etc. If a definite relationship between the vibrational spectrum and ionic strength of the solution could be established, it could be a useful monitor of solution composition over time. This would be valuable in studying the reaction rates and mechanisms of reactions involving nitrate in an aqueous environment, such as its photolysis in snow. Previous work in our lab observed a split peak at the symmetric-stretch mode of nitrate, though this mode does not usually show …

Identification And Characterization Of Microbial Contaminants And Associated Bacterial Viruses In Bioethanol Production Facilities To Suggest A Potential Alternative To Antibiotic Treatment, Charles Austin Coomer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In recent years, bioethanol has received worldwide interest as a bioenergy source. This interest has stimulated the production of substantial quantities of ethanol annually. However, the inability to produce bioethanol under sterile conditions plagues the industry, resulting in frequent microbial contamination. Bacterial contamination is one of the more challenging problems facing the bioethanol industry because contaminants drastically lower ethanol yield. Conventional methods of antibiotic application to eradicate bacterial contaminants are expensive and prohibitive. A more sustainable approach to control bacterial contamination of industrial ethanol fermentation systems is to use bacteriophages (phage). The goal of this research was to create a …

Mercury Bioaccumulation In Bat Populations In Mammoth Cave National Park: Modern, Historical, And Ancient Samples, Stephanie Hagan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The first human to enter Mammoth Cave passed under its arch about 4,000 years ago, but bats have been calling it home long before humans discovered it. Due to environmental exposure of mercury, these bats potentially show substantial mercury bioaccumulation. Bats now come into contact with mercury through atmospheric deposition from industrial sources. It is expected that the modern bats residing in Mammoth Cave should have measurable levels of mercury in their system which has been determined by guano analysis. Over fifty current samples of bat guano have been analyzed and exhibit mercury levels at the part per billion level. …

The Reaction Of Platinum Triamine Complex With Different Dna And Protein Complexes, Morgan Gruner

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The platinum compound Cl [Chloro[N,N-diethyldiethylenetriamine] Platinum(II) Chloride] was synthesized and reacted with N-acetylmethionine (N-AcMet) and guanosine 5’-monophosphate (5’-GMP). Previous experiments show that N-AcMet reacts kinetically faster with the central platinum atom and that 5’-GMP bonds slower yet stronger. When Cl was reacted with N-AcMet the N-AcMet displaced the chloride ion as expected. When Cl was reacted with 5’-GMP the 5’-GMP binds to the chloride ion and the reaction is finished. Yet, when 5’-GMP was added in the solution already containing N-AcMet, the N-AcMet was not displaced as predicted. Through ­¹­H NMR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry we observed that …

Correlation Of Environmental Risks With The Prevalence Of Essential Hypertension And Chronic Cardiac Disease In Kasigau, Kenya, Addie Dodson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) that is the leading cause of death across the world. In developing nations, like Kenya, the prevalence of NCDs like CVD are on the rise. Hypertension is the major risk factor for CVD and can be influenced by various environmental risk factors, like physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco use, and alcohol use. Though these are known factors that can affect blood pressure in developed nations, research over the prevalence of essential hypertension (EH) in developing countries is low. In an area in southeast Kenya known as Kasigau, there is a high …

Mood And Experience: Effects Of Ostracism On Diathesis Activation, Rachel Archer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The stress-diathesis model is a well-known but little-tested theory which states that people can possess diatheses, or vulnerabilities, to certain mental disorders such as depression or anxiety. These diatheses are activated when a person is under stress. This study examined how ostracism as a temporary stressor can trigger existing diatheses and cause increases in depression symptoms among at-risk people. Theory suggests that ostracism is likely to trigger symptoms of depression in at-risk people. This study is an extension of a study conducted by Luxton, Ingram, and Wenzlaff (2006) in which people with naturally varying levels of diathesis factors were exposed …

Examining Human Perception Of Elephants And Large Trees For Insights Into Conservation Of An African Savanna Ecosystem, Adam Edge

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In savanna ecosystems, African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and large trees such as marula (Sclerocarya birreaand) and knobthorn (Acacia nigrescens) have ecological and human value; however, elephants have a large impact on favored trees, motivating the need for ecological conservation strategies. This study examined the perceptions of tourists and residents towards elephants, large trees, and other relevant factors for management purposes. In the Associated Private Nature Reserves, South Africa, a survey was distributed to tourists and residents to determine perceptions of elephants of different age classes, group sizes and sex, and toward savanna habitat impacted …

Make 'Em Laugh: Examining The Role Of Humor In Dance, Jordan Jones

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As a dancer, choreographer, and naturally sarcastic person, humor has always been a tool that I recognize and appreciate. I was specifically drawn to the role of humor in dance choreography and performance when I was responsible for creating my own dance works, and I realized the complexity behind making even the simplest joke in dance. This thesis explores humor, from its biological and psychological origins in our brains, to an evaluation of what constitutes “humor” (in past and present American society), to a discussion on how to create humor within dance using the traditionally defined elements of choreography. Contained …

Lawrence And Desegregation In Bowling Green, Robert Rabold

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

To gain a deeper understanding of the historical context and development of the Civil Rights Movement nationwide, this project analyzes the desegregation of the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas declared segregation deprived minority groups of equality in 1954, and the first implementation of the ruling in the United States followed with Willis v. Walker out of Adair County, Kentucky in 1955. The desegregation of Bowling Green schools, however, did not come until 1963 with Willie Larry Lawrence, et al. v. Bowling Green, Kentucky Board of Education et al.. The analyzation of relevant …