Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating Long-Term Land Cover Changes For Malheur Lake, Oregon Using Envi And Arcgis, Ryan Joseph Woods

Theses and Dissertations

Land cover change over time can be a useful indicator of variations in a watershed, such as the patterns of drought in an area. I present a case study using remotely sensed images from Landsat satellites for over a 30-year period to generate classifications representing land cover categories, which I use to quantify land cover change in the watershed areas that contribute to Malheur, Mud, and Harney Lakes. I selected images, about every 4 to 6 years from late June to late July, in an attempt to capture the peak vegetation growth and to avoid cloud cover. Complete coverage of …

New Genres In The Art Classroom: Shifting Ideas And Identities, Alyssa Grant Ridge

Theses and Dissertations

Secondary art education programs primarily offer courses in traditional mediums like drawing, painting, sculpture, and ceramics. In addition to valuing these traditional art forms, art education research supports integrating new technologies and media in the classroom. However, the possibilities of creating an exclusively contemporary, new genres curriculum have yet to be explored. This study examines the affordances and limitations of a high school-level new genre curriculum and describes how students reacted to these new genres and how their perceptions of art, student-peer relationships, and artist identities changed over time. By introducing students to new genres, the author found students expanded …

Development Of A Suturing Simulation Device For Synchronous Acqusition Of Data, Tanmay Kavathekar

All Theses

There have been tremendous technological advancements in the field of surgery with new devices and minimally invasive techniques rapidly being developed. As a result, there is a corresponding need to train novice surgeons and residents to use these new technologies. Due to new regulations in medical education, an increasing the amount of surgical skills training is designed for outside the operation room using surgical simulators. In this work, a device called the suture platform was conceptualized for assessing and training basic suturing skills of medical students and novice surgeons. In the traditional approach of “open” surgery, which has not benefitted …

Virtual Humans And Photorealism: The Effect Of Photorealism Of Interactive Virtual Humans In Clinical Virtual Environment On Affective Responses, Himanshu Chaturvedi

All Theses

The ability of realistic vs stylized representations of virtual characters to elicit emotions in users has been an open question for researchers and artists alike. We designed and performed a between subjects experiment using a medical virtual reality simulation to study the differences in the emotions aroused in participants while interacting with realistic and stylized virtual characters. The experiment included three conditions each of which presented a different representation of the virtual character namely; photo-realistic, non-photorealistic cartoon-shaded and non-photorealistic charcoal-sketch. The simulation used for the experiment, called the Rapid Response Training System was developed to train nurses to identify symptoms …

Weeds, Nitrogen, And Yield: Measuring The Effectiveness Of An Organic No-Till System, David Robb

All Theses

Previous research in the mid-Atlantic and midwestern USA has identified advantages and drawbacks of "organic no-till" vegetable production, but few studies have been conducted in the warmer southeastern region. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tillage [no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) of a cereal rye/crimson clover cover crop] and three nitrogen fertilization rates on organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) yield, weed suppression, and soil N dynamics in two years in a soil series in Clemson, SC. Squash yields were similar between tillage treatments in both years. NT tomato …

Tracking Anisotropic Optical Tracers To Study Biophysical Processes And Cytotoxicity, Khanh Van Nguyen

All Dissertations

We use anisotropic optical tracers (also called magnetically modulated optical nanoprobes – MagMOONs or MOONs for non-magnetic nanoprobes in this dissertation) to study biophysical processes such as enzyme-catalyzed cleavage through tissue, intracellular transport of these tracers and cytotoxicity based on this transport. The anisotropic optical properties cause these tracers to blink when rotating. This blinking is distinguishable from the background and can be tracked on a single-particle level in the absence of tissue, or for an ensemble average of tracers blinking through tissue. An alginate gel containing these tracers in the form of a thin film can be used as …

In Vitro Multi-Scale Patient-Specific Modeling Of Hemodynamics In Stage 1 Norwood Palliation For The Treatment Of Single Ventricle Heart Disease, Tianqi Hang

All Dissertations

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a congenital heart defect in which the left ventricle is severely underdeveloped. The Norwood procedure is the first stage procedure to make an unrestrictive systemic blood flow and at the same time balance it with the pulmonary flow. This is done by constructing a neo-aorta using the pulmonary artery root and the autologous aorta, and then installing a shunt to the pulmonary artery. Variations of the Norwood surgery include the modified Blalock-Taussig (mBT) shunt, which diverts blood from the innominate artery to the pulmonary artery (PA), and the Right Ventricle Shunt (RVS), which diverts …

Effects Of Semi-Rigid Plastic Tray Geometry On Thermal Processing And Quality Factors In Retorted Foods, Curtis Stowe

All Dissertations

This research studied the effect of packaging geometry changes on heat penetration and quality attributes of a food system processed in a rotary retort vessel. Studies were conducted to determine the effect of package geometry in a rotary retort on heat penetration, analytical, and physical properties of a model food system processed at optimum conditions. Additionally, heat mapping for each shape was used to determine the heating profiles during retorting. Retort-able trays were filled with a tomato based food simulate and thermally processed in a water immersion, automated batch retort system (ABRS) using rotational speeds of 6 RPM and 11 …

Web-Based Nutrition Education Intervention For African American Women Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Joyce Senior Angulo

All Dissertations

African American women have been disproportionately impacted for decades by the obesity epidemic, which frequently leads to severe chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. This increase in chronic diseases amongst African American women is the motivation for the design of a culturally tailored nutrition education (NE) program that combines a strong theoretical base with the use of technology such as the Internet, since its usage within the college aged African American community has rapidly increased. Little is known about the variables that motivate behavior change in regards to eating and physical activity habits among college aged African …

Electrochemical Enhancement Of Butanol Production And Xylose Consumption In Pure And Mixed Culture Fermentations, Jovan Popovic

All Dissertations

The volatility of foreign and domestic petroleum markets has prompted initiatives for the development of alternative liquid energy carriers which have the capacity to accommodate our current transportation infrastructure. Butanol, which has an energy density similar to that of gasoline and can be produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates by solventogenic Clostridia, has been investigated as a supplement or direct replacement to gasoline. However, most butanol fermentations rely on glucose as a feedstock which is in direct competition with our food supply, and this requires the exploration of alternative fermentable substrates. This study investigates the use of electrochemical fermentation modifications …

Evaluation Of Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus) For Duckweed (Lemna Minor) Control In South Carolina's Private Waters, William Heaton

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT We investigated the potential of Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) as a means for biological control of duckweed in agricultural impoundments, and assessed the potential for naturalization of this non-native fish in coastal regions of South Carolina. Additionally, we studied growth characteristics and nutrient accumulation abilities of duckweed (Lemna minor) growing in agricultural impoundments in the piedmont and coastal plain. Observations of tank feeding trials indicated juvenile Blue Tilapia consumed 36 – 86% of their body weight in fresh duckweed every 24 hours. Tilapia were stocked in agricultural impoundments in the piedmont and coastal plain during the 2012 and 2013 …

Effects Of Growth Factor Supplementation And Environmental Conditions On Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Differentiation Towards Urothelial Lineage, James Turner

All Dissertations

In recent years, tissue engineering of the bladder has undergone many technological advances. Autologous urothelial cells have been used in animal models and have shown increased performance for ureteral reconstruction compared to unseeded grafts. However, since patients may lack a reliable source of native urothelial cells due to the nature of their specific bladder disease, autologous cells are not an ideal source clinically, and an alternate cell source must be explored. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) are an attractive cell source for such regenerative medicine applications as they have been extensively studied for their multipotential differentiation, immunosuppressive properties, ease of …

A Lipidomics Approach To The Viral–Host Dynamics Of The Unicellular, Eukaryotic Alga Chlorella Variabilis And Its Viral Pathogen, Pbcv-1, Suzanne L. Rose

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis focuses on the sterol and sphingolipid composition in the unicellular, green alga Chlorella variabilis and the lipidomic changes that occur during viral infection. Using lipid analysis by mass spectrometry, we have identified the major sterol, ergosterol and sphingolipid, glucosyl inositol phosphoceramide (GIPC) as constituents of C. variabilis cell membranes. Sterols and sphingolipids have essential biological functions such as hormone-based signaling, plant defense, and apoptosis as well as critical roles in structural components of the cell and organelle membranes. In chapters two and three, we focus on the characterization of sterol composition among both freshwater and marine alga …

President’S Newsletter, Jean Bartels

President's Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Expansion Of The Chlorovirus Genus By Studies On Virus Natural History And Chlorella Host Metabolism, Cristian F. Quispe

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Inland waters cover about 2.5 percent of our planet and harbor huge numbers of known and unknown microorganisms including viruses. Viruses likely play dynamic, albeit largely undocumented roles in regulating microbial communities and in recycling nutrients in the ecosystem. Phycodnaviruses are a genetically diverse, yet morphologically similar, group of large dsDNA-containing viruses (160- to 560-kb) that inhabit aquatic environments. Members of the genus Chlorovirus are common in freshwater. They replicate in eukaryotic, single-celled, chlorella-like green algae that normally exist as endosymbionts of protists in nature. Very little is known about the natural history of the chloroviruses and how they achieve …

Sage-Grouse Nests In An Active Conifer Mastication Site, Charles P. Sandford, David K. Dahlgren, Terry A. Messmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) have experienced long-term range-wide population declines and now may occupy less than 50% of their historic range (Schroeder et al. 2004). Conifer encroachment into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitat was identified as a major conservation threat by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as the agency reviewed the listing status of the species for possible protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (USFWS 2013).

Conifer encroachment into sagebrush habitats negatively impacts sage-grouse at landscape scales (Doherty et al. 2008, Casazza et al. 2011, Baruch-Mordo et al. 2013). Sage-grouse will utilize …

The Classic, Winter 2015-2016, Public Relations

The Classic, 2010-2019

Zwemer View: A History of Overcoming Challenges; Around the Green: Taiwan-Bound; In Box; Community Service; Top of the Class; Graduate School Boosts Fall Enrollment; Campus Life: Improv Tradition; Raider Days; New in the Classroom: Wade Druin, Mark Haselhoff '12, Dr. Seunghun "Hun" Hong, Tonya Moore-Huss, Corky Koerselman '82, Chris Nonhof, Erica (Van Meeteren '00) Vonk; On Board; VanOort Accepts Call to Denver; Adoption-Friendly; Global Education Director; Face Value: Thomas Holm; Investing in the Mission; Award Winners: Ron De Jong '71, Janet (Hassebroek '84) Guthmiller, Marjorie (Hartog '56, '58) Vander Aarde; Red Zone; Beanie Babies; 1000 Words: Practicing to Compete; Things …

Social Learning Systems: The Design Of Evolutionary, Highly Scalable, Socially Curated Knowledge Systems, Nolan Hemmatazad

Student Work

In recent times, great strides have been made towards the advancement of automated reasoning and knowledge management applications, along with their associated methodologies. The introduction of the World Wide Web peaked academicians’ interest in harnessing the power of linked, online documents for the purpose of developing machine learning corpora, providing dynamical knowledge bases for question answering systems, fueling automated entity extraction applications, and performing graph analytic evaluations, such as uncovering the inherent structural semantics of linked pages. Even more recently, substantial attention in the wider computer science and information systems disciplines has been focused on the evolving study of social …

Distribution And Occurrence Of Bat Species In North Dakota, Josiah J. Nelson, Paul R. Barnhart, Erin H. Gillam

The Prairie Naturalist

Prior to 2009, a detailed survey of occurrence and distribution of bats in North Dakota had not been conducted. Localized surveys, occurrence reports, and museum specimens provided the only records of bats in the state. Ongoing habitat loss, exploitation of natural resources, and the impending spread of white-nose syndrome to the western United States are major threats to bat populations of the region. The objective of this study was to document presence and distributions of bat species resident in North Dakota. From 2009 to 2012, multiple mist-netting and acoustic surveys were conducted to document species presence across North Dakota. A …

Comparing Reproductive Capacity Of Nearshore And Offshore Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, On Artificial Reefs In The Western Gulf Of Mexico, Ricky J. Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Red snapper collected quarterly from four artificial reefs in south Texas were examined to compare total length, total weight, age, and the proportion of male to female red snapper, calculate gonadosomatic index values, batch fecundity, annual spawning frequency, and annual fecundity, and estimate size and age at maturity. Spawning occurred from April to September, with most active spawning observed in June (58%). Despite larger red snapper producing more eggs, and fish being larger offshore, most active spawning (68%) and egg production (74%) was observed nearshore. Female red snapper reached 50% maturity (L50) between 350-550 mm, and L75 by 600 mm. …

Situating Care In Mainstream Health Economics: An Ethical Dilemma?, John B. Davis, Robert Mcmaster

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Standard health economics concentrates on the provision of care by medical professionals. Yet ‘care’ receives scant analysis; it is portrayed as a spillover effect or externality in the form of interdependent utility functions. In this context care can only be conceived as either acts of altruism or as social capital. Both conceptions are subject to considerable problems stemming from mainstream health economics’ reliance on a reductionist social model built around instrumental rationality and consequentialism. Subsequently, this implies a disregard for moral rules and duties and the compassionate aspects of behaviour. Care as an externality is a second-order concern relative to …

Master's Of Agriculture Education, Katrina Marie Chamberlin

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship/project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary- level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Independence High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The internship included the development of a chapter website to provide information and publicity for the Independence FFA Chapter. It serves as a repository of chapter information and documents, a home for current information, and as a public face for the chapter. The project also includes the development of an Advisory Committee for Independence High …

Characterization Of Sbip68: A Putative Tobacco Glucosyltransferase Protein And Its Role In Plant Defense Mechanisms, Abdulkareem O. Odesina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites are essential for normal growth and development in plants ultimately affecting crop yield. They play roles ranging from appearance of the plants to defending against pathogen attack and herbivory. They have been used by humans for medicinal and recreational purposes amongst others. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of sugars from donor substrates to acceptors. Glucosyltransferases are a specific type of glycosyltransferases known to transfer glucose molecules from a glucose donor to a glucose acceptor (aglycone) producing the corresponding glucose secondary metabolite or glycone, in this case glucosides. It was hypothesized that SBIP68, a tobacco putative glucosyltransferase-like protein glucosylated …

Tobacco And Tar Babies: The Trickster As A Cultural Hero In Winnebago And African American Myth, Catherine Squibb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the trickster character through the lens of his role as a cultural hero. The two characters that I chose to examine are from North American myth, specifically Winnebago Hare and Brer Rabbit. These two characters represent the duality of the trickster while simultaneously embodying the lauded abilities of the hero. Through their actions these two characters shape culture through the very action of disrupting societal norms.

Csi Agent On A Mission Game App, Ju Mae Rosie Ching

Research Collection School Of Economics

CSI is a one-of-a-kind and first-ever iPad gaming app released early August, with the flash game at http://www.rosieching.com/csi. My primary objective was to realize my dreamed-up “MISSION STATISTICS” theme for students to apply their skills in hypothesis tests and linear regression. Another is the incorporation of their CSI results into an “enrichment 5%” of their grades. The harder an agent works, the higher his score, the sweeter the fruit of the labour which students always show massive enthusiasm for. It is also critical that students review their real-time progress, and I have ensured that in every step of each country’s …

Variation Between Peripheral And Center Achene Morphology And Attributes Of Achene Germination In The Invasive Species, Centaurea Melitensis, Kandee Bain

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Invasive species are often successful and problematic because of their ability to persist in disturbed and undisturbed environments despite weed management practices. Understanding reproduction and dispersal strategies in these species can aid in developing management approaches to help control their spread. Centaurea melitensis, a nonnative invasive with European origins, is found in disturbed areas of southern California. It produces three different types of flower heads that develop at different times and at different locations on the plant during the growing season. The chasmogamous (CH) flower heads are located at the top of the plant, the initial cleistogamous (iCL) heads …

A Lidar Based Semi-Autonomous Collision Avoidance System And The Development Of A Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator To Aid In Algorithm Development And Human Studies, Thomas F. Stevens

Master's Theses

In this paper, the architecture and implementation of an embedded controller for a steering based semi-autonomous collision avoidance system on a 1/10^th scale model is presented. In addition, the development of a 2D hardware-in-the-loop simulator with vehicle dynamics based on the bicycle model is described. The semi-autonomous collision avoidance software is fully contained onboard a single-board computer running embedded GNU/Linux. To eliminate any wired tethers that limit the system’s abilities, the driver operates the vehicle at a user-control-station through a wireless Bluetooth interface. The user-control-station is outfitted with a game-controller that provides standard steering wheel and pedal controls along …

Digestibility Of Two Complete Pelleted Diets By The Horse (Equus Caballus) As A Model Animal For Nondomestic Hindgut Fermenters, Emily M. Schwartz

Master's Theses

Estimating nutrient and energy requirements of exotic animals is a necessary component of nutrition management in zoos and other wildlife facilities. In the absence of species-specific data, domestic animal models are often referenced. Herbivorous hindgut fermenters, such as horses, zebra, and rhinoceros, rely on microbial fermentation in the cecum and colon to utilize dietary structural carbohydrates. The study objective was to measure the digestible energy of two (LOW, HIGH) complete pelleted diets by the horse as a model for nondomestic hindgut fermenters. Seven, individually housed, adult Quarter Horse (Equus caballus) geldings were assigned to one of two diets as 100% …

Identifying And Predicting Rat Behavior Using Neural Networks, Jonathan A. Gettner

Master's Theses

The hippocampus is known to play a critical role in episodic memory function. Understanding the relation between electrophysiological activity in a rat hippocampus and rat behavior may be helpful in studying pathological diseases that corrupt electrical signaling in the hippocampus, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Additionally, having a method to interpret rat behaviors from neural activity may help in understanding the dynamics of rat neural activity that are associated with certain identified behaviors.

In this thesis, neural networks are used as a black-box model to map electrophysiological data, representative of an ensemble of neurons in the hippocampus, to a T-maze, …

Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion To Reduce The Nox Emission Potential Of Biogas, Nathaniel Manuel Olivas

Master's Theses

Anaerobic digestion can be used to decrease the mass of organic wastes to be disposed of while producing useful biogas (CH₄ and CO₂) for heat or power production, but in air basins with strict emissions limits, biogas combustion is difficult to implement due to the high costs of controlling NOx emissions. NOx production can be minimized by blending H₂ gas with CH₄ at a volume ratio of 15:85 H₂:CH₄, which allows burning at ultra-lean air-to-fuel ratios. For biogas systems, a potential low-cost NOx control strategy is to produce H₂-CH …