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Low Impact Development (Lid) Opportunities In The District Of Lamúd, Perú: A Study Of Hydrology, Costs And Maintenance Of Appropriate Stormwater Best Management Practices (Bmps), Olga M. Cano

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The study aims at identifying opportunities to implement Low Impact Development (LID) Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management, in the District of Lámud, Perú. Other studies have noted the importance of appropriate stormwater management as part of urban development in developing countries.

Environmental, economic and social aspects were analyzed to identify the most appropriate case. Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) 5.1, was used to obtain runoff results. Ten case scenarios were set up with LID BMP combinations of infiltration trenches, vegetated swales, and retention ponds. Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) life cost models were used as a reference to calculate …

Automated Scour Detection Arrays Using Bio-Inspired Magnetostrictive Flow Sensors, Baibhav Rajbhandari

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Scour is the most common cause of catastrophic bridge failures worldwide. Approximately over 60% of bridge failures reported in the United States from 1966 to 2005 are scour related. To ensure the continued safe operation of bridges, monitoring bridge scour is of paramount importance. Most monitoring regimes that are widely used are based on expensive underwater instrumentation. This research focuses on scour detection using automated remote flow detection arrays based on bio-inspired flow sensors. This study employs an array of bio inspired flow sensors that are inexpensive and robust versions of buried-rod scour sensor arrays, coupled with low-power wireless sensor …

The Use Of Jatropha Curcas To Achieve A Self Sufficient Water Distribution System: A Case Study In Rural Senegal, Alexandra Archer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The use of Jatropha curcas as a source of oil for fueling water pumps holds promise for rural communities struggling to achieve water security in arid climates. The potential for use in developing communities as an affordable, sustainable fuel source has been highly recommended for many reasons: it is easily propagated, drought resistant, grows rapidly, and has high-oil-content seeds, as well as medicinal and economic potential. This study uses a rural community in Senegal, West Africa, and calculates at what level of Jatropha curcas production the village is able to be self-sufficient in fueling their water system to meet drinking, …

Modeling Of Biomass Torrefaction And Pyrolysis And Its Applications, Jordan L. Klinger

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Utilizing biomass provides a possible near-term alternative solution for fossil energy dependence in both electricity generation and transportation. Though thermochemical conversion can produce solid/liquid fuels that are compatible in existing infrastructure, detailed scientific chemical and mechanistic understanding are still being developed. In contribution to these efforts, this work is focused on development of a semiempirical, lumped parameter, chemical kinetic model to describe the degradation of woody biomass.

The initial kinetic model was developed in the torrefaction region to describe the gas-phase evolution of products (water, organic acids, permanent gases, and furfural) through a three consecutive reaction model. In this model, …

Glossary Of Common Terms In Archival Management, James Anthony Schnur

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

This handout, revised in August 2011, was first used by Schnur for courses in Archival Management (LIS 5937) that he has taught as an adjunct instructor since 2008.

Biomagnification Of Mercury In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Kate Beckett

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Student Publications

Concentrations of total mercury (THg) were determined for seven lower trophic level biota: plankton (>153 μm), anchovies (Anchoa hepsetus), crown conchs (Melongena corona), tulip snails (Fasciolaria tulipa), mullet (Mugil cephalus), pinfish (Lagodon rhomboids) and blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) from the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) to better understand Hg biomagnification. Plankton in the IRL had about three times more THg than plankton from fairly pristine locations. Biomagnification of Hg was traced with increasing trophic level (TL) from plankton to anchovies. Resulting data were used to calculate a trophic magnification slope (TMS) of 0.23 that can be used to predict Hg …

Cellular Organization Of The Brain In Ramphotyphlops Braminus, Kathryn Gallman

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Student Publications

The Brahminy blind snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, is an ancestral, subterranean species. It is well studied as a triploid, all female, parthenogenic species, but essentially nothing is known about its eyes and brain. A brain atlas for snakes in general is nonexistent. Therefore, identification of this minute organism’s brain and eye architecture was the first step toward investigating the neural pathways related to photoreceptive mechanisms retained in the subcutaneous eyes.

Evaluation Of Inhibitors Of Histone Deacetylases As Potential Neurotrophic Agents, Surabhi Shukla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs) have shown promising neuroprotective and neuroactive properties. A set of pan- and isoform-specific HDAC inhibitors were evaluated for neurotrophic activity on Neuroscreen-1 (NS-1) cells, a subclone of PC-12 (rat pheochromocytoma) cells.

The HDAC inhibitors were tested alone and in combination with nerve growth factor (NGF). An in vitro method has been standardized that measures neurite outgrowth along with cytotoxicity of test compounds in a single assay. The neurotrophin signaling pathways were interrogated with selective inhibitors of MEK1/2 (PD98059/U0126) PI3K (LY294002) and TrkA (GW441756) and phosphorylation of target kinases. Associated factors namely, acetylation of histones …

Common Sense Preemption Or Preempting Common Sense: A Call To Abandon Obstacle Preemption And Adopt Elevated Scrutiny Of Local Legislation Targeting Undocumented Immigrants, Walker Moller

MC Law Review

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Oviposition Site Selection By Mosquitoes: Predator-Released Kairomones And Responses To Different Taxa, Lauren Larea Eveland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oviposition site selection is a critical reproductive behavior for egg-laying organisms that offer little to no parental care. Determining the mechanisms females use to assess sites is critical to understanding life history traits, community structure, and species interactions. Mosquitoes are excellent model organisms for studying oviposition site selection for numerous reasons: 1) a poor decision can lead to zero reproductive success, 2) females actively assess and choose among habitat patches when locating an oviposition site, 3) larvae remain in the habitat where they hatch until they metamorphose, and 4) they lay conspicuous egg rafts that allow direct assessment of oviposition. …

“The Problem Of Locomotion”: Infrastructure And Automobility In Three Postcolonial Urban Nigerian Novels, Danica Savonick

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Life Aquatic: Liquid Poetics And The Discourse Of Friendship In The Faerie Queene, Steven Swarbrick

Publications and Research

From Michel de Montainge’s essay “Of Friendship” to Jacques Derrida’s rearticulation of the former in The Politics of Friendship, scholars both early modern and modern have sought ways to address the fluid co-mixture of bodies from which the discourse of friendship can and does emerge. More recently still, new materialist thinkers of ontology have begun to shift our attention to the ways both human and nonhuman bodies inter-animate in the making of political, interpersonal, and artistic life worlds. Together with these investigations, I argue that an aquacentric account of relation is necessary to think the subject of friendship …

Jobs Prospects For College Grads Better Than Ever, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Higher Education Distortions Enter Into Debates, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

2016 Can Be A Year Of Opportunity For Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Confronting Totalitarianism At Home: The Roots Of European Privacy Protections, Hannah Bloch-Wehba

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Intertwined: Stories Of Detachment And Connection From Montana's Reservations, 2015, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism. Native News Honors Project

Native News Honors Project, 1992-2026

An annual publication that is reported, photographed, edited, and designed by students in the University of Montana’s School of Journalism.

Functional Reactive Programming For Games, Peter Adewunmi Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We investigate the effectiveness of functional reactive programming for games. To accomplish this, we clone aa, an existing game, in Elm, a purely functional programming language. We find that functional reactive programming offers an excellent alternative to event driven programming in purely functional languages. Elm still needs more work if it aims to compete with JavaScript libraries. Games, which typically need several inputs at the same time, benefit from the first class status of Signals, which allow them to be combined.

Adaptive Movements And Thermoregulation In Big-Eared Bats, Cody Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are a variety of (non-exclusive) reasons to explain the presence of group-living, but clustering or huddling is especially important for small endotherms with high surface-area-to-volume ratios. Clustering is interesting because variations within clustering are seldom investigated despite anecdotal evidence that bat clustering varies widely. I studied a colony of Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) to learn more about clustering behavior using infrared video. I predicted that temperature would be the primary driver of how and when bats cluster while roosting. The actual relationship was not as predicted by an energetic model. High density clusters of bats were comacross a …

Eucharistic Undoings: Ecstatic Participation And Divine Incorporation In The Spirit, Natalie S. Johnson

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

This project looks at the logical and experiential priority that Sarah Coakley gives to the Holy Spirit in her approach to trinitarian theology and its implications for human gender and sexuality. Coakley's work tends to lean toward internalizing bodily categories, spiritualizing gender particularity as one's posture toward God. My thesis is that a eucharistic understanding of gender and sexuality is needed to give Coakley's understanding of gender bodily significance.

Marketing Finding Aids On Social Media: What Worked And What Didn’T Work, Felicia Williamson, Scott Vieira, James Williamson

Central University Libraries Research

Sam Houston State University’s Special Collections (SHSU) needed a way to expose finding aids to more users. Using social media to promote online awareness, while simultaneously improving search engine result rankings for the finding aids, seemed like a potential solution to this problem. With this goal in mind, SHSU researchers selected ten social media sites to test the assumption that posting information about finding aids to social media would be an effective marketing strategy. Following three months of posting information about finding aids while tracking user traffic to finding aids from social media sites, the research findings indicate that a …

Calibration And Validation Of The Hybrid-Maize Crop Model For Regional Analysis And Application Over The U.S. Corn Belt, Xing Liu, Jeff Andresen, Haishun Yang, Dev Niyogi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Detailed parameter sensitivity, model validation, and regional calibration of the Hybrid-Maize crop model were undertaken for the purpose of regional agroclimatic assessments. The model was run at both field scale and county scale. The county-scale study was based on 30-yr daily weather data and corn yield data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service survey for 24 locations across the Corn Belt of the United States. The field-scale study was based on AmeriFlux sites at Bondville, Illinois, andMead, Nebraska. By using the one-at-a-time and interaction-explicit factorial design approaches for sensitivity analysis, the study found that the five most sensitive parameters of …

Opening The Door To The Whirlwind” Of British Gothic Literature: Exploring Risk-Taking Practices In The Preservice Classroom, Syndie Allen

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This study explores the connections, reflections, and risk-taking practices of elementary preservice teachers (n=15) enrolled in a Teaching Writing/Language Arts Methods course at a Pacific Northwest University as they engaged in a 4-week thematic unit focused on British Gothic Literature. The big questions asked about the connections and moves made both as student and beginning teacher. The study then looked at how new knowledge was infused into teaching practices. Inductive, phenomenological analysis of reading responses, informal quickwriting, narratives, lesson plans, reflections, and field notes reveal that the preservice teachers participated in the unit with enthusiasm and curiosity as students, arrived …

Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms, Georgia Davies

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The article explores trauma-sensitive teaching practices.

The Standards Made Me Do It: Reculturing Teacher Education To Redeem The Curriculum, Kevin M. Talbert, Terah R. Moore

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article discusses a common lament heard from education students: “But that’s what the standards say we have to do!” This paper will address the need to create teacher education pedagogies that help teachers disentangle standards from curriculum. Our students exemplify a technical mindset, one that supposes teaching is primarily the selection and implementation of best practices, therefore reducing curriculum to a synonym for standards. We believe that education pedagogies rooted in the spirit of the liberal arts are needed, instead of those rooted in professional studies. Teacher education must be reimagined, a movement away from training and toward education …

Racism: Then And Now, Rain Christi

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

History represents a strong correlation between an empire’s rise to power and the oppression of indigenous people. In fact, slavery dates back to earliest recorded history. Many stories of the struggles of oppressed peoples have not yet reached widespread awareness in today’s culture. The purpose of this compilation is to represent the history of racism; to cover the basics of the Civil Rights Movement and what it accomplished. Furthermore, this study will take a look at the current status of racism in the United States. Many perspectives will be entertained, including historical accounts of slavery and genocide, the power of …

Inventory Of Cognitive Distortions: Validation Of A Measure Of Cognitive Distortions Using A Community Sample, Michael B. Roberts

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate further the psychometric properties of a self-report inventory of cognitive distortions using a nonclinical, community sample. A group of 474 individuals were contacted via the social networking site, Facebook, and through a college list-serve and were asked to complete multiple measures and also to send the link to other individuals, thus utilizing a snowball sample. The measures used included the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and a brief questionnaire to collect demographic information on each participant. Results revealed positive psychometric properties for …

The Influence Of Positive And Negative Death Attitudes On Medical Students' Empathy And Attitudes Toward End-Of-Life Care, Elizabeth Palumbo

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This quantitative study employed a cross-sectional survey research design in order to examine the relationships between medical students’ death attitudes, empathy, and attitudes toward end-of-life care. The participants were 206 medical students currently enrolled in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia campus. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in the level of empathy between medical students who held strong positive death attitudes and medical students with strong negative death attitudes. However, results indicated that significant differences existed in attitudes toward end-of-life care between medical students who held strong positive death …

The Impact Of Disturbed Sleep On Attention, Working Memory, And Reaction Time Tasks In Children With Adhd, Kathryn Robb M.A., M. S.

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental/psychiatric condition in childhood (CDC; Gruber, 2009). Disturbances in sleep can create a variety of impairments, both cognitive and behavioral, and may negatively affect attention, memory, visuo-spatial abilities, sustained attention and divergent intelligence (creativity) (Stores, 1999). The aim of the present study was to examine the role that sleep disturbances had on the cognitive performance of children with ADHD. Specifically, the possible relationship between poor sleep and children’s performance on working memory, attention and reaction time tasks and poor sleep were examined. Overall, in the current sample of 54 children who underwent …

The Effectiveness Of A Computer-Assisted, Cognitive-Behavior Program For Treating Anxiety Symptoms In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jennifer A. Zabel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex and multifaceted, neurodevelopmental disorder that severely impacts children and families across a variety of settings. Prevalence rates of ASD are continuing to increase rapidly, with sizeable intervention and treatment costs placed on families and society. Further complicating the matter, many individuals with ASD also evidence co-occurring anxiety symptoms or disorders and tend to be at a higher risk for developing such problems when compared to other clinical populations or typically developing children. This study investigated the effectiveness of a computer-assisted CBT program, Camp Cope-A-Lot (CCAL), in regards to reducing anxiety symptoms in four …