Digital Commons Network^™

Parasites Within Parasites: Transmission And Evolution Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans, Stephen Edward Greiman

Theses and Dissertations

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles that involve two or more different animals as definitive and intermediate hosts. Some digenean species harbor bacterial endosymbionts belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Order: Rickettsiales, Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life cycle stages of digeneans and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. For some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans), neorickettsial infections cause severe disease. With a few exceptions, studies of Neorickettsia have …

Student Perceptions Of Digital Resources And Digital Technology In A Flipped Classroom, Larry S. Guggisberg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze student perceptions of flipped classroom instruction strategies, and student perceptions of their learning experience using digital resources and digital technology in a flipped classroom. Although perceptions are important, student achievement is a common tool used by policy-makers and judged by the general public as a means to evaluate and achieve continuous improvement in K-12 public education.

This case study may be a beneficial illustration for school administrator practitioners to consider prior to implementation or utilization of flipped classroom instructional strategies. The study provides a review of a high school that first implemented …

Using Computer Vision And Volunteer Computing To Analyze Avian Nesting Patterns And Reduce Scientist Workload, Kyle Andrew Goehner

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the use of feature detection and background subtraction algorithms to classify and detect events of interest within uncontrolled outdoor avian nesting video from the Wildlife@Home project. We tested feature detection using Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) along with four background subtraction algorithms — Mixture of Guassians (MOG), Running Gaussian Average (AccAvg), ViBe, and Pixel-Based Adaptive Segmentation (PBAS) — as methods to automatically detect and classify events from surveillance cameras. AccAvg and modified PBAS are shown to provide robust results and compensate for issues caused by cryptic coloration of the monitored species. …

Comparisons Of Muskrat (Ondatra Zibethicus) Trapping Efficiency And Incidental Take Of Non-Target Water Birds Using Covered And Uncovered Float Sets, Rodney Allen Gross Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) have been a highly sought after furbearer species in North Dakota because of recent pelt prices. In 2011, regulation changes allowed trappers to use float sets to trap muskrats during the spring season. The current regulations require float sets used during the spring trapping season to have a covering made of either wire mesh, wood, or plastic and must not have an opening exceeding 20.32 cm (8 in) to attempt to minimize the incidental take of non-target species. The primary goals of this project were to determine if muskrat float set covers are effective in eliminating incidental …

Performing The Role Of Sylvestro In Scapino!, Zachary Cal Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to successfully portray the character of Sylvestro in Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale's Scapino!, an adaptation of Moliere's Les Fourberies de Scapin. In order to fully grasp the comedy of the script, an analysis of the comedy of Scapino! was conducted using French philosopher Henri Bergson's essay Laughter. This helped to find what made situations and characters funny in the script. It also influenced an analysis of the character of Sylvestro. By using Bergson's philosophies and applying them to the research, the third chapter illustrates that the rehearsal process of Scapino! has been successful …

Climate Driven Hillslope Degradation Of Mono Basin Moraine, Eastern Sierra Nevada, California, Usa, Risa Madoff

Theses and Dissertations

Regolith transport within the uppermost 30-50 cm of Earth's surface is responsive to shifts in climate. Rates of surface change affect accumulation rates of sediment and nutrients, thereby affecting ecology, surface stability, and the ability to date landform surfaces. However, little is known about the quantitative effects past climates have had on the long term evolution of the landscape. A space-for-time substitution method was used to study this knowledge gap. Known degradation rates from widely varying climates were used to generate a transfer function where published paleo-temperature records from the Death Valley sediment core (DV93-1) were applied to derive paleo-degradation …

Innate Immune Response To Yersinia Pestis, Sanghita Sarkar

Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrates the various aspects of host immune response to Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis, the causative agent plague is mainly a rodent pathogen but is usually transmitted to humans via infected flea bite. After transmission to mammalian hosts, Y. pestis evades the host innate immune response and develops a systemic infection. Mast cells are recognized as the powerful sentinel cells responsible for controlling the early responses to a disease. We sought to determine whether mast cells are involved in the early innate immune response to Y. pestis and thus blocking mast cell degranulation would alter the outcome of infection. …

Prevalence Of Haemoparasites And West Nile Virus Seropositivity In Song Birds (Passeriformes) From Northwest Mn And Behavioral Aspects Of Microfilariae, Chad Allan Stromlund

Theses and Dissertations

Mosquitoes transmit arboviruses, haemosporidian protozoa (e.g., malaria), and filarioid nematodes. Many of these mosquito-borne pathogens occur together and transmission cycles are occurring concurrently. Despite this, mosquito pathogen transmission cycles are largely studied independently of one another. Considering the large temporal and spatial overlap among these various transmission cycles, the question becomes, what kinds of interactions are occurring between parasite transmission cycles and arboviral transmission cycles? Also, some species of mosquito are incapable of transmitting some species of arbovirus. Therefore, there must be natural barriers to prevent arbovirus infection and transmission. These barriers include the midgut barrier and the salivary gland …

Clustering And Control Of Streaming Synchrophasor Datasets, Anupam Mukherjee

Theses and Dissertations

With the large scale deployment of phasor measurement units (PMU) in the United States, a resonating topic has been the question of how to extract useful “information” or “knowledge” from voluminous data generated by supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), PMUs and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

With a sampling rate of 30 to as high as 120 samples per second, the PMU provide a fine-grained monitoring of the power grid with time synchronized measurements of voltage, current, frequency and phase angle. Running the sensors continuously can produce nearly 2,592,000 samples of data every day. This large data need to be …

Investigating Flipped Learning: Post-Secondary Student Self-Regulated Learning, Perceptions, And Achievement, Sarah Rae Sletten

Theses and Dissertations

The flipped classroom is a current educational model that is gaining popularity at the post-secondary level. In a flipped classroom, content (i.e., lectures), which is normally delivered in-class, is assigned as homework in the form of video lectures, and assignments that were traditionally assigned as homework, are done as learning activities in class. It was hypothesized that the effectiveness of the flipped model hinges on a student’s desire and ability to adopt a self-directed learning style. The purpose of this study was two-fold; it aimed examining the relationship between two variables—students’ perceptions of the flipped model and their SRL behaviors—and …

Role Of Lectins Receptors In Development Of Sepsis During Pulmonary Bacterial Infection, Anthony Lee Steichen

Theses and Dissertations

A major focus of my work has been to understand the mechanism/s of sepsis development during respiratory bacterial infections with the goal of identifying novel alarmins/alarmin receptors. Specifically, I have analyzed the role of C-type lectins as novel alarmin/alarmin receptors likely involved in the development of sepsis resulting from acute pulmonary infection with Gram negative bacteria Francisella novicida and Klebsiella pneumonia (Kpn). In that regard, the first project was built upon a previous observation, made by Dr. Sharma, that two soluble lectins galectin-3 and -9 were upregulated and released in extracellular milieu in lungs of mice upon pulmonary infection with …

Meaningful Relationships: Collaborative Anthropology And Mentors From The Field, Sarah Ashley Kistler

Faculty Publications

In this article, I explore my collaboration with my long-time colleague in ethnographic research, Sebastian Si Pop, and our work on a collaborative ethnohistory project in Chamelco. In doing so, I examine the role that indigenous colleagues play in mentoring anthropologists. I argue that anthropologists develop the most meaningful relationships of their academic careers with the people that they meet in the field. These colleagues and friends often go underappreciated and unacknowledged in our resulting scholarship, even when they play crucial roles in our lives.

Passings, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The author, a heterosexual woman, and Gordon Bernstein, a gay man, have been friends and research collaborators since 1995. In 2004, the author accompanied Gordon on a trip to his hometown of Philadelphia to conduct fieldwork and interview family members. This project ethnographically explored personal and relational opportunities and challenges associated with coming out in a family system defined by avoidant communication, hegemonic masculinity, and terminal illness.

Gvsu Undergraduate And Graduate Catalog, 2015-2016, Grand Valley State University

Course Catalogs, 1963 - Current

Grand Valley State University 2015-2016 undergraduate and/or graduate course catalog published annually to provide students with information and guidance for enrollment.

Institute For Sustainable Solutions Annual Report (2013-2014), Portland State University. Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This brief annual report from Portland State University's Institute for Sustainable Solutions captures the highlights from the year and signals where sustainability at PSU is headed in the years to come.

Oregon Lake Watch, 2015 Annual Report, Samuel Cimino, Rich Miller, Angela L. Strecker

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Lake Watch (OLW) volunteer monitoring program completed its third year of operation during 2015 with a focus on early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS) and water quality status and trend assessments for the better management of Oregon’s lakes and reservoirs. AIS surveys emphasized the detection of Watch List aquatic plant and species that can have a negative impacts on the beneficial uses of our waterbodies. Water transparency and temperature measurements were used to track the condition of volunteers' lakes.

Thirty-one Oregon lakes have been surveyed during the OLW’s three years, 16 of which were surveyed during 2015. …

Cultural And Ecological Relationship Between The Nisqually Indian Tribe And Plants Of Mount Rainier National Park, David Alan Hooper

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throughout the history of the National Park Service, the question of whether Native AmericanÆs still have rights to traditionally used natural resources found within park lands has been debated. This debate is largely held in political, legal, and philosophical arenas, but there are ethnographic and ecological questions that need to be addressed in order for policy makers to make informed decisions. Addressing these questions also provides insight into how cultures develop sustainable harvesting practices. One of the parks that has been addressing traditional plant harvesting is Mount Rainier National Park, which has been working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to …

A Coxiella-Like Endosymbiont Is A Potential Vitamin Source For The Lone Star Tick, Todd A. Smith, Timothy Driscoll, Joseph J. Gillespie, Rahul Raghavan

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Amblyomma americanum (Lone star tick) is an important disease vector in the United States. It transmits several human pathogens, including the agents of human monocytic ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and southern tick-associated rash illness. Blood-feeding insects (Class Insecta) depend on bacterial endosymbionts to provide vitamins and cofactors that are scarce in blood. It is unclear how this deficiency is compensated in ticks (Class Arachnida) that feed exclusively on mammalian blood. A bacterium related to Coxiella burnetii, the agent of human Q fever, has been observed previously within cells of A. americanum. Eliminating this bacterium (CLEAA, Coxiella-like endosymbiont of A. americanum) with antibiotics …

The Multidimensional Quality Metrics (Mqm) Framework: A New Framework For Translation Quality Assessment, Valerie Mariana, Troy L. Cox, Alan Melby

Faculty Publications

Determining translation quality requires a precise measure of the traits being examined. This article evaluates a new framework for translation quality evaluation, Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM), to the task of grading student translations. It demonstrates the viability (i.e. the practicality, validity and reliability) of using the MQM framework by novice raters to judge translations based on the American Translators Association’s translator certification exam grading system. The data gathered for this study were drawn from 29 student translations of a single news story that were rated by nine novice and two expert raters. The study used average time on task, correlations …

Conceptualizing Structured Experiences: Seeking Interdisciplinary Integration, Mat D. Duerden, Peter Ward, Patti A. Freeman

Faculty Publications

While consensus exists around the importance of providing structured experiences, the industries interested in offering such experiences lack a common body of shared knowledge about how most effectively to do so. Potentially complementary research on structured experiences remains fragmented across multiple fields such as leisure, tourism, and marketing. The purpose of this paper, therefore, was first to review and then integrate this scattered literature into a structured experience framework in order to facilitate experience-related research with broader applicability for both commercial and public organizations interested in providing structured experiences.

Wait, I Thought It Was An Asteroid?, Richard Melton

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Clever Cephalopods, Maggie Masterson

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Stress For The Figure, Hannah Halusker

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Tiny Medicine, Big World, Maggie Masterson

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Snakes, From Whence They Came, Richard Melton

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Foreword

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

Tigra Scientifica Volume Ii, Issue 1

Tigra scientifica

It is our pleasure to welcome readers to the Fall 2015 issue of Tigra scientifica Science News Magazine. This is the 10th issue in this series of exemplary writings by students enrolled in Clemson University’s Creative Inquiry (CI) course, Popular Science Journalism. Science and technology have an enormous impact on society. Thus, science journalists shoulder the responsibility of transmitting accurate, comprehensible, and timely information to bridge the gap between scientists and the general public. A talented group of Clemson University undergraduate students has embraced this responsibility to produce this magazine.

Pregnancy Plights, Savannah N. Miller

Tigra scientifica

No abstract provided.

This Digital Life: A Neighborhood-Based Study Of Adolescents' Lives Online, Jessica Pater Phd, Andrew D. Miller, Elizabeth Mynatt

Health Services and Informatics Research

In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

In this paper, we present the results of a multi-year study of the social computing practices of 179 adolescents (Mage=12.4 years, SD=1.3; range: 10-14) living in a majority-minority lower-income urban neighborhood in the Southeast U.S. We investigate shifting social media practices using annual surveys and focus groups. We describe participants’ social media use and motivations and show how that use has shifted over time. We show how participants identify social pressures and influences as well as specific behaviors including computer-mediated risky behaviors and self-harm. We discuss …

Rapid Recovery Of An Urban Remnant Reptile Community Following Summer Wildfire, Robert A. Davis, Tim S. Doherty

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Reptiles in urban remnants are threatened with extinction by increased fire frequency, habitat fragmentation caused by urban development, and competition and predation from exotic species. Understanding how urban reptiles respond to and recover from such disturbances is key to their conservation. We monitored the recovery of an urban reptile community for five years following a summer wildfire at Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia, using pitfall trapping at five burnt and five unburnt sites. The reptile community recovered rapidly following the fire. Unburnt sites initially had higher species richness and total abundance, but burnt sites rapidly converged, recording a similar …