Digital Commons Network^™

Will We Pick Privacy Over Convenience When It Comes To Drones?, Caren M. Morrison

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

Microbe Detection Via Hybridizing Magnetic Relaxation Nanosensors (Us), J. Manuel Perez Figueroa, Charalambos Kaittanis, Saleh Naser

UCF Patents

Disclosed herein are methods and materials for facilitating the detection of nucleic acid analytes of interest. Specifically exemplified herein are methods for detecting mycobacterial microorganisms, namely Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis. Also disclosed is new hybridizing magnetic relaxation nanosensor (hMRS) particularly adapted to detect a target nucleic acid analyte of interest.

Galleries Tie 2015-16 Programming To Campus-Wide Discussions, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2015

• Catch a special one-day only exhibit, "Impaired Perceptions by Brian Charles Steel," Sept. 16 in the Lewandowski Student Gallery.
• A limited engagement exhibit in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, events focusing on water conservation and scarcity, and a series exploring human relationships highlight the 2015-16 season at Winthrop University Galleries.

Raman Spectroscopy Applied To The Noninvasive Detection Of Monosodium Urate Crystal Deposits, Declan J. Curran, Laurence Rubin, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An off-the-shelf Raman Spectrometer (RS) was used to noninvasively determine the presence of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals on the metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) of a single gout sufferer. The spectrum sourced from the clinically diagnosed gout sufferer was compared to that sourced from an age-matched healthy subject scanned using the same protocol. Minimal signal processing was conducted on both spectra. Peaks characteristic of MSU crystals were evident on the spectrum sourced from the gout sufferer and not on the spectrum from the healthy control.

Stretch‐Induced Increase In Cardiac Contractility Is Independent Of Myocyte Ca2+ While Block Of Stretch Channels By Streptomycin Improves Contractility After Ischemic Stunning, Samhita S. Rhodes, Amadou Ks Camara, Mohammed Aldakkak, James S. Heisner, David F. Stowe

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Stretching the cardiac left ventricle (LV) enhances contractility but its effect on myoplasmic [Ca²⁺] is controversial. We measured LV pressure (LVP) and [Ca²⁺] as a function of intra-LV stretch in guinea pig intact hearts before and after 15 min global stunning ± perfusion with streptomycin (STM), a stretch activated channel blocker. LV wall [Ca²⁺] was measured by indo-1 fluorescence and LVP by a saline-filled latex balloon inflated in 50 μL steps to stretch the LV. We implemented a mathematical model to interpret crossbridge dynamics and myofilament Ca²⁺ responsiveness from the instantaneous relationship between …

Miniaturisation And The Representation Of Military Geographies In Recreational Wargaming, Richard Yarwood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Experience Is Proof: Texts Versus Observation In Eighteenth-Century Italy, Debra Glasberg Gail

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries marked a significant period in the transformation of scientific scholarship. The Latin philosophical tradition’s dominance waned as empirical methods gained credence. University educated men of science began to trust information actually seen and tested more than knowledge contained in books, especially ancient ones. The larger implications of this transformation -- the questioning of the authority of the written word of the Bible and the accompanying narrative of the origins of the universe -- have received significant scholarly attention. The smaller shifts in the way individuals weighed textual and empirical sources of authority, however, …

Illicit Sex And Law In Early-Modern Italian Ghettos, Federica Francesconi

Early Modern Workshop: Resources in Jewish History

This presentation explores the changes of attitudes toward illicit sexual relations within the ghetto societies that occurred in Italy between the late seventeenth century and the middle of the eighteenth century, with a specific focus on young Jewish maidservants. It analyzes how Italian Jewish leadership, both lay and rabbinical, acted in regard to the vicissitudes of Jewish women who faced seduction, sexual exploitation, and pregnancy under the Jewish roof. This analysis uses archival sources from both Jewish courts and civic magistracies in the cities of Venice, Mantua, and Modena during the years 1691-1751. Through a combination of paternalism, cohesiveness, innovation, …

Diocese Of Providence Partners With Scs To Integrate Steam In Catholic Schools, Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

Featured News Story

Professional Education Center program will help Catholic school teachers tie arts into instruction on STEM subjects.

Uncomfortable Bedfellows: Locke And The Libertarian Theory Of Property, Garrett Dimond

Theses

Libertarians, such as Robert Nozick, have often appealed to Locke’s labor theory as the basis in which to defend full ownership rights to property. My central claim is that this is a mistake. Locke, I argue, is not a comfortable libertarian bedfellow for the following three reasons. (1) Locke’s account of property neither implies rights to full ownership, nor was Locke himself committed to the view. (2) The conditions Locke's labor theory places on property rights would generate a state that more closely aligns with the welfare state than the libertarian minimal state. (3) Even when we ignore Locke’s theological …

What's Happening: August 17, 2015, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Introduction And Table Of Contents, Daniel H. Doctor, Lewis Land, J. Brad Stephenson

Sinkhole Conference 2015

No abstract provided.

Co-Extinction In A Host-Parasite Network: Identifying Key Hosts For Network Stability, Tad Dallas, Emily Cornelius

Faculty Publications

Parasites comprise a substantial portion of total biodiversity. Ultimately, this means that host extinction could result in many secondary extinctions of obligate parasites and potentially alter host-parasite network structure. Here, we examined a highly resolved fish-parasite network to determine key hosts responsible for maintaining parasite diversity and network structure (quantified here as nestedness and modularity). We evaluated four possible host extinction orders and compared the resulting co-extinction dynamics to random extinction simulations; including host removal based on estimated extinction risk, parasite species richness and host level contributions to nestedness and modularity. We found that all extinction orders, except the one …

Caribou Migration, Subsistence Hunting, And User Group Conflicts In Northwest Alaska: A Traditional Knowledge Perspective, Gabriela Halas

Natural Resources

Alaska Natives of northwest Alaska are highly dependent on barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) for meeting their nutritional and cultural needs. The Alaska Native village of Noatak borders the Noatak National Preserve (NNP), an area historically and presently used by Iñupiaq for subsistence caribou hunting and other traditional activities. Interactions between local and non-local caribou hunters were analyzed through the lens of common pool resource theory, which I linked to traditional Iñupiaq management of access and use of resources. This study examined changes in caribou migration and its effect on local caribou hunting success, which have been perceived to be the …

Three Essays On Community Supported Agriculture, Anastasia Thayer

Economics

The number of community supported agriculture (CSA) farms has grown considerably since the model was first introduced in the United States nearly 30 years ago. However, current academic literature lacks specific studies that provide an in-depth analysis of a market for CSA shares over time. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the supply and demand for CSA shares in the Tanana Valley through extensive data gathering of local production and farm statistics. The research provides a narrative of how the market has developed and changed over time. Hedonic models provide real estimates of implicit …

Development Plans For A Remote Control Laboratory Demonstrating The Faraday Effect, Dan Lasota

Education

This project presents the design o f a physics lab where the Faraday Effect is studied by students in a Remote Control Laboratory (RCL). Background conceptual material for students, equipment lists, lab procedures, and a proposed web interface to the equipment are offered with the design choices supported by research. The final product is a workable demonstration that could be used in face-to-face classrooms or as a laboratory exercise. This project could also serve as a blue print for a future engineering project where the final computer-mechanical-robotic interface could be crafted so that this would indeed become a fully online …

Exploring The Relationship Between Diet And Osteoporosis In Medieval Portugal Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Sharla Ann Luxton

Anthropology

This project investigates the relationship between health and diet in medieval Portugal by combining data on the occurrence of osteoporosis with information on past diet derived from stable isotope ratios. The aim of this project is to identify whether different sources of protein influenced the prevalence of osteoporosis in three populations. Individuals from three different regions of Portugal were previously evaluated for bone mineral density at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and bone samples from 91 of these individuals underwent stable isotope analysis at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Collagen suitable for isotopic analysis was extracted from all individuals and …

Once Upon A Time: An Anthropological Exploration Of Gwich'in Stories (Man In The Moon; The Old Woman And The Brushman), Monika Frey

Anthropology

This MA thesis research focuses on Gwich'in stories. It seeks to better understand how similar the versions of two stories are when each is parsed into units representing themes within the stories. Drawing in part on Lévi-Strauss's structural study of myth and applying aspects of it to the Gwich'in stories discussed in this research, I will demonstrate that several versions of a story contain identical themes, though levels of detail vary. This occurs when (1) a story is told by the same storyteller at different times, and (2) when a story is told by two or more storytellers. While each …

A Reconstruction Of Steppe Bison Mobility In The Yukon-Tanana Uplands And Implications For Prehistoric Human Behavior, Crystal L. Glassburn

Anthropology

This study seeks to characterize steppe bison (Bison priscus) behavioral ecology in interior Alaska during the Pleistocene for the purpose of understanding how bison may have moved about the landscape on a seasonal basis and how this behavior could have influenced prehistoric human settlement and subsistence patterns. Steppe bison were present in Alaska and other circumpolar regions during the Pleistocene but became extinct during the late Holocene. Archaeological evidence from the Tanana River Basin in interior Alaska indicates that bison were an important component of human subsistence economies for at least 10,000 years, but aspects of steppe bison behavioral ecology …

Parental Perceptions Of Play: The Influences Of Parent Gender, Gender Role Attitudes, And Parenting Styles On Parent Attitudes Toward Child Play, Courtney Horwath-Oliver

Psychology

The literature overwhelmingly demonstrates that play supports healthy social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Efforts to understand parents' support of child play seek to identify parent attitudes toward play, ways in which parents facilitate play for their children, and how they participate in play. Previous findings indicate parent valuation of play is an important factor for childhood play time and finds differences between mothers and fathers in parent-child play. While much research has been done to understand how mothers and fathers play with their sons and daughters, few studies have investigated what factors influence parent valuation of play or facilitate …

A History And Analysis Of The Efforts Of The Ahtna People Of South-Central Alaska To Secure A Priority To Hunt Moose On Their Ancestral Lands, Eric Schacht

Natural Resources

The purpose of this study is to document the decades-long struggle of the Ahtna people of south-central Alaska to secure the priority to hunt moose in their ancestral lands. The study details the changes in moose hunting regulations in Game Management Unit 13 from the first permit hunt in 1960 to the current era as well as the changes in the number of hunters, number of moose harvests, and success of hunters by area of residence (local vs. non-local). This study summarizes changes in regulations regarding rural preference for subsistence hunters and the court cases challenging those provisions. It outlines …

Contemporary Mesozooplankton Communities Of The Beaufort Sea, Caitlin A. Smoot

Marine Biology

Zooplankton are critical trophic links and important modifiers of organic carbon cycles, yet are poorly characterized for much of the Arctic's Beaufort Sea, particularly in mesopelagic (> 200 m) waters. Zooplankton were sampled with 150 and 505 μm mesh nets in the upper 200 m in sections of the Beaufort Sea between Barrow Canyon and the Mackenzie River during August and September 2010-2013 to characterize the species composition, abundance, and biomass of epipelagic Beaufort Sea zooplankton communities. I observed 106 taxonomic zooplankton categories during four field seasons across both mesh sizes; copepods exhibited the highest species richness (38 species), followed …

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Maggie Mason Smith

Publications

No abstract provided.

Motivations And Drivers Of Trapper Catch Per Unit Effort In Alaska, Ross R. Dorendorf

Biological Sciences

Indices of abundance based on harvest alone have long been used to track furbearer populations. However, abundance indices based on harvest alone do not account for variation in trapping effort. To my knowledge, adjusting harvest-based furbearer abundance indices to account for effort has not been previously examined in Alaska. Understanding how effort varies among trappers, and how social issues and external factors such as human conflict and fur prices affect effort, can give a clearer understanding of why trapping effort changes. A trapper's motivations may determine how strongly various external factors and social issues influence trapping effort. I sent a …

The Role Of Glycerol-3-Phosphate Acyltransferase 1 In Mitochondrial Phospholipid Biosynthesis Of Cold-Bodied Fishes, Kelly Anne Keenan

Biological Sciences

Mitochondrial biogenesis is induced by low temperature in many fish species. For example, cold acclimation of Gasterosteus aculeatus (threespine stickleback) increases mitochondrial densities in oxidative skeletal muscle. Oxidative muscles of Antarctic icefishes (suborder Notothenioidei) also have high mitochondrial densities characterized by higher densities of phospholipids compared to red-blooded notothenioids. Mitochondrial biogenesis has been well studied in mammals yet it is unknown how mitochondrial phospholipid synthesis is regulated. I hypothesized that both activity and mRNA levels of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), the rate-limiting enzyme in glycerolipid biosynthesis, would increase in oxidative muscle of stickleback, where mitochondrial biogenesis occurs, but not in liver, …

Environmental Drivers Of Deer Population Dynamics And Spatial Selection In Southeast Alaska, Sophie L. Gilbert

Biological Sciences

The coastal temperate rainforest is one of the rarest ecosystems in the world, and a major portion of the global total is found in Southeast Alaska. In this ecosystem, Sitka black-tailed deer are the dominant large herbivore, influencing large carnivores that prey on deer such as wolves and bears, as well as plant species and communities through browsing. In addition, deer play an important economic and cultural role for humans in Southeast Alaska, making up the large majority of terrestrial subsistence protein harvested each year as well as providing the backbone of a thriving tourism industry built around sport hunting. …

Population Dynamics Of Pacific Herring And Humpback Whales, Sitka Sound, Alaska 1981-2011, Joseph B. Liddle

Fisheries

Humpback whales are a major predator in Sitka Sound, possibly consuming as much as a half-ton of Pacific herring per day. These large migratory baleen whales congregate in Sitka Sound to feed on schools of Pacific herring which spawn in April. In recent decades humpback whale abundance has increased tremendously in Sitka Sound after recovering from near extinction due to commercial whaling. In order to assess the long-term impact on herring by humpback whales, I estimated humpback whale abundance from 1981 to 2011. To do so I developed a Bayesian mark-recapture method for small sample sizes. I also modified a …

Contemporary Evolution In Threespine Stickleback From Uplifted Islands In Alaska, Emily Lescak

Fisheries

How rapidly can evolution occur in the wild? Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish are a prime model organism to address this question because we can study post-glacial populations that are only about 13,000 years old. During this relatively short period of time, oceanic stickleback have repeatedly and independently colonized newly available freshwater habitat, giving rise to resident freshwater populations that exhibit repeated patterns of phenotypic and genetic divergence. However, it is currently unknown whether it actually takes thousands of years for resident freshwater populations to diverge from the ancestral form. To address this question, we have identified phenotypically variable stickleback …

Fatty Acid Profiles Of Alaskan Arctic Forage Fishes: Evidence Of Regional And Temporal Variation, Julia Dissen

Marine Biology

Fatty acids, the main components of lipids, are crucial for energy storage and other physiological functions in animals and plants. Dietary fatty acids are incorporated and conserved in consumer tissues in predictable patterns and can be analyzed in animal tissues to determine the composition of an individual's diet. This study measured the variation in fatty acid profiles of three abundant Arctic forage fish species, Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida), Canadian Eelpout (Lycodes polaris), and Longear Eelpout (Lycodes seminudus) across multiple years (2010-2013) and geographic locations (Beaufort and Chukchi seas). These fishes are important prey items of marine mammals, sea birds, and …

Blubber And Beyond: The Role Of Lipids In Thermoregulation And Energy Reserves Of Phocid Seals, Linnea E. Pearson

Marine Biology

Phocid seals rely on lipids in the form of a blubber layer as insulation and lipids as energy sources in blubber and muscle. The amount and lipid composition of blubber and other lipid stores vary throughout life within and among species of phocid seals. I hypothesized that this variation in regulation, allocation, and interactions among lipid stores is influenced by species, ontogeny, and tissue-specific thermal regimes in polar phocids: harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus), hooded (Cystophora cristata), and Weddell (Leptonychotes weddellii) seals. I investigated the thermoregulatory strategy of neonatal harp, hooded, and Weddell seals, and throughout the transition to an aquatic environment …