Digital Commons Network^™

Tort Reform In Saudi Arabia: Obstacles And Solutions, Othman Talbi

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Law is based on the broad guidelines of Sharia. This means that religion forms the basis of all Saudi law. Thus, because of the absence of a statutory law in Saudi Torts Law, Sharia’ principles take the place of the statutes. Consequently, when deciding tort cases judges need to consider these principles by interpreting them, and then apply them to each case individually. Furthermore, due to economic improvement and industrialization in Saudi Arabia, the nature and type of legal issues have changed. Therefore, complex cases have emerged for which it is very important to produce a reform resolving new …

Food Security In Alaska: Assisting The Alaska Food Policy Council To Meet Their Strategic Plan Goals Through The Use Of Gis Mapping Technology, Melissa N. Wilson

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

The Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC) was established to examine how the Alaska food system functions, and to provide ideas and recommendations for improving access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate foods for all the state’s citizens. At the start of this project, AFPC did not have a resource tool that allows for the mapping of gaps, projects, initiatives, and strengths of the Alaska food system. Thus, this project focused on developing such a tool to assist AFPC with meeting their strategic plan goals, i.e., promoting the affordability, safety, accessibility and infrastructure of the Alaska food system. Secondary analysis of data …

The Effects Of Crude And Pure Green Tea Polyphenols On Bacteria Biofilm Formation And Endospore Germination, Hassan Tahir

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Over the past couple of decades humans have been combating the problem of multi-drug resistant microorganisms. Multi-drug resistant strains o f microorganisms have been causing not only problems for medical settings, but the world as well. Because of the continuous use of antibiotics within our time and age, there has been a huge increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. In addition to the rise in multi-drug resistant bacteria over time, endospore cells have been causing increased levels of food-bourne illnesses. Thus, there is a need for novel antimicrobial agents from nature derived products as an alternative way to treat and control …

August 2015 Cvm Library Newsletter, Mississippi State University

CVM Library Newsletters

Newsletter of the College of Veterinary Medicine Library at Mississippi State University.

Merit-Based Sentencing Reductions: Moving Forward On Specifics, And Some Critique Of The New Model Penal Code, Rory K. Little

UC Law Journal

In the Essay that follows, Michael Santos tells a remarkable story. Arrested at age twenty-three, Santos served twenty-six years in the federal prison system. While in prison, Santos published articles and books, and earned college and master’s degrees, despite what he describes as affirmatively obstructionist decisions by “corrections” personnel. Immediately after his release in 2013, Santos began lecturing at a respected state university. Today, he has a website; course materials for persons facing lengthy prison sentences; scores of supporters and mentors; and the charisma and character to hold a law symposium audience spellbound for every minute of his thirty-minute presentation. …

Neural Modeling Of Sequential Inferences And Learning Over Episodic Memory, Budhitama Subagdja, Ah-Hwee Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Episodic memory is a significant part of cognition for reasoning and decision making. Retrieval in episodic memory depends on the order relationships of memory items which provides flexibility in reasoning and inferences regarding sequential relations for spatio-temporal domain. However, it is still unclear how they are encoded and how they differ from representations in other types of memory like semantic or procedural memory. This paper presents a neural model of sequential representation and inferences on episodic memory. It contrasts with the common views on sequential representation in neural networks that instead of maintaining transitions between events to represent sequences, they …

Swosu Standing Committees 2015-2016, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

University Standing Committees

No abstract provided.

Home Range, Habitat Use, And Movements Of Native Northern Map Turtles (Graptemys Geographica), And Sympatric Invasive Red-Eared Slider Turtles (Trachemys Scripta Elegans), In The Upper Niagara River, Brian E. Haas

Biology Theses

Turtle populations throughout the world are in decline due to the effects associated with anthropogenic disturbances. Northern map turtles in the Upper Niagara River are facing the same effects associated with shoreline development, pollution, and human induced mortality. A biotelemetric study was conducted to understand the population structure, habitat use, and behavior of northern map turtles in the Upper Niagara River. Turtles were trapped, outfitted with radio and sonic transmitters, and tracked from August 2013 until April 2015. Invasive red-eared sliders, which also inhabit the Niagara River were captured and tracked to allow for comparison. This invasive species is a …

Distinct Physiological Roles For The Two Isoforms Of The Er Chaperone Grp170 In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Yuanyuan Li

Biology Theses

GRP170 is a large molecular chaperone found in the ER of all eukaryotes. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has two loci encoding GRP170: T24H7.2 (grp170a) and T14G8.3 (grp170b). The phenotypes of nematodes genetically deficient for either grp170a or grp170b were compared to a standard laboratory strain with functional grp170 loci. Worms that were deficient for grp170a developed 32% slower than the control strain. The loss of grp170a had a significant but modest reduction on the life span compared to the control strain. Worms deficient for grp170a also displayed significantly increased embryonic lethality and resulted in 6.9% arrested embryos. The loss of …

Participant Perceptions Of Range Rider Programs Used To Mitigate Wolf-Livestock Conflicts In The Western United States, Molly Parks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Range Rider Programs (RRPs) are one example of a proactive non-lethal tool that has been implemented in western United States to mitigate gray wolf (Canis lupus) and livestock conflicts. Because RRPs are an emerging non-lethal tool that little is known about, I selected a qualitative research approach to examine participant perceptions to further contemporary understanding of how these efforts are implemented and potential benefits. I surveyed 51 participants from 17 Range Rider Programs (RRPs) in Montana, Washington, and Oregon to determine participant perceptions regarding effectiveness of RRPs as a non-lethal approach to mitigate wolf-conflicts.

I developed a RRPs typology based …

The Search For High-Impact Diagnostic And Management Tools For Low-And Middle-Income Countries: A Self-Powered Low-Cost Blood Pressure Measurement Device Powered By A Solid-State Vibration Energy Harvester, Onur Bilgen, John G. Kenerson, Muge Akpinar-Elci, Rebecca Hattery, Lisbet M. Hanson

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The World Health Organization has established recommendations for blood pressure measurement devices for use in low-resource venues, setting the triple A expectations of Accuracy, Affordability, and Availability. Because of issues related to training and assessment of proficiency, the pendulum has swung away from manual blood pressure devices and auscultatory techniques towards automatic oscillometric devices. As a result of power challenges in the developing world, there has also been a push towards semiautomatic devices that are not dependent on external power sources or batteries. Beyond solar solutions, disruptive technology related to solid-state vibrational energy harvesting may be the next iterative solution …

Forensic Significance Of Teal Colored Cashmere And Black Acrylic Fibers, Nicole M. Martin

Forensic Science Theses

Textile fibers are a valuable type of trace evidence within forensic cases. They have the ability to connect a perpetrator to a victim and or a crime scene. Some types of fibers are more prevalent than others. The purpose of this research was to conduct a target fiber study in order to determine the significance of the selected fibers in a forensic case. Two fibers were selected from two different garments, black acrylic fiber and a teal colored cashmere fiber. Unknown fibers were collected from three local clothing stores and counted. Using light microscopy, all 20,164 fibers were eliminated as …

Wesley And Charisma: An Analysis Of John Wesley's View Of Spiritual Gifts, Dojcin Zivadinovic

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

18th century English reformer, John Wesley is one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity. As a key theological leader behind the first religious awakening (1730-1760) in England and America, Wesley is often credited for setting the stage for the contemporary Charismatic and Pentecostal ideas. This article’s purpose is to clarify John Wesley’s attitude towards the doctrine of Spiritual Gifts and especially towards the more dynamic charismas such as the gifts of healing, the gift of prophecy, exorcism of evil spirits and speaking with tongues. Especially important for understanding Wesley’s thought is his opposition to Calvin’s cessationism, …

Optical Tracking System To Monitor Laparoscopic Training, William D. Rytlewski

Masters Theses

Laparoscopic Surgery, also known as Minimally Invasive Surgery, is a surgical technique where surgeons perform surgery through small incisions in the patient’s abdomen using a camera to monitor the movements of the instruments inside the patient. In order for the surgery to be performed, the surgeon must possess a unique set of skills obtained through training using a variety of techniques. Simulators are the preferred method of training for laparoscopic surgery since they provide medical residents with real world scenarios as well as a tremendous amount of feedback on what he/she did wrong or right. However, due to the high …

Human Intracranial High Frequency Oscillation Detection Using Time Frequency Analysis And Its Relation To The Seizure Onset Zone, Riazul Islam

Masters Theses

One third of the patients diagnosed with focal epilepsy do not respond to antiepileptic drugs. For these patients the possible diagnosis options to give seizure freedom or at least reduce seizure frequencies significantly would be surgical resection or seizure interrupting implantable devices. The success of these procedures depends on accurate detection of the region causing seizure also known as epileptic zone. This requires detail pre-surgical evaluation including Invasive Video Electroencephalographic Monitoring (IVEM). The resulting great volume of intracranial Electroencephalography (iEEG) signal is visually examined by an expert epileptologist which can be time consuming, extremely complex, and not always effective. We …

Mechanisms Of Immunological Tolerance In Central Nervous System Inflammatory Demyelination., Elisabeth R. Mari, Jason N. Moore, Guang-Xian Zhang, A. M. Rostami

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Multiple sclerosis is a complex autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that results in a disruption of the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals in the immune system. Given that central nervous system inflammation can be suppressed by various immunological tolerance mechanisms, immune tolerance has become a focus of research in the attempt to induce long-lasting immune suppression of pathogenic T cells. Mechanisms underlying this tolerance induction include induction of regulatory T cell populations, anergy and the induction of tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells. The intravenous administration of encephalitogenic peptides has been shown to suppress experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and induce tolerance …

Toxin Production And Population Dynamics Of Gloeotrichia Echinulata With Considerations Of Global Climate Change, Sarah Stamann

Masters Theses

Global climate change has been identified as a driver for increasing cyanobacteria blooms world-wide. Blooms of the cyanobacterium, Gloeotrichia echinulata, (hereafter, G. echinulata) have been observed in Silver Lake (Oceana County, MI), often forming dense surface scums. This organism is known to produce the hepatotoxin, microcystin- LR, and its growth is linked to phosphorus accumulation from sediment and temperature.

A series of experiments at ambient and elevated temperatures (+2° and +6°above ambient) with sediment from four locations in Silver Lake with varying phosphorus concentrations were conducted to examine the effect of these variables on G. echinulata growth. These …

Adolescent Exercise In Association With Mortality From All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, And Cancer Among Middle-Aged And Older Chinese Women, Sarah J. Nechuta, Xiao Ou Shu, Gong Yang, Hui Cai, Yu-Tang Gao, Hong-Lan Li, Yong-Bing Xiang, Wei Zheng

Peer Reviewed Articles

Background: Little is known regarding the role of early-life exercise, a potentially modifiable factor, in long-term adult morbidity and mortality. We utilized the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS) to investigate adolescent exercise in association with cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older women.

Methods: The SWHS is a prospective cohort of 74,941 Chinese women ages 40 to 70 years recruited from 1996 to 2000. In-person interviews at enrollment assessed adolescent and adult exercise history, medical and reproductive history, and other lifestyle and socioeconomic (SES) factors. Mortality follow-up occurs via annual linkage to the Shanghai Vital Statistics …

Noncontact Diffuse Correlation Tomography Of Human Breast Tumor, Lian He, Yu Lin, Chong Huang, Daniel Irwin, Margaret M. Szabunio, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Our first step to adapt our recently developed noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) system for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of blood flow distribution in human breast tumors is reported. A commercial 3-D camera was used to obtain breast surface geometry, which was then converted to a solid volume mesh. An ncDCT probe scanned over a region of interest on the mesh surface and the measured boundary data were combined with a finite element framework for 3-D image reconstruction of blood flow distribution. This technique was tested in computer simulations and in vivo human breasts with low-grade carcinoma. Results from computer simulations …

Children's Implicit Beliefs About Intelligence, Carly Champagne

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Young children are commonly perceived as highly optimistic and confident, and therefore seldom arouse concern as to how they are impacted by academic failure. However, there is evidence to suggest that young children can indeed be negatively affected by failure experiences. Implicit theories of intelligence can provide individuals with a framework by which to perceive failure, though little is known about when these theories begin to develop. The current study explores whether children as young as three and a half to four years of age demonstrate patterns indicative of incremental or entity theories of intelligence as a response to challenge …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Choice And Differential Reinforcement On The Computation Fluency Of Students With Escape-Maintained Academic Performance Problems, Maureen A. O'Connor

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation compared antecedent- and consequence-based strategies to determine which treatments or combination of treatments produced the strongest improvements in math computation fluency with four elementary-aged students who displayed escape-motivated behaviors. Functional analyses were conducted to identify elementary-school students whose academic responding was under a negative-reinforcement contingency. Next, a preference assessment was administered to each student to identify potentially effective reinforcers in the form of permissible school activities. These high-preference activities were used during the DRA and Task-Choice + DRA conditions. A multielement design was used to examine the impact of four treatments – Task Choice, DRA, Task Choice+DRA, and …

Evaluate Students’ Learning Effectiveness Of Hvac System Using 3d Game Animation, Lalitha Devi Nandam

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An important skill required for students in Construction Engineering and Architecture is to understand what the major components are and how the whole system and its components function. Students typically learn to understand HVAC equipment by reviewing two-dimensional (2D) CAD drawings, images and site visits. With latest developments in 3D game engines for facilitating interactive learning, it is now possible for students to experience three-dimensional (3D) environments of HVAC systems. While this technology is still at an early stage in learning application, it has the potential to significantly enhance the capability of students to study, comprehend and gain experience designing …

Investigation Of Reduced Agent And Area Treatments For Aphis Glycines Management And Its Effects On Key Predators, Jenny S. Enchayan

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soybeans are an abundant and valued agricultural crop in Nebraska and other parts of the world. Significant soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, mortality has been observed in research plots adjacent to soybeans treated with chlorpyrifos in late July through August. The objectives of the study were to determine the efficacy of the chlorpyrifos vapor effect on A. glycines in adjacent untreated areas and assess the impact of the vapor effect on key biological control agents. Observation of A. glycines populations and sweep net samples for other arthropod species, including Oruis insidiosus, began weekly in mid to late July. When …

Ecology And Morphology Of The Late Miocene Musk Deer, Longirostromeryx Wellsi (Artiodactyla: Moschidae: Blastomerycinae), Katheryn Y. C. Chen

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Longirostromeryx wellsi, one of the latest surviving members of the extinct clade Blastomerycinae (Artiodactyla: Moschidae), possesses highly derived craniodental morphology that deviates from typical musk deer form. Previous work suggests that the unique anatomy of L. wellsi represents adaptations for occupying open savannas. To test this hypothesis I conduct principal components analysis on five postcranial bones of L. wellsi, comparing them to that of several extant ruminant artiodactyls, which are divided among seven habitat categories. These elements are also compared with the postcrania of other blastomerycines. These analyses indicate that L. wellsi anatomy is most similar to that of other …

The Performance Of Health? Motivations Behind University Students' Decisions To Wear Athletic Attire, Shannon Payne

HIM 1990-2015

"Athleisure" is a relatively new term to the American lexicon, a portmanteau used to describe athletic clothing used for leisure purposes. Recent studies show a disconnect between consumers' desire to purchase athletic attire and the percentage of Americans considered "active to a healthy level and beyond." While athletic wear sales skyrocket, reported levels of inactivity have slowly increased in recent years. These trends indicate a phenomenon in which consumers prioritize ownership of athletic wear over athletics. In this research, I set out to answer the following research questions: How do university students interpret and understand the purchase and wearing of …

What Is Buddhist Law? Opening Ideas, Rebecca Redwood French

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Physiological And Psychophysical Aspects Of Shallow Water Exercise, Leo Joseph D'Acquisto, Laura Jean Miller, Debra Mary D'Acquisto, Karen Roemer, Mitchell Grant Fisher

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This study investigated the cardiorespiratory responses to perceptually self-regulated shallow water exercise (SR-SWE) efforts. Females (26 ± 6 years) performed a series of SWE bouts prescribed at rating of perceived exertion (RPE) 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 (Borg scale) and an incremental, SR-SWE bout to a max of RPE 20. Oxygen uptake (VO2) heart rate (HR), and blood lactate (BLa) were monitored. VO2, HR, and BLa ranged from 0.68 ± 0.13 l·min–1, 90 ± 16 bpm, 2.0 ± 0.7 mM (RPE 9) to 2.21 ± 0.21 l·min–1, 162 ± 11 bpm, and 3.9 ± 1.6 mM (RPE

Technology’S Influence On Student Comprehension, Jessica Clar

Education Masters

This research question asked how can technology influence students’ comprehension? Research was conducted in a first grade classroom. The data was collected by a student focus group, student work samples, rubrics, and teacher field notes. Findings revealed that students are engaged while using technology; however they are just as engaged when involved in a traditional read aloud. As for reading comprehension students’ showed an increase in achievement when using the smart board as the primary source of instruction. Overall, data shows that teachers should implement technology in the classroom to promote student participation as well as increased achievement.

Charging On The Margin, Paul Crane

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Empathy And Masculinity In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Richard H. Mcadams

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.