Digital Commons Network^™

Testing The Validity Of The Lctsr 12-Point Grading System, Ted Poirczynski, Jamie Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) is a 24-question, multiple-choice test designed to assess students’ scientific reasoning ability. The test consists of 12 scenarios, each of which focuses on testing a specific reasoning pattern. Each scenario is followed by two questions; the first question assesses a student’s ability to apply the specific reasoning pattern being tested, whereas the second asks the student to explain the reasoning behind his or her response to the first question. This dual question approach is designed to verify that students are employing the correct reasoning patterns to reach the correct answers.

Histone Modifications And Their Effects On Nucleosome Positioning And Gene Expression, Jordon Ritchie, Steven Johnson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Nucleosome positioning plays an important role in gene regulation and expression. Nucleosomes consist of DNA-histone interactions that comprise the first order of DNA compaction into chromatin in the cell. Modifications to the histone in the nucleosome have been hypothesized to influence the location of the nucleosome on the DNA and therefore the regulation of the gene the nucleosome is forming on. In our original proposal, we proposed to show the effects that different modifications had on the position of the nucleosome on the DNA and the DNA sequence that had the highest affinity for nucleosome formation given a specific histone …

Analysis Of The Adjuvant Effect Of Vitamin D3 In Enhancing Mucosal Immune Responses, Cameron Sargent, Dr. Eric Wilson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Because skin provides an effective physical barrier, most pathogens that invade the body do so at mucosal sites like the nose and mouth. As such, finding methods of improving mucosal immunity is key to providing greater defense against communicable diseases, the cause of approximately one-quarter of all deaths worldwide [1]. Improving vaccination, the technique in which the body is exposed to a weakened or nonvirulent dosage of a pathogen or toxin to promote an immune response specific to that foreign material, is a potential way of enhancing mucosal immunity. Vaccination has been used for several decades in medicine, nearly eradicating …

Three-Dimensional Modeling Of Facial Nerve Vii, Dani Peterson, Jonathan Wisco

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to its long and complicated trajectory through the cranium, facial nerve VII (CN VII) (see figure 1) can be damaged in surgeries, sometimes resulting in facial muscle paralysis. Surgical removal of acoustic neuromas and parotid tumors, in addition to surgical repair of the temporomandibular joint disorder are associated with a risk of damage to CN VII. In addition, insertion of auditory implants can damage the nerve, as can improper stimulation to the nerve after the implantation has occurred. This study’s focus was the creation of a three-dimensional (3D) model based off of data from dissection of the nerve in …

The Role Of Endocannabinoid Receptor Gpr55 On Learning And Memory, Bradley Prince, Jeffery Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Each year millions of people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most common forms of dementia. Extensive research has shown that Alzheimer’s affects the hippocampus, the part of the brain principally responsible for learning and memory. The mechanisms responsible for learning and memory are just beginning to be elucidated, and a more comprehensive knowledge of them will be essential in order to understand the brain under normal situations as well as in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Studies in this area have sought to understand the causes and treatments of disease, but so far both the underlying physiology …

Risk-Optimized Proton Therapy To Minimize Radiogenic Second Cancers, Laura A. Rechner, John G. Eley, Rebecca M. Howell, Rui Zhang, Dragan Mirkovic, Wayne D. Newhauser

Faculty Publications

Proton therapy confers substantially lower predicted risk of second cancer compared with photon therapy. However, no previous studies have used an algorithmic approach to optimize beam angle or fluence-modulation for proton therapy to minimize those risks. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate the feasibility of risk-optimized proton therapy and to determine the combination of beam angles and fluence weights that minimizes the risk of second cancer in the bladder and rectum for a prostate cancer patient. We used 6 risk models to predict excess relative risk of second cancer. Treatment planning utilized a combination of a commercial treatment …

Method And Apparatus For Treating Centralized Pain, Jeffrey Hargrove

Mechanical Engineering Patents

A method for alleviating centralized pain in human subjects includes assessing the brain of a subject suffering from pain, diagnosing abnormal brain function associated with centralized pain, locating at least one area of abnormal brain function associated with the centralized pain, and alleviating the abnormal brain function by applying a cortical stimulation signal to tissues corresponding to the at least one area of abnormal brain function.

Colonoscopy Screening Among Us Adults Aged 40 Or Older With A Family History Of Colorectal Cancer, Meng-Han Tsai, Sudha Xirasagar, Yi-Jhen Li, Piet C. De Groen

Faculty Publications

Introduction
Colonoscopy screening reduces colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality. CRC screening is recommended at age 50 for average-risk people. Screening of first-degree relatives of CRC patients is recommended to begin at age 40 or 10 years before the age at diagnosis of the youngest relative diagnosed with CRC. CRC incidence has increased recently among younger Americans while it has declined among older Americans. The objective of this study was to determine whether first-degree relatives of CRC patients are being screened according to recommended guidelines.

Methods
We studied colonoscopy screening rates among the US population reporting a CRC family history …

Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan: A Manual For Supporting And Enhancing The Academic Progress Of Black Male Student-Athletes, Frederic Benjamin

Master's Projects and Capstones

College sports have a profoundly positive effect on the vast majority of student-athletes who go on to pursue careers in something other than sports but this phenomenon has not translated equitably to the Black Male Student Athlete. Between 2007 and 2010, Black men were only 2.8% of full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students but comprised 57.1% of football teams and 64.3% of basketball teams; The NCAA’s ongoing campaign to highlight the positive outcomes of participating in collegiate athletics has failed to address many of the underlying issues affecting Black male student-athletes. Specifically, there is perpetuation of the “myth that the road to …

Summary Of Guitron (Miguel) V. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 27 (May 21, 2015), Aleem Dhalla

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) the State presented sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Guitron of incest and sexual assault, (2) the district court did err by not allowing Guitron to introduce evidence of the victims sexual knowledge, but this error was harmless, (3) the district court did err refusing to give the jury Guitron’s requested inverse elements instruction, but this error was also harmless, and (4) Guitron could not show that the district court erred by denying his Batson challenge.

Gender Differences In The Relationship Between Impulsivity And Disordered Eating Behaviors And Attitudes, Alyssa Lundahl, Laura C. Wahlstrom, Christa C. Christ, Scott F. Stoltenberg

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: We investigated relationships among gender, impulsivity and disordered eating in healthy college students.

Method: Participants (N = 1223) were healthy, undergraduate men (28.5%) and women (71.5%), who completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale — Version 11 (BIS-11) and a four-factor version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-16).

Results: As predicted, mean scores on all four EAT-16 factors were significantly higher for women than for men. Attentional impulsivity was related to poorer self-perception of body shape, more dieting, and a greater preoccupation with food for the sample as a whole. Moreover, motor impulsivity was related to poorer self-perceptions of body shape …

The Response Of Zooplankton Communities In Montane Lakes Of Different Fish Stocking Histories To Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition Simulations, Jeffrey Thomas Brittain

Dissertations and Theses

Freshwater ecosystems are subject to a wide variety of stressors, which can have complex interactions and result in ecological surprises. Non-native fish introductions have drastically reduced the number of naturally fishless lakes and have resulted in cascading food web repercussions in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Additional anthropogenic influences that result from increases in global airborne emissions also threaten wildlife habitat. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has been recognized as an anthropogenic contributor to acidification and eutrophication of wilderness ecosystems. Planktonic communities have shown declines in response to predation and shifts in composition as a result of nutrient inputs and acidification, both of …

Thymoquinone Inhibits Escherichia Coli Atp Synthase And Cell Growth, Zulfiqar Ahmad, Thomas F. Laughlin, Ismail O. Kady

ETSU Faculty Works

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. We examined the thymoquinone induced inhibition of purified F1 or membrane bound F1FO E. coli ATP synthase. Both purified F1 and membrane bound F1FO were completely inhibited by thymoquinone with no residual ATPase activity. The process of inhibition was fully reversible and identical in both membrane bound F1Fo and purified F1 preparations. Moreover, thymoquinone induced inhibition of ATP synthase expressing wild-type E. coli cell growth and …

Regulators Associated With Clinical Outcomes Revealed By Dna Methylation Data In Breast Cancer, Matthew H. Ung, Frederick S. Varn, Shaoke Lou, Chao Cheng

Dartmouth Scholarship

The regulatory architecture of breast cancer is extraordinarily complex and gene misregulation can occur at many levels, with transcriptional malfunction being a major cause. This dysfunctional process typically involves additional regulatory modulators including DNA methylation. Thus, the interplay between transcription factor (TF) binding and DNA methylation are two components of a cancer regulatory interactome presumed to display correlated signals. As proof of concept, we performed a systematic motif-based in silico analysis to infer all potential TFs that are involved in breast cancer prognosis through an association with DNA methylation changes. Using breast cancer DNA methylation and clinical data derived from …

Settling The Long War: Alternative Dispute Resolution And The War On Terror, Matthew P. Chiarello

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Ibuprofen And Caffeine Concentrations On The Common Bed Bug (Cimex Lectularius L.) Feeding And Fecundity, Ralph B. Narain, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bed bugs are ectoparasites of humans and require a blood meal for their growth and reproduction. Since humans consume Ibuprofen as pain medication and drink coffee (caffeine), bed bugs are likely to acquire these drugs through blood feeding. In this study, we determined the biological effects of Ibuprofen and caffeine on bed bug feeding, fecundity and egg hatch. Five concentrations of Ibuprofen and caffeine were incorporated into reconstituted human blood (RHB). Control treatment had no Ibuprofen or caffeine. Each treatment had six replications. Groups of 20 adult bed bugs (10 males: 10 females)/treatment/replication were pre-weighed, allowed to feed for 45 …

Unh Fairchild Dairy Receives 2014 Quality Milk Award From Dairy One, Lori Tyler Gula

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

The Relation Of Hyperactivity To Parenting Stress Within The Parent-Child Relationship In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Heather Davis

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Research indicates that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience more total stress and more stress within specific domains of the parent-child relationship. Specific externalizing behaviors such as hyperactivity have been related to elevated adverse parent-child outcomes in families with typically developing children. To date, the relation of child hyperactivity to parenting stress has not been examined in children with ASD. This study investigated the extent to which child hyperactivity differs between children who are typically developing (TD) and children with ASD. In addition, this study also examined the relation of child hyperactivity to parenting stress. Participants included …

Utilization Of The Tgf-Β Signaling Pathway And Cell-Substrate Interaction In A Novel Anti-Cancer Drug Screen, Nicholas Saguibo, Dr. Marc Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The TGF-β signaling pathway has been researched extensively over the past few years, and has been shown to be active in the majority of metastatic tumors. Interestingly, tumors expressing TGF-β activity are positively correlated with poorer prognosis in patients, making it a logical target for cancer therapeutics. Furthermore, research conducted in our lab in recent years has demonstrated that the stiffness of the substrate upon which metastatic cancer cells are adhered plays a significant role in the rate of metastasis. To summarize: the harder the substrate, the higher the rate of metastasis. This same research has also demonstrated that softer, …

How Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis Biofilm Formation Is Regulated By Global Regulator Csra, Jeffrey Schachterle, David Erickson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The bacteria Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of bubonic plague, and its ability to form biofilm in fleas is essential for plague transmission by fleas [1]. Y. pestis recently evolved from Y. pseudotuberculosis (Y. pstb), and the two have nearly identical genomes. Y. pestis forms a biofilm in fleas that is capable of blocking the flea’s feeding. These biofilms are made up of a community of bacteria adhering to a polysaccharide matrix that is made by the hmsHFRS gene products. Y. pstb is capable of infecting fleas, but will not block the flea’s feeding [1]. Since the …

Strategies To Reduce Foreign Language Anxiety In Adult Efl Students Of The European Union, Kathleen Hershner

Master's Projects and Capstones

One of paradoxes in adult foreign language learning is that older learners must communicate in the very language, in this case English, they struggle to acquire. The discomfort that arises from needing to use deficient or non-existent skills in a new language is more acutely felt in adults than children. Adults approach learning new languages with an assumed level of control over themselves and their environment and can easily become frustrated when they're unable to maintain their usual levels of confidence and competence, which can lead to foreign language anxiety. FLA is a specific kind of anxiety defined as an …

Swirl Flow Bioreactor Coupled With Cu-Alginate Beads: A System For The Eradication Of Coliform And Escherichia Coli From Biological Effluents, S Atkinson, Sf Thomas, P Goddard, Rm Bransgrove, Et Al

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

It is estimated that approximately 1.1 billion people globally drink unsafe water. We previously reported both a novel copper-alginate bead, which quickly reduces pathogen loading in waste streams and the incorporation of these beads into a novel swirl flow bioreactor (SFB), of low capital and running costs and of simple construction from commercially available plumbing pipes and fittings. The purpose of the present study was to trial this system for pathogen reduction in waste streams from an operating Dewats system in Hinjewadi, Pune, India and in both simulated and real waste streams in Seattle, Washington, USA. The trials in India, …

The Oppeliid, Perisphinctid And Aspidoceratid Ammonite Faunas Of The 'Corallian' Beds (Upper Jurassic) In Cambridgeshire, England, Kn Page, Jk Wright, Sra Kelly

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Upware Limestone Member comprises an enclave of Middle Oxfordian 'Corallian' facies limestone situated on the East Midlands Shelf within the more typical mudrock-dominated sequences of eastern England, and is assigned to the West Walton Formation. Recent deep excavations in the district have revealed the base of the Upware Limestone, not exposed since the last century, resting on a mudrock sequence, the Dimmock's Cote Marl Member. The Upware Limestone and Dimmock's Cote Marl have yielded an unusually common ammonite fauna, including both Boreal (Cardioceratidae) and Tethyan (Perisphinctinae) elements, and rare Tethyian oppeliids and aspidoceratids. Thirteen nominal species of Perisphinctes are …

Creation Of A Curatorial Plan For The Rit Archives: A Case Study Of The Frans Wildenhain Ceramic Collection, Alexander Nacca

Theses

Professionals in museums, archives, and libraries have a responsibility to maintain the quality of their collections so that the general public and scholars can enjoy and benefit from them. As such, any institution that holds, or displays objects for any period of time should have a curatorial plan in place that describes the necessary care, conservation, and preservation of those items. Without such a plan, museum professionals and their collections suffer. This thesis recognizes the importance of such documentation. In the absence of a curatorial care plan for the Wildenhain Ceramic Collection, I have created one. This collection is housed …

Autonomic And Brain Responses Associated With Empathy Deficits In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Xiaosi Gu, Tehila Eilam-Stock, Thomas Zhou, Evdokia Anagnostou, Alexander Kolevzon, Latha Soorya, Patrick R. Hof, Karl J. Friston, Jin Fan

Publications and Research

Accumulating evidence suggests that autonomic signals and their cortical representations are closely linked to emotional processes, and that related abnormalities could lead to social deficits. Although socio-emotional impairments are a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), empirical evidence directly supporting the link between autonomic, cortical, and socio-emotional abnormalities in ASD is still lacking. In this study, we examined autonomic arousal indexed by skin conductance responses (SCR), concurrent cortical responses measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and effective brain connectivity estimated by dynamic causal modeling in seventeen unmedicated high-functioning adults with ASD and seventeen matched controls while they performed an …

Measuring Hacking Ability Using A Conceptual Expertise Task, Justin S. Giboney, Jeffrey G. Proudfoot, Sanjay Goel, Joseph S. Valacich

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Hackers pose a continuous and unrelenting threat to organizations. Industry and academic researchers alike can benefit from a greater understanding of how hackers engage in criminal behavior. A limiting factor of hacker research is the inability to verify that self-proclaimed hackers participating in research actually possess their purported knowledge and skills. This paper presents current work in developing and validating a conceptual-expertise based tool that can be used to discriminate between novice and expert hackers. The implications of this work are promising since behavioral information systems researchers operating in the information security space will directly benefit from the validation of …

Volume 19, Issue 3: Full Issue, Manuscripts Staff

Manuscripts

No abstract provided.

When Writing A Theme, Remember, Betty Van Derbilt

Manuscripts

Poem by Betty Van Derbilt

Beyond The “Flip”: Blended Learning In The Literature Classroom, Lucy R. Littler

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Much of the existing research on Blended Learning discusses how business, science, and engineering courses can effectively integrate technology into their current curriculum. The “flipped classroom” is a common buzz word in this on-going discussion, but for an English professor, the pedagogical model is largely already “flipped.” Students in literature courses at small liberal arts institutions rarely sit through in-class lectures. They read fiction, poetry, and scholarship on their own and come to class ready to discuss, to question, and to create with their peers and their professors. In other words, to benefit students in these kinds of courses, Blended …

We Are...Marshall, May 20, 2015, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.