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Evaluation Of The Genetic Resistance Status To Classical And Atypicalscrapie In Karacabey Merino Rams, Yalçin Yaman, Mehmet İhsan Soysal, Cemal Ün

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Scrapie, the oldest prion disease of sheep, has two types: classical and atypical scrapie. It was determined that some nucleotide polymorphisms in the PrP coding gene have affected classical and atypical scrapie susceptibility. Consequently, EU member states have established breeding programs aiming to increase genetic resistance of their flocks to classical scrapie. These breeding programs have primarily been implemented in economically important breeds. Thus, we investigated classical and atypical scrapie related PrP genotypes of the Karacabey merino breed, which is of great economic importance in western regions of Turkey. In relation to classical scrapie, three alleles (ARR, ARQ, and VRQ) …

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For The Detection Of Antibodies Against The Extracellular Domain Of The Oxaa Membrane Protein Of Mycoplasma Suis, Lijun Jia, Mingming Liu, Shoufa Zhang, Lei Zhang, Huanping Guo, Jixu Li

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Epidemics of swine infected with Mycoplasma suis, a hemotrophic pathogen, cause substantial economic losses to the swine industry worldwide. The complementary DNA sequences encoding two predicted extracellular domains of the OxaA protein of M. Suis were obtained using polymerase chain reaction and standard molecular cloning methods. The OxaA domains were expressed separately in Escherichia coli as glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins, designated as GST-A and GST-B. The antigenicity of the GST-A and -B recombinant proteins was confirmed by western blotting. The GST-A and -B proteins were approximately 33.9 kDa and 34.6 kDa in size, respectively. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was …

Influence Of Macromolecular Crowding On Water And Model Reaction Equilibria, Sai Sathyasree Dharmaraj

Master's Theses

Macromolecular crowding refers to the excluded volume in the cell by macromolecules (proteins, DNA, etc.). Crowding in the cell is relevant to the free motion of each macromolecule and may influence biological equilibria in general. The surface hydration of the crowding agents is expected to alter the average properties of water in the solution, which in turn may also affect molecular interactions. Because the living cell contains a concentration of 300-400 g/L of macromolecules, it is crucial to study the properties of crowded solutions to understand the environment of a cell. The focus was to study the thermodynamic properties of …

Seasonal Road Layout Design In Mountainous Terrain Using Gis With The Side Hill And Least Cost Path Methods, Emil Harold Brundage

Master's Theses

Seasonal road design in mountainous terrain consists of four main phases: route selection, field investigation, surveying, and analysis. The first phase, route selection, consists of two parts: selecting control points at strategic locations, and then determining potential routes between those points. Two geographic information system (GIS) geoprocessing automations were developed to aid a road planner in determining routes between control points. Both automations utilized Environmental Systems Research Institute’s (ESRI) ArcGIS software package. The first method developed was the least cost path method, which makes use of ArcGIS’s cost path tool to find a route between points following a gradual slope. …

From Trauma To Trial: Proposing New Methods For Examining The Variability Of Sharp Force Trauma On Bone, Amanda Feldman

Master's Theses

Although sharp force trauma is not the most common form of homicide in the United States, it accounts for the majority of violent crimes committed in the United Kingdom, and the frequency of knife related crimes has been increasing over several decades. Despite the prevalence of sharp force trauma in forensic literature, there is still a large gap linking weapons to skeletal injuries. Although there have been forensic studies on the effects of fabric during decomposition, very little data exist on the effects of fabric and bodily coverings on wounds during stabbing events. In a significant number of homicide cases, …

Assessing Lesbian Gay Bisexual Resistance In Core Team Sports, Kevin Edward Lynch

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how sport and lesbian-gay-bisexual resistance intersect with economy, media, religion, politics, education, and race and whether those institutions reinforce the hegemonic masculinity gender construction embedded in sport. Through a review of literature, I explore whether the aforementioned institutions are incorporating sociologist Eric Anderson’s inclusive masculinity or whether they are stuck in the hegemonic form mainly in the core team sport of basketball, baseball, football and hockey. Also, I investigate if Allport’s contact hypothesis has played any role in the movement from hegemonic masculinity to inclusive masculinity. Religion, education, and economy all seem …

Teaching Green Chemistry Principles To Undergraduate Students, Mariya Rozov, Tyler K. Brescia, Lyanne Valdez, Rita K. Upmacis

Faculty Papers and Publications

The environment is affected by the actions of mankind in multitudinous ways, many of which are detrimental, giving rise to pollution and toxic waste, ultimately making our planet less inhabitable. While remediation and new regulations help to prevent pollution and toxic waste, there is also a need to change the behavior of future generations of consumers and producers of new products. Future chemists and innovators are charged with the responsibility of developing new chemical processes and products that not only meet the needs of our growing population (in terms of energy, clean water and food), but also protect human health …

The Impact Of Acculturation On Perceptions Of Elder Abuse And Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Elderly Polynesians, Myra Halaevalu Te’O Aukusitino

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was conducted to determine whether or not acculturation affects the process of help-seeking patterns and behaviors for Polynesian victims of elder abuse. The researcher utilized a quantitative correlation design to employ structured survey measures to collect statistical data to determine the impact of acculturation on perception of elder abuse and help-seeking behaviors among elderly Polynesians. Acculturation was measured using the Polynesian Self-Identify Acculturation Scale and the 13 case scenarios developed by Moon and Williams. The study looked at the extent to which elderly Polynesians perceived that the scenarios depicted abusive situations, and to what extent they indicated …

Not Got Milk? The Effect On The Gut Microbiome Of Removing Dairy From The Diet, Patrick Tyler Stovall

Honors Theses

The human gut contains a highly diverse set of bacteria that perform a wide range of duties that include much more than just nutrient acquisition. However, the composition of this community is subject to change, with diet, age and lifestyle playing roles in the development and maintenance of the gut microbiota. This study compared the bacterial composition of the human gut when consuming a normal diet versus a dairy-free diet. Samples were taken from a single subject during three periods: 1) control (normal) diet, 2) dairy-free diet, and 3) a return to normal diet. Gut bacterial communities were identified and …

Development Of Methods For Determining Dry Deposition Of Mercury Using An Ion-Exchange Membrane: Relative Rates Of Mercury Dry Deposition At Sardis, Enid, And Grenada Lakes, Ruiqi Feng

Honors Theses

This research focuses on studies developing methods to measure dry deposition of mercury (Hg) using an ion-exchange (IX) membrane to capture gaseous mercury species in the air. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that is spread globally through the atmosphere. Atmospheric Hg deposits to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems through wet and dry deposition. While routine methods have been developed to study wet deposition of Hg, measuring dry deposition of Hg is more problematic and often overlooked. In this study, we developed an inexpensive means to deploy a polyethersulfone cation exchange membrane in the field by dangling it within a polycarbonate …

Effects Of Synthetic Blood Plasma On Calcium Dependent Dimerization Of Ncad12, Brent Treadway

Honors Theses

Neural Cadherin (NCAD) is one of three Type 1 vertebral classical cadherins that function as the primary transmembrane component in cell-to-cell interactions at adherens junctions. Adhesive interactions mediated by this protein are calcium dependent with three calcium-binding sites between each of its five extracellular domains. NCAD is very important in many cell-to-cell interactions because of its function in development and in immune and neurological synapses. Generally, in vitro studies of calcium dependent dimerization of NCAD are conducted in a nonphysiological buffer (NaCl + HEPES: SEC buffer). In order to study dimerization in more physiologically relevant conditions, I created a synthetic …

Cocaine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization And Conditioned Place Preference In Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica): A Focus On Sex Differences And Dopaminergic Mechanisms, Karin E. Gill

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Research has indicated that gonadal hormones may mediate behavioral and biological responses to cocaine. Estrogen, in particular, has been shown to increase behavioral responding to cocaine in female rats relative to male rats. The use of Japanese quail may add to our knowledge of sex differences in drug abuse because of their advanced visual system and the ability to control their gonadal hormones via alterations in photoperiod. In three experiments, cocaine-induced behaviors were examined using this avian model.

In Experiment 1, I investigated the potential sex differences in cocaine-induced locomotor activity between male and female Japanese quail and I examined …

Development Of An Avian Model For Identifying Individual Differences In Drug Vulnerability, Beth A. Rice

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

The attribution of incentive salience to cues that become associated with drugs of abuse is a critical characteristic of individuals who may be vulnerable to drug addiction. Rodents with the propensity to sign track are thought to be vulnerable to drug abuse. The goal of the current work was to investigate whether sign trackers (STs) would acquire cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) to a discrete cue using an avian species. In Experiment 1, sign and goal trackers (GTs) were first identified using a one third rank order split. Following identification, cocaine-CPP was conducted with a discrete cue in each end …

The Effects Of Alcohol-Related Visual Stimuli On Inhibitory Control And Attentional Bias: Testing The Roles Of Classical Conditioning And Semantic Priming, Ramey G. Monem

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Alcohol research has shown that alcohol-related stimuli can disrupt behavioral control and attract more attention in alcohol drinkers. Stimuli typically used in tasks assessing these mechanisms are likely representative of an individual's history. Responses to visual stimuli that no longer closely resemble an individual's history may help shed light on whether these behaviors are due to classical conditioning or processes such as semantic priming. Hypotheses were tested using typical visual stimuli and modified, abstract versions in these tasks. 41 participants were exposed to these stimuli types while using a visual dot probe task. The difference in degree of attentional bias …

Parenting Behaviors Of Sleepy Parents: Associations With Emotion Regulation And Stress, Lauren R. Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Over the last decade, the topic of sleep has garnered a great deal of interest from psychologists, due to the physiological, emotional, and behavioral outcomes associated with its deprivation. However, questions remain to be answered regarding sleep's influence in the day-to-day life of families. The current study examines the importance of sleep deprivation for parents’ parenting behaviors during problem solving discussions with their children; emotion regulation and stress reactivity are examined as mediators of these associations. Participants were 196 families with a child between the ages of 6-11. Parents filled out diaries for 7 days prior to their in-lab visit, …

Gαq-Associated Signaling Promotes Neuroadaptation To Ethanol And Withdrawal-Associated Hippocampal Damage, Anna R. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Prolonged, heavy consumption of alcohol produces marked neuroadaptations in excitatory neurotransmission. These effects are accelerated following patterns of intermittent heavy drinking wherein periods of heavy consumption are followed by periods of abstinence. Studies have shown that neuroadaptive changes in the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor produces excitotoxicity during periods of withdrawal; however, upstream targets were not adequately characterized. The present studies sought to identify these targets by assessing the role of group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) and intracellular calcium in promoting cytotoxicity of hippocampal cell layers in vitro. It was hypothesized that ethanol-induced activity of mGluR1-and-5 contributes to hippocampal …

Effect Of Social Peers On Risky Decision Making In Male Sprague Dawley Rats, Virginia Weiss

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Adolescence is a time associated with increased risk taking and peer relations. Research has shown that adolescents are more vulnerable to peer pressure compared to adults, leading to exacerbated risk taking. Preclinical research suggests that these findings may also be applicable to adolescent rodents, which find social interaction rewarding and are prone to risky behavior. There is, however, little research on the effect of social interaction on rodent models of risky decision-making. This thesis utilized social chambers, which consisted of adjacent operant chambers separated by wire mesh. Adolescent rats performed a risky decision-making task in which they had a choice …

The Effects Of Alcohol And Hypoxia Exposure In The Developing Brain, Megan L. Carter

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Exposure to alcohol (ethanol (ETOH)) during fetal development results in a variety of cognitive/behavioral deficits. The effects of fetal ETOH exposure vary across individuals and numerous studies have shown that ETOH’s interaction with other variables can affect outcome in offspring. These studies investigated the effects of developmental ETOH and hypoxia. It was hypothesized that a history of ETOH during development alters the response to a subsequent hypoxic challenge, such as that which may occur during parturition; this results in central nervous system (CNS) damage and behavioral deficits.

The first study determined if developmental ETOH and hypoxia exposure produced behavioral deficits …

It's Getting Hot In Here: A Look Into Whether Ocean Iron Fertilization Is Legally Viable In The United States, James Richards

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pollen In The Wind: Economic And Legal Consequences When Nature Responds To Man, Kristen M. Zahnow

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Sony And Opm Double Whammy: International Law And Cyber Attacks, Tim Mccormack

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Subsidy Question In King V. Burwell, Antonio F. Perez

Scholarly Articles

On the surface, King v. Burwell appears to be a simple case about statutory interpretation. In the Affordable Care Act (widely known as Obamacare), when Congress referred to the “State,” in the provision triggering federal subsidies to insurance consumers for purchases made from federally-authorized insurance providers selling federally-authorized insurance products, should the “State” be understood to refer to the federal market (i.e., exchanges) as well as “State” markets. Simple tools of statutory construction–namely, that Congress knew full well how to refer to a “federal” exchange and failed to do so–would seem to be sufficient to supply a result. It would …

Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Predicts Burnout: A Prospective Study, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined whether interpersonal rejection sensitivity (IRS)—the hallmark of atypical depression – prospectively predicted burnout, controlling for baseline symptoms, history of depressive disorders, antidepressant intake, gender, age, and length of employment (mean between-assessment duration: 21 months; n = 578; 74% female). IRS was related to a 119% increased risk of burnout at follow-up. Three of four burned out participants reported to be affected by IRS, or 2.5 times the rate observed in participants with no (or subthreshold) burnout symptoms. Our study highlights a dispositional factor in burnout’s etiology also known to be a key component of atypical depression’s etiology. The …

Confronting Big Data: Applying The Confrontation Clause To Government Big Data Collection, Chad Squitieri

Scholarly Articles

When government investigators request data from companies such as Google, they obtain data on targeted individuals with a guarantee that the data has been collected, stored, and analyzed properly. These guarantees constitute a testimonial statement under the Confrontation Clause. Similar to lab analysts who submit test results of cocaine samples or blood alcohol levels, this Note argues that analysts involved with the collection, storage, and analysis of big data must be available for confrontation under the Sixth Amendment.

Stable Isotope Values Delineate The Non-Breeding Distributions Of Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus Griseus In The North Pacific Ocean, David Thompson, Leigh Torres, Graeme Taylor, Matt Rayner, Paul Sagar, Scott A. Shaffer, Richard Phillips, Sarah Bury

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Following breeding, sooty shearwaters Puffinus griseus leave New Zealand waters and migrate to 1 of 3 distinct areas in the North Pacific Ocean, effectively exploiting environmental resources across a large proportion of this northern ocean basin. In this study, we combined electronic tracking technology with stable isotope analyses (δ15N and δ13C) of feathers grown during the non-breeding period in order to evaluate whether isotope signatures can be used to identify specific non-breeding areas used by sooty shearwaters. A region to the east of Japan was utilised by the majority of tracked birds, whereas others used areas off the west coast …

The Tale Of Two Economies: A Comparative Macroeconomic Analysis Of Palo Alto And East Palo Alto, Aditya Kotak, Safwan Siddiqi, Fred Foldvary

Faculty Publications

Cities in the USA have experienced diverse growth rates and levels of prosperity. Some cities flourish in prosperity, while others suffer economic recession. This study examines why cities have had different outcomes. We investigated three elements: 1) What are the factors that play a role in the shaping of a municipal’s economy? 2) What are the implications of these factors? 3) Which policies promote economic growth and prosperity? This essay aims to offer policy directions for cities that are not performing well. The paper applies a comparative analysis of two nearby cities, a flourishing economy contrasted with a troubled economy. …

Approximation Of Fire-Return Intervals With Point Samples In The Southern Range Of The Coast Redwood Forest, California, Usa, Gregory Jones, Will Russell

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

A legacy of past fires is evident in the form of blackened basal hollows found throughout the southern range of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forest.  A deeper look reveals cambial scars dating back centuries, telling a story of low- to moderate-intensity fires that burned periodically across California’s Central Coast bioregion.  While attempts have been made to reconstruct the fire history of this forest type, estimates of the fire-return interval vary widely, and the relationship of the fire-return interval to varying cultural influences is not fully understood.  We analyzed 373 fire scars from 70 cross-sections removed from …

The Effect Of 3d Collagen Scaffolds On Regulating Cellular Responses, Chad Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial cells, as well as other differentiated cell types, remodel surrounding collagen in vitro, to self organize into 3D structures. When placed on-top or inside of a collagen hydrogel, cells organize into a toroid or spheroid form. It is not clearly understood how these cell types modulate surrounding collagen to form 3D shapes. The goal of this project was to determine if cell type, collagen type, or cell placement are factors that can alter how cells reorganize and remodel collagen hydrogels. We hypothesize that the positioning, cell type and the type of collagen they are in contact with affect the …

A Longitudinal Examination Of The Mediating Role Of Social Problem Solving Between Parental Attachment And Early Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction, Xu Jiang

Theses and Dissertations

Both attachment theory and empirical evidence indicate that the quality of parental attachment profoundly influences many different aspects of adolescent life. However, one area that has been somewhat neglected in the literature is the discovery of the psychosocial mechanisms that account for the link between parental attachment and important adolescent developmental outcomes, such as social problem solving (D’Zurilla & Goldfried, 1971) and life satisfaction (LS: Diener, 1994). Driven by the conceptual framework of development of LS proposed by Evans (1994), Attachment Theory and Social Problem Solving Theory, a mediation model was hypothesized to explore the link between parental attachment and …

Material Considerations For Development Of 3d Printed Bronchial And Tracheal Stents, Nidah M. Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Tracheobronchial malacia is a commonly under-diagnosed condition that results in difficulty breathing. The use of a tracheobronchial stent is the best course of treatment for patients whose quality of life has deteriorated due to malacia; unfortunately stents need replacing after issues with inflammation, migration, or eventual stent-breakdown resulting in fistula formation.

The purpose of this thesis is to use three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to improve on existing stents through designing and printing a bioresorbable/biodegradable tracheobronchial stent that can treat tracheobronchial malacia. This was undertaken by testing three biologically favorable materials, type I collagen, polycaprolactone (PCL), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), with …