Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of Larval Sensory Systems In The Marine Bryozoan, Bugula Neritina, Heather Leigh Price

Master's Theses

Bugula neritina is a sessile marine bryozoan with a pelagic larval stage. Larvae frequently settle on boat hulls, facilitating the introduction of B. neritina to bays and estuaries worldwide. Adrenergic agonists, such as the vertebrate hormone noradrenaline, inhibit larval settlement in a variety of marine invertebrate species, including B. neritina. Light also inhibits B. neritina larval settlement, yet the underlying mechanisms by which light and adrenergic compounds exert their effects on larvae are not well understood. Octopamine is considered the invertebrate analog of noradrenaline, and may be an endogenous hormone involved in larval settlement pathways. I observed the effects of …

Transcriptional Regulatory Networks In Hepatitis C Virus_Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Marwa Zahra

Theses and Dissertations

HCV is an epidemic affecting an estimated 160 million individuals worldwide or approximately 2.35% of the world’s population.(1) This is partly because HCV exhibits high genetic variation which thereby characterizes each region with its own genetic prevalence. Therefore, understanding the transcriptional regulatory elements that influence the progression of liver disease in the presence of HCV infection is thereby crucial for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Systems biology provides a road map by which these elements may be easily identified. In this study 124 microarray samples were assessed in order to determine differentially expressed genes for 4 tissue types/conditions (normal, cirrhosis, cirrhosis …

Experience Of Kurdistan Province Of Iraq In Light Of The Development Of Economic And Social Indicators For Sustainable Development, Abd Aljabaar Fatah Al-Obaidid, Ayub Anwar Hamad

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Reflect the sustainable development of the interaction of three key elements are the economic component and the social component and the environmental component while focusing economic component to achieve economic growth and focuses social element to achieve social justice in the distribution of income and achieve prosperity, the environmental component related fields and including emphasizes the protection of the environment and to ensure the continuation and sustainability of resources physical, biological and form in which it believes the interaction required for development process real and effective and sustainable, and is considered the province of Kurdistan Iraq of important areas where …

Climatic Variation And Seed Persistence: Freeze-Thaw Cycles Lower Survival Via The Joint Action Of Abiotic Stress And Fungal Pathogens, Brian M. Connolly, John L. Orrock

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Global climate change is altering thermal cycles in soils during late winter, a transition that may directly threaten seed survival via abiotic stress, facilitate infection by soil-borne pathogens, or both. Using field-collected soil and seeds of the perennial bunchgrass Elymus canadensis, we tested the hypothesis that soil freeze–thaw events limit survival within the soil through direct effects on seed persistence and amplification of soil pathogen attack using a factorial experiment that manipulated freeze–thaw cycles (constant freeze vs. freeze–thaw) and fungicide addition. Freeze–thaw treatment resulted in lower seedling emergence and delayed emergence time relative to constant-freeze controls. Fungicide-treated soils had …

Montclair Magazine (Spring/Summer 2015), Montclair State University

Montclair: The magazine of Montclair State University

No abstract provided.

String Lights, Amanda Jennifer Pleau Mfa

All Student Scholarship

String Lights is a nonfictional, creative exploration of relationships. Themes in this collection include digital communication, the cultural influence of music and music retailers, coming of age, sex, love, true crime, and travel.

Irisin Evokes Bradycardia By Activating Cardiac-Projecting Neurons Of Nucleus Ambiguus., Eugen Brailoiu, Elena Deliu, Romeo A Sporici, Gabriela Cristina Brailoiu

College of Pharmacy Faculty Papers

Irisin is a newly identified hormone induced in muscle and adipose tissues by physical activity. This protein and its encoding gene have been identified in the brain; in addition, the precursor for irisin, FNDC5, can cross the blood-brain barrier. The fact that irisin is secreted during exercise together with the lower resting heart rate in athletes prompted us to investigate the effect of irisin on cardiac-projecting vagal neurons of nucleus ambiguus, a key regulatory site of heart rate. In vitro experiments in cultured nucleus ambiguus neurons indicate that irisin activates these neurons, inducing an increase in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration and …

2015/2016 University Of The Pacific General Catalog, University Of The Pacific

Catalogue, Bulletin, Catalog

No abstract provided.

Does Video Game Content Matter? An Examination Of Two Competing Ideas, Nathan J. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The current paper addresses the associations between video game content (i.e., physically aggressive, relationally aggressive, and prosocial) and physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in two distinct developmental periods. The purpose of the paper is to test whether playing video games with a particular type of content influences behaviors over time, or whether individuals who have higher levels of physical aggression, relational aggression, or prosocial behavior prefer to play games with similar content. Two theories will be simultaneously examined and tested in order to determine the relative merit in using each in research examining the relationships between video game …

Bioinformatics For The Comparative Genomic Analysis Of The Cotton (Gossypium) Polyploid Complex, Justin Thomas Page

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the composition, evolution, and function of the cotton (Gossypium) genome is complicated by the joint presence of two genomes in its nucleus (AT and DT genomes). Specifically, read-mapping (a fundamental part of next-generation sequence analysis) cannot adequately differentiate reads as belonging to one genome or the other. These two genomes were derived from progenitor A-genome and D-genome diploids involved in ancestral allopolyploidization. To better understand the allopolyploid genome, we developed PolyCat to categorize reads according to their genome of origin based on homoeo-SNPs that differentiate the two genomes. We re-sequenced the genomes of extant diploid relatives of tetraploid cotton …

Finnishness And Colonization In Akseli Gallen-Kallela's Representations Of Africa, Camille Kathryn Richey

Theses and Dissertations

Akseli Gallen-Kallela is often discussed as the national painter of Finland, as one who helped define Finnishness when Finland was still a colonized area of Russia. However, his trip to Africa from 1909-1911 shows where Gallen-Kallela acts as a pictorial colonizer himself, not only sympathizing with the Africans but representing them through a European cosmopolitan lens, as purer and closer to nature, but still inferior. The assumptions inherent in his representations of Africa reveal that Gallen-Kallela is not only a colonized subject but a colonizer of his own country.

Interactions Between Social Support, Acculturationand Health Among Mexican Immigrants, Christopher D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of acculturation and poor social support as potential risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic disease amongst Mexican immigrants to the United States (U.S.) is a developing area of research. One theory is that acculturation to U.S. society is negatively associated with health due to the stress of immigration as well as the less healthy diet and lifestyle in the U.S. It is also theorized that positive social support is associated with better health during immigration due to the buffering effect relationships have on stress. Despite these theories, mixed findings have been found regarding the associations between acculturation and …

Electrophysiological Endophenotypes In Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Family Study, Ann Clawson

Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder associated with altered neural connectivity and deficits in self-monitoring, response inhibition, and planning. One promising avenue of research to improve understanding of the symptoms and heritable nature of ASD may be the identification of neural endophenotypes of ASD. The error-related negativity (ERN) and post-error positivity (Pe), scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs), reflect performance monitoring processes and may qualify as candidate endophenotypes of ASD. We collected ERP and behavioral data (error rates, response times) from 18 ASD probands and their families (mother, father, sibling) and 38 control youth and their parents to …

Geographically Isolated Wetlands: Rethinking A Misnomer, David M. Mushet, Aram J. K. Calhoun, Laurie C. Alexander, Matthew J. Cohen, Edward S. Dekeyser, Laurie Fowler, Charles R. Lane, Mark C. Rains, Susan C. Walls

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

We explore the category “geographically isolated wetlands” (GIWs; i.e., wetlands completely surrounded by uplands at the local scale) as used in the wetland sciences. As currently used, the GIW category (1) hampers scientific efforts by obscuring important hydrological and ecological differences among multiple wetland functional types, (2) aggregates wetlands in a manner not reflective of regulatory and management information needs, (3) implies wetlands so described are in some way “isolated,” an often incorrect implication, (4) is inconsistent with more broadly used and accepted concepts of “geographic isolation,” and (5) has injected unnecessary confusion into scientific investigations and discussions. Instead, we …

Peninsular Florida Stream Systems: Guidance For Their Classification And Restoration, John H. Kiefer, Joann Mossa, Kristen B. Nowak, William R. Wise, Kenneth M. Portier, Thomas Crisman

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This project was performed to improve understanding of key physical and ecological attributes of natural streams in peninsular Florida in order to derive a practical process-based classification system; and also to provide design aids to assist with stream restoration in rural settings. Fifty-six of the best remaining stream systems in the peninsula were selected for monitoring of more than 120 quantitative variables known to associate with key stream system processes. The sites covered a wide range of physical gradients including soil drainage condition, drainage area, and valley slope, and were observed at watershed, valley, channel and patch scales. Hierarchical cluster …

Notes: Are Land-Use Changes Reflected In Diets Of Mourning Doves (Zenaida Macroura) In Eastern South Dakota, Joshua B. Smith, Troy W. Grovenburg, Matthew A. Perrion, Jason M. Augspurger, Trevor W. Bultje, Anna M. Robinson, Brandi L. Crider, Datta Shubham, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

Food habits of the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) have been extensively studied in the southern United States (McClure 1943, Korschgen 1958, Carpenter 1971) and consist primarily of vegetable matter throughout their range (Beckwith 1959). Diet studies in several states have indicated agricultural crops, specifically corn and wheat, were the most readily consumed plant seeds (Korshgen 1958, Carpenter 1971). Similarities observed in diets of doves were dependent on the agricultural crops available within the area. For example, in Missouri, some seasonal variability was documented suggesting doves forage based on food availability as much as by food preference (Korschgen 1958). However, in …

A New Species Of Euscorpius (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Southern Bulgaria, Gioele Tropea, Victor Fet, Aristeidis Parmakelis, Panayiota Kotsakiozi, Iasmi Stathi

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

A new scorpion species, Euscorpius drenskii sp. nov., is described from the Western Rhodope Mts. in southern Bulgaria. It is characterized by an oligotrichous trichobothrial pattern, which shows a conspicuous loss of one trichobothrium in the external median patellar series (em = 3), also observed in E. carpathicus (Linnaeus, 1767) and the subgenus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein, Fet, Largiadèr & Scholl, 1999. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA marker sequences does not show any close relationship between these three groups, suggesting that the observed loss of a trichobothrium is an independent event.

Examining The Toxicity, Exposure, And Regulatory Approach To Potential Human Health Risks Of The Algal Toxin Domoic Acid, Thomas H. Angus

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by the marine diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia and causes cell death primarily in the area of the brain responsible for long-term memory. The resulting severe illness has been termed amnesic shellfish poisoning. Domoic acid accumulates in shellfish and planktivorous fish that consume Pseudo-nitzschia, resulting in exposure to humans through consumption of planktivorous seafood. A regulatory standard in seafood was developed shortly after its discovery in 1987 to protect against acute effects. This regulatory standard has not been revised despite significant recent data in the scientific literature.

This dissertation is divided into four sections: (1) …

Fluxes Of Dissolved Organic Carbon During Storm Events In The Neponset River Watershed, Keith Thomas Cialino

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from land to coastal environments strongly influences coastal ecosystems. The presence of first flush phenomena due to rainwater runoff traveling from land into waterways can greatly affect carbon fluxes to coastal areas. This research utilizes sensors, autosamplers, and standard watershed sampling in order to assess for the presence of first flush and its significance. A rainfall simulator was built in order to collect runoff on two land use types. Time series data suggest that first flush of dissolved organic carbon was present for all rainfall intensities simulated …

Analysis Of English Language Learner Performance On The Biology Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System: The Impact Of English Proficiency, First Language Characteristics, And Late-Entry Ell Status, Mary A. Mitchell

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study analyzed English language learner (ELL) performance on the June 2012 Biology MCAS, namely on item attributes of domain, cognitive skill, and linguistic complexity. It examined the impact of English proficiency, Latinate first language, first language orthography, and late-entry ELL status. The results indicated that English proficiency was a strong predictor of performance and that ELLs at higher levels of English proficiency overwhelmingly passed. The results further indicated that English proficiency introduced a construct-irrelevant variance on the Biology MCAS and raised validity issues for using this assessment at lower levels of English proficiency. This study also found that ELLs …

What Academic Grades Mean To Seventh Grade Students, Margo Joan Moore

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how seventh grade students in an urban school district make meaning for their teacher-assigned report card grades. A great deal of research has been done on report card grades from the perspective of teachers and administrators, but few studies have examined what teacher-assigned grades mean to middle school students. This qualitative study attempts to develop an understanding of the meanings attributed to teacher-assigned grades by 56 seventh grade English Language Arts (ELA) students in an urban middle school in Massachusetts.

Three major research questions were addressed: 1) How do 56 seventh-grade English Language Arts students in an …

Optimal Choice Of Sample Substrate And Laser Wavelength For Raman Spectroscopic Analysis Of Biological Specimen, Hugh Byrne, Laura Kerr, Bryan M. Hennelly

Articles

Raman spectroscopy is an optical technique based on the inelastic scattering of monochromatic light that can be used to identify

the biomolecular composition of biological cells and tissues. It can be used as both an aid for understanding the etiology

of disease and for accurate clinical diagnostics when combined with multivariate statistical algorithms. This method is nondestructive,potentially non-invasive and can be applied in vitro or in vivo directly or via a fiber optic probe. However, there exists a high degree of variability across experimental protocols, some of which result in large background signals that can often overpower the weak Raman …

Take The Monkey And Run, Kimberley A. Phillips, M. K. Hambright, K. Hewes, B. M. Schilder, C. N. Ross, S. D. Tardif

Psychology Faculty Research

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a small, New World primate that is used extensively in biomedical and behavioral research. This short-lived primate, with its small body size, ease of handling, and docile temperament, has emerged as a valuable model for aging and neurodegenerative research.

A growing body of research has indicated exercise, aerobic exercise especially, imparts beneficial effects to normal aging. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these positive effects of exercise, and the degree to which exercise has neurotherapeutic effects, is an important research focus. Thus, developing techniques to engage marmosets in aerobic exercise would have great advantages.

Beyond “Data Thrifting”: An Investigation Of Factors Influencing Research Data Reuse In The Social Sciences, Renata Gonçalves Curty

Dissertations - ALL

The development of e-Research infrastructure has enabled data to be shared and accessed more openly. Policy mandates for data sharing have contributed to the increasing availability of research data through data repositories, which create favorable conditions for the reuse of data for purposes not always anticipated by original collectors. Despite the current efforts to promote transparency and reproducibility in science, data reuse cannot be assumed, nor merely considered a “thrifting” activity where scientists shop around in data repositories considering only the ease of access to data.

This research was driven by three main questions: 1) What are the factors that …

In Search Of Ordenamiento Ambiental Territorial In The Peasant Reserve Zones Of Colombia, Manuela Ruiz Reyes

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis is an intersection between political ecology, rural development and agrarian studies. It examines the Peasant Reserve Zone (ZRC) as a land planning designation in Colombia created in the 1990s as part of the Colombian state’s effort at agrarian reform, and the expressions of Ordenamiento Ambiental Territorial (glossed as environmental land use planning), by the state and the peasants as ways of constructing territory. Beginning by situating the emergence of the ZRC as part of the classic agrarian question of the fate of the peasantry in capitalism, it then intersects that political-economy perspective with a geographic approach to the …

Discovery Of Bisamide-Heterocycles As Inhibitors Of Scavenger Receptor Bi (Sr-Bi)-Mediated Lipid Uptake, Chris Dockendorff, Patrick W. Faloon, Andrew Germain, Miao Yu, Willmen Youngsaye, Partha P. Nag, Melissa Bennion, Marsha Penman, Thomas J.F. Nieland, Sivaraman Dandapani, José R. Perez, Benito Munoz, Michelle A. Palmer, Stuart L. Schreiber, Monty Krieger

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

A new series of potent inhibitors of cellular lipid uptake from HDL particles mediated by scavenger receptor, class B, type I (SR-BI) was identified. The series was identified via a high-throughput screen of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (NIH MLSMR) that measured the transfer of the fluorescent lipid DiI from HDL particles to CHO cells overexpressing SR-BI. The series is characterized by a linear peptidomimetic scaffold with two adjacent amide groups, as well as an aryl-substituted heterocycle. Analogs of the initial hit were rapidly prepared via Ugi 4-component reaction, and select enantiopure compounds were prepared …

Executive Functioning And Risk For Alzheimer's Disease In The Cognitively Intact: Family History Predicts Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Performance, Kathleen Hazlett, Christina Marie Figueroa, Kristy A. Nielson

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research typically focuses on memory. However, executive functioning (EF) deficits are also common among AD patients; these deficits are associated with decreased functioning in activities of daily living, an important criterion in diagnosing AD. A classic test of EF ability, the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST), has demonstrated sensitivity to differentiating individuals with AD from healthy controls, discriminating AD groups based on disease severity, and distinguishing AD from other types of dementia. Such sensitivity to AD raises the possibility that the WCST is also sensitive to very early, preclinical differences between those who have heightened risk for …

Computational Modeling Analysis Of Mitochondrial Superoxide Production Under Varying Substrate Conditions And Upon Inhibition Of Different Segments Of The Electron Transport Chain., Nikolai I. Markevich, Jan B. Hoek

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

A computational mechanistic model of superoxide (O2•-) formation in the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) was developed to facilitate the quantitative analysis of factors controlling mitochondrial O2•- production and assist in the interpretation of experimental studies. The model takes into account all individual electron transfer reactions in Complexes I and III. The model accounts for multiple, often seemingly contradictory observations on the effects of ΔΨ and ΔpH, and for the effects of multiple substrate and inhibitor conditions, including differential effects of Complex III inhibitors antimycin A, myxothiazol and stigmatellin. Simulation results confirm that, in addition to O2•- formation in Complex …

Work-In-Progress: Enhancing Conceptual Understanding By Using A Real-Time Online Class Response System In Engineering Courses, Lulu Sun, Yan Tang

Publications

To engage students, and assess students’ understanding in real-time, Classroom Response Systems (CRS), have been increasingly used in many engineering classrooms. Previous research has shown that CRS can enhance students’ participation, promote active learning, and develop their critical thinking skills. It can also generate either neutral or positive learning outcomes depending on whether it is combined with other cooperative learning strategies. This paper presents a collaborative study on how to combine the implementation of a web-based CRS with class discussion to clarify student misconceptions in a freshman-level engineering graphics course, a sophomore-level dynamics course, and a senior-level control systems course …

Week Of June 1, 2015, New York Medical College

InTouch

• NYMC Bids Farewell to the Class of 2015
• AOA Iota Chapter Hosts Annual Lecture and Induction Ceremony
• School of Medicine Class of 2018 Hosts 27th Annual Convocation of Thanks
• SHSP Hosts Third Annual Research and Scholarship Day
• Department of Family and Community Medicine Presents Third Annual Research Day
• Department of Pediatrics Hosts Fifth Annual Paul K. Woolf, M.D., Pediatric Trainee Research Day
• NYMC Inducts Inaugural Members of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health
• LEND Graduates 19 From Interdisciplinary Leadership Program
• NYMC Hosts AHA Research Reception
• Students Host Annual Health Fair
• NYMC Shows Support for the National Alliance on Mental …