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Gene Duplications During Experimental Evolution Of Caenorhabditis Elegans: Duplication Rates And Evolutionary Responses, James Charles Farslow

Biology ETDs

Copy-number variants (CNVs) are a ubiquitous form of genetic variation. How often this form of variation arises and its adaptive significance are active areas of contemporary research. This work presents evidence regarding both of these subjects. First, it demonstrates that gene duplications occur at a frequency two orders of magnitude greater than point mutations. Specifically, the gene duplication rate is estimated to be 1.2 x 10-7/gene/generation, compared to a point mutation rate on the order of ~10-9/site/ generation. Second, it was found that populations in a low state of fitness due to mutation accumulation could recover some or all of …

Oil Painting 3d Scene: A Desert Survival Game Environment, Chien Hui Jarvis

Theses

Oil Painting 3D Scene: A Desert Survival Game Environment is a hand-painted, stylized game level. The whole environment includes desert, animals, plants, rocks, small particle effects and a shack built in Unreal Engine.

This report outlines the whole production process, from the very beginning of visual development stage till completion, and illustrates my ideas, sketches, obstacles, tests, design choices, failures and successes, as well as technical specifics.

Open Up, Jacquelyn Marie O'Brien

Theses

Humor in fine art has been considered low-brow. Frequently, “serious” artists have the notion that using humor or humorous materials reduces the validity of the work. Likewise, feminism seems to have similar implications, in that the word is not taken seriously because of stereotyping; straying away from the original meaning. I assert that humor and feminism can offer valid social and cultural critiques in a relatable way. Discussing concepts such as gender repression, contemporary feminism, and the accessibility of art, with the intention of removing the overarching exclusion often associated with these concepts, has required my work to be accessible …

Full Measures, Xuejing Xu

Theses

“Full Measures” is a 3D Animated Short Film about a pianist’s struggle writing the music he desires before his deadline. With musical creatures taunting him, will he defeat his nightmares in time?

“Full Measures” has two meanings, it’s literally definition is “to perform a task as well as possible.” The second definition is a play on words meaning “Passages with heavily written music.” It’s a phrase I found through speaking with musician at the Eastman School of Music.

In life we all aspire to achieve what we want to create. Often the greatest obstacles are constructs in our minds. We …

The Impact Of Temperature, Ph And Environmental Heterogeneity On Prokaryotic Diversity In Yellowstone National Park Thermal Springs, Xiaoben Jiang

Biology ETDs

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is one of the largest and most diverse hydrothermal areas on Earth. Extensive culture-independent studies in YNP thermal springs have shown dramatic taxonomic and metabolic diversity in microbial communities. We conducted a survey of bacterial communities along temperature gradients in three alkaline springs with similar geochemistries at the local scale. With these data, we investigated the influence of environmental variables on bacterial community diversity and assemblages along a broad temperature range using high throughput 454 pyrosequencing. Previous studies have suggested that pH is the driver of microbial diversity in thermal springs among geographical regions or at …

Quantifying Temperature Sensitivity Of Soil Respiration Across A Range Of Semi-Arid Biomes, Michelle Nuanez

Biology ETDs

Soils in semi-arid regions store approximately 10% of earths soil organic carbon, the substrate which microbes oxidize, resulting in the largest source of carbon to the atmosphere from terrestrial ecosystems. Semi-arid regions are expected to experience increased temperatures and altered precipitation regimes over the next 100 years, altering soil temperature and water, the two predominant drivers in soil respiration processes. In this study we quantify the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in five semi-arid biomes ranging from desert grassland to ponderosa pine forest along an elevational/climate gradient in central New Mexico. We measured statistically similar temperature sensitivities in 4 of …

Effects Of Stream Edges On Algal Biomass In The Middle Rio Grande, Steven Daniel Scholle

Biology ETDs

In river systems, there are many factors that impede or facilitate algal standing stock and therefore impact primary production in these environments. I am particularly interested in the influence of edges in riverine systems and how these geomorphic features affect the available surface area for algal production. This study investigates the middle Rio Grande system near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The middle Rio Grande is a turbid, partially braided lotic ecosystem. Although edge characteristics can vary widely, especially between errosional and depositional banks, I hypothesize that edges become important zones of primary production, due in part to decreased water depth, …

Disturbance Events In Arid Ecosystems: Comparisons Of Enzyme Activity Profiles Across Multiple Soil Microbial Communities, Daniel Douglas Warnock

Biology ETDs

Arid ecosystems are home to approximately 35% of earth's human population, and approximately 40% of earth's terrestrial carbon. These systems are especially prone to releasing the stored carbon when under global climate change (GCC) related pressures. My goal for these studies was to expand on our already growing knowledge base of how the soil microbial communities in disturbed arid ecosystems undergo shifts in functional patterns, as they respond to a rapidly changing environment. In chapter two, I examined the overall functional activity levels and functional behaviors exhibited by both pinon and juniper supported RAM communities in the context of widespread, …

School Of Music Faculty/Staff Newsletter, December 2015, School Of Music

School of Music Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Accomplishments and news from the faculty and staff of the School of Music at Illinois State University.

Measuring, Understanding, And Improving The Performance Of Fully Grouted Resin Bolts In Underground Coal Mines, Aditya Mishra

Theses

Despite progress in research related to ground control, roof falls remain a major problem leading to injuries and fatalities in underground coal mines. Around 68 million rock bolts are installed annually in coal mines in the USA (Tadolini and Mazzoni, 2006), of which 68% of primary supports in coal mines are fully grouted resin rebar bolts. A fully grouted rock bolt is one that is fixed inside the drill hole by means grout, and is fully encapsulated throughout the length of the bolt. Production in underground coal mines is achieved by the combined processes of excavation and ground support, carried …

Creating A Highway Information System For Safety Roadway Features, Brian K. Howell, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Roadway departures are the leading cause of roadside fatalities. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has undertaken a number of roadside safety measures to reduce roadway departures. Specifically, KYTC has installed several low-cost, systemic roadway safety treatments to Kentucky’s roadways in recent years. These treatments include cable barriers, high friction surface treatments, rumble stripes, and Safety Edges. KYTC has installed approximately 44 cable barrier systems over 265 miles of roadway,112 HFST applications over 20 miles of roadway, 750 rumble stripe installations over 2,500 miles of roadway, and 147 Safety Edge treatments on 580 miles of roadway. The project team developed a …

Understanding The Automotive Pedal Usage And Foot Movement Characteristics Of Older Drivers, Yubin Xi

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the pedal usage characteristics of older drivers in various driving tasks using an instrumented vehicle. This study stemmed from the prevalence of the pedal application errors (PAEs) and the older drivers’overrepresentation in crashes caused by PAEs.

With the population increasing and becoming older, it is estimated that in 2020 there will be 40 million drivers over the age of 65 in the United States. Compared with their younger counterparts, older drivers are facing declining cognitive and physical abilities, such as impaired vision, slower reaction time and diminishing range of limb motion. Because …

Financial Soundness Indicators: The Case Of Nigeria, Baba N. Yaaba, Idris Adamu

Bullion

This paper adopted the concept as designed by the Fund to examine the soundness of the Nigeria Banking Sector from 3007Q1 to 20014Q4. From the result of the financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) complied for Nigeria, it is obvious that the indicators can serve as reliable and consistent tools, capable of detecting vulnerabilities in the system. The study, therefore, recommends that adequate attention be paid to the indicators by the Central Bank. The Bank is urged to strive to gain full understanding of the concept as well as design additional framework for using the indicators so as to enable her take …

Mortgage Refinancing In Nigeria: Prospects And Challenges, Kama Ukpai, Phebian N. Bewaji, Adigun Mustapha, Olufemi Adetunji Edun, Olubukola Adegbe, Josiah Dassah

Bullion

The paper examines the mortgage (re)finance market in Nigeria with a view to identifying its prospects and challenges. The method adopted included a review of jurisdictional experiences on mortgage refinance and thereafter draw on some lessons of experience as the Nigeria case is considered as a country in transition. Further discussions centered on the challenges of financialization of mortgages, mortgage affordability, low awareness of mortgage refinancing, macroprudential risks and moral hazard that confronts mortgage refinance in the country. The paper, further, provides considerations with regard to value-reorientation, institutional, regulatory and legal infrastructures as prerequisites for successful mortgage refinance system.

Evaluating The Impact Of Pharmacist Health Education On The Perceptions Of The Pharmacist’S Role Among Women Living In A Homeless Shelter, Laura V. Tsu, Kelsey Buckley, Sarah Nguyen, Jennifer Kohn

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives: To determine the impact of pharmacist-provided educational seminars on the participant’s perception of the pharmacist’s role in providing women’s health education. Secondary objectives include the participant’s level of perceived benefit from the information provided during each presentation, as well as determining characteristics of participants who are interested in attending seminars.

Methods: This is a prospective study conducted within a homeless women’s shelter in Phoenix, Arizona. Pharmacists and pharmacy students provided 10 monthly educational seminars on topics related to women’s health. Participants completed a pre- and post-seminar survey regarding their perceptions of the presentations and pharmacists.

Results: …

Feeding A Brown Midrib Corn Silage-Based Diet To Growing Beef Steers Improves Growth Performance And Economic Returns, C. S. Saunders, S. Y. Yang, J.-S. Eun, D. M. Feuz, D. R. Zobell

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

A feedlot experiment was performed to determine growth performance, ruminal fermentation characteristics, and economic returns for growing beef steers when fed a brown midrib corn silage-based total mixed ration (BMRT) compared with a conventional corn silage-based total mixed ration (CCST). Twenty-four Angus crossbred steers (initial body weight=258±23.2 kg) in individual pens were used in a completely randomized design (n=12). Intake of dry matter was not different between the treatments. Steers fed the BMRT tended to have greater average daily gain (1.54 vs. 1.42 kg d−1; P=0.09) and gain-to-feed ratio (0.165 vs. 0.146; P=0.07) compared with those fed the CCST. Feeding …

A Survey Of Librarian Perceptions Of Information Literacy Techniques, Simone L. Yearwood, Nancy M. Foasberg, Kenneth D. Rosenberg

Communications in Information Literacy

Teaching research competencies and information literacy is an integral part of the academic librarian's role. There has long been debate among librarians over what are the most effective methods of instruction for college students. Library Faculty at a large urban University System were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the effectiveness of common information literacy instruction techniques. The system includes both two-year and four-year programs, as well as degree granting institutions. This research was undertaken for the purpose of better prioritizing institutional teaching activities in the current academic climate. The research shows that librarians within the University System believed that …

Ideology And Critical Self-Reflection In Information Literacy Instruction, Jessica Critten

Communications in Information Literacy

Information literacy instruction traditionally focuses on evaluating a source for bias, relevance, and timeliness, and rightfully so; this critical perspective is vital to a well-formed research process. However, this process is incomplete without a similar focus on the potential biases that the student brings to his or her interactions with information. This paper describes a case study of a semester-long information literacy course that utilized neo-Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser's figurations of ideology and ideological state apparatuses as a site of critical self-reflection for students and a method by which students could become empowered to recognize themselves as not just consumers, …

Book Review: Using Primary Sources: Hands-On Instructional Exercises, Kevin M. O'Sullivan

Communications in Information Literacy

Book Review: Using Primary Sources: Hands-On Instructional Exercises

Dispatches From Two Fronts Of The Battle For Sentencing Reform: Parole And Federal Sentencing Legislation, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This Issue of FSR reports on two fronts in the ongoing national battle for sentencing reform. The first half of the Issue is devoted to evolving views and new initiatives on parole. The second half of the Issue is a report on the content and prospects for success of a number of bills pending in Congress that would reform federal criminal sentencing, corrections, and back-end release practices.

Recognizing The Limits Of Antitrust: The Roberts Court Versus The Enforcement Agencies, Thom Lambert, Alden F. Abbott

Faculty Publications

In his seminal 1984 article, The Limits of Antitrust, Judge Frank Easterbrook proposed that courts and enforcers adopt a simple set of screening rules for application in antitrust cases, in order to minimize error and decision costs and thereby maximize antitrust's social value. Over time, federal courts in general, and the U.S. Supreme Court in particular, under Chief Justice Roberts have in substantial part adopted Easterbrook's "limits of antitrust" approach, thereby helping to reduce costly antitrust uncertainty. Recently, however, antitrust enforcers in the Obama Administration (unlike their predecessors in the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Administrations) have been less attuned to …

From Incentive To Commodity To Asset: How International Law Is Reconceptualizing Intellectual Property, Rochelle Dreyfuss, Susy Frankel

Michigan Journal of International Law

The intellectual property landscape is changing. As Jerry Reichman once observed, intellectual property rights were islands in a sea of the public domain until domestic laws expanded to include such “innovations” as business methods, software, scents, and sounds and turned the public domain into a pond surrounded by a continent of rights. Reichman spoke towards the end of the 20th century, and whatever problems accompanied this change, in truth (to paraphrase Voltaire’s view of the Holy Roman Empire), the concept of “intellectual property rights” was predominantly about neither “property” nor “rights” (nor was it always “intellectual”). Rather, copyright, patent, and …

Predicting Outcomes In Investment Treaty Arbitration, Susan Franck, Lindsey Wylie

Academic Publications

Crafting appropriate dispute settlement processes is challenging for any conflict-management system, particularly for politically sensitive international economic law disputes. As the United States negotiates investment treaties with Asian and European countries, the terms of dispute settlement have become contentious. There is a vigorous debate about whether investment treaty arbitration (ITA) is an appropriate dispute settlement mechanism. While some sing the praises of ITA, others offer a spirited critique. Some critics claim that ITA is biased against states, while others suggest ITA is predictable but unfair due to factors like arbitrator identity or venue. Using data from 159 final cases derived …

Psychometric Properties Of The Centrality Of Pain Scale, Benjamin J. Morasco, Dennis C. Turk, Christina Nicolaidis

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

The Centrality of Pain Scale (COPS) is a recently developed patient-centered, 10-item self-report measure designed to assess how central, or dominating, in their lives individuals with chronic pain perceive pain to be. The COPS underwent initial development and validation previously; preliminary results suggested that the measure had excellent psychometric properties and that COPS scores were associated with important clinical factors. The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the COPS in a sample of individuals with mixed chronic pain diagnoses (N = 178) being treated at a U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Principal components analysis …

Data Colonialism Through Accumulation By Dispossession: New Metaphors For Daily Data, Jim Thatcher, David O'Sullivan, Dillon Mahmoudi

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, much has been written on ‘big data’ in both the popular and academic press. After the hubristic declaration of the “end of theory” more nuanced arguments have emerged, suggesting that increasingly pervasive data collection and quantification may have significant implications for the social sciences, even if the social, scientific, political and economic agendas behind big data are less new than they are often portrayed. Compared to the boosterish tone of much of its press, academic critiques of big data have been relatively muted, often focusing on the continued importance of more traditional forms of domain knowledge and …

Strategic Plan 2016-20, Strategic Planning Development Team

Implementation

The Strategic Plan Development Team served as the main driver of the plan. This diverse team represented a cross-section of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Board of Trustees, Foundation board members and members of the PSU Alumni Association board. A project manager and an outside consultant, Coraggio Group, facilitated. Decisions were based on general consensus. Separate “topic teams” provided deeper consideration of strategic themes. These teams made recommendations for the strategic goals and initiatives that form the core elements of the plan.

Topic teams worked with relevant university committees and units that were familiar with the best practices and research …

Selected Annotated Bibliography Of National And Regional Legal Needs Survey, Nicole Aylwin, Mandi Gray

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

Since the mid-1990’s there have been at least twenty-six large-scale national surveys on the public’s experience of justiciable events conducted within sixteen separate jurisdictions. Twenty-four of these surveys have utilized the methodological framework of Hazel Genn’s Paths to Justice (1999). Genn’s approach seeks to examine legal needs beyond what may be identified by respondents as a legal need. This approach emerged due to critiques of previous legal needs research that only sought to identify persons who were likely to use legal services rather than the types of problems that are taken to lawyers. Genn’s approach does not rely upon respondent’s …

Tree Inventory Report: Soma District, Cody Graham, Jeremy Bigelow, Gary Shaw, Andrew Bailey, Katelynn Bisso, David Dunnington, Joshua Emmons, Morgan Farber, Cody Graham, Ryan Guidry, Max Joyner, Roger Klingelhoffer, Jonathan Newman, Nicholas Scarpelli, Geoffrey Duh

Asset Mapping: Community Geography Project

The SOMA tree inventory project was taken on by a group of fourteen students as a senior capstone at Portland State University, in September of 2015. Many of us came to this class with GiS background, however, there are others representing the diverse collection of studies offered at PSU, such as film, communication, and general sciences. Capstone courses are PSU’s requirement for all seniors that allow each student to take part in helping those in the surrounding community, by providing a benefit to organizations in need of a large group of volunteers. Our capstone course was designed to impart the …

The Effects Of Gender Differences In Networking On Pay Equity And Leadership Opportunities, Mackenzie L. Kiser

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This report was undertaken in an effort to establish the causes of gender differences in pay and leadership achievement in the United States. The report attempted to add a fresh perspective to the issues of the Wage Gap and Glass Ceiling by analyzing differences between the networking habits of male and female professionals and whether they are responsible for gender inequalities. Through an online survey of 55 professionals, it was established that high income individuals were invited to more organized networking opportunities than low income individuals (p=0.103) and attended significantly more organized networking events than low income individuals(p=0.094) and men …

Penn Smith, Plaintiff/ Appellee, Vs. V Alden Cram, As Executive-Trustee Under The Declaration Of Trust Dated 11/26/93 , Operating Under The Name Of The Terrestrial Kingdom Of God Defendant/ Appellee ., Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2007– 2019)

Appeal from the Fifth Judicial District, Washington County, State of Utah The Honorable James L. Shumate