Digital Commons Network^™

Oocyte Quality: Molecular Constituents Altered In The Oocyte Due To Various Environmental Factors, Lindsay Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An estimated 1.6 million American couples struggle with infertility. Some causes for poor fertility can be clearly defined but in many instances, subfertility is unexplained. Poor oocyte quality is now considered to be a main contributing factor for many causes of infertility. Good oocyte quality is crucial for many processes including embryo development and maintaining pregnancy. There is a possibility that any alterations to the oocyte can have long lasting effects on embryo development and the health of the offspring. The oocyte is very sensitive to any perturbations to its surrounding environment. Transcripts for apoptosis inhibitors and epigenetic modifiers were …

Residual Feed Intake And The Relationship With Performance, Temperament And Carcass Traits In Growing And Finishing Steers, Courtney R. Branton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two trials were conducted with Santa Gertrudis steers, trial 1 (n = 115) and trial 2 (n = 118), were fed a roughage-based diet during the growing phase and high-grain diet during the finishing phase. Steers were weighed at 14-d intervals and dry matter intake (DMI) measured for 70 d during both phases. Residual feed intake (RFI) is the difference between actual DMI and DMI predicted from linear regression of DMI on mid-test metabolic body weight. Ultrasound carcass measurements were measured on day 0 and 70 of the growing phase. Steers were harvested after finishing phase and carcass cooler traits …

Determining Public Perceptions Toward Wildland Fire In The Veluwe Region Of The Netherlands, Amy Brennan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Netherlands has been facing a growing threat of wildfires due to warmer

and drier weather patterns. The purpose of this study was to identify public

perceptions toward wildland fire in the forested Veluwe region of the country. The

Dutch have little experience with wildland fires or fire as a management tool. In a

collaborative effort between Stephen F. Austin State University and the Instituut

Fysieke Veiligheid, the Dutch public safety agency, a survey was distributed to

residents and visitors to the Veluwe to reveal and quantify public opinions and

perceptions regarding wildland fire and public expectations of government

agencies …

The Home Front In Memphis, Tennessee: Before, During, And After World War Ii, 1941-1945, Vanessa Claire Welshans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation narrative attempts to illustrate everyday life on the home front in Memphis, Tennessee during the years of World War II, 1941 until 1945. This narrative demonstrates the evolution of the city concerning the growth of business and industry not only by those that transformed for the war, but also the many that moved into the city because of the war. The establishment of war industries caused a surge in population that spawned a housing shortage the likes of which the city had never experienced. Moreover, the increase in war industries generated a need for labor. With much of …

The Power Of The Other: A Character Analysis Of The Orphan Figure In Children's Literature, Elizabeth Ann Crain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Orphan children in literature often occupy the spaces of reality and fantasy simultaneously because they have had an early encounter with another world--the afterlife. This endows them with supernatural abilities (implied or explicit) that compensate for the loss of a parent and helps them to overcome this traumatizing beginning; this fiction is in stark contrast to the historical reality of an orphan's life, and orphan fiction is a reaction to this reality. Supernatural ability is an almost universal characteristic of the orphan character. This study draws on cultural studies of the orphan , psychoanalytic theories related to the concept of …

Nucelotide Substitution Rates In Hantavirus Cd8+ T-Cell Epitopes, Brian Gerald Sikes

Graduate Theses

Hantaviruses pathogenic to humans are exclusive to rodents. Typically each hantavirus is associated with only one host species. Due to their close association, the geographical distributions are the same. Old World species, such as Hantaan hantavirus and Puumala hantavirus, induce symptoms described as the Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS). The New World hantaviruses, such as Andes hantavirus and Sin Nombre hantavirus, share a suite of symptoms that have been described as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). In this study, 16 well-characterized cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes of the nucleocapsid (N) protein were identified from the literature.

These 16 …

Greenbroke: Stories, Sarah Jean Rains

Graduate Theses

In my collection Greenbroke: Stories, I explore the underbelly of the equestrian world. On the surface, the equestrian community is viewed as a world for the wealthy. It is viewed as a community of extravagance and excess. Additionally, there are few pieces of fiction that actually take the reader beyond the glamor of the surface. My stories do just that. Throughout my collection it was my aim to allow readers into a world that is different from the stereotypical equine community they thought they knew. In my stories, horse people watch their worlds collapse around them. My characters exist …

Thsd1 (Thrombospondin Type 1 Domain Containing Protein 1) Mutation In The Pathogenesis Of Intracranial Aneurysm And Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Teresa Santiago-Sim, Xiaoqian Fang, Morgan L. Hennessy, Stephen V. Nalbach, Steven R. Depalma, Ming Sum Lee, Steven C. Greenway, Barbara Mcdonough, Georgene W. Hergenroeder

School of Medicine Publications

Background and Purpose

A ruptured intracranial aneurysm (IA) is the leading cause of a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This study seeks to define a specific gene whose mutation leads to disease.

Methods

More than 500 IA probands and 100 affected families were enrolled and clinically characterized. Whole exome sequencing was performed on a large family, revealing a segregating THSD1 mutation. THSD1 was sequenced in other probands and controls. Thsd1 loss-of-function studies in zebrafish and mice were used for in vivo analyses, and functional studies performed using an in vitro endothelial cell model.

Results

A nonsense mutation in THSD1 (thrombospondin type-1 domain-containing …

Eternal Potential? Temporality, Complexity And The Incoherent Power Of The European Union, Patrick Holden

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Educational Environment Of An International Animal Model-Based Wet Lab Course For Undergraduate Students, Michail Ch Sideris, Apostolos E. Papalois, Thanos Athanasiou, Ioannis Dimitropoulos, Korina Theodoraki, Francois Sousa Dos Santos, Georgios Paparoidamis, Nikolaos Staikoglou, Dimitrios Pissas, Peter C. Whitfield, Alexandros Rampotas, Savvas Papagrigoriadis, Vassilios Papalois, Georgios Zografos, Georgios Tsoulfas

Peninsula Medical School

Background Essential Skills in the management of Surgical Cases – ESMSC is an International Combined Applied Surgical Science and Wet Lab course aimed at the undergraduate level. ESMSC combines interactive basic science workshops and case-based learning, with basic surgical training modules (BST) on Ex Vivo and In Vivo swine model. In Vivo Dissections include more advanced modules i.e. Abdominal Anatomy Dissections and Cardiac Transplant. Aim To evaluate the educational environment of a novel course, as well as to compare Medical students' perceptions across various groups. Materials and Methods 83 Delegates from King's College London (KCL) and several Hellenic Medical Schools …

Evaluating The Success Of A Marine Protected Area: A Systematic Review Approach., J. Gallacher, N. Simmonds, H. Fellowes, N. Brown, N. Gill, W. Clark, C. Biggs, L. D. Rodwell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), marine areas in which human activities are restricted, are implemented worldwide to protect the marine environment. However, with a large proportion of these MPAs being no more than paper parks, it is important to be able to evaluate MPA success, determined by improvements to biophysical, socio-economic and governance conditions. In this study a systematic literature review was conducted to determine the most frequently used indicators of MPA success. These were then applied to a case study to demonstrate how success can be evaluated. The fifteen most frequently used indicators included species abundance, level of stakeholder participation …

From Warning To Wallpaper: Why The Brain Habituates To Security Warnings, Bonnie Anderson, Anthony Vance, C. Brock Kirwan, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, David Eargle

Faculty Publications

Warning messages are fundamental to users' security interactions. Unfortunately, research has shown that they are largely ineffective. A key contributor to this failure is habituation: decreased response to a repeated warning. Previous research has inferred the occurrence of habituation to warnings or measured it indirectly, such as through the proxy of a related behavior. Therefore, there is a gap in our understanding of how habituation to security warnings develops in the brain. Without direct measures of habituation, we are limited in designing warnings that can mitigate its effects. In this study, we use neurophysiological measures to directly observe habituation as …

Informal Security Groups As Social Non-Movement In Indonesia: Case Of Buru Jejak In Central Lombok, Yogi Setya Permana

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

This essay discusses vigilante groups in relation to access for rights to security, particularly in Central Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara Province. Vigilante groups are defined as 'informal security groups' to distinguish them from formal security entities owned by the state such as the police and military. I propose an alternative interpretation toward the existence of informal security groups that is different from mainstream explanation. Most of the literatures have a strong tendency to categorize informal security groups merely as antagonist actors and a predatory element in the process of democratization in Indonesia. By referencing Asef Bayat’s notion of social …

Zero++: Harnessing The Power Of Zero Appearances To Detect Anomalies In Large-Scale Data Sets, Guansong Pang, Kai Ming Ting, David Albrecht, Huidong Jin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper introduces a new unsupervised anomaly detector called ZERO++ which employs the number of zero appearances in subspaces to detect anomalies in categorical data. It is unique in that it works in regions of subspaces that are not occupied by data; whereas existing methods work in regions occupied by data. ZERO++ examines only a small number of low dimensional subspaces to successfully identify anomalies. Unlike existing frequencybased algorithms, ZERO++ does not involve subspace pattern searching. We show that ZERO++ is better than or comparable with the state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods over a wide range of real-world categorical and numeric …

Closing The Science Comprehension Achievement Gap Through The Use Of An Extension Youth Development Science Comprehension Model, Peter Skelton, Tom Dormody, Margaret Lewis

Journal of Extension

Improving youth science comprehension is critical to youth development, yet this intended outcome is often overlooked in terms of how Extension programs are delivered. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to determine through the assessment of potential student growth whether applying features of a youth science comprehension model to an Extension youth development program targeting underserved middle-school youths led to improved student academic achievement. Program delivery incorporating key features of the model resulted in improved scores for youths performing at or below grade level. These results suggest that the model offers a promising tool for improving …

Opportunity To Improve Public Perceptions Of Arthropods And Arthropod-Related Benefits, Bethany A. Harris, S. Kristine Braman

Journal of Extension

The general public may not recognize the value of conserving insects and spiders in home landscapes. We surveyed individuals to assess public perceptions of 10 arthropods—nine common insects and one common spider species—and to determine whether arthropod-related attitudes could be altered. Additionally, we collected data on survey respondent gender, age, and level of entomology education and found that level of entomology education was strongly associated with respondents' perceptions about arthropods. Moreover, 60% of respondents were willing to change their attitudes after learning about an arthropod's benefits. By promoting arthropods at outreach events, Extension educators could alter arthropod-related attitudes among the …

The Local Food Grower's Behavior During Planning, Growing, Harvesting, And Selling, J. Dominique Gumirakiza

Journal of Extension

This article presents a perspective on the behavior of the local food grower during the market-related decision-making process. The relevant behavior is manifested during the planning, growing, and harvesting and selling phases of the agricultural business cycle. The local food grower faces a set of market alternatives from which, if applying a rational approach, he or she selects one option or a combination of options that allows for profit maximization. Decisions about timing of planting and harvesting are important and are dictated by market conditions and the biological nature of the grower's product. This article contains a number of suggestions …

Climate Change Challenges For Extension Educators: Technical Capacity And Cultural Attitudes, Terrie A. Becerra, Gerad Middendorf, Amber Campbell, Peter Tomlinson

Journal of Extension

We surveyed Extension educators in the southern Great Plains about their attitudes and beliefs regarding climate change, their interactions with constituents surrounding climate change, and challenges they face in engaging constituents on the topic of climate change. Production-oriented and sociocultural challenges in meeting constituents' information needs exist. Educators reported (a) lacking capacity for addressing climate change issues and (b) needing information, especially regarding drought and extreme or unseasonable weather events and related management practices. Educators also identified a need for more educational resources, including print materials and online decision aids. Implications are relevant to educators working beyond the study area …

Visualizing A Plant Cell, Rudaba R. Hasan

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Why visualizing science is important, especially as a school student.

Fire – The Enigma That Continues To Blaze, Sara Kapadia

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

How did humans first discover fire? What stories do we pass down to explain the discovery of fire?

Hands 2 Paws – A Canine Artist Story, London Labrador, Leza Labrador

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Artwork made by London, a canine artist.

Animals In The Wild, Brittany Samson

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

As a photographer, I am extremely interested in the concept of perception and I let this concept drive most of my artistic work. I present four images from my photographic series “Animals in the Wild,” which explore this idea of perception. These four images: Giraffe, Dinosaur, Buffalo, and Bunny—are drastically varied photos that include no real animals, but instead beg the mind to perceive shapes, colors, figure, and coincidence as an animal.

Leaf Miner's Leaves, Susan Hoenig

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

For many years I have been collecting leaves and discovered a phenomena that I find truly fascinating on specific leaves called "leaf miner's leaves". The leaves are the dwellings of animals, various insects' architectural habitat. Leaf miner's leaves are a phenomena in nature in the plant kingdom where the larvae of various insects tunnel their way through a leaf eating its living tissue. The leaf miners create distinctive patterns on each leaf. The snake-like serpentine tunnels protect them from predators and plant defenses.

Using Storytelling To Raise Interest In Vultures, Elise C. Osenga

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The tradition of oral storytelling is an art that stretches back to humankind's earliest cultures. While storytelling is often considered as a form of entertainment, it has also long been used as a teaching tool as well-- a way of engaging listeners to come to new understanding of their world through subtle means. It is my belief that stories, particularly stories with a clear tie to students' sense of place, can be more widely applied to effectively generate interest in specific scientific topics and help students to form emotional connections with the topics under discussion. The following personal narrative describes …

Sport-Specific Risk And Protective Factors For Low Back Pain In Olympic Class Sailors: An Epidemiologic Analytic Cohort Study, Shawn E. Hunt

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation determined the effect of known and theoretical risk factors for LBP in the Olympic class sailors utilizing a cohort design. A secondary goal was to determine if any factors related to sailors or sailing would provide a protective effect, lowering the risk of LBP. Sailors exposed to hiking (a sailing-specific activity) and non-hiking sailing classes were analyzed for the effect of hiking activity as a risk factor for LBP. Hiking exposure increases risk of LBP. Exposure to more than two hours of unloading the sailors’ boats and equipment prior to a regatta was a second unique risk factor …

Letcher County - Place Names, Robert M. Rennick

Robert M. Rennick Manuscript Collection

Place names of Letcher County, Kentucky.

Development Of Activity In The Mouse Visual Cortex., Jing Shen, Matthew T Colonnese

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lumberjack, November 30, 2016, The Lumberjack Staff

2016

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University

Final Ma Portfolio, Lindsey Balla

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains four works completed at the graduate level at Bowling Green State University. The first research paper explores the effects of social media and texting in adolescent students. The second examines Psychoanalysis in the context of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The third compares the texts Northanger Abbey and "The Grey Woman," and the fourth research paper explores effective methods of providing feedback to student writing at the secondary level. This portfolio is a compilation of work and research completed as a capstone project for MA in English with a specialization in teaching English.

Spartan Daily, November 30, 2016, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2016

Volume 147, Issue 37