Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Microbiota On Starvation Resistant Drosophila Melanogaster, Andrea Darby, Mohamad Dahroug, Allen Gibbs

McNair Poster Presentations

Bacteria in modern society have often been perceived as having negative effects on humans with complications and potential death to their hosts. In recent years, the gut microbiota has shown that not all bacteria inhabiting a host cause negative side effects, but they instead can provide essential nutrients to their host and even directly impact growth rate and development. In this study, axenic Drosophila melanogaster were generated through egg dechorionation with 7% bleach to test the effects of the absence of commensal bacteria on the flies growth and development. Lipid content was recorded of control and axenic fruit flies from …

Graphic Design For The Shark Reef Aquarium [Course Project], Alexxis Rodriguez

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

This essay examines the thought processes of how a short, informative booklet was constructed for the Shark Reef Aquarium. Methods of research includes searching for valuable, credible articles, viewing competitor’s designs, visiting the company’s official information and media, and gathering design books for inspiration. Other ways of research include the designer’s ability to think critically in order to create intentional design that effectively communicates the information to the reader. Ultimately, looking at Lied Library’s resources has played a role in the booklet design and how to think about the supporting design elements.

Review Of Changing Hands: Industry, Evolution, And The Reconfiguration Of The Victorian Body By Peter J. Capuano, John Hay

English Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

What Is Known About Secondary Grades Mathematical Modelling, Micah S. Stohlmann, Lina Devaul, Charlie Allen, Amy Adkins, Taro Ito, Dawn Lockett, Nick Wong

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Mathematical modelling is garnering more attention and focus at the secondary level in many different countries because of the knowledge and skills that students can develop from this approach. This paper serves to summarize what is it known about secondary mathematical modelling to guide future research. A targeted and general literature search was conducted and studies were summarized based on four categories: assessment data collected, unit of analysis studied, population, and effectiveness. It was found that there were five main units of analysis into which the studies could be categorized: modelling process/sub-activities, modelling competencies/ability, blockages/difficulties during the modelling process, students’ …

What Is Known About Elementary Grades Mathematical Modelling, Micah Stohlmann, Lluis Albarracin

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Mathematical modelling has often been emphasized at the secondary level, but more research is needed at the elementary level. This paper serves to summarize what is known about elementary mathematical modelling to guide future research. A targeted and general literature search was conducted and studies were summarized based on five categories: content of mathematical modelling intervention, assessment data collected, unit of analysis studied, population, and effectiveness. It was found that there were three main units of analysis into which the studies could be categorized: representational and conceptual competence, models created, and student beliefs. The main findings from each of these …

Geologic Time, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

It is not surprising that humans have wondered how long Earth has existed. At one extreme, there were the Brahmans of India who believe that Earth never had a beginning and will never have an end. Others were of the opinion that Earth was old, but perhaps not eternally old. In 450 BC, for example, a Greek historian named Herodotus (484 - 425 BC) expressed the opinion that Earth was very old, basing his estimate on the results of his studies of the Nile Delta. He observed that the delta was growing layer by layer as a result of the …

Earthquakes, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

For centuries, earth scientists have known where the major earthquakes occurred. They also knew they occurred in the same locales as the most violent volcanoes, a fact that led to centuries of arguments as to which was the cause of the other. Now we know that they are not cause and effect; they are both associated with the convergent plate margins. During the mid-1900s, another major zone of both volcanic and earthquake activity was discovered, namely the divergent margins, the most important site being the oceanic ridges. Since then, we have also come to understand the occurrence of volcanic activity …

The Triassic Period And The Beginning Of The Mesozoic Era, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

The Triassic Period is the first period of the Mesozoic Era, a span of time from 245 million years ago to 66 million years ago. Although the Mesozoic era commonly known as the "Age of the Dinosaurs,', it should be pointed out that there were other important evolutionary developments taking place such as the appearance of the first mammal birds and flowering plans. The onset of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic Period, was also a time of profound tectonic activity affecting the entire North American craton. In the east, the primary event was the breakup of Pangea and the formation …

Inter-Sexual Social Interactions In Cebus Capucinus, Margaret S. Buehler

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Researchers examine an animal's behaviors in order to determine how they enhance the animal's fitness. However, animals often exhibit behaviors that expend energy, but do little to improve its proximate survival or reproductive success. These behaviors may represent long-term strategies and are therefore more difficult to document than behaviors that provide immediate benefits. I observed white-faced capuchin social behavior in Costa Rica with the goal of identifying inter-sexual social behaviors that are intentional, regular, and serve no immediate reproductive or survival advantage. For example, interactions with males and non-cycling females provide no immediate reproductive benefits I observed interaction patterns between …

Properties Of The Green Microalga Monoraphidium Sp. Dek19 For Phycoremediation Of Wastewater And Biofuel Production, Nicholas James Kirchner

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this thesis was to investigate the growth of Monoraphidium sp. Dek19 in post-primary filtration and final wastewater effluent for the purposes of phycoremediation and as a potential biofuel feedstock. The algae were inoculated in wastewater effluent collected from the local wastewater treatment facility in DeKalb, Illinois and grown in 1L flasks at 10°C and 22°C. It was determined that initial population density (IPD) played an important role in the successful growth of a culture. Cultures started at an E680 greater than 0.100 could grow, but at a suboptimal rate. However, it was found that when cultures were …

A Physiological Assessment Of Wetland Habitats For Spring-Migrating Ducks In The Agricultural Landscapes Of The Southern Prairie Pothole Region, Adam K. Janke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The conversion of grassland and wetland ecosystems in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) has been a pervasive challenge for conservationists dating back to the early 1900s. The legacy of ever-increasing agricultural intensity in the southern portions of the PPR, including eastern South Dakota, has left many wetland ecosystems in a matrix of intensive agricultural production. With little surrounding nesting cover, these wetlands are thought to have limited potential for waterfowl reproduction but may still play an important role facilitating migration of waterfowl en route to northern breeding areas during spring. My research sought to understand the contributions of wetlands in …

Understanding The Impact Of Non-Thermal Processing And Co2 Assisted Extrusion On Antioxidant, Textural And Functional Properties Of Corn, Sorghum And Apple Pomace Based Extrudates, Umesh Chandra Lohani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is a worldwide demand for antioxidant rich foods in diet, especially ready to eat foods, i.e. cereals and snacks. In recent years, the research has got momentum to valorize the underutilized crops, i.e. millet, sorghum and industrial food by-products, i.e. fruit pomace to incorporate into main stream of human diet due to their enrichment in nutritional as well as bioactive compounds like phenolic and flavonoid antioxidants. However, most of the phenolic compounds in plant are present in the bound form with the carbohydrates, lignin, pectin and proteins which reduces their ability to function as good antioxidants. Therefore, in …

Decoding Impressions: Understanding Appearances A Nonverbal Training Program, Michelle Lynn Spring

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Given the multitude of clothing options, jewelry, and adornments that exist in the modern world and the variety of colors these artifacts are available in, there is a need to understand the how appearance cues impact impressions. Saussure’s theory of Semiotics was used as the framework for this project as a means to decoding the sign structures associated with appearance cues that influence impressions. This project outlines an active training program that walks students through the semiotic theory, the elements of appearance cues and the resulting impressions that may be formed by artifact choices. The goal of this project is …

A Glimpse At Media-Framing Effects On Place Attachment In Rural Northwest Montana, Gregory D. Bruns

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined how outdated media framing can disturb rural place attachment. Evaluating this concept against the backdrop of south Lincoln County, Montana, which is nearing the end of a years-long EPA Superfund cleanup, over 100 regional visitors were surveyed to learn if media framing affected place-attachment sentiments. The investigation revealed that existing news stories, some up to 15 years old, may be playing a lingering and consequential role in attracting first-time destination seekers to the region, in support of framing theory. Furthermore, these findings also lend credence to the significance of sound Internet search-engine optimization practices, and provide an …

Upward Communication In Organizations: The Connection To Company Culture And Employee Engagement, Janet K. Clancy-Feliciano

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

In today’s American society, effective upward and downward communication between supervisors and subordinates is lacking now more than ever before. The importance of effective downward communication from organizational leaders receives ongoing attention, but more attention needs to be given to the importance of open reception to upward communication. It is critical that leaders in organizations build trust and encourage upward communication from employees in order to maintain organizational wellbeing and to avoid employee dissatisfaction. To help close the gap in this area of communication, this study focused on and collected data utilizing on-line surveys and employee interviews in order to …

Early Life Events And Motor Development: A Longitudinal Study, Tegan Grace

Theses

Longitudinal studies are important to fully understand the processes of neurological development during gestation and how risk factors present during this time impact motor development outcomes, yet few to date have focused on this critical time period.

The purpose of this study was to identify modifiable risk factors influencing motor development during the prenatal period. Of particular interest was finding out whether these risk factors differed between the sexes.

Participants (N=2900) were from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. The Raine Study began in May 1989 and women were recruited between 16-20 weeks gestation (m = 18 weeks) from …

Augment Hololens’ Body Recognition And Tracking Capabilities Using Kinect, Krishna Chaithanya Mathi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we are primarily interested in exploring the HoloLens technologies for medical practices. Particularly, we will address the limitation of HoloLens’ capability in human body sensing, recognition and tracking. We will then introduce and demonstrate the use of Kinect to augment HoloLens’ sensory and processing capabilities in order to produce time and space-synchronized immersive environment with both virtual body and real body of the same patient for supporting distributed medical collaborations. Specifically, we are looking at a distributed solution in which we are collecting the patient body data from Kinect, followed by body recognition and position/motion tracking processing …

Novel Cost And Space Efficient Range Of Motion And Gait Analysis Systems, Rutvik Bharatkumar Patel

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we have explored the use of the latest motion tracking technologies, as evident by Microsoft Xbox Kinect’s motion tracking capabilities, in combination with 3D digital human modeling and animation, multi-modality image capturing and processing, and fusion, to design a new generation of low-cost range of motion and gait analysis solutions that overcome the limitation of existing tools. The proposed solutions and our prototype systems have demonstrated accurate measurements and reliable analysis outcome compared to current clinic practices, with significantly reduced complexity and cost. Furthermore, it eliminates the need for expensive effort for pre- and post- processing of …

Behaviors Of A Captive Coenobita Clypeatus In The Presence Of Varying Light Stimuli, Larry D. Fort, Ingrid K. Tulloch

Modern Psychological Studies

Coenobita clypeatus, or the purple pincher, is a terrestrial hermit crab and common pet in the United States. Modern behavioral studies have waned since the early 2000s; we therefore sought to characterize the behavior of a single captive C. clypeatus under varying light conditions. Frequency and duration of behaviors were studied in the presence of different light stimuli, along with weight monitoring. The crab was recorded for a set period of time every night with all conditions standardized except for light. The light stimulus alternated between no light, blue light, and red light. The case study revealed a significant increase …

Visual Literacy For Libraries: A Practical, Standards-Based Guide, Nicole E. Brown, Kaila Bussert, Denise Hattwig, Ann Medaille

Library Scholarship

When we step back and think about how to situate visual literacy into a library context, the word critical keeps coming up: critical thinking, critical viewing, critical using, critical making, and the list goes on. To understand our approach, start with your own practice, add images, and see where it takes you.

Do you encourage students to think critically as they research?

How can you extend this experience to images?

Do you embrace critical information literacy?

Can you bring visual content to enrich that experience?

Do you teach students to critically evaluate sources?

How can you expand that practice to …

2016-2017 Faculty Handbook, St Norbert College

Faculty Handbooks

No abstract provided.

Development Of An In Vitro, Three-Dimensional Microvasculature Model, Lauren Elizabeth Marshall

All ETDs from UAB

Vascularized in vitro models of breast cancer represent an important advance in preclinical drug testing and development. 3D in vitro tissue models are more physiologically-relevant than 2D cell culture models due to the combination of human cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) in a spatial 3D microarchitecture. Embedding a vasculature within a 3D tissue volume further increases its physiological relevance and enables paracrine cross-talk with other cell types, neovascularization and angiogenesis, size-selective permeability between blood flow and extravascular ECM, delivery of therapeutics and metabolized products to solid tumors, delivery of circulating tumor cells to metastatic sites, and production of growth-promoting and …

Mercy Otis Warren: A Woman In Motion, Victoria Courtney Roberts

All ETDs from UAB

This thesis is an examination of the life of Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote the first history of the United States, was the first American woman to publish political literature under her own name, and was deeply involved in politics of the Early Republic. In the time leading up to the American Revolution, Mercy wrote many plays and poems that were circulated in an effort to convince colonists of the need to break away from the British government. Her writings and political thoughts had a great influence on the shaping of the United States, yet her name is rarely found …

Altering Metabolism In The Tumor Microenvironment To Enhance Anti-Tumor Immunity For Lung Cancer, Cara Schafer

All ETDs from UAB

Overcoming cancer cell immune escape represents a fundamental obstacle in the treatment of cancer. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-expressing myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are known to induce oxidative stress and alter amino acid metabolism within the tumor microenvironment (TME). The tryptophan (Trp)-catabolizing action of IDO not only promotes T cell tolerance and evasion but is also associated with impaired quality of life in cancer patients. We have previously demonstrated that a novel combination therapy, consisting of MDSC-depleting gemcitabine and a superoxide dismutase mimetic, prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice by enhancing CD8+ memory T cell metabolism. We identify that combination therapy inhibits IDO …

Sensation, Intuition, Space, And Time In Hegel’S Philosophy Of Subjective Spirit, Willem A. Devries

Faculty Publications

The subject of space, time, sensation, and intuition in Hegel is complicated, more so in Hegel than in Kant, and for good reason. Hegel rejected Kant’s Transcendental Idealism; besides the subjective reality Kant attributed to space and time, Hegel also attributed to them a truly objective reality. According to Hegel, space and time qualify finite things as they really are. Moreover, I shall argue, space and time, in Hegel’s view, have two different modes of subjective presence. We can illuminate these distinctive modes of subjective presence by comparing Hegel’s with Wilfrid Sellars’ strikingly similar arguments against Transcendental Idealism.

What's Up, Dut? Help, Help I'M Being Derepressed; The Great Derepression Of Sapis Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Mobilization, Rosanne Lorin Lee Hill

All ETDs from UAB

Staphylococcus aureus is known to cause disease in both human and animal populations. Many of the virulence factors important for S. aureus pathogenesis are found on mobile genetic elements known as S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs). SaPIs can transduce into surrounding cells, giving those cells the ability to produce virulence factors. Derepression allows SaPIs to be excised from S. aureus genome to initiate mobilization. Derepressors have been identified for multiple SaPIs, but it remains unknown if the same SaPI can be derepressed by multiple derepressors. It has been shown that SaPIbov1 can be derepressed by the type 1 dUTPase from …

A Vous De Amatongas: The Voice Of Amatongas, Matthew T. Adler

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Soft Robotic Grippers For Biological Sampling On Deep Reefs, Kevin C. Galloway, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Brennan Phillips, Jordan Kirby, Stephen Licht, Dan Tchernov, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber

Ocean Engineering Faculty Publications

This article presents the development of an underwater gripper that utilizes soft robotics technology to delicately manipulate and sample fragile species on the deep reef. Existing solutions for deep sea robotic manipulation have historically been driven by the oil industry, resulting in destructive interactions with undersea life. Soft material robotics relies on compliant materials that are inherently impedance matched to natural environments and to soft or fragile organisms. We demonstrate design principles for soft robot end effectors, bench-top characterization of their grasping performance, and conclude by describing in situ testing at mesophotic depths. The result is the first use of …

Sequential Release Of Nanoparticle Payloads From Ultrasonically Burstable Capsules, Stephen Kennedy, Jennifer Hu, Cathal Kearney, Hadas Skaat, Luo Gu, Marco Gentili, Herman Vandenburgh, David Mooney

Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

In many biomedical contexts ranging from chemotherapy to tissue engineering, it is beneficial to sequentially present bioactive payloads. Explicit control over the timing and dose of these presentations is highly desirable. Here, we present a capsule-based delivery system capable of rapidly releasing multiple payloads in response to ultrasonic signals. In vitro, these alginate capsules exhibited excellent payload retention for up to 1 week when unstimulated and delivered their entire payloads when ultrasonically stimulated for 10–100 s. Shorter exposures (10 s) were required to trigger delivery from capsules embedded in hydrogels placed in a tissue model and did not result in …

Effect Of Dietary Supplementation With Different Levels Of Inulin-Typefructans On Renal Expression Of Aquaporin 2 Of Growing Piglets, Katarzyna Michalek, Marta Grabowska, Mariusz Skowronski, Adam Lepczynski, Agnieszka Herosimczyk, Maria Laszczynska

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate the expression of aquaporin 2 (AQP2) in the renal tubules of growing piglets fed with different levels of inulin-type fructans. The experiment was performed on five groups of PIC x Penarlan P76 crossbred piglets fed with the following diets: standard diet (control group) and standard diet supplemented with 1% (group I), 2% (group II), and 3% (group III) of water extract of chicory root inulin-type fructans. The animals from the group IV were fed with standard diet supplemented with 4% dried chicory roots. To analyze immunolocalization and expression of AQP2 …