Digital Commons Network^™

A Theory Of Animal Oppression, Sharon Stephania Murillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

American society is characterized by indifference toward the notion of animal rights. Americans are unaware or often ignore the fact that “more than 9,000,000 farm animals die each year in the U.S. and exceeds 70 billion globally.” More than 6,000,000 animals die every hour, and die every second in slaughterhouses around the world. These numbers reflect the reality of American meat consumption. In this thesis, I will argue that individuals often ignore the impact of animal exploitation and as the “oppressors”, such that we do not even realize that we are oppressing animals and committing an injustice.We have the false …

Evaluating The Effects Of The Phytohormone Indole-3-Acetic Acid In The Response Of Green Pea (Pisum Sativum L.) To Nanoscale Cuo Exposure In Soil, Loren Ochoa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The response of plants to copper oxide nanoparticles (nCuO) in presence of the phytohormones such as IAA, is unknown. In this study, green pea (Pisum sativum) plants were cultivated to full maturity in soil amended with nCuO, CuO bulk (bCuO), and CuCl2 at 50 and 100 mg/kg and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at 10 and 100 µM. Several analytical techniques were used to evaluate the effects of treatments in the agronomical, physiological, and biochemical effects of treatments. Results showed that only CuCl2 reduced root length and number of leaves. Root copper (Cu) increased in plants exposed to nCuO without IAA; however, …

Reconstructing Dinosaur Foot Tracks And Identifying New Footprints Using Structure From Motion Photogrammetry, Valeria V. Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The use of 3-D Structure from Motion models to study fossils is a relatively new technique that has an advantage over traditional field methods, such as plaster casts or collecting samples, because it is non-destructive and can be easily shared with a wide audience. It is also ideal for use with persons with disabilities because it does not require field access and it can be manipulated for optimum computer viewing or printed with a 3-D printer for tactile examination as needed. Our study focused on a known site in Cristo Rey, New Mexico where Cretaceous Iguanadon and Ankylosaur footprints have …

Macro- And Mesoscale Analysis Of Connections Between The Cingulate Region And The Lateral Hypothalamic Area: Tracer Co-Injection And Chemoarchitectural Studies In The Adult Male Rat, Kenichiro Negishi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hypothalamic research since the middle of the 20th century shaped the view that the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) has a central role in controlling appetitive drives. The LHA is anatomically positioned to receive converging axonal inputs which relay information about the body's metabolic state as well as descending projections from the cerebral hemispheres, which encode cognitive and emotional states that influence feeding. Cerebral inputs are capable of initiating feeding despite the presence of competing satiety signals. Recent work has shown that medial prefrontal cortical areas can drive feeding in sated animals, possibly by engaging hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin (H/O)-expressing neurons, which are …

Characterization Of A Putative Glycinergic Nigropallidal Pathway In The Rodent Brain, Rosalia Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Glycinergic neurotransmission is essential for the function of sensory and motor systems associated with pain transmission and rhythmic motor patterns. Yet, the way glycinergic circuits modulates motor systems via the globus pallidus external (GPe) is not clear. The cyto-architecture of glycinergic circuitry is poorly understood and most work has focused in brainstem areas. It is believed that glycinergic neurons are mainly interneurons regulating local circuits. However, it is now becoming clear that they are also projection neurons, constituting true neuronal circuits. At the glycinergic synapse, termination of neurotransmission and recycling of glycine is regulated by two transporters, glycine transporter 1 …

Characterization Of A Medial Prefrontal Cortex - Caudal Pontine Reticular Nucleus Relevant To Sensorimotor Gating, Sebastian Andres Pace

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Focusing attention depends on filtering irrelevant sensory stimuli to prevent brain overload. This ability of our brain to block or “gate” such information is a pre-attentive neuronal mechanism known as sensorimotor gating (SG). SG abnormalities have been linked to a variety of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Initial studies related to the SG circuitry were performed more than four decades ago (Graham, 1975). However, SG is still the subject of numerous current studies involving both humans and animal models. Despite these research efforts, knowledge gaps persist regarding the identity neurons involved, their locations in different brain regions and their precise functional …

And Second Comes The Son, Matthew Phillips

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

'And Second Comes the Son' is a post-war noir novel.

"Only Steers And Queers Come From Texas": The Texas Sodomy Statutes And The Making Of An Other, 1860-1973, Jecoa Ross

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis explores the history of sodomy as it has been conceptualized through the creation and enforcement of the Texas sodomy statutes between 1860 and 1973. In analyzing state court cases, legislative records, and newspaper accounts, I argue that the evolution of the concept of sodomy from its inception as a broad criminal category in the 1860 Texas sodomy statute to its more-narrow conceptualization by Texas legislators as a behavioral characteristic of homosexual status in the 1973 homosexual conduct statute was a political and historically contingent process. This process was political firstly in that it allowed for the construction of …

Cross-Language Conceptual Activation And Development Through Text Passages, Karly Meillyn Schleicher

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study begins to bridge the gap between bilingual education practices and cognitive frameworks of bilingual conceptual access. A reading comprehension task was used to investigate how bilingual undergraduate students activate and develop academic information across their two languages when reading expository text. Using scientific texts, participants (N = 128) read two distinct passages pertaining to prior knowledge, as well as new, related conceptual information. At test, the participants were asked to complete true-false questions and elaborate on the reasons for their responses. A counterbalanced, mixed factorial design was used to infer how language dominance influences encoding and retrieval …

Identifying Non-Classical Active Sites As A Tool For Enzyme Inhibition, Marisol Serrano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an endemic life-threatening disease that affects mainly the heart. It remains the leading cause of heart failure in Latin American countries. Since current treatments against this parasite are highly toxic and somewhat ineffective, novel and more efficacious types of interventions are desired. Cruzain, identified as the major cathepsin for T. cruzi, plays a major role in the parasite's life cycle; making this enzyme very attractive for potential trypanocidal drugs discovery. The recombinant cruzain is synthesized as a zymogenic pro-protein (PCZN) which possesses a pro domain and a catalytic domain. In this …

Social Cues And The Interpretation Of Ambiguous Pronouns By Bilingual Speakers, Fabiola Tortajada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gestures are a crucial part of communication as they aid listeners in identifying meaning in conversation. The present study investigates the relationship between attention-direction gestures and the interpretation of discourse information in bilingual and monolingual speakers.

Most research to this day has focus on the production of non-verbal cues in bilingual speakers, while the domain in comprehension of non-verbal cues has not yet been explored in this population. The aim of the present study is to contribute to filling this gap, by examining how bilingual speakers use attention-directing cues, such as Looking and Pointing, when they interpret discourse information (i.e., …

Studying Grazing Behavior Of Cafeteria Roenbergensis With Two-Photon Microscopy, Faisal Abedin Abedin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Major innovations in recent years have largely revolutionized the fluorescence imaging. Two-photon fluorescence microscopy is one of them. Two photon fluorescence microscopy has evolved as an alternative to conventional single-photon confocal microscopy and has been shown to provide several advantages. These include three-dimensionally resolved fluorescence imaging of living cells deep within thick, strongly scattering samples, and reduced phototoxicity, enabling long term imaging of photosensitive biological specimens. The inherent three-dimensional resolution of TPE microscopy has been exploited in a number of studies wherein spatial discrimination of fluorescence signals at the micrometer and submicrometer scale within thick biological specimens proved critical. In …

Animating Composition: 3d Computer-Generated Imaging And Technical Communication Classes, Nikki Ann Agee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project examines the rhetorical nature of 3D computer-generated imaging (CGI) and investigates how technical communication instructors can integrate it into their classrooms to foster rhetorical awareness of digital and multimodal composing practices; to foster technical communication competencies; and to teach technical communication genres. To justify 3D CGI's study and use in technical communication classes, the Dissertation first overviews 3D CGI's complex, interdisciplinary history; discusses how professionals across disciplines rhetorically use it; and reviews the lack of scholarship on 3D CGI in Rhetoric and Writing Studies. 3D CGI is next conceptualized as a rhetorical information ecology with micro-, meso-, and …

The Impact Of Bicultural Identity On Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Miriam J. Alvarez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The primary aim of the proposed research was to investigate the role cultural identity plays in regards to academic perceptions, goals, and motivation amongst bicultural college students. Previous research suggests that biculturals experience shifts in mental frames as they navigate differences in cultural settings. Central to this research is the idea that people who have access to multiple cultural meaning systems switch between culturally appropriate behaviors depending on the context. We hypothesize that biculturals' responses to cultural cues involve more than automatic cognitive processes. Cultural frameworks may depend on their motives to embrace or reject particular cultural identities and multiple …

Esta Con La Partera: A Qualitative Feminist Perspective Of Women's Birthing Experiences In El Paso Texas, Anessa Anchondo-Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The state of pregnancy is a political one, where women act within and from the social structures that can influence life choices. Through in-depth interviews, this qualitative study examines the choices of six women who birthed at the only birthing center in El Paso County, El Paso Texas. This research uses feminist standpoint theory and life course approach theory to examine how these six women interviewed negotiated their decision-making processes during their pregnancy and birth. Through the use of visual sociology, the research also uses the documentary Catching Babies as a secondary source to examine the services of Maternidad La …

Development Of A Measure Of Positive And Negative Aspects Of Dog Owners' Attachment To Their Pets, Paola Nayeli Balcazar Soto

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis describes the development of the Assessment of Dog Owners' Behaviors and Experiences, Version I (ADOBE-I), a multi-scale measure of positive and negative aspects of dog ownership. In Study 1 a pool of 265 items was administered online to 352 participants on Mechanical Turk (M-Turk). Exploratory Factor Analysis of responses was used to construct the ADOBE-I, which includes 58 items and five scales, Dog-Owner Bond, Legal Problems, Hostile Dog, Obedient Dog, and Care for Dog's Health, and one supplemental scale, Dog as Child. In Study 2 the psychometric properties of the ADOBE-I scales were examined in a sample of …

High Fidelity Localization And Sensing For Cattle Analytics, Luis Carlos Bañuelos Chacon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global beef production is projected to reach approximately 60 million tons in 2015 and opportunities to increase efficiencies are significant with recent advancements in remote sensing. By economically monitoring the location and conditions of a herd such as feeding patterns, body temperature, heart rate, and other biometric information, the herd performance can now be enhanced through data-driven optimization. Next generation sensors provide high fidelity data on a wide range of measurable properties, and simultaneously, the wide adoption of these sensor systems in many consumer applications is leading to commoditization and reduced cost due to the associated economies of scale. Deploying …

The Effect Of A Fluent Signing Narrator On Quality Of Maternal Behavior During E-Book Shared Reading Interactions With Their Children With Hearing Loss, Mar Alejandra Bonilla Yáñez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The average high school student with hearing loss graduates reading at a 4th grade level. A factor that may contribute to the literacy development in children with typical hearing is language modeling and support surrounding shared book reading. The shared book reading experiences of children with hearing loss (CHL) and their parents may be different in quantity and quality from their peers with typical hearing. There is evidence reporting parental frustration and feeling of incompetence when reading to their CHL due to a sensory mismatch between the childâ??s and the parentâ??s mode of communication and skills. This study investigated …

Behind Mount Rushmore, Darlene Priscilla Campos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A collection of short stories which take place on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota

The Man Who Took A Breath, Robert Allen Crowl

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Man Who Took A Breath confronts the ongoing battle of good and evil and its connection to humanity's search for and defense of personal truth, mainly as it's revealed within and through human relationships. Blurring the line between right and wrong can force readers to take a breath before condemning someone else's brand of truth. People from all walks of life endure familial relationships, which estrange and comfort, tear down and build up. These stories are a series of snapshots into a variety of relationships and spiritual crusades meant to depict humanities' deep well for compassion, empathy, and love …

Gender And Professionalization: Experiences Of Veterinary Practice In Ciudad Juárez, México, Daniela Garcia Del Rivero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As more women enter science-based professions, barriers faced by women in terms of full participation in professional activities become useful to examine. This Thesis focuses on veterinary practice in Ciudad Juárez, México, to understand gender differences in professional work. Women's enrollment in veterinary schools has increased substantially over time, and this Thesis seeks to provide a case study of how this feminization is reflected in gendered experiences of education and professional practice. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with women and men, the findings reveal how veterinarians negotiate gendered stereotypes in their field. This research argues that veterinary identity is performed …

Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics Reveals A Novel Sgta/Peroxiredoxin I Complex That Regulates Androgen Receptor Activity, Yenni Alejandra Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The dynamic Hsp70-90 chaperone machinery along with its cochaperone partners are well-characterized for their ability to fold, assemble, and regulate steroid hormone receptors (SHRs). Human small glutamine rich tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) containing protein alpha (SGTA) is a recently identified protein that has a characteristic Hsp90-binding TPR domain and is a key participant in the androgen, glucocorticoid, and progesterone receptor signaling pathway. In addition, SGTA plays a role in cellular processes such as cell cycle progression and apoptosis. We have demonstrated that SGTA binds directly to both Hsp70 (kd = 6 μM) and Hsp90 (kd = 11 μM). In a cell-free …

Identification And Characterization Of Small Molecules Targeting Fkbp52 As A Novel Treatment For Prostate Cancer, Naihsuan C. Guy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men worldwide. Its growth is dependent upon androgen receptor (AR) signaling and the mainstay for treatment is hormone-ablation therapy using antiandrogens and/or androgen-deprivation therapies (ADT). Treatment of PCa with antiandrogens and/or ADT are initially effective; they act to repress the AR by directly competing with androgens for the ligand binding domain (LBD) and prevent activation of the receptor resulting in tumor regression. Unfortunately, the resistance to these treatments invariably emerges and results in a much more aggressive form of tumor …

Keeper Of Darkness, Meagan Elizabeth Kinley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

"Keeper of Darkness" follows Hal as he encounters the monsters that makes up his dark world. When darkness shifts and an escape is found, he falls into the world of light erupting into a sea of questions about his world, as well as who is responsible for the eternal night.

Phylogeography Of The Natal Puddle Frog Phrynobatrachus Natalensis (Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) In Sub-Saharan Africa, Joshua Adan Lara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Family Phrynobatrachidae (Laurent, 1941) has one genus (Phrynobatrachus, Günther, 1862) containing 89 species. Commonly known as puddle frogs, they comprise one of the most species rich sub-Saharan amphibian groups. The objective of this study was to investigate P. natalensis from the Albertine Rift (AR) with systematic and phylogeographic methods. One mitochondrial DNA gene (16S = 555 base pairs [bp]) and one nuclear gene (RAG1 = 774 bp) were analyzed for 61 representatives of P. natalensis. Nine cryptic lineages were identified from Angola, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. Several …

The Understanding Of Implied Meaning In Monolingual And Bilingual Children, Kenah Linger

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The development of pragmatic language and how it is treated cognitively in monolingual and bilingual speakers is a topic of debate. Language pragmatic skills can include: knowing that you have to answer a question that is being asked, being able to participate in conversation by taking turns, and the ability to maintain a topic. Furthermore, the study of pragmatics has also focused on understanding how we comprehend language that is not explicit. For example, comprehending the sentence, "We'd love to have you over for dinner" involves deciding whether this is an invitation, a statement of desire, or even an empty …

Characterizing The Role Of The Fact Complex In Hiv-1 Infection, Angelica Patricia Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The lens epithelium-derived growth factor p75 (LEDGF/p75) is a chromatin-bound protein essential for efficient lentiviral integration. Knockdown of this protein severely affects HIV-1 integration levels and thus itâ??s replication. Genome-wide studies have located LEDGF/p75 inside actively transcribed genes where it mediates lentiviral integration. Although this is clearly established, the molecular mechanisms of LEDGF/p75 in HIV-1 infection remain in part elusive.

Using protein-protein interaction assays, we demonstrated that LEDGF/p75 complexes with a chromatin remodeling complex, Facilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT), a heterodimer of the structure specific recognition protein 1 (SSRP1) and the human homolog of suppressor of Ty 16 (hSpt16). The FACT …

Educational Use Of Social Media: Exploring Science And Engineering College Students' Perceptions About Utilizing Facebook To Enhance The Learning Of Physics, Angel Salvador Marquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative investigation is to explore a group of science and engineering students' perceptions about utilizing Facebook to enhance the learning of physics. Particularly, a survey composed of multiple choice and open-ended questions was employed as to obtain participantsâ?? reactions on a proposed scenario where Facebook is utilized in an Introductory Classical Mechanics course as the medium to manage the following academic activities throughout the semester: examinations, class preparations, study guides, homework assignments, lab preparations, creating group studies, and class participation dynamics. Out of the 120 potential candidates, 106 of them accepted to voluntarily participate in this …

Identification Of Leishmania Spp. And Trypanosoma Cruzi In Sylvatic Animals In El Paso County, Texas, Mariel Christina Matamoros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background Leishmaniasis and Chagas's Disease are two of the seventeen diseases considered as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTF) by the CDC. Ten million people worldwide are at risk of being infected by Leishmaniasis and Chagas' disease affects six million people in the world; however, these are mostly cases in Latin America. The vector for Chagas' disease, triatomine, has been identified near El Paso, Texas region to be positive for Trypanosoma cruzi. Recent studies have also shown positive results for Chagas' disease and Leishmaniasis in sylvatic animals in El Paso.

Objective To determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi and/or Leishmania spp. infection …

Nature Of The Verbal Fluency Task In Concussed Athletes, Paulina Mejia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Verbal fluency is a common test used to assess naming in individuals with brain injury. Troyer (1997) reported that naming components such as phonemic clusters and categorical switching might be more sensitive to the presence of brain injury than a reduction in the total number of words that is commonly used as a measure. Phonemic task refers to the F-A-S naming task while the semantic task refers to the animal naming task because of the frequent production of the phonemic cluster on the F-A-S and semantic clusters on the animal naming task (Troyer, 1997).

Purpose: The purpose of this …