Digital Commons Network^™

Diabetes, Depression And Syndemic Suffering Among African American Patients: The Intersectionality Of Race, Gender And Class, Pamela Lorraine Fox

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This research study illustrates the overarching syndemic theory, which was used to explain the interconnections of type 2 diabetes, clinical depression, and human suffering among low-income African American outpatients in the southern sector of Dallas TX, USA. The intersections of race, gender, and class were additional variables that were included in this research. Furthermore, this research indicated how poverty, social relationships and other conditions stressed individuals and populations, weakened their natural defenses and caused exposure to disease clusters. I have coined the term D2 S2 to deconstruct the social/syndemic interconnections that interface with diabetes, depression and human suffering. The first …

2016-December-01-Avocado Research, University Marketing And Commucications, East Tennessee State Univeristy

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Characteristics Of Landlocked Fall Chinook Salmon From Lake Oahe, South Dakota, Kelsen L. Young, Michael E. Barnes, Jeremy L. Kientz

The Prairie Naturalist

Lake Oahe, South Dakota, USA, landlocked fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reproductive characteristics were examined over a 27 year period, from 1988 to 2015. Mean total lengths of spawning females ranged from 665 mm (1995) to 812 mm (2015) with considerable year-to-year variation. Post-spawn female weights varied, ranging from 2.02 kg (2000) to 5.55 kg (2015), with an overall mean of 3.04 kg. Fecundity peaked at 4,555 eggs per female in 2003, which was just 3 years after a low of 2,011 eggs per female in 2000. Relative fecundity based on female weight was greatest at 1,211 eggs/kg …

Multiplencc: Inverse Probability Weighting Of Nested Case-Control Data, Nathalie C. Støer, Sven Ove Samuelsen

The R Journal

Reuse of controls from nested case-control designs can increase efficiency in many situations, for instance with competing risks or in other multiple endpoints situations. The matching between cases and controls must be broken when controls are to be used for other endpoints. A weighted analysis can then be performed to take care of the biased sampling from the cohort. We present the R package multipleNCC for reuse of controls in nested case-control studies by inverse probability weighting of the partial likelihood. The package handles right-censored, left-truncated and additionally matched data, and varying numbers of sampled controls and the whole analysis …

A Spatio-Temporal Model Of Hunter-Gatherer Foraging Ecology Across The North American Great Plains Throughout The Paleoindian Period: Development Of Biological Theory And Statistical Methods To Link Human Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, And The Archaeological Record, Erik Roque Otárola-Castillo

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Hunter-gatherers spread to nearly every corner of the planet in large part due to their flexible ability to forage for high-quality foods in diverse environments. The study of human foraging behavior is therefore crucial to understanding the proximate and ultimate factors that have shaped human evolutionary history. Although not necessarily in an evolutionary context, the foraging behavior of Paleoindian hunter-gatherers in North America has been studied for over a century. Researchers have paid particular attention to Paleoindian foragers’ hunting of big game across the grasslands of the Great Plains, shedding light on “what†prey Paleoindians foraged, “where†foraging occurred on …

The Macro- And Micro-Anatomy Of Primate Volar Surfaces, Amanda Kathryn Kingston

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The soft tissues of the volar surfaces of primate hands and feet are the primary point of interaction between an individual animal and its environment and, as such, are likely to be under strong functional selection. These tissues serve three major functions: 1) force attenuation – the volar fat pads assist in attenuating reaction forces generated during grasping locomotion; 2) friction enhancement – the volar fat pads also act as viscoelastic surfaces that increase the coefficient of friction between the pads and substrate at low body weights; in addition, the ridged volar skin interlocks with and thus increases friction with …

Reduced Snow Cover Alters Root-Microbe Interactions And Decreases Nitrification Rates In A Northern Hardwood Forest, Patrick O. Sorensen, Pamela H. Templer, Lynn M. Christenson, Jorge Durán, Timothy J. Fahey, Melany C. Fisk, Peter M. Groffman, Jennifer L. Morse, Adrien C. Finzi

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Snow cover is projected to decline during the next century in many ecosystems that currently experience a seasonal snowpack. Because snow insulates soils from frigid winter air temperatures, soils are expected to become colder and experience more winter soil freeze-thaw cycles as snow cover continues to decline. Tree roots are adversely affected by snowpack reduction, but whether loss of snow will affect root-microbe interactions remains largely unknown. The objective of this study was to distinguish and attribute direct (e.g., winter snow-and/ or soil frost-mediated) vs. indirect (e.g., root-mediated) effects of winter climate change on microbial biomass, the potential activity of …

Sustainable Gender Equality Framework: A Justice Perspective, Bonita Bhattarai Sharma

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The current study emphasizes gender equality discourse within the frame of overarching sustainable development goals and proposes a shift in attention to the sustainability of components of a larger holistic social system that is built on moral imperatives of intra and intergenerational justice. The continued and building importance of the holistic and transferability of a just and inclusive system is indicative of the new global policy shift in addressing the lessons learned from past developmental approaches and the urgent need to protect the earth system. There are three key related issues that stand out within the broad context of Our …

Is Applied Behavioral Analysis Education, Medicine, Or Both?: A Study Of The Funding Challenges That Accompany An Autism Diagnosis, Yaakov Pollak

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Abner J. Mikva, Adam O. Emmerich

University of Chicago Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Cultural Beliefs And Customs On Nutritional Attitudes And Food Choices Of Alaska Natives Living With Chronic Diseases In The Anchorage Metropolitan Area, Sadie Anderson

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Alaska Native and American Indian people are heavily affected by chronic diseases such obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Redwood, Lanier, Johnston, Asay, & Slattery, 2010). The presence or severity of many chronic diseases is directly correlated with the type of diet people consume. This study explored how culture influences the understanding of nutritional status and food choices of Alaska native people living in Anchorage, Alaska. Focus groups were held with Alaska Native adults who were living with a chronic disease. Open-ended questions were asked about the participants’ culture and food choices. Themes and subthemes emerged through data analysis using the …

Effects Of Poverty On Adolescent Mental Health, Morgan Dannecker

Counselor Education Capstones

Living in poverty puts adolescents at risk for developing mental health symptoms. When living in poverty, adolescents are more vulnerable to experiencing or witnessing violence, which negatively impacts their mental health. Low socioeconomic neighborhoods and poor parent education negatively impact adolescent mental health. While living in poverty can negatively affect adolescent mental health, some protective factors on the individual, familial and community level can help decrease these negative effects. Confidence, parental support and involvement, and religion can help protect adolescents from the negative effects of living in poverty. Along with protective factors, interventions that have been established to help negate …

Oral Carbohydrate Administration Prior To Colorectal Surgery: Practice Change Outcomes And Economic Analysis, Joshua Kendrick Ezelle

Doctoral Projects

Difference in recovery times has been an interest of mine for many years. I observed that an open heart surgery routinely recovered and discharged on the third post-op day, while a colorectal patient often required a hospital stay of five to ten days. I began researching recovery methods of colorectal patients. I found enhanced recovery techniques like decreased narcotic, use of NSAID’s, early ambulation, and the use of medications that assist with bowel peristalsis are being employed nationally. Other techniques are now starting to be used with positive results. One of these is Carb-loading. Carb-loading is the oral intake of …

An Examination Of Food Insecurity And Its Impact On Violent Crime In American Communities, Jonathan Randel Caughron

All Theses

Food insecurity has been shown to have a negative impact on the health andpsychological well-being of those who suffer from it. Brinkman and Cullen (2011) havealso conducted research that shows food insecurity leads to increased incidences ofviolence and civil conflict in developing nations. However, very little research has beenconducted to examine a potential link between food insecurity and violence in developednations. This paper examines a potential link between food insecurity and the violentcrime rate in the United States at a county level using a least squares regressiontechnique. It also examines how the relationship between food insecurity and violentcrime varies in …

Harmful Algal Blooms And Biological Toxins Productions; From Integrated Monitoring Approach To On-Site Solar Photocatalytic Decomposition, Hesam Zaman Khan Malayeri

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) worldwide has caused concern to environmental and health authorities because of their potential to generate and release biological toxins. In particular, microcystins (MCs) produced from cyanobacteria are of great concern. MCs are among the most powerful natural poisons. The presence of MCs in drinking water sources has raised major concern. The overall goal of this research is to predict formation of biological toxins in water bodies and to develop a new sustainable approach to decompose them, if feasible, on-site and in real-time with minimal efforts, less chemicals, and low energy inputs. In order to …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 106 [107], No. 24 (Dec. 1, 2016), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 106, but it is the 107th volume in the series.

Patterns And Predictors Of Untargeted Health Behavior Change In The First Year Of The Women’S Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial | Patterns And Predictors Of Untargeted Health Behavior Change In The First Year Of The Women’S Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, Elizabeth Anne Sarma

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The gateway behavior hypothesis posits that changes in a health behavior that is targeted for change may promote positive changes in other untargeted health behaviors; however, previous gateway behavior studies have shown inconsistent results. The purpose of the current study was to examine the patterns and predictors of change in untargeted health behaviors in the first year of a diet modification trial. Specifically, the study explored change in untargeted physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking behavior in the first year of the Women’s Health Initiative dietary modification trial, in which postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to either control (n = …

The Interactive Effects Of Acidification, Temperature Stress, And Food Supply On The Growth And Survival Of The Forage Fish, Menidia Beryllina And Cyprinodon Variegatus, Lucas R. Merlo

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The combustion of fossil fuels is increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and, in turn, acidifying and warming world oceans. A further consequence of warming oceans may be declines in the abundance of plankton. Some of these changes can already be observed in coastal oceans and may affect marine biota including forage fish which play a key role in marine food webs as key consumers of primary production and prey of fishery species. While these climate change stressors have previously been shown to negatively affect the performance of larval fish, the interactive effects of these multiple stressors on fish have yet to …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, December 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Course Approvals
• Program Proposals
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Enabling Marker Assisted Breeding (Mab) For Phytochemical Compounds In Peach [Prunus Persica (L.) Batsch], Asma Abdelghafar

All Dissertations

Genetic control and location of QTLs associated with phytochemical compounds in peach were evaluated using bi-parental mapping and genome wide association (GWAS). The bi-parental mapping was conducted in an F2 population (ZC2) derived from cross between ‘Zin Dai’ x ‘Crimson Lady’. GWAS was performed on an association panel representing modern peach cultivars available and/or produced for the U.S. market. Antioxidant capacity and phenolic compound accumulation (total phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins) were evaluated for two years on all materials. The ZC2 progeny were genotyped using IPSC 9K peach SNP array v1., and the association panel was genotyped using genotyping-by-sequencing. The genetic …

Evolutionary Innovation And Diversification Of Carotenoid-Based Pigmentation In Finches, Russell A. Ligon, Richard K. Simpson, Nicholas A. Mason, Geoffrey E. Hill, Kevin J. Mcgraw

Faculty Publications

© 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution. The ornaments used by animals to mediate social interactions are diverse, and by reconstructing their evolutionary pathways we can gain new insights into the mechanisms underlying ornamental innovation and variability. Here, we examine variation in plumage carotenoids among the true finches (Aves: Fringillidae) using biochemical and comparative phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of carotenoid states and evaluate competing models of carotenoid evolution. Our comparative analyses reveal that the most likely ancestor of finches used dietary carotenoids as yellow plumage colorants, and that the ability …

Flipping The Classroom In Business And Education One-Shot Sessions: A Research Study, Madeline Cohen, Jennifer Poggiali, Alison Lehner-Quam, Robin Wright, Rebecca K. West

Publications and Research

In response to the challenge of maximising the effectiveness of one-shot information literacy (IL) sessions, library faculty at Lehman College experimented with the flipped classroom model. This research paper reports the results of a multi-semester quantitative study of the flipped classroom in business management and education one-shot sessions. Researchers explored two research questions: Do students in a flipped session demonstrate greater knowledge before their session than students in a control session? and Do flipped and control students demonstrate significant, positive improvement in knowledge after their session? The researchers used pre- and post-tests to evaluate two crucial aspects of the flipped …

Measuring Community Adaptive And Transformative Capacity In The Arctic Context, Matthew Berman, Gary Kofinas, Shauna Burnsilver

ISER Articles

Adaptive capacity (AC) plays a prominent role in reducing community vulnerability, an essential goal for achieving sustainability. The related concept, transformative capacity (TC), describes a set of tools from the resilience paradigm for making more fundamental system changes. While the literature appears to agree generally on the meaning of AC and TC, operational definitions vary widely in empirical applications. We address measurement of AC and TC in empirical studies of community vulnerability and resilience, with special attention to the problems of arctic communities. We discuss how some challenges follow from ambiguities in the broader vulnerability model within which AC is …

Fructose Alters Cell Survival And Gene Expression In Microglia And Neuronal Cells Lines, Drew P. Seidel, Susan Denapoli, Thomas S. Maciulewicz, Melinda E. Lull

Pharmacy Faculty/Staff Publications

Purpose: Microglia are macrophages that are found primarily in the CNS and play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy brain by engulfing invading microorganisms, releasing inflammatory mediators, and pruning dead cells. Microglia can become activated in response to certain stimuli which causes them to transition into a pro-inflammatory state, and can sometimes become chronically activated which can result in neuronal damage. Studies have shown a causal relationship between this activation and sugars such as fructose and glucose. We sought to understand the role of sugars in microglial activation and the subsequent effects on neuron health.

Methods: Rat microglia (HAPI) …

Today - November / December 2016, Loma Linda University Health

TODAY

Inside this issue:

-- LLU Children's Hospital to open pediatric specialty clinic in Indio
-- Wil Alexander remembered: A trailblazer in whole person care
-- Surgical Hospital earns prestigious national award for excellence
-- School of Medicine receives top national ranking for graduates entering family medicine residencies
-- Community event focuses on healing
-- ‘San Bernardino Strong’ kicks off third season of ‘Life on the Line’
-- Allied Health students learn true meaning of service-learning
-- Law enforcement visits campus for a good cause
-- A heartfelt return to Loma Linda Former
-- Regional economist says Loma Linda University Health …

Gastroesophageal Stenting For The Management Of Post Sleeve Gastrectomy Leak: A Single Institution Experience, Noha Guzaiz, Mohammad Arabi, Azzam Khankan, Refaat Salman, Mohammed Al-Toki, Shahbaz Qazi, Abdulmohsin Alzakari, Mohammad Al-Moaiqel

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of gastroesophageal stenting for post sleeve gastrectomy staple line leaks using removable self-expandable stents. Methods Between April 2012 and June 2015, 12 consecutive patients (6 males) with mean age of 34 years: (21-38 years) presented with staple line leak 1-8 weeks after the operation (mean 2.8 weeks). Patients underwent gastroesophageal stenting by interventional radiology. A total of 23 stents were deployed with mean length of 17.8 cm (7-24 cm) and mean diameter 25.6 mm (18-36 mm). Stent re-insertion was needed in 7 patients (9 procedure), while 6 patients required percutaneous collection drainage and 3 …

Design And Plan Of A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container For Research, John A. Houtman

Open Access Theses

As the world’s population continues to increase, food production will need to increase in order to meet the predicted rise in food demand. However, with increased pressure on cropland available from environmental effects and urbanization, new innovative methods of crop production need to be researched in order to increase agricultural production with limited land. This research focuses on the design of a single form of urban agriculture that is considered Zfarming and has the potential to produce quality urban agricultural produce through ground-based measures. This project produced detailed step-by-step analysis of the design process, develop variability within the modified hydroponic …

A Comparison Of The Efficacy Of Radiant And Immersion Frying Using Hash Brown Patties As A Model Food Matrix, Kaitlin R. Kaczay

Open Access Theses

Radiant frying is an alternative technique to traditional immersion frying. While enjoyed by consumers, immersion fried foods are typically high in fat. Radiant frying uses infrared energy to produce finished products with similar sensory characteristics to traditional frying, but with significantly less fat. This research compared the efficacy of radiant and immersion frying using hash brown patties as a model food matrix by measuring temperature profiles, heat flux profiles, moisture and oil contents, peak shear force, color, mottling, and crust thickness as well as executing semi-trained and untrained sensory evaluations. The FryLess 100K Radiant Fryer was used for all experimentation. …

Recombinant Listeria Adhesion Protein Expressing Probiotics Protect Against Listeria Monocytogenes Infection In Animal Models, Valerie E. Ryan

Open Access Theses

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a foodborne pathogen, found ubiquitously in nature, and has a high morbidity rate among immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, and especially pregnant women and their fetuses resulting in abortion, stillbirth, and neonatal infection. There are currently no preventative medical interventions against Lm infection. The Listeria adhesion protein (LAP) is present in both pathogenic and non-pathogenic Listeria (i.e., L. innocua) and has shown to interact with host epithelial proteins causing tight junction dysregulation aiding in pathogen attachment and paracellular translocation across the host intestinal epithelium. Our lab has demonstrated that recombinant probiotics, Lactobacillus casei (LbcWT) expressing LAP …

Genetic Study Of Carotenoids In Maize Grain (Zea Mays L.), Oscar Rafael Espejel Venado

Open Access Theses

Pro-Vitamin A (proVA) carotenoids, which are converted into retinol (Vitamin A) in the human body, have been the subject of human nutrition studies and are a target for biofortification of staple crops. Historically, β-carotene has been the principal target for enhancing levels of proVA, yet there is recent interest in enhancing the proVA carotenoid β-cryptoxanthin. Studies have shown that β-cryptoxanthin has excellent bioavailability, and its use in maize may be nearly as effective as β-carotene in providing retinol. The primary aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the genetic control of levels of β-cryptoxanthin, conversion of …