Digital Commons Network^™

Activity, Home Range, And Diet Of Semi-Free Ranging Lemurs, Jessica Rowley

Theses & ETDs

This study examines Ringtailed, Mongoose, and Red Ruffed lemurs in an 8.7 acre forest in Southwest Florida. Weekly observations were conducted to record lemur activity (resting, social behavior, foraging, and moving) nearest neighbor, GPS location, and eating behavior including plant part and plant species. All three species engaged in resting behavior more than social behavior, moving, or foraging and were also near a conspecific more than being in contact or far away. Range maps were generated and showed that the Mongoose lemurs were almost completely within the range of Ringtailed lemurs. The Red Ruffed lemurs’ range was mostly on the …

Entomophagy Today: A Cross Country Analysis On The Promotion Of Insects In Food And Feed, Cayle Judge

Theses & ETDs

With the estimation that the world’s population will reach 9 billion by 2050, the FAO has endeavored since 2013 to ensure food security by promoting insects as a sustainable alternative protein source to traditional livestock. However, a lack of information and studies regarding the subject of human entomophagy has left many ambiguities on whether insects will be a successful in practice as well as theory. This study will address three central questions to understand the success of human entomophagy in practice and promotion. First, does eating insects make sense sustainably, nutritionally, and for food security? Second, how and why is …

Mysticism In Medici Florence: A Close Look At The Relationship Of A Ghettoized Jew And A Catholic Medici, Jessica Rose Zimmerman

Theses & ETDs

This thesis investigates the life of a ghettoized Jew, Benedetto Blanis, in Medici Florence during the early seventeenth century. This research relies on Edward Goldberg’s two companion works, published in 2011, transcribing and interpreting 196 letters sent by Benedetto to Don Giovanni De’ Medici. Goldberg provides the letters as they were written in seventeenth-century Italian, and with each he includes a small summary in English. Goldberg explains ghettoization, Jewish mysticism, the synagogue in Florence, along with many other topics related to Benedetto and Don Giovanni’s life as a means to contextualize the two. In 1615, Benedetto was hired by Don …

Anticoagulants And Their Effects On Canine Blood, Sarah Catherine Flax

Theses & ETDs

Anticoagulants, such as Warfarin, are prescribed if a dog is at risk of forming a blood clot or to prevent one from growing larger. Warfarin will chemically inhibit the viability of vitamin K and interfere with the synthesis of coagulating protein factors in the liver and other chemicals that are necessary for clot formation. In essence, Warfarin increases how long it take to make fibrin by delaying the release of fibrinogen. This thesis aims to determine whether a five percent Warfarin solution is significant in slowing the time it takes canine blood to clot. This was done by extracting samples …

Access And Ownership: An Empowerment Approach To Food Insecurity In Newtown, Sarasota, Paula R. Cooper

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines how local activists and leaders of governmental and nongovernmental organizations address food insecurity in the Newtown neighborhood in Sarasota, Florida. Food insecure households are defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as those that have insufficient economic means or other resources to acquire enough food for their entire household. There are nine areas in Sarasota that have a high concentration of households that struggle with food insecurity. Newtown is one of these areas. This thesis adds to the existing literature on food insecurity by using empowerment as a theoretical framework to study programs designed to address …

The Experiences Of The Parents Of Children Undergoing Occupational Therapy Intervention For The Occupation Of Feeding, Michael A. Coldiron

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Occupational therapy practitioners practice under the values of client-centered care and cultural sensitivity. This valuates the role of the occupational therapy practitioner in pediatric feeding intervention pertaining to diverse diets. The problem is that there is a lack of research into the experiences of individuals who consume a diverse diet as they undergo occupational therapy intervention for the occupations of feeding and eating. The purpose of this study was to enable individuals with diverse diets to self-report these experiences. Participants were questioned on the challenges they encountered and detailed questions regarding the types of experiences they face. The study was …

Association Of Blood Lead Levels In Children 0-72 Months With Living In Mid-Appalachia: A Semiecologic Study, R. Constance Wiener, R. J. Jurevic

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Introduction—Lead exposure in children remains a significant public health issue, although many advances have been made. The Mid-Appalachia area (Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) is 89–91% rural with a population density of 16–21 people/km2 (41–54 people/mi2 ). Mid-Appalachia has significant health disparities including concerns for the consequences of greater lead exposure to children due to mining and industrial footprints, and existing older housing. The purpose of this study is to compare the reported blood lead levels of screened children, aged 0–72 months in Mid-Appalachia, to the children in the USA in general.

Methods—Data from the Centers for …

Block And Bridle Annual 2016

Block and Bridle Annual (1933–2021)

Three objectives of the National Block and Bridle Club are to promote animal agriculture through the activities of the club, to supplement students’ study of the animal sciences, and to bring about a closer relationship among students who choose to be a part of the organization. I believe the Block and Bridle club at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln has been successful in accomplishing these goals over the past year and I sincerely thank all of the officers and members who have given their time and effort to make this possible. I am excited to say that our active …

Influencing Adults With Tbi One Ot Skill At A Time, Kala Powell

MOT Student Capstones

This capstone incorporated the skills and knowledge of an occupational therapy (OT) professional into the program at Hinds Feet Farm (HFF), a residential facility housing individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose of the project was to improve the staff members' knowledge and understanding of three areas of need affecting the members' 4 safety and participation in daily occupations. The identified areas of need included: (I) improving cognitive functions; (2) increasing knowledge of nutrition; and (3) learning relaxation techniques to reduce stress. This project was also intended to improve the staffs confidence in choosing and implementing activities addressing each …

Fostering Parent To Foster Child Relationships-One Play Session At A Time: Development Of A Workshop For Easing Transitions And Improving Behaviors, Marlo C. Broyles

MOT Student Capstones

This report includes a review of literature to support development of a workshop to teach strategies for building relationships between foster parents and the children in their care. A search of the literature included locating peer-reviewed, evidence-based literature demonstrating how behaviors exhibited by foster children can make relationship building with the foster parents difficult. Successful strategies from the literature was reviewed to find supporting evidence for creation of the workshop. The literature provided evidence that abused and neglected children demonstrate poor behaviors that will affect their development, contribute to attachment issues with family and peers, produce sensory deficits, and children …

The Association Of Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biomarkers And Cardiovascular Disease In The Us Population, Omayma Alshaarawy, Hosam A. Elbaz, Michael E. Andrew

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potent atmospheric pollutants produced by incomplete combustion of organic materials. Pre-clinical and occupational studies have reported a positive association of PAHs with oxidative stress, inflammation and subsequent development of atherosclerosis, a major underlying risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of the current study is to estimate the association between levels of PAH biomarkers and CVD in a national representative sample of United States (US) adults.

Methods: We examined adult participants (≥20 years of age) from the merged US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2010. Logistic regression models were used to estimate …

Assessing Climate Change And Health Vulnerability At The Local Level: Travis County, Texas, Natasha Prudent, Adele Houghton, George Luber

United States Public Health Resources

We created a measure to help comprehend population vulnerability to potential flooding and excessive heat events using health, built environment and social factors. Through principal component analysis (PCA), we created non-weighted sum index scores of literature-reviewed social and built environment characteristics. We created baseline poor health measures using 1999–2005 ageadjusted cardiovascular and combined diabetes and hypertension mortality rates to correspond with social–built environment indices. We mapped US Census block groups by linked ageadjusted mortality and a PCA-created social–built environment index. The goal was to measure flooding and excessive heat event vulnerability as proxies for population vulnerability to climate change for …

Urinary Concentrations Of Pah And Voc Metabolites In Marijuana Users, Binnian Wei, K. Udeni Alwis, Zheng Li, Lanqing Wang, Liza Valentin-Blasini, Connie S. Sosnoff, Yang Xia, Kevin P. Conway, Benjamin C. Blount

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Marijuana is seeing increased therapeutic use, and is the world's third most-popular recreational drug following alcohol and tobacco. This widening use poses increased exposure to potentially toxic combustion by-products from marijuana smoke and the potential for public health concerns.

Objectives: To compare urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among self-reported recent marijuana users and nonusers, while accounting for tobacco smoke exposure.

Methods: Measurements of PAH and VOC metabolites in urine samples were combined with questionnaire data collected from participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2005 to 2012 in …

Cell Non-Autonomous Regulation Of Hepatic Igf-1 And Neonatal Growth By Kinase Suppressor Of Ras 2 (Ksr2), Lili Guo, Diane L. Costanzo-Garvey, Deandra R. Smith, Megan E. Zavorka, Megan Venable-Kang, Richard G. Macdonald, Robert E. Lewis

United States Public Health Resources

Individuals with poor postnatal growth are at risk for cardiovascular and metabolic problems as adults. Here we show that disruption of the molecular scaffold Kinase Suppressor of Ras 2 (KSR2) causes selective inhibition of hepatic GH signaling in neonatal mice with impaired expression of IGF-1 and IGFBP3. ksr2^−/− mice are normal size at birth but show a marked increase in FGF21 accompanied by reduced body mass, shortened body length, and reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC) first evident during postnatal development. However, disrupting FGF21 in ksr2^−/− mice does not normalize mass, length, or bone density and …

Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Fall 2016, Suffolk University

Suffolk University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Leaf Surface Chemical Properties On Efficacy Of Sanitizer For Rotavirus Inactivation, Miyu Fuzawa, Kang-Mo Ku, Sindy Paola Palma-Salgado, Kenya Nagasaka, Hao Feng, John A. Juvik, Daisuke Sano, Joanna L. Shisler, Thanh H. Nguyen, E. G. Dudley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The use of sanitizers is essential for produce safety. However, little is known about how sanitizer efficacy varies with respect to the chemical surface properties of produce. To answer this question, the disinfection efficacies of an oxidant-based sanitizer and a new surfactant-based sanitizer for porcine rotavirus (PRV) strain OSU were examined. PRV was attached to the leaf surfaces of two kale cultivars with high epicuticular wax contents and one cultivar of endive with a low epicuticular wax content and then treated with each sanitizer. The efficacy of the oxidant-based sanitizer correlated with leaf wax content as evidenced by the 1-log10 …

An Analysis Of Water Collection Labor Among Women And Children In 24 Sub-Saharan African Countries., Jay Graham, Mitsuaki Hirai, Seung-Sup Kim

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) must leave their home to collect water, putting them at risk for a variety of negative health outcomes. There is little research, however, quantifying who is most affected by long water collection times.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to a) describe gender differences in water collection labor among both adults and children (< 15 years of age) in the households (HHs) that report spending more than 30 minutes collecting water, disaggregated by urban and rural residence; and b) estimate the absolute number of adults and children affected by water collection times greater than 30 minutes in 24 SSA countries.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) (2005-2012) to describe water collection labor in 24 SSA countries.

RESULTS: Among households spending more than …

Redrawing The Us Obesity Landscape: Bias-Corrected Estimates Of State-Specific Adult Obesity Prevalence., Zachary J Ward, Michael W. Long, Stephen C Resch, Steven L Gortmaker, Angie L Cradock, Catherine Giles, Amber Hsiao, Y Claire Wang

Prevention and Community Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: State-level estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underestimate the obesity epidemic because they use self-reported height and weight. We describe a novel bias-correction method and produce corrected state-level estimates of obesity and severe obesity.

METHODS: Using non-parametric statistical matching, we adjusted self-reported data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2013 (n = 386,795) using measured data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (n = 16,924). We validated our national estimates against NHANES and estimated bias-corrected state-specific prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30) and severe obesity (BMI≥35). We compared these results with previous …

A New Look At Care In Pregnancy: Simple, Effective Interventions For Neglected Populations, Stephen Hodgins, James M. Tielsch, Kristen Rankin, Amber Robinson, Annie Kearns, Jacquelyn Caglia

Global Health Faculty Publications

Background

Although this is beginning to change, the content of antenatal care has been relatively neglected in safe-motherhood program efforts. This appears in part to be due to an unwarranted belief that interventions over this period have far less impact than those provided around the time of birth. In this par, we review available evidence for 21 interventions potentially deliverable during pregnancy at high coverage to neglected populations in low income countries, with regard to effectiveness in reducing risk of: maternal mortality, newborn mortality, stillbirth, prematurity and intrauterine growth restriction. Selection was restricted to interventions that can be provided by …

Students' Perspectives Of Mathematics, Karen M. Kempe

Theses and Graduate Projects

Mathematical education in the United States has evolved through the centuries in order to adjust to the demands of society and prepare students for success. A quality mathematics program in our world today requires teachers to have thorough content knowledge, an understanding of students' developmental thought processes, and constructivist teaching principles that are student-centered This study aims to examine students' perspectives on mathematics using qualitative research methods with the goal to produce theories that will help teachers create a math program that is based off of the needs of students as determined from understanding their mathematical perspectives. Centered on qualitative …

The Relation Between Patient Education And Picc Line Occlusion, Patricia Louise Petroulias

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of using an electronic tablet to supplement patient and caregiver education about PICC line maintenance and to compare the percentage of PICC line complications in the intervention group with national percentage rates for patients and caregivers. Newly diagnosed cancer patients who had PICC lines inserted participated in this study. They used an electronic tablet to learn the 10 steps for flushing their PICC lines correctly. They also met with the researcher via FaceTime to review the steps.

A total of 11 patients participated in this quasi-experimental pilot study. They completed …

An Ethnographic Investigation Of The Maternity Healthcare Experience Of Immigrants In Rural And Urban Alberta, Canada., Gina M. Higginbottom, Jalal Safipour, Sophie Yohani, Beverly O’Brien, Zubia Mumtaz, Patricia Paton, Yvonne Chiu, Rubina Barolia

School of Nursing & Midwifery

BACKGROUND:

Canada is among the top immigrant-receiving nations in the world. Immigrant populations may face structural and individual barriers in the access to and navigation of healthcare services in a new country. The aims of the study were to (1) generate new understanding of the processes that perpetuate immigrant disadvantages in maternity healthcare, and (2) devise potential interventions that might improve maternity experiences and outcomes for immigrant women in Canada.

METHODS:

The study utilized a qualitative research approach that focused on ethnographic research design and data analysis contextualized within theories of organizational behaviour and critical realism. Data were collected over …

10. Browsing By White-Tailed Deer On Invasive Oriental Bittersweet Spreading Into Restored Grasslands, Neal Mundahl, Bruno Borsari

North American Prairie Conference Proceedings

Non-native oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.) was first detected in southeastern Minnesota in 2010 and has spread from woodlands into adjacent grasslands. Anecdotal evidence suggests that browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on young oriental bittersweet slows the growth and spread of this plant. This study assessed the population characteristics of density, age structure, growth rate, and branching morphology of oriental bittersweet in small, restored grasslands (mixed native grasses and forbs) in Winona County, Minnesota, and quantified the browsing damage inflicted by white-tailed deer on bittersweet and native red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) at the end of winter. Bittersweet densities …

07. The Effects Of Seed Mix Diversity On Soil Conditions And Nesting Of Bees In Prairie Restorations, Nicholas Anderson, Alexandrea Harmon-Threatt

North American Prairie Conference Proceedings

With the goal of conserving native bees, current recommendations for improving habitats include increasing available floral resources by planting diverse seed mixes. However, these recommendations only account for the nutritional needs of bees while the availability of equally important nesting resources is often ignored. Here we used a novel system to investigate the effects of seed mix diversity on abiotic factors previously associated with nest sites of ground-nesting bees—available bare ground and soil temperature, moisture, and compaction—and on the occurrence of nests. We used standard bee-collecting techniques and a newer method using soil emergence tents (E-tents) to assess how seed …

Innovations In Packaging Of Fermented Food Products, Begonya Marcos, Carmen Bueno-Ferrer, Avelina Fernández

Books/Book Chapters/ Proceedings

Food packaging is designed to contain and protect foods, to provide required information about the food and to make food handling convenient from distribution to consumer’s table. The primary functions of packaging are to achieve preservation and the safe delivery of food products until consumption (Han, 2014). Food packaging technology is continuously evolving in response to growing challenges from a modern society (Realini & Marcos, 2014). Major current and future challenges to fast-moving consumer goods packaging include legislation, global markets, longer shelf life, convenience, safer and healthier food, environmental concerns, authenticity and food waste (Kerry, 2014). This background offers a …

Town Of Raymond, New Hampshire 2015 Annual Report., Raymond Town Representatives

Raymond, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Undergraduate And Graduate Program Descriptions For 2016-2017, Wright State University

Program Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate program descriptions for the 2016-2017 school year. This document also includes program descriptions for undergraduate and graduate certificates, licensures, master's degrees, and more.

Pulse - Winter 2016, Issue Two, Brielle Rutledge, Ashtyn Mann, Bailey Williams, Angelica Bartorelli, Taylor Shaindlin, Mackenzie Loete, Vanessa Cruz, Heidi Thaemert

PULSE

PULSE is the bi-quarterly student-run lifestyle magazine of Central Washington University.

Seasonal Physiological Dynamics Of Maturing Female Southern Flounder (Paralichthys Lethostigma), Casey A. Grieshaber, Stephen R. Midway, Frederick S. Scharf, Heather Koopman, J. Adam Luckenbach, Mollie A. Middleton

Faculty Publications

Physiological information is rarely used in descriptions of maturity for managed, wild fish species; however, the use of physiological data holds great promise to provide important detail on the complexities of oocyte development and maturity. Investigating southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma)—an overfished commercial and recreational fishery resource—we examined pre-spawn physiological changes in females to provide further detail of the maturation process. Given that adults of this species complete maturation and spawn in unknown offshore locations, information on pre-spawn physiological changes is particularly informative for both size- and age-based patterns of maturity. We evaluated seasonal and ontogenetic changes in hormone concentrations in …

The Likely Mismatch Between Federal Research & Development Funding And Desired Innovation, Joshua D. Sarnoff

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Scholars are beginning to develop theoretical analyses of the different forms of government funding that promote innovation. These analyses indicate the need for extensive empirical research into the comparative advantages and various abilities of differing governmental and private institutions. Currently, empirical analyses are lacking, as data for such studies is rarely obtained. Worse yet, analyses of the ways funding decisions are actually made indicate that research and development funding decisions are not governed by a theory of comparative innovation advantage. Accordingly, we can expect a substantial mismatch between actual funding choices and desired innovation policy.

This Article identifies practical considerations …