Digital Commons Network^™

Paying But Half Heed To My Father And His World: Daughters And Fathers In Postcolonial Texts Of South Africa And Ireland, Jody Lee Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reads novels from South Africa and Ireland by noted writers like Nadine Gordimer and William Trevor, in order to examine how the peripheral and underanalyzed literary daughter has been increasingly used as a symbol of the developing postcolonial state. This reading focuses especially on the daughter-father dyad and how through this relationship the daughter reconfigures herself as what Kwame Anthony Appiah has elsewhere called "a partial cosmopolitan" - that is, a individual connected to both the local environment and to the larger global culture. This dual connection that I trace is established in a range of ways throughout …

Vitamin D Awareness, Prevalence Of Supplementation And Estimated Total Vitamin D Intake In College Athletes, Bennett Leitch

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to investigate the awareness of vitamin D among collegiate athletes and evaluate the association between vitamin D awareness and total dietary intake of vitamin D. Eighty-one athletes completed the vitamin D awareness and dietary intake questionnaire. The results showed that males and females had very little concern over their vitamin D levels. Men reported 20.7% while females 25% for “likely” or “very likely”. Furthermore, overall male and female belief for being at risk for vitamin D deficiency was low. Males reported 24.1% for either “likely” or “very likely” to be at risk for deficiency and females 30.7% …

Critical Illness Polyneuropathy, Complications, Erica E. Hjelmstad

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: Critical Illness Polyneuropathy/Myopathy results from the presence of sepsis, multi-organ or respiratory failure, septic inflammatory response syndrome, or difficulty weaning from the ventilator. Decreased amplitudes of compound muscle and sensory action potentials, and widespread denervation potentials in muscle are the primary cause for the resultant muscle weakness. The purpose of this paper is to report on the rehabilitation progress in a woman who developed CIP following surgical complications.

Case Description: A 63-year-old woman suffered from critical illness polyneuropathy following a complicated recovery following a sigmoidectomy secondary to diverticular disease. Multiple surgeries, inability to wean from …

Accessibility And Perceived Value Of Pre-Admission Clinical Contact Hours: A Physical Therapy Student Perspective, Katie Anderson, Megan Volden

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

Background and Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine whether professional physical therapy students experience challenges obtaining pre-admission contact hours and if they found them to be beneficial. The results of the survey will be utilized to allow physical therapy programs to make informed decisions about admission requirements in regard to pre-admission contact hours.

Methods: This study was performed utilizing an electronic survey sent in an e-mail to program chairpersons or Directors of Clinical Education, asking them to distribute the survey to their respective current students. All accredited physical therapy programs in the United States were …

Developmental Dysplasia Of The Hip: A Case Study, Joseph D. Taylor

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this case study was to describe the implementation of a conservative treatment protocol for dysplasia of the hip in a young girl in an attempt to prevent surgical intervention. A secondary objective of reducing femoral acetabular impingement was subsequently undertaken in the course of the case study.

BACKGROUND: The patient was a 16 year old female with a diagnosis of bilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DOH), bilateral femoral acetabular impingement (FAI), anterior superior labral tear to left (L) hip, elevated antinuclear antibody (ANA) screening and a history of depression.

PLAN OF CARE …

Plant And Arthropod Associations With Environmental Gradients In A Northern Tallgrass Prairie, Bryon Wayne Deal

Theses and Dissertations

Plants and arthropods are the base of grassland communities, and their interactions with environmental gradients and each other can determine their composition and spatial structure within a site. The composition and spatial structure of these communities can determine how they contribute to grassland function, yet grassland conservation and restoration efforts typically do not consider both plants and arthropods. As a result, our understanding of how plant and arthropod communities assemble in response to environmental gradients, and each other, in the same space is incomplete. Furthermore, most studies of grassland community assembly do not address assembly across multiple taxonomic levels, and …

Novelty Detection And Cluster Analysis In Time Series Data Using Variational Autoencoder Feature Maps, Sophine Clachar

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of atypical events and anomalies in complex data systems is

an essential yet challenging task. The dynamic nature of these systems produces huge volumes of data that is often heterogeneous, and the failure to account for this will impede the detection of anomalies. Time series data encompass these issues and its high dimensional nature intensifies these challenges.

This research presents a framework for the identification of anomalies in temporal data. A comparative analysis of Centroid, Density and Neural Network-based clustering techniques was performed and their scalability was assessed. This facilitated the development of a new algorithm called the …

The Impact Of Trauma On Children’S Functioning And The Utility Of The Cbcl Ptsd Profile, Nicola Ashton Herting

Theses and Dissertations

The high rates of trauma exposure among children and adolescents is a major public health concern due to the many ways trauma can adversely impact cognitive, emotional, and social development and functioning. The high rates of comorbidity between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and other mental health disorders translate to complex diagnostic pictures. When conducting psychological, educational, or neuropsychological evaluations it is therefore imperative that clinicians assess for trauma to accurately diagnose, but ultimately to ensure appropriate recommendations for treatment and interventions are made. Several challenges to screening and assessing PTSS among children and adolescents have prompted the identification of efficient …

Using Simian Virus 40 As A Model To Determine The Effects Of Replication And Transcription On Histone Methylation, Les Kallestad

Theses and Dissertations

Simian Virus 40 (SV40) is a well-characterized virus whose small circular DNA genome is organized into chromatin and, as a consequence, undergoes many of the same biological processes observed in cellular chromatin. SV40 early transcription is repressed when the product of early transcription, T-antigen, binds to its cognate regulatory sequence, Site I, in the promoter of the SV40 minichromosome. We have subsequently shown that T-antigen binding to Site I results in the replication-dependent introduction of H3K9me1 into SV40 chromatin late in infection. Since H3K9me2 and H3K9me3 are also present late in infection, we determined whether their presence was also related …

Role Of The Cholesterol Metabolite 27-Hydroxycholesterol In Breast And Prostate Cancer, Shaneabbas S. Raza

Theses and Dissertations

The cholesterol metabolites known as oxysterols play an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis. They play vital roles in inflammation, cell growth, cell signaling, immunity, oxidative stress and aging. Following the discovery that the most abundant oxysterol, 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) is a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM), it has been implicated in hormonal cancers such as breast and uterine cancer. 27-OHC is a ligand of estrogen receptors (ER), a nuclear hormone receptor involved in cell growth and proliferation. The downstream events followed by 27-OHC-induced ER activation in the context of breast cancer is unknown. Also, the role of 27-OHC in prostate …

Hypothalamus And Pituitary Gland Development In The Common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra Serpentina, And Disruption With Atrazine Exposure, Kathryn Lee Gruchalla Russart

Theses and Dissertations

Neural control of the endocrine system originates in the hypothalamus in all vertebrates. The hypothalamus signals directly to the pituitary gland to maintain homeostasis by releasing hormones directly into the bloodstream. Hormones travel to peripheral endocrine organs, and regulate widespread activities including growth, metabolism, stress response, circadian rhythms, water balance, and reproduction. Many of these functions have sex-specific aspects, and therefore sexual dimorphism in morphology and function of the hypothalamus is present. Sex-specific genetic background and morphology is established during pre- and peri-natal development, during which sexually dimorphic cellular differentiation occurs and hormonal profiles are set. Disruption of development can …

Instructors’ Perspectives Of Giving Audio And Video Feedback: Can You Hear Me Now?, Jane Marie Sims

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated university instructors’ perspectives, values and processes of giving assignment feedback to students using written, audio and video formats and examined samples of feedback in these formats for differences in amount of content, language complexity and tone of feedback. The instructors represented different campus disciplines and a variety of campus, online and hybrid environments, and their classes included undergraduate and graduate students and ranged from small to large class sizes. This qualitative study applied Media Naturalness Theory to a phenomenological and discourse analysis of instructor interviews and feedback samples. The interview data revealed intentionality in selecting different feedback …

Purging Pathology And Interpersonal-Psychological Variables As Predictors Of Suicidal Ideation, Alexandra Thiel

Theses and Dissertations

The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory on Suicidal Behavior (IPTS; Joiner,

2005; Joiner, Ribeiro, & Silva, 2012), proposes that active suicidal ideation is formed when an individual experiences high perceived burdensomeness, low perceived belongingness, and hopelessness (Joiner et al., 2012). Eating disorders (ED) are associated with high mortality rates from suicide (Harris & Barraclough, 1997), and recently researchers have begun applying IPTS to ED symptomatology (Smith et al., 2013; Dodd, Smith, & Bodell, 2014). In particular, purging-type EDs are associated with increased risk for suicide (Fedorowicz et al., 2007; Milos, Spindler, Hepp, & Schnyder, 2004; Protzky, van Heeringen, & Vervaet, 2014). Thus, the …

Identification Of Mild Freezing Shock Response Pathways In Barley Based On Transcriptome Profiling, Xiaolei Wang, Dezhi Wu, Qian Yang, Jianbin Zeng, Gulei Jin, Zhong-Hua Chen, Guoping Zhang, Fei Dai

Publications

Low temperature is a major abiotic stress affecting crop growth and productivity. A better understanding of low temperature tolerance mechanisms is imperative for developing the crop cultivars with improved tolerance. We herein performed an Illumina RNA-sequencing experiment using two barley genotypes differing in freezing tolerance (Nure, tolerant and Tremois, sensitive), to determine the transcriptome profiling and genotypic difference under mild freezing shock treatment after a very short acclimation for gene induction. A total of 6474 differentially expressed genes, almost evenly distributed on the seven chromosomes, were identified. The key DEGs could be classified into six signaling pathways, i.e., Ca(2+) signaling, …

Macronutrient-Flavonoid Interactions, Effects In Model Food Matrices, Jennifer Louise Allen

Open Access Dissertations

Macronutrient-flavonoid interactions have been well documented through the years. Chapter 1 of this document provides an introduction of the literature documenting the theoretical and mechanical framework of their importance in human health, biological interactions, macronutrient interaction, and general bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Though macronutrient interactions have been characterized, often the levels utilized are above those that may be seen in processed food products due to undesirable effects. This document covers the effects two commonly used plant extracts, green tea extract and grape seed, may have on the macronutrient functionality in model food matrices. In Chapter 2 the effects of crude extracts …

Understanding, Evaluating, And Diagnosing Undergraduate Student Difficulties With Graph Choice And Construction, Aakanksha Angra

Open Access Dissertations

Creating effective graphical representations of biological data is an essential component in the practices of science and involves engaging concepts and skills of quantitative literacy. With undergraduate biology students increasingly involved in scientific inquiry and experimentation, they are faced with the task of choosing and creating appropriate graphical representations of their data to communicate their findings. However, difficulties with graph choice and construction that were previously documented in literature, still exist today at both the K-12 and undergraduate levels. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand the reasoning involved behind choosing certain graph types and the process that occurs …

Dissecting The Multifaceted Relationship Between Maize And Cochliobolus Carbonum Race 1, Kevin Chu

Open Access Dissertations

The maize pathogen Cochliobolus carbonum race 1 (CCR1) utilizes HC-toxin, an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, as a key determinant of virulence. The maize Hm1 gene confers complete resistance to CCR1 at all stages of development by encoding for an NADPH-dependent reductase that inactivates HC-toxin. Hm1A, Hm1-SM1, and Hm1-SM2 are alleles of Hm1 that exhibit an adult plant resistance (APR) phenotype, being fairly susceptible during the seedling stage and gradually increasing in resistance with development. The HM1A protein differs from HM1 by five amino acid substitutions while HM1-SM1 and HM1-SM2 have a single amino acid substitution each in the predicted NADPH …

The Influence Of Carrier Water Quality, Coapplied Foliar Fertilizer, And Water Conditioning Adjuvant On Herbicide Efficacy, Pratap Devkota

Open Access Dissertations

Water is the primary carrier for herbicide applications; therefore, carrier water quality factors such as pH, hardness, temperature, or turbidity could be critical for influencing herbicide performance. Currently, there is no information on the effect of carrier water temperature on herbicides applied for weed control in agronomic crops. In previous research, carrier water pH or hardness was found to influence herbicide efficacy; however, the results were variable depending upon herbicides and weed species. The antagonism of coapplied agrochemicals on glyphosate efficacy were reported by previous researchers. In contrary, the enhancement of glyphosate efficacy was illustrated by water conditioning adjuvants such …

Laser Shock Imprinting Of Metallic Nanostructures And Shock Processing Of Low-Dimensional Materials, Yaowu Hu

Open Access Dissertations

Laser shock imprinting (LSI) is proposed and developed as a novel ultrafast room-temperature top-down technique for fabricating and tuning of plasmonic nanostructures, and processing of one-dimensional semiconductor nanowires and two-dimensional crystals. The technique utilizes a shock pressure generated by laser ablation of sacrificial materials. Compared with conventional technologies, LSI features ambient condition, good scalability, low cost and high efficiency.

Chd Chromatin Remodelers Promote Epigenetic Control Of Development In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Benjamin Carter

Open Access Dissertations

Chromatin remodeling is a vital biological process that facilitates activation and repression of gene expression as well as compaction of large eukaryotic genomes into compact nuclei. The CHD3 family of chromatin remodelers play key roles as epigenetic modifiers and transcriptional regulators in both plants and animals. PKL is a CHD3 remodeler that represses expression of seed genes during germination in Arabidopsis. Unlike animal CHD3 remodelers, PKL does not function as a member of a multi-subunit Mi-2 NuRD complex. Instead, PKL acts as a monomer in vivo and promotes the epigenetic modification H3K27me3, which is associated with transcriptional repression of tissue-specific …

The Influence Of Chirality On The Behavioral Responses Of Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) To Volatile And Contact Pheromones, Gabriel Patrick Hughes

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present research I conducted to test the hypothesis that chirality influences the behavioral resposnses of longhorned beetles to volatile and contact pheromones. Structures of pheromones in the longhorned beetles generally fall along taxonomic lines, and various structural modifications such as functional groups and stereochemistry are used to grant species spcecificity to these signals. Effects of chirality on the bioactivity of volatile pheromones has been documented in the longhorned beetle subfamily Cerambycinae, but little is known about how stereochemistry affects behavioral responses of conspecifics to contact pheromones in this subfamily, and volatile pheromones in the Lamiinae.

Designer Collagen-Fibril Biograft Materials For Tunable Molecular Delivery, Rucha Joshi

Open Access Dissertations

One of the biggest challenges in tissue engineering currently is the formation of a functional microvascular network as part of an engineered tissue graft. Despite many advances in tissue engineering methods, the field still awaits biograft designs that enable neovascularization at clinically relevant size scales. Critical to the design of such materials are tissue-specific physico-mechanical properties and controlled local therapeutic molecular release.

Protein Function, Diveristy And Functional Interplay, Ishita Kamal Khan

Open Access Dissertations

Functional annotations of novel or unknown proteins is one of the central problems in post-genomics bioinformatics research. With the vast expansion of genomic and proteomic data and technologies over the last decade, development of automated function prediction (AFP) methods for large-scale identification of protein function has be-come imperative in many aspects. In this research, we address two important divergences from the “one protein – one function” concept on which all existing AFP methods are developed:

Relationships Between Dietary Fiber Structural Features And Growth And Utilization Patterns Of Human Gut Bacteria, Xin Nie

Open Access Dissertations

Intake of dietary fiber is considered an essential strategy to influence gut microbiota, which is associated with many diet-related chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel diseases. In order to make a better choice of dietary fiber for a desired microbiota shift related to a health outcome, knowledge of fiber degradation and utilization by gut bacteria is critical. However, it is still unclear how specific dietary fiber structures may influence the growth of target bacteria.

Underwater Bonding With Polymer Mimics Of Mussel Adhesive Proteins, Michael A. North

Open Access Dissertations

When it comes to underwater adhesion, shellfish are the true experts. Mussels, barnacles, and oysters attach to rocks with apparent ease. Yet our man-made glues often fail miserably when trying to stick in wet environments. Results described herein focus on poly[(3,4-dihydroxystyrene)-co-styrene], a polymer mimic of mussel adhesive proteins. Underwater bonding was examined as a function of several parameters including polymer molecular weight and composition. In doing so, several surprising results emerged. Poly[(3,4-dihydroxystyrene)-co-styrene] may be the strongest underwater adhesive found to date. Bonding even exceeded that of the reference biological system, live mussels. Adhesion was also found to be stronger under …

Towards Single-Chip Nano-Systems, Hossein Pajouhi

Open Access Dissertations

Important scientific discoveries are being propelled by the advent of nano-scale sensors that capture weak signals from their environment and pass them to complex instrumentation interface circuits for signal detection and processing. The highlight of this research is to investigate fabrication technologies to integrate such precision equipment with nano-sensors on a single complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip. In this context, several demonstration vehicles are proposed. First, an integration technology suitable for a fully integrated flexible microelectrode array has been proposed. A microelectrode array containing a single temperature sensor has been characterized and the versatility under dry/wet, and relaxed/strained conditions …

Regulation Of T Cells And Tissue Inflammation By Short Chain Fatty Acids, Jeong Ho Park

Open Access Dissertations

Intestinal microbiota regulate various biological processes in the host. Intestinal microbiota produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) via dietary fiber fermentation. SCFAs have profound effects on the immune system. We investigated the roles of SCFAs in regulating T cell differentiation and tissue inflammation. We found that SCFAs regulate T cell differentiation and T cell-mediated immunity. SCFAs enhanced both IL-10+ T cell and Th1/Th17 effector T cell differentiation. SCFAs inhibited histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity and upregulated acetylation of p70 S6 kinase and mTOR activation in T cells. We also found that prolonged exposure to high concentration of SCFA cause ureteral obstruction …

The Interpersonal Psychological Theory Of Suicide: Suicidal Ideation And Behaviors Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual College Students And Their Heterosexual Peers, Rachel Ann Ploskonka

Open Access Dissertations

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) college students are among the most vulnerable to suicidal ideation and behaviors when compared to both heterosexual college students and other, generally older, members of the LGB community (Oswalt & Wyatt, 2011). Joiner’s (2005) interpersonal psychological theory of suicide seems to be a possible framework for conceptualizing suicidal ideation and behaviors for LGB college students. Joiner (2005) posited that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness are associated with suicidal ideation and that acquired capability is related to suicidal behaviors. With respect to thwarted belongingness, researchers have posited that LGB college students have four primary interpersonal connections, …

An Ecology Of Place In Composition Studies, Jonathan Scott Wallin

Open Access Dissertations

Wallin, Jonathan Scott, Ph.D, Purdue University, December 2016. An Ecology of Place in Composition Studies. Major Professor: Patricia Sullivan.

Structural And Biochemical Characterization Of Deubiquitinating Enzymes, Sst2 And Ssel, Rashmi Kalicharan Shrestha

Open Access Dissertations

Associated molecule with SH3 domain of molecule (STAM), or AMSH, is a