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

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

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

Student Perceptions Of Learning Strategies In A Secondary Video Production Classroom, Jeffrey M. Doles

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study asked the participants to reflect on their own learning experiences as a result of the instructional practices employed by the instructor to create an improved learning environment for students. The research investigated student perceptions of their learning via classmates' produced tutorials and how viewing the tutorials affected their attitudes and perceptions towards learning. Sixteen secondary video production class students ages 14 through 18 participated in the study. Eight students participated in one-on-one personally conducted interviews. Eight students were chosen for audio-audio-recorded interviews. All 16 students completed online surveys. All students participated in focus group interviews. This …

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

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

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

Piperlongumine (Piplartine) And Analogues: Antiproliferative Microtubule-Destabilising Agents, Mary J. Meegan, Seema M. Nathwani, Brendan Twamley, Daniela M. Zisterer, Niamh O'Boyle

Articles

Piperlongumine (piplartine, 1) is a small molecule alkaloid that is receiving intense interest due to its antiproliferative and anticancer activities. We investigated the effects of 1 on tubulin and microtubules. Using both an isolated tubulin assay, and a combination of sedimentation and Western blotting, we demonstrated that 1 is a tubulin-destabilising agent. This result was confirmed by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, which showed that microtubules in MCF-7 breast cancer cells were depolymerised when treated with 1. We synthesised a number of analogues of 1 to explore structure-activity relationships. Compound 13 had the best cytotoxic profile of this series, …

Characterizing Molecular Mechanisms Modulating Pile Expression In Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Thao Le Masters

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Initially, regulation of pilE expression was simplified into a model where integration host factor (IHF) activates a single -35/-10 promoter upon binding to an upstream region of the promoter. In this study, we show that pilE is potentially modulated at a transcriptional as well as a post-transcriptional level by transcription of cis-acting antisense RNAs within the pilE coding sequence and through formation of RNA secondary structures within its 5' untranslated region (5' UTR). Using a combination of in vitro transcription, site-directed mutagenesis, Northern blot, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we have identified three unconventional promoter elements, in addition to …

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

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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

A Fret Investigation Into Molecular Mechanisms Of Cardiac Troponin Activation In Reconstituted Thin Filaments, Maria Eleni Moutsoglou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiomyopathies (CM) are the leading cause of death in America, and can develop from mutations in sarcomeric proteins, leading to altered protein structure and function. Current therapies target upstream signaling pathways to treat the symptoms of heart failure, but are associated with increased mortality by affecting downstream signaling pathways and other muscle types. Rational drug design can develop therapies to treat CM at the protein level. However, a detailed knowledge of how sarcomeric proteins regulate muscle contraction is required. Muscle contraction occurs through a cyclic interaction between actin thin and myosin thick filaments, regulated by intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Troponin (Tn), …

A Gendered Lens Of Understanding Confidence, Abbey Johnston

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Women make up approximately half of the U.S. workforce, yet far fewer women than men reach senior management and leadership positions. Women enter the workplace at levels similar to men, with comparable credentials and expectations, but their career paths rapidly diverge. This discrepancy among males and females can be associated, in part, to the documented difference in confidence between men and women. This study addressed the critical topic of how gender may impact an individual’s understanding and level of confidence and utilized the theoretical lenses of Mead’s (1934) Symbolic Interactionism and the Standpoint Theory of Harding (1991) and Wood (2004). …

Girls And Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics) In Catholic Schools: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Interest, Confidence, And Perceptions Of Stem, Rachel Lynn-Pleis Mckenna

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been a considerable push in emphasizing STEM—an acronym standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—as an integral aspect of educational curriculums. Even though research suggests that females tend to outperform males in standardized testing in STEM areas, they remain underrepresented in STEM careers and in the achievement of STEM degrees. In preparing this dissertation, therefore, the researcher investigated this issue by looking specifically at 4th- through 8th-grade girls in Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Jose, CA, which covers the Greater Silicon Valley region, one of the world's epicenters for technological innovations. In …

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

Theses

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

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

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

Towards The Identification Of Metabolite Markers Of Nipple Pain And Inflammation In Human Milk, Erin Fee

Theses

Background: Human milk is considered the best source of nutrition for all newborns as it contains important growth, developmental and immunological factors. The WHO (2003) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of age, with complementary breastfeeding up to two years and beyond. However, some women experience complications of the breast that lead to early cessation of breastfeeding, which can adversely affect the well being of the developing infant and her own health.

Nipple pain is the most commonly cited reason for weaning in the first week postpartum. Nipple pain is also linked to mastitis from milk stasis and …

Dna Methylation Biomarkers For Esophageal Adenocarcinoma And Precursor Disease, Melissa L. Thomas

Theses

Esophageal adenocarcinoma has one of the poorest outcomes of all solid tumors, attributable, at least in part, to lack of an early stage diagnostic test. Aberrant methylation is an early and frequent event in carcinogenesis providing an opportunity for early cancer detection. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify and validate regions of aberrant methylation as a biomarker for early detection of esophageal adenocarcinoma and the dysplastic stages of its precursor disease, Barrett’s esophagus. By using well-classified patient data and stringent, quality controlled biospecimen selection for training and validation cohorts, I found regions of diseaseassociated aberrant methylation that …

Conditioning The Estimating Ultimate Recovery Of Shale Wells To Reservoir And Completion Parameters, Maher Jasim Alabboodi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the last years, gas production from shale has increased significantly in the United States. Therefore, many studies have been focused on shale formation in different areas such as fracturing, reservoir simulation, forecasting and so on. Forecasting production or estimating ultimate recovery (EUR) is considered to be one of the most important items in the production development planning. The certainty in EUR calculation is questionable because there are different parameters that impact production and consequently the EUR such as rock properties and well completion design.;Different methods to calculate EUR have been used in the industry. Traditionally, the decline curve analysis …

Risk Of Newly-Diagnosed Depression, Treatment And Its Economic Outcomes Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries With Incident Breast, Colorectal Or Prostate Cancer, Monira Mansour Alwhaibi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Depression is a highly prevalent chronic condition among the elderly cancer survivors. It is estimated that 5-25% of elderly cancer survivors suffer from depression. Depression co-existing with cancer is associated with many negative health consequences such as high mortality, poor health related quality of life and high healthcare utilization and expenditures. However, depression is treatable with pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy or combination of both. There are no studies that examine the variations in the risk of depression by cancer types and there are few studies that examined the rates of depression treatment among elderly with cancer. In addition, there is lack of …

Experiences Of Parents Of Children Adopted From Overseas: A Thematic Analysis Of Narratives, Ekaterina Anatolyevna Amarando

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Parents from the United States adopt more children from overseas than parents from any other country. There are numerous factors that play a role in the decision to adopt internationally, and most families remain highly satisfied with the adoption outcome (Adoption Institute, 2010). However, families with internationally adopted children face numerous challenges during their adoption journey, and generally report a higher utilization of professional services than biological families (Adoption Institute, 2010). In this study I utilized a qualitative research design to examine experiences of parents who adopted children from other countries. Thematic analysis of family narratives was employed to examine …

Microfluidic Based Hydrate Permeability System: Design And Construction, Matthew Tacker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Methane hydrates represent a vast and untapped fossil fuel resource underlying large portions of the world's artic continental surfaces and sub-sea continental shelves. These hydrates are crystalline solids that consist of methane molecules surrounded by cages of interacting water molecules, similar to ice. Methane hydrates occur naturally, where temperature and pressure conditions favor their formation. In order to utilize these resources, methods must be developed to determine the conditions most favorable to hydrate extraction. One important condition is permeability and how it is affected by hydrates. Due to the difficulty and cost of field studies, the study of laboratory-synthesized hydrates …

Sites Of Education: Race, Memory, And The Conflicting Discourses Of Learning In America, 1827-1914, Douglas Terry

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is a cultural study that challenges the handling of race in the history of American education by exploring how educational discourse shapes race. It argues that education itself is a manifestation of race, inseparable from the iterative processes of racial formation. While we take it as a prevailing truism that race is learned, this dissertation shows how the educational system itself is central to this learning.;It explores race in the educational landscape in a similar way to how scholars explore tension between history and cultural memory. In this manner, the dissertation focuses on what it terms "sites of …

Dominant Controls On Organic-Rich Shale Deposition: Geochemical Evidences From The Marcellus Shale In The Appalachian Basin, Ruiqian Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation presents new results of the linkages between primary productivity, bottom water redox conditions and clastic input associated with the Acadian orogeny of the Marcellus Shale.;Chapter 1 compares the isotopic and geochemical characteristics of sediments of a liquids-prone well (WV-7) in Wetzel County with a gas-prone well (WV-6) in Monongalia County, northern West Virginia. The difference in organic carbon isotopes indicates that the dominant organic matter preserved in each core is different: delta13Corg values are lighter on average in WV-6 compared with WV-7. A possible explanation is that a larger fraction of terrestrial organic matter was preserved in the …

Core Zones, Livestock And Population Ecology Of Argali In Mongolia’S Gobi Steppe, Lars Stefan Ekernas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Core zones are established to reduce anthropogenic disturbance under the assumption that they protect biodiversity, yet this assumption has rarely been tested. In Central Asia, increasing livestock density threatens 70% of large mammals including in protected areas where livestock often constitute ~95% of ungulate biomass. A resulting conundrum is that local pastoralists are both key threats and crucial allies to conservation. Core zones, which reduce disturbance in small areas of important habitat, offer a potential solution to support wildlife and indigenous livelihoods. For my dissertation, I capitalize on a manipulation spanning 12 years to evaluate wild argali sheep (Ovis ammon) …

Purpose And Satisfaction Of Activities In Rural Communities Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Jennifer Lauren Wong

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Individuals’ wellbeing have been investigated through one of two primary perspectives, hedonic or eudaimonic. The hedonic perspective has focused on studying happiness and considers individuals’ maximization of their pleasurable moments as the pathway to happiness (Henderson & Knight, 2012). The eudaimonic perspective suggests that people should live a life of virtue and that actualizing their potential is the pathway to wellbeing (Henderson & Knight, 2012). Both perspectives have used retrospective recall to investigate individuals’ wellbeing. This method has given researchers a better understanding of individuals’ overall wellbeing, but is unable to describe their wellbeing as it varies throughout the day. …

Compressing Genome Resequencing Data, Aliya Farheen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent improvements in high-throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have led to an exponential increase in the number, size and diversity of available complete genome sequences. This poses major problems in storage, transmission and analysis of such genomic sequence data. Thus, a substantial effort has been made to develop effective data compression techniques to reduce the storage requirements, improve the transmission speed, and analyze the compressed sequences for possible information about genomic structure or determine relationships between genomes from multiple organisms.;In this thesis, we study the problem of lossless compression of genome resequencing data using a reference-based approach. The thesis …

Does Mindfulness Reduce Attentional Negativity Bias And Depressive Symptoms?, Cameron Ford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mindfulness has been associated with several psychological benefits such as reduced symptoms of depression (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007). However, the mechanism(s) by which mindfulness reduces depressive symptoms is unclear. The present research investigated one potential mechanism: attentional negativity bias. In two studies utilizing eye-tracking methodology, gaze patterns served as indicators of visual attention in order to examine the relations among attention, depressive symptoms, and mindfulness. In Study 1, there was some limited evidence that trait mindfulness was related to less attentional negativity bias. Specifically, trait mindfulness was related to more fixation duration and more fixations on positive images. However, …

From Association To Function: Elucidating The Role Of G Protein Signaling Modulator 3 And Variants In Its Gene Locus In Rheumatoid Arthritis, Bryan Jeffery Gall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that is estimated to affect 1% of Americans. RA causes significant morbidity as a result of autoimmune stimuli inducing pro-inflammatory leukocyte recruitment to the joint. Despite the large effect on quality of life and significant research into RA pathophysiology, there is still much that is not known about the etiology of RA. Although effective treatment options do exist for RA, many of them carry significant risks of compliance-limiting adverse effects, high costs, and a subset of patients do not respond to treatment. This work attempts to respond to the limitations of current therapeutics …

An Examination Of Collegiate Athletes', Undergraduate Sport Science Majors', And Athlete Majors' Intent To Pursue Collegiate Coaching As A Career, Lauren Deckelbaum

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) has been used to examine how various predictive variables impact an individual's career choice (Lent, Brow, & Hackett, 1994). SCCT has been applied within coaching education research to examine collegiate athletes interest and intent in collegiate coaching as a profession (Cunningham & Singer, 2010; Moran-Miller & Flores, 2011). This study expanded upon this research by examining non-revenue producing varsity collegiate athletes' (CA), sport science majors that are non-varsity collegiate athletes' (SSM), and varsity collegiate athletes in sport science majors' (AM) intent to pursue full-time collegiate coaching as a career. The results of the study found …

How Could This Happen: Explaining The Holocaust By Dan Mcmillan (New York: Basic Books, 2014. 288 Pp. $27.99 Isbn 978-0-465-08024-3)., Sondra Perl

Journal of Hate Studies

Eighty-two years after Hitler became Reich Chancellor of Germany, seventy-seven years after Kristallnacht, seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz: time makes no difference. The Holocaust remains an inexplicable phenomenon, the catastrophe of catastrophes, an omnipresent stain on the soul of humanity. In his thoughtful book, Dan McMillan attempts, with remarkable success, to demystify the Shoah, to explain how it happened and why. In doing so, McMillan is well aware of the pitfalls: to explain means to understand; to understand, to render the incomprehensible comprehensible, is to challenge the special status of the Holocaust as unique.

Analysis Of Data Stratification In A Multi-Sensor Fingerprint Dataset Using Match Score Statistics, Loukhya Kakumanu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biometric data is an essential feature employed in testing the performance of any real time biometric recognition system prior to its usage. The variations introduced in the match performance critically determine the authenticity of the biometric data to be able to be used in an everyday scenario for the testing of biometric verification systems. This study in totality aims at understanding the impact of data stratification of a such a biometric test dataset on the match performance of each of its stratum. In order to achieve this goal, the fingerprint dataset of the West Virginia University's 2012 BioCOP has been …

Revealing Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party": An Analysis Of The Curatorial Context, Sally Deskins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research on Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party, (1974-79; completed with the assistance of more than 400 volunteers), is abundant and generally focuses on the monumental table of thirty-nine place settings acknowledging the contribution of women throughout Western history. Scholars have examined, praised and criticized the installation from various feminist and formal aesthetic perspectives. By contrast, this thesis considers what has essentially been overlooked until now, Judy Chicago's curatorial framework for the entire The Dinner Party exhibition experience. Using my own interviews with the artist, team members, and contemporary curators, as well as consulting the artist's installation manuals from Harvard University …

Expanding The Applications Of Ion Mobility Spectrometry And Mass Spectrometry In Integrative 'Omics Analyses, Gregory C. Donohoe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the past few decades, biomolecular analyses ranging from the study of complex mixtures to protein structural interrogation have increased significantly. These studies range from small molecule separations[1, 2] to observing structural trends in large proteins and protein sub-complexes.[3, 4] Traditionally, the use of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS), electrophoresis and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy have been at the forefront of these respective studies. Because complex mixtures can contain a variety of components over a wide dynamic range and proteins and their complexes can contain a diverse array of structures, few analytical techniques are capable of providing information across …

Targeting The Peripheral Immune System As A Source Of Precision Stroke Biomarkers: Implications For Clinical Diagnostics And Immunotherapeutics, Grant C. O'Connell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Early and accurate diagnosis of stroke improves the probability of positive outcome, however the tools available to clinicians for the identification of stroke are limited. It is well established that the peripheral immune system responds robustly to ischemic brain injury, and thus may be a viable source of stroke biomarkers. The objective of this work was to utilize high throughput transcriptomics in combination with machine learning techniques to identify patterns of gene expression in peripheral whole blood with the potential to diagnose ischemic stroke, and to further determine the role of such gene expression patterns within the context of stroke …

Modeling Spatially Varying Effects Of Chemical Mixtures, Jenna Czarnota

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer incidence is associated with exposures to multiple environmental chemicals, and geographic variation in cancer rates suggests the importance of accommodating spatially varying effects in the analysis of environmental chemical mixtures and disease risk. Traditional regression methods are challenged by the complex correlation patterns inherent among co-occurring chemicals, and the applicability of geographically weighted regression models is limited in the setting of environmental chemical risk analysis. In comparison to traditional methods, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression performs well in the identification of important environmental exposures, but is limited by the assumption that effects are fixed over space. We present an …