Digital Commons Network^™

Um Pharmacy Student Awarded Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship, Sydney Slotkin Slotkin

University of Mississippi News

Meghan Walker is university's second straight fellow of the honor society

Acquisitions Unit Annual Report 2015-2016, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Annual Report of the Acquisitions Unit, University Libraries, University of Rhode Island for FY16. Covers personnel, work flow, special projects, and serial, monograph, and e-resource acquisitions. Supplemental files include data on library materials expenditures by a number of variables as well as important working documents from the year.

‘‘Covert Coping’’ In Extreme Environments: Insights From South African Submarines, Charles H. Van Wijk, Vittorio Dalla Cia

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Submariners are a group of people who live and work in enclosed habitats. In this confined environment, they need to balance the emotional needs of individuals with the resources of the group, to ensure effective coping for all. This study explored the mechanisms of maintaining this balance.

Observations and a self-report measure (a modified Brief COPE) were used to describe the coping of submariners during deployment. Findings from the thematic analysis and self-report instrument are briefly described. An apparent contrast between the qualitative observations and quantitative data was noted, and when closely examined reveal two mechanisms whereby submariners managed their …

A R2r3-Myb Transcription Factor Regulates The Flavonol Biosynthetic Pathway In A Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plant, Epimedium Sagittatum, Wenjun Huang, A. B. M. Khaldun, Jianjun Chen, Chanjuan Zhang, Haiyan Lv, Ling Yuan, Ying Wang

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Flavonols as plant secondary metabolites with vital roles in plant development and defense against UV light, have been demonstrated to be the main bioactive components (BCs) in the genus Epimedium plants, several species of which are used as materials for Herba Epimedii, an important traditional Chinese medicine. The flavonol biosynthetic pathway genes had been already isolated from Epimedium sagittatum, but a R2R3-MYB transcription factor regulating the flavonol synthesis has not been functionally characterized so far in Epimedium plants. In this study, we isolated and characterized the R2R3-MYB transcription factor EsMYBF1 involved in regulation of the flavonol biosynthetic pathway …

Standard Methods For Apis Mellifera Propolis Research, Vassya Bankova, Davide Bertelli, Renata Borba, Bruno Jose Conti, Ildenize Barbosa Da Silva Cunha, Carolina Danert, Marcos Nogueira Eberlin, Soraia I. Falcao, Maria Ines Isla, Mar ́Ia Ines Nieva Moreno, Giulia Papotti, Milena Popova, Karina Basso Santiago, Ana Salas, Alexandra Christine Helena Frankland Sawaya, Nicolas Vilczaki Schwab, Jose Mauricio Sforcin, Michael Simone-Finstrom, Marla Spivak, Boryana Trusheva, Miguel Vilas-Boas, Michael Wilson, Catiana Zampini

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Propolis is one of the most fascinating honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) products. It is a plant derived product that bees produce from resins that they collect from different plant organs and with which they mix beeswax. Propolis is a building material and a protective agent in the beehive. It also plays an important role in honey bee social immunity, and is widely used by humans as an ingredient of nutraceuticals, over-the-counter preparations and cosmetics. Its chemical composition varies by geographic location, climatic zone and local flora. The understanding of the chemical diversity of propolis is very important in propolis …

2016 Uab Summer Research Expo, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Expo Programs

Catalog of undergrauate student research poster presentations with abstracts.

Investigation Of Methods For Machine Learning Associations Between Genetic Variations And Phenotype, Amanda M. Hartung

Theses

The relationship between genetics and phenotype is a complex one that remains poorly understood. Many factors contribute to the relationship between genetic variations and differences in phenotype. An improved understanding of the genetic underpinnings of various phenotypes can help us make important advances in testing for, preventing, treating, and curing a number of diseases and disorders.

The recent popularization of direct-to-consumer sequencing services, coupled with consumers releasing their genetic information for public use, has led to an unprecedented level of access to genetic information. Crowd-sourcing the problem of developing robust genome-wide association techniques for ever larger amounts of data is …

Mechanical Characterization Of A Biaxial Cell Stretcher And Its Membrane Material, John Andrew Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Due to the complexity of the in vivo environment, in vitro cell studies provide valuable insights into the mechanisms behind cell response to mechanical stimulus. Many devices have been developed to apply tensile stress to elastomer membranes on which cell monolayers are cultured and observe cell response. The present study characterizes stretch-induced strain fields for an improved stretcher system using an open source digital image correlation software. Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are measured for a widely used membrane material. Strains on the membrane surface were found to be uniform and equibiaxial within approximately 5 mm of the center of …

A Case Study That Examines The Community School Model In Elementary School Settings In West Tennessee, Lawanda Michelle Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

If schools are to succeed, children must be provided with more than a school can accomplish alone (Barbour et al., 2010). The need to involve community in the education process to offer services that make students successful and to have these services within the school building are all critical aspects of the community school model (Dryfoos, 1994; Dryfoos et al., 2005; Kronick, 2002, 2005). Literature suggest that school and community collaboration is not a foreign concept. Parents and neighborhoods working together to enhance academics and strengthen the community can be traced back to the reform era of the early twentieth …

The Optical-Plasmonic Properties Of Core-Shell Structured, Metallic Nanoparticles, Elise Anne Chaffin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit unique optical-plasmonic properties that make them advantageous for numerous applications. Gold nanomaterials in particular have been employed in imaging, sensing, and therapeutic applications due to their simple conjugation with various biomarkers as well as their biocompatibility and low reactivity. As a result of the large electric fields generated at the surfaces of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the conduction band electrons, Ag and Au NPs greatly enhance the signals of Raman scattering by adsorbed molecules. The suitability of a particle for use in a specific …

How Happiness And Optimism Relate To Smoking, Francisco I. Salgado-Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Cigarette smoking decreases health and increases mortality. Researchers have devoted much attention to factors that promote smoking (e.g., depression), but have paid little attention to factors that buffer against smoking. Positive psychology may provide a useful framework to complement our current knowledge of cigarette smoking and treatment. The current study investigated the relation between positive psychology constructs (i.e., happiness and optimism) and smoking status, smoker type, and cessation success using path analysis with data from college students (SONA) and an online sample (MTurk). Data from 1,292 (NSONA = 582, NMTurk = 710) participants showed that most pasticipants were female (66.3%), …

Action Execution, Its Estimation And Learning For A Systems Level Cognitive Architecture, Daqi Dong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

An agent or robot achieves its goals by interacting with its environment, cyclically choosing and executing suitable actions. Cognitive architectures are considered the control structures of the agent, helping it decide what to do next, while the designs resemble how minds work, be they human, animal, or artificial. An action execution process is a critical part of an entire cognitive architecture, because the process of generating executable motor commands is not only driven by low-level environmental information, but is also initiated and affected by the agent’s high-level mental processes. I give a review of the cognitive models of the action …

"Beyond Words," Yes, But Also Beyond Numbers, Fred L. Bookstein

Animal Sentience

Safina’s fascinating series of fifty separate feuilletons tries to bridge a painful Methodenstreit in contemporary ethology mainly by an accumulation of anecdotes. Some deal with his own dogs, but most derive from reading or conversing with observers of a wider range of social mammals including elephants, wolves, apes, and whales. In spite of the many interruptions by travesties of the academic lifestyle and its literature, there is a point to be made, concerning the centrality of evidence about cooperative behavior styles, especially aspects of child-rearing, for the understanding of “what animals think and feel.” But Safina’s argument would be a …

Vedolizumab Should Be The Next Line Agent For The Treatment Of Refractory Crohn’S Disease, Mitchell Kentor

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Shelton E, Allegretti J, Stevens B et al. Efficacy of Vedolizumab as Induction Therapy in Refractory IBD Patients. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 2015 Dec;21(12):2879-2885. doi:10.1097/mib.0000000000000561

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Defining Abdominal Obesity As A Risk Factor For Coronary Heart Disease In The Us Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos (Hchs/Sol), Diana A. Chirinos Medina

Open Access Dissertations

It is now well established that pronounced differences exist in prevalence of abdominal obesity across gender and ethnicity. Hispanic/Latinos, in particular, have been shown to have markedly distinct prevalence when compared to other ethnic populations around the world. Various organizations have highlighted the need to examine whether overall abdominal obesity cut points are appropriate for the use in this ethnic minority, particular highlighting the need of research among Hispanic/Latino residing in Western countries. This study used data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the largest study of Hispanic/Latinos in the US, to: (1) establish optimal definitions for …

Substance Use And Hiv Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Vulnerable Populations: Substance Users, Std Clinic Patients And Hospitalized Hiv-Infected Patients, Yue Pan

Open Access Dissertations

Both HIV/AIDS and STD’s represent significant financial and public health burdens in the United States. Substance use and sexual risk behaviors play major roles in HIV/AIDS transmission, as well as in the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In this dissertation, we aim to 1) describe sexual risk and IDU behaviors and examine associations between viral suppression and HIV risk behaviors among hospitalized HIV-positive patients; 2) develop a new approach to examine the count of sexual acts using a fully disaggregated repeated measures design and show how this new approach can be used to evaluate the impact of substance use …

Sine Qua Non: Emotional Intelligence As The Key Ingredient To Effective Principal, Kelly P. Davids

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this empirical, descriptive case study was to explore and describe the importance of Emotional Intelligence as perceived by California public school (K-12) superintendents when hiring and recruiting new school site principals.

Methodology: Convenience purposeful sampling was used to identify 12 superintendents throughout the California public education system at unified (K-12) school districts with a minimum of eight schools. An empirical, descriptive case study was used to collect data from superintendents through a survey and semi-structured interviews. Superintendents grouped domains of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, and general characteristics as essential, important, desirable or no value …

Stress Relaxation Response Is Decreasing In Porcine Thoracolumbar Fascia Following Surgical Injury, Erica Nelson-Wong, Michal Glinka, Mamiko Noguchi, Helene Langevin, Rhonda Maple, Jim Fox, Jack Callaghan

Annual Faculty Scholars Reception

No abstract provided.

Durand To Serve As Apa President-Elect Designate, July 20, 2016, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg Office Of University Advancement.

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.

What's New In Musculoskeletal Infection: Update On Biofilms., Arvind Nana, Sandra B Nelson, Alex Mclaren, Antonia F. Chen, Md, Mba

Rothman Institute Papers

No abstract provided.

Am I A Good Leader? How Variations In Introversion/Extraversion Impact Leaders’ Core Self-Evaluations, Marisa N. Bossen

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Leaders across the introversion/extraversion (I/E) spectrum may comparatively view themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to developing effective developmental relationships with their direct reports. This study investigated how a leader’s I/E typology, the number of direct reports (NoDR), and learning goal orientation (LGO) were related to their core self-evaluation (CSE) rating of their talent development role, through the lens of implicit leadership theory. An online survey was administered to 146 U.S. leaders (50% female) with an average age of 40 (SD = 11.5) who self-reported they had at least one direct report. The first hypothesis, that leaders would …

Barry Mcquarrie And Harrison Piehowski '19 Tackle Familiar Mathematical Models, University Relations

Campus News Archive

Their work will help biology-driven researchers identify limitations and errors within their own parameters, allowing for a deeper understanding of the underlying mathematical model.

Maternity Colony Of Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis Septentrionalis) In A Human-Made Structure In Nebraska, Rachel M. Stein, Jeremy A. White

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Northern Long-eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) occurs across eastern North America, and its range extends west into the Great Plains of the United States. Summer roosts of M. septentrionalis in the Great Plains are not well documented. Herein we describe a maternity colony of M. septentrionalis using small, elevated structures (i.e., cabins) in southeastern Nebraska. Cabins were in a small parcel of upland deciduous forest about 1.6 km from the Missouri River. The maternity colony was observed roosting in a space between the outer and inner walls of three different cabins from 21 June to 8 October 2014. …

Health Costs Of Reproduction Are Minimal Despite High Fertility, Mortality And Subsistence Lifestyle, Michael Gurven, Megan Costa, Ben Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Bret Beheim, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Paul L. Hooper, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

Women exhibit greater morbidity than men despite higher life expectancy. An evolutionary life history framework predicts that energy invested in reproduction trades-off against investments in maintenance and survival. Direct costs of reproduction may therefore contribute to higher morbidity, especially for women given their greater direct energetic contributions to reproduction. We explore multiple indicators of somatic condition among Tsimane forager-horticulturalist women (Total Fertility Rate = 9.1; n = 592 aged 15–44 years, n = 277 aged 45+). We test whether cumulative live births and the pace of reproduction are associated with nutritional status and immune function using longitudinal data spanning 10 …

Intein Epidemiology: A Study Of The Lifestyle, Distribution, Phylogenetics, And Dynamics Of Inteins, Shannon M. Soucy

Doctoral Dissertations

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important process experienced by all cellular life on some level to enable rapid adaptation to changes in both the extracellular and intracellular environments. Quantifying the extent of HGT, as well as identifying conditions that both foster and deter HGT within both natural and artificial environments. As a solution we propose using mobile genetic elements to track the interactions between organisms, as well as the evolution of these mobile genetic elements to learn about HGT within various cellular communities. We use inteins to identify networks of HGT events within various collections of organisms that share …

Understanding The Remittance Gender Gap Among Hispanics In The U.S.: Gendered Norms And Role Of Expectations, Yongjin Park, María Amparo Cruz-Saco, Mónika López-Anuarbe

Economics Faculty Publications

Using the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS), this study analyzes the existence of a gender gap in favor of men in the monetary remittance behavior of Hispanics residing in the United States. Findings indicate that cultural gender norms and expectations in the country of origin play a key role. The study shows that women migrants are less likely to remit than men and, when they do, they transfer smaller amounts. The remittance gender gap is not universal among subgroups, since it is only observable among Hispanics who came to the US to improve their economic situation, plan to return to …

System-Aware Smart Network Management For Nano-Enriched Water Quality Monitoring, Bassem Mokhtar, Mohamed Azab, Nader Shehata, Mohamed Rizk

Biology Faculty Publications

This paper presents a comprehensive water quality monitoring system that employs a smart network management, nano-enriched sensing framework, and intelligent and efficient data analysis and forwarding protocols for smart and system-aware decision making. The presented system comprises two main subsystems, a data sensing and forwarding subsystem (DSFS), and Operation Management Subsystem (OMS). The OMS operates based on real-time learned patterns and rules of system operations projected from the DSFS to manage the entire network of sensors. The main tasks of OMS are to enable real-time data visualization, managed system control, and secure system operation. The DSFS employs a Hybrid Intelligence …

When And How To Update Systematic Reviews: Consensus And Checklist, Paul Garner, Sally Hopewell, Jackie Chandler, Harriet Maclehose, Holger J. Schünemann, Elie A. Akl, Joseph Beyene, Stephanie Chang, Rachel Churchill, Karin Dearness, Gordon Guyatt, Carol Lefebvre, Beth Liles, Rachel Marshall, García L Martínez, Chris Mavergames, Mona Nasser, Amir Qaseem, Margaret Sampson, Karla Soares-Weiser, Yemisi Takwoingi, Lehana Thabane, Marialena Trivella, Peter Tugwell, Emma Welsh, Ed C. Wilson

More Faculty of Health Research

No abstract provided.

The Appointment Of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: When The Confirmation Process And Abortion Politics Collide, Kristen Howell Ball

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Despite unanimous confirmation by the Senate, President Reagan's 1981 nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the United States Supreme Court was not without controversy. As a rhetorical form, any confirmation process is fundamentally about determining whether a candidate will protect liberty. The study of O'Connor's confirmation not only increases scholarly understanding of the confirmation process as a rhetorical form but it also complicates the rhetorical narratives of both the women's and conservative movements. While her nomination was groundbreaking for women, it would also become a battle to define the future of political conservatism, specifically the emerging controversy around abortion rights. …