Digital Commons Network^™

Gut Check: How Microbiome Research Is Reshaping Our View Of Bacteria In Human Health, Rachel Reardon

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Revisiting A Forgotten Epidemic: West Africa’S Largest Ebola Outbreak Three Years Later, Jayla Johnson

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Redirecting Zika: A Treatment For Brain Cancer?, Rachael Branscomb

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Usda-Nrcs Rangeland Conservation Programs: Recommendation For An Evidence-Based Conservation Platform, David D. Briske, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Joel R. Brown, Mark W. Brunson, Thomas L. Thurow, John Tanaka

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was created in response to a request from the Office of Management and Budget that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA- NRCS) document the societal benefits anticipated to accrue from a major increase in conservation funding authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. A comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of rangeland conservation practices cost- shared with private landowners was unable to evaluate conservation benefits because outcomes were seldom documented. Four interrelated suppositions are presented to examine the causes underlying minimal documentation of conservations outcomes. These suppositions are (1) the benefits of …

Mosquito Maladies: Genetic Manipulation Of Mosquitoes Leads To Potential Solution To The Spread Of Malaria, Mariam Saied

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

My Grandmother’S Memories: How Epigenetics Are Changing Our Understanding Of Heritability, Rachel Reardon

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

The Monsters Lurking In Oberlin’S Science Center’S Couches: Flame Retardant Treated Furniture, Jane Sedlak

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Extra-Record Evidence Rule In Arbitrary And Capricious Review Of Informal Agency Actions: A New Procedural Approach, Travis O. Brandon

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the proliferation of judicially created exceptions to the “record review rule” governing arbitrary and capricious review of informal agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Although the Supreme Court in Overton Park and subsequent cases established that judicial review must be confined to the administrative record before the agency, lower courts have developed a fragmented and inconsistent body of federal common law permitting consideration of extra-record evidence. These exceptions vary across circuits, employ inconsistent terminology, and at times conflict with foundational principles of administrative law, including issue exhaustion and the deferential nature of APA review.

The …

It’S About Time: The Long Overdue Demise Of Statutes Of Repose In Latent Toxic Tort Litigation, Jean Macchiaroli Eggen

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human-Computer Interaction Movement Indicators Of Response Biases In Online Surveys, Jeffrey L. Jenkins, Joseph S. Valacich, Parker A. Williams

Faculty Publications

The Information Systems discipline, as well as countless others, rely on surveys to explore hypotheses and answer research questions. All research methods have strengths and weaknesses. A significant threat to the validity of surveys are response biases – i.e., the tendency of people to respond to questions on some basis other than the question content. We propose that by monitoring how a respondent answers an online survey—through monitoring Human-Computer Interaction movement indicators, specifically mousecursor movements—can provide novel information that can be used to statistically detect, understand, and control for many different types of response biases. We explore this proposition in …

Beyond The Coal Divide: The Cultural Politics Of Natural Resource Extraction In Central Appalachia, Julie A. Shepherd-Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

During the last several years far southwest Virginia, like elsewhere in the central Appalachian region, has faced a decline in all coal mining activity and a subsequent loss of coal mining jobs, meaning that local economies are suffering and the unemployment line is long. In addition, this area continues to face environmental pollution from surface coal mines that are still in operation or have not been reclaimed. Drawing upon anthropological literature on natural resource extraction and economic and environmental inequality, this dissertation highlights the lives of members of a local grassroots environmental organization, as well as other local residents, in …

Reproducing Childbirth: Negotiated Maternal Health Practices In Rural Yucatan, Veronica Miranda

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This ethnographically informed dissertation focuses on the ways rural Yucatec Maya women, midwives and state health care workers participate in the production of childbirth and maternal health care practices. It further addresses how state health programs influence the relationships and interactions between these groups. Although childbirth practices in Yucatan have always been characterized by contestation, negotiation and change, their intensity and speed have significantly increased over the last decade. Drastic changes in the maternal health of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and throughout the world are directly connected to intensified state interventions that favor biomedicine over traditional health systems. In …

Protective Effect Of Anti-Phosphatidylserine Antibody In A Guinea Pig Model Of Advanced Hemorrhagic Arenavirus Infection, John M. Thomas, Philip E. Thorpe

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Objective: Host derived markers on virally infected cells or virions may provide targets for the generation of antiviral agents. Recently, we identified phosphatidylserine (PS) as a host marker of virions and virally-infected cells.

Methods and Materials: Under normal physiological conditions, PS is maintained on the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane facing the cytosol. Following viral infection, activation or pre-apoptotic changes cause PS to become externalized. We have previously shown that bavituximab, a chimeric human-mouse antibody that binds PS complexed with β2-glycoprotein I (β2GP1), protected rodents against lethal Pichinde virus and cytomegalovirus infections.

Results: Here, we determined the antiviral activity …

Facilitators & Barriers To The Adoption Of Ergonomic Solutions In Construction, Ann Marie Dale, Lisa Jaegers, Laura Welch, Ellen Barnidge, Nancy Weaver, Bradley A. Evanoff

Occupational and Health Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Puzzle Of Pdvsa Bond Prices, Paolo Colla, Anna Gelpern, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

Market reports in the summer of 2016 suggest that Venezuela is on the brink of default on upwards of $65 billion in debt. That debt comprises of bonds issued directly by the sovereign and those issued by the state-owned oil company PDVSA. Based on the bond contracts and other legal factors, it is not clear which of these two categories of bonds would fare better in the event of a restructuring. However, market observers are convinced — and we agree — that legal and contractual differences would likely impact the payouts on the bonds if Venezuela defaults. Using a comparison …

Beyond Behaviors, Needs, And Seeking: A Qualitative Investigation Of Information Practices Among Individuals, Vanessa Kitzie

Faculty Publications

This dissertation examines the information practices of individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+). It responds to two significant problems in current Library and Information Science (LIS) studies examining these populations. First, there exist a paucity of research studying how these individuals act toward and interact with information related to their LGBTQ+ identities. Second, extant research focuses on almost exclusively on gay and lesbian sexualities, imposing a liminal, psychological model of identity development on these actions and interactions. This imposition results in a myopic view of the unique issues, concerns, barriers, and achievements of individuals with LGBTQ+ …

Variation In Models For Simple Dynamic Structure-Soil-Structure Interaction Problems, L. V. Andersen, A. Peplow, P. Bucinskas, P. Persson, K. Persson

All Works

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. To account for dynamic cross-coupling of structures via the soil, a computational model must be accurate enough to provide the correct overall behaviour of the scattered wave field. However, simplicity is also important when a model should be used for design purposes, especially in the early design stages and feasibility studies. The paper addresses the accuracy of simple models in which an array of structures is simplified into blocks placed on the ground surface or embedded within the soil. Comparisons are made between models that account or do not account, in a …

The State Of Constructive Conflict In Northern Ireland, Lee A. Smithey

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Protecting Systems Of Nature And Gender: Ecofeminism In Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer And Ruth Ozeki's All Over Creation, Sarah J. Hirsch

All Student Theses and Dissertations

Ecofeminism has permeated the disciplines of politics, philosophy, science, and literature – all of which are embedded in the fiction of Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer and Ruth Ozeki’s All Over Creation. In this thesis, I consider the authors’ use of scientific evidence to engage readers with their rhetorical goals of protecting the systems of nature and gender. In the first chapter, I define the history of ecofeminist activism and how Kingsolver and Ozeki continue its tradition. The second chapter considers the parallels between biodiversity and cultural diversity within both Prodigal Summer and All Over Creation. In the final chapter, I …

Predator-Prey Coevolution Drives Productivity-Richness Relationships In Planktonic Systems, Zhichao Pu, Michael H. Cortez, Lin Jiang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

The relationship between environmental productivity and species richness often varies among empirical studies, and despite much research, simple explanations for this phenomenon remain elusive. We investigated how phytoplankton and zooplankton coevolution shapes productivity-richness relationships in both phytoplankton and zooplankton, using a simple nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton model that incorporates size-dependent metabolic rates summarized from empirical studies. The model allowed comparisons of evolved species richness across productivity levels and at different evolutionary times. Our results show that disruptive selection leads to evolutionary branching of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Both the time required for evolutionary branching and the number of evolved species in phytoplankton and zooplankton …

Catalog 2017-2018, University Of North Florida

UNF Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

International Adjudicative Bodies, Chiara Giorgetti

Law Faculty Publications

The past fifty years have seen a tremendous rise in international litigation. There are more parties who are more prone to use international law mechanisms to resolve their disputes, and more international actors have more forums available to them to which they can bring their disputes. Indeed, the multifaceted growth of international dispute resolution is one of international law's most important and interesting recent developments.

At the heart of this development are international adjudicative bodies, a diverse group of international bodies that have a common dispute settlement function, the outcome of which is binding on the parties. This chapter examines …

Brazil's Olympic-Era Anti-Corruption Reforms, Andrew B. Spalding

Law Faculty Publications

A country once renowned for glorifying corruption now leads what may be the furthest-reaching anti-corruption investigation in history. Brazil, once typified by its "Brazilian jeitinho" way of creatively navigating social problems,' now executes "Operation Car Wash," bringing down political and business leaders by the dozens. So too has Brazil's Congress adopted a series of dramatic, and effective, new anti-corruption laws, in response to public outcries for reform. It is deeply ironic, but not at all coincidental, that Brazil concurrently hosted the Summer Olympics. This paper chronicles the extraordinary series of events that connect - in a line that is straight …

Effects And Mechanisms Of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus (Prrsv) Type 1 And Type 2 On The Permeability And Viability Of Porcine Endometrial Epithelial Cells, Dran Rukarcheep

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Both PRRSV types 1 and 2 revealed the sign of reproductive disorders associated with a lesion at implantation sites. Impairment of maternal glandular endometrium cell integrity and function by PRRSV infection may impact a proper nourishing fetus. This research was aimed to examine the effects of PRRSV type 1 and type 2 directly on the viability and barrier function of the endometrium using porcine glandular endometrial epithelial cell culture (PEG). The comparison of the route and the strain of PRRSV infection coinciding with their virulent in reproductive epithelia were considered. PEG cells isolated from the 4-6 months old PRRSV-free-herd gilts …

Potentials Of Ivabradine To Improve Cardiac Function In Dogs With Naturally Occurring, Asymptomatic Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease, Prapawadee Pirintr

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The main hypothesis of the present study is that ivabradine (1.0 mg/kg, orally, twice daily) can reduce heart rate (HR), myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) and improve cardiac function in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) partly due to a reduction of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In order to test the hypothesis, this study was divided into three parts. The first part aimed to determine the appropriate single oral dose of ivabradine for reduction of HR and MVO2 as assessed by rate-pressure product (RPP= HR x systolic blood pressure). Once the appropriate dose was achieved, the second part was conducted to investigate …

Potentials Of Ivabradine To Improve Cardiac Function In Dogs With Naturally Occurring, Asymptomatic Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease, Prapawadee Pirintr

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The main hypothesis of the present study is that ivabradine (1.0 mg/kg, orally, twice daily) can reduce heart rate (HR), myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) and improve cardiac function in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) partly due to a reduction of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In order to test the hypothesis, this study was divided into three parts. The first part aimed to determine the appropriate single oral dose of ivabradine for reduction of HR and MVO2 as assessed by rate-pressure product (RPP= HR x systolic blood pressure). Once the appropriate dose was achieved, the second part was conducted to investigate …

Effects Of Short-Term Growth Hormone Administration On Plasma Leptin Levels In Normal And Diet-Induced Obesity Rats, Sutharinee Likitnukul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Obesity has related to the alteration of hormonal profiles, i.e. growth hormone (GH), insulin and leptin. Because of the pleiotropic mechanisms of GH, it plays important roles both in the pathophysiological mechanisms and the therapeutic hormonal supplementation, which probably affected plasma leptin. The present research aimed firstly to demonstrate the effect of short-term GH administration on plasma leptin in 3 conditions; basal, meal-induced and fasting condition, from the rats with different adipose tissue mass. Secondly, to investigate short-term effect of GH on insulin sensitivity and body adiposity in control, diet resistant (DR) and diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats. In this regard, …

The Protective Effect Of Hydroxyxanthone On The Leakiness Of Intestinal Epithelia By The Proinflammatory Cytokine Related To Bacterial Endotoxin, Wannaporn Chayalak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Leaky gut characterized as decreased transepithelial electrical resistance and increased paracellular permeability to macromolecules is associated with several fatal diseases including sepsis. Pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β is a critical mediator of underlying mechanism through activation of myosin light chain kinase pathway. Blocking the inducible phosphorylated myosin light chain (p-MLC) indicates the successful treatment. Xanthones predominantly found in mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) has been indicated as a potent anti-inflammatory action. Hydroxyxanthones (HDX), the major natural xanthones, have been recently synthesized in various forms. This study aimed to examine and screen the action of various forms of synthetic HDXs, in preventing the increased paracellular …

Pulmonary Lesion Texture Classification From Endobronchialultrasonogram Using Texture Analysis, Banphatree Khomkham

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research aims to develop a method to help distinguish the appearance of pulmonary lesions from a high-frequency sound (Endobronchial Ultrasound—EBUS) image. According to medical information, the appearance of smooth or rough texture of a lesion can significantly indicate that it is malignant or benign. In this study, the features that are used in the classification are divided into 3 groups: group 1 consists of 22 standard features, group 2 consists of the proposed features extracted from the weighted sum of the upper and lower GLCM which consists 12 features, and group 3 is the combination of group 1 and …

Mathematical Models For Treatment Time Of Pathogenic Infection In Blood After Antibiotics Administration, Panit Suavansri

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective in this thesis is to create a mathematical model to predict the period of time needed to clear out the pathogens from the bloodstream after the patient receives certain antibiotics. The result will lead to the time where the drug administration can be terminated. This research is to compute the densities of bacteria and malaria in bloodstream at any given time and to compare this level with the actual results of the patient's blood sampling, which was sent to the laboratory for investigation. The laboratory process of the blood sampling will usually take more than 2-3 days to …