Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Into The Role Of N-Terminal Acetylation Of Esat-6 In Pathogenesis Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Javier A. Aguilera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent for the disease Tuberculosis (TB) in humans, is present as a latent infection in approximately one third of the world's population. Mtb has become more resilient over the years. The vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), loses effectiveness 10 years after initial vaccination. Recent research has found 6-kD early secretory antigenic target (ESAT-6) and 10-kD culture filtrate protein (CFP-10) are secreted as a heterodimer by Mtb and play important roles in virulence. Additionally, ESAT-6 has been determined to contain membrane lytic activity while CFP-10 has been suggested to be a molecular chaperone. Studies suggest …

Seeds Of Neocolonialism In Development Discourse: A Study Of Neoliberal "Megarhetorics" Of Global Development And Ecofeminist Resistance, Moushumi Biswas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper is based on a case study of www.monsanto.com, the official website of biotech company Monsanto, and transnational voices of resistance as exemplified by eco-critical activist Vandana Shiva. My rhetorical inquiry concerns the future of the global farming sector and allows for an interdisciplinary exploration of transnational development discourse through the overlapping but complementary lenses of ecofeminism and critical discourse analysis (CDA). The purpose of my study – spanning rhetoric, composition, critical theory, cultural theory, communication studies, business ethics, and postcolonial studies – is to trace new notions of discourse creation in the 21 st century using a combination …

Structural Modifications In The Rbxcs1-Xpo 4 (0 ≤ X ≤ 1) Superprotonic Conductor Series: A Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction And Impedance Spectroscopy Study, Andres Jose Encerrado Manriquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We have used single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements to investigate the structural modifications induced by Rb-doping of the protonic conductor CsH2PO4. Data collected on the RbxCs 1-xH2PO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) series shows that the monoclinic P21/m CsH2PO4 presentation persists upon Rb-doping up until x = 0.8. Rb0.8Cs0.2H2PO 4 exhibits a previously unreported P21/c monoclinic structure, where the mirror plane is lost and disorder is present in the PO4 tetrahedra even at room temperature. Higher levels of x display a tetragonal I-42d unit cell isomorphic with the known structure of RbH2PO 4. The temperature dependence of the proton conductivity determined …

Studies On Woven Carbon/Vinyl Ester Composites: Environmental Effects, Joining And Hybridization, Ricardo Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The incessant demand for fiber reinforced polymer composites, or FRPCs, in industrial applications which desire materials that possess high strength-to-weight ratios, generates a theory-to-practice void which must be filled with scientific research. In this Thesis, woven carbon/vinyl ester composites are studied under a wide spectrum of settings and conditions. The adverse effects of sea water environment and arctic temperatures on such mentioned composites are explored in the form of moisture uptake, impact on flexural modulus, strength and structural damage. It was found that sea water saturation in general degrades the flexural strength up to 19.45%, and arctic exposure and combined …

Emergent Bilinguals' Engagement In An Online Mathematics Course Utilizing An Intelligent Tutoring System, Julian Viera Jr

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Students in today's digital world draw from multiple sources of information, hypertext, videos, educational software, social media, and video games to create a multimodal learning environment (Luke, 2005). In 1994, Griffiths, et al. (1994) found that the impact of information technology on oppressed cultures hampered their education when the technology was not available in their native language and culture. Students from countries that did not have the resources to develop software in their native language felt that their language and culture did not relate to the modern world. When these students arrived in the United States and found technology in …

Biochemical Characterization Of Wild-Type Hsp27 And Point Mutation S135f That Leads To Neurodegenerative Disease, Janelly Villalobos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

HSPB1, also classified as heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27), is a small chaperone that is active in cells during stressful conditions. The chaperone can stabilize target proteins in a non-aggregated folding state and might be involved in regulation of folding and assembly of neurofilaments. There are five mutations in the genome of Hsp27 that are involved in Charcot Marie Tooth Disease (CMT). This neurodegenerative disease is characterized by the first decades of life where it slowly progresses to weakness of muscles followed by sensory loss and skeletal deformities. CMT is the most common hereditary neuromuscular disease, with an estimated rate …

The Ebola Experience: Media Lessons For Nurse Leaders, Elizabeth Leary

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Background: In October, 2014 the nursing profession gained unprecedented media attention when two nurses became infected with the Ebola virus, and another nurse who cared for Ebola patients defied two gubernatorial quarantine orders. Nurses have traditionally received little media attention, and the nursing profession was largely unprepared for the intense media scrutiny which occurred during the Ebola crisis.

Purpose: For decades nursing scholars have called for a new media image for the nursing profession, yet most of the nursing literature has focused on the profession’s poor media image rather than effective media communication techniques. The purpose of this paper is …

Sectoral Update On The National Professional Development Framework For Teachers In He: The Initial Implementation Strategy, Roisin Donnelly, Theresa Maguire

Journal Articles

The National Forum (NF) for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning is currently in the early stage of implementation of the National Professional Development Framework (PDF) for all who teach in higher education. Prior to the publication of the PD Framework in 2016, there was no mechanism or route in place nationally to give structure, focus and support to individual staff to avail of relevant professional development and utilise it to realise their full potential in their teaching role. This important work is deepening sectoral understanding of the PDF itself and leading towards national recognition of an individual’s commitment to …

Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The Happiness Index is a comprehensive survey instrument that assesses happiness, well-being, and aspects of sustainability and resilience. The Happiness Alliance developed the Happiness Index to provide a survey instrument to community organizers, researchers, and others seeking to use a subjective well-being index and data. It is the only instrument of its kind freely available worldwide and translated into over ten languages. This instrument can be used to measure satisfaction with life and the conditions of life. It can also be used to define income inequality, trust in government, sense of community and other aspects of well-being within specific demographics …

Social Change Through Entrepreneurship: Utilizing Portable Sawmill Based Small Businesses To Promote Community Development, Crystal Lupo

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Reduced demand for wood and wood products resulting from the economic crisis in the first decade of the 2000s severely impacted the forest industry throughout the world, causing large forest-based organizations to close (CBC News, 2008; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009; Pepke, 2009). The result was a dramatic increase in unemployment and worker displacement among forest product workers between 2011 and 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Forested rural communities often depended on the large-scale forest industry for their livelihood, and as a result, decreased reliance on large-scale industry became increasingly important (Lupo, 2015). This article …

The Ethical Implications Of Plagiarism And Ghostwriting In An Open Society, Patricia I. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness, Janet M. Booker, Gene E. Fusch

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. Plagiarism has been a problem in academic settings and appears to be on the increase, now moving into areas including the medical and scientific fields as well as industry, manufacturing, military, and legal briefs. The ethical implications can have serious consequences for organizations, individuals, and society, resulting in harm being done to others in favor of expediency. In this scholarly essay, the authors explore and discuss the ethical implications of plagiarism and the increase of ghostwriting in a free society through the writings of Kant, Popper, Kostenbaum, Plato, Whedbee, and others. The conclusion …

Bottle Fill Stations, Marcya Barreiro

Sustainability Showcase (2014-2022)

Bottle Fill Stations

Marcya Barreiro, Assistant Director, Russell Union Facility & Event Services ($3,000)

Replaced three existing water fountains with bottle fill water fountains. The goal was to encourage minimization of plastic bottle waste by providing easily accessible bottle refill stations throughout the Russell Union.

The Relationship Between Transmission Of Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Attitude, And Culture, Esther M. Hooley

Dissertations

Purpose

Sexual knowledge is important for healthy development of adolescents and adults. Currently, there is no consistent mode of introducing the topic of sex to an individual who has not previously learned about the topic. If a shift were to occur in transmission of sexual knowledge, whether by creating a consistent mode, a culture-specific mode, or focusing on sexual attitude rather than behavior, future populations would be positively influenced. If the educational system, religious organizations, and families could be informed of an appropriate and meaningful way to communicate sexual knowledge to adolescents, negative sexual outcomes have the potential to decrease …

A Partial View Of China's Governance Trajectory, Nicholas Calcina Howson

Reviews

Minxin Pei’s new book China’s Crony Capitalism: The Dynamics of Regime Decay recites in detail the morass of corruption and collusion in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) party-state finds itself. Encyclopedic in scope, the book addresses corruption, extraction, and network formation in many of modern China’s formal settings—including in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the nomenklatura system, state institutions, enterprises, the investment sector, and the real property market, among others—but also in nonformal contexts such as the rise of the “local mafia state.” The book’s basic storyline is this: the PRC’s radical devolution of intertwined political power and …

Racial Injustice In Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against The Police Killing Of Joe Campos Torres, Melanie Rodriguez Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the Houston Police Departmentâ??s (the HPD) relations with the ethnic-Mexican community across four decades to consider how the police killing of Joe Campos Torres sparked a wave of protest that ensured that cityâ??s long history of police brutality against ethnic Mexicans and other minorities (especially African Americans) came to the forefront in Texas, if not the nation in general. The HPD was a mechanisms of the cityâ??s status quo that reinforced the racial dominance of white Houstonians. From 1940 to 1970, the HPD found it necessary to implement effective police models to control wayward minorities and uphold …

Essays On The Role Of Product Characteristics In Information Source Importance, Saeed Tajdini Tajdini

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this Dissertation is to contribute to our understanding of relative importance of different information sources that consumers use to guide their purchasing behavior. Specifically, this work aims to model the product characteristics affecting the importance of each information source to consumers as they seek to purchase a given product. Although the extant literature has examined this topic, the efforts have not been cohesive and a comprehensive model of the phenomenon has yet to be developed, limiting our understanding of the topic. Gaining insight into the effects of product characteristics on the importance of different sources of information …

Measuring The Perceived Effectiveness Of Five Selected Professional Courses Taken By Alumni Theology Majors And How They Are Related To Selective Demographics: A Mixed Methods Study, Barry J. Tryon

Dissertations

Problem

The study was prompted by the need for the evaluation of current theological educational programs for preparing students to meet the many challenges of pastoral ministry in a rapidly changing world. However, to date there has been little published research addressing the effectiveness of undergraduate theological education. Furthermore, changes implemented in the theological education program at Southern Adventist University (Southern) have not been evaluated for their effectiveness for ministerial job preparedness.

Method

This descriptive study measured the perceived effectiveness of five professional courses taught in the undergraduate theological educational program at Southern for ministerial job preparedness. A parallel mixed …

Underutilization Of Federal Benefits In Oregon: Programs And Strategies, Raúl Preciado Mendez

National Policy Consensus Center Publications

The report results demonstrate the dependence low-income Oregon families have on the six federal programs and the challenges families face when attempting to access federal resources. The barriers to access are often structural in that they are embedded in the procedures and structure of the program. Based on its analysis, the report presents a series of reforms and support activities that Oregon state agencies and nonprofits could adopt to improve family access for each program.

Assessing The Cellular And Adhesive Interactions In In Vitro Models Of Mantle Cell Lymphoma, David Tucker

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) that has very poor survival. Like other LPDs, the neoplastic cells of MCL have an intimate dependence upon accessory cells within haematopoietic tissues. Understanding and exploiting the tissue-relationships of the mantle cells may therefore lead to further new approaches to treatment. This study work has set out to construct an in vitro system to model relevant aspects of the tissue-dependent behaviour of the neoplastic mantle cells, seeking to establish the link between in vitro behaviour and clinical phenotype, and establishing the feasibility of this system to study the effects of …

Bridging The Gap: Pop Media As A Narrative Tool For Working With Millennials, Kristina M. Kays, David Kays, Adrian Egger

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

This seminar explores the use of popular media as a means to explore emotions issues resulting from trauma and abuse. The movie Inside Out will be explored as a practical and live example for use in integrating narrative therapy interventions with challenging clients resistant to exploring emotional concerns in therapy.

From Dawn To Dan: The Journey Of Karate Masters., Brandon W. Maynard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The contributions martial arts training can make to mental health treatment have scarcely been explored by researchers in psychology. Practitioners of martial arts, such as karate, report that the training improves self-esteem, concentration, and emotional well-being. Several studies have provided empirical evidence in support of these anecdotal reports, but very few have utilized participants who have advanced training in martial arts to examine the emotional impact such training has across time. This study takes a phenomenological approach to studying the emotional effects training has had on master-level martial artists (fourth-degree black belt or higher) in the discipline of karate. Eight …

Childrearing Challenges In Parental Adhd: A Pilot Study And Proposed Research Design, David Porrino

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An emerging body of research on the functional impairments of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults notes that parents with ADHD are likely to experience challenges in several facets of childrearing (e.g., Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008a; Murray & Johnston, 2006). Despite empirical evidence suggesting parents with ADHD have particular kinds of struggles, research evaluating the effects of adult ADHD treatment on parenting challenges is quite scarce. By contrast, a breadth of research indicates that adult ADHD interventions, particularly pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), are effective in ameliorating ADHD symptoms. Further, CBT has shown to be an efficacious adjunctive treatment for ADHD …

Revealing Grace: The Lived Experiences Of America's Post-9/11 Military Caregivers, Jennifer J. Hunter

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research focused on the lived experiences of fourteen military caregiving wives whose husbands were wounded, ill, or injured in a post-9/11 combat theater of war. All wives in this study had been vetted by and appointed to the Elizabeth Dole Military Caregiving Fellows Program and were either actively involved in the Fellowship or had become recent alumni of the two-year commitment at the time of this study. The purpose of this study was to provide a platform for their voices, understand their hopes, struggles, successes, and failures, and to give honor to their stories of military caregiving through the …

"You're Doing Fine, Right?": Adolescent Siblings Of Substance Abusers, Cynthia E. Clarfield

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been a rising interest in addiction medicine and addiction treatment in both the medical and behavioral health science fields. Research suggests having a family member with a substance abuse problem has negative impacts on both physical and mental health (Orford, Copello, Velleman, & Templeton, 2010a). Despite advances toward understanding the experiences of family members affected by a loved one's addiction, the siblings of substance abusers have been largely excluded from scientific research and literature. As a result, little is known about how siblings experience the impacts of a brother or sister's addiction; even less is known about the …

Front Matter

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Front Matter includes Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review Volume 12 (2017).

Classified Websites, Sex Trafficking, And The Law: Problem And Proposal, Marianne Lourdes Asencion

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Since the beginning of the 1600s, slavery was a known issue in the United States (U.S.). Although slavery was abolished in 1863 as a result of the Civil War, slavery persists in the present day. Modem day slavery is human trafficking. Although there is a misconception that human trafficking is only an international issue, victims need not cross international borders to be trafficked. Even though trafficking suggests movement or travel, there is no requirement that victims must be transported in order for trafficking to take place. Annually, approximately 700,000 victims are trafficked within U.S. borders. In the U.S. alone, there …

Spatial Sampling Requirements For Received Signal Level Measurements In Cellular Networks Of Suburban Area, Abdlmagid Basere, Ivica Kostanic

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

A process for the determination of a required spatial resolution in the collection of the Received Signal Level (RSL) is discussed. This method considers RSL measurements as a three dimensional surface that is sampled through the data collection process. In addition, it is difficult to collect RSL measurements for an entire coverage area because of many obstacles, for example, buildings, lakes, and vegetation. Thus, the estimation of the coverage area is necessary for locations for which it is hard to collect the RSL. Kriging is a well-known technique for estimation of unknown values at specific locations, and it has shown …

The Ball's In Her Court: Communicating Gender And Sexual Identity In Today's Wnba, Jose Maldonado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prior research has demonstrated certain societal issues that impact not only female basketball players, but all female athletes on more of a larger scale than just participating in sport. With social media rapidly becoming a popular form of communication today, and the dilemma of these women being analyzed for something other than their basketball prowess, it is important that certain communication strategies in a mediated environment be further researched. Using textual analysis, three of the WNBA's most popular players will be examined to determine if there are significant themes and differences that confirm the previously established gender norms, along with …

A New Method For Ultra-Low Sulfate Extraction And A Pilot Study In Arid Soils, Marisela Montelongo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Sulfur in soils is a crucial nutrient for all organisms including plants. Sulfate (SO42-), a water soluable anion, is a good source of this important element. Because of the importance of sulfur for agriculture, the use of sulfate has been well studied in temperate climate zones, and it is generally accepted that microbes play a critical role in controlling the availability of sulfate. Organically bound sulfur, such as sulfate esters and carbon-bonded sulfur, compounds that are generated and decomposed by microbes, are essential sulfur sources for plants under these conditions. For arid environments, knowledge of sulfate turnover in soils by …

Her, Alessandra Narvaez-Varela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

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