Digital Commons Network^™

The In Vivo Detection Of Outer Membrane Lysis During Spore Wall Assembly In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Using A Novel Split Gfp Assay, John Peter Zinno

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The regulation and mechanism of outer membrane (OM) lysis duringspore wall assembly is not well understood. Although the timing of OM lysis has been established in previous studies, this event has never been assayed for. To this end, a new method was developed to assay the lysisof the OM during sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the splitGFP assay. By expressing complementary fragments of GFP in the ascal cytoplasm and the lumen between the OM and the spore plasma membrane (SPM), the lysis of the OM could be detected by the reconstitution of a functional GFP protein in the ascal cytoplasm as …

Identification Of Stem Cell Markers In The Model Organism Nematostella Vectensis, Esau Cruz Gutierrez

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Nematostella vectensis possess a robust regenerative ability that is characteristic of other cnidarians and highly regenerative model organisms that use stem cells to rebuild missing parts. By identifying somatic stem cell populations and their relationship with regeneration, breakthroughs in regenerative medicine can be made. This study focused on several stem cell marker candidates, Cniwi1, Cniwi2, FoxO and Lin28, as their roles have been associated with stem cell regulation, renewal, and cellular processes. Documenting the spatial and temporal expression patterns of these candidate genes will help validate their functions as stem cell markers. The present study has found that FoxO and …

Changes In Functional Neural Network Organization During Working Memory Task Performance: Effects Of Age And Task Practice, Thang Manh Le

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The notion that cognitive processing is not only reflected by regional changes in neural activity in the brain but also by global changes in functional connectivity pattern has greatly motivated the network approach in examining the neural substrates of cognition and their relationship with behavior. Recent human neuroimaging evidence suggests specific cognitive processes may involve distinct spatiotemporal patterns of functional connectivity across task conditions. For instance, increased cognitive demand has been shown to evoke greater network integration while changes in functional network architecture have been associated with shifting between cognitive states. However, little is known about individual differences in the …

Energy Efficiency Measures In Oregon Instructional School Facilities Implemented Under Sb 1149, And Improved Student Performance, Virginia Saraswati, Timothy Hulseman, John Bauer

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Energy generation, transmission, and distribution, requires a costly infrastructure to meet increasing demand. The success of energy efficiency measures (EEM's) are largely based on cumulative energy and cost savings. This research attempts to add improved student learning to the list of benefits when implementing EEM's in instructional school facilities. Our literature review of current research demonstrates that maximizing natural daylight in the design of school buildings reduces energy consumption, as well as improves student performance [1]. Additionally, EEM's can benefit student performance through direct and indirect environmental improvements that enhance usability, productivity, and comfort [2]. Through statistical analysis of data …

Hemodynamic Characteristics Of Ruptured And Unruptured Multiple Aneurysms At Mirror And Ipsilateral Locations, Ravi Doddasomayajula, Bong Jae Chung, Fernando Mut, Carlos M. Jimenez, Farid Hamzei-Sichani, Christopher M. Putman, Juan R. Cebral

Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Different hemodynamic patterns have been associated with aneurysm rupture. The objective was to test whether hemodynamic characteristics of the ruptured aneurysm in patients with multiple aneurysms were different from those in unruptured aneurysms in the same patient.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four mirror and 58 ipsilateral multiple aneurysms with 1 ruptured and the others unruptured were studied. Computational fluid dynamics models were created from 3D angiographies. Case-control studies of mirror and ipsilateral aneurysms were performed with paired Wilcoxon tests.

RESULTS: In mirror pairs, the ruptured aneurysm had more oscillatory wall shear stress (P = .007) than the …

Strengths And Limitations Of Nitrogen Rate Recommendations For Corn And Opportunities For Improvement, Thomas F. Morris, T. Scott Murrell, Douglas B. Beegle, James J. Camberato, Richard B. Ferguson, John H. Grove, Quirine Ketterings, Peter M. Kyveryga, Carrie A.M. Laboski, Joshua M. Mcgrath, John J. Meisinger, Jeff Melkonian, Bianca N. Moebius-Clune, Emerson D. Nafziger, Deanna Osmond, John E. Sawyer, Peter C. Scharf, Walter Smith, John T. Spargo, Harold M. Van Es, Haishun Yang

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Nitrogen fi xation by the Haber–Bosch process has more than doubled the amount of fi xed N on Earth, significantly influencing the global N cycle. Much of this fi xed N is made into N fertilizer that is used to produce nearly half of the world’s food. Too much of the N fertilizer pollutes air and water when it is lost from agroecosystems through volatilization, denitrification, leaching, and runoff. Most of the N fertilizer used in the United States is applied to corn (Zea mays L.), and the profitability and environmental footprint of corn production is directly tied to N …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration And Metacognitive Reflection: A Case Study Of Faculty Teaching In Learning Communities, Melissa Perry

English Dissertations - Archive

This qualitative case study examines the nature of faculty collaboration within the context of academic learning communities using third generation activity theory as an organizing framework. First, this study investigates how faculty collaborate across disciplinary lines to create and implement curriculum for paired and team-taught interdisciplinary learning community courses. Furthermore, this study seeks to understand whether these collaborative practices provide opportunities for discipline-based metacognitive reflection. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and course documents, the study findings confirm that learning communities do, in fact, create opportunities for faculty to become more self-aware of their own disciplinary conventions and …

Synthetic And Mechanistic Investigations Of Ruthenium Alkylidene-Catalyzed Alkene-Silane Cross-Coupling Reactions, Apparao Bokka

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Grubbs-type ruthenium alkylidene-catalyzed intramolecular alkene hydrosilylation and intermolecular dehydrogenative silylation and hydrosilylation of vinylarenes have been achieved with high regio- and stereoselectivity. Mechanistic details to support the initial activation of ruthenium complex have been revealed. Chapter 1 describes the uses of organosilanes in various fields. Development of transition metal-catalyzed hydrosilylations, alkene/alkyne metathesis activities of Grubbs-type ruthenium alkylidenes and non-metathetical activities including hydrosilylation of alkynes are discussed. The development of intramolecular hydrosilylation of alkenylsilyl ethers through reaction discovery and optimization is discussed. The strategy developed has been tested successfully on a variety of substrates with varying steric and electronic properties. A …

Wangari Maathai The Educator: Straddling Tradition And Modernity, Namulundah Florence

Journal of Global Education and Research

Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai’s (April 1, 1940 – September 25, 2011) public image highlights her nationality, her education both in and outside Kenya, her establishment of the Green Belt Movement (GBM) for which she received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, and her political activism. Advocates for female empowerment take solace in success stories like Maathai’s rise from a village girl to become a global icon of leadership. Yet, her mobility was more circumstantial than it was deliberate, and is inseparable from the uneasy compromise between the traditional gender roles of her youth with the critical consciousness nurtured in …

Recidivism And Juvenile Justice Youth: A Study On Recidivism Rates For Youth Awaiting Adjudication, Whitney L. Hunt

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The United States incarcerates more youth than any other country in the world (Justice Policy Institute, 2009). Previous research has focused on recidivism rates of juvenile justice youth post-adjudication. However, a gap in literature exists concerning the relationship of recidivism rates for youth awaiting adjudication. This study seeks to determine what factors correlate with recidivism for youths in detention compared with youths who receive detention alternatives while awaiting adjudication in an urban area in the Southern United States. It is hypothesized that, based on previous research and theory, youth who receive detention while awaiting adjudication are more likely to recidivate …

Automated Multistep Classifier Sizing And Training For Deep Learner, Kanishka Tyagi

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Training algorithms for deep learning have recently been proposed with notable success, beating the start-of-the-art in certain areas like audio, speech and language processing. The key role is played by learning multiple levels of abstractions in a deep architecture. However, searching the parameters space in a deep architecture is a difficult task. By exploiting the greedy layer-wise unsupervised training strategy of deep architecture, the network parameters are initialized near a good local minima. However, many existing deep learning algorithms require tuning a number of hyperparameters including learning factors and the number of hidden units in each layer. Apart from this, …

Development Of Qualitative And Quantitative Applications In Energy Industry Using Gas Chromatography- Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy, Ling Bai

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Characterization and evaluation of hydrocarbon assets, including content of linear and branched alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatics, olefins, and naphthenes, among others, during production and distribution are very crucial in oil and gas industries. Quantification and qualification of bulk composition of hydrocarbon groups in complex samples like gasoline, diesel, and other high value refinery products is very challenging. Gas chromatography (GC) is the most popular technique among the petrochemical industry and many of the EPA and ASTM methods have been established based on GC for analyzing hydrocarbons in complex mixtures. Though there are many methods available, there are still limitations on the …

Microhabitat Influences Morphospecies Richness On Costa Rican Rocky Reefs, December 2017, Brooke Hawkins, Eric Medina

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Microhabitat can be important in understanding small-scale habitat use of marine populations. This study examines the role of microhabitat, defined as a combination of substrate feature, as well as spatial heterogeneity on the biodiversity of rocky reefs off the coast of Cuajiniquil, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We surveyed twenty quadrats from three sites, recording the benthic animal morphospecies we observed, the microhabitats they occupied, and measured physical attributes of each habitat. We found that stony caves harbor more morphospecies in a given area than other microhabitats, but that rocky flats and stony pools host more unique morphospecies in total. We also …

The Effects Of Reforestation On Mammal Diversity And Abundance In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2017, Noelle Pruett

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Reforestation is an important mechanism in helping previously deforested landscapes recover. However, reforested areas tend to have less diversity in vegetation, due to the fact that humans are not able to replicate the same diversity or pattern of regeneration that would occur naturally. I investigated whether or not these changes in forest types and vegetation affect the diversity and abundance of mammals that inhabit these areas. I used both camera traps and Sherman traps to survey mammals from areas with reforestation and with natural regeneration. I observed a total of 72 mammals from five species in the camera traps. I …

Relating Wing Loading And Ear Size To Bat Diet Types, December 2017, Shilah Mcguinness

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Bats have one of the widest diet varieties in the animal kingdom. With these varying diet niches, each bat species experiences a different set of evolutionary pressures from its ecological interactions. This study assessed the variation in wing and ear morphology in bats and how these values compare with their varying diet types, in order to assess the ecological specificity that these species have evolved. I set up mist nets over a series of two weeks and captured a total of 17 bats from 9 species, conducting a series of measurements to calculate the total wing area and ear/weight ratio …

Synchronized Male Cricket Calls In Choruses Of The Cricket Anaxipha Sp., December 2017, Michael Morales

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

In Monteverde, there is a species of cricket within the Genus Anaxipha where males sing in loud choruses at night. I wanted to explore the purpose of this behavior by looking at the call and response activity between individual males. In this experiment, I looked at male responses to manipulations of the species male song, which is composed of two elements. I conducted a series of playback experiments on captive crickets. Responses of test subjects were documented while presenting playbacks of manipulated songs. Each playback treatment had a unique response from the crickets being tested. However, overall, it appears that …

Possible Effects Of Long-Term Weather Changes And Extreme Weather Events On Mice Population Abundances In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2017, Emily S. Parker

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Mice and rat abundance is determined by a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to: climate change, predation, and food availability. In this study, I analyzed the effects of daily and long-term weather on rodent populations to understand a possible decrease in abundance from 2016 to 2017 in Monteverde, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I took observations of individuals from four different sites: Santa Elena, Bajo del Tigre, Dwight and Rachel Crandell Memorial Reserve, and the Estación Biológica Monteverde. While a considerable number of specimens were captured in Bajo del Tigre, I observed the total abundance of rodents to be significantly …

Zno Nanoparticles Modulate The Ionic Transport And Voltage Regulation Of Lysenin Nanochannels, Sheenah L. Bryant, Josh E. Eixenberger, Steven Rossland, Holly Apsley, Connor Hoffman, Nisha Shrestha, Michael Mchugh, Alex Punnoose, Daniel Fologea

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The insufficient understanding of unintended biological impacts from nanomaterials (NMs) represents a serious impediment to their use for scientific, technological, and medical applications. While previous studies have focused on understanding nanotoxicity effects mostly resulting from cellular internalization, recent work indicates that NMs may interfere with transmembrane transport mechanisms, hence enabling contributions to nanotoxicity by affecting key biological activities dependent on transmembrane transport. In this line of inquiry, we investigated the effects of charged nanoparticles (NPs) on the transport properties of lysenin, a pore-forming toxin that shares fundamental features with ion channels such as regulation and high transport rate.

Results: …

Faculty Drivers And Barriers: Laying The Groundwork For Undergraduate Stem Education Reform In Academic Departments, Susan E. Shadle, Anthony Marker, Brittnee Earl

CTL Teaching Gallery

Background: Calls to improve student learning and increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) college and university graduates assert the need for widespread adoption of evidence-based instructional practices in undergraduate STEM courses. For successful reforms to take hold and endure, it is likely that a significant shift in culture around teaching is needed. This study seeks to describe the initial response of faculty to an effort to shift teaching norms, with a long-term goal of altering the culture around teaching and learning in STEM. While the effort was envisioned and led at the institutional level, dialog about …

Companion Planting: Effects Of Radishes On Squash Bugs, Daniel Dejong

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Throughout history, humans have continuously looked for easier and improved ways of growing our food. Over centuries of hybridizing crop varieties and more recently the invention and implementation of genetically modified (GM) seeds, we have created a food system that is dependent on chemical and seed companies to provide protection from environmental pests. The purpose of this thesis is not to discredit or dissuade someone from using GM seeds, but to take a look at some methods that could protect crops from environmental pests naturally, either for organic farmers or home gardeners. Specifically this review will examine methods of controlling …

Pyritized Cryogenian Cyanobacteria Fossils From Arctic Alaska, Kelsey R. Moore, Tanja Bosak, Francis Macdonald, Kimberly Du, Sharon A. Newman, Daniel J.G. Lahr, Sara B. Pruss

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

The Cryogenian was a time of climatic extremes, with two extended and severe global glaciations bracketing hothouse conditions. The effect of these extreme climate conditions on ocean chemistry and the marine biosphere remain poorly understood. Most of the previous studies of the fossil record from this interval focus on benthic organisms, with few examples of organisms with an inferred planktonic lifestyle and no firm evidence for photosynthetic organisms. Here, we present helically coiled, straight, and curved fossils composed of fine crystalline or framboidal pyrite in limestone samples from the Ikiakpuk formation of Arctic Alaska. These structures are morphologically identical to …

Intraspecific Differences In Molecular Stress Responses And Coral Pathobiome Contribute To Mortality Under Bacterial Challenge In Acropora Millepora, Rachel M. Wright, Carly D. Kenkel, Carly E. Dunn, Erin N. Shilling, Line K. Bay, Mikhail V. Matz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Disease causes significant coral mortality worldwide; however, factors responsible for intraspecific variation in disease resistance remain unclear. We exposed fragments of eight Acropora millepora colonies (genotypes) to putatively pathogenic bacteria (Vibrio spp.). Genotypes varied from zero to >90% mortality, with bacterial challenge increasing average mortality rates 4-6 fold and shifting the microbiome in favor of stress-associated taxa. Constitutive immunity and subsequent immune and transcriptomic responses to the challenge were more prominent in high-mortality individuals, whereas low-mortality corals remained largely unaffected and maintained expression signatures of a healthier condition (i.e., did not launch a large stress response). Our results suggest that …

Gendered Ecologies And Black Feminist Futures In Ibi Zoboi’S “The Farming Of Gods,” Wanuri Kahiu’S Pumzi, And Wangechi Mutu’S The End Of Eating Everything, Amanda Renee Rico

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

This paper addresses how the works of three female authors and artists from various parts of Africa and the Diaspora — Pumzi by Wanuri Kahiu, The End of eating Everything by Wangechi Mutu, and “The Farming of the Gods” by Ibi Zoboi — imagine a black feminist future through ecological imagery. My argument is twofold: first, I take my cue from Mutu’s assertion that imaginative forms of world-building must connect systemic corruption to consumptive practices. Second, I claim such Afrofuturist works use geographical spaces marked by ecological abuse (poisonous spores, pustules, desert landscapes), displacement (discarded objects) and violence (human limbs) …

The Integration Of Learners With Emotional And Behavioural Difficulties In Mainstream Primary School Curriculum: An Examination Of Teachers And Teaching Challenges In Mombasa County, Kenya, Kennedy Chege Njuguna

Master of Education

The study was conducted to investigate the integration of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD) learners in mainstream primary schools curriculum in Mombasa County in Kenya with focus on the examination of teachers practice and teaching challenges. The study has reviewed Kenya’s milestones in realising the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All goals with regard to the integration of learners with EBD in mainstream curriculum and the educational provision for children with EBD in Kenya. A case study design involving a mainstream school was adopted. Data was collected using interviews, observations and document analysis, which was then systematically coded …

Exploring Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions Of Professional Development In Tanzanian Secondary Schools: A Case Study Of Two Public Secondary Schools In Ilala Municipality In Dar Es Salaam, Tatu Selemani Irunde

Master of Education

This study focused on mathematics teachers’ perceptions of professional development (PD) in Tanzanian secondary schools. The study was conducted in two public secondary schools in Ilala Municipality, in Dar es Salaam. The schools were selected purposively. The participants of this study were head teachers, academic teachers, heads of mathematics departments, and mathematics teachers. The data collection methods used in this study included interviews, surveys, focus group discussion (FGD), and document analysis. The findings of this study were analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. The study found out that, teachers perceived professional development as programs to improve teaching as well as continuous …

A Study To Explore Classroom Factors Influencing The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics In Secondary Schools: A Case Of A Secondary School In Tanga Region Tanzania, Lola Selele Kamaghe

Master of Education

Mathematics has been a subject whereby much effort has been directed for a number of years for the aim of improving students‟ achievements. However the improvements seem to be catching up slowly. Efforts such as increasing the number of teachers and learning materials like books by the government have not succeeded to change the trend of performances. Although several studies have been conducted coming up with various recommendations still their implementation is a challenge. This study aims to find out what can be done in classrooms to improve achievement in mathematics. The study approach was qualitative because it aimed at …

A Critical Review Of Postfeminist Sensibility, S. Riley, A. Evans, S. Elliott, C. Rice, Jeanne Marecek

Psychology Faculty Works

This paper critically reviews how feminist academic psychologists, social scientists, and media scholars have developed Rosalind Gill's generative construct “postfeminist sensibility.” We describe the key themes of postfeminist sensibility, a noncoherent set of ideas about femininity, embodiment, and empowerment circulating across a range of media. Ideas that inform women's sense of self, making postfeminist sensibility an important object for psychological study. We then consider research that drew on postfeminist sensibility, focusing on new sexual subjectivities, which developed analysis of agency, empowerment, and the possibilities and limitations in taking up new subjectivities associated with postfeminism, as well as who could take …

First Roane County Record Of Purple Gallinule Is Captured On Trail Camera, W. Kelly Roy, Elizabeth Znidersic, Sarah E. Darling, Jamie M. Herold

The Migrant - Tennessee Ornithological Society

No abstract provided.

Investigating Fate Of Silver Nanoparticles In Wastewater Biofilms, Connie Marie Walden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As industrial advances make everyday life easier for human kind, the processes by which we need to maintain sanitary conditions for both water and wastewater treatment will become increasingly complex. Innovations in food packaging and textile design incorporate engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to increase antimicrobial properties of clothing, maintain product color, and keep food in packaging from spoilage. For most products, ENPs released will enter the sanitary sewer system, and ultimately wastewater treatment plants. Biofilms grow universally on surfaces where a protective layer of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) shields attached cells from stressors. In wastewater treatment, complex biofilms are utilized as …

Endocrine Disrupting Effects Of Halogenated Chemicals On Fish, Amy Elizabeth Godfrey

Open Access Dissertations

Halogenated chemicals are commonly used in a variety of everyday products such as cookware, electronics, furniture and baby products. Some of these chemicals have been found to negatively affect development and endocrine disruption. Therefore, there is a need for the development of next generation replacements that are less toxic; however, more studies need to be conducted to ensure their safety. The main objective of this dissertation was to assess the endocrine disrupting potential of halogenated and next generation chemicals, singly and in mixtures, in fish. We tested three well studied halogens, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) and tetrabromobisphenal …