Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Geometries And Other Properties Of H2o⋯Agi And H3n⋯Agi As Characterised By Rotational Spectroscopy And Ab Initio Calculations, Chris Medcraft, Eva Gougoula, Dror M. Bittner, John C. Mullaney, Susana Blanco, David P. Tew, Nicholas R. Walker, Anthony C. Legon

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The rotational spectra of H₃N⋯AgI and H₂O⋯AgI have been recorded between 6.5 and 18.5 GHz by chirped-pulse Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy. The complexes were generated through laser vaporisation of a solid target of silver or silver iodide in the presence of an argon gas pulse containing a low concentration of the Lewis base. The gaseous sample subsequently undergoes supersonic expansion which results in cooling of rotational and vibrational motions such that weakly bound complexes can form within the expanding gas jet. Spectroscopic parameters have been determined for eight isotopologues of H₃N⋯AgI and six isotopologues of …

The Influence Of Previous Subject Experience On Interactions During Peer Instruction In An Introductory Physics Course: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Judy A. Vondruska

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Over the past decade, peer instruction and the introduction of student response systems has provided a means of improving student engagement and achievement in large-lecture settings. While the nature of the student discourse occurring during peer instruction is less understood, existing studies have shown student ideas about the subject, extraneous cues, and confidence level appear to matter in the student-student discourse. Using a mixed methods research design, this study examined the influence of previous subject experience on peer instruction in an introductory, one-semester Survey of Physics course. Quantitative results indicated students in discussion pairs where both had previous subject experience …

Examining The Relationships Between Prenatal Tobacco Exposure, Temperament, And Cognitive Ability In Early Childhood, Sam Pérez-González

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) has been extensively researched and consistently associated with outcomes indicative of self-regulation deficits (e.g., ADHD, behavioral problems, and impaired cognitive function). Self-regulation is a multifaceted construct critical to children’s successful behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment and involves the integration of a cognitive component (executive function) and a temperamental component (effortful control). Previous research suggests temperament may be a pathway through which PTE affects children’s future behavior and cognitive outcomes, but such studies have been limited to infancy and have not included measures of executive function. Thus, the current study had three aims: a) to examine clusters …

Spatial Variation In Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Susceptibility To Bacillus Thuringiensis Corn Events In Nebraska, Jordan D. Reinders

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is an economically important pest species of field corn (Zea mays L.) in the U.S. Corn Belt. Yield losses and control costs exceed greater than $1 billion annually. Over the past 10+ years, growers have adopted transgenic corn hybrids expressing rootworm-active Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins as a primary WCR management tactic. Field-evolved resistance to Cry3Bb1 and mCry3A proteins expressed in single-trait Bt hybrids has been confirmed in some areas of Nebraska. Growers have used different tactics as needed to prevent or mitigate resistance, resulting in a mosaic of selection pressure placed …

An Examination Of Political Attitudes And Behavior Using Regulatory Focus Theory, Kristen D. Deppe

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT, Higgins 1997), I take a broad look at the manner in which political behaviors and attitudes are impacted by the promotion and prevention motivational systems. I first look at how behavior in life generally and political life specifically are similar in terms of regulatory focus. Second, I look at how RFT is related to political attitudes. Specifically, I look at whether there is a connection between regulatory focus and ideological attitudes, whether there is a relationship between policy context and motivational systems, and whether the status quo of a policy leads to a relationship between …

Radiofrequency Processing For Inactivation Of Salmonella Spp. And Enterococcus Faecium Nrrl B-2354 In Whole Black Peppercorn And Ground Black Pepper, Xinyao Wei

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Black pepper has been implicated in several foodborne illness outbreaks and food product recalls due to Salmonella contamination. Conventional decontamination methods for black pepper are challenged by harmful residues or quality deterioration. Radiofrequency (RF) heating reduces the come-up time which allows to design a high-temperature short-time processing to inactivate Salmonella with minimal deterioration in product quality. The objectives of this study were to investigate RF heating for inactivation of Salmonella in whole black peppercorn and ground black pepper samples, evaluate Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 as a surrogate for Salmonella, and assess quality deterioration during RF heating of whole black peppercorn …

Increasing Cis-Lycopene Content Of The Oleoresin From Tomato Processing Byproducts Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide And Assessment Of Its Bioaccessibility, Lisbeth Vallecilla Yepez

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In recent years, health- and wellness-promoting foods have been one of the major focus of consumers; therefore, the food industry is increasing its efforts in developing these food products. Tomatoes, tomato-food products and their byproducts have gained special attention in virtue of the carotenoids-rich source that they represent, especially lycopene (~90%). The role of lycopene in human diet has been highlighted as a result of its direct relationship with the decrease of chronic diseases. Nevertheless, lycopene is water-insoluble making its extraction simple with organic-toxic solvents; in addition, lycopene degrades easily with light, time, and storage. Lycopene exist in nature mostly …

Whole Grain Processing And Effects On Carbohydrate Digestion And Fermentation, Sandrayee Brahma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whole grains are a major source of dietary fibers in the human diet that provide specific nutrients to the gut microbiota and thereby plays a major role in modulating microbiota composition and increasing diversity of the gut ecosystem. A common approach of consuming whole grains is in the form of ready-to-eat extruded breakfast cereals. Studies reported herein established that extrusion conditions not only affected the physicochemical properties but also in vitro starch digestibility, β-glucan extractability and in vitro fermentation characteristics of whole grain oats. Moderate screw speed (300 rpm) led to higher slowly digestible starch (SDS) with an accompanying decrease …

High Throughput Phenotyping Of Sorghum For The Study Of Growth Rate, Water Use Efficiency, And Chemical Composition, Piyush Pandey

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plant phenotyping using digital images has increased the throughput of the trait measurement process, and it is considered to be a potential solution to the problem of the phenotyping bottleneck. In this study, RGB images were used to study relative growth rate (RGR) and water use efficiency (WUE) of a diverse panel of 300 sorghum plants of 30 genotypes, and hyperspectral images were used for chemical analysis of macronutrients and cell wall composition. Half of the plants from each genotype were subjected to drought stress, while the other half were left unstressed. Quadratic models were used to estimate the shoot …

Thermodynamic Limitations To Agricultural Productivity And Food Security: Livestock In Sub-Saharan Africa, Calvin Harman

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

By 2050, to feed a nearly tripling and more urbanized population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will require significant increases in crop productivity throughout the region’s agricultural systems, if a greater reliance on imports is to be avoided. Increases in crop yields to maximum potential productivity (closure of crop yield gaps) can produce more calories and protein, but may be insufficient to sustain the burgeoning human population according to recent analysis (van Ittersum et al., 2016). In this thesis, alternative management options (i.e. crop allocation and crop substitutions) are found to increase total energy productivity and the thermodynamic efficiency of food …

Cultivation Of Chlorella Sorokiniana Using Beef Feedlot Runoff Holding Pond Effluent, Mitchell Klaus Goedeken

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A study was conducted to test the suitability of utilizing beef feedlot runoff holding pond effluent for cultivating algae. The algae strain used, Chlorella sorokiniana, was previously identified as a potential energy feedstock for cattle. The previous research was initiated in pursuit of a goal to develop a cycle of utilizing nutrients from beef manure to cultivate algae and then utilizing dewatered algae as a feed supplement for beef cattle.

Runoff holding pond effluent samples were collected from commercial beef production operations in Nebraska during spring 2016. Equal portions of samples from each cooperating farm were composited and then aliquoted …

Use Of Long Term Weather Data And Spatially Delineated Field Attributes To Predict Water And Energy Conservation From Variable Rate Irrigation, Sahil Sharma

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The declining levels of the Ogallala aquifer calls for more judicious use of water. Studies have shown that VRI has the potential for water savings. But adoption of VRI is still very low. The major reason is lack of information on the returns from the VRI systems and its feasibility in different fields. Also, a quantification of the required reduction in prices of VRI is necessary. So, an economic return analysis of VRI strategies was done to compare it to uniform irrigation management (UIM) using a water balance model based on long term weather data and field properties for a …

Assessing Relationships Between Angling Effort And Larval Trematodes In Small Bluegill, Alexis Park

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I wanted to determine if catch-and-release angling increased larval trematodes in small (50-160 mm) bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). I used angling effort as a proxy for amount of catch-and-release angling. I assumed bluegill assessed, due to their size and age, experienced catch-and-release events. I assessed larval trematode intensity, black spot (Crassiphiala bulboglossa), and white grub (Posthodiplostomum minimum centrarchi), in 750 bluegill. The first objective was to quantify the association between angling effort and reservoir area. Angling effort and reservoir area were positively correlated. The second objective was to determine if angling effort, reservoir area, bluegill …

Applying The Diffusion Of Innovation Theory To Characterize Stem Faculty Attending Professional Development Programs, Dihua Xue

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Instructional practices in undergraduate STEM courses have been static for decades, with a primary focus on lecture. Over the last twenty years, extensive research on how people learn science has led to the development of innovative instructional strategies that have been shown to enhance students’ learning and interest. These in turn have led to calls to reform instructional practices in STEM fields at the undergraduate level. However, evidence shows that these research-based instructional strategies have largely not been incorporated into classes. The promotion of these new strategies has been mostly conducted through workshops. Although numerous studies have evaluated the impact …

Developing Functionalized Peroxide Precursors For The Synthesis Of Cyclic And Spirocyclic Ethers, Anna J. Diepenbrock

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is increasing interest in the development of methods for the synthesis of oxetanes and spirocyclic oxetanes, a class of molecules of interest to chemists as they synthesize libraries of possible drug target scaffolds with tunable physiochemical and biological properties.^1,2 Although most ethers are prepared through reaction of nucleophilic oxygen with electrophilic carbon, this work explores new reagents and routes for the synthesis of spirocyclic oxetanes based upon an application of "umpolung" or polarity reversal involving attack of nucleophilic carbon on the electrophilic oxygen of a peroxide (Scheme 1). In this work, a 2-carbon peroxide synthon for reverse etherification …

Analytical Solutions For The Black-Scholes Equation, Jalil Manafian, Mahnaz Paknezhad

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, the Black-Sholes equation (BS) has been applied successfully with the Cauchy-Euler method and the method of separation of variables and new analytical solutions have been found. The linear partial differential equation (PDE) transformed to linear ordinary differential equation (ODE) as well. We acquired three types of solutions including hyperbolic, trigonometric and rational solutions. Descriptions of these methods are given and the obtained results reveal that three methods are tools for exploring partial differential models.

Antidepressant-Like Actions Of Inhibitors Of Poly(Adp-Ribose) Polymerase In Rodent Models, Gregory A. Ordway, Attila Szebeni, Liza J. Hernandez, Jessica D. Crawford, Katalin Szebeni, Michelle J. Chandley, Katherine C. Burgess, Corwin Miller, Erol Bakkalbasi, Russell W. Brown

ETSU Faculty Works

Many patients suffering from depressive disorders are refractory to treatment with currently available antidepressant medications, while many more exhibit only a partial response. These factors drive research to discover new pharmacological approaches to treat depression. Numerous studies demonstrate evidence of inflammation and elevated oxidative stress in major depression. Recently, major depression has been shown to be associated with elevated levels of DNA oxidation in brain cells, accompanied by increased gene expression of the nuclear base excision repair enzyme, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. Given these findings and evidence that drugs that inhibit poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 activity have antiinflammatory and neuroprotective properties, the present study …

Bastardly Duppies & Dastardly Dykes: Queer Sexuality And The Supernatural In Michelle Cliff’S Abeng And Shani Mootoo’S Cereus Blooms At Night, Rahul K. Gairola

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

This paper explores the ways in which the "duppy," or malevolent spirit, circulates the fictive landscape of the queer novels of Michelle Cliff and Shani Mootoo. I explore the ways in which the unhappy ghost is a figure which comments on the sexual pathology of postcolonial queerness in the Caribbean. I focus on the characters of Clare in "Abeng" and Mala in "Cereus Blooms at Night" in a bid to elucidate the ways that Caribbean lesbianism invokes, on the one hand, what M. Jacqui Alexander calls "erotic autonomy as a form of decolonization politics" in the material eroticism of women …

Idioms Or Open Choice? A Corpus Based Analysis, Kaitlyn Alayne Vanwagoner

Theses and Dissertations

The ambiguous nature of idioms has been a persistent challenge for English language learners and researches alike. Problematic issues include identifying which idioms are most pertinent for study, and the question of how frequently idiom forms found in dictionaries and other canonized resources actually function as idioms in real language use. This study differentiates between idiom forms used idiomatically (idiom-principle) versus literally (open-choice principle), and provides quantitative data to assess this difference. The data was obtained through a corpus analysis of 1,000 randomly-selected idioms in 10,000 randomly-selected contexts (10 contexts per idiom), and revealed that the majority of idiom forms …

Evaluating The Affective Impact Of A Place-Based Learning Course Project In The Geosciences, Nathan Charlton

Masters Theses

Coping with issues such as climate change and depletion of natural resources demands a scientifically literate public. For many students, the only exposure to earth science comes in a college-level general education geoscience course. One way to engender positive attitudes toward and interest in earth science among these students (the future public) is to connect learning to actual places to which students have a personal attachment.

This study seeks to evaluate the impact of a place-based learning project (MyPlace) currently in use in an introductory geosciences general education course at Western Michigan University. Students in the MyPlace project select a …

Nurse Fellowships: Facilitating The Transition To Specialty Practice, Brenda Diaz, Anne Corbett, April Camiling

General Submissions: Presentations (Oral and Poster)

A Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Registered Nurse (RN) Fellowship was developed in a large teaching hospital to increase RN retention, increase professional certification, and encourage the development of evidence based projects by staff nurses. In 2015, four nurses new to blood and marrow transplant were accepted for a one year fellowship after the completion of their orientation. Once a month, they attended an 8-hour educational program to increase their knowledge on blood and marrow transplantation. Educational sessions consisted of slide presentations, skill validation, case study presentations, observations and shadowing experiences, and independent studies. These fellows identified two opportunities for …

New Technologies For Evaluating Putting Green Surface Characteristics, Daniel Patrick O'Brien

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Golf course putting greens require a high level of inputs predicated on timely, well informed decisions. Putting green quality is ultimately defined by performance of the turfgrass, and this performance encompasses both (i) the health and vitality of the turfgrass plants, and (ii) the ability of the turfgrass to exist as a playing surface, as it interacts with the golf ball. For golf course superintendents, accurately and efficiently assessing moisture levels and nutrient status are critical for guiding maintenance practices. This research sought to examine new ways for measuring each of these parameters, and compared them to ground-truth data and/or …

Fatty Acid Concentration And Phase Transitions Modulate Aβ Aggregation Pathways, Pratip Rana, Dexter N. Dean, Edward D. Steen, Ashuwin Vaidya, Vijayaraghavan Rangachari, Preetam Ghosh

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides is a significant event that underpins Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. Aβ aggregates, especially the low-molecular weight oligomers, are the primary toxic agents in AD and hence, there is increasing interest in understanding their formation and behavior. Aggregation is a nucleation-dependent process in which the pre-nucleation events are dominated by Aβ homotypic interactions. Dynamic flux and stochasticity during pre-nucleation renders the reactions susceptible to perturbations by other molecules. In this context, we investigate the heterotypic interactions between Aβ and fatty acids (FAs) by two independent tool-sets such as reduced order modelling (ROM) and ensemble kinetic …

Graph Analytics Methods In Feature Engineering, Theophilus Siameh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High-dimensional data sets can be difficult to visualize and analyze, while data in low-dimensional space tend to be more accessible. In order to aid visualization of the underlying structure of a dataset, the dimension of the dataset is reduced. The simplest approach to accomplish this task of dimensionality reduction is by a random projection of the data. Even though this approach allows some degree of visualization of the underlying structure, it is possible to lose more interesting underlying structure within the data. In order to address this concern, various supervised and unsupervised linear dimensionality reduction algorithms have been designed, such …

Sustained Sensitizing Effects Of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha On Sensory Nerves In Lung And Airways, Ruei-Lung Lin, Qihai Gu, Mehdi Khosravi, Lu-Yuan Lee

Physiology Faculty Publications

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of airway inflammatory diseases. Inhalation of aerosolized TNFα induced airway hyperresponsiveness accompanied by airway inflammation in healthy human subjects, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. We recently reported a series of studies aimed to investigate if TNFα elevates the sensitivity of vagal bronchopulmonary sensory nerves in a mouse model; these studies are summarized in this mini-review. Our results showed that intratracheal instillation of TNFα induced pronounced airway inflammation 24 hours later, as illustrated by infiltration of eosinophils and neutrophils and the release of inflammatory mediators and …

Complement 3a Receptor In Dorsal Horn Microglia Mediates Pronociceptive Neuropeptide Signaling, Suzanne Doolen, Jennifer Cook, Maureen Riedl, Kelley Kitto, Shinichi Kohsaka, Christopher N. Honda, Carolyn A. Fairbanks, Bradley K. Taylor, Lucy Vulchanova

Physiology Faculty Publications

The complement 3a receptor (C3aR1) participates in microglial signaling under pathological conditions and was recently shown to be activated by the neuropeptide TLQP‐21. We previously demonstrated that TLQP‐21 elicits hyperalgesia and contributes to nerve injury‐induced hypersensitivity through an unknown mechanism in the spinal cord. Here we determined that this mechanism requires C3aR1 and that microglia are the cellular target for TLQP‐21. We propose a novel neuroimmune signaling pathway involving TLQP‐21‐induced activation of microglial C3aR1 that then contributes to spinal neuroplasticity and neuropathic pain. This unique dual‐ligand activation of C3aR1 by a neuropeptide (TLQP‐21) and an immune mediator (C3a) represents a …

Weed Establishment And Persistence After Water Pipeline Installation And Reclamation In The Mixed Grass Prairie Of Western North Dakota, Erin K. Espeland, Lora B. Perkins

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Weeds in reclamations interfere with success by: 1) competing with desirable species seeded during revegetation; 2) preventing recolonization of reclamations by native species; and 3) reducing the integrity of landscapes by expanding from reclamations into adjacent, intact areas. In the Bakken oilfield of western North Dakota, dispersed reclamation activity and increased traffic may provide many opportunities for weeds to spread. To determine the potential for disturbance and reclamation to increase resident weed populations and introduce new weed species, we tracked twenty-one weed (non-native/ruderal/invasive) species over a four-year period after the installation of a 1.8 km livestock water pipeline and subsequent …

Quantitative Morphological Classification Of Planetary Craterforms Using Multivariate Methods Of Outline-Based Shape Analysis, Thomas Joseph Slezak

Theses and Dissertations

Craters formed by impact and volcanic processes are among the most fundamental planetary landforms. This study examines the morphology of diverse craterforms on Io, the Moon, Mars, and Earth using quantitative, outline-based shape analysis and multivariate statistical methods to evaluate the differences between different types of. Ultimately, this should help establish relationships between the form and origin of craterforms. Developed in the field of geometric morphometrics by paleontological and biological sciences communities, these methods were used for the analysis of the shapes of crater outlines. The shapes of terrestrial ash-flow calderas, terrestrial basaltic shield calderas, martian calderas, Ionian paterae, and …

Influence Of Epstein-Barr Virus On Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Development And The Role Of Depression On Disease Progression, Caleb Cornaby

Theses and Dissertations

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease affecting 20 to 250 individuals per 100,000 worldwide. Symptomology includes dermatological manifestations such as discoid lesions, acute cutaneous rashes, and oral and nasal ulcers, along with musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and renal complications. Abnormal T and B lymphocyte function and apoptosis, immune complex clearance, complement function, and nucleosome processing are typical of disease pathophysiology. SLE is the result of both environmental and genetic factors, which together create the conditions leading to disease onset and progression. Of these environmental factors, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is known to cause the genesis of cross-reactive antibodies in SLE …

Synthesis Of Regioselectively Acylated Quercetin Analogues With Improved Antiplatelet Activity, Yu Duan, Na Sun, Min Xue, Xiaolan Wang, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The aim of the present study was to report on a complete synthetic approach, namely benzylation-hydrolysis-acylation-hydrogenation, to the synthesis of regioselectively acylated quercetin analogues using low-cost rutin as a starting material. Three quercetin analogues, quercetin-3-O-propionate (Q-pr), quercetin-3-O-butyrate (Q-bu) and quercetin-3-O-valerate (Q-va), containing 3-, 4- and 5-carbon aliphatic acyl chains, respectively, were synthesized and characterized with ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry. Compared with quercetin, all three analogues exhibited improved lipophilicity. The lipophilicity of the analogue increased with increasing acyl chain length. Q-va exhibited the highest lipophilicity among the three analogues, but a lower water …