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Appreciating Dance: The View From The Audience, Aili W. Bresnahan

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Dance can be appreciated from all sorts of perspectives: For instance, by the dancer while dancing, by the choreographer while watching in the wings, by the musician in the orchestra pit who accompanies the dance, or by the loved-one of a dancer who watches while hoping that the dancer performs well and avoids injury. This essay will consider what it takes to appreciate dance from the perspective of a seated, non-moving audience member. A dance appreciator in this position is typically someone who can hear and see, who can feel vibrations of sound through their skin, and who can have …

Ursinus Magazine, Winter 2017, Brock Blomberg, Wendy Greenberg, Ellen Labrecque, Ed Moorhouse, Bill Doherty, Edward Onaci, Deborah Barkun

Ursinus Magazine, 1995–Present

Staying ahead of the class • Transitions • Hoop history • Birthday boxes • Commencement 2017 • Pacific time • Bears make history • Bears write history • Lost and found: March Madness basketball training rules from the 1950s • The curator: Making art accessible • Academic centers connecting students to the world • Melrose Center: Global citizens and next generation 'Mr. Fix-its' • Bears wanted: How can a liberal arts college prepare the next workforce? • Externships: A window on the changing marketplace • Generation first: Sharing stories of changing family histories • On the same wavelength • Burning …

Network Partitioning In Distributed Agent-Based Models, Antoniya Petkova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agent-Based Models (ABMs) are an emerging simulation paradigm for modeling complex systems, comprised of autonomous, possibly heterogeneous, interacting agents. The utility of ABMs lies in their ability to represent such complex systems as self-organizing networks of agents. Modeling and understanding the behavior of complex systems usually occurs at large and representative scales, and often obtaining and visualizing of simulation results in real-time is critical. The real-time requirement necessitates the use of in-memory computing, as it is difficult and challenging to handle the latency and unpredictability of disk accesses. Combining this observation with the scale requirement emphasizes the need to use …

Linking Climate Change And Socio-Economic Impact For Long-Term Urban Growth In Three Mega-Cities, Qi Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization has become a global trend under the impact of population growth, socio-economic development, and globalization. However, the interactions between climate change and urban growth in the context of economic geography are unclear due to missing links in between the recent planning megacities. This study aims to conduct a multi-temporal change analysis of land use and land cover in New York City, City of London, and Beijing using a cellular automata-based Markov chain model collaborating with fuzzy set theory and multi-criteria evaluation to predict the city's future land use changes for 2030 and 2050 under the background of climate change. …

Biological Nutrient Removal (Bnr) Process Optimization And Recovery Of Embedded Energy Using Biodiesel By-Product, Sultan Salamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) as well as biological nitrogen removal require a carbon source to be carried out. Volatile fatty acid (VFAs) (mainly acetic and propionic acids) are the major driving force for EBPR. Many domestic wastewaters have an insufficient amount of VFAs. However, carbon sources such as acetic and propionic acids can be produced using primary solids fermentation process. Due to the cost of VFA production, an external carbon source can be added to the biological nutrient removal (BNR) system that can be fermented to provide the desired VFAs. Glycerol (biodiesel by-product) offers a solution to reduce carbon …

Redox-Active Solid State Materials And Its Biomedical And Biosensing Applications, Ankur Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are byproducts of physiological processes in human body, and strengthened production of ROS is known to cause acute conditions such as inflammation, aging, Alzheimer's disease, melanoma and ovarian cancer, fibrosis and multiple sclerosis. Therefore, early detection of ROS at nanomolar concentration (at cellular level) and developing more potent antioxidants is essential for regular health monitoring. As an example, ROS are also responsible for inflammation reactions at orthopedic implants-tissue interface triggered by wear debris. Inflammation induced by ROS results in revision surgery. Coatings of redox-active materials exhibiting antioxidant properties on implants have potential to mitigate the inflammation …

Learning Kernel-Based Approximate Isometries, Mahlagha Sedghi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing availability of public datasets offers an inexperienced opportunity to conduct data-driven studies. Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling aims to find a low-dimensional embedding of the data, preserving the pairwise dissimilarities amongst the data points in the original space. Along with the visualizability, this dimensionality reduction plays a pivotal role in analyzing and disclosing the hidden structures in the data. This work introduces Sparse Kernel-based Least Squares Multi-Dimensional Scaling approach for exploratory data analysis and, when desirable, data visualization. We assume our embedding map belongs to a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space of vector-valued functions which allows for embeddings of previously unseen …

End To End Brain Fiber Orientation Estimation Using Deep Learning, Nandakishore Puttashamachar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we explore the various Brain Neuron tracking techniques, one of the most significant applications of Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Tractography is a non-invasive method to analyze underlying tissue micro-structure. Understanding the structure and organization of the tissues facilitates a diagnosis method to identify any aberrations which can occur within tissues due to loss of cell functionalities, provides acute information on the occurrences of brain ischemia or stroke, the mutation of certain neurological diseases such as Alzheimer, multiple sclerosis and so on. Under all these circumstances, accurate localization of the aberrations in efficient manner can help save a life. …

Reducing Sulfuric Acid Pretreatment In A Nanofiltration Process Treating Surficial Groundwater, Carlyn Higgins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nanofiltration (NF) is a pressure driven membrane process employed in drinking water treatment that requires pretreatment for reliable operation. The objective of this research was to determine if NF membranes can proficiently operate with a decreased or eliminated dose of sulfuric acid pretreatment. When used as pretreatment, sulfuric acid prevents calcium carbonate scaling on NF membranes, yet is costly, hazardous, and imparts high sulfate concentrations to NF feed and concentrate streams. To conduct this research, a 0.324 million gallon per day (MGD) NF pilot plant was operated for 3,855 run-hours at a flux rate of 15 gallons per square foot-day. …

Learning Dynamic Network Models For Complex Social Systems, Alireza Hajibagheri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human societies are inherently complex and highly dynamic, resulting in rapidly changing social networks, containing multiple types of dyadic interactions. Analyzing these time-varying multiplex networks with approaches developed for static, single layer networks often produces poor results. To address this problem, our approach is to explicitly learn the dynamics of these complex networks. This dissertation focuses on five problems: 1) learning link formation rates; 2) predicting changes in community membership; 3) using time series to predict changes in network structure; 4) modeling coevolution patterns across network layers and 5) extracting information from negative layers of a multiplex network. To study …

Water And Energy Costs Of Landfilled Food Waste, Tonmoy Sarker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Energy and water are consumed or contaminated during both the production and disposal of wasted food. To date, evaluations of water and energy resources associated with food waste have considered only resources used in food production. To allow for the full characterization of food waste within a Food Energy Water (FEW) nexus framework, this study addresses a fundamental knowledge gap related to the energy and water impacts of food waste after disposal. Fluxes of water and energy related to disposal of wasted food in landfills within the state of Florida were characterized. It is estimated that each metric ton (Mg) …

Prototype Development In General Purpose Representation And Association Machine Using Communication Theory, Huihui Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological system study has been an intense research area in neuroscience and cognitive science for decades of years. Biological human brain is created as an intelligent system that integrates various types of sensor information and processes them intelligently. Neurons, as activated brain cells help the brain to make instant and rough decisions. From the 1950s, researchers start attempting to understand the strategies the biological system employs, then eventually translate them into machine-based algorithms. Modern computers have been developed to meet our need to handle computational tasks which our brains are not capable of performing with precision and speed. While in …

Analysis Of Pedestrian Safety Using Micro-Simulation And Driving Simulator, Jiawei Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, traffic agencies have begun to place emphasis on the importance of pedestrian safety. In the United States, nearly 70,000 pedestrians were reported injured in 2015. Although the number only account for 3% of all the people injured in traffic crashes, the number of pedestrian fatalities is still around 15% of total traffic fatalities. Furthermore, the state of Florida has consistently ranked as one of the worst states in terms of pedestrian crashes, injuries and fatalities. Therefore, it is befitting to focus on the pedestrian safety. This dissertation mainly focused on pedestrian safety at both midblock crossings and …

Climate Legislation And Litigation In Brazil, Gabriel Wedy

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Brazil plays a major role in the global fight against climate change, especially because of its vast forests. However, the amount of deforestation now occurring is in great dispute. Between August 2014 and July 2015, for example, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest increased by 215% according to Imazon Research Institute. Contrarily, according to the Brazil Government, the increase was only 16%.

This paper discusses the role that legislation and litigation are playing, and the roles they may and should play in the future, in combatting deforestation and other factors relevant to climate change in Brazil.

Dordt College 2017-18 Catalog, Dordt College. Registrar's Office

Academic Catalogs

Academic Catalog for 2017-18

You Speak An "Infinite Deal Of Nothing": Prioritizing Free Speech Over Other Fundamental Rights, Jacqueline Ahearn

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

This Comment will assert that the Court has likely caused a future increase in violence against women and other people who utilize, work for, or support abortion clinics, weakened the fundamental right to abortion, and prioritized free speech over equally important rights and interests. Part II will provide background on abortion and demonstrate the change in attitudes toward and increasing restrictions of abortion. Part III will discuss the history of buffer zones and McCullen and will look at how McCullen departs from free speech precedent. It will argue that the Court has incorrectly prioritized free speech as a result …

Occurrence Of Black-Capped Chickadees In Delaware During The Winter Of 2016 – 2017 Together With A Local Banding Record, Ian Stewart, Joe Sebastiani

Delaware Ornithologist

No abstract provided.

University Of North Florida Environmental Center Annual Report 2017, Maria Mark, James W. Taylor, Natalie Sassine, Tiffany Torres

Annual Reports

2017 Annual Report of the Environmental Center at the University of North Florida

Spyglass Fall/Winter 2017, Florida Southwestern State College

Spyglass: The Magazine of Florida SouthWestern State College

Spyglass: The Magazine of Florida SouthWestern State College. Fall/Winter 2017.

Spyglass Spring/Summer 2017, Florida Southwestern State College

Spyglass: The Magazine of Florida SouthWestern State College

Spyglass: The Magazine of Florida SouthWestern State College. Spring/Summer 2017.

Celebrating Diversity In Christian Schools With Differentiation, Patricia C. Kornelis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Does it matter if some of your students are lost and have no idea how to connect with you and with learning? Does it matter if some of your students are consistently ahead and are spending considerable time waiting for the rest of us to catch up?

Who Needs Men? Titania’S World And Shakespeare’S Argument For Marriage In A Midsummer Night’S Dream, Bob De Smith

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

What is the best context for understanding and enjoying Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The play was probably written in 1594-95, then just before or after Romeo and Juliet. With its farce of tragic love in the play of Pyramus and Thisby (“‘very tragical mirth’” 5.1.57), is the play a witty rejoinder to that of the star-crossed lovers, making the pair of plays an exercise in the range of romantic genres?

A Stylistic Analysis Using Multivariate Statistics Of Oneota Pottery From The Upper Mississippi, Blue Earth, And St. Croix River Valleys, Michelle Neumann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Pottery is one of the most abundant artifact types recovered from late pre-contact habitations sites in the upper Midwest. As a material with inherent plasticity, pottery reflects changes in people's preferences and traditions in aspects of its form and design quickly through time and space. Analyzing different facets of pottery has the ability to provide extensive information about people in the past: their resource utilization, technology, traditions, economic exchange, regional interaction, ideology, and or group identity. Yet, a significant challenge in pottery analysis is deriving comprehensive and testable conclusions in terms of types and styles that reflect patterned cultural behavior …

Drag Performance And Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture Through Identity Performance Of Transgender Women Drag Queens, Cristy Dougherty

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Viewing gender as a performance reveals how gender identity is shaped and formed. There is currently tensions associated with drag queen performance as an act of subversion and transgression from the heteronormative definition of gender and drag as a perpetuation of heteronormative definitions of gender. There is also a tension between the affirmation of femininity and transgression from gender binaries of womanhood. In order to address these tensions, this thesis project examined the reasoning behind how transgender women and gay men drag queen performers navigate the world of femininity. Specifically, this study explored the varied reasons behind performing femininity through …

Steroidogenesis In The Green Anole Lizard Brain And Gonad, Christine Peek

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Seasonally breeding animals reproduce during certain times of the year and, subsequently, behaviors, steroid hormone levels, and brain morphology change. The green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) is an excellent model to study the regulation of steroid hormone production because they have distinct hormonal and behavioral differences between sexes and seasons. As in other vertebrates, steroidogenesis in anoles is under the control of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. We tested the hypothesis that natural variations in steroid hormone levels between sexes and seasons are mediated within the brain and gonad by examining four genes involved in steroidogenesis: StAR, Cyp17α1, HSD17β3, and Cyp19α1. …

The Effects Of Linoleic Acid On Rubidium Uptake By Sodium Potassium Pumps In Rat Myocardial Cells, Mohammed Ahmed Gaafarelkhalifa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Congestive Heart failure is amongst the leading causes of death in the United States. It is treated through a variety of different therapeutic targets including the inhibition of sodium potassium pumps. Drugs currently used in this pathway of treatment such as Digitalis have adverse toxic effects. This study examines the inhibitory effects of linoleic acid (L.A) on sodium potassium pumps in isolated rat cardiomyocytes using the incorporation of rubidium detected by SEM/EDS technology as the index for sodium-potassium pump activity. Isolated heart cells were incubated in the following treatments: Rb-Krebs buffer without treatment (negative control), Ouabain+ Rb-Krebs buffer (positive control), …

Cold-Climate Adaptation In The Five-Lined Skink: A Common-Environment Experiment, Madeline Michels-Boyce

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Ectotherms in cold climates have unique obstacles, especially in winter. Reptiles at higher latitudes or elevations have differing strategies to survive harsher winters, but these differences (e.g. lowered metabolism and lower critical minimum temperatures) may be adaptations or the result of phenotypic plasticity that depends on environmental stimuli or an interactive effect of both. We collected five-lined skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus) from Texas and Minnesota to test for latitudinal differences in winter preparation in a common-environment experiment. We manipulated photoperiod and temperature to be either constant or decreasing, resulting in a 2x2 experiment. We asked three main questions: 1) Is there …

Designing A Luminescence Assay To Measure In Vitro Binding Of The Fibronectin Attachment Protein (Fap) Of Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis To Fibronectin, Sirri Ngwa

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The attachment and penetration of epithelial cells by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) requires a bacterial fibronectin (FN) attachment protein FAP-P, which facilitates binding of FN by MAP. The region of FAP-P that interacts with FN is known, however, the region of FN that is bound by FAP-P is to be determined. Identification of the region of FN to which FAP-P binds would enable the synthesis of a competing peptide that could prevent FN binding by MAP. The first step toward locating this binding site is the design of a reliable FN binding assay. The purpose of this investigation was …

Expression Of Fam171b Protein In Mouse Brain Tissue, Quan Tran

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are inherited fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by expansion of trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats, encoding abnormally long glutamine tracts in respective disease proteins. Currently, there are nine polyQ diseases- including Huntington’s disease and a number of Spinocerebellar ataxias. Interestingly, expanded polyQ proteins are prone to aggregate, and this aggregation may underlie neurodegeneration. In this study, we investigate the expression and localization of FAM171B (a novel polyQ protein) in the brain. Western blotting reveals that FAM171B protein is indeed expressed in the developing and adult mouse brain. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analyses suggests widespread localization of FAM171B to many brain regions …

How The Willowbrook Consent Decree Has Influenced Contemporary Advocacy Of Individuals With Disabilities, Kristen S. Addessi

Student Theses

The existence of the Willowbrook State School was a culmination, of over a one-hundred-year history of Western society’s attempts to provide adequate care, and treatment for individuals with disabilities. The residents housed there, suffered violations of their human and civil rights in various forms of severe abuse, neglect, and violence. Following a three-year legal battle in 1975, as a result of the travesties that occurred, the legal doctrine known as the Willowbrook Consent Decree was written. The Consent Decree was implemented to ensure that the residents’ human and civil rights are met and protected. The Willowbrook State School and the …