Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Hybrid Synthetic/Adipose-Derived Ecm Scaffolds, John Nicholas Poche

LSU Master's Theses

Evolving out of a need to address growing concerns regarding current methods of tissue transplantation, the field of tissue engineering seeks to facilitate the regeneration of viable tissue through the use of cellular scaffolds. The first aim of this thesis was to provide a summary of the current literature on advances in biomaterial synthesis and pertaining methods of stem cell delivery in tissue engineering. Improvements in the processing of decellularized tissue and the expansion of synthetic hydrogels as platforms for stem cell encapsulation have led to the development of extracellular matrix (ECM)-based hybrid hydrogels. These stem cell scaffolds are currently …

Soil Properties' Response To Wheat And Corn Stubble Residue Management In Louisiana, Autumn Danielle Acree

LSU Master's Theses

Crop residue plays an important role in improving soil fertility. Crop residue affects soil biological and chemical properties by increasing soil organic matter, nutrient status and availability, and microbial activity. The degree of the effects of crop residue on soil fertility depends on the crop residue management practice. Samples were collected in 2014 in wheat (Triticum spp.) stubble and corn (Zea mays) stubble residue. A second soil sample collection under wheat stubble residue was taken in 2015 in the prescribed fire and no-till sections. A total of 342 soil samples (0-2.5cm) were collected across conventional tillage, no-till, and prescribed fire …

Gender Beyond Birth: Gender Non-Conforming Students Lived Experiences Residing On-Campus In The Southeast, Tiffany Marlene Shierling

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, using a qualitative approach, gender non-conforming students lived experience living on campus in the south is being investigated. “Trans* students remain largely invisible through college records as no data is collected consistently on their enrollment” (Nicolazzo, 2016 p. 539). Although this is true of all gender non-conforming students, it is even more relevant to those that attend universities in the Southeast. Gender non-conforming students are attending universities in higher numbers than every reported before and yet, student affairs still does not have a theory that relates to these students when teaching their graduate students. The psychological literature …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Seizures And Autism Symptomology In Young Children, Claire O. Burns

LSU Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition that consists of deficits in social communication as well as restricted, repetitive interests or behaviors. Individuals with ASD also often have comorbid psychiatric and medical disorders. One such concern is high rates of seizures and epilepsy. Researchers have found that rates of seizures tend to be higher in individuals with ASD who also have more impaired functioning. However, few studies have examined how the presence of seizures is related to symptoms of ASD. The current study aimed to expand the extant literature by investigating whether a history of seizures is associated with ASD …

Susceptibility Of The Southern House Mosquito, Culex Quinquefasciatus, In East Baton Rouge Parish To Larval Insecticides, Nicholas Alexander Delisi

LSU Master's Theses

Mosquito control districts in Louisiana focus their efforts on Culex quinquefasciatus, the primary vector of West Nile virus in the southern United States, with rigorous larvicide treatments. However, the development of resistant populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus in response to extensive insecticide application has been demonstrated repeatedly. Examining changes in insecticide susceptibility and larvicide efficacy in real world scenarios can help inform mosquito control districts as to whether or not their treatments are killing mosquitoes. We hypothesized that frequent larvicide applications for the control of mosquitoes in East Baton Rouge Parish had lowered susceptibility of wild Cx. quinquefasciatus to insecticides, and …

Non-Metric Cranial Differentiation Between Asian And Native American Populations For Ancestry Assessment, Dominique Marie Bodoh

LSU Master's Theses

Assessing ancestry from skeletal remains provides important information to aid in personal identification. However, trying to specify ancestry for Native American and Asian populations in the United States is a current challenge in laboratory analyses. Both Native American and Asian populations are still often combined in research for a variety of reasons: small sample sizes, skeletal similarities and less emphasis in contemporary literature. Historically, Carlton Coon, in 1939, and Riesenfield, in 1956, refer to this combination of both Native American and Asian populations as “Mongoloid,” a term which is deemed by many as an offensive and inaccurate categorization of both …

The Effect Of Storage Temperature And Time On The Quality Of Spray Dried Egg Powder, Fallon Polette Salinas Gonzalez

LSU Master's Theses

Dehydration is a good approach for egg preservation. However, dried egg products may still suffer from deterioration if stored in an abused temperature environment or prolonged times. Storage conditions can induce undesirable reactions and loss of functionality and quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and functionality of spray dried egg yolk powders, which included plain whole egg (PLWE), free flow yolk (FFY), enzyme modified yolk (EMY), and free flow whole egg (FFWE) stored at 4 °C, 25 °C, 43 °C or 54 °C, over a 2-month period; and provide useful suggestions to maximize quality …

Occurrence And Phenology Of Polistine Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) In Southern Louisiana, Scott Nacko

LSU Master's Theses

Phylogenetic studies suggest that historically all paper wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) in North America have tropical origins. However, paper wasps have adapted to thrive in temperate conditions. Subtropical and temperate climates allow for a study of adaptive traits which can be retained or lost within populations, and ultimately help elucidate the process of social wasp evolution. Additionally, species occurrence patterns can help us to understand partitioning and resource use within populations. We investigated the occurrence and phenology of each Polistine species found at four sites in southern Louisiana around Baton Rouge, and also examined the occurrence and behavior of a closely …

Oblivion, Michael Stumbras

LSU Master's Theses

I am fascinated by the myriad ways humans construct meaning in the face of existential uncertainty. For the exhibition Oblivion, I endeavor to provide a gallery experience, a body of metaphorically charged functional vessels, and a number of ritualistic accoutrements that address death, futility, and the passage of time as it inexorably flows toward obsolescence. The process of handcraft and the method of firing that I employ highlights the absurdity of the endeavor of the handmade: the seemingly futile and interminable quest for perfection and meaning. This futilitarian pottery exaggerates the errors of the hand and flaunts artifacts of the …

Chronicle & Character, Taryn Moller Nicoll

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis paper, I argue that the works in the exhibition 'Chronicle & Character' aim to demonstrate artistic citizenship and can contribute positively to society by provoking conversation about universally applicable (but often uncomfortable) topics. Experts such as David J. Elliot state that being an artistic citizen means that one’s concerns as an artist must shift from issues constrained to the artist alone to those of the artist’s surrounding community. The exhibition 'Chronicle & Character' contains works that serve as detailed chronicles of the medical or physiological experiences of my loved ones. This body of work presents how three …

Reading Effectively Across The Disciplines (Read): A Strategy To Improve Student Success, Juanita But, Pamela Brown, Davida Smyth

Publications and Research

This paper describes the structure and activities of READ (Reading Effectively Across the Disciplines), a pilot initiative to improve students’ critical reading skills, disciplinary literacy and academic success. READ employs a multimodal design that consists of faculty training in disciplinary literacy instruction and curricular enhancement, development and implementation of active reading assignments and assessments, peer-led team learning, and the dissemination of discipline-specific teaching and learning resources on an Open Lab site to provide an interactive teaching and learning environment for students and faculty. Empirical evidence of the initial effectiveness of the pilot in three gateway courses in Biology, Electromechanical Engineering …

A New Genus And New Species Of Brachynemurini From Ecuador (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini), Robert B. Miller, Lionel A. Stange

Insecta Mundi

A new genus, Dejunaleon Miller and Stange, is described with two new species: Dejunaleon loja Miller and Dejunaleon maculosus Stange (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini). A key to species is provided as well as distributional data. A description of the larva of Dejunaleon loja is given. A key to genera of the tribe Brachynemurini is provided based on larvae and adults.

Se describe un género nuevo, Dejunaleon Miller y Stange, de Ecuador con dos especies nuevas: Dejunaleon loja Miller y Dejunaleon maculosus Stange (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Brachynemurini). Se provee una clave para las especies con datos sobre sus …

Exploring The Experiences Of Black Men As Respondents In University Student Conduct Processes, Brian Arao

Doctoral Dissertations

Student conduct processes in higher education have been studied and theorized extensively from a structural perspective, yielding a wealth of guidance for practitioners on how they can best design and administer disciplinary interventions (e.g., Lancaster & Waryold, 2008b). However, very little published research has focused on students' perceptions of and experiences with student conduct processes, and to what extent these are congruent with the espoused learning goals of student conduct practitioners (Dannells, 1997; Karp & Sacks, 2014; Stimpson & Stimpson, 2008). Among these scant studies, the findings of King (2012) and Karp and Sacks (2014) suggest that Black men may …

Autophagy In Mitochondrial Quality Control And Proteotoxicity In Neurons, Matthew Redmann

All ETDs from UAB

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the 2nd most common neurodegenerative disorder with aging as a significant risk factor. Sharing with aging brains, postmortem PD brains exhibit cellular deficits including autophagic dysfunction, mitochondrial dysfunction, and intracellular protein aggregates of alpha-synuclein. This dissertation will focus on the interplay between these key disease features. To that end, we coupled primary cortical neuronal cultures from either rats or mice with Seahorse extracellular flux, metabolomics and biochemical techniques. Autophagy is an important cell recycling program responsible for the clearance of damaged proteins and organelles. Bafilomycin A1 and chloroquine are compounds that inhibit autophagy by targeting the …

Intervention Strategies That Support Middle School Student Transitions To High School: A Grounded Theory Study Of Best Practices Identified By Middle School Principals, Larry Parker Haynes

All ETDs from UAB

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT TRANSITIONS TO HIGH SCHOOL: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF BEST PRACTICES IDENTIFIED BY MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS LARRY PARKER HAYNES DOCTOR OF EDUCATION ABSTRACT Adolescent students experience many challenges as they navigate their way through psychological, physiological, and emotional transformations with the onset of puberty (Wigfield, Lutz, & Wagner, 2005). Because the majority of the research investigates the transition from elementary to middle school, more research is necessary in regard to how middle school and high school environments can reinforce needs of students all the way through the middle-school-to-high-school transition (Caskey, 2011; Uvaas & …

A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial To Compare Free Gingival Grafts And Connective Tissue Grafts Around Implants With A Lack Of Keratinized Mucosa, Jeffrey Thomas Hsu

All ETDs from UAB

A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL TO COMPARE FREE GINGIVAL GRAFTS AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE GRAFTS AROUND IMPLANTS WITH A LACK OF KERATINIZED MUCOSA JEFFREY T HSU PERIODONTOLOGY ABSTRACT Although evidence is equivocal regarding the need for keratinized mucosa around dental implants, the consensus among researchers and clinicians is that peri-implant keratinized mucosa is beneficial to the health and stability of the implant prosthesis. An adequate width of keratinized mucosa (WKM) provides a resistant barrier to bacterial infiltration, facilitates restorative procedures, improves esthetic outcomes, patient comfort, and ease of oral hygiene. Many surgical approaches have been used to increase WKM around dental …

Research On Freshman And Sleeping Habits (Refresh): Effects Of A Text Message Based Sleep Intervention On Sleep Quality And Sleep Hygiene Behaviors In College Students, Kathryn E. Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Sleep is fundamental to overall health and wellbeing. While poor sleep habits have the potential to affect individuals in all phases of life, college students may experience unique challenges related to sleep health as they undergo a significant transition in their life. Lack of understanding regarding the function of sleep and lack of education regarding healthy sleep practices may hinder college students from getting sufficient quality sleep. Sleep health educational interventions on college campuses are rare. Advances in technology, such as text messaging, offer novel ways of providing educational interventions for a variety of health issues. The field of …

Osteoblast And Chondrocyte Specific Contribution Of The Runx2 Gene During The Development Of Cleidocranial Dysplasisa, Kayla Renee King

All ETDs from UAB

The Runx2 transcription factor is essential for the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into functional chondrocytes and osteoblasts. In humans, the haploinsufficiency of the Runx2 gene is associated with cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD). The CCD is characterized by short stature, open sutures and fontanels in the skull, hypoplastic clavicles and supernumerary teeth. Skeletal elements disrupted in CCD patients are developed by intramembranous and/or endochondral ossification. However, the cell type specific roles of the Runx2 gene in the development of CCD-associated skeletal defects remain unknown. The main goal of this research was to define the specific role of the Runx2 gene in …

The Role Of Hur In Astrocytes In Spinal Cord Injury, Thaddaeus Kwan

All ETDs from UAB

Neuroinflammation is a defining event during the acute phase of spinal cord injury (SCI). The inflammatory cascade is initiated by activated glial cells such as astrocytes and microglia in the milieu of the injured tissue through release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases, and reactive oxygen species. These soluble factors produce cytotoxicity to neurons and other cells either directly or indirectly by promoting permeabilization of the blood-spinal cord barrier, edema and subsequent ischemia. These factors also serve to recruit and activate additional glia and peripheral immune cells. The mRNAs of many of these soluble factors such as TNFα, IL-1β, CXCL1, and …

Nanoindentation Properties Of Newly Formed Bone Surrounding Dental Implants Treated With E7-Modified Rbmp-2 Peptides, Ryan Doud

All ETDs from UAB

Statement of Purpose: Use of titanium dental implants for treatment of partial or total edentulism has been well documented since the 1980s with consistent long term results. Osseointegration of these implants can be complicated by insufficient bone after healing of extraction sockets or systemic conditions such as osteoporosis or diabetes. Surface modifications, such as grit blasting (mechanical abrasion) or calcium phosphate (CaP) (chemical treatment) can improve healing time and bone quality around an implant. Our study combined a CaP coating with recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rBMP-2) mimetic peptide and the polyglutamate domain E7. We used nanoindentation to compare the elastic …

Investigating Gender Differences In The Metabolism Of Ketamine, Elise Erb

All ETDs from UAB

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that was developed for use as a short-acting anesthesia. It has a history of being a drug of abuse and is currently a Schedule III drug. Ketamine is being investigated as an antidepressant due to its fast-action and long-lasting effects in comparison to other antidepressants. The exact mechanism of action of ketamine on the brain that results in the antidepressant effects is currently unknown, as is the reason for differences in the way males and females respond to ketamine. Dr. Lori McMahon, Allie Widman, and Nateka Jackson in the Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology Department …

Kean University Institutional Profile 2017, Kean University

Evidence Inventory

No abstract provided.

The Function Of Protein Kinase Ck2 In Cd4 T Cell Differentiation And Autoimmunity, Sara Ann Gibson

All ETDs from UAB

Protein kinase CK2 is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase essential for cell viability. CK2 exhibits immense pleiotropy and has well characterized interactions with canonical cytosolic signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR and JAK/STAT. These pathways are critical for CD4+ T cell function, and further are known to be aberrantly active in the T cell-driven autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis, but little is known as to how CK2 functions in CD4+ T cells or in the context of autoimmune diseases. The current dissertation examines the understudied T cell-specific functions of CK2 utilizing two approaches, pharmacologic inhibition and genetic deletion. We discovered CK2 to …

Marine, Jennifer Danielle Glassford

All ETDs from UAB

Marine is a nonfiction work written as memoir. Major themes coursing through this body of work include family, fear of failure, self-awareness, self-reliance and female empowerment.

Associations Among Perceived Stress, Pain Sensitivity, And Physiological Reactivity Following An Acute Noxious Stressor, Hailey Waddell Bulls

All ETDs from UAB

We recommend using HCCM estimators to estimate the variance of a regression model

Long-Term Effects Of Early Parental Divorce On Parent-Child Relationships, Mental Health, And Alcohol Use, Tuba Demir Dagdas

All ETDs from UAB

The primary objective of this study was to fill a gap by examining the effects of early parental divorce on multi-dimensional views of parent-child relationships (e.g. support, strain, contact), mental health, and alcohol consumption among adult children. Many studies have shown that parental divorce has impacts on children’s well-being, however, few studies have examined the long-term effects of parental divorce on adult health. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effects of early parental divorce on adult children’s depressive symptoms and alcohol use via relationships with parents. Drawing from the life course paradigm and the stress process model, I examined …

Mechanism Of Cytomegalovirus-Induced Mucosal Inflammation, Evida Adiko Dennis

All ETDs from UAB

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an opportunistic β-herpesvirus that causes severe mucosal inflammation in recipients of organ and stem cell transplants, HIV-1-infected subjects, and persons with inflammatory bowel disease. The gastrointestinal mucosa is among the most common sites of CMV inflammatory disease, and the inflammatory lesions associated with CMV mucosal infection contain infected macrophages and increased levels of macrophage-derived cytokines, implicating mucosal macrophages in the inflammatory process. Paradoxically, in healthy human intestinal mucosa, macrophages are profoundly down-regulated for pro-inflammatory responses (inflammation anergy) due to stromal TGF-β-induction of Smad signaling and inactivation of NF-κB. To elucidate the mechanism whereby CMV promotes macrophage-mediated mucosal …

Towards Improving Visqol (Virtual Speech Quality Objective Listener) Using Machine Learning Techniques, Joseph Mcnally

Dissertations

Vast amounts of sound data are transmitted every second over digital networks. VoIP services and cellular networks transmit speech data in increasingly greater volumes. Objective sound quality models provide an essential function to measure the quality of this data in real-time. However, these models can suffer from a lack of accuracy with various degradations over networks. This research uses machine learning techniques to create one support vector regression and three neural network mapping models for use with ViSQOLAudio. Each of the mapping models (including ViSQOL and ViSQOLAudio) are tested against two separate speech datasets in order to comparatively study accuracy …

"They Don't Say It Up Front" : Immigrant-Origin High School Students' Experiences Of Disrespect And Racial Microaggressions By Teachers : A Project Based Upon A Group Research Investigation, Leah A. Gold

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study used counter-storytelling methodology from Critical Race Theory to explore 15 racial and ethnic minority immigrant-origin high school students’ experiences of racial microaggressions by teachers. Previous research focuses on overt racism with youth or microaggressions with adults, but has not addressed subtle racism experienced by high school students. The findings suggest immigrant-origin experience teacher disrespect as racial microaggressions, including those that are related to immigrant identity. Though not conclusive, the results indicate that experiences of racial microaggressions and responses may differ for immigrant-origin youth with different generation status. Teachers’ racial sensitivity and school climate were demonstrated to be …

Knowledge Development Approaches And Breakthrough Innovations In Technology-Based New Firms, Dzidziso Samuel Kamuriwo, Charles Baden-Fuller, Jing Zhang

Management Faculty Publications

Compared to large established firms, technology-based new firms (TBNF) seem well placed to produce breakthrough innovations although questions remain as to their adeptness at subsequent exploitation. Building on the innovation and strategy literatures, the study identifies two different knowledge-development approaches or modes (business models) in TBNFs—internal versus external—and examines their relation to breakthrough innovation and subsequent progression of the product to market. The internal mode assembles knowledge inside the firm to generate its innovations, whereas the external mode relies heavily on alliances to develop and assemble knowledge among firms embedded in a creative network. The study uses a unique panel …