Digital Commons Network^™

Expanding The Job Of A Scientist: A Call For Explicit Writing Instruction In Undergraduate Stem Education, Ally Fulton

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Can We Educate Better? Active Learning And Underrepresentation In Stem, Kepler Mears

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Extra-Record Evidence Rule In Arbitrary And Capricious Review Of Informal Agency Actions: A New Procedural Approach, Travis O. Brandon

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the proliferation of judicially created exceptions to the “record review rule” governing arbitrary and capricious review of informal agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Although the Supreme Court in Overton Park and subsequent cases established that judicial review must be confined to the administrative record before the agency, lower courts have developed a fragmented and inconsistent body of federal common law permitting consideration of extra-record evidence. These exceptions vary across circuits, employ inconsistent terminology, and at times conflict with foundational principles of administrative law, including issue exhaustion and the deferential nature of APA review.

The …

A Quantitative Analysis Of A Critical Pedagogy In Catholic Secondary School Religious Studies Teachers In The San Francisco Bay Area, Alex Porter Macmillan

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholarship has indicated that Catholic, secondary school religion teachers in the United States are often not adequately prepared pedagogically and theologically (Aldana, 2015; Ramey, 2014; Schroeder, 2013; Cook and Hudson, 2006; Cook, 2001, 2000; Lund 1997). Rossiter (2011, 2010, 2007) and Crawford and Rossiter (2006) described aspects of a pedagogy that can be summarized as “Critical Interpretation and Evaluation of Culture” (Rossiter, 2011), where a number of different criteria and examples are described that can serve as a relevant pedagogy for religious education.

In a researcher designed, online, cross-sectional survey, 18 questions from relevant literature using both binary “yes / …

Tick Haller's Organ, A New Paradigm For Arthropod Olfaction: How Ticks Differ From Insects, Ann L. Carr, Robert D. Michell Iii, Anirudh Dhammi, Brooke W. Bissinger, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks are the vector of many human and animal diseases; and host detection is critical to this process. Ticks have a unique sensory structure located exclusively on the 1st pairs of legs; the fore-tarsal Haller's organ, not found in any other animals, presumed to function like the insect antennae in chemosensation but morphologically very different. The mechanism of tick chemoreception is unknown. Utilizing next-generation sequencing and comparative transcriptomics between the 1st and 4th legs (the latter without the Haller's organ), we characterized 1st leg specific and putative Haller's organ specific transcripts from adult American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis. The …

Fit To Predict? Ecoinformatics For Predicting The Catchability Of A Pelagic Fish In Near Real-Time, Kylie L. Scales, Elliot L. Hazen, Sara M. Maxwell, Heidi Dewar, Suzanne Kohin, Michael G. Jacox, Christopher A. Edwards, Dana K. Briscoe, Larry B. Crowder, Rebecca L. Lewison, Steven J. Bograd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The ocean is a dynamic environment inhabited by a diverse array of highly migratory species, many of which are under direct exploitation in targeted fisheries. The timescales of variability in the marine realm coupled with the extreme mobility of ocean-wandering species such as tuna and billfish complicates fisheries management. Developing ecoinformatics solutions that allow for near real-time prediction of the distributions of highly mobile marine species is an important step towards the maturation of dynamic ocean management and ecological forecasting. Using 25 years (1990-2014) of NOAA fisheries' observer data from the California drift gillnet fishery, we model relative probability of …

Experimental Evaluation Of Several Key Factors Affecting Root Biomass Estimation By 1500 Mhz Ground-Penetrating Radar, John C. Bain, Frank P. Day, John R. Butnor

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Accurate quantification of coarse roots without disturbance represents a gap in our understanding of belowground ecology. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has shown significant promise for coarse root detection and measurement, however root orientation relative to scanning transect direction, the difficulty identifying dead root mass, and the effects of root shadowing are all key factors affecting biomass estimation that require additional research. Specifically, many aspects of GPR applicability for coarse root measurement have not been tested with a full range of antenna frequencies. We tested the effects of multiple scanning directions, root crossover, and root versus soil moisture content in a …

It’S About Time: The Long Overdue Demise Of Statutes Of Repose In Latent Toxic Tort Litigation, Jean Macchiaroli Eggen

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rapid Adaptive Responses To Climate Change In Corals, Gergely Torda, Jennifer M. Donelson, Manuel Aranda, Daniel J. Barshis, Line Bay, Michael L. Berumen, David G. Bourne, Neal Cantin, Sylvain Foret, Mikhail Matz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Pivotal to projecting the fate of coral reefs is the capacity of reef-building corals to acclimatize and adapt to climate change. Transgenerational plasticity may enable some marine organisms to acclimatize over several generations and it has been hypothesized that epigenetic processes and microbial associations might facilitate adaptive responses. However, current evidence is equivocal and understanding of the underlying processes is limited. Here, we discuss prospects for observing transgenerational plasticity in corals and the mechanisms that could enable adaptive plasticity in the coral holobiont, including the potential role of epigenetics and coral-associated microbes. Well-designed and strictly controlled experiments are needed to …

Reproductive Competency And Mitochondrial Variation In Aged Syrian Hamster Oocytes, Fang Li, Frank J. Castora, Wentia Ford, Khalid Alarid, Howard W. Jones Jr., R. James Swanson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The hamster is a useful model of human reproductive biology because its oocytes are similar to those in humans in terms of size and structural stability. In the present study we evaluated fecundity rate, ovarian follicular numbers, ova production, mitochondrial number, structure and function, and cytoplasmic lamellae (CL) in young (2–4 months) and old (12–18 months) Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Young hamsters had higher fertilisation rates and larger litters than old hamsters (100 vs 50% and 9.3 +/- 0.6 vs 5.5 +/- 0.6, respectively). Ovarian tissue from superovulated animals showed a 46% decrease in preantral follicles in old …

Protective Effect Of Anti-Phosphatidylserine Antibody In A Guinea Pig Model Of Advanced Hemorrhagic Arenavirus Infection, John M. Thomas, Philip E. Thorpe

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Objective: Host derived markers on virally infected cells or virions may provide targets for the generation of antiviral agents. Recently, we identified phosphatidylserine (PS) as a host marker of virions and virally-infected cells.

Methods and Materials: Under normal physiological conditions, PS is maintained on the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane facing the cytosol. Following viral infection, activation or pre-apoptotic changes cause PS to become externalized. We have previously shown that bavituximab, a chimeric human-mouse antibody that binds PS complexed with β2-glycoprotein I (β2GP1), protected rodents against lethal Pichinde virus and cytomegalovirus infections.

Results: Here, we determined the antiviral activity …

Risk Regulation And Innovation: The Case Of Rights-Encumbered Biomedical Data Silos, Arti K. Rai

Faculty Scholarship

Recent Supreme Court cases on patent-eligible subject matter are likely to exacerbate the longstanding problem of biomedical data fragmentation. For each data silo, multiple overlapping legal claims and claimants must be addressed to achieve the benefits of pooling.

Commentators who have discussed the data aggregation challenge have generally focused on possibilities created through public funding, through collective action by research participants, or through pressure by payers. This Article emphasizes the important role of risk regulators, most notably the precedent offered by risk regulation in the area of clinical trial data.

While U.S. risk regulators have taken some positive steps, the …

In Silico Screening Of Chalcones Against Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 Protein In Epstein-Barr Virus (Ebv), Nitchakan Darai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1), a crucial protein encoded by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), plays an important role in the replication and transcriptional regulator of EBV virus latent gene expression. Therefore, it is associated with several diseases especially human malignancies. The previous studies have demonstrated that chalcone derivatives can potentially inhibit the EBV virus. In this study, a series of designed chalcones were in silico screened toward EBNA1 using molecular docking. The docking results show that the interaction energies of 3a, 3b, 3d, 4g and 4h are better than those of the known anti-EBV agents, 1335528, 2122620 and 4-hydroxyderricin. The …

พอลิแล็กทิกแอซิด/พอลิไวนิลแอลกอฮอล์/แกรฟีนนาโนคอมพอสิต, จาฬุพักต์ รัตนคช

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อพัฒนาวิธีการเตรียมพอลิแล็กทิกแอซิด/พอลิไวนิลแอลกอฮอล์/แกรฟีนนาโนคอมพอสิต รวมถึงศึกษาอิทธิพลของการเติมอนุภาคแกรฟีนต่อสัณฐานวิทยา สมบัติเชิงกล สมบัติทางความร้อน และสมบัติการนำไฟฟ้าของวัสดุนาโนคอมพอสิตที่เตรียมได้ โดยเริ่มด้วยการสังเคราะห์แกรฟีนจากแกรไฟต์ด้วยวิธีของฮัมเมอร์ และใช้กรดแอลแอสคอร์บิกเป็นตัวรีดิวซ์ พิสูจน์เอกลักษณ์ของอนุภาคแกรฟีนที่เตรียมได้ด้วยเทคนิคอินฟราเรดสเปกโทรสโกปีและเทคนิคเอกซเรย์ดิฟแฟรกชัน จากนั้นเตรียมของผสมระหว่างพอลิไวนิลแอลกอฮอล์กับแกรฟีนที่ปริมาณต่าง ๆ ด้วยวิธีแช่เยือกแข็ง แล้วนำไปผสมกับพอลิแล็กทิกแอซิดด้วยเครื่องอัดรีดสกรูคู่และขึ้นรูปเป็นชิ้นงานด้วยกระบวนการอัดแบบ ศึกษาสัณฐานวิทยาเพื่อวิเคราะห์อันตรกิริยาของผสมระหว่างพอลิไวนิลแอลกอฮอล์กับแกรฟีนด้วยกล้องจุลทรรศน์แบบคอนโฟคอล และวิเคราะห์ภาคตัดขวางของชิ้นงานคอมพอสิตด้วยกล้องจุลทรรศน์อิเล็กตรอนแบบส่องกราด ผลการทดสอบสมบัติเชิงกล สมบัติทางความร้อน และสมบัติการนำไฟฟ้าของวัสดุนาโนคอมพอสิตที่เตรียมได้ พบว่าปริมาณผลึกลดลงเมื่อปริมาณแกรฟีนเพิ่มขึ้น แต่ไม่ส่งผลต่ออุณหภูมิกลาสทรานสิชัน อุณหภูมิหลอมเหลวผลึก และอุณหภูมิการเกิดผลึก อีกทั้งการเติมแกรฟีนที่มีการใช้พอลิไวนิลแอลกอฮอล์เป็นตัวพาลงในพอลิเมอร์เมทริกซ์ ทำให้ความทนแรงดึง และความยืดสูงสุด ณ จุดขาด มีแนวโน้มลดลงด้วย อย่างไรก็ดีการเติมแกรฟีนในปริมาณน้อย ๆ สามารถช่วยเพิ่มความทนแรงดึงได้เมื่อเปรียบเทียบกับงานวิจัยก่อนหน้าที่ไม่มีการเติมตัวพาหรือตัวช่วยเพิ่มการกระจายตัว นอกจากนี้พบว่าปริมาณแกรฟีนที่เพิ่มขึ้น ทำให้ค่าการนำไฟฟ้าของคอมพอสิตเมื่อเทียบกับพอลิแล็กทิกแอซิดบริสุทธิ์เพิ่มขึ้น คอมพอสิตที่พัฒนาขึ้นสามารถนำไปประยุกต์ในงานที่ต้องการสมบัติการต้านทานไฟฟ้าสถิตย์ได้

Modeling Dynamic Community Acceptance Of Mining Using Agent-Based Modeling, Mark Kofi Boateng

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research attempts to provide fundamental understanding into the relationship between perceived sustainability of mineral projects and community acceptance. The main objective is to apply agent-based modeling (ABM) and discrete choice modeling to understand changes in community acceptance over time due to changes in community demographics and perceptions. This objective focuses on: 1) formulating agent utility functions for ABM, based on discrete choice theory; 2) applying ABM to account for the effect of information diffusion on community acceptance; and 3) explaining the relationship between initial conditions, topology, and rate of interactions, on one hand, and community acceptance on the other …

Gamma Spectroscopy By Artificial Neural Network Coupled With Mcnp, Huseyin Sahiner

Doctoral Dissertations

"While neutron activation analysis is widely used in many areas, sensitivity of the analysis depends on how the analysis is conducted. Even though the sensitivity of the techniques carries error, compared to chemical analysis, its range is in parts per million or sometimes billion. Due to this sensitivity, the use of neutron activation analysis becomes important when analyzing bio-samples. Artificial neural network is an attractive technique for complex systems. Although there are neural network applications on spectral analysis, training by simulated data to analyze experimental data has not been made. This study offers an improvement on spectral analysis and optimization …

University Research Development Offices: Perceptions And Experiences Of Research University Administrators, Roxana Ross

Theses and Dissertations

Universities are struggling to keep up with the cost of doing research. Some are searching for new ways to improve their likelihood of getting grant funding to support their research efforts. As a function of the academic research enterprise, research development offices and research development staff at universities utilize specific activities to enhance grant funding success and support university research goals. This study examines university research development activities and research development offices to determine if formal research development offices are perceived to have value and what research development activities are most impactful. The issue of fair measures of success for …

Teachers’ Perspectives: Exploring The Reading Gender Gap Among Elementary School Boys, Teleshia Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers’ Perspectives: Exploring the Reading Gender Gap Among Elementary School Boys. Teleshia Mincey-Jones, 2016: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: academic achievement, achievement gap, elementary education, reading readiness, gender differences.

Reading mastery is essential for academic success. As an emphasis is placed on more rigor in education, some boys are being left behind in the area of reading. School districts are adopting new rigorous standards and transitioning to produce students who are career and college ready upon graduation. Girls are responding positively and thriving academically; yet, boys continue to underperform girls at the district, …

Using Bayesian Networks To Understand Relationships Among Math Anxiety, Genders, Personality Types, And Study Habits At A University In Jordan, Linda Smail

All Works

© 2017 Journal on Mathematics Education.All Rights Reserved. Mathematics is the foundation of all sciences, but most students have problems learning math. Although students' success in life related to their success in learning, many would not take a math course unless it is their university's core requirements. Multiple reasons exist for students' poor performance in mathematics, but one prevalent variable worth consideration is the personality type. This work seeks to uncover relationships, if any, between students' math anxiety and the students' learning type in learning math and preparing for exams and tests. We use Bayesian networks to link those different …

A Poetics Of Food In The Bahamas: Intentional Journeys Through Food, Consciousness, And The Aesthetic Of Everyday Life, Hilary B. Booker

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research explores intentional food practices and journeys of consciousness in a network of people in The Bahamas. Intentional food practices are defined as interactions with food chosen for particular purposes, while journeys of consciousness are cumulative successions of events that people associate with healing, restoration, and decolonization personally and collectively. This research examines (1) experiences and moments that influenced people’s intentional food practices; (2) food practices that people enact daily; and (3) how people’s intentional food practices connect to broader spiritual, philosophical, and ideological perspectives guiding their lives. The theoretical framework emerges from a specific lineage of theories and …

The Development Of Intrinsic Motivation In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Carissa Jean Krapf

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become a common diagnosis among children today. The numbers have grown exponentially in the last several decades and, despite extensive research and various treatment modalities, many children continue to struggle with its disruptive symptoms. Current research reports a poor prognosis for this population with difficulties continuing into adulthood. One of the difficulties noted is in their ability to develop intrinsic motivation when their behaviors have been managed by extrinsic rewards. Self Determination Theory (SDT) was used to conceptualize the difficulties around developing intrinsic motivation when an individual experiences symptoms of ADHD which impact several areas of …

The Advising Palaver Hut: Case Study In West African Higher Education, Jobila Williams Sy

All Works

Although international research regarding advising is burgeoning, most of the research on the role of and advantages related to academic advising has been limited to U.S. colleges and universities. This ethnographic case study conducted at a Liberian university examined the organizational culture of advising from student, faculty, and staff perspectives after the establishment of the Student Academic Advisement and Career Counseling Center. The findings suggest two primary elements that shape the role of advising and college student experience: postwar challenges in Liberian higher education and the shifting perspective on student centeredness. As a result, these elements have redefined the preliminary …

Factors In The Admissions Process Influencing Persistence In A Master’S Of Science Program In Marine Science, Melissa L. Dore

Theses and Dissertations

Factors in the Admissions Process Influencing Persistence in a Master’s of Science Program in Marine Science. Melissa L. Dore, 2017: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: academic persistence, admission counseling, graduate students, marine science education, examinations This applied dissertation was conducted to provide the graduate program in marine sciences a valid predictor for success in the admissions scoring systems that include the general Graduate Record Exam. The dependent variable was persistence: successfully graduating from the marine sciences master’s programs. This dissertation evaluated other values including the applicant’s age, gender, undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, …

There Is No Fear In Love, Liam Smietanski

All Student Theses and Dissertations

Explanation of Title and Show

After lists and lists of adjectives, verbs, and nouns that describe the ideas and pieces in my show, I finally realized: 1) That I want my title to be inviting. 2) It is okay to use the argument against mine to get people interested. What do I mean by these? One of the biggest (if not the biggest) arguments against inclusion and diversity of gender, sex, and sexual minorities in the United States, is based on interpretations of scriptures from various religions. It is the fear of the unknown and of change that also keeps …

Protecting Systems Of Nature And Gender: Ecofeminism In Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer And Ruth Ozeki's All Over Creation, Sarah J. Hirsch

All Student Theses and Dissertations

Ecofeminism has permeated the disciplines of politics, philosophy, science, and literature – all of which are embedded in the fiction of Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer and Ruth Ozeki’s All Over Creation. In this thesis, I consider the authors’ use of scientific evidence to engage readers with their rhetorical goals of protecting the systems of nature and gender. In the first chapter, I define the history of ecofeminist activism and how Kingsolver and Ozeki continue its tradition. The second chapter considers the parallels between biodiversity and cultural diversity within both Prodigal Summer and All Over Creation. In the final chapter, I …

"A Dimple In The Tomb": Cuteness In Emily Dickinson, Angela Sorby

English Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Predator-Prey Coevolution Drives Productivity-Richness Relationships In Planktonic Systems, Zhichao Pu, Michael H. Cortez, Lin Jiang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

The relationship between environmental productivity and species richness often varies among empirical studies, and despite much research, simple explanations for this phenomenon remain elusive. We investigated how phytoplankton and zooplankton coevolution shapes productivity-richness relationships in both phytoplankton and zooplankton, using a simple nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton model that incorporates size-dependent metabolic rates summarized from empirical studies. The model allowed comparisons of evolved species richness across productivity levels and at different evolutionary times. Our results show that disruptive selection leads to evolutionary branching of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Both the time required for evolutionary branching and the number of evolved species in phytoplankton and zooplankton …

Evidence Of A Perilipin 5 Splice Variant, Brodie Ranzau

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Alternative splicing occurs throughout the human genome, leading to multiple proteins from a single gene. The resulting proteins can be nearly identical or vastly different in how they function. Alternative splicing within the perilipin family has been observed in perilipins 1 and 3, giving rise to proteins with varying functions. In the course of our studies on perilipin 5, an immunoblot signal was observed that corresponded to an approximately 35 kDa protein. Western blot analysis of this protein has revealed its expression in C2C12 cultured myoblasts and in heart and liver mouse tissue. Further analysis of perilipin 5 cDNA through …

Catalog 2017-2018, University Of North Florida

UNF Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Protective Effect Of Hydroxyxanthone On The Leakiness Of Intestinal Epithelia By The Proinflammatory Cytokine Related To Bacterial Endotoxin, Wannaporn Chayalak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Leaky gut characterized as decreased transepithelial electrical resistance and increased paracellular permeability to macromolecules is associated with several fatal diseases including sepsis. Pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β is a critical mediator of underlying mechanism through activation of myosin light chain kinase pathway. Blocking the inducible phosphorylated myosin light chain (p-MLC) indicates the successful treatment. Xanthones predominantly found in mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) has been indicated as a potent anti-inflammatory action. Hydroxyxanthones (HDX), the major natural xanthones, have been recently synthesized in various forms. This study aimed to examine and screen the action of various forms of synthetic HDXs, in preventing the increased paracellular …