Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of Growth And Migration Trends On The Survival And Recruitment Of Chinook Salmon In Southeastern Alaska Rivers, Stephanie Berkman

Fisheries

Highly variable recruitment and declines in productivity and abundance of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha have created economic and cultural hardships for communities throughout Alaska. Although pre- and post-smolt growth are important for determining brood-year (BY) survival and productivity for Pacific salmon through size-mediated mortality, these relationships remain unclear for Chinook Salmon. As a result, it is necessary to better understand the relationships between environmental and biological factors that influence freshwater and marine growth, smolt outmigrations, and recruitment success. This study used retrospective growth to identify the importance of annual growth in determining BY survival and recruitment, determine if growth dependency …

Interdisciplinary Assessment Of The Skate Fishery In The Gulf Of Alaska, Thomas J. Farrugia

Fisheries

Skates are common bottom-dwelling fishes and valuable non-target species in Gulf of Alaska fisheries. Although there is little demand for skates in the United States, markets in Europe and Asia are fueling desires for additional fishing opportunities on skates in Alaska. Management agencies, however, have been hesitant to allow increased harvests due to the lack of information on the ecology and population dynamics of skates, and the bioeconomics of skate fisheries. Specifically focusing on the two most commonly landedskate species in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), the big skate (Beringraja binoculata) and the longnose skate (Raja rhina), I conducted an …

Diets Of Four Eelpout Species (Genus Lycodes) In The U.S. Beaufort Sea Based On Analyses Of Stomach Contents And Stable Isotopes Of Nitrogen And Carbon, Sarah J. Apsens

Fisheries

Eelpouts of the genus Lycodes are an abundant group of demersal fishes in the U.S. Beaufort Sea. Currently eelpout diet and the exact role of eelpouts in the Arctic food web are poorly understood. Additionally, if and how eelpouts avoid intra- and interspecific competition for resources is unknown. In this study, diets of four common Beaufort Sea eelpout species were analyzed with respect to along-shelf (longitude) gradients, across-shelf (depth) gradients, and ontogeny (fish body length) to determine diet composition and patterns of resource partitioning. Diets of the four most numerous eelpout species were analyzed using a combination of stomach contents …

Straying, Stress, And Potential For Reproductive Interactions Between Hatchery-Produced And Wild Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus Keta) In Southeast Alaska, Casey John Mcconnell

Fisheries

Approximately 1.5 billion juvenile hatchery-produced Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are currently released each year into Alaskan waters with goals of enhancing important fisheries and minimizing detrimental impacts on wild stocks. As the abundance of hatchery-produced salmon has increased, so have concerns about hatchery-origin strays entering wild systems and interactions with wild individuals on the spawning grounds. The influx of non-native strays and their associated fitness-related traits can reduce the resilience and productivity of recipient wild stocks, and is likely to be most deleterious when disparities in population sizes and heritable phenotypic characteristics between wild and hatchery fish exist. Thus, understanding …

Estimating Sizes Of Fish Consumed By Ice Seals Using Otolith Length-Fish Length Relationships, Kelly Walker

Fisheries

Arctic fishes and ice seals are key components of the Alaskan Arctic ecosystem. Bearded (Erignathus barbatus), spotted (Phoca largha) and ringed (Pusa hispida) seals are consumers of Arctic marine fishes. Little is known about the sizes of fish that ice seals consume because prey items are digested quickly once exposed to stomach acids. Otoliths, fish ear bones, are often the only parts of a fish that remain in a seal stomach. Otolith length relates directly to fish length, making size estimations of consumed fish possible for piscivore diet studies. Otoliths were measured from fishes collected from cruises in the Beaufort …

Migration Patterns And Energetics Of Adult Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus Tshawystcha In Alaska Rivers, Kristin R. Neuneker

Fisheries

Adult Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha undertake extensive and energetically costly migrations between food resources in the ocean and their freshwater spawning habitats, requiring them to adapt behavioral and physiological traits that allow them to successfully reach their spawning streams and reproduce. Such adaptations may be shaped by physical factors in the environment and individual- and population-specific biological characteristics. Chinook Salmon in North America are important resources for both United States and Canadian stakeholders, but relatively little is known about their freshwater migration patterns and energetic status in many rivers across their range. This research explored variation in migration timing and …

Trace Metals In Arctic Fast Ice, Vincent Domena

Oceanography

Trace metals in the marine environment are found in trace amounts, but are important tracers of oceanographic processes, and bioactive trace metals can impact ocean biogeochemistry through their nutrient or toxic influence of microbial populations. Sea ice is an intrinsic feature of the Arctic Ocean that likely plays a key role in the cycling of trace metals, given that this substrate can concentrate, alter, and transport these elements. Warming conditions in the Arctic have decreased sea ice cover over the past decades and the loss of sea ice threatens to drastically change the Arctic ecosystem, but the implications are not …

Fifty Years Of Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Ecology Recorded As Isotopes In Bone And Teeth, Mark A. Nelson

Marine Biology

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are found across the Arctic and Subarctic in seasonally ice covered waters. Five stocks of beluga whales are associated with the waters near Alaska for at least part of the year and four of those five stocks are abundant and commonly hunted by Alaskan Natives. The belugas resident in Cook Inlet are also an important cultural and subsistence resource to Alaskan Natives in the area, but a ~50% decline in abundance in the 1990's led to the stock being designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 2000 and listed as endangered under the …

Sensitivity To Hydrocarbons And Cytochrome P4501a Enzyme Activity In Arctic Marine Birds And Waterfowl, Ann E. Riddle-Berntsen

Marine Biology

The Arctic is host to a taxonomically diverse group of birds, including species of conservation and subsistence importance that spend many months of their annual cycle in the region. With prospects for oil and gas resource development and increases in vessel traffic in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, arctic birds could be valuable bioindicators to monitor contaminants and specifically hydrocarbons from crude oil. Using liver cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) activity, I measured levels of hydrocarbon exposure in three bird species of subsistence importance: king eiders (Somateria spectabilis), common eiders (Somateria mollissima), and greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons). Over the course of …

Preparation And In Vitro Characterization Of An Integrated Graft System For Regenerative Engineering, Mohammed Barajaa

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Language Abilities In Single- And Dual- Language Learners With Autism Or Other Developmental Disorders, Yael Dai

Master's Theses

Parents and providers worry that exposure to two languages will impair language acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental delays (DD). However, limited research to date suggests that language milestones and abilities are unaffected. The current study explored language abilities in toddlers with ASD or DD exposed to one versus multiple languages, prior to any intervention. Results showed slower language acquisition in ASD than DD but no main effect of language exposure group or interaction of language group by diagnosis. This study suggests that bilingual parents can communicate with their children in both languages without harm …

Factors Associated With Violence Against Women In Rural India, Jennifer Lardner

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Human Dimensions Of Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) Management In Connecticut, Lindsay Keener-Eck

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Maternal Involvement In Early Childhood: Exploring The Roles Of Maternal Stress And Children’S Narrative Representations Of Mothers, Rahmet Akpolat

Master's Theses

For children from low-income families, parent school involvement can be a crucial protective factor that supports children’s cognitive and emotional development. The present study seeks to explore how maternal stress in early childhood is associated with mothers’ later school involvement and whether children’s internalized positive, disciplinary and negative maternal representations act as potential mediators of this relationship. Currently, little research has been done on the contextual factors influencing parent school involvement in early childhood and this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. The data included 169 children and mothers from low-income families. Mothers completed questionnaires designed to …

Analysis Of A Newly Digitized Long-Term Dataset Of Environmental Observations From Long Island Sound, Jacob Snyder

Master's Theses

Project Oceanology, a non-profit oceanographic educational organization has been collecting data including pH, oxygen, and temperature conditions as well as abundances of benthic invertebrates and near-shore fish catches since 1972 from Eastern Long Island Sound. These data had been stored solely on single-copy paper sheets and were therefore inaccessible to analysis. I digitized more than 100,000 abiotic measurements and 50,000 species abundance and size data collected over the past 45 years, and developed a web-based SQL database housed on the Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System (LISICOS) server. The database will ultimately become a searchable, downloadable, user-friendly web-based tool …

Buellia Dispersa (Lichens) Used As Bio-Indicator For Air Pollution Transport: A Case Study Within The Las Vegas Valley, Nevada (Usa), Douglas B. Sims, Amanda Hudson, Ji Hye Park, Vernon F. Hodge, Heidi Porter, W. Geffrey Spaulding

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Analyses of lichen biomass (Buellia dispersa), when compared to windrose diagrams, shows pathways of airborne pollutant transport across the Las Vegas Valley. The west and north sectors of the Las Vegas Valley contained the lowest target contaminates (e.g., Cr, Cu, Co, Pb, Ni) and the highest NO3− while the east....

Pengaruh Pola Tanam Tumpangsari Jagung Dan Kedelai Terhadap Pertumbuhan Dan Hasil Jagung Hibrida Dan Evaluasi Tumpangsari Di Arjasari Kabupaten Bandung, Yuyun Yuwariah, Dedi Ruswandi, Aep Wawan Irwan

Jurnal Kultivasi

Jagung dan kedelai merupakan tanaman pangan terpenting setelah padi di Indonesia. Konsumsi jagung dan kedelai akan terus mengalami peningkatan setiap tahun dikarenakan pertambahan jumlah penduduk. Salah satu upaya untuk meningkatkan produksi tanaman dapat dilakukan dengan cara tumpangsari. Sistem tumpangsari merupakan sistem pertanaman dengan menanam dua atau lebih jenis tanaman secara serentak pada lahan yang sama dalam waktu satu tahun. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui genotip jagung hibrida yang terbaik ditumpangsarikan dengan kedelai. Percobaan dilaksanakan dari bulan Maret 2016 sampai bulan Agustus 2016 di Arjasari, Kabupaten Bandung dengan ketinggian tempat mencapai 960 m di atas permukaan laut. Rancangan yang digunakan dalam penelitian …

Parental Perceptions On The Impact Of Adhd Medication Regarding Children’S Inappropriate Behavior And Academic Performance, Amy Vest

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) suggested that parenting a healthy child brings about a variety of challenges throughout life, however parenting a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) proves a daunting task inundated with unanswered questions and multitudes of stressful situations. The purpose of this research is to study parent perceptions of a child’s ADHD medication to determine if a relationship exists between the ADHD medication, inappropriate behavior and academic performance. The quantitative survey instrument provided the means to examine the significance of the child’s ADHD medication on one day of the parent’s choice within the …

Preventing Obesity And Cardiovascular Disease In At-Risk Youth, Allison Patricia Woolf, Nicole Ashley Bauernfeind, Rachel Katharine Civale, Elizabeth Rose Spellman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The literature review that was conducted focuses on exploring the most effective way to prevent development of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) as a late effect of childhood obesity or risk thereof. Our research focused on the 8-10 year old at-risk and obese pediatric populations and whether the use of interactive educational interventions in the community setting can be of use to reduce CVD development and improve overall health status. Our findings determined that interactive educational interventions early in childhood can improve health outcomes for these populations and prevent subsequent development of CVD. We minimized the inclusion of all research whose evidence …

The Role Of Brain Stem 5-Ht1a And Gaba-A Receptors In The Thermoregulatory Response To Hypoxic Stress, Alexander Schmidt

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of infant mortality. Alterations in brainstem development of Serotonin (5HT) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are linked to its cause. The sympathetic premotor neurons located in the Nucleus of the Raphe Pallidus (NRP) in the brainstem have both 5-HT1A and GABA-A receptor subtypes that mediate protective cardiovascular responses to environmental stress. It is hypothesized that alteration in these receptors at the NRP will also modify protective thermoregulatory responses to hypoxic stress such as hypothermia. Using aseptic techniques, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (230-385g) were instrumented with radiotelemetry probes to non-invasively measure core …

Tetrameric Structure Of Beta-Amylase 2 (Bam2) In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Lauren Elizabeth Pope

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Plants store starch during the day for use at night. This process of transitory starch degradation is mostly attributable to the β-Amylase (BAM) family, which are starch exohydrolases that cleave the penultimate α-1,4 glycosidic bonds of starch to release maltose. BAM2 was recently characterized as a catalytically active, K⁺-requiring tetramer with sigmoidal kinetics and cooperativity. All other catalytically active BAMs display Michaelis-Menten kinetics, no cooperativity, and do not require salt, making BAM2’s characteristics intriguing. Due to a lack of a crystal structure, a monomeric homology model of BAM2 was generated using I-TASSER based on a BAM5 from soybean. …

Worldwide Trends In Body-Mass Index, Underweight, Overweight, And Obesity From 1975 To 2016: A Pooled Analysis Of 2416 Population-Based Measurement Studies In 128·9 Million Children, Adolescents, And Adults, James Bentham, Mariachiara Di Cesare, Ver Bilano, Honor Bixby, Bin Zhou, Gretchen A. Stevens, Leanne M. Riley, Cristina Taddei, Kaveh Hajifathalian, Yuan Lu, Con Burns, Tara Coppinger, Janette Walton, Stefan Savin, Melanie J. Cowan, Christopher J. Paciorek, Adela Chirita-Emandi, Alison J. Hayes, Joanne Katz, Roya Kelishadi, Andre Pascal Kengne, Young Ho Khang, Avula Laxmaiah, Yanping Li, Jun Ma, J. Jaime Miranda, Aya Mostafa, Martin Neovius, Cristina Padez, Lekhraj Rampal, Aubrianna Zhu, James E. Bennett, Goodarz Danaei, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Majid Ezzati

Publications

Background Underweight, overweight, and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequences throughout the life-course. Our aim was to estimate worldwide trends in mean body-mass index (BMI) and a comprehensive set of BMI categories that cover underweight to obesity in children and adolescents, and to compare trends with those of adults. Methods We pooled 2416 population-based studies with measurements of height and weight on 128·9 million participants aged 5 years and older, including 31·5 million aged 5–19 years. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2016 in 200 countries for mean BMI …

Lipophosphoglycan Polymorphisms Do Not Affect Leishmania Amazonensis Development In The Permissive Vectors Lutzomyia Migonei And Lutzomyia Longipalpis, Paula M. Nogueira, Agna C. Guimarães, Rafael R. Assis, Jovana Sadlova, Jitka Myskova, Katerina Pruzinova, Jana Hlavackova, Salvatore J. Turco, Ana C. Torrecilhas, Petr Volf, Rodrigo P. Soares

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Background: Lipophosphoglycan (LPG) is a dominant surface molecule of Leishmaniapromastigotes. Its species-specific polymorphisms are found mainly in the sugars that branch off the conserved Gal(β1,4)Man(α1)-PO₄ backbone of repeat units. Leishmania amazonensis is one of the most important species causing human cutaneous leishmaniasis in the New World. Here, we describe LPG intraspecific polymorphisms in two Le. amazonensis reference strains and their role during the development in three sand fly species.

Results: Strains isolated from Lutzomyia flaviscutellata (PH8) and from a human patient (Josefa) displayed structural polymorphism in the LPG repeat units, possessing side chains with 1 and 2 β-glucose …

Gardner-Webb Awards Over 240 Degrees During Commencement Exercises Dec. 16, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Gardner–Webb University hosted Fall Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center. More than 240 graduates were honored during the ceremony, and the University conferred its 4,500th Master of Business Administration degree. The ceremony featured graduates of Gardner-Webb’s traditional undergraduate program, Degree Completion Program (DCP), and graduate programs.

2017 Fall - Commencement Program, Office Of The Registrar, East Tennessee State University

ETSU Commencement Ceremonies and Programs

No abstract provided.

Quantum Chemical Studies Of Noncovalent Interactions And Multicenter Bonds Utilizing Local Vibrational Modes, Vytor Oliveira

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Noncovalent interactions play an important role for the design of novel drugs, better catalysts, synthesis of complex supramolecular structures, and so on. To develop new materials, a well-founded knowledge of how to control the strength of these interactions is desirable. Despite the many investigations done so far, a quantitative assessment of the intrinsic strength of most types of noncovalent interactions is still missing. Recently and for the first time, the Konkoli-Cremer local modes analysis was successfully used to probe the intrinsic strength of hydrogen and pnicogen bonds. We extended these investigations to more than 300 halogen and chalcogen bonds. A …

Pathological Personality Traits And Neuropsychological Function, Rui Tang

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Traditional categorical diagnosis in DSM-5 has received widespread criticism due to its extreme heterogeneity, poor diagnostic reliability, poor validity and high comorbidity. The alternative trait model introduced the domain of psychoticism, which captures the trait of positive schizotypy. Positive schizotypy has been linked to vulnerability to schizophrenia spectrum disorders, which has shown several areas of neuropsychological dysfunction. Considerable evidence has demonstrated that the dimensional model has superior reliability and validity and ties to important clinical constructs such as neuropsychological function. Little research has tied the dimensional model of personality pathology to neuropsychological domains including processing speed and executive function. The …

Soil Morphological, Physical, And Chemical Parameters Affecting Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Site Quality And Ecosystem Restoration Potential In East Texas, Ryan Svehla, Kenneth W. Farrish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been a large decline in coverage of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) within its range in the southeastern United States since the time of European settlement. Due to this decline, interest has developed in the re-establishment of this species on suitable sites. However, many attempts have been unsuccessful in re-establishment, likely in part due to the lack of emphasis on selection of suitable soils. Historically, longleaf pine was found on soils with a wide range of soil properties, including higher quality soils, due to frequent fires which kept many competing species suppressed. Decline in longleaf pine coverage …

Perceptions Of Effective Teaching Strategies And Assessments Of Critical Thinking In Radiographic Clinical Practice, Christian Raby

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The following dissertation represents research concerning radiologic science clinical coordinators and program director’s perception of student critical thinking skills, teaching strategies and assessment. The survey used in the study was based on Gosnell’s (2010) model that evaluated critical thinking skills in radiography program director perceptions. Results from the research offers a contribution to the field of radiography in general and specifically in clinical practice. The survey was sent electronically through Qualtrics to 523 clinical coordinators employed at JRCERT accredited institutions. A solid 31.74% response rate was reached with a slightly skewed delineation of facility representation (hospital 18.9%, community college 38.41% …

The Mediating Role Of Trauma Symptoms In Teen Dating Violence Victimization, Caitlin Rancher, Ernest Jouriles, Renee Mcdonald, Jeff Temple, David Rosenfield

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

This research examined whether the frequency of recent physical and sexual teen dating violence (TDV) victimization is associated with re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal trauma symptoms, and whether they, in turn, predict the frequency of future TDV victimization. Participants were 104 (49% female) 14 to 17 year olds, recruited primarily from truancy courts to participate in three assessments, spaced three months apart. Adolescents reported on their trauma symptoms, experiences of physical and sexual dating violence victimization and characteristics of their romantic relationship at every assessment. Results indicated that the frequency of recent TDV victimization is related to re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal …