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Impacts Of Landscape And Past Climate On Patterns Of Hybridization And Genetic Diversity In Plestiodon Tetragrammus And P. Multivirgatus, Matthew Moseley

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Past hybridization plays an important role in evolution of taxa. We use multiple phylogenetic approaches including single gene sequencing and high-through put sequencing to address the effects of past hybridization in the four-lined skinks, P. tetragrammus, and the variable skink, P. multivirgatus. We show that mitochondrial genes have been introgressed between P. multivirgatus and P. t. brevilineatus. We also show that this introgression has lead to decreased genetic diversity in these lineages. We use species distribution models to show that P. multivirgatus and P. t. brevilineatus shared a large portion of their ranges in the last glacial maximum allowing for …

Efficacy Of A Series Of Organometallic Polymers As Anti-Cancer And Antiviral Agents, Lindsey Caitlin Miller

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Organometallic compounds, particularly organotin compounds, have been known to possess biological activity for over 80 years. A variety of these compounds have demonstrated antimicrobial, anti-cancer, and antiviral activities. With the discovery of the anti-cancer ability of cisplatin, the most widely used chemotherapeutic agent, the interest in the potential capabilities of metal-containing compounds increased substantially. Since then, several metal-containing compounds have been evaluated for their microbiological activity, and our laboratory focuses specifically on organometallic polymers. Our compounds are composed of a metal, especially tin, which acts as the Lewis acid, while the Lewis base in our compounds is provided by a …

Evoked And Spontaneous Neurotransmitter Releases For Independent Synaptic Currents: Mathematical Modeling And Analysis, Sat Byul Seo

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Synapses play a major role in neuron communications in the brain. The synapses act through a chemical process called synaptic fusion between pre-synaptic and post-synaptic terminals. Presynaptic terminals release neurotransmitters either in response to action potential or spontaneously independent of presynaptic activity. In the case of glutamate, released neurotransmitters acivate N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA) receptors within a single postsynaptic site and give rise to miniature postsynaptic currents. In this dissertation, we develop a mathematical model in 3-D to emulate spontaneous and evoked neurotransmissions resulted from glutamate release within a single synapse. We propose numerical methods for solving piecewise continuous heat diffusion equation, …

A Qualitative Study Investigating Facility Managers’ Perceptions Of The Classroom Learning Environment, Eric Shannon Parr

Dissertations

Facility managers have the challenge of adhering to community college policies and procedures while fulfilling requirements of administration, students, and teachers concerning specific needs of classroom aesthetics. The role of facility manager and how specific entities affect perceptions of the design and implementation of classroom aesthetics were presented in this study in an attempt to further clarify present classroom design practices and future aesthetic possibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare a facility manager’s perceptions of classroom learning environments, and a student’s learning environment aesthetic needs. A qualitative research design was utilized within the theoretical framework …

Supervised Classification Using Finite Mixture Copula, Sumen Sen, Norou Diawara

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Use of copula for statistical classification is recent and gaining popularity. For example, statistical classification using copula has been proposed for automatic character recognition, medical diagnostic and most recently in data mining. Classical discrimination rules assume normality. But in this data age time, this assumption is often questionable. In fact features of data could be a mixture of discrete and continues random variables. In this paper, mixture copula densities are used to model class conditional distributions. Such types of densities are useful when the marginal densities of the vector of features are not normally distributed and are of a mixed …

Exploring The Caregiver-Child Relationship In Institutional Care Facilities In South Sudan, Jennifer Joy Telfer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Institutional care for children separated from parents is expanding in Africa, but little research exists on caregiving at these institutions. This study explores the caregiver-child relationship in two residential institutions in South Sudan by investigating how caregivers experience their role and how children experience their lives in the institution. Semi- structured interviews assessed 14 caregivers’ backgrounds, parenting experience, attitudes, education, and motivations. The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Wellbeing Tool (OWT) assessed 98 adolescent residents, who also gave feedback about their answers. Caregivers employ parenting styles used by their parents and report treating non-relative children the same as biological children. Children …

Simplifying Methods For In Vitro Metamorphosis Of Glochidia, Morgan A. Kern

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Captive culture of Unionoid mussels is complicated by the parasitic larval stage, which normally requires a host fish for metamorphosis. Alternatively, some mussel species can metamorphose in vitro, i.e. in an artificial medium in Petri dishes. Most workers have used 5% CO₂ atmosphere and bicarbonate to stabilize pH, requiring a specialized incubator. In the present study, in vitro metamorphosis success of Anodonta oregonensis and other species were higher or similar in air than in 1%, or 5% CO₂. The nutritional role of the medium was tested by substituting physiological saline without nutrients at varying intervals before …

Functionalization Of Indium-Based Quantum Dots For Use As A Non-Viral Gene Therapy Vector, Nicholas A. Mundt

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This work aims to develop functionalized, water-soluble indium-based quantum dots (QDs) as a non-viral gene therapy vector. The QDs were solubilized in water by exchanging native hydrophobic surface ligands with 11-mercaptoundecanioc acid (MUA); an amphiphilic ligand providing terminal carboxylate groups that impart water solubility to the QDs. The aqueous QDs were then functionalized with a terminal tertiary amine to impart a positive surface charge, allowing negatively-charged DNA to complex with the nanoparticles. The QDs were characterized via electrophoresis to determine their ability to bind DNA. Results show that further work is needed to optimize DNA binding. In addition, this work …

Habitat Associations With Small Mammal Communities At Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Stephanie Anne Ellison

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to aid the National Park Service at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield with the reported habitat monitoring and management goals through vegetation and wildlife surveys within the park. I provided a description of two major habitat types that are of ecological concern, which included non-native ruderal grasslands and upland deciduous woodlands and forests. I evaluated small mammal communities to determine factors that may affect the detection of individual species and examined habitat associations with occupancy, as small mammals are good indicators of habitat quality. My study highlights the need to manage invasive species such as …

Nesting Success Of The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) Using Nest Boxes In Southwest Missouri, Robert Grant Dickerson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a medium-sized owl belonging to the family Tytonidae. They raise young within natural cavities and on hard surfaces including nest boxes. The nesting success of Barn Owls, using wooden nest boxes, was studied in southwestern Missouri in 2016. Data were collected on clutch and brood sizes, the numbers of young fledged, and the species and amount of prey found in their regurgitated pellets. Interaction between Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) was also observed and documented. Nest box occupancy was 30% which is lower than in other studies, however this study included …

Ab Initio Methyl Linoleate Bond Dissociation Energies: First Principles Fishing For Wise Crack Products, Zachary Ryan Wilson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

With the prices of petroleum reflecting demand for this finite resource, attention has been turned to alternative sources of energy. Biodiesel, defined as fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), exhibits many of the same properties as conventional diesel but is derived from biological sources. FAMEs are subsequently thermally cracked to form more light-weight petrochemical products. I aim to further understand the thermal cracking procedure, at an atomic-level, in hopes that this may aid in future engineering of viable fuels. I studied the effective computational modeling of bond disassociations in the FAME methyl linoleate. Bond dissociation in a 44-reaction database with known …

Genetic Tools To Allow Efficient Gene And Protein Characterization Of The Industrially Important Bacterium Gluconobacter Oxydans, Melissa A. Schoeben

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The acetic acid bacterium Gluconobacter oxydans is an industrially valuable microorganism, particularly in the production of acetic acid, D-gluconic acid, ketogluconic acids, dihydroxyacetone, and precursors for the antidiabetic drug miglitol. Despite its importance in industry, there is still much to be learned about G. oxydans and its many uncharacterized enzymes. Additionally, genetic engineering holds the possibility of improving current yields. However, these goals are limited, largely due to a lack of molecular tools suitable for working with the bacterium. The current molecular toolkit for G. oxydans specifically lacks an efficient screening system for positive clones and a system for regulatable …

Exploring Men's Motivations And Restraints In Repeated Extramarital Sex, Casey Marie Stinley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The influence of extramarital sex (EMS) on marriage has been a topic of discussion in the research community for over 30 years. This thesis explored the influences that drive the EMS participants’ decisions, whether to abstain, continue while in the marriage, or to leave the marriage, and, those influences that affect whether they later participate in EMS or not. This study also used individual semi-structured interviews of ex-husbands who have participated in EMS in the past, as well as husbands who are participating in EMS currently. The four men interviewed were from southwest Missouri. The interviews were reviewed to identify …

Midnight In America: Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse And The 21st Century Threat To The United States, Angela Weaver

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects produced by the detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude are capable of causing widespread destruction in the U.S. homeland with few to no immediate casualties. The threat of nuclear EMP attack against the United States was recognized as probable during the Cold War but as time passed, the threat lost consciousness among U.S. policy makers as other issues and threats rose to the forefront. Simultaneously, the United States military and civilian society grew increasingly reliant upon emerging electronic systems and capabilities while adversary nations and rogue states rapidly pursued nuclear weapons capabilities. Today, …

The Effect Of Hemodynamic Force On The Maturation Of Blood Vessels During Embryogenesis, Rachel Lee Padget

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Throughout embryonic development, blood vessels are derived from endothelial cells by way of vasculogenesis. During angiogenesis, vessels remodel to form a hierarchy of large-diameter arteries that branch into small-diameter capillaries. In this maturation, vessels respond to unidentified signaling events to become surrounded with an outer layer of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). This results in arteries that have a thick vSMC layer, veins that have a thin vSMC layer, and capillaries that have a very thin or absent vSMC layer. What remains to be determined is the cause of the thicker layer of vSMCs around proximal arteries. Previous studies …

Who Are The Apistoi? Symbolic Boundaries And Anthropological Language In 2 Cor 6:14-7:1, Nii Addo Kobina Abrahams

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Joseph A. Fitzmyer’s “Qumran and the Interpolated Paragraph in 2 Cor 6:14-7:1,” originally published in 1961, argued that 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 was an interpolation from an undiscovered Qumran text. Fitzmyer’s thesis was the prevailing scholarly opinion for over a decade, and while several counter-arguments have convincingly challenged Fitzmyer’s theory, scholars are still hard-pressed to explain how the passage fits into its context. Not only does 6:14-7:1 seem to lack any organic connection to the verses immediately prior or following, but it also contains unique vocabulary and what seems to be uncharacteristic use of standard Pauline terms. However, all of these …

Effects Of Engineered Carbon And Silver Nanoparticles On Plutella Xylostella Consumption, Growth, Pupation, Survival, And Fecundity, Taiaba Afrin

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have recently become common in consumer products, and will therefore be entering into both aquatic and terrestrial systems. However, the effects of ENPs on animals is not well characterized. For example, to date there has been no research on the effects of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) (common ENPs) on insects. I examined the effects of pure SWCNTs and AgNPs on consumption, growth, food conversion ratio, pupation, survival, fecundity, and expression of CYP6BG1 using fourth instar of diamondback moth (DBM) larvae with the following concentrations: 8.64, 17.28, 34.56, 69.12 and 138.24 µg/ml SWCNTs; …

The Evolution Of Anti-Bat Sensory Illusions In Moths, Juliette Rubin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Prey-generated illusions span sensory systems. Previous studies have mainly focused on visual illusions presented by prey coloring or morphology, but few have explored illusions produced via sound. We investigate an acoustic sensory illusion in moths, created by complex hindwing structures that divert echolocating bat predators. A phylogeny of the moth family, Saturniidae, in combination with data from geometric morphometrics, reveals that hindwings have repeatedly elongated to form tails across evolutionary time. Using high-speed, multi-camera, synchronized videos of bat-moth battles, we quantified the selective pressure of predation on extant and experimentally-modified moths, defined by moth escape success from bat attack. We …

A Case Of Fragmented High School Earth And Space Science Education In The Great Plains: Tracing Teacher Certification Policy To Students' Access, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Jia Lu

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

While U.S. high school students’ access to Earth and space science (ESS) varies widely from state to state, nationally ESS content is the most neglected area of science education and scientific literacy. States have been considering if they will formally adopt, or less formally adapt, the new national science education standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which have been carefully developed and articulated in conjunction with state educational leaders. However, there are many challenges with which states, school districts, and teachers must grapple in order to enact standards-aligned ESS science lessons. This study of one Great Plains state investigated …

Substance Use Disorders, Violence, Mental Health, And Hiv: Differentiating A Syndemic Factor By Gender And Sexuality, Kiyomi Tsuyuki, Eileen V. Pitpitan, Maria A. Levi-Minzi, Lianne A. Urada, Steven P. Kurtz, Jamila K. Stockman, Hilary L. Surratt

Center for Health Services Research Faculty Publications

This paper measures syndemic substance use disorder, violence, and mental health and compares the syndemic among HIV-infected heterosexual men, heterosexual women, and men who have sex with men (MSM). Data were from a sample of high needs substance-using, HIV-infected people in South Florida between 2010 and 2012 (n = 481). We used confirmatory factor analysis to measure a syndemic latent variable and applied measurement invariance models to identify group differences in the data structure of syndemic co-morbidities among heterosexual men, heterosexual women, and MSM. We found that variables used to measure the syndemic fit each sub-group, supporting that substance use …

Brain Microvascular Injury And White Matter Disease Provoked By Diabetes-Associated Hyperamylinemia, Han Ly, Nirmal Verma, Fengen Wu, Miao Liu, Kathryn E. Saatman, Peter T. Nelson, John T. Slevin, Larry B. Goldstein, Geert Jan Biessels, Florin Despa

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The brain blood vessels of patients with type 2 diabetes and dementia have deposition of amylin, an amyloidogenic hormone cosecreted with insulin. It is not known whether vascular amylin deposition is a consequence or a trigger of vascular injury. We tested the hypothesis that the vascular amylin deposits cause endothelial dysfunction and microvascular injury and are modulated by amylin transport in the brain via plasma apolipoproteins.

METHODS: Rats overexpressing amyloidogenic (human) amylin in the pancreas (HIP rats) and amylin knockout (AKO) rats intravenously infused with aggregated amylin were used for in vivo phenotyping. We also carried out biochemical analyses …

On The Pursuit Of Relevance In Standards-Based Curriculum Development: The Ccny Approach, Angelo Lampousis

Publications and Research

The Society for Standards Professionals (SES) has a significant history of documenting the use of standards in research and academia. For instance, during the 62nd Annual SES Conference in 2013 in Savannah, Georgia, the author participated in such a session highlighting examples of relationships between academic institutions, government, and standards developing organizations. In this article, we attempt to capture the current advances made from similar relationships specific to our home institution, the City College of New York (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY.) These advances have become possible through a grant issued under the Standards Services Curricula …

The Prospect Of Rising In Rank Is Key To Long-Term Stability In Tibetan Macaque Society, Lixing Sun, Dong-Po Xia, Shine Sun, Lori K. Sheeran, Jin-Hua Li

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

One of the most fundamental questions in behavioural biology is why societies can persist for a long period of time. While researchers in animal behaviour have been hindered by a lack of an aggregate measure (such as social mobility) to quantify the dynamics of animal societies, researchers in social sciences have been challenged by the complexity and diversity of human societies. As a result, direct empirical evidence is still lacking for the hypothesized causal relationship between social mobility and social stability. Here we attempt to fill the void by examining a much simpler society in the Tibetan macaque (Macaca …

Octavia Minor And The Transition From Republic To Empire, Katrina Moore

All Theses

As a "good girl," Octavia Minor, older sister to Octavian née Augustus, has been understudied as a historical figure of the Late Republic. Her portrayal as a "good" exempla in the written classical sources obscures Octavia's agency. This thesis seeks to divest Octavia of her "good girl" reputation, as has been done by other scholars for many "bad girls" of antiquity, such as Cleopatra and Livia. Removing this "good" stereotype will allow for an examination of Octavia's role in transforming the moral example of a Roman woman from the Republic to the Empire. By exposing the tendency toward stereotyping inherent …

Und Today: August 2017, University Of North Dakota

UND Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Changes In Neuronal Function As A Consequence Of Aging And Tauopathic Neurodegeneration Using A Novel And Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging Approach, Sarah N. Fontaine, Alexandria Ingram, Ryan A. Cloyd, Shelby E. Meier, Emily Miller, Danielle N. Lyons, Grant K. Nation, Elizabeth Mechas, Blaine Weiss, Chiara Lanzillotta, Fabio Di Domenico, Frederick A. Schmitt, David K. Powell, Moriel H. Vandsburger, Jose Francisco Abisambra

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Tauopathies, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), constitute the most crippling neurodegenerative threat to our aging population. Tauopathic patients have significant cognitive decline accompanied by irreversible and severe brain atrophy, and it is thought that neuronal dysfunction begins years before diagnosis. Our current understanding of tauopathies has yielded promising therapeutic interventions but have all failed in clinical trials. This is partly due to the inability to identify and intervene in an effective therapeutic window early in the disease process. A major challenge that contributes to the definition of an early therapeutic window is limited technologies. To address …

A Naturally Generated Decoy Of The Prostate Apoptosis Response-4 Protein Overcomes Therapy Resistance In Tumors, Nikhil Hebbar, Ravshan Burikhanov, Nidhi Shukla, Shirley Qiu, Yanming Zhao, Kojo S. J. Elenitoba-Johnson, Vivek M. Rangnekar

Radiation Medicine Faculty Publications

Primary tumors are often heterogeneous, composed of therapy-sensitive and emerging therapy-resistant cancer cells. Interestingly, treatment of therapy-sensitive tumors in heterogeneous tumor microenvironments results in apoptosis of therapy-resistant tumors. In this study, we identify a prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) amino-terminal fragment (PAF) that is released by diverse therapy-sensitive cancer cells following therapy-induced caspase cleavage of the tumor suppressor Par-4 protein. PAF caused apoptosis in cancer cells resistant to therapy and inhibited tumor growth. A VASA segment of Par-4 mediated its binding and degradation by the ubiquitin ligase Fbxo45, resulting in loss of Par-4 proapoptotic function. Conversely, PAF, which contains this VASA …

Enduring Chronic Kidney Disease: An Investigation Of Psychosocial Factors And Life Satisfaction In Older Adults Receiving Dialysis Treatment, Bailee Sobotka

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Chronic kidney disease is a condition during which the kidneys begin to shut down and no longer filter blood efficiently. Once the disease has progressed far enough, dialysis treatments are mandatory to sustain life. To further understand how older adults receiving dialysis treatments cope with their disease, psychosocial factors were evaluated to investigate possible correlations with life satisfaction using a Life Satisfaction Index Z (LSI-Z). Expected correlations with life satisfaction were sociability, financial satisfaction, importance of spirituality, and activities of daily living scores. Interviews were conducted with 30 dialysis patients and results were analyzed using various statistical measures. Significant correlations …

The Role Of The Therapeutic Alliance On The Successful Outcome Of Transfers In Marriage And Family Therapy Cases, Melanie Louise Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The transfer of cases is common in the practice of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). This is especially true in training clinics, where student interns regularly graduate and transfer their cases to students still in the program. Although some research has examined the effect of transferring cases of individual psychotherapy on the success of therapy outcome, little research has examined transfer cases in MFT settings. The transfer process can be conceptualized as a rupture in the therapeutic alliance. From this perspective, a strong therapeutic alliance may mitigate the negative impact of the rupture. Consequently, it was hypothesized that a strong …

The Molecular Evolution Of Bat Chemosensory Pathways Reveals Sensory Innovation And Loss, Laurel Ryan Yohe

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Chemosensation detects environmental chemical cues and mediates many behaviors directly related to fitness (e.g. finding food, mates). Mammals have a secondary chemosensory system known as vomerolfaction that is primarily attributed to detecting pheromones, chemical cues that mediate many social behaviors. Vomeronasal mechanisms are conserved across mammals because of vomerolfaction’s critical roles in reproduction and social communication. Such mechanisms include the pheromone detection by vomeronasal receptors (e.g. V1Rs) and signal transduction of the Transient receptor potential cation channel 2 (Trpc2), an ion channel indispensable for vomeronasal function. Despite a nocturnal lifestyle and gregarious behaviors, most bats surprisingly lack a functioning vomeronasal …