Digital Commons Network^™

Exposure To Ambient Air Pollution And Fetal Death In Harris County, Texas, Amal Rammah

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The evidence from studies of maternal ambient air pollutant exposure (including O3, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and PM2.5 metal constituents) and stillbirth is limited and equivocal. There is also limited evidence of the acute effect of temperature increases in the week preceding delivery and stillbirth. In the first investigation of ambient air pollution, temperature and stillbirth among a large cohort of women in Harris County, Texas, we obtained birth and fetal death records from 2008-2013 and estimated weekly residential levels of apparent temperature and ozone (O3), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 metals from the local monitoring …

Does Space Matter? An Investigation Of The Spatial Variation In Gestational Weight Gain Associations With Country Of Birth Among Hispanic Women And Access To Care In Texas, Christopher R. Webb

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Inadequate and excess gestational weight gain (GWG) are serious, but potentially preventable adverse pregnancy outcomes which affect as many as two-thirds of pregnant women in the United States. While location and space are associated with a variety of pregnancy outcomes, limited research has investigated potential spatial variation in GWG. The goal of this research is to improve the knowledge of how spatial geography is associated with GWG through secondary analyses of 70,000 to 160,000 birth certificate registry records for Texas mothers with a live birth delivery in 2014. Specifically, this research attempts to assess whether access to obstetrics and gynecologist …

Factors Associated With Civilian And Police Officer Injury During 10 Years Of Officer-Involved Shooting Incidents: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Ellen Paddock

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Purpose. Law enforcement officer-involved shootings are uncommon events in the context of encounters with the public, but extreme situations which have the potential to pose immense harm to individuals and communities. Previous research demonstrates that a large proportion of such incidents result in injury or death, most commonly to civilians, but in some cases to officers as well. However, there has been little study of what factors are associated with injury during such incidents, and whether these factors might differ for civilians compared to officers. This study examined the factors associated with both civilian and officer injury and/or fatality during …

Development And Usability Testing Of Quit4health, A Smoking Cessation Smartphone App For Young Adults, Katarzyna Czerniak

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in the United States. As of 2016, 23.5% of American 18-25 year olds reported having used cigarettes in the last month compared to 20.2% of adults and only 3.4% of adolescents. Due to the efficacy and widespread general use of mobile technology today, mobile-phone health, or mHealth apps, have become increasingly popular methods of delivering smoking cessation programs. However, there is a lack of evidence in regards to the quality and the effectiveness of using mHealth to deliver smoking cessation interventions to young adults. This study aims to fill this gap to …

Quantifying The Impact Of Laboratory And Care Systems On Relinkage To Hiv Care In A Southern, Urban Environment, Kellie L. Watkins

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background: HIV viral suppression reduces the likelihood of transmission to just 5%,1 demonstrating the critical link between care and prevention, yet only 51% of people living with HIV (PLWH) were retained in care and 46% achieved viral suppression in the Houston area (2012), with the out-of-care (OOC) population increasing between 2008-2011.2,3

Methods: Record-search investigations across HIV surveillance and care data systems determined if potentially OOC persons referred to the Houston Health Department (HHD) from 2013-2015 (N=1287) qualified for public health follow up. A portion were randomized to a non-intervention group (n=200) to assess the program effectiveness. Participants without a disposition …

Sociodemographic Determinants Of Mental Health Outcomes Among Unhealthy Weight Youth In The United States, Chenchita Malolan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background

The prevalence of unhealthy weight (defined as a body mass index ≥ 85th %ile for age and sex) among children and adolescents in the United States remains unacceptably high. In parallel, the prevalence of mental health issues in youth is rising as well. Current research shows a strong association between overweight/obesity and poor mental health outcomes. Specifically, youth of unhealthy weight have higher rates of anxiety and depression. The objective of this study is to evaluate the specific the current (2016-17) population-level prevalence of unhealthy weight, mental health issues and the sociodemographic (e.g. sex, age, race, ethnicity, household income) …

A Secondary Data Analysis For The Refinement Of Empirical Modelling For The Estimation Of Environmental Health & Safety Program Resourcing For Colleges And Universities, Seth Michael Parker

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The use of potentially hazardous physical, chemical, biological, and radiological agents is inherent to the teaching, research, and services missions of any university. To manage the risks associated with these agents, it is common for universities to host environmental health & safety (EH&S) programs to protect the safety of the institution’s students, faculty, staff, and visitors. However, since EH&S programs in universities are primarily focused on prevention, it is difficult to estimate the appropriate “industry average” in terms of budget and staffing resources a particular university needs for such programs. Historically, the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) …

Commonthought (2018), Commonthought Staff

Commonthought

This issue features works created by Lesley University students and covers a broad range of topics. The work itself crosses many disciplines from creative writing to visual arts.

Teaching At Southern, Georgia Southern University

Faculty Center: News & Publications

• SoTL Commons Conference
• Faculty Writers' Boot Camp
• Register for Spring 2019 Book Groups
• 2019 SoTL Award and Fellowship -Applications Now Open
• Registration Open: Spring 2019 Teaching Online Certificate (TOC) Program
• Faculty Development Award Deadlines
• Governor's Teaching Fellowship
• Chancellor's Learning Scholars Faculty Learning Community: Armstrong Campus
• Meet the Staff
• Other Announcements

Venom Composition Of Little Known Mountain Rattlesnakes And Predator-Prey Interactions Of Crotalus Pricei Pricei And Its Natural Prey, Sceloporus Jarrovii, Emily Grabowsky

Master's Theses

The Crotalus intermedius clade is a small group composed of four species: C. intermedius, C. transversus, C. pricei, and the recently identified C. tancitarensis (Alvarado-Díaz and Campbell, 2004; Reyes-Valesco et al. 2013). Though these species are restricted to high elevations of Sky Islands of southern Arizona and throughout México, little has been reported about their natural history and basic biology, including venom composition. Specifically, the Western Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (C. pricei pricei) is a small lizard specialist restricted to the more northern Sky Islands of México, with isolated populations in southern Arizona, where they are a protected species. …

Castor Canadensis Winter 2018-2019, Jedediah Smith Society

Castor Canadensis - Jedediah Smith Society

Newsletter of the Jedediah Smith Society

Women As Ritualistic Agents In The Roman Catholic Church: A Comparative Theological Dialogue, Simonmary Asese Aihiokhai

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

In sub-Saharan African religious worldview, a woman inhabits the interstitial space of connectedness. She serves as the medium for the birthing of physical and spiritual life. Today, many in the continent have embraced Christianity and many profess the Roman Catholic faith. African Catholics can contribute to the ongoing discourse on the role of women as ministerial agents in the Catholic Church. To do this, they can articulate a theology of ministry that is grounded in the religious worldview of African indigenous religions.

Dissecting The Role Of The Insulin Receptor Signaling Pathway On Regenerative Organ Growth In Snakes, Kyle Alyson Chi

2018 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The genes and regulatory activity of the Insulin Receptor Signaling Pathway are highly controlled within tissues that undergo regenerative growth. Recently, the Insulin Receptor Signaling Pathway has been implicated in driving extreme post-feeding organ growth in snakes, but its precise role in this growth remains unknown. Here, we analyzed gene expression before and after feeding in three snake species using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify which specific components of the Insulin Receptor Signaling Pathway are likely involved in regenerative growth. Genes involved with cellular stress response, transcription, and protein synthesis, such as Serum/Glucocorticoid-Regulated Kinase (SGK), Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor …

Qed: The Research Annual Of The Uta Honors College (2018), Misbah Ahmed, Jeremy Dubhrós, Genichiro Fujioka, Gregory Luke, Samantha Oliphint, Valerie Rose Bilton, Alyssa Bragg, Darshan Chalise, Divya Chalise, Sanjari Chelawat, Lauren Crane, Iretomiwa Esho, Islam Hammad, Phyllis Mae Helms, Alyssa Hernandez, Mostofa Hisham, Valery Lofton, Virginia Morris, Jonathan Nufable, Cristian Almendariz, Nicholas Byrnes, Daniela Chavez Garcia, Sanjari Chelawat, Stephanie Dolenz, Arnav Garg, Prasoon Gautam, Wade Girton, Kalen Goss Manshack, Jared Hanes, Ian Harris, Nawal Joulani, Alexandra E. Kessler, Hrishabh Khakurel, Tiffany Kim, Nicholas Lira, Marissa Lopez, Vaishanavi Mirapurkar, Chidalu Mozie, Murtaza Mucklai, Ariel O’Brien, Leonee Onyekwere, Ashley Quimod, Mohammad Rashik, Raegan P. Rust, Tanmay Sardesai, Chanel Sassoon, Swangya Saurav, Romeeka Arfeen Siddiqui, Trevor Stull, Jaycee Weber

2018 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The Honors College of the University of Texas at Arlington is a purposefully diverse community of student scholars in all majors dedicated to student success. The mission of the College is simple: to offer high achieving students an extraordinary undergraduate education through special academic programs and opportunities for research, study abroad, and leadership. The Honors curriculum fits with all majors, and complements and advances the goals of student's academic disciplines.

Tree Song, Amie Elizabeth Case

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Grace that flows through the three realms is fractured, and it’s Mauhiyn’s fault. She is a Daughter, the only living and direct descendant of the line of women who are vessels for the Grace that sustains the realms in a state of perfect balance. Because Mauhiyn is the first Daughter unable to carry the Grace, she is blamed for the turmoil and darkness in the realms. King Darbrend of the western realm claims Mauhiyn’s Grace is simply dormant, not absent. Mauhiyn is sent to King Darbrend with the hopes that his dark power will restore the Grace within her …

Vocabulary Depth And Language Use Of Heritage Learners, Elsy B. Shuford

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Persons whose home environment features a non-majority language are known as heritage speakers. The nature and conditions of Spanish heritage speakers’ interaction with their heritage language significantly affects their command of it. The aim of this study is to explore vocabulary depth among 10-year-old heritage language speakers in Springfield, Missouri, and its relationship to language use at home. This study adds to the body of knowledge related to heritage language development by exploring language use at home and church activities, as well as vocabulary depth in Spanish heritage speakers in the Springfield metropolitan area by investigating social and linguistic aspects …

Effects Of Parafluvial Flows On Interstitial Ammonia And Freshwater Mussels In The Buffalo National River, David Alan Johnson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Freshwater mussel populations and distributions have declined over the past several decades in the Buffalo River, Arkansas. Among many possible causes, this study tested the hypothesis that ammonia concentrations in parafluvial flows through gravel bars might be high enough to impair the survival and growth of juvenile mussels. Ammonia, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen were measured in interstitial and water column samples from gravel bars to test for possible longitudinal gradients. Samples were taken along 3 large bars at locations within the Buffalo National River, at approximate bi-weekly intervals between June and September of 2010. Water sample ammonia concentrations were …

Nesting Success And Habitat Preference Of The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) In Southwest Missouri, Samantha Ann Meilink

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a cavity-dwelling species and has been known to inhabit both natural and artificial cavities, such as nest boxes. The Barn Owl has a global distribution and can be found as far north as British Columbia and as far south as South America. They have a stable population in the United States; however, although generally stable in the United States, Missouri populations have experienced recent declines, prompting their listing as a species of special concern. In order to assist conservation efforts, land cover needs to be assessed to determine where it is best to place …

Photoreception And Eye Regeneration Mechanisms In Planarians, Taylor R. Birkholz

Dissertations

Although humans lack the ability to regenerate complete organs and limbs following amputation or injury, there are many other species (both vertebrates and invertebrates) that can. Significant advances have been made in understanding the genetic mechanisms that regulate organ regeneration in these species, including regeneration of eye tissues such as the lens and retina. Planarians are an established historical model used to study regeneration due to their ability to regenerate any organ, including the eye. With recent advances in molecular genetic analyses, planarians are now an emerging model for the specific study of eye regeneration mechanisms. Furthermore, regeneration of the …

Classifying Interdependencies In The Food And Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Sector, John Doerpinghaus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work classifies examples of infrastructure interdependencies found in the food and agriculture critical infrastructure sector. Interdependencies are identified through an examination of rice and poultry agriculture throughout the state of Arkansas. The subtleties of interdependence examples in the food and agriculture sector are inadequately captured by the well-studied interdependence classification taxonomies. Through 39 interviews, we develop an understanding of the subtle temporal, geographic, and productivity scales of interdependence in over 100 examples and present five new, distinct classifications of interdependence: (1) dynamic physical, (2) dynamic geographic, (3) deadline, (4) delay, and (5) human, economic, and natural resource interdependencies. An …

Effects Of Novel Calpain Inhibitors In Transgenic Animal Model Of Parkinson's Disease/Dementia With Lewy Bodies, Getaw Hassen, Leo Kesner, Alfred Stracher, Abraham Shulman, Edward Rockenstein, Michael Mante, Eliezer Masliah

NYMC Faculty Publications

Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are neurodegenerative disorders of the aging population characterized by the accumulation of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn). The mechanisms triggering alpha-syn toxicity are not completely understood, however, c-terminus truncation of alpha-syn by proteases such as calpain may have a role. Therefore, inhibition of calpain may be of value. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of systemically administered novel low molecular weight calpain inhibitors on alpha-syn pathology in a transgenic mouse model. For this purpose, non-tg and alpha-syn tg mice received the calpain inhibitors - Gabadur, Neurodur or a vehicle, …

Phylogenetic Focusing Reveals The Evolution Of Eumetazoan Opsins, Curtis Provencher

Master's Theses and Capstones

Phylogenetic analyses of gene trees commonly begin by searching large molecular datasets from the taxa of interest using some known query sequence. Resulting sequences that exceed some threshold are then concatenated, aligned, and analyzed phylogenetically. This approach has revealed much about the evolutionary history of gene families, but several problems are apparent. Here we apply a new approach that we call Phylogenetic Focusing that circumvents some issues related to global search strategies. Our approach first circumscribes the largest possible orthogroup containing the gene family of interest and then proceeds to focus in on the gene family of interest based on …

Impacts Of Sea-Level Rise And Thin-Layer Deposition On Salt Marsh Elevation Dynamics In New Hampshire, Andrew Payne

Master's Theses and Capstones

The survival of salt marshes depends largely on their ability to build in elevation, thereby preventing increases in flooding due to sea-level rise, but the rate of marsh elevation gain depends on processes that are not well-understood, i.e. belowground productivity, sedimentation, and subsidence. The application of sediment to the marsh surface (thin-layer deposition) is a potential mitigation tool for increased flooding, but its effects on plant growth and elevation gain are understudied, especially in New England marshes. A marsh organ experiment was constructed and installed in the field to examine the effects of tidal flooding and thin-layer deposition on productivity. …

Site-Specific And Landscape Features Associated With Shrubland Bird Occurence In Anthropogenic Shrublands In The Northeastern United States, Randy Shoe

Master's Theses and Capstones

Habitats dominated by low-growing trees and shrubs are becoming increasingly uncommon in the northeastern U.S. Human development, altered natural-disturbance regimes, and forest succession have reduced the quantity and quality of these shrublands. As a result, over half of the shrubland-dependent songbirds in the region have experienced long-term population declines. Anthropogenic shrublands, including regenerating clearcuts, sand and gravel mines, old fields, and transmission line rights-of-way may provide nesting habitat for most shrubland birds; but differences in size, site-specific features, and landscape composition may affect bird use. To assess the features that may influence shrubland bird occurrence in anthropogenic shrublands, I conducted …

Assessing The Impact Of Submerged Vegetation On Methane Dynamics In A Discontinuous Permafrost Lake System, Abisko, Sweden, Christopher Daniel Horruitiner

Master's Theses and Capstones

Across the Arctic, postglacial lakes contribute a substantial amount of the total atmospheric methane (CH4), and their emissions are predicted to increase. However, there is still much uncertainty as to the contribution of northern water bodies to atmospheric CH4 emissions. This is mainly due to the spatiotemporal variability of the predominant pathway of emission from high latitude lakes: ebullition (bubbling). There are a myriad of factors that affect ebullition fluxes, including solar radiation input and atmospheric pressure, which make it difficult to model the impact on regional emissions. Very few studies have correlated sediment characteristics and submerged vegetation density with …

The Effects Of Habitual Protein Consumption On Vasodilation In Young Adults, Natalie O'Neal, Jordan Rezac

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Blood pressure is a critical indicator for a number of health risks and conditions, such as hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, and stroke. Decreasing blood pressure occurs by vasodilation (relaxation) of blood vessels. The consumption of high amounts of protein is hypothesized to have a correlation with the vasodilation of vessels, thus creating a decrease in blood pressure. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to relate blood vessel diameter to habitual protein consumption. Our findings have the power to make individuals more aware of the effect their habitual protein intake can have on cardiovascular health. Methods: This …

Parametric Payouts And Evironmental Conservation: How A Tech-Based Insurance Policy Could Pave The Way For Economically Viable Conservation Efforts, Hannah M. Petersen

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

This year, the state government of Quintana Roo, Mexico, the Nature Conservancy, and the reinsurance company, Swiss Re, created the first parametric insurance policy to be taken out on a natural resource; the Mesoamerican Reef. This innovative policy creates a technology-based approach to establishing economically viable environmental conservation by assigning a quantitative value to a vulnerable resource that protects the $10 billion tourism industry in the Caribbean. It also creates an entirely new and unregulated subsector of the insurance field. Although this type of policy sets the stage for innovative environmental conservation efforts, parameters and payout mechanisms might not align …

Stable Isotope Geochemistry Of Bioapatite, Amanda E. Drewicz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Cenozoic Era was a time period where dynamic shifts in climate created for both warm-wet greenhouse environments of the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), and cool-dry, glacial periods of the late Pleistocene. The Cenozoic is close to our own time period, and although past climate reconstructions cannot be used as direct analogs for future climate change, understanding previous environmental responses can help inform policy surrounding future climate change. Presented here are climate reconstructions of the interior western United States, from two different geologic time periods. Each had a different climate, that differed greatly from modern day environments. The use of …

Evaluating Stable Isotope And Geochronologic Techniques For Paleoclimate Reconstruction: Case Study Of The Santa Cruz Formation, Argentina, Robin B. Trayler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotope analysis has become the method of choice for many studies investigating the paleoecology and paleoclimate of fossil mammal faunas. While organic tissues (collagen, keratins, proteins) persist for < 10⁵ years highly mineralized tooth enamel is resistant to alteration and degradation and faithfully preserves its isotopic composition for millions (> 10⁶) years. Reconstructing past climates from these records relies on both understanding both micro-scale mechanisms of isotope incorporation into individual teeth, and macro-scale changes in isotope compositions over hundreds of thousands or millions of years. In this dissertation I address three questions.

First, how does the geometry and …

A Systematic Comparison Of Functional Assessment Outcomes In Organizational Behavior Management, Nathan T. Bechtel

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the recommendation outcomes of two commonly utilized functional assessment tools in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM): the Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC) and the Performance Flowchart. Recommendations made using these tools fell into one of three categories: antecedent-based, consequence-based, and uncategorized interventions. In order to assess the recommendations resulting from each of these tools, participants were trained to either (a) play the role of a manager with an organizational issue, or (b) play the role of a performance consultant. A between-groups design was utilized in which performance consultants used either …