Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing Critical Thinking In Personal Decision Making- A Contextual Framework For College Students, Jade A. White

Open Access Dissertations

Statement of the Problem: The need for agricultural science students to graduate from institutions of higher education with strong critical thinking skills is expressed by both educators and employers to respond to the need for strong problem-solving, decision making, and analytic skills in the 21st century. To prepare students for the changing workforce evidence-based instructional practices, such as problem-based learning, need to be implemented into college courses to increase critical thinking skills. However, there are many barriers associated with implementing these teaching practices such as time barriers, large classes, and the challenge of measuring outputs related to critical thinking. …

Drawn To Politics: The Editorial Art Of Etta Hulme Gallery Guide, Samantha Dodd, Candy Mccormic, University Of Texas At Arlington

2018 - Drawn to Politics: The Editorial Art of Etta Hulme

Gallery guide for an exhibition from the Etta Hulme Papers, 2018. Exhibit curated by Samantha Dodd, exhibit designed by Candy McCormic.

Mapping The Streets Of London: Location And Dislocation In Early Dickens, Yihong Zhu

Comparative Literature M.A. Essays

No abstract provided.

Who's Causing The Harm?, Catherine A. Hardee

Faculty Scholarship

My parents started a software company out of our family room when I was just five years old As a child, the business felt like the sixth member of our family A fourth child who grew up alongside my sisters and me and whom my parents struggled with, stressed over, and strove to infuse with their values just as they did their flesh and blood children. Take pride in your work and stand behind what you do applied equally to homework and product launches. The Golden Rule to treat others as you would like to be treated meant that, long …

Experiential Learning And Open Education: Partnering With Students To Evaluate Oer Accessibilityoer: A Field Guide For Academic Librarians., Michelle Reed, Ciara Turner

UTA Libraries Staff Publications - Archive

This chapter focuses on an open textbook evaluation project undertaken by the Open Education Librarian and a student intern at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). UTA offers a Minor in Disability Studies, an interdisciplinary program with requirements that all students graduating with the minor complete a semester-long, supervised internship in order to apply knowledge and skills acquired in their coursework. In Spring 2017, UTA Libraries initiated a partnership with Disability Studies administrators to provide experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students interested in gaining experience in publishing and education. The first intern paired with the Libraries on this project …

The Effects Of Urbanization On Performance, Habitat Selection, And Persistence Of Anolis Lizards, Andrew Clark Battles

Open Access Dissertations

Urbanization is a global change phenomenon that is increasing in frequency and magnitude worldwide. As a greater proportion of the human population resides in urban areas, cities must grow, therefore exposing an increasing number of species to human-modified habitat. While some species become extirpated when their habitat is urbanized, others persist and even spread throughout cities. Furthermore, human activity increases the rates of species invasions around the world, and many introductions occur in urban areas. The objective of this dissertation is to evaluate the consequences of some major environmental changes caused by urbanization for non-human urban dwellers. Specifically, I measure …

Isolation And Identification Of Probiotic Bacteria For The Management Of Epizootic Shell Disease, Grace Underwood

Open Access Master's Theses

Epizootic shell disease (ESD) is an emerging disease in the American lobster (Homarus americanus) characterized by lesions, mainly on the carapace. The diseased appearance of the shell due to the lesions has had significant negative impact upon the lobster fisheries in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, since fishers are not able to sell affected lobsters to the more lucrative live market. ESD lesions are different from other shell diseases found in the American lobster populations because they are due to a poly-microbial infection that degrades the epicuticle layer, while the pillars of the chitin matrix remain …

Annual Cycle Phenology And Winter Habitat Selection Of White-Winged Scoters In Eastern North America, Dustin E. Meattey

Open Access Master's Theses

Concern over declining populations of several North American sea duck species has led to research addressing how environmental and anthropogenic factors in various stages of the annual cycle affect survival, habitat use, site fidelity, and migratory strategies. Southern New England provides key wintering habitat for White-winged Scoters (Melanitta fusca). This area has also pioneered the development of offshore wind energy in North America. I deployed implanted satellite transmitters in 52 adult female White-winged Scoters captured during the wintering period in southern New England, and on a molting area in the St. Lawrence River estuary in Quebec between 2015 …

Early Successional Forest Birds And The Effects Of Habitat Management In Different Landscapes, Stephen J. Brenner

Open Access Master's Theses

Early successional forests are a rare and declining forest type in the Northeastern U.S., and active management is required in order to maintain this habitat for the many declining bird populations that inhabit these areas. Studies on the movements, spatial ecology, and habitat selection of declining species of interest within newly created habitats offer opportunities to assess the success of management, and inform future management decisions and practices. Yet the impact of management may be limited by the placement of newly formed habitat within a larger landscape context. I investigated the impact of landscape and management context on the spatial …

Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviors To Dietary Management Of Parkinson’S Disease, Leah Marie Hurley

Open Access Master's Theses

Background: Levodopa is the most commonly used medication to improve motor sequelae in persons with PD (PwPD). However, levodopa and dietary protein compete for absorption in the gut and blood brain barrier. Dietary proteins are essential for growth and physical functioning, which generally deteriorate with PD progression. Informal caregivers (ICG) often assist PwPD with meal and medication management, but have reported information deficits regarding dietary and medication management for PwPD.

Objective: To obtain qualitative information related to dietary knowledge and attitudes, and quantitative data on dietary behaviors from PwPD and their ICG.

Methods: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods study. A …

The Impact Of Fisheries Management On Coral Reef Fish Communities And Life-History Characteristics, Diky Suganda

Open Access Master's Theses

Indonesia’s coral reefs support over half of all small-scale fishers globally and are thus an important economic and sociocultural resource. These coral reef fisheries, however, are threatened from a variety of stressors including overexploitation. No-take fisheries closures are thought to be a suitable management strategy in Indonesia that provide a refuge for fish species with different ecological and life-history characteristics. While examining such indicators is increasingly important to determine management efficacy, few have done so in Indonesia. I investigate community ecological and life-history responses to no-take fisheries closures using abundance data from 2009-2015 in three regions across Indonesia’s Sunda Banda …

Design Of A Tendon Driven Soft Continuum Robotic Arm Using Proprioceptive Sensors, Richard Sperling

Open Access Master's Theses

In this thesis the use of proprioceptive sensors in elephant trunk inspired soft continuum robots was explored. After presenting the basics for this project, a review of existing soft continuum robots is given. The sensors used are o_-the-shelf stretch senors. Those sensors are carbon black impregnated rubber cords. The design and the fabrication of the robot are described. Using material characteristics a calibration process was developed to improve the sensor's consistency. The robot is then tested in open-loop as well as a closed-loop experiment. Results of those experiments are presented and discussed.

Table Of Contents, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Germinal Epithelium Cytology During Spermatogenesis In The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys Temminckii (Reptilia: Chelydridae), Stanley E. Trauth, Kevin M. Gribbins

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We investigated the cytology of the seminiferous epithelia of the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). Spermatogenic and regressed testes were assessed from 2 adult individuals collected in Arkansas in May and September of 1993. Specifically, we focused on the cellular phases of germ cell development and maturation. The germ cell morphology and developmental strategy within the germinal epithelium of M. temminckii appear similar to that of other genera of turtles previously studied. Interestingly, mitotic, meiotic, and spermiogeneic cells are nearly identical to that of other turtles studied based on light microscopy. There are also 6 recognizable steps to …

Journal Of The Arkansas Academy Of Science- Volume 72 2018, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Small Mammal Abundances In A Grassland And Forest Area At The Lake Fayetteville Environmental Center, Arkansas, Douglas A. James, S. A. Bartholomew, A. Deshwal, P. Panwar

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We examined changes in abundance of small mammals in forest and prairie-grassland habitat at Lake Fayetteville, Arkansas over a period of 32 years. We estimated the population size of small mammals using a mark-recapture method by capturing small mammals employing rat-sized Sherman live traps laid out in a grid with 8 rows of traps, 15 traps per row, 9.14 m (30 feet) between traps and rows covering an area of 1.01 ha (2.5 acres) in size. Six species of mammals were trapped in the prairie-grassland and three species were captured in the forest habitat. In the forest, the white-footed deermouse …

Parasites Of The Spotted Sucker, Minytrema Melanops (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) From Arkansas And Oklahoma, Chris T. Mcallister, Donald G. Cloutman, Anindo Choudhury, Tomas Scholz, Stanley E. Trauth, Thomas J. Fayton, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

During October 2015, March and April 2016 and again between March and April 2017, 15 Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops) were collected from sites in the Ouachita (n = 5), Red (n = 1), and St. Francis (n = 5) river drainages, Arkansas, and the Arkansas River drainage, Oklahoma (n = 4), and examined for protozoan and metazoan parasites. Found were Calyptospora sp., Myxobolus sp., Pseudomurraytrema alabarrum, Biacetabulum banghami, Penarchigetes oklensis, and Acanthocephalus sp. New host and distributional records are documented for these parasites.

Additional Records Of Acanthocephalan Parasites From Arkansas Fishes, With New Records From Missouri Fishes, Chris T. Mcallister, Michael A. Barger, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Over the last decade, our research consortium has provided information on acanthocephalan parasites of Arkansas vertebrates, including records from some of the state’s fishes. Here, we continue to provide data on new geographic and new host records of acanthocephalans from Arkansas fishes. In addition, for the first time, we report records of acanthocephalans for some Missouri fishes. We document 2 new state records as well as 10 new host records for some fish acanthocephalans.

Prevalence Of Cytauxzoon Felis (Protista: Apicomplexa) In Feral Cats In Russellville Arkansas, Cynthia H. Jacobs

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Abstract

Cytauxzoon felis (C. felis) is a protozoan hemoparasite of domestic and wild felids. Transmitted by ixodid ticks, the sylvatic reservoir for this organism in North America is the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in which the infection is apparently self-limiting. In domestic cats (Felis catus), C. felis causes a highly fatal disease with a distribution that covers much of the central, southcentral and southeastern U.S. and parallels that of the primary vector, the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Interestingly, there appears to be an increased survival rate in domestic cats in the geographic …

A Preliminary Checklist Of The Stoneflies (Arthropoda: Insecta: Plecoptera) Of Arkansas, Henry W. Robison, Chris T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Seventy-seven species of stoneflies representing 8 families and 24 genera are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse families of state stoneflies were Perlidae (26 species), Capniidae (14 species), and Perlodidae (12 species) while Pteronarcyidae had only a single representative species. Additional taxa will surely be added to the list with future taxonomic studies incorporating molecular analyses.

Incidental Captures Of Plains Spotted Skunks (Spilogale Putorius Interrupta) By Arkansas Trappers, 2012-2017, D. Blake Sasse

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Arkansas trappers were surveyed following the 2012 and four subsequent trapping seasons regarding accidental captures of spotted skunks while attempting to trap other species. A total of 132 trappers reported capturing spotted skunks although further investigation confirmed the validity of only 42 reports from trappers that caught a total of 60 spotted skunks. Incidental captures were rare; only 0.35-1.29% of trappers each year caught spotted skunks and came primarily from the Ozark and Ouachita regions of the state.

Additional County Records Of Invertebrates From Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Henry W. Robison, Renn Tumlison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Kimberly G. Smith, 1948-2018, Ragupathy Kannan, Jeffrey Short

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address And Meeting Program Report, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Intranasal Administration Of A Two-Dose Adjuvanted Multi-Antigen Tmv-Subunit Conjugate Vaccine Fully Protects Mice Against Francisella Tularensis Lvs Challenge, Alison A. Mccormick, Aisha Shakeel, Chris Yi, Hardeep Kaur, Ahd M. Mansour, Chandra Shekhar Bakshi

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Tularemia is a fatal human disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a Gram-negative encapsulated coccobacillus bacterium. Due to its low infectious dose, ease of aerosolized transmission, and lethal effects, the CDC lists F. tularensis as a Category A pathogen, the highest level for a potential biothreat agent. Previous vaccine studies have been conducted with live attenuated, inactivated, and subunit vaccines, which have achieved partial or full protection from F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) challenge, but no vaccine has been approved for human use. We demonstrate the improved efficacy of a multi-antigen subunit vaccine by using Tobacco Mosaic virus (TMV) as …

Naturally Occurring 3rs, 7r, 11r-Phytanic Acid Suppresses In Vitro T-Cell Production Of Interferon-Gamma, Tomonori Nakanishi, Ibuki Motoba, Mayuko Anraku, Ryoji Suzuki, Yuto Yamaguchi, Laurie Erickson, Satoshi Kawahara

Hebrew Theological College Publications and Research

Background: Among the eight stereoisomers of phytanic acid (PA), the 3RS, 7R, 11R-isomer is naturally occurring and is present in foods and the human body. PA is considered to have possible health benefits in the immune system. However, it remains undetermined whether these effects are elicited by the 3RS, 7R, 11R-PA isomer, because previous studies used a commercially available PA whose isomer configuration is unknown. In this study, we synthesized a preparation of 3RS, 7R, 11R-PA, and investigated its in vitro immunomodulatory effects, especially the T-cell production of interferon (IFN)-γ, which is associated with various autoimmune diseases. This study …

An Improved Tobacco Mosaic Virus (Tmv)-Conjugated Multiantigen Subunit Vaccine Against Respiratory Tularemia, Ahd A. Mansour, Sukalyani Banik, Ragavan V. Suresh, Hardeep Kaur, Meenakshi Malik, Alison A. Mccormick, Chandra Bakshi

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of the fatal human disease known as tularemia is classified as a Category A Select Agent by the Centers for Disease Control. No licensed vaccine is currently available for prevention of tularemia in the United States. Previously, we published that a tri-antigen tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) vaccine confers 50% protection in immunized mice against respiratory tularemia caused by F. tularensis. In this study, we refined the TMV-vaccine formulation to improve the level of protection in immunized C57BL/6 mice against respiratory tularemia. We developed a tetra-antigen vaccine by conjugating OmpA, DnaK, Tul4, and SucB proteins of …

Gvsu Press Releases, 2018, Grand Valley State University

University Press Releases, 1961-Present

A compilation of press releases for the year 2018 submitted by University Communications (formerly News & Information Services) to news agencies concerning the people, places, and events related to Grand Valley State University.

The Firm Constitutional Foundation And Shaky Political Future Of Environmental Cooperative Federalsim, Robert L. Glicksman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Congress embarked on a new era of environmental protection in 1970, when it passed the federal Clean Air Act. Within a few years, it had adopted statutes protecting the nation’s other natural resources. Many of these laws were built on a foundation of cooperative federalism. They envisioned a partnership between the federal government and the states in the pursuit of federally declared environmental protection goals. The statutes delegated to each level of government authority to adopt, implement, and enforce different aspects of the environmental laws.

Over the ensuing decades, litigants have attacked these cooperative federalism statutes, claiming that they are …

Vision 2018

Vision

No abstract provided.