Digital Commons Network^™

Health Literacy And Hypertension Management In Haitian Immigrants, Suzie Jean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patient compliance and health care communication are impacted by health literacy. Poor health choices, frequent hospital visits, noncompliance with health regimens, and higher health costs are all associated with low health literacy. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether there was an association between health literacy as measured by primary language spoken in the home (Creole vs. English) and hypertension self-management as measured by regular use of medication and cutting down on foods high in salt, and whether there was an association between Haitian men, women, their education level, or level of poverty in relation to health …

The Duty To Disobey Illegal Nuclear Strike Orders, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article argues there is a legal duty to disobey illegal nuclear strike orders. Failure to carry out this duty may result in criminal and civil liability.Because nuclear weapons are quantitatively and qualitatively different from conventional weapons, typical legal calculations regulating their use under the laws of war or humanitarian law, as well as human rights law, change along with the change in weaponry. At least five “unique characteristics” of nuclear weapons ominously distinguish them from conventional weapons in ways that promise only to increase civilian death and suffering. First, quantitatively, the blast power, heat, and energy generated far outstrip …

Isolation Of Potential Photosynthetic N2-Fixing Microbes From Topsoil Of Native Grasslands In South Dakota, Nanfang Wang, Shengni Tian, Liping Gu, Lan Xu, Yeyan Qiu, Trevor Van Den Top, Jose L. Gonzalez-Hernandez, Michael B. Hildreth, Shaoshan Li, Runbao Zhou

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the most limiting factors and costly inputs in agriculture production. Current fossil fuel-dependent ammonia production is both energy intensive and environmentally damaging. An economically practical and environmentally friendly solution for the production of ammonia is urgently needed. Solar-powered N2-fixing cyanobacteria provide a unique opportunity and promise for applications in agriculture compared to all other N2-fixing bacteria that cannot use solar energy. Isolation of nitrogen-fixing microbes from the topsoil of native grasslands may have the potential to use them in crop fields as living ammonia factories. This may be a mechanism to free farmers from heavy …

Identifying And Characterizing Salt-Tolerant Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa Subsp Falcata Germplasm, Katelin E. Frerichs, Lan Xu

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Soil salinity limits plant growth and crop production. More than 20% of cultivated land worldwide is affected by salinity. The situation is becoming more severe due to shifts in precipitation and evaporation patterns and improper irrigation. There is an urgent need to develop salt-tolerant, economically valuable plants to minimize the loss of and to sustain agricultural production. Alfalfa is one of the most extensively cultivated forage crops. Some yellow-flowered alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. falcata) have exhibited morphological and physiological drought tolerance. Since soil salinity is associated with physiological drought, it is reasonable to expect that these drought tolerant falcata populations …

Impacts Of Strategic Grazing And Fire On Soil Seed Bank Heterogeneity In Mixed-Grass Prairie, Kassidy Weathers, Lan Xu, Patricia Johnson

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Native plant communities in the Northern Great Plains evolved under periodic fire and substantial grazing pressure from native herbivores, two main drivers maintaining the heterogeneity of grassland ecosystems. However, contemporary management practices focus on maximizing livestock production through fire suppression and uniform grazing strategies, resulting in decreased vegetation heterogeneity, species richness, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. Objectives of this study were to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of patch-burn grazing (PBG) and winter-patch grazing (WPG) managements on soil seed bank heterogeneity in terms of species 1) richness, 2) composition, 3) abundance, and 4) diversity. Two soil cores (10-cm dia × 10-cm …

Instructional Practices In Holistic Education For Patients With Cancer, Alicia Oberle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the past few decades, holistic education has increasingly emerged in academia. However, limited research has been conducted on how holistic education impacts instructional practices in real life situations like the well-being of cancer patients. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how a holistic education program impacts instructional practices designed to improve the well-being of cancer patients. The conceptual framework was based on transformative learning theory and learner-centered teaching. This single case study was conducted at a non-profit cancer center in the Western United States which emphasizes multiple dimensions of well-being for cancer patients, including holistic education. …

Childhood Verbal Abuse And Its Psychological Effects On Adults, Lani Thomason

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have documented an increase in child abuse in the past 50 years. Child abuse is associated with many adult physical, emotional, social, and cognitive impairments. To date, physical and sexual abuse have received more attention than verbal abuse. There is a gap in the literature on the effect of verbal abuse on mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of verbal abuse in children on adult psychological functioning. A retrospective, casual-comparative design was used drawing a sample of adults (n = 224), ages 18 to 40, who reported verbal abuse as children as well …

How Fine Particulate Matter Modifies Preterm Birth Risks In Korea, Hyun Jin Choi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the increasing interest in preterm birth risk associated with maternal exposure to the current level of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Korea, there is little information on differences in PM2.5 exposure and its impact on preterm birth. This study was designed to examine the effects of Korea's air quality on preterm birth, including the possibility of moderation and mediation. This work was also designed to investigate manipulable factors for PM2.5 exposure. The theoretical framework of this quantitative and observational study included the social ecological theory and systems theory. The conceptual framework of this partially ecologic and retrospective cohort study …

The Enduring Importance Of Wildness: Shepherding Wilderness Through The Anthropocene, Patrick Ram Kelly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wilderness and wildness have long been essential values at the heart of American conservation. Both have played critical roles in the formation of environmental ethics, providing a conceptual foundation for the belief that the non-human natural world is valuable for its own sake (Nash, 2001). After grounding and inspiring much of 20th century environmentalism, their influence in the current century has grown increasingly tentative. The arrival of what some have called the “Anthropocene epoch” – a term meant to capture the planetary scale impacts of human activity – now threatens the continued viability and relevance of wilderness and wildness to …

Knowledge Processes And The Potential For Adaptive Governance Of Inshore Fisheries In The Solomon Islands, Amber W. Datta

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rapid environmental change, ranging from the collapse of fisheries to the rise of sea levels, poses significant challenges for the governance of marine resources. In Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), these changes result in the loss of marine resources, threatening both the biodiversity of coastal ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Existing top-down, centralized forms of environmental governance lack the flexibility needed to address these issues especially at local scales, while bottom-up approaches often lack the coordination and authority needed to respond quickly to change. More adaptive forms of marine governance are needed to ensure that PICTs …

Mismatched Identities: Experiencing White Womanhood And White Motherhood As An Exotic Dancer, Phoenicia S. Sweeney-Summers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this paper I examine the work of exotic dancers in the Rocky Mountain West, focusing on their identities, identity conflict, identity threat, and overcompensation. In over twelve hours of recorded interviews, I asked ten exotic dancers working in Montana about their work, families, and communities as well as their perceptions of themselves and their work. I found that this marginalized group that resides in places that have rural characteristics, often face identity threat because their identities are known within their communities. The identity threat arises as a result of expectations and stereotypes of dancers, and in order to deal …

Reproduction Of Space In The Mountains Of Morocco: A Case Study In The Western Rif, Ismail Medkouri

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The environmental history of the mountains in Morocco was written under the French colonial administration; and its revision upon independence was biased toward an Arabist perspective. These historical narratives significantly influence the study of contemporary spatial phenomena, typically by undermining the validity of the vernacular mode of production of space. This study (1) reviews key myths pertaining to the spatial history and transformation in mountainous areas in Morocco; and (2) analyzes the contemporary mountain settlement of Ain Mediouna, Province of Taounate in light of a revised environmental narrative. Methods include the following: (1) historical document analysis; and (2) morphogenetic analysis …

Metabolic Energy Requirements During Load Carriage: Implications For The Wildland Firefighter Arduous Pack Test, Jeffrey T. Strang, Christopher J. Alfiero, Charles Dumke, Brent Ruby, Matthew Bundle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite extensive and ongoing scientific study into the metabolic requirements of load carriage, an understanding quantifying the effect of speed, load, sex and body mass has yet to come forth and the extent to which established models predict these requirements is largely untested. Specifically, because existing experimental efforts have typically focused on relatively modest walking speeds using loads representing a fixed portion of the subject’s mass, extending the available predictions to applications where individuals complete a common task carrying an identical absolute load provides estimates of unknown accuracy. PURPOSE: Here, we measured the energy use in a large subject group …

It Takes A Village To Raise A Child: Perceived Community Support And Parenting Satisfaction And Efficacyamong American Indian Young Mothers, Ann Marie Douglas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although there has been a decline in teen pregnancy in White, African American, and Hispanic teens, American Indian teen pregnancies have stayed relatively stable. According to Indian Health Services (2014), young women under the age of 24 years old account for 80 percent of births in the American Indian population. With a high percent of young mothers in this population and the stigma associated with young parenting, it is important to explore American Indian young mothers’ satisfaction and efficacy associated with parenting. It is also important to see how American Indian communities can support young mothers. The present study examined …

Demographics And Growth History Of Whitebark Pine On Undisturbed Sites Across The Northern Us Rocky Mountains, Sarah Flanary

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Along with fluctuating precipitation and temperatures in the form of climate change, whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) has seen a territory wide increase in mortality leading to a decline in population. While the most direct influences on whitebark pine health and mortality are mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, fire exclusion policies, and the spread of white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), climate change can impact the intervals and severity of such beetle, rust, and fire disturbances, and may affect the growth and health of whitebark pine directly. The objectives of this study were to identify whitebark pine stands within the …

Life On The Edge: Risk Of Predation Drives Selection Of Habitat And Survival Of Neonates In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Shannon Forshee

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Long-term viability of endangered populations requires development of effective management strategies that target the population vital rate with the highest potential to influence population trajectories. When adult survival is high and stable, juvenile recruitment is the vital rate with the greatest potential to improve population trajectories. For my thesis I examined how lactating Sierra Nevada Bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis sierra) balance forage and predation risk during the neonatal period. I first identified resource selection strategies employed by lactating females to promote survival of neonates and then determined the primary factors affecting survival of neonates. I found lactating females selected for …

Exploring The Resting State Neural Activity Of Monolinguals And Late And Early Bilinguals, Carrie Elizabeth Gold

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who speak more than one language have been found to enjoy a number of benefits not directly associated with the use of the languages themselves. One of these benefits is that bilingual individuals appear to develop symptoms of dementia 4-5 years later than comparable individuals who speak just one language. Studies on this topic, however, do not consistently account for factors including if the individual learned their second language as a child or later in life, or their language proficiency. In an attempt to more carefully examine these variables, this study looks at structural and resting-state functional MRI scans …

Marketing Plan For Columbus State University, Kaylyn Cockrell

Theses and Dissertations

Marketing is an important tool for capturing customers and sales in business, and it’s equally as important to an institution like Columbus State University (CSU) aiming to capture student customers. The development of a marketing plan through extensive research and planning will contribute to the success of all involved marketing efforts. This marketing plan will include all the standard essential elements: business mission statement, situation (SWOT) analysis, objectives, marketing strategy, implementation, and evaluation control. For the mission statement, the current statement from the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan will be used. The situation analysis will include looking at the current strengths, weakness, …

Improving Estuarine Water Quality In South Florida: A Quantitative Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of A Local Nutrient Ordinance, Kerstin Motsch

Theses and Dissertations

Degraded coastal water quality is a concern in Florida, in part due to nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems causing eutrophication and excessive algal growth. In 2010, a fertilizer ordinance was enacted in Cape Coral located in Lee County Florida with the objective of reducing nutrient loads from local fertilizing practices in order to improve water quality within the city. In order to assess its efficacy, a before after control impact (BACI) design was implemented using Fort Lauderdale in Broward County Florida as a reference location. A total of twenty estuarine canal sampling locations were identified in both Lee and Broward …

Using Maximum Entropy To Model The Distribution Of An Endangered, Endemic Crayfish Cambarus Harti (Hobbs), James Kiourtsis

Theses and Dissertations

Cambarus harti is a state-listed endangered, endemic crayfish found only in three counties in mid-west Georgia. Several studies have attempted to characterize the biology and ecology of this crayfish, however data regarding the distribution of this rare, endemic crayfish remains limited. The International Union for Conservation of nature stated that in order to create an effective conservation plan, the known distribution must be expanded. Species distribution models are a cost-effective way to identify locations that have similar habitat characteristics to those with known populations. One species distribution model, Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), is the preferred approach when modeling species, like C. …

Antibiotic Effects Of Dimethyl Sulfoxide And Synthetic Polyphenols On E. Coli Cells, Camila Cardenas

Theses and Dissertations

There is increasing interest in polyphenols due to their potential medicinal and antibiotic applications. Naturally occurring polyphenols, such as curcumin, have garnered tremendous attention. However, synthetic polyphenols commonly used in biochemistry experiments have not been sufficiently explored. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the cellular uptake of synthetic polyphenols. Three synthetic polyphenols (Phenol Red, Congo Red, and Bromophenol Blue) were tested for their antibiotic properties and compared to the antibiotic activity of curcumin. Our results show that phenol red does not interact with the bacterial membrane even in the presence of 30% …

Carbon Limitation In Periphytic Algal Wastewater Treatment Systems, Brandon J. Furnish

Theses and Dissertations

As global eutrophication poses an ever increasing threat to water quality new techniques must be implemented to improve the sustainability of natural resource consumption. Wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) are designed to destroy pathogens, remove particulates, lower oxygen demanding substances, and reduce nutrients from influent waste water to avoid the degradation of receiving waters. WWTF are generally effective, however they are mostly inadequate at removing nutrients. When wastewater derived nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate are discharged to receiving waters, they stimulate algal blooms. Algal blooms can reduce dissolved oxygen, block sunlight for submerged aquatic plants, and render state waters unusable …

Detection And Discrimination Of Natural And Synthetic Polysaccharides In A Solid-State Nanopore, Jonathan Nichols

Open Access Master's Theses

In 2007-08 over 100 people died as a result of a contaminated batch of the polysaccharide heparin, an otherwise life-saving anticoagulant drug. After the contaminant was discovered, the development of assays that detect the contaminant, a structurally similar molecule, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, became a necessity. Solid-state nanopores, which can, with appropriate experimental design, readily detect single molecules of analyte, may be able to help distinguish the two with greater ease than conventional assays, and with greater throughput even at concentrations well below that of USP assays. Polysaccharides, especially naturally occurring polysaccharides, have a vast range of structures characterized by widely …

The Effects Of Child Literacy And Self-Control On School Readiness Based On Teacher Report, Alyssa Ribeiro

Open Access Master's Theses

School readiness has been identified as one of the major determinants of an individual’s later academic success (Cappelloni, 2011; Kim, 2008; Lunenburg, 2011). School readiness encapsulates academic readiness and socio-emotional development, and is impacted not only by the child, but also by the child’s family, the early environment, the school, and the community (Cavanaugh, Lippitt, & Moyo, 2000; Huffman, Mehlinger, & Kerivan, 2000; Maxwell & Clifford, 2004; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000; Peth-Pierce, 2000; Raver, 2002).

Despite a plethora of studies in school readiness, there has been a lack of examination of school readiness through the lens …

Triggering A Diverse Seafood Diet: Exploring Perceptions Of Sustainable Seafood Systems In New England, Taylor Macdonald Witkin

Open Access Master's Theses

New England’s seafood production systems involve social relationships with food that are at odds with ecosystem health and longevity. Customers continue to demand, fishers continue to catch, and suppliers continue to sell species from increasingly threatened populations instead of abundant species that can be harvested sustainably. Harvesters and markets have been trapped, forced to depend on a narrow range of species despite opportunities to diversify marine food system markets and tastes. The aim of this study is to build a better understanding of how New England’s local seafood movement and market can foster a sustainable socio-ecological seafood system. The argument …

Fishery And Biological Characteristics Of Jonah Crab (Cancer Borealis) In Rhode Island Sound, Corinne L. Truesdale

Open Access Master's Theses

Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) is a demersal crustacean distributed throughout continental shelf waters from Newfoundland to Florida. The species supports a rapidly growing commercial fishery in southern New England, where landings of Jonah crab have increased more than six-fold since the early 1990s. However, management of the fishery has lagged its expansion; the first Fishery Management Plan for the species was published in 2015 and a stock assessment has not yet been created due to a lack of available data concerning the species’ life history and fishery. Fishing effort in the crab fishery is necessarily tied to fishing …

Efficacy Measures Of Tolfenamic Acid In A Tau Knock Out Model: Relevance To Alzheimer’S Disease, Allison Leso

Open Access Master's Theses

In the healthy human brain, the protein tau serves the essential function of stabilizing microtubules. However, in a diseased state, tau becomes destabilized and aggregates into a pathogenic form that ultimately creates one of the two major hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and tau tangles. Multiple neurodegenerative diseases, termed tauopathies, such as Pick’s disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), are also linked to mutations in tau. While AD does include a second hallmark in the form of Aβ plaques, to date all therapeutics aimed at this hallmark have failed. However, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) tolfenamic acid …

Evolving Encoded Marking For Glove-Based Pose And Posture Recognition, Joshua V. Gyllinsky

Open Access Master's Theses

The feasibility of encoding pose and posture information within surface textures for digital reconstruction of the inverse-mapping problem of computer vision was explored. This was done using a combination of three biology-inspired artificial intelligence techniques. Initial steps were conducted in this pursuit and the path to further research is laid out. It was found that textures can be used to encode information on a 3D surface to supplement computer vision systems.

Environmental Factors Affecting Methane Cycling In Narragansett Bay, Christopher James Mcaleer

Open Access Master's Theses

Wetlands and estuaries are strong sources of methane to the atmosphere due to high rates of methanogenesis. These environments contain diverse and extensive microbial communities that are responsible for processing organic matter, with tidal flow responsible for exchange between marine, freshwater, and estuarine sources. While most methane is produced in sediment, as methanogenic Archaea generally require anoxic conditions, methane oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) regulate emissions in oxygenated waters through the consumption of methane. Therefore, flood tide has the potential to provide wetlands – salt marshes, in particular – with organic matter and methanotrophic communities, creating a unique environment which features the …

Influence Of Environmental Factors And Fishing Effort On Demersal Fish Species In Ghana, Vida Samantha Osei

Open Access Master's Theses

Separating effects of fishing from responses of environmental factors is a key problem for fisheries scientists. I used data from fishery-independent trawl surveys (6 years data from 1999 – 2016) to test influences of fishing effort and environmental factors (temperature, oxygen salinity) on the abundance and spatial distribution of two species groups: 5 economically important species and 3 non-commercial species on the continental shelf of Ghana. Fishing effort, measured for the entire study area, affected year-to-year changes in the abundance of all but one species (5 species negatively, 2 positively, and 1 species unaffected). All species also showed significant spatio-temporal …