Digital Commons Network^™

Lab Scale Analysis Of Anaerobically Digested Municipal Wastewater Treatment, Leila Ahmadi, Ryan Dupont

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Finding alternative sources of energy for the growing world’s demand is a challenging task being considered by many scientists and engineers. Various types of renewable energy alternatives are being investigated by researchers around the world. In addition to their capacity for nutrient, metal and pharmaceutical and personal care product contaminant removal from wastewater, the abundance of duckweed (i.e., Lemna and Wolfia sp.) in wetlands and wastewater lagoons, and their rapid growth and need for biomass harvesting suggests their potential as an inexpensive source of biomass for Biofuel production. Two lab-scales, 10 L anaerobic digesters initially seeded with municipal wastewater digester …

Regulation Of Epithelial Sodium Channels In Vasopressin Neurons In The Hypothalamus, Natalie Jean Mills

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Salt-sensitive individuals have blood pressure that is unusually sensitive to salt intake. Because salt-sensitivity is a common disorder and may cause high blood pressure, it is a significant public health concern. All three epithelial Na⁺ channel (ENaC) subunits (a, b, and g) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), a known regulator of ENaC, are expressed by vasopressin (VP) synthesizing magnocellular neurons in the hypothalamic supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei. A growing body of evidence indicates that epithelial Na⁺ channels (ENaCs) in the hypothalamus play a significant role in the development of salt-sensitivity. My dissertation research tests the hypothesis …

Nmr Structural Investigation Of Chlamydial Protein Complex And Lysine Glycomimetic For Drug Design, Abigael Chebichiy Songok

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Research and design of drugs for treatment against microbial infections require the study of pathogenic proteins involved during infection and replication. Drugs can be designed to interfere with the interaction network of these pathogenic proteins and inhibit the infection process. Determination of the structure and ligands of the target proteins in microbes is essential for designing mechanistic-based drugs. Two Chlamydia proteins involved in host cell invasion were investigated in this study. The goal is to identify amino acids involved at the binding interface of Chlamydia chaperon proteins Scc1 and Scc4 by solution NMR spectroscopy. This information will give a lead …

Conservation Of Freshwater Live-Bearing Fishes: Development Of Germplasm Repositories For Goodeids, Yue Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fishes of the family Goodeidae are considered to be among the most imperiled taxa in the world. The goal of this project was to provide a foundation for development of sperm repositories for goodeids and to use them as a model to assist conservation programs for imperiled freshwater live-bearing fishes. Development of such repositories is challenging because of unusual reproductive characteristics of live-bearing fishes, such as sperm bundles, internal fertilization, and the bearing of live young. Standardized methods were established to evaluate quality-related attributes of sperm bundles. The different features between activation of free and bundled sperm were investigated and …

Beyond Replicative Technology: The Digital Practices Of Students With Literacy-Related Learning Difficulties Engaged In Productive Technologies, Aimee Frier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I present the findings from a qualitative case study of the digital literacy integration of a teacher and the digital literacy practices of three students with literacy-related learning difficulties within her classroom. As a researcher, I was interested in the ways students with literacy- related learning difficulties navigated digital tools in a technology-infused environment created by a teacher who has experience using digital tools for instructional and student-learning purposes. My research was guided by the following questions: (1) What was the context, content, and structure of the teacher’s technology instruction? (2) In what ways did the students …

Association Of Inferior Vena Cava Filter Placement For Venous Thromboembolic Disease And A Contraindication To Anticoagulation With 30-Day Mortality, Tyson E. Turner, Mohammed J. Saeed, Eric Novak, David L. Brown

Open Access Publications

Importance: Despite the absence of data from randomized clinical trials, professional societies recommend inferior vena cava (IVC) filters for patients with venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) and a contraindication to anticoagulation therapy. Prior observational studies of IVC filters have suggested a mortality benefit associated with IVC filter insertion but have often failed to adjust for immortal time bias, which is the time before IVC filter insertion, during which death can only occur in the control group.

Objective: To determine the association of IVC filter placement with 30-day mortality after adjustment for immortal time bias.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This comparative effectiveness, …

Comparison Of The Effect Of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate And Bioceramics Root Repair Material On Odontoblast Differentiation In Vitro, Saleh Ashkanani

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparative Genetic And Genomic Analysis Of The Novel Fusellovirus Sulfolobus Spindle-Shaped Virus 10, David Andrew Goodman

Dissertations and Theses

Viruses that infect thermophilic Archaea are unique in both their structure and genetic makeup. The lemon-shaped fuselloviruses - which infect members of the order Sulfolobales, growing optimally at 80º C and pH 3 - are some of the most ubiquitous and best studied viruses of the thermoacidophilic Archaea. They provide a malleable and useful genetic tool for probing into the functions of their host, as well as the host responses to infection. Nonetheless, much about these viruses remains to be learned to further understand their morphological, genetic, and life cycle characteristics.

In order to investigate these aspects of these …

A Unique Small-Scale Microclimatic Gradient In A Temperate Karst Harbours Exceptionally High Diversity Of Soil Collembola, Natália Raschmanová, Dana Miklisová, Ľubomír Kováč

International Journal of Speleology

The collapse doline of the Silická ľadnica Ice Cave, 351 m² in area, is a unique phenomenon, a steep microclimate gradient in a low-altitude temperate karst in the Western Carpathian Mts, Slovakia, with a remarkable temperature decrease from the edge of karst plateau towards the doline bottom, which harbours perennial ice deposits. Collembola communities were studied in detail at seven sites along the 117.5 m long gradient slope during 2005–2007. An exceptionally high species richness of soil Collembola was observed, 129 species, which is about 91% of the total species richness generated by Chao1/ACE estimator. Species richness positively correlated …

Evaluating A Metric To Predict The Academic And Clinical Success Of Master’S Students In Speech-Language Pathology, Joshua Troche, Jacqueline Towson

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Speech-Language Pathology is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. As such graduate programs have become inundated with applications to their programs in Speech-Language Pathology. Admissions committees often use GPA scores and GRE scores to determine the merit of an undergraduate student for acceptance into their graduate programs. This study examines a metric created to predict the success of graduate students in their academic and clinical work. It was determined that a metric that equally weighs GRE and GPA scores was not particularly predictive of graduate school success. Presented in this work is a new metric that …

Investigation Of Graduate Student Stress In Speech Language Pathology, Rochel Lieberman, Lesley Raisor-Becker, Carney Sotto, Erin Redle

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The purpose of this research was to investigate the average stress levels and types of stressors experienced by graduate students (GS) in speech-language pathology (SLP) programs and the academic supports GS perceived to be helpful. An online survey examining stress was administered to 238 GS in SLP. The average stress level, types of stressors, demographic characteristics of participants related to their stress response, and reported academic program supports were analyzed. Correlation coefficients were computed to determine the relationship between reported stress, demographic variables, and program characteristics. Moderate and high levels of stress were reported by 96% of SLP GS as …

Risk Management Practices At University Clinics In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Dorothy Neave-Ditoro, Donald A. Vogel, Susan E. Wortsman, Paul W. Cascella

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

This study surveyed university clinic directors of audiology and speech-language pathology programs throughout the United States, and identified the content and risk management (RM) practices embedded into graduate curricula. One hundred and two (102) respondents provided information, via an electronic survey, about their campus and departmental RM practices. More than half of the programs reported embedding RM concepts into at least one graduate course yet only slightly above half of the programs assessed students’ RM knowledge. Pre-professional students were most often trained in protecting patient’s privacy and fire drills. Approximately one-third participated in university-wide programs, and 11 of the 102 …

Impact Of Virtual Simulation And Coaching On The Interpersonal Collaborative Communication Skills Of Speech-Language Pathology Students: A Pilot Study, Jacqueline A. Towson Ph.D., Ccc-Slp, Matthew S. Taylor Ph.D., Jennifer Tucker Pt, Dpt, Pcs, Claire Paul Ph.D., Bcba, Patrick Pabian Pt, Dpt, Scs, Ocs, Richard I. Zraick Ph.D., Ccc-Slp

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Communication between clinicians, teachers, and family members is a critical skill when addressing and providing for the individual needs of patients. However, graduate students in speech-language pathology (SLP) programs often have limited opportunities to practice these skills prior to or during externship placements. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of virtual-reality based rehearsal with coaching on the interpersonal collaborative communication skills of SLP graduate students when delivering information regarding a singular patient to different stakeholders. Three graduate students completing their third semester in a SLP program participated in the study. Each participant was provided a clinical …

Predicting Graduate School Success In A Speech-Language Pathology Program, Larry Boles

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Graduate programs in speech-language pathology continue to experience high volumes of applicants seeking admission. There appear to be as many configurations of admission criteria as there are graduate programs. Yet, what evidence do we have for these criteria making a difference in graduate student outcome? Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, undergraduate grade point average (GPA), prerequisite GPA, letters of recommendation, and letters of intent are valued differently by programs. These variables were investigated for their value in predicting successful graduate school outcome in a program of speech-language pathology. Three measures proved predictive: the verbal portion of the GRE, the quantitative …

Military Life, Intersectionality, And Deployment: The Social Experiences And Difficulties Of Mothers Who Stay Behind, Roberto Cancio Jr

Open Access Dissertations

Studies on the military family are important because it sheds light on the phenomenon of the family, it offers a unique insight into the largest single government employer in the nation, and issues addressed surrounding it can have important implications for the further development of both health and military policy. Prior research on families has consistently found that social relationships, especially close personal relationships, like marriage, have important health consequences. For that reason, understanding the impact of military life on spouses is of great importance. However, most studies have examined spouses individually, rather than concurrently as families. Empirical research has …

Roger Williams University Remembers President Donald J. Farish, Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

Featured News Story

Farish, who died July 5, became president of RWU in 2011 with a focus to “build the university the world needs now”.

A Novel Hplc Method For Determination Of Phenytoin In Human Plasma, Jesse Flores, Sheril Alexander, Mariana Babayeva

Touro College of Pharmacy (New York) Publications and Research

Aim: Aim of this research was to develop and validate a simple, efficient and reproducible high performance liquid chromatography method to measure phenytoin concentrations in human plasma

Study Design: Linearity, selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision of the analytical methods were validated according to ICH guidelines.

Methodology: The method employed a Phenomenex C18 column kept at 25ºC. The mobile phase consisted of a 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer solution (pH 2.8) and methanol in a ratio of 60:40, respectively. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.7 mL/min. Phenytoin was detected at a wavelength of 250 …

Histone Methylation By Setd1a Protects Nascent Dna Through The Nucleosome Chaperone Activity Of Fancd2, Martin R. Higgs, Koichi Sato, John J. Reynolds, Shabana Begum, Rachel Bayley, Amalia Goula, Audrey Vernet, Karissa L. Paquin, David G. Skalnik, Wataru Kobayashi, Minoru Takata, Niall G. Howlett, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, Hiroshi Kimura, Grant S. Stewart

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Components of the Fanconi anemia and homologous recombination pathways play a vital role in protecting newly replicated DNA from uncontrolled nucleolytic degradation, safeguarding genome stability. Here we report that histone methylation by the lysine methyltransferase SETD1A is crucial for protecting stalled replication forks from deleterious resection. Depletion of SETD1A sensitizes cells to replication stress and leads to uncontrolled DNA2-dependent resection of damaged replication forks. The ability of SETD1A to prevent degradation of these structures is mediated by its ability to catalyze methylation on Lys4 of histone H3 (H3K4) at replication forks, which enhances FANCD2-dependent histone chaperone activity. Suppressing H3K4 methylation …

We Are...Marshall, July 5, 2018, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.

Mainland Southeast Asia In The Longue Durée: A Zooarchaeological Test Of The "Broad Spectrum Revolution" In Northern Thailand, Cyler Norman Conrad

Anthropology ETDs

In northern Thailand, previous zooarchaeological research suggests that hunter-gatherers consumed a broad diversity of animal resources during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and afterwards (Gorman 1971a). This is a pattern characteristic of Kent Flannery’s (1969) “broad spectrum revolution” hypothesis. Based primarily on presence and absence evidence, faunal assemblages in northern Thailand typically include species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and shellfish, suggesting that prehistoric foragers consumed a wide range of taxa within this mainland Southeast Asian tropical environment. Although zooarchaeological analyses commonly identify this pattern within prehistoric cave and rockshelter sites, past investigations have 1) not attempted to formally test Flannery’s hypothesis, …

Barriers To Dietary Salt Reduction Among Hypertensive Patients, Saruna Ghimire, Naveen Shrestha, Karen E. Callahan

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background: Despite knowing the ill consequences of high salt intake, many hypertensive patients in Nepal continue to consume high levels of salt in their diet. Hence, this study aims to reveal the barriers to dietary salt reduction among hypertensive patients in Nepal. Methods: A barrier analysis was conducted in the outpatient department of Sahid Gangalal National Heart Center, Nepal among 180 hypertensive patients under physician advice to reduce salt in their diet. A logistic regression modeling was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the barriers...(See full text for complete abstract)

Design Of A Professional Development Framework In Teaching And Learning For Engineering Educators, Orla Mcconnell Ms, Cormac H. Macmahon, Jen Harvey Dr

Conference Papers

Ireland’s National Professional Development Framework for Those who Teach in Higher Education, aims to provide guidance and leadership in the planning, developing and engaging in professional development practices. A series of pilot projects have been initiated to help explore the framework’s likely utility and acceptance by educators and their institutions. These projects require engagement with staff in the interpretation and adaption of the framework within their working contexts. The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of one such project with engineering educators at three Institutes of Technology seeking designation as a technological university. The initiative aims to …

Alcohol, Self-Regulation, And Partner Physical Aggression: Actor-Partner Effects Over A Three Year Time Frame, Brian M. Quigley, Ash Levitt, Jaye L. Derrick, Maria Testa, Rebecca J. Houston, Kenneth E. Leonard

Articles

The question of how individual differences related to self-regulation interact with alcohol use patterns to predict intimate partner aggression (IPA) is examined. We hypothesized that excessive drinking will be related to partner aggression among those who have low self-regulation. In addition, we explored the extent to which differences in self-regulation in one partner may moderate the relationship between alcohol use and partner aggression. A sample of married or cohabitating community couples (N = 280) ages 18–45 was recruited according to their classification into four drinking groups: heavy drinking in both partners (n = 79), husband only (n = 80), wife …

Differential Well-Being In Response To Incivility And Surface Acting Among Nurses As A Function Of Race, Lauren Sarah Park

Dissertations and Theses

Demand for healthcare services is rising dramatically as the proportion of older adults in the United States increases, and the success of these healthcare organizations depends on cooperation among patients, doctors, and nurses. These interpersonal interactions come with costs associated with managing one's emotions in ways that are in line with completing job tasks effectively, especially as past research has demonstrated that nurses are likely to experience and respond to incivility, and nurses of minority backgrounds even moreso. This study examines the effect of experiencing incivility on engaging in surface acting, or simulating emotions that are not actually felt; how …

A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Use And Effectiveness Of The Individual Development Plan Among Doctoral Students, Nathan L. Vanderford, Teresa M. Evans, L. Todd Weiss, Lindsay Bira, Jazmin Beltran-Gastelum

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Background: The Individual Development Plan (IDP) was introduced as a tool to aid in career planning for doctoral trainees. Despite the National Institutes of Health and academic institutions creating policies that mandate the use of IDPs, little information exists regarding the use and effectiveness of the career planning tool.
Methods: We conducted a multi-institutional, online survey to measure IDP use and effectiveness. The survey was distributed to potential respondents via social media and direct email. IDP survey questions were formatted using a five-point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree). For data analysis purposes, responses were grouped …

High-Density Lipoprotein Inhibits Serum Amyloid A-Mediated Reactive Oxygen Species Generation And Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation, Preetha Shridas, Maria C. De Beer, Nancy R. Webb

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a high-density apolipoprotein whose plasma levels can increase more than 1000-fold during a severe acute-phase inflammatory response and are more modestly elevated in chronic inflammation. SAA is thought to play important roles in innate immunity, but its biological activities have not been completely delineated. We previously reported that SAA deficiency protects mice from developing abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) induced by chronic angiotensin II (AngII) infusion. Here, we report that SAA is required for AngII-induced increases in interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a potent proinflammatory cytokine that is tightly controlled by the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and …

Transcriptomics Of Learning, Pablo Iturralde

Theses

Learning is a basic and important component of behavior yet we have very little empirical information about the interaction between mechanisms of learning and evolution. In our work, we are testing hypotheses about the neurogenetic mechanisms through which animal learning abilities evolve. We are able to test this directly by using experimentally evolved populations of flies, which differ in learning ability. These populations were previously evolved within the lab by creating worlds with different patterns of change following theoretically predicted effects on which enhanced learning will evolve. How has evolution acted to modulate genes and gene expression in the brain …

Teaching Computational Thinking And Coding Education Basics To Early Childhood Educators, Enoch Hunsaker

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

The purpose of this project was to design and develop training, assessment, and credentials to help inservice and preservice teachers connected to Brigham Young University (BYU) to become competent in teaching computational thinking (CT) and coding in their classrooms. In accordance with the needs and desires of the stakeholders, the assessments for the project took the form of open badges, and the training consisted of corresponding tutorials to assist individuals earning those badges. The badges, tutorials, and some related resources were compiled onto the Tech with Kids website (https://iptedtec.wixsite.com/techwithkids) to make them accessible for all target learners.

Project Pan: Relationship Between Physical Health, Psychiatric Correlates, And Engagement In Non-Suicidal Self-Injury, Alexander Jaffe

Theses and Dissertations

Background: As evidenced by the literature, there is an abundance of research on undergraduate students and mental health. One reason for this is due to the collegiate environment, which has previously been found to increase students' stress levels. When undergraduate students experience these increased levels of stress, they cope with the stress in different ways. Non-Suicidal self-injury (NSSI), one way in which students negatively cope, is an intentional act of harming oneself without suicidal intent. Cutting, burning, hitting oneself, and severe scratching are common ways that individuals self-injure. The Experiential Avoidance Model of Deliberate Self-Harm explains that non-suicidal self-injury …

Law School News: Rwu Law Remembers President Donald J. Farish 07-05-2018, Ed Fitzpatrick, Michael Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.