Digital Commons Network^™

The Importance Of Aquatic Insect-Derived Missouri River, Katy A. Mccarthy

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Multifunctional Landscapes Along The Missouri National Recreational River, Ann Mcgehrin

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.

Searching For Spellcheckers: What Kids Want, What Kids Need, Brody Downs, Tyler French, Katherine Landau Wright, Maria Soledad Pera, Casey Kennington, Jerry Alan Fails

Literacy, Language and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Misspellings in queries used to initiate online searches is an everyday occurrence. When this happens, users either rely on the search engine’s ability to understand their query or they turn to spellcheckers. Spellcheckers are usually based on popular dictionaries or past query logs, leading to spelling suggestions that often better resonate with adult users because that data is more readily available. Based on an educational perspective, previous research reports, and initial analyses of sample search logs, we hypothesize that existing spellcheckers are not suitable for young users who frequently encounter spelling challenges when searching for information online. We present early …

Developing New Models And Treatments For Mitochondrial Dna Depletion Syndrome, Tucker Jordan Williamson

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondria are critical for energy production and cell signaling, possessing their own DNA (mtDNA) which encodes essential proteins for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Lack of mtDNA stability, i.e. diminished mtDNA quality and quantity, is implicated in many diverse diseases and are encompassed under the term mtDNA depletion syndrome (MDS). Two major disease loci are OPA1 and POLG. OPA1 is needed for mitochondrial quality control and mtDNA stability, and POLG is the sole replicative DNA polymerase for mtDNA replication and repair. Current models for pathologies resulting from mutations at these loci do not capture the wholebody aspect of mutations nor the early …

Effects Of Naltrexone On Alcohol And Nicotine Use In Female P Rats, Usman Z. Hamid, Sarah E. Maggio, Meredith A. Saunders, Kimberly Nixon, Mark A. Prendergast, Richard L. Bell, Michael T. Bardo

Posters-at-the-Capitol Presentations

The objective of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of the opioid antagonist naltrexone at reducing the consumption of EtOH and nicotine in female alcohol-preferring (P) rats. P rats have been selectively bred to have a genetic predisposition for alcohol abuse, which allows them to be used as an animal model of alcoholism. P rats readily self-administer i.v nicotine (Le et al., 2016), have EtOH consumption during adolescence that is similar to that seen in adulthood, and operantly respond for EtOH until they are impaired/intoxicated (Bell et al., 2006). Thus, P rats are a useful model for studying …

Using An Implantable Microchip For Measuring Body Temperature In Dairy Calves, Megan Woodrum, Melissa Cantor, Joao H. C. Costa

Posters-at-the-Capitol Presentations

Body temperature is frequently used as a method for determining if illness is present with fever detection. Taking rectal temperature or alternatively tympanic temperature can be time consuming and requires restraint of calves. Alternatives, such as implantable microchips that can be passively read using a radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner may allow for easier monitoring of body temperature.

This study aim was to validate an implantable microchip and to determine the best implant site.

A Hierarchical Bayesian Approach For Handling Missing Classification Data, Alison C. Ketz, Therese L. Johnson, Mevin B. Hooten, N. Thompson Hobbs

United States National Park Service: Publications

1. Ecologists use classifications of individuals in categories to understand composition of populations and communities. These categories might be defined by demo- graphics, functional traits, or species. Assignment of categories is often imperfect, but frequently treated as observations without error. When individuals are observed but not classified, these “partial” observations must be modified to include the missing data mechanism to avoid spurious inference.

2. We developed two hierarchical Bayesian models to overcome the assumption of perfect assignment to mutually exclusive categories in the multinomial distribu- tion of categorical counts, when classifications are missing. These models incorporate auxiliary information to adjust the posterior …

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Alterations Of Acoustic Features Of 50 Khz Vocalizations By Nicotine And Phencyclidine In Rats, Natashia Swalve, Michele M Mulholland, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Ultrasonic vocalizations are widely used to examine affective states in rats, yet relatively few studies explore the acoustic features of vocalizations, especially in relation to drug exposure, and no studies have explored alterations in acoustic features over time. The goal of this study was to examine nicotine- and phencyclidine-induced alterations of bandwidth, duration, and frequency of 50 kHz vocalizations. The minimum and maximum frequency, bandwidth, and duration of calls were examined after 7 days of daily subcutaneous administration of phencyclidine (2.0 mg/kg) and nicotine (0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Bandwidth was significantly decreased in rats treated with …

Evaluating Microbial Water Quality And Potential Sources Of Fecal Contamination In The Musconetcong River Watershed In New Jersey, U.S.A., Tsung Ta David Hsu, Lee H. Lee, Alessandra Rossi, Ayuni Yussof, Nancy Lawler, Meiyin Wu

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey Impaired Waters List or the 303(d) List due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. Hence, a Total Maximum Daily Load plan was established to address microbial water quality issues in the watershed. The objectives of this study were to assess the current status of microbial water quality and to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the Musconetcong River Watershed using microbial source tracking techniques. Fifteen …

Use Of Virtual Reality Technology In Medical Training And Patient Rehabilitation, Sankalp Mishra

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Coaching patients to follow the rehabilitation routines correctly and timely after surgery is often a challenge due to the limited medical knowledge of patients and limited availability of clinicians. Similarly, it is also a challenge to train medical professionals with both the technical and communication skills required in their practices. The recent emergence of VR technologies shines the light on improving the current training practices. In this thesis research, I will look at the development and application of VR-based immersive training games for two particular cases: 1. Post hand surgery rehab; and, 2. Training for Social determinants of health (SDOH) …

Effect Of Administration Of Somatostatin Analogue On Blood Pressure In Chronic Intermittent Hypoxic Rats, Kajal Kamra

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The cardiorespiratory system in our bodies does not adapt to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia (CIH) and consequently syndromes such as sleep apnea lead to pathophysiological conditions like Hypertension. It has been demonstrated that the peripheral chemoreceptors underpin the development of these conditions and at present, there are no selective drug therapies for this form of hypertension. However, evidence suggests that peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity to CO2 & hypoxia is reduced by Somatostatin (SST) in humans. Our preliminary in-vitro studies have demonstrated that SST will blunt the response of the carotid body to hypoxia and decrease the baseline activity of the carotid body. …

Mitochondria-Dependent Cellular Toxicity Of Α-Synuclein Modeled In Yeast, Rajalakshmi Santhanakrishnan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. This disease is caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, leading to debilitating motor symptoms and early mortality. The protein α-synuclein (α-syn), encoded by SNCA, misfolds and forms inclusions in Parkinson’s disease brains. When α-syn is overexpressed in yeast, it causes cellular toxicity and an increased number of aggregates, recapitulating the toxic phenotypes observed in humans and animal models. Yeast models are a powerful tool to perform high-throughput overexpression screening to identify modifiers of α-syn toxicity. α-syn causes mitochondrial dysfunction by inhibiting complex I and inducing mitochondrial fragmentation. Prior screening of …

Methods For Registering And Calibrating In Vivo Terahertz Images Of Cutaneous Burn Wounds, Priyamvada Tewari, James Garritano, Neha Bajwa, Shijun Sung, Haochong Huang, Dayong Wang, Warren Grundfest, Daniel B. Ennis, Dan Ruan, Elliott Brown, Erik Dutson, Michael C. Fishbein, Zachary Taylor

Physics Faculty Publications

A method to register THz and visible images of cutaneous burn wounds and to calibrate THz image data is presented. Images of partial and full thickness burn wounds in 9 rats were collected over 435 mins. = 7.25 hours following burn induction. A two-step process was developed to reference the unknown structure of THz imaging contrast to the known structure and the features present in visible images of the injury. This process enabled the demarcation of a wound center for each THz image, independent of THz contrast. Threshold based segmentation enabled the automated identification of air (0% reflectivity), brass (100% …

Author Instructions, Marine Ornithology

Marine Ornithology

No abstract provided.

Kiaa1549-Braf Expression Establishes A Permissive Tumor Microenvironment Through Nfκb-Mediated Ccl2 Production, Ran Chen, Chanel Keoni, Christopher A. Waker, Robert M. Lober, Robert M. Lober, Yihsien Chen, David H. Gutmann

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

KIAA1549-BRAF is the most frequently identified genetic mutation in sporadic pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), creating a fusion BRAF (f-BRAF) protein with increased BRAF activity. Fusion-BRAF-expressing neural stem cells (NSCs) exhibit increased cell growth and can generate glioma-like lesions following injection into the cerebella of naïve mice. Increased Iba1+ monocyte (microglia) infiltration is associated with murine f-BRAF-expressing NSC-induced glioma-like lesion formation, suggesting that f-BRAF-expressing NSCs attract microglia to establish a microenvironment supportive of tumorigenesis. Herein, we identify Ccl2 as the chemokine produced by f-BRAF-expressing NSCs, which is critical for creating a permissive stroma for gliomagenesis. In addition, f-BRAF regulation of Ccl2 production …

2018 Annual Report Of The Officers Of The Town Of Plymouth, N.H. Year Ending December 31, 2018, Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2018., Plymouth Town Representatives

Plymouth, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Board Of Pharmacy, Stephanie Mendivil, Bridget Fogarty Gramme

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Metaphors For A Change, Estelle R. Jorgensen, Iris M. Yob

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Two premises guide this paper: first, music education, like all educational enterprises, is shaped by its grounding metaphors which affect its aims, pedagogies, curriculum, and administration. Second, music education, like all educational endeavors, is increasingly encouraged to address issues of social justice and contribute in real ways to the benefit of the community through positive social change. In this conversation, the authors, each of whom have written about metaphors and social change, build on these two premises to explore ways of bringing together the two lines of inquiry in search of metaphors that would guide an education for social change. …

The Effect Of Perception Biases On Associated Value Of Stimuli, Jordan Broussard

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Negative and positive stimuli appear to have their own unique effects on mood, behavior, and even underlying perceptions. Previous experiments have shown that people have the tendency to focus more on negative stimuli than positive; this is referred to as the “negativity effect”. The present study examined this bias, as well as the level of truth that people associate with positive or negative stimuli. In this experiment, students were split into groups and given either a “positive” or “negative” news article to read. Then, they were presented with two scenarios consisting of professors providing either “negative” or “positive” feedback to …

Town Of Ashland 2018 Annual Town Report Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2018., Ashland Town Representatives

Ashland, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Annual Reports For The Town And School Of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire As Compiled By The Town Officers For The Year Ending December 31, 2018, As Compiled By The School Officers For The Year Ending June 30, 2019., Hampton Falls Town Representatives

Hampton Falls, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

De Novo Assembly Of The Brugia Malayi Genome Using Long Reads From A Single Minion Flowcell, Joseph R. Fauver, John Martin, Gary J. Weil, Makedonka Mitreva, Peter U. Fischer

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Filarial nematode infections cause a substantial global disease burden. Genomic studies of filarial worms can improve our understanding of their biology and epidemiology. However, genomic information from field isolates is limited and available reference genomes are often discontinuous. Single molecule sequencing technologies can reduce the cost of genome sequencing and long reads produced from these devices can improve the contiguity and completeness of genome assemblies. In addition, these new technologies can make generation and analysis of large numbers of field isolates feasible. In this study, we assessed the performance of the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION for sequencing and assembling the …

Global Regulation Of Corporate Conduct: Effective Pursuit Of A Slave-Free Supply Chain, Roza Pati

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Robot Criminals, Ying Hu

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

When a robot harms humans, are there any grounds for holding it criminally liable for its misconduct? Yes, provided that the robot is capable of making, acting on, and communicating the reasons behind its moral decisions. If such a robot fails to observe the minimum moral standards that society requires of it, labeling it as a criminal can effectively fulfill criminal law’s function of censuring wrongful conduct and alleviating the emotional harm that may be inflicted on human victims.

Imposing criminal liability on robots does not absolve robot manufacturers, trainers, or owners of their individual criminal liability. The former is …

Switching Employers In A Working World: American Immigrants And The Revocation Notice Problem, Julie Aust

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A current tension in U.S. employment immigration law involves the notice requirements for prospective permanent residency—”green card”—applicants. Foreign workers oftentimes do not receive their green cards for more than ten years after beginning the permanent residency process. For almost four decades after the first major employment immigration legislation was passed in 1965, green card applicants were unable to change employers during this extremely long process without abandoning their applications. In 2000, Congress sought to remedy the problem by passing legislation allowing foreign workers to change employers without sacrificing progress on their green cards. This legislation, however, created a massive gap …

The "Evergreening" Metaphor In Intellectual Property Scholarship, Erika Lietzan

Faculty Publications

This article is a plea for changes in the scholarly dialogue about "evergreening" by drug companies. Allegations that drug companies engage in "evergreening" are pervasive in legal scholarship, economic scholarship, medical and health policy scholarship, and policy writing, and they have prompted significant policymaking proposals. This Article was motivated by concern that the metaphor has not been fully explained and that policymaking in response might therefore be premature. It canvasses and assesses the scholarly literature-more than 300 articles discussing or mentioning "evergreening." It catalogues the definitions, the examples, and the empirical studies. Scholars use the term when describing certain actions …

Connecting With Computer Science: Electronic Textile Portfolios As Ideational Identity Resources For High School Students, Mia S. Shaw, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The development of student identities—their interests in computer science, perceptions of the discipline, and sense of belonging in the field—is critical for broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computing. This paper reports on the design of portfolios in which two classes of high school students reflected on the process of making electronic textile projects. We examine how students expressed self-authorship in relation to computer science and how the use of reflective portfolios shaped students’ perceptions of computer science. In the discussion we consider how reflective portfolios can serve as ideational resources for computer science identity construction.

Thoughts On Zaibert's Rethinking, Michael Cahill

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is Ghana Ready To Attain Sustainable Development Goal (Sdg) Number 7?—A Comprehensive Assessment Of Its Renewable Energy Potential And Pitfalls, Michael Acheampong, Qiuyan Yu, Funda C. Ertem, Lucy E.D. Enomah, Shakhawat H. Tanim, Michael Eduful, Mehrdad Vaziri, Erick Ananga

School of Geosciences Student Publications

Ghana has declared support for the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number seven which most importantly target ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. This target presents a formidable challenge to Ghana because the country still relies mainly on traditional biomass as its primary source of energy coupled with a chronically fragile hydropower sector. In this study, we assess Ghana’s potential in achieving sustainable goal number seven. Specifically, we comprehensively review the breakthroughs and impediments Ghana has experienced in its efforts towards improving its renewable energy potential. We note that while Ghana has made significant stride toward …

Urease Is An Essential Component Of The Acid Response Network Of Staphylococcus Aureus And Is Required For A Persistent Murine Kidney Infection, Chunyi Zhou, Fatema Bhinderwala, Mckenzie K. Lehman, Vinai C. Thomas, Sujata S. Chaudhari, Kelsey J. Yamada, Kirk W. Foster, Robert Powers, Tammy Kielian, Paul D. Fey

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Staphylococcus aureus causes acute and chronic infections resulting in significant morbidity. Urease, an enzyme that generates NH₃ and CO₂ from urea, is key to pH homeostasis in bacterial pathogens under acidic stress and nitrogen limitation. However, the function of urease in S. aureus niche colonization and nitrogen metabolism has not been extensively studied. We discovered that urease is essential for pH homeostasis and viability in urea-rich environments under weak acid stress. The regulation of urease transcription by CcpA, Agr, and CodY was identified in this study, implying a complex network that controls urease expression in response to changes …