Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Maternal Nutrition And Genetic Background On Myogenic And Adipogenic Development In Skeletal Muscle Of Angus And Brahman Cattle Offspring, Racheal L. Lemire

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine breed specific effects of nutritional insults during gestation on regulation of muscle and adipose tissue growth in beef cattle offspring during fetal and early postnatal development. Angus and Brahman heifers were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 dietary treatments consisting of 100% or 60% based on net energy requirements for gestating heifers. Nutritional treatments were imposed from day 50 to 180 of gestation. Fetuses harvested at 180 days of gestation had smaller frames and spared critical organs. Gene expression in several fetal tissues indicated potential for compensatory growth. Postnatally, Brahman offspring weighed …

Bridging The Gap: The Collaboration Of Mental Health Services And The Juvenile Justice System, Gregory Medley

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Abstract

This paper explore the mental health needs of juveniles in the juvenile justice system. The need for mental health services in detention centers has been identified consistently throughout the United States. It is clearly noted in research that meeting the needs of youth in local community detentions centers are inadequate. With 65% to 70% of youth in contact with juvenile justice system having a diagnosable mental health disorder; over 60% of youth with a mental health disorder also having a substance abuse disorder (Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Collaborative for Change, 2015). As a result, I have created a …

Quantification Of Neuronal Specific Responses To Depletion Of The Nascent Polypeptide-Associated Complex In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Harrison Hall

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Cells experiencing misfolded protein stress can become debilitated and die, consistent with this stress being linked to numerous diseases. When misfolded proteins accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the unfolded protein response (UPR) initiates mechanisms that resolve this stress or trigger apoptosis, dependent on the severity and/or duration of the stress. The nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) is a heterodimeric chaperone that mediates proper protein folding and localization during translation; depletion of the NAC promotes misfolded protein stress in the ER, resulting in the initiation of the UPR in affected cells. The relationship between the NAC and the UPR is not …

Finite Element Analysis Of The Mechanisms Of Impact Mitigation Inherent To The North American Bison (Bison Bison) Skull, Andrea Karen Persons

Theses and Dissertations

North American bison (Bovidae: Bison bison) incur blunt impacts to the interparietal and frontal bones when they engage in head-to-head fights. To investigate the impact mitigation of these bones, a finite element analysis of the skull under loading conditions was performed. Based on anatomical and histological studies, the interparietal and frontal bones are both comprised of a combination of haversian and plexiform bone, and are both underlain by bony septa. Additionally, the interparietal bone is thicker than the frontal. Data regarding the mechanical properties of bison bone are scarce, but the results of a phylogenetic analysis infer that the material …

Engineering Pathological Microenvironments For Cardiovascular Disease Studies, Ojaswee Adhikari

Theses and Dissertations

Food insecurity is a growing issue in the United States. Iron deficiency is the most common form of nutritional deficiency in patients with endothelial dysfunction and vascular-related diseases. This preliminary study lays the groundwork for the “Nutrient deficiency-on-a-chip” model. Endothelial cells are cultured on mechanically tunable, enzymatically cross-linked gelatin and treated with deferoxamine, an iron chelator, or angiotensin II were used to simulate a nutrient deficient and diseased environment, respectively. As oxidative stress and disturbed barrier function are the most prevailing mechanism of angiotensin II and iron deficiency induced endothelial dysfunction, to test our model we investigated the changes in …

Redefining Trauma: Utilizing Restorative Justice To Repair Care Systems, Emebet Aklilu

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project examined the ways in which restorative justice programming can improve trauma informed care among the African American population in Oakland, CA. With 23% of African American men and women living at or below the poverty line in the United States, this project assesses gaps in current trauma informed care practices as evident in the literature. Following a rigorous document review the author coded and organized key programming components following six factors detailed by Rowher, Schoones, and Young (2014). Further examination of these program components was conducted using Bloom’s taxonomy levels to assess program outcomes associated with specific modules …

A Focus Group Exploration: Looking Into The Female Veteran Service Experience, Raelisa Santiago

Master's Projects and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to analyze focus group data from the 2017 Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) summit. Qualitative analysis focused on the barriers women veterans face with mental health issues from their service experience, with the goal to help better understand how to direct advocacy efforts for the population while identifying recommendations for process improvement.

Methods: Four focus groups with female service members were conducted. Group 1 consisted of Currently Serving (active duty and reserve) female service members; Group 2 consisted of women veterans 44 and under ; Group 3 comprised women veterans 45 and …

A Second Language Task Based Learning Experience For Children, Sofia L. Alfieri

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study was designed to investigate the implementation phase of a Task Based Learning approach for teaching English as a Second Language to an intact sample of 25 children, six to seven years of age and whose first language in Asuncion, Paraguay was Spanish. Most of the theory behind Task Based Learning (TBL) was accomplished with adolescents and adults. The present researcher found that many of the tasks researched were either not developmentally appropriate or likely needed significant adaptations. Therefore, tasks were developed and adapted to be likely appropriate for children 6 to7 years of age. Findings revealed that adaptations …

Maternal Immunity: Preimplantation Preparation And Spatial Distribution Of Ccl19, Ashleigh Elbert

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Maternal Immunity: Preimplantation preparation and the role of CCL19

An Abstract of the thesis by

Ashleigh R. Elbert

The maternal uterus in mammals undergoes extensive remodeling in preparation for implantation of the semi-allogenic embryo. Activation of the T cell homing receptor, CCR7, regulates multiple aspects of adaptive immunity. Genetic deletion of CCR7 reduces T regulatory (T Reg) cell migration into mouse uteri and decreases embryo implantation. CCL19 and CCL21 are the sole ligands for CCR7. It is hypothesized that CCL19 expression could attract T reg cells into the pre-implantation uterus and provide local immune suppression prior to implantation. Sprague Dawley …

Mandatory Busing And Desegregation: Wichita, 1954 – 1999, Pilar Pedraza-Bailey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Wichita opened its first officially integrated school in 1954. Yet, by 1965, approximately 85% of schools in Wichita were predominantly white. After a 1966 complaint to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and a protracted legal battle, a federal administrative judge ordered the district to come up with a plan for integration or lose federal funding in 1971. The resulting mandatory busing plan remained in effect in Wichita for more than 40 years. Yet, in 2016, nine years after the official end of mandatory busing in Wichita, 25% of the city’s schools had already returned to what the …

Equivalence-Based Instruction To Teach Single-Subject Designs In Higher Education, Griffin Decuir Williams

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

With the increasing prevalence of online courses and instruction, advanced methods to teach technical concepts for students in higher education are of value. Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) is an effective, efficient, and empirically validated teaching methodology. This study developed a match-to-sample EBI protocol embedded in CANVAS to teach four common single-subject designs to graduate students. Results were compared between an equivalence group receiving a reduced-intensity EBI protocol and a group receiving a traditional video lecture to serve as the control. The ability of the participants to generalize the trained relations to novel stimuli was also evaluated. Results indicate that the EBI …

Evaluating Effects Of Southern Yellow Pine Biochar And Wood Vinegar On Poultry Litter, Maryam Mohammadi-Aragh

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to investigate nutrient retention, intI1 prevalence, and compost maturity rates for poultry litter co-composted with 5, 10, and 20% southern yellow pine biochar and with or without 2% wood vinegar (WV). Samples were collected at 0, 57, and 112 days to measure nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, K) concentrations, microbial counts, pH, moisture content, carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio, and intI1 abundance. Composts were aerated once a week and the temperature was also recorded once a week. There was sufficient rainfall so no additional water was added. The results showed that N and …

3d Shape Deformation Simulation Algorithm Based On Haptics, Binbin Qi, Xuefang Zhu, Lipeng Fan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Shape deformation is widely used in virtual reality, system simulation, computer animation and other graphics applications. Few people pay attention to introducing haptic interaction into 3D model deformation. We provide a haptic interactive framework by introducing haptic interaction into shape editing field. Based on the above haptic interactive framework, we propose a 3D model deformation simulation algorithm based on haptics. In order to realize the shape deformation, this algorithm needs to involve three parts: grid hierarchical structure, local mass-spring model and the dynamic shape deformation. Experimental results show that this algorithm has good stability and strong robustness, and the …

Ny State Marijuana Law Clears The Records Of Thousands, But Will It Help Immigrants?, Jaime Longoria, Harsha Nahata

Capstones

In July 2019, Governor Cuomo signed legislation that would clear criminal records for over 200,000 people with marijuana related convictions and reduce punishment for possession. But, there’s one group of New Yorkers who are left out — and that’s immigrants. With over 4 million immigrants in New York State, the lives of those with prior marijuana convictions are still in limbo. Harsha Nahata and Jaime Longoria spoke with immigrants and advocates to find out why. The full story can be found here: https://jaimelongoria.github.io/nys-marijuana-law/

Signaling Mechanisms And Genetic Regulation Of Follicle Cell Maturation And Ovulatory Competence In Drosophila, Elizabeth M. Knapp

Doctoral Dissertations

Female fertility is essential for reproduction, and within the ovary requires the proper development of a competent preovulatory follicle and subsequent ovulation. Follicle development into ovulatory competency is intricately orchestrated through successions of temporally coordinated signaling networks within the somatic follicle cells. However, there still remains a lack of understanding of the genetic regulation of this process. The objective of this dissertation is to characterize this process of follicle maturation and ovulatory competency in Drosophila to establish its utility as a model system to study folliculogenesis and ovulation. How follicle cells develop in the final stages leading up to ovulation …

A Survey Of Single-Use Plastic Foodware Ordinances Of The San Francisco Bay Region, Christopher Slafter

Master's Projects and Capstones

Municipal jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Region (SFBR) are passing comprehensive single-use plastic (SUP) foodware ordinances in response to growing public pressure, and a California mandate to achieve zero waste. SUP foodware items have become an issue of concern because they are readily available in the restaurant industry, and are regularly among the top-ten pollutants collected during beach cleanups. SUP foodware items pose a danger to marine wildlife and contribute to rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Policy makers in the SFBR are creating local ordinances that regulate the distribution and use of a variety of SUP foodware …

Promesa, Puerto Rico’S Recipe For Disaster, Cristina M. Corujo Oruña

Capstones

PROMESA was signed with the purpose of helping the island’s economy recover from its crippling indebtedness. But three years later, the law has caused financial and social instability. Although, PROMESA grants Puerto Rico the right to file for bankruptcy, the effects of the law are worsening the island’s situation. Austerity measures, high costs, migration and a deeper economic recession are drowning the island.

Link to Capstone: https://medium.com/@cristina.oruna/promesa-puerto-ricos-recipe-for-disaster-1eadde7b6719

Wanda And Me: The Continuous Rise Of Puerto Rico's Greatest Pyramid Schemer, Natalia Rodriguez Medina

Capstones

Wanda Rolón is Puerto Rico's most prolific pastor. Her megachurch seats more than 4,000 people. She has ties to the government. She owns several radio and TV stations, and has reached millions. Follow the reporter as she visits Rolón's church, and discovers Wanda's modus operandi, and a bit of herself in this longform narrative.

https://medium.com/@nataliarodrguezmedina/wanda-and-me-the-continuous-rise-of-puerto-ricos-greatest-pyramid-schemer-f2d4ab9e8b5c

The Best Management Practices For Addressing Human-Caused Riparian And Wetland Degradation, Aldo Lopez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Riparian and wetland ecosystems accomplish a variety of significant ecological purposes, especially in the State of California where a majority of these ecosystems have been removed, degraded, or altered due to human interferences. A large portion of this interference comes from a strong agricultural presence throughout the state. In order to combat further ecological loss, private and public entities have begun strong restorative and managerial efforts. This project reviews the effects of agriculture in riparian and wetland areas, and what are the best management practices focusing on the Santa Clara River Watershed and the Elkhorn Slough found in Monterey Bay. …

Rehabilitation Training System Of Vr-Based Speech Apraxia, Huanhuan Jiao, Zhigeng Pan, Shuchang Xu, Qingshu Yuan

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Aiming at the problem that the enthusiasm of active training in patients with traditional speech apraxia rehabilitation is gradually weakened, a virtual reality-based rehabilitation training system for speech apraxia is designed. The system simulates the 26 monosyllabic pronunciation mouths shapes made by virtual human in Chinese and uses it for the learning module. It is proposed to identify 26 monosyllabic words by using the isolated word speech recognition algorithm, which improves the accuracy of speech recognition. The system includes a training module and a scene module for assisting the patient's pronunciation rehabilitation training. The evaluation results show that …

The Rockaway Project - Townes, Diara Jepris D. Townes

Capstones

The Rockaway Project is a story-driven website that provides information on the government response to Superstorm Sandy recovery on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, New York. Dozens of climate resiliency projects have been delayed or remain unfinished, despite millions of dollars in funding and six years of promises. The website hosts audio, visual and digital content, gathered through interviews and data collection.

Link to capstone project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAq2BeR4bS0&t=1s

Multiple Mitochondrial Thioesterases Have Distinct Tissue And Substrate Specificity And Coa Regulation, Suggesting Unique Functional Roles., Carmen Bekeova, Lauren Anderson-Pullinger, Kevin Boye, Felix Boos, Yana Sharpadskaya, Johannes M Herrmann, Erin L. Seifert

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Acyl-CoA thioesterases (Acots) hydrolyze fatty acyl-CoA esters. Acots in the mitochondrial matrix are poised to mitigate β-oxidation overload and maintain CoA availability. Several Acots associate with mitochondria, but whether they all localize to the matrix, are redundant, or have different roles is unresolved. Here, we compared the suborganellar localization, activity, expression, and regulation among mitochondrial Acots (Acot2, -7, -9, and -13) in mitochondria from multiple mouse tissues and from a model of Acot2 depletion. Acot7, -9, and -13 localized to the matrix, joining Acot2 that was previously shown to localize there. Mitochondria from heart, skeletal muscle, brown adipose tissue, and …

Art-Based Health Education For Homeless And Marginally Housed Women In San Francisco, Trineca R-N Godfrey

Master's Projects and Capstones

San Francisco currently has the highest rate of unsheltered homeless persons in the United States. Between limited resources and stigma many women included in this most vulnerable population are left with little to no support. Cis women as well as trans and non- binary people are at high risk for negative mental health outcomes due to violence (physical and psychological), stigma, lack of social support, societal marginalization, and the lack of healthcare. Lyon-Martin Health Services and the Women’s Community Clinic, in San Francisco’s Mission Neighborhood, caters to this community through its Outreach Department. Following a staff and outreach client needs …

The Museum Of The Infinite Scroll: Assessing The Effectiveness Of Google Arts And Culture As A Virtual Tool For Museum Accessibility, Megan K. Udell

Master's Projects and Capstones

As technology evolves, the concept of the virtual museum continues to come into focus. Google Arts and Culture (formerly the Google Art Project) has been a leading platform in virtual exhibitions and digital collections since 2011. Arts and Culture presents itself as a democratic platform that allows any museum, regardless of size or resources, access to the same new digital technologies. However, its model tends to favor institutions with more staff time to spend on their virtual presence. By analyzing Google Arts and Culture within the context of larger museum trends in virtuality and interviewing museum professionals responsible for their …

Characterization Of Fatty Acid Composition Of Bull Sperm With Varied Cryotolerance, Holly Evans

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to determine fatty acid composition and acrosome status from bull sperm with different freezabilities (n = 12). We hypothesized that lipid fractions had differentiated fatty acid compositions and such differences influence sperm freezability and the sperm acrosome. Fatty acids were extracted from fresh frozen sperm and fractionated by solid-phase extraction. Thirtyour fatty acids were quantified. Saturated fatty acids were predominant, accounting for 71 to 80% of fatty acids in both fractions. Differences in composition between fractions existed (P < 0.001). Branched chain fatty acid concentrations (15 to 18 µg) were almost twice that of polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations found in the polar fractions (8 to 9 µg; P < 0.001). Sperm with differentiated freezabilities had few differences in 22:0, 18:1 cis 9, and 14:0 13-methyl fatty acids (P ≤ 0.011). Analyses of acrosome status of sperm revealed that acrosomes were affected differently among bulls.

Effects Of The In Ovo Injection Of Vitamin D3 Sources On The Hatchability, Performance, Breast Meat Yield, Small Intestine Morphology, And Immunity Of Ross 708 Broilers Subjected To Dietary Insufficiency And Pathogenic Agents, Seyed Abolghasem Fatemi

Theses and Dissertations

Effects of varying dosages (0.6 to 4.8 μg/egg) of vitamin D3 (D3) and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD3), administrated by in ovo (amniotic) injection, on various embryonic and post-hatch physiological variables in Ross 708 broilers were investigated. The in ovo injection of 1.2 to 4.8 μg of both D3 and 25OHD3 increased serum 25OHD3 concentrations in broiler embryos in comparison to non-injected and diluent-injected control groups. Furthermore, the effects of 2.4 μg of D3 and 25OHD3 alone and in combination on the performance, meat yield and quality, small intestine morphology, and immunity of the broilers fed a diet restricted in calcium and phosphorous …

Development And Evaluation Of An Automated System To Deliver A Live-Attenuated Edwardsiella Ictaluri Vaccine In Commercial Catfish Production Systems, John Wesley Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

Catfish aquaculture is the largest cultured food fish industry in the United States, accounting for approximately $375 million in sales annually, with Mississippi leading the industry with 36,200 surface acres of production. However, infectious diseases such as enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) are decreasing production efficiencies, creating losses of $40-60 million annually. Live-attenuated oral ESC vaccines are effective in preventing ESC infections, but have not been widely adopted by the catfish industry due to the lack of a system to administer the oral vaccine at the scale seen in commercial catfish production systems. An automated system was developed to administer …

Effect Of Pro- And Prebiotics On The Apparent Digestibility Of Nutrients And Identification Of Fecal Bacterial Isolatew In The Sedentary And Exercising Horse, Courtney Heaton

Theses and Dissertations

The primary objectives of the following experiments were to: 1) determine the impact of a directed microbial (DFM) blend on digestibility and microbial populations on horses fed low (LQ) and high (HQ) quality hay, 2) evaluate the differences in diet digestibility, microbial populations, and blood metabolites due to DFM supplementation to the exercising horse, 3) assess the impact of short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) supplementation on digestibility and the fecal microbial ecosystem in senior (SR) vs. mature (MA) horses, and 4) determine the relationship between insulin dysregulation (ID) and morphometric neck measurements (MNM) in the non-obese stock-type horse. Results indicated that: 1) …

Analysis Of Open Test Section Flow In A Closed Return Wind Tunnel, Salma Mfaddel

Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi State University has a subsonic closed return wind tunnel facility with an open test section configuration. This research analyzes the test section flow quality using a numerical approach and explain how the diffuser's collector suppresses unsteadiness. Previous experiment assessed the flow quality at the wind tunnel without the collector, and velocity was measured using a pitot-static probe and hot wire. The results show a numerical comparison between the two configurations, with and without the collector, understand the effect of the diffuser 's collector on steadiness and uniformity. This paper will describe the wind tunnel facility and give further details …

Evaluation Of Health, Production Parameters, Time To First Detected Estrus, And Behavior In Dairy Cows Treated With Pegbovigrastim, Mauricio Xavier Da Silva Oliveira

Theses and Dissertations

Pegbovigrastim injection (IMR) represents a new approach in overcoming mastitis. The objective of this study was to evaluate production parameters, overall health, time to first detected heat, and behavior of cows treated with IMR or a saline control. Study cows (n = 270) were blocked by parity group (multiparous or primiparous) and randomly assigned to control (CON, n = 144) or treatment (IMR, n = 126). Milk yield, fat, protein, lactose, solids nonfat percent, somatic cell count, and body condition, hygiene, and lameness were evaluated weekly. Animals were evaluated for metritis twice weekly via evaluation of rectal temperature, per rectum …