Digital Commons Network^™

Tracking Residual-Yolk Energy In Dormant Hatchling Turtles, Tom Pham, Dr. Tim J. Muir, Samira Radi, Jacob Wyco

Celebration of Learning

Hatchling painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) spend their first winter inside natal nests without food and must rely on maternally derived energy in the form of residual yolk for up to nine months. In this study, we take a closer look at the use and movement of residual-yolk energy during the first 33 weeks (~8 mo.) after hatching by measuring changes in mass, lipid content, & protein content of yolk, liver, small intestine, and carcass. Our data showed a significant decrease in yolk mass by 64% and significant increases in carcass & liver masses of 9% & 16%, respectively, …

The Forgotten Victims Of Missing White Woman Syndrome: An Examination Of Legal Measures That Contribute To The Lack Of Search And Recovery Of Missing Black Girls And Women, Jada L. Moss

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The "Victim-Perpetrator" Dilemma: The Role Of State Safe Harbor Laws In Creating A Presumption Of Coercion For Human Trafficking Victims, Matthew Myatt

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Geospatial Recipe For Identifying Social Values And Fragmentation Issues Of The Friends Of The Dunes Land Trust, Buddhika Madurapperuma, Jess Barger, Melissa Collin, Christine Emerson, Sean Fleming, Brian Murphy

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

The beach and coastal sand dunes comprise a dynamic and fragile ecosystem that provides a bounty of ecological services. These lands provide protection from coastal erosion and sea level rise, and are home to a rich biodiversity of plant and animal species in addition to their recreational value. The Humboldt Coastal Nature Center and the surrounding coastal dunes (HCNC) are man-aged as a land trust by Friends of the Dunes (FOD). FOD prioritize the restoration of dune habitats and encourages public involvement through community supported education and stewardship programs, guided nature tours, and naturalist training programs. The faculty, students, and …

Full Journal

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) engages with a variety of important policy issues through linking social science data with spatial analysis and by demonstrating the importance of applied GIS in both the public and private sector. GIS, though commonly used in the realms of city planning and natural resource analysis, have a far broader range of applications ranging from analysis of ancient community interactions to modern social media data.

An Examination Of Student Performance In Pre-Requisite Coursework And Upper Division Nursing Coursework, Jennifer L. Brown, Cheryl M. Smith

Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety

Admission and retention of qualified nursing students are essential in meeting the demands of a rapidly changing health care environment and nursing shortage. The purpose of this exploratory correlational study was to determine the relationship between student performance in quantitative pre-requisite coursework and student performance in upper division nursing coursework in order to identify students at-risk for attrition. A series of descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted using pre-existing institutional data. A moderate relationship existed among the chemistry II and first-year upper division nursing courses (r = .21 to r = .40). These results suggest that prerequisite chemistry course …

Extending Objectification Theory: An Exploratory Model Of Body Appreciation Among Breast Cancer Survivors, Emaan Noor Lehardy

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to develop and empirically test an exploratory model that examines how objectification theory variables (i.e., internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, objectified self-surveillance) and positive body image variables (i.e., body acceptance by others, self-compassion) work together to predict body appreciation among breast cancer survivors. Data were gathered from 158 breast cancer survivors (stages I-III) who had completed primary treatment. Participants completed the following standardized measures: Body Acceptance by Others Scale, Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire–Internalization, Objectified Body Consciousness Scale–Self-Surveillance, Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form, and the Body Appreciation Scale. Path analysis was conducted on the …

Developing A Control System To Better Understand The Effects Of Pyruvate Decarboxylase Activity On Clostridium Thermocellum Metabolism, Nicholas Cervenka

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

In order for cellulosic biofuels from Clostridium thermocellum to be commercially viable, the ethanol yield and titer of the microbe must be increased. To accomplish this, it has been suggested to introduce the Pyruvate Decarboxylase (PDC) enzyme into C. thermocellum. In order to demonstrate effects on ethanol production by PDC prior to genetic modification, a cell free system (CFS) has been developed. A purified enzyme system was developed with the CFS to function as a control. Using the purified enzyme system, PDC from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was demonstrated to be a good candidate for further testing in the CFS.

Shape Effects Of Gold Coated Silica Nanoparticles For Localized Plasmonic Resonance Based Biosensing, Russell Beckerman

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

Gold coated silica (Au@SiO₂) nanoparticles are promising optical transducers for biosensors due to localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) sensitivity to changes in refractive index. This study investigates the effects of shape, size, and structure on LSPR sensitivity of Au@SiO₂ nanoparticles of spherical, rod, and ellipsoid geometries. Finite-difference time domain simulations in CST were used to examine these key parameters of interest and guided particle synthesis. Simulation and experiments show rod-shaped Au@SiO₂ nanoparticles had maximum sensitivity of 969nm/RIU, an improvement over most particles in current literature. This study examines a method for enhanced LSPR-biosensors that leverages advances …

Usu Sponsors Recent Ucowr Conference At Snowbird, Ut, Utah Water Research Laboratory

News

USU recently sponsored the UCOWR/NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference at Snowbird, Utah, June 11-13, 2019. UWRL faculty member and UCOWR lead delegate David Stevens served as Conference Chair, and the conference planning committee consisted of delegates David Stevens, Chair (UWRL); Jeffery Horsburgh (UWRL), Bethany Neilson (UWRL); and David Rosenberg (UWRL); and Mac McKee (Retired). Additional USU delegates include Belize Lane (UWRL), Joanna Endter-Wada (Biology/NR), Laurie McNeill (UWRL), and Joe Wheaton (Watershed Sci). USU students and faculty also participated with presentations and posters over the course of the four-day conference.

Six Ohio Students Selected As Fulbright Students, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Identification And Evaluation Of A Core Microsatellite Panel For Use In White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), William L. Miller, Jessie Edson, Peter Pietrandrea, Cassandra Miller-Butterworth

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Background: Microsatellite loci have been used extensively over the past two decades to study the genetic characteristics of non-model species. The ease of microsatellite development and ability to adapt markers from related species has led to the proliferation of available markers for many commonly studied species. Because it is often infeasible to genotype individuals across all available loci, researchers generally rely on subsets of markers. Marker choice can bias inferences made using disparate suites of loci. This has been a primary motivation for efforts to identify uniform marker panels. Here, we use the geographic distribution of previous studies to identify …

A Computational Method To Aid The Design And Analysis Of Single Cell Rna-Seq Experiments For Cell Type Identification., Douglas Abrams, Parveen Kumar, Radha Krishna Murthy Karuturi, Joshy George

Faculty Research 2019

BACKGROUND: The advent of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enabled researchers to study transcriptomic activity within individual cells and identify inherent cell types in the sample. Although numerous computational tools have been developed to analyze single cell transcriptomes, there are no published studies and analytical packages available to guide experimental design and to devise suitable analysis procedure for cell type identification.

RESULTS: We have developed an empirical methodology to address this important gap in single cell experimental design and analysis into an easy-to-use tool called SCEED (Single Cell Empirical Experimental Design and analysis). With SCEED, user can choose a variety …

The Weekly Challenger, June 6, 2019, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The June 6, 2019, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Reactive Microglia And Il1Β/Il-1r1-Signaling Mediate Neuroprotection In Excitotoxin-Damaged Mouse Retina, Levi Todd, Isabella Palazzo, Lilianna Suarez, Xiaoyu Liu, Leo Volkov, Thanh V Hoang, Warren A Campbell, Seth Blackshaw, Ning Quan, Andy J Fischer

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Microglia and inflammation have context-specific impacts upon neuronal survival in different models of central nervous system (CNS) disease. Herein, we investigate how inflammatory mediators, including microglia, interleukin 1 beta (IL1β), and signaling through interleukin 1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1), influence the survival of retinal neurons in response to excitotoxic damage.

METHODS: Excitotoxic retinal damage was induced via intraocular injections of NMDA. Microglial phenotype and neuronal survival were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed to obtain transcriptomic profiles. Microglia were ablated by using clodronate liposome or PLX5622. Retinas were treated with IL1β prior to NMDA damage and cell …

An Air Of Optimism Takes Hold For Cf Sufferers, Staff

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Teacher Personality And Student Engagement: A Case Study, Cole Sandlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem that drove this study was the large number of students experiencing low levels of academic engagement. This level of engagement decreases as students progress from elementary to high school. The purpose of the qualitative study was to gain a deeper understanding of specific teacher personality traits and how teachers and students in the local setting perceived those traits impacting student engagement. This qualitative holistic case study was conducted through observations of high school teachers and semistructured interviews with high school teachers and students. The sample population included high school students and teachers in a local high school in …

Linking Direct Measurements Of Turbidity Currents To Submarine Canyon-Floor Deposits, Katherine L. Maier, Jennifer A. Gales, Charles K. Paull, Kurt Rosenberger, Peter J. Talling, Stephen M. Simmons, Roberto Gwiazda, Mary Mcgann, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Eve Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Michael A. Clare, Jingping Xu, D Parson, James P. Barry, Monica Wolfson-Schwehr, Nora M. Nieminski, Esther J. Sumner, Monterey Coordinated Canyon Experiment Team

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Serotonin And Motherhood: From Molecules To Mood, Jodi L. Pawluski, Ming Li, Joseph S. Lonstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Emerging research points to a valuable role of the monoamine neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the display of maternal behaviors and reproduction-associated plasticity in the maternal brain. Serotonin is also implicated in the pathophysiology of numerous affective disorders and likely plays an important role in the pathophysiology of maternal mental illness. Therefore, the main goals of this review are to detail: 1) how the serotonin system of the female brain changes across pregnancy and postpartum; 2) the role of the central serotonergic system in maternal caregiving and maternal aggression; and 3) how the serotonin system and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications (SSRIs) …

Counternarratives In Hip Hop Music: Themes Of Marginalization, Cailin Dahlin

Honors Projects

As a genre, hip hop music has faced heavy criticism for its supposed glorification of drug and alcohol use, criminal activity, and misogyny. Hip hop also has a rich history of advocating for social justice and relating black experiences. Much of the literature has focused on addressing one or the other narratives in its analysis. Due to these different perspectives and the fact that hip hop is one of the most popular genres of music today, I seek to uncover the themes present in popular hip hop music through a content analysis of the lyrics of songs. I collected a …

A Change Of Mind: Applying Social And Behavioral Research Methods To The Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Ocean Literacy Initiatives, Matthew Ashley, Sabine Pahl, Gillian Glegg, Stephen Fletcher

School of Psychology

No abstract provided.

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

Machine Learning With Multi-Class Regression And Neural Networks: Analysis And Visualization Of Crime Data In Seattle, Erkin David George

Honors Projects

This article examines the implications of machine learning algorithms and models, and the significance of their construction when investigating criminal data. It uses machine learning models and tools to store, clean and analyze data that is fed into a machine learning model. This model is then compared to another model to test for accuracy, biases and patterns that are detected in between the experiments. The data was collected from data.seattle.gov and was published by the City of Seattle Data Portal and was accessed on September 17, 2018. This research will be looking into how machine learning models can be used …

Introduction To Systems Thinking For The Chemistry Education Community, Marykay Orgill, Sarah York, Jennifer Mackellar

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Within recent history, both science research and science education have been largely reductionist in perspective. While the reductionist approach has resulted in a significant increase in our knowledge of the natural world and in great technological advances, it is not sufficient for addressing global world challenges, such as sustainability, pollution, climate change, and poverty. We, as members of the Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education (STICE) project, argue that for science in general, and chemistry in specific, to continue to advance and for citizens to be prepared to participate knowledgeably and democratically in science-related policy decisions, the reductionist approaches that are …

Weaved Journeys: Life Writings Of Leading And Engagement In Science Education, Tara M. Nkrumah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to explore science engagement and in/equity through science educators’ narratives of servant leadership at both the K-12 and higher education levels in the United States. The research question was: How have participants become and led others to become engaged in science? I took an arts-based approach using drawings and autobiographical data to initiate and create metissages focused on becoming engaged in science education. The findings were that: (1) Participants helped marginalized students understand the culture of science through pedagogical strategies that connected self and science; (2) Participants recognized and countered systemic forms of oppression for students …

Measuring Flowering Phenology And Its Consequences: A Systematic Review, Samantha M. Mangum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite growing interest in flowering phenology among ecologists, as reflected by an increase in the number of papers, there is little information on how studies typically measure and describe a plant’s flowering phenology. The focus of this study was the literature on flowering phenology and the approaches researchers have taken to quantify flowering phenology. Initially, a comprehensive description of the breath of literature on flowering phenology was produced. From there, I described the current research on flowering phenology: the year that the studies were published, the locations of the studies, and the particular biomes where the studies were performed. The …

State V. Hochstetler Respondent's Brief Dckt. 46222

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

Eosinophils Downregulate Lung Alloimmunity By Decreasing Tcr Signal Transduction, Oscar Okwudiri Onyema, Yizhan Guo, Bayan Mahgoub, Qing Wang, Amir Manafi, Zhongcheng Mei, Anirban Banerjee, Dongge Li, Mark H. Stoler, Melissa T. Zaidi, Adam G. Schrum, Daniel Kreisel, Andrew E. Gelman, Elizabeth A. Jacobsen, Alexander Sasha Krupnick

Open Access Publications

Despite the accepted notion that granulocytes play a universally destructive role in organ and tissue grafts, it has been recently described that eosinophils can facilitate immunosuppression-mediated acceptance of murine lung allografts. The mechanism of eosinophil-mediated tolerance, or their role in regulating alloimmune responses in the absence of immunosuppression, remains unknown. Using lung transplants in a fully MHC-mismatched BALB/c (H2d) to C57BL/6 (H2b) strain combination, we demonstrate that eosinophils downregulate T cell-mediated immune responses and play a tolerogenic role even in the absence of immunosuppression. We further show that such downregulation depends on PD-L1/PD-1-mediated synapse formation between eosinophils and T cells. …

A Spatially Enhanced Data‐Driven Multimodel To Improve Semiseasonal Groundwater Forecasts In The High Plains Aquifer, Usa, A. Amaranto, Francisco Munoz-Arriola, D. P. Solomatine, G. Corzo

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The aim of this paper is to improve semiseasonal forecast of groundwater availability in response to climate variables, surface water availability, groundwater level variations, and human water management using a two‐step data‐driven modeling approach. First, we implement an ensemble of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the 300 wells across the High Plains aquifer (USA). The modeling framework includes a method to choose the most relevant input variables and time lags; an assessment of the effect of exogenous variables on the predictive capabilities of models; and the estimation of the forecast skill based on the Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) index, the normalized …

2019-06-06 Agenda Book, Morehead State University. Board Of Regents.

Morehead State Board of Regents Agenda Books and Meeting Minutes

Agenda booklet for the Board of Regents for June 6, 2019. Included in the booklet are the meeting minutes from March 29, 2019.