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Transcriptome Analysis For Novel Peptide In Breeding Gland Of Hymenochirus Boettgeri, Minjin Ko

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of the project was to find nucleotide sequences potentially encoding a pheromone from the breeding gland of Hymenochirus boettgeri. The reasons in searching for the sequence of a pheromone were to better understand the organism and to use the information for application in reproduction of other species. Due to climate change and rampant deforestation, such as in Africa’s Congo Basin, many amphibian species are being threatened. With these increasing threats, a viable option for the future may be breeding in captivity for the amphibian species. Pheromone characterization from the breeding gland of Hymenochirus boettgeri may help with …

Developing X-Ray Spectromicroscopic Techniques To Quantitatively Determine Population Statistics And Individual Particle Composition Of Complex Mixed Aerosols, Matthew Fraund

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Aerosols are a major source of uncertainty in estimates of anthropogenic effects on global radiative forcing and can pose serious health concerns. While many instrumental techniques capable of analyzing aerosol samples are available, individual-particle spectromicroscopic techniques like the ones presented here are the only ones to offer morphological and compositional measurements together. Studying the composition and mixing state of aerosol populations allowed for important aspects to be uncovered, such as: aerosol source, formation mechanism, hygroscopicity, optical properties, level of aging, and inhalation dangers. Ambient aerosols from the Amazon, both biogenic and anthropogenic, were apportioned based on their individual composition. Recently …

Saudi Arabian Students In Postgraduate Dental Programs: Investigating Factors Associated With Burnout, Asiri Amal

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Burnout related to emotional and physical study or work demands affects an individual’s performance and well being. This study focused on Saudi Arabian dental residents studying in the United States and the United Kingdom who are faced with many challenges in pursuit of a higher education degree. A survey including demographic and MBI questions was distributed to assess this population’s level of burnout. The Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI) was has been widely used in the literature to assess three components of burnout: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DEP), and (diminished) personal accomplishment (PA). Potential predictors of burnout level, tested for statistical …

Approaches To The Search Of Platinum Anticancer Agents: Derivatizing Current Drugs And Incorporating Hdac Inhibition, Chao Feng

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Platinum-based anticancer drugs, such as cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, have been approved for clinical use worldwide for decades. Despite their enormous success, their widespread application is hindered by either cross-resistance or toxic side effects, including nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. The need to overcome these drawbacks has stimulated the search for new platinum-based drugs.

This dissertation will start with the accidental discovery of cisplatin, followed by an introduction of other platinum-based anticancer agents, including the action mechanism, general structures, and development history. Picoplatin is a newer generation of platinum-based anticancer agent. The bulky 2-methylpyridine as a non-leaving group on picoplatin could reduce …

Volume 11, Jacob Carney, Ryan White, Joseph Hyman, Jenny Raven, Megan Garrett, Ibrahim Kante, Summer Meinhard, Lauren Johnson, William "Editha" Dean Howells, Laura Gottschalk, Christopher Siefke, Pink Powell, Natasha Woodmancy, Katharine Colley, Abbey Mays, Charlotte Potts

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Table of Contents:

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Synthesis of 3,5-substituted Parabens and their Antimicrobial Properties, Jacob Coarney, Ryan White

Chernobyl: Putting "Perestroika" and "Glasnot" to the Test, Joseph Hyman

Art by Jenny Raven

Watering Down Accessibility: The Issue with Public Access to Alaska's Federal Waterways, Meagan Garrett

Why Has the Democratic Republic of the Congo outsourced its Responsibility to Educate its Citizens? Ibrahim Kante

Art by Summer Meinhard

A Computational Study of Single Molecule Diodes, Lauren Johnson

Satire of …

Towards An Aristotelian Theory Of Care: A Comparison Of Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics With Feminist Ethics Of Care, And The Fundaments Of A Virtue Ethical Theory Of Care, Steven Steyl

Theses

The intersection between virtue and care ethics is underexplored in contemporary moral philosophy. This thesis approaches care ethics from a neo-Aristotelian virtue ethical perspective, comparing the two frameworks and drawing on recent work on care to develop a theory thereof. It is split into seven substantive chapters serving three major argumentative purposes, namely the establishment of significant intertheoretical agreement, the compilation and analysis of extant and new distinctions between the two theories, and the synthesis of care ethical insights with neo-Aristotelianism to generate a virtue ethical theory of care. In the first two chapters, I outline virtue ethics and care …

Assessment Of Pre-Eclampsia Risk In Early Pregnancy, Ziad T.A Al-Rubaie

Theses

My thesis aims to improve pre-eclampsia prevention and outcomes in Australian women by providing evidence that can be used to enhance pre-eclampsia risk assessment in broad antenatal settings. I conducted the thesis in three stages. In stage 1, a systematic review identified major limitations in the existing evidence for current guideline approaches and ‘simple’ risk models incorporating maternal characteristics to identify women at increased risk of pre-eclampsia in early pregnancy. While the review demonstrated models including specialised tests such as uterine artery Doppler and serum biomarkers improved sensitivity to predict pre-eclampsia compared to simple models, there was insufficient evidence to …

Biodiversity Offsets Can Be A Valuable Tool In Achieving Sustainable Development: Developing A Holistic Model For Biodiversity Offsets That Incorporates Environmental, Social And Economic Aspects Of Sustainable Development, Linda Abdo, Annabeth Kemp, Grey Coupland, Sandy Griffin

Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

The interpretation and use of biodiversity offsets in planning and development is a contentious issue because they rarely encompass each of the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. While currently agreed best practice for biodiversity offsets includes consideration of scope, scale, location, timing and duration, and monitoring, current literature on these components does not consider all aspects of sustainable development. Furthermore, much of the current agreed best practice focusses on the design of biodiversity offsets, without consideration of ongoing management or end-of-life. This manuscript reviews current best practice for biodiversity offsets, giving consideration to the environmental, social and …

Natural Product Induction In Pencillium And Human Caspase Crystallography, Kelly J. Mcgrath

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Development Along Rattlesnake Creek: An Assessment Of Stream Health, Channel Form, And Land Cover, Christopher D. Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using existing water quality data, historical aerial photographs, and recent orthoimagery, this research assessed how the environmental conditions of Rattlesnake Creek near Missoula, Montana have changed over nearly 90 years of human alteration of the Rattlesnake valley. To characterize stream health, the following indicators were investigated: fish genetic composition and species distribution, water temperature, streamflow, and nutrient levels. Five overlapping aerial photos from 1929 were georectified and compared to 2015 orthoimagery to assess changes in channel form (particularly channel straightening) and land cover across the Rattlesnake Creek valley bottom. Results indicate that trout species in Rattlesnake Creek have hybridized, in …

3d Printing Of The Proximal Right Femur: It’S Implications In The Field Of Forensic Anthropology And Bioarchaeology, Myriah Adonia Jo Allen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

3D scanning and Printing have become useful in many scientific fields over the last few years, and Physical Anthropology/ Archaeology is not an exception. With skeletal collections decreasing all over the globe and the question of preservation on the rise, it has become necessary to look towards different methods in which one can obtain important information. 3D scanning has become useful over the last few decades and therefore it is important to establish where this new technology can be of use. This paper will bring 3D scanning and printing into question and determine whether this technology should be used in …

An Assessment Of Fecal Water Contamination In The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Daniel Paul Pendergraph 5024527

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wilderness water sources are often defined as pristine or high quality due to the lack of point source pollution. Non-point source pollution from recreation to water resources can be extensive and is well-studied in protected areas globally. Bacterial contamination, specifically fecal bacteria, poses a significant threat to human health because of the risk for outbreaks of illness and disease. Water sources in designated Wilderness areas are particularly vulnerable to fecal water contamination due to high volume of backpackers and lack of backcountry waste facilities. To estimate the occurrence of fecal water contamination in Wilderness water resources, an exploratory analysis was …

Avoiding Adverse Effects: New Ideas In Drug Discovery For Targeting Pparγ, Trey M. Patton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) has been a drug target to treat type 2 diabetes for the last 20 years when rosiglitazone and pioglitazone were approved by the FDA in 1999. While effective at increasing insulin sensitivity, these drugs cause serious adverse effects due to their full agonist characteristics. For that reason, drug discovery efforts have attempted to reduce or prevent the amount of agonist character of new PPARγ targeting ligands. Unfortunately, there have been no new FDA approved drugs for the receptor. There is a need for new ideas to produce better quality pharmaceuticals that lessen the impact of …

The Relationship Between Longevity And A Leader’S Emotional Intelligence And Resilience, Erica L. Allen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The role of an educational leader is complex, challenging and, at times, fraught with adversity. Overcoming the many challenges and adversities, and flourishing as an educational leader, requires resilience and an instinct for survival. Understanding how to prevail in the face of adversity, by employing one’s emotional strengths as well as vulnerabilities and how to increase one’s ability to remain resilient, is essential for an educational leader to succeed in the face of adversity.

The purpose of this study was to research Montana educational leaders to discern whether emotional intelligence EI is necessary to remain resilient and successful in a …

Multinucleated Giant Cell Formation And Phenotype, Kevin Lewis Trout

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Multinucleated giant cells (MGC) are homotypic macrophage syncytia associated with granulomas. Despite their correlation with pathology, MGC functional contributions to inflammation are relatively unknown. The objective of this work was to gain an understanding of MGC phenotype. First, techniques were developed to better enable the study of these cells in vitro. Second, inorganic particles known to cause inflammation were observed to cause MGC formation in the lungs. Finally, the particle that resulted in the highest macrophage fusion was used together with the in vitro system to compare MGC and macrophage phenotype in response to stimulation. The results contribute to fundamental …

The Alphaback: A Novel Processing Speed Test, Meredith Kathleen Reynolds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Processing speed is a sensitive indicator of normal aging, as well as neurological impairment. Despite the importance of assessing this cognitive domain in neuropsychological assessments, few tests of processing speed are available. The purpose of the current study was to establish the operating characteristics, as well as the convergent and divergent validity of a novel processing speed test, the Alphaback, on a healthy college student population (N = 91). The Alphaback is a 2 min computerized task in which examinees must orally state the alphabetical letter that precedes the letter presented on a screen as fast as possible. Cognitive tests …

Adenovirus Co-Opts Neutrophilic Inflammation In Order To Enhance Entry Into Epithelial Cells, James Matthew Readler

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Human adenoviruses (AdV) are double-stranded DNA viruses that can cause a range of diseases. While AdV respiratory infections are often mild and self-limited, severe manifestations such as fulminant pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are not uncommon. In order to identify potential modalities to treat AdV infections and potentially enhance the effectiveness of AdV vector delivery, a thorough mechanistic understanding of how AdV enters host cells is needed. Previous studies have revealed polarized epithelia, one of the primary targets for AdV respiratory infections, are highly resistant to AdV entry from the apical (luminal) surface. However, upon exposure to interleukin …

Supporting Teacher And Student Competency With Scientific Practices Through Lesson Study, Jonathan Robert Bowers

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Although numerous studies have documented the benefits of using scientific practices in K-12 education, many in-service teachers continue to use traditional pedagogical practices. In order to address the underlying deficiencies in teacher pedagogical design capacity (PDC) for practices, we developed a lesson study (LS) based professional learning (PL) program, which we implemented at a low socio-economic status (SES) school district. Using classical content analysis and supplementary assessments, I investigated the impact this LS based PL program had on teacher PDC for scientific practices (particularly the practice of argumentation), student argumentation competency, and teacher self-efficacy. My results demonstrate that teacher PDC …

Rescue Of Als Protein Fus Toxicity By Taf, Elliott Hayden

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Amyotrophic Lateral Scleroses (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord leading to progressive paralysis and ultimately death within 5 years of symptom onset. Only two drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ALS that slow the disease progression by about 3 months. Mutations in the gene Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) cause inherited forms of ALS. FUS is a nuclear, multifunctional RNA-binding protein (RBP) involved in multiple RNA metabolic pathways. Mutations in FUS cause mislocalization of the protein from the nucleus to …

Chondrichthyan Diversity Within The Burlington-Keokuk Fish Bed Of Southeast Iowa And Northwest Illinois (Mississippian: Osagean), Matthew Michael James Hoenig

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Chondrichthyan remains occur in abundance within a thin layer of limestone at the top of the Burlington Limestone at the point of the contact with the overlying Keokuk Limestone. This layer of rock, the "Burlington-Keokuk Fish Bed," is stratigraphically consistent and laterally extensive in exposures of the Burlington Limestone near its type section along the Iowa-Illinois border. Deposition of the fish bed occurred on the Burlington Continental Shelf carbonate ramp off the subtropical western coast of Laurussia during the Lower Carboniferous (Late Tournaisian; Osagean) due to a drop in sea level, although the specific mechanism(s) that concentrated the vertebrate fossils …

Long-Term Impact On Environmental Attitudes And Knowledge Assessed Over Three Semesters Of An Environmental Engineering Sequence, Benjamin Michael Wallen, Nathaniel Sheehan, Luke Plante, Erick Martinez, Jeffrey A. Starke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The pedagogy employed in a three-course environmental engineering sequence is investigated to determine the efficacy of enabling long-term improvement of knowledge and attitudes toward the environment. These three courses incorporate concepts of the five grand challenges released by the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences and increase the breadth of knowledge for T-professionals. Previous studies of lengths from a few weeks to semester long courses evaluated the potential causality among various demographics and environmental knowledge and attitudes. The research presented herein contrasts and compares changes in environmental knowledge based upon a 12-question survey and changes in environmental …

Calpain-Calpastatin System In Peripheral Nerve Myelination And Demyelination, Domenica Elizabeth Drouet Saltos

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Myelin is the structure formed by glial cells that electrically insulates axons aiding in propagation of action potentials. Disruption of myelin sheath (demyelination) is common to neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The calcium-dependent protease, calpain, is known to modulate myelination during central nervous system (CNS) development. Endogenous calpain inhibitor, calpastatin, regulates calpain activity. The calpain-calpastatin system has been implicated in the CNS demyelination occurring in diseases. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a hereditary demyelinating polyneuropathy affecting proper functioning of peripheral nerves, demonstrating the importance of myelin in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). However, calpain’s role in the mechanism(s) of …

Calcium Imaging Of Developing Proprioceptive Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons, Kaitlyn Louise Parkes

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Proprioception is an important sensation capable due to proprioceptive sensory neuron afferents found in muscles in the periphery being processed by the central nervous system. The nervous system is a complex system that continues to develop and mature as an animal ages. Much is not known of proprioceptive neurons and how they develop with time. Calcium is an important molecule in maintaining action potentials and homeostasis in neurons which can be studied to understand a variety of things about a neuron. This study uses genetically encoded calcium indicators to tag parvalbumin positive cells in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in …

Enhancing Group Social Perceptiveness Through A Swarm-Based Decision-Making Platform, David A. Askay, Lynn E. Metcalf, Louis Rosenberg, Gregg Willcox

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Swarm Intelligence is natural phenomenon that enables social animals to make group decisions in real-time systems. This process has been deeply studied in fish schools, bird flocks, and bee swarms, where collective intelligence has been observed to emerge. The present paper describes swarm.ai—a collaborative technology that enables swarms of humans to collectively converge upon a decision as a real-time system. Then we present the results of a study investigating if groups working as “human swarms” can amplify their social perceptiveness, a key predictor of collective intelligence. Results showed that groups reduced their social perceptiveness errors by more than half when …

Measuring Group Personality With Swarm Ai, Gregg Willcox, David Askay, Louis Rosenberg, Lynn Metcalf, Bryan Kwong, Richard Liu

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The aggregation of individual personality tests to predict team performance is widely accepted in management theory but has significant limitations: the isolated nature of individual personality surveys fails to capture much of the team dynamics that drive real-world team performance. Artificial Swarm Intelligence (ASI), a technology that enables networked teams to think together in real-time and answer questions as a unified system, promises a solution to these limitations by enabling teams to take personality tests together and converge upon answers that best represent the group’s disposition. In the present study, the group personality of 94 small teams was assessed by …

Predictors Of Resilience Among Infants At Risk For Rapid Weight Gain, Alison K. Ventura, Kristen Thompson

Kinesiology and Public Health

Objective: The study objective was to investigate factors associated with resilience to rapid weight gain (RWG) among predominantly bottle-fed infants.

Methods: Data came from 1,353 mothers who participated in the Infant Feeding Practices Study 2. Mothers completed a prenatal questionnaire and monthly surveys of infant feeding and growth between birth and 12 months. Infants were classified as resilient if they were predominantly bottle fed but did not exhibit RWG between birth and the latter half of infancy (≥ +0.67 change in weight-for-age z score).

Results: Thirty-five percent of the sample (n = 467) was predominantly bottle fed but did …

Counting Platelets: A Novel Image Analysis Algorithm For Detecting And Counting Platelet Adhesion On An Assay Pattern, Thomas Lee, Niamh Gilmartin, Damon Berry, Jane Courtney

Session 5: Medical and Biomedical Imaging

Changes in platelet function is a major complication in patients with cardiovascular disease. The authors have previously designed a portable, easy to use, low cost biochip for monitoring of anti-platelet therapy in cardiovascular disease patients [1]. This method directly measures platelet function by measuring platelet adhesion to platelet-specific protein patterns using a simple, optical counting technique. The patterned surfaces are designed so that a single platelet adheres to a single protein spot and for imaging purposes, the proteins patterned on the surface are labelled with a fluorescent dye, as are the platelets that adhere to the patterned surface. Following image …

Identification Of Surrogate Biomarkers For The Prediction Of Patients At Risk Of Low Macular Pigment In Type 2 Diabetes, Grainne Scanlon, Daniel Mccartney, John Butler, Ekaterina Loskutova, James Loughman

Articles

Purpose: This cross-sectional study compared macular pigment (MP) levels among persons with Type 2 diabetes relative to healthy controls. Additionally, a range of behavioral, anthropometric, clinical and serum measures were explored as possible predictors of low MP optical density (MPOD) in diabetes.

Lutein And Zeaxanthin: The Possible Contribution, Mechanisms Of Action And Implications Of Modern Dietary Intake For Cognitive Development In Children. [Version 1; Peer Review: 2 Approved], Ekaterina Loskutova, Kajal Shah, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Annalisa Setti, John Butler, Yvonne Nolan, Nabin Paudel, James Loughman

Articles

No abstract provided.

Nonmarket Valuation Of Marine Resources In The Northeast: Implications For Recreational Fisheries Management And Offshore Wind Energy Development, Andrew Carr-Harris

Open Access Dissertations

Sound natural resource management considers the full range of costs and benefits of policy action. Understanding these implications as they pertain to nonmarket goods or externalities requires an accurate assessment of consumer preferences and behavior. The chapters of this dissertation ascertain this knowledge in the context of recreational Atlantic striped bass fishery management and offshore wind development in the northeast United States.

Atlantic striped bass are the most prominent and heavily targeted recreational species found along the coast from Maine to North Carolina. Yet due in part to heavy recreational fishing effort, the species may be currently overfished. Given this …