Digital Commons Network^™

Specimens Of Opportunity Reveal Novel Information On The Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon Bidens), Kerri Jean Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Conservation science requires quickly acquiring information and taking action in order to protect species at risk of extinction. Elusive wildlife, however, present challenges to effective conservation measures because it is often difficult to collect enough data on these species to recognize their conservation needs and implement management plans. As a result, researchers must identify alternative means of gathering sufficient data on these species. Specimens of opportunity, such as museum specimens, provide a way to improve knowledge on these species, and these specimens have already proven valuable by increasing information on biodiversity, habitat and range, and population structure in many species. …

Design And Characterization Of Thermal Inkjet Bioprinted Constructs For The Treatment Of Diabetic Foot Ulcers And Other Wound Healing Impaired Conditions, Luis Horacio Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tissue engineering (TE) is a multidisciplinary practice focused on developing patient-specific constructs to repair, regenerate, or replace injured tissues and organs. One biofabrication process that has gained tremendous momentum in this field is bioprinting. Most, if not all bioprinting modalities embody the same principles of heat and shear due to mechanical forces or friction as cells are forced through narrow orifices. While it is important to examine the interaction between host and implanted constructs, it is also crucial to understand the direct effects that these bioprinting technologies have on cells before embedding them into TE applications.

The purpose of this …

Spectroscopic Techniques To Characterize And Develop Sensing Methods For Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles In Water, Reagan Scott Turley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are being used in ever increasing amounts and applications in many consumer products and industrial processes including water treatment. These nanoparticles have not been shown to be toxic to humans via ingestion, but it is worthwhile to develop a portable and rapid detection method to quantify the concentration of nanoparticles in treated drinking water. Current detection methods include single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, tunneling electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. While extremely sensitive, these techniques are expensive and sometimes require extensive sample preparation before analysis. A preliminary study on …

Bio-Inspired Method For Close-Proximity Operations On A Near-Earth Asteroid, Rene Alberto Valenzuela Najera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Space maneuvers in the vicinity of small celestial bodies and achieving a soft landing over the surface of small celestial bodies are essential movements to advance the status of exploration, collection of geographical data, measurement of physical properties among other on-orbit tasks. Before a spacecraft reaches hovering position over an asteroid in order to perform orbital tasks, close-proximity operations must be done. Since the movements of the spaceships depend on the acceleration forces provided by the thrusters and external disturbances forces, the correct planning of execution of the close-up trajectories on the celestial body orbit and trajectory to land on …

Characterization Of The Anti-Viral Activity Of Schlafen13, Jordan Winfield

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Schlafen13 (Slfn13) is an enzyme that belongs to the Schlafen family whose expression and function is not very well characterized. The N-terminal has a pseudo dimer structure that contains its catalytic site. There is no characterization functionally or structurally of the C-terminal of Slfn13 other than the prediction of a region with helicase activity. The objective of my Thesis was to increase our understanding of the Slfn family of proteins. Currently, Slfn13 is reported to play a role in the differentiation of monocytes and to function as an endoribonuclease that cleaves tRNA and rRNA molecules in a site-dependent sequence-independent manner. …

A Short History Of The Public Trust Doctrine And Its Intersection With Private Water Law, Erin Ryan

Scholarly Publications

This article explores the development of public trust principles from early Roman and British law through modern U.S. law as a public commons approach to natural resource management, especially with regard to waterways. It then analyzes the tension between the common pool approach underlying the public trust regulation of waterways and the contrasting theoretical premises of American laws that regulate private use of the water within them—especially the privatization model embedded in the doctrine of prior appropriations, which assigns perpetual rights to withdraw from the watercourse on a first-in-time basis. The public trust doctrine, the protagonist of much modern environmental …

Impacts Of Transportation Infrastructure On Water Quality, Sediment Loads, And Fishing Opportunities In The Gwich’In Settlement Area, Northwest Territories, Matthew Teillet

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The addition of gravel sediment to build ferry landings on the Peel and Mackenzie Rivers has been an ongoing concern for the Gwich’in communities of Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic that depend on the rivers for their livelihoods. Specifically, there are concerns that gravel from ferry landings is degrading water quality, harming fishing opportunities, and altering river morphology downstream. Previous reports concluded that ferry operations were not impacting downstream ecology. However, past studies had methodological shortcomings and community concerns about the ferry landings remain. To study the impact of the gravel landings on water quality, I utilized a multidisciplinary study design …

Through The Lurking Glass: A Qualitative Media Analysis Of Traditional Gender Norms And Stalking Depictions In Film, Alexandra Baril

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examines to what extent traditional gender norms are adhered to by the depiction of stalkers within films. Stalking has only recently been recognized as a social problem. Due to the relatively new attention, there has been a lack of research surrounding the way in which stalkers and stalking behaviours are being portrayed within popular media, particularly film media. This paper uses a qualitative ethnographic content analysis approach to examine these stalking depictions. Twenty films that had a high level of stalking portrayed behaviours, and thriller genres rather than horror genres, were collected and analyzed. It was found that …

Investigation Of Rna Interference (Rnai)-Mediated Gene Silencing In Rainbow Trout, Sarah Au

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

RNA interference (RNAi) was first characterized in plants and invertebrates as an antiviral innate immune response. It is a natural antiviral defence mechanism to degrade viral RNA by virus-induced gene silencing. Studies showed synthetic long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA; >30bp) degraded Caenorhabditis elegans messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts, resulting in sequence-dependent gene silencing. Currently, there is only limited research on RNAi in fish, particularly the use of long dsRNA to trigger sequence-specific gene silencing. This is because studies have shown long dsRNAs trigger interferon response that could mask gene-specific RNAi effects. This thesis explored long dsRNA-mediated RNAi pathways in rainbow trout cells …

Age, Access, And Sweets-Motivation, Gehan Senthinathan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Availability can have profound influence on the consumption of foods and drinks. The 2-phase intermittent-continuous protocol (ICP) examines sucrose solution intake in two groups of rats and finds intermittent access significantly increases intake. In Phase I, rats receive intermittent or continuous access to a 4% sucrose solution, and with adults this results in a long-term elevation (a doubling) in the intermittent group. In Phase II, when rats are shifted to common sucrose schedule, this difference is maintained. Adult rats given 16% sucrose in Phase I do not differ in consumption, but in Phase II with 4% sucrose, an unexpressed elevation …

Essential Oils Of Tagetes Minuta And Tithonia Diversifolia Affect Host Location Behaviour And On-Host Attachment Site Preference Of The Brown Ear Tick, Rhipicephalus Appendiculatus In The Semi-Field Studies, Wycliffe Wanzala, Ahmed Hassanali, Wolfgang Richard Mukabana, Willem Takken, Sheila Iminza Minyoso

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Effects of essential oils of Tagetes minuta and Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae) on orientation behaviour and on-host attachment site preference of newly hatched adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus were evaluated. Host animals were treated at the ear pinna (by smearing the oil directly on the ear or suspending a tube containing the oil on the ear pinna) and legs + tail in semi-field plots. The legs + tail sites of the essential oil application showed the lowest mean percentage of ticks observed on host body (16.5 ± 1.9% and 26.0 ± 2.8%) and the highest mean percentage reduction of attaching ticks (76.5 ± …

Mineral Fertilizer Use In Land-Scarce Conditions: Case Of Rwanda, Josaphat Rusisiro Mugabo, Eric Tollens, Jonas Nwankwo Chianu, Bernard Vanlauwe

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

This study was undertaken to investigate the use of mineral fertilizer by smallholder farmers in order to understand the set of factors influencing the decisions of smallholder farmers to use fertilizers in land-scarce conditions. Using descriptive analysis and the Cragg's double-hurdle model, the study identified and analyzed factors that determine smallholder farmer adoption of mineral fertilizers and those that affect the intensity of household mineral fertilizer use. From factors that only influence the decision of smallholder farmers to use mineral fertilizers, distance to fertilizer market and livestock affects it negatively; while farmer association membership, landholding per capita, access to extension …

Gendered Analysis Of The Demand For Poultry Feed In Kenya, John Njenga Macharia, Gracious Malton Diiro, John Rono Busienei, Kimpei Munei, Hippolyte D. Affognon, Sunday Ekesi, Beatrice Muriithi, Dorothy Nakimbugwe, Chrysantus Mbi Tanga, Komi K.M. Fiaboe

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

This paper uses a translog cost function approach to study the farm-level demand for poultry feed in Kenya. The study estimates the demand elasticities of the three common types of poultry feed; mixed feed, grain, and leafy vegetables. The estimated model was used to obtain estimates of Marshallian demand elasticities for poultry feed in Kenya for male-headed and female-headed households. The elasticities reported can be used by researchers and policy analysts to evaluate policy effects of changes in feed demand quantities within the livestock economy in Kenya. Moreover, these parameters can provide more reliable estimates of the total change in …

Smallholder Farmers' Knowledge And Willingness To Pay For Insect-Based Feeds In Kenya, Shaphan Y. Chia, John Macharia, Gracious M. Diiro, Menale Kassie, Sunday Ekesi, Joop J.A. Van Loon, Marcel Dicke, Chrysantus M. Tanga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Edible insects are increasingly being considered as sustainable alternatives to fish and soybean meals in animal feed because of their high nutritional quality and environmental benefits. However, successful introduction of a new product to the market depends on the target user's acceptance. Thus, evaluating the potential demand of insect-based feeds would provide relevant information for policy development. The present study assessed farmers' knowledge on edible insects as feed, their acceptance of integrating insect meals in animal feeds and willingness to pay (WTP) for insect-based feed (IBF) using a contingent valuation method. A household survey was conducted among 957 randomly selected …

Occurrence Of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes On Enset (Ensete Ventricosum) In Ethiopia With Focus On Pratylenchus Goodeyi As A Key Species Of The Crop, Selamawit A. Kidane, Beira H. Meressa, Solveig Haukeland, Trine Hvoslef-Eide, Christer Magnusson, Marjolein Couvreur, Wim Bert, Danny L. Coyne

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Summary - Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an important starch staple crop, cultivated primarily in south and southwestern Ethiopia. Enset is the main crop of a sustainable indigenous African system that ensures food security in a country that is food deficient. Related to the banana family, enset is similarly affected by plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes impose a huge constraint on agriculture. The distribution, population density and incidence of plant-parasitic nematodes of enset was determined during August 2018. A total of 308 fields were sampled from major enset-growing zones of Ethiopia. Eleven plant-parasitic nematode taxa were identified, with Pratylenchus (lesion nematode) being …

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Revisited: Law, Science, And The Pursuit Of Ecosystem Management In An Iconic Landscape, Robert B. Keiter

University of Colorado Law Review

Thirty years ago, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) concept and ecosystem management surfaced as key to preserving this legally fragmented region's public lands and wildlife in the face of mounting development pressures. Yellowstone's grizzly bears were in sharp decline and wolves were absent from the landscape, while bison and elk management issues festered. The GYE's national forest lands were subject to extensive logging, energy leasing, and other commercial activities that cumulatively threatened the region's ecological integrity. In the face of extreme jurisdictional complexity and a strong commitment to agency discretion, a high-profile federal "Vision" effort to improve and better coordinate …

Seed Quality And Mycoflora Associated With Chickpea (Cicer Arientinum L.) Seed In Ethiopia, G. Getaneh, T. Tefera, F. Lemmessa, S. Ahmed, A. Zewudie

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The study was conducted at Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Haramaya University and Jimma University, Ethiopia. Crop yield is directly associated with the physical and biological quality of planting material or seed. Ninety-nine (99) chickpea seed lot samples were collected for physical purity, seed health and germination tests from major chickpea growing areas in Ethiopia in the 2016/17 cropping season to assess the status of chickpea seed health and quality among subsistence farmers, research stations and seed growers. The seed lots were grouped as researcher saved, farmers saved and seed growers’ saved seed. The maximum physical purity of 97.5% was …

Impact Of Integrated Fruit Fly Management Strategy On Food Security Among Smallholder Mango Farmers In Kenya, P. N. Nyang'au, B. W. Muriithi, J. M. Nzuma, P. Irungu, H. M. Gichungi, G. Diiro

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Adoption of agricultural innovations is perceived as a key avenue for poverty reduction and improved food and nutritional security in developing countries. The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) has developed and implemented a set of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies in several sub-Saharan African countries aimed at controlling mango infesting fruit flies (Bactrocera dorsalis). Although positive returns from the use of fruit fly IPM have already been documented, the impact of these technologies on food security is not well understood. This study evaluated the impact of the IPM strategy on food security with the help of a …

Population Genetics Of The Mediterranean Corn Borer (Sesamia Nonagrioides) Differs Between Wild And Cultivated Plants, Abdel Kader Naino Jika, B. Le Ru, C. Capdevielle-Dulac, F. Chardonnet, J. F. Silvain, L. Kaiser, S. Dupas

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The population genetic structure of crop pest populations gives information about their spatial ecology, which helps in designing management strategies. In this paper, we investigated the genetic structure of the Mediterranean Corn Borer (MCB), Sesamia nonagrioides Lefèbvre (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), one of the most important maize pests in the Mediterranean countries, using microsatellite markers for the first time in this species. Insects were collected in twenty-five locations in southwest and southeast France from cultivated and wild host plants (Zea mays, Sorghum halepense and Typha domingensis). Contrary to what has been reported so far in France, we found that MCB populations could …

What Is The Effect Of Social Capital On Community Resiliency Against Social Decay?, James Dail

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis builds off of the work of Robert Putnam and Charles Murray by using a fixed effects regression model and a first difference regression model to see if there is a relationship between the number of community institutions within a county and that county’s resiliency against social decay. Historically, it has been difficult to determine if there is a causal relationship in either direction between these variables because they are endogenous. That is, the underlying factors that determine whether a county will have low levels of social capital also determine whether the same county will have high levels of …

Antifungal Defense Molecules From Bacterial Symbionts Of North American Trachymyrmex Ants, Georgia Scherer

CMC Senior Theses

Defensive symbioses, in which microbes provide molecular defenses for an animal host, hold great potential as untapped sources of therapeutically useful antibiotics. Fungus-growing ants use antifungal defenses from bacterial symbionts to suppress pathogenic fungi in their nests. Preliminary chemical investigations of symbiotic bacteria from this large family of ants have uncovered novel antifungal molecules with therapeutic potential, such as dentigerumycin and selvamicin.

In this study, the bacterial symbionts of North American Trachymyrmex fungus-growing ants are investigated for antifungal molecules. Plate-based bioassays using ecologically-relevant fungal pathogens confirmed that these bacteria have antifungal activity. In order to purify and identify the antifungal …

Examining Protein-Protein Interactions Within The Esx-4 Secretion System Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis, Sophie Boerboom

CMC Senior Theses

Bacteria use secretion systems to export proteins from inside of the bacterium into the periplasm, extracellular space, or host cell. Within the Mycobacterium genus, the type VII secretion systems (T7SS) transport products across the unusually thick and waxy mycobacterial envelope. T7SS are of particular importance because they are involved in the virulence of pathogenic mycobacteria. Mycobacteria have as many as five distinct T7SS called ESX systems. ESX-1, 3, and 5, have demonstrated roles in viability and virulence in certain pathogenic species like M. tuberculosis and M. marinum. Our research focuses on the ESX-4 apparatus, the ancestral system that gave rise …

Effects Of Sleep Deprivation And The Link To Alzheimer’S Disease In Night Shift Workers, Aracelia Aldrete

CMC Senior Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative neurologic disorder that is often defined by beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques. These Aβ plaques are formed from protein pieces that are incorrectly cleaved from an amyloid precursor protein (APP). These protein segments, cleaved from APP, are toxic due to increased “stickiness”. They cling together to create protofibrils that eventually mature into neuronal plaques. Aβ plaques lead to neuronal cell death causing classic AD symptoms: memory loss, a decline in speech and motor control, and personality changes. One connection between high Aβ plaques levels and AD is chronic sleep loss or disruption. Night shift workers, even …

The Necessity For Sustainable Development In Indonesia: A Governmental Analysis And Carbon Neutral Coliving Recommendation, Michael Wirth

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores two distinct topics: first, Indonesia’s current emissions and implementation of sustainability practices; second, the current state of coliving spaces and a proposal of a sustainable space in Indonesia,. The two topics are connected by the fact that the implementation of sustainability practices within Indonesia are necessary from more than just an environmental standpoint, but also from the economic and governmental perspectives.

We exemplify the necessity for sustainable transition within the country through three critical points: first, we show that Indonesia’s exceptional tourist growth is highly dependent on sustaining the natural wonders within the country; second, current coal …

The Road To Human Emancipation - The Moral And Political Foundations Of Markets, William Shi

CMC Senior Theses

The thesis aims to provide both a real public ideology and the legal and socioeconomic structures to realize Karl Marx’s ideal of human emancipation. Marx argues that in capitalist society, the legal and political superstructure forces the ruling class to represent its interest as the public interest, which legitimizes the massive inequality in resources and social power. To demonstrate how to realize the substantive public interest, the two parts of the thesis have two goals. The first part aims to formulate a rightful candidate to the public ideology of human emancipation, which represents the substantive public interest rather than the …

Biomechanics And Neural Control Of Movement: Cmi's Effects On Downstream Motor Processing And Gait In Forwards And Backwards Walking, Christopher Choi

CMC Senior Theses

Analyzing the effects of cognitive motor interferences (CMI) on walking is usually done in patients with neurological comorbidity or during forward walking (FW). However, there are few studies that examine gait differences between FW and backward walking (BW) under the presence of CMI when speed is kept constant on a treadmill. In this study we examined how CMI would disrupt sensory feedback and affect the descending motor pathway. We hypothesized that subjects that walked backwards and were given a cognitive task would show the greatest differences in gait due to a lack of visual input and the presence of CMI. …

“Going Over The Top” – The Impact Of World War I On Three Leaders Of World War Ii, Nick Sage

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the impact that service in the First World War had on three global leaders of the Second World War: Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, and Harry Truman. Through analysis of original documents from the Churchill Archive Center, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, and the archives of the National World War I Museum, this project contends that the years 1914-1918 became a common point of reference and reflection for these three leaders—especially in their private musings and public rhetoric during World War II. Additionally, primary evidence reveals that the personal narratives of wartime service that these …

Policies And Politics Of Reform : The Governmentality Of Structural Adjustment In Urban And Rural Egypt, Gabriel Gluskin-Braun

CMC Senior Theses

This analysis explores the unique and tumultuous approach to reform in Egypt and addresses

the effects of the implementation of neoliberal policy tools. These tools included privatization, price

liberalization, deregulation, and land reform in both urban and rural areas. Based on these effects, this

analysis will argue that the benefits accrued by the political-economic elite created opportunities for

new patronage networks that upheld elite economic privilege through the process of liberalization

while a wide swath of Egyptians suffered the loss of limited privileges and protections from the state

established by Nasr and upheld by his successors. Consequently, the socialist-statist ‘social …

Evaluating Interpersonal Problems In Anorexia Nervosa Through The Lens Of Polyvagal Theory, Marika Morelan

CMC Senior Theses

Eating disorders are an increasingly prevalent issue, especially among young women. While they aren’t a new phenomenon, they are historically under-researched, and remain widely misunderstood. Without understanding the causes underlying these disorders or the mechanisms working to maintain them, treating them successfully has proved to be incredibly difficult. This is especially the case with Anorexia Nervosa. Out of the six eating disorders in the DSM-5, it has the lowest treatment success rate and an alarmingly high relapse rate. Treating the disorder through weight restoration and the extinction of compensatory behaviors alone does not fully resolve the disordered pathology; interpersonal problems …

Mistaken Murder And Written Womanhood: The Evolution Of Evelina Edwards In Late Eighteenth-Century And Early Nineteenth-Century Bath, England, Amanda Mell

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the major themes and literary influences of Jane Austen’s novels through the voice of Evelina Edwards, a fictional girl born in Bath, England in 1784. Over the course of nine years, Evelina reconstructs her social world in a series of diary entries and letters, mirroring the anxieties and concerns of real women during the Regency era. Her writing juxtaposes the novel of manners with mystery, both satirizing trivial concerns and confronting emotional trauma in response to death and social isolation. Class hierarchy and gender roles placed heavy restrictions on women’s freedom, forcing them to carefully calibrate the …