Digital Commons Network^™

Chapter 12. Informing Inquiry Into Writing Across The Lifespan From Perspectives On Students With Learning Disabilities Or Autism Spectrum Disorder, Apryl L. Poch, Matthew C. Zajic, Steve Graham

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The value of writing is not limited to single points of time in our lives but serves many different purposes across the lifespan (Bazerman et al., 2018). For instance, young children begin to experiment with writing as early as two years of age, using it as a vehicle for play, communication, and self-expression (Rowe, 2008). With the advent of school, the purposes for writing expand greatly to include writing to inform, persuade, describe, summarize, learn, and narrate to identify just some of the ways children, adolescents, and young adults learn to write and use writing as part of their education. …

Design Of An Optimal Adaptive Intelligent Control Scheme For Statcom In A Series Compensated Wind Farm, Fei Wang, Kai-Hung Lu, Qiangqiang Xu, Ziwen Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper proposes a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) for use with a self-excited induction generator (SEIG)-based wind farm. The STATCOM applies a damping controller based on an optimal adaptive intelligent controller (OAIC) comprising the critical network, the functional linkbased Elman neural network (FLENN), and the genetic algorithm hybrid time-varying particle swarm optimization (GAHTVPSO) algorithm. The OAIC improves the damping power oscillations in the SEIG-based series-compensated wind farm system. The node-connecting weights of the proposed FLENN and the critical network are trained online via a backpropagation (BP) algorithm, and the GAHTVPSO adjusts the learning rates of the BP algorithm to improve …

Genetic And Functional Characterization Of Novel Host Factors Regulating Virus Infection In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Luis Enrique Sandoval

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Viruses infect the majority of eukaryotic life on the planet and remain a global threat to human health. These pathogens are constrained to intracellular life cycles, as they exploit and rely on host factors and machinery throughout their entire reproduction process. While many of these viral life cycle factors have been reported and studied, our knowledge in the identity and function of these factors remains incomplete and a challenge in fundamental virology and the development of antiviral therapeutics. Caenorhabditis elegans offers an innovative approach for discovering novel host factors required for virus infection in a multicellular and simple model organism. …

A Mechanistic And Genomic Analysis Of Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Immune Evasion, Ian Benjamin Harvey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) is a common human-specific poxvirus with a proclivity forinfecting children and the immune-compromised. A characteristic MCV infection is restricted tothe epidermal layers of the skin and can persist for weeks to years in an otherwise healthyindividual. The high clinical burden of MCV is at odds with our limited knowledge regarding howit successfully evades the human immune response, which is in part due to the lack of an animalmodel or cell line to propagate the virus. Through this dissertation, we have uncovered andcharacterized a novel mechanism by which MC80, a protein encoded by MCV, downregulateshost MHC-I surface …

Pathophysiology And Proteogenomics Of Post-Infectious And Post-Hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus In Infants, Albert M. Isaacs

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Post-infectious (PIH) and post-hemorrhagic (PHH) hydrocephalus occur as sequalae of neonatal sepsis or intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of prematurity, respectively. Together, PIH and PHH represent the most common form of infantile hydrocephalus, the most common indication for neurosurgery in children globally, and the leading cause of neurological morbidity and mortality worldwide. The lack of understanding of the pathophysiology of PIH and PHH, particularly with regards to the host central nervous system response to the antecedent infection and hemorrhage, perturbation of differentiating neural stems in the ventricular (VZ) and subventricular (SVZ) zones, and damage to periventricular white matter (PVWM) tracts carrying sensorimotor …

Modeling Her2 Mutations In Colorectal Cancer Using A Her2 Transgenic Mouse Model And Gastrointestinal Organoids, Elisa Murray

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Amplification or mutations in members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, such as HER2, have been identified in several human diseases. In particular, mutations in the intracellular kinase domain have been identified in breast, colon, and lung cancers. The Cancer Genome Atlas has identified HER2 mutations or gene amplification in seven percent of colon cancer patients. These mutations are well known to promote enhanced cell growth and transformation of colon cancer cell lines. Previous studies have found HER2 mutations to confer anchorage independent growth and activation of downstream signaling pathways such as MAPK. Although HER2 mutations have been extensively …

Characterizing The Relationship Between Gut Microbiota Development And Healthy Growth, Hao-Wei Chang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Childhood undernutrition accounts for more than 45% of deaths in children under the age of ve. Children who receive current therapeutic treatment and survive often have long-term complications. These survivors usually exhibit stunted growth, impaired cognitive development and are at risk for immune dysfunction, obesity and associated metabolic abnormalities. Recent studies have revealed a causal relationship between development of the gut microbiota and healthy growth. However, standard therapeutic foods were not designed with a consideration of the developmental biology of the gut microbial community and have limited ef cacy in repairing the perturbed microbiota of undernourished children.We hypothesized that repairing …

The Role Of Cdx4 During Patterning Of Definitive Hemogenic Mesoderm, John Philip Creamer

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The current standard of treatment for a variety of hematopoietic malignancies and genetic disorders is allogenic bone marrow transplantation, where donor hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) engraft within the host and give rise to all of them hematopoietic lineages necessary for homeostasis. In many cases, finding a compatible human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching donor is not possible, due to the large amount of genetic variation at those loci, but with the advent of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), unlimited sources of patient matched cells can be derived. Hematopoietic differentiations of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been shown to recapitulate the …

Flux Variability In Gamma-Ray Blazars, Benjamin Groebe

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Blazars, among the most luminous objects in the sky, are extreme members of the class of active galactic nuclei featuring powerful outflows of relativistic particles in the form of jets pointed towards the observer. They display strong flux variability in all observed wavebands and on all observed timescales, with significant changes in flux observed in some sources over periods of as short as minutes. These remarkable observations have led to open questions regarding the nature of particle acceleration in the jets, location of the radiating particles along the jet, and the connection between jet emission and rate of accretion onto …

Mechanisms Of Cross-Presentation By Cdc1s, Derek James Theisen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Classical dendritic cells (cDCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells that can be divided into distinct subsets based on the types of pathogens they respond to and the type of immune response they generate. The cDC1 subset is specialized in priming CD8 T cell responses through the process of cross-presentation. During cross-presentation, exogenous protein antigens are taken up by cDC1 and presented on MHCI molecules, allowing for the priming of CD8 T cells during conditions when DCs themselves are not directly infected. The ability to cross-present in vivo is unique to cDC1, and is essential for anti-viral responses and rejection of …

Genomic Analysis Of Diverse Bacterial Pathogens, Robert Potter

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial pathogens have been a historical scourge for the entirety of human existence but have been significantly thwarted since the 20th century due to the development of antibiotics. However, owing to the large selection pressure of antibiotics on bacterial populations, phenotypic antibiotic resistance from the development of vertically transmitted mutations and horizontally acquired antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is increasing. The sum has produced multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) which have extremely limited treatment options. Epidemiological studies have determined that carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), Acinetobacter baumannii, and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE) are some of the most problematic MDRO infections. The advent of …

A Proposal To Institute En Banc Review At The Colorado Court Of Appeals, Chris Jackson

Denver Law Review Forum

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Longevity Of Sperm Within The Female Japanese Quail By Assessing Sperm Penetration Of The Perivitelline Layer Under Optimal And Suboptimal Conditions., Garret G. Ashabranner, Joey L. Bray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After mating, birds have the ability to store semen within the female reproductive tract. The sperm storage tubules will store and subsequently release semen to travel up the oviduct. Sperm cells that make the trek up the oviduct have a chance to fertilize the ovum. These sperm cells will bind to the perivitelline layer of the ovum and hydrolyze a hole in the perivitelline layer, where it has the possibility to fertilize the female sex cell. Analyzing the number of penetration points on the perivitelline layer is an effective way to analyze reproductive efficiency. Many environmental factor has its effect …

Aging Effects On Arterial Mechanics And Matrix Remodeling, Jie Hawes

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Large elastic arteries are a composite structure composed of cells and extracellular matrix proteins. Passive arterial mechanical behavior is determined by the composition of extracellular matrix proteins, in particular elastin and collagen. Elastin provides reversible elasticity to the large elastic arteries during cyclic loading and dampens the pulsatile flow from the left ventricle, reducing the workload on the heart and protecting the end organs. Disorganization and insufficiency of elastin alters the passive mechanical behavior of the large arteries. The arterial wall responds to changes in elastin organization or amount through matrix remodeling. Aging causes elastin fragmentation and degradation which changes …

Microrna Gene Expression States Underlying Individual Variation In Aging And Lifespan In Isogenic C. Elegans, Holly Kinser

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Average lifespan differs greatly between species, but lifespan among same-species individuals is also highly variable. While much effort has been devoted to uncovering longevity-associated traits and lifespan-extending perturbations in humans and model organisms, how differences in lifespan arise between individuals is unknown. Studies of human identical twins demonstrate that surprisingly little of the variation in lifespan between individuals can be explained by genetics and shared environment. Furthermore, even genetically identical C. elegans reared in highly homogeneous environments display a degree of variability in lifespan similar to that of outbred human populations. Thus, longevity must be determined at least in part …

Wnt/_-Catenin Mediated Regulation Of Murine And Human Cardiac Electrophysiology And Arrhythmogenesis, Gang Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cardiac arrhythmias affects millions of Americans and can lead to sudden cardiac death, accounting for more than 300,000 deaths annually. Despite the vast knowledge available for cardiac disease and associated arrhythmias, very few effective therapies exist. Current interventions include cardioverter defibrillators and antiarrhythmic drugs targeting ion channels or the _-adrenergic pathway. In most acquired and inherited arrhythmias, molecular signaling pathways are perturbed. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism of how these signaling pathways regulate cardiac electrophysiology. Therefore, a better understanding of major signaling pathways governing cardiac development or dysregulated in cardiac disease could lead to novel therapeutics for …

Biomedical Applications Of Polarimetry, Nathaniel Owen King

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Non- or minimally-invasive data collection is highly desirable for gathering the broad base of information that facilitates moving technology to the point of care. Polarimetry has been making this transition for years. Early forms of polarization-sensitive optics involved custom multiplexing a series of images to generate a single image, but today’s snapshot polarimeters are readily commercially available.

The research presented in this dissertation advances three areas of polarimetric imaging: First, this research develops a reflectance-based measurement for tracking changes in the alignment of dynamically loaded soft tissue, specifically tendon. This work highlights a range of mounting angles across which signal …

Production Of Medical Radioisotopes Using Titanium Accelerator Targets, Christopher Shaun Loveless

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Theranostic radiopharmaceuticals enable diagnostic imaging and radionuclide therapy in patients using a single molecular agent labeled with a diagnostic-therapeutic pair (e.g., 68Ga/177Lu) or a theranostic radionuclide (e.g., 131I). This theranostic approach can help inform patient-specific treatment plans and improve clinical outcomes. Radionuclide pairs used in theranostic agents fall into two categories: pseudo matched-pairs (e.g., 68Ga/177Lu) and matched-pairs (e.g., 124I/131I). Pseudo matched-pair radionuclides have similar chemistries and pharmacokinetics when bound to the same bioconjugate molecule. In contrast, identical chemistries and pharmacokinetics can be obtained by using the matched-pair radionuclides.The isotopes of Sc include two diagnostic radioisotopes, 43Sc & 44Sc, and one …

Vocational Expectations From Adolescence To Early Adulthood: An Integrative Exploration Of Their Formation, Consistency, Change, And Predictive Value, Leah Hope Schultz

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Career expectations show predictive validity for future job selection and work outcomes above traditional vocational interest inventories, yet are rarely tracked longitudinally. The current study explored characteristics of adolescents’ freely reported career expectations by examining their formation, typical trajectories of their development, individual differences in their development, and their utility as predictors of life outcomes. Though some past research has examined longitudinal trends in adolescents’ career expectations, this was the first study to assign dimensional RIASEC scores to participants’ expected occupations rather than a single categorical code. Using data from 21,444 students in the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS 09:16; …

Sustainable Diets For Planetary Health: A Study Of Indigenous Based Agri-Food Systems In A Community Of The Central Highlands Of Ecuador, Carlos Andres Gallegos-Riofrio

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In order to explore the psychosocial and agroecological dimensions of sustainable diets and their roles in the rural Andean community of Caliata in the Ecuadorian highlands, I conducted a community-centered participatory mixed-methods study. Thirty-nine focus groups and ten key informant interviews were conducted, recorded, translated, transcribed, and analyzed using three-stage coding. The information was triangulated using participant observation, local records, and descriptive statistics from a survey of 57 female household heads, which included a modified 48-hour dietary recall module. Rural appraisal research assessed agroecological dimensions. Ten purposively selected sites were studied alongside local informants in order to obtain diversity indexes …

Regulation Of Yolk Microtubule Dynamics By Dachsous Cadherins, Gina Danielle Castelvecchi

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The process of epiboly, or the thinning and spreading of a tissue, is a well-conserved morphogenetic process. As one of four conserved gastrulation cell movements, epiboly is important to help organize the overall body plan. Epiboly in zebrafish involves the thinning and spreading of the blastoderm originating from the animal pole to completely enclose the yolk. It is driven by a multitude of physical processes that involve the three cell types comprising the embryo: the yolk syncytial layer (YSL), enveloping layer (EVL), and deep cells. These physical aspects can be broadly described as involving cell-cell interactions through adhesion proteins, actomyosin …

Mechanisms Of Sting-Associated Vasculopathy And Immunodeficiency, Brock Gordon Bennion

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

STING N153S in mice and STING N154S in humans cause spontaneous autoimmunity. Specifically, these mutations reduce the numbers of T cells and NK cells, and cause lung disease. However, mice develop perivascular lung inflammation that is distinct from the pulmonary fibrosis observed in human patients. Viral infections are known to exacerbate autoimmunity and foment pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, we hypothesized that exposure to a virus may influence STING N153S disease in mice. To test this, we infected STING N153S animals with the gammaherpesvirus family member, gHV68, and found that 14 days post infection pulmonary fibrosis was readily observed by histological staining. …

Music For One World: Moroccan Musical Experience Of Diversity, Fusion, Happiness, Healing, And Peace, Mark Reimer

Journal of Global Awareness

Although steeped in Islamic religion and culture, Morocco is a land of varying influences and histories, including those of the native Berbers, the Moors and Jews driven out of Spain, those who follow the pious Sufi culture of Islamic spiritualism, and the Gnawa slaves who were brought into southern Morocco by Arabs. The music, customs, values, and everyday lives of these disparate peoples continue to not only blend with each other’s but also to fuse Moroccan music and culture with those of Europe, Africa, and America. The influence of Moroccan music continues to play a vital role in shaping contemporary …

Intensive Grazing Leads To Degradation And Spatial Homogenization Of Topsoils In Two Major Steppetypes In Inner Mongolia, P. R. China, M. Wiesmeier, M. Steffens, A. Kölbl, I. Kögel-Knabner

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Consistency Between Visually Perceived Movement And Real Movement On Cybersickness, Cai Li, Dongdong Weng, Zhenliang Zhang, Xingyao Yu

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: The cybersickness is still a huge obstacle for virtual reality (VR) system. Current researches on cybersickness are mostly based on static or dynamic simulators, while studies in the real movement state is rare. An evaluating system which employed a head-mounted display (HMD) with a running vehicle was proposed to study the cybersickness in the real movement state. In this system, users sitting in the vehicle could see virtual scenes which was consistent with the real motion through the HMD. Subjective and objective evaluating experiments were proposed to analyze the different levels of the cybersickness caused by visual-vestibular conflict. …

Real-Time Rendering Of Large-Scale River In Inland River Ship Simulator, Xiaoming Zhai, Yin Yong, Helong Shen

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: To improve the reality of river visual in inland river ship simulator, a method of rendering large scale river which could be applied for inland river ship simulator was proposed. The river flowing field was built though the conception of stream function, and the algorithm of Poisson disk sampling was used to control the distribution of river flowing field. This could balance the relationship between efficiency and effect of river surface. The parallelism and programmability of GPU was adopt to render river surface. The results show the river flowing field generated by algorithm of stream function can reflect …

Simulation System For Testing Ship Dynamic Positioning Control Algorithm, Xiaobin Qian, Yin Yong, Helong Shen, Xiaofeng Sun, Xiufeng Zhang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: To overcome the disadvantage of ship dynamic positioning control algorithm tests on sea trials, which features high risk, long debugging period and high expense, a simulation system for testing ship dynamic positioning control algorithm was designed. Motion mathematical model of dynamic positioning vessel and ocean disturbance model were established. The function requirements were proposed based on the characteristic of DP vessel movement. Architecture and implementation of the simulation system were introduced. Testing process and the related interface was descripted. A simulation was conducted on a DP supply vessel, which shows that: the simulation system can verify the effectiveness …

Lattice Boltzmann Fluid Simulation Based On Parameters, Zhongxiao Guo, Huiwen Liu, Xuemei Liu, Gao Yang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) has become the mainstream method of fluid numerical simulation based on Navier-Stokes equations. The visualization of numerical results and the real-time rendering of fluid animation could provide a visual method for data analysis. A velocity field drawn method for two-dimensional visualization was proposed based on LBGK equation and D2Q9 model design algorithm model, transforming floating-point fluid velocity value into the intensity values, which was used by the RGBA color rendering method. For three-dimensional visualization, Particle Level Set Method (PLSM) was used to track the fluid surface and coupled it …

Acupuncture For Symptom Management In A Menopausal Population: An Exploration Of Mechanism And Experience, Cheryl L. Wright

Dissertations

This early phase study examined the effects of a series of ten standard-protocol acupuncture treatments over four weeks in 12 healthy, but symptomatic, menopausal women. In addition to measuring two biologic markers that may shed light on the physiologic impact of acupuncture, symptom experience data were collected.

Is Social Media A Reliable Source For Information? An Examination Of Social Media Use Among Saudi Journalist, Mesfer Alharethi

Student Theses and Dissertations

Social media usage has changed the methods of communication between individuals, the way people interact, and more importantly it changed the pace of work in the field of media and journalism. Due to that, this study sought to investigate Saudi journalists’ pattern of social media use, their perception regarding the credibility and reliability of social media contents in the field of journalism. Also, this study sought to explore the motives and gratifications behind Saudi journalists use of social media. An online survey was distributed utilizing the snowball distribution technique. 104 participants responded to the survey expressing their perception of social …