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2020-2021 Graduate Catalog, Wku Graduate School

Graduate School

Graduate School catalog regarding admissions, curriculum and policies.

Dr. Jack Ferracane Appointed Founding Editor In Chief Of Ada’S New Open Access Journal, American Dental Association

News Releases

This collection includes standard news releases, information kits and other documents distributed for publicity, information, announcements of events, etc. as issued from the ADA. Items included in this collection are archival and any costs, links, contact information, or other figures may be out of date. Please contact the ADA to verify information.

Youth With Juvenile Justice Contact: Special Considerations In Measurement, Anne Elizabeth Biehl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students who have contact with the juvenile justice system are a particularly vulnerable and unique school-aged population. The risk factors that plague the likelihood of justice-involvement are numerous and inter-connected. Early experiences of trauma and adversity, limited familial and financial capital, and challenges with mental health all contribute to increased likelihood of youth contact with juvenile justice systems. Despite said risk factors effects on young people overall, youth of color are particularly susceptible to become justice-involved. School and community discipline statistics are grossly, racially disproportionate.

Pathways from schools to the justice system have been widely investigate in the literature. There …

Pivotal Perceptions: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Trauma-Informed Practices In An Urban School, Marni Choice-Hermosillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study sought to examine the experiences of teachers in an urban K-8 school after a system-wide whole school implementation of trauma-informed practices. The practices teachers implemented in their classrooms that aligned with their personal perceptions of trauma-informed practices and its efficacy were explored. Additionally, the personal and professional barriers to implementation were also investigated. Identified practical strategies at both the elementary and middle school levels included establishing and maintaining relational trust and classroom community, actively teaching emotional regulation skills, and teaching and reinforcing rituals, routines and expectations throughout the school year. Lack of confidence and previous personal assumptions …

Renewable Energy Integration In Distribution System With Artificial Intelligence, Yi Gu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing attention of renewable energy development in distribution power system, artificial intelligence (AI) can play an indispensiable role. In this thesis, a series of artificial intelligence based methods are studied and implemented to further enhance the performance of power system operation and control.

Due to the large volume of heterogeneous data provided by both the customer and the grid side, a big data visualization platform is built to feature out the hidden useful knowledge for smart grid (SG) operation, control and situation awareness. An open source cluster calculation framework with Apache Spark is used to discover big data …

Sorting Of Cargo Proteins Within The Regulated Secretory Pathway: The Peripheral Membrane Protein Hid-1 As A Sorting And Vesicle Biogenesis Factor, Blake H. Hummer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large dense core vesicles (LDCVs) form at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and mediate the regulated release of neuropeptides and peptide hormones. Despite their central role to physiology, the mechanisms controlling biogenesis and sorting to LDCVs is not well understood. Optimizing the retention using selective hooks (RUSH) method in neuroendocrine cells, we show it is possible to visualize sorting to the constitutive and regulated secretory pathways in real-time and that the bulk of transmembrane LDCV cargoes do not sort directly onto LDCVs, but exit the TGN into non-regulated vesicles to be incorporated to LDCVs at a later step. Additionally, we characterize …

Not All Violence In Relationships Is “Domestic Violence", Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The article proceeds in four parts. Part I describes in more detail the work of Donileen Loseke, and Part II applies her methodology by taking stock of the constructs as they currently exist. Part III examines social science data available since Loseke published her study, demonstrating that the current construct reflects, in reality, only a subset of relationship violence and a subset of the people who experience it. Part IV examines whether the main service designed to help people experiencing relationship violence today—law—perpetuates, rather than challenges norms. I argue that it does the former, because legal decision makers, like the …

Sensitive Species Data In Colorado’S State And Local Government Decision-Making, Kevin J. Lynch, Marissa Hoffman, Katherine Klein, John Molera, Merrily Newcomb, Sarah Matsumoto, Wyatt Sassman, Natalie Norcutt

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This report addresses the use of sensitive species data in Colorado at both the state and local levels. At the state level, this research focuses on environmental statutes and regulations, permitting authority in various state agencies, and processes for identifying and dealing with sensitive species. At the local level, the focus is on the role of sensitive species data in development proposals, as well as the varying level of detail required for considering sensitive species data in in local government decision-making.

Principally, this report identifies: (1) areas where statutes and regulations require the consideration of sensitive species data; (2) areas …

Fluorescent Sensor Arrays Can Predict And Quantify The Composition Of Multicomponent Bacterial Samples, Denis Svechkarev, Marat Sadykov, Lucas J. Houser, Kenneth W. Bayles, Aaron M. Mohs

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Fast and reliable identification of infectious disease agents is among the most important challenges for the healthcare system. The discrimination of individual components of mixed infections represents a particularly difficult task. In the current study we further expand the functionality of a ratiometric sensor array technology based on small-molecule environmentally-sensitive organic dyes, which can be successfully applied for the analysis of mixed bacterial samples. Using pattern recognition methods and data from pure bacterial species, we demonstrate that this approach can be used to quantify the composition of mixtures, as well as to predict their components with the accuracy of ~80% …

An Integrated Computational And Experimental Study To Investigate Staphylococcus Aureus Metabolism, Mohammad Mazharul Islam, Vinai Chittezham Thomas, Matthew Van Beek, Jong-Sam Ahn, Abdulelah A. Alqarzaee, Chunyi Zhou, Paul D. Fey, Kenneth W. Bayles, Rajib Saha

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Staphylococcus aureus is a metabolically versatile pathogen that colonizes nearly all organs of the human body. A detailed and comprehensive knowledge of staphylococcal metabolism is essential to understand its pathogenesis. To this end, we have reconstructed and experimentally validated an updated and enhanced genome-scale metabolic model of S. aureus USA300_FPR3757. The model combined genome annotation data, reaction stoichiometry, and regulation information from biochemical databases and previous strain-specific models. Reactions in the model were checked and fixed to ensure chemical balance and thermodynamic consistency. To further refine the model, growth assessment of 1920 nonessential mutants from the Nebraska Transposon Mutant Library …

Shark Parent August, September 2020, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Parent Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Shark Parent October, November 2020, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Parent Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Loss Of Trp53 (P53) Accelerates Tumorigenesis And Changes The Tumor Spectrum Of Sjl/J Mice., Jane Branca, Benjamin E. Low, Ruth L. Saxl, Jennifer K Sargent, Rosalinda A. Doty, Michael V. Wiles, Beth L Dumont, Muneer G. Hasham

Faculty Research 2020

Known as the guardian of the genome, transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a well -known tumor suppressor. Here, we describe a novel TRP53 deficient mouse model on a tumor prone background-SJL/J mice. The absence of TRP53 (TRP53 nullizygosity) leads to a shift in the tumor spectrum from a non-Hodgkin's-like disease to thymic lymphomas and testicular teratomas at a very rapid tumor onset averaging ~12 weeks of age. In haplotype studies, comparing tumor prone versus tumor resistant Trp53 null mouse strains, we found that other tumor suppressor, DNA repair and/or immune system genes modulate tumor incidence in TRP53 null strains, suggesting …

Deep Functional And Molecular Characterization Of A High-Risk Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma., Noah E Berlow, Catherine S Grasso, Michael J Quist, Mingshan Cheng, Regina Gandour-Edwards, Brian S Hernandez, Joel E Michalek, Christopher Ryan, Paul Spellman, Ranadip Pal, Lynn S Million, Mark Renneker, Charles Keller

Faculty Research 2020

Nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a class of 50+ cancers arising in muscle and soft tissues of children, adolescents, and adults. Rarity of each subtype often precludes subtype-specific preclinical research, leaving many STS patients with limited treatment options should frontline therapy be insufficient. When clinical options are exhausted, personalized therapy assignment approaches may help direct patient care. Here, we report the results of an adult female STS patient with relapsed undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) who self-drove exploration of a wide array of personalized Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIAs) level and research-level diagnostics, including state of the art genomic, proteomic,

Womanfest 2020 - Flyer, Megan M. Haught

Libraries' Documents

No abstract provided.

Facilitation Between Invasive Herbivores: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Increases Gypsy Moth Preference For And Performance On Eastern Hemlock, Ian G. Kinahan, Alex K. Baranowski, Elizabeth R. Whitney, Suzanne K. Savage, Chad M. Rigsby, Emma E. Shoemaker, Colin M. Orians, Evan L. Preisser

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

1. Interactions between invertebrate herbivores with different feeding modes are common on long‐lived woody plants. In cases where one herbivore facilitates the success of another, the consequences for their shared host plant may be severe. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a canopy‐dominant conifer native to the eastern U.S., is currently threatened with extirpation by the invasive stylet‐feeding hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). The effect of adelgid on invasive hemlock‐feeding folivores remains unknown.
2. This study evaluated the impact of feeding by hemlock woolly adelgid on gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larval preference for, and performance on, eastern hemlock. …

The Timeliness Of Inclusion Efforts In Biology Education, Laura Macdonald, Bryan Dewsbury, Jana Marcette

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Trends In Chondrichthyan Research: An Analysis Of Three Decades Of Conference Abstracts, D. S. Shiffman, M. U. Ajemian, J. C. Carrier, T. S. Daly-Engel, M. M. Davis, N. K. Dulvy, R. D. Grubbs, N. A. Hinojosa, J. Imhoff, M. A. Kolmann, C. S. Nash, E. W. M. Paig-Tran, E. E. Peele, R. A. Skubel, Bradley M. Wetherbee, L. B. Whitenack, J. T. Wyffels

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Given the conservation status and ecological, cultural, and commercial importance of chondrichthyan fishes, it is valuable to evaluate the extent to which research attention is spread across taxa and geographic locations and to assess the degree to which scientific research is appropriately addressing the challenges they face. Here we review trends in research effort over three decades (1985–2016) through content analysis of every abstract (n = 2,701) presented at the annual conference of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), the oldest and largest professional society focused on the scientific study and management of these fishes. The most common research areas …

Contrasting Immunomodulatory Effects Of Probiotic And Pathogenic Bacteria On Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Larvae, Tejashree H. Modak, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Several Vibrio spp. cause acute and severe mortality events in hatcheries where larvae of bivalve mollusks are reared, potentially leading to subsequent shortage of bivalve seed for the grow-out industry. In particular, strains of Vibrio coralliilyticus have been identified as a major cause of disease in Pacific, Crassostrea gigas, and eastern, C. virginica, oyster hatcheries in the United States of America. Probiotic bacteria are an inexpensive, practical, and natural method of disease control. Previous research shows that pretreatment of larval oysters with probiotic bacteria Bacillus pumilus RI06–95 (RI) and Phaeobacter inhibens S4 (S4) significantly decreases mortality caused …

Analysis Of Cell-Associated Denv Rna By Oligo(Dt) Primed 5’ Capture Scrnaseq, Mark A. Sanborn, Tao Li, Kaitlin Victor, Hayden Siegfried, Christian Fung, Alan L. Rothman, Anon Srikiatkhachorn, Stefan Fernandez, Damon Ellison, Richard G. Jarman, Heather Friberg, Irina Maljkovic Berry, Jeffrey R. Currier, Adam T. Waickman

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

Dengue is one of the most widespread vector-borne viral diseases in the world. However, the size, heterogeneity, and temporal dynamics of the cell-associated viral reservoir during acute dengue virus (DENV) infection remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed cells infected in vitro with DENV and PBMC from an individual experiencing a natural DENV infection utilizing 5’ capture single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). Both positive- and negative-sense DENV RNA was detected in reactions containing either an oligo(dT) primer alone, or in reactions supplemented with a DENV-specific primer. The addition of a DENV-specific primer did not increase the total amount of DENV …

Transcriptome Analysis Provides A Blueprint Of Coral Egg And Sperm Functions, Julia Van Etten, Alexander Shumaker, Tali Mass, Hollie M. Putnam, Debashish Bhattacharya

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Reproductive biology and the evolutionary constraints acting on dispersal stages are poorly understood in many stony coral species. A key piece of missing information is egg and sperm gene expression. This is critical for broadcast spawning corals, such as our model, the Hawaiian species Montipora capitata, because eggs and sperm are exposed to environmental stressors during dispersal. Furthermore, parental effects such as transcriptome investment may provide a means for cross- or trans-generational plasticity and be apparent in egg and sperm transcriptome data.

Methods

Here, we analyzed M. capitata egg and sperm transcriptomic data to address three questions: (1) …

Squeezed By A Habitat Split: Warm Ocean Conditions And Old‐Forest Loss Interact To Reduce Long‐Term Occupancy Of A Threatened Seabird, Matthew G. Betts, Joseph M. Northrup, Jennifer A. Bailey Guerrero, Lindsay J. Adrean, S. Kim Nelson, Jennifer L. Fisher, Brian D. Gerber, Marie‐Sophie Garcia‐Heras, Zhiqiang Yang, Daniel D. Roby, James W. Rivers

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Theory predicts that species requiring multiple habitat types simultaneously should have heightened sensitivity to anthropogenic pressures, yet tests of this prediction are especially rare. We tested whether breeding site occupancy of the threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) was driven by the synergistic effects of nesting habitat loss in forests, and changing ocean condi- tions. We paired 70,700 murrelet surveys at 19,837 sites across 20 years from the Oregon Coast Range with annual data on the extent of old forest and biophysical ocean conditions. Dynamic occupancy models indicated that local murrelet col- onization rates were strongly reduced during warm …

Southern California Margin Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblages Record Recent Centennial-Scale Changes In Oxygen Minimum Zone, Hannah M. Palmer, Tessa M. Hill, Peter D. Roopnarine, Sarah E. Myhre, Kastherine R. Reyes, Jonas T. Donnenfield

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Student Professional Publications

Microfossil assemblages provide valuable records to investigate variability in continental margin biogeochemical cycles, including dynamics of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Analyses of modern assemblages across environmental gradients are necessary to understand relationships between assemblage characteristics and environmental factors. Five cores were analyzed from the San Diego margin (32∘42′00′′ N, 117∘30′00′′ W; 300–1175 m water depth) for core top benthic foraminiferal assemblages to understand relationships between community assemblages and spatial hydrographic gradients as well as for down-core benthic foraminiferal assemblages to identify changes in the OMZ through time. Comparisons of benthic foraminiferal assemblages from two size fractions (63–150 and >150 …

Lifelines Winter 2020, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Winter 2020 issue of Lifelines contains articles on students in service, insights from the professor, and departmental happenings.

Saving The Electronic Person From Digital Assault: The Case For More Robust Protections Over Our Electronic Medical Records, Danielle M. Mrdjenovich

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Grandfamilies" Amid The Opioid Crisis: An Increasing Reason To Update Pennsylvania's Outdated Intestacy Laws, Joanne L. Parise

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

Development Of Strategies For The Assessment Of Practical Competencies In A Learning Environment, Kathleen Brosnan, Dervil Cody, Shannon Dickson

Practitioner Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Science Communication Demands A Critical Approach That Centers Inclusion, Equity, And Intersectionality, Katherine N. Canfield, Sunshine Menezes, Shayle B. Matsuda, Amelia Moore, Alycia N. Mosley Austin, Bryan M. Dewsbury, Mónica I. Feliú-Mójer, Katharine W.B. Mcduffie, Kendall Moore, Christine A. Reich, Hollie M. Smith, Cynthia Taylor

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

We live in an era of abundant scientific information, yet access to information and to opportunities for substantive public engagement with the processes and outcomes of science are still inequitably distributed. Even with increasing interest in science communication and public engagement with science, historically marginalized and minoritized individuals and communities are largely overlooked and undervalued in these efforts. To address this gap, this paper aims to define inclusive science communication and clarify and amplify the field. We present inclusive science communication as one path forward to redress the systemic problems of inequitable access to and engagement with STEMM (science, technology, …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Advanced Nitrogen-Removal Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, Bianca Ross, Brittany V. Lancellotti, Elizabeth Q. Brannon, George W. Loomis, José A. Amador

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Advanced onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) designed to remove nitrogen from residential wastewater play an important role in protecting environmental and public health. Nevertheless, the microbial processes involved in treatment produce greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to global climate change, including CO₂, CH₄, N₂O. We measured GHG emissions from 27 advanced N-removal OWTS in the towns of Jamestown and Charlestown, Rhode Island, USA, and assessed differences in flux based on OWTS technology, home occupancy (year-round vs. seasonal), and zone within the system (oxic vs. anoxic/hypoxic). We also investigated the relationship between flux and wastewater …

Aging In Place: Causes And Importance Of Fall Prevention Education, Molly Banks, Danielle Halstead, Mariah Leroux

Critically Appraised Topics

Falls are a significant concern for older community-dwelling adults’ ability to age in place, specifically those who aged 60 and older. Many factors contribute to the risk of falls in older adults that need to be addressed by health care facilities, home health providers, and caretakers. Occupational therapy has a role to educate older adults, as well as health care providers on how to prevent the risk factors of older adults and falls. The purpose of this CAT is to take a deeper look at why this population has so many falls and examine the research addressing education and risk …