Digital Commons Network^™

The Daytime Conspicuity Benefits Of Rear-Facing Bike Lights, Darlene Edewaard

All Dissertations

Cycling with motor vehicle traffic on roadways is inherently risky, and it is important for bicyclists to make themselves conspicuous to drivers, even during daylight conditions. Two experiments manipulated rear-facing bike lights to determine how best to help drivers become aware of a bicyclist’s presence during the daytime. Experiment 1 incorporated closed-road methods in which participants provided subjective ratings of conspicuity from a test vehicle parked at two different distances as they viewed 16 configurations of bike lights displayed by a stationary test bicyclist pedaling in daylight. The results indicated that increasing the luminous intensity and number of lights enhanced …

2019 (31st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

The Role Of Notch In Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Adipogenesis, Mengcheng Liu

Master's Theses

Obesity is the leading cause of chronic disease and has contributed to significant health problems and complications. In order to solve this increasingly serious social problem, it is particularly important to deepen the understanding of the biological causes of obesity. Obesity is the result of an increased mass of adipose tissue after excessive caloric intake, and adipogenesis is the main strategy through which the body increases the number of adipocytes. However, due to the lack of research, the current understanding of adipogenesis is not enough to yield results in the clinic.

The regulation of adipogenesis is complex, and the role …

Knowing Your Rights In Trump’S America: Paper Trails Of Community Empowerment, Ruth Gomberg-Munoz

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay traces the circulation and changing meanings of documents in community education and empowerment campaigns in the wake of Trump’s 2016 election. In particular, I examine how advocates use community education to create and exploit legal gray areas as they advance competing interpretations and uses of documents in sociolegal arenas. I also explore how local campaigns for “sanctuary” seek to sever paper trails of documents that can expose immigrant community members to federal immigration agencies. Finally, as documents form new paper trails through deportation, I attend to their changing meanings as they travel in new directions, traverse jurisdictional boundaries, …

Bostock, Lgbt Discrimination, And The Subtractive Moves, Andrew Koppelman

Minnesota Law Review Headnotes, Vols. 94-106 (2009-2022)

In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, covers discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The dissenting Justices, following the reasoning of several Court of Appeals judges, embraced a series of subtractive argumentative moves in order to argue that the statute does not prohibit discrimination that is explicitly within its scope, and which is part of the mischief that the statute aims to remedy. This article catalogues and critiques the subtractive moves. One may focus on (1) the law’s …

Technical Standards For Bioinformatics And Medical Informatics, Jorge L. Contreras, Adrian Thorogood

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

With a few exceptions, the biomedical industry, and the informatics field in particular, have not been affected by the standards litigation that has plagued the ICT sector. But with the increasing adoption of standards by informatics researchers and vendors, the issues faced by ICT standards groups will become increasingly relevant. This chapter summarizes general legal issues associated with standards development, then surveys standardization efforts in the informatics space and reviews the policies and procedures adopted by SDOs operating in the informatics area. It concludes with recommendations regarding prudent policy adoption by SDOs developing standards for informatics applications.

The Nci Cancer Moonshot Public Access And Data Sharing (Pads) Policy – Initial Assessment And Implications, Jorge L. Contreras, Tammy Frisby

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Since 2013, federal research-funding agencies have been required to develop and implement broad data sharing policies. Yet agencies today continue to grapple with the mechanisms necessary to enable the sharing of a wide range of data types, from genomic and other -omics data to clinical and pharmacological data to survey and qualitative data. In 2016, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched the ambitious $1.8 billion Cancer Moonshot Program, which included a new Public Access and Data Sharing (PADS) Policy applicable to funding applications submitted on or after October 1, 2017. The PADS Policy encourages the immediate public release of published …

Fear Of Blackness And Gentrification Of Black And Brown Neighborhoods In Chicago, Vanessa Ann Hentz

Social Work Theses - Archive

The gentrification of Black and Brown neighborhoods in Chicago is an ongoing process that deserves attention and analysis. The purpose of this scoping review was to determine the factors contributing to the gentrification of Chicago neighborhoods. The purpose included investigating if there is a fear of Blackness associated with the gentrification of Black and Brown neighborhoods. The methodology followed for the scoping review included the recommendations from Arskey & O’Malley’s (1994) Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework. This methodology included using the research question to gather the relevant articles to chart, summarize, and analyze the results (Arskey & O’Malley 1994). …

Exploring The Alignment Of Arlington Independent School District's Junior High And High School Anti-Bullying Policies With State And District Policy: A Content Analysis Of Website And Facebook Data, Modesty Chisom Ekueku

Social Work Theses - Archive

Bullying is a significant issue that results in deterioration of the self-esteem of the victim as well as causing other health and psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and reduced self-confidence. Research shows that bullying is a common phenomenon in the United States, which involves hurting one's reputation or relationships (Graham, 2016). Cyber-bullying is another common form of bullying to the students who are accessible to the internet and other electronic devices. Cyberbullying has become an even more significant issue due to the unprecedented times we are facing. This study aims to analyze the alignment of bullying polices between the …

Predictors Of School Functioning And Problem Behaviors In Siblings Of Children With Autism, Sarah Elizabeth Jones

Social Work Theses - Archive

When a child has a sibling with a disability, siblings must learn to adapt to additional challenges and demands and may often be overlooked by their parents, teachers, and service providers. While research has demonstrated that the social and emotional development of siblings of children with ASD is impacted in the context of their homes and families, the impact on siblings in the school setting has been minimally examined. Using the Sibling Embedded Systems Framework, this study assesses the relationship between micro and mesosystem factors in relation to school behavioral and academic outcomes for siblings of children with ASD using …

Swimming Upstream To Achieve The Dream: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Of The Postsecondary Experiences Of Foster Care Alumni, Sharron Crear

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Education has been deemed the "great equalizer" for the condition of man (Horace Mann, 1848). Studies have found that years of education and income are highly correlated--the higher the educational level, the higher the income (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Numerous studies highlight the benefits of attaining a college degree; however, college enrollment and graduation rates among young adults with foster care experience lag significantly behind those of their non-foster care peers. Despite increased policies and efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to improve the educational outcomes of this vulnerable population, poor educational outcomes are still prevalent. …

Likelihood Inference For Flexible Cure Rate Models In The Context Of Infectious Diseases With Multiple Exposures, Zachry Joseph Engel

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Cure rate models are mostly used to study data arising from cancer clinical trials. Its use in the context of infectious diseases has not been explored well. In 2007, Tournoud and Ecochard rst proposed a mechanistic formulation of cure rate model in the context of infectious diseases with multiple exposures to infection. However, they assumed a simple Poisson distribution to capture the unobserved number of pathogens at each exposure time. In this thesis, we propose a new exible cure rate model to study infectious diseases with discrete multiple exposures to infection. This new model uses the Conway-Maxwell Poisson (COM-Poisson) distribution …

Magnetic Hardening In The Transition Metal Nanoparticles And Nanowires, Meiying Xing

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Permanent magnets are important materials widely used in advanced technologies including electric vehicles, windmills, memory devices, magnetic levitation transportation, and biomedical apparatus. Rare-earth-based compounds with excellent magnetic performance are dominant in the permanent magnet market. However, researchers have also worked on rare-earth-free permanent magnets ascribed to the rare-earth crisis. For fundamental and application points of view, in this thesis, we investigated magnetic hardening in 3d transition metal nanostructures by controlling the morphology and composition. Nanoscale Co particles with single hcp crystalline structure were synthesized. As a result, the optimum coercivity of 2.7 kOe is obtained in the Co nanoparticles, owing …

Brain Health And Active Living: A Social Ecological Approach, Xiaoxia Zhang

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

Advocating active lifestyles and improving brain health across the lifespan is one of the universal and ultimate goals for Healthy People 2030. Unhealthy movement behaviors (physically inactive, excessive sedentary behavior, and insufficient sleep) and high prevalence of depression and cognitive impairment among young adults keep challenging higher education and public health systems. A comprehensive understanding of the determinants and mechanisms of movement behaviors and brain health is needed. Grounded in the social ecological model, this dissertation was to examine the behavioral and psychosocial mechanisms of brain health (depression and cognitive function) among young adults (18-45 years old). Study 1 (Chapter …

Novel Mechanisms Of Peripheral Vascular Dysfunction In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes, Ben Earl Young

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

Currently, over 30 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). Importantly, T2D disproportionately augments the risk for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is currently the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. A hallmark characteristic of T2D is insulin resistance (IR), defined as a reduced tissue responsiveness to insulin stimulation, which contributes to prolonged periods of post-prandial hyperglycemia and is associated with a compensatory rise in pancreatic insulin secretion (hyperinsulinemia). Importantly, there is a well-known bi-directional association between the degree of IR/hyperinsulinemia and hypertension (HTN), with nearly …

Dysregulated Calcium Signaling In Cardiomyocytes From Diabetic Atrial Fibrillation To Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy, Xian Liu

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

Ca2+ is a vital second messenger in cardiomyocytes and controls excitation-contraction coupling. It also regulates cell cycle, apoptosis, hypertrophy and downstream gene transcription in the heart remodeling. Calcium homeostasis is a complicated network and the intracellular Ca2+ signaling is composed of different Ca2+ movements like Ca2+ spikes [1], waves and oscillations [2-4]. The spatially-temporally regulated Ca2+ signaling is orchestrated with the Ca2+ release through ryanodine receptor (RyR) or IP3 receptor (IP3R) from Ca2+ stores such as sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER), recycling of Ca2+ from cell plasma back to the ER and Ca2+ influx through plasma membrane (PM) from extracellular space. There …

Science Fiction And The Law: A New Wigmorian Bibliography, Jorge L. Contreras

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

In 1908, Dean John Henry Wigmore compiled a list of novels that no lawyer could “afford to ignore”. Wigmore’s list, taken up by Professor Richard Weisberg in the 1970s, catalogs one hundred novels, stories and dramatic works from Antigone to The Merchant of Venice to Native Son, each of which portrays or offers insight into the legal system or the practice of law. Weisberg’s updated list also includes a compilation of critical studies in the then-emerging law and literature movement. This article undertakes a similar bibliographic exercise with respect to law and the literature of science fiction. While science fiction, …

A Road Map To Net-Zero Emissions For Fossil Fuel Development On Public Lands, Jamie Pleune, John C. Ruple, Nada Culver

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Almost one quarter of all U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions come from fossil fuels extracted from public lands, and these resources are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM has a statutory duty set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) to coordinate management of various resources “without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the environment.” Continuing to permit fossil fuel development without adhering to a carbon budget violates this statutory duty. This Article argues that the BLM must address climate change in its decisions. It also proposes …

Next-Generation Sequencing In Equine Genomics, Jessica L. Petersen, Stephen J. Coleman

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

• Next-generation sequencing of both DNA and RNA represents a second revolution in equine genetics following publication of the equine genome sequence.

• Technological advancements have resulted in a wide selection of next-generation sequencing platforms capable of completing small targeted experiments or resequencing complete genomes.

• DNA and RNA sequencing have applications in clinical and research environments.

• Standards for the validation and sharing of next-generation sequencing data are critical for the widespread application of the technology and applications discussed herein.

• As researchers and clinicians develop a better understanding of how genetic variation and phenotypic variation are linked, next-generation sequencing could help pave the …

Lignin Ethanolysis Depolymerization And Product Upgrading With Mesoporous And Palladium Supported Zeolite Catalysts, Nathan Cody Baxter

Doctoral Dissertations

Lignin is a high-volume farm waste and environmental hazard of paper and pulp industries. To promote the utilization of its rich aromatic units into important chemicals and fuels, efforts were intensively made to breakdown lignin structure with a variety of depolymerization processes involving heating, solvent, and catalysts or their combination. Among those processes, ethanolysis in supercritical conditions shows promising performance for its high lignin conversion and little char formation. To improve the yield and selectivity of aromatics, particularly phenols, we examined the important roles of acidity and pore structure of different zeolite catalyst play in this process. Zeolites with close …

The Sisterhood Ceiling: A Qualitative Case Study On Female Leaders' Perceptions Of The Gender Leadership Gap, Morgan Leigh Patrick

Doctoral Dissertations

Women are underrepresented in leadership (Bichsel & McChesney, 2017; Catalyst, 2018; Cook, 1997; Mesch & Rooney, 2008; United States Senate, n.d.a, n.d.b; United States House of Representatives, 2020a; United States House of Representatives, 2020b). Exploring the underrepresentation of women in higher educational leadership could offer insight that could be used to create opportunities to advance women in order to fill the gender gap. Much is known about the proverbial Glass Ceiling (Bichsel & McChesney, 2017; Catalyst, 2018; Cook, 1997; Mesch & Rooney, 2008) and the Glass Escalator (Malin & Wise, 2018; Maume, 1999; Williams, 1992). However, the challenges related to …

Moving On Up: The Transition From Middle To High School For Neurotypical Adolescents, Corinne Dever, Ots, Julia Forebaugh, Ots, Alexandra Mangino, Ots, Madeline Gamble, Ots, Samantha Morse, Ots, Rebecca Sinko, Otd, Otr/L

Collaborative Research and Evidence shared Among Therapists and Educators (CREATE Day)

Objectives

• Define the role of occupational therapy for the middle to high school transition.
• Identify potential interventions within the scope of occupational therapy to facilitate the transition from middle to high school.
• Acquire the knowledge from current research to apply occupational therapy interventions to neurotypical adolescents transitioning from middle to high school.

PICO Question

What kind of (I) interventions fall within the scope of occupational therapy (O) to increase school participation for (P) neurotypical adolescents transitioning from middle school to high school?

Colony Dynamics And Plant Community Associations Of The Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex Salinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Sagebrush-Steppe Habitat, Ian C. Robertson, Wilma G. Robertson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present the results of a 5-yr field study on colony dynamics and plant community associations of Owyhee harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex salinus (Olsen), in sagebrush-steppe habitat in southwestern Idaho. Over a 5-yr period, the total number of ant colonies across 16 sites increased from 843 to 878 (4.15%) as a result of 315 colony deaths and 350 colony initiations. Up to 7.1% of colony initiations may have been instances of nest relocation. Colonies had a higher rate of failure in their first year than in subsequent years (12.4 vs 4.6–8.4% over the next 3 yr). Of the 11 sites analyzed …

An Analysis Of Dairy And Its Effects On Vocal Production, Micah Sessions

Undergraduate Research Journal

Dairy is anecdotally known to create issues caused by increased mucus in the vocal performance profession. This article explores the scientific explanations behind the debate about whether or not that is true. It also uses scientific backing to recommend certain foods to avoid, if worried about that effect. It concludes with suggesting dietary choices to help alleviate the inhibition of the voice caused by the effect dairy may have on mucus.

Biomarker Application For Precision Medicine In Stroke, Alexis N. Simpkins, Miroslaw Janowski, Helieh S. Oz, Jill Roberts, Gregory Bix, Sylvain Doré, Ann M. Stowe

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of long-term disability and mortality despite recent advances in acute thrombolytic therapies. In fact, the global lifetime risk of stroke in adults over the age of 25 is approximately 25%, with 24.9 million cases of ischemic stroke and 18.7 million cases of hemorrhagic stroke reported in 2015. One of the main challenges in developing effective new acute therapeutics and enhanced long-term interventions for stroke recovery is the heterogeneity of stroke, including etiology, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors that uniquely affect each individual stroke survivor. In this comprehensive review, we propose that future biomarker studies …

Assessing Residency Patterns And Trophic Ecology Of Southern Flounder In Alabama's Coastal Waters, Jared Chrisp

All Theses

Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is an economically important species along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Over the last several years, Southern Flounder populations have experienced drastic declines. Analysis of natural tags, such as otolith chemistry and stable isotopes, can be used to examine habitat-specific contributions to commercial and recreational fisheries. A better understanding of habitat-use patterns and food web dynamics of this species could provide insight into habitat conservation and harvest regulations to promote sustainability of this species.

Water and otolith chemistry were used to quantify the proportional contributions of various residency patterns to the commercial and recreational harvest of …

Effects Of A 5-Week 100ppb Arsenic Exposure In Drinking Water On Mouse Intestinal Epithelium, Jordan Thomas Jatko

All Theses

Arsenic (As) is a global contaminant listed as the highest priority pollutant on the Substance Priority List by the ATSDR. The primary route of exposure is by ingestion of water and food. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes environmental exposure to arsenic as the largest mass poisoning of a population in history and designated a provisional guideline value of 10ppb in drinking water. Though the primary route of exposure to As is by ingestion, there is relatively scarce research investigating the effects of As on the small intestines. Arsenic has been shown to impair cellular differentiation and proliferation in other …

The Evolution Of Life Histories And Phenotypic Plasticity Across Environmental Gradients In Daphnia Sp., Michelle Renee Swan Packer

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Understanding how environmentally-induced variation ultimately leads to speciation is a main component of evolutionary ecology. This dissertation uses Daphnia in experimental and comparative studies to address several theoretical questions concerning the role of phenotypic plasticity in the evolutionary process. Specifically, I explore novel environmental factors which induce plasticity and investigate the plastic response across systems to determine general hypotheses for understanding the mechanisms which may be involved. Additionally, this dissertation provides empirical results which add to the body of research investigating the transition between environmentally induced phenotypes and genetic adaptation. The results of this body of work show that ancestral …

Development Of Reductive/Oxidative Treatment Strategy For The Removal Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Water, Akshay Parenky

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The detrimental health effects of halogenated compounds in humans has been well documented, and the frequent occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the water environment is a recent global concern. Feasible and sensible treatment strategies are in dire need for environmental remediation and water treatment. Currently, efficient treatment is only obtained at a small scale and at a high energy cost. This research is presented in three subsections, where decomposition of selected PFAS was evaluated under advanced oxidation techniques. The first study involved decomposition of a polyfluoroalkyl substance, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS), in which 2 carbons of …

Variability And Temporal Trends Of Semivolatile Organic Compounds In Biological And Environmental Media, Kyunghoon Kim

Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations - Archive

Exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in indoor environments and its potential impact on human health have been receiving increased public attention, because people in developed countries spend over 80% of their time indoors, SVOC levels are several orders of magnitude higher indoors than outdoors, and many SVOCs have various toxicities and endocrine disrupting potential. Concentrations of SVOCs in biological (e.g., human serum) and environmental (e.g., household dust, indoor air) media can help us better understand human exposure to SVOCs. For example, SVOC concentrations in biological media collected over several years may shed light on temporal trends of exposure due …