Digital Commons Network^™

Pasture Statues, Alfredo Salvatore Arcilesi

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Kaleidoscopic Katas: An Intercultural Somatic Curriculum For Holistic Health, Emily Seymour

Master's Theses

The intent of this research study was to combine three African and Eastern somatic movement practices into a modern dance curriculum. Few studies have investigated the therapeutic value of subtle body awareness in a dance class context. This integrative study combined psychological, physiological, and contemplative pedagogical approaches, which led to the development of a comprehensive five-part workshop with five adult participants. This ten-hour online class series involved learning a traditional Afro-Haitian serpent dance called the Yanvalou, the Tantric practice of Chakra Yoga, and the Five Animals qigong. The original curricular goal was to combine these three modalities into five sequential …

Knowledge And Practice On Pest Management Of Ethnic Potato Farmers In Southern Shan State, Myanmar, Pyae Pa Pa Aung, Supawan Visetnoi

Jurnal Geografi Lingkungan Tropik (Journal of Geography of Tropical Environments)

Potato is cultivated as the main tuber crop which is essential for ethnic farmers’ household income in Southern Shan State, Myanmar. Most ethnic farmers use chemicals widely to enhance crop yield and reduce pests. Overuse and misuse of pesticides could lead to a series of health impacts and environmental issues. The main aim of the study is to explore farmers’ current practices and knowledge level on pesticides in potato production. The participants of 100 farmers were chosen from each village with a cluster and purposive sampling technique using structured questionnaires to collect the data from a village in Kalaw Township. …

Genetic Characterization Of Banteng (Bos Javanicus) Populations In Thailand For Conservation, Sirinart Chaichanathong, Worata Klinsawat, Manakorn Sukmak, Apichaya Sakulthai, Worawidh Wajjwalku, Supaphen Sripiboon, Nongnid Kaolim, Seree Nakbhun, Burachat Tunpradit, Tarasak Nipanunt, Wanlaya Tipkantha, Marnoch Yindee, Nikorn Thongtip

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Banteng (Bos javanicus), an endangered, wild ungulate, plays a major role in seed dispersal and as a prey animal in Thailand. The population of wild banteng is threatened by poaching and habitat losses. Captive breeding management of banteng has been established and reintroduction of banteng has been successful in some areas. This study investigated the genetic variation of wild and captive banteng, based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the Y-chromosome. The mtDNA analysis revealed three novel maternal haplotypes. The Y-chromosome analysis showed two Y-chromosome haplotypes based on the SRY region in the Thai population. This region may be useful as …

Prevalence Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Buffaloes On Smallholdings In Coastal Area In Bangladesh, Md Shahriar Mannan, Farzana Rabbi, Md Gholam Kibria, Sirazul Islam, Md. Bayzid, Zamila Bueaza Bupasha, Md Zohorul Islam, Md Samun Sarker, Paritosh Kumar Biswas

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important causal agent of food borne diseases. Although the presence of STEC has been reported in cattle, goat, and sheep in previous studies in Bangladesh, there is seemingly no information on sorbitol non-fermenting STEC (SN-F STEC) carriage in buffalo. We aimed to assess the prevalence of SN-F STEC and to identify common virulence genes in SN-F STEC strains from apparently healthy buffaloes on smallholdings in coastal area in Bangladesh. Total 308 buffaloes on smallholdings in Patenga and Anwara Upazila, Chattogram division, Bangladesh were randomly sampled by collecting a swab from the recto-anal junction …

Genetic Correlations Between Gestation Length And Litter Traits Of Sows, Rawiwan Bumpenkul, Nalinee Imboonta

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between gestation length (GL) total number of piglets born (TB), number of piglets born alive (BA) and number of stillborn piglets (SB). Data of Landrace (LR), Large White (LW) and Duroc (DR) sows from one nucleus farm were analyzed. Data used in this study were 28,809 records of sows farrowing during 2006 to 2019. The factors effecting traits were examined by using GLM procedure in SAS program. Variance and covariance components were estimated using AIREMLF90 program. The model was applied with fixed effects for contemporary group, breed and parity, and …

Subtyping Of Blastocystis Infection In Common Quails (Coturnix Coturnix) In Xinxiang City Of China, Xuehan Liu, Xuefeng Yang, Zhixing An, Yaming Ge, Rongjun Wang, Haiju Dong, Huili Zhu

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Blastocystis is a unicellular anaerobic intestinal protist primarily of various animal species worldwide, and has been reported to inhabit humans as well. Blastocystis infections and subtype identification have been documented in China, although infections by the protist in quail remain unknown. Herein, a total of 128 fecal samples were collected from captive quails (Coturnix coturnix) in Xinxiang city, central China, and tested for the prevalence and genetic characteristics of Blastocystis. Ten (7.8%) samples were positive by PCR amplification and sequencing the barcode regeion of the SSU rRNA gene. Sequence analysis showed that ST7 was the predominant subtype with max identity …

Computed Tomographic Appearance Of Bladder And Vaginal Leiomyoma In Dog: Case Report, Sirirat Phantharangsi, Sukanya Maneein, Sekkarin Ploypetch

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

An 18-year-old, female Shih Tzu dog was presented at Prasu-Arthorn Animal Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University with the clinical signs of abdominal enlargement, constipation and urine incontinence. The survey abdominal radiographs demonstrated only a caudal large oval soft tissue abdominal mass and abdominal ultrasonography was suggested to indicate the mass origin. However, ultrasonographic finding did not identify the mass location and tissue invasiveness so computed tomography (CT) was requested. The CT result revealed that the mass was a mixed heterogenous attenuating and fluid attenuating mass (8.56 x 5.47 x 6.72 cm) at the uterine body and involved the …

Una Libertad Conquistada: Aurora Venturini Y La Pregunta Por El (Ser) Humano, Karina Elizabeth Vázquez, Claudia García

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

A pocos años de su muerte en 2015, Aurora Venturini ha dejado de ser una desconocida en el mundo literario . Nacida en La Plata en 1921, contaba con una trayectoria bien establecida cuando fue "descubierta" por las editoriales transatlánticas. Tras la publicación de su novela Las primas (2009), fue absorbida por el grupo editorial Penguin Random House Mondadori, que en 2013 publicó El marido de mi madrastra, Nosotros, las Caserta y Los rieles, y en 2015, Cuentos secretos. Estos textos recogen la obra anterior a Las primas. Graduada en Filosofía y Ciencias de la Educación …

Photoacoustic-Guided Endovenous Laser Ablation: Characterization And In Vivo Canine Study, Yan Yan, Samuel John, Tanyeem Shaik, Bijal Patel, Mai T. Lam, Loay S. Kabbani, Mohammad Mehrmohammadi

Surgery Articles

Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure, often guided by ultrasound (US) imaging, for treating venous insufficiencies. US imaging limitations in accurately visualizing the catheter and the lack of a temperature monitoring system can lead to sub-optimal outcomes. An integrated photoacoustic (PA)-guided EVLA system has been previously developed and reported to overcome the shortcomings of US-guided procedure. In this study, we further characterized the system and tested the in vivo utility. In addition, PA thermometry was further explored by compensating the variation of PA signal with temperature with respect to the temperature-dependent absorption of blood and water. …

Soil Moisture And Light Conditions Impact Digital And Visual Soil Color Assessments, Isabella Hill

All Theses

Determining soil color has traditionally been done visually, but inaccuracies with this method have been documented, including disagreement in evaluators, to differences in physical color books. Determining Munsell soil color in the field is also subject to environmental conditions, including soil water content (SWC) and light intensity. New digital spectral technology designed for determining soil color may offer accurate assessments regardless of human inaccuracies and environmental conditions. This research aimed to assess if visual observations differed from digital measurements of Munsell soil color as well as, the impacts of SWC and light on visual observations and digital measurements of soil …

Biodiversity Scale-Dependence And Opposing Multi-Level Correlations Underlie Differences Among Taxonomic, Phylogenetic And Functional Diversity, Nadejda A. Mirochnitchenko, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Aim: Biodiversity is a multidimensional property of biological communities that represents different information depending on how it is measured, but how dimensions relate to one another and under what conditions is not well understood. We explore how taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity can differ in scale-of-effect dependence and habitat-biodiversity relationships, and subsequently how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise. Location: Nebraska, United States. Taxon: Birds. Methods: Across 2016 and 2017, we conducted 2,641 point counts at 781 sites. We modeled the occupancy of 141 species using Bayesian Bernoulli-Bernoulli hierarchical logistic regressions. We calculated species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), …

If You Think Ai Won't Eclipse Humanity, You're Probably Just A Human, Gary D. Brown

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Building machines that can replicate human thinking and behavior has fascinated people for hundreds of years. Stories about robots date from ancient history through da Vinci to the present. Whether designed to save labor or lives, to provide companionship or protection, loyal, capable, productive machines are a dream of humanity.

The modern manifestation of this interest in using human-like technology to advance social interests is artificial intelligence (AI). This is a paper about what that interest in AI means and how it might develop in the world of national security.

This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.

Gut Permeability And Osteoarthritis, Towards A Mechanistic Understanding Of The Pathogenesis: A Systematic Review, Giorgio Guido, Guido Ausenda, Veronica Iascone, Emanuele Chisari

Rothman Institute Papers

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common condition affecting human joints. Along with mechanical and genetic factors, low-grade inflammation is increasingly supported as a causal factor in the development of OA. Gut microbiota and intestinal permeability, via the disruption of tight junction competency, are proposed to explain a gut-joint axis through the interaction with the host immune system. Since previous studies and methods have underestimated the role of the gut-joint axis in OA and have only focussed on the characterisation of microbiota phenotypes, this systematic review aims to appraise the current evidence concerning the influence of gut permeability in the pathogenesis …

Widening Spinal Injury Research To Consider All Supraspinal Cell Types: Why We Must And How We Can, Murray G. Blackmore, Eliazbeth Batsel, Pantelis Tsoulfas

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The supraspinal connectome consists of dozens of neuronal populations that project axons from the brain to the spinal cord to influence a wide range of motor, autonomic, and sensory functions. The complexity and wide distribution of supraspinal neurons present significant technical challenges, leading most spinal cord injury research to focus on a handful of major pathways such as the corticospinal, rubrospinal, and raphespinal. Much less is known about many additional populations that carry information to modulate or compensate for these main pathways, or which carry pre-autonomic and other information of high value to individuals with spinal injury. A confluence of …

Celebrating And Practicing Aspects From Eastern- And Western-Centric Animation Styles, Alissa Annette Standerwick

All Theses

Animation styles in a modern world end up influencing the animation of other regions. This project, through animation, celebrates Eastern and Western differences in their animations. Rather than analyzing story differences, aspects of the habits formed by the region’s animators are analyzed and practiced. The formation of animation in respective cultures represents the local history of these regions. So to understand the aspects & technicalities of how animators animate per region, it is useful to understand how film, TV, & comic styles of an entire community impacted that area’s animation

Joy Beyond The Walls Of The World: How Christianity Ably Explains The Moral Facts, Jonathan Royce Pruitt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

I argue that Christianity ably explains the moral facts of moral goodness, intrinsic human value, moral rationality, and moral transformation. Chapter 1 provides an explanation of the thesis, a historical overview of the moral argument, a defense of the method, a critique of William Lane Craig’s deductive argument, and a response to some challenges to abduction from a Christian worldview. In chapter 2, I explain how Christianity ably explains moral goodness. I first give some reason to think God should be identified with the Good, following Robert Adams. Next, I summarize some of the issues related to moral goodness. Then, …

Improving The Early Detection And Management Of Peripheral Artery Disease In Patients With Diabetes Within The Primary Care Setting, Julyssa Amanda Rodriguez

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for peripheral artery disease. Individuals with diabetes, greater than 50 years of age, having at least one other risk factor should be screened for peripheral artery disease with an ankle brachial index. Purpose. Improve detection and management of peripheral artery disease in persons with diabetes within primary care. Evidence. Individuals with diabetes and peripheral artery disease have an increased risk of adverse cardiac and limb events, impairing the patient’s quality of life and causing long-term disability (Berger & Newman, 2020). Methods. During a 10-week period, these processes were implemented: (a) screening all patients …

A Contemporary, Modified Suzuki Curriculum For The Beginning Trumpet Player, Brendan Holly

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Through music education symposiums such as the Tanglewood Symposium and Vision: 2020, calls for popular music's inclusion into the public school music curriculum have been made and heard worldwide. In response, public schools have produced new curricula for popular music courses such as rock band, music technology, and other contemporary music classes. In contrast, traditional music courses such as band, choir, and orchestra have remained unchanged. Despite various beginner trumpet method books and content delivery methods, limited curriculum and methods for content delivery exist to prepare beginning trumpet players for interaction with popular music. This qualitative research study critically examined …

Structural Analysis And Vaccine Efficacy Of Hla Mutants, Kelly Tomaszewski

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal of the human skin and also a major human pathogen. Currently, there has been no successful vaccine despite many approaches over the last two decades. S. aureus α-hemolysin (Hla), a potent cytotoxin, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus diseases, through the activation of its receptor, ADAM10. We utilized three distinct Hla mutants with differing structural and ADAM10 binding properties to examine for vaccine efficacy. Our studies have demonstrated immunization with each vaccine candidate antigens provided significant protection against S. aureus skin infection yet elicited distinguishable immune responses. We have also generated …

Vacatur Pending En Banc Review, Ruby Emberling

Michigan Law Review

When a case becomes moot on appeal, as when the parties settle, two primary Supreme Court cases guide the appellate court’s decision about whether to vacate the lower-court opinion. The Court has said that vacatur, an equitable remedy, promotes fairness to parties who were not responsible for the mootness because it erases adverse legal outcomes the litigants were prevented from appealing. Beyond this, vacatur is inadvisable since it eliminates precedential decisions and harms the judiciary’s efficiency and legitimacy. Yet this doctrinal order has not been uniformly brought to bear on the highly similar question of whether to vacate when a …

Toxicity Of Indoor Dust-Derived Trace Elements And Organic Contaminants Impact On Normal Human Colon Epithelial Cells, Noura Abdulrahman

Theses (2016-Present)

Indoor dust stands out as a burgeoning challenge in society due to its implication on people’s health. Exposure to toxic dust particles occurs in different ways that include inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. In the hindsight, many people spend most of their time indoors exposing themselves to high levels of dust. Notably, different groups of individuals present varied risk levels to the toxicity of particles with vulnerable persons being susceptible to adverse effects of these contaminants. This includes the elderly, children, and immunocompromised individuals. The study examines the impacts of two variables that are trace elements (TMD) and organic contaminants …

The Story Circle As A Practice Of Democratic, Critical Inquiry, Natalie M. Fletcher, Maughn Rollins Gregory, Peter Shea, Ariel Sykes

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

The authors of this essay have been committed practitioners and teachers of Philosophy for Children in a variety of educational settings, from pre-schools through university doctoral programs and in adult community and religious education programs. The promotion of critical thinking has always been a primary goal of this movement. But communal practices of critical thinking need to include other kinds of democratic conversation that prompt us to see others as full-fledged persons and to be curious about how our being in community with them makes growth and self-correction possible. As we continue to experiment and innovate in new contexts we …

Gaps And Recommendations For Clinical Management Of Truncal Acne From The Personalising Acne: Consensus Of Experts Panel, Jerry Tan, Andrew Alexis, Hilary Baldwin, Stefan Beissert, Vincenzo Bettoli, James Del Rosso, Brigitte Dréno, Linda F. Stein Gold, Julie Harper, Charles Lynde, Diane Thiboutot, Jonathan Weiss, Alison M. Layton

Dermatology Articles

Background: Truncal acne is common and burdensome for patients; however, there is paucity of evidence and guidance for the management of truncal acne. Currently, clinical practice guidelines provide very little guidance on the assessment or management of truncal acne.

Objectives: To identify unmet needs in truncal acne and make recommendations to address clinical and management gaps using an international consensus.

Methods: The Personalising Acne: Consensus of Experts panel consisted of 13 dermatologists, who used a modified Delphi approach to reach a consensus on statements related to clinically relevant aspects of truncal acne evaluation and management. A consensus was defined as …

Shell Calcification And Growth Of The Aquatic Snail Planorbella Trivolvis Under Low Calcium Conditions Typical Of Decalcified Northern Lakes, Shawn A. Witte

Biology Theses

The water calcium concentration of northern softwater lakes has declined to critically low levels due to numerous anthropogenic stressors, and the availability of calcium is expected to decline further. To assess the impact that critically low water calcium has on aquatic snail shell calcification and growth, juvenile Planorbella trivolvis were raised for 60 days in one of four treatments, each containing a different amount of dissolved calcium (0.64, 1.3, 2.5, and 5.1 mg/L). There was no difference in tissue weight or shell size among treatments, suggesting low water calcium concentrations do not impact adult body mass or size. However, snails …

Developmental And Behavioral Responses Of Early Life Stages Of Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) To Urban Effluents Treated With Advanced-Oxidation Processes, Amy Cavanaugh

Biology Theses

Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) are the main vector for pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) to enter waterways. Many PPCPs are lipophilic, allowing them to bioaccumulate and biomagnify within aquatic organisms. PPCPs have been known to alter fish behavior and physiological processes, such as nesting defense and sex ratios, and produce an increase in deformities. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are novel ways for treating WWTPs effluents that use hydroxyl radicals to indiscriminately breakdown PPCPs. In this study, fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were used to examine the biological effects of AOP-treated municipal effluent as they developed from eggs to …

American Burying Beetle, Plant Richness, And Soil Property Responses To Collapse Of Juniperus Virginiana Woodlands With Fire, Alison K. Ludwig

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grasslands are declining in the Great Plains due to land use changes, woody plant encroachment, and loss of historic fire cycles. Prescribed burn associations have utilized prescribed fire to collapse invading woodlands and allow the restoration of grasslands. This fire is considered “extreme” because it is capable of changing the structure and function of an ecosystem. Our study site is the Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, a long-term, ecoregion-scale experiment to apply prescribed fire across the region to restore grasslands. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project established the Loess Canyons ecoregion as a Biologically-Unique Landscape in 2005 with the state’s wildlife action …

Livestock Grazing Impacts On Crop And Soil Responses For Two Cropping Systems, Alyssa Kuhn

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Diversified crop, forage, and livestock systems are assumed to be more sustainable and economically competitive than traditional cropping systems. Objectives of this study were to determine effects of integrating grazing livestock into corn (Zea mays)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) (C-S) and corn-soybean-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (C-S-W) cropping systems on plant population, grain yield, soil nutrients and soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux following winter grazing corn residue (both systems) and an oat (Avena sativa) cover crop (C-S-W only) planted after wheat. For the 2019 and 2020 production seasons, neither corn nor soybean plant …

Covid And Cafos: How A Federal Livestock Welfare Statute May Prevent The Next Pandemic, Bonnie M. Ballard

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Occurrence, Diversity And Distribution Of Trypanosoma Infections In Cattle Around The Akagera National Park, Rwanda, S. Richard Gashururu, Ndichu Maingi, Samuel M. Githigia, Methode N. Gasana, Peter O. Odhiambo, Dennis O. Getange, Richard Habimana, Giuliano Cecchi, Weining Zhao, James Gashumba, Joel L. Bargul, Daniel K. Masiga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background African Trypanosomiases threaten the life of both humans and animals. Trypanosomes are transmitted by tsetse and other biting flies. In Rwanda, the African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) endemic area is mainly around the tsetse-infested Akagera National Park (NP). The study aimed to identify Trypanosoma species circulating in cattle, their genetic diversity and distribution around the Akagera NP. Methodology A cross-sectional study was carried out in four districts, where 1,037 cattle blood samples were collected. The presence of trypanosomes was determined by microscopy, immunolog-ical rapid test VerY Diag and PCR coupled with High-Resolution Melt (HRM) analysis. A parametric test (ANOVA) was …