Digital Commons Network^™

Deterring Non-Target Birds From Toxic Bait Sites For Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Justin A. Foster, Michael J. Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Michael P. Glow, Ingrid A. Messer, Seth M. Cook, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the US. Field trials testing a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE 2 containing 5% sodium nitrite [SN]), though, revealed that wild pigs spilled small particles of toxic bait outside of bait stations which subsequently created hazards for non-target species that consumed those particles, primarily passerine birds. To deter non-target birds from consuming particles of spilled bait, we tested four deterrents at mock bait sites (i.e., baited with bird seed) in north-central Colorado, USA during April–May 2020. We found a programable, inflatable deterrent …

Experiences Of Low-Income Student-Parents At A Community College During The Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, Marlena Yvonne Jarboe

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Twenty-two percent of United States undergraduate students are parents (Cruse, et al., 2020). Referred to as student-parents, they are most likely to have low-incomes and attend community colleges (Cruse, et al., 2019; Gault et al., 2014). They tend to reduce their course loads and drop out of college due to work-life balance challenges even though they typically have better grade point averages than their non-parent peers (Cruse et al., 2019; Manze, et al., 2021; Peterson, 2016).

The problem to be addressed was how community college instructors, leaders, and legislators can support low-income student-parents’ persistence toward a postsecondary credential. There is …

Mechanisms Of Stress Survival In Gram Positive Bacterial Pathogens, Asia Poudel

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria are not a well-characterized group but include many human pathogens that are resilient against stresses caused by the human immune system or by antibiotic treatment. This dissertation investigated the survival mechanisms of two clinically relevant Gram-positive organisms, Clostridioides difficile and Cutibacterium acnes under extracellular stresses. The response of the opportunistic skin pathogen Cutibacterium acnes to nanosecond electric pulses is characterized and found that growth in a biofilm, which usually protects bacteria from stress, renders this species more killable by this treatment. In addition, the stringent response (SR), a conserved bacterial stress survival mechanism, is studied in the …

Hydrothermal Processes For Extraction And Conversion Of Biomass To Produce Biofuels And Value-Added Products, Anuj Hemant Thakkar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An integrated biorefinery approach based on subcritical hydrothermal processes was developed to maximize utilization of biomass components by producing multiple products. Biomass from various sources like agricultural waste (lignocellulose), food waste (spent yeast), and dedicated cultivation (micro-algae) was used in this research.

Corn stover (agricultural waste) was hydrothermally pretreated to remove lignin and xylan while preserving most of the glucan. The pretreated corn stover was utilized to produce levulinic acid (thermochemically) and fermentable sugars (biochemically). The solid residue generated during levulinic acid production was utilized to produce biocarbon electrode material. The results generated from the experiments were used for designing …

The Impact Of Muscular Strength On Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors, Joel Ernest Harden

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between isokinetic leg muscular strength and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor characterizations in Americans aged 50 and older. Using a publicly available dataset from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a secondary analysis was conducted on participants (males ≥50 yrs; females ≥55 yrs; N=10,858) pooled from 1999 to 2002. CVD risk factors were determined using the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) cutoff values, with all nine ACSM risk factors analyzed. CVD risk factor characterization was determined by creating CVD risk factor profiles (i.e., the total number of …

Associations Of High-Sensitivity Troponin And Natriuretic Peptide Levels With Outcomes After Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering: Findings From The Sprint Randomized Clinical Trial, Jarett D Berry, Vijay Nambi, Walter T Ambrosius, Haiying Chen, Anthony A Killeen, Addison Taylor, Robert D Toto, Elsayed Z Soliman, John W Mcevoy, Ambarish Pandey, Parag H Joshi, Stefan Blankenberg, Dalane W Kitzman, Christie M Ballantyne, James A De Lemos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hscTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) levels are associated with risk of heart failure (HF) and mortality among individuals in the general population. However, it is unknown if this risk is modifiable.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that elevated hscTnT and NTproBNP levels would identify individuals with the greatest risk for mortality and HF and the largest benefit associated with intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This is a nonprespecified post hoc analysis of the multicenter, prospective, randomized clinical Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), conducted from October 20, …

The Weaker Sex: Male Lingcod (Ophiodon Elongatus) With Blue Color Polymorphism Are More Burdened By Parasites Than Are Other Sex–Color Combinations, Chelsea L. Wood, Katie L. Leslie, Alanna Greene, Laurel S. Lam, Bonnie Basnett, Scott L. Hamilton, Jameal F. Samhouri

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The unusual blue color polymorphism of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) is the subject of much speculation but little empirical research; ~20% of lingcod individuals exhibit this striking blue color morph, which is discrete from and found within the same populations as the more common brown morph. In other species, color polymorphisms are intimately linked with host–parasite interactions, which led us to ask whether blue coloration in lingcod might be associated with parasitism, either as cause or effect. To test how color and parasitism are related in this host species, we performed parasitological dissection of 89 lingcod individuals collected across more than …

Anti-Inflammatory Activity Of Four Triterpenoids Isolated From Poriae Cutis, Lijia Zhang, Mengzhou Yin, Xi Feng, Salam A. Ibrahim, Ying Liu, Wen Huang

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this study, triterpenoid compounds from Poriae Cutis were separated by high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) and identified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of the purified triterpenoids on RAW 264.7 cells were also investigated. Triterpenoids, poricoic acid B, poricoic acid A, dehydrotrametenolic acid, and dehydroeburicoic acid were obtained; their levels of purity were 90%, 92%, 93%, and 96%, respectively. The results indicated that poricoic acid B had higher anti-inflammatory activity than those of poricoic acid A by inhibiting the generation of NO in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced …

A Multi-Site Analysis Of The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity In The United States, Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Meredith T. Niles, Alyssa W. Beavers, Lauren A. Clay, Marcelle M. Dougan, Giselle A. Pignotti, Stephanie Rogus, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Rachel E. Schattman, Rachel M. Zack, Francesco Acciai, Deanne Allegro, Emily H. Belarmino, Farryl Bertmann, Erin Biehl, Nick Birk, Jessica Bishop-Royse, Christine Bozlak, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly affected food systems including food security. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food security is important to provide support and identify long-term impacts and needs. Objective: The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) was formed to assess food security over different US study sites throughout the pandemic, using common instruments and measurements. This study presents results from 18 study sites across 15 states and nationally over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A validated survey instrument was developed and implemented in whole or part through an online survey …

Investigating Acculturation, Health-Promoting Lifestyle, And Health Status Among Nigerian Immigrants In The United States, Frank Uche Akpati

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The United States has a significant number of immigrants from Africa. More come from Nigeria than other African countries. Even though acculturation influences health behavior in other cultures, this relationship is understudied in the Nigerian immigrant community in the United States which can influence their health care. This study examined the relationship between acculturation, health-promoting lifestyle, and health status of Nigerian immigrants. Key constructs from Berry’s acculturation model guided the study. Acculturation was conceptualized as occurring through varying levels of ethnic society immersion (ESI) and dominant society immersion (DSI). The study also examined the influence of education on acculturation using …

Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Mental Health Diagnosis Of Maltreated Youth, Shadie Burke

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Racial/ethnic marginalized youth are more likely to receive a misdiagnosis of a mental health disorder than their White peers. Misdiagnosis contributes to existing disparities for racial/ethnic marginalized groups by leading to longer durations of untreated and worsening mental health symptoms. For maltreated youth, receiving a misdiagnosis can lead to a failure to connect with appropriate mental health services, medication regimens, therapeutic foster homes, and academic and developmental resources. To date, very few empirical studies have identified disparities in mental health diagnosis among racial/ethnic marginalized maltreated youth. The present study examined two key research questions: (1) what racial/ethnic disparities in diagnoses …

Factors Associated With Medication Decision Making In African American Families Of Children With Adhd: A Mixed Methods Study, Amy Glasofer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral pediatric disorder in the United States. Pharmacotherapy is a recommended component of treatment for ADHD. While medication treatment of ADHD is not optimized overall, minority groups experience medication treatment disparities. The persistently lower rates of medication treatment in minority groups may have culturally specific origins which cannot be generalized across minorities. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess and extend knowledge regarding medication decision making (MDM) in African American caregivers of children with ADHD. To assess the state of the science on ADHD disparities, a review of 41 descriptive studies exploring …

Gather Round The Tree: Woody Aboveground Biomass Increases Animal Presence And Species Richness In A Tropical Forest-Savanna Ecotone, Merry Vanessa Marshall Davidson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Boundaries between ecosystems are often biodiversity hotspots with relatively high vulnerability to global change. The boundary between tropical rainforest and savanna ecosystems in the Amazon presents an ecotone that is undergoing a shift in ecosystem structure, as a warming climate promotes the expansion of grassland. How animal communities in the Amazon will respond to changes in ecosystem structure is a crucial unanswered question with implications for the many ecosystem services that animals provide, from a food source for Indigenous people to seed dispersal for vulnerable tree populations. Recent modeling work has forecasted that faunal savannization will occur in the Amazon, …

The Influence Of Positive School Orientation And Teacher Attachment On Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes: Investigating Possible Group Differences, Within A Social And Emotional Learning Curriculum, Stefanie Diann Holloway

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions can be delivered universally in schools to help equalize opportunities for diverse students and improve their mental health, as well as other outcomes. However, it is not always known or fully understood which underlying mechanisms may be at play that enable these interventions to achieve their effects –or how such mechanisms may develop over time, within an SEL intervention. The primary purpose of this study was to determine how one such intervention, Positive Action, was able to improve adolescent students’ mental health outcomes, by testing the potential mediational influences of students’ levels of …

The Impact Of The Community Partnership School Model On Student Self-Efficacy And Civic Engagement, Brandon Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to identify the impact of the Community Partnership Schools™ (CPS) model of community schools in the areas of social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, emotional self-efficacy, and civic engagement beyond the point of enrollment in the school. To answer the research questions, the researcher compared the responses of 96 high school students that had previously been enrolled in a CPS with the responses of 402 students from racially and socioeconomically similar schools that were not CPS, using the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) and the Civic Engagement Scale (CES). Results showed a significant positive correlation …

Accelerometer Measured Physical Activity Patterns Of Children During Segmented School Day In Abu Dhabi, Rahma Ajja, Ludmilla F. Wikkeling-Scott, Keith Brazendale, Rafiq Hijazi, Abdishakur Abdulle

All Works

Background: The overwhelming majority of United Arab Emirates (UAE) school-aged children do not meet the 60 min per day recommendation of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Understanding the different school day segments contribution to children reaching this goal is a crucial step toward developing successful strategies to promote school day MVPA levels. This study aimed to objectively measure children’s’ physical activity levels and to examine the difference in physical activity levels between high active and low active children during the school day in Abu Dhabi. Methods: A total of 133 school children (56% boys; mean age 10.5 years; grades 4–7) from …

On Predicting Omnidirectional Honey Bee Traffic Using Weather And Electromagnetic Radiation, Daniel G. Hornberger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Honey bees are responsible for pollinating many important crops in the United States. However, honey bee populations have declined significantly since 1961. While some causes of this decline are known, others are not. By utilizing electronic bee hive monitoring (EBM) systems, bee keepers and researchers have an added resource in determining the causes of these declines so that the issues can be remedied. For nearly five months (May through October) during the 2020 honey bee foraging season in Logan, Utah, USA, we collected on-site weather and electromagnetic radiation (EMR) readings and videos of the hive entrances of six bee hives …

Effect Of Ketogenic Diet On Quality Of Life In Adults With Chronic Disease: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Myriam Abboud, Fatme Alanouti, Evridiki Georgaki, Dimitrios Papandreou

All Works

Background: Chronic diseases adversely affect quality of life (QOL). The ketogenic diet (KD) may improve the QOL. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the available evidence of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to establish the effect of KD on the QOL in adults with chronic diseases. Methods: Reporting followed PRISMA guidelines. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted on adults with chronic disease including an intervention group that received KD and a control group, and where QOL was reported as outcome. We searched PubMed, APA PsycInfo, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), …

Pesticides Removal From Wastewater By Electrocoagulation Technique Using Stainless Steel (Ss-Ss) Plate Electrodes., Olfat Fadali, E. Ibrahim, T. Farrag, Ahmed Abdelbasier

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Today hazardous waste management has become one of the most challenging tasks to this technological world because tons of organic pollutants including various carcinogens are being exposed without the sufficient treatment. Electrocoagulation (EC) due to some advantages over chemical coagulation is becoming a popular process to be used for treatment of organic pollutants especially when pollutants are toxic. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of current density, reaction time, initial concentration, addition of sodium chloride and magnetic field intensity oriented in two different directions on both removal efficiency of methomyl and the energy consumption. Current density …

Lxr Acts As A Differentiator In The Regulation Of Fas And G6pdh Gene Expression Under Insulin Resistant Conditions, Jaafar Hachem

Dissertations

Diabetes is a chronic disease that effects 10 percent of the world’s population and causes more than 1.5 million deaths a year and billions of dollars in associated health care cost. It can lead to very serious complications such as renal failure, liver cirrhosis, heart attack, and vision loss. The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes arises when blood glucose levels remain chronically high due to insulin resistance. The reason for this elevation is due to the failure of insulin to allow tissues to uptake glucose causing problems in subsequent metabolic pathways. Over the …

Introducing Global Citizenship In Language Teacher Education Through The Un’S Sustainable Development Goals, Ramsés Ortín

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

The present chapter describes a pedagogical intervention administered in an undergraduate ESL teacher training program. The purpose of this pedagogical innovation was to train future language teachers to incorporate Global Citizenship related objectives into their future practice by using the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) as reference. Pre-service teachers (N = 10) taking part in this study participated in a three-phase training in which they were first introduced to the topic, then, asked to apply the discussed approach to the design of language learning materials, and finally, they completed a reflection task. The analysis of the last task …

Rice Quality And Its Impacts On Food Security And Sustainability In Bangladesh, Indrani Saha, Alvaro Durand-Morat, Lawton Lanier Nalley, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Rodolfo M. Nayga Jr.

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rice market efficiency is important for food security in countries where rice is a staple. We assess the impact of rice quality on rice prices, food security, and environmental sustainability in Bangladesh. We find that while price varies as expected for most quality attributes, it is unaffected by a broken percentage below 24.9 percent. This reveals a potential inefficiency, considering the average 5 percent broken rate observed in the market. An increase in the broken rate of milled rice within the limits supported by our findings can, ceteris paribus, increase rice rations by 4.66 million a year, or conversely, …

Effects Of Extrinsic And Intrinsic Factors On Meat Quality And Muscle Biology Of Livestock, Yongjie Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to improve the meat quality of livestock, intrinsic and extrinsic factors that impact meat quality have been studied for a long time to optimize production quality. Nutrition, breed, and environment are the three most common factors to improve meat quality and muscle growth. The objective of this thesis is to perform a horizontal comparison of the effects of crude protein levels, breeds, and topsoil on the growth performance, muscle development, and meat quality of livestock, and also a longitudinal analysis using RNA-seq, RT-qPCR, and Western-blot to investigate the changes in genes and proteins related to muscle growth, and …

The Effect Of Cancer Cachexia Progression On The Feeding Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Protein Turnover, Brittany R. Franch

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Cancer cachexia is defined as the unintentional loss of skeletal muscle mass with or without fat loss that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. Cachexia occurs in ~20% of cancer patients. More specifically, 50% of lung cancer patients, the most common cancer worldwide, develop cachexia. Cachexia occurs most often in lung and gastrointestinal cancers, whereas breast and prostate have the lowest rate of cachexia. Cancer-induced cachexia disrupts skeletal muscle protein turnover (decreasing protein synthesis and increasing protein degradation). Skeletal muscle’s capacity for protein synthesis is highly sensitive to local and systemic stimuli that are controlled by mTORC1 and AMPK …

Strategies To Prevent Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries In The Intensive Care Unit, Theresa Ann Pomerleau

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Background. Despite prevention strategies, hospital acquired pressure injuries continue to occur, especially in intensive care units. This led to an impetus for nurses to have a robust knowledge of pressure injuries to promulgate prevention strategies in their practice. Significance of the Problem. The hospital acquired pressure injury rate in the medical surgical intensive care unit for the year 2019 at Hospital X was greater than the national benchmark. Purpose. The global aim statement was to improve the quality of patient care by developing an evidence based educational suite in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members for prevention of hospital acquired pressure …

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In Case You Missed It

DECEMBER 2021

Access To Public Assistance Benefits & Services Outreach, Maria Saucedo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Monterey County Department of Social Services Community Benefits Branch provides temporary public assistance to eligible residents of Monterey County to meet their basic needs. Programs include temporary cash assistance, General assistance, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWorks. The goal of the agency is to promote the social and economic self-reliance of each individual they serve. Low-income families and individuals are faced with a lack of access to benefits and services that are provided to help. There are many factors as to why we see inequality and a lack of access to benefits and services, such as access to technology, education around resources, …

The Need For Health And Community Resources In Monterey County, Yesenia Lustre

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Monterey County Health Department in the Planning Evaluation and Policy Unit (PEP), focuses on three areas; facilitating the implementation of the Health Department Strategic Plan, aligning and monitoring the department's performance standards. PEP has had an intern who noticed the needs of Monterey County residents facing barriers when accessing health and community resources. The Monterey County’s Population is at 444,732 and more than half of the population are people of color. With having such a diverse population there are a lot of barriers to consider when accessing health and community resources such as language barriers and navigating health insurance. …

Healthy Living’ Nutrition Education In Kindergarteners, Delia Estrada

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Nutrition should be considered an important factor in one’s life, and be discussed into further context at school as well as at home. Having healthy nutrition can help with physical growth and development of an individual, allowing children the development of mindset, capacity building, capabilities, cognitive development, gross and motor skills within an individual's effective consumption of healthy and nutritious meals. In order to support the nutrition skill regulations, I have developed a two-day curriculum for Kindergarten children at Alisal Community Elementary in Salinas, California. In this curriculum, I would explain to the participants how to differentiate a healthy meal …

Estudiantes Exitosos, Erik Estrada

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey is a faith based non profit organization that provides aid to individuals and families in need. Catholic Charities focuses on three main areas of services, immigration and citizen services, family supportive services, and tattoo removal program. They provide services that help people regardless of their faith who struggle with poverty and complex issues. Every year low income families struggle to provide their children with the basic school supplies they need to start a new school year. This contributes to families not being able to afford school supplies, and because of the unexpected pandemic a shortage …