Digital Commons Network^™

Emancipatory And Controlling: Examining The Negotiation Of Masculinity-Centered Practices By Women's And Gender Equity Center Practitioners, Ashley M. Brown

Dissertations

Initiatives to understand and transform masculinity have increasingly emerged in higher education, calling attention to the consequences of dominant, masculine gender expectations that permeate throughout college campuses. These masculinity-centered practices in higher education encompass formalized, departmental initiatives for students, faculty, and/or staff that examine topics related to masculinity through educational workshops, speaker events, professional development sessions, dialogue spaces, and other efforts. While it is often assumed that these practices support the advancement of gender equity, scholars have theorized the ways in which this work can also lead to depoliticized efforts that may, in fact, reify patriarchal and other systems of …

Peace Bodies: Women, Encampments, And The Struggle Against Nuclear Weapons During The Cold War, 1979-1992, Janette Clay

Dissertations

"Peace Bodies: Women, Encampments, and the Struggle against Nuclear Weapons during the Cold War, 1972-1992" examines the global 1980s women's peace camping movement. This study aims to explore and comprehend peace in new ways. It is specifically targeted to define peace campers' fundamental peace principles and to discover how they embodied them. This research interrogates the ways in which the peace camping movement influenced the political and cultural developments that led to nuclear de-escalation in the final years of the Cold War. The sources for this research include women's peace camp archival records, film footage and photographs, interviews, and oral …

Examining The Interplay Of Mental Health, Family Conflict, And Body Mass Index Among Mexican Origin Families: A Cross-Lagged Model, Laura Margaret Lehman Distel

Dissertations

Mexican-origin youth in the U.S. are at risk for obesity (Fryar et al., 2018) and mental health concerns (McLaughlin, Hilt, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2007). One key psychosocial process implicated in this health inequity is family conflict (Conger et al., 1999), which has been associated with both poor mental health outcomes (e.g. Santiago & Wadsworth, 2009) and overweight and obesity (Halliday et al., 2013). However, no research to date has examined the complex interplay of family conflict, mental health problems and body mass indices (BMI) over time. The present study examined cross-lagged associations among child z-scored BMI (zBMI), mental health problems (internalizing …

Impact Of Violence Exposure On Children's Mental Health And Family Functioning: An Ecological-Transactional Approach, Rice Mary Dusing

Dissertations

N/A

Development Of Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Therapeutic Target Enzymes: Paths To Discover Novel Antimicrobials, Thahani Shifna Habeeb Mohammad

Dissertations

The rising antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics is a major global problem, which has been exacerbated by the inappropriate use of antibiotics. The effectiveness of frequently prescribed penicillin derivatives and β-lactamase inhibitors are compromised by the evolution of bacterial β-lactamases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Consequently, design and synthesis of small-molecule inhibitors of identified novel antibiotic targets is an urgent unmet medical need. We previously demonstrated that N-functionalized α-aminocyclobutanones can act as peptidomimetic enzyme inhibitors, including inhibition of a key esterase in Francisella Tularensis. The carbonyl of a cyclobutanone is electrophilic due to ring strain, therefore cyclobutanone derivatives can serve as transition state …

The Role Of The Co-Chaperone Protein Bcl-2-Associated Athanogene 3 (Bag3) At The Cardiomyocyte Sarcomere, Thomas Gwynn Martin

Dissertations

The co-chaperone protein Bcl-2-associated athanogene-3 (BAG3) is a central mediator of cellular protein quality control through autophagy. In the heart, decreased BAG3 activity through mutation or decreased expression are linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Unfortunately, though clinical data indicates BAG3 mutations are a definitive cause of DCM, few mechanistic studies had been performed to decipher the fundamental role of BAG3 in cardiomyocytes. However, several studies suggested BAG3 was involved in maintenance of the sarcomere, the molecular contractile structure in muscle cells. The goals of this dissertation were to: 1. Determine the functional significance of BAG3 for the sarcomere, 2. Identify …

Cardioprotective Extracellular Vesicles Derived-Micrornas: Sorting Mechanisms And Functions, Anh P. Phan

Dissertations

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-size membrane bound vesicles that are derived from the fusion of multivesicular endosomes with the plasma membranes. EVs have important roles in intercellular communication through the transfer of their unique cargoes including RNA, DNA and protein molecules to recipient cells. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived EVs have been shown to reduce infarct size and reduce the progress of heart failure after cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in animal models. Small non-coding RNAs such as microRNA (miRNA) have been indicated as one of the active components that mediate the beneficial effects of MSC-derived EVs. However, the selective packaging mechanisms …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Redox Non-Innocent Ligand Supported Transition Metal Complexes, Adriana Marie Lugosan

Dissertations

Catalysis is an integral part of society, which is often taken for granted. Over the past few years, there has been an increased effort to develop catalysts that are more environmentally friendly, selective, and energy efficient. This work focuses on the development of novel complexes made from a carefully designed non-innocent ligand together with earth-abundant and cost-effective transition metals that can be used to understand fundamental inorganic chemistry principles and serve as model systems. The work reported within validates the utility of this novel class of redox non-innocent ligand to form metal complexes with interesting properties, such as a non-porphyrin …

Identification And Characterization Of Calcium As A Biofilm Promoting Signal By Vibrio Fischeri, Alice Hannah Tischler

Dissertations

The marine bacterium, V. fischeri actively engages in an exclusive partnership in the light organ of its squid host, Euprymna scolopes. A critical step in this colonization process is the formation of a bacterial aggregate, or biofilm, which is a community of bacteria embedded within a protective extracellular matrix. While V. fischeri readily forms biofilms in nature, genetic overexpression must be utilized to achieve biofilm formation in the laboratory. Recent work investigating media composition led myself and others to evaluate how seawater salts impacted growth and biofilm formation in a number of mutant backgrounds, leading to the identification of calcium …

Analysis Of Regulatory Mechanisms For T Cell Activation, Aleksandra Vuchkovska

Dissertations

The primary function of the immune system is to seek and eliminate altered or unhealthy cells. T cells are a major component of the immune response and mediate their functions by recognizing specific antigens that allow elimination of infected or neoplastic cells. To avoid inappropriate activation and subsequent immune injuries, T cells have evolved strategies to discriminate self from non-self, or healthy from altered and infected. These strategies rely on the activation of receptors that restrict the T cell response. CD33rSiglecs are a family of mostly inhibitory receptors that bind to sialic acids. Siglecs respond to specific sialic acid patterns …

Environmental Reforestation And Social Justice In Cameroon: A Test Case For Pope Francis' Concept Of 'Integral Ecology' In Laudato Sí, Augustin Vondou

Dissertations

The following quotation from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Sí is one of the most quoted parts of his well-known encyclical: We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature (139).

This is a very challenging statement. Not everyone accepts this idea of an ‘integral ecology’; that is, the notion that the condition of human society is directly linked to the …

The Dynamic Codon Biaser: Calculating Prokaryotic Codon Usage Biases, Brian Dehlinger, Jared Jurss, Karson Lychuk, Catherine Putonti

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Bacterial genomes often reflect a bias in the usage of codons. These biases are often most notable within highly expressed genes. While deviations in codon usage can be attributed to selection or mutational biases, they can also be functional, for example controlling gene expression or guiding protein structure. Several different metrics have been developed to identify biases in codon usage. Previously we released a database, CBDB: The Codon Bias Database, in which users could retrieve precalculated codon bias data for bacterial RefSeq genomes. With the increase of bacterial genome sequence data since its release a new tool was needed. Here …

Wastewater Treatment Alters Microbial Colonization Of Microplastics, John J. Kelly, Maxwell G. London, Amanda R. Mccormick, Miguel Rojas, John W. Scott, Timothy J. Hoellein

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic habitats globally, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are point sources of microplastics. Within aquatic habitats microplastics are colonized by microbial biofilms, which can include pathogenic taxa and taxa associated with plastic breakdown. Microplastics enter WWTPs in sewage and exit in sludge or effluent, but the role that WWTPs play in establishing or modifying microplastic bacterial assemblages is unknown. We analyzed microplastics and associated biofilms in raw sewage, effluent water, and sludge from two WWTPs. Both plants retained >99% of influent microplastics in sludge, and sludge microplastics showed higher bacterial species richness and higher abundance …

Promoting Early-Adolescent Dual Language Learners' Language Use & Reading Skills, Holly Griskell

Dissertations

Most studies of Dual Language Learners’ (DLLs’) literacy development focus on the early childhood years. As such, this three-study dissertation sought to advance our knowledge of DLLs’ English language and reading comprehension skills during early adolescence, a developmental stage when many students struggle with reading. Study 1, “Classroom Discussion and Early-Adolescent Dual Language Learners’ Motivation and Reading Comprehension”, considered how features of the classroom language environment promote DLLs’ reading comprehension skills. We examined relations between students’ (N = 413; M age = 11.66-years-old) engagement in high-quality classroom discussions and reading comprehension as a function of their motivation to participate in …

Ethical Health Care In An African Context: Linking Conventional Medicine And Traditional Healing Practices In Igboland, Nigeria., Michael Osondu Okoro

Dissertations

This dissertation argues that in Nigeria’s Igboland, a health care ethic reflective of the Roman Catholic Christian faith must build links between the rightful practices of both conventional Western medicine and traditional Igbo healers. It calls such a health care ethic an “integral health care ethic” in the Nigerian Igbo context.The inspiration for this dissertation comes from the growing respect given to indigenous people and their knowledge by the Roman Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council and, more specifically, the attention Pope Francis has given to indigenous people in his writings and speeches. For example, in his remarks on …

Ursolic Acid Inhibits Collective Cell Migration And Promotes Jnk-Dependent Lysosomal Associated Cell Death In Gioblastoma Multiforme Cells, Gillian Conway, Diamante Zizyte, Julie Mondala, Zhonglei He, Lorna Lynam, Mathilde Lecourt, Orla L. Howe, James Curtin

Articles

Ursolic acid (UA) is a bioactive compound which has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in a variety of cancer cell lines. UA activates various signalling pathways in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and offers a promising starting point in drug discovery; however, understanding the relationship between cell death and migration has yet to be elucidated. UA induces a dose dependent cytotoxic response demonstrated by flow cytometry and biochemical cytotoxicity assays. Inhibitor and fluorescent probe studies demonstrate that UA induces a caspase independent, JNK dependent, mechanism of cell death. Migration studies established that UA inhibits GBM collective cell migration in a time dependent manner that …

Deciphering Property Insurers’ Indemnification Obligations After Disasters, Pandemics And Business Interruption Losses: An Analysis Of State Supreme Courts And Federal Circuits’ Declaratory Judgments, Willy E. Rice

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Dramaturgi Sakaiba Dalam Hibridisasi Budaya Minahasa Sulawesi Utara, Tony Tampake, Micchelle Hermanus

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This paper discusses the sakaiba ritual procession in Minahasa which is carried out every year by the Christian community to welcome the New Year. The research was conducted in Taratara village, Tomohon, North Sulawesi. This study focuses on the significance and meaning of the sakaiba ritual procession within the context of the hybridization of contemporary religious culture in Minahasa. By using the theoretical concepts of ritual and dramaturgy, as well as applying the descriptive qualitative methods, this research found that the sakaiba ritual procession is a liminal hinge that allows a peaceful encounter between the ancient Minahasa traditions and the …

Opportunities For Public Comments On Pending Trap/Pot Fishery Regulations To Protect The North Atlantic Right Whale, Catherine Schluter

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Acoustic Analysis For Noninvasive Marine Mammal Response: An Exploratory Field Study, David Thirtyacre, Gennifer Brookshire, Sarah Callan, Brittany Arvizu, Patrick Sherman

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

As in countless other fields of human endeavor, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have the potential to benefit pinniped (Pinnipedia; e.g., Phocidae [seals], Otariidae [sea lions], and Odobenidae [walruses]) response efforts. The employment of sUAS could give responders a close-up look at animals in distress in order to determine their condition as well as develop a response strategy. However, unlike other subjects that are regularly inspected by sUAS (e.g., croplands and civil infrastructure) pinnipeds may respond to the distinctive sound generated by small, multirotor sUAS. This reaction may include retreating into the water en masse, which could put …

Albatross And Falcon Inspired Bionic Uav: An Aerodynamic Analysis, Bilji C. Mathew, Sagar K. Sahu, Prantik Dutta, Rushi Savale, Muruga Lal Jeyan Jv Dr.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The drone industry yearns for enhanced aerodynamic performance. In order to achieve this feat, researchers and engineers are trying to mimic the natural flyers due to their aerodynamic optimality. One such flyer, the Albatross is an inspiration for many marine drones due to its planform and aerodynamic efficiency. The wing of the plan form is designed and simulated to study its properties. The Bell-Shaped Lift Distribution is incorporated for higher efficiency and elimination of the total downwash produced in case of an Elliptical Lift Distribution. A blended wing body inspired by the Falcon is used for smoother airflow interactions. Furthermore, …

Aerodynamic Characterization Of Bio-Mimicked Pleated Dragonfly Aerofoil, Md Akhtar Khan, Chinmaya Padhy

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The work inspired by the dragonfly wing corrugation positioned at the front wing's radius section lying at 40% of the total wingspan of forewing from the root section. During gliding flight, dragonfly wings presumed to be an ultra-light aerofoil due to its well-defined cross-sectional corrugation. The aerodynamic simulation carried out to understand the aerodynamic performance of a bio-mimetic dragonfly corrugated airfoil at low Reynolds number range of 75000-150000 to explore the potential advantages of pleated airfoils at a varying angle of attack from 0° to 12°. CFD analysis accomplished by using ANSYS Fluent to understand the aerodynamic performance of the …

Using Diffractive Activity To (Re)Configure Parental Choice Of Pre-Compulsory Education, Vicky Bamsey

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

Prompted by the increasing number of children accessing alternatives to mainstream education, this research project was designed to investigate the activity of parents as they engaged in choosing different forms of education for their four-year-old child. The intention was to highlight the individual and entangled activity of parental choice in the English system of education. Facet methodology facilitated an exploration of the multi-dimensionality of each parent’s lived experience. It allowed for flexibility within the research process that used open interviews to follow the narratives of six sets of parents while they were thinking about and making different educational choices for …

Environmental Controls On The Skeletal Mineralogy Of Marine Calcifiers, Kilian Eichenseer

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Calcifying organisms secrete skeletons consisting of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The two principle CaCO3 polymorphs used by marine calcifiers are aragonite and calcite. In the abiotic precipitation of CaCO3, the Mg/Ca ratio and the temperature are established controls of polymorph formation, but the importance of other factors, for example salinity, remains uncertain. The first objective of this thesis was to clarify the role of salinity in abiotic CaCO3 precipitation (Chapter 2). Experiments at salinities of 20, 35 and 50 and a Mg/Ca ratio of 2 resulted in co-precipitation of aragonite and calcite in all experiments, and no significant salinity influence on …

Optimising Oak Woodland Establishment Into Uk Upland Pastures In The Context Of Climate Change; And The Role Of Oak Woodland In Soil Hydrological Recovery For Natural Flood Management, Thomas Murphy

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Increases in the magnitude and extremity of upland (>250-300m a.s.l.) precipitation associated with anthropogenic climate change (ACC) and coinciding with soil compaction leave downstream communities at elevated flood risk. The study examines changes in upland precipitation and the impact of upland ‘Atlantic’ oak (Quercus robur, Quercus petraea) woodland establishment on the recovery of soils for natural flood management (NFM). The soil moisture, livestock grazing and dispersal constraints for potential oak woodland expansion in upland pastures are assessed. The study is located within Dartmoor National Park (DNP) and finds greater increases in precipitation in upland areas than the lowland site, …

Evaluating The Emerging Environmental Risks Of Mycotoxins In Freshwater Ecosystems., Emily Eagles

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) are two of the prominent mycotoxins which regularly contaminate food, both of these natural toxins are produced by fungi within the Fusarium genus. With the known widespread occurrence of these toxins in cereal crops there has been rising interest into the potential transference into freshwaters. Multiple reports of mycotoxin occurrence in freshwater samples have led to their consideration as natural chemicals of emerging concern, particularly with ZON seen to act in an oestrogenic nature, yet the ecotoxicological data to support analysis of risk to freshwater ecosystems is lacking. The main aim of this work was …

The Holistic Assessment And Care Planning In Partnership (Happi) Study A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study Of A Nurse-Led Intervention For Older People Who Live With Frailty, Helen Lyndon

School of Nursing and Midwifery Theses

Aim. This mixed-methods feasibility study aimed to identify and to develop consensus on the components of a holistic assessment and care planning intervention for frail older people in primary care and to conduct a feasibility cluster randomised, controlled trial with an embedded qualitative study to assess potential trial methods for a definitive trial.Background. Frailty is a serious but not inevitable consequence of ageing that can be managed as a long-tern condition. Frail older people are more at risk to adverse health outcomes than the non-frail, yet many do not receive evidence based management including a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA); a …

Across The River: Ferries As A Vehicle For Exploring Riverborderscapes, Eva Mcgrath

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis uses the concept of the riverborderscape to provide new understandings of watery geographies, borders and landscape. This is a spatial and conceptual term used to explore the space of the river through a holistic approach, focusing upon the materialities, experiences and narratives that shape, emerge within and construct this space. These ideas are applied in relation to three rivers that form an everyday border between places at different scales in the South West of England: the River Tamar (regional), River Torridge (district) and Helford River (parish). Research is situated on and across the river, through the routes of …

Employability As Sustainable Balance Of Stakeholder Expectations - Towards A Model For The Health Professions, Martin Cake, Melinda Bell, Liz Mossop, Caroline F. Mansfield

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

The conceptual complexity of employability remains a barrier for its integration into discipline-based curricula. In the health professions, a particular challenge lies in integrating employability with the dominant paradigms of competency and professionalism. In this study, we explore these contextual challenges, and present the rationale and conceptual basis for a potential re-framing of employability within the context of this discipline group. We propose a novel definition and a conceptual model of employability better aligned to the needs of health professions. While employability has proven difficult to define broadly, it is framed around the expectations of both the employer and employee, …

Senegalese Parent, Family, And Community Engagement In Education: An Ubuntu-Inspired Inquiry, Nikysha D. Gilliam

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between families and schools, and the importance of parents and families to a child’s academic success is well documented internationally. However, the development of frameworks, theories, policies, and programs has not resulted in an increase in parent or family engagement in public schools, nor has it remedied the historical alienation and marginalization of families of color in the United States; positive comprehensive programs in communities of color at the middle and high school levels often seem to be missing. Because of African American families’ cultural connection to countries in Africa resulting from the Atlantic Slave Trade, I used …