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Remembering Clem Klaphake, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Clement (Clem) Klaphake passed away on December 30, 2022, from complications of Parkinson’s disease, which he struggled with for several years. He was born in Melrose, Minnesota, in 1943 and grew up working on his parents’ dairy farm, which included the usual menagerie of other farm animals typical of that time. Perhaps it was the routine of milking twice a day, seven days a week, or the impressive scar on his leg from a boar tusk, but Clem was destined to leave the farm and become a life-long educator. ... After getting his degree in 1971, Clem was hired to …

The Lived Educational Experiences Of Student Clinicians With Non-Apparent Disabilities In Communication Sciences And Disorders: Perspectives Of Recent Graduates On The Current Culture Of Inclusion, Leslie A. Grubler

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to examine retrospectively the lived educational experiences of 10 former student clinicians with non-apparent disabilities as they navigated their graduate clinical education programs in communication sciences and disorders. The goal of this study was to gain insight into the culture of inclusion using a qualitative research design. As a first study on this topic in the discipline of communication sciences and disorders, a descriptive phenomenological approach was utilized to ascertain and explore the participants’ individual experiences. Semi-structured interviews were employed as the primary method to collect, code, and analyze the data. A mosaic of …

Global Patterns In Marine Organic Matter Stoichiometry Driven By Phytoplankton Ecophysiology, Keisuke Inomura, Curtis Deutsch, Oliver Jahn, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Michael J. Follows

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The proportion of major elements in marine organic matter links cellular processes to global nutrient, oxygen and carbon cycles. Differences in the C:N:P ratios of organic matter have been observed between ocean biomes, but these patterns have yet to be quantified from the underlying small-scale physiological and ecological processes. Here we use an ecosystem model that includes adaptive resource allocation within and between ecologically distinct plankton size classes to attribute the causes of global patterns in the C:N:P ratios. We find that patterns of N:C variation are largely driven by common physiological adjustment strategies across all phytoplankton, while patterns of …

Rapid Metabolism Fosters Microbial Survival In The Deep, Hot Subseafloor Biosphere, F. Beulig, F. Schubert, R. R. Adhikari, C. Glombitza, V. B. Heuer, K. U. Hinrichs, K. L. Homola, F. Inagaki, B. B. Jørgensen, J. Kallmeyer, S. J.E. Krause, Y. Morono, J. Sauvage, A. J. Spivack, T. Treude

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

A fourth of the global seabed sediment volume is buried at depths where temperatures exceed 80 °C, a previously proposed thermal barrier for life in the subsurface. Here, we demonstrate, utilizing an extensive suite of radiotracer experiments, the prevalence of active methanogenic and sulfate-reducing populations in deeply buried marine sediment from the Nankai Trough subduction zone, heated to extreme temperature (up to ~120 °C). The small microbial community subsisted with high potential cell-specific rates of energy metabolism, which approach the rates of active surface sediments and laboratory cultures. Our discovery is in stark contrast to the extremely low metabolic rates …

Tracer Techniques Used To Analyze Spatial And Temporal Processes Controlling Groundwater And Near Surface Water Contribution To The Ruby River In The Upper Ruby River Valley, Mt., Max-Henry Nelson

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Stable water isotopes, δD and δ18O as well as specific conductance (SC) are often used as chemical tracers, or water fluxes, to understand basin hydrological processes including precipitation, groundwater recharge, groundwater-surface water interactions. In understanding the behavior of isotopes in a natural system, quantitative models can be produced to identify volumes and sources of groundwater recharge or losses as well as how groundwater pumping and surface water irrigation affects groundwater storage and discharge. The overarching questions are: i) what are the current spatial and temporal processes controlling groundwater and surface water, ii) what are the major sources of water and …

Chemical Speciation In Hot Springs Hosted In Rhyolitic And Basaltic Host Rock: Yellowstone And Iceland, Maria Emilia Arteaga Pozo

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Chemical speciation helps define habitability and bioavailability of elements to microbes in extreme environmental conditions such as Yellowstone and Icelandic geothermal systems. Chemical speciation is critical to understanding the system's behavior, including chemical toxicity, environmental fate, and transport. This research presents the description and comparison of the geochemistry and chemical speciation of sixty-four geothermal waters using the EQ3 chemical equilibrium software and the Water-Organic-Rock-Microbe (WORM) Portal. These use values of pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, silica, inorganic carbon, major anions and cations, trace elements and gases (CO₂, CH₄, and H₂). The analyzed acidic (pH ~ …

Recommendations For Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences In Mathematics, Rommel J. Miranda

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have benefits for course instructors, undergraduate STEM students, and underrepresented students. CUREs consist of five essential components which include the use of science practices, discovery, broadly relevant or important work, collaboration, and iteration (Auchincloss et al., 2014). Over the past decade, a broad range of CUREs have been developed within and across STEM disciplines. However, resources to assist instructors to develop CUREs in mathematics are limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the extant literature on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), especially in mathematics, to provide future directions for reforming …

A Mathematics Pipeline To Student Success In Data Analytics Through Course-Based Undergraduate Research, Kristin P. Bennett, John S. Erickson, Amy Svirsky, Josephine C. Seddon

The Mathematics Enthusiast

This paper reports on Data Analytics Research (DAR), a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which undergraduate students conduct data analysis research on open real- world problems for industry, university, and community clients. We describe how DAR, offered by the Mathematical Sciences Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is an essential part of an early low-barrier pipeline into data analytics studies and careers for diverse students. Students first take a foundational course, typically Introduction to Data Mathematics, that teaches linear algebra, data analytics, and R programming simultaneously using a project-based learning (PBL) approach. Then in DAR, students work in teams …

Math And The Mouse: Explorations Of Mathematics And Science In Walt Disney World, Elizabeth L. Bouzarth, John M. Harris, Kevin R. Hutson

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Math and the Mouse is an intensive, collaborative, project-driven, study away course that runs during the three-week May Experience term at Furman University and has many of the attributes of a course-based undergraduate research experience in mathematics. We take twelve students to Orlando, Florida to study the behind-the-scenes mathematics employed to make Walt Disney World operate efficiently. Students learn techniques of mathematical modeling (mostly resource allocation, logistics, and scheduling models), statistical analysis (mostly probability, clustering, data collection, and hypothesis testing), and ow management (queuing theory and some beginning ow dynamics) in an applied setting. Through planned course modules, collaborative activities, …

Nurturing The Disease - A Glimpse From The Outside Looking In: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of The Nature Of Nurture And Its Role In Chronic Illness, Michelle Leeann Koudsi

Social Work Theses - Archive

This autoethnographic illness narrative explores nature versus nurture’s impact on chronic illness. The author argues that environmental factors play a significant role in the rise of chronic illnesses. My hope is that this study will allow society and healthcare providers to gain a deeper understanding of the connection between illness and trauma as well as the importance of quality, positive patient-provider relationships. This study also demonstrates the importance of establishing a connection within oneself to create self-awareness and emotional healing. Despite this study being one of the most mentally tasking things I have ever willingly chosen to do in my …

Competence And Bias In The Provision Of Transgender Mental Health, Taylor Dahlia Bolinger

Social Work Theses - Archive

Historically, clinicians have functioned as gatekeepers to access gender-affirming care for individuals identifying as transgender. However, current best practice standards by reputable professional associations have encouraged clinicians to minimize potential barriers for clients seeking gender-affirming care. This care includes hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and gender confirmation surgeries, and other gender-affirming interventions such as name and gender marker change. This study seeks to describe Texas clinicians’ attitudes toward transgender clients and their self-perceived competency to perform gender affirming care. Licensed mental health care clinicians were recruited from various professional associations to complete an anonymous internet-based survey on providing gender-affirming mental health …

Design, Fabrication, And Characterization Of Conjugated Polymeric Electrochemical Memristors As Neuromorphic/Integrated Circuits, Benjamin Grant

All Dissertations

Organic materials are promising candidates for future electronic devices compared to the complementing inorganic materials due to their ease of processability, use, and disposal, low cost of fabrication, energy efficiency, and flexible nature toward implementation as flexible and non-conformal devices.With that in mind, electrochemical materials have been widely demonstrated with commercial use as sensors, displays, and a variety of other electronic devices. As Moore's law predicts the increase in the density of transistors on a chip, the requirement to create either smaller transistors or the replacement of the transistor device entirely is apparent. Memory resistors, coined ``memristor", are variable resistive …

Sex Differences In The Disease Progression Of Ftd Vs Ad, Abigail Mitchell, Danielle Frances, Chase Metzger

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Abigail Mitchell, Danielle Frances, Chase Metzger

Sex Differences in the Disease Progression of FTD vs AD.

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are on the rise in aging populations due to the upper tier of the population getting larger in that age group (Zheng & Chen, 2022). Knowing this, there is great benefit in more accurate and early diagnosis of conditions like frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Particularly, it is important to understand which variables may contribute to differences in disease burden and progression of associated sequalae, with one of those variables being biological sex. The current study investigated sex differences …

Comparison Of Kanamycin-Resistant Bacteria In Earthworm Digestive Tracts And Soil From Compost Bins, Samantha Dooyema, Martin Dolan, Abigal Morse

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more prevalent in soil as humans have increased impacts on the environment. Previous research proposed that earthworms could affect bacteria distribution as soil is ingested and filtered through their bodies. This research aims to see if kanamycin-resistance bacteria is the same in earthworm digestive tracts as in the soil the earthworms inhabit. We expect that the gut contents and soil will vary in the occurrence of kanamycin-resistant bacteria. Earthworms and composted soil samples were collected from compost bins at a residential home in Nashville, Tennessee. Digestive tracts were dissected from the earthworms and homogenized. Kanamycin-resistant bacteria …

Refining The Eden Community’S Pathways For Shaping Regenerative Christian Culture In The Apprenticeship For Regenerative Culture, Laura Callarman

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This Doctor of Ministry thesis presents a project designed to meet a need of the Eden Community, an intentional Christian community, regarding the pathways it uses to shape regenerative Christian culture among college students in its apprenticeship program, ARC. In this thesis, I connect the pragmatic aims of the Eden Community to theological foundations regarding the importance of ecclesial diversity and creative contextualization, features that empower the church to embody a variety of life-giving “alternative stories” with the capacity to present the gospel as truly good news to the entire world.

In this project, a team of nine stakeholders met …

Assessing Non-Motor Symptoms In Parkinson’S Disease Using A 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesion In The Substantia Nigra, Tiffany Aguirre

Psychology Theses - Archive

Motor symptoms within Parkinson’s disease (PD) are some of the most well-researched areas, whereas there remains an extensive gap in the literature researching non-motor symptoms, which include sleep, mood, pain and cognitive impairments to name a few. It is well-known that PD affects the brain by depleting dopamine within the nigrostriatal pathway, specifically targeting the substantia nigra, which plays a vital role in producing and controlling motor movements. However, the substantia nigra, as well as dopamine, also play a role in reward and motivation and yet there is still little research done to assess how the degeneration of dopamine within …

Crime Across The Ages: An Examination Of Intergenerational Crime And Recidivism Among Serious Juvenile Offenders, A'Maiya Brown

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Although prior research has studied whether parents and their criminal histories impact a juvenile’s likelihood to commit crime, there has been little examination of whether the criminal histories of family members impact the likelihood of rearrest for juveniles who have already committed serious crimes. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study (Pathways), this study examines the relationship between the criminal history of family members (i.e., mother, father, and other family members living within the home) and rearrest rates of participants. Results from negative binomial regressions reveal that the arrest records of the mother and father do have a significant …

The Role Of Muscle Damage On Joint Tissue, Logan Nicholas Moore

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

The musculoskeletal system is a highly diverse network of tissue that operates in conjunction to one other, both mechanically and biochemically. In states of disorder such as musculoskeletal disorders, this cross-communication between tissues is pivotal in the progression of disease state in other tissues, or the prevention and healing of the effected tissue. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSkD) are a broad term encompassing disorders to bones, joints, muscles and connective tissues. These disorders include Osteoarthritis, Osteopenia, Sarcopenia, Tendonitis, Myopathies, and muscle weakness. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder, characterized as damage to the articulating cartilage and alterations in other joint …

A Glass Bead Semi-Hydroponic System For Intact Maize Root Exudate Analysis And Phenotyping, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Peng Wang, Felicia Phares, Daniel P. Schachtman, Sophie Alvarez, Karin V. Van Dijk

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Although there have been numerous studies describing plant growth systems for root exudate collection, a common limitation is that these systems require disruption of the plant root system to facilitate exudate collection. Here, we present a newly designed semi-hydroponic system that uses glass beads as solid support to simulate soil impedance, which combined with drip irrigation, facilitates growth of healthy maize plants, collection and analysis of root exudates, and phenotyping of the roots with minimal growth disturbance or root damage. Results: This system was used to collect root exudates from seven maize genotypes using water or 1 mM CaCl2, …

Architectural Control Of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Phenotype Through Nuclear Actin, Janet Rubin, Andre J. Van Wijnen, Gunes Uzer

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is growing appreciation that architectural components of the nucleus regulate gene accessibility by altering chromatin organization. While nuclear membrane connector proteins link the mechanosensitive actin cytoskeleton to the nucleoskeleton, actin’s contribution to the inner architecture of the nucleus remains enigmatic. Control of actin transport into the nucleus, plus the presence of proteins that control actin structure (the actin tool-box) within the nucleus, suggests that nuclear actin may support biomechanical regulation of gene expression. Cellular actin structure is mechanoresponsive: actin cables generated through forces experienced at the plasma membrane transmit force into the nucleus. We posit that dynamic actin remodeling …

Urban Wildlife Management Planning Process And Conflict Mitigation: A Case Study Of Denver’S Canada Goose Management Plan, Brent Johannes

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

In 2019 and 2020, the USDA in coordination with Denver Parks and Recreation removed 2,174 geese from 6 different parks within the City of Denver. The removals and use of lethal methods to manage the concerns related to the geese population in Denver’s parks caused a public conflict and resulted in multiple legal challenges with the City of Denver. The opposition group claimed that the city did not sufficiently engage with the public in the formation of the goose management plan, and did not provide any public notification about the plan to remove geese. City officials have claimed that attempts …

Timing Of Implants Use In Backgrounding System, Kylie M. Butterfield

Applied Science Program: Theses

A study was conducted over two years to determine the interactions of winter rate of gain at a high gain (HG) of 0.91 kg and low gain (LG) 0.45 kg, and implant strategy in the backgrounding and subsequent effects in the finishing phases. There were three phases in this study, the winter phase (~148 days), the summer phase (~60 days) and the finishing phase (~120 days). This was a 2 x 3 factorial design. The first factor is a rate of gain at either 0.91 kg (HG) or 0.45 kg (LG). The next factor is the timing of implant where …

A Multiple Case Study To Understand How Students Experience Science And Engineering Practices, Chris Schaben, Justin Andersson, Christine Cutucache

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), amid recent shifts in science curriculum, call for students to learn science through the practices of scientists and engineers (science and engineering practices, or SEPs). SEPs, related to inquiry learning, are ways students learn science content by doing science. Students have varied experiences learning science and engineering practices, including exposure in the classroom, from media, and in science fairs. Using a qualitative, multiple case study design, we analyzed public school educators’ and middle and high school students’ (ages 12–18) interview transcripts about learning through the science and engineering practices. Findings demonstrate that students learn …

Newsbytes December 2022, Research Medical Library

NewsBytes 2022

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Graph Representation Learning For Heterogeneous Multimodal Biomedical Data, Nhat Chau Tran

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The emergence of high-throughput sequencing technology has generated a wealth of “multi-omics” data, capturing information about different types of biomolecules at multiple levels. Since large-scale genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics data are becoming publicly available, integrated systems analysis utilizing these data sources has taken the front seat in deriving valuable insights for identifying cancer biomarkers or predicting interactions and functions for novel molecules such as LncRNAs. The graph representation learning paradigm can address these challenging tasks as among the most promising approaches to improve predictions over sparsely annotated molecular entities and to provide representation capacity and interpretability over heterogeneous and hierarchically …

An Efficient Automated Iris Recognition Classification Model Based On Different Convolutional Neural Networks And Transfer Learning., Ghada Abd El-Latif Shatat, Abeer Twakol, Ibrahim Yasser, Mohy Eldin Ahmed Abu Al Saud

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Iris is a common biometric used for identity verification. Iris identification is one of the best ways to give people individual authentication based on their iris anatomy. This paper's main objective is to evaluate how well these deep learning networks perform on iris image datasets. The image goes through the following stages: improving image quality; employing the Hough transform and the integro-differential operator to segment the iris; and reducing processing time by changing the image's 150x300 dimensions from Cartesian to polar coordinates. Transfer learning is used to implement the iris classification on three deep learning networks: VGG19, InceptionV3, and Iris …

Sequencing And Functional Characterization Of A Latrodectus Geometricus Defensin, Lg-Defensin, Jacklyn Victoria Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Defensins are small, cysteine-rich, immune related proteins described to be the most widespread family of invertebrate antimicrobial peptides. Presently, there is limited information regarding spider defensins. In this study, a new defensin peptide was described in Latrodectus geometricus, Lg-defensin. The full open reading frame was resolved using RACE and de novo assembly, followed by a bioinformatical analysis and phylogenetic alignment to determine conserved sequence patterns and structural similarities to other defensins. Next, the functionality of Lg-defensin was determined using in vitro RNA interference to assess what impact silencing had on the spider’s ability to control a gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial …

Turning Ligands On Their Side: Computational Investigation Into The Binding Of N2o And N2 In Transition Metal Complexes, Cole Donald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Common greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a thermodynamically potent and environmentally benign oxidant, making it a desirable target for metal center activation. Unfortunately, N₂O is a poor ligand for transition metals due to its weak sigma-donating and pi-accepting properties; as a result, few transition metal complexes capable of interacting with N₂O have been found. As the primary source of all nitrogen in organisms, abundant gas dinitrogen (N₂) is a crucially important tiny molecule and an essential part of daily existence. However, due to its inertness, it has limited practical uses in …

173rd Commencement, Fall

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Safe Practices For Preventing Covid-19 Among School-Aged Children, Meleena Reyelle Banda-Garcia

Nursing | Senior Theses

Communicable diseases and infections are common health problems among children. Among the most impactful communicable diseases present today is COVID-19, a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2, which has forced many school closures due to rapid transmission. Despite children not being the main driving factor of the spread of the disease, severe complications underlying COVID-19 incidence have resulted in increased hospitalization among school-age children.The initial global response to the spread of COVID-19 included the closure of school systems; however as the disease continues to be effectively managed, communities are starting to re-open schools partially or entirely nationwide. Although pharmaceutical …