Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonist Pt150 On Acquisition And Escalation Of Fentanyl Self-Administration Following Early-Life Stress, Michael T. Bardo, Cassie M. Chandler, Emily D. Denehy, Benjamin A. Carper, Mark A. Prendergast, Tracy L. Nolen

Psychology Faculty Publications

There is comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and opioid use disorder (OUD), perhaps because PTSD-like stressful experiences early in life alter the hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal stress axis to increase the risk for OUD. The present study determined if the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist PT150 reduces the escalation of fentanyl intake in rats exposed to a “two-hit” model of early-life stress (isolation rearing and acute stress). Male and female rats were raised during adolescence in either isolated or social housing and then were given either a single acute stress (restraint and cold-water swim) or control treatment in young adulthood. Rats were then treated …

The Satiating Potential Of Plant Proteins Transiting The Upper Gut., Leo Nunn

Theses

Increasing the feeling of fullness through modulation of satiety hormones by dietary proteins may be a promising daily approach in the prevention of unnecessary weight gain and in the maintenance of a healthy weight over our lifetime. The effects of animal sourced proteins on satiety hormone (GLP-1, PYY and CCK) has been well documented. However to meet the EU Green Deal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a 15-20 % dietary shift to plant proteins is required. This thesis examined the satiating potential of six plant protein ingredients, Teff, Oat Fibre, Lentil Protein Isolate, Buckwheat, Quinoa and Strong …

Automatic Seed Classification For Four Páramo Plant Species By Neural Networks And Optic Rgb Images, Camilo Franco, Manuela Osorio, Gwendolyn Peyre

Neotropical Biodiversity

No abstract provided.

Beliefs And Probabilities: The Errors That Remain Are Mine Alone, Kevin M. Clermont

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Imagine that the preface to a professor’s book implicitly asserts that all the propositions in the rest of his or her book are true, but explicitly acknowledges that experience would suggest some errors remain among those propositions. The prof thereby seems paradoxically to believe inconsistent statements. But in fact this famous preface paradox is an illusion. The first statement is a belief reflecting epistemic uncertainty, while the second is a probabilistic statement about aleatory uncertainty. If one were to convert the probability into a belief, one would see that the author rationally holds perfectly consistent beliefs.

Likewise the lottery paradox …

In A Small Sea, Thomas Giebler

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

A pool of water stands before you. It is nebulous and free flowing. As you peer in, you realize how vast and deep something initially so unassuming on the surface has become.

This is my small sea.

Within this sea that rests between my ears, I am a small ‘c’ creator. This body of water is filled with experiences, inspiration, and vision. In this place, I synthesize the world around me into my work, creating microcosms that are full of life, color, and story. The idea of microcosms is the cornerstone of my design.

Within each of my created worlds, …

Bat Activity And Insect Biomass On Mcconnell Airforce Base Compared To Surrounding Wichita Parks, Michaela Sielaff

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Bats are bioindicators of the communities to which they belong, giving researchers insight into the overall health of those ecosystems. Bats are also very adaptable and are capable of tolerating urbanization. Some species, such as Lasiurus borealis and Lasionycteris noctivagans may even benefit from adjacent industrial and commercial land use, although this is not the case for all bat species. In 2021, we began acoustic and mist net surveys of bats at McConnell Air Force Base (MAFB, or “base”) in Wichita, KS. However, no bats were captured or seen during mist net surveys, although some were detected acoustically over a …

Methylation Patterns Across Tissue Type And Time In Peromyscus Leucopus: A Targeted Museum Study, Loryn Smith

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Museum specimens are a vital data source for many types of studies. One relatively new use includes studying methylation patterns. Methylation patterns are a form of epigenetics or how gene expression changes without alteration of the genetic code. These patterns have been examined in many mammals. However, the focus has previously been on overall epigenetic patterns. Few studies have investigated whether methylation patterns differ across tissue types, time, or preservation method. In this study, I compared methylation patterns in muscle, liver, toe pads, and nasal bones from Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) museum specimens collected in 2022, 2018, 2014, and 2008 …

Want To Be A Cowboy? The Struggle For Identity In Rodeo, Colton Wagner

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis examines the identity struggle for cowboys and competitors in rodeo from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century in North America. The evolution of rodeo is a rich topic as various people sought a space within its competitive sphere. The sport of rodeo often reflects the dominant social movements within the United States, but it intermittently allowed marginalized groups a public space to exist and fight against the erasure of their ideas and culture. The origins of rodeo as a sport, from the foundations of horsemanship and ranching to the rise of performativity in the West, provide …

Understanding The Value Of Friendships: Exploring The Different Characteristics Of Virtual World Friendships Compared To Real World Friendships, Samantha Baires

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Research on video games, social media, and computer games has focused on specific social characteristics such as violence, communication, and social isolation. Most aspects of virtual world gaming and online relationships are considered inferior, if not damaging, to those who spend time on these platforms. Virtual relationships are often considered secondary to traditional relationships. Such relationships are seen as replacements for traditional friendships, leading to research focusing on replacement rather than value. Little research focuses on how a virtual world friendship compares to a traditional friendship and the value it may serve to individuals in the relationship. The present study …

Grassland Nesting Birds And Visual Obstruction Measurements In Western Kansas On Smoky Valley Ranch, Connor J. Champney

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

North American grassland declines and increasing changes in land use patterns have revived the importance of studying grasslands and their inhabitants. Grassland breeding bird populations are declining rapidly, and conservation efforts are ramping up. Smoky Valley Ranch (SVR) owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is in Logan County, Kansas. Surrounding private land is characteristically comprised of row crops, livestock agriculture, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and a few patches of native and restored prairie. The study of obligate grassland birds utilizing this area during the breeding season is essential to the proliferation of grassland bird nesting habitat in western, Kansas. The …

Mycelium, Minjoo Lee

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Mycelium (noun)

/mʌɪˈsiːlɪəm/

plural: mycelia

the vegetative, root-like part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white thread-like filaments (hyphae).

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From as long as I can remember,

I’ve drawn inspiration from nature. I’ve always looked to create art and designs that contain the same visual elements and story-telling that is so present in nature.

In mycelia, I found inspiration in the fact that they are vital in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for their role in the decomposition of material. They give life to what has died, turning negative into positive.

TATUME ISLAND Tattoo Studio was born out …

The Transformation Of Cherokee Medicial Practices And The Hesitations That Surround Them, Rebecca Bills

Theses

Studies on traditional Cherokee medicine during the 1800s explained Cherokee religious beliefs and the treatments they used to heal the members of their community. However, no updated research has been done to see if Cherokees are still using traditional medicine and if they are, which kinds are they using in the 21st century. This is in part due to the fact that Native Americans and the U.S. government have a complicated relationship from centuries of mistreatment, broken treaties, and the removal from their ancestral homelands. This has created a distrust between native and non-natives. Today, traditional healers' identities are protected …

Timing Of Diversification, Dispersal, And Biogeography Of Parrots In The Genus Amazona (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) Throughout The Caribbean, Visualized In Gis, Christopher Kingwill

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Avian fossil records from across the Caribbean (Greater and Lesser Antilles) demonstrate higher avian diversity prior to extinction events due to climate change at the end of the Pleistocene and human impact across the Caribbean throughout the Holocene. Amazon parrots (Amazona) are a diverse genus of New World parrots found throughout Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Their phylogeny and evolutionary history, specifically for Caribbean species, has been debated in terms of source areas in Central and South America and the timing of and number of colonization events to different islands that preceded diversification into …

Dooming America: Conspiracy And Apocalypticism In The Populist Evangelical And White Nationalist Imaginations, Zachary W. Gipson

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Scholarship on American evangelicalism and its historical intersection with the ideology and activities of White Nationalism has typically focused on identifying shared cultural affinities in areas related broadly to the values and objectives of historic conservatism. These include issues of traditional patriarchy and gender roles, racial and/or religious prejudice, anti-immigrant views, and hostile responses to progressive socio-cultural change. Sociological, psychological, political and other frames of analysis applied to the study of American evangelicalism’s historical and cultural crossover with White Nationalism also identifies shared tendencies towards operating with conspiratorial and apocalyptic beliefs and frames of mind. To date, no comprehensive historical …

To Determine The Role Of The Platelet Activating Factor - Receptor In Folfirinox Therapy-Mediated Microvesicles Particle Generation, Krishna Awasthi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Given that Pancreatic cancer continues to be one of the primary causes of cancer-related death and that existing treatment options have a poor success rate, it is important to investigate the role of potential factor(s) involved in pancreatic cancer growth or diminishing the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents. An alternative regimen for pancreatic cancer treatment called FOLFIRINOX has shown to increase the survival rate and improve Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score among the pancreatic cancer patients. However, FOLFIRINOX therapy is associated with several side effects. Through mechanisms involving the secretion of microvesicle particles (MVP), studies, including ours have …

Can Graphene-Coated Sand Enhance Water Reuse By Improving Water Quality In The Presence Of Municipal Treated Wastewater?, Madelyn Barber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need for alternative water sources is dramatically increasing. Therefore, it is essential to develop alternative water sources to meet the current water scarcity challenges. Water reclamation, recycling, and reuse involving treated municipal and or animal wastewater address these challenges by resolving water resource issues and creating new sources of high-quality water supplies. However, the presence of bacteria, high levels of nutrients, and turbidity, as well as the occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in the treated wastewater, combined with the willingness of the public to use treated wastewater can undermine the wide application of water reuse. Implementing affordable …

Supernatural Law? A Refutation Of Three Recent Natural-Law Arguments Against Catholic Integralism, Jackson Dellinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, there is a longstanding debate over the proper relationship between religious and civil institutions, or “church and state.” One radical voice in the debate is that of Catholic integralism, a school within Catholic social teaching which argues that Catholic governments should submit to the religious authority of the Church, and that Catholics should aspire towards a Catholic society with this relationship between Church and State for all nations. Recently, interlocutors have attempted to show that integralism is inconsistent with a core element of the Catholic teaching to which they appeal—that is, natural law. In this paper, …

Neverender, David James Gambino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a work of fiction exploring the Global War on Terror from the perspective of US aircrew servicemembers.

Development And Characterization Of Cannabidiol And Rho Kinase Inhibitor Combination Formulations For Ophthalmic Use, Mihir Sanjay Ghonge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, is a neurodegenerative disease marked by progressive death of the retinal ganglion cells in the eye. In 2018, FDA approved a 0.02% ophthalmic solution of netarsudil mesylate (NM), Rhopressa®, a rho kinase inhibitor, for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension; the first new drug class in more than two decades. Cannabidiol (CBD) has been studied for its effects on intraocular pressure since the 1980s. In 2022, a study established that topical administration of CBD (1% w/v) decreased the intraocular pressure in pigmented Dutch Belted Rabbits. This …

The Effect Of Mandated Disclosure On Liquidity Among Not-For-Profit Organizations, Erin Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines whether mandated disclosure under Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-14 affects not-for-profit (NFP) liquidity. ASU 2016-14 requires NFPs to disclose information that enhances financial statement users’ ability to assess an organization’s liquidity. Using panel data from fiscal years 2014 through 2019, I compare liquidity before and after the mandated disclosure for the top 100 revenue generating NFPs in 2019. I find that NFPs manage operating reserves, i.e., unrestricted liquid net assets, more closely to NFP sector guidelines after the disclosure mandate. Specifically, I find that NFPs with operating reserves above the recommended range prior to the disclosure mandate …

The Politics Of Being A Black Southern Belle, Latrice M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“The Politics of Being a Black Southern Belle” aims to examine media representations of Black womanhood and femininity. This thesis particularly focuses on how Black women redefine the southern belle. Film and television depictions of a national (implicitly white) femininity and womanhood have historically excluded Black women. To illuminate this history, the first chapter primarily provides background on historical representations of Black women in film. American standards of womanhood and femininity have been defined according to hegemonic culture—a culture predicated on race, class, and gender. The second chapter moves into an analysis of how Black women redefine the southern belle …

The Sailor Or The Fish // The Seafoam Or The Salt, Marina Rachelle Leigh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A collection of poems.

Hiv-1 Tat And Neuroendocrine Aging: Potential Benefits Of Neurosteroid-Based Therapy To Attenuate Premature Age-Related Comorbidities In The Era Of Antiretroviral Therapy, Alaa Nader Qrareya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary objectives of this dissertation are to assess the interaction between human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) trans-activator of transcription (Tat) protein and neuroendocrine status on the pathology of Tat/age-related comorbidities and to investigate the potential benefit of hormonal therapy in attenuating Tat/age insults. The advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has increased longevity among people living with HIV (PLWH). However, cART cannot fully eradicate viral reservoirs within the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, ~50-60% of virally-suppressed PLWH experience neurological and psychological sequelae called “neuroHIV”. Moreover, PLWH are more vulnerable to developing premature age-related comorbidities. In PLWH, hypogonadism is common …

Affording The Value Of Technology: Normalcy And Moral Frameworks, Mitchell Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is often held that technology is value neutral. That is, technology is merely a means to an end and has no intrinsic moral worth. However, as some theorists have demonstrated, this view of technology may be mistaken. One theorist, Michael Klenk, offers what he calls an “affordance theory of embodied values” as one principled way of understanding how technological artifacts embody moral values. Under this view, artifacts embody affordances, or possibilities for action. These affordances are then judged in order to assess the moral status of the artifact which embeds them. In this paper, I develop one problem with …

The Effects Of High Intensity Isometric Contractions And Low Intensity Isometric Contractions With And Without Blood Flow Restriction On Blood Pressure And Discomfort, Robert William Spitz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To investigate the effects of high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise with and without blood flow restriction on changes in blood pressure and discomfort.

Methods: 179 participants (18-35 years) were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The control group (CON, n=44) only completed the two testing sessions. The training groups completed only one of the following conditions: 1) 4 sets of a two-minute contractions at 30% maximal voluntary contraction (LI, n=47); 2) 4 sets of a two-minute contractions at 30% maximal voluntary contraction with a 12cm cuff inflated to 50% of arterial occlusion pressure (LI + BFR, …

The Difficulties Pastors Face In Shepherding The Unregenerate Within Their Congregations, Michael S. Deckman

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pastors can face difficulties when trying to shepherd unregenerate people in their congregations. This qualitative case study investigated the characteristics of the difficulties and what effects they can have on pastors. A biblical and theological review of the book of Matthew provided an understanding of the theme of the “many and the few,” the wide and narrow gates, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and judging others. In addition, Matthew’s Gospel provided an understanding of defining the unregenerate and regenerate. The pastoral epistles of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus provided a theological understanding of pastors' roles, responsibilities, and duties in relation …

Unveiling Mississippi's Artistic Souls: A Documentary Journey, Sandip Rai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This MFA thesis presents a short documentary film focusing on the lives and artistic processes of four distinct artists residing in Mississippi: Andrew Bryant, Anne Scott Barrett, Jared Spears, and Stephen Brown (5th Child). The film delves into the intricacies of each artist's creative journey, capturing their unique perspectives and offering invaluable insights into their artistic endeavors.

Over the course of more than a year, this documentary underwent numerous revisions and refinements to ensure its significance both to the public audience and, most importantly, to the featured artists themselves. As an artist, the filmmaker was deeply motivated to unravel the …

The Effects Of Blood Flow Restriction On The Vasculature And Tolerability During A 2-Week Intervention, Daphney Michelle Stanford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blood flow restriction (BFR) has been used to delay muscle atrophy, but it is unclear how this impacts the vasculature. Purpose: Determine the effect of BFR on upper body vasculature. Methods: 40 participants were randomized into control (CON) or BFR. For BFR, 80% of arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) was applied daily (5/week) for 5 cycles (5min inflation, 3min deflation) on the dominant arm. Vascular assessments occurred at baseline (Pre), week 1 (Mid), and week 2 (Post). A cuff on the forearm inflated over 110% AOP for 5min while brachial artery diameter and tissue saturation index (TSI, %) were continuously measured. …

Judging China: The Chinese Legal System In U.S. Courts, Donald C. Clarke

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

How should American courts understand China’s legal system? How do they understand it, and are they doing a good job? These questions have become important as economic and social ties between China and the United States have mushroomed since China’s days of Maoist isolation. The answers have implications not just for China-related cases, but for the way U.S. courts treat authoritarian and illiberal legal systems more generally.

This Article presents the first attempt to answer these questions empirically through an intensive study of all cases in which parties either sought dismissal to China on forum non conveniens grounds or sought …

Promoting Sustainable Public Procurement Through Economic Policy Tools: From Moral Suasion To Nudging, Desiree Klingler, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

As the climate crisis accelerates and governments aspire to achieve more circular economies, this article encourages experimentation with innovative, interdisciplinary, and sustainable approaches that exploit governments’ enormous spending power. Rather than waiting for legislative or regulatory changes, the article advocates driving sustainable public procurement (SPP) through efficient and available behavioral-economics-inspired “green defaults,” nudging, persuading procurement officials, and, more broadly, rethinking the value proposition when confronted with price premiums.