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Long-Term Effects Of Adolescent Fluoxetine Exposure On Hippocampal Gene Expression In Male C57bl/6 Mice, Anapaula Themann

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mood-related disorders, including depression and anxiety, are prevalent among children and adolescents. This poses a public health challenge, given their adverse impact on these young populations. Treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine (FLX) is the first line of pharmacological intervention in pediatric patients suffering from affect-related illnesses. Although the use of this antidepressant has been deemed efficacious in the juvenile population, the enduring neurobiological consequences of adolescent FLX exposure are not well understood. For this reason, we explored for persistent molecular adaptations, in the adult hippocampus, as a function of adolescent FLX pretreatment. To do this, we administered …

Identification Of Prostate Cancer-Associated Genomic Alterations By Analyzing Variant Frequencies, Functional Effects, And Protein Interactions, Bofei Wang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With the ever-increasing varieties of sequencing techniques, the volume and scope of genomic data are explosively expanded, offering unparalleled opportunities for researchers to study gene-disease associations, identify biomarkers, and thus develop more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In this project, I have developed a computational workflow and a new scoring scheme, which combine statistical frequency-based analyses with two well-established functional effect prediction tools FATHMM and PROVEAN, to evaluate nonsynonymous GSVs and identify potential cancer-related protein-coding genes for downstream enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) studies.

This method has been applied to process a collection of 503 whole exome sequencing datasets for …

Utilizing Computational Approaches To Study Tubulin- Tubulin Electrostatic Interactions, Tolulope Ayodeji Ale

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Microtubules play significant roles in transporting cargos within the cell, as well as the cell cycle. They are essentially the highway for the transportation of cell organelles. Understanding the interactions among microtubule components is crucial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. In this study, we utilize a series of computational approaches to study the electrostatic interactions at the binding interfaces of interacting tubulin monomers. Our study revealed that the electrostatic attractive interactions in the αβ tubulin dimer is the strongest while the interaction between two αβ tubulin dimers in the longitude direction is the weakest. The result identified …

Computational Study Of Grain Structure Evolution In Cdte/Cds Via Molecular Dynamics, Sharmin Abdullah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Grain structure analysis plays an important role in the identification of grain boundary characteristics, which can affect the efficiency of Cadmium Telluride/Cadmium Sulfide (CdTe/CdS) solar cells since they can act as recombination centers for carriers. Computer simulations such as molecular dynamics (MD) can be a very convenient and cost- effective method of investigating the growth evolution and grain structure of materials. The recently reported and experimentally validated MD simulated growth of polycrystalline CdTe/CdS films shows that these materials mostly consist of zinc blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) structures, along with highly disordered atoms. However, little information about the semiconductor compound …

The Physiological Factors Of Diabetes And Their Effect On The Cognitive And Emotional Functioning In Older Populations: A Secondary Data Analysis, Celeste Anahi Alvidrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: The rates of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) have increased over the past 20 years in all age groups. The physiological factors that underlie T2D could have impact on specific brain pathways that support cognitive and emotional functioning. Aims and Objective: The goal of this study was to examine whether older Mexican American individuals with a history of T2D were more likely to develop later cognitive impairment and/or depression. Hypotheses: It was predicted that elderly participants (mean age at time of interview = 87.87 years) with a history of T2D onset prior to age 65, are more likely to have …

Examination Of The Association Between C - Reactive Protein(Crp) And Covid-19 Infection Severity And Length Of Hospitalization, Abdulahi Aremu Ayanwale

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic stress can lead to many systemic complications and low-grade systemic inflammation including increased levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is a marker of systemic inflammation and is associated with depression and perceived stress. Elevations can result in ineffective immune responses, thereby increasing the risk of complications and mortality from infections. Recent evidence suggests that uncontrolled inflammatory responses associated with COVID 19 are a major determinant of disease severity.  The COVID 19 is transmitted from one person to another through droplets from coughing, sneezing, talking, touching droplets on surfaces and contamination by hand-to-mouth routes. The mechanism …

An Investigation Of Upper Extremity Motor Impairments In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Motor Planning Vs Motor Execution, Patrick Anthony Cereceres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically diagnosedwhen a child displays social and communication impairments, repetitive behaviors, and rhythmic movements like hand flapping. This disorder is unique because of the high variability of symptoms displayed between each individual who is diagnosed. Because of this, no neurological or physiological test exists to diagnose a child with ASD. Current diagnostic tests are various forms of interviews or observations which an experienced clinician must administer. While these tests have been instrumental in diagnosing children with ASD, many go undiagnosed, which can be detrimental as they transition into adulthood. Current literature indicates …

Fuel Load, Stand Structure, And Understory Species Composition Following Prescribed Fire In An Old-Growth Coast Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) Forest, David Cowman, Will Russell

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: With the prevalence of catastrophic wildfire increasing in response to widespread fire suppression and climate change, land managers have sought methods to increase the resiliency of landscapes to fire. The application of prescribed burning in ecosystems adapted to fire can reduce fuel load and fire potential while minimizing impacts to the ecosystem as a whole. Coast redwood forests have historically experienced fire from both natural and anthropogenic sources, and are likely to respond favorably to its reintroduction. Results: Random sampling was conducted in three burned sites and in three unburned sites, in an old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. …

Equivalence: A Covariantly Constant Problem In General Relativity, Jaren Hobbs

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In studying the space-time structures described by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, it is often useful to identify particular properties referred to as geometrical invariants. These are attributes of the space-times which do not change regardless of the underlying coordinate systems used to study them. This project is part of a larger effort to catalogue space-times studied in general relativity. Specifically, computational software was used to identify structures known as covariantly constant vector fields.

Comparison Of Solutions To Reduce Air Quality Impacts To Environmental Justice Neighborhoods, Rebecca Merrell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Air quality is a complex problem with as many potential solutions. The objective of this thesis is to identify solutions that will create cleaner air for Environmental Justice Communities in Barstow, California. California is now requiring cities to create plans for air quality improvement and this thesis strives to try to evaluate the effectiveness of options cities may use. There are many solutions that claim they will improve air quality but few comparisons on the feasibility for a town to implement them.

This thesis explores the effectiveness of three types of vegetation solutions, three types of mechanical air filtering solutions, …

A Integrated Approach Of Deep Learning And Augmented Reality For Pneumonia Detection In Chest X-Ray Images, Jeevarathinam Senthilkumar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pneumonia is a viral or fungal illness that spreads to the lungs of the human body, causing fluid to accumulate in the lungs' air sacs. Millions of people are affected by this disease each year. One of the most common radiological diagnostics for diagnosing and screening this kind of sickness is a chest X-ray. The most commonly available radiological test for diagnosing and screening this kind of illness is a chest X-ray. An inaccurate diagnosis, especially over-diagnosis and under-diagnosis, is a common issue in the medical sector. As another issue, human-assisted diagnosis has limitations like the availability of an expert, …

Marine Phytoplankton Functional Types Exhibit Diverse Responses To Thermal Change, S. I. Anderson, A. D. Barton, S. Clayton, S. Dutkiewicz, T. A. Rynearson

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Marine phytoplankton generate half of global primary production, making them essential to ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycling. Though phytoplankton are phylogenetically diverse, studies rarely designate unique thermal traits to different taxa, resulting in coarse representations of phytoplankton thermal responses. Here we assessed phytoplankton functional responses to temperature using empirically derived thermal growth rates from four principal contributors to marine productivity: diatoms, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria, and coccolithophores. Using modeled sea surface temperatures for 1950–1970 and 2080–2100, we explored potential alterations to each group’s growth rates and geographical distribution under a future climate change scenario. Contrary to the commonly applied Eppley formulation, our …

Development Of Metaheuristic Algorithms For The Efficient Allocation Of Power Flow Control Devices, Eduardo Jose Castillo Fatule

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Modern energy grids have become extremely complex systems, requiring more variable and active flow control. As a remedy to this, Distributed Flexible AC Transmission Systems (D-FACTS) are cost-efficient devices used to mitigate power flow congestion and integrate renewable energies. The objective of this research is then to propose an efficient multiple objective evolutionary algorithm to solve a stochastic model for D-FACTS allocation, which aims to optimize various objectives related to cost, grid health, and environmental impacts. The model was implemented on a modified RTS-96 test system, and the results show that optimally allocating D-FACTS modules using the proposed model can …

Cell Bioprinting: A Novel Approach For Alpha Cell To Beta Cell Transdifferentiation, Atzimba Casas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs in the body when the pancreas fails to either produce insulin (TID) or does not effectively use the insulin produced (TIID) and poses further health complications as well as an insurmountable economic impact.[1] Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease characterized by a deficient amount of insulin production on account of the body’s immune system destroying its own β-cells.[2] Current diabetes treatment methods include the administration of insulin via injections or islet transplantation therapy. However, although both are viable options, they come with limitations that make the managing of this disease difficult. It …

Linking Plot And Landscape Level Phenology, Alejandra Flores

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Plant phenology has become popularize since the 1990s to help understand the effects of climate change on vegetation, it is a way to study the patterns of leaf-out, flowering, and senescing of the life-cycle of the plant. The timing from start of season (SOS) to end-of-season (EOS) of plant leaf-out development has important implication on ecosystem productivity and carbon cycling across ecological scales from individual trees to whole regions. The need for plant phenology studies in dryland are highly anticipated, since they make up 40% of the terrestrial landscape and recently have shown the play an important role in the …

Molecular Mechanism Of Dna Bisintercalator Antibiotic Resistance, Priyanka Rajendra Gade

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Class II UvrA is an ATP-binding cassette protein and a homolog of class I UvrA, the DNA lesion detection component of the universal prokaryotic nucleotide excision repair system. We show that Ecm16, a class II UvrA protein from Streptomyces lasalocidi, specifically recognizes DNA duplex that contains the DNA bisintercalator antibiotic echinomycin. Heterologous expression of Ecm16 in Escherichia coli renders host cells resistant to echinomycin. Interestingly, Ecm16’s antibiotic resistance activity does not require the DNA repair proteins UvrA/B/C/D, indicating that it operates independently of the cell’s nucleotide excision repair pathway. Unlike UvrA, Ecm16 uses the insertion domain to regulate its ATPase …

Geophysical Studies Of The Characteristics Of Fluvial And Desert Soils In Rio Grande Valley Of West Texas And Southern New Mexico, Aimee V. Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Agriculture in arid lands, such as in the Rio Grande Valley in west Texas, relies on flood irrigation. However, flood irrigation can cause salt buildup and greenhouse gas emissions associated with pedogenic carbonate precipitation. The ability of irrigation to promote crop growth is influenced by geochemical and hydrological processes controlled, in part, by soil grain size, larger-scale soil structure, and mineralogy. This study investigated soils from 3 regions 1) A pecan orchard in the river valley of Tornillo, TX, with soil derived from fluvial deposits, undergoing flood irrigation every 2 to 3 weeks in spring through fall, 2) The El …

Impact Of Xenobiotics On Neuronal Outcomes, Gabriela Henriquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neurodegenerative diseases are a common affliction of the Central Nervous System. They are caused by age, genetics, and environmental factors. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis are well-known among the host of neurodegenerative disorders, with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease being the leading pathologies across this canvas. It is known that the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases is multifactorial due to the involvement of genetic mutations, radical-induced protein damage, abnormal aggregation of misfolded proteins, and the formation of amyloid deposits. The amyloid proteins in neurodegenerative disease include Tau and Amyloid (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease and α-Synuclein in …

Student Attitudes Toward Science: Growth Trajectories And Thematic Analysis Of A Project-Based Internship, Robert Donavin Mccreary

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In order to increase the number of students pursuing science-related careers, science educators and policymakers have advocated for improving student attitudes toward science (SAS) through inquiry-based instruction, such as project-based learning (PBL). While challenges exist in PBL, research suggests cogenerative dialogue (cogen) can ease the transition for students from traditional learning to PBL. In the present study, a secondary analysis was conducted to examine SAS growth trajectories from participants of the Work With A Scientist Program (WWASP) – a student-scientist internship which integrated cogen with PBL. Additionally, a thematic analysis was conducted to explore student attitudes toward cogen. The growth …

Study Of Barrier Heights And Magnetic Property Using Locally Scaled And Perdew-Zunger Self-Interaction Methods, Prakash Mishra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Kohn-Sham density functional theory is a widely used method to estimate the ground state total energies and densities of interacting correlated electronic structures of atoms, molecules, clusters, solids, and liquids. In theory, exact solutions for these properties can be obtained by solving self-consistent one-electron Schrodinger equations based on density functionals for the energy.The practical application of KS DFT require approximation to the exchange-correlation energy functional. Many density functional approximations (DFAs) have been developed with various degree of sophistication and complexity by the satisfaction of exact constraints. Depending on the complexity, these functionals include electron density, density gradients, density Laplacian, kinetic …

Leading In Gendered Spaces: Women Presidents' Perceptions Of Their Experiences In Community Colleges, Keri Moe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gender inequality in leadership is an ongoing challenge found in higher education, including community colleges. Since women remain underrepresented in leadership positions at community colleges, specifically as college presidents, the purpose of this study was to document and better understand the experiences of women in these roles by focusing on three research questions:

• RQ 1: How do women presidents describe their experience in male-dominated community colleges?
• RQ 2: How do gender identity and gender expectations of women impact the behavior of women community college presidents?
• RQ 3: How do women presidents navigate their role within male-dominated community colleges?

Through the …

Goes-16 Level 2 Land Surface Temperature Product-Filling For Cloud Masked Data, Guadalupe Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The GOES-16 satellite ground segment team develops different levels of environmental products and makes them readily available to the public. The level 2 Land Surface Temperature (LST) product aims to provide a remote measurement of the Earth’s surface temperature every hour. LST is of fundamental importance to many aspects of the geosciences, for example, to study the Urban Heat Islands (UHI) effect. The product however, does not provide values for pixels where the satellite imager’s view is obstructed by clouds, as determined by a cloud mask intermediate product. The objective of this thesis is to estimate LST in the cloud …

The Posthuman Paradox: Acknowledging What Matters Through Affective Rhetoricity, Alison Wells Zepeda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation advances a theory of affective rhetoricity through personal narrative and an integrative literature review as a methodological approach. The project draws on a theoretical framework constructed from intra- and extra-disciplinary theories of posthumanism, affect, language, material feminism, object-oriented ontology, new materialism, and rhetoric through which collisions between objects and language are examined as arguments for affective rhetoricity as a revised way of understanding rhetoric’s force. The study culminates with ethical and pedagogical implications for the rhetoric and writing classroom, what it means to enact an ontological disposition toward writing, and an exploration of our human capacity to write …

Relationship Between Mothers’/Caregivers’ Reported Learning Difficulty And Internalizing Symptoms (Anxiety And Depression) Of Children Aged 5–17 Years In Ghana, Queen Angela Norman, Nutifafa Eugene Yaw Dey, Kenneth Owusu Ansah, Francis Arthur-Holmes, Henry Ofori Duah, Pascal Agbadi

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Studies have reported different factors associated with anxiety and depression among children and adolescents. However, studies examining the relationship between learning difficulties and internalizing symptoms of Ghanaian children is scarce. The only study available found that 152 students with learning difficulties who visited a psychology clinic for psychological assessment had high levels of stress and anxiety (Asare & Danquah, 2016). While the study provided preliminary evidence of the relationship between learning difficulties and internalizing symptoms, it had some methodological challenges. For instance, the study used a relatively smaller sample size and subsampled children in Accra. Our study used a nationally …

Enhancing Permanency In Children And Families (Epic): A Child Welfare Intervention For Parental Substance Abuse, Bridget Freisthler, Kathryn Maguire-Jack, Susan Yoon, Elinam Dellor, Jennifer Price Wolf

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Across Ohio, parental substance abuse has contributed to a marked increase in the number of children in foster care. Children exposed to parental substance use have a higher likelihood of physical abuse and neglect, and consequently a variety of physical, psychological and cognitive problems. The Enhancing Permanency in Children and Families (EPIC) program is a collaborative effort between the Ohio State University College of Social Work, two county offices of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, two juvenile courts and local behavioral health agencies. The goal of EPIC is to use three evidence-based and evidence-informed practices to …

Potential Microplastic Release From Beached Fishing Gear In Great Britain's Region Of Highest Fishing Litter Density, Luka Seamus Wright, Imogen Ellen Napper, Richard C. Thompson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

While land-based sources of marine plastic pollution have gained widespread attention, marine-based sources are less extensively investigated. Here, we provide the first in-depth description of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) on northern and southern beaches of the English Southwest Peninsula, Great Britain's region of highest ALDFG density. Three distinct categories were recorded: twisted rope (0.28 ± 0.14 m−1, 17%), braided rope (0.56 ± 0.28 m−1, 33%) and filament (0.84 ± 0.41 m−1, 50%), which likely correspond to fishing rope, net and line. Estimating the disintegration of ALDFG from length and filament number suggests that it has the …

Soil Health Monitoring And Management In Corn And Soybean Agroecosystems Of The Midwestern U.S., Bradley S. Crookston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil health is a concept and condition of the soil where measurable soil properties represent the capacity of a soil fulfilling its intended use, such as producing crops, without constraint to its agro-ecological quality. Soil health assessments are used to estimate the health of a soil by assessing soil biological, chemical, and physical attributes, called soil health indicators, and scoring them on a scale, usually 0 to 100, to guide soil and crop management. However, there are few large-scale analyses of soil health assessment scores and their relationships with crop yield. Understanding how soil health assessments relate to crop yield …

Characterizing Relational Values To Inform Message-Framing At The Boa Ogoi Historical Site, Cole G. Stocker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In an increasingly polarized political climate–particularly in the U.S.– environmental issues such as climate change and its effects on the environment have become hot-button partisan talking points resulting in further division. This has led to research on ways to communicate science which does not further inflame political tensions, but rather reinforces and validates the audience’s values. Science communication research provides the foundation for my case study, which focuses on characterizing the environmental values and worldviews of land managers residing and working near the Boa Ogoi Historical Site in southern Idaho. The Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation (NWBSN) is in the …

Host Plant Use, Phenology, And Biological Control Of The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae; Halymorpha Halys) In Northern Utah, Mark Cody Holthouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), has become a significant agricultural and urban nuisance pest in North America, causing millions of dollars of damage to specialty fruit and vegetable crops over the past two decades. This pest uses over 170 host plant species in North America and is difficult to control with most conventional insecticides. Following the establishment of H. halys in Utah in 2012, this dissertation explores the plant host species, seasonal development, and biological control agents found in the unique climate conditions of the Intermountain West. Chapter II documents important plant species utilized by each …

Estimation Of High-Resolution Evapotranspiration In Heterogeneous Environments Using Drone-Based Remote Sensing, Ayman M. M. Nassar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key element of hydrological cycle analysis, irrigation demand, and for better allocation of water resources in the ecosystem. For successful water resources management activities, precise estimate of ET is necessary. Although several attempts have been made to achieve that, variation in temporal and spatial scales constitutes a major challenge, particularly in heterogeneous canopy environments such as vineyards, orchards, and natural areas. The advent of remote sensing information from different platforms, particularly the small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) technology with lightweight sensors allows users to capture high-resolution data faster than traditional methods, described …