The first goal of this master’s thesis was to investigate the linkage between a non-destructive testing method, surface resistivity, and premature concrete deterioration brought on by chloride ingress and or freeze-thaw cycling. The experimental method for this project consists of taking surface resistivity measurements of reinforced concrete slabs after they...
Climate models differ in their responses to imposed forcings, such as increased greenhouse gas concentrations, due to different climate feedback strengths. Feedbacks in NCAR’s Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) are separated into two components: the change in climate components in response to an imposed forcing and the “radiative kernel,” the effect...
Perception between people is part of the process of nonverbal
communication. Person perception including body, facial expression,
facial features, and clothing is part of the process that results
in the formation of impressions of persons by each other.
The purpose of this study was to investigate clothing perception
and develop...
This research addressed the role of educational technology associations as change agents within education with particular emphasis on issues of advocacy and leadership. Using a poststructural feminist lens and the metaphor of interview and analysis as storytelling, it explored the perspectives of nineteen individuals belonging to a national level educational...
How do digital games convey meaning? Academic studies of video games seem concerned
with creating discipline-specific new methodologies for examining the medium. From the
standpoint of the rhetorical critic, however, new forms of communication can still be
examined with traditional techniques. This paper analyzes the 2001 video game Tropico
using...
The variable length, six-electrode plasma source for atomic
emission spectroscopy described here is operated from three
compact, simple, and inexpensive direct current power supplies. The
vertical arcs formed between the three electrode pairs completely
entrain the sample and are typically operated at 40 V and 20 A.
Three concentric quartz...
The purpose of this study was to determine if a 5-month
progressive-resistance exercise program would affect measures
of activities of daily living (ADLs) and functional stability
in elderly women. All subjects were ambulatory women, 80 to
93 years old, who lived in assisted-care facilities. Eight
exercise and 7 control subjects...
Redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) are found over a wide range of environmental conditions and are known for their variability in life history traits among watersheds or even within streams. Life history traits and population structure of these trout can be influenced by a variety of anthropogenic changes including habitat...
Contextual teaching is emerging as an important concept in education reform
efforts. This field study attempts to clarify the concept of contextual teaching by defining
and identifying characteristics found in the research literature, experienced teacher
observations and practices, and students' views of contextual teaching.
The foundation for this field study...
The extent to which the climate will change due to an external forcing depends largely on radiative feedbacks, which act to amplify or damp the surface temperature response. There are a variety of issues that complicate the analysis of radiative feedbacks in global climate models, resulting in some confusion regarding...
The immobilization of chelators to solid supports has recently gained renewed interest due to the increasing biomedical and environmental applications made possible by these molecules’ ability to bind Fe(III) and other metal ions. The uses of immobilized chelators have expanded to include the treatment of metal overload in serum, the...
This study was designed to investigate the relationship between retinol intake, bone mineral density, and falls in 101 elderly women aged 72 to 90 years (78.6 yrs. ± 4.3 yrs.). Bone mineral density (BMD) (g/cm²) of the left hip, anterior-posterior lumbar spine (L3), and lateral spine (L3) was measured using...
High impact loading activities such as jumping, performed during childhood is advocated as one preventive method for increasing peak bone mass. Thus, we conducted a randomized intervention to examine the effect of high impact loading on bone mass in 34 pre-pubescent boys and girl over a seven month period. Participants...
Studies of Hawaiian volcanoes contribute valuable insights about Earth processes and mantle evolution, and are fundamental for understanding the construction of the largest volcanoes on terrestrial planets. The pre-shield stage exists in every Hawaiian volcano, but is usually blanketed by high volume tholeiitic lava flows during the main shield stage....
Introduction: Research has demonstrated that minimal shoes may help prevent ankle injuries by mimicking natural barefoot running. It has been proven that minimal shoes may help adults prevent injuries in the correct conditions, but little is known about the effect of minimal and barefoot running on youth kinematics. Purpose: To...
Bioprocessing design includes optimizing unit operations in a process in order to attain a desired amount of product. Process economics, safety, environmental impact, and product quality are considered. This study investigated which skills and conceptual knowledge related to bioprocessing design were most important for entry-level engineers in the bioprocessing industry....
This thesis consists of three studies to better understand the environmental sustainability potential for algal-based biofuels. Initially, a comparison of recent life cycle assessments (LCA) of theoretical full-scale algal biofuel facilities was developed. These studies include varying boundaries and scope, functional units, and technology maturity assumptions. The comparison converted results...
Curcumin is a yellow colored bioactive pigment present in the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa). It has been identified with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, antirheumatic, antidiabetic and antiviral properties. It is extensively used in nutraceutical, food and cosmetics industry. Fueled by its potential uses in research community and rise in awareness...
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of long-term weighted vest
exercise on hip bone mass, functional ability and static balance in elderly women. This was
a within subject exercise intervention study and included a 6-month control period.
Twenty-three subjects (age 85 ± 6) were recruited and...
Currently the production of biofuel from algae is not economically competitive with petroleum fuel. However, co-production of high-value products may be able to justify the cost of large-scale algae cultivation. The basic goal of this study is to develop a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and Life-cycle assessment (LCA) for the production...
Strategic planning for forests subjected to multiple uses is important for management that sustains and balances these many uses. In the wildland urban interface where forests are in the backyards of members of the public who avidly recreate in them, it is also important to include the community in the...
The population of minority groups is on the rise in the US, yet still minorities are not proportionally represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Of these minorities there are 4 races/ethnicities that are vastly under represented: Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Native Alaskans, and Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. For the US to...
Watershed analysis is a method used to collectively characterize ecosystem elements present within a watershed. Wastewater flow and pollutant content help to define the appropriate wastewater treatment system necessary to treat the wastewater within the watershed. Watershed monitoring aids to investigate the potential contamination through analysis of surface waterbodies. Major...
A techno-economic analysis (TEA) was performed to evaluate the technology, cost, and resource use for algal biofuel production based on today’s economics and technology. The basic goal of this study is to develop a model to calculate the mass and energy balances and costs to produce 10 million gal of...
Functional polymers and proteins at interfaces and surfaces are of fundamental importance for biomaterials, biocatalysis and microreactor applications. Candida antarctica lipase B immobilized on poly-DL-tryptophan tethers showed 30x higher
specific activity in aqueous and non-aqueous media than the same enzyme adsorbed or covalently bound directly to the surface. An excess...
To examine the potential for exercise to build bone mass during growth, objectives of this dissertation included: 1) determine the effects of 7 months of jumping followed by 7 months of detraining on hip and spine bone mass in the prepubertal children; 2) determine variables that best predict bone mineral...
Two sources of systematic errors are considered for estimating air temperature. The first source is ambiguity of the definition of the standardized measurement height over vegetated surfaces of varying heights. Without such a standardization, evaluation of the horizontal air temperature gradient is contaminated by the vertical variation of air temperature....
This study examined fish movements and assemblage dynamics in the Wenaha, Grande Ronde, Snake river system of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. I investigated the role of fish movement in the dynamics of stream fish assemblages and evaluated relationships between species movement, assemblage structure, and the heterogeneity of habitat at...
Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD), bone fragility, and an increased risk of osteoporotic fracture. The disease is systemic in nature but potential solutions include exercises prescriptions that target the clinically relevant sites of osteoporosis (hip and spine) to improve bone mass. The aim of this dissertation...
Sex differences in bone mass and size are thought to contribute to the greater incidence of vertebral fractures in women. While these sex differences are widely recognized, the relative contributions of bone mass, bone density, and bone size to the differences in vertebral strength and fracture risk between men and...
We evaluated anthropometric and performance measures which best predict bone
mineral density (BMD) in 54 adolescent girls (14.6±0.5y; 22.7±14.0 months past
menarche). BMD for the whole body, femoral neck, greater trochanter, lumbar spine (L2-L4), and mid-femoral shaft was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)
(Hologic QDR 1000/W). Whole body lean...
Background: Low drop cushioned running shoes have been popular over the past decade despite a lack of research on low drop shoes. There is some evidence that low drop cushioned shoes increase vertical ground reaction forces (VGRFs) and influence ankle kinematics but no study to date has focused on large...
Degradation of lignin to simpler compounds is desirable for removing residual lignin during paper manufacture and accessing biomass carbohydrates for biofuel production, among other purposes. Lignin transformation using enzymes found in white rot fungi, some of nature's most efficient lignin-degrading organisms, offers a more environmentally benign, selective, and possibly less...
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor in adults ages 45-70, with over 12,120 new cases in the U.S. predicted for 2016 alone. Glioblastoma is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat because the tumor cells tend to invade into the surrounding healthy tissue, making it...
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor in adults ages 45-70, with over 12,120 new cases in the U.S. predicted for 2016 alone. Glioblastoma is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat because the tumor cells tend to invade into the surrounding healthy tissue, making it...
Wildfire management has grown increasingly complex in recent years,
particularly in the West and in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) where a steady
population growth has resulted in greater risk to people and property. Recent trends
suggest the process of recovering from large fires (>100,000 acres) will become
increasingly important to...
(Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) PAHs are widespread in the environment, and are derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The physicochemical properties of PAHs along with the wide range of PAH sources leads to their persistence in the environment. Since PAHs are ubiquitous, and have the potential to illicit adverse effects,...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the home remodeling
being done during a period of varying economic conditions. A
population of owner-occupants who had purchased building permits to
spend $100 or more remodeling between 1965 - 1970 was collected
from the files of the Building Inspector's Office, Department...
Mycorrhizae are important for plant growth, particularly in nutritionally poor soils. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) are the primary form of mycorrhizae found in tropical plants, and their persistence in the soil as colonizing fungal propagules following deforestation cannot be directly
measured. Utilizing the "most probable number" (MPN) method for estimating infective...
An important problem in computer graphics is to determine where contour lines and ridges appear in a surface constructed from a triangle mesh. In this presentation we will investigate a new answer to this problem – the horizon measure. The horizon measure determines the likelihood of contour lines to appear...
For adult learners to succeed in their educational endeavors, adult educators and event planners must meet their needs and goals (Storksdieck, Ellenbogen, & Heimlich, 2005). The learning environment affects how adults learn and what outcomes they achieve (e.g., Hamilton & Tee, 2010; Knowles, 1990; Lim, Morris, & Kupritz, 2007; Young,...
Accurate determinations of body composition, fat mass (FM) and fat-free
mass (FFM) are of interest to scientists as well as many individuals
who serve as health and fitness practitioners. Currently, researchers and
practitioners use a variety of indirect methods to determine body
composition. Traditional methods of estimating percent body fat...
Several compounds have been recently identified which are effective against dengue virus, a tropical arbovirus highly prevalent in southeast Asia and central America. Initial intrinsic fluorescence characterization of the mechanism of action of compound B reveals binding affinity to the dengue capsid protein. A molecular beacon unwinding assay and malachite...
Met is a prognostic indicator of colorectal cancer patient survival. Therapies that target Met may therefore have beneficial outcomes in the clinic. Recently, EGCG was reported to suppress Met activation, although the mechanisms were not elucidated. HCT116 and HT29 human colon cancer cells were used to examine the relationships between...
Literature exploring the use of soil conservation
practices has generaly lacked a theoretical
framework. This study proposes a decision-making
model comprised of physical, personal, economic, and
institutional factors. Data from Monroe County,
Missouri, are used to test the hypothesized relationships
of explanatory variables to variations in nurnber
of practices used...