Since the 1970s, the United States government has offered federal tax subsidies for employer-sponsored health insurance. The tax exclusions for contributions to Employer Sponsored Insurance (ESI) has become the largest subsidy for private health insurance. These tax subsidies make up 21.4% of our national healthcare expenditures and 1.4% of the...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of concern because they do not readily degrade in the environment. Some in vivo studies report that PFAS alter neurological development and are carcinogenic. Perfluorohexanesulfonamide (FHxSA) and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS) are two PFASs, which are often detected in drinking water sources....
Molecular biological approaches were used to study and interfere with the life
cycle of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). These included the control
of IHN disease in rainbow trout by genetic immunization or interference in vitro by
synthesis of sense and antisense expression of the viral nucleocapsid (N) gene, and...
The immune systems of various teleost fish have been studied in some detail for
the past several decades. One aspect of fish immunity, that of endogenously produced
modulating factors, has recently received a great deal of attention. Understanding the
functions and roles of endogenous factors that regulate fish immunity is...
Changes in ocean conditions influenced by climatic fluctuations have lead to changes in individual species distributions, which alter the diversity, communities and species interactions across marine ecosystems worldwide. Assessing the species composition and identifying regions and habitats that can safeguard the persistence of biota are critically important. In this dissertation,...
This exploratory investigation aimed to identify preservice science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science (NOS), and worldviews that represent their culturally dependent beliefs about the world, in the context of Taiwan. The interrelationships between the responses elicited from both the assessments of NOS understandings and worldviews were examined. Participants...
The Virtual Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Process Development Project provides the context for the two areas of the research presented in this dissertation. The first area, generally referred to as feedback in this dissertation, focuses on student learning and the interactions of students and instructors that take place in the...