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Title: Water content effect on nutrient removal in stormwater bioretention systems
Creator: Bender, Rebecca Marian
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Bioretention cells and constructed wetlands are both established best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater quality improvement. These systems vary in terms of hydraulic loading where processes such as retention, sedimentation, absorption, infiltration, filtration, phytoremediation, nitrification and denitrification remove waterborne pollutants. However, the boundary between bioretention and wetlands can be blurred when it comes to design and operational parameters, and it is therefore...
Show more"Bioretention cells and constructed wetlands are both established best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater quality improvement. These systems vary in terms of hydraulic loading where processes such as retention, sedimentation, absorption, infiltration, filtration, phytoremediation, nitrification and denitrification remove waterborne pollutants. However, the boundary between bioretention and wetlands can be blurred when it comes to design and operational parameters, and it is therefore important to explore the causes and consequences of performance variability in these systems. In an experiment to observe optimum water content for treatment pathways for ecological pollutants, five bioretention bays (2-22% water content) and fifteen bioretention columns (7-47% water content, as much as complete pore space saturation) were used to run parallel tests. Pollutant concentrations were reduced in field bays for COD, TN, and total solids (TS), although there was no difference between treatment groups in terms of any pollutant concentrations. Asclepias incarnata, Carex vulpinoidea, Scirpus validus, and Juncus effusus grew slightly taller in wetter bays, although survival of Sagittaria latifolia was uniformly poor in all treatment groups. No net pollutant removal occurred in columns, although effluent concentrations and mass export were significantly lower for near-saturation treatment groups for chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate, and total nitrogen (TN). There was no soil moisture level in which COD, nitrate, TN, phosphate, and TS were simultaneously improved."--Page ii.
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Title: Functional control of soluble rhodopsin mimics using high resolution structure-based design and evaluation
Creator: Ghanbarpour, Alireza
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Visualizing the microenvironments of protein/small molecule interactions is the missing link in evaluating the structure-function relationship in many "redesigned" protein systems requiring small molecule binding. The primary goal of this thesis is to manage protein/small molecule interactions to achieve new functions through rational protein engineering in a protein scaffold, which is "evolutionarily naive." The snapshots of each engineering step are collected using high resolution protein...
Show moreVisualizing the microenvironments of protein/small molecule interactions is the missing link in evaluating the structure-function relationship in many "redesigned" protein systems requiring small molecule binding. The primary goal of this thesis is to manage protein/small molecule interactions to achieve new functions through rational protein engineering in a protein scaffold, which is "evolutionarily naive." The snapshots of each engineering step are collected using high resolution protein crystallography, opening doors to the design strategies of future measures. Finally, the mechanism of the system is elucidated by connecting structural information and biochemical assays. The protein scaffolds used in our study are hCRBPII and CRABPII, belonging to the iLBP protein family. By reengineering their binding pockets, we generated a rhodopsin mimic ligating with small molecules with aldehyde functionalities through protonated Schiff base formation. In Chapter I, we employ the aforementioned strategy to create a new model system based on reengineered CRABPII, mimicking the critical steps of microbial rhodopsin isomerization in a single crystal. Using atomic resolution crystal structures, different mechanisms of retinal/protein interactions with light are demonstrated. Specially, a new photoswitchable protein is identified that does not require chromophore isomerization or a conformational change. In Chapter II, the effect of ligand binding on the conformational states of the domain-swapped dimer of hCRBPII is investigated. A new protein conformational switch is created through a designed disulfide bond that can be activated and adopt new conformations in response to retinal/fatty acid binding and/or reduction potential of the environment. A novel allosterically regulated zinc-binding site is engineered, whose binding affinity can be tuned by the conformational states of our protein. Additionally, using merocyanine, a synthetic fluorophore, a new "swap back" domain-swapped dimer is identified in hCRBPII at atomic resolution, leading to the largest conformational change in the protein. This demonstrates the power of our system to adopt new conformations with different small molecules. Through systematic mutational studies and high resolution crystal structures, the role of the hinge loop region in imposing new conformations/functions in the iLBP family is explored. In Chapter III, the discovery of the domain-swapped trimer as an unprecedented fold for the iLBP family is mentioned. Through a designed disulfide bond and metal- binding site, we are able to favor trimer formation. The mechanism of each step is examined using crystal structures and binding and stability assays. Finally, in Chapter IV, the mechanism of a new class of fluorescent protein tags using the hCRBPII rhodopsin mimic bound with synthetic fluorophores is inspected. By exploiting high resolution crystallography, the microenvironments of protein/ligand interactions is visualized in different fluorescent protein tags applications.
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Title: Investigation of proposed water quality indicator organisms for marine mammal enclosures
Creator: Owen, Christopher (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: INVESTIGATION OF PROPOSED WATER QUALITY INDICATOR ORGANISMS FOR MARINE MAMMAL ENCLOSURESByChristopher OwenA USDA APHIS proposal would require institutions housing marine mammals to limit concentrations of total coliforms to 500 CFU/100 mL and enterococci, staphylococci, and/or pseudomonads to 35, 10, and/or 10 CFU/100 mL, respectively. Little is known about the amount of water treatment necessary to meet these levels, or significance of said levels, if any, in relation to the total microbial...
Show moreINVESTIGATION OF PROPOSED WATER QUALITY INDICATOR ORGANISMS FOR MARINE MAMMAL ENCLOSURESByChristopher OwenA USDA APHIS proposal would require institutions housing marine mammals to limit concentrations of total coliforms to 500 CFU/100 mL and enterococci, staphylococci, and/or pseudomonads to 35, 10, and/or 10 CFU/100 mL, respectively. Little is known about the amount of water treatment necessary to meet these levels, or significance of said levels, if any, in relation to the total microbial community of marine mammal housing systems and the health of the mammals housed. Using membrane filtration and growth on selective media, concentrations of these indicators were monitored in a system housing Pacific white-sided dolphins over a period of 5 days and compared between exhibit water and water from exhibit plumbing after sand filtration but before ozone treatment. Concentrations were also examined after ozone treatment. Isolates from each media were taxonomically identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and colony counts were analyzed as predictors of 16S rRNA gene community data.All indicator counts were significantly reduced either after sand filtration or after ozone treatment, but none were significantly reduced at both points. Genetic sequencing of isolates from selective and differential media revealed that 10% of presumptive pseudomonads, 19% of presumptive staphylococci, 100% of presumptive enterococci, and 91% of lactose-fermenting total coliforms were members of the expected taxa. Several correlations between indicator counts and individual OTUs from the community as well as overall dissimilarity between community samples were detected.
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Title: The effects of socioemotional learning and mindfulness strategies on the self-regulation of preschool students
Creator: Chen, Angela (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTTHE EFFECTS OF SOCIOEMOTIONAL LEARNING AND MINDFULNESS STRATEGIES ON THE SELF-REGULATION OF PRESCHOOL STUDENTSBy Angela ChenBy the time children enter kindergarten, parents and teachers expect that young children are able to demonstrate self-regulation, to control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in support of optimal learning and socioemotional functioning at school. Although the literature has suggested that instruction and practice in socioemotional learning (SEL) and in...
Show moreABSTRACTTHE EFFECTS OF SOCIOEMOTIONAL LEARNING AND MINDFULNESS STRATEGIES ON THE SELF-REGULATION OF PRESCHOOL STUDENTSBy Angela ChenBy the time children enter kindergarten, parents and teachers expect that young children are able to demonstrate self-regulation, to control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in support of optimal learning and socioemotional functioning at school. Although the literature has suggested that instruction and practice in socioemotional learning (SEL) and in mindfulness can each separately benefit young children’s self-regulation, research has not examined the effectiveness of the combination of these approaches. Using a multiple probe across behaviors single-case design, the current study investigated the effects of class-wide implementation of an evidence-based SEL program and the added value of mindfulness practices on 6 preschool students who demonstrated behavioral concerns and low self-regulation. Formative and summative assessments measured mindfulness, executive function, effortful control, and general levels of self-regulation and socioemotional functioning in each participant. Results suggested that SEL-Mindfulness integration did not lead to clear benefits in self-regulation and mindfulness across preschool students, although children who expressed treatment acceptability tended to receive increased ratings in these areas. Implications for school psychological practice and future research are discussed.
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Title: Making Chicanx foodways : rhetoric, Mexican cooking, and cultural continuation
Creator: Ramos, Santos Felipe
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Making Chicanx Foodways: Rhetoric, Mexican Cooking & Cultural Continuation is an oral history-based research project that engages with Chicanx rhetorics by examining the foodways of Mexican communities in Michigan. Central to this project is its development of community-making as a methodology for how cooking practices in particular are used to perform cultural continuation. Through a series of cooking and discussion sessions with community members, the study delineates how food is used to...
Show moreMaking Chicanx Foodways: Rhetoric, Mexican Cooking & Cultural Continuation is an oral history-based research project that engages with Chicanx rhetorics by examining the foodways of Mexican communities in Michigan. Central to this project is its development of community-making as a methodology for how cooking practices in particular are used to perform cultural continuation. Through a series of cooking and discussion sessions with community members, the study delineates how food is used to sustain connections between Chicanxs and their home communities, as well as to create new cultural networks amidst the experiences Chicanxs have with migration. By drawing from traditional and contemporary approaches to Mexican cooking, this research also uses community-making to reframe scholarly conversations about pedagogy, technology, and community-based research in Writing & Rhetoric around the practice of relationality, a way of viewing oneself in relationship with the world.
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Title: Histiocytic sarcoma : generation and utilization of patient derived cell lines and xenograft models to understand tumorigenesis and identify novel treatment approaches
Creator: Takada, Marilia
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Canine histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is a proliferative malignancy of dendritic and macrophage lineages with rapid progression, and limited response to available treatment protocols. As the disease pathogenesis has been unclear, oncologists rely on a small repertoire of nonspecific strategies for therapeutic interventions. To fill this gap of knowledge, we established clinically relevant tools and model systems of histiocytic sarcoma, and utilized these to ask fundamental questions aimed at...
Show moreCanine histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is a proliferative malignancy of dendritic and macrophage lineages with rapid progression, and limited response to available treatment protocols. As the disease pathogenesis has been unclear, oncologists rely on a small repertoire of nonspecific strategies for therapeutic interventions. To fill this gap of knowledge, we established clinically relevant tools and model systems of histiocytic sarcoma, and utilized these to ask fundamental questions aimed at identifying novel targets for more effective treatment approaches. We successfully established and fully characterized three HS cell lines derived from neoplasms of dogs from predisposed breeds. These cell lines were utilized for drug screening, including a high throughput screening platform, where potential drug candidates were selected from a pool of about 2,000 compounds. Among the selected drugs, we identified two small molecule inhibitors to be highly effective in vitro at nanomolar concentrations: dasatinib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, including members of SRC family kinase, and trametinib, an inhibitor of MEK, from the MAPK signaling pathway. To evaluate the drug efficacy in vivo, we developed an orthotopic xenograft mouse model harboring intrasplenic HS neoplasms. Immunodeficient mice transplanted with canine HS cells into their spleen showed a consistent tumor growth, and presence of metastasis to multiple organs (i.e. liver, pancreas and omentum), recapitulating an aggressive metastatic form of HS, the one in most need for better treatment options. Studies with orthotopic intrasplenic HS xenograft mice treated with either dasatinib or trametinib were conducted with promising results. Both drugs effectively inhibited tumor growth, and most importantly, significantly increased survival time of treated mice. Additionally, oncogenic gain-of-function mutations in PTPN11 gene were identified in the HS cell lines. PTPN11 gene encodes SHP-2, a protein tyrosine phosphatase, engaged in enhancement of signaling downstream of growth factor, cytokine and extracellular receptors, including MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways. One HS cell line, the BD cell line, carries the PTPN11 E76K mutation; while three cell lines (OD, PJ and DH82) carry the PTPN11 G503V mutation. Moreover, a KRAS Q61H gain-of-function mutation was also found in OD cell line. We found that somatic PTPN11 mutations are common in canine HS, particularly in BMDs, the breed with highest incidence of HS. A study on a large sample of dogs, PTPN11 mutations were present in 43% of HS from BMDs, and were not identified in any of the lymphoma samples, the second most common neoplasm in this breed.We have established important model systems of canine HS through which we were able to identify promising drug candidates for treatment and key signaling pathways that are involved in oncogenesis. Our HS cell lines carry oncogenic drivers that are commonly present in canine HS, and in some human cases of human HS. Our xenograft model has proved to be a good surrogate system for drug efficacy, and lead to the confirmation of two small molecules, dasatinib and trametinib, as warranting further evaluation in clinical trials in dogs with HS, which can also serve as key proof of concept trials for human HS.
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Title: [Delta]2079-tetrahydrocannabinol-mediated suppression of the Interferon-alpha (IFNalpha) response by plasmacytoid dendritic cells and IFNalpha-mediated activation of T cells in healthy and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected human subjects
Creator: Henriquez, Joseph Edgar
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive cannabinoid congener in Cannabis sativa and is a well characterized modulator of immune activation. In murine models, treatment with THC can exacerbate viral and bacterial infection, in part, by suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response. One of the key classes of cytokines suppressed by THC is type I interferons (IFN), a group of cytokines consisting of IFNα and IFNβ. The primary source of IFNα during acute antiviral immune...
Show moreΔ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive cannabinoid congener in Cannabis sativa and is a well characterized modulator of immune activation. In murine models, treatment with THC can exacerbate viral and bacterial infection, in part, by suppression of the inflammatory cytokine response. One of the key classes of cytokines suppressed by THC is type I interferons (IFN), a group of cytokines consisting of IFNα and IFNβ. The primary source of IFNα during acute antiviral immune responses is the Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell (pDC), which can secrete 1000-fold more IFNα than other circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Paradoxically, patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a chronic viral infection that causes immunodeficiency via infection and depletion of CD4+ T cells, have fewer circulating pDC with a reduced capacity to secrete IFNα. Furthermore, circulating pDC number has been correlated with CD4+ T cell number and treatment with IFNα can reduce HIV-mediated CD4+ T cell depletion. Conversely, hyperactivation of pDC is associated with T cell exhaustion and is implicated in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Interestingly, many HIV patients utilize medicinal cannabinoids to combat the effects of chronic HIV infection. The focus of this project was to determine if IFNα-mediated stimulation of T-cells can be suppressed by THC by testing the following hypothesis: THC will suppress TLR-9-dependent activation of pDC, subsequent efficacy of pDC-mediated T cell activation, and CD8+ T cell-mediated activation of astrocytes. These studies revealed that CpG-ODN-induced IFNα secretion and expression of CD83, a costimulatory molecule, by pDC is suppressed by THC in a concentration dependent manner. Furthermore, key intracellular signaling events required for inflammatory cytokine secretion by pDC were suppressed by treatment with THC and CBR2-specific agonists in pDC from healthy donors. Additionally, pDC from HIV+ donors were more sensitive to THC-mediated suppression than pDC from healthy donors. Treatment with THC also inhibited IFNα-mediated activation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from healthy and HIV+ donors. Specifically, treatment with THC diminished IFNα-induced IL-7R expression, cognate signaling, and subsequent proliferation. Interestingly, and in contrast to the results in pDC, T cells from HIV+ donors were less sensitive to the suppressive effects of THC. Finally, stimulation by CD3/CD28/IFNα induced the secretion of IFNγ and TNFα by CD8+ T cells from healthy donors. Further, IFNγ and TNFα induced secretion of inflammatory cytokines by U251 astrocytes. Coculture of CD8+ T cells with U251 astrocytes and direct stimulation of U251 astrocytes with recombinant TNFα and IFNγ revealed that treatment with THC reduced both the activation and secretion of cytokines from CD8+ T cells and the subsequent cytokine-mediated stimulation of the U251 astrocytes. Collectively, these studies have provided evidence for the use of cannabinoids in ablating the type of neuroimmune interactions which can lead to HAND by demonstrating that THC can suppress the activation of pDC, and subsequent activation of T cells and astrocytes.
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Title: Addressing the news media image in an age of skepticism
Creator: Shin, Soo Young
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: As the public’s skepticism toward news media has been growing, we need to better understand how the public perceives news media organizations. This study employed a useful conceptual lens from the marketing literature, image, to build a new conceptual framework within journalism, news media image to in aid in this understanding. Using focus group interviewing methods, the perceptions of 44 participants (across nine sessions) living in the Midwest in the U.S. were investigated to reveal the...
Show moreAs the public’s skepticism toward news media has been growing, we need to better understand how the public perceives news media organizations. This study employed a useful conceptual lens from the marketing literature, image, to build a new conceptual framework within journalism, news media image to in aid in this understanding. Using focus group interviewing methods, the perceptions of 44 participants (across nine sessions) living in the Midwest in the U.S. were investigated to reveal the news media image constructs perceived by the public. Through multidisciplinary literature review and group discussions, eight dimensions emerged: news quality, news usefulness, socially responsible, personality, usability, transparent, perspective-taking, and news selection bias. Results showed that participants believed that news media organizations are mostly unreliable and biased in selecting news worthy stories as the news organizations are under the pressure of making profit or political interests. However, the information provided by news organizations was regarded as being useful in getting relevant information to the participants’ lives and news organizations’ potential role of protecting democracy were valued by participants. Exploring how these dimensions represent people's image of the news media provides insight into the current American’s perceptions and biases toward the news media organizations.
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Title: Teacher’s Management of Classroom Interactions with English Language Learners : A Case Study of A Mainstream Teacher’s Practices and Beliefs
Creator: Teng, Yanjiang
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In the past few decades, public schools in the United States have witnessed a fast-growing student population of English language learners (ELLs), who come from homes where a language other than English is dominant. The dual task of content and the English language learning has brought ELLs huge academic challenges, such as one-size-fit-all expectations, high-stakes tests, and unsatisfactory academic support, among many others. In addition, ELLs are often mainstreamed into content area...
Show moreIn the past few decades, public schools in the United States have witnessed a fast-growing student population of English language learners (ELLs), who come from homes where a language other than English is dominant. The dual task of content and the English language learning has brought ELLs huge academic challenges, such as one-size-fit-all expectations, high-stakes tests, and unsatisfactory academic support, among many others. In addition, ELLs are often mainstreamed into content area classes where teachers are underprepared to accommodate their learning needs. Thus, how mainstream teachers deal with ELLs for their content and English language learning merits further study. Educational scholars have paid increasing attention to the construct of teacher belief about teaching and learning. So far, studies on teachers’ beliefs suggest that the complex relationship between teacher beliefs and practice are not always static but rather emergent and likely to be moderated by contextual factors (e.g. Negueruela-Azarola, 2011). As Priestley, Biesta, and Robinson (2015) argued, examination of the issue should recognize the immediate situated context and focus on the beliefs-in-action to probe why the teacher makes decisions in that particular moment and for what purposes. Learning, from a sociocultural perspective, is achieved through the interactions between the teacher and students, as well as among the students themselves. In the classroom, teachers usually dominate the flow of the discourse and their beliefs on teaching and learning, to some extent, can shape the way of such teacher-student interaction and students’ learning. Classroom interaction is highly contextualized, spontaneous, and out of expectations. How the teacher manages this interactive practice and provides mediated support toward ELLs for both their content and language learning warrants further attention. This study draws upon a sociocultural perspective on learning, and a perspective that teachers’ decision-making is fluid, situated and context dependent. The present study examines how a mainstream teacher in a U.S. urban school manages her interaction with ELLs to scaffold their English and content learning and how these practices reflect her beliefs-in-action. This case study, using data generated from stimulated recall interviews, classroom videos, and observation notes, reports this teacher’s discursive practices with ELLs, along with her ongoing decision-making or her beliefs-in-action in this interactive process. The findings revealed that in this highly structured and teacher-dominated class, the interactive practice between the teacher and ELLs were limited. The teacher’s feedback on ELLs’ responses was not based on their learning needs but was impacted by some other contextual factors. The teacher’s strategies to scaffold ELLs’ learning were not as effective as she might expect: some are supportive of their learning, while others could impede their learning. Overall, the teacher’s challenges and dilemmas that arise from her interactive practice with ELLs were largely due to her lack of formal training in second language teaching. This study sheds light on the complexity of mainstream teachers’ beliefs and practices about ELLs. Furthermore, it advances our thinking on teachers’ practices and beliefs by bridging the link between teacher beliefs and classroom interaction in an interactive, moment-by-moment manner through the fine-grained analysis. In addition, it offers implications on better supporting and preparing mainstream teachers working with ELLs in a culturally and linguistically diverse environment.
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Title: Ecology and diversity of the lichen symbiosis : following established patterns, or an exception to the rule?
Creator: Scharnagl, Klara
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Few phenomena of biodiversity have perplexed researchers as much as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Though many taxa have been shown to follow this pattern of high species richness in the tropics and lower species richness towards the poles, no consensus has yet been reached regarding the drivers of this global pattern. Symbiosis, a long term and physically intimate interaction between two organisms, is a prevalent biotic interaction across the tree of life, yet few studies of the...
Show moreFew phenomena of biodiversity have perplexed researchers as much as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Though many taxa have been shown to follow this pattern of high species richness in the tropics and lower species richness towards the poles, no consensus has yet been reached regarding the drivers of this global pattern. Symbiosis, a long term and physically intimate interaction between two organisms, is a prevalent biotic interaction across the tree of life, yet few studies of the latitudinal diversity gradient have looked at symbiotic organisms. One example of symbiosis is the lichen symbiosis, an association between a filamentous fungal partner and a photosynthetic partner of green algae or cyanobacteria. Little is known about the latitudinal diversity gradient of lichens, yet their terrestrial ubiquity and symbiotic nature could provide insight into the drivers of this global pattern. To assess whether lichenized fungi follow a latitudinal diversity gradient, I compiled a dataset from three repositories for digitized herbarium specimen data: the Consortium for North American Lichen Herbaria, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and the Institutos Nacionais de Ciencia e Tecnologia. The fully compiled and quality-controlled dataset contained over 900,000 datapoints representing over 8,000 species. The raw species richness data revealed a peak in richness north of the equator outside of the tropics, however, this pattern mirrored the number of collections per latitudinal band. To correct for sampling effort biases in the digitized herbarium data, I rarefied species richness. I further corrected the rarefied species richness for land area, given the wide range of land area per latitudinal band in the Americas. This rarefied and land-area-corrected species richness data supports a latitudinal diversity gradient of lichenized fungi in the Americas. In a comparison to lichen checklist data at the country or state level, I revealed that tropical regions are underrepresented in the digitized herbarium data.To test the influence of sampling effort bias on the patterns revealed by the digitized herbarium data, I designed a field sampling approach directly targeted at the question of whether epiphytic lichens follow a latitudinal diversity gradient. This approach can help remove bias present in digitized herbarium data because they result from the compilation of many studies, each of which had its own taxonomic, regional, or ecological focus. To do so, I sampled from nine lowland forest sites across a 70-degree span of latitude in the Americas. At each site, I randomly chose ten plots, and sampled from ten trees within each plot for a total of nine hundred trees sampled. At each tree, I randomly chose a cardinal direction and placed a 20x40cm grid on the tree, collecting all lichens that fell within that grid. Thus, each site had the same amount of area surveyed for epiphytic lichen diversity. Lichens were identified to species in the lab. Data from systematic field sampling corroborate the latitudinal diversity gradient of (epiphytic) lichens. In a mixed effects model including tree and climate data, I found that this pattern is largely explained by host tree (substrate) diversity.With increasing land use change and impacts from climate change across the globe, it is increasingly important for us to set a baseline of patterns of diversity at large scales, as I did in my first two chapters, to then assess how these impacts are affecting the diversity of symbiotic organisms at different scales. For my third chapter, I applied my knowledge of lichen diversity to assess the impacts of three tropical forest restoration treatments on epiphytic lichens. The natural regeneration treatment had a small cohort of lichen species likely specialized to the high light and dry environment. The plantation and nucleation treatments had a mix of light and shade tolerant species and experienced higher competition from epiphytic bryophytes. The overall highest diversity of epiphytic lichens was found in the nucleation treatment, supporting this as the combination of the most cost-effective strategy that restores the greatest amount of tropical biodiversity.
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Title: Contemporary liberalism and the nation
Creator: Fram, Daniel
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: What is the status and legitimacy of the nation within the horizon of liberalism today? Surveying three representative, contrasting, recent works in contemporary political philosophy, I argue that the nation loses its status and legitimacy from every side. John Rawls's allegedly status-quo preserving theory in The Law of Peoples (Rawls 1999) defends only the shell of sovereignty and in fact points toward cosmopolitan aspirations. Cosmopolitan liberals, and conservative nationalists, therefore...
Show moreWhat is the status and legitimacy of the nation within the horizon of liberalism today? Surveying three representative, contrasting, recent works in contemporary political philosophy, I argue that the nation loses its status and legitimacy from every side. John Rawls's allegedly status-quo preserving theory in The Law of Peoples (Rawls 1999) defends only the shell of sovereignty and in fact points toward cosmopolitan aspirations. Cosmopolitan liberals, and conservative nationalists, therefore, claim with reason that liberalism is not capable of conferring status and legitimacy on the nation's "arbitrary" restrictions of individual autonomy (Nussbaum and Cohen 1996, MacIntyre 2003). But, in doing so, cosmopolitan liberalism creates a grave problem, for liberalism depends upon citizens to uphold freedom and upon limits to freedom to make freedoms meaningful. One would think to turn toward so-called liberal nationalist theories of liberalism, like David Miller's On Nationality (Miller 1995). But these, in turn, defend the nation only by depleting it of any content and rendering the very concept of the nation hollow. Neither of these two possible corrections of liberalism solves its problems with particularity and social unity; each only exacerbates them. My work as a whole therefore shows that contemporary liberalism tends to undermine the nation, on which it nevertheless relies. I demonstrate each part of the argument in separate chapters: two on Rawls's liberalism, one on Nussbaum's cosmopolitanism, and two on David Miller's liberal nationalism. These three perspectives represent a fairly complete spectrum of contemporary liberal thinking about the status of the nation.
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Title: Weighting in multilevel models
Creator: Tong, Bing
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Large-scale survey programs usually use complex sampling designs such as unequal probabilities of selection, stratifications, and/or clustering to collect data to save time and money. This leads to the necessity to incorporate sampling weights into multilevel models in order to obtain accurate estimates and valid inferences. However, the weighted multilevel estimators have been lately developed and minimal guidance is left on how to use sampling weights in multilevel models and which...
Show moreLarge-scale survey programs usually use complex sampling designs such as unequal probabilities of selection, stratifications, and/or clustering to collect data to save time and money. This leads to the necessity to incorporate sampling weights into multilevel models in order to obtain accurate estimates and valid inferences. However, the weighted multilevel estimators have been lately developed and minimal guidance is left on how to use sampling weights in multilevel models and which estimator is most appropriate.The goal of this study is to examine the performance of multilevel pseudo maximum likelihood (MPML) estimation methods using different scaling techniques under the informative and non-informative condition in the context of a two-stage sampling design with unequal probabilities of selection. Monte Carlo simulation methods are used to evaluate the impact of three factors, including informativeness of the sampling design, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and estimation methods. Simulation results indicate that including sampling weights in the model still produce biased estimates for the school-level variance. In general, the weighted methods outperform the unweighted method in estimating intercept and student-level variance while the unweighted method outperforms the weighted methods for school-level variance estimation in the informative condition. In general, the cluster scaling estimation method is recommended in the informative sampling design. Under the non-informative condition, the unweighted method can be considered a better choice than the weighted methods for all the parameter estimates. Besides, the ICC has obvious effects on school-level variance estimates in the informative condition, but in the noninformative condition, it also affects intercept estimates. An empirical study is included to illustrate the model.
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Title: I. amhb : (anti)aromaticity-modulated hydrogen bonding. ii. evaluation of implicit solvation models for predicting hydrogen bond free energies
Creator: Kakeshpour, Tayeb
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: My doctoral research under Professor James E. Jackson focused on hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) using physical organic chemistry tools. In the first chapter, I present how I used quantum chemical simulations, synthetic organic chemistry, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography to provide robust theoretical and experimental evidence for an interplay between (anti)aromaticity and H-bond strength of heterocycles, a concept that we dubbed (Anti)aromaticity-Modulated Hydrogen Bonding (AMHB). In...
Show moreMy doctoral research under Professor James E. Jackson focused on hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) using physical organic chemistry tools. In the first chapter, I present how I used quantum chemical simulations, synthetic organic chemistry, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography to provide robust theoretical and experimental evidence for an interplay between (anti)aromaticity and H-bond strength of heterocycles, a concept that we dubbed (Anti)aromaticity-Modulated Hydrogen Bonding (AMHB). In the second chapter, I used accurately measured hydrogen bond energies for a range of substrates and solvents to evaluate the performance of implicit solvation models in combination with density functional methods for predicting solution phase hydrogen bond energies. This benchmark study provides useful guidelines for a priori modeling of hydrogen bonding-based designs.Coordinates of the optimized geometries and crystal structures are provided as supplementary materials.
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Title: A study of noise & cross-talk on telephone transmission lines
Creator: Rayner, Reid L.
Date: 1924
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Comparative analysis of steel & concrete in structures
Creator: Redick, Don F.
Date: 1925
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Foundation and growth of the Cuban-based transatlantic slave trade, 1790-1820
Creator: Felipe Gonzalez, Jorge
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation discusses the creation and expansion of the Cuban-based transatlantic slave trading infrastructure at the turn of the nineteenth century. Since the beginning of the conquest of the Americas, foreigners such as the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Americans controlled the provision of captives to the Spanish colonies under a Spanish state-controlled system known as Asientos. Such dependency was challenged in the 1790s when a combination of international events, favorable...
Show moreThis dissertation discusses the creation and expansion of the Cuban-based transatlantic slave trading infrastructure at the turn of the nineteenth century. Since the beginning of the conquest of the Americas, foreigners such as the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Americans controlled the provision of captives to the Spanish colonies under a Spanish state-controlled system known as Asientos. Such dependency was challenged in the 1790s when a combination of international events, favorable colonial legislation, and a restructuring of the colonial economy turned Cuba into an expanding sugar plantation economy based on African forced labor. By the 1820s, in just three decades, Cuban merchants had effectively overcome that external dependency by setting up the conditions for trading slaves on the African coast. This thesis argues that foreign slavers trading in the island since the 1790s were pivotal in training the first generation of Cuban slave ship captains, providing a slave merchant fleet to Cubans, and introducing Cuban merchants to African slave trading networks. In order to illustrate the establishment of Cuban operations in Africa, this dissertation focuses on the creation of a slave-trading corridor between Havana and Rio Pongo, Guinea-Conakry. Cuban merchants, I argue, reached the region known as Rio Pongo as a result of the U.S. slave traders who moved their operations to Cuba after 1808. The expansion of the slave trade in Rio Pongo to supply the expanding Cuban demand had also an impact on that coastal African society.
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Title: Multi-scale approaches to global challenges in a telecoupled world
Creator: Xu, Zhenci
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Global challenges such as water crisis, energy insecurity, biodiversity loss, land use change and climate change pose threats to the world's sustainability. Globalization enhances the connection of distant areas through various environmental and socioeconomic interactions. To solve the increasing challenges of achieving global sustainability in the context of globalization, the new telecoupling framework (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) is proposed (Liu et al....
Show moreGlobal challenges such as water crisis, energy insecurity, biodiversity loss, land use change and climate change pose threats to the world's sustainability. Globalization enhances the connection of distant areas through various environmental and socioeconomic interactions. To solve the increasing challenges of achieving global sustainability in the context of globalization, the new telecoupling framework (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) is proposed (Liu et al. 2013). A growing body of research has been exploring the dynamics, impacts, mechanisms, and structure of distant interactions involving global challenges. However, based on the telecoupling framework, we find no research that studies the evolution of multiple global environmental and socioeconomic interaction networks together. Also, the interactions between two kinds of distant virtual resource transfers simultaneously and the drivers of virtual resource transfers at the national scale are still unknown. Little research explores the evolution of virtual resource transfers at a national scale. The impacts of distant interactions on sending systems' sustainability at the regional scale has rarely been quantified and systematically analyzed. To address these knowledge gaps, I did the following work: First, I assessed the evolution of global telecouplings such as water, energy, land, CO2 emission, nitrogen emission and financial capital transfer networks and discussed how they have impacts on global water scarcity, energy crisis, land use change, global warming and nitrogen pollution. Second, I evaluated the interactions across two kinds of national telecouplings (interregional water and energy networks), and discussed their implications for the trading region's water scarcity and energy security, and explore the drivers of national telecouplings. Third, I studied the evolution of national virtual energy network. Fourth, I explored the water and food sustainability in a sending system of telecoupling (food transfer aimed at ensuring food security in the receiving system) at the regional scale. These four works have been accomplished in four chapters, respectively.Main findings from this dissertation include: At the global scale, the volumes of all these flows, except for land flow, increased over time. Financial capital flows increased most (188.9%), followed by flows of CO2 (59.3%), energy (58.1%), water (50.7%) and nitrogen (10.5%), while land transfer decreased by 8.8%. At the national scale using China as a demonstration, 40% of provinces gained one kind of resource (either water or energy) through trade at the expense of losing the other kind of internal resource (energy or water), and 20% of provinces suffered a double loss of both water and energy. The remaining provinces gained both water and energy. Over time, the total virtual energy transferred from energy-scarce to energy-abundant provinces increased from 43.2% to 47.5% from 2007 to 2012. At a regional scale, irrigated agriculture's annual water footprint in the North China Plain increased from 53 billion m3 in 1986 to 78 billion m3 in 2010. All counties faced unsustainable water use - local water consumption was greater than local renewable freshwater - even as the average crop water productivity increased from 0.90 kg.m-3 to 1.94 kg.m-3. These findings provide useful information for policy making to address environmental and socioeconomic challenges and build distant cooperation across multiple scales.
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Title: A climatology of persistent high relative humidity for the lower peninsula of Michigan : implications for health and agriculture
Creator: Komoto, Kara
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: High values of relative humidity have implications for many processes including human health, animal health and production, and crop disease. Despite its importance, little research has been completed about the persistence of high relative humidity. The goals of this study were to 1) create a baseline climatology of the persistence of high relative humidity (HRH), defined as ≥ 60%, and extremely high relative humidity (EHRH), defined as ≥ 85%, for the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and 2)...
Show moreHigh values of relative humidity have implications for many processes including human health, animal health and production, and crop disease. Despite its importance, little research has been completed about the persistence of high relative humidity. The goals of this study were to 1) create a baseline climatology of the persistence of high relative humidity (HRH), defined as ≥ 60%, and extremely high relative humidity (EHRH), defined as ≥ 85%, for the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and 2) examine, using persistent EHRH events as a surrogate for leaf wetness duration, the frequency of favorable environmental conditions for apple scab and cherry leaf spot, major crop diseases in the state. Results demonstrate that although overall persistent relative humidity events often occur throughout the state, their frequency appears to be decreasing with time. Temporal trends in the frequency of favorable environmental conditions for apple scab and cherry leaf spot vary by location and disease, but there is a general trend toward fewer occurrence of favorable environmental conditions. The climatological analyses provide Michigan stakeholders with essential information for long-term planning and management to mitigate and/or adapt to persistent high relative humidity and to assess future changes in persistent high relative humidity as expected with climate change.
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Title: Connecting reflection and practice : transforming a mathematics classroom culture of participation
Creator: Martinez Hinestroza, Jose Manuel
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Unlike previous research on participation in mathematics classrooms that focuses on the teacher's role eliciting student talk, the purpose of this dissertation is to study the interactive process through which a teacher connected her reflection and practice, fostering transformations in the culture of participation in a third-grade Spanish immersion mathematics classroom. I draw on hermeneutic listening (Davis, 1996) to understand the teacher's departure from listening for predetermined ways...
Show moreUnlike previous research on participation in mathematics classrooms that focuses on the teacher's role eliciting student talk, the purpose of this dissertation is to study the interactive process through which a teacher connected her reflection and practice, fostering transformations in the culture of participation in a third-grade Spanish immersion mathematics classroom. I draw on hermeneutic listening (Davis, 1996) to understand the teacher's departure from listening for predetermined ways of participating. Methods from participatory design research with children (Bang & Vossoughi, 2016; Groundwater-Smith et al., 2014) and analytical tools from social semiotics (van Leeuwen, 2005) informed the collaborative design and analysis of interventions intended to promote a more inclusive culture of participation. Findings indicate that bringing the students' and the teachers' perspectives on participation into dialogue helped the teacher broaden her ideas on participation. A prolonged, iterative process was necessary to connect these reflections to a practice where the teacher learned to listen hermeneutically for participation. This process started with teacher-researcher co-designed interventions and continued as the teacher recognized participation in unexpected places and moments. The culture of participation evolved toward embracing multiple ways of participating in cooperative mathematical activity in which the students and the teacher addressed unanticipated ideas that emerged in interactions. I describe the semiotic innovations that characterized these transformations and the contextual influences that mediated semiotic innovation. I discuss implications for mathematics educatioSn research and teacher professional development.
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Title: Determinants of eating behaviors of us army ROTC cadets in Midwestern universities
Creator: George, Beatriz G.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Young adults 18-25 years of age, the largest demographic of the military, experience a high burden of obesity and eating disorders (ED) despite an emphasis on physical fitness, body composition, and operational readiness. Etiologic models for obesity and ED suggest body dissatisfaction (BD), dieting, negative affect (NA), and affect regulation represent potentially shared pathways. However, no studies have examined these factors and their shared pathways in military personnel, including ROTC...
Show moreYoung adults 18-25 years of age, the largest demographic of the military, experience a high burden of obesity and eating disorders (ED) despite an emphasis on physical fitness, body composition, and operational readiness. Etiologic models for obesity and ED suggest body dissatisfaction (BD), dieting, negative affect (NA), and affect regulation represent potentially shared pathways. However, no studies have examined these factors and their shared pathways in military personnel, including ROTC cadets. The overarching aim of this dissertation research was to investigate if ED symptoms were associated with body mass index (BMI), an indicator of obesity, and to describe potential correlates of their development. Three specific aims of this research focus on: 1) the prevalence and correlates of ED risk classification and symptoms in ROTC cadets, 2) the association between ED symptoms and BMI, and their potentially shared mechanisms, psychological inflexibility related to BD and dieting, and 3) the gaps in knowledge about eating behaviors and mediators of eating behaviors within the ROTC context and from perspective of ROTC cadets.In 2018, US Army ROTC cadets (n = 205) were recruited from two Midwestern universities and completed questionnaires about demographics, military-specific eating behaviors and mediators of eating behaviors, ED symptoms, and anthropometric measures. Chi-square, multivariable logistic regression, and multiple linear regression were performed in determining the rate of ED risk classification and correlates of ED risk classification and symptoms (Aim 1). Two measures of psychological inflexibility related to BD and dieting, in addition to the data for Aim 1, were used in mediation path analysis to examine the association of ED symptoms to BMI, and the indirect effects as mediated by psychological inflexibility related to BD and dieting (Aim 2). A purposively selected sample of eighteen cadets participated in one-on-one, semi-structured telephone interviews on eating behaviors and their mediators in the context of ROTC (Aim 3). Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify the most important themes and determinants related to eating behaviors in ROTC cadets.We found that ED symptoms and ED risk classification are prevalent in a sample of US Army ROTC cadets (10.1% of sample). Correlates associated with greater likelihood of ED risk classification and elevated ED symptoms were: sex, dieting, and military contextual factors such as attempting dieting and weight loss to meet body composition standards, and peers' comments on weight. Total ED symptoms scores were positively associated with BMI and partially mediated by psychological inflexibility related to BD and dieting. Cadets discussed perceived determinants of eating behaviors which included traditional determinants (e.g. time, money, nutrition knowledge) and ROTC-context specific determinants (e.g. preparation for body composition assessments and body image perceptions), which contributed to unhealthy weight control behaviors (dieting) and negative body image perceptions (BD) for some cadets. In conclusion, the prevalent correlates for eating disorder symptoms and risk in the sample of US Army ROTC cadets in this study were factors related to the enforcement of body composition standards and body image perceptions in the military context which may contribute to the development of dieting, BD, and NA. Longitudinal and/or intervention studies on this important topic may benefit our understanding of how ED symptoms and obesity develop over time and how targeting dieting, BD, NA, and affect regulation may be leveraged to mitigate ED and obesity to promote physical fitness, operational readiness and health in military personnel.
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