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Title: Fragile X syndrome and diabetic retinopathy : pathological conditions and associate alteration in neuronal properties
Creator: Aldossary, Hayyaf Saad
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and diabetic retinopathy are poorly treated conditions that dramatically affect patient's and family members' life style. FXS is the most common known form of inherited mental retardation. FXS is caused by a genetic mutation leading to decreased fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) production. The absence of FMRP leads to alterations in synaptic plasticity, which are dependent on activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation. In this study,...
Show moreFragile X syndrome (FXS) and diabetic retinopathy are poorly treated conditions that dramatically affect patient's and family members' life style. FXS is the most common known form of inherited mental retardation. FXS is caused by a genetic mutation leading to decreased fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) production. The absence of FMRP leads to alterations in synaptic plasticity, which are dependent on activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation. In this study, short term activation of group I and II mGluRs is not altered between an animal model of FXS, Fmr1 knock out mice and wild-type mice. These negative findings suggest that short-lasting actions of mGluR activation in the neocortex may not contribute to the cognitive or sensory processing alterations associated with FXS. Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes and is the leading cause for blindness in US working age adults. In this experiment, intraocular injection of the proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin 1-β, was used to mimic inflammation similar to that which occurs during diabetic retinopathy. We used electrophysiological recording techniques to determine the impact of this manipulation on the excitability of thalamocortical neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. We found alterations in excitability, which could lead to altered visual processing as identified in diabetic retinopathy.
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Title: The longitudinal impact of school-based health center use on academic performance : the mediating roles of physical activity and health status
Creator: Gruber, Jennifer
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Students who are uninsured, racial or ethnic minorities, and/or low-income often face barriers to healthcare, and may be vulnerable to poor health and academic outcomes. School-based health centers (SBHCs) address youth barriers to healthcare and promote health equity by providing primary medical and mental health services, as well as health education programming. SBHCs have important ramifications for students' health, behaviors, and lives. Historically, SBHC research has largely focused on...
Show moreStudents who are uninsured, racial or ethnic minorities, and/or low-income often face barriers to healthcare, and may be vulnerable to poor health and academic outcomes. School-based health centers (SBHCs) address youth barriers to healthcare and promote health equity by providing primary medical and mental health services, as well as health education programming. SBHCs have important ramifications for students' health, behaviors, and lives. Historically, SBHC research has largely focused on service utilization; little work examines the longitudinal impact and potential causal mechanisms of SBHCs on student outcomes. Academic outcomes are of particular interest to SBHC practitioners, schools, and families, given the implications for funding and benefits for students. In the present study, a conceptual framework developed by Geierstanger, Amaral, Mansour, and Walters (2004) guided the prediction that SBHC use would indirectly improve student academic performance through increases in general health status and levels of physical activity. These relationships were examined using longitudinal structural equation modeling with data from the Michigan Evaluation of School-based Health (MESH) Study (McNall, Lichty, Mavis, & Bates, 2010). Results indicated that student SBHC use was not associated with self-reported health status, physical activity, or academic performance. While this study addressed gaps in SBHC literature, such as the lack of longitudinal methods, additional research is needed to better understand these relationships. Implications for future SBHC research, policy, and practice are discussed.
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Title: Effect of suspect's gender on police use of physical force
Creator: Ishola, Oluwatobi Taiwo
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Police use of force has received much research attention as researchers attempt to explain various predictors of this phenomenon. This topic is of great interest to police practitioners, policy makers, researchers, scholars, and criminal justice students. Several studies have examined various predictors of this behavior, including officer education, race, experience, age, and sex. However, most of these studies focused on either the officers' or suspect's sex, while research on the interplay...
Show more"Police use of force has received much research attention as researchers attempt to explain various predictors of this phenomenon. This topic is of great interest to police practitioners, policy makers, researchers, scholars, and criminal justice students. Several studies have examined various predictors of this behavior, including officer education, race, experience, age, and sex. However, most of these studies focused on either the officers' or suspect's sex, while research on the interplay between suspect's sex and officer sex as a predictor of police use of force is lacking. Drawing on criminal threat theory and research on chivalry, this study will examine how the interplay between officer and suspect sex influences the likelihood and severity of police use of physical force. Further, given the influence of social norms on chivalry, the study will further investigate whether the presence of bystanders moderates the influence of officer and suspect sex on use of physical force. The study is based on data from the 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3172) study titled 'Understanding the use of force by and against the police in six jurisdictions in the United States'."--Page ii.
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Title: Bridging gaps in information : strategies for improving natural resource management in a changing climate
Creator: Tracy, Erin
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "The Great Lakes region has an abundance of natural resources that are ecologically and socioeconomically valuable yet threatened by changing climate. To effectively address impacts of climate change within the Great Lakes region will require managers to mitigate the causes of climate change as well as adapt to current threats and to future changes in both social and ecological systems. This thesis addresses those needs by providing natural resource managers with strategies to increase...
Show more"The Great Lakes region has an abundance of natural resources that are ecologically and socioeconomically valuable yet threatened by changing climate. To effectively address impacts of climate change within the Great Lakes region will require managers to mitigate the causes of climate change as well as adapt to current threats and to future changes in both social and ecological systems. This thesis addresses those needs by providing natural resource managers with strategies to increase support for climate change mitigation policies and by providing them with information on how social and ecological systems may change with changing climate so that they can develop and apply novel management strategies. Results from Chapter 1 show that while Michigan conservation organizations vary in their current engagement with climate change issues and in their willingness to increase engagement with their membership depending on perceived barriers, every organization expressed interest in receiving more information on how climate change will affect the state's fish and wildlife populations. In Chapter 2, we characterized how resilient Michigan river fish habitat may be to anticipated changes in climate. Our results indicate that while cumulative resilience is generally higher in the Upper Peninsula and in the Northern Lower Peninsula, resilient streams are also found in the Southern Lower Peninsula, suggesting that managers have opportunities in every part of the state for protecting and/or improving stream resiliency to changing climate. Collectively, outcomes of this research offer managers new information and strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, ultimately facilitating the sustainable management of natural resources in a changing climate."--Page ii.
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Title: Quantifying differences in otolith chemistry of Chinook salmon in Lake Michigan to determine natal origins
Creator: Maguffee, Alexander C.
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Previous research has indicated that a substantial amount of hatchery-reared Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrate from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan, likely due to greater foraging opportunities in Lake Michigan, indicating the potential for wild Chinook salmon to exhibit similar movement patterns. Thus, an increased priority has been placed on quantifying the movement of wild Chinook salmon from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The goal of this research was to determine the...
Show morePrevious research has indicated that a substantial amount of hatchery-reared Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrate from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan, likely due to greater foraging opportunities in Lake Michigan, indicating the potential for wild Chinook salmon to exhibit similar movement patterns. Thus, an increased priority has been placed on quantifying the movement of wild Chinook salmon from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The goal of this research was to determine the feasibility of quantifying inter-basin movement of wild Chinook salmon using otolith microchemistry techniques. Chinook salmon otolith pairs were extracted from juvenile and adult fish collected in 2015 and 2016 from tributaries in six predefined regions. Otoliths were analyzed using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP MS) to determine trace metal concentrations, and various multivariate classification algorithms were evaluated for accuracy of classification. Juvenile data reclassified to their natal regions with classification success at a basin level comparable to previous Great Lakes otolith studies. Applying the juvenile-fit models to the adult data resulted in moderate success at a basin level. MANOVAs indicated significant differences in otolith microchemistry between juvenile year classes, and these differences negatively affected classification accuracy. These findings suggest that otolith microchemistry can be used to estimate wild Chinook salmon inter-basin movement, and that classification accuracy will be much higher if the model is developed from the same year class as the assessment sample.
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Title: Intra-household human capital measures and child and maternal health : evidence from Zambia
Creator: Faas, Simone Margaret
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Zambia has one of the highest rates of childhood stunting in the world. Traditional health production functions model that good health quality for young children is dependent on the necessary inputs of parental influences, including parental health, parental education, and household wealth. Using data from a Feed the Future survey from rural Zambia and the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, I examine the relationship between several measures of spousal human capital and the health...
Show moreZambia has one of the highest rates of childhood stunting in the world. Traditional health production functions model that good health quality for young children is dependent on the necessary inputs of parental influences, including parental health, parental education, and household wealth. Using data from a Feed the Future survey from rural Zambia and the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, I examine the relationship between several measures of spousal human capital and the health outcomes of young children and women of child-bearing age. I find the ability to read and write of both spouses is highly correlated with positive changes in children's and women's health outcomes. Literacy and education campaigns which target both boys and girls should be heavily emphasized among rural and disadvantaged communities in southern Africa, as men's literacy and education as well as women's literacy are both important to improving future health outcomes for children and adults.
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Title: Methods for modelling changes in viscoelasticity of the urinary bladder by anatomical location and swelling
Creator: Nye, Laura Alison
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Urinary bladder dysfunction affects millions worldwide. It adds burden to the healthcare system and individual patients with surgeries and long-term treatments such as daily catheterization. Patient specific modelling has been shown to reduce healthcare costs. Computational models are based on mechanical properties of tissues and can help in diagnoses or treatment plans. Although much work has been done on organs such as brain and heart, work on the urinary bladder is scarce. The bladder is a...
Show moreUrinary bladder dysfunction affects millions worldwide. It adds burden to the healthcare system and individual patients with surgeries and long-term treatments such as daily catheterization. Patient specific modelling has been shown to reduce healthcare costs. Computational models are based on mechanical properties of tissues and can help in diagnoses or treatment plans. Although much work has been done on organs such as brain and heart, work on the urinary bladder is scarce. The bladder is a complex organ that exhibits time dependent behavior and so many factors must be considered when studying its mechanical properties. Researchers face challenges in replicating others' experiments, isolating constituent behavior, identifying pathological causes of mechanical behavior, and modelling the viscoelasticity. We focus on two issues that will improve computational models of the urinary bladder wall. The first issue is to identify differences in mechanical behavior based on anatomical location and bath osmolarity. The second issue is to find an appropriate viscoelastic constitutive equation. Parameter characterization of viscoelastic models is especially challenging due to the time dependence of certain parameters. We explore the methods applied in literature and propose four possible models that would be appropriate for our experiment. The models reveal that for best results, we must normalize our data, choose an appropriate relaxation spectrum that has a unique solution, and consider nonlinear elasticity in addition to viscoelasticity. Preliminary results from these models suggest that the lower body and trigone regions of the bladder have lower compliance than other regions. Our models also indicate a change in compliance based on bath osmolarity. In the future we will improve these results for definitive parameters that can be compared statistically. We will do this through the implementation of nonlinear elastic viscoelasticity and triphasic theory.
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Title: The strengths and needs of Palestinian youth : perspectives of youth service providers in Bethlehem, Palestine
Creator: Al-Zoughbi, Lucas
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Background: Palestinian youth are subject to a reality predicated on political and social injustice. The extant literature tends to view these youth through a deficit lens without adequate contextualization. This study aims to address this gap by documenting Palestinian youth strengths, challenges, and root causes according to youth-service providers. Methods: We conducted interviews with youth-service providers in the Bethlehem area. Interviews were followed by a member-checking survey to...
Show moreBackground: Palestinian youth are subject to a reality predicated on political and social injustice. The extant literature tends to view these youth through a deficit lens without adequate contextualization. This study aims to address this gap by documenting Palestinian youth strengths, challenges, and root causes according to youth-service providers. Methods: We conducted interviews with youth-service providers in the Bethlehem area. Interviews were followed by a member-checking survey to improve accurate capture of their experiences. Results: Utilizing Graneheim and Lundman's (2004) pragmatic qualitative data analysis, we extracted nuanced themes that mapped onto the analytical categories. We identified five analytical categories: educational, societal, political, economic, and individual. Discussion: Our findings suggest a complex and nuanced perspective of Palestinian youth according to youth service providers in the Bethlehem area. We discuss implications for practitioners and researchers interested in youth development and well-being in the Palestinian context.
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Title: The role of affect in binge eating phenotypes : an examination of individual differences in emotion experience and interactions with ovarian hormones
Creator: Mikhail, Megan Elizabeth
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Ovarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, suggesting that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. In the first study of this thesis, I examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone-dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements and ratings of NA and emotional eating daily for 45...
Show moreOvarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, suggesting that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. In the first study of this thesis, I examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone-dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements and ratings of NA and emotional eating daily for 45 consecutive days. Women were at greatest risk for emotional eating when they had high trait NA and experienced a hormonal milieu characterized by low estradiol or high progesterone. While effects were significant in all women, the combination of high trait NA and high progesterone was particularly risky for women with a history of clinically significant binge eating episodes. These findings provide initial evidence that affective and hormonal risk interact to promote dysregulated eating, and that effects may be amplified in women with clinically significant binge eating.Low emotion differentiation (the tendency to experience vague affective states rather than discrete emotions) is associated with psychopathology marked by emotion regulation deficits and impulsive/maladaptive behavior. However, research examining associations between emotion differentiation and dysregulated eating is still nascent. In the second study, I therefore examined associations between several measures of emotion differentiation and binge eating phenotypes across a spectrum of severity.
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Title: Association of fired cartridge residues to unburned smokeless powders using GC-MS and multivariate statistical procedures
Creator: Boyea, Rebecca L.
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Forensic analysis of smokeless powders has historically focused on the analysis of unburned powder or gunshot residue. The analysis of fired cartridge residues and subsequent statistical association to the corresponding unburned powder has only recently been investigated. Previous work in our laboratory employed liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) and chemometric procedures to investigate association of fired cartridge residues to the corresponding unburned...
Show moreForensic analysis of smokeless powders has historically focused on the analysis of unburned powder or gunshot residue. The analysis of fired cartridge residues and subsequent statistical association to the corresponding unburned powder has only recently been investigated. Previous work in our laboratory employed liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) and chemometric procedures to investigate association of fired cartridge residues to the corresponding unburned powders.2 While successful association was achieved for some powders, LC-TOFMS is not readily available in forensic laboratories. A widely available alternative is gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The work presented here demonstrates the use of GC MS for the analysis of unburned powder and fired cartridge residues, followed principal components analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to investigate association and differentiation of fired cartridge residues to the corresponding unburned powder. Both PCA and HCA resulted in distinct groupings of the unburned powders, based largely on the abundance of ethyl centralite and dibutyl phthalate. Despite variability and decreased abundances observed in all fired cartridge residues, successful association of the fired cartridges to the corresponding unburned powder was possible but was limited by the original composition of the unburned powder. Overall, this work demonstrates that GC-MS and chemometric procedures are effective tools for the association of fired cartridge residues and unburned powders.
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Title: Annual bluegrass emergence from fraze mowed fairway systems fumigated with dazomet
Creator: Bearss, Ryan Christopher
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In the summers of 2018-19, two trials were conducted at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center in East Lansing, MI to evaluate the viability of fraze mowing cultivation and dazomet fumigation for cool-season fairway renovations. Both trials were conducted on native and sand topdressed (TDS) blocks. In Trial 1 (Rate Study), plots were stripped with fraze mowing cultivation and dazomet was applied either; once at rates of 0, 293.7, or 588.7 kg ha-1 or twice at rates of 146.8 or 293.7 kg ha-1....
Show moreIn the summers of 2018-19, two trials were conducted at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center in East Lansing, MI to evaluate the viability of fraze mowing cultivation and dazomet fumigation for cool-season fairway renovations. Both trials were conducted on native and sand topdressed (TDS) blocks. In Trial 1 (Rate Study), plots were stripped with fraze mowing cultivation and dazomet was applied either; once at rates of 0, 293.7, or 588.7 kg ha-1 or twice at rates of 146.8 or 293.7 kg ha-1. Plots of Trial 2 (Disturbance Study) were subjected to 0, 15, 50 or 100% fraze mowing surface disturbance and uniformly fumigated with dazomet at 293.7 kg ha-1. Dazomet was incorporated mechanically in either Trial via Tillage or Solid-Tine (ST) cultivation and followed procedures consistent with the fumigant label. 5-days after fumigation, all plots were seeded with creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) [CBG]. In the Rate Study, interval treatments provided the most consistent control of ABG emergence across seasons. Only treatments applied once at 293.7 kg ha-1 failed to yield greater CBG cover than the control. In the Disturbance Study, plots fraze mowed to 100% and cultivated by tillage achieved the greatest ABG control but poorest CBG cover. Across trials, no single treatment provided complete or acceptable control of ABG and fraze mowing cultivation impeded CBG establishment. Fraze mowing cultivation simplified the removal of surface material but did not provide acceptable ABG control at any level of surface disturbance or dazomet treatment applied.
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Title: Juvenile-justice and dual system-involved youth : the role of primary caregiver monitoring habits on adolescent offending
Creator: Fredericks, Alyssa
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Adolescence is a period in which youths experience rapid physical, psychological, emotional and social changes and a desire to be autonomous and engage in adult-like behaviors. The desire for independence among adolescents can create a challenge for parents to effectively monitor their children's behavior. Although delinquency peaks adolescence, parental monitoring habits have been found to decrease juvenile offending. However, adolescents who experience child welfare system contact are at an...
Show moreAdolescence is a period in which youths experience rapid physical, psychological, emotional and social changes and a desire to be autonomous and engage in adult-like behaviors. The desire for independence among adolescents can create a challenge for parents to effectively monitor their children's behavior. Although delinquency peaks adolescence, parental monitoring habits have been found to decrease juvenile offending. However, adolescents who experience child welfare system contact are at an increased risk for engaging in juvenile delinquency, particularly when the child welfare system contact occurred during adolescence. Using a secondary dataset including 532 male first-time juvenile offenders from Orange County, California, the present study assessed whether parental or primary caregivers' effort, knowledge, and monitoring remain protective factors against juvenile delinquency regardless of child welfare system contact, and whether, among dual system youth with contact with both systems, the timing of child welfare system contact moderates the relation between primary caregiver effort, knowledge, and monitoring and juvenile delinquency. Results indicated that knowledge and monitoring were protective against adolescent offending regardless of whether a youth had prior involvement in the child welfare system, but that effort was positively associated with offending. Results also suggested that the timing of child welfare system contact was not significantly related to adolescent offending. Implications for parenting and juvenile justice system practice are discussed.
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Title: How do neighborhood, familial, and school disadvantage alter the etiology of children's antisocial behavior?
Creator: Carroll, Sarah, 1994-
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Disadvantaged contexts come in myriad forms and are widely known to predict antisocial behavior, including both physical aggression and non-aggressive rule-breaking. These predictions go beyond simple phenotypic associations, with research now indicating that genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior also vary as a function of neighborhood disadvantage. These findings are typically interpreted as evidence of a bioecological genotype environment interaction (GxE), such that...
Show moreDisadvantaged contexts come in myriad forms and are widely known to predict antisocial behavior, including both physical aggression and non-aggressive rule-breaking. These predictions go beyond simple phenotypic associations, with research now indicating that genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior also vary as a function of neighborhood disadvantage. These findings are typically interpreted as evidence of a bioecological genotype environment interaction (GxE), such that genetic influences may be most strongly expressed in 'average, expectable environments' while environmental influences are strongest in impoverished contexts. Because extant studies are limited in their conceptualization of disadvantage, however, it is unclear whether the findings related to neighborhood disadvantage also apply to familial and school disadvantage. The current study sought to fill this gap in the literature by examining multiple forms of disadvantage as etiologic moderators of aggressive and non-aggressive antisocial behavior, respectively, in a sample of 1,030 pairs of school-aged twins enriched for disadvantage. It was hypothesized that each measure of disadvantage would independently and synergistically moderate the etiology of antisocial behavior in ways consistent with the predictions of the bioecological model. Two factors underlay the indicators of disadvantage included in the current study. Proximal disadvantage comprised two familial indicators and moderated the etiology of rule-breaking behavior in a way that was consistent with a diathesis-stress model, amplifying the additive genetic variance. Contextual disadvantage, by contrast, comprised one school and two neighborhood indicators and augmented the effect of the shared environment on rule-breaking, as predicted by the bioecological model. Follow-up nuclear twin family model analyses further indicated that this increase in shared environmental influence represented a true environmental effect, rather than an increase in passive gene environment correlation or assortative mating. The two indicators of disadvantage had comparatively little effect on the etiology of aggression and did not interact with one another as etiologic moderators. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
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Title: Barriers and facilitators to the utilization of the ACT SMART implementation toolkit in community agencies : a qualitative study
Creator: Sridhar, Aksheya
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Evidence-based practices (EBPs) have been shown to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Wong et al., 2015). Research suggests that the utilization of these practices in community settings is varied (Paynter & Keen, 2015; Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018); however, the utilization of implementation guides may bridge the gap between research and practice (Drahota et al., 2017). The Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based...
Show moreEvidence-based practices (EBPs) have been shown to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Wong et al., 2015). Research suggests that the utilization of these practices in community settings is varied (Paynter & Keen, 2015; Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018); however, the utilization of implementation guides may bridge the gap between research and practice (Drahota et al., 2017). The Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based Treatments (ACT SMART Toolkit; Drahota, Meza, & Martinez, 2014) is a web-based implementation toolkit developed to guide ASD implementation teams through the phases of EBP implementation in community agencies. This study examined the barriers and facilitators (collectively termed "determinants") to the utilization of this toolkit, based on the perspectives of implementation teams at six ASD community agencies. Two independent coders utilized the adapted EPIS model (Drahota et al., 2017; Moulin et al., 2019) and the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (Venkatesh & Bala, 2008), to guide thematic analyses of participant interviews. Salient determinants were identified, and analyses highlighted two themes: (a) Inner Context Determinants to use of the toolkit (e.g., funding), and (b) Innovation Determinants (e.g., facilitation teams). Finally, determinants that differed across adapted EPIS phases of the toolkit were identified. Findings highlight areas of improvement for the ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit, as well as factors to facilitate the use of this implementation guide. Additionally, findings may inform the development, refinement, and utilization of implementation guides with the aim of increasing the uptake of evidence-based practices in community agencies providing services to children with autism spectrum disorder.
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Title: Intranasal deformities in dogs : comparative histopathology, diagnostic and functional imaging
Creator: Maduka, Chima Victor
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BAS) is a debilitating condition affecting some of the most populous dogs in the USA. Caused by the developmental foreshortening of the skull, BAS constitutes a major welfare concern as dogs lead an overall poor quality of life. The intranasal component to BAS is poorly understood. It is not clear how intranasal anatomical deformities contribute to the pathophysiology underlying BAS. In this study, we have applied high resolution 3-D imaging (computed...
Show moreBrachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BAS) is a debilitating condition affecting some of the most populous dogs in the USA. Caused by the developmental foreshortening of the skull, BAS constitutes a major welfare concern as dogs lead an overall poor quality of life. The intranasal component to BAS is poorly understood. It is not clear how intranasal anatomical deformities contribute to the pathophysiology underlying BAS. In this study, we have applied high resolution 3-D imaging (computed tomography) to simulate function (flow pattern) using computational fluid dynamics. Additionally, as part of steps to characterize age-dependent histopathological intranasal changes in brachycephalic dogs, we described the histopathological changes in puppies of French Bulldogs.This thesis methodically introduces and reviews current literature on BAS while outlining the specific aims, hypotheses and rationale for the study (Chapter 1). Subsequently, the materials and methods used are explained (Chapter 2) and the results are summarized (Chapter 3). The implications of the results, limitations of the study and future directions are discussed (Chapter 4).
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Title: Demographics, impacts, & motivations of Michigan 4-h horse judges
Creator: Rising, Maria Rose
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The horse industry is a thriving, diverse industry with many breeds, disciplines, and levels of competition. Horse judges are a focal point of horse shows, given that their opinions are central to the competitive activity. There is very little known about horse judges, although, a survey done by Skelly et al. (2005) at an equine extension workshop found only 4% of respondents were comfortable with the current state of horse show ethics and 70% of respondents felt it was the judges'...
Show moreThe horse industry is a thriving, diverse industry with many breeds, disciplines, and levels of competition. Horse judges are a focal point of horse shows, given that their opinions are central to the competitive activity. There is very little known about horse judges, although, a survey done by Skelly et al. (2005) at an equine extension workshop found only 4% of respondents were comfortable with the current state of horse show ethics and 70% of respondents felt it was the judges' responsibility to uphold ethics at horses shows, showing dissatisfaction with judges. The Michigan 4-H Horse Judges survey was developed with the aims of identifying demographic information, motivations for becoming a horse judge, and how judges gained their horse judging skills. The results showed that the current average age of surveyed judges was 48.6 years, with a range from 23 to 81. Respondents identified judging an average of 15 shows per year, for a total of 790 shows represented annually (n = 53). Respondents identified primary positive themes of being a 4-H horse judge as the educational atmosphere, meeting people, and personal and professional fulfillment. The top negative themes included negative attitudes, long days, poor weather, and time away from family. Respondents also identified their motivations for becoming judges as giving back, helping others, and working with horses and youth; all of which may enhance the quality of life of judges and exhibitors. This information is important as it informs both the literature for future research on the horse judging experience, as well as the impacts of 4-H horse judging activities.
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Title: Assessing partnership development under the Michigan Department of Natural Resource's habitat grants programs using social network analysis
Creator: Burton, Sarah (Conservation biologist)
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In recent years state wildlife agencies have begun to realize the need to build collaborations and partnerships among their constituents in order to further their conservation goals. This has been done through a variety of avenues including grant programs such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (MI DNR) wildlife habitat grant programs, which continue to provide funds to government, profit and non-profit organizations to develop land for wildlife habitat. Regarding grant programs...
Show moreIn recent years state wildlife agencies have begun to realize the need to build collaborations and partnerships among their constituents in order to further their conservation goals. This has been done through a variety of avenues including grant programs such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (MI DNR) wildlife habitat grant programs, which continue to provide funds to government, profit and non-profit organizations to develop land for wildlife habitat. Regarding grant programs facilitating partnerships, there has been no systematic assessment of whether this is a successful method to do so. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MI DNR grant programs in building relationships. In this work, a social network analysis was conducted to assess the nature of partnerships among grant receiving and non-grant receiving conservation organizations. A selection model approach was used to determine what characteristics were driving the partnerships of this network. The outcome variable being modeled was support received from a partner. The results delivered visualizations of the network and insight into why these organizations were selecting one another as partners. Major driving forces in partnership selection were found to be grants, the scale of management, having received prior support and distance between organizations. This valuable information will serve as a platform to better understand the networks surrounding wildlife conservation and allow the MI DNR to address any shortcomings and gaps within the partnership network.
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Title: The influence of early life undernutrition on mouse maximal treadmill running capacity in adulthood
Creator: Pendergrast, Logan Alan
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Introduction: Undernutrition during early life causes chronic disease with specific impairments to the heart and skeletal muscle. Purpose: To determine the effects of early-life undernutrition on adult exercise capacity as a result of cardiac and skeletal muscle function. Methods: Pups were undernourished during gestation (GUN) or lactation (PUN) using a cross-fostering nutritive mouse model. At postnatal day 21 (PN21), all mice were weaned and refed a control diet. At PN67, mice performed a...
Show moreIntroduction: Undernutrition during early life causes chronic disease with specific impairments to the heart and skeletal muscle. Purpose: To determine the effects of early-life undernutrition on adult exercise capacity as a result of cardiac and skeletal muscle function. Methods: Pups were undernourished during gestation (GUN) or lactation (PUN) using a cross-fostering nutritive mouse model. At postnatal day 21 (PN21), all mice were weaned and refed a control diet. At PN67, mice performed a maximal treadmill test. Echocardiography and Doppler velocity analysis was performed at PN72, following which skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and fiber type were determined. Results: Maximal running capacity was reduced (Diet: P=0.0002) in GUN and PUN mice. Left ventricular mass (Diet: P=0.03) and posterior wall thickness during systole (Diet*Sex: P=0.03) of GUN and PUN mice was reduced, causing PUN mice to have reduced (Diet: P=0.04) stroke volume (SV). Heart Rate (HR) of GUN mice showed a trend (Diet: P=0.07) towards greater resting values than other groups. PUN mice had greater CSA of SOL fibers. PUN had a reduced (Diet: P=0.03) proportion of type-IIX fibers in the EDL and a greater (Diet: P=0.008) percentage of type-IIB fibers in the EDL. Conclusion: Gestational and Postnatal undernourishment impairs exercise capacity.
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Title: Willingness to pay for processed grains in Dakar, Senegal : an analysis using discrete choice experiments
Creator: Chase-Walsh, Sarah Victoria
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This article studies consumer preference for processed traditional and non-traditional grains in Dakar, Senegal. While much attention has focused on substitution between traditional and nontraditional grains, less has shown how consumers make tradeoffs among processed products. Using an exit-interview method and two discrete choice experiments, I obtain marginal values of willingness to pay for processed grains. In this paper, I measure willingness to pay for domestically produced millet,...
Show moreThis article studies consumer preference for processed traditional and non-traditional grains in Dakar, Senegal. While much attention has focused on substitution between traditional and nontraditional grains, less has shown how consumers make tradeoffs among processed products. Using an exit-interview method and two discrete choice experiments, I obtain marginal values of willingness to pay for processed grains. In this paper, I measure willingness to pay for domestically produced millet, maize, rice, and sorghum. I also measure willingness to pay for a second stage processed millet product. The results of this study show that consumers are willing to pay a premium for domestically produced processed grains, both traditional and non-traditional, save sorghum. Consumers are only willing to pay a positive premium for imported rice. The results also suggest that consumers are willing to pay a premium for fresh and bulk second stage processed millet.
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Title: Exploring the causes of informal housing in California cities from the demand side and supply side
Creator: Li, Wei (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In recent years, informal housing in developing countries has received widespread attention, but researchers have largely overlooked informality in developed countries, such as the United States. In fact, many types of informal housing exist in the United States. Recently, some scholars have devoted themselves to the research of informal housing in America, including its definition, types, and causes. However, none of them use quantitative methods to examine the potential causes of informal...
Show moreIn recent years, informal housing in developing countries has received widespread attention, but researchers have largely overlooked informality in developed countries, such as the United States. In fact, many types of informal housing exist in the United States. Recently, some scholars have devoted themselves to the research of informal housing in America, including its definition, types, and causes. However, none of them use quantitative methods to examine the potential causes of informal housing. This research aims to address this issue. In my study, I chose California cities as the unit of analysis due to the large numbers of informal housing units in California. With the definition of informal housing - housing units which are not permitted by local housing regulations or codes - I calculated the share of newly-built informal housing in California cities in the 2000s using previous scholars' methods. I then used fractional response regression models to examine the potential causes of informal housing produced from 2000 to 2010. The results reveal that informal housing arises both from the demand and the supply side. The variables on the demand side suggest that demographic factors - namely immigrants, Hispanics, and African Americans - play different roles in the production of informal housing. The lack of income on the demand side also results in informal housing. Additionally, on the supply side, the result suggests that the future housing provision and existing housing provision play an important role in the production of informal housing, while existing housing conditions, such as the share of single-family houses, is not related to informal housing production.
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