DigitalCommons@UConn Copyright (c) 2017 University of Connecticut All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu Recent documents in DigitalCommons@UConn en-us Sun, 09 Jul 2017 01:31:18 PDT 3600 Ketamine Induced Neural Oscillatory and Neurochemical Changes in Healthy Participants: A Simultaneous EEG-MRS Study http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1098 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1098 Fri, 07 Jul 2017 12:38:04 PDT Erin R. Stolz Identification and Structure of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Young Adults http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1097 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1097 Fri, 07 Jul 2017 08:55:54 PDT Objective: Recent research suggests that symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) persist into adulthood, and is associated with specific negative functional outcomes. Long-considered a disorder restricted to children, more research is needed to understand how ODD affects adults. This current study seeks to investigate the prevalence, associated impairments, and structure of ODD symptoms in two college samples of young adults.

Methods: Two large samples of college students between the ages of 18-24 years old (N = 1,848; N = 1,792) completed self-report measures of ODD symptoms, ADHD symptoms, psychiatric diagnoses, and functional impairments. Prevalence of ODD symptoms was calculated, and multiple regression was used to estimate the association between high levels of ODD symptoms and academic, social, and other impairment. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test a set of five uni- and multi-dimensional models of ODD symptoms.

Results: The prevalence of ODD in college students was estimated to be 2.61% and 3.43% in each sample. Higher levels of ODD symptoms were associated with impairments within several domains even after controlling for other psychopathology. CFA modeling suggests a general ODD bifactor model with correlated subfactors of irritability and oppositional behavior as best fitting for the structure of ODD in young adults.

Conclusions: ODD symptoms measured in young adults appear in similar rates and structure as in child community samples, and are uniquely associated with specific impairments. This study supports the validity of ODD as disorder that can afflict adults, and thus, demands greater consideration by both researchers and clinicians.

]]> Oliver Johnston Mapping the Embryological Development of the Temporomandibular Joint with Cone-Beam Computed Tomography http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1096 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1096 Fri, 07 Jul 2017 08:04:11 PDT Sonya Kalim Shared Space in Today’s World: Quantifying and Classifying the Range in Design http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1095 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1095 Fri, 07 Jul 2017 05:24:46 PDT Shared space, a street design philosophy which aims to improve the mobility of nonmotorized users by deemphasizing the priority given to automobiles, has received much international attention within the last decade. Today, shared spaces can be found across the world as planners and decision-makers look to different street design schemes as a way of providing much-needed public space to urbanized populations. Despite their growing popularity, rigorous evaluations of how shared spaces operate are rather limited. Advocates of shared space argue that this design approach reduces vehicle speeds, reduces vehicle delay, reduces the potential severity of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, and improves the mobility of non-motorized users in these design schemes, among other benefits. Critics argue that some users—especially those who are disabled—find shared space to be difficult to navigate. One particularly prominent gap in the literature is a framework to classify the now numerous flavors of shared space that have emerged around the world. This thesis presents a methodology to classify shared space according to 17 separate design elements and contextual variables such as traffic, land-use, and physical design. The classification scheme is operationalized with data from 132 shared spaces around the world, producing six distinct types of environment. The classification system illustrates the variety of ways in which shared space is being implemented around the world, paving the way for a more nuanced discussion of how different types of shared space function.

]]> Parker Sorenson Three Essays on Gender Diversity http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1443 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1443 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 13:55:03 PDT Archival abstract submitted

]]> Yihong Xiao Gender Diversity Corporate Governance Female Directors Application of Compound Specific Stable Isotope Analysis to Spatial and Temporal Tracing of Organic Molecular Biomarkers through the Environment http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1442 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1442 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 13:12:12 PDT One of the critical challenges facing modern environmental chemistry is how to identify sources, process of formation, and transport of organic compounds and pollutants in the environment. In recent decades, molecular and stable isotopic analysis of individual organic biomarkers, produced by living organisms, has emerged as a novel tool for identifying sources and processes associated with the synthesis of biological compounds. Specifically, this thesis focused on the questions related to processes controlling the production and movement of n-alkanes produced in plant leaf waxes and PAHs produced through the partial combustion of organic material. The aims of this thesis were to use compound-specific isotope analysis of these organic molecular biomarkers to understand how environmental changes are recorded, determine source materials, and evaluate potential methods of transport through the environment. Chapters 3 and 4 used stable hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotopes of n-alkanes produced by leaf waxes to determine how differences in taxonomic class are recorded and how these biomarkers are preserved in fluvial sediments. This study found that n-alkanes from individual plants record plant specific differences in photosynthetic processes and physiology whereas n‑alkanes preserved in fluvial sediments can identify large scale ecosystem changes. In Chapter 5, the concentrations, δD and δ13C of 16 EPA priority PAHs were measured from samples collected from around the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Using a multivariate approach to source identification, this study found that PAHs extracted from sediments and soils in Connecticut were sourced from a complex mixture of vehicular exhaust, coal burning exhaust, and industrial emissions. These projects represent a significant contribution to the understanding of carbon mobility over the earth surface with broad applications to environmental pollution tracing and paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

]]> Abigail M. Oakes Studies in Ultracold Ground State Atom-Rydberg Atom Interactions http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1441 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1441 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 13:12:08 PDT Collisions involving Rydberg atoms reveal detailed information on the state of a background medium and can be used as diagnostic probes of temperature and density distributions in a neutral or ionized gas. Spectroscopy of Rydberg atoms in highly excited states reveals the interaction of the Rydberg electron with core electrons, including relativistic effects, and can be used for precise determination of fundamental constants. The advent of ultracold trapping and cooling methods in the last three decades has ushered in a new paradigm in Rydberg physics control and manipulation. The concept of the Rydberg blockade, for instance, al- lows for precise control of long-range dipolar interaction between atoms, creation of correlated many-body wave functions, and realization of macroscopic quantum entanglement and quan- tum logic operations. The formation of a new class of Rydberg molecules arising from ground and Rydberg atom collisions can be used to manipulate electron-atom scattering phase shifts, form and manipulate molecules with enormous permanent electric dipole moments, study Ry- dberg chemistry at the ultracold, and realize macroscopic quantum polaronic systems. In this thesis, I will investigate charge transfer from covalent ground-Rydberg collisions to form heavy ion pair states. In another related study, I explore the formation of spin-mixed ultralong range Rydberg molecules, by accounting for spin-dependent relativistic fine and hyperfine interac- tion. Such studies help to not only explain experimental observations, but also point to how molecular reactions can be controlled using small electric or magnetic fields.

]]> Samuel C. Markson Rydberg atoms Rydberg molecules Tracing Economic, Ritual, and Social Pathways to Neolithization in the Southern Levant through Human-Animal Relationships at Kfar HaHoresh http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1440 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1440 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 10:55:19 PDT Archival abstract submitted

]]> Jacqueline Meier Archaeology Zooarchaeology Pre-Pottery Neolithic Kfar HaHoresh Animal Domestication Ritual Social Change Agricultural Transition Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an Evidence-Based Webinar on the Behaviors of Primary Care Providers for the Treatment of Pain with Prescription Opioid Medications: A Translational Pilot Project http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1439 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1439 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 10:13:19 PDT Introduction/Purpose: Prescription opioid abuse is a significant problem in the United States. Primary care practices are where most patients with acute or chronic pain present. A large proportion of prescriptions for opioid medications are written by primary care providers (PCPs) (Fink-Miller, Long, & Gross, 2014; Kanouse & Compton, 2015). The purpose of the translational pilot project was to examine an opioid risk assessment tool for its usability and feasibility in primary care settings. Methods/Procedure: A specific opioid risk assessment tool, the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) (Butler et al., 2007) was presented to the target sample of PCPs via a real time webinar. Knowledge of the COMM pre-webinar was assessed and the sample was given the opportunity to utilize the COMM. Four weeks after the webinar, the medical records of patients treated for pain with an opioid medication by one of the participating PCPs (N=13) was examined for the presence of a completed COMM. Results/Discussion: Attitudes of the sample PCPs toward evidence-based practice were explored. None of the participating PCPs had ever use the COMM. Only one of the participating PCPs had ever heard of the COMM. All of the participating PCPs requested and received access to the COMM, but only two PCPs used the COMM within four weeks after the webinar. Significance/Conclusions: The sample PCPs may lack knowledge and awareness of evidence-based practice for the treatment of pain with prescription opioid medications, despite having positive attitudes toward providing evidence-based care. The sample PCPs identified time constraints and lack of familiarity with the COMM as barriers to the use of this tool. Recommendations: Utilization of the DNP prepared nurse practitioner as a champion and educator for evidence-based practice may improve PCP use of evidence-based practice which may positively affect patient outcomes and population health (Hayes & Gordon, 2015).

]]> Elizabeth A. Mayerson prescription opioid abuse primary care primary care providers nurses physicians provider adherence to guidelines and evidence-based practice Investigating the Functional Roles of LC8, CITFA, and RPB7 in the Multifunctional RNA Polymerase System of Trypanosoma brucei http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1438 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1438 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 09:45:54 PDT Trypanosoma brucei, a member of the early diverged phylogenetic order Kinetoplastida, is a vector-borne parasite that causes lethal disease in both humans and livestock. Unfortunately, progress has been slow on developing new treatments, and there is a need for new therapeutics, as current therapies have issues of resistance, toxicity, and difficult administration. In order to design new therapeutics, molecules and interactions unique to the parasite must be detailed, in hopes that some will afford suitable drug targets.

One unique process in T. brucei that might be targeted is RNA polymerase I-mediated transcription. T. brucei is unique in that RNA polymerase I not only transcribes ribosomal gene units, as in all other organisms, but is also used to transcribe gene arrays that encode its major cell surface proteins, namely the variant surface glycoprotein, or VSG in the mammalian bloodstream stage of the parasite. The importance of VSG to T. brucei is highlighted by the fact that interference with VSG mRNA rapidly halts bloodstream form culture growth and leads to the clearance of trypanosomes from infected mice. Thus, targeting proteins and interactions essential for VSG production is a valid strategy against T. brucei.

Chapter II details an investigation of the interaction between LC8 and a class I transcription factor A (CITFA) subunit, CITFA2, which was the focus of my thesis work. Both of these proteins, and their interaction, are essential for VSG transcription and trypanosome viability, and interrupting either protein or their interaction could be a potential anti-trypanosome therapy. Chapter III contains the generation of a method that allows for gene silencing using heterologous sequences, which was necessary for the work in chapter II. Chapter IV focuses on RPB7, an RNA pol II subunit, which was published to be utilized by RNA pol I for transcription. While this finding was intriguing, it contradicted our biochemical RNA pol I characterizations. Data presented in this chapter clearly demonstrated that RPB7 is not a subunit of RNA pol I and not required for the transcription process by this polymerase.

]]> Justin Kirkham trypanosoma brucei LC8 CITFA RPB7 DYNLL1 Quantitative Analysis of EGFR Phosphorylation and SH2 Domain Binding in vivo http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1437 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1437 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 09:08:40 PDT The work presented in the following thesis dissertation examines the regulation of phosphotyrosine (pY) signaling, an essential cellular process that relies on the activity of three major protein classes: Tyrosine kinases (TKs) which induce pY signaling by phosphorylating tyrosine residues on substrate proteins, Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) which suppress pY signaling by removing phosphate moieties from tyrosine phosphorylated proteins and Src-Homology 2 (SH2) containing proteins which bind to tyrosine phosphorylated proteins and connect them to downstream signaling pathways. The effects of kinase localization, temporal changes in kinase activation, SH2 protein concentration, and negative feedback from downstream signaling pathways are all examined by the research presented here. This is accomplished by exploiting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a clinically important transmembrane TK, and its SH2 protein mediated downstream pathways. Using EGFR signaling as a tool, this dissertation research attempts to define innate properties of pY signaling systems which are broadly applicable and advance our understanding of the field.

]]> JOSHUA A. JADWIN SH2 EGFR Tyrosine Phosphorylation GRB2 KRAS Protection Mass Spectrometry What's Left to Own?: Moving Beyond Ownership of Development in Aid-dependent Africa http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1436 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1436 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 08:42:14 PDT Abstract: What is ownership of development and how does it operate in aid-dependent Africa? This dissertation examines the various power structures and agents that shape development in aid-dependent Africa through the lens of Ownership of Development. Using Burkina Faso and Kenya as country case studies and the health sector as the standard case for comparison, I argued that the ownership paradigm precludes the end of the development industry making the teleological ends of development exist only as a chimera, while the inherent discourse reifies the underdeveloped subject in Africa. I develop this argument based on seventy-five original interviews with government officials, civil society organizations, and donors in Burkina Faso and Kenya’s health sector.

]]> Takiyah Harper-Shipman International Development Africa Foreign Aid Ownership “What Right Do You Have To Teach This To Us?”: White Teachers Negotiate Dilemmas Of Multicultural Young Adult Literature In Urban Classrooms http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1435 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1435 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 08:20:10 PDT Researchers have documented a range of dilemmas associated with multicultural and young adult literature. This study used an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis approach to explore the lived experiences of nine White, middle-class teacher participants as they negotiated their perceived dilemmas in planning for and teaching multicultural young adult literature to students in culturally diverse, urban school contexts. Critical Whiteness Studies and Dilemma Management were used as conceptual framework for the study, and data sources included three interviews of each teacher participant occurring before, during, and after the instruction of the unit that included the multicultural young adult text; participant artifacts; and a researcher journal. This study is grounded in the belief that how these teacher participants interpreted and negotiated the dilemmas they associated with multicultural young adult literature was valuable to understand because their perceptions could have shaped both their selection and instruction of such texts. Purposive culturally response teaching fosters students’ sense of self, and a strong self-concept has been linked to high academic achievement. Findings revealed that participants experienced dilemmas pertaining to their identity and knowledge, dilemmas specific to students, dilemmas related to book content, and dilemmas connected to curriculum and resources. To manage these dilemmas, they participated in passive approaches, authoritative approaches, conferences with others, and pedagogical approaches. Discussion includes the ways in which the teaching context did (not) matter, an interrogation of power dynamics, and implications for theory, practice, and research.

]]> Ricki Ginsberg Multicultural Literature; Young Adult Literature; Teacher Education; English Education; Race; Ethnicity; Multicultural Education; Dilemma Management; Critical Whiteness Studies; Critical Race Theory Defective Immune Regulation in Multiple Sclerosis: E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Cbl-b and TLR Tolerance http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1434 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1434 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:47:13 PDT Archival abstract submitted

]]> Mai Fujiwara Immune regulation autoimmunity Multiple Sclerosis Cbl-b FTY720 PD-1 T cells human gut commensal bacteria TLR tolerance Design and Synthesis of α-Galactosylceramide Analogs for Biased Cytokine Responses http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1433 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1433 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 07:03:03 PDT Alpha-Galactosylceramides are known to activate invariant natural killer (iNK) T cells which are a subset of T cells that regulates immune responses in both mice and humans. Upon activation, iNKT cells produce T helper (Th)1 (pro-inflammatory) and/or Th2 (anti-inflammatory) cytokines that have implications in several disease areas, including cancer, infectious diseases, allergies and autoimmune conditions. To date, the alpha-galactosylceramide, KRN7000, is the most studied experimental glycolipid; it activates iNKT cells to produce both Th1 and Th2 responses. The simultaneous release of Th1 and Th2 cytokines elicited by KRN7000 has an antagonistic effect because production of Th1 cytokines offsets the immunological impact of Th2 cytokines and vice versa. Therefore, novel analogs of KRN7000 have been synthesized with the goal of identifying compounds that provide a biased Th1 or Th2 response. This thesis described the design and synthesis of carbohydrate modified analogs of KRN7000; the goal is to identify compounds that induce a biased cytokine response. During the pursuit of one analog, the N-GalCer analog of KRN7000, a simple, efficient and solvent-free method was developed for the synthesis of both alpha- and beta-glycosyl amides.

]]> Divya Chennamadhavuni Galactosylceramides glycosylamides solvent-free approach C6 analogs Spectral Properties of the Hata Tree http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1432 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1432 Thu, 06 Jul 2017 06:47:31 PDT The Hata tree is the unique self-similar set in the complex plane determined by the contractions φ0(z) = cz and φ1(z) = (1-|c|2)z+|c|2, where c is a complex number such that |c| and |1-c| are in (0,1). There are four main results in the paper. First, by applying linear algebra and spectral theory it is possible to construct a dynamical system that can compute the eigenvalues of the probabilistic Laplacian on graph approximations to the Hata tree. Conclusions are made about the spectrum of the Laplacian on the limiting graphs. Second, the Sabot theory (c.f. [29]) is applied to construct a simpler dynamical system to compute the eigenvalues of a class of normalized graph Laplacians (including the probabilistic Laplacian) on these approximating graphs. Third, it is possible to reconstruct the Hata tree as the union of two copies of a mixed affine nested fractal identified at a point. Using techniques from [13], some results are stated on the spectral asymptotics of the eigenvalue counting function of a certain class of Laplacians (not including the probabilistic Laplacian) on this mixed affine nested fractal. In the final part, a spectral analysis is performed on graph approximations to the Basilica Julia set of the polynomial z2-1. In [5], the authors give a dynamical system that can be used to construct finite approximations and classify the different possible infinite blow-ups. In this paper, the techniques from the first part are used to construct a dynamical system that can compute the eigenvalues of Laplacian operators on these finite graph approximations. In addition, it is shown that the spectrum of the Laplacian on blow-ups satisfying certain conditions is pure point.

]]> Antoni Brzoska fractal Julia set self-similarity Laplacian eigenvalues eigenfunctions spectral decimation Effects of Worry Conversations on Anxiety and Affect: An Observational Study of Dyadic Worry using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1094 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/1094 Wed, 05 Jul 2017 07:05:44 PDT Catherine E. Stewart