RSS 1.0Dissertations
Recent Submissions
-
Developing a Latino-Adapted Parenting Program for Primary Care: A Delphi Study
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-19)Latino children suffer from many health disparities compared to their non-Latino peers. One way to minimize these health disparities is by empowering Latino parents through parenting support programs. Primary care agencies, ... -
Environmental Development of the External Genitalia
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-24)Hypospadias is one of the most common birth defects in the world. The incidence of hypospadias has nearly doubled over the past 50 years and now occurs on average in 1 in 125 male newborns each year. Hypospadias is a ... -
ARE ALL FISH NURSERIES EQUAL? DETERMINING HOW FOOD WEB DYNAMICS AFFECT FISH NURSERY HABITAT
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-23)The fish nursery habitat concept has been used to define important habitat for larval and juvenile fish throughout coastal and estuarine areas. Nursery habitat has been defined as an area that produces more fish biomass, ... -
Elucidating the Mechanisms of Transthyretin Aggregation in Transthyretin Amyloidosis
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-24)Accumulation of insoluble aggregates (amyloids) is a characteristic feature of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Aggregation and deposition of Transthyretin (TTR) protein ... -
Multidimensional Conceptualization and Assessment of Fatigue in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease: Impact of Fatigue on Quality of Life
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)Fatigue is a problematic symptom that has only recently gained attention in the literature for pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD). Research has established that fatigue is prevalent, persistent, and impairing, though much ... -
Examination of Patient Activation among Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Patients
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-17)Background: Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients face psychosocial challenges related to the management of their cardiac conditions and devices. Factors including quality of life and rates of psychological ... -
Poison frog warning signals: From the rainforest to the genome and back again
(East Carolina University, 2018-06-18)Signal communication is pervasive in nature and is used to convey information to both conspecifics and heterospecifics. Aposematic species use warning signals (e.g. bright coloration) to alert predators to the presence of ... -
Adaptation in a Changing World: Evolutionary mechanisms of salt tolerance in a coastal amphibian
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)In order to predict evolutionary outcomes of environmental change on populations in nature, we need an improved understanding of the biological mechanisms that affect whether organisms will adapt to a changed environment. ... -
SCHOOL-BASED MINDFULNESS AND YOGA WITH YOUNG ADOLESCENTS AS AN ENHANCED HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-17)Little is known about the effects of mindfulness-based intervention and yoga implemented with adolescents in school settings, especially regarding evaluation of specific outcomes compared to alternate Health and PE ... -
SOCIAL REACTIONS TO DISCLOSURE OF TRAUMATIC CHILDBIRTH EXPERIENCES: ASSOCIATIONS WITH COPING, POSTTRAUMATIC COGNITIONS, AND TRAUMATIC STRESS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMOLOGY
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-24)Traumatic childbirth experiences can contribute to symptoms of postpartum depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Negative or unsupportive responses from social partners to disclosure (i.e., communication of ... -
EXPLORING DIFFERENCES IN INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO LIPOTOXICITY AND THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IN THE MITOCHONDRIA OF PRIMARY PREADIPOCYTES
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-17)Prolonged exposure to fatty acids (FAs), at levels normally seen during fasting, can be cytotoxic in vulnerable cells including preadipocytes. Prior work from our laboratory has shown that FAs cause mitochondrial inner ... -
THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY ROLE OF G-PROTEIN COUPLED RECEPTOR 4 IN AN ACIDIC MICROENVIRONMENT
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)The endothelium of the microvascular system serves an ideal mediator between circulating blood and tissues in order to regulate systemic homeostasis. During vascular disease, the normal function and phenotype of endothelial ... -
Calculating and Coaching School Organizational Health
(East Carolina University, 2018-08-01)To date, most studies of teacher turnover in high-poverty schools have focused on the characteristics of the students and their teachers, rather than on the organizational health of the schools where they teach. The purpose ... -
Role of Inflammatory Microglia in Mediating Periadolescent Nicotine-Induced Reward Sensitization
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-23)Nicotine exposure during the onset of adolescence (periadolescence) is demonstrated to sensitize the brain to the rewarding effects of various drugs of abuse. Nicotine enhances the expression of the transcription factor ... -
Fast Carbon-Ion and Proton Induced Electron Emission from Condensed-Phase Biological Targets
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-23)Fast charged particles interact with matter through various ionization and excitation pathways that aren’t fully understood. Predicting the effects of these interactions is vital in many fields such as radiation therapy, ... -
Integrative Complexity of Coastal Resources Management: Examining Tradeoffs Between Ecosystem Protection and Resource Use
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)The management dilemma of use versus protection is a complex issue, and like most complex issues, it does not lend itself to a simple or simplistic solution. This dissertation research examined the connection between ... -
Memetic Rhetorical Theory in Technical Communication: Re-Constructing Ethos in the Post-Fact Era
(East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)This dissertation interrogates existing interpretations of ethos by analyzing the spread of misinformation through online communities. In particular, this dissertation argues that the rhetorical concept of ethos should ... -
A Framework for Successfully Transitioning Students Into the Middle Grades
(East Carolina University, 2018-06-11)This Problem of Practice dissertation addresses the need for an elementary to middle school transition program in a school district in eastern North Carolina. To develop this program, district end-of-grade assessment results ... -
Induced ablation of skeletal muscle-specific estrogen receptor-alpha in adult female mice increased the susceptibility to develop skeletal muscle inflammation and glucose intolerance under chronic lipid overload
(East Carolina University, 2018-04-27)Skeletal muscle-specific ER[alpha] appears to play important roles in regulating skeletal muscle glucose and lipid homeostasis. The overall aim of this dissertation was to determine whether skeletal muscle-specific ER[alpha] ... -
Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type I Basic Leucine Zipper Factor (HBZ) Modulates Cellular DNA Damage Repair and Antioxidant Responses to Promote Host Cell Survival and Leukemogenesis
(East Carolina University, 2018-04-19)Approximately twenty million people worldwide are infected with Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1 (HTLV-1). HTLV-1 establishes a life-long, chronic infection which can result in the development of severe HTLV-1 associated ...