The Ewing Collection is a large collection of artifacts and skeletal materials originating from a number of archaeological sites in Colorado, all located near the Four Corners region with the exception of one. The sites comprising the Ewing Collection were excavated from the early 1950s throughout the late 1970s. Although some provenance information remains, a large amount of pertinent information and documentation of the materials were excluded during the curation, and are in the possession of the project manager. Subsequently, little investigative work has been conducted on the collection. The focus of this research was centered on the skeletal materials of the Ewing Collection. The current standards used in biological anthropology for the purpose of skeletal analysis were applied to the skeletal materials of the collection. Methods were applied for the determination of age, sex, group affiliation, stature, and pathology. Cultural modifications and epigenetic traits were also documented. The cultural affiliation of the skeletal material was investigated. A discussion of the importance of provenance information for archaeological collections was included, and when unavailable, what information can be useful in the further understanding of such a collection. It was found that a large amount of valuable information can still be gained from a collection with a high degree of provenance loss. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Anthropology

Germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF/NCNF/RTR, NR6A1) is an orphan member of the nuclear receptor super family that exhibits repressive transcriptional activity and is expressed in the embryonic stem cells, embryonic carcinoma cells and reportedly relegated to the germ line in adults. We have demonstrated that GCNF mRNA and protein are expressed in four of the four ovarian cancer cell lines tested: two adenocarcinomas, OVCAR-3 and TOV-112; one clear-cell carcinoma, ES-2; and one, teratocarcinoma, PA-1. The four cell lines exhibited varied morphologies in culture and exhibited markedly different growth rates in vitro. Immuno blot analysis of GCNF protein expression by the cell lines revealed several GCNF antibody-specific bands, the sizes of which were consistent with the reported homodimeric and multimeric associations of GCNF. In addition, GCNF mRNA was highly expressed in mink lung epithelial cells (MLEC), a rapidly proliferating, non-transformed epithelial cell line. Taken together, these findings suggest a relationship between GCNF and cell proliferation. GCNF gene silencing was employed to investigate this relationship in ovarian cancer cells maintained in vitro with the help of siRNA synthesized by Santa Cruz Biotechnology. The results showed that GCNF siRNA treatment decreased the monolayer cell content by 45.6% and 36.2% of ES-2 and TOV-112 cells, relative to untreated and control siRNA-treated cells. Consistent with the observed decline in cell proliferation, GCNF siRNA treatment decreased the cellular content of GCNF mRNA by 37.6% in TOV-112 cells. These preliminary results implicate GCNF as a here-to-fore unrecognized and potentially important growth regulator in ovarian cancer cells. Another experiment was also undertaken to determine the effects of growth suppression upon GCNF expression using a non-transformed cell line, the mink lung epithelial cells (MLEC). These non-transformed cells (MLEC) express GCNF and are both contact inhibited and exquisitely sensitive to TGF-β1, which markedly inhibits proliferation. MLEC were cultured in the presence and absence of TGF-β1 (1 and 5ng) which showed a dose dependent decrease in both GCNF mRNA expression and cell proliferation which suggests a relationship between growth and GCNF. To demonstrate potential regulation of GCNF, several of the cell lines were treated with all trans-retinoic acid during moderate-term, monolayer culture. Retinoic acid increased the expression of GCNF mRNA within 48 hours of exposure in ES-2, OVCAR and TOV-112 cells. While retinoic acid increased GCNF mRNA expression it did not decrease Oct-4 mRNA expression. GCNF has been reported to repress several key genes including Oct-4, involved in the maintenance of stem cells and GDF-9, a TGF-β family member. In the ovarian cancer cell lines expressing GCNF mRNA, both Oct-4 and GDF-9 mRNAs were detected despite GCNF expression, suggesting an impaired function of GCNF. A conserved domain search was also performed for both the domains for GCNF (the DNA binding domain and the ligand binding domain) and also a multiple alignment for the highly conserved regions which displayed 3D-structures for both the domains. The DNA binding domain of GCNF shares a 3D homology with 1HLZ, which is the Homo sapiens chain A crystal structure of orphan nuclear receptor Rev-Erb (Alpha), named because it is encoded on the opposite strand of the T3R. The ligand binding domain shares a high degree of structural homology (3D) with 1HG4, chain A ultra spiracle ligand binding domain from Drosophila. As USP has RXR as its mammalian homologue, GCNF (the ligand binding domain) shares a higher degree of homology with RXR than with any other nuclear receptor. Our results altogether demonstrate the novel expression of GCNF in ovarian cancer cells and suggest that at least some of the normal regulatory actions of GCNF may be impaired or altered. To what extent this contributes to the neo plastic basis of the ovarian cancer cells is unclear, but the finding of GCNF expression opens new avenues for future investigation and perhaps a new therapeutical target. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biological Sciences

As the sun rose upon the Plains of the Midwest, dawning the nineteenth century, the Osage nation found itself embroiled in heavy trading and combat tactics with the French, Spanish, and even neighboring tribes. And while intricate negotiations had managed to smooth out the problematic agreements, for the most part, made between the Osages and each party, it would be of no avail against their novel, Nineteenth-Century predicament: American expansionism. By the early 1800s, the newly formed United States of America was beginning to pursue its Manifest Destiny and expand its borders westward—across lands that were historically accepted as the Osages’. Faced with unforeseen advances in weaponry and the sheer number of Americans now surrounding them, the Osages began their descent from a significant, warring Amerindian power in the Midwestern United States to their hundred year struggle to survive as a nation of men and women, now foreign in their own homeland. The economic survival of the Osage Indians during the nineteenth century can best be examined during three key events in American history: the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson; the removal of Indians East of the Mississippi River to Osage territory during the 1830s and 1840s; and the Osages’ implementation of the cattle-leasing business to support themselves once federal aid failed to reach their hands. With each experience, the Osage nation became more patient with their fellow man and their distressing situation, and keenly recognized that the means to their own survival within the United States was to model certain functions of their own economic and political systems after that of the capitalistic society. Doing so prevented the government from luring the Osages into an endless cycle of falsely assigning land to them only to take it back in minor technicalities, years later. It is through this ingenuity and wisdom that, by the late 1880s, the Osage people, overcoming poverty and homelessness, became one of the richest Native American tribes in the United States of America. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History

The main purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if students’ vocabulary acquisition is enhanced with the picture word inductive model (PWIM), a research based method of vocabulary instruction (Calhoun, 1999). Additionally, this research sought to identify if performances on vocabulary measures are related to performances on comprehension measures. Further, the study examined if the use of the PWIM impacts vocabulary and/or comprehension scores. Finally, this research focused on the possibility of the influence of language status on vocabulary and comprehension skills. The experimental group of 14 second graders participated in the 4-week intervention, while the control group, consisting of 21 students from the other second grade classes, received typical classroom instruction without the intervention. Nine of the experimental group participants and 16 of the control group participants speak English as a second language. To assess students’ vocabulary knowledge, a researcher-generated assessment was administered prior to intervention (pretest) and immediately following intervention (post test). This assessment targeted some of the vocabulary expected to be suggested by students in the course of the project. Also, the Scholastic Reading Inventory was used to test comprehension. The PWIM intervention was analyzed through parametric statistics by examining the vocabulary gains that participants made from the pre-assessment to the post-assessment. Results indicated that statistically significant differences were not achieved between the control and experimental group participants on the final assessment. Within the experimental group, statistically significant differences in vocabulary scores and comprehension scores were noted. Results also indicated that students’ vocabulary gain scores and comprehension gain scores did not differ significantly based on language proficiency. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction

E.M. Forster's fiction, conservative in form, is in the English tradition of the novel of manners. He explores the emotional and sensual deficiencies of the English middle class, developing his themes by means of irony, wit, and symbolism. A Passage to India (1924) treats the relations between a group of British colonials and native Indians and considers the difficulty of forming human relationships, of “connecting”. In 1971, Maurice, a novel Forster had written in 1913–14, was published posthumously. A homosexual, Forster had refrained from publishing it during his lifetime because of the work’s sympathetic treatment of homosexuality. The story of a young man's self awakening, Maurice treats a familiar Forster theme, the difficulty of human connection. This thesis examines Forster’s life and the two major novels, A Passage to India and Maurice, and shows how Forster “connected” to others while helping to revitalize and perpetuate the nearly dead form of the novel of manners, a form of the novel that continued throughout the 20th century alongside the more institutionally celebrated traditions of modernism and post-modernism. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English

The work in this study involves a conceptual design of a disc brake system. Disc brakes offer higher performance braking, simpler design, lighter weight, and better resistance to water interference than drum brakes. The objective is to find out the best conceptual caliper model design, with different materials and by subjecting them to same loading conditions, takin displacements and stresses into account. The study utilized different materials for three different conceptual models. The materials that were analyzed were Aluminum 2219-T87, Aluminum 6061-T651 and Graphite Silicon Carbide Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite (GrA-Ni). All the three different brake calipers were subjected to the same load conditions for each new material. The results were analyzed for given set of load conditions and were studied for displacements and stresses. The calipers were analyzed for pressure and tangential loads and the results were studied for deformation of the caliper body under stress. The results for the different models with different materials were compared to conclude the model with lowest deformation under same loading conditions. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) exhibit superior characteristics such as high specific strength, high specific modulus, fatigue strength and endurance. With an increase in the use of composite FRP materials in industries, secondary machining operations of these materials play an important role in final assemblage. This requires adherence of the machined components to the established geometric tolerance, dimensional accuracy, and surface quality. In a previous study, a tool life prediction equation was established based on the process parameters (speed and feed). Since this equation is not satisfactory, this study focuses on economic machining conditions and improved surface quality of the finished component by establishing an equation to predict tool life based on cutting forces and surface temperature in multi directional CFRP machining. The results of experiments show that normal force increases with an increase in feed rate and decreases with an increase in spindle speed and cutting distance. Feed force, axial force and surface temperature increase with an increase in feed rate and cutting distance and decrease with an increase in spindle speed. The tool life prediction equation established in this study based on surface temperature and cutting forces helps the industries to establish an economic machining condition in edge trimming of multidirectional CFRP composites. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

This case study investigates instructor and student perceptions of the learning technology tool Blackboard Academic Suite™ (hereafter known as Blackboard). A questionnaire was used to gather responses from instructors (n =21) and students (n=260) at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, regarding their experiences in using Blackboard. The questionnaire contained both quantitative and qualitative elements, allowing for a triangulated approach to the study. The literature suggests that successful integration of new technologies is dependent upon instructor enthusiasm and expertise. The study found a generally positive experience with Blackboard, but also found some drawbacks and hurdles that will need to be overcome with regard to its use. Instructors' reluctance to adopt new methods and technologies, instructor training on innovative uses of Blackboard, and the level of user-friendliness of the program stood out as areas needing improvement. Further research in this area could be a great aid to those who are developing and implementing both software and hardware for the instructional setting. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication

Change detection in images is of great interest because of its relevance in many applications such as video surveillance. This thesis presents the underlying theoretical problem of distributed image change detection using a wireless sensor network. The proposed system consisted of multiple image sensors, which made local decisions independently and sent them to a base station through an additive white Gaussian noise channel. The base station then made a global decision and declared whether a significant change had occurred or not. This system used four thresholds to detect local and global changes in the area being monitored. Two thresholds defined at the sensor level helped the sensor make a local decision, and the remaining two thresholds defined at the system level helped the fusion center make a global decision. Hence, by using four thresholds, the performance of the proposed model was observed to have very good fault tolerance. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering