Maryland Shared Open Access Repository

MD-SOAR is a shared digital repository platform for twelve colleges and universities in Maryland. It is currently funded by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium (usmai.org) and other participating partner institutions. MD-SOAR is jointly governed by all participating libraries, who have agreed to share policies and practices that are necessary and appropriate for the shared platform. Within this broad framework, each library provides customized repository services and collections that meet local institutional needs. Please follow the links below to learn more about each library's repository services and collections.

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Recent Submissions

Role of θ-closure in the study of H-closed spaces
(2021) Evans, David; Nayar, Bhamini M. P.; Mathematics
The concept of an H-closed space is a generalization of the concept of compactness. In this study we focus on the role of θ-closure of a set in the study of H-closed spaces. The θ-closure was introduced by Velicko in 1966 to give characterizations of H-Closed spaces. It later became an object of study on its own, along with the associated concepts of θ-closed and θ-open sets. It was discovered that the θ-open sets generate the Tθ topology, which became another area of research.
The Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Female Relationships
(2021) Sample, Monica; Hayman, Warren; Education and Urban Studies
During adolescence, there is a shift in loyalty and closeness from family to peers (Macpherson, Kerr, and Sterling, 2015). The adolescent is constantly trying to find a balance between developing a unique identity and being accepted by others. Social media is serving as a means for female adolescents to establish alternative identities that would make them a part of peer networks and to establish acceptance. Female adolescent experiences of social media use’s impact on self-identity and its role in female relationships is important for the educational practitioner in his/her role to assist the adolescent with forming healthy relationships. The purpose of this qualitative study is to use a qualitative research design to explore social media’s impact on adolescent females and female relationships as experienced by female adolescents. This study used social identity theory as its framework. In this qualitative study, six female adolescents answered a questionnaire on social media use and participated in a focus panel interview to share their experiences with social media use and female to female relationships. Themes emerged in this study to support Stet and Burke’s Social Identity theory framework. The significance of this study was to understand social media’s role in adolescent relationships from the experiences of adolescent female participants. Through understanding the experiences of adolescent participants in this study, adults can assist the adolescent with developing positive social relationships and a constructive sense of identity.
Evaluation of Hemostatic Changes in Wistar-Furth and Lewis Rats Infected with Rift Valley Fever Virus Strain ZH501
(1995-04) Thureen, Dean R.; Hood College Biology; Biomedical and Environmental Science
Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) is a member of the genus Phlebovirus, family Bunyaviridae. Members of this family are characterized by a tripartite, negative sense RNA genome with potential for genetic reassortment. RVFV has caused epizootics in domestic animal populations in African countries, and has been found to affect man, causing acute febrile disease and occasional death due to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. Investigators have noted hemostatic changes in primates experimentally infected with RVFV, suggesting that a correlation of hemostatic dysfunction to the human system is possible. This potential for comparative analysis of RVFV-infection in man creates a need for a cost-efficient, readily available model system to study the virus-induced abnormalities in the hemostatic system of man. Wistar-Furth rats prove to be extremely susceptible (LD₅₀, 5 PFU) to infection after subcutaneous inoculation of the Egyptian strain ZH501 of RVFV, and die with extensive liver necrosis 3-5 days post-inoculation. Lewis rats are in contrast largely resistant (LD₅₀, >10⁶ PFU) to the lethal effects of RVFV infection. In utilizing these available rat strains, we examined the general factor deficiencies of the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of hemostasis which may be acquired secondarily to viral infection, such as liver dysfunction, which is characteristic of RVFV infection. This was accomplished by inoculating adult WF and LEW inbred rats subcutaneously with 5 x 10² plaque forming units of the ZH501 strain of RVFV. Groups of 5 animals were assayed serially at 12 hour intervals. Levels of antibody to RVFV ZH501 in the serum of infected animals were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera, in addition to liver, spleen, and adrenal gland tissue homogenates were assayed for viral titer, and samples of these tissues were taken for PTAH staining to determine fibrin polymerization. Liver function of the infected animals was assessed by glutamic pyruvic transaminase/alanine aminotransferase (GPT/ALT) colorimetric enzyme assay and compared to values found in uninfected control rats. Complete blood counts (CBCs) and cell differentials were determined in both the virally infected and control animals. Abnormalities of the intrinsic pathway (Factors VIII, IX, XI, XII) were determined by performing a modified activated partial thromboplastin time test (APTT), where as the extrinsic pathway (Factors II, V, VII, X) deficiencies were monitored by a modified prothrombin time test (PT). Variations in clotting times were determined in the infected rats and again compared to the normal values of uninfected control rats. RVFV infection with the Egyptian strain of RVFV, ZH501, was confirmed in both the RVFV-susceptible Wistar-Furth and the RVFV resistant Lewis inbred strains of Rattus norvegicus by virus re-isolation from tissue homogenates of liver, spleen, and adrenal gland, and by the detection of high viremia in the sera of inoculated animals. The acute onset of fatal disease in the susceptible WF strain did not allow sufficient time for detectable IgG production. Hepatic injury was observed by examination of stained tissue sections, and further indicated by the high correlation between viremia, tissue titers, and the prolonged PT and APTT clotting times. Rift Valley Fever virus infection does induce hemostatic change in both the Wistar-Furth and Lewis rat strains to varying degrees, but by which specific mechanisms remains unclear. The results shown here suggest a number of possible mechanisms for hemostatic disruption due to RVFV infection. Severe degrees of hepatic injury lead to impairment of the hemostatic system, not only in its ability to synthesize the coagulation factors, but also in its ability to produce the anti-. coagulation enzymes, which function in the clearance of the activated coagulation factors. These results appeared to be determined by rat genotype. The use of the Wistar-Furth and Lewis rat models is not recommended for the evaluation of Rift Valley Fever virus induced hemostatic change.
FOOD DEPRIVATION, DOMINANCE RANK, AND PARENTAL INVESTMENT IN HOUSE MICE
(1989-08) Thornton, Michele W.; Hood College Biology; Biomedical and Environmental Science
The Trivers and Willard (1973) theory postulates that female polygynous mammals in good condition should maximize their fitness by investing more in male offspring then in female offspring, while females in poor condition should invest more in female offspring than in male offspring. CF1 mice were used to test this hypothesis. A control group, a premating group (deprived of food every other day one week prior to mating), and a gestation group (deprived of food every third day during gestation) were tested and compared. Both the premating and gestation groups had a higher proportion of female pups than the control group. The premating group had higher fertility than the control or gestation groups. High infant mortality caused the proportions of female pups of the premating group to be closer to the control proportion after the third day. The sons of control, premating, and gestation groups had similar birth weights. However, at adulthood the control males outweighed the premating and gestation males. When dominance ranks were tested among control sons and premating and gestation sons of similar weights, the premating and gestation sons tended to be dominant. When dominance ranks were tested between higher weighing control males and lower weighing premating males, the higher weighing control males were dominant in all cases. Analysis reveals secondary sex ratio results as predicted by the Trivers and Willard (1973) theory as well as some differences in dominance ranks of the male pups which may reflect differences among strains.
REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS OF 17 13-ESTRADIOL, BISPHENOL A, AND TRIBUTYLTIN IN AIPTASIA PALLIDA
(2012-04) Thorn, Heather A.; Hood College Biology; Biomedical and Environmental Science
The potential for adverse effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and estrogenic pollutants on cnidarians is unknown. Adult sea anemones (Aiptasia pallida) were subjected to three endocrine-active chemicals that are ubiquitous in the marine environment. The 21-day exposure trial included treatments of 17 β-estradiol, bisphenol A (BPA), and tributyltin (TBT) at concentrations found in the coastal marine environment and at concentrations 25X that found in nature. Endpoints monitored included: number of adults producing offspring (lacerates) asexually, number of lacerates produced, and the time for a newly formed lacerate to develop into a juvenile anemone. There was no statistically significant difference in any of these endpoints between treated and control anemones. The data suggest reproductive function of A. pallida is not disrupted by ecologically relevant concentrations of 17 β-estradiol, BPA, and TBT. Future studies should examine the effects of these chemicals on marine invertebrates with more complex reproductive cycles, such as scleractinian corals.