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The First Days of Spring: An Analysis of the International Treatment of Homosexuality
In recent history, the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) persons have been in constant fluctuation. Many states criminalize homosexual behavior while other states legally recognize same-sex marriages and same-sex adoptions. There are also irregular patterns where LGBT interest groups form across the globe. With this research project, I begin to explain why these discrepancies in the treatment of homosexuality and the formation of LGBT interest groups occur. I develop a theory that the most obvious contrast across the globe occurs when analyzing the treatment of homosexuals in OECD member states versus non-OECD countries. OECD nations tend to see the gay community struggle for more advanced civil rights and government protections, while non-OECD states have to worry about fundamental human rights to life and liberty. I find that this specific dichotomization is what causes the irregular LGBT interest group formation pattern across the globe; non-OECD nations tend to have fewer LGBT interest groups than their OECD counterparts. When looking at why non-OECD nations and OECD nations suppress the rights of their gay citizens, I find that religion plays a critical role in the suppression of the gay community. In this analysis, I measure religion several different ways, including the institution of an official state religion as well as the levels of religiosity within a nation. Regardless of how this variable is manipulated and measured, statistical analysis continuously shows that religion’s influence is the single most significant factor in leading to a decrease in both human and civil rights for gays and lesbians across the globe. Further analysis indicates that Judaism plays the most significant role out the three major world religions in the suppression of civil rights for homosexuals in OECD nations.
Surface Modifications to Enhance the Wear Resistance and the Osseo-integration Properties of Biomedical Ti-alloy
The current study focuses on improving the wear resistance of femoral head component and enhancing the osseo-integration properties of femoral stem component of a hip implant made of a new generation low modulus alloy, Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta or TNZT. Different techniques that were adopted to improve the wear resistance of low-modulus TNZT alloy included; (a) fabrication of graded TNZT-xB (x= 0, 1, 2 wt%) samples using LENS, (b) oxidation, and (c) LASER nitriding of TNZT. TNZT-1B and TNZT-O samples have shown improved wear resistance when tested against UHMWPE ball in SBF medium. A new class of bio-ceramic coatings based on calcium phosphate (CaP), was applied on the TNZT sample surface and was further laser processed with the objective of enhancing their osseo-integration properties. With optimized LASER parameters, TNZT-CaP samples have shown improved corrosion resistance, surface wettability and cellular response when compared to the base TNZT sample.
Contribution of Hurricane Ike Storm Surge Sedimentation to Long-term Aggradation of Coastal Marshes in Southeastern Texas and Southwestern Louisiana
Coastal marshes and wetlands are vital natural resources that offer habitats for plants and animals, serve as ecological filtration for soil and water pollutants, and act as protection for coastlines. Fishing, both commercial and sport, has a large economic impact in the study area – the Gulf Coast between Galveston Bay, TX and Oak Grove, LA. The objective of this research was to determine the contribution of Hurricane Ike storm surge sedimentation to long-term marsh aggradation in Texas and Louisiana coastal marshes. The research hypothesized that Hurricane Ike’s storm surge deposit would be equal to decades and possibly even a century’s worth of the average annual non-storm sedimentation. A quantitative field study was performed. The storm surge deposit was examined in a series of 15 transects covering approximately 180 km east of Hurricane Ike’s landfall. Nine of the 15 transects were re-surveyed a year after the initial measurement to assess preservation of the deposit. The results demonstrate that Hurricane Ike contributed between 10 to 135 years’ worth of sediment to coastal marshes along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and the sediment deposits have been preserved for over two years.
Site Formation Processes and Bone Preservation Along the Trinity River Basin, North Central Texas
This thesis presents the results of geoarchaeological investigations of several archaeological sites along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in north central Texas. Archaeological data recorded from mitigation excavations in Denton and Cooke counties were analyzed to understand the geologic impacts on faunal preservation resulting from site formation processes. The faunal assemblages are highly fragmented, even in settings known for good preservation. A combined approach using geoarchaeological and taphonomic techniques was implemented to examine how fragmentation, evidence of soil weathering, and differential preservation were impacted by differing geologic conditions throughout the river basin. Intrasite and intersite results of the sites show that a great deal of variability of faunal preservation is present at difference scales of analysis.
Developing a Collection Digitization Workflow for the Elm Fork Natural Heritage Museum
Natural history collections house immense amounts of data, but the majority of data is only accessible by locating the collection label, which is usually attached to the physical specimen. This method of data retrieval is time consuming and can be very damaging to fragile specimens. Digitizing the collections is the one way to reduce the time and potential damage related to finding the collection objects. The Elm Fork Natural Heritage Museum is a natural history museum located at the University of North Texas and contains collections of both vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, as well as plants. This project designed a collection digitization workflow for Elm Fork by working through digitizing the Benjamin B. Harris Herbarium. The collection was cataloged in Specify 6, a database program designed for natural history collection management. By working through one of the museum’s collections, the project was able to identify and address challenges related to digitizing the museum’s holdings in order to create robust workflows. The project also produced a series of documents explaining common processes in Specify and a data management plan.
Dislocation Dynamics Simulations of Plasticity in Cu Thin Films
Strong size effects in plastic deformation of thin films have been experimentally observed, indicating non-traditional deformation mechanisms. These observations require improved understanding of the behavior of dislocation in small size materials, as they are the primary plastic deformation carrier. Dislocation dynamics (DD) is a computational method that is capable of directly simulating the motion and interaction of dislocations in crystalline materials. This provides a convenient approach to study micro plasticity in thin films. While two-dimensional dislocation dynamics simulation in thin film proved that the size effect fits Hall-Petch equation very well, there are issues related to three-dimensional size effects. In this work, three-dimensional dislocation dynamics simulations are used to study model cooper thin film deformation. Grain boundary is modeled as impenetrable obstacle to dislocation motion in this work. Both tension and cyclic loadings are applied and a wide range of size and geometry of thin films are studied. The results not only compare well with experimentally observed size effects on thin film strength, but also provide many details on dislocation processes in thin films, which could greatly help formulate new mechanisms of dislocation-based plasticity.
The Power of One Reinforcer
Animal trainers use shaping to teach many behaviors. However, during shaping, the organism may engage in behaviors other than the target behavior or approximations to the target behavior. If the animal is engaged in other behaviors, the rate of reinforcement may decrease and the trainer may resort to what is sometimes referred to as a “desperation click.” That is, the trainer delivers one reinforcer for a behavior that is not a successive approximation to the target response. Anecdotal reports from trainers suggest that sometimes the animal continues to repeat this other behavior that received only one reinforcer, even in the absence of further reinforcement for that behavior. This study compared whether, during a one minute extinction period, participants spent more time engaged in a behavior that had been reinforced only once after a brief period of no reinforcement or in a behavior that had been reinforced multiple times. Participants, who were university students, played a tabletop game that involved touching and manipulating small objects. Five conditions were repeated twice for each participant: reinforcement for interacting with a training object alone, reinforcement for interacting with a training object with other objects present, reinforcement for interacting with a target object, one reinforcer for interacting with a third object immediately following a brief period of no reinforcement, and reinforcement for interacting with any object. Results from this study show that a desperation click situation can be reliably produced in a controlled setting. When participants received one reinforcer for interacting with a new object following a period of no reinforcement, they interacted with the new object for a longer or equal amount of time as compared to an object that had a history of reinforcement.
The Effect of Season Performance on Male and Female Track and Field Athletes’ Self-identity
Although the “self” has generally been conceptualized as relatively stable in sport-specific research, events such as deselection, injury, and career termination have been found to negatively affect athletes’ levels of identification with the athlete role. Additionally, there has been limited research regarding competitive failure and its ability to negatively affect athletes’ levels of identification with the athlete role. The purpose of the present investigation was to provide additional evidence regarding the influence poor competitive seasons have on the malleability of athletes’ self-identity. Athletes were followed throughout the course of their season to determine whether athletes who encountered a poor competitive season reported lowered levels of athletic identity. Specifically, male and female NCAA Division I track and field athletes completed pre-indoor, post-indoor, and post-outdoor assessments of athletic identity. Contrary to previous research, the current study’s results indicated no identifiable relationship between male and female athletes’ season performance satisfaction and their level of post-indoor and post-outdoor athletic identity. Thus, the greatest predictor of athletes’ post-season level of athletic identity was their pre-season level of athletic identity, regardless of season performance. Given these results, future research should assess self-esteem as well as other potential coping strategies athletes might use in order to gain a better understanding of the effect encountering a poor competitive season may have on athletes’ self-identity.
Qos Aware Service Oriented Architecture
Service-oriented architecture enables web services to operate in a loosely-coupled setting and provides an environment for dynamic discovery and use of services over a network using standards such as WSDL, SOAP, and UDDI. Web service has both functional and non-functional characteristics. This thesis work proposes to add QoS descriptions (non-functional properties) to WSDL and compose various services to form a business process. This composition of web services also considers QoS properties along with functional properties and the composed services can again be published as a new Web Service and can be part of any other composition using Composed WSDL.
Measuring the Effect of Alternating In-class with Online Lecture on Student Learning in College Classrooms
Personalized instruction has long been a goal of behavior analysis in the education of typically developing populations, one important element of which is the delivery of lectures in new formats. This study tested feasibility of online lecture delivery by comparing online and in-class delivery of lectures using an adapted alternating treatments design. Each week, the lecture component of a unit of an introductory behavior analysis course was presented either online or in-class, alternating week to week. The alternation was counterbalanced between two sections, where one section saw the lecture for a given unit -online while the other did it in-class, allowing for comparison between lectures of a given unit as well as across units within a section. First attempt quiz scores were measured. No significant difference in the trend of quiz scores between conditions was detected, averaging 73.1% (range, 50.4% to 83.4%) for online and 72.8% (range, 54.8 to 84%) for in-class conditions. This suggests that online lectures are a feasible alternative lecture delivery in this introductory behavior analysis course. This experimental methodology may also be used to test other instructional techniques as well. The ability to place lectures online, opens the door to further, more refined, experimentation with modern instructional methods such as the “flipped classroom.”
Tissue-specific Bioconcentration Factor of the Synthetic Steroid Hormone Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (Mpa) in the Common Carp, Cyprinus Carpia
Due to the wide spread occurrence of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a pharmaceutical compound, in wastewater effluent and surface waters, the objectives of this work were to determine the tissue specific uptake and bioconcentration factor (BCF) for MPA in common carp. BCFs were experimentally determined for MPA in fish using a 14-day laboratory test whereby carp where exposed to 100 μg/L of MPA for a 7-day period followed by a depuration phase in which fish were maintained in dechlorinated tap water for an additional 7 days. MPA concentrations in muscle, brain, liver and plasma were determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The results from the experiment indicate that MPA can accumulate in fish, however, MPA is not considered to be bioaccumulative based on regulatory standards (BCF ≥ 1000). Although MPA has a low BCF value in common carp, this compound may cause reproductive effects in fish at environmentally relevant concentrations.
Lester Walton’s Champion: Black America’s Uneasy Relationship with Jack Johnson
In 1908 Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world. His reign would be rife with controversy, leading to widespread racial violence and draconian government intervention. Lester Walton, theater critic for the New York Age, became obsessed with Johnson; his extensive writing on the boxer powerfully reveals not just Walton’s own struggle with issues of race in America, but sheds light on the difficulties the black community at large faced in trying to make sense of a figure who simultaneously represented hope for the positive change Reconstruction failed to produce and, ironically, also threatened to intensify the hardships of Jim Crow era oppression.
The Effects of Glyphosate Based Herbicides on Chick Embryo Development
Glyphosate based herbicides are among the most widely used herbicides in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine developmental toxicity of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the common herbicide Roundup, on developing chicken embryos. Few studies have examined toxic effects of glyphosate alone versus the full compound formulations of Roundup, which include adjuvants and surfactants. Adjutants and surfactants are added to aid in solubility and absorption of glyphosate. In this study chicken embryos were exposed at the air cell on embryonic day 6 to 19.8 or 9.9 mg / Kg egg mass of glyphosate in Roundup or glyphosate only. Chickens treated with 19.8 and 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup showed significant reduction in survivability compared to glyphosate alone treatments and controls. On embryonic day 18, embryos were sacrificed for evaluation of developmental toxicity using wet embryo mass, dry embryo mass, and yolk mass as indicators. Morphology measurements were taken on liver mass, heart mass, tibiotarsus length and beak length. Embryos treated with 19.8 mg / Kg glyphosate and 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup showed significant reductions in wet and dry embryo mass and yolk mass. Tibiotarsus length in 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate in Roundup treatments were significantly reduced compared to 9.9 mg / Kg glyphosate treatments. Beak length was significantly reduced in 9.9 mg /Kg glyphosate in Roundup treatments compared to all other groups.
The Issue with Latino Voter Turnout: How Does the Issue of Immigration Affect Latino Voter Turnout?
In this study, I investigate how the issue of immigration affects Latino voter turnout. I hypothesize that U.S. Latino citizens who view immigration as highly important and helpful to the United States will be more likely to turn out to vote in midterm and presidential elections. In addition to a contextual analysis on elections in Arizona and California, I perform a probit regression analysis on survey data from Pew Hispanic's 2004 National Survey of Latinos on Politics and Civic Participation. The results are mixed with respect to the initial expectations. While respondents who view immigration as important and helpful are more likely to turn out than those who view immigration as important and hurtful, the results suggest that respondents who find immigration as unimportant may not be less likely to turn out. Further, there are some differences between Latino subgroups, although these differences are minor. Ultimately, the hypotheses presented in this study find moderate support.
Spatial Mismatch Between Hiv Infection and Access to Hiv Service Facilities in Texas
Since 2004, the number of people living with HIV (PLWH) has steadily increased by about 5% and currently, the number in Texas is about 86,000. Though the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan seeks to ensure “unfettered access to quality healthcare”, barriers to access still exist especially among minority populations. This study examines the relationship between HIV infection rates and the geographic location of HIV service centers with a focus on 4 counties: namely, Dallas, Denton, Harris and Tarrant. The goal is to show whether there is a spatial mismatch between HIV rates and service providers. Are service facilities located in zip codes where they are most needed? Using the vulnerability framework and the Inverse Care Law (ICL), we address the research question using demographic variables (race/ethnicity, sex, poverty, education attainment) and HIV data. Our results show that extreme vulnerable zip codes have high HIV rates and closest proximity to HIV service providers.
Remembering and Narrating in Borges’ “Funes the Memorious” and Camus’ the Stranger
In The Stranger, a novel by Albert Camus, and in “Funes the Memorious,” a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, the homodiegetic narrators have a significant effect on the referential aspect of their personal experiences. Chronologically these remembered experiences are positioned before the moment when they are narrated. The act of remembering is thus a form of subsequent narration. In both texts, memory is a project rather than an object because it is recounted and not found. In the sense that it is told, memory is necessarily a creative act and thus not faultless because the story of an experience is not the experience itself. The memories in The Stranger and in “Funes the Memorious” are not reconstituted but narrated. The peculiarity of the two texts lies in the fact that the narrators take an external position when describing their own past, emphasizing the imperfect aspect of the narrators’ memory. With a narratological approach to the texts and a Sartrean interpretation of memory, I study the effects of focalization on the act of remembering. By explaining the relationship between focalization, memory and the narratee, I show that the act of remembering is not a repetition of past events or experiences but rather an inventive process that occurs always in the present. I argue that external focalization is a more authentic way to tell the story of a past experience because it emphasizes the fact that memory is always in the process of being made and therefore uncertain and incomplete even to the individual remembering.
Exploring Fundamental Principles in the Study of Derived Relational Responding in Pigeons
A persistent challenge for behaviorally-based accounts of learning has been providing an account of learning that occurs in the absence of systematically programmed contingencies of reinforcement. Symmetry, one type of emergent behavior, has been repeatedly demonstrated with humans, but has been considerably more difficult to demonstrate with non-humans. In this study, pigeons were exposed to a go/no-go procedure in which hue stimuli were presented full screen on a touchscreen monitor. Pigeons learned 12 baseline relations in less than 30 days. Traditional measures used to evaluate symmetry indicated that, during tests, three of the four birds responded more to the reverse of relations that were reinforced in training than to the reverse of relations that were not reinforced in training. However, additional analyses of these data suggests that these differences were driven by one of two trial types and that symmetry was only observed for one of the two predicted relations. These data systematically replicate and extend work by Urcuioli and colleagues and point to areas where further research is needed.
Laser Deposition, Heat-treatment, and Characterization of the Binary Ti-xmn System
The present research seeks to characterization of an additively manufactured and heat-treated Ti-xMn gradient alloy, a binary system that has largely been unexplored. In order to rapidly assess this binary system, compositionally graded Ti-xMn (0<x<15 wt%) specimens were fabricated using the LENS (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) and were subsequently heat-treated and characterized using a wide range of techniques. Microstructural changes with respect to the change in thermal treatments, hardness and chemical composition were observed and will be presented. These include assessments of both continuous cooling, leading to observations of both equilibrium and metastable phases, including the titanium martensites, and to direct aging studies looking for composition regimes that produce highly refined alpha precipitates – a subject of great interest given recent understandings of non-classical nucleation and growth mechanisms. The samples were characterized using SEM, EDS, TEM, and XRD and the properties probed using a Vickers Microhardness tester.
Educating American Audiences: Claire Reis and the Development of Modern Music Institutions, 1912-1930
The creation of institutions devoted to promoting and supporting modern music in the United States during the 1920s made it possible for American composers to develop an identity distinct from that of European modernists. These institutions were thus a critical part of the process of modernization that began in the United States during the early decades of the twentieth century. There is substantial scholarship on these musical institutions of modern music, such as the International Composers’ Guild and the League of Composers; but little to no work has been done on the progressive musical institutions of the 1910s, such as the Music League of the People’s Music Institute of New York, which was founded by Claire Reis. This thesis addresses the questions of how and why American musical modernism came to be as it was in the 1920s through an examination of the various stages of Reis’s career. The first chapter is an extensive study of primary source material gathered from the League of Composers/ISCM Records collection at the New York Public Library, which relates to Reis’s work with the PML in the 1910s. The second chapter uses the conclusions of the first chapter to shine new light on an old subject: the 1923 schism within the ICG that led Reis and others to form the League. The traditional view that the schism was the result of a conflict in idea of style is called into question, and the role that gender and power structure played in the break are explored.
The Ultimate Ethos: Challenges, Cooptation and Survival During Ultimate’s Adolescence
Ultimate is the fastest growing field sport in America. Created in 1968, forty-five years later the sport was still on the periphery of the mainstream but reached new heights in 2013 – two professional leagues, over 800 college teams and a broadcasting deal with ESPN – and the discussions throughout the sports’ history have never been as relevant. Self-officiation and the Spirit of the Game are the main tenets that make up the ethos of the sport and its community. These unique aspects differentiate Ultimate’s predominate culture from that of mainstream sports culture. This study shows the countercultural ties and survival of the ethos during the adolescent period of Ultimate’s evolution (1987-2010). It examines the progression of the community’s established grassroots culture and the governing body of the sport alongside the influx of young players with mainstream sports attitudes who bolstered certain organizers’ attempts to alter Ultimate in the hopes of gaining “legitimacy” through adding third-party officials, commercialization and corporate sponsorship.
Ethnogenesis and Captivity: Structuring Transatlantic Difference in the Early Republic, 1776-1823
This study seeks to understand the development of early American ideas of race, religion, and gender as reflected in Indian and Barbary captivity narratives (tales of individuals taken captive by privateers in North Africa) and in plays that take American captives as their subject. Writers of both Indian and Barbary captivity narratives used racial and religious language – references to Indians and North Africans as demonic, physically monstrous, and animal – simultaneously to delineate Native American and North African otherness. The narrative writers reserved particular scorn for the figure of the Renegade – the willful cultural convert who chose to live among the Native Americans or adopt Islam and live among his North African captors. The narratives, too, reflect Early American gendered norms by defining the role of men as heads of household and women’s protectors, and by defining women by their status as dutiful wives and mothers. Furthermore, the narratives carefully treat the figure of the female captive with particular care – resisting implications of captive rape, even while describing graphic scenes of physical torture, and denying the possibility of willful transcultural sexual relationships.
Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Occupancy-related Parameters in Energy Modeling of Unt Zero Energy Lab
The study focuses on the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of occupancy-related parameters using Energyplus modeling method. The model is based on a real building Zero Energy Lab in Discovery Park, at University of North Texas. Four categories of parameters are analyzed: heating/cooling setpoint, lighting, equipment and occupancy. Influence coefficient (IC) is applied in the sensitivity study, in order to compare the impact of individual parameter on the overall building energy consumption. The study is conducted under Texas weather file as well as North Dakota weather file in order to find weather’s influence of sensitivity. Probabilistic collocation method (PCM) is utilized for uncertainty analysis, with an aim of predicting future energy consumption based on history or reference data set. From the study, it is found that cooling setpoint has the largest influence on overall energy consumption in both Texas and North Dakota, and occupancy number has the least influence. The analysis also indicates schedule’s influence on energy consumption. PCM is able to accurately predict future energy consumption with limited calculation, and has great advantage over Monte Carlo Method. The polynomial equations are generated in both 3-order and 6-order, and the 6-order equation is proved to have a better result, which is around 0.1% compared with real value.
Reading Beyond the Words: How Implementing Esl Strategies During Modified Guided Reading Affects a Deaf Student’s Language Acquisition Process
While Deaf students are not typically classified as English as a second language (ESL) students, the majority of deaf students first become fluent in a signed language, making them ideal candidates for ESL research. This case study has been designed to explore the ways in which one method of ESL reading instruction, known as modified guided reading (MGR), affects the language acquisition process, and resulting reading comprehension level, of a deaf student over eleven weeks. The study documented the student’s language acquisition development both in American Sign Language (ASL) and in English, as well as tracked the student’s growth in reading comprehension, metalinguistic awareness, and visual attention skills. The Accelerated Reader (AR) program, benchmark testing, and daily observations were used to measure growth. Findings of the study suggest that the ESL methods implemented through MGR positively impacted the student’s language acquisition process, reading comprehension level, metalinguistic awareness, and visual attention skills. Results showed an increase in all three of the student’s AR scores as follows: 31% in reading level, 13.1% in number of words read, and 13.2 % in comprehension test scores. Observations and benchmark testing revealed increased metalinguistic knowledge in word, syntactic, and pragmatic awareness. Visual attention skills were found to be the key element in allowing reading comprehension to take place and strategies for improving these skills were found to be a necessary part of the MGR process.
Effect of Dispersed Particles and Branching on the Performance of a Medium Temperature Thermal Energy Storage System
The main objective of my thesis is to develop a numerical model for small-scale thermal energy storage system and to see the effect of dispersing nano-particles and using fractal-like branching heat exchanger in phase change material for our proposed thermal energy storage system. The associated research problems investigated for phase change material (PCM) are the low thermal conductivity and low rate of heat transfer from heat transfer fluid to PCM in thermal energy storage system. In this study an intensive study is carried out to find the best material for thermal storage and later on as a high conductive nano-particle graphite is used to enhance the effective thermal conductivity of the mixed materials. As a thermal storage material molten solar Salt (60% NaNO3+40%KNO3) has been selected, after that detailed numerical modeling of the proposed design has been done using MATLAB algorithm and following the fixed grid enthalpy method. The model is based on the numerical computation of 1-D finite difference method using explicit scheme. The second part of the study is based on enhancing the heat transfer performance by introducing the concept of fractal network or branching heat exchanger. Results from the numerical computation have been utilized for the comparison between a conventional heating system (with a simple single tube as a heat exchanger) and a passive PCM thermal energy storage system with branching heat exchanger using NTU-effectiveness method and charging time calculation. The comparison results show a significant amount improvement using branching network and mixing nano-particle in terms of heat transfer (13.5% increase in effectiveness of branching level-02 heat exchangers from the conventional one ), thermal conductivity (increased 73.6% with 20% graphite nano-particle mix with solid PCM), charging time (57% decrease of charging time for the effect of both the dispersion of Graphite nano-particle and branching heat exchange) and …
A Performance Analysis of Solar Chimney Passive Ventilation System in the Unt Zero Energy Lab
The purpose of this investigation is to find out suitability of the solar chimney natural ventilation system in a Zero Energy Lab located at the University of North Texas campus, to figure out performance of the solar chimney. Reduction in the heating and ventilation and air conditioning energy consumption of the house has been also analyzed. The parameters which are considered for investigation are volumetric flow rate of outlet of chimney, the absorber wall temperature and glass wall temperatures. ANSYS FLUENT 14.0 has been employed for the 3-D modeling of the solar chimney. The dimensions of the solar chimney are 14’2” X 7’4” X 6’11”. The flow inside solar chimney is found to be laminar and the simulation results show that maximum outlet volumetric flow rate of about 0.12m3/s or 432 cfm is possible from chimney. The experimental velocity of chimney was found to be 0.21 m/s. Density Boussinesq approximation is considered for the modeling. Velocity and temperature sensors have been installed at inlet and outlet of the chimney in order to validate the modeling results. It is found that based on simulated volumetric flow rate that cooling load of 9.29 kwh can be saved and fan power of 7.85 Watts can be saved.
A Quantitative Assessment of Site Formation at the Dmanisi Archaeological Site, Republic of Georgia
The focus of this thesis was to gather and analyze micromorphological and petrographic data on soils at the archaeological site of Dmanisi in order to better understand the extent to which the deposition and alteration of the sediments has affected the preservation of artifacts and faunal remains. A major goal of this research was to test hypothesis related to why bone material is discovered in some strata and not in others. This research focuses on the application of micromorphology (supplemented with other methods) to the soils through the use of petrographic analysis of thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. These techniques complement previous field analyses by providing a quantitative assessment of individual strata through point counting and chemical mapping. The results of this research support the hypothesis that the sediments are predominantly mafic ashes, while showing that there is very little soil development in the strata. This suggests quick episodic burial in a relatively dry climate, confirming the hypothesis for a short time sequence in the strata. Additionally, differential weathering probably did not play a significant role in the differential abundance of bone remains among the strata at Dmanisi.
The Effects of Training History on Retention and Reacquisition of Stimulus Control
The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of training history on retention and re-acquisition of stimulus control of previously learned behaviors. In Phase I, two pairs of behaviors were alternately trained. Circle and touch behaviors were trained concurrently until two consecutive errorless sessions were run. Spin and down behaviors were trained together in the same manner. Probe sessions, in which all four cues were presented, were conducted each time a pair of behaviors reached this criterion. Training of one pair did not occur until the other pair had reached criterion and probe sessions were run. Despite achieving the designated criterion during training, stimulus control changed during probes. During probe sessions, errors increased under the cues that were not currently being trained. In most cases, the type of errors emitted for each cue was the same as the behavior that was trained concurrently. The number of training sessions required to reach criterion accuracy was high during the first set of sessions and decreased over the course of the experiment. In Phase II, spin and circle behaviors were trained concurrently. The number of sessions required to reach stimulus control criteria remained low, and the number of errors emitted under the spin and circle cues during probe sessions decreased. However, the number of errors increased under the touch cue. In Phase III, a reinforce-all procedure was used instead of extinction to test stimulus control. The highest frequency of errors occurred under the touch cue, but the down error was almost exclusively emitted under every cue during the last several sessions.
Gender, Peace and Democracy
In the last several decades there has been immense international emphasis and promotion of gender equality and female participation in the social, economic, and political spheres of society. There has also been an increase in civil conflict recurrence in countries as well as countries transitioning to democracy. This study explores the effect of female participation on peace and democracy. In the first part, I focus on the effect female participation has on decreasing the risk of peace failing in post-civil conflict countries. In many countries, women are marginalized and conflict further marginalizes them. However, I argue that the post-conflict environment allows women to escape this cycle of marginalization and their inclusion and participation is very crucial to sustaining peace. I find that female political and social female decreases the risk of peace failing in post-civil war countries. In the second part, I focus on the effect female participation has on decreasing the risk of authoritarian reversals in countries that have transitioned to and toward democracy. Previous empirical research has focused on women’s role in transitions to democracy, factors that contribute to the survival of democracy, as well as how women’s participation affects the stability country. I argue that women’s social, economic, and political participation decreases the risk of authoritarian reversals in countries that have newly transitioned to and toward democracy. I find that female social participation sustains democracy in countries that have transitioned to democracy and that female economic participation sustains democracy in countries that have transitioned toward democracy. Overall I find support that female participation matters for both peace and democracy.
Macroinvertebrate Colonization and Assemblages Associated with Aquatic Macrophytes in a Newly Created Urban Floodway Ecosystem, Dallas, Tx
A study of macroinvertebrate colonization and assemblages, including secondary productivity of the familiar bluet damselfly or Enallagma civile Hagen (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), associated with the aquatic macrophytes Heteranthera dubia (Jacq.) MacMill. (water stargrass) and Potamogeton nodosus Poir. (American pondweed) was conducted at the Dallas Floodway Extension Trinity River Project (DFE) Lower Chain of Wetlands (LCOW), Dallas, TX, from September 2010 through November 2011. Macroinvertebrate abundance, taxa richness, Simpson's index of diversity, and Simpson's evenness from the two macrophytes and from three different wetland cells of varying construction completion dates, water sources, and native aquatic vegetation establishment were analyzed along with basic water quality metrics (temperature °C, pH, dissolved oxygen mg/L, and conductivity µs/cm). E. civile nymphs were separated into five developmental classes for secondary productivity estimations between macrophytes and wetland cell types. Mean annual secondary productivity in the DFE LCOW among two macrophytes of E. civile was 1392.90 ash-free dry weight mg/m²/yr, standing stock biomass was 136.77 AFDW mg/m2/yr, cohort production / biomass (P/B) ratio was calculated to be 4.30 / yr and the annual production / biomass (P/B) ratio was 10.18 /yr.
The Ocean in Between
Centered on the universal search for home, The Ocean in Between is an autobiographical documentary about my bicultural identity and sense of guilt as a first generation Italian emigrant daughter. As I embark on a journey between Italy and the United States, I attempt to reconcile my American aspirations with my Italian roots. Using observational footage, direct interviews, and narration, this film provides a poetic and intimate look at family relations, love and death, bicultural identity, and sexuality.
Performance Analysis of Two Alternative Hvac Systems for the Unt Zero Energy Lab
This paper covers the simulation and comparison among three different HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning)systems to achieve the goal of finding the most effective HVAC among these three in terms of human comfort, efficiency and cost considering North Texas climate. In the Zero Energy Lab at the University of North Texas, Denton, TX, the HVAC system of the building assembles with geothermal heat source. Here, water to water heat pump with radiant floor and water to air heat pump with air ducts provide heating & cooling of the building. In this paper electricity consumption, comfort, cost & efficiency analysis is done for the existing system using Energy Plus simulation software. Calibration of the simulated data of the existing system is done comparing with the actual data. Actual data is measured using 150 sensors that installed in Zero Energy Lab. After the baseline model calibration, simulation for ground source water to water heat pump, evaporative cooler with baseboard electric heater and water cooled electric chiller with baseboard electric heater (as a conventional system) is shown. Simulation results evaluate the life cycle cost (LCC) for these HVAC systems. The results of the comparison analysis among all the three HVAC systems show the most effective HVAC system among these three systems in North Texas weather. The results will make UNT Zero Energy lab a standard model towards a sustainable green future.
Neural Tube Defect, Heart Defect, Oral Cleft and Their Geospatial Associations with Supermarket and Convenience Stores in the City of Dallas, Texas
Birth defects are the leading cause of infant death in the United States. Research has linked poor maternal micronutrient intake to birth defects including neural tube defects, heart defects, and oral clefts. After investigating spatial patterns of these birth defects in the City of Dallas and the neighborhood characteristics within clusters, geospatial access to supermarkets and convenience stores measured by proximity and concentrations are examined as environmental risk factors for nutrition-related birth defects. Spatial clusters of all three nutrition-related birth defects exist in the City of Dallas. Cluster for NTD occurs in vulnerable places with lower income and high minority population specifically Hispanics with no supermarkets. Cluster for heart defects mostly occurs in high income and predominantly white neighborhoods with many supermarkets. Clusters of oral clefts mostly occurs in middle-class income with relatively high minority populations with many convenience stores. For the entire study area, geographical access to supermarkets that include healthy foods are shown to be spatially reachable from most of mothers of infants with nutrition-related birth defects as well as convenience stores that typically include the majority of unhealthy processed foods with very few nutrients. Thus, not only easy geographical access to healthy food vendors but to convenience stores with low quality produces is observed at the same time.
A Study of Power Generation From a Low-cost Hydrokinetic Energy System
The kinetic energy in river streams, tidal currents, or other artificial water channels has been used as a feasible source of renewable power through different conversion systems. Thus, hydrokinetic energy conversion systems are attracting worldwide interest as another form of distributed alternative energy. Because these systems are still in early stages of development, the basic approaches need significant research. The main challenges are not only to have efficient systems, but also to convert energy more economically so that the cost-benefit analysis drives the growth of this alternative energy form. One way to view this analysis is in terms of the energy conversion efficiency per unit cost. This study presents a detailed assessment of a prototype hydrokinetic energy system along with power output costs. This experimental study was performed using commercial low-cost blades of 20 in diameter inside a tank with water flow speed up to 1.3 m/s. The work was divided into two stages: (a) a fixed-pitch blade configuration, using a radial permanent magnet generator (PMG), and (b) the same hydrokinetic turbine, with a variable-pitch blade and an axial-flux PMG. The results indicate that even though the efficiency of a simple blade configuration is not high, the power coefficient is in the range of other, more complicated designs/prototypes. Additionally, the low manufacturing and operation costs of this system offer an option for low-cost distributed power applications.
Female Adolescents and Death: a Qualitative Analysis
The purpose of this research design is to explore the meaning of death for the female adolescent. A qualitative design was used as the method of research. Twelve participants were selected from a snowball sample ten females and two males. Four participants reported witnessing the death of an individual, five reported a moderated death experience in which they were not present but were told after the fact and three reported no significant experience with death. The study indicated relationships and cause of death as among the pre-conditions towards meaning development for the adolescent female. The two main themes derived from the pre-conditions are an understanding of the inevitability of death for themselves and the experience of death as qualia. Consequences to the experience of death include increased emotional tolerance under stress and a perceived increased maturity suggesting resilience in the adolescent female following a loss. Future areas of research are also addressed.
Inside the Third Sector: a Gongo Level Analysis of Chinese Civil Society
This thesis investigates a new variant of the relationship between society and the states: Government-Owned (or Organized) Non-Governmental Organizations (GONGOs). Past research has typically understood civil society as a means to explain the orientation of groups of citizens towards collective outcomes. For decades, NGOs have been a key component of this relationship between political actors but the systematic study of GONGOs has been widely neglected by research. I used an original dataset collected from an NGO directory developed by the China Development Brief (CDB) that provides information on the functional areas of NGOs, their sources of funding and various organizational facts. These data were used to code a series of concepts that will serve as the basis for an initial systematic study into GONGOs and their relationship with the Chinese government. My theoretical expectations are that the primary predictors of an NGO’s autonomy relate to their functional areas of operation, their age and other geographical factors. I find preliminary support for the effect of an NGO’s age on its autonomy from the state, as well as initial support for the dynamic nature of the relationship between NGOs and the state. I close with a discussion of these findings as well as their implications for future research.
Ab Initio and Density Functional Investigation of the Conformer Manifold of Melatonin and a Proposal for a Simple Dft-based Diagnostic for Nondynamical Correlation
In this work we address two problems in computational chemistry relevant to biomolecular modeling. In the first project, we consider the conformer space of melatonin as a a representative example of “real-life” flexible biomolecules. Geometries for all 52 unique conformers are optimized using spin-component scaled MP2, and then relative energies are obtained at the CCSD (T) level near the complete basis set limit. These are then used to validate a variety of DFT methods with and without empirical dispersion corrections, as well as some lower-level ab initio methods. Basis set convergence is found to be relatively slow due to internal C-H…O and C-H…N contacts. Absent dispersion corrections, many DFT functionals will transpose the two lowest conformers. Dispersion corrections resolve the problem for most functionals. Double hybrids yield particularly good performance, as does MP2.5. In the second project, we propose a simple DFT-based diagnostic for nondynamical correlation effects. Aλ= (1-TAE [ΧλC]/TAE[XC])/λ where TAE is the total atomization energy, XC the “pure” DFT exchange-correlation functional, and ΧλC the corresponding hybrid with 100λ% HF-type exchange. The diagnostic is a good predictor for sensitivity of energetics to the level of theory, unlike most of the wavefunction-based diagnostics. For GGA functionals, Aλ values approaching unity indicate severe non-dynamical correlation. The diagnostic is only weakly sensitive to the basis set (beyond polarized double zeta) and can be applied to problems beyond practical reach of wavefunction ab-initio methods required for other diagnostics.
Acculturation and Feminist Endorsement on Control of Health and Health Behaviors in Hispanic Females
Hispanic women are the fastest growing population in the United States. Thus, it is important to explore health disparities that affect this population and better understand potential causes. Several explanations have been proposed for disparities that exist including turning to cultural alternatives rather than conventional medicine, low numbers of health insurance enrollments among Hispanics, and acculturation. However, little attention has been given to explanations that take into account the unique experiences of Hispanic women. The present study explored these experiences through investigation of endorsement of feminist attitudes (e.g., gender role adherence and beliefs that men and women should be treated equally in society) and level of acculturation. Undergraduate Hispanic women (18-24 years of age, M = 20.25, SD = 1.51) at the University of North Texas completed measures including the Multidimensional Health Questionnaire, the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II, and the Liberal Feminist Attitude and Ideology Scale. Although results indicate that acculturation was not significant in the sample, feminist endorsement was found to be positively correlated with health-esteem, health-efficacy, and internal-health locus of control. Limitations and recommended directions for future research are explored.
An Analysis of the Value-altering Effect of Motivating Operations
Motivating operations (MOs) may affect behavior in two ways; A) an MO momentarily alters the frequency of behavior for which a particular consequence has served as reinforcement (evocative-effect) and B) an MO momentarily alters the behavioral effects of the relevant consequence (value-altering effect). Many studies have empirically demonstrated the evocative function of MOs, however, few if any studies have attempted to systematically manipulate and measure the value-altering effect. The focus of this study was to investigate the value-altering effect by measuring choice and response allocation across two alternative tasks. Participants were two female girls diagnosed with autism. During conditioning sessions, experimenters created a history for the children in which clicking on a moving square on a computer monitor produced a small piece of edible. Prior to some conditions, the participants were allowed 5 min of free-access to the edibles, and in other sessions, access to edibles prior to session was restricted. During these sessions, the square was either red or blue depending on the condition type (pre-access or restricted-access). During probe sessions, both colored squares were concurrently available and participants were allowed to allocate their responding to whichever square they chose. One participant preferred the square associated with restricted-access, which may support the notion of the value-altering effect. Difficulties during conditioning sessions interfered with the ability to run sufficient probes with the other participant to evaluate a value-altering effect. Results suggest that the use of these procedures may be useful to differentiate evocative and function-altering effects of MOs.
Wanted: an Exploration of Journalism Skills Acquired Through Student Media Experiences
Collegiate newsrooms serve two functions: to provide news and information to their campuses and to provide hands-on career preparation for student journalists. Student media professionals face having to do the latter in a way that keeps up with changing demands on entry-level employees, influenced by evolving technology and role consolidation within professional media. This study provides perspective from recent graduates with student media experience on the skills they felt most confident in upon graduating, where they gained those skills, and how they feel their student media experiences prepared them for the workplace. Using Everett Rogers’ theory of innovation diffusion to frame the issue, results show that student media professionals must recognize their roles as the change agent in shaping and pushing the opportunities to develop digital skills expected of entry-level journalists.
Minority Stress, Spirituality and Psychological Quality of Life in a Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Sample
Unique factors associated with the experience of spirituality and religiosity for many in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) communities include minority stress. Using structural equation modeling, we examined whether minority stress mediates the relationship between spirituality and psychological quality of life (QOL). Results indicate minority stress mediates the relationship between spirituality and psychological QOL for gay men and bisexuals. However, minority stress is not a significant mediator for lesbians. Therefore, lesbians may experience minority stress and its relationship to psychological QOL differently than gay men and bisexuals due to higher societal acceptance. This study provides support for examining lesbians, gay men and bisexuals separately rather than as one sexual minority group.
3GPP Long Term Evolution LTE Scheduling
Future generation cellular networks are expected to deliver an omnipresent broadband access network for an endlessly increasing number of subscribers. Long term Evolution (LTE) represents a significant milestone towards wireless networks known as 4G cellular networks. A key feature of LTE is the implementation of enhanced Radio Resource Management (RRM) mechanism to improve the system performance. The structure of LTE networks was simplified by diminishing the number of the nodes of the core network. Also, the design of the radio protocol architecture is quite unique. In order to achieve high data rate in LTE, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has selected Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) as an appropriate scheme in terms of downlinks. However, the proper scheme for an uplink is the Single-Carrier Frequency Domain Multiple Access due to the peak-to-average-power-ratio (PAPR) constraint. LTE packet scheduling plays a primary role as part of RRM to improve the system’s data rate as well as supporting various QoS requirements of mobile services. The major function of the LTE packet scheduler is to assign Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) to mobile User Equipment (UE). In our work, we formed a proposed packet scheduler algorithm. The proposed scheduler algorithm acts based on the number of UEs attached to the eNodeB. To evaluate the proposed scheduler algorithm, we assumed two different scenarios based on a number of UEs. When the number of UE is lower than the number of PRBs, the UEs with highest Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) will be assigned PRBs. Otherwise, the scheduler will assign PRBs based on a given proportional fairness metric. The eNodeB’s throughput is increased when the proposed algorithm was implemented.
Multi-year Operation Effect of Geothermal Heat Exchanger on Soil Temperature for Unt Zero Energy Lab
Ground source heat pump (GSHP) uses earth’s heat to heat or cool space. Absorbing heat from earth or rejecting heat to the earth, changes soil’s constant temperature over the multiple years. In this report we have studied about Soil temperature change over multiple years due to Ground loop heat exchanger (GLHE) for Zero Energy Research Laboratory (ZØE) which is located in Discovery Park, University of North Texas, Denton, TX. We did 2D thermal analysis GLHP at particular Depth. For simulation we have used ANSYS workbench for pre-processing and FLUENT ANYS as solver. TAC Vista is software that monitors and controls various systems in ZØE. It also monitors temperature of water inlet/outlet of GLHE. For Monitoring Ground temperatures at various depths we have thermocouples installed till 8ft from earth surface, these temperatures are measured using LabVIEW. From TAC Vista and LabVIEW Reading’s we have studied five parameters in this report using FLUENT ANSYS, they are; (1) Effect of Time on soil Temperature change over Multi-years, (2) Effect of Load on soil temperature change over Multi-years, (3) Effect of Depth on soil temperature change over Multi-years, (4) Effect of Doubling ΔT of inlet and outlet of GLHE on soil temperature change over multi-years and (5) Effect on soil temperature change for same ZØE Laboratory, if it’s in Miami, Florida. For studying effect of time on soil temperature change for multi-years, we have varied heating and cooling seasons. We have four cases they are Case A: GSHP always “ON” (1) 7 months cooling and 5 month cooling and (2) 257 days are cooling and 108 days heating. Case B: GSHP “OFF” for 2 months (1) 7 months cooling and 3 months heating and (2) 6 months cooling and 4 month heating. For Studying Effect of Load on soil temperature change over multi-years, we …
Emerging Ed-tech and Accessibility
Recent developments in the field of education have led to a proliferation of educational technologies (or “ed-tech”), yet access to educational content for students with special needs remains a challenge. This research study aims to assess the current state of accessibility in emerging ed-tech and to identify barriers in enabling educational content to be born accessible. Detailed discussions with various ed-tech platforms revealed less of a need for technical tools, but a more prevailing need for knowledge and education around accessibility – what it means and how best to incorporate accessibility into their platforms. The more experienced teams advocate incorporating accessibility into product development right from the design phase, while the younger teams expressed challenges in navigating accessibility laws and the dire need for easy-to-follow guidelines and best practices. A detailed review of educators' content creation processes reveals multiple dependencies in the ecosystem of ed-tech where partnerships and compatibilities are crucial in enabling accessibility throughout the process. Likewise, an urgent need exists for increasing awareness of accessibility among instructors authoring educational content using emerging ed-tech.
Infinite Hallways: “Parabola Heretica” and Other Journeys
This creative thesis collects five fictional stories, as well as a critical preface entitled “Fractals and the Gestalt: the Hybridization of Genre.” The critical preface discusses genre as a literary element and explores techniques for effective genre hybridization. The stories range from psychological fiction to science fiction and fantasy fiction. Each story also employs elements from other genres as well. These stories collectively explore the concept of the other and themes of connection and ostracization.
In Vitro Cortical Networks for Disease Modeling and Drug Evaluation
In translational research, disease models in preclinical studies are used as media for discovery of drugs or novel therapeutics. Development of in vitro models for various neurological diseases that enable efficient pharmacological or toxicological screening has been ongoing but challenging. Recognizing the potential benefit of in vitro disease models, dysfunctions in the cortical neuronal networks were induced to mimic the functional pathology of neurological symptoms using microelectrode arrays. Two different disease states – tinnitusand excitotoxicity – were investigated and discussed. In this model, pentylenetetrazol-induced increase in spontaneous firing rate and synchrony in the auditory cortical networks was used as correlate of tinnitus. Potential tinnitus treatment drugs from several different classes – including the novel class of potassium channel openers – were screened and quantified. The potentialtherapeutic values of these drugs were also discussed as the basis for drug repurposing. Functional excitotoxicity was induced by cisplatin (a cancer drug that causes neurological sideeffects) and glutamate (the major excitatory neurotransmitter). As proof-of-principle that the model may contribute to expediting the development of therapeutics, cisplatin excitotoxicity wasprevented by the antioxidant D-methionine, while glutamate excitotoxicity was prevented by ceftriaxone (a modulator of a glutamate reuptake transporter). In the latter part of the study, with results linking two of the screened drugs L-carnitine and D-methionine to GABAA receptor activation, it was demonstrated that this model not only served as an efficient drug-screening platform, but can be utilized to functionally investigate the underlying mechanism of drugs. Inaddition, several practical or conceptual directions for future studies to improve on this in vitro disease model are suggested.
Redeeming the Betrayer: Elgar’s Portrayal of Judas in the Apostles
Despite its generally agreed importance, very little has been written about The Apostles. Even among the extant publications that address The Apostles, scholars have focused on its history and development, its reception, or analytical descriptions of its surface themes. The aim of this study will therefore be to provide neither a biography of Elgar, nor an account of the genesis of the work, but to analyze The Apostles in a manner that will achieve a deeper understanding of the oratorio. Chapter 1 explores the complexities that surround Judas and the different ways in which he was perceived throughout history. Then, through my analysis of the surface motives in Chapter 2 and their significance in relation to the large-scale harmonic structure in Chapter 3, I will suggest that Elgar does not denigrate Judas as the betrayer of Christ in The Apostles, but rather depicts him as a tragic yet crucial figure in achieving the redemption of mankind, and through this Judas himself is redeemed.
Phototoxic Effects of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Daphnia Magna
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NP) are one of the most abundantly utilized nanomaterials in the world. Studies have demonstrated the mechanism of acute toxicity in TiO2-NP to be the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to oxidative stress and mortality in exposed organisms. It has also been demonstrated that the anatase crystalline conformation is capable of catalyzing the cleavage of water molecules to further increase the concentration of ROS in the presence of ultraviolet radiation. This photoenhanced toxicity significantly lowers the toxicity threshold of TiO2-NP to environmentally relevant concentrations (ppb). The goal of this study was to determine whether dietary uptake and accumulation of TiO2-NP in the aquatic filter feeder Daphnia magna resulted in photoenhanced toxicity. D. magna and S. caprincornatum were exposed to aqueous solutions of 20ppm and 200ppm TiO2-NP for 24hrs and then transferred to clean moderately hard water. Samples were taken at various time points, dried, and TiO2 quantified using ICP-MS. Toxicity assays were run on D. magna using three TiO2-NP (20ppm, 200ppm) exposure protocols and two ultraviolet radiation treatments. The first exposure group was exposed to aqueous solutions of TiO2-NP for the duration of the test. The second exposure group was exposed to TiO2-NP for an hour and then transferred to clean water. The third exposure group was fed S. capricornatum that had been allowed to adsorb TiO2-NP. All samples were then placed in an outdoor UV exposure system and exposed to either full spectrum sunlight (with UV) or filtered sunlight (no UV). Here we show that TiO2 uptake peaked at one hour of exposure likely due to sedimentation of the particles out of suspension, thus decreasing bioavailability for the duration of the test. Interetsingly, when D. magna were moved to clean water, aqueous concentrations of TiO2 increase as a result of depuration from the gut …
Determination of Molecular Descriptors for Illegal Drugs by Gc-fid Using Abraham Solvation Model
The Abraham solvation parameter model is a good approach for analyzing and predicting biological activities and partitioning coefficients. The general solvation equation has been used to predict the solute property (SP) behavior of drug compounds between biological barriers. Gas chromatography (GC) retention time can be used to predict molecular descriptors, such as E, S, A, B & L for existing and newly developed drug compounds. In this research, six columns of different stationary phases were used to predict the Abraham molecular descriptors more accurately. The six stationary phases used were 5% phenylmethyl polysiloxane, 6% cyanopropylphenyl 94% dimethylpolysiloxane, 5% diphenyl 95% dimethylpolysiloxane, 100% dimethylpolysiloxane, polyethylene glycol and 35% diphenyl 65% dimethylpolysiloxane. Retention times (RT) of 75 compounds have been measured and logarithm of experimental average retention time Ln(RTexp) are calculated. The Abraham solvation model is then applied to predict the process coefficients of these compounds using the literature values of the molecular descriptors (Acree Compilation descriptors). Six correlation equations are built up as a training set for each of the six columns. The six equations are then used to predict the molecular descriptors of the illegal drugs as a test set. This work shows the ability to extract molecular information from a new compound by utilizing commonly used GC columns available with the desired stationary phases. One can simply run the new compound in GC using these columns to get the retention time. Plugging in the retention time into the developed equations for each of the column will predict the molecular descriptors for the test compound and will give some information about the properties of the compound.
Dramatizing Lynching and Labor Protest: Case Studies Examining How Theatre Reflected Minority Unrest in the 1920S and 30S
Theatre is widely unrecognized for the compelling influence it has held in society throughout history. In this thesis, I specifically examine the implications surrounding the social protest theatre of black and Jewish American minority communities in the first half of the twentieth century. I discuss how their historical circumstance, culture, and idiosyncratic natures caused them to choose agitated propaganda theatre as an avenue for protest. I delve into the similarities in circumstance, but their theatre case studies separate the two communities in the end. I present case studies of each community, beginning with anti-lynching plays of the 1920s that were written by black American playwrights both in response to white supremacist propaganda theatre and to assert a dignified representation of the black community. However, their plays and protest movement never developed a larger popular following. My next minority theatre case study is an examination of 1930s Jewish labor drama created in protest of popular anti-Semitic theatre and poor labor conditions. The Jewish community differs from the black community in their case because the racist propaganda was produced by a man who was Jewish. Another difference is that their protest theatre was on the commercial stage by this point because of a rise in a Jewish middle class and improvement of circumstance. Both the Jewish protest theatre and labor reform movements were more successful. My conclusion is a summation of black and Jewish American theatre of the era with a case study of collaboration between the communities in George Gershwin’s operetta about black Americans, Porgy and Bess. I conclude that these two communities eventually departed from circumstance and therefore had differing theatrical, political, and social experiences in America during the 1930s.
Exploring the Impacts of Fashion Blog Type and Message Type on Female Consumer Response Towards the Brand
The current study examines the influences of blog type and blog message type on consumers’ perceptions of brand credibility and brand similarity. Additionally, the study seeks to understand the interaction effects of blog type and message type on brand credibility and brand similarity and on consumer engagement with a blog. The findings reveal that message type, specifically product message, is an important consideration when marketers want to illustrate similarities between the brand and consumers. Additionally, it was found that product messages should be considered when encouraging consumer engagement with a blog. However, blog type did not have an effect on consumer perceptions of brand credibility and similarity or consumer engagement.
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