bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effects of cyanide and chloroform toxicity on methane fermentation
Authors:   , Yang Chia-Hwa Joseph
Published: July 2024

Methane fermentation has proven to be an effective wastewater treatment process. However this process is generally considered to be easily upset by many toxicants which occur occasionally or chronically in industrial wastewaters. This research is an investigation of the response of methane fermentation to toxicity and a direct challenge to the concept that the process cannot tolerate toxicity without process failure. Cyanide and chloroform were selected as sample toxicants for this study. The factors which affect the toxicity of cyanide and chloroform in the methane fermentation process were: type of toxicant, concentration of toxicant, SRT, biomass concentration, toxicant exposure time, cell age, toxicant administration pattern and temperature. The recovery patterns demonstrated that the methanogens could acclimate and recover from cyanide and chloroform concentrations which were heretofore considered lethal. Prolonged periods of no methane production were not indicative of ultimate process failure. With an increasing toxicant concentration pattern, methane fermentation could acclimate to 30 mg/l of cyanide or 15 mg/l of chloroform in CSTR systems. With chloroform toxicity, recovery was faster at the higher SRT levels associated with higher biomass concentrations than for lower SRT levels. The recovery of methane fermentation from cyanide and chloroform toxicity at 35(DEGREES)C was faster than at 25(DEGREES)C. With acclimation, the anaerobic filters could acclimate to 20 and 40 mg/l of cyanide or chloroform at an acetate utilization rate of 3 gm/l-day. One day slug doses of 500 mg/l cyanide and 200 mg/l chloroform were administered to acclimated anaerobic filters of one day hydraulic detention time (HRT). Severe inhibition of methane production resulted the following day, but complete recovery of methane production was observed four to ten days later. The anaerobic filter provides three major advantages over the CSTR when treating wastewaters containing toxicants: (1) higher inherent SRT, (2) higher biomass concentration and (3) a plug flow mode that can pass slug doses of toxicants quickly, resulting in shorter toxicant exposure time to the biomass. These three factors offered positive resistance to toxicity. Cysteine, hydroxylamine, thiosulfate and dithionite all reduced cyanide toxicity to methanogens. Activated carbon only temporarily relieved chloroform toxicity in methane fermentation. After acclimation, the kinetic coefficients for methanogens exposed to cyanide and chloroform were not significantly different from the kinetic coefficients of the controls. The fate of cyanide or chloroform in methane fermentation was mainly due to washout and washout and gas stripping respectively. The recovery of methane fermentation from cyanide or chloroform was mainly by microbial acclimation and was not correlated with any residual "threshold" concentration of cyanide or chloroform which existed in the liquid phase at the time of gas production recovery.
Characterization of PNUDC
Authors:   , Bloomgarden Sharon Lewis , Long Carole A.
Published: July 2024

In recent years, malaria has reemerged as a deadly global disease. No working vaccine against Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria, is available. Furthermore, parasite resistance to currently available drugs is rapidly emerging. A limited knowledge of the intricacies of Plasmodium's cell biology contributes to our inability to develop better chemotherapeutics. Nuclear migration is important in many developmental processes and cell cycle events, In Plasmodium, nuclear migration is paramount to propagation of its complex life cycle, and varies from that in the vertebrate host. At least two distinct times in the life cycle (schizogony and sporogony), nuclei must migrate in an orderly, concerted fashion. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for these processes could lead to new plasmodial drug targets. NudC is a protein essential for nuclear migration in Aspergillus nidulans. Homologs of NudC are reported in Drosophila, mouse, rat, humans, C. elegans, and S. pombe, attesting to its conserved role throughout evolution. All homologs share remarkable sequence homology at the carboxy terminus. Using a combination of PCR techniques and computer homolog alignment searches, P. yoelii nudC (pynudC) and P. falciparum nudC (pfnudC) were identified and sequenced. The genes were characterized via Southern and Northern analyses, and RT-PCR. Computer analysis was conducted on the proteins, including 1° and 2° structure motif searches, and alignments. PynudC expression for complementation, the development of antibodies, and protein-protein interaction studies were conducted. Additionally, Western analysis, immunoprecipitations and immunofluorescence assays were performed on the erythrocytic stages of the parasite. Both pynudC and pfnudC are intronless single-copy genes. They are transcribed during the erythrocytic stages of the life cycle. PfnudC and PynudC proteins are present during the erythrocytic stages, with greatest expression seen during schizogony and in gametocytes. Expression is observed in the cytosol. The proteins are predicted to be hydrophilic, supporting a cytosolic location within the cell. They do not share identifiable motifs to other known protein families. These findings support the hypothesis that PnudC is necessary during nuclear migration in Plasmodium. They should lead to an improved understanding of the intracellular events leading to schizogony and sporogony, and may therefore contribute to novel drug developments.
Seismic Performance of Partially Grouted Reinforced Concrete Masonry Buildings Using 1/3-Scale Units Phase 1
Authors:   , Alpaslan Emre , Hamid Ahmad Ahmad
Published: July 2024

In order to justify the feasibility of small-scale concrete masonry modeling technique for the construction of the 1/3-scale masonry test building, model masonry materials and assemblages performance related to nominal full-scale concrete masonry tests must be clearly established. This will be accomplished by conducting a suite of material tests (block units, mortar, grout, and reinforcing steel), assemblage tests (axial compression prism, bed-joint shear (cross specimens), diagonal tension, and flexural tension), and component tests (out-of-plane and in-plane walls) using both full-scale and reduced scale units. This experimental study is intended to investigate the feasibility of using of 1/3-scale direct modeling techniques of concrete block masonry materials and assemblages under different loading conditions. The methodology and techniques of fabrication 1/3-scale direct models of concrete block masonry components material and masonry assemblages were evaluated. For concrete masonry components material, the strength of block unit, mortar and grout and the stress-strain and ductility characteristics of reinforcement were examined. The behavior of ungrouted and grouted 1/3-scale assemblages were investigated by conducting axial compression, bed-joint shear, diagonal tension and modulus of rupture tests. Direct correlation between the model and prototype test results was performed. Good correlation of failure modes, strength and deformation characteristics was achieved. The experimental results demonstrated that direct modeling techniques applied to the investigation of behavior characteristics of masonry materials and assemblages is effective in understanding the overall behavior of full-scale concrete block masonry.
The role of somatosensory feedback in the visual recognition of emotion
Authors:   , Loughead James Woodworth , Chute Douglas L.
Published: July 2024

The somatic feedback hypothesis predicts autonomic nervous system reactivity and facial sensory involvement in the visual recognition of emotion in faces. Photographs of actors' faces showing mild and extreme intensity expressions labeled "happy," "anger," "fear," "sad," and "neutral" were presented for two types of judgments by healthy controls. Participants were asked to identify the displayed emotion and to discern the age of each face. Skin conductance level (SCR) and heart rate (HR) were measured during both tasks. EMG activity at the left brow ( m. corrugator supercillii), left periocular (m. orbicularis oculi), and left cheek (m. zygomaticus) muscle regions was collected. Results indicated significantly greater SCR activity and slower heart rate for the emotion identification task compared to the age discrimination task. The EMG data showed significantly greater activity during emotion identification for the periocular and cheek region compared to age discrimination. No significant difference was observed at the brow region. Results are discussed in the context of somatosensory feedback model of emotion recognition.
Cognitive and psychological sequelae of pediatric bone marrow transplantation
Authors:   , Golomb Valerie Anne
Published: July 2024

Previous studies suggest that children who undergo bone marrow transplantation may be at risk for intellectual decline, anxiety and/or depression. This study examined the cognitive and psychological sequelae of pediatric bone marrow transplantation (BMT). One hundred and four children with malignant or non-malignant disorders and no previous cranial radiation therapy participated. Survivors were evaluated at four points in time: pre-BMT, one year post, two years post and two and a half to six years post BMT. Sample sizes at each point in time varied from 24 to 35. Cognitive sequelae were assessed using standard IQ tests and parent report of cognitive abilities. Psychological sequelae were assessed using the parent and child report forms of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. The following medical and psychosocial factors were explored as possible contributors to cognitive and/or psychological sequelae: type of pre-transplant conditioning (total body irradiation plus chemotherapy or chemotherapy only), degree of school absence, length of hospitalization, degree of functional impairment and age at BMT. Results indicated no significant change in IQ over time regardless of pre-transplant conditioning. Parents reported significant sequelae in one area, Academic Skills. Regression analysis suggested that degree of school absence was the only significant contributing factor to academic skills deficits. Group means of parent and child report of psychological functioning fell within the normal range. This preliminary study suggests that pediatric bone marrow transplant survivors could benefit from more extensive academic intervention prior to and during school re-entry.
Nutrition and mental health
Authors:   , Frenkil Jean Ellen
Published: July 2024

Consideration of the behavioral effects of nutritional status is explored from a biochemical perspective. The biochemical basis of behavior is presented with implications for nutritional impact on the process of neurotransmitter synthesis. Nutritional effects on behavior are discussed as functions of dietary insufficiency, dietary excess, faulty metabolism, dietary imbalance, and food allergy. The interaction effects of diet and psychology are emphasized. Guidelines are presented for clinicians who wish to incorporate nutritional awareness into the treatment of psychological symptoms.
The role of problem solving and level of disability in predicting caregiver distress following stroke
Authors:   , Shanmugham Kalpana
Published: July 2024

In society today, strokes occur regardless of age. It is becoming commonplace for adults of all ages to experience cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) secondary to stressful, unhealthy lifestyles or preexisting medical condition(s). Impairments resulting from stroke can vary in severity and are often inclusive of but not limited to language difficulty, decreased or loss of motor function (contralateral to the CVA), and/or changes in baseline cognitive functioning. More specific cognitive deficits affect memory, attention and other complex cognitive processes. These cognitive impairments can often result in a disruption of the patient's ability to continue with their occupation and daily activities, including personal hygiene. Hence, the patient may lose their occupational status in addition to requiring assistance with activities of daily living. With the sparsity of financial resources available to subsidize long-term care, family members or significant others become caregivers for these patients on top of their daily pre-existing responsibilities. As a result, caregivers often report a great deal of psychological distress, in particular, depression and anxiety. Past literature supports the idea that the psychological wellness of the caregiver is vital to the care and well being of the stroke patient. The current study examined the relationship of caregiver problem solving skills, care recipient disability, and caregiver distress. Primary analyses revealed that problem solving ability is predictive of negative affect. Furthermore, problem solving ability was also found to be a moderator between disability and caregiver depression. The results of secondary analyses isolated positive and negative problem orientation as well as avoidant problem solving style as highly predictive of caregiver distress. Highly significant interaction effects were also identified between these same problem solving components and the level of the care recipient's disability in predicting distress. The results of the current research suggest that caregivers who may be at risk for high levels of distress can be identified by their problem solving styles. Early identification of these "at risk" individuals may allow for the provision of interventions that may ease their caregiving distress and thus result in better psychological health.
Generation of broadband noise by turbulence in centrifugal fans
Authors:   , Vadari Viswanathan R. , Ruff Gary A.
Published: July 2024

An experimental investigation has been conducted to improve the understanding of aerodynamic sources of noise in forward curved squirrel cage centrifugal fans. Experiments were performed on a thirty-two blade ventilating fan running in air and discharging through an anechoically terminated discharge duct. Identification of noise sources at the inlet of the centrifugal fan was made by measuring the mean and fluctuating velocities at 140 locations inside the impeller, the radiated noise, and static pressure distribution around the scroll of the fan. Results from the mean and fluctuating axial and radial velocities inside the fan inlet indicated a strong separation region near the inlet. The total axial flow entering the impeller was found to pass only through the inner-most 60% of the impeller. Furthermore, the axial extent of this flow separation region was found to be a strong function of circumferential position around the inlet. The highest velocity fluctuations were recorded near the cutoff (45 degs from the top measured clockwise) and at a region 180 degs from the top. The velocity spectra, at locations near the inlet of the impeller, clearly show a highly flattened white noise type spectrum in the frequency range 0-2000 Hz, indicating a high level of broadband energy in the separation region nearest to the inlet of the impeller. Coherence functions between the two fluctuating velocity components obtained at different locations indicate that they are partially correlated with one another. Coherency between the velocity fluctuations and the measured far-field noise were found to be uniformly low over the entire frequency range (0-2000 Hz) at all the locations inside the impeller. A novel Annular Inlet Guide (AIG) was designed, fabricated and successfully tested to reduce the size and strength of the separation region that has been observed near the inlet end of the impeller. The presence of the AIG made the flow more uniform in the exhaust duct, indicating that that flow in that scroll was redistributed more evenly across the width of the impeller. With the AIG installed, a 6 dB reduction in the first harmonic of the blade passing frequency and a 10 dB reduction in the second harmonic of the BPF was achieved. An overall reduction or 3 dB in the frequency range 0-2000 Hz was also measured. The reduction of noise by the redistribution of the flow occurs by two mechanisms: (a) the maximum velocities over the cutoff are lower, thereby lowering the sound pressure levels at the BPF and its harmonics, and (b) the size and strength of the separation region in the impeller is reduced which reduces the generation of broadband noise. The aerodynamic performance of the fan was not degraded by the presence of the AIG in the fan inlet. The benefits to fan performance because of redistribution of the flow was offset by losses induced by the presence of the AIG. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
Obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment outcome
Authors:   , Harap Stephen Todd
Published: July 2024

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a serious anxiety disorder that affects 2-3% of the American population at some point in their lifetime. Recent attention has focused on examining the comorbidity of OCD with personality disorders. Numerous studies have indicated that personality disorders are common in samples of anxiety disordered patients; in fact, approximately 50% of all anxiety disordered patients meet criteria for at least one personality disorder. Given the high comorbidity of OCD and personality disorders, it is important to examine how this relationship affects treatment outcome for OCD. The majority of studies have concluded that patients diagnosed with a personality disorder do not improve as much in treatment as those patients who do not carry a personality disorder diagnosis. An abundance of evidence has demonstrated that behavior therapy, primarily exposure with response prevention, is the treatment of choice for patients with OCD. Given this information, along with the knowledge that personality disorders may negatively affect treatment outcome in OCD patients, it is crucial to investigate the effects that personality disorders may have on behavioral treatments for OCD. The present study was designed to examine the effects of prospectively diagnosed personality disorders on treatment outcome in a sample of people seeking behavioral treatment for OCD. The patients were divided into three groups based on their personality disorder status: no personality disorders, one personality disorder, and more than one personality disorder. It was hypothesized that patients with comorbid personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder would show less improvement from behavioral treatment than would patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder only. It was also hypothesized that patients with a personality disorder diagnosis would show more severe OCD symptoms on the Y-BOCS at pretreatment. An additional hypothesis was that the more severe the patient's personality functioning, the less effective treatment would be. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
Mapping the intellectual geography of biblical studies
Authors:   , Scrimgeour Andrew David
Published: July 2024

This study explores whether or not cocitation analysis is an effective tool for mapping the formal intellectual structure of biblical studies. While there is general consensus among biblical scholars on how the field is organized, there is considerable debate about the actual relationship between various competing methodologies. This study seeks to learn to what degree there is congruence between the structure that bibliometric analysis yields and the published self-analyses of the discipline. Cocitation data were collected and analyzed using four units of analysis-authors, journals, monographs, and terms. The sources of the data were two databases: Arts & Humanities Search (the on-line version of Arts & Humanities Citation Index) on Dialog and ATLA Religion Database on CD-ROM. Two multivariate analyses were used to create two-dimensional maps-cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. An additional multivariate technique, factor analysis, was used to determine additional structure. This research extends cocitation research from the sciences and social sciences to the humanities, where only a few studies have been undertaken. It also marks one of the first times that multiple units of analysis have been studied in the same academic discipline, discloses to what extent such multiple measures reveal a more richly textured subject terrain than is in the published self-portrayals of biblical scholars, and determines the distinctive contribution of each set of cooccurrance data. This extensive domain analysis also expands cooccurance studies beyond single language databases, which are primarily English in the sciences, to the multiple language databases which characterize scholarship in the humanities.
Virus-specific cytotoxic effector cell function and the genetic regulation of cytokine production during E-55+ murine leukemia virus infection
Authors:   , Little Christopher Scott , Blank Kenneth J
Published: July 2024

Infection of inbred mice with E-55+ MuLV results in an acute viremia with infected cells in the spleen. Following this acute phase, an asymptomatic persistent E-55+ MuLV infection is established. Mice susceptible to E-55+ MuLV-induced disease, progressors (P), develop a leukemia/lymphoma following the persistent phase of infection. Mice that are resistant to progression, non-progressors (NP), maintain an asymptomatic infection. The P and NP strains differ in their T-cell requirement in order to establish an asymptomatic infection and P strains lack anti-virus T-cell responses capable of preventing the re-emergence of E-55+ MuLV-infected cells. The role of E55+ MuLV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and their function as well as the genetic regulation of IL-4 (which affects T-cell function) was investigated. It was determined that P, BALB/c-H-2b (BALB. B), mice display only a transient E-55+ MuLV-specific cytotoxic effector response, whereas NP, C57BL/6 (H-2b), mice display E-55+ MuLV-specific cytotoxic effector function during both acute and persistent infecton. Two of five perforin deficient C57BL/6 mice were unable to maintain an asymptomatic persistent E-55+ MuLV infection after one year, suggesting that CTL function is important in the maintenance of an asymptomatic persistent E-55+ MuLV infection. The lack of detectable E-55+ MuLV-specific CTLs in persistently infected BALB. B (P) mice can be restored by co-culture with "helper" cells. The "helper" population requires the presence of CD3+ cells in order to restore anti-virus effector function. Thus, a reversible loss of E-55+ MuLV-specific cytotoxic effector function may be responsible for the inability of the P to prevent E-55+ MuLV replication in vivo during persistent infection. Cytokine profiles of P and NP splenocytes differ during the acute phase of E-55+ MuLV infection. The stimulation of splenocytes results in the production of type 0 cytokines (IL-4 and IFN-[gamma]) in BALB (P) strains and type 1 cytokines (IFN-[gamma] and no IL-4) in C57BL (NP) strains. The production of IL-4 is a recessive phenotype, and analysis of backcross mice estimates that it is controlled by two loci. In addition, linkage analysis of CXB recombinant inbred strains displays linkage with markers on chromosomes 3, D3Mit51 , and 11, D11Mit338. Candidate loci include il-12a and cd-7.
Underlying predictors of clinicians' judgements of juveniles' amenability to treatment
Authors:   , Keeney Michelle Marie , Bersoff Donald N
Published: July 2024

The present study investigated variables clinicians consider most important when assessing a juvenile's amenability to treatment, and whether manipulating levels of these variables significantly affect such judgments. In Phase One, a survey was conducted of the American Academy of Forensic Psychologists (n = 147) and individuals who have published in the area of treatment amenability (n = 27). Respondents rated the importance of 18 variables with regard to assessing a juvenile's amenability to treatment. Respondents also rank-ordered the 18 variables from the most to the least important to consider when rendering such judgments. Fifty individuals (44 men and 6 women, mean age = 53.42) returned completed forms. Five variables were identified as the most important: response to treatment within the juvenile system, number of arrests, characteristics of the family, age at onset of aggressive and/or disruptive behavior and response to treatment outside the juvenile system. Phase Two examined whether manipulating the level of these five variables would affect clinicians' judgments of amenability to treatment. Amenability to treatment was measured by five dependent variables: general assessment of amenability; likelihood of recidivism; risk to public safety; compliance with treatment; and success of treatment. A survey was conducted of a random sample of the American Psychological Association (N = 1000). Respondents rated a juvenile's amenability to treatment based upon information regarding a hypothetical juvenile. Two hundred and seventy-five individuals (189 men and 86 women, mean age = 52.05) returned completed surveys. Five Multivariate Analyses of Variance were conducted. Results found that manipulating levels of four of the variables resulted in a significant change (p < .001) in clinicians' judgments of a juvenile's amenability to treatment. These variables included response to treatment within the juvenile system, number of arrests, characteristics of the family and response to treatment outside the juvenile system. Univariate tests found that for each of these four variables, the levels of the variables significantly differed on all of the dependent measures (p < .01). The results serve as a preliminary research step in this area by identifying variables considered most important in assessing a juvenile's amenability to treatment, and demonstrating that manipulations of these variables significantly affect such judgments.
Designing Public Library Websites for Teens
Authors:   , Naughton Robin Amanda , Agosto Denise E.
Published: July 2024

The main goal of this research study was to develop a conceptual model for the design of public library websites for teens (TLWs) that would enable designers and librarians to create library websites that better suit teens' information needs and practices. It bridges a gap in the research literature between user interface design in human-computer interaction (HCI), and library website design studies in library and information science. Compared to studies of children and adults, there are few studies of teens' use of library websites. While the HCI literature provides an abundance of information regarding user interface design, there is limited data on the teen population and their design needs. As a result, current designs of TLWs appear as varied combinations of websites for children and adults with no consistent conceptual model being used to represent the needs and user design preferences of teen users. This study was divided into two parts. In Part I, users' mental models were extracted individually through drawings and semi-structured interviews from 30 teen participants (13-15 years old) recruited from three public libraries in New Jersey. In Part II, a web analysis was performed on 60 U.S. public library TLWs stratified based on the same library population service area of the three libraries in Part I. Both parts combined to develop a conceptual model that will enable designers and librarians to create user interface designs that respond to the needs of teens. The findings revealed five teens' mental models (Single Functional, Process, Social Connection, Portal, Information Discovery) and of those five only two (Portal and Information Discovery) were also identified in the website models. The websites also included two additional models (Reading and Media-oriented). This suggests that the future design of TLWs can benefit from teens' mental models and an understanding of how those mental models are reflected in current TLWs and across the web. Designers of TLWs can benefit from understanding a mapping of teens' mental models to website models and how best to respond to teens' expectations when interacting with TLWs.
Detection of Changes on and below the Surface in Epithelium Mucosal Tissue Structure using Scattered Light
Authors:   , Taslidere Ezgi , Cohen Fernand S
Published: July 2024

The aim of this work is to answer the question of whether it is possible to detect changes on and below the surface in epithelium tissue structure using light reflected from the tissue over an area (2-D scan) illuminated by an optical sensor (fiber) emitting light at either one wavelength or with white light. Towards that end we model the 2-D reflected scans using a Stochastic Decomposition Method (SDM). The emphasis in this work is on the novelty of the proposed model and its theoretical pinning and foundation. The model is biologically motivated by the stochastic textural nature of the tissue. We model the textural content (which relates to tissue morphology) that manifests itself in the 2-D scans. Unlike previous works that analyze the scattered signal at one spot at various wavelengths, our method statistically analyzes 2-D scans of light scattering data over an area, and extracts from the data features (SDM parameters) that change with changes in the tissue morphology. The examination of an area rather than a spot not only leads to a more reliable calculation of the extracted parameters using single techniques (e.g. nuclear size distribution), but it also leads to the computation of additional information embedded in the spatial texture that our decomposition technique arrives at by modeling the hidden correlations that are obtained only by interrogating a wide sample area. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at modeling the scattered light over an area using a stochastic decomposition model that allows for the assessment of correlation and textural characteristics that otherwise could not be revealed when the analysis of the scattering signal is a function of wavelength or angle. We also come up with a segmentation technique to raise a flag on the fly when a transition occurs between different mucosal architectures on the surface. The segmentation is based on a novel difference metric for detecting an abrupt change in the parameters extracted from SDM. This has a great potential to enhance the endoscopist's ability to locate and identify abnormal mucosal architectures and help the endoscopist's decision making for when and where to take biopsies. Finally, this work presents a meaningful comparison between existing point spectroscopy methods and our method on tissue phantom data as well as in vitro biological tissues and shows scenarios where the two methods are complimentary and other scenarios where our method will be able to detect changes in tissue morphology whereas point spectroscopy will not. The method is tested on simulation, tissue phantom data and animal tissue data collected from rat and rabbit colons in-vitro and shows great promise.
Regulation of gene expression, protein phosphorylation and axonal transport of microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP1B) in developing and regenerating DRG neurons
Authors:   , Ma Dongling , Shea Thomas B
Published: July 2024

MAP1B is a major cytoskeletal protein in growing axons and is highly regulated during brain development. The phosphorylated isoform, MAP1B-P, is preferentially localized in axons and concentrated in the distal end of growing axons. We have analyzed the expression of MAP1B and its mRNA by Western blots and RNase Protection Assay and demonstrated that the levels of both the protein and mRNA remained relatively high at all stages of development including adult DRG. We found that following axotomy of the sciatic nerve, there was a small decrease in levels of MAP1B and its mRNA; however, the appearance of regenerating axons in the distal stump was concurrent with an intense expression of MAP1B in the growing axons indicating that MAP1B plays a role in nerve regeneration. In contrast, the levels of MAP1B-P decreased dramatically in the distal stump and were not present in the regenerating axons. These results indicate that MAP1B-P may not be essential for axonal growth during nerve regeneration, underscoring the differences between axonal growth in development and regeneration. Further analysis demonstrated that the expression of MAP1B was also induced in activated Schwann cells following nerve lesion, suggesting that MAP1B may be necessary for the morphological changes associated with the formation of processes prior to their differentiation into myelin-forming cells. The expression of MAP1B was confirmed in cultured Schwann cells, but these cells express only a restricted population of phosphorylated MAP1B isoforms. Kinetic analysis of MAP1B transport in axons was carried out by injection of radiolabeled amino acids into DRG followed by autoradiography of the sciatic nerve. This analysis showed that two radiolabeled MAP1B isoforms (band 1 and band 2) were transported at different rates. Band 1 moved as a coherent wave at a velocity of 7-9 mm/day, distinct from slow components SCa (1.5 mm/day) and SCb (4 mm/day). In contrast, the transport profile of band 2 was complex and contained components moving with both SCa and SCb. The relative fast transport of the band 1 MAP1B defines a unique component that we termed SCc and may account for the concentration of MAP1B in the distal end of growing axons.
Differentiating memory lateralization in temporal lobectomy patients
Authors:   , Schiehser Dawn M. , Williams Joseph M
Published: July 2024

According to the material-specific hypothesis, the memory functions of the right and left medial temporal lobe (MTL) differ by types of material; the left MTL processes verbal information and the right MTL processes visual-spatial information. The familiarity-novelty hypothesis postulates that the familiarity of the material determines memory lateralization, such that the left MTL processes familiar information and the right MTL processes unfamiliar information. This study attempted to elucidate the lateralization of memory functions by testing recognition memory in 15 right and 13 left post-anterior temporal lobectomy patients and 15 normal controls using a completely crossed design of stimuli type: Unfamiliar faces, familiar/unnameable faces, real words, and pseudowords. Application of the material-specific hypothesis results in a prediction that right temporal lobectomy patients (RTL) will perform significantly worse than left anterior temporal lobectomy (LTL) patients on tasks of nonverbal face memory and the LTL patients will perform worse than the RTL on tasks of word memory. If the familiarity hypothesis is correct then RTL patients will perform worse than LTL patients on tasks of familiar stimuli memory and LTL patients will perform worse than RTL patients on tasks of unfamiliar stimuli memory. Consistent with the material-specific hypothesis, the RTL group performed worse on face memory tests and there was a trend disadvantage of the LTL group to perform worse on the word memory tests. When the variances of word knowledge and perceptual ability were controlled, these results became insignificant.
Invariant curve/surface alignment in the presence of affine and some nonlinear transformations with application in image registrations
Authors:   , Pintavirooj Chuchart , Cohen Fernand S
Published: July 2024

This thesis focuses on the development of a new nonlinear registration technique for biomedical image. We introduce a non-iterative geometric-based method to align both 2D sectional contours and 3D surfaces into standard coordinate system (SCS), which is based on a novel set of curve/surface landmarks, which are intrinsic and are computed from the differential geometry of the curve/surface. This is in contrast to existing methods that depend on anatomical landmarks that require expert intervention to locate-a very hard task. The landmarks are local, and are preserved under affine transformations. To reduce the sensitivity of the landmarks to noise, we use a B-Spline surface representation that smoothed out the surface prior to the computation of the landmarks. The alignment is achieved by establishing correspondences between the landmarks after a conformal sorting based on derived absolute invariant (volumes/areas confined between parallelogram/parallelepipeds spanned by sets of the landmark point triplets/quadruplets). The method is tested for intra- and inter-subject alignments while entertaining cubic nonlinear transformations. The intra-subject 2D-to-2D registration was performed on MRI of human liver. The inter-subject (animal) 3D-to-3D alignment was tested on rat brain data. The experiments have shown that the purposed methods are robust and promising even in the presence of noise.
The response of anaerobic metabolism of propionate to process configuration and 1,2-carbon chlorinated aliphatic compounds
Authors:   , Rhee Eonwu , Speece Richard E.
Published: July 2024

The free energy change for conversion of propionate to acetate and hydrogen is positive under standard conditions. The hydrogen partial pressure, therefore, must be maintained at an extremely low level to enable favorable thermodynamic conditions for continuous and efficient propionate conversion. The sufficiently low hydrogen levels can be achieved by increasing the biological hydrogen removal capacity and/or the physical hydrogen removal capacity. For the increase in the biological hydrogen removal capacity, hydrogen-producing and hydrogen-consuming species are required to be in close proximity to each other. On the other hand, for the increase in the physical hydrogen removal capacity, a gas phase washout system is required to accompany the removal of hydrogen from the reactor. The proximity between two species was facilitated by processes in which granular sludge develop. The gas phase washout was facilitated by two-staged systems connected in series. Therefore, this study focused on the examination of individual and synergistic effects of the two factors through different process configurations. The proximity effect by granular sludge systems, the gas phase washout effects by two-staged systems, and the synergistic effects by granular sludge/two-staged systems showed 40-50%, 10-40%, and 98-810% increase in process efficiency compared to non-granular sludge systems and non-staged systems, respectively. Anaerobic studies with halogenated aliphatic compounds (HAC's) have shown that many of these compounds are biodegradable. The conversion of propionate to methane requires the combined activity of three bacterial groups. These three groups have different inhibition tolerance and different biodegradation potential for the HAC's. In this study, the inhibition effect, the fate, and the biodegradation potential of five HAC's (methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and trichloroethylene) were addressed in three enrichment cultures (H₂/CO₂, acetate, and propionate). In all cases of the five selected HAC's, H₂/CO₂, utilizing bacteria were the most affected group and showed the lowest biodegradation potential. The biodegradation mechanism was much greater than the volatilization mechanism in all the cultures for removal of the HAC's. The removals of HAC's by convection, abiotic degradation, and cell adsorption were negligibly small.
Investigation of the psychopathology of purging bulimia and binge eating disorder
Authors:   , Nelsen Lori Ann
Published: July 2024

The new addition of nonpurging bulimia to the DSM-IV created a significant controversy among eating disorder experts. Many argued that nonpurging bulimia was in fact a subtype of bulimia while others argued that it was more commensurate with binge eating disorder. Recent research that has compared individuals with purging bulimia to individuals with nonpurging binge eating disorders (binge eating disorder and nonpurging bulimia) has found evidence that individuals who binge and purge may exhibit separate, distinct etiologies and high levels of related psychopathology. Nineteen individuals diagnosed with purging bulimia and 16 individuals diagnosed with binge eating disorder were compared on a variety of psychosocial measures including the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV -II (SCID II-version 2.0), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales-3rd revision, the I-7 and a variety of dieting and weight related variables. Significant differences were found between subjects with bulimia and subjects diagnosed with binge eating disorder on the eating concern and restraint subscales of the EDE. No other significant differences were found however, medium effect sizes were noted for weight and shape concern, depression, impulsivity and adaptability thus suggesting that with larger samples significant differences may be found. Implications of these findings as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Loss of stability in complex electromechanical systems
Authors:   , Pasrija Arun Kumar
Published: July 2024

This thesis concerns the stability analysis of a class of dynamical systems modeled by a second order vector non-linear equation. There are two aspects of the stability problem for such systems. One, the system must be stable at a nominal set of design parameters, for which the linearized equations are studied. Secondly, it is important to understand the qualitative dynamics of the system as the parameters vary with time and circumstances. In this thesis we give a complete local stability analysis of dynamical systems with circulatory forces, modeled by a second order linear equations, using energy-like Lyapunov functions. The results are tailored for the electric power system model in which the circulatory forces arise if the transmission line resistance is included in the model, the so-called "model with transfer conductances". Further, based on the theory of generic bifurcations, a complete local characterization of the qualitative behaviour of the dynamical system, near an equilibrium point is presented. The theory is applied to classify the ways in which an electric power system can be expected to lose steady-state stability. It is also shown that both steady state stability and voltage collapse can be viewed in terms of a common mathematical structure which predicts a much richer set of mechanisms of power system static instability than previously recognized.
Coping style and locus of control
Authors:   , Habboushe Dina F. , Graham Julie Landel
Published: July 2024

The present study seeks to understand patterns of adherence to daily self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) over time in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). As these women and their infants are at high-risk for complications, adherence to various components of the treatment regimen is crucial. Additionally, the complexity of, and rapid lifestyle adjustments required to follow this regimen may contribute to difficulties in adherence in this population. SMBG is an important aspect of this regimen, in that it provides information about maternal glycemic control, which aids in treatment decision-making particularly in terms of insulin recommendations. Thus, it is pertinent to identify those at risk for non-adherence to SMBG over time. The aim of the proposed study was to examine these patterns of adherence to SMBG from diagnosis of GDM to delivery of the infant. It was hypothesized that women would be classified into groups based on identified adherence patterns. Then, these groupings would be characterized in terms of medical history variables, including previous GDM diagnosis, insulin treatment, and length of diagnosis, as well as a model of problem-focused coping style and internal health locus of control. It was found that these subjects' adherence behaviors were variable across subjects and time. These women were able to be classified into different groups based on their fasting, post-prandial, and complete daily adherence patterns. The medical history variables, problem-focused coping, and internal locus of control were not found to be predictive of these groups. However, the initial two weeks of adherence was found to be predictive of the adherence trajectory. The results from this study may contribute to the understanding of adherence patterns across time in this high-risk pregnant population. In addition, these findings may help to identify women who are at risk for certain patterns of non-adherence in order to most effectively target intervention efforts aimed at increasing adherence rates. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
FMRI of the cervical spinal cord
Authors:   , Madi Saaussan , Nissanov Jonathan
Published: July 2024

Extension of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) beyond its current application in brain studies to imaging of the spinal cord is of great potential value in both basic research and clinical applications. Currently, the choices available for non-invasive clinical study of the human spinal cord are limited and none support the study of its functions. We report on the first successful study which elicits the BOLD (blood oxygenation level dependant) signal within the human cervical spinal cord using gradient echo EPI (echo planar imaging) and 1.5 Tesla echo speed clinical scanner. When subjects performed three different motor tasks, three spatially distinct regions of activity were identified in the spinal cord each motor task. Moreover, there was linear relationship between the amount of applied force and the strength of the BOLD signal.
Decision making for service delivery in schools
Authors:   , Kaminker Marcia Kahn , Chiarello Lisa A
Published: July 2024

A nationwide survey explored decision making among 626 school-based physical therapists. Through four clinical cases, the study sought recommendations regarding the models, contexts, frequency, and intensity of service delivery, and the factors that influenced these decisions. The cases described two preschool girls with developmental delay (one with and one without cognitive impairment) and a boy with cerebral palsy (at 6 and 12 years of age). Individual direct service was recommended by 52-55% of respondents for the two 4-year-olds and the 12-year-old; however, 92% recommended it for the 6-year-old. Consultation, defined as once per month, was suggested by 5-12% of participants for the three younger children and by 33% for the 12-year-old. The most prevalent choice (48-73%) for the context of service delivery was a combination of integrated and isolated contexts. The students' functional levels were considered very to extremely important for decision making by the highest percentage of respondents (88-91%).
Legislative exclusion statutes and psychopathy
Authors:   , Dodds Lawrence D.
Published: July 2024

This study compared the marginal utility of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) and a legislative exclusion-juvenile transfer statute in predicting subsequent violent crimes committed by juvenile offenders. Social and emotional files maintained on 117 juvenile offenders (age 15-18) arrested in 1994 were examined to complete file review scores on the PCL:YV and to assess the impact of the 1996 juvenile transfer statute on the 1994 charges for each juvenile offender. Follow-up data for the years 1994-1997 were available to record subsequent contacts with the criminal justice system. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that the strongest predictor of subsequent contact with the criminal justice system was the number of prior contacts with the juvenile justice system. Although neither the PCL:YV nor the legislative exclusion-juvenile transfer statute contributed to the prediction model, results suggested that the PCL:YV scores possessed greater predictive utility under defined circumstances. Additional analyses revealed that the PCL:YV is a reliable instrument when a file review only procedure is used. Further analyses indicated that the legislative exclusion-juvenile transfer statute identified juveniles arrested with a deadly weapon and failed to identify juveniles with a history of violent offenses.