cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Lesbian identity management in workplace contexts: don’t ask, don’t tell in mainstream organizations
Creators: name: Schmidt, Kathryn J.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: This project uses interviews with twenty lesbian workers in the late 1990s to analyze their understandings of the meaning of lesbian identity in their lives and their strategies for managing lesbian identity at work. Using identity management models focusing on methods of identity management (Dunne 1997; Griffin 1996) and on links between mainstream organizational contexts and identity management strategies (Lindsay et al 2006; Ward and Winstanley 2003), I link the symbolic interactionist tradition to individual workers’ strategies and to the larger political context in which the very meanings of lesbian identity are negotiated. The main contributions of this project include deeper understanding of workers’ strategies for dealing with stigmatized identities, especially those that may not be visible to others. I describe how workers understand the meanings of the identities they are managing, instead of exploring how workers manage an identity that is defined as stigmatized. I found people who defined their identity as a visual marker, those who perceive being lesbian as simply another facet of their identity to be integrated or compartmentalized from their work lives, and those who define lesbian as a political category. The meaning of lesbian identity to these workers and to those with whom they interact profoundly affects their identity management strategies. The study also demonstrates that many identity management strategies desexualize disclosures through mentioning daily activities or specific partners rather than sexual identity. My study thus offers examples of workers’ struggles over how sexuality will be enacted and spoken in workplaces. Previous studies argue that workers’ disclosures are shaped by formal organizational protections, desire to gain domestic partner benefits, and efforts to be integrated people at work (Dunne 1997; Griffin 1998; McDermott 2006; Raeburn 2000; Rasi and Rodriguez-Nogues 1995; Ward and Winstanley 2005). The study contributes to an understanding of how workers used formal non-discrimination policies primarily as signals of welcoming cultures rather than for the benefits the policies provided. Overall, the study contributes to the workplace identity management literature by showing how people manage a stigmatized identity during a time of rapid social change in the meanings of that identity.
Nonlinear regimes of the electron cyclotron drift instability in Vlasov simulations
Creators: name: Tavassoli, Arash
name: Smolyakov, Andrei
name: Shoucri, Magdi
name: Spiteri, Raymond J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
subject: Numerical Analysis (math.NA)
subject: Computational Physics (physics.comp-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We report on a novel investigation of the nonlinear regime of the electron cyclotron drift instability, using a grid-based Vlasov simulation. It is shown that the instability occurs as a series of cyclotron resonances with the electron beam mode due to the $E\times B$ drift. In the nonlinear regime, we observe condensation of fluctuations energy toward the lowest resonance mode and below, i.e., an inverse energy cascade. It is shown that the characteristics of the nonlinear saturation state remain far from the ion-sound regime.
Grapheme-to-Phoneme Mapping in L2 and L3: Lexical and Sublexical Processing in Reading Aloud
Creators: name: Andino, Emily
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: In this study of non-native reading aloud, subjects with L1 English, L2 Spanish, and L3 Brazilian Portuguese were asked to read words that are spelled identically in their L2 and L3 but are pronounced differently. Each of these “homographic heterophones” was primed in either the L2 or the L3, and its subsequent pronunciation was assessed for context appropriateness. Participants were found to produce many more context-inappropriate pronunciations in L3 context than in L2 context, supporting the Foreign- Language Effect hypothesis (Meisel, 1983; Hammarberg, 2001); priming was not found to have a significant effect on pronunciation. The observation of mixed pronunciations, or single words produced partially with L2 and partially with L3 phonology, is incorporated into the development of a model of reading in non-native languages that allows for whole lexical representations to be broken into sublexical units when reading aloud, contrary to Coltheart (1993).
Designing New Maximum Common Subgraph Solvers: Heuristics, Multi-Threading and Graph Neural Networks
Creators: name: Porro, Marco
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2023

description: The Maximum Common Subgraph (MCS) is a complex theoretical computer science problem, generalization of the Subgraph Isomorphism problem, finding applications in diverse domains such as chemistry, biology, medicine, and network management. This research focuses on improving the performance of the McSplit algorithm, a popular recursive Branch-and-Bound MCS solver. The objective of this project is to develop a tool that efficiently identifies the largest subgraph within a given time limit, addressing real-world scenarios where finding the optimal solution is not always the primary goal. To achieve this, a diverse range of strategies have been explored to identify the most effective approaches for future advancements. Three distinct implementations have been developed as part of this effort. Firstly, novel sorting heuristics have been devised for the McSplit algorithm, aiming to establish a best-first vertex selection policy during the tree search. These heuristics have been combined with a newly designed multi-thread parallel architecture, optimizing the allocation of processor time to promising branches of the recursive algorithm. Additionally, Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have been employed to identify and prioritize the most favorable branches at each intersection of the tree search. To assess the performance of these tools, extensive testing has been conducted using open-source datasets pertaining to Internet infrastructure networks and other relevant real-world applications. The evaluation of performance metrics demonstrates significant improvements over existing state-of-the-art MCS solvers in the targeted use cases. In conclusion, this research project has successfully enhanced the capabilities of the McSplit algorithm, providing notable advancements in solving the Maximum Common Subgraph problem for practical applications. These achievements have been recognized through the acceptance of our paper titled \textit{A web scraping algorithm to enhance maximum common subgraph computation} at ICSOFT 2023. Furthermore, the analysis of the proposed methodologies, including sorting heuristics, parallel architecture, and Graph Neural Networks, offer valuable insights for future research to determine the most promising strategies among the explored approaches.
THE EYE & THE ARM: PROSTHETICS & VISUAL CULTURE IN FRANCE, 1915-1925
Creators: name: Partin, William, III
Publisher: name: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
Year: 2015
Subjects: Art
History

description: This thesis traces three moments in the changing conceptions of the prosthetic in the visual cultures of postwar France: first, the medical photographs of Jules Amar, wartime director of the French laboratory for military prostheses and professional education, second, the Purist paintings of Fernand Léger produced in the years following the conclusion of World War I, and third, the Dada objects of Man Ray created under the dual influence of Paris Dada and emergent Surrealism. Though these cultural producers worked in different media and from distinct ideological perspectives, each engages the "prosthetic" as a key element for his visualizations of a radically re-organized (or, in Man Ray's case, dis-organized) postwar society. These images demonstrate the conceptual abstraction of the prosthetic between 1915, when "prosthetic" referred almost exclusively to a material artifact, and 1925, by which point "prosthetic" encompassed to both the material artifact, as well as a discursive framework.
Finite element approximation for the fractional eigenvalue problem
Creators: name: Borthagaray, Juan Pablo
name: Del Pezzo, Leandro M.
name: Martínez, Sandra
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Numerical Analysis (math.NA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 46E35, 35P15, 49R05 65N25, 65N30

description: The purpose of this work is to study a finite element method for finding solutions to the eigenvalue problem for the fractional Laplacian. We prove that the discrete eigenvalue problem converges to the continuous one and we show the order of such convergence. Finally, we perform some numerical experiments and compare our results with previous work by other authors.
description: 20 pages, 6 figures
Phantom dark energy from scalar$-$torsion coupling
Creators: name: Popławski, Nikodem J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We show that a scalar field without a kinetic term in the Lagrangian density, coupled to the covariant divergence of the torsion vector in the Einstein$-$Cartan theory of gravity, becomes kinetic in its general-relativistic equivalent formulation. The resulting kinetic term is negative: such a scalar field could be a source of phantom dark energy.
description: 3 pages; published version
Old gods, new religions, and modern marriages in Nepal
Creators: name: McKendry-Smith, Emily Elizabeth
Publisher: name: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Year: 2013

description: This dissertation is a set of three papers broadly focused on the role of religion in a context of rapid social change associated with modernization and development. My research design comprises two areas of data collection at three Brahma Kumari centers in Chitwan, Nepal: participant observation at daily religious services and in-depth interviews with female devotees. I complement this with statistical analyses on spousal choice and religious salience using survey data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study. In the first chapter I address the paradox that in Nepal, religion appears to be shifting from individual to communal worship, in contrast to the belief of many scholars that modernity has a privatizing and individualizing effect on religion. I find that due to unique features of Nepali homes, the role of puja in Nepali society, and perceptions of the Brahma Kumaris lead to a case where puja in the home is public and congregational meditation is private. In the second chapter, I address how the Brahma Kumaris frame their movement in relation to value-laden ideas about modernity and how this framing influences acceptance of their strict demands. I find that Nepalis tend to accept and follow the group's strict demands when those demands have been framed as modern and that framing is resonant with the prevailing definitions of modernity offered by Western development agencies. When the modern framing is not resonant, the strict demand is not followed and the frame itself is rejected in favor of the practice being defined in different terms. My third chapter employs data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study. I examine the relationship between education, religious salience, and the practice of arranged marriage, using interaction terms to examine how religious salience may moderate the relationship between spousal choice and education, and I find a significant interaction between respondent years of education and average neighborhood religious salience. I explain this using the moral communities thesis, a theory suggesting a relationship between a community's religious characteristics and levels of deviance.
Discrete Measurement, Continuous Time and Event History Modeling
Creators: name: Desmarais, Bruce A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Most even history models used in political science assume the time being analyzed is continuous. Discrete measurement causes this assumption to be violated. The violation of this assumption is shown to introduce non-trivial bias to parameter estimates. Analysis of discrete-measured data as interval-censored is shown to greatly reduce this bias. The empirical properties of the bias introduced by discrete measurement and the interval-censoring correction are explored through Monte-Carlo simulations and a replication of the analysis of civil war duration from (Fearon 2004). I also demonstrate that analyzing discrete-measured continuous-time data as interval-censored is a better approach than the discrete-time models proposed in (Box-Steffensmeier and Jones 2004). The conclusion of the analysis is that event-history analysis of continuous-time variables should always be implemented as interval-censored estimation.
An African-American and Latino Male Lay Health Advisor (LHA) Program: How Confidant-LHA Relationship Interdependence and LHA Preventive Health Behaviors Impact Confidant Preventive Health Behaviors
Creators: name: Tran, Anh Nhat
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: INTRODUCTION: In the United States, many men of color experience poor health
outcomes and confront serious healthcare obstacles. Yet, little research and few
interventions have addressed men’s relationships and their influence on healthcare behaviors.
METHODS: This study analyzed a male lay health advisor (LHA) intervention
dataset with 227 North Carolina African-American and Latino LHAs and their “Confidants”
(men they reached). This study aimed to: (1) examine racial/ethnic differences in Confidant-
LHA relationship interdependence properties, (2) assess the concordance of data obtained
from three one-item closeness measures, and (3) test Confidant-LHA relationship
interdependence and LHA preventive health behavior effects on Confidant preventive health
behaviors. These behaviors included healthcare visits, fruit and vegetable consumption, and
condom use frequency. Relationship properties were diversity, length, interaction, and
closeness. Closeness measures included the Inclusion of Others in Self (IOS) pictorial scale,
an adapted, and a verbal equivalent IOS scale. Kendall’s tau test evaluated correspondence
among three closeness measures. Hierarchical generalized linear regression analyses tested
association between covariates and Confidant preventive health behaviors.
RESULTS: No racial/ethnic differences were found for any relationship property
mean values, other than interaction frequency. Latinos interacted with one another more
frequently than African American counterparts. Strong correspondence existed among
responses of three closeness measures: original IOS versus an adapted IOS scale [г=0.636
(p<.001)], and adapted IOS versus verbal equivalent IOS scale [г=0.602 (p<.001)].
Confidant-LHA closeness was correlated with longer familiarity, more frequent interactions,
and more diverse interpersonal connections. LHA closeness to Confidant had a significant
positive association (p<.05) with Confidant closeness to LHA. A significant interaction
effect existed between LHA healthcare visits and Confidant-LHA closeness (p<.05):
increased Confidant closeness to LHA strengthened the positive relationship between LHA
and Confidant healthcare visits.
CONCLUSIONS: Comparable relationship interdependence findings between
African-American and Latino participants suggest similar receptiveness to social support and
influence interventions like LHA programs. Strong correlation between adapted and original
IOS closeness measure supports exploring the validity of this adapted IOS measure with
similar populations. Finally, links between LHA and Confidant preventive healthcare visits
supports future male LHA interventions to examine the most efficacious Confidant-LHA
relationship for improving men’s health outcomes.
Utility of two distinct macromolecular carriers for nucleic acid delivery
Creators: name: An, John Sunghoon
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: The major crux of nucleic acid-based therapy is that nucleic acids are not naturally occurring outside the cell. The systems biology of humans has evolved to detect exogenous nucleic acids as a part of foreign pathogens with efficient mechanisms to destroy and eliminate the threat. Therefore, exogenous naked or unmodified nucleic acids are restricted to the site of their administration and hence are of limited clinical value. A means of delivering therapeutic concentrations of these macromolecules to the target site for a desirable period of time is, thus, an essential component in their development as medicines. This dissertation describes the origination of two differing approaches to achieve one specific goal, deliver nucleic acid based medicine to cancer cells. The first approach is a gold nanoparticle-based delivery carrier to actively target human derived nasopharyngeal carcinoma specifically over-expressing the folate receptor. Two derivatives were studied which led to the successful synthesis and characterization of the gold nanoparticle-based carrier. A new modular strategy was also developed utilizing some of the therapeutic oligonucleotide as a linker to attach folic acid targeting ligands for increased efficiency. Preliminary in vitro experiments failed to elicit a pharmacologic response. Further in vitro studies focusing on time-dependant uptake and cellular localization may identify the lack of efficacy. The second approach utilized endogenous albumin as a carrier for therapeutic oligonucleotides. Unlike exogenous macromolecular carriers that must undergo stringent testing to ensure human safety, binding to albumin using its natural ligand, fatty acid, ensures that the carrier is inert and nontoxic. It was proposed that preservation of both ionic and hydrophobic interactions of fatty acids is necessary to bind with high affinity to albumin. An amino (palmitic) acid analog was designed and synthesized in order to produce a handle to attach the therapeutic oligomer while preserving the ionic charge. Initial binding studies reveal a loss of affinity compared to the free palmitic acid, but superior to the currently marketed fatty acylated delivery system. Currently, studies are focusing on the affect of charge interactions in binding to albumin in order to develop a fatty acid analog with enhanced binding properties.
Ontoloby-based semantic query processing in database systems
Creators: name: Necib, Chokri Ben
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Datenbanken
subject: Anfragebearbeitung
subject: Ontologien
subject: Semantik
subject: Databases
subject: Query Processing
subject: Ontologies
subject: Semantic
subject: 004 Informatik
subject: 28 Informatik, Datenverarbeitung

description: Die Bedeutung der in den relationalen Datenbankmanagementsystemen dargestellten Realwelt-Objekten wird weder explizit noch vollständig beschrieben. Demzufolge treffen häufig diese Systeme mit den Anfrageantworten nicht die Benutzerabsichten. Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert einen ontologie-basierten Ansatz für die semantische Anfrageverarbeitung. In diesem Ansatz sollen semantische Informationen aus einer gegebenen Ontologie abgeleitet und für die Umformulierung der Benutzeranfrage verwendet werden. Dies führt zu einer neuen Anfrage, die für den Benutzer sinnvollere Ergebnisse aus der Datenbank zurückliefern kann. Wir definieren und spezifizieren Einschränkungen und Abbildungen zwischen der Ontologie- und den Datenbank-Konzepten, um eine Ontologie mit einer Datenbank zu verknüpfen. Des Weiteren entwickeln wir eine Reihe von Algorithmen, die uns helfen, diese Abbildungen auf eine halbautomatische Weise zu finden. Au"serdem entwickeln wir eine Reihe von semantischen Regeln, die für die Umformulierung einer Anfrage benutzt werden. Die Haupteigenschaft einer Regel ist es, Begriffe einer Anfrage durch andere Begriffe zu ersetzen oder anzureichern, die von denselben ontologischen Konzepten dargestellt werden. Weiterhin benutzen wir die Theorie der Termersetzungssysteme, um den Transformationsprozess zu formalisieren und die wesentlichen Eigenschaften für das Anwenden der Regeln zu studieren. Aufbauend auf diesem Ansatz wurde ein Prototyp implementiert und wurde die Fähigkeit unseres Ansatzes durch einer real existierenden Anwendung ausgewertet.
description: Currently, database management systems solely rely on exact syntax of queries to retrieve data. As consequence query answers often do not meet the user''s intention. In this thesis we propose an ontology-based semantic query processing approach for database systems. We use ontologies to transform a user query into another query that may provide a more meaningful answer to the user. For this purpose, we define and specify different mappings that relate concepts of an ontology with those of an underlying database and develop a set of algorithms that allow us to find these mappings in a semi-automatic way. Moreover, we propose a set of semantic rules for transforming queries using terms derived from the ontology. We classify the rules and demonstrate their usefulness using practical examples. Furthermore, we make use of the theory of term rewriting systems to formalize the transformation process and to study the basic properties for applying these rules. Finally, we implement a prototype system using current technologies and evaluate its capability by using a real world application.
An Exploratory Study into the Nonprofit Communication Profession - A Job Description Content Analysis
Creators: name: Boyd, Mary
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2017

description: Nonprofit public relations and role theory have both been studied in-depth, but this study seeks to employ an innovative method that will not only answer research questions on nonprofit public relations but also has the potential to change the way researchers study public relations and nonprofit public relations role theories (Dozier & Broom, 2006; Dyer, Harrison, & Weber, 2002; Grunig, 2006). A content analysis of job descriptions from nonprofit organizations for communications positions was conducted to study the responsibilities and tasks the organizations want to emphasize. Specifically, this study illuminates the tasks that are common within nonprofit public relations roles and examine tasks that are unique to public relations like fundraising and marketing. This content analysis also focused on the how the positions fit within the management-technician dichotomy. The management roles were further dissected into four management categories (Fieseler et al., 2015). The results of this study confirm that marketing and fundraising are both prominent factors in nonprofit public relations practitioners’ roles. The results also show that the coaching and liaison management types are by far the most-frequent, encompassing advising management, coaching employees, media relations, and donor relations. This research impacts nonprofits, practitioners, educators, and academia. Furthermore, this exploratory study provides the opportunity for much more research of this variety.
PADI6: What we know about the elusive fifth member of the peptidyl arginine deiminase family.
Creators: name: Williams, Jack PC
name: Walport, Louise J
Publisher: name: The Francis Crick Institute
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: Chemical Biology & High Throughput
subject: Chemical Biology & High Throughput
classificationCode: Gene Expression
subject: Gene Expression
classificationCode: Immunology
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
classificationCode: Biochemistry & Proteomics
subject: Biochemistry & Proteomics
classificationCode: Structural Biology & Biophysics
subject: Structural Biology & Biophysics
classificationCode: Cell Biology
subject: Cell Biology

description: Peptidyl arginine deiminase 6 (PADI6) is a maternal factor that is vital for early embryonic development. Deletion and mutations of its encoding gene in female mice or women lead to early embryonic developmental arrest, female infertility, maternal imprinting defects and hyperproliferation of the trophoblast. PADI6 is the fifth and least well-characterized member of the peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADIs), which catalyse the post-translational conversion of arginine to citrulline. It is less conserved than the other PADIs, and currently has no reported catalytic activity. While there are many suggested functions of PADI6 in the early mouse embryo, including in embryonic genome activation, cytoplasmic lattice formation, maternal mRNA and ribosome regulation, and organelle distribution, the molecular mechanisms of its function remain unknown. In this review, we discuss what is known about the function of PADI6 and highlight key outstanding questions that must be answered if we are to understand the crucial role it plays in early embryo development and female fertility. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'The virtues and vices of protein citrullination'.
Nutrient composition and phytoplankton community dynamics in the New River Estuary
Creators: name: Altman, Julia Charlotte
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: Inorganic and organic nitrogen loading may be linked to the persistence of algal blooms in the New River estuary. Characterizing these loads and investigating their role in shaping natural phytoplankton assemblages was the focus of this thesis. Water samples from a 10 station transect were analyzed for urea, nitrate, ammonium, orthophosphate, dissolved organic nitrogen, chlorophyll a, salinity, and temperature. Nutrient addition bioassays were run to examine the effects of varying nutrient loads on an estuarine site. Bioassays indicated that dual enrichment by inorganic N and P led to maximum increases in phytoplankton biomass, but additional organics may promote the growth of potentially toxic phytoplankton, including dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria. Evaluating the impact of varying nutrient forms on phytoplankton dynamics is necessary in order to develop strategies to avoid changes in community structure and larger-scale changes in ecosystem health.
Print, Powder, Compass: Technological Inter-animation and Early Modern Literature
Creators: name: Nayar, Sheila
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2017

description: This project foregrounds the pressures that three transformative technologies in the long sixteenth century—the printing press, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass—placed on long-held literary practices, as well as on cultural and social structures. Taking a circulatory-ecological approach to the study of literature and technology, it suggests new ways of reading (and of needing to read) the period’s written corpus. Specifically, the project disinters the “clash” (and concomitant “carnivalism”) between humanist drives and print culture (especially vis-à-vis print error); places the rise of gunpowder warfare beside the equivalent rise in literary romances and chivalric tournaments, thus forcing a re-evaluation of the impetuses for the latter; and illustrates fraught attempts by humanists to hold on to classicist traditions of expression (often to unintentionally humorous ends) in the face of seismic changes in navigation and the discovery of new worlds. Not only how literature responded to the radical technological changes of the period is thereby advanced, but also how literature was sometimes forced, through unanticipated destabilizations, to reimagine what it was, or could be—or even couldn’t be any longer.
Trajectories of Early Cortical Development in Healthy and At-Risk Children
Creators: name: Lyall, Amanda
Publisher: name: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Neurosciences
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine

description: Increasing evidence supports the idea that many neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders are the result of abnormal brain development, either in the prenatal period or in the first few years of life. Detecting deviations from healthy postnatal developmental trajectories early in life offers an opportunity to identify children who are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a longitudinal study design provides an effective, non-invasive, in vivo method for investigating early stages of brain development in typical and atypical infants. In the first two postnatal years, cortical thickness and surface area have distinct and heterogeneous patterns of development that are exceptionally dynamic. By age 2, cortical thickness has reached an average of 97% of adult values, compared to surface area, which has reached 69%. Cortical thickness and surface area growth in the first postnatal year is significantly related to general cognitive development. Many of the cortical regions that were found to be significant have been shown to be strongly involved in sensorimotor development and language acquisition, two vital foundations for future cognitive functioning. Schizophrenia is highly heritable and studying the offspring of schizophrenia patients provides a powerful tool for assessing the effects of genetic liability on early structural brain development. Infants with a high genetic risk for schizophrenia exhibited significant structural differences at both 1 and 2 years of age when compared to typically developing infants. Results from a qualitative analysis also suggest that infants at high genetic risk for schizophrenia may be experiencing a period of accelerated gray matter growth between birth and 1 year, after which cortical growth appears to arrest in high-risk children between 1 and 2 years of age. Taken together, there is a critical need for a greater understanding of cortical and cognitive development in the first two years of life. As such, this dissertation will have a positive impact because a more complete understanding will lead to more effective early identification strategies and interventions that could attenuate, or even prevent, the progression of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Applications and learning outcomes of Game Based Learning in education & business
Creators: name: Μικρούλη, Παρασκευή- Άλκηστις Ιάσωνα
Publisher: name: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Year: 2023
Subjects: Μάθηση με βάση τα παιχνίδια
Ενισχυμένη πραγματικότητα
Εκπαίδευση
Game based learning
Augmented reality
Education

description: The present thesis attempts to convey a literature review that could further the analysis of the existing research. While giving a general overview of the existing practices and tendencies in the sphere of game-based learning in both educational and professional training systems, the present paper focuses on the examination of the learning outcomes of its applications in various types of knowledge fields. Additionally, the paper deals with the body of research concerning various types of games used in educational and training practices such as AR GBL (Augmented reality) and others, in relation to their implementation through various levels of education, with particular attention given to the preschool and primary school education levels.
description: Η παρούσα διατριβή επιχειρεί να παραθέσει μια βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση με σκοπό να επεκτείνει την ανάλυση της ήδη υπάρχουσας έρευνας. Δίνεται μια περιγραφή των υφιστάμενων πρακτικών και τάσεων στη σφαίρα της μάθησης με βάση τα παιχνίδια ( Game Based Learning) τόσο στον εκπαιδευτικό όσο και στον επαγγελματικό τομέα. Ταυτόχρονα δίνεται έμφαση στην εξέταση των μαθησιακών αποτελεσμάτων των εφαρμογών της σε διάφορους τύπους γνωστικών πεδίων. Αναλύεται ακόμη, το σύνολο της έρευνας που αφορά διάφορα είδη παιχνιδιών που χρησιμοποιούνται σε ακαδημαϊκές και εκπαιδευτικές πρακτικές όπως το AR GBL (Επαυξημένη πραγματικότητα) και άλλα, καθώς και οι εφαρμογές τους σε διάφορα επίπεδα εκπαίδευσης με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στην προσχολική ηλικία και την πρωτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση.
description: Σε συνεργασία με: Λογιστικής και Χρηματοοικονομικής (Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας)
INTER-INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN TRICHLOROETHYLENE TOXICOKINETICS AND TOXICODYNAMICS IN GENETICALLY-DIVERSE MICE
Creators: name: Venkatratnam, Abhishek
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2018

description: One of the many challenging issues in toxicology is addressing human variability in chemical risk assessment. Among several intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute towards inter-individual differences in toxic responses, genetic differences are well known to drive variability in xenobiotic metabolism and adverse effects. Traditional toxicity studies in rodents often rely on single genotype-based models that fail to capture diverse responses similar to those observed in humans. Recent advances in mouse genetics have led to the development of large panels of recombinant lines collectively known as population-based mouse models. Although their utility in biomedical research has been sufficiently demonstrated, their application in toxicity studies needs to be investigated. My doctoral dissertation focuses on investigating inter-individual differences in toxicokinetics (TK) and toxicodynamics (TD) in population-based mouse models with trichloroethylene (TCE) as case study toxicant. The central hypothesis of my dissertation is that genetic differences in the mouse population will drive inter-individual differences in TCE metabolism and related effects. Aim 1 demonstrated sufficient statistical power and precision in the mouse population to identify genetic loci driving variability in TCE metabolism and TD. Next, extent of quantitative variability in some toxicokinetic parameters were comparable to those observed in humans suggesting the appropriateness of such model in addressing human variability in adverse outcomes. Aim 2 characterized transcriptional responses that were strongly influenced by genetic background, dose, or a combination of genetic background and dose to better understand individual- versus population-level responses. Aim 3 assessed the utility of different population-based models in capturing diverse responses in a standard 90-day oral toxicity study that is often conducted for safety assessments. Collectively, this doctoral dissertation serves as a comprehensive guide in incorporating population-based mouse models in toxicity studies.
The transforming Rho family GTPase, Wrch-1, regulates epithelial cell morphogenesis through modulating cell junctions and actin cytoskeletal dynamics
Creators: name: Brady, Donita
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: Rho GTPases are members of the Ras superfamily of GTP binding proteins that function as molecular switches. In their GTP-bound, active state, Rho proteins are most well known for their ability to modulate the actin cytoskeletal network. In addition, Rho GTPases control signaling pathways that regulate diverse cellular functions such as cell shape, motility, and proliferation. When misregulated in cancer cells, Rho proteins influence aberrant growth, invasion and metastasis. Misregulation of Rho GTPases themselves or their regulators is associated with human cancers, making them attractive pharmacological targets for molecularly targeted cancer therapy. The atypical Rho GTPase Wrch-1 was initially discovered as a Wnt-1 responsive gene that, when activated, phenocopies Wnt-morphological transformation of mouse mammary epithelial cells. Like other Rho GTPases, Wrch-1 modulates actin cytoskeletal organization, but little is known about its downstream effectors and signaling pathways that may contribute to cellular transformation. Therefore, in this dissertation I discuss the characterization of a downstream effector of Wrch-1 that contributes to Wrch-1 normal biological function and its ability to mediate cellular transformation. Wrch-1 distributed along the apical and basolateral membranes in polarized MDCK epithelial cells and bound the cell polarity protein Par6 in a GTP-dependent manner. Activated Wrch-1 negatively regulated the kinetics of tight junction assembly during epithelial cell polarization, without a detectable effect on overall cell polarity in confluent monolayers. Disruption of tight junction dynamics driven by activated Wrch-1 was accompanied by dramatic cytoskeletal reorganization and multilayering of MDCK cells grown in two-dimensional (2D) culture. Additionally, expression of constitutively active Wrch-1 disrupted cystogenesis of cells grown in three-dimensional (3D) culture, resulting in aberrant multilumenal structures. The loss of epithelial morphogenesis mediated by activated Wrch-1 correlated with the ability of Wrch-1 to promote cellular transformation. Finally, an effector domain mutation in activated Wrch-1 that prevents Par6 binding repressed the transforming activity and abrogated the ability of Wrch-1 to disrupt tight junction formation, actin organization, and epithelial morphogenesis. Thus, I potentially uncovered a mechanism by which activated Wrch-1 induces morphological and growth transformation that involves Par6-mediated disruption of tight junctions and actin organization.
On SYM theory and all order Bulk Singularity Structures of BPS Strings in type II theory
Creators: name: Hatefi, Ehsan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The complete forms of the S-matrix elements of a transverse scalar field, two world volume gauge fields, and a Potential $C_{n-1}$ Ramond-Ramond (RR) form field are investigated. In order to find an infinite number of $t,s, (t+s+u)$-channel bulk singularity structures of this particular mixed open-closed amplitude, we employ all the conformal field theory techniques to $$, exploring all the entire correlation functions and all order $α'$ contact interactions to these supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) couplings. Singularity and contact term comparisons with the other symmetric analysis, $$ and $$ are also carried out in detail. Various couplings from pull-Back of branes, Myers terms and several generalized Bianchi identities should be taken into account to be able to reconstruct all order $α'$ bulk singularities of type IIB (IIA) superstring theory. Finally, we make a comment on how to derive without any ambiguity all order $α'$ contact terms of this S-matrix which carry momentum of RR in transverse directions.
description: This paper is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Joe Polchinski, a very inspiring physicist, a great hero/ colleague/ sincere friend, a superb scientist and an amazing human being. Published version in NPB
Cos(4 phi) azimuthal anisotropy in small-x DIS dijet production beyond the leading power TMD limit
Creators: name: Dumitru, Adrian
name: Skokov, Vladimir
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We determine the first correction to the quadrupole operator in high-energy QCD beyond the TMD limit of Weizsaecker-Williams and linearly polarized gluon distributions. These functions give rise to isotropic resp. ~ cos 2 phi angular distributions in DIS dijet production. On the other hand, the correction produces a ~ cos 4 phi angular dependence which is suppressed by one additional power of the dijet transverse momentum scale (squared) P^2.
description: 9 pages, 2 figures; added Appendix B with the power corrections to xG and xh cos(2 phi)
A Right to Recognition: Freedom in a Democratic Society
Creators: name: Lawless, John
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: The vocabularies with which we talk about freedom as a social and political ideal are badly distorted. They often focus our attention on generic capacities for choice and action, and on the ways in which others’ interference (or our vulnerabilities to interference) threaten these capacities. But our agency does not consist only in a generic power to recognize the options available to us, and to choose from among these options which will become actual. It is essentially social, located in the structures of our interpersonal relationships. These relationships make us, not only persons in some abstract, generic sense, but particular kinds of persons: owners of various kinds of property, participants in various kinds of markets, members of particular neighborhoods, participants in various family structures, and so on. And there are a wide variety of subtly distinct ways in which our society can construct these relationships in ways that make us unfree. In order to respect this variety, we most usefully characterize freedom in terms of the just distribution of status relations. Free people enjoy the social standing to lay claim to those social statuses on which they have moral claims, commanding others’ recognition of, and respect for, the various rights constitutive of these statuses. Freedom, so construed, requires a juridical community regulated both by an egalitarian deliberative culture, and by the kinds of democratic institutions that make law responsive to public argument.
Conversion of Cannabidiol to Tetrahydrocannabinol: an Analysis of Dispensary Products
Creators: name: Kranstz, Allyson
Publisher: name: University of Illinois at Chicago
Year: 2023

description: This study employed liquid chromatography to examine cannabinoid quantities in edible candies obtained from dispensaries. The objective was to measure the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and investigate its potential conversion from cannabidiol (CBD) in products containing CBD. A heat study was conducted on cannabidiol powder at cooking temperatures, revealing the breakdown of cannabidiol and an increase in THC levels. Dispensary products, including lollipops, chocolates, caramels, and gummies, underwent analysis using Triple Quad LC/MS. None of the samples exceeded the regulatory THC limit of 0.3%. Notably, products containing CBD and cannabigerol (CBG) displayed higher reported concentrations of THC. CBG, serving as the parent compound for CBD and THC formulation in cannabis plants, suggests that products with multiple THC precursors, like CBD and CBG, may undergo enhanced conversion when exposed to high heat or acidic conditions. This study highlights the importance of understanding cannabinoid compounds in manufactured products and the significance of accurate testing in forensic science for legal cases. Overcoming historical limitations, the research contributes to the knowledge surrounding cannabis and its implications in the medical field.
Bornes sur le nombre de points rationnels des courbes -- en quete d'uniformite
Creators: name: Pazuki, Fabien
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Number Theory (math.NT)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 11G50, 14G40

description: The aim of this paper is to show how a conjectural lower bound on the canonical height function in the spirit of Lang and Silverman leads to an explicit uniform bound on the number of rational points on curves of genus $g\geq 2$ over a number field.
description: in French ; with an appendix by David and Philippon
A System of Non-linear Partial Differential Equations Modeling Chemotaxis with Sensitivity Functions
Creators: name: Post, Katharina
Publisher: name: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II
Year: 1999
Subjects: subject: Asymptotical behaviour (35B40)
subject: initial value problems for parabolic systems (35K45)
subject: 510 Mathematik
subject: 27 Mathematik
subject: SK 540

description: Wir betrachten ein System nichtlinearer parabolischer partieller Differentialgleichungen zur Modellierung des biologischen Phänomens Chemotaxis, das unter anderem in Aggregationsprozessen in Lebenszyklen bestimmter Einzeller eine wichtige Rolle spielt. Unser Chemotaxismodell benutzt Sensitivitäts funktionen, die die vorkommenden biologischen Prozesse genauer spezifizieren. Trotz der durch die Sensitivitätsfunktionen eingebrachten, zusätzlichen Nichtlinearitäten in den Gleichungen erhalten wir zeitlich globale Existenz von Lösungen für verschiedene biologisch realistische Klassen von Sensitivitätsfunktionen und können unter unterschiedlichen Bedingungen an die Systemdaten Konvergenz der Lösungen zu trivialen und nicht-trivialen stationären Punkten beweisen.
description: We consider a system of non-linear parabolic partial differential equations modeling chemotaxis, a biological phenomenon which plays a crucial role in aggregation processes in the life cycle of certain unicellular organisms. Our chemotaxis model introduces sensitivity functions which help describe the biological processes more accurately. In spite of the additional non-linearities introduced by the sensitivity functions into the equations, we obtain global existence of solutions for different classes of biologically realistic sensitivity functions and can prove convergence of the solutions to trivial and non-trivial steady states.
Analysis Plan
Creators: name: Lin, Audrie
name: Mertens, Andrew
name: Li, Amy
name: Tan, Sophia
name: Butzin-Dozier, Zachary
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Life Sciences

description: WASH Benefits Bangladesh: Maternal Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence, Maternal Depression, Parental Stress and Child Telomeres Analysis Plan Update