cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: Backward stochastic differential equations with unbounded coefficients and their applications
Creators: name: Li, Jiajie
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: In this thesis, we focus on problems on the theory of Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (BSDEs). In particular, BSDEs with an unbounded generator are considered, under various conditions (on the generator). Using more general (or weaker) conditions, the classical results on BSDEs are improved and some associated problems on mathematical finance are resolved. Chapter 1 introduces some of the literature, general setting and ideas in this field and emphasises the motivations which has led to the study of these equations. In addition, some mathematical preliminaries we used throughout this thesis are included in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, we consider nonlinear BSDEs with an unbounded generator. Under a Lipschitz-type condition, we show sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of solutions to nonlinear BSDEs, which are weaker than the existing ones. We also give a comparison theorem as a generalisation of Peng's result. Chapter 4 studies a class of backward stochastic differential equations whose generator satisfies linear growth and continuity conditions, which can also be unbounded. We prove the existence of the solution pair for this class of equations which is more general than the existing ones. In Chapter 5, we consider the problem of solvability for linear backward stochastic differential equations with unbounded coefficients. New and weaker sufficient conditions for the existence of a unique solution pair are given. It is shown that certain exponential processes have stronger integrability in this case. As applications, we solve the problems of completeness in a market with a possibly unbounded coefficients and optimal investment with power utility in a market with unbounded coefficients. Chapter 6 studies the classical Stochastic Differential Equations where the drift and diffusion coefficients satisfy Lipschitz-type and linear growth conditions, which can also be unbounded. We give sufficient conditions for the existence of a unique solution to unbounded SDEs. The method of proof is that of Picard iterations and the resulting conditions are new. We also prove a comparison theorem. Chapter 7 summaries the results in this thesis and outlines possible directions for future works based on current results.
title: Development and application of lattice Boltzmann method for complex axisymmetric flows
Creators: name: Wang, Wei
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2015

description: The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has become an effective numerical technique for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in recent years. It has many advantages over the conventional computational methods like finite element and finite difference methods. The method is characterised by simplicity, easy treatment of boundary conditions and parallel feature in programming that makes it ideal for solving large-scale real-life problems. This thesis presents the development and applications of a lattice Boltzmann model for both steady and unsteady two-dimensional axisymmetric flows. The axisymmetric flows are described by three-dimensional (3D) Navier-Stokes equations, which can be solved by three-dimensional (3D) lattice Boltzmann method. If cylindrical coordinates are applied, such 3D equations become 2D axisymmetric flow equations. However, they cannot be solved using the 2D standard LBM. In order to study more complicated axisymmetric flow problems by 2D LBM, in this thesis, firstly, the revised axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann D2Q9 model (AxLAB®) is applied and tested for some benchmark for axisymmetric laminar flows and more complicated flows including 3D Womersley flow and forced axisymmetric cold-flow jets, and flows with swirl such as the cylindrical cavity flows and the swirling flow in a closed cylinder with rotating top and bottom. Secondly, the AxLAB® is extended to simulate turbulent flows and non-Newtonian fluid flows. A well-known power-law scheme is incorporated into the AxLAB® to simulate the non-Newtonian fluid flow: the Taylor Couette flows for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are simulated and compared. The combined effects of the Reynolds number, the radius ratio, and the power-law index on the flow characteristics are analysed and compared with other literatures. All the numerical results are also compared with the existing numerical results or experimental data reported in the literature to demonstrate the accuracy of the model. Thirdly, a further developed AxLAB® is presented to simulate the turbulent flows. The turbulent flow is efficiently and naturally simulated through incorporation of the standard subgrid-scale stress (SGS) model into the axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann equation in a consistent manner with the lattice gas dynamics. The model is verified by applying it to several typical cases in engineering: (i) pipe flow through an abrupt axisymmetric constriction, (ii) axisymmetric separated and reattached flow and (iii) pulsatile flows in a stenotic vessel. All the numerical results obtained using the present methods are compared with experimental data and other available numerical solutions, indicating good agreements. This shows that the improved AxLAB® is simple and is able to predict axisymmetric turbulent, non-Newtonian complicated flows at good accuracy.
Racial discrimination and racial socialization as predictors of African American adolescents' racial identity development using latent transition analysis.
Creators: name: Morgan-Lopez, Antonio
name: Seaton, Eleanor K.
name: Sellers, Robert M.
name: Yip, Tiffany
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: The current study examined perceptions of racial discrimination and racial socialization on racial identity development among 566 African American adolescents over three years. Latent class analyses were used to estimate identity statuses (Diffuse, Foreclosed, Moratorium and Achieved). The probabilities of transitioning from one stage to another were examined with latent transition analyses to determine the likelihood of youth progressing, regressing or remaining constant. Racial socialization and perceptions of racial discrimination were examined as covariates to assess the association with changes in racial identity status. The results indicated that perceptions of racial discrimination were not linked to any changes in racial identity. Youth who reported higher levels of racial socialization were less likely to be in Diffuse or Foreclosed compared to the Achieved group.
The implications of adult identity for educational and work attainment in young adulthood.
Creators: name: Benson, Janel E.
name: Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick
name: Elder, Glen H.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: This study investigates the relation of young adult identities (ages 18-22), reflecting subjective age and psychosocial maturity, to educational and career attainment in young adulthood (ages 25-29). Add Health data show that having an older subjective age alone does not curtail attainment; the critical issue is the level of psychosocial maturity that accompanies subjective age. Those with older subjective ages and low psychosocial maturation have the lowest attainment at ages 25-29 while those with older subjective ages and high psychosocial maturation show considerable progress toward work-related attainment. For those with younger subjective ages, a lower level of psychosocial maturity is not as detrimental to attainment.
Adolescents misperceive and are influenced by high-status peers’ health risk, deviant, and adaptive behavior.
Creators: name: Cohen, Geoffrey L.
name: Widman, Laura
name: Prinstein, Mitchell J.
name: Giletta, Matteo
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Most peer influence research examines socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Yet, adolescents also are influenced by popular peers, perhaps due to misperceptions of social norms. This research examined the extent to which out-group and in-group adolescents misperceive the frequencies of peers' deviant, health risk, and adaptive behaviors in different reputation-based peer crowds (Study 1) and the prospective associations between perceptions of high status peers' and adolescents' own substance use over 2.5 years (Study 2). Study 1 examined 235 adolescents' reported deviant (vandalism, theft), health risk (substance use, sexual risk), and adaptive (exercise, studying) behavior, and their perceptions of Jocks', Populars', Burnouts', and Brains' engagement in the same behaviors. Peer nominations identified adolescents in each peer crowd. Jocks and Populars were rated as higher status than Brains and Burnouts. Results indicated that peer crowd stereotypes are caricatures. Misperceptions of high status crowds were dramatic, but for many behaviors, no differences between Populars'/Jocks' and others' actual reported behaviors were revealed. Study 2 assessed 166 adolescents' substance use and their perceptions of popular peers' (i.e., peers high in peer perceived popularity) substance use. Parallel process latent growth analyses revealed that higher perceptions of popular peers' substance use in Grade 9 (intercept) significantly predicted steeper increases in adolescents' own substance use from Grade 9 to 11 (slope). Results from both studies, utilizing different methods, offer evidence to suggest that adolescents misperceive high status peers' risk behaviors, and these misperceptions may predict adolescents' own risk behavior engagement.
Retired galaxies: not to be forgotten in the quest of the star formation -- AGN connection
Creators: name: Stasińska, G.
name: Duarte, M. V. Costa
name: Asari, N. Vale
name: Fernandes, R. Cid
name: Sodré, L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose a fresh look at the Main Galaxy Sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by packing the galaxies in stellar mass and redshift bins. We show how important it is to consider the emission-line equivalent widths, in addition to the commonly used emission-line ratios, to properly identify retired galaxies (i.e. galaxies that have stopped forming stars and are ionized by their old stellar populations) and not mistake them for galaxies with low-level nuclear activity. We find that the proportion of star-forming galaxies decreases with decreasing redshift in each mass bin, while that of retired galaxies increases. Galaxies with $M_\star > 10^{11.5} M_\odot$ have formed all their stars at redshift larger than 0.4. The population of AGN hosts is never dominant for galaxy masses larger than $10^{10} M_\odot$. We warn about the effects of stacking galaxy spectra to discuss galaxy properties. We estimate the lifetimes of active galactic nuclei (AGN) relying entirely on demographic arguments --- i.e. without any assumption on the AGN radiative properties. We find upper-limit lifetimes of about 1--5 Gyr for detectable AGN in galaxies with masses between $10^{10}$--$10^{12} M_\odot$. The lifetimes of the AGN-dominated phases are a few $10^8$ yr. Finally, we compare the star-formation histories of star-forming, AGN and retired galaxies as obtained by the spectral synthesis code STARLIGHT. Once the AGN is turned on it inhibits star formation for the next $\sim$ 0.1 Gyr in galaxies with masses around $10^{10} M_\odot$, $\sim$ 1 Gyr in galaxies with masses around $10^{11} M_\odot$.
description: accepted for MNRAS figure resolution has been degraded with respect to what will be published in MNRAS
Experimentally measured susceptibility to peer influence and adolescent sexual behavior trajectories: A preliminary study.
Creators: name: Widman, Laura
name: Prinstein, Mitchell J.
name: Cohen, Geoffrey L.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: A performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between peer norms and trajectories of adolescents' number of sexual intercourse partners. Seventy-one 9th grade adolescents (52% female) participated in an experimental “chat room” paradigm involving “e-confederates” who endorsed sexual risk behaviors. Changes in participants' responses to risk scenarios before versus during the “chat room” were used as a performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility. Participants reported their perceptions of popular peers' number of sexual intercourse partner sat baseline, and self-reported their number of sexual intercourse partners at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months later. Susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between perceptions of popular peers' number of sexual intercourse partners and trajectories of adolescents' own numbers of partners. High perceptions of the number of popular peers' sexual intercourse partners combined with high peer influence susceptibility predicted steeper longitudinal trajectories of adolescents' number of partners. Results provide novel preliminary evidence regarding the importance of peer influence susceptibility in adolescents' development of sexual behaviors.
title: Rebuilding customer trust in the British retail banking industry following the recent financial crisis
Creators: name: Ahmed, Shakeel
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the ramifications of the recent financial crisis on the retail banking providers’ cognitive and affective trust dimensions. In addition, the study aimed to consider the impact of different functional quality measures, e.g., complaint handling, customer engagement, staff engagement, branch presence and financial literacy on the reinstatement of customer trust. In doing so, this study offers and discusses empirical findings via a mixed methods approach where supporting data has been obtained from two focus group interactions, questionnaires completed by 508 banking customers and 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with banking officials in the UK.
title: Strong cooperativeness and family reproductive ecology : an overview of the communitarian life among Totonacas from Mexico
Creators: name: Patiño Espino, Ramón
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: Young Kgoyomes (Indigenous Totonacas from the rural highlands of Huehuetla district in Mexico) were asked to state their principal moral values. The following 4 concepts in order represent 84% of their choices: (a) life, (b) close relatives, (c) money, and (d) health. The remaining 16% spread across 18 different concepts. At the level of intersexual dyads, the characteristics both sexes found most attractive in the other were: a) being a hard worker, (b) faithfulness, (c) prettiness/handsomeness, and (d) good-heartedness. These represented 58.7 % of men's preferences and 55.8 %> of women's in a prospective partner, with the remaining percentages split across 18 different characteristics. Such an affinity between the sexes has probably facilitated the "assortative" selection of a partner, producing marriages which are highly monogamous and harmonised for hard work. Another example of 'pro-social sentiment' is the precocious age at which they start to 'help at the nest', i.e. from 5 years old onwards, and by the age of 10, 58.4 % are already engaged in a variety of tasks for helping the family.
Is the prediction of adolescent outcomes from early child care moderated by later maternal sensitivity? Results from the nichd study of early child care and youth development.
Creators: name: Belsky, Jay
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2014

description: Longitudinal data are used to examine whether effects of early child care are amplified and/or attenuated by later parenting. Analyses tested these interactions using parenting as both a categorical and continuous variable to balance power and flexibility in testing moderation. The most consistent finding was that maternal sensitivity during adolescence accentuated the association between child care quality and adolescent academic-cognitive skills at age 15 years when maternal sensitivity during adolescence was high. This interaction was obtained in analyses with maternal sensitivity as both a categorical and continuous variable. Relations between early child care hours and adolescent behavioral outcomes also were moderated by maternal sensitivity, with longer child care hours predicting more impulsivity and externalizing at age 15 when maternal sensitivity during middle childhood, scored as a categorical variable, was low to moderate and when maternal sensitivity during adolescence, scored as a continuous variable, was lower. These findings suggest that some child care effects are moderated by subsequent parenting and that this moderation may take both linear and nonlinear forms.
IDMS: Inert Dark Matter Model with a complex singlet
Creators: name: Bonilla, Cesar
name: Sokolowska, Dorota
name: Darvishi, Neda
name: Diaz-Cruz, J. Lorenzo
name: Krawczyk, Maria
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Within the Inert Doublet Model (IDM) there is a viable dark matter candidate. This simple model can provide a strong enough first order phase transition, which is required in order to account for the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe (BAU). However, another necessary ingredient is missing, as there is no additional source of CP violation in the IDM, besides the standard CKM phase from the Standard Model. Additional CP violating phase can appear if a complex singlet of $SU(3)_C \times SU(2)_W \times U(1)_Y$ with a non-zero vacuum expectation value is added to the scalar sector of the IDM. We construct the scalar potential of the inert doublet plus singlet model (IDMS), assuming an exact $Z_2$ symmetry, with singlet being $Z_2$-even. To simplify the model we use a softly broken $U(1)$ symmetry, which allows a reduction of the number of free parameters in the potential. We study the masses and interactions of scalar particles for a few benchmark scenarios. Constraints from collider physics, in particular from the Higgs signal observed at LHC with $M_h\approx 125$ GeV are discussed, as well as constraints from the dark matter experiments.
description: v3: updated references, extended discussion about parameter space, updated experimental constraints, results and conclusions unchanged. To appear in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Salmon, Society, and Success: A case study on the intersections of colonialism, ecological degradation, and the power of social action.
Creators: name: Garces, Kylea
Publisher: name: QUBES Educational Resources
Year: 2024

description: Using a case study approach, this lesson examines colonialism as an ongoing force affecting nature, culture, and society by focusing on decades of tribally led efforts resulting in recent federal approval of four Klamath River dams. Chinook Salmon are not only endangered keystone species among the Pacific Northwest, but they also play invaluable roles to the communities that rely on them. Using the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education Framework (4DEE) combined with aspects of environmental sociology, this module encourages students to critically examine the causes and consequences of salmon population decline. Further, students will evaluate the decision-making involved in the largest dam removal by critiquing different stakeholder perspectives through a role-playing activity. With the conclusion of this module, students will recognize the opportunity imposed by climate change as a vehicle for social action and the integration of various forms of knowledge as a driver in making more equitable ecological decisions for our futures.
Emotional reactivity and parenting sensitivity interact to predict cortisol output in toddlers.
Creators: name: Granger, Douglas A.
name: Mills-Koonce, Roger
name: Ursache, Alexandra
name: Voegtline, Kristin
name: Blair, Clancy
name: Stifter, Cynthia
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Cortisol output in response to emotion induction procedures was examined at child age 24 months in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1,292 children and families in predominantly low-income and non-urban communities in two regions of high poverty in the US. Multilevel analysis indicated that observed emotional reactivity to a mask presentation but not a toy removal procedure interacted with sensitive parenting to predict cortisol levels in children. For children experiencing high levels of sensitive parenting, cortisol output was high among children exhibiting high emotional reactivity and low among children exhibiting low emotional reactivity. For children experiencing low levels of sensitive parenting, cortisol output was unrelated to emotional reactivity.
Identifying developmental cascades among differentiated dimensions of social competence and emotion regulation.
Creators: name: Shanahan, Lilly
name: Keane, Susan P.
name: Blair, Bethany L.
name: O'Brien, Marion
name: Perry, Nicole B.
name: Calkins, Susan D.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: This study utilized data from 356 children, their mothers, teachers, and peers, to examine the longitudinal and dynamic associations among three dimensions of social competence derived from Hinde's (1987) framework of social complexity: social skills, peer group acceptance, and friendship quality. Direct and indirect associations among each discrete dimension of social competence and emotion regulation were also examined. Results suggest that there are important distinctions among the dimensions of social competence as they relate to one another and to emotion regulation. Model comparisons provided evidence of cascade and reciprocal effects among the variables, demonstrating complex associations that are ongoing across middle childhood. Specifically, there were cascading effects from emotion regulation abilities at age 5 to social skills at age 7, which was then associated with age 10 outcomes of more positive friendship quality, greater peer acceptance, and greater emotion regulation.
Solitons on intersecting 3-Branes II: a holographic perspective
Creators: name: Cottrell, William
name: Hashimoto, Akikazu
name: Pettengill, Duncan
name: Pillai, Mohandas
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the low energy effective theory of two sets of D3-branes overlapping in 1+1 dimensions, recently considered by Mintun, Polchinski, and Sun. In the original treatment by MPS, by studying the properties of magnetic solitons, the low energy effective field theory was found to require some ultraviolet completion, possibly involving full string dynamics. Recently in a companion paper, it was shown that by scaling the angle between the D3-branes and the D3'-branes in the zero slope limit in specific way, one can find simpler effective field theory which consists of a single tower of Regge trajectory states and yet is ultraviolet complete and non-singular. In this article, we study this model by further studying a limit which recovers the MPS dynamics from this non-singular construction. We approach this issue from a holographic perspective, where we consider a stack of $N$ D3-branes overlapping with a single D3'-brane, and treat that D3'-brane as a probe in the $AdS_5 \times S^5$ dual. In general, the D3'-brane probe supports a magnetic monopole as a non-singular soliton configuration, but in the limit where the MPS dynamics is recovered, the soliton degenerates. This is consistent with the idea that the effective dynamics in the MPS setup is incomplete, but that it can be completed with a single tower of Regge trajectory states.
description: 24 pages, 2 figures
Multiple aspects of self-regulation uniquely predict mathematics but not letter–word knowledge in the early elementary grades.
Creators: name: Ursache, Alexandra
name: Vernon-Feagans, Lynne
name: Greenberg, Mark
name: Blair, Clancy
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: The relation of self-regulation measured prior to school entry to developing math and reading ability in prekindergarten through the second grade was examined in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1,292 children and families in predominantly rural and low-income communities in 2 regions of high poverty in the United States. Direct assessments of executive function, effortful control, and stress response physiology (indexed by resting levels of cortisol and alpha amylase obtained from saliva) were measured at child age 48 months and parents and teachers reported on children’s effortful control using temperament rating scales at child age approximately 60 months. Math and reading ability, as measured by the Woodcock-Johnson III applied problems and letter–word subtests, respectively, were measured at prekindergarten through the second grade. Effects for self-regulation measures were seen primarily for initial level and to some extent growth in both mathematics and reading, even when controlling for family demographic characteristics that represent relevant selection factors into higher levels of both self-regulation and academic achievement. These effects persisted for mathematics but not for reading with the inclusion of child cognitive abilities, vocabulary, and speed of processing measured in prekindergarten, concurrent with the first time point for the academic measures. Results are interpreted as indicating a role for self-regulation in learning ability generally, likely through support for attention and reasoning abilities that are most specific to the assessment of mathematics in this analysis. Implications for instruction and for assessment and the best ways to support the development of early math and reading ability for children at risk for school failure are discussed.
Graffiti Distribution in Novi Sad: A Comparative Spatial Analysis Using Field Surveys and Google Street View
Creators: name: Jing, Tang
name: Yilin, Wei
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: In South-Eastern and Central Europe, graffiti is a widespread cultural phenomenon. It is often used to express support for football teams, political affiliation and (national) ideology. Currently, research on graffiti in South Eastern Europe mainly focuses on the domains of sociology and cultural studies, with an absence of systematic studies from linguistic and geographic perspectives. An integration of these two perspectives can prove especially helpful for the study of graffiti, which in most cases uses language to shape the space in which they are located. The linguistic subfield of linguistic landscape, within which graffiti is often linguistically studied, presents severe issues, mainly due to a lack of systematic methods. Interdisciplinary work combining linguistic and geographic methods is needed in order to improve the scientific quality of linguistic landscape research. Hence, this study aims to adopt a linguistic and geographic perspective, utilizing a combination of field surveys and Google Street View crawling methods to gather graffiti data in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. Subsequently, an analysis of the spatial distribution patterns and linguistic content of graffiti is conducted to explore whether Novi Sad's graffiti distribution exhibits specific spatial characteristics and whether there are spatial connections among graffiti contents. Through the linguistic and geographic examination of graffiti in Novi Sad, this research not only explores spatial distribution patterns but also delves deeper into the national ideologies of the Serbian population and the identity affiliations across different urban districts.
title: Modelling hydrodynamic transport and larval dispersal in North-East Atlantic Shelf seas
Creators: name: Phelps, Jack
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: This thesis presents a series of numerical modelling studies into hydrodynamic transport and larval dispersal. The initial investigation seeks to evaluate retention timescales in Liverpool Bay. The flushing time and residence time are equal to 136 days and 103 days respectively, however small concentrations of seawater are retained over several years due to vigorous tidal mixing. The age distribution is shown to be highly variable and dependent upon tracer input duration, however salinity can be used to estimate the mean age, which is not directly observable in practice. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 all focus upon the dispersal of meroplanktonic larvae and aim to determine how larval behaviour affects their transport. Vertical migration is a significant influence upon larval dispersal within each case study, although the effect of this behaviour is conditional upon local hydrodynamic conditions. For example diel vertical migration promotes dispersal in the western Irish Sea, however the identical swimming pattern facilitates local retention in the eastern Irish Sea. The ecological implications of these findings are discussed. This thesis concludes with an investigation into the impact of large CO2 leakages on the marine carbonate system at potential carbon sequestration sites in the North Sea. Perturbations to seawater pH are found to vary according to the rate, duration and location of CO2 input. The northern North Sea is particularly vulnerable to large perturbations (> 1 pH units) during the summer months, as the strong seasonal thermocline suppresses CO2 outgasing.
Parenting and children’s representations of family predict disruptive and callous-unemotional behaviors.
Creators: name: Zvara, Bharathi
name: Cox, Martha J.
name: Willoughby, Michael T.
name: Wagner, Nicholas J.
name: Mills-Koonce, W. Roger
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Data from a large prospective longitudinal study (n = 1,239) was used to investigate the association between observed sensitive parenting in early childhood and children's representations of family relationships as measured by the Family Drawing Paradigm (FDP) in first grade as well as the extent to which these representations partially mediate the influences of early caregiving experiences on later conduct problems and callous-unemotional behaviors. A structural equation modeling approach revealed that less sensitive parenting at 24, 36, and 58 months predicts higher levels of conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors in first grade controlling for earlier measures of CP and CU behaviors. Results also indicated that greater dysfunctional family representations, as assessed with the FDP, are significantly associated with higher CU behaviors in the first grade, but not CP. Finally, a test of the indirect pathway suggests that children's dysfunctional family representations may, in part, account for the association between sensitive parenting and CU behaviors.
Better working memory for non-social targets in infant siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Creators: name: Walden, Tedra
name: Sheridan, Elisabeth H.
name: Noland, Julia S.
name: Stone, Wendy L.
name: Steven Reznick, J.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2010

description: We compared working memory (WM) for location of social vs. non-social targets in infant siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (sibs-ASD, n=25) and typically developing children (sibs-TD, n=30) at 6.5 and 9 months of age. There was a significant interaction of risk group and target-type on WM, in which the sibs-ASD had better WM for non-social targets as compared to controls. There was no group by stimulus interaction on two non-memory measures. The results suggest that the increased competency of sibs-ASD in WM (creating, updating, and using transient representations) for non-social stimuli distinguishes them from sibs-TD by 9 months of age. This early emerging strength is discussed as a developmental pathway that may have implications for social attention and learning in children at risk for ASD.
title: Measuring Clinical Severity in Infants with Bronchiolitis
Creators: name: Van Miert, Clare
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: Bronchiolitis is a viral lower respiratory tract infection of infancy and a major cause of infant morbidity. Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of bronchiolitis. The majority of infants infected with bronchiolitis will have mild symptoms, lasting up to five days with the infant being successfully managed at home. However, up to 3% of all infants will be admitted to hospital for supportive therapy, such as oxygen and/ or fluids. A small proportion of these hospitalised infants (10%) will rapidly deteriorate further and require critical care admission for either invasive or non-invasive ventilation. Many clinical trials have been undertaken to evaluate a number of pharmaceutical interventions used to treat bronchiolitis. However, no treatment intervention has been proven to be effective. A large proportion of these clinical trials used clinical severity scores as an outcome measure. These clinical severity scores had not undergone any rigorous development and validation as recommended by the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) when developing an outcome measure for clinical trials. This thesis sets out the psychometric methods used to develop and validate the Liverpool Infant Bronchiolitis Severity Score – Proxy Reported Outcome Measure (LIBSS-PRO). The premise of the LIBSS-PRO is two-fold. Firstly, the LIBSS-PRO has been primarily developed for use in daily clinical management to identify infant improvement or deterioration. This will contribute to the standardisation of patient care and facilitate clinical decision making. Secondly, by fulfilling the FDA criteria as an outcome measure the LIBSS-PRO will improve the quality of future clinical trials of treatment interventions for bronchiolitis. The study was divided into three phases over three bronchiolitis seasons. The first phase was concerned with the development of the LIBSS-PRO. Items were identified from the literature and through stakeholder group workshops. A conceptual framework of bronchiolitis severity was developed. Consensus methods were used to identify which items were considered the most important and to develop criteria for mild, moderate and severe bronchiolitis. The second phase determined the content validity of the LIBSS-PRO. The LIBSS-PRO was evaluated by a range of health care professionals working in a variety of clinical environments by applying the score to eligible infants. Cognitive interviewing of health care professionals was used to assess comprehension and interpretation of each section of the LIBSS-PRO. Finally, in phase three, clinical field testing was undertaken in a variety of clinical locations by health care professionals to establish construct and criterion validity and reliability of the LIBSS-PRO. Responsiveness to change and cross cultural validation will be assessed in future clinical trials.
Infant word segmentation and childhood vocabulary development: a longitudinal analysis: Infant word segmentation and vocabulary outcomes
Creators: name: Steven Reznick, J.
name: Xuehua, Liang
name: Singh, Leher
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2012

description: Infants begin to segment novel words from speech by 7.5 months, demonstrating an ability to track, encode and retrieve words in the context of larger units. Although it is presumed that word recognition at this stage is a prerequisite to constructing a vocabulary, the continuity between these stages of development has not yet been empirically demonstrated. The goal of the present study is to investigate whether infant word segmentation skills are indeed related to later lexical development. Two word segmentation tasks, varying in complexity, were administered in infancy and related to childhood outcome measures. Outcome measures consisted of age-normed productive vocabulary percentiles and a measure of cognitive development. Results demonstrated a strong degree of association between infant word segmentation abilities at 7 months and productive vocabulary size at 24 months. In addition, outcome groups, as defined by median vocabulary size and growth trajectories at 24 months, showed distinct word segmentation abilities as infants. These findings provide the first prospective evidence supporting the predictive validity of infant word segmentation tasks and suggest that they are indeed associated with mature word knowledge.
The Flow Around a Cosmic String, Part I: Hydrodynamic Solution
Creators: name: Beresnyak, Andrey
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Cosmic strings are linear topological defects which are hypothesized to be produced during inflation. Most searches for strings have been relying on the string's lensing of background galaxies or CMB. In this paper I obtained the solution for the supersonic flow of the collisional gas past the cosmic string which has two planar shocks with shock compression ratio that depend on the angle defect of the string and its speed. The shocks result in compression and heating of the gas and, given favorable condition, particle acceleration. The gas heating and overdensity in an unusual wedge shape can be detected by observing HI line at high redshifts. The particle acceleration can occur in present-day Universe when the string crosses the hot gas contained in galaxy clusters and, since the consequences of such collision persist for cosmological timescales, could be located by looking at the unusual large-scale radio sources situated on a single spatial plane.
description: 4 pages
Homocysteine Metabolism in ZDF (Type 2) Diabetic Rats
Creators: name: Brosnan, M. E.
name: Zeisel, S. H.
name: Wijekoon, E. P.
name: Ratnam, S.
name: Hall, B.
name: Brosnan, J. T.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2005

description: Mild hyperhomocysteinemia is a risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease. We determined the effects of insulin resistance and of type 2 diabetes on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism using Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF/Gmi fa/fa and ZDF/Gmi fa/?). Plasma total Hcy was reduced in ZDF fa/fa rats by 24% in the pre-diabetic insulin-resistant stage, while in the frank diabetic stage there was a 59% reduction. Hepatic activities of several enzymes that play a role in the removal of Hcy: cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), cystathionine γ-lyase, and betaine:Hcy methyltransferase (BHMT) were increased as was methionine adenosyltransferase. CBS and BHMT mRNA levels and the hepatic level of S-adenosylmethionine were also increased in the ZDF fa/fa rats. Studies with primary hepatocytes showed that Hcy export and the transsulfuration flux in cells from ZDF fa/fa rats were particularly sensitive to betaine. Interestingly, liver betaine concentration was found to be significantly lower in the ZDf fa/fa rats at both 5 and 11 weeks. These results emphasize the importance of betaine metabolism in determining plasma Hcy levels in type 2 diabetes.
Sivers Asymmetry with QCD Evolution
Creators: name: Echevarria, Miguel G.
name: Idilbi, Ahmad
name: Kang, Zhong-Bo
name: Vitev, Ivan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We analyze the Sivers asymmetry in both Drell-Yan (DY) production and semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS), while considering properly defined transverse momentum dependent parton distribution and fragmentation functions and their QCD evolution. After finding a universal non-perturbative spin-independent Sudakov factor that can describe reasonably well the world's data of SIDIS, DY lepton pair and $W/Z$ production in unpolarized scatterings, we perform a global fitting of all the experimental data on the Sivers asymmetry in SIDIS from HERMES, COMPASS and Jefferson Lab. Then we make predictions for the asymmetry in DY lepton pair and $W$ boson production, which could be compared to the future experimental data in order to test the sign change of the Sivers function.
description: 9 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of QCD Evolution 2014
title: Insecticide resistance mechanisms in Aedes aegypti
Creators: name: Rajatileka, Shavanthi
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: Dengue is the most rapidly spreading vector borne disease. In Thailand, the number of dengue cases increased from 46,829 in 2006 to 76,059 by September 2008 (WHO, 2008). Insecticides play a vital role in controlling this disease but the success of control programmes is continually threatened by the emergence and spread of insecticide resistance in the vector population.
Rosiglitazone Inhibits Acyl-CoA Synthetase Activity and Fatty Acid Partitioning to Diacylglycerol and Triacylglycerol via a Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor- -Independent Mechanism in Human Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells and Macrophages
Creators: name: Askari, B.
name: Golej, D. L.
name: Coleman, R. A.
name: Liu, J.
name: Bender, A. T.
name: Sherrid, A. M.
name: Kanter, J. E.
name: Bornfeldt, K. E.
name: Beavo, J. A.
name: Hsueh, W. A.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: Rosiglitazone is an insulin-sensitizing agent that has recently been shown to exert beneficial effects on atherosclerosis. In addition to peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR)-γ, rosiglitazone can affect other targets, such as directly inhibiting recombinant long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (ACSL)-4 activity. Because it is unknown if ACSL4 is expressed in vascular cells involved in atherosclerosis, we investigated the ability of rosiglitazone to inhibit ACSL activity and fatty acid partitioning in human and murine arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and macrophages. Human and murine SMCs and human macrophages expressed Acsl4, and rosiglitazone inhibited Acsl activity in these cells. Furthermore, rosiglitazone acutely inhibited partitioning of fatty acids into phospholipids in human SMCs and inhibited fatty acid partitioning into diacylglycerol and triacylglycerol in human SMCs and macrophages through a PPAR-γ–independent mechanism. Conversely, murine macrophages did not express ACSL4, and rosiglitazone did not inhibit ACSL activity in these cells, nor did it affect acute fatty acid partitioning into cellular lipids. Thus, rosiglitazone inhibits ACSL activity and fatty acid partitioning in human and murine SMCs and in human macrophages through a PPAR-γ–independent mechanism likely to be mediated by ACSL4 inhibition. Therefore, rosiglitazone might alter the biological effects of fatty acids in these cells and in atherosclerosis.
Equidistribution for sequences of line bundles on normal Kaehler spaces
Creators: name: Coman, Dan
name: Ma, Xiaonan
name: Marinescu, George
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Complex Variables (math.CV)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: Algebraic Geometry (math.AG)
subject: Differential Geometry (math.DG)
subject: Number Theory (math.NT)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Primary 32L10. Secondary 32A60, 32C20, 32U40, 81Q50

description: We study the asymptotics of Fubini-Study currents and zeros of random holomorphic sections associated to a sequence of singular Hermitian line bundles on a compact normal Kaehler complex space.
description: 32 pages
Association of FTO With Obesity-Related Traits in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) Cohort
Creators: name: Lange, L. A.
name: Qin, L.
name: Adair, L. S.
name: Mohlke, K. L.
name: Marvelle, A. F.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2008

description: OBJECTIVE—The underlying genetic component of obesity-related traits is not well understood, and there is limited evidence to support genetic association shared across multiple studies, populations, and environmental contexts. The present study investigated the association between candidate variants and obesity-related traits in a sample of 1,886 adult Filipino women from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) cohort.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We selected and genotyped 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 10 genes (ADRB2, ADRB3, FTO, GNB3, INSIG2, LEPR, PPARG, TNF, UCP2, and UCP3) that had been previously reported to be associated with an obesity-related quantitative trait.RESULTS—We observed evidence for association of the A allele of rs9939609 (FTO intron 1) with increased BMI (P = 0.0072 before multiple test correction), baseline BMI (P = 0.0015), longitudinal BMI based on eight surveys from 1983 to 2005 (P = 0.000029), waist circumference (P = 0.0094), and weight (P = 0.021). The increase in average BMI was ∼0.4 for each additional A allele. We also observed association of the ADRB3 Trp64Arg variant with BMI, waist circumference, percent body fat, weight, fat mass, arm fat area, and arm muscle area (P < 0.05), although the direction of effect is inconsistent with the majority of previous reports.CONCLUSIONS—Our study confirms that FTO is a common obesity susceptibility gene in Filipinos, with an effect size similar to that seen in samples of European origin.
A Scanner Assay Developed To Quantify Nematode Population Movement And Its Applications For Nematicide Screening
Creators: name: Beeman, Augustine Q.
name: Njus, Z. L.
name: Pandey, S.
name: Tylka, G. L.
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: Sustainable agricultural development
Farm management, rural management and agribusiness
Agricultural management of nutrients

description: Plant-parasitic nematodes cause substantial damage to agricultural crops worldwide. Long-term management of these pests requires novel strategies to reduce infection of host plants. Disruption of nematode chemotaxis to root systems has been proposed as a potential management approach, and novel assays are needed to test the chemotactic behavior of nematodes against a wide range of synthetic chemicals and root exudates. Two microfluidic chips were developed that measure the attraction or repulsion of nematodes to chemicals ("chemical chip") and young plant roots ("root chip"). The chip designs allowed for chemical concentration gradients to be maintained up to 24 h, the nematodes to remain physically separate from the chemical reservoirs, and for images of nematode populations to be captured using either a microscope or a flatbed scanner. In the experiments using the chemical chips, seven ionic solutions were tested on second-stage juveniles (J2s) of Meloidogyne incognita and Heterodera glycines. Results were consistent with previous reports of repellency of M. incognita to a majority of the ionic solutions, including NH4NO3, KNO3, KCl,MgCl2, and CaCl2. H. glycines was found to be attracted to both NH4NO3 and KNO3, which has not been reported previously. A software program was written to aid in monitoring the location of nematodes at regular time intervals using the root chip. In experiments with the root chip, H. glycines J2s were attracted to roots of 3-day-old, susceptible (cultivar Williams 82) soybean seedlings, and attraction of H. glycines to susceptible soybean was similar across the length of the root. Attraction to resistant (cultivar Jack) soybean seedlings relative to the water only control was inconsistent across runs, and H. glycines J2s were not preferentially attracted to the roots of resistant or susceptible cultivars when both were placed on opposite sides of the same root chip. The chips developed allow for direct tests of plant-parasitic nematode chemotaxis to chemicals and roots with minimal human intervention.