cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Cognitive influences on the sensorimotor gating of the acoustic startle reflex
Creators: name: Glass, Ruth Mindy
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is viewed as a measure of sensorimotor gating in which the startle response to a sudden intense stimulus (pulse) is attenuated by a weaker stimulus (prepulse) that immediately precedes the pulse. Similarly, in the cognitive domain, individuals can filter out unnecessary thoughts and impulses, essentially “cognitive gating.” There are many neuroanatomical overlaps between the sensorimotor gating and cognitive gating domains, as well as the coupling of deficiencies of both in certain mental disorders. Using a novel paradigm, the current study investigated whether changes in sensorimotor gating can be linked to cognitive gating. One hundred and two healthy volunteers were divided into groups and underwent two acoustic startle PPI sessions, before and after a specific task. Depending on the group, the task consisted of either a passive activity or one of three cognitive tasks, varying in cognitive gating demands. Passive activity between PPI sessions had differential effects on percent inhibition changes compared to an intervening cognitively demanding task. That is, cognitive gating tasks, but not attentional tasks, interfered with PPI magnitude, with systematic variations occurring between male and female subjects. Overall, the results imply a strong relationship between sensorimotor and cognitive gating domains, providing an opportunity to broaden our understanding of potential mechanisms underlying each of these processes
Algorithmic and complexity results for boolean and pseudo-boolean functions
Creators: name: Gruber, Aritanan G.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: This dissertation presents our contributions to two problems.    In the first problem, we study the hardness of approximation of clause minimum and literal minimum representations of pure Horn functions in $n$ Boolean variables. We show that unless P=NP, it is not possible to approximate in polynomial time the minimum number of clauses and the minimum number of literals of pure Horn CNF representations to within a factor of $2^{log^{1-o(1)} n}$. This is the case even when the inputs are restricted to pure Horn 3-CNFs with $O(n^{1+varepsilon})$ clauses, for some small positive constant $varepsilon$. Furthermore, we show that even allowing sub-exponential time computation, it is still not possible to obtain constant factor approximations for such problems unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false.    In the second problem, we study quadratizations of pseudo-Boolean functions, that is, transformations that given a pseudo-Boolean function $f(x)$ in $n$ variables, produce a quadratic pseudo-Boolean function $g(x,y)$ in $n+m$ variables such that $f(x) = min_{yinB^m} g(x,y)$ for all $xinB^n$. We present some new termwise procedures, leading to improved experimental results, and then take a global perspective and start a systematic investigation of some structural properties of the class of all quadratizations of a given function.     We show that all pseudo-Boolean functions in $n$ variables can be quadratized and $y$-linear quadratized (no quadratic products involving solely auxiliary variables) with at most $O(2^{n/2})$ and $Obigl(frac{2^n}{n}log nbigr)$ auxiliary variables, respectively, and that almost all those functions require $Omega(2^{n/2})$ and $Omega(2^n/n)$ auxiliary variables in any quadratization and any $y$-linear quadratization, respectively. We obtain the bounds $O(n^{d/2})$ and $Omega(n^{d/2})$ for quadratizations of degree-$d$ pseudo-Boolean functions, and bounds of $n-2$ and $Omega(n/log n)$ for $y$-linear quadratizations (and $Omega(oldsqrt{n})$ for quadratizations) of symmetric pseudo-Boolean functions. All our upper bounds are constructive, so they provide new ($y$-linear) quadratization algorithms.    We then finish with a characterization of the set of all quadratizations of negative monomials with one auxiliary variable, a result that was surprisingly difficult to obtain, and whose proof at the moment is rather long and intricate.
Three essays on the relationship between implicit attitudes and political behavior
Creators: name: Greco, Vincent
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Considerable evidence supports the view that information processing often operates in an automatic, less conscious mode of cognition (Lodge & Taber, 2013). Such automatic or "implicit attitudes" have been shown to be a strong predictor of a variety of political outcomes (Perez, 2013). Despite such evidence, it remains unclear the mechanism linking implicit attitudes to political decision-making. This dissertation project attempts to shed light on this issue by examining the impact of implicit attitudes on political information search and candidate evaluation. In my experimental design, I use both the implicit association test (IAT) and the dynamic information board methodology (Lau & Redlawsk, 2006) to directly assess the effect of implicit racial attitudes on how subjects search for information and evaluate political candidates in the context of a mock presidential campaign. I also address a key criticism in this literature by exploring under what conditions implicit attitudes are likely to have stronger and weaker effects on political behavior. To do this, I include a set of manipulations that vary a key feature of the information environment (high vs. low cognitive load) and subjects' emotional state (positive vs. negative). The results from this project provide a direct assessment of both implicit attitudes' impact on information search and candidate evaluation as well as potential moderating factors. Turning to the results, my main finding is that implicit racial bias is a strong predictor of subjects' information search patterns, which in turn impact candidate evaluation and vote choice. However, as I demonstrate in subsequent chapters, the relationship between implicit bias and voter decision-making is moderated by changes to the information environment. The results from this project provide insight into a key pathway (information search) through which implicit attitudes impact decision-making. Moreover, I empirically demonstrate important potential boundary conditions for understanding the influence of such attitudes on behavior.
Molecular-size effects of poly(ethylene glycol) doxorubicin nanocarriers on the intraductal treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (dcis)
Creators: name: Gu, Zichao
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Systemic chemotherapy is not a first-line treatment option for early stage breast cancer due primarily to the limited blood supply in mammary ducts and the variable and limited drug concentration reaching to the tumor within the ducts.  To enhance local drug concentration and avoid excess systemic exposure, an intraductal approach for delivering the anti-cancer agents directly to mammary glands provides an alternative method for treating DCIS.     Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used anti-cancer drug but it rapidly diffuses from the mammary gland into the systemic circulation. Therefore, techniques for retaining drugs locally in the mammary gland are needed. The objective of this thesis project is to design, develop, and evaluate breast intraductal drug delivery systems that provide higher drug retention in the mammary gland, thereby minimizing systemic exposure and achieving maximal local therapeutic effect.  PEG polymers with different molecular weights (5, 10, 20 and 40 kDa) and molecular architectures (linear, four-arm and eight-arm) were conjugated to DOX to develop PEG DOX (PEG-DOX) nanocarriers. The hydrodynamic radii studies showed the hydrodynamic radii increased with increasing molecular weight for the linear PEGs and decreased with increased branching in the polymer structure. The mammary gland retention half-lives demonstrated the influence of molecular weight and structure of nanocarriers on mammary gland retention. Pharmacokinetic profiles indicated that nanocarriers with longer retention half-life tend to distribute into the blood stream with a delayed plasma peak time. Histological studies showed no local damage or inflammation in the nanocarrier treated mammary gland, but altered ductal structure was observed in DOX treated mammary gland.    A F344 tumor model, developed by inoculating 13762 Mat B III cells into female F344 rats intraductally, exhibited cell load- and time-dependent tumor development in the rats. Efficacy studies demonstrated slower tumor growth in the intraductal treatment groups than in the intravenous treatment groups. The survival rate in the intraductal treatment groups was significant higher than the untreated group. In summary, the developed PEG-DOX nanocarriers improved DOX retention and reduced DOX toxicity in mammary gland, leading to a significantly improved survival percentage in treating DCIS in a F344 tumor rat model.
Anemadus sengleti Giachino & Vailati 1993
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Anemadus
Anemadus sengleti

description: Anemadus sengleti Giachino & Vailati, 1993
Anemadus sengleti Giachino & Vailati, 1993: 138.
Type locality: Iran, Lorestan, Dizgarân, 33°44'N / 46°59'E.
Distribution in Iran. Lorestan (Giachino & Vailati 1993). General distribution. Iran.
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Miomantis lamtoensis Gillon & Roy 1968
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Pohl, Marius
name: Frank, Erik T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Miomantidae
Miomantis
Miomantis lamtoensis

description: Miomantis lamtoensis Gillon & Roy, 1968
Figs. 93–97, 102
Miomantis lamtoensis Gillon & Roy, 1968: 1116–1122, Figs 42–45.
Type locality. Lamto, Ivory Coast.
Distribution. Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana (Gillon & Roy 1968; Prost & Roy 1986; Roy 1975; Roy & Leston 1975).
Records. CSC: ♁ ♀, new station, 22.IV.–06.VI.2018, M. Pohl leg. (genitalia preparation Schwarz No. 482).
Remarks. Graminicolous, previously recorded from CNP (Gillon & Roy 1968).
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5373 (1) on page 31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5373.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10145768
Training school mental health professionals in a schoolbased depression prevention program
Creators: name: Haimm, Caroline
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) is an efficacious group depression preventive intervention for teenagers with elevated depressive symptoms. While its efficacy has been well established, the next step is to determine whether IPT-AST can be implemented in schools. Research suggests there exist certain obstacles to the implementation of evidence-based interventions in the community, including organizational factors, provider characteristics, and program features. The proposed project, an initial step toward the implementation of IPT-AST in schools, assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a preliminary IPT-AST workshop for school mental health professionals and examined provider and organizational factors associated with implementation-related outcomes. The research team held a one-day IPT-AST workshop for school mental health professionals from select New Jersey public middle and high schools. Thirty-eight participants completed self-report forms at pre-workshop and 37 at post-workshop. At the end of the workshop, participants reported high training satisfaction and significantly greater knowledge of core IPT-AST techniques and processes. From this data, organizational resources emerged as a significant positive predictor of readiness (i.e., preparedness and confidence to deliver the intervention) and age emerged as a trend level negative predictor of implementation commitment. The finding that a one-day workshop can be both satisfactory to participants and sufficient for increasing knowledge of psychological interventions is consistent with the literature. Additionally, the finding that organizational factors and age are important for implementation is also consistent with previous research. Overall, these results support the initial feasibility and acceptability of a one-day IPT-AST workshop to train school mental health professionals in the intervention. Moreover, they suggest that we may need to increase organizational resources in schools so that school mental health professionals are ready to implement this intervention. Additionally, the results suggest the importance of finding new and different ways to reach older and more experienced mental health professionals. This research may inform future IPT-AST training workshops and implementation support to better fit the diverse needs and capacities of schools and school mental health professionals.
Eocatops Peyerimhoff 1924
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Eocatops

description: Genus Eocatops Peyerimhoff, 1924
Eocatops Peyerimhoff, 1924: 63, type species: Eocatops ambiguus Peyerimhoff, 1924.
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Continuum and atomistic models of surface elasticity and applications
Creators: name: Hu, Lixin
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: We present an analysis of surface elasticity from the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for monatomic crystals. The analysis shows that the relaxations of crystal planes parallel to a free surface can be sufficiently determined by a low-rank algebraic Riccati equation instead of a full-scale molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, and gives new restrictions on physically reasonable atomistic models and simple criteria for surface reconstructions. In the case of surface relaxations, we calculate surface elasticity properties from atomistic models, which are compared with experimental data and prior simulation results.  This fundamental research is useful in a variety of applications. First, with the help of the proposed algorithm we quickly calculate the surface tension and determine the equilibrium shape of crystals. Secondly, in previous studies of wave propagation the impact of surface elasticity was not noticed. We find that when the surface/interface gains its own elasticity, the inhomogeneities between the bulk and the surface/interface result in nonlinearity for both interfacial and bulk wave propagation aspects. We study the interfacial wave between two half-spaces with surface elasticity taken into account.  ii  A sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of a subsonic interfacial wave is obtained for general anisotropic materials. In addition, from explicitly calculated dispersion relations of interfacial waves for interfaces between two solids and solid & fluid, we observe that the dispersion relations of interfacial waves are nonlinear at the presence of surface elasticity and depend on surface elasticity parameters. Further, we analyze the wave reflection and refraction with surface elasticity. We find that both the amplitude ratios and energy rates of reflected and refracted waves become dependent on the incident wave frequency. Also, the analysis of the existence of reflected and refracted waves shows that when the incident angle is above some critical angle, the corresponding reflected or refracted waves become typical interfacial waves. Finally, from Landau phenomenological theory we propose a model for size dependence of phase transformation temperature of ferroelectric nano-particles. We postulate that the surface effect plays an important role of such size effect. Our model shows the size dependence and predicts the critical size for certain ferroelectric particles.
Synthesis and processing of nanostructured BN and BN/Ti composites
Creators: name: Horvath, Robert Steven
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Superhard materials, such as cubic-BN, are widely used in machine tools, grinding wheels, and abrasives. Low density combined with high hardness makes c-BN and its composites attractive candidate materials for personnel and vehicular armor. However, improvements in toughness, and ballistic-impact performance, are needed to meet anticipated performance requirements. To achieve such improvements, we have targeted for development nanostructured c-BN, and its composites with Ti. Current research utilizes an experimental high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) method to produce these materials on a laboratory scale. Results from this work should transfer well into the industrial arena, utilizing high-tonnage presses used in the production of synthetic diamond and c-BN.  Progress has been made in: (1) HPHT synthesis of cBN powder using Mg as catalyst; (2) HPHT consolidation of cBN powder to produce nanostructured cBN; (3) reactive-HPHT consolidation of mixed cBN/Ti powder to produce nanostructured Ti- or TiB2/TiN-bonded cBN; and (4) reactive-HPHT consolidation of mixed hBN/Ti powder to produce nanostructured Ti-bonded TiB2/TiN or TiB2/TiN. Even so, much remains to be done to lay a firm scientific foundation to enable the reproducible fabrication of large-area panels for armor applications. To this end, Rutgers has formed a partnership with a major producer of hard and superhard materials.  iii  The ability to produce hard and superhard nanostructured composites by reacting cBN or hBN with Ti under high pressure also enables multi-layered structures to be developed. Such structures may be designed to satisfy impedance-mismatch requirements for high performance armor, and possibly provide a multi-hit capability. A demonstration has been made of reactive-HPHT processing of multi-layered composites, consisting of alternating layers of superhard Ti-bonded cBN and tough Ti. It is noteworthy that the pressure requirements for processing Ti-bonded cBN, Ti-bonded TiB2/TiN, and their corresponding multi-layered structures are in the 0.1-1.0 GPa range, well within the capabilities of today’s hot-pressing technologies; thus scaling this new reactive-HPHT processing technology seems assured.  Future research will focus on establishing mechanisms and kinetics of the various phase transformations observed during reactive-HPHT processing, with the objective of being able to optimize processing parameters to generate nanostructured cBN-based and TiB2/TiN-based composites that display superior mechanical properties, particularly under high-strain-rate conditions.
Eocatops beroni Szymczakowski 1976
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Eocatops
Eocatops beroni

description: Eocatops beroni Szymczakowski, 1976
Eocatops beroni Szymczakowski, 1976: 51.
Type locality: Iran: Shahpur, dans la caverne Shahpur.
Distribution in Iran. Fars, Shahpur cave (SZymcZakowski 1976). General distribution. Iran.
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Miomantis buettneri
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Pohl, Marius
name: Frank, Erik T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Miomantidae
Miomantis
Miomantis buettneri

description: Miomantis buettneri (Giglio-Tos, 1911)
Figs. 98–101
Calidomantis b̧ttneri Giglio-Tos, 1911: 181–182.
Type locality. Bismarckburg, Togo.
Distribution. Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Uganda (?) (Giglio-Tos 1911a; Gillon & Roy 1968; Roy 1963, 1965a, 1969, 1971b, c).
Records. CSC: ♁, old camp, 16.X.2000, C. J. Schwarz leg.; juv. ♀, old camp, 12.–20.XI.2000, C. J. Schwarz leg.; juv. ♀, old camp, 10.–20.XI.2000, C. J. Schwarz leg.; ♁, new station, 22.IV.–06.VI.2018, M. Pohl leg.; ♁, new station, 22.IV.–06.VI.2018, M. Pohl leg. (genitalia preparation Schwarz No. 590).
Remarks. Graminicolous, not very common.
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5373 (1) on page 32, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5373.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10145768
Eocatops suturalis Murray 1856
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Eocatops
Eocatops suturalis

description: Eocatops suturalis (Murray, 1856)
Catops (Catops) suturalis (Murray, 1856): 457. Type locality: Mongolia?
Ptomaphagus malyi Obenberger, 1914: 99.
Type locality: Zentralasien: Buchara centr., Bascerbak am Ufer des Kafirigan. Anemadus castaneus Roubal, 1921a: 30.
Type locality: [Russia:] Caucasus: Pjatigorsk.
Distribution in Iran. Khorasan (Chorassan: Sengin), Tehran (nord-iranien: ElbourZ) (Jeannel 1936). General distribution. Afghanistan, Armenia, AZerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia (Kraï of Stavropol), UZbekistan (Perreau 2015).
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Global designs
Creators: name: Haakenson, Hilary
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: My dissertation examines how in the fourteenth century, the rival republics of Pisa, Venice, and Genoa each commissioned major civic monuments that featured Old Testament and cartographic references as well as local saints, traditions, and themes. I argue that their complex programs were intended to assert their respective republics’ supremacy in the Mediterranean world and to legitimize their claims to global empire by establishing unsurpassable pedigrees.    Chapter one and two examine the extensive fresco cycles adorning the Pisan Camposanto, the miraculous cemetery composed of soil stolen from Jerusalem. As the frescoes charted two thousand years of Pisan impact on Asia, Africa, and Europe, they testified that, in fact, Pisa was the center of the world. Chapter three analyzes the grand epigraph encircling the nave of San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa with an encomium to the republic’s prestigious descent from Abraham, Noah, and Janus. Working in conjunction with the other Old Testament references and the very material of the church, the inscription touted the cathedral’s position as the heart of Genoa’s empire through which its international resources were funneled. Chapter four explores how the Trecento façade of the Venetian Palazzo Ducale combined Old Testament imagery, cartography, an international style, and allusions to diplomatic exchanges with the peoples of the world—including the Mongols and the Turks—to visualize the vast pursuits and ancient heritage of the Venetian empire.   My analyses crystalize how, as their mariners navigated the Mediterranean Sea, these three ports became filters that synthesized and reconciled pagan and Judeo-Christian knowledge. The monuments facilitated this syncretic process using the Old Testament—with its unparalleled early history, its cross-cultural relevance, its rare topographic descriptions of the East, and its connection to medieval cartography—as a familiar framework upon which to graft changing notions of space and time. Like contemporary texts, the artistic programs of each monument employed the Old Testament to compose more nuanced and cross-cultural (though still hierarchical) geographical world histories that supported their global designs. The monuments thereby fostered a new model of geographically and historically conscious communal identity that transformed how Europeans saw the world and ushered in the Renaissance.
Phytochemicals for prostate cancer prevention
Creators: name: Huang, Ying
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Prostate cancer is the most prevalent type of non-skin cancer among men in the United States. The development of prostate cancer generally consists of three stages—initiation, promotion and progression. Many phytochemical display preventive effects against prostate cancer by blocking the tumor initiation and/or suppressing the promotion and progression. Nrf2 is a master regulator of the antioxidant response and xenobiotic metabolism through the regulation of a wide range of antioxidant and phase II detoxification genes. Nrf2 protects cells from stressors, including endogenous substances, reactive oxygen species, radiation, environmental toxins, and xenobiotics from food. The protective role of Nrf2 points its potential importance in prostate carcinogenesis. Coincidentally, our group has reported that as prostate progresses in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) model, there is a progressive loss of expression of Nrf2 and its downstream target genes, which is associated CpG hypermethylation in the promoter region. Curcumin (CUR), tocopherols (T) and tocotrienols (T3) were found to be powerful cancer chemopreventive agents using animal models of different cancers including prostate cancer. Using TRAMP C1 cells, we demonstrated that CUR is a potent demethylation agent and it restores the epigenetically silenced Nrf2 gene through DNA demethylation. In addition, we showed that a γ-tocopherol-rich mixture of tocopherols (γTmT) treatment reduced the incidence of palpable tumor incidence in TRAMP mice. γTmT also inhibited the CpG hypermethylation in the Nrf2 promoter during prostate cancer progression and maintained Nrf2 and its downstream target NQO1 in the prostate. A global gene expression analysis comparing the TRAMP and non-transgenic mice revealed dramatic difference in the prostate, including genes encoding phase II detoxification enzymes and cell cycle controlling proteins. Short-term treatment of γTmT could partly prevent the alteration of genes identified in the prostate of TRAMP mice. Furthermore, we found that a mixture of tocotrienols, a less-recognized subclass of vitamin E, suppressed xenografted VCaP prostate tumor in nude mice in part by modulating cell cycle progression.
Proximal factors driving the local dynamics of West Nile virus transmission
Creators: name: Johnson, Brian J.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Understanding the primary factors driving the transmission dynamics of West Nile virus (WNV) is essential to predicting and controlling disease risk to wildlife and to humans. In Chapter 1, I found that seasonal drought conditions, associated with specific thresholds of temperature and precipitation, correspond to epizootic levels of transmission. As a follow up, in Chapter 2, I examined the effects of drought-induced egg retention on the reproductive potential of female Culex pipiens. I found that, consistent with an “all-or-none” ovipositing strategy, female Cx. pipiens are able to maintain a high degree of reproductive potential during prolonged drought events. In Chapter 3, since identification limitations have long confounded the roles of native and exotic Culex species in WNV transmission, I used a cost-effective DNA-based assay to identify field-collected specimens. Contrary to expectations, I found the native species, Cx. restuans, to be more abundant and more frequently infected than Cx. pipiens, an exotic species, in both natural and urban habitats. Importantly, I found that Cx. restuans and Cx. pipiens appear to be acting synergistically resulting in high WNV transmission. Lastly, in Chapter 4, in order to rectify the lack of insecticide resistance (IR) studies in local Culex, I examined the occurrence of IR alleles in New Jersey Cx. pipiens. I found two widespread organophosphate resistant alleles, EsterB1 and Ester2, and the classical knockdown resistance (kdr) mutation (L1014F) conferring resistance to pyrethroids. Importantly, I detected double mutants at the kdr and Ester loci, a condition that may accelerate IR. Taken together, my studies reveal that disease risk for WNV is exacerbated by high temperature/low humidity conditions. I elucidated this paradoxical result by showing that female Cx. pipiens can retain their eggs until they find remnant water filled containers, which during drought become concentrated near humans. Further, I elucidated the important role of the native Cx. restuans in the transmission of WNV and the ways that native and exotic species may act synergistically to maximize transmission. Similarly, my baseline analysis of IR in Cx. pipiens indicates the presence of multiple resistance alleles in single individuals that may drive the spread of resistance.
Eocatops ophidianus Szymczakowski 1976
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Eocatops
Eocatops ophidianus

description: Eocatops ophidianus Szymczakowski, 1976
Eocatops ophidianus Szy mczakowski, 1976: 48.
Type locality: Iran septentrional prov. Khorasan, circ. Fariman, Kuh-e-Sorkh, 2800 m.
Distribution in Iran. East AZarbaijan (TabriZ, Kendvan), MaZandaran (Pol-e-Zanguleh), RaZavi Khorasan (Fariman) (SZymcZakowski 1976).
General distribution. Iran, Turkey (Latella 2010; Perreau 2015).
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Congoharpax aberrans La Greca 1954
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Pohl, Marius
name: Frank, Erik T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Galinthiadidae
Congoharpax
Congoharpax aberrans

description: Congoharpax aberrans La Greca, 1954
Figs. 103–104, 107
Congoharpax aberrans La Greca, 1954: 38–39, Figs 31–33.
= Galinthias lobipes Chopard, 1954: 22–23, Fig. 1 a-b.
Type localities. (C. a.) Mongbwalu, DRC; (G. l.) Nimba Mts., Guinea.
Distribution. Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, CAR, DRC (Chopard 1954; Gillon & Roy 1968; La Greca 1954b; Moulin et al. 2017; Roy 1963, 1964b, 1965a, 1973a, b, 1975, 2018; Roy & Leston 1975).
Records. CSC: ♁, new station, 03.IV.–12. V.2017, M. Pohl leg.
Remarks. The genus Congoharpax is essentially a rainforest taxon.The capture of a male in the CNP underscores the role of gallery forests as dispersal corridors for rainforest organisms to the north into the Guinea savanna.
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5373 (1) on page 33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5373.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10145768
Domestic violence
Creators: name: Ibrahim, Deyana
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Domestic violence occurs across the world in various cultures and harms countless women.  It is a growing world-wide problem within households and in public spheres.  It is experienced by wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of abusive men.  Many Egyptian women are experiencing domestic violence.  In this thesis, I investigate causes and effects of domestic violence in Egypt by tracing its emergence in historical context and examine different laws regarding domestic violence.  Domestic violence has many different names such as, family violence, battering, wife beating, and domestic abuse.  These terms refer to abuse by marital, common law, and dating partners, parents or other household members against another member of the household.  In Egypt, religion has played a major role in the community and it has influenced people’s behaviors and actions in public and private spheres.   Some Muslim and Coptic Christian men misinterpret the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible to justify their behavior of abusing the females in their households.  Egyptian traditions also validate that Egyptian women must obey their fathers, brothers, and husbands.  Despite decades of activism to address violence against women, some people remain uneducated about domestic violence.  Nevertheless, activists and NGOs continue to raise awareness about domestic violence and make Egyptian women aware of the different options they have to try and leave their abusive situation.  It will take time before violence against Egyptian women disappears but there is always a new found hope that one day it will completely vanish.
Pseudoharpax francoisi Bolivar 1908
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Pohl, Marius
name: Frank, Erik T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Galinthiadidae
Pseudoharpax
Pseudoharpax francoisi

description: Pseudoharpax francoisi Bolívar, 1908
Figs. 105–106, 108
Pseudoharpax francoisi Bolívar, 1908: 470–471.
Type locality. Bouaké, Ivory Coast.
Distribution. Guinea, Ivory Coast (Beier 1968; Bolívar 1908a).
Records. CSC: ♁, new station, 03.IV.–12.V.2017, M. Pohl leg.
Remarks. The type location of the female holotype (MNCN, Cat. No. 1631) is given as “Bonaké” in Bolívar (1908a). La Greca (1954b) erroneously believed the type, which he had not seen, to have originated in “ Spanish Guinea ” (today Equatorial Guinea). West African Pseudoharpax specimens have been mostly referred to P. virescens virescens (Audinet-Serville, 1838) in faunistic studies (Beier 1968; Chopard 1940a; Gillon & Roy 1968; Prost & Roy 1986; Ragge & Roy 1967; Roy 1962a, 1964b, 1965a, 1967, 1968b, 1969, 1970b, 1971a, b, 1975, 1978; Roy & Leston 1975). However, there are morphological and genital differences between different populations across West Africa, which will be dealt with in an upcoming revision of the genus (M. Stiewe, pers. com.). The male encountered in the Comoé NP shares with the female of P. francoisi Bolívar, 1908 the black markings on head and pronotum (Fig. 105). These markings have also been noted by Beier (1968) on some Guinean specimens, but he attributed this to intraspecific variability of P. virescens. We regard P. francoisi as valid, since both sexes show different pronotal and head proportions than specimens attributed to P. virescens. In addition, the black markings, or lack thereof, respectively, are a stable character. Two different Pseudoharpax species from West Africa (Gambia and Ghana, respectively) lacking black markings when wild-caught never exhibited such markings even after several generations of captive breeding under many different conditions (pers. obs.).
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5373 (1) on page 33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5373.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10145768
Catops Paykull 1798
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Catops

description: Genus Catops Paykull, 1798
Catops Paykull, 1798: 342, type species: Catops sericeus Paykull, 1798 (= Helops fuscus Panzer, 1794). Lasiocatops Reitter, 1901: 47, type species: Catops alpinus Gyllenhal, 1827.
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Idolomorpha lateralis Burmeister 1838
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Pohl, Marius
name: Frank, Erik T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Empusidae
Idolomorpha
Idolomorpha lateralis

description: Idolomorpha lateralis Burmeister, 1838
Figs. 109–111
Empusa (Idolomorpha) lateralis Burmeister, 1838: 547.
= Empusa defoliata Audinet-Serville, 1838: 147−148.
= Empusa (Idolomorpha) spinifrons Saussure, 1859: 61.
Type localities. (I. l.) Sierra Leone; (E. d.) Senegal; (I. s.) „ South America “.
Distribution. Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Congo, CAR (Audinet-Serville 1838; Burmeister 1838; Chopard 1954; Gillon & Roy 1968; Prost & Roy 1986; Ragge & Roy 1967; Roy 1963, 1964a, b, 1965a, 1967, 1968a, 1971b, 1975, 2018; Roy & Leston 1975; pers. obs.).
Records. CSC: ♀, new station, 22.IV.–01.VI.2019, M. Pohl leg.
Remarks. Young nymphs are graminicolous, older nymphs and adults prefer forbs and scrubs above the grass layer.
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), pp. 1-64 in Zootaxa 5373 (1) on pages 33-35, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5373.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10145768
Development of novel edible luminescent nanoparticle sensors
Creators: name: Jalalian, Sanaz
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: This project has developed a novel class of edible hydrocolloid food nanosensors which are doped with luminescent chromophores and investigated whether they can be used to provide information about the local food matrix - temperature, oxygen concentration, and the presence of food-borne pathogens. The luminescence properties of the probes such as phosphorescence and fluorescence provide the sensor sensitivity to the food properties. Hydrocolloid nanoparticles were made from gelatin and starch with diameters ranging from 50 to ~200 nm and labeled with food grade luminescent probes.  The chromophore was covalently and non-covalently attached to the nanoparticle and the photophysical properties of the probe in the food system were studied. Temperature sensors were developed by using the phosphorescence sensitivity of a chromophore to temperature. Experiments with two different probes, namely erythrosine B labeled gelatin nanoparticles and phloxine B labeled gelatin nanoparticles have demonstrated that both probes can be effectively used as temperature sensors in liquid and solid food. The Van’t Hoff plots of ln(IDF/IP) versus 1/T vary monotonically over a relatively wide temperature range and thus provide a basis for estimating temperature from measurements of phosphorescence and delayed fluorescence. The tests indicated that the presence of some ingredients such as tannin and anthocyanins in the composition of the food may prohibit the use of gelatin nanoparticle probes due to precipitation of gelatin nanoparticles. The luminescence quenching of the probe by oxygen was used to develop a nanoparticle sensor for oxygen. The results of experiments on liquid and solid food samples indicate that erythrosine B labeled gelatin nanoparticles can be used as a probe to detect the presence or absence of oxygen in some liquid foods. Precise control of oxygen concentration in solutions will pose a challenge as has been observed in this study. The probe did not work as an appropriate oxygen sensor in the case of solid food samples with low relative humidity. The use of gelatin nanoparticles as a sensor to detect the presence of food-borne pathogens requires a measurable change in the spectrum of fluorescence resonance energy transfer between two chromophores which was not observed in the tests.
Verschweigen, versagen, verkörpern
Creators: name: Jeltsch, Veronika
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: My dissertation investigates the representation of silences surrounding and affecting various female protagonists in works written by male authors between the years 1894 and 1924. The three works discussed in this project, Fontane’s novel Effi Briest, Wedekind’s diptych Lulu, combining his two plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora, and Schnitzler’s novella Fräulein Else, all bear their female protagonist’s name in their respective titles, suggesting that the authors have given these female characters a voice in these texts that enables the audience to experience their story from a female perspective. My analysis of the three texts reevaluates this notion of “giving a voice to someone” by shedding light on the different ways in which expression is influenced, manipulated and hindered through the superimposed voices of the society, the parents and the men in these protagonists’ stories.   Originality and authorship are two related aspects that inform my reading of the protagonists’ silence and their use of quotations and literary references when creating their own narratives. As my analysis shows, they struggle less to find a voice of their own than to piece together a story in the form of a collage composed of different quotations and voices. In doing so, a new realm of possibilities emerges, one that is located between passive repetition and quoting and active formulation of ideas, namely that of the middle voice. Reading these three texts in terms of their representation of (female) silence, silencing and body language, my project uncovers intricate connections between all three texts and all three protagonists, illuminating their respective involuntary as well as strategic uses of both verbal and non-verbal communication.
Catops dichrous Reitter 1884
Creators: name: Perreau, Michel
name: Ghahari, Hassan
name: Angelini, Fernando
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Leiodidae
Catops
Catops dichrous

description: Catops dichrous (Reitter, 1884)
Ptomaphagus dichrous Reitter, 1884: 57.
Type locality: Caucasus [Georgia]: Surampass im Meskischen Gebirge.
Distribution in Iran. Golestan (Gorgan, Naharkoran), MaZandaran (Tang-e-Rah) (Giachino & Vailati 2000). General distribution. Armenia, AZerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia (Caucasus) (Perreau 2015).
description: Published as part of Perreau, Michel, Ghahari, Hassan & Angelini, Fernando, 2017, A checklist of Leiodidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran in Zootaxa 4286 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/828324
Influence of odor intensity and mood on hedonic reactions to aroma compounds in a multi-ethnic sample of young adults
Creators: name: Jin, Lumeng
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: This study was designed to investigate: 1) how nasal irritation influences the sensory perception of aromas; 2) the role of emotions in the preference and acceptance of aroma compounds; and 3) if ethnicity and genetic variation in taste sensitivity to the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) influence these outcomes. Ninety-six subjects (East Asian, n=53 and American Caucasians, n=43) were classified as PROP super-tasters; medium-tasters; and non-tasters. Subjects sniffed (orthonasally) aqueous solutions of cinnamaldehyde, methyl cinnamate, citral, citronellol, geraniol, and phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA) at low (range =1-2.5 ppm) and mid-range (range =4-100ppm) concentrations in two separate sessions. Subjects rated intensity and overall liking for each aroma using 15-cm line scales. Pungency was rated for the mid-range concentrations only. Self-reported mood reactions to all aromas were collected using 8-point VAS scales. Additionally, subjects selected the most related mood descriptor of each aroma as an implicit measurement.    Data were analyzed using ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and principal component analysis (PCA). Nasal pungency contributed to intensity perception, however, pungency and intensity did not influence aroma liking. Liking of cinnamaldehyde and citral increased with increasing concentration (p=0.05-0.003), but concentration did not influence liking of the other aromas. At mid-range concentration, East Asians liked cinnamaldehyde less than American Caucasians. PROP did not influence liking alone, however, East Asian subjects liked cinnamaldehyde less with increasing sensitivity to PROP, as expected. Positive mood (the mean of happy and excited VAS ratings) was associated with greater liking of most of the samples (p<0.002 for all). In multiple regression, positive mood predicted liking of cinnamaldehyde, methyl cinnamate, citral, and PEA at both concentrations (R2=0.27-0.45, p<0.0001 for all). PCA characterized the aromas by associating each with the sensory properties and mood(s) it elicited: PEA was associated with calm/relaxed mood and methyl cinnamate with negative moods (especially anxious/worried) at both concentrations; the most pungent aroma, cinnamaldehyde, was associated with exciting/energized at mid-range concentration.  These data suggest that aromas eliciting positive moods were liked better. Also, differences in liking of cinnamaldehyde between ethnic groups could reflect cultural and PROP-related variability in the pleasantness of this aroma.
A scale to assess perceived barriers to physical activity among low-income high school students in New Jersey
Creators: name: Hullings, Christy L.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2015

description: Obesity rates among teenagers have increased as their physical activity levels have simultaneously declined.  Obesity and related disorders disproportionally affect teenagers from minority backgrounds and low-income households.  To counteract the steady incline in adolescent obesity, public health educators should work to increase the physical activity of high school students, given the well-known health benefits of regular physical activity.  By taking perceived barriers to physical activity into consideration, interventions that aim to improve teenagers’ physical activity may be more effective because barriers have a strong effect on health behavior changes.  The aim of this research project was to create a comprehensive tool to assess high school students’ perceived barriers to physical activity.  An initial list of 110 potential barriers was compiled from previous research with adults and an extensive literature review.  A total of 1,201 high school students in low-income areas of New Jersey completed the survey, which also measured physical activity level.  Exploratory factor analyses revealed a final scale that contained 45 perceived barriers to physical activity, including three internal barriers sub-scales (n = 28 items) and two external barriers sub-scales (n = 17 items).  The final scale exhibited acceptable levels of internal consistency, reliability over time and criterion validity.  Female high school students were found to perceive significantly more barriers to physical activity than males and reported a significantly lower physical activity level than males, which is consistent with previous studies.  Perceived barriers were primarily related to motivation and weather, a lack of exercise equipment, and lacking an exercise partner.  Physical activity interventions should provide more activities of interest, more indoor activity opportunities (e.g., exercise DVDs), and address other pertinent barriers in order to improve high school students’ physical activity levels.  Further research is necessary to confirm the factor structure of the scale developed in this study, and the reliability and validity of this survey among other teenage audiences.  The Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity Scale may help to inform the development of interventions by identifying specific barriers that should be addressed in order to help the target audience become more active.