Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of Folk Healing Practices By Hiv-Infected Hispanics Living In The United States, Mariana Suarez, Marcela Raffaelli, Ann O'Leary

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In the absence of a medical cure for AIDS, HIV-infected individuals may seek alternative treatments that are consistent with cultural and social beliefs. This paper examines beliefs about, and use of, folk healing practices by HIV-infected Hispanics receiving care at an HIV/AIDS clinic in inner-city New Jersey. Anonymous individual interviews were conducted with 58 male and 18 female HIV-infected Hispanics aged 23-55, primarily of Puerto Rican origin (61%) or descent (29%). The majority of respondents believed in good and evil spirits (73.7%); among the 56 believers, 48% stated that the spirits had a causal role in their infection, either alone …

The Right To A Family Environment For Children With Disabilities, Victoria Weisz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

To access services for children with disabilities, the children often have been required to leave their families of origin. However, social science evidence indicates that there are substantial psychological benefits for children to remain with their families whenever possible. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN General Assembly, 1989) supports policies and programs that enable children with disabilities to receive services without leaving their family environment. This article briefly reviews the social science literature and the UN. Convention, and it documents trends in US. law consistent with the implications of the scientific evidence and international consensus. The …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Opisthadena (Digenea: Hemiuridae), Virginia León-Règagnon, Gerardo Pérez-Ponce De León, Daniel R. Brooks

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Systematic study of the closely related hemiurid genera Mitrostoma, Neopisthadena and Opisthadena revealed that Opisthadena cortesi is a junior synonym of Opisthadena dimidia and Opisthadena fujianensis and Opisthadena marina are species inquirendae. Phylogenetic analysis of the 7 recognized species, based on 21 transformation series derived from comparative morphologic characters, produced a single tree with a consistency index of 0.735. The five species of the genus Opisthadena constitute a monophyletic clade and Neopisthadena habei is their sister group. Mitrostoma nototheniae is the sister group of the other 6 members of the clade. Geographic distribution suggests an ancient circum-Pacific distribution of …

Number 34 (December 1996), Southern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

(December 1996) - The Fishes of the Little River Drainage in Alabama. By Terri L. Ballard and J. Malcolm Pierson, 6pp., plus News Notes.

News Notes, Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of A Gps-Based Navigation Reference System, Jason B. Mckay

Theses and Dissertations

The development of increasingly accurate new aircraft navigation systems has caused the Air Force to develop a new Navigation Reference System to test them, called the Submeter Accuracy Reference System (SARS). The SARS is an inverted GPS system which consists of an array of GPS receivers on the ground and an airborne pseudolite mounted on the test aircraft. The SARS will provide a proof position estimate that is used to check the navigation system under test. Unfortunately, ground based inverted GPS systems tend to suffer from high geometric sensitivity to measurement errors. This research tackles the problem of optimizing the …

Inference Algorithm Performance And Selection Under Constrained Resources, Brett J. Borghetti

Theses and Dissertations

Knowing that reasoning over probabilistic networks is, in general, NP-hard, and that most reasoning environments have limited resources, we need to select algorithms that can solve a given problem as fast as possible. This thesis presents a method for predicting the relative performance of reasoning algorithms based on the domain characteristics of the target knowledge structure. Armed with this knowledge, the research shows how to choose the best algorithm to solve the problem. The effects of incompleteness of the knowledge base at the time of inference is explored, and requirements for reasoning over incompleteness are defined. Two algorithms for reasoning …

Integrating The Capability Maturity Model For Software And The Quality Air Force Criteria, Marshall B. Messamore

Theses and Dissertations

As defense budgets decrease and it is required to do more with less, the Air Force has chosen to use the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) as the basis for implementing quality principles. The Air Force program is known as Quality Air Force (QAF), and the criteria are referred to as the QAF criteria DEPA95b. At about the same time the Department of the Air Force implemented QAF, the software leaders in the Air Force adopted the Capability Maturity Model for Software (CMM) as the internal standard for Air Force software organizations MOSE9l. Software organizations strapped with both sets …

Adaptive Neural Network Controller For Atm Traffic, Jeffrey E. Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Broadband-Integrated Services Digital Networks (B-ISDN), along with Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), were designed to meet the requirements of modern communication networks to handle multiple users and a wide variety of diverse traffic including voice, data and video. ATM responds to requests for admission to the network by analyzing whether or not the grade of service (GOS) requirement, specified in the admission request, can be guaranteed without violating the GOS guaranteed to traffic already accepted into the network. The GOS is typically a parameter such as cell loss rate (CLR), average delay, or some other measurement associated with network performance. In …

An Investigation Of Air Side Heat Transfer Enhancement In Multi-Louver Fins Within Automotive Compact Heat Exchangers, Patrick Fix

Theses

The multi-louver fin is the primary geometric configuration used to enhance the air-side heat transfer characteristics of automotive heat exchangers today. This work presents an investigation into the effects of multi-louver fins on the air-side Stanton number (St) and Fanning friction factor (f) characteristics of a heat exchanger. Experimental St data ranging between 0.0095 and 0.065 and/ data ranging between 0.04 and 0.55 are reported for louver pitch based Reynolds numbers ranging between 30 and 4000. Brazed core test samples with multi-louver fins are utilized to complete this study. Previous investigators have correlated the air-side St and/ to geometric parameters …

Influence Of Social Context On Evaluation Of Municipal Service Delivery, Anahid Petrosian

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the influence of social context on the evaluation of municipal service delivery. It hypothesizes that those individuals who are more satisfied with their immediate surroundings also are more satisfied with the municipal services they receive. A stratified sample of 1.027 household telephone numbers in McAllen, Texas, was selected for this study. The telephone survey resulted in 542 successful interviews, representing a 52.4% response rate. The study's conclusions suggest that first, satisfaction with the neighborhood appears to affect the general level of satisfaction with public services. Second, there was no significant difference in services satisfaction level based on …

Nutritional Requirements For Preterm Infants In Neonatal Intensive Care Units, James Allen Nelson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis reviewed the special caloric requirements of preterm infants. The goal of this research was to investigate the feasibility of using the time required for infants to reach substantial feeding as a possible indicator of future developmental progress. The triage of birth weight, gestational age, and days to first substantive oral feeding were highly significant in predicting development through 12 months of age. However, none of the independent variables contributed significant unique variance in predicting developmental outcome.

A Study Of Factors On The Performance Of The Texas Academic Skills Program Test, Billy B. Watkins

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

At least thirty percent of students who enter Texas public higher education each year have basic skills deficiencies and cannot perform effectively in college. The TASP Test was developed to identify these students. Moreover, this test must be passed in order to obtain a degree from a Texas public institution.

A survey of 150 entering freshmen from the University of Texas-Pan American was examined to identify variables that influence student performance on the TASP Test.

Chi-square tests uncovered academic, socioeconomic, and institutional bivariate relationships with TASP performance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that academic variables primarily predicted TASP performance.

Export Database Derivation Approach For Supporting Object-Oriented Wrapper Queries, Ee Peng Lim, Hon-Kuan Lee

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Wrappers export the schema and data of existing heterogeneous databases and support queries on them. In the context of cooperative information systems, we present a flexible approach to specify the derivation of object-oriented (OO) export databases from local relational databases. Our export database derivation consists of a set of extent derivation structures (EDS) which defines the extent and deep extent of export classes. Having well-defined semantics, the EDS can be readily used in transforming wrapper queries to local queries. Based on the EDS, we developed a wrapper query evaluation strategy which handles OO queries on the export databases. The strategy …

Democracies Really Are More Pacific (In General): Reexamining Regime Type And War Involvement, Kenneth Benoit

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Current consensus in the field of democratic peace research holds that democratic states go to war in general no less than nondemocratic states. The author challenges this consensus by reevaluating the main empirical studies on which it rests, using information that previous studies ignored and statistical techniques unused or even unknown at the time. The results indicate that from 1960 to 1980, democratic nations were less involved in military conflict than other regime types. Estimates of this relationship are robust to different operational definitions of both war and democracy, to the addition of control variables for other possible correlates of …

A Preview Of Ei And Ezi: Programs For Ecological Inference, Kenneth Benoit, Gary King

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Ecological inference, as traditionally defined, is the process of using aggregate (i.e., ecological) data to infer discrete individual-level relationships of interest when individual-level data are not available. Existing methods of ecological inference generate very inaccurate conclusions about the empirical world- which thus gives rise to the ecological inference problem. Most scholars who analyze aggregate data routinely encounter some form of this problem. EI (by Gary King) and EzI (by Kenneth Benoit and Gary King) are freely available software that implement the statistical and graphical methods detailed in Gary King's book A Solution to the Ecological Inference Problem. These methods make …

Punitive Damages...Just So You Know., Geoffrey G. Hallock Md

Department of Surgery

No abstract provided.

การศึกษาโครงสร้างละเอียดของเซลล์เม็ดเลือดและเกล็ดเลือดในอีเห็นข้างลายด้วยกล้องจุลทรรศน์อิเล็กตรอนแบบสำแสงผ่าน, สมภพ นวีภาพ, กัณชลี จงรักวิทย์, นวลอนงค์ นาคคง

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

นำตัวอย่างเลือดของอีเห็นข้างลายทั้งสองเพศมาศึกษาโครงสร้างละเอียดของเซลล์ เม็ดเลือดและเกล็ดเลือดด้วยกล้องจุลทรรศน์อิเล็กตรอนแบบลําแสงผ่านวัดขนาดเส้นผ่าศูนย์กลางเฉลี่ยของเซลล์เม็ดเลือดแดง เกล็ดเลือด เซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดนิวโทรฟิล เซลล์ เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดอีโอซิโนฟิล เซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดเบโซฟิล เซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิด ลิมโฟไซต์ และเซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดโมโนไซต์ได้เท่ากับ 4.0, 2.6, 6.5, 7.2, 7.0, 6.4 และ 8.5 ไมครอนตามลำดับ พบลักษณะแกรนูลในเซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดนิวโทรฟิลสอง แบบคือ ไพรมารีแกรนูลมีรูปร่างกลมขนาดใหญ่กว่าและทึบอิเล็กตรอนมากกว่า แกรนูลแบบนี้ เทียบได้กับไลโซโซมในเซลล์ชนิดอื่น วัดเส้นผ่าศูนย์กลางเฉลี่ยได้ 0.18 ไมครอน และเซกัลดารีแกรนูลหรือแกรนูลจำเพาะมีขนาดเล็กกว่ารูปร่างหลายแบบคือ รูปร่างกลมหรือเป็นท่อน ยาวหรือมีรูปร่างไม่แน่นอน วัดเส้นผ่าศูนย์กลางเฉลี่ยได้ 0.13 ไมครอนและวัดความยาวเฉลี่ย ของแกรนูลที่เป็นท่อนยาวได้ 0.42 ไมครอน แกรนูลจำเพาะนี้มีจำนวนมากกว่าและทึบ อิเล็กตรอนน้อยกว่าไพรมารีแกรนูล สำหรับในเซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดอีโอซิโนฟิลพบแกรนูล จำเพาะมีรูปร่างกลมขนาดใหญ่ทึบอิเล็กตรอนมาก วัดเส้นผ่าศูนย์กลางเฉลี่ยได้ 0.9 ไมครอน ส่วนแกรนูลจำเพาะที่พบในเซลล์เม็ดเลือดขาวชนิดเบโซฟิลมีรูปร่างเป็นรูปกระสวยมีผนังหุ้มที่หนา วัดเส้นผ่าศูนย์กลางเฉลี่ยได้ 0.65 ไมครอน ความยาวเฉลี่ยได้ 1.45 ไมครอน ลักษณะ โครงสร้างละเอียดและออร์แกเนลส์โดยทั่วไปคล้ายกับที่พบในเซลล์เม็ดเลือดและเกล็ดเลือดในคนและสัตว์เลี้ยงลูกด้วยนมชนิดอื่น

วัคซีนป้องกันโรคนิวคาสเซิลเชื้อตาย ตอนที่ 1: วิธีการเตรียมวัคซีนป้องกันโรคนิวคาสเซิลเชื้อตายเสตรนที่ไม่รุนแรงและรงปานกลาง และผลข้างเคียงที่พบ, สมศักดิ์ ภัคภิญโญ, จิโรจน์ ศศิปรียจันทร์, นิวัตร จันทร์ศิริพรชัย

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

วัคซีนป้องกันโรคนิวคาสเซิลเชื้อเป็นเสตรนที่ไม่รุนแรง (ลาโซต้า) และแรงปานกลาง (เอ็มพี) ถูกนำมาฉีดไข่ฟัก อายุ 9 วัน แล้วนำเข้าตู้ฟักที่อุณหภูมิ 37% เป็นเวลา 50 ชม. เก็บของเหลวจากไข่ฟักมาตรวจระดับความแรงของไวรัส โดยแบ่งเป็น จำนวนไวรัสน้อยและจำนวนไวรัสมาก คือ 256 และ 512 จากนั้นนำมาเตรียมเป็นวัคซีนเชื้อตายได้ 4 กลุ่ม (กลุ่มที่ 1-4) คือ วัคซีนเชื้อตายเสตรนไม่รุนแรงจำนวนไวรัสน้อย (กลุ่ม 1) จำนวนไวรัสมาก (กลุ่ม 2) วัคซีนเชื้อตายเสตรนแรงปานกลางจำนวนไวรัสน้อย (กลุ่ม 3) และจำนวนไวรัสมาก (กลุ่ม 4) และวัคซีนเชื้อตายของบริษัท (กลุ่ม 5) โดยเปรียบเทียบในด้านคุณสมบัติทางกายภาพของวัคซีน ปฏิกริยาการตอบสนองของเนื้อเยื่อบริเวณที่ฉีดวัคซีนในตัวไก่ที่สังเกตด้วยตาเปล่าพบว่ามีความแตกต่างกันด้านความหนืดสัมพัทธ์ของวัคซีน วัคซีนทุกกลุ่มมีความคงตัวไม่มีการแยกชั้น พบปฏิกริยาการตอบสนองของเนื้อเยื่อบริเวณที่ฉีดวัคซีนในตัวไก่ที่สังเกตด้วย ตาเปล่าเฉพาะในกลุ่ม 3 เท่ากับ 100% (5/5)

Evaluation Of Carcinogenic Potential Of Benzo(Α)Pyrene And Dimethylbenzanthracene In Mouse Leukemic Cells, Mohammad Sharif Sultan Al Ulama

Theses

The carcinogenic potential of benzo[α]pyrene (B(α)P) and dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) was tested using mouse leukemic cell lines L-5178 R and S types in tissue culture condition. It was found that B(α)P and DMBA inhibited the synthesis of DNA of R and S types of cells to about 34%, at 10 mM concentration. While B(α)P and DMBA did not show any acute toxic effect on mouse cell line Rand S types at 1 mM concentration separately. Both R and S types of cells were allowed to grow for several days in the presence of 1 mM DMBA and B(α)P respectively. Several independent …

Editor's Page, Leonard J. Calvert

Journal of Extension

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Adopting Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Daniel Drost, Gilbert Long, David Wilson, Bruce Miller

Journal of Extension

Land management practices used by and attitudes toward change to sustainable practices by Utah farmers and ranchers are described. A questionnaire was sent to 964 farmers. Despite the apparent use of sustainable practices by farmers, the majority stated that economic factors, availability of information, and Federal farm programs were primary constraints limiting adoption of sustainable practices. Without a greater effort by Cooperative Extension, sustainable agriculture practices may not be adopted by Utah farmers and ranchers. It is believed that extra effort is needed to focus on specific groups of farmers to help transfer information about sustainable farming practices.

Drawings As A Method Of Program Evaluation And Communication With School-Age Children, William Evans, Jackie Reilly

Journal of Extension

This paper presents a projective drawing activity developed to incorporate children's perceptions into program evaluation. The activity is being used as part of a five-year, multi-modal evaluation of a school-age child care program that includes qualitative and quantitative components. This school-age educational program targets low income at-risk children and their families to prevent early school drop-out and sexual activity, violent behavior, and drug and alcohol abuse. The curriculum focuses on promoting school involvement, and enhancing conflict resolution, self-responsibility and communication skills. Implications of the drawing activity for Extension specialists are discussed.

The Influence Of Experiential Instruction On Urban Elementary Students' Knowledge Of The Food And Fiber System, Rachel Mabie, Matt Baker

Journal of Extension

This research compared student knowledge of the food and fiber system of three groups of inner-city, minority, fifth, sixth, and fifth/sixth combination students in Los Angeles during a ten-week instructional unit in science. Two groups were taught by way of experiential learning (including short, in-class projects and gardening projects). A control group was taught in a traditional expository manner. Both experiential treatment groups were positively impacted when pre-test data were compared with post-test data on food and fiber competency. Extension professionals possess the expertise to assist teachers in introducing experiential activities into their science curriculum.

Predictors Of Effectiveness Of Collaborative Relationships Of The Usda Youth At Risk Coalitions, Daney G. Jackson, Richard W. Clark

Journal of Extension

This research studied the relationships that existed between situational factors and structural characteristics with the perceived effectiveness of the collaborative relationships that existed within the Youth-At-Risk Coalitions. The study found that the best predictors of effectiveness were Consensus among members, Formalization of Agreements, and Resource flows from the respondents to the coalition.

Implementing A Wellness Weekend Program, Berdine Maginnis, Linda S. Boeckner

Journal of Extension

Using a weekend retreat format, a seven-year educational effort has successfully reached rural Extension audiences with topics that address national extension health and wellness priorities. Major objectives of the program are to encourage participants to adopt healthy lifestyle practices by reducing high risk behaviors and taking responsibilities for health decisions. Program evaluation data gathered from participants in the sixth year indicated that positive lifestyle behaviors have been adopted. Program planners have continued to adapt program format and direction to meet clientele needs and attract new audiences.

Diversion Excursion

Journal of Extension

Two juvenile diversion programs are described as conducted by county 4-H/Youth Development Agents in Kentucky and Ohio. The purpose is to share ideas and insights with others who might be considering conducting similar programs. Ten "Qualities Needed to Conduct a Juvenile Diversion Program" are shared, which include: [a] Get on their level; [b] Know when to refer; [c] Be organized; [d] Know the subject matter; [e] Model what you teach; [f] Listen; [g] Be Sensitive; [h] Be Adaptable; [i] Schedule sessions close together; and [j] Do not label. Also, four other problem area factors that youth agents should realize before …

Teen Safety Docu-Drama, Barbara A. Brahm, Richard H. Collins, Judy Villard

Journal of Extension

Teen Safety Docu-Dramas have been initiated in several Ohio counties in response to growing concern of youth traffic safety. Students from local high schools assemble in a central location to witness a dynamic and life-like "mock crash," complete with make-up and costumes, emergency response units, and life flight. Collaborative groups of Extension staff and other key community leaders work together with over 100 professionals and volunteers to plan, organize, and conduct the event for audiences of 1000 to 1700 students. Ohio State Patrol statistics in two counties show a decrease in fatalities and fewer alcohol-related accidents among 16-19 year olds.

Guidelines For Change, Arlen Etling

Journal of Extension

This book review of "Taking Charge of Change," by Douglas K. Smith describes principles useful to Extension workers who supervise volunteers or other professionals. The eight principles discussed include: focus on performance, emphasize teamwork, empower team members, personalize needs and actions, embrace improvisation, learn by doing, harmonize initiatives, and lead by living the desired changes.

The Evaluation Of Two Types Of Multivariate Analyses Applied To Grassland Vegetation Data From A Reclaimed Coal Mine Area In Southeast Kansas, Usa, Karen Frances Yates

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study presents an analysis of the use of classification and ordination techniques for the detection of sub-communities at a reclaimed coal refuse dump and strip minded area in southeast Kansas. Cover values for 58 grass, forb, and woody species were estimated in 103 systematically positioned plots across the reclamation grassland using the modified Daubenmeyer cover scale. The data were submitted to an array of default and variant classification and ordination analysis programs in order to assess their ability to detect sub-communities. The classifications obtained from the analyses were mapped and analyzed for differences in species composition, diversity, and spatial …