Digital Commons Network^™

Scattering From A Tenuous Random Medium With Applications In Optics, Jonathan Blackledge

Articles

Mathematical models for the scattering of light (and other radiation) tend to fall into two categories based on a weak field condition (single scattering processes) or a strong field condition (multiple scattering processes). In the latter case, the complexity of deterministic models coupled with available solutions often fail to provide results that are of value to engineering systems (e.g. imaging systems). For this reason, multiple scattering problems are often approached using stochastic modelling methods whose foundations lie in random walk theory where the amplitude and phase of the scattered field are taken to conform to an appropriate statistical process and …

Therapeutic Ultrasound Angioplasty: The Risk Of Arterial Perforation. An In Vitro Study, Mark Wylie, Garrett Mcguinness, Graham Gavin

Conference Papers

The use of therapeutic ultrasound delivered via small diameter wire waveguides may represent an emerging minimally invasive approach in the treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTOs), calcified and fibrous plaques. The distal-tip mechanical vibrations (typically 0-210 μm peak-to-peak) have been reported to debulk rigid calcified and fibrous tissues while healthy elastic arterial tissue remains largely unaffected. The risk of arterial (healthy tissue) perforation with energized waveguides is not fully understood. An ultrasonic apparatus capable of delivering a range of wire waveguide distal-tip displacements, up to 80 μm peak-to-peak (p-p), at an operational frequency of 22.5 KHz (+/- 6%) has been …

Ultrasonic Angioplasty: Assessing The Risk Of Arterial Perforation, Mark Wylie, Garrett Mcguinness, Graham Gavin

Conference Papers

Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease that effects large and medium muscular arteries (such as coronary and iliac) and also large elastic arteries (such as aorta) [1]. It causes thickening of the arterial wall and over time can result in a completely blocked artery or chronic total occlusion (CTO). While the majority of atherosclerotic lesions can be attempted by typical Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) such as balloon and stent implantation, calcified CTOs are often problematic as they do not lend themselves to be accessed by the guidewire which is required to implant the balloon and stent. Excessive guidewire pushing force …

Acceptance Of Evolution Increases With Student Academic Level: A Comparison Between A Secular And A Religious College, Guillermo Paz-Y-Mino C., Avelina Espinosa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant since it transits from a high-school/parent-protective environment to an independent role in societal decisions. Here we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, and intelligent design (ID) between a secular (S) and a religious (R) college in the Northeastern USA. Interinstitutional comparisons showed that 64% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 42/62% (S/R) nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in science classes; 24/29% (S/R) biology majors vs. 26/38% (S/R) …

Scratching The Surface And Digging Deeper: Exploring Ecological Theories In Urban Soils, Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Action Research Study Of The Supporting The University-Ready Through Environment (Sure) Program, Natalie Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current research documented the processes and outcomes of an educational access program for women living in poverty at the individual and organizational level of analysis. The purpose of this study was to understand barriers, strategies to reduce barriers and outcomes achieved by a grassroots program: Supporting the University-Ready through Empowerment (SURE). The 12 participants consisted of three women learners of the SURE program, three SURE co-directors (including myself), three university partners and three community partners. Life narrative interviews were conducted with the learners with structured interviews conducted with all other informants. Additionally, focus groups were run with the SURE …

The Paradox Of Exclusion Within Equity: Interrogating Discourse At The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Delores V. Mullings

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Employment discrimination has been a challenge in Canada for many groups and for government agencies who propose to adhere to a human rights agenda. To address this concern, the federal government initiated various anti-discriminatory policies and programs to counteract employment discrimination for four designated groups: Aboriginal people, “visible minorities,” women, and people with disabilities. The Employment Equity Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act were the legislation, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal the institutions designed to deal with employment discrimination for federal employees. When employees file a claim, it is initially processed at …

Responding To Change In A Northern Aboriginal Community (Fort Resolution, Nwt, Canada): Linking Social And Ecological Perspectives, Sonia Darienne Wesche

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Human and environmental systems in the circumpolar north are particularly affected by the Earth’s changing climate, thus acting as a bellwether for other parts of the globe. Rural indigenous communities are most visibly impacted due to their close relationship with the land. These challenges are compounded by socio-economic transformations typical of peripheral communities within a larger, centrally governed system.

This dissertation links a community-based study of environmental change in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories, Canada to evolving adaptation science. The study was prompted by local concern about changing environmental conditions caused by climatic, hydrological and resource development drivers. Its collaborative research …

Harding University Graduate And Professional Catalog 2009-2010, Harding University

Harding Academic Catalogs

Academic catalog for the graduate programs at Harding University.

Hmgb1 Mediates Endogenous Tlr2 Activation And Brain Tumor Regression, James Curtin, Naiyou Liu, Marianela Candolfi, Weidong Xiong, Hikmat Assi, Kader Yagiz, Matthew Edwards, Kathrin Michelsen, Kurt Kroeger, Chunyan Liu, Akm Ghulam Muhammad, Mary Clark, Moshe Arditi, Begonya Comin-Anduix, Antoni Ribas, Pedro Lowenstein, Maria Castro

Articles

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor that carries a 5-y survival rate of 5%. Attempts at eliciting a clinically relevant anti-GBM immune response in brain tumor patients have met with limited success, which is due to brain immune privilege, tumor immune evasion, and a paucity of dendritic cells (DCs) within the central nervous system. Herein we uncovered a novel pathway for the activation of an effective anti-GBM immune response mediated by high-mobility-group box 1 (HMGB1), an alarmin protein released from dying tumor cells, which acts as an endogenous ligand for Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling …

Fatigue Of Friction Stir Welded Lap Joints With Sealants, Kenneth Doering

Masters Theses

"A lack of understanding of corrosion fatigue in friction stir welded aluminum joints prevents friction stir welding from being implemented in aerospace applications. Fatigue testing reveals a 60-75% reduction in the fatigue life of friction stir welded aluminum lap joints immersed in 3.5% NaCl solution (corrosion fatigue) compared with that of lap joints tested in ambient air. The loss in fatigue life is attributed to accelerated fatigue cracking due to hydrogen environment embrittlement. Two polymer sealant candidates are investigated: silicone rubber and nylon-11. Both sealant candidates can be applied prior to welding and seal the faying surface gaps in lap …

Media Subpoenas: Impact, Perception, And Legal Protection In The Changing World Of American Journalism, Ronnell Andersen Jones

Faculty Scholarship

Forty years ago, at a time when the media were experiencing enormous professional change and a surge of subpoena activity, First Amendment scholar Vincent Blasi investigated the perceptions of members of the press and the impact of subpoenas within American newsrooms in a study that quickly came to be regarded as a watershed in media law. That empirical information is now a full generation old, and American journalism faces a new critical moment. The traditional press once again finds itself facing a surge of subpoenas and once again finds itself at a time of intense change—albeit on a different trajectory—as …

First Approaches To Standard Protocols And Reference Materials For The Assessment Of Potential Hazards Associated With Nanomaterialss, Gordon Chambers, Hugh Byrne, Iseult Lynch, Micheal Riediker, Hans Bouwmeester, Hans Marvin, Alan Casey, Markus Berges, Martin Clift, Teresa Fernandez, Lise Fjellsbo, Lucienne Juillerat, Gert Roebben, Christoph, Klein, Qinglan Wu, Vince Hackley, Jean-Pierre Kaiser, Wolfganag Kreyling, Michael Garner, Peter Hatto,, Kenneth Dawson

Articles

All new technologies have an inherent risk, which is typically assessed alongside the development of applications of the technology. This is also the case for nanotechnology: a key concern in the case of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is that due to their very small size, NMs can reach areas such as the cell that are inaccessible to other materials, such as implants and drugs. As a result of their large surface area, NMs may be more reactive than other larger materials. The large physical and chemical variability of NMs, and the fact that small changes can have large consequences, mean that …

Optical Properties Of Silica-Mfi Doped Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer, Tzvetanka Babeva, Rosen Todorov, Svetlana Mintova, Temenujka Yovcheva, Izabela Naydenova, Vincent Toal

Articles

The optical properties of acrylamide-based photopolymer doped with pure silica MFI-type zeolites are studied by refractometric and spectrophotometric means. Dynamic Light Scattering and Transmission Electron Microscopy are used for zeolite characterization and laser refractometry and White Light Interferometric profilometry are used for surface characterization of the composites. Refractive indices and absorption coefficients of composites are determined from their transmittance and reflectance spectra. The calculated dispersion curves are further used for deriving the zeolites refractive index and porosity and the latter compared to the values of total pore volume obtained from N2-sorption measurements. The impact of the doping level on the …

Second-Hand Smoke Exposure In Cars And Respiratory Health Effects In Children, Patrick J. Goodman, Z. Kabir, Luke Clancy, P.J. Manning, J. Holohan, S. Keogan

Articles

We examined potential associations of ever asthma, and symptoms of wheeze (past 12 months), hay fever, eczema and bronchitis (cough with phlegm) among school children exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) in cars, using a modified Irish International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol. 2,809 children of 13–14 yrs old and who selected randomly from post-primary schools throughout Ireland completed the 2007 ISAAC self-administered questionnaire. Adjusted OR (adjusted for sex, active smoking status of children interviewed and their SHS exposure at home) were estimated for the associations studied, using multivariable logistic regression techniques. Overall, 14.8% (13.9% in young …

Silicone Rubber Passive Samplers For Water Quality Monitoring Of Persistent Organic Pollutants In The Marine Environment, Susan O'Hara

Masters

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are internationally considered as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which can be mutagenic, carcinogenic and may accumulate in aquatic organisms and potentially in the human chain. PCBs and PAHs are thus listed as priority pollutants in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and under the Convention for the protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (Oslo Paris Convention: OSPAR). Currently most marine monitoring programmes involving such compounds rely on the collection and analysis of discrete water/sediment grab samples or on the analysis of filter feeding indicator organisms e.g. mussels. Such measurements can provide …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase, Ashling Hampson

Masters

Each year cardiovascular disease causes over 4.3 million deaths in Europe and is the cause of nearly one in three deaths in the US. Nitric oxide (NO) is a toxic atmospheric gas which exists in tissues as a biological product of mammalian cells. It has been used to manage cardiovascular disease for over a century and to this day remains an important treatment option in cardiovascular medicine. NO is produced by many cells in the body including vascular endothelial cells. Because of its importance in vascular function, abnormal production of NO, which occurs in different disease states, can adversely affect …

Symposium: Reflections On Tinker, Tinker Turns 40: Freedom Of Expression At School And Its Meaning For American Democracy - April 16, 2009 - Symposium: Foreword , Mary Beth Tinker

American University Law Review

Mary Beth Tinker recounts her upbringing and her family’s involvement in important issues of their day. Tinker discusses how her family’s commitment to social justice was shaped by her parents religious values, and how this shaped their commitments to civil rights, ultimately leading to their protesting ongoing injustices. In particular, Tinker discusses how she, her siblings, and friends wore black armbands calling for a Christmas Truce in the Vietnam War and how the case that went before the Supreme Court was one of a series of events in her family’s journey for equality.

Symposium: Oiling The Schoolhouse Gate: After Forty Years Of Tinkering With Teachers' First Amendment Rights, Time For A New Beginning , Alexander Wohl

American University Law Review

This Article will examine how (and how far) we have fallen from the legal precedent and educational principles behind Tinker, specifically the increasingly remote standards courts have used to chip away (and sometimes sledgehammer) the speech rights of teachers. To this end, the Article will consider some of the unique and fundamental characteristics associated with a profession that has at its core the mission of encouraging speech, raising questions, and teaching the ability to think—in short, “expressive activities.” It will also look at how the increasingly restrictive standards do not reflect fully the challenges posed by the advent of new …

Symposium: Shrinking Tinker: Students Are Persons Under Our Constitution - Except When They Aren't , Frank D. Lomonte

American University Law Review

The central proposition of this Article is that the school/student relationship is a distinctive one, and that student speakers on school property stand in a fundamentally different posture than do pamphleteers on the public sidewalk. This unique relationship has been recognized by the courts, but only selectively, where the uniqueness works to the disadvantage of the speaker. It is time that courts acknowledge that, because students are “captive” in school for the best hours of their day, and because students have a legally enforceable right to be on school grounds for purposes that expressly include the exchange of ideas, student …

The Nlra Defamation Defense: Doomed Dinosaur Or Diamond In The Rough?, Kati L. Griffith

American University Law Review

With the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), Congress intended to provide private-sector employees with the right to organize collectively for their mutual aid and protection in the workplace. However, the NLRA faces a tsunami of criticism, much of which highlights its inadequacies with respect to protecting collective activity among employees. In light of the NLRA’s myriad limitations, some scholars have developed promising proposals to identify new legal bases for protecting collective activity among employees outside of the NLRA. This Article redirects our gaze back to the NLRA’s potential to protect some forms of collective activity. It elaborates the …

Transcript: Advocacy Before Regional Human Rights Bodies: A Cross-Regional Agenda, Victor Abramovich, Charlotte De Broutelles, Santiago Canton, Paolo Carozza, Andrew Drzemczewski, Jonathan Fanton, Leonardo Franco, Felipe González, Claudio Grossman, Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Bahame Tom-Mukirya Nyanduga, Diane Orentlicher, Fatsah Ouguergouz, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzón, Sergio Garcia Ramirez, Manuel Ventura Robles, Pablo Saavedra

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Flame, Furnace, Fuel: Creating Kansas City In The Nineteenth Century, Twyla Dell

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Though this work is a fuel and energy history of Kansas City from 1820 to 1920, it also provides a tool to describe and analyze fuel and energy transitions. The four parts follow the rise and fall of wood, coal and oil as their use grows to a peak and, in the case of wood, declines. The founding and growth of Kansas City as an “instant city” that grew from zero population to over three hundred twenty thousand in a hundred years embodies the increased use of fuels and energy in an urban setting and serves as a case study. …

North Dakota Supreme Court Review, North Dakota Law Review Associate Editors

North Dakota Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Aims Of Public Scholarship In Media Law And Ethics, Erik Ugland

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This essay urges scholars in media law and ethics to reevaluate the extent and utility of their public-scholar efforts and to consider ways that they can transfer research-based knowledge to public audiences while also playing a more deliberate role in holding media and government institutions accountable. It suggests that the devolution of standards in mass communication, the increasing encroachments on media autonomy, and the broader collapse of power into fewer hands make this a particularly urgent moment for scholars to reengage the public and to abandon their feckless neutrality on public issues. The overarching aim of public scholars ought to …

Newsgathering, Autonomy And The Special-Rights Apocrypha: Supreme Court And Media Litigant Conceptions Of Press Freedom, Erik Ugland

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Dialogue, Discourse Ethics, And Disney, Rebecca Meisenbach, Sarah Bonewits Feldner

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

"Regulating Sin" Across Cultures, Joyce M. Wolburg, Olesya Venger

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Using text analysis, this study compares the alcohol advertising strategy in Ukraine and the United States within the context of regulatory, historical, cultural, and economic factors. Results showed that Ukrainian magazine ads contained a larger number of violations than the American ads, which complied with the letter of the law, if not the spirit. The message strategies also told different cultural stories that reflect the different ideologies for the two countries, which means that specialized advertising approaches are needed for each country. American ads situate alcohol as part of normal life, whereas Ukrainian ads demonstrate conspicuous consumption and celebrate the …

Openline Newsletter, January 2009, Civil Service Council

OpenLine Newsletter

A monthly newsletter for Civil Service employees, Volume XXXIII, Number 7, January 2009.

Material Testing Of Plla-Graft-Epr And Plla Blends, Kirtipal A. Barse

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.