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Measurement Of White Matter Structure Changes In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Using Fractal Analysis, Zao Liu

ETD Archive

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is recognized as a motor neuron disorder affecting the structure and function of the brain and neuromuscular system. Very little is known, however, that the nervous system degeneration is dependent on disease phenotypes of ALS. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of brain white matter (WM) structure degeneration in four ALS patient groups characterized by their clinical signs and neuroimaging measurements. Fractal dimension (FD) of three-dimensional (3D) brain WM images was quantitatively analyzed to evaluate the WM structural complexity, including complexity levels of the WM skeleton, surface and general structures in ALS …

Openings, 2011, Trinity Christian College

Openings

Poetry:  2 - Easter Pantoum by John Terpstra / 2 - My Mother's Garden by Camille Villegas / 2 - Slipping by Monica Brands / 3 - Gift from a Guide Dog by Kathy Nimmer / 5 - Something by Something Else by Marissa Carpenter / 11 - Punctuating your life's sentence at retirement (for Nelvia Brady). Dr.Aron Reppmann / 12 - Untitled by Vanessa Noonan / 13 - Nerve by Teryn Leaper / 14 - Fran by Natalia Wegrzyniak / 15 -Anorexia by Libby Dykstra / 16 - Bacon Raised by Jeff Tigchelaar / 17 - Gino by Erika …

Traces Of Otherness In St. Thomas Aquinas' Theology Of Grace, Michael Luiz Fagge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation looks into the work of St. Thomas Aquinas and addresses his theology of grace through the lens of the postmodern concern for the other. The first chapter sets up the postmodern view using Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida to draw out the fundamental grounding for the concern for the other. In chapters two and three, St. Thomas' theology of nature and then grace are examined focusing on his particular focus on the other. In his work we find that there is a concern for the other and a structure to the human person that supports this concern. Using …

The Power Of Culture In Diplomacy: The Case Of U.S. Cultural Diplomacy In France And Germany, Sofia Kitsou

Exchange: The Journal of Public Diplomacy

Cultural diplomacy represents a facet of diplomacy that has not been utilized completely in building better diplomatic relations and, although it could serve as a linking bridge toward better relations, it has been underestimated, if not neglected. Foreign positive perceptions of the United States declined considerably especially during the George W. Bush administration, as a result of various actions taken by the United States in the international arena that were unpopular. Anti-Americanism reached its peak in Europe because of the unilateral decision to proceed with the war in Iraq while the transatlantic rift between traditional partners such as the United …

The World Englishes Paradigm And Its Implications For International Students' Acquisition Of Standard American English For University-Level Studies In The United States, Karen Applequist Clement

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Because English, as the predominant international language, is now used in many different forms and contexts globally, attitudes are changing towards variety in English, the construct of English proficiency tests, and methods of teaching English. This paper addresses the fact that many students of English are exposed to non-standard indigenized or lingua franca Englishes, thus potentially marginalizing them in their efforts to succeed on international tests of English based on standard American or British conventions. It examines non-standard grammatical features of world Englishes, summarizes the results of studies on bias in English proficiency tests, and details suggestions for best teaching …

The Regeneration Of Hellas: Influences On The Greek War For Independence 1821-1832, Stefanie Chan

CMC Senior Theses

The paper attempts to analyze the greater influences of the Greek War for Independence through an assessment of the greater forces of the. Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Great Power politics

A Companion To The Ancient Greek Language (Book Review), David M. Goldstein, Dieter C. Gunkel

Classical Studies Faculty Publications

It has become customary for reviews of handbooks to express misgivings toward the genre and its ever-increasing presence. But whatever one might think of companion volumes, this is a useful book. It boasts a wide range of generally high-quality essays by a parade of eminent scholars. Perhaps its most praiseworthy feature is the clarity and accessibility of many of its contributions, which makes them ideal starting points for the non-specialist. We will no doubt be assigning several of these chapters in our classes.

Black Apollo? Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots Of Classical Civilization, Volume Iii, And Why Race Still Matters, Patrice Rankine

Classical Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter provides a discussion of Martin Bernal's third volume of Black Athena, published in 2006, with a view toward Bernal's continued relevance in a changing social, political, and intellectual landscape. Previous criticisms of Bernal's work to the contrary notwithstanding, I argue that Bernal examples the scholarly methods for historical inquiries about the past, particularly as they concern cultural heritage and cultural appropriation. The case of an African Apollo might resonate to those interested in African heritage, and even in a postcolonial context where hybridity trumps “origins,” the study of Apollo's African analogs leads us down many productive paths. …

The Attitudes Of African American Students Towards The Study Of Foreign Languages And Cultures, Katrina Watterson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the reasons that African American students participate at lower levels in foreign language programs in terms of taking courses and majoring and minoring in foreign languages. The primary foreign language that it explores is Spanish, and its findings suggest that the introduction of the language devoid of the influence of Afro-diasporic linkages to Spanish culture leads to the topic being taught in abstraction, therefore causing a lack of interest among African American students. As this study shows, a teacher's thinking about cultural and racial difference is often intimately woven into their disciplinary training, and as a result, …

The International Law Of State Immunity And Its Development By National Institutions, Christian Tomuschat

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The proceedings between Germany and Italy currently pending before the International Court of Justice have revived interest in the legal regime of jurisdictional immunity of states. Germany charges Italy with violating the basic rule of state immunity by entertaining reparation claims brought before its civil courts by victims of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Jurisdictional immunity is not absolute, but it remains preserved for truly governmental acts like military operations. None of the generally recognized exceptions apply in the German-Italian dispute. Damages resulting from international armed conflict are not covered by …

Discipleship Master Plan: A Disciple-Making Strategy For The South Flint Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Melvin S. Santos

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The lack of a disciple-making plan and irregular leadership training for members in the South Flint Seventh-day Adventist Church resulted in undeveloped and ill-equipped members operating in a reactive and survival mode leading to frustration and leader “burn outs.”

Method

The Discipleship Master Plan was developed and implemented in the South Flint Seventh-day Adventist Church in Burton, Michigan, which consisted of two major formats: (1) Four Levels of Discipleship Training, and (2) a Discipleship Master Plan Infrastructure. The four levels of discipleship focus on the development of all members. This training took place primarily during Sabbath afternoons and worship …

Re-Visioning The Sabbath School For Soul-Winning In The Virgin Islands: A Strategy For Church Growth Through Sabbath School Action Units, Henry Peters

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States Virgin Islands experienced an average membership growth of 1.7 percent per annum during the period 2000-2009, which represents 49.7 percent of the projected baptismal goal. While public evangelism has been the most productive method of soul winning in the territory, the majority of churches, in spite of that approach, failed to achieve their annual baptismal goals, thus resulting in a moderate membership growth. However, when one considers the organizational structure of the local church as recommended by the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, which encourages multiple evangelistic modalities, it is evident that …

For All Time: An Examination Of Romantic Love Through Curse Tablets, Alicia Deadrick

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the Greco-Roman amatory defixiones, or curse tablets, and binding spells from the fourth century BCE to the fourth century CE in order to investigate the existence of romantic love in the Mediterranean Basin. Binding spells provide a unique opportunity for cultural analysis, for they were popular with all levels of society, both genders and all sexualities. Three categories of amatory spells prevalent in ancient society (agoge, separation, and philia) undergo examination to establish romantic love as a sentiment separate from eros and philia and in opposition of the currently prevailing relationship theory of …

Principles Of Worship And Liturgy, Fernando Canale

Perspective Digest

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress In Cardiovascular Disease Development, Corey Michael Harrison

All ETDs from UAB

An estimated 70 million Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although the sequence of events leading to CVD are still controversial, there is a general consensus that atherosclerotic lesions result from oxidative stress associated with risk factor. For this study, it was hypothesized that endogenous mitochondrial oxidative stress would influence susceptibility to atherogenesis and mitochondrial damage mediated by CVD risk factor exposure. To test this hypothesis, atherosclerotic lesion formation, oxidant stress, and mitochondrial DNA damage were assessed in hypercholestoremic mice (apolipoprotein E null - apoE -/- SOD2 +/+) and mice with significantly decreased levels of the …

An Action Plan For Improving Mediocre Or Stagnant Student Achievement, Kimberley B. Redmond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although all of the schools in the target school system adhere to a school improvement process, achievement scores remain mediocre or stagnant within the overseas school in Italy that serves children of United States armed service members. To address this problem, this study explored the target school's improvement process to discover how different stakeholder groups viewed that process. The aim of these investigations was to determine if different stakeholder groups' competing values hindered the school's improvement efforts. The conceptual framework of this study was Schein's organizational culture theory along with recent findings by Creemers and Kyriakides that show that school …

Archive Fever : Performance Art, Anastasia Proshutinskaya

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Captivating The Captors: Re-Defining Masculinity, Identity And Post-Colonialism In Plutarch's Parallel Lives, Andrea Lea Pittard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates 1st-2nd century CE biographer and philosopher, Plutarch's, manipulation and construction of gender ideals in three sets of his Parallel Lives, Coriolanus and Alcibiades, Pelopidas and Marcellus, and Phocion and Cato the Younger in which he presented his particular version of the ideal man and route to manhood. Plutarch discouraged traditional paths to gaining masculine status and simultaneously promoted a type of masculinity that benefited other aspects of his identity, particularly promoting his social and economic position and ethnicity. He asserted throughout that martial men were not in control of their emotions and therefore were incomplete men. …

The Influence Of Humanism On English Social Structures Through The Actions Of Thomas Linacre And John Colet, Erin Michelle Halloran

LSU Master's Theses

When the Renaissance was in its full bloom in Italy, England was just beginning to show awareness of this ‘new learning’- humanism. In the mid- 1400s English scholars traveled abroad to Italy and collected books, knowledge, and learned the Greek language. Thomas Linacre and John Colet were part of a younger generation that benefited from this previous experience and both men travelled to Italy to continue their scholarly pursuits. Linacre arrived in Florence during the height of humanist scholarship. While there he came under the influence of medical humanists, devoted to the translation of ancient medical texts from Greek into …