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2018

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Chromatin-Signaling Axis Orchestrates The Formation Of Germline Stem Cell Differentiation Niche In Drosophila, Maitreyi Upadhyay Jan 2018

Chromatin-Signaling Axis Orchestrates The Formation Of Germline Stem Cell Differentiation Niche In Drosophila, Maitreyi Upadhyay

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Stem cells have the unique capability of self-renewing into stem cells and differentiating into several terminal cell types. Loss of either of these processes can lead to aging, progression towards degenerative diseases and cancers. Insight into how self-renewal and differentiation are regulated will have tremendous therapeutic impact. Drosophila is an excellent model system for stem cell study due to the availability of various mutants, markers and RNAi technology. In order to study stem cell biology, we use female Drosophila gonads, whose stem cell population – the germline stem cells (GSCs) gives rise to gametes.

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The Dissemination, Regulatory Role, And Evolution Of Mycobacterial Inteins, Danielle Skye Kelley Jan 2018

The Dissemination, Regulatory Role, And Evolution Of Mycobacterial Inteins, Danielle Skye Kelley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Inteins are intervening protein elements, capable of coordinating escape from a host protein through a self-catalyzed mechanism, called protein splicing. This results in free intein and a mature host protein product. Inteins are also mobile elements and many contain homing endonucleases that enable the targeting to ectopic sites and invasion of novel niches. Inteins have been found across all three domains of life and are often present in replication, recombination, and repair proteins. However, it is unclear if the observed distribution is simply a factor of endonuclease preference or if inteins have been selectively maintained due to an adaptation that …

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Evaluating The Effects Of Vitamin D And Hyaluronic Acid On The Radiation Response Of Normal Mammary Epithelial Cells And Breast Cancer Cells, Lauren Rose-Boehnlein Jan 2018

Evaluating The Effects Of Vitamin D And Hyaluronic Acid On The Radiation Response Of Normal Mammary Epithelial Cells And Breast Cancer Cells, Lauren Rose-Boehnlein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Each year over 200,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Nearly 25% of them are told they have triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive and lethal form, with few targeted treatment options beyond the standard regimen of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Over 40% of TNBC cases overexpress hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2), a cell membrane enzyme that synthesizes the extracellular matrix (ECM) polysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA). HA binds to and activates the cell surface receptor CD44, which is highly enriched on the cell surface of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and has been associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition …

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"I Think That's Really What It Comes Down To, Is Intimacy": Lgbtq+ Polyamory And The Queering Of Intimacy, Emily Pain Jan 2018

"I Think That's Really What It Comes Down To, Is Intimacy": Lgbtq+ Polyamory And The Queering Of Intimacy, Emily Pain

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Polyamory is an intimate practice, identity, and philosophy that permits open and honest relationships with multiple partners and centers on values such as communication, trust, and egalitarianism. The limited body of existing research on polyamory has contributed important perspectives towards a sociological understanding of polyamorous relationship negotiations and family challenges; however, it has focused primarily on privileged groups, drawing participants from polyamorous communities that are largely comprised of white, middle-class, heterosexual cisgender men and bisexual cisgender women. LGBTQ+ (‘queer’) lives have been severely marginalized in this literature, reinforcing oppressive gender and sexual hierarchies and leaving many important questions unanswered. Moreover, …

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Circular Rna : A Review Of History, Diseases, And Diagnostic Potential, Daniel Conley Jan 2018

Circular Rna : A Review Of History, Diseases, And Diagnostic Potential, Daniel Conley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

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Illumination Modulation For Improved Propagation-Based Phase Imaging, Tonmoy Chakraborty Jan 2018

Illumination Modulation For Improved Propagation-Based Phase Imaging, Tonmoy Chakraborty

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Propagation-based phase imaging enables the quantitative reconstruction of a light beam's phase from measurements of its intensity. Because the intensity depends on the time-averaged square of the field the relationship between intensity and phase is, in general, nonlinear. The transport of intensity equation (TIE), is a linear equation relating phase and propagated intensity that arises from restricting the propagation distance to be small. However, the TIE limits the spatial frequencies that can be reliably reconstructed to those below some cutoff, which limits the accuracy of reconstruction of fine features in phase. On the other hand, the low frequency components suffer …

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The Criminological Implications Of Moral Foundations, Jasmine Renee Silver Jan 2018

The Criminological Implications Of Moral Foundations, Jasmine Renee Silver

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Judgments about morality play an important role in several areas of crime and justice. This dissertation applies Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory (MFT)—which posits that judgments about morality are intuitive and pluralistic—to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the role of moral cognition in shaping attitudes and behaviors related to crime and justice. I also draw on research suggesting that people make moral judgments separately about moral agents (e.g., offenders) and moral patients (e.g., victims). Specifically, via an offender-centered theoretical framework, I argue that endorsement of moral foundations that promote moral concerns that are specific to one’s ingroup (a binding motive) …

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Applying New Methodologies In Assessing Impact Of School Environment On Children's Health And Performance, Yi Lu Jan 2018

Applying New Methodologies In Assessing Impact Of School Environment On Children's Health And Performance, Yi Lu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

School-age children spend substantial time at school, a setting that is more vulnerable to environmental problems. School environmental factors, such as indoor air quality (IAQ), has been shown to have a significant impact on students’ health and academic performance. However, several research gaps remain regarding school environmental research. Few studies have assessed both indoor and outdoor school environmental factors and their impact on student’s respiratory health on a large scale. This is partially due to the lack of application of methods able to handle highly correlated variables. Little is known about the potential mediators on the path between the school …

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Factors Associated With Candida Albicans Dissemination Via The Intestinal Mucosa, Emily Rochac Argueta Jan 2018

Factors Associated With Candida Albicans Dissemination Via The Intestinal Mucosa, Emily Rochac Argueta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A murine model that established GI colonization of Candida albicans and eventual dissemination was identified to be lacking by Koh and others. Koh’s model specifically employed a tailored combination of neutropenia, intestinal damage, and microbiome dysbiosis that would allow C. albicans to gain an opportunistic advantage. His model provided new opportunities to study the details of C. albicans pathogenesis with a focus on the innate immune mechanisms responsible for controlling C. albicans within the intestinal mucosa. The long-term goal of this research project was to specifically study the factors associated with Candida albicans dissemination via the intestinal mucosa. The model …

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Synthesis And Base Pairing Studies Of 5-Cyanomethyl Uridine (Cnm⁵U) And 5-Cyano Uridine (Cn⁵U) In Rna Duplex, Hsu-Chun Tsai Jan 2018

Synthesis And Base Pairing Studies Of 5-Cyanomethyl Uridine (Cnm⁵U) And 5-Cyano Uridine (Cn⁵U) In Rna Duplex, Hsu-Chun Tsai

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

RNA plays an essential role in many biological processes by acting as both genetic information carriers, catalyst and regulator. Natural RNAs usually contain nucleoside analogs from the four common ribonucleosides. There are over 150 chemical modification have been discovered in natural RNA molecules. 5-cyanomethyl uridine is a native modification that has been discovered in total tRNAs from Haloarcula marismortui. This modification in the anticodon wobble position affects the codon recognition, and leads the mutant tRNA to bind not only to AUA but also to AUU and AUG. We synthesized 5-cyanomethyl uridine (cnm5U) and its derivative 5-cyanouridine (cn5U), which has the …

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Bossy, Abrasive And A Bit Too Aggressive : The Unique Double Bind Of Agentic Women In The Workplace, Lindsay Ciancetta Jan 2018

Bossy, Abrasive And A Bit Too Aggressive : The Unique Double Bind Of Agentic Women In The Workplace, Lindsay Ciancetta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Women who violate the female gender role norm of communality by acting agentically have been found to experience social repercussions, such as decreased likability (Eagly & Wood, 2012). This phenomenon has been defined as the backlash effect (Rudman, 1998). The current work draws upon this idea and expands the area to a qualitative criterion, specifically written performance appraisals, and explores the relationship between the backlash effect and individual outcomes of perceived supervisor support, affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The results of a mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis of a sample of 400 written performance evaluations from two organizations provide …

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Exemplary Welshness : The Role Of The Transnational Welsh Heritage Network And Being Welsh In Patagonia, Kimberly Anne Berg Jan 2018

Exemplary Welshness : The Role Of The Transnational Welsh Heritage Network And Being Welsh In Patagonia, Kimberly Anne Berg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recent years, the Welsh Diaspora community in Chubut has gained significant visibility in Welsh and other media in light of the 150th anniversary of the settlement’s establishment. In addition to the commemorative sesquicentenary celebrations taking place in July of 2015, the performance of Welshness has become increasingly congruent with homeland displays of the familiar aspects of Welsh national identity. In large parts, Welsh Patagonian language and heritage revitalization efforts have been facilitated by the transnational Welsh heritage network, composed of Welsh national institutions and Welsh Patagonian heritage associations collaborating with the expressed goal of maintaining a distinct Welsh identity …

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An Exploration Of Caregiver Engagement In Residential Treatment For Youth, Raquel Moriarty Derrick Jan 2018

An Exploration Of Caregiver Engagement In Residential Treatment For Youth, Raquel Moriarty Derrick

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Support for caregiver engagement in their child’s residential treatment is widespread and growing because of the benefits of caregiver engagement to a youth’s treatment process. This dissertation explores the construct of caregiver engagement, defined as caregiver motivation and expectation for their child’s treatment, caregiver bond with staff and caregiver collaboration on treatment goals and tasks among a cohort of 101 caregivers with a child in a Residential Treatment Center (RTC). Mixed methods were used to qualitatively and quantitatively explore caregiver perspectives and experiences that contribute to or detract from their level of engagement in their child’s treatment process. Findings reveal …

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Heteromeric Assemblies Of Glua3 Flip And Flop Shows Differences In Their Channel Opening Kinetics, Nicholas Karl Jan 2018

Heteromeric Assemblies Of Glua3 Flip And Flop Shows Differences In Their Channel Opening Kinetics, Nicholas Karl

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Prior studies of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, including that of GluA3 AMPA receptor subunit, have shown that alternative mRNA splicing, which generates flip and flop variants with different amino acid sequences, gives rise to functional differences between the two variants. The goal of this MS thesis is to investigate the basic gating properties of the heteromeric complex channels formed from GluA2R/GluA3 AMPA receptor subunits and the different variants between the two subunits. The hypothesis to be tested is whether different GluA3 variants affect the channel gating properties when each of the variants is in a complex with the Q/R-site edited …

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The Microfluidic Intravital Window : A Tool For Manipulation And Imaging Of The Tumor Microenvironment, Logan William Butt Jan 2018

The Microfluidic Intravital Window : A Tool For Manipulation And Imaging Of The Tumor Microenvironment, Logan William Butt

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a heterogeneous collection of both healthy and pathological cells, whose complex interactions hold the key for understanding and overcoming cancer. Metastasis leverages these complex interactions into a sophisticated process by which single cells from the tumor disseminate into the blood and form new colonies in other organ systems. Subsequent formation of tumors throughout the body, as a direct result of metastatic events, is responsible for most deaths related to cancer, making metastasis a necessary target for cancer therapy.

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Functional Modulation Of Ampa Receptors By R/G Editing And Auxiliary Subunits, Wei Wen Jan 2018

Functional Modulation Of Ampa Receptors By R/G Editing And Auxiliary Subunits, Wei Wen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The propagation of information in the central nervous system is, in essence, the flow of ions. Neurons connect with each other to form neural circuits that perform distinct functions, and these connections are formed through synapses. Excitatory and inhibitory synapses determine the excitability of a neuron, which further dictates the firing of action potentials. The major ion channels that mediate the transmission at the excitatory synapses are ionotropic glutamate receptors, among which AMPA receptors are responsible for the fast excitatory transmission. Therefore, the functionalities of AMPA receptors substantially affect the information flow, and dysfunction of them could potentially cause many …

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Us-Born Caribbean Black Adolescents : Psychosocial Factors And The Prevalence Of Initiation Of Sexual Intercourse, Kaydian Simone Reid Jan 2018

Us-Born Caribbean Black Adolescents : Psychosocial Factors And The Prevalence Of Initiation Of Sexual Intercourse, Kaydian Simone Reid

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background

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Crossing The Post-Racial Color Line : A 'Novel' Approach To Exploring Whiteness, Blackness, And Passing In 21st Century America, Alissa Ssendawula Jan 2018

Crossing The Post-Racial Color Line : A 'Novel' Approach To Exploring Whiteness, Blackness, And Passing In 21st Century America, Alissa Ssendawula

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Muzungu is a novel about a white woman who denies her whiteness by passing and even identifying as a black woman, even as she maintains a contentious relationship with her white mother. The plot is revealed through the point of view of the adult, “black” Rachel, but from the very beginning, much of what she gives the reader are memories from her white childhood, memories involving two key experiences in her youth, experiences that provide her with her first awareness of herself as a white girl. The first is her discovery of a lynching postcard in her great-grandmother’s cellar. Her …

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Making Sense Of The Mix : Understanding The Role Of Family Dynamics In The Racial Identity Experiences Of Black-White Emerging Adults, Crystal Austin Jan 2018

Making Sense Of The Mix : Understanding The Role Of Family Dynamics In The Racial Identity Experiences Of Black-White Emerging Adults, Crystal Austin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As a population, Black-White (B-W) biracial individuals have been relatively overlooked and underserved in the psychological literature. Although some theoretical attention has been paid to the racial identity development of biracial individuals, research is lacking on the psychological processes influencing the identity experiences of these individuals (Rockquemore et al., 2009). Specifically, little is known about how adults’ family-of-origin dynamics influence the racial identity construction process of B-W individuals.

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Perseverative Thinking In Eating Pathology : Do Rumination Patterns Differ According To Symptom Type?, Lauren Eileen Ehrlich Jan 2018

Perseverative Thinking In Eating Pathology : Do Rumination Patterns Differ According To Symptom Type?, Lauren Eileen Ehrlich

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Rumination, defined as repetitive, negative, self-referential thinking, is strongly associated with the development and maintenance of many internalizing disorders. Although rumination was first examined within the depression literature, it is now considered a transdiagnostic risk factor that underlies many psychological disorders. Despite the negative consequences of engaging in these thought processes, rumination is a common cognitive process, perhaps due to positive metacognitive beliefs about the function of rumination. Recent work has demonstrated a link between eating pathology and a tendency to ruminate on eating disorder relevant themes, as well as beliefs about the usefulness of rumination. Our understanding of this …

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Clinical Information Extraction From Unstructured Free-Texts, Mingzhe Tao Jan 2018

Clinical Information Extraction From Unstructured Free-Texts, Mingzhe Tao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Information extraction (IE) is a fundamental component of natural language processing (NLP) that provides a deeper understanding of the texts. In the clinical domain, documents prepared by medical experts (e.g., discharge summaries, drug labels, medical history records) contain a significant amount of clinically-relevant information that is crucial to the overall well-being of patients. Unfortunately, in many cases, clinically-relevant information is presented in an unstructured format, predominantly consisting of free-texts, making it inaccessible to computerized methods. Automatic extraction of this information can improve accessibility. However, the presence of synonymous expressions, medical acronyms, misspellings, negated phrases, and ambiguous terminologies make automatic extraction …

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Childhood Emotional Functioning And Arterial Stiffness In Young Adulthood, Logan Carey Jan 2018

Childhood Emotional Functioning And Arterial Stiffness In Young Adulthood, Logan Carey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

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Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala Jan 2018

Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines topics related to racial and ethnic diversity through three essays. Each essay takes a new perspective on a current issue in the literature and utilizes a unique statistical methodology to address that issue. The first essay uses the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to develop a measure of segregation for the ACS and uses it to assess whether the ACS is useful for measuring segregation in places with different sizes. The second essay considers whether a relatively unexplored factor, genetics, is correlated with migration. This perspective broadens our understanding of why migration occurs and is perpetuated over time. …

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Beyond The Parental Generation : The Influences Of Grandparents' Socioeconomic Status On Grandchildren's Wellbeing, Ying Huang Jan 2018

Beyond The Parental Generation : The Influences Of Grandparents' Socioeconomic Status On Grandchildren's Wellbeing, Ying Huang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Health disparities in relation to socioeconomic status are persistent and pervasive in the United States. My dissertation investigates the intergenerational determinants of child wellbeing. Driven by several life course models as well as the cumulative (dis)advantage theory, this dissertation examines whether and how grandparental socioeconomic status (SES) shapes the health and cognitive skills of their grandchildren, paying special attention to identifying direct and indirect processes, and assesses the heterogeneous effects by child race. Analyses are based on longitudinal data from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the supplemental studies of Child Development Supplement (CDS). I use multivariate …

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Preconception Serum Alpha-Tocopherol Levels Are Associated With Higher Live Birth Rates After In Vitro Fertilization, Erica Jamro Jan 2018

Preconception Serum Alpha-Tocopherol Levels Are Associated With Higher Live Birth Rates After In Vitro Fertilization, Erica Jamro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

STUDY QUESTION: Are serum lipid and lipophilic micronutrient concentrations associated with clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes?

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Exploring Kindergartners' Understandings Of Gender : Responding To Picture Book Read Alouds With A Focus On Fairy Tales, Karen Marie Maher Jan 2018

Exploring Kindergartners' Understandings Of Gender : Responding To Picture Book Read Alouds With A Focus On Fairy Tales, Karen Marie Maher

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores four of my kindergartners’ understandings of gender across one academic year with an in-depth study of responses to a series of picture book read alouds including Cinderella variants. Critical literacy offered opportunities for these young students to critique inequities within social practices (Au & Raphael, 2000; Vasquez, 2014, 2017); whereas, poststructuralist feminism framed the inquiries into the locations of deeply ingrained gender identities (Blackburn, 2005, 2006; Blaise, 2005a, 2005b, 2014; Villaverde, 2008). This critical analysis of literature provided a means for the kindergartners to uncover underlying messages of power and inequity by interrogating whose voices were heard …

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Cell Biological Analyses Of The Role Of The Vrk1 Protein Kinase In Mammary Epithelial Cells, Aye M. Mon Jan 2018

Cell Biological Analyses Of The Role Of The Vrk1 Protein Kinase In Mammary Epithelial Cells, Aye M. Mon

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Vaccinia-related kinase 1 (VRK1) is a pro-proliferative nuclear serine/threonine kinase. Mice engrafted with VRK1-depleted MDA-MB-231 cells develop fewer distal metastases than mice engrafted with control cells, suggesting a potential role for VRK1 in cell migration, invasion, and/or colonization. In work described herein, we investigated the impact of VRK1 overexpression on human mammary epithelial cells. We demonstrated that VRK1 overexpression in MCF10A cells (normal mammary epithelial cells) diminishes cell invasion and impairs both single-cell and sheet migration, as well as the migration-associated processes of cell spreading and cytoskeletal rearrangement. Interestingly, VRK1-overexpressing cells show reduced accumulation of the mesenchymal marker vimentin and …

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Nanobiotechnology Medical Applications: Overcoming Challenges Through Innovation, Anthony N. Singer, Eleni Markousta, Alya Limayem, Subhra Mohapatra, Shyam Mohapatra Jan 2018

Nanobiotechnology Medical Applications: Overcoming Challenges Through Innovation, Anthony N. Singer, Eleni Markousta, Alya Limayem, Subhra Mohapatra, Shyam Mohapatra

USF Alumni and Student Publications

Biomedical Nanotechnology (BNT) has rapidly become a revolutionary force that is driving innovation in the medical field. BNT is a subclass of nanotechnology (NT), and often operates in cohort with other subclasses, such as mechanical or electrical NT for the development of diagnostic assays, therapeutic implants, nano-scale imaging systems, and medical machinery. BNT is generating solutions to many conventional challenges through the development of enhanced therapeutic delivery systems, diagnostic techniques, and theranostic therapies. Therapeutically, BNT has generated many novel nanocarriers (NCs) that each express specifically designed physiochemical properties that optimize their desired pharmacokinetic profile. NCs are also being integrated into …

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Role Of Stress And Emotion Regulation Profiles In The Relation Between Childhood Stress And Adult Psychopathology Symptoms, Stephanie Emhoff Jan 2018

Role Of Stress And Emotion Regulation Profiles In The Relation Between Childhood Stress And Adult Psychopathology Symptoms, Stephanie Emhoff

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research consistently indicates that harsh parenting and interparental aggression are associated with long-term adjustment problems. However, not all youth exposed to these types of environmental stress go on to develop adverse outcomes. Additional research is needed on factors that increase risk for or protect against adverse psychological outcomes following early environmental stress. The present study examined reactivity profiles, developed from biological, behavioral, and affective responses to stress in young adults, as moderators in the relation between exposure to interparental aggression and/or harsh parenting during childhood and adolescence and psychopathology symptoms in young adults. Latent profile analysis indicated a 2-profile model …

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Too Late : Reconceptualizing Despair For An Overdetermined Future, Hunter Peters Jan 2018

Too Late : Reconceptualizing Despair For An Overdetermined Future, Hunter Peters

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis will address the larger conversation occurring within anthropocene studies through a more conscious treatment of despair as a vital force in our moving forward into an overdetermined future. Using three primary texts, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Anne Sexton’s The Awful Rowing Toward God, and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West, I will demonstrate how despair allows us to confront the abyss that is species extinction, a future for which hyperobjects act as a harbinger or messianic power. Taking a position opposite the more hopeful critics working within anthropocene studies, my …

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