Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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The War on Poverty in Laredo, Texas 1950-1980
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of the War on Poverty on Laredo, Texas with the notion of Laredo exceptionalism due to its homogeneous population and culture. Primary source material was drawn mainly from articles found in the Laredo Times and interviews with Laredoans that were either associated with the War on Poverty or the Independent Club within the city. Secondary sources were used mainly to identify the motives, development, and challenges that the War on Poverty faced outside of Laredo. This study has discovered that the War on Poverty was able to achieve a greater degree of success by being able to focus on purely economic issues without the entanglement of racial issues common in other parts of the United States. Ultimately, the War on Poverty in Laredo was able to perpetuate and enhance a degree of social activism against an established political machine and thereby contributing to the collapse of the machine a decade later. This study insists that the successes and failures of the War on Poverty cannot be applied uniformly throughout the United States as each individual community developed its own unique approach to the poverty issue and each found its own unique challenges
Combretum Farinosum Extract Toxicity to Skin and Lung Cell Lines as Measured by the Mtt Assay
Get PDFFossil evidence dates plant usage in healthcare as far back as 60,000 years. In fact, indigenous biomedicine in South Africa has an estimated economic value of over $326 million. Researchers have concluded that approximately 200,000 healers deliver this form of healthcare to 27 million South Africans. Worldwide, plant usage in healthcare is estimated at 65%. The use of plants from the Combretaceae family in medicine have been of much interest to scientists. However, Combretum farinosum has little published research on its pharmacological properties, unlike many of its extensively studied congenerics. Combretum farinosum roots, fruits, leaves, and stems were sequentially Soxhlet extracted using petroleum ether, acetone, and ethanol solvents. These extracts then underwent a rotary evaporation and freezing drying process before being weighed and diluted in DMSO to make known concentrations. A three day Wallert and Provost LabTM 96-well plate MTT cell proliferation assay was performed on LL47 lung fibroblasts, H69 small lung cell carcinoma, and BJ fetal foreskin cell lines. The MTT assay is a colorimetric assay which allows for the quantification of percent inhibition of cell growth in response to treatment with test extracts through the detection and quantification of formazan, which is the byproduct of the reduction of MTT by mitochondrial dehydrogenase. Combretum farinosum roots petroleum ether extract showed the strongest anti-proliferation activity of all the extracts against the normal cell lines. Combretum farinosum roots petroleum ether extract also showed the strongest anti-proliferation activity of all the extracts against the only cancer cell line tested. However, future research should be aimed at testing the C. farinosum extracts against other cancer cell lines to examine if the petroleum ether extracts remain the most cytotoxic. Both the roots petroleum ether and roots acetone extracts may have potential use in targeting diseased non-cancerous tissue (e.g. benign tumors) due to their cytotoxicity to normal cell lines. Finally, the roots petroleum ether extract may be the most promising extract for potential use as an anti- cancer drug if active compounds can be more thoroughly isolated
The Most Forgotten Unit in the Most Forgotten Theatre of That War: A History of the Mars Task Force in the Burma Theatre of World War II, August 1944-October 1945
Get PDFThis thesis discusses the significance of the (MTF) in Burma during World War II and how the MTF has been generally overlooked by historians. What little historical attention the Mars Task Force has received has frequently been brief and inaccurate. The Mars Task Force was a classified Long Range Penetration Force that trekked some 300 miles behind enemy-lines and went on the offensive in Burma to weaken the Japanese in their war with the Nationalists Chinese. This epic march was on foot, with mules, and supplied through airdrops. This thesis represents one of the few studies of the Mars Task Force of any length and uses numerous primary sources to chronicle their activities during World War II. This thesis is also of significance in that it relieves the few surviving veterans of the burden of having been largely ignored and bestows on them the credit they have long deserved
Complex Network of Aviation E-Services in the Belt and Road Initiative: A Heuristic Study of Small Data based on Block Modeling
No full textThe aviation e-service system is an important part of support for business communication in regions covered by Belt and Road initiative. In exploring the role of airline companies in this system, we examine the structure of the network, which consists of airlines interconnections based on small data of individual attributes of aviation companies in aviation e-services, and study these interconnections across different groups using block modeling. The heuristic solution of airline companies in development of international communication and cooperation is further discussed. Among our policy implications for global managers, we suggest the enhancement of cross-regional cooperation among airlines
Validity of Field and Laboratory Three-Compartment Models in Healthy Adults
No full textModified laboratory- and field-based multicompartment models have been found valid for estimating body composition. However, the comparability between these models is unknown. Purpose This study determined the validity of field and laboratory three-compartment (3C) models in healthy adults. Methods: One hundred twenty participants (63 men and 57 women; age, 22 ± 5 yr; BMI, 24.9 ± 3.9 kg·m -2 ) participated in this study. A criterion four-compartment model (4C-Criterion) was determined with underwater weighing for body volume (BV), bioimpedance spectroscopy for total body water (TBW), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for bone mineral content. Modified laboratory-based 3C models were determined using bioimpedance spectroscopy for TBW and two separate DXA BV equations (3C-DXA SR and 3C-DXA W ) whereas a field-based 3C model (3C-Field) was obtained using single-frequency bioimpedance analysis for TBW and skinfold-derived BV. In addition, a stand-alone DXA assessment was evaluated. Results: The effect size of the mean differences when compared to the 4C-Criterion were trivial to small for all modified 3C models and DXA when estimating fat mass, fat-free mass, and body fat percentage. The standard error of estimate and 95% limits of agreement for all modified 3C models and DXA were similar and considered acceptable. However, 3C-Field produced the lowest total error values and 3C-DXA SR produced slightly lower total error values than 3C-DXA W and DXA. Conclusions: The present study found that all modified 3C models and DXA exhibited acceptable errors. When performed by expert personnel, a field-based 3C model appears to be a viable alternative to laboratory-derived models in healthy adults
CEO/CFO resignations and the market’s reaction to violations of the foreign corruption practices act
No full textI examine CEOs’ and CFOs’ forced resignations after violations of the Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA). My findings show that firms that adhere to the FCPA (FCPA firms) discipline CEOs and CFOs after violations of the act. Further, CEOs and CFOs are likely to resign after the SEC identifies them as perpetrators in these violations, and the SEC bars more CEOs and CFOs of firms that commit accounting fraud (FRAUD firms) than those of FCPA firms. Also, fewer CEOs than CFOs find a new position within five years after their resignation. Further, the market reacts significantly to the FCPA firms’ announcements of bribery violations but does not react to the 8-K resignations of their CEOs or CFOs. In comparison, the magnitudes of the reactions to FRAUD firms’ announcements of accounting fraud and the CEOs’ or CFOs’ 8-K resignations are higher than those of FCPA firms
El Liderazgo Traducido: Traducción y Análisis del Libro de Edward Burger y Michael Starbird, the 5 Elements of Effective Thinking
No full textThis thesis presents a translation of part of the book The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking (2012) and an analysis of the translation process. This project explores the need for literature on leadership within the Spanish speaking community. For the analysis, three chapters of the book The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking (2012) have been translated into Spanish. The authors of this book, Burger and Starbird, teach the reader the five main thinking strategies to become better at whatever we do and provide examples of how this thinking process can change someone’s life. The book does not have a specific target audience, since its intent is to reach and change the lives of all people who are willing to put in the work and accept change. With the translation of part of the book, we intent to broaden the field of leadership for Hispanic readers. The Spanish translation aims to open a discipline that has not yet been fully explored in Latin America. The analysis details some of the difficulties of the translation process, explains how they were resolved, and describes the techniques and the sources utilized to produce the Spanish translation
Exploring the Possible Relationships between Terrestrial Arthropod and Plant Community Structures in the South Texas Plains
Get PDFThe South Texas Plains is one of many locations worldwide that has rapidly changed from grass-dominated rangeland into a relatively densely wooded thicket; a mechanism of succession termed the “mesquite-nucleus hypothesis,” which states that a mesquite tree is well evolved to encroach on grassland and change the micro-habitat, thereby allowing other woody species to encroach more easily, has been proposed. The current study tests the mesquite-nucleus hypothesis by studying arthropod community structure and its relationship to the surrounding plant community structure. Arthropods are easily trapped and counted, but complete survey data for South Texas is sparse. Pitfall traps were used in three distinct transect lines to collect arthropods between 19 September 2015 and 31 March 2016. Most arthropods were identified to the order level, spiders were identified at the family level, and ants were keyed to the genus level. Relative abundances, direct comparisons of relative abundances, Simpson indices, Shannon indices, G-tests of independence, richness extrapolation, and richness estimation were used to compare arthropod community structure among the transect lines, and the point-centered quarter method was used to characterize plant communities and place traps. The mesquite-nucleus hypothesis is weakly supported by some of the data, but experimental replicants are needed. Overall, evenness and diversity were highest in the mesquite transect, but the transect dominated by blackbrush had the highest arthropod abundance. The relative abundance data for several taxa raise questions that should be further investigated: Diptera abundances seem negatively correlated with the average distances between shrubs or perhaps prefer to be near blackbrush, Salticids were found to prefer blackbrush, and Gnaphosids were disproportionally present in the transect referred to as mixed. Ant communities were similar among transects
Walking The Tightrope: A Qualitative Study Of Women In Law Enforcement Navigating Their Work-Life Challenges
Get PDFThis study aims to explore the work-life challenges that women face in male-dominated professions, specifically in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this study is to analyze the work-life challenges women face while working in the criminal justice system, a traditionally male-dominated field. Amidst the myriad of challenges, women bring a unique face to policing and other professions within law enforcement and legal professions; understanding women’s work experiences and how they articulate and implement strategies to manage the varying challenges is critical in evaluating women’s position within the law enforcement culture and the pulse of the legal profession. Employing a qualitative methodology and a thematic analysis to provide a richer understanding of women’s experiences at work, I conducted 13 semi-structured and in-depth interviews of women employed in various positions and professions within the criminal justice field. Organizational communication theories were applied through this research to discover the gender and occupational roles women were identifying with in terms of work-life challenges. Women working these traditionally male-dominated roles were faced with having to continuously prove themselves while acquiring thick skin, juggling multiple identities and dealing with over committing at work. This study revealed women’s communication skills of verbal judo, implementing supportive relationships and allowing an open and honest dialogue with their children were vital components and strategies in managing a work-life balance. Despite a myriad of work-life challenges confronted throughout their career in male-dominated fields, these women went beyond the call of duty in the pursuit of a work-life balance