19,211 research outputs found
Interview with YA mystery author, Valerie Sherrard
No full textAn interview with Valerie Sherrard, a YA author, which focuses on her process of writing the Shelby Belgarden mystery series.
Interview with YA author Vicki Grant
No full textWe feature an interview with Nova Scotian YA author Vicki Grant. Vicki is a prolific author who has written 14 books and has written over 100 episodes of children‘s TV. Vicki discusses her thoughts on reading positively and the meaning behind positivity, her favorite bad-day books, and how we as a community can promote reading positively. She makes us realize the importance of realism in writing and how important it is to connect with young readers
Interview with YA author and Children‘s Editorial Assistant Suzanne Sutherland
No full textAn interview with Young Adult author Suzanne Sutherland. The interview focuses on Toronto, the straight edge scene, music and subculture, Sutherland\u27s first book, When We Were Good and the importance of queer representation in YA books. Sutherland also recommends a number of YA novels
The Image of Ch'ao Yun in San-kuo Yen-i
Get PDFIn San-kuo Yen-i, Ch'ao Yün plays an active role as a general in the Kingdom of Shu 蜀. In the story, he is portrayed as "bold and careful". How does the author build up such an image for this protagonist? What kind of role has he assigned to Ch'ao Yün? These are two points that I shall examine in this paper. Juxtaposing San-kuo Yen-i and San-kuo-chih 三國志, we may easily notice that Ch'ao Yün plays a much more active role in the former story. However, there are scenes where the two books resemble each other closely. An example of which is the scene where Ch'ao Yün remonstrates with Liu Pei. Another point that should not be neglected is that the role of Ch'ao Yün in San-kuo Yen-i has become much more important than in the two sources upon which it is based, namely San-kuo-chih P'ing-hua 三國志平話 and the Yüan Tsa-chü 元雜劇. While retaining his intellectual image as portrayed in San-kuo-chih, the author exaggerates his valiant quality in San-kuo Yen-i. Thus Ch'ao Yün becomes both an intellectual as well as a militarist in San-kuo Yen-i. This also explains why he enjoys the status of being the third most competent general in the Kingdom of Shu, second only to Kuan Yü 關羽 and Chang Fei 張飛, although in history he has been ranked, at the most, as the fifth general. One of the reasons behind such a treatment of Ch'ao Yün in San-kuo Yen-i is that the author probably wishes to make him the counterpart of Chang Fei. Such a device is not unusual in Chinese novels. The contrast between Chang Fei and Ch'ao Yün in San-kuo Yen-i is obvious. While Chang is portrayed as a brave but emotionally unstable warrior, Ch'ao remains a calm and discerning person who almost never errs. Another reason perhaps is that the author has intended Ch'ao to be a character who can be summoned conveniently both as a warrior in the battle-scenes and as a thinker in the field of strategy. Finally, perhaps we may also look at Ch'ao Yün as a character to fill the gap when such leading figures as Liu Pei, Kuan Yü and Chang Fei have all passed away
The Compensation Mechanism of Cervical Muscle Dysfunction on Spinal Stability-An in Vitro Study Using Porcine Model
No full textSíntese de polietilenoiminas ramificadas decoradas com grupos hidrofóbicos e nucleosídeos e estudos de sua interação com dodecilsulfato de sódio e DNA
Get PDFTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciencias Fisicas e Matematicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Florianópolis, 2012A poli(etilenoimina) (PEI) foi modificada por meio da alquilação com grupos n-alquila (n = 4, 6, 8 e 12 carbonos). O espalhamento de raios X a baixos ângulos (SAXS), tensão superficial, emissão de fluorescência do pireno, viscosidade e medidas de pH foram as técnicas usadas para investigar a conformação e agregação das PEIs hidrofobicamente modificadas em solução aquosa, na ausência e na presença de dodecil sulfato de sódio (SDS). Medidas de SAXS mostraram que o raio de giro diminui com o aumento do comprimento da cadeia alquílica, enquanto que os dados de viscosidade indicaram uma diminuição na viscosidade intrínseca. A PEI não modificada não apresentou atividade na superfície, enquanto as PEIs modificadas mostraram atividade pronunciada na superfície e presença de domínios hidrofóbicos. Na presença de SDS, o início da formação do complexo polímero-surfactante foi determinado, indicando uma diminuição na concentração de agregação crítica (cac) com o aumento no comprimento da cadeia alquílica substituída na PEI. A PEI também foi decorada com o grupo uridina com dois graus de substituição (5% e 15%). A formação de complexos das PEIs, decoradas com uridina ou hidrofobicamente modificadas, com o DNA do timo de bezerro foi investigada através das técnicas de emissão de fluorescência do brometo de etídio, espectrofotometria de UV-Vis, dicroísmo circular (CD), potencial zeta, viscosidade, espalhamento de luz dinâmico (DLS) e SAXS, na ausência e na presença de SDS. Todas as PEIs apresentaram três etapas na formação de complexos com o DNA: a primeira, quando uma pequena quantidade de polieletrólito foi adicionada, as cadeias do DNA são parcialmente condensadas; a segunda, quando mais polieletrólito foi adicionado, apresenta complexos com densidade de carga nula, com tamanho micrométrico; a terceira, em concentrações mais altas da PEI, o DNA foi completamente condensado pelas cadeias das PEIs, formando complexos positivamente carregados com valores de RH,ap na faixa de 51 a 88 nm. Análises de viscosidade e SAXS sugerem que o a PEI não modificada teve a interação mais forte e que melhor condensa o DNA.Abstract : The polyethylene imine (PEI) was modified by means of the alkylation with n-alkyl groups (n = 4, 6, 8 and 12 carbons). Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), viscosity, surface tension, and pyrene fluorescence emission were then used as techniques to examine the conformation and aggregation of the hydrophobically modified PEIs in aqueous solution, in the absence and presence of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Analysis of the SAXS data showed that the radius of gyration decreases with an increase in the alkyl chain length of the polymer, while the viscosity data indicated a decrease in the intrinsic viscosity under the same conditions. The nonmodified PEI was not surface active, while the hydrophobically modified samples showed pronounced surface activity and the presence of hydrophobic domains. On addition of SDS, the onset of the formation of polymer#surfactant complexes was determined, indicating a decrease in the critical aggregate concentration (cac) with an increase in the alkyl chain length of the polymer backbone. The PEI also was decorated with uridine groups with two substitution degrees (5% and 15%). The complex formation of the decorated or hydrophobically modified PEI with calf thymus DNA was investigated through of the ethidium bromide fluorescence emission, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism (CD), potential zeta, viscosity, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and SAXS techniques, in the absence and presence of SDS. All versions of PEI showed three steps in complexes formation with DNA: first, when a small amount of polyelectrolyte was added, DNA chains were partially condensed; second, when more polyelectrolyte was added, the complexes had a null charge density and micrometric size; third, at higher concentration of PEI, the DNA was fully condensed by PEI chains, leading to positively charged complexes with RH,ap values in the range of 51-88 nm. Viscosity and SAXS analyses suggested that the unmodified PEI had the stronger interaction and promoted the best DNA condensation
Appendix_A – Supplemental material for The Effects of Mental Health and Substance Abuse/Dependence Disorders on Prison Misconduct Among Male Inmates in Taiwan
No full textSupplemental material, Appendix_A for The Effects of Mental Health and Substance Abuse/Dependence Disorders on Prison Misconduct Among Male Inmates in Taiwan by Shih-Ya Kuo in International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology</p
The Influence of Smartphone Use on Undergraduate Students’ Self-Directed Learning
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 4/1/2017
This study explores smartphone use in undergraduate students’ self-directed learning. The factors were identified, providing an understanding of how undergraduate students could be more motivated and effective in their short-term, self-directed learning under the influence of smartphone use.
Primary Author and Speaker: Ya-chun Chang
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kuan-Chen Chen, Wen Ting Chen, Ya-syuan Cai
Contributing Authors: Chang-Chih Robin Kuo</jats:p
Polyethylenimine-Mediated Puma Gene Delivery to Orthotopic Oral Cancer: Suppression of Tumor Growth through Apoptosis Induction in Situ and Prolonged Survival
No full textBACKGROUND: PUMA (a p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis) is induced by p53 tumor suppressor and other apoptotic stimuli. It was found to be a principal mediator of cell death in response to diverse apoptotic signals, implicating PUMA as a likely tumor suppressor. METHODS: In this study, we examined the efficacy of targeted PUMA gene therapy in human oral cancer (SAS) cells using polyethylenimine (PEI)- mediated transfection for gene delivery. RESULTS: Exogenous expression of PUMA in SAS cells resulted in apoptosis with cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-3 and -9, and cleavage of PARP. Gene delivery of PEI/PUMA in SAS xenografts induced apoptosis and resulted in significant reductions (?60%) of tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore , we have shown that PEI-mediated PUMA gene therapy prolonged survival of animals with orthotopic SAS oral cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results indicated that PUMA gene therapy via PEI delivery could be a promising method for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma
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