797 research outputs found
Romance portrayed in Sophie Kinsella's finding Audrey Novel
No full textThis research aims to describe the relationship between Audrey and Linus relationship using John G. Cawelti formula theory. The study shows that author use pamela formula to describe the story plot
The sloan digital sky survey reverberation mapping project : ensemble spectroscopic variability of quasar broad emission lines
No full textM.Y.S. acknowledges support from the China Scholarship Council (No. [2013]3009). J.R.T. and Y.S. acknowledge support from NASA through Hubble Fellowship grants #51330 and #51314, respectively, awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA under contract NAS 5-26555. W.N.B. acknowledges support from NSF grant AST-1108604 and the V. M. Willaman Endowment. KDD is supported by an NSF AAPF fellowship awarded under NSF grant AST-1302093.We explore the variability of quasars in the Mg ii and Hβ broad emission lines and ultraviolet/optical continuum emission using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project (SDSS-RM). This is the largest spectroscopic study of quasar variability to date: our study includes 29 spectroscopic epochs from SDSS-RM over 6 months, containing 357 quasars with Mg ii and 41 quasars with Hβ . On longer timescales, the study is also supplemented with two-epoch data from SDSS-I/II. The SDSS-I/II data include an additional 2854 quasars with Mg ii and 572 quasars with Hβ . The Mg ii emission line is significantly variable (Δƒ/ƒ ~ 10% on ~100-day timescales), a necessary prerequisite for its use for reverberation mapping studies. The data also confirm that continuum variability increases with timescale and decreases with luminosity, and the continuum light curves are consistent with a damped random-walk model on rest-frame timescales of ≳5 days. We compare the emission-line and continuum variability to investigate the structure of the broad-line region. Broad-line variability shows a shallower increase with timescale compared to the continuum emission, demonstrating that the broad-line transfer function is not a δ-function. Hβ is more variable than Mg ii (roughly by a factor of ~1.5), suggesting different excitation mechanisms, optical depths and/or geometrical configuration for each emission line. The ensemble spectroscopic variability measurements enabled by the SDSS-RM project have important consequences for future studies of reverberation mapping and black hole mass estimation of 1<픃<2 quasars.Peer reviewe
Working Paper 116 - Unlocking Productive Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia: Which Incentives Matter
No full textTwenty years after the launch of market reforms, productive entrepreneurship and vibrant small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ethiopia remain limited, the recent growth acceleration notwithstanding. This paper first develops a model of entrepreneurial start ups in an economy with frictions in the product and labor markets and a large informal sector, which characterize the Ethiopian institutional landscape. It then examines several mitigating policies that could improve the suboptimal outcomes. The main findings are that search subsidies would be more effective in encouraging entrepreneurial start ups than wage subsidies, although fewer entrepreneurs may choose to operate in the formal sector than under the latter. Regarding the reform agenda, priority should be put on removing rigidities and establishing property rights. To be effective, both types of subsidies should have a time limit and be phased out with reforms of the business environment, strengthened property rights, and improved labor markets.
A weather related causal analysis on consolidated delay at Newark Liberty International Airport
No full textThe closure of the European airspace due to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 proved a major challenge for airlines and aviation authorities on a global scale. In contrast, more seasonal adverse meteorological conditions afflict many airports in the northern eastern seaboard of the United States. Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) is a representative airport that endures severe weather based delays. This dissertation explores the utilisation of Bayesian Networks (BN) and heuristic analyses to investigate weather based delays at Newark Liberty International airport (KEWR). In particular, it aims to understand which weather variables (namely, precipitation, visibility and wind) have the most impact on weather based delays at KEWR in contrast to past studies that have studied more generic weather phenomena (e.g. thunderstorms) at the same airport. An analysis using temporal functionality with Bayesian Networks (BN) software and heuristic analyses was conducted. Data extracted from weather and aviation based websites was extracted using software. The quality of the information was cross referenced with official data sources and validated using BN tools. The results revealed a causal correlation chain between crosswinds above a certain threshold and high delays at KEWR at various points in the experimentation. Though other meteorological elements examined had an impact on delays, airport authorities and airlines can mitigate these factors to a certain scale using Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approved technology and training. Consequently, the implications could be significant on existing FAA and regional policy with Ground Delay Program (GDP) and Noise Abatement Procedures (NAP). These policies can be profound and far reaching for airlines, in terms of operating procedures and fuel cost implications. These findings can further alter the balance between efficiency, public safety and airline costing affecting all major stakeholders as this dissertation will investigate
Validation of the self-regulation strategies inventory: parent rating scale
No full textThe current dissertation gathered empirical evidence of convergent and predictive validity for the Self-Regulation Strategies Inventory – Parent Rating Scale (SRSI-PRS), which measures parents’ perception of their child’s use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies during mathematics activities. The SRSI-PRS, which is part of the larger SRSI scale system incorporating a teacher version (SRSI-TRS) and a student version (SRSI-SR), was administered as part of a longitudinal study with middle school students that also included the SRSI teacher and student versions and three student motivational measures (self-efficacy, task interest, and perceived responsibility). Participants included 105 7th and 8th grade parents and their respective students and students’ teachers from a Northeastern suburban school district. Convergent validity was examined by assessing Pearson’s correlations between: (a) SRSI-PRS subscales, the SRSI-TRS, and SRSI-SR subscales, and (b) SRSI-PRS subscales and the three types of motivational beliefs. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the unique variance that the SRSI-PRS accounted for when predicting students’ academic achievement. Two regression analyses were conducted across two different measures of academic achievement: (a) standardized test scores and (b) course grades. In terms of convergent validity evidence, the results showed that the three SRSI-PRS subscales exhibited medium and statistically significant relations with the SRSI-TRS, and small to medium statistically significant relations with the three SRSI-SR subscales and student self-efficacy. Additionally, two of the SRSI-PRS subscales displayed statistically significant, albeit small, relations with student’s task interest, but none of the SRSI-PRS subscales exhibited significant relations with the student’s perceived responsibility scale. Finally, there were mixed results regarding the predictive validity of the SRSI-PRS. The SRSI-PRS composite accounted for unique variance (R2 = 4.4%) in course grades, but did not account for any unique variance in predicting standardized mathematics test scores after controlling for student and teacher ratings.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Audrey Ruth Lubi
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FalkKristenForestEcosystSocNonStructuralCarbohydratesWoody.pdf
No full textNon-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in plant tissue are frequently quantified to make inferences about plant responses to environmental conditions. Laboratories publishing estimates of NSC of woody plants use many different methods to evaluate NSC. We asked whether NSC estimates in the recent literature could be quantitatively compared among studies. We also asked whether any differences among laboratories were related to the extraction and quantification methods used to determine starch and sugar concentrations. These questions were addressed by sending sub-samples collected from five woody plant tissues, which varied in NSC content and chemical composition, to 29 laboratories. Each laboratory analyzed the samples with their laboratory-specific protocols, based on recent publications, to determine concentrations of soluble sugars, starch and their sum, total NSC. Laboratory estimates differed substantially for all samples. For example, estimates for Eucalyptus globulus leaves (EGL) varied from 23 to 116 (mean = 56) mg g⁻¹ for soluble sugars, 6–533 (mean = 94) mg g⁻¹ for starch and 53–649 (mean = 153) mg g⁻¹ for total NSC. Mixed model analysis of variance showed that much of the variability among laboratories was unrelated to the categories we used for extraction and quantification methods (method category R² = 0.05–0.12 for soluble sugars, 0.10–0.33 for starch and 0.01–0.09 for total NSC). For EGL, the difference between the highest and lowest least squares means for categories in the mixed model analysis was 33 mg g⁻¹ for total NSC, compared with the range of laboratory estimates of 596 mg g⁻¹. Laboratories were reasonably consistent in their ranks of estimates among tissues for starch (r = 0.41–0.91), but less so for total NSC (r = 0.45–0.84) and soluble sugars (r = 0.11–0.83). Our results show that NSC estimates for woody plant tissues cannot be compared among laboratories. The relative changes in NSC between treatments measured within a laboratory may be comparable within and between laboratories, especially for starch. To obtain comparable NSC estimates, we suggest that users can either adopt the reference method given in this publication, or report estimates for a portion of samples using the reference method, and report estimates for a standard reference material. Researchers interested in NSC estimates should work to identify and adopt standard methods.Keywords: soluble sugars, starch, non-structural carbohydrate chemical analysis, reference method, particle size, extraction and quantification consistency, standardizationKeywords: soluble sugars, starch, non-structural carbohydrate chemical analysis, reference method, particle size, extraction and quantification consistency, standardizatio
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FalkKristenForestEcosystSocNonStructuralCarbohydratesWoody(SupportingInformation).pdf
No full textNon-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in plant tissue are frequently quantified to make inferences about plant responses to environmental conditions. Laboratories publishing estimates of NSC of woody plants use many different methods to evaluate NSC. We asked whether NSC estimates in the recent literature could be quantitatively compared among studies. We also asked whether any differences among laboratories were related to the extraction and quantification methods used to determine starch and sugar concentrations. These questions were addressed by sending sub-samples collected from five woody plant tissues, which varied in NSC content and chemical composition, to 29 laboratories. Each laboratory analyzed the samples with their laboratory-specific protocols, based on recent publications, to determine concentrations of soluble sugars, starch and their sum, total NSC. Laboratory estimates differed substantially for all samples. For example, estimates for Eucalyptus globulus leaves (EGL) varied from 23 to 116 (mean = 56) mg g⁻¹ for soluble sugars, 6–533 (mean = 94) mg g⁻¹ for starch and 53–649 (mean = 153) mg g⁻¹ for total NSC. Mixed model analysis of variance showed that much of the variability among laboratories was unrelated to the categories we used for extraction and quantification methods (method category R² = 0.05–0.12 for soluble sugars, 0.10–0.33 for starch and 0.01–0.09 for total NSC). For EGL, the difference between the highest and lowest least squares means for categories in the mixed model analysis was 33 mg g⁻¹ for total NSC, compared with the range of laboratory estimates of 596 mg g⁻¹. Laboratories were reasonably consistent in their ranks of estimates among tissues for starch (r = 0.41–0.91), but less so for total NSC (r = 0.45–0.84) and soluble sugars (r = 0.11–0.83). Our results show that NSC estimates for woody plant tissues cannot be compared among laboratories. The relative changes in NSC between treatments measured within a laboratory may be comparable within and between laboratories, especially for starch. To obtain comparable NSC estimates, we suggest that users can either adopt the reference method given in this publication, or report estimates for a portion of samples using the reference method, and report estimates for a standard reference material. Researchers interested in NSC estimates should work to identify and adopt standard methods.Keywords: standardization, particle size, reference method, starch, non-structural carbohydrate chemical analysis, soluble sugars, extraction and quantification consistencyKeywords: standardization, particle size, reference method, starch, non-structural carbohydrate chemical analysis, soluble sugars, extraction and quantification consistenc
"High Hopes" and "Bad Bundles": The Political Economy of U.S. Drug Control Policy
No full textThe primary goal of this dissertation is to discover, critically analyze, and articulate how policies impact drug markets and how they affect all economic actors involved in these markets. In order to tackle these unresolved questions, I focus on three major inflection points in the history of drug control policies. At each of these points, the methods of drug control implemented by policymakers changed drastically, and consequently, drug markets altered significantly as well. These three inflection points are the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, and state-level medical marijuana legalization in the late 1990s and 2000s.Embargo status: Restricted to TTU community only. To view, login with your eRaider (top right). Others may request the author grant access exception by clicking on the PDF link to the left
Entre folklore et histoire vivante. Pour une anthropologie des imaginaires du temps (Italie, France)
No full textL’anthropologie étudie les questions d’unité et de diversité culturelles, mais aussi, plus généralement, les représentations de l’Autre. À la différence des historiens, les anthropologues qui s’intéressent aux reconstitutions historiques analysent plutôt leur présent que leur passé. Il s’agit de comprendre comment le monde contemporain se réclame du passé, quelles sont ses représentations dans le présent. Mais qui s’intéresse au passé aujourd’hui ? Est-ce lié à une classe sociale ? à l’âge ? au sexe ? Quelles sont les variations observables dans les pratiques ? Ou, dans un sens plus large, quels imaginaires du passé, et de quels passés, sont mobilisés aujourd’hui ? Le cas des reconstituteurs est central à cet égard. Mais le passé est aussi « présent » dans les musées, dans les activités qui se réclament de la « tradition » ou du « folklore », ou dans celles qui évoquent la « mémoire » ou le « patrimoine »
Using LNS8801, a GPER agonist, to treat GRM1+ melanoma in a transgenic mouse model
No full textMelanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated that over 100,000 new cases will be diagnosed and there will be over 7,000 deaths from the disease in 2020. There are several signaling pathways critical for the onset and progression of this deadly disease. The sex hormone, estrogen, has been shown to act directly on melanocytes through G-protein coupled estrogen receptors (GPER). This interaction results in increased pigmentation and differentiation in melanocytes to establish a protective effect against cellular transformation. The activation and subsequent signaling cascades associated with GPER are unique to melanocytes and do not overlap with the classical estrogen pathways. Linnaeus Therapeutics Inc. has identified and isolated a unique isomer, LNS8801 as the active component of the GPER agonist G-1. Previous studies with LNS8801 in melanoma allograft mouse models showed a reduction in tumor progression and a lasting protective activity upon secondary challenge of the same tumor cells.
Our lab was the first to show that ectopic expression of a normal neuronal receptor, metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1/GRM1) in melanocytes is sufficient to transform cells in vitro and induce tumors in vivo. We established two transgenic mouse models, TG-3 and TGS, with aberrant GRM1 expression that develop metastatic melanoma spontaneously with 100% penetrance. In this project we propose to use the unique TGS mouse model and treat the animals with LNS8801 over 32 weeks to see the consequences of activated GPER. Furthermore, to emulate exposure to the natural carcinogen, UV radiation, most people endure every day, we will expose mice to UV throughout the study. Possible alterations in disease progression will be monitored by a small animal imaging system (IVIS). Several key protein markers shown earlier to be involved in GPER signaling will be evaluated by Western blots in excised tumor tissue samples. Finally, cytokine analysis will also be performed to examine possible changes in levels of cytokines, two specific ones, interlukin-10 (IL-10) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ), shown in previous investigations.M.S.Includes bibliographical reference
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