This report discusses the history, use, and future of elliptic curves. Uses of elliptic curves in various number theory settings are presented. Fermat’s Last Proof is shown to be proven with elliptic curves. Finally, the future of elliptic curves with respect to cryptography and primality is shown. / text

The present study is a retrospective cohort analysis which sought to examine adherence to medications used in managing painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) and to determine their association with oral antidiabetic (OAD) medication adherence using the Texas Medicaid prescription claims database. The study objectives were to: 1) provide a description of PDPN and OAD medication use among the study subjects; 2) determine if PDPN medication adherence differs among individual PDPN agents (i.e., tricyclic antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin and duloxetine); 3) determine if pre-index OAD and post-index OAD medication adherence differs among mono, dual, and triple OAD therapies; and 4) determine if PDPN medication adherence is related to post-index OAD medication adherence while controlling for covariates. Study participants were adult (≥18 years) Medicaid beneficiaries prescribed OAD and PDPN medications. The index date was the first PDPN prescription. Data were extracted from June 1, 2003 to October 31, 2009 and prescription claims were analyzed over an 18-month study period (i.e., 6 months pre-index and 12 months post index period). Medication possession ratio (MPR) was used as a proxy measure of medication adherence. An MPR less than 80 percent was regarded as being non-adherent to prescribed medication, while an MPR greater than or equal to 80 percent was regarded as being adherent to prescribed medication. Objective 1 was addressed using descriptive statistics (i.e., mean, standard deviation, frequency). Univariate analysis (ANOVA) was employed to address Objectives 2 and 3. Multivariate analyses (i.e., multiple linear regression and logistic regression) were conducted to address Objective 4. For the logistic regression MPR was dichotomized at the cut-off value of 80 percent. A total of 4,277 patients met the study’s inclusion criteria. The overall mean MPR (±SD) for PDPN medications was 75.4 percent (±23.9). Mean MPR (±SD) was highest for duloxetine (85.6% ±18.2) and was lowest for pregabalin (69.4% ±24.9). Mean MPR differed significantly among individual PDPN medications (p<0.0001). The overall mean MPR (±SD) for OAD medications in the pre and post-index period was 73.0 percent (±24.3) and 64.5 percent (±25.6) respectively. In both pre and post-index periods, mean MPR differed significantly among mono, dual, and triple OAD therapies (p<0.0001). In the pre-index period, mean MPR (±SD) was highest for monotherapy users (75.4% ±24.7) and was lowest for triple therapy users (63.9% ±22.9). Similarly, mean MPR (±SD) was highest for monotherapy users (69.0% ±26.1) and was lowest for triple therapy users (52.9% ±21.8) in the post-index period. After controlling for the covariates, PDPN adherence (i.e., MPR) was statistically significant (p<0.0001) and positively related to post-index OAD adherence (i.e., MPR). PDPN patients who were non-adherent (i.e., MPR<80%) to their PDPN medications (or neuropathic pain medications), compared to those who were adherent (MPR≥80%), were significantly less likely to be adherent to their OAD medications [Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.626, 95% CI=0.545-0.719]. In addition, post-index OAD adherence (i.e., MPR) did not differ significantly (p>0.05) when pregabalin, duloxetine and gabapentin users were individually compared to tricyclic antidepressants users. In conclusion, PDPN patients who were adherent (i.e., MPR≥80%) to their PDPN medications, compared to those who were not adherent (i.e., MPR<80%), were more adherent to their OAD medications. Also, adherence to OAD medications was independent of the type of PDPN medication used. PDPN patients need to be educated regularly that neuropathic pain medications only relieve the pain associated with the neuropathy but achieving adequate glycemic control remains the only established approach for slowing down the progression of the neuropathy and other complications associated with the diabetes. / text

Human trafficking is an international crime affecting all countries that continues to grow. The crime operates as part of an illicit underground network, starting with traffickers who manipulate, deceive, and exploit victims. Victims are both male and female, but the crime disproportionally affects women more than men. Latin American women are especially vulnerable to being trafficked due to societal and cultural norms that demand they be subordinate. Additionally, these women lack many educational and job opportunities, and face mental and physical abuse at home and in their communities. These factors make them vulnerable, and the traffickers use these vulnerabilities to deceive and exploit them. This report will argue that in order to effectively prevent victimization, women need to be empowered, not only access to education but also job opportunities. Furthermore, a societal transformation needs to occur that gives more value and significance to women, where they are viewed as powerful beings instead of submissive and subordinate human beings. / text

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii have caused nosocomial infections worldwide. Nowadays, there are no effective regimens to treat MDR- A. baumannii. Therefore, this study’s objective was to find out an effective antimicrobial combination against MDR-A. baumannii. This project consisted of four parts. Part 1 was an in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility test of MDR-A. baumannii collected from Thailand. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines using a broth microdilution technique. This study found that colistin was the most active against MDR-A. baumannii (MIC50 0.5µg/mL, MIC90 1µg/mL). In addition, 77% of MBL -producing A. baumannii were reported using the MBL Etest strips. This prevalence was higher than previously reported. Part 2 was conducted to compare antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of pre- and post-colistin exposure A. baumannii isolates. After colistin exposure, A. baumannii isolates became resistant to colistin but more susceptible to cefepime, doxycycline, meropenem and rifampicin. These findings suggested the potential of a synergistic activity of colistin combinations. Part 3 was a time-kill study that compared activity of colistin alone and in combination against MDR-A. baumannii. Time-kill assays were performed using a standard inoculum. Colistin monotherapy was rapidly bactericidal against these isolates; however, regrowth occurred at 24 hrs. On the other hand, colistin in combination with cefepime, doxycycline, meropenem or rifampicin demonstrated synergy and maintained bactericidal activity over 24 hrs (100%). Part 4 was designed to optimize meropenem dosing regimens using a PK-PD model. Three MDR-A. baumannii with colistin MICs (0.5-1µg/mL) and meropenem MICs (32-128µg/mL) were tested. The antimicrobial regimens alone and in combination evaluated were: colistin 2.5mg/kg every 12 hrs, meropenem 3g and 6g continuously infused (CI) over 24 hrs. Colistin monotherapy was rapidly bactericidal but regrowth did occur. Both combinations express synergy (100%). Nevertheless, colistin and high dose meropenem (6g CI over 24 hrs) was bactericidal and prevented regrowth over 24 hrs. In conclusion, MBL-producing A. baumannii is more prevalent than previously thought and colistin combined with a high dose meropenem (6g/day) has good potential to overcome multidrug- and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. These findings should be further evaluated in animal models and clinical practices. / text

This thesis describes the development and testing of the Combustive Sound Source (CSS), which is a broadband underwater sound source. The CSS is being developed as a clean, safe, and cost effective replacement to underwater explosive charges, which exhibit an inherent danger to marine life and researchers using the charges. The basic operation of the CSS is as follows. A combustible mixture of gas is held below the surface of the water in a combustion chamber and ignited with an electric spark. A combustion wave propagates through the mixture and converts the fuel and oxidizer into a bubble of combustion products, which expands due to an increase in temperature, and then ultimately collapses to a smaller volume than before ignition, producing a high intensity, low frequency acoustic signal. The thesis begins by discussing the background, history, and purpose of developing the CSS. It continues by describing the current apparatus and the essential components and convenient features added to the latest mechanical design. The general operation is discussed along with a description of an experiment conducted to determine the acoustic output and robustness of the current CSS. The results of this experiment are presented in terms of the effect of volume, ignition depth, oxidizing gas, combustion chamber size, and repeatability of acoustic signatures. Discussion of apparatus robustness is presented to suggest improvements for future CSS designs. / text

This report focuses on the differences between teachers’ nonverbal behaviors across cultures. It presents the literature review on the effects of teachers’ nonverbal behaviors on students’ motivation, cognitive and affective learning, theories of nonverbal behaviors and cultural dimensions that affect the display of these behaviors across cultures. It indicates the need for further research in the analysis of teachers’ nonverbal behaviors in relation to their culture and the effect of these behaviors on students’ learning. / text

Surfactants both change the wettability and lower the interfacial tension by various degrees depending on the type of surfactant and how it interacts with the specific oil. Ultra low IFT means almost zero capillary pressure, which in turn indicates little oil should be produced from capillary imbibition when the surfactant reduces the IFT in naturally fractured oil reservoirs that are mixed-wet or oil-wet. What is the transport mechanism for the surfactant to get far into the matrix and how does it scale? Molecular diffusion and capillary pressure are much too slow to explain the experimental data. Recent dynamic laboratory data suggest that the process is faster when a pressure gradient is applied compared to static tests. A mechanistic chemical compositional simulator was used to study the effect of pressure gradient on chemical oil recovery from naturally fractured oil reservoirs for several different chemical processes (polymer, surfactant, surfactant-polymer, alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding). The fractures were simulated explicitly by using small gridblocks with fracture properties. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous matrix blocks were simulated. Microemulsion phase behavior and related chemistry and physics were modeled in a manner similar to single porosity reservoirs. The simulations indicate that even very small pressure gradients (transverse to the flow in the fractures) are highly significant in terms of the chemical transport into the matrix and that increasing the injected fluid viscosity greatly improves the oil recovery. Field scale simulations show that the transverse pressure gradients promote transport of the surfactant into the matrix at a feasible rate even when there is a high contrast between the permeability of the fractures and the matrix. These simulations indicate that injecting a chemical solution that is viscous (because of polymer or foam or microemulsion) and lowers the IFT as well as alters the wettability from mixed-wet to water-wet, produces more oil and produces it faster than static chemical processes. These findings have significant implications for enhanced oil recovery from naturally fractured oil reservoirs and how these processes should be optimized and scaled up from the laboratory to the field. / text

Commonly known as nueva canciόn in Puerto Rico or nueva trova in Cuba, “new song” is a 60-year-old genre, a musical form resonant with political overtones. This thesis examines the life and music of Lourdes Pérez, a Puerto Rican singer working in the nueva canciόn tradition. Pérez, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years, is dedicated through her compositions to create a “newer song,” a form of socially engaged music based on artists of the past but addressing contemporary issues. Through the creation of a diverse community for such music, and collaborations with other Latin American musicians and artists, Pérez has taken the genre in new directions. I examine the various sociopolitical messages conveyed in Pérez’s music through an analysis of the extramusical context of performance. I raise questions about the ways in which globalization affects her work, and about the present-day relevance of the nueva canción song form itself. Since little research has been conducted on nueva canciόn I hope this paper will encourage future work. / text

In this research I address the phenomenon of female fans’ fascination with online boys’ love fiction in China, and the discussion centers on the questions of why these women are interested in the boys’ love theme, why they prefer boys’ love to traditional heterosexual romance, and how they define and identify with male–male relationships in the boys’ love fiction. Through focusing research on a popular Chinese online-fiction website for women (www.jjwxc.net), I use historical review, online observations, and content analysis of online boys’ love fiction to collect data on my research questions. Understanding female fans’ expectation of and attitudes towards love and romance and analyzing the content of boys’ love fiction allow for a comprehension of the interactions of gender, sexuality, identity, and culture in shaping these women’s practice and choice of boys’ love genre in China. / text

The goal of the study presented in this thesis was the improvement of estimation and monitoring procedures for condition monitoring of belt tension and misalignment in belt-driven automated material handling systems widely used in modern semiconductor manufacturing systems. In pursuit of this goal, two 3-factor, 3-level experiments were designed to study how belt vibration characteristics depend on changes in belt length, belt tension, belt misalignment, and initial location of the excitation of belt vibration. Dependent variables in each of the experiments were drawn from a denoised frequency spectrum calculated from an Autoregressive model of the belt vibration time-series. A feature vector was developed from the Autoregressive features via variance based sensitivity analysis. Results showed that belt vibration characteristics were sensitive to changes in all of the independent variables examined. These results motivated the design of a device to improve the standardized technique widely used to monitor belt tension in belt-driven material handling systems. Reducing variance in the belt length and the location of the initial excitation of belt vibration yielded a reduction of tension estimate standard deviation an order of magnitude, as compared to a human performing the standardized technique. Thus, the use of this device provided higher belt tension estimate resolution. Future work that could lead to a less intrusive technique is presented. / text