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Differences in men's emotional expression as a function of gender beliefs and contextual variables: partner gender and cuesHermanson, Kaye Saurer 28 July 2008 (has links)
Men's emotional expression was assessed using Deaux and Major's (1987) interactive model of gender-related behavior as a theoretical framework. This model explains gender differences in behavior as a function of proximal forces and contextual variables such as, activated gender-related schemata regarding oneself and others, and situational cues. Male college students, categorized as high and low on the Masculine Gender Role Stress (MGRS) scale (Eisler & Skidmore, 1987), interacted consecutively with a male and a female confederate. Confederates portrayed either gender-consistent (GC) or gender inconsistent (GI) cues regarding their desire for emotional expression from subjects. Verbal and nonverbal measures were rated from videotapes of the interactions. Speaking and listening roles were analyzed separately. It was hypothesized that men who appraise violations of the traditional masculine role as stressful (high MGRS) would demonstrate less emotionally expressive behavior than other men (low MGRS). Specifically, under GC cue conditions (i.e., emotional expression more appropriate to female than male confederates), high MGRS men were expected to be more expressive to female expressive to both confederates. Under GI cue conditions (i.e., emotional expression more appropriate to male than female confederates), it was hypothesized that low MGRS men would become more expressive to male than female confederates, while high MGRS men would be equally expressive to male and female confederates. Results indicated that under GC conditions, both high and low MGRS men were more expressive to female than to male confederates. As predicted, under GI conditions, this pattern was attenuated or reversed, confirming that contextual variables impact displays of emotional expression. Furthermore, anxiety expression also varied with cue conditions and MGRS level. Verbal results demonstrated support for the attenuation of expressive differences under GI conditions, but this did not vary as a function of MGRS level. Patterns of expression varied as a function of speaking and listening roles, particularly for low MGRS men. This study lends support to the Deaux and Major's hypothesis that gender-related behaviors are influenced by contextual and proximal factors. Implications for this model, as well as the MGRS construct, are discussed. / Ph. D.
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Synthesis and characterization of novel molecular architectures: polyrotaxanes and catenanesBheda, Mukesh C. 22 May 2007 (has links)
Polyrotaxanes are novel polymer architectures consisting of theo components. One component is the macrocycel consisting of 24-60 atoms; it is threaded by he second component, i.e., the linear backbone polymer. / Ph. D.
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Development and characterization of novel detectors for use in flow injection analysis or liquid chromatographyRoush, John Albert 06 June 2008 (has links)
A rapid scanning square wave voltammetric detector has been developed for use with high performance liquid chromatography.The electrochemical cell used in the detector was designed so that the HPLC effluent flows through the center of a large diameter platinum disk electrode and is then forced to flow radially across the electrode surface. The arrangement of the electrodes in the cell was intended to result in large analytical currents while minimizing electrical resistance and analyte band spreading in the detection zone. The detector was evaluated in terms of its minimum detectable quantity, linear dynamic range, electrochemical efficiency, and analyte band spreading. The MDQ was found to be in the low parts per billion range for hydroquinone. The detector was shown to provide data that is qualitatively superior to data obtained by amperometric detection and was shown to be compatible with gradient elution HPLC over a broad range of solvent compositions.
A sensor based on the quartz crystal microbalance was also developed for use in flowing solvent streams. Quartz crystals were treated with various compounds to produce close - packed monolayer coatings which could interact with solutes entering the flow cell. The solute capacity was determined for one of the monolayer coatings and various factors that influence the magnitude of the OCM signal were investigated. These factors include the solvent flow rate, the solvent strength, solute molecular structure, and bonded phase molecular structure. The QCM sensor was found to be a convenient probe for conducting surface adsorption studies and the molar free energy of adsorption was determined for some chemically related solutes on an amine modified crystal. / Ph. D.
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Nuclear magnetic resonance and dynamic polarization studies of liquid/liquid and liquid/solid interfacesGu, Juan 23 September 2008 (has links)
In the present study, interactions at the liquid/liquid and liquid/solid interfaces have been investigated by the combination of both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) techniques. The ¹³C and ¹⁵N paramagnetic contact shifts, and ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N relaxation times in CH₃CN/2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) and CH₃CONH₂/TEMPO systems have been measured at high magnetic field (B₀ = 1.9-9.4 T). The 13 DNP enhancements at low magnetic field (0.33 T) in the CH₃CONH₂/TEMPO system have been determined by the flow liquid-liquid intermolecular transfer (LLIT) DNP technique. The data can be understood in terms of transient hydrogen bond formation between closed shell diamagnetic molecules and the open shell free radical TEMPO.
A set of static and dynamic parameters, such as hyperfine coupling constants, correlation times, and free radicalnuclear internuclear distances in the hydrogen bonding complex, have also been determined. The scalar and dipolar contributions derived from the NMR study have been subsequently employed to predict the corresponding ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N low magnetic field (0. 33 T) DNP enhancements. Good agreement has been obtained between the NMR predicted and experimentally measured low magnetic field DNP results. The dynamic electron-nuclear intermolecular interactions between the newly discovered fullerene, C₆₀, and the free radical TEMPO have been characterized by flow LLIT and solid liquid intermolecular transfer (SLIT) DNP techniques. A dipolar dominated ultimate DNP enhancement (-250) at 0.33 T magnetic field has been observed. The results are consistent with a model for C₆₀/TEMPO interactions involving nonspecific complex formations.
In addition to DNP studies in the liquid state, the solid/liquid surface intermolecular interactions in solid samples of various activated carbon specimens have been monitored by using flow SLIT 'H and ¹³C DNP experiments. The activated carbon samples were prepared by pyrolysis of cellulose, and commercial samples were also employed. The surface-liquid interaction in these studies were monitored with the solvent benzene ( or d₆-benzene). Both time dependent (Overhauser) and time-independent (solid-state) DNP enhancements were observed in these studies. Both chemisorption and physisorption processes of oxygen to the activated carbon were also monitored using the DNP approach. / Ph. D.
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Feminists and marriage: a qualitative analysisBlaisure, Karen R. 26 February 2007 (has links)
Feminist critiques have demonstrated the problematic nature of marital and family life for women. Feminism has deconstructed traditional marriage and made apparent the potential overwhelming cost to women in financial, emotional, and physical dimensions. However, the experience of feminists who choose heterosexual marriage has not been addressed through research. What is not known is the extent to which such feminists are transforming marriage into a relationship that values both spouses.
This study examined the influence feminism had on the marriage of heterosexual partners who were both self-identified feminists at the time of the study and prior to marriage. The guiding focus of the research asked what happens when feminists, dedicated to equality and the valuing of both spouses, choose to marry. Thus, the following research questions were posed: How do couples describe the impact of their feminist beliefs on their marriages? To what extent do couples talk about having a double consciousness of marriage, i.e., a realization of choosing a relationship that can lead to the devaluation of the woman? How do couples describe and interpret equality and inequality in their marriages? How does gender organize the couples' marriages and lives?
The conceptual framework informing this study was a combination of feminist and general systems perspectives, A general systems perspective provided concepts such as system, process, and context while a feminist perspective elaborated on these concepts to illuminate the sociohistorical and cultural contexts in which women and men live and the power differentials within marriages. A feminist postmodern perspective highlighted the social construction of relationships and gender and the diversity of women's experience while also proposing a political agenda, i.e., criteria of what is liberating for women and a critique of the gendered nature of power differentials.
Qualitative interviewing was the main method of data collection. Participants were recruited through referrals and advertisements placed in regional newspapers and regional and state newsletters of the National Organization for Women. Ten couples participated in the study. Criteria for inclusion in the study included the following: both the woman and the man assumed the label feminist prior to marriage; they believed women had historically and culturally been devalued and they worked against that devaluation in their own relationship; they were married for at least 5 years; and they were willing to be interviewed jointly and individually. The 20 participants (10 couples) were white, highly educated, and middle- to upper middle-class. They ranged in age from 30 to 77 years old. Length of marriage ranged from 5 to 22 years; the average was 11 and 1/2 years.
A mixture of being raised by parents exhibiting behaviors typically associated with the other gender, the impact of the second wave of feminism as it hit college campuses in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the observation or direct experience of discrimination either in the classroom or in the workplace created a fertile soil in which the origins of feminist beliefs were encouraged to take root. Sharing similar world views was crucial in the couples' development of a relationship in which the woman felt safe to critique direct and observed instances of gender injustice. Men also initiated and participated in this criticism, thereby indicating their support of feminism.
The blend of traditional and feminist ideological roots produced a reclamation of marriage. Couples described feminism as influencing their beliefs about equality within marriage by providing standards for interaction and motivating women to demand appropriate treatment and men to demand more from themselves in terms of relationship work. They discussed the double consciousness of married heterosexual feminists by relating their strategies for interacting with one another and the larger society. Through the process of communication, the couples built equality, but at times, i.e. through discourse, they also concealed inequality. Participants’ lives were organized by the gendered experiences of feminism as life-saving for women and life-enhancing for men.
Moments of subordination and moments of empowerment were present in these marriages. The women described their attempts at going beyond the false dichotomy of children or career and the stereotype of the super woman to a form of marriage that required a second adult in the home who was willing to take on parenting and household responsibilities. These attempts were easy for some couples and more of a struggle for others. However, in all of these marriages, evidence existed of women's and men's dedication to equality and choices for women, awareness of the privileged status of men in society, and arrangement of their relationships to benefit women as well as men. Feminism provided the ideological and practical guidance to couples for this reclamation of marriage. / Ph. D.
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Hercules attitude processor (HAP)Higgins, Robert Francis, 1962- 06 June 2008 (has links)
The design and analysis of a microprocessor-based gyro attitude data processing system used to geolocate natural phenomena from space was performed. Operational software was written and a HERCULES Attitude Processor (HAP) unit was built and tested.
Strict adherence to worst-case timing design criterion was a prime hardware design consideration. Weight, volume, and power requirements were also addressed. Redundancy was included for critical time maintenance functions. Hardware performance and accuracy was calculated and measured.
Operational software was written to control the functions of the HAP unit. Algorithms were written to accurately process the high speed gyro attitude data. Data communication between subsystems in the HERCULES system was controlled by the software. Subsystem configuration, operating modes, self-testing, and resource management was performed by the operational software.
Testing was performed on the HAP unit and operational software. Hardware and software performance was analyzed and is presented. / Ph. D.
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Metabolic bases for the differential response of 'Kwangkyo' and 'Hood' soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) to the herbicide paraquatKim, Sangho 26 October 2005 (has links)
The soybean cultivars differentially sensitive to 'Kwangkyo' and 'Hood' are the bipyridylium herbicide paraquat (1,l'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium ion). This was confirmed by visible injury observations as well as by measurements of desiccation ratings, chlorophyll content, and chlorophyll fluorescence tracings of fully expanded first trifoliolate leaves of these two cultivars after exposure to a wide range of paraquat concentrations. The margin of this intraspecific differential tolerance to paraquat was narrow and the ratio of the paraquat concentrations causing 50% injury to the tolerant Kwangkyo and to the susceptible Hood (approximate tolerance factor) was found to be 10. Paraquat at 1 μM or higher inhibited rapidly the CO₂ fixation capacity of leaf mesophyll cells, isolated enzymatically from both cultivars. This result shows that the differential response does not result from any differences at the site of paraquat action in chloroplast membranes. / Ph. D.
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Relying on brand equity: insights from consumer evaluation processesBristol, Terrence Alan 22 May 2007 (has links)
This dissertation questioned whether the brand's equity can influence consumer evaluations, explored the formation of beliefs about brand extensions and accessed the relative extension effects of brand information. A series of three experiments explored: consumers’ schema activation process; the effects of brand equity on consumers’ beliefs and judgments; and consumers’ extension inference processes. The results indicate that consumers use brand knowledge as a frame of reference to understand the brand extension. If consumers are not familiar with the brand, they use other knowledge about the product category or specific exemplars to understand and evaluate the extension.
The brand name does not appear to be a major influence on consumers’ evaluations of category extensions. Consumers’ inferred beliefs have the greatest relative influence on evaluations and are based on the conjunction of their brand and new product category knowledge.
The brand name does not appear to carry the extension far. When the new product differs substantially from consumers’ brand expectations, firms cannot rely on the brand name to sustain the same meaning that it had in the past. Marketing synergies or efficiencies alone will not produce a successful extension. Firms must be aware of how the brand and new product category interact in the consumer’s mind. / Ph. D.
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Electrokinetic separations involving surfactants and proteinsGoebel, Lisa Karen 20 September 2005 (has links)
Methods for the analysis of surfactants and proteins by Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) were investigated. Several modifications of the system to achieve detection and separation of these analytes were examined. These modifications included buffer additives, sample additives and surface treatment and modification of the fused silica capillary.
For the analysis of anionic surfactants, the addition of an anionic IN absorbing compound to the buffer was investigated to achieve indirect detection of the non-absorbing surfactants. The effect on detection sensitivity and separation efficiency of the absorbing ion was examined. These parameters were affected by differences in the electrophoretic mobilities of the analytes in comparison to the absorbing ion. The use of organic modifiers was also investigated to minimize micelle formation of the surfactants which leads to zone spreading.
For the analysis of serum and urine proteins, the use of high pH buffers was investigated to minimize solute/capillary surface interactions and achieve separation. At high pH's the proteins are negatively charged; therefore, they should be repelled by the negatively charged fused silica surface. To improve reproducibility of migration times of the proteins the addition of polyvinyl alcohol to the sample was also investigated. The polyvinyl alcohol improved reproducibility by reversibly covering the active sites on the capillary surface to minimize protein interactions. Migration time reproducibility was also improved by optimizing the capillary cleaning procedure. Lastly, the addition of methyl cellulose to the buffer to work as a dynamic molecular sieving medium was investigated to improve resolution.
Analyte/ capillary surface interactions are a major limitation in CE especially for the analyses of proteins. The use of coated capillaries to eliminate these interactions has been widely investigated. However, reproducibility and degree of surface deactivation with these coating can be poor. In this work hydrothennal treatment of the fused silica capillary surface prior to deactivation was examined. Hydrothennal treatment was used to produce a homogenous surface prior to coating which leads to the production of more highly deactivated, reproducible columns. The effects of the treatment were studied by coating the surface with a silane and examining the influence of the coating on electroosmotic flow and analyte adsorption. / Ph. D.
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Potential sources for the large scale production of human protein CMorcol, Tulin 10 October 2005 (has links)
The vitamin K-dependent family of proteins (VKDs) include prothrombin, factors VII, IX, and X, and protein C (hPC) is synthesized in the liver and act to maintains normal hemostasis. such as properly regulated clotting. An imbalance of any of these pro- or anti-clotting proteins result in hemophilia or disseminated intravascular clotting diseases. Therefore, these proteins have a significant therapeutic value. Many of these proteins are not available in sufficient quantity due to the trace amounts found in plasma and limitations encountered with downstream recovery.
Protein C, a major regulatory protein of thrombosis and hemostasis, has a potent anticoagulant activity and can be used as an anti-thrombotic agent. The technology for isolating hPC from human plasma is challenged by; (1) its low concentration in plasma, (2) the limited availability of plasma, (3) similar physicochemical characteristics among VKD plasma proteases, and (4) the risk of transmitting viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
This work focuses on the isolation of protein C from alternative sources for the large-scale production and downstream recovery of highly purified and biologically active hPC. The partial characterization of the protein with respect to post-translational modifications which are essential for functionally active, was also evaluated. Several studies were undertaken:
1. Cohn Fraction IV-I, an off-line discard stream during traditional plasma fractionation process is introduced as an affordable starting material for the large-scale production of hPC. More than 90 percent of the total protein C antigen detected in the various Cohn fractions was found to reside in fraction IV-I. The protein C isolated from Cohn IV-I paste using a metal-dependent monoclonal antibody to hPC was found to be biologically active.
2. Recombinant production of hPC in the milk of transgenic pigs, achieved by targeting the synthesis of the protein to the mammary gland, is presented as a model bioreactor system for the synthesis and downstream recovery of complex human proteins. Two major populations of biologically active recombinant hPC (rhPC) were detected and immunopurified by employing conformation specific metal-dependent monoclonal antibodies in the immunopurification process. A high performance thin layer chromatography method was also developed for the detection of total carbohydrate compositions in protein C. / Ph. D.
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