Closing England Air Force Base (AFB) emerged as a possibility following the first Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round in 1988. The central Louisiana community responded with a dual strategy: defense, implemented by a highly visible group of mostly elected officials who fought to save the base; and offense, implemented by a small group of professionals working in the background to develop a contingency plan. Together, they managed both sides of the change equation, political and technical, and produced a military to civilian conversion. This thesis focuses on policy issues of base closure and ingredients for success and failure among communities affected by such disruption. The main research question is: Was the military to civilian conversion of England AFB successful; and if so, how and why? In answering this question, hopefully, the work also illuminates how success is defined and identifies some of the strategies adopted to produce a successful conversion.

This study evaluates the predictive capacity of sociodemographic variables of the mother over the level of maternal secure base scripts. The participants were 83 mothers from 15 to 45 years old (M = 24.72, SD = 8.70).The level of maternal secure base was evaluated through the Narratives of Adult Attachment (Waters & Waters, 2006). The results show that the participants do not have an adequate level of secure base script. It was found that interaction between the age of the mother and the educational attainment level, partly explains the level of the maternal secure base script (R2 = .19). The protector role of the level of educational attainment for older mothers to have a higher level of secure base scripts isproposed. / Este estudio evalúa la capacidad predictiva de variables sociodemográficas de la madre sobre sus guiones de base segura. Participaron 83 madres de 15 a 45 años de edad (M =24.72, DE = 8.70). El nivel de base segura materno fue evaluado a través de las Narrativas de Apego Adulto (Waters & Waters, 2006). Los resultados muestran que las participantes no cuentan con un adecuado nivel de base segura. Se encontró que la interacción entre la edad y el nivel de instrucción materno explica en parte el nivel de base segura de las madres (R2 =.19). Se postula el rol protector del nivel de instrucción para que las madres mayores, tengan un mayor nivel de base segura en sus guiones. / Esta pesquisa avalia a capacidade preditiva das variáveis sócio-demográficas da mãe, a partir de seu script de base segura. Participaram 83 mães com idades entre 15 e 45 anos (M = 24.72, DE = 8.70). O nível de script de base segura materno foi avaliado através das Narrativas de Apego Adulto (Waters & Waters, 2006). Os resultados mostram que as participantes não apresentam um nível adequado de base segura. Encontrou-se que a interação entre idade e grau de instrução da mãe explica, em parte, o nível de base segura das mães (R2 = .19). Propõe-se que um grau de instrução maior constituiria um papel protetor nas mães mais velhas, para elas apresentarem maior nível de base segura nos seus scripts.

The railroad industry is pivotal in the United States to ensure that the supply chain does not shut down for the American people. Non-Destruction Evaluation (NDE) approaches are preferred and performed on the railways to ensure the safety of the population that is exposed to the railway industry. When damage occurs on the rail base, there is an increased risk derailment of the train cars. Due to the nature of the railroad industry, there are challenges with developing a quick and reliable inspection method, along with the improvement of current NDE methods. The load, speed, and cycles of trains have increased the load that track sections endure over time. Some railways that were originally built in the early 20th century are still utilized today, designed for trains that are not nearly as heavy or fast as used today. Defects and damage on the railways lead to the need of development of an NDE approach utilizing Line Scan Thermography approaches. One of the most common defects that are formed are on the rail base is known as “base nicks” and “half-moon cracks”, these types of defects can occur over time. This research aims to study the feasibility of applying this NDE technique to detect defects that can occur on a rail base, both internal and external. For this research, a heat source up to 6000 W and tested velocities up to 447.1 mm/s (1.0 mph) are used to study the effects of line scanning thermography on various samples. In total, 10 samples are employed to test for feasibility: each one having a unique set of defects. Some defects fabricated on these samples are internal, such as bottom drilled holes (BDH) and side drilled holes (SDH); some of these samples are fabricated from actual rail samples. From tests conducted for internal defects, it can be concluded that defects with diameters of 6.35 mm (0.25”) can be detected at a remaining thickness from the observation surface of 6.35 mm. Along with internal defects, there are also external defects employed on the samples; these defects include simulated base nicks, fractures, and half-moon cracks. For surface defects tests from this research, it is found that the anomalies can be detected visually. The results from the experimental studies provide insight and limitations of LST for the possibility of a future commercial application.

The aim of the study has been to see if parent- youth relations have an impact on teenagers bullying behaviour and whether we can find any differences between boys and girls. To study this field we have used a quantitative approach using materials from Stockholmsenkäten 2014. In order to analyse the material we have used cross tables, indexes and multivariate cross tables analysis with associated significance test. In this study the attachment theory has been used. The results indicate that parent- youth relations seems to have an impact on teenagers bullying behaviour. The teenagers who bully others are more likely to have a bad parent- youth relations characterized by an insecure attachment to their parents. The opposite tends to apply for those who do not expose others to bullying, these teenagers usually have a good parent- youth relations where they have a secure attachment to their parents. Furthermore the result also indicate that the nature of the parent- youth relations along with if the adolescents expose others to bullying did not differ between boys and girls.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Christopher J. Levy / This work examines the synthesis of novel chiral Schiff-base complexes derived from (1R,2R)-cyclohexanediamine and (R)-[1,1’-binaphthalene]-2-2’-diamine structural backbones with quinoline, isopropyl-quinoline, and benzoquinoline structural side-arms. We incorporated some degree of flexibility in the ligands and complexes so they can accommodate the sterics of different substrates during a catalytic reaction. We successfully achieved this by reducing the imine bond in the ligands to the corresponding amine bond. Therefore, the successful reduction and metallation of some of these ligands to give structures of different symmetries is reported. We had difficulty reducing ligands with the binaphthalene backbone but were able to partially reduce the ligand through a one-pot reaction with a zinc(II) salt and NaBH4. The complete 1H NMR assignments of the complexes reported in this thesis serve as a valuable tool for use in the characterization of future complexes. The complete NMR characterization of compounds reported is a complex process because they are polycyclic aromatic systems and the coupling network similarity in different parts of the molecule usually results in severe overlap of their 1H resonances. To overcome this impediment, we took advantage of various 2D-NMR techniques (COSY, NOESY, ROSEY, HSQC, and HMBC) along with other 1D-NMR experiments (1H HOMODEC, 1H, and 13C) to completely assign the desired complexes. Subsequently we also studied the coordination chemistry of several meal cations with our ligand system with the goal of obtaining single stranded monhelices. The potential use of some of the complexes in the area of NMR discrimination and kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures was examined and shown to be promising. Several NMR experiments were conducted using the racemic olefins 3-buten-2-ol and 1-penten-3-ol to demonstrate the discriminating power of our silver(I) complexes. We discovered that sterics play an important role in this resolution experiment and the bulky nature of our complexes affect the overall efficiency of the NMR discriminatory process as it diminishes the contact between the reactive metal center and the olefins involved. Temperature also plays a vital role in the chiral recognition of racemic olefins as we examined the ideal temperature needed to reduce the various dynamic processes that take place in solution at room temperature.

Trois questions importantes se posent à l'élaboration de systèmes d'aide au diagnostic. Quels sont les éléments de la connaissance indispensables au diagnostic? Quelle forme doit prendre la représentation de la connaissance pour être facilement exploitée par l'ingénieur? Comment doit-on organiser ces éléments et quels sont les mécanismes de traitement impliqués qui facilitent l'adaptation du système informatique aux diverses installations rencontrées? C'est à ces questions que cette thèse s'adresse. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'élaborer un mode de représentation de la connaissance qui soit proche des formalismes et des modèles employés par l'ingénieur et qui puisse organiser la connaissance en entités correspondant aux éléments d'une installation à diagnostiquer. Cette représentation de la connaissance repose sur la notion de composante qui regroupe dans une entité les éléments de connaissance relatifs à cette composante. La composante procure la souplesse et rend explicite l'organisation fonctionnelle et structurelle des éléments physiques et conceptuels de l'installation. Chaque composante intègre la description des connaissances relatives aux entrées et sorties, aux paramètres internes, aux comportements, aux modèles de panne, aux fonctions et aux heuristiques de ces éléments. Pour faciliter l'exploitation de la représentation par l'ingénieur, le formalisme exprime les relations algébriques, qualitatives et descriptives des modèles utilisés par celui-ci. Pour ce faire, le formalisme combine les aspects algébriques de la connaissance avec la logique des prédicats, ce qui constitue un des aspects originaux de cette thèse. Ce lien avec la logique des prédicats apporte un support théorique qui met en relation la représentation avec celles présentées par d'autres auteurs du domaine. Cette thèse décrit le formalisme de la représentation et les mécanismes qui résolvent la dimension logique et la dimension algébrique de la connaissance représentée. Les mécanismes parcourent les liens définis entre les éléments de l'installation, tout en conservant les chemins d'inférences employés par ces mécanismes. Un prototype a été élaboré et plusieurs exemples sont résolus par celui-ci. [Résumé abrégé par UMI]

One of the trickiest challenges introduced by cellular communications networks is mobility prediction for Location Based-Services (LBSs). Hence, an accurate and efficient mobility prediction technique is particularly needed for these networks. The mobility prediction technique incurs overheads on the transmission process. These overheads affect properties of the cellular communications network such as delay, denial of services, manual filtering and bandwidth. The main goal of this research is to enhance a mobility prediction scheme in cellular communications networks through three phases. Firstly, current mobility prediction techniques will be investigated. Secondly, innovation and examination of new mobility prediction techniques will be based on three hypothesises that are suitable for cellular communications network and mobile user (MU) resources with low computation cost and high prediction success rate without using MU resources in the prediction process. Thirdly, a new mobility prediction scheme will be generated that is based on different levels of mobility prediction. In this thesis, a new mobility prediction scheme for LBSs is proposed. It could be considered as a combination of the cell and routing area (RA) prediction levels. For cell level prediction, most of the current location prediction research is focused on generalized location models, where the geographic extent is divided into regular-shape cells. These models are not suitable for certain LBSs where the objectives are to compute and present on-road services. Such techniques are the New Markov-Based Mobility Prediction (NMMP) and Prediction Location Model (PLM) that deal with inner cell structure and different levels of prediction, respectively. The NMMP and PLM techniques suffer from complex computation, accuracy rate regression and insufficient accuracy. In this thesis, Location Prediction based on a Sector Snapshot (LPSS) is introduced, which is based on a Novel Cell Splitting Algorithm (NCPA). This algorithm is implemented in a micro cell in parallel with the new prediction technique. The LPSS technique, compared with two classic prediction techniques and the experimental results, shows the effectiveness and robustness of the new splitting algorithm and prediction technique. In the cell side, the proposed approach reduces the complexity cost and prevents the cell level prediction technique from performing in time slots that are too close. For these reasons, the RA avoids cell-side problems. This research discusses a New Routing Area Displacement Prediction for Location-Based Services (NRADP) which is based on developed Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). The NRADP, compared with Mobility Prediction based on an Ant System (MPAS) and the experimental results, shows the effectiveness, higher prediction rate, reduced search stagnation ratio, and reduced computation cost of the new prediction technique.

Increased cancer risk is associated with select dietary factors. Dietary lifestyles can alter systemic acid-base balance over time. Acidogenic diets, which are typically high in animal protein and salt and low in fruits and vegetables, can lead to a sub-clinical or low-grade state of metabolic acidosis. The relationship between diet and cancer risk prompts questions about the role of acidosis in the initiation and progression of cancer. Cancer is triggered by genetic and epigenetic perturbations in the normal cell, but it has become clear that microenvironmental and systemic factors exert modifying effects on cancer cell development. While there are no studies showing a direct link between diet-induced acidosis and cancer, acid-base disequilibrium has been shown to modulate molecular activity including adrenal glucocorticoid, insulin growth factor (IGF-1), and adipocyte cytokine signaling, dysregulated cellular metabolism, and osteoclast activation, which may serve as intermediary or downstream effectors of carcinogenesis or tumor promotion. In short, diet-induced acidosis may influence molecular activities at the cellular level that promote carcinogenesis or tumor progression. This review defines the relationship between dietary lifestyle and acid-base balance and discusses the potential consequences of diet-induced acidosis and cancer occurrence or progression.

Abstract : The major objective of our study is to investigate DNA damage induced by soft X-rays (1.5 keV) and low-energy electrons (˂ 30 eV) using a novel irradiation system created by Prof. Sanche’s group. Thin films of double-stranded DNA are deposited on either glass and tantalum substrates and irradiated under standard temperature and pressure surrounded by a N[subscript 2] environment. Base release (cytosine, thymine, adenine and guanine) and base modifications (8-oxo-7,8-dihydro -2’-deoxyguanosine, 5-hydroxymethyl-2’-deoxyuridine, 5-formyl-2’-deoxyuridine, 5,6-dihydrothymidine and 5,6-dihydro-2’-deoxy uridine) are analyzed and quantified by LC-MS/MS. Our results reveal larger damage yields in the sample deposited on tantalum than those on glass. This can be explained by an enhancement of damage due to low-energy electrons, which are emitted from the metal substrate. From a comparison of the yield of products, base release is the major type of damage especially for purine bases, which are 3-fold greater than base modifications. A proposed pathway leading to base release involves the formation of a transient negative ion (TNI) followed by dissociative electron attachment (DEA) at the N-g lycosidic bond. On the other hand, base modification products consist of two major types of chemical modifications, which include thymine methyl oxidation products that likely arises from DEA from the methyl group of thymine, and 5,6-dihydropyrimidine that can involve the initial addition of electrons, H atoms, or hydride ions to the 5,6-pyrimidine double bond. / Résumé: L'objectif majeur de ce projet étude est d'étudier les lésions d'ADN induites par les rayons X mous (1,5 keV) et des électrons de faible énergie (˂ 30 eV) à partir d'un nouveau système d'irradiation créé par le groupe du Pr. Sanche. De minces couches d'ADN double brin sont déposées soit sur du verre ou sur les substrats de tantale. Celles-ci sont irradiées sous une température et pression environnante, mais dans une atmosphère de N[indice inférieur 2]. Les bases relâchées (cytosine, la thymine, l'adénine et la guanine) et les produits de modification de base (8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-désoxyguanosine, 5-hydroxyméthyl-2'-désoxyuridine, 5-formyl-2'-désoxyuridine, 5,6-dihydrothymine et 5,6-dihydrouridine) sont analysés et quantifiés par LC-MS/MS. Nos résultats révèlent un plus grand rendement de dommages dans les échantillons déposés sur le tantale que celles sur le verre. Cette différence peut être expliquée par l’interaction des électrons de faible énergie qui sont photo émis des substrats métalliques. D'après les résultats obtenus, la libération de bases est un produit majeur en comparaison avec la modification de bases. Ceci provient, en particulier, surtout des purines qui libèrent la base a un niveau trois fois plus grand que la modification de la base. Une voie proposée, conduisant à la libération de base, implique la formation d'ions négatifs transitoires (TNI), suivie par l'attachement d'électrons dissociatifs (DEA) à la liaison N-glycosidique. En outre, les produits de modification de base sont composés en deux grands types de modifications chimiques. L’un des produits est l’oxydation du groupe méthyle de la thymine, qui probablement consiste de en d'hydrure (-H[indice supérieur -]) par l'intermédiaire de DEA. Alors que l’autre modification chimique est la formation de 5,6-dihydropyrimidine qui implique l'addition d'hydrure à la double liaison du 5,6-pyrimidine.

published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Master / Master of Dental Surgery