Chinese culture has dramatically influenced Western womens fashionable dress over many centuries. Researchers have studied Chinese dress and its influence on Western womens dress in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century. However, no research has systematically examined Chinese dress influences on Western womens dress from the time that China reopened its door to the West in the 1970s and into the twenty-first century. The purpose of this study is to trace Chinese influence in Western womens dress from 1960 to 2009 in American Vogue magazine. The specific aims of this study are to identify and record the influence of the Hanfu, Qipao, and Mao suit along with other Chinese dress characteristics, including accessories, hair styles, and makeup, on Western womens dress as depicted in the magazine over fifty years. The ways in which elements and patterns of Chinese dress were adopted into modern Western womens fashion was examined along with concurrent social changes and globalization by tracing a single popular fashion magazine, American Vogue. Content analysis was applied to answer the research questions. A total of 704 issues of American Vogue were examined and the frequencies of Chinese attributes present in both visual representations and written references in every issue were recorded. The visual counts were accompanied by examination of verbal text, such as articles, editorials, and figure captions that referred to China. The results indicate that Chinese influence in visual representations was seen throughout the entire research period in greater numbers than written references. The two decades with the highest numbers of occurances in both written references and visual representations were the 1970s and 1990s. Garment features had higher frequencies than fabric, accessories, and other features. As a garment type, Qipao had the greatest influence on Western womens dress. Collars appeared as the most influenced construction element depicted in Vogue. Political events, culture, globalization, and fashion trends all played important roles in the frequency of Chinese influences seen on Western womens fashionable dress in American Vogue.

The objective of these studies was to determine the association between dietary intakes of selected food groups, macronutrients, and micronutrients in mother-child dyads. This was a secondary analysis of data on low-income Black, Hispanic, and White children 3-5 years-old (y) participating in Head Start (HS) (n=650), and their mothers. Mothers served as a proxy for their child, and self-reported intake during a multiple-pass 24-hour recall interview for one weekend day. One weekend day was chosen since children attended HS during the week, and mothers may not know what their children consumed outside the home. Data were collected on childrens and mothers intakes of servings of snacks, sweets, fruit, and vegetables, and amounts of energy, dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, added sugars, saturated fatty acids (SFA), trans fat, and sodium. Analysis of variance was conducted to determine differences in intakes by race. Pearson partial correlation coefficients were determined to assess the associations of intakes between children and mothers. Both children and mothers met the recommendation for vegetables; however, they did not meet the recommendations for fruit, dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, or potassium. Further, they exceeded the recommendations for SFA and sodium. Intake of all food groups and nutrients in mothers was associated with intake of the corresponding food groups and nutrients in children (p<0.0001 for all). Nutrition professionals need to encourage mothers to consume healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables, and consume foods that are high in nutrients of public health concern, which include dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, and potassium. Nutrition professionals should also encourage mothers to consume low amounts of foods that are high in nutrients of overconsumption, which include added sugars, SFA, trans fat, and sodium. Modeling of these habits by mothers may encourage healthy eating habits in children.

The Macular Study was a case control study that evaluated if parity and other participant characteristics predicted the diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Women, compared to men, are at higher risk for AMD. AMD is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly population [1]. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) is a long-chain fatty acid that is essential for the structure and function of the eye. During pregnancy the growing fetus depletes the maternal stores of DHA through placental transfer. The fetus needs an ample supply of DHA for proper retinal and central nervous system development. To date there is no research evaluating the number of pregnancies and their effect on development of AMD. We posed the question: Does the number of pregnancies have an effect on the development of AMD in women? Degree of AMD was documented and evaluated by four different eye doctors in Baton Rouge for 501 women. The women in the study completed a health history form that included demographic information, information about past pregnancies, and general health. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), women with a higher number of births were more likely to be diagnosed with early, intermediate or advanced AMD versus those women never diagnosed (3.27 + 0.19, 3.64 + 0.22, 3.33 + 0.24 versus 2.53 + 0.15, number of children P<0.0001). Numerous risk factors were considered, along with parity, in subsequent analyses; these were age, race, eye color, smoking history, vitamin intake, fish oil intake, family history of AMD, history of hypertension, and body mass index (BMI). Using backwards-stepwise regression the most significant risk factors predicting the diagnosis of AMD were determined (P < 0.01) and entered into a logistic regression model. Age, parity, BMI, and BMI by parity significantly predicted the diagnosis of AMD. As age, BMI and the number of pregnancies increased, the probability of being diagnosed with AMD also increased. In conclusion, older women, with a higher BMI, who have had more pregnancies, were more likely to have AMD compared to younger women with a lower BMI and fewer pregnancies. It is important that future studies consider parity as a possible risk for AMD, especially as it relates to other participant characteristics. Such studies may provide insight as to why women are at greater risk for AMD.

One fiber that is being researched as a possible alternative to the petroleum based polyester fibers currently being used is polylactic acid (PLA). Being aware of the low heat resistance and degradation of PLA during processing is a concern for practical production and the performance of the polymer. Disperse dyed PLA film and solution dyed PLA film, along with un-dyed film and the original PLA pellets have been investigated to determine molecular weight. Infrared analysis has been conducted to examine the compounds found in the PLA samples at different steps in the polymer processing. Un-dyed PLA samples have been subjected to different heat treatments to observe the changes associated with temperature exposure. PLA has also been analyzed after dyeing to view the effects of the coloration method to the PLA structure.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2009. / "Publication number: AAT 3385847."

Habitat and dietary preferences and ranging behaviour were assessed from January 1989 to May 1991 in the nearly treeless Pennine uplands at Allenheads, using radio-telemetry, transect walks and faecal analysis. Male home range size was smaller than female (maximum 455 hectares). The population density of 0.07 birds/hectare was average for Black Grouse. Mortality was mainly due to predation. On four occasions (N=15) radio-tagged hens did not breed. Chicks fed predominantly on invertebrates in their first two weeks of life, with vegetation predominant thereafter. Sawfly larvae (Symphyta, Tenthredinidae) were of overriding importance. Lepidoptera larvae, sawfly adults, parasitic hymenopterans, C-laterid and r-hrysomelid beetles and bibionid flies were also significantly preferred. Adults took a wide variety of ground vegetation. In winter males took much Heather Calluna vulqari , when hens additionally took quantities of monocotyledon leaves. In spring, cotton grass Eriophorum vaginatum was important, particularly for hens. Considerable quantities were taken by cocks in some nearby areas. In summer and autumn, flowers, fruits, seeds and berries, particularly of Common Catsear Hypochaeris radicata, buttercup Ranunculus spp., Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum, Heath Rush Juncus squarrosus and Crowberry Empetrum niqr were important. Bilberries Vaccinium myrtillus, although fairly widespread, were not taken. Invertebrates formed a small proportion of adult diet. Diet and habitat were closely interrelated. In autumn and winter, heather moor was used most, with grassland habitats also important. Some birds frequented open conifer plantations, but tree-feeding was only once observed (Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna). In spring and summer, grassland habitats were important for all birds except non-breeding hens, which remained in heather moorland. Nests were mainly in rushes Juncus effusus, with some in heather. Rushes were important chick habitats. Management guidelines, including rotational heather burning, smallscale tree-planting and the adoption of sympathetic farming practices, are suggested.

No description available.

A broadscale survey of the benthos was carried out in the docks around Liverpool and the results indicated that the walls of the majority of the South Docks were dominated by Mytilus edulis. This species tended to be less abundant in docks close to the intake from the Mersey while Molgula manmattensis tended to be more abundant at these sites. These differences may be due to a combination of either increased suspended solids or decreased phytoplankton. The walls of Albert, Queens and Princes Docks were surveyed over a three year period. The results indicated that the abundance of Mytilus was relatively constant between years. Other more ephemeral species, such as Ciona, showed considerable variation both within and between years. Closer examination of the Mytilus population structure has indicated that it was dominated by one or two cohorts which had settled in 1988 - 1989. Much less recruitment has occurred subsequently. Reasons for this lack of recruitment are examined, however, the most likely explanations are increased predation from Carcinus and/or intraspecific interactions from the adult bed, either filtering out Mytilus larvae or reducing food supply to new settlers. Monitoring of the zooplankton indicated considerable temporal and spatial variation, despite the fact that the docks are effectively a closed ecosystem. The observed variations are attributed to either adult or larval behaviour or changes in primary production affecting secondary production. Tiles have been used to follow the pattern of annual succession and the effect of timing of available space on this pattern of succession. Results were integrated with changes observed in the wall benthos and variations in larval supply. Considerable differences were observed in the community that developed on suspended tiles, tiles fixed to the dock wall and cleared areas of the dock wall. One of the primary factors affecting this was thought to be reduced food supply on the wall due to the dense filter feeding assemblage there. No evidence was found of any strong interspecific interactions in the successional sequence. Rather, the community composition was typical for the time of year. The community development is described with regard to the life-history strategies of the species in the fouling assemblage. Tiles were also used to look at the annual pattern of algal settlement. This indicated that diatoms were the principal settlers early in the year, brown ephemerals such as Giffordia and Punctaria during spring and green ephemerals such as Enteromorpha and Cladophora over the summer period. Amphipods were the dominant grazers of this assemblage. Tiles left in place for two to three months initially developed dense algal growth but this was subsequently replaced by a cover of Botryllus. This change was thought to be accelerated by the grazing amphipods. No perennial algae were recorded in the docks; reasons for this are proposed. Finally, an assessment is made of the overall stability of the benthic ecosystem found in the docks around Liverpool and a number of possible management options, which could be used to improve the stability, are suggested.

Plants are a major force shaping how ecosystems function, including non-native plants. The effects that non-native plants have on ecosystem properties and processes can be particularly important as invasive plants are associated with changes in nitrogen and carbon cycling Plants can also indirectly affect ecosystem processes through their influence on the soil microbial community and different plants are associated with different microbial communities. The legacies produced by invasive plants can be long-lasting and inhibit the restoration of damaged ecosystems. Because of the central role of soil fungi in ecosystem processes, I examined how fungal abundance and community composition were altered by non-native plants, and the persistence of these changes. Specifically, I examined how two different cases of invasion by non-native species affected soil fungi over three years compared to soil fungi in native, undisturbed sites. I further tested how the soil fungi responded to the removal of the non-native plants and to inoculation with local native microbial communities. Legacy effects of land use history on soil fungal abundance and community composition were found in these central Florida communities. There were substantial differences in soil fungal abundance and community composition in disturbed and pasture sites compared to native scrub, and these differences persisted for three years after non-native grasses were removed. Not only did the grass-dominated pasture and disturbed sites differ from the undisturbed native shrub-dominated ecosystem, they differed significantly from each other, indicating that the different non-native grasses and other specific changes associated with each land use played a role in soil fungal communities. The combined results of this study have implications for restoration ecology. The current dependence of the fungal community on land use and the associated non-native species invasions (along with other analyses done in this system) suggest that a different approach to restoration is required here to overcome the observed legacy effects. / text

The population dynamics of rotifers in Loch Leven was studied over a three year period (1977-1979) from samples collected at weekly intervals. Since up to 65 per cent of the smaller rotifers may be lost when collected with a net of 45mm mesh size, the samples were collected by volumetric methods and concentrated by sedimentation. Loch Leven was generally well-mixed with rotifers distributed more or less randomly throughout the pelagic zona on most occasions. Population densities could, therefore, be estimated from only a smal1 number of samples. Rotifers are generally difficult to identify since little is known of their ecology and their morphology is often strongly influenced by environmentally induced polymorphism. In order to avoid any major systematic misunderstanding the species list for Loch Leven is accompanied by short descriptions of the animals with notes on the problems of identification. Rotifers showed a distinct pattern of seaonal succession which appeared to be influenced, primarily, by species specific responses to changing water temperature. Many species showed a well-defined range of temperature preference beyond which their reproductive success was seriously impaired .Within this range of temperature preference, the birth rate was dependent upon water temperature and food availability. Many rotifer species appeared to be food specialists and some observations were made on their feeding habits. Attempts were made to culture rotifers on various algal species in the laboratory to test hypotheses suggested by field observtions. The predation of rotifers by Cyclopoid copepods, the predatory rotifer Asolanchna priodonta end larval perch is discussed, However, little quantitative information was available and the impact of predation on rotifer populations in Loch Leven is still unknown.