The increase in blood levels of GLP-1 with dietary resistant starch is thought to be associated with the activities of hypothalamic NPY/AgRP neurons and the gene expression of glucokinase in the ARC of the hypothalamus. Exendin-4 has been shown to be associated with fatty acid synthesis and oxidation. In this project, it was proposed that 1) food intake will be decreased in GLP-1R KO mice, the glucokinase (GK) mRNA expression in the liver and in the hypothalamus, the hypothalamic NPY mRNA expression will be up-regulated by exendin-4 treatment; and 2) exendin-4 will decrease fatty acid synthesis and increase fatty acid oxidation. In order to investigate these hypotheses, animal experiments were performed. Exendin-4 treated WT and GLP-1R KO mice were injected with exendin-4 at 100µg/Kg body weight or vehicle for 7 days. The exendin-4 treated mice and the vehicle mice were subdivided into fed and fasted groups. There were 8 groups of mice (n=8). Food intake after refeeding at 1h, 2h and 4h was measured. At end of the study, the blood glucose level, the GK, CPT1, AOX1, SCD1, FAS, SREBP1c and PPARã mRNA expressions in liver, and the GK and NPY mRNA expressions in hypothalamus were measured. In this study, the food intake of GLP-1R KO mice at 1h, 2h and 4h was significantly less than in WT mice, and the FAS expression in liver was significantly higher in GLP-1R KO mice than WT mice. Exendin-4 treatment decreased blood glucose, and increased the GK gene expression in liver, but not in the hypothalamus. The food intake and the NPY gene expression were not altered by exendin-4. Only the AOX mRNA expression was increased by exendin-4. CPT1, SCD1, FAS, SREBP1c, and PPARã mRNA were not changed. GLP-1 might have beneficial effects on improving the impairment of nutrient sensing system induced by aging. The up-regulated FAS gene expression might be one possible mechanism for higher body fat in GLP1R KO mice. The lowering body fat storage effect of exendin-4 may be due in part to the increase of the fatty acid oxidation in liver.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perception of Louisiana Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP) participants diet and other lifestyle measures and their consistency with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid compared to eligible non-participants in Louisiana. The study sample included FSNEP adult participants (Group 1; n=30) and adult non-FSNEP participants (Group 2; n=26) from 5 parishes in Louisiana. Nine focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with Group 1 (n=5) and Group 2 (n=4) participants. The FGD assessed perceptions and practice in the last six months of: (a) increasing eating fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products intake by one or more serving per day; (b) increasing 30-minute moderate activity by four or more days a week; and (c) balancing energy intake from food with calories expended. Focus group discussions were conducted together with a survey to assess population characteristics. Anthropometric measures taken show no significant difference in body mass index (BMI) (32.5 ± 9.9 standard deviation and 35.8 ± 9.5 standard deviation) and percent body fat (41.9 ± 9.6 standard deviation and 44.1 ± 7.1 standard deviation) between participants and non-participants, respectively. Focus Group Discussion analysis suggested that Group 1 and Group 2 participants exhibited similar lifestyle behaviors mainly by increasing low/non-fat dairy, fruit and vegetable, and whole grain intake in the last six months. Group 1 participants received more nutrition education sessions than Group 2 participants. The latter group received nutrition sessions from non-FNP sources including hospitals, physicians and grocery stores through talks and taste testing. Conversely, Group 1 participants received more nutrition education sessions from the FNP funding. Different community agencies collaborated and a variety of delivery methods were used. Additionally, 4 healthy lifestyle behaviors were observed for Group 1. This study provided the basis for future research to assess the participants perception Louisiana FSNEP assistance to make healthy dietary choices and practice a healthy lifestyle.

The widespread availability of parallel computing architectures has lead to research regarding algorithms and techniques that best exploit available parallelism. In addition to the CPU parallelism available; the GPU has emerged as a parallel computational device. The goal of this study was to explore the combined use of CPU and GPU parallelism by developing a hybrid parallel CPU/GPU cloth simulation application. In order to evaluate the benefits of the hybrid approach, the application was first developed in sequential CPU form, followed by a parallel CPU form. The application uses Backward Euler implicit time integration to solve the differential equations of motion associated with the physical system. The Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm is used to determine the solution vector for the system of equations formed by the Backward Euler approach. The matrix/vector, vector/vector, and vector/scalar operations required by CG are handled by calls to BLAS level 1 and level 2 functions. In the sequential CPU and parallel CPU versions, the Intel Math Kernel Library implementation of BLAS is used. In the hybrid parallel CPU/GPU version, the Nvidia CUDA based BLAS implementation (CUBLAS) is used. In the parallel CPU and hybrid implementations, OpenMP directives are used to parallelize the force application loop that traverses the list of forces acting on the system. Runtimes were collected for each version of the application while simulating cloth meshes with particle resolutions of 20x20, 40x40, and 60x60. The performance of each version was compared at each mesh resolution. The level of performance degradation experienced when transitioning to the larger mesh sizes was also determined. The hybrid parallel CPU/GPU implementation yielded the highest frame rate for the 40x40 and 60x60 meshes. The parallel CPU implementation yielded the highest frame rate for the 20x20 mesh. The performance of the hybrid parallel CPU/GPU implementation degraded the least as it transitioned to the two larger mesh sizes. The results of this study will potentially lead to further research regarding the use of GPUs to perform the matrix/vector operations associated with the CG algorithm under more complex cloth simulation scenarios.

The existing literature on religion and family indicates that religious beliefs and practices are correlated with various aspects of marriage and family life. Chinese immigrants are an important part of the U.S. population. However, very little is known about the relationship between religion and marriage for Chinese immigrants. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between Christianity and marriage in Chinese immigrant families based on in-depth qualitative interviews. Sixteen highly religious Chinese Christian couples were interviewed to examine how religious faith influenced their perceptions of marriage and family life. Most of the participants in this study held advanced graduate degrees. Their ages ranged from 28-66, and the number of children ranged from one to four. Grounded theory methods (including open coding and axial coding) were applied to analyze the data. Based on my interview data, five central, emergent themes were indentified: 1) Moving from atheism to theism: God is love; 2) Changing perceptions of marriage: Marriage is established by God; 3) The importance of shared faith: Equally yoked; 4) Challenges with religious faith; and 5) A new priority: Put God first. Supporting qualitative data was presented in connection with each of these five themes. Implications for research and practice related to Chinese immigrants marriage and family in the U.S. are discussed.

In spite of the significance of social shopping in the context of fashion consumption, its definitions, boundaries, and explanations have not yet been systematically established in literature. The purpose of Study 1 was to develop a reliable and valid scale of social shopping for fashion. With the scale, Study 2 aimed to develop and test a structural model of social shopping process. In Study 1, a three-step procedure for scale development was followed: item generation, scale purification, and scale validation. As a result, a five-dimensional scale, along with sixteen behavioral items, was developed representing distinctive dimension of social shopping for fashion. The result suggests that social shopping for fashion involves dynamic and complex direct/indirect interpersonal exchanges and activities. Study 1 adds significant value to the literature in three ways. First, the scale is the first attempt to synthesize dispersed concepts of social shopping. Second, by providing a reliable and valid measure of social shopping for fashion, the results advance the area of research. Third, the scale is useful for a wide range of marketing and retailing applications. In Study 2, an online survey was conducted with a random sample consisting of a total of 5,280 undergraduates aged 18 to 29 years old enrolled at a large southeastern university. A total of 858 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A structural model including motivational forces and consequences of social shopping behavior was developed and tested. The results indicated that social comparison orientations were generally found to be motivators of social shopping for fashion, and social shopping contributed to shopping satisfaction. The results, however, suggest that each dimension is driven by different dimensions of social comparison orientation and generates different types of satisfaction. This study increases the understanding of social shopping by simultaneously examining a causal model depicting comprehensive motivational forces and consequences of social shopping behavior. The results contribute to building a rigor of social comparison theory and consumer satisfaction theory in the context of fashion consumption. The results also provide industry professionals with strategic cues for creation of shopping environments wherein consumers social needs are better served and satisfied.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of humor as a coping strategy among Hurricane Katrina survivors. The data for this study were collected in the first wave of a larger project on families and disasters. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by combining Census data with storm damage estimates and purposive sampling, 50 participants affected by Hurricane Katrina from a single suburban community in Southern Louisiana in early spring 2006 were recruited and interviewed. When the interviews were qualitatively analyzed with a focus on humor, it became clear that families used humor even at such a devastating time. Based on a prior empirical conceptualization, five types of humor were found: language, expressive, impersonation, low humor and other orientation. The most frequent type of humor used was language with expressive humor as the second-most often used type of humor. The two new types of humor that emerged were post-disaster life and financial concerns. Because most of the families used humor in dealing with the devastation of the storm, disaster management professionals, including relief workers, should at the very least expect humor and might even encourage it depending on the situation.

Research on Native American families is limited and emphasizes the deficits of families and overlooks those Native American families that are thriving. This study seeks to illuminate the strengths of highly religious, Christian, Native American, married couples. The study employs a strengths-based perspective to examine how and why religious coping is meaningful and influential for these Native American couples enduring marriages and in their efforts to be responsive parents. From interviews of fifteen heterosexual, Native American, married couples (n=30), five themes emerged from the coding and analysis: 1) Faith and Culture: They go hand in hand, 2) Influence of Faith and Culture on marriage, 3) Generational Transference: If you dont have it, it wont be there, 4) Religious Coping, and 5) Challenges. Research and clinical implications are addressed.

The purpose of this project was to explore the use of an eco-mapping protocol for measuring childrens social support networks. The project investigated two research questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in the information provided by three informants in the eco-mapping protocol?, and (2) what information do eco-maps provide about childrens social support networks? Ten four-year-old children, their families, and teacher participated in the creation of eco-maps. Each informant identified the major people in the childs support network, described relationships, and identified the type and developmental area of support provided by each individual. All the information was graphically represented into an eco-map using shapes and color coding to distinguish variations. Mixed methods were used to analyze the data in order to answer the two research questions. Parents, teachers, and children provided varied and diverse information regarding the childrens social network. The use of multiple informants provided a more comprehensive picture of the childs support network. Qualitative analysis of the data sources for a subsample revealed four themes: the inner circle, only strong links, lots of shapes and colors, and symbols of support. Eco-maps with parents, teachers, and children may contribute to educational research and practice through providing detailed information about childrens social support network.

Women, compared to men, are at higher risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The accumulation of dietary carotenoids, lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) within the macula make up macular pigment and provide important protection to the retina. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) gives a measure of macula pigment density. MPOD has been shown to be influenced by fruit and vegetable L and Z and docosahexanoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), cold water marine fish being the dietary source. A high MPOD may protect against AMD. Intake of DHA by women is low (40-120 mg/d) and transfer of DHA during pregnancy to the fetus tends to deplete their stores. To date, MPOD for pregnant women has not been evaluated. We posed the question: ¡§Is MPOD decreased during pregnancy?¡¨ MPOD was measured for 22 women using a macularmetrics densitometer at 18-23, 24-26, 30, and 36-38 weeks of pregnancy. Dietary information was collected using repeated food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour dietary recalls. Women consuming a prenatal supplement containing DHA/fish oil during the third trimester tended to have a higher MPOD than those not supplementing (0.41 vs. 0.28). While MPOD did not decrease from late second to third trimester in this small sample (MPOD, LSM ¡Ó SE: 0.34b 0.03, 0.34b 0.03, 0.35b 0.04, 0.31b0.04), our data provided the opportunity to calculate that with a power of 80% and a significance of 0.05 a sample size of 121 participants is required to assess difference over pregnancy. MPOD was positively correlated with L and Z, the consumption of fruits and vegetables high in L and Z (p-value<0.02) and weekly seafood intake (p-value<0.01). In conclusion, seafood as a source of DHA and dietary L and Z were associated with increased MPOD during pregnancy and prenatal supplements with DHA/fish oil may be important in maintaining MPOD during pregnancy.

This research study includes examining and exploring the processes underlying faith, parent, and child relationships. The project is based on the premises that parents and children mutually influence each other and that faith is important, beneficial, and facilitative, particularly in an increasingly individualistic society. Qualitative methods were used to uncover a depth of information regarding the intersection of faith, parent, and child. Interview data were utilized from a purposive national sample of 30 highly religious families. Four major themes emerged from the analysis. These themes include Concerns about Contemporary Culture, Commitment to Family Life, Close and Connected Family Relationships, and Childrens Influences. Implications of this research study include informing professionals in the area of culturally competent practice and expanding theory regarding the nature of generative family relationships.