Resin infusion of composite parts has continually been reaching to achieve laminate quality equal to, or exceeding, the quality produced with prepreg in an autoclave. In order for this to occur, developers must understand the key process variables that go in to producing a laminate with minimal void content. The purpose of this research is to continue efforts in understanding 1) the effect of process conditions on the resultant void content, with a focus on resin infusion flow rate, 2) applying statistical metrics to the formation, location and size of voids formed, and 3) correlate these metrics with the local mechanical properties of the composite laminate. The variation in dispersion and formation of micro-voids and macro-voids varied greatly between the rates of flow the infusion occurred, especially in the non-crimp carbon fiber samples. Higher flow rates led to lower volumes of micro-voids in the beginning section of the carbon fiber laminates with macro-voids being introduced approximately half-way through infusion. This was determined to have occurred decreasing pressure gradient as the flow front moved away from the inlet. This variation in void content per location on the laminate was more evident in the carbon fiber samples than the fiberglass samples. Micro-voids follow void formation modeling especially when coupled with a pressure threshold model. Macro-void formation was also demonstrated to correlate strongly to void formation models when united with void mobility theories and pressure thresholds. There is a quick decrease in mechanical properties after the first 1-2% of voids signaling strength is mostly sensitive to the first 0-2% void content. A slight decrease in SBS was noticed in fiberglass laminates, A-F as v0 increased but not as drastically as represented in the NCF laminates, G and H. The lower clarity in the exponential trend could be due to the lack of samples with v0 greater than 0% but less than 1%. Strength is not well correlated to void content above 2% and could possibly be related to void morphololgy.

Baseball's Steroid Era put many different high-profile athletes under pressure to explain steroid allegations that were made against them. This thesis used textual analysis of news reports and media portrayals of the athletes, along with analysis of their image repair strategies to combat those allegations, to determine how successful the athletes were in changing public opinion as evidenced through the media. The contexts, media reports, and strategies of Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens were analyzed and revealed important implications involving effective use of image repair strategies. They provided a deeper framework for the success of mortification strategies. An authentic, sincere mortification strategy has more power to change the media's reporting and portrayal of the athlete, while stunted or incentivized mortification strategies provide diminishing results. The four different situations of the players and the different combinations of strategies used provide insight into how much a public persona matters in confronting allegations. They show how ineffective the strategy of minimization is against allegations that involve on-field performance. The situations reveal how the promise of future on-field actions, along with actual on-field success can help repair an athlete's image without a solid rhetorical strategy. They show the amount of information offered, along with the strategies used, influences the amount of persuasion that occurs. The different situations also showed how a complete image repair strategy is successful in ending news coverage of the allegations and not just changing the media portrayal.

This dissertation reports on the technology of cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) including 1) stabilized lyophilized cell-free systems and 2) enhanced heterogeneous cell extracts. This work further considers applications of CFPS systems in 1) rapid vaccine development, 2) functional virus-based nanoparticles, 3) site-specific protein immobilization, and 4) expanding the language of biology using unnatural amino acids. CFPS technology is a versatile protein production platform that has many features unavailable in in vivo expression systems. The primary benefit cell-free systems provide is the direct access to the reaction environment, which is no longer hindered by the presence of a cell-wall. The “openness" of the system makes it a compelling candidate for many technologies. One limitation of CFPS is the necessity of freezing for long-term viable storage. We demonstrate that a lyophilized CFPS system is more stable against nonideal storage than traditional CFPS reagents. The Escherichia coli-based CFPS system in this work is limited by the biocatalytic machinery found natively in E. coli. To combat these limitations, exogenous biocatalysts can be expressed during fermentation of cells prepared into extract. We demonstrate that simple adjustments in the fermentation conditions can significantly increase the activity of the heterogeneous extract. Towards virus-based particles and vaccines, we demonstrate that the open nature of CFPS can be utilized for coexpression of virus proteins and self-assembly of virus particles. This technique allows for the rapid production of potential vaccines and novel functional virus-based nanoparticles. Unnatural amino acids expand the effective language of protein biology. Utilizing CFPS as an expression system, we demonstrated that the incorporation of a single specific unnatural amino acid allows for site-specific immobilization, thus stabilizing the protein against elevated temperatures and chemical denaturants. Current unnatural amino acid incorporation technologies are limited to one or few simultaneous incorporations and suffer from low efficiency. This work proposes a system that could potentially allow for upwards of 40 unnatural amino acids to be simultaneously incorporated, effectively tripling the protein code. These projects demonstrate the power and versatility of CFPS technologies while laying the foundation for promising technologies in the field of biotechnology.

This thesis identifies a claimant narrative tradition in nineteenth-century American literature and examines the role of that tradition in the formation of American national identity. Drawing on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The American Claimant Manuscripts and Our Old Home (1863) as well as Mark Twain’s The American Claimant (1892), I argue that these writers confronted the paradoxical nature of claimant narratives—what Hawthorne called a “peculiar insanity”—which combined a hereditary sympathy between the United States and Britain with exceptionalist rhetoric about American republican values. Hawthorne’s ambivalence toward the claimant tradition identified the paradox, but his writing merely pointed out inconsistencies, while Twain censured with satire and direct social criticism. America’s British sympathies persisted in later decades, and remained a popular subject of fiction throughout the century, making it ripe for parody by the time Twain wrote his own claimant story. Claimant narratives reinforced class differences in the United States even as they appeared to reject them. The transnational framework of Twain’s novel affords a pointed critical view revealing the latent cruelty of democracy when coupled with attitudes of exceptionalism.

[pt] O estudo objetivou analisar o texto de Mc 10,41-45 que afirma que o Filho do homem veio para servir e dar a sua vida em resgate de muitos. Após a pesquisa da expressão Filho do homem nos livros extrabíblicos, no AT e no NT, o texto marcano foi examinado através dos passos do Método Histórico-Crítico. Esses pressupostos foram decisivos para determinar com maior segurança o sentido do termo resgate, não apenas na pena do evangelista, mas também no contexto veterotestamentário e na cultura greco-romana. A dissertação procura refletir sobre a visão de Marcos acerca do resgate realizado por Jesus entendido como um serviço por ele feito enquanto Filho do homem. Enfim, através de todo o estudo realizado foi possível confirmar que o Filho do homem se autocompreendeu como um servo comissionado da parte de Deus para realizar uma missão em prol de toda a humanidade pecadora. / [en] The study aimed to analyze the text of Mk 10,41-45 which states that the Son of man came to serve and give his life in ransom for many. After researching the expression Son of man in extra-biblical books, OT and NT, the Marcan text was examined through the steps of the Historical-Critical Method. These assumptions were decisive in determining with greater certainty the meaning of the term rescue, not only in the evangelist s pen, but also in the Old Testament context and in Greco-Roman culture. The dissertation seeks to reflect on Mark s view of the rescue performed by Jesus understood as a service made by him as Son of man. Finally, through all the study carried out, it was possible to confirm that the Son of Man understood himself as a commissioned servant from God to carry out a mission on behalf of all sinful humanity.

Recent improvements in genetic analyses have paved the way in using molecular data to answer questions regarding evolutionary history, genetic structure, and demography. Key deer are a federally endangered subspecies assumed to be genetically unique (based on one allozyme study), homogeneous, and have a female-biased population of approximately 900 deer. I used 985bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and 12 microsatellite loci to test two hypotheses: 1) if the Moser Channel is a barrier to gene flow, I should expect that Key deer are differentiated and have reduced diversity compared to mainland deer and (2) if isolation on islands leads to a higher probability of extinction, I should expect that Key deer exhibit a small population size and a high risk of extinction. My results indicate that Key deer are genetically isolated from mainland white-tailed deer and that there is a lack of genetic substructure between islands. While Key deer exhibit reduced levels of genetic diversity compared to their mainland counterparts, they contain enough diversity of which to uniquely identify individual deer. Based on genetic identification, I estimated a census size of around 1,000 individuals with a heavily skewed female-biased adult sex ratio. Furthermore, I combined genetic and contemporary demographic data to generate a species persistence model of the Key deer. Sensitivity tests within the population viability analysis brought to light the importance of fetal sex ratio and female survival as the primary factors at risk of driving the subspecies to extinction.

This thesis provides a thorough definition of corporate branding, including its benefits when used as a strategic marketing tool. There are many who believe that the logo of a corporation is its brand. However, the logo is only one interpretation of the brand. The brand is the corporation's ethos. It is the fundamental character or spirit of the corporation. It is an expression of who the corporation is. It is the essence that links the corporation's product or service with its consumer through loyalty and emotional attachments. Corporations use various processes and methodologies when they begin to create and enhance their corporate brand. Corporations must define their corporate personality, build recognition, standardize, and fulfill brand promises. There are also obstacles and challenges that corporations face in their endeavor to implement a branding guideline, and the chance of overcoming them without defined leadership is unrealistic. This study focuses specifically on existing literature about corporate branding and cites case study examples to show what makes the best brands successful and where failing brands could have been more successful. The study concludes by providing insight into the future for corporate branding and offering suggestions for technical communication professionals who find themselves a part of the brand building and defining process. There are various rules to branding and traits that are common to every top brand in the world. By instilling its brand with such traits, and following certain processes with focus, passion, and persistence, and most of all a long-term commitment to the brand, a corporation will find its brand among the most recognized brands in the world.

Оценка эффективности организационной структуры малых промышленных предприятий позволяет своевременно использовать возможности и нивелировать угрозы факторов внешней среды, путем рационального распределения ответственности и полномочий. Целью магистерской диссертации является разработка методического подхода по оценке эффективности организационных структур малых промышленных предприятий. Объектом исследования выступает организационная структура на малом промышленном предприятии в современных условиях хозяйственной деятельности. В качестве источников использовалась научно-исследовательская и методическая литература, нормативно-правовые акты и финансовая отчетность организаций в открытом доступе. В магистерской диссертации был предложен методический подход к оценке эффективности организационной структуры малых промышленных предприятий с разделением на центры затрат и центры прибыли. / Evaluation of the effectiveness of the organizational structure of small industrial enterprises allows you to use the opportunities in a timely manner and neutralize the threats of environmental factors, through the rational distribution of responsibility and authority. The aim of the master's thesis is to develop a methodological approach to assess the effectiveness of the organizational structures of small industrial enterprises. The object of the research is the organizational structure of a small industrial enterprise in modern conditions of economic activity. The sources used were scientific research and methodological literature, regulations and financial statements of organizations in the public domain. The master's thesis proposed a methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of the organizational structure of small industrial enterprises with division into cost centers and profit centers.

Denna uppsats har som syfte att undersöka de teologiska aspekterna av människans sexuella begär. Genom en poetisk-filosofisk analys av Alina Reyes erotiska novell Slaktaren och 1300-tals mystikern Julian av Norwichs bok Uppenbarelser av den gudomliga kärleken ämnar uppsatsen belysa relevanta teologiska teman och frågeställningar gällande sexualitetens koppling till teologin och talet om eros som begärets gudomliga ursprung. Studien syftar också till att utforska hur de teman om sexuellt begär som framträder genom denna analys kan anses korrelera med de samtida teologerna Carter Heyward och Ola Sigurdsons syn på sexualiteten. Som ett teoretiskt ramverk används fem hypoteser gällande sexualitet som är hämtade från Mark D. Jordans resonemang i boken The Ethics of Sex. / The purpose of this essay is to examine the theological aspects of human sexual desire. Through a poetic-philosophical analysis of Alina Reye's erotic novel The Butcher and 14th Century Mystic Julian of Norwich's book Revelations of the Divine Love, the essay aims to shed light on relevant theological themes and issues concerning sexuality's connection to theology and the talk of eros as the divine origin of desire. The study also aims to explore how the themes of sexual desire that emerge through this analysis can be considered to correlate with the contemporary theologians Carter Heyward and Ola Sigurdson's views on sexuality. As a theoretical framework, five hypotheses regarding sexuality are used, which are taken from Mark D. Jordan's reasoning in the book The Ethics of Sex.

This study attempts to analyze the Eucharist in the Synoptic Gospels including their co-texts (Matt 26:14–35; Mark 14:10–31; Luke 22:3–23, 31–34), via a Mode Register Analysis based on Systemic Functional Linguistics. The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to model a linguistic methodology and to apply it to each text of the Eucharist and its co-texts in the Synoptic Gospels, (2) to find meaningful linguistic characteristics of each designated text via a comparative analysis based on the preceding study, and finally (3) to suggest a balanced and plausible hypothesis which may offer convincing explanations of the Synoptic Gospels' construction process. The thesis of this study is as follows: in the Synoptic Gospels' construction process, each constructor reflected the oral Gospel tradition(s) significantly, as the one who had formed/contributed the tradition (probably Matthew), or the one who delivered it (probably Mark), or the one who preserved it (probably Luke), though there is also the possibility that each of them made use of written sources including the other Gospel(s).