The purpose of this study was to explore methods of how to better identify victims of Domestic Minor Sexual Traffic (DMST). Human trafficking sill exist in modern society, due to the volume of underground sexual solicitation; it has become more difficult to identify victims of sexual exploitation in vulnerable youth population. The research study conducted obtained different perspectives of social workers within various human services agencies. The agencies. The research study also collected date with a via-email survey. The measures that were utilized were knowledge of sexual trafficking victim's characteristics, perceptions, beliefs, and competence. Data was analyzed by using the SPSS Software to analyze data, provide a descriptive statistic by utilizing level of comfort chart. Table 1 (see appendix D), identified 21% of females, and 14% of males. The result showed that social workers had an understanding and the knowledge of sexual trafficked victims, but their comfort level had a significant difference where it was reported that they felt the need to have further training in regards to DMST victims, it was inconsistent whether social workers prevent from identifying DMST victims due to their own perceptions.

A thesis on the study of the frequency response of a pneumatic system designed to provide pulsed flow for flow control applications is presented. The system consists of a high pressure air source, a high-frequency solenoid valve, a length of tube and a minor loss. The experiment mimics the pneumatic drive for our Coanda-Assisted Spray Manipulation actuator and applies to many flow control applications involving pulsed flow. Square wave signals of various frequency are fed to the solenoid valve. The flow at the exit of the system is measured with a single hot wire and compared to steady flow through the same geometry. The effect of the inlet pressure, tube length and the size of the minor loss is evaluated. These data are modeled using a Transmission Matrix Model. (60 pages)

There are a number of impurity elements present in sulphide ores that can have a deleterious effect on the properties of the final copper metal product. In this thesis, an equilibrium distribution technique was used to determine the thermodynamic behaviour of selenium and tellurium in molten slags used in copper production. Calcium ferrite based slags and copper or silver alloy were equilibrated in magnesia crucibles at temperatures of 1200 to 1400 °C and oxygen partial pressures of 10-11 to 10-0.68 atm. Under conditions typical of those employed during copper converting, the minor elements were found to enter the slag as negatively charged species. The partitioning of selenium and tellurium to the slag was greatest at high temperature, low oxygen partial pressure and at highest concentration of basic oxide (CaO or BaO). The experimentally derived data were combined with published information to calculate the selenide and telluride capacities of the slag, and also to generate fundamental thermodynamic activity data for selenium and tellurium in the slag phase. It was found that the activity coefficients of selenium and tellurium were independent of their concentration in the slag over the range studied, but were strongly dependent on the temperature, slag chemistry and oxidation state of the slag. Experiments were also designed and carried out to determine what effect the presence of iron oxide and its oxidation state has on the behaviour of selenium in the slag. A series of experiments involving iron oxide additions to a calcium aluminate slag was conducted under increasingly oxidising conditions to assess the effect of total iron on the selenide capacity as the dominant oxidation state of iron in the slag changed. It was shown that at a constant ratio of CaO:Al2O3, the selenide capacity increased with total iron in the slag. However, the effect on the selenide capacity did not appear any more significant as the Fe3+:Fe2+ ratio changed in a particular direction. 4 Another series of experiments was carried out with iron calcium silicate slags to determine the stability of phases within the slag, and how this affected the equilibrium distribution and activity coefficient of selenium in the slag. A number of solid phases were identified and their composition determined by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis. The composition and minor element content of the remaining liquid was calculated using a thermodynamic model. From this it was found that the capacity of the liquid slag has a region of independence against slag chemistry, before increasing strongly with increasing lime content to the calcium ferrite composition. Some of the implications of this work are discussed with reference to the practicality of adjusting the process variables in a large-scale industrial process for the purpose of managing minor element content of the molten phases. Considerations include the effect on copper recovery and rate of wear of furnace refractory materials.

Males of the Mexican lizard Sceloporus minor (Phrynosomatidae) exhibit striking variation in dorsal coloration, both within and among populations, which may have arisen by sexual selection. The possible significance of this trait was investigated through a combination of observational and experimental approaches. This research revealed that males in one population (La Manzana) in NW Hidalgo exhibit three discrete color morphs (blue, yellow, red) each characterized by morphological, physiological and behavioral differences. Furthermore, these morphs can be identified by an objective approach to color assessment (spectroradiometry). In addition, males in a second population (Escalerillas) from SE San Luis Potosí were also found to occur in at least two color morphs (yellow and red), suggesting that color polymorphism may be general in this species. The hypothesis of sensory exploitation by male contest competition was tested for S. minor from Escalerillas; however, no support for this hypothesis was found. Overall, results from this study are consistent with the hypothesis of alternative reproductive tactics in S. minor.

Jupiter Trojan asteroid dynamics have been studied for a long time but it is only within the last decades that the known population has become large enough to make other studies meaningful. In four articles I have been scratching the surface of the unknown Trojan knowledge space. Paper I presents photometric observations confirming a larger variety in surface redness for the smaller Trojans compared to the larger ones, in line with the groups in the outer main asteroid belt. However, the largest Trojans are significantly redder compared to the largest Cybele and Hilda asteroids. Paper II is an investigation of the Trojan discovery completeness. The analysis shows that all Trojans down to a limiting absolute magnitude of H=11.5 mag have been discovered. Missing Trojans in the almost discovery-completed section should have inclinations above the mean of the same group. The faintest Trojans are discovery biased due to orbit orientations similar to the Milky Way. Paper III is a general review of dynamical and physical properties of the discovery-completed sample of Jupiter Trojans found in Paper II. The two Trojan swarms are often treated as being equal, but are different in a number of details. Two known facts are that the L5 swarm is less rich, while the L4 swarm has a larger fraction of low inclination Trojans. Trojans are in general red objects but the mean redness is higher for Trojans which have not collided compared to Trojans in families. Paper IIII is an investigation of Trojan collisions, family detection and evolution. Collision circumstances were mapped using numerical simulations and recorded Trojan close approaches. Synthetic families were created and evolved numerically. The result suggests that the HCM family detection technique can find Trojan families even in a densely populated parameter space. However, interlopers cannot be avoided at any level but their contribution should be less than 30%. Synthetic families can be identified with backwards orbital integrations for times up to a Gyr-scale. However, there are discrepancies between real Trojan families and my synthetic families.

Participation has become a crucial aspect for development and development aid thus it ensures empowerment and appropriate gain for the stakeholders. Participation is important especially for managing natural resources like water but the participatory approach is not always satisfying. This Minor field study has looked at two different projects participation from the stakeholders view and tried to answer what the stakeholders gain is for from participatory projects. This is done by interviewing the initiators of the projects and the villagers involved in it. The interviews showed a difference between the projects where the local development project had a more constant participation from start to finish while the research project stationed in Sweden had participation at times and in a different way. The study showed that more efforts need to be done to define participation thus it is now used in many different ways. There is also a need for improved documentation on the participatory process to assure participation and improve the procedures.

Bakgrund: Under de senaste decennierna har det skett en förändring med minskad svårighetsgrad av symtom och en minskad dödlighet vid stroke. Termen ”minor stroke” används för patienter med milda neurologiska handikapp. Inom hälso- och sjukvården görs bedömningen att dessa patienter inte har funktionsnedsättningar och förväntningarna är att de ska återhämta sig snabbt. Detta är den vanligaste stroke diagnosen men ändå den som får minst uppmärksamhet både kliniskt och vetenskapligt. Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen var att beskriva patienters erfarenhet efter minor stroke. Metod: Kvalitativ ansats med intervju som insamlingsmetod. Urvalet bestod av 10 in remitterade patienter till strokemottagningen Länssjukhuset Kalmar. Data analyserades med innehållsanalys. Resultat: I studiens resultat framkommer tre teman: det var inte som vanligt i kroppen, det fungerade inte som förr och det var inte lätt att återta kontrollen . Informanterna beskrev en bristande delaktighet från sjukvården, generell information och en oklar utskrivning. Först då de kom hem till sin vardag började de förstå vilka svårigheter som stroke hade fört med sig. Deras största svårigheter var dolda funktionshinder såsom kognitiva symtom framför allt hjärntrötthet. De hade svårt att acceptera situationen och till en början negligerade de allvaret. Allt eftersom började de att återta kontrollen i sin vardag, de skapade copingstrategier och hitta en ny livsstil på egen hand. Konklusion: Patienter med minor stroke beskriver svårigheter efter insjuknandet som de behöver fortsatt stöd i att hantera. Tidig uppföljning och fortsatt stöd från sjukvården är viktig. / Background: In recent decades there has been a change with reduced severity of symptoms and reduced mortality of stroke. The term “minor stroke” is used for patients with mild neurological disabilities. In the health care field, it is considered that these patients do not have disabilities, and are expected to recover quickly. This is the most common stroke diagnosis, yet the one who gets the least attention, both clinically and scientifically. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe patients experience after minor stroke. Method: Qualitative approach with interview data collection method. The sample consisted of 10 patients with minor stroke at stroke clinic Länssjukhuset Kalmar. Data were analyzed by content analysis. Results: The result of the study reveals three themes: it was not as before in the body, it did not work as before and it was not easy to regain control. The informants describe a lack of participation from the health care field, no specific information’s and a lack of participation. When the patients came home to their everyday lives, they began to understand the difficulties that stroke had brought them. Their greatest difficulty was hidden disabilities such as cognitive symptoms, especially brain fatigue. They found it difficult to accept the situation and initially ignored the gravity. As they began to regain control in their everyday lives, they created coping strategies and find a new life on their own. Conclusion: Patients suffering from minor stroke that has had onset of difficulties need continued support to manage. Early follow-up and continued support of health care field is important.

Diamidines are small molecules that generally possess antiparasitic properties and bind preferentially to the minor groove of AT rich DNA. With the goal of getting a better understanding of the thermodynamic driving forces and binding affinities, a series of pentamidine analogs were investigated with various AT rich DNA by ITC, UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopic methods. Findings suggest that the substitution of the linker oxygen of pentamidine to a nitrogen slightly improves the binding affinity. All of the investigated compounds are entropically driven at 25 oC with non-alternating AT DNA. Additionally, the increased fluorescence of the nitrogen and sulfur linked analogs will enable future work to be done with fluorescence microscopy to help determine if and where these compounds accumulate in the target organism.

It has been shown that heterocyclic diamidines, a class of minor groove binders, are promising antimicrobial agents. These compounds bind none covalently to the minor groove of A/T rich regions of the kinetoplast DNA and kill the parasite. The mechanism of action of these compounds is not well understood, yet many hypotheses have been proposed. One of the methods that improve the specificity is cooperative binding. Since there are many binding sites available in k-DNA thus the cooperativity in adjacent binding sites is desirable. A library of compounds has been scanned and few of those compounds identified that are able to bind to two adjacent A/T binding sites separated by a single G. Many biophysical methods such as isothermal titration calorimetry, surface Plasmon resonance, circular dichroism and thermal melting have been used to explore the thermodynamic profiles and binding mode of these compounds. The pulsed field gradient NMR was used to investigate the structural changes to the DNA sequence upon binding of the minor groove binders and find a correlation between their biological difference and structural changes. The molecular dynamics was applied to look at the interaction of some of the heterocyclic diamidines to the DNA with more details and predict the unknown structures.

Certain natural products, Ditamycin and Netropsin are considered as models of designing new DNA binding agents. A variety of DNA binding ligands were synthesized and accordingly characterized by different bioassays. In the series of azo-polyamide, it showed slight DNA binding affinity but has the properties of DNA photo-cleavage and recognition of mixed sequence. The carbohydrate-azo-polyamide series show the properties of DNA photo-cleavage and more effective in vitro experiment. In the quinoline series proves the attenuation effect for G-quadruplex stabilization which provides a novel strategy for development of G-quadruplex binding ligands.