The noroviruses are important pathogen of epidemic and sporadic gastroenteritis in all age group and show great genetic diversity. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and genetic diversity of noroviruses among children hospitalized with acute sporadic gastroenteritis in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Fecal samples were collected from hospitalized pediatric patients with sporadic gastroenteritis below age of 18 years during a 2-year period (2007 to 2008). Norovirus RNA was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and comfirmed by sequence analysis. Two different sets of primers were used. Region C primers target shell domain at 5¡¦ end of capsid gene and region D primers target highly variable P2 subdomain at 3¡¦ end of capsid gene. Noroviruses were identified in 5 of 39 (12%) rotavirus-negative specimens using region C primers. Using region D primers only one among these 5 samples could yield PCR product, which showed concordant noroviral genotype. 3 (10%, n=30) specimens from children below age of 5 years tested positive. All these 5 patients had symptoms of vomiting and 3 had fever. All PCR products were sequenced and showed 2 strains of genogroup 1 (G 1.4) and 3 strains of genogroup2 (G 2.4). To our knowledge, this is the first report that demostrated G1.4 genotype norovirus from Taiwan. Norovirus accounted for 10% of sporadic non-bacterial gastroenteritis cases among hospitalized children below 5 years of age in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

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Engineering curricula for high schools has and will become increasingly important as STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) education matures and grows across the country. Active learning and hands-on pedagogies are critical to the development of these curricula, connecting students to the integrated topics using all senses and a commitment to self-learning. One approach to curriculum development for the Engineering, applied Science, and applied Mathematics in STEM is design-based learning (DBL). For this report, a particular methodology, known as Reverse Engineering and Redesign, is explored for DBL. The Reverse Engineering and Redesign process is used to redesign the current University of Texas’ UTeachEngineering reverse engineering curriculum. The UTeachEngineering curriculum is compared to the Engineering the Future, Ford PAS, The Infinity Project, and Project Lead the Way to determine the TEKS covered by each curriculum. The redesign focused on adding various writing and reflection exercises throughout the curriculum, and adding specification sheets and rubrics to all the student deliverables. The writing exercises are essential to allow the students to fully explore, comprehend, and appreciate the material. Specification sheets and rubrics are essential for the students to understand what is expected of them to attain mastery of the reverse engineering and redesign curriculum. / text

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In this dissertation, we focus on dynamic analyses that examine the data handled by programs and operating systems in order to divine the undocumented constraints and implementation details that determine their behavior in the field. First, we introduce a novel technique for uncovering the constraints actually used in OS kernels to decide whether a given instance of a kernel data structure is valid. Next, we tackle the semantic gap problem in virtual machine security: we present a pair of systems that allow, on the one hand, automatic extraction of whole-system algorithms for collecting information about a running system, and, on the other, the rapid identification of “hook points” within a system or program where security tools can interpose to be notified of security-relevant events. Finally, we present and evaluate a new dynamic measure of code similarity that examines the content of the data handled by the code, rather than the syntactic structure of the code itself. This problem has implications both for understanding the capabilities of novel malware as well as understanding large binary code bases such as operating system kernels.

This thesis project was designed to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic variability of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) drug-naive clade C reverse transcriptase (RT) and its potential impact in the development of resistance against inhibitors of RT. Five treatment-naive HIV-1 Ethiopian isolates were classified as subtype C on the basis of env gene heteroduplex mobility assays (HMA) profile and phylogenetic analysis of RT sequences. In subtype C RT, a specific KVEQ motif of silent mutations (amino acid 65, 106, 138, 161) at resistance sites was present. Two Ethiopian strains were naturally resistant to non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTI), as well as to zidovudine (ZDV), based on the natural polymorphisms of G190A and K70R, respectively. The final drug concentration that selected for NNRTI primary resistance mutations in tissue culture assays was significantly higher for clade B than clade C for each of nevirapine (NW) (10 muM versus 2 or 4 muM), efavirenz (EFV) (1muM versus 0.01muM) and delaviridine (DLV) (10muM versus 1 or 4muM), respectively. In the middle of the selection period with all the NNRTIs, subtype B viruses were harboring a mixture of both wild type and mutated forms, whereas in clade C viruses, primary resistance mutations were fully generated. Thus, we have found that clade C isolates developed more rapidly resistance (8 or 9 weeks with NVP or DLV and 13 weeks with EFV) as compared with clade B controls (at least 15 weeks with NW or DLV and 30 weeks with EFV). Odd mutations were detected during selection with NNRTIs, such as S98I, and two mutations (A62V and V75E), at sites associated to multi-drug resistance against nucleoside inhibitors (NRTIs). The substitution A62V was initially observed as a drug-naive silent mutation A62A. NW and DLV mutants were broadly cross-resistants. Following in vitro selection for drug-resistance with NNRTIs (NVP, DLV and EFV) and NRTIs [lamivudine (3TC) and ZDV], RT immunodominant regions of 14 HIV-1 s

The behavior and subsequent affect of people low in prejudice were examined in four experiments. In Study 1, 52 people evaluated two targets differing primarily in sexual orientation and then completed mood and prejudice measures. Although people high in prejudice discriminated against a homosexual target, people low and moderate in prejudice favored this target. In Study 2, 57 people were given target intellectual ability information designed to either challenge or not challenge any propensity towards the outgroup favoritism observed in Study 1. Specifically, study participants evaluated either a more qualified homosexual and a less qualified heterosexual (not challenging outgroup favoritism) or a less qualified homosexual and a more qualified heterosexual (challenging outgroup favoritism). Although low prejudiced people favored the homosexual target when he was better qualified, they were unwilling to make this same distinction when the heterosexual target was more qualified. Study 3 was designed to understand if such overcompensation results from a need to restore social justice. Study participants (n = 77) were made to believe their peers were either discriminatory, overcompensatory, or neutral towards a minority member. As expected for low prejudiced people, only by making them believe their peers overcompensate a minority group member, thereby eliminating any extant need to restore social justice, was outgroup favoritism eliminated. Finally, Study 4 assessed the extent to which the low prejudiced person's tendency to overcompensate a minority member rests on a well-internalized system of beliefs. Following a (mortality salience) manipulation designed either to engage or not engage the internalized belief system, 35 low prejudiced people completed the same procedure employed in Study 1. Results revealed increased overcompensation of a homosexual for participants whose internalized beliefs were engaged. Further, in all four studies, participants failed to man

Three hundred and twenty men and women were exposed to five levels of conventional sexism and affirmative action-induced discrimination. No perceptual minimisation of discrimination was found: instead participants linearly maximised the impact of discrimination. New measures of emotional responses to discrimination revealed changes in both internal (depression) and external (anger) negative affect, with varying intensities of anger and depression directed at different targets. Similarly, new measures of behavioural reactions to discrimination revealed more antinormative and collectivistic behavioural intentions than previous research. Minute but consistent effects of frame condition were observed in each sample. Finally, clear differences emerged between the responses of men and women, and between responses in the conventional and affirmative action-induced discrimination conditions.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Australia, 1997.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86). Also available via the Internet.