The results of a content and historical analysis of American postmortem photographs from 1840 to 1900 found in Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America and Sleeping Beauty II: Grief, Bereavement and The Family In Memorial Photography American & European Traditions by Stanley Burns (1990 and 2002) indicate that day dress was the most popular form of postmortem dress depicted in the photographs. A comparison of the findings from this examination of the dress of 89 deceased individuals depicted in 84 postmortem photographs with descriptions of dress based on nineteenth century archaeological burial remains and portraits of living individuals indicates that deceased individuals were most often photographed and buried in their Sundays finest or nicest items of day dress. Deceased individuals were most likely photographed in their burial dress and the appearance gave the impression of a respectable final portrait. Postmortem dress was described and categorized by decades from 1840 to 1900 and by age and gender including adult male, adult female, child male, child female and infants. Postmortem dress was compared to period photographs, illustrations, and descriptions of extant burial dress. Relationships were examined between postmortem dress and nineteenth century cultural belief systems. Differences in postmortem dress are closely associated with differences in the dates of the photographs and the age and gender of deceased individuals. Day dress, the most popular category of postmortem dress, followed fashion cycles over time and differences in postmortem dress were associated with differences in fashionable dress styles during the period. Postmortem dress depicted in postmortem photographs was influenced by many societal and individual level factors. Many of the customs and beliefs held by individuals, families, and friends in the nineteenth century influenced choices of postmortem dress. Postmortem dress is a reflection of nineteenth century American culture and the study of postmortem dress leads to a better understanding of customs and beliefs associated with this period.

Internet users in China increased to 210 million with an annual growth rate of 53.3 percent in 2007 (CNNIC, 2008). This dramatic increase of Internet usage in China provides numerous opportunities for online marketers. Thirty-eight percent of Chinese netizens are 18 to 24 years old, among whom college netizens account for a large proportion in China (CNNIC, 2008). Given the market potential of targeting this group, research is needed to understand Chinese college students online shopping behavior. The purpose of this research was to better understand Chinese college student online apparel shoppers by investigating their decision-making style and explore the relationships between their decision-making characteristics and related online apparel shopping behavior and consumption. Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) was adopted as a theoretical framework to guide this study. CSI has been recognized as a useful tool to understand consumers shopping orientation. This market tool has been applied to effectively understand consumers from different countries and cultures (Lysonski, Srini, & Zotos, 1996). However, no research has been done to apply this tool to understanding Chinese college students as online apparel shoppers. This research intends to fill the identified gap. This empirical study employed an online survey for data collection. A questionnaire was developed and administered to students at five universities from different cities in China. This study found that Chinese college students spent more time online on pre-purchase decision-making activities. Most of the respondents spent time looking for interesting apparel products and evaluating different apparel products online, but not on ordering the selected products. The results demonstrated that some of the characteristics of the CSI are related to the frequency of buying apparel online, and the dollar amount spent online for apparel purchasing. The findings show that recreational consciousness, hedonistic consciousness, brand consciousness, habitual consciousness, and brand-loyalty consciousness have significant correlations with the frequency of online apparel purchases. However, only brand conscious and habitual conscious, brand-loyalty conscious are significantly correlated with the amount of money spent online for apparel purchases by Chinese college students.

The present work is to develop multifunctional materials with high performance on chemical absorption, adsorption and on acoustic absorption and insulation using natural fiber nonwovens via carbonization and activation. Evaluation of these textile materials includes tensile strength, thermogravimetric analysis, sound absorption and transmission loss, scanning electronic microscopy and surface properties. Carbonization of cotton nonwoven was carried out in a high temperature oven with nitrogen between 300 °C and 500 °C. The physical activation was undertaken using CO2. The N2 adsorpton isotherm curves of the cotton nonwoven showed the presence of micropores and macropores. High BET surface area and average pore diameters close to micropores were obtained. The comparison between the N2 and CO2 adsorption showed that BET surface area for N2 adsorption is much smaller than that for CO2 adsorption and median pore width for the N2 adsorption is greater than that for CO2 adsorption due to the activated diffusion effects. Intensive research has been done with an emphasis on how to optimize the method of carbonizing and activating cotton nonwoven. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) made from rayon fabrics showed slightly higher surface area than cotton ACF. The increase of carbonization and activation temperature leads to produce high adsorptive capacity and microporosity. Longer heating time also contributed to high surface area, but widened microporosity and developed mesopores. Surface area of 879.05 m2/g and BJH average diameter of 27.67 Å were achieved when rayon was carbonized and activated at 800 °C for 4 hours. Surface area of cotton ACF was as high as 982.10 m2/g. Chemical activation method was also investigated by impregnation of cotton fabric with ZnCl2, which increased final ACF yield, surface area and developed micropores. A nonwoven composite of ACF with cotton nonwoven as a base layer was developed. The study concluded that the ACF composite exhibited a greater ability to absorb normal incidence sound waves than the composites with either glassfiber or cotton fiber. The analysis of sound transmission loss revealed that the three composites still obeyed the mass law of transmission loss. The ACF composite exhibited great sound absorption and sound insulation properties.

Antimicrobial textiles are a large research focus in the textile industry. There is an apparent need for creating reusable and durable antimicrobial textiles. Most of the textiles with antimicrobial properties effective against Staphylococcus aureus are disposable. To address the issue, two types of biopolymer solutions were created in a USDA lab. Both solutions displayed antimicrobial properties. A medium weight, plain weave cotton sheeting was used as the test fabric. Samples of the sheeting were cut, treated, and tested to determine their efficacy as antimicrobial textiles. The tests performed included tensile deformation, bending, shearing, compression, surface friction, surface roughness, and treatment durability. To compare the effect of the finish on the cotton sheeting, untreated samples were also tested. Results showed that the antimicrobial finishes negatively affected most of the fabric properties. Tensile, bending, and shearing were greatly affected by the treatments while compression and surface friction and roughness showed only slight impairments. The samples that were washed up 25 times could still retain certain microbial resistance. The samples washed by 50 times showed no antimicrobial properties. Overall, the treatments were not effective to be used as antimicrobial finishes on plain weave cotton fabrics.

Reduced insulin sensitivity and abnormal nutrient metabolism in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may compromise polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content of breast milk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare PUFA milk composition of women with and without GDM. Breast milk collections were performed in GDM (n=6) and controls (n=12) at weeks 2, 6, 10 and 12 postpartum using a hospital grade breast pump. Estimated dietary intake of PUFA and use of prenatal supplements containing DHA (PS/DHA) was determined by 24-hour dietary recalls conducted after each milk collection. Based on these preliminary data, milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6n-3) concentration in milk of women with GDM not consuming PS/DHA had a tendency to be lower compared to controls at all weeks, and the n-3 to n-6 long chain fatty acid ratio was lower at 6 and 10 weeks. There were no differences between groups for other milk PUFAs. Further, women with GDM and controls who consumed PS/DHA during lactation had higher milk DHA compared to women not consuming PS/DHA at weeks 2 and 6 for GDM and week 12 for controls. Milk eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5n-3) was higher at weeks 2, 6, and 10 in women with GDM consuming PS/DHA and weeks 10 and 12 for controls. Dietary + supplement linoleic acid (LA; C18:2n-6), linolenic acid (ALA; C18:3n-3), DHA, EPA, and n-3/n-6 were correlated with breast milk content of these fatty acids. Dietary ALA and LA did not correlate with milk DHA and arachidonic acid (ARA; C20:4n-6). Interestingly, there was an inverse association between 1 hour postpandrial glycemia during pregnancy and average milk DHA over the four time points. The current investigation points to lower milk DHA concentration in women with GDM who did not consume PS/DHA compared to controls not consumig PS/DHA. Based on these findings, and an earlier report of low DHA concentration in infants born to women with GDM, the importance of DHA supplementation during breast feeding for women with GDM is underscored.

Two studies were performed to determine the effects of resistant starch (RS) on body weight and fat. A 2x2 factorial design was used in both studies, and results were considered significant when p<0.05 for both studies. The first study examined the effects of RS in a high fat diet (44.8% of energy) on weight, fat, peptide-YY (PYY) levels, and cecal pH in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were fed a low fat energy control diet for one week prior to diet treatment. On week two, rats were blocked by weight and fed one of the following diets for 12 weeks (n=10): low fat, energy control (LFEC); LF resistant starch (LFRS); high fat, energy control (HFEC); or high fat resistant starch (HFRS). RS did not lower weight or fat with either the HF or LF diets. RS consumption resulted in greater full and empty cecal weights, and a lower pH for the LFRS diet. This data indicate fermentation, even though weight and fat loss did not occur. This is contrary to previous reports with RS, which has been shown to decrease body fat compared to controls. The second study examined the effects of RS on the weight, fat, PYY levels, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were used to represent rats prone to gaining weight, and sham rats represented normal rats. Rats were assigned to one of four groups (n=10): OVEC, OVRS, SHEC, or SHRS. Rats were fed the EC diet for 6 weeks prior to diet treatment to gain weight after surgery, and then blocked by weight and fat into diet treatment groups, and spent 13 weeks on treatment diets. Energy intake, total gastrointestinal weight, large intestine/cecum weight, and small intestine weight were all higher in RS fed rats relative to EC fed rats. Mesenteric, ovarian, perirenal, retroperitoneal, and total fat pads were lower in RS rats relative to EC rats. Although RS was not effective in lowering body weight or body fat in the first study, the data indicates that resistant starch may lower body weight and fat in postmenopausal women.

Homework is a common practice in most kindergarten classrooms. There are varying opinions on the purpose of homework, the frequency in which homework should be given, the duration of time kindergarten-aged students should spend on homework, and how the use of homework impacts student performance. The DIBELS (Good & Kamanski, 2003) is an assessment tool that measures student performance on early literacy skills and identifies students who are at-risk for failure to read. The proposed study will incorporate recommendations for creating developmentally appropriate homework that addresses skill deficiencies identified by the DIBELS to determine the impact of homework on DIBELS scores.

Inflammation has been widely reported to regulate adipocyte functions in adipose tissue. Our early study suggests that NFkB signaling pathway is activated by inflammation and involved in inhibition of insulin sensitivity in adipocytes. NFkB was found to inhibit PPARg function through several possible mechanisms in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. To test this possibility in vivo, we increased the NFkB activity in adipocytes in transgenic mice by expression of NFkB p65 subunit under the aP2 gene promoter. The phenotype study shows that the food intake, physical activity and development are similar in the two groups. The reproductivity was not different in the two groups. However, the body weight gain and fat content increment are apparently less in the Tg mice, which was associated with a significant increase in energy expenditure and a defect in adipogenesis. Chronic inflammation was observed in the adipose tissue of Tg mice with macrophage infiltration and secretion of inflammatory cytokines. The data suggest that NFkB p65 inhibits PPARg function in adipose tissue, and prevents adulthood and diet-induced obesity. However, it does not provide benefit to the protection of systemic insulin sensitivity.

Maternal supply of nutrients is critical for the developing fetus during all stages of gestation. The altered lipid metabolism that is often seen in pregnancies complicated by obesity and insulin resistance may negatively impact maternal supply to the fetus. More women are entering pregnancy overweight or obese and recently body mass index (BMI) has been found to be a positive predictor for decreased maternal plasma phospholipid concentrations of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA). These nutrients play important roles in early development and their availability is critical to fetal growth and development. The purpose of the present study was to assess if maternal serum fatty acids in the second trimester of pregnancy are associated with BMI. Serum samples are frequently stored after blood draws during pregnancy and the availability of these samples provided the opportunity to examine if serum samples collected from non-fasting, pregnant women could provide information similar to what has previously been reported for BMI and fatty acid status in pregnancy. Sera from 265 women from the Foundation for Blood Research (FBR, Maine) were analyzed for fatty acid content using gas chromatography. The BMIs of each participant around 13-18 weeks of gestation were provided by FBR. Participants were grouped by BMI category and fatty acid concentrations were compared across BMI categories. There were significant differences for weight percent of the LCPUFA eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) as well as for the total ω3 LCPUFA. In this data set BMI was a negative predictor of maternal serum concentrations of DHA and EPA. These results support previous findings for fatty acids in plasma phospholipids of pregnant women. We conclude that increased BMI may negatively impact maternal LCPUFA concentrations and stored sera may be used to further assess this relationship.

Chronic inflammation is involved in the adipose tissue dysfunction through regulation of endocrine and storage function of adipocytes. As a representative proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-α was reported to inhibit expression of adiponectin. However, the mechanism of inhibition remains to be identified. Here, we provide experimental evidence that TNF-α inhibits adiponectin at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. In three animal models (aP2-P65, ob/ob and high fat diets-fed mice), an increase in TNF-α expression was associated with a decrease in adiponectin expression. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, TNF-α inhibition of adiponectin was observed at mRNA and protein levels. Luciferase reporter assay and mRNA stability tests suggest that the mRNA reduction is a consequence of inhibition of gene transcription and mRNA stability. TNF-α inhibited expression and function of PPAR-γ, an activator of adiponectin gene promoter. The inhibitory activity of TNF-α was blocked by chemical inhibitors of NF-κB or recombinant IκBα (ssIκBα), suggesting that the IκBα/NF-κB pathway mediates the TNF-α signal. The inhibition was attenuated by troglitazone, C/EBPs were required for PPAR-γ expression and their activities were reduced by HDAC3, a nuclear receptor corepressor. The study suggests a signaling pathway of TNF/NF-κB/HDAC3/CEBPs/PPAR-γ/-Adiponectin for inhibition of adiponectin transcription by TNF-α.