Poetry clubs composed of gentry women began to emerge during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The earliest female poetry clubs in this period were all kinship-based and organized within gentry families. This phenomenon shows that family was the major source for the foundation of female poetry clubs. The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of family on the formation of kinship-based female poetry clubs from a political, social, and cultural perspective and to examine these clubs within the context of geographical location, family learning and marriage relationships. This thesis treats the Mingyuan Poetry Club founded by female members of the Fang family in Tongcheng city, Anhui province as the main focus of research to illustrate the family’s influence on the formation of gentry women poetry clubs by translating and analyzing the members’ poetic works and family life. / Graduate

As Theoderic established himself as ruler of the Italian peninsula in 493, he would usher in a period of great renewal of Roman culture within his kingdom, a theme which would emerge across western Europe as new Germanic leaders came to rule Roman populations. Within this wave of cultural renewal there emerged several works paying homage to Roman culture and prestige. Amongst these publications came two brief cookbooks from the authors Anthimus and Vinidarius. This raises the question: why were these authors producing such works of culinary content, and were they related to issues concerning the renewal of Roman culture in western Europe? This thesis aims to answer the above questions through the evaluation of Anthimus and Vinidarius’ participation in Roman cultural renewal. To investigate this issue, my study first examines the recognition and renewal of romanitas in western Europe and the Mediterranean, and through which media it took place. This is followed by an examination of cuisine to determine a model for Roman dietary preferences, against which the works of Anthimus and Vinidarius may be contrasted. Finally, in an examination of Anthimus and Vinidarius, the study seeks to establish connections between the two individuals and Ostrogothic Italy, as well as connections between their culinary preferences and those supported by the model established in Chapter 2. On the basis of the investigations of this thesis, conclusions may be drawn about Anthimus and Vinidarius and efforts to renew Roman culture in fifth and sixth-century western Europe. The geographic connections of the two authors, along with their relatively high social status, suggest a connection to Theoderic and his court in Italy. The culinary preparations described in their texts also represent a strong connection with earlier elite Roman cooking. This thesis therefore concludes that the authors Anthimus and Vinidarius used food as a medium for cultural promotion, and in doing so, participated in the ongoing revival of interest in Roman cultural identity.

No description available.

Objective: To describe the breastfeeding characteristics of late-preterm infants (LPIs) in a kangaroo mother care unit (KMC). Materials and methods: In a 20-bed KMC unit, the breastfeeding of 73 purposively-selected LPIs’ (mean gestational age: 34.8 weeks) was observed once-off, using the Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale. Participants’ mean age was 9.5 days, mean number of days in the unit was 3.1 days, and mean number of days breastfeeding was 7.5 days on observation. Results: Only 13.7% of participants were directly breastfeeding without supplementary tube-feeding/cupfeeding and 86.3% received supplementary cup-feeding of expressed breast milk. Most participants did not exhibit obvious rooting (83.5%) and although most latched-on (97.3%), those who did, latched shallowly (93%). The mean longest sucking burst was 18.8 (SD: 10.5) and approximately half the participants swallowed repeatedly (53.4%). The mean breastfeeding session duration was 17.8 minutes but most participants breastfed less than 10 minutes (76.7%). No statistically significant associations were found between chronological age and breastfeeding characteristics. A general trend towards more mature behaviors in participants breastfeeding for more days was present for many breastfeeding characteristics. More infants exhibited the most mature behavior for each breastfeeding characteristic when the environment was quiet, rather than noisy and disturbing, except for depth of latching (quiet: 0%, disturbance: 15.2%). Conclusion: LPIs in this sample presented with subtle, moderate breastfeeding difficulties, highlighting their need for breastfeeding support. Further research is required to examine the effect of KMC on breastfeeding in LPIs. / Dissertation (MA)- University of Pretoria, 2017. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MA / Unrestricted

The study involved retrospective data analysis using statistical methods to re-analyse data collected during a long-term study in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus infected population of South African National Defence Force employees and their dependents, where different parameters related to treatment and disease status of HIV infected patients were collected. This study attempted to identify possible predictors of both early and late occurrence of first-line antiretroviral therapy virologic failure, potential predictors of first-line antiretroviral virologic failure and for switching to second line therapy were identified. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / HJF- Phidisa project / Pharmacology / MSc / Unrestricted

Aggressive behaviour can be defined as actions that are believed and intended to cause harm to another individual that does not desire to be the target of such actions. Different situations can warrant aggressive behaviour, such as when an individual is posed with a threat. Aggressive behaviour is one of the ways individuals can deal with threats arising from their environments, and furthermore, aggressive behaviour can also be used to deal with social threats that arise from the interaction between two members of the same species. Aggressive behaviour is correlated with higher emotional arousal, and individuals that illustrate aggressive tendencies should be more sensitive to arousal when confronted with a social threat. This thesis acts upon this notion by hypothesizing that individuals who score higher on a tendency for aggression measurements should exhibit higher emotional arousal when exposed to a cue of social threat. Cues of social threats are thought to be induced by exposing the participant to either an angry face or a face with a high facial width to height ratio. The emotional response is measured with electroencephalography, more specifically looking at the late positive potential. No support for the hypothesis was found between high and low aggression groups. The facial width to height ratios proposed nature of being a cue of social threat becomes contested as the results were conflicting regarding the robustness of the facial width to height ratio’s effect. Even if there were no statistically significant differences found between the two groups, it might not be subject for dismissal as the sample population could be considered a low aggression population overall.

Thesis advisor: Masayuki Wasa / This dissertation describes the development of novel catalyst systems that could promote the regio- and enantioselective transformations of C-H bonds contained in N-alkylamines and ethers through Lewis acid-mediated hydride abstraction processes. The progress made in C-H functionalization of N-alkylamines and ethers that served as the intellectual foundation of this dissertation research are summarized in Chapter 1. Despite notable advances, the development of broadly applicable, enantioselective, and catalytic protocols to functionalize C-H bonds in N-alkylamines and ethers with high regio- and stereo-selectivity was regarded as an unsolved problem when we started this dissertation research. In an effort to overcome these fundamental limitations, we first identified a B(C6F5)3/Cu-PyBOX cooperative catalyst system for the enantioselective conversion of a-amino C-H bonds through the generation of an iminium by (F5C6)3B-catalyzed hydride abstraction process (Chapter 2). We then envisioned that in situ generated iminium ions could be further deprotonated to furnish an enamine intermediate, which may react with electrophilic species for a-amino C-H functionalization. The design and development of such a catalyst system were discussed in Chapter 3. Finally, we disclose enantioselective Cu–BOX-catalyzed hetero Diels-Alder reactions of enol ethers generated through Ph3C+-mediated oxidation of alkyl ethers. (Chapter 4). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

Bupropion (BUP) is an efficacious pharmacologic aid for individuals attempting to quit tobacco smoking (Wilkes., 2008), yet little is known about the effects of BUP on neural responses to either smoking cues (SC) or affective cues (AC), stimuli that are known to promote smoking and relapse to smoking for those attempting to quit. In fact, only one published study has assessed BUP’s effects on neuroelectrical event-related responses (ERPs) to SC or AC (Versace, Stevens, Robinson, Cui, Deweese, Engelmann, et al., 2019), and this study did not detect any neural effects of BUP, relative to placebo. It is important to note that Versace et al. (2019) study’s smokers were instructed to focus their attention solely on large color pictures of SC or AC that were presented for several seconds, something that may differ from conditions in which BUP might alter brain responses to SC. In contrast, several studies have assessed the effects of BUP on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-assessed brain activity, with several finding that BUP enhanced activation of the nucleus accumbens during the anticipation of a brief (140-460ms) monetary target (Ikeda et al., 2019) and in the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, right caudate, and bilateral precuneus during AC presentation (Robertson et al 2007), while several others found reductions in activation in the left ventral striatum, right medial orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex during presentation of SC (Culbertson et al., 2011), and reductions in the activation of right orbitofrontal cortex, left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, right ventromedial prefrontal cortex, right anterior cingulate cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, right amygdala/parahippocampal area, right caudate, right fusiform gyrus, and left posterior cingulate during AC presentation (Robertson et al 2007). The inconsistencies across these studies may reflect underlying effects of the task used to assess the participant (i.e., context of the task). Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the effects of BUP SC and AC on brain reactivity depend on assessment context and task demands. Few studies have assessed the effects of BUP on brain responses to SC and AC when they are briefly presented distractors, as opposed to the primary focus of sustained attention. This study demonstrates the importance of task context for SC and AC presentation to detect the effects of BUP. By neglecting context-specific effect, the field is missing measurable targets for drug efficacy. This is the 1st study to find an BUP induced LPP reduction. The data is obtained from smokers who were randomly assigned to a BUP (n=24) group or a placebo group (n=66) and assessed prior to and after 14 days on BUP or PLA capsules while still smoking at their typical rate.

Although five genera of procyonids are currently present in South America, only two of the extant genera, Procyon and Nasua are represented in the South American fossil record. A recent discovery of a procyonid lower second molar in Late Pleistocene deposits of Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil, offers potential to further our understanding of the stratigraphic and temporal range of South American fossil procyonids. We use geometric morphometric analysis of two-dimensional landmarks and semilandmarks to explore morphological variation in the lower second molars of extant Procyon lotor and Procyon cancrivorus and multivariate methods to support the identification of the Pleistocene specimen as P. cancrivorus. This material represents the second fossil record of P. cancrivorus in South America Procyonids entered South America in two phases: the first comprising by Cyonasua and Chapadmalania during the Late Miocene, and the other recent genera, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. These Late Miocene procyonids were more carnivorous than Late Pleistocene-Recent omnivorous taxa and possible went extinct due to competition with other placental carnivorans that entered South America and diversified during the latest Pliocene-Early Pleistocene.

Quercus praedelavayi Xing Y.W. et Zhou Z.K. sp. nov. is reported from the upper Miocene of the Xianfeng flora in central Yunnan, southwestern China. The fossil species is identified based on the detailed leaf morphological and cuticular examinations. The primary venation is pinnate and the major secondary venation is craspedodromous with regular spacing. Stomata are anomocytic and occur on abaxial epidermis. Trichome bases are unicellular and multicellular. The new fossil species shows the closest affinity with Quercus delavayi, an extant species distributing in southwestern China. The responses of the functional leaf traits to the climate change were studied by comparing the leaf characters of fossil species and its nearest living relative. The stomatal density of Q. praedelavayi is higher than Q. delavayi, which suggests a lower palaeoatmospheric CO2 concentration during the late Miocene. The trichome base density of Q. praedelavayi is higher than the extant Q. delavayi. Considering the palaeoclimatic reconstruction of Xianfeng flora, it rejected the hypothesis that increase in trichome density is an adaptation to the drier environment.