Susceptibility to smoking has been widely measured in an effort to detect those teens who lack of a firm commitment to not smoke. This measure, however, has not been applied to Chinese-Canadian adolescents. The overall goal of this study was to understand susceptibility to smoking among Chinese-Canadian non-smoking teens. The dissertation includes three papers, each of which has addressed one of the three primary aims of this study. The first paper aims to document the prevalence of susceptibility to smoking among a sample of non-smoking teens in British Columbia, Canada, and to examine the factors that explain the variation in susceptibility to smoking. I employed a quantitative secondary analysis of data from the BC Youth Survey of Smoking and Health. More than one quarter of the respondents were found to be susceptible. The Chinese-Canadian adolescents appeared to have a similar rate of susceptibility to smoking as their White/Caucasian counterparts, even though the smoking prevalence was lower among Chinese-Canadian group than in White/Caucasian group. In the second paper, I explored non-smoking Chinese-Canadian adolescents’ views about the protective factors and the risk factors that might lead them to be susceptible to smoking. In this paper I report an analysis of four qualitative focus groups which included 24 Chinese-Canadian participants. Negative attitudes toward smoking, befriending non-smoking teens, being peer pressured not to smoke and a collectivist cultural perspective were identified as protectors that helped Chinese Canadian teens remain tobacco free in their adolescence. The teens argued that authoritarian parenting had both positive and negative effects on Chinese teens’ susceptibility to smoking. These findings enhanced our understanding of the role that an ethnic group’s culture might play in adolescent smoking. In the third paper, I use Chinese-Canadian teens’ perspectives to reconsider the operationalization of the measure of susceptibility to smoking. Avoiding absolute answers was viewed by the participants as a unique cultural style among Chinese-Canadian teens. They also commented on the ambiguity of using the term “smoking” in the smoking susceptibility measure. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the operationalization of the measure in this cultural group.

Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the dominant tool used for mapping human brain function because it is non-invasive, does not use ionizing radiation, and offers relatively high spatial and temporal resolution compared to other neuroimaging techniques. Unfortunately, conventional fMRI techniques cannot map brain function in the inferior temporal cortex (ITC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). These brain regions experience severe magnetic field distortions due to magnetic susceptibility mismatch with the neighboring air-filled ear-canals (ITC) or sinus cavities (OFC), causing loss of the fMRI signal. Functional imaging capability is important for gaining a better understanding of these brain regions and the diseases that commonly affect them (Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy (ITC), Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia (OFC)). Balanced steady state free precession (balanced SSFP) is a relatively new fMRI technique that can measure function in all brain regions. Rather than diffuse signal loss, balanced SSFP images exhibit signal loss in spatially periodic, narrow bands. Banding artifacts cannot be eliminated in a single scan, but the phase of the banding artifacts can be controlled by the experimenter, permitting the combination of two antiphase balanced SSFP images to produce a single image free of banding artifacts. Unfortunately, image-corrupting transient signal oscillations limit the rate at which the banding artifact phase can be modified, such that the banding-artifact-free image acquisition rate is prohibitively slow for most clinical and neuroscience applications. This work describes the development of a modified balanced SSFP fMRI technique, alternating SSFP, which permits rapid, banding-artifact-free balanced SSFP fMRI. Theoretical modeling was used to find a rapid transition between antiphase balanced SSFP images with minimal transient signal oscillations. Monte Carlo simulations were used to optimize alternating SSFP acquisition parameters for BOLD sensitivity, with comparison to established balanced SSFP acquisitions. Rat fMRI was used to confirm these predictions. Finally, the ability of alternating SSFP to provide rapid, banding-artifact-free balanced SSFP fMRI in humans at 4 T was demonstrated.

As women who experience Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) are at considerably greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes in life, prevention of GDM is particularly important. The objectives of this research were to identify lifestyle predictors associated with GDM in a developing country and to validate a physical activity questionnaire for assessing total energy expenditure in a Pakistani population. / A prospective cohort study of 750 South Asian women recruited early in gestation was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan. Eligibility criteria included South Asian origin and ≤ 18 weeks gestation. Data on physical activity, diet, socio-demographic covariates, weight, height and body composition were obtained at recruitment and women were followed to assess GDM status at ≥ 26 weeks of gestation. / Logistic regression analysis of data from 611 women to assess the impact of age, body fat percentage, height, family history of diabetes, parity, level of education, rate of weight gain during pregnancy, and daily energy expenditure on the development of GDM was undertaken. The risk of GDM increased with increasing maternal age (yr), OR 1.13 (CI 1.06-1.21), body fat (%), OR 1.07 (CI 1.03-1.13), and decreased with daily energy expenditure (100 kcal), OR 0.89 (CI 0.79-0.99). Replacing body fat (%) with pre-gravid BMI provided similar results. Using a nested case (n=49) control (n=98) study design, conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between total energy, macronutrient and fiber intake and GDM. The risk of GDM decreased with increasing amounts of protein as a percentage of total energy intake, OR 0.75 (CI 0.60-0.95). / The Monitoring trends and determinants of cardiovascular disease Optional Study of Physical Activity (MOSPA) questionnaire was assessed against a Caltrac accelerometer (n=50). Subjects wore a caltrac accelerometer for 5 consecutive days. A correlation of 0.51 (P<0.01) was found between MOSPA questionnaire and Caltrac accelerometer values. / Advanced maternal age and body fat (%) predicted increased risk for GDM while physical activity was protective. Hence, prevention strategies should target increasing physical activity, sufficient to alter body composition, in this South Asian population.

In 2010, the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected 1.2 million people in the United States, many of whom were unaware of their infection (CDC, 2010). The available research on HBV infection is predominately among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander. HBV infection and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection share similar modes of transmission. Very little HBV research has been dedicated to the African American females; who accounted for 29% of the new HIV cases among young adolescents in 2010 (CDC, 2010). Due to the common mode of transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B many persons at risk for HIV are also at risk for contracting Hepatitis B. One’s risk for acquisition of HBV can be mitigated or eliminated by vaccination or naturally acquired immunity. In the absence of both, an individual is susceptible to acquisition of HBV. The aims of this study are to define susceptibility of non-Hispanic, blacks to Hepatitis B infection compared to other races as well as defining possible risk factors that may increase or decrease their susceptibility.

Economic, environmental and engineering benefits promote the rapid implementation of WMA technologies. However, concerns remain based on changes in the production process that may lead to moisture susceptibility in the early life as compared to HMA. To evaluate WMA moisture susceptibility during this critical period, standard laboratory tests were used for three field projects each with an HMA control mixtures and multiple WMA mixtures. Different specimen types were also evaluated to capture differences in mix design, quality control/quality assurance, and field performance. Specimens were evaluated for moisture susceptibility by Indirect Tensile (IDT) Strength, Resilient Modulus (MR) and Hamburg Wheel-Track Testing (HWTT). Specimens for IDT and MR were tested dry and then tested wet after conditioning as described in AASHTO T283 with one freeze-thaw cycle. HWTT was used to assess both moisture susceptibility and rutting potential under repeated loads in the presence of water at elevated temperatures (i.e., 122°F [50°C]), and the output parameters used for evaluation were the calculated Stripping Inflection Point (SIP) and the rut depth at 5000 load cycles. Based on the results of the laboratory tests performed on PMFC cores acquired at construction and with time, WMA during its early life exhibited inferior moisture resistance when compared to HMA. However, with time, specifically after one summer, the dry and wet properties of WMA became equivalent to those of HMA. For WMA constructed in the fall, the results from this study suggest that the inclusion of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) or an anti-stripping agent may alleviate possible moisture susceptibility issues in the early life during wet, winter weather conditions. While some laboratory test results demonstrated that WMA is more moisture susceptible than HMA, field performance reported to date from the three projects used in this study shows no evidence of moisture damage. Therefore the search for a laboratory test to screen mixtures for moisture susceptibility continues. An alternative approach, applying Griffith crack growth theory and utilizing IDT, MR and air voids% the adhesive bond energy of asphalt mixtures was calculated for Texas field project. This value holds promise for characterizing performance of asphalt mixtures by considering basic properties and grouping into one representative value.

Susceptibility to smoking has been widely measured in an effort to detect those teens who lack of a firm commitment to not smoke. This measure, however, has not been applied to Chinese-Canadian adolescents. The overall goal of this study was to understand susceptibility to smoking among Chinese-Canadian non-smoking teens. The dissertation includes three papers, each of which has addressed one of the three primary aims of this study. The first paper aims to document the prevalence of susceptibility to smoking among a sample of non-smoking teens in British Columbia, Canada, and to examine the factors that explain the variation in susceptibility to smoking. I employed a quantitative secondary analysis of data from the BC Youth Survey of Smoking and Health. More than one quarter of the respondents were found to be susceptible. The Chinese-Canadian adolescents appeared to have a similar rate of susceptibility to smoking as their White/Caucasian counterparts, even though the smoking prevalence was lower among Chinese-Canadian group than in White/Caucasian group. In the second paper, I explored non-smoking Chinese-Canadian adolescents’ views about the protective factors and the risk factors that might lead them to be susceptible to smoking. In this paper I report an analysis of four qualitative focus groups which included 24 Chinese-Canadian participants. Negative attitudes toward smoking, befriending non-smoking teens, being peer pressured not to smoke and a collectivist cultural perspective were identified as protectors that helped Chinese Canadian teens remain tobacco free in their adolescence. The teens argued that authoritarian parenting had both positive and negative effects on Chinese teens’ susceptibility to smoking. These findings enhanced our understanding of the role that an ethnic group’s culture might play in adolescent smoking. In the third paper, I use Chinese-Canadian teens’ perspectives to reconsider the operationalization of the measure of susceptibility to smoking. Avoiding absolute answers was viewed by the participants as a unique cultural style among Chinese-Canadian teens. They also commented on the ambiguity of using the term “smoking” in the smoking susceptibility measure. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the operationalization of the measure in this cultural group.

Bipolar affective disorder is a severe mood disorder, which is characterised by episodes of mania and depression. The aetiology of bipolar disorder remains elusive, with little known about the underlying biological, anatomical, or biochemical effects. However, family, twin and adoption studies provide evidence for a strong genetic component to the disorder. Due to the high heritability, familial clustering, and common population prevalence of the illness, molecular genetic studies can be implemented to identify bipolar disorder susceptibility genes. This thesis investigated the candidate gene serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A), which lay within a region on chromosome 13q14 previously identified by bipolar disorder genome-wide linkage scans. Significant association was found with bipolar disorder and a SNP within intron 2 of HTR2A in an Australian case-control cohort. Haplotype association analysis identified a 5-SNP protective haplotype within HTR2A. Conducting a new genome-wide linkage scan on 35 Australian bipolar disorder pedigrees found significant evidence for linkage on chromosome 15q25-26. Subsequent fine-mapping of the region verified the linkage peak with a significant maximum multipoint LOD score of 4.58. Haplotype analysis, based on pedigree-specific, identical-by-descent allele sharing, supported the location of a bipolar susceptibility gene within a 6.2Mb confidence interval. The candidate gene sialyltransferase 8B (ST8SIA2), which had previously shown association with SNPs within the gene’s promoter region and schizophrenia in two independent Asian cohorts, lies within the chromosome 15q25-26 locus. Failing to replicate the association found with these specific SNPs, and without finding association with two additional SNPs in an upstream conserved putative regulatory region, a fine-mapping association study was conducted across the entire 6.2Mb interval. The strongest association signals were observed at SNPs 16kb upstream from and within the fourth intron of ST8SIA2. A specific bipolar disorder risk haplotype was identified for ST8SIA2, and this was also observed to be over-represented in a cohort of Australian schizophrenia cases. This finding suggests that the ST8SIA2 gene, for which strong developmental regulation was observed, may be a shared susceptibility gene for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. In summary, this thesis has provided evidence identifying both HTR2A and ST8SIA2 as bipolar disorder susceptibility genes.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 46 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 150 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-150). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Naresh Dalal, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 7, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 154 pages. Includes bibliographical references.