<p> Polymers and block copolymers have been grafted from hard and soft polymer micro-spheres by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring opening polymerization (ROP). The hard and soft micro-spheres were prepared by precipitation polymerization of divinylbenzene-80 (DVB80), and of DVB80/hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), respectively, in neat acetonitrile.</p> <p> Residual vinyl groups in the hard, poly(DVB80) micro-spheres were hydrochlorinated to form benzyl chloride groups that subsequently served as ATRP initiators for poly(styrene) and poly(styrene-block-4-methylstyrene) grafts. Hydrophilic poly(HEMA) and poly(2-( dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) poly(DMAEMA) were also grafted from hard micro-spheres containing bromopropionates, using ATRP in the presence of CuBr/Me4Cyclam.</p> <p> Hydroxy groups in soft, poly(DVB80-co-HEMA) micro-spheres were used directly as initiators for ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone catalyzed by aluminum compounds. In the addition, they were reacted with α-bromopropionyl bromide to form ATRP initiators.</p> <p> Several combinations of ATRP-ATRP and ROP-ATRP with different monomers were carried out using these initiator micro-spheres. In particular, the soft micro-spheres grafted with poly(methacrylic acid), poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-trimethylammoniumethylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-HEMA), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-glycidylmethacrylate), poly(ε-caprolactone-block- methylmethacrylate), poly(ε-caprolactone-block-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate).</p> <p> The internal morphology of these homo and block copolymer grafted microspheres was studied using electron microscopy and x-ray microspectroscopy.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The least popular of all her novels, Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814) depicts a heroine, precariously situated in the margins of the aristocracy, who is intellectually educated rather than accomplished. As the timid Fanny Price navigates the morally fraught social world of Mansfield Park, Austen comments on the exclusion and mistreatment of women in the British public sphere at large as well as criticizes the practice of educating women into accomplishment as exemplified by the sparkling socialite, Mary Crawford. This thesis positions Austen in context with educational writers William Cowper, the poet, and Mary Wollstonecraft, the philosopher. I analyze all three writers’ messages about education, along with the implications of the genre/form with which they choose to enter public discourses, including the poem, the political tract, and the novel. Considering the historical and cultural conceptions of the novel as trivial and feminine during Austen’s day, her decision to employ this form suggests that she is interested in reforming the novel into a platform for serious public engagement. Austen ultimately anticipates the Victorian novel by revealing the form’s potential value as intellectual exercise and an important tool for women to join public conversation. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Due to an increase in newer forms of literature’s popularity among the general consumers, research in favor of utilizing media formats such as audiobooks and graphic novels for educational purposes has grown. Literature formats other than the classic printed text have become more accessible in book stores and school libraries during the last decade, making them potentially useful tools for teaching literature in the classrooms. This essay presents several theoretical perspectives on the use of different modalities when working with literature in English teaching at intermediate level, as well as a field study researching the level of engagement between upper secondary school students and storyworlds when working with the same literary work through three different formats: the classic print, the graphic novel and the audiobook. The results, which were obtained through surveys answered by students and interviews with teachers, showed high levels of storyworld engagement from the students in regard to visual media, both when working with the print and the graphic novel, and a significantly lower interest towards the auditory media, i.e. the audiobook.

Ava, A Novel is the story of a young Bosnian Muslim artist forcibly impregnated during the Balkan War and displaced to America.

The Sanctities of Light is a space opera novel (the first in a series) narrated by Ilona Celesta, a young woman who inherits the title of Enlightened One, the head of her people’s ruling body, after the death of her predecessor. The first in her family to rule since Meira, who is remembered as a hero for banishing an unspeakable evil, Ilona finds herself on the frontlines of a war that has been brewing for generations. She is determined to prove herself worthy of carrying on her family’s legacy. But after she is captured in combat, she learns that her enemies’ leader has overwhelming evidence that she may be fighting on the wrong side of history. The reach of the evil her ancestor battled has traveled farther than she realized, and the lies that built the Celesta name are just the beginning.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death for men in America as approximately 1 in 41 men will have prostate cancer. In this research, we focus on enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer cells as cell resistance to enzalutamide is a prevalent obstacle in treating prostate cancer. We tested a novel compound library at different doses and observed each compound's efficacy in inducing apoptosis in enzalutamide-resistant cells. Furthermore, we analyzed the mechanism by which apoptosis was induced in compounds that showed a high efficacy at lower doses. Overall, we found that Darapladib shows promising results in treating cells that have acquired enzalutamide resistance.

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