For many decades the Boston University School of Medicine Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology has housed an unprovenienced collection of fetal specimens. At least ten percent of the 137 fetal specimens were lost due to drying out and other damage. The specimens were stored for many decades in individual fluid filled containers. There is no reliable information regarding the medical or curation histories of the human fetal specimens. Furthermore, there is concern that the fixative may have led some internal structures to shrink more than others. At issue was to determine whether the specimens had maintained or lost their relationships, and size amongst internal structures. In normal fetal development the cerebellum, the femur, and the foot all follow mostly positive linear growth with age. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess whether these specimens demonstrate anatomical correlations that one might find within in utero fetuses. This prospective correlation study used MRI images of the cerebellum and femur as well as anthropometric measurements of each foot and mass to seek to answer this question. A blind, random sample of twenty-five specimens was selected from forty-eight specimens roughly grouped by size. The Boston University Institutional Review Board was notified and, assigned waiver status to the application because the specimens were unprovenienced fixed tissue. All specimens were magnetic resonance scanned at the Center for Biomedical Imaging at the Boston University School of Medicine using a 3.0T whole body scanner (Achieva, Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). All scans were acquired using the 8-channel high-resolution head coil made by Invivo for the Achieva 3T scanner. This study found that the measurements taken from the images, and the feet had good intra-rater reliability because paired t-tests did not show significant differences between the measurements (alpha (α) < 0.05, all p-values were > 0.17, t-values were less than t-critical, and R2 < 0.02). Pearson's correlation coefficient testing revealed strong positive correlation between all the mean measures comparing these three structures: transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD), femur length, and foot length (α < 0.05, r - values were > 0.91, p < 0.001, and R2 > 0.82). Leading us to conclude that the dimensions of the soft tissues - TCD; and bone tissues - femur and foot of the lower extremities were unlikely to have changed significantly in decades of storage.

The Paleolithic, or ancestral, diet was first proposed by Eaton and Konner in 1985, and it is based on the theory that humans have not diverged greatly from the physiology of the Paleolithic human. Eaton and Konner suggested a diet consisting of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds while omitting food such as dairy, grains, legumes, refined sugar and processed foods. The latter of which are incongruous with the diet we evolved with and are likely the cause of the so-called "diseases of civilization" such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis and cancer (Konner & Eaton, 2010). This review will first elaborate on the Paleolithic lifestyle and the evidence presented on it before examining the evidence for and against other diet categories not included in the diet such as whole grains, red meat, grass-fed meat, dairy milk and soymilk. The aim of this study is to first evaluate the Paleolithic diet, based on nutrition and ability to address common public health diseases and then to appraise the value of other food categories not included in the lifestyle on the same factors, in order to determine their place in an ideal diet. This study concludes that the Paleolithic diet can lower total body weight, body mass index, cardiovascular risks, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein among others while increasing insulin sensitivity and ω-3, iron, fiber, vitamins and minerals, including improving the ω-6 to ω-3 ratio and the potassium to sodium ratio when compared to the typical Western diet. The results were consistent even when compared to other diets such as the Mediterranean or the diabetes diet. Studies showing the effectiveness of consuming other foods, such as whole grains, dairy or soymilk, with the intent on losing weight or preventing diabetes, on the other hand, have been inconclusive. Research on soy's estrogenic isoflavone action has been inconclusive. Concerns over the consumption of red meat due to cholesterol and cancer are mitigated and review of the grass-fed literature reveals a potentially richer fatty acid profile with more healthy polyunsaturated fats and less cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids. It is concluded that an ancestral diet of whole foods, made up of mostly fruits and vegetables, meats, especially grass-fed, nuts and seeds is strongly associated with significantly better outcomes for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity as compared to a typical Western diet, Mediterranean diet or diabetes diet.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an important role in reward-based decision-making, linking higher-order thinking and emotions. Because of this area's dense connectivity it is important to study the properties of the excitatory and inhibitory network that governs ACC output. The aim of this study was to characterize the morphology of dendritic excitatory postsynaptic sites and inhibitory inputs on layer 2 and layer 3 ACC pyramidal neurons, the principal intracortical projection neurons of the cortex. Using biocytin-filling and high-resolution confocal imaging, we quantified the distribution of dendritic spines, the major sites of excitatory input, on pyramidal cells. We visualized inhibitory inputs apposed to specific pyramidal cell compartments, including the axon initial segment, soma, dendrites, and dendritic spines, through immunohistochemical labeling of vesicular γ-aminobutyric acid transporter. Layer 2 and layer 3 cells had similar spine densities on their apical and basal dendritic compartments, with a maximum spine density occurring in their middle apical and middle basal compartments. Axon initial segments of layer 3 cells had a higher density of inhibitory input compared to the layer 2 cells (0.84 vs 0.66 apps/μm). The apical dendritic shaft had a higher apposition density than the basal dendritic shaft in an individual layer (layer 2, 0.50 vs 0.32; layer 3, 0.50 vs 0.28 apps/μm) with the majority of the innervation occurring on the proximal compartments of both apical and basal segments. Although located in different laminae, these cells showed similar inhibitory input distributions, with higher amounts of inhibition proximally. Finally, these inhibitory inputs also occurred on dendritic spines, with the highest density on thin spines. However, proportionally, mushroom spines had the highest level of innervation, with up to 44% of these spines receiving inhibitory input. These findings add to the understanding of how inhibition at the cellular level can affect the output of the ACC and begin to uncover important relationships between cellular structure and function in this brain region.

Public health experts have developed education campaigns based on nutritional messaging to alleviate illnesses related to unhealthy food consumption. This thesis examines cultural factors affecting the accessibility of such messaging, such as economic status, ethnicity, role in the family, access to transportation and markets, and familiarity with the topics of messaging. I explore how these variables affect learning and applying new nutrition knowledge in an individual's daily life. The methods used were semi-structured interviews (n=10) and participant observations conducted in an Integrative Medicine clinic at an urban hospital.

Rotator cuff tears are a common injury impacting a large and diverse group of patients and refer to a partial or full discontinuation of one or more of the muscles or tendons comprising the shoulder complex. It may occur as a result of traumatic injury, applied weight, overuse, or intrinsic degeneration over a period of years. The incidence of rotator cuff tears has been found to increase with age. Though not a life-threatening condition, rotator cuff tears adversely affect the quality of one's lifestyle causing significant pain, weakness, and limitation of motion that hinders a person from performing routine daily activities as adequately and frequently as desired. Data from cadaveric studies suggest that as many as 65% of individuals over the age of 70 have a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear. Oftentimes, rotator cuff tears are asymptomatic which can make diagnosis and early treatment challenging. The decision to pursue operative versus conservative management is often controversial. Though surgical intervention may provide more immediate pain relief and functional improvement, it portends a higher risk of morbidity than conservative measures, particularly with an older demographic of patients. Moreover, surgical repair is often followed by long recovery periods and has variable outcomes. A number of conservative treatment options are currently being utilized for the management of partial rotator cuff tears including oral medication, corticosteroid injection, and targeted physical therapy. This review seeks to assess an innovative, biologic approach to treating partial rotator cuff tears using autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP). The use of PRP for the conservative management of both degenerative and acutely injured tissues is quickly becoming a more popular option within the clinical community. PRP treatment has received significant attention from the media and has been used by several professional athletes as a means of expediting the healing process. The appeal of PRP stems from the fact that it is produced from a patient's own blood. After a blood sample is obtained, it is placed into a centrifuge, a tool used to separate the blood into its many components. A large concentration of platelet-enriched plasma can then be collected and augmented before administration to an injured area of bone or soft tissue, such as a tendon or ligament. Platelets contain an abundance of growth factors essential for cellular recruitment, proliferation, and specialization required for the healing process. PRP is given to a patient via an injection, often under ultrasound assistance for more precise placement. This study reviewed a collection of current literature on the efficacy of PRP in rotator cuff repair. Published studies have generally illustrated a general trend towards effectiveness, suggesting PRP may improve patient outcomes and prevent the need for surgery in patients with partial rotator cuff tears. Study designs and results have proved to be inconsistent at times. However, further clinical investigation is required to validate the use of PRP as an additional non-surgical treatment option.

Orofacial clefts are extremely common birth defects. Orofacial clefts affect a multitude of different areas including feeding, speech, proper tooth development, as well as personality. There are many causes associated with the many different presentations of the birth defect. There have been a multitude of different surgical procedures over time that have dealt with the complications associated with repairing the various clefts. There is no current accepted standard for orofacial cleft repair. In more recent times the focus of the various orofacial clefts procedures have gone from a major procedure where survival was the objective to a more streamline procedure with a man goal of restoring normal human anatomy. Presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) is more recent procedure that takes advantage of the malleability and rapid growth of facial tissue during the first months of life. This procedure uses a custom acrylic plate that brings the right and left halves of the cleft closer together. This procedure is currently not accepted by all because the long-term effects are unclear. The aim of this study is to point out the short term successes of the PNAM procedure, compare our results to current published studies, and suggest further study that should be completed. A case report was completed on the first five months of treatment on a bilateral cleft lip/ cleft palate case. The case report followed the patient from birth through the first cleft lip closure surgery. The notes taken at weekly appliance adjustment appointments will be reviewed for information on progress as well as behavior and parent involvement. Pictures were also reviewed in order to review progress as well as surgical procedure. After review of the appointment notes and various pictures from throughout the process it was deemed that this PNAM procedure was a success. It was found that there was an overall increase in symmetry in facial structure as well and an increase in facial tissue. After reviewing pictures of the surgical procedure it can be concluded that the overall process was made easier by the PNAM procedure. It is concluded that the PNAM procedure is extremely successful in the short term but in order to receive more concrete results more cases must be reviewed with future follow-ups in order to see consistent long-term results.

This dissertation maps a cross-cultural portrait atlas that traces Ottoman faces within the spaces and places of the nineteenth-century visual economy between 1863-1908. These photographic portraits reveal a reciprocal exchange and shared discourse between modernizing Ottoman and Euro-American worlds as mediated by expositions, publications, and museums. Three case studies are considered: sultanic portraits by Ottoman studios and their varied appearances in the picture press; the sumptuous album of regional Ottoman costumes commissioned in 1873 the Elbise-i Osmaniyye for the Weltausstellung Wien; and student portraits in a fifty-one volume photographic study gifted to the United States and Great Britain by Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1893 and 1894. It positions Ottoman portraits by photographers such as Pascal Sébah and Abdullah Frères as more than “Eastern” or “European,” “other” or “Islamic.” It considers these photographs multi-cultural, cosmopolitan, and politically complex entities that chart an international and networked history of art. Ottomans Abroad explores the ways in which contradictory notions about Ottoman identity materialize in a range of portrait images, and demonstrates how these photographs confront the effects of cultural belonging in a place where identity, and representations of that identity, have always been fluid. My first chapter maps the stories behind the small number of Ottoman sultanic photographic portraits made of Abdülaziz and Abülhamid II between 1863 and 1908. My second chapter concentrates on the 1873 Elbise-i Osmaniyye, exploring sartorial customs and regional costumes as portraits in their own right. My third chapter concentrates on school imagery in the 1893 Abdülhamid II albums, identifying how these photographs localize the topography of the nineteenth-century imperial terra firma; it connects regional portraiture to regional landscape, thus, broadening representations of likeness in nineteenth-century photographs. By articulating a local history of Ottoman photographs, tracing individual images and the stories that surround them, this project argues that photographs not only represent cultural identity, they also produce it. In so doing, this dissertation subverts a conventional biographical model, situating Ottoman portrait photographs in a multivalent, messy and transnational framework, which, in turn, generates photographic meaning. / 2020-01-23T00:00:00Z

Orientador: Sérgio Rangel Fernandes Figueira / Resumo: Objetivo: Este trabalho tem como objetivo geral mensurar e analisar como variáveis econômicas relevantes influenciaram nas exportações brasileiras de açúcar no período de 1997 a 2015. Metodologia / Procedimentos de Pesquisa: Foi utilizado para análise cinco modelos. No primeiro, mensurou-se o impacto das variáveis independentes: preço do açúcar no mercado mundial, taxa de câmbio, preço do etanol e estoque mundial sobre a exportação brasileira de açúcar no mercado mundial. No segundo e terceiro, mensurou-se o impacto das exportações da Tailândia e Austrália (maiores exportadores mundiais ao lado do Brasil), no quarto e quinto mensurou-se o impacto dos dois principais países importadores de açúcar mundiais (China e Indonésia) sobre as exportações brasileiras. Resultados e Discussões: No primeiro modelo, as variáveis: produção, preço do açúcar, câmbio, preço do etanol, estoque e a exportação de açúcar se mostraram significativas com os seguintes coeficientes: 1,52; 0,12; 0,24; -0,32; -0,13 e -0,16. Quanto ao impacto nas exportações brasileiras pelos dois principais países exportadores concorrentes do Brasil: Tailândia e Austrália, diagnosticou-se impacto das exportações da Tailândia nas exportações brasileiras na forma contemporânea e primeira defasagem, coeficiente de -0,04 e -0,08, e das exportações australianas nas exportações brasileiras na primeira defasagem, 0,30. Quanto ao impacto dos principais importadores mundiais de açúcar nas exportações brasileiras: China e Indonési... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Objective: This study has as a general objective to measure and analyze how relevant economic variables influenced the Brazilian sugar exports from 1997 to 2015. Methodology/Research Procedures: Five models were used for this analysis. In the first model, the impact of the independent variables sugar price in the international market, exchange rate, ethanol price, and global stock was measured on the Brazilian sugar exports in the international market. In addition, the impact of exports from Thailand and Australia (world’s largest exporters alongside Brazil), which consisted of the second and third models, and the impact of the two main sugar-importing countries (China and Indonesia), which consisted of the fourth and fifth models, were both measured on the Brazilian exports. Results and Discussion: In the first model, the variables production, sugar price, exchange rate, ethanol price, stock, and sugar export were significant and presented the coefficients 1.52, 0.12, 0.24, −0.32, −0.13, and −0.16, respectively. We observed an impact of the Thai exports on the current and first lag Brazilian exports, with coefficients of −0.04 and −0.08, respectively, as well as an impact of the Australian exports on the first lag Brazilian exports, with a coefficient of 0.30. Regarding the impact of the main sugar importers on Brazilian exports, China and Indonesia presented an impact of the variables stock (−0.05 and −0.04, respectively) and GDP (0.72 and 0.19, respectively) on the Brazili... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In this thesis work two very similar processes have been studied both involving excitations of particles during recombination of exciton complexes in quantum dots, reducing the energy of the emitted photon. Different exciton complexes are defined according to the number of electrons and holes in the quantum dot upon recombination. The neutral exciton complexes with one electron and one hole (X–) and two electrons and two (X+) holes respectively are referred to as the exciton andthe biexciton. Accordingly the charged exciton complexes consisting of two electrons and one hole (X–) and one electron and two holes (X+), respectively, are referred to as negatively- and positively charged excitons, respectively. Whenever another particle is excited during the recombination of one electron-hole pair within these complexes, the result is a weak satellite peak, spectrally redshifted with respect to the main emission peaks related to the exciton complex. In the first part of this thesis work, described in the first two papers, the exciton-LO-phonon interaction is studied with a weak redshifted satellite peak as the signature, referred to as a phonon replica. The intensity ratio between the replicas and the corresponding main emission were determined from the obtained microphotoluminescencespectra. It was found that this ratio was significantly weaker for the positively charged exciton X+ compared to the neutral exciton, X, and the negatively charged exciton, X–. This experimentally obtained result was further supported by computations. Interestingly, the computations revealed that despite that X+ displays the weakest phonon replica among the investigated complexes, it possesses the strongest Fröhlich coupling to phonons in the lattice before recombination. In addition, the spectral broadening of the phonon replicas compared to the main emission is discussed. Also, the origin of the exciton-LO-phonon coupling is concluded to be from the QD itself, based on a comparison between quantum dots with different barriers. In the last paper an additional weak redshifted satellite peak in the recombination spectra is studied. The intensity of this weak satellite peak is correlated to the peak intensity of the positively charged exciton, X+, main emission peak. In addition to this photoluminescence excitation experiments, magnetic field measurement and calculations further support our interpretation that the satellite peak is related to the shake-up of the ground-state hole in the QD that is not involved in the optical recombination. This hole is thus excited by Coulomb interaction to an excited state yielding a photon energy reduced with the difference between the ground-state and the excited state of the spectator hole.

This study investigates on the planimetric (x, y) positional accuracy of the National Shoreline (NSL) data, produced in collaboration between the Swedish mapping agency Lantmäteriet and the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA). Due to the compound nature of shorelines, such data is afflicted by substantial positional uncertainties. In contrast, the positional accuracy requirements of NSL data are high. An apparent problem is that Lantmäteriet do not measure the positional accuracy of NSL in accordance to the NSL data product specification. In addition, currently, there is little understanding of the latent positional changes of shorelines affected by the component of time, in direct influence of the accuracy of NSL. Therefore, in accordance to the two specific aims of this study, first, an accuracy assessment technique is applied so that to measure the positional accuracy of NSL. Second, positional time changes of NSL are analysed. This study provides with an overview of potential problems and future prospects of NSL, which can be used by Lantmäteriet to improve the quality assurance of the data. Two line-based NSL data sets within the NSL classified regions of Sweden are selected. Positional uncertainties of the selected NSL areas are investigated using two distinctive methodologies. First, an accuracy assessment method is applied and accuracy metrics by the root-means-square error (RMSE) are derived. The accuracy metrics are checked toward specification and standard accuracy tolerances. Results of the assessment by the calculated RMSE metrics in comparison to tolerances indicate on an approved accuracy of tested data. Second, positional changes of NSL data are measured using a proposed space-time analysis technique. The results of the analysis reveal significant discrepancies between the two areas investigated, indicating that one of the test areas are influenced by much greater positional changes over time. The accuracy assessment method used in this study has a number of apparent constraints. One manifested restriction is the potential presence of bias in the derived accuracy metrics. In mind of current restrictions, the method to be preferred in assessment of the positional accuracy of NSL is a visual inspection towards aerial photographs. In regard of the result of the space-time analysis, one important conclusion can be made. Time-dependent positional discrepancies between the two areas investigated, indicate that Swedish coastlines are affected by divergent degrees of positional changes over time. Therefore, Lantmäteriet should consider updating NSL data at different time phases dependent on the prevailing regional changes so that to assure the currently specified positional accuracy of the entire data structure of NSL.