Characteristics of leadership behaviors of successful high school principals in North Carolina

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of leadership behaviors of two groups of high school principals under varying, contextual situations. One group of twenty-five principals identified as successful and a second group of twenty-two principals randomly chosen comprised the sample. All the participating principals completed Elias Porter's Strength Deployment Inventory.® Also, each principal randomly selected five teachers from their staff who completed a Strength Deployment Inventory: Feedback Edition.® Porter's inventories indicate patterns of behavior under stable and unstable contextual conditions. The two groups of North Carolina high school principals were compared for significant variations by using a multiple analysis of variance

Style in Malory's book of Balin

The purpose of this study is to reveal the beginning of Malory's selfconscious artistry as it is exhibited in his book of Balin. I attempt to reveal this through an examination of his prose style, primarily by viewing the changes lie makes in his French source. In the first chapter I define style as not only syntax and the arrangement of words out also narrative structural devices. The second chapter deals with these narrative structural devices. In the third, fourth and fifth chapters I examine the stylistic techniques Malory uses in his narration, description and dialogue. The final chapter looks at "Balin" and its relationship to "The Tale of King Arthur" and the entire Le Morte Darthur

Improving data extraction methods for large molecular biology datasets.

In the past, an experiment involving a pair wise comparison normally involved one or a few dependant variables. Now, 1000s of dependent variables can be measured simultaneously in a single experiment, be it detecting genes via a microarray experiment, sequencing genomes, or detecting microbial species based on DNA fragments using molecular techniques. How we analyze such large collections of data will be a major scientific focus over the next decade. Statistical methods that were once acceptable for comparing a few conditions are being revised to handle 1000?s of experiments. Molecular biology techniques that explored 1 gene or species have evolved and are now capable of generating complex datasets requiring new strategies and ways of thinking in order to discover biologically meaningful results. The central theme of this dissertation is to develop strategies that deal with a number of issues that are present in these large scale datasets. In chapter 1, I describe a microarray analytical method that can be applied to low replicate experiments. In chapter?s 2-4, the focus is how to best analyze data from ARISA (a PCR based molecular method for rapidly generating a finger print of microbial diversity). Chapter 2 focuses on qualifying ARISA data so that data will best represent its biological source, prior to further analysis. Chapter 3 focuses on how to best compare ARISA profiles to one another. Chapter 4 focuses on developing a software tool that implements the data processing and clustering strategies from chapter?s 2 and 3. The findings described herein provide the scientific community with improved analytical strategies in both the microarray and ARISA research areas

Reliabilty of Time to Exhaustion After Intervals at Vo2 Max in Cyclists. Unpublished master’s thesis.

PURPOSE: To determine if a high intensity time to exhaustion exercise test following high intensity intervals is as reliable as conventional physiological tests. METHODS: Ten well trained male and female cyclists were recruited and given an initial assessment of VO2 max via incremental exercise test to exhaustion to determine power at VO2 max (PMAX). Participants performed three repeated trials of a warm-up and set of high intensity intervals of four, one minute work (100% PMAX) and rest (25% PMAX) intervals followed by a final timed test to exhaustion (100% PMAX). RESULTS: Trials revealed mean finishing times of trial 1 134 ± 38, trial 2 136 ± 42, and trial 3 136 ± 43. There was no statistically significant difference between these times p>0.05. This resulted in a percent difference between mean time to exhaustion of <0.91% and a mean CV of 9.1%. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that this test to exhaustion is a reliable measure of exercise performance as CV is within acceptable range and will allow investigators to detect small percent differences as a result of an intervention. This protocol is also useful for investigators who are interested in allowing for self-selected cadence, are restricted to test to exhaustion, or are interested in performance after a high intensity preload

Conserved Non-Coding Element m2de3 Directed Gene Expression During Development

Meis genes are well known for their important roles in gene regulation and development, in combination with other transcription factors such as the Hox and Pbx families. The primary purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms that control the expression of meis genes during development. The Zerucha lab identified four highly conserved non-coding elements, named m2de1-m2de4 (for meis2 downstream element) that we hypothesize regulate expression of the meis2 gene. I have characterized the m2de3 element to determine if this element is able to direct spatial and temporal gene expression consistent with meis2 expression patterns over different stages of development. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used in combination with a Tol2 injection cassette to introduce gene expression constructs containing murine m2de3 through microinjection at single cell stage. In primary transgenic embryos, m2de3 directed expression was observed in a punctate expression pattern along the notochord, within motor neurons along the notochord, around the heart and in developing muscle fibers along the trunk of zebrafish embryos. In addition, a stable m2de3 transgenic zebrafish genetic line was generated through fin clip genome analysis. This transgenic line demonstrates the expression pattern in the heart and along the entire notochord

Temporal and spatial association between microwaves and type III bursts in the upper corona

One of the most important tasks in solar physics is the study of particles and energy transfer from the lower corona to the outer layers of the solar atmosphere. The most sensitive methods for detecting fluxes of non-thermal electrons in the solar atmosphere is observing their radio emission using modern large radioheliographs. We analyzed joint observations from the 13 April 2019 event observed by LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at meter wavelengths, and the Siberian Radio Heliograph (SRH) and the Badary Broadband Microwave Spectropolarimeter (BBMS) spectropolarimeter in microwaves performed at the time of the second PSP perihelion. During a period without signatures of non-thermal energy release in X-ray emission, numerous type III and/or type J bursts were observed. During the same two hours we observed soft X-ray brightenings and the appearance of weak microwave emission in an abnormally narrow band around 6 GHz. At these frequencies the increasing flux is well above the noise level, reaching 9 sfu. In the LOFAR dynamic spectrum of 53−80 MHz a region is found that lasts about an hour whose emission is highly correlated with 6 GHz temporal profile. The flux peaks in the meter waves are well correlated with extreme UV (EUV) emission variations caused by repeated surges from the bright X-point. We argue that there is a common source of non-thermal electrons located in the tail of the active region, where two loop systems of very different sizes interacted. The frequencies of type III and/or type J bursts are in accordance with large loop heights around 400 Mm, obtained by the magnetic field reconstruction. The microwave coherent emission was generated in the low loops identified as bright X-ray points seen in soft X-ray and EUV images, produced by electrons with energies several tens of keV at about twice the plasma frequency

Copper speciation in coastal rain and estuarine water

Copper exists in two oxidation states in natural waters, Cu(I) and Cu(II). Determining the speciation of copper rather than its total concentration is essential in order to assess the atmospheric reactivity and environmental fate of copper in the troposphere. The concentration and speciation of copper was determined in rainwater samples from Wilmington, North Carolina, from August 25, 2000 to September 24, 2002. Volume weighted average concentrations of Cutotal, Cu(I), and Cu(II) in rainwater were 5.3 nM, 1.4 nM, and 3.2 nM, respectively. An undetermined ligand may be stabilizing Cu(I) in authentic rainwater. Rainwater Cu(II) concentrations were significantly higher in the summer, whereas Cu(I) concentrations were significantly higher in the winter. The calculated atmospheric flux of copper, 504 µg m-2 yr-1, is in good agreement with the calculated copper flux at Florianopolis, Brazil and two Maryland Chesapeake Bay sites. Copper(I) and Cu(II) concentrations were not correlated with each other and Cu(II) concentrations did not correlate with any other rainwater analyte. Significant positive correlations were found between Cu(I) and DOC, SO42-, NO3-, and Fetotal. All copper species (Cu(I), Cu(II), Cutotal, Cuparticulate) showed an inverse correlation with rainfall amount. All copper species increased in concentration with decreasing rainwater pH. All copper species were higher for storms of continental origin versus storms of coastal origin. No diurnal variations were seen with Cu(I). However, Cu(II) concentrations had a maximum between 12 pm – 6 pm. It is possible that Fe oxyhydroxides with adsorbed Cu(II) undergo reactions that release Cu(II) in the presence of sunlight. Contamination by trace metals, such as copper, contributes to the degradation of estuarine systems in many areas, including North Carolina. Speciation, or the distribution of copper among its various chemical forms, controls the reactivity, toxicity, and bioavailability of the metal in estuarine sediments and water, as in rain. Estuarine water samples were collected and analyzed for Cu(I) during April, July, and November of 2001 and March 2002. The percentage of total copper as Cu(I) varied from 1.9% - 4.1% with an overall average of 3.4%. No flux of Cu(I) was observed into or out of the water overlying the estuarine sediments in controlled laboratory experiments. Almost the same amount of copper that enters the Cape Fear River estuary from atmospheric deposition (8.7 X 102 moles Cu/year) fluxes into the sediments (5.8 X 102 moles Cu/year)