A series of units correlating remedial reading and speech, Nashua junior high school, Nashua, New Hampshire

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Adult Current Smoking: Differences in Definitions and Prevalence Estimates—NHIS and NSDUH, 2008

Objectives. To compare prevalence estimates and assess issues related to the measurement of adult cigarette smoking in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Methods. 2008 data on current cigarette smoking and current daily cigarette smoking among adults ≥18 years were compared. The standard NHIS current smoking definition, which screens for lifetime smoking ≥100 cigarettes, was used. For NSDUH, both the standard current smoking definition, which does not screen, and a modified definition applying the NHIS current smoking definition (i.e., with screen) were used. Results. NSDUH consistently yielded higher current cigarette smoking estimates than NHIS and lower daily smoking estimates. However, with use of the modified NSDUH current smoking definition, a notable number of subpopulation estimates became comparable between surveys. Younger adults and racial/ethnic minorities were most impacted by the lifetime smoking screen, with Hispanics being the most sensitive to differences in smoking variable definitions among all subgroups. Conclusions. Differences in current cigarette smoking definitions appear to have a greater impact on smoking estimates in some sub-populations than others. Survey mode differences may also limit intersurvey comparisons and trend analyses. Investigators are cautioned to use data most appropriate for their specific research questions

Hypnotic suggestibility is unaffected by a challenging inhibitory task or mental exhaustion

Executive functioning is paramount to the successful exertion of inhibitory control over automatic impulses and desires. Despite disagreements in determining the exact mechanisms responsible for hypnosis, many theories involve the use of, or alterations in, frontal processing and top-down executive functioning. The present study sought to explore this relationship by examining whether a transient state of reduced inhibitory control influences susceptibility to hypnosis. Specifically, participants completed a color naming task designed to place differing demands on inhibitory control processes before experiencing a hypnotic induction and four suggestions. Bayesian analysis indicated substantial evidence that the prior exertion of inhibitory control processes does not influence subsequent susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion. The study provides evidence that inhibitory impairment, often experienced by those with a range of disorders (such as anxiety and depression), should not affect receptiveness to hypnotic procedures

Optimizing a Passive Tracking Solar Panel System

For a solar panel to function efficiently, it must turn to face the sun throughout the day. Usually, an electronic device rotates a solar panel. In this experiment, hourly rotation of the panel was achieved through contraction of a shape memory alloy (SMA) and a gear system. A Fresnel lens directed the sun\u27s rays onto the SMA causing it to contract. A delayed reset system was built to turn the panel from west to east at the end of the day. In addition, this project investigated different materials to properly heat and cool the SMA within the plexiglass housing apparatus. The overall goal for the project was to automatically power an appliance on campus with solar energy

Kate and Kathleen: Irishwomen Abroad and the Quest(ion) of Identity

Abstract: This essay compares the writing of Kate O’Brien, celebrated Irish novelist who travelled to Spain and worked mainly in Britain, and of her less well-known cousin by marriage Kathleen Fitzpatrick Bernard, who travelled to France and settled in Paris. Both writers explored modernist styles, including stream of consciousness, and represented themes of exile, elsewhere, and the quest for identity, especially for young Irishwomen going abroad to escape the then narrow range of “respectable” life-choices.Résumé : Cet article propose une lecture croisée de l’œuvre de Kate O’Brien, romancière irlandaise reconnue qui s’installa en Angleterre après avoir parcouru l’Espagne, et de Kathleen Fitzpatrick Bernard, sa cousine par alliance, moins connue, qui, elle, s’installa à Paris après avoir voyagé dans la France entière. Résolument modernistes, leurs œuvres explorent différents styles, dont le flux de la conscience, et s’intéressent aux thèmes de l’exil, de l’ailleurs et de la quête d’identité – en particulier celle de jeunes Irlandaises choisissant de quitter l’Irlande et les normes restrictives qui régissaient à l’époque la « respectabilité »

Isolation of IS elements from rhizobium strains; Characterisation of rhizobium and bradyrhizobium strains using isolated IS elements

The broad host range plasmidp SUP 104 carrying the streptomycin sensitivity gene - S12, was m obilized from Escherichiaco1i S17-1 to Rhizobium meliloti 2 011, R.l er.uminosarum 897 and two Brad vrhizobium.iaponicum serogroup 123 strains. Transconjugants were purified from the two Rhizobium strains. The plasmid pSUP104-S12 failed to replicate in the B..Iaponicum serogroup 123 strains and no transconjugants were isolated. The plasmid pSUP104-S12 induced a streptomycin sensitive phenotype in R.me 1 i 1 oti 2011 and IU1 inosarum which were previously streptomycin resistant. The selection for streptomycin resistant revertants carrying the pSUP104-S12 plasmid caused insertion of IS elements directly into the S12 gene. Two IS elements were isolated, one ISRm2 is a 1.25 Kb IS element isolated from R.me 1 i loti 2011, the other ISR11 is a 2.7 Kb IS element isolated fron R.leguminosarum 897. Both IS elements caused deletions of the pSUP104-S12 plasmid in a Rec A- E.coli strain. Hybridization analysis using 32P labelled pSUP104-S12::ISRm2 as a probe with EcoRl digests of total chromosomal DNA of various Rhizobium and B..iaponicum serogroup 123 strains revealed that ISRm2 was particular to R.me1 i 1oti strains. By the same method ISR11 was found in all the Rhizobium strains tested and in most of the B..iaponicum serogroup 123 strains. It would be possible to use ISR 1 1 as a pr o b e in DNA fingerprinting to identify a B,.iaponicum serogroup 123 inoculum from an indigenous B..iaponicum serogroup 123 in field trials of a serogroup 123 inoculum. Both IS elements were implicated in DNA rearrangements in Rhizobium strains

Breathlessness and inflammation: potential relationships and implications.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Breathlessness and chronic inflammation both span a wide range of disease contexts and hold prognostic significance. The possibility of a causal relationship between the two has been hypothesized. The aims of this article are to review the intersections between breathlessness and inflammation in the literature, describe potential mechanisms connecting the two phenomena, and discuss the potential clinical implications of a causal relationship. RECENT FINDINGS: There is a very limited literature exploring the relationship between systemic inflammation and breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and cancer. One large study in cancer patients is suggestive of a weak association between self-reported breathlessness and inflammation. Studies exploring the relationship between inflammation and Medical Research Council Dyspnoea grade in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients have produced inconsistent findings. Although a causal relationship has not yet been proven, there is evidence to support the existence of potential mechanisms mediating a relationship. This evidence points to a role for the skeletal muscle and stress hormone systems. SUMMARY: There is much progress to be made in this area. Interventional studies, evaluating the impact of anti-inflammatory interventions on breathlessness, are needed to help determine whether a causal relationship exists. If proven, this relationship might have important implications for both the treatment and impact of breathlessness.R.R. was funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Doctoral Research Fellowship Award from January 2013–December 2015