Positive And Negative Reappraisal As Love Regulation Strategies In College Students

This study examined the effects of reappraisal of an ex-partner on reducing romantic love-feelings in students who are experiencing distress related to a romantic break-up. The current study was based on the study by Langeslag and Sanchez (2018), which assessed various love regulation strategies. My goal was to replicate their findings that negative reappraisal of an ex- partner reduced love feelings, and to add a positive reappraisal condition to further explore these findings. Forty seven students completed a pre-screening questionnaire. Thirty-two of the participants who met screening requirements were contacted to participate in the final phase of the study, however, only 5 participants completed the study. The 5 participants were randomly assigned to a positive, negative, or control reappraisal task which contained prompts asking them to reflect on a positive or negative aspect of their ex-partner (or on information unrelated to their partner in the control condition) and then completed measures of love-feelings. Participants in the positive reappraisal condition saw almost no reduction in love scores across but did report feeling less unpleasant than those in the negative condition. Those in the negative condition saw reduction in their love scores on both measures

Validity Of Withings Pulse Wave Velocity Scale Versus Gold Standard Applanation Tonometry And Body Composition Analysis In A Young Healthy Population

Cardiovascular disease currently is the leading cause of death nationwide. Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is now considered a gold standard for measuring arterial health. Deleterious changes in arterial distensibility are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The Withings Body Cardio Scale has been marketed to the general population for its ability to measure PWV in the home, however, there are no data that demonstrate the accuracy of this technology. The PURPOSE of this study was to determine the accuracy and reproducibility of PWV with the Withings Body Cardio. METHODS 20 normotensive healthy young adults enrolled in this study. Two measurements with each operating system were obtained over a period of 30 minutes. Standing PWV measurements with SphygmoCor were utilized in order to maintain ecological validity with the scale. RESULTS Significant differences were observed in measurement of fat mass and fat-free mass. No significant differences were found between Withings and SphygmoCor equipment. CONCLUSION There were no clinical differences detected between devices in the measurement of PWV, suggesting the home-based system of tracking PWV using the Withings scale can be an accurate measurement of systemic PWV. Monitoring cardiopulmonary health at home can be useful in providing clinical insight for longitudinal healthcare monitoring

Understanding The Opportunities And Challenges Of Alternative Sustainable Transportation

In the last few decades, sustainable transportation has simultaneously gained traction in three, often polarized, sectors of the macro-environment. A flood of sustainable transportation research from academia, large scale investment in the private sector, and significant policy change in the public sector suggest that this topic has gained widespread prominence. These groups are independently progressing in many ways; as cities begin implement transportation alternatives, private companies are racing to develop alternative power sources, ride sharing options, and light-electric vehicles. Like any large-scale change, the progression of sustainable transportation is made up of endless opportunity but littered with challenges. A lack of collective information may be restricting large scale progress in the field of sustainable transportation. This paper aims to synthesize the knowledge from disparate domains with an aim to develop a holistic view of the sustainable transportation field

DAN TOMPKINS: MOUNTAIN EDITOR

Rural, isolated Jackson County, North Carolina, was the home of Dan Tompkins, editor of the Jackson County Journal of Sylva. Jackson County rests in North Carolina’s Appalachian Ranges. In the early twentieth century her inhabitants were restricted because of the dearth of transportation and communication facilities.Many of the limitations on Jackson County folks were removed through the efforts of Dan Tompkins. For thirty-one years Tompkins published an honest paper on the reading level of the citizens of Jackson County. Tompkins was a progressive and active leader of his area. Through the Journals’ editorial column and as representative in the General Assembly of North Carolina, he sought to break down the isolation and bring progress to Western North Carolina and Jackson County.Tomkins dreamed of making Western North Carolina the “Switzerland of America.” His dream could be realized, he felt, if the area had paved roads, tourist accommodations, a national park in the Smokies, better public facilities, and a better education for the mountain people.Tompkins was not just a dreamer, he was a man of action. Therefore, many of Tompkins’ dreams were to become realities for Jackson County and Western North Carolina. Dan Tomkins was largely responsible for the paving of Highway 107 from Sylva to the South Carolina line. Because of his heated editorials and active support in the state legislative, Tompkins was an important force in preventing removal of Western Carolina Teacher’s College from Cullowhee to Asheville. Tompkins was also instrumental in getting the state to appropriate money for expanding the facilities of the college.To make realities of his dreams, Dan Tompkins sacrificed any financial success that might have been his. His determination to represent ably the people who elected him to public office was one cause of the folding of the Journal. Tompkins was a most generous individual: he never had very much with which to assist his needy friends materially, but he did possess what was perhaps most needed—a smile and encouragement.Tompkins was an asset to Jackson County. His energies were given unselfishly to the benefit of progress for Western North Carolina. Jackson County and the area owe much to the powerful pen and influence of Dan Tompkins

Action Research in Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice: A Study of the Evaluation and Reporting of Student Achievement

The theory and practice of evaluating student academic performance has been a source of concern in academia for over a century. The challenge of successfully implementing assessment practices that reflect the true measure of a student’s academic achievement, and that accurately and effectively communicate the student’s level of mastery to stakeholders, has not been met according to measurement specialists. This study was designed to examine the implementation process of research-based classroom assessment practices that both accurately measure the academic achievement of students and effectively communicate the students’ level of mastery. Interviews were conducted to examine the practicality of the assessment practices and whether the evidences gathered from these practices support performance grades that accurately articulate student achievement. The study showed that recommendations from measurement specialists are practical assessments for the classroom, accurately measure the academic achievement of students, and effectively communicate the students’ level of mastery. However, training in pre-service teacher programs that continue to be supported by in-service professional development is critical to the successful implementation of the recommendations, and to bridging the gap between theory and practice

Vegetation Dynamics of a Carolina Hemlock Community at Bluff Mountain, North Carolina, USA

The goal of this thesis was to examine the Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.) forest at the early onset of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) infestation to establish baseline data used to measure anticipated changes in Carolina hemlock forest dynamics. I quantified the composition and structure of the Carolina hemlock forest overstory and understory, as well as collected increment cores from all trees within five 0.05 ha plots located in Carolina hemlock dominated stands. Based on basal area and canopy class, Carolina hemlock was the most dominant species in the understory and overstory. The diameter distribution and density of seedlings and saplings indicated that Carolina hemlock is successfully and continuously regenerating. The stand had several characteristics indicative of old-­--growth status with gap-­--phase dynamics. I used dendroecological techniques to quantify the frequency and spatial distribution of canopy disturbances during the period of AD 1870-­--2000, examined climate-­--growth relationships, and determined if there was an age-­--related difference in the climate-­--growth relationship. There were no stand-­--wide disturbance events, only gap-­--phase dynamics. Analysis of the climate-­--growth relationships indicated that older Carolina hemlocks prefer cool, moist summers. There were age-­--related differences in climate response as younger Carolina hemlock were less responsive to precipitation and PDSI than older Carolina hemlock. However, both older and younger had a negative relationship between radial growth and temperature during the month of May and July, respectively. I also used tree age data to conduct a preliminary study investigating the influence of age on foliar nitrogen and carbon content and found an increase in nitrogen content with tree age. Future research on Carolina hemlock at Bluff Mountain will include resampling plots and using the results of this thesis to quantify changes in stand structure and composition of the Carolina hemlock forest. Understanding the dynamics of the Carolina hemlock forest at the site level will provide insight about the anticpated changes across the species’ range. This information will serve land managers attempting to preserve Carolina hemlock and the wildlife that relies upon this species

Community Analysis Of Southern Appalachian Fens, And Characterization And Isolation Of A Novel Bacterium And Order

Peatlands of all latitudes play an integral role in global climate change by serving as a carbon sink and a primary source of atmospheric methane; however, the microbial ecology of mid-latitude peatlands is vastly understudied. Herein, next generation Illumina amplicon sequencing of small subunit rRNA genes was utilized to elucidate the microbial communities in three southern Appalachian peatlands. In contrast to northern peatlands, Proteobacteria dominated over Acidobacteria in all three sites. Members of the Proteobacteria, including Alphaproteobacteria are known to utilize simple sugars and methane among other substrates. However, results described here and in previous studies, indicate that bacteria of the candidate order, Ellin 329, may also be involved in poly- and di-saccharide hydrolysis. Additionally, a novel isolate strain CS4 is proposed as a novel genus and species, Micropepsia pineolensis within the proposed novel family and order Micropepsiaceae and Micropepsiales

Vegetation Structure And Interspecific Interactions Predict Distribution And Abundance Of Solidago Specialist Aphids

Volatile compounds such as terpenes are often used by plants as insect herbivory deterrents, though terpenes broadly act as semiochemicals, both priming nearby plants and providing host recognition for insects. I focused on the interactions of tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima, goldenrod galling insects, and specialist aphids. Gall insects induce a volatile terpene response in Solidago and aphids colonize goldenrod stems with high terpene concentrations. In this system, the goldenrod’s terpene response deters the inducing species while simultaneously promoting aphid colonization. Using spatial mapping techniques, I constructed a biologically-based model of terpene induction, driven by insect galls, in three patches of goldenrod in order to predict areas of aphid colonization. Terpenes were analyzed via gas chromatography in plants sampled at varying distances from insect galls in each patch. Results of terpene sampling were used to develop a spatial model of terpene induction and aphid distribution. Aphid counts were made in each patch and compared to model projections. My analysis revealed that terpenes in the field varied significantly by distance and in a similar way across all patches. My spatial models demonstrated an aphid response to the gall induced terpenes, and when combined with models of vegetation structure, accurately predicted aphid distribution

Whole genome DNA sequence analysis of Salmonella Enterica subspecies isolated from environmental soil and fecal samples in Western North Carolina

Foodborne bacterial pathogens like Salmonella genera remain of interest to regulatory agencieslike the FDA and CDC. As a foodborne pathogen, capable of causing serious illness in bothhuman and non-human animals, the CDC has listed Salmonella spp. as potential bioterrorismagents. From a forensic perspective, accurate and rapid identification of Salmonella subspecies isessential for successful investigation of foodborne outbreaks or suspected biocrimes. Massivelyparallel sequencing (MPS) provides investigators with a streamlined, cost-effective method torapidly sequence the whole bacterial genome. To study the genetic variation of naturallyoccurring Salmonella spp., environmental samples were collected from areas around freshwaterlakes, rivers and ponds in the Piedmont and mountains of western North Carolina. NineteenSalmonella isolates were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq producing high quality sequencedata that were submitted to NCBI in an effort to build a comprehensive database containingwhole genome sequences of bacterial pathogens. Distance–based phylogenetic trees were createdusing the sequence information. This method was shown to be susceptible to the quality of thegiven sequence data. kSNP, a SNP analysis program to create phylogenetic trees, was shown toproduce trees of similar quality without the influences of sequence quality as found in distance-based trees. Ultimately, the databases generated from MPS data can serve as a repository of phylogenetic information and population data to most effectively answer questions germane tobacterial forensics, such as identifying the source of a foodborne outbrea

The Effects Of Overweight And Age On Cardiovascular Health In Pre And Post Pubertal Children

Objective: To determine whether an increased trend in central aortic stiffness exists in children with increased adiposity when comparing groups from both pre-adolescents through adolescents. Study Design: 44 pre-adolescent (8.3 ± 1.5 y.o) and 32 adolescent (15.6 ± 1.8 y.o) participants were studied. Subjects came in for one observational visit consisting of body composition, body anthropometrics, aortic systolic blood pressure (ASBP), aortic pulse pressure (APP), heart rate (HR) and regional assessment of large artery stiffness using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVCF). Results: PWVCF was higher in adolescent versus pre-adolescent for both normal weight (NW) and overweight children (OW) (p < 0.01). ASBP was higher in pre-adolescent versus adolescent in OW children (p < 0.01) and in adolescent versus pre-adolescent in NW children (p < 0.05). APP was higher in both pre-adolescent versus adolescent for OW children (p < 0.05). HR was lower in adolescent versus pre-adolescent forboth NW and OW children (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Being OW seems to play less of a role with differences in PWVCF between NW and OW groups and that puberty is the predominant factor responsible for increases in central stiffness in pediatrics