Give Me Shelter: Responding to Milwaukee County's affordable housing challenges

Few issues better capture the complex and controversial nature of urban problems facing Metropolitan Milwaukee than the issue of affordable housing. Encompassing matters of racial segregation, poverty and failed public-private partnerships, the Milwaukee metro area's struggle to provide a safe, decent and affordable supply of housing to low-income citizens has been a difficult one. Even before the national economic meltdown, countless reports documented the severe housing burden facing low-income citizens in Milwaukee County. That burden, combined with the scarcity of affordable housing in suburban parts of southeast Wisconsin, has cemented the region's place as one of the most racially segregated in the country. In today's economy, those problems have intensified

Aspen Curtis Honors Portfolio

Aspen Curtis\u27 honors portfolio captured in May 2019

Utilizing the Brief Symptom Inventory as a Prediction Tool for Treatment Response in Patients with Serious Mental Illness

Current data suggest that the cost of caring for people with serious mental illness in the United States was 2.64 billion dollars in the years between 1997 and 2004. The proper utilization of these funds is an important consideration if we are to successfully address the needs of this population. To maximize the use of mental health funds, the provider must quickly identify effective and efficient treatments. Assessment can facilitate the screening process and subsequent treatment decisions. For that reason, my research question addresses the issue of effective screening measures notably the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) in predicting movement through the clinical pathways model. The hypothesis tested was that elevated scores on the subscales of the BSI will result in faster movement through the clinical pathways. Results showed that this was not supported; however the existence of co-morbid diagnoses was found to have a negative correlation with movement. This proves invaluable for future assessment of the clinical pathways model as well as the utilization of the BSI for outcome prediction

The Effect of Rejection on Previously Established Relationships: Similarity Plays a Role

Previous research has found that people who are rejected will sometimes seek to affiliate with strangers after a rejection episode (Maner et al. 2007; Williams & Sommer, 1997). This effect is theorized to reflect seeking for belonging (Smart Richman & Leary, 2009). Research testing how rejection affects relationships with previously established relationship partners, (who were not a party to the rejection) is lacking. Three hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1 was that people seek to bolster belonging with established relationship partners following a rejection episode. Study 1 found that female participants indicated bolstering of belonging with a trustworthy friend after recalling a rejection experience. Hypothesis 2 was that people would bolster belonging first with relationship others who share relationship criteria with the rejecter. Study 2a found that the betrayal experienced by heterosexual participants during their most recent breakup predicted their bolstering toward an opposite-sex, but not a same-sex, friend. Study 2b used a measure of rejection instead of betrayal but did not replicate the results of Study 2a. Study 3 manipulated rejection and found that heterosexual participants rejected by a physically attractive other indicated bolstering of belonging toward an opposite-sex, but not a same-sex, friend. Hypothesis 3 was that people would bolster belonging with relationship others who shared idiosyncratic similarities with the rejecter. Rejection and idiosyncratic similarity of a friend to the rejecter were manipulated in Study 4. The results did not support the hypothesis. Potential explanations for these results as well as possible future research are discussed

Bio-Separation Process Improvement via Genomic Manipulation: Development of Novel Strains for Use in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC)

The dissertation is comprised of three parts. Part I describes proteomic analysis of native bacterial proteins from Escherichia coli (E.coli) that bind during Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). Part II describes the value in exploiting proteome based data as a tool toward the design an E. coli expression strain that is particularly useful when Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography is employed as the initial capture step of a homologous protein purification process. Part III describes a methodology of chromosomal mapping of all contaminant gene products. The objective of Part I was to identify all E. coli proteins that bind to Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) IMAC columns, describing the isoelectric point, molecular weight, and metabolic essentiality of the characterized proteins were considered. Information regarding this group of proteins is presented and used to define the IMAC bioseparation-specific metalloproteome of E. coli. Such data concerning the potential contaminant pool is useful for the design of separation schemes, as well as designing optimized affinity tails and strains for IMAC purification. Part II examined proteins known to co-elute during Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) IMAC purifications. Methods to circumvent the effects of punitive protein removal were proposed and carried out. Specifically, triosephosphate isomerase (TIM; tpiA gene product), a protein known to bind during IMAC, was redesigned through site directed mutagenesis to eliminate surface exposed histidine. By extension of this rational, Part III provides a theoretical model of using in silico mapping (Circos diagrams) to create a practical system of applying data described Part I. Such a tool has potential to allow future investigators the possibility of mapping large scale genomic deletions; significantly streamlining cell line development when compared to the individual targeting methodologies seen in Part II

Does the Urbanization of Agricultural Land Lead to More or Less Evapotranspiration?

Agricultural areas within the western U.S. are undergoing rapid urbanization due to population growth. Urban expansion often forces the conversion of adjacent agricultural areas altering the landscape vegetation and associated water consumption through evapotranspiration (ET). The associated difference in ET may alter the landscape water demand complicating water resource management. To investigate these differences, we calculated the agricultural and urban seasonal ET rates in a semiarid watershed currently undergoing large population growth and rapid urbanization. We used high resolution satellite imagery with a GIS computer model to generate basin-wide ET estimates over a 204-day irrigation season. Six land type samples (three agriculture and three urban) were analyzed to compare individual spatial and temporal variations of ET throughout the irrigation season. The agricultural areas exhibited more fluctuation in seasonality and magnitude of ET than the urban areas throughout the irrigation season. We found the average ET (mm acre-1) of the total urban land was 20% less than the total agricultural land within the study area. This is higher than expected due to the urban areas having much less average vegetation per acre. Within the land type samples, some urban landscapes show upwards of 20% more ET (mm acre-1) than adjacent agricultural land. These results indicate the difference in total ET between urban and agricultural areas is contingent on the specific vegetation phenology. As urbanization and land development continues, we suggest future needs for irrigation water incorporate current and projected landscape vegetation type, seasonal phenology, and spatial coverage

Evaluation of parathyroid hormone and zoledronic acid in promoting bone healing after stereotactic radiation therapy for local control of osteosarcoma in an orthotopic rat model

2014 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Clinical studies using definitive-intent stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) for the local treatment of canine osteosarcoma (OSA) have achieved similar median survival times in patients as the current standard of care (amputation and adjuvant chemotherapy). Despite this, there remains an unacceptably high risk of pathologic fracture following radiation treatment. Zoledronic acid (ZA) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) are therapeutic candidates for decreasing this fracture risk post-irradiation. Due to differing mechanisms, we hypothesized that the combined treatment with ZA and PTH would significantly improve bone healing more than ZA or PTH treatment alone. Using an orthotopic model of canine osteosarcoma in athymic rats, we evaluated bone healing following clinically-relevant doses of radiation therapy (12Gy x 3 fractions, 36 Gy total). Groups included 36 Gy SRT only, 36 Gy SRT plus ZA , 36 Gy SRT plus ZA and PTH, 36 Gy SRT plus PTH, and 36 Gy SRT plus localized PTH treatment. Our study showed significant increases in bone volume and polar moments of inertia within the region of interest (distal femoral metaphysis) 8 weeks after radiation in the combined (ZA/PTH) treatment group as compared to radiation treatment alone. Histomorphometric analysis revealed evidence of active mineralization at study endpoint as well as successful tumor-cell kill across all treatment groups. This work provides further evidence for the expanding potential indications for ZA and PTH therapy, including post-irradiated bone disease due to canine osteosarcoma