Nominate Your Poison: Black conservative discourse on Prohibition in The New York Age

This thesis explores black conservative views toward Prohibition in Harlem through an analysis of The New York Age. In doing so it aims to show that black conservative responses to Prohibition were driven by their espousal of uplift ideology. It seeks to call into question attempts by earlier historians to accommodation black conservatism into the history of Prohibition as cultural battleground between two views of society – one conservative and in favour of Prohibition and the other more liberal and opposed to it

Boy Student/Girl Student: Exploring Early Childhood Teacher Perceptions of Gender and Their Influence on Children\u27s Learning

Brain development in children has always been fascinating to me; it was the reason I chose to major in Early Childhood Education. I have often wondered how the expectations and behavior of parents and teachers affect young children academically. Specifically, how do early gender messages from adults, peers, and the popular media have a powerful impact on the development of young brains? The professional responsibility of all educators is to help every child reach their full potential. This thesis explored the potential impact early childhood educators have in developing and reinforcing stereotypes that can affect children academically by surveying teachers about their own backgrounds, thoughts and feelings about their male and female students. Confirming my belief that most teachers had similar backgrounds I was able to find that among the 59 respondents surveyed; 98% were female, 81% attended mixed gender public schools, 85% grew up in a two-parent home and 90% had a father working full-time outside of the home. While looking for similarities in descriptive language I was able to find that given a choice of 14 words from a word bank teachers used the same terms over and over to describe their male and female students. Teachers chose words that described physical characteristics when recalling their male students and chose emotional words when they were asked to describe their female students. When teachers were asked to recall which students they believed to be the most challenging in their classrooms and to identify the gender of these students, they identified male students three times more than their female students. I was left wondering if the mostly female teachers who all shared similar backgrounds were transferring unconscious bias onto their students. Why was the descriptive language they used so similar? Why were males students identified as challenging so much more than female students

The impacts of optical radiation in the environment on skin: Hazards, measurement, regulation and protection

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.From 2001 to 2005, work was conducted at the Photobiology Unit at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to examine the optical radiation environment and its implications for normal and diseased skin. Artificial sources of radiation were considered within the contexts of the hazards posed, measurement of the hazards, regulation concerning exposure and sources, and protection of abnormal skin from adversee ffects. The hazards posed by both ultraviolet (UV) and visible polychromatic sources were examined for normal and abnormal (chronic actinic dermatitis and solar urticaria) skin in an effort to predict the responses to such radiation. With current methodologiesi t was shown that responsesto polychromatic light cannot be forecast for normal and abnormal skin. Those hazards posed by light sources in the commercial sector are also considered. The sunbeds available in Perthshire and Dundee were evaluated spectroradiometrically and appropriate weighting functions applied. A case of adverse effects due to inappropriate use of an UV source is also presented and the implications are discussed. Two diode array spectroradiometers were evaluated for their potential as instruments to measure UV sources. It was shown that one instrument could be used to give measurementsw ith acceptablee rrors. However, later work with a different instrument of the same series showed that there are manufacturing issues to be resolved before these instruments are marketed for widespread use in dosimetry. Regulations governing exposure to and use of sources are considered where appropriate. Licensing of commercial sunbed parlours is suggested in order to enforce Health and Safety guidelines and the British Standard for such appliances, create a baseline for minimum standards of care within the commercial sector and safeguard public health. Lastly, it has been shown that skin sensitive to visible light can be protected with commercial makeup preparations.Funding was obtained from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the Photobiology Unit of the University of Dundee

Bismuth-NSAIDs as colorectal cancer chemopreventives

Australia has one of the highest incidence rates of colorectal cancer globally. The overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme involved in the inflammatory response, has been linked to several cancer types, including colorectal cancer. COX-2 impacts numerous downstream molecular pathways, leading to several advantageous traits that promote the growth of cancer cells. Consequently, chronic inflammation is a risk factor that has been linked to the development of colorectal cancer. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit COX-2 and numerous animal, epidemiological, and clinical studies have demonstrated that that the long-term administration of NSAIDs can prevent the development (i.e., act as chemopreventive agents) of colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, NSAIDs also inhibit COX-1, whereby the prolonged, daily administration of NSAIDs has been linked to numerous gastrointestinal (GI) side effects, such as ulceration and bleeding. Bismuth is a group 15 post-transition metal that is used in many common formulations for the treatment of GI ailments, including dyspepsia, and gastric and duodenal ulcers. Consequently, it is hypothesised that the combination of NSAIDs and bismuth in a single compound, a BiNSAID complex, could allow for the chemopreventive actions of the NSAID while combatting the associated GI side-effects. The aim of this Thesis was to investigate the potential of a series of BiNSAIDs of the general formula [Bi(L3)] (where L = tolfenamate (tolf), mefenamate (mef), indomethacin (indo) or aspirinate (asp)) as chemopreventives for colorectal cancer and compare this to the free NSAIDs, tolfH, mefH, indoH, and aspH. This was done at a fundamental level, investigating the interactions with lipid membrane mimics, at an in vitro level, where the cellular effects were explored, and finally in vivo, using a chemically induced mouse model of colorectal cancer

Analysis of Beef Cattle Producers’ Propensity to Adopt Pasture Management and Prescribed Grazing East of the 100th Meridian

Pasture management and grazing practices affect animal productivity, soil carbon storage and soil and water quality. Poor pasture and grazing management practices can cause soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, and runoff into streams and waterways. Based on a survey of cattle farmers east of the 100th meridian, the following two papers estimate how farm operator, farming operation, and attitudinal variables influence the propensity to use pasture management and prescribed grazing, as well as use of specific pasture management and prescribed grazing practices. Key findings from the first paper are that individual pasture management and prescribed grazing practices are strong indicators of overall prescribed grazing program adoption. Additionally, the use of the Internet for business decisions displayed the largest positive impact on individual pasture management practices, and farmers living in the Economic Research Service region Fruitful Rim are most likely to adopt a prescribed grazing program. In the second paper, a distinction is drawn between farmers that express general interest in adopting or expanding a prescribed grazing program and those that would adopt the program even if it were unprofitable to do so. Results from this study suggest that farmers who believe that prescribed grazing can produce greater profitability and operation growth are most likely to possess general interest in the program, while farmers who are environmentally concerned and are influenced by the attitudes of other farmers and friends are most likely to adopt prescribed grazing even if it is unprofitable to do so. The results from both studies further understanding of pasture and prescribed grazing practice use and inform educational and environmental management programs for cattle farmers with grazing lands in the eastern US

Do circum-Antarctic species exist in peracarid Amphipoda? A case study in the genus Epimeria Costa, 1851 (Crustacea, Peracarida, Epimeriidae)

The amphipod genus Epimeria is species rich in the Southern Ocean and at present eight of its 19 species are reported with circum-Antarctic distributions. For the first time, specimens of epimeriid species from the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea were analysed using partial COI genes sequences and morphological characters. In total 37 specimens of 14 species of Epimeria and two species of Epimeriella were analysed and the resulting molecular topology checked by critically reviewing taxonomic characters. The genus Epimeriella, genetically grouping within Epimeria is synonymised with the genus Epimeria. Sequences distances between populations of the nominal species Epimeria robusta from the Weddell and Ross Sea led to detailed morphological investigations, resulting in the description of Epimeria robustoides sp. n. from the Weddell Sea. Epimeria robusta Barnard, 1930 from the Ross Sea is redescribed. Sequences of a damaged Epimeria specimen of a species new to science from the lower continental shelf of the eastern Weddell Sea were included. Based on the current study, the hypothesis of circum-Antarctic species' distributions in brooding amphipods proved to be unlikely

Subcellular localisation of α3-GABAA receptors: a role for phosphorylation

GABAA receptors are the primary mediators of inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain. In contrast to most αβγ-GABAA receptor synaptic-subtypes, α3 subunit-containing receptors localise in both synaptic and extrasynaptic locations, where they mediate phasic and tonic inhibition respectively. Of particular note is the synaptic localisation of α3-GABAA receptors in the thalamic reticular nucleus, a brain region linked to absence epilepsy; and the extrasynaptic localisation of α3-GABAA receptors in the basolateral amygdala, a region involved in the expression of anxiety and fear disorders. To date, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control the subcellular localisation of the α3-GABAA receptor remains limited, including its interactions with the synaptic scaffold protein gephyrin, which tethers GABAA receptors at inhibitory synapses. In this study, we investigated the role that phosphorylation, a common post-translational modification that affects receptor trafficking, plays in the regulation of α3-GABAA receptor subcellular localisation. Phospho-null (phenyl)alanine and phospho-mimetic aspartate mutations were used to manipulate the phosphorylation states of three key residues – T400, T401 and Y402 – in the gephyrin binding domain of α3. Electrophysiological interrogation of these phospho-mutants in HEK-293 cells and cultured hippocampal neurons revealed alterations in receptor GABA sensitivity and kinetics, consistent with changes in subcellular localisation, when phosphorylation was mimicked at Y402. Further investigation using structured illumination microscopy demonstrated a reduction in the proportion of inhibitory synapses containing α3Y402D-GABAA receptors, but these receptors were more concentrated in those synapses where they were retained. This concentration appears to be mediated through gephyrin-independent mechanisms, as co-localisation between α3Y402D-GABAA receptors and gephyrin was reduced compared to phospho-null and wildtype receptors. These data indicate that phosphorylation of Y402 affects the subcellular localisation of α3-GABAA receptors. This study provides a basis for further investigation of the role phosphorylation plays in receptor localisation in distinct brain regions, and how this may be manipulated for therapeutic benefit