Searching for Sexual Identity in a Homophobic Society : Hunger of Memory and Pocho

To begin speaking of sexual identity, whether heterosexual or homosexual,\ud assumes speaker and listener alike share the same definitions. This,\ud however, is not always the case, and because of this, we must formulate a\ud definition that differentiates the gay Latino from the gay in the dominant\ud society, create a working literary framework that standardizes the reading\ud of the gay characters in Chicano literature, and use Richard Rodriguez???s\ud Hunger of Memory and Antonio Villarreal???s Pocho to test the framework\ud and show how each protagonist must fit into two homophobic cultures.This is a proceeding from the 28th Annual Conference of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano\ud Studies Annual Conference, Apr 1st, 200

Maximum likelihood geometry in the presence of data zeros

Given a statistical model, the maximum likelihood degree is the number of complex solutions to the likelihood equations for generic data. We consider discrete algebraic statistical models and study the solutions to the likelihood equations when the data contain zeros and are no longer generic. Focusing on sampling and model zeros, we show that, in these cases, the solutions to the likelihood equations are contained in a previously studied variety, the likelihood correspondence. The number of these solutions give a lower bound on the ML degree, and the problem of finding critical points to the likelihood function can be partitioned into smaller and computationally easier problems involving sampling and model zeros. We use this technique to compute a lower bound on the ML degree for $2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2$ tensors of border rank $\leq 2$ and $3 \times n$ tables of rank $\leq 2$ for $n=11, 12, 13, 14$, the first four values of $n$ for which the ML degree was previously unknown

Decreasing Hospital Readmission Rates of Heart Failure Patients: An Evidence-based Quality Improvement Project

BACKGROUND: Teach back is an evidence-based health literacy intervention that encourages patient engagement in own treatment, adherence to treatment, medications, and quality of care. Implementation of teach back method could positively impact readmissions to the hospital in patients experiencing heart failure and any other chronic diseases and it could improve patient’s outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project was to implement teach back method in a home care agency in the Hartford area in patients with HF to prevent readmission to the hospital. METHODS: The IOWA model was used and PSDA as tools to support EBP project. RESULTS: Pre and post data obtained from Strategic Healthcare Program (SHP) was compared after introduction of teach-back method to the nurses providing care to patient experiencing a chronic condition including HF, Categories were summarized and compare pre and prost project. Transfers to the hospital were reduced in a 6.35% total of patients 7, with an estimated saving of total cost for the home care agency (HCA) from $75,159-$124,810

The Role of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Synaptic Changes in Mediating Extinction Retention Deficit in a Rodent Model of PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe and debilitating disorder that can emerge following exposure to a traumatic event. The development of effective rehabilitation strategies requires identification of specific and modifiable targets that can ease the burden of PTSD symptomatology. Functionally, prefrontal cortex (PFC)–hippocampus (Hpc) circuitry is critical for extinction retention (ER) and contextual processing, and PTSD patients have been shown to have impairments in these functions. PTSD patients have been shown to have smaller Hpc and PFC and show lower activation in these areas during ER compared to controls. We have developed and extensively studied an animal model of PTSD - Single Prolonged Stress (SPS) – characterized by context-dependent extinction retention and fear renewal deficits. My research focused on two possible cellular mechanisms that may underlie SPS-induced extinction retention deficit within contextual processing neuro-circuitry. Specifically, I investigated a possible role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in contributing to SPS induced extinction retention deficits in chapter 2. In chapter 3, I investigated if SPS would change gene expression of a selected number of synaptic markers within key brain regions involved in contextual processing and fear responding: mPFC, Hpc and Amyg (amygdala). I found several lines of evidence supporting a role for adult hippocampal neurogenesis in extinction retention deficits. Specifically, elimination of neurogenesis through irradiation resulted in extinction retention deficit, SPS exposure decreased the numbers of proliferating dentate gyrus cells, immature neurons and surviving dentate gyrus cells, and an intervention aimed at promoting neuronal cell survival rescued SPS-induced extinction retention deficit. I also found that expression of some synaptic markers was altered by SPS exposure. Specifically, several proteins involved in synaptic structure were decreased while several proteins associated with synaptic signaling and function were increased, suggesting possible changes in synaptic morphology accompanied by a functional compensation within these regions that could mediate extinction retention deficits.PHDNeuroscienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145889/1/rodreliz_1.pd

Wasteful to Useful: Investigating the metamorphosis of textile for construction methods

Every year, the average American generates over 80 pounds of textile waste. Since the 1990s, consumer behavior has shifted as mass production of items has become the norm. Production of clothing alone already impacts the environment as it requires immense amounts of chemicals, energy, water, and other natural resources. So, when consumers throw away clothing and brands decide to discard overproduced items, it ends up in landfills where it takes over 200+ years to decompose. Furthermore, a large percentage of unwanted clothing will be sent off to third-world countries to try to resale or recycle. Yet, the amount being imported is so immense that they cannot process it all, leading to landfilling on their land. The U.S. alone generates an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste each year- around 2,150 pieces per second. This thesis investigates the pollution produced by textile waste and develops an architectural solution that as a basis will redesign the current fashion house by incorporating sustainable techniques created through the use of textiles. An architectural solution that would start to question the actions of both consumers and fashion brands themselves. The goal is to achieve a design that not only provides a solution to the problem but also serves as a precedent for a more sustainable cycle in the textile and construction industry

Structure and in Situ Stress Analysis of the Tazhong Uplift, NW China: Implications for Fault Reactivation

The Tarim Basin in northwest China is an intracratonic, poly-phase basin with a subsurface structure that records a protracted tectonic history associated with crustal accretion and amalgamation. Currently, the basin is bounded by actively deforming mountain belts but displays little evidence of active deformation within the basin. Here, detailed interpretation of 3D seismic reflection data and analysis of drilling-induced deformation in deep boreholes (e.g. borehole breakouts) are used to resolve uncertainties about the timing and distribution of past deformation, the effect of pre-existing structures on subsequent deformation, and the current in situ stress state in the Tazhong Uplift of the Central Tarim Basin. The geometry and kinematics of Ordovician thrust faults and folds, Silurian-Permian strike-slip faults, and Triassic igneous bodies and normal faults, along with stratigraphic relationships, suggest that creation of new faults, and reactivation of pre-existing faults occurred during tectonic events in the Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic; however, no evidence of faulting is observed in Late Mesozoic or Cenozoic strata in the Tazhong Uplift. The current in situ stress should favor extensional and strike-slip tectonics with maximum horizontal compression directed NE, which contrasts with past stress states in the basin inferred from Paleozoic and Mesozoic structures. In situ differential stress magnitude in the Tazhong Uplift (ranging from 94 to 170 MPa) is insufficient to reactivate the most optimally-oriented faults in the Central Tarim Basin, even though the basin is bounded by the active Tian Shan and Kunlun Shan thrust belts to the north- and south-west, and the left-lateral strike-slip Altyn Tagh fault to the south, all associated with the ongoing Himalayan-Tibetan orogeny. The low differential stress may be understood if the basin-bounding faults (particularly the Altyn Tagh fault) operate at low absolute shear stress, similar to continental transform faults such as the San Andreas fault, CA

Contribution of Lianas to Plant Area Index and Canopy Structure in a Panamanian Forest

Lianas are an important component of tropical forests, where they reduce tree growth, fecundity and survival. Competition for light among plants may be intense; however the amount of light that lianas intercept is poorly understood. We used a large-scale liana removal experiment to quantify light interception by lianas in a Panamanian secondary forest. We measured the change in plant area index (PAI) and forest structure six weeks after cutting lianas in eight 80x80 m plots and in eight control plots, and then annually for four years. We used ground-based LiDAR to measure the 3-dimensional canopy structure before cutting lianas and annually for two years afterwards. Six weeks after cutting lianas, mean plot PAI was 20% higher in control versus liana removal plots. One year after cutting lianas, mean plot PAI was ~17% higher in control plots. The differences among treatments diminished significantly two years after liana cutting and, after four years, trees had fully compensated for the removal of lianas. Ground-based LiDAR revealed that lianas were distributed in the upper and middle parts of the canopy, and not just the upper canopy as previously suspected. Therefore, lianas attenuated ~20% of the light in the upper- and mid-canopy of the forest