A Longitudinal Content Analysis of Heterosexual Relationship Dynamics in Popular Pornography from The Golden Age to The Internet Age (1970-2020)

This dissertation is a longitudinal content analysis examining dyadic scripted characters who engage in sex acts in popular United States pornographic content. It aims to evaluate how much the depicted partnerings have varied and changed across popular pornography produced during the era of theatrical release (Golden Age), video entertainment (In-Home Age), and online (Internet Age). A sample of 107 films, videos, and clips was analyzed. Findings indicated a broad spectrum of relationship dynamics within the Golden Age followed by narrowed relationship themes in the In-Home and Internet Age. Within the In-Home Age, infidelity, workplace affairs, and hired sex work grew in popularity. As content moved into the Internet Age, relationship dynamics narrowed in focus to proximity-based sexual encounters, specifically between family members. These findings provide insight into how depictions of relationship dynamics within popular pornography provided through technological advancements affording increased privacy and access may be an indication of cultural and individual sexual scripts of the time.Doctor of Philosoph

Porn Wars: Serious Value, Social Harm, and the Burdens of Modern Obscenity Doctrine

During the 1980s, anti-pornography ideologues—an unlikely alliance of feminist activists and right-wing evangelical Christians—waged an open war against pornography and the anti-censorship feminists who supported legal protection for pornographic works. Following a pivotal defeat of an anti-pornography ordinance in federal court, the ideologies constituted in the so-called “Porn Wars” continued to guide obscenity doctrine. These ideologies have informed lower courts’ understanding of the harms and values associated with sexually explicit content more than constitutional scholars recognize, at least explicitly. Although courts recognize core feminist values such as sexual autonomy and privacy in sexually explicit content, they have built doctrine that essentially forestalls the exchange of sexual content, even among consenting adults in private and quasi-private spaces. Anti-pornography presumptions of harmful effects predominate lower court decisions in ways that could produce disastrous consequences for artistic speech, privacy, and even public health

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ON HUMIDIFICATION OF COMPRESSED AIR IN A TUBULAR HUMIDIFIER FOR EVAPORATIVE CYCLES

ABSTRACT The evaporative gas turbine (EvGT), also known as the humid air turbine (HAT) has the potential to compete with diesel engines and combined cycles in small and intermediate sizes. Most EvGT concepts include a packed bed tower for humidification; however, an alternative is a tubular humidifier unit. A tubular humidifier test rig was designed and constructed at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. A thorough investigation of the humidifier's performance and characteristics at different pressures was conducted in 1998. The humidifier consists of a single vertical surface-extended tube and shell. The water and the compressed air are brought into countercurrent contact inside the tube, resulting in evaporation of the water film in the compressed air. The heat required for the evaporation comes mainly from the exhaust gas cooling on the shell side. Experimental results show that the tubular humidifier operates satisfactorily. The exhaust gas heat is recovered to significantly low temperatures. The temperature and the humidity ratio of the compressed air are promising for EvGT applications. The flooding velocity and the wetting limit were also examined. In most cases an inner tube diameter of approximately 50 mm and a tube length of 9 m are considered suitable for this type of application

Effectiveness of group film therapy on happiness and quality of life among elderly adults of Kahrizak nursing home

Background and objective: The recent research has shown the efficacy of happiness and quality of life on mental and physical health. In addition, considering the aging population continuously increases therefore, the aim of current research is to investigate the efficacy of group film therapy on happiness and quality of life in elderly adults’ women. Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study with pre and post- tests. The population of study was Kahrizak nursing home residents. 24 elderly adults’ women selected through the criteria. They were assigned randomly to the control and experimental groups. The experimental groups received film therapy for eight treatment sessions (90 minutes for one session per week). The research instruments were Oxford Happiness Index (OHI) and WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL- BREF). Statistical analysis conducted by analysis of covariance. Results: There was significantly difference (F= 8.42, sig= 0.009) between mean’s scores of pre (M=28.33) and post-test (M=53) of happiness of experimental group among elderly adults. Also, it was not observed significantly difference (F=3.11, sig= 0.09) between mean’s scores of pre (M=99.5) and post-tests (M=105.7) of life quality of experimental group among elderlies. Conclusion: Film therapy has positive effects on happiness and moderately on quality of life in older adults. Hence, film therapy could be considered as an alternative or complementary approach to existing therapies for enhancing happiness among elderly adults. Paper Type: Research Article

Radical Reactions with Double Memory of Chirality ( 2 MOC) for the Enantiospecific Synthesis of Adjacent Stereogenic Quaternary Centers in Solution: Cleavage and Bonding Faster than Radical Rotation

The solution photochemistry of bis(phenylpyrrolidinonyl)ketones (R,R)-1b and (S,S)-1b exhibited a remarkably high memory of chirality. Stereospecific decarbonylation to products (R,R)-3b and (S,S)-3b, respectively, occurred with an ee of ca. 80%. The reaction is thought to occur along the single state manifold by sequential Norrish type-I α-cleavage decarbonylation, and radical–radical combination in a time scale that is comparable to that required for the radical intermediate to expose its other enantiotopic face by rotation about an axis perpendicular to that of the p orbital (ca. 3–7 ps). The absolute configuration of a key intermediate and that of ketone (R,R)-1b were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and the ee values of the photochemical products with the help of chiral shift reagent (+)-Eu(tfc)3 and chiral LC-MS/ MS. On the basis of the ee and de values at 25 °C, it could be determined that ca. 70% of the bond forming events occur with double memory of chirality, ca. 21% occur after rotation of one radical to form the meso product (R,S)-3b, and only 9% occur after double rotation to form the opposite enantiomer. This report represents the first example of a doubly enantiospecific Norrish type-I and decarbonylation reaction in solution and illustrates potentially efficient ways to obtain compounds with adjacent stereogenic quaternary centers

OVULATION: Intra-ovarian mechanisms

Background: Ovulation is the central biological process involved in the menstrual cycle of women. Specifically, ovulation involves the tissue remodelling of the preovulatory follicle to achieve the rupture of the exterior follicle wall with the extrusion of the oocyte. The ovulatory process involves many mediators that cooperatively and redundantly carry out changes that are necessary for ovulation, normal progression and natural conception. Increased knowledge of mammalian ovulation is important regarding many aspects of female fertility, such as the treatment of anovulation, ovarian stimulation in assisted reproduction, and the prevention of ovarian hyperstimulation. Another aspect is that it may lead to the development of new strategies for contraception. Aims: The general aim of this study was to increase knowledge regarding the intra-ovarian regulation of ovulation, which was achieved via studies on protease expression, the expression and regulation of the protease inhibitor, the proteome profile in follicular fluid, the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG), the receptor activator of the nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL), and the effects of calcineurin inhibitors on ovulation. Methods: Granulosa cells, theca cells, follicular fluid, and whole follicles were obtained from women at four different stages of the ovulatory process. Expression, proteome profile, and immunohistochemistry were performed. Granulosa lutein cells were used for the cell culture from women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Immature Sprague-Dawley rats were primed with pregnant mare´s serum gonadotropin to induce maturation and subsequent ovulation, that was triggered 48 hours later with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In vivo experiments in this animal model as well as in vitro experiments on its cells and tissues were conducted. Expression patterns were studied via a quantitative, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and a microarray. Proteins were quantified and identified by mass spectrometry isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), and localization was performed with immunohistochemistry. Assays were also used for the assessment of plasmin activity, leukocyte distribution, steroid levels, and levels of mediators/pharmacological agents in the blood. Results: Paper I indicate that an ovulatory trigger induces expression in the human granulosa and theca cells of certain proteases from the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) as well as a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin-like motifs (ADAMTs) family. Paper II presents data on the increased expression of the protease inhibitor tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI2) in the ovulating follicle of the human and rat. Moreover, the down-stream signalling pathways and effects on a large number of mediators were also characterized. Paper III use a modern proteomic technique to identify more than 500 proteins in the follicular fluid during ovulation, with 25 showing level changes during human ovulation. Paper IV identifies OPG and RANKL as potential mediators in the intra-ovarian events of ovulation. Paper V demonstrates that cyclosporine-A, but not tacrolimus, negatively influences ovulation in the rat. Conclusion: The results of the thesis provide information on the roles and functions of several new mediators in ovulation

Humidification in Evaporative Power Cycles

Evaporative gas turbine cycles (EvGT) show an exceptionalexhaust heat recovery potential, which makes them a strongcompetitor to other advanced gas turbine cycles, especiallyfrom small to intermediate sizes. Evaporative gas turbines aredistinguished by humidifying the working fluid beforecombustion at temperatures below the boiling point of water;and the heat required for evaporation of water is partly takenout of the exhaust gas. Thus, humidification is a key operationin these cycles. This thesis investigates, both theoreticallyand experimentally, two alternative approaches tohumidification: the packed-bed humidification tower and thetubular humidifier. Both these equipments involvecountercurrent contact between water and the working fluid.Humidifier design criteria are developed and criticalparameters such as flooding, wetting rate and entrainment arediscussed. The experimental parts were carried out on thepacked-bed tower in the EvGT pilot plant, and on a tubularhumidifier test rig especially erected for this purpose. Thetheoretical models were confirmed by the experiments. The height of a transfer unit, necessary for designingpacked beds, was calculated for the packing employed in theEvGT pilot plant. It was found that the data provided by themanufacturer may be used with minor corrections. The tubular test rig operated satisfactorily delivering hothumid air. The theoretical models coincided well with theexperimental results, verifying the design criteria developedhere. The heat transfer calculations indicated that mostresistance to heat transfer is on the exhaust gas side. Thus, asurface extended tube (Sunrod) was used in the test rig. Itcould be concluded that the tubular humidifier is a strongalternative to the packed-bedtower, especially in smallhigh-pressure gas turbines. Furthermore, the importance of the non-ideality of theair-water vapor mixture in modeling evaporative cycles wasfirst highlighted in this work. Through applying realthermodynamic properties of air-water vapor mixtures in cyclecalculations, it was found that the compressed air contains ahigher amount of moisture than indicated by the ideal gasmixture model. This affects the design of the heat recoverysystem and cannot be neglected. Key words:evaporative gas turbine, indirect-fired gasturbine, humidification, packed bed, tubular humidifier,evaporator, saturator.NR 2014080