Reproducibility of the bronchoconstrictive response to eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea

Background: Eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) is considered an effective bronchoprovocation challenge for identifying exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). However, the reproducibility of the hyperpnoea-induced bronchoconstriction (HIB) response elicited by EVH remains unknown and was therefore the focus of this study. Methods: Two cohorts of 16 physically active males (each cohort comprised 8 controls and 8 with physician diagnosis of asthma) participated in two studies of the short- and long-term reproducibility of the bronchoconstrictive response to an EVH test with dry air. EVH was performed on days 0, 7, 14, and 21 (short-term study), and 0, 35, and 70 (long-term study). HIB was diagnosed by a ≥10% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) after EVH. Results: On day 0 of the short-term study, FEV1 fell by 2 ± 1% (P < 0.05) and 27 ± 18% (P < 0.01) from pre-to post-EVH in control and HIB-positive groups respectively. The post-EVH fall in FEV1 did not differ across the short-term study test days. In the HIB-positive group, the day-to-day coefficient of variation, reproducibility, and smallest meaningful change for the fall in FEV1 were 12%, 328 mL, and 164 mL, respectively. On day 0 of the long-term study, FEV1 fell by 2 ± 2% and 25 ± 18% (P < 0.01) after EVH in control and HIB-positive groups respectively. The post-EVH fall in FEV1 did not differ across the long-term study test days. In the HIB-positive group, the day-to-day coefficient of variation, reproducibility, and smallest meaningful change for the fall in FEV1 were 10%, 196 mL, and 98 mL respectively. Conclusion: The EVH test elicits a reproducible bronchoconstrictive response in physically active males with physician diagnosed asthma. These data thus support the clinical utility of the EVH test for EIB screening and monitoring

Finding Vegan Poetics In Literature For Nonhumans

In the ever-expanding realm of scholarship discussing nonhuman animals, the question of the animal is experiencing shifts to integrate ethics of care. To explore an extension of ecofeminist writing—vegan poetics—my paper enters the debate among eco-writing regarding the eating of nonhuman animals. Currently, there is a small subgroup of authors openly including their politicized abstaining from using nonhuman animal as objects in their diets, as well as in their writing. Through a close reading of Literature for Nonhumans by vegan scholar Gabriel Gudding, this paper follows the motif of rejecting the erasure of factory farm animals from discussions and writings regarding anthropogenic and environmental issues. Literature for Nonhumans encourages future scholarship to both uncover and create more texts embodying elements of vegan poetics, such as confronting human exceptionalism found among the ethical considerations of dominant Western culture. Critically entering Literature for Nonhumans exposes a call for both poetics and scholarship to reassess the consequences of mass consuming nonhuman animals and viewing them as edible objects: “When you eat the muscles of animals / your anus is a tunnel to the slaughterhouse”—“We really are ethical misers when it comes / to other beings” (Gudding 27-9)

Disability Assistive Programming: Using Voice Input To Write Code

This thesis describes the development of a proof of concept speech to code program that utilizes Sphinx 4, JFlex, and CUP. This thesis can take in audio, transcribe it to text and then run it through a lexer/parser to ensure correct Java syntax for a simple “Hello World” program. This is the groundwork for a fully functional speech to Java code program to assist with disability mitigation in the computer science field

Finding Vegan Poetics: Literature For Nonhumans As An Ecofeminist Response To Carnism

This thesis is my journey to finding and defining vegan poetics, a term I employ to define poetry that exhibits a vegan perspective through witnessing the mass slaughter of nonhuman animals and exposing the connection between the factory farming industry and climate change. As an example of vegan poetics, I present Gabriel Gudding’s 2015 poetry collection Literature for Nonhumans as exhibiting a fusion of vegan ideology and poetic technique. To analyze Gudding’s text, this thesis employs ecofeminist theory along with scholarship from the developing field of vegan studies to foster a discourse on what it means to write poetry in opposition to “carnism,” a term referring to the culture surrounding meat-eating. In short, Literature for Nonhumans provides entrance into the institution of the slaughterhouse and, in turn, introduces a comprehensive vegan worldview through the genre of poetry

Piano Masterworks Through The Ages

The senior recital is the capstone of a musician’s education. All of the musical background knowledge and skills learned over four years culminate in one final performance. The repertoire that is performed is representative of the pianist’s work over the years studying the masters of western classical music and their masterpieces. The works that I have chosen for my recital are all masterworks and are representative of their respective composers and stylistic eras.*Includes cd and recital program enclosure

An Investigation Of The Personal Finance Characteristics Of Gen Z In Secondary Education Programs

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the financial characteristics, and personal finance behaviors of Appalachian State University students. Research indicates that college students are often unprepared for handling personal finances after graduating and lack a foundation of knowledge regarding personal finance concepts. This study was designed to evaluate the levels of personal finance knowledge of students and determine how prepared these students are to handle their own finances after graduating. This Thesis surveyed Walker College of Business students and Appalachian State University students to understand what level of knowledge and financial behaviors they possessed. The results indicate that Appalachian State University students compare similarly to the average U.S. adult in inadequate financial literacy levels and demonstrate behaviors that can be detrimental to securing financial security. This project provides insight into the existing personal finance education of college students as well as identifies opportunities in the existing general education system to address finance education and personal financial management behaviors of university students

Creating Culturally Inclusive Visual Arts Pedagogy

This thesis is crafted around the goal of creating culturally inclusive visual arts pedagogy. Pedagogy encompasses the mechanics, content, and delivery of teaching. To be culturally inclusive is to regard the diverse predispositions and distinct identities that students bring into the classroom and to treat each population with respect and dignity. Specifically, this thesis involves the use and generation of culturally inclusive pedagogy in the setting of Kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) art education in public schools. Art encompasses all aspects of creation, generations of people, creeds, backgrounds, and languages; these factors require a multinational, multilingual, and multifaceted approach to teaching. It is no longer sustainable or appropriate to teach students the Old Masters of classic Renaissance paintings, mixed in with select token minority faces, as a complete art curriculum. Artmaking and its underlying foundational pedagogy must embrace the peoples of the world in its teaching, while paying equal attention to its reception by students through deep respect, inclusiveness, and regard for individual difference. This thesis will seek to explore the background of diversity and multicultural education and then examine its theoretical implementation, concluding with a call to action for executing culturally inclusive visual arts pedagogy

Conceptual Development Of Three- And Four-Year-Olds With Regard To Shapes And Colors And The Language Used To Describe These Concepts

As children explore the world in which they live, they learn to recognize, name, and describe objects that they see. Objects are recognized on the basis of certain physical properties (color, size, shape, or certain patterns of behavior). A child begins at an early age to classify objects into specific categories, based on certain unique characteristics or properties. As new objects are discovered, they are classified in relation to objects already discovered

Hunter's Clarion, November 2010

Newsletter for Hunter Library at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N

Hunter's Clarion, January/February 2000

Newsletter for Hunter Library at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N