Recovering from Substance Abuse in Arkansas: The Accessibility and Affordability of Drug Treatment Programs

This thesis is going to examine how people recover from drug addiction and see if there are any similarities due to their socioeconomic statuses at the time of recovery. This research addresses the following questions: How accessible and affordable are drug addiction recovery programs and rehabilitation facilities in Arkansas for mid- to low-income individuals? What are the social costs for people who can’t obtain drug rehabilitation services? The goal of this research is to explore whether there is a lack of affordable recovery programs in the state of Arkansas. This project utilizes survey responses as well as in-depth interviews with participants who remain anonymous. This study found that people with insurance often have “first-pick” when it comes to getting into rehabilitation programs and when the person does not have insurance, the costs can be about $1000 a day. This study also uncovered that some people that require low-cost or free drug rehabilitation resources, do not know that they exist

Mormon Mommy Blogs: “There’s gotta be some women out there who feel the same way.”

Communities in cyberspace have been present since the earliest days of home computers, when connecting to the web meant logging in to the WELL program. In 1994, when the Internet became more accessible to the public, and home computers were no longer considered a novelty, millions flocked to this new, virtual frontier that allowed them to connect with anyone around the globe. Folkloristics has been largely concerned with the tangible—what we can touch, hear, taste, and see. As the frontier of the web expanded, many folklorists contracted away from using it as a means to explore a new branch of folklore: virtual communities and all of the folkloric nuances that they possess. Fortunately, in recent years, folklorists have recognized the value and validity of the Internet folklore. This thesis is concerned with a very specific folk group, Mormon mommy bloggers, and how they function both in the blogosphere at large and the smaller niche of Mormon blogs, the bloggernacle. Mormon mommy blogs are distinctive in their vernacular, post material, and side bar badges. These blogs also provide a window not just into Mormon life, but also ideas about how faith can interact with identity and womanhood. Mormon mommy blogs are a vibrant genre of both Internet folklore and Mormon folklore. Mormon mommy blogs also serve as ways to undertake record-keeping for posterity and, for some, are a means of proselytizing, which are two important aspects of Mormon culture. Mormon mommy blogs also allow for frank conversations about expectations of the Mormon culture and the impossibilities of being the perfect Mormon woman. For non-Mormons, Mormon mommy blogs are a form of escapism into the lives of women who are confounding the notion that housewives and mothers are woefully unfulfilled. The fields of folkloristics, women and gender studies, and even religious studies could all benefit from examining mommy and Mormon mommy blogs. (102 pages

Multiplicity of complex hypersurface singularities, Rouche' satellites and Zariski's problem

Soient $f,g\colon (\hbox{\aa C}^n,0) \to (\hbox{\aa C},0)$ des germes de fonctions holomorphes r\'eduits. Nous montrons que $f$ et $g$ ont la m\^eme multiplicit\'e en 0 si et seulement s'il existe des germes r\'eduits $f'$ et $g'$ analytiquement \'equivalents \`a $f$ et $g$, respectivement, tels que $f'$ et $g'$ satisfassent une in\'egalit\'e du type de Rouch\'e par rapport \`a un `petit' cercle g\'en\'erique autour de~0. Comme application, nous donnons une reformulation de la question de Zariski sur la multiplicit\'e et une r\'eponse partielle positive \`a celle--ci.Comment: Final versio

Evaluation of Seismic Response of a Site Class F Site Using Equivalent Linear and Nonlinear Computer Codes

Evaluation of seismic site response and development of site-specific surface response spectra has evolved in recent years through the use of both equivalent linear (EQL) and nonlinear (NL) computer codes. Before the nonlinear computer codes become popular among practitioners, equivalent linear site response analysis programs were used to develop site-specific design spectra for both soft and stiff sites. Nonlinear site response analysis is now used more routinely for projects planned on Site Class F sites. This paper presents the results of seismic response analyses completed for a Site Class F site at Grays Harbor, Washington. Both the equivalent linear (SHAKE2000) and nonlinear (D-MOD2000) computer codes were used to evaluate the site response under the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) using the guidelines set forth in 2006 International Building Code (IBC) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-05 code. Comparison of surface response spectra, soil shear stress and strain at various soil layers computed using both the equivalent linear and nonlinear computer program. Conclusions regarding the limitations of the equivalent linear code and presents recommendations on the use of the nonlinear computer code in site response analysis for practitioners

What Makes Us Human?

poster abstractWhat makes us human? Is it something innate within us, perhaps in our souls, if we even have them? Or are we determined by biology and genetics? It is increasingly clear that we cannot simply reduce humanity to the false dichotomies illustrated in antiquated arguments such as nature vs. nurture. Throughout history, the Cartesian mind-body divide has fueled a schism between understandings of what makes us human. Our infographic dispels these false dichotomies, indicating that humans are shaped myriad elements including genetics, socio-cultural constructs, the environment, and consciousness. This infographic shows the audience some of the greatest thinkers’ philosophies and ideas regarding areas such as human biology, consciousness, and evolution. We explain three prominent thought pathways, their roots, connotations, and interdependencies on a web of human thought, mapping out genetic foundations, theories of consciousness and human nature, and socio-cultural constructs. This web of humanity shows how the many theories of what makes us human coexist and interconnect; further indicating that humanity cannot be reduced to either the biological or the intellectual. What was once viewed as a dichotomy has become an open space for examination of human nature through the many lenses that are required for our complex nature. Perhaps the historic division of science and the humanities has provided the arena for deep thought on all sides. But now, there is a space to bridge the divide, and this bridge shows us that we are niche creators founded in biology and genetics and extant in our socio-cultural constructs. We exist in intentional space unintentionally. We are human, and perpetually evolving to be

The Path to Sustainable Water Resources Solutions

Water is essential both to human survival and to the ecosystems on which people depend. Although Maine is blessed with abundant water sources, managing them is crucial for both short and long-term uses. The authors describe the varying time and spatial scales involved in managing water resources, pointing out that policy decisions made at one time can have far-reaching consequences. They provide illustrations of water-resource projects from Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, ranging in size from Sebago Laketo vernal pools on individual properties

NIRT: Developing a Nanoscale Sensing Device for Measuring the Supply of Iron to Phytoplankton in Marine Systems

There is increasing evidence that Fe has a singularly unique role in marine ecosystems, both regulating total phytoplankton production in high nitrate, low chlorophyll regions of the world, and influencing the predominant composition of the phytoplankton assemblages found in others. It is remarkable then that there is no agreement about how to define biologically available Fe, in contrast to the macronutrients nitrogen, phosphorous or silicon. Current attempts to attain predictive insights to how ocean ecosystems will influence the magnitude of climate change are blocked in large part by this question, along with an extreme shortage of data on Fe distributions in the oceans. There is recent evidence that Fe availability can be regulated in bulk seawater incubations by small additions of the fungal siderophore desferrioximine B (DFB). The Fe-DFB complex is not readily available to eukaryotic phytoplankton, so that if the quantity of Fe complexed by DFB were measured and calibrated to Fe uptake by phytoplankton it could yield a novel first order measure of Fe availability. Building from our current research we have developed liposomes that specifically acquire DFB-bound Fe from solution. These devices, 100 nm in diameter, open the way to applying nanotechnology to create a new breed of Fe biosensors in marine waters. The project goals are to 1) optimize these nanodevices by improving their physical robustness, identifying the size/functionality relationship, and examining the efficacy of other DFB-Fe transporter molecules, 2) develop self-reporting capabilities for quantifying Fe uptake by these nanodevices, and 3) to calibrate the capture of Fe by these nanodevices to the Fe uptake by various phytoplankton species. The anticipated final product will be a calibrated nanoscale biosensor for laboratory-scale use that could then be adapted for deploying on remote vehicles. Broader Impacts Resulting from the Proposed Activity: The two institutions involved in this project (U. Maine and Colby College) have a strong track record for involving undergraduate and graduate students in cutting edge research in marine science and chemistry, and this project will continue this process

Rapid Circumstellar Disk Evolution and an Accelerating Star Formation Rate in the Infrared Dark Cloud M17 SWex

We present a catalog of 840 X-ray sources and first results from a 100 ks Chandra X-ray Observatory imaging study of the filamentary infrared dark cloud G014.225$-$00.506, which forms the central regions of a larger cloud complex known as the M17 southwest extension (M17 SWex). In addition to the rich population of protostars and young stellar objects with dusty circumstellar disks revealed by Spitzer Space Telescope archival data, we discover a population of X-ray-emitting, intermediate-mass pre--main-sequence stars (IMPS) that lack infrared excess emission from circumstellar disks. We model the infrared spectral energy distributions of this source population to measure its mass function and place new constraints on the inner dust disk destruction timescales for 2-8 $M_{\odot}$ stars. We also place a lower limit on the star formation rate (SFR) and find that it is quite high ($\dot{M}\ge 0.007~M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$), equivalent to several Orion Nebula Clusters in G14.225$-$0.506 alone, and likely accelerating. The cloud complex has not produced a population of massive, O-type stars commensurate with its SFR. This absence of very massive (${\ge}20~M_{\odot}$) stars suggests that either (1) M17 SWex is an example of a distributed mode of star formation that will produce a large OB association dominated by intermediate-mass stars but relatively few massive clusters, or (2) the massive cores are still in the process of accreting sufficient mass to form massive clusters hosting O stars.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, accepted to Ap