Gender, Power, & Fear: Perverse Identities & Victorian Anxieties in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

This thesis examines how gendered portrayals of identity in Bram Stoker&rsquo;s Dracula express Victorian social anxieties. Medical journals, marriage guides, and philosophic texts provide historical attitudes on gender, religion, and sexual affinities, providing the groundwork for understanding the conservative values reflected in the text. The book&rsquo;s use of gender inversion conflicts with its explicit establishment of a traditional binary, thus revealing complex associations through the interdependence of its characters and their identities. Furthermore, the contrast between religious influence on human protagonists and the perversion of monstrous antagonists provides commentary on the gendered division of sex, power, purity, marriage, and parenthood. Close reading will expose how the Victorian period&rsquo;s driving social fears took root in this novel and, thus, how its portrayal of inversive identities expresses the looming anxieties and guiltiest pleasures of the time. </p

Simulated self-paced wildfire suppression work in different thermal conditions

&nbsp;This thesis provides evidence that wildland firefighters can sustain their work output under hot conditions (33&deg;C), even over multiple days. However, when faced with very hot ambient environments (45&deg;C), work performance suffers and firefighters&rsquo; experience a potentially dangerous thermal response

Everyday Life History of the Soviet Laborer, 1920s-1930s

This thesis provides a comprehensive view of the daily lives of the Soviet Proletariat in the 1920s and 1930s. Both negative and positive outcomes of the policies implemented during this period are discussed regarding the growth and experiences of the working class. The discipline of everyday life history is explored and applied to this socioeconomic group. Work, education, home life, family structure, gender roles, and standard of living are the main subsets of daily life examined in this thesis. The research presented here concludes that the Soviet Communist Party considered itself an urban vanguard creating a proletarian serving state and would maintain this narrative regardless of its contradictory policies. Due to difficult living conditions, the proletariat was an incredibly resourceful and enduring population that valued its culture and traditions

Preoperative Narcotic Use, Impaired Ambulation Status, and Increased Intraoperative Blood Loss Are Independent Risk Factors for Complications Following Posterior Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion Surgery.

ObjectiveThis retrospective cohort study seeks to identify risk factors associated with complications following posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion (PCLF) surgery.MethodsAdults undergoing PCLF from 2012 through 2018 at a single center were identified. Demographic and radiographic data, surgical characteristics, and complication rates were compared. Multivariate logistic regression models identified independent predictors of complications following surgery.ResultsA total of 196 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The medical, surgical, and overall complication rates were 10.2%, 23.0%, and 29.1% respectively. Risk factors associated with medical complications in multivariate analysis included impaired ambulation status (odds ratio [OR], 2.27; p=0.02) and estimated blood loss over 500 mL (OR, 3.67; p=0.02). Multivariate analysis revealed preoperative narcotic use (OR, 2.43; p=0.02) and operative time (OR, 1.005; p=0.03) as risk factors for surgical complication, whereas antidepressant use was a protective factor (OR, 0.21; p=0.01). Overall complication was associated with preoperative narcotic use (OR, 1.97; p=0.04) and higher intraoperative blood loss (OR, 1.0007; p=0.03).ConclusionPreoperative narcotic use and estimated blood loss predicted the incidence of complications following PCLF for CSM. Ambulation status was a significant predictor of the development of a medical complication specifically. These results may help surgeons in counseling patients who may be at increased risk of complication following surgery

Impacts of Health Information Exchange and Health Information Organization on Hospital Efficiency: A Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper aimed to determine if hospitals that participated in Health Information Exchange (HIE) and Health Information Organization (HIO) were more efficient than hospitals that did not participate. This study collected sample data from the 2017 American Hospital Association (AHA) U.S. Hospital Annual Survey dataset and the 2017 AHA IT Survey dataset. We created a DEA model to measure hospital efficiencies. Mann-Whitney Test performed the hypothesis test. Evidence showed that HIE/HIO participating hospital group had a significantly higher efficiency score than the non-participating hospital group

Reactions to Supporters of the 2016 Presidential Candidates

Two experiments were carried out to explore responses to supporters of 2016 Presidential candidates. In Study 1, a field experiment was carried out on the effect of political affiliation on an individual’s willingness to reciprocate a smile. The prediction that more participants (90 females, 90 males) on the SHU campus would return a smile to confederates wearing Trump vs. Clinton vs. a Neutral t-shirt was not supported. In Study 2, 253 participants volunteered to participate in a social perception experiment in which they rated confederates wearing a neutral, Trump, or Clinton for President t-shirt. In line with the hypothesis, MANOVA results showed that Trump supporters were perceived as more prejudiced (p \u3c .003) and Clinton supporters as more liberal (p \u3c .000)

Estimating Risk for Future Intracranial, Fully Implanted, Modular Neuroprosthetic Systems: A Systematic Review of Hardware Complications in Clinical Deep Brain Stimulation and Experimental Human Intracortical Arrays

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155940/1/ner13069.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155940/2/ner13069_am.pd

Are prenatal exercise volume and level different between c-section and natural birth groups?

Title: Are prenatal exercise volume and level different between c-section and natural birth groups? Authors: Brianna Lee1, DJ Phillips1, Ami Eho2, Juliana Meireles, Ph.D.2, Sadaf Dabeer, Ph.D.3, Janeen Amason, Ph.D.1, Katherine Ingram, Ph.D.2 Institution: 1Wellstar School of Nursing, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA 2Department of Exercise Science and Sports Management, Kennesaw State University, 3 Department of Endocrinology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideal rate for c-section births is between 10% and 15% of births. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports there is a current rate of 31% for C-section births in the United States. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) mentioned that based on observational studies, women who exercise during pregnancy have shown benefits such as decreased C-section births. Objective: The purpose of the study is to compare exercise volume and level between c-section and natural birth groups. Methods: Women who had given birth in the past two years were invited to participate in an online survey that asked for descriptive information (age and race) and mode of delivery. They provided information about the frequency of overall exercise and the frequency of engaging in high, moderate, and light intensity exercise. Exercise volume score was calculated using [(high intensity exercise frequency*3) + (moderate intensity exercise frequency*2) + (light intensity exercise frequency*1)]. Exercise level was calculated as Exercise volume score * Frequency of overall exercise. Comparisons were made using Mann Whitney U test. Results: Data from 232 women (33±4.61 years, 75% white) was used for analysis. Responses show that 163 women (70.3%) gave birth naturally while 69 women (29.7%) had c-section delivery. Natural delivery group (8.19±6.18) had a significantly higher exercise volume score (p=0.048) when compared to the c-section group (6.39±5.50). No statistical difference was found in exercise level (p=0.102) between mode of delivery groups (17.63±17.92 vs 12.72±14.41). Conclusion: Exercise level was similar between mode of delivery groups. However, women who gave birth naturally reported a higher volume of exercise than those who had a c-section. Health care providers should emphasize exercise intensity and frequency guidelines when discussing exercise with pregnant women

PDGFRβ-P2A-CreERT2 mice: a genetic tool to target pericytes in angiogenesis.

Pericytes are essential mural cells distinguished by their association with small caliber blood vessels and the presence of a basement membrane shared with endothelial cells. Pericyte interaction with the endothelium plays an important role in angiogenesis; however, very few tools are currently available that allow for the targeting of pericytes in mouse models, limiting our ability to understand their biology. We have generated a novel mouse line expressing tamoxifen-inducible Cre-recombinase under the control of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor β promoter: PDGFRβ-P2A-CreER T2 . We evaluated the expression of the PDGFRβ-P2A-CreER T2 line by crossing it with fluorescent reporter lines and analyzed reporter signal in the angiogenic retina and brain at different time points after tamoxifen administration. Reporter lines showed labeling of NG2+, desmin+, PDGFRβ+ perivascular cells in the retina and the brain, indicating successful targeting of pericytes; however, signal from reporter lines was also observed in a small subset of glial cells both in the retina and the brain. We also evaluated recombination in tumors and found efficient recombination in perivascular cells associated with tumor vasculature. As a proof of principle, we used our newly generated driver to delete Notch signaling in perivascular cells and observed a loss of smooth muscle cells in retinal arteries, consistent with previously published studies evaluating Notch3 null mice. We conclude that the PDGFRβ-P2A-CreER T2 line is a powerful new tool to target pericytes and will aid the field in gaining a deeper understanding of the role of these cells in physiological and pathological settings.S