Breaking In: Female Intelligence and Agency in British Children's Fantasy Literature

Honors (Bachelor's)EnglishUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112126/1/macarp.pd

A Review of Climate Change Induced Effects on Avian Prey Species and their Consequences for Arctic Fox Populations of Western Iceland

Island arctic fox populations are considered to carry the future wellbeing of the global population. Iceland has an island population with two arctic fox eco-types: western/coastal and eastern/inland. The western fox population is protected by the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve; no such protection exists for the eastern fox population. Food sources in both regions differ from each other and vary from summer to winter, but reliable and ample winter time food sources are the most critical for fox population’s survival. A literature review on arctic foxes and their prey species in the face of climate change is important for understanding possible future scenarios for Iceland’s arctic fox populations. Bird species comprise over one-third of the western arctic fox’s diet in wintertime. Of these, the rock ptarmigan and guillemots (Brünnich’s and Common) alone make up over 50% of the bird species consumed. This narrative review aims first to synthesize studies on how these three avian species will likely react to climate change and second to analyze those reactions’ implications for the future wellbeing of the western Icelandic arctic fox. This study finds overall negative effects of climate change on the bird species and implied negative impacts on the western Icelandic arctic fox population, and thus suggests protection of both Icelandic arctic fox eco-types for the sustainability of the Icelandic population as a whole

Sports involvement and academic functioning in college students

The purpose of this study was to examine positive academic behaviors between college student athletes and non-athletes. Over 460,000 students participate in college sports yearly (NCAA, 2016). Early research shows sports involvement has a negative impact on academic achievement; however, current research contradicts those findings. Sports has become a popular extracurricular activity, so it is important to determine the actual relationship between sports involvement and academic functioning. This study examined that relationship by comparing grade point averages, academic self-efficacy, and motivation between student athletes and student non-athletes in a northeast university. An online self-reporting survey was administered to gather the data. Independent t-test was employed to compare the means of grade point averages, self-efficacy, and motivation between student athletes and non-athletes. Key findings indicated that self-efficacy was higher in student athletes, compared to students who did not participate in sports

A Financial Epidemic: How Financial Literacy Affects College Students’ Financial Management Practices and the Debt Crisis in America

Debt levels are rising significantly in America. More and more people are accumulating debt in the forms of mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and car loans. Basic financial principles such as saving, budgeting, investing, and paying bills are not being utilized consistently by the average individual. This is because of financial illiteracy. The vast majority of Americans do not have the basic knowledge and understanding of these financial concepts to adequately put them into practice in their daily lives. This study focuses on the levels of college students’ financial literacy, how that pertains to the rising debt crisis, and explores potential solutions to these problems

Synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles and characterization of physical and optical properties

Nanoparticles are of great interest to a broad scientific community. Because of quantum effects, nanoscale materials exhibit many unique properties that may be exploited for biomedical, defense, and energy applications. Extensive synthetic effort is described for II-VI semiconductor materials. The materials were morphologically confined to zero- or one-dimensional structures. The nanoparticles discussed herein present similar chemical, optical, and physical properties to previously synthesized materials; however, the processes used to obtain these particles are more environmentally benign and use safer chemicals for the researcher and the laboratory environment. These nanomaterials have been extensively characterized to ascertain high quality optical, morphological, and electronic properties as well as viability with biomolecular and cellular conjugation assays

Intensive blood pressure control in chronically hypertensive mice

It is estimated that 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension and this is expected to increase to 1.56 billion by 2025 due to population growth, ageing and lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity, and lack of exercise. Direct and indirect costs related to hypertension globally are estimated to cost in excess of $3 trillion (USD). In pregnancy, the definition of hypertension is generally defined as repeated blood pressure measurements above 140/90mmHg. Preeclampsia (PE) is the most severe of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and women with chronic hypertension have at least five times the risk of preeclampsia compared to women with normal blood pressure. Even when uncomplicated by preeclampsia, chronically hypertensive women are at double the risk of small for gestational age neonates. Once a woman becomes pregnant, guidelines for when to commence antihypertensive treatment lack consensus and there is a lack of data regarding treatment in early pregnancy of women with chronic hypertension. Using an animal model of chronically hypertensive mice that develop a preeclampsia-like illness during pregnancy, this study aims to eventually determine whether ‘tight’ blood pressure control (diastolic blood pressure of 60mmHg) or ‘moderate’ blood pressure control (diastolic blood pressure of 80mmHg) during early pregnancy affects placentation and fetal weight. This study aimed to complete preliminary work to 1. Compare indirect and direct methods of blood pressure measurement in C57BL/6 and BPH/2J mice (tail cuff vs telemetry) 2. Identify a drug, dose and/or combination that will reduce the average resting diastolic blood pressure of C57BL/6 and BPH/2J mice to ‘tight’ (60) and ‘moderate’ (80) mmHg targets. We established that telemetry is the preferred method of obtaining blood pressure data and that tail cuff measurements are unlikely to be suitable for the detail required for this study. No drug was required to achieve the ‘moderate’ diastolic blood pressure target (80mmHg) in the normotensive strain (C57BL/6JAusb) and 20mg/kg labetalol plus 4-10mg/kg hydralazine successfully achieved this target in the hypertensive strain (BPH/2J). Further investigation is required to identify a drug or combination of drugs that reliably reduces the average resting diastolic blood pressure in both normotensive and hypertensive strains of mice to the ‘tight’ target (60mmHg)

Changes in muscle function and motorneuron excitability of the triceps surae following a bout of fatiguing eccentric exercise

A reduction in capacity of the neuromuscular system associated with exercise can occur from a wide range of physiological and psychological factors. Many researchers have investigated neural activation during exercise, or the effects of muscle damage associated with eccentric exercise, but few have studied the prolonged effects of a bout of eccentric exercise on strength and motorneuron excitability. Eleven male and female subjects (aged 20-43 years) were tested to determine the effects of a fatiguing bout of eccentric exercise upon maximal isometric plantarflexion strength, motorneuron excitability, and neural activation of the soleus (SOL) and medial gastrocnemius (MG). The exercise consisted of two hours on a calf raise machine, the only the right leg performing eccentric repetitions, with three sets of 60 repetitions at 60% of the concentric one repetition maximum (1RM). Hoffman reflex (H-reflex), evoked responses, maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, voluntary root mean squared electromyography (nnsEMG), Creatine Kinase (CK), and the Achilles tendon reflex (T -reflex) were tested immediately prior to, immediately post, and l, 24, 48 and 72 hours post exercise. Results indicated that there were significant (R \u3c 0.05) decreases of 18% and 23% in MVC torque and SOL rmsEMG respectively following the fatiguing protocol. There were also significant declines of 31% in the SOL H-reflex, 25% in the SOL HMAX:MMAX (the ratio of the maximum H-reflex to the maximum M-response ), as well as a 21% decline in the amplitude of the evoked twitch. There were no significant decreases in the M-response or T-reflex, or in any of the variables of the control leg, following the exercise bout. The reduced voluntary torque and EMG suggests that the force loss was due to a decreased neural drive. The decline in the H-reflex following exercise indicates a reduction in the excitability of the α-motorneuron pool (since altered M-waves suggest no impairment in neuromuscular propagation). The change in strength may in part be due to alterations in spinal excitability, but other factors must also contribute since the correlation between the two (although significant) is relatively weak (r2 = 0.2). The lack of change in the T-reflex may suggest that, with the combined effect of a decrease in spinal excitability and increase in spindle responsiveness and/or muscle compliance, which in part compensate for the decline in α-motorneuron excitability, the resultant net change was zero. Result suggests that alterations in motor drive associated with fatiguing eccentric exercise probably represent a combination of the modulatory effects of a number of inputs (both excitatory and inhibitory) to the α-motorneuron

Sculpted from clay, shaped by power: Feminine narrative and agency in Wonder Woman

By applying deconstructive and feminist theories to the Wonder Woman saga, this thesis develops a potential definition of feminine narrative in contrast to the normative and exclusionary patriarchal narrative that reigns supreme in popular culture and Western ideology. Though much of comics discourse functions on the assumption that superhero narratives are homogenous reflections of this ideological hero narrative, I posit that the Amazonian princess\u27s resilience and iconicity stem from her own narrative\u27s uniquely deconstructive nature: Where the patriarchal story would demand dominance, destruction, and violence, the feminine narrative that Diana models advocates for equality, nurturance, and emotional and rational communication. By examining the historical and literary texts that influenced her as well as her own influences on popular culture, this thesis shows Wonder Woman counteracting the patriarchal hero narrative and its binaries in favor of a more equalizing and nurturing feminine narrative that serves to empower herself and her readers