Courting eternity: LDS Dating, courtship, and celestial marriage in and out of Utah

This dissertation examines how religious meanings adopted by people and cultures influence the manner in which they perceive everyday reality and how they act within it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is used as a test case for understanding how doctrine, teachings, and culture affect beliefs and practices. In particular, I identify how the unique doctrine of celestial marriage and beliefs surrounding it establish a normative way of being Mormon. This study is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in LDS congregations in Utah and New England. It draws upon 70 in-depth interviews with married and unmarried Latter-day Saints and participant observation in church meetings, singles groups, dances, and dinners. My analysis builds upon sociological studies of coupling and the mate-selection process, feminist theory, Mormon scholarship, and on theories of lived religion and agency to explore the distinctive courtship patterns of the Latter-day Saints. My findings indicate that the belief in celestial marriage among Latter-day Saints is instrumental as they "do" gender and religion. The theological mandate to marry, the rigorous guidelines set by the church, and the cultural expectations of the Mormon community combine to influence members' beliefs about relationship formation and to dictate practices in daily life. Most active Latter-day Saints follow the guidelines of the church unquestioningly. They date with purpose and in appropriate ways, they marry in the temple, and they conform to theologically sanctioned gender norms. However, their practices do not always match their beliefs. Those who are not model Mormons may remain within the boundaries as long as they aspire to the ideal. While men and women experience the path to the ideal differently, both are "disciplined agents." Women work to empower themselves by reshaping or reframing doctrine and teachings, while men simultaneously conform to church teachings and subtly resist gender inequalities in the family. Men's efforts to alter gender norms, however, remain limited to the home. The most significant finding of this study is that even when practices are at odds with stated beliefs, the community provides ways to prevent disconfirmation and reinforce its identity and beliefs.2021-05-3

Autonomous Coffee Brewing System

Coffee consumers want an affordable, high-quality cup of coffee that takes minimal time to brew and does not excessively contribute plastic to landfills. A fully autonomous system which utilizes whole coffee beans, water, and filters to brew coffee was designed to meet this need. This system accepts user requests which specify the brew’s portion size, water temperature, and brew strength, as well as the time which the system should begin the brewing process. Occasional maintenance to empty the system’s built-in waste receptacle or resupply the system with water, coffee beans, or filters is the only user intervention required. This report discusses the detailed proposed hardware and software subsystem designs

Viability of Implementing Smart Street Lights on The Ohio State University's Columbus Campus

Course Code: ENR/AEDE 4567This report analyzes the viability of implementing Smart Street Lights on OSU's Columbus campus. Smart Street Lights will reduce electricity costs and will create additional benefits for users.Academic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainabilit

Emergent Orthotopic Liver Transplantation for Hemorrhage from a Giant Cavernous Hepatic Hemangioma: Case Report and Review

IntroductionCavernous hemangiomas represent the most common benign primary hepatic neoplasm, often being incidentally detected. Although the majority of hepatic hemangiomas remain asymptomatic, symptomatic hepatic hemangiomas can present with abdominal pain, hemorrhage, biliary compression, or a consumptive coagulopathy. The optimal surgical management of symptomatic hepatic hemangiomas remains controversial, with resection, enucleation, and both deceased donor and living donor liver transplantation having been reported.Case reportWe report the case of a patient found to have a unique syndrome of multiorgan cavernous hemangiomatosis involving the liver, lung, omentum, and spleen without cutaneous involvement. Sixteen years following her initial diagnosis, the patient suffered from intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to her giant cavernous hepatic hemangioma. Evidence of continued bleeding, in the setting of Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome and worsening abdominal compartment syndrome, prompted MELD exemption listing. The patient subsequently underwent emergent liver transplantation without complication.ConclusionAlthough cavernous hemangiomas represent the most common benign primary hepatic neoplasm, hepatic hemangioma rupture remains a rare presentation in these patients. Management at a center with expertise in liver transplantation is warranted for those patients presenting with worsening DIC or hemorrhage, given the potential for rapid clinical decompensation

The role of magnetic resonance imaging and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in the evaluation of disease activity and severity in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Background & Aims Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERCP) has been considered the gold standard for the diagnosis and follow-up of primary sclerosing cholangitis, but it has been replaced by less invasive magnetic resonance imaging and cholangiopancreatography (MRI-MRCP). However, the role of these two techniques in the evaluation of disease activity and severity needs to be elucidated. Methods Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (n: 48, male 31, median age: 35.7; 28.0-44.2) who underwent ERCP and MRI-MRCP within +/- 3 months for diagnosis or follow-up, were reviewed. ERCP and MRI-MRCP images were scored using the modified Amsterdam score. Serum and biliary cytology markers of disease activity and severity were related to the imaging findings. Agreement on the assessment of the ERCP/MRCP score was calculated by kappa-statistics. Spearman ' s rho was calculated when appropriate. Results The agreement between ERCP and MRCP in scoring bile duct changes for disease severity was only moderate (weighted kappa: 0.437; 95% CI: 0.211-0.644 for intra- and 0.512; 95% CI: 0.303-0.720 for extra-hepatic bile ducts). ERCP and MRCP intra-hepatic scores were associated to the surrogate marker alkaline phosphatase (P = .02 for both). A weak correlation between MRCP score for extra-hepatic bile ducts and liver transplantation/death was found (Spearman's rho = .362, 95% CI: 0.080-0.590, P = .022). A weak correlation between intra- (Spearman ' s rho = .322, 95% CI: 0.048-0.551, P = .022) and extra-hepatic (Spearman`s rho = .319, 95% CI: 0.045-0.549, P = .025) peribiliary enhancement on contrast-enhanced MRI and severity of biliary cytologic classification was found. Conclusions The overall agreement between ERCP and MRI-MRCP in assessing disease severity was moderate for intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts. MRI-MRCP seems to have a minor role as surrogate marker of disease activity and progression in PSC.Peer reviewe

Value of Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography in Assessment of Nonanastomotic Biliary Strictures After Liver Transplantation

Nonanastomotic biliary strictures (NAS) remain a frequent complication after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) could be used to detect NAS and to grade the severity of biliary strictures. METHODS: In total, 58 patients after OLT from 2 Dutch transplantation centers in whom endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and MRCP were performed within less than 6 months apart were included in the study. Of these patients, 41 had NAS and 17 were without NAS based on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and follow-up. Four radiologists—2 from each center—used an adapted validated classification—termed “Leiden Biliary Stricture Classification” “(LBSC)—to evaluate the MRCP examinations independently. In this classification, NAS severity is assessed in 4 hepatobiliary regions. Interobserver agreement of the severity score for each region was calculated with the κ statistics. RESULTS: Optimal cutoff value of the LBSC to detect the presence of NAS with MRCP was calculated at 3 points or greater for all readers. Applying this cutoff sensitivity for each reader was greater than 90%, with a specificity of 50% to 82%, positive predictive value of 86% to 91%, and negative predictive value of 80% to 100%. The MRCP performance was better in evaluation of the intrahepatic than of the extrahepatic bile ducts. The additional value of MRCP for grading severity of NAS was limited. CONCLUSIONS: The MRCP with the LBSC is a reliable tool to detect or exclude NAS after OLT. Currently, MRCP cannot be used to reliably grade the severity of these strictures