If we don\u27t talk about it, they\u27ll never go away : an examination of the experiences of and reactions to stigma by a diverse population of adoptive parents in the United States.

Adoption challenges the traditional Western notions of kinship and family formation. Because of this, adoption has become a stigmatized status in American culture. Utilizing a grounded theoretical approach, this study examines the experiences of stigma by adoptive parents in the United States and the ways adoptive parents react to and manage this stigmatization. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 17 adoptive parents living across the country. It was found that adoptive parents experienced stigma through comments made during their interactions with others, which fell into four categories: hesitation toward the birth parents, suspicion of the costs, assumptions concerning adoptive parents’ motives, and reservations questioning the validity of adoption. In reaction, adoptive parents engaged in stigma management strategies to resist and redefine cultural beliefs about adoptive families. They should to educate society on the realities of adoption by being open with their stories while challenging the assumptions and language of these experiences in hopes of normalizing adoption in America

The use of FD-filamentous bacteriophage for the in vivo imaging of cancer

Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- biochemistry (Medicine)."December 2006"Includes bibliographical references.Vita.The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2006.Improved diagnosis of cancer through targeted imaging of neoplasms is needed for early detection and treatment of cancer. We propose that the physical characteristics of filamentous bacteriophage (phage) are well suited for use in the targeted imaging of cancer. This study describes the development of two different phage-based cancer imaging agents. One is specific for prostate carcinoma, and the other specific for melanoma, with each utilizing different imaging modalities - optical imaging and radioimaging. A human PC-3 prostate carcinoma was optically imaged using phage displaying a newly selected prostate homing peptide labeled with the near infrared fluorophore AF680, whereas, a mouse B16-F1 melanoma was radioimaged using single-photon-emission-computed-tomography through a two-step pretargeting procedure. This pretargeting strategy utilized bifunctional bacteriophage that were both biotin labeled and displayed [alpha]-melanoma stimulating hormone peptide analogs and included streptavidin-chelator complex radiolabeled with 111In. The successful imaging of prostate carcinoma and melanoma with different strategies exhibits the versatility of phage and highlights their utility in the imaging of cancer

Identifying the health and well-being benefits of recreational fishing.

In summary, this study found that considerable health and well-being benefits can be gained through involvement in recreational fishing. Encouraging young children, youth, adults and families to fish offers a cost effective and healthful outdoor recreational activity that can be enjoyed throughout life. Benefits were evident for individuals and groups. Recreational fishing was also noted to provide significant benefits to children and youth with behavioural and mental health issues. Finally, educational strategies that focus on how to minimise the environmental impacts of recreational fishing can ensure today’s and tomorrow’s recreational fishers are aware of sustainable fishing practices

Rape Culture

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/feminist_zines/1047/thumbnail.jp

Assessment of Practice-Focused Middle School Science Modules

AMP-IT-UP is an NSF-funded K-12 program intended to promote math, science, and engineering learning through STEM integration-focused curricula. As part of this program, one-week modules were designed to teach specific science practices within the context of the appropriate grade-level content. Nine science modules were created, one focused on each practice (practices are data visualization, experimental design, and data-driven decision making) at grade levels 6, 7, and 8. In this presentation, we will focus on our assessment of the implementation of these modules across four middle schools during the 2016-2017 academic year. We will present our methodology for assessing this complex instructional effort, which includes classroom observations, online implementation surveys, and online teacher discussions about their experiences implementing the modules. We will also provide results from our pre-post assessments of student learning. Overall, the results indicate positive teacher experiences as well as significant increases in student learning in some modules

Inpatient Oral Care

Background: Oral care is proven to prevent colonization of pathogenic organisms in the oral cavity and decrease rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). To improve patient health outcomes, one local hospital sought to implement an oral care policy founded on evidence-based research. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine best practice for oral care in an intensive care unit. The study is an integral part of creating a comprehensive oral care policy and guide for purchasing hospital-wide oral care products. Methods: Oral care policies at local facilities with intensive care units were reviewed and compared. Clinical practice guidelines and peer-reviewed studies were also utilized. Results: Research revealed inconsistent oral care practices with regards to frequency, oral cleansing agent, and concentration of oral cleansing agent. Discussion/Recommendation: The study was limited by the lack of evidence-based oral care practices. A multivariable research study needs to be conducted to ascertain the best practices of frequency, oral cleansing agent, and concentration of oral cleansing agent for oral care. Areas of interest include patient refusal rates, ventilated versus non-ventilated patients, and acuity of care

Enhancing activity, nutrition and mental health in overweight adolescents Stage 1 - Formative Research

This report discusses Stage 1 of the 'Curtin Activity, Food and Attitudes Program' (CAFAP). As a part of this research program, a tertiary hospital adolescent obesity intervention was adapted and piloted it in a community setting with clinically obese adolescents and their families. The first stage of the project refined the program and its evaluation framework based on individual, family and community enablers and barriers. This report will present the outcomes of Stage 1. It will examine the experiences of participants and discuss the understanding gained of what would encourage potential participants to become involved in CAFAP if it was available to them in their community

Circular and linear mitochondrial genomes in cytoplasmic male sterile maize [abstract]

Abstract only availableCytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited condition in which a plant has an inability to produce viable pollen. It is usually due to the production of a toxic chimeric protein within the mitochondria during the maturation of pollen grains. In maize (Zea mays), there are three types of CMS: CMS-T, CMS-C and CMS-S. The S-type of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS-S) in maize is associated with the expression of a rearranged mitochondrial DNA region. This CMS-S-specific region includes two co-transcribed chimeric open reading frames, orf355 and orf77. The nuclear restorer-of-fertility gene, Rf3, cleaves all transcripts containing both orfs, including the CMS-S-specific linear 1.6 kb mRNA; this results in male fertility. The Lancaster Surecrop-derived inbred line A619 carries a different and weaker restorer called Rf9. Fertility restoration by Rf3 and Rf9 was compared for their effects upon the CMS-associated region of mitochondrial DNA. Unlike Rf3, Rf9 affects the organization of the CMS-S-specific region. It appears to do this by affecting recombination between linear "S" plasmids and the CMS-S-specific region of the main mitochondrial genome, which produces a linear end from which transcripts for the 1.6 kb mRNA are initiated. By reducing the amount of recombination, Rf9 reduces the amount of linear template available for transcribing the S-associated 1.6 kb RNA. A reduction in this transcript is associated with an increase in pollen survival. We have studied the effects of the two restorer-of-fertility genes from several different inbred lines on the amounts of integrated and linearized orf355/orf77 genes within CMS-S mtDNA.MU Monsanto Undergraduate Research Fellowshi

THE Hα EMISSION OF NEARBY M DWARFS AND ITS RELATION TO STELLAR ROTATION

The high-energy emission from low-mass stars is mediated by the magnetic dynamo. Although the mechanisms by which fully convective stars generate large-scale magnetic fields are not well understood, it is clear that, as for solar-type stars, stellar rotation plays a pivotal role. We present 270 new optical spectra of low-mass stars in the Solar Neighborhood. Combining our observations with those from the literature, our sample comprises 2202 measurements or non-detections of Hα emission in nearby M dwarfs. This includes 466 with photometric rotation periods. Stars with masses between 0.1 and 0.6 M[subscript ⊙] are well-represented in our sample, with fast and slow rotators of all masses. We observe a threshold in the mass–period plane that separates active and inactive M dwarfs. The threshold coincides with the fast-period edge of the slowly rotating population, at approximately the rotation period at which an era of rapid rotational evolution appears to cease. The well-defined active/inactive boundary indicates that Hα activity is a useful diagnostic for stellar rotation period, e.g., for target selection for exoplanet surveys, and we present a mass-period relation for inactive M dwarfs. We also find a significant, moderate correlation between L[suscript Hα]/L[subscript bol] and variability amplitude: more active stars display higher levels of photometric variability. Consistent with previous work, our data show that rapid rotators maintain a saturated value of LHα/Lbol. Our data also show a clear power-law decay in L[subscript Hα]/L[subscript bol] with Rossby number for slow rotators, with an index of −1.7 ± 0.1.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship (Award AST-1602597