I had to learn that on my own : successful first-generation, low-income college students from rural areas at an urban institution.

First-generation and low-income college students have been at a greater risk of attrition and have graduated at lower rates compared to other students for some time. Despite this, however, there are first-generation and low-income students who have been successful and have graduated. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of research focused on successful students, particularly those who are also from a rural background. The purpose of this study is to reveal what strategies, practices, actions, and behaviors low income, first-generation students from a rural background employ and engage in to persist and be academically successful. A qualitative methodology was chosen for this study, and more specifically, interviews of study participants were conducted. Single participant interviews were conducted in order to maintain the strict confidentiality of the participants and to obtain information that occurred at previous points in time. There were five major themes of the study. The first was the importance of the environment of the institution, followed the impact of one’s first-generation and low income status on their campus experiences. Next, a third theme was the strengths participants brought with them to campus from a rural background, followed by the significance of participants building their own support networks on campus. Finally, participants reported a great deal of support to attend college from a variety of sources. Related findings included the need to build their own support network on campus and that a rural upbringing provides students with many assets and strengths that can be beneficial at the university. Related findings also included that the university is generally doing relatively well for students who are from first-generation and low-income backgrounds, although improvements can still be made. Finally, the study found that participants, overall, were involved and engaged on campus. Student affairs professionals and higher education administrators must look for ways to further increase the likelihood that first-generation, low-income students from rural areas will persist, be academically successful, and ultimately graduate. Essentially, understanding the unique characteristics such as strengths and assets as well as challenges and obstacles is paramount in working with this student population

Investigation of peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization for diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia in bronchoalveolar lavage specimens

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe management of iconic predatory species such as the gray wolf provides a valuable index of human-nature relations. The wolf is incorporated into discursive constructions of political power in unique ways, and it may function as an ideograph, or an ideological discursive tool. As both a symbolic mobilizer of human sympathies/ antipathies and an influential material presence within ecosystems, the wolf is worthy of study for how its characterization in discourse resonates rhetorically and materially. This study uses discourse analytic tools to examine tensions in the rhetorical discourse of management decisions related to the gray wolf's reintroduction in the United States. The study focuses on the reintroduction and recovery of the gray wolf in the American West and considers broader themes related to the separation between humans and nature, wildlife management, and the ways in which human and nonhuman bodies alike are disciplined by the discourse of political borders. Engaging the concepts of territoriality, power, ideology and human-nature hybridity while working from specific findings regarding wolf characterization, this study explores how the wolf's presence is both enabled and constrained rhetorically by human political discourse regimes that may fragment the species as an ecological presence in bioregions by imposing on it a rhetoric of political borders

Western equine encephalitis virus: neuroinvasion, pathogenesis, and immunomodulatory treatment strategies

2013 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV; Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe encephalitis in humans and equids. WEEV is closely-related to eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and may model similar pathogenesis in a mouse model. Previous studies have shown that intranasal infection of outbred CD-1 mice with the WEEV McMillan (McM) strain result in high mortality within 4 days of infection, thus providing a model of exposure to airborne encephalitic alphavirus. In addition, WEEV McM causes high mortality within 5-7 days following peripheral inoculation of mice. Therefore, WEEV McM may be used to model infection following exposure to infected mosquitos. The route of WEEV entry into the central nervous system (CNS) is not well-understood. In the studies presented here, bioluminescence (BLM) imaging and recombinant reporter viruses based on WEEV McM were applied to detect and track virus in mice following intranasal or subcutaneous inoculation, and used to determine correlation between BLM and viral titer. Additionally, histopathology analysis was guided by corresponding BLM images and used to identify specific CNS regions affected during infection. The major findings from these studies indicate that WEEV McM uses a different route for entry into the CNS for each of the two inoculation methods (intranasal or footpad). Intranasal challenge resulted in neuroinvasion occurring primarily through cranial nerves, mainly in the olfactory tract. Olfactory bulb neurons were initially infected followed by spread of the infection into different regions of the brain. WEEV distribution was confirmed by immunohistochemistry as having marked neuronal infection but very few infected non-neuronal glial cells. Axons displayed infection patterns consistent with viral dissemination along the neuronal axis. The trigeminal nerve served as an additional route of neuroinvasion showing significant FLUC expression within the brainstem. Neuroinvasion from footpad inoculation demonstrated a consistent pattern in the spatiotemporal distribution of virus among the imaged brains, none of which involved the olfactory bulb. These studies support the hypothesis that neuroinvasion of WEEV likely occurs in areas of the CNS where the blood-brain barrier is naturally absent. These areas include the median eminence of hypothalamus (hypothalamic output), posterior pituitary, pineal body, and the area postrema. There are no antiviral therapies against alphaviral disease and current vaccine strategies target only a single alphavirus species. In an effort to develop new tools for a broader response to outbreaks, a novel alphavirus vaccine comprised of cationic-lipid-nucleic acid complexes (CLNCs) and the ectodomain of WEEV E1 protein (E1ecto) was designed and tested. Interestingly, the CLNC component alone had therapeutic efficacy as it increased survival of CD-1 mice following lethal WEEV infection. Immunization with the CLNC-WEEV E1ecto mixture (lipid-antigen-nucleic acid complexes; LANACs) using a prime/boost regimen provided strong protection in mice challenged with WEEV subcutaneously, intranasally, or via mosquito. In addition, the LANAC immunization protocol significantly increased survival of mice following intranasal or subcutaneous challenge with EEEV, indicating potential as a 'pan-alphavirus' vaccine candidate. Mice immunized with LANAC mounted a strong humoral immune response, but did not produce neutralizing antibodies

An Examination of the Prosperity Gospel: A Plea for Return to Biblical Truth

The prosperity gospel teaches that the Bible promises health, wealth and uncommon success to all believers. A problem surfaces when the prosperity that is promised does not materialize to all members of the congregation. In examining the validity of this teaching, extensive writings, books, articles and sermons by leading proponents, have been reviewed. Additionally, interviews with at least one hundred pastors inform this writing. The purpose of the research is to furnish contemporary, active insight to this project. The conclusion of this writer is that the prosperity gospel offers an unbalanced application of scripture, which results in a departure from a clear biblical orientation for articulating the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Hence the ramifications of the prosperity message when measured by fundamental Christological dogma leads to doctrinal poverty