Computer Simulation of Tooth Mobility using Varying Material Properties

Tooth mobility is the major cause of stress on a tooth implant or partial denture and often results in the damage of the device. For many prosthetic devices like dental bridges, a partial denture used for a person who is missing a tooth to give the appearance and function of a tooth, mobility can cause up to double the amount of stress in comparison to a fixed model. Creating a computer simulation of tooth mobility using Finite Element Analysis allows one to understand and predict this movement in order to improve future dental prosthetic devices. The main cause of tooth mobility within the mouth is the periodontal ligament (PDL). This ligament is a soft biological tissue that surrounds the roots of teeth. The tooth moves when a force like mastication, or chewing, causes the ligament to deform. This deformation is due to the small Young’s Modulus of the ligament. The Young’s Modulus determines the stiffness of a material. In the case of the PDL, the Young’s Modulus is sometimes noted to be 30,000 times smaller than that of dentin, this is the material that makes up the majority of the tooth, and of the alveolar bone, this is the bone in which the tooth lies. The deformation of the PDL is also due to the viscoelastic nature of the ligament. The major elastic component of the ligament is collagen, this material allows the PDL to stretch to a certain limit, and the major viscous component of the ligament is the interstitial fluid between the cells, this allows the material to have a fluid-like nature (4)

A Complete Characterization of Irreducible Cyclic Orbit Codes and their Pl\"ucker Embedding

Constant dimension codes are subsets of the finite Grassmann variety. The study of these codes is a central topic in random linear network coding theory. Orbit codes represent a subclass of constant dimension codes. They are defined as orbits of a subgroup of the general linear group on the Grassmannian. This paper gives a complete characterization of orbit codes that are generated by an irreducible cyclic group, i.e. a group having one generator that has no non-trivial invariant subspace. We show how some of the basic properties of these codes, the cardinality and the minimum distance, can be derived using the isomorphism of the vector space and the extension field. Furthermore, we investigate the Pl\"ucker embedding of these codes and show how the orbit structure is preserved in the embedding.Comment: submitted to Designs, Codes and Cryptograph

Justified By Faith: The Upper Susquehanna Lutheran Synod and the Pennsylvania Natural Gas Fracking Controversy

An exercise in applied Christian ecotheology, this thesis focuses on a community of Lutheran church bodies (ELCA) in North Central Pennsylvania as they grappled with natural gas hydraulic fracturing in the summer of 2012. In the paper, I employ a combination of theological, environmental, historical, and ethnographic research methodologies to ground my analysis of how this synod of Lutherans to date has approached the fracking boom. My primary research question is: How might the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA--as a representative body of 131 Lutheran churches that are steeped in tradition--use its history, community involvement, theology, and church structure to address an ecological quandary like fracking? I answer this question in four sections, with each chapter focusing on a different thematic sub-question. Though I borrow techniques from the social sciences, I have written this thesis as a narrative, in order to draw the reader into this fascinating community. Instead of separating my literature review from my ethnographic data, I blend the two together in each chapter, weaving together quotes from synod members with secondary source material. Embedded throughout the report are also maps that I have produced using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique to give the story a spatial dimension. Additionally, I use photographs of the synod counties to enhance the reader’s understanding of the region’s ecological and cultural landscapes

\u27The Earth is Crying Out in Pains of Childbirth\u27: Bauxite Mining and Sustainable Rural Development in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

In 2003, residents of the Serra do Brigadeiro Territory, a rural region of Southeastern Brazil in one of the few remaining patches of the Atlantic Forest, learned of a large number of bauxite concessions in their territory given by the federal government to the prominent Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), Brazil’s largest aluminum producer. Because the region prides itself on its small-scale agriculture and its lush natural environment, the mining has been the source of much contention in the community. Introduced to the topic by the international conservation non-profit and research center, Iracambi, I spent two months in the territory this summer, exploring how the community perceives the mining. An exercise in anthropological research, this report tries to answer the question: How has the controversy surrounding the bauxite mining informed how the citizens of the Serra do Brigadeiro territory perceive their communal, religious, and individual identities in relationship to the development of their communities? Through formal and informal interviewing, participant observation, GIS mapping, and fieldwork, I concluded that the mining has instigated community inquiry into many facets of the region’s future, including: the fate of family agriculture; the value of ecological resources; globalization and its effect on economic and generational change; the rhetoric used to express opinions on external forces such as bauxite mining; the role of religion in advocacy and conflict mediation surrounding such changes in the region\u27s cultural ecology

"Becoming an American Princess?": The Interpretations of American Popular Culture by Young Korean Girls Living in the United States

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, School of Education, 2006This dissertation was to investigate young Korean girls' understanding about the American popular culture by using peer group discussions. Assuming that children are active learners in interpreting American popular culture, it focused on how they constructed distinct meanings for the significance that American popular culture holds in their lives. In order to do so, this dissertation looked particularly at young Korean girls who have lived in the United States by examining how these girls interpreted, negotiated with, and reconstructed American socio-moral values and expectations that are presented in American popular culture. In this dissertation, Disney animated films were chosen since they are considered one of the exemplary symbols of American children's popular culture by American Disney reviewers as well as by Korean audiences. Before analyzing young Korean girls' understanding on the Disney films, this dissertation started by illustrating the relationships between popular culture, society, and education, popular culture's meaning to and influence on children, and the importance of children's interpretation of popular culture in the field of both cultural studies and education. In addition, it addressed the multicultural contexts of Korean children who live in America and these contextual influences on the Korean children's understanding of American popular culture. This dissertation then discussed three major themes, which dealt with young Korean girls' perspectives of the characteristics of attraction of romantic love, their interpretations of sexual messages and constructing sexuality, and their perceptions of being royals in the Disney films. Finally, this dissertation provided some implications and suggestions for young children's parents, early childhood teachers and teacher education programs, and researchers about using popular culture as a way to understand young children and their diverse interpretations which depend on the various contexts of different audiences

“How did I not know any of this?” Teaching Reproductive Justice in an Abortion Desert

Reproductive justice is often used interchangeably with reproductive rights and reproductive health, overshadowing the importance of each movement’s contributions to understanding bodily autonomy. I am a former abortion care worker, now faculty at a Lutheran liberal arts college in an abortion desert. Antiabortion events on campus motivated students to request evidence-based education about reproductive issues, leading me to develop an immersive reproductive justice course. Reproductive justice is a framework that analyzes how systems of power prevent equitable access to and enjoyment of rights and health. The course examined how multifaceted oppressions shape reproductive self-determination and included content about abortion, adoption, childbirth, parenting, sterilization, and other topics. Learning about reproductive justice at a religiously affiliated institution in an abortion desert amplified the relevance of reproductive autonomy for students, exposing the lacuna of information most came to college with. Reflective teaching strategies helped students apply course concepts to their lived experiences