Gender Effects in Perceiving Advertising Archetypes

This study will examine the gender effects in perceiving advertising archetypes. Our society is constantly becoming more and more media saturated, and advertisers need to focus on employing evidence-based strategies to reach their target audiences. One repeating pattern throughout advertising is the use of archetypes. This study analyzes the prominent use of archetypes in today’s advertising, and factors in information on how gender can potentially impact the effectiveness of archetypes. Many studies in the past have shown females are naturally better at non-verbal communication, and perhaps this translates over into them being able to recognize advertising archetypes better

Sexual maturity, spawning activity, sex ratio and fecundity of two Mullidae species dwelling the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea

AbstractUpeneus guttatus and Upeneus pori are the most common Mullidae species inhabiting the Gulf of Suez and mainly caught by the trawl fisheries. Reproductive biology of the two species was studied during the fishing period from September, 2013 to May 2015. The monthly gonad maturity development and the monthly gonado-somatic index (GSI) sequence of U. guttatus and U. pori revealed prolonged spawning activities throughout spring and summer seasons. The sex ratio was 1:2 for the two species in favor of females; it differed statistically from the expected 1:1 (X2=65.4 in U. guttatus and 70.4 in U. pori). The length at which 50% of the population attains sexual maturity (Lm50) is 11.35±0.32 and 11.47±0.25cm for males and females respectively in U. guttatus, where it was 10.56±0.21cm in males and 10.60±0.18cm in females of U. pori. Absolute fecundity increased as the fish length and weight increases. Observed absolute fecundity ranged from 142,925±5621 to 86,940±3364 eggs for the length range of 12.0–18.0cm in U. guttatus and from 8773±560 to 71,400±3219 eggs in total lengths of 11.0–16.0cm for U. pori, with a low value of standard error ranging between 0.28% and 4.9% in both species and high correlation coefficient (R2>0.96)

Enhancing information retrieval in folksonomies using ontology of place constructed from Gazetteer information

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial TechnologiesFolksonomy (from folk and taxonomy) is an approach to user metadata creation where users describe information objects with a free-form list of keywords (‘tags’). Folksonomy has have proved to be a useful information retrieval tool that support the emergence of “collective intelligence” or “bottom-up” light weight semantics. Since there are no guiding rules or restrictions on the users, folksonomy has some drawbacks and problems as lack of hierarchy, synonym control, and semantic precision. This research aims at enhancing information retrieval in folksonomy, particularly that of location information, by establishing explicit relationships between place name tags. To accomplish this, an automated approach is developed. The approach starts by retrieving tags from Flickr. The tags are then filtered to identify those that represent place names. Next, the gazetteer service that is a knowledge organization system for spatial information is used to query for the place names. The result of the search from the gazetteer and the feature types are used to construct an ontology of place. The ontology of place is formalized from place name concepts, where each place has a “Part-Of” relationship with its direct parent. The ontology is then formalized in OWL (Web Ontology Language). A search tool prototype is developed that extracts a place name and its parent name from the ontology and use them for searching in Flickr. The semantic richness added to Flickr search engine using our approach is tested and the results are evaluated

Comparison Between Radiotracer and Surface Profile Methods for the Determination of Dentifrice

poster abstractIntroduction: ISO11609 states that a surface profile (Sp) method can be used to determine dentifrice abrasivity in relation to dentin (RDA) as an alternative to the traditional radiotracer method (Rt). A comparison between both methods was performed in this study. Methods: Specimens from human root dentin were prepared for each method and randomly assigned to 8 dentifrice/abrasive groups (n=8), which represented a wide abrasivity range. Aqueous dentifrice slurries or abrasive suspensions in a solution containing 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose and 10% glycerin were used to brush specimens in a custom-made V-8 cross-brushing machine. Two independent studies (Sp, Rt) were carried out. For Rt, the specimen preparation, study design, analysis and calculation of the abrasive level (RDA) followed the ISO11609/Annex A guidelines. Similarly for Sp, the ISO11609/Annex B recommendations were followed, except by the number of brushing strokes, which was pre-determined to be 2000 strokes (instead of 10000) in a preliminary test. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey tests, with significance level set at 5%. The correlation between methods was also investigated. Results: Overall, higher variation and RDA values were observed for the Sp method compared to Rt. While good correlation was found between methods (R2=0.841), group ranking was dissimilar and better statistical differentiation among groups was observed in Rt. Conclusions: The Rt method showed to be a more standardized and robust method compared to Sp for the determination of RDA values of dentifrices/abrasives. Sp needs to be further developed before being considered as an equivalent test method for RDA. The determination of the abrasive levels of toothpastes using standard testing methods is important to guide oral care professionals and patients on the prevention of toothbrushing abrasive wear

Effect of different endodontic regeneration protocols on wettability, roughness and chemical composition of surface dentin

Introduction We investigated the changes in physiochemical properties of dentin surfaces after performing different endodontic regeneration protocols. Methods Human dentin slices were randomized into 4 treatment groups and 1 untreated control group (n = 10). One treatment group was irrigated with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 5 minutes followed by EDTA for 10 minutes. The other 3 treatment groups were irrigated with NaOCl; treated for 4 weeks with triple antibiotic paste (TAP), diluted triple antibiotic paste (DTAP), or calcium hydroxide (Ca[OH]2); and then irrigated with EDTA. After treatment, contact angles between a blood analog and dentin surfaces were evaluated. Surface roughness and chemical composition were characterized using optical profilometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. One-way analysis of variance followed by Fisher least significant difference tests were used for statistical analyses. Results All treatment groups showed a significant reduction in wettability and a significant increase in surface roughness when compared with untreated dentin. Dentin treated with Ca(OH)2 had significantly lower wettability compared with all other groups. No significant difference in wettability was found between dentin treated with DTAP and TAP protocols. Dentin treated with TAP had significantly higher surface roughness compared with all other groups. Untreated dentin and NaOCl + EDTA–treated dentin had significantly higher calcium and phosphorus as well as significantly lower carbon compared with dentin treated with Ca(OH)2, DTAP, and TAP. Conclusions Endodontic regeneration protocols had a significant effect on wettability, surface roughness, and chemical composition of surface dentin. The Ca(OH)2 protocol caused a significant reduction in dentin wettability compared with TAP or DTAP protocols

Investigating basal ganglia function using ultra-high field MRI

The basal ganglia (BG) are a group of highly interconnected nuclei that are located deep at the base of the cerebral cortex. They participate in multiple neural circuits or 'loops' with cognitive and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. The basal ganglia has primarily been thought to be involved in motor control and learning, but more recently a number of brain imaging studies have shown that the basal ganglia are involved also in cognitive function. The aim of this work is to investigate the role of the basal ganglia in cognitive control and motor learning by examining its involvement in GO/WAIT and GO/NO-GO tasks, and Motor Prediction task, respectively. Ultra-high field (7 Tesla) fMRI is used to provide higher BOLD contrast and thus higher achievable spatial resolution. A dual echo gradient echo EPI method is used to obtain high quality images from both cortical and sub-cortical regions. A common neural basis across different forms of response inhibition using GO/WAIT and GO/NO-GO cognitive paradigms is observed in the experiments of Chapter 4, as well as distinct brain regions involved in withholding and cancelling of motor responses. Using the GO/WAIT cognitive paradigm in Chapter 5 individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) are compared to age and gender-matched control healthy subjects (CS), and it is shown that TS subjects are unable to recruit critical cortical and sub-cortical nodes that are typically involved in mediating behavioural inhibition. Furthermore, in Chapter 6, the role of the basal ganglia in motor learning is investigated using the Motor Prediction task. The findings show that the basal ganglia and midbrain regions (i.e., habenula) are involved in motor prediction and enhancing the reinforcement learning process. This thesis aims to investigate the basal ganglia function in cognitive and motor tasks, and concludes with suggested further studies to advance our understanding of the role of the basal ganglia nuclei in cognitive function

Diluted antibiotics for treating traumatized immature teeth

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Endodontic regeneration (ERP) has been successfully used in the treatment of traumatized immature teeth. The procedure has three essential steps: disinfecting the root canal (i.e. triple antibiotic paste (TAP) or double antibiotic paste (DAP)), provoking bleeding inside the canal to form a scaffold upon which pulp stem cells will be deposited and continue root growth, and creating a good coronal seal. Previous research has reported that antibiotic pastes (TAP and DAP) are cytotoxic to stem cells in the concentrations commonly used in endodontic regeneration (1000 mg/mL). To decrease the adverse effects on stem cells and increase the rate of success of the regeneration, defining appropriate antibiotic concentrations for ERP is critical. In this project, five in-vitro experiments were conducted to determine the breakpoint dilutions of both TAP and DAP medicaments, and to prepare a suitable novel pastes containing diluted TAP or DAP medicaments for ERP. In the first experiment, we compared the antibacterial effect of TAP, and DAP against early biofilm formation of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteria. In the second study, we investigated the antibacterial effect of various dilutions of TAP and DAP antibiotic medicaments against established E. faecalis biofilm. In the third experiment, we investigated longitudinally the residual antibacterial activity of human radicular dentin treated with 1000, 1 or 0.5 mg/ml of TAP and DAP. In the fourth study, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of various dilutions of TAP and DAP antibiotic medicaments on the survival of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSC). And in the fifth experiment, we investigated the antibacterial and cytotoxic effect of novel intracanal medicaments consisting of methylcellulose (MC) and/or propylene glycol (PG) mixed with 1mg/ml of TAP or DAP. 1 mg/ml of DAP or TAP medicaments had a significant antibacterial effect against early bacterial biofilm formation, and established bacterial biofilm. Furthermore, 1 mg/ml had a residual antibacterial activity comparable to 1000 mg/ml. The novel intracanal medicaments had comparable antibacterial effect to currently used medicaments (1000 mg/ml). Additionally, the novel intracanal medicaments significantly enhanced DPSC metabolic activity, compared to currently used medicaments in endodontic regeneration procedures

Investigating basal ganglia function using ultra-high field MRI

The basal ganglia (BG) are a group of highly interconnected nuclei that are located deep at the base of the cerebral cortex. They participate in multiple neural circuits or 'loops' with cognitive and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. The basal ganglia has primarily been thought to be involved in motor control and learning, but more recently a number of brain imaging studies have shown that the basal ganglia are involved also in cognitive function. The aim of this work is to investigate the role of the basal ganglia in cognitive control and motor learning by examining its involvement in GO/WAIT and GO/NO-GO tasks, and Motor Prediction task, respectively. Ultra-high field (7 Tesla) fMRI is used to provide higher BOLD contrast and thus higher achievable spatial resolution. A dual echo gradient echo EPI method is used to obtain high quality images from both cortical and sub-cortical regions. A common neural basis across different forms of response inhibition using GO/WAIT and GO/NO-GO cognitive paradigms is observed in the experiments of Chapter 4, as well as distinct brain regions involved in withholding and cancelling of motor responses. Using the GO/WAIT cognitive paradigm in Chapter 5 individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) are compared to age and gender-matched control healthy subjects (CS), and it is shown that TS subjects are unable to recruit critical cortical and sub-cortical nodes that are typically involved in mediating behavioural inhibition. Furthermore, in Chapter 6, the role of the basal ganglia in motor learning is investigated using the Motor Prediction task. The findings show that the basal ganglia and midbrain regions (i.e., habenula) are involved in motor prediction and enhancing the reinforcement learning process. This thesis aims to investigate the basal ganglia function in cognitive and motor tasks, and concludes with suggested further studies to advance our understanding of the role of the basal ganglia nuclei in cognitive function

The effect of full-contour Y-TZP ceramic surface roughness on the wear of bovine enamel and synthetic hydroxyapatite : an in-vitro study

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)THE EFFECT OF FULL-CONTOUR Y-TZP CERAMIC SURFACE ROUGHNESS ON THE WEAR OF BOVINE ENAMEL AND SYNTHETIC HYDROXYAPATITE: AN IN-VITRO STUDY by Alaa Hussein Aref Sabrah Indiana University School of Dentistry Indianapolis, Indiana Full-contour yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) restorations have been advocated recently in clinical situations where occlusal/palatal space is limited, or to withstand parafunctional activities. The objectives of this in-vitro study were to investigate the effects of different polishing techniques on the surface roughness of Y-TZP (Ardent Dental, Inc.) and to investigate the effects of different polishing techniques on the wear behavior of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) and bovine enamel. An in-vitro study was conducted by fabrication of 48 Y-TZP sliders (diameter = 2 mm × 1.5 mm in height) using CAD/CAM technique; then the samples were embedded in acrylic resin using brass holders. Samples were then randomly allocated into four groups according to the finishing/polishing procedure: G1-as-machined (n = 8), G2- glazed (n = 16), G3-diamond bur-finishing (Brasseler, USA) (n = 8) and G4- G3+OptraFine polishing kit (Ivoclar-Vivadent) (n = 16). Thirty-two sintered HA disks (diameter = 11 mm × 2.9 mm in height) and 16 bovine enamel samples with a minimum surface area of 64 mm2 were mounted in brass holders. Baseline surface roughness (Ra and Rq, in μm) were recorded using a non-contact profilometer (Proscan 2000) for all the samples. A two-body pin-on-disk wear test was performed for 25,000 cycles at 1.2 Hz in which the four zirconia groups were tested against HA, and only G2-glazed and G4- G3+OptraFine polishing kit (Ivoclar-Vivadent) were tested against bovine enamel. Vertical substance loss (μm) and volume loss (mm3) of HA were measured (Proscan). Zirconia height loss was measured using a digital micrometer. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. The results indicated that surface roughness measurements showed significant differences among the surface treatments with G1 (Ra = 0.84, Rq = 1.13 μm) and G3 (Ra = 0.89, Rq = 1.2 μm) being the roughest, and G2 (Ra = 0.42, Rq = 0.63 μm) the smoothest. The glazed group showed the highest vertical loss (35.39 μm) suggesting wear of the glaze layer, while the polished group showed the least vertical loss (6.61 μm). HA antagonist volume loss and vertical height loss for groups (G1, G2 and G3) were similar, while polished group (1.3 mm3, 14.7 μm) showed significant lower (p = 0.0001) values. Antagonist height loss and antagonist volume loss were significantly higher for bovine antagonist than for HA antagonist (197.6 μm/116.2 μm, and 28.5 mm3/17.7 mm3 for bovine against glazed/polished zirconia sliders, respectively) (p < 0.0001). From the results it can be concluded that glazed zirconia provided an initially smooth surface, but a significant increased antagonist wear compared with the polished surface was seen. Bovine enamel showed higher wear compared with HA, which suggested that more studies should be performed to validate the use of bovine enamel as a substitute for human enamel in wear studies