New Orleans City Hall as a sustainable civic center for 21st century

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008.Page 68 blank.Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-47).The devastating struck of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in late summer of 2005 was deadly and immense. The storm destroyed over 170 drinking water facilities and 47 wastewater treatments around the city, and resulted the shortage of fresh water supply. The mixing of industry chemical, debris, bacteria and decomposing bodies in flooded water made this water horribly poisoned. Thus, the water supply condition was contaminated and become unfit for drinking. Although the government did not declare the lack of clean water in New Orleans as a major issue during Hurricane Katrina disaster, it is in fact a compounding element in the overall disaster, which should have greater priority. Drinking water needed to be delivered from elsewhere, running water was shut down because the clean water facilities were destroyed. Yet the only water available was contaminated. These issues created dire difficulty for those who provided help and those who needed assistance. Thus, the focus of this thesis lies in the issue of water and architecture in which will be perceived through the eye of sustainable architecture. More importantly, the thesis highlights ways to integrate and employ water in architecture in the most desirable and efficient fashion. The thesis rebuilds a new City Hall for the City of New Orleans as a design project. In this endeavor it aims to combine a sustainable technology blending in with the symbol of government in a building. Thus a new City Hall spirit is encapsulated in the government building to project out beyond the 21st century.by Pholkrit Sangthong.M.Arch

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Perceptions Regarding Human Trafficking

This study surveyed 135 individuals, of which 68 were native speakers of English and 67 were native speakers of Thai. Respondents answered questions on issues related to human trafficking, its causes, and potential solutions. Statistical tests showed significant variance in opinions between language and other groups regarding factors associated with trafficking, and regarding the potential impacts of legalization of prostitution. Thai responses reflected collectivist cultural perceptions while English responses reflected more individualistic views. Males and English speakers were most likely to think legalized prostitution would lead to a reduction in human trafficking while females and Thais were most likely to believe legalized prostitution would increase trafficking. Responses to an open-ended question showed participants felt similarly about potential remedies for human trafficking, including information and awareness campaigns, interaction between civilians and police, increased penalties for offenders, and reduction in macro-environmental variables such as poverty.  &nbsp

An Analysis of Destination Reputation, Perceived Value and Environmentally Responsible Behavioral Intention of Domestic Tourists to Scuba Diving in Andaman Coast, Thailand

This research aims to study 1) the effect of destination reputation on the environmentally responsible behavioral intentions of domestic tourists regarding scuba diving at the Andaman coast, and 2) perceived value as a mediator of the relationship between destination reputation and the environmentally responsible behavioral intentions of domestic tourists, scuba diving at the Andaman coast. A quantitative method was used in this study. Data were collected via questionnaire, from 400 domestic tourists, who were scuba diving in the Andaman coastal region. Data were then analyzed via a structural equation model. The results showed that destination reputation did not affect environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. However, destination reputation affected three dimensions of perceived value, namely epistemic value, conditional value, and functional value. Moreover, these three dimensions of perceived value impacted environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. In addition, the three dimensions of perceived value fully mediated the relationship between destination reputation and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Perceptions Regarding Human Trafficking

This study surveyed 135 individuals of which 68 were native speakers of English and 67 were native speakers of Thai Respondents answered questions on issues related to human trafficking its causes and potential solutions Statistical tests showed significant variance in opinions between language and other groups regarding factors associated with trafficking and regarding the potential impacts of legalization of prostitution Thai responses reflected collectivist cultural perceptions while English responses reflected more individualistic views Males and English speakers were most likely to think legalized prostitution would lead to a reduction in human trafficking while females and Thais were most likely to believe legalized prostitution would increase trafficking Responses to an open-ended question showed participants felt similarly about potential remedies for human trafficking including information and awareness campaigns interaction between civilians and police increased penalties for offenders and reduction in macro-environmental variables such as povert

Relationships Among Stress, Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate Variability in Meditators

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Growing evidence indicates that psychological stress contributes to cardiovascular diseases through complex neuroendocrine mechanisms. Psychological stress leads to several physiological responses including increased heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) as well as decreased heart rate variability (HRV) through alterations in the autonomic nervous system (ANS), specifically increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and decreased parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity. Meditation is thought to induce an innate relaxation response leading to reduced psychological stress. Findings from past studies have provided inconclusive evidence regarding the direction and strength of relationships among stress, BP, HRV, and meditation practice. PROCEDURES: A cross-sectional descriptive-correlational design was used to examine relationships among perceived stress, BP, HRV and meditation practice in meditators. A convenience sample of 71 meditators at two meditation centers in the southeast United States was used. Sample size was based on a power analysis. Each participant was asked to complete meditation, perceived stress, and demographic questionnaires. Participants\u27 BP was measured before meditation and HRV was recorded during a 30 minute meditation session. Finally, BP was recorded after meditation. RESULTS: Participants were predominantly female (55%), Caucasian/white (94%), and Buddhist (76%), with 93% having at least college graduate. Most participants practiced soto zen or vipassana meditation (45% and 30%, respectively). The average length of total meditation practice was 103.66 months. Participants practiced meditation an average of once a day for 4 days a week with mean session duration of 34 minutes. Most participants had a low level of perceived stress and normal HRV. There was a statistically significant decrease in mean systolic BP after meditation (t = 5.31, p CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested meditators had low levels of perceived stress and that meditation had an effect on systolic BP and perceived current stress. Future research needs to include longitudinal studies to elucidate the cumulative effects of consistent meditation practice on psychological and physiological outcomes

An inspiratory load enhances the antihypertensive effects of home-based training with slow deep breathing: a randomised trial

QuestionCan adding an inspiratory load enhance the antihypertensive effects of slow breathing training performed at home?DesignRandomised trial with concealed allocation.ParticipantsThirty patients with essential hypertension Stage I or II.InterventionExperimental groups performed slow deep breathing at home, either unloaded or breathing against a load of 20 cmH2O using a threshold-loaded breathing device. Participants trained for 30 min, twice daily for 8 weeks. A control group continued with normal activities.Outcome measuresResting blood pressure and heart rate were measured at home and in the laboratory before and after the training period.ResultsCompared to the control group, systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly with unloaded breathing by means of 7.0 mmHg (95% CI 5.5 to 8.5) and 13.5 mmHg (95% CI 11.3 to 15.7), respectively (laboratory measures). With loaded breathing, the reductions were greater at 18.8 mmHg (95% CI 16.1 to 21.5) and 8.6 mmHg (95% CI 6.8 to 10.4), respectively. The improvement in systolic blood pressure was 5.3 mmHg (95% CI 1.0 to 9.6) greater than with unloaded breathing. Heart rate declined by 8 beats/min (95% CI 6.5 to 10.3) with unloaded breathing, and 9 beats/min (95% CI 5.6 to 12.2) with loaded breathing. Very similar measures of blood pressure and heart rate were obtained by the patients at home.ConclusionHome-based training with a simple device is well tolerated by patients and produces clinically valuable reductions in blood pressure. Adding an inspiratory load of 20 cmH2O enhanced the decrease in systolic blood pressure.Trial registrationNCT007919689

Rate control analysis of the translation initiation pathway in S. cerevisiae

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Population genetic analysis of oceanic paddle crab (Varuna litterata) in Thailand

Population genetic structure of Varuna litterata living along the coast of Thailand were examined in this study. The samples were collected from 3 coastal regions: The Andaman sea (Satun, Trang, Phang Nga), the lower Gulf of Thailand (Pattani, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat) and the upper Gulf of Thailand (Petchburi, Samut Songkram, Rayong, Trat). Intraspecific variation was determined based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase subunits I gene. A total of 182 samples were collected but only 32 haplotypes were obtained from these samples. An excess of rare haplotypes indicated that the female effective population size of V. litterata living along the coast of Thailand is large. Estimated values of haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were 0.790 and 0.003, respectively. The AMOVA (analysis of molecular variance) and phylogenetic analysis results showed that based on genetic variation, the population of this organism was found to have 2 genetically different populations: The Andaman sea population and the Gulf of Thailand population. Genetic exchange of V. litterata among populations inhabiting along the coast of Thailand could be described by the stepping stone model. The results of neutrality tests, both Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fs statistics, yielded negative values (-1.992 and -26.877, respectively) and statistically significant deviation from the neutrality, indicating that the V. litterata living along the Thailand coast had experienced population expansion. Mismatch distribution analysis indicated that a possible expansion occurred 211,428 years ago during the Pleistocene glaciations period