Chemical Imaging Comes of Age

Sophisticated analysis techniques allow researchers to extract meaningful results from spectral imaging data

Homelessness in the Valley

In today’s society, there is a common belief that homeless people are the problem and that they have services at their disposal to end their homelessness. Yet, there is little consideration given to how society has influenced this population. Homelessness is a serious problem nationwide and is also a challenge to resolve once you have found yourself within the homeless community. It is important not to judge each homeless individual’s situation the same. The demographics of the homeless population is just as diverse as the factors that led to their homelessness. This paper examined the available literature on the contributing factors of homelessness in Las Vegas, specifically subpopulations such as veterans, victims of domestic violence, and LGBTQ youth. The research conferred here shows that there is very little research conducted on the homeless population in Las Vegas

The Experience of Participating in DES

The Descriptive Experience Sampling method (DES, Hurlburt, 1990, 1993) is designed to help researchers collect and describe participants’ inner experience in a way that minimizes the impact of the participant’s presuppositions and the researcher’s worldview on the description of participants’ inner experience. This study was an exploratory examination of the potential therapeutic effects of DES. It used three sources of data: pre and post-DES SCL-90-R questionnaires, observation of the process that unfolded during DES interviews, and a post-DES exit interview. Participants (n = 14) were drawn from the Psychology 101 Subject Pool. After five days of DES, there was a statistically significant improvement in reported psychological symptoms with a moderate effect size . Participant engagement was associated with symptom improvement. These findings suggest the desirability of further research into the potential ameliorative effects of DES

Determination of Crystalline Content Gradients in Cold-Drawn Poly-L-Lactic Acid Films by DSC

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a semi-crystalline, optically active, biodegradable, and biocompatible polymer that has been utilized extensively in biomedical applications as an implantable artificial cell scaffold material. In its crystalline form, PLLA is piezoelectric and it has been implicated in the enhancement of electromechanically induced osteogenesis in vivo. In its amorphous state, however, PLLA does not exhibit piezoelectricity. By uniaxially cold-drawing the polymer, PLLA can be endowed with varying degrees of piezoelectricity. It is important to understand the crystalline architecture of drawn PLLA so that the osteogenic potential imparted by piezoelectricity, if any, can be differentiated from the effects of sample crystallinity. In our work we investigate the induced crystallinity for samples of drawn PLLA at draw ratios between 1.0 and 5.5 by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). As long-range molecular ordering occurs along the draw axis, we observe an increase in the average percent crystallinity up to a draw ratio of 5.0 and a slight decrease at a draw ratio of 5.5. More importantly, we observe significant heterogeneity in the crystalline content along the draw axis of standard dumbbells cut from PLLA and cold-drawn to representative draw ratios of 2.5 and 4.0. On average, the highest percent crystallinity occurs nearest the dumbbell center, but the maximum crystallinity is independent of draw ratio. Therefore, the draw ratio should not be considered a semi-quantitative estimate of localized PLLA crystallinity and point-to-point analysis of crystallinity in PLLA samples is required for constructing scaffolds with enhanced cell growth properties

Method for Accelerating Convergence to the Solution of Nonlinear Structural Equations by Reducing Residual Work

Mechanical Engineerin

Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Front Wheel Steering Stabilizer and of Fifth Wheel Anti-Jackknifing Devices on Articulated Vehicle Response Characteristics

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether or not a fifth wheel anti-jackknifing device would have a positive effect in allowing an articulated vehicle to be brought under control in the early stages of jackknifing. A computer program was developed to solve the equations of motion.Mechanical Engineerin

Challenges in Researching the Relationship Between Delinquency and Family Dynamics in Juvenile Sex Offenders

Recently developed treatment approaches on juvenile sex offenders include the offenders and their families. These approaches have some empirical support; however, little research attempts to link family dynamics and child abuse with juvenile re-offending. This study attempted to examine the family dynamics from the juveniles’ perspective. The Family Assessment Measure (FAM-III), Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Self Reported Delinquency measure (SRD), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF) were used to assess family dynamics, parenting style, delinquency and childhood maltreatment, respectively. Problems with recruitment resulted in too few participants (N=6) to conduct meaningful statistical analyses. Participant responses suggested elevated impression management scale scores and likely underreporting of sexual and non-sexual delinquency. The challenges inherent in research on this population were explored in lieu of reporting statistical analyses that are likely to be misleading