Recruitment of Social Media Influencers to Promote Self-Compassion Practices to Combat the Negative Effects of Social Media on Adolescents.

Social media is a strong mode of influence over adolescents that commonly evokes feelings of being less than those they follow. Social media influencers that promote self-compassion practices create a buffering effect to the self-comparison and insecurity that is encouraged through social media for adolescents. Self-compassion works in opposition to the harmful effects of social media by encouraging acceptance of oneself instead of comparing oneself to idealized versions of others. Due to the high regard of influencers by adolescents, using their influence for practical application of self-compassion will combat the negative feelings often elicited by social media use. On a greater scope, implementation of self-compassion ambassadors on various social media platforms holds implications to help lower rates of youth mental illness, as self-compassion is empirically supported to be greatly beneficial for mental health

The design, synthesis, and evaluation of radiopharmaceuticals for actinium-225

This thesis studies the design, synthesis, and optimization of radiopharmaceuticals for targeted alpha therapy applications with actinium-225 (225Ac). In Chapter 2, three novel radiopharmaceuticals - 2.1 (DOTA-CCZ-N-Me-α-CycMSH), 2.2 (Macropa-CCZ-N-Me- α-CycMSH), and 2.6 (Macropa-α-CycMSH) for malignant melanoma therapy were labeled with 225Ac and evaluated. All three radiopharmaceuticals exhibited excellent in vitro stability, while Macropa-CCZ-N-Me-α-CycMSH showed lower tumor uptake and moderate normal tissue uptake. In Chapter 3, a total of 5 diaza-18-crown-6 macrocyclic ligands (macropa, macropaquin, macroquin-SO3, macrohopo, and macrohopo’) as chelators for 225Ac were investigated. Two of the chelators (macrohopo and macrohopo’) which contain hydroxypyridinone pendant donor arms are novel and were synthesized/characterized in this work. Macropaquin was able to quantitively radiolabel at chelator concentrations as low as 10-6 M at ambient temperatures within one hour, while chelator macrohopo was unable to achieve 225Ac complexation under any conditions. This thesis showcases the complexity of radiopharmeticuals, in particular for 225Ac

Diffusion through the ex vivo vitreal body - bovine, porcine, and ovine models are poor surrogates for the human vitreous

© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.The human vitreous humour is a complex gel structure whose composition and physical properties can vary considerably from person to person and also change with age. To date, the viscoelastic properties of the human vitreous gel has not been thoroughly investigated and despite many years of intensive research, an ideal vitreous substitute remains a challenge. Understanding the physical structure and properties of the vitreous is of fundamental and therapeutic interest, providing a clear insight into diffusion and transport of administered ophthalmic drug molecules into the vitreous. A number of mammalian surrogates, mainly bovine, porcine and ovine vitreous humours have been greatly used in the literature as a means of studying ophthalmic drug transport and diffusion. In this study, the mechanical, physical and rheological properties of ovine, porcine, and bovine surrogates were investigated and compared to human vitreous. In addition, a bespoke Franz cell construct was used to compare the diffusion of a model drug (i.e. fluorescein) through vitreous samples. Despite the similarity in rheological properties between bovine, porcine and human vitreous samples (p > 0.05), diffusion of fluorescein through the different vitreous samples revealed great differences in values of steady-state flux and diffusion coefficient. In addition, a first-generation vitreous mimic, composed of 4.5 mg/mL hyaluronic acid with complex viscosity of 0.3 ± 0.01 Pa has been evaluated and was demonstrated to be a better mimic of the human vitreous than the mammalian samples investigated.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Lovers and (Boy) Friends: Shifting Identities in Japanese BL Manga

As academic scholarship on the Japanese popular media genre known as Boys’ Love has been focused upon the genre’s fan culture and female readers, this thesis project aims to move away from the fans and to the texts in order to explore how the genre is in conversation with changes in societal understandings of same-sex sexuality in Japan. Following brief introductions of four portrayals of men that are commonly found in Japanese popular media, three contemporary manga titles are analyzed to explore how the authors negotiate the narrative conventions of the Boys’ Love genre with the shifting understandings of same-sex sexuality vis-à-vis the visual appearance of the characters, the role of these characters in their fictionalized societies, and the settings wherein the narratives take place

Public Health Issues and General Practice in the Area of Middlesbrough, 1880-1980

The thesis looks at the industrial town of Middlesbrough from 1880-1980. It examines public health issues the town encountered, with particular reference to General Practitioners (GPs), assessing their interactions with the community, local authorities, industry and medical professionals. The rationale for this study was to evaluate the relationships the GPs formed within the town and how they responded to the changing nature of health in Middlesbrough as the century under investigation progressed. GPs are often overlooked within medical history; therefore, the study provided an opportunity to examine their role over an extended period. The thesis utilized a previously unused archival resource, the Dr Geoffrey Stout Collection (Teesside Archives, Middlesbrough). Additionally, it analysed Medical Officer of Health reports, local newspapers, medical journals, council minutes and comparable secondary literature sources. Oral history interviews with retired GPs from the area were also collected throughout the project. The thesis determined that GPs within Middlesbrough had complex relationships with the principle stakeholders of the town, the attitudes of the GPs, especially towards public health, often being in conflict with the town’s officials. Middlesbrough’s association with industry compromised the community’s health; this complicated not only the GPs relationship with the community but, on occasion, caused the town’s authorities to delay in their response to outbreaks of disease in order to protect Middlesbrough’s industrial paymasters. This thesis provides a continuous outline of the role of GPs in an industrial town, not only at the height of its success but also during the post-WW2 decline. It presents analysis of the GPs interactions, roles, attitudes, successes and failures. Additionally, it reviews the town’s health and the attempts made to combat disease, improve sanitation and reconstruct housing. The study establishes the origin of the town’s long-term association with poor health, a topic still pertinent and relevant in modern policy debate

Ice stream dynamics and pro-glacial lake evolution along the north-western margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.

Ice streams drain ice sheets rapidly and are key regulators of their mass balance in both palaeo and contemporary settings. Present day ice streams can be identified, and their short-term activity monitored, by measuring the surface velocity of ice sheets. However, in order to understand their long-term behaviour, reconstructions of their activity in palaeo-ice sheets are necessary. Numerous palaeo-ice streams have been identified in the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) and this has considerably refined our understanding of its dynamic behaviour and links to the ocean-climate system. In the north-west sector of the LIS, ice streaming has been hypothesised but detailed mapping of the area has not been carried out and so our understanding of palaeo-ice streaming is limited compared to other areas. This thesis presents a new ice sheet reconstruction of the north-west sector of the LIS that incorporates ice stream activity and pro-glacial lake evolution. Mapping and analysis was carried out using a range of remote sensing imagery and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), which enabled widespread, rapid and systematic coverage of the 800,000 km2 study area. More than 95,000 bedforms have been mapped, including glacial lineations, eskers, moraines and palaeo-channels. These data permit the identification and classification of 272 flow-sets which have been dated using an existing 14C database and relative cross-cutting relationships. Flow-sets are used to construct a robust and self-consistent ice sheet reconstruction, incorporating the activity of ice streams at a temporal resolution of up to 250-500 years. The reconstruction reveals major changes in ice sheet configuration during Late Wisconsinan deglaciation and indicates that margin retreat was complex and dominated by the dynamic spatial and temporal evolution of seven ice stream systems. These ice streams were not synchronous but a peak in their activity occurred between 15 and 13 ka. Their location and behaviour was influenced by the availability of soft sediments, but their temporal switching was likely controlled by sub-glacial meltwater routing and ice piracy. Large proglacial lakes developed during deglaciaton but their evolution did not appear to control ice stream activity, as observed elsewhere in the ice sheet. However, major palaeo-channels are consistent with a previously hypothesised north-west drainage route for Glacial Lake Agassiz

Reconstructing Loch Lomond Stadial Glaciers and Climate in the south-west English Lake District

The most recent glaciation of the English Lake District occurred during the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) when full glacial conditions returned to the British Isles. The largest ice mass formed over the Western Scottish Highlands with smaller ice masses developing throughout the British uplands. In the Lake District, our understanding of the extent and timing of the Loch Lomond Stadial glaciation is patchy and poorly constrained by geochronology. Sissons (1980) proposed the development of 64 independent alpine-style ice masses in the district during the Loch Lomond Stadial. The location and geometry of these ice masses showed some agreement to the earlier, but coarser scale, map of ice masses produced Manley (1959) for the same period, however some significant differences were also apparent. More recently, McDougall (1998: 2001) has proposed the development of plateau icefields in the Lake District centred over High Raise, Grey Knotts/Dale Head, Brandreth and Kirk Fell. This much more extensive style of glaciation involved 40-50 m of cold based non-erosive ice occupying the plateau summits and feeding down into warm-based geomorphologically active outlet glaciers in the valleys. Further Loch Lomond Stadial sites have also been identified in the Lake District by Wilson (2002: 2004) and Wilson and Clark (1998: 1999). The geomorphology of the south-west Lake District is identified and presented here and glaciers are then reconstructed based upon this evidence. Palaeoclimatic inferences made based upon the reconstructed glacial extent vary greatly depending on the style of glaciation that occurred during Stadial (alpine or plateau icefield). Of particular note, plateau icefields have the potential to significantly raise the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) across a region. This lowers the temperature at the ELA and therefore increases the reconstructed palaeoprecipitation at the ELA. In order to test the viability of the reconstructed glaciers in the Lake District, a 2D velocity-mass balance model is applied to the glaciers (adapted from Carr and Coleman,2007). This model assumes that where a glacier is glaciologically viable under the parameters used to drive the model, the basal velocity (Ub) accounts for < 90 % of the surface velocity in the centre of the channel (Us). Further mass contributions to the glaciers via mechanisms such as snowblow are quantified using a revised definition of potential snowblow areas. The significance of these areas is then assessed with respect to the ELA of the glaciers. Digitisations of the work of Sissons (1980), McDougall (1998), Wilson and Clark (1998: 1999) in the Lake District are then presented and compiled with the work of the current author to illustrate the extent of the Loch Lomond Stadial throughout the whole district

Rendering Reliance: Consuming Coloniality in the Global North

In this dissertation, I offer a theoretical lens for understanding how the Global South is imagined by the Global North. The Global South has become a popular cause that for-profit companies use in order to engage in what Samantha King terms cause-marketing. While individuals in the South are certainly helped by these campaigns, they are harmed through Northern consumers being empowered by private companies encouraging them to adopt a colonizing gaze that subjugates those in the South with adhering to stereotypes. I develop three rhetorical devices that fulfill stereotypes long-held about those who are “other.” First, I offer the endangered child, which can be invoked with actual children or through the paternal relationship with the Global North. The device relies on the sympathy of the audience and innocence of children who escape culpability for their plight. Second, I outline the endangered woman, who the North views as a worthy investment because her industriousness will better her community. Not only does the colonizing gaze seek to control her through adherence to standards of femininity, but also through the feminization of the landscape which the North seeks to control. Third, I offer the dangerous man who encourages both an affective divestment from his suffering, while simultaneously mobilizing Northern consumers to protect his victims and become white saviors. These rhetorical devices work together to force a response from the North because of the paternal relationship—cause-marketing campaigns ask that they consume. This strategy also exploits consumers’ need to self-actualize through consumption, according to King. These devices in cause-marketing campaigns harm those in the Global South by offering only a stereotypical view of the people in this space, reifying paternalism, not offering long-term solutions, and capturing them in a cycle of need. The Global North does not escape harm from these campaigns either since they are trapped in a cycle of consumption that is heightened by the white savior narrative. The North-South relationship continues to rely on the subjugation of those who are ostensibly being saved through the very messages that continue to harm them through a fulfillment of colonizers’ fantasies

"No topic is taboo": PETA's post-feminist pivot to human-centric imagery

2014 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.In this thesis I argue that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) perpetuate exclusionary and hurtful images in their "Boyfriend Went Vegan and Knocked the Bottom Out of Me" (BWVAKTBOOM) campaign. This campaign focuses on a young couple whose amorous activities leave the young woman, Jessica, with severe injuries. This campaign uses the manipulation of presence and absence to create controversy surrounding Jessica's agency. PETA uses this controversy to help forward a post-feminist ideology. This post-feminist message allows PETA to denigrate women to reassert masculine power and identity. I argue PETA chose to do this because of the "crisis of masculinity" that permeates popular media. The campaign reasserts masculine power through the reproduction of hypermasculinity, heteronormativity, and whiteness. The BWVAKTBOOM campaign reproduces hurtful, hegemonic images to reassert (vegan) masculine identity

The effects diabetes has on the neurovascular system during exercise

The autonomic nervous system is responsible for the involuntary control of most visceral organs. This system greatly influences the neurovascular and cardiovascular systems while at rest and during exercise. Central command, the baroreflex, and the exercise pressor reflex are the three systems that are responsible for the distribution of blood during exercise. Specifically, the exercise pressor reflex plays a dominant role during exercise because it is influenced by metabolic and mechanical factors that affect the vasculature health. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that can alter the way these systems function within the body. The effects of neural damage and exercise-induced hypoglycemia have been thought to be the sources behind the changes seen in the exercise pressor reflex. Currently, not a lot of research has been done on the exact mechanisms behind the changes of the exercise pressor reflex in diabetes; therefore, the explanations to these alterations are unknown. Thus, the purpose of this report is to develop a hypothesis for the effects of diabetes on the autonomic control of exercise, specifically the exercise pressor reflex.Kinesiology and Health Educatio