Forensic Interviews of Children: The Components of Scientific Validity and Legal Admissibility

The problems associated with assessments of children\u27s reports of victimization in criminal proceedings came to national attention during the 1980s and 1990s in a series of highly publicized trials of daycare staff. Walker describes information that professionals need to know if they are to conduct valid interview of children in forensic contexts

Wit, sentimentality and the image of women in the nineteenth century

Innovation and entrepreneurship have the potential to stimulate economic growth. Yet it remains unclear whether top-down or bottom-up innovations are more likely to lead to local economic development. By looking at three cases of frugal innovation on the Zambian Copperbelt, in the spheres of housing, water and energy, it will be argued that polycentric innovation (which connects local and international actors) is most likely to generate inclusive development. Yet even a polycentric approach does not guarantee desired outcomes, as innovation remains context specific

Land Grant Application- Walker, John (Anson)

Land grant application submitted to the Maine Land Office on behalf of John Walker for service in the Revolutionary War, by their widow Nancy.https://digitalmaine.com/revolutionary_war_me_land_office/1927/thumbnail.jp

Inspiration to fruition: four compositions for jazz quintet

This thesis examines four of my recent compositions for jazz quintet. The compositions were conceived to comprise a collection or suite, with each piece inspired by the work of a master of a particular creative discipline. Moved by the work of Haruki Murakami (literature), Wassily Kandinsky (painting), Jim Jarmusch (cinema) and Frank Gehry (architecture), I composed a piece as an homage to each of them. My intent was to convey through the compositions the mood, atmosphere and imagery communicated by these masters through their own art. I discuss the development of each of the compositions, as I moved from the compositional analogues to putting notes on paper. I describe specific concepts, structures and techniques I used in the process, and the motivating factors behind those decisions. I cite certain composers (present-day and deceased) whose work impacted my own, and illustrate the ways in which they informed my work

Word study: An interactive approach to word solving

This project addresses the problems some second grade students face when reading and writing due to decoding and encoding confusions and difficulties

Bicontinuous Materials from Telechelic Macromonomers Using Thiol-ene Chemistry

Bicontinuous structures are beneficial to many applications from health and medicine to energy and the environment. Although these materials can be used for many applications, current strategies yield bicontinuous structures only under highly specific processing conditions. Development of a versatile platform to reliably obtain bicontinuous morphologies will be broadly beneficial. This work presents two platforms that can be used to produce bicontinuous morphologies using a simple Mitsunobu/thiol-ene strategy. This platform allows for the incorporation of a variety of polymer chemistries to yield well-defined polymer networks or multiblock copolymers (MBCs). It also allows for the systematic investigation of factors affecting the morphology such as the molecular weight between cross-links and the volume fraction of the network components. The ease at which these variables can be systematically investigated allows for rigorous fundamental studies of these composite systems. In the first co-network system, the platform’s ability to tailor mechanical properties while maintaining good ion conductivity was demonstrated by comparing PEG-PDMS co-networks to PEG networks using EIS and DMA. Also, the effect of salt loading on thermal properties was explored using DSC. The second system, PEG-PS co-networks, demonstrated that varying the molecular weight of the precursor polymers results in control over d-spacing that fits well to de Gennes’s prediction (d ~ Mn0.5). Despite the variation in d-spacing, 22 - 55 nm, the ion conductivity and mechanical properties remained relatively consistent, demonstrating versatility in this system. Critical percolation thresholds were investigated by using ion conductivity and storage modulus to probe the continuity of the PEG and PS phases, respectively. Percolation theory suggests this system has a wide bicontinuous compositional window from fPEG = 0.225 -0.675. A preliminary phase diagram was generated by combining results from the molecular weight and volume fraction series. Finally, a simple synthesis for (MBCs) is demonstrated using the same Mitsunobu/thiol-ene platform. MBCs with ~4 blocks and two or three types of macromonomers were synthesized. Disordered phase separation was shown by SAXS and AFM. The versatile Mitsunobu/thiol-ene platform is easily able to synthesize different architectures using a range of polymer chemistries for various morphology and property studies

Unmasking mRNA in Clam Oocytes: Role of Phosphorylation of a 3′ UTR Masking Element-Binding Protein at Fertilization

AbstractDuring meiotic maturation or after fertilization of invertebrate and vertebrate oocytes, many of the quiescent stored mRNAs are recruited into polysomes. In the clam,Spisula solidissima,such masked messages include the abundant mRNAs encoding cyclin A and the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase. We have previously shown that mRNA-specific unmasking of these two messages can be achievedin vitro,in oocyte cell-free extracts, by the addition of antisense RNAs corresponding to a fairly short (130–140 nucleotides) segment in their cognate 3′ untranslated regions. We postulated that the antisense RNAs prevented the binding of a masking repressor protein (Standartet al.,1990). Here we report UV-crosslinking and gel retardation studies which show that the masking portions of the translationally regulated mRNAs bind an oocyte protein of 82 kDa (p82), which is phosphorylated after fertilization. This modification was accompanied by altered RNP complex formation in gel retardation assays. These changes presumably reflect the activation of translation of the masked mRNAs. The role of p82 phosphorylation in maternal mRNA unmasking was assessed in a novelin vitroactivation system developed from clam oocytes, based upon the natural rise in pH which accompanies fertilization. Concomitant with mRNA unmasking, several kinases, including cdc2 and MAP kinases were activated in this system, as was p82 phosphorylation. Inhibitors of serine/threonine kinases, including 6-DMAP, staurosporine, and H7 inhibited p82 phosphorylation, whereas inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, protein kinase C, cAMP-dependent protein kinase, and p70s6kdid not prevent this modification. A specific inhibitor of cdc2 kinase, p27Kip1, prevented p82 phosphorylation and translational activation, strongly suggesting that p82 modification is required for unmasking