Poverty and Social Exclusion Target. Europe 2020 Strategy Too Much Actor Diversity For Consensus?

The purpose of this thesis is to question the cause of the lack of consensus surrounding Europe 2020s poverty and social exclusion target – to lift 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion. The target was a major development for the European Union’s social dimension. Even so, it did not come easily, with divides over the existence and measurement of such a target. The Commission proposed the use of a sole at-risk-of-poverty indicator in their March 2010 draft, however by June the target included three indicators for poverty and social exclusion; at risk of poverty, jobless households, and material deprivation. Using strands of new institutionalism, this study acknowledges one commonly held premise and introduces a unique hypothesis to be tested. The first reestablishes the recurrent argument that a degree of diversity between the member states is the cause of the lack of consensus. The second concerns what is considered a gap in the current literature, analyzing the diversity between institutional levels focusing on the inclusion of the civil society. In short, this thesis concludes that there is a certain level of horizontal and vertical diversity causing the lack of consensus. However, this inference introduced the notion of a larger complexity issue surrounding poverty. Lastly, that further research is needed with a focus on the multidimensionality of poverty as a concept

The Influence of Body Mass Index on Self-Report and Performance-Based Measures of Physical Function in Adult Women

Obesity has a negative impact on physical function; however, little is known about limitations in physical function across BMI categories using both self-report and performance-based measures. Furthermore, the impact of BMI on the measurement of function has not been explored. PURPOSE: To assess physical function in adult women across BMI categories using self-report and performance-based measures and determine the influence of BMI on the relation of self-report and performance-based measures. METHODS: 50 sedentary females (10 in each BMI category: normal weight, overweight, and class 1, 2, and 3 obese) aged 51.2 ± 5.4 years participated. Assessments included demographics, past medical history, physical activity level, BMI, waist circumference, body composition, and self-report and performance-based measures of physical function. Correlation coefficients were computed between BMI and the measures of physical function. Physical function was compared between BMI categories using analysis of variance. The influence of BMI on the relation of self-report and performance-based measures was analyzed by computing correlation coefficients between the measures for the non-obese and obese and by using linear regression. Furthermore, questions from the self-report measure were compared to similar tasks on the performance-based measure for the non-obese and the obese. RESULTS: As BMI increased, physical function decreased on self-report and performance-based measures (all p <.01). Compared to those that were normal weight and overweight, the obese had poorer physical function on both types of measures (all p < .01). A large percentage of participants in the obese groups reported changes in how or how often they performed functional activities. While the performance-based and self-report measures of function were moderately correlated in the sample (p < .001), the association between the measures was significantly stronger for the non-obese compared to the obese. Compared to the non-obese, a greater number of individuals with obesity performed differently on walking tests compared to their report. CONCLUSIONS: High BMI had an adverse effect on common every-day functional tasks in adult women. Compared to those that are normal weight and overweight, individuals with obesity had the greatest impairments in physical function and tended to less accurately depict physical function abilities

A Non-Aggregative, Thermally Stable Glucose Sensor for Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Diabetes mellitus is a disease that affects the regulation of a person’s blood glucose levels. Fully implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has the potential to improve diabetes management by improving patient compliance and more importantly, providing patients with a more detailed trend of their glucose level on a daily basis. One such approach in the development of a CGM device is the use of the lectin Concanavalin A (ConA) in a competitive glucose binding assay. The current set back to these ConA based assay has to do with its stability, and sensitivity. Furthermore, current CGM devices face longevity issues due to the nature of the implant and attack from the immune system. Therefore, the overall goal of the project is to develop a fully implantable, minimally invasive CGM device that would overcome issues pertaining to longevity, stability and sensitivity. Towards this goal, the current work aimed to first develop a non-aggregative thermally stable glucose sensing assay. First, ConA’s thermal stability at body temperature (37°C) was evaluated and based on the resulting instability, ConA was modified with poly (ethylene glycol) chains to improve its thermal stability at 37°C. Results showed that the presence of these PEG chains improved ConA’s thermal stability without significantly hindering its ability to bind to a competing ligand and sense changes in glucose concentrations within the physiologically relevant range. Next, this worked characterized the sensitivity and FRET efficiency of the newly modified ConA based assay, paired with the recently introduced monovalent competing ligand, mannotetraose. These characteristics was compared to current traditional ConA/dextran based glucose sensing assay. It was determined that across the desired glucose concentration range of 0 to 600 mg/dL, the new PEGylated ConA/mannotetraose based assay had improved sensitivity and FRET efficiency when compared to a PEGylated ConA/dextran based assay. Finally, this work aimed to encapsulate the modified assay within the proposed biocompatible membrane, PNIPAAm, and evaluate its ability to sense changes in external glucose concentration. To accomplish this, different encapsulation techniques such as calcium carbonate microspheres, alginate microspheres and layer by layer (LbL) deposition on PNIPAAm copolymer AMPS (AMPS-PNIPAAm) hydrogels were investigated to achieve minimal leaching without significantly impacting the glucose sensing of the assay within a hollow rod shaped membrane. The work also investigated the modification of the assay to increase the size of the smaller assay component as an alternative means to try and retain the assay within the biocompatible membrane. The deposition of LbL on the inner wall of the AMPS-PNIPAAm rods proved to be more efficient with an approximate 50% change in FRET signal for changes in glucose concentration ranging from 0 to 600 mg/dL and a mean absolute relative difference (MARD) of ~10%

PIV Measurements of the CEV Hot Abort Motor Plume for CFD Validation

NASA s next manned launch platform for missions to the moon and Mars are the Orion and Ares systems. Many critical aspects of the launch system performance are being verified using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions. The Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) consists of a tower mounted tractor rocket tasked with carrying the Crew Module (CM) safely away from the launch vehicle in the event of a catastrophic failure during the vehicle s ascent. Some of the predictions involving the launch abort system flow fields produced conflicting results, which required further investigation through ground test experiments. Ground tests were performed to acquire data from a hot supersonic jet in cross-flow for the purpose of validating CFD turbulence modeling relevant to the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV). Both 2-component axial plane Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and 3-component cross-stream Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) measurements were obtained on a model of an Abort Motor (AM). Actual flight conditions could not be simulated on the ground, so the highest temperature and pressure conditions that could be safely used in the test facility (nozzle pressure ratio 28.5 and a nozzle temperature ratio of 3) were used for the validation tests. These conditions are significantly different from those of the flight vehicle, but were sufficiently high enough to begin addressing turbulence modeling issues that predicated the need for the validation tests

Justice Derailed: What Raids on Trains and Buses Reveal about Border Patrol's Interior Enforcement Practices

This report is the first-ever in-depth examination of the Border Patrol's transportation raids in upstate New York. It paints a disturbing picture of an agency resorting to aggressive policing tactics in order to increase arrest rates, without regard for the costs and consequences of its practices on New Yorkers' rights and freedoms. The report extends beyond transportation raids to other Border Patrol practices as well, raising serious concerns about an agency that appears to be driven by the belief that the regular rules of the Constitution do not apply to it

Aptamer conjugated silver nanoparticles for the detection of interleukin 6

The controlled assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles by a molecular binding event has emerged as a simple yet sensitive methodology for protein detection. Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) coated with functionalized aptamers can be utilized as biosensors by monitoring changes in particle optical properties, such as the LSPR shift and enhancement of the SERS spectra, in the presence of a target protein. Herein we test this method using two modified aptamers selected for the protein biomarker interleukin 6, an indicator of the dengue fever virus and other diseases including certain types of cancers, diabetes, and even arthritis. IL6 works by inducing an immunological response within the body that can be either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory. The results show that the average hydrodynamic diameter of the NPs as measured by Dynamic Light Scattering was ∼42 nm. After conjugation of the aptamers, the peak absorbance of the AgNPs shifted from 404 to 408 nm indicating a surface modification of the NPs due to the presence of the aptamer. Lastly, preliminary results were obtained showing an increase in SERS intensity occurs when the IL-6 protein was introduced to the conjugate solution but the assay will still need to be optimized in order for it to be able to monitor varying concentration changes within and across the desired range

High Affinity Mannotetraose as an Alternative to Dextran in ConA Based Fluorescent Affinity Glucose Assay Due to Improved FRET Efficiency

Diabetes mellitus affects millions of people worldwide and requires that individuals tightly self-regulate their blood glucose levels to minimize the associated secondary complications. Continuous monitoring devices potentially offer patients a long-term means to tightly monitor their glucose levels. In recent years, fluorescent affinity sensors based on lectins (e.g., Concanavalin A (ConA)) have been implemented in such devices. Traditionally, these sensors pair the lectin with a multivalent ligand, like dextran, in order to develop a competitive binding assay that changes its fluorescent properties in response to the surrounding glucose concentrations. This work introduces a new type of fluorescent ligand for FRET-based assays in an attempt to improve the sensitivity of such assays. This ligand is rationally designed to present a core trimannose structure and a donor fluorophore in close proximity to one another. This design decreases the distance between the FRET donor and the FRET acceptors on ConA to maximize the FRET efficiency upon binding of the ligand to ConA. This work specifically compares the FRET efficiency and sensitivity of this new competing ligand with a traditional dextran ligand, showing that the new ligand has improved characteristics. This work also tested the long-term thermal stability of the assay based on this new competing ligand and displayed a MARD of less than 10% across the physiological range of glucose after 30 days incubation at 37 °C. Ultimately, this new type of fluorescent ligand has the potential to significantly improve the accuracy of continuous glucose monitoring devices based on the competitive binding sensing approach

Curating Nasa's Future Extraterrestrial Sample Collections: the Role of Advanced Curation

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) (henceforth referred to herein as NASA Curation Office) is responsible for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Under the governing document, NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 7100.10F "Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials," JSC is charged with "The curation of all extraterrestrial material under NASA control, including future NASA missions." The Directive goes on to define Curation as including "...documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples for re-search, education, and public outreach." Here we describe some of the ongoing efforts to ensure that the future activities of the NASA Curation Office are working towards a state of maximum proficiency