Prevention

The Effect of Sulindac was studied on an animal model of ischemic stroke. Sulindac, a non steroid anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) could protect cell death due to hypoxia/reoxygenation. This drug was given 2 days before and 24 hrs after ischemia until animals were sacrificed on 3rd or 11th day. Infarct size was measured for these animals. Sulindac induced Hsp 27 in ischemic penumbra and core on Day 3 & 11 with uncoated nylon suture which shows its cell-survival and anti-apoptotic activity. Also, it increased expression of cell survival markers such as Akt, Bcl2 & Grp 78 in ischemic penumbra and core. With silicon suture it reduced expression of Hsp 27 in ischemic penumbra and core, alleviating cell stress and having pro-survival and anti-stress effects. In conclusion sulindac may have excellent potential as neuro protective agent against oxidative stress in cerebral ischemia.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of compression socks worn post exercise on the perceived rating of muscle soreness. Methods: In a randomly cross over design, 16 subjects performed a soreness inducing protocol. Below knee CG (Compression garments) were worn for the next 6 hours post exercise. HR (Heart Rate), RPE (rate of perceived exhaustion) and time to complete one cycle was measured throughout the intervention. PS (Perceived Soreness) was assessed prior, immediate post, 6h, and 24h post exercise. Results: There was no significant difference in perception of soreness between compression and no compression at 6h post exercise (p=.136) and at 24h post exercise (p=286). Conclusion: Compression socks worn post exercise did not significantly alter ratings of perceived soreness after a soreness inducing protocol.

This study examined the relationship between selected student and institutional characteristics and the retention rates of first-time, degree seeking, full-time and parttime, freshman student cohorts in public community colleges in Florida. Based on data obtained from the Integrated Post-Secondary Data System on selected student and institutional variables for three years beginning fall 2005, 2006 and 2007, retention rates were analyzed for the years beginning fall 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. This quantitative non-experimental descriptive study relied on multiple regression to analyze aggregated data on eight predictor variables to determine their impact student retention rates. A moderating variable (institutional size) was used to determine its influence on the relationship between the predictor variables and the criterion variable. The results suggest that gender and age were positively related to student retention rate at the parttime level, academic support expenses were negatively related to student retention rates at the part-time and full-time levels, and institutional size moderated the relationship between certain predictor variables and retention rates at small institutions.

Policymakers and scholars are deeply divided on the purpose and effectiveness of sanctions, but recent work has given attention to the strategy of using positive sanctions or incentives. This study investigates the conditions under which the U.S. uses a punitive sanctions policy (indicated by all negative sanctions) or an engagement policy (indicated by a mix of positive and negative sanctions). Applying materialist (Schelling, 1960, 1966; Snyder and Diesing, 1977; Axelrod, 1984; Fearon, 1994) and sociological (Schoppa, 1999; Wendt, 2000; Lebow, 2007) bargaining perspectives, this study will consider factors such as the level of target threat, the target's nuclear weapons capability, the extent of international support for sanctions, and the relationship between the U.S. and target. This study analyzes the case studies of the U.S-led sanctions against Iraq (1990-2003), North Korea (1993-present), and Libya (1972-2006).

The Center for Ocean Energy Technology at Florida Atlantic University is developing an ocean energy turbine system to investigate the feasibility of harnessing Florida's Gulf Stream current kinetic energy and transforming it into a usable form. The turbine system has components which are prone to marine corrosion given the materials they are made of and to the harsh environment they will be exposed to. This study assumes a two-part system composed of a coating system acting as a barrier and sacrificial anode cathodic protection which polarizes the metal structures to a potential value where corrosion is significantly reduced. Several configurations (varying in anode quantity, size and location) were considered in order to cathodically protect the structures with various coating qualities (poor, good and excellent). These cases were modeled and simulated via Boundary Element Method software and analyzed so as to assess the most appropriate design.

Preventing bad things from happening to engineered systems, demands improvements to how we model their operation with regard to safety. Safety-critical and fiscally-critical systems both demand automated and exhaustive verification, which is only possible if the models of these systems, along with the number of scenarios spawned from these models, are tractably finite. To this end, this dissertation ad dresses problems of a model's tractability and usefulness. It addresses the state space minimization problem by initially considering tradeoffs between state space size and level of detail or fidelity. It then considers the problem of human interpretation in model capture from system artifacts, by seeking to automate model capture. It introduces human control over level of detail and hence state space size during model capture. Rendering that model in a manner that can guide human decision making is also addressed, as is an automated assessment of system timeliness. Finally, it addresses state compression and abstraction using logical fault models like fault trees, which enable exhaustive verification of larger systems by subsequent use of transition fault models like Petri nets, timed automata, and process algebraic expressions. To illustrate these ideas, this dissertation considers two very different applications - web service compositions and submerged ocean machinery.

This paper presents the comparison of shrinkage and corrosion characteristics of optimized hybrid Rice Husk Ash (RHA)/Fly Ash (FA)-modified Concrete, with those of normal concrete in the marine environment. Uses of both FA and RHA have numerous environmental benefits. Shrinkage performance was determined by subjecting the mixes to restrained shrinkage testing per ASTM C1581. The time to cracking of the specimens improved an average of 18% with the hybrid mixes. Corrosion testing of reinforced columns was performed in a simulated tidal cycle Marine Environment. Corrosion potential improved by as much as 35% for the mix with the highest FA/RHA replacement, and corrosion activity as measured with potentiostat equipment improved by an average of 34% . These results indicate a clear performance improvement of the modified concrete that is proportional to the percent replacement of cement.

The cruelty of Military Police guards at Abu Ghraib prison contributed to American shame and questions regarding how such cruelty emerges. The accepted approach of "situational attribution theory" - based upon Zimbardo's (1973, 2007) social psychological perceptions and results of the Stanford Prison Experiment - proposed that personality or "disposition" has little role in the emergence of such cruelty. Termed "institutional cruelty," this manuscript presents the possibility that understandings and preventive measures afforded by situational attribution theory can be extended via acknowledgement of a greater role played by disposition. Psychoanalytic and object relations approaches are presented to this end. The manuscript addresses the most puzzling characteristics of institutional cruelty: 1) rapidity of onset, taking days or, at most, weeks for initial expression, 2) emergence in ordinary, normal individuals, and 3) emergence in the "mock" situation of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Criminological, organizational culture, and social psychological theories are explored for their application to institutional cruelty.

We propose a distributed, collaborative traffic congestion detection and dissemination system using VANET that makes efficient use of the communication channel, maintains location privacy, and provides drivers with real-time information on traffic congestions over long distances. The system uses vehicles themselves, equipped with simple inexpensive devices, as gatherers and distributors of information without the need for costly road infrastructure such as sensors, cameras or external communication equipment. Additionally, we present a flexible simulation and visualization framework we designed and developed to validate our system by showing its effectiveness in multiple scenarios and to aid in the research and development of this and future VANET applications.

This study examined the perceptions held by former and current welfare-to-work participants of factors that contributed to the retention, persistence, attrition and/or completion of welfare-to-work training programs at a community college. Using the lived experiences and voices of former or current welfare-to-work participants and a qualitative research design, the researcher examined the following research questions: (a) What factors during the training impacted the movement of participants from welfare-to-work? (b) How did these factors enhance or serve as barriers to the movement of participants from welfare-to-work? This study was presented as a heuristic study of 12 former welfare participants who have transitioned or are currently transitioning from welfare to work. Using purposeful sampling, the researcher selected the participants for this study through self-identification or through nomination by program leaders and other program participants. Each of the 12 former welfare participants was interviewed about the situational, institutional, and dispositional aspects of their training. Demographic data were collected on each of the 12 participants for the purpose of a comparative analysis. Interviews of family members or friends of each of the participants validated the stories provided by the participant. Interviews with two administrators with direct responsibilities for some of the training programs for participants transitioning from welfare-to-work were also done to substantiate the stories of the participants. The findings of this study indicated three conclusions about the participants' perceptions of factors affecting their retention in welfare-to-work programs in a community college.