Theses and Dissertations: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 1565
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Why Battered Women Stay: Women's Experiences with the Criminal Justice System in Augusta-Richmond County, GeorgiaPast research has revealed that women are more likely to be raped, physically assaulted, or murdered by their intimate partners than by strangers. Battered women who attempt to prosecute their abusers often find that the criminal justice system considers domestic violence a low priority. As a result, most abusers are not likely to be arrested or prosecuted. In this study the author will examine women's experiences with the criminal justice system in Augusta, Georgia. The primary goal of the study is to come to a better understanding of the role the criminal justice system may play in women's decision to remain in abusive relationships. The issues to be examined in this study will include battered women's perception of the following: 1) the attitudes of police officers responding to domestic violence calls, and 2) the criminal justice system's response to women's requests for restraining orders.
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The Nonlinear Dynamics of CUC12/A1 in Nitric Acid Solution: Chloride Ion ConcentrationThe Purex (Plutonium/Uranium Extraction) process employs environmentally hazardous mercury salts and organic solvents to separate plutonium and uranium from fission products. During this dissolution process, observations showed that the system was effectively dependent on the available mercury. After further investigation, the Purex process was found to be fundamentally electrochemical—that is, electron transfer from one chemical species to another occurs. Similar electrochemical behavior is observed when solid aluminum (Al) is placed in a solution of solid copper(II) chloride (CUCI2) and 3.0 M nitric acid (HN03). In addition, dissolution of aluminum occurs in the CUC12/HN03 solution. These characteristics are of interest because this new system behaves similarly to the current Purex process, and it potentially represents an environmentally-friendly method of plutonium/uranium extraction from nuclear waste materials. The primary goal of this project is to investigate the oscillatory nature of the CUC12/A1 system in hopes of obtaining a critical mass of data suitable to complete a full physical study of this system, with the final goal of finding an environmentally-suitable alternative to the current Purex process. In this paper, the electrochemical oscillations are monitored as a function of chloride concentration. My research resulted in discovering a qualitative relationship between the voltage (amplitude), frequency, and consistency of these oscillations with the amount of chloride ion (CP) present. This research also further verified the chloride ion's importance in the electrochemical process as well as that of mass transport.
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Regulating Effects of 11-Deoxycorticosterone on 3beta-Hydroxysteroid DehydrogenaseRegulating Effects of 11-Deoxycorticosterone on 3 beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Progesterone plays a key role in ovulation and the formation of a corpus luteum, although its regulation remains poorly understood. The enzyme 3/J-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3/iHSD) converts pregnenolone to progesterone and thus represents a critical step in progesterone biosynthesis. It has recently been discovered that the primate ovary synthesizes 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) in response to an ovulatory gonadotropin stimulus. Blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), which serves as the receptor for DOC, prevents gonadotropin-induced progesterone synthesis. It is hypothesized that DOC augments the expression of 3/HSD following an ovulatory stimulus via MR-mediated mechanisms. The current studies were to determine if 3/iHSD is an MR target gene in H295R adrenocortical cells, which are used as a surrogate model of primate ovarian steroidogenesis. The results indicate that an increase in 3^HSD RNA is associated with the Forskolin treatment (receptor agonist), which was expected. The Forskolin treatment was statistically different from Forskolin+Flutamide (FL blocks androgen receptors), which suggests that 3/?HSD is regulated by androgen receptors and not mineralocorticoid receptors (such as the ones in DOC). The results also demonstrate that passage number affects steroidogenic properties of H295R cells.
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ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY IN THE COMPOSITE AND MINT FAMILIESThe design of this project is such that extracts from identified plants can be tested for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Experimental plants were collected along roadsides, in fields and in wooded areas in the following counties of Georgia: Burke, Columbia, Richmond, and Thomas. Plant material from the root, stem, leaf and flower were extracted in methylene chloride (Fischer, Fair Lawn, NJ). The plants were tested for antimicrobial activity using the agar diffusion assay method. Antimicrobial activities of these plant parts were compared to solvent control bactericidal data, and then the most active plants were further tested in hopes of determining quantitatively the amounts of antimicrobial activity, as well as the minimal inhibitory concentrations and the minimal bacterial concentrations. After extensive testing, it was concluded that methylene chloride should not be used in extracting plant materials, due to its high evaporative rate, resulting in toxicity of bacteria, yielding false positive results.
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Project Exile" - A Promising New Gun Violence InitiativeIn recent years, our government has made tremendous efforts to combat gun violence. Some programs, like the Brady Bill, have proven successful. However, it remains to be seen what new steps our government should take in the ongoing battle against gun violence. One promising new program. Project Exile, first implemented in Richmond, Virginia, takes a cooperative approach toward solving this terrible problem. Project Exile focuses state and federal resources to enforce existing federal laws that prohibit convicted felons from possessing firearms. Under this initiative, more firearm cases are prosecuted in federal court where sentences are tougher. Project Exile has already produced dramatic preliminary results in Richmond, but what will be the long-term results of the program and will it work elsewhere? Because this program is in its initial stages of implementation, this study is perhaps the first academic evaluation of the innovative program. This study focuses on the homicide rates oi Richmond, Virginia and over a dozen of other jurisdictions that have implemented similar programs since the inception of Richmond's Project Exile.