Baiyun guan: the Development and Evolution of a Quanzhen Daoist Temple

This dissertation addresses the development and evolution of the Daoist temple Baiyun guan in Beijing, China. Based on textual sources combined with the analysis of architectural and sculptural features, this study provides the comprehensive history of the temple focusing on its growth, change, and its religious identity. A detailed study of the temple reveals the plans and intentions of the patrons evident in the change of its architecture, nomenclature, and enshrined images, which demonstrates shifting patterns of the temple pantheon. This study also interprets the meaning and function of its images with primary emphasis on those of Quanzhen Daoists. The contextual analysis of images highlights persisting religious sectarianism involving Quanzhen Daoism in Baiyun guan despite ongoing changes in the temple's patrons and in the iconographic program at the site. This dissertation provides an exemplary case study demonstrating the dual nature of the site: the enduring presence of religious sectarianism contrasted with constant transformation of the temple. Baiyun guan, still an active center of Quanzhen worship in the present day, continues to respond to shifting trends in Daoist practice in order to incorporate needs of contemporary worshippers while also ensuring the temple's popularity and existence. The history of Baiyun guan, then, reveals a dynamic landscape of Daoist images and practices, as well as the development of an institution that was a key site in the history of Daoist art and in the wider history of Chinese Daoism

Predictors of Academic Success for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination and the Southern Regional Testing Agency Clinical Exam

The purpose for conducting this study was to investigate and describe the relationship between applicant criteria for a dental hygiene program and subsequent outcomes on credentialing exams: the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam and the Southern Regional Testing Agency clinical exam. Because admission criteria play a crucial role in applicant selection, choosing students, that will successfully complete the program as well as the necessary credentialing exams, is a particularly crucial task for admission committees. The study had three elements. First, it investigated the relationship between the variables of age, undergraduate GPA and scores from the Psychological Services Bureau Health Occupations Aptitude Examination (PSB) and successful student performance on the NBDHE and a regional clinical exam, namely the Southern Regional Testing Agency. Second, it investigated the validity of the predictive value of the PSB entrance exam as one of the admission criteria for the selected program. Third, it investigated the strength of the relationship of age, undergraduate GPA, and PSB scores as a predictor of program completion and subsequent success on credentialing licensure exams. This study analyzed secondary data from an accredited dental hygiene program that awards an Associate\u27s of Applied Science Degree in the mid-south United States. The results revealed a weak, if any, correlation between the candidate selection criteria and the subsequent outcomes on post-graduate credentialing exams. Age was a negative weak correlation, if any, for the dependent variable NBDHE with a Pearson Correlation value of r = -.037 for the NBDHE and r = -.142 for the SRTA clinical exam. Undergraduate GPA revealed a weak relationship to NBDHE scores with a Pearson Correlation of r = .312 and a negative weak relationship, if any, to the SRTA clinical exam scores with a Pearson Correlation of r = -.050. The PSB score was a moderate predictor for NBDHE scores with a Pearson Correlation of r = .364. The PSB score however, was a negative weak predictor of SRTA clinical exam scores with a Pearson Correlation of r = -.134

Poster: Student Project, Class Assignment​ & Shared Shelf @ Wofford​

A poster composed and delivered by Dr. Youmi Efurd and Mr. Luke Meagher summarizing some of their work that supported pedagogy using unique resources made available on ArtStor Shared Shelf Commons by Wofford College. The poster presentation was delivered September 7, 2017 in Washington DC during a conference held by the Council of Independent Colleges in support of its partnership with ArtStor and the CIC\u27s Consortium on Digital Resources for Teaching and Research

Measurements of actinides in soil, sediments, water and vegetation in Northern New Mexico

This study was undertaken during 1991 - 1998 to identify the origin of plutonium uranium in northern New Mexico Rio Grande and tributary stream sediments. Isotopic fingerprinting techniques help distinguish radioactivity from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and from global fallout or natural sources. The geographic area covered by the study extended from the headwaters of the Rio Grande in southern Colorado to Elephant Butte Reservoir in southern New Mexico. Over 100 samples of stream channel and reservoir bottom sediments were analyzed for the atom ratios of plutonium and uranium isotopes using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Comparison of these ratios against those for fallout or natural sources allowed for quantification of the Laboratory impact. Of the seven major drainages crossing LANL, movement of LANL plutonium into the Rio Grande can only be traced via Los Alamos Canyon. The majority of sampled locations within and adjacent to LANL have little or no input of plutonium from the Laboratory. Samples collected upstream and distant to L A N show an average (+ s.d.) fallout 240Pu/239Pauto m ratio of 0.169 + 0.012, consistent with published worldwide global fallout values. These regional background ratios differ significantly from the 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio of 0.015 that is representative of LANL-derived plutonium entering the Rio Grande at Los Alamos Canyon. Mixing calculations of these sources indicate that the largest proportion (60% to 90%) of the plutonium in the Rio Grande sediments is from global atmospheric fallout, with an average of about 25% from the Laboratory. The LANL plutonium is identifiable intermittently along the 35-km reach of the Rio Grande to Cochiti Reservoir. The source of the LANL-derived plutonium in the Rio Grande was traced primarily to pre-1960 discharges of liquid effluents into a canyon bottom at a distance approximately 20 km upstream of the river. Plutonium levels decline exponentially with distance downstream after mixing with cleaner sediments, yet the LANL isotopic fingerprint remains distinct for at least 55 km from the effluent source. Plutonium isotopes in Rio Grande and Pajarito Plateau sediments are not at levels known to adversely affect public health. Activities of 239+240pwui thin this sample set ranged from 0.001- 0.046 pCUg in the Rio Grande to 3.7 pCi/g near the effluent discharge point. Levels in the Rio Grande are usually more than 1000 times. lower than prescribed cleanup standards. Uranium in stream and reservoir sediments is predominantly within natural concentration ranges and is of natural uranium isotopic composition. None of the sediments from the Rio Grande show identifiable Laboratory uranium, using the isotopic ratios. These results suggest that the mass of Laboratory-derived uranium entering the Rio Grande is small relative to the natural load carried with river sediments

Evaluation of the uranium double spike technique for environmental monitoring

Use of a uranium double spike in analysis of environmental samples showed that a {sup 235}U enrichment of 1% ({sup 235}U/{sup 238}U = 0.00732) can be distinguished from natural ({sup 235}U/{sup 238}U = 0.00725). Experiments performed jointly at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used a carefully calibrated double spike of {sup 233}U and {sup 236}U to obtain much better precision than is possible using conventional analytical techniques. A variety of different sampling media (vegetation and swipes) showed that, provided sufficient care is exercised in choice of sample type, relative standard deviations of less than {+-} 0.5% can be routinely obtained. This ability, unavailable without use of the double spike, has enormous potential significance in the detection of undeclared nuclear facilities

Second interlaboratory comparison study for the analysis of 239Pu in synthetic urine at the microBq (-100 aCi) level by mass spectrometry

As a follow up to the initial 1998 intercomparison study, a second study was initiated in 2001 as part of the ongoing evaluation of the capabilities of various ultra-sensitive methods to analyze {sup 239}Pu in urine samples. The initial study was sponsored by the Department of Energy, Office of International Health Programs to evaluate and validate new technologies that may supersede the existing fission tract analysis (FTA) method for the analysis of {sup 239}Pu in urine at the {micro}Bq/l level. The ultra-sensitive techniques evaluated in the second study included accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) by LLNL, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) by LANL and FTA by the University of Utah. Only the results for the mass spectrometric methods will be presented. For the second study, the testing levels were approximately 4, 9, 29 and 56 {micro}Bq of {sup 239}Pu per liter of synthetic urine. Each test sample also contained {sup 240}Pu at a {sup 240}Pu/{sup 239}Pu atom ratio of {approx}0.15 and natural uranium at a concentration of 50 {micro}Bq/ml. From the results of the two studies, it can be inferred that the best performance at the {micro}Bq level is more laboratory specific than method specific. The second study demonstrated that LANL-TIMS and LLNL-AMS had essentially the same quantification level for both isotopes. Study results for bias and precision and acceptable performance compared to ANSI N13.30 and ANSI N42.22 have been compiled

Vadose zone drilling at the NTS

The Yucca Mountain Project has an opportunity to evaluate possible mobilization and transport of radioactive materials away from the storage horizon in the proposed repository. One scenario by which such transport could occur involves water leaving the storage area and carrying radioactive particulates of colloidal size. The colloids could move along the gas-liquid interface in partially filled fractures within the vadose zone. It should be possible to check the reality of this proposed scenario by examining ``anthropogenic analogs`` of the repository. These are sites of nuclear tests conducted in unsaturated tuff at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). We propose to drill under one or more such sites to determine if radionuclides have moved from their original confinement in the puddle- glass at the bottom of the cavity. This document examines the characteristics of an ideal test site for such a study, suggests several possible locations that have some of the desired characteristics, and recommends one of these sites for the proposed drilling