Calcium is an important factor in many cellular activities and in the maintenance of structural integrity of membranes. Calcium accumulation in the rat lens above the normal physiological range (0.11 µmol/g wet weight) has been associated with formation of cataracts. Selenite is known to influence the histological characteristics of the lens and also alter important biochemical functions. In the selenite induced cataract calcium levels increase as much as 5-fold above normal, the increase preceding appearance of mature opacity by 24 hours. Calcium in the lens rapidly exchanges with labelled calcium in the incubation medium and. establishes equilibrium within 30 minutes. Selenite, accumulated in lens in vivo, causes a 5-6 fold increase in lens calcium over controls during a 24 hour incubation in modified Hank's medium at 37°C. In vitro lmM selenite in the culture medium results in a 15-fold increase in lens calcium, a 17-fold increase in sodium/potassium ratio, and a 60% increase in lens hydration. Efflux of calcium from in vivo and in vitro selenite-treated lens is not impaired. The lens retains the capability to transport 3-4 fold greater calcium over controls from lenses which have accumulated excess calcium in the presence of selenite. In vivo selenite treatment results in a 2.5-fold increase only of extracellular water. In in vitro selenite-treated lenses, however, there is a 2.6-fold increase in extracellular water and a 1.8-fold increase of intracellular water. Selenite treatment of the lenses in vivo and in vitro causes a greater influx of calcium into the lens. Calcium accumulation may act in a nonspecific manner altering lens biochemical functions, membranes and structure, causing development of relationships between selenite induced lens fiber opacities. cataract and cell the associated changes in lens calcium content further validates this model for studying the biochemical changes which impact cataract formation. / Master of Science

Bovine morulae (day 6; n=328) were obtained to evaluate the effect of uterine flushings (UF) obtained from ovariectomized progesterone (P) or estrogen (E) treated cows or from previously superovulated cows on day 6, 10, or 15 post insemination on early embryo development. Ninety-eight cows were superovulated with follicle stimulating hormone. Embryos were collected by non-surgical flushing procedures and morphologically evaluated and randomly assigned to culture. Embryos were cultured in Ham's F-10 containing 10% steer serum (SS), 10% P or E concentrated UF, 10% SS plus 1% UF from day 6, 10, or 15, or different concentrations of UF from day 6, 10, or 15 (10%, 1%, .1%, .01%). Embryos were cultured up to the hatched blastocyst stage or degeneration and evaluated at 12 h intervals. Treatment differences were evaluated by analysis of variance after assigning a value of 0 to 5 to each embryo representing its final stage of development. Overall analysis revealed that embryo development was significantly affected by supplement, but not affected by initial quality. Final developmental score was significantly higher in SS than in all other supplements. Combination of 1% UF and 10% SS resulted in enhanced embryo development compared to all single UF protein treatments. Time to the hatching blastocyst and hatched blastocyst developmental stages was reduced (P<.05) in 1% day 15 UF compared to 1% day 6 and day 10 UF plus 10% SS, or 10% SS. These results suggest that day 15 UF may contain a substance which may shorten the time of embryo hatching in vitro. / Master of Science

A novel concept of recovering heat from hot gases using countercurrently flowing vibrofluldized solids (that is, solids levitated solely by mechanical vibration) has been proposed and tested. Based on a theoretical heat transfer model, the heat transfer coefficient between the air and the solids was calculated. A factorial design of experiments showed that a higher heat transfer coefficient was obtained with higher air flow rates and lower solid flow rates. The baffle height had an insignificant affect on the heat transfer. Tests with multiple baffles led to a maximum heat transfer coefficient (143 W/m²-K) when using four baffles. For all tests performed in this work, the solids were not truly vibrofluldized. Instead, they were merely vibro-conveyed (or vibro-shuffled) as a single mass. A new vibrating system will provide the sufficient energy for vibrofluidization, and enhanced heat transfer is expected. This work demonstrated for the first time the solid impeding phenomenon in a fluidized-bed heat exchanger. Specifically, experimental tests showed that if a baffle was lowered past a limiting height at given air and solid flow rates, the increased air velocity past a baffle could prevent the solids from exiting the exchanger. An economic evaluation showed that the vibrofluidized-bed heat-exchanger system would be economically feasible for the production of boiler feedwater using heat recovered from boiler combustion gases. The payback time for the system could be as little as 1.4 years. The convective heat-transfer data from a supernatant gas to a flowing vibrofluidized bed of solids were the first of their kind, and they have led to a better understanding of the new vibrofluidized-bed heat-exchanger system. The successful completion of this project sheds encouraging light onto future heat-recovery operations with such a system. / Master of Science

The inland interstate borderfisheries and the arrangements to manage them were identified and described by two surveys. A cartographic survey of the U.S. inland borders (excluding the Great Lakes) identified 62 rivers, 71 impoundments of non-border rivers, and 64 natural lakes, totalling 4.1 million acres. A telephone/mail survey of 48 state inland fisheries chiefs identified 68 interstate arrangements. A typology of interstate arrangements was developed and used to differentiate these along two dimensions -- type of agreement and type of management framework. Fifty-five of the 81 watered borders were covered by a Type IA arrangement that is negotiated directly between two states and does not establish an autonomous institution. Their four major functions were to (1) control fishing, ( 2) control management, ( 3) delimit the scope of the arrangement, and (4) protect the arrangement. Seventeen provisions identified matters to be addressed within each of those four functions, with specifications defining how each matter would be handled. For instance, 59 arrangements controlled the use of the resource; 56 of the 59 included a provision for type of license reciprocity; and 50 of the 56 specified simple recognition of both states' licenses. The Type IA arrangements occurred most often and were most complex on rivers -- the largest borderwater type -- and on borders that were really important to the border states. Some arrangement characteristics were highly regionalized, suggesting that the lack of communication has limited the use of promising arrangement alternatives. / Master of Science

Hemolymph of Tipula trivittata larvae permits freeze tolerance of this insect due to its content of cryoprotectants and ice nucleating proteins. Spontaneous ice nucleation of the dialyzed hemolymph occurs between -5 C and -11 C up to dilutions of 1:1000. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of seeding temperature (-5 C vs -7 C), and the presence of hemolymph at a low (.1% v/v) and a high (10% v/v) level on the survival of frozen-thawed bovine embryos. In Exp. l, survival rates of 6 and 7 day bovine embryos frozen in medium containing .1% hemolymph and seeded at -5 C or -7 C, were compared to evaluate the effect of seeding temperature. The effect of hemolymph was evaluated by including a control without hemolymph seeded at -7 C. In Exp. 2, survival rates of embryos frozen with and without 10% hemolymph were compared. In Exp. 3 the evaluation of the effect of 10% hemolymph was continued. Also included was a control handled identically to embryos frozen in medium with 10% hemolymph regarding pre and post freeze manipulations but which was not frozen. This allowed evaluation of freezing damage per se. For Exps. l, 2, and 3, survival based on mean final development score and time to advance a developmental stage in vitro did not differ for embryos frozen. However, in Exp.· 3, the control which was not frozen had 30% greater survival than embryos undergoing the same manipulations but which were frozen. Thus, neither seeding temperature nor inclusion of .1% or 10% hemolymph in freezing medium had a significant effect on survival of frozen-thawed bovine embryos. / Master of Science

Alfalfa is difficult to ensile because of its low water soluble carbohydrate content, low dry matter content, and high buffering capacity. Therefore, the isolation of mutants of L. plantarum was undertaken to develop a strain(s) which could improve the fermentation of alfalfa silage when used as an inoculum. Efforts to isolate starch- or hemicellulose-utilizing strains proved unsuccessful as did the isolation of high temperature resistant mutants and oxygen resistant mutants. Mutants resistant to plumbagin (an intracellular O₂- generator) and citrate were isolated. Of these mutants, some were found to be more sensitive to cadmium than the parent strain. Though these three characteristics point to an enhanced manganese accumulation since O₂- is scavenged by manganese, citrate will chelate manganese, making it unavailable to the organism, and cadmium is transported by the manganese transport system, the rates of 54_Mn transport were no greater than the parent. When grown aerobically on a glucose-limited medium, the parent strain consumed oxygen and produced high concentrations of acetic acid and low concentrations of lactic acid. By contrast, one mutant (strain MC226), produced high concentrations of lactic acid and demonstrated low rates of O₂ consumption and low levels of acetic acid. The parent strain and two plumbagin- and citrate-resistant mutants were used to inoculate alfalfa for silage production. The inoculated silages showed a lower pH and higher titratable acidity than that of an uninoculated control. Silages inoculated with the parent strain exhibited high levels of acetic acid and low levels of lactic acid, indicative of oxygen consumption by the parent strain. Less acetic acid was evident in silages inoculated with the mutant strains. All silages contained a high level of butyric and isobutyric acids and propionic and isovaleric acids were also detected, indicative of clostridial growth. / Master of Science

Adrenal corticosterone and aldosterone content, body weight changes and serum osmolality were examined during water restriction and water deprivation. Progressive water deprivation resulted in increased serum osmolality and decreased body weight; adrenal aldosterone content did not change. Adrenal corticosterone content tended to be elevated during early water deprivation indicating a stress response, but tended to decrease after seven days of water deprivation suggesting adrenal fatigue. During water restriction, after the period of weight loss, adrenal elevated corticosterone content and serum osmolality were elevated. As the birds began to gain weight aldosterone did not change, but adrenal corticosterone content and serum osmolality approached control values, suggesting the birds were beginning to adapt to the water restriction. The lack of an aldosterone response suggests that high sodium in the diet was more important than the water regimes in regulating aldosterone. The adrenal was sensitive to ACTH as indicated by the elevated adrenal aldosterone and corticosterone content after ACTH injection, however sodium status probably affects the aldosterone response to ACTH. / Master of Science

This study explored the convergence between attributional egotism and felt injustice, and the consequences of these two constructs on subsequent reward allocations. Drawing from the work of Crosby (1984), Heider (1958), and Snyder, Stephan and Rosenfield (1978), it was contended that individuals who felt that they are victims of injustice use causal inferences similar to those characteristically employed for ego defense. This hypothesis was evaluated in an experimental paradigm which induced feelings of injustice and attributional egotism. Undergraduate participants (N=153) were provided with one of three descriptions of an experimental task. They were told that the task was used to assess the cognitive abilities of high school sophomores (a low prestige referent), college juniors (a high prestige referent), or merely that it was a standardized achievement test (control). Following this expectancy manipulation, subjects were given implicit success or failure feedback by being given an easy or difficult 30-minute task. When the 30-minutes had elapsed, subjects were asked to imagine that they were to provide feedback in the form of rewards to hypothetical students who had completed the same test the subject had just taken. Following the reward allocation exercise, subjects provided causal accounts for their performance and responded to a number of measures designed to assess their perceptions of the test and self-affect. Analyses revealed that the manipulations were successful, but that the attributional egotism and deprivation induction were of modest magnitude. Allocation policies across the six different conditions varied, in some cases supporting predictions, in others not. These findings support the contention that attributional defensiveness and deprivation are similar, but surprisingly show that enhancement biases and relative gratification can operate simultaneously. Discussion centered on the explanation of these findings and the implications for future research in this area. / Master of Science

Six males of similar body composition and aerobic physical fitness were tested to determine their perceptual responses to exercise and the relation of these perceptions to core temperature (Tᵣₑ) under three conditions of thermoregulatory stress. The experimental protocol consisted of 120 min of upright stationary cycling at 50% VO₂ max under conditions of neutral (24°C, 50% RH/hydration (NH), hot (35°C, 50% RH/hydration (HH), and hot (35°, 50% RH/hypohydration (HP). Perceptual responses were determined by Borg's 10-point category ratio scale ( 1980) and by a multi-dimensional symptom scale which contained six symptoms commonly thirst; associated with heat stress: irritability; headache; and weakness; fatigue; dizziness. Core temperature responses and perceptions were obtained throughout exercise in each condition. An analysis of variance was utilized to determine if significant differences existed between Tᵣₑ responses, symptom scale responses and RPE responses in each condition. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant (P < 0.05) differences between Tᵣₑ responses in the three conditions. Statistically significant (P < 0. 05) differences were also found for the symptom scale responses of thirst and weakness. Regression analysis within each condition was utilized to evaluate the relationship of Tᵣₑ and RPE responses and of Tᵣₑ and the combined scores of weakness, fatigue and thirst. The regression analysis revealed an R² or . 997 for prediction of Tᵣₑ using RPE data in the HP trial; the R² for Tᵣₑ prediction from the symptom scale responses in HP was 0.992. The R² values for prediction of Tᵣₑ in the NH and HH conditions were .953 and .983, respectively. The R² obtained in the HH and NH conditions were lower than those R² obtained in the HP trials for both the RPE and symptom scale predictors. These data suggest that RPE is a meaningful predictor of Tᵣₑ increases i.e., given a particular RPE, the model gives a meaningful estimate of Tᵣₑ within the range of core temperatures that were observed. / Master of Science

A cross-flow turbine was tested to determine the magnitude of the fluid forces on the blades. The tangential and radial forces and the torque were measured on a test blade. Because the runner was made of plexiglas, the flow and the effects of the incidence angle at various speeds were observed. The pattern of blade loading over a revolution was measured over a range of heads from 1.0 to 2.6 m. The maximum forces were found to occur just before the blade leaves the nozzle exit. The experimental forces agree reasonably well with the results of a control volume analysis. Two figures are provided, by which the designer may determine the tangential and radial forces for any geometrically similar machine. / Master of Science