This study compares the relative efficacy of systolic and diastolic biofeedback in lowering the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of normotensives. The importance of testing these biofeedback procedures lies in assessment of their potential as blood pressure self-control techniques for the treatment of essential hypertension.

No description available.

This thesis examines the relationship between childhood exposure to air pollution and long-term health. The research is based on an earlier study (1978-1986) that examined the relationship between exposure to air quality and respiratory health for a cohort of elementary school-aged children (n=3,202). These children resided in four distinct neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario, which exhibited significant gradients in air pollution levels. Informed by the Life Course Health Development model, a survey was developed and administered on a reconstructed cohort (n = 395). The following objectives were addressed: 1) to determine the current health status of the reconstructed cohort; 2) to assess the potential relationship between childhood exposure to air pollution and adult respiratory health; and, 3) to explore factors mediating this relationship. Data was collected for a range of variables including residential and occupational histories, socio-demographic variables, and health outcomes. The dataset was merged with data from childhood on respiratory health, exposure to air pollution, and socio-demographic variables. Results indicate that a relatively high percentage of respondents had asthma in childhood (11%) compared to the original cohort (5.5%). In addition, prevalence rates of most health outcomes were higher than those of the Canadian population. Despite the gradient in air pollution levels, there were no significant differences in health status across neighborhoods. However, results of bi-variate and multi-variate analysis indicate possible significant associations between childhood exposure to S02 and hospital visits for asthma, asthma incidence in adulthood, and ever being diagnosed with asthma for females. For males, results suggest that childhood exposure to S02 is not linked to respiratory health. Factors related to the macro and micro environments also play significant roles in long-term health. This thesis made significant contributions to knowledge by suggesting that childhood exposure to S02 may impact long-term respiratory health for females, and may be linked to inflammatory diseases. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Once covered by dense mangrove forest, Baba Island was inclusive of a group of Islands protecting the Kolachi settlement from storms and invasion.  Kolachi Jo Goth (fisherman’s village) transformed into the present-day megacity of Karachi when the British conquered and established it as a harbour for trade. Baba Island was no exception to the change as the British started moving the fishermen from the centre further out to the Islands while establishing their residential colonies.  This displacement of a chunk of the community led to the invasion of mangrove land and hence came about a dependent community - known as Baba Goth (Island). The infrastructure and main fishery including the fish markets were all still inland, apart from this as the city grew development happened inland and the community became forgotten over time. The once pristine waters are polluted, mangroves forests diminishing, fish depletion in the sea, lack of infrastructure and skills, rising sea levels and economic impoverishment have all led to the Baba community's vulnerability.  This thesis recognizes the degrading conditions of the Baba community, especially in the current context of climate change. Through the lens of sustainability, the project understands the practices and economic activities of the residents to derive solutions. It promotes regenerating coastal ecology to prevent land loss from seawater intrusion and storms. Ecofishing, waste and water management are the other main strategic solutions explored in the project. In all, the thesis aims to provide strategies for self-sufficiency and minimize their dependency on the city.

This study examined correlations between assessed intelligence and two major categories of reading comprehension: literal-explicit and inferential-implicit. In addition, efficiency of prediction for criterion variables was investigated by utilizing two regression models which incorporated intelligence scores squared and the square root of intelligence scores. Since it is generally accepted that the higher the assessed intelligence of an individual, the higher will be his achievement in all areas of reading comprehension, the present study sought to discover whether there was a curvilinear relationship between intelligence and the two categories of reading comprehension with the factor of intelligence statistically controlled. It was felt that the hypothesized curvilinear relationship would result in significantly better performance by brighter students on inferential questions and significantly better performance by less-bright students on literal questions. Although no cause and effect has been established, based on the data presented in this study and within the. limitations of this study, the following conclusions seem tenable. 1. Since reading comprehension may be viewed as a thinking process, it is important to note that a relationship exists between the assessed intelligence of an individual and his performance on both literal and inferential tests of that process. 2. This study has demonstrated the curvilinear nature of the relationships hypothesized. The higher the assessed intelligence of an individual, the increasingly higher will be his performance on inferential questions. Brighter students tend to make more inferences, but they lose some detail in the process. The less bright students, on the other hand, do very well with detail questions but experience less success in making inferences concerning what is read.

In most cases new technology emergence does not guarantee overnight success nor is it developed overnight, rather it is a result of industry expertise spanning over several fields of research. 3D bioprinting is an industry that promises revolutionary implications for healthcare and scholars are discussing application areas such as tissue for oncology research, tissue for patient specific drug development and lastly complex organs for implantation. The promises and strides of the industry pose new prospects in healthcare, for instance printing new skin for burn victims & drug development all while being patient specific. The promises of bioprinting are practices that will lead to improved quality of life whether it be in the form of medicine or a new organ. The industry is characterized by fast pace and rapid technological advancements, research has explored these technological advancements and explained them in detail, but information on the market remains scarce. To contribute to filling this gap the thesis explores what the state of the market currently is and what the stage of market development is.  In order to explore how the market has developed and the current state of it a longitudinal case study, in Sweden which is one of the most innovative countries in the world was conducted. Newspaper articles from three news outlets were collected, two of which are Swedens most reputable publishers regarding new technology and business and economic development, the third is an industry specific outlet to biotechnology advancement. This resulted in finding that while the dialog of bioprinting is promising, the degree of readiness remains the same, furthermore it shows that the industry is heavily dependent on external actors to further develop the market and technology. It was also found that there is no shortage in actors spanning across various industries that collaborate with bioprinting firms since not all industries need the full capacity of the technology that is necessary to print complex organ structures. It can be stated that while the bioprinting market is evolving the development of it is in early stages and is far from being established.

本研究は、6つのアジア諸言語―日本語、インドネシア語、韓国語、ベトナム語、タガログ語、中国語―の断り表現を比較し、断り表現における意味公式の出現順序は、言語の構造(主要部先頭・最終)と関係があることを明らかにすることを目的とする。主要部先頭言語は、「断り」を他の意味公式より先に述べる傾向があり、一方、主要部最終言語は、他の意味公式を先に言ってから、「断り」を述べるという結果が見られた。 / This study investigated refusal expressions in six Asian languages—Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Chinese—. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between language category (head-initial/final language) and the occurrence of semantic formula function groups (SFFGs) in refusal expressions. The result of analyses on refusal expressions of the six languages showed that head-initial languages have a strong tendency to use "Refusal" before another semantic formula, and head-final languages have a tendency to use "Refusal" after other SFFGs. / 博士(文化情報学) / Doctor of Culture and Information Science / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

No description available.

This study examined adult students' perceptions of satisifaction levels within specific areas of the ETSU campus. The population surveyed included 106 undergraduate adult learners aged 25 years and older. The Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory, 4-year College and University Version was the survey instrument used to share feedback about the adult learners' collegiate experiences thus far. Responses received would give campus leadership feedback about the satisfaction levels of adult learners at ETSU. The purpose of this study was to determine if the adult learner at ETSU is satisfied with his/her overall learning experience. Adult students were asked to rank programs and services offered at ETSU and how they felt they may or may not have contributed to their overall learning experiences. Age was the determinant for the sample. Survey data from adult learners, 25 years and above, was included in this study. This study employed descriptive statistics using frequency distributions to analyze the data. Because this was a cluster sample, frequency distributions were used to report the number of times the value occurs and the percentage of respondents in each category. In order to analyze data received, questions were broken down and placed into one of seven categories used to answer the research questions. The seven categories were overall learning experience, bookstore services, food service, academic programs and services, administrative programs, caring campus, and campus commitment to student learning. Results of the data revealed that the majority of adult learners at East Tennessee State University were satisfied with all aspects surveyed on the campus and the institutions's commitment to adult learner programs and services. Although all aspects surveyed on campus received high satisfaction levels, areas such as food service, counseling staff, financial aid, and creating a sense of belonging indicated lower satisfaction levels. These areas could be researched further in order to increase adult learner satisfaction levels at East Tennessee State University.

Research documenting the level of work-related stress among therapy dogs is limited. This research was designed to measure salivary cortisol in working therapy dogs. Certified handler/dog (Canis lupus familiaris) teams were recruited to participate from teams currently volunteering in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee area. Male and female dogs of various sizes and breeds were recruited. Ten dogs contributed fivesaliva samples. Dogs were fasted for one hour prior to procedure. Samples were collected over a continuum of events, for comparison of salivary cortisol levels in multiple environments. Samples were collected as follows: (1) sample in the dogs’ homes, (1)sample upon arrival at the “work” place, (1) sample just prior to leaving the “work” place, (1) sample just prior to being groomed and (1) sample taken at the dogs’ regular veterinarians’ offices. This design provided 1 control sample, 2 work samples, and2 samples that may be indicative of elevated stress. It was hypothesized that: 1) Salivary cortisol concentrations will be higher in samples collected during grooming and at a veterinary clinic than in samples collected at home, and 2) Salivary cortisol concentrations will be lower in samples collected during “working” conditions than in samples collected during grooming and at a veterinary clinic. Saliva was collected by placing a Salimetrics Children’s Swab (P/N 5001.06) [dimensions 8 x 125 mm] into the dog’s mouth until saturated, or less than four minutes. After examination of the descriptive statistics of (n=10) across five different environmental conditions, it was decided that one of the cases represented an outlier and was removed from data as subsequent analysis revealed a cortisol level that was more than 23 standard deviations away from the mean. Three dogs had at least one sample with insufficient quantity of saliva for analysis, and were removed from the data. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare salivary cortisol levels during different environmental conditions (pre-therapy, post-therapy, home, veterinary clinic, and groomer). There was not a significant main effect for condition, Wilks’ Lambda =.299, F (9, 2) =1.17, p=.51,multivariate partial eta squared = .70. The hypotheses were not supported. This research suggests that salivary cortisol of working therapy dogs is not significantly different than home, veterinary, or grooming conditions.