This research sought to explore the meaningfulness of belonging to a choir. Members of 14 Canadian choirs (N=404) responded to 18 statements concerning the perceived benefits of choral singing. Choristers ranked six aspects of choral singing in the following order of importance (from greatest to least): musical, intellectual, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual. An in-depth analysis of three central areas of the choral experience (social, intellectual, and emotional) was done and six sample populations were compared: paid vs. volunteer choristers, choristers living in different areas (urban, suburban, and rural), choristers with a music degree vs. non-degree, age of choristers (young adult, middle-aged, and senior), choir size (large, medium, and small), and type of choir (community and church). / Results showed that choristers in small choirs felt like valued members of their choirs, felt a positive connection with the other choristers, and that singing in choir raised their mood to a significantly higher degree than choristers in medium and large choirs. Significant findings showed that volunteer singers, to a greater extent than paid singers, found that choir raised their mood, helped them to relax, and was a satisfying experience which gave them a sense of accomplishment. The differences in responses between middle-aged and senior choristers were minimal, but both gave responses that were significantly higher when compared with young adult choristers. The older singers felt that singing in choir raised their mood, helped them to relax, provided them with a sense of accomplishment, and that there was a sense of unity within their choir more so than young adults.

The purposes of this study were to determine if (1) RE is adversely affected by intense interval bouts of 10 x 400-m, and (2) if there is an interaction effect between RE and recovery duration during the workouts. Twelve highly trained male runners (VO$ rm sb{2max} = 72.5 pm 4.3 ml cdot kg sp{-1} cdot min sp{-1}$) performed 3 interval workouts of 10 x 400-m with a minimum of 4 days between runs. Recovery between repetitions was randomly assigned at 60, 120 or 180 s. The velocity for each 400-m run was determined from a treadmill VO$ rm sb{2max}$ test. The average running velocity was 357.9 $ pm$ 9.0 $ rm m cdot min sp{-1}$. Following the workout, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) increased significantly (p $<$ 0.01) as recovery duration decreased (14.4 at 180 s; 16.1 at 120 s; 17.7 at 60 s recovery). Prior to and following each workout, RE was measured at speeds of 200 and 268 $ rm m cdot min sp{-1}$. Changes from pre to post RE tests in VO$ sb2$, HR, and RER were similar for the three recovery conditions. Averaged across conditions, VO$ sb2$ increased significantiy (p $<$ 0.01) pre to post tests (38.5 to 40.5 $ rm ml cdot kg sp{-1}min sp{-1}$ at 200 $ rm m cdot min sp{-1}$ and from 53.1 to 54.5 $ rm ml cdot kg sp{-1}min sp{-1}$ at 268 $ rm m cdot min sp{-1}$) HR increased (124 to 138; and 151 to 157 bpm) and RER decreased (0.90 to 0.78; and 0.93 to 0.89) at 200 and 268 $ rm m cdot min sp{-1}$, respectively (p $<$ 0.01). This study showed that RE can be perturbed after a high-intensity interval workout and that changes in VO$ sb2$, HR and RER were independent of the recovery duration between repetitions.

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No description available.

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In this thesis, mechanisms of immunoregulation by CD4$ sp+$ T cells during blood-stage P. chabaudi AS infection in C57BL/6 mice were studied. The kinetics of in vitro production of the Th1-derived cytokine, IFN-$ gamma$, versus the Th2-derived cyokines, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10, by spleen cells as well as of polyclonal and malaria-specific antibodies in the sera were examined during infection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Upon antigenic stimulation, spleen cells were found to produce high levels of IFN-$ gamma$ several days prior to peak parasitemia, while high levels of IL-10 production occurred at the time of peak parasitemia followed by IL-4 and IL-5 later in infection. The levels of polyclonal IgG2a isotype were found to be increased during both the acute and chronic phases of infection, whereas the levels of polyclonal IgM, IgG1 and IgG2b isotypes were found to be increased only during the chronic phase of infection. High titers of malaria-specific IgG2a and IgG1 were detected during the primary as well as secondary infections. Investigation of in vitro proliferation of spleen cells to mitogens and malaria specific antigen revealed that the responses of splenic lymphocytes from infected mice to Con A, PHA and LPS were suppressed, with the most severe suppression occurring during the first 14 days post infection. Evidence is provided demonstrating that nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PG), products of activated macrophages, mediated suppression of lymphocyte proliferation in response to Con A and PHA, whereas only PG were found to suppress LPS-stimulated proliferation. In addition, NO was found to mediate suppression of proliferation of spleen cells from infected mice in response to parasite antigen. Taken together, results from these studies suggest that immune activation and immunosuppression occur simultaneously during blood-stage malaria with P. chabaudi AS infection in C57BL/6 mice. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis presents an indepth examination of the exegetical treatment of Qur'anic themes and concepts. It explains the process of communication between God and human beings by using communication models. The invisibility of God to human beings, coupled with His difference in nature, make their interaction difficult to conceive but not impossible. This thesis will thus seek to show how that interaction is feasible, making it as comprehensible as possible. / Muslim theologians studied exhaustively the subject of God's speech and its nature without actually revealing its process in any detail or in systematic fashion. This thesis concludes that the theological differences have little bearing on God as a communicator. Finally, it demonstrates that the process of God-human interaction is entirely different from that of ordinary interpersonal communication.

Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive disorder of the kidneys and intestine with defective luminal transport of cystine and other dibasic amino acids (ornithine, arginine, and lysine). Three phenotypes have been described, based on urinary excretion of these amino acids in obligate heterozygotes: Type I (silent carriers); Type II (moderate elevation); and Type III (mild elevation). The SLC3AI (D2H) protein has been shown to enhance cystine reabsorption and mutations in D2H have been reported in cystinuria. The aims of this study were to characterize D2H gene structure and to identify mutations in Quebec patients. / The D2H cDNA was used to isolate five genomic clones and to characterize the entire gene. The gene spans over 40 kb and contains 10 exons. SSCP and Southern blotting techniques were successful in identifying six novel mutations (2 large deletions, 3 missense mutations, and one 2bp deletion) in twenty cystinuric patients (8 Type I/I, 9 Type I/III, and 3 Type II/N). / Our group has identified mutations in the SLC3A1 gene on 15 of 25 cystinuria chromosomes. All but one of these mutations have been found on patients with Type I/I phenotype (the remaining mutation was identified on a Type I/III patient). These studies have revealed eight mutations unique to Quebec and indicate population-specificity and genetic heterogeneity. Furthermore, SLC3A1 mutations only account for Type I cystinuria. However, since only 1 SLC3A1 mutation was identified in 9 Type I/III patients, the data suggest that another gene(s) is (are) responsible for the Type I/N phenotype in some patients.

Gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity varies temporally, with a peak being observed when this antibiotic is administered during the resting period and a trough when given during the activity period of rats. These variations are modified by fasting and by restricted feeding schedules. In this study, food and water intakes of adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were measured during pre-treatment (days 1 to 5) and during treatment (days 6 to 10) with gentamicin (80 mg/kg/day, i.p.) injected at 1300 h or 0100 h. A significantly higher level of serum creatinine was observed when gentamicin was administered at 1300 h compared to 0100 h, and a significantly lower creatinine clearance was found in rats treated with gentamicin at 1300 h compared to those treated with saline at the same time. Gentamicin treatment at 1300 h or 0100 h resulted in a decrease in the 24 h food intake. In addition, in the gentamicin-treated group at 0100 h, the maximal food intake observed at late dark during the pre-treatment period decreased during treatment, and early dark rather than late dark maximal intake occurred. Our data demonstrate that gentamicin induces a nephrotoxicity that varies temporally, and that gentamicin treatment inhibits food intake and alters its nocturnal variations.

The dissertation is an investigation of modern subjectivity as it is expressed in the form of celebrities. First of all, it establishes that celebrities are linked to both the development of a democratic culture, where there is an investment in conceptions of the popular will for political and cultural legitimation, and consumer capitalism, where power and subjectivity are intimately connected to the commodity and a consumer identity that is formed through commodities. Secondly, the dissertation establishes that the significance and meaning of the celebrity in contemporary culture are linked to its dual formation by the culture industries and by the audience which embraces and remakes the meaning of the produced celebrity. A critical reading of individual celebrities that have emerged from different domains of the culture industries is conducted which integrates a hermeneutic of intention into a hermeneutic of reception. Thirdly, the work shows how the forms of public subjectivity privileged in the entertainment industries are elemental parts of the construction of the contemporary political leader. / The dissertation concludes that the celebrity, along with other forms of public personalities that emerge in the public sphere, is an attempt to contain or embody a certain type of power that is difficult to sustain because of its connection to mass sentiment and supposed forms of irrationality. The celebrity then is the continual attempt to embody this affective power in contemporary political and popular culture.