This study was undertaken to characterize the oxygen consumption and heart rate responses of subjects during laboratory simulated aerobic dance circuit training sessions. Sixteen female subjects performed six randomly assigned 30-minute aerobic dance circuit training protocols. Oxygen consumption and heart rate responses were monitored in response to changes in three independent variables which were: interval duration, leg involvement and fitness level. Results revealed that the different interval durations generated significantly different oxygen costs. Also, it was found that in relative terms (% of max VO$ sb2$), the low fitness group (max VO$ sb2 $ 45 ml/kg.min). Furthermore, it was found that the involvement of deep knee bends during the resistance training segment of the circuit significantly increased the oxygen cost when the resistance training segments were compared. Finally, the results showed that exercise intensity was overestimated when using percentage of max HR.

No description available.

All aminoglycosides have the potential to cause nephrotoxicity. Previous studies have shown that this toxicity was altered according to the macronutrient composition of dietary regimens offered to female rats. In a first study, adult female Sprague-Dawley rats adapted to a standard chow diet, the standard chow with 20% added casein or with 55% added casein were treated for 10 days with a nephrotoxic dose of gentamicin sulfate (40 mg/kg/day, i.p.) or a saline solution. Food ingestion patterns and gentamicin nephrotoxicity indices were measured. In a second study, rats were fed the same diets, however, the treatment given was a sham injection. Results suggest that chronic gentamicin treatment leads to a decrease in food intake and flattening of the rhythms of food ingestion. Also, chow feeding and chow added with 20% casein were found to be more protective against gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity than chow added with 55% casein.

This study explores discussion forums within two autistic community websites in an attempt to gain intimate insights into the educational experiences and cultural identification of high functioning autistics (HFAs). Throughout this thesis I have referred to people with Autism as 'autistics' or HFAs in recognition of their self-referencing on the websites and to strike consistency with their identity politics. (ex: Autistic Pride Parade). The study maintains a narrative component from the perspective of a teacher-researcher as a means of facilitating the development of a grounded theory for educating high functioning autistics. The study begins with an examination of contemporary controversies within the field of autistic studies, with a particular focus on issues surrounding the classification of Asperger's Syndrome under the deficit model of mental disorders. Several tables are then presented from data collected from Aspiesforfreedom.com and Wrongplanet.net. The tables present high functioning autistic opinions, thoughts and experiences related to emerging autistic advocacy efforts, as well as retrospectives of their social and academic experiences over the course of their schooling. An Internet Culture Theory (ICT) develops which honors the existence of an authentic community of autistics online. ICT explores how this acknowledgment can help shape educational policies and practices related to improving the self-esteem, identity formation, academic success and social experiences of HFAs in both our schools and communities. The study contends that modifications should be implemented prior to grade 7 due to reports of emotional deterioration during this particular year of development. Existing programs operating in the spirit of ICT are discussed in order to provide some concrete examples of what certain modifications might look like.

The dissertation identifies a body of public policies described as "politically intractable." These are policies which are of clear public benefit, but which involve high political costs to those who enact them. It is suggested that there are two routes to political tractability in the passage of these policies. The "low-risk" strategy entails insulating policy-makers from pressures applied by alienated vested interests. The "high-risk" strategy arises where actors responsible for passing intractable policies risk alienating vested interests if enacting the policy assists them to realize higher-order objectives. These higher-order objectives involve games of institutional design--attempts to reform or preserve (in the face of threat) the institutional structure of the state. The dissertation examines a subset of politically intractable policies called watershed trade policies. Watersheds are instances of substantial trade liberalization which reverse a long-standing tradition of protectionism. The dissertation explains the passage of three watersheds: Britain's repeal of the Corn Laws, the US Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, and Canada's Free Trade Implementation Act, in the context of the high-risk strategy. In these cases, trade liberalization is explained as a by-product of games of institutional design undertaken by political entrepreneurs within the state.

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No description available.

No description available.

In North America, hysterectomy is the most common major surgery for benign non-obstetric reasons (e.g., uterine fibroids, endometriosis, abnormal bleeding) in premenopausal women. Many of these conditions may result in pelvic pain, sexual and psychological difficulties. However, the capacity of hysterectomy to relieve these problems has not been adequately evaluated. Recently, there has been controversy as to whether less invasive surgeries such as subtotal hysterectomy, in which the uterus is removed and the cervix is left intact, are less detrimental than total hysterectomy, in which both the uterus and the cervix are excised. / The first part of this thesis consists of a comprehensive review of the literature on the psychosocial outcomes of hysterectomy published within the past 30 years. Controversial theories, empirical studies, and review articles are discussed with regard to sexual, pain, and psychological outcomes. Findings suggest that while hysterectomy results in reduced pain, there are no strong effects on sexual or psychological functioning. Nevertheless, many studies reported adverse psychosocial outcomes in a subgroup of 10-20% of women post-hysterectomy. / The second part of this thesis presents findings from a randomized controlled trial investigating the psychosocial outcomes of total versus subtotal hysterectomy. Premenopausal patients with benign gynecological conditions were randomly assigned to either total hysterectomy, i.e., laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (N=32), or subtotal hysterectomy, i.e., supra-cervical laparoscopic hysterectomy (N=31). In addition, two control groups of premenopausal women undergoing minor gynecological surgery (N=30) and healthy women undergoing no surgery (N=40) were recruited. For the two hysterectomy groups, abdominal pain was significantly reduced post-surgery. There was some evidence for positive effects of hysterectomy on sexual functioning, while psychological functioning did not significantly change. The study indicated that total and subtotal hysterectomy produced equally beneficial outcomes. Although 3-16% of women reported various adverse effects in psychosocial functioning post-hysterectomy, similar percentages of the two control groups reported such changes.

The social implications of anxiety have received little empirical attention. Moreover, the continuity of interpersonal processes associated with clinical and non-clinical levels of chronic social anxiety has not been systematically investigated. The relation between interpersonal behavior and anxiety reported during naturally occurring social interactions was examined in two studies; the first examined community volunteers exhibiting a range of chronic social anxiety levels, while the second compared individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD) to a matched sample of non-clinical controls. Unique patterns were expected to emerge with respect to state versus chronic levels of social anxiety. State social anxiety was conjectured to predict an alliance-protective response characterized by increased levels of agreeable behavior and decreased levels of quarrelsome behavior. Chronic social anxiety was hypothesized to predict a self-protective interpersonal style characterized by increased levels of submissive behavior and decreased levels of dominant behavior. Event-level appraisals of inferiority were expected to moderate this self-protective orientation; socially anxious individuals were expected to report enhanced levels of submission and reduced levels of dominance during interactions in which subjective inferiority was elevated. As predicted, increased state social anxiety was associated with decreased levels of quarrelsome behavior. Elevated state anxiety was also associated with increased levels of submissive behavior. This pattern was observed across all levels of chronic social anxiety, although participants with GSAD displayed an even greater tendency to increase submissiveness in response to state social anxiety compared to controls. As predicted, elevated levels of chronic social anxiety were associated with increased submissive behavior and decreased dominant behavior across all levels of state social anxiety. Subjective appraisals of inferiority enhanced levels of submission and reduced levels of dominance among socially anxious individuals. The results illustrated separate patterns of behavior for state and chronic social anxiety and were consistent with the proposition that situational elevations in social anxiety are associated with alliance-protective behavior strategies while chronic elevations are associated with a self-protective orientation that is amplified by sensitivity to negative social cues. The findings also supported the contention that social anxiety is a continuous construct associated with similar interpersonal processes across clinical and non-clinical populations.