Zugl.: Trier, Univ., Diss., 2006 u.d.T.: Werquet, Jan: Historismus als gesellschaftliche Repräsentation

The aim of this study was to determine motor unit firing patterns during ischemic versus non-ischemic sustained submaximal isometric contractions of the tibialis anterior muscle. 10 healthy adults attended two experimental sessions approximately 48 hours apart. Both sessions were identical except that the fatigue task in one was performed with a pressure cuff placed above the knee and inflated to 180 mm Hg. Three 5s maximum voluntary contractions (MVCs) were performed prior to and after the fatigue task. Each participant held a target force of 20% MVC until endurance time (peak-to-peak tremor amplitude exceeded 5% MVC). Single motor unit firing rates (11 non ischemic, 9 ischemic) were recorded with intramuscular fine wire electrodes. Mean interspike intervals over 5s time bins were calculated at every 5% endurance time. The endurance time for the ischemic (3.7 ± 0.58 min) fatigue task was significantly (p<0.001) shorter than the non-ischemic (9.5 ± 0.57 min) task. There was no significant difference in mean motor unit firing rates between the two conditions (p=0.883). Within both tests, there was a significant decline in firing rate (ischemic initial: 12.95 ± 0.71 Hz, minimum: 11.41 ± 0.81 Hz, p=0.023; non-ischemic initial: 13.13 ± 0.87 Hz, minimum: 11.15 ± 0.48 Hz, p=0.012). The time to minimum firing rate was significantly (p<0.001) less in the ischemic (1.29 ± 0.2 min) compared to non-ischemic (3.14 ± 0.23 min) condition. Muscle ischemia significantly reduced endurance time and the time to minimum firing rate. However, there were no differences in average motor unit firing rates between the two conditions across the relative phases of endurance time. / text

From 1589 to 1599, the relation between Henri IV and the Parlement of Paris was a tumultuous one. Some parlementaires associated with the Catholic League refused at first to recognize Henri of Navarre as their king. These magistrates met in Paris until April 1594. Meanwhile, their royalist colleagues congregated in Tours where, in March 1589, Henri III had transferred his sovereign court. From there, the royalist councillors helped Henri IV reconquer his realm. This, they did in spite of his religion, although they frequently asked him to convert to Catholicism. After the reunification of the two rival courts in April 1594, the parlementaires seemed to work as one and blocked the verification of numerous edicts presented by the king. Their opposition was so strong that it has led some historians to claim that it was endangering the State's survival. It slowly faded away after the verification of the Edict of Nantes in February 1599. In a pacified France, the conflicts between a king finally in control of his realm and his parlementaires became rare. The magistrates finally had confidence in the government which seemed to take adequate measures to stabilize France after more than thirty years of civil wars. / The difficult relationship between Henri IV and the Parlement of Paris between 1589 and 1599 was not created by the egoistic nature of the magistrates or their incompetence as claimed by numerous historians. If some of the Parlementaires--we will call them the "opportunists"--put their own interests before those of the realm, a majority of their colleagues had a very high idea of their political role within France, an idea based on centuries of relation between the kings of France and the Parlement as well as on the political role of the court as defined by theorists of the time. Confronted to a king they hardly knew, these "traditionalists", on whom this work will be centered, tried to make sure that the interests of the kingdom, its king and its inhabitants were protected. They would not give Henri IV's government the leeway it sought but would scrutinize and frequently block the edicts presented to them, and this until Henri IV proved that he could be trusted as the head of the realm.

This Master's thesis belongs to the field of sixteenth century studies. The text I have chosen to study is the Memoires of Marguerite de Valois, begun in 1594 and published in 1628, thirteen years following the death of this queen. My analysis encompasses both the conventions of genre and rhetoric evidenced in the text. The first chapter explores the peculiarities inherent in the memoirs genre, especially where these explicitly distinguish it from the autobiography. The second chapter examines the rhetorical aspects of Marguerite de Valois' Memoires. In doing so, I have highlighted and analyzed the rhetorical strategies employed in the text, whose ultimate intent was to convince the initial reader, Brantome, and subsequently posterity, of the political astuteness of an author who was also worthy of her correspondent's trust as a loyal ally.

No description available.

This study compares the role of cognitive processes in children diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD) through the traditional aptitude-achievement discrepancy model with students diagnosed on the basis of their low achievement alone. Historically, in North American settings, LD has been diagnosed when an individual’s achievement on standardized tests in reading, mathematics, or written expression is substantially lower than the expected level for age, schooling, and level of intelligence (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). As this conceptualization has come under increasing scrutiny, alternate identification methods such as the low achievement/non-discrepant method have been gaining support in the literature (e.g. Siegel, 1999; Stanovich, 2005). A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether identifiable differences exist between the cognitive profiles (WISC-IV) of students diagnosed with reading disability (RD) and mathematics disability (MD). This study also addresses whether the WISC-IV Working Memory Index can be used to differentiate between various categories of students with LD. The findings of this study indicate that the discrepant (DLD) and non-discrepant (NDLD) learning disability (LD) groups could not be distinguished by the WISC-IV Working Memory Index (WMI). Amongst the overall sample of students with LD, those with average or above working memory scores (high) could be differentiated from those with below average working memory scores (low) on the WISC-IV Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI). Students with LD who had low WMI scores could also be differentiated from those with high WMI scores on four WIAT-II subtests. WMI scores could not be used to differentiate students with Reading Disability (RD), Mathematics Disability (MD) or Generalized Learning Disability (GLD). However, differences between these three LD groups were found on the WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), and marginally on the Processing Speed Index (PSI). Finally, the four WISC-IV Index scores were able to correctly predict group membership in the RD, MD, and GLD groups approximately 70% of the time. / Psychological Studies in Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The toxicity of platinum anticancer drugs presents a major obstacle in the effective treatment of tumours. Much of the toxicity stems from a lack of specificity of the drugs for the sites at which they are able to exert maximum anticancer activity. An improved understanding of the behaviour of the drugs in the tumour environment may assist in the rational design of future platinum anticancer agents with enhanced specificity and reduced toxicity. In the work presented herein, the specificity of two classes of platinum anticancer agents was assessed (platinum(IV) cisplatin analogues and platinum(II) anthraquinone complexes). The interaction of the platinum(IV) agents with DNA, believed to be their main cellular target, was examined using XANES spectroscopy. This experiment was designed to assess the ability of the drugs to interact with DNA and thus exert their anticancer activity. It was shown that the platinum(IV) complexes were not reduced by DNA during 48 hr incubation. It was not possible to conclusively determine whether the interaction of the complexes with DNA was direct or platinum(II) catalysed, or whether interaction had occurred at all. The distribution of platinum(II) anthraquinone complexes and their corresponding anthraquinone ligands in tumour cells (A2780 ovarian and DLD-1 colon cancer cell lines) was investigated. The cytotoxicity of the compounds in DLD-1 cells was also assessed. It was found that the compounds were efficiently taken up into the cells and entered the lysosomal compartments almost exclusively. This suggested that the cytotoxicity of the drugs was caused by lysosomal disruption, or that the platinum complexes were degraded, leaving a platinum species to enter the cell nuclei and interact with DNA. Alternatively, the complexes may bind to proteins and transport into the nuclei of the cells, though with their fluorescence quenched by the protein. The penetration and distribution of platinum(IV) complexes was assessed in DLD-1 multicellular tumour spheroids (established models of solid tumours) using a number of synchrotron techniques, including micro-tomography, micro-SRIXE, and micro-XANES. The complexes were found to be capable of penetrating throughout the entire volume of the spheroids. Micro-XANES indicated that in central and peripheral spheroidal regions, bound platinum species were present largely as platinum(II).

Zugl.: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 2006/07

Zugl.: Regensburg, Univ., Diss., 2005/2006 u.d.T.: Feuerer, Thomas: Herzog Albrecht IV. von Bayern und seine Klosterpolitik

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg University, 1998. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.