Synaptic plasticity reflects the capacity of synapses to undergo changes in synaptic strength and connectivity, and is highly regulated by age and sensory experience. This thesis focuses on the characterization of synaptic plasticity in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of rats throughout development and following sensory deprivation. Initial experiments revealed an age-dependent decline in plasticity, as indicated by reductions in long-term potentiation (LTP). The enhanced plasticity of juvenile rats appeared to be mediated by NR2B subunits of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), as NR2B antagonist application reduced LTP to adult-like levels in juveniles, yet had no effect in adults. The importance of sensory experience in mediating plasticity was revealed in experiments using white noise exposure, which is a sensory deprivation technique known to arrest cortical development in A1. Notably, adult rats reared in continuous white noise maintained more juvenile-like levels of LTP, which normalized upon subsequent exposure to an unaltered acoustic environment. The white noise-induced LTP enhancements also appeared to be mediated by NR2B subunits, as NR2B antagonists reversed these LTP enhancements in white noise-reared rats. Given the strong influence that sensory experience exerts on plasticity, additional experiments examined the effect of shorter episodes of white noise exposure on LTP in adult rats. Exposure to white noise during early postnatal life appeared to “prime” A1 for subsequent exposure in adulthood, resulting in enhanced LTP. The necessity of early-life exposure was evident, as repeated episodes of white noise in adulthood did not enhance plasticity. In older rats that typically no longer express LTP in A1, pharmacological methods to enhance plasticity were explored. Moderate LTP was observed in older rats with cortical zinc application, which may act through its antagonism of NR2A subunits of the NMDAR. Additionally, current source density and cortical silencing analyses were conducted to characterize the distinct peaks of field postsynaptic potentials recorded in A1, with the earlier and later peaks likely representing thalamocortical and intracortical synapses, respectively. Together, this thesis emphasizes the critical role of sensory experience in determining levels of cortical plasticity, and demonstrates strategies to enhance plasticity in the mature auditory cortex. / Thesis (Ph.D, Neuroscience Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-01-11 14:53:57.677

The objective of this study was to determine whether provincial health policies influence the supply of long-term care in a province, and the care received by residents that require it. This was achieved by first conducting a comprehensive review and comparative analysis of the long-term care policies of Alberta and Ontario, and then comparing health conditions of long-term care and assisted living/retirement home residents in both provinces. The latter comparisons used information collected from comparable versions of the Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) and the RAI-MDS Home Care. The study hypothesis was that provinces with health policies favouring institutional over community care would have a higher proportion of residents with lower care requirements in institutional settings. The results show that this is not the case, and that institutional settings house those with high care needs in both provinces.

The objective of this study was to determine whether provincial health policies influence the supply of long-term care in a province, and the care received by residents that require it. This was achieved by first conducting a comprehensive review and comparative analysis of the long-term care policies of Alberta and Ontario, and then comparing health conditions of long-term care and assisted living/retirement home residents in both provinces. The latter comparisons used information collected from comparable versions of the Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) and the RAI-MDS Home Care. The study hypothesis was that provinces with health policies favouring institutional over community care would have a higher proportion of residents with lower care requirements in institutional settings. The results show that this is not the case, and that institutional settings house those with high care needs in both provinces.

Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, December 2006. / Major professor: Thomas N. Fairchild. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-130). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 1999. / "May 1999." Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-107). Also available on the Internet.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-49). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11745

New graduate nurses often lack clinical skill competency. In a single year, a long-term care facility located in the midwestern region of the United States reported 25 clinical errors, each costing the facility approximately $10,000. Root-cause analysis revealed 85% of those errors were made by nurses in their 1st year of practice. The increase in clinical errors were attributed to insufficient clinical preparation prior to independent practice. A review of the current scholarly literature suggested simulation had demonstrated efficacy in the development and maintenance of clinical nursing skills and answered the practice-focused question: Development of a skills simulation program for incorporation into nursing orientation will likely increase skill competency among new graduate nurses. Benner's novice to expert theory and the John Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice model were used to develop and evaluate an evidence-based curriculum for a clinical skills simulation program. Using a validated tool, the proposed curriculum was evaluated by a panel of five subject matter experts. Synthesis and analysis of that evaluation suggested implementation of the proposed curriculum would increase basic nursing skill competency; therefore, the recommendation was made to incorporate the program into new hire nursing orientation. The curriculum can be used to develop or maintain general or specialty-specific clinical skill sets and implemented in most any type facility requiring the use of clinical nursing skills. Clinical skill competency reduces the number of clinical errors, decreases patient morbidity and mortality, increases the quality of care, and reduces the overall cost of care, thereby promoting positive social change.

Yes / This study investigates whether, how and why industry performance can drive long-term return reversals. Using data from the UK, we find that firms in losing industries significantly outperform those in winning industries over the subsequent five years. These industry reversals remain strong and persistent after controlling for stock momentum, industry momentum, seasonal effects and traditional risk factors. We find a strong influence of past industry performance on stock return reversals. Our results also show that past industry performance is the driving force behind long-term reversals. Specifically, we find that industry components drive stock reversals, while past stock performance does not explain industry reversals. Further analysis suggests that industry reversals are present in both good and bad states of the economy and are stronger in industries with high valuation uncertainty. This implies that industry reversals are more likely to be a result of mispricing.

Wind is a fluctuating source of energy and, therefore, it can cause several technical impacts. These can be tackled by forecasting wind speed and thus wind power. The introduction of several statistical models in this field of research has brought to light promising results for improving wind speed predictions. However, there is not converging evidence on which is the optimal method. Over the last three decades, significant research has been carried out in the field of short-term forecasting using statistical models though less work focuses on longer timescales. The first part of this work concentrated on long-term wind speed variability over the UK. Two subsets have been used for assessing the variability of wind speed in the UK on both temporal and spatial coverage over a period representative of the expected lifespan of a wind farm. Two wind indices are presented with a calculated standard deviation of 4% . This value reveals that such changes in the average UK wind power capacity factor is equal to 7%. A parallel line of the research reported herein aimed to develop a novel statistical forecasting model for generating monthly mean wind speed predictions. It utilised long-term historic wind speed records from surface stations as well as reanalysis data. The methodology employed a SARIMAX model that incorporated monthly autocorrelation of wind speed and seasonality, and also included exogenous inputs. Four different cases were examined, each of which incorporated different independent variables. The results disclosed a strong association between the independent variables and wind speed showing correlations up to 0.72. Depending on each case, this relationship occurred from 4- up to 12-month lags. The inter comparison revealed an improvement in the forecasting accuracy of the proposed model compared to a similar model that did not take into account exogenous variables. This finding demonstrates the indisputable potential of using a SARIMAX for long-term wind speed forecasting.