Male Fischer rats (n=43) were used in a diet-diet/ exercise design to investigate the apparent protein sparing effects of exercise. The animals were divided into five groups: INITIAL (baseline), SEDENTARY (control), DIET, DIET/EXERCISE, and EXERCISE. Carcasses were analyzed for body composition, the blood for plasma alanine concentration and the urine for urea nitrogen concentration. The results showed no significant differences between groups in urinary urea nitrogen, plasma alanine, body weight, or carcass weights. The EXERCISE group had a significant increase in percent protein and a significant decrease in percent fat and grams of fat when compared to all other groups (p <.05).

Eighteen subjects each performed fifty-five trials which consisted of assuming an initial stance and then in response to a visual stimulus running to either the left or right. For each trial both the foot width spacing and orientation of the feet were varied. Direct and indirect measurements were taken of selected temporal and kinematic parameters. The conclusions were that no interactions or differences exist among foot width spacing, foot orientation, and direction of movement; the jab step start is the preferred initial movement; the preferred foot width spacing is 46.6 centimeters; the preferred angular orientation of both feet is approximately 1.36 radians.

This thesis reviews the literature on, and describes experimental work carried out with, the drug rimonabant, an antagonist at the cannabinoid CBI receptor. -, Rimonabant was licensed in Europe for the treatment of obesity in 2006, however it <- was withdrawn from the market in 2008, because of unacceptable psychiatric side effects, notably depression and anxiety. The mechanism( s) by which CB 1 antagonists produce such symptoms is unclear. The Introduction to this thesis reviews the literature on clinical depression, with special reference to endocannabinoids, and concludes that there are several plausible neurobiological mechanisms linking CB 1 antagonism to the symptoms of this disease. These include inhibition ofphasic dopamine firing elicited by reward, leading to anhedonia; disinhibition ofthe hypothalamo-pituitary stress axis; interference with the extinction of negative emotional memories; and interference with hippocampal neurogenesis. The remainder of the thesis describes the methods and results of four studies in which healthy volunteers were given rimonabant in double-blind, placebo- , controlled experiments. This work was intended to elucidate possible mechanisms by which rimonabant produces depression, with the twin goals of advancing the understanding ofthe endocannabinoid system, and contributing to our knowledge of the neurobiology of clinical depression. Two studies made use of cognitive psychological tasks in order to investigate the impact of rim on ab ant on responses to positive and negative emotional stimuli. The other two studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe the neural effects of CBI antagonism on various functions ofthe brain. Taken together, the results of these four investigations suggest that rimonabant causes depression via interference with the brain's response to positive stimuli and enhancement ofthe response to negative ones. I conclude by discussing the key role of endocannabinoids in mood. The important implications for our understanding of the pathophysiology of clinical depression are explained.

thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford Approximate Word Count: 50,000 After literary scholars, the group of people who most likely cite Marcel Proust are the niche group of psychologists and neuroscientists researching the topic of memory. The incident of the madeleine and Proust's vibrant re-experiencing of 'times past' highlights how important contextual associations are in our lives. The memories we form are often rich in contextual detail, and it is this type of memory which I aim to explore in this thesis. Specifically, I show how memories of contextual nature are formed, and used to guide behaviour. In the General Introduction (Chapter 1), I review the background literature of attention, and the different sources of information that guide it, as well as how contextual information -the associations between iterns-, specifically in natural scenes, can serve as such a source. Next, I describe in detail the literature to date on memory-based signals for attentional guidance. The next chapter summarizes the methodological approaches used in this thesis (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, I show that long-term memory can optimize perception in complex natural scenes by modulating preparatory attention as well as target processing, using electroencephalography (EEG). In Chapter 4, exploiting the high temporal and spatial resolution of magnetoencephalography (MEG), I explore the neurophysiological markers of encoding, while participants learned contextual associations. In the final experimental chapter (Chapter 5), in a series of experiments I test the low-level mechanisms through which the long-term memory-bias in attentional guidance comes about. In the General Discussion (Chapter 6), I summarize my Findings and incorporate them into the existing literature, and propose outstanding questions.

Lameness is the most common medical complaint amongst domestic horses. Consequently, lameness assessment skills are expected of veterinary graduates as a day one skill by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. However, recognising lameness is inherently difficult, especially for mild cases: even experienced assessors regularly disagree on the affected limb. The impact of a resulting misdiagnosis can be profound for both horse and owner. Even today, the biomechanical changes associated with lameness and the mechanisms of subjective clinical decision making are far from understood. Not surprisingly, there is currently no standardised way to teach students the 'art' of lameness detection. Hence, this thesis investigated core elements of the lameness examination in the framework of task analysis, combining biomechanics, vision science and educational research. Mechanical principles of movement asymmetry adaptations associated with locomotion of sound and lame horses on the straight, circle and after flexion tests were investigated. Subjective perception and objective quantification of asymmetry were compared, ranging from detection thresholds of naIve observers to factors influencing experienced veterinarians. Student performance at different stages was evaluated to understand the foundations students bring to future training. Expert visual approaches to lameness detection were quantified by means of eyetracking, investigating whether general principles can be derived to guide teaching. This work showed that it is possible to model and consequently simplify movement adaptations during lameness for future computer based training tools, however a systematic asymmetry bias of sound horses during lunging and after limb flexion needs to be considered. Differences between visual perception and objective quantification of asymmetry highlight the need for further exploration of perception-based diagnostics. While experts used relatively similar approaches when examining horses on the straight, there were considerable differences during assessment on the circle; in future, it would be of benefit to. develop a reliable and uniform assessment strategy.

No description available.

This thesis examined the developmental differences in inhibition and theory-of-mind of 4-8 year olds as a function of the suggested presence of a supernatural agent. All children played four games designed to assess their current level of inhibition and theory-of-mind performance; Children in the experimental condition, only, were also introduced to an invisible Princess Alice and were told that she was watching during the games. Following these measures, all children engaged in a resistance-to-temptation task to determine any differences in inhibition resulting from Princess Alice's suggested presence. I found that children exhibiting a well-developed theory-of-mind were more likely to express belief in Princess Alice than were children lacking this cognitive ability. This research provided support that cognitive maturity, rather than immaturity, may be necessary for children to express belief in novel supernatural agents, and highlighted the importance of context as a mediating factor in children's behavioral inhibition. / by Ashley King. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This research examined the time-course of muscle damage in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Ten resistance-trained males performed four sets to failure with 80% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) for each exercise on three separate weeks. Swelling, range of motion (ROM), delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), and average concentric velocity (ACV) were assessed pretraining and at five timepoints post-training: -0, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours. Swelling (p<0.01) increased immediately post-training, and DOMS (p<0.01) increased at 24 hours post-training in the bench press condition. Additionally, DOMS increased at 48 hours in both squat and deadlift conditions (p<0.01). Squat and deadlift elevated CK immediately post-training (p<0.01), but LDH only increased in the squat post-training. Immediately post in the bench press ACV was decreased (p<0.01) along with in the squat for up to 72 hours (p<0.01), however, ACV did not change following the deadlift (p>0.05). / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Recent research has provided evidence that speech-related visual feedback presented to people who stutter may enhance fluency as effectively as well-established forms of altered auditory feedback. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of visual feedback during speaking conditions that approximated naturalistic conversation. In order to determine what aspects of visual feedback may contribute to fluency enhancement, the feedback was manipulated in terms of synchronicity and linguistic congruence to the original signal. Participants included ten adults diagnosed with developmental stuttering with no concurring conditions. The study consisted of the following four conditions: synchronous visual feedback, asynchronous visual feedback, non-speech related visual feedback, and a control condition. Speech samples were analyzed for the percent of syllables stuttered per condition. Upon analysis of data, no statistically significant effect of visual feedback was found on stuttering frequency, although individual results varied greatly. / by Jamie Heidenreich. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The purpose of this research was to identify the impact of students’ choice of time of day for class activity and their sleep quality on academic performance in multidisciplinary distance education courses at a southeastern U.S. state college. The research addressed the relationship of other individual student characteristics (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational background, or course workload) and external factors (i.e., marital status, hours of employment, part-time or full-time status, or caretaker responsibilities represented by the number of children and/or elderly that the student was actively caring for in their home) to the students’ academic performance and to the students’ choice of time of day for class activity and sleep quality. This study analyzed distance education students’ Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Global Sleep Quality Scores, their demographic and external factor survey responses, a test grade, and the time of day that the student submitted their test. This study targeted the distance education student population, as they are part of a rapidly growing sector within higher education, and they had previously not served as the primary subjects in research regarding sleep quality and external factor impacts on academic success. Analyses of 208 distance education students resulted in the following research findings: sleep quality was found to be related to academic success, with significant findings of, for example, poorer sleep quality correlating with a lower test grade (r = -0.15; p = .03), likewise the number of hours spent working was related to academic success, with a significant finding of more hours spent working correlating with a lower grade (r = 0.377; p = .008). In this study most other factors were found to have no significant relationship with a students’ grades (age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational background, or course workload, marital status, or caretaker responsibilities). These research findings may enlighten students of the potential impacts of taking distance education classes if they anticipate having to work extensively or if they have, or expect to have, poor sleep quality. Additionally, educational institutions and faculty can learn ways to design better distance education courses and provide improved guidance for students to encourage academic success. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection