Floods are considered to be among of the deadliest, costliest and most common natural disasters. Rapid onset, catastrophic floods inundate the shore quickly and manifest as deep water with high velocities. The deep water and high velocities caused by these floods inflict great pressures and forces on the built and natural environments and pose a threat to human safety. Recent disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States and the Sumatra tsunami in the Indian Ocean have revealed that communities at risk require improved preparations for these types of dangerous events. Current building codes, design practices and disaster planning methods account for potential earthquake and wind loads on simple wood frame buildings typical of North American residential construction, however, flood impacts have not been considered in the same level of depth. The objectives of this research are to develop a theoretical model that describes flood impacts on wood frame residential buildings and relates building response to physical flood properties such as depth and velocity. This thesis provides a brief synopsis of previous approaches used to describe building response to flooding. An overview of the major loads caused by rapid onset flooding, along with a description of the structural system utilized in wood design to resist these forces is provided. The failure mechanisms considered and the model logic are described and applied to assess the response of a typical Canadian wood frame home to flood conditions that might be experienced in a rapid onset flood event like a tsunami. Building response results are discussed along with recommendations for future analysis and applications.

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The present study investigated the neural mechanisms by which environmental stimuli guide conditioned behaviors in the amphetamine conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Systemically injected D1 and D2 dopamine antagonists blocked both acquisition and expression of the CPP: the selective D1 antagonist more effectively blocked expression than the D2 antagonists. The site of action of the antagonists on expression was the nucleus accumbens. Systemically injected reserpine, but not intra-accumbens a-MPT microinjections, also blocked the expression of the amphetamine CPP. Pre-conditioning and post-conditioning electrolytic or excitotoxic lesions of the lateral amygdaloid nucleus impaired the CPP. It was concluded that the effect of conditioned incentive stimuli is mediated by a neural system which involves the reserpine-sensitive dopamine pool and the D1 dopamine receptor in the nucleus accumbens and the lateral amygdaloid nucleus.

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The objectives of the investigation were to establish diagnostic reference data; and to examine and report on the effects of sex difference and contralateral masking on the normal BAER. BAERs were elicited from the target (R) ear using clicks presented at 70dBnHL both in the absence and presence of three (50, 6O and 70dBHL) levels of contralateral broadband masking noise. Relevant latency and amplitude data were obtained from 60 selected normal hearing Indian undergraduate female (N=30; X age = 20.33 years) and male (N=30; X age = 21.33 years) students aged between 18 and 25 years (X age = 20.73 years). Diagnostic reference data were established for the absolute latencies of peaks I to VI; relative latencies of peaks I-III; III-V and I-V; absolute amplitudes of peaks I and V and the relative amplitude ratio of peaks V:I. The application of the MANOVA revealed an overall significant (p < 0,05) sex difference effect while no significant differences were observed between the masked and non-masked normal BAER. Furthermore, there were no significant overall interactional effects of sex difference and masking on the BAER. These results are discussed in terms of the literature and implications for clinical application and further research. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1989.