Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Johannesburg, 2015 / Many factors have been shown to play a role in employment after a spinal cord injury. Globally the rates of employment post-injury have been disappointing with a rate of 36.8% 1. METHODS This mixed methods study was divided into two phases. During phase one qualitative data was gathered. This data was used to design a questionnaire which was emailed to members of the Quadpara Association of South Africa in phase two. Bivariate data analysis was performed and a logistic regression. RESULTS Eleven themes emerged from phase one. There was a high employment rate of 79.55% at the time of the study and 92.13% had worked for remuneration since injury. There was a statistically significant association between employment at the time of the study and six factors. CONCLUSION This study had a surprisingly high employment rate post-injury. Despite few results being statistically significant there were many that are of clinical importance.

by Tseung Chu Man Yee, Miriam. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 169-177.

Thesis (M.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2007. / Vita. Bibliography: pp. 42-45.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2009. / [School of Medicine] Department of Neurosciences. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-157).

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) techniques may be used to restore motor function lost or impaired through spinal cord injury. In order to use these techniques to restore complex tasks such as walking, it is necessary to provide sensory feedback to regulate the output of the FES controller. It has been suggested that multi-microelectrode probes (microprobes) implanted into the peripheral nervous system can be used to detect signals originating from the body's own sensors. These signals could be decoded and used to regulate the output of the FES controller. Prior to the present work, however, microprobes had primary been used to study neural activity in the brain, not peripheral nerves. In the present work, locust peripheral nerve has been used as an animal model for experimental and computer modelling work. The experimental work was directed at discerning the detail of information that can be obtained using microprobes to record from peripheral nerves (ie, the selectivity of the probes). In the computer modelling work, the effects of filtering the recorded signal were studied using an electrical circuit simulator programme (SPICE). Finite element analysis software (ANSYS) was used to model the electrical potential distribution in the nerve trunk, and to determine the effects of the probe substrate on the recorded signal. The results of the experimental work indicated that it may be possible to achieve higher selectivity in recording with microprobes than predicted by some models. It is concluded that future models need to represent the situation in greater detail in order to make more realistic predictions regarding the practical work. This will require further data on the electrical properties of the structures modelled within the nerve trunk. The SPICE modelling work successfully predicted the shape of the neural signals that would be recorded in the practical work. The partial differentiating effect of high pass filtering neural signals was also demonstrated. The results of the finite element modelling work demonstrated that the probe substrate would be expected to amplify signals from fibres directly in front of it, and attenuate signals from fibres behind it. This was shown to be significant for probe substrates with dimensions much smaller than the longitudinal spread of the action potential along the fibre. It was also found that these effects can be influenced by the position of the microprobe substrate relative to other structures within the nerve trunk; not just relative to the fibre. The significance of these results as they relate to mammalian nerve is discussed. Improved experimentation techniques and models are outlined, based on the results of this work. These include the requirement for improved facilities to determine the limits of selectivity in recording from peripheral nerves, and also the inclusion of inhomogeneities in models of the nerve trunk to make more realistic predictions regarding practical work. Finally, the development of active probes is discussed, including requirements for particularly novel circuitry, and the integration of many devices into a system to control FES.

No abstract available / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Architecture / unrestricted

The studies reported in this dissertation constitute the first evidence that methylprednisolone (MP) has been shown to ameliorate specific components of secondary trauma including ischemia, lactic acidosis, and lipid peroxidation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Oct. 31, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-98).