1. The present study examined whether primary cultured rat A2B5+ cerebrocortical oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC) were susceptible to Zn2+- and excitotoxin-induced cell death. 2. Initial pharmacological studies demonstrated the selective ionotropic glutamate receptor agonists' kainate and (S)-5-Iodowillardiine induced OPC death after 24-hour exposure. (S)-AMPA and L-glutamate only induced cell death in the presence of 100muM cyclothiazide (a selective AMPA receptor desensitisation blocker). The selective AMPA- receptor antagonists, GYKI 52466 and Evans' Blue, attenuated 300muM kainate-induced toxicity and therefore suggested OPC excitotoxic insult was via AMPA receptor activation. 3. Metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) involvement was also established as (S)-DBPG (100muM), a selective group I mGluR agonist, afforded significant (p < 0.05) protection against 300muM kainate-induced toxicity. The selective mGIuR antagonist (S)-MCPG reversed the effects of (S)-DHPG protection. 4. OPC death was partially prevented by the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk (100muM) at 6-hour and 24-hour paradigms. Hoechst 33342 staining revealed the presence of pyknotic nuclei following 6-hour kainate (300muM) exposure and Western Blotting using anti-caspase-3 antibody and anti-a-fodrin antibody indicated potential activation of the apoptotic executioner caspase-3. 300muM Kainate-induced OPC death did not appear to result in the activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). 5. Zn2+ exposure over 24-hours resulted in OPC death (pECso 4.1+0.1). 100muM Zn2+- induced OPC death was not potentiated by 300muM kainate and Evans Blue afforded no protection. Nicardipine also failed to influence OPC viability. The lack of effect of kainate and nicardipine was confirmed by 65Zn2+ uptake studies. 6. 100muM and 300muM Zn2+-induced OPC death did not appear to result in activation of ROS. Hoechst 33342 staining revealed the presence of chromatin condensation with 300muM Zn2 (6-hour exposure). 100|muM and 300muM Zn2+ (24-hour exposure) was not influenced by Z-VAD-fmk or PD 150606. 7. Zn2+-induced OPC toxicity resulted in significant ATP depletion 6-hours following 300muM Zn2+ exposure (p < 0.05) and was attenuated in the presence of 5mM pyruvate. These data therefore suggest the mechanisms of Zn2+ toxicity may involve disruption of the glycolytic cascade.

In an article on Ernst Cassirer, Konstantin Reichardt says, Since form is the only rational factor of every art, and the form of each art manifests a specific order, 'the order and form of the arts are to be investigated, if we want to examine the artist's imagination at work and the architecture of the world of art. It is the aim of this thesis to cast some light on a small, yet beautiful building within the complex architecture of this world of art, the genre of the short story. To isolate its structural and generic characteristics in general, however, would entail an analytical investigation into a huge number of short stcries, a task too great to be tackled in a thesis. Intro., p. 8.

This study attempts to explore, both theoretically and empirically, death anxiety across the lifespan in Western society. Six elderly women between the ages of 75 and 90 years were interviewed about their current perceptions and attitudes toward their anticipated deaths, and to what extent these perceptions may have altered over the course of the life cycle. It was hypothesized that an acceptance of religion and a belief in an afterlife existence; a sense of having experienced death before, in seeing loved ones die; and a feeling of having lived a meaningful life through the reminiscence of past events would all facilitate an older person's acceptance of anticipated death. An existential phenomenological explication of the protocols revealed that: religion need not necessarily play a major role in this regard; both the life reminiscence process and having experienced death before in seeing loved ones die facilitated acceptance of death; older persons are prepared for death in the sense of experiencing a feeling that their life cycles have been completed; although death may not be feared, many fears of dying are prevalent. It was thus concluded from this study that, although death is not a major preoccupation of the older person, it does still play a significant role in the lives of the elderly in that being aware of impending death allows the older person to regulate her life according to ̕̕̕̕̕ʾtime-left-to-liveʾ

Professional nurses working in an intensive care unit (ICU) are faced with the death of critically ill patients frequently. Modern day medicine and technology have made it possible for advanced life-sustaining measures to be implemented on patients who, without medical intervention, would otherwise not have survived. The question is raised: is modern technology preserving life and prolonging the dying process, or is it in the best interest of the patient for treatment to be withdrawn? Nurses, caring for these patients and their families, are practicing at the bedside of these dying patients and are thus often faced with end-of-life issues, particularly withdrawal of treatment. The primary functions of critical care nurses are toward their patients. Physicians are responsible for making decisions regarding withdrawal of treatment. However, the nurses in the ICU are responsible for implementing the decisions made; sometimes contradicting what they believe in. The experience of end-of-life issues, namely withdrawal of treatment, is a cause of distress for the professional nurse. Little research has been done on how the ICU nurses deal with end-of-life issues and what support structures are required to assist nurses in dealing with end-of-life issues (Hov, Hedelin & Athlin, 2006:204) The objectives of the study were to explore and describe the professional nurses‟ lived experiences of end-of-life issues in the intensive care unit. The study aimed to make recommendations regarding support strategies to assist professional nurses in dealing with end-of-life issues in the intensive care unit. The researcher has selected a qualitative research approach with an explorative, descriptive and contextual design in order to conduct the study. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using the steps as illustrated by Tesch‟s method. Ethical principles were maintained throughout the research study. The findings of this study are to be presented in a journal publication.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / AIDS related deaths of parents have resulted in children being orphaned, in large numbers. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period in a child’s developmental life.It is a period charactarised by uncertainties, role confusion and identity crises. This stage becomes even more complex when adolescents loose their parents through AIDS. This thesis is an explorative study to understand the experience of adolescent who have lost their parents through HIV/AIDS. This study was theoretically located within a phenomenological framework. The participants were recruited from the foster care project of Ikamva Labantu in Gugulethu. The participants were adolescents aged from 14- 17 years old. They were purposively selected to participate in this study. The study was conducted within a qualitative research design, and underpinned by an interpretative framework. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews with the aid of an interview guide, and observations. This study identified seven themes. Three themes share the experience prior to parental death and the four express the experience after parental death. The research findings led to the conclusion that adolescents struggle with a myriad challenges such as discrimination, stigmatisation, caring for siblings and having to deal with the death of parents often without the necessary support. The conclusions drawn and the recommendations made will contribute to knowledge that will support social workers and other professionals working with AIDS orphaned adolescents, in understanding their experiences.

Why do we not prepare for the death of our cities as we do for ourselves? What form and trajectory is appropriate to illicit supportive emotional acceptance of an anticipatory memorial? / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Background: Opioid-related deaths remain a significant public health problem in the United States. Opioids cause approximately 75% of all drug-related deaths. Since 1999, nearly half a million Americans have died from opioid overdoses. In 2018, 9,290 people > 55 years old died from opioid overdoses in the United States. In Florida, more than 1,000 older adults died from opioids (as a cause of death) from 2014-2018. However, there is a dearth of research about the manner of deaths of older adults who used, misused, or abused opioids. Methods: This secondary analysis utilized data from the Florida Drug and Law Enforcement (FDLE) agency between 2014 - 2018. A generalized linear model with a normal probability distribution was used to examine which social determinants or factors such as race, income, education level, percentage of people in poverty, and population density predicted opioid death rate in Florida. Chi-square statistics were used to determine the association between gender, race, and opioid-related deaths (ORD), and the relationship of the manner of death to the opioid drugs involved. The trend of opioid death rate was also analyzed by Florida county and through the data years 2014 to 2018. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

It was the purpose of this investigation to add to the scientific knowledge of death and suicide and to present an exploratory investigation into the possibility of developing an attitudinal technique or scale of measuring responsiveness toward death, which has to do with how a person responds to his own death and the "death-instincts."

This thesis is concerned with systematically investigating the relationship between Emily Dickinson's many personal tragedies and the crisis poems which grew out of them. Its basic organization is formed by discussing specific periods of her life in each chapter.

The greatest less of infant life occurs around the time of birth (Eliet, 1958) and the mortality rate for first day deaths has shown less improvement than for any other time during the first year (Arey and Dent, 1953). "Once the human feetus has attained a gestational age permitting extra-uterine survival, neonatal death may be more commonly associated with failure of respiratory adaptation than with any other adaptational failure" (Smith, 1964). About two-thirds of all deaths in the newborn are associated with respiratory failure (Briggs and Nogg, 1958; Drissell and Smith, 1962). Hutchisen et al (1962) stated that the pulmonary syndrome of the newborn is probably the major problem of present day neonatal paediatries.