Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: William F. Lasher. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1933. / At head of title: The Catholic University of America. Vita. Bibliography: p. 23-24.

Thesis (M.S.)--California State University, Dominguez Hills, 2008. / Adviser: William Trappen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. With this is bound: The diffusion coefficient of formamide in dilute aqueous solutions at 25⁰C as measured with the Gouy diffusiometer / by John G. Albright and Louis J. Gosting, reprinted from Journal of physical chemistry, v. 64 (1960), p. 1537-1539. Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction Globally stroke remains the leading cause of adult disability. An aging population and a reduction in stroke case fatality has led to an increasing number of people living with stroke i.e. stroke survivors. The ability to perform important day-to-day activities, such as walking and housework, is frequently impaired in stroke survivors. Therefore, it has become essential to address the long-term needs of stroke survivors, prompting focussed research on life after stroke. A reduction in physical fitness after stroke may contribute to stroke related disability. It is possible to improve physical fitness by regular, structured physical activity. Improving physical fitness after stroke and increasing physical activity are aspects of life after stroke that are increasingly being researched. Although the evidence base for the benefits of physical fitness training is growing, research has indicated that benefits gained are not always maintained at follow-up. To facilitate the uptake and maintenance of physical activity after stroke, it is essential to understand why many stroke survivors do not undertake regular physical activity. Understanding this difficult concept will enable the tailoring of behaviour change interventions to promote and maintain physical activity after stroke. However, there has been limited work in developing theory driven behaviour change interventions to increase physical activity in stroke survivors. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to develop and test a behaviour change intervention to increase physical activity after stroke. Methods In order to address the above aim, six interlinking studies were conducted within the development and feasibility stages of the MRC framework for the development of complex interventions. A systematic review (study one) examined barriers and facilitators to physical activity perceived by stroke survivors. This study showed a lack of literature in this area, and that the already published studies had limited generalisability to the UK stroke population. Therefore, it was deemed appropriate to conduct a qualitative study (study two) to examine the perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity in the local stroke population. Both studies one and two highlighted the influence of self-efficacy towards increasing physical activity. As part of earlier work conducted prior to this PhD, there was previously unanalysed data on perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity after stroke. These quantitative data encompassed specific questions exploring self-efficacy and intention to physical activity post stroke. In light of the evidence it was deemed necessary to analyse these data (study three). It was envisaged that the behaviour change intervention would incorporate a feedback device, so participants could clearly see how much daily physical activity they were undertaking. An opportunity arose to collaborate with a team at Newcastle University who had developed an accelerometer that incorporated an immediate feedback screen. Therefore, a device validation study was conducted as study four. Results from studies one to four were combined, with the use of the Theoretical Domains Framework, and the behaviour change intervention was developed. Two uncontrolled pilot studies (studies five and six) were conducted to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the behaviour change intervention to the stroke population. Results The systematic review included six articles, providing data on 174 stroke survivors. Commonly reported barriers were environmental factors, health concerns and stroke impairments. Commonly reported facilitators were social support and the need to be able to perform daily tasks. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 stroke survivors, at which point data saturation was reached. The most commonly reported TDF domains were ‘beliefs about capabilities’, ‘environmental context and resources’ and ‘social influence’. The quantitative study provided data from 50 stroke survivors. Intention and self-efficacy were high, with self-efficacy graded as either 4 or 5 (highly confident) on a five-point scale by [34 (68%)] participants, whilst 42 (84%) participants “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that they intended to increase their walking after their stroke. Ten participants were recruited to validate the new accelerometer. Mean time since stroke was 29 days (SD =27.9 days). The 10 participants walked a mean distance of 245 meters (SD=129m) and their mean walking speed was 0.79ms-1 (SD=0.34ms-1). The Culture Lab were unable to develop the accelerometer in the necessary time frame and therefore no accelerometer was available for trialling the behaviour change intervention. Therefore, pedometers were used to record step count during the behaviour change intervention. A total of four participants took part in the 12 week behaviour change intervention, over two study periods. All participants managed to increase their step counts during this time. The studies had problems both with recruitment and retention of participants. These issues have been discussed. Conclusions This work has enhanced the understanding of the barriers and facilitators perceived by stroke survivors to increase physical activity. This work has allowed the development of a theoretically driven, complex behaviour change intervention that was successfully trialled with a small group of stroke survivors. Areas of further research have been discussed.

Data de aprova??o ausente. / Disponibiliza??o do conte?do parcial, conforme Termo de Autoriza??o no trabalho. / Submitted by Jos? Henrique Henrique (jose.neves@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2016-12-20T11:25:18Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) fabricio_oliveira_parcial.pdf: 460996 bytes, checksum: 830d7a19829ad0928872ba9504ea142a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2017-01-10T12:15:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) fabricio_oliveira_parcial.pdf: 460996 bytes, checksum: 830d7a19829ad0928872ba9504ea142a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-10T12:15:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) fabricio_oliveira_parcial.pdf: 460996 bytes, checksum: 830d7a19829ad0928872ba9504ea142a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / O uso de plantas com fins terap?uticos ? uma das mais antigas formas de pr?tica medicinal da humanidade. O Brasil hospeda aproximadamente 20% de toda biodiversidade mundial e concentra o maior n?mero de esp?cies end?micas do mundo. As plantas medicinais representam uma promissora fonte de novas drogas, sendo que a regi?o do Cerrado se destaca neste contexto devido a sua vasta biodiversidade. Apesar de sua import?ncia, as plantas end?micas desse bioma s?o ainda pouco exploradas. Assim, o pa?s necessita de maiores investimentos em pesquisas com plantas medicinais, especialmente quando se tratam de doen?as cujo arsenal terap?utico ? limitado e/ou apresenta restri??es como efic?cia e efeitos colaterais, como ? o caso do c?ncer, doen?as negligenciadas como a Doen?a de Chagas e as Leishmanioses e, doen?as infecciosas causadas por bact?rias. Desta forma, este estudo prop?e uma triagem de atividades biol?gicas de extratos etan?licos de 20 plantas do Cerrado. Foram avaliados 24 extratos etan?licos das plantas da regi?o de cerrado de Diamantina, Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais: Agarista oleifolia (partes a?reas), Ageratum fastigiatum (partes a?reas), Byrsonima dealbata (partes a?reas), Byrsonima lancifolia (folhas e caule), Byrsonima verbascifolia (partes a?reas), Croton antisyphiliticus (caule), Gomphrena arborescens (partes a?reas), Gomphrena scapigera (partes a?reas), Gomphrena vaga (caule), Gomphrena virgata (ra?zes), Kielmeyera lathrophyton (folhas e caule), Kielmeyera rubriflora (partes a?reas), Lafoensia pacari (folhas e caule), Myrsine emarginella (folhas), Norantea adamantium (partes a?reas), Qualea dichotoma (partes a?reas), Salvertia convallariodora (folhas e caule), Schefflera macrocarpa (folhas), Vochysia elliptica (partes a?reas) e Zeyheria Montana (partes a?reas). Estes foram obtidos por meio de macera??o e secagem por rotaevapora??o. A toxicidade para c?lulas normais de mam?feros foi avaliada utilizando fibroblastos de camundongo, linhagem L929. A avalia??o das atividades antitripanossomat?deos foi realizada sobre formas promastigotas das cepas BH46 de Leishmania (leishmania) infantum, M2269 de Leishmania (leishmania) amazonensis e contra formas epimastigotas das cepas Y e Colombiana de Trypanosoma cruzi. A atividade antitumoral foi realizada sobre a linhagem MDA-MB-231. A avalia??o da toxicidade sobre as linhagens celulares foi realizada por meio da t?cnica colorim?trica de MTT. A atividade antibacteriana foi avaliada sobre as esp?cies Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Listeria monocytogenes e Pseudomonas aeruginosa por meio da t?cnica da resazurina. Na avalia??o in vitro da atividade biol?gica dos extratos etan?licos foi verificado que todos os extratos demonstraram alguma toxicidade sobre c?lulas normais de mam?feros da linhagem L929. Entre os extratos avaliados 22 apresentaram atividade antitumoral, sendo que o mais ativo foi o de Ageratum fastigiatum (partes a?reas). Atividade tripanocida foi verificada para sete extratos sobre a cepa Y e oito sobre a cepa Colombiana, sendo que dentre estes os extratos das partes a?reas de Ageratum fastigiatum e das partes a?reas Zeyheria montana foram os mais ativos sobre a cepa Colombiana de T. cruzi. Atividade leishmanicida foi verificada para 11 extratos sobre a cepa M2269 de Leishmania amazonensis e tr?s sobre a cepa BH46 de Leishmania infantum, sendo que o mais ativo foi o extrato das partes a?reas de Ageratum fastigiatum. Atividade antibacteriana foi identificada para 11 extratos, os mais ativos foram o de Ageratum fastigiatum (partes a?reas) e Byrsonima lancifolia (folhas), sendo que a bact?ria mais suscept?vel, por ser inibida pelo maior n?mero de extratos avaliados, foi S. aureus (9 extratos) e a menos suscept?vel foi S. agalactiae (1 extrato). A partir dos resultados obtidos, sugere-se que os extratos etan?licos das partes a?reas de Ageratum fastigiatum e Zeyheria montana s?o os mais promissores para prosseguimento dos estudos, representando uma potencial fonte de subst?ncias com atividade antitripanossomat?deo e antitumoral, e os extratos de Ageratum fastigiatum (partes a?reas) e Byrsonima lancifolia (folhas) como antibacteriana, sendo necess?ria a realiza??o do fracionamento destes extratos a fim de identificar as subst?ncias respons?veis por tais atividades e pela citoxicidade. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ci?ncias Farmac?uticas, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, [2016]. / The use of plants for therapeutic purposes is one of the oldest forms from medical practice to mankind. The Brazil accommodate approximately 20% of all global biodiversity and concentrate the largest number of endemic species in the world. Medicinal plants represent a promising source of new drugs, where the Cerrado region stands out for its large biodiversity. Even tought the importance, the endemic plants of this region are yet little explored. So the country needs more investment in research with medicinal plants, especially in situations where the therapeutic arsenal is limited and/or shows restriction like efficacy and side effects, such as cancer, neglected diseases (leishmaniosis and Chagas' disease) and inflammation diseases caused by bacterias. Therefore, the study consider a screening test of 24 ethanol extracts from 20 plants of Cerrado from Diamantina, Valley Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, state about its biological activity: Agarista oleifolia (aerial parts), Ageratum fastigiatum (aerial parts), Byrsonima dealbata (aerial parts), Byrsonima lancifolia (leaves and stems), Byrsonima verbascifolia (aerial parts), Croton antisyphiliticus (stems), Gomphrena arborescens (aerial parts), Gomphrena scapigera (aerial parts), Gomphrena vaga (stems), Gomphrena virgata (roots), Kielmeyera lathrophyton (leaves and stems), Kielmeyera rubriflora (aerial parts), Lafoensia pacari (leaves and stems), Myrsine emarginella (leaves), Norantea adamantium (aerial parts), Qualea dichotoma (aerial parts), Salvertia convallariodora (leaves and stems), Schefflera macrocarpa (leaves), Vochysia elliptica (aerial parts) e Zeyheria Montana (aerial parts). They were obtained by maceration and dry out using a rotary evaporator. The toxicity from normal mammalian cells was assessed using mouse fibroblasts (L929 lineage). The evaluation of anti trypanosomatid activities was performed on promastigotes of Leishmania strains BH46 (Leishmania) infantum, Leishmania M2269 (Leishmania) amazonensis and against epimastigotes of Y and Colombian strains of Trypanosoma cruzi. The antitumoral activity was performed on MDA-MB-231 lineage. The evaluation of the toxicity on cell lines and parasites was performed by the colorimetric MTT technique. The antibacterial activity was assessed about the species Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Proteus mirabilis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Listeria monocytogenes e Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the resazurin technique. In citoxicity assay all extracts have shown some toxicity to normal cells of mammals L929 lineage. Antitumoral activity was observed for 22 extracts, being the most active the extract of aerial parts of Ageratum fastigiatum. Trypanocidal activity was observed for seven extracts against the Y strain and eight extracts against Colombian strain, among them the most active is the aerial parts of Ageratum fastigiatum and aerial parts of Zeyheria montana. Leishmanicidal activity was observed for 11 extracts againt M2269 strain of Leishmania amazonensis and three against BH46 strain of Leishmania infantum, being the most active the extract from aerial parts of Ageratum fastigiatum. Antibacterial activity was identified for 11 extracts, the most active were the Ageratum fastigiatum (aerial parts) and Byrsonima lancifolia (leaves), while the most susceptible bacteria, inhibited by the largest number of extracts, was S. aureus (9 extracts) and the less susceptible was S. agalactiae (1 extract). The results reveals that, the ethanol extracts of the aerial parts of Ageratum fastigiatum and Zeyheria montana are the most promising for further studies, representing a potential source of substances to leismanicial, tripanocidal and antitumoral activities, and extracts of Ageratum fastigiatum (aerial parts) and Byrsonima lancifolia (leaves) as antibacterial activity, being need to perfom a fractionation of these extracts to identify the substances responsible for the activities and toxicity.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Kinesiology / David Dzewaltowski / Emily Mailey / Despite health benefits of physical activity (PA) in youth, worldwide estimates indicate that only 10% of children meet recommended PA guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day.¹,² The places where children go to live, learn, and play influence the amount of PA children accrue,³,⁴ therefore, purpose of this dissertation was to examine social contexts of youth settings and describe contextual influences on youth PA. Chapters one and two address the methods of direct observation (DO) used to characterize contextual influences on youth PA. Chapter 1 serves as a review of the methods of current DO systems, and Chapter 2 describes the implications of using different methods to characterize contexts and PA in youth settings. Using youth sport (YS) as an example, we examined the distinct types of data that resulted from two DO systems, and discussed implications for describing influences of children’s PA. Little is known about the distribution of PA among children within setting time, such as whether social contexts promote inequalities in PA where some children are very active and others are inactive. Therefore, the purpose of the study in Chapter 3 was to describe the distribution of PA during time segmented YS practices and identify whether inequalities in PA exist. We hypothesized that inequality would vary between time segments of different contexts, specifically, that segments that fostered inclusion (i.e., optimal demand) would have lower inequality than segments that fostered exclusion (i.e., disadvantaged demand). We found that inequality in PA was varied between segment types and that social contexts of task (i.e., purpose of the segment time) and demand influenced inequality in PA. To create improvements in child population PA, we propose researchers and practitioners should focus not only on the mean PA of setting time, but also on the distribution of PA within setting time. Chapter 4 focuses on the social structure of relationships within a school district that may influence implementation of wellness policies within school systems. The study described a method and investigated the social structure between school district wellness committees and their associated elementary schools. Results of the study showed variability in the pattern of social structure between and within school districts, with some districts having a social structure with representation of schools on the district wellness committee, and other districts with no representation. As social structure characteristics influence the implementation of policies and practices within social systems, these characteristics should be investigated by researchers, and should be used to enhance implementation, rather than be disregarded. In conclusion, this dissertation provided recommendations for describing the social contexts of youth settings, provided preliminary evidence that social contexts influence the amount and distribution of PA within youth settings, and that social contexts are highly variable within and between settings. Further research is needed to find the combination of social contexts most conducive to youth PA, and future researchers should consider social contexts when designing and implementing interventions for improving youth PA within settings.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-02-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:50:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_efl_me_jabo.pdf: 383641 bytes, checksum: 59b012609413039433f00a07564e3f1e (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito de doses crescentes de lodo de esgoto (LE), aplicadas por treze anos em Latossolo Vermelho eutroférrico, nos atributos biológicos e bioquímicos, nos teores de elementos-traço do solo e no acúmulo destes pelas plantas daninhas. O experimento foi conduzido em condições de campo, em Jaboticabal-SP, utilizando-se delineamento em blocos casualizados com quatro doses de LE (0, 5, 10 e 20 Mg ha-1, base seca) e cinco repetições. As amostras de solo (0 a 10 cm), plantas daninhas e resíduos culturais foram coletadas em outubro de 2010, 130 dias após a colheita do milho. Os valores do carbono da biomassa microbiana não variaram em função das doses de LE, porém os valores de respiração basal e quociente metabólico foram maiores nas doses 10 e 20 Mg ha-1. Para o quociente microbiano, o menor valor foi observado na dose 0 Mg ha-1 de LE. Os teores totais de Cd e Cr no solo não variaram em função das doses de LE. De forma contrária, os teores totais de Ni e Pb no solo aumentaram proporcionalmente até a dose 10 Mg ha-1. A atividade das enzimas desidrogenase, arilsulfatase, celulase e urease não variou. Porém a atividade hidrolítica do diacetato de fluoresceína (FDA) e da fosfatase ácida foram maiores na dose 20 Mg ha-1. Em relação às plantas daninhas e a palha do milho a adição de LE por longo período causou efeitos semelhantes nos valores da produção de matéria seca e nos teores totais de Cd, Cr, Ni e Pb. Entretanto, os teores acumulados de Cd, Ni e Pb na parte aérea dos grupos de planta daninha aumentaram até a dose 10 Mg ha-1 diferindo da testemunha. O LE causou atividade biológica negativa no solo nas doses 10 e 20 Mg ha-1. A atividade foi indicada pelos aumentos na respiração basal, na atividade hidrolítica do FDA e na atividade da fosfatase ácida. Entretanto, o aumento do quociente metabólico e a diminuição do quociente microbiano indicaram estar havendo estresse / This study aimed to evaluate the effect of increasing doses of sewage sludge (SS), applied for thirteen years in Oxisol in biological and biochemical attributes, the levels of trace elements in soil and accumulation of weed. The experiment was conducted under field conditions in Jaboticabal, using a randomized block design with four doses of SS (0, 5, 10 and 20 Mg ha-1, dry basis) and five replicates. Soil samples (0-10 cm), weeds and crop residues were collected in October 2010, 130 days after the corn harvest. The values of microbial biomass carbon did not vary with the doses of SS, but the values of basal respiration and metabolic quotient were higher in doses 10 and 20 Mg ha-1. For the microbial quotient, the lowest value was observed at the dose 0 Mg ha-1 SS. Total concentrations of Cd and Cr in the soil did not vary with the doses of LE. Conversely, the total concentration of Ni and Pb in soil increased proportionally to the dose of 10 Mg ha-1. The activity of enzymes dehydrogenase, arylsulfatase, cellulase and urease did not change. However, the hydrolytic activity of the fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and acid phosphatase were higher in the dose 20 Mg ha-1. In relation to weeds and straw corn, adding SS for a long period caused similar effects on the values of dry matter production and total contents of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb. However, the accumulated contents of Cd, Ni and Pb in the aerial part of the weed groups increased until the dose of 10 Mg ha-1 differed from the control. The SS has caused negative biological activity in soil at doses 10 and 20 Mg ha-1. The activity was indicated by increases in respiration, FDA hydrolytic activity and acid phosphatase activity. However, the increase metabolic quotient and decrease of the ratio having indicated that microbial stress