The prostheses used by the majority of persons with upper limb amputations today offer a limited range of motion. Relative to anatomical joints transradial (below the elbow) prosthesis users lose at least two of the three degrees of freedom provided by the wrist and forearm. Some myoeletric prostheses currently allow for forearm pronation and supination (rotation about an axis parallel to the forearm) and the operation of a powered prosthetic hand. Body-powered prostheses, incorporating hooks and other cable driven terminal devices, have even fewer active degrees of freedom. In order to perform activities of daily living, an amputee must use a greater than normal range of movement from other anatomical body joints to compensate for the loss of movement caused by the amputation. By studying this compensatory motion of prosthetic users, the mechanics of how they adapt to the loss of range of motion in a given limb and specific tasks were analyzed. The purpose of this study is to create a robotic based kinematic model that can predict the compensatory motion of a given task using given subject data in select tasks. The tasks used in this study are the activities of daily living: opening a door, drinking from a cup, lifting a box, and turning a steering wheel. For the model the joint angles necessary to accomplish a task are calculated by a simulation for a set of prostheses and tasks. The simulation contains a set of configurations that are represented by parameters that consist of the joint degrees of freedom provided by each prosthesis, and a set of task information that includes joint constraints and trajectories. In the simulation the hand or prosthesis follows the trajectory to perform the task. Analysis of tasks is done by attaching prosthetic constraints to one of the arms of the upper body model in the simulation, other arm maintains an anatomical configuration. By running the model through this simulation with different configurations the compensatory motions were found. Results can then be used to select the best prosthesis for a given user, design prostheses that are more effective at selected tasks, and demonstrate some possible compensations given a set of residual joint limitations with certain prosthetic components, by optimizing the configuration of the prostheses to improve their performance.

A predicted loss of agricultural rice-wetlands and increasing urbanization and development threatens the remaining freshwater wetlands along the upper Texas coast. To avoid, minimize, and mitigate wetland loss, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is directed to enforce Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (1975 amendment) by administering permits for development. Furthermore, a 1990 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a national goal of no net wetland loss (NNL). My goals were to identify the frequency of occurrence of freshwater wetland loss due to dredge or fill, assess final plans to mitigate wetland loss, and verify the persistence of the created compensatory wetlands. I created a database of 96 individual, Section 404 permits issued from 1981 to 2001 in the counties of Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange, and San Jacinto (Galveston District Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Descriptive statistics were calculated for permit characteristics in relation to issue date (pre- or post-NNL). Public comments received from national and state agencies were rank ordered against mitigation plan type to determine Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient. Visual identification (via site visits and 1996 aerial photos) was used to validate compensatory wetland persistence. Shoreline protection of private property and oil and gas drilling (64% of permit applicants and 59% of impacts) had the greatest effect on wetland loss in the region, particularly Chambers, Jefferson, and Montgomery counties. Overall, 79.3 ha of freshwater wetlands were gained; however, gain was overestimated due to large projects for habitat enhancement. Permits issued post-NNL were more likely to have formal mitigation plans (58% vs. 13% pre-NNL) and allowed no net wetland loss. Although agency comments recommending more formal mitigation plans increased after NNL, only a weak positive correlation was detected (Spearman's r less than or equal to 0.4). Six of seven created wetlands remained in existence through 2006 though they are freshwater ponds replacing more diverse aquatic systems. I recommend the development of a comprehensive method to track wetland loss, mitigation, and changes in watersheds over time.

The “twice-looted” archives refer to a vast body of documents that were looted by Nazi agencies during, and again by Soviet Army units immediately following World War II. The archives were taken in the context of the two most intensive programs of cultural heritage looting in modern history. Their fate remained unknown until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, many efforts have been made to return the documents to their original owners. However, significant obstacles have hindered restitution, leaving a large body of foreign archives in Russia. By connecting the history and current status of the “twice-looted” archives to archival theory and ethical principles on cultural heritage property, this thesis provides a foundation from which to approach archival restitution. The analysis of recent additions to archival theory provides new understandings of archival meaning that may facilitate the restitution of archives displaced by war. Reviewing the details of the archives’ successive seizures leading to their extended residency in the secret “Special Archive” (TsGOA) and discussing restitution developments on national and international levels reveals how exploitation of archives during war violates archival principles. Concluding with specific case studies further illustrates the complex nature of archives and archival meaning and its significance for archival restitution. These discussions reveal the damages that result when archives become targets of war. This in turn, encourages respect for archives and brings attention to the necessity of safeguarding archival heritage.

A predicted loss of agricultural rice-wetlands and increasing urbanization and development threatens the remaining freshwater wetlands along the upper Texas coast. To avoid, minimize, and mitigate wetland loss, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is directed to enforce Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (1975 amendment) by administering permits for development. Furthermore, a 1990 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a national goal of no net wetland loss (NNL). My goals were to identify the frequency of occurrence of freshwater wetland loss due to dredge or fill, assess final plans to mitigate wetland loss, and verify the persistence of the created compensatory wetlands. I created a database of 96 individual, Section 404 permits issued from 1981 to 2001 in the counties of Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange, and San Jacinto (Galveston District Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Descriptive statistics were calculated for permit characteristics in relation to issue date (pre- or post-NNL). Public comments received from national and state agencies were rank ordered against mitigation plan type to determine Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient. Visual identification (via site visits and 1996 aerial photos) was used to validate compensatory wetland persistence. Shoreline protection of private property and oil and gas drilling (64% of permit applicants and 59% of impacts) had the greatest effect on wetland loss in the region, particularly Chambers, Jefferson, and Montgomery counties. Overall, 79.3 ha of freshwater wetlands were gained; however, gain was overestimated due to large projects for habitat enhancement. Permits issued post-NNL were more likely to have formal mitigation plans (58% vs. 13% pre-NNL) and allowed no net wetland loss. Although agency comments recommending more formal mitigation plans increased after NNL, only a weak positive correlation was detected (Spearman's r less than or equal to 0.4). Six of seven created wetlands remained in existence through 2006 though they are freshwater ponds replacing more diverse aquatic systems. I recommend the development of a comprehensive method to track wetland loss, mitigation, and changes in watersheds over time.

Repeated excessive exercise (EE) fasting behavior, in the absence of binge eating and purging, are important eating disorder behaviors that are not captured by the current diagnostic system. Though they appear to be harmful and distressing for adults, little is known about these behaviors in youth. To begin to understand their development, I studied the course of the behaviors across the three years of middle school (n = 1,195). Both behaviors were present in middle school girls and boys, and youth progressed along different developmental trajectories of engagement in the behaviors. Youth involved in either behavior experienced elevated levels of depression and some forms of high-risk eating and thinness expectancies. Their distress levels did not differ from those of youth engaging in purging behavior or low levels of binge eating. EE and fasting behavior can be identified in the early stages of adolescence, youth differ in their developmental experience of these behaviors, and they are associated with significant distress very early in development.

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Darbo tikslas: Nustatyti kompensuojamųjų antidepresantų skyrimo pokyčius bei ypatumus ir savižudybių kitimo dinamiką Lietuvoje 2003 – 2005 metais bei įvertinti bendras antidepresantų suvartojimo ir savižudybių tendencijas. Metodas: Kompensuojamųjų antidepresantų suvartojimo 2003 – 2005 metais duomenys buvo gauti iš Valstybinės ligonių kasos. Vaistai suklasifikuoti pagal ATC sistemą, o jų suvartojimo standartizavimui ir kiekybiniam įvertinimui taikyta DDD metodika ir suvartojimas išreikštas DDD vienetais 1000 gyventojų. Savižudybių statistiniai duomenys gauti iš Statistikos departamento prie Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės, suskaičiuotos kiekinės savižudybių išraiškos išreikštos savižudybėmis/1000 gyventojų. Rezultatai: Kompensuojamųjų antidepresantų suvartojimas Lietuvoje 2003 – 2005 metais padidėjo 35,42 %. Labiausiai šį augimą lėmė kitų antidepresantų suvartojimo augimas (išaugo 284,75 %) ir SSRI suvartojimo augimas (išaugo 20,66 %). TCA suvartojimas sumažėjo 4,6 %, o amitriptilino suvartojimo procentinė dalis nuo kitų antidepresantų suvartojimo sumažėjo nuo 14,44 % iki 11,8 %. Savižudybių skaičius, tenkantis tūkstančiui gyventojų, Lietuvoje 2003 – 2005 metais sumažėjo 13,51 %. Sumažėjo tiek vyrų, tiek moterų savižudybių dažnis. Tose pačiose vyrų ir moterų amžiaus grupėse, moterų kompensuojamųjų antidepresantų suvartojimas yra 3,5 ir daugiau karto didesnis, negu vyrų, o vyrų savižudybių dažnis yra 5 ir daugiau kartų didesnis, negu moterų. Išvados: Didėjantis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Objective: To evaluate trends in the use of compensatory antidepressants and suicide rates in Lithuania in 2003 – 2005 period and to evaluate tendencies between consumption of compensatory antidepressants and suicide rates. Methods: Data about consumption of compensatory antidepressants in 2003 – 2005 years was obtained from the State patient fund under the Ministry of Health. All drugs were classified according to ATC system and DDD methodology was used for standardization of their consumption and quantitative evaluation. The results were expressed as DDDs/1000 inhabitants. Statistical data about suicide rates was obtained from Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and quantity of suicides was expressed as suicides/1000 inhabitants. Results: The consumption of compensatory antidepressants in 2003 – 2005 period increased by 35,42 %. This growth of total consumption was determined by rapid increase in consumption of other antidepressants (ATC N06AX) (increased by 284,75 %) and SSRIs (increased by 20,66 %). The consumption of compensatory TCA decreased by 4,6 % and the proportion of consumption of amitryptiline with consumption of all antidepressants decreased from 14,44 % to 11,8 %. Suicide rate per 1000 inhabitants decreased by 13,51 % in Lithuania in 2003 – 2005. Decrease was in both male and female suicide rates. In the same groups of ages of males and females consumption of compensatory antidepressants within the females is 3,5 and more... [to full text]

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a cyclic feeding regime alters growth, lipid content and the expression of genes involved in appetite regulation and lipid metabolism in rainbow trout (Onchorynchus mykiss). Progeny from two lots of diallel crosses were raised under a daily fed control or a cyclic feeding regime containing alternating reduced and compensatory rations. Although the cyclic feeding regime did not improve overall growth, there was some degree of compensatory growth seen during re-alimentation, and the reduced ration led to sustained reductions in condition factor and muscle fat content. Appetite-regulating genes showed little or no differences in expression between feeding regimes. However, the lipid metabolism genes involved in fatty acid synthesis and muscle lipid uptake showed differences in expression during reduced and compensatory ration. This study helps to clarify optimal cyclic feeding regimes in order to enhance growth characteristics preferential to the fish culture industry. / NSERC Strategic Grant, OMAFRA

The purpose of this study is to examine a preschool's work to counteract traditional gender roles, which strategies are used and how norms about gender roles are produced and treated. The study also examines whether the preschool has an intersectional perspective in it's gender work, which analyzes how they relate to other categories such as ethnicity, race, class, age and sexuality in their work. I have been observing and conducting four interviews with teachers at a preschool with a gender profile. In my analysis I have used Foucault's theories about discourse and power. The results show that the informants had a high awareness of gender and that the main strategies used were: an individual perspective, seeing the individual and not the sex, and a gender-neutral strategy, removing everything that is gendered, for example, in language and environment. The preschool's work implementing the equal treatment plan (Likabehandlingsplan) allowed them to replace their gender profile, which included discrimination based on forms of ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and age. The results showed some examples of an intersectional perspective, for example, how the preschool worked with sexuality/different family structures and age, but other categories were harder to include, such as ethnicity, race and class. The conclusions I have drawn are that there are risks with these gender strategies. They confirm and reinforce gender roles, and there is a risk that the work is based on a white middle-class heterosexual norm, which means it is based on privileged positions. The work with the equal treatment plan requires an intersectional perspective and a self-reflected approach from the teachers. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka en förskolas arbete med att motverka traditionella könsroller samt vilka genusstrategier som används och hur normer kring genusuttryck produceras och bemöts. Studien undersöker även om förskolan har ett intersektionellt perspektiv, det vill säga hur de arbetar med andra kategorier såsom etnicitet, ras, klass, ålder och sexualitet i deras genusarbete. Jag har gjort observationer och intervjuer med pedagoger på en förskola med uttalad genusprofil. I min analys har jag använt mig av Foucaults teorier om diskurs och makt. Studiens resultat visar att informanterna hade en hög medvetenhet kring genus och att de vanligaste strategierna de använde var ett individuellt perspektiv, att se individen och inte könet, samt en könsneutral strategi, att avlägsna det som anses könat i exempelvis språk eller miljö. Förskolans arbete med sin likabehandlingsplan hade börjat ersätta deras genusprofil, vilket innebar att de även inkluderar förebyggande arbete mot diskriminering relaterat till etnicitet, religion eller annan trosuppfattning, funktionsnedsättning, sexuell läggning, könsöverskridande identitet eller uttryck och ålder. Studiens resultat visar exempel på ett intersektionellt perspektiv, exempelvis hur förskolan arbetade med sexualitet och olika familjebildningar samt ålder. Resultatet visar dock hur det var svårare att arbeta med andra kategorier såsom etnicitet, ras och klass. Slutsatserna jag dragit är att det finns risker med de genusstrategier som jag upptäckte. De riskerar att befästa och förstärka könsroller samt baseras på en vit heterosexuell medelklassnorm, vilket innebär att de baseras på positioner som ständigt privilegieras. Arbetet med likabehandlingsplanen kräver därmed ett intersektionellt perspektiv samt ett självreflekterande förhållningssätt hos pedagogerna.

The current study examined the relationship between uncertainty and supernatural beliefs, as well as the link between individual personality traits and supernatural beliefs. Participants were placed in four different prime conditions: self uncertainty, other uncertainty, self affirmation, or other affirmation. The current study was created due to the widespread belief in supernatural phenomena in America and its effect on society. Results suggest that uncertainty increases religious beliefs but not paranormal beliefs when the self is threatened. Results also suggest that narcissism and neuroticism have a negative correlation with paranormal beliefs, inconsistent with previous research. The search for meaning in life has a positive correlation with paranormal beliefs, which is consistent with past research in relation to religiosity. Further research needs to be conducted in order to understand the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs and the way uncertainty affects belief, as well as the individual differences that make someone more likely to believe in the supernatural.