Background Measuring pain in infants is important but challenging for researchers and health care professionals. The measurement of skin conductance (SC) is considered as a measure of stress and a surrogate indicator of pain. Purpose This dissertation provides insight on the validity of SC for pain measurement in infants and consists of two studies: 1) a scoping review synthesizing the methods and findings of previous studies on validating or using SC for measuring pain in infants; 2) a primary study evaluating the validity of SC for measuring pain in mechanically ventilated infants. Methods Arksey and O’Malley’s framework informed the methods of the scoping review. Nine electronic databases were searched. Data were analyzed and presented descriptively. The primary study used a prospective cross-sectional observational design. Eligible infants were those up to 12 months of age, hospitalized in intensive care units, who were mechanically ventilated, and required painful and non-painful procedures. Results Scoping review: Twenty-eight studies with 1061 infants were included, including 23 cross-sectional observation studies and five interventional studies. The validity evidence of SC was tested in relation to referent pain measures (13 variables), stimuli (13 variables), age (2 variables) and other contextual variables (11 variables). Fifteen studies evaluated the validity evidence in relation to phase of painful procedure, and SC increased significantly during painful procedures in most studies (n=14/15). However, inconsistent findings on other validity evidence and wide variation in methods existed across studies. Primary study: SC showed good validity in relation to the category of procedure, the phase of procedure and the referent pain measures in critically ill mechanically ventilated infants. The findings from diagnostic test accuracy showed that SC had good capacity of detecting moderate to severe pain. However, the values of SC need to be used with caution, due to the imperfect correlations with the referent pain measures and imperfect positive predictive value. Conclusions SC is a promising approach to measuring pain in critically ill infants. Further research testing the validity of SC in relation to pain treatments and advancing the technology of measuring and analyzing SC is needed before it can be recommended for clinical use.

Previous research suggests that attentional deficits could be the underlying cause of language impairments in people with aphasia (PWA) and that behavioral engagement ratings can be an accurate way to measure attention to specific tasks. Previous research also suggests that PWA have lower levels of behavioral engagement than neurologically healthy adults. Participants in the present study included 9 PWA and 18 neurologically healthy adults. This was an exploratory study investigating the relationships and differences between behavioral engagement and physiological measures, perceived arousal, and naming accuracy and response time in PWA and neurologically healthy adults. Participants completed a confrontational naming task while physiological measures (heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance) were taken simultaneously. Subsequent video footage was used to rate participants' behavioral engagement (i.e., how engaged the participant was in the naming task). In general, PWA had lower behavioral engagement ratings of attention than neurotypical adults. Significant correlations were found between behavioral engagement ratings of attention, naming response time, and naming accuracy. No statistical significance was found between behavioral engagement ratings of attention and heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance. Further research is needed to support these findings.

Wortmannin is a potent inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and membrane trafficking in many cells. To test the hypothesis that cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) traffics into and out of the plasma membrane during cAMP-stimulated epithelial Cl- secretion, we have studied the effects of wortmannin on forskolin-stimulated Cl- secretion by the human colonic cell line T84. At the PI3K inhibitory concentration of 100 nM, wortmannin did not affect significantly forskolin-stimulated Cl- secretion measured as short-circuit current (I(SC)). However, 500 nM wortmannin significantly inhibited forskolin-stimulated I(SC). cAMP activation of apical membrane CFTR Cl- channels in α-toxin-permeabilized monolayers was not reduced by 500 nM wortmannin, suggesting that inhibition of other transporters accounts for the observed reduction in T84 Cl- secretion. Forskolin inhibits apical endocytosis of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), but wortmannin did not alter forskolin inhibition of apical HRP endocytosis. In the absence of forskolin, wortmannin stimulated HRP endocytosis significantly. We conclude that, in T84 cells, apical fluid phase endocytosis is not dependent on PI3K activity and that CFTR does not recycle through a PI3K-dependent and wortmannin-sensitive membrane compartment.

Background: People who stutter produce speech that is characterized by intermittent, involuntary part-word repetitions and prolongations. In addition to these signature acoustic manifestations, those who stutter often display repetitive and fixated behaviours outside the speech producing mechanism (e.g. in the head, arm, fingers, nares, etc.). Previous research has examined the attitudes and perceptions of those who stutter and people who frequently interact with them (e.g. relatives, parents, employers). Results have shown an unequivocal, powerful and robust negative stereotype despite a lack of defined differences in personality structure between people who stutter and normally fluent individuals. However, physiological investigations of listener responses during moments of stuttering are limited. There is a need for data that simultaneously examine physiological responses (e.g. heart rate and galvanic skin conductance) and subjective behavioural responses to stuttering. The pairing of these objective and subjective data may provide information that casts light on the genesis of negative stereotypes associated with stuttering, the development of compensatory mechanisms in those who stutter, and the true impact of stuttering on senders and receivers alike. Aims: To compare the emotional and physiological responses of fluent speakers while listening and observing fluent and severe stuttered speech samples. Methods & Procedures: Twenty adult participants (mean age = 24.15 years, standard deviation = 3.40) observed speech samples of two fluent speakers and two speakers who stutter reading aloud. Participants' skin conductance and heart rate changes were measured as physiological responses to stuttered or fluent speech samples. Participants' subjective responses on arousal (excited-calm) and valence (happy-unhappy) dimensions were assessed via the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) rating scale with an additional questionnaire comprised of a set of nine bipolar adjectives. Outcomes & Results: Results showed significantly increased skin conductance and lower mean heart rate during the presentation of stuttered speech relative to the presentation of fluent speech samples (p<0.05). Listeners also self-rated themselves as being more aroused, unhappy, nervous, uncomfortable, sad, tensed, unpleasant, avoiding, embarrassed, and annoyed while viewing stuttered speech relative to the fluent speech. Conclusions: These data support the notion that stutter-filled speech can elicit physiological and emotional responses in listeners. Clinicians who treat stuttering should be aware that listeners show involuntary physiological responses to moderate-severe stuttering that probably remain salient over time and contribute to the evolution of negative stereotypes of people who stutter. With this in mind, it is hoped that clinicians can work with people who stutter to develop appropriate coping strategies. The role of amygdala and mirror neural mechanism in physiological and subjective responses to stuttering is discussed.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(工学) / 乙第13240号 / 論工博第4178号 / 新制||工||1720(附属図書館) / (主査)教授 木本 恒暢, 教授 藤田 静雄, 教授 山田 啓文 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Two separate experiments were designed to assess the value of Lacy Buckwheat (Eriogonum corymbosum ) as a low water landscape plant. Low water use landscapes can contribute to water conservation in arid climates. Developing a palette of plants that are both attractive and drought tolerant can promote the acceptance of low water use landscapes as an alternative to the traditional bluegrass landscapes of the Intermountain West. Eriogonum corymbosum is an attractive subshrub species native to low rainfall areas of the Colorado Plateau. A strip plot design containing four repetitions with four randomly assigned plants each of Eriogonum corymbosum , Eriogonum thompsoniaeand the control species Cornus sericea `Kelseyi' was established to determine E.corymbosum tolerance to frequent irrigation. Two water treatments were assigned to the repetitions for each species. One treatment was watered by a drip irrigation system with sixteen liters of water every three days; the other treatment was not watered. Stomatal conductance (Gs) and plant water potential were assessed weekly for each species from June through August for the years 2009 and 2010. In 2009 and 2010 bothEriogonum accessions showed no significant difference with the water treatment/accession interaction. NeitherE. corymbosum accession exhibited differences in stomatal conductance or water potential between the wet and dry treatments for the length of study season over both years.Cornus sericea `Kelseyi' showed less ability to withstand the prolonged dry frequencies. Eriogonum corymbosum has many aesthetic qualities, in addition to being drought tolerant, such as long duration late season blooming of yellow and white flowers, and an appealing hemispherical crown shape. A second study was designed to investigate the morphological diversity of thirteen Eriogonum accessions collected in the state of Utah and established in a common garden. Nineteen different variables made up of both quantitative and qualitative morphological characteristics comprised of leaf, canopy and floral characteristics were selected to compare between and within accessions. These characteristics were observed or measured, then used in a Multidimensional Preference analysis (MDPREF) to facilitate the selection of potential cultivars. The MDPREF is useful in selecting accessions with unique combinations of ornamental characteristics that could have a marketable advantage.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19710号 / 工博第4165号 / 新制||工||1642(附属図書館) / 32746 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科材料工学専攻 / (主査)教授 酒井 明, 教授 河合 潤, 教授 中村 裕之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

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Trunk height, diameter, and stomatal conductance measurements were taken over a three-year time frame on clonal red maple cultivars [Acer rubrum ‘Frank Jr’] on two sites with varying conditions. Physiological and morphological effects on tree growth were measured on both sites in response to Pneumatic Fracturing (PF) and Liquid Injection (LI) treatments. The primary questions asked in study one were: (1) Does stomatal conductance differ among the two sites during mid-summer? and (2) Do height and diameter measures differ among the two sites? In study two, I asked: (1) Do height, diameter and stomatal conductance differ between site modification treatments within each site? Control samples on the Site 2 had significantly more growth than the controls on the Site 1. PF and LI treatments showed significantly more diameter growth on the Site 1 while a significant difference was also seen in stomatal conductance following treatments on Site 1.