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The primary objective of this study is to develop an integrated public transportation planning framework to evaluate and plan Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS). With this purpose, a systems approach point of view is adopted to study the influence of new APTS technology in supply and demand transit variables. In this project the Systems Dynamics methodology is adopted to track the dynamic behavior of model variables and feedback loops forming among them. The proposed framework is illustrated in a case study involving automated vehicle location systems (AVL) applied to a small transit community. The proposed approach follows the same steps of the Systems Dynamics method; First, identify some key variables which are not only susceptive to AVL technology but also affect the supply-demand relationship of a bus transit environment. Second, trace and simplify the causal relationships of the variables considering impacts of facility supply changes to passenger demand responses and vice versa. To accomplish this, four detailed sub-models representing parts of the transit system are developed and combined under the Systems Dynamics methodology point of view. Theses Sub-models are: 1) demography, 2) urban transportation planning, 3) bus operations, and 4) evaluation. Finally, to validate the model procedure, the model is applied to a case study. This study attempts to encompass as many as possible factors around a bus transit system environment which can be impacted by new APTS technology to illustrate the use of the proposed framework. Some of these factors include: 1) Demographic characteristics; 2) urban or social activity of the study area and 3) changes to transportation facilities. The case study illustrates how the physical characteristics of the transit systems such as traffic demand, traffic conditions along the transit route, route layout, and bus performance can be affected by the new technology. Since APTS impacts are time dependent a continuous multi-loop simulation technique is adopted to track dynamic changes of all model variables. The analysis of the transit system is carried over a 20-year life cycle to illustrate the long term dynamics of the feedback structures inherent in the model. <i>[Vita removed Aug. 2, 2010. GMc]</i> / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2006. / [School of Medicine] Department of Biochemistry. Includes bibliographical references. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2003 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation aims to evaluate the Audience Oriented Preaching (AOP) methods of Fred Craddock and Eugene Lowry. Though no one can deny that AOP provides a new and creative method for participation of the audience in the whole sermon process, in my view, it has many theological and homiletic problems. But before asking how we can use their method skillfully in our preaching ministry, it is necessary to scrutinize their theories with theological reflection. Chapter 2 explores the relation between the text and the listener (context) in the light of contextualization and rhetoric, in which we can find the present place of AOP, as developed by Craddock and Lowry. This chapter functions as a guide map for the direction and argument of subsequent chapters. In Chapter 3 we review the inductive preaching theories of Craddock, and the narrative preaching theories of Lowry. Here our concern is first to find the theological, historical and cultural background of AOP. Following this, we examine AOP theories themselves, which propose preaching methods that differ radically from the more traditional ones. In Chapters 4 and 5 this dissertation considers and evaluates both positive and negative aspects of AOP. AOP provides several benefits that have so far been ignored in traditional preaching methods. Primarily, it is closely related to active participation of the audience in the sermonic process. A less favourable view of AOP is that it fails to proclaim the identity of Jesus Christ and as a result of this, to build up the community of Jesus in the church. Campbell's Christological-ecclesiological approach, based on post-liberal theology, has been one of the most important theological critiques of AOP theories and their roots in western individualism. Although Campbell argues persuasively in his criticism of AOP, his arguments are not wholly adequate in addressing the issue of congregation-oriented preaching. Chapter 6 is mainly focused on an alternative congregation oriented preaching method. I argue that this can be accomplished in a vision of collaborative preaching, which incorporates the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This dissertation suggests Bohren's pneumatological-ecclesiological approach as the most effective method for congregation oriented preaching beyond the individualistic trend of AOP. Where Campbell's critique, though articulate, overlooks the pneumatological perspective, Bohren's is significantly more comprehensive than Campbell's. Therefore, the approach that I develop in this thesis acknowledges the contributions of both Campbell and Bohren in shaping a truly congregation-oriented preaching. If we are to overcome the limitation of AOP, my argumentation is that AOP must be interrogated and complemented by both the Christological-ecclesiological approach of Campbell and the pneumatological-ecclesiological approach of Bohren. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif het ten doel die evaluering van die gehoor georienteerde prediking (GGP) metodes van Fred Craddock en Eugene Lowry. Hoewel dit nie betwyfel kan word dat GGP 'n nuwe en kreatiewe metode vir die deelname van die gehoor in die hele preekproses bied nie, het dit myns insiens heelwat teologiese en homiletiese probleme. In hierdie opsig is dit noodsaaklik dat hulle metodes d.m.v. teologiese refleksie ondersoek word, voordat daar gevra word na hoe hulle metodes op 'n gepaste wyse binne die bediening van prediking aangewend kan word. Hoofstuk 2 ondersoek die verhouding tussen die teks en die hoorder (konteks) in die lig van kontekstualisering en retoriek, waarbinne ons die huidige plek kan vind van GGP - soos ontwikkel deur Craddock en Lowry - binne die hele teologiese en homiletiese vloei. Hierdie hoofstuk dien as 'n gids vir die rigting en argument van hieropvolgende hoofstukke. In hoofstuk 3 word die induktiewe preekteoriee van Craddock, sowel as die narratiewe preekteoriee van Lowry van nader beskou. In hierdie hoofstuk is die primere fokus om die teologiese, historiese en kulturele agtergrond van GGP te vind. Daarna word die GGP teoriee self - wat metodes van prediking voorstel wat radikaal verskil van meer tradisionele metodes - ondersoek. In hoofstukke 4 en 5 word beide die positiewe en negatiewe aspekte van GGP oorweeg en geevalueer, GGP bied veskeie voordele wat tot dusver geignoreer is deur tradisionele metodes van prediking. Van primere belang is dat GGP nou verbind is tot die aktiewe deelname van die gehoor in die preekproses. 'n Minder gunstige beskouing van GGP is dat dit nie daarin slaag om die identiteit van Jesus Christus genoegsaam te verkondig nie en as 'n resultaat, ook nie om die gemeenskap van Christus binne die kerk op te bou nie. Campbell se christologies-ekklesiologiese benadering, gebasseer op post-liberale teologie, bied een van die belangrikste vorme van teologiese kritiek op GGP teoriee, sowel as die gewortelheid daarvan in westerse individualisme. Hoewel Campbell oortuigend argumenteer in sy kritiek op GGP, is sy argumente nie in aIle opsigte voldoende in die aanspreek van gemeente georienteerde prediking nie. Hoofstuk 6 se primere fokus is op 'n altematiewe gemeente georienteerde metode van prediking. Ek argumenteer dat dit bereik kan word binne die visie van samewerkende prediking, onder leiding van die Heilige Gees. Hierdie proefskrif stel voor Bohren se pneumatologies-ekklesiologiese benadering as die mees effektiewe metode vir gemeente georienteerde prediking, wat strek verby die individualistiese neiging van die GGP. Waar Campbell se kritiek, hoewel geartikuleerd, die pneumatologiese perspektief ignoreer, is Bohren se benadering aansienlik meer omvattend as die van Campbell. Die benadering wat ek in hierdie proefskrif ontwikkel gee erkenning aan beide Campbell en Bohren in die vorrning van 'n ware gemeente-georienteerde prediking. My argument is dus dat, indien die beperkinge van die GGP oorkom wil word, GGP ondersoek moet word deur beide die christologies-ekklesiologiese benadering van Campbell, sowel as die pneumatologies-ekklesiologiese benadering van Bohren.

Coffin-Lowry Syndrome (CLS), an X-linked form of intellectual disability, is caused by mutations of the RPS6KA3 gene encoding the growth factor regulated kinase RSK2. To understand the consequences of RSK2 deficiency in the hippocampus we performed a comparison of the hippocampal gene expression profiles from Rsk2-KO and WT mice. It revealed differentialexpression of 100 genes, encoding proteins acting in various biological pathways. We further analyzed the consequences of deregulation of one of these genes, Gria2 encoding GluR2, a subunit of the glutamate AMPAR. An abnormal two-fold increased expression of GluR2 was found in the hippocampus of Rsk2-KO mice. Electrophysiology studies showed a reduction of basal AMPAR and NMDAR mediated transmission, in the hippocampus of Rsk2-KO mice. Activity of ERK1/2 was also abnormally increased in the adult hippocampus of Rsk2-KO mice. P-Sp1 level was also significantly higher in RSK2 deficient cells. Together, my results suggested that over expression of GluR2 in RSK2 deficient cells, is caused by increased Sp1 transcriptional activity on the Gria2 gene, which, itself, is the result of ERK1/2 increased signaling.

Young adult dystopian fictions follow the patterns established by the classic adult dystopias such as George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, but not completely. Young adult dystopias tend to end happily, a departure from the nightmarish ends of Winston Smith and John Savage. Young adult authors resist hopelessness, even if the fictional world demands it. Using a rhetorical approach established by Wayne Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction and The Company We Keep, this thesis traces the reasons for the inclusion of hope and the strategies by which hope is created and maintained. Booth's rhetorical approach recognizes that a narrative is a relational act. At issue in this study is the consideration of what follows from viewing a narrative as a dynamic exchange between text, author and reader. Through a focus on rhetoric as identification, the responsibilities of both the author and the reader to a text are identified and discussed. Three young adult novels, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, The Giver by Lois Lowry and Feed by M.T. Anderson will be analyzed as case studies. Together the analysis of these novels reveals that storytelling is an act of forging identifications and forming alliances. The reader becomes more than just a spectator of the author's rhetoric; the reader is a fully involved member of the interpretive and evaluative process.

Le syndrome de Coffin Lowry est une forme syndromique rare de déficience intellectuelle liée au chromosome X. Ce syndrome est dû à des mutations du gène Rsk2 codant la protéine kinase RSK2 dans la voie de signalisation des MAPK/ERK. La caractérisation phénotypique du modèle murin Rsk2-KO a principalement mis en évidence un retard d’acquisition ainsi qu’un déficit de mémoire spatiale à long terme, suggérant une altération des fonctions hippocampiques. Nous avons montré que les souris Rsk2-KO présentent également des déficits dans une forme d’apprentissage et de mémoire mettant en jeu la fonction de séparation de patterns dépendante du gyrus denté. Plusieurs études montrent que la genèse de nouveaux neurones dans le gyrus denté chez l’adulte constitue une forme de plasticité jouant un rôle important dans l’apprentissage et la mémoire dépendante de l’hippocampe, en particulier dans les tâches spatiales et de séparation de patterns. En raison des déficits observés chez les souris Rsk2-KO, nous nous sommes intéressés à la neurogenèse adulte chez ce modèle murin. Aucune différence de prolifération, de survie ou de maturation n’a été observée dans le gyrus denté des souris Rsk2-KO à l’état basal, ni après une tâche de séparation de patterns. Cependant, nous avons observé un déficit de survie des nouvelles cellules chez les souris Rsk2-KO après apprentissage dans la piscine de Morris. La littérature montre que l’enrichissement environnemental a des effets bénéfiques sur les performances cognitives des rongeurs et est notamment capable d’augmenter la neurogenèse adulte hippocampique. Nous avons donc analysé les effets de l’enrichissement sur les performances comportementales et la neurogenèse adulte des souris Rsk2-KO. Nos résultats montrent qu’un protocole d’enrichissement environnemental de 3 heures par jours durant 24 jours est capable de compenser ou d’améliorer les performances des souris Rsk2-KO dans les tâches de mémoire spatiale et de séparation de patterns et aussi d’augmenter la neurogenèse hippocampique adulte. / The Coffin-Lowry Syndrome is a rare syndromic form of X-linked intellectual disability. This syndrome is caused by mutations of the Rsk2 gene that encodes a protein kinase, RSK2, in the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. Characterization of the behavioural phenotype of Rsk2-KO mice mainly showed that they display delayed acquisition and long-term deficits in a spatial reference memory task, suggesting an alteration in hippocampal function. Here, we show that Rsk2-KO mice are also deficient in a learning and memory task that involves dentate gyrus-dependent pattern separation function. Several studies showed the formation of new neurons in the adult dentate gyrus by neurogenesis is a form of plasticity that plays a significant role in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory, in particular for spatial learning and memory and pattern separation. As these functions are altered in Rsk2-KO mice, we studied hippocampal adult neurogenesis in these mice. No difference in proliferation, survival and maturation of newborn neurons was found in the dentate gyrus of the mutant mice in basal conditions, nor after a pattern separation task. However, we found a deficit in the survival of newborn cells in Rsk2-KO mice submitted to spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze task. According to several studies, environmental enrichment in rodents has beneficial effects on cognitive performance and is associated with an enhancement of adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Thus, we assessed the potential effect of environmental enrichment on spatial learning and memory performance and adult hippocampal neurogenesis in Rsk2-KO mice. Our results show that an environmental enrichment protocol of 3h per day during 24 days can rescue or ameliorate spatial learning and memory performance and pattern separation function in Rsk2-KO mice and increase adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

From Conclusion: There were no great upheavals during Cole's governership, but his rule has been a very interesting study. The old order of things was coming to a close. The way was prepared under Cole for freeing of the slaves; and the old despotic rule became a thing of the past. The British Settlers agitated for and obtained a free press; thus the foundation was laid for democratic institutions. He was the first governor to lay emphasis on the necessity of municipal councils not only as a way of decreasing expenditure, but also as a school for representative government. The Boers were becoming race conscious and the present orientation of the political parties had their origin in this period, though subsequent events have made the political struggle embittered. Above all the stage was being set for the Great Trek and the opening up of the whole of the present Union of South Africa and Rhodesia ... Last but not least the native question was entering upon its modern phase. Chiefs were losing their power, they admitted that they could not control their subjects, and natives were entering the service of Europeans; not only to steal with greater impunity but also to be able to enjoy the security offered by a well organised and disciplined society.