Master of Science

Ph. D.

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

Competency-based therapy as developed by Marianne Walters is a theory-based, systemic approach modified by a feminist perspective. This thesis presented the theoretical foundations of competency-based therapy and applied them to therapy with a female-headed single-parent family with three young-adult daughters. The theory of competency-based therapy encompasses five major concepts which taken together distinguish it from other approaches to therapy. (1) Human behavior must be understood in its social context and the therapist needs to address problematic social stereotypes. (2) People have the capacity for functional behavior and the therapist's task is to focus on clients' competence to engender change. (3) The therapist sets the context for change by creating a new perspective and by working with process. (4) The therapist uses his or her own response to the family process as a guide to interventions. (5) The goal of therapy is empowering the client to make choices about how her or she will live and behave. The dysfunction which brought this family to therapy was related to the wider social context which socializes women in ways which create special difficulties for the female single-parent. The emphasis competency-based therapy places on addressing the social inequities women face and on empowering women through a systematic search for competence is illustrated by the case study. / Master of Science

The aim of this study was to determine the contractile responses of normal virgin rat uterine smooth muscle to the ⍺₂ adrenergic agonist, xylazine HCl, in the presence or absence of the selective ⍺₂ adrenoceptor blocker, idazoxan HCl. Sections of full thickness uterus measuring 5 x 1 x 1 mm taken from mature, virgin Sprague-Dawley rats were used in isolated tissue baths containing 37°C Krebs-bicarbonate solution, and continually aerated with 95% O₂ and 5% CO₂. Following stabilization of spontaneous contractions, the tissues were exposed to either no idazoxan (control), 10⁻⁵ M idazoxan (low), 10⁻⁴ M idazoxan (medium), or 10⁻³ M idazoxan (high). Five minutes later, xylazine was added to all baths in a cumulative manner at quarter log increments from 1 x 10⁻⁵ through 1 x 10⁻³ M. The % response in peak developed tension and effective concentration resulting in a 50% response (EC₅₀) for the four treatment groups were examined. Results indicated that xylazine alone, at a concentrations greater than 1 x 10⁻⁴ M, caused a significant negative inotropic response. Pre-treatment with idazoxan at a concentration greater than 10⁻⁴ M enhanced the negative inotropic effect of xylazine in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism of this synergism is unknown but is proposed to be a local anesthetic action due to sodium channel blockade. / Master of Science

The two Topaz samples do not contain Be, as was shown by the absence of characteristic beryllium lines in the ultraviolet spectrum of these minerals, The sample of Beryl probably containers 10% or less BeO, instead of the 14% as indicated by the Parsons and Barnes method of analysis. Al(OH)₃ is appreciably soluble in the boiling NaHCO3 and the repeated reprecipitation produce a very questionable degree of accuracy in the separations. / Master of Science

Approximately five percent of the volume of red oak lumber which is harvested for use in the furniture and flooring industries in the United States is unusable due to surface checking. This thesis investigated the possibility of reducing surface checking by controlling the lumber boundary conditions. Boundary control was accomplished by applying a coating directly to the lumber surfaces.· The investigation included development of a computerized simulation to model drying behavior, testing a number of coatings to determine moisture loss resistance and evaluation of a coating using full-sized lumber tests. The results indicate a coating can be a viable method of reducing surface checking under severe drying conditions. / M.S.

The American College of Sports Medicine has published formulae that are widely used to predict functional aerobic capacity for any treadmill speed and grade combination. However, it has been demonstrated that these formulae overpredict oxygen consumption (V̇O₂) for patients with coronary artery disease as well as for apparently healthy individuals. To study this, we measured V̇O₂, ventilation (V̇_E), and respiratory exchange ratio (R) responses in 21 apparently healthy subjects (AH) and 16 coronary artery diseased subjects (CAD) during a modified Balke protocol. Modification of the protocol consisted of extending the stage time from two minutes to three minutes at the higher intensities to allow a greater time for a physiological steady-state to occur. The attainment of a steady-state may lead to the reduction of or the elimination of prediction errors. No differences were observed between two and three minute VO₂ responses at maximal and submaximal exercise for either group. At peak exercise, the AH group was significantly (P≤.05) different from the CAD group when compared for heart rate (164±2.6 vs 140±4.8 bts•min⁻¹ ), V̇O₂ (33.3±1.1 vs 26.7±2.3 ml•kg⁻¹•min⁻¹), and total treadmill time (9.9±.33 vs 8.1±.54 min). At submaximal exercise, V̇O₂ responses were also significantly (p≤.05) greater for the AH group when compared to the CAD group (26.6±.95 vs 21.9±1.8 ml•kg⁻¹•min⁻¹). No significant differences were observed for RPE and blood lactate at peak exercise and V̇_E and R responses at submaximal or peak exercise between the two groups. Predicted values for peak V̇O₂ were significantly (p≤.05) higher than measured values (33.3±1.1 vs 38.8±1.1 ml•kg⁻¹•min⁻¹) and (26.7±2.3 vs 34.1±1.7 ml•kg⁻¹•min⁻¹) for the AH and CAD groups, respectively. However, no significant differences were noted between predicted and measured V̇O₂ responses at submaximal exercise for either group. Individuals classified as Type A were not significantly different from classified Type B individuals when compared for the cardio-respiratory variables measured. These data demonstrate that the ACSM prediction formulae significantly overpredict V̇O₂ for both AH and CAD subjects at maximal treadmill intensities. However, at submaximal intensities, these prediction formulae are acceptable for both groups of subjects. Furthermore, these data suggest that two minutes per stage allows sufficient time for physiological steady-state to occur at clearly submaximal intensities. Although at the higher intensities, extending the stage time beyond two minutes may be indicated. / M.S.

A grid type portable rainfall simulator, developed at Virginia Tech from support by the Office of Surface Mining, Department of Interior under Grant NO. G5114009, was used to apply 2.3 inch per hour “storms” to three replicated plots to determine surface mine soil erodibility factors for two distinctly different soils in southern West Virginia. Other variables included in the study were detailed soil descriptions for each site, initial and final soil moistures, plot rainfall distributions and the particle size distributions of the eroded materials. The soil erodibility indexes for the silt silt-loam and sandy respectively. loam soils averaged 0.408 and 0.735. Erodibility indexes for the silt silt-loam decreased, while indexes for the sandy loam soil remained constant for repeated rainfall applications. Using statistical analysis, rainfall distributions were shown to be uniform across plots for most rainfall applications. From a particle size distribution analysis of the eroded soil material, the percentage of silt and clay decreased, while the percentage of sand increased at each site with repeated rainfall applications. A rock mulching effect was present at the end of each testing sequence. / Master of Science

A patient monitoring system for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery has been developed. This monitoring system uses a SWAN 286-10 computer (fully IBM PC/AT compatible) and a DT280l-A Input/Output board to monitor seven surgical parameters. This system monitors six temperatures, the hemoglobin content, the arterial oxygen saturation, the venous oxygen saturation, the oxygen consumption, and the blood flow rate through the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. Additionally, there are three individual timers available. Details and the evaluation of the hardware and software design of this monitoring system are presented. Also, recommendations for clinical use are discussed. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata