Despite the availability of live attenuated measles virus vaccines, a large number of measles-associated deaths occur among infants in developing countries during the "window of susceptibility" (age 4-9 months). During this period declining maternal antibody titers are no longer protective against wild-type measles virus (MV) and impede successful immunization with the live attenuated vaccines. Therefore, the development of a safe vaccine that would induce protective immunity in the presence of maternally derived MV-specific antibodies in young infants and would close the "window of susceptibility" is desirable. Since adenoviruses have been shown as suitable vaccine candidates capable of eliciting potent protection against mucosal infectious diseases, the ability of an adenovirus-vectored anti-measles vaccine to elicit robust immune responses against MV was assessed in this study. Mice immunized intramuscularly or intranasally with a combination of human adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) recombinants expressing MV hemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) glycoproteins developed MV-specific neutralizing antibody titers similar for both routes of immunization. However, intramuscular immunization of mice with Ad5 recombinants resulted in induction of a predominant T helper type (Th1) immune response, whereas intranasal immunization induced a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response. Furthermore, intranasal immunization resulted in increased titers of MV-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) in lungs in comparison to intramuscularly immunized animals. The ability of the Ad5 recombinants to induce protective immune responses in cotton rats by different routes of administration was also evaluated. Cotton rats that received a single dose of the Ad5 recombinants intramuscularly or intranasally experienced a rise in MV-specific neutralizing antibody titers and reduction of the viral RNA load in the lung tissue after intranasal MV challenge. In addition, the largest reduction in viral replication was observed in the group of cotton rats inoculated with the Ad5 recombinants intranasally. Based on these observations, the Ad5-based vaccine appears to be a suitable candidate against measles. Furthermore, a capability of purified globular head domain of MV H protein produced in a human cell line to induce MV-specific immune responses in mice was tested. Subcutaneous immunization of mice with the recombinant protein alone resulted in both humoral and cell-mediated immunity, characterized by the production of MV-specific serum IgG and neutralizing antibodies, as well as interferon-gamma and interleukin 5 (IL-5) production by in vitro restimulated splenocytes. The former responses were further enhanced by formulation of the protein with aluminium hydroxide. However, very low numbers of INF-gamma secreting cells and low levels of IgG2a in the serum suggested a Th2 immune response. Novel adjuvants (Th1-directing), as well as MV F protein should be considered for the inclusion into the vaccine formulations to induce more balanced Th1/Th2 immune responses against measles.

Field and modelling investigations of eight failed or removed dams have been undertaken to examine the upstream effects of low head dam decommissioning on channel morphology. Failed or decommissioned sites were selected such that no upstream interventions or channel mitigation had been applied since the time of decommissioning resulting in a physically-based analog consistent with the passive dam removal restoration approach. Field surveys of the sites, which failed between 2 years and 70 years ago, included longitudinal profiles, cross-sections and bed material pavement sampling on each riffle, run, and headcut. Findings demonstrate that vertical disturbances typically in the form of headcuts frequently extend well beyond the backwater limits of most reservoirs. Although in most cases, critical velocity and shear stress thresholds were exceeded, the localized increases in friction slope where headcuts occurred demonstrated that the velocities associated with larger flows exceeded critical thresholds more often than critical shear stress thresholds. Findings show that if the grain size distributions of the underlying alluvial geologic units are close to that of critical velocity thresholds, when headcuts are initiated (with their resulting increase in friction slope), they can result in continued channel degradation upstream of impoundment regions.

Despite the critical role teachers play in the management and reduction of bullying in schools (Craig, Henderson, & Murphy, 2000; Frey, Jones, Hirschstein, & Edstrom, 2011; Nicolaides, Toda, & Smith, 2002), minimal research has been conducted examining teachers’ responses to these negative behaviors (Bauman & Hurley, 2005; Marshall, Varjas, Meyers, Graybill, & Skoczylas, 2009; Sairanen & Pfeffer, 2011; Yoon & Kerber, 2003). Moreover, a critical topic lacking in the literature is the identification of potential barriers (e.g., difficulty identifying bullying, lack of time to address these behaviors) inhibiting teachers from successful intervention. The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess teachers’ perceived barriers to effective bullying intervention, as well as to examine potential relationships between how teachers reported responding to bullying and perceived barriers to successful intervention. Individual in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 fourth through eighth grade teachers were used to determine teachers’ responses and perceived barriers to bullying interventions. Inductive and deductive approaches to data analysis (LeCompte & Schensul, 1999; Nastasi & Schensul, 2005; Varjas, Nastasi, Moore, & Jayasena, 2005) were used to explore teachers’ self-reported barriers. Teachers described the presence of numerous barriers that challenged their ability to consistently and effectively respond to bullying. Qualitative results indicated that these barriers occurred on multiple levels and included the following four major themes: student-, teacher-, school- and sociocultural-based barriers. Further, quantitative analyses were used to investigate potential relationships between teachers’ self-reported responses to bullying and perceived barriers. No systematic relationships were evident. That is, teachers reported responding to bullying similarly regardless of their perceived barriers to effective intervention. Implications for improving and informing anti-bullying efforts aimed at eliminating these barriers and increasing the likelihood of teacher intervention are discussed. Future research ideas also are suggested.

Field and modelling investigations of eight failed or removed dams have been undertaken to examine the upstream effects of low head dam decommissioning on channel morphology. Failed or decommissioned sites were selected such that no upstream interventions or channel mitigation had been applied since the time of decommissioning resulting in a physically-based analog consistent with the passive dam removal restoration approach. Field surveys of the sites, which failed between 2 years and 70 years ago, included longitudinal profiles, cross-sections and bed material pavement sampling on each riffle, run, and headcut. Findings demonstrate that vertical disturbances typically in the form of headcuts frequently extend well beyond the backwater limits of most reservoirs. Although in most cases, critical velocity and shear stress thresholds were exceeded, the localized increases in friction slope where headcuts occurred demonstrated that the velocities associated with larger flows exceeded critical thresholds more often than critical shear stress thresholds. Findings show that if the grain size distributions of the underlying alluvial geologic units are close to that of critical velocity thresholds, when headcuts are initiated (with their resulting increase in friction slope), they can result in continued channel degradation upstream of impoundment regions.

The Grand River watershed is the largest watershed in southern Ontario, and is expected to see major development and urban densification over the next 20 years. An expected 57% increase in population over the next two decades in urban centers such as Kitchener – Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and Brantford means an added load on the existing 30 wastewater treatment facilities serving the watershed. A subsequent increase in the amount of average flow and effluent released into the Grand River via the Waterloo and Kitchener wastewater treatment plants is also expected. The Waterloo and Kitchener wastewater plants are both secondary treatment plants, although neither plant currently nitrifies the wastewater prior to release. As a result, increased concentrations of ammonia and nitrate are found downstream of the treatment plant outfalls. Compounds introduced into the Grand River via the discharge of wastewater effluent can have impacts on resident biota such as fish. Disruption of the normal function of endocrine systems in fish has been associated with municipal effluents as well as chemicals that have been detected in these effluents. One of the major responses has been the presence of intersex (oocytes in testes) in fish downstream of the wastewater plant outfalls at sites around the globe. The research in this thesis examined resident fish for the variability and extent of intersex condition by adapting a new fragmented testis technique. Biomarkers of response such as relative gonad weight (GSI), relative liver weight (LSI) and condition (K) were also measured. The study focused on the Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) a dominant benthivorous fish species in the riffle habitats in the Grand River. An increased proportion of male Rainbow Darters sampled immediately downstream of the Waterloo outfall had a gonad lobe containing at least one testis-oocyte. The number of Rainbow Darter with more severe intersex (10-99 oocytes/lobe) also increased immediately downstream of the Waterloo outfall. A much more dramatic expression of intersex proportion and severity (>100 oocytes per testis lobe) was observed further downstream, below the Kitchener outfall. These patterns in intersex presence and severity were also observed in two other species collected at a subset of the original sites. Although there were minimal changes in GSI, LSI and K below the Waterloo outfall, differences were observed downstream of the Kitchener wastewater effluent outfall. Female Rainbow Darter downstream of the Kitchener outfall showed significant decreases in GSI and LSI, and increases in K. Male Rainbow Darter GSI and LSI data across sites did not express changes that coincided with MWWE outfalls, although small increases in condition were observed. These patterns of intersex and organism level responses suggest that the assimilation of wastewater effluent into natural receiving environments may have impacts on endocrine function and energy use and allocation in wild fish.

Background The mechanism by which allergies trigger asthma occurs through the interaction of antigen, IgE and the FcεR1 receptor on mast cells resulting in the release of mediators that exert their effects on various surrounding tissues causing bronchoconstriction, plasma exudation and mucus hypersecretion. The response is usually maximal within 30 minutes and resolves spontaneously within two hours. At least half of the individuals who exhibit this so called early response also manifest a late response which is a subsequent episode of bronchoconstriction that is usually maximal around six hours following exposure and involves airway inflammation. Montelukast has proven efficacious in the management of asthma and desloratadine is effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. Since the early response involves the actions of multiple mediators, including histamine and the leukotrienes, the question of whether concurrent mediator blockade would be superior to either agent alone was raised. Additionally, the recent evidence supporting anti-inflammatory activity for these agents suggested potential efficacy against the late airway response. Methods Two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 4-way crossover allergen inhalation challenge investigations were conducted in twenty (10 per investigation) mild atopic asthmatics. The early response investigation involved the administration of either 5 mg desloratadine, 10 mg montelukast, the combination , or placebo (Vitamin B1) at 26 hours and 2 hours prior to allergen inhalation. The late response investigation involved single dose administration of each agent, alone or in combination, 2 hours prior to allergen inhalation. Measurements of changes in airway responsiveness and inflammation were also conducted. Results The early response was significantly inhibited by montelukast and the combination. Desloratadine did not differ from placebo. The late response was significantly decreased by desloratadine and montelukast and completely blocked with the combination. Desloratadine decreased sputum eosinophils at 7 hours, montelukast at 24 hours, and the combination at both time points. Airway responsiveness to methacholine trended lower with montelukast and the combination. Montelukast was the only treatment to significantly decrease exhaled nitric oxide levels. Conclusion The combination of desloratadine and montelukast provides inhibition that is superior to both monotherapies on the early and the late airway responses to inhaled allergen in people with mild atopic asthma.

Rotor-dynamic stability is a very important subject impacting the design, control, maintenance, and operating safety and reliability of rotary mechanical systems. As rotor-dynamic nonlinearities are significantly more prominent at higher rotary speeds, the demand for better and improved performance achievable through higher speeds has rendered the use of a linear approach for rotor-dynamic analysis both inadequate and ineffective. To establish the fundamental knowledge base necessary for addressing the need, it is essential that nonlinear rotor-dynamic responses indicative of the causes of nonlinearity, along with the bifurcated dynamic states of instability, be fully characterized. The objectives of the research are to study the various rotor-dynamic instabilities induced by crack breathing and bearing fluid film forces using a model rotor-bearing system and to investigate the applicability of the fundamental concept of instantaneous frequency for characterizing rotor-dynamic nonlinear responses. A comprehensive finite element model incorporating translational and rotational inertia, bending stiffness and gyroscopic moment is developed. The intrinsic modes extracted using the Empirical Mode Decomposition along with their instantaneous frequencies resolved using the Hilbert transform are applied to characterize the inception and progression of bifurcations suggestive of the changing rotor-dynamic state and impending instability. The dissertation presents and demonstrates an effective approach that integrates nonlinear rotor-dynamics, instantaneous time-frequency analysis, advanced notions of dynamic system diagnostics and numerical modeling applied to the detection and identification of sensitive variations indicative of a bifurcated dynamic state. All presented studies on rotor response subjected to various system configurations and ranges of parameters show good agreements with published results. Under the influence of crack opening, the rotor-bearing model system displays transitional behaviors typical of a nonlinear dynamic system, going from periodic to period-doubling, chaotic to eventual failure. When film forces are also considered, the model system demonstrates very different behaviors and failures from different settings and ranges of control parameters. As a result, a dynamic failure curve differentiating zones of stability and bifurcated instability from zones of dynamic failure is constructed and proposed as an alternative to the traditional stability chart. Observations and results such as these have important practical implications on the design and safe operation of high performance rotary machinery.

The focus of this research study was to determine the nature of the experiences visitors have at The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum in Houston, Texas. In order to discover these experiences visitors have in the space I conducted a phenomenological research study by interviewing eleven people at the Chapel and asking them to recount their experiences inside the space. Phenomenology enables the collection of rich description of the visitors’ experiences. To gather the data I used the methodology of narrative inquiry in an effort to accurately depict the participants’ stories about their experiences. The narratives I collected at the Chapel demonstrated that the space is one that provides an evocative learning experience rather than one that is informative. I found that there were a range of experiences in the space that related to the previous experiences or knowledge that visitors brought with them to the Chapel. The motivations for this study came from my own experience with the space before I started my graduate studies. However, during the course of this study it became clear that there is a lack of knowledge about visitors’ responses to The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum. The results of this study benefit the field of museum education by making a case for recognizing spaces that provide opportunities for evocative learning, rather than viewing them as purely informative. / text

In longitudinal studies, observational units (commonly referred to as individuals) drawn from some population of interest are followed prospectively over time, and measurements from each individual are taken repeatedly at different points in time with the ultimate goal of characterizing the important features of the population. Longitudinal data naturally arise in many areas of study, where the characterization of the population may be achieved by investigating the effects of covariates on a response. Two or more correlated responses from each individual are also common in longitudinal studies, giving rise to multivariate longitudinal data. For example, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is a long-term study to observe the development of Canadian children. In this survey, measurements about factors influencing a child's social, emotional and behavioral development are collected over time; anxiety and aggression reported for each child in this study may be considered as two response variables to characterize the emotional and behavioral development of children. Since in longitudinal studies, information is collected repeatedly from each individual over time, the occurrence of an event at a particular time point may increase/decrease the likelihood of the occurrence of another event in future. Failure to take into account this phenomenon in analyzing longitudinal data may lead to erroneous conclusion. Moreover, repeated responses (e.g., anxiety and aggression) from an individual may exhibit correlation over time. Separate analyses of such multivariate longitudinal responses ignore this correlation, and as a result, cannot reveal the potential association among the responses which could be of paramount importance in many applications. Therefore, analysis of multivariate longitudinal data requires substantial extension of the standard longitudinal methods. In this thesis, we describe a methodology based on the transition models for multivariate longitudinal binary data to address the transitional behavior between two states characterized by binary responses for two different responses (i.e., two processes). Transitional analysis of multivariate longitudinal binary data can address the longitudinal association within processes and enable marginal interpretation of covariate effects. In addition, estimation and inference of the association between the processes can also be achieved via such models. We illustrate this approach with an application to the NLSCY data, where anxiety and aggression (two correlated responses) are modeled as a function of covariates (gender, depression of person most knowledgeable, number of siblings and family status) to identify their effects on behavioral development of Canadian children. In addition, the extent and direction of the association between two responses are estimated. Gender of the child is found statistically significant for both directions of transition, i.e., from low to high and high to low, of aggression. On contrary, gender of the child is found statistically not significant for both transitions of anxiety. Meanwhile, depression of person most knowledgeable is found marginally significant in the high to low direction for aggression. For association parameters, all four directions of associations between anxiety and aggression are found statistically significant.

In this study teachers provided responses indicating what actions they would take towards the bully and victim after watching three bullying vignettes in which the gender and race of the students varied. Significant differences revealed that when race, gender, or race and gender of teacher and student differ teachers are more likely to dismiss the victim or seek out adult resources. If the race or gender or race and gender of teacher and student were the same then teachers indicated that they would comfort the victim with more frequency, use a wider array of approaches regarding the victim, and they would also reprimand the victim more. Females were more likely than males to show care toward the victims and Whites were more likely than non-Whites to dismiss the victim. No significant differences were found when comparing teacher responses by student characteristics alone. Implications for teachers and school counselors are discussed.