Background: Due to the “flare effect” associated with the flare protocol, variation in the degree of follicular maturation during stimulation may result in differences in follicle response as compared to the luteal protocol which is based on maximal pituitary suppression and synchronization of follicular maturation. In this study, besides other methods, Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), a novel marker for ovarian reserve, was used as a tool to evaluate the ovarian responsiveness to stimulation. Methods: Women undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment in the UBC IVF Program from January to December 2006 using luteal and flare protocols were retrospectively selected for a total of 40 treatment cycles, 20 cycles in each protocol matched by age, weight, and indication for IVF/ICSI. Serial serum Estradiol (E₂) levels and follicle data were obtained from the clinic chart. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), progesterone (P), androstenedione (D₄) and AMH levels were measured from aliquots of frozen serum samples. Hormone responses were evaluated by Area Under the Curve (AUC). Data were analyzed using the t-test and statistical significance was considered present at P<0.05. Results are reported as the mean ± SEM. Results: For flare versus luteal protocol, there was a significant difference in the number of total follicles (14.5 ± 1.8 vs 21.3 ± 2.3), medium follicles (3.7 ± 0.6 vs 8.4 ± 1.3), eggs retrieved (8 ± 0.8 vs 14 ± 1.4) and oocytes fertilized (4.4 ± 0.5 vs 8.4 ± 0.7), AMH AUC (62 ± 12 vs 111 ± 13), LH AUC (67 ± 21 vs 20 ± 9), FSH AUC (171 ± 59 vs 112 ± 29), respectively. Mean number of embryos transferred in both groups was similar. Number of pregnancies conceived (5 for flare and 10 for luteal protocol) was not significantly different. Although E₂ AUC in luteal protocol was higher than that in flare protocol, the difference was not statistically significant (28,339 ± 2,669 vs 26,905 ± 2,790). Differences in P and D₄ AUC between the two protocols were not statistically significant. Correlations with ovarian follicles and eggs retrieved were better for AMH than E₂. Conclusions: The luteal protocol exhibited a better ovarian response to stimulation as compared to the flare protocol. As compared to E₂, AMH had a better correlation with the number of follicles and eggs retrieved.

The purpose of this work has been to investigate if responses made through listening in audience can be mapped according to the Swanwick and Tillman Spiral of Musical Development. The first part of chapter one consists of a review of previous studies in the field of musical abilities, aptitudes, musical development and the assessment of listening in audience. The second part of the chapter tries to outline the Spiral Theory of Musical Development, its theoretical background and assessment criteria. Chapter two attempts to critically discuss the developmental adequacy of the Spiral Theory, by employing five general developmental characteristics named as Temporality, Cumulativity, Directionality, New Mode of Organization, and Increased Capacity for Self-Control. The first part of chapter three discusses in a critical way the terms in which musical development has been conceived as being analogical to Piaget's Theory on Play Development in early childhood. The second part of the chapter attempts to extend Swanwick's analogy by offering a critical analysis of the Spiral phases in relation to assimilation and accommodation processes. Finally, the third part discusses the generalization of the analogical psychological process to the remaining activities of performing and listening in audience. Chapter four outlines the method employed to assess listening in audience responses, which consisted of interviewing a total of hundred and five children in two field studie5 by uSlng two kinds of interview - structured and semi-structured. Chapter five offers the results of the pilot Study carried out in Brazil, as well as offering an evaluation of research procedures. The first part of chapter 6 presents a revised research method employed in the final field work that was carried out in England. The second part of the chapter presents the results and interpretation of the field work. Chapter seven presents the conclusion and some implications for the Spiral Theory, research development and music education.

A wound- and insect-inducible expression system for transgenic plants was developed. Specifically, I demonstrate wound- and insect-inducible, localized gene expression driven by the potato proteinase inhibitor II (pinII)-promoter in transformed Arabidopsis, tobacco and white spruce. As reporter and target genes driven by the pinII-promoter, I used the GUS gene and a terpenoid synthase gene, respectively. In addition, I found that the pinII-promoter drives trichome-specific, systemically-induced gene expression in tobacco and Arabidopsis. Finally, I demonstrate that the pinII–promoter, when transformed into Arabidopsis, is extremely sensitive to subtle, low-impact stress treatment. This latter finding prompted me to use, in the second part of my thesis, the pinII-promoter in conjunction with GUS reporter gene expression to test if intact Arabidopsis plants can respond to exposure to monoterpene volatiles. My experiments using the pinII–promoter GUS reporter system clearly established that Arabidopsis plants respond to the exposure of the monoterpene volatiles tested. It is thought that monoterpenes and other volatiles can act as airborne signals between plants under stress or between distant parts of the same plant. At the outset of my thesis research, and to some extent still today, the concept of plant-plant signalling with volatiles has been met with scepticism. After establishing that Arabidopsis plants do respond in a laboratory setting to certain monoterpene volatiles, I further tested the extent of the response at the transcriptome level using a 30 K microarray platform. The gene expression analysis revealed several hundred transcripts that respond with a change of abundance in response to treatment of intact Arabidopsis plants with the monoterpenes ocimene or myrcene. Many of these transcripts were annotated as stress and defense genes including genes involved in octadecanoid signaling. Real-time PCR analyses of octadecanoid mutants confirmed a role for octadecanoid signaling in the response to the monoterpene ocimene. In addition, treatment with ocimene or myrcene caused increased levels of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) in Arabidopsis rosette leaves. However, plants treated with monoterpene prior to wounding or feeding by cabbage looper did not reveal any significant priming effect for these pre-treatments. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

Background: Due to the “flare effect” associated with the flare protocol, variation in the degree of follicular maturation during stimulation may result in differences in follicle response as compared to the luteal protocol which is based on maximal pituitary suppression and synchronization of follicular maturation. In this study, besides other methods, Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), a novel marker for ovarian reserve, was used as a tool to evaluate the ovarian responsiveness to stimulation. Methods: Women undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment in the UBC IVF Program from January to December 2006 using luteal and flare protocols were retrospectively selected for a total of 40 treatment cycles, 20 cycles in each protocol matched by age, weight, and indication for IVF/ICSI. Serial serum Estradiol (E₂) levels and follicle data were obtained from the clinic chart. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), progesterone (P), androstenedione (D₄) and AMH levels were measured from aliquots of frozen serum samples. Hormone responses were evaluated by Area Under the Curve (AUC). Data were analyzed using the t-test and statistical significance was considered present at P<0.05. Results are reported as the mean ± SEM. Results: For flare versus luteal protocol, there was a significant difference in the number of total follicles (14.5 ± 1.8 vs 21.3 ± 2.3), medium follicles (3.7 ± 0.6 vs 8.4 ± 1.3), eggs retrieved (8 ± 0.8 vs 14 ± 1.4) and oocytes fertilized (4.4 ± 0.5 vs 8.4 ± 0.7), AMH AUC (62 ± 12 vs 111 ± 13), LH AUC (67 ± 21 vs 20 ± 9), FSH AUC (171 ± 59 vs 112 ± 29), respectively. Mean number of embryos transferred in both groups was similar. Number of pregnancies conceived (5 for flare and 10 for luteal protocol) was not significantly different. Although E₂ AUC in luteal protocol was higher than that in flare protocol, the difference was not statistically significant (28,339 ± 2,669 vs 26,905 ± 2,790). Differences in P and D₄ AUC between the two protocols were not statistically significant. Correlations with ovarian follicles and eggs retrieved were better for AMH than E₂. Conclusions: The luteal protocol exhibited a better ovarian response to stimulation as compared to the flare protocol. As compared to E₂, AMH had a better correlation with the number of follicles and eggs retrieved. / Medicine, Faculty of / Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of / Graduate

Bullying has severe consequences for school-aged adolescents who have experienced repeated victimization and for the families as well. While there is a considerable body of research on bullying and its effects on victims, very little research has been devoted to studying the experiences and resistance of the targeted young people and their families in the bullying situations. The literature on bullying characterizes victims as unable to defend themselves; this depiction is limited, simplistic, and one-dimensional. This dissertation presents an alternate view, focusing on the experiences and responses of victims and their families. The thesis draws on a poststructural view and a response-based framework to present a new perspective on the victims of bullying—a perspective that contrasts with the common depiction of “helpless, powerless victims” and foregrounds the personal agency of young people who have responded to bullying. Data for this study was collected in the form of narratives from the families and eleven to fifteen year old school adolescents who have been targets of ongoing bullying. The sample consisted of four families and five adolescents. The interview questions were based on Allan Wade’s response-based approach. The participants’ narratives focused on their responses to bullying. Each narrative was read thoroughly for themes related to the skills and the knowledge adolescents have used in responding to peer aggression. Similarly, parents’ narratives were examined for themes of their responses to the bullying of their children. The conclusion from the findings indicated that the parents and adolescents responded to bullying in many small but prudent and resourceful ways.

Acute (~2 min) baroreceptor unloading was reported to modulate metaboreflex control of postexercise cutaneous blood flow, but not sweating. We examined whether sustained changes in baroreceptor loading status during prolonged postexercise recovery can alter the metaboreceptors’ influence on heat loss. Thirteen young males performed a 1-min isometric handgrip exercise (IHG) at 60% maximal voluntary contraction followed by 2-min of forearm ischemia (to activate metaboreceptors) before and 15, 30, 45 and 60-min after a 15-min intense treadmill running exercise (>90% maximal heart rate) in the heat (35°C). This procedure was repeated on three separate days with the application of lower-body positive (LBPP, +40 mmHg), negative (LBNP, -20 mmHg), or no pressure (Control) postexercise. Sweat rate (ventilated capsule; forearm, chest, upper back) and cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC; forearm, upper back) were measured. Relative to pre-IHG levels, sweating at all sites increased during IHG and remained elevated during ischemia at baseline and similarly at 30, 45, and 60-min postexercise (site average sweat rate increase during ischemia: Control, 0.13±0.02; LBPP, 0.12±0.02; LBNP, 0.15±0.02 mg·min-1·cm-2; all P<0.01), but not at 15-min (all P>0.10). LBPP and LBNP application did not modulate the pattern of sweating to IHG and ischemia (all P>0.05). At 15-min postexercise, forearm CVC was reduced from pre-IHG levels during both IHG and ischemia under LBNP only (ischemia: 3.9±0.8 %CVCmax; P<0.02). Therefore, we show metaboreceptors modulate postexercise sweating in the mid-to-late stages (30-60 min) of recovery, independent of baroreceptor loading status and similarly between skin sites. In contrast, metaboreflex modulation of forearm but not upper back CVC occurs only in the early stages of recovery (15 min) and depends upon baroreceptor unloading.

DNA immunization, or the use of antigen-expressing DNAs to raise immune responses, represents a novel approach to the study and manipulation of immune responses. In this dissertation, we examine the role of antigen expression at the target site, the role of antigen presentation by bone marrow-derived cells, and the effect of secretion of antigen on DNA-raised responses in mice. Immunizations were conducted using either gene gun delivery of DNA to the epidermis or intramuscular (i.m.) saline injections. To examine the role of antigen expression at the target site, we excised target sites at different time points following immunization. We immunized with plasmid DNA expressing three different forms of antigens: influenza hemagglutinin H1, human growth hormone and influenza nucleoprotein NP (membrane-bound, secreted and intracellular, respectively). We hypothesized that antigen expression at the target site would be essential in initiating immune responses. We demonstrate here that the target site plays different roles in gene gun and i.m. immunizations. We found that the skin target site played an essential role in eliciting maximal antibody and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses by gene gun immunization, although low-level responses can be raised independent of the target site. In contrast, the muscle target site was not essential for eliciting maximal immune responses following i.m. immunization. We suggest that gene gun immunization results in transfection of keratinocytes and bone marrow-derived Langerhans cells at the target site, and these cells together initiate maximal responses. In i.m. immunizations, on the other hand, nonmuscle cells at distal sites, perhaps bone marrow-derived cells in lymphoid tissues, become transfected and are sufficient for initiation of maximal responses. We also examined the role of antigen presentation by bone marrow-derived cells in initiation of CTL responses to influenza NP following gene gun and i.m. immunization. We hypothesized that antigen presentation by bone marrow-derived cells would be involved in initiation of CTL responses. To test this hypothesis, irradiated F1 mice of MHC class I H-2bxd haplotype were reconstituted with bone marrow from either H-2b or H-2d donors, creating two sets of bone marrow chimeric mice (H-2b → H-2bxd and H-2d → H-2bxd, respectively). We immunized the two sets of bone marrow chimeric mice and determined the MHC haplotype restriction of the induced CTL responses using H-2b- or H-2d-restricted peptides of NP. We found that the CTL responses initiated following gene gun and i.m. immunization were restricted to the haplotype of the bone marrow donor. In H-2b→ H-2bxd chimeric mice, CTL responses were restricted to H-2b, while in H-2d→ H-2bxd chimeric mice, CTL responses were restricted to H-2d. Thus, antigen presentation by bone marrow-derived cells, and not by skin or muscle cells, initiates CTL responses following both gene gun and i.m. immunization. Finally, we examined the effect of secretion of a DNA-expressed antigen on antibody responses. We hypothesized that a secreted antigen would raise greater antibody responses than a membrane-bound antigen, due to easier access of a soluble antigen to lymphoid tissues and to uptake by professional antigen-presenting cells and by antigen-specific B cells. We immunized mice with plasmid DNA expressing either a secreted or the normal membrane-bound form of influenza hemagglutinin H1. We found that secretion of H1 (sH1) did not result in enhanced antibody responses, with sH1 appearing to be less effective than H1. We suggest that the effectiveness of DNA immunization with membrane-bound H1 in raising maximal antibody responses may be due to MHC class II presentation of H1 via an endogenous pathway, resulting from direct transfection of bone marrow-derived APCs. We also found that secretion of H1 influenced the predominant IgG subclass of antibody responses raised by i.m. immunization. Secreted H1 raised predominantly IgG1 responses and H1 raised predominantly IgG2a responses. The IgG1 response to sH1 following i.m. immunization was IL-4 dependent, suggesting that the response to sH1 had a T-helper type 2 phenotype. We propose a model for the mechanism of initiation of immune responses by DNA immunization based on our results and taking them within the context of results from other investigators in the field. We propose that DNA immunization may initiate immune responses primarily by the direct transfection of bone marrow-derived cells that then express and present the DNA vaccine-encoded antigen. However, antigen expression by nonhemopoietic cells, particularly in skin, may play a role in raising maximal responses.

The immunomodulatory effects of Trichinella spiralis or Trichinella pseudospiralis soluble antigen extracts were examined in an effort to characterize the differences in immune responses seen during these Trichinella infections. The newborn larvae extracts of either parasite exhibited similar potency for stimulating macrophage PGE production; however, the muscle larvae extracts of T. pseudospiralis stimulated greater levels of PGE than did the muscle larvae extracts of T. spiralis. These data clearly indicate that Trichinella antigens possess immunomodulatory capabilities.

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