O diabetes mellitus continua sendo uma doença de incidência crescente em todo o mundo, tomando proporções epidêmicas em nossos dias. Tal fato é acompanhado pelo aumento da prevalência de complicações relacionadas à doença, das quais as relativas aos pés apresentam os maiores índices de morbimortalidade. A perda da sensibilidade protetora é um fator preponderante no surgimento das úlceras em pés de pacientes diabéticos, desta forma, os métodos de diagnóstico devem apresentar alta sensibilidade e reprodutibilidade, além de serem capazes de quantificar o grau de alteração, para que medidas específicas sejam proporcionadas. Foi realizado em estudo do tipo corte-transversal, com o objetivo de determinar os limiares de sensibilidade cutânea em pacientes diabéticos portadores de úlcera em apenas um dos membros inferiores, provenientes do ambulatório de feridas complexas do Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP, comparando os valores encontrados no pé com úlcera e no pé sem úlcera do mesmo paciente. Para avaliação da sensibilidade, utilizou-se o monofilamento de Semmes-Weinstein, o teste de discriminação de dois pontos com o disk-criminator(TM) e o PSSD - Dispositivo Específico de Sensibilidade de Pressão. O PSSD é um aparelho computadorizado, capaz de determinar de forma quantitativa, em g/mm2, a exata pressão na qual o paciente consegue identificar um estímulo de toque sobre a sua pele, bem como a pressão na qual o paciente consegue diferenciar a presença de dois pontos distinguindo-os de um ponto. O PSSD foi aplicado em quatro áreas dos membros inferiores dos pacientes: hálux, dorso do pé, calcanhar e perna. Em todas as regiões, o teste foi realizado com um ponto de forma estática e dinâmica e com dois pontos, também de forma estática e dinâmica. Foram incluídos 20 pacientes, com idade média de 61,6 anos e tempo médio de diabetes de 12,4 anos. Todos os pacientes do grupo apresentaram sensibilidade positiva, quando avaliados pelo Teste do Monofilamento de Semmes-Weinstein. Os pacientes apresentaram médias das medidas da discriminação de dois pontos superiores nos pés com úlcera, embora os dados tenham sido estatisticamente significantes apenas nas regiões do hálux e perna. Todos os pacientes apresentaram limiares de pressão avaliados pelo PSSD mais elevados no pé com úlcera do que no pé são, tanto nos testes estáticos como dinâmicos, resultando em valores estatisticamente significativos nas quatro regiões avaliadas. Concluiu-se que o PSSD foi capaz de diferenciar os limiares de sensibilidade cutânea entre os pés com úlcera e os pés sem úlcera em pacientes diabéticos. / The diabetes mellitus remains a problem with increasing incidence in the entire world, getting epidemic proportions in present time. This fact is followed by the increase in complications. The foot complications in these patients represent the highest morbimortality levels. The loss of protective sensibility is a preponderant factor in the appearing of foot ulcers in diabetic patients. Thus, the diagnostic methods must have elevated sensitivity, reproducibility and must quantify the disease stage, so specific procedures can be established. The author did a cross-sectional study, with the objective to determine the cutaneous sensibility thresholds in diabetic patients recruited from Hospital das Clinicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, with ulcer in only one of the lower extremities, comparing the thresholds of the member with ulcer with the member without ulcer. The sensibility was evaluated using the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, the two points discrimination test with the disk-criminator(TM) and the PSSD (Pressure-Specified Sensory Device(TM)). An instrument capable to determine in a quantitative manner, reporting results in g/mm2, the exact pressure at which the individual can feel a touch in their skin, and to measure the pressure at which two points can be distinguished from one point touching the skin. The PSSD was used in four areas in patient\'s lower extremities: great toe pulp, dorsal feet, medial heel and lateral calf. The test was realized in four manners 1 point static, 1 point dynamic, 2 points static and 2 points dynamic. A total of 20 patients were included in the study, average age 61,6 years, average diabetic time 12,4 years. All the patients reported positively with the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test. The mean of 2 point discrimination test was higher in the feet with ulcer, thus the results had statistic significance only in the hallux and lateral calf. All the patients reported cutaneous pressure thresholds higher in the feet with ulcer when comparing with the feet without ulcer, in both static and dynamic tests, with statistic significance in the four areas measured. As the conclusion, the PSSD was capable to differentiate the cutaneous thresholds among the extremity with ulcer and the extremity without ulcer in diabetic patients.

For people with synaesthesia, a percept or concept (inducer) triggers another experience (concurrent) which is usually in a different modality. The concurrent is automatic, and in the case of certain types of synaesthesia also consistent, however the relationship between the inducer and concurrent is not fully understood and shall be investigated in this thesis from different perspectives. The first is using hypnosis to suggest synaesthesia-like phenomenological experiences to participants, and measuring behavioural responses to see whether they behave in a similar manner to developmental synaesthetes. Results from hypnotic; 1) grapheme-colour (GC) synaesthesia; 2) motion-sound synaesthesia; suggest that phenomenological experiences similar to developmental synaesthesia can be experienced by highly susceptible participants, but is not associated with the same behaviour as developmental synaesthetes. Developmental GC synaesthetes were tested to determine whether a grapheme presented preconsciously binds with the concurrent colour to the extent that it influences behaviour or evokes the phenomenology of colour. Two techniques were used, gaze-contingent substitution (GCS) and continuous flash suppression (CFS). Using GCS, it was shown that although digits can be primed preconsciously, they don't bind with their concurrent colour to influence behaviour. Nevertheless, many synaesthetes still experienced colours though they didn't necessarily match the primed digit. CFS experiments showed that the colour of a grapheme's concurrent, or whether the grapheme is presented in the correct or incorrect colour for that synaesthete, doesn't influence the time for conscious perception of a grapheme, even though colour words presented in the correct colour are perceived faster than those in the wrong colour. Phenomenological differences were compared to the behavioural measures using questionnaires modified using factor analysis (the R-RSPA and R-ISEQ). Overall, inducers must be seen consciously for them to bind with the concurrent, and experiencing the phenomenology of synaesthesia is not sufficient to behave like a synaesthete.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-19T11:29:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Francine Rodrigues Sanchez.pdf: 1356558 bytes, checksum: f25bc94da2ae62b7354ed4b92e86f231 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-19T11:29:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Francine Rodrigues Sanchez.pdf: 1356558 bytes, checksum: f25bc94da2ae62b7354ed4b92e86f231 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research starts from a quest: how is it possible to conceive and conceptualize the rhythm in a prose contemporary literary text? The principle, however, could be justified by the arousal of the rhythmic sense on the reading of Juliano Saldanha’s hybrid literary piece “Introdução: Esse-menino-aí”, corpus of the present investigation. To achieve a possible critical reading of this literary piece striving for outlining its rhythm, as well as to devise a new concept of rhythm, are the aims of the present study. Starting from the assumption of an intensive rhythm induced by the performative movement on the reading process, it is intended to investigate the concepts related to the rhythm beyond the synonym between rhythm and metric. The theoretical foundation bases on Brik, Paz, Meschonnic, Zumthor, Gil, Pessoa, Deleuze e Nietzsche. The search is for a reading in the order of sensations and experiencing as well as for exposing the reading movements in the text construction, focusing on reaching the most adequate conception of intensive rhythm, enabling a broader range of possibilities on the investigation of Juliano Pessanha’s literary production / Esta dissertação parte da seguinte pergunta: como podemos conceber e conceituar o ritmo no texto literário contemporâneo em prosa? Justifica-se no despertar de um senso rítmico que se faz presente na leitura do texto híbrido de Juliano Pessanha “Introdução: Esse-menino-aí”, nosso corpus da pesquisa, e tem como principais objetivos: realizar uma possibilidade de leitura crítica deste texto, buscando mostrar o ritmo aí presente, e delinear um novo conceito de ritmo. Partimos da hipótese de que há um ritmo que é intensivo e que é um movimento produzido pela performance da leitura. Para tanto, investigamos acepções sobre o ritmo que ultrapassam a sinonímia entre ritmo e métrica. A fundamentação teórica baseia-se em: Brik, Paz, Meschonnic, Zumthor, Gil, Pessoa, Deleuze e Nietzsche. Busca-se realizar uma leitura da ordem das sensações e da busca por experimentar e expor movimentos propostos para a leitura na construção do texto, e chegamos ao resultado de que a noção de ritmo intensivo se torna a mais adequada e permite maiores possibilidades de investigação para o texto contemporâneo de Juliano Pessanha, em sua atualidade e caráter experimental

Why do we read what we read? Janice Radway examines works that were not popular in an author's time period, but now are affecting the construction of the canon. In her own words, Radway seeks to "establish [popular literature] as something other than a watered-down version of a more authentic high culture [and] to present the middlebrow positively as a culture with its own particular substance and intellectual coherence" (208). Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novels were considered "middlebrow" and were very popular in Victorian England. Along with this facet, her heroines were considered controversial because they were not portrayed as what would be labeled a "proper female" in Victorian society. The popularity of her novels, her heroines, along with facets of her personal life, keep her from being recognized as one of the foremost authors in the Victorian period.

College students and emerging adults have been found to be at risk for smoking cigarettes, drinking to excess, using illicit drugs, driving dangerously, and engaging in risky sexual and delinquent behaviour. Psychosocial correlates (Sensation Seeking, peer behaviour, parent behaviour, and peer and parent anti-substance use messages) from three domains of influence (personality, parent, and peer) were examined together to provide a greater context for the occurrence of such health-risk behaviours. The strongest predictor(s) of each behaviour were identified to better inform intervention practices. Three groups were compared— 1) those who never tried substances, 2) those who tried substances in the past, and 3) those who continue to use substances at present, in a population of emerging adults. Self-report data was gathered from 203 Collèges d'Enseignement Général Et Professionnel (CEGEP) students in the Montreal region. Measures included: Reckless Behaviour Questionnaire, Reckless Driving Measure, Health Behaviour Survey, Sensation Seeking Scale—Form V, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Results revealed that peer behaviour was the most significant predictor of substance use in emerging adults, whereas parent behaviour was only a significant predictor of reckless driving. Sensation Seeking, specifically Disinhibition, was found to predict more global reckless behaviours, including illegal activities, such as stealing or using marijuana (p < .01). Neither peer nor parent anti-substance messages were significantly related to any of the health-risk behaviours measured in this study. It would appear that health-risk behaviours tend to be related to the same underlying factors but to varying degrees. Intervention implications are discussed.

College students and emerging adults have been found to be at risk for smoking cigarettes, drinking to excess, using illicit drugs, driving dangerously, and engaging in risky sexual and delinquent behaviour. Psychosocial correlates (Sensation Seeking, peer behaviour, parent behaviour, and peer and parent anti-substance use messages) from three domains of influence (personality, parent, and peer) were examined together to provide a greater context for the occurrence of such health-risk behaviours. The strongest predictor(s) of each behaviour were identified to better inform intervention practices. Three groups were compared— 1) those who never tried substances, 2) those who tried substances in the past, and 3) those who continue to use substances at present, in a population of emerging adults. Self-report data was gathered from 203 Collèges d'Enseignement Général Et Professionnel (CEGEP) students in the Montreal region. Measures included: Reckless Behaviour Questionnaire, Reckless Driving Measure, Health Behaviour Survey, Sensation Seeking Scale—Form V, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Results revealed that peer behaviour was the most significant predictor of substance use in emerging adults, whereas parent behaviour was only a significant predictor of reckless driving. Sensation Seeking, specifically Disinhibition, was found to predict more global reckless behaviours, including illegal activities, such as stealing or using marijuana (p < .01). Neither peer nor parent anti-substance messages were significantly related to any of the health-risk behaviours measured in this study. It would appear that health-risk behaviours tend to be related to the same underlying factors but to varying degrees. Intervention implications are discussed.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF TOBACCO, ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS KarakaS, &Ouml / zge M.S., Department of Psychology Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Belgin AyvaSik July 2006, 130 pages The aim of the present study was to identify sociodemographic and psychological correlates of adolescent tobacco, alcohol and drug use. Participants were 854 high school students (485 girls, 369 boys) aged between 14-18. Participants were administered a Demographic Information Form, Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking, seven subscales of Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI) and Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Use Questionnaire. Twelve point two percent of the students reported cigarette use, 23.5 % reported alcohol use and 2.3 % reported illicit drug use at least once in their lives. Independent Samples t-test Analysis revealed that smokers received higher scores than non-smokers on sensation seeking, psychiatric disorder, behavior patterns, school performance / adjustment, peer relations, family system and leisure subscales of DUSI but there was not a significant difference between smokers and non-smokers in terms of social competency. Also, it was found that both alcohol users scored higher than non-users on sensation seeking, psychiatric disorder, behavior patterns, school performance / adjustment, peer relations, family system but there was not a significant difference between alcohol users and non-users in terms of scores on leisure and social competency. Drug users scored significantly higher than randomly selected non-users on sensation seeking, behavior patterns and peer relations scales. Logistic regression analysis revealed that adolescent smoking was predicted by gender, age, G.P.A., place of birth, peer smoking, behavior patterns, social competency, school problems and family relations. Besides, alcohol use was predicted by gender, age, number of siblings, maternal education, peer smoking, peer alcohol use, social competency, school performance / adjustment and family relations. Findings are discussed within the context of the relevant literature.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the role of several demographic and personality characteristics of Turkish adolescent risk takers. More specifically, how well gender, age, sensation-seeking, self-esteem, and locus of control predict adolescent risk-taking behavior was examined in this study. Participants were between the ages of 15-19, from two Anatolian high schools and a general lycee in Ankara. They were given four different instruments to fill out -Modified Risk Involvement and Perception Scale (M-RIPS), Arnett Inventory of Sensation-Seeking (AISS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (IELOC)- and a demographic data form which was developed by the researcher (n = 867). Involvement subscale of the Risk Involvement and Perception Scale was adapted to Turkish culture by the researcher. A standard multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how well sensation-seeking, self-esteem, locus of control, age, and gender predicted the risk-taking behaviors of adolescents. Results of the study indicated that except self-esteem, all other variables were significantly related to Turkish adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Gender and sensation-seeking were the most predictor variables in explaining adolescent risk-taking. The results also indicated that older male adolescent high sensation seekers who have external locus of control were more likely to engage in various risk-taking behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications, and recommendations for future research were presented.

The aim of the present study was to propose a model on safety climate by investigating the relationship between safety climate perceptions of employees and their safety-related behaviors in the workplace. Additionally, effects of fatalism views and risk taking/sensation seeking tendencies on safe behaviors were analyzed. The possible moderating effects of these variables on safety climate-safe behavior relationship were also investigated. A total of 185 blue-collar employees working in a manufacturing firm participated in the study. Participants filled out the questionnaires including scales of safety climate, cultural values (fatalism, individualism, hierarchy, and egaliterianism) and dimensions (collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance), and risk taking/sensation seeking. The outcome variables included self-reported compliance with safety rules and self-reported percentage of safety equipment use. Safety climate perceptions predicted compliance with the safety rules. Also, sensation seeking tendencies were found to predict use of protective equipments. The hypothesized relationships concerning fatalism views and moderations were not confirmed in the present study. In addition to the hypotheses, safety climate perceptions tended to be more positive as collectivism, power distance increased, and uncertainty avoidance of the employees increased. Sensation seeking tendencies were higher for employees who reported less equipment use. Employees who reported to have had an accident had higher risk taking scores than employees who reported not to have had an accident involvement. The results are discussed with the implications and contributions of the study. Limitations of the study are presented along with some suggestions for future research.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common injuries responsible for lost time claims to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). The main purpose of this study was to determine whether measurable sensorimotor changes exist in asymptomatic individuals who are at risk for CTS such that sensory impairment and/or functional tests may be used in the early detection and intervention to reduce the impact of CTS on individuals, industry and the health care system. Participants were recruited into three strata: (1) individuals diagnosed with mild CTS, (2) asymptomatic individuals who were deemed to be at risk of developing CTS due to exposure to etiological risk factors and (3) asymptomatic individuals who were deemed to be at minimal risk of developing CTS based on non-exposure to risk factors. The main outcome measures included two-point discrimination ability, pressure acuity, vibration sense, Purdue Pegboard Test performance and tracking error and tracking variance on a manual tracking task performed at two different speeds. Seven individuals with CTS, fourteen individuals at risk of developing CTS and nine control individuals with minimal risk participated. The CTS group was significantly different from the at-risk and control groups on the main and work sections of the DASH questionnaire, and the symptom severity scale and functional status scale of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire. The only outcome measure that showed a significant difference between the at-risk and the minimal risk group was the assembly task of the Purdue Pegboard Test (p = 0.044), however other measures including median nerve conduction latencies, and manual tracking abilities showed promise that with further recruitment, a significant difference may be seen. The sensory impairment tests did not demonstrate degradation in sensory function in individuals at risk of developing CTS, however analysis of sensory nerve conduction latencies and some aspects of fine motor skills testing did show some promise in their ability to detect individuals at risk of developing CTS. A future prospective study that follows individuals at risk of developing CTS may determine that it is possible to implement a screening tool for the early identification and treatment of CTS. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-15 12:15:45.208