Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1963.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1963.

Thesis (Ph.D.) in Psychology--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-178).

Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2006. / Psychology Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / Micronutrient machines have been used successfully in the beef industry, however, their use was mostly for the addition of antibiotics into the rations. Their use in the dairy industry has been very limited. Feed cost is over 50% of the total cost on a typical dairy farm, thereby creating an area where minor changes in cost per cow can impact the bottom line. Because of the high feed cost on dairy farms, income over feed cost (IOFC) is one of the bench marks as to the overall farm financial health. The feed rations also impact animal health incidences and reproduction efficiencies. Micro machines can add small amounts of a desired nutrient or product, generally less than 56 grams (± 2 oz) into the cattle's daily total mixed rations (TMR). These micronutrients are generally expensive, and their inclusion into the rations of only cows that need that particular micronutrient is one benefit of a micro machine. Micro machines also take out the human error of mixing small accurate amounts and can easily track inventories. Benefits also include the control of on-farm shrink through dust control, and environmental stewardship of resources. Lastly, by creating options to accurately add micronutrients, milk production may be increased and health incidences reduced. The dairy industry is a virtually an untapped field for this technology and this research will explore if there is a benefit from their use. As feeding systems have evolved and milk production has continued to climb, innovative technologies will continue to be implemented. Increased financial pressures will also continue to cause producers to become more efficient with their resources. As production increases in any field, fine tuning of inputs becomes more exact. The rumen inner workings and how feedstuff blends affect rumen micros and the pH levels is an area in which there is much research completed, however, much more is still needed. The addition of micro machines to fine tune rations for dairy farms TMR rations can be a profitable way to manage income over feed cost, not only by saving money spent on micronutrients but by increasing production and reducing herd health incidences.

Abstract In this work, the homogeneity of both the B0 and B1 fields was studied. Both B0 and B1 field homogeneities are the basic assumptions of high resolution liquid state NMR. Although some inhomogeneity of both of the fields is always present, the spectrometers can be operated, with the help of the developed spectral purging techniques, without giving any thought to the field inhomogeneities or the necessary actions to minimize their adverse effects. Although the effect of B0 inhomogeneity can occasionally be seen, the B1 fieldin a modern probe head is often assumed to be sufficiently homogenous for any practical purpose. By using the method used in this study the B1 field strength along one axis, typically the z-axis, can be easily mapped. Based on the information gathered from a single experiment, one can obtain reliable and valuable information about the B1 field distribution, e.g. homogeneity of the coil. From such information, the degree of required artifact suppressing methods for successful NMR experiments can be determined. Since normal pulse length calibration also requires the acquisition of several 1-D spectra, the required experimentation time is not increased. Although the maximum amount of signal from an NMR experiment is obtained when the signal is acquired from a maximum number of resonating spins, the results presented show that significantly more homogenous B1 field along the active sample volume is achieved by rejection of the signal originating from the outer parts of the coil length. Although the total amount of signal obtained from the outer parts of the RF-coil is not very high, some loss of signal is associated with the spatially selective acquisition. The rejected signal, however, is a significant source of artifacts, and if no precautions were taken, the artifacts would severely decrease the quality of the acquired data. If the sample concentration can be increased, it would be advantageous to dissolve the amount of sample available in as small an amount of solvent as is possible and place the sample in the most B1 homogenous part of the probe-head RF-coil. With the same amount of nuclear spins concentrated into a smaller volume, the sensitivity of an NMR experiment can be increased manifold. As an application of a spatially selective data acquisition, a versatile method capable of producing a map of the B0 field strength and its variation along the sample volume is presented.

Background: In spite of the importance of maternal sensitivity as a construct that fosters secure attachment and promotes a child’s social and cognitive development, no routine clinical screening currently identifies mothers at risk of poor maternal sensitivity. This is partly because researchers have not identified all the factors that influence maternal sensitivity. As a result, parenting interventions to promote maternal sensitivity and optimise child outcomes tend to focus on clinical groups. Thus, more attention is needed to identify possible determinant factors. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying natural variation in maternal sensitivity (i.e. sensitive and less sensitive mothers) are poorly understood, especially the putative role of the hormone Oxytocin (OT). Literature has suggested that this variation in maternal sensitivity is an outcome of interaction between maternal OT, as well as social factors (e.g. perceived parenting) and this interaction charts the discrete profile of the maternal brain that is mediated by stress- and reward-related neural systems. To date no study examined for the neurobiological correlates of maternal sensitivity in a distinct group of mothers representing natural variations in maternal sensitivity. Methods: Out of 105 women recruited from community antenatal clinics during their pregnancy, to complete a set of self-reported questionnaires assessing their psychosocial characteristics, a total of 80 new (i.e. early postpartum) mothers and their infants were followed up and underwent evaluation of maternal sensitivity at 4-6 months postpartum. Using a stepwise regression, we examined for predictors of maternal sensitivity among the sample (Study I). Later, at 7-9 months postpartum, 30 mothers, representing extremes in maternal sensitivity, were selected from this sample of 80: 15 mothers with higher scores (high sensitivity mothers - HSMs), and 15 with lower scores for maternal sensitivity (low sensitivity mothers - LSMs), underwent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to examine their brain responses when viewing videos of their own and an unknown infant. Maternal plasma OT levels were also measured before and following an interactive play with their infant (Study II). Results: Mothers’ self-reported experience of own parental care, and household income, independently predicted maternal sensitivity, accounting for 17% of the variance. Comparing mothers grouped by maternal sensitivity level, HSMs showed a drop in their plasma OT levels following the interaction with their infant. HSMs also showed significant brain activation in the right superior temporal gyrus in response to own infant (compared to unknown infant) when compared to LSMs. By contrast LSMs did not show any change in their plasma OT levels following interaction with their infant, and their brain responses to own infant did not show any significant brain activation when compared to HSMs. Conclusions: The findings may have implications for future novel approaches for early assessment of mothers at risk of low maternal sensitivity so they could be targeted by specialised assessments and consequently interventions to improve their parenting (Study I). Maternal sensitivity is accompanied by neural correlates that could act as a biomarker for future intervention studies that target vulnerable mothers (Study II).

Individuals high in rejection sensitivity have a lower rates of dating success and a lower probability of being in a romantic relationship, but could engaging in online dating improve the likelihood? The goal of this research is to determine whether individuals higher in rejection sensitivity indicate having more success in meeting potential romantic partners online when compared to meeting potential partners conventionally. It is hypothesized that individuals higher in rejection sensitivity will be more successful on first dates when initiated though online dating sites / apps rather than through more conventional ways of meeting potential romantic partners. An online survey was created asking participants to complete the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire to evaluate the level of anxiety experienced when faced with potential rejection, the Online Dating Inventory to assess engagement in online dating, and the Conventional Offline Dating Inventory, a measure created by the researchers to assess behaviors that allow the participants to meet possible romantic partners in every day life through non-internet activities. Success is operationally defined according to the goals participants had going into the date and whether or not that goal was achieved. Data collection is still ongoing; however, we expect to see significantly more success for participants higher in rejection sensitivity when initiating through online dating websites. To ensure external validity, data are being collected from two different articipation pools. Currently the survey is being administered through Sona to reach college students and these are the data that will be presented. The survey will also be uploaded to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to reach older adults. If our hypothesis is correct, this would indicate that online dating may benefit those individuals who are high in rejection sensitivity as it could give them an alternative avenue to initiating romantic relationships and possibly finding success in those relationships.

Both open-form and closed-form formulas are developed to compute duration for two types of fixed-rate mortgages: the level or constant payment mortgage and the constant amortization mortgage. Because holding periods are often less than maturity, duration formulas are also developed for mortgages that are paid prior to maturity. The duration formulas are used to compare the risk and price behavior of the two types of mortgages. Under any scenario, the constant amortization mortgage exhibits less interest rate risk than the constant payment mortgage. The durations of both mortgage types are monotonically increasing functions of maturity when the mortgages are held to maturity. When the mortgages are subject to prepayment, however, durations may, under certain circumstances decline with original maturity.