No description available.

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Verran and Snyder-Halpern (VSH) Sleep Scale on patients hospitalized in a coronary care unit (CCU) and to investigate the sleep characteristics of patients hospitalized in the CCU setting. Eighteen subjects aged 43 to 78 completed 30 nights of study using the VSH Sleep Scale. Results were compared to means from groups of healthy subjects and subjects hospitalized on general medical-surgical units. The VSH Sleep Scale demonstrated reliability in this group of CCU subjects. Factor analysis showed loadings on four factors rather than the theoretical three factors probably due to small sample size. The mean scores for this sample of CCU patients indicated their nighttime sleep was disturbed and ineffective. Significantly different sleep characteristics were demonstrated between CCU and healthy subjects. Comparisons between CCU and general medical-surgical subjects evidenced no differences in sleep characteristics.

Studies were undertaken to determine ecotoxicological effects of model manufactured or engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), either alone or in combination with a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (i.e. PAHs: fluoranthene) at different levels of biological organisation (viz. biochemical, histological and behavioural levels) in a sentinel, widely distributed marine invertebrate species, Mytilus edulis. With the current and predicted levels of pollution in the marine and coastal environment, there is an urgent need to establish the potential effects of persistent and emerging contaminants which includes ENPs and PAHs, to protect human and environmental health. In this study, initially, it was aimed to optimise the induction of biotransformation enzyme P-450 as a robust biochemical tool and good progress (chapter 3) was made to standardise P-450 in mussel. Due to certain technical and logistic limitations however we could not apply measurement of P-450 as potential biochemical biomarkers in this species. The possibility of using glutathione levels instead in the cell-free component of haemolymph samples as an indicator of oxidative stress, in an analogous way to that used in mammals was evaluated (chapter 4). The evidence suggested that cell-free haemolymph samples collected from adductor muscle of Mytilus edulis may be significantly contaminated with intracellular contents of myocytes of this organ (i.e. adductor muscle) and adductor muscle tissue is more generally useful to determine glutathione system responses. The validation study of different assays using copper as a relevant environmental contaminant (chapter 5) suggested the existence of clear relationships between genotoxic (as determined by induction of DNA strand breaks using the Comet assay) and higher level effects. The results further suggested the feasibility of adoption of an integrated approach and robustness of selected biomarkers to evaluate short and long-term toxic effects of pollutants. A multiple biomarker approach was then used to determine the potential interactive effect of C60 fullerenes in combination with fluoranthene. Where appropriate analytical tools (i.e. ICP-MS, GC-MS) were used to determine the levels of contaminant exposure and characterise the properties of the ENPs. The combined exposure of fluoranthene and C60 fullerenes produced enhanced biological damage at approximately at an- “additive” rather than synergistic level, which appeared to be as a result of oxidative stress (chapter 6). The final experiments were carried out in both the early and adult life stages to test the potential toxicity resulting from photochemical transformation of C60 fullerenes in Mytilus edulis (chapter 7). In general, the results showed, for the first time, genotoxic and developmental impact of the photochemically transformed C60 fullerenes at different life stages of marine mussel. Further research is required to identify the degraded products of C60 fullerenes and to understand the mechanism by which fresh and aged C60 fullerenes induces biological responses including oxidative stress and affect ecologically relevant aquatic organisms at different life stages. The thesis has taken the opportunity to discuss (chapter 8) the importance of applications of biological responses in hazard and risk assessment posed by anthropogenic chemicals in a broader context.

Technology-based economic development has been a highly sought-after objective for regions in developed and developing countries alike. The wealth created by regional knowledgebased economies like Silicon Valley is an attractive outcome. Without understanding clusterbased economic strategy, the different types of technology-based economic development approaches, the factors that dictate success or failure, and how those factors interrelate within a particular region, then the probability of success is minimal at best. Economic Development is a process and hence lends itself to a Systems Engineering approach, which was chosen as the methodology for analyzing and designing a better model for studying regions around the world to identify Factors that were both common and key to successful regional development. Each region was viewed as a system with inputs and outputs. The challenge in developing a useful system model is the development of the required Factors and Processes to be used. In the development of the model most of the Factors are internal to the system, but many may be affected by external events. The weighting (importance) of these Factors is the topic of much debate. To develop a baseline of Factors the Delphi method was used. Fortunately, a number of world-wide experts agreed to participate in one on one interviews to analyze these Factors, which in itself added a great deal to the body of knowledge of economic development beyond just the Factors. One obvious result was the essentially unanimous opinion of the group that leadership was the most important factor. A less obvious outcome, but one of equal importance was that there are two classes of regional economic development: one for mass job creation and another for the creation of a knowledge-based regional economy. Often regions undertake economic development without understanding this significant difference. While the model developed can be used for either goal it is extremely important that developers know in advance which goal is being pursued, which is also one of the critical outcomes of strong leadership. While all indications are that this model is a major improvement over current approaches, because this is a new approach until this research is followed by additional interviews, and by applying the model to actual regional technology-based economic development environments it's validity remains unproven.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / This thesis examined the relationship between thinking dominated by perception and thinking guided by logic. It was suggested by Piaget's theory of cognitive development which defines modes of thinking in terms of logical forms as models of operation of the mind. Thus thinking unfolds in several stages, each characterized by a precursor of logic. Within this theoretical framework, the present study focussed on the supremacy of misleading perception at the onset of the concrete operational stage. The relationship was examined in a situation of incompatibility between perception and logic [TRUNCATED]

Reading Recovery is a first-grade literacy intervention program with notable short-term benefits, but there are sustainability studies that highlight inconclusive evidence of its enduring success. It was unclear if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students continue to have long-term literacy skill retention after exiting the literacy intervention. The problem was essential to this rural district because Reading Recovery was costly to implement, and the literacy standardized test scores remained low. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students had sustainable literacy skills. The theoretical framework was the literacy processing theory, which entails how emergent learners develop literacy processing systems. The research question was to determine if there was a significant difference in the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress standardized test scores between the 73 formerly enrolled and 38 nonenrolled students. The independent variable was enrollment in Reading Recovery, and the dependent variable was ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The independent sample t-test results showed no statistically significant difference in ISTEP+ standardized literacy scores. The results were the basis for the creation of the 3-day professional development training for educators in grades 2 and 3. The training will promote positive social change since it will support the continued literacy progress of formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students. Students with solid literacy skills will have better future employment opportunities and higher social engagement in American society.

In recent years, the main determinants of gold price have changed worldwide due to the increasing demand of gold. Additionally, TAIFEX provided investors with anothor trading instruments by launching US Dollar-denominated Gold Futures. Therefore, Taiwan gold market and stock market might interact more closely than before. The purpose of this study was to examine the endogenous relationship between gold price and stock price, and then analyze both markets with multi-equation simulation model and two-stage least squares method. The result shows that there is endogenous relationship between these two variables. Besides, depreciation of US dollar would lead to a rise in gold price which is denominated by US dollar. Exchange rate and stock price also moved in opposite directions. Finally, the launching of gold futures truly interested the investors and boosted the gold price.

No description available.

Pontomesencephalic tegmental cholinergic neurons were destroyed in cats by local injections of kainic acid in order to assess the role of these neurons in sleep-wakefulness states and in the defining variables of these states: EEG (electroencephalographic) and EMG (electromyographic) amplitude, PGO (ponto-geniculo-occipital) spike rate, REMs (rapid eye movements) and (OBS) olfactory bulb spindles. Loss of cholinergic innervation to forebrain and brainstem structures was also assessed by histochemistry. Histological and histochemical analysis of the brains after the lesion showed a major destruction of the pontomesencephalic cholinergic neurons and a major loss of innervation to thalamic nuclei and brainstem regions, including the reticular formation. Whereas the states of waking and slow wave sleep were relatively unaffected, paradoxical sleep (PS) was reduced or eliminated immediately following the lesions. Two to three weeks later, incipient PS-like episodes returned with a reduced PGO spike rate and REMs, and an elevated EMG amplitude, marking the loss of muscle atonia. Such results suggest pontomesencephalic cholinergic neurons and their projections to thalamic and brainstem regions are important for the expression of PS and its defining variables.

Thèses (M.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 1997. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.