To fully understand how the brain works, it is necessary to relate the brain’s function to its anatomy. Cortical anatomy is subject-specific. It is character- ized by the thickness and number of intracortical layers, which differ from one cortical area to the next. Each cortical area fulfills a certain function. With magnetic res- onance imaging (MRI) it is possible to study structure and function in-vivo within the same subject. The resolution of ultra-high field MRI at 7T allows to resolve intracortical anatomy. This opens the possibility to relate cortical function of a sub- ject to its corresponding individual structural area, which is one of the main goals of neuroimaging. To parcellate the cortex based on its intracortical structure in-vivo, firstly, im- ages have to be quantitative and homogeneous so that they can be processed fully- automatically. Moreover, the resolution has to be high enough to resolve intracortical layers. Therefore, the in-vivo MR images acquired for this work are quantitative T1 maps at 0.5 mm isotropic resolution. Secondly, computational tools are needed to analyze the cortex observer-independ- ently. The most recent tools designed for this task are presented in this thesis. They comprise the segmentation of the cortex, and the construction of a novel equi-volume coordinate system of cortical depth. The equi-volume model is not restricted to in- vivo data, but is used on ultra-high resolution post-mortem data from MRI as well. It could also be used on 3D volumes reconstructed from 2D histological stains. An equi-volume coordinate system yields firstly intracortical surfaces that follow anatomical layers all along the cortex, even within areas that are severely folded where previous models fail. MR intensities can be mapped onto these equi-volume surfaces to identify the location and size of some structural areas. Surfaces com- puted with previous coordinate systems are shown to cross into different anatomical layers, and therefore also show artefactual patterns. Secondly, with the coordinate system one can compute cortical traverses perpendicularly to the intracortical sur- faces. Sampling intensities along equi-volume traverses results in cortical profiles that reflect an anatomical layer pattern, which is specific to every structural area. It is shown that profiles constructed with previous coordinate systems of cortical depth disguise the anatomical layer pattern or even show a wrong pattern. In contrast to equi-volume profiles these profiles from previous models are not suited to analyze the cortex observer-independently, and hence can not be used for automatic delineations of cortical areas. Equi-volume profiles from four different structural areas are presented. These pro- files show area-specific shapes that are to a certain degree preserved across subjects. Finally, the profiles are used to classify primary areas observer-independently.

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In 1971, Isaac Asimov observed in humanity, a science-important society. For this he credited the man who had been his editor in the 1940s during the period known as the golden age of American science fiction, John W. Campbell, Jr. Campbell was editor of Astounding Science-Fiction, the magazine that launched both Asimov's career and the golden age, from 1938 until his death in 1971. Campbell and his authors set the foundation for the modern sci-fi, cementing genre distinction by the application of plausible technological speculation. Campbell assumed the science-important society that Asimov found thirty years later, attributing sci-fi ascendance during the golden age a particular compatibility with that cultural context. On another level, sci-fi's compatibility with "science-important" tendencies during the first half of the twentieth-century betrayed a deeper agreement with the social structures that fueled those tendencies and reflected an explication of modernity on capitalist terms. Tethered to an imperative of plausibly extrapolated technology within an American context, sci-fi authors retained the social underpinnings of that context. In this thesis, I perform a textual analysis of stories published in Astounding during the 1940s, following the sci-fi as it grew into a mainstream cultural product. In this, I prioritize not the intentions of authors to advance explicit themes or speculations. Rather, I allow the authors' direction of reader sympathy to suggest the way that favored characterizations advanced ideological bias. Sci-fi authors supported a route to success via individualistic, competitive, and private enterprise. They supported an American capitalistic conveyance of modernity. / Master of Arts

To fully understand how the brain works, it is necessary to relate the brain’s function to its anatomy. Cortical anatomy is subject-specific. It is character- ized by the thickness and number of intracortical layers, which differ from one cortical area to the next. Each cortical area fulfills a certain function. With magnetic res- onance imaging (MRI) it is possible to study structure and function in-vivo within the same subject. The resolution of ultra-high field MRI at 7T allows to resolve intracortical anatomy. This opens the possibility to relate cortical function of a sub- ject to its corresponding individual structural area, which is one of the main goals of neuroimaging. To parcellate the cortex based on its intracortical structure in-vivo, firstly, im- ages have to be quantitative and homogeneous so that they can be processed fully- automatically. Moreover, the resolution has to be high enough to resolve intracortical layers. Therefore, the in-vivo MR images acquired for this work are quantitative T1 maps at 0.5 mm isotropic resolution. Secondly, computational tools are needed to analyze the cortex observer-independ- ently. The most recent tools designed for this task are presented in this thesis. They comprise the segmentation of the cortex, and the construction of a novel equi-volume coordinate system of cortical depth. The equi-volume model is not restricted to in- vivo data, but is used on ultra-high resolution post-mortem data from MRI as well. It could also be used on 3D volumes reconstructed from 2D histological stains. An equi-volume coordinate system yields firstly intracortical surfaces that follow anatomical layers all along the cortex, even within areas that are severely folded where previous models fail. MR intensities can be mapped onto these equi-volume surfaces to identify the location and size of some structural areas. Surfaces com- puted with previous coordinate systems are shown to cross into different anatomical layers, and therefore also show artefactual patterns. Secondly, with the coordinate system one can compute cortical traverses perpendicularly to the intracortical sur- faces. Sampling intensities along equi-volume traverses results in cortical profiles that reflect an anatomical layer pattern, which is specific to every structural area. It is shown that profiles constructed with previous coordinate systems of cortical depth disguise the anatomical layer pattern or even show a wrong pattern. In contrast to equi-volume profiles these profiles from previous models are not suited to analyze the cortex observer-independently, and hence can not be used for automatic delineations of cortical areas. Equi-volume profiles from four different structural areas are presented. These pro- files show area-specific shapes that are to a certain degree preserved across subjects. Finally, the profiles are used to classify primary areas observer-independently.:1 Introduction p. 1 2 Theoretical Background p. 5 2.1 Neuroanatomy of the human cerebral cortex . . . .p. 5 2.1.1 Macroscopical structure . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 5 2.1.2 Neurons: cell bodies and fibers . . . . . . . .p. 5 2.1.3 Cortical layers in cyto- and myeloarchitecture . . .p. 7 2.1.4 Microscopical structure: cortical areas and maps . .p. 11 2.2 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 13 2.2.1 Proton spins in a static magnetic field B0 . . . . .p. 13 2.2.2 Excitation with B1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 15 2.2.3 Relaxation times T1, T2 and T∗ 2 . . . . . . . . . .p. 16 2.2.4 The Bloch equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 17 2.3 Magnetic Resonance Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 20 2.3.1 Encoding of spatial location and k-space . . . . . .p. 20 2.3.2 Sequences and contrasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 22 2.3.3 Ultra-high resolution MRI . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 24 2.3.4 Intracortical MRI: different contrasts and their sources p. 25 3 Image analysis with computed cortical laminae p. 29 3.1 Segmentation challenges of ultra-high resolution images p. 30 3.2 Reconstruction of cortical surfaces with the level set method p. 31 3.3 Myeloarchitectonic patterns on inflated hemispheres . . . . p. 33 3.4 Profiles revealing myeloarchitectonic laminar patterns . . .p. 36 3.5 Standard computational cortical layering models . . . . . . p. 38 3.6 Curvature bias of computed laminae and profiles . . . . . . p. 39 4 Materials and methods p. 41 4.1 Histology . . . . . p. 41 4.2 MR scanning . . . . p. 44 4.2.1 Ultra-high resolution post-mortem data p. 44 4.2.2 The MP2RAGE sequence . . . . . . . . p. 45 4.2.3 High-resolution in-vivo T1 maps . . . .p. 46 4.2.4 High-resolution in-vivo T∗ 2-weighted images p. 47 4.3 Image preprocessing and experiments . . . . . .p. 48 4.3.1 Fully-automatic tissue segmentation . . . . p. 48 4.3.2 Curvature Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 49 4.3.3 Preprocessing of post-mortem data . . . . . .p. 50 4.3.4 Experiments with occipital pole post-mortem data .p. 51 4.3.5 Preprocessing of in-vivo data . . . . . . . . . . p. 52 4.3.6 Evaluation experiments on in-vivo data . . . . . .p. 56 4.3.7 Application experiments on in-vivo data . . . . . p. 56 4.3.8 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 58 5 Computational cortical layering models p. 59 5.1 Implementation of standard models . .p. 60 5.1.1 The Laplace model . . . . . . . . .p. 60 5.1.2 The level set method . . . . . . . p. 61 5.1.3 The equidistant model . . . . . . .p. 62 5.2 The novel anatomically motivated equi-volume model p. 63 5.2.1 Bok’s equi-volume principle . . . . . .p. 63 5.2.2 Computational equi-volume layering . . p. 66 6 Validation of the novel equi-volume model p. 73 6.1 The equi-volume model versus previous models on post-mortem samples p. 73 6.1.1 Comparing computed surfaces and anatomical layers . . . . . . . . p. 73 6.1.2 Cortical profiles reflecting an anatomical layer . . . . . . . . .p. 79 6.2 The equi-volume model versus previous models on in-vivo data . . . .p. 82 6.2.1 Comparing computed surfaces and anatomical layers . . . . . . . . p. 82 6.2.2 Cortical profiles reflecting an anatomical layer . . . . . . . . .p. 85 6.3 Dependence of computed surfaces on cortical curvature . . . . .p. 87 6.3.1 Within a structural area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 87 6.3.2 Artifactual patterns on inflated surfaces . . . . . . . . . .p. 87 7 Applying the equi-volume model: Analyzing cortical architecture in-vivo in different structural areas p. 91 7.1 Impact of resolution on cortical profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 91 7.2 Intersubject variability of cortical profiles . . . . . . . . . . . p. 94 7.3 Myeloarchitectonic patterns on inflated hemispheres . . . . . . .p. 95 7.3.1 Comparison of patterns with inflated labels . . . . . . . . . .p. 97 7.3.2 Patterns at different cortical depths . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 97 7.4 Fully-automatic primary-area classification using cortical profiles p. 99 8 Discussion p. 105 8.1 The novel equi-volume model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 105 8.2 Analyzing cortical myeloarchitecture in-vivo with T1 maps . . . . . .p. 109 9 Conclusion and outlook p. 113 Bibliography p. 117 List of Figures p. 127

Professional nurses comprise the largest number of health care professionals in South Africa. High turnover rates contribute to shortages of nurses in South Africa, aggravated by the emigration of nurses, inadequate recruitment of student nurses, and the expected retirement of many baby boomer nurses by 2016. This study addressed factors influencing the retention of professional nurses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. In phase 1, postal questionnaires were completed by 101 registered nurses while semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nurse managers in phase 2. Personal, organisational and managerial factors influenced the retention potential of the professional nurses. In terms of Maslow' Hierarchy of Needs Theory, most factors influencing nurses' retention operated on the lowest (physiological) level and concerned remuneration. Safety needs were compromised by the lack of equipment and supplies, the shortage of nurses and unsafe working places. Esteem needs included respect from doctors, managers and colleagues as well as recognition for outstanding performance. In terms of Vogt et al's Theory of Nurse Retention Theory, the constrictions caused by inadequate remuneration and safety aspects should be addressed. Lewin's Force-Field Analysis Theory recommends that the factors that influence nurses' retention negatively should be unfrozen, changed and refrozen, including communication. Based on these results guidelines were compiled for enhancing the retention rates of professional nurses (Annexure G). / Health Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Professional nurses comprise the largest number of health care professionals in South Africa. High turnover rates contribute to shortages of nurses in South Africa, aggravated by the emigration of nurses, inadequate recruitment of student nurses, and the expected retirement of many baby boomer nurses by 2016. This study addressed factors influencing the retention of professional nurses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. In phase 1, postal questionnaires were completed by 101 registered nurses while semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nurse managers in phase 2. Personal, organisational and managerial factors influenced the retention potential of the professional nurses. In terms of Maslow' Hierarchy of Needs Theory, most factors influencing nurses' retention operated on the lowest (physiological) level and concerned remuneration. Safety needs were compromised by the lack of equipment and supplies, the shortage of nurses and unsafe working places. Esteem needs included respect from doctors, managers and colleagues as well as recognition for outstanding performance. In terms of Vogt et al's Theory of Nurse Retention Theory, the constrictions caused by inadequate remuneration and safety aspects should be addressed. Lewin's Force-Field Analysis Theory recommends that the factors that influence nurses' retention negatively should be unfrozen, changed and refrozen, including communication. Based on these results guidelines were compiled for enhancing the retention rates of professional nurses (Annexure G). / Health Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)