Systemic injections of the neurosteroid progesterone (P) have been shown to improve cognitive, sensory and motor recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Progesterone withdrawal (PW), however, increases the risk of ischemia, anxiety, seizure, and excitotoxicity. Given these side effects, it is possible that acute PW during recovery from TBI may retard the healing process. In this project, we investigated the effect of acute PW for short and long-term intervals, and optimized post-TBI P treatment through tapered P injections and slow-release implanted capsules. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received either frontal-bilateral cortical contusion injury or sham surgery. P-treated animals displayed increased anxiety in the elevated plus maze at the peak of acute withdrawal compared to tapered P doses or vehicle. Inflammation and apoptosis, as measured by TNF and #61537;, NF and #61547;B, and active caspase-3, among others, were decreased for all P-treated animals; these effects were further reduced with tapered treatment. Three weeks after injury, animals that received tapered P administration displayed fewer sensory deficiencies and increased motor activity. In addition, reducing the effects of acute PW increased the activity of HSP70 and BDNF while decreasing necrotic lesion size and reactive astrocyte staining, indicating increased neuroprotection. Finally, the beneficial effects of P administration after TBI were further enhanced through a steady-state release of P from a subcutaneously implanted silastic capsule. Compared to animals receiving a daily bolus through subcutaneous injections, capsule animals demonstrated decreased anxiety and edema. All P-treated animals, regardless of delivery method, had reduced inflammation and apoptosis compared to vehicle-treated animals. This system also serves as a model of steady-state intravenous P administration used in human clinical trials. In conclusion, all P treatment enhances both short and long term recovery after TBI. Acute PW, however, has a negative effect on both behavior and tissue recovery. At the peak of withdrawal, animals undergoing acute PW exhibit an increase in anxiety, sensory deficits, inflammation and apoptosis, and a decrease in locomotor activity, all of which are further exacerbated by injury. Tapered withdrawal enhances neuroprotection and plasticity, while a steady-steady application of P further decreases edema and the anxiogenic effects of withdrawal.

This paper presents a seminal analysis of firms withdrawn from the IPO market (post security regulation filings) that return later for a subsequent IPO. This study contributes to the existing literature in four ways. First, by using IPO data from 1997 to 2012 in the Japanese market, the study extends the analysis on key determinants of a firm’s returning decision after an IPO withdrawal to the Japanese market. Secondly, it identifies VC ownership percentage and market run-up value 20 ~ 40 days prior to the withdrawn IPO as the key determinants of the probability a firm will return. Thirdly, using the duration model, the paper finds that an increase in VC ownership percentage and market run-up value 0 ~ 20 days prior to the withdrawn IPO allow the subsequent IPO to take place sooner. Finally, this paper attempts to find a correlation between macroeconomic indicators and the number of withdrawals at a given time. These findings can help find the factors that influence a firm’s decision in pursuing the public market option even after a failed attempt. However, censoring issues and the use of non-stationary variables remain as limitations to my findings.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007. / Prepared for: Dept. of Psychology. Bibliography: leaves 188-213. Also available online via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 95 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-64).

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

When periodic electroconvulsive shocks (ECSs) were administered, a progressive intensification of the motor seizure (MS) pattern occurred. This effect was observed when ECSs at either 15 or 75 mA were administered at 3-day, but not 1-hr intervals. The magnitude of the increase in severity of the MS pattern was a function of the number of ECSs which approached asymptote, in these experiments, at approximately ten ECSs. Periodic ECSs were also found to potentiate the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. In general, those conditions which were found to facilitate the kindling of MSs were the same as those which produced the potentiation of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Furthermore, this potentiation was found to persist up to 3 weeks after the last ECS under the conditions used in these experiments. Finally, the potentiation of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurred even after the MSs had been pharmacologically blocked. The results of these experiments were discussed in light of their implications to both basic and clinical research. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Persistence and withdrawal have been issues throughout the 368 years of higher education in the United States. As higher education shifted from a privilege of the elite to an expectation of the masses, conversations surrounding persistence and withdrawal have become more prevalent (Trow, 1979 as cited in Somers, 1995). Approximately 60% of entering college students leave higher education without obtaining a degree, and most do so during the first two years of college (Porter, 1990 as cited in Hickman, Bartholomae, & McKenry, 2000). Research illustrates that reasons leading to withdrawal in the early stages of the college experience are very different from those that influence withdrawal in the later years (Daubman, Williams, Johnson, & Crump; 1985; Pickering, Calliotte, & McAuliffe, 1992; St. John, 1990; Tinto, 1987). Models have emerged to explain attrition (Hossler & Galligher, 1987; Bean, 1980; 1985; Tinto, 1975; 1982; 1987; 1993). These models examine the relationship between persistence and background characteristics (Milville & Sedlacek, 1992; Pascarella, Terenzini, & Wolfle, 1986; Pickering et. al 1992), high school profile (Pickering et. al 1992; Richardson & Sullivan, 1994), and the college decision process (Brower, 1997). These factors, however, have been studied in isolation. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing Year 1 to Year 2 (Y1Y2) retention among students. Specific factors included demographic characteristics, high school profile, and the college decision process. Sex, ethnicity, parents' educational level, and concern regarding financial capability were included in demographic characteristics. High school profile encompassed high school GPA, standardized test scores, and time spent during senior year in selected activities. Reasons to attend college and reasons to attend the particular institution at which the study was conducted defined the college decision process factor. The sample consisted of students at a large public, land-grant institution in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Data from 2,214 first-year students who completed the Annual Freshman Survey (AFS) sponsored by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) were analyzed. All participants completed the AFS in the summer of 2003 at the institution's orientation program. The participants were assigned to one of two groups: those who returned for their second year of college in the fall of 2004 and those who did not. Results revealed statistically significant differences on 15 out of 51 total chi-square tests conducted on responses to 10 items on the AFS. Those who did not return were more likely to be males and students with B or C averages in high school. In addition, Non-Returners were more likely to have some or major concern regarding their ability to finance their education and felt that low tuition was a very important factor in deciding to attend a particular institution. Non-Returners were more likely to spend five or fewer hours per week studying; six or less, or more than 15 hours per week socializing; and less than an hour or more than 15 hours per week on household and childcare duties during their senior year of high school. Non-Returners were more likely to feel that gaining a general education and preparing for graduate or professional school were not important reasons to attend higher education. This group felt that graduates getting good jobs, being admitted through early action/decision, and a visit to campus were also not important reasons to attend a particular institution. / Master of Arts

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), as its name implies, was initially identified as an upregulated transcript in response to psychostimulant administration. Consequently, it has been posited to play a role in psychostimulant abuse and dependence. Spurred on by the finding that a polymorphism in the CART gene was associated with alcoholism, we initiated studies designed to elucidate the role of CART peptide in alcohol dependence. We first investigated the functional significance of CART peptide in alcohol dependence in vivo using a CART KO mouse. We found that CART KO mice had a significant decrease in ethanol consumption that could not be attributed to differences in total intake, taste perception, metabolism, or sensitivity to ethanol. In vitro we found that CART peptide facilitated NMDA receptor-mediated currents in central amygdala neurons. Given the emerging role of CART peptide in anxiety and stress, we decided to examine basal and stress-induced anxiety behaviors in CART KO mice. Under basal and acute stress conditions, CART KO mice did not differ in anxiety-like behaviors from WT mice; however, in response to a stressor, CART KO mice exhibited a potentiated corticosterone response. Using chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE), we tested CART KO and WT mice for common signs of ethanol dependence including an escalation of volitional consumption and the presence of withdrawal-induced anxiety. We further investigated glutamatergic neuroadaptations within the central amygdala of CART KO and WT mice following CIE exposure and early withdrawal. CIE increased ethanol consumption and anxiety-like behaviors in mice of both genotypes but to a lower extent in CART KO mice. Electrophysiologically, CIE enhanced spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in both genotypes and decreased the probability of presynaptic release in WT mice only. We believe that these electrophysiological neuroadaptations contribute to the development of ethanol dependence and may mediate withdrawal-induced anxiety behaviors. Overall, these studies indicate a role for CART peptide in alcohol dependence and specifically in modulating ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety. / text

An attempt was made in this study to eliminate the body rocking behavior of a twenty-three-year-old totally blind male, individual, presently classified as moderately retarded. Consequences were placed upon, rocking behavior in seven experimental phases, employing time-out from a positively reinforcing stimulus as a punisher. More specifically, apparatus were designed in such a manner that rocking would result in elimination of the auditory and visual portion of a television, and in a later phase, the auditory portion of a transistor radio.

Le culturisme est un sport lié au corps et qui consiste à développer la masse musculaire dans un but esthétique. En anglais, c’est le bodybuilding, qui veut littéralement dire « construction du corps ». Cette construction esthétique se fait grâce à une organisation de vie, un emploi du temps rigoureux et planifié. Ce mode de vie conduit le culturiste à se forger un corps idéal conforme aux exigences de cette pratique.Le champ de la recherche est le Liban d’aujourd’hui qui connaît une instabilité politique depuis la fin de la guerre civile (1975-1990). La guerre mène souvent à l’enfermement et au repli, afin de remédier à cet état autarcique beaucoup de Libanais ont connu des manifestations qui ressemblent à une compensation, symptôme d’un conflit psychique non résolu. Un grand nombre de femmes «s’embellissent » grâce à la chirurgie esthétique et beaucoup d’hommes se musclent en pratiquant le culturisme à outrance dans une société du paraître. / Nc