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Novel Aspects Of Ultrastructure In Two Species Of Cyanobacteria (Agmenellum Quadruplicatum, Mastigocladus Laminosus), Sandra Anne Nierzwicki-Bauer

Doctoral Dissertations

Novel aspects of morphology and ultrastructure were examined in two species of cyanobacteria. A complete, three-dimensional, ultrastructural reconstruction of the unicellular cyanobacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum was carried out by means of high-voltage electron microscopy of thick sections and computer-aided reconstruction of serial thin sections. The photosynthetic thylakoid system consisted of 3-6 membrane sheets that traversed and were parallel to the long axis of the cell. These sheets were arranged as an anastomosing network of concentric shells. They coalesced and approached the cytoplasmic membrane at three peripheral loci along the entire length of the cell. The central cytoplasm of the cell was …

Digital Analysis Of Pulse Code Modulated Signals In Telecommunications Channels, Edmund Littlefield Chase

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation the techniques required to test pulse code modulated telecommunications channels are developed using the fast Fourier transform. The techniques are then applied through the design and assembly of the corresponding hardware. Windowing of data to improve spectral estimation is discussed as well as the conditions where special test signals may be synthesized to preclude the need for windowing. Conjugate-periodic functions encountered in prime radix transforms are defined and their fast transform techniques are developed.

Biotransformation And Mutagenicity Of Benzidine, Melissa Lea Rochkind

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was undertaken to investigate whether the priority pollutant benzidine could be biotransformed by bacteria from natural environments and to determine what effect such biotransformation would have on the mutagenicity of the compound. Bacteria were collected from sites of toxic waste dumping and from estuarine, lake, and ocean locations. Sediment and water samples as well as bacterial isolates were incubated in media containing 100 (mu)g ml('-1 14)C(U)-benzidine (specific activity 6.76 mCi/mmol) supplemented with ammonia, phosphate and ferrous iron in aged seawater (salinity 26('o)/oo). Pure cultures were grown overnight in reduced-nutrient broth and washed prior to resuspending in the same …

Revolutionary New Hampshire And The Loyalist Experience: "Surely We Have Deserved A Better Fate", Robert Munro Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

Before the Revolution New Hampshire had one of the strongest, pro-British governing elites of the colonies. After 1775 however, the Loyalist faction in the state was one of the weakest and least effective. This dissertation seeks to examine the uniqueness of this experience by studying the general situation, the lives of many of the province's Loyalists, and by classifying the Loyalists through their connections with Great Britain.

Governor Benning Wentworth tightly controlled the colony through a network of family and business associations which came to dominate the politics and the economy of the province. However, when his nephew John Wentworth …

The Effect Of Stringent Control On The Production Of Enterotoxin, Tryptophanase, And Beta-Galactosidase By Escherichia Coli In A Recycling Fermentor, Robin Leigh Eifert

Doctoral Dissertations

The recycling fermentor has been shown to be a good tool for studying microorganisms at very slow growth rates. Previous studies have determined that there are three distinct phases of growth based on biomass. Phase 3 has been shown to be initiated by the induction of the stringent response and to be regulated by the levels of guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp) within the cell. By comparing the growth patterns of three enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains to that of E. coli strains of known rel genotypes, the Rel phenotypes of the enterotoxigenic strains were determined.

Both enterotoxin production and secretion in …

An Econometric Analysis Of Us Farmland Prices, 1941 To 1980 (United States), Daniel Lee Dunn

Doctoral Dissertations

The value of farmland in the United States comprises approximately seventy-five percent of the total value of farm assets. U.S. farmland prices have risen steadily since 1940. The period of 1970 to 1980, however, exhibits an increased rate of growth in average farmland values.

Rapid farmland price inflation could have implications for the structure of the American farming sector. An increase in the concentration of control of farm production assets, the raising of barriers to entry into agriculture and pressures on rural farm financial institutions from increased leveraging of farm loans may all result from increasing farmland values.

Previous research …

Sensors Based On Immobilized Fluorogenic Reagents, Linda Anne Saari

Doctoral Dissertations

Sensors based on the fluorescence of immobilized fluorogenic reagents are prepared and their characteristics are defined. The fluorogenic reagent is chemically immobilized on a solid support and attached to the common end of a bifurcated fiber optic bundle. Fluorescence is excited through one arm of the fiber optic and observed through the other arm. The fluorogenic reagents fluoresceinamine, morin, calcein, and quinalizarin are immobilized on powdered cellulose via cyanuric chloride.

Consistent with previous studies of the pH dependence of fluorescein, the fluorescence from the immobilized fluoresceinamine sensor increases with pH. Immobilized fluoresceinamine serves as a viable pH sensor, but can …

Development Of A Culture System For Bovine Luteal Cells: Examination Of Luteotropic And Luteolytic Mechanisms, Joy Lee Pate

Doctoral Dissertations

The function of bovine luteal cells in tissue culture was examined. Corpora lutea from regularly cycling dairy cows were dissociated with collagenase and cultured in Ham's F-12 medium with or without serum. The serum-free medium was supplemented with insulin, transferrin and hydrocortisone. Addition of LH to the serum-containing medium did not increase P(,4) production. When the luteal cells were cultured in serum-free medium, LH produced an increase in P(,4) during the first 24 hours of culture. The responsiveness of the cells to LH then declined, and remained low until approximately day 7 of culture, at which time the cells regained …

A Study Of The Microorganisms Inhabiting Rotating Biological Contactor Biofilms During Various Operating Conditions, Nancy Edna Kinner

Doctoral Dissertations

The microbial ecology of rotating biological contactors (RBC) is a combination of complex interrelationships among bacteria, protozoa, and metazoa and their perceived environment. Since very little information is available on the microorganisms inhabiting the biofilms, the major objective of this research was to increase the understanding of the biological interactions occurring in RBC biofilms as a function of organic loading. Biofilms, in pilot-scale RBCs receiving 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 g TOC/m('2)(.)d of settled domestic sewage, were examined using light and electron microscopy. The microbial community, composed of filamentous and unicellular bacteria, zooflagellates, amoebae, ciliates, nematodes, and rotifers is complex and …

The Determination Of Stability Constants And Complexing Capacities Of Natural Organic Matter For Copper (2+), Cobalt (2+) And Manganese (2+) By Fluorescence Quenching Titration, David K. Ryan

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop methodologies for the investigation of the metal ion binding properties of natural humic substances. Humic materials are prevalent in soil and water and their important metal ion detoxification and transport properties are the major justification for this work. The primary emphasis is the determination of the complexing capacity of a sample for a particular metal ion under fixed conditions.

The initial part of the investigation involves the application of chelating ion exchange to remove and quantify humic-chelated trace metal ions from water samples. Amine, dithiocarbamate and 8-hydroxyquinoline chelating agents immobilized on porous …

Comparative Biochemical And Genetic Studies Of Testa Development In Normal And Hull-Less Phenotypes Of Pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo L), Susan Gerardette Stuart

Doctoral Dissertations

A detailed investigation was conducted to examine further the biochemical and genetic bases of the hull-less phenotypic condition in testae of seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.). During seed development, testa moisture declined substantially (30%) in both phenotypes, whereas testa dry and fresh weights increased dramatically between 10 to 20 days post-anthesis and then declined steadily until seeds reached maturity. Structural compositional analysis revealed marked reductions in lignin (78%) and cellulose (50%) in hull-less compared with normal phenotypes; whereas no differences in non-cellulosic polysaccharides were found at 20 days post-anthesis. Between 20 days post-anthesis and maturity, pectin content of testae …

The Effects Of Delay, Signal Placement And Houselight Illumination On Signalled Reversal Learning, Peter Yarensky

Doctoral Dissertations

The control of behavior by prior responses and stimuli was studied using pigeons in a signalled reversal learning procedure. During regular trials, an intertrial interval was followed by illumination of two keys. Initially one key was designated correct. A peck to either key turned off both keys and, if correct, produced food. After a criterion number of consecutive correct responses occurred, a reversal/nonreversal sequence was initiated. Either the reversal or nonreversal signal was presented briefly during the next intertrial interval. Following a reversal signal only, the correct and incorrect keys were reversed. A correct response on the next trial resulted …

Situs: An Investigation Into The Effects Of Network Connections On Stratification Using Historical Materials (New Hampshire), Thomas G. Sparhawk

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the influence of network connections within occupations on intergenerational mobility. Defining situs as the network aspect of an occupation, encompassing both itself and all occupations connected to it through effective networks, the situs of all occupations in late nineteenth-century Portsmouth, New Hampshire, are delineated through a demographic analysis of intragenerational mobility patterns. Once the situs of each occupation was determined, an intergenerational mobility analysis was performed, and it was found that a significant portion of this movement could be attributed to the situs of various occupations.

Major implications of this dissertation included the finding that networks serve …

The Theoretical Genesis Of Capital Using A Commodity Theory Of Value, Spencer Jay Pack

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to show that the basic framework of Marx's analysis of capitalism is sufficiently independent of the labor theory of value to survive the replacement of the labor theory of value with a Sraffian-based commodity theory of value. It addresses a problem posed by such economists as Joan Robinson and Ian Steedman. They criticize the labor theory value from a Sraffian perspective. They argue that economists should use a basically Marxian framework when analyzing capitalism, but not use the labor theory of value. The question then arises as to what remains of Marx's work when …

The Study And Characterization Of A New Procedure For Applying Carbide Coatings To Graphite Furnaces Used In Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Manuel Charles Almeida

Doctoral Dissertations

The object of this dissertation is the study and characterization of a new method for applying carbide coatings to graphite furnaces used in atomic absorption spectroscopy. The proposed method consists of impregnating graphite furnaces, under reduced pressure, with a liquid metal chloride. After soaking in water to hydrolyze the metal chloride to metal oxide, the furnace is fired at high temperature to form the carbide. Three metal chlorides, TiCl(,4), MoCl(,5) and WCl(,6), were used to apply TiC, MoC and WC coatings, respectively. Experimental details of the coating procedures are given.

Characterization of the various coatings was carried out using ESCA, …

Effects Of Rotary Inertia And Shear Deformation On Extensional Vibrations Of Continuous Circular Curved Beams, Mohamed El-Said Said Issa

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is devoted to the dynamic analysis of continuous circular curved beams. The dynamic stiffness matrix is derived for the determination of natural frequencies of continuous curved beams undergoing in-plane vibrations. The formulation of stiffness matrix may be widely applied to problems with various consideration of Bernoulli-Euler Theory, Rayleigh Theory and Timoshenko Theory. Using this formulation for dynamic loading, the fixed-end moment, shear and thrusts for concentrated and distributed loads have been derived. Two continuous circular curved beams subjected to free and forced vibrations are given to illustrate the application of the proposed method and to show the effects …

Criminal Homicide In North Carolina, 1975-1977, Steven James Cosgrove

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation was patterns of criminal homicide in North Carolina between 1975 and 1977. Using Uniform Crime Report data between 1933 and 1979, North Carolina was compared to non-Southern and national time series trends. North Carolina's criminal homicide rate was shown to have decreased dramatically during the preceding four decades, although it continues to sustain a higher rate of criminal homicide than most non-Southern states.

In order to explore possible explanations for North Carolina's criminal homicide rate, structural variables were used to predict homicide in North Carolina's counties and county types. Although the structural predictors were not …

Ecology Of Gracilaria Tikvahiae Mclachlan (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) In The Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, Clayton Arthur Penniman

Doctoral Dissertations

The reproductive phenology, growth and variation of chemical composition of Gracilaria tikvahiae from the Great Bay Estuary, N.H. were evaluated. A major objective was an analysis of the chemical composition, particularly agar content and properties, of plants separated into reproductive categories. The net photosynthetic responses of G. tikvahiae to several irradiance, temperature and salinity regimes were determined.

Gracilaria tikvahiae plants from the Great Bay Estuary were vegetative throughout most of the year. However, discrete maxima of tetrasporic and spermatangial plants occurred during June-July and for cystocarpic plants during July-August. The in situ growth of Gracilaria tikvahiae was highest during June-September, …

Truss Analysis Using Singular Imbedding Method, Thiem Jenngamkul

Doctoral Dissertations

In structural analysis and design of trussed structures, the Singular Imbedding Method is applied and formulated to handle joint displacement, member force, and member stress constraints. There are two structural systems, namely, a Displacement Constraining System (DC) and a Force Constraining System (FC) that are developed for constraining joint displacements and member forces, respectively. The formulation of this method is based upon three sets of equations; equilibrium conditions, compatibility relationships, and Hooke's law of material.

The final structural stiffness matrix equations are constructed for the different types of constraints. The unknown member areas are determined from the final structural stiffness …

Isolation And Characterization Of Arginase Isozymes From Bovine Liver And Brain, Christina Carr

Doctoral Dissertations

A chromatographic method was developed to isolate arginase isozymes from bovine brain and liver. The purified proteins were characterized as to their native molecular weight, subunit structure, amino acid composition, hexose content, behavior on disc gel electrophoresis, and reaction with polyclonal antibodies raised against a liver arginase antigen. An arginase-specific messenger RNA preparation was also isolated from liver polysomes using immunological techniques.

Two liver and four brain arginases were purified, having similar native molecular weights, yet different subunit compositions, and displaying varying affinities for the Mn('2+) ion that is required for complete enzymatic activity. The amino acid compositions of all …

Electrophoretic And Enzymatic Identification Of Proteins Associated With The Development Of Competence In Bacillus Subtilis, Susan Alicia Coughlin

Doctoral Dissertations

A two-dimensional zymogram procedure for the analysis of nucleases is described. Using purified deoxyribonuclease I (bovine pancreas), as little as 10 pg of nuclease can be detected. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) and non-equilibrium pH gradient electrophoresis (NEPHGE) were compared as first dimensions, in combination with SDS electrophoresis as the second dimension, in analyzing nucleases in lysates of Bacillus subtilis. All renaturable nuclease activities detected following SDS electrophoresis alone were resolved in NEPHGE-SDS electrophoresis gels whereas, in IEF-SDS gels, most were either at the basic end or were not present in the second dimensional gel. This method of analysis has revealed a …

An Electrophoretic Analysis Of The Genetic Variation In The Wild And Cultivated Soybean Germplasm, Mark Bessom Gorman

Doctoral Dissertations

Over 400 soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars and plant introductions and more than 100 wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb & Zucc.) plant introductions from a wide geographic distribution were examined by polyacrylamide, slab electrophoresis for genetic variation in 15 enzymes. Allozymes for 25 loci were found. All but three of these loci were confirmed by experimental crosses. Approximately 20 non-variable loci were also hypothesized. Models presented explaining the genetic control for each of the observed enzyme zymograms, were based on inheritance studies, on patterns of distribution of isozymes in various tissues or developmental stages, zymograms in related species, information …

Semantic Segmentation Of Print Advertisements, Clifford James Cox

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to construct a comprehensive model of advertisement perception. The model's relationship to persuasion, recall and recognition measures of advertisement effectiveness was explored. The research demonstrated that print advertisements are perceived primarily across three general semantic dimensions. These dimensions were named Evaluation, Potency and Activity. The relationship between the three dimensions and similar semantic dimensions reported in the Semantic Differential literature is discussed.

In this research, 32 liquor, jewelry and perfume advertisements were studied. The relationship between the advertisements' persuasion, recall and recognition scores, and the advertisements' Evaluation, Potency and Activity scores is assessed. The …

Smokers And Smoking: An In-Depth Interview Study Of Initiation, Transition, Maintenance, And Cessation, Jeanne Colette Riddell

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore, through in-depth unstructured interviews, the factors preventing experimentation with cigarettes and the factors related to cigarette smoking. Hypotheses generation, as opposed to hypothesis testing, was the goal. Forty-seven men and women between the ages of 18 and 48 with diverse smoking (or nonsmoking) histories and current smoking patterns and attitudes were interviewed.

The results are organized around the four stages in a smoker's career. Numerous quotes from the interviews and five illustrative cases are presented to exemplify the patterns that emerged.

A number of hypotheses specific to each stage of smoking were …

Population Ecology And Production Of The Sandy-Beach Amphipod Haustorius Canadensis (Crustacea: Haustoriidae) (Maine, New England), Theodore Edward Donn

Doctoral Dissertations

While much is known concerning the structure of the amphipod-dominated marine sandy-beach communities along the Atlantic coast of the United States, little is known about the functional relationships within them. The goal of this study was to determine the seasonal trophic dynamics and life history of the sandy-beach amphipod Haustorius canadensis in order to gain a better understanding of the functioning of northern New England sandy-beach communities. Haustorius canadensis is one of the three dominant amphipods on these beaches and remains strictly intertidal throughout the year making it an ideal organism for this study. The site chosen for this study …

Behaviorism And Logical Positivism: A Revised Account Of The Alliance (Volumes I And Ii), Laurence Daniel Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of this work is to show that the widespread belief that the major behaviorists drew importantly upon logical positivist philosophy of science in formulating their approach to psychology is ill-founded. Detailed historical analysis of the work of the neobehaviorists Edward C. Tolman, Clark L. Hull, and B. F. Skinner leads to the following conclusions: (1) each did have significant contact with proponents of logical positivism; but (2) their sympathies with logical positivism were quite limited and were restricted to those aspects of logical positivism which they had already arrived at independently; (3) the methods which they are …

Comedy: The Uncertain Terrain Of John Hawkes, Peter M. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the nature and function of John Hawkes' comic method. Although most critics acknowledge that Hawkes writes comedy, very few of them agree on the moral nature of this comedy. Chapter I examines these differing responses to Hawkes' work and offers an alternative way of evaluating his humor, based on his own and other critics' comments on comedy. This chapter also suggests that our responses to Hawkes' humor occur on an uncertain terrain where two or more, sometimes opposite, reactions to a text clash, forcing us into continuous moments of indecision.

Chapter II deals with Hawkes' first novel, …

Family Systems Through Family Photograph Albums, Saundra Lee Gardner

Doctoral Dissertations

This study views the family photograph album as a visual construction of social reality which represents how the family perceives and defines its world. This popular cultural artifact is used to examine the social and geographical boundaries of this world as well as the family's conceptualization of gender. How social class, family structure and lifecycle stage affect the process of reality construction is also explored. Data collection from twenty families residing in New England form the basis for this analysis.

The findings indicate that social class has the greatest impact on the family's visual representation of itself. Working-class families are …

Henry A Murray And The Harvard Psychological Clinic, 1926-1938: A Struggle To Expand The Disciplinary Boundaries Of Academic Psychology, Rodney Glenn Triplet

Doctoral Dissertations

The work of Henry A. Murray at the Harvard Psychological Clinic played a major role in shaping the face of modern American academic psychology. Prior to 1930, proponents of pure and applied psychological research debated the inclusion of personality and psychotherapy in the curriculum. Today, it is generally accepted that Murray was instrumental in broadening academic psychology's boundaries to include these topics. This dissertation details how the controversy surrounding Murray's promotion to Associate Professor in 1937 encapsulated the interplay between the intradisciplinary and extradisciplinary forces involved in psychology's efforts to define its intellectual, methodological, and institutional boundaries.

Initially, Murray's work …

A Reconceptualization Of Childcare Based On Comparisons Of Three Childcare Alternatives, Anne Larrimore Oden Law

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study examines three aspects of childcare: the childcare provider, the parent, and the social environment within childcare centers. Providers of family daycare, and directors of group daycare and nursery schools were surveyed regarding the services they provide. Parents whose children attended the surveyed childcare homes and centers were surveyed regarding their experiences with childcare, and the influence of childcare on the child and family. Videotapes were made in five centers, and then analyzed to determine the frequency of certain activities, and the probabilities of various social exchanges in each center.

The data were analyzed to describe each childcare …