Digital Commons Network^™

Area And Perimeter Measurements Of Cells With Bound Fluorescent Antibodies, Aicha Weiss

Theses

The objective of this research was to geometrically analyze the characteristics of cells, specifically area and perimeter. The images were transferred from HP A900 system to an AVS work station. The images were visualized and manipulated by the AVS which permits the distinction between the cell body, fluorescent object, and background. The intrinsic geometry of the cell was determined by using image processing algorithms written in C. The images were then passed through a threshold filter, thereby yielding a black background and a white cell body. The perimeter calculation was then applied to the black and white images. Two test …

Communication: The Vital Link Between The Sexes, Ruth A. Weber

Theses

Our ability to get along with the opposite sex is often directly affected by our inability to communicate. We believe we are communicating, only to realize that what we said is not what was understood. This is not the fault of any one person or sex but is a misunderstanding of the different ways women and men communicate. These differences begin in infancy and continue to thrive throughout our lives. Our culture, religion, history, language, stereotypes, sex, and other influences discussed in this study affect how and what we perceive others to be. We observe each other from our own …

The Investigation Of The Needs Of Contemporary Woman And Development Of The Business Plan For Time For You, Ltd., Paula P. Macmann

Theses

This project focuses on the changing roles - and subsequent needs - of today's women.

Society slowly adapts to change; consequently, the responses to women's needs result in some being met, some only being addressed while others are completely ignored.

Still. changes in society have afforded unique opportunities for today's woman. Associated with these opportunities comes challenges. Segments of society continue to hold gender based stereotypical beliefs limiting women to traditional roles. But a new version of women's potential has emerged in the last quarter century. These new attitudes open up a more expanded scope of roles. They also result …

A Comparison On Student Motivation Of Students Who Enroll Voluntarily And Involuntarily A Vocational Training Program, Teresa Ross-Taylor

Theses

The present study compared the motivation of female students who enrolled in a federally funded vocational training program voluntarily with those who enrolled involuntarily. The federal government has mandated that females receiving public aid must complete a trade and obtain full-time employment. The study was conducted from January 1, 1994 through March 31, 1994. Motivation was evaluated by vocational completion, average length of stay (ALOS) , and GED completion. The students have to complete all the required assignments and pass a competency test in the vocational area to be considered a vocational completer. In addition, they were required to complete …

The Impact Of Year-Round School On Stress In Elementary School Teachers, Henriette Ingeborg Baker

Theses

In an effort to assess the impact of year-round school on teacher stress, a sample of 39 elementary school teachers from a year-round school was compared with a sample of 35 teachers from an elementary school in an adjacent district that is on a traditional schedule. A measure of teacher stress, the Teacher stress Inventory (TSI), was administered to the teachers after they had completed one-half of the school year. Analysis of the data revealed that there was no significant difference in stress levels between the year-round teachers and the teachers on the traditional schedule. Stress levels were in the …

Special Care Units: Specialization In Long-Term Care, Marilynn Anne Schaus

Theses

i99SThere were two purposes of this study. The first was to conduct a literature review of the research findings on special care units. These units are segregated areas of a nursing home specializing in the care of Alzheimer's and dementia related patients. The purpose of the research was to determine what constitutes a special care unit, what is "special'' about the units and the units effectiveness in the treatment of dementia patients.

The second purpose of the study was to compare existing special care units in the St. Louis Metropolitan area with the research findings. Eight nursing facilities with a …

Violence In The Womb, Violence In The World: The Effects Of Fetal Exposure To Alcohol, Drugs, And Nicotine, Aileen R. Wynne

Theses

This project will focus on prenatal substance abuse and the long term adverse effects of birth defects in the offspring of these women. The focus will discuss a relationship between the drug exposed fetus as a predictor of later development of behavior problems , running along the continuum from antisocial behavior to aggression and violence.

Research will show that of the three leading contributors to birth defects , Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is number one, greater than Downs Syndrome and Spina Bifida. The risk factors of prenatal substance abuse will be described as use of alcohol , other drugs , and …

The Surveillance And Control Of Foodborne Diseases, Donal J. Daly

Theses

There is great variation in the extent of surveillance of foodbome disease throughout the world. Some countries contribute important epidemiological and microbiological data to the WHO Surveillance Programme for Foodbome Diseases in Europe. While the UK is a major contributor to this programme, data from Eire has been non-existent. Trends in the incidence of foodbome disease in the UK may have particular relevance to Eire given the similarity of culture. Microbiological and epidemiological data in relation to foodbome pathogens, foods most frequently incriminated in outbreaks, places where outbreaks occur, together witli the main contributory factors are discussed. The broader area …

Statistical Characterization For 3-D Two-Component Tissue Models Using An Extended Microbeam Technique, Dongli Yang

Theses

None provided.

Effects Of Eeg Biofeedback Treatment On Attention-Deficit Disorders And Learning Disabilities, Kathleen M. Randazzo

Theses

The goal of this study was to measure the effects of EEG biofeedback treatment on attention-deficit disordered and learning disabled subjects. The study was conducted in a private psychologist's office, located in St . Louis County, a suburban section of the mid-West. Subjects for the study were chosen from children and adolescents who had been referred for academic and behavioral problems . The treatment group was composed of thirty eight subjects, who had been diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder and/or a learning disability . A one-group pretest-posttest research design was used. The dependent variables were : theta to beta …

Empowerment Through Motivational Tactics, Kathleeen M. Bruno

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of empowerment and motivation tactics that are used to increase the action and interest of employees to improve performance. Empowering and motivating others in the pursuit of organizational objectives is one of the most challenging roles of management in today's workforce. A look into past. present. and future methods will be traveled to provide a better understanding of which motivators are the most successful and what tactics are most useful in empowering employees from management's point of view, while at the same time fulfilling the physical and psychological requirements of the employer.

Empowerment …

Frames Ate The Art, Frames Are The Art, The Camera Is The Art, The Text Is The Art, The Thing Is The Art, Art Is The Art, Phil Goldwhite

Theses

Not provided.

Availability And Use Of Food Resources By Two Species Of Automolus (Aves, Furnariidae), Grace Patricia Servat-Valenzuela

Theses

Foraging specialization is one mechanism that has been hypothesized to promote species coexistence and, thus, higher bird species diversity in tropical forests. Dead-leaves suspended in vegetation above the forest floor constitute a focal substrate that may promote specialization (Rosenberg 1990a, b). In a study locality in Amazonia, Remsen and Parker (1984) reported 16 species of birds closely associated with this system. Therefore, it represents a microcosm of high diversity in tropical forests. As such, one natural question is how this substrate can support so many coexisting species, and at what level does specialization occur? In the present study, I address …

A Silicon Knife Design And Fabrication, Mingli Wang

Theses

In this thesis, the design and fabrication of a silicon knife is described. The device design is based on the principle of oxidation sharpening.

The knife is made from a silicon wafer and can be made to be any chosen length up to 150 mm. It was made with the same basic procedures used in semiconductor chip manufacturing. This type of processing/manufacturing results in a knife with a high degree of sharpness and smoothness compared with existing knife technology.

The knife fabrication plan combines IC processing, techniques including anisotropic and isotropic etching of silicon, plasma dry etching and chemical etching …

Illustrated Lexicon Of Technical Terms Used In The Condition Report Of Photographs, Patricia Acuña Castrellon

Theses

Not provided.

Creating A Favorable Sentiment: Allensworth, California, Myra Frances Burton

Theses

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, most Americans expressed optimism for the future. In the decades following the Civil War, the United States emerged as a burgeoning industrial nation, a nation filled with opportunity and promise. However, not all Americans shared this optimism. For African-Americans, the future would be remarkably similar to the past. From 1865-1877, AfricanAmericans enjoyed a new status in society. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the constitution conferred a measure of legal equality upon blacks, raising hopes of eventual social inclusion in American society. These hopes vanished in the wake of a new …

Relics Of Psychic Events, Bonnie Coen

Theses

Not provided.

A Study Of The Relationship Between Self-Reported Child Sexual Abuse History And Responses On The Beck Depression Inventory, Nancy K. Gongaware

Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine responses on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) between depressed women with a self-reported history of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) and depressed women who did not report such a history. The question to be studied was whether the responses on the BDI would generally be the same regardless of the client's abuse history. Forty women seeking treatment for depression at a Midwestern counseling center served as subjects for this study. They completed a self-report questionnaire, which included an item on abuse history, and the BDI. The group reporting a history of CSA had …

Illness Behavior In Meniere's Disease Patients, Dianne Riesenmy

Theses

In order to determine whether or not vertiginous and nonvertiginous Meniere's disease patients differ in regard to certain emotional and psychosocial attitudes, ideas, affects, and attributions related to illness behavior, 30 Meniere's disease patients (16 vertiginous; 14 nonvertiginous) completed the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBO) either at a Meniere's support group meeting or through the mail. Comparison of sample mean scores revealed that the vertiginous group showed greater hypochondriasis and affective disturbance than did the nonvertiginous group. The nonvertiginous group demonstrated greater denial of life stressors not related to illness and greater psychological (rather than somatic) perception. The same group showed …

Effect Of Lead On Flexor Muscle Contraction And Photochemically-Induced Platelet Aggregation In Pial Microcirculation Of The Mouse, Amna Hamad Al Dhaheri

Theses

Lead is one of many heavy metal ions that can effectively compete for the binding sites of calcium, block the calcium channels and disturb the ion exchange. As a result, lead would be expected to affect the calcium-mediated cell functions. Muscle contraction and platelet aggregation are two important functions in which Ca²⁺ plays a major role and ultimately are affected by lead. Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of lead on mouse flexor muscle contraction and on photochemically-induced platelet aggregation in pial microcirculation. A study of an acute exposure (1, 5, 10 and 25 µM) and a …

Near Field Scanning Luminescence And Photothermal Microscopy, Jon Rogers

Theses

A near field optical scanning probe microscope with force regulation is presented. The microscope force regulation uses a differential interferometer for monitoring the tip frequency while the tip provides a sub-wavelength aperture providing a system which simultaneously records topographical information (by the force microscope) and an optical image. The flexibility of the system is evident in the specific applications pursued in this research. Simultaneous force and luminescence images derived from the investigation of porous silicon are presented. We observed variation in luminescence over sub-micron distances. Furthermore, variation in the spectral distribution of small particles of porous silicon was also observed. …

[Title Goes Here], Walter Zimmerman

Theses

Not Included

Cervical Spine Bone Anchoring System Csbas Pullout Testing And Comparisons, Konstantin Caploon

Theses

The purpose of this study is to prove the effectiveness of the newly designed and patented Cervical Spine Bone Anchoring System (CSBAS). It is a posterior fixation device intended to be used with spine bone-plate systems. Its purposes are to substitute for conventional bone screws, significantly decrease the neurological and vascular risks associated with screws, and have comparable bone purchase strength.

Three CSBAS sizes (10mm, 12mm, and 14mm) were compared to four conventional bone screws in six human cadaveric cervical spines (C2-C7). Post-implantation axial pullout tests of each device using an MTS servohydraulic testing machine yielded bone purchase strength.

In …

Influences Of Cardiac And Respiratory Parameters On Heart Rate Variability, Melissa Leifer

Theses

Heart rate variability is a result of variation in the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Methods have been developed to determine the level of parasympathetic activity by observing the heart rate variability spectrum. Most of the previously published research uses only level of parasympathetic activity and respiratory rate to draw conclusions about the interactions of the autonomic nervous system with physiological parameters. In order to gain a complete understanding of the autonomic nervous system and the mechanisms responsible for heart rate variability, respiratory volume, cardiac variables and pulmonary variables need to be considered. In addition, amount of …

Data Broadcasting And Reduction, Prefix Computation, And Sorting On Reduced Hypercube (Rh) Parallel Computers, Arup Mukherjee

Theses

The binary hypercube parallel computer has been very popular due to its rich interconnection structure and small average internode distance which allow the efficient embedding of frequently used topologies. Communication patterns of many parallel algorithms also match the hypercube topology. The hypercube has high VLSI complexity. however. due to the logarithmic increase in the number of connections to each node with the increase in the number of dimensions of the hypercube. The reduced hypercube (RH) interconnection network. which is obtained by a uniform reduction in the number of links for each hypercube node. yields lower-complexity interconnection networks when compared to …

Computerized Scoring Of Sleep Stage Data, Subbarao Narayana

Theses

Sleep is a non-uniform biological state which has been subdivided into different stages. The basic criteria behind staging are the amplitude and frequency variations of sleep data. The sleep analysis is carried out by considering the characteristic variation of all three EEG, EOG and EMG signals. The polygraphic recording of nocturnal sleep is a method of research widely used in neurophysiology laboratories, both for the clinical study of sleep and for the evaluation of the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs acting on sleep. The analysis of this method is carried out by an expert individual whose depth of knowledge regarding the …

Integration Of Surfactants And Time Release Nutrients With Pneumatic Fracturing Process, Atiqur Md. Rahman

Theses

The objective of this laboratory study was the development of two novel improvements to the pneumatic fracturing process which would extend its present application. The first involved use of surfactant during pneumatic injection, and the second was subsurface injection of "time-release" dry nutrient pellets for enhancement of in situ biodegradation.

Bench scale tests demonstrated that pneumatic fracturing can be successfully performed with air containing a surfactant solution (foam fracturing). The results showed that foam fracturing followed by increased the rate of surrogate contaminant removal from 8% to 10% compared with regular pneumatic fracturing. These increases were attributed to enlarged fracture …

Correlation Between Tidal Volume Measured By Spirometry And Impedance Pneumography, Krithika Seshadri

Theses

In this study, an alternative method, impedance pneumography was used to measure the respiration volume. The respiration volume was measured both by using a conventional spirometer and an impedance pneumograph, and evaluated quantitatively in 17 subjects using linear and nonlinear regression algorithms.

Data were collected from 17 normal, healthy subjects during rest and paced breathing conditions. A technique was developed to measure tidal volume by impedance pneumography. The respiration volume measured by the spirometer was correlated with the volume measured by the pneumograph. Different electrode positions and postures were included in the study to determine the position and posture which …

The Use And Evaluation Of Cleaner Wicks To Accelerate In Situ Bioremediation Of Organically Contaminated Groundwater And Soil, Brian Michael Sielski

Theses

The adaptation of Cleaner Wicks to accelerate in situ bioremediation of organically contaminated ground water and soil can be accomplished by making minor modifications to the Cleaner Wick design.

Once these changes in the Cleaner Wick design have been made the two primary ingredients necessary for aerobic microorganisms, nutrients and oxygen, can be delivered via the Cleaner Wick to the subsurface environment both above and below the water table to stimulate microbial growth and activity. Therefore, the microbial population will be able to biodegrade the target contaminants, rendering them harmless products such as carbon dioxide and water.

An adequate understanding …

Continuous Monitoring Of Volatile Organic Compounds In Air Emission Using Membrane Extraction Microtrap Gc System, Xin Zhang

Theses

A novel method for continuous monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air at trace level is presented. A membrane module and a microtrap were used along with gas chromatographic analysis. The membrane module consisted of a bundle of silicone rubber hollow fibers and separated the VOCs from the gaseous stream. The microtrap which is a very small adsorbent trap played the roles of preconcentrator and injector. The VOCs selectively permeate across the membrane into a strip gas in the membrane module. Before entering the GC column, the VOCs are trapped and concentrated by the microtrap. Desorption of the VOCs is …