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Joint Position And Velocity Derived From Muscle Spindle Output: A Computational Approach., Daniel Leroy Ewert

Theses and Dissertations

Current experimental evidence suggests that muscle spindles do play a significant role in the sensation of joint position and velocity. However, the dynamic characteristics of muscle spindles are complex and highly variable. Researchers have found, in the primary sensory cortex of primates, neurons whose activities are proportional to joint position and velocity. Some of these neurons were excited only by activating muscles spindles. This leads to the research question: can joint position and velocity be extracted from muscle spindle activity using a neurally-inspired mathematical model.The method of solution included modeling a simple hinge joint with an antagonist and agonist muscle …

Experimental Ultrastructural Analyses Of Glomerular Basement Membrane Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans Under Proteinuric And Nonproteinuric Conditions., Jody Ann Rada

Theses and Dissertations

Real glomerular basement membranes (GBMs) exhibit a charge-selective barrier, consisting of anionic sites, that restricts the passage of anionic molecules into the urine. These sites are located primarily in the laminae rarae interna (LRI) and externa (LRE) of the GBM and consist of heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG). Previous efforts to localize the HSPG core protein within various layers of the GBM have been contradictory. Furthermore, attempts to correlate proteinuria in several disease states with a decrease in anionic sites or HSPG core protein have yielded conflicting results. In the present study when rat renal cortex blocks were treated by immersion …

Effects Of Chronis Consumption Of Caffeine On Memory For Prose In Young And Elderly Adults, Malva Waters

Theses and Dissertations

Caffeine is one of society's most widely used central nervous system stimulants. Most studies involving caffeine and memory have tested the recall of young subjects following acute administration of caffeine. This study was designed to determine the effects of chronic use of caffeine on memory for prose in young and elderly adults. Forty-nine young and forty-nine elderly subjects read four expository prose passages from the computer screen and orally recalled each story Recalls were tape recorded and later scored for presence of idea units Chronic consumption of caffeine had no significant effect on recall of prose passages. It is speculated …

Recent Changes In The Ethnobotany Of Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Shelly Katherene Kraft

Theses and Dissertations

Gathering arid preserving wild fruits and vegetables for food and medicine, especially from the wooded bottomlands, was a traditional part of the Lakota culture. Plant use among the Lakota has been greatly reduced and in some cases, completely eliminated by the damming of the Missouri River by Oahe Dam. This dam, which forced the Lakota of Standing Rock Reservation to give up their homes in the bottomlands in violation of their treaty rights of 1868 had a considerable impact on the biogeography of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, in January I960, almost 200 Indian families were evacuated from their homes …

Gender Differences In Prose Memory After Acute Intoxication With Ethanol, Jennifer S. Haut

Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated the effects of acute intoxication with ethanol on prose processing. Three groups of subjects were studied: males, females taking oral contraceptives, and females not taking oral contraceptives. Subjects were administered either 0.0 or 1.0 milliliter per kilogram of body weight of ethanol, and then read two long (400 words) and two short (200 words) expository prose passages from a computer screen. Immediately after reading each passage, subjects orally recalled the passages.

Overall, intoxicated subjects encoded prose passages significantly slower and recalled significantly less information from the passages than the sober subjects, and this difference could not …

Vacuum Forming And Styrene Emissions, Kevin D. Matheson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate if production of composites through use of the vacuum bag forming would result in different levels of styrene emission than the use of the hand lay-up process.

The following objectives were outlined:

1. To test styrene emission levels in a controlled setting by using both hand lay-up and vacuum bag forming processes

2. To determine significant differences in styrene emissions between the two processes

3. To research and develop a vacuum bag forming device which will conform to those used in industry

Quasi-experimental research design was utilized by producing twelve composite samples; six were vacuum …

Individual Differences In Verbal And Spatial Memory: The Contribution Of Gender, Verbal Ability, Spatial Ability, And Sex-Role Orientation, Mary H. Sarafolean

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the degree to which reported sex differences in verbal and spatial memory performance are due to confounds between the sexes on the individual difference factors of verbal ability, spatial ability, and sex-role orientation. Specifically, college age males and females were administered psychometric tests of verbal ability, spatial ability, and sex-role orientation. The contribution of each of these factors to predicting subjects' scores on verbal and spatial memory tasks was analyzed using regression analysis procedures.

Results indicated a male advantage on spatial ability tasks, however, no sex differences in verbal ability were found. Gender of subject was …

Individual Differences In Children's Eyewitness Memory Skills, Kathryn M. Hammes

Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated the impact of individual differences on children's eyewitness memory skills. Preschool (mean age of 4 years 8 months) and elementary (mean age of 11 years and 3 months) aged school children played a 5 minute game of Simon Says with an unknown male confederate. The children's memories for the game and the man with whom they played the game were assessed on an objective questionnaire, free recall and photo recognition task. Both the free recall and the objective questionnaire were given immediately after the game and exactly one week later. Half of the subjects were exposed …

Comprehension And Aging: Pronoun Anaphor., Helen J. Kahn

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of whether old and young adults differ in their ability to resolve pronoun anaphors was investigated. Controlling their own rate of presentation, subjects read stories ranging in length and selected the antecedants for sentences which contained referent nouns and properties that were consistent, inconsistent or neutral with respect to general knowledge. Older adults were less accurate than young adults in noun choice with consistency of information affecting the older adults more than the young adults. Older adults also took longer to read both the first sentence containing the referent information and the final pronoun anaphor sentences in the …

Ige-Mediated Histamine Release As A Mechanism Of Coronary Artery Spasm., Margie Jean Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Histamine, a biogenic amine which may be released as a result of allergic reaction, is known to cause coronary artery spasm in vivo and in vitro. This study addressed the question of whether or not there is a relationship between allergy and coronary artery spasm. Objectives of the study were to compare quantities of immunologically-mediated histamine release from tissues obtained from patients with varying degrees of allergy and coronary artery disease, and to compare changes in coronary artery contraction induced by immunological challenge.After obtaining approvals for human subjects research, coronary artery samples were obtained at autopsy from 25 patients at …

Symbolic Action And Persuasion In The Book Of Mormon, Keith H. Lane

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contends that the Book of Mormon can be profitably read from a rhetorical perspective. It employs Kenneth Burke's ideas concerning language, texts, and his method of dramatistic analysis, to reveal certain persuasive aspects of the Book of Mormon, and to urge action in response to the persuasion of the Book of Mormon.

Chapter one discusses common ways of reading scripture, and explains some of the inadequacies of these approaches. It gives a rationale of a rhetorical approach that concerns itself with action, and recommends this approach for the Book of Mormon. Chapter two applies a rhetorical reading to …

Role Of Newly Synthesized Steroid Hormone Antagonists In Adrenocortico-Steroid Hormone-Induced Hypertension, Justicia Opoku-Edusei

Theses and Dissertations

Excess adrenocorticosteroid hormones such as glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids is well known to induce hypertension in several animal species as well as in humans. Therefore, the development of potent and specific glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid antagonists with antihypertensive effects is clinically necessary. steroid hormone antagonists being used therapeutically present serious endocrinology side effects such as the widely used antimineralocorticoid, spironolactone. The antiglucocorticoids available so far have been active only in vitro or only weakly in viva. Recently, three new exciting adrenocorticosteroid hormone antagonists have been synthesized. RU 486 is a potent antiglucocorticoid (and antiprogesterone with potential as an abortifacient), RU 26752 and …

Molecular And Cytogenetic Characterization Of De Novo Acrocentric Rearrangements In Humans, Lisa Gail Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations

I have studied 26 children who have a de novo rearrangement of the acrocentric chromosomes in order to understand the formation of these aberrations. The families include '25 probands ascertained for Robertsonian-type translocations, 13 between nonhomologous chromosomes and 12 between homologs, and one rea(21;21)(q22;q22). The parental origins of the de novo rearrangements were determined in 26/26 families using QFQ and NOR variants and/or RFLP analyses. While there was no overall difference in the sex distribution of the parents of origin, there were more maternally derived nonhomologous ("true" Robertsonian) translocations (8 mat: 5 pat) and more paternally derived homologous rearrangements (4 …

The "New Age Movement": A Case Study, Zachary Grant Goodell

Theses and Dissertations

Within the last two decades, the United States has witnessed the growth of a phenomenon which the media has referred to as "The New Age Movement". This multi-faceted social pattern includes astrology, meditation, mysticism, and eastern philosophies, the popularity of which have increased significantly in the 1980's. This thesis is a case study of the "New Age Movement". First, I develop a descriptive model of the key ideological themes and organizational structures of this social pattern. Subsequently, I organize this model in terms of several sociologically based theoretical frameworks including activity fads, social movements, and sociocultural shifts, in order to …

Movement From Isolation To Community : Motherhood In Two Works By Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Naomi Jo Thorson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Summer And Fall Ecology Of Mule Deer In The North Dakota Badlands., William Fredrick Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

I studied mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) ecology in summer and fall on the Kinley Plateau study area (KPSA) of Billings County, North Dakota, during May-December 1984-1986. The primary objective of this research was to examine habitat use by mule deer in North Dakota's badlands. Data also were collected on vegetation composition, and social structure, activity patterns, and movement of the deer.I captured and individually marked 19 fawns during the summers of 1984-86. Between 1981-85, 46 older individuals also were trapped and marked. Movements of radio-collared animals (N = 16) were monitored by use of a hand-held yagi antenna and …

Drugs Of Abuse And Their Interactions With Acetaminophen, Khaja Mohiuddin Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neogastropods (Melongenidae, Fasciolariidae, Turridae) From The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene: Thanetian), North Dakota And South Dakota, Brian E. Silfer

Theses and Dissertations

The Cannonball Formation of Paleocene age is a shallow-marine, clastic sequence exposed primarily in southwest-central North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota. The formation is characterized by alternating, poorly consolidated, relatively thin sandstone and thick mudstone units. The Cannonball neogastropod families Melongenidae, Fasciolariidae, and Turridae contain 20 species assigned to 15 genera based on 334 individuals from 50 localities. Four genera, Alticollarum, Obtusicarina, Vitticoncha, and Ericksonia are new, whereas Serrifusus, Mesorhytis, Rhombopsis, and Deussenia are first reported occurrences from Tertiary strata. Marshallaria is newly reported from North America and likely from the Northern Hemisphere. Twelve species are additions to the Cannonball …

Verbal Self-Correction Behavior Of Aphasic Subjects, Cheryl L. P Runke

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Scapes : A Collection Of Poems, Madelyn Roeder Camrud

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Anomia And Semantic Impairment Of Language In Elderly Persons With Suspected Senile Dementia Of The Alzheimer's Type, Barbara Gabriel-Conley

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone And Melanin Concentrating Hormone On Passive Avoidance In Rats, Rosanne B. Mcbride

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Poe, Corman, And Todorov : The Fantastic From Literature To Film, Maren Longbella

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Physician Utilization Behavior In Selected Rural Areas : Analysis Of The Effects Of Predisposing, Enabling And Need-For-Care Factors, Kyle John Muus

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of College Students In Social Service And Non-Social Service Courses On Codependency, Family Cohesion And Family Adaptability, Tammy Schultz

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Parent Participation In The Rolette Elementary School, Terry L. Quam

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Conjunctive Novel : Form And Function, Joanne Ruth Gowey Desotelle

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Potential Adopters Of Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Cordell A. Fontaine

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Purification And Characterization Of Two Oxidoreductases Involved In Bile Acid Modification By The Intestinal Anaerobe Eubacterium Sp. Vpi 12708, Clifton Franklund

Theses and Dissertations

Two enzymes, a 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7α-HSDH) and an NADH-dependent flavin oxidoreductase (NADH:FOR), have been purified to apparent electrophoretic homogeneity from the intestinal anaerobe Eubacterium sp. VPI 12708. Using a protocol consisting of four chromatographic separations, the 7α-HSDH was purified by a factor of over 1200-fold with more than a 30% final recovery. Subunit molecular mass was estimated to be 32 Kdal by SDS-PAGE, while native molecular mass estimates from gel filtration were 124 Kdal. The purified 7α-HSDH was able to utilize a variety of bile acids containing an unhindered 7α-hydroxy moiety as substrates, existing either as free acids or glycine …

Exposure To Phosphine Gas During Application Of Magnesium Phosphide In Stored Product Warehouses, Mark Anthony Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

The use of phosphine gas requires that respiratory protection be used if exposures exceed the OSHA permissible exposure limit. As with other chemical exposures limits many of the references used to establish occupational health guidelines date back to the 1930’s and 1940’s. This is quite common and is the case with phosphine gas. Initial planning for fumigations involving magnesium phosphide requires that a hazard assessment be performed. Expected worker exposures based on previous monitoring or test data was not readily available. Many current practices and procedures for fumigations are based on recommendations from applicators who used the product in the …