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Pyramidal Cell Diversity In The Rat Prefrontal Cortex: Electrophysiology, Dopamine Modulation And Morphology, Ullrich Bartsch

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critically involved in many higher cognitive functions such as goaldirected behaviour, affective behaviour and especially working memory. In vivo extracellular recordings of PFC neural activity during working memory tasks show high variety in observed spiking patterns. These complex dynamics are critically shaped by intrinsic, synaptic and structural parameters of respective prefrontal networks. Moreover, dopamine (DA) is crucial for correct functioning of the PFC during working memory tasks. DA modulates a number of synaptic and intrinsic biophysical properties of single neurons, in particular deep layer pyramidal cells, which represent the major output neurons of the PFC. …

Necessity, Possibility And The Search For Counterexamples In Human Reasoning, Sylvia Mary Parnell Serpell

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Abstract Necessity, Possibility and the Search for Counterexamples in Human Reasoning Sylvia Mary Parnell Serpell This thesis presents a series of experiments where endorsement rates, latencies and measures of cognitive ability were collected, to investigate the extent to which people search for counterexamples under necessity instructions, and alternative models under possibility instructions. The research was motivated by a syllogistic reasoning study carried out by Evans, Handley, Harper, and Johnson-Laird (1999), and predictions were derived from mental model theory (Johnson-Laird, 1983; Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 1991). With regard to the endorsement rate data: Experiment 1 failed to find evidence that a search …

Population Structuring And Dispersal In The Highly Pelagic Leach's Storm-Petrel: Implications For The Eu Population, Anthony William James Bicknell

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Dispersal is a fundamental process that shapes many aspects of population ecology and evolution. Dramatic local population declines brought about by anthropogenic-driven changes to ecological processes are unfortunately becoming ubiquitous and increasing the urgency to understand dispersal behaviour in many species. For species where direct methods of tracking movement and dispersal are unsuitable, other indirect methods need to be employed to understand and characterise these behaviours. The steep population decline, due to predation, at the largest EU population of Leach’s storm-petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa (St Kilda, Scotland), and the potential part immigrant birds have in buffering this threat, highlighted the need …

Full-Field Modelling Of Crack Tip Shielding Phenomena, Yanwei Lu

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The application of fracture mechanics to engineering design has provided significant advances in understanding of the causes and mechanisms of failure and crack growth. Despite this, there are still some aspects that remain incompletely understood, such as the crack closure/crack shielding effect. The presence of crack closure/shielding acts to reduce . The mechanisms of crack closure/shielding are complicated, and have not been fully understood. This work focuses on the plasticity-induced crack tip shielding mechanism and presents a novel approach to characterise the elastic stress fields under the influence of the plastic enclave surrounding the crack tip. The model is successfully …

The Exceptions In Documentary Credits In English Law, Lu Lu

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The main subject of this thesis is the exceptions in documentary credits in English law. The exceptions were established during the development of the documentary credits system to solve drawbacks of the payment means caused by its distinctive feature of autonomy. A rationale of the research is the current decline of the market share of documentary credits as a recognized means of settlement in international trade. This thesis aims to explore an appropriate and efficient way to apply certain necessary exceptions in documentary credits system. And hopefully, the current high rate of the rejection of the documents by banks by …

The Supervisory Assemblage: A Singular Doctoral Experience, Elizabeth Done

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

In this thesis, I apply Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s ontology of becoming to my own learning, thinking and writing. The adopted method - nomadic inquiry, is derived from the philosophising of Deleuze, whose concepts function as pedagogic values that I mobilise throughout my writing and perform – not merely explain, to problematise common perceptions of the thesis, supervision and doctoral experience. Deleuze resists models that inhibit context-specific creativity, yet I can readily identify the defining features of my own supervision: resolutely student-centred, facilitative of free experimentation, supportive of my becoming as an academic subject and the writing through which …

Graduate Catalog 2011-2012, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Use Of Task Clarification, Self-Monitoring And Performance Feedback, Jennifer Marie Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of self-monitoring, task clarification, and performance feedback on the performance of critical tasks by assembly group supervisors in a manufacturing company were examined. This intervention involved the training of a supervisor to use task clarification, self-monitoring, and performance feedback to improve the work performance of the participating group leaders. A multiple baseline across participants and tasks design was used to examine the effects of the intervention. Measures included: generalization of group leader performance to another work period, procedural fidelity for training the supervisor, intervention integrity of the supervisor's training of the group leaders, treatment acceptability, and social validity. …

Plasmodium Falciparum Population Dynamics During The Early Phase Of Anti-Malarial Drug Treatment In Tanzanian Children With Acute Uncomplicated Malaria, A.M. Carlsson, B.E. Ngasala, S. Dahlstrom, C. Membi, I.M. Veiga, L. Rombo, S. Abdulla, Zul Premji, J.P. Gil, A. Bjorkman, A. Martensson

Pathology, East Africa

Background: This study aimed to explore Plasmodium falciparum population dynamics during the early phase of anti-malarial drug treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy in children with clinical malaria in a high transmission area in Africa.

Methods: A total of 50 children aged 1-10 years with acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania, were enrolled. Participants were hospitalized and received supervised standard treatment with artemether-lumefantrine according to body weight in six doses over 3 days. Blood samples were collected 11 times, i.e. at time of diagnosis (-2 h) and 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 …

Effectiveness Of Artemether-Lumefantrine Provided By Community Health Workers In Under-Five Children With Uncomplicated Malaria In Rural Tanzania: An Open Label Prospective Study, B.E. Ngasala, M. Malmberg, A.M. Carlsson, P.E. Ferreira, M.G. Petzold, D. Blessborn, Y. Bergqvist, J.P. Gil, Zul Premji, A. Martensson

Pathology, East Africa

Background: Home-management of malaria (HMM) strategy improves early access of anti-malarial medicines to high-risk groups in remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. However, limited data are available on the effectiveness of using artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) within the HMM strategy. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of artemether-lumefantrine (AL), presently the most favoured ACT in Africa, in under-five children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania, when provided by community health workers (CHWs) and administered unsupervised by parents or guardians at home.

Methods: An open label, single arm prospective study was conducted in two rural villages …

Diagnosis Of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis On Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology: A Case Report And Review Of The Cytology Literature, Neeta Kumar, Shahin Sayed, Sudhir Vinayak

Pathology, East Africa

A case of multifocal Langerhans cell histiocytosis in a two-year-old child is presented where fine needle aspiration was helpful in achieving a rapid and accurate diagnosis in an appropriate clinical and radiological setting. This can avoid unnecessary biopsy and guide the management especially where access to histopathology is limited. The highly characteristic common and rare cytological features are highlighted with focus on differential diagnoses and causes of pitfalls.

Body Image And Body Mass Index: An Investigation Of Preadolescent Low-Income, Urban Ethnic Minority Girls, Amanda K. Ward

Master's Theses

Utilizing a sample of low-income, urban preadolescent African American and Latina girls, this study examined ethnic differences in two aspects of body image (i.e., body dissatisfaction and weight descriptions), and determined if this relation varied as a function of age. This study also examined the relation between the body image variables and self-esteem and BMI and self-esteem, and determined if these relations differed depending on age or ethnicity. Participants were recruited from 3rd through 5th grade at five Chicago Public Schools, and completed measures of body dissatisfaction, weight descriptions, self-esteem, and had their anthropometric measurements taken. Results showed that Latina …

Emotional Exhaustion, Work-Family Conflict, And Marital Satisfaction Among Professional Psychologists., Alisha Oscharoff

Master's Theses

While a wealth of research has examined how the occupational role affects family domain functioning, there is limited research investigating these issues among mental health professionals. Using a sample of 160 professional psychologists, this study examined the relationships between emotional exhaustion at work, work-family conflict (WFC), and marital satisfaction as well as gender differences in the strengths of these relationships. Analyses indicated that increased emotional exhaustion was associated with increased WFC and that both emotional exhaustion and WFC were negatively associated with marital satisfaction. However, WFC did not emerge as a significant mediator of the relationship between emotional exhaustion and …

Indigenous Intercultural Universities In Latin America: Interpreting Interculturalism In Mexico And Bolivia, Luciano Pedota

Master's Theses

The newly created Indigenous Intercultural Universities in Latin America challenge the conventional conception of universities and their "universal" quality. Such universities seek to decolonize knowledge by generating knowledge that is relevant to the communities in which they are located. These intentions, however, do not necessarily exclude the knowledge and research methods imparted by long-established Western universities. Instead, they have been conceived as Intercultural institutions designed to train indigenous community leaders capable of hybridizing or carrying out a "dialogue of knowledges"(Mato, 2007) and research methods of what are ultimately two different, and often times, opposing and contentious paradigms, one stemming from …

Projects Of Identity Creation In English Languate Textbooks Aimed At Adult Immigrants: 1900 And 2000, Steven Herbert Fehr

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate the temporal parallels and differences between adult immigrant education and latent identity projects intertwined with the textbooks being used in the classrooms. By analyzing a sample of textbooks from both the turn of the 20th and 21st century I attempt to find both similarities and differences between these two time periods. These two periods are similar in that they are when the largest number of immigrants arrived in America, but in many ways (global context, technology, and political environment) they are also very different. How the American educational system responded to these …

Constructing A "Good" Colonial Society: Representations Of Philippine Colonial Education At The 1887 Philippine Exposition In Madrid And The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Erin Hardacker

Master's Theses

World's fairs and expositions were major social, political, economic, and cultural events in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These events were places where colonial states could display their achievements in their colonies, as well as produce knowledge and organize people as part of / in aid of the colonial project. It is a generally agreed fact among historians that the colonial exhibits at world's fairs and expositions were often idealized representations, or even deliberate misrepresentations, of colonies and colonial projects. Examining world's fairs and expositions should shed light on how colonial states developed and displayed their colonial education …

Being In The Know: Punk, Confrontation, And The Process Of Validating Truth Claims, Christopher Richard Penna

Master's Theses

Since the birth of punk, it has been a harbinger of trends within both youth culture and what cultural theorist Theodor Adorno calls the "culture industry" (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947; Adorno, 1971). However, punk has never been fully embraced by the culture industry, largely, by design. Punk arose as a response, borne out of the frustration of a stagnant world that values profit over people (Sabin, 1999, p. 3). Present within opposition is confrontation--which is the very nature of punk. This thesis seeks to exemplify how punk uses confrontation as the instrument through which punk comes to know truths. The …

Accountability And Political Tolerance: "Sober Second-Thought" Or Knee-Jerk?, Erika D. Price

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the cognitive underpinnings of political tolerance. Past research suggests that political elites are more tolerant than the general population, regardless of political orientation. Survey results suggest that political expertise, interest, and attention to politics foster increased political tolerance, regardless of ideology, party, or the extent to which tolerance is carefully considered by the respondent.

Prosocial Behavior And Teamwork In Online Computer Games, Julia Elizabeth Fredrickson

Master's Theses

The use of technology for training purposes is a growing field. Many of the traits for successful team building are shared by a variety of video games, overcoming the limitations of traditional team-building exercises. The goal of this research project was to study social and teamwork oriented behaviors within the settings of online computer games. One hundred and eighty-one individuals completed an online survey in which they were asked questions regarding team-work behaviors. These individuals also participated in a game scenario which measured their social orientation. The hypotheses for this research were that individuals who play online computer games will …

The Ends Determine The Means: Activated Goals Explain The Decision To Confront, Kala Jean Melchiori

Master's Theses

Women believe that they would confront perpetrators of sexual harassment, but when put in a sexually harassing situation they rarely confront (Woodzicka & LaFrance, 2001). Women may overestimate their likelihood of confronting because they think they would be concerned with fairness, but in actuality the need to belong strongly dissuades women from confronting harassers. I tested this idea by randomly assigning women to be primed with a belonging, fairness, or no goal, and then had them predict how they would respond to sexually harassing or surprising interview questions. Women who viewed the sexually harassing interview questions predicted more confrontational behavior …

An Attack On One Is An Attack On All: Factors That Influence Responses To Witnessing Discrimination, Hilary E. Slover

Master's Theses

Witnessing discrimination against a racial minority should be threatening to both racial minority and majority group members, but for different reasons. One's racial group membership and one's relationship with the perpetrator could both serve as sources of threat to a third party observer. Ninety-two participants identified as racial majority group members (i.e., White) and 48 identified as racial minority group members (i.e., Asian, Black, and other). Each participant was asked to report one instance of discrimination perpetrated by a close other and one by a distant other. Some differences between minority and majority group members' responses emerged. For example, compared …

Global Influences And Resistance Within: Inclusive Practices And South Africa's Apartheid Government, Jean Marie Fagin

Master's Theses

South Africa's racially segregating apartheid government officially lasted for over forty years, from 1948 to 1994. Black South Africans were the victims of established oppression resulting in poverty, poor health care, and limited educational opportunities. Black South Africans with disabilities faced even greater exclusion from society due to their physical and cognitive challenges. Education for black students was neither compulsory nor free, and few black students with disabilities received services.

During the apartheid regime (1948-1994), disability issues were being address globally. The United Nations issued declarations, conventions, and a programme of action devoted to people with disabilities. In the early …

Protein Kinase C Δ Is Critical For Nucleotide Excision Repair Of Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers, Christopher Michael Negro

Master's Theses

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is the process by which cells identify and repair bulky, helix-distorting DNA lesions such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and 6-4 photoproducts (6-4PP). NER in human cells is a complex biochemical process requiring several complementation groups. Defects in complementation group genes result in rare, autosomal recessive cancer syndromes such as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), cockayne syndrome (CS), and trichothiodystrophy, supporting the tumor suppressive effects of NER. Protein Kinase C delta (PKCδ) expression is lost in squamous cell carcinomas where it functions as a tumor suppressor gene. Additionally, in response to UV radiation, PKCδ is …

The River Continuum Redux: Aquatic Insect Diets Reveal The Importance Of Autochthonous Resources In The Salmon River, Idaho, Kathryn Vallis

Master's Theses

Along a river network, changes in the physical characteristics of a stream - changes articulated by the River Continuum Concept (RCC) - have been predicted to influence stream food webs, particularly the resources supporting aquatic macroinvertebrates. Although diets of macroinvertebrates can track resource availability along the longitudinal gradient of streams, insect diets were not assessed in the original RCC study; rather, insects were grouped into functional feeding groups (FFGs). In addition, global climate change is increasing the frequency and spatial extent of wildfire and beetle outbreaks throughout the western United States and could affect riparian vegetation and the amount of …

Modularizing Crosscutting Concerns In Software, Nalin Saigal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Code modularization provides benefits throughout the software life cycle; however, the presence of crosscutting concerns (CCCs) in software hinders its complete modularization. Traditional modularization techniques work well under the assumption that code being modularized is functionally orthogonal to the rest of the code; as a result, software engineers try to separate code segments that are orthogonal in their functionality into distinct modules. However, in practice, software does not decompose neatly into modules with distinct, orthogonal functionality. In this thesis, we investigate the modularization of CCCs in software using two different techniques.

Firstly, we discuss IVCon, a GUI-based tool that provides …

Identification Of Patient Recovery Patterns After Cardiovascular Surgery Based On Laboratory Tests Results, Alcides Ricardo Santander Mercado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation is proposed a methodology to identify patient's recovery patterns after cardiovascular surgery based on laboratory tests results. The main purpose is to enhance the understanding of the manifestations of postsurgical complications in patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery. The analysis of patients' recovery process is based on the relationship between plasma calcium, ionized calcium and platelet count over time.

Laboratory results from the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital databases, related to patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) after cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass, aortic value replacement and mitral valve replacement), are used. These databases contain …

The Effects Of Manipulating Conditioned Establishing Operations On The Acquisition Of Mands In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Claudia Troconis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Verbal Behavior, Skinner (1957) suggested that each verbal operant has independent response functions, in which acquiring one does not automatically result in the other, unless transfer between the verbal operants is directly trained. Although several researchers have shown that mands and tacts are functionally independent, more recent research has demonstrated that mands may emerge following tact training. However, this research has not clarified the influence of establishing operations on the emergence of pure mands following tact training. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of tact training on the acquisition of impure and pure mands in children with autism …

Atrial Fibrillation Signal Analysis, Raja Sarath Chandra Prasad Vaizurs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice and is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity. Identification of the sources of AF has been a goal of researchers for over 20 years. Current treatment procedures such as Cardio version, Radio Frequency Ablation, and multiple drugs have reduced the incidence of AF. Nevertheless, the success rate of these treatments is only 35-40% of the AF patients as they have limited effect in maintaining the patient in normal sinus rhythm. The problem stems from the fact that there are no methods developed to analyze …

Robotic Hand Evaluation Based On Task Specific Kinematic Requirements, Carlos Rafael Neninger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the rise autonomous and robotic systems in field applications, the need for dexterous, highly adaptable end effectors has become a major research topic. Control mechanisms of robotics hands with a high number independent actuators is recognized as a complex, high dimensional problem, with exponentially complex algorithms. However, recent studies have shown that human hand motion possesses very high joint correlation which translates into a set of predefined postures, or synergies. The hand produces a motion using a complementing contribution of multiple joints, called synergies. The similarities place variables onto a common dimensional space, effectively reducing the number of independent …

An Analysis Of Remote Biometric Authentication With Windows, Brandy Marie Eyers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One thing that everyone seems to be worried about when it comes to his or her computer is security. If your computer is not secure then private information could be stolen. Many people now use passwords to protect themselves though they are discovering that using multi-factor authentication is much more secure. It allows you to use multiple different proofs of who you are. Biometrics is one of the ways to prove identity. Using it, you could log into a system with just a fingerprint, which is something that is very difficult to steal. We present a suite of software tools …