Dissertations / Theses: 'FACTORS CONTRIBUTION'

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Baldwin, Erin Jannett Maren. "Humor perception the contribution of cognitive factors /." unrestricted, 2007. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-06172007-015744/.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007.
Title from file title page. Mary Morris, committee chair; Diana Robins, Erin McClure, Eric Vanman, committee members. Electronic text (137 p. : ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 6, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-106).

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Baldwin, Erin. "Humor Perception: The Contribution of Cognitive Factors." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2007. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/psych_diss/31.

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Most of the extant humor research has focused on humor comprehension with only a few studies investigating humor appreciation as a separate construct. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relation between humor and underlying cognitive processes. Literature on brain injured individuals has indicated that working memory, verbal and visual-spatial reasoning, cognitive flexibility, and concept formation are related to performance on comprehension tests of humor. In this study, cognitive processes underlying both verbal and nonverbal humor were investigated in a sample of healthy young adults. There is evidence that semantic and phonological humor are associated with different neural networks; therefore, both semantic and phonological humor were explored. Studies investigating physiological arousal and humor have indicated that arousal is necessary for the experience of humor. This suggests that the appreciation of humor may require the integration of cognitive and affective information, a process mediated by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Thus, a second goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between humor comprehension and appreciation and the VMPFC, by including experimental tasks that previously have been linked to VMPFC functioning. Participants included 94 undergraduate psychology students between the ages of 18 and 39 years. Participants watched film clips and listened to jokes. After the presentation of each joke and each film clip, they completed a humor comprehension/appreciation inventory developed for this study. They also completed measures assessing a range of cognitive abilities hypothesized to underlie humor perception. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that verbal reasoning was predictive of semantic humor comprehension, indicating that verbal reasoning is a core cognitive ability for the comprehension of jokes in which the humor depends on factors other than simple word play. Cognitive measures were not predictive of phonological humor comprehension or nonverbal humor comprehension. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the indicators of VMPFC functioning did not correlate with either humor comprehension or humor appreciation and did not moderate the relation between humor comprehension and humor appreciation. Future research is necessary to elucidate the relationships between cognitive abilities and humor perception and to further explore the contribution of the VMPFC to humor appreciation.

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Korkmaz, Fettah. "Contribution Of Some Factors To Eighth Grade Students." Master's thesis, METU, 2012. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614953/index.pdf.

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CONTRIBUTION OF SOME FACTORS TO EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS&rsquo
SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT IN TURKEY: TIMSS 2007 KORKMAZ, Fettah M. S., Department of Secondary Science and Mathematics Education Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ö
mer GEBAN September 2012, 120 pages The purpose of this study is to determine some of the factors that affect science achievement of eighth grade students in Turkey based on data results of Trends in International Science and Mathematics Study (TIMSS 2007). The present study investigated the relationship between the students&rsquo
achievement in science and certain factors such as student centered activities perceived by students, teacher centered activities perceived by students, students

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Ivansson, Emma. "Contribution of Immunogenetic Factors in Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för genetik och patologi, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-9552.

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Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection by an oncogenic type of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary but not sufficient cause and there is also a genetic component. This thesis aims to identify host genetic risk factors for cervical cancer based on the hypothesis that susceptibility is affected by genetic variation in the immune response towards HPV infection. Paper I analyzed allergy in sons and cervical cancer in their mothers, and revealed an inverse association between cervical cancer and allergy across generations. Mothers of allergic sons have a lower incidence of cervical cancer, supporting the importance of immunogenetic factors. Paper II investigated the HPV type in 1079 women diagnosed 1965-1993. All women were from families with at least two affected. It appeared that HPV 16 was becoming less common with time. There was no evidence that related women were prone to infection by the same type, indicating that the immunogenetic factors act in a general, rather than an HPV type specific, manner. Paper III and IV analysed the association of candidate genes with susceptibility to cervical cancer in 1306 women with cervical cancer in situ and 288 unrelated controls. Paper III showed the association of variation in the two immune response genes chemokine receptor 2 (CCR-2) and interleukin 4 receptor (IL-4R) with cervical cancer. In paper IV variation at several loci in the MHC region was studied and the importance of the HLA class II locus DQB1 emphasized. This thesis work supports the contribution of genes of the immune system to cervical cancer susceptibility. The genetic risk factors so far identified account for only a part of the genetic susceptibility, which implies that other yet undiscovered variants of importance remain to be identified.

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Sufian, Raza Sabbir. "DISCONNECTED-SEA QUARKS CONTRIBUTION TO NUCLEON ELECTROMAGNETIC FORM FACTORS." UKnowledge, 2017. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/physastron_etds/49.

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We present comprehensive analysis of the light and strange disconnected-sea quarks contribution to the nucleon electric and magnetic form factors. The lattice QCD estimates of strange quark magnetic moment GsM (0) = −0.064(14)(09) μN and the mean squared charge radius ⟨r2s⟩E = −0.0043(16)(14) fm2 are more precise than any existing experimental measurements and other lattice calculations. The lattice QCD calculation includes ensembles across several lattice volumes and lattice spacings with one of the ensembles at the physical pion mass. We have performed a simultaneous chiral, infinite volume, and continuum extrapolation in a global fit to calculate results in the continuum limit. We find that the combined light-sea and strange quarks contribution to the nucleon magnetic moment is−0.022(11)(09) μN and to the nucleon mean square charge radius is −0.019(05)(05) fm2. The most important outcome of this lattice QCD calculation is that while the combined light-sea and strange quarks contribution to the nucleon magnetic moment is small at about 1%, a negative 2.5(9)% contribution to the proton charge radius and a relatively larger positive 16.3(6.1)% contribution to the neutron charge radius come from the sea quarks in the nucleon. For the first time, by performing global fits, we also give predictions of the light-sea and strange quarks contributions to the nucleon electric and magnetic form factors at the physical point and in the continuum and infinite volume limits in the momentum transfer range of 0 ≤ Q2 ≤ 0.5 GeV2.

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Seigne, Elizabeth. "Contribution of personality factors to bullying in the workplace." Thesis, University of Hull, 2002. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:8470.

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Although many studies have investigated the contributing factors of workplace bullying, most have focussed on organisational factors, and few have explored the notion of personality as a contributory factor. This thesis represents an attempt to remedy this deficiency and to throw some light on the role played by personality. This thesis is based on three main studies and is divided into six main sections: The first explores the literature of bullying behaviour and personality; the second examines the antecedents of workplace bullying; the third and fourth sections explore the notion of a victim and bully profile respectively; the fifth section examines bullying at an organisational level, and the sixth section includes a final discussion of findings in this thesis. Chapter One of the literature review is divided into three parts, with the first part concerned with the various definitions of the behaviour, the second part surveys what is known about bullying in schools for the light it might throw on adult bullying practices, and the third part examines earlier work on bullying in the workplace. Chapter Two is concerned with the literature on personality variables in connection with bullying, and whether it is possible to find a personality profile for victims and for bullies. In the third chapter the results from a pilot study are presented, the first to be conducted in Ireland. It examines results obtained from 30 self-selected victims, who were interviewed and given a personality test (Cattells' 16PF5). Factors contributing to bullying and the effects of bullying were explored, as were the victims' personality and their perception of the situation. Organisational factors such as stressful and hostile working environments, also the senior position of bullies, their aggressive behaviour and personality were cited by victims as reasons for being bullied. Most victims reported psychological effects ranging from anxiety to fear, and physical effects ranging from disturbed sleep to behavioural effects such as eating disorders. In relation to personality, many victims felt they were different, and were found to be anxious, apprehensive, sensitive, and emotionally unstable. Action taken by victims ranged from consulting personnel to taking early retirement. The aim of the investigation reported in Chapter Four was to extend the pilot study and to attempt to make up for its limitations. Thus, a control group of non-victims was employed, the number of respondents was increased, interviews were conducted in the workplace, and a revised interview schedule and a more appropriate personality test was included. The sample comprised 60 victims and 60 non-victims, employees from two large organisations in Dublin. Both samples responded to a semi-structured questionnaire and completed the ICES Personality inventory (Bartram, 1994; 1998). Results showed that victims were less independent and extraverted, more unstable and more conscientious than non-victims. The results strongly suggested that personality does play a role in workplace bullying and that personality traits may give an indication of those in an organisation who are most likely to be bullied. In an extension to the main enquiry, the history of respondents with regard to their experience of bullying at school was examined. Four groups were formed: (1) those who had been bullied both at school and at work, (2) those who had been bullied at work, but not at school (3) those who had been bullied at school but not at work, and (4) those who had not been bullied at school or at work. The test results from each group showed that the victim profile was most marked for Group One; Group Four were nonvictims throughout their lives; Group Three also produced non-victim profiles; Group Two were most similar to Group One. In interpreting these findings it is tentatively suggested that Group Three (those without the typical personality characteristics of a victim) were able to shrug off the bullying they experienced at school, whilst Group Two had possibly escaped bullying at school because of the support available to them from family and friends, and from being team members of school debating societies and sports teams, support that was no longer available when they were adults. A subsidiary pilot study of Chapter Four re-assessed victims with additional tests of the Interpersonal Behavioural Survey (IBS) (Manger, Adkinson, Zoss, Firestone & Hook, 1980) and the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventories, second edition (CFSEI-2) (Battle, 1992). Results indicated that again, victims had high dependency and in addition, low self-esteem and direct aggression, poor assertiveness, and a tendency to denial and to avoiding conflict. Chapter Five represents an attempt to examine the personality characteristics of bullies, using the ICES and ms and a behavioural workplace questionnaire (BWQ). Although it proved difficult to obtain a large enough sample of bullies, findings were encouraging. Bullies proved to be aggressive hostile individuals, high in extraversion and independence. They were egocentric and selfish, without much concern for other's opinions. Most bullies said that they themselves had been bullied at work. Chapter Six extends the personality profiles of bullies and victims to consider their behaviour at an organisational level. Central to this chapter is an analysis of three case studies that serve to illustrate the view that it is a combination of personality and factors peculiar to the organisation that leads to institutional bullying. Case analyses revealed that hostile working environments tend to act as a trigger to release, for example, inherent aggression in bullies and inherent anxiety in victims. Findings suggest that bullying can be tolerated in organisations as long as it helps to achieve one or more goals of that organisation. Chapter Seven is devoted to a final discussion of the main findings, to suggest areas forfurther research, and to recommend policies to deal with bullying.

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Vorontsova, Natasha. "Cognitive factors maintaining persecutory delusions in psychosis : the contribution of depression." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2012. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/cognitive-factors-maintaining-persecutory-delusions-in-psychosis(51b7c144-b811-4d72-8b82-df06a0d72c79).html.

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Persecutory delusions are one of the most common and distressing symptoms of psychosis. Many studies indicate an association of persecutory delusions with depression. A direct role for depression-related cognitive factors in the maintenance of persecutory delusions has not been systematically examined, despite such processes being implicated in a cognitive model. To determine whether depression in people with persecutory delusions is associated with the same cognitive factors implicated in major depressive disorder, and to examine these factors as predictors of the persistence of persecutory delusions over time. A systematic literature review formed the basis of two linked studies: one cross-sectional and one longitudinal. In the first study, 60 participants with persecutory delusions and schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses were classified into two groups, according to whether or not they met ICD-10 criteria for major depression. Assessments were made of delusions, depression and key cognitive factors from the literature: schematic beliefs, avoidance, rumination, memory specificity and problem solving. The groups’ scores were compared, and the same comparisons were made between 30 participants with non-psychotic depression and 30 non-clinical controls. For the second study, 54 participants with delusions were re¬assessed six months later, and predictors of symptom persistence were examined. 50% of participants with persecutory delusions met diagnostic criteria for major depression. With baseline paranoia levels controlled, higher baseline depression predicted higher paranoia six months later. Negative schematic beliefs about the self and problem solving deficits predicted the persistence of both paranoia and depression over time. Coexisting depression predicts the persistence of persecutory delusions, suggesting a causal association. Trials are warranted of depression-related therapeutic techniques for people with delusions, including those that target negative schematic beliefs about the self. An improved understanding of the mechanisms that maintain paranoid beliefs can enable the development of better treatments.

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Brien, Gabriel T. (Gabriel Thomas). "Contribution of environmental factors to crop yield variation in the US." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111516.

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Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 68-71).
The magnitude of crop production per unit area has increased in the US in the last 50 years due to the green revolution (Femandez-Comejo, 2004). Yet, even with these increases, there is still variability in crop yield that is present in modem, intensive agricultural systems (Porter and Semenov, 2005). This variability has a negative effect on food security which depends on a minimum amount of food being available at a given point in time. By definition, food cannot be secure unless it is guaranteed to a certain level (Maxwell, 1996). Hence, an understanding of crop yield variability is essential to the question of food security. Using a linear mixed effects analysis for a particular US state and a particular crop, environmental factors that affect variability were shown, in both irrigated and rainfed crop situations to explain over 80% of yield variance. The variance was linked to two major factors: daily air temperature and soil moisture. For rainfed yield, temperature effects explained 40% of the yield variance while soil moisture explained 43% of yield variance. For irrigated yield temperature effects explained 87% of the yield variance. The results suggest that yield variance occurs from variation in the season averages, and in specific points in the growing season, for the major factors highlighted. This assessment is confirmed by moisture and temperature sensitivity characteristics of the crop in question. It is shown by exploratory, time series, and spatial analysis that low yield observations have contrasts in growing season conditions both during key crop reproduction periods and over the entire season. Herein it is argued that variation in temperature effects and moisture have the highest effect on crop yield particularly when they occur during the reproductive phase of the plant.
by Gabriel T. Brien.
M. Eng.

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Al-Zubiedi, Sameh A. "Investigating warfarin variabilty : the contribution of clinical, genetic, and enviromental factors." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.501741.

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Warfarin is the most widely used oral anticoagulant for the prevention and treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. However, its complications represent an important clinical problem. The drug has a very low therapeutic index and there is significant interpatient and inter-iscmer variability in both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; these are affected by a large number of genetic and non-genetic factors. Genetic variation in CYP2C9 and VKORCl has been most extensively studied in relation to warfarin dose requirements.

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McKinnon, Loretta Carmen. "The contribution of psychosocial factors to socioeconomic differences in food purchasing." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2012. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/60893/1/Loretta_McKinnon_Thesis.pdf.

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In developed countries the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health is unequivocal. Those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged are known to experience higher morbidity and mortality from a range of chronic diet-related conditions compared to those of higher SEP. Socioeconomic inequalities in diet are well established. Compared to their more advantaged counterparts, those of low SEP are consistently found to consume diets less consistent with dietary guidelines (i.e. higher in fat, salt and sugar and lower in fibre, fruit and vegetables). Although the reasons for dietary inequalities remain unclear, understanding how such differences arise is important for the development of strategies to reduce health inequalities. Both environmental (e.g. proximity of supermarkets, price, and availability of foods) and psychosocial (e.g. taste preference, nutrition knowledge) influences are proposed to account for inequalities in food choices. Although in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and parts of Australia, environmental factors are associated with socioeconomic differences in food choices, these factors do not completely account for the observed inequalities. Internationally, this context has prompted calls for further exploration of the role of psychological and social factors in relation to inequalities in food choices. It is this task that forms the primary goal of this PhD research. In the small body of research examining the contribution of psychosocial factors to inequalities in food choices, studies have focussed on food cost concerns, nutrition knowledge or health concerns. These factors are generally found to be influential. However, since a range of psychosocial factors are known determinants of food choices in the general population, it is likely that a range of factors also contribute to inequalities in food choices. Identification of additional psychosocial factors of relevance to inequalities in food choices would provide new opportunities for health promotion, including the adaption of existing strategies. The methodological features of previous research have also hindered the advancement of knowledge in this area and a lack of qualitative studies has resulted in a dearth of descriptive information on this topic. This PhD investigation extends previous research by assessing a range of psychosocial factors in relation to inequalities in food choices using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Secondary data analyses were undertaken using data obtained from two Brisbane-based studies, the Brisbane Food Study (N=1003, conducted in 2000), and the Sixty Families Study (N=60, conducted in 1998). Both studies involved main household food purchasers completing an interviewer-administered survey within their own home. Data pertaining to food-purchasing, and psychosocial, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics were collected in each study. The mutual goals of both the qualitative and quantitative phases of this investigation were to assess socioeconomic differences in food purchasing and to identify psychosocial factors relevant to any observed differences. The quantitative methods then additionally considered whether the associations examined differed according to the socioeconomic indicator used (i.e. income or education). The qualitative analyses made a unique contribution to this project by generating detailed descriptions of socioeconomic differences in psychosocial factors. Those with lower levels of income and education were found to make food purchasing choices less consistent with dietary guidelines compared to those of high SEP. The psychosocial factors identified as relevant to food-purchasing inequalities were: taste preferences, health concerns, health beliefs, nutrition knowledge, nutrition concerns, weight concerns, nutrition label use, and several other values and beliefs unique to particular socioeconomic groups. Factors more tenuously or inconsistently related to socioeconomic differences in food purchasing were cost concerns, and perceived adequacy of the family diet. Evidence was displayed in both the quantitative and qualitative analyses to suggest that psychosocial factors contribute to inequalities in food purchasing in a collective manner. The quantitative analyses revealed that considerable overlap in the socioeconomic variation in food purchasing was accounted for by key psychosocial factors of importance, including taste preference, nutrition concerns, nutrition knowledge, and health concerns. Consistent with these findings, the qualitative transcripts demonstrated the interplay between such influential psychosocial factors in determining food-purchasing choices. The qualitative analyses found socioeconomic differences in the prioritisation of psychosocial factors in relation to food choices. This is suggestive of complex cultural factors that distinguish advantaged and disadvantaged groups and result in socioeconomically distinct schemas related to health and food choices. Compared to those of high SEP, those of lower SEP were less likely to indicate that health concerns, nutrition concerns, or food labels influenced food choices, and exhibited lower levels of nutrition knowledge. In the absence of health or nutrition-related concerns, taste preferences tended to dominate the food purchasing choices of those of low SEP. Overall, while cost concerns did not appear to be a main determinant of socioeconomic differences in food purchasing, this factor had a dominant influence on the food choices of some of the most disadvantaged respondents included in this research. The findings of this study have several implications for health promotion. The integrated operation of psychosocial factors on food purchasing inequalities indicates that multiple psychosocial factors may be appropriate to target in health promotion. It also seems possible that the inter-relatedness of psychosocial factors would allow health promotion targeting a single psychosocial factor to have a flow-on affect in terms of altering other influential psychosocial factors. This research also suggests that current mass marketing approaches to health promotion may not be effective across all socioeconomic groups due to differences in the priorities and main factors of influence in food purchasing decisions across groups. In addition to the practical recommendations for health promotion, this investigation, through the critique of previous research, and through the substantive study findings, has highlighted important methodological considerations for future research. Of particular note are the recommendations pertaining to the selection of socioeconomic indicators, measurement of relevant constructs, consideration of confounders, and development of an analytical approach. Addressing inequalities in health has been noted as a main objective by many health authorities and governments internationally. It is envisaged that the substantive and methodological findings of this thesis will make a useful contribution towards this important goal.

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Le, Bohec Mickaël. "Contribution du rayonnement au confort thermique et aux économies d'énergie dans l'habitat." Thesis, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, Ecole nationale supérieure de mécanique et d'aérotechnique, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017ESMA0029/document.

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Pour réduire la consommation énergétique des bâtiments, les systèmes de chauffage agissant par rayonnement semblent particulièrement intéressants puisqu'ils ne nécessitent pas de chauffer l'air de la pièce pour que leur action soit perçue (moins d'énergie dépensée et moins de déperditions) et qu'jls permettent une meilleure réactivité au mode de vie des utilisateurs. De plus, des expériences réalisées au MIT ont montré que nous préférons un air frais et des murs chauds plutôt que le contraire, ce qui milite en paveur du chauffage par rayonnement. L'objectif de ce travail est de développer un outil permettant de paire le lien entre le rayonnement échangé entre un occupant et son environnement et le confort qu'il exprime vis-a- vis de celui-ci. L'étude des transferts radiatifs dans l'habitat peut se ramener a la résolution de l'équation des radiosités. Celle-ci nécessite l'évaluation de couplages géométriques entre les éléments de la scène appelés facteurs de forme. Leur obtention est particulièrement ardue, notamment lorsqu'il s'agit de tenir compte d'éventuelles obstructions. Une comparaison des méthodes numériques disponibles pour cela est proposée. Outre l'évaluation de ces facteurs, le système a résoudre est très lourd, puisque chaque surface interagit, le plus souvent, avec toutes les autres et que le nombre de nœuds mis en jeu dans la description d'une scène complexe est important. Nous présentons une méthode de résolution qui raffine le maillage d'une scène tout en construisant simultanément une représentation a différentes échelles des facteurs de forme entre ses éléments, dans le but de ne pas calculer tous les échanges a la résolution la plus fine. Elle permet ainsi de réduire considérablement le temps de calcul et rend son utilisation possible en bureau d'étude.une fois que les transferts radiatifs entre un individu, la source de chauffage et différents éléments de l'environnement sont connus, le modèle de confort de Fanger est mis en oeuvre pour déterminer si les configurations envisagées sont confortables ou non, au regard des normes en vigueur dans le bâtiment. Ainsi, nous avons pu déterminer quels types d'appareils de chauffage sont les plus susceptibles d'apporter du confort, dans diverses situations, et sans accroitre la puissance consommée
In order to reduce building's energy consumption, radiant heater seems particularly attractives because they didn't require to heat the air of the room to be perceived (less energy spent and less losses), and because they provide a better reactivity to users life rythmes. Moreover, experiences of the MIT showed that we prefer a fresh ai with warm wall rather than the opposite. The goal of the work is to develop a tool to study the link between the radiant energy exchange by an occupant with his environment and the thermal comfort express under some hypothesis, radiative beat transfers can be idealized by the radiosity equation. This one needs the evaluation of geometrics couplings between the elements of the scene called form factors or view factors. It's generally hard to get them, especially when there are obstructions. A comparison of existing numerical methods is proposed. beyond the evaluation of those factors, the algebraic system is heavy to solve because each surface interact, usually, with all the others and because the number of nodes required for the description of a complexe scene is important. We present a resolution method which refine the mesh of the scene while constructing a multi scale representation of form factors between its elements, in order to don't have to compute all the transfers at the finest resolution. This drastically reduce the computation time and allow to use this method in a industrial development process.When the radiative transfers between the occupant, heaters and differents elements of the environment are known, the thermal comfort model of fanger is used to determine if the considered env!ronments are confortable or not, according to international standards. This way, we could find which type of heaters are the most subject to provide thermal comfort without increasing energy consumption

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Loewenberger, Pauline Anne. "Facilitating organisational creativity : exploring the contribution of psychological, social and organizational factors." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/134354.

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Towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century the economic downturn increases the significance of creativity and innovation to business success. As the seed of innovation or fuel for the innovation engine creativity is important throughout the process in distinguishing successful innovations. However, many organisations struggle to transform the rhetoric of creativity and innovation into reality because of a lack of understanding of what this means or how to achieve this. Fragmentation of existing research leads to ambiguous evidence with a danger of spurious relationships or confounding of factors that is inadequate to advance theoretical understanding and inform practice. This investigation provides a number of valuable contributions to overcome such limitations through systemic analysis of individual, social and organisational factors that support creativity based on a research strategy of multiple case studies and employing quantitative and qualitative techniques. Empirical investigation employing both the KEYS assessment of creative climate and personality characteristics is rare. Findings reinforce the contribution for four of five factors deemed most important to supporting creativity together with the Openness to Experience personality dimension. The presentation of a general linear model explains 47% variance based on Organisational Encouragement, Challenging Work, Work Group Support, Organisational Impediments, and Openness to Experience. Alternative models suggest Openness to experience moderates the significance of climate factors. For individuals very high on this personality dimension the interaction of Challenging Work and Work Group Support contributes 60% variance in creativity. Qualitative investigation extends the variance contributed by the general linear models to include the significance of shared understanding and meaning, the need for continuous active stimulation and supportive mechanisms, passion or love for one’s work and freedom to voice ideas. Finally, synthesis of creativity theories with HRM and HRD extend and advance theory and practice in a number of ways that have implications for the limitations of KEYS and for models of SHRM. Results extend existing knowledge and understanding of facilitation and implications are explored in-depth for organisations aspiring to creativity and innovation.

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Jonsson, Caroline, and Bergh Aina James. "Knowledge, Contribution and Social factors : A qualitative study about psychiatric social work in Goa, India." Thesis, Ersta Sköndal högskola, Institutionen för socialvetenskap, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-2252.

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Social work is one of the core mental health professions. With a dominance of a biological model in psychiatry, the scope of social factors has been relatively marginal. Social factors have been argued to be social work ́s area of expertise. Psychiatric social work is challenged to articulate its unique knowledge and valuable contribution to the field of mental health care since they are coexisting with other more well-established professions. This qualitative study explores how psychiatric social workers and psychiatrists in Goa, India, perceive social work's unique knowledge and its contribution to the field of mental health care. It further explores psychiatric social workers understanding of social factors in relation to mental illness. The empirical material was collected through twelve semi-structured interviews with ten psychiatric social workers and two psychiatrists working in different mental health care settings in Goa. The results show that the main psychiatric social work contributions were described as raising awareness about mental illness and their functioning as a bridge between units. The result further shows a difficulty (among psychiatric social workers) to articulate psychiatric social work's unique knowledge, but during the interviews a specific in-depth knowledge emerged as well as a focus on psychiatric knowledge. Our findings showed that psychiatric social workers understood social factors in terms of social relations. The results are analyzed with Foucault's theory of discourse, Polanyi's theory of tacit knowledge and Ingleheart’s modernization theory.

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Rorke, Stafford Conroy. "The contribution of psychogenic factors limiting prolonged work performed at different relative intensities." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004772.

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This study investigated the physiological and psychological limitations to prolonged work performed at different relative intensities, through the use of an eclectic integrative methodology. Ten young male caucasian subjects (mean V0₂ max. 60,0 ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹ ± 7,9) were randomly exposed to treadmill runs at each of four relative intensities, namely 55%, 65%, 75% and 85% of V0₂ maximum, with the instruction to run to the point of subjective discomfort at which they were no longer willing to continue. Physiological measures of oxygen consumption (V0₂), heart rate (HR), respiratory exchange ratio (R) , minute ventilation volume (Vi), breathing frequency (Vf), tidal volume (Vt) and psychological measures of Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE), Perceived Thermal Comfo·rt (PTC), Perceived Pain and Perceived Fatigue were recorded throughout the protocol. The relative intensity was held constant by slight decreases in treadmill speed as subjects fatigued, and through feedback from an on-line oxygen consumption computer-aided data acquisition system. Significant increases in both physiological and psychological measures occurred with increases in relative intensity (p<0,05). HR and Vf increased overtime (p<0,05) whilst Rand Vt decreased over time (p < 0,05) . All psychological ratings increased in intensity over time (p < 0,05). Mean endurance times to exhaustion were 243 minutes ± 70 at 55% relative intensity, 159 minutes ±37 at 65%, 96 minutes ±25 at 75 % and 23 minutes +- 8 at 85%, being within the range reported by earlier researchers . A regression equation for prediction of endurance time given a known relative intensity was developed for this sample: % V0₂ max. = 117,8 + (-10,6 x LN (time)) (where r = -0,91) Convergence rankings indicate the greater contribution of local factors in the overall gestalt of perceived exertion, pain and fatigue, with biomechanical limitations to prolonged work (running) strongly implicated . High inter correlations between psychological rating scales suggest the use of the scale considered most applicable to the task at hand and the psychological response measure required. A coefficient of multiple correlation of 0,94 established the close interrelationship amongst the physiological and psychological parameters measured. Pre- and post-test Fatigue Cluster Analysis questionnaires indicated that the most important clusters contributing toward the sensation of fatigue and subsequent decision to cease activity were Task Aversion and General Fatigue (r = 0,96), followed by Leg Fatigue and Thirst. Motivation, the task at hand and an attainable goal appear to be important considerations in prolonged work performance. Relative intensity appears a valid tool for use in prolonged work studies due to its high predictive capacity for endurance performance times (r=-0,91). It is concluded that workloads considerably below 55% of maximal aerobic capacity are indicated as acceptable workloads for an 8 hour working day.

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Wright, Ian Christopher. "A simulation study of the contribution of several factors to ankle sprain susceptibility." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape8/PQDD_0035/NQ38515.pdf.

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Mestrinho, Lisa Alexandra Pereira. "Contribution to the study of prognostic factors in canine oral squamous cell carcinoma." Doctoral thesis, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/12150.

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Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias, na Especialidade de Clínica
The main goal of this clinical work was to contribute to the study of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the dog with regards to molecular and differentiation events, and their relationship with the tumor’s biological behavior – impact on the staging, prognosis or treatment. From the assessment of histological differentiation and proliferation index in a 36 OSCC case series, it was possible to identify a significant association between the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67, distribution pattern and histological differentiation. PCNA expression was significantly higher than Ki-67 and a higher proliferation index was associated with poorly differentiated OSCC, resembling what is observed in humans. With regards to intra-oral locations, poorly differentiated tumors were significantly associated with the tonsillar location. Proliferation index was not associated with any of the intra-oral locations evaluated, but it was found that metastatic lymph nodes were significantly associated with OSCC with higher poliferation index. OSCC prognosis was assessed in a 13 case series where the age of the animal and tumor size, location, grade and proliferation were evaluated as post surgical prognostic factors. All cases were standardized – CT staged and clinically managed over a period of 2 years, with bone invasion, no lymphatic invasion nor distant metastasis. The results obtained indicated that grade and proliferation index were related with post operatory prognosis. Animals with high-grade tumors had shorter disease free survival times when compared to intermediate grade tumors. Also animals with high-grade tumors and with high PCNA proliferation index showed a significantly worse post-surgical prognosis. The immunohistochemical expression of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin and p63 protein were assessed and related with histological and clinical features at time of diagnosis in a 22 case series. Changes in p63 and E-cadherin expression seem to be frequent molecular events in canine OSCC. It was observed that p63 was overexpressed in all cases and E-cadherin was found to be underexpressed in most cases. Furthermore, p63 expression was related to the proliferation and there were different expression patterns related to tumor grade. None of the histological or immunohistochemical parameters were associated with tumor size, bone invasion or lymph node metastasis. More than the contribution to the knowledge of some of the molecular events involved in this tumor, this work explores the clinical applicability of such markers, especially proliferation, in a practical veterinary clinical setting, ilustrated in this work with one case report. This thesis also explores the potential use of the dog as a model in comparative oncology studies.
RESUMO - Contributo para o estudo de fatores de prognóstico no carcinoma oral de células escamosas no cão - O carcinoma de células escamosas é o segundo tumor não-odontogénico mais frequente na cavidade oral do cão. Embora a cirurgia possa ser curativa, na maior parte dos casos o diagnóstico ocorre numa fase tardia da doença ou então a localização anatómica inviabiliza o processo de cura por excisão cirúrgica. O prognóstico permanece, por isso, reservado uma vez que o carcinoma oral de células escamosas (COCE) se encontra associado a uma elevada taxa de recorrência pós-cirúrgica, sendo frequentes os casos inoperáveis. Neste contexto, torna- se pertinente aumentar o conhecimento do comportamento biológico deste tumor com o objetivo de melhorar a abordagem terapêutica, utilizando protocolos multimodais, adjuvantes ou neoadjuvantes que aumentem as possibilidades de cura. Esta tese surge assim com o objetivo de contribuir para o estudo do COCE no cão, aprofundando o conhecimento de fenómenos moleculares com potencial importância clínica. Em particular, procurou-se avaliar a expressão das proteínas Ki-67, PCNA, Caderina-E e p63, tendo sido estudada a sua relação no comportamento biológico do COCE, no estadiamento, na abordagem clínica e no prognóstico. Estas proteínas desempenham um papel relevante na iniciação e na progressão do COCE, estando associadas à diminuição das características epiteliais das células escamosas, podendo estar, à semelhança do verificado no humano, envolvidas no prognóstico. O antigénio Ki-67 é uma proteína nuclear estritamente associada à proliferação celular, sendo expressa em todas as fases ativas do seu ciclo. Tem sido alvo de estudos recentes no que diz respeito à sua função real no ciclo celular. O PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen), o antigénio nuclear de proliferação celular, é uma proteína auxiliar das polimerases de DNA, envolvida também em funções de reparação, mas utilizada como marcador de proliferação. A proteína p63 pertence à família de proteínas do gene p53, estando ligada aos processos de diferenciação e sobrevivência das células epiteliais. A caderina-E é uma glicoproteína dependente de cálcio, necessária nos mecanismos de adesão celular. Trinta e seis casos de COCE avaliados de forma retrospetiva resultaram da compilação inicial de 23 casos reunidos de forma consecutiva entre Janeiro de 2008 e Janeiro de 2012 de vários centros de atendimento médico veterinário em Portugal e, posteriormente, 13 casos foram fornecidos por um único centro de atendimento veterinário, entre Janeiro de 1995 e Janeiro de 2013. Apenas os animais submetidos a estadiamento clínico e cirurgia para realização de exérese ou biópsia foram incluídos no estudo. Vinte e três casos foram acompanhados durante um período de 2 anos. As variáveis idade, raça, sexo, peso corporal, localização e tamanho do tumor, invasão óssea e metástases linfáticas foram registados no momento do diagnóstico, sendo, posteriormente a recorrência, o tempo de sobrevivência e a sobrevivência livre de doença registados durante um período pós-cirúrgico de 2 anos. Vinte e três amostras de COCE foram fixadas em formalina tamponada a 10% e incluídas em parafina para exame histológico de rotina e para estudo imunohistoquímico. Neste, foram utilizados os anticorpos primários anti-Ki-67 (Mib-1, Dako), anti-PCNA (clone PC-10, Novocastra), anti-p63 (clone 4A4, VENTANA) e anti-caderina-E (clone 36, VENTANA) e o sistema de deteção Novolink Max Polymer, Novocastra. Desta amostra inicial foi eliminado um caso, por ausência de marcação com caderina-E, e foi identificado um grupo de 13 casos de invasão óssea e sem metastização linfática. Posteriormente, 12 amostras foram submetidas a estudo imunohistoquímico para Ki-67 e PCNA. Os resultados obtidos nesta série de 36 casos revelaram que os padrões de expressão dos marcadores Ki-67 e PCNA assemelham-se ao observado no COCE humano, sendo a expressão de PCNA proporcionalmente mais elevada do que a de Ki-67. Foi encontrada uma associação entre a proliferação e a diferenciação em que um elevado índice de proliferação encontrava-se significativamente associado com tumores pouco diferenciados. Por sua vez, os tumores pouco diferenciados encontravam-se associados com a localização tonsilar. Não foi encontrada qualquer associação entre o índice de proliferação e a localização anatómica, estádio clínico ou invasão óssea. No entanto, identificou-se uma associação com significado estatístico entre o índice de proliferação e a presença de linfonodos regionais metastizados na altura do diagnóstico. Foi possível identificar, durante o estudo clínico, uma série de 13 casos de COCE, com estadiamento efetuado por tomografia e acompanhamento durante um período de 2 anos. Neste estudo, todos os casos apresentavam invasão óssea, mas ausência de metastização linfática ou distante. De todos os fatores de prognóstico estudados – nomeadamente, a idade, o tamanho do tumor, a localização anatómica, o grau histológico e o índice de proliferação do PCNA – somente o grau histológico e o índice de proliferação do PCNA apresentaram uma associação significativa com o prognóstico. Foi identificada uma sobrevida média livre de doença inferior para os animais com tumores de alto grau comparativamente com os tumores de grau intermédio. Por sua vez, os animais com tumores de alto grau e com índice de proliferação do PCNA elevado apresentavam um prognóstico pós-cirúrgico significativamente mais pobre. A idade, o tamanho do tumor e a localização anatómica não apresentaram influência no prognóstico. Por fim, a expressão imunohistoquímica de caderina-E e de p63 foi avaliada em 22 casos de COCE. Neste trabalho, avaliou-se a relação destes marcadores com parâmetros clínicos, com a diferenciação histológica e com o PCNA. Os resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que as mudanças da expressão de p63 e de caderina-E são acontecimentos frequentes no COCE do cão, à semelhança do que ocorre em humanos. Especificamente, foi possível identificar que em todos os casos de COCE existe uma sobrexpressão de p63, estando esta sobrexpressão relacionada com o índice de proliferação. Na maioria dos casos, a expressão de caderina-E encontrava-se diminuída, sendo esta sobretudo citoplasmática em vez de membranar, consistentemente observada nos epitélios normais. Nenhum dos parâmetros imunohistoquímicos estudados se encontrava associado com o tamanho do tumor, a invasão óssea ou a presença de metástases linfáticas. Foi observada a existência de diferentes padrões de expressão relacionados com o grau do tumor. Os padrões atípicos de p63 encontravam-se relacionados com os tumores de alto grau, e estes, por sua vez, apresentavam-se significativamente associados a uma expressão citoplasmática de caderina-E. Estes dois marcadores parecem funcionar como reguladores moleculares no equilíbrio fenotípico epitélio-mesenquimatoso das células tumorais. Mais do que o contributo para o conhecimento de alguns dos fenómenos moleculares envolvidos no COCE no cão, o presente trabalho explora a potencialidade da utilização destes marcadores na prática clínica, o que é especialmente ilustrado por um caso clínico. Esta tese explora também a potencial utilização do cão como modelo animal em estudos de oncologia comparada.

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Vandiviere, Marcus Stuart. "The contribution of demographic and coping factors to burnout in Virginia school psychologists." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/39968.

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18

Connor, Jason Paul. "The relative contribution of psychological and genetic factors in alcohol problems and dependence /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2002. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16319.pdf.

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Hoffman, Kristin S. "The contribution of nonshared environmental factors to differential parental discipline: A twin study." OpenSIUC, 2010. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/188.

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Children's relationships with their parents are considered to be a major influence in their development. Parents' use of discipline with their children, in particular, constitutes a major component of the parent-child relationship and is linked to children's later social skills and behavioral and emotional functioning. Prior studies have shown that parents treat their children differently. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether parents use differing levels of discipline with their children and to delineate parent, child, and contextual factors associated with differential parental discipline. This study utilized a behavior genetics twin study design to control for extraneous influences, such age and life changes, which may significantly impact a parents' use of discipline. Participants in this study consisted of 38 families (36 twin pairs, 2 sets of triplets) who had previously participated in the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study (SITSS; DiLalla, 2002) and were now between the ages of 5 ½ to 10 ½. Children and their parents were each asked to report on various parenting practices and discipline techniques used within their home. Parents completed a variety of questionnaires assessing socioeconomic status, interparental conflict, parent personality, child temperament, and child emotional and behavioral functioning and mothers tracked their discipline for one week through a diary. Results from this study showed that children living in the same family experience different levels and types of discipline. Child temperament and emotional/behavioral functioning were related to differential discipline practices. The twin in the family rated as exhibiting greater levels of extraversion, effortful control, and prosocial skills received more sensitive parental discipline. In contrast, the twin showing more conduct problems, peer problems, emotional symptoms, and inattention/ hyperactivity experienced harsher parental discipline. Importantly, parents and their children did not agree on the amount of differential discipline used in their homes. Parents reported using similar levels of discipline with both of their children and children reported large differences in the type and amount of discipline shown to them and their co-twins. Findings from this study could add to the effectiveness of many parent training programs by helping parents to understand the interactions between various parent, child, and contextual characteristics in the initiation of parental disciplinary strategies. Through this understanding, parents may begin to match their disciplinary styles to best meet their children's phenotypic characteristics and needs and environmental demands. Lastly, the search for various genetic and environmental factors associated with harsh discipline practices will greatly enhance the success of prevention programs. By being able to determine familial and contextual characteristics associated with harsh or aversive punishment practices, we may be able to predict those parents most at risk for harsh discipline and to intervene before abusive discipline practices are used.

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Gallo, Roberta. "Epigenetic analyses in Autism Spectrum Disorders: gender differences and the contribution of maternal risk factors." Doctoral thesis, Università di Siena, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11365/1133352.

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ASD are one of the largest groups of complex neurodevelopment disorders that affect about 1-2% of the population with a greater frequency in males, in a ratio of 4.5: 1. The diagnosis of ASD is made on the basis of the clinical observation of the subject and the use of standardized assessment scales, such as ADOS and ADI-R. In recent decades, the prevalence of this disorder has increased significantly and this is thought to be due to both a better understanding of the problem and an improvement in the process and diagnostic criteria. Although numerous studies carried out to date show a considerable variety of causes that can lead to the development of ASD, the aetiology of this disorder still remains unknown but it has been shown that environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors play an important role. In the present study we investigated, in a population of 42 girls affected by ASD, the correlation between the levels of methylation of genes associated with this disorder, maternal risk factors and symptomatological severity. To this end, the experimental protocols for the analysis of 7 genes, namely MECP2, OXTR, BDNF, 5-HTR1A, RELN, BCL-2, and EN2, were developed using the Methylation Sensitive-High Resolution Melting technique. The anamnestic data were collected through the administration of a questionnaire to the mothers on their lifestyle before and during pregnancy, while the symptomatological severity of the ASD girls were evaluated using the "gold standard" ADOS-2 psychodiagnostic tool. We also recruited 25 ASD boys as comparison population, in order to assess the presence of any differences between the two genders. The results obtained from the methylation analyses showed that, except for the MECP2 promoter, all the other investigated genes showed very low methylation levels, of about 1-2% in average. However, three of the analyzed genes, namely MECP2, OXTR and RELN, showed significant differences in mean methylation levels between males and females. The methylation levels found were subsequently correlated with maternal factors extrapolated from the questionnaire, and these correlations revealed a statistically significant association between BDNF gene methylation levels and weight gain in pregnancy. Finally, we made a correlation between maternal factors and symptomatological severity finding a statistically significant association between ASD severity and lack of folic acid intake during pregnancy. These results could suggest a role of epigenetic modifications and maternal factors in the aetiopathogenesis of ASD and therefore further studies in this sense could allow a better understanding of the importance of these factors in the pathogenesis of these disorders.

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Martínez, Navarro Miriam 1990. "Affective disorders and neuropathic pain as mutually influential factors : contribution of the opioid system." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/665963.

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La alta variabilidad interindividual en las manifestaciones de dolor neuropático puede conducir a una respuesta diferencial de los pacientes a los tratamientos, y sugiere la idoneidad de terapias más personalizadas en lugar de pautas generales. En esta tesis hemos estudiado en primer lugar la influencia de los rasgos conductuales en las manifestaciones del dolor neuropático crónico utilizando aproximaciones conductuales, electrofisiológicas y genéticas. El sistema opioide endógeno es una diana terapéutica crucial para el tratamiento del dolor inflamatorio y nociceptivo moderado o intenso. Sin embargo, la función del sistema opioide en el dolor neuropático no está del todo clara. Por ello, hemos evaluado el papel de poblaciones específicas de receptores mu y delta opioides a nivel periférico y central en la modulación de las manifestaciones nociceptivas, emocionales, cognitivas y neuroquímicas del dolor neuropático. Así, hemos identificado el receptor delta opioide como una diana farmacológica interesante para restringir los síntomas nociceptivos y afectivos asociados al dolor neuropático, mientras que se demostraron las consecuencias adversas de la actividad del receptor mu opioide tras una lesión nerviosa.
The high inter-individual variability in the neuropathic pain manifestations may lead to differential response of patients to treatments, and suggest the suitability of more personalized therapies rather than general guidelines. In the present thesis we have first studied the influence of behavioural traits on chronic neuropathic pain manifestations using different behavioural, electrophysiological and genetic approaches. The endogenous opioid system is a crucial therapeutic target for the management of moderate to severe nociceptive and inflammatory pain. However, the function of the opioid system during neuropathic pain is not well understood. Thus, we have evaluated the involvement of specific central and peripheral mu and delta opioid receptors populations modulating nociceptive, emotional, cognitive and neurochemical manifestations of chronic neuropathic pain. We have identified the endogenous delta opioid receptor as an interesting pharmacological target to limit nociceptive and affective phenotypes associated to neuropathic pain, whereas adverse consequences of mu opioid receptor activity after nerve injury were revealed.

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Tannenbaum, Beth. "Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation over the lifespan : contribution of dietary and lifestyle factors." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36842.

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A delicate balance exists between the protective effects of adrenal glucocorticoids (GCs) secreted in response to stress and the negative consequences that the excessive production of these hormones may have for numerous systems. GCs are involved in the regulation of the stress response, have effects on feeding and body weight gain and are associated with the acceleration of central nervous system aging. Their production, secretion, and containment are subject to both environmental modulation and individual variation. Neonatal manipulations known to affect the development of the adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response to stress had profound effects on both basal and stress-induced dietary choice, body weight and insulin dynamics. We followed this study with an examination of how the physiological and emotional response to stress can affect diet choices and affective status. Stress had an impact on diet choice and had a strong effect on emotional status but did not affect subjects uniformly. We then explored the reciprocal relationship, i.e. how diet itself can affect the response to stress and found that basal and stress-induced activation of the HPA axis in both young and aged rats is augmented following the feeding of high-fat diets and fat-feeding cause aberrations in glucose-insulin axis. Since aging can be associated with profound changes in HPA axis function, we assessed how dietary habits may contribute to the emergence of the cortisol (F) profile in a population of healthy elderly humans. We found a strong positive relationship between individual F production, feelings of depression and the high fat content in their diets. While dietary habits may have a negative impact on the emergence of an individuals' cortisol profile and on the aging process, we wanted to explore whether a beneficial intervention at mid-life would allow animals to age "successfully" by reducing glucocorticoid production. Environmental enrichment lowered corticosterone lev

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Jaffar, Ahmed. "World class manufacturing or structural factors : the contribution of manufacturing to Malaysian economic development." Thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.325116.

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Elliott, Malcolm. "Adverse events following intensive care discharge: The contribution of system, clinician and patient factors." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2014. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/74b92fb6d0b563a29126f5c4bc8c22b951fed40844bc92280716ea53934e05f1/48221443/ELLIOTT_MALCOLM_2014.pdf.

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An adverse medical event is any unintended injury or complication that arises from health care management rather than the patient’s underlying disease, and results in disability, death or a prolonged hospital stay. Unfortunately, these events occur frequently across the care continuum including in patients recently discharged from Intensive Care Units (ICU). Currently there is limited understanding of adverse events in hospitalised post-ICU patients. Given the significant costs, consequences and preventability of these events, greater understanding of post-ICU adverse events is needed.

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Vattanasilp, Wantana. "The contribution of neural and peripheral factors to muscle stiffness and function following stroke." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 1998. https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26242.

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The aim of these studies was to investigate the contributions of neural and peripheral factors to the increased resistance to movement and loss of function commonly observed following stroke. Three studies were undertaken to investigate the stiffness of the calf muscles in stroke subjects. Under relaxed conditions, neural factors such as spasticity and peripheral factors such as contracture and thixotropy were investigated. Under active conditions, the contribution of the tonic stretch reﬂex to functional movement, in this case walking, was investigated. These ﬁndings were compared to results retained from neurologically-normal subjects. The clinical measurements of spasticity (Ashworth Scale and tendon jerk) were collected and the laboratory measurement (tonic stretch reﬂex) was measured in all studies. Clinical measurements of spasticity were performed to describe the stroke subjects clinically, whereas the laboratory measurement, ie, the measurement of the tonic stretch reﬂex recording EMG during sinusoidal stretching, was performed to provide a quantitative benchmark of spasticity in the gastrocnemius muscle. Measurement of the tonic stretch reﬂex was chosen because EMG can differentiate the neural and the peripheral contributions. Under relaxed conditions, it was found that most stroke subjects exhibited resting tonic stretch reﬂexes, indicating the presence of spasticity. Stroke subjects also exhibited a thixotropic response which was within the range of normal responses. Some stroke subjects displayed muscle contracture. When the contributions of these various factors to stiffness were examined, contracture appeared to make the most significant contribution to the increased resistance to movement. Under active conditions, the contribution of spasticity to walking dysfunction following stroke was investigated in a group of ambulant stroke subjects. The tonic stretch reﬂex was investigated under active conditions which mimicked the movement of the ankle joint during walking. Stroke subjects exhibited a smaller action tonic stretch reﬂex compared with normal subjects, and this ﬁnding was not statistically different. It was suggested that rather than exhibiting an ‘out of control’ tonic stretch reﬂex, stroke subjects had an impaired modulation of the tonic stretch reﬂex. Also, the action tonic stretch reﬂex of stroke subjects did not contribute as much as that of normal subjects to the resistance of calf muscles under active conditions. Therefore, it is suggested that an abnormal tonic stretch reﬂex does not routinely contribute to walking dysfunction following stroke. Furthermore, when the modulation of the tonic stretch reﬂex was measured at pre-ambulatory and ambulatory stages after early stroke, it was found that an improvement in function of the ankle joint was not accompanied by an ability to modulate the tonic stretch reﬂex in the gastrocnemius muscle. Finally, a relation between the clinical and laboratory measurements of spasticity was found only for the tests of resistance to movement, but not for the tests of reﬂex activity. These ﬁndings suggested that clinical tests cannot adequately quantify spasticity, and that the resistance felt during passive movement cannot be differentiated using a clinical grading test such as the Ashworth Scale. These studies add to the growing body of evidence that spasticity is not the major problem interfering with functional tasks after stroke. Therefore, it is not important to routinely reduce spasticity for the purpose of improvement in function. However, the need to prevent and/or minimise muscle contracture is essential in order to avoid the increase in passive stiffness which accompanies the contracture.

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Macchi, Meiggie. "Etude de la contribution des motifs dans la spécificité et la diversité fonctionnelles des protéines Hox." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016AIXM4028.

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Les protéines Hox sont des facteurs de transcription à homéodomaine, dont les propriétés de liaison à l’ADN contrastent avec leur spécificité fonctionnelle in vivo. Ils interagissent avec les cofacteurs PBC (Extradenticle (Exd) chez la drosophile) formant des complexes multimériques dont la spécificité fonctionnelle est accrue. Cette interaction repose sur le motif l’hexapeptide (HX), conservé dans la plupart des protéines Hox. Récemment, nous avons identifié le domaine UbdA (UA), spécifique aux protéines Hox de classe centrale Ultrabithorax (Ubx) et AbdominalA (Abd-A), comme un nouveau motif d'interaction avec la protéine Exd. Des analyses in vivo de la contribution de l’HX et de UbdA dans l’activité des protéines Ubx et Abd-A ont indiqué que les protéines Ubx et Abd-A partagent des fonctions (Exd dépendantes et indépendantes), qui ne sont pas médiées par une utilisation identique des motifs protéiques HX et UA.L’objectif de ces travaux est d’analyser les mécanismes moléculaires qui sous-tendent une utilisation ciblée/sélective des motifs protéiques HX et UA de Ubx et de Abd-A en absence du cofacteur connu Exd. Pour cela, des lignées cellulaires S2 DRSC exprimant les protéines Ubx sauvages et mutantes sur les motifs HX et UA, ont été générées et analysées par des expériences de ChIP-Seq. Nos données comparées à celles obtenues précédemment dans l’équipe pour la protéine Abd-A posent les bases permettant d’appréhender la contribution fonctionnelle et l’utilisation sélective des motifs protéiques HX et UA, au-delà de leurs fonctions dans la médiation de l'interaction avec le cofacteur Exd
Hox proteins are homeodomain-containing transcription factors, whose poor DNA-binding properties contrast with their functional specificity in vivo. They interact with PBC cofactors (Extradenticle (Exd) in Drosophila), forming multimeric complexes with increased functional specificity. This interaction involve a conserved motif called the hexapeptide (HX), found in most Hox proteins. Recently, we the UbdA domain (UA), specific to the central class Hox proteins Ultrabithorax (Ubx) and Abdominal-A (Abd-A), as a novel interaction motif with the Exd protein. In vivo analysis of the HX and UA contributions to Ubx and Abd-A protein activity indicated Ubx and Abd-A shared functions (Exd dependent or independent) do not necessarily rely on a similar use of the HX or UA protein motifs. The aim of this work was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the targeted/selective use of the HX and UA protein motifs in Ubx and Abd-A in the absence of the usual Hox Exd cofactor. For this, S2 DSRC cell lines stably expressing the Ubx protein, as well as HX or UA variants have been generated and analysed by ChiP-Seq experiments. Our data, compared to those previously obtained for Abd-A in the laboratory, set bases for apprehending the functional contribution and selective use of the HX and UA protein motifs, outside their established function in mediating interaction with the Exd cofactor

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Cheung, Hiu-yee Alice, and 張曉怡. "Contribution of risk-taking behaviors to falls for Chinese elderly." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45010626.

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Elswaifi, Shaadi Fouad. "The Molecular Characterization of Phosphorylcholine (ChoP) on Histophilus somni Lipooligosaccharide: Contribution of ChoP to Bacterial Virulence and Pathogenesis." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30079.

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Histophilus somni virulence factors include expression and antigenic variation of lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Phosphorylcholine (ChoP) is often expressed on H. somni LOS and also undergoes antigenic variation. In this study, five genes that play a role in expression and antigenic variation of ChoP, lic1ABCD and glpQ, were identified in the genome sequence of H. somni through sequence homology with Haemophilus influenzae genes. The open reading frame (ORF) of lic1A contained a variable number of tandem repeats of the tetranucleotide unit 5'-AACC-3'. Slipped strand mispairing in the repeat region during replication leads to shifting the downstream reading frame in and out of frame with the start codon, thus controlling phase variation of lic1A expression. Removal of the repeats from lic1A, cloning the gene in E. coli, and performing a functional assay on the product indicated that lic1A encodes a choline kinase and that the repeats were not required for expression of a functional gene product. Variation in the number of repeats in lic1A correlated with the antigenic variation of ChoP expression in strain 124P, but not in strain 738. This result supported previous findings that antigenic variation of ChoP expression in strain 738 is controlled through extension/truncation of the LOS outer core. Therefore, these results indicated that the lic1ABCD and glpQ genes control expression and antigenic variation of ChoP on the LOS of H. somni and that there are two possible mechanisms for ChoP antigenic variation. The role of H. somni expression of ChoP in colonization of the host respiratory tract was also examined. Experimental infection in the natural host showed that the population of H. somni that expresses ChoP was enriched in the bacteria that colonized the respiratory tract. In addition, bacteria expressing ChoP were able to aggregate bovine platelets through binding to the platelet activating factor receptor (PAF-R), which is also present on epithelial and endothelial cells. These results indicated that ChoP may play a role in the process of colonization and subsequent systemic invasion of host tissues, which may occur through binding of ChoP to PAF-R. Bacteria that did not express ChoP were more prevalent in systemic sites, indicating that ChoP expression may be disadvantageous for the organism during systemic dissemination.
Ph. D.

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Gordon, Rachael P. E. "The contribution of human factors to accidents and near misses in the offshore oil and gas industry : development of a human factors investigation tool." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2002. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=191755.

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This thesis examines the methods used by high reliability industries to collect incident data regarding the human factors causes and uses this information to develop a tool for the investigation of accidents and incidents. The focus is the UK offshore oil gas industry, where attention to human behaviour in incident analysis has increased in importance with the reliability of technology. It is proposed that such analysis is also applicable to other high reliability organisations. Reviews of accident causation research, incident reporting and investigation systems, as well as safety climate studies, have provided the basis for three empirical studies. Two reporting forms and one investigation tool have been designed and tested in the offshore oil and gas industry. The first reporting form contains 11 open questions to be completed by the witnesses to incidents. The second reporting form contains 166 questions, which provide more cues for the users to describe the possible causes of the incident. The human factors investigation tool (HFIT) is a more complex method of collecting incident data and contains a total of 391 questions to aid investigators determine the contributing factors to the incident. This thesis provides some evidence that the two reporting forms and the investigation tool have improved the investigation of the human factors causes of incidents over and above the oil companies existing systems. This was accomplished by applying psychological theories and methods successfully used in other industries to develop the reporting and investigation system which focus mainly on the human and organisational causes of accidents. HFIT combines aspects from a number of investigation tools currently used in other industries, such as processes for investigation and causal codes. In addition, the question set of categories, elements, sub-elements and item codes has been developed as a computer programme which is a unique system for incident investigation. The system includes an original set of team working and safety culture questions based on current research in these areas.

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Haffner, Christopher W. "Examination of Stat6-regulated genes and their contribution to the development of a lympho-proliferative disorder." Virtual Press, 2007. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1380101.

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Stat6 is a protein that activates the transcription of IL-4-stimulated genes. Amino acids critical for Stat6 function were examined in a mutational analysis of the Src homology (SH2) domain of the Stat6 protein. One mutation, substitution of two Alanines for Valine and Threonine in the N-terminal portion of the SH2 domain, produced a constitutively active form of the molecule that did not require IL-4 for activation. This mutant was named Stat6VT. Mice expressing Stat6VT in lymphocytes were generated, and it was found that approximately 10% of the population of Stat6VT mice, a lympho-proliferative disorder (LPD) occurred. In this study, we are examining genes that have a possible role in the development of this proliferative condition. Specifically, we examined the expression levels of Tiam1, Tacstdl, and Gfi-1 and Gfi-1B (genes known to regulate cellular proliferation and survival) in wildtype, normal Stat6VT and Stat6VT/LPD splenocytes by RT-PCR. Tiam1 results were inconclusive, and Tacstdl was not expressed at levels different from those seen in controls. Interestingly, Gfi-1 B, the homolog of Gfi-1, was expressed at increased levels in a specific subpopulation of cells from Stat6VT/LPD mice. Taken together, these data suggest that in cells expressing a constitutively active Stat6, increased expression of Gfi-1B may play a role in the mechanism of lymphoma development.
Department of Biology

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Bui, Thu trang. "Factors affecting microfinance development in Vietnam." Thesis, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017USPCD065/document.

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L’émergence de la micro-finance a été vue comme un remède pour un grand nombre de problèmes sociaux issus de la pauvreté en vertu de son efficacité dans l’octroi de crédits, dans l’amélioration de l’équité sociale ainsi que dans la réduction du niveau de pauvreté. Des millions de foyers en dessous du seuil de pauvreté n’ayant pas accès aux services bancaires ont ainsi pu accéder à des services financiers au travers de programmes de micro-finance. Cependant, le développement de la micro-finance ne suit pas un modèle identique pour tous les pays et les Institutions de Micro-finance (IMF) ont eu différents degrés de rentabilité. Beaucoup d’entre elles doivent encore faire face à des contraintes majeures pour fournir de manière efficace des services de micro-finance rentables. L’expansion des programmes de micro-finance reste un grand défi qui fait barrière au développement du secteur de cette dernière. Quelles pourraient être les raisons expliquant cette inefficience ?Cette thèse a pour but de contribuer à l’état des connaissances actuelles ainsi qu’aux recherches sur le développement et les caractéristiques du secteur de la micro-finance en analysant les facteurs stratégiques pouvant avoir un effet sur son développement dans le contexte du Vietnam.Pour ce faire, il sera appliqué à la fois des méthodes de recherche qualitatives et quantitatives.Nous effectuerons une analyse comparative entre l’innovation financière dans le système de micro-finance du Vietnam et deux modèles de référence internationaux : la Grameen Bank et la banque Rakyat d’Indonésie (BRI) afin de déterminer quelles contraintes limitent l’ampleur et la portée des activités de micro-finance au Vietnam ; quels types de modèles de microfinance sont adéquats : que cela soit pour des modèles commerciaux à but lucratif ou pour des projets de micro-finance sociale. Par ailleurs, des analyses empiriques seront portées par les techniques OLS et GMM afin d’examiner l’impact de l’environnement institutionnel ainsi que des facteurs macroéconomiques sur la rentabilité des IMF’s. Les résultats donnent la preuve d’une persistance de la rentabilité et de l’existence d’économies d’échelle en micro-finance. La qualité des prêts semble être un facteur déterminant concernant la rentabilité des IMF’s au Vietnam. Notre analyse confirme également le rôle important de l'État ainsi que le rôle décisif dans l'auto-innovation des institutions de microfinance
The appearance of microfinance has been known as a remedy for many social ills rooted in poverty because of its efficacy in credit dispensation, social equality enhancement and reduction of poverty. Millions of poor and non-bankable people in developing countries have been provided access to formal financial services through microfinance programs. However, the development of microfinance is not a single model for all country and microfinance institutions (MFIs) have had various degree of sustainability. Many MFIs still face major constraints in their pursuit of effectively delivering microfinance services profitably. Expansion of microfinance programs remains a formidable challenge for the development of microfinance industry. What would be reasons for that inefficiency?This thesis seeks to contribute to the current state of knowledge and research thoroughly on the development and the characteristics of microfinance industry by investigating strategic factors affecting microfinance development in Vietnam context. It applies both qualitative and quantitative research methods.We develop comparative analysis between financial innovation of Vietnam microfinance system and two other international benchmarks namely Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and the Bank Rakyat of Indonesia (BRI) to figure out what constraints limit the scale and scope of Vietnam microfinance activities; what types of microfinance models are suitable: whether for-profit commercial models or social microfinance ventures in Vietnam context. Besides, empirical work is carried out using both OLS and GMM techniques to examine the impact of institutional environment as well as macroeconomic factors on MFIs’ profitability. The results present evidence on a dynamic role of profitability and economies of scale in microfinance. Loan quality seems to be a very important determinant of MFI’s profitability in Vietnam. Our analysis also confirms the significant role of State level as well as the decisive role in self-innovation of microfinance institutions

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Murcia, Marie. "Rôle des facteurs psychosociaux au travail sur les troubles de la santé mentale et leur contribution dans les inégalités sociales de santé mentale." Thesis, Paris 11, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012PA11T085/document.

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Les facteurs psychosociaux au travail sont devenus un enjeu de santé publique et de santé au travail et font l’objet d’une attention particulière des politiques de prévention. Cependant, le rôle étiologique de ces facteurs sur la santé mentale reste à approfondir, notamment via des études intégrant un outil diagnostique, rarement utilisé dans ce contexte. De plus, le rôle de ces facteurs dans l’explication des inégalités sociales de santé mentale reste mal connu. Les objectifs de la thèse sont donc l’étude du rôle étiologique des facteurs psychosociaux au travail sur les troubles de la santé mentale mesurés par un instrument diagnostique et l’évaluation de leur contribution dans les inégalités sociales de santé mentale.Deux jeux de données ont été exploités : Samotrace (enquête régionale sur 6056 salariés) et SIP -Santé et Itinéraire Professionnel- (enquête nationale sur 7709 travailleurs). Samotrace se caractérise par la présence de questionnaires validés pour la mesure des facteurs psychosociaux au travail, et SIP par la présence d’un outil diagnostique pour la mesure de la dépression et de l’anxiété. Des méthodes statistiques multivariées ont été employées, notamment la régression logistique. Des tests d’interactions et la méthode du bootstrap ont également été utilisés. Toutes les analyses ont été réalisées séparément pour les hommes et les femmes.La faible latitude décisionnelle, le surinvestissement et les exigences émotionnelles étaient des facteurs de risque de dépression et d’anxiété, pour les deux genres. D’autres facteurs de risque spécifiques ont été observés selon la pathologie et le genre (insécurité de l’emploi, forte demande psychologique, conflit éthique, faibles récompenses). Peu d’inégalités sociales de santé mentale ont été mises en évidence hormis pour la santé perçue, au détriment des salariés les moins qualifiés. Les facteurs professionnels contribuaient à réduire les inégalités sociales de santé perçue de 76% et plus, selon le genre et la profession. Parmi eux, les facteurs psychosociaux au travail jouaient un rôle substantiel notamment la faible latitude décisionnelle, et dans une moindre mesure (selon la profession et le genre) : le faible soutien social, les faibles récompenses, le travail de nuit, les difficultés de conciliation vie professionnelle-vie familiale, les violences et menaces/humiliations.Des actions de prévention ciblées sur les facteurs de risque identifiés, y compris sur des facteurs psychosociaux au travail émergents, pourraient être envisagées et une meilleure prise en compte de ces facteurs en milieu de travail serait nécessaire. Développer les connaissances sous l’angle des inégalités sociales de santé mentale permettrait de dégager des pistes d’actions correctives adaptées aux groupes sociaux ou professionnels les plus concernés. Les études étant transversales, les résultats observés devront être confirmés par d’autres travaux
Psychosocial work factors are a public health and occupational health issue and are the object of special prevention policies. However, the etiological role of these factors on mental health need to be developed, particularly studies using diagnostic interviews, rarely used in this context. Moreover, the role of these factors in the explanation of social inequalities in mental health is still unknown. The objectives of this PhD thesis are to study the etiological role of psychosocial work factors on mental disorders, measured using a diagnostic interview, and to evaluate the contribution of these factors to social inequalities in mental health.The data from two surveys were used: Samotrace (regional survey based on 6056 employees) and SIP (national survey based on 7709 workers). The main feature for Samotrace was the use of validated questionnaires to measure psychosocial work factors, and for SIP it was the use of a diagnostic instrument to measure depressive and anxiety disorders. Multivariate analyses were conducted, including logistic regression analysis. Interaction tests and the bootstrap method were also used. All analyses were carried out separately for men and women.Low decision latitude, overcommitment and emotional demands were found to be risk factors for depressive and anxiety disorders, for both genders. Other risk factors were observed according to gender or mental health outcome studied (job insecurity, high psychological demands, ethical conflict, low reward). Few social inequalities in mental health were observed except for self-reported health; manual workers being more likely to report poor health. Occupational factors reduced social inequalities in health by 76% and more, according to gender and occupation studied. Among occupational factors, psychosocial work factors played a substantial role, particularly low decision latitude, and to a lesser extent (according to occupation and gender): low social support, low reward, night work, work-life imbalance, physical violence and bullying.Prevention actions focussing on identified risk factors, including emergent psychosocial work factors, should be considered and a better implementation at workplace would be necessary. Improving knowledge on social inequalities of mental health may lead to adequate preventive actions targeting the most exposed social or occupational groups. As our studies were cross-sectional, our results should be confirmed by forthcoming prospective studies

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Miendjé, Deyi Véronique Yvette. "Contribution au management de l'infection à Helicobacter pylori en Belgique." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209925.

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Peu étudiée et méconnue, initialement décrite au début du XXe siècle, Helicobacter pylori fut redécouverte en 1982 par deux chercheurs australiens, JR Warren et BJ Marshall. Ils soutinrent que la plupart des ulcères gastro-duodénaux étaient causés par cette bactérie, et non par le stress ou la nourriture épicée, comme pensé auparavant. Cette découverte révolutionna le monde de la gastroentérologie et leur valut le prix Nobel de physiologie et de médecine 2005. Environ la moitié de la population mondiale est colonisée par H. pylori au niveau de l'estomac. Dans 10 à 20% des cas, l'infection peut évoluer vers un ulcère gastro-duodénal et dans certains cas vers une transformation maligne. Cette infection se soigne classiquement à l'aide d'une trithérapie associant 2 antibiotiques à un inhibiteur de la pompe à protons pour neutraliser l'acidité gastrique.

Notre travail de recherche a consisté à analyser la proportion de patients infectés par H. pylori dans une cohorte de plus de 22.000 patients, issus de divers groupes ethniques, vivant en Belgique. Ces souches de H. pylori, isolées dans notre laboratoire, à partir des biopsies gastriques, ont aussi servi à une étude pour suivre l'évolution de la résistance aux antibiotiques ces 20 dernières années afin de proposer des améliorations de la prise en charge thérapeutique de l'infection à H. pylori en Belgique.
Doctorat en Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Fribourg, Rebecca. "Contribution to the study of factors influencing the sense of embodiment towards avatars in virtual reality." Thesis, Rennes 1, 2020. http://www.theses.fr/2020REN1S052.

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Le terme "avatar" fait référence à la représentation des utilisateurs dans un monde virtuel, dans le cas où ils portent un casque de réalité virtuelle et ne peuvent donc pas voir leur propre corps. Les avatars sont désormais devenus une exigence majeure dans les applications de réalité virtuelle immersive, ce qui accroît la nécessité de mieux comprendre et identifier les facteurs qui influencent le sentiment d'incarnation d'un utilisateur envers son avatar. Dans cette thèse, nous avons défini trois axes de recherche pour explorer l'influence de plusieurs facteurs sur le sentiment d'incarnation, en nous basant sur une catégorisation qui ne prend pas seulement en compte les facteurs liés à l'avatar, mais aussi les facteurs liés à l'environnement virtuel et à l'utilisateur. En premier lieu, nous avons étudié l'influence des environnements virtuels partagés sur le sentiment d'incarnation, dans une étude où les utilisateurs accomplissaient une tâche ensemble dans le même environnement virtuel, et dans une autre étude où les utilisateurs partageaient le contrôle du même avatar. Dans une deuxième partie, nous avons exploré les interrelations entre les facteurs liés aux avatars qui influencent le sentiment d'incarnation. Enfin, dans une troisième partie, nous avons étudié l'influence des différences individuelles des utilisateurs sur le sentiment d'incarnation
The term "avatar" refers to the representation of users in a virtual world, in the case where they are immersed in Virtual Reality with a Head-Mounted Display and therefore cannot see their own body. Avatars have now become a major requirement in immersive virtual reality applications, increasing the need to better understand and identify the factors that influence users’ sense of embodiment towards their avatar. In this thesis, we defined three axes of research to explore the influence of several factors on the sense of embodiment, based on a categorization that did not only consider factors related to the avatar, but also factors related to the virtual environment and the user. In the first part, we have studied the influence of shared virtual environments on the sense of embodiment, in a study where users performed a task together in the same virtual environment, and in another experiment in which users even shared the control of the same avatar. In a second part, we explored interrelations within avatar-related factors influencing the sense of embodiment, using a new methodological approach with a subjective matching technique. Finally, in a third part, we investigated the influence of users’ individual differences on the sense of embodiment

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Siu, Ka-Chun. "The contribution of attentional factors to balance constraints during gait in healthy and balance-impaired older adults." view abstract or download file of text, 2006. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1251883161&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-135). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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Thawani, Neeta. "The contribution of host-and parasite-derived factors to erythropoietic suppression underlying the development of malarial anemia /." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=111901.

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Severe anemia is the most prevalent life-threatening complication of malaria infection. In addition to destruction of red blood cells (RBC), decreased RBC production or erythropoietic suppression has been shown to contribute to malarial anemia. The mechanism of this suppression is unknown, but it is considered to be multifactorial since erythropoietic suppression can be observed in the presence of both inflammatory mediators and parasite-derived factors. Experiments presented in this thesis aimed at determining the role of host cytokines released in response to blood-stage malaria infection and parasite-derived factors in erythropoietic suppression underlying the development of malarial anemia. Pro-inflammatory cytokines released during malaria infection have been proposed to play a central role in erythroid suppression. To dissect the discrete roles of these cytokines in the processes leading to anemia, mice were treated with CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) which, like malaria infection in humans and experimental mouse models, induces an acute type 1 pro-inflammatory response. CpG-ODN treatment induced anemia, which was associated with suppressed erythropoiesis and reduced RBC survival. Importantly, CpG-ODN-induced IFN-gamma was found to be the major factor mediating erythropoietic suppression but not decreased RBC survival. We also studied the roles of Th1, Th2 and anti-inflammatory cytokines produced in response to Plasmodium chabaudi AS infection in the development of erythropoietic suppression during blood-stage malaria. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)6, required for signaling of the Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, was shown to play a critical role in malarial anemia by inhibiting the proliferation and differentiation of erythroid cells. We also observed that suppressed erythropoiesis is a general feature in mice infected with various rodent Plasmodium species that differ in their clinical manifestations and immune responses. Since parasite-derived factors have been shown to contribute to malarial pathogenesis including anemia, the contribution of P. falciparum - and P. yoelii-derived products to erythropoietic suppression was investigated. Both Plasmodium-derived and synthetic hemozoin (Hz) suppressed the proliferation but not the maturation of erythroid progenitor cells in vitro. However, P. yoelii-derived Hz but not synthetic Hz induced transient anemia in mice. These findings provide novel insights into the complex interactions between the parasite and host immune system and the regulation of erythropoiesis during severe malarial anemia.

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Jones, Daniel M. "The contribution of viral and host cell factors to replication of the hepatitis C virus RNA genome." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2009. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1056/.

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Studies on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle have been aided by the development of in vitro systems that permit replication of the viral RNA genome and virus particle production. However, the exact functions of the viral proteins, particularly those engaged in RNA synthesis, are poorly understood. It is thought that NS4B, one of the replicase components, induces the formation of replication complexes (RCs) derived from host cell membranes. These RCs appear as punctate foci at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and incorporate the viral and cellular proteins necessary for HCV RNA synthesis. To gain insight into the nature of RCs, green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inserted into the coding region of NS5A, one of the HCV-encoded replicase components. The impact of the GFP insertion was examined in the context of a subgenomic replicon (SGR) based on JFH1, a genotype 2a HCV strain that exhibits efficient RNA replication in cell culture. The resulting construct was capable of robust replication and allowed characterisation of NS5A in live cells that synthesised viral RNA. NS5A displayed a diffuse, ER-like distribution and was also observed in foci. These foci are presumed to represent RCs and NS5A was relatively immobile at these sites. This result was confirmed using SGRs harbouring a photoactivatable derivative of GFP (PAGFP). Utilising plasmid-encoded HCV polyproteins, it was apparent that the targeting of NS5A to these structures was dependent on NS4B. Removal of the NS4B coding region resulted in a diffuse, ER-like distribution of NS5A, with little evidence of the protein within RCs. NS5A was mobile under these conditions, suggesting that the dynamics of NS5A are linked to focus formation by NS4B. To further investigate these findings, a panel of 15 alanine substitutions was constructed in the C-terminal region of NS4B. Transient replication assays revealed that five mutants were incapable of replication, two displayed an attenuated phenotype, and eight exhibited replication levels comparable to the wild-type (wt) genome. Of the five non-replicating mutants, two were defective in their ability to produce foci, while one failed to generate any foci. Thus, the C-terminus of NS4B is important for RC formation. Loss of NS4B foci correlated with decreased NS5A located in these structures. Furthermore, NS5A hyperphosphorylation was reduced for mutants compromised in foci production. This suggests that the membranous changes induced by NS4B provide a favourable environment for post-translational modifications of NS5A. Interestingly, the remaining two non-replicating mutants displayed no impairment in foci production and the characteristics of NS5A were also unaltered. Therefore, in addition to producing the cellular environment for HCV genome synthesis, NS4B is likely to play a more direct role in RNA replication. HCV RCs are believed to be relatively enclosed structures that permit limited exchange of materials with the cytoplasm. In support of this hypothesis, previous reports have shown that NS5A is the only replicase component capable of restoring replication to defective genomes when supplied in trans. In those studies, SGRs harbouring replication-lethal NS4B mutations could not be rescued by trans-complementation. Utilising the five novel non-replicating genomes described above, the potential to trans-complement NS4B in transient replication assays was re-examined. Wt protein produced from a functional HCV replicon could trans-complement defective NS4B expressed from two of the five mutants. Moreover, active replication could be reconstituted from two defective viral RNAs harbouring mutations within NS4B and NS5A. These findings have important implications for our understanding of RC formation. Genome-length JFH1 RNA produces infectious virus particles in Huh-7 cells. Using this system, it has become increasingly apparent that some HCV-encoded replication components are also involved in virus assembly and release. To determine whether NS4B had any influence on these latter stages of the virus life cycle, the NS4B mutations that did not block RNA replication were introduced into the full-length JFH1 genome. While the majority of mutants had no effect on virus production, one mutant consistently enhanced infectious virus titres by up to five-fold compared to wt JFH1. Interestingly, introduction of the same mutation into a chimeric J6-JFH1 genome resulted in repressed virion production. Together, these results suggest that NS4B contributes to virus assembly and release in a genotype-specific manner. In an attempt to identify novel cellular proteins involved in HCV genome replication, a siRNA library targeting 299 nucleotide-binding proteins was screened. For the screen, a robust system was established using two cell lines (derived from Huh-7 and U2OS cells) that replicated tri-cistronic SGRs. While the U2OS cell line supported HCV RNA replication less efficiently compared to Huh-7 cells, this cell type was efficiently transfected with siRNA. Consequently, increased gene-silencing and greater effects on HCV replication were observed in the U2OS cell line. Thus, U2OS cells may be a suitable alternative to Huh-7 cells for HCV-related siRNA studies. For the library screen, all siRNAs were tested in both cell lines, and cell viability measurements allowed specific effects on viral RNA synthesis to be characterised. The screen identified several cellular proteins that enhanced and suppressed HCV RNA replication. This study provides an important framework for more detailed analyses of these proteins in the future.

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OLIVEIRA, GILBERTO RANGEL DE. "INTERIOR DESIGN METHOD IN BRAZIL: A CONTRIBUTION OF HUMAN FACTORS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2016. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=31359@1.

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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
O método projetual da atividade design de interiores, com enfoque no processo, é o objeto de estudo desta pesquisa. Propõe-se agregar os conhecimentos da ergonomia do ambiente construído a práticas de projeto existentes, a fim de contribuir com o desenvolvimento dessa profissão. A atividade de design de interiores vem sendo exercida no Brasil predominantemente por arquitetos, designers e designers de interiores. Acredita-se que os princípios da ergonomia do ambiente construído podem contribuir com melhorias na elaboração dos projetos desse segmento de criação tridimensional. Nesta pesquisa, faz-se uma revisão das metodologias utilizadas pelos profissionais que exercem a atividade de design de interiores e revisa-se os principais métodos utilizados na ergonomia com foco na análise do usuário e do ambiente. Busca-se compreender através de pesquisa descritiva junto aos profissionais e usuários como ocorre o processo projetual desta atividade, abordando-se todas as etapas do trabalho. As revisões das metodologias existentes, os resultados encontrados nas inquirições e as análises realizadas, servirão de aporte para um método projetual que contemple, além das etapas naturais do projeto de interiores, aspectos da ergonomia do ambiente construído.
The method of interior design project in Brazil is the object of study of this research. Proposes to add the human factors in environmental design knowledge to existing design practices in order to contribute to the development of this profession. Mainly architects, designers and interior designers have practiced the interior design activity. It is believed that the principles of the human factors in environmental design can contribute to improvements in the preparation of projects. In this research, it is a review of the methodologies used by the professionals engaged in the interior design activity and is reviewed, the main methods used in ergonomics focusing on user analysis and in the environment. The aim is to verify through qualitative research with professionals and users, as in the design process of this activity, approaching all stages of the work. Revisions of existing methodologies, the results found in inquiries and analyzes, will serve as input for a proposed schematic modeling covering beyond the natural stages of the interior design project, ergonomic aspects of the human factors in environmental design.

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Proudlove, Nathan Charles. "The support of group decision making using judgemental modelling : an exploration of the contribution of behavioural factors." Thesis, University of Manchester, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.631708.

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The dominant paradigms in the decision supporting disciplines of operational research (OR) and group decision support systems (GDSS) have a unitary and functionalist outlook, and believe they design group decision support processes that promote procedural rationality through reducing group process losses. Though potentially very valuable, insights from the behavioural sciences have not been much investigated by group decision support researchers. Past investigations into the effects of individual differences have produced ambiguous and contradictory results, probably as a result of using inappropriate theory and instruments. Issues of plurality of interests, power and conflict have not been given much consideration within the dominant paradigms. Also, despite imposing structured support processes on groups of decision makers, the effects of these support processes on group dynamics and group development have received very little attention. This thesis describes the use of multiattribute decision making (MADM) software, the Judgemental Analysis System (JAS), as part of a longitudinal group decision support process intended to help decision makers explore and develop preferences. Though all steps are not computer-supported, the process can be thought of as very similar in use and effect to a GDSS. Measures to indicate individual and group behaviours are derived from the MADM data. Multidimensional scaling is used to produce perceptual maps to explore and demonstrate these behaviours. The cognitive style of decision makers is assessed using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI), and interpersonal influence data collected using questionnaires. Changes in perceptions are found to decrease in magnitude over the course of the JAS process, suggesting that the decision makers are developing clearer perspectives on the problem. Group consensus is found to increase over the JAS process, particularly at the early stages. Investigations into this suggest that this may (in part) be a manifestation of 'Groupthink' and similar phenomena that lead members of groups to conform, avoiding dissent at the cost of reducing the quality of the process and its outcome. This suggests that more effort should be made in the support process to guard against such confounds to rationality. Group members perceived to be influential by the rest of the group are found to be affecting the perspectives of the group as whole. Before the implications for the decision support process can be determined, further research is required to investigate the grounds for this influence. The effects of interpersonal influence are not evident at the level of the behaviour of the individual decision makers. No relationships are found between behaviour and individual or group (aggregated) level cognitive style. This is an important finding and lends weight to arguments that the knowledge from the behavioural sciences concerning this aspect of individual difference need not be incorporated into the type of OR and GDSS studied here. However, this type of investigation leads to consideration of interpersonal (i.e. grouplevel) processes such as group development. The required deeper investigation into such pluralistic ideas from the behavioural sciences represents a major challenge for OR and GDSS, but one with potentially very fruitful results for the improved support of group decision making.

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Larkin, Amanda. "An examination of the contribution of clinical and psychological factors to treatment decision-making capacity in psychosis." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22885.

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Purpose: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to identify what factors have been investigated as correlates of the 4 key domains of treatment decision making capacity (TDMC) in people who have experienced psychosis (understanding, reasoning, appreciation, communication) and to provide estimates of the magnitude of these correlations, taking into account study quality. A novel empirical study was conducted to test the hypothesis that variance in psychosis-specific cognitive biases (including the well-established ‘jumping to conclusions’ bias) would account for unique variance in TDMC domains in those with psychosis, after taking into account the known contribution of symptoms and insight. A secondary aim of the empirical study was to examine for the first time the relationship between TDMC and personal recovery in this group, and post hoc analyses of the relationship between cognitive biases, emotional distress and TDMC were also conducted. Methods: Electronic databases were systematically searched for literature on the schizophrenia and psychosis and treatment decision making capacity. Pooled estimates of correlation were estimated for factors with data from three or more studies, and both study and outcome quality were systematically assessed. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted, and individuals with psychosis completed measures of TDMC, cognitive biases, psychotic symptoms and recovery. Multiple regression was used to examine the primary and secondary hypotheses, and mediation analyses were used to conduct the post hoc analyses. Additional data from a parallel study was incorporated to increase power. Results: Twenty-four studies met inclusion criteria for the systematic review and meta-analysis. Low to moderate quality evidence suggested that the ability of people with psychosis to understand treatment-relevant information was strongly associated with overall psychotic symptom severity, verbal cognitive functioning and years of education, but not depression (moderate quality evidence). Low quality evidence suggested reasoning was strongly associated with verbal cognitive functioning and moderately associated with symptoms. Appreciation was associated with symptoms, but it and communication were generally poorly studied. Findings from the empirical study suggest that cognitive biases, and the Jumping to Conclusions bias in particular, predicts a moderate amount of the variance in the understanding and reasoning TDMC domains, but did not add predictive power to a model containing symptoms, insight, and cognition. The appreciation domain was strongly predicted by cognitive biases, insight, and cognition. TDMC was not found to be correlated with personal recovery and post hoc analyses did not find that emotional distress mediated any relationship between cognitive biases and TDMC. Conclusions: The meta-analysis confirms there is a robust association between symptoms and TDMC in psychosis, as currently conceived. The empirical study suggests cognitive biases may be related to TDMC, even after taking into account the contribution of symptoms. Larger studies, perhaps employing experimental procedures, are required to clarify the exact nature of this relationship. The lack of any relationship between TDMC and service-user defined recovery from psychosis is notable, and lends support to those calling for a conceptualisation of TDMC that takes greater account of this concept.

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Fritz, Nora Elizabeth. "Contribution of Motor and Cognitive Factors to Gait Variability and Fall Risk:From Clinical Assessment to Neural Connectivity." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1373987431.

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Karimi, Hassan. "The Contribution of Common Factors to Therapeutic Outcomes from the Clinician's Perspective: A Mixed Method Study to Explore Common Mechanisms of Change." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64182.

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While the Common Factors (CFs) model is becoming more popular it has been criticized for the lack of empirical evidence compared to empirically supported treatments and the lack of capacity to guide clinicians on what to do and when to do it in the course of therapy. This parallel mixed methods study addressed both of these critiques. In phase one, a Common Factors Questionnaire (Karimi-CFQ) was developed to collect empirical data of CFs. In phase two, the Karimi-CFQ was administered to 391 clinicians in the United States to survey the therapists' perspective regarding the contribution of common factors to therapy outcomes. In this phase data was also collected to assess the relationship between clinicians' demographic characteristics and their perceived contribution of common factors to therapeutic change. The CFQ Cronbach's Alpha and Split-half reliability were .84 and .87, respectively. Content Validity Index by expert panel, concurrent validity, and construct validity including Exploratory Factors Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA, χ²=797.96, df=326; RMSEA=.06; CFI=.83) evaluated the validity of the scale. Clinicians across five clinical orientations (Integrative, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Postmodern) and three mental health disciplines (marriage and family therapy, psychology, counseling) attributed 69% of therapeutic change to common factors versus 31% to model-specific factors. Clinicians attributed different contributions to specific components of the CFs model: client (25%), therapist (20%), relationship (23%), hope (12%), non-theory specific (11%), and systemic (9%). Particular clinicians' characteristics (e.g., gender, year of experience) were found to be associated with contributions of specific components of CFs. In phase three, six CF experts were invited to respond to open-ended questions via Wiki that explored how and when experienced therapists use specific common factors in the course of therapy to reach to their therapy goals. Thematic Analysis (TA) generated a chronological map with specific themes that can guide clinicians on how and when specific CFs can be used in each of the three stages of therapy (i.e. Initial, Intermediate, Termination). Findings further indicated that CFs and model-specific factors can be operationally defined and empirically studied within the same evidence-based practice framework. Clinical and research implications of the results are also discussed.
Ph. D.

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Mudavanhu, Young. "The contribution of theory and practice to the professional development of students learning to become secondary teachers in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/15888.

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This research investigated the perceptions of student-teachers and lecturers regarding Initial Teacher Education (ITE) for secondary teachers in Zimbabwe. The ways in which factors in and between the university and school settings for ITE shaped learning to teach were investigated. Student-teachers’ and lecturers’ perceptions of the development of ideas as student-teachers moved through the different stages of training were also investigated. The study employed a qualitative case study methodology and methods - interviews, biographical questionnaires and document analysis. Data analysis began by defining a priori themes and identifying parts of the interview transcripts that were relevant to these a priori themes. The initial coding was then refined by adding additional codes which emerged from the data to create a final coding template to interpret findings. Activity Theory was used to provide a conceptual map to help describe and analyse the findings. Student-teachers had varied backgrounds and motives for joining the teacher education programme. These were often at variance with the goals of ITE. They had pre-conceived ideas about teaching from their years of schooling, prior training and work experience. Student-teachers were learning to teach in the university setting and attempting to prove their competence in school settings. In both settings students, teachers and lecturers constituted the learning communities. Relationships and availability of tools often determined the kind of support student-teachers were receiving. The factors encountered within and between the two different activity systems shaped learning to teach in various ways. ‘Taken-for-granted’ practices were not questioned and this limited the ways in which ideas presented in the university were used in the school setting. The student-teachers’ professional development, evident both to the students themselves as well as their lecturers, demonstrated not only growth in their pedagogical maturity, but also some deeper insights and the beginnings of their teacher identity. Much literature argues that learning to become an effective practitioner necessitates the use of reflective practice as a tool to resolve contradictions and for processing and internalising the complexities of boundary crossing between settings. The ‘theory-practice’ gap can be viewed as a ‘transformation space’ where teacher identity is often developed. A model to explain learning to teach made up of five elements is proposed: preconceived ideas of teaching, new ideas, contradictions, socialisation and reflective practice. The findings suggest that the university where the study was carried out should harmonise espoused practice and actual practice so that activities are consistent with the notion of concurrent learning. Concerted efforts are also needed to develop collaborative school-university partnerships, which foster reflective practice as a tool to promote professional development. Staff development programmes are needed to develop appropriate working practices. Working conditions for teachers need to be revised by the Zimbabwe government, both to encourage teaching as a desirable profession and to keep pace with changes occurring in pedagogic practice. Further research is needed to investigate how students can successfully negotiate and learn from university-school boundary crossing issues, and what sort of boundary brokers and tools are needed. Contextual factors in Zimbabwe are such that little funding is available to develop ITE. The challenge is to find innovative ways of using scarce resources to produce high quality teachers.

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Kaplan, Deborah L. "The contribution of school-level factors to contraceptive use among adolescents in New York city public high schools." Thesis, City University of New York, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3601808.

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Every year approximately 17,000 adolescents ages 15-19 become pregnant in New York City. Most of these pregnancies are unintended and only a small percent of adolescents use effective contraception, with wide disparities by race/ethnicity and poverty level. While many studies have identified factors associated with contraceptive use, most research has focused on individual level factors, with little attention to the contribution of the school environment to sexual risk behavior and contraceptive use. This study investigates the effect of school-level factors on contraceptive use among adolescents in NYC public high schools before and after controlling for individual-level factors, and whether this effect varies with race/ethnicity. Using a cross-sectional design, the NYC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) individual-level datasets for 2007, 2009 and 2011 were linked to a school-level dataset. Variables were selected based on empirical findings on factors associated with sexual behaviors, including contraceptive use, by adolescents. The analytic sample included all YRBS respondents aged 14 or older who reported having sexual intercourse in the past three months and had complete responses to the YRBS questions on contraceptive use at last sex (N=8,054). The chi square test of significance was used to evaluate significant associations between independent variables and contraceptive use in bivariate analyses; variables with a p value < 0.1 were included in the multivariable analyses. Binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the strength of the associations of school-level factors with contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents. Findings included that use of any contraception and/or hormonal contraception at last sexual intercourse was associated with attending schools with a higher six-year graduation rate, higher percent of students strongly agreeing they were safe in their classrooms, higher percent of teachers at the school for over two years, and having a School-Based Health Center (SBHC) in the building. No known study has examined the contribution of school-level effects to contraceptive use in a dataset linking YRBS and school-level datasets. Implications of research findings are that schools providing a supportive, engaging and safe environment can protect students from sexual risk behaviors and increase contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents.

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Lima, Tchaykowsky Adriano. "Contribution to the study of the factors that influence in the decision of the borrower of habitacional financing." Universidade Federal do CearÃ, 2004. http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=1928.

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Universidade Federal do CearÃ
This work deals with the several types of loan mortgage, within the context of the Brazilian dwelling house system, and their influence on the decision to be taken by the house buyer. The dissertation starts with the historic background of the Brazilian house dwelling problem since the time of the Monarchic until our days. It is also described the importance of the Government Financing Agencies to regulate, to manage and to reduce the deficit of houses in the Brazilian house dwelling system. These agencies are: Banco Nacional da HabitaÃÃo â BNH, o Sistema Financeiro Habitacional â SF and the Caixa EconÃmica Federal â CAIXA, which have had large influence in the history and in all other features of the Brazilian house dwelling system. The work focuses the tendencies of the international house dwelling system market, pointing out the success of the American and European models relating them with the programs installed in Brazil, such as the CAIXA program, the private bankers and the building societies loan mortgage systems. An analysis of the risk, financing costs, mortgage payback guarantee, and above of all, the financing protection of the house buyer is also done.
O tema da dissertaÃÃo ora apresentado aborda dentro da problemÃtica habitacional brasileira os diversos tipos de financiamentos habitacionais cujas decisÃes dos tomadores variam em funÃÃo dos fatores intrÃnsecos e extrÃnsecos desses financiamentos. A abordagem inicia-se descrevendo a evoluÃÃo, o crescimento e o desenvolvimento histÃrico habitacional, desde o momento da criaÃÃo dos mecanismos habitacionais atÃ os dias atuais. Nesse contexto inicial, tambÃm Ã abordado o papel preponderante dos ÃrgÃos criados com a finalidade de administrar e regulamentar o sistema habitacional do paÃs, como tambÃm considerados agentes de reduÃÃo do dÃficit habitacional, o Banco Nacional da HabitaÃÃo â BNH, o Sistema Financeiro Habitacional â SFH, a Caixa EconÃmica Federal â CAIXA, o Sistema Financeiro ImobiliÃrio, que marcaram a histÃria da polÃtica habitacional do Brasil. O trabalho focaliza as tendÃncias do mercado habitacional internacional, como modelos de sucessos implantados no mundo, relacionando-os com os programas implantados no Brasil, como os financiamentos habitacionais da CAIXA, de Bancos Comerciais privados, financiamentos de construtoras, ConsÃrcios ImobiliÃrios, abordando suas variÃveis de risco, custos econÃmicos e financeiros, garantias e sobretudo analisando a proteÃÃo do consumidor.

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Nguyen, Bach-Cuc. "Contribution to the study of the factors influencing Maillard reaction with dihydroxyacetone in order to induce cutaneous pigmentation." Paris 5, 2002. http://www.theses.fr/2002PA05P612.

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Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) réagit avec les acides aminés (aa) du stratum corneum (SC) par la réaction de Maillard pour donner une pigmentation temporaire. Une hydratation élevée mais pas l'absence de la lumière ou de l'oxygène inhibe la réaction. Les épidermes humains et de souris traités avec de la DHA montrent une dépendance biphasique en fonction de l'humidité relative (RH). La protéolyse de la filaggrine en aa en fonction de RH n'est pas impliquée dans la formation du pigment. Une réponse biphasique similaire a été obtenue avec des films d'alcool polyvinyliques contenant de la lysine indique que la structure du SC n'était pas un facteur essentiel. La réaction entre la DHA et la lysine à des concentrations variées en eau montre que la réaction est maximale à une teneur en eau intermédiaire. Ces résultats sont conformes à la réquisition d'eau à base RH pour initier la réaction et à l'inhibition des réactions de déshydratation par l'eau selon la loi de l'action de masse à haute RH
Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) reacts with amino acids in the stratum corneum (SC) through the Maillard reaction to provide temporary a pigmentation. High hydration but not the absence of light or oxygen inhibited the reaction. Murine and human epidermis treated with DHA showed a biphasic dependence on relative humidity (RH). Filaggrin proteolysis, which shows a similar dependence on RH and provides free amino acids in the SC, did not account for the RH-dependence of DHA pigmentation. A similar biphasic response was obtained with polyvinyl alcohol films containing lysine and treated with DHA indicated that the structure of the SC was not a major factor. The reaction of DHA with lysine at varying concentrations of water also showed a maximum reaction at an intermadiate level of water. These results are consistent with a requirement for water at low RH to initiate the reaction, and with inhibition of the dehydration reactions by water through the law of mass action at high RH

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Esposito, Christianne L. "An Examination of the Relative Contribution of Diagnostic and Psychosocial Factors in the Prediction of Adolescent Suicidal Ideation." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27077.

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The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relative importance of diagnostic and psychosocial factors in the prediction of adolescent suicidal ideation. Previous research has shown both sets of variables to be significantly related to suicidality but has failed to compare their relative efficacy in explaining suicidal ideation. It was hypothesized that diagnostic variables would afford better prediction of suicidal ideation than psychosocial variables, diagnostic variables would predict suicidal ideation above and beyond psychosocial variables, and psychosocial variables would predict suicidality after controlling for the effects of diagnostic variables. This study included valid diagnostic and psychosocial variables, employed independent diagnoses as opposed to diagnostic groupings, and utilized continuous measures of psychiatric symptomatology, in series of regression analyses to test these hypotheses. Results revealed that diagnostic variables, in particular, severity of major depressive disorder symptomatology, afforded the strongest prediction of suicidal ideation, even after controlling for psychosocial variables. The comorbid combination of mood disorder and generalized anxiety disorder was found to be the most strongly linked to suicidal ideation of all diagnostic combinations. However, social support added to the prediction of suicidal ideation above and beyond that offered by all diagnostic variables. Moreover, the interaction of social support and family environment predicted suicidality above and beyond severity of major depressive disorder symptomatology. It was concluded that optimal prediction of suicidality is likely obtained through the utilization of continuous measures of psychiatric symptomatology in suicide research. Moreover, suicide research and clinical practice should include examinations of both diagnostic and psychosocial variables to increase prediction and understanding of suicidal ideation in adolescents.
Ph. D.

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James, Lowellyne. "Perceptions of context, contribution, challenges and critical success factors in the adoption of sustainability footprints by Scottish SMEs." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2015. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/455062.

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This research explores perceptions of the context, contribution, challenges and critical success factors in the adoption of sustainability footprint strategy amongst Scottish SMEs. Critics of sustainability footprint measurement insist that by nature it records historical impact and does not incorporate the views of future generations and are a luxury for most firms except those achieving near monopolistic profits. Recent UK greenhouse gas policy initiatives are specifically targeted at large organisations and do not provide the institutional support required to assist SME's in greenhouse gas emissions reporting. Despite overwhelming evidence as to the benefits of sustainability footprint tools such as carbon footprints very few companies set emissions targets. Surprisingly still there is limited research conducted as to the benefits of sustainability footprint tools to SMEs and their perceptions as to its contribution to business success. Interviewees highlight that case study Scottish SMEs are driven to implement sustainability footprints to pre-empt future GHG legislation, process improvement, cost reduction, senior management commitment, emissions reduction, CSR and waste reduction. However the emphasis on GHG emissions has contributed to “carbon myopia” an exclusive focus on carbon footprint measurement. This research supports the view of senior management commitment as critical to the success of sustainability footprint measurement initiatives but policymakers also have an enabling role by ensuring fair competition, access to grants, mandatory guidelines for SMEs, tax incentives, fines, legislation, emissions league table and carbon reporting as a pre-qualification criteria for government tenders. Scottish SME interviewees adopt a sustainability negative perceptual orientation suggesting barriers to placing sustainability on the agenda such as implementation cost, lack of knowledge, sustainability competing with other issues on the agenda, time constraints, the transience of sustainability, inability to recoup carbon footprint costs, failure to recognise benefits, generational issues and communication Scottish SME case studies however reveal an ambivalent “love hate” relationship amongst interviewees with sustainability which varies depending on the proximity of the individual to the economic, social or environmental issue. Thereby underlining the importance of management's ability to influence stakeholders to remain sustainability positive in orientation through training, instruction and supervision that promotes sustainable behaviour. The Sustainable Strategic Growth Framework is proposed as a solution to the Sustainability/CSR Dilemma and to align employee behaviour with sustainability objectives.

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An, Ji Young. "Fine root dynamics and their contribution to carbon fixation in temperate forests of Japan and Korea." Kyoto University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/232364.

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Moffatt, Christine J. "A study to investigate the relative contribution of clinical and psychosocial factors in healing of patients with leg ulceration." Thesis, St George's, University of London, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.252108.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'FACTORS CONTRIBUTION'

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