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A computer-based eye movement recording system using the scleral search-coil technique
(Boston University, 1988) Fang, Jianjun
This eye-movement recording system uses the scleral search coil technique. It has two recording channels, which is extremely important in the binocular vision studies. It consists of four basic elements: magnetic field coils to generate horizontal and vertical oscillating magnetic fields, two ocular search coils to detect the eye positions, an eye movement monitor to separate and amplify the horizontal and vertical eye-movement signals, and a PDP11/23 data acquisition system to digitize the eye position signals and store them on the disk. Several programs analyze and plot the data. This system has recorded eye movements from normal subjects with high resolution, linearity, low drift, and low noise, when compared to other methods.
This system will be used in ophthalmological clinical and basic research.
The effects of a catastrophic flood upon surface water and groundwater in southwestern New Hampshire
(Boston University, 1988) Faldetta, Sarah K
The surface water and groundwater effects of a severe rainstorm and resulting catastrqphic flood in a rural northern New England watershed were investigated in this study. After the fourth wettest July on record in southwestern New Hampshire, 23 ern of rain fell within a 24-hour period in a limited portion of the mountainous 285-km~ Cold River drainage basin. Rainfall intensity records for the state were broken as 15 cm of precipitation fell in two hours on August 7, 1986. The following day, an additional 8 cm fell.
This intense rainfall, well in excess of a 100-yr storm, caused severe flooding in the area, as water was unable to infiltrate thin soils and till due to the saturated antecedent moisture conditions. Major erosion occurred on hillsides as deep gullies were cut and alluvial fans of cobbles and boulders were deposited on the floodplain. The storm caused the flood of record on the ungaged Cold River, based on paleoflood indicators, and resulted in the deposit ion of a 24,700 m^2 (6-acre) delta, composed of cobble-size imbricated clasts, at the mouth of the river. A 2 m rise in the water level of a monitoring well at a landfill was noted following the storm illustrating the effect of secondary recharge from runoff over bedrock and saturated soils that supplemented primary recharge. Water level fluctuations in the well were correlated with rainfall and spring discharge over the study period, to help define recharge-discharge properties of the aquifer beneath the landfill.
Evidence for the deficiency of low-density lipoprotein receptors on human colonic carcinoma cells
(Boston University, 1988) Fabricant, Michele
Studies were done to determine if human colon tumor cells use low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as a source of cholesterol. Cells from six human colonic adenocarcinoma lines (CaCo-2, HT29, LS174T, SW480, SW403 and SW1417) were assayed in vitro for their ability to use LDL. The growth of the tumor cells was not diminished in lipoproteindeficient serum, implying that the presence of LDL in the culture medium was not critical for cell growth. When cell growth was inhibited with mevinolin, a drug that inhibits cholesterol synthesis, the addition of LDL to the medium had no effect on the growth of cells from five of the six lines. CaCo-2 cells showed a slight increase in growth. These results suggested that the majority of the cell lines tested were unable to use LDL. A monoclonal antibody to the human LDL receptor was used in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine if these cells lacked receptors for LDL. The ELISA measured binding of the monoclonal antibody to cell monolayers. Of the six cell lines tested, only CaCo-2 cells consistently demonstrated the presence of LDL receptors. The same monoclonal antibody was used to assay frozen tissue sections from four human colonic adenocarcinomas for the presence of LDL receptors. Immunohistochemical staining experiments revealed the absence of detectable LDL receptors on these tumors. Adjacent non-neoplastic mucosa showed variable staining. Cells of the surface epithelium were positively stained, while cells toward the base of the crypts were unstained. Thus, data from both cell culture and human tissue studies indicate that human colon tumor cells are often deficient in LDL receptors.
Computer enhanced modelling of tidal velocities and circulation patterns, Buttermilk Bay, Massachusetts: a model study and development of methods for general application
(Boston University, 1988) Fish, Craig B
Buttermilk Bay is a tidal embayment located at the northern end of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, and is approximately 1.5 km long, 1.0 km wide, with an average depth of 1.0 m. Little Buttermilk Bay, located to the northeast of, and connected to Buttermilk Bay via Gibbs Narrows, is approximately 1.0 km long 0.33 km wide with an average depth of 0.6 km. Pleistocene glacial outwash surrounds the Bay providing minimal (0.34 m3 /s) freshwater input.
In order to determine the behavior of pollutants in Buttermilk Bay, a circulation model was developed using three methods: 1. analyzing hydrologic field measurements, 2. implementing a computer program which predicts flow velocities within the Bay, and 3. characterizing flow from geomorphic evidence.
The first method utilized hydrographic data to model bay circulation. Current measurements were recorded at six stations at the entrances to Buttermilk and Little Buttermilk Bay over four tidal cycles. These measurements corroborate that both Cohasset Narrows and Gibbs Narrows are flood dominated. Maximum flood currents for these channels were 20 cm/sec and 16 cm/sec greater than maximum ebb currents. Ebb durations for Cohasset Narrows (6:00) averaged 11 minutes longer than flood durations (5:49). The mean tidal prism for Buttermilk and Little Buttermilk Bay is 2.6 x 10' m3. The tidal prism equals half the volume of the bay at mean low water. The tidal prism and bay volume were used to calculate an average flushing rate of 4 days for Buttermilk Bay and 6 days for Little Buttermilk Bay.
The TEA 2-dimensional, finite element program was used as a second method to model the Bay. The program yielded reasonable depth-averaged current velocity magnitudes and directions for 145 selected locations for mean tidal conditions. From the computer calculated current data, water parcel trajectory maps were generated to show the circulation of a parcel of water over time.
In the third method, geomorphic evidence,such as the orientation of spits, was examined to determine predominant near shore and tidal currents. This information indicates that flow moves in a counter-clockwise direction along the shore of Buttermilk Bay. Additionally, the presence of large flood-tidal deltas in the entrances to Buttermilk and Little Buttermilk Bay, at Cohasset Narrows and Gibbs Narrows, respectively indicates the presence of flood dominated currents in these channels.
The relationship of family dysfunction and parental alcoholism to object relations and reality testing in adult children of alcoholics
(Boston University, 1989) Gold, Andrea R
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role played by family dysfunction and severity of parental alcoholism upon the object relations and reality testing of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs).
Participants included 172 students from Psychology and Sociology classes at an urban university. Forty-two of these students were assigned to the ACOA group based on a family a1coho11sm screening test. The remaining 130 constituted the comparison group. All students completed a Background Information Questionnaire, Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales III (modified), Michigan AlcohoHsm Screening Test (modified), Park Problem Drinking Questionnaire, and a Substance Abuse Background Inventory.
ACOAs did not display more impaired object relations than non-ACOAs. However, they did manifest more distortions in reality testing and did report more family dysfunction, particularly the greater the severity of family alcoholism, and family dissatisfaction. More generally, aspects of family dysfunction were correlated with impairment in object relations and reality testing for both ACOAs and non-ACOAs even after contro11ing for family alcoholism. Severity of family alcoholism was not correlated with Impairment In object relations or reality testing. Moreover, contrary to expectation, greatest impairment in object relations and reality testing was not found in ACOAs reporting a combination of the most severe family dysfunction and family alcoholism.
Exploratory questions revealed that ACOAs reported significantly more frequent family disruption events than non-ACOAs. ACOAs who did not report problems associated with parental alcoholism showed significantly greater distortions on aspects of reality testing than those who did report such problems. This suggests that problems in reality testing would also be reflected in distortions in one's perceptions of parental drinking as well. Neither seeking professional counseling nor age of onset of parental problem drinking was associated with impairment in object relations or reality testing In ACOAs. The personal drinking practices of ACOAs and non-ACOAs were also not significantly different.
Implications of these findings for both future research and clinical practice were discussed.
Current applications of the endomyocardial biopsy in clinical practice: the Mallory experience
(Boston University, 1989) Guidi, Anthony J
The following thesis consists of three sections.Section I represents an overview of the applications and limitations of the endomyocardial biopsy.
The effect of techniques used to promote mouth closure on drooling and speech of young children with cerebral palsy
(Boston University, 1988) Iammatteo, Patricia A
The efficacy of a feeding program using oral facilitation techniques to promote mouth closure to decrease drooling and increase vocalizations in two cerebral-palsied two-year-old males was explored. A single subject ABA experimental design was repeated across the subjects. Baseline 1 consisted of half-hour sessions during which the subjects were fed applesauce and apple juice without treatment. A one hour play session followed during which saliva was collected on an absorbent bib and weighed. Vocalizations produced by the subjects during a 15 minute period following feeding were recorded and counted. A 12 session phase followed which was identical to the baseline except that oral motor treatment was implemented. Treatment consisted of techniques to reduce tactile hypersensitivity before feeding and the application of jaw control during feeding. Baseline 2 consisted of 7 sessions identical to Baseline 1. Data were analyzed using graphic analysis and the celeration line method. Results relative to saliva weights for Subject 1 were difficult to interpret due to the low number of observations collected and instability of baseline data, but a decrease in drooling seemed to occur during the intervention phase as compared to the baseline. A significant decrease in drooling was observed in Subject 2 during the intervention phase. There was no apparent treatment effect on the number of bilabial vocalizations produced by either subject.
Surface stability and the development of grasp in infants
(Boston University, 1988) Hirschel, Amy
This study examines the acquisition of internal stability as it relates to the development of prehension in normal infants. Thirty-two infants, 7-14 months of age, were observed grasping a Cheerio from three styrene surfaces of different thickness. When placed on a platform in the testing device, these surfaces provided different amounts of support to the subject's hand. The infants were scored on their grasp patterns and on their success rates, that is, their ability to secure the Cheerio without dislodging the styrene surface from the platform device. Success rates increased with age demonstrating a decreasing need for support and a developmental progression in the acquisition of internal stability in the upper extremity. The effect of surface stability on grasp was dependent upon age. The oldest infants (13-14 months-old) consistently used mature pincer patterns despite changes in the support surface. The youngest group (7-8 months-old) were variable in their grasp patterns and reverted to less mature patterns when less surface stability was provided. The middle group (10-11 monthsold) appeared to be in a transitional stage between the variability of grasp seen in the younger infants and the consistency of the oldest group. Clinically, this study demonstrates the importance of evaluating infants' need for external support during fine motor tasks, and of providing adequate support when demands for skilled control are made.
Walter Benjamin and the antinomies of tradition
(Boston University, 1988) McCole, John
During the first half of the 1920's, Benjamin completed two major studies: one was an extended essay on a single work, Goethe's novel The Elective Affinities: the other, The Origins of German Trauersoiel , was a more formal, "scholarly" treatise in literary history and philosophical aesthetics, built upon an entire genre. In methodological terms, both were exemplary "Romantic" critiques in the sense he had defined in the dissertation. Proceeding from intrinsic, formal properties, they seek to unfold the immanent "idea" latent in their objects. The first explicates a single work of art from within; the second, by identifying the content and formal principles uniquely characteristic of TrauerspieL or German baroque tragic drama, dispels classicistic prejudices and sets a modern genre in its rights. At the same time, however, Benjamin was continuing to pursue his own immanent critique of romanticism itself. Each of these works proceeds against a danger latent in early Romanticism, dangers that had emerged from the romantic movement as its decay products: whereas the Goethe study attacks the vitalist cult of symbolic expression and myth, the Irauerspiel study turns its fire against the aesthetics of affirmative idealism. The implicit coordinates of Benjamin's project, in other words, were still set by the constellation that had guided his break with the youth...
Agricultural and macroeconomic behavior in Ethiopia's constrained economy: an econometric policy simulation study
(Boston University, 1988) Merid, Lemma
This study provides an integrated picture of the agricultural sector in Ethiopia and its interaction with other sectors of the economy. It has six chapters, of which, three form the substantive core. The other three constitute the introduction, the economic and institutional background and conclusion chapters. Among the core chapters, the first, Chapter III sets-up the farm-household decision problem in the Ethiopian rural setting and examines the comparative statics. The rural setting is characterized by rationing in the factor and product markets. Under such conditions, neo-classical assumptions and utility maximization yield supply response different from the conventional one. The comparative statics also examine the effect that changes in the price and the supply of manufactured goods to rural areas, and changes in the quantity of quota delivery to the government have on the supply response of agricultural output.
Chapter IV shifts the analysis from the household to the regional and then national agricultural markets. At this stage, new actors, including private grain merchants, are introduced. Now, the open market price for agricultural output becomes endogenous. Since the flow of agricultural goods is controlled, this causes price differential across regions. The latter factor in turn starts an interaction between markets. Here too, policy simulation has been undertaken to look at the effect on the open market price of various policy instruments. The chapter ends with an estimation of crop and aggregate supply response and sets the stage for the development of a small macroeconometric model.
In Chapter V the study aims at creating a link from the agricultural sector back to the non-agricultural sector which of course includes manufacturing operations. To make this true, the chapter introduces investment, foreign trade and the government sectors into the analysis and endogenizes the price of industrial goods. The model is essentially supply-driven with only two sectors. It has 14 behavioral equations and 39 identities. The results are then used, in Chaper VI, to assess the effect of a change in agricultural prices, foreign exchange adjustment and government resource mobilization on the growth of GDP, the BOP position and their components.