A29 NMR spin-lattice relaxation study of paramagnetics -doped orthosilictes

A ~si MAS NMR study of spin-lattice relaxation behaviour in paramagnetic-doped crystalline silicates was undertaken, using synthetic magnesium orthosilicate (forsterite) and synthetic zinc orthosilicate (willemite) doped with 0.1% to 20% of Co(II), Ni(II), or CU(II), as experimental systems. All of the samples studied exhibited a longitudinal magnetization return to the Boltzmann distribution of nuclear spin states which followed a stretched-exponential function of time: Y=exp [- (tjTn) n], Oand observe a direct proportionality between the spin-lattice relaxation time and paramagnetic dopant ion concentration, with Tni[M2+]i=Tnj[M2+]j for a given dopant and mineral. There are many cases where this correlation is not apparent, however, and this is attributed to the structural, phase, and ion distribution complexities inherent in many of these systems.

The role of molecular, clinical and socioeconomic factors in the long-term survival of axillary node negative breast cancer patients

The overall objective of this study was to investigate factors associated with long-term survival in axillary node negative (ANN) breast cancer patients. Clinical and biological factors included stage, histopathologic grade, p53 mutation, Her-2/neu amplification, estrogen receptor status (ER), progesterone receptor status (PR) and vascular invasion. Census derived socioeconomic (SES) indicators included median individual and household income, proportions of university educated individuals, housing type, "incidence" of low income and an indicator of living in an affluent neighbourhood. The effects of these measures on breast cancer-specific survival and competing cause survival were investigated. A cohort study examining survival among axillary node negative (ANN) breast cancer patients in the greater Toronto area commenced in 1 989. Patients were followed up until death, lost-to-follow up or study termination in 2004. Data were collected from several sources measuring patient demographics, clinical factors, treatment, recurrence of disease and survival. Census level SES data were collected using census geo-coding of patient addresses' at the time of diagnosis. Additional survival data were acquired from the Ontario Cancer Registry to enhance and extend the observation period of the study. Survival patterns were examined using KaplanMeier and life table procedures. Associations were examined using log-rank and Wilcoxon tests of univariate significance. Multivariate survival analyses were perfonned using Cox proportional hazards models. Analyses were stratified into less than and greater than 5 year survival periods to observe whether known markers of short-tenn survival were also associated with reductions in long-tenn survival among breast cancer patients. The 15 year survival probabilities in this cohort were: for breast cancerspecific survival 0.88, competing causes survival 0.89 and for overall survival 0.78. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status (Hazard Ratio (HR) ERIPR- versus ER+/PR+, 8.15,95% CI, 4.74, 14.00), p53 mutation (HR, 3.88, 95% CI, 2.00, 7.53) and Her-2 amplification (HR, 2.66, 95% CI, 1.36, 5.19) were associated with significant reductions in short-tenn breast cancer-specific survival «5 years following diagnosis), however, not with long-term survival in univariate analyses. Stage, histopathologic grade and ERiPR status were the clinicallbiologieal factors that were associated with short-term breast cancer specific survival in multivariate results. Living in an affluent neighbourhood (top quintile of median household income compared to the rest of the population) was associated with the largest significant increase in long-tenn breast cancer-specific survival after adjustment for stage, histopathologic grade and treatment (HR, 0.36, 95% CI, 0.12, 0.89).

An analysis of the photoelectron and Rydberg states of formaldehyde /|nby Carol R. Lessard. -- 260 St. Catharines [Ont.] : Dept. of Chemistry, Brock University,

Although it is generally accepted that Rydberg orbitals are very large and diffuse, and that electron promotion to a Rydberg orbital is not too different from ionization of the molecule, analysis of the two types of transitions proves otherwise. The photoelectron spectrum of the 2B2 (n) ion has very little vibrational structure attached to the origin band; on the other hand, several of the Rydberg transitions which involve the promotion of the n(bZ) electron exhibit a great deal of vibrational activity. In particular, the members of the n=3 Rydberg\ series interact with and perturb each other through pseudo-Jahn-Teller vibronic coupling. The vacuum ultraviolet spectrum contains a number of features which are difficult to explain, and two unusually sharp bands can only be identified as representing some form of electron promotion in formaldehyde.

An investigation into fungal metabolism of halogenated and related steroids

Fungal metabolism of halogenated and related steroids was investigated. The fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC 9142, Curvularia lunata NRRL 2380 and Rhizopus stolonifer ATCC6227b were studied in this regard. 2l-Fluoro-, 2l-chloro, 2l-bromo- and 2l-methyl-pregn-4-ene-3,20diones were prepared and incubated with ~ niger (a C-2l-hydroxylator) in order to observe the effect of the C-2l substituent on the metabolism of these substrates. In all four cases, the C-2l substituent prevented any significant metabolism of these substrates. llB-Fluoropregn-4-ene-3,20-dione was prepared and incubated with C. lunata (an llB-hydroxylator) and ~ stolonifer (an lla-hydroxylator). With ~ lunata, the ll-fluoro- substituent prevent hydroxylation at the 11 position, but diverted it to a site remote from the fluorine atom. In contrast, with ~ stolonifer the llB-fluoro- substituent, although slowing the apparent rate of hydroxylation, did not prevent its occurrence at the 11a- position. llB-Hydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione was also incubated with R. stolonifer. The llB-hydroxy-;group did not appear to have any significant effect on hydroxylation at the lla- position. The incubation of a substrate, unsaturated at a favoured site of hydroxylation with Rhizopus arrhizus ATCC 11145 provided a complex mixture of products; among them were both the a and S epoxides. The formation of these products is rationalized as arising because of the lack of regio- and stereospecificity of the hydroxylase enzyme(s) involved.

The impact of the Canadian Standardized Test of Fitness and of health counselling on health attitudes and behaviour

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether or not the use of a single day of Personal Wellness Evaluations would be meaningful enough to change the attitudes of participants toward adopting a healthier lifestyle, or if it was necessary to include regular planned health counselling alon-g with the Personal Wellness Evaluations in order to'observe changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours toward active living and the adoption of a healthier lifestyle. Attitudes and behaviours toward physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices were assessed through a questionnaire composed of the following instruments: Fishbein and Ajzen Attitude and Behaviour Questionnaire, Leisure Behaviour Questionnaire, Ten Centimeter Bipolar Health Continuum, Neugarten Life Satisfaction Assessment, Job Description Index, Selected questions from the Ontario Health Survey, and the Symptom Reporting Questionnaire. Physical fitness evaluation consisted of the Canadian Standardized Test of Fitness, measures of blood pressure, and total cholesterol. The participants were divided into three groups: Group 1- CSTF & health counselling, Group 2- CSTF only, and Group 3- a control group. All three groups received the questionnaire both at the beginning and at the end of the study. Group 1 and Group 2 also participated in fitness testing at these same times, with a three-month time interval between test times. Group 1 also received weekly one-hour health education sessions during the three months between fitness testing. While there were some differences found between the three groups in this study, the results of this study suggested that this three-month workplace wellness program had no impact on the participants' attitudes and behaviours toward health and physical activity. There were no significant differences in the physical fitness measures between Group 1 and Group 2 , nor in the participants' questionnaire responses. These results may be due to the participants' lack of compliance to this wellness program. Employees who 11 participate in a workplace weIlness program must be self-motivated to comply with the program in order to receive the full benefits the program has to offer. Some participants in this study did not have the internal motivation necessary to remain in the study for the three-month period. Future research may consider implementing a workplace wellness program for a longer duration as well as incorporating a specific physical fitness program for the participants to follow. An exercise program could improve the participants' physical fitness, while the health counselling would give the individuals the health education necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Examination of students' ability to observe domains of client behaviour in therapeutic recreation

When observing client behaviours, a therapeutic recreation specialist must have a base understanding of typical client behaviours to provide an informed analysis (burlingame & Blaschko, 2010). Providing students with the necessary tools for client observation is significant to the success of this process. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships amongst the TR student demographic characteristics on acquiring the observation competency necessary to conduct a TR assessment. One hundred seventy-two TR college and university students, enrolled in post-secondary undergraduate TR programs across Ontario, observed a client assessment via video, and recorded their observations using the Tracking Behavioural Assessment (TBA) (Passmore, 2002). Independent samples t-tests and analysis of variance were calculated for the different student characteristics on the domains of the TBA. Significant findings indicated that university students scored more accurately than college students, and advanced students more accurately than novice students, on the emotional and socialization domains.

The Impact of a Corporate Name Change on Stock Price and Trading Volume of Canadian Companies

This thesis examines the impact of a corporate name change on stock price and trading volume of Canadian companies around the announcement date, the approval date, and the adoption date over the time period from 1997 to 2011. Name changes are classified into six categories: major and minor, structural and pure, diversified and focused, accompanied with a change in ticker symbol and without a change in ticker symbol, “Gold” name addition and deletion, and different reasons for name changes (e.g., merger and acquisition, change of structure, change of strategy, and better image). The thesis uses the standard event study methodology to perform abnormal return and trading volume analyses. In addition, regression analysis is employed to examine which type of a name change has the largest impact on cumulative abnormal returns. Sample stocks exhibit a significant positive abnormal return one-day prior to the approval day and one day after the adoption date. Around the approval date we observe significant abnormal returns for stocks with a structural name change. On the day after the adoption date we document abnormal returns for stocks with major, minor, structural, pure, focused, and ticker symbol name changes. If a merger or acquisition is the reason for a name change, companies tend to experience a significant positive abnormal return one-day before the approval date and on the adoption date. If a change of structure is the reason for a name change, companies exhibit a significant positive abnormal return on the approval date and a significant negative abnormal return on the adoption date. In case of a change of strategy as the reason for a name change, companies show a significant negative abnormal return around the approval date and a significant positive abnormal return around the adoption date.

A DYNAMIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE RELATIONS BETWEEN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES, SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS

The Meese-Rogoff forecasting puzzle states that foreign exchange (FX) rates are unpredictable. Since one country’s macroeconomic conditions could affect the price of its national currency, we study the dynamic relations between the FX rates and some macroeconomic accounts. Our research tests whether the predictability of the FX rates could be improved through the advanced econometrics. Improving the predictability of the FX rates has important implications for various groups including investors, business entities and the government. The present thesis examines the dynamic relations between the FX rates, savings and investments for a sample of 25 countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We apply quarterly data of FX rates, macroeconomic indices and accounts including the savings and the investments over three decades. Through preliminary Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests and Johansen cointegration tests, we found that the savings rate and the investment rate are cointegrated with the vector (1,-1). This result is consistent with many previous studies on the savings-investment relations and therefore confirms the validity of the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle. Because of the special cointegrating relation between the savings rate and investment rate, we introduce the savings-investment rate differential (SID). Investigating each country through a vector autoregression (VAR) model, we observe extremely insignificant coefficient estimates of the historical SIDs upon the present FX rates. We also report similar findings through the panel VAR approach. We thus conclude that the historical SIDs are useless in forecasting the FX rate. Nonetheless, the coefficients of the past FX rates upon the current SIDs for both the country-specific and the panel VAR models are statistically significant. Therefore, we conclude that the historical FX rates can conversely predict the SID to some degree. Specifically, depreciation in the domestic currency would cause the increase in the SID.

Moderators of the Relationship between Family Caregiver Proxy-Ratings and Person with Dementia Self-Ratings of Quality of Life

As the dementia spectrum lacks any viable cure, quality of life is typically regarded as an essential measure of assessing the clinical course and evaluating interventions. With caregivers typically providing this rating to health professionals, the literature has noted inconsistencies between caregiver and person with dementia (PwD) ratings of quality of life and suggested several factors may moderate the rating relationship. To investigate this, an intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated to observe rating agreement and moderator regression analysis was conducted to explore potential moderators. Potential moderators of caregiver burden, caregiver age, caregiver income, PwD IADLs/ADLs, PwD education, PwD cognitive impairment, PwD depressive symptom severity, PwD behavioural symptom severity, as well as relationship between caregiver and PwD. Utilizing secondary data from 107 recruited dyads, analyses conducted found fair agreement between caregivers and those with dementia while none of the hypothesized factors were found to moderate the rating relationship.