Undergraduate Theses (Digital)
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Item Open Access Exploring the Potential to Non-Invasively Assess Lactate Threshold Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)(St. Francis Xavier University, 2024) Collins, Melina; Kane, DanielLactate is a versatile molecule that plays a pivotal role in whole-body energy metabolism — a process wherein fuel sources are burned down and converted into energy. Our understanding of lactate has changed considerably over time, notably, low oxygen (O2) was once considered to be the primary driver of lactate accumulation in human cells, however, lactate accumulation has been found to occur in the absence or presence of O2; and yet, a relationship between tissue O2 availability exists. The relationship between skeletal muscle oxygenation (SmO2) and thresholds of blood lactate concentration (BLC) constitutes the basis of previous attempts to use changes in SmO2 via near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a proxy for BLC. The objective of this study was to 1) confirm the relationship between changes in muscle oxygenation (SmO2) using NIRS and the lactate threshold (LT) determined via traditional blood sampling; and 2) further explore the relationship between SmO2 kinetics and exercise thresholds of respiratory gas exchange. Sixteen recreationally active runners (n = 16; age 25.4 ± 8.3yrs; body fat 14.9 ± 5.5%) performed an incremental, progressive treadmill running protocol consisting of 4-min running stages, separated by 1-min rest intervals. Heart rate, 𝑉̇ O2, 𝑉̇ CO2, 𝑉̇ E, total hemoglobin, and SmO2 were continuously monitored; blood lactate concentration and rating of perceived exertion were obtained during rest intervals and following each exercise stage, respectively. The SmO2 control ratio revealed a distinct breakpoint near, but not necessarily coincident with, the lactate and gas exchange thresholds. Bland-Altman analysis resulted in a mean bias of 2.3 bpm HR and 0.1 L/min 𝑉̇ O2 between the blood lactate-determined LT and NIRS-determined LT, suggesting an acceptable level of agreement between methods. These findings suggest that NIRS may be a valid non-invasive and practical alternative to estimate lactate threshold intensity in endurance athletes.Item Open Access A NEW GEO-CHEMICAL: FIELD TEST FOR BERYLLIUM:(St. Francis Xavier University, April 15, 1961) Coffin, DavidIn response to a demand for field detection methods for beryllium minerals, a new geo-chemical field test, using Quinizarin as a reagent, has been introduced by the United States Geological Survey (U.S.Geol.Surv.Bull. 9647, I960). This paper deals with the test, presenting an evaluation of it, as well as the results of analyses of a number of igneous contact specimens for beryllium content, using the test. The specimens analysed were collected on Cape Breton Island and on the Mainland of Nova Scotia. Their locations are shown on the index map (p.22).Item Open Access SHAKESPEARE AND THE MONARCHY! RICHARD II AND RICHARD III(St. Francis Xavier University, 1990) Austen, GlennItem Open Access In the court of public opinion:: the case of Boulton and Park in the nineteenth-century British periodical press(St. Francis Xavier University, 2024) Hubbard, EmilyIn April 1870, Stella Boulton and Fanny Park were arrested at the Strand Theatre in London’s West End. Upon arrival at the Bow Street police station, the ladies revealed themselves to be Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park, two respectable middle-class men and amateur actors. They were subsequently charged with public indecency and conspiracy to commit, or to incite the commission of sodomy. Their arrest and subsequent trial in May 1871 appeared in nearly every major London newspaper, provoking outrage and speculation. Unlike other well-known sodomy trials in British queer history, Boulton and Park's concerned public non-normative gender expression. This thesis examines how the law, the press, and culture fed into one another and compounded to ultimately create a new “sort” of “offender,” in their view. This case points to a degree of tolerance for queerness and gender-nonconformity, but only in acceptable contexts. This case was exaggerated by police and sensationalized by the press, but neither the exceptionalism nor the publicity of this case outraged Victorian sensibilities more than did its lack of extraordinariness. The mundanity and ubiquity of Stella and Fanny’s behaviours across London and the knowledge that there were more people out there like them was the true scandal of the Boulton and Park Case. The trial, the press coverage it garnered, and the new connections between queerness and gender nonconformity that resulted, namely the formation in the popular imagination of a “sort” of person who desired queer intimacy, all worked to redefine cultural understandings of gender, sexuality, and identity.Item Open Access FT-IR Studies of Surfactants and Surfactant-Polymer Interactions(St. Francis Xavier University, March 31, 1995) Briand, Glen G.Surfactant and surfactant polymer systems were examined by FT-IR spectroscopy. Analysis of peak shift proved successful over that of peak height in characterising the mechanisms of micelle formation. The use of the transmission cell sampling technique, along with a 4cm-1 resolution setting 1 and 4000 scan data collection, proved essential in obtaining consistent results. The analysis of PEO-decanoate systems suggest tight binding of the polymer to the micellar periphery, without movement of the polymer into the micellar interior.Item Open Access VOCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN NORTH-EASTERN NOVA SCOTIA(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1966) Cashman, Donna; Lewis, Cherly; Gillis, AllanaItem Open Access The Effects of Anxiety and Media Violence on Aggressive Cognition(St. Francis Xavier University, April 2006) Cameron, Caroline AnnItem Open Access FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE(St. Francis Xavier University, March 30, 2002) Bartlett, Tracey-LeeThe purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of female university students living with inflammatory bowel disease. Little qualitative research is available on the topic of living with inflammatory bowel disease, thus, the phenomenological research approach was chosen in order to provide rich, in-depth, descriptions of the experience. Purposive sampling was used to accrue two female participants who met specific criteria. Collection of data occurred through one semi-structured interview with participants. Colaizzi’s method of data analysis, including bracketing of assumptions, was used to identify emerging themes and to write a fundamental description of the students’ experiences. Findings were presented through descriptions of each theme and supported by direct quotes from participants. Five predominant themes emerged from the data: ‘The Unknown versus the Known’; ‘The Emotional Roller Coaster’; ‘Riding the Waves: Living through the Challenges’; and ‘Facing the Future’. Numerous implications for nursing practice, nursing education, nursing theory and nursing research were evident from the findings.Item Open Access Cold therapy versus Cryotherapy: Determining a difference in efficacy between two therapeutic modalities(St. Francis Xavier University, April 2006) Clarke, Daniel RoyThis study examined the effect of cold and contrast therapy on perceived muscle soreness in 14 active males. Muscle soreness was induced with an exercise protocol using 80 percent of a one repetition max on a leg press machine. Leg strength was measured using a leg press and a modified one repetition maximum program. Range of motion for knee flexion was measured using a three point system and an international standard goniometer. Perceived pain was measured using the Graphic Pain Rating Scale (Dennegar and Perrin, 1992) at pretest, post test at 0 hours, post test at 24 hours and at 48 hours following exercise. Average results were calculated from the data collected for each group (control, contrast and cold) for each measurement. No statistical analyses were conducted due to the small number of subjects. The results from the cold therapy (n=5) showed a quicker recovery than control groups in all tests. The results from the contrast therapy (n=4) indicated a quicker recovery in maximal voluntary contraction, increased graphic pain rating scales and similar range of motion results compared to the control group. The contrast group had greater maximal voluntary contraction recovery but lower improved range of motion and less improved pain values in comparison with cold group. Therefore, it could not be concluded that cold therapy reduced perceived muscle soreness more than contrast therapy.Item Open Access Geology of the South Side Harbour Area. Antigonish, Nova Scotia(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1983) Chisholm, Kenneth GItem Open Access Understanding Systemic Poverty and Food Insecurity in an Individualistic Society(St. Francis Xavier University, June 2006) Brown, AlisonItem Open Access CHROMOSOMAL ANALYSIS OF HUMAN MAMMARY TUMORS(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1978) Berry, KathleenAbstract The present study involved the karyotyping of malignant mammary tissue and of lymph nodes affected by primary breast tumors. Chromosomal analysis was done on five mammary tumors using the solid staining method with Giemsa stain. This analysis revealed definite aneuploidy and obvious chromosomal gains in groups C and D in advanced tumors as well as the presence of large marker chromosomes in three of the mammary cancers studied. Two novel features of the present study are the discovery of double minutes or microchromosomes in mammary cancers, and the cytogenetic analysis of a squamous cell carcinoma of breast tissue which is known to account for less than one percent of breast tumors. The relationships of abnormal karyotypes to the acquisition of cancerous properties, to the stage of development of malignancy, and to the behavior and prognosis of mammary carcinoma are discussed.Item Open Access A Comparison of Multiple Supervised Learning Techniques for Conducting Text Classification(St. Francis Xavier University, 2022) Chapeski, Matthew ClemanceNatural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of Computer Science research which utilises computers to understand, and use natural human language to accomplish some task [4]. Some examples of the various applications of NLP include machine translation, text processing and summerisation, information retrieval, speech recognition and much more [4]. Text classification as a subject of research in and of itself is rather trivial, with Jurafsky discussing in their book, “Speech and Language Processing” that in NLP, logistic regression is the baseline supervised machine learning algorithm for classification [10]. This thesis aims to compare the results of multiple implementations of classification, including logistic regression, K-Nearest Neighbours, and classification with an LSTM Recurrent Neural Network, to predict the genre of a film, using the film’s plot synopsis. Three different experiments will be conducted. One using random training and testing splits of the imbalanced training data set, one using the complete imbalanced training data set for training and the complete imbalanced test data set for testing, and one using random training and testing splits of a balanced version of the training data set. The accuracy of the three models, as well as the learning capabilities of each model, will be discussed in this thesis, where the goal to investigate which of the logistic regression, K-Nearest Neighbours or LSTM models are best suited for text classification.Item Open Access “The myths are my reality”: History, Landscape and Identity in Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners and Alistair MacLeod’s Island(St. Francis Xavier University, April 2002) Charman, Caitlin J.Item Open Access The Nurses.Role in Total Pain Management: A Holistic Approach to Palliative Care(St. Francis Xavier University, April 5, 1999) Campbell, TaraThe care.of the terminally ill at a time when cure of disease is no longer possible requires the holistic care of the client and family by a multidisciplinary team, who aim to . improve quality of life. Family-centered care at this time requires a nurse to focus on the < ‘total pain’ of all involved, which focuses not only on physical pain, but also incorporates care of the mind and spirit. To provide effective total pain management, nurses must educate themselves and others with regards to strategies that help end needless suffering of the mind, body and spirit at the end of life. A 40 hour senior nursing experience was * undergone at the Cape Breton Regional.Hospital, Palliative Care Service, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. This experience allowed the senior nursing student to apply current research knowledge to practical experience together with evaluation and implementation of hew approaches for the future of nurses in palliative care.Item Open Access THE FUNCTIONAL MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE HINGE OF THE SCALLOP PLACOPECTEN MAGELLANICUS(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1992) Bowie, MikeThe functional mechanical properties of the hinge of the scallop Placopecten magellanicus were investigated. The hinge ligament is composed principally of abductin, a rubber-like viscoelastic material that functions as an antagonist to the contraction of the adductor muscle. Viscoelastic materials exhibit temperature and frequency dependent mechanical properties, and these may have important consequences to the mechanics of locomotion of the animals. We show that the stiffness of the hinge is reasonably independent of frequency and temperature over the physiological ranges, but damping is increased at low temperatures. This property may limit swimming ability at low temperatures. This paper also compares the amount of energy stored in the hinge to the estimated amount of energy that can be produced by contraction of the adductor muscle.Item Open Access SEASONS OF LOSS, LEARNING, AND SELF: GRIEF, TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING, AND INDIVIDUATION(St. Francis Xavier University, November 2009) Wright, Brenda LeeThis thesis describes the study of grief, transformative learning, and individuation and the relationship between these topics. Here, grief is related to a variety of losses and changes in life including the loss of a sense of Self. The study includes nine participants, eight women and one man, whom were interviewed to create personal narratives. All of the narratives were captured by telephone with the exception of one, which was completed in-person. Each interview was approximately 1 to 2 hours in length. Presented in their own words, each narrative depicts the participants experience with grief and their journey to make meaning out of that experience. Grief is explored as a catalyst for transformative learning and individuation through extrarational approaches, which surfaced in the narratives. The study shows how adults make meaning of their experiences with grief through journaling, nature, movement, literature, story, music, ritual, imagination, and intuition and how those approaches connect us with a deeper meaning and a stronger self concept, which in turn is transformative. The study also describes the process of alchemy as metaphor for the internal process of transformative learning and individuation and further explores the relationship of the topics to the emergence of the Self and the soul. The methodology which informs this study is narrative inquiry. Due to insufficient literature in the field of adult education to support a full literature review the research was also drawn from literature on depth psychology, spirituality, and personal growth.Item Open Access THE CHANGING IDEOLOGY OF THE PARTI QUEBECOIS FROM LEVESQUE TO PARIZEAU(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1992) Bugyra, Shaun MichealItem Open Access A Study of the Micellar Properties of 4-Alkyl-3- Sulphonatosuccinates with NMR(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1995) Boucher, GregoryAbstract: Micellar properties of a family of two-headed anionic surfactants with unlike headgroups ( the disodium 4-alkyl-3- sulphanatosuccinates salts) have been synthesized via the esterification of maleic anhydride and subsequent addition of sodium bisulphite across the double bond. Critical micelle concentrations (CMC’s) of these surfactants were obtained from a plot of the 13 c NMR chemical shifts against the inverse surfactant concentration. Aggregation numbers (Ns) were estimated via NMR spectroscopy and the static fluorescence quenching method. The results will be compared with various single headed surfactants of the same chain length to obtain the influence of the addition of the second head group on the micellar properties.Item Open Access Deconstructive Strategies of the Fool in Shakespeare(St. Francis Xavier University, April 1, 1992) Bailey, Joanne