CHARACTERIZING HYDROSTRATIGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION OF THE SEMI-CONSOLIDATED SEDIMENT AQUIFERS OF THE FLATHEAD VALLEY IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA THROUGH HYDROGEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS

To accurately forecast the cascading effects of increased stress to a hydrologic system, characterization of the continuity and permeability of the primary confining layer (PCL) separating the shallow and deep intermontane alluvial aquifers is required. Geophysical methods provide a faster cost-effective alternative to drilling to acquire additional information on the changes of hydrostratigraphy with depth. Geoelectric resistivity models recovered through inversion of TEM central loop sounding data to delineate changes in geoelectric properties with depth, providing information on the depth, thickness and resistivity of the hydrostratigraphy. Comparison of geoelectric resistivity models with well completion report lithologies yield information about the permeability of the hydrostratigraphy and can infer the potential for occurring hydrostratigraphic communication. The geological history of the Flathead Valley created a complex stratigraphic sequence of glacial sediments comprising the primary confining layer (PCL). Glacial sediments include glaciolacustrine, glaciotectonite tills, subglacial traction tills and melt-out tills. Characterization of the PCL is the primary target for geophysical investigation as a critical element in understanding the hydrostratigraphic communication. The geoelectrical resistivity of glacial sediments is highly variable. Whether the PCL of the Flathead Valley, Montana presents geoelectrical property distinctions that are targetable by electromagnetic surveys is unknown. To assess the targetability of the glacial deposits comprising the PCL, a series of central loop soundings were completed. Geoelectrical models recovered through inversion and compared to well completion report lithology indicate the PCL presents a resistivity target that can be imaged using electromagnetic methods. The PCL appears to be variable throughout the Flathead Valley with predictable geoelectric resistivity ranges

Cultural Differences in Group Therapy: A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Embodied Experience of the Cultural Bump

Utilizing transcendental phenomenology, this study sought to better understand dance/movement therapists’ experiences of the culture bump phenomenon in the group therapy setting. Culture bumps are defined as moments in which two or more people enter a situation with different culturally-based expectations about customs, behavior, beliefs, communication styles, and other norms (Archer & Nickson, 2012). Data were collected using individual inperson semi-structured interviews with five Chicagoland dance/movement therapists who self identified as having experienced the phenomenon of the culture bump while in the group therapy setting. Data analysis was completed using Moustakas’ (1994) adaptation of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method and resulted in five textural-structural themes that describe the experience of the phenomenon of the culture bump: a) elusory and complex in nature, b) at its essence, about a meeting of differing expectations, c) having a shifting/changing quality to it, d) inextricably tied to the participant’s own cultural context, and e) therapeutically important material. The participants’ experiences indicated culture bumps are a common occurrence in the group dance/movement therapy setting, and both their presence and the processing of them are breeding grounds for necessary conversations about cultural difference. 54 pages - submitted as an article to the American Journal of Dance Therapy in February of 2018 in a format that meets the criteria for that publication, and so is shorter than a standard thesis

The Triumph of the Munro System: The Decision-Making Process of the East India Company With Special Reference to the Administration of Madras, 1790-1827.

The purpose of this study is an analysis of the administrative system of the East India Company from 1780 to 1827 with special reference to the Madras Presidency. The questions examined are all essentially concerned with the decision-making processes, both in London and in Madras. How did the different bodies who together administered India relate to each other? How were policies conceived, adopted and implemented? To what extent were the formal, official channels of communication and authority adhered to, bye-passed or simply ignored? Could individuals within the Company influence its policies and, if so, what methods might they employ? The developments that occurred in the Company's revenue and judicial administrations in Madras during a period of British expansion and consolidation have been selected for this study. The ideas behind the Permanent Settlement of Bengal and the reasons for extending it into the territories of Madras are examined together with the development of the Village Lease and Ryotwari Systems in South India. Similarly, the introduction of the Cornwallis Legal System into Madras and the subsequent attempts to modify it are investigated. At the same time, the relationships between the interacting components of the British administration of India are scrutinised. Within this context, a number of interest or pressure groups in centres as far apart as Madras, Westminster and the Company's headquarters in Leadenhall Street are identified and their impact on the Company's policies evaluated. Because of the central role that he came to play in the debates and the significant influence he exercised on the local and home authorities, the career of Thomas Munro has been employed to chart the developments in the Company's administration and the changes in its structure and policies. In the course of the close examination of Munro's career for the light it sheds on these and the decision-making processes of the British administration of India, other aspects of the Company's administration are also analysed, in particular recruitment and promotion in its services. The operation of patronage and influence on career structures is evaluated and a number of conclusions about the ways in which the East India Company's bureaucracy was staffed and operated are drawn. In addition, the attempts by the Company to introduce a coherent training programme for its employees in India, especially the attempts to encourage its civil servants to master the local languages and the impact of these on appointments, are examined. Lastly, in the course of this study, a general survey of the relations between the British and the Indian rulers and peoples of South India between 1790 and 1827 emerges. The research of various authors on different aspects of the history of South India and of the Company in Britain during this period are brought together. The thesis is based on research into a wide range of contemporary sources, official and unofficial, including the Munro Papers

Forward displacements of fading objects in motion: the role of transient signals in perceiving position

Visual motion causes mislocalisation phenomena in a variety of experimental paradigms. For many displays objects are perceived as displaced 'forward' in the direction of motion. However, in some cases involving the abrupt stopping or reversal of motion the forward displacements are not observed. We propose that the transient neural signals at the offset of a moving object play a crucial role in accurate localisation. In the present study, we eliminated the transient signals at motion offset by gradually reducing the luminance of the moving object. Our results show that the 'disappearance threshold' for a moving object is lower than the detection threshold for the same object without a motion history. In units of time this manipulation led to a forward displacement of the disappearance point by 175ms. We propose an explanation of our results in terms of two processes: Forward displacements are caused by internal models predicting positions of moving objects. The usually observed correct localisation of stopping positions, however, is based on transient inputs that retroactively attenuate errors that internal models might otherwise cause. Both processes are geared to reducing localisation errors for moving objects

Neuron-microglia interactions induce aberrant inflammatory mechanisms in schizophrenia

Inflammation in the human brain is suggested to contribute to several diseases of the central nervous system. Human microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, have essential functions for maintenance of the central nervous system, synaptic organization and immune defense. During brain development and until late adolescence, the elimination of weak and inactive synapses is a mandatory process for sculpting mature, neuronal circuits. Excessive synaptic elimination by reactive microglia is suggested to contribute to the pathology of several neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a complex and highly heterogeneous disease with detrimental impairments for affected patients. Aberrant microglial activation, release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and ungoverned phagocytosis of synaptic structures is considered a central cause for the development and progression of schizophrenia. So far, there is no cure for schizophrenia and antipsychotic drug therapy can only reduce symptom severity. Targeting microglia by anti-inflammatory treatment is hypothesized to be highly beneficial for the integrity of neuronal networks in neuropsychiatric diseases. To better understand how neuroinflammatory processes and excessive synaptic elimination contribute to pathological phenotypes of schizophrenia, somatic fibroblasts from four patients with schizophrenia and three healthy controls were reprogrammed successfully into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs were completely characterized and reproducible protocols for the differentiation into microglia and glutamatergic neurons were established. Both cell types were separately analyzed for mature phenotypes. Neurite outgrowth, intracellular calcium signaling and synaptic density was reduced in schizophrenia patient-derived neurons. Microglia derived from patients with schizophrenia displayed increased expression of microglial activation marker HLA-DR. Finally, the cells generated were introduced in a co-culture system comprising iPSC-derived neurons and microglia to study neuroinflammatory mechanisms in the early development of schizophrenia. Addition of microglia led to reduced synaptic density with microglia from patients with schizophrenia engulfing and eliminating more synapses compared to control microglia. Likewise, neuronal cultures derived from patients with schizophrenia activated microglia in a more pronounced way than healthy control neurons. Pro-inflammatory pre-treatment amplified microglial activation and synaptic pruning by control and patient-derived microglia. Most interestingly, application of the anti-inflammatory antibiotic minocycline could reverse excessive synaptic elimination by microglia derived from patients with schizophrenia. The established co-culture model of microglia and neurons offers the possibility to study neuroinflammatory processes in the development of schizophrenia and detect pathological mechanisms in patient-derived microglia and neurons

Visual masking: past accomplishments, present status, future developments

Visual masking, throughout its history, has been used as an investigative tool in exploring the temporal dynamics of visual perception, beginning with retinal processes and ending in cortical processes concerned with the conscious registration of stimuli. However, visual masking also has been a phenomenon deemed worthy of study in its own right. Most of the recent uses of visual masking have focused on the study of central processes, particularly those involved in feature, object and scene representations, in attentional control mechanisms, and in phenomenal awareness. In recent years our understanding of the phenomenon and cortical mechanisms of visual masking also has benefited from several brain imaging techniques and from a number of sophisticated and neurophysiologically plausible neural network models. Key issues and problems are discussed with the aim of guiding future empirical and theoretical research

Grouping based feature attribution in metacontrast masking

The visibility of a target can be strongly suppressed by metacontrast masking. Still, some features of the target can be perceived within the mask. Usually, these rare cases of feature mis-localizations are assumed to reflect errors of the visual system. To the contrary, I will show that feature "mis-localizations" in metacontrast masking follow rules of motion grouping and, hence, should be viewed as part of a systematic feature attribution process

Object Substitution Masking in Schizophrenia: An Event-Related Potential Analysis

Schizophrenia patients exhibit deficits on visual processing tasks, including visual backward masking, and these impairments are related to deficits in higher-level processes. In the current study we used electroencephalography techniques to examine successive stages and pathways of visual processing in a specialized masking paradigm, four-dot masking, which involves masking by object substitution. Seventy-six schizophrenia patients and 66 healthy controls had event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during four-dot masking. Target visibility was manipulated by changing stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the target and mask, such that performance decreased with increasing SOA. Three SOAs were used: 0, 50, and 100 ms. The P100 and N100 perceptual ERPs were examined. Additionally, the visual awareness negativity (VAN) to correct vs. incorrect responses, an index of reentrant processing, was examined for SOAs 50 and 100 ms. Results showed that patients performed worse than controls on the behavioral task across all SOAs. The ERP results revealed that patients had significantly smaller P100 and N100 amplitudes, though there was no effect of SOA on either component in either group. In healthy controls, but not patients, N100 amplitude correlated significantly with behavioral performance at SOAs where masking occurred, such that higher accuracy correlated with a larger N100. Healthy controls, but not patients, exhibited a larger VAN to correct vs. incorrect responses. The results indicate that the N100 appears to be related to attentional effort in the task in controls, but not patients. Considering that the VAN is thought to reflect reentrant processing, one interpretation of the findings is that patients’ lack of VAN response and poorer performance may be related to dysfunctional reentrant processing