Many separate applications are being developed, tested, and used in the field of medical imaging. A Telepathology System (TPS) is one such application, allowing pathologist access to microscopy and patient files at remote workstations, through a communications network coupled with a pathologist viewing workstation. This thesis outlines the development of a user interface pathology workstation. It models microscope emulation in place of actual remote site microscopy by utilizing previously recorded specimen slide images. In addition, it models a communication network, and a remote site WS. User scenarios and performance characteristics for all three subsystems are outlined. The thesis confirms TPS can benefit telepathology by providing two way communications between remote sites, access to patient demographic files and prior specimen images for comperative study, and the benefit of long distance consultation. Finally, a discussion of an actual implementation is presented.

This thesis presents a discrete time implementation and analysis of the generalized impulse response model proposed by Altes. This model is a generalization of the weighted sum of time delayed delta functions typically used to describe the impulse response of scattering targets. The target chosen for the analysis is the rigid acoustic sphere. The coefficients of the generalized model are used to calculate estimates of the radius of the sphere, which is known in advance for testing purposes. The accuracy of the radius estimates indicates the accuracy of the model coefficients. The generalized model is shown to be superior from the standpoint of radius estimation. An estimator for the time of arrival of a signal of unknown but deterministic form is derived. It is based upon a generalized likelihood ratio test whose structure accommodates the generalized model. This estimator performs well in high levels of noise.

The primary purpose of this study was to identify resiliency factors evident in parentally bereaved children and adolescents identified as "holis-tically well." The population for this study consisted of 7 parentally bereaved children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18 who were referred by the Children to Children support program for grieving youth. The instruments used in this study were specifically developed to assess holistic wellness and evidence of resiliency factors. The most prevalent resiliency factors evident in parentally bereaved children and adolescents identified as holistically well were: Constitutional Resiliency Factors of: social competence, positive personality characteristics, sense of purpose and hope, problem-solving skills, and autonomy. Resiliency Factors within the Home Environment of: caring and support, high parental expectations, and encouragement of participation in family. Resiliency Factors within the School Environment of: high academic expectations and caring and support.

Computer models used to predict the pattern and rate of spread of fire in grasslands as well as other vegetation types rely on various inputs for their calculations. Because of the direct effect they have on the quantity of fuel available to carry a fire and the effects of moisture on the potential for fuel available to carry a fire and the effects of moisture on the potential for fuel to begin burning and to sustain a fire, fuel loading measurements, which are similar to production measurements in grasslands, and estimates of fuel moisture are two important variables to be considered when modeling fire behavior. The objective of this project is to determine if there is a relationship between measured environmental variables and the fuel moisture values at the same sample points which can be modeled with GIS data and neural networks. This study was carried out using a combination of field sampled data and common GIS data layers. The results demonstrate the potential for neural network analysis in this type of environmental problem.

Reading instruction in a self-contained classroom of deaf and hard-of-hearing elementary school students was observed. Videotapes were made of two complete units of study and analyzed using an interval recording system. Interviews were conducted with the teacher. The results of the study indicate the teacher utilized approximately 75% of the allotted instructional time in reading instruction. The teacher spent a good portion of this time eliciting student participation. Students engaged in reading related activities a greater proportion of the time than actually reading. Discussion was the dominant student activity.

Mass transport modeling of ground and surface waters upstream of perennial Cienega Creek, Arizona, delineate processes which control ground water chemistry in this arid alluvial basin. NETPATH modeling shows that the aquifer is open to CO2 flux, and that dissolution of gypsum, redistribution of carbonate minerals, and cation exchange of Ca2+ for Na+, control the evolution of ground and surface water chemistry. Calcium bicarbonate waters which recharge the basin margin, evolve to calcium-sulfate waters during passage through the alluvial aquifer, and produce a quantifiable chemical evolution of ground water within the aquifer. Evaluation of a 10-year data base, plus the clarification of controlling chemical processes, allow a reinterpretation of the source of Cienega Creek waters, which is shown in this study to be the upstream alluvial basin. These findings are partially corroborated by an associated geophysical study which confirms a basin flow pattern parallel to the flow path assumed by this investigation.

One hundred sixty two composite samples were analyzed for organochlorine compound residues and 19 trace elements and heavy metals. There was no evidence that flushing of washes in times of flood increases contaminant levels in the Bill Williams River, or that historical mining operations currently contributed to the element load. There was evidence that Colorado River water increased selenium levels in biota in the delta; one hundred percent of fish collected from the confluence of the Bill Williams River and the Colorado River contained elevated selenium concentration (geometric mean = 9.98, range 2.80-17.56 μg/g dry weight). These levels exceed standards set for the protection of predatory species of fish and wildlife.

A close reading of popular discourses on women and the AIDS epidemic reveals patterns that could be described as attempts to produce and reiterate notions of normative and deviant sexuality. Prostitutes, one frequently depicted "kind" of woman, are presented as indiscriminate, polluting to men, and categorically different from "normal" women. Other women depicted in AIDS discourses are almost always HIV-positive mothers or pregnant women; these women are usually only of concern insofar as they may infect their babies. The themes of self-control, self-discipline, and personal responsibility may also be used to stigmatize women. Such discourses suggest that those who have AIDS are responsible for their own illness. They also deflect attention away from the socioeconomic contexts which may make it more difficult for some to avoid infection, away from the connections between poverty, illness, and disempowerment, and away from the systematic inequalities that characterize U.S. society.