Sentence:  The above discussion does not mean to imply that control factors <WSD>were</WSD> completely in abeyance in the Kohnstamm-positive subjects ; but rather that they could be diminished sufficiently not to interfere with arm-levitation . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)