Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Short-term source'

Test feedback has been recommended as an effective adjunct to brief therapy, despite a continued lack of empirical support. Previous research demonstrates the benefits of providing test feedback; however, it is unclear whether feedback interventions are responsible for producing positive outcomes. To clarify the efficacy of incorporating test feedback into the counseling process, a constructive research strategy was followed to examine collaborative MMPI-2 feedback as an isolated treatment component in brief counseling. A multiple source effect, as outlined by social influence theory (Strong, 1968) and the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981), was proposed to explain the benefits of collaborative test feedback. Specifically, the source characteristics of the counselor and the test were hypothesized to facilitate counseling outcomes.Forty undergraduate students, who were willing to discuss personal concerns with a counselor during two counseling sessions, were randomly assigned to either a counseling-only or a counseling + feedback intervention. The counseling process in both treatment groups was the same (i.e., participants answered personal questions), but MMPI-2 feedback was provided only in the counseling + feedback group. After each counseling session and a two-week follow-up, participants completed the Session Impact Scale, Outcome Questionnaire, Counselor Rating Form, Thought Listing procedure, as well as counseling attitudes and persuasion to change measures.Regardless of whether personality feedback was provided, the counseling sessions were evaluated favorably, participants' psychological functioning improved, and counselors were perceived to be influential. Although group differences were not large enough to be statistically significant, providing MMPI-2 feedback was associated with more reliable change in symptomatic distress. In addition, participants from both groups reported comparable levels of cognitive processing and counseling attitudes and were similarly persuaded to alter their behavior. Because significant changes occurred regardless of test feedback, counseling outcomes were not moderated by providing test feedback. Multiple source effects were not demonstrated in the test feedback process. These results indicate common therapeutic factors, such as answering therapeutic questions and finding solutions to presenting concerns, are responsible for treatment gains previously attributed to test feedback. Suggestions for future test interpretation research are provided and recommendations for theoretical development are discussed.
Department of Educational Studies

Approximately 2000 daily aerosol samples were collected at Antalya (30°
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30.54N) on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey between 1993 and 2001. High volume PM10 sampler was used for the collection of samples on Whatman&
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41 filters. Collected samples were analyzed by a combination of analytical techniques. Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) was used to measure trace element content of the collected samples from Li to U. Major ions, namely, SO42- and NO3-, were determined by employing Ion Chromatography (IC). Samples were analyzed in terms of their NH4+ contents by means of Colorimetry. Evaluation of short term trends of measured parameters have been shown that elements with marine and crustal origin are more episodic as compared to anthropogenic ones. Most of the parameters showed well defined seasonal cycles, for example, concentrations of crustal elements increased in summer season while winter concentrations of marine elements were considerably higher than associated values for summer. Seasonal Kendall statistic depicted that there was a decreasing trend for crustal elements such as Be, Co, Al, Na, Mg, K, Dy, Ho, Tm, Cs and Eu. Lead, As, Se and Ge were the anhtropogenic elements that decreasing trend was detected in the course of study period. Cluster and Residence time analysis were performed to find the origin of air masses arrving to Eastern Mediterranena Basin. It has been found that air masses reaching to our station resided more on Balkans and Eastern Europe. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) resolved eight factors influencing the chemical composition of Eastern Mediterranean aerosols as local dust, Saharan dust, oil combustion, coal combustion, crustal-anthropogenic mixed, sea salt, motor vehicle emission, and local Sb factor.

Few current modeling tools are designed to predict short-term, high-risk runoff from critical source areas (CSAs) in watersheds which are significant sources of non point source (NPS) pollution. This study couples the Soil and Water Assessment Tool-Variable Source Area (SWAT-VSA) model with the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) model and the Global Forecast System (GFS) model short-term weather forecast, to develop a CSA prediction tool designed to assist producers, landowners, and planners in identifying high-risk areas generating storm runoff and pollution. Short-term predictions for streamflow, runoff probability, and soil moisture levels were estimated in the South Fork of the Shenandoah river watershed in Virginia. In order to allow land managers access to the CSA predictions a free and open source software based web was developed. The forecast system consists of three primary components; (1) the model, which preprocesses the necessary hydrologic forcings, runs the watershed model, and outputs spatially distributed VSA forecasts; (2) a data management structure, which converts high resolution rasters into overlay web map tiles; and (3) the user interface component, a web page that allows the user, to interact with the processed output. The resulting framework satisfied most design requirements with free and open source software and scored better than similar tools in usability metrics. One of the potential problems is that the CSA model, utilizing physically based modeling techniques requires significant computational time to execute and process. Thus, as an alternative, a deep learning (DL) model was developed and trained on the process based model output. The DL model resulted in a 9% increase in predictive power compared to the physically based model and a ten-fold decrease in run time. Additionally, DL interpretation methods applicable beyond this study are described including hidden layer visualization and equation extractions describing a quantifiable amount of variance in hidden layer values. Finally, a large-scale analysis of soil phosphorus (P) levels was conducted in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a current location of several short-term forecast tools. Based on Bayesian inference methodologies, 31 years of soil P history at the county scale were estimated, with the associated uncertainty for each estimate. These data will assist in the planning and implantation of short term forecast tools with P management goals. The short term modeling and communication tools developed in this work contribute to filling a gap in scientific tools aimed at improving water quality through informing land manager's decisions.
PHD

The aim of the works was analyze possible to sources financial resources for financing immovables in Czech republic. Sources were to be surveyed for needs personal living and needs business. In diploma work work are circumscribed individual possibilities, their criteria and their usage. Thesis is tipped modelling situation and her solving.

Research on the effects of media violence indicates that, at least under laboratory conditions, observation of violent stimuli leads to increased aggression. Numerous theories have been formulated to account for this effect, and most have received a degree of empirical support. This has led to theoretical fragmentation of the research. It is argued that a basic conceptual framework is required to guide future progress. It has further been shown that a number of factors affect the extent to which reactions are observed. It is argued that any comprehensive theory of the effects of media violence must take account of the role of individual, film and situational factors, and the possible importance of reactions other than aggression. Two similar theories separately advanced by Berkowitz [1984] and Huesmann [1986], based respectively on the priming of an associative network of aggression related responses, and the encoding and retrieval of aggression related scripts, may jointly have the potential to form such a comprehensive conceptual framework. Previous theories may be considered as special extensions of the Berkowitz/Huesmann model. A series of experiments was performed to test the predictions of this theory, examining the influence of multiple individual difference and film factors on groups of conceptually related affective, cognitive and physiological responses. Findings indicated that violent films prime responses associated with both aggression and anxiety. These results are better interpreted within Berkowitz's later [1993] model of the formation of anger, and suggest that Huesmann's model should be expanded to include anxiety related scripts. It was established that both film and individual factors influence the nature and intensity of viewer reactions, but the way in which they do this is not entirely clear. Ways are suggested in which future research may provide information abut how this occurs.

Filamentous bulking in activated sludge treatment plants is a worldwide problem. Understanding the growth requirements of specific filamentous organisms will allow the development of better control strategies for bulking. In this study, the short term effects of eight carbon sources and three inoculum sources on the growth of filamentous bacteria were tested. Three lab scale sequencing batch reactors (SBR) were operated. Microscopic (Gram and Neisser staining) and molecular methods (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis [DGGE], Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization [FISH]) were used to track the microbial population changes in the reactors. Sludge volume index (SVI) measurements were used to monitor bulking in the reactors. DGGE and sequencing results indicated the presence of the filamentous bacteria Sphaerotilus natans and Thiothrix. S. natans grew in glucose-, acetate-, and sucrose-fed reactors, regardless of the inoculum source. It also grew in propionate- and pyruvate-fed reactors inoculated with the sludge from the Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Thiothrix was detected in propionate- and pyruvate-fed reactors inoculated with sludge from the South Cary WWTP, and in glucose- and acetate-fed inoculated with the sludge from the Neuse River WWTP inoculated reactors. In addition to these two filaments, Gram and Neisser staining indicated the presence of Nostocoida limicola in Neuse River WWTP inoculated reactors. The presence of S. natans and T. nivea was confirmed with FISH. SVI measurements were consistent with the level of bulking, showing an increase as the number of filaments in the reactors increased. This study confirmed that readily biodegradable substrates favored the growth of S. natans, T. nivea and, N. limicola in activated sludge. The simultaneous use of microscopic and molecular tools provided the information above with one method compensating for the other method?s biases.

Les synapses fibres moussues de l‘hippocampe entre le gyrus denté et les cellulespyramidales de CA3 sont caractérisées par leur morphologie particulière, et par leurspropriétés distinctives de transmission synaptique et de plasticité présynaptique. Cessynapses sont parfois appelées «détonatrices» pour leur rôle fonctionnel dansl‘encodage de la mémoire épisodique. Cependant, les mécanismes moléculaires à labase des propriétés spécifiques de ces synapses restent peu connus. Ce travail estcomposé de deux parties principales:1) Phénotypage des synapses fibres moussues de l'hippocampe chez les sourisVAMP7 KOVAMP7 est une protéine SNARE vésiculaire de la famille des longins, qui joue unrôle dans la croissance des neurites durant le développement. Dans le cerveauadulte, VAMP7 est enrichi dans un sous-ensemble de terminaisons nerveuses, enparticulier dans les fibres moussues de l‗hippocampe. Nous avons analysé lafonction de VAMP7 dans la libération de neurotransmetteurs par une caractérisationextensive de la transmission synaptique et des mécanismes de plasticité de cettesynapse. L'absence de VAMP7 ne cause pas de graves déficits développementauxou neuronaux (Sato et al., 2011; Danglot et al., 2012). Les mécanismesprésynaptiques de la plasticité à court terme de la fibre moussue de l‘hippocampesemblent également normaux, pour des raisons éventuelles qui seront discutées.2) Circuits du CA3 examinés par traçage viral et enregistrements de pairesNous avons développé une technique pour établir des enregistrements en pairesentre cellules en grain du gyrus denté connectées et cellules pyramidales CA3 (GCCA3),sur des cultures organotypiques de tranches d'hippocampe de souris. Pouridentifier les partenaires présynaptiques directs à une cellule pyramidale CA3 ciblée,nous avons combiné l‘électroporation cellulaire unitaire et le traçage mono-transsynaptiquebasé sur un virus de la rage recombinant et pseudotypé. Nous avonstransfecté une cellule pyramidale CA3 unique par tranche avec les plasmides codantla glycoprotéine d‘enveloppe du virus de la rage (RG), un rapporteur fluorescent, etla protéine TVA (récepteur de surface apparenté au EnvA, qui n'a pas d‘homologuechez les cellules de mammifères). Les tranches ont ensuite été infectées avec levirus de la rage recombinant et pseudotypé. Après 3-4 jours, le traçage mono-transsynaptiquerévèle les entrées présynaptiques de ce neurone unique. Ensuite, nousavons pu établir des enregistrements de paires entre les cellules en grain-CA3connectés, ainsi que de quantifier les partenaires présynaptiques de la cellulepyramidale CA3 de départ
The hippocampal mossy fiber is characterized by its particular morphology, distinctsynaptic transmission and presynaptic plasticity. Moreover, this synapse has beencalled ―teacher‖ or ―detonator‖ for its proposed functional role in episodic memoryencoding. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying its specific functionalproperties remain elusive. This work is composed of two main parts:1) Phenotyping Hippocampal Mossy Fiber Synapses in VAMP7 KO MiceVAMP7 is a vesicle SNARE of the longin family important in neurite growth duringdevelopment. In the adult brain, VAMP7 is enriched in a subset of nerve terminals,particularly at the hippocampal mossy fiber. We analyzed VAMP7 function inneurotransmitter release by characterizing basal and evoked transmission at thissynapse in KO mice and fully tested hypotheses relevant to short-term plasticity.Loss of VAMP7 has been previously reported not to cause major developmental orneurological deficits (Sato et al., 2011; Danglot et al., 2012). Presynapticmechanisms of short-term plasticity at the hippocampal mossy fiber also seemunaffected for potential reasons that will be discussed.2) CA3 Circuits Probed with RABV-Tracing and Paired RecordingsWe developed a technique to establish paired recordings between connected dentategyrus granule cells and CA3 pyramidal cells (GC-CA3) in mouse hippocampalorganotypic slice cultures. To identify direct presynaptic partners to a defined targetCA3 pyramidal cell, we combined single-cell electroporation (SCE) and mono-transsynaptictracing based on a pseudotyped, recombinant rabies virus (EnvApseudotyped RABV ΔG). Using SCE we transfected a single CA3 pyramidal cell perslice with the plasmids encoding: the RABV envelope glycoprotein (RG), afluorescent reporter, and TVA (the EnvA cognate surface receptor, which has nohomologue in mammalian cells). The slices were subsequently infected with EnvApseudotyped RABV ΔG. After 3-4 days, the RABV mono-trans-synaptic tracingrevealed the presynaptic inputs of that single neuron. Then, we were able toestablish paired recordings between connected GC-CA3 cells, as well as to quantifythe presynaptic partners of the starter CA3 pyramidal cell
De mosvezel van de hippocampus kenmerkt zich door een bijzondere morfologie,uitzonderlijke synaptische transmissie en presynaptische plasticiteit. De synapswordt ook wel "leraar" of "detonator" genoemd vanwege zijn waarschijnlijke rol in decodering van het episodisch geheugen. Toch blijven de specifieke moleculairemechanismen van dit synaps onbekend. Dit werk bestaat uit twee delen:1) Fenotypering van mosvezel synapsen van de hippocampus in VAMP7 KO muizenVAMP7 is een vesicle-SNARE van de longin familie van belang bij de groei vanneurieten tijdens de ontwikkeling. In de volwassen hersenen, wordt VAMP7 verrijkt ineen subset van zenuwuiteinden, vooral in de mosvezel van de hippocampus. Weanalyseerden VAMP7 functie in neurotransmitter afgifte door het karakteriseren vanbasale en opgeroepen transmissie bij deze synaps in KO muizen. Eerder is algesteld dat gebrek aan VAMP7 niet leidt tot grote ontwikkelings- of neurologischeafwijkingen (Sato et al., 2011; Danglot et al., 2012). Presynaptische mechanismenvan korte termijn plasticiteit in de mosvezel van de hippocampus lijken ookonaangetast te zijn, de mogelijke redenen hiervoor zullen worden besproken.2) CA3 circuits onderzocht met behulp van RABV-tracing en gekoppelde opnamesWe ontwikkelden een techniek om gekoppelde opnames tussen korelcellen van degyrus dentatus en aangesloten CA3 piramidale cellen (KC-CA3) op zogenaamde‗mouse hippocampal organotypic slice cultures‘ te meten. Om rechtstreeksepresynaptische partners te identificeren van een specifieke CA3 piramidale cel,combineerden we single-cell electroporation (SCE) en mono-trans-synaptic tracingop basis van een pseudo-typed, recombinant rabiësvirus (EnvA pseudogetypedRABV ΔG). Met behulp van SCE transfecteerde we één CA3 piramidale cel per slicemet plasmiden die coderen voor: het RABV glycoproteïne-envelop (RG), eenfluorescerende reporter, en TVA (de aan EnvA verwante oppervlakte receptor diegeen homoloog in zoogdiercellen heeft). De slices werden vervolgens geïnfecteerdmet ENVA pseudogetyped RABV ΔG. Na 3-4 dagen bracht de RABV mono-transsynaptischetracing de presynaptische ingangen van die ene neuron aan het licht.Hierna konden we gekoppelde opnames doen tussen verbonden KC-CA3 cellen.Daarnaast konden we de presynaptische partners van de starter CA3 pyramidale celkwantificeren

The growing share of installed wind power in the Swedish electricity system has caused concerns whether the available regulating power will be sufficient. Several studies have examined the need of regulating power using both statistical and modelling approaches. However, there is a risk that some aspects of the short-term regulation of hydropower might have been missed. By using one of Vattenfall’s hydropower planning tools, the short-term operation of The Lule River has been simulated with an increasing penetration of wind power. The tool includes detailed models of reservoirs, generating units including efficiency curves and start/stop costs. By introducing a day-by-day simulation with a seven-day window price forecast, updated with a new wind forecast for each iteration, a 21-days scenario has been simulated. Transmission limits are disregarded and the thermal production is reduced with the average wind production. To quantify and compare the regulation capacity, the regulation factor is introduced. It reflects the ability to utilise high-price hours and considering that the need of regulating power for the short-term perspective is reflected in the price it will also reflect the regulation capacity. It is shown that the regulating factor is correlated to the discharge factor,whichis the relation between the maximum discharge to the average statistical discharge for a plant. A high discharge factor provides the flexibility to utilise the fluctuations in price. The discharge factor is adapted to the plants placement in the reach, accounting for both reservoirs located upstream and downstream, especially for The Lule River which has been designed to regulate for the fluctuations in the load. The flexibility required by the rest of the Nordic rivers is quantified for future studies. It is concluded that The Lule River is able to meet some of the fluctuations of wind power production due to the overcapacity ininstalled power. The production can, at the expense of decreased efficiency of the generating units, alter the production to suit a more fluctuating price.It is important to emphasise that The Lule River alone cannot balance a large penetration of wind power. To fully take into account the effects of a large penetration of wind power the study must be expanded to include more scenarios. The study should include different types of hydrological prerequisites and the seasonal variations in power production as well as additional rivers.

Language Recognition is the problem of discovering the language of a spoken definitionutterance. This thesis achieves this goal by using short term acoustic information within a GMM-UBM approach.The main problem of many pattern recognition applications is the variability of problemthe observed data. In the context of Language Recognition (LR), this troublesomevariability is due to the speaker characteristics, speech evolution, acquisition and transmission channels.In the context of Speaker Recognition, the variability problem is solved by solutionthe Joint Factor Analysis (JFA) technique. Here, we introduce this paradigm toLanguage Recognition. The success of JFA relies on several assumptions: The globalJFA assumption is that the observed information can be decomposed into a universalglobal part, a language-dependent part and the language-independent variabilitypart. The second, more technical assumption consists in the unwanted variability part to be thought to live in a low-dimensional, globally defined subspace. In this work, we analyze how JFA behaves in the context of a GMM-UBM LR framework. We also introduce and analyze its combination with Support Vector Machines(SVMs).The first JFA publications put all unwanted information (hence the variability) improvemen tinto one and the same component, which is thought to follow a Gaussian distribution.This handles diverse kinds of variability in a unique manner. But in practice,we observe that this hypothesis is not always verified. We have for example thecase, where the data can be divided into two clearly separate subsets, namely datafrom telephony and from broadcast sources. In this case, our detailed investigations show that there is some benefit of handling the two kinds of data with two separatesystems and then to elect the output score of the system, which corresponds to the source of the testing utterance.For selecting the score of one or the other system, we need a channel source related analyses detector. We propose here different novel designs for such automatic detectors.In this framework, we show that JFA's variability factors (of the subspace) can beused with success for detecting the source. This opens the interesting perspectiveof partitioning the data into automatically determined channel source categories,avoiding the need of source-labeled training data, which is not always available.The JFA approach results in up to 72% relative cost reduction, compared to the overall resultsGMM-UBM baseline system. Using source specific systems followed by a scoreselector, we achieve 81% relative improvement.

Le stress a une fonction adaptative mais son influence délétère sur la santé physique,cognitive et mentale lorsqu’il se présente de façon excessive et/ou chronique est aujourd’huireconnue. De très nombreux travaux ont démontré que le jeune enfant, l’adolescent et le sujetâgé y sont particulièrement vulnérables. L’objectif de cette thèse a été de déterminer s’ilexiste une sensibilité au stress chronique chez l’adulte selon l’âge au moment de l’exposition.Le modèle de stress chronique léger et imprédictible mis au point chez la souris a été utilisé.Les impacts à court et long-terme (sujet âgé), ont été déterminés en analysant les troublessomatiques, hédoniques, anxieux, dépressifs et cognitifs, caractéristiques du syndrome destress. Contrairement à l’idée selon laquelle l’adulte serait plus résistant et plus résilient auxperturbations induites par le stress, les résultats de cette thèse démontrent qu’une période destress à l’âge adulte produit des effets délétères drastiques non seulement immédiats maiségalement à long terme. Toutefois, l’adulte d’âge moyen serait plus résistant et plus résilientrelativement aux adultes jeunes ou d’âge avancé qui présentent une symptomatologie plusmarquée. La sévérité des symptômes anxieux initialement générés par le stress est corrélée àla fois avec la persistance des troubles et la modification des marques de répression géniquedans l’hippocampe indiquant la présence d’une signature épigénétique de l’épisode de stress àlong terme. Des études récentes ont suggéré l’implication de la somatostatine centrale dans lesrégulations émotionnelles et relient la vulnérabilité au stress chronique des neuronessomatostatinergiques avec le développement de troubles anxio-dépressifs. Les résultats decette thèse ont permis d’identifier l’inhibition à la fois de l’axe HPA et des comportementsanxio-dépressifs par les récepteurs sst2 et sst4 de l’hippocampe. Les profils comportementauxinduits par l’utilisation d’agonistes sélectifs ou par la délétion de ces deux récepteurssuggèrent l’existence de deux voies de régulation interagissant respectivement avec lessystèmes sérotoninergique (voie sst2) et noradrénergique (voie sst4), l’une régulantprincipalement l’état anxieux, l’autre les désordres dépressifs et cognitifs. Ainsi, cette thèseétaye l’importance de la pathogénicité du stress chronique chez l’adulte et l’importance desrégulations neuroendocriniennes et cognitivo-émotionnelles par les récepteurs sst2 et sst4, unespécificité qui doit être prise en considération dans l’utilisation et le développement destraitements somatostatinergiques ciblant
Stress has an adaptive function but it can have also deleterious effects on physical,cognitive and mental health when its intensity and/or chronicity increase. A large body ofevidence supports the idea that young children, adolescents and aged people are highlysensitive to stress. The aim of this study was to determinate if a critical period of sensitivity tostress may be evidenced during adulthood. The Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress protocoldeveloped in the mouse was used. Short and long-term impacts of stress were quantified byassessing somatic, hedonic, anxious, depressive and cognitive troubles which arecharacteristic of a stress syndrome. Unlike the view that adults are resistant and resilient tostress, the results presented in this thesis show that a stress period during adulthood inducesimmediate and long-lasting deleterious effects. However, middle-aged adults were moreresistant and more resilient than younger or older subjects which both displayed a more severesymptomatology. The anxiety level initially induced by chronic stress is correlated with thepersistence of troubles and with modifications of gene repression marks in the hippocampus,indicating the presence of an epigenetic signature of the chronic stress episode in the longterm.Recent studies have suggested that central somatostatin is involved in emotionalregulations, linking the vulnerability of somatostatinergic neurons to chronic stress with theinstatement of anxio-depressive disorders. We showed herein that hippocampal sst2 and sst4receptor subtypes mediate the inhibition of HPA axis and improve anxio-depressivebehaviors. Behavioral patterns induced by either selective agonists or deletions of thesereceptors suggest that two regulatory pathways respectively interact with the serotoninergicsystem (sst2) and the noradrenergic system (sst4). In addition, sst2 receptors mainly regulateanxiety whereas sst4 is mainly involved in the regulation of cognitive and depressivedisorders. As a whole, this thesis corroborates the idea that chronic stress has pathogeniceffects even in adulthood and highlights the importance of neuroendocrine and cognitivoemotionalregulations by sst2 and sst4 receptor subtypes, a specificity that has to beconsidered in the use and the development of somatostatin treatments targeting HPAderegulations and stress-related disorders

L’ambition de la thèse est de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des difficultés cognitives rencontrées par les enfants sourds munis d’un implant cochléaire (IC). Elle présente une recension de travaux et une étude originale concernant la mémoire à court-terme/mémoire de travail.Est évalué l’apport recommandé de la lecture labiale et des clés de la LPC (Langue Parlée Complétée) sur le rappel.Une série d’épreuves originales de rappel immédiat a été conçue sur support informatique. Elle comprend des tâches contrastées du point de vue de la nature de l’information à mémoriser (spatiale vs verbale) et des modalités de présentation de l’information. Les épreuves ont été validées auprès d’une population d’enfants normo-entendants (NE)(âgés de 6 à 8 ans, N=42). Les réponses d’enfants IC(N=14) ont été comparées à celles d’enfants NE, sur la base de la constitution de deux groupes appareillés selon les critères d’âge, de sexe et d’aptitude intellectuelle.Pour les deux groupes, le rappel immédiat est meilleur pour les informations visuo-spatiales. Les informations verbales sont moins bien retenues par les enfants IC. Contrairement aux attentes, l’apport de la LPC, spécifiquement dans la modalité verbale, ne conduit pas à une augmentation des performances des enfants sourds. L’analyse de l’ordre de rappel des items ne fait pas apparaître de difficultés spécifiques. En revanche, la longueur des listes est préjudiciable en verbal. L’analyse des erreurs atteste de leurs difficultés au plan des connaissances langagières. Une analyse fine des performances individuelles montre des profils différenciés attestant de la singularité des modes d’adaptation des enfants sourds IC
The aim of the thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of cognitive difficulties in deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI). Firstly, this thesis presents a comparative analysis of previous research work. Secondly, it presents an original study addressing short-term memory (STM)/working memory (WM) issues, in which the contribution of cued speech (CS) is assessed on memorization performances. To do so, a novel STM/WM task series was developed and used to investigate whether the use of verbal stimuli versus spatial stimuli differentially affects immediate memory processes and to examine whether the presentation of items in an enriched context has a benefit on the immediate memory capacity. The developed tasks were validated on normal-hearing (NH) children (6- and 8-year-old, N=42) and the capacities of CI deaf children(N=14) were compared to those of their NH peers matched for age, sex and reasoning ability. For both groups, the immediate recall proves to be better for visuo-spatial information. Also, CI deaf children appear as memorizing less verbal information. Surprisingly, CS, appears to be ineffective to improve the CI deaf children performances, especially in the verbal modality case; if the analysis of the order of recall of items does not reveal any specific difficulty, the length of the items lists is harmful in the verbal modality. The analysis of the recall errors confirms difficulties in linguistic knowledge. Individual performances of CI deaf children show diverse patterns

Orientador: José Roberto Sanches Mantovani
Resumo: O planejamento de curto prazo é uma estratégia de tomada de decisão que visa assegurar o desempenho adequado de um sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica e fornecer um produto de alta qualidade aos usuários finais. Este processo considera ações tradicionais para um controle efetivo no fluxo de potência reativa, fator de potência e magnitude de tensão nas barras do sistema. Nos últimos anos, este tipo de planejamento enfrenta-se com significativos desafios devido à integração de novas tecnologias e a filosofia de operação das redes de distribuição de média tensão. Desta forma, o desenvolvimento de algoritmos e ferramentas computacionais sofisticadas são necessárias para contornar essas complexidades. Nessa perspectiva, neste trabalho apresenta-se uma estratégia para a solução do problema de planejamento de curto prazo para redes de distribuição. Em que, a integração de unidades de geração distribuída e sistemas de armazenamento de energia elétrica é considerada simultaneamente com as ações tradicionais de planejamento para melhorar a eficiência do sistema. Diferentes alternativas de investimento, tais como a localização e dimensionamento de bancos de capacitores, unidades de armazenamento de energia e unidades de geração baseadas em energia fotovoltaica e eólica, seleção e substituição de condutores dos circuitos sobrecarregados e alocação de reguladores de tensão são consideradas como variáveis de decisão no problema de otimização. Adicionalmente, na formulação deste pro... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: Short-term planning is a decision-making strategy that aims to enhance proper electric distribution network performance and provide high-quality service to consumers. This process considers traditional planning actions to effectively control the reactive power flow, power factor, and the voltage profile of the network. In the last years, this type of distribution network planning has faced important challenges due to the integration of modern technologies and operating aspects of medium-voltage distribution networks. In this regard, development of sophisticated algorithms and computational tools are necessary to cope with these complexities. In this perspective, a strategy to determine the solution of the short-term planning problem for distribution networks is presented in this work, where, integration of distributed generation units and electric energy storage systems are considered simultaneously with traditional planning actions to improve the network performance. Several investment alternatives such as siting and sizing of capacitors banks, energy storage systems, photovoltaic- and wind- based generation units, conductor replacement of overloaded circuits, and voltage regulators allocation are considered as decision variables in the optimization problem. Additionally, environmental aspects at distribution level are duly addressed via Cap and Trade mechanism. Inherently, this optimization problem is represented by a non-convex mixed integer nonlinear programming problem. ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor

碩士
國立臺灣大學
環境衛生研究所
96
Objectives: This study is intended to provide the scientific information, in aspect of personal exposure, on exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) and its components, possible sources contributed to them, and their associations with short-term cardiovascular effects. Methods: This panel study was conducted in Sin-Jhuang city, Taipei County, Taiwan. Eighteen mail carriers were recruited from the Sin-Jhuang Post Office. Each subject’s personal PM exposure and ambient PM concentrations were measured during working hours from Monday to Friday (or Saturday). PM samples were collected using a personal sampler, which classifies PM into five size ranges [>2.5 (A), 1.0-2.5 (B), 0.50-1.0 (C), 0.25- 0.50 (D), and < 0.25 (E) µm]. Heart rate variability (HRV) was monitored during working hours from Monday to Friday, and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was measured before and after working hours on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Particle filters were digested in a microwave digestion system and the elemental concentrations were determined using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. The concentration of 21 elements, the right-side CAVI (r-CAVI), the heart rate (HR), and the 5-min segment of HRV data (SDNN, r-MSSD, HF, LF, and LF/HF) recorded immediately after the PM sampling session were used for data analysis. Absolute principal component analysis (APCA) was applied to PM elemental concentrations to identify sources and then quantify the source contributions. Mixed-effects regression model (MERM) was used to assess potential associations between source-specific PM and cardiovascular end points. Results: Three significant PM1.0-2.5 source factors (urban dust, vehicle exhaust, and brake wear) and two significant PM0.25 source factors (industrial processing and vehicle exhaust) were identified. The urban dust source accounted for the majority of PM1.0-2.5 mass (66.1 %); the largest contributor to PM0.25 mass was industrial processing (43.4 %). We also found that traffic-derived combustion (vehicle exhaust) and noncombustion (brake wear) sources had equal contribution to PM1.0-2.5 in urban areas. In the health analysis, controlling for the covariates, an interquartile range (IQR; 1.9 μg/m3) increase in PM1.0-2.5 from vehicle exhaust accounted for a 2.84 % increase in CAVI [95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.37－4.39 %]; an IQR (1.4 μg/m3) increase in PM1.0-2.5 from brake wear accounted for a 11.60 % decrease in SDNN (CI, -19.68－-2.70 %); and an IQR (10.9 μg/m3) increase in PM0.25 from industrial processing accounted for a 10.36 % decrease in SDNN (CI, -27.97－-1.67 %). We also observed that PM1.0-2.5 attributable to brake wear was positively associated with heart rate, and PM1.0-2.5 attributable to vehicle exhaust had positive association with LF/HF. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that urban dust and industrial sources are particularly important in Sin-Jhuang and suggest that PM derived from traffic (both combustion and noncombustion included) - and industrial-related sources probably trigger adverse cardiovascular effects in healthy subjects. The government should initiate pollution control strategies to reduce these urban PM emissions. We also suggest that mail carriers should stay indoors when air pollution levels are high (e.g., peak hours) or avoid all activity or working near high-traffic areas. In addition, we found that cardiovascular risks may vary among different PM components. Thus, using PM mass as exposure metrics may bias the health estimates of some of its specific components.

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) have the ability to significantly reduce the energy required to heat and cool buildings. Historically, deployment of GSHP's in the cooling-dominated Texas and Southwest region has been significantly less than in other regions of the United States. The long term technical and economic viability of GSHPs in arid regions such as Texas has been questioned due to failures of ground loop heat pump systems by early adopters. A proposed solution is to include a supplemental heat rejection (SHR) device to help offset the unbalanced ground loads. An integrated building load-ground source heat pump model is developed in this thesis and is designed to be a test bed for potential SHR devices. The model consists of discrete component models that can be mixed and matched to represent various types of buildings and ground source heat pumps. One of the unique features of the integrated model is the use of the Simulink/Matlab environment. This environment allows the user to develop component models that take advantage of the built-in functionality of Matlab and Simulink. Another unique feature is the full coupling of the building load, heat pump, and ground loop at every time step. The building load, heat pump, and ground loop models were chosen to allow for short time step simulations, which allows for a range of dynamic response times to be modeled and for different heat pump/SHR control methods to be explored. The integrated model can be used on any computer that has the Matlab and Simulink software. The building load model used, called HAMBASE, can model both residential and commercial buildings. HAMBASE was validated using the ASHRAE 140-2007 standard. The heat pump model uses readily available data provided by GSHP manufacturers to accurately model operation across a wide range of input conditions. The vertical borehole ground loop model, developed at Oklahoma State University, is based on Eskillson's g-function model, but included a one-dimensional numerical model to calculate the short term thermal response of the borehole and ground. The ground loop model utilizes GLHEPRO, a ground loop sizing and simulation tool, to create the required parameter files. Using the integrated building load-ground source heat pump model, a model of a single family house with a ground source heat pump was developed. The house model was validated by the results from eQuest and GELHPRO. A series of sensitivity studies were completed to determine dominant factors affecting the use of GSHPs in Texas and the Southwest regions of the United States. The results show that the life of a vertical borehole can be significantly extended/cut short if the ground parameters are properly/not properly designed prior to ground loop sizing.
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碩士
南台科技大學
企業管理系
96
This study aims to provide new international evidence on the profitability and sources of short-term contrarian strategy in the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The research follows the same methodology adopted by Antoniou et al. (2005 and 2006). This methodology extends from a serial relevant papers, Lo and MacKinlay (1990) and Jegadeesh and Titman (1995), and simultaneously incorporates three-factor risk adjusted model proposed by Fama and French (1993). In addition, this dissertation also uses another three-factor model proposed by Gu (2005), who shows his model is better in describing price behaviour of Taiwan stock market. Findings of this study are not fully consistent with previous studies, since only largest portfolio exhibits return reversals and yields significant contrarian profits in various returns. Culture influence suggested by Otchere and Chan (2003) can interpret part of our findings. Moreover, risk, size, microstructure bias and January effect cannot account for the results. Further decomposition analysis shows that overreaction to firm-specific news is the predominant source of observed profits in largest portfolio.

Une variété d’opérations cognitives dépend de la capacité de retenir de l’information auditive pour une courte période de temps. Notamment l’information auditive prend son sens avec le temps; la rétention d’un son disparu permet donc de mieux comprendre sa signification dans le contexte auditif et mène ultimement à une interaction réussite avec l’environnement. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’étudier l’activité cérébrale reliée à la rétention des sons et, ce faisant, parvenir à une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes de bas niveau de la mémoire à court-terme auditive. Trois études empiriques se sont penchées sur différents aspects de la rétention des sons. Le premier article avait pour but d’étudier les corrélats électrophysiologiques de la rétention des sons variant en timbre en utilisant la technique des potentiels reliés aux événements. Une composante fronto-centrale variant avec la charge mnésique a été ainsi révélée. Dans le deuxième article, le patron électro-oscillatoire de la rétention a été exploré. Cette étude a dévoilé une augmentation de l’amplitude variant avec la charge mnésique dans la bande alpha pendant la rétention des sons ainsi qu’une dissociation entre l’activité oscillatoire observée pendant la rétention et celle observée pendant la présentation des sons test. En démontrant des différentes modulations des amplitudes dans la bande alpha et la bande beta, cette étude a pu révéler des processus distincts mais interdépendants de la mémoire à court-terme auditive. Le troisième article a davantage visé à mieux connaître les structures cérébrales soutenant la rétention de sons. L’activité cérébrale a été mesurée avec la magnétoencéphalographie, et des localisations des sources ont été effectuées à partir de ces données. Les résultats ont dévoilé l’implication d’un réseau cérébral contenant des structures temporales, frontales, et pariétales qui était plus important dans l’hémisphère droit que dans l’hémisphère gauche. Les résultats des études empiriques ont permis de souligner l’aspect sensoriel de la mémoire à court-terme auditive et de montrer des similarités dans la rétention de différentes caractéristiques tonales. Dans leur ensemble, les études ont contribué à l’identification des processus neuronaux reliés à la rétention des sons en étudiant l’activité électromagnétique et l’implication des structures cérébrales correspondantes sur une échelle temporelle fine.
The capacity to retain auditory information for a short period of time is fundamental for a variety of cognitive operations. Sounds, in particular, often do not reveal their meaning before being integrated in their temporal context; the retention of tones that are no longer present in the environment is thus necessary for understanding the significance of auditory information. Retaining tones ultimately leads to a successful interaction with the environment. The goal of this thesis was to study brain activity related to the retention of tones, thereby providing a better understanding of low-level mechanisms related to auditory short-term memory. Three empirical studies have been conducted, each of them focusing on a different aspect of the retention of tones. The first article investigated electrophysiological correlates of the retention of tones differing in timbre using the event-related potential technique. The electrophysiological results revealed a fronto-central component that varied with memory load. In the second article, the oscillatory pattern of electric brain activity was explored using electroencephalography. The results revealed that alpha band amplitudes were modulated by memory load during retention. Furthermore, a dissociation of oscillatory activity between the retention of tones and the comparison of test tones against retained tone representations was observed. This study also revealed distinct but interrelated processes taking place at the same time by showing specific amplitude modulations in the alpha and beta bands. The third article focused more on brain areas underpinning the retention of tones. Brain activity was measured with magnetoencephalography and subsequent source localisations were performed. The results suggested the implication of a network of temporal, frontal, and parietal brain areas which was more pronounced in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere. The results of the empirical studies emphasized the sensory aspect of auditory short-term memory. In addition, they revealed similarities between the retention of tones differing in fundamental sound characteristics such as timbre and pitch. Considered as a whole, the studies of this thesis contributed to the identification of neural processing underlying the retention of tones by studying electromagnetic brain activity and the implication of corresponding brain areas on a fine temporal scale.

Yes
Daily increasing use of tidal power generation proves its outstanding features as a renewable source. Due to environmental concerns, tidal current energy which has no greenhouse emission attracted researchers’ attention in the last decade. Additionally, the significant potential of tidal technologies to economically benefit the utility in long-term periods is substantial. Tidal energy can be highly forecasted based on short-time given data and hence it will be a reliable renewable resource which can be fitted into power systems. In this paper, investigations of effects of a practical stream tidal turbine in Lake Saroma in the eastern area of Hokkaido, Japan, allocated in a real microgrid (MG), is considered in order to solve an environmental/economic bi-objective optimization problem. For this purpose, an intelligent evolutionary multi-objective modified bird mating optimizer (MMOBMO) algorithm is proposed. Additionally, a detailed economic model of storage devices is considered in the problem. Results show the efficiency of the suggested algorithm in satisfying economic/environmental objectives. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by making comparison with original BMO and PSO on a practical MG.
Iran National Science Foundation; Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellowship under Grant DVF1617\6\45