Análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de los momentos críticos en baloncesto = Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the critical moments in basketball

El MC en baloncesto es aquel fenómeno relacionado con el juego que presenta unas características particulares determinadas por la idiosincrasia de un equipo y puede afectar a los protagonistas y por ende al devenir del juego. En la presente Tesis se ha estudiado la incidencia del MC en Liga A.C.B. de baloncesto y para su desarrollo en profundidad se ha planteado dos investigaciones una cuantitativa y otra cualitativa cuya metodología se detalla a continuación: La investigación cuantitativa se ha basado en la técnica de estudio del “Performance analysis”, para ello se han estudiado cuatro temporadas de la Liga A.C.B. (del 2007/08 al 2010/11), tal y como refleja en la bibliografía consultada se han tomado como momentos críticos del juego a los últimos cinco minutos de partidos donde la diferencia de puntos fue de seis puntos y todos los Tiempos Extras disputados, de tal manera que se han estudiado 197 momentos críticos. La contextualización del estudio se ha hecho en función de la variables situacionales “game location” (local o visitante), “team quality” (mejores o peores clasificados) y “competition” (fases de LR y Playoff). Para la interpretación de los resultados se han realizado los siguientes análisis descriptivos: 1) Análisis Discriminante, 2) Regresión Lineal Múltiple; y 3) Análisis del Modelo Lineal General Multivariante. La investigación cualitativa se ha basado en la técnica de investigación de la entrevista semiestructurada. Se entrevistaron a 12 entrenadores que militaban en la Liga A.C.B. durante la temporada 2011/12, cuyo objetivo ha sido conocer el punto de vista que tiene el entrenador sobre el concepto del MC y que de esta forma pudiera dar un enfoque más práctico basado en su conocimiento y experiencia acerca de cómo actuar ante el MC en el baloncesto. Los resultados de ambas investigaciones coinciden en señalar la importancia del MC sobre el resultado final del juego. De igual forma, el concepto en sí entraña una gran complejidad por lo que se considera fundamental la visión científica de la observación del juego y la percepción subjetiva que presenta el entrenador ante el fenómeno, para la cual los aspectos psicológicos de sus protagonistas (jugadores y entrenadores) son determinantes. ABSTRACT The Critical Moment (CM) in basketball is a related phenomenon with the game that has particular features determined by the idiosyncrasies of a team and can affect the players and therefore the future of the game. In this Thesis we have studied the impact of CM in the A.C.B. League and from a profound development two investigations have been raised, quantitative and qualitative whose methodology is as follows: The quantitative research is based on the technique of study "Performance analysis", for this we have studied four seasons in the A.C.B. League (2007/08 to 2010/11), and as reflected in the literature the Critical Moments of the games were taken from the last five minutes of games where the point spread was six points and all overtimes disputed, such that 197 critical moments have been studied. The contextualization of the study has been based on the situational variables "game location" (home or away), "team quality" (better or lower classified) and "competition" (LR and Playoff phases). For the interpretation of the results the following descriptive analyzes were performed: 1) Discriminant Analysis, 2) Multiple Linear Regression Analysis; and 3) Analysis of Multivariate General Linear Model. Qualitative research is based on the technique of investigation of a semi-structured interview. 12 coaches who belonged to the A.C.B. League were interviewed in seasons 2011/12, which aimed to determine the point of view that the coach has on the CM concept and thus could give a more practical approach based on their knowledge and experience about how to deal with the CM in basketball. The results of both studies agree on the importance of the CM on the final outcome of the game. Similarly, the concept itself is highly complex so the scientific view of the observation of the game is considered essential as well as the subjective perception the coach presents before the phenomenon, for which the psychological aspects of their characters (players and coaches) are crucial.

Effects of fiber inclusion on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of piglets reared under optimal or poor hygienic conditions

Two experiments were conducted to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Trp:Lys ratio requirement for growth performance of nursery pigs. Experimental diets were formulated to ensure that lysine was the second limiting AA throughout the experiments. In Exp. 1 (6 to 10 kg BW), 255 nursery pigs (PIC 327 × 1050, initially 6.3 ± 0.15 kg, mean ± SD) arranged in pens of 6 or 7 pigs were blocked by pen weight and assigned to experimental diets (7 pens/diet) consisting of SID Trp:Lys ratios of 14.7%, 16.5%, 18.4%, 20.3%, 22.1%, and 24.0% for 14 d with 1.30% SID Lys. In Exp. 2 (11 to 20 kg BW), 1,088 pigs (PIC 337 × 1050, initially 11.2 kg ± 1.35 BW, mean ± SD) arranged in pens of 24 to 27 pigs were blocked by average pig weight and assigned to experimental diets (6 pens/diet) consisting of SID Trp:Lys ratios of 14.5%, 16.5%, 18.0%, 19.5%, 21.0%, 22.5%, and 24.5% for 21 d with 30% dried distillers grains with solubles and 0.97% SID Lys. Each experiment was analyzed using general linear mixed models with heterogeneous residual variances. Competing heteroskedastic models included broken-line linear (BLL), broken-line quadratic (BLQ), and quadratic polynomial (QP). For each response, the best-fitting model was selected using Bayesian information criterion. In Exp. 1 (6 to 10 kg BW), increasing SID Trp:Lys ratio linearly increased (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F. For ADG, the best-fitting model was a QP in which the maximum ADG was estimated at 23.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: [<14.7%, >24.0%]) SID Trp:Lys ratio. For G:F, the best-fitting model was a BLL in which the maximum G:F was estimated at 20.4% (95% CI: [14.3%, 26.5%]) SID Trp:Lys. In Exp. 2 (11 to 20 kg BW), increasing SID Trp:Lys ratio increased (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F in a quadratic manner. For ADG, the best-fitting model was a QP in which the maximum ADG was estimated at 21.2% (95% CI: [20.5%, 21.9%]) SID Trp:Lys. For G:F, BLL and BLQ models had comparable fit and estimated SID Trp:Lys requirements at 16.6% (95% CI: [16.0%, 17.3%]) and 17.1% (95% CI: [16.6%, 17.7%]), respectively. In conclusion, the estimated SID Trp:Lys requirement in Exp. 1 ranged from 20.4% for maximum G:F to 23.9% for maximum ADG, whereas in Exp. 2 it ranged from 16.6% for maximum G:F to 21.2% for maximum ADG. These results suggest that standard NRC (2012) recommendations may underestimate the SID Trp:Lys requirement for nursery pigs from 11 to 20 kg BW.

Estimación eficiente de atributos demográficos del rostro humano en imágenes

Sin duda, el rostro humano ofrece mucha más información de la que pensamos. La cara transmite sin nuestro consentimiento señales no verbales, a partir de las interacciones faciales, que dejan al descubierto nuestro estado afectivo, actividad cognitiva, personalidad y enfermedades. Estudios recientes [OFT14, TODMS15] demuestran que muchas de nuestras decisiones sociales e interpersonales derivan de un previo análisis facial de la cara que nos permite establecer si esa persona es confiable, trabajadora, inteligente, etc. Esta interpretación, propensa a errores, deriva de la capacidad innata de los seres humanas de encontrar estas señales e interpretarlas. Esta capacidad es motivo de estudio, con un especial interés en desarrollar métodos que tengan la habilidad de calcular de manera automática estas señales o atributos asociados a la cara. Así, el interés por la estimación de atributos faciales ha crecido rápidamente en los últimos años por las diversas aplicaciones en que estos métodos pueden ser utilizados: marketing dirigido, sistemas de seguridad, interacción hombre-máquina, etc. Sin embargo, éstos están lejos de ser perfectos y robustos en cualquier dominio de problemas. La principal dificultad encontrada es causada por la alta variabilidad intra-clase debida a los cambios en la condición de la imagen: cambios de iluminación, oclusiones, expresiones faciales, edad, género, etnia, etc.; encontradas frecuentemente en imágenes adquiridas en entornos no controlados. Este de trabajo de investigación estudia técnicas de análisis de imágenes para estimar atributos faciales como el género, la edad y la postura, empleando métodos lineales y explotando las dependencias estadísticas entre estos atributos. Adicionalmente, nuestra propuesta se centrará en la construcción de estimadores que tengan una fuerte relación entre rendimiento y coste computacional. Con respecto a éste último punto, estudiamos un conjunto de estrategias para la clasificación de género y las comparamos con una propuesta basada en un clasificador Bayesiano y una adecuada extracción de características. Analizamos en profundidad el motivo de porqué las técnicas lineales no han logrado resultados competitivos hasta la fecha y mostramos cómo obtener rendimientos similares a las mejores técnicas no-lineales. Se propone un segundo algoritmo para la estimación de edad, basado en un regresor K-NN y una adecuada selección de características tal como se propuso para la clasificación de género. A partir de los experimentos desarrollados, observamos que el rendimiento de los clasificadores se reduce significativamente si los ´estos han sido entrenados y probados sobre diferentes bases de datos. Hemos encontrado que una de las causas es la existencia de dependencias entre atributos faciales que no han sido consideradas en la construcción de los clasificadores. Nuestro resultados demuestran que la variabilidad intra-clase puede ser reducida cuando se consideran las dependencias estadísticas entre los atributos faciales de el género, la edad y la pose; mejorando el rendimiento de nuestros clasificadores de atributos faciales con un coste computacional pequeño. Abstract Surely the human face provides much more information than we think. The face provides without our consent nonverbal cues from facial interactions that reveal our emotional state, cognitive activity, personality and disease. Recent studies [OFT14, TODMS15] show that many of our social and interpersonal decisions derive from a previous facial analysis that allows us to establish whether that person is trustworthy, hardworking, intelligent, etc. This error-prone interpretation derives from the innate ability of human beings to find and interpret these signals. This capability is being studied, with a special interest in developing methods that have the ability to automatically calculate these signs or attributes associated with the face. Thus, the interest in the estimation of facial attributes has grown rapidly in recent years by the various applications in which these methods can be used: targeted marketing, security systems, human-computer interaction, etc. However, these are far from being perfect and robust in any domain of problems. The main difficulty encountered is caused by the high intra-class variability due to changes in the condition of the image: lighting changes, occlusions, facial expressions, age, gender, ethnicity, etc.; often found in images acquired in uncontrolled environments. This research work studies image analysis techniques to estimate facial attributes such as gender, age and pose, using linear methods, and exploiting the statistical dependencies between these attributes. In addition, our proposal will focus on the construction of classifiers that have a good balance between performance and computational cost. We studied a set of strategies for gender classification and we compare them with a proposal based on a Bayesian classifier and a suitable feature extraction based on Linear Discriminant Analysis. We study in depth why linear techniques have failed to provide competitive results to date and show how to obtain similar performances to the best non-linear techniques. A second algorithm is proposed for estimating age, which is based on a K-NN regressor and proper selection of features such as those proposed for the classification of gender. From our experiments we note that performance estimates are significantly reduced if they have been trained and tested on different databases. We have found that one of the causes is the existence of dependencies between facial features that have not been considered in the construction of classifiers. Our results demonstrate that intra-class variability can be reduced when considering the statistical dependencies between facial attributes gender, age and pose, thus improving the performance of our classifiers with a reduced computational cost.

Gaia-ESO Survey: Analysis of pre-main sequence stellar spectra

Context. The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey is obtaining high-quality spectroscopy of some 100 000 Milky Way stars using the FLAMES spectrograph at the VLT, down to V = 19 mag, systematically covering all the main components of the Milky Way and providing the first homogeneous overview of the distributions of kinematics and chemical element abundances in the Galaxy. Observations of young open clusters, in particular, are giving new insights into their initial structure, kinematics, and their subsequent evolution. Aims. This paper describes the analysis of UVES and GIRAFFE spectra acquired in the fields of young clusters whose population includes pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. The analysis is applied to all stars in such fields, regardless of any prior information on membership, and provides fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters, elemental abundances, and PMS-specific parameters such as veiling, accretion, and chromospheric activity. Methods. When feasible, different methods were used to derive raw parameters (e.g. line equivalent widths) fundamental atmospheric parameters and derived parameters (e.g. abundances). To derive some of these parameters, we used methods that have been extensively used in the past and new ones developed in the context of the Gaia-ESO survey enterprise. The internal precision of these quantities was estimated by inter-comparing the results obtained by these different methods, while the accuracy was estimated by comparison with independent external data, such as effective temperature and surface gravity derived from angular diameter measurements, on a sample of benchmarks stars. A validation procedure based on these comparisons was applied to discard spurious or doubtful results and produce recommended parameters. Specific strategies were implemented to resolve problems of fast rotation, accretion signatures, chromospheric activity, and veiling. Results. The analysis carried out on spectra acquired in young cluster fields during the first 18 months of observations, up to June 2013, is presented in preparation of the first release of advanced data products. These include targets in the fields of the ρ Oph, Cha I, NGC 2264, γ Vel, and NGC 2547 clusters. Stellar parameters obtained with the higher resolution and larger wavelength coverage from UVES are reproduced with comparable accuracy and precision using the smaller wavelength range and lower resolution of the GIRAFFE setup adopted for young stars, which allows us to provide stellar parameters with confidence for the much larger GIRAFFE sample. Precisions are estimated to be ≈120 K rms in Teff, ≈0.3 dex rms in log g, and ≈0.15 dex rms in [Fe/H] for the UVES and GIRAFFE setups.

Tree species diversity and ecosystem function: Can tropical multi-species plantations generate greater productivity?

Results from the humid tropics of Australia demonstrate that diverse plantations can achieve greater productivity than monocultures. We found that increases in both the observed species number and the effective species richness were significantly related to increased levels of productivity as measured by stand basal area or mean individual tree basal area. Four of five plantation species were more productive in mixtures with other species than in monocultures, offering on average, a 55% increase in mean tree basal area. A general linear model suggests that species richness had a significant effect on mean individual tree basal area when environmental variables were included in the model. As monoculture plantations are currently the preferred reforestation method throughout the tropics these results suggest that significant productivity and ecological gains could be made if multi-species plantations are more broadly pursued. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generalized Perk-Schultz models: solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation associated with quantized orthosymplectic superalgebras

The Perk-Schultz model may be expressed in terms of the solution of the Yang-Baxter equation associated with the fundamental representation of the untwisted affine extension of the general linear quantum superalgebra U-q (gl(m/n)], with a multiparametric coproduct action as given by Reshetikhin. Here, we present analogous explicit expressions for solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation associated with the fundamental representations of the twisted and untwisted affine extensions of the orthosymplectic quantum superalgebras U-q[osp(m/n)]. In this manner, we obtain generalizations of the Perk-Schultz model.

Education and self-management for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study of patients' views.

OObjectives: We explored the perceptions, views and experiences of diabetes education in people with type 2 diabetes who were participating in a UK randomized controlled trial of methods of education. The intervention arm of the trial was based on DESMOND, a structured programme of group education sessions aimed at enabling self-management of diabetes, while the standard arm was usual care from general practices. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 adult patients, of whom 19 had attended DESMOND education sessions and 17 had been randomized to receive usual care. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative method. Results: Four principal orientations towards diabetes and its management were identified: `resisters', `identity resisters, consequence accepters', `identity accepters, consequence resisters' and `accepters'. Participants offered varying accounts of the degree of personal responsibility that needed to be assumed in response to the diagnosis. Preferences for different styles of education were also expressed, with many reporting that they enjoyed and benefited from group education, although some reported ambivalence or disappointment with their experiences of education. It was difficult to identify striking thematic differences between accounts of people on different arms of the trial, although there was some very tentative evidence that those who attended DESMOND were more accepting of a changed identity and its implications for their management of diabetes. Discussion: No one single approach to education is likely to suit all people newly diagnosed with diabetes, although structured group education may suit many. This paper identifies varying orientations and preferences of people with diabetes towards forms of both education and self-management, which should be taken into account when planning approaches to education.

Prestressed concrete beams with stirrups subjected to torsion, bending and shear

Reported in this thesis are test results of 37 eccentrically prestressed beams with stirrups. Single variable parameters were investigated including the prestressing force, the prestressing steel area, the concrete strength, the aspect ratio h/b and the stirrups size and spacing. Interaction of bending, torsion and shear was also investigated by testing a series of beams subjected to varying bending/torsional moment ratios. For the torsional strength an empirical expression of linear format is proposed and can be rearranged in a non-dimensional interaction form: T/To+V/Vo+M/Mo+Ps/Po+Fs/Fo=Pc2/Fsp. This formula which is based on an average experimental steel stress lower than the yield point is compared with 243 prestressed beams containing ' stirrups, including the author's test beams, and good agreement is obtained. For the theoretical analysis of the problem of torsion combined with bending and shear in concrete beams with stirrups, the method of torque-friction is proposed and developed using an average steel stress. A general linear interaction equation for combined torsion with bending and/or shear is proposed in the following format: (fi) T/Tu=1 where (fi) is a combined loading factor to modify the pure ultimate strength for differing cases of torsion with bending and/or shear. From the analysis of 282 reinforced and prestressed concrete beams containing stirrups, including the present investigation, good agreement is obtained between the method and the test results. It is concluded that the proposed method provides a rational and simple basis for predicting the ultimate torisional strength and may also be developed for design purposes.

Body iron is associated with cognitive executive planning function in college women

Evidence of the relationship between altered cognitive function and depleted Fe status is accumulating in women of reproductive age but the degree of Fe deficiency associated with negative neuropsychological outcomes needs to be delineated. Data are limited regarding this relationship in university women in whom optimal cognitive function is critical to academic success. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between body Fe, in the absence of Fe-deficiency anaemia, and neuropsychological function in young college women. Healthy, non-Anaemic undergraduate women (n 42) provided a blood sample and completed a standardised cognitive test battery consisting of one manual (Tower of London (TOL), a measure of central executive function) and five computerised (Bakan vigilance task, mental rotation, simple reaction time, immediate word recall and two-finger tapping) tasks. Women's body Fe ranged from - 4·2 to 8·1 mg/kg. General linear model ANOVA revealed a significant effect of body Fe on TOL planning time (P= 0.002). Spearman's correlation coefficients showed a significant inverse relationship between body Fe and TOL planning time for move categories 4 (r - 0.39, P= 0.01) and 5 (r - 0.47, P= 0.002). Performance on the computerised cognitive tasks was not affected by body Fe level. These findings suggest that Fe status in the absence of anaemia is positively associated with central executive function in otherwise healthy college women. Copyright © The Authors 2012.

Statistical Inference for Processes Depending on Environments and Application in Regenerative Processes

We build the Conditional Least Squares Estimator of 0 based on the observation of a single trajectory of {Zk,Ck}k, and give conditions ensuring its strong consistency. The particular case of general linear models according to 0=( 0, 0) and among them, regenerative processes, are studied more particularly. In this frame, we may also prove the consistency of the estimator of 0 although it belongs to an asymptotic negligible part of the model, and the asymptotic law of the estimator may also be calculated.

Investigating the outcomes of two chronic disease self-management programs and understanding the correlates of completion for each program

Chronic disease affects 80% of adults over the age of 65 and is expected to increase in prevalence. To address the burden of chronic disease, self-management programs have been developed to increase self-efficacy and improve quality of life by reducing or halting disease symptoms. Two programs that have been developed to address chronic disease are the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) and Tomando Control de su Salud (TCDS). CDSMP and TCDS both focus on improving participant self-efficacy, but use different curricula, as TCDS is culturally tailored for the Hispanic population. Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of CDSMP and TCDS when translated to community settings. In addition, little is known about the correlation between demographic, baseline health status, and psychosocial factors and completion of either CDSMP or TCDS. This study used secondary data collected by agencies of the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative from 10/01/2008–12/31/2010. The aims of this study were to examine six week differences in self-efficacy, time spent performing physical activity, and social/role activity limitations, and to identify correlates of program completion using baseline demographic and psychosocial factors. To examine if differences existed a general linear model was used. Additionally, logistic regression was used to examine correlates of program completion. Study findings show that all measures showed improvement at week six. For CDSMP, self-efficacy to manage disease (p = .001), self-efficacy to manage emotions (p = .026), social/role activities limitations (p = .001), and time spent walking (p = .008) were statistically significant. For TCDS, self-efficacy to manage disease (p = .006), social/role activities limitations (p = .001), and time spent walking (p = .016) and performing other aerobic activity (p = .005) were significant. For CDSMP, no correlates predicting program completion were found to be significant. For TCDS, participants who were male (OR=2.3, 95%CI: 1.15–4.66), from Broward County (OR=2.3, 95%CI: 1.27–4.25), or living alone (OR=2.0, 95%CI: 1.29-–3.08) were more likely to complete the program. CDSMP and TCDS, when implemented through a collaborative effort, can result in improvements for participants. Effective chronic disease management can improve health, quality of life, and reduce health care expenditures among older adults.

Online Education, Accrediting Standards, and Student Success: An Examination of the Relationship Between the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Standards for Online Education and Student Success

Prior to 2000, there were less than 1.6 million students enrolled in at least one online course. By fall 2010, student enrollment in online distance education showed a phenomenal 283% increase to 6.1 million. Two years later, this number had grown to 7.1 million. In light of this significant growth and skepticism about quality, there have been calls for greater oversight of this format of educational delivery. Accrediting bodies tasked with this oversight have developed guidelines and standards for online education. There is a lack of empirical studies that examine the relationship between accrediting standards and student success. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College (SACSCOC) standards for online education in online courses, (a) student support services and (b) curriculum and instruction, and student success. An original 24-item survey with an overall reliability coefficient of .94 was administered to students (N=464) at Florida International University, enrolled in 24 university-wide undergraduate online courses during fall 2014, who rated the presence of these standards in their online courses. The general linear model was utilized to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that the two standards, student support services and curriculum and instruction were both significantly and positively correlated with student success but with small R2 and strengths of association less than .35 and .20 respectively. Mixed results were produced from Chi-square tests for differences in student success between higher and lower rated online courses when controlling for various covariates such as discipline, gender, race/ethnicity, GPA, age, and number of online courses previously taken. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the curriculum and instruction standard was the only variable that accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in student success. Another regression test revealed that no significant interaction effect exists between the two SACSCOC standards and GPA in predicting student success. The results of this study are useful for administrators, faculty, and researchers who are interested in accreditation standards for online education and how these standards relate to student success.

Efeito da geometria do implante dentário e do protocolo de fresagem óssea na estabilidade primária e na osseointegração inicial: estudo experimental em cães

CHAPTER 1 - This study histologically evaluated two implant designs: a classic thread design versus another specifically designed for healing chamber formation placed with two drilling protocols. Forty dental implants (4.1 mm diameter) with two different macrogeometries were inserted in the tibia of 10 Beagle dogs, and maximum insertion torque was recorded. Drilling techniques were: until 3.75 mm (regular-group); and until 4.0 mm diameter (overdrillinggroup) for both implant designs. At 2 and 4 weeks, samples were retrieved and processed for histomorphometric analysis. For torque and BIC (bone-to-implant contact) and BAFO (bone area fraction occupied), a general-linear model was employed including instrumentation technique and time in vivo as independent. The insertion torque recorded for each implant design and drilling group significantly decreased as a function of increasing drilling diameter for both implant designs (p<0.001). No significant differences were detected between implant designs for each drilling technique (p>0.18). A significant increase in BIC was observed from 2 to 4 weeks for both implants placed with the overdrilling technique (p<0.03) only, but not for those placed in the 3.75 mm drilling sites (p>0.32). Despite the differences between implant designs and drilling technique an intramembranous-like healing mode with newly formed woven bone prevailed. CHAPTER 2 - The objective of this preliminary histologic study was to determine whether the alteration of drilling protocols (oversized, intermediate, undersized drilling) present different biologic responses at early healing periods of 2 weeks in vivo in a beagle dog model. Ten beagle dogs were acquired and subjected to surgeries in the tibia 2 weeks before euthanasia. During surgery, 3 implants, 4 mm in diameter by 10 mm in length, were placed in bone sites drilled to 3.5 mm, 3.75 mm, and 4.0 mm in final diameter. The insertion and removal torque was recorded for all samples. Statistical significance was set to 95% level of confidence and the number of dogs was considered as the statistical unit for all comparisons. For the torque and BIC and BAFO, a general linear model was employed including instrumentation technique and time in vivo as independent. Overall, the insertion torque increased as a function of drilling diameter from 4.0 mm, to 3.75 mm, to 3.5 mm, with a significant difference in torque levels between all groups (p<0.001). Statistical assessment of BIC and BAFO showed significantly higher values for the 3.75 mm (recommended) drilling group was observed relative to the other two groups (p<0.001). Different drilling dimensions resulted in variations in insertion torque values (primary stability) and different pattern of healing and interfacial remodeling was observed for the different groups. CHAPTER 3 - The present study evaluated the effect of different drilling dimensions (undersized, regular, and oversized) in the insertion and removal torques of dental implants in a beagle dog model. Six beagle dogs were acquired and subjected to bilateral surgeries in the radii 1 and 3 weeks before euthanasia. During surgery, 3 implants, 4 mm in diameter by 10 mm in length, were placed in bone sites drilled to 3.2 mm, 3.5 mm, and 3.8 mm in final diameter. The insertion and removal torque was recorded for all samples. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t tests for repeated measures and by t tests assuming unequal variances (all at the 95% level of significance). Overall, the insertion torque and removal torque levels obtained were inversely proportional to the drilling dimension, with a significant difference detected between the 3.2 mm and 3.5 mm relative to the 3.8 mm groups (P < 0.03). Although insertion torque–removal torque paired observations was statis- tically maintained for the 3.5 mm and 3.8 mm groups, a significant decrease in removal torque values relative to insertion torque levels was observed for the 3.2 mm group. A different pattern of healing and interfacial remodeling was observed for the different groups. Different drilling dimensions resulted in variations in insertion torque values (primary stability) and stability maintenance over the first weeks of bone healing.

Pupillary behavior in relation to wavelength and age

Pupil light reflex can be used as a non-invasive ocular predictor of cephalic autonomic nervous system integrity. Spectral sensitivity of the pupil's response to light has, for some time, been an interesting issue. It has generally, however, only been investigated with the use of white light and studies with monochromatic wavelengths are scarce. This study investigates the effects of wavelength and age within three parameters of the pupil light reflex (amplitude of response, latency, and velocity of constriction) in a large sample of younger and older adults (N = 97), in mesopic conditions. Subjects were exposed to a single light stimulus at four different wavelengths: white (5600° K), blue (450 nm), green (510 nm), and red (600 nm). Data was analyzed appropriately, and, when applicable, using the General Linear Model (GLM), Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), Student's t-test and/or ANCOVA. Across all subjects, pupillary response to light had the greatest amplitude and shortest latency in white and green light conditions. In regards to age, older subjects (46-78 years) showed an increased latency in white light and decreased velocity of constriction in green light compared to younger subjects (18-45 years old). This study provides data patterns on parameters of wavelength-dependent pupil reflexes to light in adults and it contributes to the large body of pupillometric research. It is hoped that this study will add to the overall evaluation of cephalic autonomic nervous system integrity.

Detecting cell assemblies in large neuronal populations

Recent progress in the technology for single unit recordings has given the neuroscientific community theopportunity to record the spiking activity of large neuronal populations. At the same pace, statistical andmathematical tools were developed to deal with high-dimensional datasets typical of such recordings.A major line of research investigates the functional role of subsets of neurons with significant co-firingbehavior: the Hebbian cell assemblies. Here we review three linear methods for the detection of cellassemblies in large neuronal populations that rely on principal and independent component analysis.Based on their performance in spike train simulations, we propose a modified framework that incorpo-rates multiple features of these previous methods. We apply the new framework to actual single unitrecordings and show the existence of cell assemblies in the rat hippocampus, which typically oscillate attheta frequencies and couple to different phases of the underlying field rhythm