A Relação entre Mindfulness, Auto-Compaixão, Vergonha e Psicopatologia em Praticantes e Não Praticantes de Meditação/Yoga

O estudo do mindfulness tem sido alvo de um crescente interesse no domínio da Psicologia, pela sua importância no aumento de bem-estar e redução de sintomatologia psicopatológica. Os estudos realizados acerca da forma como o mindfulness assume um papel preponderante no bem-estar psicológico dos indivíduos, tendo por base um conjunto de competências ou aptidões que podem ser aprendidas e praticadas, favorece uma melhoria da saúde e do bem-estar dos indivíduos. Deste modo, com o objectivo de contribuir para o conhecimento da relação entre mindfulness, auto-compaixão, vergonha e psicopatologia em praticantes e não praticantes de meditação/yoga, realizou-se um conjunto de estudos numa amostra constituída por 121 sujeitos, em que 53 integram uma população praticante de meditação/yoga e 68 pertencem à população geral não praticante de meditação/yoga. Os resultados revelam que indivíduos praticantes de meditação/yoga registam valores significativamente mais elevados nas facetas observar e não reagir da escala de mindfulness. Por sua vez, sujeitos com maiores índices de traço de mindfulness apresentam níveis mais baixos de vergonha externa e interna. Para além disto, indivíduos com elevado traço de mindfulness distinguem-se significativamente dos indivíduos com baixo traço de mindfulness ao apresentarem níveis mais elevados de auto-compaixão e níveis mais baixos de depressão, ansiedade e stress. / The study of mindfulness has been the target of a growing interest in the field of psychology because of its importance in increasing welfare and lessening of psychopathological symptoms. Studies on how mindfulness plays a central role in psychological well-being of individuals, based on a set of competencies or skills that can be learned and practiced, promotes improved health and well-being of individuals. Thus, in order to contribute to the knowledge of the relationship between mindfulness, self-pity, shame and psychopathology in non-practitioners and practitioners of meditation / yoga, it was held a series of studies on a sample of 121 subjects, in which 53 were part of a population practicing meditation / yoga and 68 belong to the general population not practicing meditation / yoga. The results show that individuals who practice meditation / yoga recorded significantly higher values in the watch and not react aspects of mindfulness scale. In turn, subjects with higher trait mindfulness have lower levels of external and internal shame. In addition, individuals with higher trait mindfulness differ significantly from individuals with low trait mindfulness of the present higher levels of self-pity and lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

The impact of mindfulness on the wellbeing and performance of educators: A systematic review of the empirical literature

Given the potentially demanding nature of teaching, efforts are underway to develop practices that can improve the wellbeing of educators, including interventions based on mindfulness meditation. We performed systematic review of empirical studies featuring analyses of mindfulness in teaching contexts. Databases were reviewed from the start of records to January 2016. Eligibility criteria included empirical analyses of mindfulness and wellbeing outcomes acquired in relation to practice. A total of 19 papers met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review, consisting of a total 1,981 participants. Studies were principally examined for outcomes such as burnout, anxiety, depression and stress, as well as more positive wellbeing measures (e.g., life satisfaction). The systematic review revealed that mindfulness was generally associated with positive outcomes in relation to most measures. However, the quality of the studies was inconsistent, and so further research is needed, particularly involving high-quality randomised control trials.

NETCODE: an XOR-based warning dissemination scheme for vehicular wireless networks

The next generation of vehicles will be equipped with automated Accident Warning Systems (AWSs) capable of warning neighbouring vehicles about hazards that might lead to accidents. The key enabling technology for these systems is the Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANET) but the dynamics of such networks make the crucial timely delivery of warning messages challenging. While most previously attempted implementations have used broadcast-based data dissemination schemes, these do not cope well as data traffic load or network density increases. This problem of sending warning messages in a timely manner is addressed by employing a network coding technique in this thesis. The proposed NETwork COded DissEmination (NETCODE) is a VANET-based AWS responsible for generating and sending warnings to the vehicles on the road. NETCODE offers an XOR-based data dissemination scheme that sends multiple warning in a single transmission and therefore, reduces the total number of transmissions required to send the same number of warnings that broadcast schemes send. Hence, it reduces contention and collisions in the network improving the delivery time of the warnings. The first part of this research (Chapters 3 and 4) asserts that in order to build a warning system, it is needful to ascertain the system requirements, information to be exchanged, and protocols best suited for communication between vehicles. Therefore, a study of these factors along with a review of existing proposals identifying their strength and weakness is carried out. Then an analysis of existing broadcast-based warning is conducted which concludes that although this is the most straightforward scheme, loading can result an effective collapse, resulting in unacceptably long transmission delays. The second part of this research (Chapter 5) proposes the NETCODE design, including the main contribution of this thesis, a pair of encoding and decoding algorithms that makes the use of an XOR-based technique to reduce transmission overheads and thus allows warnings to get delivered in time. The final part of this research (Chapters 6--8) evaluates the performance of the proposed scheme as to how it reduces the number of transmissions in the network in response to growing data traffic load and network density and investigates its capacity to detect potential accidents. The evaluations use a custom-built simulator to model real-world scenarios such as city areas, junctions, roundabouts, motorways and so on. The study shows that the reduction in the number of transmissions helps reduce competition in the network significantly and this allows vehicles to deliver warning messages more rapidly to their neighbours. It also examines the relative performance of NETCODE when handling both sudden event-driven and longer-term periodic messages in diverse scenarios under stress caused by increasing numbers of vehicles and transmissions per vehicle. This work confirms the thesis' primary contention that XOR-based network coding provides a potential solution on which a more efficient AWS data dissemination scheme can be built.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFF-LINE RAINFLOW COUNTING ALGORITHM WITH TEMPORAL PARAMETERS AND DATA REDUCTION

Rainflow counting methods convert a complex load time history into a set of load reversals for use in fatigue damage modeling. Rainflow counting methods were originally developed to assess fatigue damage associated with mechanical cycling where creep of the material under load was not considered to be a significant contributor to failure. However, creep is a significant factor in some cyclic loading cases such as solder interconnects under temperature cycling. In this case, fatigue life models require the dwell time to account for stress relaxation and creep. This study develops a new version of the multi-parameter rainflow counting algorithm that provides a range-based dwell time estimation for use with time-dependent fatigue damage models. To show the applicability, the method is used to calculate the life of solder joints under a complex thermal cycling regime and is verified by experimental testing. An additional algorithm is developed in this study to provide data reduction in the results of the rainflow counting. This algorithm uses a damage model and a statistical test to determine which of the resultant cycles are statistically insignificant to a given confidence level. This makes the resulting data file to be smaller, and for a simplified load history to be reconstructed.

Surface structured platinum electrodes for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in imidazolium based ionic liquids

The direct CO2 electrochemical reduction on model platinum single crystal electrodes Pt(hkl) is studied in [C2mim+][NTf2−], a suitable room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) medium due to its moderate viscosity, high CO2 solubility and conductivity. Single crystal electrodes represent the most convenient type of surface structured electrodes for studying the impact of RTIL ion adsorption on relevant electrocatalytic reactions, such as surface sensitive electrochemical CO2 reduction. We propose here based on cyclic voltammetry and in situ electrolysis measurements, for the first time, the formation of a stable adduct [C2mimH–CO2−] by a radical–radical coupling after the simultaneous reduction of CO2 and [C2mim+]. It means between the CO2 radical anion and the radical formed from the reduction of the cation [C2mim+] before forming the corresponding electrogenerated carbene. This is confirmed by the voltammetric study of a model imidazolium-2-carboxylate compound formed following the carbene pathway. The formation of that stable adduct [C2mimH–CO2−] blocks CO2 reduction after a single electron transfer and inhibits CO2 and imidazolium dimerization reactions. However, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 under those conditions provokes the electrochemical cathodic degradation of the imidazolium based RTIL. This important limitation in CO2 recycling by direct electrochemical reduction is overcome by adding a strong acid, [H+][NTf2−], into solution. Then, protons become preferentially adsorbed on the electrode surface by displacing the imidazolium cations and inhibiting their electrochemical reduction. This fact allows the surface sensitive electro-synthesis of HCOOH from CO2 reduction in [C2mim+][NTf2−], with Pt(110) being the most active electrode studied.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2016)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2014)

In May 2014, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources met to identify needed updates to the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Updates were necessary to keep the text of the strategy up¬‐to¬‐date based on current information and status of efforts related to the strategy. Proposed updates were presented to the Water Resources Coordinating Council (WRCC) at its July 29 meeting, along with the annual strategy progress report. Comments were requested from both the WRCC and the Watershed Planning Advisory Council. Based on those comments, the draft report was updated and presented to the WRCC again on September 18, and finalized following that meeting. Below is a summary of the updates that have been made to the May 29, 2013 strategy document.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2013)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.

Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy : a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico (2012)

On November 19, 2012, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Director Chuck Gipp from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Dr. John Lawrence of Iowa State University announced the release of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. A two-month public comment period and several informational meetings allowed the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy. Updates and improvements were made to the draft based on the public comments. The final version of the strategy was released May 29, 2013. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients delivered to Iowa waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy outlines voluntary efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities, and nonpoint sources, including farm fields and urban areas, in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner. The development of the strategy reflects more than two years of work led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University. The scientific assessment to evaluate and model the effects of practices was developed through the efforts of 23 individuals representing five agencies or organizations, including scientists from ISU, IDALS, DNR, USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The strategy was developed in response to the 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan that calls for the 12 states along the Mississippi River to develop strategies to reduce nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy follows the recommended framework provided by EPA in 2011 and is only the second state to complete a statewide nutrient reduction strategy. This strategy is the beginning. Operational plans are being developed and work is underway. This is a dynamic document that will evolve over time, and is a key step towards improving Iowa’s water quality. The impetus for this report comes from the Water Resources Coordination Council (WRCC) which states in its 2014‐15 Annual Report “Efforts are underway to improve understanding of the multiple nutrient monitoring efforts that may be available and can be compared to the nutrient WQ monitoring framework to identify opportunities and potential data gaps to better coordinate and prioritize future nutrient monitoring efforts.” This report is the culmination of those efforts.

Semi-implicit finite strain constitutive integration and mixed strain/stress control based on intermediate configurations

A new semi-implicit stress integration algorithm for finite strain plasticity (compatible with hyperelas- ticity) is introduced. Its most distinctive feature is the use of different parameterizations of equilibrium and reference configurations. Rotation terms (nonlinear trigonometric functions) are integrated explicitly and correspond to a change in the reference configuration. In contrast, relative Green–Lagrange strains (which are quadratic in terms of displacements) represent the equilibrium configuration implicitly. In addition, the adequacy of several objective stress rates in the semi-implicit context is studied. We para- metrize both reference and equilibrium configurations, in contrast with the so-called objective stress integration algorithms which use coinciding configurations. A single constitutive framework provides quantities needed by common discretization schemes. This is computationally convenient and robust, as all elements only need to provide pre-established quantities irrespectively of the constitutive model. In this work, mixed strain/stress control is used, as well as our smoothing algorithm for the complemen- tarity condition. Exceptional time-step robustness is achieved in elasto-plastic problems: often fewer than one-tenth of the typical number of time increments can be used with a quantifiable effect in accuracy. The proposed algorithm is general: all hyperelastic models and all classical elasto-plastic models can be employed. Plane-stress, Shell and 3D examples are used to illustrate the new algorithm. Both isotropic and anisotropic behavior is presented in elasto-plastic and hyperelastic examples.

The natural plant stress elicitor cis-jasmone causes cultivar-dependent reduction in growth of the stink bug, Euschistus heros and associated changes in flavonoid concentrations in soybean, Glycine max.

To test the hypothesis that the plant stress related elicitor cis-jasmone (cJ) provides protection in soybean pods against the seed-sucking stink bug pest, Euschistus heros, the growth of E. heros on cJ-treated pods was investigated using three soybean cultivars differing in insect susceptibility, i.e. BRS 134 (susceptible), IAC 100 (resistant) and Dowling (resistant). E. heros showed reduced weight gain when fed cJ-treated Dowling, whereas no effect on weight gain was observed when fed other treated cultivars. Using analysis of variance, a three factor (cultivar x treatment x time) interaction was observed with concentrations of the flavonoid glycosides daidzin and genistin, and their corresponding aglycones, daidzein and genistein. There were increases in genistein and genistin concentrations in cJ-treated Dowling at 144 and 120 h post treatment, respectively. Higher concentrations of malonyldaidzin and malonylgenistin in Dowling, compared to BRS 134 and IAC 100, were observed independently of time, the highest concentrations being observed in cJ-treated seeds. Levels of glycitin and malonylglycitin were higher in BRS 134 and IAC 100 compared to Dowling. Canonical variate analysis indicated daidzein (in the first two canonical variates) and genistein (in the first only) as important discriminatory variables. These results suggest that cJ treatment leads to an increase in the levels of potentially defensive isoflavonoids in immature soybean seeds, but the negative effect upon E. heros performance is cultivar-dependent.

Semi-active control for structural vibration based on predictive algorithm [Chinese title = 基于预测算法的结构振动半主动控制]

Based on Newmark-β method, a structural vibration response is predicted. Through finding the appropriate control force parameters within certain ranges to optimize the objective function, the predictive control of the structural vibration is achieved. At the same time, the numerical simulation analysis of a two-storey frame structure with magneto-rheological (MR) dampers under earthquake records is carried out, and the parameter influence on structural vibration reduction is discussed. The results demonstrate that the semi-active control based on Newmark-β predictive algorithm is better than the classical control strategy based on full-state feedback control and has remarkable advantages of structural vibration reduction and control robustness.

Modelling the effects of bone fragment contact in fracture healing

The fracture healing process is modulated by the mechanical environment created by imposed loads and motion between the bone fragments. Contact between the fragments obviously results in a significantly different stress and strain environment to a uniform fracture gap containing only soft tissue (e.g. haematoma). The assumption of the latter in existing computational models of the healing process will hence exaggerate the inter-fragmentary strain in many clinically-relevant cases. To address this issue, we introduce the concept of a contact zone that represents a variable degree of contact between cortices by the relative proportions of bone and soft tissue present. This is introduced as an initial condition in a two-dimensional iterative finite element model of a healing tibial fracture, in which material properties are defined by the volume fractions of each tissue present. The algorithm governing the formation of cartilage and bone in the fracture callus uses fuzzy logic rules based on strain energy density resulting from axial compression. The model predicts that increasing the degree of initial bone contact reduces the amount of callus formed (periosteal callus thickness 3.1mm without contact, down to 0.5mm with 10% bone in contact zone). This is consistent with the greater effective stiffness in the contact zone and hence, a smaller inter-fragmentary strain. These results demonstrate that the contact zone strategy reasonably simulates the differences in the healing sequence resulting from the closeness of reduction.