On the use of 10-minute point counts and 10-species lists for surveying birds in lowland Atlantic Forests in southeastern Brazil

Due to rapid and continuous deforestation, recent bird surveys in the Atlantic Forest are following rapid assessment programs to accumulate significant amounts of data during short periods of time. During this study, two surveying methods were used to evaluate which technique rapidly accumulated most species (> 90% of the estimated empirical value) at lowland Atlantic Forests in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Birds were counted during the 2008-2010 breeding seasons using 10-minute point counts and 10-species lists. Overall, point counting detected as many species as lists (79 vs. 83, respectively), and 88 points (14.7 h) detected 90% of the estimated species richness. Forty-one lists were insufficient to detect 90% of all species. However, lists accumulated species faster in a shorter time period, probably due to the nature of the point count method in which species detected while moving between points are not considered. Rapid assessment programs in these forests will rapidly detect more species using 10-species lists. Both methods shared 63% of all forest species, but this may be due to spatial and temporal mismatch between samplings of each method.

Functional hoarseness in children: short-term play therapy with family dynamic counseling as therapy of choice

Children with nonorganic voice disorders (NVDs) are treated mainly using direct voice therapy techniques such as the accent method or glottal attack changes and indirect methods such as vocal hygiene and voice education. However, both approaches tackle only the symptoms and not etiological factors in the family dynamics and therefore often enjoy little success. The aim of the "Bernese Brief Dynamic Intervention" (BBDI) for children with NVD was to extend the effectiveness of pediatric voice therapies with a psychosomatic concept combining short-term play therapy with the child and family dynamic counseling of the parents. This study compares the therapeutic changes in three groups where different procedures were used, before intervention and 1 year afterward: counseling of parents (one to two consultations; n = 24), Brief Dynamic Intervention on the lines of the BBDI (three to five play therapy sessions with the child plus two to four sessions with the parents; n = 20), and traditional voice therapy (n = 22). A Voice Questionnaire for Parents developed by us with 59 questions to be answered on a four-point Likert scale was used to measure the change. According to the parents' assessment, a significant improvement in voice quality was achieved in all three methods. Counseling of parents (A) appears to have led parents to give their child more latitude, for example, they stopped nagging the child or demanding that he/she should behave strictly by the rules. After BBDI (B), the mothers were more responsive to their children's wishes and the children were more relaxed and their speech became livelier. At home, they called out to them less often at a distance, which probably improved parent-child dialog. Traditional voice therapy (C) seems to have had a positive effect on the children's social competence. BBDI seems to have the deepest, widest, and therefore probably the most enduring therapeutic effect on children with NVD.

Accurate rotational constant and bond lengths of hexafluorobenzene by femtosecond rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

The gas-phase rotational motion of hexafluorobenzene has been measured in real time using femtosecond (fs) time-resolved rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy (RR-RCS) at T = 100 and 295 K. This four-wave mixing method allows to probe the rotation of non-polar gas-phase molecules with fs time resolution over times up to ∼5 ns. The ground state rotational constant of hexafluorobenzene is determined as B 0 = 1029.740(28) MHz (2σ uncertainty) from RR-RCS transients measured in a pulsed seeded supersonic jet, where essentially only the v = 0 state is populated. Using this B 0 value, RR-RCS measurements in a room temperature gas cell give the rotational constants B v of the five lowest-lying thermally populated vibrationally excited states ν7/8, ν9, ν11/12, ν13, and ν14/15. Their B v constants differ from B 0 by between −1.02 MHz and +2.23 MHz. Combining the B 0 with the results of all-electron coupled-cluster CCSD(T) calculations of Demaison et al. [Mol. Phys.111, 1539 (2013)] and of our own allow to determine the C-C and C-F semi-experimental equilibrium bond lengths r e(C-C) = 1.3866(3) Å and r e(C-F) = 1.3244(4) Å. These agree with the CCSD(T)/wCVQZ r e bond lengths calculated by Demaison et al. within ±0.0005 Å. We also calculate the semi-experimental thermally averaged bond lengths r g(C-C)=1.3907(3) Å and r g(C-F)=1.3250(4) Å. These are at least ten times more accurate than two sets of experimental gas-phase electron diffraction r g bond lengths measured in the 1960s.

Numerical corrections to the strong coupling effective Polyakov-line action for finite T Yang-Mills theory

We consider a three-dimensional effective theory of Polyakov lines derived previously from lattice Yang-Mills theory and QCD by means of a resummed strong coupling expansion. The effective theory is useful for investigations of the phase structure, with a sign problem mild enough to allow simulations also at finite density. In this work we present a numerical method to determine improved values for the effective couplings directly from correlators of 4d Yang-Mills theory. For values of the gauge coupling up to the vicinity of the phase transition, the dominant short range effective coupling are well described by their corresponding strong coupling series. We provide numerical results also for the longer range interactions, Polyakov lines in higher representations as well as four-point interactions, and discuss the growing significance of non-local contributions as the lattice gets finer. Within this approach the critical Yang-Mills coupling β c is reproduced to better than one percent from a one-coupling effective theory on N τ = 4 lattices while up to five couplings are needed on N τ = 8 for the same accuracy.

Biomechanical evaluation of different angle-stable locking plate systems for mandibular surgery

PURPOSE To compare the initial stability and stability after fatigue of three different locking systems (Synthes(®), Stryker(®) and Medartis(®)) for mandibular fixation and reconstruction. METHOD Standard mandible locking plates with identical profile height (1,5 mm), comparable length and screws with identical diameter (2,0 mm) were used. Plates were fixed with six screws according a preparation protocol. Four point bending tests were then performed using artificial bone material to compare their initial stability and failure limit under realistic loading conditions. Loading of the plates was performed using of a servo hydraulic driven testing machine. The stiffness of the implant/bone construct was calculated using a linear regression on the experimental data included in a range of applied moment between 2 Nm and 6 Nm. RESULTS No statistical difference in the elastic stiffness was visible between the three types of plate. However, differences were observed between the systems concerning the maximal load supported. The Stryker and Synthes systems were able to support a significantly higher moment. CONCLUSION For clinical application all systems show good and reliable results. Practical aspects such as handling, possible angulation of screw fixation, possibility of screw/plate removal, etc. may favour one or the other plating system.

BiGlobal and point vortex methods for the instability analysis of wakes

To better understand destruction mechanisms of wake-vortices behind aircraft, the point vortex method for stability (inviscid) used by Crow is here compared with viscous modal global stability analysis of the linearized Navier-Stokes equations acting on a two-dimensional basic flow, i.e. BiGlobal stability analysis. The fact that the BiGlobal method is viscous, and uses a flnite área vortex model, gives rise to results somewhat different from the point vortex model. It adds more parameters to the problem, but is more realistic.

Variable Step Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Modules with Embedded Temperature Sensing

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Assessment of the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Functional Connectivity in Resting-State BOLD fMRI

Recent research into resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that the brain is very active during rest. This thesis work utilizes blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals to investigate the spatial and temporal functional network information found within resting-state data, and aims to investigate the feasibility of extracting functional connectivity networks using different methods as well as the dynamic variability within some of the methods. Furthermore, this work looks into producing valid networks using a sparsely-sampled sub-set of the original data.

In this work we utilize four main methods: independent component analysis (ICA), principal component analysis (PCA), correlation, and a point-processing technique. Each method comes with unique assumptions, as well as strengths and limitations into exploring how the resting state components interact in space and time.

Correlation is perhaps the simplest technique. Using this technique, resting-state patterns can be identified based on how similar the time profile is to a seed region’s time profile. However, this method requires a seed region and can only identify one resting state network at a time. This simple correlation technique is able to reproduce the resting state network using subject data from one subject’s scan session as well as with 16 subjects.

Independent component analysis, the second technique, has established software programs that can be used to implement this technique. ICA can extract multiple components from a data set in a single analysis. The disadvantage is that the resting state networks it produces are all independent of each other, making the assumption that the spatial pattern of functional connectivity is the same across all the time points. ICA is successfully able to reproduce resting state connectivity patterns for both one subject and a 16 subject concatenated data set.

Using principal component analysis, the dimensionality of the data is compressed to find the directions in which the variance of the data is most significant. This method utilizes the same basic matrix math as ICA with a few important differences that will be outlined later in this text. Using this method, sometimes different functional connectivity patterns are identifiable but with a large amount of noise and variability.

To begin to investigate the dynamics of the functional connectivity, the correlation technique is used to compare the first and second halves of a scan session. Minor differences are discernable between the correlation results of the scan session halves. Further, a sliding window technique is implemented to study the correlation coefficients through different sizes of correlation windows throughout time. From this technique it is apparent that the correlation level with the seed region is not static throughout the scan length.

The last method introduced, a point processing method, is one of the more novel techniques because it does not require analysis of the continuous time points. Here, network information is extracted based on brief occurrences of high or low amplitude signals within a seed region. Because point processing utilizes less time points from the data, the statistical power of the results is lower. There are also larger variations in DMN patterns between subjects. In addition to boosted computational efficiency, the benefit of using a point-process method is that the patterns produced for different seed regions do not have to be independent of one another.

This work compares four unique methods of identifying functional connectivity patterns. ICA is a technique that is currently used by many scientists studying functional connectivity patterns. The PCA technique is not optimal for the level of noise and the distribution of the data sets. The correlation technique is simple and obtains good results, however a seed region is needed and the method assumes that the DMN regions is correlated throughout the entire scan. Looking at the more dynamic aspects of correlation changing patterns of correlation were evident. The last point-processing method produces a promising results of identifying functional connectivity networks using only low and high amplitude BOLD signals.

Advanced Adhesion Strength Testing Methods of Thin Film Multilayers in Electronic Packaging Systems

With the continued miniaturization and increasing performance of electronic devices, new technical challenges have arisen. One such issue is delamination occurring at critical interfaces inside the device. This major reliability issue can occur during the manufacturing process or during normal use of the device. Proper evaluation of the adhesion strength of critical interfaces early in the product development cycle can help reduce reliability issues and time-to-market of the product. However, conventional adhesion strength testing is inherently limited in the face of package miniaturization, which brings about further technical challenges to quantify design integrity and reliability. Although there are many different interfaces in today's advanced electronic packages, they can be generalized into two main categories: 1) rigid to rigid connections with a thin flexible polymeric layer in between, or 2) a thin film membrane on a rigid structure. Knowing that every technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, multiple testing methods must be enhanced and developed to be able to accommodate all the interfaces encountered for emerging electronic packaging technologies. For evaluating the adhesion strength of high adhesion strength interfaces in thin multilayer structures a novel adhesion test configuration called “single cantilever adhesion test (SCAT)” is proposed and implemented for an epoxy molding compound (EMC) and photo solder resist (PSR) interface. The test method is then shown to be capable of comparing and selecting the stronger of two potential EMC/PSR material sets. Additionally, a theoretical approach for establishing the applicable testing domain for a four-point bending test method was presented. For evaluating polymeric films on rigid substrates, major testing challenges are encountered for reducing testing scatter and for factoring in the potentially degrading effect of environmental conditioning on the material properties of the film. An advanced blister test with predefined area test method was developed that considers an elasto-plastic analytical solution and implemented for a conformal coating used to prevent tin whisker growth. The advanced blister testing with predefined area test method was then extended by employing a numerical method for evaluating the adhesion strength when the polymer’s film properties are unknown.

Charge accumulation and transport in degenerately doped semiconducting polymers with mixed ionic and electronic conductivity

This thesis is part of the fields of Material Physics and Organic Electronics and aims to determine the charge carrier density and mobility in the hydrated conducting polymer–polyelectrolyte blend PEDOT:PSS. This kind of material combines electronic semiconductor functionality with selective ionic transport, biocompatibility and electrochemical stability in water. This advantageous material properties combination makes PEDOT:PSS a unique material to build organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which have relevant application as amplifying transducers for bioelectronic signals. In order to measure charge carrier density and mobility, an innovative 4-wire, contact independent characterization technique was introduced, the electrolyte-gated van der Pauw (EgVDP) method, which was combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The technique was applied to macroscopic thin film samples and micro-structured PEDOT:PSS thin film devices fabricated using photolithography. The EgVDP method revealed to be effective for the measurements of holes’ mobility in hydrated PEDOT:PSS thin films, which resulted to be <μ>=(0.67±0.02) cm^2/(V*s). By comparing this result with 2-point-probe measurements, we found that contact resistance effects led to a mobility overestimation in the latter. Ion accumulation at the drain contact creates a gate-dependent potential barrier and is discussed as a probable reason for the overestimation in 2-point-probe measurements. The measured charge transport properties of PEDOT:PSS were analyzed in the framework of an extended drift-diffusion model. The extended model fits well also to the non-linear response in the transport characterization and results suggest a Gaussian DOS for PEDOT:PSS. The PEDOT:PSS-electrolyte interface capacitance resulted to be voltage-independent, confirming the hypothesis of its morphological origin, related to the separation between the electronic (PEDOT) and ionic (PSS) phases in the blend.

Subcutaneous tissue response of isogenic mice to calcium hydroxide-based pastes with chlorhexidine

This study was evaluated the response of subcutaneous connective tissue of isogenic mice to calcium hydroxide-based pastes with chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX). Seventy isogenic male BALB/c mice aged 6-8 weeks and weighing 15-20 g were randomly assigned to 8 groups. The animals received polyethylene tube implants as follows: Groups I, II, and III (n=10) - Calen® paste mixed with 0.4% CHX (experimental paste; Calen/CHX) for 7, 21, and 63 days, respectively; Groups IV, V, and VI (n=10) - UltraCal™ paste mixed with 2% CHX (experimental paste supplied by Ultradent Products Inc.; Ultracal/CHX) for 7, 21, and 63 days, respectively; and Groups VII and VIII (n=5): empty tube for 7 and 21 days, respectively. At the end of the experimental periods, the implants were removed together with the surrounding tissues (skin and subcutaneous connective tissue). The biopsied tissues were subjected to routine processing for histological analysis. Using a descriptive analysis and a four-point (0-3) scoring system, the following criteria were considered for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the tissue around the implanted materials: collagen fiber formation, tissue thickness and inflammatory infiltrate. A quantitative analysis was performed by measuring the thickness (µm), area (µm²) and perimeter (µm) of the reactionary granulomatous tissue formed at the tube ends. Data were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post-test (α=0.05). Calen/CHX showed biocompatibility with the subcutaneous and reactionary tissues, with areas of discrete fibrosis and normal conjunctive fibrous tissue, though without statistically significant difference (p>0.05) from the control groups. In Groups I to III, there was a predominance of score 1, while in Groups IV to VI scores 2 and 3 predominated for all analyzed parameters. UltraCal/CHX, on the other hand, induced the formation of an inflammatory infiltrate and abundant exudate, suggesting a persistent residual aggression from the material, even 63 days after implant placement. In conclusion, the Calen paste mixed with 0.4% CHX allowed an adequate tissue response, whereas the UltraCal paste mixed with 2% CHX showed unsatisfactory results.

Treatment with paracetamol, ketorolac or etoricoxib did not hinder alveolar bone healing: a histometric study in rats

Prostaglandins control osteoblastic and osteoclastic function under physiological or pathological conditions and are important modulators of the bone healing process. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) activity and consequently prostaglandins synthesis. Experimental and clinical evidence has indicated a risk for reparative bone formation related to the use of non-selective (COX-1 and COX-2) and COX-2 selective NSAIDs. Ketorolac is a non-selective NSAID which, at low doses, has a preferential COX-1 inhibitory effect and etoricoxib is a new selective COX-2 inhibitor. Although literature data have suggested that ketorolac can interfere negatively with long bone fracture healing, there seems to be no study associating etoricoxib with reparative bone formation. Paracetamol/acetaminophen, one of the first choices for pain control in clinical dentistry, has been considered a weak anti-inflammatory drug, although supposedly capable of inhibiting COX-2 activity in inflammatory sites. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether paracetamol, ketorolac and etoricoxib can hinder alveolar bone formation, taking the filling of rat extraction socket with newly formed bone as experimental model. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The degree of new bone formation inside the alveolar socket was estimated two weeks after tooth extraction by a differential point-counting method, using an optical microscopy with a digital camera for image capture and histometry software. Differences between groups were analyzed by ANOVA after confirming a normal distribution of sample data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Histometric results confirmed that none of the tested drugs had a detrimental effect in the volume fraction of bone trabeculae formed inside the alveolar socket.

Cola beverage consumption delays alveolar bone healing: a histometric study in rats

Epidemiological studies have suggested that cola beverage consumption may affect bone metabolism and increase bone fracture risk. Experimental evidence linking cola beverage consumption to deleterious effects on bone is lacking. Herein, we investigated whether cola beverage consumption from weaning to early puberty delays the rate of reparative bone formation inside the socket of an extracted tooth in rats. Twenty male Wistar rats received cola beverage (cola group) or tap water (control group) ad libitum from the age of 23 days until tooth extraction at 42 days and euthanasia 2 and 3 weeks later. The neoformed bone volume inside the alveolar socket was estimated in semi-serial longitudinal sections using a quantitative differential point-counting method. Histological examination suggested a decrease in the osteogenic process within the tooth sockets of rats from both cola groups, which had thinner and sparser new bone trabeculae. Histometric data confirmed that alveolar bone healing was significantly delayed in cola-fed rats at three weeks after tooth extraction (ANOVA, p = 0.0006, followed by Tukey's test, p < 0.01). Although the results of studies in rats cannot be extrapolated directly to human clinical dentistry, the present study provides evidence that cola beverage consumption negatively affect maxillary bone formation.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE TREE COMPONENT IN A SEMIDECIDUOUS FOREST IN THE ESPINHACO RANGE: A SUBSIDY TO CONSERVATION

This study was conducted in the Private Reserve Mata do Jambreiro (912 ha), localized in the Iron Quadrangle, Minas Gerais, southeastern portion of the Espinhaco Range, which is predominantly covered by semideciduous seasonal montane forest. Three topographically and physiognomic similar areas located within a continuum forest fragment, distant by 1.3 to 1.5 km were sampled by the point-quadrat method. In each area, 30 points were marked. Individuals with a minimum perimeter at the breast height (PBH) of 15 cm were sampled, totaling 111 species belonging to 40 families. The most representative family was Fabaceae, with 14.29% of the total number of species. Low floristic similarity (5.3% to 34.4%) was observed between the areas, pointing out the importance of distribution of sample units in continuous fragments. Shannon diversity index (H') found was 4.22 and Pielou equability (J) 0.894. Soil analysis showed some differences in chemical composition between the three studied areas and was an important component for the interpretation of the floristic variation found. The low floristic similarity observed here for close areas justify the requirement of more detailed inventories by Brazilian Environmental Agencies for the legal authorization procedures prior to the establishment of new enterprising projects. Also, the professionals that conduct rapid inventories, mainly the Environmental Consultants, should give more attention to this kind of floristic variation and to the methods used to inventory complex forests.

Robot measuring form errors

This work presents an automated system for the measurement of form errors of mechanical components using an industrial robot. A three-probe error separation technique was employed to allow decoupling between the measured form error and errors introduced by the robotic system. A mathematical model of the measuring system was developed to provide inspection results by means of the solution of a system of linear equations. A new self-calibration procedure, which employs redundant data from several runs, minimizes the influence of probes zero-adjustment on the final result. Experimental tests applied to the measurement of straightness errors of mechanical components were accomplished and demonstrated the effectiveness of the employed methodology. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.