First level ontology - case study

The file contains the ontology created and instantiated according to a case study as well as a little explanation of the framework in which it is included.

A Thermokinetic approach to radiative heat transfer at the nanoscale

Radiative heat exchange at the nanoscale presents a challenge for several areas due to its scope and nature. Here, we provide a thermokinetic description of microscale radiative energy transfer including phonon-photon coupling manifested through a non-Debye relaxation behavior. We show that a lognormal-like distribution of modes of relaxation accounts for this non-Debye relaxation behavior leading to the thermal conductance. We also discuss the validity of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The general expression for the thermal conductance we obtain fits existing experimental results with remarkable accuracy. Accordingly, our approach offers an overall explanation of radiative energy transfer through micrometric gaps regardless of geometrical configurations and distances.

Workplace Aggressive Behaviors: Three Essays

Abstract¦This thesis examines through three essays the role of the social context and of people concern for justice in explaining workplace aggressive behaviors.¦In the first essay, I argue that a work group instrumental climate - a climate emphasizing respect of organizational procedures -deters employees to manifest counterproductive work behaviors through informal sanctions (i.e., socio-emotional disapproval) they anticipate from it for misbehaving. A contrario, a work group affective climate - a climate concerned about others' well-being - leads employees to infer less informal sanctions and thus indirectly facilitates counterproductive work behaviors. I additionally expect these indirect effects to be conditional on employees' level of conscientiousness and agreeableness. Cross-level structural equations on cross-sectional data obtained from 158 employees in 26 work groups supported my expectations. By promoting collective responsibility for the respect of organizational rules and by knowing what their work group considers threatening their well-being, leaders may be able to prevent counterproductive work behaviors.¦Adopting an organizational justice perspective, the second essay provides a theoretical explanation of why and how collective deviance can emerge in a collective. In interdependent situations, employees use justice perceptions to infer others' cooperative intent. Even if moral transgressions (e.g., injustice) are ambiguous, their repetition and configuration within a team can lead employees to assign blame and develop collective cynicism toward the transgressor. Over time, collective cynicism - a shared belief about the transgressor's intentional lack of integrity - progressively constrains the diversity of employees' response to blame and leads collective deviance to emerge. This essay contributes to workplace deviance research by offering a theoretical framework for investigations of the phenomenon at the collective level. It organizations effort to manage and prevent deviance should consider.¦In the third essay, I solve an apparent contradiction in the literature showing that justice concerns sometimes lead employees to react aggressively to injustice and sometimes to refrain from it. Drawing from just-world theory, a cross-sectional field study and an experiment provide evidence that retaliatory tendencies following injustice are moderated by personal and general just-world beliefs. Whereas a high personal just-world belief facilitates retaliatory reactions to injustice, a high general just-world belief attenuates such reactions. This essay uncovers a dark side of personal just-world belief and a bright one of general just-world belief, and participates to extend just-world theory to the working context.

Weber's law in decision making: integrating behavioral data in humans with a neurophysiological model

Recent single-cell studies in monkeys (Romo et al., 2004) show that the activity of neurons in the ventral premotor cortex covaries with the animal's decisions in a perceptual comparison task regarding the frequency of vibrotactile events. The firing rate response of these neurons was dependent only on the frequency differences between the two applied vibrations, the sign of that difference being the determining factor for correct task performance. We present a biophysically realistic neurodynamical model that can account for the most relevant characteristics of this decision-making-related neural activity. One of the nontrivial predictions of this model is that Weber's law will underlie the perceptual discrimination behavior. We confirmed this prediction in behavioral tests of vibrotactile discrimination in humans and propose a computational explanation of perceptual discrimination that accounts naturally for the emergence of Weber's law. We conclude that the neurodynamical mechanisms and computational principles underlying the decision-making processes in this perceptual discrimination task are consistent with a fluctuation-driven scenario in a multistable regime.

Magnitude and Frequency of Iowa Floods, 1966

Flood records for regular and partial-record gaging stations are contained in the following pages. Each listing contains the station number .and name, descriptive paragraphs pertaining to the station, and a listing of the flood peaks available through the 1965 water year 2/. 2/ A water year is the period from October 1 to the following September 30 and has the same yearly designation as September. Peaks above a base as well as annual peaks are listed. These provide the data for a partial-duration flood-frequency curve. Most of the material is self-explanatory and needs no discussion. However, a few items may be made clearer by the brief explanation which follows.

Nonequilibrium phase transition in a model for the propagation of innovations among economic agents

We characterize the different morphological phases that occur in a simple one-dimensional model of propagation of innovations among economic agents [X. Guardiola et al., Phys. Rev E 66, 026121 (2002)]. We show that the model can be regarded as a nonequilibrium surface growth model. This allows us to demonstrate the presence of a continuous roughening transition between a flat (system size independent fluctuations) and a rough phase (system size dependent fluctuations). Finite-size scaling studies at the transition strongly suggest that the dynamic critical transition does not belong to directed percolation and, in fact, critical exponents do not seem to fit in any of the known universality classes of nonequilibrium phase transitions. Finally, we present an explanation for the occurrence of the roughening transition and argue that avalanche driven dynamics is responsible for the novel critical behavior.

Statistical Summaries of Selected Iowa Streamflow Data Through September 2013, TR-669

This report is the final product of a two-year study that began October 1, 2013. In addition to the funding provided for this study by the Iowa Highway Research Board and the Iowa Department of Transportation (TR-669), the project was also funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey. The report was published as an online report on January 4, 2016. The report is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151214 . The main body of the report provides a description of the statistics presented for the streamgages and an explanation of the streamgage summaries, also included is a discussion of the USGS streamgage network in Iowa. Individual streamgage summaries are available as links listed in table 1, or all 184 streamgage summaries are available in a zipped file named “Streamgage Summaries.”

Type of alcoholic beverage and risk of head and neck cancer: a pooled analysis within the INHANCE Consortium

The authors pooled data from 15 case-control studies of head and neck cancer (9,107 cases, 14,219 controls) to investigate the independent associations with consumption of beer, wine, and liquor. In particular, they calculated associations with different measures of beverage consumption separately for subjects who drank beer only (858 cases, 986 controls), for liquor-only drinkers (499 cases, 527 controls), and for wine-only drinkers (1,021 cases, 2,460 controls), with alcohol never drinkers (1,124 cases, 3,487 controls) used as a common reference group. The authors observed similar associations with ethanol-standardized consumption frequency for beer-only drinkers (odds ratios (ORs) = 1.6, 1.9, 2.2, and 5.4 for < or =5, 6-15, 16-30, and >30 drinks per week, respectively; P(trend) < 0.0001) and liquor-only drinkers (ORs = 1.6, 1.5, 2.3, and 3.6; P < 0.0001). Among wine-only drinkers, the odds ratios for moderate levels of consumption frequency approached the null, whereas those for higher consumption levels were comparable to those of drinkers of other beverage types (ORs = 1.1, 1.2, 1.9, and 6.3; P < 0.0001). Study findings suggest that the relative risks of head and neck cancer for beer and liquor are comparable. The authors observed weaker associations with moderate wine consumption, although they cannot rule out confounding from diet and other lifestyle factors as an explanation for this finding. Given the presence of heterogeneity in study-specific results, their findings should be interpreted with caution.

Etude des niveaux de concentration d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAPs) dans la poussière de bois et des marqueurs biologiques d'effets génotoxiques chez les travailleurs du bois

L'exposition aux poussières de bois est associé à un risque accru d'adénocarcinomes des fosses nasales et des sinus paranasaux (SNC, 'Sinonasal cancer') chez les travailleurs du bois. Les poussières de bois sont ainsi reconnues comme cancérogènes avérés pour l'homme par le Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer (CIRC). Toutefois, l'agent causal spécifique et le mécanisme sous-jacent relatifs au cancer lié aux poussières de bois demeurent inconnus. Une possible explication est une co-exposition aux poussières de bois et aux Hydrocarbures Aromatiques Polycycliques (HAP), ces derniers étant potentiellement cancérogènes. Dans les faits, les travailleurs du bois sont non seulement exposés aux poussières de bois naturel, mais également à celles générées lors d'opérations effectuées à l'aide de machines (ponceuses, scies électriques, etc.) sur des finitions de bois (bois traités) ou sur des bois composites, tels que le mélaminé et les panneaux de fibres à densité moyenne (MDF, 'Medium Density Fiberboard'). Des HAP peuvent en effet être générés par la chaleur produite par l'utilisation de ces machines sur la surface du bois. Les principaux objectifs de cette thèse sont les suivants: (1) quantifier HAP qui sont présents dans les poussières générées lors de diverses opérations courantes effectuées sur différents bois (2) quantifier l'exposition individuelle aux poussières de bois et aux HAP chez les travailleurs, et (3) évaluer les effets génotoxiques (dommages au niveau de l'ADN et des chromosomes) due à l'exposition aux poussières de bois et aux HAP. Cette thèse est composée par une étude en laboratoire (objectif 1) et par une étude de terrain (objectifs 2 et 3). Pour l'étude en laboratoire, nous avons collecté des poussières de différents type de bois (sapin, MDF, hêtre, sipo, chêne, bois mélaminé) générées au cours de différentes opérations (comme le ponçage et le sciage), et ceci dans une chambre expérimentale et dans des conditions contrôlées. Ensuite, pour l'étude de terrain, nous avons suivi, dans le cadre de leur activité professionnelle, 31 travailleurs de sexe masculin (travailleurs du bois et ébenistes) exposés aux poussières de bois pendant deux jours de travail consécutifs. Nous avons également recruté, comme groupe de contrôle, 19 travailleurs non exposés. Pour effectuer une biosurveillance, nous avons collecté des échantillons de sang et des échantillons de cellules nasales et buccales pour chacun des participants. Ces derniers ont également rempli un questionnaire comprenant des données démographiques, ainsi que sur leur style de vie et sur leur exposition professionnelle. Pour les travailleurs du bois, un échantillonnage individuel de poussière a été effectué sur chaque sujet à l'aide d'une cassette fermée, puis nous avons évalué leur exposition à la poussière de bois et aux HAP, respectivement par mesure gravimétrique et par Chromatographie en phase gazeuse combinée à la spectrométrie de masse. L'évaluation des dommages induits à l'ADN et aux chromosomes (génotoxicité) a été, elle, effectuée à l'aide du test des micronoyaux (MN) sur les cellules nasales et buccales et à l'aide du test des comètes sur les échantillons de sang. Nos résultats montrent dans la poussière de la totalité des 6 types de bois étudiés la présence de HAP (dont certains sont cancérogènes). Des différences notoires dans les concentrations ont été néanmoins constatées en fonction du matériau étudié : les concentrations allant de 0,24 ppm pour la poussière de MDF à 7.95 ppm pour le mélaminé. Nos résultats montrent également que les travailleurs ont été exposés individuellement à de faibles concentrations de HAP (de 37,5 à 119,8 ng m-3) durant les opérations de travail du bois, alors que les concentrations de poussières inhalables étaient relativement élevés (moyenne géométrique de 2,8 mg m-3). En ce qui concerne la génotoxicité, les travailleurs exposés à la poussière de bois présentent une fréquence significativement plus élevée en MN dans les cellules nasales et buccales que les travailleurs du groupe témoin : un odds ratio de 3.1 a été obtenu pour les cellules nasales (IC 95% : de 1.8 à 5.1) et un odds ratio de 1,8 pour les cellules buccales (IC 95% : de 1.3 à 2.4). En outre, le test des comètes a montré que les travailleurs qui ont déclaré être exposés aux poussières de MDF et/ou de mélaminé avaient des dommages à l'ADN significativement plus élevés que les deux travailleurs exposés à la poussière de bois naturel (sapin, épicéa, hêtre, chêne) et que les travailleurs du groupe témoin (p <.01). Enfin, la fréquence des MN dans les cellules nasales et buccales augmentent avec les années d'exposition aux poussières de bois. Par contre, il n'y a pas de relation dose-réponse concernant la génotoxicité due à l'exposition journalière à la poussière et aux HAP. Cette étude montre qu'une exposition aux HAP eu bien lieu lors des opérations de travail du bois. Les travailleurs exposés aux poussières de bois, et donc aux HAP, courent un risque plus élevé (génotoxicité) par rapport au groupe témoin. Étant donné que certains des HAP détectés sont reconnus potentiellement cancérogènes, il est envisageable que les HAP générés au cours du travail sur les matériaux de bois sont un des agents responsables de la génotoxicité de la poussière de bois et du risque élevé de SNC observé chez les travailleurs du secteur. Etant donné la corrélation entre augmentation de la fréquence des MN, le test des micronoyaux dans les cellules nasales et buccales constitue sans conteste un futur outil pour la biosurveillance et pour la détection précoce du risque de SNC chez les travailleurs. - Exposures to wood dust have been associated with an elevated risk of adenocarcinomas of the Dasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses (sinonasal cancer or SNC) among wood workers. Wood dust is recognized as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. However, the specific cancer causative agent(s) and the mechanism(s) behind wood dust related carcinogenesis remains unknown. One possible explanation is a co-exposure to wood dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), the latter being carcinogenic. In addition, wood workers are not only exposed to natural wood but also to wood finishes and composite woods such as wood melamine and medium density fiber (MDF) boards during the manipulation with power tools. The heat produced by the use of power tools can cause the generation of PAH from wood materials. The main objectives of the present thesis are to: (1) quantify possible PAH concentrations in wood dust generated during various common woodworking operations using different wood materials; (2) quantify personal wood dust concentrations and PAH exposures among wood workers; and (3) assess genotoxic effects (i.e., DNA and chromosomal damage) of wood dust and PAH exposure in wood workers. This thesis is composed by a laboratory study (objective 1) and a field study (objectives 2 and 3). In the laboratory study we collected wood dust from different wood materials (fir, MDF, beech, mahagany, oak, and wood melamine) generated during different wood operations (e.g., sanding and sawing) in an experimental chamber under controlled conditions. In the following field study, we monitored 31 male wood workers (furniture and construction workers) exposed to wood dust during their professional activity for two consecutive work shifts. Additionally, we recruited 19 non exposed workers as a control group. We collected from each participant blood samples, and nasal and buccal cell samples. They answered a questionnaire including demographic and life-style data and occupational exposure (current and past). Personal wood dust samples were collected using a closed-face cassette. We used gravimetrie analysis to determine the personal wood dust concentrations and capillary gas chromatography - mass spectrometry analysis to determine PAH concentrations. Genotoxicity was assessed with the micronucleus (MN) assay for nasal and buccal cells and with the comet assay for blood samples. Our results show that PAH (some of them carcinogenic) were present in dust from all six wood materials tested, yet at different concentrations depending on the material. The highest concentration was found in dust from wood melamine (7.95 ppm) and the lowest in MDF (0.24 ppm). Our results also show that workers were individually exposed to low concentrations of PAHs (37.5-119.8 ng m"3) during wood working operations, whereas the concentrations of inhalable dust were relatively high (geometric mean 2.8 mg m"3). Concerning the genotoxicity, wood workers had a significantly higher MN frequency in nasal and buccal cells than the workers in the control group (odds ratio for nasal cells 3.1 (95%CI 1.8-5.1) and buccal cells 1.8 (95%CI 1.3-2.4)). Furthermore, the comet assay showed that workers who reported to be exposed to dust from wooden boards (MDF and wood melamine) had significantly higher DNA damage than both the workers exposed to natural woods (fir, spruce, beech, oak) and the workers in the control group (p < 0.01). Finally, MN frequency in nasal and buccal cells increased with increasing years of exposure to wood dust. However, there was no genotoxic dose-response relationship with the per present day wood dust and PAH exposure. This study shows that PAH exposure occurred during wood working operations. Workers exposed to wood dust, and thus to PAH, had a higher risk for genotoxicity compared to the control group. Since some of the detected PAH are potentially carcinogenic, PAH generated from operations on wood materials may be one of the causative agents for the observed increased genotoxicity in wood workers. Since increased genotoxicity is manifested in an increased MN frequency, the MN assay in nasal and buccal cells may become a relevant biomonitoring tool in the future for early detection of SNC risk.

Generative FDG-PET and MRI model of aging and disease progression in Alzheimer's disease.

The failure of current strategies to provide an explanation for controversial findings on the pattern of pathophysiological changes in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) motivates the necessity to develop new integrative approaches based on multi-modal neuroimaging data that captures various aspects of disease pathology. Previous studies using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) report controversial results about time-line, spatial extent and magnitude of glucose hypometabolism and atrophy in AD that depend on clinical and demographic characteristics of the studied populations. Here, we provide and validate at a group level a generative anatomical model of glucose hypo-metabolism and atrophy progression in AD based on FDG-PET and sMRI data of 80 patients and 79 healthy controls to describe expected age and symptom severity related changes in AD relative to a baseline provided by healthy aging. We demonstrate a high level of anatomical accuracy for both modalities yielding strongly age- and symptom-severity- dependant glucose hypometabolism in temporal, parietal and precuneal regions and a more extensive network of atrophy in hippocampal, temporal, parietal, occipital and posterior caudate regions. The model suggests greater and more consistent changes in FDG-PET compared to sMRI at earlier and the inversion of this pattern at more advanced AD stages. Our model describes, integrates and predicts characteristic patterns of AD related pathology, uncontaminated by normal age effects, derived from multi-modal data. It further provides an integrative explanation for findings suggesting a dissociation between early- and late-onset AD. The generative model offers a basis for further development of individualized biomarkers allowing accurate early diagnosis and treatment evaluation.

Interactions with and through mobile phones : what about the elderly population?

Peer-reviewed

Genetic variability of marine shrimp in the Brazilian industry

The objective of this work was to estimate the genetic variability level and distribution in Brazilian broodstocks of marine shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Nine of the country's largest hatcheries were evaluated using codominant and highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. The results obtained from genotyping of ten microsatellite loci are indicative of genetic variability that is compatible with that found in wild populations of L. vannamei in Mexico and Central America. A possible explanation is the highly diversified and relatively recent origin of the available broodstocks. Bayesian analysis detected a signal for five founding populations. The distribution of genetic distances partially reflects geographical location, and this information will be useful for the creation of new broodstocks. Therefore, L. vannamei genetic variability among nine of the largest national hatcheries can be considered high.

The evolution ofRussian power industry from monopoly to market operation

ei

Causal Warrant for Realism about Particle Physics

While scientific realism generally assumes that successful scientific explanations yield information about reality, realists also have to admit that not all information acquired in this way is equally well warranted. Some versions of scientific realism do this by saying that explanatory posits with which we have established some kind of causal contact are better warranted than those that merely appear in theoretical hypotheses. I first explicate this distinction by considering some general criteria that permit us to distinguish causal warrant from theoretical warrant. I then apply these criteria to a specific case from particle physics, claiming that scientific realism has to incorporate the distinction between causal and theoretical warrant if it is to be an adequate stance in the philosophy of particle physics.

Control hardware and Condition Monitoring System for Intersector Weld/Cut Robot

Työ sisältää ohjaislaitteiston vertailun ja valinnan rinnakkaisrakenteista robottia varten sekä kunnonvalvontajärjestelmän periaatteiden laadinnan kyseistä robottia varten. Ohjauslaitteisto sisältää teollisuustietokoneen sekä kenttäväylän. Sekä tietokoneesta että väylästä on teoriaosuus ja yksityiskohtaisempi valintaosuus. Teoriaosuudessa selitetään tarkemmin laitteiden toimintaperiaatteista. Valintaosuudessa kerrotaanmiksi jokin tietty laite on valittu käytettäväksi robotin ohjauksessa. Kunnonvalvontateoria ja rinnakkaisrakenteisen robotin kunnonvalvonnan keinot ovat työn toinen osa. Teoriaosa sisältää yleisluonteisen selvityksen vikaantumisesta ja valvonnasta. Erikoisrobotin kunnonvalvonnan keinot esitetään työssä tietyssä järjestyksessä. Ensin esitetään mahdolliset vikatilanteet. Toisessa kohdassa havainnollistetaan vikojen havaitseminen.