A prospective two-year examination of cognitive and behavioral correlates of provoked vestibulodynia outcomes.

Note de l'éditeur : This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the journal. It is not the copy of record. / Cet article ne constitue pas la version officielle, et peut différer de la version publiée dans la revue.

Dynamic mechanical analysis of binary and ternary polymer blends based on nylon copolymer/EPDM rubber and EPM grafted maleic anhydride compatibilizer

The dynamic mechanical properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus and damping properties of blends of nylon copolymer (PA6,66) with ethylene propylene diene (EPDM) rubber was investigated with special reference to the effect of blend ratio and compatibilisation over a temperature range –100°C to 150°C at different frequencies. The effect of change in the composition of the polymer blends on tanδ was studied to understand the extent of polymer miscibility and damping characteristics. The loss tangent curve of the blends exhibited two transition peaks, corresponding to the glass transition temperature (Tg) of individual components indicating incompatibility of the blend systems. The morphology of the blends has been examined by using scanning electron microscopy. The Arrhenius relationship was used to calculate the activation energy for the glass transition of the blends. Finally, attempts have been made to compare the experimental data with theoretical models.

Realization of a Scanning Photoacoustic Technique: Thermal properties of Bulk and Film Samples

Among the large number of photothcrmal techniques available, photoacoustics assumes a very significant place because of its essential simplicity and the variety of applications it finds in science and technology. The photoacoustic (PA) effect is the generation of an acoustic signal when a sample, kept inside an enclosed volume, is irradiated by an intensity modulated beam of radiation. The radiation absorbed by the sample is converted into thermal waves by nonradiative de-excitation processes. The propagating thermal waves cause a corresponding expansion and contraction of the gas medium surrounding the sample, which in tum can be detected as sound waves by a sensitive microphone. These sound waves have the same frequency as the initial modulation frequency of light. Lock-in detection method enables one to have a sufficiently high signal to noise ratio for the detected signal. The PA signal amplitude depends on the optical absorption coefficient of the sample and its thermal properties. The PA signal phase is a function of the thermal diffusivity of the sample.Measurement of the PA amplitude and phase enables one to get valuable information about the thermal and optical properties of the sample. Since the PA signal depends on the optical and thennal properties of the sample, their variation will get reflected in the PA signal. Therefore, if the PA signal is collected from various points on a sample surface it will give a profile of the variations in the optical/thennal properties across the sample surface. Since the optical and thermal properties are affected by the presence of defects, interfaces, change of material etc. these will get reflected in the PA signal. By varying the modulation frequency, we can get information about the subsurface features also. This is the basic principle of PA imaging or PA depth profiling. It is a quickly expanding field with potential applications in thin film technology, chemical engineering, biology, medical diagnosis etc. Since it is a non-destructive method, PA imaging has added advantages over some of the other imaging techniques. A major part of the work presented in this thesis is concemed with the development of a PA imaging setup that can be used to detect the presence of surface and subsmface defects in solid samples.Determination of thermal transport properties such as thermal diffusivity, effusivity, conductivity and heat capacity of materials is another application of photothennal effect. There are various methods, depending on the nature of the sample, to determine these properties. However, there are only a few methods developed to determine all these properties simultaneously. Even though a few techniques to determine the above thermal properties individually for a coating can be found in literature, no technique is available for the simultaneous measurement of these parameters for a coating. We have developed a scanning photoacoustic technique that can be used to determine all the above thermal transport properties simultaneously in the case of opaque coatings such as paints. Another work that we have presented in this thesis is the determination of thermal effusivity of many bulk solids by a scanning photoacoustic technique. This is one of the very few methods developed to determine thermal effiisivity directly.

Entropy change and magnetocaloric effect in Gd5(SixGe1-x)4

Isothermal magnetization curves up to 23 T have been measured in Gd5Si1.8Ge2.2. We show that the values of the entropy change at the first-order magnetostructural transition, obtained from the Clausius-Clapeyron equation and the Maxwell relation, are coincident, provided the Maxwell relation is evaluated only within the transition region and the maximum applied field is high enough to complete the transition. These values are also in agreement with the entropy change obtained from differential scanning calorimetry. We also show that a simple phenomenological model based on the temperature and field dependence of the magnetization accounts for these results.

Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys

The magnetocaloric effect that originates from the martensitic transition in the ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Ga shape-memory alloy is studied. We show that this effect is controlled by the magnetostructural coupling at both the martensitic variant and magnetic domain length scales. A large entropy change induced by moderate magnetic fields is obtained for alloys in which the magnetic moment of the two structural phases is not very different. We also show that this entropy change is not associated with the entropy difference between the martensitic and the parent phase arising from the change in the crystallographic structure which has been found to be independent of the magnetic field within this range of fields.

Growth of metal and semiconductor nanostructures for nonlinear optical applications

Nonlinear optics has been a rapidly growing field in recent decades since the invention of lasers. The systematic progress in the laser technology increases our efficiency in the generation and control of coherent optical radiations. Nonlinear optics is based on the study ofeffects and phenomena related to the interaction of intense coherent light radiation with matter. Compared to other light sources laser radiation can provide high directionality, high monochromaticiry, high brightness and high photon degeneracy. At such a very intense incident beam, the matter responds in a nonlinear manner to the incident radiation fields, which endows the media :1 characteristic to change the refractive index or absorption coe fflcient of the media or the wavelength, or the frequency of the incident electromagnetic waves. This thesis encompasses the fabrication of nonlinear optical devices based on semiconductor and metal nanostructures. The presented work focus on the experimental and theoretical discussions on nonlinear optical effects especially nonlinear absorption and refraction exhibitted by metal and semiconductor nanostructures

Development of Electrochemical and Fluorescent Sensors

Chemical sensors have growing interest in the determination of food additives, which are creating toxicity and may cause serious health concern, drugs and metal ions. A chemical sensor can be defined as a device that transforms chemical information, ranging from the concentration of a specific sample component to total composition analysis, into an analytically useful signal. The chemical information may be generated from a chemical reaction of the analyte or from a physical property of the system investigated. Two main steps involved in the functioning of a chemical sensor are recognition and transduction. Chemical sensors employ specific transduction techniques to yield analyte information. The most widely used techniques employed in chemical sensors are optical absorption, luminescence, redox potential etc. According to the operating principle of the transducer, chemical sensors may be classified as electrochemical sensors, optical sensors, mass sensitive sensors, heat sensitive sensors etc. Electrochemical sensors are devices that transform the effect of the electrochemical interaction between analyte and electrode into a useful signal. They are very widespread as they use simple instrumentation, very good sensitivity with wide linear concentration ranges, rapid analysis time and simultaneous determination of several analytes. These include voltammetric, potentiometric and amperometric sensors. Fluorescence sensing of chemical and biochemical analytes is an active area of research. Any phenomenon that results in a change of fluorescence intensity, anisotropy or lifetime can be used for sensing. The fluorophores are mixed with the analyte solution and excited at its corresponding wavelength. The change in fluorescence intensity (enhancement or quenching) is directly related to the concentration of the analyte. Fluorescence quenching refers to any process that decreases the fluorescence intensity of a sample. A variety of molecular rearrangements, energy transfer, ground-state complex formation and collisional quenching. Generally, fluorescence quenching can occur by two different mechanisms, dynamic quenching and static quenching. The thesis presents the development of voltammetric and fluorescent sensors for the analysis of pharmaceuticals, food additives metal ions. The developed sensors were successfully applied for the determination of analytes in real samples. Chemical sensors have multidisciplinary applications. The development and application of voltammetric and optical sensors continue to be an exciting and expanding area of research in analytical chemistry. The synthesis of biocompatible fluorophores and their use in clinical analysis, and the development of disposable sensors for clinical analysis is still a challenging task. The ability to make sensitive and selective measurements and the requirement of less expensive equipment make electrochemical and fluorescence based sensors attractive.

Agri-environmental evaluation of traditional and alternative corn production systems in Chiapas, Mexico

This study evaluates the effects of environmental variables on traditional and alternative agroecosystems in three Ejidos (communal lands) in the Chiapas rainforest in Mexico. The tests occurred within two seasonal agricultural cycles. In spring-summer, experiments were performed with the traditional slash, fell and burn (S-F-B) system, no-burn systems and rotating systems with Mucuna deeringiana Bort., and in the autumn-winter agricultural cycle, three no-burn systems were compared to evaluate the effect of alternative sowing with corn (no-burn and topological modification of sowing). The results show a high floristic diversity in the study area (S_S = 4 - 23%), with no significant differences among the systems evaluated. In the first cycle, the analysis of the agronomical variables of the corn indicated better properties in the fallowing systems, with an average yield of 1950 kg ha^‑1, but there was variation related to the number of years left fallow. In the second cycle, the yields were positive for the alternative technology (average yield 3100 kg ha^‑1). The traditional S-F-B systems had reduced pests and increased organic matter and soil phosphorous content. These results are the consequence of fallow periods and adaptation to the environment; thus, this practice in the Chiapas rainforest constitutes an ethnocultural reality, which is unlikely to change in the near future if the agrosystems are managed based on historical principles.

Climate change and hunger as the challenges in the global food system

In the last decades, there has been a growing tendency towards international trade and globalisation, particularly leading to a significant increase in flows of agricultural commodities worldwide. From a macroeconomic perspective, the commodity projections are more optimistic than the previous years and the long run tendency shows an increasing demand for feedstock. However, the strong shifts of shocks and fluctuations (in terms of prices and volumes) are a concern to global food security, with the number of hungry people rising to nearly one billion. Agriculture is a main user of natural resources, and it has a strong link with rural societies and the environment. Forecasted impacts from climate change, limited productive endorsements and emerging rivals on crop production, such bio-energy, aggravate the panorama on food scarcity. In this context, it is a great challenge on farming and food systems to reduce global hunger and produce in sustainable ways adequate supplies for food, feed, and non-food uses. The main objective of this work is to question the sustainability of food and agriculture systems. It is particularly interesting to know its role and if it will be able to respond to a growing population with increasing food demand in a world where pressure on land, water and other natural resources are already evident, and, moreover, climate change will also condition and impact the outcome. Furthermore, a deeper focus will be set on developing countries, which are expected to emerge and take a leading role in the international arena. This short paper is structured as follows: Section I, “Introduction”, describes the social situation regarding hunger, Section II, “Global Context”, attempts to summarise the current scenario in the international trading scheme and present the emerging rivals for primary resources, and in Section III, “Climate Change”, presents an overview of possible changes in the sector and future perspectives in the field. Finally, in Section IV, “Conclusion”, the main conclusions are presented.

The prediction of seasonal and inter-annual climate variations and their impacts on the water resources in the eastern seaboard of Thailand

The research of this thesis dissertation covers developments and applications of short-and long-term climate predictions. The short-term prediction emphasizes monthly and seasonal climate, i.e. forecasting from up to the next month over a season to up to a year or so. The long-term predictions pertain to the analysis of inter-annual- and decadal climate variations over the whole 21st century. These two climate prediction methods are validated and applied in the study area, namely, Khlong Yai (KY) water basin located in the eastern seaboard of Thailand which is a major industrial zone of the country and which has been suffering from severe drought and water shortage in recent years. Since water resources are essential for the further industrial development in this region, a thorough analysis of the potential climate change with its subsequent impact on the water supply in the area is at the heart of this thesis research. The short-term forecast of the next-season climate, such as temperatures and rainfall, offers a potential general guideline for water management and reservoir operation. To that avail, statistical models based on autoregressive techniques, i.e., AR-, ARIMA- and ARIMAex-, which includes additional external regressors, and multiple linear regression- (MLR) models, are developed and applied in the study region. Teleconnections between ocean states and the local climate are investigated and used as extra external predictors in the ARIMAex- and the MLR-model and shown to enhance the accuracy of the short-term predictions significantly. However, as the ocean state – local climate teleconnective relationships provide only a one- to four-month ahead lead time, the ocean state indices can support only a one-season-ahead forecast. Hence, GCM- climate predictors are also suggested as an additional predictor-set for a more reliable and somewhat longer short-term forecast. For the preparation of “pre-warning” information for up-coming possible future climate change with potential adverse hydrological impacts in the study region, the long-term climate prediction methodology is applied. The latter is based on the downscaling of climate predictions from several single- and multi-domain GCMs, using the two well-known downscaling methods SDSM and LARS-WG and a newly developed MLR-downscaling technique that allows the incorporation of a multitude of monthly or daily climate predictors from one- or several (multi-domain) parent GCMs. The numerous downscaling experiments indicate that the MLR- method is more accurate than SDSM and LARS-WG in predicting the recent past 20th-century (1971-2000) long-term monthly climate in the region. The MLR-model is, consequently, then employed to downscale 21st-century GCM- climate predictions under SRES-scenarios A1B, A2 and B1. However, since the hydrological watershed model requires daily-scale climate input data, a new stochastic daily climate generator is developed to rescale monthly observed or predicted climate series to daily series, while adhering to the statistical and geospatial distributional attributes of observed (past) daily climate series in the calibration phase. Employing this daily climate generator, 30 realizations of future daily climate series from downscaled monthly GCM-climate predictor sets are produced and used as input in the SWAT- distributed watershed model, to simulate future streamflow and other hydrological water budget components in the study region in a multi-realization manner. In addition to a general examination of the future changes of the hydrological regime in the KY-basin, potential future changes of the water budgets of three main reservoirs in the basin are analysed, as these are a major source of water supply in the study region. The results of the long-term 21st-century downscaled climate predictions provide evidence that, compared with the past 20th-reference period, the future climate in the study area will be more extreme, particularly, for SRES A1B. Thus, the temperatures will be higher and exhibit larger fluctuations. Although the future intensity of the rainfall is nearly constant, its spatial distribution across the region is partially changing. There is further evidence that the sequential rainfall occurrence will be decreased, so that short periods of high intensities will be followed by longer dry spells. This change in the sequential rainfall pattern will also lead to seasonal reductions of the streamflow and seasonal changes (decreases) of the water storage in the reservoirs. In any case, these predicted future climate changes with their hydrological impacts should encourage water planner and policy makers to develop adaptation strategies to properly handle the future water supply in this area, following the guidelines suggested in this study.

Relative Contributions of Internal and External Features to Face Recognition

The central challenge in face recognition lies in understanding the role different facial features play in our judgments of identity. Notable in this regard are the relative contributions of the internal (eyes, nose and mouth) and external (hair and jaw-line) features. Past studies that have investigated this issue have typically used high-resolution images or good-quality line drawings as facial stimuli. The results obtained are therefore most relevant for understanding the identification of faces at close range. However, given that real-world viewing conditions are rarely optimal, it is also important to know how image degradations, such as loss of resolution caused by large viewing distances, influence our ability to use internal and external features. Here, we report experiments designed to address this issue. Our data characterize how the relative contributions of internal and external features change as a function of image resolution. While we replicated results of previous studies that have shown internal features of familiar faces to be more useful for recognition than external features at high resolution, we found that the two feature sets reverse in importance as resolution decreases. These results suggest that the visual system uses a highly non-linear cue-fusion strategy in combining internal and external features along the dimension of image resolution and that the configural cues that relate the two feature sets play an important role in judgments of facial identity.

Individuals, Behaviour Change and the Web

A psychologist's description of the Web as an effective channel for inducing and promoting changes of behaviour in individuals. Demonstrates an experimental system called "LifeGuide".

Climate Change and Transregional Convergence: Carbon Markets in North Amer ica

National policies in North America have not been drafted properly to address the problem of climate change, following the impasse of international negotiations. Facing this scenario, new alternatives emerge with the leadership and participation of new actors. Local governments in North America, especially of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, have been developing strategies to face climate change and emissions reduction in parallel to the national efforts and the global governance strategies. These local governments have developed a transregional approach that has resulted in the creation of regional institutions such as the Western Climate Initiative, the Regional Greenhouse GasInitiative and the Midwestern GreenhouseGas Reduction Accord.Their main goal is to establish regional carbon markets to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts in a cost-effective way. In spite of these efforts, these initiatives have faced the overlapping problem among them and with national and globalstrategies. The goal of this research is to explore how these carbon markets have developed convergence policies. Convergence among these markets is expressed in their offset system and in secondary markets.

Social participation and protagonism: Reflections fron the Conference of the Rights of Children’s and adolescent in Brazil

This paper examines the children and young people's participation and protagonism rights based on the Conferences on Children and Adolescents Rights' experience in Brazil, based on childhood sociology. Conferences' documents were consulted on the Brazilian government websites. These study findings revealed that young people's participation has increased in the last conferences. However, it is necessary to promote a systematic and genuine participation through democratic relations construction in all development contexts where childrenand adolescent live in order to modify their life and society participative practices.

Labor supply, biased technological change and economic growth

Se utiliza un modelo de innovaciones sesgadas para estudiar los efectos de cambios exógenos en la oferta laboral. En un contexto de innovaciones sesgadas, a medida que las economías acumulan capital, el trabajo se hace relativamente más escaso y más caro, por este motivo, hay incentivos para adoptar tecnologías ahorradoras de trabajo. Del mismo modo un cambio en la oferta laboral afecta la abundancia de factores y sus precios relativos. En general, una reducción de la oferta laboral, hace que el trabajo sea más caro y genera incentivos para cambio tecnológico ahorrador de trabajo. Así, el efecto inicial que tiene el cambio en la oferta laboral sobre los precios de los factores es mitigado por el cambio tecnológico. Finalmente, los movimientos en la remuneración a los factores afectan las decisiones de ahorro y, por lo tanto, la dinámica del crecimiento. En este trabajo se exploran las consecuencias de una reducción de la oferta laboral en dos contextos teóricos diferentes: un modelo de agentes homogéneos y horizonte infinito y un modelo de generaciones traslapadas.