The word problem distinguishes counter languages

Counter automata are more powerful versions of finite state automata where addition and subtraction operations are permitted on a set of n integer registers, called counters. We show that the word problem of Zn is accepted by a nondeterministic m-counter automaton if and only if m &= n.

New FFT/IFFT Factorizations with Regular Interconnection Pattern Stage-to-Stage Subblocks

Les factoritzacions de la FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) que presenten un patró d’interconnexió regular entre factors o etapes son conegudes com algorismes paral·lels, o algorismes de Pease, ja que foren originalment proposats per Pease. En aquesta contribució s’han desenvolupat noves factoritzacions amb blocs que presenten el patró d’interconnexió regular de Pease. S’ha mostrat com aquests blocs poden ser obtinguts a una escala prèviament seleccionada. Les noves factoritzacions per ambdues FFT i IFFT (Inverse FFT) tenen dues classes de factors: uns pocs factors del tipus Cooley-Tukey i els nous factors que proporcionen la mateix patró d’interconnexió de Pease en blocs. Per a una factorització donada, els blocs comparteixen dimensions, el patró d’interconnexió etapa a etapa i a més cada un d’ells pot ser calculat independentment dels altres.

Singular integrals on Ahlfors-David regular subsets of the Heisenberg group

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Level-wise node size distribution of randomly generated regular trees

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Teaching foreign languages through translation: considering multiple intelligences

Aquest treball de recerca tracta de la relació existent entre pedagogia, traducció, llengües estrangeres i intel•ligències múltiples. El debat sobre si la traducció és una eina útil a la classe de llengües estrangeres és un tema actual sobre el qual molts investigadors encara indaguen. Estudis recents, però, han demostrat que qualsevol tasca de traducció -en la qual s’hi poden incloure treballs amb les diferents habilitats- és profitosa si la considerem un mitjà, no una finalitat en ella mateixa. Evidentment, l’ús de la traducció dins l’aula és avantatjosa, però també hem de tenir presents certs desavantatges d’aquesta aplicació. Un possible desavantatge podria ser la creença que, al principi, molta gent té referent a l’equivalència, paraula per paraula, d’una llengua vers una altra. Però després de presentar vàries tasques de traducció als estudiants, aquests poden arribar a controlar, fins i tot, les traduccions inconscients i poden assolir un cert nivell de precisió i flexibilitat que val la pena mencionar. Però l’avantatge principal és que s’enfronten a una activitat molt estesa dins la societat actual que combina dues llengües, la llengua materna i la llengua objecte d’estudi, per exemple. De tot això en podem deduir que utilitzar la llengua materna a la classe no s’ha de considerar un crim, com fins ara, sinó una virtut, evidentment si és emprada correctament. En aquest treball de recerca s’hi pot trobar una síntesi tant de les principals teories d’adquisició i aprenentatge de llengües com de les teories de traducció. A la pregunta de si les teories, tant de traducció com de llengües estrangeres, s’haurien d’ensenyar implícita o explícitament, es pot inferir que segons el nivell d’estudis on estiguin els aprenents els convindrà aprendre les teories explícitament o les aprendran, de totes maneres, implícitament. Com que qualsevol grup d’estudiants és heterogeni -és a dir que cada individu té un ritme i un nivell d’aprenentatge concret i sobretot cadascú té diferents estils de percepció (visual, auditiu, gustatiu, olfactiu, de moviment) i per tant diferents intel•ligències-, els professors ho han de tenir en compte a l’hora de planificar qualsevol programa d’actuació vers els alumnes. Per tant, podem concloure que les tasques o projectes de traducció poden ajudar als alumnes a aprendre millor, més eficaçment i a aconseguir un aprenentatge més significatiu.

On a family of strongly regular graphs with λ = 1

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A brief cognitive behavioural intervention for regular amphetamine users. A treatment guide.

A brief intervention using motivational and cognitive behavioural approaches to help change drug use. Also offer alternative brief interventions for clients not suited to the current approach. This manual is divided into five sections: Section 1. Context Key points from the National Drug Strategy Monograph No 51. Models of Intervention and Care for Psychostimulant Users are included to present the evidence supporting this type of intervention for regular amphetamine users.  A flow-chart to place the intervention in a treatment context. Section 2. Brief background to the study and summary of results of evaluation A brief description of how the study was developed, undertaken and evaluated. A brief description of the evaluation outcome data (detailed results will be published separately). Section 3. The intervention The CBT intervention is presented in a clear and easy to use format for practitioners. Section 4. Suggested alternative brief interventions for those not suitable for the current intervention This section provides an overview of recommendations for alternative interventions for psychostimulant users who are unsuitable for the CBT intervention (e.g. those who are not considering change, experimental users etc). Section 5. Other available resources This section lists a range of other resources that are currently available for practitioners working with psychostimulant users. This treatment guide has not been designed to stand alone. Rather, practitioners are encouraged to: 1. Acquaint themselves with the current research and clinical literature. The recently completed monograph Models of Intervention and Care for Psychostimulant Users is an excellent resource for current evidence supporting practice in this area. 2. Undertake training in CBT and motivational enhancement techniques if unfamiliar with these approaches. 3. Obtain ongoing clinical supervision.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

XML/XQuery Languages : estat de l'Art

Aquesta memòria vol introduir el lector dins del camp de l'XML, fent referència al mateix llenguatge XML i a l'anomenada família XML, formada per totes les tecnologies i els estàndards que estan relacionats amb l'XML i que en fan un llenguatge realment potent i versàtil.

XML / XQuery Languages : estado del arte

Aquest treball fa un recull d'informació de l'estàndard XML i dels llenguatges de consultes XQuery, que són llenguatges de consultes dissenyats per a fer accessos a aquest tipus de dades.

Adolescents' beliefs about marijuana use: a comparison of regular users, past users and never/occasional users.

A questionnaire investigating adolescents' opinions and experiences regarding marijuana use was administered to 163 adolescents and young adults (96 boys and 67 girls) aged 13 to 20 (mean age = 16.8, s.d. = 1.5). Items referred to marijuana and other substances' dangerousness, representations regarding the positive and negative consequences of marijuana use. Responses were compared according to marijuana use status (classified into never/occasional use, current regular use and past regular use). Results show that adolescents' opinions differ according to their experience with marijuana use. Current regular users evaluate marijuana as less dangerous, but alcohol and heroin as more dangerous in comparison with never/occasional and past users. Current and past users are more likely to define marijuana as a medical drug and a plant used in agriculture, and less likely to define it as an illegal drug. Current and past users evaluate marijuana use as a way to cope with stress, to relax to a greater extent than do never/occasional users do. The latter attribute more negative consequences to marijuana use such as diminished driving ability and school performance and a pathway to hard drugs.

A cross-cultural shortened form of the ZKPQ (ZKPQ-50-CC) adapted to English, French, German, and Spanish languages.

The aim of the present study was to develop a short form of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) with acceptable psychometric properties in four languages: English (United States), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), and Spanish (Spain). The total sample (N = 4,621) was randomly divided into calibration and validation samples. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted in the calibration sample. Eighty items, with loadings equal or higher than 0.30 on their own factor and lower on the remaining factors, were retained. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed over the survival items in the validation sample in order to select the best 10 items for each scale. This short version (named ZKPQ-50-CC) presents psychometric properties strongly similar to the original version in the four countries. Moreover, the factor structure are near equivalent across the four countries since the congruence indices were all higher than 0.90. It is concluded that the ZKPQ-50-CC presented a high cross-language replicability, and it could be an useful questionnaire that may be used for personality research.

The forgotten face of regular physical exercise: a 'natural' anti-atherogenic activity.

Humans are not programmed to be inactive. The combination of both accelerated sedentary lifestyle and constant food availability disturbs ancient metabolic processes leading to excessive storage of energy in tissue, dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance. As a consequence, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, obesity and the metabolic syndrome has increased significantly over the last 30 years. A low level of physical activity and decreased daily energy expenditure contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality following atherosclerotic vascular damage. Physical inactivity leads to the accumulation of visceral fat and consequently the activation of the oxidative stress/inflammation cascade, which promotes the development of atherosclerosis. Considering physical activity as a 'natural' programmed state, it is assumed that it possesses atheroprotective properties. Exercise prevents plaque development and induces the regression of coronary stenosis. Furthermore, experimental studies have revealed that exercise prevents the conversion of plaques into a vulnerable phenotype, thus preventing the appearance of fatal lesions. Exercise promotes atheroprotection possibly by reducing or preventing oxidative stress and inflammation through at least two distinct pathways. Exercise, through laminar shear stress activation, down-regulates endothelial AT1R (angiotensin II type 1 receptor) expression, leading to decreases in NADPH oxidase activity and superoxide anion production, which in turn decreases ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation, and preserves endothelial NO bioavailability and its protective anti-atherogenic effects. Contracting skeletal muscle now emerges as a new organ that releases anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 (interleukin-6). IL-6 inhibits TNF-α (tumour necrosis factor-α) production in adipose tissue and macrophages. The down-regulation of TNF-α induced by skeletal-muscle-derived IL-6 may also participate in mediating the atheroprotective effect of physical activity.

Laws of the Seventy-Ninth Regular Session of the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, 2001

The session laws for General Assembly 79.