Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

NASA goals include long-term International Space Station (ISS) missions and the ambitious objective of eventually sending astronauts to Mars. Unfortunately, exposure to unloading due to microgravity during spaceflight has been shown to cause detrimental health effects on bone. Therefore, NASA is seeking a ground-based animal model to study the long-term effects of unloading on bone in order to better insure the health and mission capability of astronauts. The hindlimb unloaded (HU) rat model was used to study the effects of multiple unloading exposures and aging on bone properties. Six month old, adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into the following groups: baseline (BL, sacrificed when received at 6 months age), aging cage control (AC, normal weight-bearing cage activity), 1HU7 (unloaded for 1 month starting at 7 months of age and allowed to recover for 3 months), 1HU10 (normal cage activity until 10 months of age, unloaded for 1 month, recovered for 2 months), and 2HU10 (unloaded for 1 month at 7 months of age, allowed to recover for 2 months, unloaded again for 1 month at 10 months of age, followed by 2 months of recovery). Every 28 days a subset of animals (n=15) were euthanized and both femurs were excised. A peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scanner was used to collect densitometric and geometric properties at the right and left femoral neck and at the left femoral midshaft. Mechanical testing (axial and lateral compression of the femoral neck and 3pt bending of the midshaft) was performed at each location and strength indices based on pQCT parameters were calculated. Femoral neck properties decreased due to HU but recovered with respect to increase over HU, BL, and AC by the end of the recovery periods. Femoral midshaft properties were relatively unaffected, but did show slight decreases for older animals at month 10, which recovered during the two month recovery period. Femoral neck geometry exhibited increased endocortical resorption and periosteal apposition of the cortical shell which suggests that trabecular bone plays an important role in how the total bone is affected by HU. Densitometric properties were affected less by HU with respect to BL than were mechanical strength values. Results suggest that femoral neck is more affected by unloading than midshaft, particularly for multiple exposures of unloading. Also, aging does not appear to be a critical factor for bone loss due to HU for either femoral neck or midshaft.

The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the properties of acoustic sound field in the Sizihwan Bay Marine Test Field (SBMTF), and to conduct geoacoustic inversion using the measured data. Two experiments were carried out during February, 2009, and March, 2010. The source was UW350, and the receivers were ITC 6050 hydrophones. The transmitted frequencies lie between 350 Hz and 1250 Hz. On the analysis of acoustic propagation, the study calls for the application of OASES for the analysis of transmission loss and effects of range dependency. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis due to environmental factors was carried out based upon probabilistic approach. For the inversion analysis, the sensitivity of each environmental parameter was first analyzed, and those parameters with high sensitivity were chosen for inversion. Inversion was conducted by the application of SAGA. The results have shown that, due to the fact that the SBMTF is an very shallow water environment with water depth less than 30 m, the acoustic sound field is strongly affected by the boundaries. From the uncertainty analysis, it shows that the transmission loss has high degree of uncertainty resulting from seabed property due to its lack of accurate measurement. The inversion results for water depth and seabed sound speed were obtained, and compared with the measured data. This research calls for experimental design, data processing, software application, and result analysis, offering an overall understanding of the properties of SBMTF that is valuable for future study.

It is important to be able to quantify potential seismic damage to structures and communicate risk in a comprehendible way to all stakeholders. The risks involved with damage to constructed facilities due to catastrophic disasters can be hedged using financial instruments such as Catastrophic (CAT) bonds. This work uses the loss ratio (Lr), which is the ratio of the repair cost to the total replacement cost, to represent structural and non-structural damage caused by earthquakes. A loss estimation framework is presented that directly relates seismic hazard to seismic response to damage and hence to losses. A key feature of the loss estimation approach is the determination of losses without the need for fragility curves. A Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE) approach towards assessing the seismic vulnerability of structures relating an intensity measure (IM) to its associated engineering demand parameter (EDP) is used to define the demand model. An empirically calibrated tripartite loss model in the form of a power curve with upper and lower cut-offs is developed and used in conjunction with the previously defined demand model in order to estimate loss ratios. The loss model is calibrated and validated for different types of bridges and buildings. Loss ratios for various damage states take into account epistemic uncertainty as well as an effect for price surge following a major hazardous event. The loss model is then transformed to provide a composite seismic hazard-loss relationship which is used to estimate financial losses from expected structural losses. The seismic hazard-loss model is then used to assess the expected spread, that is the interest rate deviation above the risk-free (prime) rate in order to price two types of CAT bonds: indemnity CAT bonds and parametric CAT bonds. It is concluded that CAT bonds has the ability to play a major role in hedging financial risk associated with damage to a civil engineering facility as a result of a catastrophe. However, it is seen that a potential investor seeks a high degree of confidence when investing in CAT bonds as there is huge uncertainty surrounding the probability of occurrence of an event.

This study is designed to examine participants’ view of hearing loss as a critical health issue, the attitudes of people toward a person with a hearing impairment, the knowledge level of OSHA regulations pertaining to hearing loss, the general knowledge level of hearing loss and hearing impairment, and its causes, and participants attitudes towards wearing hearing protection. The study design is descriptive and correlational with data collected using a written questionnaire with a controlled population. Results were computed using the means and standard deviation for each factor. The findings indicate that additional education and awareness is essential if changes are to occur in the areas of general knowledge of hearing impairment, the acceptance of hearing protective devices in the work place or school, and better interaction and communication with those who exhibit a hearing impairment. One area of specific improvement must be in how agricultural instructors are trained in the field of safety so that students involved in agricultural sciences are better prepared to protect his/her hearing while performing activities found in the agricultural business.

Nowadays, the economic grows fast and changes a lot. Meanwhile, the central city gets bigger and bigger. More and more buildings locate everywhere while people enjoy their modern life. The needs of electricity grow by the way. In order to provide more power, the Power Company has tried very hard to find new resources. However, there is another problem when transferring the power through crowded city. To avoid the geographic limitation, most of the overhead lines have been changed into under ground lines instead. Sooner or later, the under ground cable will become the main power transmission. This thesis focuses on the current rating distribution of Taiwan 161KV line with various PE underground cables that contain one circuit, two circuits, four circuits, and eight circuits. The current rating goes within various pipes. To find the best economic benefit with the lowest investment by rearranging the pipes to reach the most current rating and by matching the current rating from under ground cable with the over head cable is the main goal of this thesis. JCS NO.168 analyzes the set up map for all the pipes. In order to offer the best power supply, to maintain the longest cable life within the acceptable working days, the calculating scripts support to figure out the current rating in shortest time.

In this dissertation topics of optimal meter placement and transaction-based loss allocation in deregulated power system operation are investigated. Firstly, Chapter II introduces the basic idea of candidate measurement identification, which is the selection of candidate measurement sets, each of which will make the system observable under a given contingency (loss of measurements and network topology changes). A new method is then developed for optimal meter placement, which is the choice of the optimal combination out of the selected candidate measurement sets in order to ensure the entire system observability under any one of the contingencies. A new method, which allows a natural separation of losses among individual transactions in a multiple-transaction setting is proposed in Chapter III. The proposed method does not use any approximations such as a D.C. power flow, avoiding method induced inaccuracies. The power network losses are expressed in terms of individual power transactions. A transaction-loss matrix, which illustrates the breakdown of losses introduced by each individual transaction and interactions between any two transactions, is created. The network losses can then be allocated to each transaction based on the transaction-loss matrix entries. The conventional power flow analysis is extended in Chapter IV to combine with the transaction loss allocation. A systematic solution procedure is formed in order to adjust generation while simultaneously allocating losses to the generators designated by individual transactions. Furthermore, Chapter V presents an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) algorithm to optimize the loss compensation if some transactions elect to purchase the loss service from the Independent System Operator (ISO) and accordingly the incurred losses are fairly allocated back to individual transactions. IEEE test systems have been used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The sound transmission loss of a range of plywood panels was measured to investigate the influence of the orthotropic stiffness of the plywood panels. The plywood panels were tested as single and also double leaf partitions, with a range of stud configurations. A new method was developed for predicting the sound transmission loss of single leaf partitions with both orthotropic and frequency dependent stiffness values. The sound transmission loss was evaluated for two significantly different sample sizes. The observed influence of the sample size on the measured sound transmission loss was profound. The construction of the partition was shown to significantly affect the influence of the sample size on the sound transmission loss. A qualitative analysis based on existing published research of the contributing factors is presented, and methods for adjusting the results for the small sample size for comparison with the large results were developed. The influence of a range of acoustic treatments of lightweight plywood partitions was investigated. The treatments involved internal viscoelastic materials and decoupled mass loaded barriers in various arrangements. The attachment between the treatment and the plywood panel was found to influence the sound transmission loss significantly. A prediction method based on published models was modified to allow the influence of the treatments to be included. Reasonable agreement was achieved between the predicted and measured results for a wide range of samples. A prediction method was developed that accounts for the influence of orthotropic, frequency dependent material parameters. This method utilised an adaptive, numerical integration method to solve an analytical formulation for the sound transmission loss. The influence of the finite sample size was accounted for using an expression for the finite panel radiation impedance. The finite panel radiation impedance was predicted analytically and an approximation was also presented. The presence of a significant source room niche was accounted for by applying an appropriate limit to the integration range of the angle of incidence. The prediction methods developed are compared with the measured transmission loss results from both the small and large test facilities. Good agreement was seen for some of the predicted results. Generally the agreement within the coincidence region was worse than for the rest of the transmission loss curve. The inclusion of orthotropic and frequency dependent stiffness values significantly improved the agreement within the coincidence region.

The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a reliable and valid measure to assess coping responses to weight-related discrepancy in women. The decision to create such a measure stemmed from the difficulties individuals have with initiation and consistent regulation of weight-related behavior. When salient, perceived discrepancies with one’s weight or body can be emotionally laden, producing negative affective responses and discontent, labeled here as dissatisfaction. The individual must then find ways to cope. However, not all coping responses are equal, and are theorized to have varied impacts on future regulation of weight loss efforts. The present research addressed these issues by developing a theoretically-based measure, labeled the WEIGHT-COPE. The WEIGHT-COPE originally sought to capture healthy and unhealthy problem-focused coping efforts to lose weight, as well as approach and avoidance coping efforts theorized as more distal influences on problem-focused efforts. The WEIGHT-COPE and other relevant measures were completed by 470 females ages 18-35 years. Results of an exploratory factor analysis revealed a 38-item measure consisting of eight coping factors: Exercise/Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, Cutting Calories/Appetite Suppression, Supplement Use, Monitor/Planning, Disengage/Denial, Camouflage, and Acceptance/Positive Reframing. All factors were internally consistent ( = 0.71 to 0.89), and converged with other pertinent measures of weight satisfaction, weight controllability/changeability, social physique anxiety, self-esteem, weight loss efficacy, physical activity level, dietary intake and objectified body consciousness. To test theoretical implications on future self-regulation of weight loss behavior, a structural regression model was run utilizing the WEIGHT-COPE factors. The factors were associated in a theoretically-driven pattern, illustrating that coping responses to weight-related discrepancy have varied impact on weight loss behavior choice. Thus, the present findings provide preliminary support for the WEIGHT-COPE and suggest that individuals cope with weight-related discrepancy in different ways, which may then have various impacts future self-regulation of weight loss behavior. / text

A central goal of this study is to better understand why some mothers become unresolved with respect to experiences of loss whereas others do not. Adults are considered to be unresolved with respect to loss if they display signs of mental disorganization while discussing an attachment-related loss due to death – for example, talking in the present tense about a deceased person as if the person is still alive (Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002). Studies have accumulated documenting the negative consequences of being unresolved. Researchers have linked unresolved attachment to frightened/frightening maternal behavior (Jacobvitz, Leon, & Hazen, 2006), drug/alcohol abuse (Riggs & Jacobvitz, 2002), and other Axis I and II disorders (Ward, Lee, & Polan, 2006; Fonagy et al., 1996); as well as anxiety, anger, (Busch, Cowan, & Cowan, 2008) and controlling behavior (Creasey, 2002) in romantic relationships. Less is known about the conditions under which a person becomes unresolved. This study will be one of the first to examine the comprehensive effects of several risk factors known to influence a person’s ability to resolve a loss including kinship, cause of death, and suddenness as well as primary attachment pattern. Other factors included in this study are social support and lifestyle changes. Although attachment theory provides a thorough explanation for an individual’s inability to resolve a loss, it is only one of many theoretical explanations of this phenomenon (Rando, 1993). One theory that is conceptually similar to unresolved loss is the theory of complicated grief, the process of painful searching and yearning for a deceased person (Prigerson et al., 1995b). Like those who study unresolved loss, complicated grief researchers are still seeking to understand what factors can predict whether an individual will experience prolonged symptoms of grief (van der Houwen et al., 2010). Also similar to unresolved loss, complicated grief involves irregular patterns of mental processes following a loss; however, complicated grief seems to be a conscious process, whereas unresolved loss has non-conscious components. Hence, this dissertation also examined whether complicated grief was related to unresolved loss and, if so, whether the origins for complicated grief were similar to unresolved loss. / text