ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes a psychophysical experiment to measure visibility thresholds (VT) for quantization distortion in JPEG2000 and an associated quantization algorithm for visually lossless coding of color aerial images. The visibility thresholds are obtained from a quantization distortion model based on the statistical characteristics of wavelet coefficients and the deadzone quantizer of JPEG2000, and the resulting visibility thresholds are presented for the luminance component (Y) and two chrominance components (Cb and Cr). Using the thresholds, we have achieved visually lossless coding for 24-bit color aerial images at an average bitrate of 4.17 bits/pixels, which is approximately 30% of the bitrate required for numerically lossless coding.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Homoeopathy)- Dept. of Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, 2008. xvi, 256 leaves. / Conduct a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study in order to determine the sphere of action of the imponderable remedy Pink 30CH on healthy volunteers who recorded the signs and symptoms produced in order to determine the substances potential usefulness in a future clinical setting according to the Law of Similars. Determine and highlight the commonalities shared between the symptoms and themes produced by remedy Pink 30CH and the other selected imponderable remedies. In the homoeopathic drug proving of remedy Pink 30CH, provers were uninformed to both the nature of the substance as well as to the potency selected and used for proving purposes. Neither the provers nor the research investigator had any knowledge of who received the verum or the placebo until the end of the proving. Thirty (30) provers were selected after meeting the inclusion criteria of which thirty percent (30%) of the subjects received placebo in a randomised fashion. Verum and placebo were dispensed to the proving body in a set of six (6) powders which were taken sublingually three (3) times daily or until any proving symptoms were experienced. All provers were examined and made to record in their journals before, during and after the administration of the proving substance so as to serve as their own intra-individual controls. At the end of the proving period all journals were then recalled and all proving data recorded was then collated and edited into a repertory and materia medica format, which was then used to formulate a homoeopathic drug picture of the remedy that could be used in future clinical settings. The homoeopathic drug picture thus derived was then analysed with the aim of highlighting the important themes that were elicited during the proving. These symptoms and themes were then related and compared to seven (7) other imponderable remedies: Luna (Moonlight); Magnetis Polus Arcticus (North pole of the magnet); Magnetis Polus Australis (South pole of the magnet); Positronium (Anti-matter); Radium bromatum (Radium bromide); Sol (Sunlight) and X-ray, in order to expand the overall understanding of the commonalities shared by the imponderabilia as an entirety.

Due to the on-going growth of the Multiracial population in the U.S. (Rockquemore, et al., 2009; Shih & Sanchez, 2005, 2009) and the continuous struggle minorities face regarding racial attitudes, discrimination, and understanding their own racial identity, it is more important than ever for mental health professionals, including professional counselors and counselor educators, to work to further understand how these factors interact and ultimately impact Multiracial people. This study explored the relationships between the constructs of Multiracial identity, color-blind racial ideology, and discrimination in Multiracial individuals through data analysis including correlation, hierarchical regression, and moderation analysis. Participants (n = 287) were Biracial and Multiracial adults living in the U.S. Participants were recruited primarily through a southeastern university and through social media, and they each anonymously completed a questionnaire packet that included the following measures: demographic questions, the Multiracial Identity Integration Scale (MII; Cheng & Lee, 2009), the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS; Neville et al., 2000), the Brief Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire – Community Version (PEDQ-CV; Brondolo et al., 2005), and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (short version) (M-C II; Strahan & Gerbasi, 1972). Bivariate correlations revealed significant relationships among the color-blind racial attitudes outcome factors of Unawareness of Blatant Racial Issues and Unawareness of Institutional Discrimination with Multiracial identity integration and all four subscales of the experiences of discrimination variable (Exclusion, Workplace Discrimination, Stigmatization, and Threat and Harassment) with Multiracial identity integration. Controlling for social desirability and gender, a blockwise hierarchical regression indicated that several subscales of the constructs contributed to Multiracial Identity Integration. Surprisingly, participants’ Unawareness of Blatant Racial Issues and experiences of discriminatory Exclusion, most significantly predicted Multiracial Identity Integration. A moderation analysis revealed that color-blind racial attitudes does not moderate the relationship between experiences of discrimination and Multiracial identity integration in Multiracial people. Implications for professional counselors and counselor educators working with Multiracial clients, students, and supervisees, as well as limitations, and future research are discussed.

No description available.

Cortisol is a stress hormone which is released from the adrenals in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and plays a major role in animal stress response. Cortisol is used as a stress marker and can be sampled using different methods. A good non-invasive method and a good measure of chronic stress is to measure cortisol through hair. Cortisol is stored in hair for months and therefore reflects chronic stress. The aim of this study was to investigate if cortisol concentration differs depending on coat color. Hair samples from 20 black and white Border collie dogs was analysed and used in this study. Cortisol was extracted with methanol and analysed with ELISA. The results showed no significant difference between black and white coat color within the population while there were individual differences. The results also showed that the sexes do not affect the cortisol concentration. In summary, coat color (black and white) has an effect on cortisol concentration which means that the factor color does need to be taken into account when measuring cortisol through hair.

My research explores the complex strategies animals adapt to cope with multiple selection pressures. I studied the behavioral and color response of two salamander sister species, Ambystoma barbouri and A. texanum, to temperature, predation risk and ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280-320 nm). Ambystoma barbouri undergo development in streams, while A. texanum larvae inhabit ponds. Thus, A. barbouri are exposed to increased habitat ephemerality, enhanced predation risk, and UVR exposure. I show how A. barbouri have evolved alternate coping mechanisms in response to these environmental factors, relative to A. texanum. In this comparison study, I've quantified the affects of these selection pressures on larval color change, refuge use and depth choice.I found Ambystoma barbouri to have a significantly darker mean color than A. texanum. Additionally, both species significantly change color to match their background and in response to temperature. When exposed to warm temperatures, early-stage larvae of both species became lighter. Both species also changed color over ontogeny, with larvae becoming significantly lighter over development. Remarkably, A. texanum larvae mediated risk from predatory fish chemical cues by visually assessing the degree to which they cryptically match their background. If cryptic, A. texanum larvae remained on that background color rather than in refuge. A. barbouri larvae preferred to hide in refuge or on dark backgrounds regardless of crypticity, butquickly change color to match their new background. I found that both species darken in response to UVR. When given the choice of refuge, both species spent significantly more time in hiding when UVR was present. When given a choice of water depth, larvae preferred deep water in the presence of UVR radiation.Adapting multiple color and behavioral responses to individual selection pressures help organisms mediate conflicting demands from multiple selection pressures. For example, when predatory fish are present, larvae should move to shallow water to avoid predation. In the presence of UVR, however, larvae should prefer deeper water. I found A. barbouri larvae choose deep water to avoid high UVR exposure despite the risk of predation. Evolving multiple behavioral strategies allows A. barbouri larvae to avoid UVR damage and mediate predation risk.

Timbre is an important aspect of music, particularly in the twentieth century. Relatively little serious work on this subject has been published, however, either from a historical standpoint or from an analytical view. The purpose of this present study was to clarify the nature of timbre and to demonstrate the structural role it can have in music. The development of the timbre concept was traced from as early as the fifteenth century to present. From a very simple idea, timbre evolved into a complex phenomenon involving scientific, acoustical analysis and subjective, perceptual evaluation. It was found that currently timbre is not merely a physical manifestation, but also a function of aesthetic judgment and human response to stimuli. A brief historical survey was made of the importance of timbre in music. It was shown that timbre emerged as a significant musical element, forming the characteristic sound structure of a composition and (by extension) the distinctive sonorous style (Klangstil) of a composer. In developing to this point, the idea of timbre metamorphosed into a particular concept of "sound," a term that includes any sound quality that contributes to the character and structure of a composition. A process of analysis was developed to determine musical sound structure. It was shown that the sound-related aspects of the parameters of pitch, dynamics, time, texture, and timbre can act and interact to construct formal shape through cohesion and differentiation. It was established that the music of George Crumb shows a high regard for sound as a structural element. His Night of the Four Moons was analyzed, demonstrating the process of sound analysis. The analysis also showed that various qualities of sound itself are used as compositional material as well as for cohesion and differentiation. This aurally perceived, characteristic structure formed by or related to the action of sound was termed the "audiogenic image."

This report presents results from a series of experiments in which YAG samples (undoped, as well as doped with Nd and Cr3+) were exposed to ionizing radiation (gamma rays and UV). These experiments were performed for the purpose of investigating the various phtodarkening processes taking place in these materials in response to the ionizing radiation. The purpose of this investigation was to establish whether and how co-doping YAG with Cr3+ improves the material's resistance to photodarkening due to the ionizing radiation. The experiments tracked time-resolved transmittance of the samples at 1064 nm in immediate response a pulsed exposure to the ionizing radiation, as well as steady-state spectrally-resolved changed in the samples' optical absorption after the irradiation. The investigation revealed a number of photodarkening processes occurring in the samples in response to the ionizing radiation, both transient and permanent. It was further revealed that inclusion of Cr3+ ions in YAG significantly reduces these photodarkening processes, improving the material's radiation resistance. It was observed that materials containing at least 0.5 at% Cr3+ are essentially radiation-hardened, resisting both transient and steady-state changes in transmittance observed in the materials not containing Cr3+.

Derek Jarman’s Blue has a complicated reception and exhibition history. Stuck between his past representational queer cinema and the inability to represent the suffering and death from AIDS, Jarman crafted a film of radical stylistics. It is in Blue’s striking color that a transversality of form, sensation, and visuality occurs, and in so doing, produces a space for synesthetic affectivity and collective desire. This thesis will use those radical formal elements and the history of Jarman and Blue to position color away from the phobic tradition of color theory and towards a flowing site of political rupture.

<p>Examining the genetic basis across repeated origins of the same phenotypic adaptation allows us to address several questions pertaining to the genetic basis of adaptation. First, whether the genes and types of mutations that are involved in adaptation are predictable. Second, whether the underlying genetic changes can constrain future evolutionary trajectories. Here, I have focused on the genetics of blue to red flower color shifts, an adaptive shift that has repeatedly occurred across angiosperms. First, I review the literature and determine the relative contribution of functional vs. regulatory mutations to the evolution of red flowers can be predicted both on the mutational target size of each type of mutation and the degree of their associated deleterious pleiotropy. Chapter 2 characterizes the genetic basis of red flowers in Penstemon barbatus using a combination of gene expression and protein function assays. I demonstrated that multiple inactivating mutations to one anthocyanin pathway enzyme, F3'5'h, have occurred, but no mutations to any other component of the anthocyanin pathway have contributed to the evolution of red flowers. This suggests that F3'5'h may be a particularly favorable target for selection and also that evolutionary reversal to blue flowers would be highly unlikely. Chapter 3 investigates the genetic basis of an additional 12 origins of red flowers within Penstemon. Again, using a combination of gene expression and enzyme function assays, I found the genetic basis of these additional origins red flowers in Penstemon is highly predictable, involving redundant inactivating mutations to F3'5'h, and tissue-specific regulatory mutations to a second gene F3'h. Thus, the genetics of red flowers in Penstemon often involves inactivation of a non-pleiotropic gene, F3'5'h, but tissue-specific regulatory mutations to the pleiotropic gene F3'h. Furthermore, the presence of redundant inactivating mutations in many red-flowered Penstemon species indicates that the evolutionary reversal to blue flowers would be unlikely.</p> / Dissertation