There are already excellent techniques for imaging the anatomy of the human brain, and changes in its functional state over seconds. Furthermore, the function of the individual neuron has been studied at time resolutions of less than a millisecond. There is, at present, no technique which combines this fine time resolution with tomographic imaging, although this may be essential if we are ever to understand the processing of information by the brain. The work described in this thesis used mathematical models and in-vivo measurement to investigate whether applied potential tomography (APT), a recently-developed imaging technique, may be used for imaging neuronal depolarisation in the brain. Two factors suggest that APT may be suitable: first, it can acquire data sets at the required rate; second, there is known to be a decrease in the resistance of neuronal membranes, perhaps by up to a factor of 40, when they depolarise. The practicality of APT depends on whether there is corresponding measurable change in the macroscopic impedance of brain tissue. A mathematical model was used to estimate the magnitude and frequency-dependence of brain impedance changes in two tissues: crustacean peripheral nerve and mammalian cortex. The model predicted that at 30 kHz, a typical working frequency for APT, the resistivity change would be 600 times smaller than at DC, for which the predictions were 3.70/0 for nerve and 0.01% for cortex. Measurements of DC resistivity change during depolarisation of crab nerve (0.2% ~ 2.5%), and afferent stimulation of rabbit cortex (0.01%), were in good agreement with the predicted resistivity changes. Finite element modeling of the head suggested that, with a cosine excitation pattern, the scalp voltage changes would be about 0.001%. Suggestions are given for improving the data collection process to make measurements of these small DC voltage changes more tractable.

No description available.

Bei der arbuskulären Myorrhiza-Symbiose (AM) und der Wurzelknöllchen-Symbiose (RNS) handelt es sich um symbiotische Interaktionen, die einen großen Vorteil für Pflanzenwachstum und kultivierung mit sich bringen. Während bei der AM Pilze die Pflanze mit verschiedenen Nährstoffen aus dem Boden versorgen, stellen die in den Wurzelknöllchen lokalisierten Rhizobien der Pflanze fixierte Stickstoffverbindungen zur Verfügung. Folglich ist es von großem Interesse, die Entwicklung dieser Symbiosen im Detail zu verstehen. Für die Erkennung der arbuskulären Mykorrhiza-Pilze und der Stickstoff-fixierenden Rhizobien durch die Pflanze sind lösliche symbiotische Signalmoleküle essentiell, die zu der Gruppe der Lipochitinoligosaccharide (LCOs) gehören. Während der Entwicklung der AM und der RNS erkennen die Pflanzenwurzeln diese LCOs über Lysin-Motiv-Rezeptor-ähnliche Kinasen der Plasmamembran. Eine der ersten Antworten der Wurzelzellen auf Nod-LCOs ist eine Depolarisierung des Membranpotentials. An dieser Antwort sind mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit Anionenkanäle der Plasmamembran beteiligt, da sie auch bei Depolarisierungen als Antwort auf andere Stimuli bzw. Stressantworten involviert sind. In Arabidopsis stellt die S-Typ-Familie eine bedeutende Gruppe von Anionenkanälen dar, die von Calcium-abhängigen Kinasen (CPKs) aktiviert werden. Da Nod-LCOs repetitive Veränderungen des zytosolischen Calcium-Levels induzieren, wurde in dieser Arbeit die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass Calcium-Signale CPKs aktivieren. CPKs sorgen im Gegenzug für die Stimulation von S-Typ-Anionenkanälen in Wurzelzellen. Die Änderungen des Membranpotentials in M. truncatula-Wurzelhaarzellen als Antwort auf Nod- und Myc-LCOs wurden mittels intrazellulärer Mikroelektroden analysiert. Es wurde gezeigt, dass Nod-LCOs in M. truncatula-Wurzelhaarzellen eine Depolarisierung des Membranpotentials induzieren. Doch Wurzelhaarzellen reagieren nicht nur auf Nod-LCOs. So konnte in dieser Studie zum ersten Mal eine Depolarisierung als Antwort auf sulfatisierte Myc-LCOs nachgewiesen werden. Eine zweite Gruppe von Myc-LCOs, denen die Sulfatgruppe fehlt, löste keine Reaktion des Membranpotentials aus. Diese Daten deuten darauf hin, dass Wurzelhaarzellen für die Erkennung von sulfatisierten LCOs von symbiotischen Pilzen und Bakterien dasselbe Perzeptionssystem nutzen. Diese Schlussfolgerung wird von Experimenten unterstützt, in denen vor der Stimulation durch Nod-LCOs ein sulfatisierter Myc-LCO hinzugegeben wurde. Diese sukzessive Zugabe von zwei Stimuli führte zu einer einzigen Depolarisierung. Die sulfatisierten Myc-LCOs unterdrückten die Antwort des Membranpotentials auf Nod-LCOs. Die Beziehung zwischen Nod-LCO-induzierten zytosolischen Calcium-Signalen und Änderungen des Membranpotentials wurde mit einer Kombination aus intrazellulären Mikroelektroden und Imaging eines Calcium-sensitiven Fluoreszenzfarbstoffs analysiert. In Messungen der zytosolischen Calcium-Konzentration wurde keine transiente Zunahme innerhalb der ersten vier Minuten nach der Applikation der Nod-LCOs beobachtet. Die durch Nod-LCOs induzierten Depolarisierungen traten früher auf und erreichten ihr Maximum normalerweise nach drei Minuten. Demnach geht die Depolarisierung des Membranpotentials den zytosolischen Calcium-Signalen voraus. Diese Beobachtung wurde von simultanen Messungen beider Antworten bestätigt. Um der Möglichkeit einer Beteiligung von S-Typ-Anionenkanälen an der LCO-abhängigen Depolarisierung nachzugehen, wurden zwei in den Wurzeln exprimierte M. truncatula-Orthologe der AtSLAC1-Anionenkanal-Familie identifiziert. Die klonierten Anionenkanäle, MtSLAC1, MtSLAH2-3A und MtSLAH2-3B zeigten bei der Untersuchung in Xenopus-Oozyten die typischen Charakteristika von S-Typ-Anionenkanälen. So konnte gezeigt werden, dass MtSLAH2-3A und MtSLAH2-3B eine Proteinkinase sowie externes Nitrat zur Aktivierung benötigen. Außerdem zeichnen sie sich durch eine sehr viel höhere Permeabilität für Nitrat im Vergleich zu Chlorid aus. Ähnlich wie bei AtSLAH3 macht eine Koexpression mit AtSLAH1 genau wie eine intrazelluläre Azidifikation MtSLAH2-3A und MtSLAH2-3B zu Anionenkanälen, die unabhängig von externem Nitrat und einer Phosphorylierung durch eine Proteinkinase aktiv sind. Weil S-Typ-Anionenkanäle eine hohe Permeabilität für Nitrat aufweisen, wurde der Einfluss von Änderungen der extrazellulären Anionenkonzentration auf die Nod-LCO-induzierte Depolarisierung analysiert. Es stellte sich heraus, dass eine Verringerung der extrazellulären Nitratkonzentration die Antwort beschleunigt. Eine Erhöhung der extrazellulären Chlorid- und Sulfatkonzentration hingegen führte zu einer Verstärkung der Depolarisierung. Diese Beobachtung spricht dafür, dass andere Anionenkanal-Typen wie ALMT-Kanäle an der Depolarisierung des Membranpotentials durch LCOs beteiligt sind. Die Daten dieser Arbeit zeigen eine Abhängigkeit der Nod-LCO-induzierten Änderungen des Membranpotentials vom M. truncatula-Genotyp. Neben Nod-LCOs lösen auch sulfatisierte Myc-LCOs eine Depolarisierung des Membranpotentials aus. Vermutlich werden sulfatisierte Nod- und Myc-LCOs von demselben Rezeptorsystem erkannt. Die Nod-LCO-induzierte Depolarisierung ist unabhängig von Änderungen des zytosolischen Calcium-Levels. Folglich sind in die Depolarisierung keine S-Typ-Anionenkanäle involviert, die ausschließlich durch Calcium-abhängige Protein-Kinasen aktiviert werden. Interessanterweise lassen sich die MtSLAH2-3-Anionenkanäle aus M. truncatula im Gegensatz zu AtSLAH3 von Calcium-unabhängigen SnRK2/OST1-Proteinkinasen aktivieren. Dies ermöglicht die Aktivierung der MtSLAH2-3-Anionenkanäle in Abwesenheit eines Calcium-Signals. In weiterführenden Studien sollten die Genexpressionsprofile von Calcium-unabhängigen Proteinkinasen wie SnRK2 und S-Typ-Anionenkanälen aus M. truncatula sowie deren Interaktionen untersucht werden. So könnte eine Aussage darüber getroffen werden, ob diese Proteinkinasen die Anionenkanäle MtSLAH2-3 Nod-LCO-spezifisch aktivieren. Außerdem wäre es von großem Interesse, verschiedene M. truncatula-Mutanten zu untersuchen, denen Gene für MtSLAH2-3A, MtSLAH2-3B und R-Typ-Anionenkanäle fehlen. Diese Experimente könnten zur Identifizierung von Genen führen, die an der frühen Entwicklung der Symbiose beteiligt sind und erklären, warum nur eine kleine Gruppe von Pflanzen dazu in der Lage ist, eine RNS einzugehen, während die AM im Pflanzenreich weit verbreitet ist. / Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) and Root Nodule Symbiosis (RNS) are symbiotic interactions with a high benefit for plant growth and crop production. In the soil, AM fungi supply the plant with a broad range of nutrients, whereas the rhizobium bacteria in the root nodules provide fixed nitrogen sources. Thus, it is of great interest to understand the developmental process of these symbiotic interactions. For recognition of AM fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria by plants, diffusible symbiotic signals are essential, which belong to the group of lipochitinoligosaccharides (LCOs). During the development of AM and RNS, plant roots sense these LCOs with pairs of lysin motiv domain receptor-like kinases that are located in the plasma membrane. One of the earliest Nod-LCO-triggered responses of root cells represents the depolarization of the plasma membrane. It is likely that plasma membrane anion channels are essential for this reaction, as these channels are required for depolarization in response to a number of other stimuli/stress responses. In Arabidopsis, the S-type family is a prominent group of anion channels that are activated by calcium-dependent Protein Kinases (CPKs). As Nod-LCOs can trigger repetitive elevations of the cytosolic calcium level, we hypothesized that calcium signals activate CPKs, which in turn stimulate S-type anion channels in root cells. The membrane potential changes of M. truncatula root hair cells in response to Nod- and Myc-LCOs were analyzed by using intracellular micro electrodes. In accordance with previous studies in M. sativa, Nod-LCOs evoked a membrane depolarization in root hairs cells of M. truncatula. Root hair cells not only were sensitive to Nod-LCOs, but for the first time a depolarization response was also shown in response to sulphated Myc-LCOs. However, a second group of Myc-LCO-signals, which lack the sulfate group, did not initiate any reaction of the membrane potential. These data thus suggest that root hair cells use the same perception system to sense sulfated LCOs of symbiotic fungi and bacteria. This conclusion was supported by experiments in which a sulfated Myc-LCO was applied, prior to stimulation with Nod LCOs. This successive application of two stimuli resulted only in a single transient depolarization, as sulfated Myc-LCOs repressed plasma membrane responses to Nod-LCOs. The relations between Nod-LCO-induced cytosolic calcium signals and membrane potential changes were studied with a combination of intracellular micro electrodes and calcium sensitive reporter dye imaging. In measurements of the cytosolic calcium concentration the first transient increase was not observed within four minutes after application of Nod-LCOs. Nod-LCO-induced depolarizations occurred earlier and normally peaked after three minutes. In contrast to current models as well as the initial hypothesis of this project, the membrane depolarization thus precedes the cytosolic calcium signals, which was confirmed by simultaneous measurement of both responses. As S-type anion channels are good candidates for the induction of the LCO-dependent depolarization, we indentified two root-expressed M. truncatula orthologues of AtSLAC1-family. The cloned S-type anion channels, MtSLAC1, MtSLAH2-3A and MtSLAH2-3B showed typical characteristics of S-type anion channels, when studied in Xenopus oocytes. Thereby we could show that both M. truncatula anion channels, MtSLAH2-3A and MtSLAH2-3B, need a protein kinase and external nitrate for activation. They are characterized by a much higher permeability for nitrate compared to chloride. Similarly, to AtSLAH3 coexpression with AtSLAH1 or intracellular acidification rendered MtSLAH2-3A/B independent from phosphorylation via protein kinases and external nitrate. Because S-type anion channels show a high permeability for nitrate, we tested the influence of changes in the extracellular anion concentration on the Nod-LCO induced depolarization. It turned out that the response was accelerated when the concentration gradient for nitrate was decreased. However, increasing the extracellular chloride and sulfate concentrations also enhanced the magnitude of the depolarization, which indicates that other types of anion channels, such as ALMT channels may contribute to the LCO-triggered depolarization of root hairs. The data generated in this project show that the Nod-LCO induced membrane potential change is strongly dependent on the genotype of M. truncatula. This early response in the recognition of symbiotic microorganisms is also induced by sulfated Myc-LCOs, which seem to be perceived via the same receptor system as Nod-LCOs. In contrast to our expectations, the depolarization response to Nod-LCOs is independent of changes in the cytosolic calcium level. Consequently, S-type anion channels, activated solely by calcium-dependent protein kinases are not involved in this response. Interestingly, in contrast to the Arabidopsis SLAH3, the SLAH2-3s from M. truncatula are activated via calcium-independent SnRK2/OST1-like kinases which would allow the activation of the channels even in the absence of calcium transients. Thus, in future studies the expression profile and interaction of calcium-independent protein kinases like SnRK2s and S-type anion channels in M. truncatula should be determined to investigate whether these proteins are capable of activating MtSLAH2-3A/B in a Nod-LCO-specific manner. Moreover, the further analysis of M. truncatula mutants that lack MtSLAH2-3A/B as well as M. truncatula R-type anion channels will be of great interest. These experiments can thus lead to the identification of genes that are involved in early symbiosis-related events, which may explain why only a small group of plants is able to develop root nodules, whereas the interaction with mycorrhiza is found for a large variety of plant species.

Die elektrophysiologischen Vorgänge während der Depolarisation und Repolarisation des Myokards können mittels der Signale des 12-Kanal EKGs selbst bei Vorliegen großen Expertenwissens nur unzureichend beobachtet bzw. interpretiert werden. Grund hierfür sind vor allen Dingen Inhomogenitäten in der kardialen und thorakalen elektrischen Leitfähigkeit sowie die starke Signalabschwächung in den durchlaufenen Geweben. Intrakardiale Verfahren der Signalableitung sind ein Ansatz zu Lösung dieses Problems; sie sind jedoch aufwändig und risikobehaftet. In dem in dieser Arbeit eingesetzten Verfahren hingegen konnte, durch patientenindividuelle Modellierung der Herz- und Thoraxanatomie sowie der Leitfähigkeitsverhältnisse, mittels numerischer Verfahren aus einer Vielzahl von Oberflächen-EKG Ableitungen auf die elektrophysiologischen Vorgänge im Myokard in ihrem zeitlichen und örtlichen Verlauf geschlossen werden (Inverses Problem der Elektrokardiographie). Es konnten bei gesunden Probanden sowie bei Patienten mit verschiedenen kardialen Pathologien zeitlich und örtlich hochaufgelöste Rekonstruktionen von epikardialen- und Transmembranpotentialverteilungen angefertigt werden. Es zeigte sich, dass insbesondere im Bereich großer Infarktnarben der Herzvorder- sowie der Herzhinterwand elektrophysiologische Auffälligkeiten nachweisbar waren. So zeigten sich während der Depolarisationsphase Myokardareale mit einer verminderten Aktivität und Polarisationsumkehr, Bezirke mit verzögerter Depolarisationsaktivität sowie Areale mit atypisch verlaufender Repolarisationsaktivität. Anhand der vorliegenden Ergebnisse konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine Rekonstruktion der physiologischen Abläufe im Myokard während der Depolarisation und der Repolarisation mit dem hierzu implementierten Verfahren möglich ist. Anhand von elektroanatomischen Modellen konnten darüber hinaus die physiologische sowie die pathologisch veränderte Erregungsausbreitung im Myokard simuliert werden. Durch Verbesserung der Rekonstruktionsalgorithmen, der Methoden der Signalverarbeitung und der Regularisierung der Lösungsverfahren ist zukünftig eine weitere Verbesserung der Rekonstruktionsergebnisse zu erwarten. Vor dem klinischen Einsatz der Methode muss eine eingehende Validation erfolgen. / The electrophysiological processes that occur during cardiac depolarization and repolarization can be interpreted via 12-channel ECG only in a limited manner. This is due to inhomogeneities in the cardiac and thoracic electric conductivity and the attenuation of the electric signals in the body. Invasive cardiac measurements can avoid these problems but are expensive and not free of risk for the patient. In this work therefore a method of non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging was established which permits the reconstruction of cardiac electrophysiological processes using exclusively information obtained by non-invasive methods (MR-imaging, electrocardiographic mapping). Using anatomic information from MR-images of the patient’s heart and chest, a patient-individual model of electric conductivity could be created (finite-element method). Numerical algorithms were used to solve the inverse problem of electrocardiography, i.e. finding cardiac potential distributions that explain the measured surface potential distribution. In two healthy volunteers as well as in 7 patients with different cardiac pathologies, reconstructions of epicardial potentials and transmembrane voltages were performed. Specific electrophysiological abnormalities (decreased electric activity, polarization reversal, delayed depolarization and atypical repolarization patterns) could be detected in the proximity of myocardial scars. To optimize reconstruction algorithms and regularization methods, cardiac potentials were also simulated using a cellular automaton and the patient individual conductivity model. This study shows that the reconstruction of cardiac electrophysiology is feasible with this method and that myocardial scars and atypical patterns of depolarization and repolarization can be detected. By further improving the method and after a process of validation, clinically relevant data might be obtained.

Power transformers are important and expensive elements within the electric power transmission and distribution utilities. Since these equipments are connected in series to the network, any inadvertent failures would cause catastrophic interruptions to the power supply. As such, it is extremely critical for the power transformer to operate continuously in order to maintain a reliable and efficient electricity supply. Ageing or defects in power transformer has a root in its insulation structure and this has always been a well-known fact. For many years, mineral oil impregnated cellulose paper (OIP) has been the choice of insulation for power transformers due to its excellent dielectric properties as well as its inexpensive price. During the course of operation, the dielectric properties of OIP insulation inevitably deteriorate due to singularly or a combination of stresses such as thermal, electrical, mechanical, chemical as well as environmental stresses. Degradation of power transformer insulation is an irreversible process and has been encountered by all power utilities around the world. However, replacing a power transformer simply by its age is impractical and uneconomical. With the increase in the population of ageing power transformers, there is an urgent need to evaluate the condition of transformer insulation so as to facilitate the planning for refurbishment or replacement of the equipment in a more appropriate manner. To address this issue, many techniques involving both chemical and electrical methods have been developed to monitor the insulation condition of oil-filled power transformers. However, some of these techniques are destructive by nature and some of them are unable to assess the insulation condition accurately. With the advancement in technology over the years, newer diagnostic methods in time and frequency domains have been developed in recent years to assess the insulation condition based on their dielectric responses. One of the newly developed methods is known as Frequency Domain Spectroscopy (FDS) measurement and it monitors the insulation condition by measuring the diagnostic parameters as a function of frequency ranging from 0.1mHz to 1kHz. The primary focus of this thesis is to adopt FDS technique to study the effects of several deterioration factors on the dielectric response of transformer insulation, so as to develop a better understanding between FDS technique and the condition of transformer insulation. To study the effects of moisture and temperature, FDS measurements were performed on a CIGRE model transformer at various moisture concentrations and temperature levels. From the experimental results, moisture and temperature have significant impacts on the dielectric response of transformer insulation. In addition to constant temperature, FDS measurements were also performed during transient temperature conditions to investigate the effects of transient temperature on the dielectric response of transformer insulation. An empirical relationship between the dielectric response produced from transient and steady temperature conditions was able to be established from the experimental results. A novel approach to study the effects of geometrical parameters was also part of this research work. An insulation model has been designed and fabricated for the purpose of this study. FDS measurements were conducted on the insulation model with different configurations of barriers, spacers and oil volume. The results showed that geometrical parameters did have an impact on the dielectric response of transformer insulation. The secondary diagnostic technique used in this research is Polarisation and Depolarisation Current (PDC) measurement and the purpose of using this method is to explore the feasibility of reducing the total PDC measurement duration as well as to determine the optimum measurement time for PDC.

Neutrophils playa key role in the systemic inflammatory response which may lead to serious tissue injury and multiple organ dysfunction. In this setting, activated neutrophils, largely in response to tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), secrete reactive oxidants, granule proteases and bioactive lipids, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines, emphasising the importance of these cells as targets for anti-inflammatory therapies. There are, however, only a few currently available agents that directly modulate neutrophil pro-inflammatory responses in clinical practice, with corticosteroids being relatively ineffective against these cells. Although, the anti-inflammatory potential of cAMP-elevating agents has been recognised, the exact molecular/biochemical mechanisms which underlie the anti-inflammatory actions of epinephrine and related β-agonists with neutrophils, have not been established. Epinephrine treatment of neutrophils resulted in increased intracellular cAMP and dose-related inhibition of both superoxide production and elastase release, which was potentiated by the type 4 phosphodiesterase inhibitor, rolipram, further supporting a cAMP-mediated effect. Although epinephrine did not affect the release of Ca2+ from neutrophil intracellular stores, the rate of clearance of cytosolic Ca2+ was accelerated by this agent. In the setting of decreased efflux and a reduction in store-operated influx of Ca2+, these effects of epinephrine are compatible with enhancement of the cAMP-dependent Ca2+ sequestering/resequestering endo-membrane Ca2+-ATPase. Epinephrine therefore down-regulates the pro-inflammatory activation of neutrophils by cAMP-mediated enhancement of the clearance of cytosolic Ca2+. Comparison of the effects of 4 selective (fenoterol, formoterol, salbutamol and salmeterol) and 3 non-selective (epinephrine, norepinephrine and isoproterenol) β-adrenoreceptor agonists, on the pro-inflammatory activities of human neutrophils, demonstrated that the agents tested clearly differ with respect to anti-inflammatory potential. Epinephrine, isoproterenol, fenoterol and formoterol significantly increased intracellular concentrations of cAMP in neutrophils, an activity which was paralleled by inhibition of the production of reactive oxidants and release of elastase from FMLP-activated cells. Salbutamol and salmeterol on the other hand, did not cause significant suppression of the pro-inflammatory activities of these cells. The effect of norepinephrine was intermediate between these two groups. The inhibitory effects of βagonists are mediated via β2-adrenergic receptors on the neutrophil membrane. The relationship between activation of NAOPH oxidase, alterations in membrane potential and triggering of Ca2+ fluxes in human phagocytes has been investigated using neutrophils from 4 subjects with chronic granulomatous disease (CGO). Activation of CGO neutrophils was accompanied by a prolonged increase in cytosolic Ca2+, occurring in the setting of trivial membrane depolarisation and accelerated influx of Ca2+. This was associated with hyperactivity of the cells with excessive elastase release, which was attenuated by the type 4 phosphodiesterase inhibitor, rolipram. These findings support the involvement of NAOPH oxidase in regulating membrane potential and Ca2+ influx in activated neutrophils, and may explain the disordered inflammatory responses, and granuloma formation, which are characteristic of CGO. Store-operated influx of Ca2+ into activated neutrophils is stringently regulated, presumably to prevent hyperactivation of the cells. The major contributors to this physiologic, anti-inflammatory process are NAOPH oxidase which, by its membrane depolarising actions excludes extracellular Ca2+, and the plasma membrane and endomembrane Ca2+-ATPases, which mediate clearance of store-derived cation. Subsequent influx of the cation, through store-operated Ca2+ channels is controlled by the relatively slow, restraining, membrane repolarising action of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, enabling efficient diversion of incoming cation into stores. / Thesis (DPhil (Immunology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Immunology / unrestricted

This thesis tries to fill in the research gap on whether the ideologies of armed groups can change. Tokdemir et al. (2021) discovered that an increase in the number of competitors leads to a polarisation of an armed group’s ideology, I theorise that a decrease in the number of competitors will lead to depolarisation of an armed group’s ideology, because then the armed group gains more access to the finite resource pool. I conducted a structured, focused within-case comparison over time using discourse analysis. Discourse analysis allows for a detailed and complex operationalisation of ideology. The case study focuses on the People’s War Group/Communist Party of India-Maoist, a communist group part of the Naxalite movement in India. For the independent variable, I use multiple secondary sources to establish the number of competitors in 1991 and 2008. For the dependent variable, I analyse multiple magazine publications from 1991 and 2008 written by the PWG/CPI-Maoist to establish their ideology. The findings of this research do not support the hypothesis. There is limited change over time in the ideology of the PWG/CPI-Maoist even though the number of competitors changed between 1991 and 2008. Suggestions for future research are given at the end.

A new and general procedure is described for a detailed analysis of time-resolved fluorescence depolarisation data in the presence of electronic energy migration. An isotropic ensemble of bifluorophoric molecules (D1-R-D2) has been studied to demonstrate its utility. Intramolecular donor-donor energy migration occurs between the two donor groups (D), which are covalently connected to a rigid linker group (R). These groups undergo restricted reorientational motions with respect to the R group. The analysis of depolarisation data basically involves the search for best-fit parameters which describe the local reorienting motions, the interfluorophore D1-D2 distance, as well as the mutual orientations of the donors. For this, the analysis is partly performed in the Fourier domain and the best-fit parameters are determined by using an approach based on a Genetic Algorithm. The energy migration process has been described by using Monte Carlo simulations and an extended Förster theory. It is found that this theory provides the least time-consuming computational method. Since one-photon and two-photon excited fluorescence experiments can be applied for energy migration studies, a general and unified theoretical formulation is given. To exemplify the developed quantitative approach the depolarisation of the fluorescence in the presence of electronic energy migration within a bis-(9-anthrylmethylphosphonate) bisteroid molecule has been studied by time-resolved two-photon excited fluorescence depolarisation experiments. To solely obtain information about local reorientations of the 9-anthrylmethyl group, also the mono-(9-anthrylmethylphosphonate) bisteroid was studied, which enabled modelling of the ordering potential of the donor. Values of the two-photon absorption tensor components were obtained. To describe the discrepancy between the measured values of the initial anisotropy and fundamental anisotropy predicted by theory the distribution of absorption tensor caused by fast processes have been introduced. An angular parameter of absorption tensor was determined. Reasonable values of the distance between the 9-anthrylmethyl groups, as well as for their mutual orientation were obtained.

La possibilité d'injecter électriquement des porteurs polarisés en spin dans un semiconducteur (SC) et de convertir une accumulation de spin en un signal électrique ouvre la voie à de nouvelles fonctionnalités. Il a été montré que l'injection efficace de porteurs depuis un métal de transition ferromagnétique (FM) vers un SC requiert la présence d'une résistance optimisée conservant le spin à l'interface FM/SC. Nous avons mené une étude systématique de l'accumulation de spin par rapport à la modification des propriétés d'interface en sondant différents semiconducteurs tels que GaAs et Ge ainsi que des injecteurs isolant tunnel (I)/FM MgO/CoFeB, Al2O3/Co et Al2O3/NiFe. Nos mesures de magnétorésistance (MR) en géométrie 3 terminaux, en configuration Hanle ou Hanle inverse, ont révélé l'existence d'un champ magnétique fluctuant créant une dépolarisation du spin. Ceci provoque un élargissement artificiel du signal Hanle qui amène dans ce cas à sous-estimer la mesure du temps de vie de spin, ainsi qu'une amplitude d'accumulation de spin plusieurs ordres de grandeur plus forte que prédit théoriquement. Ces effets peuvent s'interpréter par une injection séquentielle sur des états localisés proches de l'interface I/SC. Le confinement spatial de ces états permet de comprendre la forte amplitude du signal observé. Les études en fonction de la tension et de la température viennent étayer ce mécanisme. Des simulations magnétiques d'un champ fluctuant lié au champ de fuite induit par la rugosité d'interface ou au champ hyperfin sur les états localisés ont été menées et permettent de reproduire qualitativement nos résultats.

While dental caries represents the major chronic disease of humans, visual and tactile inspection are the methods of choice in daily dental practice. Several optical technologies have been developed in recent years for the purpose of dental examination, including near-infrared light transillumination as a promising tool for the supplementation and partial replacement of radiography. In case of occlusal alterations, the incidence of surface discolorations impedes the visual assessment, whereas tactile inspection appears to yield little diagnostic information or might be detrimental. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) facilitates depth-resolved imaging with μm resolution, utilizing near-infrared light, and has already shown its potential for various dental applications. We have recently demonstrated that depolarization imaging utilizing the degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU) extends those abilities by the detection of early carious lesions, as it provides an unambiguous demineralization contrast. Here, we show that this approach also enables the assessment of occlusal enamel lesions in the presence of stains, and compare PS-OCT cross sections with polarized light microscopy (PLM) images of thin sections. For tooth samples with discoloration or demineralization, respectively, PS-OCT and PLM results are in good agreement.