A Compra Compulsiva (CC) está atualmente classificada como um transtorno do controle dos impulsos não classificados em outro local (TCI). A prevalência das CC é estimada em cerca de 5% da população geral e é identificada com maior frequência no gênero feminino. O comportamento repetitivo e crônico do comportamento de gastar descontroladamente gera consequênias negativas ao indivíduo, além dos elevados índices de comorbidades com transtorno de humos, ansiedade e outros TCIs, o que contribui para manter a divergência existente sobre a classificação da CC. Tem sido proposto que CC deve ser classificada como um TCI, ou como uma sub-síndrome do transtorno afetivo bipolar (TAB), ou ainda como uma variante do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC) semelhante ao armazenamento compulsivo. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar qual classificação pode ser mais adequada para a CC. Para isso, adotamos duas abordagens: a primeira abordagem é a investigação das categorias diagnósticas para identificar as comorbidades psiquiátricas; a segunda abordagem refere-se as dimensões psicopatológicas em que comparamos impulsividade, sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos, instabilidade afetiva e armazenamento em pacientes com CC, TOC e TAB. Foram selecionados 80 pacientes (24 CC, 35 TOC e 21 TAB que não estivessem em mania nem hipomania) primeiramente foram avaliados de acordo com o SCID-CV e da seção especial para TCI e depois responderam os questionários de autopreenchimento. Realizamos duas análises: categorial e dimensional. Na análise categorial houve um equilibrio de associação entre os três grupos diagnósticos, e as comorbidades psiquiátricas apresentadas pelos três grupos diagnósticos foram congruentes com as descritas na literatura. Na análise dimensional os pacientes de CC apresentaram escores significativamente mais altos em todas as medidas de impulsividade e na aquisição, mas não nas outras sub-dimensões do armazenamento compulsivo, amontoamento e dificuldade em descartar. Pacientes bipolares pontuaram mais na dimensão mania da escala SCI-MOODS. Pacientes com TOC pontuaram mais nos sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos, e principalmente nas dimensões contaminação/lavagem e checagem da escala Pádua Inventory; no entanto, eles não apresentaram maior pontuação em nenhuma dimensão do armazenamento compulsivo. Um modelo discriminante foi construído com essas variáveis e classificou corretamente os pacientes de CC (79%), TOC (77%) e TAB (71%). Considerando os resultados da análise categorial cada um dos transtornos apresentou uma agregação categorial distinta, e na análise dimensional os pacientes com CC revelaram ter aquisição impulsiva, assemelhando-se aos TCI ao invés de TOC ou TAB. Sintomas maníacos foram bem distintos nos pacientes bipolares, assim como pacientes com TOC apresentaram mais obsessão e compulsão. Sintomas de armazenamento com exceção da aquisição não foram particularmente associados a qualquer grupo diagnóstico / Compulsive Buying (CB) is currently classified as an impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified (ICD). The prevalence of CB is estimated at around 5% of the general population and is identified with greater frequency in females. The chronic repetitive behavior and the behavior of spending wildly generates negative consequences to the individual, in addition to high rates of comorbidity with mood disorder, anxiety and other ICDs, which helps to maintain the existing disagreement on the classification of CB. It has been proposed that CB should be classified as an ICD, or as a sub-syndrome of bipolar disorder (BD), or as a variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), similar to compulsive hoarding. The aim of this study is to investigate which classification is best suited for CB. For this, we adopt two approaches: the first approach is the investigation of the diagnostic categories to identify psychiatric comorbidities, the second approach refers to the psychopathological dimensions in which we compared impulsivity, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, affective instability and hoarding in patients with CB, OCD and BD. We selected 80 patients (24 CB, 35 OCD and 21 BD who were not in mania or hypomania) were first evaluated according to the SCID-CV and the special section to TCI, then answered the self-report questionnaires. We performed two analyses: categorical and dimensional. In categorical analysis, there was a balance of association between the three diagnostic groups, and psychiatric comorbidities by the three diagnostic groups were consistent with those described in the literature. In dimensional analysis of CB patients, there were significantly higher scores in all measures of impulsivity and the acquisition, but not in other sub-dimensions of the compulsive hoarding, clutter and difficulty discarding. Bipolar patients scored higher on the mania dimension from the SCI-MOODS scale. OCD patients scored higher on obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and, particularly, higher on the contamination/washing and checking dimensions from the Padua Inventory scale; however, they did not score higher on any hoarding dimension. A discriminant model built with these variables correctly classified patients of CB (79%), OCD (77%) and BD (71%). Considering the results of categorical analysis, each of the disorders presented a distinct clustering categorical, and dimensional analysis in patients with CB reported having impulsive acquisition, resembling the TCI instead of OCD or BD. Manic symptoms were distinctive of BD patients, and patients with OCD were distinctive obsession and compulsion. Hoarding symptoms other than acquisition were not particularly associated with any diagnostic group

"The goal of this thesis work has been to investigate improved diagnostic methods for both detecting osteoporosis and estimating fracture risk non-invasively, by assessing bone mass density (BMD) and bone microstructure. It evaluates new approaches for analyzing through-transmission ultrasound signals using coral samples as models for trabecular bone. The results of BUA, impulse response of coral samples and the angular decorrelation function of coral samples indicate that these ultrasound parameters may be useful in detecting changes in both bone mineral density (BMD) and the presence of dominant trabecular bone structure axis. "

A presente pesquisa trata da atualização de impulsos utópicos através da trajetória poética do artista belga-mexicano Francis Alÿs e de seu entrelaçamento com a noção de direito à cidade desenvolvida por Henri Lefebvre. Mais especificamente, questiona o potencial de reflexão e de transformação que essa produção artística apresenta em relação à nossa forma de pensar e de ocupar o espaço público, tanto de um ponto de vista temporal quanto espacial. O estudo tem como objeto empírico ações poéticas de Alÿs realizadas em grandes cidades ocidentais, majoritariamente latino-americanas, entre o final do século XX e início do XXI. Tais ações são aqui debatidas frente à produção teórica de autores cujas publicações datam desse mesmo período: Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari, Jacques Rancière, Michel de Certeau e Néstor García Canclini. Os conceitos que fundamentam toda a pesquisa, no entanto, tais como espaço público, direito à cidade e impulso utópico, remontam a dois pensadores do início do século XX: Henri Lefebvre e Ernst Bloch. O diálogo entre teoria e prática configura a espinha dorsal desta dissertação, que busca em obras artísticas a atualização dos conceitos trazidos pelos autores citados e a reverberação dessas práticas na teoria. / This research approaches the updating of utopian impulses through the poetic trajectory of the Belgian-Mexican artist Francis Alÿs and his intertwining with the notion of the right to the city developed by Henri Lefebvre. More specifically, it questions the potential for reflection and transformation that this artistic production presents in relation to our way of thinking and occupying public spaces, both from a time and spatial point of view. The empirical object is Francis Alÿs oeuvre carried out in large western cities, mostly Latin American, between the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. These actions are discussed facing the theoretical contributions from authors who are contemporary to Francis Alÿs: Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Jacques Rancière, Michel de Certeau and Néstor García Canclini. The concepts that underlie all the research, however, such as public space, right to the city and utopian impulse, go back to two thinkers from the early twentieth century: Henri Lefebvre and Ernst Bloch. The dialogue between theory and practice, seeking in artistic works the updating of the concepts brought by the cited authors and aiming to identify the reverberation of these practices in theory, forms the backbone of this master’s dissertation.

Base teórica: A doença de Parkinson (DP) é a segunda enfermidade neurodegenerativa mais frequente, crescendo proporcionalmente com o aumento da idade. É uma doença de comprometimento motor e não motor. Levodopa e agonistas dopaminérgicos (AD) são usados no tratamento da DP, permitindo um controle ótimo dos sintomas nos primeiros anos. Entretanto, em 5 anos, metade dos pacientes terão complicações motoras e nãomotoras induzidas pelo uso de antiparkinsonianos. Manifestações neuropsiquiátricas são frequentes, entre elas depressão, ansiedade, prejuízos cognitivos, sintomas psicóticos e transtorno de descontrole dos impulsos(DI). O DI é uma condição caracterizada pela falência em resistir a impulsos ou tentação de executar atos. O DI está associado ao uso de antiparkinsonianos, em especial, os agonistas dopaminérgicos A identificação desta condição é primordial para seu tratamento e estudo adequados. Na literatura atual, o questionário padrão-ouro foi validado na língua inglesa (QUIP), não existindo uma validação para língua portuguesa. Objetivo: Traduzir e validar o questionário QUIP-CS, em sua versão curta e aplicável no momento presente da DP, para lingua Portuguesa do Brasil Métodos: A versão curta da QUIP (QUIP-CS) foi traduzida para o Português por tradutor juramentado. Após, esta foi avaliada por 5 especialistas em DP no Brasil, sendo sugeridas pequenas correções. A versão corrigida em português foi retrotraduzida para o inglês por 2 tradutores juramentados nativos na língua original da escala (inglês), que compararam suas versões posteriormente, chegando-se a uma nova versão final neste idioma. Esta foi enviada ao autor da escala original, que concordou com esta versão, ou seja, foram mantidas as propriedades semânticas do instrumento. Após, a versão final em Português foi auto-aplicada em 65 indivíduos com diagnóstico de DP em tratamento no ambulatório especializado no HCPA, sendo que, de forma aleatória, para 30 foi aplicado um questionário de avaliação sobre o grau de dificuldade de compreensão de suas perguntas. Resultados: Em uma escala de 1 a 5 pontos, onde 1 era nenhuma compreensão das perguntas e 5, clara compreensão, a média de entendimento pelos pacientes foi de 4,06 +/- 0,69 DP. Conclusão: A avaliação desta versão foi considerada de fácil compreensão pelos próprios pacientes. O artigo para validação da tradução do conteúdo da versão em Português da QUIP-CS está em fase de revisão para publicação. / Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most often neurodegenerative disease and proportionally growing with people aging. PD is a disease with motor and nonmotor clinical features. Levodopa and dopaminergic agonists (DA) are used for PD treatment, allowing an exquisite control of the motor symptoms during the first years. However, in five years, half patients will present motor or non-motor complications induced by cronic use of these medications. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are often, for example, depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, psychotic symptoms and impulse control disorders (ICD). The ICD is characterized by failure on resisting an impulse or on performing an specific act. Identification of the PD affected patients is crucial for proper management and study of this condition. There is an already validated self-reported questionnaire for this purpose, the Parkinson's Disease Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders Questionnaire (QUIP), without equivalent in portuguese language. Objective: To translate and to validate the Portuguese short version of the gold-standard questionnaire for identifying ICDs PD affected patients, applicable at the current moment of PD Methods: QUIP-CS was first translated to Portuguese by a professional translator. This translated version was shown to 5 PD neurologist specialists. in Brazil, being suggested minor modifications on it. This new Portuguese revised version was back translated to English by two independent native English speakers. They were both asked to compare the version one another and checked for differences. Then, they contacted each other and got a final back translated version. This one was sent for the original author, that approved its new version comparing to his original and validated one, with no loss of it’s original properties. The Portuguese corrected version was applied to 65 patients in a random way at PD’s ambulatory at HCPA. From these, 30 were asked to answer a number that would represent their level of QUIP-CS questions’ comprehension. Results: In a 1 to 5 point scale, being 1 no comprehension and 5, total comprehension, the average was 4,06 +/- 0,69 DP. Conclusion: Our results on Portuguese version of QUIP-CS show that QUIP-CS translated and corrected version was easily understood and easily self-applied. The article is under revision to be submitted for publication.

Abstract not available. / by Wong Lai-hung, Grace. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-04, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-252). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.

Background: The observation or measurement of eye movement can aid in the detection and localization of vestibular pathology due to the relationship between the function of the vestibular sensory receptors in the inner ear and the eye movements produced by the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The majority of bedside and laboratory tests of vestibular function involve the observation or measurement of horizontal eye movements (i.e., horizontal VOR) produced by stimuli that activate the horizontal semicircular canals (SCCs) and the superior vestibular nerve. The video head impulse test (vHIT) is a new clinical test of dynamic SCC function that uses a high-speed digital video camera to record head and eye movement during and immediately after passive head rotations. The SYNAPSYS Inc. vHIT device measures the “canal deficit” (deviation in gaze) during passive head impulses in the horizontal and diagonal (vertical) planes. There is, however, a paucity of data that has been reported using this device. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain normative data and assess the test-retest reliability of the SYNAPSYS vHIT (version 2.0). Research Design: A prospective repeated measures design was utilized. Study Sample: Thirty young adults with normal hearing, normal caloric test results, and a negative history of vestibular disorder, neurological disease, open or closed head injury, or cervical spine injury participated in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: A single examiner manually rotated each participant’s head in the horizontal and diagonal planes in two directions (left and right in the horizontal plane; downward and upward in each diagonal plane) resulting in the stimulation of each of the six SCCs. Each participant returned for repeat testing to assess test-retest reliability. The effects of ear, session, and semicircular canal (horizontal, anterior, posterior) on the magnitude of canal deficit during the vHIT were assessed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: The mean canal deficit of the horizontal canals (8.3%) was significantly lower than the mean canal deficit of the anterior canals (16.5%) and the posterior canals (15.2%); there was no significant difference between the mean canal deficits of the anterior and posterior canals. The main effects of session and ear on canal deficit were not significant, and there were no significant interaction effects. There was no significant difference between the mean canal deficit for session 1 and session 2 for the horizontal, anterior, and posterior canals. The 95th percentiles for canal deficit were 19, 26, and 22% for the horizontal, anterior, and posterior SCCs, respectively. Conclusions: Testing of all six SCCs was completed in most participants in ∼10 min and was well-tolerated. The vHIT has some important advantages relative to more established laboratory tests of horizontal SCC function including the ability to assess the vertical SCCs, lower cost, shorter test time, greater portability, minimal space requirements, and increased patient comfort. Additional data, however, should be obtained from older participants with normal vestibular function and from patients with vestibular disorders. Within-subject comparisons between the results of the vHIT and the caloric and rotary chair tests will be important in determining the role of the vHIT in the vestibular test battery.

Thesis (M. Com. (Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The study intends to investigate the determinants of employment in the platinum mining industry in South Africa. Employment levels decreased dramatically in the platinum mining industry in South Africa. This is due to decrease in export demand for platinum, high operating cost, labour unrest, low levels of production and other determinants of employment. The specific objective of the study is to determine the nexus between employment, output, domestic demand and export demand. Annual time series data covering the period between 1992-2013 was used. The study employed the Vector Error Correction Model approach. Johansen Cointegration test results confirmed the existence of a long run relationship amongst variables under investigation. Export demand and output are found to be positively related with employment. The speed of adjustment to equilibrium is -0.283202. Impulse response functions and variance decomposition are also generated to explain the response to shock amongst variables. The results of the study vindicate that the platinum mining industry should implement policies and strategies to increase output which will lead to higher levels of employment as well as economic growth. In addition, government should also create a conducive environment to enable the industry to expand and the industry should also intensify its export drive, these findings are envisaged to contribute significantly to the existing but limited literature on the subject under investigation. / National Research Foundation

Seminal papers of Solow (1957) and Swan (1956) stimulated debate among economists on the role of technical change in productivity improvements and for that matter economic growth. The consensus is that technological change accounts for a significant proportion of gross national product (GNP) growth in industrialised economies. In the case of Australia, the aggregate productivity performance was poor in the 1970s and 1980s, but picked up very strongly by the 1990s, and was above the OECD average growth level for the first time in its productivity growth history. However, this high productivity growth rate could not be sustained and Australia started to experience a slowdown in productivity growth since 2000. This study empirically measures the performance of productivity in Australia’s economy for the period 1950-2005, using an econometric approach. Time-series data are used to develop econometric models that capture the dynamic interactions between GDP, fixed capital, labour units, human capital, foreign direct investment (FDI) and information and communication technology (ICT). The Johansen (1988) cointegration techniques are used to establish a long-run steady-state relation between or among economic time series. The econometric analysis pays careful attention to the time-series properties of the data by conducting unit root and conintegration tests for the variables in the system. / This study finds that Australia experienced productivity growth in the 1950s, a slow down in the mid 1960s, a very strong productivity growth in the mid 1990s and another slowdown from 2000 onwards. The study finds evidence that human capital, FDI and ICT are very strong determinants of long-run GDP and productivity growth in Australia. The study finds that the three, four and the five factor models are likely to give better measures of productivity performance in Australia as these models recognise human capital, FDI and ICT and include them as separate factors in the production function, This study finds evidence that the previous studies on the Australia’s productivity puzzle have made a very significant omission by not considering human capital, FDI and ICT as additional exogenous variables and by excluding them from the production function for productivity analysis.

<p>The society expects a global interconected digital communication system offering multimedia services, information on demand and interchange of information with a high data rates and low cost. </p><p>All this can not be realized with the terrestrial nets used nowadays cause it is necessary a high economic inversion to get a competitive capacity to interchange information between server and user. The next generation of satellite must have characteristics which improve the current generation, one important requirement is that the same satellite could make a treatment of the different input signals. With this we can avoid a spent of lots of money and time because we do not need terrestrial stations which modify the signals before the information is sent to the satellite.</p><p>For all this, we need an on board treatment of the information in the satellite. We design a frequency bank reallocation (FBR) network by using a filter bank system. This is the first step of the thesis. After we get FBR we introduce some different input signals and analyze the output, using parameters like symbol error rate and variance.</p><p>One important part in the thesis is the QAM signals used to test our system. For this, we design a modulator and a demodulator of QAM4, 16 and 64, paying more attention in the QAM64, cause is the modulation where more errors can appear due to we have got more possible chances which means more precision in the recovery of the signal.</p>

<p>Today there are many students with behavioral and developmental disorders in schools. One of these disorders is ADHD. The medical designation ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I have chosen to research how two students with ADHD can be included in a fifth grade classroom.</p><p>This research paper addresses the issues surrounding the student’s day-to-day life with a focus on the classroom. It also discusses pedagogical methods, resources, and support, as well as social relationships, and routines in relation to the students in question. In order to develop a more complete understanding of the two students and their situation, I have chosen to do a qualitative study where I’ve observed the students in their classroom for four days, and interviewed the adults that interact with the students the most on a day to day basis. The interviewees include the students’ classroom teacher, their assistant teacher, as well as the students’ mothers.</p><p>I begin the paper by describing ADHD, as well as the potential causes and treatments. I also present the two predominant opinions regarding the source of ADHD that exist in Sweden today. The first is a biological perspective, which states that ADHD is passed on genetically, and the second is a sociological perspective, which states that ADHD is acquired through exposure to a range of social and environmental factors. However, I have based my research on the biological perspective because it is currently the most widely accepted, and because the biological model of explanation is the model most of the current literature is based on.</p><p>As a result of my research, I have concluded that students with ADHD can have a wide range of different symptoms despite having the same diagnosis. Hellström states that teachers should be aware that all students with ADHD are unique individuals, and it is therefore difficult to prescribe a general set of guidelines to follow when working with such students. One must take each individual’s needs into consideration and decide which methods and solutions work best for each particular individual (Hellström 2007, s. 1). Hellström’s statement is consistent with the conclusions I came to after conducting my research. The classroom teacher saw the students as very different individuals and adapted their education according to their very different needs despite the fact that they have the same diagnosis.</p>