Parental and offspring life spans are modestly associated and a transmission of disease risk from parents to offspring has been proposed as a possible explanation. Using birth cohort data consisting of 86 168 offspring and their parents, the aim of this explorative study was to quantify and describe the association between parental age-at-death and risk of disease in offspring over a 33-year follow-up period. Hospitalizations due to diseases of the circulatory, musculoskeletal, and digestive systems, as well as mental and behavioural disorders and neoplasms were studied using standard survival analysis methods. Increased parental age-at-death was clearly associated with lower hazard rates for all disease outcomes except for neoplasms. Offspring to short-lived parents had a 59% higher hazard rate (HR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.52 – 1.67, p<0.00) for hospitalization due to circulatory diseases compared to offspring of long-lived parents. For all disease outcomes except for neoplasms, there was a strong gradient in the offspring’s hazard rates based on parental age-at-death. Hazard rates were only minimally reduced when adjusting for parental SEI and parental household income. The results support a disease-mediated pathway linking parental age-at-death to disease risk in offspring across a wide range of disease outcomes.

Das autobiografische Gedächtnis findet als Thema der psychologischen Grundlagenforschung immer größere Aufmerksamkeit. Vorliegende Arbeiten haben zur differenzierten Charakterisierung des autobiografischen Wissensbestands in seiner Gesamtheit und der autobiografischen Erinnerungen als dessen Elemente beigetragen. Neben Fragen der Repräsentation liegt es nahe, Besonderheiten des autobiografischen Gedächtnisses über die Lebensspanne hinweg zu betrachten. Schwerpunkt der Analysen ist die Verteilung individueller Erinnerungen an Ereignisse über den gesamten Lebenslauf. Das zentrale Merkmal der Verteilung ist der relative Anstieg der Zahl von Erinnerungen im Zeitraum zwischen dem 10.und dem 30. Lebensjahr, vergleicht man diese mit der Zahl von Erinnerungen in den Lebensabschnitten direkt vor diesem und direkt im Anschluss an diesen Zeitabschnitt. Die Analyse dieser robusten und reliablen Besonderheit der Verteilung autobiografischer Erinnerungen - des bump - ist Gegenstand der vorliegenden empirischen Arbeit. Im Gegensatz zu bisherigen Studien galt unser Interesse aber nicht nur frei wählbaren Erinnerungen. Es stand vielmehr die Klasse der lebendigen autobiografischen Erinnerungen im Mittelpunkt, die innerhalb des autobiografischen Wissensbestands unterschiedlichen, aber in der individuellen Entwicklung über die Lebensspanne relevanten, von uns vorgegebenen Themen zuzuordnen sind (Arbeitsleben Beziehung zu Geschwistern, Beziehung zu Freunden und Bekannten, zusätzlich: Allgemeine lebendige Erinnerungen ohne thematische Bindung). Die berichteten Erinnerungen verteilten sich insgesamt in typischer Weise über die Lebensspanne. Unabhängig von themenspezifischen Aspekten zeigte sich auch in der vorliegenden Studie der bump in der Gesamtverteilung autobiografischer Erinnerungen über die Lebensspanne. Bei den themenspezifischen Verteilungen waren jedoch Abweichungen von der erwarteten Verteilungsform festzustellen. Der bump ließ sich bei den Themen Arbeitsleben und Freunde, Bekannte nur in abgeschwächter Form identifizieren, beim Thema Zwillinge war er dagegen auf einen früheren Zeitpunkt als erwartet datiert und sehr ausgeprägt. Die Verteilung im Themenblock Allgemein deckte sich weitgehend mit dem erwarteten Verteilungsmuster. Durch Einbindung in ein größeres Forschungsprojekt konnten die Verteilungen in den Themen Zwillinge und Arbeitsleben im Kontext relevanter biografischer Informationen weiter analysiert und z.T. auf lebensalters- und kontextgebundene Entwicklungen zurückgeführt werden. Die Ergebnisse der Studie werden im Hinblick auf ihre theoretischen Implikationen und ihre Bedeutung für nachfolgende Arbeiten aus einer entwicklungspsychologischen Perspektive diskutiert.

Många seniorer väljer att arbeta efter pensioneringen. Denna rapport handlar om fyra berättelser av personer som har fortsatt att arbeta efter att ha passerat pensionsålder. Ur ett karriärutvecklingsperspektiv undersöker jag vilka faktorer i seniorernas berättelser som har lett till att fortsätta att arbeta efter 65, vad som motiverar till att vidareutvecklas och hur tillvaron ser ut runt dessa personer ut ett helhetsperspektiv. Syftet med denna undersökning är att få en skildring om seniorernas upplevelser av att vara yrkesverksamma efter pensioneringen. Dessa berättelser är av intresse för vägledningsprofessionen då det saknas studier och forskning i en svensk kontext om seniorer som arbetar efter 65 år.     Uppsatsen utgår från en kvalitativ narrativ metod. Fyra halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fyra yrkesverksamma pensionärer. Med intervjun som underlag, författades fyra berättelser. Empirin analyserades med utvalda begrepp från två teorier: System Theory Framework (STF) och Life-span Life-space. Resultatet visar att informanterna erbjöds möjlighet att fortsätta att arbeta för de har kompetenser som efterfrågas. Samtliga informanter upplevde att de hade mer att ge, och valde att fortsätta med sina respektive karriärer. Resultatet visar också att dessa personer har levt gynnsamma, aktiva, sociala liv och har utbildning. Informanternas karriärer förstås som summan av olika val som har gjorts över tid. Dessa val gör att de lever de liv de har idag. De vill fortsätta arbeta det så länge de är friska och orkar. Att vidareutvecklas och lära sig nya saker är också en stark motivationsfaktor.

Målet med detta examensarbete är att ersätta den tidigare lösningen av sensorfingret med andra komponenter, eller hitta en annan sensor med motsvarande funktion. Arbetet har begränsats av att ESAB vill ha ett mekaniskt finger för användarvänlighetens skull. Efter en förundersökning av olika typer av sensorer har vi valt att använda oss av trådtöjningsgivare som sensorer till det mekaniska sensorfingret. I och med detta val behövde vi även komma med ett teoretiskt förslag på en mekanisk upphängning av sensorfingret. Vi har byggt upp två separata Wheatstonebryggor med varsin instrumentförstärkare (INA125). Utsignalen från bryggorna är relativt liten och behövde förstärkas cirka 2000 gånger. Nollbalansering av bryggorna har skett manuellt med potentiometrar men vi har även gett ett förslag på en lösning där nollbalansering kan ske med ett enkelt knapptryck. Knappen är placerad på upphängningen på ett sådant sätt att man inte kan trycka oavsiktligt på knappen. Resultatet av arbetet är en uppkoppling på en experimentplatta samt förslag på hur upphängningen och sensorfingret designmässigt kan se ut. För vidare arbetsgång behövs en prototyp för att testa livslängden och ta reda på vilken känslighet som är mest optimal. / The goal with this degree project was to find a solution with different components to the existing design, or find a sensor with similar function that could replace the previous design of the sensor finger. Our work has been limited by ESAB due to the user friendly mechanical design of the previous sensor finger. After examining different sensors we choose to use strain gages as sensors for the mechanical sensor finger. With this choice we also needed to suggest a theoretical design for a mechanical attachment of the sensor finger. We have designed two separate Wheatstone bridges with separate instrumental amplifiers (INA125). The output signals from the bridges are relatively small and need to be amplified around 2000 times. The zero balancing of the bridges has been done manually with potentiometers but we have also suggested a solution where the zero balancing can be performed by a push-button. The button is placed where you cannot push it unintentionally. The result of this degree project is a circuit on a veroboard, a designing proposal for the attachment and the sensor finger. In order to further develop this design it would be necessary to build a prototype to evaluate its life span and find the optimal sensitivity.

The purpose of this study is to provide a groundwork for the understanding of the psychosocial development of black South African men. This need stems from the limitation of current models of psychosocial development, which have a white, middleclass bias, and from the dearth of research relating to black psychosocial development in South Africa. Questions which have guided the present study include the following: What is the nature of the psychosocial development of black men? What are the main developmental tasks that they have to negotiate, especially in relation to family and career? How do sociocultural, political and economic factors influence development? How does the development of black South African men compare with other conceptualisations of adult development? Daniel Levinson's (1978) theory of the life structure was used as a framework to explore these questions. This involved a series of in depth qualitative interviews with eight men between the ages of 29 and 41, from diverse educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The grounded theory approach used to analyse the data involved the simultaneous process of data collection and data analysis. Similarities and differences in the men's evolving life structures were identified through a process of coding, or organising the data into categories and themes. The findings highlighted the importance of understanding the dialectical nature of development, the role of life events, and the significance of role strain across the life span of black South African adults. Discrimination, economic constraints, traditional values, and the sociopolitical context were found to have an impact on the important developmental tasks. The coping strategies employed to deal with external barriers had an especially influential impact on the men's evolving life structures. A model of psychosocial development was proposed which addresses these factors, and which is thus more relevant to the lives of black South African men, than stage models such as Levinson's. Important implications on a societal and theoretical level, and for the professional practice of psychology emerged. It is hoped that these findings will enrich developmental theory in psychology training programmes, and guide career and personal counselling in the South African context. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

在這篇論文中，我們將考慮2個具有初值及邊界值的非線性波方程。首先，考慮一個具有某種阻尼項 (強阻尼、 線性阻尼及非線性阻尼) 的積分--微分方程。我們利用 Fadeo-Galerkin及 Contraction Mapping Principle的方法來建立局部存在性和唯一性，並且使用 Nako 的不等式 ([40]) 來討論解的長時間存在 (global existence) 及漸進行為( asymptotic behavior) 。至於在解的有限時間爆增 (finite time blow-up) 方面，我們使用直接方法 ([33]) 來探討具有強阻尼及線性阻尼的問題。另一方面，我們利用能量法 (energy method) 來討論非線性阻尼問題的有限時間爆增現象。其次，我們考慮一個具有特殊邊界值的 Kirchhoff方程， 我們利用擾動的能量法 (perturbed energy method) ([56]) 來研究解的漸進行為，並且使用直接方法 ([33]) 來探討解的有限時間暴增問題。最後，我們提出一些與本文相關的有趣問題以作為未來的研究。 / In this thesis, we shall consider two initial-boundary value problems for nonlinear wave equations. First, we consider a nonlinear integro- differential equation with some kind of damping terms - the strong damping term or the linear damping term or the nonlinear damping term. We establish the existence and uniqueness of local solutions by using Faedo-Galerkin method and Contraction Mapping Principle. We shall discuss the asymptotic behavior of global solutions by using Nako’s inequality ([40]). Moreover, the blow-up properties of local solutions with non-positive initial energy and small positive initial energy for strong or linear damping case are obtained by using direct method ([33]). On the other hand, for the nonlinear damping case, we apply the energy method to deduce the blow-up of local solutions with negative initial energy, vanishing initial energy and small positive initial energy. The estimates of lifespan of solutions are also given in each case. Secondly, we shall consider an initial-boundary value problem for a wave equation of Kirchhoff type with a linear boundary damping term. The asymptotic behavior of global solutions is investigated by using perturbed energy method ([56]). Moreover, the blow-up phenomena with the initial energy being non-positive and positive and the estimates for the blow-up time are obtained by direct approach ([33]). Finally, a list of some interesting problems related to our model is posed for further research.

La germination est un processus clé qui conditionne la régénération des plantes dans leur milieu ainsi que leur distribution. Connaître les conditions thermique et hydrique qui permettent aux plantes de germer est un préalable nécessaire à l’identification des menaces qui pèsent sur elles et tout particulièrement dans un contexte de changement climatique. Les modèles en temps thermique et temps hydrique permettent de prédire la phénologie de germination sur le terrain en fonction des conditions climatiques dans l’environnement de la graine dépassant des valeurs seuil de température et de potentiel hydrique de base, Tb et Ψb (i.e. respectivement la température minimale et le potentiel hydrique minimum permettant la germination).Dans ce travail de thèse, il est donc question d’étudier l’écophysiologie de la germination à l’aide de ces modèles à deux échelles taxonomiques : (i) celle des plantes à graines et (ii) à l’échelle du genre Silene de la région PACA. Dans les deux cas le but est d’évaluer les contraintes évolutives des traits de réponse au climat de la germination ainsi que leurs liens avec les contraintes morphologiques et phénologiques des plantesLes résultats de cette thèse montrent un fort signal phylogénétique des traits de germination de la température de base et une plus grande labilité pour le potentiel hydrique de base quelle que soit l’échelle taxonomique considérée. En revanche, les liens avec les traits des plantes, tels que la masse des graines, sont plus variables et dépendent à la fois de l’origine biogéographique et de la longévité des espèces. / Germination is a key process in plant reproduction, a critical and irreversible phase conditioning the regeneration and distribution of plants. Understanding how temperature and water act on germination, is major step prior to identify risks plants may undergo under warming climate. Thermal time and hydrotime modelling of germination are useful tools to predict germination in the field as a function of climatic conditions above threshold value of temperature and water potential (respectively base temperature, Tb, and base water potential, Ψb) in a seed’s environment. This PhD thesis aimed at studying germination ecophysiology at two contrasted taxonomic scales: (i) for all seed plants and (ii) at the restricted level of the genus Silene in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region. In both cases the objective was to evaluate evolutionary implications of the germination traits, Tb and Ψb and their link with plant morphological and phenological constraints. This work is structured in three parts : (I) Temperature but not moisture response of germination shows phylogenetic contraints while both interact with seed mass and life span ; (II) Germination ecophysiology in the Silene genus : thermal time and hydrotime models ; (III) Comparative ecology of Silene germination : relation with plant traits and climate.The mains results of this work show strong evidences of phylogenetic signal in base temperature and greater lability for base water potential at both taxonomic scales. The links with plant traits such as seed mass depend on biogeographical origins and life span.

在這篇論文中，我們討論具有初始值條件的二階微分方程 □□□□□ 和系統微分方程 □□□□□等問題。 我們利用能量方法（即能量是常數的特性）來探討上述方程解之特性。例如：生成時間、爆破和爆破速率以及局部解的漸進行為。 / In this paper we shall consider the initial value problem for second order differential equation of the form □□□□□ and the system □□□□□ . We shall discuss the blow-up properties, such as the life-span, the blow-up rate and blow-up constants, and the asymptotic behavior of the global solution by using the energy method.

<p>Målet med detta examensarbete är att ersätta den tidigare lösningen av sensorfingret med andra komponenter, eller hitta en annan sensor med motsvarande funktion.</p><p>Arbetet har begränsats av att ESAB vill ha ett mekaniskt finger för användarvänlighetens skull. Efter en förundersökning av olika typer av sensorer har vi valt att använda oss av trådtöjningsgivare som sensorer till det mekaniska sensorfingret. I och med detta val behövde vi även komma med ett teoretiskt förslag på en mekanisk upphängning av sensorfingret.</p><p>Vi har byggt upp två separata Wheatstonebryggor med varsin instrumentförstärkare (INA125). Utsignalen från bryggorna är relativt liten och behövde förstärkas cirka 2000 gånger.</p><p>Nollbalansering av bryggorna har skett manuellt med potentiometrar men vi har även gett ett förslag på en lösning där nollbalansering kan ske med ett enkelt knapptryck. Knappen är placerad på upphängningen på ett sådant sätt att man inte kan trycka oavsiktligt på knappen.</p><p>Resultatet av arbetet är en uppkoppling på en experimentplatta samt förslag på hur upphängningen och sensorfingret designmässigt kan se ut.</p><p>För vidare arbetsgång behövs en prototyp för att testa livslängden och ta reda på vilken känslighet som är mest optimal.</p> / <p>The goal with this degree project was to find a solution with different components to the existing design, or find a sensor with similar function that could replace the previous design of the sensor finger.</p><p>Our work has been limited by ESAB due to the user friendly mechanical design of the previous sensor finger. After examining different sensors we choose to use strain gages as sensors for the mechanical sensor finger. With this choice we also needed to suggest a theoretical design for a mechanical attachment of the sensor finger.</p><p>We have designed two separate Wheatstone bridges with separate instrumental amplifiers (INA125). The output signals from the bridges are relatively small and need to be amplified around 2000 times.</p><p>The zero balancing of the bridges has been done manually with potentiometers but we have also suggested a solution where the zero balancing can be performed by a push-button. The button is placed where you cannot push it unintentionally.</p><p>The result of this degree project is a circuit on a veroboard, a designing proposal for the attachment and the sensor finger.</p><p>In order to further develop this design it would be necessary to build a prototype to evaluate its life span and find the optimal sensitivity.</p>

La Teoria della Mente (ToM) capacità di rappresentarsi gli stati mentali propri e altrui e di farvi riferimento per prevedere e spiegare il comportamento proprio e altrui riveste un ruolo fondamentale nelle interazioni sociali per un efficace adattamento all'ambiente. Dopo essere stata a lungo indagata in età evolutiva, recentemente la ricerca sulla ToM ha effettuato uno shifting verso fasi successive del ciclo di vita (età adulta ed età anziana) aprendo un nuovo filone di studio in prospettiva life-span. Oggetto della presente tesi di dottorato è lo studio della ToM in prospettiva life-span con tre obiettivi: (1) studiare l'evoluzione della ToM in età adulta e le sue possibile relazioni con la capacità di decision-making, anch'essa dall'alto valore adattivo; (2) studiare la possibile involuzione della ToM in età anziana in condizioni di normalità e di patologia (mild-Alzheimer's disease); (3) indagare i correlati neurali della ToM con metodiche di neuroimaging (fMRI) in soggetti adulti, anziani sani e anziani clinici (Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI). Le tre ricerche empiriche condotte nella presente tesi di dottorato hanno consentito di rilevare rispettivamente che: (1) la ToM è altamente implicata nei processi di decision-making in età adulta; (2) la ToM subisce una involuzione nei soggetti anziani clinici sin dai livelli più semplici di tale abilità; (3) i circuiti neurali della ToM inizierebbero a mostrare una parziale deattivazione in soggetti anziani clinici rispetto a soggetti di controllo anziani e adulti. / Theory of Mind (ToM) the ability to meta-represent self and others' mental states and to refer to them to foresee and explain the behaviour plays a crucial role in social interactions to provide a successful adaptation to the environment. After being extensively studied in developmental psychology, the research on ToM has recently undergone a shifting towards other life-ages (adulthood and elderly) thus opening a new field if research in a life-span perspective. The object of this PhD thesis is to study of ToM in a life-span perspective with three goals: (1) to study ToM evolution in adult age and to discover its possible relations with the ability of decision-making, which has a major adaptive role as well; (2) to study the possible decay of ToM in old age in normal and clinical conditions (mild-Alzheimer's disease); (3) to study the neural circuits of ToM with neuroimaging methods (fMRI) in adults, healthy old subjects and clinical old subjects (Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI). The three empiric researches carried on for this PhD thesis provided the following major findings: (1) ToM is highly involved in decision-making processes in adult age; (2) ToM undergoes a decay in clinical old subjects with onset from very simple levels of this ability; (3) ToM neural circuits seem to show a partial deactivation in clinical old subjects and not in healthy old and adult controls.