In this paper, we use the Bai and Perron (1988, 2003) methodology to test for multiple structural breaks in the real exchange rate for 8 countries within Asia Pacific. We find extensive evidence of structural breaks in the real exchange rates. The Bai and Perron (1998, 2003) consider the estimation of multiple structural shifts in a linear model estimated by least-squares. They propose some tests for structural changes for the case with no trending regressors and a selection procedure based on a sequence of tests to estimate consistently the number of changes and break date. Also this paper apply Elliott and Müller (2003) method in order to test for stability of the estimated regression parameters with structural breaks. When comparing two test results, we find that the test conclusions is with little difference . Within those 8 countries including Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan , The processing result with Bai and Perron test with structural breaks, we find that real exchange rates of 4 countries have three structural breaks, 2 countries have two structural breaks, and other two countries has one structural break. Also we apply Elliott and Müller test , the result we got is that has a structural break of real exchange rate exist within 7 countries. Only one country has no structural break. According to the results which we applied those tests, There do exist some structural break under the impacts of some financial crisis and important events which , such as The Second Oil Chsis ( 1979), Plaza Accord (1985), Asia Financial Crisis (1997).

Although sexual stereotypes paint males as being promiscuous and females as being choosy in order to increase their reproductive success, multiple mating by females is widespread and females of many taxa often produce progeny sired by multiple males – but why? In species in which there are no direct benefits associated with mating, females may adopt promiscuous mating strategies to increase their fitness through the acquisition of genetic benefits. Here, I examine the genetic mating system of map turtles, Graptemys geographica in Lake Opinicon. Based on the most conservative estimate, at least 71% of clutches in this population are sired by multiple males. There did not appear to be any relationship between female body size and frequency of multiple paternity. There was a marginally significant effect of multiple paternity on hatching success and survival of clutches, but there was no effect on hatchling morphology or locomotor performance.

Gravitational lensing, initially a phenomenon used as a solid confirmation of General Relativity, has defined itself in the past decade as a standard astrophysical tool. The ability of a lensing system to produce multiple images of a luminous source is one of the aspects of gravitational lensing that is exploited both theoretically and observationally to improve our understanding of the Universe. In this thesis, within the field of multiple imaging we explore the case of maximal lensing, that is, the configurations and conditions under which a set of deflecting masses can produce the maximum number of images of a distant luminous source, as well as a study of the value for this maximum number itself. We study the case of a symmetric distribution of n-1 point-mass lenses at the vertices of a regular polygon of n-1 sides. By the addition of a perturbation in the form of an n-th mass at the center of the polygon it is proven that, as long as the mass is small enough, the system is a maximal lensing configuration that produces 5(n-1) images. Using the explicit value for the upper bound on the central mass that leads to maximal lensing, we illustrate how this result can be used to find and constrain the mass of planets or brown dwarfs in multiple star systems. For the case of more realistic mass distributions, we prove that when a point-mass is replaced with a distributed lens that does not overlap with existing images or lensing objects, an additional image is formed within the distributed mass while positions and numbers of existing images are left unchanged. This is then used to conclude that the maximum number of images that n isolated distributed lenses can produce is 6(n-1)+1. In order to explore the likelihood of observational verification, we analyze the stability properties of the symmetric maximal lensing configurations. Finally, for the cases of n=4, 5, and 6 point-mass lenses, we study asymmetric maximal lensing configurations and compare their stability properties against the symmetric case.

The effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) on the central nervous system often manifest as abnormalities in gait kinematics. Clinically practical, valid, and reliable measures of gait kinematics are necessary to address research and clinical questions about MS. Wireless flexible electrogoniometry (EG) is a clinically practical measure of joint angles. The GAITRite walkway system is a clinically practical, valid and reliable measure of temporal and spatial gait characteristics. The overall objective of this two-study research project was to explore whether these clinically practical measures of gait kinematics can be used to accurately detect gait abnormalities in people with multiple sclerosis. Study 1 examined the reliability and validity of EG and Study 2 examined the gait kinematics of people with MS (PWMS) using EG and GAITRite. For Study 1, angle at initial contact and total joint excursion were measured by EG at both the knee and ankle while ten healthy adults walked at a self-selected comfortable speed. Measurements were repeated for two testers and two visits to assess reliability. The same variables were measured concurrently with three-dimensional motion analysis (3D) to assess validity. For all variables, reliability was good as indicated by low measurement error and validity was good as indicated by association and agreement of EG with 3D. For Study 2, the same joint angles, along with speed, cadence, step length, stride length, stance duration and double support duration were assessed for six PWMS and six controls without MS. PWMS showed significantly reduced speed, cadence, and ankle excursion and increased stance and double support duration as previously shown with 3D. Spasticity and/or instability may lead to these kinematic gait abnormalities in PWMS; however, reduced velocity may confound this interpretation by affecting the other observed gait abnormalities. Further research about the determinants of gait dysfunction in PWMS is required. EG and GAITRite are clinically practical, valid and reliable measures of gait kinematics and should be included in further clinic-based research to determine which kinematic gait abnormalities are causes and which are effects of the observed decrease in gait speed in PWMS.

Sequence alignment has become one of the most common tasks in bioinformatics. Most of the existing sequence alignment methods use general scoring schemes. But these alignments are sometimes not completely relevant because they do not necessarily provide the desired information. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to include any possible objective into an algorithm. Our goal is to allow a working biologist to augment a given alignment with additional information based on their knowledge and objectives.<p></p>In this thesis, we will formally define constraints and compatible constraint sets for an alignment which require some positions of the sequences to be aligned together. Using this approach, one can align some specific segments such as domains within protein sequences by inputting constraints (the positions of the segments on the sequences), and the algorithm will automatically find an optimal alignment in which the segments are aligned together.<p></p>A necessary prerequisite of calculating an alignment is that the constraints inputted be compatible with each other, and we will develop algorithms to check this condition for both pairwise and multiple sequence alignments. The algorithms are based on a depth-first search on a graph that is converted from the constraints and the alignment. We then develop algorithms to perform pairwise and multiple sequence alignments satisfying these compatible constraints.<p></p>Using straightforward dynamic programming for pairwise sequence alignment satisfying a compatible constraint set, an optimal alignment corresponds to a path going through the dynamic programming matrix, and as we are only using single-position constraints, a constraint can be represented as a point on the matrix, so a compatible constraint set is a set of points. We try to determine a new path, rather than the original path, that achieves the highest score which goes through all the compatible constraint set points. The path is a concatenation of sub-paths, so that only the scores in the sub-matrices need to be calculated. This means the time required to get the new path decreases as the number of constraints increases, and it also varies as the positions of the points change. It can be further reduced by using the information from the original alignment, which can offer a significant speed gain.<p></p>We then use exact and progressive algorithms to find multiple sequence alignments satisfying a compatible constraint set, which are extensions of pairwise sequence alignments. With exact algorithms for three sequences, where constraints are represented as lines, we discuss a method to force the optimal path to cross the constraint lines. And with progressive algorithms, we use a set of pairwise alignments satisfying compatible constraints to construct multiple sequence alignments progressively. Because they are more complex, we leave some extensions as future work.

Cognitive impairment affects approximately half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ) has previously demonstrated validity for detecting cognitive impairment in MS, and is quick and easy to complete. The objective was to validate an internet version of the MSNQ. The following were completed at home over the internet for 82 MS patients: (a) patient self-report version of the MSNQ (P-MSNQ), (b) informant version of the MSNQ (I-MSNQ), and (c) Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Thereafter, patients completed in-office neuropsychological testing using the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-N). Both the P-MSNQ and I-MSNQ were highly correlated with depression. The best-cut off score on the I-MSNQ was a 26, which gave a sensitivity of 72% and 60% for detecting cognitive impairment on the BRB-N. Given the modest sensitivity and specificity values, the MSNQ is not recommended for neuropsychological screening purposes over the internet.

Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis commonly use assistive mobility devices, such as rollators, to compensate for their mobility impairments. However, the effect of these devices on their foot placement during gait has not been explored in the community. The objective of experiment one was to develop and validate a tool that quantifies medio-lateral foot placement characteristics during rollator use. In this study, a technique was developed for an instrumented rollator (i.e. iWalker) and validated against a Vicon motion capture system in able-bodied young adults. The two systems were in strong agreement. The objective of experiment two was to apply this iWalker-based technique to individuals with Multiple Sclerosis to identify environment-related foot placement changes. This study revealed that step width variability, but not step width, can be influenced by certain outdoor environments. Therefore, environmental context is important to consider when investigating user-device interactions and factors responsible for safe mobility in this population.

Cognitive impairment affects approximately half of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ) has previously demonstrated validity for detecting cognitive impairment in MS, and is quick and easy to complete. The objective was to validate an internet version of the MSNQ. The following were completed at home over the internet for 82 MS patients: (a) patient self-report version of the MSNQ (P-MSNQ), (b) informant version of the MSNQ (I-MSNQ), and (c) Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Thereafter, patients completed in-office neuropsychological testing using the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-N). Both the P-MSNQ and I-MSNQ were highly correlated with depression. The best-cut off score on the I-MSNQ was a 26, which gave a sensitivity of 72% and 60% for detecting cognitive impairment on the BRB-N. Given the modest sensitivity and specificity values, the MSNQ is not recommended for neuropsychological screening purposes over the internet.

Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis commonly use assistive mobility devices, such as rollators, to compensate for their mobility impairments. However, the effect of these devices on their foot placement during gait has not been explored in the community. The objective of experiment one was to develop and validate a tool that quantifies medio-lateral foot placement characteristics during rollator use. In this study, a technique was developed for an instrumented rollator (i.e. iWalker) and validated against a Vicon motion capture system in able-bodied young adults. The two systems were in strong agreement. The objective of experiment two was to apply this iWalker-based technique to individuals with Multiple Sclerosis to identify environment-related foot placement changes. This study revealed that step width variability, but not step width, can be influenced by certain outdoor environments. Therefore, environmental context is important to consider when investigating user-device interactions and factors responsible for safe mobility in this population.

Gravitational lensing, initially a phenomenon used as a solid confirmation of General Relativity, has defined itself in the past decade as a standard astrophysical tool. The ability of a lensing system to produce multiple images of a luminous source is one of the aspects of gravitational lensing that is exploited both theoretically and observationally to improve our understanding of the Universe. In this thesis, within the field of multiple imaging we explore the case of maximal lensing, that is, the configurations and conditions under which a set of deflecting masses can produce the maximum number of images of a distant luminous source, as well as a study of the value for this maximum number itself. We study the case of a symmetric distribution of n-1 point-mass lenses at the vertices of a regular polygon of n-1 sides. By the addition of a perturbation in the form of an n-th mass at the center of the polygon it is proven that, as long as the mass is small enough, the system is a maximal lensing configuration that produces 5(n-1) images. Using the explicit value for the upper bound on the central mass that leads to maximal lensing, we illustrate how this result can be used to find and constrain the mass of planets or brown dwarfs in multiple star systems. For the case of more realistic mass distributions, we prove that when a point-mass is replaced with a distributed lens that does not overlap with existing images or lensing objects, an additional image is formed within the distributed mass while positions and numbers of existing images are left unchanged. This is then used to conclude that the maximum number of images that n isolated distributed lenses can produce is 6(n-1)+1. In order to explore the likelihood of observational verification, we analyze the stability properties of the symmetric maximal lensing configurations. Finally, for the cases of n=4, 5, and 6 point-mass lenses, we study asymmetric maximal lensing configurations and compare their stability properties against the symmetric case.