In music analysis, the beginning of events in a music signal (i.e. sound onset detection) is important for such tasks as sound segmentation, beat recognition and automatic music transcription. The aim of the present work was to make an algorithm for sound onset detection with better performance than other state-of-the-art1 algorithms. Necessary theoretical background for spectral analysis on a sound signal is given with special focus on the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and the effects of applying a window to a signal. Previous works based on different approaches to sound onset detection were studied, and a possible improvement was observed for one such approach - namely the one developed by Bello, Duxbury, Davies, & Sandler (2004). The algorithm uses an STFT approach, analyzing a sound signal time frame by time frame. The algorithm’s detection is sequential in nature: It takes a frame from the STFT and makes an extrapolation to the next frame, assuming that the signal is constant. The difference between the extrapolated frame and the actual frame of the STFT constitutes the detection function. The proposed improvement lies in a combination of ideas from other algorithms, analyzing the signal with different frequency bands with frequency dependent settings and a modification of the extrapolation step. The proposed algorithm is compared to the original algorithm and an adaption by Dixon (2006) by analyzing 20 songs using three different window functions. The results were evaluated with the standards set by MIREX (2005-2016). The results of the proposed algorithm are encouraging, showing good recall, but fail to out-perform any of the algorithms it is compared to in both precision and the so-called F-measure. The shortcomings of the proposed algorithm leave room for further improvement, and a number of possible future modifications are exemplified. / Ansatsdetektion används inom musikanalys för bland annat automatisk transkription och ljudkomprimering. Ansatsdetektion innebär att lokalisera en händelse i en musiksignal. Med målet att utveckla en algoritm som presterar bättre än aktuella2 algoritmer ges här en genomgång av några nödvändiga teoretiska kunskaper i ämnet, bland annat korttids-Fouriertransformen (STFT) och hur fönsterfunktioner påverkar signalbehandling. Tidigare arbeten inom ansatsdetektion med olika infallsvinklar studeras och en möjlig förbättring av en av dem, den av Bello, Duxbury, Davies, & Sandler (2004), framträder. Algoritmen använder sig av STFT och analyserar ljudsignaler en tidsenhet i taget. Utifrån varje analyserad tidsenhet görs en extrapolation till nästa tidsenhet genom antagandet att signalen är konstant. Skillnaden mellan den extrapolerade tidsenheten och den faktiska tidsenheten i STFTn utgör detektionsfunktionen. Den möjliga förbättringen består i att använda idéer från olika algoritmer för ansatsdetektion – ljudsignalen analyseras i olika frekvensband med bandberoende inställningar för STFTn – och en förändrad extrapoleringsfunktion. Den föreslagna algoritmen jämförs med originalet av Bello, Duxbury, Davies, & Sandler (2004) och även med en variant utvecklad av Dixon (2006) genom att applicera dem på 20 spår med tre olika fönsterfunktioner. Resultaten utvärderas enligt MIREX (2005-2016) standarder och är lovande för algoritmen, då den har en bra träffbild, men både träffsäkerhet och F-värde ligger under de båda andra. Ett flertal möjliga förbättringar av algoritmen iakttas och presenteras.

No / Purpose: Evidence exists for an additional inhibitory accommodative control system mediated by the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This work aims to show the relative prevalence of sympathetic inhibition in young emmetropic and myopic adults, and to evaluate the effect of sympathetic facility on accommodative and oculomotor function. Methods: Profiling of ciliary muscle innervation was carried out in 58 young adult subjects (30 emmetropes, 14 early onset myopes, 14 late onset myopes) by examining post-task open-loop accommodation responses, recorded continuously by a modified open-view infrared optometer. Measurements of amplitude of accommodation, tonic accommodation, accommodative lag at near, AC/A ratio, and heterophoria at distance and near were made to establish a profile of oculomotor function. Results: Evidence of sympathetic inhibitory facility in ciliary smooth muscle was observed in 27% of emmetropes, 21% of early-onset myopes and 29% of late-onset myopes. Twenty-six percent of all subjects demonstrated access to sympathetic facility. Closed-loop oculomotor function did not differ significantly between subjects with sympathetic facility, and those with sympathetic deficit. Conclusions: Emmetropic and myopic groups cannot be distinguished in terms of the relative proportions having access to sympathetic inhibition. Presence of sympathetic innervation does not have a significant effect on accommodative function under closed-loop viewing conditions.

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The fact that traffic congestion upstream of a bottleneck causes a reduction in the discharge flow rate through the bottleneck has been well documented in several empirical studies. However, what has been missing is an understanding of the causes of these empirically observed flow reductions. An identification of these causes is important in order to develop various mitigation schemes through the use of emerging technology. The concept of capacity drop can be introduced at time-independent bottlenecks (e.g. freeways) as well as time-dependent bottlenecks (e.g. signalized intersections). While to the author's knowledge no one has attempted to link these phenomena, the research presented in this thesis serves as a first step in doing so. The research uses the INTEGRATION simulation software, after demonstrating its validity against empirical data, to simulate time-independent and time-dependent bottlenecks in an attempt to characterize and understand the contributing factors to these flow reductions. Initially, the INTEGRATION simulation software is validated by comparing its results to empirically observed traffic stream behavior. This thesis demonstrates that the discharge flow rate is reduced at stationary bottlenecks at the onset of congestion. These reductions at stationary bottlenecks are not recovered as the traffic stream propagates downstream. Furthermore, these reductions are not impacted by the level of vehicle acceleration. Alternatively, the drop in the discharge flow rate caused by time-dependent bottleneck is recoverable and is dependent on the level of acceleration. The difference in behavior is attributed to the fact that in the case of a stationary bottleneck the delay in vehicle headways exceeds the losses caused by vehicle accelerations and thus is not recoverable. In the case of vehicles discharging from a backward recovery wave the dominant factor is the delay caused by vehicle acceleration and this can be recuperated as the traffic stream travels downstream. / Master of Science

Yes / Young Onset Dementia (YOD), defined by first symptoms of cognitive or behavioral decline occurring before the age of 65 years, is relatively rare compared to dementia of later onset, but it is associated with diagnostic difficulty and heavy burden on affected individuals and their informal carers. Existing health and social care structures rarely meet the needs of YOD patients. Internet-based interventions are a novel format of delivering health-related education, counseling and support to this vulnerable yet underserved group. Methods: The RHAPSODY (Research to Assess Policies and Strategies for Dementia in the Young) project is a European initiative to improve care for people with YOD by providing an internet-based information and skill-building program for family carers. The e-learning program focuses on managing problem behaviors, dealing with role change, obtaining support and looking after oneself. It will be evaluated in a pilot study in three countries using a randomized unblinded design with a wait-list control group. Participants will be informal carers of people with dementia in Alzheimer’s disease or behavioral-variant Frontotemporal degeneration with an onset before the age of 65 years. The primary outcome will be caregiving self-efficacy after 6 weeks of program use. As secondary outcomes caregivers’ stress and burden, carer health-related quality of life, caring-related knowledge, patient problem behaviors and user satisfaction will be assessed. Program utilization will be monitored and a health-economic evaluation will also be performed. Conclusions: The RHAPSODY project will add to the evidence on the potential and limitations of a conveniently accessible, user-friendly and comprehensive internet-based intervention as an alternative for traditional forms of counseling and support in healthcare, aiming to optimize care and support for people with YOD and their informal caregivers. / RHAPSODY is an EU Joint Program - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) project. The project is supported through the following funding organizations under the aegis of JPND (www.jpnd.eu). France: National Research Agency; Germany: Ministry of Education and Research; The Netherlands: The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development; Portugal: Foundation for Science and Technology; Sweden: The Swedish Research Council; United Kingdom: Economic and Social Research Council.

Yes / Objectives: Studies on service needs of people with young onset dementia have taken a problem-oriented approach with resulting recommendations focusing on reducing service shortcomings. This study aimed to build on ‘what works’ in real-life practice by exploring the nature of post-diagnostic support services that were perceived positively by younger people with dementia and carers. Method: Positive examples of support were gathered between August 2017 and September 2018, via a national survey. Inductive thematic analysis was employed to explore the nature of positively experienced services provided for younger people with dementia, including analysis of what was provided by positively experienced services. Results: Two hundred and thirty-three respondents reported 856 positive experiences of support. Data analysis yielded eight themes regarding the objectives of positive services: Specialist Advice and Information on Young Onset Dementia, Access to Age-appropriate Services, Interventions for Physical and Mental Health, Opportunities for Social Participation, Opportunities to Have a Voice, Enablement of Independence while Managing Risk, Enablement of Financial Stability, and Support Interventions for family relationships. Conclusion: The study findings (a) suggest that positive services may collectively create an enabling-protective circle that supports YPD to re-establish and maintain a positive identity in the face of young onset dementia, and (b) provide a basis from which future good practice can be developed. / This work was supported by the Alzheimer’s Society under grant number 278 AS-PG-15b-034.

This cross-sectional survey study investigates the relationship between school attachment (SA) and adolescents' age at first intercourse (DV), as well as the influence of SA on DV in comparison to the influences of parent attachment (PA), other parent and school factors, and individual factors. Early first intercourse is defined as prior to age 15. Participants are 1,757 mostly African-American and White 7th through 12th grade adolescent boys and girls in five rural counties of a Mid-Atlantic state. Bivariate correlations comparing SA and PA revealed significant and positive correlations between SA and DV (p<.001), as well as PA and DV (p<.001). Linear regressions including only SA and PA showed SA was most predictive of DV for adolescents reporting the lowest (p<.05) and highest (p<.001) levels of PA. For those reporting moderate attachment to parents, SA was not predictive of DV. Several ethnic and gender differences are discussed. Finally, when the influence of individual, parent, and school contexts was compared using entry in a regression by blocks, SA was no longer a significant predictor of DV, and school variables did not account for a significant portion in the variance of age at first intercourse. Parent attachment was a significant and negative predictor, indicating that other parent, individual, and community variables are more influential. Implications are discussed. / Master of Science