Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2005. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-80). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis Lund. / Imprint on cover: Lund, C. W. K. Gleerup. "A study of problems connected with Riesz' generalization of the Riemann Liouville Integral."--Introd. "References": p. [98]

Thesis (M.S.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-90) and index.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:23:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 00886.pdf: 3186592 bytes, checksum: 02aa449d230c78ebeaa2a6f79a1c56d9 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IEA/D / Instituto de Quimica, Universidade de Sao Paulo - IQ/USP

Scientific research on free will was started by Libet et al. (1982). They detected that thereadiness potential (RP) proceeded urges with up to 350ms. One interpretation of the RP wasthat it represented motor planning. The research progress of antecedent brain activity inrelation to conscious urges is investigated by looking at contemporary studies. How differentassumptions and definitions of the free will concept influences interpretation of these studiesis also discussed. The evidence is in favor that the RP is not representing motor planning.Antecedent activity has been detected with numerous technologies, most notably fMRIclassifiers which have been used to predict decisions in advance. Scrutiny of these resultsreveals that the experimental setups are dependent on time-locking trials which may construethe results. It is shown that predictions based on probabilistic antecedents can be interpretedin numerous ways. The review shows that free will positions differ from each other onseveral factors, such as whether free will is either-or or exists on a spectrum. Some notablepositions are not dependent on antecedent activity at all. The notion of control is one of thepivotal factors deciding if a subject experience free will, not if they are the causer per se.Future discussion will be improved by systematizing the differences between the free willpositions and communicating them clearly. Convergent evidence points at the explanatorymodel of free will being a cognitive feeling – A feeling which reports ownership over actionsbut does not cause them.

Orientador: Antenor Pasqual / Resumo: O estudo do potencial energético do caldo de cana-de-açúcar foi conduzido em laboratório, num reator anaeróbio de fluxo ascendente e leito de lodo (UASB) de volume total de 9,72 litros e volume útil de 7,78 litros. A temperatura de funcionamento do reator foi de 35oC ± 1oC. A cana utilizada no experimento era cortada uma vez por semana, moída e armazenada em geladeira à temperatura de 4oC pelo mesmo período. O substrato ou afluente foi caracterizado como o caldo de cana fermentado naturalmente (azedado) por 24 horas, no qual eram acrescentados bicarbonato de sódio, uréia e fosfato diácido de potássio para correção do pH e das relações carbono/nitrogênio e carbono/fósforo, respectivamente, o pH do afluente ficou fixado na faixa de 6,00 a 6,60. O inóculo utilizado no estudo foi cedido por uma cervejaria e o reator recebeu 4,5 litros de lodo granulado. Os parâmetros analisados foram: demanda química de oxigênio, sólidos totais e voláteis, alcalinidade total, acidez volátil, pH, composição química do caldo, açúcar redutor e redutor total, volume e composição do biogás. Na partida do reator colocou-se o lodo e completou-se o volume restante com uma solução de água destilada e caldo de cana com uma DQO aproximada de 200 mg.L-1 e esperou-se 48 horas; após este período começou-se a bombear 5 mL diariamente até que se chegou a um volume de 510 mL por dia, distribuídos em três períodos: primeiro das 12:00 às 12:30 horas; segundo das 18:00 às 18:30 horas e o terceiro das 00:00 às 00:30 horas, sendo que para isto utilizou-se um temporizador... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo). / The studies on the sugar cane juice energetic potential were carried out in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) of 9,72 liters of total volume and 7,78 liters of useful volume, in a laboratory. The reactor functioning temperature was 35oC ± 1oC. The sugar cane used in the experiment was cut once a week, ground and stored in refrigerator at a temperature of 4oC for the same period. The substrate or affluent was characterized as sugar cane juice naturally fermented (soured) for 24 hours, to which was added sodium bicarbonate, urea and potassium phosphate to correct pH and carbon/nitrogen and carbon/phosphorus relations respectively; the pH of the affluent was set in a range of 6,00 to 6,60. The inoculum used in the study was provided by a brewery and the reactor received 4,5 liters of granulated sludge. The analyzed parameters were: chemical oxygen demand, total and volatile solids, total alkalinity, volatile acidity, pH, sugar cane juice chemical composition, reductor sugar and total reductor, biogas volume and composition. When starting-up the reactor, the sludge was placed and the remaining volume was completed with a solution of distilled water and sugar cane juice with an approximate COD of 200 mg.L-1 and a pause of 48 hours was made, after that period, 5 ml of the solution started being pumped on a daily basis until it reached a volume of 510 ml a day, distributed along three periods: first, from 12:00 to 12:30, second from 18:00 to 18:30 and third from 00:00 to 00:30, having a timer been used for that. The hydraulic retention time used were 20, 18,78 and 15,30 days. For the HRT of 20 days, working with average values, the affluent COD was of 260304 mg.L-1, the efficiency reached 93,47% of average. The value of the effluent COD was of 16991,40 mg.L-1. The total and volatile solids reduction was of 83,96% and 88,43% respectively... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below). / Doutor

Despite the vast number of studies that have examined the relationship between human memory and learning, few have examined learning and memory in more realistically valid environments. The current study examines learning memory in a classroom environment, specifically with students enrolled in a medical anatomy course. In addition to behavioral data, this study also uses electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the neural correlates of successful learning in medical students. A total of 37 students over 2 years was recruited from the Boston University School of Medicine to participate in this study. In the study, medical students were tested on a set of anatomical terms that they learned in the anatomy course. Testing occurred in three sessions: prior to the start of the course, immediately after the completion of the course, and 5 months after the completion of the course. In the experiment itself, students were presented with 176 anatomical terms (132 terms learned in the course and 44 terms deemed outdated) and then given three response choices: whether they "Can Define", are "Familiar" with, or "Don't Know" the term. While testing, the subject's scalp EEG was recorded to measure the brain's neural activity in response to anatomical terms displayed on the computer screen. Resulting EEG waveforms were separated and then averaged based on the response type in order to analyze the difference in amplitude for three neural correlates across distinct scalp sites when the students could define, were familiar with, or did not know the term. Results showed a higher amplitude in ERP readings for "Can Define" and "Familiar" responses for the early frontal effect, which is correlated with memorial familiarity. A higher "Don't Know" ERP wave was observed for the late parietal effect, which reflects memorial recollection. Lastly, a larger ERP amplitude was detected for "Familiar" and "Don't Know" responses for the late frontal effect, which is associated with post memory retrieval processing. Both Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were then run to investigate if any significant relationship between ERP amplitude and grades existed, and if so, the degree to which these electrophysiological responses can predict the course grades received. Final results found that the early frontal effect for the Can Define responses over the Right Posterior Superior scalp region is the best predictor variable, among the ones tested in the study, for student performance in the medical anatomy course. This finding has the potential to determine whether the information learned in a classroom environment has in fact been incorporated into long-term or even semantic memory. Through the findings of this study, we hope to determine if this method of measuring learning through EEG can be used as a useful indicator of long-lasting learning in classroom environments.

Med detta kandidatarbete vill vi undersöka funktionaliteten mellan röststyrning och andra styrenheter inom smarta hem, där fokuset för undersökningen är behov och intresse av tekniken. Med hjälp utav synsättet agentiell realism som förklaras av Karen Barads teorier finner vi en inblick om hur människan påverkas av dagens enheter och hur enheterna påverkas av oss. Designprocessen uppvisar arbetet kring gestaltningen med hjälp utav ett sammankopplande av en röststyrt internet of things applikation, vilket under en kvalitativ intervju får ett resultat kring frågeställning som används till grund för undersökningen. Resultatet för frågeställningen visar de intervjuade personernas subjektiva åsikt och tankar om röststyrning i dagens hem och om det är något som eftersträvas. Denna undersökning visar att röststyrningen är ett intresse och ett mindre behov i det vardagliga hemmet, men behöver mer utveckling för att fler människor skall vilja använda den.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been applied to study the interactions between different carbohydrates and graphene. In cellulose-graphene complexes, the behaviour of hydrophobic and hydrophilic faces of cellulose chains on a single layer of graphene in aqueous solvent have been investigated. The hydrophobic cellulose face forms a stable complex with graphene and the interface remains solvent-excluded over the course of the simulation. Cellulose chains contacting graphene preserved their intra- and inter-chain hydrogen bonds and maintaining a tg orientation of its hydroxymethyl groups that is similar to that found for the sugar in a vacuum environment. The solvent-exposed cellulose chains of the complex showed more flexibility. By contrast, over the course of the 300 ns MD simulation, the hydrophilic face of cellulose exhibits progressive rearrangement as it seeks to present its hydrophobic face, with disrupted intra- and inter-chain hydrogen bonding; sequential residue twisting to form CH-pie interactions with graphene; and permeation then expulsion of interstitial water. This transition is also accompanied by a more favourable cellulose-graphene adhesion energy as predicted at the PM6-DH2 level of theory. The stability of the cellulose-graphene hydrophobic interface in water reflects the amphiphilicity of cellulose and provides insight into favoured interactions within graphene-cellulose nanocomposites. Furthermore, water is observed to permeate cellulose during rearrangement of the hydrophilic face which may have application in addressing cellulose recalcitrance. In addition, the interaction of six different types of monosaccharide (β/alpha-D-Glc, β/alpha-D-Gal and β/alpha-D-Man) on the surface of graphene has been studied, using PM6-DH2 and PMF calculations in both gas phase and explicit water. The parameters studied included anomer, epimer, saccharide face, hydroxymethyl orientation and solvation. Binding of graphene to monosaccharide is more preferred in vacuum than in water; solvation of the complexes leads to reduction in the number of pie-interactions formed with graphene. In almost all studied complexes, β-anomers bind stronger to graphene compared to alpha-anomers in gas phase and water. Each monosaccharide has two unique faces parallel to the plane of the pyranose ring and these surfaces determine the interaction formed with graphene and water. Binding of graphene with different faces significantly influences the value of the computed interaction and binding free energy. We also find that the interactions between graphene and saccharide are mainly controlled by the number of CH-pie and OH-pie interactions formed between saccharides and graphene. The interaction energy and binding energy values suggest that the a-face of β-D-Glc is the most preferred to bind on graphene in vacuum while the b-face of β-D-Glc is preferred in the aqueous phase.

No description available.