Anxiety can be advantageous in terms of survival and well-being, yet atypically high levels may be maladaptive and result in the clinical diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. Several risk factors have been implicated in the manifestation of clinical anxiety, including cognitive biases. In recent years, a plethora of research has emerged demonstrating that anxious adults exhibit biases of attention for threatening stimuli, especially that which is biologically relevant (e.g., facial expressions). Specific components of attentional bias have also been identified, namely facilitated engagement, impaired disengagement, and avoidance. However, the majority of studies have focused on the spatial domain of attention. Furthermore, the area is under-researched in children, despite research demonstrating that symptoms relating to clinical and non-clinical anxiety follow a stable course from childhood through to adolescence and adulthood. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to investigate how anxiety affects children’s visual attention for emotive, particularly angry, faces. In order to provide a more comprehensive understanding, the current research involved examining the role of temporal and spatial attention utilising rapid serial visual presentation with the attentional blink, and the visual probe paradigm, respectively. The main hypothesis was that high state and/or trait anxiety would be associated with an attentional bias for angry, relative to positive or neutral faces in both the temporal and spatial domains. In relation to the temporal domain, key findings demonstrated that high levels of trait anxiety were associated with facilitated engagement towards both angry and neutral faces. It was further found that all children rapidly disengaged attention away from angry faces. Findings related to the processing of angry faces accorded with the main hypothesis stated in this thesis, as well as research and theory in the area. The finding that anxious children preferentially processed neutral faces in an attentional blink investigation was unexpected. This was argued to potentially reflect this stimulus type being interpreted as threatening. Key findings regarding the spatial domain were that high trait anxious children displayed an early covert bias of attention away from happy faces and a later, overt bias of attention away from angry faces. The finding that high trait anxiety was linked to an attentional bias away from happy faces in a visual probe task was also unexpected. This was argued to potentially reflect smiling faces being interpreted as signifying social dominance, thus resulting in the viewer experiencing feelings of subordination and becoming avoidant and/or submissive. To conclude, this thesis has enhanced current knowledge of attentional bias in both the temporal and spatial domains for emotive stimuli in anxious children. It has demonstrated that higher levels of trait anxiety moderate children’s allocation of attentional resources to different stimulus types, whether these are threatening, positive, or neutral. This has important implications for evaluating past research in adults and children, and for further developing theoretical models of attentional bias and anxiety. It also offers important clinical implications, since attending towards or away from specific stimuli may affect the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Recently, a treatment that aims to modify attentional bias in anxious individuals has begun to be developed. In light of the present findings, it may be necessary to review this treatment so that anxious children are re-trained in the specific biases of attention demonstrated here.

本篇論文嘗試以非派生和派生兩種不同結構基礎的優選理論來分析臺灣閩南語仔前變調以及暱稱仔詞綴變調。非派生的優選理論認為聲調改變僅需一個步驟就可以完成。仔前和暱稱仔詞綴音節本身都有兩種讀法，不同的變異體可透過共同音韻模型 (Cophonological model) 下的次文法，也就是制約的重新排序來解釋。本篇研究認為調素傳替與否是仔前音節不同聲調的來源，透過 SHARE (t) 和 NOLONG (t) 兩種制約的排序，可以預測調素是否傳替。另外，透過 SHARE，NOLONG 和 TONAL MARKEDNESS 三種制約的互動和階層性的排序，可以預測暱稱仔詞綴的變調兩讀。派生優選理論則認為仔前和暱稱仔詞綴的聲調變化是一種階段性，而且是一種趨向最佳化的改變，亦即每一個步驟的輸出值都比上一個步驟的還來的優質，為仔前和暱稱仔詞綴變調提供另一個理論詮釋的觀點。在派生優選理論的框架下，仔前變調需要三個步驟，亦即一般變調、調域傳替以及調素傳替的有無。暱稱仔詞綴變調也是需要三個步驟，第一是沒有聲調徵性的聲調加插；第二是調域傳替或是低調域加插；第三是調素傳替或是低聲調徵性的加插。同樣的， 透過 SHARE (t) 和 NOLONG (t) 的排序，可以預測仔前音節的不同聲調。透過 SHARE，NOLONG，TONAL MARKEDNESS 和 REGISTER MARKEDNESS 的排序， 可以預測暱稱仔詞綴的不同聲調。 / This thesis attempts to analyze the pre-a1 tone change and hypocoristic -a2 suffix tone change in Taiwan Southern Min from the perspective of Optimality Theory and Harmonic Serialism, a derivational version of Classic OT. Classic OT, which implements parallelism, explicates the tone change phenomenon in one-step fashion. The two tonal variants of the pre-a1 and -a2 syllables can be accounted for through the constraint re-ranking in Cophonology Theory. The interaction between SHARE (t) and NOLONG (t) determines whether the terminal toneme will perform spreading in the pre-a1 tone change. In the -a2 suffix tone change, the interaction amongst SHARE, NOLONG and TONAL MARKEDNESS determines whether -a2 will receive a tone spread from the neighboring TBU or associate with a default L. Harmonic Serialism, which assumes harmonic improvement over the course of serial derivation, provides an alternative treatment for the pre-a1 tone change and -a2 suffix tone change. In Harmonic Serialism, the pre-a1 tonal alternation proceeds with three steps, viz. regular tone sandhi, register spreading and terminal toneme spreading. -a2 suffix tone change also requires three steps in terms of Harmonic Serialism, that is, featureless tone insertion in the first step; register spreading or low register insertion in the second step; and toneme spreading or low tonal feature insertion in the final step. Likewise, the ranking conditions between SHARE (t) and NOLONG (t) predict whether toneme will spread in the pre-a1 tone change. In the -a2 suffix tone change, the alternative rankings among SHARE, NOLONG, TONAL MARKEDNESS and REGISTER MARKEDNESS decide the application of tone spreading or default L insertion.

L’approche psycholinguistique suggère que la rétention à court terme verbale et le langage dépendent de mécanismes communs. Elle prédit que les caractéristiques linguistiques des items verbaux (e.g. phonologiques, lexicales, sémantiques) influencent le rappel immédiat (1) et que la contribution des niveaux de représentations linguistiques dépend du contexte de rappel, certaines conditions expérimentales (e.g. format des stimuli) favorisant l’utilisation de codes spécifiques (2). Ces prédictions sont évaluées par le biais de deux études empiriques réalisées auprès d’une patiente cérébrolésée qui présente une atteinte du traitement phonologique (I.R.) et de participants contrôles. Une première étude (Article 1) teste l’impact des modes de présentation et de rappel sur les effets de similarité phonologique et de catégorie sémantique de listes de mots. Une seconde étude (Article 2) évalue la contribution du code orthographique en mémoire à court terme (MCT) verbale en testant l’effet de la densité du voisinage orthographique des mots sur le rappel sériel immédiat de mots présentés visuellement. Compte tenu du rôle déterminant du code phonologique en MCT et du type d’atteinte de I.R., des effets linguistiques distincts étaient attendus chez elle et chez les contrôles. Selon le contexte de rappel, des effets sémantiques (Article 1) et orthographiques (Article 2) plus importants étaient prédits chez I.R. et des effets phonologiques plus marqués étaient attendus chez les participants contrôles. Chez I.R., le rappel est influencé par les caractéristiques sémantiques et orthographiques des mots, mais peu par leurs caractéristiques phonologiques et le contexte de rappel module l’utilisation de différents niveaux de représentations linguistiques. Chez les contrôles, une contribution relativement plus stable des représentations phonologiques est observée. Les données appuient une approche psycholinguistique qui postule que des mécanismes communs régissent la rétention à court terme verbale et le langage. Les implications théoriques et cliniques des résultats sont discutées en regard de modèles psycholinguistiques actuels. / The psycholinguistic view of verbal short-term retention suggests that verbal short-term retention and language processing rely on common mechanisms. It predicts that all linguistic characteristics of verbal items (e.g. phonological, lexical, semantic) influence their immediate recall (1). It also predicts that the relative contribution of the different linguistic representational levels is a function of the recall context (2). In this view, some experimental conditions (e.g. modes of presentation of stimuli) are thought to promote the use of specific coding. Two studies assess these predictions in a brain-damaged patient (I.R.) who shows a phonological deficit as well as in control participants. In a first article, the impact of presentation and recall modes on phonological and semantic similarity effects of words is tested. In a second article, the contribution of orthographic coding in verbal short-term memory (STM) is assessed by testing the effect of orthographic Neighborhood (N) density of words on immediate serial recall (ISR) of written words. Due to her phonological deficit and because phonological representations play a predominant role in STM, distinct linguistic effects were expected in I.R. and in controls. Overall, (and) depending on the recall context, larger semantic and orthographic effects were predicted in I.R. and larger phonological effects were predicted in controls. In I.R., the data indicate that recall is influenced by semantic and orthographic characteristics of items but less by their phonological properties. The results also indicate that the impact of representations depends of recall conditions. In controls, a different pattern of results is obtained, suggesting an overall predominant contribution of phonological representations. Results support the psycholinguistic view of verbal short-term retention and are discussed in regard to current interactive activation psycholinguistic models of verbal STM and language processing.

Between 1952 and 1957, Igor Stravinsky surprised the world of music by gradually incorporating serialism into his style of composition. Although Stravinsky still used the neo-classical trait of making strong references to the music of earlier periods, musical analyses of this transitional period have focused on serial aspects to the exclusion of anachronistic elements. Evidence of Stravinsky's possible use of musical structures adapted from earlier times is found in his consistent use of musical figures that are closely related to the cadences of the late Medieval and Renaissance eras. By fully addressing these neo-classical traits in future analyses, music theorists will gain an additional perspective, which is helpful in understanding the music of Stravinsky's transitional period.

The aim of this work is the analysis of a typology of characters in the serial novel, which was published in women's magazines in the interwar period. For this thesis were used methodology of quantitative content analysis and qualitative analysis of selected five novels to continue. The work was focused on the period 1931 - 1939. Obtained data were found identical types and features the characters used in contemporary novels to continue. They were found the common aspects of serial novels that formed the primary source material of this thesis. The research was obtained the basic data for working with literary figures of romantic fiction. In this work was prepared model the main male and female character appearing in the novels to continue. In this work was constructed the model of serial novel. Part of the thesis has brought an analysis of novels and their characters have been converted into a movie. This work confirmed the importance of the continuation novels, as a key department of women's periodicals in the interwar period. The contribution of this work is to analyze the most frequently used characters in the novels to continue. Grouping of most commonly used features can be used as a basis for the construction of literary characters red library and sentimental novels. Contribution of the work...

La thèse consiste en une comparaison entre deux types de français parlé par des locuteurs gabonais ayant le français comme langue seconde (d’ailleurs unique langue officielle du Gabon) : des locuteurs âgés et peu ou non scolarisés et des jeunes gens entre 17 et 25 ans, avec un niveau scolaire de troisième. La différence du nombre d’années de scolarisation des locuteurs induirait des compétences différentes en langue française. Le niveau sociolinguistique conditionnerait le niveau linguistique des locuteurs, ce qui les classerait dans des catégories clivées et imperméables, aux pôles inférieur et médian, selon la répartition sociolinguistique des locuteurs communément admise. Cette comparaison étudiée à partir de la morphologie du verbe et de l’utilisation du matériau morphologique à travers les concepts de personne, d’époque et d’aspect va permettre de vérifier cette hypothèse. Elle mettra également en avant les différentes variétés de français en présence, rendra compte du degré de la variation du français pour chaque locuteur et tentera d’établir des liens linguistiques entre les locuteurs sur le continuum linguistique. / The thesis consists of a comparison between two types of French spoken by native speakers of Gabon with French as a Second Language (besides sole official language of Gabon): older speakers and little or no education and young people between 17 and 25 with a third grade level. The difference in the number of years of schooling of the speakers would induce different skills in French. Sociolinguistic level would imply the language level of the speakers, which the classification into cleaved and hermetic, the lower and middle poles, according to sociolinguistic distribution of the speakers generally accepted. This comparison study from the morphology of the verb and the use of the material through morphological concepts of person, period and aspect will help to verify this hypothesis. It will also highlight the different varieties of French presence, will report on the degree of variation in French for each speaker and attempt to link language between speakers of the linguistic continuum.

LBIC is a technique for scanning the local quantum efficiency of solar cells. This kind of measurements needs a highly specialized, and time critical controlling software. In 1996 the client, professor Markus Rinio, constructed an LBIC system, and wrote the controlling software as a Turbo-Pascal 7.0 application, running under the MS-DOS 6.22 operating system. By now (2018) both the software and several hardware components are in dire need to be modernized. This thesis thoroughly describes several important aspects of this work, and the considerations needed for a successful result. This includes both very foundational choices about the software architecture, the choice of suitable operating system, the threading model, and the adaptation to new hardware with vastly different behavior. The project also included a new hardware module for position reports and instrument triggering, as well as several adaptations to transform the DOS-based LBIC software into a pleasant modern GUI application.

This thesis extends the understanding of the neural and neurochemical contributions to two forms of behavioural adaptation, reversal learning and contingency degradation, in which stimulus/action-reward contingencies are altered. The results are interpreted within the psychological framework of the compulsivity construct, and their implications for the pathological behaviour of obsessive-compulsive-disorder (OCD) are considered. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and striatum are key brain structures involved in reversal learning, as are the neurotransmitters serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and dopamine (DA) within those respective regions. However, there has been little empirical evidence of how these two structures and neurochemical systems interact, especially in the functional context of reversal learning. In Chapter Three, the impact of experimentally-induced reductions of 5-HT in the anterior OFC on monoamine levels in subcortical structures such as the striatum and amygdala was determined, DA being found to be significantly up-regulated in the amygdala. Functionally, 5-HT depletion of the OFC has previously been shown to induce deficits in reversal learning. To determine the possible causal significance of amygdala dopamine up-regulation for said reversal learning deficit, the effects of blocking the upregulation with the infusion of intra amygdala DA receptor antagonists following bilateral OFC 5-HT depletion were investigated in a reversal learning paradigm. In Chapter Four, the differential roles of regions of striatum were examined in visual reversal learning. Two recent investigations in non-human primates highlighted the role of the striatum in reversal learning,but pinpointed the critical region to be either the ventromedial caudate or the putamen. Marmosets were trained on a serial reversal task that allowed multiple acute neural manipulations, and the ventromedial caudate and putamen were then reversibly inactivated using the GABAA agonist muscimol. Results indicated dose-related impairments specifically in reversal learning within the putamen, with sparing of discrimination retention. By contrast, similar reversible inactivation of the caudate nucleus produced marked deficits in visual discrimination performance (retention). In Chapter Five, the neural basis of action-outcome contingency knowledge was investigated by inactivating distinct regions of the PFC, the perigenual ACC (pgACC; area 32) and the anterior OFC, and determining response sensitivity to the degradation of action-outcome contingencies. In previous work, excitotoxic lesions of either the pgACC or the OFC had been found to induce insensitivity to contingency degradation in marmosets. However, the design of that experiment did not allow specification of whether stimulus- or action-outcome associations were disrupted, and a precise neural locus could not be determined for the behavioural effects as the OFC lesions included parts of the lateral and medial OFC. I therefore developed a novel contingency degradation paradigm that distinguished between stimulus- and action-outcome associations to enable the study of acute pharmacological manipulations in both brain regions. The pgACC and OFC were reversibly inactivated using GABAA-GABAB agonists (muscimol-baclofen). Whereas the pgACC inactivation produced selective deficits in sensitivity to action-outcome contingency degradation, OFC inactivation reduced the suppressive effect of noncontingent reward on responding more generally but left intact sensitivity to degradation of the contingencies. These results are discussed in terms of different theories of the functions of the pgACC and OFC. In the final discussion the findings on the neural substrates of reversal learning and contingency degradation are drawn together in terms of their significance for theories of PFC involvement in cognitive control, and for the understanding of OCD and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Ependimomas são tumores gliais raros. Podem ser encontrados em qualquer localização do sistema nervoso central e, apesar de histologia similar, parecem apresentar alterações genômicas distintas. As variáveis clínicas são intercorrelacionadas e, geralmente, incapazes de predizer o curso da doença. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a expressão aumentada de genes e proteínas em ependimomas e correlacionar com dados clínicos dos pacientes. Foram estudados casos de pacientes com ependimoma submetidos à ressecção cirúrgica no Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo, no período entre 1996 e 2011 (33 amostras de tecido congelado para análise de expressão gênica por PCR quantitativo em tempo real e 149 amostras com tecido incluído em parafina, correspondentes a 121 casos devido a recidivas, para análise de proteína por imuno-histoquímica de tissue microarrays). As reações de imuno-histoquímica foram analisadas semiquantitativamente e graduadas com um índice de marcação calculado pelo produto da porcentagem de núcleos marcados pela intensidade de marcação. Oitenta e um casos eram adultos (média de 27,2 anos). Havia 60 casos intracranianos e 61 intramedulares, dos quais 10 eram mixopapilares, 92 grau II e 19 grau III. Ressecção completa foi possível em 62% dos casos e recidiva foi confirmada em 41,1%. Observou-se menor tempo para recidiva em crianças e tumores intracranianos, supratentoriais (p < 0,001 em ambos), histologia anaplásica e ressecções incompletas (p < 0,05 em ambos). Os seguintes genes foram selecionados em dados públicos de SAGE e literatura: ARMC3, CCND1, CHST5, DNALI1, FGFRL1, GNA13, IGF2, MSX1, NOTCH1 e RSPH3. ARMC3, RSHL3, CHST5 e DNALI1 apresentaram maiores níveis de expressão em ependimomas intramedulares (p < 0,05), e FGFRL1, NOTCH1 e CCND1 nos casos supratentoriais (p < 0,01). IGF2 apresentou maiores níveis de expressão em crianças e CHST5 em adultos (p < 0,05 em ambos). Foram observados maiores níveis de expressão de FGFRL1 (p < 0,05), CCND1 e IGF2 (p < 0,01 em ambos) em casos com histologia anaplásica. Nenhum dos genes analisados apresentou impacto no tempo livre de progressão ou na sobrevida. A expressão da proteína codificada por CCND1, ciclina D1, também foi avaliada por imuno-histoquímica, por ser uma proteína com expressão aumentada em diversos tipos de neoplasias e não ter ainda um valor prognóstico bem estabelecido em ependimomas. Houve correlação entre expressão de ciclina D1 a nível de mRNA e da proteína (p < 0,0001). As correlações entre ciclina D1 e histologia anaplásica e localização supratentorial foram confirmadas pela análise proteica (p < 0,0001 em ambos). Adicionalmente, foi também observada maior expressão de ciclina D1 em pacientes mais jovens (p < 0,01). A maior expressão de ciclina D1 em tumores com localização supratentorial foi independente do grau histológico e da idade do paciente. Recidiva foi mais frequente em casos com maiores níveis de expressão de ciclina D1 (p < 0,05), embora uma maior correlação com tempo livre de progressão foi observada apenas em casos com ressecção completa (p < 0,001). Os ependimomas apresentaram expressão gênica diferencial de acordo com idade, localização do tumor e grau histológico nesse estudo. A determinação dos níveis da expressão de ciclina D1 pode ser útil para guiar o seguimento e tratamento dos casos supratentoriais com ressecções completas / Ependymomas are rare glial cell-derived tumors. They can be found in any central nervous system localization and despite the histological similarity, they seem to display distinct genomic abnormalities. Clinical variables are intercorrelated and they are usually unable to predict the disease course. We aimed to analyze increased gene and protein expression in ependymomas and to correlate with patients\' clinical data. We studied patients with ependymoma submitted to surgical resections at Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo, from 1996 to 2011 (33 fresh-frozen samples for gene expression analysis by quantitative real-time PCR and 149 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples, relative to 121 patients due to relapses, for protein analysis by tissue microarray immunohistochemistry). Immunohistochemical reactions were analyzed semi-quantitatively and scored with a labeling index (LI) calculated as the product of the percentage of the positively stained nuclei by the intensity of staining. Eighty-one cases were adults (mean 27.2 years). There were 60 intracranial and 61 spinal cases, of which 10 tumors were myxopapillary, 92 were grade II and 19 were grade III. Gross total resection was achieved in 62% of cases and relapse was confirmed in 41.4% of cases. We observed a shorther time to relapse in children and supratentorial intracranial tumor localization (p<0.001 for both), anaplastic histology and incomplete resections (p<0.05 for both). The following genes were selected based on public SAGE database and literature: ARMC3, CCND1, CHST5, DNALI1, FGFRL1, GNA13, IGF2, MSX1, NOTCH1 and RSPH3. ARMC3, RSHL3, CHST5 and DNALI1 presented higher expression levels in intramedullary ependymomas (p < 0.05) and FGFRL1, NOTCH1 and CCND1 in supratentorial cases (p < 0.01). IGF2 presented higher expression levels in pediatric cases and CHST5 in adults cases (p < 0.05 in both). Higher expression levels of FGFRLI1 (p < 0.05), CCND1 and IGF2 (p < 0.01 for both) were observed in anaplastic histology cases. None of the genes impacted in progression free survival or overall survival of patients. The expression of protein codified by CCND1, cyclin D1, was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry, because its overexpression has been related with several types of neoplasias and its prognostic value has not yet been fully established in ependymomas. There was a correlation of cyclin D1 expression at mRNA and protein levels (p < 0.0001). Correlations between cyclin D1 and anaplastic histology and supratentorial localization were confirmed by protein analyses (p < 0.0001 for both parameters). Additionally, high expression of cyclin D1 was observed in younger patients (p < 0.01). The higher cyclin D1 expression in supratentorial tumor localization was independent of histological grade and age of patient. Relapse was more frequent in cases with higher cyclin D1 expression levels (p < 0.05) although correlation with progression free survival was just observed in gross total resection cases (p < 0.001). Ependymomas presented differential gene expression according to age, tumor localization and histological grade in our study. Determination of cyclin D1 expression levels may be useful to guide follow-up and treatment in supratentorial cases with gross total resection

Cette thèse est rédigée par articles. Les articles sont rédigés en anglais et le reste de la thèse est rédigée en français. / Le travail établit une équivalence en termes de puissance entre les tests basés sur la alpha-distance de covariance et sur le critère d'indépendance de Hilbert-Schmidt (HSIC) avec fonction caractéristique de distribution de probabilité stable d'indice alpha avec paramètre d'échelle suffisamment petit. Des simulations en grandes dimensions montrent la supériorité des tests de distance de covariance et des tests HSIC par rapport à certains tests utilisant les copules. Des simulations montrent également que la distribution de Pearson de type III, très utile et moins connue, approche la distribution exacte de permutation des tests et donne des erreurs de type I précises. Une nouvelle méthode de sélection adaptative des paramètres d'échelle pour les tests HSIC est proposée. Trois simulations, dont deux sont empruntées de l'apprentissage automatique, montrent que la nouvelle méthode de sélection améliore la puissance des tests HSIC. Le problème de tests d'indépendance entre deux vecteurs est généralisé au problème de tests d'indépendance mutuelle entre plusieurs vecteurs. Le travail traite aussi d'un problème très proche à savoir, le test d'indépendance sérielle d'une suite multidimensionnelle stationnaire. La décomposition de Möbius des fonctions caractéristiques est utilisée pour caractériser l'indépendance. Des tests généralisés basés sur le critère d'indépendance de Hilbert-Schmidt et sur la distance de covariance en sont obtenus. Une équivalence est également établie entre le test basé sur la distance de covariance et le test HSIC de noyau caractéristique d'une distribution stable avec des paramètres d'échelle suffisamment petits. La convergence faible du test HSIC est obtenue. Un calcul rapide et précis des valeurs-p des tests développés utilise une distribution de Pearson de type III comme approximation de la distribution exacte des tests. Un résultat fascinant est l'obtention des trois premiers moments exacts de la distribution de permutation des statistiques de dépendance. Une méthodologie similaire a été développée pour le test d'indépendance sérielle d'une suite. Des applications à des données réelles environnementales et financières sont effectuées. / The main result establishes the equivalence in terms of power between the alpha-distance covariance test and the Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion (HSIC) test with the characteristic kernel of a stable probability distribution of index alpha with sufficiently small scale parameters. Large-scale simulations reveal the superiority of these two tests over other tests based on the empirical independence copula process. They also establish the usefulness of the lesser known Pearson type III approximation to the exact permutation distribution. This approximation yields tests with more accurate type I error rates than the gamma approximation usually used for HSIC, especially when dimensions of the two vectors are large. A new method for scale parameter selection in HSIC tests is proposed which improves power performance in three simulations, two of which are from machine learning. The problem of testing mutual independence between many random vectors is addressed. The closely related problem of testing serial independence of a multivariate stationary sequence is also considered. The Möbius transformation of characteristic functions is used to characterize independence. A generalization to p vectors of the alpha -distance covariance test and the Hilbert-Schmidt independence criterion (HSIC) test with the characteristic kernel of a stable probability distributionof index alpha is obtained. It is shown that an HSIC test with sufficiently small scale parameters is equivalent to an alpha -distance covariance test. Weak convergence of the HSIC test is established. A very fast and accurate computation of p-values uses the Pearson type III approximation which successfully approaches the exact permutation distribution of the tests. This approximation relies on the exact first three moments of the permutation distribution of any test which can be expressed as the sum of all elements of a componentwise product of p doubly-centered matrices. The alpha -distance covariance test and the HSIC test are both of this form. A new selection method is proposed for the scale parameter of the characteristic kernel of the HSIC test. It is shown in a simulation that this adaptive HSIC test has higher power than the alpha-distance covariance test when data are generated from a Student copula. Applications are given to environmental and financial data.