Nonlinear, nonlocal optical media has emerged as an ideal setting for experimentally observing and studying spatial optical solitary waves which otherwise cannot occur in Kerr media. Of particular interest is the eventual application to all-optical circuits. However, there is considerable work left to do on the theoretical end before this is a possibility. In this thesis we consider three problems. The first is how to solve the governing equations for optical beam propagation in the particular medium of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC), which is used as a prototypical example, exactly and approximately. In this respect we provide the first known, explicit solutions to the model as well as a comprehensive assessment on how to use variational, or modulation theory, in this context. This leads to the discovery of a novel form of bistability in the system, which shows there are two stable solitary wave solutions for a fixed power or L2 norm. We then consider how to approximate solutions for optical solitary waves propagating in a more general class of nonlocal nonlinear media using asymptotic methods. This is a long open problem and is resolved in the form of a simple to implement method with excellent accuracy and general applicability to previously intractable models. We conclude with the discovery and characterization of an instability mechanism in a coupled, defocussing nonlinear Schrodinger system. We show there is no stable, coupled, localized solution. This result is compared with the more well-studied bright solitary wave system and physical and mathematical explanations are offered.

Introduction and Background: Solitary confinement has been a controversial topic in recent years among jail and prison systems. Solitary Confinement is the act of isolating a person in a prison or jail for up to 23 hours a day. These long periods of isolation can cause serious mental and physical damages to a human. Purpose Statement: The purpose of this research is to understand the effects, both mental and physical, that solitary confinement has on a person. How does solitary confinement effect a person’s body and mind, and what interventions can be used to help prevent these changes? Literature Review: Key terms used in research involved “nursing” and “solitary confinement effects.” 15 studies were used in the research. Data bases searched involved Findings: Our findings tell us that both physical and mental damages are done to people in confinement, and the damages get worse the longer they are confined. Anger towards the legal systems and loss of empathy are some damages that occurred even for years after solitary time was finished. Conclusions: The take home message is that solitary confinement does more harm than good for almost anyone that spends time in confinement. There needs to be better interventions in helping these people such as promoting exercise and behavior cognitive therapy. There are better ways to handle people in prisons than to isolate them and cause massive damage to their health.

Previous studies examining withdrawal in children with language impairment (LI) have found that these children are more socially withdrawn than their typically developing peers. It seems reasonable to assume that a causal relationship exists between language deficits and withdrawal. However, there is growing evidence that different subtypes of withdrawal have varying social consequences and language may not be closely linked to each subtype. In the present study, subtests from the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL; Carrow-Woolfolk, 1999) were used to evaluate specific language skills and the Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS; Hart & Robinson, 1996) was used to evaluate solitary-passive withdrawal behaviors of 34 children with LI and 34 children with typically developing language. These children were matched for age (ranging from 6;11 to 11;0) and gender. No significant difference in solitary-withdrawn behavior was found between groups of children with language impairment and children with typically developing language. There was also no significant relationship between the amount of solitary-passive withdrawal and the CASL subtest scores. The results suggest that low language ability may not be directly related to solitary-passive withdrawal. Rather, the relationship between language ability and solitary-passive withdrawal is complex and is likely influenced by other factors.

Non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a neuromodulatory technique used to activate vagal afferent fibers located in the concha of the outer ear. Vagal afferents project to the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) where information is processed and propagated to higher brain regions. Widespread NTS connections provide a mechanism through which taVNS can be used to influence multiple systems and be a potential treatment for many disorders including heart failure, gastric motility disorders, and migraines. Recent studies are now investigating taVNS as an alternative treatment option to invasive cervical vagus nerve stimulation (cVNS) which is FDA approved to treat drug-resistant epilepsy and depression but has limited patient availability due to the invasiveness of the procedure. Migraine and epilepsy clinical studies have shown therapeutic taVNS benefits and human fMRI studies have demonstrated comparable brain activation between cVNS and taVNS. However, questions remain regarding optimal taVNS parameters, and no study has compared the direct mechanisms responsible for cVNS and taVNS effects. In this study, a high-impedance tungsten electrode was stereotaxically placed into NTS in 10 chloralose-anesthetized rats, and 40-70 neurons were interrogated using electrophysiological methods. Firing rate changes during stimulation on-times were compared to activity levels during stimulation off-times. Neurons were classified as positive responders if they displayed consistent firing rate increases during stimulation, negative responders if they displayed consistent decreases, and non-responders if there was no consistency using a mathematical cosine similarity score. Six taVNS stimulation parameters were investigated using three frequencies (20, 100, 250Hz) at two intensities (0.5, 1.0mA) to identify parameter-specific effects on NTS neurons. Additionally, neuronal activity was evaluated following cVNS at 20 and 250Hz at the bradycardic intensity (lowest intensity to generate a transient 5% decrease in heart rate, BI) and compared to taVNS effects at the corresponding frequencies. Our data shows that taVNS at 20Hz, 1.0mA yields the greatest number of positive responders and 100Hz, 1.0mA yields the greatest number of negative responders (p<0.05) suggesting different taVNS parameters can differentially influence NTS activity. Comparisons between the number of responders generated with cVNS and taVNS revealed significantly fewer negative responders with cVNS at 20Hz compared to taVNS at 20Hz regardless of intensity (p<0.01) but yielded comparable positive responders between cVNS at 20Hz, BI and taVNS at 20Hz, 1.0mA. No significant differences were observed between the number of cVNS and taVNS responders at 250Hz. Interestingly, individual neuronal responses were different between both methods of stimulation, suggesting that they could work through different neuronal pathways.

An incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is put forward to simulate non-linear and dispersive solitary wave reflection and transmission characteristics after interacting with a partially immersed curtain-type breakwater. The Naviers¿Stokes equations in Lagrangian form are solved using a two-step split method. The method first integrates the velocity field in time without enforcing incompressibility. Then the resulting deviation of particle density is projected into a divergence-free space to satisfy incompressibility by solving a pressure Poisson equation. Basic SPH formulations are employed for the discretization of relevant gradient and divergence operators in the governing equations. The curtainwall and horizontal bottom are also numerically treated by fixed wall particles and the free surface of wave is tracked by particles with a lower density as compared with inner particles. The proposed SPH model is first verified by the test of a solitary wave with different amplitudes running against a vertical wall without opening underneath. Then it is applied to simulate solitary wave interacting with a partially immersed curtain wall with different immersion depths. The characteristics ofwave reflection, transmission, dissipation and impacting forces on the curtain breakwater are discussed based on computational results

No description available.

Yes / A two-dimensional numerical model is developed to study the propagation of a solitary wave in the presence of a steady current flow. The numerical model is based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a k-ε turbulence closure scheme and an internal wave-maker method. To capture the air-water interface, the volume of fluid (VOF) method is used in the numerical simulation. The current flow is initialized by imposing a steady inlet velocity on one computational domain end and a constant pressure outlet on the other end. The desired wave is generated by an internal wave-maker. The propagation of a solitary wave travelling with a following/opposing current is simulated. The effects of the current velocity on the solitary wave motion are investigated. The results show that the solitary wave has a smaller wave height, larger wave width and higher travelling speed after interacting with a following current. Contrariwise, the solitary wave becomes higher with a smaller wave width and lower travelling speed with an opposing current. The regression equations for predicting the wave height, wave width and travelling speed of the resulting solitary wave are for practical engineering applications. The impacts of current flow on the induced velocity and the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) of a solitary wave are also investigated. / National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant #51209083, #51137002 and #41176073, the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (China) Grant #BK2011026, the 111 Project under Grant No. B12032, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University, China (2013B31614), and the Carnegie Trust for Scottish Universities

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Vita. "June 2008" Includes bibliographical references.

[EN] The scope of this thesis is the abstract finite group theory. All the groups we will consider will be finite. hence, the word "group" will be understood as a synonimous of "finite group". We say that a subgroup H of a group G is solitary when no other subgroup of G is isomorphic to H. A normal subgroup H of a group G is said to be normal solitary when no other normal subgroup of G is isomorphic to H. A normal subgroup N of a group G is said to be quotient solitary when no other normal subgroup K of G gives a quotient isomorphic to G/N. Solitary subgroups, normal solitary subgroups, and quotient solitary subgroups have been recently studied by authors like Thévenaz, who named the solitary subgroups as strongly characteristic subgroups, Kaplan and Levy, Tarnauceanu, and Atanasov and Foguel. The aim of this PhD thesis project is to deepen into the analysis of these subgroup embedding properties, by refining the knowledge of their lattice properties, by obtaining general properties related to classes of groups, and by analysing groups in which the members of some distinguished families of subgroups satisfy these embedding properties. The basic results of group theory that will be used in the memoir appear in Chapter 1. Among them, we comment on some results about soluble groups, supersoluble groups, nilpotent groups, classes of groups, and p-soluble and p-nilpotent groups for a prime p. In Chapter 2, we present the basic concepts about these embedding properties, as well as some basic results satisfied by them. Chapter 3 is devoted to the study of lattice properties of these types of subgroups. In this chapter we deepen into the study of the lattices of solitary subgroups and quotient solitary subgroups developed by Kaplan and Levy and by Tarnauceanu and we check that, even though these lattices consist of normal subgroups, they are not sublattices of the lattice of normal subgroups. We also check that the set of all normal solitary subgroups does not constitute a lattice, which motivates the introduction of the concept of subnormal solitary subgroup as a more suitable tool to deal with lattice properties. In Chapter 4, we study in depth the relations between these embedding properties and classes of groups. We observe that the subnormal solitary subgroups behave well with respect to radicals for Fitting classes and that the residuals for formations are quotient solitary subgroups. We also study conditions under which the radicals with respect to Fitting classes are quotient solitary subgroups and the residuals with respect to formations are solitary subgroups. To finish, we state the natural question of whether the solitary or subnormal solitary subgroups can be regarded as radicals for suitable Fitting classes or whether the quotient solitary subgroups are residuals for suitable Fitting classes. We give a negative answer to this question. Chapter 5 is devoted to the study of groups whose minimal subgroups are solitary, that is, groups with a unique subgroup of order p for each prime p dividing its order. We give a complete classification of these groups and we make some remarks about related problems. Our contributions to this research line have been accepted for their publication in two papers in Communications in Algebra and in Journal of Algebra and its Applications. / [ES] El ámbito de esta tesis es el de la teoría abstracta de grupos finitos. Todos los grupos que consideremos serán finitos. Por ello, la palabra «grupo» se entenderá como sinónima de «grupo finito». Decimos que un subgrupo H de un grupo G es solitario cuando ningún otro subgrupo de G es isomorfo a H. Un subgrupo normal H de un grupo G se dice normal solitario cuando ningún otro subgrupo normal de G es isomorfo a H. Un subgrupo normal N de un grupo G se dice que es solitario para cocientes cuando ningún otro subgrupo normal K de G da un cociente isomorfo a G/N. Los subgrupos solitarios, los subgrupos normales solitarios y los subgrupos solitarios para cocientes han sido recientemente estudiados por autores como Thévenaz, quien bautizó los subgrupos solitarios como subgrupos fuertemente característicos, Kaplan y Levy, Tarnauceanu y Atanasov y Foguel. El objeto de este proyecto de tesis doctoral es el de profundizar en el análisis de estas propiedades de inmersión de subgrupos, afinando en el conocimiento de sus propiedades reticulares, obteniendo propiedades generales en relación con clases de grupos y analizando grupos en los que los miembros de algunas familias destacadas de subgrupos satisfacen estas propiedades de inmersión. Los resultados básicos de teoría de grupos que se utilizan en la memoria aparecen en el capítulo 1. Entre ellos, comentamos algunos resultados sobre grupos resolubles, superresolubles, nilpotentes, clases de grupos y grupos p-resolubles y p-nilpotentes para un primo p. En el capítulo 2 presentamos los conceptos básicos sobre estas propiedades de inmersión, así como algunos resultados básicos que satisfacen. El capítulo 3 está dedicado al estudio de propiedades reticulares de estos tipos de subgrupos. En este capítulo se profundiza en el estudio de los retículos de subgrupos solitarios y solitarios para cocientes llevado a cabo por Kaplan y Levy y por Tarnauceanu y se comprueba que, a pesar de que estos retículos constan de subgrupos normales, no son subretículos del retículo de subgrupos normales. También comprobamos que el conjunto de subgrupos normales solitarios no constituye un retículo, lo que motiva la introducción del concepto de subgrupo subnormal solitario como herramienta más adecuada para tratar propiedades reticulares. En el capítulo 4 estudiamos con profundidad las relaciones entre estas propiedades de inmersión y clases de grupos. Observamos que los subgrupos subnormales solitarios se comportan bien respecto de radicales de clases de Fitting y que los residuales para formaciones son subgrupos solitarios para cocientes. Esto permite mejorar algunos resultados sobre subgrupos solitarios para cocientes. También estudiamos condiciones en que los radicales respecto de clases de Fitting son subgrupos solitarios para cocientes y los residuales respecto de formaciones son subgrupos solitarios. Por último, nos planteamos la cuestión natural de si los subgrupos solitarios o subnormales solitarios pueden verse como radicales para clases de Fitting adecuadas o si los subgrupos solitarios para cocientes son residuales para clases de Fitting adecuadas. Damos una respuesta negativa a esta cuestión. El capítulo 5 está dedicado al estudio de grupos cuyos subgrupos minimales son solitarios, es decir, grupos con un único subgrupo de orden p para cada primo p divisor de su orden. Damos una clasificación completa de estos grupos y hacemos algunas observaciones sobre problemas relacionados. Nuestras aportaciones a esta línea de investigación han sido aceptadas para su publicación en dos artículos en Communications in Algebra y en Journal of Algebra and its Applications. / [CAT] L'àmbit d'aquesta tesi és el de la teoria abstracta de grups finits. Tots els grups que hi considerem seran finits. Per això, la paraula «grup» s'entendrà com a sinònima de «grup finit». Direm que un subgrup H d'un grup G és solitari quan cap altre subgrup de G no és isomorf a H. Un subgrup normal H d'un grup G es diu normal solitari quan cap altre subgrup normal de G no és isomorf a H. Un subgrup normal N d'un grup G es diu que és solitari per a quocients quan cap altre subgrup normal K de G no dóna un quocient isomorf a G/N. Els subgrups solitaris, els subgrups solitaris normals i els subgrups solitaris per a quocients han sigut recentment estudiats per autors com Thévenaz, qui batejà els subgrups solitaris com a subgrups fortament característics, Kaplan i Levy, Tarnauceanu i Atanasov i Foguel. L'objecte d'aquest projecte de tesi doctoral és el d'aprofundir en l'anàlisi d'aquestes propietats d'immersió de subgrups, afinant en el coneixement de les seues propietats reticulars, obtenint propietats generals en relació amb classes de grups i analitzant grups en què els membres d'algunes famílies destacades de subgrups satisfan aquestes propietats d'immersió. Els resultats bàsics de teoria de grups que es fan servir en la memòria apareixen al capítol 1. Entre ells, comentem alguns resultats sobre grups resolubles, superresolubles, nilpotents, classes de grups i grups p-resolubles i p-nilpotents per a un primer p. Al capítol 2 presentem els conceptes bàsics sobre aquestes propietats d'immersió, així com alguns resultats bàsics que satisfan. El capítol 3 està dedicat a l'estudi de propietats reticulars d'aquests tipus de subgrups. En aquest capítol s'aprofundeix en l'estudi dels reticles de subgrups solitaris i solitaris per a quocients dut a terme per Kaplan i Levy i per Tarnauceanu i es comprova que, encara que aquests subgrups consten de subgrups normals, no són subreticles del reticle de subgrups normals. També comprovem que el conjunt de subgrups normals solitaris no constitueix un reticle, la qual cosa motiva la introducció del concepte de subgrup subnormal solitari com a eina més adient per tractar propietats reticulars. Al capítol 4 estudiem amb profunditat les relacions entre aquestes propietats d'immersió i classes de grups. Observem que els subgrups subnormals solitaris es comporten bé respecte de radicals de classes de Fitting i que els residuals per a formacions són subgrups solitaris per a quocients. Açò permet millorar alguns resultats sobre subgrups solitaris per a quocients. També estudien condicions en què els radicals respecte de classes de Fitting són subgrups solitaris per a quocients i els residuals respecte de formacions són subgrups solitaris. Per acabar, ens plantegem la qüestió natural de si els subgrups solitaris o subnormals solitaris poden veure's com a radicals per a classes de Fitting adients o si els subgrups solitaris per a quocients són residuals per a classes de Fitting adients. Donem una resposta negativa a aquesta qüestió. El capítol 5 està dedicat a l'estudi de grups els subgrups minimals dels quals són solitaris, és a dir, grups amb un únic subgrup d'ordre p per a cada primer p divisor del seu ordre. Donem una classificació completa d'aquests grups i fem algunes observacions sobre problemes relacionats. Les nostres aportacions a aquesta línia de recerca han sigut acceptades per a llur publicació a dos articles a Communications in Algebra i a Journal of Algebra and its Applications. / Liriano Castro, ODCDJ. (2015). Subgrupos solitarios de grupos finitos [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/59397 / TESIS

Orientador: Maria José de Oliveira Campos / Banca: Marcos Aparecido Pizano / Banca: Marcio Uehara Prado / Resumo: Os requerimentos de habitat necessários para o estabelecimento e sobrevivências de abelhas e vespas solitárias incluem locais e materiais de nidificação, e recursos para forrageio. Este estudo procurou compreender como os recursos oferecidos pelo habitat e pela paisagem podem influenciar na distribuição desses organismos, ao se estabelecerem e se deslocarem por diferentes tipos de uso e ocupação do solo. Foram utilizados ninhos armadilha como método de amostragem, durante um período de 13 meses, em 24 fragmentos de cerrado na região da Bacia do rio Corumbataí. Simultaneamente as mesmas áreas foram analisadas e descritas pelas métricas da Ecologia da Paisagem. O levantamento dos dados biológicos não permitiu nenhuma conclusão dentro dos objetivos propostos, uma vez que o número amostral de indivíduos adultos foi insatisfatório. Entretanto as análises da paisagem permitiram contextualizar a região de estudo com uma paisagem heterogênea e inadequada para o estabelecimento de uma fauna diversificada de abelhas e vespas. Os fragmentos de estudos são geralmente pequenos, pouco conectados e inseridos em matrizes de baixa permeabilidade, contribuindo com a diminuição da diversidade de fauna. Adicionalmente, foi possível organizar as áreas de estudo em níveis de prioridades de conservação, buscando criar caminhos mais práticos para traçar políticas conservacionistas e concentração de esforços. / Abstract: Habitat requirements of solitary bees and wasps include nesting sites, food resources and nesting material. This work attempted to understand how those resources, available in different scales, from habitat to landscape, could drive the distribution of bees and wasps populations over a heterogeneous landscape. For solitary bees and wasps sampling it was used trap-nests, during a 13 months period, on 24 cerrado patches scattered over Corumbataí river basin. Meanwhile, those same areas were analyzed by Landscape Ecology metrics. The biological survey could not allow any further analysis, given an unexpected low rate of nesting individuals. However, landscape analysis described Corumbataí river basin as an inappropriate environment for some trap-nesting bee and wasp species; as well the selected patches, which were usually small, with low connectivity, and merged in a hostile matrix. Besides, it was possible to create levels of "priority conservation", which give decision makers practical choices in environmental policies and efforts. / Mestre