Accumulating evidence reveals that albuminuria may exacerbate uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients. However, racial differences in the associations of albuminuria with uncontrolled BP among diagnosed hypertensives have not been evaluated. A total of 6147 diagnosed hypertensive subjects aged ≥18 years were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2008 with stratified multistage sampling designs. Odds ratios (ORs), relative ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in uncontrolled BP, and the different effects of microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria on continuous BP were estimated using weighted logistic models and linear regression models. Hypertensive subjects with microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were more likely to have uncontrolled BP and higher average systolic BP (SBP) in all individual racial groups. Microalbuminuria was associated with isolated uncontrolled SBP in non-Hispanic blacks and whites, and macroalbuminuria was associated with isolated uncontrolled SBP and diastolic BP (DBP) and high average DBP only in non-Hispanic blacks. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans had lower associations of microalbuminuria with uncontrolled BP (relative OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.48-0.97 for blacks vs whites; relative OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.42-0.93 for Mexicans vs. whites) and isolated uncontrolled SBP (relative OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.43-0.90 for blacks vs. whites; relative OR=0.45, 95% CI=0.29-0.71 for Mexicans vs. whites). The association of microalbuminuria with uncontrolled BP was lower in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans than in non-Hispanic whites. Health providers need to improve care for mildly elevated albumin excretion rates in non-Hispanic white hypertensive patients while maintaining the quality of care in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans.

Accumulating evidence reveals that albuminuria may exacerbate uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients. However, racial differences in the associations of albuminuria with uncontrolled BP among diagnosed hypertensives have not been evaluated. A total of 6147 diagnosed hypertensive subjects aged ≥18 years were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2008 with stratified multistage sampling designs. Odds ratios (ORs), relative ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in uncontrolled BP, and the different effects of microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria on continuous BP were estimated using weighted logistic models and linear regression models. Hypertensive subjects with microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria were more likely to have uncontrolled BP and higher average systolic BP (SBP) in all individual racial groups. Microalbuminuria was associated with isolated uncontrolled SBP in non-Hispanic blacks and whites, and macroalbuminuria was associated with isolated uncontrolled SBP and diastolic BP (DBP) and high average DBP only in non-Hispanic blacks. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans had lower associations of microalbuminuria with uncontrolled BP (relative OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.48-0.97 for blacks vs whites; relative OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.42-0.93 for Mexicans vs. whites) and isolated uncontrolled SBP (relative OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.43-0.90 for blacks vs. whites; relative OR=0.45, 95% CI=0.29-0.71 for Mexicans vs. whites). The association of microalbuminuria with uncontrolled BP was lower in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans than in non-Hispanic whites. Health providers need to improve care for mildly elevated albumin excretion rates in non-Hispanic white hypertensive patients while maintaining the quality of care in non-Hispanic blacks and Mexicans.

This dissertation is to investigate the power system service quality of a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and derive the proper transformer planning to enhance the system operation efficiency. The transformer loading factor is improved by proper capacity planning by considering the power demand according to the growth of ridership. To mitigate the harmonic distortion, the installation location and capacity of harmonic filters are designed and verified by computer simulation. In this dissertation, the software programs for the AC/DC load flow study and harmonic analysis have been developed and integrated to simulate the MRT power system. To enhance the accuracy of computer simulation for the system operation with multiple trains on the main lines, the effect of voltage fluctuation to the traction effort of a train set is considered in the AC/DC load flow analysis. The mathematical model of 12-pulse uncontrolled rectifiers without interphase transformers has been derived and implemented in the programs to obtain more accurate simulation results. To achieve better cost effective capacity planning of main transformers, the unit commitment is applied to derive the optimal transformer capacity to meet the annual peak demand and provide reserve for service reliability. The power consumption of an MRT system is varied with the train operation modes and the route gradient, curvature of MRT networks. The motion equation of train sets has been applied to find the dynamic power consumption and travel distance for each time snapshot. The AC/DC load flow analysis is performed to find the annual power loading of traction substations and whole Taipei MRT network. The energy loss, investment cost of main transformers, and the system service reliability are used to define the equivalent cost of all feasible states for each dynamic programming stage. According to the computer simulation, significant cost saving has been obtained by the proposed methodology for transformer capacity planning of Taipei MRT network. Due to the dynamic load behavior of train sets, the stochastic harmonic distortion of an MRT system is simulated. The mathematical model of the 12-pulse uncontrolled rectifiers without interphase transformers is considered in the harmonic load flow analysis to solve the power demand and harmonic injection currents at traction substations for each time snapshot. According to the mean values and standard deviation of injection harmonic currents, the stochastic harmonic load flow analysis is executed to find the average value and the confidential interval of harmonic voltage distortion for all system buses. By this method, the system voltage harmonic distortion can be evaluated more accurately to provide better guidance for the strategy of harmonic mitigation. According to the results of the stochastic harmonic load flow, different strategies of harmonic distortion mitigation are investigated. Both the fixed type and switching type of passive filters are considered to be implemented. The cost function of filter investment and the harmonic distortion are used in the objective function by considering the regulation of harmonic distortion and system voltages as the constraints. By performing the nonlinear programming, the proper capacity of harmonic filters for each harmonic order and the corresponding switching time of unit commitment is determined. To further improve the power quality, the hybrid filter is also proposed for better distortion mitigation. The analysis of distortion mitigation by harmonic filters are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the hybrid filters to improve the power quality of MRT systems.

No description available.

No description available.

This study focuses specifically on the laws and regulations relating to commercial fishing within the Exclusive Economic Zone of South Africa and the impact of illegal fishing (IUU). The goal is to determine how overfishing can be stopped or minimised and ultimately for South Africa to harvest the illegally caught fish in such a way that it becomes part of the South African economy and generates revenue. The study will analyse the international legal instruments applicable and their impact on the development of the South African maritime laws. An in depth look at the relevant South African maritime laws will be vital as to determine if these laws are adequate to protect the fish resources from illegal exploitation and official mismanagement. To see if South Africa’s maritime laws are lacking with other countries a comparison must be done, particularly with a country like Australia that has one of the highest success rates when it comes to combating IUU fishing. It will be found that the international legal instruments and agreements on the use of the sea have afforded rights and powers to coastal states to protect their sea zones, but it will remains the responsibility of each coastal state to determine how it will use these rights and powers to protect its own sea zones. Further it will be shown that South Africa has the necessary legislative measures in place to protect its fish resources, but the problem lies with the implementation of those measures Australia does not only rely on its legislation to stop IUU fishing, but it also uses external methods, that South Africa will have to consider. / LLM (Import and export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study focuses specifically on the laws and regulations relating to commercial fishing within the Exclusive Economic Zone of South Africa and the impact of illegal fishing (IUU). The goal is to determine how overfishing can be stopped or minimised and ultimately for South Africa to harvest the illegally caught fish in such a way that it becomes part of the South African economy and generates revenue. The study will analyse the international legal instruments applicable and their impact on the development of the South African maritime laws. An in depth look at the relevant South African maritime laws will be vital as to determine if these laws are adequate to protect the fish resources from illegal exploitation and official mismanagement. To see if South Africa’s maritime laws are lacking with other countries a comparison must be done, particularly with a country like Australia that has one of the highest success rates when it comes to combating IUU fishing. It will be found that the international legal instruments and agreements on the use of the sea have afforded rights and powers to coastal states to protect their sea zones, but it will remains the responsibility of each coastal state to determine how it will use these rights and powers to protect its own sea zones. Further it will be shown that South Africa has the necessary legislative measures in place to protect its fish resources, but the problem lies with the implementation of those measures Australia does not only rely on its legislation to stop IUU fishing, but it also uses external methods, that South Africa will have to consider. / LLM (Import and export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This research is concerned with the utilization of chance as a stimulus to encourage experiment and discovery in sculpture. The aims of this research project were: to examine the role of chance within the creative process and previous artists' use of chance; to develop and test a 'chance orientated device' which can introduce chance into any sculptor's creative process; to consider the results of such tests and postulate as to the efficaciousness of such a device. An initial interest in chance came about through the author's personal experience of making sculpture and the fact that the author derived greater pleasure from the end product when to some extent its final form had been determined by factors beyond the author's control. Also, such work appeared to receive more favourable peer judgement and praise than work in which chance had played no part. These events aroused a curiosity as to why chance appeared to have such a positive effect upon the author's creative process and whether or not this effect could be enhanced, and extended to other sculptors. A critical review of literature concerning the scientific study of creativity revealed that chance was recognised as a contributory and often catalytic factor in all fields of creativity, whilst a review of previous artists' use of chance identified the deliberate use of chance in a number of processes, products and philosophies of major art movements and influential artists throughout the twentieth century. It was concluded that chance was a significant yet neglected factor within the creative process, with little accreditation to be found. The methods that previous artists employed to introduce chance had been based upon idiosyncratic techniques which lacked the cohesion and objectivity which the principle of chance demanded. In order to rectify this, the author proposed the development of a 'chance-orientated interactive device' (C.O.J.D.), which possessed the ability to introduce chance into any person's creative process by exploiting the decision making process inherent within creativity. The device, known as ARP (Art as Random Process), exists in 'Hypercard', an Apple Macintosh application which allows non-linear organization of information in relational structures of either text, image, or sound, and has been designed to introduce chance into both the mental and physical processes of making sculpture. ARP exploits the principle of chance by offering the user an opportunity to receive random selections from various alternatives, all of which (both actually and theoretically), relate to the production of sculpture (for example, the user could receive a randomly selected material, a randomly selected shape, or a randomly selected place, etc). By making use of such chance processes, the user is freed from personal likes and dislikes because ARP provides chance combinations of elements that they perhaps would not have chosen themselves. By encouraging users to consider 'random selections', ARP aims to stimulate creativity by acting as a 'habit breaker' to the more experienced sculptor, and as an 'eye-opener' to the less experienced sculpture student. The development of ARP has involved several experiments (using both author and others as participating subjects), which not only tested the design of the device, but attempted to measure the difference, if any, between sculpture produced by purely 'personal decision making procedures', and sculpture produced by 'chance effected decision making procedures'. Ultimately, ARP has been tested and endorsed by a number of prominent sculptors, the majority of whom found ARP to be fascinating, relevant and stimulating. The prototype has successfully demonstrated the immense potential for the future development of ARP, not only within the sculptor's studio, but as an educational device (in any creative profession), and as a methodological 'tool' for further research.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第21704号 / 人健博第70号 / 新制||人健||5(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 青山 朋樹, 教授 黒木 裕士, 教授 松田 秀一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

Ce travail exploite un modèle biomécanique de la production de la parole comme sujet de référence pour étudier plusieurs phénomènes liés à l'adaptabilité et à la stabilité du contrôle moteur de la parole, en particulier l'équivalence motrice et le contrôle postural.La première partie de cette thèse s’intéresse au phénomène de l'équivalence motrice. L'équivalence motrice est une caractéristique essentielle du contrôle moteur de la parole, car les locuteurs doivent s'adapter constamment à des contextes phonétiques toujours différents et à conditions variables de production de la parole. Le concept de « Uncontrolled Manifold » (UCM) offre un cadre théorique pour comprendre les mécanismes sous-jacents à l'équivalence motrice : il propose de représenter la coordination entre les variables de contrôle moteur en deux sous-espaces séparés, un dans lequel tout changement des variables de contrôle affectent la sortie et un autre dans lequel ces changements n'influencent aucunement la sortie.Ce concept est développé et étudié pour la production de la parole en utilisant un modèle biomécanique 2D du conduit vocal. D'abord, une représentation des UCM linéarisées basée sur des matrices de projection orthogonale est proposée. Les UCM de différentes configurations du conduit vocal des 10 voyelles orales françaises sont ensuite caractérisées en étudiant les réponses aux perturbations de leurs commandes. On étudie alors si chaque catégorie phonétique, telle que les phonèmes, les voyelles antérieures/postérieures, ou les voyelles arrondies/non-arrondies, peut être caractérisée par une UCM unique ou si les UCM varient considérablement entre les différents représentants de chacune de ces classes. On a constaté que les UCM linéarisées, celles qui sont spécifiquement calculées pour chaque configuration du conduit vocal, mais aussi celles, plus globales, des classes phonétiques, permettent une réponse efficace aux perturbations des commandes. Cela suggère que des stratégies équivalentes d'équivalence motrice peuvent être mises en œuvre dans chacune de ces classes et que les UCM en fournissent des caractérisations exploitables. Des suggestions sont faites pour de futurs travaux pour déterminer quelles classes pourraient être utilisées dans la pratique.La deuxième partie étudie dans quelle mesure le contrôle postural de la langue exploit des mécanismes passifs - tels que les propriétés mécaniques et élastiques intrinsèques de la langue- ou des réflexes à faible latence - comme le réflexe d’étirement.Une perturbation en force a été appliquée au modèle biomécanique 2D, dans laquelle la langue est tirée vers l'avant par une force exercée sur le corps de la langue à l'aide d'un robot relié à la partie supérieure de la lame de la langue. Les simulations ont été comparées à des données expérimentales recueillies au Gipsa-lab dans des conditions similaires.Cette perturbation a été simulée avec différentes valeurs du paramètre qui dans le modèle module le feedback induit par l’étirement des fibres musculaires. Les résultats ont montré un effet de rebond dans les mouvements de la langue suite à la perturbation qui est imputable au mécanisme réflexe. Étant donné qu'un rebond similaire est observé dans les données expérimentales sur des sujets humains, ce résultat suggère qu’un mécanisme réflexe joue un rôle significatif dans la stabilité posturale de la langue. Les caractéristiques temporelles de ce réflexe ont été analysées et il s’avère que la précision du modèle est insuffisante pour tirer des conclusions sur l'origine, corticale ou spinale, de ce réflexe. Des pistes pour de futures études expérimentales sont proposées. / This work makes use of a biomechanical model of speech production as a reference subject to address several phenomena related to the adaptability and stability of speech motor control, namely motor equivalence and postural stability. The first part of this thesis is related to the phenomenon of motor equivalence. Motor equivalence is a key feature of speech motor control, since speakers must constantly adapt to various phonetic contexts and speaking conditions. The Uncontrolled Manifold (UCM) idea offers a theoretical framework for considering motor equivalence in which coordination among motor control variables is separated into two subspaces, one in which changes in control variables modify the output and another one in which these changes do not influence the output.This concept is developed and investigated for speech production using a 2D biomechanical model. First, a representation of the linearized UCM based on orthogonal projection matrices is proposed. The UCMs of various vocal tract configurations of the 10 French oral vowels are then characterized using their command perturbation responses. It is then investigated whether each phonetic class such as phonemes, front/back vowels, rounded/un-rounded vowels can be characterized by a unique UCM, or whether the UCMs vary significantly across representatives of these different classes. It was found that linearized UCMs, especially those that are specifically computed for each configuration, but also across many of the phonetic classes allow for a command perturbation response that is effective. This suggests that similar motor equivalence strategies can be implemented within each of these classes and that UCMs provide a valid characterization of an equivalence strategy. Further work is suggested to elaborate which classes might be used in practice.The second part addresses the question of the degree to which postural control of the tongue is accomplished through passive mechanisms - such as the mechanical and elastic properties of the tongue itself - or through short-latency reflexes - such as the stretch reflex.A specific external force perturbation, was applied to the 2D biomechanical model , namely one in which the tongue is pulled anteriorly using specific force profile exerted on the tongue body using a force effector attached to the superior part of the tongue blade. Simulation results were compared to experimental data collected at Gipsa-lab under similar conditions.This perturbation was simulated with various values of the model's parameter modulating the reflex strength (feedback gain). The results showed that a perturbation rebound seen in simulated data is due to a reflex mechanism. Since a compatible rebound is seen in data from human subjects, this can be taken as evidence of a reflex mechanism being involved in postural stability of the tongue. The time course of the mechanisms of this reflex, including the generation of force and the movement of the tongue, were analyzed and it was determined that the precision of the model was insufficient to make any conclusions on the origin of this reflex (whether cortical or brainstem). Still, numerous experimental directions are proposed.