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The purpose of this review of literature is to explore the effects of interventional and environmental auditory stimuli on the adult critical care population. Current research has yet to compare and contrast the effectiveness of various interventional auditory stimuli on stress relief, an oversight this thesis aims to remedy. Modern day critical care settings demand the identification of the most therapeutic interventional auditory stimulus and the most stress-inducing environmental stimuli, so that interventions can be made to optimize patient stress levels and improve outcomes. Suggestions will be made on how to simultaneously reduce harmful or stress inducing auditory stimuli in the critical care setting and implement the optimal stress-relieving interventional auditory stimuli.

Digital Signal Processing has been dominated by the Fourier transform since the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was developed in 1965 by Cooley and Tukey. In the 1980's a new transform was developed called the wavelet transform, even though the first wavelet goes back to 1910. With the Fourier transform, all information about localized changes in signal features are spread out across the entire signal space, making local features global in scope. Wavelets are able to retain localized information about the signal by applying a function of a limited duration, also called a wavelet, to the signal. As with the Fourier transform, the discrete wavelet transform has an inverse transform, which allows us to make changes in a signal in the wavelet domain and then transform it back in the time domain. In this thesis, we have investigated the filtering properties of this technique and analyzed its performance under various settings. Another popular application of wavelet transform is data compression, such as described in the JPEG 2000 standard and compressed digital storage of fingerprints developed by the FBI. Previous work on filtering has focused on the discrete wavelet transform. Here, we extended that method to the stationary wavelet transform and found that it gives a performance boost of as much as 9 dB over that of the discrete wavelet transform. We also found that the SNR of noise filtering decreases as a frequency of the base signal increases up to the Nyquist limit for both the discrete and stationary wavelet transforms. Besides filtering the signal, the discrete wavelet transform can also be used to estimate the standard deviation of the white noise present in the signal. We extended the developed estimator for the discrete wavelet transform to the stationary wavelet transform. As with filtering, it is found that the quality of the estimate decreases as the frequency of the base signal increases. Many interesting signals are self-similar, which means that one of their properties is invariant on many different scales. One popular example is strict self-similarity, where an exact copy of a signal is replicated on many scales, but the most common property is statistical self-similarity, where a random segment of a signal is replicated on many different scales. In this work, we investigated wavelet-based methods to detect statistical self-similarities in a signal and their performance on various types of self-similar signals. Specifically, we found that the quality of the estimate depends on the type of the units of the signal being investigated for low Hurst exponent and on the type of edge padding being used for high Hurst exponent. / Master of Science

Les transistors ayant un faible niveau de bruit à basse fréquence, une faible puissance de dissipation et fonctionnant à basse température (≤ 4.2 K) sont actuellement inexistants alors qu’ils sont très demandés pour la réalisation de préamplificateurs à installer au plus près des détecteurs ou des dispositifs à la température de quelques dizaines de mK, dans le domaine de l’astrophysique, de la physique mésoscopique et de l’électronique spatiale. Une recherche menée depuis de nombreuses années au LPN vise à réaliser une nouvelle génération de HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors) cryogéniques à haute performance pour répondre à ces demandes. Cette thèse, dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre le CNRS/LPN et le CEA/IRFU, a pour but la réalisation de préamplificateurs cryogéniques pour des microcalorimètres à 50 mK.Les travaux de cette thèse consistent en des caractérisations systématiques des paramètres électriques et des bruits des HEMTs (fabriqués au LPN) à basse température. En se basant sur les résultats expérimentaux, l’une des sources de bruit à basse fréquence dans les HEMTs a pu être identifiée, c’est-à-dire la part du courant tunnel séquentiel dans le courant de fuite de grille. Grâce à ce résultat, les hétérostructures ont été optimisées pour minimiser le courant de fuite de grille ainsi que le niveau de bruit à basse fréquence. Au cours de cette thèse, différentes méthodes spécifiques ont été développées pour mesurer de très faibles valeurs de courant de fuite de grille, les capacités du transistor et le bruit 1/f du transistor avec une très haute impédance d’entrée. Deux relations expérimentales ont été observées, l’une sur le bruit 1/f et l’autre sur le bruit blanc dans ces HEMTs à 4.2 K. Des avancées notables ont été réalisées, à titre d’indication, les HEMTs avec une capacité de grille de 92 pF et une consommation de 100 µW peuvent atteindre un niveau de bruit en tension de 6.3 nV/√Hz à 1 Hz, un niveau de bruit blanc de 0.2 nV/√Hz et un niveau de bruit en courant de 50 aA/√Hz à 10 Hz. Enfin, une série de 400 HEMTs, qui répondent pleinement aux spécifications demandées pour la réalisation de préamplificateurs au CEA/IRFU, a été réalisée. Les résultats de cette thèse constitueront une base solide pour une meilleure compréhension du bruit 1/f et du bruit blanc dans les HEMTs cryogéniques afin de les améliorer pour les diverses applications envisagées. / Transistors with low noise level at low frequency, low-power dissipation and operating at low temperature (≤ 4.2 K) are currently non-existent, however, they are widely required for realizing cryogenic preamplifiers which can be installed close to sensors or devices at a temperature of few tens of mK, in astrophysics, mesoscopic physics and space electronics. Research conducted over many years at LPN aims to a new generation of high-performance cryogenic HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors) to meet these needs. This thesis, through the collaboration between the CNRS/LPN and the CEA/IRFU, aims for the realization of cryogenic preamplifiers for microcalorimeters at 50 mK.The work of this thesis consists of systematic characterizations of electrical and noise parameters of the HEMTs (fabricated at LPN) at low temperatures. Based on the experimental results, one of the low-frequency-noise sources in the HEMTs has been identified, i.e., the sequential tunneling part in the gate leakage current. Thanks to this result, heterostructures have been optimized to minimize the gate leakage current and the low frequency noise. During this thesis, specific methods have been developed to measure very low-gate-leakage-current values, transistor’s capacitances and the 1/f noise with a very high input impedance. Two experimental relationships have been observed, one for the 1/f noise and other for the white noise in these HEMTs at 4.2 K. Significant advances have been made, for information, the HEMTs with a gate capacitance of 92 pF and a consumption of 100 µW can reach a noise voltage of 6.3 nV/√ Hz at 1 Hz, a white noise voltage of 0.2 nV/√ Hz, and a noise current of 50 aA/√Hz at 10 Hz. Finally, a series of 400 HEMTs has been realized which fully meet the specifications required for realizing preamplifiers at CEA/IRFU. The results of this thesis will provide a solid base for a better understanding of 1/f noise and white noise in cryogenic HEMTs with the objective to improve them for various considered applications.

Series temporais de correntes, vento (força e direção), temperatura e salinidade, com duração de 24h, obtidas em 5 estações na Baia da Ilha Grande (rj), de 3-29/01/82, foram analisadas. As medições de corrente foram feitas a5, 12 e 20m, a cada 5min e a 2m acima do fundo, a cada 12min; temperatura e salinidade em cinco profundidades a cada 3h e vento a cada 1h. Foram utilizadas análises de series temporais através dos métodos diretos (periodograma) e indireto para as estimativas espectrais alisadas, bem como as equações hidrodinâmicas na determinação dos períodos. Foram utilizados os testes: ruído branco e fisher-whittle, a análise dos espectros rotatórios e a análise cruzada entre vento e corrente, ao longo de três camadas: superfície intermediaria e de fundo. Foram determinadas oscilações de 4,8h e identificadas como seiches internos e detectadas oscilações com período de 3,4h associadas à ressonância com o vento. Em todo o sistema da baia o período de 6h mostrou-se significativo, correspondendo à oscilação natural da baia. Foram detectadas oscilações de alta freqüência 11 e 20min, 20cm/s eventualmente associadas a vórtices e meandros da corrente. Água subtropical na camada de fundo da baia / Temporal series of currents, wind, water temperature and salinity, obtained from 5 oceanographic stations located in and around Ilha Grande Bay (RJ, Brazil), from January 23 to 29, 1982, were analyzed. AlI series have 24 hours. Currents measu¬rements were dione at depths of 5, 12, 20 m (every 5 minutes) and near the bottom (every 12 minutes). Temperature and salinity data were taken from 5 depths every 3 hours for each, while the wind was measured every hour. The present work was per¬formed in order to investigate short-period oscillations present in the region, related to density stratification and to the features of the basin, as well as to describe the circulation patterns and currents variations during one day interval. Two kinds of analysis were used: temporal series analysis, using statistical and spectral methods, and calculations by hydrodynamic motion equations. In temporal series analysis the direct (periodogram) and indirect methods were used for the spectral estimations. White-noise, Fisher- Whittle tests and rotational spectra analysis were also applied, besides the cross spectrum analysis for the data about winds and currents. The results indicate an intense and unidirectional circulation in the layer above 5 meters, from the western to the eastern portion of the Bay, through Central Channel. In this layer, on the eastern sea-opening side, a flux toward the Bay was observed. These motions, within 5 meters depth, were attributed to a circulation generated by a horizontal density difference between oceanic and inshore waters, with few contribution from tides and winds. At intermediate and near bottom layers, a horizontal homogeneity was observed and, consequent1y, smaller horizontal density gradients were detected. This way, circulation caused by tides was stronger than the movements forced by su¬perficial layers. Resultant bottom currents, observed at the Bay openings, led to the open-sea. At Central Channel, 4.8 h period oscillations were detected, and identified as internal seiches. In the eastern Portion, 3.4 hour period oscillations were detected, related to wind resonance. In alI the bay-system, the 6.0 hour period was significant, corresponding to the bay\'s natural oscillation. The study area presented a density stratification in two layers, with a single water type filling alI the portion below the 20 meters. This water, with characteristics of Subtropical Water, occupied the bottom layer due to an upwelling process produced by the dynamics of currents and winds in the continental shelf . In the two stations located off the bay, the wind and currents observations support this upwelling hypothesis.

ADHD affects executive functions and pharmacological treatment is the most common intervention. Medication is ineffective for some and psychosocial interventions are scarcely available. CBT that teaches organizational skills for managing ADHD-symptoms has shown promising results. Smartphones can help individuals perform executive tasks such as planning and organization and they could be efficacious as a support tool for ADHD patients. The current study is a RCT that compares an online course (n=29) based on previously effective CBT treatments for ADHD to a wait-list control (n=29). The intervention focused on teaching the use of an online calendar and smartphone apps. The intervention brought significant improvement (p < 0.001) to participants regarding ADHD symptoms and 38% of participants were considered clinically significantly improved. This indicates that online treatments using IT-tools for ADHD is effective and that smartphones can be used as a tool for aiding individuals with impairments in executive functions.

This study focuses on a girl-centered, anti-racist, feminist PAR program with Indigenous and racialized girls in Victoria, a smaller, predominantly white city in British Columbia, Canada. As a partnership among antidote: Multiracial and Indigenous Girls and Women’s Network, and an interdisciplinary team of academic researchers who are also members of antidote, this project defies typical insider-outsider dynamics. In this thesis, I intend to speak back to mainstream Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) literature, contesting the notion that this methodology provides an easy escape from the research engine and underlying colonial formations. Practices of YPAR are continuously (re)colonized, producing new forms of colonialism and imperialism. Our process can be described as an ongoing rhythm of disruptions and recolonizations that are not simple opposites, but are mutually reliant and constitutive within neocolonial formations. In other words, our practice involved creatively disrupting new forms of colonialism and imperialism as they emerged, while recognizing that our responses were not outside of these formations. I seek to make our roles as researchers visible, rather than hidden by hegemonic equalizing claims of PAR, and will explore some of the ways that white noise infiltrated our ongoing efforts of decolonizing YPAR practices. / Graduate

Power system generators are interconnected in a distributed network to allow sharing of power. If one of the generators cannot meet the power demand, spare power is diverted from neighbouring generators. However, this approach also allows for propagation of electric disturbances. An oscillation arising from a disturbance at a given generator site will affect the normal operation of neighbouring generators and might cause them to fail. Hours of production time will be lost in the time it takes to restart the power plant. If the disturbance is detected early, appropriate control measures can be applied to ensure system stability. The aim of this study is to improve existing algorithms that estimate the oscillation parameters from acquired generator data to detect potentially dangerous power system disturbances. When disturbances occur in power systems (due to load changes or faults), damped oscillations (or &quotmodes") are created. Modes which are heavily damped die out quickly and pose no threat to system stability. Lightly damped modes, by contrast, die out slowly and are more problematic. Of more concern still are &quotnegatively damped" modes which grow exponentially with time and can ultimately cause the power system to fail. Widespread blackouts are then possible. To avert power system failures it is necessary to monitor the damping of the oscillating modes. This thesis proposes a number of damping estimation algorithms for this task. If the damping is found to be very small or even negative, then additional damping needs to be introduced via appropriate control strategies. This thesis presents a number of new algorithms for estimating the damping of modal oscillations in power systems. The first of these algorithms uses multiple orthogonal sliding windows along with least-squares techniques to estimate the modal damping. This algorithm produces results which are superior to those of earlier sliding window algorithms (that use only one pair of sliding windows to estimate the damping). The second algorithm uses a different modification of the standard sliding window damping estimation algorithm - the algorithm exploits the fact that the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) within the Fourier transform of practical power system signals is typically constant across a wide frequency range. Accordingly, damping estimates are obtained at a range of frequencies and then averaged. The third algorithm applied to power system analysis is based on optimal estimation theory. It is computationally efficient and gives optimal accuracy, at least for modes which are well separated in frequency.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-09T12:28:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-02-19Bitstream added on 2015-04-09T12:47:16Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000813586.pdf: 948524 bytes, checksum: 30562a6d5f99deb1730f7ff795471b19 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Este trabalho analisa os romances White Noise (1985) e Cosmopolis (2003), de Don DeLillo, a fim de examinar as estratégias narrativas utilizadas pelo autor norte-americano nessas ficções pós-modernas para abordar questões relativas ao meio ambiente, ao capital e à tecnologia, além de marcar sua posição contrária ao sistema econômico vigente. White Noise narra a história de Jack Gladney, um professor universitário bem-sucedido e sua família. A obra é dividida em três partes, o antes, o durante e o depois de um acidente tóxico, que muda de forma drástica a vida desta família cercada de sonhos e temores. Cosmopolis é uma narrativa que se passa em apenas um dia. O protagonista, Eric Packer, é um jovem bilionário do mercado financeiro, morador de um triplex, no prédio mais alto de Nova York. Ao acordar em uma manhã de abril, decide sair para cortar o cabelo. Nessa maratona até o seu objetivo, diversos eventos ocorrem dentro e fora de sua limusine. Pretende-se, nessa pesquisa, examinar aspectos relacionados à postura crítica do autor em relação ao capitalismo, mostrando sua possível falência bem como em relação à sociedade americana e à influência da mídia, que transforma os acontecimentos em grandes espetáculos para serem experienciados ao mesmo tempo em cadeia global. O estudo desses tópicos levará à reflexão de como a sociedade brasileira, devido à suas novas possibilidades financeiras, caminha em direção a ter características semelhantes às discutidas por DeLillo, como o intenso consumismo, a perda de valores e a desumanização. Para o desenvolvimento dessa investigação, serão utilizados textos teóricos de autores como Connor (1992), Eco (1986), Harvey (1989), Jameson (1997), Baudrillard (1988), entre outros / This study aims at analyzing the novels White Noise (1985) and Cosmopolis (2003), written by Don DeLillo, in order to examine the narrative strategies present in these postmodern fictions and verify the author’s approach concerning issues related to the power of capital, technology and the environment as well as to show his fierce criticism towards the dominant economic system. Taking these aspects into account, there will be a comparison on how these aspects are also noticed in Brazil at the present moment. Through the story of Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler Studies, and his family, the book focuses on important characteristics of American society such as the influence of the media that transforms facts in great spectacles to be experienced at the same time around the globe. Jack’s family life changes completely after the Airborne Toxic Event, since this situation throws into question values related to privacy and ethics. In Cosmopolis, the narrative happens in one day. The protagonist, Eric Packer, is a young billionaire from the business world, who lives in a forty-eight room apartment in the highest building of New York City. One morning in April, he decides to go out for a haircut. In this “marathon” to his goal, many events happen inside and outside his limousine. Cosmopolis warns the readers about the critical stage of capitalism and its possible failure. This study will explore how the Brazilian society, due to new financial opportunities, becomes similar to the American society, such as an intense consumerism, the lack of values and the dehumanization. The discussion will be based on theorists such as Connor (1992), Eco (1986), Harvey (1989), Jameson (1997), Baudrillard (1988)

Series temporais de correntes, vento (força e direção), temperatura e salinidade, com duração de 24h, obtidas em 5 estações na Baia da Ilha Grande (rj), de 3-29/01/82, foram analisadas. As medições de corrente foram feitas a5, 12 e 20m, a cada 5min e a 2m acima do fundo, a cada 12min; temperatura e salinidade em cinco profundidades a cada 3h e vento a cada 1h. Foram utilizadas análises de series temporais através dos métodos diretos (periodograma) e indireto para as estimativas espectrais alisadas, bem como as equações hidrodinâmicas na determinação dos períodos. Foram utilizados os testes: ruído branco e fisher-whittle, a análise dos espectros rotatórios e a análise cruzada entre vento e corrente, ao longo de três camadas: superfície intermediaria e de fundo. Foram determinadas oscilações de 4,8h e identificadas como seiches internos e detectadas oscilações com período de 3,4h associadas à ressonância com o vento. Em todo o sistema da baia o período de 6h mostrou-se significativo, correspondendo à oscilação natural da baia. Foram detectadas oscilações de alta freqüência 11 e 20min, 20cm/s eventualmente associadas a vórtices e meandros da corrente. Água subtropical na camada de fundo da baia / Temporal series of currents, wind, water temperature and salinity, obtained from 5 oceanographic stations located in and around Ilha Grande Bay (RJ, Brazil), from January 23 to 29, 1982, were analyzed. AlI series have 24 hours. Currents measu¬rements were dione at depths of 5, 12, 20 m (every 5 minutes) and near the bottom (every 12 minutes). Temperature and salinity data were taken from 5 depths every 3 hours for each, while the wind was measured every hour. The present work was per¬formed in order to investigate short-period oscillations present in the region, related to density stratification and to the features of the basin, as well as to describe the circulation patterns and currents variations during one day interval. Two kinds of analysis were used: temporal series analysis, using statistical and spectral methods, and calculations by hydrodynamic motion equations. In temporal series analysis the direct (periodogram) and indirect methods were used for the spectral estimations. White-noise, Fisher- Whittle tests and rotational spectra analysis were also applied, besides the cross spectrum analysis for the data about winds and currents. The results indicate an intense and unidirectional circulation in the layer above 5 meters, from the western to the eastern portion of the Bay, through Central Channel. In this layer, on the eastern sea-opening side, a flux toward the Bay was observed. These motions, within 5 meters depth, were attributed to a circulation generated by a horizontal density difference between oceanic and inshore waters, with few contribution from tides and winds. At intermediate and near bottom layers, a horizontal homogeneity was observed and, consequent1y, smaller horizontal density gradients were detected. This way, circulation caused by tides was stronger than the movements forced by su¬perficial layers. Resultant bottom currents, observed at the Bay openings, led to the open-sea. At Central Channel, 4.8 h period oscillations were detected, and identified as internal seiches. In the eastern Portion, 3.4 hour period oscillations were detected, related to wind resonance. In alI the bay-system, the 6.0 hour period was significant, corresponding to the bay\'s natural oscillation. The study area presented a density stratification in two layers, with a single water type filling alI the portion below the 20 meters. This water, with characteristics of Subtropical Water, occupied the bottom layer due to an upwelling process produced by the dynamics of currents and winds in the continental shelf . In the two stations located off the bay, the wind and currents observations support this upwelling hypothesis.