published_or_final_version / History / Master / Master of Philosophy

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In the boost phase interception of ballistic missiles, determining the exact position of a ballistic missile has a significant importance. Several sensors are used to detect and track the missile. These sensors differ from each other in many different aspects. The outputs of radars give range, elevation and azimuth information of the target while space based infrared sensors give elevation and azimuth information. These outputs have to be combined (fused) achieve better position information for the missile. The architecture that is used in this thesis is decision level fusion architecture. This thesis examines four algorithms to fuse the results of radar sensors and space based infrared sensors. An averaging technique, a weighted averaging technique, a Kalman filtering approach and a Bayesian technique are compared. The ballistic missile boost phase segment and the sensors are modeled in MATLAB. The missile vector and dynamics are based upon Newton's laws and the simulation uses an earth-centered coordinate system. The Bayesian algorithm has the best performance resulting in a rms missile position error of less than 20 m. / 1st Lieutenant, Turkish Air Force

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The Air Defense Laboratory (ADL) Simulation is a software program that models the way an air-defense officer thinks in the threat assessment process. The model uses multi-agent system (MAS) technology and is implemented in Java programming language. This research is a portion of Red Intent Project whose goal is to ultimately implement a model to predict the intent of any given track in the environment. For any air track in the simulation, two sets of agents are created, one for controlling track actions and one for predicting its identity and intent based on information received from track, the geopolitical situation and intelligence. The simulation is also capable of identifying coordinated actions between air tracks. We used three kinds of aircraft behavior in the simulation: civilian, friendly and enemy. Predictor agents are constructed in a layered structure and use "conceptual blending" in their decision-making processes using mental spaces and integration networks. Mental spaces are connected to each other via connectors and connecters trigger tickets. Connectors and Tickets were implemented using the Connector-based Multi Agent System (CMAS) library. This simulation is one of the first applications to use cognitive blending theory for a military application. We demonstrated that agents can create an "integration network" composed of "mental spaces" and retrieve any mental space data inside the network immediately without traversing the entire network by using the CMAS library. The results of the tests of the simulation showed that the ADL Simulation can be used as assistant to human air-defense personnel to increase accuracy and decrease reaction time in naval air-threat assessment. / Lieutenant Junior Grade, Turkish Navy

Disputed Issues of Necessary Defence in the Case Law The thesis itself is focused on the points at issue of necessary defence mainly in the field of Czech criminal law although some partial issues are also compared to the foreign legislation. In compliance with the title of the work author's attention is dedicated in the first place to case law in the areas that have not been decided by courts yet, further, the law theory is described. The thesis is composed of seven chapters, from which the first forms as an introduction, where the goals and approaches are indicated. The last, seventh section summarizes the outcomes and conclusions of the thesis and also serves as a recommendation of some useful legislative changes that can be done in the future. The Second Chapter describes the institute of necessary defense itself and its position in the system of criminal law and defines the basic terminology. The circumstances excluding criminal liability (excuse defenses) are also depicted there and distinguished from circumstances excluding lawlessness (justification defenses). The last section of this part is dedicated to the current wording of the institute of necessary defence in the valid Czech Criminal Code. The Third Chapter serves as the key part of the whole thesis and deals with the issues creating...

LL.D. / The starting point of this research is the observation that the protection of human rights and the prevention of human rights atrocities can only take place through a universal system of different means of accountability which create enough deterrence for the future state or individual offender. This research consists of four parts: Part A explores and outlines the different existing ways and means of traditional human rights protection under the international and regional human rights regimes. It focuses on the aspect of victim protection from human rights violations through protective means available under the different human rights regimes. Part A concludes that the existing means and ways of protecting human rights are by far not sufficient to ensure the compliance of states with the existing provisions on human rights protection and that the protection of human rights remains an unfinished chapter of international law. Parts B and C analyze the evolving approach to hold states and individuals directly accountable for gross human rights violations, via the means of criminal and/or civil responsibility. Part B explores the possibilities of human rights protection by the means of criminal prosecution. It outlines the development of the concept of criminal responsibility from the days of Nuremberg to the present International Criminal Court in The Hague. The main focus is on domestic criminal procedures as a supplement and possibly alternative to international prosecution. This part concludes with the observation that the present mechanisms and means available under the existing international and domestic jurisdictions fail to establish individual criminal accountability at the necessary global scale and therefore fail to deter the commission of future genocide. Part C explains the necessity to establish an international system of civil liability for human rights atrocities as a supplement and (even) alternative to the existing mechanisms of accountability. The present possibilities for the individual victim to obtain financial redress for his suffering under international law are outlined and discussed. The further option of asserting civil legal action for human rights violations under domestic jurisdictions is scrutinized and evaluated with a special focus on the USA as the state which has so far the strongest adjudication of human rights claims. This part concludes with the finding that the individual victim of human rights violations still lacks the necessary forum with the respective judicial means to hold the perpetrator financially liable for his human rights violations. Part D introduces a draft Statute on a (future) Convention on Individual Civil Liability for Human Rights Atrocities as a supplement for the existing ways of human rights protection. Each provision of the draft statute is evaluated in the context of already existing legal instruments, jurisprudence and, if available, examples of customary usage. The draft’s overall aim is the establishment of a working system of civil liability for the individual and corporate human rights perpetrator for a selection of egregious human rights atrocities qualifying as so-called international or transnational human rights torts. This research concludes with the finding that only a combination of the existing ways and means of human rights protection, the consequent application of the existing provisions and finally their further development can safeguard the protection of human rights at a global scale.

by Yvette Shadikhan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-168). / PREFACE --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF ABBREVATIONS --- p.vii / CHAPTER / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter PART I. --- RESHUFFLINGS OF REGIONAL MILITARY LEADERS IN THE MAO ERA / Chapter 2. --- THE 1967 RESHUFFLING --- p.9 / Conflict between Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai / A Small-Scale Reshuffling in1959 / Steps After Reshuffling for the Consolidation of Power / The Cultural Revolution and the Field Army System / The 1967 Reshuffling / Other Causes of the 1967 Reshuffling / Chapter 3. --- THE 1971 AND 1973 RESHUFFLINGS --- p.31 / The Domination of the PLA in Non-Military Organizations / Conflict between Mao Zedong and Lin Biao / The 1971 Reshuffling / The End of PLA's Domination and the 1973 Reshuffling / Chapter PART II. --- RESHUFFLING OF REGIONAL MILITARY LEADERS IN THE DENG ERA / Chapter 4. --- THE 1980，1982 AND 1985 RESHUFFLINGS --- p.54 / Deng Xiaoping and his PLA men / The 1980 Reshuffling / Steps After the 1980 Reshuffling / The 1982 Reshuffling / The Continued Streamlining of the PLA after the 1982 Reshuffling / The 1985 Reshuffling / The Continued Streamlining of the PLA after the 1985 Reshuffling / Chapter 5. --- THE 1990 RESHUFFLING --- p.86 / Student Movements and Intra-Party Struggles / The Behaviour of PLA in the June 4 Incident / The 1990 Reshuffling / Steps After the 1990 Reshuffling / Chapter 6. --- CONCLUSION --- p.100 / NOTES --- p.107 / APPENDIX --- p.126 / CHRONOLOGY OF CHINESE MILITARY AFFAIRS --- p.132 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.156

A 12-kDa ribonuclease was purified from Pleurotus sajor-caju . The ribonuclease inhibited fungi growth and two species of bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. It reduced the viability of hepatoma and leukemia cells and inhibited translation in a cell-free rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. / A 13-kDa lectin was isolated from Collybia veultipes. Its N-terminal sequence shows some similarity to other fungal immunomodulatory proteins. It stimulated [3H-methyl] thymidine uptake by mouse splenocytes and inhibited proliferation of leukemia cells. / A 14.4-kDa antifungal protein was purified from Agrocybe cylindracea . It exerted antifungal activity but lacked inhibitory activity against bacteria when tested up to 300 muM. It attenuated the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. / A 17-kDa hemolysin was purified from Pleurotus eryngii. It exhibited cytotoxicity toward leukemia cells but not toward fungi. It exhibited antibacterial activity against Bacillus species. / A 27.5-kDa antifungal protein, with an N-terminal sequence similar to heat shock protein and endoglucanase, was purified from Lentinula edodes. It inhibited fungal growth and exerted an inhibitory activity on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and proliferation of leukemia cells. / A 7-kDa ubiquitin-like protein was purified from Agrocybe cylindracea . It showed antiproliferative activity on leukemia and hepatoma cell lines, and enhanced nitric oxide production in murine peritoneal macrophages. / An 18-kDa lectin, with an N-terminal sequence similar to some lectins and fungal immunomodulatory proteins, was isolated from Ganoderma capense. It exhibited potent mitogenic activity toward mouse splenocytes, and antiproliferative activity toward leukemia and hepatoma cells. / Mushrooms produce a variety of proteins with interesting biological activities. They include lectins, antifungal proteins, ribonucleases, ubiquitin-like proteins, hemolysins and other peptides. / This study demonstrates that different types of defense proteins with diverse biological activities are produced by mushrooms. Some overlap is observed in the spectra of biological activities of the same type of defense proteins. The results of protein characterization provide crucial information for future genetic manipulation in agricultural and food industries. Studies of the in vitro action of the abovementioned defense proteins on fungi, bacteria, viral enzyme, immune cells and cancer cells indicate that the proteins are potentially exploitable drug agents. / Ngai Hung-kui. / "July 2005." / Adviser: Ng Tzi Bun. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0012. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 228-294). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

The relationship between intelligence as measured by the Shipley Institute of Living Scale, Coping Processes as measured by the Ways of Coping Scale and resilience as measured by Global Severity Index of the Brief Symptom Inventory, was examined in 88 individuals who had been sexually abused and 88 individuals who had not been sexually abused. The study attempted to assess whether more intelligent individuals and those who used certain coping styles would experience less distress in the face of adversity than individuals with lower levels of intelligence and who used different coping styles. The results indicated that intelligence was not associated with resilience in either the sexually abused or the non-sexually abused group. In the sexually abused group, the coping processes of Confronting, Distancing, Self Controlling, Accepting Responsibility, Escape Avoidance, Planful Problem Solving and Positive Reappraisal were all significantly positively correlated with the GSI. In the non-sexually abused group, however, the coping processes of Self Controlling, Accepting Responsibility and Escape Avoidance were all significantly positively correlated with the GSI. Results of a simultaneous regression indicated that in the sexually abused group, none of the variables that were correlated with resilience accounted for a significant amount of variance in GSI scores. In the sample of individuals who had not been sexually abused, the coping strategy of Escape Avoidance was the only individual predictor accounting for a significant amount of the GSI variance in the model. Possible reasons and implications of these results are discussed.

The plant hormone, abscisic acid (ABA), has previously been shown to have an impact on the resistance or susceptibility of plants to pathogens. In this thesis, it was shown that ABA had a regulatory effect on an extensive array of plant defence responses in three different plant and pathogen interaction combinations as well as following the application of an abiotic elicitor. In unique studies using ABA deficient mutants of Arabidopsis, exogenous ABA addition or ABA biosynthesis inhibitor application and simulated drought stress, ABA was shown to have a profound effect on the outcome of interactions between plants and pathogens of differing lifestyles and from different kingdoms. The systems used included a model plant and an important agricultural species: Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and Peronospora parasitica (a biotrophic Oomycete pathogen), Arabidopsis and Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato (a biotrophic bacterial pathogen) and an unrelated plant species, soybean (Glycine max) and Phytophthora sojae (a hemibiotrophic Oomycete pathogen), Generally, a higher than basal endogenous ABA concentration within plant tissues at the time of avirulent pathogen inoculation, caused an interaction shift towards what phenotypically resembled susceptibility. Conversely, a lower than basal endogenous ABA concentration in plants inoculated with a virulent pathogen caused a shift towards resistance. An extensive suppressive effect of ABA on defence responses was revealed by a range of techniques that included histochemical, biochemical and molecular approaches. A universal effect of ABA on suppression or induction of the phenylpropanoid pathway via regulation of the key entry point gene, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), when stimulated by biotic or abiotic elicitors was shown. ABA also influenced a wide variety of other defence-related components such as: the development of a hypersensitive response (HR), the accumulation of the reactive oxyden species, hydrogen peroxide and the cell wall strengthening compounds lignin and callose, accumulation of SA and the phytoalexin, glyceollin and the transcription of the SA-dependent pathogenesis- related gene (PR-1). The near genome-wide microarray gene expression analysis of an ABA induced susceptible interaction also revealed an yet unprecedented insight into the great diversity of defence responses that were influenced by ABA that included: disease resistance like proteins, antimicrobial proteins as well as phenylpropanoid and tryptophan pathway enzymes. Subtle differences were found in the number and type of defence responses that were regulated by ABA in each type of plant and pathogen interaction that was studied. This thesis has clearly identified in plant/pathogen interactions previously unknown and important roles for ABA in the regulation of many defence responses.

Terrestrial mammals affect numerous aspects of plant demography, colonization, and community structure in Neotropical forests. Granivorous mammals destroy seeds via seed predation and seedlings through herbivory, negatively affecting plant fitness. Mammals can also positively affect plants by dispersing or hoarding seeds. Seed fate outcomes are contingent on the interaction between mammal seed handling strategies and the intrinsic anti-predation defenses possessed by seeds. In field experiments at La Selva Biological Station, I investigated how collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) and Central American agoutis (Dasyprocta punctata) affect five species of large seeds that have various defenses against predation. Overall, peccaries consumed and killed most non-defended and chemically-defended seeds but they could not destroy seeds with physical defenses. Agoutis killed non-defended and physically-defended seeds, but not seeds with chemical defenses. Using seeds of Mucuna holtonii, I investigated how chemical and structural defenses deter mammal and insect seed predation respectively. I also determined how endosperm removal by invertebrates affects seed germination and seedling biomass. Chemical defenses protected seeds from rodents, but not ungulates that digest seeds via pregastric fermentation. Physical defenses protected seeds from invertebrate seed predators, and removal of endosperm negatively affected both seed germination and seedling growth. To determine how scatter-hoarding by agoutis affects seed escape from seed predators, germination, and seedling growth, I created simulated agouti hoards. I also investigated how mammals affect young seedling survival. Hoarding enhanced seed survival, germination, and seedling growth for most species of seeds. Terrestrial mammals killed some seedlings via seed predation rather than by herbivory. Overall, large mammal activity in La Selva negatively affected seed and seedling survival and this likely influences many aspects of forest dynamics.