Phenylene-based conjugated polymers are of interest for their fascinating electronic and optical properties. The introduction of bound ions into these materials adds great versatility because it can affect solubility, aggregation properties, doping chemistry, luminescence, and response to electrical stimuli. Despite ionic density being a central materials parameter in ionically functionalized conjugated polymers (IFCPs), it has been explored only in limited ranges. The primary advance reported in this dissertation is the development of three complementary synthetic routes to anionic and cationic poly(fluorene)s where the density of ionic functional groups was systematically varied between 0.05 and 0.5 per phenylene unit. There have been very few reports of IFCPs in this range. The three routes all use the Suzuki polycondensation reaction (SPR) to form poly[(R-fluorene)-co-alt-(R'-fluorene)] (PFF) IFCPs, and they differ from one another in when ionic functionality is introduced to the polymer. The development of these approaches grew out of studies on the SPR as it applies to ionically functionalized monomers, specifically, complications created by the two-phase nature of typical Suzuki couplings. In the first route, ions are added to the monomer and directly polymerized into the polymer using a single-phase SPR made possible by using oligoether functionality and a judiciously chosen solvent system. This route was used in the synthesis of a family of sulfonate and oligoether containing PFFs. In the second and third routes, ionic functionality is added after the polymer is formed either in solution or in solid films, respectively. The use of all nonionic monomers during the SPR avoided the complications encountered with two-phase reactions involving ionic monomers. The precursor polymers synthesized for these routes included a family of hexyl and bromohexyl containing PFFs and a family of oligoether and bromohexyl containing PFFs. The former were used to demonstrate post-polymerization quaternization to form cationic PFFs in solid films, and the later were quaternized in solution to yield soluble cationic PFFs. All of the polymers had very similar optical properties with the wavelengths of maximum absorption and emission in the range of 370-385 and 416-425 nm, respectively, and molecular weights greater than 10kDa and exhibited both positive and negative solvatofluorchromism due to aggregation phenomena.

Abstract. There’s need to digitalize numerous historical books and texts and make it possible to read them electronically. Also it is often wanted to preserve their original appearance, not just the text itself. For these operations there is a need for systems, which understand the books and text as they are and are able to distinguish the text information from other context. Traditional optical character recognition systems perform well when processing modern printed text, but they might face problems with old handwritten texts. These types of texts need to be analyzed with systems, which can analyse and segment the text areas well from other irrelevant information. That is why it is important, that the document image segmentation works well. This thesis focuses on manual rectification, automatic segmentation and text line search on document images in Orationes project. When the document images are segmented and text lines found, information from XML transcript is used to find characters and words from the segmented document images. Search engine was developed with with Python programmin language. Python was chosen to ensure high platform independency.Tekstinhakujärjestelmä digitoidulle historialliselle kirjalle. Tiivistelmä. Lukuisia historiallisia kirjoja halutaan digitalisoida ja siirtää sähköisesti luettaviksi. Usein ne halutaan myös säilyttää alkuperäisessä ulkoasussaan. Tällaista operaatiota varten tarvitaan järjestelmiä, jotka osaavat ymmärtää kirjat ja tekstit sellaisinaan ja osaavat erottaa tekstin kirjan muusta kontekstista. Perinteiset optiset kirjaimentunnistusmenetelmät suorituvat hyvin painettujen tekstien analysoinnista, mutta ongelmia aiheuttavat käsinkirjoitetut vanhat tekstit. Tällaisten tekstien kohdalla dokumenttikuvat pitää pystyä ensin analysoimaan hyvin ja erottelemaan tekstialueet muusta tekstin kannalta irrelevantista informaatiosta. Siksi onkin tärkeää, että dokumenttikuvan segmentaatio onnistuu hyvin. Tässä työssä keskitytään Orationes projektin dokumenttikuvien manuaaliseen suoristamiseen, segmentaatioon ja tekstirivien löytämiseen. Lisäksi segmentaation jälkeen segmentoidusta dokumenttikuvasta yritetään löytää haluttuja kirjaimia ja sanoja, dokumenttikuvan XML transkriptista saadun informaation avulla. Hakumoottori toteutettiin Python ohjelmointikielellä, jotta saavutettiin alustariippumattomuus hakumoottorille.

Due to the increasing use of more and more powerful smart devices demands on the scarce radio spectrum are becoming more intense. One way to cope with increasing demands on radio spectrum is to apply innovative and flexible authorization schemes like spectrum sharing. Under the spectrum sharing paradigm, multiple users and/or systems are authorized to utilize the same spectrum band in a defined sharing agreement. A technology that is generally recommended for the implementation of spectrum sharing is called cognitive radio (CR). In this thesis, we design and implement a cognitive engine (CE) that intelligently and dynamically allocates spectrum resources to users. We first consider a scenario where a network has an exclusive access to a spectrum band and the CE accepts or rejects the arrival user requests based on an algorithm that takes into account a user’s priority and its bandwidth demand. We then consider a spectrum sharing scenario where along with the exclusive utilization to its own spectrum band a network also can opportunistically utilize another network’s spectrum band. For this scenario, we design and implement a CE that performs two main tasks: 1) Accepts or rejects arrival user requests based on a priority based algorithm; and 2) it intelligently load balances the user traffic between the two available network resources, while taking into account the primary user activity in the shared spectrum band. We provide a load balancing algorithm and evaluate its performance under different primary and secondary user traffic scenarios. We show that the proposed load balancing algorithm increases average throughput of the network and it also reduces the average number of users rejected by the network. / Yhä tehokkaampien älykkäiden langattomien päätelaitteiden nopea lisääntyminen johtaa niukan radiospektrin yhä kiihtyvään käyttöön. Eräs menetelmä radiospektrin lisääntyvän kysynnän tyydyttämiseen on hyödyntää innovatiivista ja joustavaa resurssin käytönjakoa kuten spektrin jakamista. Spektrinjakamismalli mahdollistaa useiden käyttäjien ja/tai järjestelmien yhtäaikaisen käytön samalla taajuuskaistalla hyödyntämällä sovittua käytäntöä resurssien jakamisesta. Radiospektrin jakaminen on tänä päivänä yleisesti suositeltu toteuttamaan hyödyntämällä kognitiivista radioteknologiaa. Tässä työssä suunnittellaan ja toteutetaan kognitiivinen päätöksentekokone, joka jakaa radiospektriresursseja käyttäjille älykkäästi ja dynaamisesti. Kognitiivista päätöksentekokonetta radioresurssien jakamisessa hyödynnetään kahdessa skenaariossa. Ensimmäisessä skenaariossa radioverkolla on yksinomainen pääsy taajuuskaistalle, jonka käyttöä kognitiivinen päätöksentekokone säätelee joko hyväksymällä tai hylkäämällä verkkoon liittyviä käyttäjiä. Kognitiivinen päätöksentekokoneen päätökset perustuu algoritmiin, joka ottaa huomioon käyttäjien määritetyn tärkeyden ja käyttäjän vaatiman kaistanleveyden. Seuraavassa skenaariossa radioverkko voi oman yksinomaisen taajuuskaistan lisäksi hyödyntää opportunisesti toisen radioverkon taajuuskaistaa silloin, kun siellä ei ole liikennettä. Tätä skenaariota varten suunnitteltiin kognitiivinen päätöksentekokone, jolla on kaksi päätehtävää: 1) hyväksyä tai hylätä verkkoon liittyviä käyttäjiä edellämainitun tärkeysperusteisen algoritmin avulla; ja 2) jakaa käyttäjien liikennettä kahden tarjolla olevan verkon välillä samalla ottaen huomioon opportunistisen resurssin pääkäyttäjien liikenteen jaetulla taajuuskaistalla. Tässä työssä esitellään toteutettu kuormantasausalgoritmi, jonka suorituskykyä tarkastellaan erilaisissa pääkäyttäjien ja toissijaisien käyttäjien liikenneskenaarioissa. Simulaatiotulokset osoittavat, että esitellyn kuormanjakoalgoritmin hyödyntäminen kognitiivisessa päätöksentekokoneessa parantaa verkon keskimääräistä siirtonopeutta, sekä vähentää keskimääräistä käyttäjien hylkäysastetta verkossa. Algoritmimme parantaa opportunistisen taajuuskaistan käyttöastetta. Algoritmimme ottaa myös huomioon käyttäjille asetetut prioriteetit ja parantaa korkeampi prioriteettisten käyttäjien asemaa verkossa. Tämä tulee ilmi muun muassa korkeampi prioriteettisten käyttäjien pienemmässä hylkäysasteessa.

No description available.

Previous research has revealed that the functions of the dorsomedial (DMS) and dorsolateral (DLS) striatum are dissociable. Some of this evidence was obtained using the win-stay (WS) task, in which lights at the entrances to the arms of a radial maze indicate the locations of food. This task is thought to depend on stimulus-response (S-R) learning mediated in part by the DLS. The present experiments used different versions of the WS task developed for an automated 8-arm radial maze. In Experiment 1, no evidence for a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effect on WS learning was obtained. In Experiments 2 and 3, in contrast to previous studies, none of the versions of the WS task used here were impaired by DLS lesions. Two versions of the task were dependent on the DMS, but not DLS or dorsal hippocampus. A possible explanation for these findings is the occurrence of parallel learning involving the amygdala, since the versions of the task used here are postulated to promote stimulus-reward learning. The DMS could be expressing amygdala-based learning through an amygdalostriatal pathway. This is the first demonstration of a WS task that is not impaired by DLS lesions and may not be due to S-R learning. / Des recherches antérieures ont révélé des rôles dissociables de la partie dorsomédiane (DMS) et dorsolatérale (DLS) du corps strié. Certaines de ces preuves ont été obtenues en utilisant la tâche Win-Stay (WS), dans laquelle des lumières à l'entrée des branches d'un labyrinthe radial indiquent la présence de récompenses à l'extrémité de ces branches. Cette tâche dépendrait de l'apprentissage stimulus-réponse (S-R) associé en partie au DLS. Les expériences de la présente thèse ont utilisé différentes versions de la tâche WS adaptées sur un labyrinthe radial automatisé à 8 branches. Dans l'expérience 1, aucune preuve d'un effet de transfert Pavlovien-à-instrumental sur l'apprentissage de WS a été observé. Dans les expériences 2 et 3, contrairement aux études précédentes, aucune des versions de la tâche WS utilisée ici a été affectée par des lésions du DLS. Deux versions ont été affectées par des lésions du DMS, mais pas du DLS ou de l'hippocampe dorsal. Une interprétation possible de ces résultats serait l'occurrence d'un apprentissage parallèle impliquant l'amygdale, puisque les versions de la tâche utilisés ici sont considérées comme pouvant favoriser l'apprentissage de stimulus-récompense. Le DMS pourrait exprimer l'apprentissage dans l'amygdale grâce aux connections amygdalostriatales. Il s'agit de la première démonstration d'une tâche WS qui n'est pas affectée par des lésions du DLS et qui peut ne pas être dûe à l'apprentissage S-R.

Stay follows the journey of seventeen year old Carson Frugé--raised as a boy and besotted with her own father--as she runs away from home, works in a casino turned underground strip club, and shacks up with a petty drug dealer only to come full circle and end up back on her father's doorstep. The varied, rich landscape of Louisiana provides a backdrop for the plot, from the hills north of Alexandria to Henderson Swamp in the Atchafalaya Basin, as Carson flees home after her father betrays her. Characters from different areas and backgrounds give a well-rounded view of the influences of the varied heritages that influence native Louisianans. These characters allow for an exploration of the difficulties in accepting an identity in a place offers so many. Through her journey, Carson leaves behind the scared child to become the hitchhiking, cage dancing, enticing young woman who derails a major drug deal in her quest to accept herself and her life. Without apologies or regret, she comes to understand that sometimes the answers to the things we ask ourselves aren't as important as the asking itself. Stay explores the existence of evil, the nature of relationships, and people's ability to change who they are. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 12, 2012. / Coming of Age, Fiction, Louisiana, Novel / Includes bibliographical references. / Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Professor Directing Thesis; Diane Roberts, Committee Member; Erin Belieu, Committee Member.

Plants that lack floral rewards can attract pollinators if they share attractive floral signals with rewarding plants. These deceptive plants should benefit from flowering in close proximity to such rewarding plants, because pollinators are locally conditioned on floral signals of the rewarding plants (mimic effect) and because pollinators are more abundant close to rewarding plants (magnet effect). We tested these ideas using the non-rewarding South African plant Eulophia zeyheriana (Orchidaceae) as a study system. Field observations revealed that E. zeyheriana is pollinated solely by solitary bees belonging to a single species of Lipotriches (Halictidae) that appears to be closely associated with the flowers of Wahlenbergia cuspidata (Campanulaceae), a rewarding plant with which the orchid is often sympatric. The pale blue color of the flowers of E. zeyheriana differs strongly from flowers of its congeners, but is very similar to that of flowers of W. cuspidata. Analysis of spectral reflectance patterns using a bee vision model showed that bees are unlikely to be able to distinguish the two species in terms of flower color. A UV-absorbing sunscreen was applied to the flowers of the orchid in order to alter their color, and this resulted in a significant decline in pollinator visits, thus indicating the importance of flower color for attraction of Lipotriches bees. Pollination success in the orchid was strongly affected by proximity to patches of W. cuspidata. This was evident from one of two surveys of natural populations of the orchid, as well as experiments in which we translocated inflorescences of the orchid either into patches of W. cuspidata or 40 m outside such patches. Flower color and location of E. zeyheriana plants relative to rewarding magnet patches are therefore key components of the exploitation by this orchid of the relationship between W. cuspidata and Lipotriches bee pollinators.

This investigation, concerning the effects of electricity on nematodes, was conducted in order to find a method of controlling the root-knot nematode in the tobacco field by the use of electricity. The output of a simple induction coil (p. 13 and 37), a 220 Volt 60 cycle current (p. 44), and a 27.12 megacycle transmitter (p. 55) were used to treat the nematodes. Since the nematodes are microscopic, they were treated in the mediums of soil, tap water, distilled water, and distilled water filtered through tobacco soil. The width of the treated area varied trom ½ inch to 12 inches, and the time of treatment varied from 10 seconds to 120 seconds. Two methods were used to determine whether or not the nematodes were killed by the treatments. In the first method (p. 13), the treated soil was planted with okra and tomato seeds which would quickly develop a root system large enough to determine whether or not root-knot infections were present. In the second method (p. 34), the nematode was separated from the and observed in water under a microscope. Results of the treatments were determined more readily by the second method. However, this method required much patience by the operator, and an adequate technique to carry out the second method has not as yet been completely developed. By exposing the nematodes to heat (p. 47) and by comparing the effect of heat alone on the nematodes with the effects of other electrical treatments, it was shown that the heat generated by the electrical treatment provided the lethal effect on the nematodes. An analysis was made of an induction coil showing its output to be AC. An investigation was made to find the conductivity of Granville sandy loam tobacco soil at different moisture levels. The equation Y: 47 x 10⁴ X^-1.29 (10) Y: resistance in ohms X: % of moisture content of the soil shoving the relationship between conductivity and per cent moisture was determined from this test. Because of the scope of this problem of controlling nematodes by electrical means, the author had to conduct only preliminary investigations. However, it is the author's belief that the only way to control nematodes by electricity, and not heat the soil appreciably, is to ionize the chemical in the living cells of the eelworm. To ionize chemicals in the living cells of the nematode would necessitate the application of electrical energy with a frequency high enough to produce x-rays or gamma rays. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological impact of a health promotion program on fourth and fifth grade students. Other research has demonstrated that this same program was associated with physiological improvements in elementary children, and this investigation explored whether students experienced positive changes in attitude and awareness which may suggest that improved behaviors will be sustained over time.;Two schools in rural Virginia were sites for this study. In each school one fourth grade and one fifth grade class was randomly assigned to the treatment program, and one fourth and one fifth grade class were control groups. The American Heart Association's Heart Power program, a 16-lesson curriculum, was substituted for the standard health curriculum for four weeks, and presented by the classroom teachers. Measures of weight concerns, dietary self-efficacy, exercise awareness, body-concept and self-concept were given before and after the treatment, and then again three weeks later.;It was hypothesized that students participating in the Heart Power program would experience improvements in (1) awareness of the importance of exercise to health, (2) belief that they could make healthy food choices, (3) self-esteem and body-concept, and (4) a decrease in weight concerns.;The results were statistically significant for three of the five measures: exercise awareness, dietary self-efficacy and body-concept. There were not statistically significant differences in measured weight concerns and overall self-concept. Further research is needed to confirm the apparent effectiveness of this program in promoting positive changes in children and to determine which aspects of the program are most effective.

A variety of techniques are available to enable the fabrication of photonic crystal structures. Multi-beam-interference lithography (MBIL) is a relatively new technique which offers many advantages over more traditional means of fabrication. Unlike the more common fabrication methods such as optical and electron-beam lithography, MBIL is a method that can produce both two- and three-dimensional large-area photonic crystal structures for use in the infrared and visible light regimes. While multi-beam-interference lithography represents a promising methodology for the fabrication of PC structures, there has been an incomplete understanding of MBIL itself. The research in this thesis focuses on providing a more complete, systematic description of MBIL in order to demonstrate its full capabilities. Analysis of both three- and four-beam interference is investigated and described in terms of contrast and crystallography. The concept of a condition for primitive-lattice-vector-direction equal contrasts} is introduced in this thesis. These conditions are developed as nonlinear constraints when optimizing absolute contrast for producing lithographically useful interference patterns (meaning high contrast and localized intensity extrema). By understanding the richness of possibilities within MBIL, a number of useful interference patterns are found that can be created in a straightforward manner. These patterns can be both lithographically useful and structurally useful (providing interference contours that can define wide-bandgap photonic crystals). Included within this investigation are theoretical calculations of band structures for photonic crystals that are fabricatable through MBIL. The resulting calculations show that not only do most MBIL-defined structures exhibit similar performance characteristics compared to conventionally designed photonic crystal structures, but in some cases MBIL-defined structures show a significant increase in bandgap size. Using the results from this analysis, a number of hexagonal photonic crystals are fabricated using a variety of process conditions. It is shown that both rod- and hole-type photonic crystal structures can be fabricated using processes based on both positive and negative photoresist. The "light-field" and "dark-field" interference patterns used to define the hexagonal photonic crystal structures are quickly interchanged by the proper adjustment of each beam's intensity and polarization. The resulting structures, including a large area (~1 cm², 1 x 10⁹ lattice points) photonic crystal are imaged using a scanning electron microscope. Multi-beam-interference lithography provides an enabling initial step for the wafer-scale, cost-effective integration of the impressive PC-based devices into manufacturable DIPCS. While multi-beam-interference lithography represents a promising methodology for the fabrication of PC structures, it lacks in the ability to produce PC-based integrated photonic circuits. Future research will target the lack of a large-scale, cost-effective fabrication methodology for photonic crystal devices. By utilizing diffractive elements, a photo-mask will be able to combine both MBIL and conventional lithography techniques into a single fabrication technology while taking advantage of the inherent positive attributes of both.