Yes / Trips over obstacles are one of the main causes of falling in older adults, with vision playing an important role in successful obstacle negotiation. We determined whether a horizontal-vertical illusion, superimposed onto low-height obstacles to create a perceived increase in obstacle height, increased foot clearances during obstacle negotiation thus reducing the likelihood of tripping. Eleven adults (mean ± 1 SD: age 27.3 ± 5.1 years) negotiated obstacles of varying heights (3, 5, 7 cm) with four different appearance conditions; two were obstacles with a horizontal-vertical illusion (vertical stripes of different thickness) superimposed on the front, one was a plain obstacle and the fourth a plain obstacle with a horizontal black line painted on the top edge. Foot clearance parameters were compared across conditions. Both illusions led to a significant increase in foot clearance when crossing the obstacle, compared to the plain condition, irrespective of obstacle height. Superimposing a horizontal-vertical illusion onto low-height obstacles can increase foot clearance, and its use on the floor section of a double-glazing door frame for example may reduce the incidence of tripping in the home.

Yes / Falls on stairs are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly people. A simple safety strategy to avoid tripping on stairs is increasing foot clearance. We determined whether a horizontal–vertical illusion superimposed onto stairs to create an illusory perceived increase in stair-riser height would increase stair ascent foot clearance in older participants. Methods.: Preliminary experiments determined the optimum parameters for the horizontal–vertical illusion. Fourteen older adults (mean age ± 1 SD, 68.5 ± 7.4 years) ascended a three-step staircase with the optimized version of the horizontal–vertical illusion (spatial frequency: 12 cycles per stair riser) positioned either on the bottom or top stair only, or on the bottom and top stair simultaneously. These were compared to a control condition, which had a plain stair riser with edge highlighters positioned flush with each stair-tread edge. Foot clearance and measures of postural stability were compared across conditions. Results.: The optimized illusion on the bottom and top stair led to a significant increase in foot clearance over the respective stair edge, compared to the control condition. There were no significant decreases in postural stability. Conclusions.: An optimized horizontal–vertical visual illusion led to significant increases in foot clearance in older adults when ascending a staircase, but the effects did not destabilize their postural stability. Inclusion of the horizontal–vertical illusion on raised surfaces (e.g., curbs) or the bottom and top stairs of staircases could improve stair ascent safety in older adults.

Yes / Humans manipulate objects chiefly within their lower visual field, a consequence of upright posture and the anatomical position of hands and arms.This study tested the hypothesis of enhanced sensitivity to a range of stimuli within the lower visual field. Following current models of hierarchical processing within the ventral steam, discrimination sensitivity was measured for orientation, curvature, shape (radial frequency patterns), and faces at various para-central locations (horizontal, vertical, and main diagonal meridians) and eccentricities (5° and 10°). Peripheral sensitivity was isotropic for orientation and curvature. By contrast, observers were significantly better at discriminating shapes throughout the lower visual field compared to elsewhere. For faces, however, peak sensitivity was found in the left visual field, corresponding to the right hemispheric localization of human face processing. Presenting head outlines without any internal features (e.g., eyes, mouth) recovered the lower visual field advantage found for simple shapes. A lower visual field preference for the shape of an object, which is absent for more localized information (orientation and curvature) but also for more complex objects (faces), is inconsistent with a strictly feed-forward model and poses a challenge for multistage models of object perception. The distinct lower visual field preference for contour shapes is, however, consistent with an asymmetry at intermediate stages of visual processing, which may play a key role in representing object characteristics that are particularly relevant to visually guided actions.

Traditional forest management relies on a small field sample and interpretation of aerial photography that not only are costly to execute but also yield inaccurate estimates of the entire forest in question. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that records point clouds representing the 3D structure of a forest canopy and the terrain underneath. We present a method for segmenting individual trees from the LiDAR point clouds without making prior assumptions about tree crown shapes and sizes. We then present a method that vertically stratifies the point cloud to an overstory and multiple understory tree canopy layers. Using the stratification method, we modeled the occlusion of higher canopy layers with respect to point density. We also present a distributed computing approach that enables processing the massive data of an arbitrarily large forest. Lastly, we investigated using deep learning for coniferous/deciduous classification of point cloud segments representing individual tree crowns. We applied the developed methods to the University of Kentucky Robinson Forest, a natural, majorly deciduous, closed-canopy forest. 90% of overstory and 47% of understory trees were detected with false positive rates of 14% and 2% respectively. Vertical stratification improved the detection rate of understory trees to 67% at the cost of increasing their false positive rate to 12%. According to our occlusion model, a point density of about 170 pt/m² is needed to segment understory trees located in the third layer as accurately as overstory trees. Using our distributed processing method, we segmented about two million trees within a 7400-ha forest in 2.5 hours using 192 processing cores, showing a speedup of ~170. Our deep learning experiments showed high classification accuracies (~82% coniferous and ~90% deciduous) without the need to manually assemble the features. In conclusion, the methods developed are steps forward to remote, accurate quantification of large natural forests at the individual tree level.

This master’s final thesis is purposive to analyze the doctrine of direct effect of Community law, which is enlarged in the practice of the European Court of Justice. There are discussed the stages of the formation of the current doctrine identifying the concrete premises, which have been determined the enlargement of the principle of direct effect on the various sorts of forms of Community law. The main attention goes to the question of the direct effect of directives verifying the correctness of the position of the European Court of Justice not to recognize the horizontal direct effect of directives.In other hand, it is strived to verify the whole doctrine of direct effect in order to check the ability to use even the principle of supremacy of the Community law discussing the question of the collision between national and Community law.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:05:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo1820_1.pdf: 894489 bytes, checksum: 2a90aa209b4e52af6ec7b82e52c8d82e (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Este trabalho objetivou analisar o zooplâncton do reservatório de Tapacurá quanto à riqueza, diversidade, distribuição horizontal, vertical e sazonal, correlacionando esses dados aos parâmetros abióticos. Foram realizadas duas coletas em ritmo nictimeral com intervalo de 6 horas, nos meses de agosto/2003 (período chuvoso) e janeiro/2004 (período seco), uma na região litorânea e a outra na região limnética do reservatório. As amostras foram obtidas com rede de plâncton de 64μm de abertura de malha, garrafa tipo Van Dorn, balde graduado e peneira, nas profundidades referentes à superfície e ao limite de zona eufótica. Os dados biológicos foram inicialmente tratados quanto à freqüência de ocorrência, abundância relativa e densidade, sendo posteriormente aplicados índices de diversidade e equitabilidade, análise de agrupamento e análise dos componentes principais. Quanto aos fatores abióticos, a precipitação pluviométrica e a temperatura mostraram ser os fatores-chave. Evidenciou-se tendência à estratificação vertical dos parâmetros hidrológicos no período seco. O oxigênio dissolvido obteve baixos níveis em ambos os períodos sazonais. Rotifera, Cladocera e Copepoda foram os grupos mais freqüentes e abundantes. Entre o Rotifera, cinco espécies constituem novas ocorrências para ecossistemas continentais do estado de Pernambuco. A região litorânea revelou maior riqueza de espécies, diversidade e equitabilidade que a limnética. Quanto à densidade, destacaram-se Rotifera e náuplios de Crustacea no período chuvoso e Copepoda e náuplios de Crustacea no período seco. Observou-se expressiva presença de táxons não planctônicos nas duas regiões do reservatório, porém com maior ocorrência na região litorânea. As espécies euplanctônicas estiveram adaptadas à distribuição nas regiões litorânea e limnética. Os Rotifera foram mais representativos numericamente no período chuvoso. Os Cladocera apresentaram maiores densidades abaixo da superfície. Copepoda foi o único grupo que apresentou tendência à migração vertical no ritmo nictimeral. De acordo com a densidade dos principais taxa, pôde-se observar que no período chuvoso as águas do reservatório de Tapacurá apresentaram características de mesotróficas a eutróficas, enquanto no período seco estas foram de oligotróficas a mesotróficas

Yes / Falls on stairs are a common and dangerous problem for older people. This series of studies evaluated whether or not selected changes to the appearance of stairs could make them safer for older people to negotiate. Objectives: To determine the effect of (1) a step edge highlighter and its position and (2) an optimised horizontal–vertical (H–V) visual illusion placed on a step riser on gait safety during stair descent and ascent. Design: A series of studies using a repeated measures, laboratory-based design, investigating gait control and safety in independently mobile older people. Setting: The University of Bradford Vision and Mobility Laboratory. Participants: Fit and healthy older people aged 60 years of age or more, independently mobile, reasonably active and with normal healthy eyes and corrected vision. Interventions: A step edge highlighter in a variety of offsets from the stair edge and an optimised H–V visual illusion placed on the stair riser. The H–V illusion was provided on a staircase by horizontal step edge highlighters on the tread edges and vertical stripes on the step risers. Main outcome measures: Gait parameters that are important for safe stepping in ascent and descent, particularly toe clearance during stair ascent and heel clearance during stair descent. Results: The step edge highlighter increased the precision of heel clearance during stepping and its positioning relative to the tread edge determined the extent of heel clearance over the tread edge. Positioning the highlighter away from the tread edge, as is not uncommonly provided by friction strips, decreased heel clearance significantly and led to greater heel scuffs. Although psychophysics experiments suggested that higher spatial frequencies of the H–V illusion might provide greater toe clearance on stair ascent, gait trials showed similar increased toe clearances for all spatial frequencies. When a 12 cycle per step spatial frequency H–V illusion was used, toe clearance increases of approximately 1 cm (17.5%) occurred without any accompanying changes in other important gait parameters or stability measures. Conclusions: High-contrast tread edge highlighters present on steps and stairs and positioned flush with the edge of the tread or as near to this as possible should improve stair descent safety in older people. A H–V illusion positioned on the riser of a raised surface/walkway (e.g. kerbs) and/or the top and/or bottom of a stairway is likely to increase foot clearance over the associated step/stair edge, and appears not to lead to any decrement in postural stability. Thus, their use is likely to reduce trip risk and hence improve stair ascent safety. The effect of the step and stair modifications should be assessed in older people with visual impairment. The only other remaining assessment that could be made would be to assess fall prevalence on steps and stairs, perhaps in public buildings, with and without these modifications. / National Institute for Health Research, Public Health Research programme. PHR programme as project number 10/3009/06

A pesquisa estuda a paradiplomacia que envolve atividades de relação e cooperação internacionais protagonizadas por unidades públicas subnacionais. Identifica ações desenvolvidas por governos locais e regionais de várias partes do mundo e, em particular, as atividades paradiplomáticas realizadas pelas cidades de São Paulo, no Brasil, e Montevidéu, no Uruguai. A paradiplomacia em estado federado envolve as atividades protagonizadas pelos Municípios, Estados e Distrito Federal e, em estados unitários, compreendem as efetuadas pelos municípios. Com base no referencial teórico indicado inicialmente, bem como na quantificação dos governos locais latino-americanos, o trabalho desenvolve reflexões sobre a malha territorial do poder local na América Latina e as atividades paradiplomáticas na região. A pesquisa analisa, igualmente, as modalidades de cooperação (intergovernamental/ intragovernamental e horizontal/vertical) protagonizadas pelas interações ocorridas entre governos locais (municípios), governos regionais (Estados) e a União, identificadas no âmbito da gestão das políticas públicas na federação brasileira. Realiza, em seguida, com base nestas experiências, um esforço para identificar como são estão tais cooperações, quando realizadas no âmbito da paradiplomacia. Por fim, realiza um estudo da paradiplomacia em São Paulo e Montevidéu analisando as atividades desenvolvidas do final da década de 1980 até meados da década de 2000, por meio de entrevistas a 12 atores-chaves destas cidades vinculados às práticas paradiplomáticas realizadas. / The research holds as reference the study of the paradiplomacy involving international relations and cooperation activities staged by subnational government units. It identifies actions developed by local and regional governments from around the world, but specifically the paradiplomatic activities undertaken by the cities of São Paulo, Brazil, and Montevideo, Uruguay. The paradiplomacy in federal states involves activities leaded by municipalities, states and the Federal District, and in unitary states, includes those developed by local governments. Based on the theoretical framework initially referred to, as well as on the quantification of local governments in Latin America, this paper provides reflections on the territorial mesh of local authorities in Latin America and the paradiplomatic activities in the region. The research analyzes, to an equal degree, the types of cooperation (intergovernmental / intragovernmental and horizontal / vertical) led by interactions occurring between local governments (municipalities), regional governments (states) and the Union, identified in the management of public policies in the Brazilian federation. Then, based on these experiences, it undertakes an effort to identify how such cooperation is done, when carried out under the paradiplomacy. Finally, it performs a study on the paradiplomacy of Sao Paulo and Montevideo analyzing the activities developed from the late 1980s to the mid 2000s, through a standard questionnaire administered, to 12 key stakeholders from these cities that identify and hold the executed paradiplomatic practices.

A pesquisa estuda a paradiplomacia que envolve atividades de relação e cooperação internacionais protagonizadas por unidades públicas subnacionais. Identifica ações desenvolvidas por governos locais e regionais de várias partes do mundo e, em particular, as atividades paradiplomáticas realizadas pelas cidades de São Paulo, no Brasil, e Montevidéu, no Uruguai. A paradiplomacia em estado federado envolve as atividades protagonizadas pelos Municípios, Estados e Distrito Federal e, em estados unitários, compreendem as efetuadas pelos municípios. Com base no referencial teórico indicado inicialmente, bem como na quantificação dos governos locais latino-americanos, o trabalho desenvolve reflexões sobre a malha territorial do poder local na América Latina e as atividades paradiplomáticas na região. A pesquisa analisa, igualmente, as modalidades de cooperação (intergovernamental/ intragovernamental e horizontal/vertical) protagonizadas pelas interações ocorridas entre governos locais (municípios), governos regionais (Estados) e a União, identificadas no âmbito da gestão das políticas públicas na federação brasileira. Realiza, em seguida, com base nestas experiências, um esforço para identificar como são estão tais cooperações, quando realizadas no âmbito da paradiplomacia. Por fim, realiza um estudo da paradiplomacia em São Paulo e Montevidéu analisando as atividades desenvolvidas do final da década de 1980 até meados da década de 2000, por meio de entrevistas a 12 atores-chaves destas cidades vinculados às práticas paradiplomáticas realizadas. / The research holds as reference the study of the paradiplomacy involving international relations and cooperation activities staged by subnational government units. It identifies actions developed by local and regional governments from around the world, but specifically the paradiplomatic activities undertaken by the cities of São Paulo, Brazil, and Montevideo, Uruguay. The paradiplomacy in federal states involves activities leaded by municipalities, states and the Federal District, and in unitary states, includes those developed by local governments. Based on the theoretical framework initially referred to, as well as on the quantification of local governments in Latin America, this paper provides reflections on the territorial mesh of local authorities in Latin America and the paradiplomatic activities in the region. The research analyzes, to an equal degree, the types of cooperation (intergovernmental / intragovernmental and horizontal / vertical) led by interactions occurring between local governments (municipalities), regional governments (states) and the Union, identified in the management of public policies in the Brazilian federation. Then, based on these experiences, it undertakes an effort to identify how such cooperation is done, when carried out under the paradiplomacy. Finally, it performs a study on the paradiplomacy of Sao Paulo and Montevideo analyzing the activities developed from the late 1980s to the mid 2000s, through a standard questionnaire administered, to 12 key stakeholders from these cities that identify and hold the executed paradiplomatic practices.

Ce mémoire explore la question du rapport intérieur-extérieur chez Le Corbusier se questionnant sur la façon dont la notion d’interpénétration spatiale, postulat majeur de l’architecture moderne, est présente dans son discours. À travers l’étude des croquis, photos et notes de son Voyage d’Orient, ainsi que de certains principes architecturaux énoncés dans ses ouvrages théoriques emblématiques des années 1920, nous allons saisir chez Le Corbusier une pensée qui transcende l’idée d’objet architectural et révèle un intérêt spécial porté au site et à la dialectique horizontale-verticale. Certains dispositifs ou éléments architecturaux, tels que la colonnade et la colonne, vont se révéler aux yeux du maître, lorsqu’ils se trouvent dans des espaces de transition entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur, porteurs d’une fonction médiatrice entre l’homme et son milieu, et ce sera par le biais d’un outil de mesure : l’angle droit. Cette recherche entend contribuer à la compréhension de la pensée architecturale de Le Corbusier, notamment en ce qui concerne la relation architecture-paysage en tant qu’expérience phénoménale. / This work explores the interior-exterior relationships as defined by Le Corbusier, questioning the way in which he incorporates the idea of spatial interpenetration - a major postulate of modern architecture -. By studying sketches, photographs, and notes taken during his Voyage d’Orient, as well as certain architectural notions put forward in his emblematic theoretical works from the 1920’s, we will discover in Le Corbusier a thought that goes beyond the architectural object, revealing a special interest towards the place and the horizontal-vertical dialectics. Some architectural devices like the colonnade and the column will be seen through the master’s point of view –when placed at the transition between the inside and the outside-to bear a mediating role between man and his environment, using the right angel as a measuring tool. This research intends to contribute to the understanding of Le Corbusier’s architectural thoughts, in particular with regards to the relation between architecture and landscape as a phenomenal experience.