One family of theories regarding vowel perception suggests onset and offset formant-frequencies are important for identification and that the shape of the transitions themselves are not otherwise perceptually important. The present study determined just-noticeable-differences in deviations from linear formant trajectories. Diphthong-like stimuli were manipulated by inserting a point of inflection into the otherwise linear transition. Several parameters were manipulated including vowel duration, location of the inflection point in time, and fundamental frequency. Data from the first experiment indicate that listeners are largely insensitive to deviations from linearity of formant trajectory but that large enough deviations could eventually be detected. The size of these deviations seems dependent on the range of onset-offset formant frequencies. However, a second experiment in which only the first half of stimuli was presented thereby affecting the frequency range of the stimuli, gave different results. Results from these experiments along with several hypotheses are presented.

The catalytic N-oxidation of alkylpyridines, a reaction which uses hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent and the water soluble phosphotungstic acid as the catalyst, is a reaction employed in the pharmaceutical industry. The safety concerns of this process revolve around the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and the liquid-liquid phase separation of the reacting mixture. The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is an undesired reaction parallel to the desired N-oxidation and is responsible for: 1) a high potential for runaway due to the condition sensitivity of the peroxide group, 2) a potential over-pressurization of the reaction vessel during a runaway due to the production of oxygen, and 3) the enrichment with oxygen of the flammable alkylpyridine environment. The presence of an organic phase and an aqueous phase occurs in a wide range of conditions and results in: 1) a dramatic reduction in the reaction selectivity, and consequently in the efficiency, due to the additional mass transfer constrains imposed by the phase separation, and 2) the safety of the process being seriously compromised because most of the catalyst remains in the aqueous phase, excessively promoting the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide over the N-oxidation. With these concerns in mind, this research aimed to determine conditions for an inherently safer and more efficient N-oxidation reaction and focused on three key targets: i) the possibility of reducing the extend of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, thus leading to an inherently safer process, ii) the study of phase equilibrium so as to enable the identification of conditions that increase the efficiency of the N-oxidation and reduces the hazards, and iii) the evaluation of safety parameters that will allow for the control of a potential runaway reaction. Two alkylpyridines were considered: 2-methylpyridine which represents the case of a homogeneous reacting mixture and 2,6-dimethylpyridine to study the two-liquid phase separation effects. The methodology employed calorimetric studies to assess the runaway behavior and to determine the conditions that favor the N-oxidation, and for the N-oxidation of 2,6-dimethylpyridine, thermodynamic studies were incorporated to evaluate the conditions for phase separation.

In the area of process safety, many efforts have focused on studying methods to prevent the transition of the state of the system from a normal state to an upset and/or catastrophic state, but many unexpected changes are unavoidable, and even under good risk management incidents still occur. The aim of this work is to propose the principles and factors that contribute to the resilience of the chemical process, and to develop a systematic approach to evaluate the resilience of chemical processes in design aspects. Based on the analysis of transition of the system states, the top-level factors that contribute to Resilience were developed, including Design, Detection Potential, Emergency Response Planning, Human, and Safety Management. The evaluation framework to identify the Resilience Design Index is developed by means of the multifactor model approach. The research was then focused on developing complete subfactors of the top-level Design factor. The sub-factors include Inherent Safety, Flexibility, and Controllability. The proposed framework to calculate the Inherent Safety index takes into account all the aspects of process safety design via many sub-indices. Indices of Flexibility and Controllability sub-factors were developed from implementations of well-known methodologies in process design and process control, respectively. Then, the top-level Design index was evaluated by combining the indices of the sub-factors with weight factors, which were derived from Analytical Hierarchical Process approach. A case study to compare the resilience levels of two ethylene production designs demonstrated the proposed approaches and gave insights on process resilience of the designs.

Numerous studies show that a low level of response to the intoxicating effects of alcohol is considered a risk factor for future alcoholism. However, assessing this sensitivity usually requires administering a controlled dose of alcohol, which has a number of inherent problems. Early observations in our lab suggest that the response to anesthetics that show cross tolerance with alcohol, like ketamine, are blunted in nonhuman primates at risk for high alcohol intake, and may be a viable measure of future alcohol consumption. This study was designed to test potential predictors of future alcohol consumption using the change in ketamine across repeated exposures (i.e., tolerance). In addition, potential mediating factors of alcohol consumption, including early temperament and behavior, were assessed. Subjects were 16 three-year-old, alcohol naïve rhesus macaque males raised by their biological mothers. Ketamine Exposure-Each subject was exposed to three 10.0 mg/kg intramuscular doses of ketamine. The time from injection to recovery from anesthetic was recorded for each dose, to be used as a measure of subject's sensitivity and developed tolerance. Alcohol Intake Assessment-Two weeks after the final ketamine dose, subjects were allowed ad libitum access to a palatable 8.4% alcohol solution for two-hours a day, five days a week, for six weeks. During the Two-Choice phase of testing, subjects were simultaneously given ad libitum access to the 8.4% alcohol solution and to a sweetened solution for two-hours a day, five days a week, for four weeks. Solution consumption was recorded daily and averaged across the weeks for each phase of alcohol testing. Temperament and Behavior-As infants, all subjects participated in a bio-behavioral assessment (BBA), when they were between 90 and 120 days of age. Data collected during the BBA on subjects' temperament (Vigilance, Gentleness, Confidence, and Nervousness) and Behavior (Activity and Emotionality) were used in analyses. Results showed a relationship between the tolerance developed between ketamine doses and average alcohol consumption during the Alcohol-Only phase (r = 0.61, R2 = 0.372, F (1,14) = 8.300, p = 0.012). Average alcohol consumption during the Alcohol-Only phase was also related to ratings of Confidence (r = 0.499, R2=0.249, F(1,14)=4.647, p = 0.049), Activity (Day 1: r = 0.503, R2 = 0.253, F(1,14) = 4.732, p = 0.047; Day 2: r = 0.455, R2 = 0.207, F(1,14) = 3.652, p = 0.077), and Emotionality (r = 0.466, R2 = 0.217, F(1,14) = 3.885, p=0.069). The results of this study suggest that change in ketamine recovery time and early life temperament and behaviors may be measures of future risk for alcohol abuse disorders. This data is limited by the small sample size and future study is necessary to further tease out the relationships between these variables and alcohol consumption.

Yes / Process safety has drawn increasing attention in recent years and has been investigated from different perspectives, such as quantitative risk analysis, consequence modeling, and regulations. However, rare attempts have been made to focus on inherent safety design assessment, despite being the most cost-effective safety tactic and its vital role in sustainable development and safe operation of process infrastructure. Accordingly, the present research proposed a knowledge-driven model to assess inherent safety in process infrastructure under uncertainty. We first developed a holistic taxonomy of contributing factors into inherent safety design considering chemical, reaction, process, equipment, human factors, and organizational concerns associated with process plants. Then, we used subject matter experts, content validity ratio (CVR), and content validity index (CVI) to validate the taxonomy and data collection tools. We then employed a fuzzy inference system and the Extent Analysis (EA) method for knowledge acquisition under uncertainty. We tested the proposed model on a steam methane-reforming plant that produces hydrogen as renewable energy. The findings revealed the most contributing factors and indicators to improve the inherent safety design in the studied plant and effectively support the decision-making process to assign proper safety countermeasures.

Flamskyddsmedel i textila material används för att förhindra eller fördröja brand. Lagar och standarder ställer krav på att textila varor i offentliga miljöer har ett flamskydd. Flamskyddade textilier används också av de yrkesgrupper som utsätts för brandrisk på arbetsplatsen. Användningen av flamskydd har ökat sedan 1970-talet. På 1980-talet började hälso- och miljöriskerna med användningen av dessa att uppmärksammas. Detta har lett till reglering för användning av de flamskydd som innehåller klor och brom. Utveckling av halogenfria flamskyddsmedel som hälso- och miljövänliga alternativ pågår. Även möjligheten att integrera flamskyddsmedlet i textilfibern ses som ett hälso- och miljövänligt alternativ. Integrering av ett inherent flamskydd sker antingen i form av sampolymerisation med den textila polymeren eller vid extrudering av garnet. Inherent flamskydd i textila material marknadsförs som hälso- och miljövänliga då det inte avges från det textila materialet vid tvätt och slitage. Dessa aspekter innefattar endast den del av det textila materialets livslängd som innebär användning av textilen. Information om påverkan på hälsa och miljö vid produktion och bortförskaffande av ett inherent flamskyddade textilier är bristfällig. Resultatet visar att ämnen och föreningar som ger det textila materialet ett inherent flamskydd kan vid dessa steg i materialets livscykel orsaka skada på både människa och natur. Vid framställning och hantering av dessa ämnen kan en felaktig sådan leda till utsläpp. Dessa utsläpp kan orsaka luftföroreningar och försurning i mark och vatten. Vid bortförskaffande av inherent flamskyddade textilier är deponi vanligt vilket i sin tur leder till förbränning av avfallet. Vid förbränning avges deponigaser som är toxiska för hälsa och miljö. / Flame retardants in textile material is used to prevent or delay fire. Laws and standards require that textile goods used in public environments are flame protected. Flame retardant textiles are also used by the occupational groups exposed to the risk of fire in the workplace. The use of flame retardants has increased since the 1970s. In the 1980s, the health and environmental risks associated with their use began to receive attention. This had led to regulations for the use of flame retardants containing chlorine and bromine. The development of halogen-free flame retardants as health and environmentally friendly alternatives is ongoing. The possibility of integrating the flame retardant into the textile fiber is also seen as a health and environmentally friendly alternative. Integration of an inherent flame retardant can be done either during copolymerization of the textile polymer or by adding an additive by the extrusion of the yarn. Inherent flame retardants in textile materials are marketed as health and environmentally friendly as they’re not emitted from the textile material during wash and wear. These aspects include only the part of the lifespan of the textile material that involves the use of the textile. Information of the impact on health and environment during the production and disposal stage of an inherently flame-retardant textile is insufficient. The results show that substances and compounds giving the textile material an inherent flame protection can at these stages in the material life cycle cause damage to both humans and nature. An incorrect handling in the production phase of these substances can lead to emissions. These emissions can cause air pollution and acidification in soil and water. Landfill is common at disposing of inherently flame-retardant textiles which later leads to combustion of the materials. During combustion toxic landfill gases are released into the environment.

The Wind Projects are based around ideas about materialization. They are an attempt at combining factors related to textiles, such as patterns, structure, materials and body with abstract ideas about movement, change, unpredictability and interrelated relationships between materials, environments objects and actions. / Program: Master in Textile Design

<p>Semi-analytical models for remote sensing of water quality parameters need to be parameterized with specific inherent optical properties. In this thesis, data on specific inherent optical properties of Swedish lakes and coastal waters is presented. Also, the problems of measuring in situ spectral backscattering are addressed. It is shown how measured specific inherent optical properties are used to parameterize semi-analytical bio-optical models. The models are then used to produce large synthetic data sets based on the distribution of water quality parameters, and from these data sets, band ratio or single band ratio algorithms for remote estimation of water quality parameters are constructed. A similar model was also used to calculate under water PAR from measured water quality parameters.</p><p>The specific inherent optical properties of Swedish lakes and coastal waters are very similar to earlier reported data from the oceanic environment. However, different relations of the water quality parameters will affect the inherent optical properties absorption and backscattering. The absorption spectra are dominated by yellow substance with terrestrial origin. Phytoplankton absorption is low, and account in general only for about 10 % of the total absorption in regions where phytoplankton pigments are active. The spectral backscattering is dominated by suspended particulate inorganic matter. Phytoplankton backscattering is almost negligible, except in cases where the phytoplankton community is dominated by highly scattering cyanobacteria. Experiences from remote sensing campaigns and modeling shows that remote chlorophyll estimation is most effective at longer wavelengths, where the absorption of yellow substance is low. However, modeling also predicts that large uncertainties have to be expected in the estimation of chlorophyll, both from variation in the specific phytoplankton absorption and from influences of other optically active water quality parameters.</p>

This paper discusses three case studies on the realization of spurious prepositions and argues that they illustrate a general interaction of convergence requirements of the morphological component with an economy condition that enforces faithfulness between the lexical items present in the numeration and the lexical items present in the PF output.

This thesis attempts to highlight the contemporary conditions and processes of education in order to define what kind of education dominates the 21st century School. What mentality and pedagogy are governing the design of the 21st century School? How can the historical perspective help to explain the conditions and processes in contemporary education? This thesis studies these questions by analyzing and interpreting active educational discourses from the beginning of the 21st century. The study is based on critical hermeneutics. The concepts are mentality, inherent pedagogy and historical memory. The material underlying the study con­sists of 351 news articles about education in the Swedish newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren. The interpretation process has been carried out at different stages, in order to describe, explain and understand active educational discourses. This interpretation applies three complementary methods - text analysis, hermeneutic interpretation and critical discourse analysis. The find­ings indicate a mentality containing three main trends – equal togetherness, independent learning and independent freedom of choice, which arises from an inherent pedagogy con­taining two main trends - competence-developing and a performance-enhancing process. The contemporary mentality and pedagogy are emerging in the gap between Piaget´s and Skinner's educational ethos. At a shorter historical perspective, mentalities in the 1990s bear major structural similarities to the mentalities formed in the 21st century. In parallel, inherent peda­gogy in the 1990s shares less structural similarities to the pedagogy formed in the 21st cen­tury. At a longer historical perspective, one will notice major structural similarities between the 18th century and the 21st century. What distinguishes one period from another is that the 18th century was a class society with teachers who had low ambitions, whereas the 21st cen­tury is a democratic society with teachers who have high ambitions. What unites the periods is that both the 18th and the 21st centuries witnessed great spatial and economic change. They are centuries of coercion and competition as well as centuries of freedom. In addition, they share the qualities of distance and control, and they both treat children as adults. Finally both centuries face unfinished policies with contradictory trends. From a media perspective, the debates from the 1990s and the editorials and facts from the 21st century news articles bear no similarities in terms of ideological positions on education.