The thesis deals with the tree energetic balance closely related to the phenomenon of plant transpiration. Living systems have a unique ability to equilibrate gradients in the nature. Storing energy of the incoming solar radiation into a latent heat of water evaporation is an example of such tree feature. It dissipates energy and simultaneously recycles nutrients and water in the ecosystem. There are few possible ways of energy balance detection shown in this work. The thermal imagining can be used as a method for an indirect indication of transpiration - transpiring plants have lower leaf surface temperature. An alternative method for determining the rate of transpiration is a direct measurement of transpiration on leaves or transpiration flow in a tree trunk. However, extrapolation of the above mentioned methods to entire stands can encounter some difficulties. The first part of the thesis presents a description of a physical background of energetic processes and the ways in which plants operate with water, the biotic pump theory is being discussed. The practical part begins with experiments on single leaves. These experiments are carried out to test the usability of the methods for the following experiments, which are performed on the entire living trees. They are focused on the relationship of the...

The relation between the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii and schizophrenia was studied and confirmed in several studies. There are proofs that latent toxoplasmosis deteriorates the course of schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to clarify whether there are differences between subjectively perceived quality of life of infected and non-infected psychiatric patients. We tested men and women from the PCP treated for the diagnosis of schizophrenia, who undertook serology blood tests for detection of anamnestic T. gondii antibodies. Patients also filled out two questionaires that assessed subjectively perceived quality of life - SOS-10 and WHOQOL-BREF. Patients filled out these questionaires twice, both at the start of the study before coming to psychiatric therapeutical institution and after one year. During the first testing were the questionaires filled out by 171 persons, after one year by 108 persons. Based on the results of these tests we found out that latent toxoplasmosis had a negative impact on subjectively perceived quality of life of schizophrenia patients, particularly on infected women. On the other hand, the quality of life of non-infected patients improved during one year. The effect of toxoplasmosis on quality of life was gender related, which could be explained by already...

In the theoretical part of dissertation main ideas and concepts of narrative psychology are reviewed. The notion of both narrative and paradigmatic knowing coined by Jerome Bruner is explained. The importance of story and narrative for organizing and understanding human experience is discussed. Other psychological functions of both story and narrative metaphor are mentioned. In the empirical part selected stories that could be considered as a part of European cultural heritage (cultural meta-narratives) are analysed. The methods used for story analysis are TAT (ThematicApperception Test) and CCRT (Core Conflictual Relationship Theme, Luborsky et al.). The aim of the empirical part is to verify the construct of "a latent story". Another goal is to identify repeating motives in the selected stories, that could be used as a form of projective method. Keywords Story, narrative, latent story, narrative psychology, myth.

Diplomová práce se zabývá problémem strojového učení nepozorovaných úrovní abstrakce mělké sémantické reprezentace. Odstraňujeme předpoklady, které se při sémantické anotaci lingvistických zdrojů obvykle činí, např. pevný počet sémantických rolí v PropBanku, a učíme se klíčové lingvistické prvky této ano- tace (sémantické rámce, slovesa, lexikální a syntaktické třídy) s různou mírou ab- strakce. Model implementujeme pomocí latentních gramatik a získané struktury je možné použít pro úlohu značkování sémantických rolí (semantic role labeling, SRL) v několika jazycích s přesností srovnatelnou s jinými současnými přístupy. Navíc ukazujeme, že tyto struktury jsou velmi blízké abstrakcím, které je možné pozorovat ve FrameNetu. Celkovým výsledkem je tak jazykově-nezávislý model sémantické informace bez rysů, který produkuje interpretovatelné struktury a jeho použitelnost je na úloze SRL empiricky ověřena.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jason S. Bergtold / The adoption of new technologies on-farm is affected by socio-economic, risk management behavior, and market factors. The adoption of cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices plays an important role in the future of Kansas agriculture. No set markets currently exist for bioenergy feedstocks and farmers may be reluctant to produce the feedstocks without contracts to mitigate uncertainty and risk. Adoption of conservation practices to improve soil productivity and health may be affected by risk considerations also. The purpose of this dissertation is to study how market mechanisms and risk influence Kansas farmers’ willingness to adopt cellulosic biofuel feedstock enterprises and conservation practices on-farm. The first essay examines farmers’ willingness to grow switchgrass under contract using a stated choice approach. Data were collected using an enumerated survey of Kansas farmers and analyzed using latent class logistic regression models. Farmers whose primary enterprise is livestock are less inclined to grow switchgrass. In addition, shorter contracts, greater harvest flexibility, crop insurance, and cost-share assistance increase the likelihood farmers will grow switchgrass. The second essay examines how farmers’ risk perceptions impact conservation practice adoption. Factor analysis of survey data was used to identify primary risk management behaviors of Kansas farmers. A multinomial logit model of conservation practice adoption incorporating these risk behaviors was developed. Estimation results indicate that different risk management factors may have no significant impact on practice adoption. Farmers may not consider certain aspects of risk significant in their adoption decision. The third essay examines the effect of different risk management behaviors on farmers’ willingness to produce alternative cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks under contract. Data were collected using a farmer survey with a set of stated choice experiments and analyzed using factor analysis and latent class logistic regression models. While farmers approach risk management differently, the risk management behaviors identified have no significant impact on farmers’ willingness to produce corn stover and switchgrass but have a negative impact on farmers’ willingness to produce sweet sorghum as a biofuel feedstock. These results may indicate that farmers are indifferent toward adopting new bioenergy cropping enterprises when traditional crop production is profitable and more certain.

The continued decentralization of employment in U.S. regions has led to the emergence of large employment centers outside of traditional Central Business Districts. Edge Cities in particular, with their high office space densities, significantly influence surrounding land uses and regional commuting patterns. However, existing transit systems tend to be oriented to historic Central Business Districts and the level of service for transit in suburban areas remains considerably below that of central cities. Adequately serving suburban Edge Cities with transit is critical in maintaining and improving access to jobs by transit and mitigating automobile congestion. This study explores the suitability of a Bus Rapid Transit system along the Veterans Boulevard corridor in Greater New Orleans. It does this by analyzing residential and employment densities and existing commuting patterns along the corridor. It also explores the potential impact of BRT improvements on transit ridership in the corridor.

Gunshot primer residue (P-GSR) is released from the openings of a firearm when it is discharged12,13. P-GSR is made of microscopic particles that are considered characteristic of being derived from firearm ammunition when composed of barium (Ba), lead (Pb), and antimony (Sb) and have the correct morphology4. Morphology describes the shape of the P-GSR particle, which can be spherical, irregularly shaped, and must be non-crystalline. Forensic labs are commonly requested to test for the presence of P-GSR on evidential items, such as hands, clothing, vehicles, and gloves, in order to provide circumstantial evidence showing that they were, in some way, possibly involved with a shooting. Occasionally these evidential items are also expected to undergo fingerprint processing to potentially link someone to a crime. Latex gloves are often utilized in the commission of a crime with the impression that fingerprints cannot be left behind, however latent prints can often be developed on this non-porous material. Due to the evidential value of fingerprints and in order to ensure that potential prints are not damaged during P-GSR collection, latent print development is routinely performed first. Considering that P-GSR particles are easily dislodged, it is possible that some loss of P-GSR may occur during latent print processing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of processing a non-porous item for latent fingerprints on the subsequent recovery and detection of P-GSR. Latex gloves were worn during the discharge of either a pistol or a revolver and then processed for latent prints by undergoing cyanoacrylate fuming followed by either white powder or yellow dye. The latex gloves were then sampled for P-GSR using aluminum stubs containing an adhesive coating which were dabbed over the gloves until they loss their tackiness. The stubs were then carbon coated using a Denton Vacuum Desk IV in order to prevent charging in the analytical instrument. Utilizing a JEOL JSM-6460LV Scanning Electron Microscope (JEOL USA Inc., Peabody, MA coupled with an EDAX Apollo X Analyzer (EDAX Inc., Mahwah, NJ) and EDAX Genesis GSR Software, the stubs were processed for three-component particles characteristic of P-GSR. It was determined that P-GSR can still be recovered on latex gloves after undergoing latent print processing involving cyanoacrylate fuming followed by either white powder or yellow dye processing. Three-component particles were found on both the interior and exterior of the latex gloves after being processed for latent prints. On average, 33 P-GSR particles were found on the exterior of the gloves and four P-GSR particles were found on the interior of the gloves. Although significantly less were found on the interior of the gloves (<10), it is recommended that both sides of gloves be stubbed when collecting P-GSR for the greatest chances of collecting three-component particles if they are in fact present on a pair of gloves. Although more particles were found on the gloves that were not processed for latent prints, a sufficient number of particles (≥3 particles) were consistently found on the latex gloves after undergoing latent print processing to provide a positive P-GSR result according to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab guidelines for P-GSR analysis. Therefore, this research shows that latex gloves can first be processed for latent prints and then subsequently be processed for P-GSR effectively in order to try and obtain both forms of evidence for a case.

Thesis advisor: Ronnie Sadka / In the first essay of this dissertation, I study the impact that hedge fund manager connections have on investment ideas. I find that hedge fund managers who previously worked at the same prior hedge fund invest more similarly, hold more overlapping portfolios, and trade and overweight the same stocks relative to managers who do not share an employment connection. Overall, these results support theoretical prediction that networked managers share ideas that leads to price discovery for commonly held stocks. The second essay analyzes the role of ETFs in mutual fund families and is joint work with Caitlin Dannhauser. We study mutual fund and ETF twins - index funds from the same family that follow the same benchmark. We find that mutual fund twins have lower overall tax burdens while ETF twins have higher long-term yields and unrealized capital gains, but are compensated with lower expense ratios. Fund families benefit because twin offerings generate higher flows than their non-twin peers. These results support previous research that mutual fund families use diversification and subsidization to benefit the overall family. In the third essay, I study the use of latent factors in explaining hedge fund returns. Using an alternative latent factor estimator, asymptotic principal components (APC), I find explains more of the common variation of hedge fund returns on average and does so with greater efficiency than that found in the literature. I also identify an increase in the common variation across hedge fund excess return in the time-series via the extracted latent factors. My results suggest an impetus for future researchers to employ APC factors when characterizing hedge fund performance. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

Piecewise latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was used to examine growth patterns in reading comprehension and passage reading fluency on easyCBM, a popular formative assessment system. Unlike conventional growth modeling, LCGA takes into account the heterogeneity of growth and may provide reliable predictions for later development. Because current methods for classifying students are still questionable, this modeling technique could be a viable alternative classification method to identifying students at risk for reading difficulty. Results from this study suggested heterogeneity in reading development. The latent classes and growth trajectories from the LCGA models were found to align closely with easyCBM's risk rating system. However, results from one school district did not fully generalize across another. The implications for future research on examining growth in reading are discussed.

This report aims to study how the indoor climate in a conference room can be improved by the use of phase change material (PCM). The study includes an experiment where 40 kg of salt hydrate based PCM was placed within a conference room located in an office in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. The experiment resulted in a decrease in the peak temperature with respect to the internal heat gains in the conference room and a slower temperature increase with PCM implemented. The report concludes that PCM can improve the indoor climate in regard to its ability to limit the temperature fluctuation. The study also contains modelling and simulation over the office and conference room in the program Trnsys. This was carried out to study how the temperature and cooling demand in the conference room and office respectively would change with a larger implementation of PCM. When 106 kg of PCM was simulated to be implemented in two of the conference room walls, the specific peak temperature was on average decreased with 0.17 °C/kW during the year. Furthermore, a decrease in the cooling demand with 16 % was achieved when implementing 1 208 kg of PCM in the internal walls of the office. This study shows that there is potential for reducing the cooling demand in the building through an implementation of PCM. Further studies with a more detailed model of the office is recommended before deciding upon if and where PCM should be implemented.