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Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome is a highly prevalent and under-investigated pain syndrome. It is believed to be the most common form of dyspareunia, or painful intercourse, in pre-menopausal women. Despite the fact that pain is its defining characteristic, its conceptualization as a sexual dysfunction remains the predominant view. The first chapter of this thesis reviews support for a re-conceptualization of vulvar vestibulitis as a pain disorder, and contends that the pain component must be measured as it is in chronic pain patients, both objectively and subjectively. This paper is followed by a study in which tactile and pain thresholds in genital and non-genital body areas of 13 women with vulvar vestibulitis syndrome and 13 non-affected women were measured, while data about the intensity and unpleasantness of these sensations were collected. Results indicated that women with vulvar vestibulitis have decreased tactile and pain thresholds in both genital and non-genital body areas, as well as higher unpleasantness ratings in response to painful stimuli than controls, replicating data from the chronic pain literature. The third paper presents a pain conceptualization of vulvar vestibulitis according to classification criteria used by the International Association for the Study of Pain, and introduces the development of a vulvalgesiometer, a standardized method of genital pain measurement. Data collected with the vulvalgesiometer are presented in the fourth paper, a study in which 14 women with vulvar vestibulitis and 14 control women participated. Women with vulvar vestibulitis had significantly lower pain thresholds, higher pain unpleasantness ratings, and used adjectives similar to those reported during intercourse in response to painful stimulation. The vulvalgesiometer was used to elicit genital tactile and pain sensation in the two groups while brain activation patterns were measured via functional magnetic rdsonance imaging, the focus of the fifth paper. Results demonstrated that women with vulvar vestibulitis have augmentations of brain activity in the processing of both painful and non-painful genital stimulation as compared with non-affected women. Overall, findings from these studies suggest that the pain of vulvar vestibulitis can be reliably measured and that the pain perspective has important implications for both research and treatment of urogenital pain problems.

The Coriolis sass flowaeter is modelled using the theory of vibrating beams. Tube deformations for the fundamental mode and the next two nodes of natural (out-of-plane) vibration are worked out for many tube geometries. An improved model taking into account the effects of elastic boundary conditions and added masses of the electromagnetic drive and detectors is also discussed. A method for predicting the optimum detection positions is suggested in relation to signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, an argument for prediction of the effects of a dilute suspension of small bubbles or particles in the fluid is presented. Finally, experimental studies are conducted in order to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical models.

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Due to the rapid technological developments in the car industry and the high quality demands of customers, manufacturers and researchers focus on the reduction of surface roughness making use of various surface topography measurement systems. This master thesis focuses on development of a waviness measurement system (WMS) at Volvo Cars where light from different heights and angles illuminates the surface of an extended object in order to acquire images with different intensities due to shadowing effect and reflection. With this, surface irregularities and imperfections can be detected both in polished and unpolished surfaces for improving the car panels in the manufacturing process.  The initial WMS idea was to illuminate the surface at different heights from the four corners of a dark room using 20 flash lights and a camera positioned exactly on the top of the surface in the middle of the room. The first light goes on and the image is acquired. This procedure continues for all flash lights in 19s.The acquired images were evaluated by Matlab application. With the new WMS system flash lights are replaced by 32 RGB COB LED lights using the DMX512 protocol to communicate with them. The system runs in 9s which is half the time of the old WMS system. New LabView and Matlab codes were adjusted to the new parameters and devices. In the end, measurements were taken with different surfaces, exposure times and color lights. Details of the new devices and software are analyzed in this thesis.

Outcome measures have been developed in an acute hospital for specific patient groups (primarily cholecystectomy, diabetes, coronary angioplasty and knee replacements). For each condition a set of indicators was derived which ranged from clinical and laboratory measures to measures of general health status. All indicators attempt to show changes in patient health over time. It has been shown possible to collect the necessary data for such outcomes measures. The costs and methods of data collection varied between conditions. Patient completed questionnaires were found to be particularly useful and in inpatient studies have given high response rates (over 95%) for postal follow-ups and have been validated by interviews. The differing ability of the various indicators to show clinical changes has been demonstrated. In all specialties there was found to be generally high levels of association between different indicators. The information collected on patient outcomes was presented at meetings of the various clinical teams and the value of the information in promoting practical change was examined. It was concluded that different indicators have different value in such reviews and that three key characteristics are identified. The first concerns whether the measures reflect clinical or patient's perceptions of health. The second concerns the extent to which an indicator is a direct measure of health or a proxy (or process) measure. The third concerns the extent to which an observed outcome indicator can be linked to particular processes of care. The study has generated support from the clinicians and it is suggested has changed their views on how they judge their own performance. In some instances practical changes have resulted form the presence of the outcome information. The potential future roles for outcome measurement in the health service is discussed.

The material presented in this thesis falls into three main sections: 1) The measurement of nebulizer suction and its applications. Three methods of measurement of nebulizer suction were evaluated. The potential and limitations of each method was assessed. The most reliable and generally applicable method was measurement with a mercury manometer via a T-piece during aspiration, but after correction for suction drops along all the nebulizer capillaries and across connections. The measurement of suction was then applied to practical problems in AAS, i.e. the lack of dependence of signal on sample solution temperature, and to provide immediate warning of drift in aspiration rate. 2) Observations and causes of deposition in spray chambers. The deposition patterns of aerosol lost in the spray chamber was studied using a lithium tracer. Areas of high turbulence were identified and their positions related to the deposition patterns. The nebulizer/spray chamber system was considered to fulfill a sub-sampling role and the dual roles of pneumatic nebulizer as pumps and sub-samplers were critically discussed. 3) Observations on impactors in flame AAS. Five techniques for the evaluation of the effects of impact beads and other impactors were evaluated, i) aerosol droplet size distributions ii) aspiration of dye solutions iii) aerosol sizing with a second species introduced through the bead iv) effects on linear absorbance range v) effects on the extent of chemical interference The advantages and disadvantages of each technique were considered and the value of impactors critically appraised. An assessment was then made of the extent to which an impact cup or bead may be used to regulate sensitivity in flame AAS with a view to increasing the useful working ranges of calibration graphs.

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Narcissism, which is broadly defined as a grandiose sense of self-importance (Judge, LePine, & Rich, 2006), is a construct that is associated with many potentially toxic traits and behaviors (Back, Schmukle, & Egloff, 2010; Hogan, Raskin, & Fazzini, 1990; Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Recently, interest in determining the effects of narcissism in organizations has increased (e.g. Blair, Hoffman, & Helland, 2008; Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2007; Judge et al., 2006; Penney & Spector, 2002). Psychometric issues with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall 1979, 1981) and other measures of narcissism necessitate a more robust measure that can more accurately capture the facets of a complex construct. Conditional Reasoning Tests are designed to indirectly measure implicit cognitive processes (James & LeBreton, 2011), and are especially useful in measuring "socially unacceptable" traits such as narcissism. A 20-item Conditional Reasoning Test for Narcissism (CRT-NR) was created and underwent preliminary validation testing. Results support a 15-item measure to be used in continued validation of the instrument.

There has been inconsistencies in the performance of dry-chemistry analyzers using different blood sample types. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine precision and accuracy of both capillary and venous whole blood analyzed by the Reflotron (Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics, Indianapolis, Indiana) and capillary plasma analyzed by the Ektachem DT60 (Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York). Fifty subjects were recruited to provide a representative sample of cholesterol concentrations. One technician performed two fingerstick punctures and one venipuncture on each subject and analyzed the blood sample types in duplicate using each of the dry-chemistry analyzers. The methods and sample types utilized for comparison of total cholesterol are summarized below.ReflotronEktachem DT60Sigma2-Fingerstick whole2-Fingerstick plasma2-Venipuncture plasmablood2-Venipuncture whole2-Venipuncture plasmablood2-Veni uncture lasmaThe mean percent variation of the duplicate samples analyzed revealed all sample types, with the exception of fingerstick whole blood analyzed by theReflotron, met the LSP ideal goal for precision of 5 3% CV. Fingerstick wholeblood CV was 3.1%, meeting the current LSP standard of _5 5% CV for precision. The Sigma wet-chemistry assay for determination of total cholesterol was used as the reference for assessment of bias of each of the sample types. Fingerstick whole blood, via the Reflotron method, produced a positive 5.5% bias when compared to the reference, failing to meet the current LSP goal for acceptable accuracy (±5% bias). Venous whole blood analyzed using the Reflotron met this goal with a bias of +3.3%. Fingerstick plasma, via the Ektachem DT60 method, produced a bias of +2.1%, meeting the ideal LSP goal of ±3% bias. Venous plasma as measured by both the Reflotron and Ektachem DT60 also met this ideal goal (+2.0% and +1.8% bias, respectively). Overall, precision and accuracy of all sample types, with the exception of fingerstick whole blood, when analyzed by their respective dry-chemistry analyzer was acceptable. / School of Physical Education