Hearing loss from noise exposure is one of the most common occupational injuries, and exposure to vibrations may increase the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Earlier cross-sectional and longitudinal studies found an increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss among workers with vibration-induced white fingers (VWF) symptoms compared to workers without such symptoms. It has been suggested that vibrations to the hand stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and cause vasoconstriction in both the exposed hand and the ears and that this contributes to noise-induced hearing loss. The overall aim of this thesis was to examine how hand-arm vibrations (HAV) interact with noise in the development of noise-induced hearing loss. The experimental study in this thesis examined the effects of HAV and noise, both separately and combined, on the temporary threshold shift (TTS) in hearing in 22 healthy male and female subjects. The two longitudinal studies in this thesis were based on a cohort of 189 male workers at a heavy engineering workshop. The first cohort study examined the risk of noise-induced hearing loss from long-term exposure to HAV and noise. The second cohort study examined if workers with VWF had an increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss compared to workers without such symptoms. Finally, the questionnaire study in this thesis examined the occurrence of Raynaud’s phenomenon among 133 men and women with noise-induced hearing loss in relation to exposure to vibrations. In the experimental study, no differences in TTS in hearing were observed after combined exposure to HAV and noise compared to exposure to only noise. In the first cohort study, there was an increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss with increased exposure to HAV in a noisy environment. In the second cohort study, it was found that workers with VWF had an increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss compared to workers without VWF. In the questionnaire study, many men and women with noise-induced hearing loss had used hand-held vibrating machines suggesting that vibrations might contribute to noise-induced hearing loss. A high prevalence of Raynaud’s phenomenon was found among men. This thesis demonstrated that there was a long-term effect on noise-induced hearing loss from combined exposure to noise and HAV, but no short-term effect, and that having Raynaud’s phenomenon may also increase the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. / Många arbetare använder sig av handhållna vibrerande verktyg. Det utsätter dem för höga nivåer av både buller och vibrationer. Människor som utsätts för höga bullernivåer under lång tid kan skada sin hörsel. Risken för hörselnedsättning orsakad av buller kan eventuellt öka om personen samtidigt är utsatt för vibrationer från handhållna vibrerande verktyg. Syftet med avhandlingen var att studera om vibrationer i kombination med buller ökar risken för hörselnedsättning. Avhandlingen består av fyra studier. Den första studien är en experimentell studie med 22 friska deltagare med god hörsel. Denna studie undersökte hur hörseln tillfälligt påverkas av buller och vibrationer, separat och i kombination. Den andra och tredje studien bygger på en population bestående av 189 verkstadsarbetare i Sundsvall som följts regelbundet sedan 1987. Den andra studien undersökte om det finns en ökad risk för hörselnedsättning för arbetare som utsätts för buller och vibrationer under lång tid. Den tredje studien undersökte om arbetare med vita fingrar har en ökad risk för hörselnedsättning än arbetare utan vita fingrar. Vita fingrar är en kärlskada orsakad av vibrationer som gör att fingrarna reagerar onormalt snabbt på kyla. Fingrarna blir vita när blodtillförseln till dem stryps. Den fjärde studien är en enkätstudie med 342 kvinnor och män som har en bekräftad hörselnedsättning orsakad av buller. Studien undersökte hur många ur denna grupp som utsätts för vibrationer samt har vita fingrar. Resultaten från studierna visar att det inte finns någon skillnad i hörselpåverkan från buller och vibrationer i kombination jämfört med enbart buller under kort tid. De som utsätts för vibrationer från handhållna vibrerande verktyg i en bullrig miljö under lång tid har en ökad risk för hörselnedsättning. Arbetare med vita fingrar har en högre risk för hörselnedsättning än de utan. En hög andel av de med hörselnedsättning orsakad av buller använder sig av handhållna vibrerande verktyg. I studien fanns även en hög andel med vita fingrar. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten att det finns en långtidseffekt av buller och vibrationer på hörselnedsättning men inte någon korttidseffekt, och att vita fingrar kan påverka risken för hörselnedsättning.

Many-body quantum dynamics is a challenging problem that has induced the development of many different computational techniques. One powerful technique is the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) method. This method allows proper consideration of electronic correlation with much less computational overhead compared to other similar methods. In this work, we present our implementation of the MCTDHF method on a non-uniform cylindrical grid. With the one-body limit of our code, we studied the controversial topic of tunneling delay, and showed that our results agree with one recent experiment while disagreeing with another. Using the fully correlated version of the code, we demonstrated the ability of MCTDHF to address correlation by calculating the ground state ionization energies of a few strongly correlated systems.

Following Bourdieu (1977) and alluding to the work of Toren (1990,1993a, 1999) and Lave (1991) this thesis supports the argument that learning, understood as a participative, historical and generative process, is intrinsic to all social practice and furthermore that all social practice substantiates human mind. It follows therefore that mind is a learning phenomenon and that it makes no sense, for example, to isolate didactic practice from the wider social situations in which children learn. The thesis argues that the form participative learning takes is that of an increasingly differentiated competence with respect to complex relations of exchange in objects, bodily actions and language. It is shown how, through particular exchange relations, the value of persons, practices and things is created and transformed as an ongoing and mutually specifying material process. Taking both childhood and the practice of ethnography as examples of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave 1991) the thesis aims towards a phenomenological description of what it means to become working class in Bermondsey, South East London. Responding to a multicultural political climate in which claims are made that the working class no longer exists, the thesis addresses the popular backlash in which white working class people demand that their social values are recognised and protected. What matters in Bermondsey, for example, is that class relations are to be understood ethnographically as the difference between common and posh people and that this distinction is articulated with whether or not a person was born and bred in Bermondsey. This means that specific ideas about kinship relations and place, understood as particular forms of materiality, mediate the development in Bermondsey of the kind of persons people can become. The chapters that follow will describe the social processes through which Bermondsey people reproduce (Narotzky 1997) the idea of themselves as a distinctive community.

In this thesis, the problem of partitioning a network into interconnected sub-networks is addressed. The goal is to achieve a partitioning which satisfies a set of specific engineering constraints, imposed in this case, by the requirements of the decomposed state-estimation (DSE) in electrical power systems. The network-partitioning problem is classified as NP-hard problem. Although many heuristic algorithms have been proposed for its solution, these often lack directness and computational simplicity. In this thesis, three new partitioning techniques are described which (i) satisfy the DSE constraints, and (ii) simplify the NP-hard problem by using the natural graph properties of a network. The first technique is based on partitioning a spanning tree optimally using the natural property of the spanning tree branches. As with existing heuristic techniques, information on the partitioning is obtained only at the end of the partitioning process. The study of the DSE constraints leads to define conditions of an ideal balanced partitioning. This enables data on the balanced partitioning to be obtained, including the numbers of boundary nodes and cut-edges. The second partitioning technique is designed to obtain these data for a given network, by finding the minimum covering set of nodes with maximum nodal degree. Further simplification is then possible if additional graph-theoretical properties are used. A new natural property entitled the 'edge state phenomenon' is defined. The edge state phenomenon may be exploited to generate new network properties. In the third partitioning technique, two of these, the 'network external closed path' and the 'open internal paths', are used to identify the balanced partitioning, and hence to partition the network. Examples of the application of all three methods to network partitioning are provided.

Many recent developments in education theory and the field of disaster management have left the meaning of public education as applied in the disaster management field fraught with uncertainty. This thesis addresses this uncertainty via a phenomenographic research study that sheds light on the meaning of public education, despite such uncertainty, by revealing a discrete number of qualitatively different ways in which disaster managers and disaster educators experience and understand public education. Transcriptions of interviews of 25 such senior Australian disaster managers and educators were analysed using phenomenographic methods and revealed a set of discrete, parsimonious and qualitatively different ways of experiencing public education. The referential component of the different ways of experiencing was revealed within ten emergent categories of description for public education: (i) a non-effective process; (ii) a way of managing a public issue; (iii) promoting an issue; (iv) issuing expert instructions; (v) changing individuals; (vi) strategic teaching and training; (vii) collaborative partnerships; (viii) empowering learners to make informed decisions; (ix) negotiation; and (x) element in societal learning. The structural component of the emergent ways of experiencing public education was presented in the form of a phenomenographic outcome space. Linkages between these findings about public education and current literature were made. The results suggested multiple ways to improve public education within the disaster management community and more widely. The need for clarity in communication amongst educators and professionals in regard to public education was confirmed by the research findings. Insights into phenomenography and education were included within the discussion.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Statistics, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-68).

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T15:02:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1933222 bytes, checksum: a5468415ed69d69b97e184f7629ec4a0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The imagery organizes the images produced by homo sapiens in their anthropological path. This process occurs in psychophysiological level interaction with the cosmic environment and cultural, or vice versa. In this process, the imagination has the function of euphemization, that's why man creates images and symbols to mediate the harsh reality of time and the inevitability of death. Regarding the phenomenon "population in street situation", it is understood as being a group of people that lives in the streets and of it, usually, of their own will, or for reasons beyond his will. Crisscrossing these two concepts, this study aimed to analyze the symbolic images produced by people on the street to identify their religious imagery. The research subjects are housed in Casa de Acolhida of the City of Joao Pessoa and people living on the streets at the Mercado do Peixe of Tambaú in João Pessoa-PB. As a theoretical contribution, we used the General Theory of the Imagery (GTI) developed by G. Durand who supported the analysis of the images. We also seek the input of Discourse Analysis (DA) of the french line, with the concepts espoused by Foucault. The study was developed from the fieldwork that is one of the designs of the qualitative method. The research instruments were the Life History of the deponents and the implementation of a semi-structured interview, which allowed the collection of data relating to the religious imagery of the people on the street. In developing the survey, we could understand the formation of religious images from reflexology and arquetipology; we understand that modern man has the need of (re)encounter with the sacred, possibly, because spirituality is part of its constitution. The study results indicated that the religious imagery of the people on the streets in João Pessoa-PB features a convergence of daytime and nighttime images, since these images pointed upwards, towards the light and at the same time, indicated fall. These images are typical of the antithetical scheme - Daytime Conditions. On the other hand, the images converged to the center, to the intimacy of the house and the cup that are the expression of the euphemization of negative images from living on the streets. The religious imaginary the people in street situation analysis here unveiled, still, the religion an under prospective prism regarding the search for better days and a resignation about your own destiny. In this connection between utterances, we found the religious discourse crossed by syncretism and by pluralism with greater emphasis on images of Christianity. / O imaginário organiza as imagens produzidas pelo homo sapiens em seu trajeto antropológico. Esse processo ocorre em nível psicofisiológico em interação com o meio cósmico e cultural, ou vice-versa. Nesse processo, a imaginação tem a função de eufemização, por isso o homem cria imagens e símbolos para mediar a dura realidade do tempo e da inexorabilidade da morte. Quanto ao fenômeno população em situação de rua , compreende-se como sendo um grupo de pessoas que mora na rua e vive dela, geralmente, por vontade própria ou por razões alheias a sua vontade. Entrecruzando esses dois conceitos, este estudo teve como objetivo analisar as imagens simbólicas produzidas por pessoas em situação de rua para identificar seu imaginário religioso. Os sujeitos da pesquisa são os albergados da Casa de Acolhida da Prefeitura Municipal de João Pessoa e as pessoas que vivem em situação de rua no Mercado do Peixe de Tambaú, em João Pessoa-PB. Como aporte teórico, fizemos uso da Teoria Geral do Imaginário (TGI) elaborada por Durand (2002), que deu suporte à análise das imagens. Buscamos também o aporte da Análise do Discurso (AD) de linha francesa, com os conceitos defendidos por Foucault. O estudo foi desenvolvido a partir da pesquisa de campo, que é um dos delineamentos do método qualitativo. Os instrumentos da pesquisa foram a História de Vida dos depoentes e a aplicação de uma entrevista semiestruturada, os quais possibilitaram a coleta de dados referentes ao imaginário religioso das pessoas em situação de rua. No desenvolvimento da pesquisa, pudemos compreender a formação das imagens religiosas a partir da reflexologia e da arquetipologia; compreendemos ainda que o homem contemporâneo tem a necessidade de um (re)encontro com o sagrado, porque a espiritualidade faz parte de sua constituição. O resultado do estudo indicou que o imaginário religioso da população em situação de rua em João Pessoa-PB apresenta uma convergência das imagens diurnas e noturnas, uma vez que essas imagens apontaram para o alto, para a luz e, ao mesmo tempo, indicaram queda. Essas imagens são próprias do regime antitético Regime Diurno. Por outro lado, as imagens convergiram para o centro, para a intimidade da moradia e da taça, que são a expressão da eufemização de imagens negativas da vivência nas ruas, próprias do Regime Noturno. O imaginário religioso das pessoas em situação de rua aqui analisado desvelou a religião sob um prisma prospectivo no que tange à busca por dias melhores e uma resignação quanto ao seu destino. Nessa relação entre os enunciados, encontramos o discurso religioso atravessado pelo sincretismo e pelo pluralismo com ênfase maior nas imagens do cristianismo.

Resumo:A estrutura óssea do ser humano bem como o processo de consolidação óssea são alvos de estudos constantes em todo o mundo. Fraturas e lesões são consequências da fragilidade óssea, normalmente causadas pela osteoporose, um grave problema de saúde pública. Estudos mostram que essa fragilidade pode ser atenuada pela atividade física regular e treinamento de força. O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi avaliar a eficácia do exercício físico resistido frente a osteopenia induzida em ratos que permaneceram com ausência de carga em seus membros pélvicos. O modelo foi o de suspensão da cauda em ratos. Estes foram distribuídos em quatro grupos: C, controle, com período experimental em gaiola; S, suspenso por 21 dias e colocados em solo por mais 21 dias; E, submetido a exercício em escada durante 21 dias e, depois, mantido em solo por mais 21 dias e SE, suspenso por 21 dias e depois submetido a exercício em escada durante 21 dias. Foram realizadas análise de densitometria óssea e ensaio mecânico na tíbia dos animais para avaliar a qualidade do tecido ósseo após o período experimental. Pelos resultados, foi possível observar que o exercício físico com carga e intensidade adequada resulta em aumento da rigidez, força máxima, densidade mineral óssea e conteúdo mineral ósseo caracterizando uma recuperação da qualidade do osso proporcionada pelo exercício físico. Desta forma, conclui-se que o exercício físico com carga resistida e intensidade adequada resulta em remodelação óssea positiva frente a suspenção pela cauda, que por sua vez induz a fragilidade óssea semelhante a osteopenia, sendo eficaz no tratamento e prevenção dessa enfermidade / Abstract:The bone structure of the human being and the bone healing process are constant targets of studies worldwide. Fractures and injuries are consequences of bone frailty, usually caused by osteoporosis, a serious public health problem. Studies have shown that regular physical activity and strength training can mitigate this weakness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the resistance exercise against osteopenia induced in rats that remained with no load on their hind limbs. The suspension model used was the rat's tail model suspension. These rats were divided into four groups: C, control, with trial cage; S, suspended for 21 days and placed in soil for 21 days; E subjected to exercise ladder for 21 days and then kept in the soil for 21 days, and SE suspended for 21 days and then subjected to exercise ladder for 21 days. Bone densitometry analysis and mechanical testing in the tibia of the animals were realized to verify the quality of bone tissue after the trial period. It was possible to observe in the results that the exercise load and proper intensity results in increased rigidity, maximum strength, bone mineral density and bone mineral content featuring a recovery of bone quality provided by exercise. In this way, it was concluded that physical exercise with appropriate intensity and repeated load results in a positive bone remodeling before the suspension by the tail, which in turn induces a similar bone fragility osteoporosis, being effective in the treatment and prevention of this disease / Orientador:Mario Jefferson Quirino Louzada / Banca:Gilberto Aparecido Claclete / Banca:Luiz Eduardo Correa Fonseca / Mestre

Schreber, one of Freud’s most renewed clinic cases, mentioned in Memoirs his hypochondriac crises in a moment that preceded the triggering of his psychosis. His hypochondriac ideas were expressed by softened brain complaints, emaciation ideas, feeling of imminent death, etc. About Schreber, Freud suggests that there is an intimate relationship between hypochondria and psychosis when he says that hypochondria is for paranoia as well as anguish is for neurosis. Thus, this work’s aim is to investigate hypochondria into paranoia considering hypochondria as something related to psychosis. Therefore, a theoretical study has been made, grounded into the psychoanalysis. The methodological route is characterized by the hypochondria and psychosis concepts investigation from psychoanalytical texts, having as main references Sigmund Freud and Lacan’s works, as well as psychoanalysts works which investigate this theme nowadays. Fragments of “Schereber’s case” are used to illustrate this investigation. From this research, was found that there are approaches between hypochondria and psychosis since the classical psychiatry. Philippe Pinel, William Cullen, Jules Cotard, Bénedict Augustin Morel, and François Boissier de Sauvages even sketched this relationship between them. According to Freud, hypochondria manifests in very tough and distressing body sensations and may relate to hysteria, obsessive neurosis and paranoia. The approach between hypochondria and psychosis were described during Freud’s elaboration about narcissism. Schereber’s hypochondria demonstrates a narcissistic inflation because presents a repression of the libido of me, which delimits a very singular way of libidinal investment. It is concentrated into a bodily organ, expressing a psychotic corporal phenomenon. The results also show that hypochondria as an elementary and corporal phenomenon, characteristic of psychosis, that might precede the psychosis triggering. About this matter, researching the small evidences, expression suggested by Jacques-Alain Miller, provides an orientation to the differential diagnosis and treatment. Thus, hypochondria’s identification as an evidence might help in the differential diagnosis: in the case of neurosis it shows as an enigma possible to be interpreted, and in psychosis case It manifests a finding into the address dimension. / Schreber, um dos mais notáveis casos clínicos de Freud, mencionou nas Memórias sua crise de hipocondria em um momento que antecedeu o desencadeamento de sua psicose. Suas ideias hipocondríacas eram expressas a partir de queixas de amolecimento cerebral, ideias de emagrecimento, sentimento de morte eminente, etc. A propósito de Schreber, Freud sugere que há uma íntima relação entre hipocondria e psicose quando afirma que a hipocondria está para a paranoia assim como a angústia está para a neurose. Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a hipocondria, considerando sua relação com a psicose. Para tanto, foi realizado estudo teórico, fundamentado na psicanálise. O percurso metodológico foi caracterizado pela investigação dos conceitos hipocondria e psicose a partir dos textos psicanalíticos, sendo as principais referências os trabalhos de Sigmund Freud e Jacques Lacan, assim como os trabalhos de psicanalistas que investigam sobre o tema na contemporaneidade. Fragmentos do “caso Schreber” são utilizados para ilustrar esta investigação. A partir desta pesquisa, verificou-se que existem aproximações entre hipocondria e psicose desde a psiquiatria clássica. Philippe Pinel, Willian Cullen, Jules Cotard, Bénedict Augustin Morel, Le Cat e François Boissier de Sauvages já esboçavam esta relação. Para Freud, a hipocondria se manifesta em sensações corpóreas muito penosas e aflitivas, e pode se relacionar com a histeria, a neurose obsessiva e a paranoia. As aproximações entre hipocondria e psicose foram descritas quando Freud elaborou seu trabalho sobre o narcisismo. A hipocondria de Schreber demonstra uma inflação narcísica por apresentar um represamento da libido do eu, o qual delimita uma forma muito peculiar de investimento libidinal. Esta se concentra no órgão, no corpo, expressando um fenômeno corporal psicótico. Os resultados evidenciam ainda a hipocondria como fenômeno elementar e corporal, característico da psicose, que pode anteceder o desencadeamento psicótico. A este respeito, a pesquisa dos pequenos indícios, expressão sugerida por Jacques-Alain Miller, fornece uma orientação para o diagnóstico diferencial e tratamento. Neste sentido, a identificação da hipocondria como um indício pode auxiliar no diagnóstico diferencial: na neurose, apresenta-se como um enigma passível de interpretação, e na psicose, demonstra uma constatação na dimensão do endereçamento.

A search for quantum black holes with color charge decaying to one electron and one quark has been performed using data collected by the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider corresponding to 2.29 fb−1. No excess over the expected Standard Model interactions has been observed. Limits are set on the production cross section for events with one electron and one jet resulting from new physical phenomena. Models with a combined invariant mass of the electron and jet larger than or equal to 2.5TeV and a cross section above 2.6 fb are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This allows the exclusion of a significant part of the parameter space of quantum black hole models.