The molecular mechanisms underlying disease-resistance and drought-resistance in forest trees are not well understood. Linking variation in gene expression with genetic polymorphisms and with variations in disease- and drought-resistance phenotypes can provide information about these complex traits. We used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect variations in the expression of 88 disease- and drought-responsive genes within an association population of 354 loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda L.). Using association genetics approaches, we then linked 3,938 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes with gene expression phenotypes to identify novel disease- and drought-responsive genes. To further examine differences in gene expression induced by drought, Fusarium circinatum (responsible for pitch canker disease), and drought F. circinatum, the expression of 114 genes identified through comparative and association genetics approaches was analyzed on a subset of 24 loblolly pine trees possessing a range of pitch canker- and drought-resistance phenotypes. Significant differences in the uninduced expression of all 88 genes measured on the association population were observed among loblolly pine trees. Principal component analysis showed that some variation within the association population could be accounted for by population substructure of geographic origin. Hierarchical clustering of genes based on uninduced expression did not consistently group together functionally similar genes probably because expression was collected on unstressed stem tissue. This was supported in the smaller expression study as correlations between expression values of genes in the same functional networks were usually stronger when induced by a treatment compared with correlations between the uninduced expression of genes in the control group. Gene expression frequently changed by up to 4-fold in response to one or more treatments, but PtMYB12 was the only gene that exhibited a statistically significant change in response to treatments. ANOVA analyses of gene expression controlling for pitch canker resistance and for water use efficiency phenotypes identified differentially expressed genes suggesting that they may be contributing to these phenotypes. Finally, association genetics approaches detected 101 significant associations between SNPs in 94 candidate genes potentially involved in stress responses and 27 gene expression phenotypes.

The main purpose of this study is to aerodynamically design and optimize winglet, twist angle distribution and pitch angle for a wind turbine blade using CFD to produce more power. The RANS solver of Numeca Fine/Turbo was validated by two test cases, the NREL II and NREL VI blades. The results have shown a considerable agreement with measurements for both cases. Two different preconditioners have been implemented for the low Mach number flow. The results have shown the superiority of Merkle preconditioner over Hakimi one and Merkle was selected for further simulations. In addition to that, different turbulence models have been compared and the Launder &ndash / Sharma has shown the best agreement with measurements. Launder &ndash / Sharma was chosen for further simulations and for the design process. Before starting the design and optimization, different winglet configurations were studied. The winglets pointing towards the suction side of the blade have yielded higher power output. Genetic algorithm and artificial neural network were implemented in the design and optimization process. The optimized winglet has shown an increase in power of about 9.5 % where the optimized twist has yielded to an increase of 4%. Then the stall regulated blade has been converted into pitch regulated blade to yield more power output. The final design was produced by a combination of the optimized winglet, optimized twist andbest pitch angle for every wind speed. The final design has shown an increase in power output of about 38%.

As the marketplace for crowdfunding grows to an estimated $5 billion dollars in 2013, academic research exploring the second largest platform Indiegogo has been largely overlooked. This research identifies causal characteristics that differentiate content and social spread strategies across ten technology campaigns on Indiegogo, covering a wide pledge fundraising range from $13,417 to $1,960,503. The researcher’s central hypothesis that better content and spread strategy executions would generate more campaign activity and higher pledges was proven to be generally true, but also an oversimplification of complex variables. Successful campaigns can be defined by both the pledge amount raised and the percent of goal reached, whereas all campaigns surveyed reached over 100% of their set goal. All campaigns selected met three key criteria in that they: launched by April 1st, 2013 and ended before October 15th, 2013, lasted between 31 and 51 days and used a Vimeo video player with open statistics. A five tier framework was designed to classify Blockbuster, Intermediate and Base level performance. Close watch was given to mainly the campaign pitch video followed by page content and social media channels. The pitch video content analysis examines narrative content tactics, technical triggers and pledge participation prompts and found that higher performing campaigns generally aligned with the optimized content analysis units, with some exceptions. There was a strong connection between more video views, especially at the frontend of the campaign, raising greater pledge amounts. Campaigns with more page content comments leveraged higher audience participation and pledges. Social media activity mainly through Facebook Likes had the most impact on pledge participation across campaigns. Video source traffic arrived mostly to the Indiegogo page from social media, email marketing and to a lesser extent from referral blogs and website links. In summary, the characteristics that defined better content and spread strategy executions were certainly related to increased campaign activity and higher pledges, but exhibited complex behaviors requiring more data to comprehensively understand the direct impact on a campaign’s performance. / text

Ο σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής είναι η κατασκευή ενός συστήματος εκμάθησης μουσικών οργάνων. Συγκεκριμένα, στα πλαίσια της διπλωματικής αυτής μελετήθηκε το όργανο της κιθάρας. Αυτό επετεύχθη με την βοήθεια του Matlab software όπου έχουμε το πρωτότυπο κομμάτι μουσικής και το κομμάτι το οποίο παίζει ο μαθητής και κάνουμε την σύγκριση μεταξύ των δύο. Για να γίνει αυτό όμως πρέπει να γίνουν κάποια βήματα προηγουμένως. Αρχικά, εντοπίζουμε σε ποιο χρονικό σημείο παίζονται οι νότες, δηλαδή βρίσκουμε τα onset points. Έπειτα, καθορίζουμε ποια νότα παίζεται στα αντίστοιχα χρονικά σημεία, το οποίο επιτυγχάνεται με την Harmonic Product Spectrum μέθοδο όπου βρίσκουμε την θεμελιώδη συχνότητα. Τέλος, καθορίζουμε με ποια κριτήρια θα γίνει η σύγκριση και τι αποτελέσματα θα παρέχουμε. / The purpose of this project is the construction of a musical-ιnstrument learning system. Specifically, in the context of this thesis, we studied the guitar. This was achieved with the help of Matlab software where we define the original music track and the track played by the student and make the comparison between the two. To do this, however, we must take some steps. First, we identify the time which the notes are played, that is to say we find the onset points. Then, we determine what note is played in the respective time points, which is obtained by the Harmonic Product Spectrum method, where we find the fundamental frequency. Finally, we determine the comparison criteria and what results are provided.

One goal of music theory is to describe the resources of a pitch system. Traditionally, the study of pitch intervals was done using frequency ratios of the powers of small integers. Modern mathematical music theory offers an independent way of understanding the pitch system by considering intervals as transformations. This thesis takes advantage of the historical emergence of algebraic structures in musicology and, in the spirit of transformational theory, treats operations that form mathematical groups. Aspects of Neo-Riemannian theory are explored and developed, in particular the T/I and PLR groups as dual. Pitch class spaces, such as 12, can also be defined as torsors. In addition to surveying the group theoretical tools for music analysis, this thesis provides detailed proofs of many claims that are proposed but seldom supported.

Tone pairs constructed with the frequencies of the overtones moving in opposition to the missing fundamental frequencies they imply, produce expertise differences in the tracking of pitch direction. One interpretation of this result is that it arises as a function of rudimentary differences in the perceptual systems of musicians and non-musicians. Several experiments suggest instead a more embodied source of expertise to be found in vocal mediation such that the effect of musical experience in these tasks is the result of the most salient action of musicians: making sound. / x, 87 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

This paper’s aim is to discover the impact of economical, demographic and traditional determinants on clubs’ on-pitch success in UEFA Champions League. Generally it is assumed by people that financially strong clubs tend to win on the pitch most of the time. Is it really true? Is it always the same wealthy teams which win in the end? Football is a type of entertainment and people would like to see games with uncertain outcomes and a balanced competitiveness between two sides. In this way they can enjoy this entertainment. In that case, how uncertain is the outcome and how balanced is the competition in UEFA Champions League? In order to answer all these questions a multiple regression analysis is built including economic, demographic and traditional variables both at club and country level. These mentioned explanatory variables are GDP per capita of the home country, population of the host city, total market value of the team’s players, capacity of the stadium, country’s participation in international tournaments, club’s age, rank of the next best team from the same country and country’s hosting an international tournament. It turned out that financially advantageous clubs which have stadiums with larger capacities and located in more populated cities have more chances of winning than the others. Then again, it is observed that countries’ football tradition and dedication does not have a significant impact on clubs’ on-pitch success in UEFA Champions League.

This thesis investigates the suprasegmental properties of Maori English and Pakeha English, the two main ethnolects of New Zealand English. Firstly, in a Production Experiment the speech of 36 New Zealenders is acoustically analysed. Using the Pairwise Variability Index (PVI) to measure syllabic rhythm, the study reveals that the two ethnic varieties display differing rhythmic patterns, with Maori English being significantly more syllable-timed than Pakeha English. It is also shown that, overall, Maori speakers use a higher percentage of High Rising Terminals than Pakeha speakers. The results relating to pitch suggest that Maori English pitch is becoming higher over time, with young Maori speakers producing a significantly higher mean pitch than young Pakeha speakers. Secondly, a Perception Experiment using 107 listeners is carried out to investigate the role of suprasegmental information in the identification of Maori English and Pakeha English. The ability of listeners to identify the two dialects based on prosodic cues only is tested in seven different speech conditions. The various conditions aim to isolate the precise suprasegmental features participants may use to identify speaker ethnicity. The results reveal that listeners are aware of the differing rhythmic properties of Maori English and Pakeha English, and are capable of tuning into the rhythmic characteristics of a speaker to use it as a cue in dialect identification, with some level of accuracy. The perceptual relevance of other prosodic cues is also discussed and the results indicate that, based on certain stereotypes, Maori English speech is assumed to be low-pitched, monotonous, hesitant and slow in pace. It is also shown that listeners who have had greater exposure to Maori English perform significantly better in a dialect identification task than those who are not integrated into Maori social networks, proving that the linguistic experience of the listener is a key indicator of his or her performance in ethnic dialect identification.

Micro Air Vehicles (MAV’s) have small size and extreme maneuverability which makes them ideal for surveillance. Propulsion mechanisms include propellers, rotors, and flapping airfoils. Flapping motions, along with biologically-inspired wing profiles, are of interest due to their use of natural physics. Corrugated airfoil structures appears to have poor aerodynamic performance at higher Reynolds numbers, but serve well at Re<10,000. Understanding flow structures around corrugated profiles and comparing them to a standard airfoil will aid in understanding how these corrugated profiles perform well and have been adopted by some of nature’s most acrobatic flyers. Motivation for this investigation is to compare static flow visualizations of corrugated profiles to a standard National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) airfoil from low to high angles of attack and further observe flow structure development of a pitching and plunging flat plate at a Re<10,000 and a Strouhal number relevant to natural fliers. The static visualization was conducted at Re=1,000 with a NACA 0012 airfoil and two corrugated models. The Pitch and Plunge Fixture (PPF) developed was constructed by simplifying flapping wings as a two degree of freedom motion in plunge (translation) and pitch (rotation). Results obtained from the PPF were compared with a numerical simulation.

Dissolved and Colloidal substances (DisCo) and metals are released from wood during thermomechanical pulp (TMP) production. The mechanical treatment causes that these components have a tendency to accumulate in process waters, as the water circulation systems in integrated paper mills are being closed. Disturbances such as pitch depositions on the paper machine (pitch problems), specks in the paper, decreased wet and dry strength, interference with cationic process chemicals, and impaired sheet brightness and friction properties appear in the presence of DisCo substances. The presence of transition metal ions such as manganese results in higher consumption of bleaching chemicals (hydrogen peroxide) and lowers the optical quality of the final product, and addition of complexing agents, such as EDTA or DTPA, to prevent this is needed. The never ending trends to decrease water consumption and increase process efficiency in pulp and paper production stress that it is very important both to know the effects of wood substances on pulping and papermaking and to be able to remove them in an efficient way. Carried out investigations presented in this thesis show that the lipophilic extractives can be removed from TMP press water to high extent. A 90% decrease in turbidity and a 91% removal of lipophilic extractives from TMP press water can be obtained by addition of a cationic surfactant as foaming agent during flotation. Additionally, fibres located in TMP press water are not removed with the foam fraction but purified. A retained concentration of hydrophilic extractives in the process water indicates that the flotation is selective. Moreover, by introduction of a new recoverable surface active complexing agent, a chelating surfactant, manganese ions in the form of chelates can be successfully removed from the pulp fibres and separated from the process water in the same flotation process. iii The findings presented above indicate new possibilities for internal water cleaning and decreased emissions to water if flotation technology is applied in an integrated mechanical pulp mill. / ReGain/FORE