THE ROLE OF REJECTION SENSITIVITY IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; A PILOT INVESTIGATION

The aim of this secondary data analysis is to explore the hypothetical relationship between rejection sensitivity (RS) level and PTSD symptom severity. We predicted that RS would be positively related to PTSD symptom severity. Pilot data from 39 individuals were analyzed to explore bivariate correlations on indices of RS, PTSD symptom severity, depression symptoms, and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) feature endorsement. RS was positively related to PTSD symptom severity at the trend level. Participants were then divided into a group of trauma-exposed individuals and control individuals. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate mean differences between groups in terms of RS, PTSD symptom severity, depression, and BPD. Mean group differences were significant for PTSD symptom severity, depression symptoms, and BPD feature endorsement, but not for RS. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to confirm or disconfirm the initial trend-level strength of correlation between RS and PTSD. RS did not significantly account for any of the variance in PTSD symptom severity. A mediation model for future study is proposed and discussed

Characterisation of Reaction Products and Mechanisms in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Deposition of Carbon Films from Ethanol

Atmospheric pressure plasma deposition (APPD) of carbon films from a predominantly ethanol liquid phase was carried out under varying experimental conditions. A solid precipitate formed in the process was characterised by FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. After each experiment the liquid phase was analysed for by-products by GC-MS. A number of compounds were found and mechanisms for their formation are proposed. These mechanisms involve the production of free radical species under the high energy plasma/discharge conditions of the process. The formation of groups of compounds was found to correlate with the voltage in the cell, but not with any other experimental parameter

Ethics of developing autonomy in child healthcare:International and European perspectives

Respect for the children’s developing autonomy in paediatric healthcare, especially with regards to national vaccination programs, may be expressed differently across Europe. Despite the differences, common ethical patterns and good practices may be identified and transferred across the region. Although the paediatrician’s role may be decisive in addressing ethical dilemmas, it is unclear if ethics is adequately included in their resident curricula. This dissertation studies paediatric resident curricula, identifies recurrent teaching patterns and problems and suggests solutions. It addresses ethical dilemmas regarding the provision of prophylactic vaccinations to tackle infectious diseases in childhood, focusing on the cases that the decision of the caregivers and the children do not align and introduces a model to discuss such cases. This model is further validated using a Rights-based approach to discuss ethics, as proposed by the American Society of Pediatrics. Finally, differences regarding expressions or respect for children’s developing autonomy throughout Europe are being explored and studied, also in association with national vaccine coverage rates across the European Union. Thus, this thesis identifies the most suitable ethical approaches to be transferred and implemented across Europe

Biogas Combustion Characteristics in a Concentric Flow Slot Burner: Effects of Co2 Concentration on Stability and Flame Structure

Biogas combustion is affected by the concentration of carbon dioxide. The successful applications of Biogas as a sustainable renewable alternative fuel produced from waste depend on its combustion stability, heat release, and pollution level. The aim of the current study is to apply new combustion technology and study the stability and combustion characteristics of natural gas with different percentages of carbon dioxide from 0 to 40% simulating biogas fuel. The stability characteristics and the temperature profiles of turbulent planar flames at different levels mixture inhomogeneity are investigated and presented in this work. The flames are created in a newly developed concentric flow slot burner, CFSB, for different mixtures of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40% of CO2 in natural gas. The stability characteristics, and the flame temperature measurements were carried out for different levels of mixture inhomogeneity and for the natural gas-CO2 mixtures. The main parameters of the current investigations are the mixture equivalence ratio, the Reynolds number, the level of mixture inhomogeneity, the air-to-fuel velocity ratio, and the air-to-fuel momentum ratio. The flames show highest stability at a partial premixing ratio equal to 5 for mixture inhomogeneity between fully premixed and non-premixed cases. At this level, the highest stability may be attributed to the generation of higher level of radicals from the rich pockets of the mixture. Lower stability was recorded at higher levels of CO2 concentration in the fuel, as expected due to the lower level of the fuel heating value and the temperature diluting effect of CO2. On the other hand, the stability is decreasing almost linearly by increasing the momentum ratio for all cases of CO2 concentration and all cases of mixture inhomogeneities. The temperature profiles show a reduction of the temperature level by increasing the CO2 concentration, as expected. The current work shows the advantage of using turbulent planar flames with an inhomogeneous mixture to stabilize biogas for practical combustion systems. So, biogas can successfully replace fossil fuels for a sustainable energy supply

SAFETY-BASED GUIDELINES FOR LEFT-TURN PHASING DECISIONS WITH NEGATIVE BINOMIAL REGRESSION

The efficient and safe movement of traffic at signalized intersections is the primary objective of any signal phasing and timing plan. Accommodation of left turns is more critical due to the higher need for balancing operations and safety. The objective of this study is to develop models to estimate the safety impacts of the use of left-turn phasing schemes. The models are based on data from 200 intersections in urban areas in Kentucky. For each intersection, approaches with a left-turn lane were isolated and considered with their opposing through approach in order to examine the left-turn related crashes. This combination of movements is considered to be one of the most dangerous in terms of intersection safety. Hourly traffic volumes and crash data were used in the modeling approach along with the geometry of the intersection. The models allow for the determination of the most effective type of left-turn signalization based on the specific characteristics of an intersection approach. The accompanying nomographs provide an improvement over the existing methods and warrants and allow for a systematic and quick evaluation of the left-turn phase to be selected. The models utilize the most common variables that are already known during the design phase and can be used to determine whether a permitted or protected-only phase will suit the intersection when considering safety performance

Data analysis using scale-space filtering and Bayesian probabilistic reasoning

This paper describes a program for analysis of output curves from Differential Thermal Analyzer (DTA). The program first extracts probabilistic qualitative features from a DTA curve of a soil sample, and then uses Bayesian probabilistic reasoning to infer the mineral in the soil. The qualifier module employs a simple and efficient extension of scale-space filtering suitable for handling DTA data. We have observed that points can vanish from contours in the scale-space image when filtering operations are not highly accurate. To handle the problem of vanishing points, perceptual organizations heuristics are used to group the points into lines. Next, these lines are grouped into contours by using additional heuristics. Probabilities are associated with these contours using domain-specific correlations. A Bayes tree classifier processes probabilistic features to infer the presence of different minerals in the soil. Experiments show that the algorithm that uses domain-specific correlation to infer qualitative features outperforms a domain-independent algorithm that does not

Benefits from Constructability Reviews

Constructability review is a process used during project design to infuse construction knowledge into the design process. There is industry impetus encouraging early construction involvement in project development. State transportation agencies often have to abide by legislation restricting these procurement methods leaving construability review as the only opportunity for early construction involvement. Staffing and budgetary constraints lead to state transportation agencies being very cautious in the practices and processes they implement that seemingly lie outside the main missions of project development and delivery. Without straightforward and documented savings of constructability review processes, these methods may also be eliminated. After streamlining the constructability review process for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, an effort was undertaken to estimate monetary benefits from such reviews. Constructability reviews were evaluated at the project level by comparing change order percentages on projects reviewed versus those not being reviewed. This approach showed a clear indication that there are monetary savings associated with constructability reviews resulting in a conservative estimate of 1.25 percent of the project budget. This estimate did not include the additional inherent savings in time, lessons learned or other aspects not readily quantifiable. The second method of evaluating constructability reviews was to quantify and qualify each constructability review comment. A model was developed to estimate the potential monetary gains from the comments indicating the presence of such gains but additional analysis is needed to improve model accuracy

Putrescine stimulates chemiosmotic ATP synthesis

AbstractPutrescine is a main polyamine found in animals, plants and microbes, but the molecular mechanism underlying its mode of action is still obscure. In vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence in tobacco leaf discs indicated that putrescine treatment affects the energization of the thylakoid membrane. Molecular dissection of the electron transport chain by biophysical and biochemical means provided new evidence that putrescine can play an important bioenergetic role acting as a cation and as a permeant natural buffer. We demonstrate that putrescine increases chemiosmotic ATP synthesis more than 70%. Also a regulation of the energy outcome by small changes in putrescine pool under the same photonic environment (i.e., photosynthetically active radiation) is shown. The proposed molecular mechanism has at least four conserved features: (i) presence of a membrane barrier, (ii) a proton-driven ATPase, (iii) a ΔpH and (iv) a pool of putrescine