Sibling Relationships in the Context of Birth Order

All of the research contained in this thesis is a collection of different methodologies and theoretical approaches on the subject of birth order and sibling relationships. Perspectives on the influence of the framework of family on personality development have been summarized, with an emphasis on empirical data related to communication patterns of siblings to each other. This paper is not so much an exploration into birth order as it is about the interactions of siblings in relation to family dynamics. The first part of this paper probes into the consequences of birth order on individuality, in the context of the family environment. The second part of this paper investigates a variety of factors such as gender, parental influence and family dynamics, and how they interact to determine personality characteristics

The use of a battery of tracking tests in the quantitative evaluation of neurological function

A tracking test battery has been applied in a drug trail designed to compare the efficacy of L-DOPA and amantadine to that of L-DOPA and placebo in the treatment of 28 patients with Parkinson's disease. The drug trial provided an ideal opportunity for objectively evaluating the usefulness of tracking tests in assessing changes in neurologic function. Evaluating changes in patient performance resulting from disease progression and controlled clinical trials is of great importance in establishing effective treatment programs

Automating reconfiguration chain generation for SRL-based run-time reconfiguration

Run-time reconfiguration (RTR) of FPGAs is mainly done using the configuration interface. However, for a certain group of designs, RTR using the shift register functionality of the LUTs is a much faster alternative than conventional RTR using the ICAP. This method requires the creation of reconfiguration chains connecting the run-time reconfigurable LUTs (SRL). In this paper, we develop and evaluate a method to generate these reconfiguration chains in an automated way so that their influence on the RTR design is minimised and the reconfiguration time is optimised. We do this by solving a constrained multiple travelling salesman problem (mTSP) based on the placement information of the run-time reconfigurable LUTs. An algorithm based on simulated annealing was developed to solve this new constrained mTSP. We show that using the proposed method, reconfiguration chains can be added with minimal influence on the clock frequency of the original design

Interface Tension in Quenched QCD

We calculate the tension $\sigma$ of the interface between the confined and deconfined phases by the histogram method in SU(3) lattice gauge theory for temporal extents of 4 and 6 using the recent high-statistics data by QCDPAX collaboration. The results are $\sigma/T_c^3 = 0.0292(22)$ and 0.0218(33) for $N_t=4$ and 6, respectively. The ratio $\sigma/T_c^3$ shows a scaling violation similar to that already observed for the latent heat \latent. However, we find that the physically interesting dimensionless combinations (\sigma^{3}/\latent^2 T)^{1/2} and \sigma T/ \latent scale within the statistical errors.Comment: 13 pages with 2 PostScript figures, LaTeX, CERN-TH.6798/93, AZPH-TH/93-04, UTHEP-25

THE EFFECTS OF CONSTRAINING OPENSIM INVERSE KINEMATICS TO A BONE PIN MARKER DEFINED RANGE

The aim of this study was to apply bone pin kinematic constraints to an OpenSim model to determine differences in knee joint kinematics and kinetics beween the constrained and unconstrained solutions. In vivo data from healthy, anterior cruciate ligament deficient and reoonstructed patients completing a forward jump lunge were combined with bone pin data from a past study to redefine ranges that the knee degrees of freedom were constrained to. Differences between the constrained and unconstrained solutions existed for all participants at various points of the jump lunge movement, especially at the time of impact. Soft tissue artifact was most apparent in transverse plane translations. In conclusion, musculoskeletal modelling based solely on surface marker positions is inherently affected by soft tissue artifact and thus, results from these analyses should be interpreted with caution

The Effects of Spatial Interpolation on a Novel, Dual-Doppler 3D Wind Retrieval Technique

Three-dimensional wind retrievals from ground-based Doppler radars have played an important role in meteorological research and nowcasting over the past four decades. However, in recent years, the proliferation of open-source software and increased demands from applications such as convective parameterizations in numerical weather prediction models has led to a renewed interest in these analyses. In this study, we analyze how a major, yet often-overlooked, error source effects the quality of retrieved 3D wind fields. Namely, we investigate the effects of spatial interpolation, and show how the common practice of pre-gridding radial velocity data can degrade the accuracy of the results. Alternatively, we show that assimilating radar data directly at their observation locations improves the retrieval of important dynamic features such as the rear flank downdraft and mesocyclone within a simulated supercell, while also reducing errors in vertical vorticity, horizontal divergence, and all three velocity components.Comment: Revised version submitted to JTECH. Includes new section with a real data cas

A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) on Quality of Life in Persons with Dementia

Quality of life (QoL) is an established outcome measure of patients with dementia and is strongly influenced by an individual\u27s environment and mood. While there are many outcomes that can be examined with Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) interventions, this systematic review focused on quality of life

Effects of d‐amphetamine on quantitative measures of motor performance

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117170/1/cpt1972132251.pd

Efficacy of Social Cognitive Interventions on Improving Social Participation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Social cognitive training programs, developed primarily by mental health and educational professionals to teach social skills to children with ASD, may have the potential for implementation in the field of occupational therapy to support social participation among this population. This current systematic review was conducted to examine the efficacy of social cognitive interventions to improve social participation in children with AS