The Role of Interactional Agreeableness in Responsive Treatments for Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder.

It has been shown that agreeableness of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) had an impact on therapy process and outcome (Hirsh, Quilty, Bagby, & McMain, 2012). The goal of our study was to test whether agreeableness affects the therapeutic alliance and outcome assessed after brief treatment for BPD, and whether this link is moderated by therapist responsiveness. We compared two types of interventions (N = 60) in 10-session treatments (Kramer et al., 2014): a general psychiatric management (GPM)-based treatment and the same treatment supplemented with motive-oriented therapeutic relationship (MOTR), based on plan analysis case conceptualizations (PA; Caspar, 1995), as operationalization of therapist responsiveness. The results showed that there was a significant link between agreeableness and outcome for the GPM, but not for the MOTR. No links between agreeableness and the therapeutic alliance were found in both conditions. MOTR enables suppression of the influences of the patient's initial characteristics on the therapeutic results

A model analysis of the photosynthetic response of Vitis vinifera L. cvs Riesling and Chasselas leaves in the field: I. Interaction of age, light and temperature

The photosynthetic activity (A) of leaves of different ages on primary and secondary shoots of Riesling and Chasselas vines was measured under  field  conditions  in relation to photon flux density  (PFD) at various leaf temperatures. The data sets from 4 years and two locations (Geisenheim, Germany; Changins, Switzerland) were  analysed  using  non-linear  regression models  to determine possible  genetic  and/or  climate-induced differences  in  the  light  and  temperature  response between different  leaf ages. A non-rectangular hyperbola with  physiologically meaningful  parameters was  found  to  adequately describe  the  response to photon  flux density. For both  varieties, maximum photosynthetic  rates were  observed  on  leaves  of primary  shoots,  opposite  to  the  clusters,  at  a  leaf  temperature  of  27-32  °C  and  at  light  saturation. Young leaves  showed  a  less  pronounced  temperature  optimum. The  light  response  curves  of photosynthesis  of the  two  cultivars were  similar  over  a  temperature range  of  20-30  °C. Below  this  temperature, Riesling showed higher values of A than Chasselas in most cases, whereas  it was  the reverse when leaf  temperature exceeded 30 °C. This was particularly evident for leaves on secondary shoots and was related to differences  in the photorespiration rate. Mature Riesling  leaves had higher  apparent quantum  yields  (a)  and  lower  light saturation  indices (Is) than Chasselas at  leaf temperatures below  30-35 °C. Dark  respiration  (RD)  and  the light  compensation  point  (Ic)  responded  strongly  to temperature with differences between leaf ages but no consistent difference between varieties. Leaves on secondary shoots of both cultivars had the highest photo-synthetic  activity  during  the  ripening  period  of  the fruit

Carbohydrate reserves in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. 'Chasselas'): the influence of the leaf to fruit ratio

Seasonal dynamics of total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC) in relation to the leaf-fruit ratio were measured over five years at different grapevine phenological stages in one- and two-year-old canes, trunks and roots of the cultivar 'Chasselas' (Vitis vinifera L.). Carbohydrates were mainly stored as starch in different parts of the grapevine during the growing season. Soluble carbohydrates represented only a small part (< 7 % of dry weight, DW) of the TNC. In the roots and trunks, the starch content fluctuated during the growing season, reaching the lowest values between budbreak and flowering depending on the year, and the highest values between harvest and leaf fall. The soluble sugar content increased in the trunks and the two-year-old canes during the winter period with the decrease in temperatures. A negative correlation was established between the average air temperature recorded during the seven days before sample collection for carbohydrate analysis, and soluble carbohydrate content in the trunks and two-year-old canes. The leaffruit ratio (source-sink), expressed by the “light-exposed leaf area∙kg-1 fruit”, not only substantially influenced the soluble sugar content in berries but also the starch and TNC concentrations in the trunks and roots at harvest. Higher leaf-fruit ratios resulted in increased starch and TNC concentrations in the trunks and roots, which attained the maximum values when the leaf-fruit ratio neared 2.0 m2 of light-exposed leaf area∙kg-1 fruit. Canopy height and leaf area had no predominant influence on the soluble sugars, starch contents, or TNC in the permanent vine parts. 

Off-shore and underwater sampling of aquatic environments with the aerial-aquatic drone MEDUSA

Monitoring of aquatic habitats for water quality and biodiversity requires regular sampling, often in off-shore locations and underwater. Such sampling is commonly performed manually from research vessels, or if autonomous, is constrained to permanent installations. Consequentially, high frequency ecological monitoring, such as for harmful algal blooms, are limited to few sites and/or temporally infrequent. Here, we demonstrate the use of MEDUSA, an Unmanned Aerial-Aquatic Vehicle which is capable of performing underwater sampling and inspection at up to 10 m depth, and is composed of a multirotor platform, a tether management unit and a tethered micro Underwater Vehicle. The system is validated in the task of vertical profiling of Chlorophyll-a levels in freshwater systems by means of a custom solid sample filtering mechanism. This mechanism can collect up to two independent samples per mission by pumping water through a pair of glass-fibre GF/F filters. Chlorophyll levels measured from the solid deposits on the filters are consistent and on par with traditional sampling methods, highlighting the potential of using UAAVs to sample aquatic locations at high frequency and high spatial resolution

Energy Management for Indoor Hovering Robots

Flying has an advantage when compared to ground based locomotion, as it simplifies the task of overcoming obstacles and allows for rapid coverage of an area while also providing a birds-eye-view of the environment. One of the key challenges that has prevented engineers from coming up with convincing aerial solutions for indoor exploration is the energetic cost of flying. This paper presents a way of mitigating the energy problem regarding aerial exploration within indoor environments. This is achieved by means of a model to estimate the endurance of a hover-capable flying robot and by using ceiling attachment as a means of preserving energy while maintaining a birds-eye-view. The proposed model for endurance estimation has been extensively tested using a custom-developed quadrotor and autonomous ceiling attachment system

Quadrotor Using Minimal Sensing For Autonomous Indoor Flight

This paper presents a Miniature Aerial Vehicle (MAV) capable of hands-off autonomous operation within indoor environments. Our prototype is a Quadrotor weighing approximately 600g, with a diameter of 550mm, which carries the necessary electronics for stability control, altitude control, collision avoidance and anti-drift control. This MAV is equipped with three rate gyroscopes, three accelerometers, one ultrasonic sensor, four infrared sensors, a high-speed motor controller and a flight computer. Autonomous flight tests have been carried out in a 7x6-m room

2.5D Infrared Range and Bearing System for Collective Robotics

In the growing field of collective robotics, spatial co-ordination between robots is often critical and usually achieved via local relative positioning sensors. We believe that range and bearing sensing, based on infrared technology, has the potential to fulfil the strict requirements of real-world collective robots. These requirements include: small size, light weight, large range, high refresh rate, immunity against tilting and misalignment, immunity against ambient light changes, and good range and bearing accuracy. Currently, there are no range and bearing systems that have been designed to cope with such strict requirements. This paper presents a custom range and bearing system, based on a novel cascaded filtering technology, complemented by hybrid infrared/Radio Frequency (RF) communication, which has been designed specifically to meet all these expectations. The system has been characterised and tested, proving its viability

CURVACE - CURVed Artificial Compound Eyes

International audienceCURVACE aims at designing, developing, and assessing CURVed Artificial Compound Eyes, a radically novel family of vision systems. This innovative approach will provide more efficient visual abilities for embedded applications that require motion analysis in low-power and small packages. Compared to conventional cameras, artificial compound eyes will offer a much larger field of view with negligible distortion and exceptionally high temporal resolution in smaller size and weight that will fit the requirements of a wide range of applications

myCopter: Enabling Technologies for Personal Air Transport Systems - an Early Progress Report

This paper describes the European Commission (EC) Framework 7 funded project myCopter (2011-2014). The project is still at an early stage so the paper starts with the current transportation issues faced by developed countries and describes a means to solve them through the use of personal aerial transportation. The concept of personal air vehicles (PAV) is briefly reviewed and how this project intends to tackle the problem from a different perspective described. It is argued that the key reason that many PAV concepts have failed is because the operational infrastructure and socio-economic issues have not been properly addressed; rather, the start point has been the design of the vehicle itself. Some of the key aspects that would make a personal aerial transport system (PATS) viable include the required infrastructure and associated technologies, the skill levels and machine interfaces needed by the occupant or pilot and the views of society as a whole on the acceptability of such a proposition. The myCopter project will use these areas to explore the viability of PAVs within a PATS. The paper reports upon the early progress made within the project. An initial reference set of PAV requirements has been collated. A non-physical flight simulation model capable of providing a wide range of handling qualities characteristics has been developed and its function has undergone limited verification. Results from this exercise show that the model behaves as intended and that it can deliver a predictable range of vehicle dynamics. The future direction of the themes of work described within the paper are then described