SgpDec : Cascade (de)compositions of finite transformation semigroups and permutation groups

We describe how the SgpDec computer algebra package can be used for composing and decomposing permutation groups and transformation semigroups hierarchically by directly constructing substructures of wreath products, the so called cascade products.Final Accepted Versio

Developmental aspects of communication in children with Down's syndrome

This thesis presents a series of investigations into communicative interaction between mothers and their preschool children with Down's Syndrome (DS), and mothers and their infants with DS. Reference to the literature in this area indicates that there is a need to determine not only how the DS child and/or her/his mother differ from their nonhandicapped peers but also ways in which DS children's language can be accelerated. Insofar as the preschool child with DS is concerned, a series of four studies are presented. The first of these investigates the effect of the label "DS" upon the mothers' perceptions of children thus labelled. Using videotapes of nonhandicapped, above average infants, it is demonstrated that some of the mothers' ratings of children are negatively affected if the child is described as having "DS". This is found to occur to a significant degree in both mothers of DS children and mothers of nonhandicapped children, although the effect is not identical in both groups across all the ratings measured. To investigate whether any such negative distortions, or "labelling effects" would affect the interactive behaviour of mothers of ES children, a sample of mothers of DS children was videotaped, with each mother in turn playing separately with 2 sisters. These girls were four years old, nonhandicapped, non-identical twins. For the purposes of this experiment, one of the twins (the more developmentally advanced and the physically larger of the 2) was always described to the mothers as having DS, her sister always being described as nonhandicapped (i.e. the child least like a DS child - if either could possibly be thought of in that way - was described as having-DS). It was found that all but one mother believed the experimental manipulation of the label; videotape analyses revealed furthermore that mothers treated the sisters significantly differently. Specifically the supposed DS child was ignored more often than her sister with mothers not responding to her attempts to initiate interaction and thus giving her less opportunity to control or direct the interactions. Mothers also used different types of interrogatives with her, avoiding the use of those questions which required more complex answers (wh- type questions) and using overall far more questions requiring only a simple yes/no response. Moreover, audio-recorded interviews with the subjects in this experiment revealed them to be explaining and describing the supposed DS child's behaviour in a very negative way, interpreting her behaviour and speech on the basis of her diagnostic label, giving her little or no credit for any achievements. These results are discussed with reference to the literature on mother and DS child interaction, expectancy effects, and with reference to social psychological studies of stereotyping. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.

Power, norms and institutional change in the European Union: the protection of the free movement of goods

How do institutions of the European Union change? Using an institutionalist approach, this article highlights the interplay between power, cognitive limits, and the normative order that underpins institutional settings and assesses their impact upon the process of institutional change. Empirical evidence from recent attempts to reinforce the protection of the free movement of goods in the EU suggests that, under conditions of uncertainty, actors with ambiguous preferences assess attempts at institutional change on the basis of the historically defined normative order which holds a given institutional structure together. Hence, path dependent and incremental change occurs even when more ambitious and functionally superior proposals are on offer

Recombinant Human Parathyroid Hormone Effect on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults With Chronic Hypoparathyroidism

Context: Reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is common in patients with hypoparathyroidism on conventional therapy with calcium and active vitamin D supplements. Objective: To examine the effects of recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH[1-84]) on HRQoL as measured by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) during the multinational, randomized, placebo-controlled REPLACE study. Patients: 122 adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism. Intervention(s): Following an optimization period when calcium and/or active vitamin D supplements were adjusted to reach target serum calcium levels (8.0-9.0 mg/dL; 2.0-2.2 mmol/L), patients were randomized to receive placebo (n=39) or rhPTH(1-84) (n=83) (starting dose 50 mug/day, could be titrated up to 100 mug/day); supplement doses were adjusted to maintain target serum calcium levels. Main Outcome Measure(s): Change from baseline (post-optimization, at randomization) to Week 24 in HRQoL as assessed by the SF-36v2 health survey. Results: Overall, the between-group differences were not statistically significant. However, in the rhPTH(1-84) group, there were significant improvements in the physical component summary score (P=0.004) and in body pain (P<0.05), general health (P<0.05), and vitality (P<0.001) domains as compared with baseline values. In the placebo group, there were no significant changes for any of the domains. The magnitude of change between 0 and 24 weeks in SF-36 scores was negatively correlated with baseline scores, such that patients with lower HRQoL at baseline were more likely to experience improvement in response to treatment. Conclusions: Treatment with rhPTH(1-84) may improve HRQoL in adults with hypoparathyroidism

On the equivalence between hierarchical segmentations and ultrametric watersheds

We study hierarchical segmentation in the framework of edge-weighted graphs. We define ultrametric watersheds as topological watersheds null on the minima. We prove that there exists a bijection between the set of ultrametric watersheds and the set of hierarchical segmentations. We end this paper by showing how to use the proposed framework in practice in the example of constrained connectivity; in particular it allows to compute such a hierarchy following a classical watershed-based morphological scheme, which provides an efficient algorithm to compute the whole hierarchy.Comment: 19 pages, double-colum

ASEAN and the Dynamics of Resistance to Sovereignty Violation:The Case of the Third Indochina War (1978–1991)

This article investigates the history of ASEAN’s relationship to external intervention in regional affairs. It addresses a specific question: What was the basic cause of the success of ASEAN resistance to the Vietnamese challenge to ASEAN’s sovereignty from 1978-1991? ASEAN’s history is understood in terms of a realist theoretical logic, in terms of the relationship between an ASEAN state with the most compelling interests at stake in a given issue, which I call a ‘vanguard state,’ and selected external powers. Using the Third Indochina War (1978–1991) as a case study, this article contends that ASEAN’s ability to resist violations to the sovereignty of Thailand from a Soviet-backed Vietnam is a consequence of high interest convergence between Thailand, and a designated external power, China

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.