Decimation-in-Frequency Fast Fourier Transforms for the Symmetric Group

In this thesis, we present a new class of algorithms that determine fast Fourier transforms for a given finite group G. These algorithms use eigenspace projections determined by a chain of subgroups of G, and rely on a path algebraic approach to the representation theory of finite groups developed by Ram (26). Applying this framework to the symmetric group, Sn, yields a class of fast Fourier transforms that we conjecture to run in O(n2n!) time. We also discuss several future directions for this research

Evaluation of the performance of self-healing concrete at small and large scale under laboratory conditions

HEALCON is an EU-FP7 project which aims to develop self-healing concrete to create durable and sustainable concrete structures. While during the first years of the project the self-healing materials (including the healing agents and suitable encapsulation methodologies) and monitoring techniques were designed and tested at lab-scale, large scale elements have been tested near the end of the project to verify the feasibility and efficiency of the self-healing concrete under conditions closer to reality. For this paper, two types of healing agents were investigated for use in mortar and concrete. The first type of healing agent studied was a coated superabsorbent polymer (C-SAP). It is known that the autogenous healing capacity is increased by incorporation of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) in mortar/concrete. The agents present in the crack can absorb intruding water, swell and block the crack, leading to immediate sealing, but can also exude moisture to the surrounding concrete environment stimulating healing of the concrete by hydration of unreacted cement particles or by CaCO3 precipitation. The disadvantage of these SAPs in the fresh mortar/concrete mix is however that they absorb large quantities of mixing water, leading to unwanted effects (e.g. loss of workability and macro-pore formation). By coating of the SAPs, we want to eliminate this disadvantage. The fluid bed spraying of the different layers was applied by VTT. A second healing agent studied, is a biogenic healing agent, namely a Mixed Ureolytic Culture (MUC). This type of healing agent was developed by Avecom in order to reduce the cost associated with the production of pure bacterial strains. This mixed ureolytic culture is moreover self-protecting and does not need any further encapsulation. At first, the performance of the healing agents itself was evaluated. For the coated SAPs, the swelling performance and swelling rate were determined, showing that the coating can limit the uptake of water during the first 10-15 minutes. For the MUC, the ureolytic and CaCO3 precipitating capacity was determined, immediately after production of the MUC and after 3 months of storage. The results show the potential of these mixed cultures to be used as self-healing agent in mortar/concrete, but also show a decrease of their effectiveness with time. Subsequently, the healing agents were incorporated in mortar mixes at UGent. A dosage of 1 wt% relative to the cement content caused a large reduction of the mechanical properties of the mortar (up to ~ 50%), except for the coated SAP. The sealing efficiency was evaluated with the water flow test, as designed by one of the project partners in HEALCON. The performance of reference mixes was compared to that of self-healing mixes with SAP, coated SAP or MUC (+ urea). Results showed that for cracks with a width less than 0.150 mm, all mortars were sealed (almost) completely after storage for 28 days in wet-dry environment (12 h wet – 12 h dry) after crack creation. For cracks with a larger width, differences were noticed between the different specimens. Moreover, also the immediate sealing effect induced by the presence of SAPs could be noticed. It has to be noted however that the crack width plays an important role but is varying along the crack length (within a specimen) and between specimens, making the analysis more difficult. In order to extend the application to concrete, self-healing and reference reinforced concrete beams (2500 x 400 x 200 mm) were produced at the Danish Technological Institute. The self-healing concretes contained coated SAPs or MUC. Moreover, the beams were equipped with corrosion sensors that are connected to a wireless monitoring system, developed by the Technology-Transfer- Initiative at the University of Stuttgart. The multi reference electrodes (MuRE) were installed alongside the reinforcements and measure the corrosion potential at certain positions. Data is collected in sufficiently dense intervals by battery powered nodes that transmit the data wirelessly to a base station and further on to a database where it can be accessed through a web based application for data analysis over the internet. At the age of 28 days, three-point bending cracks up to 0.6 mm were created in the beams. Subsequently, the beams were regularly sprayed with water (four times one hour per day) for 6 weeks and afterwards, the beams were, once a week, exposed to 3 wt% NaCl solution for 24 h. Evaluation of the self-healing performance by microscopic analysis (crack microscopy and analysis of thin sections) showed that for the reference beam and beam with MUC no significant healing could be noticed (probably because of insufficient supply of nutrients for the bacteria). For the beams with coated SAPs, the smaller cracks (0.1 and 0.2 mm) were partly closed. Continuous corrosion monitoring showed corrosion in the reference and MUC beams already after the first exposure to NaCl solution. Onset of corrosion was delayed in the case the beams contained coated SAPs

Beyond Improved Retention: Building Value-Added Success on a Broad Foundation

Many have documented the positive benefits of Living and Learning Communities (LLCs), but creating an environment that truly integrates living and learning across campus can be a challenge. In this paper we chronicle an LLC program that was intentionally built upon a broad foundation. By including faculty, staff, and student leader representation from across the campus - from admissions and academic affairs to student engagement, residence life, and enrollment management - Cabrini College has created a program that has gone beyond the numerical targets of increased retention and increased academic success. We believe the program has created transformational experiences for many student participants, and that these experiences are the result of the LLC’s integrated design. After providing a history of the program and its unique institutional structure, and offering suggestions for other institutions designing LLCs, we present both quantitative and qualitative measures of success. Richard D. Gebauer is the Director of the First-Year Experience at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Nancy L. Watterson is an Associate Professor, Social Justice, at Cabrini College. Eric Malm is an Associate Professor of Economics and Business at Cabrini College. Michelle Filling-Brown is an Assistant Professor of English at Cabrini College. John W. Cordes is an Associate Professor in Communication at Cabrini College

Informationsosäkerhet i en komplex miljö

Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa förståelse för hur svenska medelstora företag i en föränderlig omgivning hanterar situationer där det krävs information, direktiv och beslut från kinesiska myndigheter. Studien grundar sig på en kvalitativ metod. Vi har genomfört intervjuer med valt fallföretag och utvalda experter. Vidare har litteraturstudier givit oss en teoretisk referensram. Uppsatsen har resulterat i ett praktiskt och ett teoretiskt bidrag. Det praktiska bidraget består av en manual rörande tillvägagångssätt för att erhålla information och direktiv från kinesiska myndigheter. Det teoretiska bidraget gestaltar en ”metodbrygga” mellan två teorier

Cerebrospinal fluid markers before and after shunting in patients with secondary and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to explore biochemical changes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) induced by shunt surgery and the relationship between these changes and clinical improvement.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We measured clinical symptoms and analysed lumbar CSF for protein content, neurodegeneration and neurotransmission markers in patients with secondary (SNPH, n = 17) and idiopathic NPH (INPH, n = 18) before and 3 months after shunt surgery. Patients were divided into groups according to whether or not there was improvement in clinical symptoms after surgery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Preoperatively, the only pathological findings were elevated neurofilament protein (NFL), significantly more so in the SNPH patients than in the INPH patients, and elevated albumin content. Higher levels of NFL correlated with worse gait, balance, wakefulness and neuropsychological performance. Preoperatively, no differences were seen in any of the CSF biomarkers between patients that improved after surgery and those that did not improve. Postoperatively, a greater improvement in gait and balance performance correlated with a more pronounced reduction in NFL. Levels of albumin, albumin ratio, neuropeptide Y, vasoactive intestinal peptide and ganglioside GD3 increased significantly after shunting in both groups. In addition, Gamma amino butyric acid increased significantly in SNPH and tau in INPH.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that a number of biochemical changes occur after shunt surgery, but there are no marked differences between the SNPH and INPH patients. The results indicate that NFL may be a marker that can predict a surgically reversible state in NPH.</p

Comparison of contrast enhanced three dimensional echocardiography with MIBI gated SPECT for the evaluation of left ventricular function

Background. In clinical practice and in clinical trials, echocardiography and scintigraphy are used the most for the evaluation of global left ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular (LV) volumes. Actually, poor quality imaging and geometrical assumptions are the main limitations of LVEF measured by echocardiography. Contrast agents and 3D echocardiography are new methods that may alleviate these potential limitations. Methods. Therefore we sought to examine the accuracy of contrast 3D echocardiography for the evaluation of LV volumes and LVEF relative to MIBI gated SPECT as an independent reference. In 43 patients addressed for chest pain, contrast 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) and MIBI gated SPECT were prospectively performed on the same day. The accuracy and the variability of LV volumes and LVEF measurements were evaluated. Results. Due to good endocardial delineation, LV volumes and LVEF measurements by contrast RT3DE were feasible in 99% of the patients. The mean LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) of the group by scintigraphy was 143 65 mL and was underestimated by triplane contrast RT3DE (128 60 mL; p < 0.001) and less by full-volume contrast RT3DE (132 62 mL; p < 0.001). Limits of agreement with scintigraphy were similar for triplane andfull-volume, modalities with the best results for full-volume. Results were similar for calculation of LV end-systolic volume (LVESV). The mean LVEF was 44 16% with scintigraphy and was not significantly different with both triplane contrast RT3DE (45 15%) and full-volume contrast RT3DE (45 15%). There was an excellent correlation between two different observers for LVEDV, LVESV and LVEF measurements and inter observer agreement was also good for both contrast RT3DE techniques. Conclusion. Contrast RT3DE allows an accurate assessment of LVEF compared to the LVEF measured by SPECT, and shows low variability between observers. Although RT3DE triplane provides accurate evaluation of left ventricular function, RT3DE full-volume is superior to triplane modality in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. © 2009 Cosyns et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

A Genome-Wide Association Study of Diabetic Kidney Disease in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes

dentification of sequence variants robustly associated with predisposition to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has the potential to provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of DKD in type 2 diabetes (T2D) using eight complementary dichotomous and quantitative DKD phenotypes: the principal dichotomous analysis involved 5,717 T2D subjects, 3,345 with DKD. Promising association signals were evaluated in up to 26,827 subjects with T2D (12,710 with DKD). A combined T1D+T2D GWAS was performed using complementary data available for subjects with T1D, which, with replication samples, involved up to 40,340 subjects with diabetes (18,582 with DKD). Analysis of specific DKD phenotypes identified a novel signal near GABRR1 (rs9942471, P = 4.5 x 10(-8)) associated with microalbuminuria in European T2D case subjects. However, no replication of this signal was observed in Asian subjects with T2D or in the equivalent T1D analysis. There was only limited support, in this substantially enlarged analysis, for association at previously reported DKD signals, except for those at UMOD and PRKAG2, both associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate. We conclude that, despite challenges in addressing phenotypic heterogeneity, access to increased sample sizes will continue to provide more robust inference regarding risk variant discovery for DKD.Peer reviewe

Avskaffad revisionsplikt för småföretag : Konsekvenser och möjligheter för redovisningskonsulter och revisorer

Background for the research problems: Small companies are very important for the economic stability and development, something which the economic crises in recent years have underlined. Therefore it’s important to minimize administrative costs for smaller companies and also in other ways facilitate their further development. For these reasons accounting has been simplified and auditing abolished for smaller companies in many countries. In Sweden auditing for small companies was abolished nearly three years ago. This has resulted in a fairly large number of small companies abandoning auditing and most newly established companies have also chosen not to have auditing. Research questions and Purpose: How have accounting consultants and auditing firms been affected by the abolishment of auditing for small companies and in which ways are they trying to handle this change? Which significance do close relations, cooperation and communication with small companies, as well as previous experiences from this cooperation, have on the effects of the changed law for auditing and how the consultants and accountants act? The purpose of this study can be summarized in the following points; to describe the influence of abolished auditing for small companies on the accounting consultants and the accountants, to increase the understanding of the effects of the amended law for auditing through finding patterns and identifying differences in the ways the consultants and the accountants act and to give a contribution to the theoretical development in the field. Method: For this study a qualitative research method has been chosen, with deep interviews carried out in a structured form, with questions organized according to topics. The outlook is hermeneutic, since the purpose is to interpret and explain the information gathered. The procedure is abductive, with continues feed-back to the research questions. Theory: A self-developed model – The Five C-model for Critical Incidents and Relationship Commitment – has been used to describe, interpret and explain the effects by the amended law for auditing on accounting consultants and accountants and how they have responded. Analysis and Conclusions: A difference emerge between the accountants in the bigger accounting firms, on one side, and particularly the accounting consultants and to a certain degree also the accountants in smaller firms, on the other side. The accountants in the bigger firms have been more negatively affected by the amended law for auditing than the accounting consultants have. This is rather natural really, since abolished auditing automatically means a reduction in the number of auditing assignments. The consultants, who have established close customer contacts during a long time period, have so far not been negatively affected to any greater extent. Instead, they have found new opportunities and have as a result managed to strengthen their relations with the smaller companies even further. The accountants in the bigger firms don’t have the same close contacts with the smaller companies and have consequently not been able to use their contacts to minimize the negative effects of the change to the same extent. Instead, they are trying to persuade the companies to maintain the audit and also to compensate for the loss of audit assignments by offering other services and advice, with expertise in various fields

CSR within the Swedish clothing industry : Problems with the audit of suppliers in developing countries

Idag sker merparten av den svenska klädesindustrins produktion hos leverantörer i tredje världen. De betydligt lägre arbetskraftskostnaderna där är huvudskälet till att denna mycket arbetsintensiva bransch utlokaliserat tillverkningen till främst olika länder i Asien. Länge kunde produktionen i utvecklingsländerna bedrivas utan insyn och kritisk granskning. Respekten för de mänskliga rättigheterna var ofta bristfällig. Arbetsförhållandena i många fabriker var dåliga, med långa arbetstider, låga löner och bristande säkerhet. Olika frivilliga icke vinstdrivande organisationer började rapportera om dessa missförhållanden och detta uppmärksammades av media. Det ökande intresset för situationen i utvecklingsländerna ledde till en insikt hos företagen om att kärnverksamheten inte längre var det enda betydelsefulla området. Det blev allt viktigare för företagen att tillsammans med leverantörerna visa på ett socialt ansvar gentemot sina intressenter och på detta sätt värna om ryktet på marknaden. Samtliga intervjuade svenska klädesföretag tar idag ett socialt ansvar och arbetar med skyddet av mänskliga rättigheter gentemot sina leverantörer genom kontinuerliga revisioner av verksamheten. De strävar efter att bygga upp nära och långsiktiga relationer och hoppas därigenom kunna påverka leverantörerna att ta ett större socialt ansvar och förbättra arbetsförhållandena i fabrikerna. Skillnaderna är dock stora. Några företag kom igång tidigt med CSR-arbetet och vissa har definitivt kommit längre än andra. Företagens storlek och tillgång på resurser har betydelse och den tid samarbetet med leverantörerna pågått spelar också en roll i sammanhanget. För mycket övertidsarbete, låga löner och bristande säkerhet i fabrikerna framhålls som de allvarligaste problemen vid revisionerna. De företag som arbetat längst med CSR-frågorna upplever minst problem vid revisionerna, medan de som arbetat kortare tid med CSR verkar ha sämre kontroll över situationen. Revisionerna genomförs alltför sällan och ofta heller inte i egen regi. Inget av företagen tycks heller ha någon granskning av förhållandena och arbetsvillkoren hos underleverantörerna. Socialt ansvarstagande har blivit viktigt för företagen, inte minst för att behålla ett gott rykte på marknaden. Flera företag presenterar också sitt sociala arbete i hållbarhetsrapporter. CSR är dock fortfarande långt ifrån en huvudfråga för klädesföretagen. Svårigheter att definiera CSR och dess påverkan på verksamheten innebär också problem med redovisningen. Det finns en konflikt mellan de finansiella målen, som är mät- och redovisningsbara, och de sociala, som är betydligt svårare att redovisa i siffror. Den främsta anledningen till CSR-redovisningen och revisionerna av leverantörerna i utvecklingsländerna verkar vara för att reagera på kritik och för att visa på ett socialt engagemang. Statusen för det sociala ansvaret måste därför höjas och lyftas till en ledningsfråga i företagen, så att mer resurser allokeras till området. För att möjliggöra detta behövs sannolikt ett enklare och mera öppet redovisnings- och revisionssystem för CSR-arbetet. Kanske borde någon form av CSA införas, så att CSR kan redovisas i siffror. Ett enklare och mindre resurskrävande system borde öka förståelsen av det sociala ansvarets betydelse, även hos leverantörerna och underleverantörerna i utvecklingsländerna, och därmed bidra till en ökad respekt för de mänskliga rättigheterna.Today most of the production for the Swedish clothing industry lies with suppliers in third world countries. Considerably lower labour costs are the main reason why this very labour intensive industry has been outsourcing production, primarily to Asia. For a long time the production in the developing countries could go on without much scrutiny. The respect for human rights was often poor. Working conditions in many factories were bad, with long working hours, low wages and poor safety conditions. Various NGO’s began reporting about these conditions and this got media’s attention. The increasing interest for the situation in the developing countries made the companies realize that their core business was not the only area of importance anymore. It gradually became more important for the companies together with suppliers to show social responsibility towards their stakeholders and in this way protect market reputation. All Swedish clothing companies interviewed are today showing social responsibility and are working with human rights protection towards their suppliers through continuous audits. They are pursuing establishing close and long-term relations through which they hope to be able to persuade their suppliers to take an increased social responsibility and to improve working conditions in their factories. The differences between the companies are, however, quite big. Some companies started with their CSR work early and some have definitely reached further than others. Company size and access to resources are important and how long the cooperation with the suppliers has been going on also plays a role in this context. Too much overtime, low wages and poor safety conditions are reported as the most serious problems in the audits. Those companies who have worked the longest time with CSR are the ones experiencing the least problems in the audits, while those companies who have been involved with CSR during a shorter time seem to have a poorer control of the situation. The audits are carried out too seldom and often not by the companies themselves. None of the interviewed companies seem to review the working conditions with their subcontractors. CSR has become important for the companies, not the least to maintain a good reputation in the market. Several companies are also publishing sustainability reports. CSR are, however, still far from a main issue for the clothing companies. Difficulties to define CSR and its’ effect on business also pose problems with accounting. There is a conflict between the financial goals, which are measurable and accountable, and social goals, which are much harder to include in the accounting. The main reasons for CSR reporting and auditing of suppliers in the developing countries seem to be a response to criticism and to show social commitment. For more resources to be allocated to CSR, the status of CSR must be raised and lifted to a management issue. To make this possible a simpler and more open accounting and auditing system for the CSR work is needed. Maybe some form of CSA can be introduced to include CSR in normal accounting. A simpler and less demanding accounting system ought to increase the understanding of the importance of CSR, also with suppliers and subcontractors in the developing countries, and therefore contribute to increased respect for human rights