Literatura académica sobre el tema "Bf 441"

Iron and steel making is one of the most intense energy consuming in the industrial sectors. The intensive utilization of fossil carbon in the ironmaking blast furnace (BF) is related directly to CO2 emission and global warming. Lowering the energy consumption and CO2 emission from BF comes on the top priorities from both economic and environmental aspects. The BF has undergone tremendous modifications and development to increase production and improve the overall efficiency. Both technological development and scientific research drive one another to reach optimum operation conditions, which are very close to the ideal conditions; however, further development is still required to meet the stringent environmental regulations. The present article provides a comprehensive review of recent research and development which were carried out in modern blast furnace to increase the productivity meanwhile reduce the energy consumption and CO2 emission to meet the demand of steel market and the environmental protection. The recent technological and metallurgical improvements in the BF are intensively discussed including: (i) modifications of BF design, top charging and measuring system, (ii) upgrading of conventional top charging burden and alternative agglomerates, (iii) developing of tuyeres injection system and injected materials, and (iv) potentials of waste heat recovery and usage. These topics are reviewed and discussed in some details to elucidate the potential of recent progress in BF technology in saving the energy consumption and lowering CO2 emission. In this paper, the major research and development which have been carried out in ironmaking BF technology are reviewed with an overview of the future prospects.

Background Increased protein proportions in the diet combined with energy restriction has been shown to enhance weight loss during dietary intervention. It is not known if the beneficial effect of dietary protein exists in the general population under normal living conditions without a negative energy balance. Methods A total of 1834 participants (n = 443 men, n = 1391 women) were recruited from the CODING study. Participants' dietary macronutrient compositions were determined through a Willett FFQ. Body composition variables including percent body fat (%BF), percent trunk fat (%TF), percent total lean mass (%LM), and percent trunk lean mass (%TLM) were determined using DXA. Major confounding factors including age, physical activity levels, total caloric intake, carbohydrate intake, menopausal status, smoking status and medication use were controlled for in all analyses. Results Significant inverse relationships were observed between dietary protein intake (g/kg body weight/day) and weight, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, %BF, and %TF ( P ≤ 0.001). Significant positive relationships were observed with %LM and %TLM ( P ≤ 0.001). Additionally, significant differences in weight (12.7 kg in men, 11.4 kg in women), BMI (4.1 BMI units in men, 4.2 units in women), and %BF (7.6% in men, 6.0% in women) were observed between low and high dietary protein consuming groups ( P ≤ 0.001). Dietary protein explained 11% of the total variation in %BF in the NL population. Conclusion This study provides strong evidence that higher protein intake, even in the absence of energy restriction, is associated with a more favorable body composition in the general population.

Abstract.The data proving low probability of observing Biofilm Formation (BF) by contemporary clinical strains ofM. tuberculosisgrowing on liquid medium in vitro are discussed. A hypothesis about the role of MDR/XDR development hindering BF production was proposed. It was found that strains capable of producing BF grow on Lewenstein–Jensen medium generated R-form specific colonies shaped as a disk with a convex center, “UFO-colonies”. Sixty seven “UFO”- strains were investigated to BF production, resistance to antibiotics and their belonging to the main epidemics clusters of the Beijing genotype (CC1 and CC2-W148). It was shown that MDR/XDR strains were also capable of BF production that, however, was remarkably more frequent in strains of CC1 and CC2-W148 genotypes. Thus, it was hypothesized that BF production might potentially influence an outcome of chronic forms of TB-infection.

Effective control of thermal state of a blast furnace (BF), considerably depending on the qualification of the technological personal, is an important condition for smelting of hot metal of required composition. Application of computer training systems (CTS) in the process of education of technological personal of BF shops is one of the effective methods of professional knowledge and skill perfection. The CTS, implemented at PAO NLMK, based on a model of thermal state of BF, elaborated in Ural Federal University and supplemented with the models of existing disturbances. Adjusting of dynamic characteristics accomplished on the base of regularity of heat- and mass exchange. According to the tasks of BF heat operative control, during the training at the CTS transient processes are studied through channels of BF thermal state control, skill is mastered to identify the tendencies of BF thermal state change in case of non-controlled disturbances action. Most important stage of the training – implementation of adequate solutions to compensate declination of BF thermal state parameters from the set-up level. The CTS implemented at PAO NLMK is operating in the mode of training and testing. The main parameters of BF operation for every particular scenario are displayed at a mnemonic diagram, which completely corresponds to the mnemonic diagram of particular BF. Within the frame of transient processes dynamics studies, tasks are stipulated to modify a BF thermal state by application of control programs. When a scenario of BF thermal state control in case of non-controlled disturbances action is realized, the process parameters change is imitated at the mnemonic diagram. It will be done in case of one of the following parameters change: coke quality change, reducibility change, iron ore material grain size change, distribution of ore by radius change. The CTS includes a module of administration, which allows collecting the statistics of tasks fulfilment by pupils and estimating the results according to accepted algorithm. The application of CTS enabled to perfect the competence of technological personal, which was expressed by declining of off-grade hot metal share.

In 1229 subjects, 521 males and 708 females, with a wide range in body mass index (BMI; 13.9–40.9 kg/m2), and an age range of 7–83 years, body composition was determined by densitometry and anthropometry. The relationship between densitometrically-determined body fat percentage (BF%) and BMI, taking age and sex (males =1, females = 0) into account, was analysed. For children aged 15 years and younger, the relationship differed from that in adults, due to the height-related increase in BMI in children. In children the BF% could be predicted by the formula BF% = 1.51xBMI–0.70xage–3.6xsex+1.4 (R2 0.38, SE of estimate (see) 4.4% BF%). In adults the prediction formula was: BF% = 1.20xBMI+0.23xage−10.8xsex–5.4 (R2 0.79, see = 4.1% BF%). Internal and external cross-validation of the prediction formulas showed that they gave valid estimates of body fat in males and females at all ages. In obese subjects however, the prediction formulas slightly overestimated the BF%. The prediction error is comparable to the prediction error obtained with other methods of estimating BF%, such as skinfold thickness measurements or bioelectrical impedance.

It is unclear whether men with low body fat (LO-BF) have impaired thermoregulation during exercise heat stress compared with those with high body fat (HI-BF) when euhydration (EU) is maintained. Furthermore, in LO-BF individuals, hypohydration (HY) impairs thermoregulatory responses during exercise heat stress, but it is unknown whether this occurs in HI-BF counterparts. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that men with HI-BF have impaired thermoregulatory responses to exercise heat stress and that HY further exacerbates these impairments vs. LO-BF. Men with LO-BF [ n = 11, body mass (BM) 73.9 ± 8.5 kg, BF% 13.6 ± 3.8] and HI-BF ( n = 9, BM 89.6 ± 6.9 kg, BF% 30.2 ± 4.1), in a randomized crossover design, performed 60 min of upright cycling in a hot environment (40.3 ± 0.4°C, relative humidity 32.5 ± 1.9%) at a metabolic heat production rate of 6 W/kg BM and finished exercise either euhydrated (EU; 0.3 ± 1.2 vs. 0.3 ± 0.9% BM loss) or HY (−2.5 ± 1.1 vs. −1.7 ± 1.5% BM loss). Changes in rectal temperature (ΔTrec), local sweat rate (ΔLSR), and cutaneous vascular conductance (ΔCVC; %max) were measured throughout. When EU, LO-BF and HI-BF had similar CVC and LSR responses ( P > 0.05); however, LO-BF had a lower ΔTrec vs. HI-BF (0.92 ± 0.35 vs. 1.31 ± 0.32°C, P = 0.021). Compared with EU, HY increased end-exercise ΔTrec in LO-BF (0.47 ± 0.37°C, P < 0.01) but not in HI-BF (−0.06 ± 0.29°C, P > 0.05). HY, compared with EU, did not affect ΔLSR and ΔCVC in either group ( P > 0.05). We conclude that, when euhydrated, men with HI-BF have a greater increase in Trec vs. LO-BF but similar CVC and LSR. HY exacerbates increases in Trec in LO-BF but not HI-BF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first known investigation to compare thermoregulatory responses to exercise heat stress between men with high and low body fat (BF) in a physiologically uncompensable environment while simultaneously examining the confounding influence of hydration status. Both groups demonstrated similar sweating and cutaneous vasodilatory responses when euhydrated, despite vast differences in rectal temperature. Furthermore, in contrast to low BF, individuals with high BF demonstrated similar increases in core body temperature when either euhydrated or hypohydrated.

The objective of the study is to evaluate visual fatigue induced by different tablet PCs (LCD/OLED) by measuring CFF (critical fusion frequency), BF (eye blink frequency) and (SR) subjective rating. Twelve healthy subjects (10 males and 2 females) participated in the study in a controlled simulated living environment with a 18-23°C temperature, 30-45% relative humidity and 150lx illuminance. The experiment was carried out about 50 minutes, including: 30 minutes watching task (EOG test) and 20 minutes test (including subjective questionnaire and CFF test before and after the experiment). The experiment design included dependent variables: CFF, BF and subjective rating (SR); and two independent variables: Tablet PC types, watching times. As a result, after the experiment, the decline range of CFF of LCD was lower significant than that of OLED (p<0.001); the decline range of BF of LCD was higher than that of OLED (p<0.01). Also, subjective rating indicated a consistent result that higher visual fatigue was founded after watching LCD. As a whole, watching LCD tablet PC caused higher visual fatigue than watching OLED tablet PC in general.

Purpose. Determine the effects of telephone-based coaching and a weight-loss supplement on the weight and body fat (BF) of overweight adults. Design. Randomized, placebo-controlled experiment with assessments at baseline, 2 months, and 4 months. Setting. Community. Subjects. Sixty overweight or obese men and 60 overweight or obese women, 25 to 60 years old. Intervention. Eleven 30-minute telephone coaching sessions were spaced throughout the study; the initial conversation lasted 60 to 90 minutes. Supplement or placebo capsules were taken daily over the 17 weeks. Measures. Weight was measured using an electronic scale, and BF was assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results. Subjects taking the placebo lost 1.8 + 3.3 kg of weight and 0.7 + 2.2 kg of BF, whereas supplement users lost more: 3.1 + 3.7 kg of weight (F = 4.1, P = .045) and 1.7 + 2.6 kg of BF (F = 4.4, p = .039). Participants receiving no coaching lost 1.8 + 3.3 kg of weight and 0.7 + 2.2 kg of BF, whereas adults receiving coaching lost more: 3.2 + 3.6 kg of weight (F = 4.8, p = .032) and 1.6 + 2.5 kg of BF (F = 4.2, p = .044). Adults receiving both the supplement and coaching had the greatest losses of weight and BF, suggesting an additive effect (F = 3.2, p = .026; F = 2.9, p = .039, respectively). Conclusions. Both treatments, coaching and the supplement, viewed separately and in combination, worked to help subjects lose weight and BF. Adults can be educated and motivated via telephone to change behaviors leading to weight loss, and a weight-loss supplement can be included to increase success.

Aims This study aimed to explore the meaning of cannabis use in individuals who had experienced psychosis. Design A social constructionist version of the original grounded theory was used. Setting Participants were recruited from three Community Mental Health Centres and an out-patient setting within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. Participants Fourteen individuals who had a diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder or Schizoaffective Disorder and experience of using cannabis were interviewed. Measurements Intensive interviewing was employed. Findings Analysis revealed a central concept of participants’ sense of social identity, which gained expression through the themes of ‘sense of agency’, ‘the cannabis experience’ and ‘belonging’. Experiences of psychosis and interactions with mental health services were characterised by a sense of lack of agency, whereas participants’ narratives of experiences of cannabis conveyed a strong sense that they were the author of their stories. ‘The cannabis experience’ reflected the complexity of issues surrounding use of the substance within this participant group. The theme of ‘belonging’ captured the sense of group membership, unity and acceptance that was facilitated by using cannabis and the way in which psychosis served to disrupt this. Conclusions The findings are discussed in relation to Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory. The importance of understanding cannabis use within a social identity framework, providing opportunities where clients can talk about their experiences and facilitating the empowering process that enables recovery is emphasised.

The evaluation of visual art involves sensory, emotional and cognitive processes that lead to an aesthetic judgement or an aesthetic emotion (e.g. beauty). Aesthetic experiences are multisensory processes that undergo a variety of stages. Early processes occur in the visual and sensory cortices, and are central to object identification that may be no different from visual experiences of everyday objects. Later processing stages are related to complex human thought consisting of emotion and cognition that involve areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC). The later stages are concerned with the comprehension and meaningful analysis of the artwork that contribute to the formation of an aesthetic judgement or emotion. This thesis aims to investigate affective evaluations and their interactions with cognitive processes during the later processing stages of the aesthetic experience in the rostral prefrontal cortex (rPFC). The role of the rPFC will be explored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with reference to existing frameworks. Specifically: hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of emotional stimuli, the Gateway Hypothesis and the Default Mode Network will be explored. Experimental WorkA database of sixty images was created in an online survey (chapter 3) at the beginning of the experimental programme. Images were rated online (N = 1028) for complexity, comprehension, novelty, activation, attraction and valence providing stimuli that could be systematically manipulated according to their psychological properties in the experimental studies. The first hypothesis (is the rPFC involved in early perceptual processes such as complexity during aesthetic experience?) was addressed in a pilot study (chapter 4) and repeated in the first experimental study (chapter 5). Both cognitive (high/low complexity) and emotional (positive/negative valence) aspects of the images were manipulated. Images were shown for sixty second and analysed in three time periods (early, middle and late) each consisting of twenty seconds. The results showed an interaction between valence and time with positive images yielding greater activation in the early period and negative images in the late period. This highlighted the importance of long exposure times to capture the aesthetic experience. The second hypothesis (is the rPFC involved in implicit memory formation such as the comprehension of an image during aesthetic experience) was investigated in chapter 6 where the levels of comprehension (high/low) and postive/negative valence associated with the viewed image were manipulated. An interaction between comprehension and valence was found with respect to rPFC activity. Positive easy to comprehend images and negative difficult to comprehend images yielded greater rPFC oxygenation. These findings indicated that the experience of pleasure in positive artworks and increased cognitive effort during the resolution of uncertainty or threat in negative artworks is related to rPFC activation. The third hypothesis (is the rPFC involved in prospective memory during aesthetic experience?) was investigated in chapter 7 where positive and negative artworks were shown under two conditions. Condition one asked participants to introspect about their emotions and condition two to direct their attention to features in the image through a spot-the-difference task. A main effect of emotion was found, but no interaction or effect for condition. Greater rPFC activation was found during the contemplation of positive images. This may be attributed to pleasantness experienced in relation to these images. The last question (is the rPFC involved in self-referential processing and is this important to aesthetic experience?) was investigated in chapter 8 where participants viewed negative and positive images under two viewing conditions. Condition one asked participants to introspect about their own emotions (Self) and condition two about the artist’s emotions at the time of painting (Other). The other-condition resulted in overall greater rPFC activation indicating that participants found it more challenging to think of another’s emotions. An interaction showed greater rPFC activation for positive images in the self -condition and greater activation for negative images in the other-condition. This may have been the result of a positive bias and the detection of self-relevance in positive images and the analysis of threat or uncertainty in negative images. Conclusions: This thesis used a cognitive model of the aesthetic experience as a framework to understand the interaction between emotional and cognitive processes in the formation of an aesthetic judgement or emotion. No evidence for asymmetrical processing of emotional stimuli, or the Gateway Hypothesis was found. The research reported here indicates that the rPFC has an important role during the later processing stages of the aesthetic experience. Viewing negative visual art activated rPFC when the images were difficult to comprehend and when participants thought about the artist’s feelings. Positive emotions, on the other hand, activated rPFC when the images were easy to comprehend and when participants thought about their own feelings. The contemplation of visual art was continuously associated with medial rPFC activation, indicating that the rPFC has a key role in self-relevant processing of visual art. The rPFC may aid personal value judgements of visual art (e.g. this artwork means xyz to me) because this area of the brain mediates the interaction between self-relevance, autobiographical memories and continuously changing emotional states.

In recent years, researchers have tended to use structural priming to distinguish between the core predictions of nativist and constructivist theories of syntax acquisition. Although this has been useful for our understanding of what early syntactic knowledge is like, this focus on children’s initial representations, rather than on the process of development, means that it is still unclear how children’s syntactic knowledge becomes adult-like. To address this issue, this thesis used structural priming to investigate the role of the verb in the development of syntax. In particular, the present work explored how two lexical effects - verb overlap and verb bias – influence structure choice in children and adults for dative and transitive structures. A number of conclusions were drawn: First, the present work revealed there to be a complex relationship between knowledge about syntactic structure and knowledge about verbs; children as young as three have already formed abstract representations of the dative structure, but have also already begun to learn the syntactic preferences of dative verbs. Thus, it was concluded that neither nativist nor constructivist theories can fully explain the abstract and lexical patterning of children’s early syntactic knowledge. Second, the findings showed that experience with verbs is important for the strengthening of verb-structure links across development. Third, the present work indicated that adults seem to track the frequency with which verbs occur in their syntactic structures, and that this knowledge can affect the way in which these syntactic representations are stored and activated. The implications of these findings for theories of syntactic development are discussed, and future directions for research are considered.

Direct patient care requires knowledge sharing between clinical professionals. However, clinicians have often been suspicious of managers' motives, this lack of trust often resulting in reluctance to share knowledge for managerial purposes. Trust is one component of the psychological contract - an unwritten set of expectations between employees and employer. There are strong links between components of the psychological contract and defensive behaviours. There is much theory to support these links but little research evidence to support and explain these links. To overcome defensive behaviours requires an understanding of how they have developed, and particularly the role played by the psychological contract. This research builds on research first undertaken by Argyris in the 1960s, enhanced and made relevant to the current business environment and organisational arrangements currently prevailing in the NHS. A model and an analytical framework were developed for this research to assess organisational, professional and employee health in two health authorities. This research concludes that organisational ill-health, and failure to ensure the psychological contract is intact, result in employees displaying defensive behaviours and keeping knowledge to themselves. Components of the psychological contract were found to have strong links with organisational arrangements. Subtle variances were found between clinical and non-clinical employees, and between Chief Executives/Directors and those below this level. This research adds to our knowledge by identifying the different ways in which these groups develop paradigms that are often in conflict, sometimes intangible, and usually difficult to change. This added knowledge will allow organisational, team and personal development to have a sharper focus, particularly with reference to development of the psychological contract in the NHS, overcoming defensive behaviours, and breaking down barriers to knowledge sharing. This will support the development of infrastructures, teams and individuals to take NHS organisations into the 21st century with added confidence.

Understanding speech in background noise is a complex and challenging task that causes difficulty for many people, including young children and older adults. Musicians, on the other hand, appear to have an enhanced ability to perceive speech in noise. This has prompted suggestions that musical training could help people who struggle to communicate in complex auditory environments. The experiments presented in this thesis were designed to investigate if and how musical training could be used as an intervention for improving speech perception in noise. The aim of Experiment 1 was to identify specific musical skills which could be targeted for training. Musical beat perception was found to be strongly correlated with speech perception in noise. It was hypothesised that musical beat perception might enhance speech perception in noise by facilitating temporal orienting of attention to important parts of the signal. Experiments 2, 3 and 4 investigated this hypothesis using a rhythmic priming paradigm. Musical rhythm sequences were used to prime temporal expectations, with performance for on-beat targets predicted to be better than that for temporally displaced targets. Rhythmic priming benefits were observed for detection of pure-tone targets in noise and for identification of words in noise. For more complex rhythms, the priming effect was correlated with musical beat perception. Experiment 5 used the metric structure within a sentence context to prime temporal expectations for a target word. There was a significant benefit of rhythmic priming for both children and adults, but the effect was smaller for children. In Experiment 6, a musical beat training programme was devised and evaluated for a group of older adults. After four weeks of training, a small improvement in speech reception thresholds was observed. It was concluded that beat perception is a useful skill to target in a musical intervention for speech perception in noise.

The identification and management of individuals with a perceived high risk of future violence is of great priority for mental health professionals and the criminal justice system. The overall aim of this thesis is to examine the validity of the assessment and treatment of violence in forensic populations with a specific focus on the contribution of dynamic risk factors in predicting recidivism. Chapter One presents a conceptual literature review which provides an overview of the development of violence risk assessment approaches, and examines the predictive validity of dynamic factors in predicting violent recidivism. The review demonstrates the ability of dynamic risk factors in predicting future community and institutional violence. Chapter Two provides a critique of the HCR-20 Risk Assessment Scheme and highlights that despite some apparent shortcomings of the HCR-20, the instrument remains the best known and best researched, empirically based guide to violence risk assessment. In Chapter Three a prospective research study examines the predictive validity of the HCR-20 Risk Assessment Scheme in a UK sample of patients under the care of a community forensic mental health service. The study aimed to examine the ability of the HCR-20 total scores and individual sub scale scores to predict future acts of violence. The study demonstrates that the historical factors of the HCR-20 are highly predictive of future re-offending within this population and also highlights the importance of the clinical scale in predicting future violent acts. This work adds to current knowledge and understanding of the risk assessment and management process in UK samples. A case study is presented in chapter Four which evaluates the impact of the ETS programme on the cognitive deficits identified in a violent adult male offender (client A) serving a sentence at HMP Birmingham. By Mariam Azam-Zanganeh.

There has recently been a lack of judicial confidence in the evidence provided by handwriting analysis which has highlighted the need for objective research to be conducted in this area. In response this study has examined the principles and practices of two of the field’s most complex areas of analysis: disguised and artificially assisted (traced) handwriting. Any claims and observations made in the literature have been reviewed and empirically tested. A body of controlled data was collected from sixty volunteers who produced samples of disguised handwriting and traced signatures. A rigorous examination of these samples has been described and quantitative evidence found to support the conclusion that the act of disguising or tracing handwriting will have a negative influence upon the appearance and structure of that writing. Results have shown that disguised and traced writings are intimately related in that they share common characteristics that are indicative of the artificial manner by which they have been produced. Other features are also identified that can be directly associated with specific types of deviant writing to allow for distinctions to be made between them. The analysis is expressed in the form of a comprehensive taxonomy of the distinctive features of deviant writing.

One of the phenomena to emerge from the study of human spoken interaction is accommodation or the tendency of an individual’s speech patterning to shift relative to their interlocutor. Whilst the experimental approach to the detection of accommodation has a solid background in the literature, it tends to treat the process of accommodation as a black box. The general approach for the detection of accommodation in speech has been to record the speech of a given speaker prior to interaction and then again after an interaction. These two measures are then compared to the speech of the interlocutor to test for similarity. If the speech sample following interaction is more similar then we can say that accommodation has taken place. Part of the goal of this thesis is to evaluate whether it is possible to look into the black box of speech accommodation and measure it ‘in situ’. Given that speech accommodation appears to take place as a result of interaction, it would be reasonable to assume that a similar effect might be observable in other areas contributing to a communicative interaction. The notion of an interacting dyad developing an increased degree of alignment over the course of an interaction has been proposed by psychologists. Theories have posited that alignment occurs at multiple levels of engagement, from broad levels of syntactic alignment down to phonetic levels of alignment. The use of speech accommodation as an anchor with which to track the evolution of change in the brain signal may prove to be one approach to investigating the claims made by these theories. The second part of this thesis aims to evaluate whether the phenomenon of accommodation is also observable in the form of electrical signals generated by the brain, measured using Electroencephalography (EEG). However, evaluating the change in the EEG signal over a continuous stretch of time is a hurdle that will need to be tackled. Traditionally, EEG methodologies involve averaging the signal over many repetitions of the same task. This is not a viable option when investigating communicative interaction. Clearly the evaluation of accommodation in both speech and brain activity, especially for continuously unfolding phenomena such as accommodation, is a non-trivial task. In order to tackle this, an approach from speech recognition and computer science has been employed. The implementation of Hidden Markov Models (HMM) has been used to develop speech recognition systems and has also been used to detect fraudulent attempts to imitate the voice of others. Given that HMMs have successfully been employed to detect the imitation of another person’s speech they are a good candidate for being able to detect the movement towards or away from an interlocutor during the course of an interaction. In addition, the use of HMMs is non-domain specific, they can be used to evaluate any time-variant signal. This adaptability of the approach allows for it to also be applied to EEG signals in conjunction with the speech signal. Two experiments are presented here. The behavioural experiment aims to evaluate the ability of a HMM based approach to detect accommodation by engaging pairs of female, Glaswegian speakers in the collaborative DiapixUK task. The results of their interactions are then evaluated from both a traditional phonetic standpoint, by assessing changes in Voice Onset Time (VOT) of stop consonants, formant values of vowels and speech rate over the course of an interaction and using the HMM based approach. The neural experiment looks to evaluate the ability of a HMM based approach to detect accommodation in both the speech signal and in brain activity. The same experiment that was performed in Experiment 1 was repeated, with the addition of EEG caps to both participants. The data was then evaluated using the HMM based approach. This thesis presents findings that suggest a function for speech accommodation that has not been explored in the past. This is done through the use of a novel, HMM based, holistic acoustic-phonetic measurement tool which produced consistent measures across both experiments. Further to this, the measurement tool is shown to have possible extended uses for EEG data. The use of the presented HMM based, holistic-acoustic measurement tool presents a novel contribution to the field for the measurement and evaluation of accommodation.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of seismically strengthening existing steel frames. Through computational analysis of the existing bare frame, two methods of seismic strengthening are proposed. The expected behaviour of each of the three tested steel frames was determined through an initial iterative calculation using numerical models. The dimensions for the two types of strengthening were established based on numerical analysis of the bare frame: one utilizing a specialized inverted V-bracing (Chevron) system, and the other utilizing a dissipative TADAS connection. Following the design of the strengthening, three frames were subjected to static reversed cyclic displacement control tests up to failure, according to FEMA 461. The experimental testing of the bare frame (BF) and TADAS frame (TF) was halted due to the emergence of significant global out-of-plane instability, and testing of the Chevron frame (CF) was discontinued following a brace tensile failure. The ductility of the Chevron frame (CF) is found to be 0.6 times lower, while that of the TADAS frame (TF) is 1.4 times higher in comparison to the bare frame (BF). The initial stiffness of the system is 5 times higher in the CF and 2 times higher in the TF than that of the BF. The cyclic responses of the specimens exhibit a symmetrical behaviour. The TADAS frame dissipates 4 times more energy at the point of failure (brace fracture vs out-of-plane instability) than the CF. Careful design of the braces and plates of the TADAS element is necessary to maintain the plasticization hierarchy.