Showing papers by "King's College, Aberdeen published in 2007"

Randomized Controlled Trial of a One-minute Intervention Changing Oral Self-care Behavior

Abstract: Non-compliance with oral self-care recommendations, despite education and motivation, is a major problem in preventive dentistry. Forming concrete if-then action plans has been successful in changing self-care behavior in other areas of preventive medicine. This is the first trial to test the effects of a brief planning intervention on interdental hygiene behavior. Two hundred thirty-nine participants received a packet of floss, information, and a flossing guide. They were randomly assigned to a control or an intervention group. The intervention took 1.16 minutes and consisted of forming a concrete plan of where, when, and how to floss. Baseline measures and two-week and two-month follow-ups included self-report, residual floss, and theory of planned behavior variables. The intervention significantly affected flossing in that group at two-week and two-month follow-ups, as compared with the control group. This study provides evidence for the effects of a concise intervention on oral self-care behavior.

Detecting agency from the biological motion of veridical vs animated agents

Abstract: The ability to detect agency is fundamental for understanding the social world. Underlying this capacity are neural circuits that respond to patterns of intentional biological motion in the superior temporal sulcus and temporoparietal junction. Here we show that the brain's blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to such motion is modulated by the representation of the actor. Dynamic social interactions were portrayed by either live-action agents or computer-animated agents, enacting the exact same patterns of biological motion. Using an event-related design, we found that the BOLD response associated with the perception and interpretation of agency was greater when identical physical movements were performed by real rather than animated agents. This finding has important implications for previous work on biological motion that has relied upon computer-animated stimuli and demonstrates that the neural substrates of social perception are finely tuned toward real-world agents. In addition, the response in lateral temporal areas was observed in the absence of instructions to make mental inferences, thus demonstrating the spontaneous implementation of the intentional stance.

Facies architecture of the Grès de Peïra Cava, SE France: landward stacking patterns in ponded turbiditic basins

Abstract: Basins in which turbidity currents are completely or partially trapped are common in many tectonically active, deep-water settings. Field study of an Eocene–Oligocene turbiditic system in the Peira Cava area, a sub-basin of the Alpine foreland in southeastern France, allows spatial characterization of a ponded basin fill on the basis of a correlation framework derived from measured outcrop sections and photomosaics. The basin-fill architecture comprises a sand-rich, proximal scour-and-fill facies and a downstream transition to mud-rich, basin-plain turbidite sheet facies. The proximal facies is interpreted to have formed directly downstream of a slope break, where currents were highly erosional during some periods and highly depositional during other periods, as a result of the interacting effects of turbulence enhancement and rapid deceleration. Both the proximal facies and the downstream transition to distal basin-plain facies occur in progressively landward positions at higher stratigraphic levels. The landward shift in depositional facies is likely to have resulted from the basin-floor aggradation and a landward migration of the slope break. This ‘back-stepping’ process may be expected to occur in many ponded turbiditic basins and to produce a similar type of sedimentary architecture.

Facets of job effort in bus driver health: deconstructing "effort" in the effort-reward imbalance model.

Abstract: This research aimed to test the relative value of developing and using job-specific facets of effort and testing them using J. Siegrist's (1996) effort-reward imbalance (ERI) theory to extend understanding of how one might determine job strain in urban bus driving. In addition, the interactive effects of the ERI model are further investigated to address the lack of research into the relationships of the model's constructs. Using focus groups and published papers, a measure of bus driver effort was created, which was subsequently completed by 186 male U.K. bus drivers as part of a questionnaire study. The results were factor analyzed to create 4 facets of effort, which demonstrated additional variance in predicting strain, above and beyond J. Siegrist's original effort construct. One facet, workload and fatigue, was observed to be a particularly important contributor to strain. The analyses further indicated that the ERI model's assumptions that ERI creates job strain could not be completely upheld, although poorer levels of reward and higher levels of overcommitment were strong main predictors of job strain. Research and applied implications are considered.

Dynamic Modelling, Simulation and Analysis of an Offshore Variable-Speed Directly-Driven Permanent-Magnet Wind Energy Conversion and Storage System (WECSS)

Abstract: This paper presents the modelling, simulation and analysis of a 2 MW variable-speed directly-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) wind energy conversion and storage system (WECSS). The WECSS model presented consists of a pitch controlled wind turbine directly driving a 2 MW PMSG. The PMSG is connected to a host AC grid network via a controlled full-scale power converter system (PCS). The power converter system comprises of two back-to-back 3-level neutral point clamped (NPC) pulse width modulated (PWM) voltage source converters (VSC) interconnected by a common DC bus. The electrical energy storage system is integrated with the PCS and connected at the DC bus via a full-bridge DC-DC converter. This paper presents a model for the representation of the proposed WECSS in power system dynamic simulation software PSCAD/EMTDC. Simulation results are presented for various changes in wind speed which show the ability of the system to 'smooth' the power output and operate at the optimum coefficient of performance without the need for a wind speed sensor. The WECSS model has been developed in order to facilitate the investigation of the positive impacts of integrated electrical energy storage on stability enhancement of the host AC grid network.

Triggering the intentional stance.

Abstract: While humans possess a ready capacity to view a target (biological or other- wise) as an intentional agent (i.e. the 'intentional stance'), the conditions necessary for spontaneously eliciting these mentalizing processes are less well understood. Although research examining people's tendency to construe the motion of geometric shapes as intentional has done much to illuminate this issue, due to methodological limitations (a reliance on subjective self-report) this work has not fully addressed the potentially auto- matic and obligatory nature of mentalizing. Acknowledging this problem, recent research using prelinguistic infants, neuroimaging technology and methods that avoid explicit self-report all provide unique paths to circumvent this shortcoming. While work of this kind has generally corroborated the results of previous investigations, it has also raised a number of new issues. One such issue is whether spontaneous mentalizing processes for abstract non-biological stimuli are instantiated in the same neural architecture as those for realistic representations of intentional biological agents. This question is con- sidered in the current chapter. 2006 Empathy and Fairness. Wiley, Chichester (Novartis Foundation Symposium 278) p 110-132 Spontaneous social perception versus controlled social judgements The ability to comprehend the beliefs, emotions and intentions of others is both characteristic of, and necessary for, successful human interaction. Our richly social nature and complex societal hierarchies demand these skills, such that those who exhibit defi cits in this domain experience considerable diffi culty interacting with others (e.g., individuals with autism; Tager-Flusberg 2001). Known as possessing a theory-of-mind (ToM), mentalizing, or adopting the intentional stance, this capacity to view others as possessing mental states can be directed to targets other than conspecifi cs. Not only are we tempted to believe that a pet hamster is 'just like a little person,' we routinely view quite abstract nonliving representations as if they were intentional agents. Be it an animated movie populated by talking

Forgetting Whose We Are: Theological Reflections on Personhood, Faith and Dementia

Abstract: Because our culture so values rationality and productivity, observers easily characterize the life of the person with dementia in the bleakest terms because it lacks sociocultural worth. The experience of the person with irreversible and progressive dementia is clearly tragic, but it need not be interpreted as half empty rather than half full.

The role of a realistic volume constraint in modelling a two dimensional granular assembly

Abstract: This paper presents a deceptively simple mathematical model for the deformation of granular materials composed of rigid particles. The model captures many of the diverse features of the behaviour of such a material and emphasises the importance of volume constraints in situations where the deformation is mainly by particle rearrangement. It is constructed using a simple dissipation function and a rather more complicated dilatancy rule containing an updateable reference strain. This allows the solid-like and fluid-like properties of granular materials to be reconciled in a single model. The model has been used to simulate experiments that use an analogue of an ideal granular material [Joer, H.A., Lanier, J., Fahey, M., 1998. Deformation of granular materials due to rotation of principal axes. Geotechnique 48 (5), 605–619] consisting of a two dimensional assembly of thin PVC rods. These experiments clearly illustrate: partially reversible dilatancy in direct shear tests; cyclic shearing leading to liquefaction in constant volume shear tests; and non-coaxiality of the principal axes of stress and strain increment in circular loading tests. These radically different modes of deformation provide a challenging data set that allows the model's potential to be clearly demonstrated. The authors believe that the comparison of these experimental results and our simulations give strong support to the assertion that volume changes associated with shear deformation are responsible for the rotational kinematic hardening seen in granular materials, and hence, the non-coaxiality of the stress and strain-rate tensors.

Effective dimensions and chemical reactions in fluid flows.

Abstract: We show that chemical activity in hydrodynamical flows can be understood as the outcome of three basic effects: the stirring protocol of the flow, the local properties of the reaction, and the global folding dynamics which also depends on the geometry of the container. The essence of each of these components can be described by simple functional relations. In an ordinary differential equation approach, they determine a new chemical rate equation for the concentration, which turns out to be coupled to the dynamics of an effective fractal dimension. The theory predicts an exponential convergence to the asymptotic chemical state. This holds even in flows characterized by a linear stirring protocol where transient fractal patterns are shown to exist despite the lack of any chaotic set of the advection dynamics. In the exponential case the theory applies to flows of chaotic time dependence (chaotic flows) as well.

The earliest turrilepadid: a machaeridian from the Lower Ordovician of the Northwest Highlands

Abstract: Synopsis A machaeridian sclerite from a thrombolite bed in the Sangomore Formation (Durness Group: Tremadoc) is the first to be described from NW Scotland. The large size, thickness and coarsely spaced rugae indicate the sclerite is that of a turrilepadid, but its morphology is distinct from any taxon described previously. Lacking a longitudinal fold and with three major inflections present along the accreting margin, it is interpreted as an outer right sclerite. It is the oldest turrilepadid yet recorded and shows that all three major groups of the problematical Machaeridia were present in the early Ordovician.

Physical interpretation and theory of existence of cluster structures in lattices of dynamical systems

Abstract: The alternative theory of existence of cluster structures in lattices of dynamical systems (oscillators) is proposed. This theory is based on representation of structures as a result of classical (full) synchronization of structural objects called cluster oscillators (C-oscillators). Different types of C-oscillators, whose number is defined by the geometrical properties of lattices (dimensions and forms) are introduced. The completeness of all types of C-oscillators for lattices of different dimensions is proven. This fact provides a full set of types of cluster structures that can be realized in a given lattice. The solution is derived without the necessity to verify the existence of invariant (cluster) manifolds. The principles of coupling of C-oscillators into the cluster structures and principles of transformations of such structures are described. Having interpreted the processes of structuring in terms of the classical synchronization of C-oscillators, one can solve the problem of fusion of lattices with pre-described properties at the engineering level.

Faiths, Fortunes and Feminine Duty. Charity in Parisian High Society 1880-1914

Abstract: On 4 May 1897 more than a hundred Parisians – mostly women of high society – perished in the Charity Bazaar fire. The records of this terrible accident reveal much about the charitable practices of the nobility in France of the Third Republic. This article explores the place of religion in upper-class charity within the context of republican anticlericalism. It focuses especially on issues of inter-faith collaboration and the role of aristocratic women in supporting the work of the Catholic Church.

Erratum to “Left cells and constructible representations”

Abstract: Thomas Pietraho pointed out a problem in the proof of one of the main results in “Left cells and constructible representations”, Represent. Theory 9 (2005), 385–416. The purpose of this note is to correct this problem. The author is grateful to Thomas Pietraho for pointing out a problem in the proof of [2, Theorem 3.7(b)]. That problem is caused by a reference to [2, Remark 2.4], which in turn is taken from [3, Prop. 18.4]. When writing [2], I overlooked the fact that Lusztig only proved the latter result assuming that W, L is split. Now, Example 3 below actually shows that [2, Remark 2.4] does not hold in the general case of unequal parameters. We will be able, however, to replace the reference to [2, Remark 2.4] by an alternative argument so that all of the main results of [2] remain valid. Let (W, S) be a finite Coxeter system and L be a weight function on W such that L(s) > 0 for all s ∈ S. We assume that Lusztig’s conjectures P1–P15 in [3, 14.2] hold for W, L. We shall need the following characterisation of two-sided cells. Lemma 1. Let x, y ∈ W . Then x ∼LR y if and only if there exists a sequence of left cells Γ0, Γ1, . . . , Γn of W such that x ∈ Γ0, y ∈ Γn and Γ−1 i−1 ∩ Γi = ∅ for all i. All the left cells Γ0, Γ1, . . . , Γn are contained in the same two-sided cell. Indeed, since P4, P9, P10 are assumed to hold, we have x ∼LR y if and only if there exists a sequence x = x0, x1, . . . , xk = y of elements of W such that, for each i, we have xi−1 ∼L xi or xi−1 ∼R xi. Furthermore, note that xi−1 ∼R xi if and only if x−1 i−1 ∼L x−1 i . This readily implies Lemma 1. Now let Γ, Γ′ be left cells. The condition that Γ−1 ∩Γ′ = ∅ can be rephrased as follows. By P13, every left cell contains a unique element from D. Let D∩Γ = {d} and D ∩ Γ′ = {d′}. Then we claim that Γ−1 ∩ Γ′ = ∅ if and only if tdJtd′ = 0. Indeed, if w ∈ Γ−1 ∩ Γ′, then tdtw = ±tw and twtd′ = ±tw, using P2, P5, P7, P13. Hence tdtwtd′ = ±tw = 0. Conversely, if tdJtd′ = 0, then tdtwtd′ = 0 for some w ∈ W . In particular, tdtw = 0 and so d ∼L w−1, using P8. Similarly, twtd′ = 0 and so w ∼L d′−1 = d′, using P6, P8. Hence, we have w ∈ Γ−1 ∩ Γ′. Thus, our claim is proved. Combining this with Lemma 1, we obtain: Corollary 2. Let d, d′ ∈ D. Then d ∼LR d′ if and only if there exists a sequence d0, d1, . . . , dn of elements in D such that d = d0, d′ = dn and tdi−1Jtdi = 0 for all i. Example 3. Assume that the statements in [2, Remark 2.4] hold. In particular, this would mean that if d, d′ ∈ D are such that d ∼LR d′, then tdtwdd′ = 0 for some Received by the editors June 22, 2007. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 20C08. c ©2007 American Mathematical Society Reverts to public domain 28 years from publication

Network Mutual Information and Synchronization under Time Transformations

Abstract: We investigate the effect of general time transformations on the phase synchronization (PS) phenomenon and the mutual information rate (MIR) between pairs of nodes in dynamical networks. We demonstrate two important results concerning the invariance of both PS and the MIR. Under time transformations PS can neither be introduced nor destroyed and the MIR cannot be raised from zero. On the other hand, for proper time transformations the timing between the cycles of the coupled oscillators can be largely improved. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings for communication in dynamical networks.