MULTITEMPORAL CROP TYPE CLASSIFICATION USING CONDITIONAL RANDOM FIELDS AND RAPIDEYE DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Hoberg

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The task of crop type classification with multitemporal imagery is nowadays often done applying classifiers that are originally developed for single images like support vector machines (SVM. These approaches do not model temporal dependencies in an explicit way. Existing approaches that make use of temporal dependencies are in most cases quite simple and based on rules. Approaches that integrate temporal dependencies to statistical models are very rare and at an early stage of development. Here our approach CRFmulti, based on conditional random fields (CRF, should make a contribution. Conditional random fields consider context knowledge among neighboring primitives in the same way as Markov random fields (MRF do. Furthermore conditional random fields handle the feature vectors of the neighboring primitives and not only the class labels. Additional to taking spatial context into account, we present an approach for multitemporal data processing where a temporal association potential has been integrated to the common CRF approach to model temporal dependencies. The classification works on pixel ‐level using spectral image features, whereas all available single images are taken separately. For our experiments a high resolution RapidEye satellite data set of 2010 consisting of 4 images made during the whole vegetation period from April to October is taken. Six crop type categories are distinguished, namely grassland, corn, winter crop, rapeseed, root crops and other crops. To evaluate the potential of the new conditional random field approach the classification result is compared to a manual reference on pixel‐ and on object‐level. Additional a SVM approach is applied under the same conditions and should serve as a benchmark.

Infinite conditional random fields for human behavior analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bousmalis, Konstantinos; Zafeiriou, Stefanos; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Pantic, Maja

Hidden conditional random fields (HCRFs) are discriminative latent variable models that have been shown to successfully learn the hidden structure of a given classification problem (provided an appropriate validation of the number of hidden states). In this brief, we present the infinite HCRF

Self-reported recognition of undiagnosed life threatening conditions in chiropractic practice: a random survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Dwain M

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to identify the type and frequency of previously undiagnosed life threatening conditions (LTC, based on self-reports of chiropractic physicians, which were first recognized by the chiropractic physician. Additionally this information may have a preliminary role in determining whether chiropractic education provides the knowledge necessary to recognize these events. Methods The study design was a postal, cross-sectional, epidemiological self-administered survey. Two thousand Doctors of Chiropractic in the US were randomly selected from a list of 57878. The survey asked respondents to state the number of cases from the list where they were the first physician to recognize the condition over the course of their practice careers. Space was provided for unlisted conditions. Results The response rate was 29.9%. Respondents represented 11442 years in practice and included 3861 patients with a reported undiagnosed LTC. The most commonly presenting conditions were in rank order: carcinoma, abdominal aneurysm, deep vein thrombosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, subdural hematoma and a large group of other diagnoses. The occurrence of a previously undiagnosed LTC can be expected to present to the chiropractic physician every 2.5 years based on the responding doctors reports. Conclusion Based on this survey chiropractic physicians report encountering undiagnosed LTC’s in the normal course of practice. The findings of this study are of importance to the chiropractic profession and chiropractic education. Increased awareness and emphasis on recognition of LTC is a critical part of the education process and practice life.

Circular random motion in diatom gliding under isotropic conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutiérrez-Medina, Braulio; Maldonado, Ana Iris Peña; Guerra, Andrés Jiménez; Rubio, Yadiralia Covarrubias; Meza, Jessica Viridiana García

2014-01-01

How cells migrate has been investigated primarily for the case of trajectories composed by joined straight segments. In contrast, little is known when cellular motion follows intrinsically curved paths. Here, we use time-lapse optical microscopy and automated trajectory tracking to investigate how individual cells of the diatom Nitzschia communis glide across surfaces under isotropic environmental conditions. We find a distinct kind of random motion, where trajectories are formed by circular arcs traveled at constant speed, alternated with random stoppages, direction reversals and changes in the orientation of the arcs. Analysis of experimental and computer-simulated trajectories show that the circular random motion of diatom gliding is not optimized for long-distance travel but rather for recurrent coverage of limited surface area. These results suggest that one main biological role for this type of diatom motility is to efficiently build the foundation of algal biofilms. (paper)

Under-coding of secondary conditions in coded hospital health data: Impact of co-existing conditions, death status and number of codes in a record.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Mingkai; Southern, Danielle A; Williamson, Tyler; Quan, Hude

2017-12-01

This study examined the coding validity of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and depression related to the presence of their co-existing conditions, death status and the number of diagnosis codes in hospital discharge abstract database. We randomly selected 4007 discharge abstract database records from four teaching hospitals in Alberta, Canada and reviewed their charts to extract 31 conditions listed in Charlson and Elixhauser comorbidity indices. Conditions associated with the four study conditions were identified through multivariable logistic regression. Coding validity (i.e. sensitivity, positive predictive value) of the four conditions was related to the presence of their associated conditions. Sensitivity increased with increasing number of diagnosis code. Impact of death on coding validity is minimal. Coding validity of conditions is closely related to its clinical importance and complexity of patients' case mix. We recommend mandatory coding of certain secondary diagnosis to meet the need of health research based on administrative health data.

Subgeometric Ergodicity Analysis of Continuous-Time Markov Chains under Random-Time State-Dependent Lyapunov Drift Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mokaedi V. Lekgari

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate random-time state-dependent Foster-Lyapunov analysis on subgeometric rate ergodicity of continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs. We are mainly concerned with making use of the available results on deterministic state-dependent drift conditions for CTMCs and on random-time state-dependent drift conditions for discrete-time Markov chains and transferring them to CTMCs.

Deep recurrent conditional random field network for protein secondary prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Alexander Rosenberg; Sønderby, Søren Kaae; Sønderby, Casper Kaae

2017-01-01

Deep learning has become the state-of-the-art method for predicting protein secondary structure from only its amino acid residues and sequence profile. Building upon these results, we propose to combine a bi-directional recurrent neural network (biRNN) with a conditional random field (CRF), which...... of the labels for all time-steps. We condition the CRF on the output of biRNN, which learns a distributed representation based on the entire sequence. The biRNN-CRF is therefore close to ideally suited for the secondary structure task because a high degree of cross-talk between neighboring elements can...

Smooth conditional distribution function and quantiles under random censorship.

Science.gov (United States)

Leconte, Eve; Poiraud-Casanova, Sandrine; Thomas-Agnan, Christine

2002-09-01

We consider a nonparametric random design regression model in which the response variable is possibly right censored. The aim of this paper is to estimate the conditional distribution function and the conditional alpha-quantile of the response variable. We restrict attention to the case where the response variable as well as the explanatory variable are unidimensional and continuous. We propose and discuss two classes of estimators which are smooth with respect to the response variable as well as to the covariate. Some simulations demonstrate that the new methods have better mean square error performances than the generalized Kaplan-Meier estimator introduced by Beran (1981) and considered in the literature by Dabrowska (1989, 1992) and Gonzalez-Manteiga and Cadarso-Suarez (1994).

A comparison of the conditional inference survival forest model to random survival forests based on a simulation study as well as on two applications with time-to-event data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justine B. Nasejje

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Random survival forest (RSF models have been identified as alternative methods to the Cox proportional hazards model in analysing time-to-event data. These methods, however, have been criticised for the bias that results from favouring covariates with many split-points and hence conditional inference forests for time-to-event data have been suggested. Conditional inference forests (CIF are known to correct the bias in RSF models by separating the procedure for the best covariate to split on from that of the best split point search for the selected covariate. Methods In this study, we compare the random survival forest model to the conditional inference model (CIF using twenty-two simulated time-to-event datasets. We also analysed two real time-to-event datasets. The first dataset is based on the survival of children under-five years of age in Uganda and it consists of categorical covariates with most of them having more than two levels (many split-points. The second dataset is based on the survival of patients with extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB which consists of mainly categorical covariates with two levels (few split-points. Results The study findings indicate that the conditional inference forest model is superior to random survival forest models in analysing time-to-event data that consists of covariates with many split-points based on the values of the bootstrap cross-validated estimates for integrated Brier scores. However, conditional inference forests perform comparably similar to random survival forests models in analysing time-to-event data consisting of covariates with fewer split-points. Conclusion Although survival forests are promising methods in analysing time-to-event data, it is important to identify the best forest model for analysis based on the nature of covariates of the dataset in question.

Reconstruction of photon number conditioned states using phase randomized homodyne measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrzanowski, H M; Assad, S M; Bernu, J; Hage, B; Lam, P K; Symul, T; Lund, A P; Ralph, T C

2013-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate the reconstruction of a photon number conditioned state without using a photon number discriminating detector. By using only phase randomized homodyne measurements, we reconstruct up to the three photon subtracted squeezed vacuum state. The reconstructed Wigner functions of these states show regions of pronounced negativity, signifying the non-classical nature of the reconstructed states. The techniques presented allow for complete characterization of the role of a conditional measurement on an ensemble of states, and might prove useful in systems where photon counting still proves technically challenging. (paper)

Assessing the Eventual Publication of Clinical Trial Abstracts Submitted to a Large Annual Oncology Meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Paul R; Wang, Ruibin; Prasad, Vinay; Bates, Susan E; Fojo, Tito

2016-03-01

Despite the ethical imperative to publish clinical trials when human subjects are involved, such data frequently remain unpublished. The objectives were to tabulate the rate and ascertain factors associated with eventual publication of clinical trial results reported as abstracts in the Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (American Society of Clinical Oncology). Abstracts describing clinical trials for patients with breast, lung, colorectal, ovarian, and prostate cancer from 2009 to 2011 were identified by using a comprehensive online database (http://meetinglibrary.asco.org/abstracts). Abstracts included reported results of a treatment or intervention assessed in a discrete, prospective clinical trial. Publication status at 4-6 years was determined by using a standardized search of PubMed. Primary outcomes were the rate of publication for abstracts of randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials. Secondary outcomes included factors influencing the publication of results. A total of 1,075 abstracts describing 378 randomized and 697 nonrandomized clinical trials were evaluated. Across all years, 75% of randomized and 54% of nonrandomized trials were published, with an overall publication rate of 61%. Sample size was a statistically significant predictor of publication for both randomized and nonrandomized trials (odds ratio [OR] per increase of 100 participants = 1.23 [1.11-1.36], p publication (OR 2.37, p = .013; and 2.21, p = .01, respectively). Among nonrandomized studies, phase II trials were more likely to be published than phase I (p publication in randomized (OR 0.76 [0.38-1.52]; p = .441) or nonrandomized trials (OR 0.89 [0.61-1.29]; p = .532). This is the largest reported study examining why oncology trials are not published. The data show that 4-6 years after appearing as abstracts, 39% of oncology clinical trials remain unpublished. Larger sample size and advanced trial phase were associated with eventual publication; among randomized

Modeling Random Telegraph Noise Under Switched Bias Conditions Using Cyclostationary RTS Noise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Wel, A.P.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Vandamme, L.K.J.; Nauta, Bram

In this paper, we present measurements and simulation of random telegraph signal (RTS) noise in n-channel MOSFETs under periodic large signal gate-source excitation (switched bias conditions). This is particularly relevant to analog CMOS circuit design where large signal swings occur and where LF

Abstracts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2017-01-01

Supplementary Short Board: Orderly Cultivate Housing Leasing Market WANG Guangtao (Former Minister of Ministry of Construction) Abstract: In December 2016, Central Economic Work Conference proposed that to promote the steady and healthy development of the real estate market, it should adhere to the “house is used to live, not used to speculate” position. At present, the development of housing leasing market in China is lagging behind. It is urgent to improve the housing conditions of large cities and promote the urbanization of small and medium-sized cities. Therefore, it is imperative to innovate and supplement the short board to accelerate the development of housing leasing market.

Determination of Initial Conditions for the Safety Analysis by Random Sampling of Operating Parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hae-Yong; Park, Moon-Ghu

2015-01-01

In most existing evaluation methodologies, which follow a conservative approach, the most conservative initial conditions are searched for each transient scenario through tremendous assessment for wide operating windows or limiting conditions for operation (LCO) allowed by the operating guidelines. In this procedure, a user effect could be involved and a remarkable time and human resources are consumed. In the present study, we investigated a more effective statistical method for the selection of the most conservative initial condition by the use of random sampling of operating parameters affecting the initial conditions. A method for the determination of initial conditions based on random sampling of plant design parameters is proposed. This method is expected to be applied for the selection of the most conservative initial plant conditions in the safety analysis using a conservative evaluation methodology. In the method, it is suggested that the initial conditions of reactor coolant flow rate, pressurizer level, pressurizer pressure, and SG level are adjusted by controlling the pump rated flow, setpoints of PLCS, PPCS, and FWCS, respectively. The proposed technique is expected to contribute to eliminate the human factors introduced in the conventional safety analysis procedure and also to reduce the human resources invested in the safety evaluation of nuclear power plants

A multi-tier higher order Conditional Random Field for land cover classification of multi-temporal multi-spectral Landsat imagery

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Salmon, BP

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper the authors present a 2-tier higher order Conditional Random Field which is used for land cover classification. The Conditional Random Field is based on probabilistic messages being passed along a graph to compute efficiently...

Impact of HSCT conditioning and glucocorticoid dose on exercise adherence and response

OpenAIRE

Wiskemann, Joachim; Herzog, Benedikt; Kuehl, Rea; Schmidt, Martina E.; Steindorf, Karen; Schwerdtfeger, Rainer; Dreger, Peter; Bohus, Martin

2017-01-01

Abstract: Purpose: Evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) that exercise interventions have beneficial effects in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is growing. However, intensive chemotherapy conditioning and glucocorticoid (GC) treatment is always part of an allo-HSCT and possibly affect exercise adherence and training response. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether various conditioning protocols or different doses of GC treatment af...

Abstraction of continuous dynamical systems utilizing lyapunov functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Christoffer; Wisniewski, Rafael

2010-01-01

This paper considers the development of a method for abstracting continuous dynamical systems by timed automata. The method is based on partitioning the state space of dynamical systems with invariant sets, which form cells representing locations of the timed automata. To enable verification...... of the dynamical system based on the abstraction, conditions for obtaining sound, complete, and refinable abstractions are set up. It is proposed to partition the state space utilizing sub-level sets of Lyapunov functions, since they are positive invariant sets. The existence of sound abstractions for Morse......-Smale systems and complete and refinable abstractions for linear systems are shown....

Vibrational spectra of four-coordinated random networks with periodic boundary conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guttman, L.

1976-01-01

Examples of perfectly four-coordinated networks satisfying periodic boundary conditions are constructed by a pseudo-random process, starting from a crystalline region. The unphysical features (high density, large deviations from the tetrahedral bond-angle) are removed by systematic modification of the bonding scheme. The vibrational spectra are calculated, using a valence-force potential, and the neutron scattering is computed by a phonon-expansion approximation

From Abstract Art to Abstracted Artists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romi Mikulinsky

2016-11-01

Full Text Available What lineage connects early abstract films and machine-generated YouTube videos? Hans Richter’s famous piece Rhythmus 21 is considered to be the first abstract film in the experimental tradition. The Webdriver Torso YouTube channel is composed of hundreds of thousands of machine-generated test patterns designed to check frequency signals on YouTube. This article discusses geometric abstraction vis-à-vis new vision, conceptual art and algorithmic art. It argues that the Webdriver Torso is an artistic marvel indicative of a form we call mathematical abstraction, which is art performed by computers and, quite possibly, for computers.

Efficient robust conditional random fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Dongjin; Liu, Wei; Zhou, Tianyi; Tao, Dacheng; Meyer, David A

2015-10-01

Conditional random fields (CRFs) are a flexible yet powerful probabilistic approach and have shown advantages for popular applications in various areas, including text analysis, bioinformatics, and computer vision. Traditional CRF models, however, are incapable of selecting relevant features as well as suppressing noise from noisy original features. Moreover, conventional optimization methods often converge slowly in solving the training procedure of CRFs, and will degrade significantly for tasks with a large number of samples and features. In this paper, we propose robust CRFs (RCRFs) to simultaneously select relevant features. An optimal gradient method (OGM) is further designed to train RCRFs efficiently. Specifically, the proposed RCRFs employ the l1 norm of the model parameters to regularize the objective used by traditional CRFs, therefore enabling discovery of the relevant unary features and pairwise features of CRFs. In each iteration of OGM, the gradient direction is determined jointly by the current gradient together with the historical gradients, and the Lipschitz constant is leveraged to specify the proper step size. We show that an OGM can tackle the RCRF model training very efficiently, achieving the optimal convergence rate [Formula: see text] (where k is the number of iterations). This convergence rate is theoretically superior to the convergence rate O(1/k) of previous first-order optimization methods. Extensive experiments performed on three practical image segmentation tasks demonstrate the efficacy of OGM in training our proposed RCRFs.

Random accumulated damage evaluation under multiaxial fatigue loading conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Anes

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Multiaxial fatigue is a very important physical phenomenon to take into account in several mechanical components; its study is of utmost importance to avoid unexpected failure of equipment, vehicles or structures. Among several fatigue characterization tools, a correct definition of a damage parameter and a load cycle counting method under multiaxial loading conditions show to be crucial to estimate multiaxial fatigue life. In this paper, the SSF equivalent stress and the virtual cycle counting method are presented and discussed, regarding their physical foundations and their capability to characterize multiaxial fatigue damage under complex loading blocks. Moreover, it is presented their applicability to evaluate random fatigue damage.

A Modified FCM Classifier Constrained by Conditional Random Field Model for Remote Sensing Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Shaoyu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Remote sensing imagery has abundant spatial correlation information, but traditional pixel-based clustering algorithms don't take the spatial information into account, therefore the results are often not good. To this issue, a modified FCM classifier constrained by conditional random field model is proposed. Adjacent pixels' priori classified information will have a constraint on the classification of the center pixel, thus extracting spatial correlation information. Spectral information and spatial correlation information are considered at the same time when clustering based on second order conditional random field. What's more, the global optimal inference of pixel's classified posterior probability can be get using loopy belief propagation. The experiment shows that the proposed algorithm can effectively maintain the shape feature of the object, and the classification accuracy is higher than traditional algorithms.

Game-based Abstraction and Controller Synthesis for Probabilistic Hybrid Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hahn, Ernst Moritz; Norman, Gethin; Parker, David

2011-01-01

We consider a class of hybrid systems that involve random phenomena, in addition to discrete and continuous behaviour. Examples of such systems include wireless sensing and control applications. We propose and compare two abstraction techniques for this class of models, which yield lower and upper...... bounds on the optimal probability of reaching a particular class of states. We also demonstrate the applicability of these abstraction techniques to the computation of long-run average reward properties and the synthesis of controllers. The first of the two abstractions yields more precise information......, while the second is easier to construct. For the latter, we demonstrate how existing solvers for hybrid systems can be leveraged to perform the computation....

Comparing Young and Elderly Serial Reaction Time Task Performance on Repeated and Random Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Ehsani

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Acquisition motor skill training in elderly is at great importance. The main purpose of this study was to compare young and elderly performance in serial reaction time task on different repeated and random conditions. Methods & Materials: A serial reaction time task by using software was applied for studying motor learning in 30 young and 30 elderly. Each group divided randomly implicitly and explicitly into subgroups. A task 4 squares with different colors appeared on the monitor and subjects were asked to press its defined key immediately after observing it. Subjects practiced 8 motor blocks (4 repeated blocks, then 2 random blocks and 2 repeated blocks. Block time that was dependent variable measured and Independent-samples t- test with repeated ANOVA measures were used in this test. Results: young groups performed both repeated and random sequences significantly faster than elderly (P0.05. Explicit older subgroup performed 7,8 blocks slower than 6 block with a significant difference (P<0.05. Conclusion: Young adults discriminate high level performance than elderly in both repeated and random practice. Elderly performed random practice better than repeated practice.

Bearing Fault Classification Based on Conditional Random Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guofeng Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Condition monitoring of rolling element bearing is paramount for predicting the lifetime and performing effective maintenance of the mechanical equipment. To overcome the drawbacks of the hidden Markov model (HMM and improve the diagnosis accuracy, conditional random field (CRF model based classifier is proposed. In this model, the feature vectors sequences and the fault categories are linked by an undirected graphical model in which their relationship is represented by a global conditional probability distribution. In comparison with the HMM, the main advantage of the CRF model is that it can depict the temporal dynamic information between the observation sequences and state sequences without assuming the independence of the input feature vectors. Therefore, the interrelationship between the adjacent observation vectors can also be depicted and integrated into the model, which makes the classifier more robust and accurate than the HMM. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, four kinds of bearing vibration signals which correspond to normal, inner race pit, outer race pit and roller pit respectively are collected from the test rig. And the CRF and HMM models are built respectively to perform fault classification by taking the sub band energy features of wavelet packet decomposition (WPD as the observation sequences. Moreover, K-fold cross validation method is adopted to improve the evaluation accuracy of the classifier. The analysis and comparison under different fold times show that the accuracy rate of classification using the CRF model is higher than the HMM. This method brings some new lights on the accurate classification of the bearing faults.

Biomimetic propulsion under random heaving conditions, using active pitch control

Science.gov (United States)

Politis, Gerasimos; Politis, Konstantinos

2014-05-01

Marine mammals travel long distances by utilizing and transforming wave energy to thrust through proper control of their caudal fin. On the other hand, manmade ships traveling in a wavy sea store large amounts of wave energy in the form of kinetic energy for heaving, pitching, rolling and other ship motions. A natural way to extract this energy and transform it to useful propulsive thrust is by using a biomimetic wing. The aim of this paper is to show how an actively pitched biomimetic wing could achieve this goal when it performs a random heaving motion. More specifically, we consider a biomimetic wing traveling with a given translational velocity in an infinitely extended fluid and performing a random heaving motion with a given energy spectrum which corresponds to a given sea state. A formula is invented by which the instantaneous pitch angle of the wing is determined using the heaving data of the current and past time steps. Simulations are then performed for a biomimetic wing at different heave energy spectra, using an indirect Source-Doublet 3-D-BEM, together with a time stepping algorithm capable to track the random motion of the wing. A nonlinear pressure type Kutta condition is applied at the trailing edge of the wing. With a mollifier-based filtering technique, the 3-D unsteady rollup pattern created by the random motion of the wing is calculated without any simplifying assumptions regarding its geometry. Calculated unsteady forces, moments and useful power, show that the proposed active pitch control always results in thrust producing motions, with significant propulsive power production and considerable beneficial stabilizing action to ship motions. Calculation of the power required to set the pitch angle prove it to be a very small percentage of the useful power and thus making the practical application of the device very tractable.

Necessary conditions for the invariant measure of a random walk to be a sum of geometric terms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Y.; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Goseling, Jasper

We consider the invariant measure of homogeneous random walks in the quarter-plane. In particular, we consider measures that can be expressed as an infinite sum of geometric terms. We present necessary conditions for the invariant measure of a random walk to be a sum of geometric terms. We

Conditional Random Fields versus Hidden Markov Models for activity recognition in temporal sensor data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Kasteren, T.L.M.; Noulas, A.K.; Kröse, B.J.A.; Smit, G.J.M.; Epema, D.H.J.; Lew, M.S.

2008-01-01

Conditional Random Fields are a discriminative probabilistic model which recently gained popularity in applications that require modeling nonindependent observation sequences. In this work, we present the basic advantages of this model over generative models and argue about its suitability in the

Modeling Abstraction Hierarchy Levels of the Cyber Attacks Using Random Process

OpenAIRE

Durrieu , Gilles; Frénod , Emmanuel; Morineau , Thierry; NGUYEN , THONG

2017-01-01

International audience; Aspects of human behavior in cyber security allow more natural security to the user. This research focuses the appearance of anticipating cyber threats and their abstraction hierarchy levels on the mental picture levels of human. The study concerns the modeling of the behaviors of mental states of an individual under cyber attacks. The mental state of agents being not observable, we propose a non-stationary hidden Markov chain approach to model the agent mental behavio...

A note on the conditional density estimate in single functional index model

OpenAIRE

2010-01-01

Abstract In this paper, we consider estimation of the conditional density of a scalar response variable Y given a Hilbertian random variable X when the observations are linked with a single-index structure. We establish the pointwise and the uniform almost complete convergence (with the rate) of the kernel estimate of this model. As an application, we show how our result can be applied in the prediction problem via the conditional mode estimate. Finally, the estimation of the funct...

Experimental Analysis of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System for Harmonic, Random, and Sine on Random Vibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cryns, Jackson W.; Hatchell, Brian K.; Santiago-Rojas, Emiliano; Silvers, Kurt L.

2013-07-01

Formal journal article Experimental analysis of a piezoelectric energy harvesting system for harmonic, random, and sine on random vibration Abstract: Harvesting power with a piezoelectric vibration powered generator using a full-wave rectifier conditioning circuit is experimentally compared for varying sinusoidal, random and sine on random (SOR) input vibration scenarios. Additionally, the implications of source vibration characteristics on harvester design are discussed. Studies in vibration harvesting have yielded numerous alternatives for harvesting electrical energy from vibrations but piezoceramics arose as the most compact, energy dense means of energy transduction. The rise in popularity of harvesting energy from ambient vibrations has made piezoelectric generators commercially available. Much of the available literature focuses on maximizing harvested power through nonlinear processing circuits that require accurate knowledge of generator internal mechanical and electrical characteristics and idealization of the input vibration source, which cannot be assumed in general application. In this manuscript, variations in source vibration and load resistance are explored for a commercially available piezoelectric generator. We characterize the source vibration by its acceleration response for repeatability and transcription to general application. The results agree with numerical and theoretical predictions for in previous literature that load optimal resistance varies with transducer natural frequency and source type, and the findings demonstrate that significant gains are seen with lower tuned transducer natural frequencies for similar source amplitudes. Going beyond idealized steady state sinusoidal and simplified random vibration input, SOR testing allows for more accurate representation of real world ambient vibration. It is shown that characteristic interactions from more complex vibrational sources significantly alter power generation and power processing

Abstraction of Drift-Scale Coupled Processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, N.D.; Sassani, D.

2000-01-01

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR) describes an abstraction, for the performance assessment total system model, of the near-field host rock water chemistry and gas-phase composition. It also provides an abstracted process model analysis of potentially important differences in the thermal hydrologic (TH) variables used to describe the performance of a geologic repository obtained from models that include fully coupled reactive transport with thermal hydrology and those that include thermal hydrology alone. Specifically, the motivation of the process-level model comparison between fully coupled thermal-hydrologic-chemical (THC) and thermal-hydrologic-only (TH-only) is to provide the necessary justification as to why the in-drift thermodynamic environment and the near-field host rock percolation flux, the essential TH variables used to describe the performance of a geologic repository, can be obtained using a TH-only model and applied directly into a TSPA abstraction without recourse to a fully coupled reactive transport model. Abstraction as used in the context of this AMR refers to an extraction of essential data or information from the process-level model. The abstraction analysis reproduces and bounds the results of the underlying detailed process-level model. The primary purpose of this AMR is to abstract the results of the fully-coupled, THC model (CRWMS M andO 2000a) for effects on water and gas-phase composition adjacent to the drift wall (in the near-field host rock). It is assumed that drift wall fracture water and gas compositions may enter the emplacement drift before, during, and after the heating period. The heating period includes both the preclosure, in which the repository drifts are ventilated, and the postclosure periods, with backfill and drip shield emplacement at the time of repository closure. Although the preclosure period (50 years) is included in the process models, the postclosure performance assessment starts at the end of this initial period

Completeness of reporting in abstracts from clinical trials of pre-harvest interventions against foodborne pathogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Snedeker, Kate G; Canning, Paisley; Totton, Sarah C; Sargeant, Jan M

2012-04-01

Abstracts are the most commonly read part of a journal article, and play an important role as summaries of the articles, and search and screening tools. However, research on abstracts in human biomedicine has shown that abstracts often do not report key methodological features and results. Little research has been done to examine reporting of such features in abstracts from papers detailing pre-harvest food safety trials. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the quality of reporting of key factors in abstracts detailing trials of pre-harvest food safety interventions. A systematic search algorithm was used to identify all in vivo trials of pre-harvest interventions against foodborne pathogens in PubMed and CAB Direct published from 1999 to October 2009. References were screened for relevance, and 150 were randomly chosen for inclusion in the study. A checklist based on the CONSORT abstract extension and the REFLECT Statement was used to assess the reporting of methodological features and results. All screening and assessment was performed by two independent reviewers with disagreements resolved by consensus. The systematic search returned 3554 unique citations; 356 were found to be relevant and 150 were randomly selected for inclusion. The abstracts were from 51 different journals, and 13 out of 150 were structured. Of the 124 abstracts that reported whether the trial design was deliberate disease challenge or natural exposure, 113 were deliberate challenge and 11 natural exposure. 103 abstracts detailed studies involving poultry, 20 cattle and 15 swine. Most abstracts reported the production stage of the animals (135/150), a hypothesis or objective (123/150), and results for all treatment groups (136/150). However, few abstracts reported on how animals were grouped in housing (25/150), the location of the study (5/150), the primary outcome (2/126), level of treatment allocation (15/150), sample size (63/150) or whether study units were lost to follow up

ESGAR 2007. Book of abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-06-15

The book includes the abstracts of all contributions presented during ESGAR (European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology) 2007. The contributions of the symposium and the scientific sessions cover the following topics: abdominal MRI; interactive liver diagnosis; rectal cancer; liver metastases; pancreas: technical advances, lesion characterisation and staging; hepatic interventions; upper GI tract: multimodality evaluation; Crohn's disease evaluation; focal liver lesions: multimodality evaluation; CTC-computer aided diagnosis; bile ducts: imaging and intervention; GI tract: imaging and intervention; small bowel and appendix: cross-sectional imaging; CT and MR colonography; trauma and acute abdominal conditions: imaging and intervention; vascular and diffuse liver disease; liver contrast enhanced US. The second part covers the abstract of 248 presentations.

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreiner, R.

2001-01-01

The purpose of this work is to develop the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, as directed by a written development plan (CRWMS M and O 1999a). This abstraction is the conceptual model that will be used to determine the rate of release of radionuclides from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ) in the total system performance assessment-license application (TSPA-LA). In particular, this model will be used to quantify the time-dependent radionuclide releases from a failed waste package (WP) and their subsequent transport through the EBS to the emplacement drift wall/UZ interface. The development of this conceptual model will allow Performance Assessment Operations (PAO) and its Engineered Barrier Performance Department to provide a more detailed and complete EBS flow and transport abstraction. The results from this conceptual model will allow PA0 to address portions of the key technical issues (KTIs) presented in three NRC Issue Resolution Status Reports (IRSRs): (1) the Evolution of the Near-Field Environment (ENFE), Revision 2 (NRC 1999a), (2) the Container Life and Source Term (CLST), Revision 2 (NRC 1999b), and (3) the Thermal Effects on Flow (TEF), Revision 1 (NRC 1998). The conceptual model for flow and transport in the EBS will be referred to as the ''EBS RT Abstraction'' in this analysis/modeling report (AMR). The scope of this abstraction and report is limited to flow and transport processes. More specifically, this AMR does not discuss elements of the TSPA-SR and TSPA-LA that relate to the EBS but are discussed in other AMRs. These elements include corrosion processes, radionuclide solubility limits, waste form dissolution rates and concentrations of colloidal particles that are generally represented as boundary conditions or input parameters for the EBS RT Abstraction. In effect, this AMR provides the algorithms for transporting radionuclides using the flow geometry and radionuclide concentrations determined by other

Kinematics and dynamics of green water on a fixed platform in a large wave basin in focusing wave and random wave conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Wei-Liang; Chang, Kuang-An; Mercier, Richard

2018-06-01

Green water kinematics and dynamics due to wave impingements on a simplified geometry, fixed platform were experimentally investigated in a large, deep-water wave basin. Both plane focusing waves and random waves were employed in the generation of green water. The focusing wave condition was designed to create two consecutive plunging breaking waves with one impinging on the frontal vertical wall of the fixed platform, referred as wall impingement, and the other directly impinging on the deck surface, referred as deck impingement. The random wave condition was generated using the JONSWAP spectrum with a significant wave height approximately equal to the freeboard. A total of 179 green water events were collected in the random wave condition. By examining the green water events in random waves, three different flow types are categorized: collapse of overtopping wave, fall of bulk water, and breaking wave crest. The aerated flow velocity was measured using bubble image velocimetry, while the void fraction was measured using fiber optic reflectometry. For the plane focusing wave condition, measurements of impact pressure were synchronized with the flow velocity and void fraction measurements. The relationship between the peak pressures and the pressure rise times is examined. For the high-intensity impact in the deck impingement events, the peak pressures are observed to be proportional to the aeration levels. The maximum horizontal velocities in the green water events in random waves are well represented by the lognormal distribution. Ritter's solution is shown to quantitatively describe the green water velocity distributions under both the focusing wave condition and the random wave condition. A prediction equation for green water velocity distribution under random waves is proposed.

Abstracting Sequences: Reasoning That Is a Key to Academic Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasnak, Robert; Kidd, Julie K; Gadzichowski, K Marinka; Gallington, Debbie A; Schmerold, Katrina Lea; West, Heather

2015-01-01

The ability to understand sequences of items may be an important cognitive ability. To test this proposition, 8 first-grade children from each of 36 classes were randomly assigned to four conditions. Some were taught sequences that represented increasing or decreasing values, or were symmetrical, or were rotations of an object through 6 or 8 positions. Control children received equal numbers of sessions on mathematics, reading, or social studies. Instruction was conducted three times weekly in 15-min sessions for seven months. In May, the children taught sequences applied their understanding to novel sequences, and scored as well or better on three standardized reading tests as the control children. They outscored all children on tests of mathematics concepts, and scored better than control children on some mathematics scales. These findings indicate that developing an understanding of sequences is a form of abstraction, probably involving fluid reasoning, that provides a foundation for academic achievement in early education.

Initial conditions for slow-roll inflation in a random Gaussian landscape

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masoumi, Ali; Vilenkin, Alexander; Yamada, Masaki, E-mail: ali@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: Masaki.Yamada@tufts.edu [Institute of Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 (United States)

2017-07-01

In the landscape perspective, our Universe begins with a quantum tunneling from an eternally-inflating parent vacuum, followed by a period of slow-roll inflation. We investigate the tunneling process and calculate the probability distribution for the initial conditions and for the number of e-folds of slow-roll inflation, modeling the landscape by a small-field one-dimensional random Gaussian potential. We find that such a landscape is fully consistent with observations, but the probability for future detection of spatial curvature is rather low, P ∼ 10{sup −3}.

Classification of high resolution remote sensing image based on geo-ontology and conditional random fields

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Liang

2013-10-01

The availability of high spatial resolution remote sensing data provides new opportunities for urban land-cover classification. More geometric details can be observed in the high resolution remote sensing image, Also Ground objects in the high resolution remote sensing image have displayed rich texture, structure, shape and hierarchical semantic characters. More landscape elements are represented by a small group of pixels. Recently years, the an object-based remote sensing analysis methodology is widely accepted and applied in high resolution remote sensing image processing. The classification method based on Geo-ontology and conditional random fields is presented in this paper. The proposed method is made up of four blocks: (1) the hierarchical ground objects semantic framework is constructed based on geoontology; (2) segmentation by mean-shift algorithm, which image objects are generated. And the mean-shift method is to get boundary preserved and spectrally homogeneous over-segmentation regions ;(3) the relations between the hierarchical ground objects semantic and over-segmentation regions are defined based on conditional random fields framework ;(4) the hierarchical classification results are obtained based on geo-ontology and conditional random fields. Finally, high-resolution remote sensed image data -GeoEye, is used to testify the performance of the presented method. And the experimental results have shown the superiority of this method to the eCognition method both on the effectively and accuracy, which implies it is suitable for the classification of high resolution remote sensing image.

Broadcast Abstraction in a Stochastic Calculus for Mobile Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Song, Lei; Godskesen, Jens Christian

2012-01-01

topology constraint. We allow continuous time stochastic behavior of processes running at network nodes, e.g. in order to be able to model randomized protocols. The introduction of group broadcast and an operator to help avoid flooding allows us to define a novel notion of broadcast abstraction. Finally......, we define a weak bisimulation congruence and apply our theory on an example of a leader election protocol....

Analysis of random number generators in abnormal usage conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soucarros, M.

2012-01-01

Random numbers have been used through the ages for games of chance, more recently for secret codes and today they are necessary to the execution of computer programs. Random number generators have now evolved from simple dices to electronic circuits and algorithms. Accordingly, the ability to distinguish between random and non-random numbers has become more difficult. Furthermore, whereas in the past dices were loaded in order to increase winning chances, it is now possible to influence the outcome of random number generators. In consequence, this subject is still very much an issue and has recently made the headlines. Indeed, there was talks about the PS3 game console which generates constant random numbers and redundant distribution of secret keys on the internet. This thesis presents a study of several generators as well as different means to perturb them. It shows the inherent defects of their conceptions and possible consequences of their failure when they are embedded inside security components. Moreover, this work highlights problems yet to be solved concerning the testing of random numbers and the post-processing eliminating bias in these numbers distribution. (author) [fr

Abstracts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2012-01-01

Strategic Realism： An Option for China＇ s Grand Strategy Song Dexing （4） [ Abstract] As a non-Western emerging power, China should positively adapt its grand strategy to the strategic psychological traits in the 21st century, maintain a realist tone consistent with the national conditions of China, and avoid adventurist policies while awaring both strategic strength and weakness. In the 21st century, China＇ s grand strategy should be based on such core values as security, development, peace and justice, especially focusing on development in particular, which we named ＂strategic realism＂. Given the profound changes in China and the world, strategic realism encourages active foreign policy to safe- guard the long-term national interests of China. Following the self-help logic and the fun- damental values of security and prosperity, strategic realism concerns national interests as its top-priority. It advocates smart use of power, and aims to achieve its objectives by optimizing both domestic and international conditions. From the perspective of diplomatic phi- losophy, strategic realism is not a summarization of concrete policies but a description of China＇ s grand strategy orientations in the new century. [ Key Words] China, grand strategy, strategic realism [ Author]Song Dexing, Professor, Ph.D. Supervisor, and Director of the Center for International Strategic Studies, University of International Studies of PLA.

Abstracting ICU Nursing Care Quality Data From the Electronic Health Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Seaman, Jennifer B; Evans, Anna C; Sciulli, Andrea M; Barnato, Amber E; Sereika, Susan M; Happ, Mary Beth

2017-09-01

The electronic health record is a potentially rich source of data for clinical research in the intensive care unit setting. We describe the iterative, multi-step process used to develop and test a data abstraction tool, used for collection of nursing care quality indicators from the electronic health record, for a pragmatic trial. We computed Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) to assess interrater agreement or reliability of data abstracted using preliminary and finalized tools. In assessing the reliability of study data ( n = 1,440 cases) using the finalized tool, 108 randomly selected cases (10% of first half sample; 5% of last half sample) were independently abstracted by a second rater. We demonstrated mean κ values ranging from 0.61 to 0.99 for all indicators. Nursing care quality data can be accurately and reliably abstracted from the electronic health records of intensive care unit patients using a well-developed data collection tool and detailed training.

Nonclassical Problem for Ultraparabolic Equation in Abstract Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gia Avalishvili

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nonclassical problem for ultraparabolic equation with nonlocal initial condition with respect to one time variable is studied in abstract Hilbert spaces. We define the space of square integrable vector-functions with values in Hilbert spaces corresponding to the variational formulation of the nonlocal problem for ultraparabolic equation and prove trace theorem, which allows one to interpret initial conditions of the nonlocal problem. We obtain suitable a priori estimates and prove the existence and uniqueness of solution of the nonclassical problem and continuous dependence upon the data of the solution to the nonlocal problem. We consider an application of the obtained abstract results to nonlocal problem for ultraparabolic partial differential equation with second-order elliptic operator and obtain well-posedness result in Sobolev spaces.

Abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problems in noncompact Hadamard manifolds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haishu Lu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract This paper deals with the abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problem in noncompact Hadamard manifolds. We prove the existence of solutions to the abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problem under suitable conditions and provide applications to an abstract vector quasi-equilibrium problem, a generalized scalar equilibrium problem, a scalar equilibrium problem, and a perturbed saddle point problem. Finally, as an application of the existence of solutions to the generalized scalar equilibrium problem, we obtain a weakly mixed variational inequality and two mixed variational inequalities. The results presented in this paper unify and generalize many known results in the literature.

Typed Linear Chain Conditional Random Fields and Their Application to Intrusion Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Elfers, Carsten; Horstmann, Mirko; Sohr, Karsten; Herzog, Otthein

Intrusion detection in computer networks faces the problem of a large number of both false alarms and unrecognized attacks. To improve the precision of detection, various machine learning techniques have been proposed. However, one critical issue is that the amount of reference data that contains serious intrusions is very sparse. In this paper we present an inference process with linear chain conditional random fields that aims to solve this problem by using domain knowledge about the alerts of different intrusion sensors represented in an ontology.

Grounding abstractness: Abstract concepts and the activation of the mouth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna M Borghi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available One key issue for theories of cognition is how abstract concepts, such as freedom, are represented. According to the WAT (Words As social Tools proposal, abstract concepts activate both sensorimotor and linguistic/social information, and their acquisition modality involves the linguistic experience more than the acquisition of concrete concepts. We report an experiment in which participants were presented with abstract and concrete definitions followed by concrete and abstract target-words. When the definition and the word matched, participants were required to press a key, either with the hand or with the mouth. Response times and accuracy were recorded. As predicted, we found that abstract definitions and abstract words yielded slower responses and more errors compared to concrete definitions and concrete words. More crucially, there was an interaction between the target-words and the effector used to respond (hand, mouth. While responses with the mouth were overall slower, the advantage of the hand over the mouth responses was more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts. The results are in keeping with grounded and embodied theories of cognition and support the WAT proposal, according to which abstract concepts evoke linguistic-social information, hence activate the mouth. The mechanisms underlying the mouth activation with abstract concepts (re-enactment of acquisition experience, or re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner talk are discussed. To our knowledge this is the first behavioral study demonstrating with real words that the advantage of the hand over the mouth is more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts, likely because of the activation of linguistic information with abstract concepts.

Understanding of action-related and abstract verbs in comparison: a behavioral and TMS study.

Science.gov (United States)

Innocenti, Alessandro; De Stefani, Elisa; Sestito, Mariateresa; Gentilucci, Maurizio

2014-02-01

Does the comprehension of both action-related and abstract verbs rely on motor simulation? In a behavioral experiment, in which a semantic task was used, response times to hand-action-related verbs were briefer than those to abstract verbs and both decreased with repetition of presentation. In a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment, single-pulse stimulation was randomly delivered over hand motor area of the left primary motor cortex to measure cortical-spinal excitability at 300 or 500 ms after verb presentation. Two blocks of trials were run. In each block, the same verbs were randomly presented. In the first block, stimulation induced an increase in motor evoked potentials only when TMS was applied 300 ms after action-related verb presentation. In the second block, no modulation of motor cortex was found according to type of verb and stimulation-delay. These results confirm that motor simulation can be used to understand action rather than abstract verbs. Moreover, they suggest that with repetition, the semantic processing for action verbs does not require activation of primary motor cortex anymore.

Use of positive and negative words in scientific PubMed abstracts between 1974 and 2014 : retrospective analysis

OpenAIRE

Vinkers, Christiaan H; Tijdink, Joeri K; Otte, Willem M

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether language used in science abstracts can skew towards the use of strikingly positive and negative words over time. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of all scientific abstracts in PubMed between 1974 and 2014. METHODS: The yearly frequencies of positive, negative, and neutral words (25 preselected words in each category), plus 100 randomly selected words were normalised for the total number of abstracts. Subanalyses included pattern quantification of individual wo...

Conditional Random Fields for Pattern Recognition Applied to Structured Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tom Burr

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Pattern recognition uses measurements from an input domain, X, to predict their labels from an output domain, Y. Image analysis is one setting where one might want to infer whether a pixel patch contains an object that is “manmade” (such as a building or “natural” (such as a tree. Suppose the label for a pixel patch is “manmade”; if the label for a nearby pixel patch is then more likely to be “manmade” there is structure in the output domain that can be exploited to improve pattern recognition performance. Modeling P(X is difficult because features between parts of the model are often correlated. Therefore, conditional random fields (CRFs model structured data using the conditional distribution P(Y|X = x, without specifying a model for P(X, and are well suited for applications with dependent features. This paper has two parts. First, we overview CRFs and their application to pattern recognition in structured problems. Our primary examples are image analysis applications in which there is dependence among samples (pixel patches in the output domain. Second, we identify research topics and present numerical examples.

Solution Methods for Structures with Random Properties Subject to Random Excitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köylüoglu, H. U.; Nielsen, Søren R. K.; Cakmak, A. S.

This paper deals with the lower order statistical moments of the response of structures with random stiffness and random damping properties subject to random excitation. The arising stochastic differential equations (SDE) with random coefficients are solved by two methods, a second order...... the SDE with random coefficients with deterministic initial conditions to an equivalent nonlinear SDE with deterministic coefficient and random initial conditions. In both methods, the statistical moment equations are used. Hierarchy of statistical moments in the markovian approach is closed...... by the cumulant neglect closure method applied at the fourth order level....

Infinite hidden conditional random fields for human behavior analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bousmalis, Konstantinos; Zafeiriou, Stefanos; Morency, Louis-Philippe; Pantic, Maja

2013-01-01

Hidden conditional random fields (HCRFs) are discriminative latent variable models that have been shown to successfully learn the hidden structure of a given classification problem (provided an appropriate validation of the number of hidden states). In this brief, we present the infinite HCRF (iHCRF), which is a nonparametric model based on hierarchical Dirichlet processes and is capable of automatically learning the optimal number of hidden states for a classification task. We show how we learn the model hyperparameters with an effective Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampling technique, and we explain the process that underlines our iHCRF model with the Restaurant Franchise Rating Agencies analogy. We show that the iHCRF is able to converge to a correct number of represented hidden states, and outperforms the best finite HCRFs--chosen via cross-validation--for the difficult tasks of recognizing instances of agreement, disagreement, and pain. Moreover, the iHCRF manages to achieve this performance in significantly less total training, validation, and testing time.

Abstraction/Representation Theory for heterotic physical computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Horsman, D C

2015-07-28

We give a rigorous framework for the interaction of physical computing devices with abstract computation. Device and program are mediated by the non-logical representation relation; we give the conditions under which representation and device theory give rise to commuting diagrams between logical and physical domains, and the conditions for computation to occur. We give the interface of this new framework with currently existing formal methods, showing in particular its close relationship to refinement theory, and the implications for questions of meaning and reference in theoretical computer science. The case of hybrid computing is considered in detail, addressing in particular the example of an Internet-mediated social machine, and the abstraction/representation framework used to provide a formal distinction between heterotic and hybrid computing. This forms the basis for future use of the framework in formal treatments of non-standard physical computers. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Condition-Based Conveyor Belt Replacement Strategy in Lignite Mines with Random Belt Deterioration

Science.gov (United States)

Blazej, Ryszard; Jurdziak, Leszek

2017-12-01

In Polish lignite surface mines, condition-based belt replacement strategies are applied in order to assure profitable refurbishment of worn out belts performed by external firms specializing in belt maintenance. In two of three lignite mines, staff asses belt condition subjectively during visual inspections. Only one mine applies specialized diagnostic device (HRDS) allowing objective magnetic evaluation of belt core condition in order to choose the most profitable moment for the dismantling of worn out belt segments from conveyors and sending them to the maintenance firm which provides their refurbishment. This article describes the advantages of a new diagnostic device called DiagBelt. It was developed at the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. Economic gains from its application are calculated for the lignite mine and for the belt maintenance firm, taking into account random life (durability) of new and reconditioned belts (after the 1st and the 2nd refurbishment). Recursive calculations for following years allow the estimation of the length and costs of replaced, reconditioned and purchased belts on an annual basis, while the use of the Monte Carlo method allows the estimation of their variability caused by random deterioration of belts. Savings are obtained due to better selection of moments (times) for the replacement of belt segments and die to the possibility to qualify worn out belts for refurbishment without the need to remove their covers. In effect, increased belt durability and lowered share of waste belts (which were not qualified for reconditioning) create savings which can quickly cover expenditures on new diagnostic tools and regular belt inspections in the mine.

Automatically identifying gene/protein terms in MEDLINE abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Hong; Hatzivassiloglou, Vasileios; Rzhetsky, Andrey; Wilbur, W John

2002-01-01

Natural language processing (NLP) techniques are used to extract information automatically from computer-readable literature. In biology, the identification of terms corresponding to biological substances (e.g., genes and proteins) is a necessary step that precedes the application of other NLP systems that extract biological information (e.g., protein-protein interactions, gene regulation events, and biochemical pathways). We have developed GPmarkup (for "gene/protein-full name mark up"), a software system that automatically identifies gene/protein terms (i.e., symbols or full names) in MEDLINE abstracts. As a part of marking up process, we also generated automatically a knowledge source of paired gene/protein symbols and full names (e.g., LARD for lymphocyte associated receptor of death) from MEDLINE. We found that many of the pairs in our knowledge source do not appear in the current GenBank database. Therefore our methods may also be used for automatic lexicon generation. GPmarkup has 73% recall and 93% precision in identifying and marking up gene/protein terms in MEDLINE abstracts. A random sample of gene/protein symbols and full names and a sample set of marked up abstracts can be viewed at http://www.cpmc.columbia.edu/homepages/yuh9001/GPmarkup/. Contact. hy52@columbia.edu. Voice: 212-939-7028; fax: 212-666-0140.

De-identifying Swedish clinical text - refinement of a gold standard and experiments with Conditional random fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalianis Hercules

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In order to perform research on the information contained in Electronic Patient Records (EPRs, access to the data itself is needed. This is often very difficult due to confidentiality regulations. The data sets need to be fully de-identified before they can be distributed to researchers. De-identification is a difficult task where the definitions of annotation classes are not self-evident. Results We present work on the creation of two refined variants of a manually annotated Gold standard for de-identification, one created automatically, and one created through discussions among the annotators. The data is a subset from the Stockholm EPR Corpus, a data set available within our research group. These are used for the training and evaluation of an automatic system based on the Conditional Random Fields algorithm. Evaluating with four-fold cross-validation on sets of around 4-6 000 annotation instances, we obtained very promising results for both Gold Standards: F-score around 0.80 for a number of experiments, with higher results for certain annotation classes. Moreover, 49 false positives that were verified true positives were found by the system but missed by the annotators. Conclusions Our intention is to make this Gold standard, The Stockholm EPR PHI Corpus, available to other research groups in the future. Despite being slightly more time-consuming we believe the manual consensus gold standard is the most valuable for further research. We also propose a set of annotation classes to be used for similar de-identification tasks.

A random regret minimization model of travel choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chorus, C.G.; Arentze, T.A.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2008-01-01

Abstract This paper presents an alternative to Random Utility-Maximization models of travel choice. Our Random Regret-Minimization model is rooted in Regret Theory and provides several useful features for travel demand analysis. Firstly, it allows for the possibility that choices between travel

Portraying mental illness and drug addiction as treatable health conditions: effects of a randomized experiment on stigma and discrimination.

Science.gov (United States)

McGinty, Emma E; Goldman, Howard H; Pescosolido, Bernice; Barry, Colleen L

2015-02-01

Despite significant advances in treatment, stigma and discrimination toward persons with mental illness and drug addiction have remained constant in past decades. Prior work suggests that portraying other stigmatized health conditions (i.e., HIV/AIDS) as treatable can improve public attitudes toward those affected. Our study compared the effects of vignettes portraying persons with untreated and symptomatic versus successfully treated and asymptomatic mental illness and drug addiction on several dimensions of public attitudes about these conditions. We conducted a survey-embedded randomized experiment using a national sample (N = 3940) from an online panel. Respondents were randomly assigned to read one of ten vignettes. Vignette one was a control vignette, vignettes 2-5 portrayed individuals with untreated schizophrenia, depression, prescription pain medication addiction and heroin addiction, and vignettes 6-10 portrayed successfully treated individuals with the same conditions. After reading the randomly assigned vignette, respondents answered questions about their attitudes related to mental illness or drug addiction. Portrayals of untreated and symptomatic schizophrenia, depression, and heroin addiction heightened negative public attitudes toward persons with mental illness and drug addiction. In contrast, portrayals of successfully treated schizophrenia, prescription painkiller addiction, and heroin addiction led to less desire for social distance, greater belief in the effectiveness of treatment, and less willingness to discriminate against persons with these conditions. Portrayal of persons with successfully treated mental illness and drug addiction is a promising strategy for reducing stigma and discrimination toward persons with these conditions and improving public perceptions of treatment effectiveness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cassie state robustness of plasma generated randomly nano-rough surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Mundo, Rosa, E-mail: rosa.dimundo@poliba.it; Bottiglione, Francesco; Carbone, Giuseppe

2014-10-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Superhydrophobic randomly rough surfaces are generated by plasma etching. • Statistical analysis of roughness allows calculation of theWenzel roughness factor, r{sub W.} • A r{sub W} threshold is theoretically determined, above which superhydrophobicity is “robust”. • Dynamic wetting, e.g. with high speed impacting drops, confirms this prediction. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces are effective in practical applications provided they are “robust superhydrophobic”, i.e. able to retain the Cassie state, i.e. with water suspended onto the surface protrusions, even under severe conditions (high pressure, vibrations, high speed impact, etc.). We show that for randomly rough surfaces, given the Young angle, Cassie states are robust when a threshold value of the Wenzel roughness factor, r{sub W}, is exceeded. In particular, superhydrophobic nano-textured surfaces have been generated by self-masked plasma etching. In view of their random roughness, topography features, acquired by Atomic Force Microscopy, have been statistically analyzed in order to gain information on statistical parameters such as power spectral density, fractal dimension and Wenzel roughness factor (r{sub W}), which has been used to assess Cassie state robustness. Results indicate that randomly rough surfaces produced by plasma at high power or long treatment duration, which are also fractal self-affine, have a r{sub W} higher than the theoretical threshold, thus for them a robust superhydrophobicity is predicted. In agreement with this, under dynamic wetting conditionson these surfaces the most pronounced superhydrophobic character has been appreciated: they show the lowest contact angle hysteresis and result in the sharpest bouncing when hit by drops at high impact velocity.

Random a-adic groups and random net fractals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Yin [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: Lyjerry7788@hotmail.com; Su Weiyi [Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)], E-mail: suqiu@nju.edu.cn

2008-08-15

Based on random a-adic groups, this paper investigates the relationship between the existence conditions of a positive flow in a random network and the estimation of the Hausdorff dimension of a proper random net fractal. Subsequently we describe some particular random fractals for which our results can be applied. Finally the Mauldin and Williams theorem is shown to be very important example for a random Cantor set with application in physics as shown in E-infinity theory.

Differential emotional processing in concrete and abstract words.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bo; Keitel, Anne; Bruce, Gillian; Scott, Graham G; O'Donnell, Patrick J; Sereno, Sara C

2018-02-12

Emotion (positive and negative) words are typically recognized faster than neutral words. Recent research suggests that emotional valence, while often treated as a unitary semantic property, may be differentially represented in concrete and abstract words. Studies that have explicitly examined the interaction of emotion and concreteness, however, have demonstrated inconsistent patterns of results. Moreover, these findings may be limited as certain key lexical variables (e.g., familiarity, age of acquisition) were not taken into account. We investigated the emotion-concreteness interaction in a large-scale, highly controlled lexical decision experiment. A 3 (Emotion: negative, neutral, positive) × 2 (Concreteness: abstract, concrete) design was used, with 45 items per condition and 127 participants. We found a significant interaction between emotion and concreteness. Although positive and negative valenced words were recognized faster than neutral words, this emotion advantage was significantly larger in concrete than in abstract words. We explored potential contributions of participant alexithymia level and item imageability to this interactive pattern. We found that only word imageability significantly modulated the emotion-concreteness interaction. While both concrete and abstract emotion words are advantageously processed relative to comparable neutral words, the mechanisms of this facilitation are paradoxically more dependent on imageability in abstract words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

John Knopfmacher, [Abstract] Analytic Number Theory, and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. In this paper some important contributions of John Knopfmacher to ' Analytic Number Theory' are described. This theory investigates semigroups with countably many generators (generalized 'primes'), with a norm map (or a 'degree map'), and satisfying certain conditions on the number of elements with norm less

Affective priming using facial expressions modulates liking for abstract art.

Science.gov (United States)

Flexas, Albert; Rosselló, Jaume; Christensen, Julia F; Nadal, Marcos; Olivera La Rosa, Antonio; Munar, Enric

2013-01-01

We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion) were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20 ms) and extended (SOA = 300 ms) conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation.

Affective priming using facial expressions modulates liking for abstract art.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Flexas

Full Text Available We examined the influence of affective priming on the appreciation of abstract artworks using an evaluative priming task. Facial primes (showing happiness, disgust or no emotion were presented under brief (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA = 20 ms and extended (SOA = 300 ms conditions. Differences in aesthetic liking for abstract paintings depending on the emotion expressed in the preceding primes provided a measure of the priming effect. The results showed that, for the extended SOA, artworks were liked more when preceded by happiness primes and less when preceded by disgust primes. Facial expressions of happiness, though not of disgust, exerted similar effects in the brief SOA condition. Subjective measures and a forced-choice task revealed no evidence of prime awareness in the suboptimal condition. Our results are congruent with findings showing that the affective transfer elicited by priming biases evaluative judgments, extending previous research to the domain of aesthetic appreciation.

Genetic Parameters for Body condition score, Body weigth, Milk yield and Fertility estimated using random regression models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berry, D.P.; Buckley, F.; Dillon, P.; Evans, R.D.; Rath, M.; Veerkamp, R.F.

2003-01-01

Genetic (co)variances between body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), milk yield, and fertility were estimated using a random regression animal model extended to multivariate analysis. The data analyzed included 81,313 BCS observations, 91,937 BW observations, and 100,458 milk test-day yields

Conditional Random Fields for Morphological Analysis of Wireless ECG Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Natarajan, Annamalai; Gaiser, Edward; Angarita, Gustavo; Malison, Robert; Ganesan, Deepak; Marlin, Benjamin

2015-01-01

Thanks to advances in mobile sensing technologies, it has recently become practical to deploy wireless electrocardiograph sensors for continuous recording of ECG signals. This capability has diverse applications in the study of human health and behavior, but to realize its full potential, new computational tools are required to effectively deal with the uncertainty that results from the noisy and highly non-stationary signals collected using these devices. In this work, we present a novel approach to the problem of extracting the morphological structure of ECG signals based on the use of dynamically structured conditional random field (CRF) models. We apply this framework to the problem of extracting morphological structure from wireless ECG sensor data collected in a lab-based study of habituated cocaine users. Our results show that the proposed CRF-based approach significantly out-performs independent prediction models using the same features, as well as a widely cited open source toolkit. PMID:26726321

Law of large numbers and central limit theorem for randomly forced PDE's

CERN Document Server

Shirikyan, A

2004-01-01

We consider a class of dissipative PDE's perturbed by an external random force. Under the condition that the distribution of perturbation is sufficiently non-degenerate, a strong law of large numbers (SLLN) and a central limit theorem (CLT) for solutions are established and the corresponding rates of convergence are estimated. It is also shown that the estimates obtained are close to being optimal. The proofs are based on the property of exponential mixing for the problem in question and some abstract SLLN and CLT for mixing-type Markov processes.

Application of Vector Triggering Random Decrement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, J. C.; Ibrahim, S. R.; Brincker, Rune

result is a Random Decrement function from each measurement. In traditional Random Decrement estimation the triggering condition is a scalar condition, which should only be fulfilled in a single measurement. In vector triggering Random Decrement the triggering condition is a vector condition......This paper deals with applications of the vector triggering Random Decrement technique. This technique is new and developed with the aim of minimizing estimation time and identification errors. The theory behind the technique is discussed in an accompanying paper. The results presented...... in this paper should be regarded as a further documentation of the technique. The key point in Random Decrement estimation is the formulation of a triggering condition. If the triggering condition is fulfilled a time segment from each measurement is picked out and averaged with previous time segments. The final...

Application of Vector Triggering Random Decrement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, J. C.; Ibrahim, S. R.; Brincker, Rune

1997-01-01

result is a Random Decrement function from each measurement. In traditional Random Decrement estimation the triggering condition is a scalar condition, which should only be fulfilled in a single measurement. In vector triggering Random Decrement the triggering condition is a vector condition......This paper deals with applications of the vector triggering Random Decrement technique. This technique is new and developed with the aim of minimizing estimation time and identification errors. The theory behind the technique is discussed in an accompanying paper. The results presented...... in this paper should be regarded as a further documentation of the technique. The key point in Random Decrement estimation is the formulation of a triggering condition. If the triggering condition is fulfilled a time segment from each measurement is picked out and averaged with previous time segments. The final...

Automatic Recognition of Chinese Personal Name Using Conditional Random Fields and Knowledge Base

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan Gu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available According to the features of Chinese personal name, we present an approach for Chinese personal name recognition based on conditional random fields (CRF and knowledge base in this paper. The method builds multiple features of CRF model by adopting Chinese character as processing unit, selects useful features based on selection algorithm of knowledge base and incremental feature template, and finally implements the automatic recognition of Chinese personal name from Chinese document. The experimental results on open real corpus demonstrated the effectiveness of our method and obtained high accuracy rate and high recall rate of recognition.

Behavior Modification in the Classroom: An Abstract Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

Kremer, Barbara, Comp.

An annotated selective bibliography of documents on operation conditioning which are found in the ERIC microfiche collection and in journal literature is presented. Abstracts of these documents were taken from Research in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). Included are published and unpublished studies focusing on…

Programme and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of 25 papers presented at the congress are given. The abstracts cover various topics including radiotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals, radioimmunoassay, health physics, radiation protection and nuclear medicine

2018 Congress Podium Abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-21

Each abstract has been indexed according to first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. For Congress scheduling information, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

Tai Chi for Chronic Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Ling Jun; Lauche, Romy; Klose, Petra; Bu, Jiang Hui; Yang, Xiao Cun; Guo, Chao Qing; Dobos, Gustav; Cheng, Ying Wu

2016-04-29

Several studies reported that Tai Chi showed potential effects for chronic pain, but its role remains controversial. This review assessed the evidence regarding the effects of Tai Chi for chronic pain conditions. 18 randomized controlled trials were included in our review. The aggregated results have indicated that Tai Chi showed positive evidence on immediate relief of chronic pain from osteoarthritis (standardized mean difference [SMD], -0.54; 95% confidence intervals [CI], -0.77 to -0.30; P chronic pain from low back pain (SMD, -0.81; 95% CI, -1.11 to -0.52; P complementary and alternative medicine for chronic pain conditions.

2018 Congress Poster Abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-21

Each abstract has been indexed according to the first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. Poster numbers are subject to change. For updated poster numbers, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

Impact of groundwater abstraction on physical habitat of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a small Danish stream

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, M.; Bøgh, E.; Pedersen, Stig

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of groundwater abstraction on stream discharge and physical habitat conditions for brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a small Danish stream. Stream discharge was simulated using a lumped hydrological model (NAM) and a scenario was set up for stream...... discharge reference conditions. Stream physical habitat conditions (WUA) were simulated for four life stages of trout using a hydraulic habitat model (RHYHABSIM). The impact of groundwater abstraction on WUA for trout was assessed by combined simulations from the NAM-model and the RHYHABSIM-model. The model...... predicted that groundwater abstraction reduced median annual discharge by 37 % and mean annual 90th percentile discharge by 82 %. Summer discharge was relatively most affected by groundwater abstraction (66 % reduction of median discharge) and WUA was therefore particularly affected by groundwater...

How random are random numbers generated using photons?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solis, Aldo; Angulo Martínez, Alí M; Ramírez Alarcón, Roberto; Cruz Ramírez, Hector; U’Ren, Alfred B; Hirsch, Jorge G

2015-01-01

Randomness is fundamental in quantum theory, with many philosophical and practical implications. In this paper we discuss the concept of algorithmic randomness, which provides a quantitative method to assess the Borel normality of a given sequence of numbers, a necessary condition for it to be considered random. We use Borel normality as a tool to investigate the randomness of ten sequences of bits generated from the differences between detection times of photon pairs generated by spontaneous parametric downconversion. These sequences are shown to fulfil the randomness criteria without difficulties. As deviations from Borel normality for photon-generated random number sequences have been reported in previous work, a strategy to understand these diverging findings is outlined. (paper)

Sign Language Recognition with the Kinect Sensor Based on Conditional Random Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Deok Yang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sign language is a visual language used by deaf people. One difficulty of sign language recognition is that sign instances of vary in both motion and shape in three-dimensional (3D space. In this research, we use 3D depth information from hand motions, generated from Microsoft’s Kinect sensor and apply a hierarchical conditional random field (CRF that recognizes hand signs from the hand motions. The proposed method uses a hierarchical CRF to detect candidate segments of signs using hand motions, and then a BoostMap embedding method to verify the hand shapes of the segmented signs. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed method could recognize signs from signed sentence data at a rate of 90.4%.

The dual reading of general conditionals: The influence of abstract versus concrete contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Moyun; Yao, Xinyun

2018-04-01

A current main issue on conditionals is whether the meaning of general conditionals (e.g., If a card is red, then it is round) is deterministic (exceptionless) or probabilistic (exception-tolerating). In order to resolve the issue, two experiments examined the influence of conditional contexts (with vs. without frequency information of truth table cases) on the reading of general conditionals. Experiment 1 examined the direct reading of general conditionals in the possibility judgment task. Experiment 2 examined the indirect reading of general conditionals in the truth judgment task. It was found that both the direct and indirect reading of general conditionals exhibited the duality: the predominant deterministic semantic reading of conditionals without frequency information, and the predominant probabilistic pragmatic reading of conditionals with frequency information. The context of general conditionals determined the predominant reading of general conditionals. There were obvious individual differences in reading general conditionals with frequency information. The meaning of general conditionals is relative, depending on conditional contexts. The reading of general conditionals is flexible and complex so that no simple deterministic and probabilistic accounts are able to explain it. The present findings are beyond the extant deterministic and probabilistic accounts of conditionals.

Using Conditional Random Fields to Extract Contexts and Answers of Questions from Online Forums

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Shilin; Cong, Gao; Lin, Chin-Yew

2008-01-01

Online forum discussions often contain vast amounts of questions that are the focuses of discussions. Extracting contexts and answers together with the questions will yield not only a coherent forum summary but also a valuable QA knowledge base. In this paper, we propose a general framework based...... on Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) to detect the contexts and answers of questions from forum threads. We improve the basic framework by Skip-chain CRFs and 2D CRFs to better accommodate the features of forums for better performance. Experimental results show that our techniques are very promising....

Use of positive and negative words in scientific PubMed abstracts between 1974 and 2014: retrospective analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinkers, Christiaan H; Tijdink, Joeri K; Otte, Willem M

2015-12-14

To investigate whether language used in science abstracts can skew towards the use of strikingly positive and negative words over time. Retrospective analysis of all scientific abstracts in PubMed between 1974 and 2014. The yearly frequencies of positive, negative, and neutral words (25 preselected words in each category), plus 100 randomly selected words were normalised for the total number of abstracts. Subanalyses included pattern quantification of individual words, specificity for selected high impact journals, and comparison between author affiliations within or outside countries with English as the official majority language. Frequency patterns were compared with 4% of all books ever printed and digitised by use of Google Books Ngram Viewer. Frequencies of positive and negative words in abstracts compared with frequencies of words with a neutral and random connotation, expressed as relative change since 1980. The absolute frequency of positive words increased from 2.0% (1974-80) to 17.5% (2014), a relative increase of 880% over four decades. All 25 individual positive words contributed to the increase, particularly the words "robust," "novel," "innovative," and "unprecedented," which increased in relative frequency up to 15,000%. Comparable but less pronounced results were obtained when restricting the analysis to selected journals with high impact factors. Authors affiliated to an institute in a non-English speaking country used significantly more positive words. Negative word frequencies increased from 1.3% (1974-80) to 3.2% (2014), a relative increase of 257%. Over the same time period, no apparent increase was found in neutral or random word use, or in the frequency of positive word use in published books. Our lexicographic analysis indicates that scientific abstracts are currently written with more positive and negative words, and provides an insight into the evolution of scientific writing. Apparently scientists look on the bright side of research

Peer-Led Self-Management of General Medical Conditions for Patients With Serious Mental Illnesses: A Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Druss, Benjamin G; Singh, Manasvini; von Esenwein, Silke A; Glick, Gretl E; Tapscott, Stephanie; Tucker, Sherry Jenkins; Lally, Cathy A; Sterling, Evelina W

2018-02-01

Individuals with serious mental illnesses have high rates of general medical comorbidity and challenges in managing these conditions. A growing workforce of certified peer specialists is available to help these individuals more effectively manage their health and health care. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of peer-led programs for self-management of general medical conditions for this population. This randomized study enrolled 400 participants with a serious mental illness and one or more chronic general medical conditions across three community mental health clinics. Participants were randomly assigned to the Health and Recovery Peer (HARP) program, a self-management program for general medical conditions led by certified peer specialists (N=198), or to usual care (N=202). Assessments were conducted at baseline and three and six months. At six months, participants in the intervention group demonstrated a significant differential improvement in the primary study outcome, health-related quality of life. Specifically, compared with the usual care group, intervention participants had greater improvement in the Short-Form Health Survey physical component summary (an increase of 2.7 versus 1.4 points, p=.046) and mental component summary (4.6 versus 2.5 points, p=.039). Significantly greater six-month improvements in mental health recovery were seen for the intervention group (p=.02), but no other between-group differences in secondary outcome measures were significant. The HARP program was associated with improved physical health- and mental health-related quality of life among individuals with serious mental illness and comorbid general medical conditions, suggesting the potential benefits of more widespread dissemination of peer-led disease self-management in this population.

Program and abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled:Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Physics Education; SANCGASS; Astronomy; Plasma Physics; Physics in Industry; Applied and General Physics.

Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled:Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Physics Education; SANCGASS; Astronomy; Plasma Physics; Physics in Industry; Applied and General Physics

An Eye-Tracking Study of Learning from Science Text with Concrete and Abstract Illustrations

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Lucia; Pluchino, Patrik; Tornatora, Maria Caterina; Ariasi, Nicola

2013-01-01

This study investigated the online process of reading and the offline learning from an illustrated science text. The authors examined the effects of using a concrete or abstract picture to illustrate a text and adopted eye-tracking methodology to trace text and picture processing. They randomly assigned 59 eleventh-grade students to 3 reading…

Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled: Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Plasma Physics; Solar-Terrestrial Physics; Astrophysics and Astronomy; Radioastronomy; General Physics; Applied Physics; Industrial Physics

Introduction to abstract algebra

CERN Document Server

Nicholson, W Keith

2012-01-01

Praise for the Third Edition ". . . an expository masterpiece of the highest didactic value that has gained additional attractivity through the various improvements . . ."-Zentralblatt MATH The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Abstract Algebra continues to provide an accessible approach to the basic structures of abstract algebra: groups, rings, and fields. The book's unique presentation helps readers advance to abstract theory by presenting concrete examples of induction, number theory, integers modulo n, and permutations before the abstract structures are defined. Readers can immediately be

Abstracting Concepts and Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Borko, Harold; Bernier, Charles L.

This text provides a complete discussion of abstracts--their history, production, organization, publication--and of indexing. Instructions for abstracting are outlined, and standards and criteria for abstracting are stated. Management, automation, and personnel are discussed in terms of possible economies that can be derived from the introduction…

Completeness of Lyapunov Abstraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Wisniewski

2013-08-01

Full Text Available In this work, we continue our study on discrete abstractions of dynamical systems. To this end, we use a family of partitioning functions to generate an abstraction. The intersection of sub-level sets of the partitioning functions defines cells, which are regarded as discrete objects. The union of cells makes up the state space of the dynamical systems. Our construction gives rise to a combinatorial object - a timed automaton. We examine sound and complete abstractions. An abstraction is said to be sound when the flow of the time automata covers the flow lines of the dynamical systems. If the dynamics of the dynamical system and the time automaton are equivalent, the abstraction is complete. The commonly accepted paradigm for partitioning functions is that they ought to be transversal to the studied vector field. We show that there is no complete partitioning with transversal functions, even for particular dynamical systems whose critical sets are isolated critical points. Therefore, we allow the directional derivative along the vector field to be non-positive in this work. This considerably complicates the abstraction technique. For understanding dynamical systems, it is vital to study stable and unstable manifolds and their intersections. These objects appear naturally in this work. Indeed, we show that for an abstraction to be complete, the set of critical points of an abstraction function shall contain either the stable or unstable manifold of the dynamical system.

Hidden State Conditional Random Field for Abnormal Activity Recognition in Smart Homes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Tong

2015-03-01

Full Text Available As the number of elderly people has increased worldwide, there has been a surge of research into assistive technologies to provide them with better care by recognizing their normal and abnormal activities. However, existing abnormal activity recognition (AAR algorithms rarely consider sub-activity relations when recognizing abnormal activities. This paper presents an application of the Hidden State Conditional Random Field (HCRF method to detect and assess abnormal activities that often occur in elderly persons’ homes. Based on HCRF, this paper designs two AAR algorithms, and validates them by comparing them with a feature vector distance based algorithm in two experiments. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms favorably outperform the competitor, especially when abnormal activities have same sensor type and sensor number as normal activities.

Ensemble of Neural Network Conditional Random Fields for Self-Paced Brain Computer Interfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Bashashati

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Classification of EEG signals in self-paced Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI is an extremely challenging task. The main difficulty stems from the fact that start time of a control task is not defined. Therefore it is imperative to exploit the characteristics of the EEG data to the extent possible. In sensory motor self-paced BCIs, while performing the mental task, the user’s brain goes through several well-defined internal state changes. Applying appropriate classifiers that can capture these state changes and exploit the temporal correlation in EEG data can enhance the performance of the BCI. In this paper, we propose an ensemble learning approach for self-paced BCIs. We use Bayesian optimization to train several different classifiers on different parts of the BCI hyper- parameter space. We call each of these classifiers Neural Network Conditional Random Field (NNCRF. NNCRF is a combination of a neural network and conditional random field (CRF. As in the standard CRF, NNCRF is able to model the correlation between adjacent EEG samples. However, NNCRF can also model the nonlinear dependencies between the input and the output, which makes it more powerful than the standard CRF. We compare the performance of our algorithm to those of three popular sequence labeling algorithms (Hidden Markov Models, Hidden Markov Support Vector Machines and CRF, and to two classical classifiers (Logistic Regression and Support Vector Machines. The classifiers are compared for the two cases: when the ensemble learning approach is not used and when it is. The data used in our studies are those from the BCI competition IV and the SM2 dataset. We show that our algorithm is considerably superior to the other approaches in terms of the Area Under the Curve (AUC of the BCI system.

Random matrix theory for pseudo-Hermitian systems: Cyclic blocks

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. We discuss the relevance of random matrix theory for pseudo-Hermitian sys- tems, and, for Hamiltonians that break parity P and time-reversal invariance T. In an attempt to understand the random Ising model, we present the treatment of cyclic asym- metric matrices with blocks and show that the nearest-neighbour ...

Abstract algebra

CERN Document Server

Garrett, Paul B

2007-01-01

Designed for an advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level course, Abstract Algebra provides an example-oriented, less heavily symbolic approach to abstract algebra. The text emphasizes specifics such as basic number theory, polynomials, finite fields, as well as linear and multilinear algebra. This classroom-tested, how-to manual takes a more narrative approach than the stiff formalism of many other textbooks, presenting coherent storylines to convey crucial ideas in a student-friendly, accessible manner. An unusual feature of the text is the systematic characterization of objects by universal

Many random walks are faster than one

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Alon, N.; Avin, Ch.; Koucký, Michal; Kozma, G.; Lotker, Z.; Tuttle, M.R.

2011-01-01

Roč. 20, č. 4 (2011), s. 481-502 ISSN 0963-5483 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP201/07/P276; GA ČR GA201/05/0124 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : multiple random walks * parallel random walks Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.778, year: 2011 http://journals.cambridge.org/ action /displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8280727

Abstracts and abstracting a genre and set of skills for the twenty-first century

CERN Document Server

Koltay, Tibor

2010-01-01

Despite their changing role, abstracts remain useful in the digital world. Highly beneficial to information professionals and researchers who work and publish in different fields, this book summarizes the most important and up-to-date theory of abstracting, as well as giving advice and examples for the practice of writing different kinds of abstracts. The book discusses the length, the functions and basic structure of abstracts, outlining a new approach to informative and indicative abstracts. The abstractors' personality, their linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge and skills are also discu

Truthful Monadic Abstractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brock-Nannestad, Taus; Schürmann, Carsten

2012-01-01

indefinitely, finding neither a proof nor a disproof of a given subgoal. In this paper we characterize a family of truth-preserving abstractions from intuitionistic first-order logic to the monadic fragment of classical first-order logic. Because they are truthful, these abstractions can be used to disprove...

Sensory Intelligence for Extraction of an Abstract Auditory Rule: A Cross-Linguistic Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiao-Tao; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Liang, Xiu-Yuan; Wang, Ming; Chen, Lin

2018-02-21

In a complex linguistic environment, while speech sounds can greatly vary, some shared features are often invariant. These invariant features constitute so-called abstract auditory rules. Our previous study has shown that with auditory sensory intelligence, the human brain can automatically extract the abstract auditory rules in the speech sound stream, presumably serving as the neural basis for speech comprehension. However, whether the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech is inherent or experience-dependent remains unclear. To address this issue, we constructed a complex speech sound stream using auditory materials in Mandarin Chinese, in which syllables had a flat lexical tone but differed in other acoustic features to form an abstract auditory rule. This rule was occasionally and randomly violated by the syllables with the rising, dipping or falling tone. We found that both Chinese and foreign speakers detected the violations of the abstract auditory rule in the speech sound stream at a pre-attentive stage, as revealed by the whole-head recordings of mismatch negativity (MMN) in a passive paradigm. However, MMNs peaked earlier in Chinese speakers than in foreign speakers. Furthermore, Chinese speakers showed different MMN peak latencies for the three deviant types, which paralleled recognition points. These findings indicate that the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech sounds is innate but shaped by language experience. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adiabatic condition and the quantum hitting time of Markov chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krovi, Hari; Ozols, Maris; Roland, Jeremie

2010-01-01

We present an adiabatic quantum algorithm for the abstract problem of searching marked vertices in a graph, or spatial search. Given a random walk (or Markov chain) P on a graph with a set of unknown marked vertices, one can define a related absorbing walk P ' where outgoing transitions from marked vertices are replaced by self-loops. We build a Hamiltonian H(s) from the interpolated Markov chain P(s)=(1-s)P+sP ' and use it in an adiabatic quantum algorithm to drive an initial superposition over all vertices to a superposition over marked vertices. The adiabatic condition implies that, for any reversible Markov chain and any set of marked vertices, the running time of the adiabatic algorithm is given by the square root of the classical hitting time. This algorithm therefore demonstrates a novel connection between the adiabatic condition and the classical notion of hitting time of a random walk. It also significantly extends the scope of previous quantum algorithms for this problem, which could only obtain a full quadratic speedup for state-transitive reversible Markov chains with a unique marked vertex.

Cupping therapy versus acupuncture for pain-related conditions: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and trial sequential analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ya-Jing; Cao, Hui-Juan; Li, Xin-Lin; Yang, Xiao-Ying; Lai, Bao-Yong; Yang, Guo-Yang; Liu, Jian-Ping

2017-01-01

Both cupping therapy and acupuncture have been used in China for a long time, and their target indications are pain-related conditions. There is no systematic review comparing the effectiveness of these two therapies. To compare the beneficial effectiveness and safety between cupping therapy and acupuncture for pain-related conditions to provide evidence for clinical practice. Protocol of this review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42016050986). We conducted literature search from six electronic databases until 31st March 2017. We included randomized trials comparing cupping therapy with acupuncture on pain-related conditions. Methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated by risk of bias tool. Mean difference, risk ratio, risk difference and their 95% confidence interval were used to report the estimate effect of the pooled results through meta-analysis or the results from each individual study. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was applied to adjust random errors and calculate the sample size. Twenty-three randomized trials with 2845 participants were included covering 12 pain-related conditions. All included studies were of poor methodological quality. Three meta-analyses were conducted, which showed similar clinical beneficial effects of cupping therapy and acupuncture for the rate of symptom improvement in cervical spondylosis (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.26; n = 646), lateral femoral cutaneous neuritis (RR 1.10, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.22; n = 102) and scapulohumeral periarthritis (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.51; n = 208). Results from other outcomes (such as visual analogue and numerical rating scale) in each study also showed no statistical significant difference between these two therapies for all included pain-related conditions. The results of TSA for cervical spondylosis demonstrated that the current available data have not reached a powerful conclusion. No serious adverse events related to cupping therapy or acupuncture was found in included

Mental Transformation Skill in Young Children: The Role of Concrete and Abstract Motor Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Susan C; Goldin-Meadow, Susan; Carlson, Matthew T; Hemani-Lopez, Naureen

2018-05-01

We examined the effects of three different training conditions, all of which involve the motor system, on kindergarteners' mental transformation skill. We focused on three main questions. First, we asked whether training that involves making a motor movement that is relevant to the mental transformation-either concretely through action (action training) or more abstractly through gestural movements that represent the action (move-gesture training)-resulted in greater gains than training using motor movements irrelevant to the mental transformation (point-gesture training). We tested children prior to training, immediately after training (posttest), and 1 week after training (retest), and we found greater improvement in mental transformation skill in both the action and move-gesture training conditions than in the point-gesture condition, at both posttest and retest. Second, we asked whether the total gain made by retest differed depending on the abstractness of the movement-relevant training (action vs. move-gesture), and we found that it did not. Finally, we asked whether the time course of improvement differed for the two movement-relevant conditions, and we found that it did-gains in the action condition were realized immediately at posttest, with no further gains at retest; gains in the move-gesture condition were realized throughout, with comparable gains from pretest-to-posttest and from posttest-to-retest. Training that involves movement, whether concrete or abstract, can thus benefit children's mental transformation skill. However, the benefits unfold differently over time-the benefits of concrete training unfold immediately after training (online learning); the benefits of more abstract training unfold in equal steps immediately after training (online learning) and during the intervening week with no additional training (offline learning). These findings have implications for the kinds of instruction that can best support spatial learning. Copyright �

Effects of abstract and concrete antinuclear filmed presentations on participation in a petition campaign

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gellis, J.

1989-01-01

The goal was to examine the effects of abstract and concrete anti-nuclear images and previous political activity on interest in the topic of nuclear war and participation in an anti-nuclear petition campaign. Subjects were 254 undergraduate students at Hofstra University in three political science classes, three psychology classes and three communication classes: 128 males and 126 females. They were assigned by class to one of three image conditions: concrete, abstract, or no image. After completing a questionnaire measuring their previous level of political activity, students in the concrete condition saw The Last Epidemic, a 30-minute video depicting the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Subjects in the abstract condition saw Preventing Nuclear War-First Step, a 30 minute video conveying factual information about missile systems and the arms race. Subjects in the no-image condition were not exposed to a video and served as controls. They were asked to respond to a short questionnaire that elicited emotional and intellectual reactions to the topic of nuclear war. After viewing the video tape, subjects in the abstract and concrete conditions responded to a brief questionnaire that elicited emotional and intellectual reactions to the videos. Subjects in all three conditions were asked to provide their names addresses if they were interested in receiving more information on this topic. Subjects who provided their name and addresses were mailed, within 24-hours, a one page petition advocating an anti-nuclear position. Recipients were asked to sign the petition, gather as many signature as possible, and return the petition. Participation was measured by the number of signatures gathered. Data were analyzed by analyzes of variance. The type of image had no effect on either interest or participation in the petition campaign. A modest positive relationship was found between previous political activity and interest

Abstracts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

The Western Theories of War Ethics and Contemporary Controversies Li Xiaodong U Ruijing （4） [ Abstract] In the field of international relations, war ethics is a concept with distinct westem ideological color. Due to factors of history and reality, the in

Using Analogy to Improve Abstract Conditional Reasoning in Adolescents: Not as Easy as It Looks

Science.gov (United States)

Markovits, Henry; Doyon, Celine

2011-01-01

Abstract reasoning refers to the ability to reason logically with premises that do not allow reference to knowledge about the real world. This form of reasoning is complex and difficult, and at the same time, it is critical for understanding science and mathematics. Two studies examined the use of analogy as a method to bridge reasoning with…

A Correction of Random Incidence Absorption Coefficients for the Angular Distribution of Acoustic Energy under Measurement Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeong, Cheol-Ho

2009-01-01

Most acoustic measurements are based on an assumption of ideal conditions. One such ideal condition is a diffuse and reverberant field. In practice, a perfectly diffuse sound field cannot be achieved in a reverberation chamber. Uneven incident energy density under measurement conditions can cause...... discrepancies between the measured value and the theoretical random incidence absorption coefficient. Therefore the angular distribution of the incident acoustic energy onto an absorber sample should be taken into account. The angular distribution of the incident energy density was simulated using the beam...... tracing method for various room shapes and source positions. The averaged angular distribution is found to be similar to a Gaussian distribution. As a result, an angle-weighted absorption coefficient was proposed by considering the angular energy distribution to improve the agreement between...

Check Sample Abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, David; Grenache, David G; Bosler, David S; Karcher, Raymond E; Nichols, James; Rajadhyaksha, Aparna; Camelo-Piragua, Sandra; Rauch, Carol; Huddleston, Brent J; Frank, Elizabeth L; Sluss, Patrick M; Lewandrowski, Kent; Eichhorn, John H; Hall, Janet E; Rahman, Saud S; McPherson, Richard A; Kiechle, Frederick L; Hammett-Stabler, Catherine; Pierce, Kristin A; Kloehn, Erica A; Thomas, Patricia A; Walts, Ann E; Madan, Rashna; Schlesinger, Kathie; Nawgiri, Ranjana; Bhutani, Manoop; Kanber, Yonca; Abati, Andrea; Atkins, Kristen A; Farrar, Robert; Gopez, Evelyn Valencerina; Jhala, Darshana; Griffin, Sonya; Jhala, Khushboo; Jhala, Nirag; Bentz, Joel S; Emerson, Lyska; Chadwick, Barbara E; Barroeta, Julieta E; Baloch, Zubair W; Collins, Brian T; Middleton, Owen L; Davis, Gregory G; Haden-Pinneri, Kathryn; Chu, Albert Y; Keylock, Joren B; Ramoso, Robert; Thoene, Cynthia A; Stewart, Donna; Pierce, Arand; Barry, Michelle; Aljinovic, Nika; Gardner, David L; Barry, Michelle; Shields, Lisa B E; Arnold, Jack; Stewart, Donna; Martin, Erica L; Rakow, Rex J; Paddock, Christopher; Zaki, Sherif R; Prahlow, Joseph A; Stewart, Donna; Shields, Lisa B E; Rolf, Cristin M; Falzon, Andrew L; Hudacki, Rachel; Mazzella, Fermina M; Bethel, Melissa; Zarrin-Khameh, Neda; Gresik, M Vicky; Gill, Ryan; Karlon, William; Etzell, Joan; Deftos, Michael; Karlon, William J; Etzell, Joan E; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Manion, Elizabeth; Rosenthal, Nancy; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Tang, Patrick; Petric, Martin; Schade, Andrew E; Hall, Geraldine S; Oethinger, Margret; Hall, Geraldine; Picton, Avis R; Hoang, Linda; Imperial, Miguel Ranoa; Kibsey, Pamela; Waites, Ken; Duffy, Lynn; Hall, Geraldine S; Salangsang, Jo-Anne M; Bravo, Lulette Tricia C; Oethinger, Margaret D; Veras, Emanuela; Silva, Elvia; Vicens, Jimena; Silva, Elvio; Keylock, Joren; Hempel, James; Rushing, Elizabeth; Posligua, Lorena E; Deavers, Michael T; Nash, Jason W; Basturk, Olca; Perle, Mary Ann; Greco, Alba; Lee, Peng; Maru, Dipen; Weydert, Jamie Allen; Stevens, Todd M; Brownlee, Noel A; Kemper, April E; Williams, H James; Oliverio, Brock J; Al-Agha, Osama M; Eskue, Kyle L; Newlands, Shawn D; Eltorky, Mahmoud A; Puri, Puja K; Royer, Michael C; Rush, Walter L; Tavora, Fabio; Galvin, Jeffrey R; Franks, Teri J; Carter, James Elliot; Kahn, Andrea Graciela; Lozada Muñoz, Luis R; Houghton, Dan; Land, Kevin J; Nester, Theresa; Gildea, Jacob; Lefkowitz, Jerry; Lacount, Rachel A; Thompson, Hannis W; Refaai, Majed A; Quillen, Karen; Lopez, Ana Ortega; Goldfinger, Dennis; Muram, Talia; Thompson, Hannis

2009-02-01

The following abstracts are compiled from Check Sample exercises published in 2008. These peer-reviewed case studies assist laboratory professionals with continuing medical education and are developed in the areas of clinical chemistry, cytopathology, forensic pathology, hematology, microbiology, surgical pathology, and transfusion medicine. Abstracts for all exercises published in the program will appear annually in AJCP.

6th AfSBT Congress Abstracts | Congress Participants | Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

All Abstracts available in PDF Document. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use ...

Local contextual processing of abstract and meaningful real-life images in professional athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogelson, Noa; Fernandez-Del-Olmo, Miguel; Acero, Rafael Martín

2012-05-01

We investigated the effect of abstract versus real-life meaningful images from sports on local contextual processing in two groups of professional athletes. Local context was defined as the occurrence of a short predictive series of stimuli occurring before delivery of a target event. EEG was recorded in 10 professional basketball players and 9 professional athletes of individual sports during three sessions. In each session, a different set of visual stimuli were presented: triangles facing left, up, right, or down; four images of a basketball player throwing a ball; four images of a baseball player pitching a baseball. Stimuli consisted of 15 % targets and 85 % of equal numbers of three types of standards. Recording blocks consisted of targets preceded by randomized sequences of standards and by sequences including a predictive sequence signaling the occurrence of a subsequent target event. Subjects pressed a button in response to targets. In all three sessions, reaction times and peak P3b latencies were shorter for predicted targets compared with random targets, the last most informative stimulus of the predictive sequence induced a robust P3b, and N2 amplitude was larger for random targets compared with predicted targets. P3b and N2 peak amplitudes were larger in the professional basketball group in comparison with professional athletes of individual sports, across the three sessions. The findings of this study suggest that local contextual information is processed similarly for abstract and for meaningful images and that professional basketball players seem to allocate more attentional resources in the processing of these visual stimuli.

Genetic correlations among body condition score, yield and fertility in multiparous cows using random regression models

OpenAIRE

Bastin, Catherine; Gillon, Alain; Massart, Xavier; Bertozzi, Carlo; Vanderick, Sylvie; Gengler, Nicolas

2010-01-01

Genetic correlations between body condition score (BCS) in lactation 1 to 3 and four economically important traits (days open, 305-days milk, fat, and protein yields recorded in the first 3 lactations) were estimated on about 12,500 Walloon Holstein cows using 4-trait random regression models. Results indicated moderate favorable genetic correlations between BCS and days open (from -0.46 to -0.62) and suggested the use of BCS for indirect selection on fertility. However, unfavorable genetic c...

Abstract Datatypes in PVS

Science.gov (United States)

Owre, Sam; Shankar, Natarajan

1997-01-01

PVS (Prototype Verification System) is a general-purpose environment for developing specifications and proofs. This document deals primarily with the abstract datatype mechanism in PVS which generates theories containing axioms and definitions for a class of recursive datatypes. The concepts underlying the abstract datatype mechanism are illustrated using ordered binary trees as an example. Binary trees are described by a PVS abstract datatype that is parametric in its value type. The type of ordered binary trees is then presented as a subtype of binary trees where the ordering relation is also taken as a parameter. We define the operations of inserting an element into, and searching for an element in an ordered binary tree; the bulk of the report is devoted to PVS proofs of some useful properties of these operations. These proofs illustrate various approaches to proving properties of abstract datatype operations. They also describe the built-in capabilities of the PVS proof checker for simplifying abstract datatype expressions.

Publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2010 Canadian Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Basilious, Alfred; Benavides Vargas, Ana Maria; Buys, Yvonne M

2017-08-01

To evaluate the publication rate of submitted abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2010 Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) Annual Meeting in peer-reviewed journals. A retrospective analysis and literature search of abstracts presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting. Abstracts accepted as an oral presentation or poster from the 2010 COS Annual Meeting were tabulated by type of presentation (oral vs poster), subspecialty, study design, number of authors, and principal investigator's institution. A PubMed search was conducted for each abstract by key word, first author, and last author. The year of publication, journal, and impact factor were recorded for identified publications. Publication rate was calculated by type of presentation, subspecialty, study design, number of authors, and institution. A total of 175 abstracts were presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting. There were 105 oral (60%) and 70 poster (40%) presentations. The overall publication rate was 45.7%; 49.5% for oral presentations and 40.0% for posters. Cornea (57.6%) and public health (54.5%) had the highest publication rates of all subspecialties. Randomized control trials (71.4%) and cohort studies (70.0%) had higher publication rates than other study designs. Overall, 28.8% of abstracts were published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. The average impact factor of all publications was 2.73. Of abstracts presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting, 45.7% were published within 5 years after the conference. This publication rate is within the upper end of previously reported meeting publication rates for medical societies. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the pertinence to Physics of random walks induced by random dynamical systems: a survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petritis, Dimitri

2016-01-01

Let be an abstract space and a denumerable (finite or infinite) alphabet. Suppose that is a family of functions such that for all we have and a family of transformations . The pair (( S_a)_a , ( p_a)_a ) is termed an iterated function system with place dependent probabilities. Such systems can be thought as generalisations of random dynamical systems. As a matter of fact, suppose we start from a given ; we pick then randomly, with probability p_a (x) , the transformation S_a and evolve to S_a (x) . We are interested in the behaviour of the system when the iteration continues indefinitely. Random walks of the above type are omnipresent in both classical and quantum Physics. To give a small sample of occurrences we mention: random walks on the affine group, random walks on Penrose lattices, random walks on partially directed lattices, evolution of density matrices induced by repeated quantum measurements, quantum channels, quantum random walks, etc. In this article, we review some basic properties of such systems and provide with a pathfinder in the extensive bibliography (both on mathematical and physical sides) where the main results have been originally published. (paper)

Document page structure learning for fixed-layout e-books using conditional random fields

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Xin; Tang, Zhi; Xu, Canhui

2013-12-01

In this paper, a model is proposed to learn logical structure of fixed-layout document pages by combining support vector machine (SVM) and conditional random fields (CRF). Features related to each logical label and their dependencies are extracted from various original Portable Document Format (PDF) attributes. Both local evidence and contextual dependencies are integrated in the proposed model so as to achieve better logical labeling performance. With the merits of SVM as local discriminative classifier and CRF modeling contextual correlations of adjacent fragments, it is capable of resolving the ambiguities of semantic labels. The experimental results show that CRF based models with both tree and chain graph structures outperform the SVM model with an increase of macro-averaged F1 by about 10%.

Condition for invariant spectrum of an electromagnetic wave scattered from an anisotropic random media.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jia; Wu, Pinghui; Chang, Liping

2015-08-24

Within the accuracy of the first-order Born approximation, sufficient conditions are derived for the invariance of spectrum of an electromagnetic wave, which is generated by the scattering of an electromagnetic plane wave from an anisotropic random media. We show that the following restrictions on properties of incident fields and the anisotropic media must be simultaneously satisfied: 1) the elements of the dielectric susceptibility matrix of the media must obey the scaling law; 2) the spectral components of the incident field are proportional to each other; 3) the second moments of the elements of the dielectric susceptibility matrix of the media are inversely proportional to the frequency.

Temporal Dynamics of Task Switching and Abstract-Concept Learning in Pigeons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Alexander Daniel

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The current study examined whether pigeons could learn to use abstract concepts as the basis for conditionally switching behavior as a function of time. Using a mid-session reversal task, experienced pigeons were trained to switch from matching-to-sample (MTS to non-matching-to-sample (NMTS conditional discriminations within a session. One group had prior training with MTS, while the other had prior training with NMTS. Over training, stimulus set size was progressively doubled from 3 to 6 to 12 stimuli to promote abstract concept development. Prior experience had an effect on the initial learning at each of the set sizes but by the end of training there were no group differences, as both groups showed similar within-session linear matching functions. After acquiring the 12-item set, abstract-concept learning was tested by placing novel stimuli at the beginning and end of a test session. Prior matching and non-matching experience affected transfer behavior. The matching experienced group transferred to novel stimuli in both the matching and non-matching portion of the sessions using a matching rule. The non-matching experienced group transferred to novel stimuli in both portions of the session using a non-matching rule. The representations used as the basis for mid-session reversal of the conditional discrimination behaviors and subsequent transfer behavior appears to have different temporal sources. The implications for the flexibility and organization of complex behaviors are considered.

[Full-text publication of abstracts presented at the 33th Argentinean pediatric meeting and non publication related factors].

Science.gov (United States)

Canosa, Daniela; Ferrero, Fernando; Melamud, Ariel; Otero, Paula D; Merech, Raúl S; Ceriani Cernadas, José M

2011-02-01

There is no information about non publication of research presented at scientific meetings in Argentina. We analyzed the full-text publication rate of abstracts presented at the 33° Argentinean Pediatric Congress (APC), time to achieve publication, and factors associated with publication or non-publication. Survey-based cross-sectional study, including authors of abstracts presented at the 33° APC. The survey included age, gender, specialty and sub-specialty, professional area and reason of publication or non-publication. We randomly selected 140/894 presented abstracts. Only 16 abstracts (11.4%) were subsequently published in full, requiring 27±15 months. There were no association between full-text publication and author's characteristics. "Oral presentations" were more likely to be subsequently published (p= 0.018). In non published abstracts, 95% were not submitted by the author, more frequently because of "lack of time" (35.9%). Only 11.4% of abstracts were subsequently published in full. Oral presentation was associated with a higher publication rate. Most frequent cause for non-publication was non submission due to lack of time.

Quantumness, Randomness and Computability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solis, Aldo; Hirsch, Jorge G

2015-01-01

Randomness plays a central role in the quantum mechanical description of our interactions. We review the relationship between the violation of Bell inequalities, non signaling and randomness. We discuss the challenge in defining a random string, and show that algorithmic information theory provides a necessary condition for randomness using Borel normality. We close with a view on incomputablity and its implications in physics. (paper)

Conference Abstracts: VIH/SIDA | Various Authors | Clinics in Mother ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Various Abstracts: 1er Congrès Franco – Camerounais de Gynécologie et Obstétrique. Clinics in Mother and Child Health Vol. 5 (1) 2008: pp. 842-845. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of ...

Abstraction and art.

Science.gov (United States)

Gortais, Bernard

2003-07-29

In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music.

Enrichment Effects of Gestures and Pictures on Abstract Words in a Second Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Repetto, Claudia; Pedroli, Elisa; Macedonia, Manuela

2017-01-01

Laboratory research has demonstrated that multisensory enrichment promotes verbal learning in a foreign language (L2). Enrichment can be done in various ways, e.g., by adding a picture that illustrates the L2 word's meaning or by the learner performing a gesture to the word (enactment). Most studies have tested enrichment on concrete but not on abstract words. Unlike concrete words, the representation of abstract words is deprived of sensory-motor features. This has been addressed as one of the reasons why abstract words are difficult to remember. Here, we ask whether a brief enrichment training by means of pictures and by self-performed gestures also enhances the memorability of abstract words in L2. Further, we explore which of these two enrichment strategies is more effective. Twenty young adults learned 30 novel abstract words in L2 according to three encoding conditions: (1) reading, (2) reading and pairing the novel word to a picture, and (3) reading and enacting the word by means of a gesture. We measured memory performance in free and cued recall tests, as well as in a visual recognition task. Words encoded with gestures were better remembered in the free recall in the native language (L1). When recognizing the novel words, participants made less errors for words encoded with gestures compared to words encoded with pictures. The reaction times in the recognition task did not differ across conditions. The present findings support, even if only partially, the idea that enactment promotes learning of abstract words and that it is superior to enrichment by means of pictures even after short training.

Enrichment Effects of Gestures and Pictures on Abstract Words in a Second Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Repetto

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Laboratory research has demonstrated that multisensory enrichment promotes verbal learning in a foreign language (L2. Enrichment can be done in various ways, e.g., by adding a picture that illustrates the L2 word’s meaning or by the learner performing a gesture to the word (enactment. Most studies have tested enrichment on concrete but not on abstract words. Unlike concrete words, the representation of abstract words is deprived of sensory-motor features. This has been addressed as one of the reasons why abstract words are difficult to remember. Here, we ask whether a brief enrichment training by means of pictures and by self-performed gestures also enhances the memorability of abstract words in L2. Further, we explore which of these two enrichment strategies is more effective. Twenty young adults learned 30 novel abstract words in L2 according to three encoding conditions: (1 reading, (2 reading and pairing the novel word to a picture, and (3 reading and enacting the word by means of a gesture. We measured memory performance in free and cued recall tests, as well as in a visual recognition task. Words encoded with gestures were better remembered in the free recall in the native language (L1. When recognizing the novel words, participants made less errors for words encoded with gestures compared to words encoded with pictures. The reaction times in the recognition task did not differ across conditions. The present findings support, even if only partially, the idea that enactment promotes learning of abstract words and that it is superior to enrichment by means of pictures even after short training.

Mermin Non-Locality in Abstract Process Theories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Gogioso

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The study of non-locality is fundamental to the understanding of quantum mechanics. The past 50 years have seen a number of non-locality proofs, but its fundamental building blocks, and the exact role it plays in quantum protocols, has remained elusive. In this paper, we focus on a particular flavour of non-locality, generalising Mermin's argument on the GHZ state. Using strongly complementary observables, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for Mermin non-locality in abstract process theories. We show that the existence of more phases than classical points (aka eigenstates is not sufficient, and that the key to Mermin non-locality lies in the presence of certain algebraically non-trivial phases. This allows us to show that fRel, a favourite toy model for categorical quantum mechanics, is Mermin local. We show Mermin non-locality to be the key resource ensuring the device-independent security of the HBB CQ (N,N family of Quantum Secret Sharing protocols. Finally, we challenge the unspoken assumption that the measurements involved in Mermin-type scenarios should be complementary (like the pair X,Y, opening the doors to a much wider class of potential experimental setups than currently employed. In short, we give conditions for Mermin non-locality tests on any number of systems, where each party has an arbitrary number of measurement choices, where each measurement has an arbitrary number of outcomes and further, that works in any abstract process theory.

Incorrect modeling of the failure process of minimally repaired systems under random conditions: The effect on the maintenance costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulcini, Gianpaolo

2015-01-01

This note investigates the effect of the incorrect modeling of the failure process of minimally repaired systems that operates under random environmental conditions on the costs of a periodic replacement maintenance. The motivation of this paper is given by a recently published paper, where a wrong formulation of the expected cost for unit time under a periodic replacement policy is obtained. This wrong formulation is due to the incorrect assumption that the intensity function of minimally repaired systems that operate under random conditions has the same functional form as the failure rate of the first failure time. This produced an incorrect optimization of the replacement maintenance. Thus, in this note the conceptual differences between the intensity function and the failure rate of the first failure time are first highlighted. Then, the correct expressions of the expected cost and of the optimal replacement period are provided. Finally, a real application is used to measure how severe can be the economical consequences caused by the incorrect modeling of the failure process.

Completeness of Lyapunov Abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wisniewski, Rafal; Sloth, Christoffer

2013-01-01

the vector field, which allows the generation of a complete abstraction. To compute the functions that define the subdivision of the state space in an algorithm, we formulate a sum of squares optimization problem. This optimization problem finds the best subdivisioning functions, with respect to the ability......This paper addresses the generation of complete abstractions of polynomial dynamical systems by timed automata. For the proposed abstraction, the state space is divided into cells by sublevel sets of functions. We identify a relation between these functions and their directional derivatives along...

Contextuality is about identity of random variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzhafarov, Ehtibar N; Kujala, Janne V

2014-01-01

Contextual situations are those in which seemingly ‘the same’ random variable changes its identity depending on the conditions under which it is recorded. Such a change of identity is observed whenever the assumption that the variable is one and the same under different conditions leads to contradictions when one considers its joint distribution with other random variables (this is the essence of all Bell-type theorems). In our Contextuality-by-Default approach, instead of asking why or how the conditions force ‘one and the same’ random variable to change ‘its’ identity, any two random variables recorded under different conditions are considered different ‘automatically.’ They are never the same, nor are they jointly distributed, but one can always impose on them a joint distribution (probabilistic coupling). The special situations when there is a coupling in which these random variables are equal with probability 1 are considered noncontextual. Contextuality means that such couplings do not exist. We argue that the determination of the identity of random variables by conditions under which they are recorded is not a causal relationship and cannot violate laws of physics. (paper)

Metaphor: Bridging embodiment to abstraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamrozik, Anja; McQuire, Marguerite; Cardillo, Eileen R; Chatterjee, Anjan

2016-08-01

Embodied cognition accounts posit that concepts are grounded in our sensory and motor systems. An important challenge for these accounts is explaining how abstract concepts, which do not directly call upon sensory or motor information, can be informed by experience. We propose that metaphor is one important vehicle guiding the development and use of abstract concepts. Metaphors allow us to draw on concrete, familiar domains to acquire and reason about abstract concepts. Additionally, repeated metaphoric use drawing on particular aspects of concrete experience can result in the development of new abstract representations. These abstractions, which are derived from embodied experience but lack much of the sensorimotor information associated with it, can then be flexibly applied to understand new situations.

Technical abstracts: Mechanical engineering, 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broesius, J.Y.

1991-01-01

This document is a compilation of the published, unclassified abstracts produced by mechanical engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) during the calendar year 1990. Many abstracts summarize work completed and published in report form. These are UCRL-JC series documents, which include the full text of articles to be published in journals and of papers to be presented at meetings, and UCID reports, which are informal documents. Not all UCIDs contain abstracts: short summaries were generated when abstracts were not included. Technical Abstracts also provides descriptions of those documents assigned to the UCRL-MI (miscellaneous) category. These are generally viewgraphs or photographs presented at meetings. An author index is provided at the back of this volume for cross referencing

Conditional random slope: A new approach for estimating individual child growth velocity in epidemiological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Michael; Bassani, Diego G; Racine-Poon, Amy; Goldenberg, Anna; Ali, Syed Asad; Kang, Gagandeep; Premkumar, Prasanna S; Roth, Daniel E

2017-09-10

Conditioning child growth measures on baseline accounts for regression to the mean (RTM). Here, we present the "conditional random slope" (CRS) model, based on a linear-mixed effects model that incorporates a baseline-time interaction term that can accommodate multiple data points for a child while also directly accounting for RTM. In two birth cohorts, we applied five approaches to estimate child growth velocities from 0 to 12 months to assess the effect of increasing data density (number of measures per child) on the magnitude of RTM of unconditional estimates, and the correlation and concordance between the CRS and four alternative metrics. Further, we demonstrated the differential effect of the choice of velocity metric on the magnitude of the association between infant growth and stunting at 2 years. RTM was minimally attenuated by increasing data density for unconditional growth modeling approaches. CRS and classical conditional models gave nearly identical estimates with two measures per child. Compared to the CRS estimates, unconditional metrics had moderate correlation (r = 0.65-0.91), but poor agreement in the classification of infants with relatively slow growth (kappa = 0.38-0.78). Estimates of the velocity-stunting association were the same for CRS and classical conditional models but differed substantially between conditional versus unconditional metrics. The CRS can leverage the flexibility of linear mixed models while addressing RTM in longitudinal analyses. © 2017 The Authors American Journal of Human Biology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The triconnected abstraction of process models

OpenAIRE

Polyvyanyy, Artem; Smirnov, Sergey; Weske, Mathias

2009-01-01

Contents: Artem Polyvanny, Sergey Smirnow, and Mathias Weske The Triconnected Abstraction of Process Models 1 Introduction 2 Business Process Model Abstraction 3 Preliminaries 4 Triconnected Decomposition 4.1 Basic Approach for Process Component Discovery 4.2 SPQR-Tree Decomposition 4.3 SPQR-Tree Fragments in the Context of Process Models 5 Triconnected Abstraction 5.1 Abstraction Rules 5.2 Abstraction Algorithm 6 Related Work and Conclusions

A Modal-Logic Based Graph Abstraction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bauer, J.; Boneva, I.B.; Kurban, M.E.; Rensink, Arend; Ehrig, H; Heckel, R.; Rozenberg, G.; Taentzer, G.

2008-01-01

Infinite or very large state spaces often prohibit the successful verification of graph transformation systems. Abstract graph transformation is an approach that tackles this problem by abstracting graphs to abstract graphs of bounded size and by lifting application of productions to abstract

Seismic Consequence Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross, M.

2004-01-01

The primary purpose of this model report is to develop abstractions for the response of engineered barrier system (EBS) components to seismic hazards at a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and to define the methodology for using these abstractions in a seismic scenario class for the Total System Performance Assessment - License Application (TSPA-LA). A secondary purpose of this model report is to provide information for criticality studies related to seismic hazards. The seismic hazards addressed herein are vibratory ground motion, fault displacement, and rockfall due to ground motion. The EBS components are the drip shield, the waste package, and the fuel cladding. The requirements for development of the abstractions and the associated algorithms for the seismic scenario class are defined in ''Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling of Drift Degradation, Waste Package and Drip Shield Vibratory Motion and Seismic Consequences'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171520]). The development of these abstractions will provide a more complete representation of flow into and transport from the EBS under disruptive events. The results from this development will also address portions of integrated subissue ENG2, Mechanical Disruption of Engineered Barriers, including the acceptance criteria for this subissue defined in Section 2.2.1.3.2.3 of the ''Yucca Mountain Review Plan, Final Report'' (NRC 2003 [DIRS 163274])

Seismic Consequence Abstraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

M. Gross

2004-10-25

The primary purpose of this model report is to develop abstractions for the response of engineered barrier system (EBS) components to seismic hazards at a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and to define the methodology for using these abstractions in a seismic scenario class for the Total System Performance Assessment - License Application (TSPA-LA). A secondary purpose of this model report is to provide information for criticality studies related to seismic hazards. The seismic hazards addressed herein are vibratory ground motion, fault displacement, and rockfall due to ground motion. The EBS components are the drip shield, the waste package, and the fuel cladding. The requirements for development of the abstractions and the associated algorithms for the seismic scenario class are defined in ''Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling of Drift Degradation, Waste Package and Drip Shield Vibratory Motion and Seismic Consequences'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171520]). The development of these abstractions will provide a more complete representation of flow into and transport from the EBS under disruptive events. The results from this development will also address portions of integrated subissue ENG2, Mechanical Disruption of Engineered Barriers, including the acceptance criteria for this subissue defined in Section 2.2.1.3.2.3 of the ''Yucca Mountain Review Plan, Final Report'' (NRC 2003 [DIRS 163274]).

Modal abstractions of concurrent behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielson, Flemming; Nanz, Sebastian; Nielson, Hanne Riis

2011-01-01

We present an effective algorithm for the automatic construction of finite modal transition systems as abstractions of potentially infinite concurrent processes. Modal transition systems are recognized as valuable abstractions for model checking because they allow for the validation as well...... as refutation of safety and liveness properties. However, the algorithmic construction of finite abstractions from potentially infinite concurrent processes is a missing link that prevents their more widespread usage for model checking of concurrent systems. Our algorithm is a worklist algorithm using concepts...... from abstract interpretation and operating upon mappings from sets to intervals in order to express simultaneous over- and underapprox-imations of the multisets of process actions available in a particular state. We obtain a finite abstraction that is 3-valued in both states and transitions...

Weak convergence to isotropic complex S α S $S\\alpha S$ random measure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this paper, we prove that an isotropic complex symmetric α-stable random measure ( 0 < α < 2 $0<\\alpha<2$ can be approximated by a complex process constructed by integrals based on the Poisson process with random intensity.

Assessing the potential of random forest method for estimating solar radiation using air pollution index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Huaiwei; Gui, Dongwei; Yan, Baowei; Liu, Yi; Liao, Weihong; Zhu, Yan; Lu, Chengwei; Zhao, Na

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Models based on random forests for daily solar radiation estimation are proposed. • Three sites within different air pollution index conditions are considered. • Performance of random forests is better than that of empirical methodologies. • Special attention is given to the use of air pollution index. • The potential of air pollution index is assessed by random forest models. - Abstract: Simulations of solar radiation have become increasingly common in recent years because of the rapid global development and deployment of solar energy technologies. The effect of air pollution on solar radiation is well known. However, few studies have attempting to evaluate the potential of the air pollution index in estimating solar radiation. In this study, meteorological data, solar radiation, and air pollution index data from three sites having different air pollution index conditions are used to develop random forest models. We propose different random forest models with and without considering air pollution index data, and then compare their respective performance with that of empirical methodologies. In addition, a variable importance approach based on random forest is applied in order to assess input variables. The results show that the performance of random forest models with air pollution index data is better than that of the empirical methodologies, generating 9.1–17.0% lower values of root-mean-square error in a fitted period and 2.0–17.4% lower values of root-mean-square error in a predicted period. Both the comparative results of different random forest models and variance importance indicate that applying air pollution index data is improves estimation of solar radiation. Also, although the air pollution index values varied largely from season to season, the random forest models appear more robust performances in different seasons than different models. The findings can act as a guide in selecting used variables to estimate daily solar

Abstract Knowledge in the Broken-String Problem: Evidence from Nonhuman Primates and Pre-Schoolers

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Carolina; Call, Josep; Albiach-Serrano, Anna; Visalberghi, Elisabetta; Sabbatini, Gloria; Seed, Amanda

2014-01-01

There is still large controversy about whether abstract knowledge of physical problems is uniquely human. We presented 9 capuchin monkeys, 6 bonobos, 6 chimpanzees and 48 children with two versions of a broken-string problem. In the standard condition, participants had to choose between an intact and a broken string as means to a reward. In the critical condition, the functional parts of the strings were covered up and replaced by perceptually similar, but non-functional cues. Apes, monkeys and young children performed significantly better in the standard condition in which the cues played a functional role, indicating knowledge of the functional properties involved. Moreover, a control experiment with chimpanzees and young children ruled out that this difference in performance could be accounted for by differences of perceptual feedback in the two conditions. We suggest that, similar to humans, nonhuman primates partly rely on abstract concepts in physical problem-solving. PMID:25272161

ISCO'S LONG-TERM IMPACT ON AQUIFER CONDITIONS AND MICROBIAL ACTIVITY (ABSTRACT)

Science.gov (United States)

Permanganate has been successfully used in in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) to transform a wide range of organic contaminants under diverse geologic and geochemical conditions. Here, a critical analysis is presented of several technical issues commonly raised during in-situ che...

A randomized controlled trial of telemonitoring in older adults with multiple chronic conditions: the Tele-ERA study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahashi Paul Y

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Older adults with multiple chronic illnesses are at risk for worsening functional and medical status and hospitalization. Home telemonitoring may help slow this decline. This protocol of a randomized controlled trial was designed to help determine the impact of home telemonitoring on hospitalization. The specific aim of the study reads as follows: to determine the effectiveness of home telemonitoring compared with usual care in reducing the combined outcomes of hospitalization and emergency department visits in an at-risk population 60 years of age or older. Methods/Design Two-hundred patients with the highest 10% Mayo Clinic Elder Risk Assessment scores will be randomly assigned to one of two interventions. Home telemonitoring involves the use of a computer device, the Intel Health Guide, which records biometric and symptom data from patients in their homes. This information is monitored by midlevel providers associated with a primary care medical practice. Under the usual care scenario, patients make appointments with their providers as problems arise and use ongoing support such as a 24-hour nurse line. Patients will have initial evaluations of gait and quality of life using instruments such as the SF-12 Health Survey, the Kokmen Short Test of Mental Status, and the PHQ-9 health questionnaire. Patients will be followed for 1 year for primary outcomes of hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Secondary analysis will include quality of life, compliance with the device, and attitudes about telemonitoring. Sample size is based on an 80% power to detect a 36% difference between the two groups. The primary analysis will involve Cox proportional time-to-event analysis. Secondary analysis will use t-test comparisons for continuous variables and the chi square test for proportional analysis. Discussion Patients randomized to home telemonitoring will have daily assessments of their health status using the device

The deleuzian abstract machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werner Petersen, Erik

2005-01-01

To most people the concept of abstract machines is connected to the name of Alan Turing and the development of the modern computer. The Turing machine is universal, axiomatic and symbolic (E.g. operating on symbols). Inspired by Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari extended the concept of abstract...

Typesafe Abstractions for Tensor Operations

OpenAIRE

Chen, Tongfei

2017-01-01

We propose a typesafe abstraction to tensors (i.e. multidimensional arrays) exploiting the type-level programming capabilities of Scala through heterogeneous lists (HList), and showcase typesafe abstractions of common tensor operations and various neural layers such as convolution or recurrent neural networks. This abstraction could lay the foundation of future typesafe deep learning frameworks that runs on Scala/JVM.

Reporting quality of conference abstracts on randomised controlled trials in gerontology and geriatrics: a cross-sectional investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Eva; Meyer, Gabriele

2011-01-01

Without transparent reporting of how a randomised controlled trial was designed and conducted and of the methods used, its internal validity cannot be assessed by the reader. A congress abstract is often the only source providing information about a trial. In January 2008, an extended CONSORT statement on abstract reporting was published. Its impact has yet to be evaluated. Using a slightly modified CONSORT checklist comprising 17 items, we thus investigated the reporting quality of randomised controlled trials published in the book of abstracts presented at the World Congress of Geriatrics and Gerontology in Paris in July 2009. A total of n=4,416 abstracts was screened for inclusion; n=129 met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the abstracts was remarkably poor. The primary outcome was mentioned in 34/129 abstracts (26%), none of the abstracts reported on the procedure of random allocation of participants or clusters, 21/129 abstracts (16%) reported some kind of blinding, and the attrition rate was mentioned in only 12/129 abstracts (9%). The majority of abstracts fulfilled two items: description of intended intervention for each group (102/129; 79%) and general interpretation of results (107/129; 83%). Trial status was reported in all abstracts. Both journal editors and committees organising congresses are requested to define the use of the CONSORT statement as a prerequisite in their guidelines for authors and to instruct reviewers to conduct compliance checks. Medical associations should finally endorse the indispensability of the CONSORT statement and publish it in their journals. Otherwise the intended benefits cannot be fully generated. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Coupling Radar Rainfall to Hydrological Models for Water Abstraction Management

Science.gov (United States)

Asfaw, Alemayehu; Shucksmith, James; Smith, Andrea; MacDonald, Ken

2015-04-01

The impacts of climate change and growing water use are likely to put considerable pressure on water resources and the environment. In the UK, a reform to surface water abstraction policy has recently been proposed which aims to increase the efficiency of using available water resources whilst minimising impacts on the aquatic environment. Key aspects to this reform include the consideration of dynamic rather than static abstraction licensing as well as introducing water trading concepts. Dynamic licensing will permit varying levels of abstraction dependent on environmental conditions (i.e. river flow and quality). The practical implementation of an effective dynamic abstraction strategy requires suitable flow forecasting techniques to inform abstraction asset management. Potentially the predicted availability of water resources within a catchment can be coupled to predicted demand and current storage to inform a cost effective water resource management strategy which minimises environmental impacts. The aim of this work is to use a historical analysis of UK case study catchment to compare potential water resource availability using modelled dynamic abstraction scenario informed by a flow forecasting model, against observed abstraction under a conventional abstraction regime. The work also demonstrates the impacts of modelling uncertainties on the accuracy of predicted water availability over range of forecast lead times. The study utilised a conceptual rainfall-runoff model PDM - Probability-Distributed Model developed by Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - set up in the Dove River catchment (UK) using 1km2 resolution radar rainfall as inputs and 15 min resolution gauged flow data for calibration and validation. Data assimilation procedures are implemented to improve flow predictions using observed flow data. Uncertainties in the radar rainfall data used in the model are quantified using artificial statistical error model described by Gaussian distribution and

Inventory Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leigh, C.

2000-01-01

The purpose of the inventory abstraction as directed by the development plan (CRWMS M and O 1999b) is to: (1) Interpret the results of a series of relative dose calculations (CRWMS M and O 1999c, 1999d). (2) Recommend, including a basis thereof, a set of radionuclides that should be modeled in the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) and the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (TSPA-FEIS). (3) Provide initial radionuclide inventories for the TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS models. (4) Answer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Issue Resolution Status Report ''Key Technical Issue: Container Life and Source Term'' (CLST IRSR) (NRC 1999) key technical issue (KTI): ''The rate at which radionuclides in SNF [Spent Nuclear Fuel] are released from the EBS [Engineered Barrier System] through the oxidation and dissolution of spent fuel'' (Subissue 3). The scope of the radionuclide screening analysis encompasses the period from 100 years to 10,000 years after the potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sealed for scenarios involving the breach of a waste package and subsequent degradation of the waste form as required for the TSPA-SR calculations. By extending the time period considered to one million years after repository closure, recommendations are made for the TSPA-FEIS. The waste forms included in the inventory abstraction are Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSNF), DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel (DSNF), High-Level Waste (HLW), naval Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plutonium waste. The intended use of this analysis is in TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS. Based on the recommendations made here, models for release, transport, and possibly exposure will be developed for the isotopes that would be the highest contributors to the dose given a release to the accessible environment. The inventory abstraction is important in assessing system performance because

Stroke rehabilitation evidence and comorbidity: a systematic scoping review of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Michelle L A; McKellar, Kaileah A; Yi, Juliana; Kelloway, Linda; Munce, Sarah; Cott, Cheryl; Hall, Ruth; Fortin, Martin; Teasell, Robert; Lyons, Renee

2017-07-01

Most strokes occur in the context of other medical diagnoses. Currently, stroke rehabilitation evidence reviews have not synthesized or presented evidence with a focus on comorbidities and correspondingly may not align with current patient population. The purpose of this review was to determine the extent and nature of randomized controlled trial stroke rehabilitation evidence that included patients with multimorbidity. A systematic scoping review was conducted. Electronic databases were searched using a combination of terms related to "stroke" and "rehabilitation." Selection criteria captured inpatient rehabilitation studies. Methods were modified to account for the amount of literature, classified by study design, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were abstracted. The database search yielded 10771 unique articles. Screening resulted in 428 included RCTs. Three studies explicitly included patients with a comorbid condition. Fifteen percent of articles did not specify additional conditions that were excluded. Impaired cognition was the most commonly excluded condition. Approximately 37% of articles excluded patients who had experienced a previous stroke. Twenty-four percent excluded patients one or more Charlson Index condition, and 83% excluded patients with at least one other medical condition. This review represents a first attempt to map literature on stroke rehabilitation related to co/multimorbidity and identify gaps in existing research. Existing evidence on stroke rehabilitation often excluded individuals with comorbidities. This is problematic as the evidence that is used to generate clinical guidelines may not match the patient typically seen in practice. The use of alternate research methods are therefore needed for studying the care of individuals with stroke and multimorbidity.

A Deep-Structured Conditional Random Field Model for Object Silhouette Tracking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Javad Shafiee

Full Text Available In this work, we introduce a deep-structured conditional random field (DS-CRF model for the purpose of state-based object silhouette tracking. The proposed DS-CRF model consists of a series of state layers, where each state layer spatially characterizes the object silhouette at a particular point in time. The interactions between adjacent state layers are established by inter-layer connectivity dynamically determined based on inter-frame optical flow. By incorporate both spatial and temporal context in a dynamic fashion within such a deep-structured probabilistic graphical model, the proposed DS-CRF model allows us to develop a framework that can accurately and efficiently track object silhouettes that can change greatly over time, as well as under different situations such as occlusion and multiple targets within the scene. Experiment results using video surveillance datasets containing different scenarios such as occlusion and multiple targets showed that the proposed DS-CRF approach provides strong object silhouette tracking performance when compared to baseline methods such as mean-shift tracking, as well as state-of-the-art methods such as context tracking and boosted particle filtering.

Nuclear medicine. Abstracts; Nuklearmedizin 2000. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2000-07-01

This issue of the journal contains the abstracts of the 183 conference papers as well as 266 posters presented at the conference. Subject fields covered are: Neurology, psychology, oncology, pediatrics, radiopharmacy, endocrinology, EDP, measuring equipment and methods, radiological protection, cardiology, and therapy. (orig./CB) [German] Die vorliegende Zeitschrift enthaelt die Kurzfassungen der 183 auf der Tagung gehaltenen Vortraege sowie der 226 praesentierten Poster, die sich mit den folgenden Themen befassten: Neurologie, Psychiatrie, Onkologie, Paediatrie, Radiopharmazie, Endokrinologie, EDV, Messtechnik, Strahlenschutz, Kardiologie sowie Therapie. (MG)

Mechanical Engineering Department technical abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denney, R.M.

1982-01-01

The Mechanical Engineering Department publishes listings of technical abstracts twice a year to inform readers of the broad range of technical activities in the Department, and to promote an exchange of ideas. Details of the work covered by an abstract may be obtained by contacting the author(s). Overall information about current activities of each of the Department's seven divisions precedes the technical abstracts

A Solution Method for Linear and Geometrically Nonlinear MDOF Systems with Random Properties subject to Random Excitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Micaletti, R. C.; Cakmak, A. S.; Nielsen, Søren R. K.

structural properties. The resulting state-space formulation is a system of ordinary stochastic differential equations with random coefficient and deterministic initial conditions which are subsequently transformed into ordinary stochastic differential equations with deterministic coefficients and random......A method for computing the lower-order moments of randomly-excited multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) systems with random structural properties is proposed. The method is grounded in the techniques of stochastic calculus, utilizing a Markov diffusion process to model the structural system with random...... initial conditions. This transformation facilitates the derivation of differential equations which govern the evolution of the unconditional statistical moments of response. Primary consideration is given to linear systems and systems with odd polynomial nonlinearities, for in these cases...

Conditioned random walks and interaction-driven condensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szavits-Nossan, Juraj; Evans, Martin R; Majumdar, Satya N

2017-01-01

We consider a discrete-time continuous-space random walk under the constraints that the number of returns to the origin (local time) and the total area under the walk are fixed. We first compute the joint probability of an excursion having area a and returning to the origin for the first time after time τ . We then show how condensation occurs when the total area constraint is increased: an excursion containing a finite fraction of the area emerges. Finally we show how the phenomena generalises previously studied cases of condensation induced by several constraints and how it is related to interaction-driven condensation which allows us to explain the phenomenon in the framework of large deviation theory. (paper)

Persistence and extinction of a single-species population system in a polluted environment with random perturbations and impulsive toxicant input

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Meng; Wang Ke

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Random population model with pulse toxicant input in polluted environments. ► Threshold between persistence and extinction is obtained. ► Different random noises have different effects on the persistence of the population. ► Impulsive period plays a key role in determining persistence of the population. ► Simulation figures support the analytical findings. - Abstract: Taking both white noises and colored noises into account, a stochastic single-species model with Markov switching and impulsive toxicant input in a polluted environment is proposed and investigated. Sufficient conditions for extinction, non-persistence in the mean, weak persistence and stochastic permanence are established. The threshold between weak persistence and extinction is obtained. Some simulation figures are introduced to illustrate the main results.

Constraint-Based Abstract Semantics for Temporal Logic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banda, Gourinath; Gallagher, John Patrick

2010-01-01

Abstract interpretation provides a practical approach to verifying properties of infinite-state systems. We apply the framework of abstract interpretation to derive an abstract semantic function for the modal mu-calculus, which is the basis for abstract model checking. The abstract semantic funct...

Article Abstract

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Simple learning tools to improve clinical laboratory practical skills training. B Taye, BSc, MPH. Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa, ... concerns about the competence of medical laboratory science graduates. ... standardised practical learning guides and assessment checklists would.

Water Pollution Abstracts. Volume 43, Number 4, Abstracts 645-849.

Science.gov (United States)

WATER POLLUTION, *ABSTRACTS, PURIFICATION, WASTES(INDUSTRIAL), CONTROL, SEWAGE, WATER SUPPLIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION, DAMS...ESTUARIES, PLANKTON, PHOTOSYNTHESIS, VIRUSES, SEA WATER , MICROBIOLOGY, UNITED KINGDOM.

INVENTORY ABSTRACTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ragan, G.

2001-01-01

The purpose of the inventory abstraction, which has been prepared in accordance with a technical work plan (CRWMS M andO 2000e for/ICN--02 of the present analysis, and BSC 2001e for ICN 03 of the present analysis), is to: (1) Interpret the results of a series of relative dose calculations (CRWMS M andO 2000c, 2000f). (2) Recommend, including a basis thereof, a set of radionuclides that should be modeled in the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) and the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (TSPA-FEIS). (3) Provide initial radionuclide inventories for the TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS models. (4) Answer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Issue Resolution Status Report ''Key Technical Issue: Container Life and Source Term'' (CLST IRSR) key technical issue (KTI): ''The rate at which radionuclides in SNF [spent nuclear fuel] are released from the EBS [engineered barrier system] through the oxidation and dissolution of spent fuel'' (NRC 1999, Subissue 3). The scope of the radionuclide screening analysis encompasses the period from 100 years to 10,000 years after the potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sealed for scenarios involving the breach of a waste package and subsequent degradation of the waste form as required for the TSPA-SR calculations. By extending the time period considered to one million years after repository closure, recommendations are made for the TSPA-FEIS. The waste forms included in the inventory abstraction are Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSNF), DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel (DSNF), High-Level Waste (HLW), naval Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plutonium waste. The intended use of this analysis is in TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS. Based on the recommendations made here, models for release, transport, and possibly exposure will be developed for the isotopes that would be the highest contributors to the dose given a release

Design and methods for a randomized clinical trial treating comorbid obesity and major depressive disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crawford Sybil

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Obesity is often comorbid with depression and individuals with this comorbidity fare worse in behavioral weight loss treatment. Treating depression directly prior to behavioral weight loss treatment might bolster weight loss outcomes in this population, but this has not yet been tested in a randomized clinical trial. Methods and design This randomized clinical trial will examine whether behavior therapy for depression administered prior to standard weight loss treatment produces greater weight loss than standard weight loss treatment alone. Obese women with major depressive disorder (N = 174 will be recruited from primary care clinics and the community and randomly assigned to one of the two treatment conditions. Treatment will last 2 years, and will include a 6-month intensive treatment phase followed by an 18-month maintenance phase. Follow-up assessment will occur at 6-months and 1- and 2 years following randomization. The primary outcome is weight loss. The study was designed to provide 90% power for detecting a weight change difference between conditions of 3.1 kg (standard deviation of 5.5 kg at 1-year assuming a 25% rate of loss to follow-up. Secondary outcomes include depression, physical activity, dietary intake, psychosocial variables and cardiovascular risk factors. Potential mediators (e.g., adherence, depression, physical activity and caloric intake of the intervention effect on weight change will also be examined. Discussion Treating depression before administering intensive health behavior interventions could potentially boost the impact on both mental and physical health outcomes. Trial registration NCT00572520

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Intensive Sleep Retraining (ISR): A Brief Conditioning Treatment for Chronic Insomnia

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Jodie; Lack, Leon; Kemp, Kristyn; Wright, Helen; Bootzin, Richard

2012-01-01

Study Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of intensive sleep retraining in comparison and combination with traditional behavioral intervention for chronic primary insomnia. Participants: Seventy-nine volunteers with chronic sleep-onset insomnia (with or without sleep maintenance difficulties) were randomly assigned either to intensive sleep retraining (ISR), stimulus control therapy (SCT), ISR plus SCT, or the control (sleep hygiene) treatment condition. Intervention: ISR treatment consisted of 50 sleep onset trials over a 25-h sleep deprivation period. Measurements and Results: Treatment response was assessed with sleep diary, activity monitoring, and questionnaire measures. The active treatment groups (ISR, SCT, ISR+SCT) all resulted in significant improvements in sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency, with moderate to large effect sizes from pre- to post-treatment. Wake time after sleep onset decreased significantly in the SCT and ISR+SCT groups. Total sleep time increased significantly in the ISR and ISR+SCT treatment groups. Participants receiving ISR (ISR, ISR+SCT) experienced rapidly improved SOL and TST during treatment, suggesting an advantage of rapid improvements in sleep in response to ISR. Although there were few statistically significant differences between groups on individual variables, ISR+SCT resulted in consistently larger effect sizes of change than other treatments, including questionnaire measures of sleep quality, sleep self-efficacy, and daytime functioning. The combination treatment group (ISR+SCT) showed trends to outperform other active treatment groups with fewer treatment dropouts, and a greater proportion of treatment responders with 61% reaching “good sleeper” status. Treatment gains achieved at post-treatment in the active treatment groups were largely maintained throughout follow-up periods to 6 months. Conclusion: This 25-hour intensive conditioning treatment for chronic insomnia can produce rapid improvements in

Data Abstraction in GLISP.

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Gordon S., Jr.

GLISP is a high-level computer language (based on Lisp and including Lisp as a sublanguage) which is compiled into Lisp. GLISP programs are compiled relative to a knowledge base of object descriptions, a form of abstract datatypes. A primary goal of the use of abstract datatypes in GLISP is to allow program code to be written in terms of objects,…

2013 SYR Accepted Poster Abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

SYR 2013 Accepted Poster abstracts: 1. Benefits of Yoga as a Wellness Practice in a Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care Setting: If You Build It, Will They Come? 2. Yoga-based Psychotherapy Group With Urban Youth Exposed to Trauma. 3. Embodied Health: The Effects of a Mind�Body Course for Medical Students. 4. Interoceptive Awareness and Vegetable Intake After a Yoga and Stress Management Intervention. 5. Yoga Reduces Performance Anxiety in Adolescent Musicians. 6. Designing and Implementing a Therapeutic Yoga Program for Older Women With Knee Osteoarthritis. 7. Yoga and Life Skills Eating Disorder Prevention Among 5th Grade Females: A Controlled Trial. 8. A Randomized, Controlled Trial Comparing the Impact of Yoga and Physical Education on the Emotional and Behavioral Functioning of Middle School Children. 9. Feasibility of a Multisite, Community based Randomized Study of Yoga and Wellness Education for Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy. 10. A Delphi Study for the Development of Protocol Guidelines for Yoga Interventions in Mental Health. 11. Impact Investigation of Breathwalk Daily Practice: Canada�India Collaborative Study. 12. Yoga Improves Distress, Fatigue, and Insomnia in Older Veteran Cancer Survivors: Results of a Pilot Study. 13. Assessment of Kundalini Mantra and Meditation as an Adjunctive Treatment With Mental Health Consumers. 14. Kundalini Yoga Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Co-Occurring Mood Disorder. 15. Baseline Differences in Women Versus Men Initiating Yoga Programs to Aid Smoking Cessation: Quitting in Balance Versus QuitStrong. 16. Pranayam Practice: Impact on Focus and Everyday Life of Work and Relationships. 17. Participation in a Tailored Yoga Program is Associated With Improved Physical Health in Persons With Arthritis. 18. Effects of Yoga on Blood Pressure: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. 19. A Quasi-experimental Trial of a Yoga based Intervention to Reduce Stress and

Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

1996-01-01

Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

Nuclear code abstracts (1975 edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akanuma, Makoto; Hirakawa, Takashi

1976-02-01

Nuclear Code Abstracts is compiled in the Nuclear Code Committee to exchange information of the nuclear code developments among members of the committee. Enlarging the collection, the present one includes nuclear code abstracts obtained in 1975 through liaison officers of the organizations in Japan participating in the Nuclear Energy Agency's Computer Program Library at Ispra, Italy. The classification of nuclear codes and the format of code abstracts are the same as those in the library. (auth.)

Are the products of statistical learning abstract or stimulus-specific?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athena eVouloumanos

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Learners segment potential lexical units from syllable streams when statistically variable transitional probabilities between adjacent syllables are the only cues to word boundaries. Here we examine the nature of the representations that result from statistical learning by assessing learners’ ability to generalize across acoustically different stimuli. In three experiments, we investigate limitations on the outcome of statistical learning by considering two possibilities: that the products of statistical segmentation processes are abstract and generalizable representations, or, alternatively, that products of statistical learning are stimulus-bound and restricted to perceptually similar instances. In Experiment 1, learners segmented units from statistically predictable streams, and recognized these units when they were acoustically transformed by temporal reversals. In Experiment 2, learners were able to segment units from temporally reversed syllable streams, but were only able to generalize in conditions of mild acoustic transformation. In Experiment 3, learners were able to recognize statistically segmented units after a voice change but were unable to do so when the novel voice was mildly distorted. Together these results suggest that representations that result from statistical learning can be abstracted to some degree, but not in all listening conditions.

Exponential Inequalities for Positively Associated Random Variables and Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Shanchao

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We establish some exponential inequalities for positively associated random variables without the boundedness assumption. These inequalities improve the corresponding results obtained by Oliveira (2005. By one of the inequalities, we obtain the convergence rate for the case of geometrically decreasing covariances, which closes to the optimal achievable convergence rate for independent random variables under the Hartman-Wintner law of the iterated logarithm and improves the convergence rate derived by Oliveira (2005 for the above case.

Publication rates of full-text journal articles converted from abstracts presented during the 22(nd) Turkish National Urology Congress.

Science.gov (United States)

Kocaaslan, Ramazan; Kayalı, Yunus; Tok, Adem; Tepeler, Abdulkadir

2016-03-01

To analyze the publication rates of full-text journal articles converted from the abstracts presented in the 22(nd) Turkish National Urology Congress in 2012. A total of 576 abstracts accepted for presentation at the 22(nd) Turkish National Urology Association Meeting were identified from the published abstract book. The abstracts were categorized into subsections such as endourology and pediatric urology. The subsequent publication rate for the studies was evaluated by scanning PubMed Medline. Abstracts published before the proceedings were excluded from the study. The abstracts were categorized as being presented orally (n=155), by poster (n=421), or by video (n=78). Of the 28 (18.3%) of 155 oral and 34 (8.15%) of 421 poster presentations, were subsequently published in several journals until March 2015. The publication rates of the abstracts based on urology subsections were as follows: neurology (25%), andrology (18.6%), endourology (17.2%), urolithiasis (15.3%), general urology (12.5%), infectious diseases (7.14%), pediatric urology (6.25%), uro-gynecology (6.06%), reconstructive urology (5.8%), and urooncology (3.8%). The average time to publication was 11.77 (0-33) months. This is the first study assessing the publication rates of abstracts presented at a Turkish National Urology Congress. It reveals that more qualified randomized studies need to be done to improve the rate of publication.

Abstract Interpretation and Attribute Gramars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosendahl, Mads

The objective of this thesis is to explore the connections between abstract interpretation and attribute grammars as frameworks in program analysis. Abstract interpretation is a semantics-based program analysis method. A large class of data flow analysis problems can be expressed as non-standard ...... is presented in the thesis. Methods from abstract interpretation can also be used in correctness proofs of attribute grammars. This proof technique introduces a new class of attribute grammars based on domain theory. This method is illustrated with examples....

Is the Abstract a Mere Teaser? Evaluating Generosity of Article Abstracts in the Environmental Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liana Ermakova

2018-05-01

Full Text Available An abstract is not only a mirror of the full article; it also aims to draw attention to the most important information of the document it summarizes. Many studies have compared abstracts with full texts for their informativeness. In contrast to previous studies, we propose to investigate this relation based not only on the amount of information given by the abstract but also on its importance. The main objective of this paper is to introduce a new metric called GEM to measure the “generosity” or representativeness of an abstract. Schematically speaking, a generous abstract should have the best possible score of similarity for the sections important to the reader. Based on a questionnaire gathering information from 630 researchers, we were able to weight sections according to their importance. In our approach, seven sections were first automatically detected in the full text. The accuracy of this classification into sections was above 80% compared with a dataset of documents where sentences were assigned to sections by experts. Second, each section was weighted according to the questionnaire results. The GEM score was then calculated as a sum of weights of sections in the full text corresponding to sentences in the abstract normalized over the total sum of weights of sections in the full text. The correlation between GEM score and the mean of the scores assigned by annotators was higher than the correlation between scores from different experts. As a case study, the GEM score was calculated for 36,237 articles in environmental sciences (1930–2013 retrieved from the French ISTEX database. The main result was that GEM score has increased over time. Moreover, this trend depends on subject area and publisher. No correlation was found between GEM score and citation rate or open access status of articles. We conclude that abstracts are more generous in recent publications and cannot be considered as mere teasers. This research should be pursued

Quantum random number generator

Science.gov (United States)

Soubusta, Jan; Haderka, Ondrej; Hendrych, Martin

2001-03-01

Since reflection or transmission of a quantum particle on a beamsplitter is inherently random quantum process, a device built on this principle does not suffer from drawbacks of neither pseudo-random computer generators or classical noise sources. Nevertheless, a number of physical conditions necessary for high quality random numbers generation must be satisfied. Luckily, in quantum optics realization they can be well controlled. We present an easy random number generator based on the division of weak light pulses on a beamsplitter. The randomness of the generated bit stream is supported by passing the data through series of 15 statistical test. The device generates at a rate of 109.7 kbit/s.

Strong Decomposition of Random Variables

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann-Jørgensen, Jørgen; Kagan, Abram M.; Pitt, Loren D.

2007-01-01

A random variable X is stongly decomposable if X=Y+Z where Y=Φ(X) and Z=X-Φ(X) are independent non-degenerated random variables (called the components). It is shown that at least one of the components is singular, and we derive a necessary and sufficient condition for strong decomposability...... of a discrete random variable....

Efficient abstraction selection in reinforcement learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seijen, H. van; Whiteson, S.; Kester, L.

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a novel approach for abstraction selection in reinforcement learning problems modelled as factored Markov decision processes (MDPs), for which a state is described via a set of state components. In abstraction selection, an agent must choose an abstraction from a set of

Indico CONFERENCE: Define the Call for Abstracts

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Ferreira, Pedro

2017-01-01

In this tutorial, you will learn how to define and open a call for abstracts. When defining a call for abstracts, you will be able to define settings related to the type of questions asked during a review of an abstract, select the users who will review the abstracts, decide when to open the call for abstracts, and more.

Marketing depression care management to employers: design of a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marshall Donna

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Randomized trials demonstrate that depression care management can improve clinical and work outcomes sufficiently for selected employers to realize a return on investment. Employers can now purchase depression products that provide depression care management, defined as employee screening, education, monitoring, and clinician feedback for all depressed employees. We developed an intervention to encourage employers to purchase a depression product that offers the type, intensity, and duration of care management shown to improve clinical and work outcomes. Methods In a randomized controlled trial conducted with 360 employers of 30 regional business coalitions, the research team proposes to compare the impact of a value-based marketing intervention to usual-care marketing on employer purchase of depression products. The study will also identify mediators and organizational-level moderators of intervention impact. Employers randomized to the value-based condition receive a presentation encouraging them to purchase depression products scientifically shown to benefit the employee and the employer. Employers randomized to the usual-care condition receive a presentation encouraging them to monitor and improve quality indicators for outpatient depression treatment. Because previous research demonstrates that the usual-care intervention will have little to no impact on employer purchasing, depression product purchasing rates in the usual-care condition capture vendor efforts to market depression products to employers in both conditions while the value-based intervention is being conducted. Employers in both conditions are also provided free technical assistance to undertake the actions each presentation encourages. The research team will use intent-to-treat models of all available data to evaluate intervention impact on the purchase of depression products using a cumulative incidence analysis of 12- and 24-month data. Discussion By

Introduction to abstract algebra, solutions manual

CERN Document Server

Nicholson, W Keith

2012-01-01

Praise for the Third Edition ". . . an expository masterpiece of the highest didactic value that has gained additional attractivity through the various improvements . . ."-Zentralblatt MATH The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Abstract Algebra continues to provide an accessible approach to the basic structures of abstract algebra: groups, rings, and fields. The book's unique presentation helps readers advance to abstract theory by presenting concrete examples of induction, number theory, integers modulo n, and permutations before the abstract structures are defined. Readers can immediately be

Non-surgical treatment of lateral epicondylitis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Sims, Susan E G; Miller, Katherine; Elfar, John C; Hammert, Warren C

2014-12-01

Non-surgical approaches to treatment of lateral epicondylitis are numerous. The aim of this systematic review is to examine randomized, controlled trials of these treatments. Numerous databases were systematically searched from earliest records to February 2013. Search terms included "lateral epicondylitis," "lateral elbow pain," "tennis elbow," "lateral epicondylalgia," and "elbow tendinopathy" combined with "randomized controlled trial." Two reviewers examined the literature for eligibility via article abstract and full text. Fifty-eight articles met eligibility criteria: (1) a target population of patients with symptoms of lateral epicondylitis; (2) evaluation of treatment of lateral epicondylitis with the following non-surgical techniques: corticosteroid injection, injection technique, iontophoresis, botulinum toxin A injection, prolotherapy, platelet-rich plasma or autologous blood injection, bracing, physical therapy, shockwave therapy, or laser therapy; and (3) a randomized controlled trial design. Lateral epicondylitis is a condition that is usually self-limited. There may be a short-term pain relief advantage found with the application of corticosteroids, but no demonstrable long-term pain relief. Injection of botulinum toxin A and prolotherapy are superior to placebo but not to corticosteroids, and botulinum toxin A is likely to produce concomitant extensor weakness. Platelet-rich plasma or autologous blood injections have been found to be both more and less effective than corticosteroid injections. Non-invasive treatment methods such as bracing, physical therapy, and extracorporeal shockwave therapy do not appear to provide definitive benefit regarding pain relief. Some studies of low-level laser therapy show superiority to placebo whereas others do not. There are multiple randomized controlled trials for non-surgical management of lateral epicondylitis, but the existing literature does not provide conclusive evidence that there is one preferred method

Model abstraction addressing long-term simulations of chemical degradation of large-scale concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacques, D.; Perko, J.; Seetharam, S.; Mallants, D.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a methodology to assess the spatial-temporal evolution of chemical degradation fronts in real-size concrete structures typical of a near-surface radioactive waste disposal facility. The methodology consists of the abstraction of a so-called full (complicated) model accounting for the multicomponent - multi-scale nature of concrete to an abstracted (simplified) model which simulates chemical concrete degradation based on a single component in the aqueous and solid phase. The abstracted model is verified against chemical degradation fronts simulated with the full model under both diffusive and advective transport conditions. Implementation in the multi-physics simulation tool COMSOL allows simulation of the spatial-temporal evolution of chemical degradation fronts in large-scale concrete structures. (authors)

Abstracts of contributed papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-08-01

This volume contains 571 abstracts of contributed papers to be presented during the Twelfth US National Congress of Applied Mechanics. Abstracts are arranged in the order in which they fall in the program -- the main sessions are listed chronologically in the Table of Contents. The Author Index is in alphabetical order and lists each paper number (matching the schedule in the Final Program) with its corresponding page number in the book.

Ice Water Classification Using Statistical Distribution Based Conditional Random Fields in RADARSAT-2 Dual Polarization Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Li, F.; Zhang, S.; Hao, W.; Zhu, T.; Yuan, L.; Xiao, F.

2017-09-01

In this paper, Statistical Distribution based Conditional Random Fields (STA-CRF) algorithm is exploited for improving marginal ice-water classification. Pixel level ice concentration is presented as the comparison of methods based on CRF. Furthermore, in order to explore the effective statistical distribution model to be integrated into STA-CRF, five statistical distribution models are investigated. The STA-CRF methods are tested on 2 scenes around Prydz Bay and Adélie Depression, where contain a variety of ice types during melt season. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can resolve sea ice edge well in Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) and show a robust distinction of ice and water.

Advance Organizers: Concret Versus Abstract.

Science.gov (United States)

Corkill, Alice J.; And Others

1988-01-01

Two experiments examined the relative effects of concrete and abstract advance organizers on students' memory for subsequent prose. Results of the experiments are discussed in terms of the memorability, familiarity, and visualizability of concrete and abstract verbal materials. (JD)

Cliques in dense inhomogenous random graphs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Doležal, Martin; Hladký, Jan; Máthé, A.

2017-01-01

Roč. 51, č. 2 (2017), s. 275-314 ISSN 1042-9832 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-07378S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 628974 - PAECIDM Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : inhomogeneous random graphs * clique number Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics Impact factor: 1.243, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ rsa .20715/abstract

Cliques in dense inhomogenous random graphs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Doležal, Martin; Hladký, Jan; Máthé, A.

2017-01-01

Roč. 51, č. 2 (2017), s. 275-314 ISSN 1042-9832 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA16-07378S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 628974 - PAECIDM Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : inhomogeneous random graphs * clique number Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics Impact factor: 1.243, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rsa.20715/abstract

An Enhanced Random Vibration and Fatigue Model for Printed Circuit Boards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno de Castro Braz

Full Text Available Abstract Aerospace vehicles are mostly exposed to random vibration loads during its operational lifetime. These harsh conditions excites vibration responses in the vehicles printed circuit boards, what can cause failure on mission functionality due to fatigue damage of electronic components. A novel analytical model to evaluate the useful life of embedded electronic components (capacitors, chips, oscillators etc. mounted on Printed Circuit Boards (PCB is presented. The fatigue damage predictions are calculated by the relative displacement between the PCB and the component, the lead stiffness, as well the natural vibration modes of the PCB and the component itself. Statistical methods are used for fatigue cycle counting. The model is applied to experimental fatigue tests of PCBs available on literature. The analytical results are of the same magnitude order of the experimental findings.

An effective Hamiltonian approach to quantum random walk

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2017-02-09

Feb 9, 2017 ... Abstract. In this article we present an effective Hamiltonian approach for discrete time quantum random walk. A form of the Hamiltonian for one-dimensional quantum walk has been prescribed, utilizing the fact that Hamil- tonians are generators of time translations. Then an attempt has been made to ...

Role of exponential type random invexities for asymptotically sufficient efficiency conditions in semi-infinite multi-objective fractional programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Ram U; Seol, Youngsoo

2016-01-01

First a new notion of the random exponential Hanson-Antczak type [Formula: see text]-V-invexity is introduced, which generalizes most of the existing notions in the literature, second a random function [Formula: see text] of the second order is defined, and finally a class of asymptotically sufficient efficiency conditions in semi-infinite multi-objective fractional programming is established. Furthermore, several sets of asymptotic sufficiency results in which various generalized exponential type [Formula: see text]-V-invexity assumptions are imposed on certain vector functions whose components are the individual as well as some combinations of the problem functions are examined and proved. To the best of our knowledge, all the established results on the semi-infinite aspects of the multi-objective fractional programming are new, which is a significantly new emerging field of the interdisciplinary research in nature. We also observed that the investigated results can be modified and applied to several special classes of nonlinear programming problems.

Automata Learning through Counterexample Guided Abstraction Refinement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarts, Fides; Heidarian, Faranak; Kuppens, Harco

2012-01-01

to a small set of abstract events that can be handled by automata learning tools. In this article, we show how such abstractions can be constructed fully automatically for a restricted class of extended finite state machines in which one can test for equality of data parameters, but no operations on data...... are allowed. Our approach uses counterexample-guided abstraction refinement: whenever the current abstraction is too coarse and induces nondeterministic behavior, the abstraction is refined automatically. Using Tomte, a prototype tool implementing our algorithm, we have succeeded to learn – fully......Abstraction is the key when learning behavioral models of realistic systems. Hence, in most practical applications where automata learning is used to construct models of software components, researchers manually define abstractions which, depending on the history, map a large set of concrete events...

Hydrogeological Conditions of a Crystalline Aquifer: Simulation of Optimal Abstraction Rates under Scenarios of Reduced Recharge

Science.gov (United States)

Fynn, Obed Fiifi; Chegbeleh, Larry Pax; Nude, Prosper M.; Asiedu, Daniel K.

2013-01-01

A steady state numerical groundwater flow model has been calibrated to characterize the spatial distribution of a key hydraulic parameter in a crystalline aquifer in southwestern Ghana. This was to provide an initial basis for characterizing the hydrogeology of the terrain with a view to assisting in the large scale development of groundwater resources for various uses. The results suggest that the structural entities that control groundwater occurrence in the area are quite heterogeneous in their nature and orientation, ascribing hydraulic conductivity values in the range of 4.5 m/d to over 70 m/d to the simulated aquifer. Aquifer heterogeneities, coupled possibly with topographical trends, have led to the development of five prominent groundwater flowpaths in the area. Estimated groundwater recharge at calibration ranges between 0.25% and 9.13% of the total annual rainfall and appears to hold significant promise for large-scale groundwater development to support irrigation schemes. However, the model suggests that with reduced recharge by up to 30% of the current rates, the system can only sustain increased groundwater abstraction by up to 150% of the current abstraction rates. Prudent management of the resource will require a much more detailed hydrogeological study that identifies all the aquifers in the basin for the assessment of sustainable basin yield. PMID:24453882

Analysis of complex networks using aggressive abstraction.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colbaugh, Richard; Glass, Kristin.; Willard, Gerald

2008-10-01

This paper presents a new methodology for analyzing complex networks in which the network of interest is first abstracted to a much simpler (but equivalent) representation, the required analysis is performed using the abstraction, and analytic conclusions are then mapped back to the original network and interpreted there. We begin by identifying a broad and important class of complex networks which admit abstractions that are simultaneously dramatically simplifying and property preserving we call these aggressive abstractions -- and which can therefore be analyzed using the proposed approach. We then introduce and develop two forms of aggressive abstraction: 1.) finite state abstraction, in which dynamical networks with uncountable state spaces are modeled using finite state systems, and 2.) onedimensional abstraction, whereby high dimensional network dynamics are captured in a meaningful way using a single scalar variable. In each case, the property preserving nature of the abstraction process is rigorously established and efficient algorithms are presented for computing the abstraction. The considerable potential of the proposed approach to complex networks analysis is illustrated through case studies involving vulnerability analysis of technological networks and predictive analysis for social processes.

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Volume 2. Navy Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1991

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

NAVY ABSTRACTS OF SBIR PHASE I AWARDS mmhancemegs to be added. Advanced processor architeturs which u- new technology hardware and software for...Adaptive Compensation System for Performance Improvenent of piezoelectric Hydropbones Abstract: Hydopbone output level is, in gena, insly proportional to die...growth rate is proportional to the mode frequency and under optimal conditions, the cavity mode TMI 10 exponcntiates in only 10 oscillation periods. In

The MIXMAX random number generator

Science.gov (United States)

Savvidy, Konstantin G.

2015-11-01

In this paper, we study the randomness properties of unimodular matrix random number generators. Under well-known conditions, these discrete-time dynamical systems have the highly desirable K-mixing properties which guarantee high quality random numbers. It is found that some widely used random number generators have poor Kolmogorov entropy and consequently fail in empirical tests of randomness. These tests show that the lowest acceptable value of the Kolmogorov entropy is around 50. Next, we provide a solution to the problem of determining the maximal period of unimodular matrix generators of pseudo-random numbers. We formulate the necessary and sufficient condition to attain the maximum period and present a family of specific generators in the MIXMAX family with superior performance and excellent statistical properties. Finally, we construct three efficient algorithms for operations with the MIXMAX matrix which is a multi-dimensional generalization of the famous cat-map. First, allowing to compute the multiplication by the MIXMAX matrix with O(N) operations. Second, to recursively compute its characteristic polynomial with O(N2) operations, and third, to apply skips of large number of steps S to the sequence in O(N2 log(S)) operations.

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.

1976-08-01

This publication is the tenth supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the document are as follows: preface; history and acknowledgements; abstract format; recommended program package contents; program classification guide and thesaurus; and abstract collection. (RWR)

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.

1976-08-01

This publication is the tenth supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the document are as follows: preface; history and acknowledgements; abstract format; recommended program package contents; program classification guide and thesaurus; and abstract collection

Abstraction by Set-Membership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mödersheim, Sebastian Alexander

2010-01-01

The abstraction and over-approximation of protocols and web services by a set of Horn clauses is a very successful method in practice. It has however limitations for protocols and web services that are based on databases of keys, contracts, or even access rights, where revocation is possible, so...... that the set of true facts does not monotonically grow with the transitions. We extend the scope of these over-approximation methods by defining a new way of abstraction that can handle such databases, and we formally prove that the abstraction is sound. We realize a translator from a convenient specification...... language to standard Horn clauses and use the verifier ProVerif and the theorem prover SPASS to solve them. We show by a number of examples that this approach is practically feasible for wide variety of verification problems of security protocols and web services....

Abstract Objects of Verbs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robering, Klaus

2014-01-01

Verbs do often take arguments of quite different types. In an orthodox type-theoretic framework this results in an extreme polysemy of many verbs. In this article, it is shown that this unwanted consequence can be avoided when a theory of "abstract objects" is adopted according to which these obj......Verbs do often take arguments of quite different types. In an orthodox type-theoretic framework this results in an extreme polysemy of many verbs. In this article, it is shown that this unwanted consequence can be avoided when a theory of "abstract objects" is adopted according to which...... these objects represent non-objectual entities in contexts from which they are excluded by type restrictions. Thus these objects are "abstract'' in a functional rather than in an ontological sense: they function as representatives of other entities but they are otherwise quite normal objects. Three examples...

Influence network linkages across implementation strategy conditions in a randomized controlled trial of two strategies for scaling up evidence-based practices in public youth-serving systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A; Holloway, Ian W; Rice, Eric; Brown, C Hendricks; Valente, Thomas W; Chamberlain, Patricia

2013-11-14

Given the importance of influence networks in the implementation of evidence-based practices and interventions, it is unclear whether such networks continue to operate as sources of information and advice when they are segmented and disrupted by randomization to different implementation strategy conditions. The present study examines the linkages across implementation strategy conditions of social influence networks of leaders of youth-serving systems in 12 California counties participating in a randomized controlled trial of community development teams (CDTs) to scale up use of an evidence-based practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative data on information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) to examine linkages between treatment and standard conditions. Of those network members who were affiliated with a county (n = 137), only 6 (4.4%) were directly connected to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 19 (13.9%) were connected by two steps or fewer to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 64 (46.7%) were connected by three or fewer steps to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition. Most of the indirect steps between individuals who were in different implementation strategy conditions were connections involving a third non-county organizational entity that had an important role in the trial in keeping the implementation strategy conditions separate. When these entities were excluded, the CDT network exhibited fewer components and significantly higher betweenness centralization than did the standard condition network. Although the integrity of the RCT in this instance was not compromised by study participant influence

Effectiveness of the universal prevention program 'Healthy School and Drugs': Study protocol of a randomized clustered trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malmberg Monique

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Substance use is highly prevalent among Dutch adolescents. The Healthy School and Drugs program is a nationally implemented school-based prevention program aimed at reducing early and excessive substance use among adolescents. Although the program's effectiveness was tested in a quasi-experimental design before, many program changes were made afterwards. The present study, therefore, aims to test the effects of this widely used, renewed universal prevention program. Methods/Design A randomized clustered trial will be conducted among 3,784 adolescents of 23 secondary schools in The Netherlands. The trial has three conditions; two intervention conditions (i.e., e-learning and integral and a control condition. The e-learning condition consists of three digital learning modules (i.e., about alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana that are sequentially offered over the course of three school years (i.e., grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3. The integral condition consists of parental participation in a parental meeting on substance use, regulation of substance use, and monitoring and counseling of students' substance use at school, over and above the three digital modules. The control condition is characterized as business as usual. Participating schools were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control condition. Participants filled out a digital questionnaire at baseline and will fill out the same questionnaire three more times at follow-up measurements (8, 20, and 32 months after baseline. Outcome variables included in the questionnaire are the percentage of binge drinking (more than five drinks per occasion, the average weekly number of drinks, and the percentage of adolescents who ever drunk a glass of alcohol and the percentage of adolescents who ever smoked a cigarette or a joint respectively for tobacco and marijuana. Discussion This study protocol describes the design of a randomized clustered trial that evaluates the

Cerebral cortex classification by conditional random fields applied to intraoperative thermal imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoffmann Nico

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Intraoperative thermal neuroimaging is a novel intraoperative imaging technique for the characterization of perfusion disorders, neural activity and other pathological changes of the brain. It bases on the correlation of (sub-cortical metabolism and perfusion with the emitted heat of the cortical surface. In order to minimize required computational resources and prevent unwanted artefacts in subsequent data analysis workflows foreground detection is a important preprocessing technique to differentiate pixels representing the cerebral cortex from background objects. We propose an efficient classification framework that integrates characteristic dynamic thermal behaviour into this classification task to include additional discriminative features. The first stage of our framework consists of learning this representation of characteristic thermal time-frequency behaviour. This representation models latent interconnections in the time-frequency domain that cover specific, yet a priori unknown, thermal properties of the cortex. In a second stage these features are then used to classify each pixel’s state with conditional random fields. We quantitatively evaluate several approaches to learning high-level features and their impact to the overall prediction accuracy. The introduction of high-level features leads to a significant accuracy improvement compared to a baseline classifier.

On reflexivity of random walks in a random environment on a metric space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozikov, U.A.

2002-11-01

In this paper, we consider random walks in random environments on a countable metric space when jumps of the walks of the fractions are finite. The transfer probabilities of the random walk from x is an element of G (where G is the considering metric space) are defined by vector p(x) is an element of R k , k>1, where {p(x), x is an element of G} is the set of independent and indentically distributed random vectors. For the random walk, a sufficient condition of nonreflexivity is obtained. Examples for metric spaces Z d free groups and free product of finite numbers cyclic groups of the second order and some other metric spaces are considered. (author)

Don't forget the posters! Quality and content variables associated with accepted abstracts at a national trauma meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Dossett, Lesly A; Fox, Erin E; del Junco, Deborah J; Zaydfudim, Victor; Kauffmann, Rondi; Shelton, Julia; Wang, Weiwei; Cioffi, William G; Holcomb, John B; Cotton, Bryan A

2012-05-01

As a primary venue for presenting research results, abstracts selected for presentation at national meetings should be of the highest scientific merit and research quality. It is uncertain to what degree this is achieved as the methodological quality of abstracts submitted to national surgical meetings has not been previously described. The objective of this study was to evaluate abstracts presented at a leading trauma meeting for methodological quality. All abstracts accepted for the 2009 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting were reviewed and scored for methodological quality based on 10 criteria (scores, 0-10; 10 being the highest). Criteria were based on nationally published methodology guidelines. Two independent reviewers who were blinded to institution, region, and author reviewed each abstract. A total of 187 abstracts were accepted for presentation (67 oral and 120 posters). The most frequent clinical topics were shock/transfusion (23%), abdomen (12%), and nervous system (11%). Shock/transfusion abstracts were more common in the oral presentations (31% vs. 19%; p = 0.06). Abstracts from the northeast and south regions were the most common in both oral (26% and 29%) and posters (25% and 24%). Basic science accounted for 12% of accepted studies, while 51% were clinical and 28% were health services/outcomes. Only 8% of abstracts presented randomized data and only 11% reported null findings. Overall abstract scores ranged from 3 to 10 (median, 7; mean, 7.4). Abstracts selected for poster presentation had an overall higher score than those selected for oral presentation (7.4 ± 1.7 vs. 6.8 ± 1.7; p = 0.02). Although oral presentations traditionally receive the most attention and interest, the methodological quality of abstracts accepted for poster presentation equals (and sometimes exceeds) that of oral abstracts. Attendees of these national meetings should reconsider their time spent in viewing and visiting these poster sessions as with the

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.; Harrison, C. Jr.; Hughes, C.E.; Jorgensen, R.; Legan, M.; Menozzi, T.; Ranzini, L.; Strecok, A.J.

1977-08-01

This publication is the eleventh supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the complete document ANL-7411 are as follows: preface, history and acknowledgements, abstract format, recommended program package contents, program classification guide and thesaurus, and the abstract collection. (RWR)

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.; Harrison, C. Jr.; Hughes, C.E.; Jorgensen, R.; Legan, M.; Menozzi, T.; Ranzini, L.; Strecok, A.J.

1977-08-01

This publication is the eleventh supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the complete document ANL-7411 are as follows: preface, history and acknowledgements, abstract format, recommended program package contents, program classification guide and thesaurus, and the abstract collection

Abstract concepts in grounded cognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lakens, D.

2010-01-01

When people think about highly abstract concepts, they draw upon concrete experiences to structure their thoughts. For example, black knights in fairytales are evil, and knights in shining armor are good. The sensory experiences black and white are used to represent the abstract concepts of good and

A cognitive-motor intervention using a dance video game to enhance foot placement accuracy and gait under dual task conditions in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pichierri Giuseppe

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Computer-based interventions have demonstrated consistent positive effects on various physical abilities in older adults. This study aims to compare two training groups that achieve similar amounts of strength and balance exercise where one group receives an intervention that includes additional dance video gaming. The aim is to investigate the different effects of the training programs on physical and psychological parameters in older adults. Methods Thirty-one participants (mean age ± SD: 86.2 ± 4.6 years, residents of two Swiss hostels for the aged, were randomly assigned to either the dance group (n = 15 or the control group (n = 16. The dance group absolved a twelve-week cognitive-motor exercise program twice weekly that comprised progressive strength and balance training supplemented with additional dance video gaming. The control group performed only the strength and balance exercises during this period. Outcome measures were foot placement accuracy, gait performance under single and dual task conditions, and falls efficacy. Results After the intervention between-group comparison revealed significant differences for gait velocity (U = 26, P = .041, r = .45 and for single support time (U = 24, P = .029, r = .48 during the fast walking dual task condition in favor of the dance group. No significant between-group differences were observed either in the foot placement accuracy test or in falls efficacy. Conclusions There was a significant interaction in favor of the dance video game group for improvements in step time. Significant improved fast walking performance under dual task conditions (velocity, double support time, step length was observed for the dance video game group only. These findings suggest that in older adults a cognitive-motor intervention may result in more improved gait under dual task conditions in comparison to a traditional strength and balance exercise program

Random walks in Euclidean space

OpenAIRE

Varjú, Péter Pál

2012-01-01

Consider a sequence of independent random isometries of Euclidean space with a previously fixed probability law. Apply these isometries successively to the origin and consider the sequence of random points that we obtain this way. We prove a local limit theorem under a suitable moment condition and a necessary non-degeneracy condition. Under stronger hypothesis, we prove a limit theorem on a wide range of scales: between e^(-cl^(1/4)) and l^(1/2), where l is the number of steps.

Projection correlation between two random vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Liping; Xu, Kai; Li, Runze; Zhong, Wei

2017-12-01

We propose the use of projection correlation to characterize dependence between two random vectors. Projection correlation has several appealing properties. It equals zero if and only if the two random vectors are independent, it is not sensitive to the dimensions of the two random vectors, it is invariant with respect to the group of orthogonal transformations, and its estimation is free of tuning parameters and does not require moment conditions on the random vectors. We show that the sample estimate of the projection correction is [Formula: see text]-consistent if the two random vectors are independent and root-[Formula: see text]-consistent otherwise. Monte Carlo simulation studies indicate that the projection correlation has higher power than the distance correlation and the ranks of distances in tests of independence, especially when the dimensions are relatively large or the moment conditions required by the distance correlation are violated.

Ghana Science Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entsua-Mensah, C.

2004-01-01

This issue of the Ghana Science Abstracts combines in one publication all the country's bibliographic output in science and technology. The objective is to provide a quick reference source to facilitate the work of information professionals, research scientists, lecturers and policy makers. It is meant to give users an idea of the depth and scope and results of the studies and projects carried out. The scope and coverage comprise research outputs, conference proceedings and periodical articles published in Ghana. It does not capture those that were published outside Ghana. Abstracts reported have been grouped under the following subject areas: Agriculture, Biochemistry, Biodiversity conservation, biological sciences, biotechnology, chemistry, dentistry, engineering, environmental management, forestry, information management, mathematics, medicine, physics, nuclear science, pharmacy, renewable energy and science education

Building Safe Concurrency Abstractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

2014-01-01

Concurrent object-oriented programming in Beta is based on semaphores and coroutines and the ability to define high-level concurrency abstractions like monitors, and rendezvous-based communication, and their associated schedulers. The coroutine mechanism of SIMULA has been generalized into the no......Concurrent object-oriented programming in Beta is based on semaphores and coroutines and the ability to define high-level concurrency abstractions like monitors, and rendezvous-based communication, and their associated schedulers. The coroutine mechanism of SIMULA has been generalized...

Geomagnetic storm under laboratory conditions: randomized experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Gurfinkel, Yu I.; Vasin, A. L.; Pishchalnikov, R. Yu; Sarimov, R. M.; Sasonko, M. L.; Matveeva, T. A.

2017-10-01

The influence of the previously recorded geomagnetic storm (GS) on human cardiovascular system and microcirculation has been studied under laboratory conditions. Healthy volunteers in lying position were exposed under two artificially created conditions: quiet (Q) and storm (S). The Q regime playbacks a noise-free magnetic field (MF) which is closed to the natural geomagnetic conditions on Moscow's latitude. The S regime playbacks the initially recorded 6-h geomagnetic storm which is repeated four times sequentially. The cardiovascular response to the GS impact was assessed by measuring capillary blood velocity (CBV) and blood pressure (BP) and by the analysis of the 24-h ECG recording. A storm-to-quiet ratio for the cardio intervals (CI) and the heart rate variability (HRV) was introduced in order to reveal the average over group significant differences of HRV. An individual sensitivity to the GS was estimated using the autocorrelation function analysis of the high-frequency (HF) part of the CI spectrum. The autocorrelation analysis allowed for detection a group of subjects of study which autocorrelation functions (ACF) react differently in the Q and S regimes of exposure.

Geomagnetic storm under laboratory conditions: randomized experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurfinkel, Yu I; Vasin, A L; Pishchalnikov, R Yu; Sarimov, R M; Sasonko, M L; Matveeva, T A

2018-04-01

The influence of the previously recorded geomagnetic storm (GS) on human cardiovascular system and microcirculation has been studied under laboratory conditions. Healthy volunteers in lying position were exposed under two artificially created conditions: quiet (Q) and storm (S). The Q regime playbacks a noise-free magnetic field (MF) which is closed to the natural geomagnetic conditions on Moscow's latitude. The S regime playbacks the initially recorded 6-h geomagnetic storm which is repeated four times sequentially. The cardiovascular response to the GS impact was assessed by measuring capillary blood velocity (CBV) and blood pressure (BP) and by the analysis of the 24-h ECG recording. A storm-to-quiet ratio for the cardio intervals (CI) and the heart rate variability (HRV) was introduced in order to reveal the average over group significant differences of HRV. An individual sensitivity to the GS was estimated using the autocorrelation function analysis of the high-frequency (HF) part of the CI spectrum. The autocorrelation analysis allowed for detection a group of subjects of study which autocorrelation functions (ACF) react differently in the Q and S regimes of exposure.

Estimation of genotype X environment interactions, in a grassbased system, for milk yield, body condition score,and body weight using random regression models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berry, D.P.; Buckley, F.; Dillon, P.; Evans, R.D.; Rath, M.; Veerkamp, R.F.

2003-01-01

(Co)variance components for milk yield, body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), BCS change and BW change over different herd-year mean milk yields (HMY) and nutritional environments (concentrate feeding level, grazing severity and silage quality) were estimated using a random regression model.

Distributed Detection with Collisions in a Random, Single-Hop Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-26

public release; distribution is unlimited. Distributed detection with collisions in a random, single-hop wireless sensor network The views, opinions...1274 2 ABSTRACT Distributed detection with collisions in a random, single-hop wireless sensor network Report Title We consider the problem of... WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK Gene T. Whipps?† Emre Ertin† Randolph L. Moses† ?U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD 20783 †The Ohio State University

Alpine Windharvest: development of information base regarding potentials and the necessary technical, legal and socio-economic conditions for expanding wind energy in the Alpine Space - Digital relief analysis - Abstract of work package 7

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaffner, B.; Cattin, R. [Meteotest, Berne (Switzerland)

2005-07-01

This report presents an abstract of the development work carried out by the Swiss meteorology specialists METEOTEST as part of a project carried out together with the Swiss wind-energy organisation 'Suisse Eole'. The framework for the project is the EU Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme, a European Community Initiative Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project investigated the use of digital relief-analysis. The series of reports describes the development and use of a basic information system to aid the investigation of the technical, legal and socio-economical conditions for the use of wind energy in the alpine area. This report presents an abstract of the work done as part of the Work Package 7 of the Alpine Windharvest project.

A Bayesian Theory of Sequential Causal Learning and Abstract Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Hongjing; Rojas, Randall R; Beckers, Tom; Yuille, Alan L

2016-03-01

Two key research issues in the field of causal learning are how people acquire causal knowledge when observing data that are presented sequentially, and the level of abstraction at which learning takes place. Does sequential causal learning solely involve the acquisition of specific cause-effect links, or do learners also acquire knowledge about abstract causal constraints? Recent empirical studies have revealed that experience with one set of causal cues can dramatically alter subsequent learning and performance with entirely different cues, suggesting that learning involves abstract transfer, and such transfer effects involve sequential presentation of distinct sets of causal cues. It has been demonstrated that pre-training (or even post-training) can modulate classic causal learning phenomena such as forward and backward blocking. To account for these effects, we propose a Bayesian theory of sequential causal learning. The theory assumes that humans are able to consider and use several alternative causal generative models, each instantiating a different causal integration rule. Model selection is used to decide which integration rule to use in a given learning environment in order to infer causal knowledge from sequential data. Detailed computer simulations demonstrate that humans rely on the abstract characteristics of outcome variables (e.g., binary vs. continuous) to select a causal integration rule, which in turn alters causal learning in a variety of blocking and overshadowing paradigms. When the nature of the outcome variable is ambiguous, humans select the model that yields the best fit with the recent environment, and then apply it to subsequent learning tasks. Based on sequential patterns of cue-outcome co-occurrence, the theory can account for a range of phenomena in sequential causal learning, including various blocking effects, primacy effects in some experimental conditions, and apparently abstract transfer of causal knowledge. Copyright © 2015

Imagining the truth and the moon: an electrophysiological study of abstract and concrete word processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gullick, Margaret M; Mitra, Priya; Coch, Donna

2013-05-01

Previous event-related potential studies have indicated that both a widespread N400 and an anterior N700 index differential processing of concrete and abstract words, but the nature of these components in relation to concreteness and imagery has been unclear. Here, we separated the effects of word concreteness and task demands on the N400 and N700 in a single word processing paradigm with a within-subjects, between-tasks design and carefully controlled word stimuli. The N400 was larger to concrete words than to abstract words, and larger in the visualization task condition than in the surface task condition, with no interaction. A marked anterior N700 was elicited only by concrete words in the visualization task condition, suggesting that this component indexes imagery. These findings are consistent with a revised or extended dual coding theory according to which concrete words benefit from greater activation in both verbal and imagistic systems. Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Hydrogen abstraction reactions by amide electron adducts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sevilla, M.D.; Sevilla, C.L.; Swarts, S.

1982-01-01

Electron reactions with a number of peptide model compounds (amides and N-acetylamino acids) in aqueous glasses at low temperature have been investigated using ESR spectroscopy. The radicals produced by electron attachment to amides, RC(OD)NDR', are found to act as hydrogen abstracting agents. For example, the propionamide electron adduct is found to abstract from its parent propionamide. Electron adducts of other amides investigated show similar behavior except for acetamide electron adduct which does not abstract from its parent compound, but does abstract from other amides. The tendency toward abstraction for amide electron adducts are compared to electron adducts of several carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes and esters. The comparison suggests the hydrogen abstraction tendency of the various deuterated electron adducts (DEAs) to be in the following order: aldehyde DEA > acid DEA = approximately ester DEA > ketone DEA > amide DEA. In basic glasses the hydrogen abstraction ability of the amide electron adducts is maintained until the concentration of base is increased sufficiently to convert the DEA to its anionic form, RC(O - )ND 2 . In this form the hydrogen abstracting ability of the radical is greatly diminished. Similar results were found for the ester and carboxylic acid DEA's tested. (author)

Abstracts of international symposium on heat and mass transfer under plasma conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The international symposium on heat and mass transfer under plasma conditions was held on 4-8 July 1994 in Cesme, Izmir, Turkey. The spesialists discussed heat and mass transfer in the field of plasma processing at the meeting. More than 70 papers were presented in the meeting

Abstracts of international symposium on heat and mass transfer under plasma conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

The international symposium on heat and mass transfer under plasma conditions was held on 4-8 July 1994 in Cesme, Izmir, Turkey. The spesialists discussed heat and mass transfer in the field of plasma processing at the meeting. More than 70 papers were presented in the meeting.

Dynamics and bifurcations of random circle diffeomorphisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zmarrou, H.; Homburg, A.J.

2008-01-01

We discuss iterates of random circle diffeomorphisms with identically distributed noise, where the noise is bounded and absolutely continuous. Using arguments of B. Deroin, V.A. Kleptsyn and A. Navas, we provide precise conditions under which random attracting fixed points or random attracting

Groupies in multitype random graphs

OpenAIRE

Shang, Yilun

2016-01-01

A groupie in a graph is a vertex whose degree is not less than the average degree of its neighbors. Under some mild conditions, we show that the proportion of groupies is very close to 1/2 in multitype random graphs (such as stochastic block models), which include Erd?s-R?nyi random graphs, random bipartite, and multipartite graphs as special examples. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

Minimalism in architecture: Abstract conceptualization of architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilski Dragana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Minimalism in architecture contains the idea of the minimum as a leading creative tend to be considered and interpreted in working through phenomena of empathy and abstraction. In the Western culture, the root of this idea is found in empathy of Wilhelm Worringer and abstraction of Kasimir Malevich. In his dissertation, 'Abstraction and Empathy' Worringer presented his thesis on the psychology of style through which he explained the two opposing basic forms: abstraction and empathy. His conclusion on empathy as a psychological basis of observation expression is significant due to the verbal congruence with contemporary minimalist expression. His intuition was enhenced furthermore by figure of Malevich. Abstraction, as an expression of inner unfettered inspiration, has played a crucial role in the development of modern art and architecture of the twentieth century. Abstraction, which is one of the basic methods of learning in psychology (separating relevant from irrelevant features, Carl Jung is used to discover ideas. Minimalism in architecture emphasizes the level of abstraction to which the individual functions are reduced. Different types of abstraction are present: in the form as well as function of the basic elements: walls and windows. The case study is an example of Sou Fujimoto who is unequivocal in its commitment to the autonomy of abstract conceptualization of architecture.

Internet-delivered attention bias modification training in individuals with social anxiety disorder - a double blind randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlbring Per

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Computerized cognitive bias modification for social anxiety disorder has in several well conducted trials shown great promise with as many as 72% no longer fulfilling diagnostic criteria after a 4 week training program. To test if the same program can be transferred from a clinical setting to an internet delivered home based treatment the authors conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Methods After a diagnostic interview 79 participants were randomized to one of two attention training programs using a probe detection task. In the active condition the participant was trained to direct attention away from threat, whereas in the placebo condition the probe appeared with equal frequency in the position of the threatening and neutral faces. Results Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis, including all randomized participants. Immediate and 4-month follow-up results revealed a significant time effect on all measured dimensions (social anxiety scales, general anxiety and depression levels, quality of life. However, there were no time x group interactions. The lack of differences in the two groups was also mirrored by the infinitesimal between group effect size both at post test and at 4-month follow-up. Conclusion We conclude that computerized attention bias modification may need to be altered before dissemination for the Internet. Trial registration ISRCTN01715124

Mental skills training effectively minimizes operative performance deterioration under stressful conditions: Results of a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, N E; Beane, J; Yurco, A M; Howley, L D; Bean, E; Myers, E M; Stefanidis, D

2018-02-01

Stress can negatively impact surgical performance, but mental skills may help. We hypothesized that a comprehensive mental skills curriculum (MSC) would minimize resident performance deterioration under stress. Twenty-four residents were stratified then randomized to receive mental skills and FLS training (MSC group), or only FLS training (control group). Laparoscopic suturing skill was assessed on a live porcine model with and without external stressors. Outcomes were compared with t-tests. Twenty-three residents completed the study. The groups were similar at baseline. There were no differences in suturing at posttest or transfer test under normal conditions. Both groups experienced significantly decreased performance when stress was applied, but the MSC group significantly outperformed controls under stress. This MSC enabled residents to perform significantly better than controls in the simulated OR under unexpected stressful conditions. These findings support the use of psychological skills as an integral part of a surgical resident training. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robust domain decomposition preconditioners for abstract symmetric positive definite bilinear forms

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin

2012-02-22

An abstract framework for constructing stable decompositions of the spaces corresponding to general symmetric positive definite problems into "local" subspaces and a global "coarse" space is developed. Particular applications of this abstract framework include practically important problems in porous media applications such as: the scalar elliptic (pressure) equation and the stream function formulation of its mixed form, Stokes\\' and Brinkman\\'s equations. The constant in the corresponding abstract energy estimate is shown to be robust with respect to mesh parameters as well as the contrast, which is defined as the ratio of high and low values of the conductivity (or permeability). The derived stable decomposition allows to construct additive overlapping Schwarz iterative methods with condition numbers uniformly bounded with respect to the contrast and mesh parameters. The coarse spaces are obtained by patching together the eigenfunctions corresponding to the smallest eigenvalues of certain local problems. A detailed analysis of the abstract setting is provided. The proposed decomposition builds on a method of Galvis and Efendiev [Multiscale Model. Simul. 8 (2010) 1461-1483] developed for second order scalar elliptic problems with high contrast. Applications to the finite element discretizations of the second order elliptic problem in Galerkin and mixed formulation, the Stokes equations, and Brinkman\\'s problem are presented. A number of numerical experiments for these problems in two spatial dimensions are provided. © EDP Sciences, SMAI, 2012.

Oral health related quality of life among pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Liliana Musskopf

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The aim of the present study was to compare negative impacts of oral conditions in Oral Heath Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL assessed by the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14 scores in pregnant women receiving or not comprehensive periodontal treatment. This randomized controlled clinical trial included pregnant women aged between 18 and 35 years old. Participants were randomized in a test group with 96 and a control group with 114 women. Patients in the test group received comprehensive periodontal treatment, supra and subgingival scaling and root-planning and periodontal maintenance appointments. The OHIP-14 was applied before and after treatment. The primary outcome was changes in OHIP-14 scores after follow-up period. The impact of having received or not comprehensive periodontal treatment on the change of the OHIP-14 scores was also investigated. Both groups showed significant reduction in OHIP-14 scores and effect size for the test group was 0.60 and 0.36 for the control group. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that participants of the control group had 5.9-fold odds (CI 95% 1.88-18.52 of worsening in OHIP-14 scores and their perception of oral conditions in relation to test group. Comprehensive periodontal treatment during pregnancy can reduce the negative impacts in OHRQoL.

An interactive health communication application for supporting parents managing childhood long-term conditions: outcomes of a randomized controlled feasibility trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Swallow, Veronica M; Knafl, Kathleen; Santacroce, Sheila; Campbell, Malcolm; Hall, Andrew G; Smith, Trish; Carolan, Ian

2014-12-03

Families living with chronic or long-term conditions such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), stages 3-5, face multiple challenges and respond to these challenges in various ways. Some families adapt well while others struggle, and family response to a condition is closely related to outcome. With families and professionals, we developed a novel condition-specific interactive health communication app to improve parents' management ability-the online parent information and support (OPIS) program. OPIS consists of a comprehensive mix of clinical caregiving and psychosocial information and support. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess feasibility of a future full-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) of OPIS in terms of recruitment and retention, data collection procedures, and psychometric performance of the study measures in the target population, and (2) investigate trends in change in outcome measures in a small-scale RCT in parents of children with CKD stages 3-5. Parents were recruited from a pediatric nephrology clinic and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: usual support for home-based clinical caregiving (control) or usual support plus password-protected access to OPIS for 20 weeks (intervention). Both groups completed study measures at study entry and exit. We assessed feasibility descriptively in terms of recruitment and retention rates overall; assessed recruitment, retention, and uptake of the intervention between groups; and compared family condition management, empowerment to deliver care, and fathers' involvement between groups. We recruited 55 parents of 39 children (42% of eligible families). Of those, about three-quarters of intervention group parents (19/26, 73%) and control group parents (22/29, 76%) were retained through completion of 20-week data collection. The overall retention rate was 41/55 (75%). The 41 parents completing the trial were asked to respond to the same 10 questionnaire scales at both baseline and 20 weeks

Abstraction of Models for Pitting and Crevice Corrosion of Drip Shield and Waste Package Outer Barrier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

K. Mon

2001-08-29

This analyses and models report (AMR) was conducted in response to written work direction (CRWMS M and O 1999a). ICN 01 of this AMR was developed following guidelines provided in TWP-MGR-MD-000004 REV 01, ''Technical Work Plan for: Integrated Management of Technical Product Input Department'' (BSC 2001, Addendum B). The purpose and scope of this AMR is to review and analyze upstream process-level models (CRWMS M and O 2000a and CRWMS M and O 2000b) and information relevant to pitting and crevice corrosion degradation of waste package outer barrier (Alloy 22) and drip shield (Titanium Grade 7) materials, and to develop abstractions of the important processes in a form that is suitable for input to the WAPDEG analysis for long-term degradation of waste package outer barrier and drip shield in the repository. The abstraction is developed in a manner that ensures consistency with the process-level models and information and captures the essential behavior of the processes represented. Also considered in the model abstraction are the probably range of exposure conditions in emplacement drifts and local exposure conditions on drip shield and waste package surfaces. The approach, method, and assumptions that are employed in the model abstraction are documented and justified.

Abstraction of Models for Pitting and Crevice Corrosion of Drip Shield and Waste Package Outer Barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mon, K.

2001-01-01

This analyses and models report (AMR) was conducted in response to written work direction (CRWMS M and O 1999a). ICN 01 of this AMR was developed following guidelines provided in TWP-MGR-MD-000004 REV 01, ''Technical Work Plan for: Integrated Management of Technical Product Input Department'' (BSC 2001, Addendum B). The purpose and scope of this AMR is to review and analyze upstream process-level models (CRWMS M and O 2000a and CRWMS M and O 2000b) and information relevant to pitting and crevice corrosion degradation of waste package outer barrier (Alloy 22) and drip shield (Titanium Grade 7) materials, and to develop abstractions of the important processes in a form that is suitable for input to the WAPDEG analysis for long-term degradation of waste package outer barrier and drip shield in the repository. The abstraction is developed in a manner that ensures consistency with the process-level models and information and captures the essential behavior of the processes represented. Also considered in the model abstraction are the probably range of exposure conditions in emplacement drifts and local exposure conditions on drip shield and waste package surfaces. The approach, method, and assumptions that are employed in the model abstraction are documented and justified

The Complexity of Abstract Machines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beniamino Accattoli

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The lambda-calculus is a peculiar computational model whose definition does not come with a notion of machine. Unsurprisingly, implementations of the lambda-calculus have been studied for decades. Abstract machines are implementations schema for fixed evaluation strategies that are a compromise between theory and practice: they are concrete enough to provide a notion of machine and abstract enough to avoid the many intricacies of actual implementations. There is an extensive literature about abstract machines for the lambda-calculus, and yet—quite mysteriously—the efficiency of these machines with respect to the strategy that they implement has almost never been studied. This paper provides an unusual introduction to abstract machines, based on the complexity of their overhead with respect to the length of the implemented strategies. It is conceived to be a tutorial, focusing on the case study of implementing the weak head (call-by-name strategy, and yet it is an original re-elaboration of known results. Moreover, some of the observation contained here never appeared in print before.

Abstraction of man-made shapes

KAUST Repository

Mehra, Ravish; Zhou, Qingnan; Long, Jeremy; Sheffer, Alla; Gooch, Amy Ashurst; Mitra, Niloy J.

2009-01-01

Man-made objects are ubiquitous in the real world and in virtual environments. While such objects can be very detailed, capturing every small feature, they are often identified and characterized by a small set of defining curves. Compact, abstracted shape descriptions based on such curves are often visually more appealing than the original models, which can appear to be visually cluttered. We introduce a novel algorithm for abstracting three-dimensional geometric models using characteristic curves or contours as building blocks for the abstraction. Our method robustly handles models with poor connectivity, including the extreme cases of polygon soups, common in models of man-made objects taken from online repositories. In our algorithm, we use a two-step procedure that first approximates the input model using a manifold, closed envelope surface and then extracts from it a hierarchical abstraction curve network along with suitable normal information. The constructed curve networks form a compact, yet powerful, representation for the input shapes, retaining their key shape characteristics while discarding minor details and irregularities. © 2009 ACM.

Scientific meeting abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The document is a collection of the scientific meeting abstracts in the fields of nuclear physics, medical sciences, chemistry, agriculture, environment, engineering, different aspects of energy and presents research done in 1999 in these fields

Abstract Objects of Verbs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

Verbs do often take arguments of quite different types. In an orthodox type-theoretic framework this results in an extreme polysemy of many verbs. In this article, it is shown that this unwanted consequence can be avoided when a theory of "abstract objects" is adopted according to which...... these objects represent non-objectual entities in contexts from which they are excluded by type restrictions. Thus these objects are "abstract'' in a functional rather than in an ontological sense: they function as representatives of other entities but they are otherwise quite normal objects. Three examples...

Automated Supernova Discovery (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Post, R. S.

2015-12-01

(Abstract only) We are developing a system of robotic telescopes for automatic recognition of Supernovas as well as other transient events in collaboration with the Puckett Supernova Search Team. At the SAS2014 meeting, the discovery program, SNARE, was first described. Since then, it has been continuously improved to handle searches under a wide variety of atmospheric conditions. Currently, two telescopes are used to build a reference library while searching for PSN with a partial library. Since data is taken every night without clouds, we must deal with varying atmospheric and high background illumination from the moon. Software is configured to identify a PSN, reshoot for verification with options to change the run plan to acquire photometric or spectrographic data. The telescopes are 24-inch CDK24, with Alta U230 cameras, one in CA and one in NM. Images and run plans are sent between sites so the CA telescope can search while photometry is done in NM. Our goal is to find bright PSNs with magnitude 17.5 or less which is the limit of our planned spectroscopy. We present results from our first automated PSN discoveries and plans for PSN data acquisition.

Abstract Spatial Reasoning as an Autistic Strength

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

2013-01-01

Autistic individuals typically excel on spatial tests that measure abstract reasoning, such as the Block Design subtest on intelligence test batteries and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices nonverbal test of intelligence. Such well-replicated findings suggest that abstract spatial processing is a relative and perhaps absolute strength of autistic individuals. However, previous studies have not systematically varied reasoning level – concrete vs. abstract – and test domain – spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal, which the current study did. Autistic participants (N = 72) and non-autistic participants (N = 72) completed a battery of 12 tests that varied by reasoning level (concrete vs. abstract) and domain (spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal). Autistic participants outperformed non-autistic participants on abstract spatial tests. Non-autistic participants did not outperform autistic participants on any of the three domains (spatial, numerical, and verbal) or at either of the two reasoning levels (concrete and abstract), suggesting similarity in abilities between autistic and non-autistic individuals, with abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PMID:23533615

Socioeconomic conditions and number of pain sites in women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rannestad Toril

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Women in deprived socioeconomic situations run a high pain risk. Although number of pain sites (NPS is considered highly relevant in pain assessment, little is known regarding the relationship between socioeconomic conditions and NPS. Methods The study population comprised 653 women; 160 recurrence-free long-term gynecological cancer survivors, and 493 women selected at random from the general population. Demographic characteristics and co-morbidity over the past 12 months were assessed. Socioeconomic conditions were measured by Socioeconomic Condition Index (SCI, comprising education, employment status, income, ability to pay bills, self-perceived health, and satisfaction with number of close friends. Main outcome measure NPS was recorded using a body outline diagram indicating where the respondents had experienced pain during the past week. Chi-square test and forward stepwise logistic regression were applied. Results and Conclusion There were only minor differences in SCI scores between women with 0, 1-2 or 3 NPS. Four or more NPS was associated with younger age, higher BMI and low SCI. After adjustment for age, BMI and co-morbidity, we found a strong association between low SCI scores and four or more NPS, indicating that there is a threshold in the NPS count for when socioeconomic determinants are associated to NPS in women.

Random coil chemical shifts in acidic 8 M urea: Implementation of random coil shift data in NMRView

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarzinger, Stephan; Kroon, Gerard J.A.; Foss, Ted R.; Wright, Peter E.; Dyson, H. Jane

2000-01-01

Studies of proteins unfolded in acid or chemical denaturant can help in unraveling events during the earliest phases of protein folding. In order for meaningful comparisons to be made of residual structure in unfolded states, it is necessary to use random coil chemical shifts that are valid for the experimental system under study. We present a set of random coil chemical shifts obtained for model peptides under experimental conditions used in studies of denatured proteins. This new set, together with previously published data sets, has been incorporated into a software interface for NMRView, allowing selection of the random coil data set that fits the experimental conditions best

Groupies in multitype random graphs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Yilun

2016-01-01

A groupie in a graph is a vertex whose degree is not less than the average degree of its neighbors. Under some mild conditions, we show that the proportion of groupies is very close to 1/2 in multitype random graphs (such as stochastic block models), which include Erdős-Rényi random graphs, random bipartite, and multipartite graphs as special examples. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

Science meeting. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

the document is a collection of the science meeting abstracts in the fields of nuclear physics, medical sciences, chemistry, agriculture, environment, engineering, material sciences different aspects of energy and presents research done in 2000 in these fields

National fuel cell seminar. Program and abstracts. [Abstracts of 40 papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1977-01-01

Abstracts of 40 papers are presented. Topics include fuel cell systems, phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid fuel and solid electrolyte fuel cells, low temperature fuel cells, and fuel utilization. (WHK)

Construct Abstraction for Automatic Information Abstraction from Digital Images

Science.gov (United States)

2006-05-30

objects and features and the names of objects of objects and features. For example, in Figure 15 the parts of the fish could be named the ‘mouth... fish -1 fish -2 fish -3 tennis shoe tennis racquet...of abstraction and generality. For example, an algorithm might usefully find a polygon ( blob ) in an image and calculate numbers such as the

Security of Semi-Device-Independent Random Number Expansion Protocols.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dan-Dan; Wen, Qiao-Yan; Wang, Yu-Kun; Zhou, Yu-Qian; Gao, Fei

2015-10-27

Semi-device-independent random number expansion (SDI-RNE) protocols require some truly random numbers to generate fresh ones, with making no assumptions on the internal working of quantum devices except for the dimension of the Hilbert space. The generated randomness is certified by non-classical correlation in the prepare-and-measure test. Until now, the analytical relations between the amount of the generated randomness and the degree of non-classical correlation, which are crucial for evaluating the security of SDI-RNE protocols, are not clear under both the ideal condition and the practical one. In the paper, first, we give the analytical relation between the above two factors under the ideal condition. As well, we derive the analytical relation under the practical conditions, where devices' behavior is not independent and identical in each round and there exists deviation in estimating the non-classical behavior of devices. Furthermore, we choose a different randomness extractor (i.e., two-universal random function) and give the security proof.

Writing Abstracts for MLIS Research Proposals Using Worked Examples: An Innovative Approach to Teaching the Elements of Research Design

Science.gov (United States)

Ondrusek, Anita L.; Thiele, Harold E.; Yang, Changwoo

2014-01-01

The authors examined abstracts written by graduate students for their research proposals as a requirement for a course in research methods in a distance learning MLIS program. The students learned under three instructional conditions that involved varying levels of access to worked examples created from abstracts representing research in the LIS…

Abstract methods in partial differential equations

CERN Document Server

Carroll, Robert W

2012-01-01

Detailed, self-contained treatment examines modern abstract methods in partial differential equations, especially abstract evolution equations. Suitable for graduate students with some previous exposure to classical partial differential equations. 1969 edition.

Language Recognition Using Latent Dynamic Conditional Random Field Model with Phonological Features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sirinoot Boonsuk

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Spoken language recognition (SLR has been of increasing interest in multilingual speech recognition for identifying the languages of speech utterances. Most existing SLR approaches apply statistical modeling techniques with acoustic and phonotactic features. Among the popular approaches, the acoustic approach has become of greater interest than others because it does not require any prior language-specific knowledge. Previous research on the acoustic approach has shown less interest in applying linguistic knowledge; it was only used as supplementary features, while the current state-of-the-art system assumes independency among features. This paper proposes an SLR system based on the latent-dynamic conditional random field (LDCRF model using phonological features (PFs. We use PFs to represent acoustic characteristics and linguistic knowledge. The LDCRF model was employed to capture the dynamics of the PFs sequences for language classification. Baseline systems were conducted to evaluate the features and methods including Gaussian mixture model (GMM based systems using PFs, GMM using cepstral features, and the CRF model using PFs. Evaluated on the NIST LRE 2007 corpus, the proposed method showed an improvement over the baseline systems. Additionally, it showed comparable result with the acoustic system based on i-vector. This research demonstrates that utilizing PFs can enhance the performance.

Manipulating Objects and Telling Words: A Study on Concrete and Abstract Words Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Borghi, Anna M.; Flumini, Andrea; Cimatti, Felice; Marocco, Davide; Scorolli, Claudia

2011-01-01

Four experiments (E1–E2–E3–E4) investigated whether different acquisition modalities lead to the emergence of differences typically found between concrete and abstract words, as argued by the words as tools (WAT) proposal. To mimic the acquisition of concrete and abstract concepts, participants either manipulated novel objects or observed groups of objects interacting in novel ways (Training 1). In TEST 1 participants decided whether two elements belonged to the same category. Later they read the category labels (Training 2); labels could be accompanied by an explanation of their meaning. Then participants observed previously seen exemplars and other elements, and were asked which of them could be named with a given label (TEST 2). Across the experiments, it was more difficult to form abstract than concrete categories (TEST 1); even when adding labels, abstract words remained more difficult than concrete words (TEST 2). TEST 3 differed across the experiments. In E1 participants performed a feature production task. Crucially, the associations produced with the novel words reflected the pattern evoked by existing concrete and abstract words, as the first evoked more perceptual properties. In E2–E3–E4, TEST 3 consisted of a color verification task with manual/verbal (keyboard–microphone) responses. Results showed the microphone use to have an advantage over keyboard use for abstract words, especially in the explanation condition. This supports WAT: due to their acquisition modality, concrete words evoke more manual information; abstract words elicit more verbal information. This advantage was not present when linguistic information contrasted with perceptual one. Implications for theories and computational models of language grounding are discussed. PMID:21716582

Mechanical Engineering Department technical abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The Mechanical Engineering Department publishes abstracts twice a year to inform readers of the broad range of technical activities in the Department, and to promote an exchange of ideas. Details of the work covered by an abstract may be obtained by contacting the author(s). General information about the current role and activities of each of the Department's seven divisions precedes the technical abstracts. Further information about a division's work may be obtained from the division leader, whose name is given at the end of each divisional summary. The Department's seven divisions are as follows: Nuclear Test Engineering Division, Nuclear Explosives Engineering Division, Weapons Engineering Division, Energy Systems Engineering Division, Engineering Sciences Division, Magnetic Fusion Engineering Division and Materials Fabrication Division

Assessing effects of water abstraction on fish assemblages in Mediterranean streams

Science.gov (United States)

Benejam, Lluis; Angermeier, Paul L.; Munne, Antoni; García-Berthou, Emili

2010-01-01

1. Water abstraction strongly affects streams in arid and semiarid ecosystems, particularly where there is a Mediterranean climate. Excessive abstraction reduces the availability of water for human uses downstream and impairs the capacity of streams to support native biota. 2. We investigated the flow regime and related variables in six river basins of the Iberian Peninsula and show that they have been strongly altered, with declining flows (autoregressive models) and groundwater levels during the 20th century. These streams had lower flows and more frequent droughts than predicted by the official hydrological model used in this region. Three of these rivers were sometimes dry, whereas there were predicted by the model to be permanently flowing. Meanwhile, there has been no decrease in annual precipitation. 3. We also investigated the fish assemblage of a stream in one of these river basins (Tordera) for 6 years and show that sites more affected by water abstraction display significant differences in four fish metrics (catch per unit effort, number of benthic species, number of intolerant species and proportional abundance of intolerant individuals) commonly used to assess the biotic condition of streams. 4. We discuss the utility of these metrics in assessing impacts of water abstraction and point out the need for detailed characterisation of the natural flow regime (and hence drought events) prior to the application of biotic indices in streams severely affected by water abstraction. In particular, in cases of artificially dry streams, it is more appropriate for regulatory agencies to assign index scores that reflect biotic degradation than to assign ‘missing’ scores, as is presently customary in assessments of Iberian streams.

Interdisciplinary perspectives on abstracts for information retrieval

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soon Keng Chan

2004-10-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the abstract genre from the perspectives of English for Specific Purposes (ESP practitioners and information professionals. It aims to determine specific interdisciplinary interests in the abstract, and to explore areas of collaboration in terms of research and pedagogical practices. A focus group (FG comprising information professionals from the Division of Information Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, convened for a discussion on the subject of abstracts and abstracting. Two major issues that have significant implications for ESP practices emerged during the discussion. While differences in terms of approach to and objectives of the abstract genre are apparent between information professionals and language professionals, the demands for specific cognitive processes involved in abstracting proved to be similar. This area of similarity provides grounds for awareness raising and collaboration between the two disciplines. While ESP practitioners need to consider adding the dimension of information science to the rhetorical and linguistic scaffolding that they have been providing to novice-writers, information professionals can contribute useful insights about the qualities of abstracts that have the greatest impact in meeting the end-users' needs in information search.

Annual Conference Abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

Journal of Engineering Education, 1972

1972-01-01

Includes abstracts of papers presented at the 80th Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. The broad areas include aerospace, affiliate and associate member council, agricultural engineering, biomedical engineering, continuing engineering studies, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computers, cooperative…

Abstracting audit data for lightweight intrusion detection

KAUST Repository

Wang, Wei

2010-01-01

High speed of processing massive audit data is crucial for an anomaly Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to achieve real-time performance during the detection. Abstracting audit data is a potential solution to improve the efficiency of data processing. In this work, we propose two strategies of data abstraction in order to build a lightweight detection model. The first strategy is exemplar extraction and the second is attribute abstraction. Two clustering algorithms, Affinity Propagation (AP) as well as traditional k-means, are employed to extract the exemplars, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed to abstract important attributes (a.k.a. features) from the audit data. Real HTTP traffic data collected in our institute as well as KDD 1999 data are used to validate the two strategies of data abstraction. The extensive test results show that the process of exemplar extraction significantly improves the detection efficiency and has a better detection performance than PCA in data abstraction. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

A theoretical and shock tube kinetic study on hydrogen abstraction from phenyl formate.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Hongbo; Liu, Dapeng; Wu, Junjun; Ma, Liuhao; Ren, Wei; Farooq, Aamir

2018-06-12

The hydrogen abstraction reactions of phenyl formate (PF) by different radicals (H/O(3P)/OH/HO2) were theoretically investigated. We calculated the reaction energetics for PF + H/O/OH using the composite method ROCBS-QB3//M06-2X/cc-pVTZ and that for PF + HO2 at the M06-2X/cc-pVTZ level of theory. The high-pressure limit rate constants were calculated using the transition state theory in conjunction with the 1-D hindered rotor approximation and tunneling correction. Three-parameter Arrhenius expressions of rate constants were provided over the temperature range of 500-2000 K. To validate the theoretical calculations, the overall rate constants of PF + OH → Products were measured in shock tube experiments at 968-1128 K and 1.16-1.25 atm using OH laser absorption. The predicted overall rate constants agree well with the shock tube data (within 15%) over the entire experimental conditions. Rate constant analysis indicates that the H-abstraction at the formic acid site dominates the PF consumption, whereas the contribution of H-abstractions at the aromatic ring increases with temperature. Additionally, comparisons of site-specific H-abstractions from PF with methyl formate, ethyl formate, benzene, and toluene were performed to understand the effects of the aromatic ring and side-chain substituent on H-abstraction rate constants.

A comparison of the conditional inference survival forest model to random survival forests based on a simulation study as well as on two applications with time-to-event data.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasejje, Justine B; Mwambi, Henry; Dheda, Keertan; Lesosky, Maia

2017-07-28

Random survival forest (RSF) models have been identified as alternative methods to the Cox proportional hazards model in analysing time-to-event data. These methods, however, have been criticised for the bias that results from favouring covariates with many split-points and hence conditional inference forests for time-to-event data have been suggested. Conditional inference forests (CIF) are known to correct the bias in RSF models by separating the procedure for the best covariate to split on from that of the best split point search for the selected covariate. In this study, we compare the random survival forest model to the conditional inference model (CIF) using twenty-two simulated time-to-event datasets. We also analysed two real time-to-event datasets. The first dataset is based on the survival of children under-five years of age in Uganda and it consists of categorical covariates with most of them having more than two levels (many split-points). The second dataset is based on the survival of patients with extremely drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) which consists of mainly categorical covariates with two levels (few split-points). The study findings indicate that the conditional inference forest model is superior to random survival forest models in analysing time-to-event data that consists of covariates with many split-points based on the values of the bootstrap cross-validated estimates for integrated Brier scores. However, conditional inference forests perform comparably similar to random survival forests models in analysing time-to-event data consisting of covariates with fewer split-points. Although survival forests are promising methods in analysing time-to-event data, it is important to identify the best forest model for analysis based on the nature of covariates of the dataset in question.

Basic randomness of nature and ether-drift experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Consoli, M.; Pluchino, A.; Rapisarda, A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► We re-consider the idea of a basic randomness of nature. ► We adopt Stochastic Electro Dynamics as a heuristic model. ► We represent the vacuum as a form of turbulent ether. ► This picture can be tested with forthcoming ether-drift experiments. - Abstract: We re-consider the idea that quantum fluctuations might reflect the existence of an ‘objective randomness’, i.e. a basic property of the vacuum state which is independent of any experimental accuracy of the observations or limited knowledge of initial conditions. Besides being responsible for the observed quantum behavior, this might introduce a weak, residual form of ‘noise’ which is intrinsic to natural phenomena and could be important for the emergence of complexity at higher physical levels. By adopting Stochastic Electro Dynamics as a heuristic model, we are driven to a picture of the vacuum as a form of highly turbulent ether, which is deep-rooted into the basic foundational aspects of both quantum physics and relativity, and to search for experimental tests of this scenario. An analysis of the most precise ether-drift experiments, operating both at room temperature and in the cryogenic regime, shows that, at present, there is some ambiguity in the interpretation of the data. In fact the average amplitude of the signal has precisely the magnitude expected, in a ‘Lorentzian’ form of relativity, from an underlying stochastic ether and, as such, might not be a spurious instrumental effect. This puzzle, however, should be solved in a next future with the use of new cryogenically cooled optical resonators whose stability should improve by about two orders of magnitude. In these new experimental conditions, the persistence of the present amplitude would represent a clean evidence for the type of random vacuum we are envisaging.

Epitaxial growth of zinc on ferritic steel under high current density electroplating conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greul, Thomas; Comenda, Christian; Preis, Karl; Gerdenitsch, Johann; Sagl, Raffaela; Hassel, Achim Walter

2013-01-01

Highlights: •EBSD of electroplated Zn on Fe or steel was performed. •Zn grows epitaxially on electropolished ferritic steel following Burger's orientation relation. •Surface deformation of steel leads to multiple electroplated zinc grains with random orientation. •Zn grows epitaxially even on industrial surfaces with little surface deformation. •Multiple zinc grains on one steel grain can show identical orientation relations. -- Abstract: The dependence of the crystal orientation of electrodeposited zinc of the grain orientation on ferritic steel substrate at high current density deposition (400 mA cm −2 ) during a pulse-plating process was investigated by means of EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) measurements. EBSD-mappings of surface and cross-sections were performed on samples with different surface preparations. Furthermore an industrial sample was investigated to compare lab-coated samples with the industrial process. The epitaxial growth of zinc is mainly dependent on the condition of the steel grains. Deformation of steel grains leads to random orientation while zinc grows epitaxially on non-deformed steel grains even on industrial surfaces

Beyond the abstractions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Henning Salling

2006-01-01

  The anniversary of the International Journal of Lifelong Education takes place in the middle of a conceptual landslide from lifelong education to lifelong learning. Contemporary discourses of lifelong learning etc are however abstractions behind which new functions and agendas for adult education...

Monadic abstract interpreters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sergey, Ilya; Devriese, Dominique; Might, Matthew

2013-01-01

to instrument an analysis with high-level strategies for improving precision and performance, such as abstract garbage collection and widening. While the paper itself runs the development for continuationpassing style, our generic implementation replays it for direct-style lambda-calculus and Featherweight Java...

Rare Events and Conditional Events on Random Strings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mireille Régnier

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Some strings -the texts- are assumed to be randomly generated, according to a probability model that is either a Bernoulli model or a Markov model. A rare event is the over or under-representation of a word or a set of words. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, a single word is given. One studies the tail distribution of the number of its occurrences. Sharp large deviation estimates are derived. Second, one assumes that a given word is overrepresented. The distribution of a second word is studied; formulae for the expectation and the variance are derived. In both cases, the formulae are accurate and actually computable. These results have applications in computational biology, where a genome is viewed as a text.

Abstractions for Fault-Tolerant Distributed System Verification

Science.gov (United States)

Pike, Lee S.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Miner, Paul S.; Geser, Alfons

2004-01-01

Four kinds of abstraction for the design and analysis of fault tolerant distributed systems are discussed. These abstractions concern system messages, faults, fault masking voting, and communication. The abstractions are formalized in higher order logic, and are intended to facilitate specifying and verifying such systems in higher order theorem provers.

A METHOD TO ESTIMATE TEMPORAL INTERACTION IN A CONDITIONAL RANDOM FIELD BASED APPROACH FOR CROP RECOGNITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. M. A. Diaz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a method to estimate the temporal interaction in a Conditional Random Field (CRF based approach for crop recognition from multitemporal remote sensing image sequences. This approach models the phenology of different crop types as a CRF. Interaction potentials are assumed to depend only on the class labels of an image site at two consecutive epochs. In the proposed method, the estimation of temporal interaction parameters is considered as an optimization problem, whose goal is to find the transition matrix that maximizes the CRF performance, upon a set of labelled data. The objective functions underlying the optimization procedure can be formulated in terms of different accuracy metrics, such as overall and average class accuracy per crop or phenological stages. To validate the proposed approach, experiments were carried out upon a dataset consisting of 12 co-registered LANDSAT images of a region in southeast of Brazil. Pattern Search was used as the optimization algorithm. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method was able to substantially outperform estimates related to joint or conditional class transition probabilities, which rely on training samples.

Prevalence of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) condition in chicken meat used for commercial meat processing and its effect on roasted chicken breast

OpenAIRE

Karunanayaka, Deshani S.; Jayasena, Dinesh D.; Jo, Cheorun

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Studies on prevalence of pale, soft, exudative (PSE) condition in Sri Lankan poultry industry is minimal. Hence, the objective of present study was to determine the incidence of PSE chicken meat in a commercial meat processing plant and to find out its consequences on meat quality traits of roasted chicken breast. Method A total of 60 breast fillets were randomly selected, evaluated based on color L* value, and placed into 1 of 2 categories; PSE (L* > 58) or normal meat (L...

Abstract Interpretation as a Programming Language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosendahl, Mads

2013-01-01

examine different programming styles and ways to represent states. Abstract interpretation is primarily a technique for derivation and specification of program analysis. As with denotational semantics we may also view abstract interpretations as programs and examine the implementation. The main focus...... in this paper is to show that results from higher-order strictness analysis may be used more generally as fixpoint operators for higher-order functions over lattices and thus provide a technique for immediate implementation of a large class of abstract interpretations. Furthermore, it may be seen...

A prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial of one nano ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Background: Recently, manufacturers have introduced bulk‑fill composite resins that reportedly can be placed in increments of 4 mm or greater. Objective: The purpose of this article was to report the results of 12 months prospective randomized clinical trial that evaluated the clinical performance of one ...

Nuclear medicine. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2000-01-01

This issue of the journal contains the abstracts of the 183 conference papers as well as 266 posters presented at the conference. Subject fields covered are: Neurology, psychology, oncology, pediatrics, radiopharmacy, endocrinology, EDP, measuring equipment and methods, radiological protection, cardiology, and therapy. (orig./CB) [de

Abstract Machines for Programming Language Implementation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diehl, Stephan; Hartel, Pieter H.; Sestoft, Peter

We present an extensive, annotated bibliography of the abstract machines designed for each of the main programming paradigms (imperative, object oriented, functional, logic and concurrent). We conclude that whilst a large number of efficient abstract machines have been designed for particular

Writing a Structured Abstract for the Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, James

2010-01-01

This article presents the author's suggestions on how to improve thesis abstracts. The author describes two books on writing abstracts: (1) "Creating Effective Conference Abstracts and Posters in Biomedicine: 500 tips for Success" (Fraser, Fuller & Hutber, 2009), a compendium of clear advice--a must book to have in one's hand as one prepares a…

Estimating the treatment effect from non-randomized studies: The example of reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation in hematological diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Resche-Rigon Matthieu

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In some clinical situations, for which RCT are rare or impossible, the majority of the evidence comes from observational studies, but standard estimations could be biased because they ignore covariates that confound treatment decisions and outcomes. Methods Three observational studies were conducted to assess the benefit of Allo-SCT in hematological malignancies of multiple myeloma, follicular lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease. Two statistical analyses were performed: the propensity score (PS matching approach and the inverse probability weighting (IPW approach. Results Based on PS-matched samples, a survival benefit in MM patients treated by Allo-SCT, as compared to similar non-allo treated patients, was observed with an HR of death at 0.35 (95%CI: 0.14-0.88. Similar results were observed in HD, 0.23 (0.07-0.80 but not in FL, 1.28 (0.43-3.77. Estimated benefits of Allo-SCT for the original population using IPW were erased in HR for death at 0.72 (0.37-1.39 for MM patients, 0.60 (0.19-1.89 for HD patients, and 2.02 (0.88-4.66 for FL patients. Conclusion Differences in estimated benefits rely on whether the underlying population to which they apply is an ideal randomized experimental population (PS or the original population (IPW. These useful methods should be employed when assessing the effects of innovative treatment in non-randomized experiments.

When abstraction does not increase stereotyping : Preparing for intragroup communication enables abstract construal of stereotype-inconsistent information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greijdanus, Hedy; Postmes, Tom; Gordijn, Ernestine H.; van Zomeren, Martijn

2014-01-01

Two experiments investigated when perceivers can construe stereotype-inconsistent information abstractly (i.e., interpret observations as generalizable) and whether stereotype-consistency delimits the positive relation between abstract construal level and stereotyping. Participants (N1=104, N2=83)

Inflation with generalized initial conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, A.; Brandenberger, R.; Matzner, R.

1987-01-01

In many current models of the early Universe a scalar field phi which is only very weakly coupled to other quantum fields is used to generate inflation. In such models there are no forces which could thermalize the scalar field, and previous assumptions about its preinflation ''initial'' conditions must be abandoned. In this paper the onset of inflation is studied classically for more general initial conditions of the scalar field configuration. In particular, initial conditions with a nonvanishing spatial average of phi, with phi chosen at random in each initial horizon volume, and with random initial momenta are considered. We identify and discuss several mechanisms that can drive these more general initial conditions toward an inflationary state. The analysis is done in one spatial dimension

Visually defining and querying consistent multi-granular clinical temporal abstractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Combi, Carlo; Oliboni, Barbara

2012-02-01

The main goal of this work is to propose a framework for the visual specification and query of consistent multi-granular clinical temporal abstractions. We focus on the issue of querying patient clinical information by visually defining and composing temporal abstractions, i.e., high level patterns derived from several time-stamped raw data. In particular, we focus on the visual specification of consistent temporal abstractions with different granularities and on the visual composition of different temporal abstractions for querying clinical databases. Temporal abstractions on clinical data provide a concise and high-level description of temporal raw data, and a suitable way to support decision making. Granularities define partitions on the time line and allow one to represent time and, thus, temporal clinical information at different levels of detail, according to the requirements coming from the represented clinical domain. The visual representation of temporal information has been considered since several years in clinical domains. Proposed visualization techniques must be easy and quick to understand, and could benefit from visual metaphors that do not lead to ambiguous interpretations. Recently, physical metaphors such as strips, springs, weights, and wires have been proposed and evaluated on clinical users for the specification of temporal clinical abstractions. Visual approaches to boolean queries have been considered in the last years and confirmed that the visual support to the specification of complex boolean queries is both an important and difficult research topic. We propose and describe a visual language for the definition of temporal abstractions based on a set of intuitive metaphors (striped wall, plastered wall, brick wall), allowing the clinician to use different granularities. A new algorithm, underlying the visual language, allows the physician to specify only consistent abstractions, i.e., abstractions not containing contradictory conditions on

Geometry of abstraction in quantum computation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pavlovic, Dusko; Abramsky, S.; Mislove, M.W.

2012-01-01

Quantum algorithms are sequences of abstract operations, per formed on non-existent computers. They are in obvious need of categorical semantics. We present some steps in this direction, following earlier contribu tions of Abramsky, Goecke and Selinger. In particular, we analyze function abstraction

The Abstraction Engine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fortescue, Michael David

The main thesis of this book is that abstraction, far from being confined to higher formsof cognition, language and logical reasoning, has actually been a major driving forcethroughout the evolution of creatures with brains. It is manifest in emotive as well as rationalthought. Wending its way th...

Transport safety research abstracts. No. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-07-01

The Transport Safety Research Abstracts is a collection of reports from Member States of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international organizations on research in progress or just completed in the area of safe transport of radioactive material. The main aim of TSRA is to draw attention to work that is about to be published, thus enabling interested parties to obtain further information through direct correspondence with the investigators. Information contained in this issue covers work being undertaken in 6 Member States and contracted by 1 international organization; it is hoped with succeeding issues that TSRA will be able to widen this base. TSRA is modelled after other IAEA publications describing work in progress in other programme areas, namely Health Physics Research Abstracts (No. 14 was published in 1989), Waste Management Research Abstracts (No. 20 was published in 1990), and Nuclear Safety Research Abstracts (No. 2 was published in 1990)

A randomized trial evaluating a block-replacement regimen during radioiodine therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonnema, Steen J; Grupe, Peter; Boel-Jørgensen, Henrik

2011-01-01

Eur J Clin Invest 2010 ABSTRACT: Background  Lack of consensus regarding the antithyroid drug regimen in relation to radioiodine ((131) I) therapy of hyperthyroidism prompted this randomized trial comparing two strategies. Design  Patients with Graves' disease (GD, n = 51) or toxic nodular goitre...

Abstract Object Creation in Dynamic Logic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I. Grabe (Immo); F.S. de Boer (Frank); W. Ahrendt (Wolfgang); A. Cavalcanti; D.R. Dams

2009-01-01

textabstractIn this paper we give a representation of a weakest precondition calculus for abstract object creation in dynamic logic, the logic underlying the KeY theorem prover. This representation allows to both specify and verify properties of objects at the abstraction level of the

Using fairness to make abstractions work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D. Bosnacki; N. Ioustinova (Natalia); N. Sidorova

2003-01-01

textabstractAbstractions often introduce infinite traces which have no corresponding traces at the concrete level and can lead to the failure of the verification. Refinement does not always help to eliminate those traces. In this paper, we consider a timer abstraction that introduces a cyclic

Compilation of Theses Abstracts

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2005-01-01

This publication contains unclassified/unrestricted abstracts of classified or restricted theses submitted for the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science...

Data Abstraction Mechanisms in Sina/st

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyrowitz, N.K.; Aksit, Mehmet; Tripathi, Anand

1988-01-01

This paper describes a new data abstraction mechanism in an object-oriented model of computing. The data abstraction mechanism described here has been devised in the context of the design of Sina/st language. In Sina/st no language constructs have been adopted for specifying inheritance or

8th Czechoslovak spectroscopic conference. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

Volume 2 of the conference proceedings contains abstracts of 17 invited papers and 119 poster presentations, devoted to molecular spectroscopy. Abstracts of 2 poster presentations were inputted in INIS, one dealing with organic complexes of 99 Tc, the other with electronic spectra of lanthanide ions. (A.K.)

Photochemical hydrogen abstractions as radiationless transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burrows, H.D.; Formosinho, S.J.

1977-01-01

The tunnel-effect theory of radiationless transitions is applied to the quenching of the uranyl ion excited state by aliphatic compounds. The most important mechanism kinetically is suggested to involve chemical quenching via hydrogen abstraction, and rates for these reactions are analysed theoretically. Good agreement between theory and experiment is observed for a number of alcohols and ethers, and the reactions are suggested to possess considerable charge-transfer character. With t-butanol it is suggested that abstraction occurs preferentially from the hydroxylic hydrogen. Theoretical analysis of the rates of hydrogen abstraction from carboxylic acids suggests that the reaction geometry in this case may be different from the reaction with alcohols or ethers. The possibility that excited uranyl ion can abstract a hydrogen atom from water is examined, and theoretical evidence is presented to suggest that this is the main route for deactivation of uranyl ion lowest excited state in water at room temperature. (author)

Mathematical Abstraction: Constructing Concept of Parallel Coordinates

Science.gov (United States)

Nurhasanah, F.; Kusumah, Y. S.; Sabandar, J.; Suryadi, D.

2017-09-01

Mathematical abstraction is an important process in teaching and learning mathematics so pre-service mathematics teachers need to understand and experience this process. One of the theoretical-methodological frameworks for studying this process is Abstraction in Context (AiC). Based on this framework, abstraction process comprises of observable epistemic actions, Recognition, Building-With, Construction, and Consolidation called as RBC + C model. This study investigates and analyzes how pre-service mathematics teachers constructed and consolidated concept of Parallel Coordinates in a group discussion. It uses AiC framework for analyzing mathematical abstraction of a group of pre-service teachers consisted of four students in learning Parallel Coordinates concepts. The data were collected through video recording, students’ worksheet, test, and field notes. The result shows that the students’ prior knowledge related to concept of the Cartesian coordinate has significant role in the process of constructing Parallel Coordinates concept as a new knowledge. The consolidation process is influenced by the social interaction between group members. The abstraction process taken place in this group were dominated by empirical abstraction that emphasizes on the aspect of identifying characteristic of manipulated or imagined object during the process of recognizing and building-with.

Segmentation of Large Unstructured Point Clouds Using Octree-Based Region Growing and Conditional Random Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Bassier, M.; Bonduel, M.; Van Genechten, B.; Vergauwen, M.

2017-11-01

Point cloud segmentation is a crucial step in scene understanding and interpretation. The goal is to decompose the initial data into sets of workable clusters with similar properties. Additionally, it is a key aspect in the automated procedure from point cloud data to BIM. Current approaches typically only segment a single type of primitive such as planes or cylinders. Also, current algorithms suffer from oversegmenting the data and are often sensor or scene dependent. In this work, a method is presented to automatically segment large unstructured point clouds of buildings. More specifically, the segmentation is formulated as a graph optimisation problem. First, the data is oversegmented with a greedy octree-based region growing method. The growing is conditioned on the segmentation of planes as well as smooth surfaces. Next, the candidate clusters are represented by a Conditional Random Field after which the most likely configuration of candidate clusters is computed given a set of local and contextual features. The experiments prove that the used method is a fast and reliable framework for unstructured point cloud segmentation. Processing speeds up to 40,000 points per second are recorded for the region growing. Additionally, the recall and precision of the graph clustering is approximately 80%. Overall, nearly 22% of oversegmentation is reduced by clustering the data. These clusters will be classified and used as a basis for the reconstruction of BIM models.

Engineering Abstractions in Model Checking and Testing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Achenbach, Michael; Ostermann, Klaus

2009-01-01

Abstractions are used in model checking to tackle problems like state space explosion or modeling of IO. The application of these abstractions in real software development processes, however, lacks engineering support. This is one reason why model checking is not widely used in practice yet...... and testing is still state of the art in falsification. We show how user-defined abstractions can be integrated into a Java PathFinder setting with tools like AspectJ or Javassist and discuss implications of remaining weaknesses of these tools. We believe that a principled engineering approach to designing...... and implementing abstractions will improve the applicability of model checking in practice....

GRD: An SPSS extension command for generating random data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley Harding

2014-09-01

Full Text Available To master statistics and data analysis tools, it is necessary to understand a number of concepts, manyof which are quite abstract. For example, sampling from a theoretical distribution can help individuals explore andunderstand randomness. Sampling can also be used to build exercises aimed to help students master statistics. Here, we present GRD (Generator of Random Data, an extension command for SPSS (version 17 and above. With GRD, it is possible to get random data from a given distribution. In its simplest use, GRD will return a set of simulated data from a normal distribution.With subcommands to GRD, it is possible to get data from multiple groups, over multiple repeated measures, and with desired effectsizes. Group sizes can be equal or unequal. With further subcommands, it is possible to sample from any theoretical population, (not simply the normal distribution, introduce non-homogeneous variances,fix or randomize subject effects, etc. Finally, GRD’s generated data are in a format ready to be analyzed.

Abstraction Power in Computer Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennedsen, Jens Benned; Caspersen, Michael Edelgaard

2006-01-01

The paper is a discussion of the hypothesis that a person’s abstraction power (or ability) has a positive influence on their ability to program.......The paper is a discussion of the hypothesis that a person’s abstraction power (or ability) has a positive influence on their ability to program....

WWNPQFT-2013 - Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cessac, B.; Bianchi, E.; Bellon, M.; Fried, H.; Krajewski, T.; Schubert, C.; Barre, J.; Hofmann, R.; Muller, B.; Raffaelli, B.

2014-01-01

The object of this Workshop is to consolidate and publicize new efforts in non perturbative-like Field Theories, relying in Functional Methods, Renormalization Group, and Dyson-Schwinger Equations. A presentation deals with effective vertices and photon-photon scattering in SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics. This document gathers the abstracts of the presentations

Genetic correlations between body condition scores and fertility in dairy cattle using bivariate random regression models.

Science.gov (United States)

De Haas, Y; Janss, L L G; Kadarmideen, H N

2007-10-01

Genetic correlations between body condition score (BCS) and fertility traits in dairy cattle were estimated using bivariate random regression models. BCS was recorded by the Swiss Holstein Association on 22,075 lactating heifers (primiparous cows) from 856 sires. Fertility data during first lactation were extracted for 40,736 cows. The fertility traits were days to first service (DFS), days between first and last insemination (DFLI), calving interval (CI), number of services per conception (NSPC) and conception rate to first insemination (CRFI). A bivariate model was used to estimate genetic correlations between BCS as a longitudinal trait by random regression components, and daughter's fertility at the sire level as a single lactation measurement. Heritability of BCS was 0.17, and heritabilities for fertility traits were low (0.01-0.08). Genetic correlations between BCS and fertility over the lactation varied from: -0.45 to -0.14 for DFS; -0.75 to 0.03 for DFLI; from -0.59 to -0.02 for CI; from -0.47 to 0.33 for NSPC and from 0.08 to 0.82 for CRFI. These results show (genetic) interactions between fat reserves and reproduction along the lactation trajectory of modern dairy cows, which can be useful in genetic selection as well as in management. Maximum genetic gain in fertility from indirect selection on BCS should be based on measurements taken in mid lactation when the genetic variance for BCS is largest, and the genetic correlations between BCS and fertility is strongest.

Electrical Aversion Conditioning with Chronic Alcoholics

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Roger E.; And Others

1970-01-01

Pseudoconditioning (random shock delivery), sham conditioning (no shock), and ward controls (routine hospital treatment) ( were compared with two conditioning groups. Conditioning only (contingent shock) and booster Ss (additional conditioning sessions after release from hospital) were shocked for drinking and reinforced by shock termination for…

On nonlinear stability in various random normed spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saadati Reza

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this article, we prove the nonlinear stability of the quartic functional equation 1 6 f ( x + 4 y + f ( 4 x - y = 3 0 6 9 f x + y 3 + f ( x + 2 y (1 + 1 3 6 f ( x - y - 1 3 9 4 f ( x + y + 4 2 5 f ( y - 1 5 3 0 f ( x (2 (3  in the setting of random normed spaces Furthermore, the interdisciplinary relation among the theory of random spaces, the theory of non-Archimedean space, the theory of fixed point theory, the theory of intuitionistic spaces and the theory of functional equations are also presented in the article.

A Contrastive Analysis of the Links of Textuality in Abstracts Written by Persian and English Writers in Clinical Psychology Journals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbas Mehrabi Boshrabadi

2014-07-01

Full Text Available It is generally agreed today that lexical cohesion is one of the fundamental elements of the text texture achieved through lexical semantic relations dominating the arrangement of propositional units in a text. Accordingly, this study sought to compare and contrast the textual links or lexical cohesive devices enlisted in the psychological abstracts written by Persian and English writers. To this end, 40 abstracts from Persian and English articles, 20 in each language, published in clinical psychology journals were randomly selected. The framework serving as tertium comprationis for analyzing lexical cohesion markers was derived from Halliday and Hasan’s (1976 model [Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976. Cohesion in English. London: Longman]. A frequency count analysis was employed to gauge the number of occurrences of cohesive links in the selected corpus. The results revealed that lexical links of synonymy and repetition were more frequent than other cohesive devices in both English and Persian abstracts.

SPR 2015. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The volume contains the abstracts of the SPR (society for pediatric radiology) 2015 meeting covering the following issues: fetal imaging, muscoskeletal imaging, cardiac imaging, chest imaging, oncologic imaging, tools for process improvement, child abuse, contrast enhanced ultrasound, image gently - update of radiation dose recording/reporting/monitoring - meaningful or useless meaning?, pediatric thoracic imaging, ALARA.

SPR 2015. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-04-01

The volume contains the abstracts of the SPR (society for pediatric radiology) 2015 meeting covering the following issues: fetal imaging, muscoskeletal imaging, cardiac imaging, chest imaging, oncologic imaging, tools for process improvement, child abuse, contrast enhanced ultrasound, image gently - update of radiation dose recording/reporting/monitoring - meaningful or useless meaning?, pediatric thoracic imaging, ALARA.

Mathematical games, abstract games

CERN Document Server

Neto, Joao Pedro

2013-01-01

User-friendly, visually appealing collection offers both new and classic strategic board games. Includes abstract games for two and three players and mathematical games such as Nim and games on graphs.

Connecting the dots: Semi-analytical and random walk numerical solutions of the diffusion–reaction equation with stochastic initial conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paster, Amir, E-mail: paster@tau.ac.il [Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratories, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (United States); School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 (Israel); Bolster, Diogo [Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratories, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (United States); Benson, David A. [Hydrologic Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 80401 (United States)

2014-04-15

We study a system with bimolecular irreversible kinetic reaction A+B→∅ where the underlying transport of reactants is governed by diffusion, and the local reaction term is given by the law of mass action. We consider the case where the initial concentrations are given in terms of an average and a white noise perturbation. Our goal is to solve the diffusion–reaction equation which governs the system, and we tackle it with both analytical and numerical approaches. To obtain an analytical solution, we develop the equations of moments and solve them approximately. To obtain a numerical solution, we develop a grid-less Monte Carlo particle tracking approach, where diffusion is modeled by a random walk of the particles, and reaction is modeled by annihilation of particles. The probability of annihilation is derived analytically from the particles' co-location probability. We rigorously derive the relationship between the initial number of particles in the system and the amplitude of white noise represented by that number. This enables us to compare the particle simulations and the approximate analytical solution and offer an explanation of the late time discrepancies. - Graphical abstract:.

Performance of Hybrid Corn in Different Environmental Conditions in the Region Of Sinop-MT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. C. T. Souza

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of corn hybrids in environmental conditions favorable and unfavorable. For this, two experiments were conducted at Sinop / MT, being considered as favorable environmental conditions the use of fertilizer recommended for the crop at planting and coverage, and unfavorable conditions only recommended fertilization at planting. The experimental design was a randomized block with three replicates, with plots of 2 rows of 3 meters. The treatments were: double hybrid (Balu 761, single hybrids (AG 7088 and 30F90Y and triple hybrid (2B688. The characteristics evaluated were number of spikes, husked spikes weight, plant height and height of first spike. Regarding the number of ears, under favorable conditions, the hybrid double (Balu 761 and the triple hybrid (2B688 stood out against the simple hybrid. For the character number of spikes per plant, the husked spike weight in kg the triple hybrid 2B688 stood in relation to other unfavorable conditions. Considering the character plant height and first spike insertion, single hibrid 30F90Y, showed higher estimate in unfavorable conditions. In conclusion, the agronomic performance of types of hybrids varies in relation to environmental conditions and genotypes composition, and in this study the triple hybrid stood out in relation to others. Keywords: Zea mays, fertilization and breeding.

Using All-Sky Imaging to Improve Telescope Scheduling (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, G. M.

2017-12-01

(Abstract only) Automated scheduling makes it possible for a small telescope to observe a large number of targets in a single night. But when used in areas which have less-than-perfect sky conditions such automation can lead to large numbers of observations of clouds and haze. This paper describes the development of a "sky-aware" telescope automation system that integrates the data flow from an SBIG AllSky340c camera with an enhanced dispatch scheduler to make optimum use of the available observing conditions for two highly instrumented backyard telescopes. Using the minute-by-minute time series image stream and a self-maintained reference database, the software maintains a file of sky brightness, transparency, stability, and forecasted visibility at several hundred grid positions. The scheduling software uses this information in real time to exclude targets obscured by clouds and select the best observing task, taking into account the requirements and limits of each instrument.

Randomness confidence bands of fractal scaling exponents for financial price returns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibarra-Valdez, C.; Alvarez, J.; Alvarez-Ramirez, J.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A robust test for randomness of price returns is proposed. • The DFA scaling exponent is contrasted against confidence bands for random sequences. • The size of the band depends of the sequence length. • Crude oil and USA stock markets have been rarely inefficient. - Abstract: The weak-form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) establishes that price returns behave as a pure random process and so their outcomes cannot be forecasted. The detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) has been widely used to test the weak-form of the EMH by showing that time series of price returns are serially uncorrelated. In this case, the DFA scaling exponent exhibits deviations from the theoretical value of 0.5. This work considers the test of the EMH for DFA implementation on a sliding window, which is an approach that is intended to monitor the evolution of markets. Under these conditions, the scaling exponent exhibits important variations over the scrutinized period that can offer valuable insights in the behavior of the market provided the estimated scaling value is kept within strict statistical tests to verify the presence or not of serial correlations in the price returns. In this work, the statistical tests are based on comparing the estimated scaling exponent with the values obtained from pure Gaussian sequences with the length of the real time series. In this way, the presence of serial correlations can be guaranteed only in terms of the confidence bands of a pure Gaussian process. The crude oil (WTI) and the USA stock (DJIA) markets are used to illustrate the methodology.

An abstract machine for module replacement

OpenAIRE

Walton, Chris; Krl, Dilsun; Gilmore, Stephen

1998-01-01

In this paper we define an abstract machine model for the mλ typed intermediate language. This abstract machine is used to give a formal description of the operation of run-time module replacement from the programming language Dynamic ML. The essential technical device which we employ for module replacement is a modification of two-space copying garbage collection.

User-Extensible Graphics Using Abstract Structure,

Science.gov (United States)

1987-08-01

Flex 6 The Algol68 model of the graphical abstract structure 5 The creation of a PictureDefinition 6 The making of a picture from a PictureDefinition 7...data together with the operations that can be performed on that data. i 7! ś I _ § 4, The Alqol68 model of the graphical abstract structure Every

Genetic parameters for body condition score, body weight, milk yield, and fertility estimated using random regression models.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, D P; Buckley, F; Dillon, P; Evans, R D; Rath, M; Veerkamp, R F

2003-11-01

Genetic (co)variances between body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), milk yield, and fertility were estimated using a random regression animal model extended to multivariate analysis. The data analyzed included 81,313 BCS observations, 91,937 BW observations, and 100,458 milk test-day yields from 8725 multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows. A cubic random regression was sufficient to model the changing genetic variances for BCS, BW, and milk across different days in milk. The genetic correlations between BCS and fertility changed little over the lactation; genetic correlations between BCS and interval to first service and between BCS and pregnancy rate to first service varied from -0.47 to -0.31, and from 0.15 to 0.38, respectively. This suggests that maximum genetic gain in fertility from indirect selection on BCS should be based on measurements taken in midlactation when the genetic variance for BCS is largest. Selection for increased BW resulted in shorter intervals to first service, but more services and poorer pregnancy rates; genetic correlations between BW and pregnancy rate to first service varied from -0.52 to -0.45. Genetic selection for higher lactation milk yield alone through selection on increased milk yield in early lactation is likely to have a more deleterious effect on genetic merit for fertility than selection on higher milk yield in late lactation.

Elements of abstract harmonic analysis

CERN Document Server

Bachman, George

2013-01-01

Elements of Abstract Harmonic Analysis provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts and basic theorems of abstract harmonic analysis. In order to give a reasonably complete and self-contained introduction to the subject, most of the proofs have been presented in great detail thereby making the development understandable to a very wide audience. Exercises have been supplied at the end of each chapter. Some of these are meant to extend the theory slightly while others should serve to test the reader's understanding of the material presented. The first chapter and part of the second give

Abstraction networks for terminologies: Supporting management of "big knowledge".

Science.gov (United States)

Halper, Michael; Gu, Huanying; Perl, Yehoshua; Ochs, Christopher

2015-05-01

Terminologies and terminological systems have assumed important roles in many medical information processing environments, giving rise to the "big knowledge" challenge when terminological content comprises tens of thousands to millions of concepts arranged in a tangled web of relationships. Use and maintenance of knowledge structures on that scale can be daunting. The notion of abstraction network is presented as a means of facilitating the usability, comprehensibility, visualization, and quality assurance of terminologies. An abstraction network overlays a terminology's underlying network structure at a higher level of abstraction. In particular, it provides a more compact view of the terminology's content, avoiding the display of minutiae. General abstraction network characteristics are discussed. Moreover, the notion of meta-abstraction network, existing at an even higher level of abstraction than a typical abstraction network, is described for cases where even the abstraction network itself represents a case of "big knowledge." Various features in the design of abstraction networks are demonstrated in a methodological survey of some existing abstraction networks previously developed and deployed for a variety of terminologies. The applicability of the general abstraction-network framework is shown through use-cases of various terminologies, including the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), the Medical Entities Dictionary (MED), and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). Important characteristics of the surveyed abstraction networks are provided, e.g., the magnitude of the respective size reduction referred to as the abstraction ratio. Specific benefits of these alternative terminology-network views, particularly their use in terminology quality assurance, are discussed. Examples of meta-abstraction networks are presented. The "big knowledge" challenge constitutes the use and maintenance of terminological structures that

Frontopolar cortex mediates abstract integration in analogy.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Adam E; Fugelsang, Jonathan A; Kraemer, David J M; Shamosh, Noah A; Dunbar, Kevin N

2006-06-22

Integration of abstractly similar relations during analogical reasoning was investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Activation elicited by an analogical reasoning task that required both complex working memory and integration of abstractly similar relations was compared to activation elicited by a non-analogical task that required complex working memory in the absence of abstract relational integration. A left-sided region of the frontal pole of the brain (BA 9/10) was selectively active for the abstract relational integration component of analogical reasoning. Analogical reasoning also engaged a left-sided network of parieto-frontal regions. Activity in this network during analogical reasoning is hypothesized to reflect categorical alignment of individual component terms that make up analogies. This parieto-frontal network was also engaged by the complex control task, which involved explicit categorization, but not by a simpler control task, which did not involve categorization. We hypothesize that frontopolar cortex mediates abstract relational integration in complex reasoning while parieto-frontal regions mediate working memory processes, including manipulation of terms for the purpose of categorical alignment, that facilitate this integration.

Language-Agnostic Relation Extraction from Abstracts in Wikis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Heist

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Large-scale knowledge graphs, such as DBpedia, Wikidata, or YAGO, can be enhanced by relation extraction from text, using the data in the knowledge graph as training data, i.e., using distant supervision. While most existing approaches use language-specific methods (usually for English, we present a language-agnostic approach that exploits background knowledge from the graph instead of language-specific techniques and builds machine learning models only from language-independent features. We demonstrate the extraction of relations from Wikipedia abstracts, using the twelve largest language editions of Wikipedia. From those, we can extract 1.6 M new relations in DBpedia at a level of precision of 95%, using a RandomForest classifier trained only on language-independent features. We furthermore investigate the similarity of models for different languages and show an exemplary geographical breakdown of the information extracted. In a second series of experiments, we show how the approach can be transferred to DBkWik, a knowledge graph extracted from thousands of Wikis. We discuss the challenges and first results of extracting relations from a larger set of Wikis, using a less formalized knowledge graph.

A Tourism Conditions Index

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); H-K. Hsu (Hui-Kuang); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ This paper uses monthly data from April 2005 to August 2013 for Taiwan to propose a novel tourism indicator, namely the Tourism Conditions Index (TCI). TCI accounts for the spillover weights based on the Granger causality test and estimates of the multivariate BEKK

Combination of Deep Recurrent Neural Networks and Conditional Random Fields for Extracting Adverse Drug Reactions from User Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Tutubalina, Elena; Nikolenko, Sergey

2017-01-01

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an essential part of the analysis of drug use, measuring drug use benefits, and making policy decisions. Traditional channels for identifying ADRs are reliable but very slow and only produce a small amount of data. Text reviews, either on specialized web sites or in general-purpose social networks, may lead to a data source of unprecedented size, but identifying ADRs in free-form text is a challenging natural language processing problem. In this work, we propose a novel model for this problem, uniting recurrent neural architectures and conditional random fields. We evaluate our model with a comprehensive experimental study, showing improvements over state-of-the-art methods of ADR extraction.

Combination of Deep Recurrent Neural Networks and Conditional Random Fields for Extracting Adverse Drug Reactions from User Reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Tutubalina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Adverse drug reactions (ADRs are an essential part of the analysis of drug use, measuring drug use benefits, and making policy decisions. Traditional channels for identifying ADRs are reliable but very slow and only produce a small amount of data. Text reviews, either on specialized web sites or in general-purpose social networks, may lead to a data source of unprecedented size, but identifying ADRs in free-form text is a challenging natural language processing problem. In this work, we propose a novel model for this problem, uniting recurrent neural architectures and conditional random fields. We evaluate our model with a comprehensive experimental study, showing improvements over state-of-the-art methods of ADR extraction.

Abstraction in artificial intelligence and complex systems

CERN Document Server

Saitta, Lorenza

2013-01-01

Abstraction is a fundamental mechanism underlying both human and artificial perception, representation of knowledge, reasoning and learning. This mechanism plays a crucial role in many disciplines, notably Computer Programming, Natural and Artificial Vision, Complex Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Art, and Cognitive Sciences. This book first provides the reader with an overview of the notions of abstraction proposed in various disciplines by comparing both commonalities and differences.  After discussing the characterizing properties of abstraction, a formal model, the K

Random Walks on Homeo( S 1)

Science.gov (United States)

Malicet, Dominique

2017-12-01

In this paper, we study random walks {g_n=f_{n-1}\\ldots f_0} on the group Homeo ( S 1) of the homeomorphisms of the circle, where the homeomorphisms f k are chosen randomly, independently, with respect to a same probability measure {ν}. We prove that under the only condition that there is no probability measure invariant by {ν}-almost every homeomorphism, the random walk almost surely contracts small intervals. It generalizes what has been known on this subject until now, since various conditions on {ν} were imposed in order to get the phenomenon of contractions. Moreover, we obtain the surprising fact that the rate of contraction is exponential, even in the lack of assumptions of smoothness on the f k 's. We deduce various dynamical consequences on the random walk ( g n ): finiteness of ergodic stationary measures, distribution of the trajectories, asymptotic law of the evaluations, etc. The proof of the main result is based on a modification of the Ávila-Viana's invariance principle, working for continuous cocycles on a space fibred in circles.

8th Czechoslovak spectroscopic conference. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

Volume 3 of the conference proceedings contains abstracts of 17 invited papers, 101 poster presentations and 7 papers of instrument manufacturers, devoted to special spectroscopic techniques including X-ray microanalysis, X-ray spectral analysis, Moessbauer spectrometry, mass spectrometry, instrumental activation analysis and other instrumental radioanalytical methods, electron spectrometry, and techniques of environmental analysis. Sixty abstracts were inputted in INIS. (A.K.)

AfSBT Congress Abstracts: Zimbabwe 2014 | Adewuyi | Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AfSBT Congress Abstracts: Zimbabwe 2014. James Ola-Banji Adewuyi. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL ...

Quantum randomness and unpredictability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaeger, Gregg [Quantum Communication and Measurement Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Boston University, Boston, MA (United States)

2017-06-15

Quantum mechanics is a physical theory supplying probabilities corresponding to expectation values for measurement outcomes. Indeed, its formalism can be constructed with measurement as a fundamental process, as was done by Schwinger, provided that individual measurements outcomes occur in a random way. The randomness appearing in quantum mechanics, as with other forms of randomness, has often been considered equivalent to a form of indeterminism. Here, it is argued that quantum randomness should instead be understood as a form of unpredictability because, amongst other things, indeterminism is not a necessary condition for randomness. For concreteness, an explication of the randomness of quantum mechanics as the unpredictability of quantum measurement outcomes is provided. Finally, it is shown how this view can be combined with the recently introduced view that the very appearance of individual quantum measurement outcomes can be grounded in the Plenitude principle of Leibniz, a principle variants of which have been utilized in physics by Dirac and Gell-Mann in relation to the fundamental processes. This move provides further support to Schwinger's ''symbolic'' derivation of quantum mechanics from measurement. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Random regression models for detection of gene by environment interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meuwissen Theo HE

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Two random regression models, where the effect of a putative QTL was regressed on an environmental gradient, are described. The first model estimates the correlation between intercept and slope of the random regression, while the other model restricts this correlation to 1 or -1, which is expected under a bi-allelic QTL model. The random regression models were compared to a model assuming no gene by environment interactions. The comparison was done with regards to the models ability to detect QTL, to position them accurately and to detect possible QTL by environment interactions. A simulation study based on a granddaughter design was conducted, and QTL were assumed, either by assigning an effect independent of the environment or as a linear function of a simulated environmental gradient. It was concluded that the random regression models were suitable for detection of QTL effects, in the presence and absence of interactions with environmental gradients. Fixing the correlation between intercept and slope of the random regression had a positive effect on power when the QTL effects re-ranked between environments.

Random Forest Approach to QSPR Study of Fluorescence Properties Combining Quantum Chemical Descriptors and Solvent Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chia-Hsiu; Tanaka, Kenichi; Funatsu, Kimito

2018-04-22

The Quantitative Structure - Property Relationship (QSPR) approach was performed to study the fluorescence absorption wavelengths and emission wavelengths of 413 fluorescent dyes in different solvent conditions. The dyes included the chromophore derivatives of cyanine, xanthene, coumarin, pyrene, naphthalene, anthracene and etc., with the wavelength ranging from 250 nm to 800 nm. An ensemble method, random forest (RF), was employed to construct nonlinear prediction models compared with the results of linear partial least squares and nonlinear support vector machine regression models. Quantum chemical descriptors derived from density functional theory method and solvent information were also used by constructing models. The best prediction results were obtained from RF model, with the squared correlation coefficients [Formula: see text] of 0.940 and 0.905 for λ abs and λ em , respectively. The descriptors used in the models were discussed in detail in this report by comparing the feature importance of RF.

Depth Reconstruction from Single Images Using a Convolutional Neural Network and a Condition Random Field Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an effective approach for depth reconstruction from a single image through the incorporation of semantic information and local details from the image. A unified framework for depth acquisition is constructed by joining a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN and a continuous pairwise Conditional Random Field (CRF model. Semantic information and relative depth trends of local regions inside the image are integrated into the framework. A deep CNN network is firstly used to automatically learn a hierarchical feature representation of the image. To get more local details in the image, the relative depth trends of local regions are incorporated into the network. Combined with semantic information of the image, a continuous pairwise CRF is then established and is used as the loss function of the unified model. Experiments on real scenes demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and that the approach obtains satisfactory results.

Depth Reconstruction from Single Images Using a Convolutional Neural Network and a Condition Random Field Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dan; Liu, Xuejun; Wu, Yiguang

2018-04-24

This paper presents an effective approach for depth reconstruction from a single image through the incorporation of semantic information and local details from the image. A unified framework for depth acquisition is constructed by joining a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a continuous pairwise Conditional Random Field (CRF) model. Semantic information and relative depth trends of local regions inside the image are integrated into the framework. A deep CNN network is firstly used to automatically learn a hierarchical feature representation of the image. To get more local details in the image, the relative depth trends of local regions are incorporated into the network. Combined with semantic information of the image, a continuous pairwise CRF is then established and is used as the loss function of the unified model. Experiments on real scenes demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and that the approach obtains satisfactory results.

Background fluorescence estimation and vesicle segmentation in live cell imaging with conditional random fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Pécot, Thierry; Bouthemy, Patrick; Boulanger, Jérôme; Chessel, Anatole; Bardin, Sabine; Salamero, Jean; Kervrann, Charles

2015-02-01

Image analysis applied to fluorescence live cell microscopy has become a key tool in molecular biology since it enables to characterize biological processes in space and time at the subcellular level. In fluorescence microscopy imaging, the moving tagged structures of interest, such as vesicles, appear as bright spots over a static or nonstatic background. In this paper, we consider the problem of vesicle segmentation and time-varying background estimation at the cellular scale. The main idea is to formulate the joint segmentation-estimation problem in the general conditional random field framework. Furthermore, segmentation of vesicles and background estimation are alternatively performed by energy minimization using a min cut-max flow algorithm. The proposed approach relies on a detection measure computed from intensity contrasts between neighboring blocks in fluorescence microscopy images. This approach permits analysis of either 2D + time or 3D + time data. We demonstrate the performance of the so-called C-CRAFT through an experimental comparison with the state-of-the-art methods in fluorescence video-microscopy. We also use this method to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of Rab6 transport carriers at the cell periphery for two different specific adhesion geometries.

Writing business research article abstracts: A genre approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen Piqué-Noguera

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A great deal has been published about oral and written genres in business (e.g., letters, research articles, oral presentations, etc., and less attention has been paid to business research article abstracts as a written genre, as many experts would argue. This research intends to raise rhetorical awareness about the role of abstracts in today’s academic world. To this effect, the abstracts of two official publications of the Association of Business Communication, Journal of Business Communication and Business Communication Quarterly, have been analyzed and compared in terms of structure and content according to models published in the specialized literature. The results show an irregular and inconsistent presentation of abstracts, a good number of them following no set pattern and thus lacking in important information for researchers. These findings suggest, first of all, that abstracts have a specific mission to fulfil and should not be disregarded; and, secondly, that journal guidelines for authors should be more explicit in their instructions on how to write and structure abstracts.

2002 Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The 25th Annual (Silver Jubilee) Conference 2002 Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts gives a brief on the Nigerian Institute of Physics, the Sheda Science and Technology Complex. It carries the Conference programme and carries the abstracts of all the papers presented. The abstracts cover a wide range of subjects including topics in atmospheric physics, education, policy and planning, geophysics, instrumentation, mathematical sciences, theoretical physics, nuclear and health physics, solid state, electronic and health physics. We are grateful to the Nigerian Institute of Physics for this volume

Functional Correspondence between Evaluators and Abstract Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ager, Mads Stig; Biernacki, Dariusz; Danvy, Olivier

2003-01-01

We bridge the gap between functional evaluators and abstract machines for the λ-calculus, using closure conversion, transformation into continuation-passing style, and defunctionalization.We illustrate this approach by deriving Krivine's abstract machine from an ordinary call-by-name evaluator...... and by deriving an ordinary call-by-value evaluator from Felleisen et al.'s CEK machine. The first derivation is strikingly simpler than what can be found in the literature. The second one is new. Together, they show that Krivine's abstract machine and the CEK machine correspond to the call-by-name and call...

Abstracting audit data for lightweight intrusion detection

KAUST Repository

Wang, Wei; Zhang, Xiangliang; Pitsilis, Georgios

2010-01-01

are used to validate the two strategies of data abstraction. The extensive test results show that the process of exemplar extraction significantly improves the detection efficiency and has a better detection performance than PCA in data abstraction. © 2010

A cluster-based randomized controlled trial promoting community participation in arsenic mitigation efforts in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

George, Christine Marie; van Geen, Alexander; Slavkovich, Vesna; Singha, Ashit; Levy, Diane; Islam, Tariqul; Ahmed, Kazi Matin; Moon-Howard, Joyce; Tarozzi, Alessandro; Liu, Xinhua; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Graziano, Joseph

2012-01-01

Abstract Objective To reduce arsenic (As) exposure, we evaluated the effectiveness of training community members to perform water arsenic (WAs) testing and provide As education compared to sending representatives from outside communities to conduct these tasks. Methods We conducted a cluster based randomized controlled trial of 20 villages in Singair, Bangladesh. Fifty eligible respondents were randomly selected in each village. In 10 villages, a community member provided As education and WAs...

Effect of editors' implementation of CONSORT guidelines on the reporting of abstracts in high impact medical journals: interrupted time series analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopewell, Sally; Ravaud, Philippe; Baron, Gabriel; Boutron, Isabelle

2012-06-22

To investigate the effect of the CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines, and different editorial policies used by five leading general medical journals to implement the guidelines, on the reporting quality of abstracts of randomised trials. Interrupted time series analysis. We randomly selected up to 60 primary reports of randomised trials per journal per year from five high impact, general medical journals in 2006-09, if indexed in PubMed with an electronic abstract. We excluded reports that did not include an electronic abstract, and any secondary trial publications or economic analyses. We classified journals in three categories: those not mentioning the guidelines in their instructions to authors (JAMA and New England Journal of Medicine), those referring to the guidelines in their instructions to authors but with no specific policy to implement them (BMJ), and those referring to the guidelines in their instructions to authors with an active policy to implement them (Annals of Internal Medicine and Lancet). Two authors extracted data independently using the CONSORT for Abstracts checklist. Mean number of CONSORT items reported in selected abstracts, among nine items reported in fewer than 50% of the abstracts published across the five journals in 2006. We assessed 955 reports of abstracts of randomised trials. Journals with an active policy to enforce the guidelines showed an immediate increase in the level of mean number of items reported (increase of 1.50 items; P=0.0037). At 23 months after publication of the guidelines, the mean number of items reported per abstract for the primary outcome was 5.41 of nine items, a 53% increase compared with the expected level estimated on the basis of pre-intervention trends. The change in level or trend did not increase in journals with no policy to enforce the guidelines (BMJ, JAMA, and New England Journal of Medicine). Active implementation of the CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines by journals can lead to improvements in the

International beta-dosimetry symposium. Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-02-01

Abstracts of the presentations at the symposium are contained in this volume. Problems associated with beta dosimetry, beta detectors and dosemeters, and current development programs are described. Each abstract has been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Data Base

Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

Science.gov (United States)

Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1994

1994-01-01

Includes abstracts of 18 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include natural language processing, information science and terminology science, classification, knowledge-intensive information systems, information value and ownership issues, economics and theories of information science, information retrieval interfaces, fuzzy thinking…

Interspinous process device versus standard conventional surgical decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis: Randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W.A. Moojen (Wouter); M.P. Arts (Mark); W.C.H. Jacobs (Wilco); E.W. van Zwet (Erik); M.E. van den Akker-van Marle (Elske); B.W. Koes (Bart); C.L.A.M. Vleggeert-Lankamp (Carmen); W.C. Peul (Wilco)

2013-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract Objective To assess whether interspinous process device implantation is more effective in the short term than conventional surgical decompression for patients with intermittent neurogenic claudication due to lumbar spinal stenosis. Design Randomized controlled

Converting One Type-Based Abstract Domain to Another

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gallagher, John Patrick; Puebla, German; Albert, Elvira

2006-01-01

The specific problem that motivates this paper is how to obtain abstract descriptions of the meanings of imported predicates (such as built-ins) that can be used when analysing a module of a logic program with respect to some abstract domain. We assume that abstract descriptions of the imported....... We develop a method which has been applied in order to generate call and success patterns from the Ciaopp assertions for built-ins, for any given regular type-based domain. In the paper we present the method as an instance of the more general problem of mapping elements of one abstract domain...

An automatic method to generate domain-specific investigator networks using PubMed abstracts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwinn Marta

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Collaboration among investigators has become critical to scientific research. This includes ad hoc collaboration established through personal contacts as well as formal consortia established by funding agencies. Continued growth in online resources for scientific research and communication has promoted the development of highly networked research communities. Extending these networks globally requires identifying additional investigators in a given domain, profiling their research interests, and collecting current contact information. We present a novel strategy for building investigator networks dynamically and producing detailed investigator profiles using data available in PubMed abstracts. Results We developed a novel strategy to obtain detailed investigator information by automatically parsing the affiliation string in PubMed records. We illustrated the results by using a published literature database in human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit as a test case. Our parsing strategy extracted country information from 92.1% of the affiliation strings in a random sample of PubMed records and in 97.0% of HuGE records, with accuracies of 94.0% and 91.0%, respectively. Institution information was parsed from 91.3% of the general PubMed records (accuracy 86.8% and from 94.2% of HuGE PubMed records (accuracy 87.0. We demonstrated the application of our approach to dynamic creation of investigator networks by creating a prototype information system containing a large database of PubMed abstracts relevant to human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit, indexed using PubMed medical subject headings converted to Unified Medical Language System concepts. Our method was able to identify 70–90% of the investigators/collaborators in three different human genetics fields; it also successfully identified 9 of 10 genetics investigators within the PREBIC network, an existing preterm birth research network. Conclusion We successfully created a

Workshop on Strategic Behavior and Phase Transitions in Random and Complex Combinatorial Structures : Extended Abstracts

CERN Document Server

Kirousis, Lefteris; Ortiz-Gracia, Luis; Serna, Maria

2017-01-01

This book is divided into two parts, the first of which seeks to connect the phase transitions of various disciplines, including game theory, and to explore the synergies between statistical physics and combinatorics. Phase Transitions has been an active multidisciplinary field of research, bringing together physicists, computer scientists and mathematicians. The main research theme explores how atomic agents that act locally and microscopically lead to discontinuous macroscopic changes. Adopting this perspective has proven to be especially useful in studying the evolution of random and usually complex or large combinatorial objects (like networks or logic formulas) with respect to discontinuous changes in global parameters like connectivity, satisfiability etc. There is, of course, an obvious strategic element in the formation of a transition: the atomic agents “selfishly” seek to optimize a local parameter. However, up to now this game-theoretic aspect of abrupt, locally triggered changes had not been e...

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J.D. Schreiber

2005-01-01

The purpose of this report is to develop and analyze the engineered barrier system (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, consistent with Level I and Level II model validation, as identified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Engineered Barrier System: Radionuclide Transport Abstraction Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173617]). The EBS radionuclide transport abstraction (or EBS RT Abstraction) is the conceptual model used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) to determine the rate of radionuclide releases from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ). The EBS RT Abstraction conceptual model consists of two main components: a flow model and a transport model. Both models are developed mathematically from first principles in order to show explicitly what assumptions, simplifications, and approximations are incorporated into the models used in the TSPA-LA. The flow model defines the pathways for water flow in the EBS and specifies how the flow rate is computed in each pathway. Input to this model includes the seepage flux into a drift. The seepage flux is potentially split by the drip shield, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the drip shield and some passing through breaches in the drip shield that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. The flux through drip shield breaches is potentially split by the waste package, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the waste package and some passing through waste package breaches that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. Neither the drip shield nor the waste package survives an igneous intrusion, so the flux splitting submodel is not used in the igneous scenario class. The flow model is validated in an independent model validation technical review. The drip shield and waste package flux splitting algorithms are developed and validated using experimental data. The transport model considers

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J.D. Schreiber

2005-08-25

The purpose of this report is to develop and analyze the engineered barrier system (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, consistent with Level I and Level II model validation, as identified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Engineered Barrier System: Radionuclide Transport Abstraction Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173617]). The EBS radionuclide transport abstraction (or EBS RT Abstraction) is the conceptual model used in the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) to determine the rate of radionuclide releases from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ). The EBS RT Abstraction conceptual model consists of two main components: a flow model and a transport model. Both models are developed mathematically from first principles in order to show explicitly what assumptions, simplifications, and approximations are incorporated into the models used in the TSPA-LA. The flow model defines the pathways for water flow in the EBS and specifies how the flow rate is computed in each pathway. Input to this model includes the seepage flux into a drift. The seepage flux is potentially split by the drip shield, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the drip shield and some passing through breaches in the drip shield that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. The flux through drip shield breaches is potentially split by the waste package, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the waste package and some passing through waste package breaches that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. Neither the drip shield nor the waste package survives an igneous intrusion, so the flux splitting submodel is not used in the igneous scenario class. The flow model is validated in an independent model validation technical review. The drip shield and waste package flux splitting algorithms are developed and validated using experimental data. The transport

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. Prouty

2006-07-14

The purpose of this report is to develop and analyze the engineered barrier system (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, consistent with Level I and Level II model validation, as identified in Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Engineered Barrier System: Radionuclide Transport Abstraction Model Report Integration (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173617]). The EBS radionuclide transport abstraction (or EBS RT Abstraction) is the conceptual model used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA) to determine the rate of radionuclide releases from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ). The EBS RT Abstraction conceptual model consists of two main components: a flow model and a transport model. Both models are developed mathematically from first principles in order to show explicitly what assumptions, simplifications, and approximations are incorporated into the models used in the TSPA. The flow model defines the pathways for water flow in the EBS and specifies how the flow rate is computed in each pathway. Input to this model includes the seepage flux into a drift. The seepage flux is potentially split by the drip shield, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the drip shield and some passing through breaches in the drip shield that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. The flux through drip shield breaches is potentially split by the waste package, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the waste package and some passing through waste package breaches that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. Neither the drip shield nor the waste package survives an igneous intrusion, so the flux splitting submodel is not used in the igneous scenario class. The flow model is validated in an independent model validation technical review. The drip shield and waste package flux splitting algorithms are developed and validated using experimental data. The transport model considers advective transport and diffusive transport

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J. Prouty

2006-01-01

The purpose of this report is to develop and analyze the engineered barrier system (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, consistent with Level I and Level II model validation, as identified in Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Engineered Barrier System: Radionuclide Transport Abstraction Model Report Integration (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173617]). The EBS radionuclide transport abstraction (or EBS RT Abstraction) is the conceptual model used in the total system performance assessment (TSPA) to determine the rate of radionuclide releases from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ). The EBS RT Abstraction conceptual model consists of two main components: a flow model and a transport model. Both models are developed mathematically from first principles in order to show explicitly what assumptions, simplifications, and approximations are incorporated into the models used in the TSPA. The flow model defines the pathways for water flow in the EBS and specifies how the flow rate is computed in each pathway. Input to this model includes the seepage flux into a drift. The seepage flux is potentially split by the drip shield, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the drip shield and some passing through breaches in the drip shield that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. The flux through drip shield breaches is potentially split by the waste package, with some (or all) of the flux being diverted by the waste package and some passing through waste package breaches that might result from corrosion or seismic damage. Neither the drip shield nor the waste package survives an igneous intrusion, so the flux splitting submodel is not used in the igneous scenario class. The flow model is validated in an independent model validation technical review. The drip shield and waste package flux splitting algorithms are developed and validated using experimental data. The transport model considers advective transport and diffusive transport

The Dependence of Chimera States on Initial Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Yue-E; Li Hai-Hong

2015-01-01

A chimera state consisting of both coherent and incoherent groups is a fascinating spatial pattern in non-locally coupled identical oscillators. It is thought that random initial conditions hardly evolve to chimera states. In this work, we study the dependence of chimera states on initial conditions. We show that random initial conditions may lead to chimera states and the chance of realizing chimera states becomes increasing when the model parameters are moving away from the boundary of their stable regime. (paper)

Influence of depth of neuromuscular blockade on surgical conditions during low-pressure pneumoperitoneum laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized blinded study.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrio, Javier; Errando, Carlos L; García-Ramón, Jaime; Sellés, Rafael; San Miguel, Guillermo; Gallego, Juan

2017-11-01

To evaluate the influence of neuromuscular blockade (NMB) on surgical conditions during low-pressure pneumoperitoneum (8mmHg) laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), while comparing moderate and deep NMB. Secondary objective was to evaluate if surgical conditions during low-pressure pneumoperitoneum LC performed with deep NMB could be comparable to those provided during standard-pressure pneumoperitoneum (12mmHg) LC. Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial. Operating room. Ninety ASA 1-2 patients scheduled for elective LC. Patients were allocated into 3 groups: Group 1: low-pressure pneumoperitoneum with moderate-NMB (1-3 TOF), Group 2: low-pressure pneumoperitoneum with deep-NMB (1-5 PTC) and Group 3: standard pneumoperitoneum (12mmHg). Rocuronium was used to induce NMB and acceleromiography was used for NMB monitoring (TOF-Watch-SX). Three experienced surgeons evaluated surgical conditions using a four-step scale at three time-points: surgical field exposure, dissection of the gallbladder and extraction/closure. Low-pressure pneumoperitoneum (Group 1 vs. 2): good conditions: 96.7 vs. 96.7%, 90 vs. 80% and 89.6 vs. 92.3%, respectively for the time-points, p>0.05. No differences in optimal surgical conditions were observed between the groups. Surgery completion at 8mmHg pneumoperitoneum: 96.7 vs. 86.7%, p=0.353. Standard-pressure pneumoperitoneum vs. low-pressure pneumoperitoneum with deep NMB (Group 3 vs. 2): good conditions: 100% in Group 3 for the three time-points (p=0.024 vs. Group 2 at dissection of the gallbladder). Significantly greater percentage of optimal conditions during standard-pressure pneumoperitoneum LC at the three time points of evaluation. The depth of NMB was found not to be decisive neither in the improvement of surgical conditions nor in the completion of low-pressure pneumoperitoneum LC performed by experienced surgeons. Surgical conditions were considered better with a standard-pressure pneumoperitoneum, regardless of the depth of NMB

Bioconversion of potatoes residues or surplus potatoes to ethanol under non axenic conditions [abstract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lamaudière, S.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Biofuels can offer an alternative to fossil fuels in the context of climate change and fossil reserves depletion. With 3 million tons of potatoes produced in 2007 and a high yield per hectare of 47 tons, Belgium is the 19th largest producer in the world. The residual and surplus potatoes could be used to produce bioethanol by fermentation. We examined the feasibility of a simple ethanol fermentation process under non axenic conditions. The substrate was pretreated with commercial amylases or by adding as low as 10% FM (Fresh Matter barley malt. It was then fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ethanol and volatile fatty acids were analyzed by GC-FID and soluble sugars were analyzed with the Anthrone method. Starch from potatoes was hydrolyzed to soluble sugars. Hydrolysis seems to continue with 10% FM of barley malt after 48 h while the hydrolysis stopped or decelerated with commercial enzymes. With 10% FM of malt, 3 h of hydrolysis and 7 days of fermentation, an ethanol concentration of 42 g.l-1 was obtained and the conversion yield was 139 gethanol.kg-1 DM. The fermentation conversion yield of soluble sugars to ethanol was > 82% and the endogenous competition was limited. However, starch hydrolyzing seems to be a limiting step under the conditions tested. Commercial enzymes did not provide better results under the same conditions.

A comparison of the accuracy of clinical decisions based on full-text articles and on journal abstracts alone: a study among residents in a tertiary care hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcelo, Alvin; Gavino, Alex; Isip-Tan, Iris Thiele; Apostol-Nicodemus, Leilanie; Mesa-Gaerlan, Faith Joan; Firaza, Paul Nimrod; Faustorilla, John Francis; Callaghan, Fiona M; Fontelo, Paul

2013-04-01

Many clinicians depend solely on journal abstracts to guide clinical decisions. This study aims to determine if there are differences in the accuracy of responses to simulated cases between resident physicians provided with an abstract only and those with full-text articles. It also attempts to describe their information-seeking behaviour. Seventy-seven resident physicians from four specialty departments of a tertiary care hospital completed a paper-based questionnaire with clinical simulation cases, then randomly assigned to two intervention groups-access to abstracts-only and access to both abstracts and full-text. While having access to medical literature, they completed an online version of the same questionnaire. The average improvement across departments was not significantly different between the abstracts-only group and the full-text group (p=0.44), but when accounting for an interaction between intervention and department, the effect was significant (p=0.049) with improvement greater with full-text in the surgery department. Overall, the accuracy of responses was greater after the provision of either abstracts-only or full-text (pfull-text articles were more accurate than those guided by abstracts alone, but the results seem to be driven by a significant difference in one department.

A Coupled Hidden Conditional Random Field Model for Simultaneous Face Clustering and Naming in Videos

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Yifan

2016-08-18

For face naming in TV series or movies, a typical way is using subtitles/script alignment to get the time stamps of the names, and tagging them to the faces. We study the problem of face naming in videos when subtitles are not available. To this end, we divide the problem into two tasks: face clustering which groups the faces depicting a certain person into a cluster, and name assignment which associates a name to each face. Each task is formulated as a structured prediction problem and modeled by a hidden conditional random field (HCRF) model. We argue that the two tasks are correlated problems whose outputs can provide prior knowledge of the target prediction for each other. The two HCRFs are coupled in a unified graphical model called coupled HCRF where the joint dependence of the cluster labels and face name association is naturally embedded in the correlation between the two HCRFs. We provide an effective algorithm to optimize the two HCRFs iteratively and the performance of the two tasks on real-world data set can be both improved.

Content Abstract Classification Using Naive Bayes

Science.gov (United States)

Latif, Syukriyanto; Suwardoyo, Untung; Aldrin Wihelmus Sanadi, Edwin

2018-03-01

This study aims to classify abstract content based on the use of the highest number of words in an abstract content of the English language journals. This research uses a system of text mining technology that extracts text data to search information from a set of documents. Abstract content of 120 data downloaded at www.computer.org. Data grouping consists of three categories: DM (Data Mining), ITS (Intelligent Transport System) and MM (Multimedia). Systems built using naive bayes algorithms to classify abstract journals and feature selection processes using term weighting to give weight to each word. Dimensional reduction techniques to reduce the dimensions of word counts rarely appear in each document based on dimensional reduction test parameters of 10% -90% of 5.344 words. The performance of the classification system is tested by using the Confusion Matrix based on comparative test data and test data. The results showed that the best classification results were obtained during the 75% training data test and 25% test data from the total data. Accuracy rates for categories of DM, ITS and MM were 100%, 100%, 86%. respectively with dimension reduction parameters of 30% and the value of learning rate between 0.1-0.5.

Full Abstraction for HOPLA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nygaard, Mikkel; Winskel, Glynn

2003-01-01

A fully abstract denotational semantics for the higher-order process language HOPLA is presented. It characterises contextual and logical equivalence, the latter linking up with simulation. The semantics is a clean, domain-theoretic description of processes as downwards-closed sets of computation...

DEGRO 2017. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2017-06-15

The volume includes abstracts of the Annual DEGRO Meeting 2017 covering lectures and poster sessions with the following issues: lymphoma, biology, physics, radioimmunotherapy, sarcomas and rare tumors, prostate carcinoma, lung tumors, benign lesions and new media, mamma carcinoma, gastrointestinal tumors, quality of life, care science and quality assurance, high-technology methods and palliative situation, head-and-neck tumors, brain tumors, central nervous system metastases, guidelines, radiation sensitivity, radiotherapy, radioimmunotherapy.

Collected abstracts on particle beam diagnostic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickok, R.L.

1979-01-01

This report contains a compilation of abstracts on work related to particle beam diagnostics for high temperature plasmas. The abstracts were gathered in early 1978 and represent the status of the various programs as of that date. It is not suggested that this is a comprehensive list of all the work that is going on in the development of particle beam diagnostics, but it does provide a representative view of the work in this field. For example, no abstracts were received from the U.S.S.R. even though they have considerable activity in particle beam diagnostics

Argument structure and the representation of abstract semantics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Rodríguez-Ferreiro

Full Text Available According to the dual coding theory, differences in the ease of retrieval between concrete and abstract words are related to the exclusive dependence of abstract semantics on linguistic information. Argument structure can be considered a measure of the complexity of the linguistic contexts that accompany a verb. If the retrieval of abstract verbs relies more on the linguistic codes they are associated to, we could expect a larger effect of argument structure for the processing of abstract verbs. In this study, sets of length- and frequency-matched verbs including 40 intransitive verbs, 40 transitive verbs taking simple complements, and 40 transitive verbs taking sentential complements were presented in separate lexical and grammatical decision tasks. Half of the verbs were concrete and half were abstract. Similar results were obtained in the two tasks, with significant effects of imageability and transitivity. However, the interaction between these two variables was not significant. These results conflict with hypotheses assuming a stronger reliance of abstract semantics on linguistic codes. In contrast, our data are in line with theories that link the ease of retrieval with availability and robustness of semantic information.

Argument structure and the representation of abstract semantics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Javier; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Mònica

2014-01-01

According to the dual coding theory, differences in the ease of retrieval between concrete and abstract words are related to the exclusive dependence of abstract semantics on linguistic information. Argument structure can be considered a measure of the complexity of the linguistic contexts that accompany a verb. If the retrieval of abstract verbs relies more on the linguistic codes they are associated to, we could expect a larger effect of argument structure for the processing of abstract verbs. In this study, sets of length- and frequency-matched verbs including 40 intransitive verbs, 40 transitive verbs taking simple complements, and 40 transitive verbs taking sentential complements were presented in separate lexical and grammatical decision tasks. Half of the verbs were concrete and half were abstract. Similar results were obtained in the two tasks, with significant effects of imageability and transitivity. However, the interaction between these two variables was not significant. These results conflict with hypotheses assuming a stronger reliance of abstract semantics on linguistic codes. In contrast, our data are in line with theories that link the ease of retrieval with availability and robustness of semantic information.

DENOTATIVE ORIGINS OF ABSTRACT IMAGES IN LINGUISTIC EXPERIMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elina, E.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the refusal from denotation (the subject, as the basic principle of abstract images, and semiotic problems arising in connection with this principle: how to solve the contradiction between the pointlessness and iconic nature of the image? Is it correct in the absence of denotation to recognize abstract representation of a single-level entity? The solution is proposed to decide these questions with the help of a psycholinguistic experiment in which the verbal interpretation of abstract images made by both experienced and “naive” audience-recipients demonstrates the objectivity of perception of denotative “traces” and the presence of denotative invariant in an abstract form.

Composing Interfering Abstract Protocols

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

Tecnologia , Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal. This document is a companion technical report of the paper, “Composing Interfering Abstract...a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) through the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program under grant SFRH / BD / 33765

Random Forest-Based Approach for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Systems Operating under Actual Environmental Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shareef, Hussain; Mutlag, Ammar Hussein; Mohamed, Azah

2017-01-01

Many maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed in recent years to maximize the produced PV energy. These algorithms are not sufficiently robust because of fast-changing environmental conditions, efficiency, accuracy at steady-state value, and dynamics of the tracking algorithm. Thus, this paper proposes a new random forest (RF) model to improve MPPT performance. The RF model has the ability to capture the nonlinear association of patterns between predictors, such as irradiance and temperature, to determine accurate maximum power point. A RF-based tracker is designed for 25 SolarTIFSTF-120P6 PV modules, with the capacity of 3 kW peak using two high-speed sensors. For this purpose, a complete PV system is modeled using 300,000 data samples and simulated using the MATLAB/SIMULINK package. The proposed RF-based MPPT is then tested under actual environmental conditions for 24 days to validate the accuracy and dynamic response. The response of the RF-based MPPT model is also compared with that of the artificial neural network and adaptive neurofuzzy inference system algorithms for further validation. The results show that the proposed MPPT technique gives significant improvement compared with that of other techniques. In addition, the RF model passes the Bland-Altman test, with more than 95 percent acceptability.

Exploiting the systematic review protocol for classification of medical abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Frunza, Oana; Inkpen, Diana; Matwin, Stan; Klement, William; O'Blenis, Peter

2011-01-01

To determine whether the automatic classification of documents can be useful in systematic reviews on medical topics, and specifically if the performance of the automatic classification can be enhanced by using the particular protocol of questions employed by the human reviewers to create multiple classifiers. The test collection is the data used in large-scale systematic review on the topic of the dissemination strategy of health care services for elderly people. From a group of 47,274 abstracts marked by human reviewers to be included in or excluded from further screening, we randomly selected 20,000 as a training set, with the remaining 27,274 becoming a separate test set. As a machine learning algorithm we used complement naïve Bayes. We tested both a global classification method, where a single classifier is trained on instances of abstracts and their classification (i.e., included or excluded), and a novel per-question classification method that trains multiple classifiers for each abstract, exploiting the specific protocol (questions) of the systematic review. For the per-question method we tested four ways of combining the results of the classifiers trained for the individual questions. As evaluation measures, we calculated precision and recall for several settings of the two methods. It is most important not to exclude any relevant documents (i.e., to attain high recall for the class of interest) but also desirable to exclude most of the non-relevant documents (i.e., to attain high precision on the class of interest) in order to reduce human workload. For the global method, the highest recall was 67.8% and the highest precision was 37.9%. For the per-question method, the highest recall was 99.2%, and the highest precision was 63%. The human-machine workflow proposed in this paper achieved a recall value of 99.6%, and a precision value of 17.8%. The per-question method that combines classifiers following the specific protocol of the review leads to better

Abstracting massive data for lightweight intrusion detection in computer networks

KAUST Repository

Wang, Wei; Liu, Jiqiang; Pitsilis, Georgios; Zhang, Xiangliang

2016-01-01

detection. Data abstraction refers to abstract or extract the most relevant information from the massive dataset. In this work, we propose three strategies of data abstraction, namely, exemplar extraction, attribute selection and attribute abstraction. We

Earth Sciences Division collected abstracts: 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henry, A.L.; Hornady, B.F. (eds.)

1981-10-15

This report is a compilation of abstracts of papers, reports, and talks presented during 1980 at national and international meetings by members of the Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The arrangement is alphabetical (by author). For a given report, a bibliographic reference appears under the name of each coauthor, but the abstract itself is given only under the name of the first author (indicated in capital letters) or the first Earth Sciences Division author.

Earth Sciences Division collected abstracts: 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, A.L.; Hornady, B.F.

1981-01-01

This report is a compilation of abstracts of papers, reports, and talks presented during 1980 at national and international meetings by members of the Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The arrangement is alphabetical (by author). For a given report, a bibliographic reference appears under the name of each coauthor, but the abstract itself is given only under the name of the first author (indicated in capital letters) or the first Earth Sciences Division author

Annotating abstract pronominal anaphora in the DAD project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Navarretta, Costanza; Olsen, Sussi Anni

2008-01-01

n this paper we present an extension of the MATE/GNOME annotation scheme for anaphora (Poesio 2004) which accounts for abstract anaphora in Danish and Italian. By abstract anaphora it is here meant pronouns whose linguistic antecedents are verbal phrases, clauses and discourse segments. The exten......n this paper we present an extension of the MATE/GNOME annotation scheme for anaphora (Poesio 2004) which accounts for abstract anaphora in Danish and Italian. By abstract anaphora it is here meant pronouns whose linguistic antecedents are verbal phrases, clauses and discourse segments....... The extended scheme, which we call the DAD annotation scheme, allows to annotate information about abstract anaphora which is important to investigate their use, see Webber (1988), Gundel et al. (2003), Navarretta (2004) and which can influence their automatic treatment. Intercoder agreement scores obtained...... by applying the DAD annotation scheme on texts and dialogues in the two languages are given and show that th information proposed in the scheme can be recognised in a reliable way....

Subsequent publication of oral and maxillofacial surgery meeting abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Joseph L; Laskin, Daniel M

2012-05-01

Previous studies in various medical specialties have shown that fewer than 50% of abstracts presented at meetings are subsequently published. The purpose of the present study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. The titles and authors of the abstracts from all oral abstract session presentations and posters by American contributors were collected from the Final Programs of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meetings for 2006 to 2009. A PubMed search for published articles through December 2010 was then performed using the authors' names, abstract titles, and key words. A total of 311 abstract presentations were done at the 4 annual meetings. Of these, only 85 (24%) were subsequently published. No difference was found between abstracts from oral or poster presentations. Most of the articles were published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Because of deficiencies that can occur in abstracts and the need to disseminate the information they contain, it is important to take the appropriate measures to ensure that full articles are subsequently published. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing and presenting effective abstracts and posters in psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Manpreet K

2014-12-01

Presenting an abstract and a poster gives scientists from all fields, including psychiatry, an important opportunity to introduce their research to others. Researchers and mental health professionals at all levels of career development can use several media resources to assist them with the technical aspects of preparing an abstract or a poster. This article will focus on major principles associated with preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster at a scientific meeting. A literature search using NIH PubMed was conducted to identify peer and nonpeer-reviewed articles that provide methods for effective abstract and poster presentation for the period of 1966 to June 2014. First, the author reviews the purpose and relative importance of abstracts and posters in academic settings. Next, the author describes the qualities of an effective abstract and poster and common pitfalls that may occur. Finally, the author presents a systematic approach to preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster in a scientific setting. Several sources consistently suggest that readability, organization, and succinctness are qualities that make an effective and successful abstract and poster. Mental health professionals in all stages of their career development may benefit from following these guidelines in presenting their scientific work.

Preparing and presenting effective abstracts and posters in psychiatry

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Manpreet K.

2014-01-01

Presenting an abstract and a poster gives scientists from all fields, including psychiatry, an important opportunity to introduce their research to others. Researchers and mental health professionals at all levels of career development can use several media resources to assist them with the technical aspects of preparing an abstract or a poster. This article will focus on major principles associated with preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster at a scientific meeting. A literature search using NIH PubMed was conducted to identify peer and non-peer-reviewed articles that provide methods for effective abstract and poster presentation for the period of 1966 to June 2014. First, we review the purpose and relative importance of abstracts and posters in academic settings. Next, we describe the qualities of an effective abstract and poster and common pitfalls that may occur. Finally, we present a systematic approach to preparing and presenting an abstract and a poster in a scientific setting. Several sources consistently suggest that readability, organization, and succinctness are qualities that make an effective and successful abstract and poster. Mental health professionals in all stages of their career development may benefit from following these guidelines in presenting their scientific work. PMID:25085499

SPR 2014. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-05-15

The proceedings of the SPR 2014 meeting include abstracts on the following topics: Body imaging techniques: practical advice for clinic work; thoracic imaging: focus on the lungs; gastrointestinal imaging: focus on the pancreas and bowel; genitourinary imaging: focus on gonadal radiology; muscoskeletal imaging; focus on oncology; child abuse and nor child abuse: focus on radiography; impact of NMR and CT imaging on management of CHD; education and communication: art and practice in pediatric radiology.

SPR 2014. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The proceedings of the SPR 2014 meeting include abstracts on the following topics: Body imaging techniques: practical advice for clinic work; thoracic imaging: focus on the lungs; gastrointestinal imaging: focus on the pancreas and bowel; genitourinary imaging: focus on gonadal radiology; muscoskeletal imaging; focus on oncology; child abuse and nor child abuse: focus on radiography; impact of NMR and CT imaging on management of CHD; education and communication: art and practice in pediatric radiology.

WWNPQFT-2011 - Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, E.; Bender, C.; Culetu, H.; Fried, H.; Grossmann, A.; Hofmann, R.; Le Bellac, M.; Martinetti, P.; Muller, B.; Patras, F.; Raffaeli, B.; Vitting Andersen, J.

2013-01-01

The object of this workshop is to consolidate and publicize new efforts in non-perturbative field theories. This year the presentations deal with quantum gravity, non-commutative geometry, fat-tailed wave-functions, strongly coupled field theories, space-times two time-like dimensions, and multiplicative renormalization. A presentation is dedicated to the construction of a nucleon-nucleon potential from an analytical, non-perturbative gauge invariant QCD. This document gathers the abstracts of the presentations

Impredicative concurrent abstract predicates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Kasper; Birkedal, Lars

2014-01-01

We present impredicative concurrent abstract predicates { iCAP { a program logic for modular reasoning about concurrent, higher- order, reentrant, imperative code. Building on earlier work, iCAP uses protocols to reason about shared mutable state. A key novel feature of iCAP is the ability to dene...

On the Wigner law in dilute random matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Khorunzhy, A.; Rodgers, G. J.

1998-12-01

We consider ensembles of N × N symmetric matrices whose entries are weakly dependent random variables. We show that random dilution can change the limiting eigenvalue distribution of such matrices. We prove that under general and natural conditions the normalised eigenvalue counting function coincides with the semicircle (Wigner) distribution in the limit N → ∞. This can be explained by the observation that dilution (or more generally, random modulation) eliminates the weak dependence (or correlations) between random matrix entries. It also supports our earlier conjecture that the Wigner distribution is stable to random dilution and modulation.

On stability of Random Riccati equations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王远; 郭雷

1999-01-01

Random Riccati equations (RRE) arise frequently in filtering, estimation and control, but their stability properties are rarely rigorously explored in the literature. First a suitable stochastic observability (or excitation) condition is introduced to guarantee both the L_r-and exponential stability of RRE. Then the stability of Kalman filter is analyzed with random coefficients, and the L_r boundedness of filtering errors is established.

Assume-Guarantee Abstraction Refinement Meets Hybrid Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bogomolov, Sergiy; Frehse, Goran; Greitschus, Marius; Grosu, Radu; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Podelski, Andreas; Strump, Thomas

2014-01-01

Compositional verification techniques in the assume- guarantee style have been successfully applied to transition systems to efficiently reduce the search space by leveraging the compositional nature of the systems under consideration. We adapt these techniques to the domain of hybrid systems with affine dynamics. To build assumptions we introduce an abstraction based on location merging. We integrate the assume-guarantee style analysis with automatic abstraction refinement. We have implemented our approach in the symbolic hybrid model checker SpaceEx. The evaluation shows its practical potential. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work combining assume-guarantee reasoning with automatic abstraction-refinement in the context of hybrid automata.

Bounded Rationality of Generalized Abstract Fuzzy Economies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available By using a nonlinear scalarization technique, the bounded rationality model M for generalized abstract fuzzy economies in finite continuous spaces is established. Furthermore, by using the model M, some new theorems for structural stability and robustness to (λ,ϵ-equilibria of generalized abstract fuzzy economies are proved.

Random survey of the microbial quality of bottled water in South Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Random survey of the microbial quality of bottled water in South Africa. Marthie M Ehlers, Walda B Van Zyl, Dobromir N Pavlov, Etienne E Muller. Abstract. Due to the increased demand and consumption of bottled water in South Africa, there has been a growing concern about the microbiological quality of this product.

Abstract processing and observer vantage perspective in dysphoria.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart-Smith, Ly; Moulds, Michelle L

2018-05-07

processing and observer vantage perspective have been associated with negative consequences in depression. We investigated the relationship between mode of processing and vantage perspective bidirectionally in high and low dysphoric individuals, using abstract and concrete descriptions of experimenter-provided everyday actions. When vantage perspective was manipulated and processing mode was measured (Study 1a), participants who adopted a field perspective did not differ from those who adopted an observer perspective in their preference for abstract descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. When processing mode was manipulated and vantage perspective was measured (Study 1b), participants provided with abstract descriptions had a greater tendency to adopt an observer perspective than those provided with concrete descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. These results were replicated in larger online samples (Studies 2a and 2b). Together, they indicate a unidirectional causal relationship, whereby processing mode causally influences vantage perspective, in contrast to the bidirectional relationship previously reported in an unselected sample (Libby, Shaeffer, & Eibach, 2009). Further, these findings demonstrate that abstract processing increases the likelihood of adopting an observer perspective, and support targeting abstract processing in the treatment of depression to address the negative consequences associated with both abstract processing and recalling/imagining events from an observer perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Falls documentation in nursing homes: agreement between the minimum data set and chart abstractions of medical and nursing documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill-Westmoreland, Elizabeth E; Gruber-Baldini, Ann L

2005-02-01

To assess the agreement between falls as recorded in the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and fall events abstracted from chart documentation of elderly nursing home (NH) residents. Secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal panel study. Fifty-six randomly selected NHs in Maryland stratified by facility size and geographic region. Four hundred sixty-two NH residents, aged 65 and older, in NHs for 1 year. Falls were abstracted from resident charts and compared with MDS fall variables. Fall events data obtained from other sources of chart documentation were matched for the corresponding periods of 30 and 180 days before the 1-year MDS assessment date. For a 30-day period, concordance between the MDS and chart abstractions of falls occurred in 65% of cases, with a kappa coefficient of 0.29 (Pfalls the MDS missed indicated that these residents had significantly more activity of daily living impairment and significantly less unsteady gait and cane/walker use. The MDS underreported falls. Nurses completing MDS assessments must carefully review residents' medical records for falls documentation. Future studies should use caution when employing MDS data as the only indicator of falls.

Controlling groundwater over abstraction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Naber, Al Majd; Molle, Francois

2017-01-01

The control of groundwater over abstraction is a vexing problem worldwide. Jordan is one of the countries facing severe water scarcity which has implemented a wide range of measures and policies over the past 20 years. While the gap between formal legal and policy frameworks and local practices on

Circularity and Lambda Abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier; Thiemann, Peter; Zerny, Ian

2013-01-01

unknowns from what is done to them, which we lambda-abstract with functions. The circular unknowns then become dead variables, which we eliminate. The result is a strict circu- lar program a la Pettorossi. This transformation is reversible: given a strict circular program a la Pettorossi, we introduce...

Experimental Analysis of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting System for Harmonic, Random, and Sine on Random Vibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jackson W. Cryns

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Harvesting power with a piezoelectric vibration powered generator using a full-wave rectifier conditioning circuit is experimentally compared for varying sinusoidal, random, and sine on random (SOR input vibration scenarios; the implications of source vibration characteristics on harvester design are discussed. The rise in popularity of harvesting energy from ambient vibrations has made compact, energy dense piezoelectric generators commercially available. Much of the available literature focuses on maximizing harvested power through nonlinear processing circuits that require accurate knowledge of generator internal mechanical and electrical characteristics and idealization of the input vibration source, which cannot be assumed in general application. Variations in source vibration and load resistance are explored for a commercially available piezoelectric generator. The results agree with numerical and theoretical predictions in the previous literature for optimal power harvesting in sinusoidal and flat broadband vibration scenarios. Going beyond idealized steady-state sinusoidal and flat random vibration input, experimental SOR testing allows for more accurate representation of real world ambient vibration. It is shown that characteristic interactions from more complex vibration sources significantly alter power generation and processing requirements by varying harvested power, shifting optimal conditioning impedance, inducing voltage fluctuations, and ultimately rendering idealized sinusoidal and random analyses incorrect.

School-based intervention to reduce anxiety in children: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (PACES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stallard Paul

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Emotional problems such as anxiety and low mood in children are common, impair everyday functioning and increase the risk of severe mental health disorders in adulthood. Relatively few children with emotional health problems are identified and referred for treatment indicating the need to investigate preventive approaches. Methods/Design The study is designed to be a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an efficacious school-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT prevention program (FRIENDS on symptoms of anxiety and low mood in children 9 to 10 years of age. The unit of allocation is schools which are assigned to one of three conditions: school-led FRIENDS, health-led FRIENDS or treatment as usual. Assessments will be undertaken at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. The primary outcome measure is change on the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale. Secondary outcome measures assess changes in self-esteem, worries, bullying and life satisfaction. An economic evaluation will be undertaken. Discussion As of September 2011, 41 schools have been recruited and randomized. Final 12-month assessments are scheduled to be completed by May 2013. Trial Registration ISRCTN23563048

Does Preference for Abstract Patterns Relate to Information Processing and Perceived Duration?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Letizia Palumbo

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Repetitive prestimulation, in the form of click trains, is known to alter a wide range of cognitive and perceptual judgments. To date, no research has explored whether click trains also influence subjective preferences. This is plausible because preference is related to perceptual fluency and clicks may increase fluency, or, because preference is related to arousal and clicks may increase arousal. In Experiment 1, participants heard a click train, white noise, or silence through headphones and then saw an abstract symmetrical pattern on the screen for 0.5, 1, or 1.5 s. They rated the pattern on a 7-point scale. Click trains had no effect on preference ratings, although patterns that lasted longer were preferred. In Experiment 2, we again presented a click train, silence, or white noise but included both symmetrical and random patterns. Participants made both a duration and a preference judgment on every trial. Auditory click trains increased perceived duration, and symmetrical patterns were perceived as lasting longer than random patterns. Again there was no effect of auditory click trains on preference, and again patterns that were presented for longer were preferred. We conclude that click trains alter perceptual and cognitive processes, but not preferences. This helps clarify the nature of the click train effect and shows which predictions implicit in the existing literature are supported.

Abstract Interpretation as a Programming Language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mads Rosendahl

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In David Schmidt's PhD work he explored the use of denotational semantics as a programming language. It was part of an effort to not only treat formal semantics as specifications but also as interpreters and input to compiler generators. The semantics itself can be seen as a program and one may examine different programming styles and ways to represent states. Abstract interpretation is primarily a technique for derivation and specification of program analysis. As with denotational semantics we may also view abstract interpretations as programs and examine the implementation. The main focus in this paper is to show that results from higher-order strictness analysis may be used more generally as fixpoint operators for higher-order functions over lattices and thus provide a technique for immediate implementation of a large class of abstract interpretations. Furthermore, it may be seen as a programming paradigm and be used to write programs in a circular style.

Manage at work: a randomized, controlled trial of a self-management group intervention to overcome workplace challenges associated with chronic physical health conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, William S; Besen, Elyssa; Pransky, Glenn; Boot, Cécile R L; Nicholas, Michael K; McLellan, Robert K; Tveito, Torill H

2014-05-28

The percentage of older and chronically ill workers is increasing rapidly in the US and in many other countries, but few interventions are available to help employees overcome the workplace challenges of chronic pain and other physical health conditions. While most workers are eligible for job accommodation and disability compensation benefits, other workplace strategies might improve individual-level coping and problem solving to prevent work disability. In this study, we hypothesize that an employer-sponsored group intervention program employing self-management principles may improve worker engagement and reduce functional limitation associated with chronic disorders. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), workers participating in an employer-sponsored self-management group intervention will be compared with a no-treatment (wait list) control condition. Volunteer employees (n = 300) will be recruited from five participating employers and randomly assigned to intervention or control. Participants in the intervention arm will attend facilitated group workshop sessions at work (10 hours total) to explore methods for improving comfort, adjusting work habits, communicating needs effectively, applying systematic problem solving, and dealing with negative thoughts and emotions about work. Work engagement and work limitation are the principal outcomes. Secondary outcomes include fatigue, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, turnover intention, sickness absence, and health care utilization. Measurements will be taken at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. A process evaluation will be performed alongside the randomized trial. This study will be most relevant for organizations and occupational settings where some degree of job flexibility, leeway, and decision-making autonomy can be afforded to affected workers. The study design will provide initial assessment of a novel workplace approach and to understand factors affecting its feasibility and effectiveness

In-Package Chemistry Abstraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P.S. Domski

2003-07-21

The work associated with the development of this model report was performed in accordance with the requirements established in ''Technical Work Plan for Waste Form Degradation Modeling, Testing, and Analyses in Support of SR and LA'' (BSC 2002a). The in-package chemistry model and in-package chemistry model abstraction are developed to predict the bulk chemistry inside of a failed waste package and to provide simplified expressions of that chemistry. The purpose of this work is to provide the abstraction model to the Performance Assessment Project and the Waste Form Department for development of geochemical models of the waste package interior. The scope of this model report is to describe the development and validation of the in-package chemistry model and in-package chemistry model abstraction. The in-package chemistry model will consider chemical interactions of water with the waste package materials and the waste form for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) and codisposed high-level waste glass (HLWG) and N Reactor spent fuel (CDNR). The in-package chemistry model includes two sub-models, the first a water vapor condensation (WVC) model, where water enters a waste package as vapor and forms a film on the waste package components with subsequent film reactions with the waste package materials and waste form--this is a no-flow model, the reacted fluids do not exit the waste package via advection. The second sub-model of the in-package chemistry model is the seepage dripping model (SDM), where water, water that may have seeped into the repository from the surrounding rock, enters a failed waste package and reacts with the waste package components and waste form, and then exits the waste package with no accumulation of reacted water in the waste package. Both of the submodels of the in-package chemistry model are film models in contrast to past in-package chemistry models where all of the waste package pore space was filled with water. The

In-Package Chemistry Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

P.S. Domski

2003-01-01

The work associated with the development of this model report was performed in accordance with the requirements established in ''Technical Work Plan for Waste Form Degradation Modeling, Testing, and Analyses in Support of SR and LA'' (BSC 2002a). The in-package chemistry model and in-package chemistry model abstraction are developed to predict the bulk chemistry inside of a failed waste package and to provide simplified expressions of that chemistry. The purpose of this work is to provide the abstraction model to the Performance Assessment Project and the Waste Form Department for development of geochemical models of the waste package interior. The scope of this model report is to describe the development and validation of the in-package chemistry model and in-package chemistry model abstraction. The in-package chemistry model will consider chemical interactions of water with the waste package materials and the waste form for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) and codisposed high-level waste glass (HLWG) and N Reactor spent fuel (CDNR). The in-package chemistry model includes two sub-models, the first a water vapor condensation (WVC) model, where water enters a waste package as vapor and forms a film on the waste package components with subsequent film reactions with the waste package materials and waste form--this is a no-flow model, the reacted fluids do not exit the waste package via advection. The second sub-model of the in-package chemistry model is the seepage dripping model (SDM), where water, water that may have seeped into the repository from the surrounding rock, enters a failed waste package and reacts with the waste package components and waste form, and then exits the waste package with no accumulation of reacted water in the waste package. Both of the submodels of the in-package chemistry model are film models in contrast to past in-package chemistry models where all of the waste package pore space was filled with water. The current in

Embodied cognition, abstract concepts, and body manipulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katinka eDijkstra

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Current approaches on cognition hold that concrete concepts are grounded in concrete experiences. There is no consensus, however, as to whether this is equally true for abstract concepts. In this review we discuss how the body might be involved in understanding abstract concepts through metaphor activation. Substantial research has been conducted on the activation of common orientational metaphors with bodily manipulations, such as ‘power is up’ and ‘more is up’ representations. We will focus on the political metaphor that has a more complex association between the concept and the concrete domain. However, the outcomes of studies on this political metaphor have not always been consistent, possibly because the experimental manipulation was not implicit enough. The inclusion of new technological devices in this area of research, such as the Wii Balance Board, seems promising in order to assess the groundedness of abstract conceptual spatial metaphors in an implicit manner. This may aid further research to effectively demonstrate the interrelatedness between the body and more abstract representations.

Abstract algebra for physicists

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeman, J.

1975-06-01

Certain recent models of composite hadrons involve concepts and theorems from abstract algebra which are unfamiliar to most theoretical physicists. The algebraic apparatus needed for an understanding of these models is summarized here. Particular emphasis is given to algebraic structures which are not assumed to be associative. (2 figures) (auth)

RMBNToolbox: random models for biochemical networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niemi Jari

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is an increasing interest to model biochemical and cell biological networks, as well as to the computational analysis of these models. The development of analysis methodologies and related software is rapid in the field. However, the number of available models is still relatively small and the model sizes remain limited. The lack of kinetic information is usually the limiting factor for the construction of detailed simulation models. Results We present a computational toolbox for generating random biochemical network models which mimic real biochemical networks. The toolbox is called Random Models for Biochemical Networks. The toolbox works in the Matlab environment, and it makes it possible to generate various network structures, stoichiometries, kinetic laws for reactions, and parameters therein. The generation can be based on statistical rules and distributions, and more detailed information of real biochemical networks can be used in situations where it is known. The toolbox can be easily extended. The resulting network models can be exported in the format of Systems Biology Markup Language. Conclusion While more information is accumulating on biochemical networks, random networks can be used as an intermediate step towards their better understanding. Random networks make it possible to study the effects of various network characteristics to the overall behavior of the network. Moreover, the construction of artificial network models provides the ground truth data needed in the validation of various computational methods in the fields of parameter estimation and data analysis.

Abstract: Notes from the Field: Establishing Baseline Data for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract: Notes from the Field: Establishing Baseline Data for Pressure Ulcers in a Rwandan Intensive Care Unit. Gedeon Mutabazi, Jessie Silver. Abstract. Abstract. Background Pressure ulcers are a common iatrogenic medical problem. Pressure ulcers increase the morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients as well as ...

Abstract spatial concept priming dynamically influences real-world actions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah M Tower-Richardi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Experienced regularities in our perceptions and actions play important roles in grounding abstract concepts such as social status, time, and emotion. Might we similarly ground abstract spatial concepts in more experienced-based domains? The present experiment explores this possibility by implicitly priming abstract spatial terms (north, south, east, west and then measuring participants’ hand movement trajectories while they respond to a body-referenced spatial target (up, down, left, right in a verbal (Exp. 1 or spatial (Exp. 2 format. Results from two experiments demonstrate temporally-dynamic and prime-biased movement trajectories when the primes are incongruent with the targets (e.g., north – left, west – up. That is, priming abstract coordinate directions influences subsequent actions in response to concrete target directions. These findings provide the first evidence that abstract concepts of world-centered coordinate axes are implicitly understood in the context of concrete body-referenced axes; critically, this abstract-concrete relationship manifests in motor movements, and may have implications for spatial memory organization.

Improving waveform inversion using modified interferometric imaging condition

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xuebao; Liu, Hong; Shi, Ying; Wang, Weihong; Zhang, Zhen

2018-02-01

Similar to the reverse-time migration, full waveform inversion in the time domain is a memory-intensive processing method. The computational storage size for waveform inversion mainly depends on the model size and time recording length. In general, 3D and 4D data volumes need to be saved for 2D and 3D waveform inversion gradient calculations, respectively. Even the boundary region wavefield-saving strategy creates a huge storage demand. Using the last two slices of the wavefield to reconstruct wavefields at other moments through the random boundary, avoids the need to store a large number of wavefields; however, traditional random boundary method is less effective at low frequencies. In this study, we follow a new random boundary designed to regenerate random velocity anomalies in the boundary region for each shot of each iteration. The results obtained using the random boundary condition in less illuminated areas are more seriously affected by random scattering than other areas due to the lack of coverage. In this paper, we have replaced direct correlation for computing the waveform inversion gradient by modified interferometric imaging, which enhances the continuity of the imaging path and reduces noise interference. The new imaging condition is a weighted average of extended imaging gathers can be directly used in the gradient computation. In this process, we have not changed the objective function, and the role of the imaging condition is similar to regularization. The window size for the modified interferometric imaging condition-based waveform inversion plays an important role in this process. The numerical examples show that the proposed method significantly enhances waveform inversion performance.

Object-oriented programming with gradual abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørmark, Kurt; Thomsen, Lone Leth; Thomsen, Bent

2013-01-01

We describe an experimental object-oriented programming language, ASL2, that supports program development by means of a series of abstraction steps. The language allows immediate object construction, and it is possible to use the constructed objects for concrete problem solving tasks. Classes...... restrictive. As a central mechanism, weakly classified objects are allowed to borrow methods from each other. ASL2 supports class generalization, as a counterpart to class specialization and inheritance in mainstream object-oriented programming languages. The final abstraction step discussed in this paper...

Prevalence of symptom control and palliative care abstracts presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, Elizabeth A.; Palmer, J. Lynn; Bruera, Eduardo

2002-01-01

Purpose: Forty percent of all patients referred for radiotherapy are treated with palliative intent. The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) has recently emphasized the importance of radiation oncologists being skilled in the field of symptom control and palliative care (SCPC). The purpose of this study was to determine the number of abstracts relating to SCPC presented at the annual ASTRO meetings. Methods and Materials: The number of SCPC abstracts presented at ASTRO meetings between 1993 and 2000 was counted. Abstracts were included if they described populations with advanced or metastatic cancer for whom the goal of treatment was symptom palliation. The treatment sites and symptoms palliated were recorded. Results: Of 3511 abstracts presented at ASTRO between 1993 and 2000, an average of 47 (1.3%, range 0.9-2.2%/y) were related to SCPC. The most common treatment sites were bone, brain, and lung. Pain, bleeding, and neurologic and pulmonary symptoms were the ones most commonly palliated. Thirty-two percent of the SCPC abstracts involved randomized controlled trials, 47% had palliation of symptoms as a secondary treatment outcome, and in 21%, the symptomatic treatment outcome was not specifically stated. Conclusion: SCPC research has been poorly represented at the annual ASTRO meetings. Education and research in this field needs to be actively encouraged, because SCPC is an important component of a radiation oncologist's role in comprehensive patient care

Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

1999-05-01

This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

Generating equilateral random polygons in confinement III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diao, Y; Ernst, C; Montemayor, A; Ziegler, U

2012-01-01

In this paper we continue our earlier studies (Diao et al 2011 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 44 405202, Diao et al J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 45 275203) on the generation methods of random equilateral polygons confined in a sphere. The first half of this paper is concerned with the generation of confined equilateral random walks. We show that if the selection of a vertex is uniform subject to the position of its previous vertex and the confining condition, then the distributions of the vertices are not uniform, although there exists a distribution such that if the initial vertex is selected following this distribution, then all vertices of the random walk follow this same distribution. Thus in order to generate a confined equilateral random walk, the selection of a vertex cannot be uniform subject to the position of its previous vertex and the confining condition. We provide a simple algorithm capable of generating confined equilateral random walks whose vertex distribution is almost uniform in the confinement sphere. In the second half of this paper we show that any process generating confined equilateral random walks can be turned into a process generating confined equilateral random polygons with the property that the vertex distribution of the polygons approaches the vertex distribution of the walks as the polygons get longer and longer. In our earlier studies, the starting point of the confined polygon is fixed at the center of the sphere. The new approach here allows us to move the starting point of the confined polygon off the center of the sphere. (paper)

Abstract Film and Beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Grice, Malcolm

A theoretical and historical account of the main preoccupations of makers of abstract films is presented in this book. The book's scope includes discussion of nonrepresentational forms as well as examination of experiments in the manipulation of time in films. The ten chapters discuss the following topics: art and cinematography, the first…

Broiler-Housing Conditions Affect the Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D Mesa

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In the last decades animal production has considerably increased worldwide to sustain an ever-growing human population. Among animal reared for consumption purposes, chickens are undoubtedly one of the most successful, mainly due to their rapid growth rate. The development of broiler farming has been accompanied in recent years by a substantial attention to animal welfare. This study is aimed at assessing the effects of different housing conditions on both feed conversion ratio and mortality of male broiler flocks through a large-scale study (more than 100 million birds involving 977 farms belonging to one major producer. For this, we evaluated nine features of the housing system using a linear model with random effect. The features were: roofing, floor, drinkers, feeders, water source, color curtain color, management, light and ventilation. A total of 3516 poultry flocks were assessed. Positive ventilation, metal and clay roof, dirt floor and owner management were shown to reduced mortality. Concrete floor, negative ventilation, blue curtains, fluorescent lightening, owner management, tap water and well water significantly improved FCR. We discuss our findings in relation with economic constraints and provide advices to encourage farmers using simple devices that will improve both production and chicken survival.

Abstraction carrying code and resource-awareness

OpenAIRE

Hermenegildo, Manuel V.; Albert Albiol, Elvira; López García, Pedro; Puebla Sánchez, Alvaro Germán

2005-01-01

Proof-Carrying Code (PCC) is a general approach to mobile code safety in which the code supplier augments the program with a certifícate (or proof). The intended benefit is that the program consumer can locally validate the certifícate w.r.t. the "untrusted" program by means of a certifícate checker—a process which should be much simpler, eíñcient, and automatic than generating the original proof. Abstraction Carrying Code (ACC) is an enabling technology for PCC in which an abstract mod...

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Using Images to Create a Concreteness Effect for Abstract Words: Evidence from Beginning L2 Learners of Spanish

Science.gov (United States)

Farley, Andrew; Pahom, Olga; Ramonda, Kris

2014-01-01

This study examines the lexical representation and recall of abstract words by beginning L2 learners of Spanish in the light of the predictions of the dual coding theory (Paivio 1971; Paivio and Desrochers 1980). Ninety-seven learners (forty-four males and fifty-three females) were randomly placed in the picture or non-picture group and taught…

A Brief Introduction to Chinese Biological Abstracts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2005-01-01

Chinese Biological Abstracts (CBA), a state-level indexing and abstracting journal published monthly, is jointly sponsored by the Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences as well as the Biological Information Network of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published and distributed by the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, and approved by the State Scientific and Technological Commission.

Abstracts – eine facettenreiche Textsorte der Wissenschaft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ines Busch-Lauer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Der Beitrag beschreibt die Relevanz der informationsverdichtenden Textsorte Abstract in der Wissenschaftskommunikation. Im Mittelpunkt stehen die Definition, die Klassifikation und die Struktur sowie ausgewählte Merkmale dieser Textsorte.Im ersten Teil des Beitrags werden die unterschiedlichen Arten von Abstracts anhand von Textbeispielen aus der Linguistik, der Medizin und den Technikwissenschaften expliziert. Im zweiten Teil untersucht der Beitrag anhand von Abstracts, die von deutschen Studierenden der Technik- und Ingenieurwissenschaften im Rahmen ihrer fachbezogenen Englischausbildung verfasst wurden, inwieweit die textsortenimmanenten Merkmale auch von Lernenden in der Textproduktion in der Fremdsprache umgesetzt wurden. Mit dieser qualitativ beschreibenden Untersuchung trägt die Studie zur kontrastiven Fachtextsortenbeschreibung und andererseits als Praxisbericht zur Vermittlung von Textsorten im fachbezogenen Fremdsprachenunterricht an Hochschulen bei.

05421 Abstracts Collection - Data Always and Everywhere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alonso, G.; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard; Mitschang, B.

2006-01-01

From 16.10.05 to 21.10.05, the Dagstuhl Seminar 05421, Data Always and Everywhere - Management of Mobile, Ubiquitous, Pervasive, and Sensor Data, was held in the International Conference and Research Center, Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, all participants were given the opportunity...... to present their current research, and ongoing activities and open problems were discussed. This document is a collection of the abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar. Some abstracts offer links to extended abstracts, full papers, and other supporting documents. A separate companion...... document summarizes the seminar. The authors wish to acknowledge Victor Teixeira de Almeida, who served as collector for the seminar and thus played a key role in collecting materials from the seminar participants...

Random Forest-Based Approach for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Systems Operating under Actual Environmental Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussain Shareef

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Many maximum power point tracking (MPPT algorithms have been developed in recent years to maximize the produced PV energy. These algorithms are not sufficiently robust because of fast-changing environmental conditions, efficiency, accuracy at steady-state value, and dynamics of the tracking algorithm. Thus, this paper proposes a new random forest (RF model to improve MPPT performance. The RF model has the ability to capture the nonlinear association of patterns between predictors, such as irradiance and temperature, to determine accurate maximum power point. A RF-based tracker is designed for 25 SolarTIFSTF-120P6 PV modules, with the capacity of 3 kW peak using two high-speed sensors. For this purpose, a complete PV system is modeled using 300,000 data samples and simulated using the MATLAB/SIMULINK package. The proposed RF-based MPPT is then tested under actual environmental conditions for 24 days to validate the accuracy and dynamic response. The response of the RF-based MPPT model is also compared with that of the artificial neural network and adaptive neurofuzzy inference system algorithms for further validation. The results show that the proposed MPPT technique gives significant improvement compared with that of other techniques. In addition, the RF model passes the Bland–Altman test, with more than 95 percent acceptability.

Bayesian informative dropout model for longitudinal binary data with random effects using conditional and joint modeling approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Jennifer S K

2016-05-01

Dropouts are common in longitudinal study. If the dropout probability depends on the missing observations at or after dropout, this type of dropout is called informative (or nonignorable) dropout (ID). Failure to accommodate such dropout mechanism into the model will bias the parameter estimates. We propose a conditional autoregressive model for longitudinal binary data with an ID model such that the probabilities of positive outcomes as well as the drop-out indicator in each occasion are logit linear in some covariates and outcomes. This model adopting a marginal model for outcomes and a conditional model for dropouts is called a selection model. To allow for the heterogeneity and clustering effects, the outcome model is extended to incorporate mixture and random effects. Lastly, the model is further extended to a novel model that models the outcome and dropout jointly such that their dependency is formulated through an odds ratio function. Parameters are estimated by a Bayesian approach implemented using the user-friendly Bayesian software WinBUGS. A methadone clinic dataset is analyzed to illustrate the proposed models. Result shows that the treatment time effect is still significant but weaker after allowing for an ID process in the data. Finally the effect of drop-out on parameter estimates is evaluated through simulation studies. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Neural representations of emotion are organized around abstract event features.

Science.gov (United States)

Skerry, Amy E; Saxe, Rebecca

2015-08-03

Research on emotion attribution has tended to focus on the perception of overt expressions of at most five or six basic emotions. However, our ability to identify others' emotional states is not limited to perception of these canonical expressions. Instead, we make fine-grained inferences about what others feel based on the situations they encounter, relying on knowledge of the eliciting conditions for different emotions. In the present research, we provide convergent behavioral and neural evidence concerning the representations underlying these concepts. First, we find that patterns of activity in mentalizing regions contain information about subtle emotional distinctions conveyed through verbal descriptions of eliciting situations. Second, we identify a space of abstract situation features that well captures the emotion discriminations subjects make behaviorally and show that this feature space outperforms competing models in capturing the similarity space of neural patterns in these regions. Together, the data suggest that our knowledge of others' emotions is abstract and high dimensional, that brain regions selective for mental state reasoning support relatively subtle distinctions between emotion concepts, and that the neural representations in these regions are not reducible to more primitive affective dimensions such as valence and arousal. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A "how-to" guide in preparing abstracts and poster presentations.

Science.gov (United States)

Boullata, Joseph I; Mancuso, Carissa E

2007-12-01

The preparation of an abstract or poster to share information from a project or case report with colleagues is a professional goal for many nutrition support practitioners. This paper provides an approach to help practitioners prepare an abstract for submission and subsequently a poster for presentation at a meeting. A nutrition support question that required collecting and evaluating information, or a unique patient case or case series, can serve as the focus of an abstract and subsequent poster. The professional meeting selected should be appropriate for the abstract topic, and the authors should closely adhere to the organization's abstract submission guidelines. The well-prepared abstract will then serve as the outline for the poster content; the visual aspect of the poster is also important to effectively communicate the information to colleagues at the meeting. Adequate time is required to prepare both the abstract and the poster in order to fittingly reflect the value of the information. Efforts in preparing the abstract will be worthwhile once the abstract has been accepted by reviewers for a poster session at the meeting. Likewise, the effort in preparing the poster in advance allows the presenter to enjoy the poster session and discuss the project with colleagues.

Reasoning abstractly about resources

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, B.; Barrett, A.

2001-01-01

r describes a way to schedule high level activities before distributing them across multiple rovers in order to coordinate the resultant use of shared resources regardless of how each rover decides how to perform its activities. We present an algorithm for summarizing the metric resource requirements of an abstract activity based n the resource usages of its potential refinements.

SPR 2017. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2017-05-15

The conference proceedings SPR 2017 include abstracts on the following issues: gastrointestinal radiography - inflammatory bowel diseases, cardiovascular CTA, general muscoskeletal radiology, muscoskeletal congenital development diseases, general pediatric radiology - chest, muscoskeletal imaging - marrow and infectious disorders, state-of-the-art body MR imaging, practical pediatric sonography, quality and professionalism, CT imaging in congenital heart diseases, radiographic courses, body MT techniques, contrast enhanced ultrasound, machine learning, forensic imaging, the radiation dos conundrum - reconciling imaging, imagining and managing, the practice of radiology, interventional radiology, neuroradiology, PET/MR.

Model and information abstraction for description-driven systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estrella, F.; McClatchey, R.; Kovacs, Z.; Goff, J.-M.L.

2001-01-01

A crucial factor in the creation of adaptable systems dealing with changing requirements is the suitability of the underlying technology in allowing the evolution of the system. A reflective system utilizes an open architecture where implicit system aspects are reified to become explicit first-class (meta-data) objects. These implicit system aspects are often fundamental structures which are inaccessible and immutable, and their reification as meta-data objects can serve as the basis for changes and extensions to the system, making it self-describing. To address the evolvability issue, the author proposes a reflective architecture based on two orthogonal abstractions-model abstraction and information abstraction. In this architecture the modeling abstractions allow for the separation of the description meta-data from the system aspects they represent so that they can be managed and versioned independently, asynchronously and explicitly

Orthopaedic Section Poster Presentations (Abstracts OPO1-OPO300).

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

These abstracts are presented here as prepared by the authors. The accuracy and content of each abstract remain the responsibility of the authors. In the identification number above each abstract, OPO designates an Orthopaedic Section poster presentation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(1):A67-A202. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.48.1.A67.

Land Application of Sewage Effluents and Sludges: Selected Abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Research and Development.

This report contains 568 selected abstracts concerned with the land application of sewage effluents and sludges. The abstracts are arranged in chronological groupings of ten-year periods from the l940's to the mid-l970's. The report also includes an author index and a subject matter index to facilitate reference to specific abstracts or narrower…

Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Jimmy

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE® abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Results Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Conclusion Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

Coordination of Conditional Poisson Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grafström Anton

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Sample coordination seeks to maximize or to minimize the overlap of two or more samples. The former is known as positive coordination, and the latter as negative coordination. Positive coordination is mainly used for estimation purposes and to reduce data collection costs. Negative coordination is mainly performed to diminish the response burden of the sampled units. Poisson sampling design with permanent random numbers provides an optimum coordination degree of two or more samples. The size of a Poisson sample is, however, random. Conditional Poisson (CP sampling is a modification of the classical Poisson sampling that produces a fixed-size πps sample. We introduce two methods to coordinate Conditional Poisson samples over time or simultaneously. The first one uses permanent random numbers and the list-sequential implementation of CP sampling. The second method uses a CP sample in the first selection and provides an approximate one in the second selection because the prescribed inclusion probabilities are not respected exactly. The methods are evaluated using the size of the expected sample overlap, and are compared with their competitors using Monte Carlo simulation. The new methods provide a good coordination degree of two samples, close to the performance of Poisson sampling with permanent random numbers.

F/Cl + C2H2 reactions: Are the addition and hydrogen abstraction direct processes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jilai; Geng Caiyun; Huang Xuri; Zhan Jinhui; Sun Chiachung

2006-01-01

The reactions of atomic radical F and Cl with acetylene have been studied theoretically using ab initio quantum chemistry methods and transition state theory. The doublet potential energy surfaces were calculated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//CCSD/6-31G(d,p), CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//UMP2/6-311++G(d,p) and compound method Gaussian-3 levels. Two reaction mechanisms including the addition-elimination and the hydrogen abstraction reaction mechanisms are considered. In the addition-elimination reactions, the halogen atoms approach C 2 H 2 , perpendicular to the C≡C triple bond, forming the pre-reactive complex C1 at the reaction entrance. C1 transforms to intermediate isomer I1 via transition state TSC1/1 with a negative/small barrier for C 2 H 2 F/C 2 H 2 Cl system, which can proceed by further eliminating H atom endothermally. While the hydrogen abstraction reactions also involve C1 for the fluorine atom abstraction of hydrogen, yet the hydrogen abstraction by chlorine atom first forms a collinear hydrogen-bonded complex C2. The other reaction pathways on the doublet PES are less competitive due to thermodynamical or kinetic factors. According to our results, the presence of pre-reactive complexes indicates that the simple hydrogen abstraction and addition in the halogen atoms reaction with unsaturated hydrocarbon should be more complex. Furthermore, based on the analysis of the kinetics of all channels through which the addition and abstraction reactions proceed, we expect that the actual feasibility of the reaction channels may depend on the reaction conditions in the experiment. The present study may be helpful for probing the mechanisms of the title reactions and understanding the halogen chemistry

Advanced light source: Compendium of user abstracts 1993-1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

This compendium contains abstracts written by users summarizing research completed or in progress from 1993-1996, ALS technical reports describing ongoing efforts related to improvement in machine operations and research and development projects, and information on ALS beamlines planned through 1998. Two tables of contents organize the user abstracts by beamline and by area of research, and an author index makes abstracts accessible by author and by principal investigator. Technical details for each beamline including whom to contact for additional information can be found in the beamline information section. Separate abstracts have been indexed into the database for contributions to this compendium

Effect of remote ischemic conditioning on atrial fibrillation and outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (RICO-trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wouters Patrick

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pre- and postconditioning describe mechanisms whereby short ischemic periods protect an organ against a longer period of ischemia. Interestingly, short ischemic periods of a limb, in itself harmless, may increase the ischemia tolerance of remote organs, e.g. the heart (remote conditioning, RC. Although several studies have shown reduced biomarker release by RC, a reduction of complications and improvement of patient outcome still has to be demonstrated. Atrial fibrillation (AF is one of the most common complications after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG, affecting 27-46% of patients. It is associated with increased mortality, adverse cardiovascular events, and prolonged in-hospital stay. We hypothesize that remote ischemic pre- and/or post-conditioning reduce the incidence of AF following CABG, and improve patient outcome. Methods/design This study is a randomized, controlled, patient and investigator blinded multicenter trial. Elective CABG patients are randomized to one of the following four groups: 1 control, 2 remote ischemic preconditioning, 3 remote ischemic postconditioning, or 4 remote ischemic pre- and postconditioning. Remote conditioning is applied at the arm by 3 cycles of 5 minutes of ischemia and reperfusion. Primary endpoint is the incidence AF in the first 72 hours after surgery, detected using a Holter-monitor. Secondary endpoints include length-of-stay on the intensive care unit and in-hospital, and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events at 30 days, 3 months and 1 year. Based on an expected incidence in the control group of 27%, 195 patients per group are needed to detect with 80% power a reduction by 45% following either pre- or postconditioning, while allowing for a 10% dropout and at an alpha of 0.05. With the combined intervention expected to be stronger, we need 75 patients in this group to detect a reduction in incidence of AF of 60%. Discussion The RICO-trial (the effect of

A Functional Correspondence Between Evaluators and Abstract Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ager, Mads Sig; Biernacki, Dariusz; Danvy, Olivier

2003-01-01

We bridge the gap between functional evaluators and abstract machines for the λ-calculus, using closure conversion, transformation into continuation-passing style, and defunctionalization.We illustrate this approach by deriving Krivine's abstract machine from an ordinary call-by-name evaluator an...

ABSTRACTION OF DRIFT SEEPAGE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, Michael L.

2001-01-01

Drift seepage refers to flow of liquid water into repository emplacement drifts, where it can potentially contribute to degradation of the engineered systems and release and transport of radionuclides within the drifts. Because of these important effects, seepage into emplacement drifts is listed as a ''principal factor for the postclosure safety case'' in the screening criteria for grading of data in Attachment 1 of AP-3.15Q, Rev. 2, ''Managing Technical Product Inputs''. Abstraction refers to distillation of the essential components of a process model into a form suitable for use in total-system performance assessment (TSPA). Thus, the purpose of this analysis/model is to put the information generated by the seepage process modeling in a form appropriate for use in the TSPA for the Site Recommendation. This report also supports the Unsaturated-Zone Flow and Transport Process Model Report. The scope of the work is discussed below. This analysis/model is governed by the ''Technical Work Plan for Unsaturated Zone Flow and Transport Process Model Report'' (CRWMS MandO 2000a). Details of this activity are in Addendum A of the technical work plan. The original Work Direction and Planning Document is included as Attachment 7 of Addendum A. Note that the Work Direction and Planning Document contains tasks identified for both Performance Assessment Operations (PAO) and Natural Environment Program Operations (NEPO). Only the PAO tasks are documented here. The planning for the NEPO activities is now in Addendum D of the same technical work plan and the work is documented in a separate report (CRWMS MandO 2000b). The Project has been reorganized since the document was written. The responsible organizations in the new structure are the Performance Assessment Department and the Unsaturated Zone Department, respectively. The work plan for the seepage abstraction calls for determining an appropriate abstraction methodology, determining uncertainties in seepage, and providing

Mitigating randomness of consumer preferences under certain conditional choices

Science.gov (United States)

Bothos, John M. A.; Thanos, Konstantinos-Georgios; Papadopoulou, Eirini; Daveas, Stelios; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

2017-05-01

Agent-based crowd behaviour consists a significant field of research that has drawn a lot of attention in recent years. Agent-based crowd simulation techniques have been used excessively to forecast the behaviour of larger or smaller crowds in terms of certain given conditions influenced by specific cognition models and behavioural rules and norms, imposed from the beginning. Our research employs conditional event algebra, statistical methodology and agent-based crowd simulation techniques in developing a behavioural econometric model about the selection of certain economic behaviour by a consumer that faces a spectre of potential choices when moving and acting in a multiplex mall. More specifically we try to analyse the influence of demographic, economic, social and cultural factors on the economic behaviour of a certain individual and then we try to link its behaviour with the general behaviour of the crowds of consumers in multiplex malls using agent-based crowd simulation techniques. We then run our model using Generalized Least Squares and Maximum Likelihood methods to come up with the most probable forecast estimations, regarding the agent's behaviour. Our model is indicative about the formation of consumers' spectre of choices in multiplex malls under the condition of predefined preferences and can be used as a guide for further research in this area.

Automatic structure classification of small proteins using random forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hirst Jonathan D

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Random forest, an ensemble based supervised machine learning algorithm, is used to predict the SCOP structural classification for a target structure, based on the similarity of its structural descriptors to those of a template structure with an equal number of secondary structure elements (SSEs. An initial assessment of random forest is carried out for domains consisting of three SSEs. The usability of random forest in classifying larger domains is demonstrated by applying it to domains consisting of four, five and six SSEs. Results Random forest, trained on SCOP version 1.69, achieves a predictive accuracy of up to 94% on an independent and non-overlapping test set derived from SCOP version 1.73. For classification to the SCOP Class, Fold, Super-family or Family levels, the predictive quality of the model in terms of Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC ranged from 0.61 to 0.83. As the number of constituent SSEs increases the MCC for classification to different structural levels decreases. Conclusions The utility of random forest in classifying domains from the place-holder classes of SCOP to the true Class, Fold, Super-family or Family levels is demonstrated. Issues such as introduction of a new structural level in SCOP and the merger of singleton levels can also be addressed using random forest. A real-world scenario is mimicked by predicting the classification for those protein structures from the PDB, which are yet to be assigned to the SCOP classification hierarchy.

Unbiased All-Optical Random-Number Generator

Science.gov (United States)

Steinle, Tobias; Greiner, Johannes N.; Wrachtrup, Jörg; Giessen, Harald; Gerhardt, Ilja

2017-10-01

The generation of random bits is of enormous importance in modern information science. Cryptographic security is based on random numbers which require a physical process for their generation. This is commonly performed by hardware random-number generators. These often exhibit a number of problems, namely experimental bias, memory in the system, and other technical subtleties, which reduce the reliability in the entropy estimation. Further, the generated outcome has to be postprocessed to "iron out" such spurious effects. Here, we present a purely optical randomness generator, based on the bistable output of an optical parametric oscillator. Detector noise plays no role and postprocessing is reduced to a minimum. Upon entering the bistable regime, initially the resulting output phase depends on vacuum fluctuations. Later, the phase is rigidly locked and can be well determined versus a pulse train, which is derived from the pump laser. This delivers an ambiguity-free output, which is reliably detected and associated with a binary outcome. The resulting random bit stream resembles a perfect coin toss and passes all relevant randomness measures. The random nature of the generated binary outcome is furthermore confirmed by an analysis of resulting conditional entropies.

More on random-lattice fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kieu, T.D.; Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ; Markham, J.F.; Paranavitane, C.B.

1995-01-01

The lattice fermion determinants, in a given background gauge field, are evaluated for two different kinds of random lattices and compared to those of naive and wilson fermions in the continuum limit. While the fermion doubling is confirmed on one kind of lattices, there is positive evidence that it may be absent for the other, at least for vector interactions in two dimensions. Combined with previous studies, arbitrary randomness by itself is shown to be not a sufficient condition to remove the fermion doublers. 8 refs., 3 figs

Earth Sciences Division collected abstracts: 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, A.L.; Schwartz, L.L.

1980-01-01

This report is a compilation of abstracts of papers, internal reports, and talks presented during 1979 at national and international meetings by members of the Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The arrangement is alphabetical (by author). For a given report, a bibliographic reference appears under the name of each coauthor, but the abstract iself is given only under the name of the first author or the first Earth Sciences Division author. A topical index at the end of the report provides useful cross references, while indicating major areas of research interest in the Earth Sciences Division

Pacifier Overuse and Conceptual Relations of Abstract and Emotional Concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Barca, Laura; Mazzuca, Claudia; Borghi, Anna M

2017-01-01

This study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on the acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children's emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012), the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT) proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi and Binkofski, 2014; Borghi and Zarcone, 2016). Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. Fifty-nine first grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract not-emotional, abstract emotional, and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and abstract emotional concepts with respect to abstract not-emotional concepts, independently from pacifier use. Accuracy in definitions was not influenced by the use of pacifier, but correspondence and hierarchical clustering analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relations elicited by abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional. While the majority of the children produced a similar pattern of conceptual relations, analyses on the few (6) children who overused the pacifier (for more than 3 years) showed that they tend to distinguish less clearly between concrete and

Pacifier Overuse and Conceptual Relations of Abstract and Emotional Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Barca

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier on the acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children's emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012, the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi and Binkofski, 2014; Borghi and Zarcone, 2016. Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. Fifty-nine first grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract not-emotional, abstract emotional, and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and abstract emotional concepts with respect to abstract not-emotional concepts, independently from pacifier use. Accuracy in definitions was not influenced by the use of pacifier, but correspondence and hierarchical clustering analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relations elicited by abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional. While the majority of the children produced a similar pattern of conceptual relations, analyses on the few (6 children who overused the pacifier (for more than 3 years showed that they tend to distinguish less clearly between

Ghana energy abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entsua-Mensah, Clement

1994-01-01

Ghana Energy Abstracts 1994 is the first issue of an annual publication of the Energy information Centre. The aim is to combine in one publication the country' s bibliographic output on energy so as to provide a valuable source of reference for policy makers, planners,and researchers. It covers the broad spectrum of energy including; energy conservation, energy resource management, petroleum and renewable energy resources.The documents listed comprise research reports, baseline studies,conference proceedings, periodical articles dissertations and theses. Keywords and author indexes have been provided to facilitate easy reference. (C.E.M)

ESPR 2015. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The volume includes the abstracts of the ESPR 2015 covering the following topics: PCG (post graduate courses): Radiography; fluoroscopy and general issue; nuclear medicine, interventional radiology and hybrid imaging, pediatric CT, pediatric ultrasound; MRI in childhood. Scientific sessions and task force sessions: International aspects; neuroradiology, neonatal imaging, engineering techniques to simulate injury in child abuse, CT - dose and quality, challenges in the chest, cardiovascular and chest, muscoskeletal, oncology, pediatric uroradiology and abdominal imaging, fetal and postmortem imaging, education and global challenges, neuroradiology - head and neck, gastrointestinal and genitourinary.

ESPR 2015. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-05-10

The volume includes the abstracts of the ESPR 2015 covering the following topics: PCG (post graduate courses): Radiography; fluoroscopy and general issue; nuclear medicine, interventional radiology and hybrid imaging, pediatric CT, pediatric ultrasound; MRI in childhood. Scientific sessions and task force sessions: International aspects; neuroradiology, neonatal imaging, engineering techniques to simulate injury in child abuse, CT - dose and quality, challenges in the chest, cardiovascular and chest, muscoskeletal, oncology, pediatric uroradiology and abdominal imaging, fetal and postmortem imaging, education and global challenges, neuroradiology - head and neck, gastrointestinal and genitourinary.

Effectiveness of proactive telephone counselling for smoking cessation in parents: Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bricker Jonathan B

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Smoking is the world's fourth most common risk factor for disease, the leading preventable cause of death, and it is associated with tremendous social costs. In the Netherlands, the smoking prevalence rate is high. A total of 27.7% of the population over age 15 years smokes. In addition to the direct advantages of smoking cessation for the smoker, parents who quit smoking may also decrease their children's risk of smoking initiation. Methods/Design A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of proactive telephone counselling to increase smoking cessation rates among smoking parents. A total of 512 smoking parents will be proactively recruited through their children's primary schools and randomly assigned to either proactive telephone counselling or a control condition. Proactive telephone counselling will consist of up to seven counsellor-initiated telephone calls (based on cognitive-behavioural skill building and Motivational Interviewing, distributed over a period of three months. Three supplementary brochures will also be provided. In the control condition, parents will receive a standard brochure to aid smoking cessation. Assessments will take place at baseline, three months after start of the intervention (post-measurement, and twelve months after start of the intervention (follow-up measurement. Primary outcome measures will include sustained abstinence between post-measurement and follow-up measurement and 7-day point prevalence abstinence and 24-hours point prevalence abstinence at both post- and follow-up measurement. Several secondary outcome measures will also be included (e.g., smoking intensity, smoking policies at home. In addition, we will evaluate smoking-related cognitions (e.g., attitudes towards smoking, social norms, self-efficacy, intention to smoke in 9-12 year old children of smoking parents. Discussion This study protocol describes the design of a randomized

Enhancement of Lutein Production in Chlorella sorokiniana (Chorophyta by Improvement of Culture Conditions and Random Mutagenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Angeles Vargas

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Chlorella sorokiniana has been selected for lutein production, after a screening of thirteen species of microalgae, since it showed both a high content in this carotenoid and a high growth rate. The effects of several nutritional and environmental factors on cell growth and lutein accumulation have been studied. Maximal specific growth rate and lutein content were attained at 690 µmol photons m−2 s−1, 28 °C, 2 mM NaCl, 40 mM nitrate and under mixotrophic conditions. In general, optimal conditions for the growth of this strain also lead to maximal lutein productivity. High lutein yielding mutants of C. sorokiniana have been obtained by random mutagenesis, using N-methyl-N′-nitro-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG as a mutagen and selecting mutants by their resistance to the inhibitors of the carotenogenic pathway nicotine and norflurazon. Among the mutants resistant to the herbicides, those exhibiting both high content in lutein and high growth rate were chosen. Several mutants exhibited higher contents in this carotenoid than the wild type, showing, in addition, either a similar or higher growth rate than the latter strain. The mutant MR-16 exhibited a 2.0-fold higher volumetric lutein content than that of the wild type, attaining values of 42.0 mg L−1 and mutants DMR-5 and DMR-8 attained a lutein cellular content of 7.0 mg g−1 dry weight. The high lutein yield exhibited by C. sorokiniana makes this microalga an excellent candidate for the production of this commercially interesting pigment.

Random phenomena fundamentals of probability and statistics for engineers

CERN Document Server

Ogunnaike, Babatunde A

2009-01-01

PreludeApproach PhilosophyFour Basic PrinciplesI FoundationsTwo Motivating ExamplesYield Improvement in a Chemical ProcessQuality Assurance in a Glass Sheet Manufacturing ProcessOutline of a Systematic ApproachRandom Phenomena, Variability, and UncertaintyTwo Extreme Idealizations of Natural PhenomenaRandom Mass PhenomenaIntroducing ProbabilityThe Probabilistic FrameworkII ProbabilityFundamentals of Probability TheoryBuilding BlocksOperationsProbabilityConditional ProbabilityIndependenceRandom Variables and DistributionsDistributionsMathematical ExpectationCharacterizing DistributionsSpecial Derived Probability FunctionsMultidimensional Random VariablesDistributions of Several Random VariablesDistributional Characteristics of Jointly Distributed Random VariablesRandom Variable TransformationsSingle Variable TransformationsBivariate TransformationsGeneral Multivariate TransformationsApplication Case Studies I: ProbabilityMendel and HeredityWorld War II Warship Tactical Response Under AttackIII DistributionsIde...

Automated Predicate Abstraction for Real-Time Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahareh Badban

2009-11-01

Full Text Available We present a technique designed to automatically compute predicate abstractions for dense real-timed models represented as networks of timed automata. We use the CIPM algorithm in our previous work which computes new invariants for timed automata control locations and prunes the model, to compute a predicate abstraction of the model. We do so by taking information regarding control locations and their newly computed invariants into account.

Abstracts of submitted papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The conference proceedings contain 152 abstracts of presented papers relating to various aspects of personnel dosimetry, the dosimetry of the working and living environment, various types of dosemeters and spectrometers, the use of radionuclides in various industrial fields, the migration of radionuclides on Czechoslovak territory after the Chernobyl accident, theoretical studies of some parameters of ionizing radiation detectors, and their calibration. (M.D.)

Brain network response underlying decisions about abstract reinforcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills-Finnerty, Colleen; Hanson, Catherine; Hanson, Stephen Jose

2014-12-01

Decision making studies typically use tasks that involve concrete action-outcome contingencies, in which subjects do something and get something. No studies have addressed decision making involving abstract reinforcers, where there are no action-outcome contingencies and choices are entirely hypothetical. The present study examines these kinds of choices, as well as whether the same biases that exist for concrete reinforcer decisions, specifically framing effects, also apply during abstract reinforcer decisions. We use both General Linear Model as well as Bayes network connectivity analysis using the Independent Multi-sample Greedy Equivalence Search (IMaGES) algorithm to examine network response underlying choices for abstract reinforcers under positive and negative framing. We find for the first time that abstract reinforcer decisions activate the same network of brain regions as concrete reinforcer decisions, including the striatum, insula, anterior cingulate, and VMPFC, results that are further supported via comparison to a meta-analysis of decision making studies. Positive and negative framing activated different parts of this network, with stronger activation in VMPFC during negative framing and in DLPFC during positive, suggesting different decision making pathways depending on frame. These results were further clarified using connectivity analysis, which revealed stronger connections between anterior cingulate, insula, and accumbens during negative framing compared to positive. Taken together, these results suggest that not only do abstract reinforcer decisions rely on the same brain substrates as concrete reinforcers, but that the response underlying framing effects on abstract reinforcers also resemble those for concrete reinforcers, specifically increased limbic system connectivity during negative frames. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A random walk model to evaluate autism

Science.gov (United States)

Moura, T. R. S.; Fulco, U. L.; Albuquerque, E. L.

2018-02-01

A common test administered during neurological examination in children is the analysis of their social communication and interaction across multiple contexts, including repetitive patterns of behavior. Poor performance may be associated with neurological conditions characterized by impairments in executive function, such as the so-called pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), a particular condition of the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Inspired in these diagnosis tools, mainly those related to repetitive movements and behaviors, we studied here how the diffusion regimes of two discrete-time random walkers, mimicking the lack of social interaction and restricted interests developed for children with PDDs, are affected. Our model, which is based on the so-called elephant random walk (ERW) approach, consider that one of the random walker can learn and imitate the microscopic behavior of the other with probability f (1 - f otherwise). The diffusion regimes, measured by the Hurst exponent (H), is then obtained, whose changes may indicate a different degree of autism.

On randomly interrupted diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luczka, J.

1993-01-01

Processes driven by randomly interrupted Gaussian white noise are considered. An evolution equation for single-event probability distributions in presented. Stationary states are considered as a solution of a second-order ordinary differential equation with two imposed conditions. A linear model is analyzed and its stationary distributions are explicitly given. (author). 10 refs

A remark on the Lifshitz tail for Schrödinger operator with random ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

Abstract. In this note, we consider the Lifshitz singularity for Schrödinger opera- tor with ergodic random magnetic field. A key estimate is an energy bound for mag- netic Schrödinger operators as discussed in Nakamura [8]. Here we remove a technical assumption in [8], namely, the uniform boundedness of the magnetic ...

Abstracts of Research, July 1973 through June 1974.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Computer and Information Science Research Center.

Abstracts of research papers in the fields of computer and information science are given; 72 papers are abstracted in the areas of information storage and retrieval, information processing, linguistic analysis, artificial intelligence, mathematical techniques, systems programing, and computer networks. In addition, the Ohio State University…

From abstract to peer-reviewed publication: country matters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Lauge; Fosbøl, Philip L.; Harrington, Robert A.

2014-01-01

Medical conferences are key in the sharing of new scientific findings. However, results reported as conference-abstracts are generally not considered final before publication in a peer-reviewed journal. It is known that approximately 1/3 of the scientific results presented as abstracts at large...

Odors and Air Pollution: A Bibliography with Abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Air Programs.

The annotated bibliography presents a compilation of abstracts which deal with odors as they relate to air pollution. The abstracts are arranged within the following categories: Emission sources; Control methods; Measurement methods; Air quality measurements; Atmospheric interaction; Basic science and technology; Effects-human health;…

Effect of Low-dose Atracurium on Laryngeal Mask Airway Insertion Conditions: A Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karim Nasseri

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The amount of sedation and muscle relaxation of the jaw may have an impact on complications caused by laryngeal mask airway (LMA. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of low-dose Atracurium on conditions of insertion, complications, and hemodynamic responses to LMA insertion following induction of anesthesia with propofol, in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Patients and Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial study, 60 patients were randomly divided into two groups. Initially, the patients in the study group received 0.15 mg/kg intravenous injection of atracurium, and the patients in the control group received 2 ml of intravenous injection of normal saline, after which anesthesia in both groups were induced with midazolam, fentanyl, lidocaine, and propofol. The amount of jaw relaxation, ease of insertion, and the time needed for insertion, hemodynamic responses and complications of LMA insertion were evaluated. Results: Jaw relaxation and ease of LMA insertion in the study group was significantly better than that of the control group (P = 0.02. Average time needed for LMA placement in the study group (5/06 ± 0.52 second was significantly lower than the control group (5/76 ± 0.67 second (P = 0.001. Hemodynamic response to LMA insertion was similar in both groups. Sore throat at recovery and 24 h after surgery in the control group was significantly higher than that of the study group (3/30 vs. 10/30 (P = 0.01. Conclusions: Using low doses of atracurium decreases the time needed for LMA insertion and sore throat after the operation. Atracurium also increases jaw relaxation and facilitates the placement of LMA.

The Conversion of Cardiovascular Conference Abstracts to Publications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosbøl, Emil L.; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Harrington, Robert A.

2012-01-01

a systematic and automated evaluation of rates, timing, and correlates of publication from scientific abstracts presented at 3 major cardiovascular conferences. Methods and Results—Using an automated computer algorithm, we searched the ISI Web of Science to identify peer-reviewed publications of abstracts......–3, 2.5–5.8) for ESC (P for difference between groups 0.01). Clinical science and population science were less likely to be published compared with basic science. Conclusions—One third of abstracts were translated into publications by 2 years after presentation and less than one half by 5 years after...

Dynamical correlations for circular ensembles of random matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagao, Taro; Forrester, Peter

2003-01-01

Circular Brownian motion models of random matrices were introduced by Dyson and describe the parametric eigenparameter correlations of unitary random matrices. For symmetric unitary, self-dual quaternion unitary and an analogue of antisymmetric Hermitian matrix initial conditions, Brownian dynamics toward the unitary symmetry is analyzed. The dynamical correlation functions of arbitrary number of Brownian particles at arbitrary number of times are shown to be written in the forms of quaternion determinants, similarly as in the case of Hermitian random matrix models

Abstracting massive data for lightweight intrusion detection in computer networks

KAUST Repository

Wang, Wei

2016-10-15

Anomaly intrusion detection in big data environments calls for lightweight models that are able to achieve real-time performance during detection. Abstracting audit data provides a solution to improve the efficiency of data processing in intrusion detection. Data abstraction refers to abstract or extract the most relevant information from the massive dataset. In this work, we propose three strategies of data abstraction, namely, exemplar extraction, attribute selection and attribute abstraction. We first propose an effective method called exemplar extraction to extract representative subsets from the original massive data prior to building the detection models. Two clustering algorithms, Affinity Propagation (AP) and traditional . k-means, are employed to find the exemplars from the audit data. . k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and one-class Support Vector Machine (SVM) are used for the detection. We then employ another two strategies, attribute selection and attribute extraction, to abstract audit data for anomaly intrusion detection. Two http streams collected from a real computing environment as well as the KDD\\'99 benchmark data set are used to validate these three strategies of data abstraction. The comprehensive experimental results show that while all the three strategies improve the detection efficiency, the AP-based exemplar extraction achieves the best performance of data abstraction.

Abstract Algebra for Teachers: An Evaluative Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Andrew Joseph

2017-01-01

This manuscript describes the study of an abstract algebra course for preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs). Often, courses in abstract algebra have not been viewed as productive, beneficial learning experiences for future teachers, both by researchers and PSMTs themselves. This despite calls for increased content knowledge for…

EIA data index: an abstract journal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-12-01

The individual tables, graphs, and formatted data presented in the statistical publications of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) are abstracted and indexed. Included are a complete subject index and a report number listing for all EIA publications as well as complete ordering information for these publications. The abstracts of the tables and graphs are arranged by broad subject categories (e.g., coal, petroleum, natural gas, energy analysis and modeling) with further division occurring by subcategories (e.g., reserves, drilling and production, processing). Included here are those publications and their statistical contents which were released by the EIA from its formation in October 1977 through approximately the first half of 1980. Updates will be on a semiannual basis. The EIA Data Index is a companion volume to the EIA Publications Directory: A User's Guide (DOE/EIA-0149), which provides abstracts and indexes to all EIA publications at the document level. Both of these publications are generated from the Federal Energy Data Index (FEDEX) data base which has been developed by the EIA in cooperation with the Technical Information Center of the US Department of Energy

The abstract representations in speech processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutler, Anne

2008-11-01

Speech processing by human listeners derives meaning from acoustic input via intermediate steps involving abstract representations of what has been heard. Recent results from several lines of research are here brought together to shed light on the nature and role of these representations. In spoken-word recognition, representations of phonological form and of conceptual content are dissociable. This follows from the independence of patterns of priming for a word's form and its meaning. The nature of the phonological-form representations is determined not only by acoustic-phonetic input but also by other sources of information, including metalinguistic knowledge. This follows from evidence that listeners can store two forms as different without showing any evidence of being able to detect the difference in question when they listen to speech. The lexical representations are in turn separate from prelexical representations, which are also abstract in nature. This follows from evidence that perceptual learning about speaker-specific phoneme realization, induced on the basis of a few words, generalizes across the whole lexicon to inform the recognition of all words containing the same phoneme. The efficiency of human speech processing has its basis in the rapid execution of operations over abstract representations.

Intravenous rocuronium 0.3 mg/kg improves the conditions for tracheal intubation in cats: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Daniel M; Zornow, Kailee Anne; Campoy, Luis; Cable, Christina; Appel, Leslie D; Putnam, Holly J; Martin-Flores, Manuel

2018-01-01

Objectives We evaluated the use of rocuronium 0.3 mg/kg intravenously (IV) to facilitate tracheal intubation in cats anesthetized for elective ovariohysterectomy. Methods Thirty female cats were randomly allocated to receive rocuronium 0.3 mg/kg IV or an equal volume of normal saline, following induction of anesthesia with ketamine and midazolam. Thirty seconds after induction, a single investigator, unaware of treatment allocation, attempted tracheal intubation. The number of attempts and the time to complete intubation were measured. Intubating conditions were assessed as acceptable or unacceptable based on a composite score consisting of five different components. Duration of apnea after induction was measured and cases of hemoglobin desaturation (SpO 2 rocuronium 12 s [range 8-75 s]; saline 60 s [range 9-120 s]) and with fewer attempts (rocuronium 1 [range 1-2]; saline 2 [range 1-3], both P = 0.006) in cats receiving rocuronium. Unacceptable intubating conditions on the first attempt occurred in 3/15 cats with rocuronium and in 10/15 with saline ( P = 0.01). Apnea lasted 4 ± 1.6 mins with rocuronium and 2.3 ± 0.5 mins with saline ( P = 0.0007). No cases of desaturation were observed. Conclusions and relevance Rocuronium 0.3 mg/kg IV improves intubating conditions compared with saline and reduces the time and number of attempts to intubate with only a short period of apnea in cats.

A simulation-based goodness-of-fit test for random effects in generalized linear mixed models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waagepetersen, Rasmus

2006-01-01

The goodness-of-fit of the distribution of random effects in a generalized linear mixed model is assessed using a conditional simulation of the random effects conditional on the observations. Provided that the specified joint model for random effects and observations is correct, the marginal...... distribution of the simulated random effects coincides with the assumed random effects distribution. In practice, the specified model depends on some unknown parameter which is replaced by an estimate. We obtain a correction for this by deriving the asymptotic distribution of the empirical distribution...

A simulation-based goodness-of-fit test for random effects in generalized linear mixed models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waagepetersen, Rasmus Plenge

The goodness-of-fit of the distribution of random effects in a generalized linear mixed model is assessed using a conditional simulation of the random effects conditional on the observations. Provided that the specified joint model for random effects and observations is correct, the marginal...... distribution of the simulated random effects coincides with the assumed random effects distribution. In practice the specified model depends on some unknown parameter which is replaced by an estimate. We obtain a correction for this by deriving the asymptotic distribution of the empirical distribution function...

Autologous Conditioned Plasma Versus Placebo Injection Therapy in Lateral Epicondylitis of the Elbow: A Double Blind, Randomized Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schöffl, Volker; Willauschus, Wolfgang; Sauer, Felix; Küpper, Thomas; Schöffl, Isabelle; Lutter, Christoph; Gelse, Kolja; Dickschas, Jörg

2017-01-01

Introduction  There are various therapeutic approaches to the treatment of lateral epicondylitis, a highly prevalent musculoskeletal disorder. Recently, injection therapy with autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) has shown promise as a new approach. Methods  Set up as a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial, this study involved 50 patients with lateral epicondylitis. Following external randomization, 25 patients received one round of injection therapy with ACP (platelet rich plasma, PRP), while the remaining 25 patients received a placebo of 0.9 % NaCl. All patients were re-evaluated with respect to lateral epicondylitis of the elbow at four-weeks and six-months post-injection. Results  Out of 50 patients, 36 qualified for reevaluation, 18 patients from the ACP therapy group and 18 from the placebo group. The initial Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score for all reevaluated patients was 36.4 in the ACP group, and 41.0 in the placebo group; both groups exhibited decreased DASH scores at the four-week and six-month post-injection follow-up (6 months: ACP 30.1, placebo 25.8). The decrease of the DASH score after 4 weeks was greater and qualified as statistically significant in the placebo group (p = 0.041), compared to the DASH score decrease in the ACP treatment group, which was statistically non-significant. Additionally, the difference between the DASH scores of the treatment and placebo groups was statistically non-significant four weeks and six months after treatment. Discussion  The results of this study suggest a therapeutic effect in both the ACP and placebo groups, with no evidence for a therapeutically significant difference between ACP and placebo treatments. It is hypothesized that, in accordance with the study protocols, injection with a local anaesthetic prior to ACP therapy may have an influence on the therapeutic effect of ACP. Future studies have to confirm recent findings that demonstrated a

Randomized Oversampling for Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Methods

KAUST Repository

Calo, Victor M.

2016-03-23

In this paper, we develop efficient multiscale methods for flows in heterogeneous media. We use the generalized multiscale finite element (GMsFEM) framework. GMsFEM approximates the solution space locally using a few multiscale basis functions. This approximation selects an appropriate snapshot space and a local spectral decomposition, e.g., the use of oversampled regions, in order to achieve an efficient model reduction. However, the successful construction of snapshot spaces may be costly if too many local problems need to be solved in order to obtain these spaces. We use a moderate quantity of local solutions (or snapshot vectors) with random boundary conditions on oversampled regions with zero forcing to deliver an efficient methodology. Motivated by the randomized algorithm presented in [P. G. Martinsson, V. Rokhlin, and M. Tygert, A Randomized Algorithm for the approximation of Matrices, YALEU/DCS/TR-1361, Yale University, 2006], we consider a snapshot space which consists of harmonic extensions of random boundary conditions defined in a domain larger than the target region. Furthermore, we perform an eigenvalue decomposition in this small space. We study the application of randomized sampling for GMsFEM in conjunction with adaptivity, where local multiscale spaces are adaptively enriched. Convergence analysis is provided. We present representative numerical results to validate the method proposed.

Moves Analysis on Abstracts Written by the Students in Academic Writing Class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajeng Setyorini

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper contains analysis results on abstracts written by students in Academic Writing course. The analysis includes analyses on moves and linguistic features. The analysis aims at finding out how the abstract writing structures of the English Education students are in the Academic Writing course. The abstract analysis also includes the analysis on the use of the linguistic features in the abstracts. The analysis uses a qualitative research approach. There are totally 10 abstracts that are analyzed. These are then called as the data. Data obtained is analyzed using genre analysis approach. Results of analysis on the 10 abstracts showed that some of the abstracts are written using 5 kinds of moves. All of the abstracts are found using Purpose Move and Method Move. Meanwhile, Situation Move is found in 5 abstracts. 8 abstracts are identified using Result Move. Conclusion Move is found in 5 abstracts. The results also show that all of the abstract writers use pronouns ‘the writer’ and ‘the researcher’. The use of personal pronoun ‘she’ is also found in 1 abstract. Hedges used in abstracts written by students in Academic Writing course vary from modal auxiliary verbs, adjectival, adverbial, nominal to Approximates of degree.

Enhancements to the NASA Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz, M. J.; Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Murray, S. S.

1995-05-01

The NASA Astrophysics Data System Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service, the extension of the ADS Abstract Service continues rapidly to expand in both use and capabilities. Each month the service is used by about 4,000 different people, and returns about 1,000,000 pieces of bibliographic information. Among the recent additions to the system are: 1. Whole Text Access. In addition to the ApJ Letters we now have whole text for the ApJ on-line, soon we will have AJ and Rev. Mexicana. Discussions with other publishers are in progress. 2. Space Instrumentation Database. We now provide a second abstract service, covering papers related to space instruments. This is larger than the astronomy and astrophysics database in terms of total abstracts. 3. Reference Books and Historical Journals. We have begun putting the SAO Annals and the HCO Annals on-line. We have put the Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics by M.V. Zombeck (Cambridge U.P.) on-line. 4. Author Abstracts. We can now include original abstracts in addition to those we get from the NASA STI Abstracts Database. We have included abstracts for A&A in collaboration with the CDS in Strasbourg, and are collaborating with the AAS and the ASP on others. We invite publishers and editors of journals and conference proceedings to include their original abstracts in our service; send inquiries via e-mail to ads@cfa.harvard.edu. 5. Author Notes. We now accept notes and comments from authors of articles in our database. These are arbitrary html files and may contain pointers to other WWW documents, they are listed along with the abstracts, whole text, and data available in the index listing for every reference. The ASIAS is available at: http://adswww.harvard.edu/

The Fifth International Ural seminar. Radiation damage physics of metals and alloys. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

Presented are the abstracts of The Fifth International Ural seminar Damage physics of metals and alloys. General problems of radiation damage physics, radiation effect on change of microstucture and the properties of metals and alloys, as well as materials for nuclear and thermonuclear energetics are considered. The themes of reports are the following: correlation effects in cascades of atom-atomic collisions; radiation-induced strengthening critical current density in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x superconductors; conditions of forming and hydrides growth in irradiated zirconium alloys [ru

Effects of random noise in a dynamical model of love

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Yong, E-mail: hsux3@nwpu.edu.cn [Department of Applied Mathematics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an 710072 (China); Gu Rencai; Zhang Huiqing [Department of Applied Mathematics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an 710072 (China)

2011-07-15

Highlights: > We model the complexity and unpredictability of psychology as Gaussian white noise. > The stochastic system of love is considered including bifurcation and chaos. > We show that noise can both suppress and induce chaos in dynamical models of love. - Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the stochastic model of love and the effects of random noise. We first revisit the deterministic model of love and some basic properties are presented such as: symmetry, dissipation, fixed points (equilibrium), chaotic behaviors and chaotic attractors. Then we construct a stochastic love-triangle model with parametric random excitation due to the complexity and unpredictability of the psychological system, where the randomness is modeled as the standard Gaussian noise. Stochastic dynamics under different three cases of 'Romeo's romantic style', are examined and two kinds of bifurcations versus the noise intensity parameter are observed by the criteria of changes of top Lyapunov exponent and shape of stationary probability density function (PDF) respectively. The phase portraits and time history are carried out to verify the proposed results, and the good agreement can be found. And also the dual roles of the random noise, namely suppressing and inducing chaos are revealed.

Effects of random noise in a dynamical model of love

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Yong; Gu Rencai; Zhang Huiqing

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We model the complexity and unpredictability of psychology as Gaussian white noise. → The stochastic system of love is considered including bifurcation and chaos. → We show that noise can both suppress and induce chaos in dynamical models of love. - Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the stochastic model of love and the effects of random noise. We first revisit the deterministic model of love and some basic properties are presented such as: symmetry, dissipation, fixed points (equilibrium), chaotic behaviors and chaotic attractors. Then we construct a stochastic love-triangle model with parametric random excitation due to the complexity and unpredictability of the psychological system, where the randomness is modeled as the standard Gaussian noise. Stochastic dynamics under different three cases of 'Romeo's romantic style', are examined and two kinds of bifurcations versus the noise intensity parameter are observed by the criteria of changes of top Lyapunov exponent and shape of stationary probability density function (PDF) respectively. The phase portraits and time history are carried out to verify the proposed results, and the good agreement can be found. And also the dual roles of the random noise, namely suppressing and inducing chaos are revealed.

Analysis of subsequent publication of scientific orally presented abstracts of the French National Congress of Radiology. Part II: Focus on the French abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Dangouloff-Ros, V; Ronot, M; Lagadec, M; Vilgrain, V

2015-05-01

To evaluate the publication rate of scientific abstracts that were presented orally at the 2008, 2009, and 2010 annual meetings of the French Society of Radiology by French radiologists, and to perform a French regional analysis. Orally presented abstracts were identified by examining online abstract books of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 annual meetings of the French Society of Radiology, and cross-checked by reviewing the paper version of abstracts for the same period. Only abstracts from French teams were selected. The administrative region of submission was noted for each abstract and for each region the total population, the number of active radiologists, the number of active members of the French Society of Radiology and the number of academic radiologists were noted. Imaging subspecialties were also noted. 625 abstracts were identified resulting in 268 publications (publication rate: 43%). The median number of presentations and publications per region was 18 (range: 1-255) and 7 (range: 0-101), respectively. The ratio per million inhabitants was 7.5 and 3 respectively. The median number of presentations and publications per 100 active radiologists (respectively members of the FSR) was 7 and 3 (respectively 10 and 4). The median number of presentations and publications per academic radiologist were 2.6, and 1.2, respectively. The regional variations for each indicator were high (40-180%). Three subspecialties had a publication rate of more than 50%: thoracic imaging (58%), abdominal imaging (52%), and genitourinary imaging (51%). The publication rate of orally presented French scientific abstracts was high, with important variations according to the regions of origin and imaging subspecialties. Copyright © 2015 Éditions françaises de radiologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Abstract Cauchy problems three approaches

CERN Document Server

Melnikova, Irina V

2001-01-01

Although the theory of well-posed Cauchy problems is reasonably understood, ill-posed problems-involved in a numerous mathematical models in physics, engineering, and finance- can be approached in a variety of ways. Historically, there have been three major strategies for dealing with such problems: semigroup, abstract distribution, and regularization methods. Semigroup and distribution methods restore well-posedness, in a modern weak sense. Regularization methods provide approximate solutions to ill-posed problems. Although these approaches were extensively developed over the last decades by many researchers, nowhere could one find a comprehensive treatment of all three approaches.Abstract Cauchy Problems: Three Approaches provides an innovative, self-contained account of these methods and, furthermore, demonstrates and studies some of the profound connections between them. The authors discuss the application of different methods not only to the Cauchy problem that is not well-posed in the classical sense, b...

Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jimmy

2009-02-03

With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata) to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs) within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

Biostimulation and enhancement of pesticide degradation around water abstraction fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levi, Suzi

Groundwater contamination by pesticides is a widespread environmental problem and a major threat to drinking water supplies. Diffuse source contamination of groundwater that enters from an extensive area is characterized by low pesticide concentrations (nanogram-microgram per liter) in large...... volumes of water. It is regarded as one of the major threats to groundwater quality originating from agriculture, roads and railways. These large volumes of water in combination with the low concentration cause difficulties in preventing contamination of drinking water supplies and this is a challenge...... under aerobic conditions. Laboratory batch experiments were conducted with anaerobic aquifer material and groundwater collected near an operating drinking water abstraction field to study the potential for stimulating biodegradation of pesticides (bentazone, mecoprop and dichlorprop) at environmentally...

Random matrices and random difference equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uppuluri, V.R.R.

1975-01-01

Mathematical models leading to products of random matrices and random difference equations are discussed. A one-compartment model with random behavior is introduced, and it is shown how the average concentration in the discrete time model converges to the exponential function. This is of relevance to understanding how radioactivity gets trapped in bone structure in blood--bone systems. The ideas are then generalized to two-compartment models and mammillary systems, where products of random matrices appear in a natural way. The appearance of products of random matrices in applications in demography and control theory is considered. Then random sequences motivated from the following problems are studied: constant pulsing and random decay models, random pulsing and constant decay models, and random pulsing and random decay models

ORCHIDS: an Observational Randomized Controlled Trial on Childhood Differential Susceptibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chhangur Rabia R

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A central tenet in developmental psychopathology is that childhood rearing experiences have a major impact on children’s development. Recently, candidate genes have been identified that may cause children to be differentially susceptible to these experiences (i.e., susceptibility genes. However, our understanding of the differential impact of parenting is limited at best. Specifically, more experimental research is needed. The ORCHIDS study will investigate gene-(gene-environment interactions to obtain more insight into a moderating effects of polymorphisms on the link between parenting and child behavior, and b behavioral mechanisms that underlie these gene-(gene-environment interactions in an experimental design. Methods/Design The ORCHIDS study is a randomized controlled trial, in which the environment will be manipulated with an intervention (i.e., Incredible Years parent training. In a screening, families with children aged 4–8 who show mild to (subclinical behavior problems will be targeted through community records via two Dutch regional healthcare organizations. Assessments in both the intervention and control condition will be conducted at baseline (i.e., pretest, after 6 months (i.e., posttest, and after 10 months (i.e., follow-up. Discussion This study protocol describes the design of a randomized controlled trial that investigates gene-(gene-environment interactions in the development of child behavior. Two hypotheses will be tested. First, we expect that children in the intervention condition who carry one or more susceptibility genes will show significantly lower levels of problem behavior and higher levels of prosocial behavior after their parent(s received the Incredible Years training, compared to children without these genes, or children in the control group. Second, we expect that children carrying one or more susceptibility genes will show a heightened sensitivity to changes in parenting behaviors, and

(AJST) AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SOIL-CONDITIONING ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ABSTRACT:- This study assesses the soil conditioning capacity of tree gums based on the level of resistance to ... enable their destruction by microorganism and (2) minimize soil loss .... and moulded into a cylindrical core using a small plastic.

A randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of a universal school-based depression prevention program 'Op Volle Kracht' in the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tak Yuli R

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The incidence of depressive symptoms increases during adolescence, from 10.0% to 24.5% at age 11 to 15, respectively. Experiencing elevated levels of depressive symptoms increases the risk of a depressive disorder in adulthood. A universal school-based depression prevention program Op Volle Kracht (OVK was developed, based on the Penn Resiliency Program, aimed at preventing the increase of depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhancing positive development. In this study the effectiveness of OVK will be tested and possible mediators of program effects will be focus of study as well. Method The effectiveness of OVK will be tested in a randomized controlled trial with two conditions, intervention (OVK and control condition (care as usual. Schools are randomly assigned to research conditions. OVK will be incorporated in the school curriculum, maximizing program attendance. OVK consists of 16 lessons of 50 min, given by trained psychologists to groups of 11-15 students. OVK contains Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, social skills training, problem solving and decision making. Outcomes are measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months follow up, to monitor long term program effects. Primary outcome is level of depressive symptoms, secondary outcomes are: anxiety, hopelessness, cognitive bias, substance use, truancy, life satisfaction, coping, self-efficacy, optimism, happiness, friendship, school performance and school attitude. The questionnaires for students will be administered in the school setting. Parents will complete a questionnaire at baseline only. Discussion In this paper the study into the effectiveness of the depression prevention program OVK was described. It is expected that OVK will prevent the increase in depressive symptoms during adolescence and enhance positive development in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition. If OVK will be effective, it can be implemented in the school context by which

Biocards and Level of Abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenau, Torben Anker; Keshwani, Sonal; Chakrabarti, Amaresh

2015-01-01

Biocards are formal descriptions of biological phenomena and their underlying functional principles. They are used in bioinspired design to document search results and to communicate the findings for use in the further design process. The present study explored the effect of abstraction level used...

Abstract Interpretation of Mobile Ambients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, René Rydhof; Jensen, J. G.; Nielson, Flemming

1999-01-01

We demonstrate that abstract interpretation is useful for analysing calculi of computation such as the ambient calculus (which is based on the p-calculus); more importantly, we show that the entire development can be expressed in a constraint-based formalism that is becoming exceedingly popular...

Abstract Interpretation Using Attribute Grammar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosendahl, Mads

1990-01-01

This paper deals with the correctness proofs of attribute grammars using methods from abstract interpretation. The technique will be described by defining a live-variable analysis for a small flow-chart language and proving it correct with respect to a continuation style semantics. The proof...

A 3?week multimodal intervention involving high?intensity interval training in female cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

OpenAIRE

Schmitt, Joachim; Lindner, Nathalie; Reuss?Borst, Monika; Holmberg, Hans?Christer; Sperlich, Billy

2016-01-01

Abstract To compare the effects of a 3?week multimodal rehabilitation involving supervised high?intensity interval training (HIIT) on female breast cancer survivors with respect to key variables of aerobic fitness, body composition, energy expenditure, cancer?related fatigue, and quality of life to those of a standard multimodal rehabilitation program. A randomized controlled trial design was administered. Twenty?eight women, who had been treated for cancer were randomly assigned to either a ...

Research Abstracts of 1979.

Science.gov (United States)

1979-12-01

abscess formation and tissue necrosis, its relationship to periodontal pockets was investigated. Specimens were obtained from maxillary and mandibular...of Organisms and Periodontal Pockets." (Abstract 4853). 10. SIMONSON, Lo Go, LAMDERTS, B. L. and JACROLA, Do R. - "Effects of Dextranases and other...the tip of the periodontal probe rests within epithelium, at or slightly apical to the coronal extent of the junctional epithelium. The purpose of

NPP life management (abstracts)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Litvinskij, L.L.; Barbashev, S.V.

2002-01-01

Abstracts of the papers presented at the International conference of the Ukrainian Nuclear Society 'NPP Life Management'. The following problems are considered: modernization of the NPP; NPP life management; waste and spent nuclear fuel management; decommissioning issues; control systems (including radiation and ecological control systems); information and control systems; legal and regulatory framework. State nuclear regulatory control; PR in nuclear power; training of personnel; economics of nuclear power engineering

A logical correspondence between natural semantics and abstract machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simmons, Robert J.; Zerny, Ian

2013-01-01

We present a logical correspondence between natural semantics and abstract machines. This correspondence enables the mechanical and fully-correct construction of an abstract machine from a natural semantics. Our logical correspondence mirrors the Reynolds functional correspondence, but we...... manipulate semantic specifications encoded in a logical framework instead of manipulating functional programs. Natural semantics and abstract machines are instances of substructural operational semantics. As a byproduct, using a substructural logical framework, we bring concurrent and stateful models...

Randomly and Non-Randomly Missing Renal Function Data in the Strong Heart Study: A Comparison of Imputation Methods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nawar Shara

Full Text Available Kidney and cardiovascular disease are widespread among populations with high prevalence of diabetes, such as American Indians participating in the Strong Heart Study (SHS. Studying these conditions simultaneously in longitudinal studies is challenging, because the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases result in missing data, and these data are likely not missing at random. When such data are merely excluded, study findings may be compromised. In this article, a subset of 2264 participants with complete renal function data from Strong Heart Exams 1 (1989-1991, 2 (1993-1995, and 3 (1998-1999 was used to examine the performance of five methods used to impute missing data: listwise deletion, mean of serial measures, adjacent value, multiple imputation, and pattern-mixture. Three missing at random models and one non-missing at random model were used to compare the performance of the imputation techniques on randomly and non-randomly missing data. The pattern-mixture method was found to perform best for imputing renal function data that were not missing at random. Determining whether data are missing at random or not can help in choosing the imputation method that will provide the most accurate results.

Novel approaches to upper gastrointestinal conditions: a focus on bleeding and malignancy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I.L. Holster (Ingrid)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Gastrointestinal (GI) conditions account for substantial burden and use of healthcare resources. It is estimated that GI conditions are responsible for 15-20% of general practitioner visits, hospital admissions, and drug use. Many of those conditions are related to

Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

1999-01-01

This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest

The "third abstraction" of the Chinese artist LaoZhu: Neural and behavioral indicators of aesthetic appreciation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Yan; Yang, Taoxi; Zhang, Jinfan; Zhang, Jiyuan; Lin, Xiaoxiong; Paolini, Marco; Pöppel, Ernst; Silveira, Sarita

2017-06-01

The eminent Chinese artist LaoZhu has created a homogeneous set of abstract pictures that are referred to as the "third abstraction." By definition, these pictures are meant to be representations of the artist's personal involvement and as such to create an internal point of view in the observer on an implicit level of processing. Aiming at investigating whether the artist's choice of a specific color is experienced in a specific way in the recipient, we assessed both explicit and implicit (i.e. neurocognitive) correlates in naive viewers of LaoZhu's pieces. The behavioral results reveal a preference of the original red paintings over color-changed counterparts in green or black. Paradoxically and inconsistent with predictions, we found higher levels of neural activation in several brain regions (predominantly in the frontal and parietal cortices) for the color-changed compared to the original red conditions. These observations add empirically to the complementarity of early visual pathways and higher-order cognition as well as of explicit and implicit information processing during aesthetic appreciation. We discuss our findings in light of processing effort and top-down control of the color-changed paintings. With regard to the third abstraction as defined by LaoZhu, in particular to the distinction between an external and internal point of view when viewing abstract art, our results contribute to an understanding of "abstraction and empathy" as a fundamental part of aesthetic appreciations. © 2017 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Complete Abstractions of Dynamical Systems by Timed Automata

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Christoffer; Wisniewski, Rafael

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the generation of complete abstractions of polynomial dynamical systems by timed automata. For the proposed abstraction, the state space is divided into cells by sublevel sets of functions. We identify a relation between these functions and their directional derivatives along...... to approximate the dynamical system, in a subset of admissible subdivisioning functions....

Comprehension of concrete and abstract words in semantic dementia

Science.gov (United States)

Jefferies, Elizabeth; Patterson, Karalyn; Jones, Roy W.; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A.

2009-01-01

The vast majority of brain-injured patients with semantic impairment have better comprehension of concrete than abstract words. In contrast, several patients with semantic dementia (SD), who show circumscribed atrophy of the anterior temporal lobes bilaterally, have been reported to show reverse imageability effects, i.e., relative preservation of abstract knowledge. Although these reports largely concern individual patients, some researchers have recently proposed that superior comprehension of abstract concepts is a characteristic feature of SD. This would imply that the anterior temporal lobes are particularly crucial for processing sensory aspects of semantic knowledge, which are associated with concrete not abstract concepts. However, functional neuroimaging studies of healthy participants do not unequivocally predict reverse imageability effects in SD because the temporal poles sometimes show greater activation for more abstract concepts. We examined a case-series of eleven SD patients on a synonym judgement test that orthogonally varied the frequency and imageability of the items. All patients had higher success rates for more imageable as well as more frequent words, suggesting that (a) the anterior temporal lobes underpin semantic knowledge for both concrete and abstract concepts, (b) more imageable items – perhaps due to their richer multimodal representations – are typically more robust in the face of global semantic degradation and (c) reverse imageability effects are not a characteristic feature of SD. PMID:19586212