Detecting change-points in extremes

KAUST Repository

Dupuis, D. J.; Sun, Ying; Wang, Huixia Judy

2015-01-01

Even though most work on change-point estimation focuses on changes in the mean, changes in the variance or in the tail distribution can lead to more extreme events. In this paper, we develop a new method of detecting and estimating the change

Multiscale change-point analysis of inhomogeneous Poisson processes using unbalanced wavelet decompositions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, M.H.; Di Bucchianico, A.; Mattheij, R.M.M.; Peletier, M.A.

2006-01-01

We present a continuous wavelet analysis of count data with timevarying intensities. The objective is to extract intervals with significant intensities from background intervals. This includes the precise starting point of the significant interval, its exact duration and the (average) level of

Detection of kinetic change points in piece-wise linear single molecule motion

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Flynn R.; van Oijen, Antoine M.; Duderstadt, Karl E.

2018-03-01

Single-molecule approaches present a powerful way to obtain detailed kinetic information at the molecular level. However, the identification of small rate changes is often hindered by the considerable noise present in such single-molecule kinetic data. We present a general method to detect such kinetic change points in trajectories of motion of processive single molecules having Gaussian noise, with a minimum number of parameters and without the need of an assumed kinetic model beyond piece-wise linearity of motion. Kinetic change points are detected using a likelihood ratio test in which the probability of no change is compared to the probability of a change occurring, given the experimental noise. A predetermined confidence interval minimizes the occurrence of false detections. Applying the method recursively to all sub-regions of a single molecule trajectory ensures that all kinetic change points are located. The algorithm presented allows rigorous and quantitative determination of kinetic change points in noisy single molecule observations without the need for filtering or binning, which reduce temporal resolution and obscure dynamics. The statistical framework for the approach and implementation details are discussed. The detection power of the algorithm is assessed using simulations with both single kinetic changes and multiple kinetic changes that typically arise in observations of single-molecule DNA-replication reactions. Implementations of the algorithm are provided in ImageJ plugin format written in Java and in the Julia language for numeric computing, with accompanying Jupyter Notebooks to allow reproduction of the analysis presented here.

Tipping point analysis of ocean acoustic noise

Science.gov (United States)

Livina, Valerie N.; Brouwer, Albert; Harris, Peter; Wang, Lian; Sotirakopoulos, Kostas; Robinson, Stephen

2018-02-01

We apply tipping point analysis to a large record of ocean acoustic data to identify the main components of the acoustic dynamical system and study possible bifurcations and transitions of the system. The analysis is based on a statistical physics framework with stochastic modelling, where we represent the observed data as a composition of deterministic and stochastic components estimated from the data using time-series techniques. We analyse long-term and seasonal trends, system states and acoustic fluctuations to reconstruct a one-dimensional stochastic equation to approximate the acoustic dynamical system. We apply potential analysis to acoustic fluctuations and detect several changes in the system states in the past 14 years. These are most likely caused by climatic phenomena. We analyse trends in sound pressure level within different frequency bands and hypothesize a possible anthropogenic impact on the acoustic environment. The tipping point analysis framework provides insight into the structure of the acoustic data and helps identify its dynamic phenomena, correctly reproducing the probability distribution and scaling properties (power-law correlations) of the time series.

Tipping point analysis of ocean acoustic noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Livina

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We apply tipping point analysis to a large record of ocean acoustic data to identify the main components of the acoustic dynamical system and study possible bifurcations and transitions of the system. The analysis is based on a statistical physics framework with stochastic modelling, where we represent the observed data as a composition of deterministic and stochastic components estimated from the data using time-series techniques. We analyse long-term and seasonal trends, system states and acoustic fluctuations to reconstruct a one-dimensional stochastic equation to approximate the acoustic dynamical system. We apply potential analysis to acoustic fluctuations and detect several changes in the system states in the past 14 years. These are most likely caused by climatic phenomena. We analyse trends in sound pressure level within different frequency bands and hypothesize a possible anthropogenic impact on the acoustic environment. The tipping point analysis framework provides insight into the structure of the acoustic data and helps identify its dynamic phenomena, correctly reproducing the probability distribution and scaling properties (power-law correlations of the time series.

Extending the Functionality of Behavioural Change-Point Analysis with k-Means Clustering: A Case Study with the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingjing; Dennis, Todd E.

2015-01-01

We present a simple framework for classifying mutually exclusive behavioural states within the geospatial lifelines of animals. This method involves use of three sequentially applied statistical procedures: (1) behavioural change point analysis to partition movement trajectories into discrete bouts of same-state behaviours, based on abrupt changes in the spatio-temporal autocorrelation structure of movement parameters; (2) hierarchical multivariate cluster analysis to determine the number of different behavioural states; and (3) k-means clustering to classify inferred bouts of same-state location observations into behavioural modes. We demonstrate application of the method by analysing synthetic trajectories of known ‘artificial behaviours’ comprised of different correlated random walks, as well as real foraging trajectories of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) obtained by global-positioning-system telemetry. Our results show that the modelling procedure correctly classified 92.5% of all individual location observations in the synthetic trajectories, demonstrating reasonable ability to successfully discriminate behavioural modes. Most individual little penguins were found to exhibit three unique behavioural states (resting, commuting/active searching, area-restricted foraging), with variation in the timing and locations of observations apparently related to ambient light, bathymetry, and proximity to coastlines and river mouths. Addition of k-means clustering extends the utility of behavioural change point analysis, by providing a simple means through which the behaviours inferred for the location observations comprising individual movement trajectories can be objectively classified. PMID:25922935

Extending the Functionality of Behavioural Change-Point Analysis with k-Means Clustering: A Case Study with the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingjing; O'Reilly, Kathleen M; Perry, George L W; Taylor, Graeme A; Dennis, Todd E

2015-01-01

We present a simple framework for classifying mutually exclusive behavioural states within the geospatial lifelines of animals. This method involves use of three sequentially applied statistical procedures: (1) behavioural change point analysis to partition movement trajectories into discrete bouts of same-state behaviours, based on abrupt changes in the spatio-temporal autocorrelation structure of movement parameters; (2) hierarchical multivariate cluster analysis to determine the number of different behavioural states; and (3) k-means clustering to classify inferred bouts of same-state location observations into behavioural modes. We demonstrate application of the method by analysing synthetic trajectories of known 'artificial behaviours' comprised of different correlated random walks, as well as real foraging trajectories of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) obtained by global-positioning-system telemetry. Our results show that the modelling procedure correctly classified 92.5% of all individual location observations in the synthetic trajectories, demonstrating reasonable ability to successfully discriminate behavioural modes. Most individual little penguins were found to exhibit three unique behavioural states (resting, commuting/active searching, area-restricted foraging), with variation in the timing and locations of observations apparently related to ambient light, bathymetry, and proximity to coastlines and river mouths. Addition of k-means clustering extends the utility of behavioural change point analysis, by providing a simple means through which the behaviours inferred for the location observations comprising individual movement trajectories can be objectively classified.

Extending the Functionality of Behavioural Change-Point Analysis with k-Means Clustering: A Case Study with the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjing Zhang

Full Text Available We present a simple framework for classifying mutually exclusive behavioural states within the geospatial lifelines of animals. This method involves use of three sequentially applied statistical procedures: (1 behavioural change point analysis to partition movement trajectories into discrete bouts of same-state behaviours, based on abrupt changes in the spatio-temporal autocorrelation structure of movement parameters; (2 hierarchical multivariate cluster analysis to determine the number of different behavioural states; and (3 k-means clustering to classify inferred bouts of same-state location observations into behavioural modes. We demonstrate application of the method by analysing synthetic trajectories of known 'artificial behaviours' comprised of different correlated random walks, as well as real foraging trajectories of little penguins (Eudyptula minor obtained by global-positioning-system telemetry. Our results show that the modelling procedure correctly classified 92.5% of all individual location observations in the synthetic trajectories, demonstrating reasonable ability to successfully discriminate behavioural modes. Most individual little penguins were found to exhibit three unique behavioural states (resting, commuting/active searching, area-restricted foraging, with variation in the timing and locations of observations apparently related to ambient light, bathymetry, and proximity to coastlines and river mouths. Addition of k-means clustering extends the utility of behavioural change point analysis, by providing a simple means through which the behaviours inferred for the location observations comprising individual movement trajectories can be objectively classified.

On changing points of mean residual life and failure rate function for some generalized Weibull distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, M.; Goh, T.N.; Tang, Y.

2004-01-01

The failure rate function and mean residual life function are two important characteristics in reliability analysis. Although many papers have studied distributions with bathtub-shaped failure rate and their properties, few have focused on the underlying associations between the mean residual life and failure rate function of these distributions, especially with respect to their changing points. It is known that the change point for mean residual life can be much earlier than that of failure rate function. In fact, the failure rate function should be flat for a long period of time for a distribution to be useful in practice. When the difference between the change points is large, the flat portion tends to be longer. This paper investigates the change points and focuses on the difference of the changing points. The exponentiated Weibull, a modified Weibull, and an extended Weibull distribution, all with bathtub-shaped failure rate function will be used. Some other issues related to the flatness of the bathtub curve are discussed

A MOSUM procedure for the estimation of multiple random change points

OpenAIRE

Eichinger, Birte; Kirch, Claudia

2018-01-01

In this work, we investigate statistical properties of change point estimators based on moving sum statistics. We extend results for testing in a classical situation with multiple deterministic change points by allowing for random exogenous change points that arise in Hidden Markov or regime switching models among others. To this end, we consider a multiple mean change model with possible time series errors and prove that the number and location of change points are estimated consistently by ...

Understanding turning points in intimate partner violence: factors and circumstances leading women victims toward change.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Judy C; Dado, Diane; Hawker, Lynn; Cluss, Patricia A; Buranosky, Raquel; Slagel, Leslie; McNeil, Melissa; Scholle, Sarah Hudson

2010-02-01

When counseling women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), healthcare providers can benefit from understanding the factors contributing to a women's motivation to change her situation. We wished to examine the various factors and situations associated with turning points and change seeking in the IPV situation. We performed qualitative analysis on data from 7 focus groups and 20 individual interviews with women (61 participants) with past and/or current histories of IPV. The turning points women identified fell into 5 major themes: (1) protecting others from the abuse/abuser; (2) increased severity/humiliation with abuse; (3) increased awareness of options/access to support and resources; (4) fatigue/recognition that the abuser was not going to change; and (5) partner betrayal/infidelity. Women experiencing IPV can identify specific factors and events constituting turning points or catalyst to change in their IPV situation. These turning points are dramatic shifts in beliefs and perceptions of themselves, their partners, and/or their situation that alter the women's willingness to tolerate the situation and motivate them to consider change. When counseling women experiencing IPV, health providers can incorporate understanding of turning points to motivate women to move forward in their process of changing their IPV situation.

Statistical methods for change-point detection in surface temperature records

Science.gov (United States)

Pintar, A. L.; Possolo, A.; Zhang, N. F.

2013-09-01

We describe several statistical methods to detect possible change-points in a time series of values of surface temperature measured at a meteorological station, and to assess the statistical significance of such changes, taking into account the natural variability of the measured values, and the autocorrelations between them. These methods serve to determine whether the record may suffer from biases unrelated to the climate signal, hence whether there may be a need for adjustments as considered by M. J. Menne and C. N. Williams (2009) "Homogenization of Temperature Series via Pairwise Comparisons", Journal of Climate 22 (7), 1700-1717. We also review methods to characterize patterns of seasonality (seasonal decomposition using monthly medians or robust local regression), and explain the role they play in the imputation of missing values, and in enabling robust decompositions of the measured values into a seasonal component, a possible climate signal, and a station-specific remainder. The methods for change-point detection that we describe include statistical process control, wavelet multi-resolution analysis, adaptive weights smoothing, and a Bayesian procedure, all of which are applicable to single station records.

BetterPoints: Motivating behaviour change using technology-driven incentivisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Lancaster

2015-10-01

The BetterPoints system is unique in it’s flexibility and ability to draw on multiple behaviour change models to create high quality interventions. Early findings from existing programmes being implemented for Local Authorities in the UK suggest that BetterPoints can demonstrate real-world behaviour change. We would like to work with academic partners to further investigate these real-world changes in behaviour and establish a robust evidence base.

Life satisfaction set point: stability and change.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, Frank; Diener, Ed

2005-01-01

Using data from 17 years of a large and nationally representative panel study from Germany, the authors examined whether there is a set point for life satisfaction (LS)--stability across time, even though it can be perturbed for short periods by life events. The authors found that 24% of respondents changed significantly in LS from the first 5 years to the last 5 years and that stability declined as the period between measurements increased. Average LS in the first 5 years correlated .51 with the 5-year average of LS during the last 5 years. Height, weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and personality traits were all more stable than LS, whereas income was about as stable as LS. Almost 9% of the sample changed an average of 3 or more points on a 10-point scale from the first 5 to last 5 years of the study.

Point Cloud Based Change Detection - an Automated Approach for Cloud-based Services

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Patrick; Bahr, Thomas

2016-04-01

The fusion of stereo photogrammetric point clouds with LiDAR data or terrain information derived from SAR interferometry has a significant potential for 3D topographic change detection. In the present case study latest point cloud generation and analysis capabilities are used to examine a landslide that occurred in the village of Malin in Maharashtra, India, on 30 July 2014, and affected an area of ca. 44.000 m2. It focuses on Pléiades high resolution satellite imagery and the Airbus DS WorldDEMTM as a product of the TanDEM-X mission. This case study was performed using the COTS software package ENVI 5.3. Integration of custom processes and automation is supported by IDL (Interactive Data Language). Thus, ENVI analytics is running via the object-oriented and IDL-based ENVITask API. The pre-event topography is represented by the WorldDEMTM product, delivered with a raster of 12 m x 12 m and based on the EGM2008 geoid (called pre-DEM). For the post-event situation a Pléiades 1B stereo image pair of the AOI affected was obtained. The ENVITask "GeneratePointCloudsByDenseImageMatching" was implemented to extract passive point clouds in LAS format from the panchromatic stereo datasets: • A dense image-matching algorithm is used to identify corresponding points in the two images. • A block adjustment is applied to refine the 3D coordinates that describe the scene geometry. • Additionally, the WorldDEMTM was input to constrain the range of heights in the matching area, and subsequently the length of the epipolar line. The "PointCloudFeatureExtraction" task was executed to generate the post-event digital surface model from the photogrammetric point clouds (called post-DEM). Post-processing consisted of the following steps: • Adding the geoid component (EGM 2008) to the post-DEM. • Pre-DEM reprojection to the UTM Zone 43N (WGS-84) coordinate system and resizing. • Subtraction of the pre-DEM from the post-DEM. • Filtering and threshold based classification of

Change point analysis: Elision in Euripides' Orestes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Gooijer, J.G.; Laan, N.M.

2001-01-01

This paper studies the problem of detecting multiple changes at unknown times in the mean level of elision in the trimeter sequences of the Orestes, a play written by the Ancient Greek dramatist Euripides (485-406 B.C.). Change-detection statistics proposed by MacNeill (1978) and Jandhayala and

Point defect characterization in HAADF-STEM images using multivariate statistical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarahan, Michael C.; Chi, Miaofang; Masiel, Daniel J.; Browning, Nigel D.

2011-01-01

Quantitative analysis of point defects is demonstrated through the use of multivariate statistical analysis. This analysis consists of principal component analysis for dimensional estimation and reduction, followed by independent component analysis to obtain physically meaningful, statistically independent factor images. Results from these analyses are presented in the form of factor images and scores. Factor images show characteristic intensity variations corresponding to physical structure changes, while scores relate how much those variations are present in the original data. The application of this technique is demonstrated on a set of experimental images of dislocation cores along a low-angle tilt grain boundary in strontium titanate. A relationship between chemical composition and lattice strain is highlighted in the analysis results, with picometer-scale shifts in several columns measurable from compositional changes in a separate column. -- Research Highlights: → Multivariate analysis of HAADF-STEM images. → Distinct structural variations among SrTiO 3 dislocation cores. → Picometer atomic column shifts correlated with atomic column population changes.

Discrimination of the change point in a quantum setting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimoto, Daiki; Hayashi, Masahito

2011-01-01

In the change point problem, we determine when the observed distribution has changed to another one. We expand this problem to a quantum case where copies of an unknown pure state are being distributed. That is, we estimate when the distributed quantum pure state is changed. As the most fundamental case, we treat the problem of deciding the true change point t c between the two given candidates t 1 and t 2 . Our problem is mathematically equal to identifying a given state with one of the two unknown states when multiple copies of the states are provided. The minimum of the averaged error probability is given and the optimal positive operator-valued measure (POVM) is given to obtain it when the initial and final quantum pure states are subject to the invariant prior. We also compute the error probability for deciding the change point under the above POVM when the initial and final quantum pure states are fixed. These analytical results allow us to calculate the value in the asymptotic case.

A Doubly Stochastic Change Point Detection Algorithm for Noisy Biological Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan Gold

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Experimentally and clinically collected time series data are often contaminated with significant confounding noise, creating short, noisy time series. This noise, due to natural variability and measurement error, poses a challenge to conventional change point detection methods. We propose a novel and robust statistical method for change point detection for noisy biological time sequences. Our method is a significant improvement over traditional change point detection methods, which only examine a potential anomaly at a single time point. In contrast, our method considers all suspected anomaly points and considers the joint probability distribution of the number of change points and the elapsed time between two consecutive anomalies. We validate our method with three simulated time series, a widely accepted benchmark data set, two geological time series, a data set of ECG recordings, and a physiological data set of heart rate variability measurements of fetal sheep model of human labor, comparing it to three existing methods. Our method demonstrates significantly improved performance over the existing point-wise detection methods.

Change-point analysis of geophysical time-series: application to landslide displacement rate (Séchilienne rock avalanche, France)

Science.gov (United States)

Amorese, D.; Grasso, J.-R.; Garambois, S.; Font, M.

2018-05-01

The rank-sum multiple change-point method is a robust statistical procedure designed to search for the optimal number and the location of change points in an arbitrary continue or discrete sequence of values. As such, this procedure can be used to analyse time-series data. Twelve years of robust data sets for the Séchilienne (French Alps) rockslide show a continuous increase in average displacement rate from 50 to 280 mm per month, in the 2004-2014 period, followed by a strong decrease back to 50 mm per month in the 2014-2015 period. When possible kinematic phases are tentatively suggested in previous studies, its solely rely on the basis of empirical threshold values. In this paper, we analyse how the use of a statistical algorithm for change-point detection helps to better understand time phases in landslide kinematics. First, we test the efficiency of the statistical algorithm on geophysical benchmark data, these data sets (stream flows and Northern Hemisphere temperatures) being already analysed by independent statistical tools. Second, we apply the method to 12-yr daily time-series of the Séchilienne landslide, for rainfall and displacement data, from 2003 December to 2015 December, in order to quantitatively extract changes in landslide kinematics. We find two strong significant discontinuities in the weekly cumulated rainfall values: an average rainfall rate increase is resolved in 2012 April and a decrease in 2014 August. Four robust changes are highlighted in the displacement time-series (2008 May, 2009 November-December-2010 January, 2012 September and 2014 March), the 2010 one being preceded by a significant but weak rainfall rate increase (in 2009 November). Accordingly, we are able to quantitatively define five kinematic stages for the Séchilienne rock avalanche during this period. The synchronization between the rainfall and displacement rate, only resolved at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, corresponds to a remarkable change (fourfold

STRUCTURE LINE DETECTION FROM LIDAR POINT CLOUDS USING TOPOLOGICAL ELEVATION ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Y. Lo

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Airborne LIDAR point clouds, which have considerable points on object surfaces, are essential to building modeling. In the last two decades, studies have developed different approaches to identify structure lines using two main approaches, data-driven and modeldriven. These studies have shown that automatic modeling processes depend on certain considerations, such as used thresholds, initial value, designed formulas, and predefined cues. Following the development of laser scanning systems, scanning rates have increased and can provide point clouds with higher point density. Therefore, this study proposes using topological elevation analysis (TEA to detect structure lines instead of threshold-dependent concepts and predefined constraints. This analysis contains two parts: data pre-processing and structure line detection. To preserve the original elevation information, a pseudo-grid for generating digital surface models is produced during the first part. The highest point in each grid is set as the elevation value, and its original threedimensional position is preserved. In the second part, using TEA, the structure lines are identified based on the topology of local elevation changes in two directions. Because structure lines can contain certain geometric properties, their locations have small relieves in the radial direction and steep elevation changes in the circular direction. Following the proposed approach, TEA can be used to determine 3D line information without selecting thresholds. For validation, the TEA results are compared with those of the region growing approach. The results indicate that the proposed method can produce structure lines using dense point clouds.

Application of change-point problem to the detection of plant patches.

Science.gov (United States)

López, I; Gámez, M; Garay, J; Standovár, T; Varga, Z

2010-03-01

In ecology, if the considered area or space is large, the spatial distribution of individuals of a given plant species is never homogeneous; plants form different patches. The homogeneity change in space or in time (in particular, the related change-point problem) is an important research subject in mathematical statistics. In the paper, for a given data system along a straight line, two areas are considered, where the data of each area come from different discrete distributions, with unknown parameters. In the paper a method is presented for the estimation of the distribution change-point between both areas and an estimate is given for the distributions separated by the obtained change-point. The solution of this problem will be based on the maximum likelihood method. Furthermore, based on an adaptation of the well-known bootstrap resampling, a method for the estimation of the so-called change-interval is also given. The latter approach is very general, since it not only applies in the case of the maximum-likelihood estimation of the change-point, but it can be also used starting from any other change-point estimation known in the ecological literature. The proposed model is validated against typical ecological situations, providing at the same time a verification of the applied algorithms.

Does Biochar Addition Inlfuence the Change Points of Soil Phosphorus Leaching?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHAO Xiao-rong; LI Dan; KONG Juan; LIN Qi-mei

2014-01-01

Phosphorus change point indicating the threshold related to P leaching, largely depends on soil properties. Increasing data have shown that biochar addition can improve soil retention capacity of ions. However, we have known little about weather biochar amendment inlfuence the change point of P leaching. In this study, two soils added with 0, 5, 10, 20, and 50 g biochar kg-1 were incubated at 25°C for 14 d following adjusting the soil moisture to 50%water-holding capacity (WHC). The soils with different available P values were then obtained by adding a series of KH2PO4 solution (ranging from 0 to 600 mg P kg-1 soil), and subjecting to three cycles of drying and rewetting. The results showed that biochar addition signiifcantly lifted the P change points in the tested soils, together with changes in soil pH, organic C, Olen-P and CaCl2-P but little on exchangeable Ca and Mg, oxalate-extractable Fe and Al. The Olsen-P at the change points ranged from 48.65 to 185.07 mg kg-1 in the alluvial soil and 71.25 to 98.65 mg kg-1 in the red soil, corresponding to CaCl2-P of 0.31-6.49 and 0.18-0.45 mg L-1, respectively. The change points of the alluvial soil were readily changed by adding biochar compared with that of the red soil. The enhancement of change points was likely to be explained as the improvement of phosphate retention ability in the biochar-added soils.

Parametric change point estimation, testing and confidence interval ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In many applications like finance, industry and medicine, it is important to consider that the model parameters may undergo changes at unknown moment in time. This paper deals with estimation, testing and confidence interval of a change point for a univariate variable which is assumed to be normally distributed. To detect ...

Sample size and classification error for Bayesian change-point models with unlabelled sub-groups and incomplete follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Simon R; Muniz-Terrera, Graciela; Matthews, Fiona E

2018-05-01

Many medical (and ecological) processes involve the change of shape, whereby one trajectory changes into another trajectory at a specific time point. There has been little investigation into the study design needed to investigate these models. We consider the class of fixed effect change-point models with an underlying shape comprised two joined linear segments, also known as broken-stick models. We extend this model to include two sub-groups with different trajectories at the change-point, a change and no change class, and also include a missingness model to account for individuals with incomplete follow-up. Through a simulation study, we consider the relationship of sample size to the estimates of the underlying shape, the existence of a change-point, and the classification-error of sub-group labels. We use a Bayesian framework to account for the missing labels, and the analysis of each simulation is performed using standard Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Our simulation study is inspired by cognitive decline as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination, where our extended model is appropriate due to the commonly observed mixture of individuals within studies who do or do not exhibit accelerated decline. We find that even for studies of modest size ( n = 500, with 50 individuals observed past the change-point) in the fixed effect setting, a change-point can be detected and reliably estimated across a range of observation-errors.

Numerical analysis on pump turbine runaway points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, L; Liu, J T; Wang, L Q; Jiao, L; Li, Z F

2012-01-01

To research the character of pump turbine runaway points with different guide vane opening, a hydraulic model was established based on a pumped storage power station. The RNG k-ε model and SMPLEC algorithms was used to simulate the internal flow fields. The result of the simulation was compared with the test data and good correspondence was got between experimental data and CFD result. Based on this model, internal flow analysis was carried out. The result show that when the pump turbine ran at the runway speed, lots of vortexes appeared in the flow passage of the runner. These vortexes could always be observed even if the guide vane opening changes. That is an important way of energy loss in the runaway condition. Pressure on two sides of the runner blades were almost the same. So the runner power is very low. High speed induced large centrifugal force and the small guide vane opening gave the water velocity a large tangential component, then an obvious water ring could be observed between the runner blades and guide vanes in small guide vane opening condition. That ring disappeared when the opening bigger than 20°. These conclusions can provide a theory basis for the analysis and simulation of the pump turbine runaway points.

Change Point Estimation in Panel Data without Boundary Issue

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peštová, Barbora; Pešta, M.

2017-01-01

Roč. 5, č. 1 (2017), č. článku 7. E-ISSN 2227-9091 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : change point * estimation * consistency * panel data * short panels * boundary issue * structural change * bootstrap * non-life insurance * change in claim amounts Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics

Two Propositions on the Application of Point Elasticities to Finite Price Changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Daskin, Alan J.

1992-01-01

Considers counterintuitive propositions about using point elasticities to estimate quantity changes in response to price changes. Suggests that elasticity increases with price along a linear demand curve, but falling quantity demand offsets it. Argues that point elasticity with finite percentage change in price only approximates percentage change…

Kernel principal component analysis for change detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Morton, J.C.

2008-01-01

region acquired at two different time points. If change over time does not dominate the scene, the projection of the original two bands onto the second eigenvector will show change over time. In this paper a kernel version of PCA is used to carry out the analysis. Unlike ordinary PCA, kernel PCA...... with a Gaussian kernel successfully finds the change observations in a case where nonlinearities are introduced artificially....

On the change points of mean residual life and failure rate functions for some generalized gamma type distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parsa M.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mean residual life and failure rate functions are ubiquitously employed in reliability analysis. The term of useful period of lifetime distributions of bathtub-shaped failure rate functions is referred to the flat rigion of this function and has attracted authors and researchers in reliability, actuary, and survival analysis. In recent years, considering the change points of mean residual life and failure rate functions has been extensively utelized in determining the optimum burn-in time. In this paper we investigate the difference between the change points of failure rate and mean residual life functions of some generalized gamma type distributions due to the capability of these distributions in modeling various bathtub-shaped failure rate functions.

Change detection in polarimetric SAR data over several time points

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conradsen, Knut; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Skriver, Henning

2014-01-01

A test statistic for the equality of several variance-covariance matrices following the complex Wishart distribution is introduced. The test statistic is applied successfully to detect change in C-band EMISAR polarimetric SAR data over four time points.......A test statistic for the equality of several variance-covariance matrices following the complex Wishart distribution is introduced. The test statistic is applied successfully to detect change in C-band EMISAR polarimetric SAR data over four time points....

Sequential Change-Point Detection via Online Convex Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Cao

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Sequential change-point detection when the distribution parameters are unknown is a fundamental problem in statistics and machine learning. When the post-change parameters are unknown, we consider a set of detection procedures based on sequential likelihood ratios with non-anticipating estimators constructed using online convex optimization algorithms such as online mirror descent, which provides a more versatile approach to tackling complex situations where recursive maximum likelihood estimators cannot be found. When the underlying distributions belong to a exponential family and the estimators satisfy the logarithm regret property, we show that this approach is nearly second-order asymptotically optimal. This means that the upper bound for the false alarm rate of the algorithm (measured by the average-run-length meets the lower bound asymptotically up to a log-log factor when the threshold tends to infinity. Our proof is achieved by making a connection between sequential change-point and online convex optimization and leveraging the logarithmic regret bound property of online mirror descent algorithm. Numerical and real data examples validate our theory.

Hypothesis testing of a change point during cognitive decline among Alzheimer's disease patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Ming; Xiong, Chengjie; Grundman, Michael

2003-10-01

In this paper, we present a statistical hypothesis test for detecting a change point over the course of cognitive decline among Alzheimer's disease patients. The model under the null hypothesis assumes a constant rate of cognitive decline over time and the model under the alternative hypothesis is a general bilinear model with an unknown change point. When the change point is unknown, however, the null distribution of the test statistics is not analytically tractable and has to be simulated by parametric bootstrap. When the alternative hypothesis that a change point exists is accepted, we propose an estimate of its location based on the Akaike's Information Criterion. We applied our method to a data set from the Neuropsychological Database Initiative by implementing our hypothesis testing method to analyze Mini Mental Status Exam scores based on a random-slope and random-intercept model with a bilinear fixed effect. Our result shows that despite large amount of missing data, accelerated decline did occur for MMSE among AD patients. Our finding supports the clinical belief of the existence of a change point during cognitive decline among AD patients and suggests the use of change point models for the longitudinal modeling of cognitive decline in AD research.

Ratio-based estimators for a change point in persistence.

Science.gov (United States)

Halunga, Andreea G; Osborn, Denise R

2012-11-01

We study estimation of the date of change in persistence, from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] or vice versa. Contrary to statements in the original papers, our analytical results establish that the ratio-based break point estimators of Kim [Kim, J.Y., 2000. Detection of change in persistence of a linear time series. Journal of Econometrics 95, 97-116], Kim et al. [Kim, J.Y., Belaire-Franch, J., Badillo Amador, R., 2002. Corringendum to "Detection of change in persistence of a linear time series". Journal of Econometrics 109, 389-392] and Busetti and Taylor [Busetti, F., Taylor, A.M.R., 2004. Tests of stationarity against a change in persistence. Journal of Econometrics 123, 33-66] are inconsistent when a mean (or other deterministic component) is estimated for the process. In such cases, the estimators converge to random variables with upper bound given by the true break date when persistence changes from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. A Monte Carlo study confirms the large sample downward bias and also finds substantial biases in moderate sized samples, partly due to properties at the end points of the search interval.

Electrical stimulation of acupuncture points and blood pressure responses to postural changes: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Alice Y M; Kwan, Y L; Leung, Nathan T F; Yu, Rachel P W; Wu, Cindy M Y; Warburton, Darren E R

2011-05-01

Application of transcutaneous electrical stimulation over acupuncture points (Acu-TENS) facilitates heart rate recovery after exercise and restores hemodynamic stability after open heart surgery. The role of Acu-TENS on cardiovascular parameters in response to postural changes has not been reported. To investigate (1) the effect of Acu-TENS on blood pressure responses to -10º head-down postural change and (2) whether such effects were associated with modulation by the autonomic nervous system. Sixteen healthy volunteers, mean age 22.8 (SD, 3.1) years, were subjected to a -10º head-down tilt from the supine position on 3 separate occasions and received in random order the following 3 intervention protocols for 40 minutes before the postural change: Acu-TENS (over bilateral acupuncture points, PC6), sham-TENS (TENS applied to the skin over the patellae), and control (no electrical output from the TENS device applied at PC6). Mean arterial pressure, large artery elasticity index, cardiac output, and heart rate were recorded and compared at different stimulation protocols in the supine and -10º head-down tilt positions. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability was used to determine any modulation by the autonomic nervous system. Change in large artery elasticity index was observed only in the Acu-TENS group (P pressure appeared most stable during Acu-TENS. Autonomic nervous system modulation was not apparent with spectral analysis, irrespective of intervention. Sympathetic activity predominated in all positions. Acu-TENS seems to reduce blood pressure changes with -10º head-down tilt with concomitant changes in arterial vessel tone.

Predicting protein folding rate change upon point mutation using residue-level coevolutionary information.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallik, Saurav; Das, Smita; Kundu, Sudip

2016-01-01

Change in folding kinetics of globular proteins upon point mutation is crucial to a wide spectrum of biological research, such as protein misfolding, toxicity, and aggregations. Here we seek to address whether residue-level coevolutionary information of globular proteins can be informative to folding rate changes upon point mutations. Generating residue-level coevolutionary networks of globular proteins, we analyze three parameters: relative coevolution order (rCEO), network density (ND), and characteristic path length (CPL). A point mutation is considered to be equivalent to a node deletion of this network and respective percentage changes in rCEO, ND, CPL are found linearly correlated (0.84, 0.73, and -0.61, respectively) with experimental folding rate changes. The three parameters predict the folding rate change upon a point mutation with 0.031, 0.045, and 0.059 standard errors, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A travel time forecasting model based on change-point detection method

Science.gov (United States)

LI, Shupeng; GUANG, Xiaoping; QIAN, Yongsheng; ZENG, Junwei

2017-06-01

Travel time parameters obtained from road traffic sensors data play an important role in traffic management practice. A travel time forecasting model is proposed for urban road traffic sensors data based on the method of change-point detection in this paper. The first-order differential operation is used for preprocessing over the actual loop data; a change-point detection algorithm is designed to classify the sequence of large number of travel time data items into several patterns; then a travel time forecasting model is established based on autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. By computer simulation, different control parameters are chosen for adaptive change point search for travel time series, which is divided into several sections of similar state.Then linear weight function is used to fit travel time sequence and to forecast travel time. The results show that the model has high accuracy in travel time forecasting.

Change point analysis of travel routes reveals novel insights into foraging strategies and cognitive maps of wild baboons.

Science.gov (United States)

Noser, Rahel; Byrne, Richard W

2014-05-01

Efficient space use is a critical challenge for animals relying on stationary resources. It is often difficult with purely observational methods to gain unambiguous insight into any ability of primates to manage and process spatial information. Investigating the visible signs of the decision processes underlying space use often leaves open important issues. We applied the change point test [Byrne et al. (2009). Anim Behav 77: 619-631], a statistical tool to objectively determine change points (CPs) in animal travel paths, to investigate to what degree directional changes in our study group's (Papio ursinus) dry season ranging were associated with important resources and prominent landmarks. One-third of directional changes were associated with fruit feeding, 1/3 with traveling, and 1/3 with dry matter feeding, travel feeding and with drinking. When directional changes were associated with traveling, the subsequent directional changes were likely to result in fruit feeding. Fruit feeding mostly occurred at the apex of the day journeys, while drinking, dry matter feeding, and travel feeding often occurred along straight travel segments. The majority of directional changes did not occur in clusters at distinctive locations, but at distances of more than 120 m apart from each other, many of them along prominent landmarks. We conclude that the CPs do not represent nodes or route bends of a network map. Rather, they represent (1) locations where the decision to turn back to their sleeping site was taken, and (2) locations next to important landmarks (changes of slope, car tracks) where slight adjustment of a movement direction was possible. We found no evidence for a Euclidean map and discuss our findings in the light of a network map representation of space. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Freezing Point Depressions of Phase Change CO2 Solvents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arshad, Muhammad Waseem; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; von Solms, Nicolas

2013-01-01

Freezing point depressions (FPD) in phase change solvents containing 2-(diethylamino)ethanol (DEEA) and 3-(methylamino)propylamine (MAPA) were measured using a modified Beckmann apparatus. The measurements were performed for the binary aqueous DEEA and MAPA solutions, respectively...

Effect of Antenna Pointing Errors on SAR Imaging Considering the Change of the Point Target Location

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xin; Liu, Shijie; Yu, Haifeng; Tong, Xiaohua; Huang, Guoman

2018-04-01

Towards spaceborne spotlight SAR, the antenna is regulated by the SAR system with specific regularity, so the shaking of the internal mechanism is inevitable. Moreover, external environment also has an effect on the stability of SAR platform. Both of them will cause the jitter of the SAR platform attitude. The platform attitude instability will introduce antenna pointing error on both the azimuth and range directions, and influence the acquisition of SAR original data and ultimate imaging quality. In this paper, the relations between the antenna pointing errors and the three-axis attitude errors are deduced, then the relations between spaceborne spotlight SAR imaging of the point target and antenna pointing errors are analysed based on the paired echo theory, meanwhile, the change of the azimuth antenna gain is considered as the spotlight SAR platform moves ahead. The simulation experiments manifest the effects on spotlight SAR imaging caused by antenna pointing errors are related to the target location, that is, the pointing errors of the antenna beam will severely influence the area far away from the scene centre of azimuth direction in the illuminated scene.

Point Information Gain and Multidimensional Data Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Rychtáriková

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We generalize the point information gain (PIG and derived quantities, i.e., point information gain entropy (PIE and point information gain entropy density (PIED, for the case of the Rényi entropy and simulate the behavior of PIG for typical distributions. We also use these methods for the analysis of multidimensional datasets. We demonstrate the main properties of PIE/PIED spectra for the real data with the examples of several images and discuss further possible utilizations in other fields of data processing.

Building Change Detection from Bi-Temporal Dense-Matching Point Clouds and Aerial Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Shiyan; Hu, Xiangyun; Cai, Zhongliang; Gong, Jinqi; Zhang, Mi

2018-03-24

In this work, a novel building change detection method from bi-temporal dense-matching point clouds and aerial images is proposed to address two major problems, namely, the robust acquisition of the changed objects above ground and the automatic classification of changed objects into buildings or non-buildings. For the acquisition of changed objects above ground, the change detection problem is converted into a binary classification, in which the changed area above ground is regarded as the foreground and the other area as the background. For the gridded points of each period, the graph cuts algorithm is adopted to classify the points into foreground and background, followed by the region-growing algorithm to form candidate changed building objects. A novel structural feature that was extracted from aerial images is constructed to classify the candidate changed building objects into buildings and non-buildings. The changed building objects are further classified as "newly built", "taller", "demolished", and "lower" by combining the classification and the digital surface models of two periods. Finally, three typical areas from a large dataset are used to validate the proposed method. Numerous experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Interior point algorithms theory and analysis

CERN Document Server

Ye, Yinyu

2011-01-01

The first comprehensive review of the theory and practice of one of today's most powerful optimization techniques. The explosive growth of research into and development of interior point algorithms over the past two decades has significantly improved the complexity of linear programming and yielded some of today's most sophisticated computing techniques. This book offers a comprehensive and thorough treatment of the theory, analysis, and implementation of this powerful computational tool. Interior Point Algorithms provides detailed coverage of all basic and advanced aspects of the subject.

Trend and change point analyses of annual precipitation in the Souss-Massa Region in Morocco during 1932-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Abahous, H.; Ronchail, J.; Sifeddine, A.; Kenny, L.; Bouchaou, L.

2017-11-01

In the context of an arid area such as Souss Massa Region, the availability of time series analysis of observed local data is vital to better characterize the regional rainfall configuration. In this paper, dataset of monthly precipitation collected from different local meteorological stations during 1932-2010, are quality controlled and analyzed to detect trend and change points. The temporal distribution of outliers shows an annual cycle and a decrease of their number since the 1980s. The results of the standard normal homogeneity test, penalized maximal t test, and Mann-Whitney-Pettit test show that 42% of the series are homogeneous. The analysis of annual precipitation in the region of Souss Massa during 1932-2010 shows wet conditions with a maximum between 1963 and 1965 followed by a decrease since 1973. The latter is identified as a statistically significant regional change point in Western High Atlas and Anti Atlas Mountains highlighting a decline in long-term average precipitation.

Vegetation community change points suggest that critical loads of nutrient nitrogen may be too high

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Kayla; Aherne, Julian; Bleasdale, Andy

2016-12-01

It is widely accepted that elevated nitrogen deposition can have detrimental effects on semi-natural ecosystems, including changes to plant diversity. Empirical critical loads of nutrient nitrogen have been recommended to protect many sensitive European habitats from significant harmful effects. In this study, we used Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN) to investigate shifts in vegetation communities along an atmospheric nitrogen deposition gradient for twenty-two semi-natural habitat types (as described under Annex I of the European Union Habitats Directive) in Ireland. Significant changes in vegetation community, i.e., change points, were determined for twelve habitats, with seven habitats showing a decrease in the number of positive indicator species. Community-level change points indicated a decrease in species abundance along a nitrogen deposition gradient ranging from 3.9 to 15.3 kg N ha-1 yr-1, which were significantly lower than recommended critical loads (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; V = 6, p < 0.05). These results suggest that lower critical loads of empirical nutrient nitrogen deposition may be required to protect many European habitats. Changes to vegetation communities may mean a loss of sensitive indicator species and potentially rare species in these habitats, highlighting how emission reductions policies set under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive may be directly linked to meeting the goal set out under the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy of "halting the loss of biodiversity" across Europe by 2020.

Intrasubject registration for change analysis in medical imaging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Staring, M.

2008-01-01

Image matching is important for the comparison of medical images. Comparison is of clinical relevance for the analysis of differences due to changes in the health of a patient. For example, when a disease is imaged at two time points, then one wants to know if it is stable, has regressed, or

Ecological change points: The strength of density dependence and the loss of history.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponciano, José M; Taper, Mark L; Dennis, Brian

2018-05-01

Change points in the dynamics of animal abundances have extensively been recorded in historical time series records. Little attention has been paid to the theoretical dynamic consequences of such change-points. Here we propose a change-point model of stochastic population dynamics. This investigation embodies a shift of attention from the problem of detecting when a change will occur, to another non-trivial puzzle: using ecological theory to understand and predict the post-breakpoint behavior of the population dynamics. The proposed model and the explicit expressions derived here predict and quantify how density dependence modulates the influence of the pre-breakpoint parameters into the post-breakpoint dynamics. Time series transitioning from one stationary distribution to another contain information about where the process was before the change-point, where is it heading and how long it will take to transition, and here this information is explicitly stated. Importantly, our results provide a direct connection of the strength of density dependence with theoretical properties of dynamic systems, such as the concept of resilience. Finally, we illustrate how to harness such information through maximum likelihood estimation for state-space models, and test the model robustness to widely different forms of compensatory dynamics. The model can be used to estimate important quantities in the theory and practice of population recovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parametric analysis of change in wave number of surface waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadić Ljiljana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the dependence of the change wave number of materials soil constants, ie the frequency of the waves. The starting point in this analysis cosists of wave equation and dynamic stiffness matrix of soil.

Analysis and research on Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Array with Fuzzy Logic Control and Three-point Weight Comparison Method

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIN; Kuang-Jang; LIN; Chii-Ruey

2010-01-01

The Photovoltaic Array has a best optimal operating point where the array operating can obtain the maximum power.However, the optimal operating point can be compromised by the strength of solar radiation,angle,and by the change of environment and load.Due to the constant changes in these conditions,it has become very difficult to locate the optimal operating point by following a mathematical model.Therefore,this study will focus mostly on the application of Fuzzy Logic Control theory and Three-point Weight Comparison Method in effort to locate the optimal operating point of solar panel and achieve maximum efficiency in power generation. The Three-point Weight Comparison Method is the comparison between the characteristic curves of the voltage of photovoltaic array and output power;it is a rather simple way to track the maximum power.The Fuzzy Logic Control,on the other hand,can be used to solve problems that cannot be effectively dealt with by calculation rules,such as concepts,contemplation, deductive reasoning,and identification.Therefore,this paper uses these two kinds of methods to make simulation successively. The simulation results show that,the Three-point Comparison Method is more effective under the environment with more frequent change of solar radiation;however,the Fuzzy Logic Control has better tacking efficiency under the environment with violent change of solar radiation.

21 CFR 123.6 - Hazard analysis and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Control Point (HACCP) plan. 123.6 Section 123.6 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Provisions § 123.6 Hazard analysis and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. (a) Hazard... fish or fishery product being processed in the absence of those controls. (b) The HACCP plan. Every...

Point Cluster Analysis Using a 3D Voronoi Diagram with Applications in Point Cloud Segmentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shen Ying

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D point analysis and visualization is one of the most effective methods of point cluster detection and segmentation in geospatial datasets. However, serious scattering and clotting characteristics interfere with the visual detection of 3D point clusters. To overcome this problem, this study proposes the use of 3D Voronoi diagrams to analyze and visualize 3D points instead of the original data item. The proposed algorithm computes the cluster of 3D points by applying a set of 3D Voronoi cells to describe and quantify 3D points. The decompositions of point cloud of 3D models are guided by the 3D Voronoi cell parameters. The parameter values are mapped from the Voronoi cells to 3D points to show the spatial pattern and relationships; thus, a 3D point cluster pattern can be highlighted and easily recognized. To capture different cluster patterns, continuous progressive clusters and segmentations are tested. The 3D spatial relationship is shown to facilitate cluster detection. Furthermore, the generated segmentations of real 3D data cases are exploited to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach in detecting different spatial clusters for continuous point cloud segmentation.

21 CFR 120.8 - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP... SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS General Provisions § 120.8 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. (a) HACCP plan. Each...

IMAGE-PLANE ANALYSIS OF n-POINT-MASS LENS CRITICAL CURVES AND CAUSTICS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Danek, Kamil; Heyrovský, David, E-mail: kamil.danek@utf.mff.cuni.cz, E-mail: heyrovsky@utf.mff.cuni.cz [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-06-10

The interpretation of gravitational microlensing events caused by planetary systems or multiple stars is based on the n-point-mass lens model. The first planets detected by microlensing were well described by the two-point-mass model of a star with one planet. By the end of 2014, four events involving three-point-mass lenses had been announced. Two of the lenses were stars with two planetary companions each; two were binary stars with a planet orbiting one component. While the two-point-mass model is well understood, the same cannot be said for lenses with three or more components. Even the range of possible critical-curve topologies and caustic geometries of the three-point-mass lens remains unknown. In this paper we provide new tools for mapping the critical-curve topology and caustic cusp number in the parameter space of n-point-mass lenses. We perform our analysis in the image plane of the lens. We show that all contours of the Jacobian are critical curves of re-scaled versions of the lens configuration. Utilizing this property further, we introduce the cusp curve to identify cusp-image positions on all contours simultaneously. In order to track cusp-number changes in caustic metamorphoses, we define the morph curve, which pinpoints the positions of metamorphosis-point images along the cusp curve. We demonstrate the usage of both curves on simple two- and three-point-mass lens examples. For the three simplest caustic metamorphoses we illustrate the local structure of the image and source planes.

Change of elastic constants induced by point defects in hop crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tome, C.

1979-10-01

An approximate model is developed to calculate the change of elastic constants induced by point defects in hcp metals, supposed the defect configuration is known. General expressions relating the change of elastic moduli to the final atomic coordinates and to the defect force field are derived using the specific symmetry of the defect. Explicit calculations are done for Mg. The predicted change of elastic moduli turns out to be negative for vacancies and trigonal interstitials while for hexagonal interstitials a positive change is predicted. Compatibility with experimental data would suggest that the trigonal configuration is the stable one. (author)

Analysis of Stress Updates in the Material-point Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Søren; Andersen, Lars

2009-01-01

The material-point method (MPM) is a new numerical method for analysis of large strain engineering problems. The MPM applies a dual formulation, where the state of the problem (mass, stress, strain, velocity etc.) is tracked using a finite set of material points while the governing equations...... are solved on a background computational grid. Several references state, that one of the main advantages of the material-point method is the easy application of complicated material behaviour as the constitutive response is updated individually for each material point. However, as discussed here, the MPM way...

Future PMPs Estimation in Korea under AR5 RCP 8.5 Climate Change Scenario: Focus on Dew Point Temperature Change

Science.gov (United States)

Okjeong, Lee; Sangdan, Kim

2016-04-01

According to future climate change scenarios, future temperature is expected to increase gradually. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect the effects of these climate changes to predict Probable Maximum Precipitations (PMPs). In this presentation, PMPs will be estimated with future dew point temperature change. After selecting 174 major storm events from 1981 to 2005, new PMPs will be proposed with respect to storm areas (25, 100, 225, 400, 900, 2,025, 4,900, 10,000 and 19,600 km2) and storm durations (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 48 and 72 hours) using the Korea hydro-meteorological method. Also, orographic transposition factor will be applied in place of the conventional terrain impact factor which has been used in previous Korean PMPs estimation reports. After estimating dew point temperature using future temperature and representative humidity information under the Korea Meteorological Administration AR5 RCP 8.5, changes in the PMPs under dew point temperature change will be investigated by comparison with present and future PMPs. This research was supported by a grant(14AWMP-B082564-01) from Advanced Water Management Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Detecting change points in VIX and S&P 500: A new approach to dynamic asset allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nystrup, Peter; Hansen, Bo William; Madsen, Henrik

2016-01-01

to DAA that is based on detection of change points without fitting a model with a fixed number of regimes to the data, without estimating any parameters and without assuming a specific distribution of the data. It is examined whether DAA is most profitable when based on changes in the Chicago Board...... Options Exchange Volatility Index or change points detected in daily returns of the S&P 500 index. In an asset universe consisting of the S&P 500 index and cash, it is shown that a dynamic strategy based on detected change points significantly improves the Sharpe ratio and reduces the drawdown risk when...

Rotation and scale change invariant point pattern relaxation matching by the Hopfield neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Nong; Zhang, Tianxu

1997-12-01

Relaxation matching is one of the most relevant methods for image matching. The original relaxation matching technique using point patterns is sensitive to rotations and scale changes. We improve the original point pattern relaxation matching technique to be invariant to rotations and scale changes. A method that makes the Hopfield neural network perform this matching process is discussed. An advantage of this is that the relaxation matching process can be performed in real time with the neural network's massively parallel capability to process information. Experimental results with large simulated images demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the method to perform point patten relaxation matching invariant to rotations and scale changes and the method to perform this matching by the Hopfield neural network. In addition, we show that the method presented can be tolerant to small random error.

Stability Analysis of Periodic Systems by Truncated Point Mappings

Science.gov (United States)

Guttalu, R. S.; Flashner, H.

1996-01-01

An approach is presented deriving analytical stability and bifurcation conditions for systems with periodically varying coefficients. The method is based on a point mapping(period to period mapping) representation of the system's dynamics. An algorithm is employed to obtain an analytical expression for the point mapping and its dependence on the system's parameters. The algorithm is devised to derive the coefficients of a multinominal expansion of the point mapping up to an arbitrary order in terms of the state variables and of the parameters. Analytical stability and bifurcation condition are then formulated and expressed as functional relations between the parameters. To demonstrate the application of the method, the parametric stability of Mathieu's equation and of a two-degree of freedom system are investigated. The results obtained by the proposed approach are compared to those obtained by perturbation analysis and by direct integration which we considered to the "exact solution". It is shown that, unlike perturbation analysis, the proposed method provides very accurate solution even for large valuesof the parameters. If an expansion of the point mapping in terms of a small parameter is performed the method is equivalent to perturbation analysis. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the method can be easily applied to multiple-degree-of-freedom systems using the same framework. This feature is an important advantage since most of the existing analysis methods apply mainly to single-degree-of-freedom systems and their extension to higher dimensions is difficult and computationally cumbersome.

Abiotic stress leads to somatic and heritable changes in homologous recombination frequency, point mutation frequency and microsatellite stability in Arabidopsis plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Youli; Kovalchuk, Igor

2011-01-01

In earlier studies, we showed that abiotic stresses, such as ionizing radiation, heavy metals, temperature and water, trigger an increase in homologous recombination frequency (HRF). We also demonstrated that many of these stresses led to inheritance of high-frequency homologous recombination, HRF. Although an increase in recombination frequency is an important indicator of genome rearrangements, it only represents a minor portion of possible stress-induced mutations. Here, we analyzed the influence of heat, cold, drought, flood and UVC abiotic stresses on two major types of mutations in the genome, point mutations and small deletions/insertions. We used two transgenic lines of Arabidopsis thaliana, one allowing an analysis of reversions in a stop codon-containing inactivated β-glucuronidase transgene and another one allowing an analysis of repeat stability in a microsatellite-interrupted β-glucuronidase transgene. The transgenic Arabidopsis line carrying the β-glucuronidase-based homologous recombination substrate was used as a positive control. We showed that the majority of stresses increased the frequency of point mutations, homologous recombination and microsatellite instability in somatic cells, with the frequency of homologous recombination being affected the most. The analysis of transgenerational changes showed an increase in HRF to be the most prominent effect observed in progeny. Significant changes in recombination frequency were observed upon exposure to all types of stress except drought, whereas changes in microsatellite instability were observed upon exposure to UVC, heat and cold. The frequency of point mutations in the progeny of stress-exposed plants was the least affected; an increase in mutation frequency was observed only in the progeny of plants exposed to UVC. We thus conclude that transgenerational changes in genome stability in response to stress primarily involve an increase in recombination frequency.

Modelling The Effect of Changing Point Systems to Teams’ Competition Standing in A Malaysian Soccer Super League

Science.gov (United States)

Mat Yusof, Muhammad; Khalid, Ruzelan; Hamid, Mohamad Shukri Abdul; Mansor, Rosnalini; Sulaiman, Tajularipin

2018-05-01

In a sports league such as in a soccer league, the teams’ competition standing is based on a cumulative point system. Typically, the standard point system is given to every single match for win, draw and lose teams is the 3-1-0 point system. In this paper, we explore the effect of changing point systems to teams’ competition standing by changing the weightage values for win, draw and lose teams. Three types of point systems are explored in our soccer simulation model; firstly the 3-1-0, secondly the 2-1-0 and thirdly the 4-1-0 point system. Based on the teams participating in a Malaysian soccer Super League, our simulation result shows that there are small changes in term of teams’ competition standing when we compared the actual rank and the simulation rank position. However, the 4-1-0 point system recorded the highest Pearson correlation value which is 0.97, followed by the 2-1-0 point system (0.95) and thirdly the 3-1-0 point system (0.94).

Nonlinear consider covariance analysis using a sigma-point filter formulation

Science.gov (United States)

Lisano, Michael E.

2006-01-01

The research reported here extends the mathematical formulation of nonlinear, sigma-point estimators to enable consider covariance analysis for dynamical systems. This paper presents a novel sigma-point consider filter algorithm, for consider-parameterized nonlinear estimation, following the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) variation on the sigma-point filter formulation, which requires no partial derivatives of dynamics models or measurement models with respect to the parameter list. It is shown that, consistent with the attributes of sigma-point estimators, a consider-parameterized sigma-point estimator can be developed entirely without requiring the derivation of any partial-derivative matrices related to the dynamical system, the measurements, or the considered parameters, which appears to be an advantage over the formulation of a linear-theory sequential consider estimator. It is also demonstrated that a consider covariance analysis performed with this 'partial-derivative-free' formulation yields equivalent results to the linear-theory consider filter, for purely linear problems.

Risk-analysis of global climate tipping points

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frieler, Katja; Meinshausen, Malte; Braun, N [Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research e.V., Potsdam (Germany). PRIMAP Research Group; and others

2012-09-15

There are many elements of the Earth system that are expected to change gradually with increasing global warming. Changes might prove to be reversible after global warming returns to lower levels. But there are others that have the potential of showing a threshold behavior. This means that these changes would imply a transition between qualitatively disparate states which can be triggered by only small shifts in background climate (2). These changes are often expected not to be reversible by returning to the current level of warming. The reason for that is, that many of them are characterized by self-amplifying processes that could lead to a new internally stable state which is qualitatively different from before. There are different elements of the climate system that are already identified as potential tipping elements. This group contains the mass losses of the Greenland and the West-Antarctic Ice Sheet, the decline of the Arctic summer sea ice, different monsoon systems, the degradation of coral reefs, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, the thawing of the permafrost regions as well as the release of methane hydrates (3). Crucially, these tipping elements have regional to global scale effects on human society, biodiversity and/or ecosystem services. Several examples may have a discernable effect on global climate through a large-scale positive feedback. This means they would further amplify the human induced climate change. These tipping elements pose risks comparable to risks found in other fields of human activity: high-impact events that have at least a few percent chance to occur classify as high-risk events. In many of these examples adaptation options are limited and prevention of occurrence may be a more viable strategy. Therefore, a better understanding of the processes driving tipping points is essential. There might be other tipping elements even more critical but not yet identified. These may also lie within our socio-economic systems that are

Trends and Cut-Point Changes in Obesity Parameters by Age Groups Considering Metabolic Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyung Jun; Hong, Young Ho; Cho, Yun Jung; Lee, Ji Eun; Yun, Jae Moon; Kwon, Hyuktae; Kim, Sang Hyuck

2018-02-12

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are an important issue worldwide. Obesity has a close relationship with NCDs. Various age-related changes should be considered when evaluating obesity. National representative cohort data from the National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort from 2012 to 2013 were used. Sex-specific and age group-specific (10-year intervals) means for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) were calculated. Optimal cut-points for obesity parameters were defined as the value predicting two or more components of metabolic syndrome (except WC). The mean value and optimal cut-point for BMI decreased with age for men. The mean BMI value for women increased with age, but optimal cut-points showed no remarkable difference. The mean WC of men increased with age, but the optimal cut-points were similar for age groups. For women, the mean value and optimal cut-point for WC increased with age. Regarding WtHR, the mean value and optimal cut-point increased with age for men and women. Differences across age groups were larger for women. The mean values of the obesity indices and the optimal cut-points were changed according to age groups. This study supports the necessity of applying age group-specific cut-points for the various obesity parameters. © 2018 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

Detection and localization of change points in temporal networks with the aid of stochastic block models

Science.gov (United States)

De Ridder, Simon; Vandermarliere, Benjamin; Ryckebusch, Jan

2016-11-01

A framework based on generalized hierarchical random graphs (GHRGs) for the detection of change points in the structure of temporal networks has recently been developed by Peel and Clauset (2015 Proc. 29th AAAI Conf. on Artificial Intelligence). We build on this methodology and extend it to also include the versatile stochastic block models (SBMs) as a parametric family for reconstructing the empirical networks. We use five different techniques for change point detection on prototypical temporal networks, including empirical and synthetic ones. We find that none of the considered methods can consistently outperform the others when it comes to detecting and locating the expected change points in empirical temporal networks. With respect to the precision and the recall of the results of the change points, we find that the method based on a degree-corrected SBM has better recall properties than other dedicated methods, especially for sparse networks and smaller sliding time window widths.

Non-linear elastic thermal stress analysis with phase changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amada, S.; Yang, W.H.

1978-01-01

The non-linear elastic, thermal stress analysis with temperature induced phase changes in the materials is presented. An infinite plate (or body) with a circular hole (or tunnel) is subjected to a thermal loading on its inner surface. The peak temperature around the hole reaches beyond the melting point of the material. The non-linear diffusion equation is solved numerically using the finite difference method. The material properties change rapidly at temperatures where the change of crystal structures and solid-liquid transition occur. The elastic stresses induced by the transient non-homogeneous temperature distribution are calculated. The stresses change remarkably when the phase changes occur and there are residual stresses remaining in the plate after one cycle of thermal loading. (Auth.)

Scattering analysis of point processes and random measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanisch, K.H.

1984-01-01

In the present paper scattering analysis of point processes and random measures is studied. Known formulae which connect the scattering intensity with the pair distribution function of the studied structures are proved in a rigorous manner with tools of the theory of point processes and random measures. For some special fibre processes the scattering intensity is computed. For a class of random measures, namely for 'grain-germ-models', a new formula is proved which yields the pair distribution function of the 'grain-germ-model' in terms of the pair distribution function of the underlying point process (the 'germs') and of the mean structure factor and the mean squared structure factor of the particles (the 'grains'). (author)

Analysis of relationship between registration performance of point cloud statistical model and generation method of corresponding points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaoka, Naoto; Watanabe, Wataru; Hontani, Hidekata

2010-01-01

Most of the time when we construct statistical point cloud model, we need to calculate the corresponding points. Constructed statistical model will not be the same if we use different types of method to calculate the corresponding points. This article proposes the effect to statistical model of human organ made by different types of method to calculate the corresponding points. We validated the performance of statistical model by registering a surface of an organ in a 3D medical image. We compare two methods to calculate corresponding points. The first, the 'Generalized Multi-Dimensional Scaling (GMDS)', determines the corresponding points by the shapes of two curved surfaces. The second approach, the 'Entropy-based Particle system', chooses corresponding points by calculating a number of curved surfaces statistically. By these methods we construct the statistical models and using these models we conducted registration with the medical image. For the estimation, we use non-parametric belief propagation and this method estimates not only the position of the organ but also the probability density of the organ position. We evaluate how the two different types of method that calculates corresponding points affects the statistical model by change in probability density of each points. (author)

Change Points in the Population Trends of Aerial-Insectivorous Birds in North America: Synchronized in Time across Species and Regions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam C Smith

Full Text Available North American populations of aerial insectivorous birds are in steep decline. Aerial insectivores (AI are a group of bird species that feed almost exclusively on insects in flight, and include swallows, swifts, nightjars, and flycatchers. The causes of the declines are not well understood. Indeed, it is not clear when the declines began, or whether the declines are shared across all species in the group (e.g., caused by changes in flying insect populations or specific to each species (e.g., caused by changes in species' breeding habitat. A recent study suggested that population trends of aerial insectivores changed for the worse in the 1980s. If there was such a change point in trends of the group, understanding its timing and geographic pattern could help identify potential causes of the decline. We used a hierarchical Bayesian, penalized regression spline, change point model to estimate group-level change points in the trends of 22 species of AI, across 153 geographic strata of North America. We found evidence for group-level change points in 85% of the strata. Change points for flycatchers (FC were distinct from those for swallows, swifts and nightjars (SSN across North America, except in the Northeast, where all AI shared the same group-level change points. During the 1980s, there was a negative change point across most of North America, in the trends of SSN. For FC, the group-level change points were more geographically variable, and in many regions there were two: a positive change point followed by a negative change point. This group-level synchrony in AI population trends is likely evidence of a response to a common environmental factor(s with similar effects on many species across broad spatial extents. The timing and geographic patterns of the change points that we identify here should provide a spring-board for research into the causes behind aerial insectivore declines.

Miniaturization for Point-of-Care Analysis: Platform Technology for Almost Every Biomedical Assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumacher, Soeren; Sartorius, Dorian; Ehrentreich-Förster, Eva; Bier, Frank F

2012-10-01

Platform technologies for the changing need of diagnostics are one of the main challenges in medical device technology. From one point-of-view the demand for new and more versatile diagnostic is increasing due to a deeper knowledge of biomarkers and their combination with diseases. From another point-of-view a decentralization of diagnostics will occur since decisions can be made faster resulting in higher success of therapy. Hence, new types of technologies have to be established which enables a multiparameter analysis at the point-of-care. Within this review-like article a system called Fraunhofer ivD-platform is introduced. It consists of a credit-card sized cartridge with integrated reagents, sensors and pumps and a read-out/processing unit. Within the cartridge the assay runs fully automated within 15-20 minutes. Due to the open design of the platform different analyses such as antibody, serological or DNA-assays can be performed. Specific examples of these three different assay types are given to show the broad applicability of the system.

Sensitivity of a soil-plant-atmosphere model to changes in air temperature, dew point temperature, and solar radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luxmoore, R.J. (Oak Ridge National Lab.,TN); Stolzy, J.L.; Holdeman, J.T.

1981-01-01

Air temperature, dew point temperature and solar radiation were independently varied in an hourly soil-plant-atmosphere model in a sensitivity analysis of these parameters. Results suggested that evapotranspiration in eastern Tennessee is limited more by meteorological conditions that determine the vapor-pressure gradient than by the necessary energy to vaporize water within foliage. Transpiration and soil water drainage were very sensitive to changes in air and dew point temperature and to solar radiation under low atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit conditions associated with reduced air temperature. Leaf water potential and stomatal conductance were reduced under conditions having high evapotranspiration. Representative air and dew point temperature input data for a particular application are necessary for satisfactory results, whereas irradiation may be less well characterized for applications with high atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit. The effects of a general rise in atmospheric temperature on forest water budgets are discussed.

Evaluating Change in Behavioral Preferences: Multidimensional Scaling Single-Ideal Point Model

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Cody

2016-01-01

The purpose of the article is to propose a multidimensional scaling single-ideal point model as a method to evaluate changes in individuals' preferences under the explicit methodological framework of behavioral preference assessment. One example is used to illustrate the approach for a clear idea of what this approach can accomplish.

Integrated modeling and analysis methodology for precision pointing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, Homero L.

2002-07-01

Space-based optical systems that perform tasks such as laser communications, Earth imaging, and astronomical observations require precise line-of-sight (LOS) pointing. A general approach is described for integrated modeling and analysis of these types of systems within the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The approach can be applied during all stages of program development, from early conceptual design studies to hardware implementation phases. The main objective is to predict the dynamic pointing performance subject to anticipated disturbances and noise sources. Secondary objectives include assessing the control stability, levying subsystem requirements, supporting pointing error budgets, and performing trade studies. The integrated model resides in Simulink, and several MATLAB graphical user interfaces (GUI"s) allow the user to configure the model, select analysis options, run analyses, and process the results. A convenient parameter naming and storage scheme, as well as model conditioning and reduction tools and run-time enhancements, are incorporated into the framework. This enables the proposed architecture to accommodate models of realistic complexity.

3D change detection at street level using mobile laser scanning point clouds and terrestrial images

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Rongjun; Gruen, Armin

2014-04-01

Automatic change detection and geo-database updating in the urban environment are difficult tasks. There has been much research on detecting changes with satellite and aerial images, but studies have rarely been performed at the street level, which is complex in its 3D geometry. Contemporary geo-databases include 3D street-level objects, which demand frequent data updating. Terrestrial images provides rich texture information for change detection, but the change detection with terrestrial images from different epochs sometimes faces problems with illumination changes, perspective distortions and unreliable 3D geometry caused by the lack of performance of automatic image matchers, while mobile laser scanning (MLS) data acquired from different epochs provides accurate 3D geometry for change detection, but is very expensive for periodical acquisition. This paper proposes a new method for change detection at street level by using combination of MLS point clouds and terrestrial images: the accurate but expensive MLS data acquired from an early epoch serves as the reference, and terrestrial images or photogrammetric images captured from an image-based mobile mapping system (MMS) at a later epoch are used to detect the geometrical changes between different epochs. The method will automatically mark the possible changes in each view, which provides a cost-efficient method for frequent data updating. The methodology is divided into several steps. In the first step, the point clouds are recorded by the MLS system and processed, with data cleaned and classified by semi-automatic means. In the second step, terrestrial images or mobile mapping images at a later epoch are taken and registered to the point cloud, and then point clouds are projected on each image by a weighted window based z-buffering method for view dependent 2D triangulation. In the next step, stereo pairs of the terrestrial images are rectified and re-projected between each other to check the geometrical

Beam pointing direction changes in a misaligned Porro prism resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jyh-Fa; Leung, Chung-Yee

1988-07-01

The relative change of the beam pointing direction for a misaligned Porro prism resonator has been analyzed, using an oscillation axis concept for the Porro prism resonator to find the beam direction. Expressions for the beam tilting angles are presented which show that the angular misalignment in the horizontal direction will result in beam tilting in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical results is found.

High-dimensional change-point estimation: Combining filtering with convex optimization

OpenAIRE

Soh, Yong Sheng; Chandrasekaran, Venkat

2017-01-01

We consider change-point estimation in a sequence of high-dimensional signals given noisy observations. Classical approaches to this problem such as the filtered derivative method are useful for sequences of scalar-valued signals, but they have undesirable scaling behavior in the high-dimensional setting. However, many high-dimensional signals encountered in practice frequently possess latent low-dimensional structure. Motivated by this observation, we propose a technique for high-dimensional...

Leading edge analysis of transcriptomic changes during pseudorabies virus infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Damarius S; Miller, Laura C

2016-12-01

Eight RNA samples taken from the tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN) of pigs that were either infected or non-infected with a feral isolate of porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV) were used to investigate changes in gene expression related to the pathogen. The RNA was processed into fastq files for each library prior to being analyzed using Illumina Digital Gene Expression Tag Profiling sequences (DGETP) which were used as the downstream measure of differential expression. Analyzed tags consisted of 21 base pair sequences taken from time points 1, 3, 6, and 14 days' post infection (dpi) that generated 1,927,547 unique tag sequences. Tag sequences were analyzed for differential transcript expression and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to uncover transcriptomic changes related to PRV pathology progression. In conjunction with the DGETP and GSEA, the study also incorporated use of leading edge analysis to help link the TBLN transcriptome data to clinical progression of PRV at each of the sampled time points. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide useful background on applying the leading edge analysis to GSEA and expression data to help identify genes considered to be of high biological interest. The data in the form of fastq files has been uploaded to the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (GSE74473) database.

Change-Point Detection Method for Clinical Decision Support System Rule Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Siqi; Wright, Adam; Hauskrecht, Milos

2017-06-01

A clinical decision support system (CDSS) and its components can malfunction due to various reasons. Monitoring the system and detecting its malfunctions can help one to avoid any potential mistakes and associated costs. In this paper, we investigate the problem of detecting changes in the CDSS operation, in particular its monitoring and alerting subsystem, by monitoring its rule firing counts. The detection should be performed online, that is whenever a new datum arrives, we want to have a score indicating how likely there is a change in the system. We develop a new method based on Seasonal-Trend decomposition and likelihood ratio statistics to detect the changes. Experiments on real and simulated data show that our method has a lower delay in detection compared with existing change-point detection methods.

Visibility Analysis in a Point Cloud Based on the Medial Axis Transform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, R.; Ledoux, H.; Biljecki, F.

2015-01-01

Visibility analysis is an important application of 3D GIS data. Current approaches require 3D city models that are often derived from detailed aerial point clouds. We present an approach to visibility analysis that does not require a city model but works directly on the point cloud. Our approach is

Dynamic analysis of ultrasonically levitated droplet with moving particle semi-implicit and distributed point source method

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Yuji; Yuge, Kohei; Nakamura, Ryohei; Tanaka, Hiroki; Nakamura, Kentaro

2015-07-01

Numerical analysis of an ultrasonically levitated droplet with a free surface boundary is discussed. The droplet is known to change its shape from sphere to spheroid when it is suspended in a standing wave owing to the acoustic radiation force. However, few studies on numerical simulation have been reported in association with this phenomenon including fluid dynamics inside the droplet. In this paper, coupled analysis using the distributed point source method (DPSM) and the moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method, both of which do not require grids or meshes to handle the moving boundary with ease, is suggested. A droplet levitated in a plane standing wave field between a piston-vibrating ultrasonic transducer and a reflector is simulated with the DPSM-MPS coupled method. The dynamic change in the spheroidal shape of the droplet is successfully reproduced numerically, and the gravitational center and the change in the spheroidal aspect ratio are discussed and compared with the previous literature.

Spectrography analysis of stainless steel by the point to point technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bona, A.

1986-01-01

A method for the determination of the elements Ni, Cr, Mn, Si, Mo, Nb, Cu, Co and V in stainless steel by emission spectrographic analysis using high voltage spark sources is presented. The 'point-to-point' technique is employed. The experimental parameters were optimized taking account a compromise between the detection sensitivity and the precision of the measurement. The parameters investigated were the high voltage capacitance, the inductance, the analytical and auxiliary gaps, the period of pre burn spark and the time of exposure. The edge shape of the counter electrodes and the type of polishing and diameter variation of the stailess steel eletrodes were evaluated in preliminary assays. In addition the degradation of the chemical power of the developer was also investigated. Counter electrodes of graphite, copper, aluminium and iron were employed and the counter electrode itself was used as an internal standard. In the case of graphite counter electrodes the iron lines were employed as internal standard. The relative errors were the criteria for evaluation of these experiments. The National Bureau of Standards - Certified reference stainless steel standards and the Eletrometal Acos Finos S.A. samples (certified by the supplier) were employed for drawing in the calibration systems and analytical curves. The best results were obtained using the convencional graphite counter electrodes. The inaccuracy and the imprecision of the proposed method varied from 2% to 15% and from 1% to 9% respectively. This present technique was compared to others instrumental techniques such as inductively coupled plasma, X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis. The advantages and disadvantages for each case were discussed. (author) [pt

Super-Relaxed ( -Proximal Point Algorithms, Relaxed ( -Proximal Point Algorithms, Linear Convergence Analysis, and Nonlinear Variational Inclusions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agarwal RaviP

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We glance at recent advances to the general theory of maximal (set-valued monotone mappings and their role demonstrated to examine the convex programming and closely related field of nonlinear variational inequalities. We focus mostly on applications of the super-relaxed ( -proximal point algorithm to the context of solving a class of nonlinear variational inclusion problems, based on the notion of maximal ( -monotonicity. Investigations highlighted in this communication are greatly influenced by the celebrated work of Rockafellar (1976, while others have played a significant part as well in generalizing the proximal point algorithm considered by Rockafellar (1976 to the case of the relaxed proximal point algorithm by Eckstein and Bertsekas (1992. Even for the linear convergence analysis for the overrelaxed (or super-relaxed ( -proximal point algorithm, the fundamental model for Rockafellar's case does the job. Furthermore, we attempt to explore possibilities of generalizing the Yosida regularization/approximation in light of maximal ( -monotonicity, and then applying to first-order evolution equations/inclusions.

Leading edge analysis of transcriptomic changes during pseudorabies virus infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damarius S. Fleming

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Eight RNA samples taken from the tracheobronchial lymph nodes (TBLN of pigs that were either infected or non-infected with a feral isolate of porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV were used to investigate changes in gene expression related to the pathogen. The RNA was processed into fastq files for each library prior to being analyzed using Illumina Digital Gene Expression Tag Profiling sequences (DGETP which were used as the downstream measure of differential expression. Analyzed tags consisted of 21 base pair sequences taken from time points 1, 3, 6, and 14 days' post infection (dpi that generated 1,927,547 unique tag sequences. Tag sequences were analyzed for differential transcript expression and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA to uncover transcriptomic changes related to PRV pathology progression. In conjunction with the DGETP and GSEA, the study also incorporated use of leading edge analysis to help link the TBLN transcriptome data to clinical progression of PRV at each of the sampled time points. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide useful background on applying the leading edge analysis to GSEA and expression data to help identify genes considered to be of high biological interest. The data in the form of fastq files has been uploaded to the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO (GSE74473 database.

The Purification Method of Matching Points Based on Principal Component Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DONG Yang

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The traditional purification method of matching points usually uses a small number of the points as initial input. Though it can meet most of the requirements of point constraints, the iterative purification solution is easy to fall into local extreme, which results in the missing of correct matching points. To solve this problem, we introduce the principal component analysis method to use the whole point set as initial input. And thorough mismatching points step eliminating and robust solving, more accurate global optimal solution, which intends to reduce the omission rate of correct matching points and thus reaches better purification effect, can be obtained. Experimental results show that this method can obtain the global optimal solution under a certain original false matching rate, and can decrease or avoid the omission of correct matching points.

Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) history and conceptual overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulebak, Karen L; Schlosser, Wayne

2002-06-01

The concept of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system that enables the production of safe meat and poultry products through the thorough analysis of production processes, identification of all hazards that are likely to occur in the production establishment, the identification of critical points in the process at which these hazards may be introduced into product and therefore should be controlled, the establishment of critical limits for control at those points, the verification of these prescribed steps, and the methods by which the processing establishment and the regulatory authority can monitor how well process control through the HACCP plan is working. The history of the development of HACCP is reviewed, and examples of practical applications of HACCP are described.

VEHICLE LOCALIZATION BY LIDAR POINT CORRELATION IMPROVED BY CHANGE DETECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Schlichting

2016-06-01

Full Text Available LiDAR sensors are proven sensors for accurate vehicle localization. Instead of detecting and matching features in the LiDAR data, we want to use the entire information provided by the scanners. As dynamic objects, like cars, pedestrians or even construction sites could lead to wrong localization results, we use a change detection algorithm to detect these objects in the reference data. If an object occurs in a certain number of measurements at the same position, we mark it and every containing point as static. In the next step, we merge the data of the single measurement epochs to one reference dataset, whereby we only use static points. Further, we also use a classification algorithm to detect trees. For the online localization of the vehicle, we use simulated data of a vertical aligned automotive LiDAR sensor. As we only want to use static objects in this case as well, we use a random forest classifier to detect dynamic scan points online. Since the automotive data is derived from the LiDAR Mobile Mapping System, we are able to use the labelled objects from the reference data generation step to create the training data and further to detect dynamic objects online. The localization then can be done by a point to image correlation method using only static objects. We achieved a localization standard deviation of about 5 cm (position and 0.06° (heading, and were able to successfully localize the vehicle in about 93 % of the cases along a trajectory of 13 km in Hannover, Germany.

Vehicle Localization by LIDAR Point Correlation Improved by Change Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Schlichting, A.; Brenner, C.

2016-06-01

LiDAR sensors are proven sensors for accurate vehicle localization. Instead of detecting and matching features in the LiDAR data, we want to use the entire information provided by the scanners. As dynamic objects, like cars, pedestrians or even construction sites could lead to wrong localization results, we use a change detection algorithm to detect these objects in the reference data. If an object occurs in a certain number of measurements at the same position, we mark it and every containing point as static. In the next step, we merge the data of the single measurement epochs to one reference dataset, whereby we only use static points. Further, we also use a classification algorithm to detect trees. For the online localization of the vehicle, we use simulated data of a vertical aligned automotive LiDAR sensor. As we only want to use static objects in this case as well, we use a random forest classifier to detect dynamic scan points online. Since the automotive data is derived from the LiDAR Mobile Mapping System, we are able to use the labelled objects from the reference data generation step to create the training data and further to detect dynamic objects online. The localization then can be done by a point to image correlation method using only static objects. We achieved a localization standard deviation of about 5 cm (position) and 0.06° (heading), and were able to successfully localize the vehicle in about 93 % of the cases along a trajectory of 13 km in Hannover, Germany.

Fast and Robust Segmentation and Classification for Change Detection in Urban Point Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Roynard, X.; Deschaud, J.-E.; Goulette, F.

2016-06-01

Change detection is an important issue in city monitoring to analyse street furniture, road works, car parking, etc. For example, parking surveys are needed but are currently a laborious task involving sending operators in the streets to identify the changes in car locations. In this paper, we propose a method that performs a fast and robust segmentation and classification of urban point clouds, that can be used for change detection. We apply this method to detect the cars, as a particular object class, in order to perform parking surveys automatically. A recently proposed method already addresses the need for fast segmentation and classification of urban point clouds, using elevation images. The interest to work on images is that processing is much faster, proven and robust. However there may be a loss of information in complex 3D cases: for example when objects are one above the other, typically a car under a tree or a pedestrian under a balcony. In this paper we propose a method that retain the three-dimensional information while preserving fast computation times and improving segmentation and classification accuracy. It is based on fast region-growing using an octree, for the segmentation, and specific descriptors with Random-Forest for the classification. Experiments have been performed on large urban point clouds acquired by Mobile Laser Scanning. They show that the method is as fast as the state of the art, and that it gives more robust results in the complex 3D cases.

Percolation analysis for cosmic web with discrete points

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiajun; Cheng, Dalong; Chu, Ming-Chung

2018-01-01

Percolation analysis has long been used to quantify the connectivity of the cosmic web. Most of the previous work is based on density fields on grids. By smoothing into fields, we lose information about galaxy properties like shape or luminosity. The lack of mathematical modeling also limits our understanding for the percolation analysis. To overcome these difficulties, we have studied percolation analysis based on discrete points. Using a friends-of-friends (FoF) algorithm, we generate the S -b b relation, between the fractional mass of the largest connected group (S ) and the FoF linking length (b b ). We propose a new model, the probability cloud cluster expansion theory to relate the S -b b relation with correlation functions. We show that the S -b b relation reflects a combination of all orders of correlation functions. Using N-body simulation, we find that the S -b b relation is robust against redshift distortion and incompleteness in observation. From the Bolshoi simulation, with halo abundance matching (HAM), we have generated a mock galaxy catalog. Good matching of the projected two-point correlation function with observation is confirmed. However, comparing the mock catalog with the latest galaxy catalog from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release (DR)12, we have found significant differences in their S -b b relations. This indicates that the mock galaxy catalog cannot accurately retain higher-order correlation functions than the two-point correlation function, which reveals the limit of the HAM method. As a new measurement, the S -b b relation is applicable to a wide range of data types, fast to compute, and robust against redshift distortion and incompleteness and contains information of all orders of correlation functions.

Music analysis and point-set compression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meredith, David

A musical analysis represents a particular way of understanding certain aspects of the structure of a piece of music. The quality of an analysis can be evaluated to some extent by the degree to which knowledge of it improves performance on tasks such as mistake spotting, memorising a piece...... as the minimum description length principle and relates closely to certain ideas in the theory of Kolmogorov complexity. Inspired by this general principle, the hypothesis explored in this paper is that the best ways of understanding (or explanations for) a piece of music are those that are represented...... by the shortest possible descriptions of the piece. With this in mind, two compression algorithms are presented, COSIATEC and SIATECCompress. Each of these algorithms takes as input an in extenso description of a piece of music as a set of points in pitch-time space representing notes. Each algorithm...

Point correlation dimension can reveal functional changes caused by gap junction blockers in the 4-aminopyridine in vivo rat epilepsy model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jardanhazy, Anett [Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u. 6, Szeged H-6725 (Hungary); Molnar, Mark [Department of Psychophysiology, Institute for Psychology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 398, Budapest H-1394 (Hungary)], E-mail: molnar@cogpsyphy.hu; Jardanhazy, Tamas [Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u. 6, Szeged H-6725 (Hungary)], E-mail: jt@nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu

2009-04-15

The contribution of gap junction (GJ) blockers to seizure initiation was reexamined by means of an analysis on nonlinear dynamics with point correlation dimension (PD2i) at as well as around the primary focus, and mirror focus in an already active 4-aminopyridine-induced in vivo epilepsy model. From the data base of the ECoGs of anesthetized adult rats treated with quinine, a selective blocker of Cx36, and in combination with an additional broad-spectrum GJ blocker, carbenoxolone, 14 cases of each condition were reexamined with a stationarity insensitive nonlinear PD2i method. The blockade of the Cx36 channels decreased the usual drop of the point correlation dimension at the beginning of the seizures, and this was enhanced by the additional use of the global blocker carbenoxolone. The so-called characteristic DC shift just prior to seizure onset denotes a low dimensional seizure event and the recognizable seizures display very variable, rapidly changing dynamics, as revealed by the PD2i analysis. This nonlinear PD2i analysis demonstrated that the different GJ blockers in the already active epileptic model helped seizure initiation, but exerted inhibitory effects on the seizure onset itself, acting differently on the local components of the network organization generating seizure discharges, possibly changing the coupling strengths and time delays in the GJ-s.

Point correlation dimension can reveal functional changes caused by gap junction blockers in the 4-aminopyridine in vivo rat epilepsy model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jardanhazy, Anett; Molnar, Mark; Jardanhazy, Tamas

2009-01-01

The contribution of gap junction (GJ) blockers to seizure initiation was reexamined by means of an analysis on nonlinear dynamics with point correlation dimension (PD2i) at as well as around the primary focus, and mirror focus in an already active 4-aminopyridine-induced in vivo epilepsy model. From the data base of the ECoGs of anesthetized adult rats treated with quinine, a selective blocker of Cx36, and in combination with an additional broad-spectrum GJ blocker, carbenoxolone, 14 cases of each condition were reexamined with a stationarity insensitive nonlinear PD2i method. The blockade of the Cx36 channels decreased the usual drop of the point correlation dimension at the beginning of the seizures, and this was enhanced by the additional use of the global blocker carbenoxolone. The so-called characteristic DC shift just prior to seizure onset denotes a low dimensional seizure event and the recognizable seizures display very variable, rapidly changing dynamics, as revealed by the PD2i analysis. This nonlinear PD2i analysis demonstrated that the different GJ blockers in the already active epileptic model helped seizure initiation, but exerted inhibitory effects on the seizure onset itself, acting differently on the local components of the network organization generating seizure discharges, possibly changing the coupling strengths and time delays in the GJ-s.

Nonparametric Change Point Diagnosis Method of Concrete Dam Crack Behavior Abnormality

OpenAIRE

Li, Zhanchao; Gu, Chongshi; Wu, Zhongru

2013-01-01

The study on diagnosis method of concrete crack behavior abnormality has always been a hot spot and difficulty in the safety monitoring field of hydraulic structure. Based on the performance of concrete dam crack behavior abnormality in parametric statistical model and nonparametric statistical model, the internal relation between concrete dam crack behavior abnormality and statistical change point theory is deeply analyzed from the model structure instability of parametric statistical model ...

Analysis of tree stand horizontal structure using random point field methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. P. Sekretenko

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper uses the model approach to analyze the horizontal structure of forest stands. The main types of models of random point fields and statistical procedures that can be used to analyze spatial patterns of trees of uneven and even-aged stands are described. We show how modern methods of spatial statistics can be used to address one of the objectives of forestry – to clarify the laws of natural thinning of forest stand and the corresponding changes in its spatial structure over time. Studying natural forest thinning, we describe the consecutive stages of modeling: selection of the appropriate parametric model, parameter estimation and generation of point patterns in accordance with the selected model, the selection of statistical functions to describe the horizontal structure of forest stands and testing of statistical hypotheses. We show the possibilities of a specialized software package, spatstat, which is designed to meet the challenges of spatial statistics and provides software support for modern methods of analysis of spatial data. We show that a model of stand thinning that does not consider inter-tree interaction can project the size distribution of the trees properly, but the spatial pattern of the modeled stand is not quite consistent with observed data. Using data of three even-aged pine forest stands of 25, 55, and 90-years old, we demonstrate that the spatial point process models are useful for combining measurements in the forest stands of different ages to study the forest stand natural thinning.

The influence of biological and technical factors on quantitative analysis of amyloid PET: Points to consider and recommendations for controlling variability in longitudinal data.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Mark E; Chiao, Ping; Klein, Gregory; Matthews, Dawn; Thurfjell, Lennart; Cole, Patricia E; Margolin, Richard; Landau, Susan; Foster, Norman L; Mason, N Scott; De Santi, Susan; Suhy, Joyce; Koeppe, Robert A; Jagust, William

2015-09-01

In vivo imaging of amyloid burden with positron emission tomography (PET) provides a means for studying the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's and related diseases. Measurement of subtle changes in amyloid burden requires quantitative analysis of image data. Reliable quantitative analysis of amyloid PET scans acquired at multiple sites and over time requires rigorous standardization of acquisition protocols, subject management, tracer administration, image quality control, and image processing and analysis methods. We review critical points in the acquisition and analysis of amyloid PET, identify ways in which technical factors can contribute to measurement variability, and suggest methods for mitigating these sources of noise. Improved quantitative accuracy could reduce the sample size necessary to detect intervention effects when amyloid PET is used as a treatment end point and allow more reliable interpretation of change in amyloid burden and its relationship to clinical course. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FAST AND ROBUST SEGMENTATION AND CLASSIFICATION FOR CHANGE DETECTION IN URBAN POINT CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Roynard

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Change detection is an important issue in city monitoring to analyse street furniture, road works, car parking, etc. For example, parking surveys are needed but are currently a laborious task involving sending operators in the streets to identify the changes in car locations. In this paper, we propose a method that performs a fast and robust segmentation and classification of urban point clouds, that can be used for change detection. We apply this method to detect the cars, as a particular object class, in order to perform parking surveys automatically. A recently proposed method already addresses the need for fast segmentation and classification of urban point clouds, using elevation images. The interest to work on images is that processing is much faster, proven and robust. However there may be a loss of information in complex 3D cases: for example when objects are one above the other, typically a car under a tree or a pedestrian under a balcony. In this paper we propose a method that retain the three-dimensional information while preserving fast computation times and improving segmentation and classification accuracy. It is based on fast region-growing using an octree, for the segmentation, and specific descriptors with Random-Forest for the classification. Experiments have been performed on large urban point clouds acquired by Mobile Laser Scanning. They show that the method is as fast as the state of the art, and that it gives more robust results in the complex 3D cases.

Seeking a fingerprint: analysis of point processes in actigraphy recording

Science.gov (United States)

Gudowska-Nowak, Ewa; Ochab, Jeremi K.; Oleś, Katarzyna; Beldzik, Ewa; Chialvo, Dante R.; Domagalik, Aleksandra; Fąfrowicz, Magdalena; Marek, Tadeusz; Nowak, Maciej A.; Ogińska, Halszka; Szwed, Jerzy; Tyburczyk, Jacek

2016-05-01

Motor activity of humans displays complex temporal fluctuations which can be characterised by scale-invariant statistics, thus demonstrating that structure and fluctuations of such kinetics remain similar over a broad range of time scales. Previous studies on humans regularly deprived of sleep or suffering from sleep disorders predicted a change in the invariant scale parameters with respect to those for healthy subjects. In this study we investigate the signal patterns from actigraphy recordings by means of characteristic measures of fractional point processes. We analyse spontaneous locomotor activity of healthy individuals recorded during a week of regular sleep and a week of chronic partial sleep deprivation. Behavioural symptoms of lack of sleep can be evaluated by analysing statistics of duration times during active and resting states, and alteration of behavioural organisation can be assessed by analysis of power laws detected in the event count distribution, distribution of waiting times between consecutive movements and detrended fluctuation analysis of recorded time series. We claim that among different measures characterising complexity of the actigraphy recordings and their variations implied by chronic sleep distress, the exponents characterising slopes of survival functions in resting states are the most effective biomarkers distinguishing between healthy and sleep-deprived groups.

Paleopathological analysis of changes on animal bones originating from archaeological sites Caricin Grad and Studenica Monastery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marković Nemanja

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents the estimation of incidence and analysis of paleopathological changes on skeletal remains of the animals from archaeological sites Caricin Grad and Studenica Monastery. Moreover, there has been carried out the assessment of the skeletal elements, as well as taxonomic and age determination. The total of 2595 bones or bone fragments were examined. In 22 specimens there were noticed various abnormal skeletal changes in following animal species: cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, donkeys and camels. Pathological changes were noticed on the teeth, mandibles, joints of long bones and phalanxes. By macroscopic analysis of these acquired pathological changes on bones of the animals, there was determined that the observed lesions had had proliferative, hypertrophic and chronic character. Proliferative changes on the bones of the cattle, horses, donkeys and camels point out to the fact that these animals were used for towing and/or load carrying. Identified diseases of oral cavity in small ruminants point out to improper and inadequate nutrition of these animals in the past.

Definition of distance for nonlinear time series analysis of marked point process data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iwayama, Koji, E-mail: koji@sat.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Research Institute for Food and Agriculture, Ryukoku Univeristy, 1-5 Yokotani, Seta Oe-cho, Otsu-Shi, Shiga 520-2194 (Japan); Hirata, Yoshito; Aihara, Kazuyuki [Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)

2017-01-30

Marked point process data are time series of discrete events accompanied with some values, such as economic trades, earthquakes, and lightnings. A distance for marked point process data allows us to apply nonlinear time series analysis to such data. We propose a distance for marked point process data which can be calculated much faster than the existing distance when the number of marks is small. Furthermore, under some assumptions, the Kullback–Leibler divergences between posterior distributions for neighbors defined by this distance are small. We performed some numerical simulations showing that analysis based on the proposed distance is effective. - Highlights: • A new distance for marked point process data is proposed. • The distance can be computed fast enough for a small number of marks. • The method to optimize parameter values of the distance is also proposed. • Numerical simulations indicate that the analysis based on the distance is effective.

46 CFR 401.428 - Basic rates and charges for carrying a U.S. pilot beyond normal change point or for boarding at...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... boarding point, the ship shall pay at the rate of $719 per day or part thereof, plus reasonable travel... normal change point or for boarding at other than the normal boarding point. 401.428 Section 401.428... carrying a U.S. pilot beyond normal change point or for boarding at other than the normal boarding point...

A ROBUST REGISTRATION ALGORITHM FOR POINT CLOUDS FROM UAV IMAGES FOR CHANGE DETECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Al-Rawabdeh

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Landslides are among the major threats to urban landscape and manmade infrastructure. They often cause economic losses, property damages, and loss of lives. Temporal monitoring data of landslides from different epochs empowers the evaluation of landslide progression. Alignment of overlapping surfaces from two or more epochs is crucial for the proper analysis of landslide dynamics. The traditional methods for point-cloud-based landslide monitoring rely on using a variation of the Iterative Closest Point (ICP registration procedure to align any reconstructed surfaces from different epochs to a common reference frame. However, sometimes the ICP-based registration can fail or may not provide sufficient accuracy. For example, point clouds from different epochs might fit to local minima due to lack of geometrical variability within the data. Also, manual interaction is required to exclude any non-stable areas from the registration process. In this paper, a robust image-based registration method is introduced for the simultaneous evaluation of all registration parameters. This includes the Interior Orientation Parameters (IOPs of the camera and the Exterior Orientation Parameters (EOPs of the involved images from all available observation epochs via a bundle block adjustment with self-calibration. Next, a semi-global dense matching technique is implemented to generate dense 3D point clouds for each epoch using the images captured in a particular epoch separately. The normal distances between any two consecutive point clouds can then be readily computed, because the point clouds are already effectively co-registered. A low-cost DJI Phantom II Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV was customised and used in this research for temporal data collection over an active soil creep area in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The customisation included adding a GPS logger and a Large-Field-Of-View (LFOV action camera which facilitated capturing high-resolution geo-tagged images

a Robust Registration Algorithm for Point Clouds from Uav Images for Change Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Rawabdeh, A.; Al-Gurrani, H.; Al-Durgham, K.; Detchev, I.; He, F.; El-Sheimy, N.; Habib, A.

2016-06-01

Landslides are among the major threats to urban landscape and manmade infrastructure. They often cause economic losses, property damages, and loss of lives. Temporal monitoring data of landslides from different epochs empowers the evaluation of landslide progression. Alignment of overlapping surfaces from two or more epochs is crucial for the proper analysis of landslide dynamics. The traditional methods for point-cloud-based landslide monitoring rely on using a variation of the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) registration procedure to align any reconstructed surfaces from different epochs to a common reference frame. However, sometimes the ICP-based registration can fail or may not provide sufficient accuracy. For example, point clouds from different epochs might fit to local minima due to lack of geometrical variability within the data. Also, manual interaction is required to exclude any non-stable areas from the registration process. In this paper, a robust image-based registration method is introduced for the simultaneous evaluation of all registration parameters. This includes the Interior Orientation Parameters (IOPs) of the camera and the Exterior Orientation Parameters (EOPs) of the involved images from all available observation epochs via a bundle block adjustment with self-calibration. Next, a semi-global dense matching technique is implemented to generate dense 3D point clouds for each epoch using the images captured in a particular epoch separately. The normal distances between any two consecutive point clouds can then be readily computed, because the point clouds are already effectively co-registered. A low-cost DJI Phantom II Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was customised and used in this research for temporal data collection over an active soil creep area in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The customisation included adding a GPS logger and a Large-Field-Of-View (LFOV) action camera which facilitated capturing high-resolution geo-tagged images in two epochs

Screw compressor analysis from a vibration point-of-view

Science.gov (United States)

Hübel, D.; Žitek, P.

2017-09-01

Vibrations are a very typical feature of all compressors and are given great attention in the industry. The reason for this interest is primarily the negative influence that it can have on both the operating staff and the entire machine's service life. The purpose of this work is to describe the methodology of screw compressor analysis from a vibration point-of-view. This analysis is an essential part of the design of vibro-diagnostics of screw compressors with regard to their service life.

Process for structural geologic analysis of topography and point data

Science.gov (United States)

Eliason, Jay R.; Eliason, Valerie L. C.

1987-01-01

A quantitative method of geologic structural analysis of digital terrain data is described for implementation on a computer. Assuming selected valley segments are controlled by the underlying geologic structure, topographic lows in the terrain data, defining valley bottoms, are detected, filtered and accumulated into a series line segments defining contiguous valleys. The line segments are then vectorized to produce vector segments, defining valley segments, which may be indicative of the underlying geologic structure. Coplanar analysis is performed on vector segment pairs to determine which vectors produce planes which represent underlying geologic structure. Point data such as fracture phenomena which can be related to fracture planes in 3-dimensional space can be analyzed to define common plane orientation and locations. The vectors, points, and planes are displayed in various formats for interpretation.

The change points of HbA(1C) for detection of retinopathy in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Jia-Ning; Bi, Yu-Fang; Xu, Min; Huang, Yun; Li, Xiao-Ying; Wang, Wei-Qing; Chen, Yu-Hong; Ning, Guang

2011-03-01

To investigate the change points of HbA(1C) for detection of retinopathy in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients. This cross-sectional investigation included 992 diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients, who received non-mydriatic digital fundus photography examination. Joinpoint regression software was adopted to identify the change points of HbA(1C) in association with retinopathy prevalence. The mean age of all patients was 59.1 ± 8.4 years and the duration of diabetes was 5.5 (95% CI: 5.2-5.9) years. The prevalence of retinopathy was 10.3% in total, and 4.1%, 7.4% and 19.6% in patients with different diabetes duration of ≤ 5 years, 5-10 years and >10 years, respectively. The change point of HbA(1C) was 6.5% (95%CI 5.8-7.5%), at which retinopathy prevalence began to rise sharply. Furthermore, in subjects with diabetes duration ≤ 5 years, 5-10 years and >10 years, the change points of HbA(1C) were 8.1% (95%CI 7.9-8.3%), 6.1% (95%CI 5.7-6.8%), 5.6% (95%CI 5.1-8.1%) for detection of retinopathy, respectively. The steepest increase in retinopathy prevalence occurred when HbA(1C) reached 6.5%. However, the duration of diabetes should be taken into concern, when using the change points of HbA(1C) for detection of retinopathy in diabetic patients. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Short-Term Changes in Serum Creatinine Level as a Meaningful End Point in Randomized Clinical Trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Coca, Steven G; Zabetian, Azadeh; Ferket, Bart S; Zhou, Jing; Testani, Jeffrey M; Garg, Amit X; Parikh, Chirag R

2016-08-01

Observational studies have shown that acute change in kidney function (specifically, AKI) is a strong risk factor for poor outcomes. Thus, the outcome of acute change in serum creatinine level, regardless of underlying biology or etiology, is frequently used in clinical trials as both efficacy and safety end points. We performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials to quantify the relationship between positive or negative short-term effects of interventions on change in serum creatinine level and more meaningful clinical outcomes. After a thorough literature search, we included 14 randomized trials of interventions that altered risk for an acute increase in serum creatinine level and had reported between-group differences in CKD and/or mortality rate ≥3 months after randomization. Seven trials assessed interventions that, compared with placebo, increased risk of acute elevation in serum creatinine level (pooled relative risk, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.22 to 1.89), and seven trials assessed interventions that, compared with placebo, reduced risk of acute elevation in serum creatinine level (pooled relative risk, 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.44 to 0.74). However, pooled risks for CKD and mortality associated with interventions did not differ from those with placebo in either group. In conclusion, several interventions that affect risk of acute, mild to moderate, often temporary elevation in serum creatinine level in placebo-controlled randomized trials showed no appreciable effect on CKD or mortality months later, raising questions about the value of using small to moderate changes in serum creatinine level as end points in clinical trials. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Thermal Analysis of a Cracked Half-plane under Moving Point Heat Source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Kuanfang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The heat conduction in half-plane with an insulated crack subjected to moving point heat source is investigated. The analytical solution and the numerical means are combined to analyze the transient temperature distribution of a cracked half-plane under moving point heat source. The transient temperature distribution of the half plane structure under moving point heat source is obtained by the moving coordinate method firstly, then the heat conduction equation with thermal boundary of an insulated crack face is changed to singular integral equation by applying Fourier transforms and solved by the numerical method. The numerical examples of the temperature distribution on the cracked half-plane structure under moving point heat source are presented and discussed in detail.

New England observed and predicted August stream/river temperature maximum daily rate of change points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted August stream/river temperature maximum negative rate of change in New England based on a...

Dual keel Space Station payload pointing system design and analysis feasibility study

Science.gov (United States)

Smagala, Tom; Class, Brian F.; Bauer, Frank H.; Lebair, Deborah A.

1988-01-01

A Space Station attached Payload Pointing System (PPS) has been designed and analyzed. The PPS is responsible for maintaining fixed payload pointing in the presence of disturbance applied to the Space Station. The payload considered in this analysis is the Solar Optical Telescope. System performance is evaluated via digital time simulations by applying various disturbance forces to the Space Station. The PPS meets the Space Station articulated pointing requirement for all disturbances except Shuttle docking and some centrifuge cases.

Beyond the 'teachable moment' - A conceptual analysis of women's perinatal behaviour change.

Science.gov (United States)

Olander, Ellinor K; Darwin, Zoe J; Atkinson, Lou; Smith, Debbie M; Gardner, Benjamin

2016-06-01

Midwives are increasingly expected to promote healthy behaviour to women and pregnancy is often regarded as a 'teachable moment' for health behaviour change. This view focuses on motivational aspects, when a richer analysis of behaviour change may be achieved by viewing the perinatal period through the lens of the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation Behaviour framework. This framework proposes that behaviour has three necessary determinants: capability, opportunity, and motivation. To outline a broader analysis of perinatal behaviour change than is afforded by the existing conceptualisation of the 'teachable moment' by using the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation Behaviour framework. Research suggests that the perinatal period can be viewed as a time in which capability, opportunity or motivation naturally change such that unhealthy behaviours are disrupted, and healthy behaviours may be adopted. Moving away from a sole focus on motivation, an analysis utilising the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation Behaviour framework suggests that changes in capability and opportunity may also offer opportune points for intervention, and that lack of capability or opportunity may act as barriers to behaviour change that might be expected based solely on changes in motivation. Moreover, the period spanning pregnancy and the postpartum could be seen as a series of opportune intervention moments, that is, personally meaningful episodes initiated by changes in capability, opportunity or motivation. This analysis offers new avenues for research and practice, including identifying discrete events that may trigger shifts in capability, opportunity or motivation, and whether and how interventions might promote initiation and maintenance of perinatal health behaviours. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of changes in water-level dynamics at selected sites in the Florida Everglades

Science.gov (United States)

Conrads, Paul; Benedict, Stephen T.

2013-01-01

The historical modification and regulation of the hydrologic patterns in the Florida Everglades have resulted in changes in the ecosystem of South Florida and the Florida Everglades. Since the 1970s, substantial focus has been given to the restoration of the Everglades ecosystem. The U.S. Geological Survey through its Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Science and National Water-Quality Assessment Programs has been providing scientific information to resource managers to assist in the Everglades restoration efforts. The current investigation included development of a simple method to identify and quantify changes in historical hydrologic behavior within the Everglades that could be used by researchers to identify responses of ecological communities to those changes. Such information then could be used by resource managers to develop appropriate water-management practices within the Everglades to promote restoration. The identification of changes in historical hydrologic behavior within the Everglades was accomplished by analyzing historical time-series water-level data from selected gages in the Everglades using (1) break-point analysis of cumulative Z-scores to identify hydrologic changes and (2) cumulative water-level frequency distribution curves to evaluate the magnitude of those changes. This analytical technique was applied to six long-term water-level gages in the Florida Everglades. The break-point analysis for the concurrent period of record (1978–2011) identified 10 common periods of changes in hydrologic behavior at the selected gages. The water-level responses at each gage for the 10 periods displayed similarity in fluctuation patterns, highlighting the interconnectedness of the Florida Everglades hydrologic system. While the patterns were similar, the analysis also showed that larger fluctuations in water levels between periods occurred in Water Conservation Areas 2 and 3 in contrast to those in Water Conservation Area 1 and the Everglades

Analysis method of beam pointing stability based on optical transmission matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chuanchuan; Huang, PingXian; Li, Xiaotong; Cen, Zhaofen

2016-10-01

Quite a lot of factors will make effects on beam pointing stability of an optical system, Among them, the element tolerance is one of the most important and common factors. In some large laser systems, it will make final micro beams spot on the image plane deviate obviously. So it is essential for us to achieve effective and accurate analysis theoretically on element tolerance. In order to make the analysis of beam pointing stability convenient and theoretical, we consider transmission of a single chief ray rather than beams approximately to stand for the whole spot deviation. According to optical matrix, we also simplify this complex process of light transmission to multiplication of many matrices. So that we can set up element tolerance model, namely having mathematical expression to illustrate spot deviation in an optical system with element tolerance. In this way, we can realize quantitative analysis of beam pointing stability theoretically. In second half of the paper, we design an experiment to get the spot deviation in a multipass optical system caused by element tolerance, then we adjust the tolerance step by step and compare the results with the datum got from tolerance model, finally prove the correction of tolerance model successfully.

Residual analysis for spatial point processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baddeley, A.; Turner, R.; Møller, Jesper

We define residuals for point process models fitted to spatial point pattern data, and propose diagnostic plots based on these residuals. The techniques apply to any Gibbs point process model, which may exhibit spatial heterogeneity, interpoint interaction and dependence on spatial covariates. Ou...... or covariate effects. Q-Q plots of the residuals are effective in diagnosing interpoint interaction. Some existing ad hoc statistics of point patterns (quadrat counts, scan statistic, kernel smoothed intensity, Berman's diagnostic) are recovered as special cases....

Towards a tipping point in responding to change: rising costs, fewer options for Arctic and global societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Henry P; Goodstein, Eban; Euskirchen, Eugénie

2012-02-01

Climate change incurs costs, but government adaptation budgets are limited. Beyond a certain point, individuals must bear the costs or adapt to new circumstances, creating political-economic tipping points that we explore in three examples. First, many Alaska Native villages are threatened by erosion, but relocation is expensive. To date, critically threatened villages have not yet been relocated, suggesting that we may already have reached a political-economic tipping point. Second, forest fires shape landscape and ecological characteristics in interior Alaska. Climate-driven changes in fire regime require increased fire-fighting resources to maintain current patterns of vegetation and land use, but these resources appear to be less and less available, indicating an approaching tipping point. Third, rapid sea level rise, for example from accelerated melting of the Greenland ice sheet, will create a choice between protection and abandonment for coastal regions throughout the world, a potential global tipping point comparable to those now faced by Arctic communities. The examples illustrate the basic idea that if costs of response increase more quickly than available resources, then society has fewer and fewer options as time passes.

Microchip capillary electrophoresis for point-of-care analysis of lithium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrouwe, E.X.; Luttge, R.; Vermes, I.; Berg, van den A.

2007-01-01

Background: Microchip capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a promising method for chemical analysis of complex samples such as whole blood. We evaluated the method for point-of-care testing of lithium. Methods: Chemical separation was performed on standard glass microchip CE devices with a conductivity

Environmental protection standards - from the point of view of systems analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, K

1978-11-01

A project of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg castle near Vienna is reviewed where standards for environmental protection are interpreted from the point of view of systems analysis. Some examples are given to show how results are influenced not only by technical and economic factors but also by psychological and political factors.

Environmental protection standards - from the point of view of systems analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, K.

1978-01-01

A project of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg castle near Vienna is reviewed where standards for environmental protection are interpreted from the point of view of systems analysis. Some examples are given to show how results are influenced not only by technical and economic factors but also by psychological and political factors. (orig.) [de

Critical point analysis of phase envelope diagram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soetikno, Darmadi; Siagian, Ucok W. R.; Kusdiantara, Rudy; Puspita, Dila; Sidarto, Kuntjoro A.; Soewono, Edy; Gunawan, Agus Y.

2014-01-01

Phase diagram or phase envelope is a relation between temperature and pressure that shows the condition of equilibria between the different phases of chemical compounds, mixture of compounds, and solutions. Phase diagram is an important issue in chemical thermodynamics and hydrocarbon reservoir. It is very useful for process simulation, hydrocarbon reactor design, and petroleum engineering studies. It is constructed from the bubble line, dew line, and critical point. Bubble line and dew line are composed of bubble points and dew points, respectively. Bubble point is the first point at which the gas is formed when a liquid is heated. Meanwhile, dew point is the first point where the liquid is formed when the gas is cooled. Critical point is the point where all of the properties of gases and liquids are equal, such as temperature, pressure, amount of substance, and others. Critical point is very useful in fuel processing and dissolution of certain chemicals. Here in this paper, we will show the critical point analytically. Then, it will be compared with numerical calculations of Peng-Robinson equation by using Newton-Raphson method. As case studies, several hydrocarbon mixtures are simulated using by Matlab

Critical point analysis of phase envelope diagram

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soetikno, Darmadi; Siagian, Ucok W. R. [Department of Petroleum Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia); Kusdiantara, Rudy, E-mail: rkusdiantara@s.itb.ac.id; Puspita, Dila, E-mail: rkusdiantara@s.itb.ac.id; Sidarto, Kuntjoro A., E-mail: rkusdiantara@s.itb.ac.id; Soewono, Edy; Gunawan, Agus Y. [Department of Mathematics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia)

2014-03-24

Phase diagram or phase envelope is a relation between temperature and pressure that shows the condition of equilibria between the different phases of chemical compounds, mixture of compounds, and solutions. Phase diagram is an important issue in chemical thermodynamics and hydrocarbon reservoir. It is very useful for process simulation, hydrocarbon reactor design, and petroleum engineering studies. It is constructed from the bubble line, dew line, and critical point. Bubble line and dew line are composed of bubble points and dew points, respectively. Bubble point is the first point at which the gas is formed when a liquid is heated. Meanwhile, dew point is the first point where the liquid is formed when the gas is cooled. Critical point is the point where all of the properties of gases and liquids are equal, such as temperature, pressure, amount of substance, and others. Critical point is very useful in fuel processing and dissolution of certain chemicals. Here in this paper, we will show the critical point analytically. Then, it will be compared with numerical calculations of Peng-Robinson equation by using Newton-Raphson method. As case studies, several hydrocarbon mixtures are simulated using by Matlab.

Homotopy analysis solutions of point kinetics equations with one delayed precursor group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Qian; Luo Lei; Chen Zhiyun; Li Haofeng

2010-01-01

Homotopy analysis method is proposed to obtain series solutions of nonlinear differential equations. Homotopy analysis method was applied for the point kinetics equations with one delayed precursor group. Analytic solutions were obtained using homotopy analysis method, and the algorithm was analysed. The results show that the algorithm computation time and precision agree with the engineering requirements. (authors)

Numerical analysis of sandwich beam with corrugated core under three-point bending

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wittenbeck, Leszek [Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Mathematics Piotrowo Street No. 5, 60-965 Poznan (Poland); Grygorowicz, Magdalena; Paczos, Piotr [Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Applied Mechanics Jana Pawla IIStreet No. 24, 60-965 Poznan (Poland)

2015-03-10

The strength problem of sandwich beam with corrugated core under three-point bending is presented.The beam are made of steel and formed by three mutually orthogonal corrugated layers. The finite element analysis (FEA) of the sandwich beam is performed with the use of the FEM system - ABAQUS. The relationship between the applied load and deflection in three-point bending is considered.

Analysis of changes in water cycle across Northern Eurasia with Rapid Integrated Mapping and Analysis System (RIMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Shiklomanov, A.; Prusevich, A.

2012-04-01

Historical and contemporary changes in various components of the hydrological cycle across the Northern Eurasia have been investigated using multiple observational and modeled data compiled in Rapid Integrated Mapping and Analysis System (RIMS) for North Eurasian Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI). To evaluate potential future patterns of change in the Northern Eurasian water cycle we have used climate change projections simulated by several coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AO GCMs). Future changes in hydrological regime were assessed using the UNH Water Balance and Water Transport Models (WBM/WTM) which take into account water management including irrigation and reservoir regulation. We found significant shifts in the regional hydrology and quantified potential natural and anthropogenic causes of these changes. The results of our historical and future analysis have demonstrated an intensification of hydrological cycle in many regions of the Northern Eurasia observed over 50-60 year period with accelerated rate during the last decade. Based on climate projections we can expect that the current rate of changes to continue over the course of XXI century. A significant part of the analysis and quantitative estimates of water cycle trends in Northern Eurasia has been done using RIMS online and offline data analysis tools. RIMS has been developed by the Water Systems Analysis Group at the University of New Hampshire, USA for the NEESPI program. Presently, the RIMS data pool is composed of a variety of themes including climate, hydrology, land cover, human dimension, and others. It comprises over five thousand single layer (e.g. soil type) and time series (e.g. daily runoff) raster GIS coverages, and a number of climate and hydrology station/point network datasets. The system streamlines data mining, management and model feeds in the computational environment of large and diverse data holdings. In this presentation we want to demonstrate

Throughput analysis of point-to-multi-point hybric FSO/RF network

KAUST Repository

Rakia, Tamer; Gebali, Fayez; Yang, Hong-Chuan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

This paper presents and analyzes a point-to-multi-point (P2MP) network that uses a number of free-space optical (FSO) links for data transmission from the central node to the different remote nodes. A common backup radio-frequency (RF) link is used

C-point and V-point singularity lattice formation and index sign conversion methods

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar Pal, Sushanta; Ruchi; Senthilkumaran, P.

2017-06-01

The generic singularities in an ellipse field are C-points namely stars, lemons and monstars in a polarization distribution with C-point indices (-1/2), (+1/2) and (+1/2) respectively. Similar to C-point singularities, there are V-point singularities that occur in a vector field and are characterized by Poincare-Hopf index of integer values. In this paper we show that the superposition of three homogenously polarized beams in different linear states leads to the formation of polarization singularity lattice. Three point sources at the focal plane of the lens are used to create three interfering plane waves. A radial/azimuthal polarization converter (S-wave plate) placed near the focal plane modulates the polarization states of the three beams. The interference pattern is found to host C-points and V-points in a hexagonal lattice. The C-points occur at intensity maxima and V-points occur at intensity minima. Modulating the state of polarization (SOP) of three plane waves from radial to azimuthal does not essentially change the nature of polarization singularity lattice as the Poincare-Hopf index for both radial and azimuthal polarization distributions is (+1). Hence a transformation from a star to a lemon is not trivial, as such a transformation requires not a single SOP change, but a change in whole spatial SOP distribution. Further there is no change in the lattice structure and the C- and V-points appear at locations where they were present earlier. Hence to convert an interlacing star and V-point lattice into an interlacing lemon and V-point lattice, the interferometer requires modification. We show for the first time a method to change the polarity of C-point and V-point indices. This means that lemons can be converted into stars and stars can be converted into lemons. Similarly the positive V-point can be converted to negative V-point and vice versa. The intensity distribution in all these lattices is invariant as the SOPs of the three beams are changed in an

Washing and chilling as critical control points in pork slaughter hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, D J; Pearce, R A; Sheridan, J J; Blair, I S; McDowell, D A; Harrington, D

2002-01-01

The aim of this research was to examine the effects of preslaughter washing, pre-evisceration washing, final carcass washing and chilling on final carcass quality and to evaluate these operations as possible critical control points (CCPs) within a pork slaughter hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system. This study estimated bacterial numbers (total viable counts) and the incidence of Salmonella at three surface locations (ham, belly and neck) on 60 animals/carcasses processed through a small commercial pork abattoir (80 pigs d(-1)). Significant reductions (P HACCP in pork slaughter plants. This research will provide a sound scientific basis on which to develop and implement effective HACCP in pork abattoirs.

Point Cloud Analysis for Conservation and Enhancement of Modernist Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Balzani, M.; Maietti, F.; Mugayar Kühl, B.

2017-02-01

Documentation of cultural assets through improved acquisition processes for advanced 3D modelling is one of the main challenges to be faced in order to address, through digital representation, advanced analysis on shape, appearance and conservation condition of cultural heritage. 3D modelling can originate new avenues in the way tangible cultural heritage is studied, visualized, curated, displayed and monitored, improving key features such as analysis and visualization of material degradation and state of conservation. An applied research focused on the analysis of surface specifications and material properties by means of 3D laser scanner survey has been developed within the project of Digital Preservation of FAUUSP building, Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. The integrated 3D survey has been performed by the DIAPReM Center of the Department of Architecture of the University of Ferrara in cooperation with the FAUUSP. The 3D survey has allowed the realization of a point cloud model of the external surfaces, as the basis to investigate in detail the formal characteristics, geometric textures and surface features. The digital geometric model was also the basis for processing the intensity values acquired by laser scanning instrument; this method of analysis was an essential integration to the macroscopic investigations in order to manage additional information related to surface characteristics displayable on the point cloud.

One-point fluctuation analysis of the high-energy neutrino sky

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feyereisen, Michael R.; Tamborra, Irene; Ando, Shin'ichiro

2017-01-01

We perform the first one-point fluctuation analysis of the high-energy neutrino sky. This method reveals itself to be especially suited to contemporary neutrino data, as it allows to study the properties of the astrophysical components of the high-energy flux detected by the IceCube telescope, even...

Uncertainty in projected point precipitation extremes for hydrological impact analysis of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Van Uytven, Els; Willems, Patrick

2017-04-01

Current trends in the hydro-meteorological variables indicate the potential impact of climate change on hydrological extremes. Therefore, they trigger an increased importance climate adaptation strategies in water management. The impact of climate change on hydro-meteorological and hydrological extremes is, however, highly uncertain. This is due to uncertainties introduced by the climate models, the internal variability inherent to the climate system, the greenhouse gas scenarios and the statistical downscaling methods. In view of the need to define sustainable climate adaptation strategies, there is a need to assess these uncertainties. This is commonly done by means of ensemble approaches. Because more and more climate models and statistical downscaling methods become available, there is a need to facilitate the climate impact and uncertainty analysis. A Climate Perturbation Tool has been developed for that purpose, which combines a set of statistical downscaling methods including weather typing, weather generator, transfer function and advanced perturbation based approaches. By use of an interactive interface, climate impact modelers can apply these statistical downscaling methods in a semi-automatic way to an ensemble of climate model runs. The tool is applicable to any region, but has been demonstrated so far to cases in Belgium, Suriname, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Time series representing future local-scale precipitation, temperature and potential evapotranspiration (PET) conditions were obtained, starting from time series of historical observations. Uncertainties on the future meteorological conditions are represented in two different ways: through an ensemble of time series, and a reduced set of synthetic scenarios. The both aim to span the full uncertainty range as assessed from the ensemble of climate model runs and downscaling methods. For Belgium, for instance, use was made of 100-year time series of 10-minutes precipitation observations and daily

Pasteurised milk and implementation of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T.B Murdiati

2004-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of pasteurisation is to destroy pathogen bacteria without affecting the taste, flavor, and nutritional value. A study on the implementation of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point in producing pasteurized milk was carried out in four processing unit of pasteurised milk, one in Jakarta, two in Bandung and one in Bogor. The critical control points in the production line were identified. Milk samples were collected from the critical points and were analysed for the total number of microbes. Antibiotic residues were detected on raw milks. The study indicated that one unit in Bandung dan one unit in Jakarta produced pasteurized milk with lower number of microbes than the other units, due to better management and control applied along the chain of production. Penisilin residues was detected in raw milk used by unit in Bogor. Six critical points and the hazard might arise in those points were identified, as well as how to prevent the hazards. Quality assurance system such as HACCP would be able to produce high quality and safety of pasteurised milk, and should be implemented gradually.

At the Tipping Point

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiley, H. S.

2011-02-28

There comes a time in every field of science when things suddenly change. While it might not be immediately apparent that things are different, a tipping point has occurred. Biology is now at such a point. The reason is the introduction of high-throughput genomics-based technologies. I am not talking about the consequences of the sequencing of the human genome (and every other genome within reach). The change is due to new technologies that generate an enormous amount of data about the molecular composition of cells. These include proteomics, transcriptional profiling by sequencing, and the ability to globally measure microRNAs and post-translational modifications of proteins. These mountains of digital data can be mapped to a common frame of reference: the organism’s genome. With the new high-throughput technologies, we can generate tens of thousands of data points from each sample. Data are now measured in terabytes and the time necessary to analyze data can now require years. Obviously, we can’t wait to interpret the data fully before the next experiment. In fact, we might never be able to even look at all of it, much less understand it. This volume of data requires sophisticated computational and statistical methods for its analysis and is forcing biologists to approach data interpretation as a collaborative venture.

Bayesian analysis of Markov point processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berthelsen, Kasper Klitgaard; Møller, Jesper

2006-01-01

Recently Møller, Pettitt, Berthelsen and Reeves introduced a new MCMC methodology for drawing samples from a posterior distribution when the likelihood function is only specified up to a normalising constant. We illustrate the method in the setting of Bayesian inference for Markov point processes...... a partially ordered Markov point process as the auxiliary variable. As the method requires simulation from the "unknown" likelihood, perfect simulation algorithms for spatial point processes become useful....

New England observed and predicted August stream/river temperature maximum positive daily rate of change points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted August stream/river temperature maximum positive daily rate of change in New England based on a...

New England observed and predicted July stream/river temperature maximum positive daily rate of change points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted July stream/river temperature maximum positive daily rate of change in New England based on a...

New England observed and predicted July maximum negative stream/river temperature daily rate of change points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted July stream/river temperature maximum negative daily rate of change in New England based on a...

Breed differences in dogs sensitivity to human points: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorey, Nicole R; Udell, Monique A R; Wynne, Clive D L

2009-07-01

The last decade has seen a substantial increase in research on the behavioral and cognitive abilities of pet dogs, Canis familiaris. The most commonly used experimental paradigm is the object-choice task in which a dog is given a choice of two containers and guided to the reinforced object by human pointing gestures. We review here studies of this type and attempt a meta-analysis of the available data. In the meta-analysis breeds of dogs were grouped into the eight categories of the American Kennel Club, and into four clusters identified by Parker and Ostrander [Parker, H.G., Ostrander, E.A., 2005. Canine genomics and genetics: running with the pack. PLoS Genet. 1, 507-513] on the basis of a genetic analysis. No differences in performance between breeds categorized in either fashion were identified. Rather, all dog breeds appear to be similarly and highly successful in following human points to locate desired food. We suggest this result could be due to the paucity of data available in published studies, and the restricted range of breeds tested.

Detecting Brain State Changes via Fiber-Centered Functional Connectivity Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiang; Lim, Chulwoo; Li, Kaiming; Guo, Lei; Liu, Tianming

2013-01-01

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been widely used to study structural and functional brain connectivity in recent years. A common assumption used in many previous functional brain connectivity studies is the temporal stationarity. However, accumulating literature evidence has suggested that functional brain connectivity is under temporal dynamic changes in different time scales. In this paper, a novel and intuitive approach is proposed to model and detect dynamic changes of functional brain states based on multimodal fMRI/DTI data. The basic idea is that functional connectivity patterns of all fiber-connected cortical voxels are concatenated into a descriptive functional feature vector to represent the brain’s state, and the temporal change points of brain states are decided by detecting the abrupt changes of the functional vector patterns via the sliding window approach. Our extensive experimental results have shown that meaningful brain state change points can be detected in task-based fMRI/DTI, resting state fMRI/DTI, and natural stimulus fMRI/DTI data sets. Particularly, the detected change points of functional brain states in task-based fMRI corresponded well to the external stimulus paradigm administered to the participating subjects, thus partially validating the proposed brain state change detection approach. The work in this paper provides novel perspective on the dynamic behaviors of functional brain connectivity and offers a starting point for future elucidation of the complex patterns of functional brain interactions and dynamics. PMID:22941508

[Analysis and research on cleaning points of HVAC systems in public places].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jiaolan; Han, Xu; Chen, Dongqing; Jin, Xin; Dai, Zizhu

2010-03-01

To analyze cleaning points of HVAC systems, and to provides scientific base for regulating the cleaning of HVAC systems. Based on the survey results on the cleaning situation of HVAC systems around China for the past three years, we analyzes the cleaning points of HVAC systems from various aspects, such as the major health risk factors of HVAC systems, the formulation strategy of the cleaning of HVAC systems, cleaning methods and acceptance points of the air ducts and the parts of HVAC systems, the onsite protection and individual protection, the waste treatment and the cleaning of the removed equipment, inspection of the cleaning results, video record, and the final acceptance of the cleaning. The analysis of the major health risk factors of HVAC systems and the formulation strategy of the cleaning of HVAC systems is given. The specific methods for cleaning the air ducts, machine units, air ports, coil pipes and the water cooling towers of HVAC systems, the acceptance points of HVAC systems and the requirements of the report on the final acceptance of the cleaning of HVAC systems are proposed. By the analysis of the points of the cleaning of HVAC systems and proposal of corresponding measures, this study provides the base for the scientific and regular launch of the cleaning of HVAC systems, a novel technology service, and lays a foundation for the revision of the existing cleaning regulations, which may generate technical and social benefits to some extent.

Four points function fitted and first derivative procedure for determining the end points in potentiometric titration curves: statistical analysis and method comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Kholeif, S A

2001-06-01

A new method that belongs to the differential category for determining the end points from potentiometric titration curves is presented. It uses a preprocess to find first derivative values by fitting four data points in and around the region of inflection to a non-linear function, and then locate the end point, usually as a maximum or minimum, using an inverse parabolic interpolation procedure that has an analytical solution. The behavior and accuracy of the sigmoid and cumulative non-linear functions used are investigated against three factors. A statistical evaluation of the new method using linear least-squares method validation and multifactor data analysis are covered. The new method is generally applied to symmetrical and unsymmetrical potentiometric titration curves, and the end point is calculated using numerical procedures only. It outperforms the "parent" regular differential method in almost all factors levels and gives accurate results comparable to the true or estimated true end points. Calculated end points from selected experimental titration curves compatible with the equivalence point category of methods, such as Gran or Fortuin, are also compared with the new method.

Point of Care Testing Services Delivery: Policy Analysis using a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Annals of Biomedical Sciences ... The service providers (hospital management) and the testing personnel are faced with the task of trying to explain these problems. Objective of the study: To critically do a policy analysis of the problems of point of care testing with the aim of identifying the causes of these problems and ...

Superposed epoch analysis of pressure and magnetic field configuration changes in the plasma sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kistler, L.M.; Moebius, E.; Baumjohann, W.; Nagai, T.

1993-01-01

The authors report on an analysis of pressure and magnetic configuration within the plasma sheet following the initiation of substorm events. They have constructed this time dependent picture by using an epoch analysis of data from the AMPTE/IRM spacecraft. This analysis procedure can be used to construct a unified picture of events, provided they are reproducible, from a statistical analysis of a series of point measurements. The authors first determine the time dependent pressure changes in the plasma sheet. With some simplifying assumptions they then determine the z dependence of the pressure profiles, and from this distribution determine how field lines in the plasma sheet map to the neutral sheet

Scientific Productivity on Research in Ethical Issues over the Past Half Century: A JoinPoint Regression Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Nguyen Phuoc; Huy, Nguyen Tien; Trang, Nguyen Thi Huyen; Luan, Nguyen Thien; Anh, Nguyen Hoang; Nghi, Tran Diem; Hieu, Mai Van; Hirayama, Kenji; Karbwang, Juntra

2014-09-01

Ethics is one of the main pillars in the development of science. We performed a JoinPoint regression analysis to analyze the trends of ethical issue research over the past half century. The question is whether ethical issues are neglected despite their importance in modern research. PubMed electronic library was used to retrieve publications of all fields and ethical issues. JoinPoint regression analysis was used to identify the significant time trends of publications of all fields and ethical issues, as well as the proportion of publications on ethical issues to all fields over the past half century. Annual percent changes (APC) were computed with their 95% confidence intervals, and a p-value years (from 1996 to 2013). When comparing the absolute number of ethics related articles (APEI) to all publications of all fields (APAF) on PubMed, the results showed that the proportion of APEI to APAF statistically increased during the periods of 1965-1974, 1974-1986, and 1986-1993, with APCs of 11.0, 2.1, and 8.8, respectively. However, the trend has gradually dropped since 1993 and shown a marked decrease from 2002 to 2013 with an annual percent change of -7.4%. Scientific productivity in ethical issues research on over the past half century rapidly increased during the first 30-year period but has recently been in decline. Since ethics is an important aspect of scientific research, we suggest that greater attention is needed in order to emphasize the role of ethics in modern research.

Challenges of teacher-based clinical evaluation from nursing students' point of view: Qualitative content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Tabandeh; Seyed Bagheri, Seyed Hamid

2017-01-01

Clinical evaluation is very important in the educational system of nursing. One of the most common methods of clinical evaluation is evaluation by the teacher, but the challenges that students would face in this evaluation method, have not been mentioned. Thus, this study aimed to explore the experiences and views of nursing students about the challenges of teacher-based clinical evaluation. This study was a descriptive qualitative study with a qualitative content analysis approach. Data were gathered through semi-structured focused group sessions with undergraduate nursing students who were passing their 8 th semester at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. Date were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman's proposed method. Data collection and analysis were concurrent. According to the findings, "factitious evaluation" was the main theme of study that consisted of three categories: "Personal preferences," "unfairness" and "shirking responsibility." These categories are explained using quotes derived from the data. According to the results of this study, teacher-based clinical evaluation would lead to factitious evaluation. Thus, changing this approach of evaluation toward modern methods of evaluation is suggested. The finding can help nursing instructors to get a better understanding of the nursing students' point of view toward this evaluation approach and as a result could be planning for changing of this approach.

Professional SharePoint 2010 Administration

CERN Document Server

Klindt, Todd; Caravajal, Steve

2010-01-01

Thorough coverage of the improvements and changes to SharePoint 2010. SharePoint 2010 boasts a variety of incredible new features that will challenge even the most experienced administrator who is upgrading from SharePoint 2007. Written by a team of SharePoint experts, this book places a takes aim at showing you how to make these new features work right for you. Offering an in-depth look at SharePoint 2010, the authors focus on how SharePoint functionality has changed from its earliest version to its newest, and they provide you with detailed coverage of all the new features and capabilities.:

Bayesian change-point analyses in ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Brian Bekcage; Lawrence Joseph; Patrick Belisle; David B. Wolfson; William J. Platt

2007-01-01

Ecological and biological processes can change from one state to another once a threshold has been crossed in space or time. Threshold responses to incremental changes in underlying variables can characterize diverse processes from climate change to the desertification of arid lands from overgrazing.

Short-Term and Long-Term Forecasting for the 3D Point Position Changing by Using Artificial Neural Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleni-Georgia Alevizakou

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Forecasting is one of the most growing areas in most sciences attracting the attention of many researchers for more extensive study. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop an integrated forecasting methodology based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN, which is a modern and attractive intelligent technique. The final result is to provide short-term and long-term forecasts for point position changing, i.e., the displacement or deformation of the surface they belong to. The motivation was the combination of two thoughts, the insertion of the forecasting concept in Geodesy as in the most scientific disciplines (e.g., Economics, Medicine and the desire to know the future position of any point on a construction or on the earth’s crustal. This methodology was designed to be accurate, stable and general for different kind of geodetic data. The basic procedure consists of the definition of the forecasting problem, the preliminary data analysis (data pre-processing, the definition of the most suitable ANN, its evaluation using the proper criteria and finally the production of forecasts. The methodology gives particular emphasis on the stages of the pre-processing and the evaluation. Additionally, the importance of the prediction intervals (PI is emphasized. A case study, which includes geodetic data from the year 2003 to the year 2016—namely X, Y, Z coordinates—is implemented. The data were acquired by 1000 permanent Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS stations. During this case study, 2016 ANNs—with different hyper-parameters—are trained and tested for short-term forecasting and 2016 for long-term forecasting, for each of the GNSS stations. In addition, other conventional statistical forecasting methods are used for the same purpose using the same data set. Finally the most appropriate Non-linear Autoregressive Recurrent network (NAR or Non-linear Autoregressive with eXogenous inputs (NARX for the forecasting of 3D point

MODIS 250m burned area mapping based on an algorithm using change point detection and Markov random fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Mota, Bernardo; Pereira, Jose; Campagnolo, Manuel; Killick, Rebeca

2013-04-01

Area burned in tropical savannas of Brazil was mapped using MODIS-AQUA daily 250m resolution imagery by adapting one of the European Space Agency fire_CCI project burned area algorithms, based on change point detection and Markov random fields. The study area covers 1,44 Mkm2 and was performed with data from 2005. The daily 1000 m image quality layer was used for cloud and cloud shadow screening. The algorithm addresses each pixel as a time series and detects changes in the statistical properties of NIR reflectance values, to identify potential burning dates. The first step of the algorithm is robust filtering, to exclude outlier observations, followed by application of the Pruned Exact Linear Time (PELT) change point detection technique. Near-infrared (NIR) spectral reflectance changes between time segments, and post change NIR reflectance values are combined into a fire likelihood score. Change points corresponding to an increase in reflectance are dismissed as potential burn events, as are those occurring outside of a pre-defined fire season. In the last step of the algorithm, monthly burned area probability maps and detection date maps are converted to dichotomous (burned-unburned maps) using Markov random fields, which take into account both spatial and temporal relations in the potential burned area maps. A preliminary assessment of our results is performed by comparison with data from the MODIS 1km active fires and the 500m burned area products, taking into account differences in spatial resolution between the two sensors.

Seafood safety: economics of hazard analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) programmes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cato, James C

1998-01-01

.... This document on economic issues associated with seafood safety was prepared to complement the work of the Service in seafood technology, plant sanitation and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) implementation...

MOCC: A Fast and Robust Correlation-Based Method for Interest Point Matching under Large Scale Changes

OpenAIRE

Wang Hao; Gao Wen; Huang Qingming; Zhao Feng

2010-01-01

Similarity measures based on correlation have been used extensively for matching tasks. However, traditional correlation-based image matching methods are sensitive to rotation and scale changes. This paper presents a fast correlation-based method for matching two images with large rotation and significant scale changes. Multiscale oriented corner correlation (MOCC) is used to evaluate the degree of similarity between the feature points. The method is rotation invariant and capable of matchin...

Analysis of the flight dynamics of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) off-sun scientific pointing

Science.gov (United States)

Pitone, D. S.; Klein, J. R.; Twambly, B. J.

1990-01-01

Algorithms are presented which were created and implemented by the Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC's) Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) attitude operations team to support large-angle spacecraft pointing at scientific objectives. The mission objective of the post-repair SMM satellite was to study solar phenomena. However, because the scientific instruments, such as the Coronagraph/Polarimeter (CP) and the Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS), were able to view objects other than the Sun, attitude operations support for attitude pointing at large angles from the nominal solar-pointing attitudes was required. Subsequently, attitude support for SMM was provided for scientific objectives such as Comet Halley, Supernova 1987A, Cygnus X-1, and the Crab Nebula. In addition, the analysis was extended to include the reverse problem, computing the right ascension and declination of a body given the off-Sun angles. This analysis led to the computation of the orbits of seven new solar comets seen in the field-of-view (FOV) of the CP. The activities necessary to meet these large-angle attitude-pointing sequences, such as slew sequence planning, viewing-period prediction, and tracking-bias computation are described. Analysis is presented for the computation of maneuvers and pointing parameters relative to the SMM-unique, Sun-centered reference frame. Finally, science data and independent attitude solutions are used to evaluate the larg-angle pointing performance.

ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL CHANGES IN GROUNDWATER RETENTION FOR THE ODER VALLEY IN THE MALCZYCE REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edyta Nowicka

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the analysis of spatial changes of groundwater retention for a part of the Oder valley situated below the barrage in Brzeg Dolny. For the analysis of selected monthly average elevations of the groundwater table of the selected measuring points (32 piezometers located in the area described, and 7 gauges on the Oder river, Średzka Woda, Jeziorka and Nowy Rów. The change of groundwater retention is presented in spatial terms for vegetation periods of years: 2010, 2011 and 2012. The database was made interpolating the groundwater table elevation for the area in question. On this basis, differences between ordinates the groundwater table were calculated. The next step was to obtain the spatial distribution of groundwater retention states and its analysis. The results show significant changes in the states of groundwater retention on the selected portion of the valley in the individual growing seasons. According to formation of changes in status of groundwater retention relative to the distance from the Odra river was analysed.

Picture change error in quasirelativistic electron/spin density, Laplacian and bond critical points

KAUST Repository

Bučinský , Luká š; Kucková , Lenka; Malček, Michal; Koží šek, Jozef; Biskupič, Stanislav; Jayatilaka, Dylan; Bü chel, Gabriel E.; Arion, Vladimir B.

2014-01-01

The change of picture of the quasirelativistic Hartree-Fock wave functions is considered for electron/spin densities, the negative Laplacian of electron density and the appropriate bond critical point characteristics from the Quantum Theory of Atoms In Molecules (QTAIM). [OsCl5(Hpz)]- and [RuCl5(NO)]2- transition metal complexes are considered. Both, scalar relativistic and spin-orbit effects have been accounted for using the Infinite Order Two Component (IOTC) Hamiltonian. Picture change error (PCE) correction in the electron and spin densities and the Laplacian of electron density are treated analytically. Generally, PCE is found significant only in the core region of the atoms for the electron/spin density as well as Laplacian.©2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Picture change error in quasirelativistic electron/spin density, Laplacian and bond critical points

KAUST Repository

Bučinský, Lukáš

2014-06-01

The change of picture of the quasirelativistic Hartree-Fock wave functions is considered for electron/spin densities, the negative Laplacian of electron density and the appropriate bond critical point characteristics from the Quantum Theory of Atoms In Molecules (QTAIM). [OsCl5(Hpz)]- and [RuCl5(NO)]2- transition metal complexes are considered. Both, scalar relativistic and spin-orbit effects have been accounted for using the Infinite Order Two Component (IOTC) Hamiltonian. Picture change error (PCE) correction in the electron and spin densities and the Laplacian of electron density are treated analytically. Generally, PCE is found significant only in the core region of the atoms for the electron/spin density as well as Laplacian.©2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changing Landscape

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tunby Gulbrandsen, Ib; Kamstrup, Andreas; Koed Madsen, Anders

with an analysis of the changing organizational landscape created by new ICT’s like Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, iPods, smart phones and Wi-Fi. Based on five netno- and ethno-graphic investigations of the intertwinement of ICT’s and organizational work, we point to three features that have changed the scene: new...

Single Point Vulnerability Analysis of Automatic Seismic Trip System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Seo Bin; Chung, Soon Il; Lee, Yong Suk; Choi, Byung Pil

2016-01-01

Single Point Vulnerability (SPV) analysis is a process used to identify individual equipment whose failure alone will result in a reactor trip, turbine generator failure, or power reduction of more than 50%. Automatic Seismic Trip System (ASTS) is a newly installed system to ensure the safety of plant when earthquake occurs. Since this system directly shuts down the reactor, the failure or malfunction of its system component can cause a reactor trip more frequently than other systems. Therefore, an SPV analysis of ASTS is necessary to maintain its essential performance. To analyze SPV for ASTS, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and fault tree analysis (FTA) was performed. In this study, FMEA and FTA methods were performed to select SPV equipment of ASTS. D/O, D/I, A/I card, seismic sensor, and trip relay had an effect on the reactor trip but their single failure will not cause reactor trip. In conclusion, ASTS is excluded as SPV. These results can be utilized as the basis data for ways to enhance facility reliability such as design modification and improvement of preventive maintenance procedure

Single Point Vulnerability Analysis of Automatic Seismic Trip System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Seo Bin; Chung, Soon Il; Lee, Yong Suk [FNC Technology Co., Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Byung Pil [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Single Point Vulnerability (SPV) analysis is a process used to identify individual equipment whose failure alone will result in a reactor trip, turbine generator failure, or power reduction of more than 50%. Automatic Seismic Trip System (ASTS) is a newly installed system to ensure the safety of plant when earthquake occurs. Since this system directly shuts down the reactor, the failure or malfunction of its system component can cause a reactor trip more frequently than other systems. Therefore, an SPV analysis of ASTS is necessary to maintain its essential performance. To analyze SPV for ASTS, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and fault tree analysis (FTA) was performed. In this study, FMEA and FTA methods were performed to select SPV equipment of ASTS. D/O, D/I, A/I card, seismic sensor, and trip relay had an effect on the reactor trip but their single failure will not cause reactor trip. In conclusion, ASTS is excluded as SPV. These results can be utilized as the basis data for ways to enhance facility reliability such as design modification and improvement of preventive maintenance procedure.

Material-Point-Method Analysis of Collapsing Slopes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Søren; Andersen, Lars

2009-01-01

To understand the dynamic evolution of landslides and predict their physical extent, a computational model is required that is capable of analysing complex material behaviour as well as large strains and deformations. Here, a model is presented based on the so-called generalised-interpolation mat......To understand the dynamic evolution of landslides and predict their physical extent, a computational model is required that is capable of analysing complex material behaviour as well as large strains and deformations. Here, a model is presented based on the so-called generalised......, a deformed material description is introduced, based on time integration of the deformation gradient and utilising Gauss quadrature over the volume associated with each material point. The method has been implemented in a Fortran code and employed for the analysis of a landslide that took place during...

Visualizing nD Point Clouds as Topological Landscape Profiles to Guide Local Data Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oesterling, Patrick [Univ. of Leipzig (Germany). Computer Science Dept.; Heine, Christian [Univ. of Leipzig (Germany). Computer Science Dept.; Federal Inst. of Technology (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland). Dept. of Computer Science; Weber, Gunther H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Computational Research Division; Scheuermann, Gerik [Univ. of Leipzig (Germany). Computer Science Dept.

2012-05-04

Analyzing high-dimensional point clouds is a classical challenge in visual analytics. Traditional techniques, such as projections or axis-based techniques, suffer from projection artifacts, occlusion, and visual complexity.We propose to split data analysis into two parts to address these shortcomings. First, a structural overview phase abstracts data by its density distribution. This phase performs topological analysis to support accurate and non-overlapping presentation of the high-dimensional cluster structure as a topological landscape profile. Utilizing a landscape metaphor, it presents clusters and their nesting as hills whose height, width, and shape reflect cluster coherence, size, and stability, respectively. A second local analysis phase utilizes this global structural knowledge to select individual clusters or point sets for further, localized data analysis. Focusing on structural entities significantly reduces visual clutter in established geometric visualizations and permits a clearer, more thorough data analysis. In conclusion, this analysis complements the global topological perspective and enables the user to study subspaces or geometric properties, such as shape.

Jump point detection for real estate investment success

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, Eddie C. M.; Yu, Carisa K. W.; Ip, Wai-Cheung

2010-03-01

In the literature, studies on real estate market were mainly concentrating on the relation between property price and some key factors. The trend of the real estate market is a major concern. It is believed that changes in trend are signified by some jump points in the property price series. Identifying such jump points reveals important findings that enable policy-makers to look forward. However, not all jump points are observable from the plot of the series. This paper looks into the trend and introduces a new approach to the framework for real estate investment success. The main purpose of this paper is to detect jump points in the time series of some housing price indices and stock price index in Hong Kong by applying the wavelet analysis. The detected jump points reflect to some significant political issues and economic collapse. Moreover, the relations among properties of different classes and between stocks and properties are examined. It can be shown from the empirical result that a lead-lag effect happened between the prices of large-size property and those of small/medium-size property. However, there is no apparent relation or consistent lead in terms of change point measure between property price and stock price. This may be due to the fact that globalization effect has more impact on the stock price than the property price.

Mapping changes – from changing perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Bo Nissen

From a historical research perspective, constant changes in administrative geography present a special problem: Archival registers often use geographical/administrative entrances from a fixed point in time, and as the administrative geography changes, our picture of the past is obscured or confused....... Mapping the huge amount of changes over the past 350 years, the DigDag project (Digital atlas of the Danish historical-administrative geography) has established a uniform research infrastructure: a digital cartographical skeleton for thematic mapping and analysis. Thus, for instance epidemiological data...... initiation phase, the first spin-off result is now available on the web: a dictionary of Danish place-names containing historical name variants, analysis and interpretations of more than 150,000 toponyms....

Linearity analysis and comparison study on the epoc® point-of-care blood analysis system in cardiopulmonary bypass patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianing Chen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The epoc® blood analysis system (Epocal Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a newly developed in vitro diagnostic hand-held analyzer for testing whole blood samples at point-of-care, which provides blood gas, electrolytes, ionized calcium, glucose, lactate, and hematocrit/calculated hemoglobin rapidly. The analytical performance of the epoc® system was evaluated in a tertiary hospital, see related research article “Analytical evaluation of the epoc® point-of-care blood analysis system in cardiopulmonary bypass patients” [1]. Data presented are the linearity analysis for 9 parameters and the comparison study in 40 cardiopulmonary bypass patients on 3 epoc® meters, Instrumentation Laboratory GEM4000, Abbott iSTAT, Nova CCX, and Roche Accu-Chek Inform II and Performa glucose meters.

Second-order analysis of structured inhomogeneous spatio-temporal point processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Jesper; Ghorbani, Mohammad

Statistical methodology for spatio-temporal point processes is in its infancy. We consider second-order analysis based on pair correlation functions and K-functions for first general inhomogeneous spatio-temporal point processes and second inhomogeneous spatio-temporal Cox processes. Assuming...... spatio-temporal separability of the intensity function, we clarify different meanings of second-order spatio-temporal separability. One is second-order spatio-temporal independence and relates e.g. to log-Gaussian Cox processes with an additive covariance structure of the underlying spatio......-temporal Gaussian process. Another concerns shot-noise Cox processes with a separable spatio-temporal covariance density. We propose diagnostic procedures for checking hypotheses of second-order spatio-temporal separability, which we apply on simulated and real data (the UK 2001 epidemic foot and mouth disease data)....

Farmer cooperatives in the food economy of Western Europe: an analysis from the Marketing point of view

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulenberg, M.T.G.

1979-01-01

This paper is concerned with an analysis of farmer cooperatives in Western Europe from the marketing point of view. The analysis is restricted to marketing and processing cooperatives. First some basic characteristics of farmer cooperatives are discussed from a systems point of view. Afterwards

Genetic interaction analysis of point mutations enables interrogation of gene function at a residue-level resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Braberg, Hannes; Moehle, Erica A.; Shales, Michael; Guthrie, Christine; Krogan, Nevan J.

2014-01-01

We have achieved a residue-level resolution of genetic interaction mapping – a technique that measures how the function of one gene is affected by the alteration of a second gene – by analyzing point mutations. Here, we describe how to interpret point mutant genetic interactions, and outline key applications for the approach, including interrogation of protein interaction interfaces and active sites, and examination of post-translational modifications. Genetic interaction analysis has proven effective for characterizing cellular processes; however, to date, systematic high-throughput genetic interaction screens have relied on gene deletions or knockdowns, which limits the resolution of gene function analysis and poses problems for multifunctional genes. Our point mutant approach addresses these issues, and further provides a tool for in vivo structure-function analysis that complements traditional biophysical methods. We also discuss the potential for genetic interaction mapping of point mutations in human cells and its application to personalized medicine. PMID:24842270

P2-15: EEG Analysis on Story Change in TV Drama

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Yeon Lee

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The human brain naturally recognizes a change of environment or atmosphere without great effort, and this is essential for interactive communication in social life and a specific reaction in an emergency situation. Most studies have investigated change detection of the brain with conditional experimental paradigms rather than the performance of everyday tasks. However, naturally occurring sensory stimuli are multimodal and dynamic. In an effort to study the relationship between users' induced physiological responses and changes of environment and atmosphere under more naturalistic and ecological conditions, we performed a basic experiment using audio-visual movies and electroencephalogram (EEG measurement. 8 healthy subjects were asked to watch a television sitcom without any responses, and their EEG signals were recorded simultaneously with 126 electrodes mounted in an elastic electrode cap. Time-frequency analysis of EEG revealed distinctive neural oscillations at the point of story change in the movie. This result could be used for applications in brain-computer interfaces, and provides a reference to cognitive impairment studies such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.

A Change Oriented Extension of EOF Analysis Applied to the 1996-1997 AVHRR Sea Surface Temperature Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Conradsen, Knut; Andersen, Ole Baltazar

2002-01-01

correlation analysis, and maximum autocorrelation factors (MAFs). The method described can be considered as an extension to EOF analysis that is specially tailored for change detection in spatial data since it first maximises differences in the data between two points in time and then maximises...... autocorrelation between neighbouring observations. The results show that the large scale ocean events associated with the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related changes are concentrated in the first SST MAF/MAD mode and the two first SSH MAF/MAD modes. The MAD/MAF analysis also revealed a spatially...... correlated structure in the Western Mediterranean Sea that turned out to be related to a strong semi-annual variation in the SST for 1997 which was difficult to resolve from a traditional principal component analysis....

Classification of Phase Transitions by Microcanonical Inflection-Point Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Kai; Bachmann, Michael

2018-05-01

By means of the principle of minimal sensitivity we generalize the microcanonical inflection-point analysis method by probing derivatives of the microcanonical entropy for signals of transitions in complex systems. A strategy of systematically identifying and locating independent and dependent phase transitions of any order is proposed. The power of the generalized method is demonstrated in applications to the ferromagnetic Ising model and a coarse-grained model for polymer adsorption onto a substrate. The results shed new light on the intrinsic phase structure of systems with cooperative behavior.

MOCC: A Fast and Robust Correlation-Based Method for Interest Point Matching under Large Scale Changes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Feng; Huang, Qingming; Wang, Hao; Gao, Wen

2010-12-01

Similarity measures based on correlation have been used extensively for matching tasks. However, traditional correlation-based image matching methods are sensitive to rotation and scale changes. This paper presents a fast correlation-based method for matching two images with large rotation and significant scale changes. Multiscale oriented corner correlation (MOCC) is used to evaluate the degree of similarity between the feature points. The method is rotation invariant and capable of matching image pairs with scale changes up to a factor of 7. Moreover, MOCC is much faster in comparison with the state-of-the-art matching methods. Experimental results on real images show the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method.

An Exploratory Study: A Kinesic Analysis of Academic Library Public Service Points

Science.gov (United States)

Kazlauskas, Edward

1976-01-01

An analysis of body movements of individuals at reference and circulation public service points in four academic libraries indicated that both receptive and nonreceptive nonverbal behaviors were used by all levels of library employees, and these behaviors influenced patron interaction. (Author/LS)

An introduction to nonlinear analysis and fixed point theory

CERN Document Server

Pathak, Hemant Kumar

2018-01-01

This book systematically introduces the theory of nonlinear analysis, providing an overview of topics such as geometry of Banach spaces, differential calculus in Banach spaces, monotone operators, and fixed point theorems. It also discusses degree theory, nonlinear matrix equations, control theory, differential and integral equations, and inclusions. The book presents surjectivity theorems, variational inequalities, stochastic game theory and mathematical biology, along with a large number of applications of these theories in various other disciplines. Nonlinear analysis is characterised by its applications in numerous interdisciplinary fields, ranging from engineering to space science, hydromechanics to astrophysics, chemistry to biology, theoretical mechanics to biomechanics and economics to stochastic game theory. Organised into ten chapters, the book shows the elegance of the subject and its deep-rooted concepts and techniques, which provide the tools for developing more realistic and accurate models for ...

Proposition for Improvement of Economics Situation with Use of Analysis of Break Even Point

OpenAIRE

Starečková, Alena

2015-01-01

Bakalářská práce se zabývá realizací Break-even-point analýzy v podniku, analýzou nákladů a návrhem na zlepšení finanční situace podniku zejména z pohledu nákladů. V první části práce jsou vymezeny pojmy a vzorce týkajících se Break-even-point analýzy a problematiky nákladů. Ve druhé části pak na konkrétním podniku bude provedena analýza bodu zvratu a následné návrhy na zlepšení stávajícího stavu. Bachelor work is dealing with realization of break even point analysis of company, analysis o...

Tipping point analysis of a large ocean ambient sound record

Science.gov (United States)

Livina, Valerie N.; Harris, Peter; Brower, Albert; Wang, Lian; Sotirakopoulos, Kostas; Robinson, Stephen

2017-04-01

We study a long (2003-2015) high-resolution (250Hz) sound pressure record provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) from the hydro-acoustic station Cape Leeuwin (Australia). We transform the hydrophone waveforms into five bands of 10-min-average sound pressure levels (including the third-octave band) and apply tipping point analysis techniques [1-3]. We report the results of the analysis of fluctuations and trends in the data and discuss the BigData challenges in processing this record, including handling data segments of large size and possible HPC solutions. References: [1] Livina et al, GRL 2007, [2] Livina et al, Climate of the Past 2010, [3] Livina et al, Chaos 2015.

Uncertainty analysis of point by point sampling complex surfaces using touch probe CMMs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barini, Emanuele; Tosello, Guido; De Chiffre, Leonardo

2007-01-01

The paper describes a study concerning point by point scanning of complex surfaces using tactile CMMs. A four factors-two level full factorial experiment was carried out, involving measurements on a complex surface configuration item comprising a sphere, a cylinder and a cone, combined in a singl...

Ecosystem approach to fisheries: Exploring environmental and trophic effects on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY reference point estimates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajeev Kumar

Full Text Available We present a comprehensive analysis of estimation of fisheries Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY reference points using an ecosystem model built for Mille Lacs Lake, the second largest lake within Minnesota, USA. Data from single-species modelling output, extensive annual sampling for species abundances, annual catch-survey, stomach-content analysis for predatory-prey interactions, and expert opinions were brought together within the framework of an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE ecosystem model. An increase in the lake water temperature was observed in the last few decades; therefore, we also incorporated a temperature forcing function in the EwE model to capture the influences of changing temperature on the species composition and food web. The EwE model was fitted to abundance and catch time-series for the period 1985 to 2006. Using the ecosystem model, we estimated reference points for most of the fished species in the lake at single-species as well as ecosystem levels with and without considering the influence of temperature change; therefore, our analysis investigated the trophic and temperature effects on the reference points. The paper concludes that reference points such as MSY are not stationary, but change when (1 environmental conditions alter species productivity and (2 fishing on predators alters the compensatory response of their prey. Thus, it is necessary for the management to re-estimate or re-evaluate the reference points when changes in environmental conditions and/or major shifts in species abundance or community structure are observed.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Healthcare Facilities in Nanjing: Network Point Pattern Analysis and Correlation Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianhua Ni

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The spatial distribution of urban service facilities is largely constrained by the road network. In this study, network point pattern analysis and correlation analysis were used to analyze the relationship between road network and healthcare facility distribution. The weighted network kernel density estimation method proposed in this study identifies significant differences between the outside and inside areas of the Ming city wall. The results of network K-function analysis show that private hospitals are more evenly distributed than public hospitals, and pharmacy stores tend to cluster around hospitals along the road network. After computing the correlation analysis between different categorized hospitals and street centrality, we find that the distribution of these hospitals correlates highly with the street centralities, and that the correlations are higher with private and small hospitals than with public and large hospitals. The comprehensive analysis results could help examine the reasonability of existing urban healthcare facility distribution and optimize the location of new healthcare facilities.

I See Your Point: Infants under 12 Months Understand that Pointing Is Communicative

Science.gov (United States)

Krehm, Madelaine; Onishi, Kristine H.; Vouloumanos, Athena

2014-01-01

Do young infants understand that pointing gestures allow the pointer to change the information state of a recipient? We used a third-party experimental scenario to examine whether 9- and 11-month-olds understand that a pointer's pointing gesture can inform a recipient about a target object. When the pointer pointed to a target, infants…

A critical analysis of the tender points in fibromyalgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, R Norman; Revivo, Gadi; Song, Sharon; Nampiaparampil, Devi; Golden, Gary; Kirincic, Marie; Houle, Timothy T

2007-03-01

To pilot methodologies designed to critically assess the American College of Rheumatology's (ACR) diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia. Prospective, psychophysical testing. An urban teaching hospital. Twenty-five patients with fibromyalgia and 31 healthy controls (convenience sample). Pressure pain threshold was determined at the 18 ACR tender points and five sham points using an algometer (dolorimeter). The patients "algometric total scores" (sums of the patients' average pain thresholds at the 18 tender points) were derived, as well as pain thresholds across sham points. The "algometric total score" could differentiate patients with fibromyalgia from normals with an accuracy of 85.7% (P pain across sham points than across ACR tender points, sham points also could be used for diagnosis (85.7%; Ps tested vs other painful conditions. The points specified by the ACR were only modestly superior to sham points in making the diagnosis. Most importantly, this pilot suggests single points, smaller groups of points, or sham points may be as effective in diagnosing fibromyalgia as the use of all 18 points, and suggests methodologies to definitively test that hypothesis.

Analysis on Single Point Vulnerabilities of Plant Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chi, Moon Goo; Lee, Eun Chan; Bae, Yeon Kyoung

2011-01-01

The Plant Control System (PCS) is a system that controls pumps, valves, dampers, etc. in nuclear power plants with an OPR-1000 design. When there is a failure or spurious actuation of the critical components in the PCS, it can result in unexpected plant trips or transients. From this viewpoint, single point vulnerabilities are evaluated in detail using failure mode effect analyses (FMEA) and fault tree analyses (FTA). This evaluation demonstrates that the PCS has many vulnerable components and the analysis results are provided for OPR-1000 plants for reliability improvements that can reduce their vulnerabilities

Analysis on Single Point Vulnerabilities of Plant Control System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chi, Moon Goo; Lee, Eun Chan; Bae, Yeon Kyoung [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-08-15

The Plant Control System (PCS) is a system that controls pumps, valves, dampers, etc. in nuclear power plants with an OPR-1000 design. When there is a failure or spurious actuation of the critical components in the PCS, it can result in unexpected plant trips or transients. From this viewpoint, single point vulnerabilities are evaluated in detail using failure mode effect analyses (FMEA) and fault tree analyses (FTA). This evaluation demonstrates that the PCS has many vulnerable components and the analysis results are provided for OPR-1000 plants for reliability improvements that can reduce their vulnerabilities.

MOCC: A Fast and Robust Correlation-Based Method for Interest Point Matching under Large Scale Changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Hao

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Similarity measures based on correlation have been used extensively for matching tasks. However, traditional correlation-based image matching methods are sensitive to rotation and scale changes. This paper presents a fast correlation-based method for matching two images with large rotation and significant scale changes. Multiscale oriented corner correlation (MOCC is used to evaluate the degree of similarity between the feature points. The method is rotation invariant and capable of matching image pairs with scale changes up to a factor of 7. Moreover, MOCC is much faster in comparison with the state-of-the-art matching methods. Experimental results on real images show the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Impedance analysis of acupuncture points and pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teplan, Michal; Kukucka, Marek; Ondrejkovicová, Alena

2011-01-01

Investigation of impedance characteristics of acupuncture points from acoustic to radio frequency range is addressed. Discernment and localization of acupuncture points in initial single subject study was unsuccessfully attempted by impedance map technique. Vector impedance analyses determined possible resonant zones in MHz region.

Simultaneous colour visualizations of multiple ALS point cloud attributes for land cover and vegetation analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zlinszky, András; Schroiff, Anke; Otepka, Johannes; Mandlburger, Gottfried; Pfeifer, Norbert

2014-05-01

LIDAR point clouds hold valuable information for land cover and vegetation analysis, not only in the spatial distribution of the points but also in their various attributes. However, LIDAR point clouds are rarely used for visual interpretation, since for most users, the point cloud is difficult to interpret compared to passive optical imagery. Meanwhile, point cloud viewing software is available allowing interactive 3D interpretation, but typically only one attribute at a time. This results in a large number of points with the same colour, crowding the scene and often obscuring detail. We developed a scheme for mapping information from multiple LIDAR point attributes to the Red, Green, and Blue channels of a widely used LIDAR data format, which are otherwise mostly used to add information from imagery to create "photorealistic" point clouds. The possible combinations of parameters are therefore represented in a wide range of colours, but relative differences in individual parameter values of points can be well understood. The visualization was implemented in OPALS software, using a simple and robust batch script, and is viewer independent since the information is stored in the point cloud data file itself. In our case, the following colour channel assignment delivered best results: Echo amplitude in the Red, echo width in the Green and normalized height above a Digital Terrain Model in the Blue channel. With correct parameter scaling (but completely without point classification), points belonging to asphalt and bare soil are dark red, low grassland and crop vegetation are bright red to yellow, shrubs and low trees are green and high trees are blue. Depending on roof material and DTM quality, buildings are shown from red through purple to dark blue. Erroneously high or low points, or points with incorrect amplitude or echo width usually have colours contrasting from terrain or vegetation. This allows efficient visual interpretation of the point cloud in planar

Automated extraction and analysis of rock discontinuity characteristics from 3D point clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchetti, Matteo; Villa, Alberto; Agliardi, Federico; Crosta, Giovanni B.

2016-04-01

A reliable characterization of fractured rock masses requires an exhaustive geometrical description of discontinuities, including orientation, spacing, and size. These are required to describe discontinuum rock mass structure, perform Discrete Fracture Network and DEM modelling, or provide input for rock mass classification or equivalent continuum estimate of rock mass properties. Although several advanced methodologies have been developed in the last decades, a complete characterization of discontinuity geometry in practice is still challenging, due to scale-dependent variability of fracture patterns and difficult accessibility to large outcrops. Recent advances in remote survey techniques, such as terrestrial laser scanning and digital photogrammetry, allow a fast and accurate acquisition of dense 3D point clouds, which promoted the development of several semi-automatic approaches to extract discontinuity features. Nevertheless, these often need user supervision on algorithm parameters which can be difficult to assess. To overcome this problem, we developed an original Matlab tool, allowing fast, fully automatic extraction and analysis of discontinuity features with no requirements on point cloud accuracy, density and homogeneity. The tool consists of a set of algorithms which: (i) process raw 3D point clouds, (ii) automatically characterize discontinuity sets, (iii) identify individual discontinuity surfaces, and (iv) analyse their spacing and persistence. The tool operates in either a supervised or unsupervised mode, starting from an automatic preliminary exploration data analysis. The identification and geometrical characterization of discontinuity features is divided in steps. First, coplanar surfaces are identified in the whole point cloud using K-Nearest Neighbor and Principal Component Analysis algorithms optimized on point cloud accuracy and specified typical facet size. Then, discontinuity set orientation is calculated using Kernel Density Estimation and

Ventricular Fibrillation Associated With Dynamic Changes in J-Point Elevation in a Patient With Silent Thyroiditis.

Science.gov (United States)

Karashima, Shigehiro; Tsuda, Toyonobu; Wakabayashi, Yusuke; Kometani, Mitsuhiro; Demura, Masashi; Ichise, Taro; Kawashiri, Masa-Aki; Takeda, Yoshiyu; Hayashi, Kenshi; Yoneda, Takashi

2018-02-01

A J wave is a common electrocardiographic finding in the general population. Individuals with prominent J waves in multiple electrocardiogram (ECG) leads have a higher risk of lethal arrhythmias than those with low-amplitude J waves. There are few reports about the relationship between thyroid function and J-wave amplitude. We report the case of a 45-year-old man who had unexpected ventricular fibrillation (VF). He had dynamic J-point elevation in multiple ECG leads. Possible early repolarization syndrome was diagnosed. He also had thyrotoxicosis caused by silent thyroiditis, and his J-wave amplitude decreased according to changes in thyroid function because of spontaneous remission of silent thyroiditis. There was a positive correlation between serum triiodothyronine levels and J-wave amplitudes. The findings in case suggested silent thyroiditis may contribute to the occurrence of VF in a patient with dynamic changes in J-point elevation in multiple ECG leads. Thyrotoxicosis is a relatively common endocrine disease; therefore, clinicians should pay attention to J-wave amplitude in the ECG of patients with thyrotoxicosis.

Ventricular Fibrillation Associated With Dynamic Changes in J-Point Elevation in a Patient With Silent Thyroiditis

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuda, Toyonobu; Wakabayashi, Yusuke; Kometani, Mitsuhiro; Demura, Masashi; Ichise, Taro; Kawashiri, Masa-aki; Takeda, Yoshiyu; Hayashi, Kenshi; Yoneda, Takashi

2018-01-01

A J wave is a common electrocardiographic finding in the general population. Individuals with prominent J waves in multiple electrocardiogram (ECG) leads have a higher risk of lethal arrhythmias than those with low-amplitude J waves. There are few reports about the relationship between thyroid function and J-wave amplitude. We report the case of a 45-year-old man who had unexpected ventricular fibrillation (VF). He had dynamic J-point elevation in multiple ECG leads. Possible early repolarization syndrome was diagnosed. He also had thyrotoxicosis caused by silent thyroiditis, and his J-wave amplitude decreased according to changes in thyroid function because of spontaneous remission of silent thyroiditis. There was a positive correlation between serum triiodothyronine levels and J-wave amplitudes. The findings in case suggested silent thyroiditis may contribute to the occurrence of VF in a patient with dynamic changes in J-point elevation in multiple ECG leads. Thyrotoxicosis is a relatively common endocrine disease; therefore, clinicians should pay attention to J-wave amplitude in the ECG of patients with thyrotoxicosis. PMID:29383332

Accuracy of multi-point boundary crossing time analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Vogt

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Recent multi-spacecraft studies of solar wind discontinuity crossings using the timing (boundary plane triangulation method gave boundary parameter estimates that are significantly different from those of the well-established single-spacecraft minimum variance analysis (MVA technique. A large survey of directional discontinuities in Cluster data turned out to be particularly inconsistent in the sense that multi-point timing analyses did not identify any rotational discontinuities (RDs whereas the MVA results of the individual spacecraft suggested that RDs form the majority of events. To make multi-spacecraft studies of discontinuity crossings more conclusive, the present report addresses the accuracy of the timing approach to boundary parameter estimation. Our error analysis is based on the reciprocal vector formalism and takes into account uncertainties both in crossing times and in the spacecraft positions. A rigorous error estimation scheme is presented for the general case of correlated crossing time errors and arbitrary spacecraft configurations. Crossing time error covariances are determined through cross correlation analyses of the residuals. The principal influence of the spacecraft array geometry on the accuracy of the timing method is illustrated using error formulas for the simplified case of mutually uncorrelated and identical errors at different spacecraft. The full error analysis procedure is demonstrated for a solar wind discontinuity as observed by the Cluster FGM instrument.

Analysis of structural changes influence on radiation crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pucic, I.; Ranogajec, F.

1998-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. DC-electrical conductivity has shown high sensitivity toward structural changes, especially to some low intensity transitions such as liquid-liquid transitions that are difficult to observe. It also showed favorable properties for monitoring of crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resins. However, when the rates were calculated using commonly applied formula: k lnσ =ln[(ln σ t - ln σ o )/(ln σ ∞ - ln σ o )] the sensitivity decreased. The extents of the reaction were shifted on time axis compared to non-logarithmic conductivity data and extraction analysis results. The logarithmic data had pronounced scattering at the end of the reaction so it was very difficult to determine end point of reaction and almost impossible to detect vitrification point. Some other features that can be seen on conductivity plot were lost. Therefore the results of DC-electrical conductivity monitoring of radiation and thermally initiated crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resins were interpreted in the same manner as the data collected by other non-electrical methods, using 'raw' data instead of its logarithmic form: k σ = ln [(σ t - σ o )/(σ ∞ - σ o )]. By this modification of data analysis the full sensitivity of electrical conductivity method to structural changes in reacting system was proven. Lower data scattering allowed observation of dose rate influences. The apparent rate constants calculated from conductivity itself showed the influence of upper liquid-liquid transition on the rate of radiation induced reaction that could not be seen if the logarithm of conductivity was used

Analysis of the Contribution Rate of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activity to Runoff Variation in Nenjiang Basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liqin Dong

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Pettitt abrupt change test method based on ArcGIS was used to undertake change-point analysis on climatic (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration; 39 meteorological stations and runoff data (27 hydrological stations from 1954–2015 in the Nenjiang basin. The hydrological sensitivity analysis method was also used to calculate the influential component of climate change upstream, mid-stream, and downstream of the Nenjiang basin, as well as the effect of anthropogenic activities on runoff. Our results show that the upstream area has the highest contribution rate of climate change, followed by the mid-stream area; the downstream area has the lowest contribution rate. Studying climate change contribution rates in various sites in the Nenjiang basin, in addition to anthropogenic activities affecting runoff, can provide the foundation for the protection and utilization of basin water resources, as well as the conservation and restoration of wetlands.

Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment of Non-point Source Pollution Measured Through Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Changes in a Tropical Complex Catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulkareem, Jabir Haruna; Sulaiman, Wan Nor Azmin; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Jamil, Nor Rohaizah

2018-05-01

The contribution of non-point source pollution (NPS) to the contamination of surface water is an issue of growing concern. Non-point source (NPS) pollutants are of various types and altered by several site-specific factors making them difficult to control due to complex uncertainties involve in their behavior. Kelantan River basin, Malaysia is a tropical catchment receiving heavy monsoon rainfall coupled with intense land use/land cover (LULC) changes making the area consistently flood prone thereby deteriorating the surface water quality in the area. This study was conducted to determine the spatio-temporal variation of NPS pollutant loads among different LULC changes and to establish a NPS pollutant loads relationships among LULC conditions and sub-basins in each catchment. Four pollutants parameters such as total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen (AN) were chosen with their corresponding event mean concentration values (EMC). Soil map and LULC change maps corresponding to 1984, 2002 and 2013 were used for the calculation of runoff and NPS pollutant loads using numeric integration in a GIS environment. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted for the comparison of NPS pollutant loads among the three LULC conditions used and the sub-basins in each catchment. The results showed that the spatio-temporal variation of pollutant loads in almost all the catchments increased with changes in LULC condition as one moves from 1984 to 2013, with 2013 LULC condition found as the dominant in almost all cases. NPS pollutant loads among different LULC changes also increased with changes in LULC condition from 1984 to 2013. While urbanization was found to be the dominant LULC change with the highest pollutant load in all the catchments. Results from ANOVA reveals that statistically most significant ( p changes on NPS pollution. The findings of this study may be useful to water resource planners in controlling water pollution

Dosimetric analysis at ICRU reference points in HDR-brachytherapy of cervical carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Eich, H T; Haverkamp, U; Micke, O; Prott, F J; Müller, R P

2000-01-01

In vivo dosimetry in bladder and rectum as well as determining doses on suggested reference points following the ICRU report 38 contribute to quality assurance in HDR-brachytherapy of cervical carcinoma, especially to minimize side effects. In order to gain information regarding the radiation exposure at ICRU reference points in rectum, bladder, ureter and regional lymph nodes those were calculated (digitalisation) by means of orthogonal radiographs of 11 applications in patients with cervical carcinoma, who received primary radiotherapy. In addition, the doses at the ICRU rectum reference point was compared to the results of in vivo measurements in the rectum. The in vivo measurements were by factor 1.5 below the doses determined for the ICRU rectum reference point (4.05 +/- 0.68 Gy versus 6.11 +/- 1.63 Gy). Reasons for this were: calibration errors, non-orthogonal radiographs, movement of applicator and probe in the time span between X-ray and application, missing connection of probe and anterior rectal wall. The standard deviation of calculations at ICRU reference points was on average +/- 30%. Possible reasons for the relatively large standard deviation were difficulties in defining the points, identifying them on radiographs and the different locations of the applicators. Although 3 D CT, US or MR based treatment planning using dose volume histogram analysis is more and more established, this simple procedure of marking and digitising the ICRU reference points lengthened treatment planning only by 5 to 10 minutes. The advantages of in vivo dosimetry are easy practicability and the possibility to determine rectum doses during radiation. The advantages of computer-aided planning at ICRU reference points are that calculations are available before radiation and that they can still be taken into account for treatment planning. Both methods should be applied in HDR-brachytherapy of cervical carcinoma.

Ergodic Capacity Analysis of Free-Space Optical Links with Nonzero Boresight Pointing Errors

KAUST Repository

Ansari, Imran Shafique; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Cheng, Julian

2015-01-01

A unified capacity analysis of a free-space optical (FSO) link that accounts for nonzero boresight pointing errors and both types of detection techniques (i.e. intensity modulation/ direct detection as well as heterodyne detection) is addressed

Interesting Interest Points

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aanæs, Henrik; Dahl, Anders Lindbjerg; Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup

2012-01-01

on spatial invariance of interest points under changing acquisition parameters by measuring the spatial recall rate. The scope of this paper is to investigate the performance of a number of existing well-established interest point detection methods. Automatic performance evaluation of interest points is hard......Not all interest points are equally interesting. The most valuable interest points lead to optimal performance of the computer vision method in which they are employed. But a measure of this kind will be dependent on the chosen vision application. We propose a more general performance measure based...... position. The LED illumination provides the option for artificially relighting the scene from a range of light directions. This data set has given us the ability to systematically evaluate the performance of a number of interest point detectors. The highlights of the conclusions are that the fixed scale...

Benefits analysis of Soft Open Points for electrical distribution network operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Wanyu; Wu, Jianzhong; Jenkins, Nick; Wang, Chengshan; Green, Timothy

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An analysis framework was developed to quantify the operational benefits. • The framework considers both network reconfiguration and SOP control. • Benefits were analyzed through both quantitative and sensitivity analysis. - Abstract: Soft Open Points (SOPs) are power electronic devices installed in place of normally-open points in electrical power distribution networks. They are able to provide active power flow control, reactive power compensation and voltage regulation under normal network operating conditions, as well as fast fault isolation and supply restoration under abnormal conditions. A steady state analysis framework was developed to quantify the operational benefits of a distribution network with SOPs under normal network operating conditions. A generic power injection model was developed and used to determine the optimal SOP operation using an improved Powell’s Direct Set method. Physical limits and power losses of the SOP device (based on back to back voltage-source converters) were considered in the model. Distribution network reconfiguration algorithms, with and without SOPs, were developed and used to identify the benefits of using SOPs. Test results on a 33-bus distribution network compared the benefits of using SOPs, traditional network reconfiguration and the combination of both. The results showed that using only one SOP achieved a similar improvement in network operation compared to the case of using network reconfiguration with all branches equipped with remotely controlled switches. A combination of SOP control and network reconfiguration provided the optimal network operation.

Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) for an ultrasound food processing operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chemat, Farid; Hoarau, Nicolas

2004-05-01

Emerging technologies, such as ultrasound (US), used for food and drink production often cause hazards for product safety. Classical quality control methods are inadequate to control these hazards. Hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP) is the most secure and cost-effective method for controlling possible product contamination or cross-contamination, due to physical or chemical hazard during production. The following case study on the application of HACCP to an US food-processing operation demonstrates how the hazards at the critical control points of the process are effectively controlled through the implementation of HACCP.

Relatively Inexact Proximal Point Algorithm and Linear Convergence Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ram U. Verma

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Based on a notion of relatively maximal (m-relaxed monotonicity, the approximation solvability of a general class of inclusion problems is discussed, while generalizing Rockafellar's theorem (1976 on linear convergence using the proximal point algorithm in a real Hilbert space setting. Convergence analysis, based on this new model, is simpler and compact than that of the celebrated technique of Rockafellar in which the Lipschitz continuity at 0 of the inverse of the set-valued mapping is applied. Furthermore, it can be used to generalize the Yosida approximation, which, in turn, can be applied to first-order evolution equations as well as evolution inclusions.

Learning power point 2000 easily

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mon, In Su; Je, Jung Suk

2000-05-15

This book introduces power point 2000, which gives descriptions what power point is, what we can do with power point 2000, is it possible to install power point 2000 in my computer? Let's run power point, basic of power point such as new presentation, writing letter, using text box, changing font size, color and shape, catching power user, insertion of word art and creating of new file. It also deals with figure, chart, graph, making multimedia file, presentation, know-how of power point for teachers and company workers.

Datum Feature Extraction and Deformation Analysis Method Based on Normal Vector of Point Cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, W.; Wang, J.; Jin, F.; Liang, Z.; Yang, Y.

2018-04-01

In order to solve the problem lacking applicable analysis method in the application of three-dimensional laser scanning technology to the field of deformation monitoring, an efficient method extracting datum feature and analysing deformation based on normal vector of point cloud was proposed. Firstly, the kd-tree is used to establish the topological relation. Datum points are detected by tracking the normal vector of point cloud determined by the normal vector of local planar. Then, the cubic B-spline curve fitting is performed on the datum points. Finally, datum elevation and the inclination angle of the radial point are calculated according to the fitted curve and then the deformation information was analyzed. The proposed approach was verified on real large-scale tank data set captured with terrestrial laser scanner in a chemical plant. The results show that the method could obtain the entire information of the monitor object quickly and comprehensively, and reflect accurately the datum feature deformation.

One-point fluctuation analysis of the high-energy neutrino sky

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feyereisen, Michael R.; Ando, Shin' ichiro [GRAPPA Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam (Netherlands); Tamborra, Irene, E-mail: m.r.feyereisen@uva.nl, E-mail: tamborra@nbi.ku.dk, E-mail: s.ando@uva.nl [Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark)

2017-03-01

We perform the first one-point fluctuation analysis of the high-energy neutrino sky. This method reveals itself to be especially suited to contemporary neutrino data, as it allows to study the properties of the astrophysical components of the high-energy flux detected by the IceCube telescope, even with low statistics and in the absence of point source detection. Besides the veto-passing atmospheric foregrounds, we adopt a simple model of the high-energy neutrino background by assuming two main extra-galactic components: star-forming galaxies and blazars. By leveraging multi-wavelength data from Herschel and Fermi , we predict the spectral and anisotropic probability distributions for their expected neutrino counts in IceCube. We find that star-forming galaxies are likely to remain a diffuse background due to the poor angular resolution of IceCube, and we determine an upper limit on the number of shower events that can reasonably be associated to blazars. We also find that upper limits on the contribution of blazars to the measured flux are unfavourably affected by the skewness of the blazar flux distribution. One-point event clustering and likelihood analyses of the IceCube HESE data suggest that this method has the potential to dramatically improve over more conventional model-based analyses, especially for the next generation of neutrino telescopes.

Pricing strategy for aesthetic surgery: economic analysis of a resident clinic's change in fees.

Science.gov (United States)

Krieger, L M; Shaw, W W

1999-02-01

The laws of microeconomics explain how prices affect consumer purchasing decisions and thus overall revenues and profits. These principles can easily be applied to the behavior aesthetic plastic surgery patients. The UCLA Division of Plastic Surgery resident aesthetics clinic recently offered a radical price change for its services. The effects of this change on demand for services and revenue were tracked. Economic analysis was applied to see if this price change resulted in the maximization of total revenues, or if additional price changes could further optimize them. Economic analysis of pricing involves several steps. The first step is to assess demand. The number of procedures performed by a given practice at different price levels can be plotted to create a demand curve. From this curve, price sensitivities of consumers can be calculated (price elasticity of demand). This information can then be used to determine the pricing level that creates demand for the exact number of procedures that yield optimal revenues. In economic parlance, revenues are maximized by pricing services such that elasticity is equal to 1 (the point of unit elasticity). At the UCLA resident clinic, average total fees per procedure were reduced by 40 percent. This resulted in a 250-percent increase in procedures performed for representative 4-month periods before and after the price change. Net revenues increased by 52 percent. Economic analysis showed that the price elasticity of demand before the price change was 6.2. After the price change it was 1. We conclude that the magnitude of the price change resulted in a fee schedule that yielded the highest possible revenues from the resident clinic. These results show that changes in price do affect total revenue and that the nature of these effects can be understood, predicted, and maximized using the tools of microeconomics.

Temperature calibration procedure for thin film substrates for thermo-ellipsometric analysis using melting point standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kappert, Emiel J.; Raaijmakers, Michiel J.T.; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Nijmeijer, Arian; Huiskes, Cindy; Benes, Nieck E.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Facile temperature calibration method for thermo-ellipsometric analysis. • The melting point of thin films of indium, lead, zinc, and water can be detected by ellipsometry. • In-situ calibration of ellipsometry hot stage, without using any external equipment. • High-accuracy temperature calibration (±1.3 °C). - Abstract: Precise and accurate temperature control is pertinent to studying thermally activated processes in thin films. Here, we present a calibration method for the substrate–film interface temperature using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The method is adapted from temperature calibration methods that are well developed for thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry instruments, and is based on probing a transition temperature. Indium, lead, and zinc could be spread on a substrate, and the phase transition of these metals could be detected by a change in the Ψ signal of the ellipsometer. For water, the phase transition could be detected by a loss of signal intensity as a result of light scattering by the ice crystals. The combined approach allowed for construction of a linear calibration curve with an accuracy of 1.3 °C or lower over the full temperature range

Single cell analysis of G1 check points-the relationship between the restriction point and phosphorylation of pRb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinsson, Hanna-Stina; Starborg, Maria; Erlandsson, Fredrik; Zetterberg, Anders

2005-01-01

Single cell analysis allows high resolution investigation of temporal relationships between transition events in G 1 . It has been suggested that phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRb) is the molecular mechanism behind passage through the restriction point (R). We performed a detailed single cell study of the temporal relationship between R and pRb phosphorylation in human fibroblasts using time lapse video-microscopy combined with immunocytochemistry. Four principally different criteria for pRb phosphorylation were used, namely (i) phosphorylation of residues Ser 795 and Ser 780 (ii) degree of pRb-association with the nuclear structure, a property that is closely related with pRb phosphorylation status, (iii) release of the transcription factor E2F-1 from pRb, and (iv) accumulation of cyclin E, which is dependent on phosphorylation of pRb. The analyses of individual cells revealed that passage through R preceded phosphorylation of pRb, which occurs in a gradually increasing proportion of cells in late G 1 . Our data clearly suggest that pRb phosphorylation is not the molecular mechanism behind the passage through R. The restriction point and phosphorylation of pRb thus seem to represent two separate check point in G 1

Model-based decoding, information estimation, and change-point detection techniques for multineuron spike trains.

Science.gov (United States)

Pillow, Jonathan W; Ahmadian, Yashar; Paninski, Liam

2011-01-01

One of the central problems in systems neuroscience is to understand how neural spike trains convey sensory information. Decoding methods, which provide an explicit means for reading out the information contained in neural spike responses, offer a powerful set of tools for studying the neural coding problem. Here we develop several decoding methods based on point-process neural encoding models, or forward models that predict spike responses to stimuli. These models have concave log-likelihood functions, which allow efficient maximum-likelihood model fitting and stimulus decoding. We present several applications of the encoding model framework to the problem of decoding stimulus information from population spike responses: (1) a tractable algorithm for computing the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate of the stimulus, the most probable stimulus to have generated an observed single- or multiple-neuron spike train response, given some prior distribution over the stimulus; (2) a gaussian approximation to the posterior stimulus distribution that can be used to quantify the fidelity with which various stimulus features are encoded; (3) an efficient method for estimating the mutual information between the stimulus and the spike trains emitted by a neural population; and (4) a framework for the detection of change-point times (the time at which the stimulus undergoes a change in mean or variance) by marginalizing over the posterior stimulus distribution. We provide several examples illustrating the performance of these estimators with simulated and real neural data.

Design of glass-ceramic complex microstructure with using onset point of crystallization in differential thermal analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Seongjin; Kim, Jinho; Shin, Hyo-Soon; Kim, Jong-Hee; Kim, Hyungsun

2008-01-01

Two types of frits with different compositions were used to develop a high strength substrate in electronic packaging using a low temperature co-fired ceramic process. In order to reveal the crystallization stage during heating to approximately 900 deg. C, a glass-ceramic consisting of the two types of frits, which had been crystallized to diopside and anorthite after firing, was tested at different mixing ratios of the frits. The exothermal peaks deconvoluted by a Gauss function in the differential thermal analysis curves were used to determine the onset point of crystallization of diopside or anorthite. The onset points of crystallization were affected by the mixing ratio of the frits, and the microstructure of the glass-ceramic depended on the onset point of crystallization. It was found that when multicrystalline phases appear in the microstructure, the resulting complex microstructure could be predicted from the onset point of crystallization obtained by differential thermal analysis

Leading change: a concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson-Brantley, Heather V; Ford, Debra J

2017-04-01

To report an analysis of the concept of leading change. Nurses have been called to lead change to advance the health of individuals, populations, and systems. Conceptual clarity about leading change in the context of nursing and healthcare systems provides an empirical direction for future research and theory development that can advance the science of leadership studies in nursing. Concept analysis. CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Health Business Elite and Business Source Premier databases were searched using the terms: leading change, transformation, reform, leadership and change. Literature published in English from 2001 - 2015 in the fields of nursing, medicine, organizational studies, business, education, psychology or sociology were included. Walker and Avant's method was used to identify descriptions, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents of the concept. Model, related and contrary cases were developed. Five defining attributes of leading change were identified: (a) individual and collective leadership; (b) operational support; (c) fostering relationships; (d) organizational learning; and (e) balance. Antecedents were external or internal driving forces and organizational readiness. The consequences of leading change included improved organizational performance and outcomes and new organizational culture and values. A theoretical definition and conceptual model of leading change were developed. Future studies that use and test the model may contribute to the refinement of a middle-range theory to advance nursing leadership research and education. From this, empirically derived interventions that prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health may be realized. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measurement methods and accuracy analysis of Chang'E-5 Panoramic Camera installation parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Wei; Ren, Xin; Liu, Jianjun; Tan, Xu; Wang, Wenrui; Chen, Wangli; Zhang, Xiaoxia; Li, Chunlai

2016-04-01

Chang'E-5 (CE-5) is a lunar probe for the third phase of China Lunar Exploration Project (CLEP), whose main scientific objectives are to implement lunar surface sampling and to return the samples back to the Earth. To achieve these goals, investigation of lunar surface topography and geological structure within sampling area seems to be extremely important. The Panoramic Camera (PCAM) is one of the payloads mounted on CE-5 lander. It consists of two optical systems which installed on a camera rotating platform. Optical images of sampling area can be obtained by PCAM in the form of a two-dimensional image and a stereo images pair can be formed by left and right PCAM images. Then lunar terrain can be reconstructed based on photogrammetry. Installation parameters of PCAM with respect to CE-5 lander are critical for the calculation of exterior orientation elements (EO) of PCAM images, which is used for lunar terrain reconstruction. In this paper, types of PCAM installation parameters and coordinate systems involved are defined. Measurement methods combining camera images and optical coordinate observations are studied for this work. Then research contents such as observation program and specific solution methods of installation parameters are introduced. Parametric solution accuracy is analyzed according to observations obtained by PCAM scientifically validated experiment, which is used to test the authenticity of PCAM detection process, ground data processing methods, product quality and so on. Analysis results show that the accuracy of the installation parameters affects the positional accuracy of corresponding image points of PCAM stereo images within 1 pixel. So the measurement methods and parameter accuracy studied in this paper meet the needs of engineering and scientific applications. Keywords: Chang'E-5 Mission; Panoramic Camera; Installation Parameters; Total Station; Coordinate Conversion

Spatially explicit spectral analysis of point clouds and geospatial data

Science.gov (United States)

Buscombe, Daniel D.

2015-01-01

The increasing use of spatially explicit analyses of high-resolution spatially distributed data (imagery and point clouds) for the purposes of characterising spatial heterogeneity in geophysical phenomena necessitates the development of custom analytical and computational tools. In recent years, such analyses have become the basis of, for example, automated texture characterisation and segmentation, roughness and grain size calculation, and feature detection and classification, from a variety of data types. In this work, much use has been made of statistical descriptors of localised spatial variations in amplitude variance (roughness), however the horizontal scale (wavelength) and spacing of roughness elements is rarely considered. This is despite the fact that the ratio of characteristic vertical to horizontal scales is not constant and can yield important information about physical scaling relationships. Spectral analysis is a hitherto under-utilised but powerful means to acquire statistical information about relevant amplitude and wavelength scales, simultaneously and with computational efficiency. Further, quantifying spatially distributed data in the frequency domain lends itself to the development of stochastic models for probing the underlying mechanisms which govern the spatial distribution of geological and geophysical phenomena. The software packagePySESA (Python program for Spatially Explicit Spectral Analysis) has been developed for generic analyses of spatially distributed data in both the spatial and frequency domains. Developed predominantly in Python, it accesses libraries written in Cython and C++ for efficiency. It is open source and modular, therefore readily incorporated into, and combined with, other data analysis tools and frameworks with particular utility for supporting research in the fields of geomorphology, geophysics, hydrography, photogrammetry and remote sensing. The analytical and computational structure of the toolbox is

Spatially explicit spectral analysis of point clouds and geospatial data

Science.gov (United States)

Buscombe, Daniel

2016-01-01

The increasing use of spatially explicit analyses of high-resolution spatially distributed data (imagery and point clouds) for the purposes of characterising spatial heterogeneity in geophysical phenomena necessitates the development of custom analytical and computational tools. In recent years, such analyses have become the basis of, for example, automated texture characterisation and segmentation, roughness and grain size calculation, and feature detection and classification, from a variety of data types. In this work, much use has been made of statistical descriptors of localised spatial variations in amplitude variance (roughness), however the horizontal scale (wavelength) and spacing of roughness elements is rarely considered. This is despite the fact that the ratio of characteristic vertical to horizontal scales is not constant and can yield important information about physical scaling relationships. Spectral analysis is a hitherto under-utilised but powerful means to acquire statistical information about relevant amplitude and wavelength scales, simultaneously and with computational efficiency. Further, quantifying spatially distributed data in the frequency domain lends itself to the development of stochastic models for probing the underlying mechanisms which govern the spatial distribution of geological and geophysical phenomena. The software package PySESA (Python program for Spatially Explicit Spectral Analysis) has been developed for generic analyses of spatially distributed data in both the spatial and frequency domains. Developed predominantly in Python, it accesses libraries written in Cython and C++ for efficiency. It is open source and modular, therefore readily incorporated into, and combined with, other data analysis tools and frameworks with particular utility for supporting research in the fields of geomorphology, geophysics, hydrography, photogrammetry and remote sensing. The analytical and computational structure of the toolbox is described

Throughput analysis of point-to-multi-point hybric FSO/RF network

KAUST Repository

Rakia, Tamer

2017-07-31

This paper presents and analyzes a point-to-multi-point (P2MP) network that uses a number of free-space optical (FSO) links for data transmission from the central node to the different remote nodes. A common backup radio-frequency (RF) link is used by the central node for data transmission to any remote node in case of the failure of any one of FSO links. We develop a cross-layer Markov chain model to study the throughput from central node to a tagged remote node. Numerical examples are presented to compare the performance of the proposed P2MP hybrid FSO/RF network with that of a P2MP FSO-only network and show that the P2MP Hybrid FSO/RF network achieves considerable performance improvement over the P2MP FSO-only network.

Critical-point nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, R.M.

2004-01-01

It has been suggested that a change of nuclear shape may be described in terms of a phase transition and that specific nuclei may lie close to the critical point of the transition. Analytical descriptions of such critical-point nuclei have been introduced recently and they are described briefly. The results of extensive searches for possible examples of critical-point behavior are presented. Alternative pictures, such as describing bands in the candidate nuclei using simple ΔK = 0 and ΔK = 2 rotational-coupling models, are discussed, and the limitations of the different approaches highlighted. A possible critical-point description of the transition from a vibrational to rotational pairing phase is suggested

Comparative analysis among several methods used to solve the point kinetic equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes, Anderson L.; Goncalves, Alessandro da C.; Martinez, Aquilino S.; Silva, Fernando Carvalho da

2007-01-01

The main objective of this work consists on the methodology development for comparison of several methods for the kinetics equations points solution. The evaluated methods are: the finite differences method, the stiffness confinement method, improved stiffness confinement method and the piecewise constant approximations method. These methods were implemented and compared through a systematic analysis that consists basically of confronting which one of the methods consume smaller computational time with higher precision. It was calculated the relative which function is to combine both criteria in order to reach the goal. Through the analyses of the performance factor it is possible to choose the best method for the solution of point kinetics equations. (author)

Comparative analysis among several methods used to solve the point kinetic equations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nunes, Anderson L.; Goncalves, Alessandro da C.; Martinez, Aquilino S.; Silva, Fernando Carvalho da [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; E-mails: alupo@if.ufrj.br; agoncalves@con.ufrj.br; aquilino@lmp.ufrj.br; fernando@con.ufrj.br

2007-07-01

The main objective of this work consists on the methodology development for comparison of several methods for the kinetics equations points solution. The evaluated methods are: the finite differences method, the stiffness confinement method, improved stiffness confinement method and the piecewise constant approximations method. These methods were implemented and compared through a systematic analysis that consists basically of confronting which one of the methods consume smaller computational time with higher precision. It was calculated the relative which function is to combine both criteria in order to reach the goal. Through the analyses of the performance factor it is possible to choose the best method for the solution of point kinetics equations. (author)

Nonlinear bending and collapse analysis of a poked cylinder and other point-loaded cylinders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobel, L.H.

1983-06-01

This paper analyzes the geometrically nonlinear bending and collapse behavior of an elastic, simply supported cylindrical shell subjected to an inward-directed point load applied at midlength. The large displacement analysis results for this thin (R/t = 638) poked cylinder were obtained from the STAGSC-1 finite element computer program. STAGSC-1 results are also presented for two other point-loaded shell problems: a pinched cylinder (R/t = 100), and a venetian blind (R/t = 250)

Observed changes in relative humidity and dew point temperature in coastal regions of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinzadeh Talaee, P.; Sabziparvar, A. A.; Tabari, Hossein

2012-12-01

The analysis of trends in hydroclimatic parameters and assessment of their statistical significance have recently received a great concern to clarify whether or not there is an obvious climate change. In the current study, parametric linear regression and nonparametric Mann-Kendall tests were applied for detecting annual and seasonal trends in the relative humidity (RH) and dew point temperature ( T dew) time series at ten coastal weather stations in Iran during 1966-2005. The serial structure of the data was considered, and the significant serial correlations were eliminated using the trend-free pre-whitening method. The results showed that annual RH increased by 1.03 and 0.28 %/decade at the northern and southern coastal regions of the country, respectively, while annual T dew increased by 0.29 and 0.15°C per decade at the northern and southern regions, respectively. The significant trends were frequent in the T dew series, but they were observed only at 2 out of the 50 RH series. The results showed that the difference between the results of the parametric and nonparametric tests was small, although the parametric test detected larger significant trends in the RH and T dew time series. Furthermore, the differences between the results of the trend tests were not related to the normality of the statistical distribution.

Peripheral phlebitis: a point-prevalence study.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington, Georgita T; Barrett, Robin

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to determine the factors influencing peripheral phlebitis in the adult medical-surgical population. The authors would then be able to use those data to determine whether a change in practice was warranted. Data collection and analysis of 188 intravenous sites revealed that females with higher doses of medications in intravenous sites of longer dwell times and suboptimal nutrition were at greater risk of developing peripheral phlebitis. The point prevalence was greater than the recommended 5%, which led the authors to review their facility's patient care and documentation practices.

Change of point mutations in Helicobacter pylori rRNA associated with clarithromycin resistance in Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

De Francesco, Vincenzo; Zullo, Angelo; Giorgio, Floriana; Saracino, Ilaria; Zaccaro, Cristina; Hassan, Cesare; Ierardi, Enzo; Di Leo, Alfredo; Fiorini, Giulia; Castelli, Valentina; Lo Re, Giovanna; Vaira, Dino

2014-03-01

Primary clarithromycin resistance is the main factor affecting the efficacy of Helicobacter pylori therapy. This study aimed: (i) to assess the concordance between phenotypic (culture) and genotypic (real-time PCR) tests in resistant strains; (ii) to search, in the case of disagreement between the methods, for point mutations other than those reported as the most frequent in Europe; and (iii) to compare the MICs associated with the single point mutations. In order to perform real-time PCR, we retrieved biopsies from patients in whom H. pylori infection was successful diagnosed by bacterial culture and clarithromycin resistance was assessed using the Etest. Only patients who had never been previously treated, and with H. pylori strains that were either resistant exclusively to clarithromycin or without any resistance, were included. Biopsies from 82 infected patients were analysed, including 42 strains that were clarithromycin resistant and 40 that were clarithromycin susceptible on culture. On genotypic analysis, at least one of the three most frequently reported point mutations (A2142C, A2142G and A2143G) was detected in only 23 cases (54.8%), with a concordance between the two methods of 0.67. Novel point mutations (A2115G, G2141A and A2144T) were detected in a further 14 out of 19 discordant cases, increasing the resistance detection rate of PCR to 88% (Presistance; and (iii) none of the tested point mutations is associated with significantly higher MIC values than the others.

The appreciation of artistic aspects of the Code of Points in rhythmic gymnastics: an analysis of the last three decades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliana de TOLEDO

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract In pursuit of promoting the artistic aspects, the current Rhythmic Gymnastics Code of Points (RGCP has been submeted significant changes that motivated this research, documentary and historical in character, which aimed to analyze the last eight Olympic cycles of RGCP. The research method used in this study is documentary and characterized by the information found in documents (RGCP that had not received any scientific treatment. From the analysis of different RGCP cycles, we found artistic aspects, and their connection with RG technical requirements. We observed that the RG has distinct stages (technical aspects, flexibility etc. While retaining its artistic roots (from Dance and Rhythm, in pursuit of sportivization and systematization of the sport, the first stage was characterized by a search for the sportivization and standardization of the modality based on the inclusion of new body elements in the RGCP . The second stage confirms our previous hypothesis, that in the last RGCP the artistic component had undergone few changes. We noticed, in an overview, that at the present time the current RGCP brings back the relationship between RG and its origins, influenced by Aesthetic Gymnastics (Swedish, Rhythmic and Dance. Condition observed once the current Code of Points (2013-2016 marks the story of sports, by two aspects: the permissiveness of routines with singing wich has not allowed since since the creation the RGCP and significant changes to the appreciation of the routines’ artistic aspects.

[Evaluation of a new blood gas analysis system: RapidPoint 500(®)].

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolas, Thierry; Cabrolier, Nadège; Bardonnet, Karine; Davani, Siamak

2013-01-01

We present here evaluation of a new blood gas analysis system, RapidPoint 500(®) (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics). The aim of this research was to compare the ergonomics and analytical performances of this analyser with those of the RapidLab 1265 for the following parameters: pH, partial oxygen pressure, partial carbon dioxide pressure, sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, lactate and the CO-oximetry parameters: hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, reduced hemoglobin, neonatal bilirubin; as well as with the Dimension Vista 500 results for chloride and glucose. The Valtec protocol, recommended by the French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC), was used to analyze the study results. The experiment was carried out over a period of one month in the Department of medical biochemistry. One hundred sixty five samples from adult patients admitted to the ER or hospitalized in intensive care were tested. The RapidPoint 500(®) was highly satisfactory from an ergonomic point of view. Intra-and inter- assay coefficients of variation (CV) with the three control levels were below those recommended by the SFBC for all parameters, and the comparative study gave coefficients of determination higher than 0.91. Taken together, the RapidPoint 500(®) appears fully satisfactory in terms of ergonomics and analytical performance.

Hygienic-sanitary working practices and implementation of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP plan in lobster processing industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Farias da Fonseca

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to verify the hygienic-sanitary working practices and to create and implement a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP in two lobster processing industries in Pernambuco State, Brazil. The industries studied process frozen whole lobsters, frozen whole cooked lobsters, and frozen lobster tails for exportation. The application of the hygienic-sanitary checklist in the industries analyzed achieved conformity rates over 96% to the aspects evaluated. The use of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP plan resulted in the detection of two critical control points (CCPs including the receiving and classification steps in the processing of frozen lobster and frozen lobster tails, and an additional critical control point (CCP was detected during the cooking step of processing of the whole frozen cooked lobster. The proper implementation of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP plan in the lobster processing industries studied proved to be the safest and most cost-effective method to monitor each critical control point (CCP hazards.

Identification of the Key Fields and Their Key Technical Points of Oncology by Patent Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ting; Chen, Juan; Jia, Xiaofeng

2015-01-01

This paper aims to identify the key fields and their key technical points of oncology by patent analysis. Patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were searched in the Thomson Innovation database. The key fields and their key technical points were determined by analyzing the Derwent Classification (DC) and the International Patent Classification (IPC), respectively. Patent applications in the top ten DC occupied 80% of all the patent applications of oncology, which were the ten fields of oncology to be analyzed. The number of patent applications in these ten fields of oncology was standardized based on patent applications of oncology from 2006 to 2012. For each field, standardization was conducted separately for each of the seven years (2006-2012) and the mean of the seven standardized values was calculated to reflect the relative amount of patent applications in that field; meanwhile, regression analysis using time (year) and the standardized values of patent applications in seven years (2006-2012) was conducted so as to evaluate the trend of patent applications in each field. Two-dimensional quadrant analysis, together with the professional knowledge of oncology, was taken into consideration in determining the key fields of oncology. The fields located in the quadrant with high relative amount or increasing trend of patent applications are identified as key ones. By using the same method, the key technical points in each key field were identified. Altogether 116,820 patents of oncology applied from 2006 to 2012 were retrieved, and four key fields with twenty-nine key technical points were identified, including "natural products and polymers" with nine key technical points, "fermentation industry" with twelve ones, "electrical medical equipment" with four ones, and "diagnosis, surgery" with four ones. The results of this study could provide guidance on the development direction of oncology, and also help researchers broaden innovative ideas and discover new

Dynamic Performance of Maximum Power Point Trackers in TEG Systems Under Rapidly Changing Temperature Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Man, E. A.; Sera, D.; Mathe, L.; Schaltz, E.; Rosendahl, L.

2016-03-01

Characterization of thermoelectric generators (TEG) is widely discussed and equipment has been built that can perform such analysis. One method is often used to perform such characterization: constant temperature with variable thermal power input. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods for TEG systems are mostly tested under steady-state conditions for different constant input temperatures. However, for most TEG applications, the input temperature gradient changes, exposing the MPPT to variable tracking conditions. An example is the exhaust pipe on hybrid vehicles, for which, because of the intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine, the TEG and its MPPT controller are exposed to a cyclic temperature profile. Furthermore, there are no guidelines on how fast the MPPT must be under such dynamic conditions. In the work discussed in this paper, temperature gradients for TEG integrated in several applications were evaluated; the results showed temperature variation up to 5°C/s for TEG systems. Electrical characterization of a calcium-manganese oxide TEG was performed at steady-state for different input temperatures and a maximum temperature of 401°C. By using electrical data from characterization of the oxide module, a solar array simulator was emulated to perform as a TEG. A trapezoidal temperature profile with different gradients was used on the TEG simulator to evaluate the dynamic MPPT efficiency. It is known that the perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm may have difficulty accurately tracking under rapidly changing conditions. To solve this problem, a compromise must be found between the magnitude of the increment and the sampling frequency of the control algorithm. The standard P&O performance was evaluated experimentally by using different temperature gradients for different MPPT sampling frequencies, and efficiency values are provided for all cases. The results showed that a tracking speed of 2.5 Hz can be successfully implemented on a TEG

Early warning of climate tipping points

Science.gov (United States)

Lenton, Timothy M.

2011-07-01

A climate 'tipping point' occurs when a small change in forcing triggers a strongly nonlinear response in the internal dynamics of part of the climate system, qualitatively changing its future state. Human-induced climate change could push several large-scale 'tipping elements' past a tipping point. Candidates include irreversible melt of the Greenland ice sheet, dieback of the Amazon rainforest and shift of the West African monsoon. Recent assessments give an increased probability of future tipping events, and the corresponding impacts are estimated to be large, making them significant risks. Recent work shows that early warning of an approaching climate tipping point is possible in principle, and could have considerable value in reducing the risk that they pose.

Material-Point Analysis of Large-Strain Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Søren

The aim of this thesis is to apply and improve the material-point method for modelling of geotechnical problems. One of the geotechnical phenomena that is a subject of active research is the study of landslides. A large amount of research is focused on determining when slopes become unstable. Hence......, it is possible to predict if a certain slope is stable using commercial finite element or finite difference software such as PLAXIS, ABAQUS or FLAC. However, the dynamics during a landslide are less explored. The material-point method (MPM) is a novel numerical method aimed at analysing problems involving...... materials subjected to large strains in a dynamical time–space domain. This thesis explores the material-point method with the specific aim of improving the performance for geotechnical problems. Large-strain geotechnical problems such as landslides pose a major challenge to model numerically. Employing...

Low dose response analysis through a cytogenetic end-point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bojtor, I.; Koeteles, G.J.

1998-01-01

The effects of low doses were studied on human lymphocytes of various individuals. The frequency of micronuclei in cytokinesis-blocked cultured lymphocytes was taken as end-point. The probability distribution of radiation-induced increment was statistically proved and identified as to be asymmetric when the blood samples had been irradiated with doses of 0.01-0.05 Gy of X-rays, similarly to that in unirradiated control population. On the contrary, at or above 1 Gy the corresponding normal curve could be accepted only reflecting an approximately symmetrical scatter of the increments about their mean value. It was found that the slope as well as the closeness of correlation of the variables considerably changed when lower and lower dose ranges had been selected. Below approximately 0.2 Gy even an unrelatedness was found betwen the absorbed dose and the increment

Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment of Non-point Source Pollution Measured Through Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Changes in a Tropical Complex Catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulkareem, Jabir Haruna; Sulaiman, Wan Nor Azmin; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Jamil, Nor Rohaizah

2018-03-01

The contribution of non-point source pollution (NPS) to the contamination of surface water is an issue of growing concern. Non-point source (NPS) pollutants are of various types and altered by several site-specific factors making them difficult to control due to complex uncertainties involve in their behavior. Kelantan River basin, Malaysia is a tropical catchment receiving heavy monsoon rainfall coupled with intense land use/land cover (LULC) changes making the area consistently flood prone thereby deteriorating the surface water quality in the area. This study was conducted to determine the spatio-temporal variation of NPS pollutant loads among different LULC changes and to establish a NPS pollutant loads relationships among LULC conditions and sub-basins in each catchment. Four pollutants parameters such as total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen (AN) were chosen with their corresponding event mean concentration values (EMC). Soil map and LULC change maps corresponding to 1984, 2002 and 2013 were used for the calculation of runoff and NPS pollutant loads using numeric integration in a GIS environment. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted for the comparison of NPS pollutant loads among the three LULC conditions used and the sub-basins in each catchment. The results showed that the spatio-temporal variation of pollutant loads in almost all the catchments increased with changes in LULC condition as one moves from 1984 to 2013, with 2013 LULC condition found as the dominant in almost all cases. NPS pollutant loads among different LULC changes also increased with changes in LULC condition from 1984 to 2013. While urbanization was found to be the dominant LULC change with the highest pollutant load in all the catchments. Results from ANOVA reveals that statistically most significant (p < 0.05) pollutant loads were obtained from 2013 LULC conditions, while statistically least significant (p < 0.05) pollutant

The application of hazard analysis and critical control points and risk management in the preparation of anti-cancer drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonan, Brigitte; Martelli, Nicolas; Berhoune, Malik; Maestroni, Marie-Laure; Havard, Laurent; Prognon, Patrice

2009-02-01

To apply the Hazard analysis and Critical Control Points method to the preparation of anti-cancer drugs. To identify critical control points in our cancer chemotherapy process and to propose control measures and corrective actions to manage these processes. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points application began in January 2004 in our centralized chemotherapy compounding unit. From October 2004 to August 2005, monitoring of the process nonconformities was performed to assess the method. According to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points method, a multidisciplinary team was formed to describe and assess the cancer chemotherapy process. This team listed all of the critical points and calculated their risk indexes according to their frequency of occurrence, their severity and their detectability. The team defined monitoring, control measures and corrective actions for each identified risk. Finally, over a 10-month period, pharmacists reported each non-conformity of the process in a follow-up document. Our team described 11 steps in the cancer chemotherapy process. The team identified 39 critical control points, including 11 of higher importance with a high-risk index. Over 10 months, 16,647 preparations were performed; 1225 nonconformities were reported during this same period. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points method is relevant when it is used to target a specific process such as the preparation of anti-cancer drugs. This method helped us to focus on the production steps, which can have a critical influence on product quality, and led us to improve our process.

Point-of-purchase health information encourages customers to purchase vegetables: objective analysis by using a point-of-sales system.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogawa, Yoshiko; Tanabe, Naohito; Honda, Akiko; Azuma, Tomoko; Seki, Nao; Suzuki, Tsubasa; Suzuki, Hiroshi

2011-07-01

Point-of-purchase (POP) information at food stores could help promote healthy dietary habits. However, it has been difficult to evaluate the effects of such intervention on customers' behavior. We objectively evaluated the usefulness of POP health information for vegetables in the modification of customers' purchasing behavior by using the database of a point-of-sales (POS) system. Two supermarket stores belonging to the same chain were assigned as the intervention store (store I) and control store (store C). POP health information for vegetables was presented in store I for 60 days. The percent increase in daily sales of vegetables over the sales on the same date of the previous year was compared between the stores by using the database of the POS system, adjusting for the change in monthly visitors from the previous year (adjusted ∆sales). The adjusted ∆sales significantly increased during the intervention period (Spearman's ρ = 0.258, P for trend = 0.006) at store I but did not increase at store C (ρ = -0.037, P for trend = 0.728). The growth of the mean adjusted ∆sales of total vegetables from 30 days before the intervention period through the latter half of the intervention period was estimated to be greater at store I than at store C by 18.7 percentage points (95% confidence interval 1.6-35.9). Health-related POP information for vegetables in supermarkets can encourage customers to purchase and, probably, consume vegetables.

Analysis of a simple pendulum driven at its suspension point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, S; Findley, T

2005-01-01

To familiarize undergraduate students with the dynamics of a damped driven harmonic oscillator, a simple pendulum was set up and driven at its suspension point under different damping conditions. From the time domain analysis, the decay constant was estimated and used to predict the frequency response. The simple pendulum was then driven at a series of frequencies near the resonance. By measuring the maximum amplitude at each driving frequency, the frequency response was determined. With one free parameter, which was determined under the first damping condition, the predicted frequency responses showed good agreement with the measured frequency responses under all damping conditions

Review of NJ point system.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the comparative effectiveness of point-based versus incident-based : negligent driver monitoring systems and to explore how certain changes to the existing point-based system used in : New Jersey might impr...

Music analysis and point-set compression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meredith, David

2015-01-01

COSIATEC, SIATECCompress and Forth’s algorithm are point-set compression algorithms developed for discovering repeated patterns in music, such as themes and motives that would be of interest to a music analyst. To investigate their effectiveness and versatility, these algorithms were evaluated...... on three analytical tasks that depend on the discovery of repeated patterns: classifying folk song melodies into tune families, discovering themes and sections in polyphonic music, and discovering subject and countersubject entries in fugues. Each algorithm computes a compressed encoding of a point......-set representation of a musical object in the form of a list of compact patterns, each pattern being given with a set of vectors indicating its occurrences. However, the algorithms adopt different strategies in their attempts to discover encodings that maximize compression.The best-performing algorithm on the folk...

Meta-Analysis of Effect Sizes Reported at Multiple Time Points Using General Linear Mixed Model

Science.gov (United States)

Musekiwa, Alfred; Manda, Samuel O. M.; Mwambi, Henry G.; Chen, Ding-Geng

2016-01-01

Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies combines effect sizes measured at pre-determined time points. The most common approach involves performing separate univariate meta-analyses at individual time points. This simplistic approach ignores dependence between longitudinal effect sizes, which might result in less precise parameter estimates. In this paper, we show how to conduct a meta-analysis of longitudinal effect sizes where we contrast different covariance structures for dependence between effect sizes, both within and between studies. We propose new combinations of covariance structures for the dependence between effect size and utilize a practical example involving meta-analysis of 17 trials comparing postoperative treatments for a type of cancer, where survival is measured at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post randomization. Although the results from this particular data set show the benefit of accounting for within-study serial correlation between effect sizes, simulations are required to confirm these results. PMID:27798661

Analysis of Multicomponent Adsorption Close to a Dew Point

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shapiro, Alexander; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

1998-01-01

We develop the potential theory of multicomponent adsorption close to a dew point. The approach is based on an asymptotic adsorption equation (AAE) which is valid in a vicinity of the dew point. By this equation the thickness of the liquid film is expressed through thermodynamic characteristics...... and the direct calculations, even if the mixture is not close to a dew point.Key Words: adsorption; potential theory; multicomponent; dew point....

Analysis of Arbitrary Reflector Antennas Applying the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction Together with the Master Points Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Jesús Algar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available An efficient approach for the analysis of surface conformed reflector antennas fed arbitrarily is presented. The near field in a large number of sampling points in the aperture of the reflector is obtained applying the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD. A new technique named Master Points has been developed to reduce the complexity of the ray-tracing computations. The combination of both GTD and Master Points reduces the time requirements of this kind of analysis. To validate the new approach, several reflectors and the effects on the radiation pattern caused by shifting the feed and introducing different obstacles have been considered concerning both simple and complex geometries. The results of these analyses have been compared with the Method of Moments (MoM results.

Future PMP Estimation in Korea under AR5 RCP 8.5 climate change scenarios and its Changes Cause Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S.; Lee, J.; Okjeong, L.; Bogyeong, C.; Park, M. W.

2015-12-01

In this presentation, Korea's probable maximum precipitations (PMPs) which reflects all of the storm data until recently are calculated, and are compared to the existing PMPs which were calculated at 2000. In Korea, abnormal weather phenomena such as typhoon Rusa and Maemi, and the extreme rainfall event occurred on the east coast of the northern region, that can have a significant impact on the PMP estimation, have frequently happened since 2000. After selecting 240 major storm events from 1973 to 2012, new PMPs are proposed with respect to storm areas (25, 100, 225, 400, 900, 2025, 4900, 10000 and 19600 km2) and storm durations (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 48 and 72 hours) using the Korea hydro-meteorological method. After estimating future PMPs using future rainfall and dew point temperature information under the Korea Meteorological Administration AR5 RCP 8.5, changes in the PMPs under climate change will be investigated by comparison with present and future PMPs. By separating the changes in PMPs under climate change into the changes caused by rainfall and dew point temperature, the relative impact of future rainfall and dew point temperature information under climate change on future PMPs is quantified. This research was supported by a grant 'Development of the Evaluation Technology for Complex Causes of Inundation Vulnerability and the Response Plans in Coastal Urban Areas for Adaptation to Climate Change' [MPSS-NH-2015-77] from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Research Group, Ministry of Public Safety and Security of Korea.

Numerical Analysis of S-CO{sub 2} Test Loop Transient Conditions near the Critical Point of CO{sub 2}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Seong Jun; Oh, Bongseong; Ahn, Yoonhan; Baik, Seongjoon; Lee, Jekyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

It was identified that controlling CO{sub 2} compressor operation near the critical point is one of the most important issues to operate a S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle with a high efficiency. Despite the growing interest in the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle, a few previous research on the transient analysis of the S-CO{sub 2} system has been conducted previously. Moreover, previous studies have some limitation in the modelled test facility, and the experiment was not performed to observe specific scenario. The KAIST research team has conducted S-CO{sub 2} system transient experiments with the CO{sub 2} compressing test facility called SCO{sub 2}PE (Supercritical CO{sub 2} Pressurizing Experiment) at KAIST In this study, authors use the transient analysis code GAMMA (Gas Multidimensional Multicomponent mixture Analysis) code for analyzing the experiment. Two transient scenarios were selected in this study; over cooling and under cooling situations. The selected transient situation is of particular interest since the compressor inlet conditions start to drift away from the critical point of CO{sub 2}. The results represent that the GAMMA code can simulate the S-CO{sub 2} test facility, SCO{sub 2}PE. However, as shown in the cooling water flow rate increasing scenario, the GAMMA code shows calculation error when the phase change occurs. Furthermore, although the results of the cooling water flow rate decrease case shows reasonable agreement with the experimental data, there are still some unexplained differences between the experimental data and the GAMMA code prediction.

Self-Similar Spin Images for Point Cloud Matching

Science.gov (United States)

Pulido, Daniel

The rapid growth of Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) technologies that collect, process, and disseminate 3D point clouds have allowed for increasingly accurate spatial modeling and analysis of the real world. Lidar sensors can generate massive 3D point clouds of a collection area that provide highly detailed spatial and radiometric information. However, a Lidar collection can be expensive and time consuming. Simultaneously, the growth of crowdsourced Web 2.0 data (e.g., Flickr, OpenStreetMap) have provided researchers with a wealth of freely available data sources that cover a variety of geographic areas. Crowdsourced data can be of varying quality and density. In addition, since it is typically not collected as part of a dedicated experiment but rather volunteered, when and where the data is collected is arbitrary. The integration of these two sources of geoinformation can provide researchers the ability to generate products and derive intelligence that mitigate their respective disadvantages and combine their advantages. Therefore, this research will address the problem of fusing two point clouds from potentially different sources. Specifically, we will consider two problems: scale matching and feature matching. Scale matching consists of computing feature metrics of each point cloud and analyzing their distributions to determine scale differences. Feature matching consists of defining local descriptors that are invariant to common dataset distortions (e.g., rotation and translation). Additionally, after matching the point clouds they can be registered and processed further (e.g., change detection). The objective of this research is to develop novel methods to fuse and enhance two point clouds from potentially disparate sources (e.g., Lidar and crowdsourced Web 2.0 datasets). The scope of this research is to investigate both scale and feature matching between two point clouds. The specific focus of this research will be in developing a novel local descriptor

Study on characteristic points of boiling curve by using wavelet analysis and genetic algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Huiming; Su Guanghui; Qiu Suizheng; Yang Xingbo

2009-01-01

Based on the wavelet analysis theory of signal singularity detection,the critical heat flux (CHF) and minimum film boiling starting point (q min ) of boiling curves can be detected and analyzed by using the wavelet multi-resolution analysis. To predict the CHF in engineering, empirical relations were obtained based on genetic algorithm. The results of wavelet detection and genetic algorithm prediction are consistent with experimental data very well. (authors)

Change in the radiation dose at a point where an inhomogeneity partly covers the radiation field from a 60Co-γ-source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helmrot, E.

1976-04-01

Measurements and calculations have been made in order to study the change of the radiation dose in a point when an inhomogeneity covers parts of the radiation field from a Co 60-source. An ionization chamber, placed in a water phantom, was used for the measurements. As inhomogeneity an air cavity was used. The measuring point was placed on the central axis of the radiation field during the measurement. The air cavity was moved in front of the measuring point 0.5 - 1 cm by steps laterally, i.e. along a line perpendicular to the radiation direction. Measurements were made at different depths behind the air cavity. The air cavity was placed at different distances from the front plate of the water phantom. Measurements and calculations show that the change of the radiation dose, when the edge of the air cavity passes the measuring point, varies with the depth distance to the air cavity. The greatest deviation is near the air cavity and at a great distance behind this. The change of the radiation dose is less than 2 percent at distances greater than 2 cm from the edge of the air cavity laterally. This change is independent of the depth distance to the air cavity. The maximum deviation 1 cm from the edge of the air cavity is 5 percent independent of the distance tothe air cavity. Used methods of calculation can be extended to be used for irregular inhomogeneities but this requires knowledge of the three-dimensional extension of the inhomogeneity. (M.S.)

Adaptation to Climate Change in Risk and Vulnerability Analysis on a Municipal Level, a basis for further work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mossberg Sonnek, Karin; Lindberg, Anna; Lindgren, Johan

2007-12-01

The aim of Risk and Vulnerability Analysis (RVA) at local authority level in Sweden is to increase the capacity of local authorities to handle crises and to reduce vulnerability in the community. RVA processes could be an appropriate starting-point for discussions on how the community is influenced by climate change and how its effects could be reduced using various adjustment measures. In the report we present four methods: ROSA, MVA, IBERO and the Car Dun AB method. These have all been developed to support Swedish local authority RVA processes. We also present five international frameworks that have been developed by the organisations UNDP, USAID, UKCIP, C-CIARN and CSIRO to help decision-makers and stakeholders to adapt to climate change. Together, these descriptions form a foundation for continuing the work being done within the project Climatools, in which tools are being produced to be used by local authorities in adapting to climate change. In the report, we also discuss the concepts 'risk', 'vulnerability' and 'adaptation' and how analysis of adaptation to climate change has changed in recent years

Analysis and detection of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thejll, P.; Stendel, M.

2001-01-01

The authors first discuss the concepts 'climate' and 'climate change detection', outlining the difficulties of the latter in terms of the properties of the former. In more detail they then discuss the analysis and detection, carried out at the Danish Climate Centre, of anthropogenic climate change and the nonanthropogenic changes regarding anthropogenic climate change the emphasis is on the improvement of global and regional climate models, and the reconstruction of past climates regarding non-anthropogenic changes the authors describe two case studies of potential solar influence on climate. (LN)

Changes in the spectral composition of animal-brain electrical activity under the influence of nonthermal millimeter-wave radiation on acupuncture points

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khramov, R.N.; Vorob`ev, V.V.

1994-07-01

The frequency spectra (0-26 Hz) of electrograms (EG) of the preoptic region of the hypothalamus were studied in chronic experiments on nine awake rabbits under the influence of nonthermal millimeter-bank (55-75 GHz) electromagnetic fields on various acupuncture points: (I) the auricular {open_quotes}heart{close_quotes} point (after F. G. Portnov); (II) the cranial acupoint (TR-20; the {open_quotes}hypothalamus{close_quotes} point after R. Voll); and (III) the {open_quotes}longevity{close_quotes} acupoint (E-36). Irradiation of point I was accompanied by significant suppression of hypothalamic electrical activity at 5 and 16 Hz and enhancement at 7-8, 12, and 26 Hz. Irradiation of point II, and III were, respectively, 31%, 21%, and 5% (p < 0.05, U-criterion). These results suggest that acupuncture points I and II are more sensitive to millimeter-band radiation than is point III. The presence of individual characteristics of the effects and their change after stress to sign inversion were shown in rat experiments in which the acupuncture points were irradiated.

Quantitative Analysis of VIIRS DNB Nightlight Point Source for Light Power Estimation and Stability Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changyong Cao

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The high sensitivity and advanced onboard calibration on the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB enables accurate measurements of low light radiances which leads to enhanced quantitative applications at night. The finer spatial resolution of DNB also allows users to examine social economic activities at urban scales. Given the growing interest in the use of the DNB data, there is a pressing need for better understanding of the calibration stability and absolute accuracy of the DNB at low radiances. The low light calibration accuracy was previously estimated at a moderate 15% using extended sources while the long-term stability has yet to be characterized. There are also several science related questions to be answered, for example, how the Earth’s atmosphere and surface variability contribute to the stability of the DNB measured radiances; how to separate them from instrument calibration stability; whether or not SI (International System of Units traceable active light sources can be designed and installed at selected sites to monitor the calibration stability, radiometric and geolocation accuracy, and point spread functions of the DNB; furthermore, whether or not such active light sources can be used for detecting environmental changes, such as aerosols. This paper explores the quantitative analysis of nightlight point sources, such as those from fishing vessels, bridges, and cities, using fundamental radiometry and radiative transfer, which would be useful for a number of applications including search and rescue in severe weather events, as well as calibration/validation of the DNB. Time series of the bridge light data are used to assess the stability of the light measurements and the calibration of VIIRS DNB. It was found that the light radiant power computed from the VIIRS DNB data matched relatively well with independent assessments based on the in situ light installations, although estimates have to be

Analysis of the geomorphology surrounding the Chang'e-3 landing site

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-Lai; Mu, Ling-Li; Zou, Xiao-Duan; Liu, Jian-Jun; Ren, Xin; Zeng, Xing-Guo; Yang, Yi-Man; Zhang, Zhou-Bin; Liu, Yu-Xuan; Zuo, Wei; Li, Han

2014-12-01

Chang'e-3 (CE-3) landed on the Mare Imbrium basin in the east part of Sinus Iridum (19.51°W, 44.12°N), which was China's first soft landing on the Moon and it started collecting data on the lunar surface environment. To better understand the environment of this region, this paper utilizes the available high-resolution topography data, image data and geological data to carry out a detailed analysis and research on the area surrounding the landing site (Sinus Iridum and 45 km×70 km of the landing area) as well as on the topography, landform, geology and lunar dust of the area surrounding the landing site. A general topographic analysis of the surrounding area is based on a digital elevation model and digital elevation model data acquired by Chang'e-2 that have high resolution; the geology analysis is based on lunar geological data published by USGS; the study on topographic factors and distribution of craters and rocks in the surrounding area covering 4 km×4 km or even smaller is based on images from the CE-3 landing camera and images from the topographic camera; an analysis is done of the effect of the CE-3 engine plume on the lunar surface by comparing images before and after the landing using data from the landing camera. A comprehensive analysis of the results shows that the landing site and its surrounding area are identified as typical lunar mare with flat topography. They are suitable for maneuvers by the rover, and are rich in geological phenomena and scientific targets, making it an ideal site for exploration.

The registration of non-cooperative moving targets laser point cloud in different view point

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuai; Sun, Huayan; Guo, Huichao

2018-01-01

Non-cooperative moving target multi-view cloud registration is the key technology of 3D reconstruction of laser threedimension imaging. The main problem is that the density changes greatly and noise exists under different acquisition conditions of point cloud. In this paper, firstly, the feature descriptor is used to find the most similar point cloud, and then based on the registration algorithm of region segmentation, the geometric structure of the point is extracted by the geometric similarity between point and point, The point cloud is divided into regions based on spectral clustering, feature descriptors are created for each region, searching to find the most similar regions in the most similar point of view cloud, and then aligning the pair of point clouds by aligning their minimum bounding boxes. Repeat the above steps again until registration of all point clouds is completed. Experiments show that this method is insensitive to the density of point clouds and performs well on the noise of laser three-dimension imaging.

A new lunar absolute control point: established by images from the landing camera on Chang'e-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Fen-Fei; Liu Jian-Jun; Li Chun-Lai; Ren Xin; Mu Ling-Li; Yan Wei; Wang Wen-Rui; Xiao Jing-Tao; Tan Xu; Zhang Xiao-Xia; Zou Xiao-Duan; Gao Xing-Ye

2014-01-01

The establishment of a lunar control network is one of the core tasks in selenodesy, in which defining an absolute control point on the Moon is the most important step. However, up to now, the number of absolute control points has been very sparse. These absolute control points have mainly been lunar laser ranging retroreflectors, whose geographical location can be observed by observations on Earth and also identified in high resolution lunar satellite images. The Chang'e-3 (CE-3) probe successfully landed on the Moon, and its geographical location has been monitored by an observing station on Earth. Since its positional accuracy is expected to reach the meter level, the CE-3 landing site can become a new high precision absolute control point. We use a sequence of images taken from the landing camera, as well as satellite images taken by CE-1 and CE-2, to identify the location of the CE-3 lander. With its geographical location known, the CE-3 landing site can be established as a new absolute control point, which will effectively expand the current area of the lunar absolute control network by 22%, and can greatly facilitate future research in the field of lunar surveying and mapping, as well as selenodesy

Identification of 'Point A' as the prevalent source of error in cephalometric analysis of lateral radiographs.

Science.gov (United States)

Grogger, P; Sacher, C; Weber, S; Millesi, G; Seemann, R

2018-04-10

Deviations in measuring dentofacial components in a lateral X-ray represent a major hurdle in the subsequent treatment of dysgnathic patients. In a retrospective study, we investigated the most prevalent source of error in the following commonly used cephalometric measurements: the angles Sella-Nasion-Point A (SNA), Sella-Nasion-Point B (SNB) and Point A-Nasion-Point B (ANB); the Wits appraisal; the anteroposterior dysplasia indicator (APDI); and the overbite depth indicator (ODI). Preoperative lateral radiographic images of patients with dentofacial deformities were collected and the landmarks digitally traced by three independent raters. Cephalometric analysis was automatically performed based on 1116 tracings. Error analysis identified the x-coordinate of Point A as the prevalent source of error in all investigated measurements, except SNB, in which it is not incorporated. In SNB, the y-coordinate of Nasion predominated error variance. SNB showed lowest inter-rater variation. In addition, our observations confirmed previous studies showing that landmark identification variance follows characteristic error envelopes in the highest number of tracings analysed up to now. Variance orthogonal to defining planes was of relevance, while variance parallel to planes was not. Taking these findings into account, orthognathic surgeons as well as orthodontists would be able to perform cephalometry more accurately and accomplish better therapeutic results. Copyright © 2018 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

System implementation of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) in a nitrogen production plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrantes Salazar, Alexandra

2014-01-01

System of hazard analysis and critical control points are deployed in a production plant of liquid nitrogen. The fact that the nitrogen has become a complement to food packaging to increase shelf life, or provide a surface that protect it from manipulation, has been the main objective. Analysis of critical control points for the nitrogen production plant has been the adapted methodology. The knowledge of both the standard and the production process, as well as the on site verification process, have been necessary. In addition, all materials and/or processing units that are found in contact with the raw material or the product under study were evaluated. Such a way that the intrinsic risks of each were detected, from the physical, chemical and biological points of view according to the origin or pollution source. For each found risk was evaluated the probability of occurrence according to the frequency and gravity of it, with these variables determined was achieved the definition of the type of risk detected. In the cases that was presented a greater risk or critical, these were subjected decision tree; with which is concluded the non determination of critical control points. However, for each one of them were established the maximum permitted limits. To generate each of the results it has literature or scientific reference of reliable provenance, where is indicated properly the support of the evaluated matter. In a general way, the material matrix and the process matrix are found without critical control points; so that the project is concluded in the analysis, and it has to generate without the monitoring system and verification. To increase this project is suggested in order to cover the packaging system of gaseous nitrogen, due to it was delimited to liquid nitrogen. Furthermore, the liquid nitrogen is a 100% automated and closed process so the introduction of contaminants is very reduced, unlike the gaseous nitrogen process. (author) [es

The Melting Point of Palladium Using Miniature Fixed Points of Different Ceramic Materials: Part II—Analysis of Melting Curves and Long-Term Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Edler, F.; Huang, K.

2016-12-01

Fifteen miniature fixed-point cells made of three different ceramic crucible materials (Al2O3, ZrO2, and Al2O3(86 %)+ZrO2(14 %)) were filled with pure palladium and used to calibrate type B thermocouples (Pt30 %Rh/Pt6 %Rh). A critical point by using miniature fixed points with small amounts of fixed-point material is the analysis of the melting curves, which are characterized by significant slopes during the melting process compared to flat melting plateaus obtainable using conventional fixed-point cells. The method of the extrapolated starting point temperature using straight line approximation of the melting plateau was applied to analyze the melting curves. This method allowed an unambiguous determination of an electromotive force (emf) assignable as melting temperature. The strict consideration of two constraints resulted in a unique, repeatable and objective method to determine the emf at the melting temperature within an uncertainty of about 0.1 μ V. The lifetime and long-term stability of the miniature fixed points was investigated by performing more than 100 melt/freeze cycles for each crucible of the different ceramic materials. No failure of the crucibles occurred indicating an excellent mechanical stability of the investigated miniature cells. The consequent limitation of heating rates to values below {± }3.5 K min^{-1} above 1100° C and the carefully and completely filled crucibles (the liquid palladium occupies the whole volume of the crucible) are the reasons for successfully preventing the crucibles from breaking. The thermal stability of the melting temperature of palladium was excellent when using the crucibles made of Al2O3(86 %)+ZrO2(14 %) and ZrO2. Emf drifts over the total duration of the long-term investigation were below a temperature equivalent of about 0.1 K-0.2 K.

Prairie Change Analysis 1991-2008

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This dataset displays the results of a prairie/savanna change analysis study completed in May 2010. The area reviewed consists of 1,521 sites identified by Minnesota...

Applications of multiple change point detections to monthly streamflow and rainfall in Xijiang River in southern China, part II: trend and mean

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yongqin David; Jiang, Jianmin; Zhu, Yuxiang; Huang, Changxing; Zhang, Qiang

2018-05-01

This article, as part II, illustrates applications of other two algorithms, i.e., the scanning F test of change points in trend and the scanning t test of change points in mean, to both series of the normalized streamflow index (NSI) at Makou section in the Xijiang River and the normalized precipitation index (NPI) over the watershed of Xijiang River. The results from these two tests show mainly positive coherency of changes between the NSI and NPI. However, some minor negative coherency patches may expose somewhat impacts of human activities, but they were often associated with nearly normal climate periods. These suggest that the runoff still depends upon well the precipitation in the Xijiang catchment. The anthropogenic disturbances have not yet reached up to violating natural relationship on the whole in this river.

Cardinal and anti-cardinal points, equalities and chromatic dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Tanya; Harris, William F

2017-05-01

Cardinal points are used for ray tracing through Gaussian systems. Anti-principal and anti-nodal points (which we shall refer to as the anti-cardinal points), along with the six familiar cardinal points, belong to a much larger set of special points. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a set of relationships and resulting equalities among the cardinal and anti-cardinal points and to illustrate them using Pascal's ring. The methodology used relies on Gaussian optics and the transference T. We make use of two equations, obtained via the transference, which give the locations of the six cardinal and four anti-cardinal points with respect to the system. We obtain equalities among the cardinal and anti-cardinal points. We utilise Pascal's ring to illustrate which points depend on frequency and their displacement with change in frequency. Pascal described a memory schema in the shape of a hexagon for remembering equalities among the points and illustrating shifts in these points when an aspect of the system changes. We modify and extend Pascal's ring to include the anti-cardinal points. We make use of Pascal's ring extended to illustrate which points are dependent on the frequency of light and the direction of shift of the equalities with change in frequency. For the reduced eye the principal and nodal points are independent of frequency, but the focal points and the anti-cardinal points depend on frequency. For Le Grand's four-surface model eye all six cardinal and four anti-cardinal points depend on frequency. This has implications for definitions, particularly of chromatic aberrations of the eye, that make use of cardinal points and that themselves depend on frequency. Pascal's ring and Pascal's ring extended are novel memory schema for remembering the equalities among the cardinal and anti-cardinal points. The rings are useful for illustrating changes among the equalities and direction of shift of points when an aspect of a system changes. Care should be taken

Molecular analysis of point mutations in a barley genome exposed to MNU and gamma rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurowska, Marzena, E-mail: mkurowsk@us.edu.pl [Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Jagiellonska 28, 40-032 Katowice (Poland); Labocha-Pawlowska, Anna; Gnizda, Dominika; Maluszynski, Miroslaw; Szarejko, Iwona [Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Jagiellonska 28, 40-032 Katowice (Poland)

2012-10-15

We present studies aimed at determining the types and frequencies of mutations induced in the barley genome after treatment with chemical (N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, MNU) and physical (gamma rays) mutagens. We created M{sub 2} populations of a doubled haploid line and used them for the analysis of mutations in targeted DNA sequences and over an entire barley genome using TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) and AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) technique, respectively. Based on the TILLING analysis of the total DNA sequence of 4,537,117 bp in the MNU population, the average mutation density was estimated as 1/504 kb. Only one nucleotide change was found after an analysis of 3,207,444 bp derived from the highest dose of gamma rays applied. MNU was clearly a more efficient mutagen than gamma rays in inducing point mutations in barley. The majority (63.6%) of the MNU-induced nucleotide changes were transitions, with a similar number of G > A and C > T substitutions. The similar share of G > A and C > T transitions indicates a lack of bias in the repair of O{sup 6}-methylguanine lesions between DNA strands. There was, however, a strong specificity of the nucleotide surrounding the O{sup 6}-meG at the -1 position. Purines formed 81% of nucleotides observed at the -1 site. Scanning the barley genome with AFLP markers revealed ca. a three times higher level of AFLP polymorphism in MNU-treated as compared to the gamma-irradiated population. In order to check whether AFLP markers can really scan the whole barley genome for mutagen-induced polymorphism, 114 different AFLP products, were cloned and sequenced. 94% of bands were heterogenic, with some bands containing up to 8 different amplicons. The polymorphic AFLP products were characterised in terms of their similarity to the records deposited in a GenBank database. The types of sequences present in the polymorphic bands reflected the organisation of the barley genome.

Assessment of hygiene standards and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points implementation on passenger ships.

Science.gov (United States)

Mouchtouri, Varavara; Malissiova, Eleni; Zisis, Panagiotis; Paparizou, Evina; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2013-01-01

The level of hygiene on ferries can have impact on travellers' health. The aim of this study was to assess the hygiene standards of ferries in Greece and to investigate whether Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) implementation contributes to the hygiene status and particularly food safety aboard passenger ships. Hygiene inspections on 17 ferries in Greece were performed using a standardized inspection form, with a 135-point scale. Thirty-four water and 17 food samples were collected and analysed. About 65% (11/17) of ferries were scored with >100 points. Ferries with HACCP received higher scores during inspection compared to those without HACCP (p value food samples, only one was found positive for Salmonella spp. Implementation of management systems including HACCP principles can help to raise the level of hygiene aboard passenger ships.

Resilience to climate change in a cross-scale tourism governance context: a combined quantitative-qualitative network analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Luthe

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Social systems in mountain regions are exposed to a number of disturbances, such as climate change. Calls for conceptual and practical approaches on how to address climate change have been taken up in the literature. The resilience concept as a comprehensive theory-driven approach to address climate change has only recently increased in importance. Limited research has been undertaken concerning tourism and resilience from a network governance point of view. We analyze tourism supply chain networks with regard to resilience to climate change at the municipal governance scale of three Alpine villages. We compare these with a planned destination management organization (DMO as a governance entity of the same three municipalities on the regional scale. Network measures are analyzed via a quantitative social network analysis (SNA focusing on resilience from a tourism governance point of view. Results indicate higher resilience of the regional DMO because of a more flexible and diverse governance structure, more centralized steering of fast collective action, and improved innovative capacity, because of higher modularity and better core-periphery integration. Interpretations of quantitative results have been qualitatively validated by interviews and a workshop. We conclude that adaptation of tourism-dependent municipalities to gradual climate change should be dealt with at a regional governance scale and adaptation to sudden changes at a municipal scale. Overall, DMO building at a regional scale may enhance the resilience of tourism destinations, if the municipalities are well integrated.

Evaluation of the H-point standard additions method (HPSAM) and the generalized H-point standard additions method (GHPSAM) for the UV-analysis of two-component mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hund, E; Massart, D L; Smeyers-Verbeke, J

1999-10-01

The H-point standard additions method (HPSAM) and two versions of the generalized H-point standard additions method (GHPSAM) are evaluated for the UV-analysis of two-component mixtures. Synthetic mixtures of anhydrous caffeine and phenazone as well as of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride were used. Furthermore, the method was applied to pharmaceutical formulations that contain these compounds as active drug substances. This paper shows both the difficulties that are related to the methods and the conditions by which acceptable results can be obtained.

Retrospective analysis of the financial break-even point for intrathecal morphine pump use in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Eun Kyoung; Shin, Ji Yeon; Castañeda, Anyela Marcela; Lee, Seung Jae; Yoon, Hyun Kyu; Kim, Yong Chul; Moon, Jee Youn

2017-10-01

The high cost of intrathecal morphine pump (ITMP) implantation may be the main obstacle to its use. Since July 2014, the Korean national health insurance (NHI) program began paying 50% of the ITMP implantation cost in select refractory chronic pain patients. The aims of this study were to investigate the financial break-even point and patients' satisfaction in patients with ITMP treatment after the initiation of the NHI reimbursement. We collected data retrospectively or via direct phone calls to patients who underwent ITMP implantation at a single university-based tertiary hospital between July 2014 and May 2016. Pain severity, changes in the morphine equivalent daily dosage (MEDD), any adverse events, and patients' satisfaction were determined. We calculated the financial break-even point of ITMP implantation via investigating the patient's actual medical costs and insurance information. During the studied period, 23 patients received ITMP implantation, and 20 patients were included in our study. Scores on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) for pain were significantly reduced compared to the baseline value ( P break-even point was 28 months for ITMP treatment after the NHI reimbursement policy. ITMP provided effective chronic pain management with improved satisfaction and reasonable financial break-even point of 28 months with 50% financial coverage by NHI program.

Point-point and point-line moving-window correlation spectroscopy and its applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Qun; Sun, Suqin; Zhan, Daqi; Yu, Zhiwu

2008-07-01

In this paper, we present a new extension of generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy. Two new algorithms, namely point-point (P-P) correlation and point-line (P-L) correlation, have been introduced to do the moving-window 2D correlation (MW2D) analysis. The new method has been applied to a spectral model consisting of two different processes. The results indicate that P-P correlation spectroscopy can unveil the details and re-constitute the entire process, whilst the P-L can provide general feature of the concerned processes. Phase transition behavior of dimyristoylphosphotidylethanolamine (DMPE) has been studied using MW2D correlation spectroscopy. The newly proposed method verifies that the phase transition temperature is 56 °C, same as the result got from a differential scanning calorimeter. To illustrate the new method further, a lysine and lactose mixture has been studied under thermo perturbation. Using the P-P MW2D, the Maillard reaction of the mixture was clearly monitored, which has been very difficult using conventional display of FTIR spectra.

Explorations in Statistics: The Analysis of Change

Science.gov (United States)

Curran-Everett, Douglas; Williams, Calvin L.

2015-01-01

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This tenth installment of "Explorations in Statistics" explores the analysis of a potential change in some physiological response. As researchers, we often express absolute change as percent change so we can…

The chaotic points and XRD analysis of Hg-based superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aslan, Oe [Anatuerkler Educational Consultancy and Trading Company, Orhan Veli Kanik Cad., 6/1, Kavacik 34810 Beykoz, Istanbul (Turkey); Oezdemir, Z Gueven [Physics Department, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, Esenler 34210, Istanbul (Turkey); Keskin, S S [Department of Environmental Eng., University of Marmara, Ziverbey, 34722, Istanbul (Turkey); Onbasli, Ue, E-mail: ozdenaslan@yahoo.co [Physics Department, University of Marmara, Ridvan Pasa Cad. 3. Sok. 85/12 Goztepe, Istanbul (Turkey)

2009-03-01

In this article, high T{sub c} mercury based cuprate superconductors with different oxygen doping rates have been examined by means of magnetic susceptibility (magnetization) versus temperature data and X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. The under, optimally and over oxygen doping procedures have been defined from the magnetic susceptibility versus temperature data of the superconducting sample by extracting the Meissner critical transition temperature, T{sub c} and the paramagnetic Meissner temperature, T{sub PME}, so called as the critical quantum chaos points. Moreover, the optimally oxygen doped samples have been investigated under both a.c. and d.c. magnetic fields. The related a.c. data for virgin(uncut) and cut samples with optimal doping have been obtained under a.c. magnetic field of 1 Gauss. For the cut sample with the rectangular shape, the chaotic points have been found to occur at 122 and 140 K, respectively. The Meissner critical temperature of 140 K is the new world record for the high temperature oxide superconductors under normal atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the crystallographic lattice parameters of superconducting samples have a crucial importance in calculating Josephson penetration depth determined by the XRD patterns. From the XRD data obtained for under and optimally doped samples, the crystal symmetries have been found in tetragonal structure.

Hinkley Point 'C': a summary of the Environmental Statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-08-01

The Environmental Statement describes the potentially significant environmental effects of the proposed pressurized water reactor station at Hinkley Point in Somerset, and the ways in which the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) intends to avoid, reduce or remedy these effects. It also explains the CEGB's reasons for proposing a PWR at Hinkley Point. The Environmental Statement has been produced to inform local authorities, the public and the Secretary of State for Energy about the CEGB's proposals. The Secretary of State has to decide whether or not consent for construction of Hinkley Point 'C' power station should be given, and in reaching that decision has to consider, amongst other matters, the environmental effects of the project. This summary and the Environmental Statement also describe the CEGB's plans for developing Hinkley Point 'C. Some details are yet to be finalised and may be subject to change, but this will not affect the overall validity of the environmental analysis given in these documents. Greater detail can be found in the full Environmental Statement. (author)

The conscious city II: traffic congestion and the tipping point in greater Vancouver

OpenAIRE

Holt, Rebecca

2007-01-01

The Conscious City II explores how broad, long-term change toward sustainability in cities can be fostered, nurtured and facilitated. Using a qualitative, mixed-method approach, this research adapts a model from Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point framework to explore how social consciousness can be mobilized to achieve change toward sustainability through an analysis of traffic congestion in Greater Vancouver. The results demonstrate the important influence of leadership, context and message on...

ASSESSING TEMPORAL BEHAVIOR IN LIDAR POINT CLOUDS OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Schachtschneider

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Self-driving cars and robots that run autonomously over long periods of time need high-precision and up-to-date models of the changing environment. The main challenge for creating long term maps of dynamic environments is to identify changes and adapt the map continuously. Changes can occur abruptly, gradually, or even periodically. In this work, we investigate how dense mapping data of several epochs can be used to identify the temporal behavior of the environment. This approach anticipates possible future scenarios where a large fleet of vehicles is equipped with sensors which continuously capture the environment. This data is then being sent to a cloud based infrastructure, which aligns all datasets geometrically and subsequently runs scene analysis on it, among these being the analysis for temporal changes of the environment. Our experiments are based on a LiDAR mobile mapping dataset which consists of 150 scan strips (a total of about 1 billion points, which were obtained in multiple epochs. Parts of the scene are covered by up to 28 scan strips. The time difference between the first and last epoch is about one year. In order to process the data, the scan strips are aligned using an overall bundle adjustment, which estimates the surface (about one billion surface element unknowns as well as 270,000 unknowns for the adjustment of the exterior orientation parameters. After this, the surface misalignment is usually below one centimeter. In the next step, we perform a segmentation of the point clouds using a region growing algorithm. The segmented objects and the aligned data are then used to compute an occupancy grid which is filled by tracing each individual LiDAR ray from the scan head to every point of a segment. As a result, we can assess the behavior of each segment in the scene and remove voxels from temporal objects from the global occupancy grid.

Assessing Temporal Behavior in LIDAR Point Clouds of Urban Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Schachtschneider, J.; Schlichting, A.; Brenner, C.

2017-05-01

Self-driving cars and robots that run autonomously over long periods of time need high-precision and up-to-date models of the changing environment. The main challenge for creating long term maps of dynamic environments is to identify changes and adapt the map continuously. Changes can occur abruptly, gradually, or even periodically. In this work, we investigate how dense mapping data of several epochs can be used to identify the temporal behavior of the environment. This approach anticipates possible future scenarios where a large fleet of vehicles is equipped with sensors which continuously capture the environment. This data is then being sent to a cloud based infrastructure, which aligns all datasets geometrically and subsequently runs scene analysis on it, among these being the analysis for temporal changes of the environment. Our experiments are based on a LiDAR mobile mapping dataset which consists of 150 scan strips (a total of about 1 billion points), which were obtained in multiple epochs. Parts of the scene are covered by up to 28 scan strips. The time difference between the first and last epoch is about one year. In order to process the data, the scan strips are aligned using an overall bundle adjustment, which estimates the surface (about one billion surface element unknowns) as well as 270,000 unknowns for the adjustment of the exterior orientation parameters. After this, the surface misalignment is usually below one centimeter. In the next step, we perform a segmentation of the point clouds using a region growing algorithm. The segmented objects and the aligned data are then used to compute an occupancy grid which is filled by tracing each individual LiDAR ray from the scan head to every point of a segment. As a result, we can assess the behavior of each segment in the scene and remove voxels from temporal objects from the global occupancy grid.

Deliberate change without hierarchical influence?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørskov, Sladjana; Kesting, Peter; Ulhøi, John Parm

2017-01-01

reveals that deliberate change is indeed achievable in a non-hierarchical collaborative OSS community context. However, it presupposes the presence and active involvement of informal change agents. The paper identifies and specifies four key drivers for change agents’ influence. Originality....../value The findings contribute to organisational analysis by providing a deeper understanding of the importance of leadership in making deliberate change possible in non-hierarchical settings. It points to the importance of “change-by-conviction”, essentially based on voluntary behaviour. This can open the door...

Quantum Triple Point and Quantum Critical End Points in Metallic Magnets.

Science.gov (United States)

Belitz, D; Kirkpatrick, T R

2017-12-29

In low-temperature metallic magnets, ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders can exist, adjacent to one another or concurrently, in the phase diagram of a single system. We show that universal quantum effects qualitatively alter the known phase diagrams for classical magnets. They shrink the region of concurrent FM and AFM order, change various transitions from second to first order, and, in the presence of a magnetic field, lead to either a quantum triple point where the FM, AFM, and paramagnetic phases all coexist or a quantum critical end point.

AUTOMATED VOXEL MODEL FROM POINT CLOUDS FOR STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Bitelli

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the context of cultural heritage, an accurate and comprehensive digital survey of a historical building is today essential in order to measure its geometry in detail for documentation or restoration purposes, for supporting special studies regarding materials and constructive characteristics, and finally for structural analysis. Some proven geomatic techniques, such as photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning, are increasingly used to survey buildings with different complexity and dimensions; one typical product is in form of point clouds. We developed a semi-automatic procedure to convert point clouds, acquired from laserscan or digital photogrammetry, to a filled volume model of the whole structure. The filled volume model, in a voxel format, can be useful for further analysis and also for the generation of a Finite Element Model (FEM of the surveyed building. In this paper a new approach is presented with the aim to decrease operator intervention in the workflow and obtain a better description of the structure. In order to achieve this result a voxel model with variable resolution is produced. Different parameters are compared and different steps of the procedure are tested and validated in the case study of the North tower of the San Felice sul Panaro Fortress, a monumental historical building located in San Felice sul Panaro (Modena, Italy that was hit by an earthquake in 2012.

Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry System for Real-Time Gas and Moisture Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Arkin, C.; Gillespie, Stacey; Ratzel, Christopher

2010-01-01

A portable instrument incorporates both mass spectrometry and dew point measurement to provide real-time, quantitative gas measurements of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide, along with real-time, quantitative moisture analysis. The Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry (PDP-MS) system comprises a single quadrupole mass spectrometer and a high vacuum system consisting of a turbopump and a diaphragm-backing pump. A capacitive membrane dew point sensor was placed upstream of the MS, but still within the pressure-flow control pneumatic region. Pressure-flow control was achieved with an upstream precision metering valve, a capacitance diaphragm gauge, and a downstream mass flow controller. User configurable LabVIEW software was developed to provide real-time concentration data for the MS, dew point monitor, and sample delivery system pressure control, pressure and flow monitoring, and recording. The system has been designed to include in situ, NIST-traceable calibration. Certain sample tubing retains sufficient water that even if the sample is dry, the sample tube will desorb water to an amount resulting in moisture concentration errors up to 500 ppm for as long as 10 minutes. It was determined that Bev-A-Line IV was the best sample line to use. As a result of this issue, it is prudent to add a high-level humidity sensor to PDP-MS so such events can be prevented in the future.

SharePoint User's Guide

CERN Document Server

Corporation, Infusion Development

2009-01-01

This straightforward guide shows SharePoint users how to create and use web sites for sharing and collaboration. Learn to use the document and picture libraries for adding and editing content, add discussion boards and surveys, receive alerts when documents and information have been added or changed, and enhance security. Designed to help you find answers quickly, the book shows how to make the most of SharePoint for productivity and collaboration.

Recommendations for dealing with waste contaminated with Ebola virus: a Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Edmunds, Kelly L; Elrahman, Samira Abd; Bell, Diana J; Brainard, Julii; Dervisevic, Samir; Fedha, Tsimbiri P; Few, Roger; Howard, Guy; Lake, Iain; Maes, Peter; Matofari, Joseph; Minnigh, Harvey; Mohamedani, Ahmed A; Montgomery, Maggie; Morter, Sarah; Muchiri, Edward; Mudau, Lutendo S; Mutua, Benedict M; Ndambuki, Julius M; Pond, Katherine; Sobsey, Mark D; van der Es, Mike; Zeitoun, Mark; Hunter, Paul R

2016-06-01

To assess, within communities experiencing Ebola virus outbreaks, the risks associated with the disposal of human waste and to generate recommendations for mitigating such risks. A team with expertise in the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework identified waste products from the care of individuals with Ebola virus disease and constructed, tested and confirmed flow diagrams showing the creation of such products. After listing potential hazards associated with each step in each flow diagram, the team conducted a hazard analysis, determined critical control points and made recommendations to mitigate the transmission risks at each control point. The collection, transportation, cleaning and shared use of blood-soiled fomites and the shared use of latrines contaminated with blood or bloodied faeces appeared to be associated with particularly high levels of risk of Ebola virus transmission. More moderate levels of risk were associated with the collection and transportation of material contaminated with bodily fluids other than blood, shared use of latrines soiled with such fluids, the cleaning and shared use of fomites soiled with such fluids, and the contamination of the environment during the collection and transportation of blood-contaminated waste. The risk of the waste-related transmission of Ebola virus could be reduced by the use of full personal protective equipment, appropriate hand hygiene and an appropriate disinfectant after careful cleaning. Use of the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points framework could facilitate rapid responses to outbreaks of emerging infectious disease.

Spectral analysis of growing graphs a quantum probability point of view

CERN Document Server

Obata, Nobuaki

2017-01-01

This book is designed as a concise introduction to the recent achievements on spectral analysis of graphs or networks from the point of view of quantum (or non-commutative) probability theory. The main topics are spectral distributions of the adjacency matrices of finite or infinite graphs and their limit distributions for growing graphs. The main vehicle is quantum probability, an algebraic extension of the traditional probability theory, which provides a new framework for the analysis of adjacency matrices revealing their non-commutative nature. For example, the method of quantum decomposition makes it possible to study spectral distributions by means of interacting Fock spaces or equivalently by orthogonal polynomials. Various concepts of independence in quantum probability and corresponding central limit theorems are used for the asymptotic study of spectral distributions for product graphs. This book is written for researchers, teachers, and students interested in graph spectra, their (asymptotic) spectr...

Global Analysis of River Planform Change using the Google Earth Engine

Science.gov (United States)

Bryk, A.; Dietrich, W. E.; Gorelick, N.; Sargent, R.; Braudrick, C. A.

2014-12-01

Geomorphologists have historically tracked river dynamics using a combination of maps, aerial photographs, and the stratigraphic record. Although stratigraphic records can extend into deep time, maps and aerial photographs often confine our record of change to sparse measurements over the last ~80 years and in some cases much less time. For the first time Google's Earth Engine (GEE) cloud based platform allows researchers the means to analyze quantitatively the pattern and pace of river channel change over the last 30 years with high temporal resolution across the entire planet. The GEE provides an application programing interface (API) that enables quantitative analysis of various data sets including the entire Landsat L1T archive. This allows change detection for channels wider than about 150 m over 30 years of successive, georeferenced imagery. Qualitatively, it becomes immediately evident that the pace of channel morphodynamics for similar planforms varies by orders of magnitude across the planet and downstream along individual rivers. To quantify these rates of change and to explore their controls we have developed methods for differentiating channels from floodplain along large alluvial rivers. We introduce a new metric of morphodynamics: the ratio of eroded area to channel area per unit time, referred to as "M". We also keep track of depositional areas resulting from channel shifting. To date our quantitative analysis has focused on rivers in the Andean foreland. Our analysis shows channel bank erosion rates, M, varies by orders of magnitude for these rivers, from 0 to ~0.25 yr-1, yet these rivers have essentially identical curvature and sinuosity and are visually indistinguishable. By tracking both bank paths in time, we find that, for some meandering rivers, a significant fraction of new floodplain is produced through outer-bank accretion rather than point bar deposition. This process is perhaps more important in generating floodplain stratigraphy than

Forest responses to tropospheric ozone and global climate change: an analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kickert, R N; Krupa, S V

1990-01-01

In this paper an analysis is provided on: what we know, what we need to know, and what we need to do, to further our understanding of the relationships between tropospheric ozone (O(3)), global climate change and forest responses. The relationships between global geographic distributions of forest ecosystems and potential geographic regions of high photochemical smog by the year 2025 AD are described. While the emphasis is on the effects of tropospheric O(3) on forest ecosystems, discussion is presented to understand such effects in the context of global climate change. One particular strong point of this paper is the audit of published surface O(3) data by photochemical smog region that reveals important forest/woodland geographic regions where little or no O(3) data exist even though the potential threat to forests in those regions appears to be large. The concepts and considerations relevant to the examination of ecosystem responses as a whole, rather than simply tree stands alone are reviewed. A brief argument is provided to stimulate the modification of the concept of simple cause and effect relationships in viewing total ecosystems. Our knowledge of O(3) exposure and its effects on the energy, nutrient and hydrological flow within the ecosystem are described. Modeling strategies for such systems are reviewed. A discussion of responses of forests to potential multiple climatic changes is provided. An important concept in this paper is that changes in water exchange processes throughout the hydrological cycle can be used as early warning indicators of forest responses to O(3). Another strength of this paper is the integration of information on structural and functional processes of ecosystems and their responses to O(3). An admitted weakness of this analysis is that the information on integrated ecosystem responses is based overwhelmingly on the San Bernardino Forest ecosystem research program of the 1970s because of a lack of similar studies. In the final

A quantitative analysis of statistical power identifies obesity end points for improved in vivo preclinical study design.

Science.gov (United States)

Selimkhanov, J; Thompson, W C; Guo, J; Hall, K D; Musante, C J

2017-08-01

The design of well-powered in vivo preclinical studies is a key element in building the knowledge of disease physiology for the purpose of identifying and effectively testing potential antiobesity drug targets. However, as a result of the complexity of the obese phenotype, there is limited understanding of the variability within and between study animals of macroscopic end points such as food intake and body composition. This, combined with limitations inherent in the measurement of certain end points, presents challenges to study design that can have significant consequences for an antiobesity program. Here, we analyze a large, longitudinal study of mouse food intake and body composition during diet perturbation to quantify the variability and interaction of the key metabolic end points. To demonstrate how conclusions can change as a function of study size, we show that a simulated preclinical study properly powered for one end point may lead to false conclusions based on secondary end points. We then propose the guidelines for end point selection and study size estimation under different conditions to facilitate proper power calculation for a more successful in vivo study design.

Fingerprint Analysis with Marked Point Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forbes, Peter G. M.; Lauritzen, Steffen; Møller, Jesper

We present a framework for fingerprint matching based on marked point process models. An efficient Monte Carlo algorithm is developed to calculate the marginal likelihood ratio for the hypothesis that two observed prints originate from the same finger against the hypothesis that they originate from...... different fingers. Our model achieves good performance on an NIST-FBI fingerprint database of 258 matched fingerprint pairs....

Fuzzy Risk Analysis for a Production System Based on the Nagel Point of a Triangle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Handan Akyar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Ordering and ranking fuzzy numbers and their comparisons play a significant role in decision-making problems such as social and economic systems, forecasting, optimization, and risk analysis problems. In this paper, a new method for ordering triangular fuzzy numbers using the Nagel point of a triangle is presented. With the aid of the proposed method, reasonable properties of ordering fuzzy numbers are verified. Certain comparative examples are given to illustrate the advantages of the new method. Many papers have been devoted to studies on fuzzy ranking methods, but some of these studies have certain shortcomings. The proposed method overcomes the drawbacks of the existing methods in the literature. The suggested method can order triangular fuzzy numbers as well as crisp numbers and fuzzy numbers with the same centroid point. An application to the fuzzy risk analysis problem is given, based on the suggested ordering approach.

Technical evaluation of the proposed changes in the technical specifications for emergency power sources for the Big Rock Point nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latorre, V.R.

1979-12-01

The technical evaluation is presented for the proposed changes to the Technical Specifications for emergency power sources for the Big Rock Point nuclear power plant. The criteria used to evaluate the acceptability of the changes include those delineated in IEEE Std-308-1974, and IEEE Std-450-1975 as endorsed by US NRC Regulatory Guide 1.129

Theory of Single Point Incremental Forming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martins, P.A.F.; Bay, Niels; Skjødt, Martin

2008-01-01

This paper presents a closed-form theoretical analysis modelling the fundamentals of single point incremental forming and explaining the experimental and numerical results available in the literature for the past couple of years. The model is based on membrane analysis with bi-directional in-plan......-plane contact friction and is focused on the extreme modes of deformation that are likely to be found in single point incremental forming processes. The overall investigation is supported by experimental work performed by the authors and data retrieved from the literature.......This paper presents a closed-form theoretical analysis modelling the fundamentals of single point incremental forming and explaining the experimental and numerical results available in the literature for the past couple of years. The model is based on membrane analysis with bi-directional in...

Land-cover change analysis in 50 global cities by using a combination of Landsat data and analysis of grid cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagan, Hasi; Yamagata, Yoshiki

2014-01-01

Global urban expansion has created incentives to convert green spaces to urban/built-up area. Therefore, understanding the distribution and dynamics of the land-cover changes in cities is essential for better understanding of the cities’ fundamental characteristics and processes, and of the impact of changing land-cover on potential carbon storage. We present a grid square approach using multi-temporal Landsat data from around 1985–2010 to monitor the spatio-temporal land-cover dynamics of 50 global cities. The maximum-likelihood classification method is applied to Landsat data to define the cities’ urbanized areas at different points in time. Subsequently, 1 km 2 grid squares with unique cell IDs are designed to link among land-cover maps for spatio-temporal land-cover change analysis. Then, we calculate land-cover category proportions for each map in 1 km 2 grid cells. Statistical comparison of the land-cover changes in grid square cells shows that urban area expansion in 50 global cities was strongly negatively correlated with forest, cropland and grassland changes. The generated land-cover proportions in 1 km 2 grid cells and the spatial relationships between the changes of land-cover classes are critical for understanding past patterns and the consequences of urban development so as to inform future urban planning, risk management and conservation strategies. (letters)

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS TO THE PASTA PRODUCT

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Yulexis Meneses Linares

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work is to combine the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP methodologies for the determination of risks that the food production represents to the human health and the ecosystem. The environmental performance of the production of pastas in the “Marta Abreu” Pasta Factory of Cienfuegos is assessed, where the critical control points determined by the biological dangers (mushrooms and plagues and the physical dangers (wood, paper, thread and ferromagnetic particles were the raw materials: flour, semolina and its mixtures, and the disposition and extraction of them. Resources are the most affected damage category due to the consumption of fossil fuels.

A proximal point algorithm with generalized proximal distances to BEPs

OpenAIRE

Bento, G. C.; Neto, J. X. Cruz; Lopes, J. O.; Soares Jr, P. A.; Soubeyran, A.

2014-01-01

We consider a bilevel problem involving two monotone equilibrium bifunctions and we show that this problem can be solved by a proximal point method with generalized proximal distances. We propose a framework for the convergence analysis of the sequences generated by the algorithm. This class of problems is very interesting because it covers mathematical programs and optimization problems under equilibrium constraints. As an application, we consider the problem of the stability and change dyna...

Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) High Resolution Land Cover and Change Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized high resolution land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S....

Material-Point Method Analysis of Bending in Elastic Beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Søren Mikkel; Andersen, Lars

2007-01-01

The aim of this paper is to test different types of spatial interpolation for the material-point method. The interpolations include quadratic elements and cubic splines. A brief introduction to the material-point method is given. Simple liner-elastic problems are tested, including the classical...... cantilevered beam problem. As shown in the paper, the use of negative shape functions is not consistent with the material-point method in its current form, necessitating other types of interpolation such as cubic splines in order to obtain smoother representations of field quantities. It is shown...

Energy policies avoiding a tipping point in the climate system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahn, Olivier; Edwards, Neil R.; Knutti, Reto; Stocker, Thomas F.

2011-01-01

Paleoclimate evidence and climate models indicate that certain elements of the climate system may exhibit thresholds, with small changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting in non-linear and potentially irreversible regime shifts with serious consequences for socio-economic systems. Such thresholds or tipping points in the climate system are likely to depend on both the magnitude and rate of change of surface warming. The collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) is one example of such a threshold. To evaluate mitigation policies that curb greenhouse gas emissions to levels that prevent such a climate threshold being reached, we use the MERGE model of Manne, Mendelsohn and Richels. Depending on assumptions on climate sensitivity and technological progress, our analysis shows that preserving the THC may require a fast and strong greenhouse gas emission reduction from today's level, with transition to nuclear and/or renewable energy, possibly combined with the use of carbon capture and sequestration systems. - Research Highlights: → Preserving the THC may require a fast and strong greenhouse gas emission reduction. → This could be achieved through strong changes in the energy mix. → Similar results would apply to any climate system tipping points.

CFD analysis of the dynamic behaviour of a fuel rod subchannel in a supercritical water reactor with point kinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ampomah-Amoako, Emmanuel; Akaho, Edward H.K.; Nyarko, Benjamin J.B.; Ambrosini, Walter

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The analysis of flow stability of nuclear fuel subchannels with supercritical water is presented. • The results obtained by a CFD code are compared with those of a system code. • The model includes also heat conduction in the fuel rod and point neutron kinetics. - Abstract: The paper presents the analysis by a CFD code of coupled neutronic–thermal hydraulic instabilities in a subchannel slice belonging to a square lattice assembly. The work represents a further phase in the assessment of the suitability of CFD codes for studies of flow stability of supercritical fluids; the research started in previous work with the analysis of bare 2D circular pipes and already addressed 3D subchannel slices with no allowance for heat conduction or neutronic effects. In the present phase, a more realistic system is considered, dealing with a slice of a fuel assembly subchannel containing the regions of the pellet, the gap and the cladding and including also the effect of inlet and outlet throttling. The adopted neutronic model is a point kinetics one, including six delayed neutron groups with global Doppler and fluid density feedbacks. The response of the model to perturbations applied starting from a steady-state condition at the rated power is compared with that of a similar model developed for a 1D system code. Upward, horizontal and downward flow orientations are addressed making use of a uniform power profile and changing relevant parameters as the gap equivalent conductance and the density reactivity coefficient. A bottom-peaked power profile is also considered in the case of vertical upward flow. Though the adopted model can still be considered simple in comparison with actual details of fuel assemblies, the obtained results demonstrate the potential of the adopted methodology for more accurate analyses to be made with larger computational resources

Do acupuncture points exist?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Xiaohui; Zhang Xinyi; Liu Chenglin; Dang, Ruishan; Huang Yuying; He Wei; Ding Guanghong

2009-01-01

We used synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis to probe the distribution of four chemical elements in and around acupuncture points, two located in the forearm and two in the lower leg. Three of the four acupuncture points showed significantly elevated concentrations of elements Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in relation to levels in the surrounding tissue, with similar elevation ratios for Cu and Fe. The mapped distribution of these elements implies that each acupuncture point seems to be elliptical with the long axis along the meridian. (note)

Do acupuncture points exist?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan Xiaohui; Zhang Xinyi [Department of Physics, Surface Physics Laboratory (State Key Laboratory), and Synchrotron Radiation Research Center of Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Liu Chenglin [Physics Department of Yancheng Teachers' College, Yancheng 224002 (China); Dang, Ruishan [Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Huang Yuying; He Wei [Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Ding Guanghong [Shanghai Research Center of Acupuncture and Meridian, Pudong, Shanghai 201203 (China)

2009-05-07

We used synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis to probe the distribution of four chemical elements in and around acupuncture points, two located in the forearm and two in the lower leg. Three of the four acupuncture points showed significantly elevated concentrations of elements Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in relation to levels in the surrounding tissue, with similar elevation ratios for Cu and Fe. The mapped distribution of these elements implies that each acupuncture point seems to be elliptical with the long axis along the meridian. (note)

Predicting responses of the Adélie penguin population of Edmonson Point to future sea ice changes in the Ross Sea

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Tosca eBallerini

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs predict changes in the sea ice environment and in atmospheric precipitations over larger areas of Antarctica. These changes are expected to affect the population dynamics of seabirds and marine mammals, but the extent of this influence is not clear. We investigated the future population trajectories of the colony of Adélie penguins at Edmonson Point, in the Ross Sea, from 2010 to 2100. To do so, we incorporated the relationship between sea ice and demographic parameters of the studied colony into a matrix population model. Specifically, we used sea ice projections from AOGCMs and a proxy for snowfall precipitation. Simulations of population persistence under future climate change scenarios showed that a reduction in sea ice extent and an increase in precipitation events during the breeding season will drive the population to extinction. However, the population growth rate estimated by the model was lower than the population growth rate observed during the last decades, suggesting that recruits from other colonies maintain the observed population dynamics at Edmonson Point. This local ‘rescue’ effect is consistent with a metapopulation dynamic for Adélie penguins in the Ross Sea, in which neighboring colonies might exhibit contrasting population trends and different density-dependent effects. In the hypothesis that connectivity with larger source colonies or that local recruitment would decrease, the sink colony at Edmonson Point is predicted to disappear.

Change point in VCO2 during incremental exercise test: a new method for assessment of human exercise tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoladz, J A; Szkutnik, Z; Majerczak, J; Duda, K

1999-09-01

The main purpose of this study was to present a new method to determine the level of power output (PO) at which VCO2 during incremental exercise test (IT) begins to rise non-linearly in relation to power output (PO) - the change point in VCO2 (CP-VCO2). Twenty-two healthy non-smoking men (mean +/- SD: age 22.0 +/- 0.9 years; body mass 74.5 +/- 7.5 kg; height 181 +/- 7 cm; VO2max 3.753 +/- 0.335 l min-1) performed an IT on a cycloergometer. The IT started at a PO of 30 W, followed by gradual increases of 30 W every 3 min. Antecubital venous blood samples were taken at the end of each step and analysed for plasma lactate concentration [La]pl, blood PO2, PCO2 [HCO3-]b and [H+]b. In the detection of the change-point VCO2 (CP-VCO2), a two-phase model was assumed for the 'third-minute-data' of each step of the test. In the first phase, a linear relationship between VCO2 and PO was assumed, whereas in the second, an additional increase in VCO2 was allowed, above the values expected from the linear model. The PO at which the first phase ends is called the change point in VCO2. The identification of the model consists of two steps: testing for the existence of the change point, and estimating its location. Both procedures are based on suitably normalized recursive residuals (see Zoladz et al. 1998a. Eur J Appl Physiol 78, 369-377). In the case of each of our subjects it was possible to detect the CP-VCO2 and the CP-VO2 as described in our model. The PO at the CP-VCO2 amounted to 134 +/- 42 W. The CP- VO2 was detected at 136 +/- 32 W, whereas the PO at the LT amounted to 128 +/- 30 W and corresponded to 49 +/- 11, 49 +/- 8 and 47 +/- 8.6% VO2max, respectively, for the CP-VCO2, CP-VO2 and the LT. The [La]pl at the CP-VCO2 (2.65 +/- 0.76 mmol L-1), at the CP-VO2 (2.53 +/- 0. 56 mmol L-1) and at the LT (2.25 +/- 0.49 mmol L-1) were already significantly higher (P < 0.01, Students t-test) than the value reached at rest (1.86 +/- 0.43 mmol L-1). Our study illustrates that the CP

Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Regional Land Cover Data and Change Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) produces national standardized land cover and change products for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products...

Point Analysis in Java applied to histological images of the perforant pathway: a user's account.

Science.gov (United States)

Scorcioni, Ruggero; Wright, Susan N; Patrick Card, J; Ascoli, Giorgio A; Barrionuevo, Germán

2008-01-01

The freeware Java tool Point Analysis in Java (PAJ), created to perform 3D point analysis, was tested in an independent laboratory setting. The input data consisted of images of the hippocampal perforant pathway from serial immunocytochemical localizations of the rat brain in multiple views at different resolutions. The low magnification set (x2 objective) comprised the entire perforant pathway, while the high magnification set (x100 objective) allowed the identification of individual fibers. A preliminary stereological study revealed a striking linear relationship between the fiber count at high magnification and the optical density at low magnification. PAJ enabled fast analysis for down-sampled data sets and a friendly interface with automated plot drawings. Noted strengths included the multi-platform support as well as the free availability of the source code, conducive to a broad user base and maximum flexibility for ad hoc requirements. PAJ has great potential to extend its usability by (a) improving its graphical user interface, (b) increasing its input size limit, (c) improving response time for large data sets, and (d) potentially being integrated with other Java graphical tools such as ImageJ.

Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of two simplified 3-point balance measures in patients with stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi-Miau; Huang, Yi-Jing; Huang, Chien-Yu; Lin, Gong-Hong; Liaw, Lih-Jiun; Lee, Shih-Chieh; Hsieh, Ching-Lin

2017-10-01

The 3-point Berg Balance Scale (BBS-3P) and 3-point Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS-3P) were simplified from the BBS and PASS to overcome the complex scoring systems. The BBS-3P and PASS-3P were more feasible in busy clinical practice and showed similarly sound validity and responsiveness to the original measures. However, the reliability of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P is unknown limiting their utility and the interpretability of scores. We aimed to examine the test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P in patients with stroke. Cross-sectional study. The rehabilitation departments of a medical center and a community hospital. A total of 51 chronic stroke patients (64.7% male). Both balance measures were administered twice 7 days apart. The test-retest reliability of both the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were examined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The MDC and its percentage over the total score (MDC%) of each measure was calculated for examining the random measurement errors. The ICC values of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were 0.99 and 0.97, respectively. The MDC% (MDC) of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P were 9.1% (5.1 points) and 8.4% (3.0 points), respectively, indicating that both measures had small and acceptable random measurement errors. Our results showed that both the BBS-3P and the PASS-3P had good test-retest reliability, with small and acceptable random measurement error. These two simplified 3-level balance measures can provide reliable results over time. Our findings support the repeated administration of the BBS-3P and PASS-3P to monitor the balance of patients with stroke. The MDC values can help clinicians and researchers interpret the change scores more precisely.

Watershed-based point sources permitting strategy and dynamic permit-trading analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Shu-Kuang; Chang, Ni-Bin

2007-09-01

Permit-trading policy in a total maximum daily load (TMDL) program may provide an additional avenue to produce environmental benefit, which closely approximates what would be achieved through a command and control approach, with relatively lower costs. One of the important considerations that might affect the effective trading mechanism is to determine the dynamic transaction prices and trading ratios in response to seasonal changes of assimilative capacity in the river. Advanced studies associated with multi-temporal spatially varied trading ratios among point sources to manage water pollution hold considerable potential for industries and policy makers alike. This paper aims to present an integrated simulation and optimization analysis for generating spatially varied trading ratios and evaluating seasonal transaction prices accordingly. It is designed to configure a permit-trading structure basin-wide and provide decision makers with a wealth of cost-effective, technology-oriented, risk-informed, and community-based management strategies. The case study, seamlessly integrating a QUAL2E simulation model with an optimal waste load allocation (WLA) scheme in a designated TMDL study area, helps understand the complexity of varying environmental resources values over space and time. The pollutants of concern in this region, which are eligible for trading, mainly include both biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N). The problem solution, as a consequence, suggests an array of waste load reduction targets in a well-defined WLA scheme and exhibits a dynamic permit-trading framework among different sub-watersheds in the study area. Research findings gained in this paper may extend to any transferable dynamic-discharge permit (TDDP) program worldwide.

[Experience of a Break-Even Point Analysis for Make-or-Buy Decision.].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yunhee

2006-12-01

Cost containment through continuous quality improvement of medical service is required in an age of a keen competition of the medical market. Laboratory managers should examine the matters on make-or-buy decision periodically. On this occasion, a break-even point analysis can be useful as an analyzing tool. In this study, cost accounting and break-even point (BEP) analysis were performed in case that the immunoassay items showing a recent increase in order volume were to be in-house made. Fixed and variable costs were calculated in case that alpha fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), ferritin, free thyroxine (fT4), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), CA 125, CA 19-9, and hepatitis B envelope antibody (HBeAb) were to be tested with Abbott AxSYM instrument. Break-even volume was calculated as fixed cost per year divided by purchasing cost per test minus variable cost per test and BEP ratio as total purchasing costs at break-even volume divided by total purchasing costs at actual annual volume. The average fixed cost per year of AFP, CEA, PSA, ferritin, fT4, T3, TSH, CA 125, CA 19-9, and HBeAb was 8,279,187 won and average variable cost per test, 3,786 won. Average break-even volume was 1,599 and average BEP ratio was 852%. Average BEP ratio without including quality costs such as calibration and quality control was 74%. Because the quality assurance of clinical tests cannot be waived, outsourcing all of 10 items was more adequate than in-house make at the present volume in financial aspect. BEP analysis was useful as a financial tool for make-or-buy decision, the common matter which laboratory managers meet with.

Soil Carbon Variability and Change Detection in the Forest Inventory Analysis Database of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, A. M.; Nater, E. A.; Dalzell, B. J.; Perry, C. H.

2014-12-01

The USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) program is a national effort assessing current forest resources to ensure sustainable management practices, to assist planning activities, and to report critical status and trends. For example, estimates of carbon stocks and stock change in FIA are reported as the official United States submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. While the main effort in FIA has been focused on aboveground biomass, soil is a critical component of this system. FIA sampled forest soils in the early 2000s and has remeasurement now underway. However, soil sampling is repeated on a 10-year interval (or longer), and it is uncertain what magnitude of changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) may be detectable with the current sampling protocol. We aim to identify the sensitivity and variability of SOC in the FIA database, and to determine the amount of SOC change that can be detected with the current sampling scheme. For this analysis, we attempt to answer the following questions: 1) What is the sensitivity (power) of SOC data in the current FIA database? 2) How does the minimum detectable change in forest SOC respond to changes in sampling intervals and/or sample point density? Soil samples in the FIA database represent 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depth increments with a 10-year sampling interval. We are investigating the variability of SOC and its change over time for composite soil data in each FIA region (Pacific Northwest, Interior West, Northern, and Southern). To guide future sampling efforts, we are employing statistical power analysis to examine the minimum detectable change in SOC storage. We are also investigating the sensitivity of SOC storage changes under various scenarios of sample size and/or sample frequency. This research will inform the design of future FIA soil sampling schemes and improve the information available to international policy makers, university and industry partners, and the public.

Analysis of point source size on measurement accuracy of lateral point-spread function of confocal Raman microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Shihang; Zhang, Li; Hu, Yao; Ding, Xiang

2018-01-01

Confocal Raman Microscopy (CRM) has matured to become one of the most powerful instruments in analytical science because of its molecular sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Compared with conventional Raman Microscopy, CRM can perform three dimensions mapping of tiny samples and has the advantage of high spatial resolution thanking to the unique pinhole. With the wide application of the instrument, there is a growing requirement for the evaluation of the imaging performance of the system. Point-spread function (PSF) is an important approach to the evaluation of imaging capability of an optical instrument. Among a variety of measurement methods of PSF, the point source method has been widely used because it is easy to operate and the measurement results are approximate to the true PSF. In the point source method, the point source size has a significant impact on the final measurement accuracy. In this paper, the influence of the point source sizes on the measurement accuracy of PSF is analyzed and verified experimentally. A theoretical model of the lateral PSF for CRM is established and the effect of point source size on full-width at half maximum of lateral PSF is simulated. For long-term preservation and measurement convenience, PSF measurement phantom using polydimethylsiloxane resin, doped with different sizes of polystyrene microspheres is designed. The PSF of CRM with different sizes of microspheres are measured and the results are compared with the simulation results. The results provide a guide for measuring the PSF of the CRM.

Evaluation of slow shutdown system flux detectors in Point Lepreau Generating Station - II: dynamic compensation error analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anghel, V.N.P.; Sur, B. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada); Taylor, D. [New Brunswick Power Nuclear, Point Lepreau, New Brunswick (Canada)

2009-07-01

CANDU reactors are protected against reactor overpower by two independent shutdown systems: Shut Down System 1 and 2 (SDS1 and SDS2). At the Point Lepreau Generating Station (PLGS), the shutdown systems can be actuated by measurements of the neutron flux from Platinum-clad Inconel In-Core Flux Detectors. These detectors have a complex dynamic behaviour, characterized by 'prompt' and 'delayed' components with respect to immediate changes in the in-core neutron flux. It was shown previously (I: Dynamic Response Characterization by Anghel et al., this conference) that the dynamic responses of the detectors changed with irradiation, with the SDS2 detectors having 'prompt' signal components that decreased significantly. In this paper we assess the implication of these changes for detector dynamic compensation errors by comparing the compensated detector response with the power-to-fuel and the power-to-coolant responses to neutron flux ramps as assumed by previous error analyses. The dynamic compensation error is estimated at any given trip time for all possible accident flux ramps. Some implications for the shutdown system trip set points, obtained from preliminary results, are discussed. (author)

Acupuncture-Point Stimulation for Postoperative Pain Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xian-Liang Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Acupuncture-point stimulation (APS in postoperative pain control compared with sham/placebo acupuncture or standard treatments (usual care or no treatment. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs were included. Meta-analysis results indicated that APS interventions improved VAS scores significantly and also reduced total morphine consumption. No serious APS-related adverse effects (AEs were reported. There is Level I evidence for the effectiveness of body points plaster therapy and Level II evidence for body points electroacupuncture (EA, body points acupressure, body points APS for abdominal surgery patients, auricular points seed embedding, manual auricular acupuncture, and auricular EA. We obtained Level III evidence for body points APS in patients who underwent cardiac surgery and cesarean section and for auricular-point stimulation in patients who underwent abdominal surgery. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that APS is an effective postoperative pain therapy in surgical patients, although the evidence does support the conclusion that APS can reduce analgesic requirements without AEs. The best level of evidence was not adequate in most subgroups. Some limitations of this study may have affected the results, possibly leading to an overestimation of APS effects.

Stochastic sensitivity analysis of nitrogen pollution to climate change in a river basin with complex pollution sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaoying; Tan, Lit; He, Ruimin; Fu, Guangtao; Ye, Jinyin; Liu, Qun; Wang, Guoqing

2017-12-01

It is increasingly recognized that climate change could impose both direct and indirect impacts on the quality of the water environment. Previous studies have mostly concentrated on evaluating the impacts of climate change on non-point source pollution in agricultural watersheds. Few studies have assessed the impacts of climate change on the water quality of river basins with complex point and non-point pollution sources. In view of the gap, this paper aims to establish a framework for stochastic assessment of the sensitivity of water quality to future climate change in a river basin with complex pollution sources. A sub-daily soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was developed to simulate the discharge, transport, and transformation of nitrogen from multiple point and non-point pollution sources in the upper Huai River basin of China. A weather generator was used to produce 50 years of synthetic daily weather data series for all 25 combinations of precipitation (changes by - 10, 0, 10, 20, and 30%) and temperature change (increases by 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 °C) scenarios. The generated daily rainfall series was disaggregated into the hourly scale and then used to drive the sub-daily SWAT model to simulate the nitrogen cycle under different climate change scenarios. Our results in the study region have indicated that (1) both total nitrogen (TN) loads and concentrations are insensitive to temperature change; (2) TN loads are highly sensitive to precipitation change, while TN concentrations are moderately sensitive; (3) the impacts of climate change on TN concentrations are more spatiotemporally variable than its impacts on TN loads; and (4) wide distributions of TN loads and TN concentrations under individual climate change scenario illustrate the important role of climatic variability in affecting water quality conditions. In summary, the large variability in SWAT simulation results within and between each climate change scenario highlights the uncertainty of

Immunological changes at point-of-lay increase susceptibility to Salmonella enterica Serovar enteritidis infection in vaccinated chickens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire E Johnston

Full Text Available Chicken eggs are the main source of human Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis infection. S. Enteritidis infects the oviduct and ovary of the chicken leading to infection of developing eggs. Therefore, control in poultry production is a major public health priority. Vaccination of hens has proved successful in control strategies in United Kingdom leading to a 70% drop in human cases since introduced. However, as hens reach sexual maturity they become immunosuppressed and it has been postulated this leads to increased susceptibility to Salmonella infection. In this study we define the changes to the systemic and reproductive tract-associated immune system of hens throughout sexual development by flow cytometry and histology and determine changes in susceptibility to experimental S. Enteritidis challenge in naive and vaccinated hens. Changes to both systemic and local immune systems occur in chickens at sexual development around 140 days of age. The population of several leukocyte classes drop, with the greatest fall in CD4+ lymphocyte numbers. Within the developing reproductive tract there an organised structure of lymphocytic aggregates with γδ-T lymphocytes associated with the mucosa. At point-of-lay, this organised structure disappears and only scattered lymphocytes remain. Protection against Salmonella challenge is significantly reduced in vaccinated birds at point-of-lay, coinciding with the drop in CD4+ lymphocytes. Susceptibility to reproductive tract infection by Salmonella increased in vaccinated and naïve animals at 140 and 148 days of age. We hypothesise that the drop in γδ-T lymphocytes in the tract leads to decreased innate protection of the mucosa to infection. These findings indicate that systemic and local changes to the immune system increase the susceptibility of hens to S. Enteritidis infection. The loss of protective immunity in vaccinated birds demonstrates that Salmonella control should not rely on vaccination alone

Applications of multiscale change point detections to monthly stream flow and rainfall in Xijiang River in southern China, part I: correlation and variance

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yuxiang; Jiang, Jianmin; Huang, Changxing; Chen, Yongqin David; Zhang, Qiang

2018-04-01

This article, as part I, introduces three algorithms and applies them to both series of the monthly stream flow and rainfall in Xijiang River, southern China. The three algorithms include (1) normalization of probability distribution, (2) scanning U test for change points in correlation between two time series, and (3) scanning F-test for change points in variances. The normalization algorithm adopts the quantile method to normalize data from a non-normal into the normal probability distribution. The scanning U test and F-test have three common features: grafting the classical statistics onto the wavelet algorithm, adding corrections for independence into each statistic criteria at given confidence respectively, and being almost objective and automatic detection on multiscale time scales. In addition, the coherency analyses between two series are also carried out for changes in variance. The application results show that the changes of the monthly discharge are still controlled by natural precipitation variations in Xijiang's fluvial system. Human activities disturbed the ecological balance perhaps in certain content and in shorter spells but did not violate the natural relationships of correlation and variance changes so far.

Zero Point of Historical Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.S. Khakimov

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Historical studies are based on the assumption that there is a reference-starting point of the space-time – the Zero point of coordinate system. Due to the bifurcation in the Zero Point, the course of social processes changes sharply and the probabilistic causality replaces the deterministic one. For this reason, changes occur in the structure of social relations and statehood form as well as in the course of the ethnic processes. In such a way emerges a new discourse of the national behavior. With regard to the history of the Tatars and Tatarstan, such bifurcation points occurred in the periods of the formation: 1 of the Turkic Khaganate, which began to exist from the 6th century onward and became a qualitatively new State system that reformatted old elements in the new matrix introducing a new discourse of behavior; 2 of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, where the rivers (Kama, Volga, Vyatka became the most important trade routes determining the singularity of this State. Here the nomadic culture was connected with the settled one and Islam became the official religion in 922; 3 and of the Golden Hordе, a powerful State with a remarkable system of communication, migration of huge human resources for thousands of kilometers, and extensive trade, that caused severe “mutations” in the ethnic terms and a huge mixing of ethnic groups. Given the dwelling space of Tatar population and its evolution within Russia, it can be argued that the Zero point of Tatar history, which conveyed the cultural invariants until today, begins in the Golden Horde. Neither in the Turkic khaganate nor in the Bulgar State, but namely in the Golden Horde. Despite the radical changes, the Russian Empire failed to transform the Tatars in the Russians. Therefore, contemporary Tatars preserved the Golden Horde tradition as a cultural invariant.

Detecting outliers and/or leverage points: a robust two-stage procedure with bootstrap cut-off points

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ettore Marubini

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a robust two-stage procedure for identification of outlying observations in regression analysis. The exploratory stage identifies leverage points and vertical outliers through a robust distance estimator based on Minimum Covariance Determinant (MCD. After deletion of these points, the confirmatory stage carries out an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS analysis on the remaining subset of data and investigates the effect of adding back in the previously deleted observations. Cut-off points pertinent to different diagnostics are generated by bootstrapping and the cases are definitely labelled as good-leverage, bad-leverage, vertical outliers and typical cases. The procedure is applied to four examples.

Numerical analysis for multi-group neutron-diffusion equation using Radial Point Interpolation Method (RPIM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyung-O; Jeong, Hae Sun; Jo, Daeseong

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Employing the Radial Point Interpolation Method (RPIM) in numerical analysis of multi-group neutron-diffusion equation. • Establishing mathematical formation of modified multi-group neutron-diffusion equation by RPIM. • Performing the numerical analysis for 2D critical problem. - Abstract: A mesh-free method is introduced to overcome the drawbacks (e.g., mesh generation and connectivity definition between the meshes) of mesh-based (nodal) methods such as the finite-element method and finite-difference method. In particular, the Point Interpolation Method (PIM) using a radial basis function is employed in the numerical analysis for the multi-group neutron-diffusion equation. The benchmark calculations are performed for the 2D homogeneous and heterogeneous problems, and the Multiquadrics (MQ) and Gaussian (EXP) functions are employed to analyze the effect of the radial basis function on the numerical solution. Additionally, the effect of the dimensionless shape parameter in those functions on the calculation accuracy is evaluated. According to the results, the radial PIM (RPIM) can provide a highly accurate solution for the multiplication eigenvalue and the neutron flux distribution, and the numerical solution with the MQ radial basis function exhibits the stable accuracy with respect to the reference solutions compared with the other solution. The dimensionless shape parameter directly affects the calculation accuracy and computing time. Values between 1.87 and 3.0 for the benchmark problems considered in this study lead to the most accurate solution. The difference between the analytical and numerical results for the neutron flux is significantly increased in the edge of the problem geometry, even though the maximum difference is lower than 4%. This phenomenon seems to arise from the derivative boundary condition at (x,0) and (0,y) positions, and it may be necessary to introduce additional strategy (e.g., the method using fictitious points and

Fermion-induced quantum critical points.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zi-Xiang; Jiang, Yi-Fan; Jian, Shao-Kai; Yao, Hong

2017-08-22

A unified theory of quantum critical points beyond the conventional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm remains unknown. According to Landau cubic criterion, phase transitions should be first-order when cubic terms of order parameters are allowed by symmetry in the Landau-Ginzburg free energy. Here, from renormalization group analysis, we show that second-order quantum phase transitions can occur at such putatively first-order transitions in interacting two-dimensional Dirac semimetals. As such type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points are induced by gapless fermions, we call them fermion-induced quantum critical points. We further introduce a microscopic model of SU(N) fermions on the honeycomb lattice featuring a transition between Dirac semimetals and Kekule valence bond solids. Remarkably, our large-scale sign-problem-free Majorana quantum Monte Carlo simulations show convincing evidences of a fermion-induced quantum critical points for N = 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, consistent with the renormalization group analysis. We finally discuss possible experimental realizations of the fermion-induced quantum critical points in graphene and graphene-like materials.Quantum phase transitions are governed by Landau-Ginzburg theory and the exceptions are rare. Here, Li et al. propose a type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points induced by gapless fermions in two-dimensional Dirac semimetals.

Modulation of sociotechnical change as climate change challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arentsen, M.J.; Eberg, J.W.

2001-01-01

Results of the MATRIC (Management of Technology Responses to the Climate Change Challenge) project are summarized. The project empirically studied technological change and innovation to learn more about the contingencies conditioning and influencing these processes with the aim to recommend national technology oriented climate change policies. The first chapter explains the background, the central research question, the structure and the methodology of Matric. The central research question was how to modulate the ongoing dynamics of socio-technical change to the climate change needs. Chapter two summarizes the core of the analytical framework of Matric. The fundamental idea of social embedding of technology has been the analytical point of departure of the Matric project. It says that innovations emerge and technology changes in close interaction with its social environment. The social environment turns out to be a strong conditioner of technological change and development and therefore, technology and its embedding social environment tend to co-evolve in the course of time. Co-evolution of technology and its social environment theoretically draws on evolutionary oriented economics and sociology. Both theoretical traditions are in turn inspired by biologically oriented. Chapter three summarizes the empirical findings of the analysis of socio-technical change patterns in three cases: electricity generation and use, car-based transport and mobility and eco-efficiency in industrial production. The cases have been selected for their climate change impact and for their social and economic significance. Chapter four comparatively analyzes the significance of the analytical and empirical findings of Matric for the central research question of the project. The chapter comparatively analysis the general pattern of the development, the change and development of the socio-technical regimes, the socio-technical governance arrangements and processes and the public policy

Is the virulence of HIV changing? A meta-analysis of trends in prognostic markers of HIV disease progression and transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Herbeck, Joshua T.; Müller, Viktor; Maust, Brandon S.; Ledergerber, Bruno; Torti, Carlo; Di Giambenedetto, Simona; Gras, Luuk; Günthard, Huldrych F.; Jacobson, Lisa P.; Mullins, James I.; Gottlieb, Geoffrey S.

2013-01-01

Objective The potential for changing HIV-1 virulence has significant implications for the AIDS epidemic, including changing HIV transmission rates, rapidity of disease progression, and timing of ART. Published data to date have provided conflicting results. Design We conducted a meta-analysis of changes in baseline CD4+ T-cell counts and set point plasma viral RNA load over time in order to establish whether summary trends are consistent with changing HIV-1 virulence. Methods We searched PubMed for studies of trends in HIV-1 prognostic markers of disease progression and supplemented findings with publications referenced in epidemiological or virulence studies. We identified 12 studies of trends in baseline CD4+ T-cell counts (21 052 total individuals), and eight studies of trends in set point viral loads (10 785 total individuals), spanning the years 1984–2010. Using random-effects meta-analysis, we estimated summary effect sizes for trends in HIV-1 plasma viral loads and CD4+ T-cell counts. Results Baseline CD4+ T-cell counts showed a summary trend of decreasing cell counts [effect=−4.93 cells/µl per year, 95% confidence interval (CI) −6.53 to −3.3]. Set point viral loads showed a summary trend of increasing plasma viral RNA loads (effect=0.013 log10 copies/ml per year, 95% CI −0.001 to 0.03). The trend rates decelerated in recent years for both prognostic markers. Conclusion Our results are consistent with increased virulence of HIV-1 over the course of the epidemic. Extrapolating over the 30 years since the first description of AIDS, this represents a CD4+ T cells loss of approximately 148 cells/µl and a gain of 0.39 log10 copies/ml of viral RNA measured during early infection. These effect sizes would predict increasing rates of disease progression, and need for ART as well as increasing transmission risk. PMID:22089381

Introduction of the system of hazard analysis critical control point to ensure the safety of irradiated food

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajet, A.S.

2014-01-01

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a preventive system for food safety. It identifies safety risks faced by food. Identified points are controlled ensuring product safety. Because of presence of many of the pathogenic microorganisms and parasites in food which caused cases of food poisoning and many diseases transmitted through food, the current methods of food production could not prevent food contamination or prevent the growth of these pathogens completely because of being a part of the normal flora in the environment. Irradiation technology helped to control diseases transmitted through food, caused by pathological microorganisms and parasites present in food. The application of a system based on risk analysis as a means of risk management in food chain, demonstrated the importance of food irradiation. (author)

Constructing Madness. Discourse analysis of changes in the DSM

OpenAIRE

Böröndi, Anita

2014-01-01

Understandings of mental disorders have changed over time and related concepts are often contested and definitions. This project used discourse analysis to analyse how the official definition of substance related disorders have changed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in comparison with the previous fourth edition (APA, 2000, 2013a). In particular, the analysis focused on how the changes are presented as justified in academic discourse. Three r...

Hardening in AlN induced by point defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suematsu, H.; Mitchell, T.E.; Iseki, T.; Yano, T.

1991-01-01

Pressureless-sintered AIN was neutron irradiated and the hardness change was examined by Vickers indentation. The hardness was increased by irradiation. When the samples were annealed at high temperature, the hardness gradually decreased. Length was also found to increase and to change in the same way as the hardness. A considerable density of dislocation loops still remained, even after the hardness completely recovered to the value of the unirradiated sample. Thus, it is concluded that the hardening in AIN is caused by isolated point defects and small clusters of point defects, rather than by dislocation loops. Hardness was found to increase in proportion to the length change. If the length change is assumed to be proportional to the point defect density, then the curve could be fitted qualitatively to that predicted by models of solution hardening in metals. Furthermore, the curves for three samples irradiated at different temperatures and fluences are identical. There should be different kinds of defect clusters in samples irradiated at different conditions, e.g., the fraction of single point defects is the highest in the sample irradiated at the lowest temperature. Thus, hardening is insensitive to the kind of defects remaining in the sample and is influenced only by those which contribute to length change

Dew point measurement technique utilizing fiber cut reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Kostritskii, S. M.; Dikevich, A. A.; Korkishko, Yu. N.; Fedorov, V. A.

2009-05-01

The fiber optical dew point hygrometer based on change of reflection coefficient for fiber cut has been developed and examined. We proposed and verified the model of condensation detector functioning principle. Experimental frost point measurements on air with different frost points have been performed.

Application of hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) to organic chemical contaminants in food.

Science.gov (United States)

Ropkins, K; Beck, A J

2002-03-01

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic approach to the identification, assessment, and control of hazards that was developed as an effective alternative to conventional end-point analysis to control food safety. It has been described as the most effective means of controlling foodborne diseases, and its application to the control of microbiological hazards has been accepted internationally. By contrast, relatively little has been reported relating to the potential use of HACCP, or HACCP-like procedures, to control chemical contaminants of food. This article presents an overview of the implementation of HACCP and discusses its application to the control of organic chemical contaminants in the food chain. Although this is likely to result in many of the advantages previously identified for microbiological HACCP, that is, more effective, efficient, and economical hazard management, a number of areas are identified that require further research and development. These include: (1) a need to refine the methods of chemical contaminant identification and risk assessment employed, (2) develop more cost-effective monitoring and control methods for routine chemical contaminant surveillance of food, and (3) improve the effectiveness of process optimization for the control of chemical contaminants in food.

Regional climate change mitigation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowlands, Ian H [UNEP Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment, and Univ. of Waterloo (Canada)

1998-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the key methodological issues that arise from an analysis of regional climate change mitigation options. The rationale for any analysis of regional mitigation activities, emphasising both the theoretical attractiveness and the existing political encouragement and the methodology that has been developed are reviewed. The differences arising from the fact that mitigation analyses have been taken from the level of the national - where the majority of the work has been completed to date - to the level of the international - that is, the `regional` - will be especially highlighted. (EG)

Regional climate change mitigation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowlands, Ian H.

1998-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the key methodological issues that arise from an analysis of regional climate change mitigation options. The rationale for any analysis of regional mitigation activities, emphasising both the theoretical attractiveness and the existing political encouragement and the methodology that has been developed are reviewed. The differences arising from the fact that mitigation analyses have been taken from the level of the national - where the majority of the work has been completed to date - to the level of the international - that is, the 'regional' - will be especially highlighted. (EG)

The Philosophy of Turning Points

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turcan, Romeo V.

2013-01-01

business and management field, the turning point is seen as a valuable unit of analysis within the research field. It is expected that this paper will encourage a dynamic scholarly conversation about the concept of turning point and how it can aid international business researchers in the development...

Teach yourself visually PowerPoint 2013

CERN Document Server

Wood, William

2013-01-01

A straightforward, visual approach to learning the new PowerPoint 2013! PowerPoint 2013 boasts updated features and new possibilities; this highly visual tutorial provides step-by-step instructions to help you learn all the capabilities of PowerPoint 2013. It covers the basics, as well as all the exciting new changes and additions in a series of easy-to-follow, full-color, two-page tutorials. Learn how to create slides, dress them up using templates and graphics, add sound and animation, and more. This book is the ideal ""show me, don't tell me"" guide to PowerPoint 2013.De

Dual time point 18FDG-PET/CT versus single time point 18FDG-PET/CT for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary nodules - A meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Li; Wang, Yinzhong; Lei, Junqiang; Tian, Jinhui; Zhai, Yanan

2013-01-01

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most common cancer types in the world. An accurate diagnosis of lung cancer is crucial for early treatment and management. Purpose: To perform a comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual time point 18F-fluorodexyglucose position emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) and single time point 18FDG-PET/CT in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. Material and Methods: PubMed (1966-2011.11), EMBASE (1974-2011.11), Web of Science (1972-2011.11), Cochrane Library (-2011.11), and four Chinese databases; CBM (1978-2011.11), CNKI (1994-2011.11), VIP (1989-2011.11), and Wanfang Database (1994-2011.11) were searched. Summary sensitivity, summary specificity, summary diagnostic odds ratios (DOR), and summary positive likelihood ratios (LR+) and negative likelihood ratios (LR-) were obtained using Meta-Disc software. Summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual time point 18FDG-PET/CT and single time point 18FDG-PET/CT. Results: The inclusion criteria were fulfilled by eight articles, with a total of 415 patients and 430 pulmonary nodules. Compared with the gold standard (pathology or clinical follow-up), the summary sensitivity of dual time point 18FDG-PET/CT was 79% (95%CI, 74.0 - 84.0%), and its summary specificity was 73% (95%CI, 65.0-79.0%); the summary LR+ was 2.61 (95%CI, 1.96-3.47), and the summary LR- was 0.29 (95%CI, 0.21 - 0.41); the summary DOR was 10.25 (95%CI, 5.79 - 18.14), and the area under the SROC curve (AUC) was 0.8244. The summary sensitivity for single time point 18FDG-PET/CT was 77% (95%CI, 71.9 - 82.3%), and its summary specificity was 59% (95%CI, 50.6 - 66.2%); the summary LR+ was 1.97 (95%CI, 1.32 - 2.93), and the summary LR- was 0.37 (95%CI, 0.29 - 0.49); the summary DOR was 6.39 (95%CI, 3.39 - 12.05), and the AUC was 0.8220. Conclusion: The results indicate that dual time point 18FDG-PET/CT and single

The kinetics of colour change in textiles and fibres treated with detergent solutions. Part I-Colour perception and fluorescence microscopy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Was-Gubala, Jolanta

2009-09-01

The aim of this study was to assess colour changes that occur in several types of commonly available textiles as a result of the long-term effects of various popularly used laundry detergents. A 14 day experiment was conducted using blue, red and grey/black cotton, wool, acrylic and polyester textiles. Colour changes were evaluated through the visual comparison of the colour of the textile samples against that of the untreated (control) material. The kinetics of the changes in the colour of the fibres were monitored using fluorescence microscopy (UV excitation filter). The conclusions include an assessment of the observed changes from a fibre analysis expert's point of view, as well as that of an average user/consumer of the products involved.

Temporal trends in United States dew point temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Peter J.

2000-07-01

In this study, hourly data for the 1951-1990 period for 178 stations in the coterminous United States were used to establish temporal trends in dew point temperature. Although the data had been quality controlled previously (Robinson, 1998. Monthly variations of dew point temperatures in the coterminous United States. International Journal of Climatology 18: 1539-1556), comparisons of values between nearby stations suggested that instrumental changes, combined with locational changes, may have modified the results by as much as 1°C during the 40-year period. Nevertheless, seasonally averaged results indicated an increase over much of the area, of slightly over 1°C/100 years in spring and autumn, slightly less than this in summer. Winter displayed a drying of over 1°C/100 years. When only the 1961-1990 period was considered, the patterns were similar and trends increased by approximately 1-2°C/100 years, except in autumn, which displayed a slight drying. Analyses for specific stations indicated periods of both increasing and decreasing Td, the change between them varying with observation hour. No single change point was common over a wide area, although January commonly indicated maximum values early in the period in the east and west, and much later in the north-central portion. Rates of increase were generally higher in daytime than at night, especially in summer. Investigation of the inter-decadal differences in dew point, as a function of wind conditions, indicated that changes during calm conditions were commonly similar in magnitude to that of the overall average changes, suggesting an important role for the local hydrologic cycle in driving changes. Other inter-decadal changes could be attributed to the changes in the frequency and moisture content of invading air-streams. This was particularly clear for the changes in north-south flow in the interior.

Modeling fixation locations using spatial point processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barthelmé, Simon; Trukenbrod, Hans; Engbert, Ralf; Wichmann, Felix

2013-10-01

Whenever eye movements are measured, a central part of the analysis has to do with where subjects fixate and why they fixated where they fixated. To a first approximation, a set of fixations can be viewed as a set of points in space; this implies that fixations are spatial data and that the analysis of fixation locations can be beneficially thought of as a spatial statistics problem. We argue that thinking of fixation locations as arising from point processes is a very fruitful framework for eye-movement data, helping turn qualitative questions into quantitative ones. We provide a tutorial introduction to some of the main ideas of the field of spatial statistics, focusing especially on spatial Poisson processes. We show how point processes help relate image properties to fixation locations. In particular we show how point processes naturally express the idea that image features' predictability for fixations may vary from one image to another. We review other methods of analysis used in the literature, show how they relate to point process theory, and argue that thinking in terms of point processes substantially extends the range of analyses that can be performed and clarify their interpretation.

Extended analysis of cooling curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djurdjevic, M.B.; Kierkus, W.T.; Liliac, R.E.; Sokolowski, J.H.

2002-01-01

Thermal Analysis (TA) is the measurement of changes in a physical property of a material that is heated through a phase transformation temperature range. The temperature changes in the material are recorded as a function of the heating or cooling time in such a manner that allows for the detection of phase transformations. In order to increase accuracy, characteristic points on the cooling curve have been identified using the first derivative curve plotted versus time. In this paper, an alternative approach to the analysis of the cooling curve has been proposed. The first derivative curve has been plotted versus temperature and all characteristic points have been identified with the same accuracy achieved using the traditional method. The new cooling curve analysis also enables the Dendrite Coherency Point (DCP) to be detected using only one thermocouple. (author)

Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit (LCCB) Analysis of Bridges from a User and Social Point of View

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle

2009-01-01

is to present and discuss some of these problems from a user and social point of view. A brief presentation of a preliminary study of the importance of including benefits in life-cycle cost-benefit analysis in management systems for bridges is shown. Benefits may be positive as well as negative from the user...... point of view. In the paper, negative benefits (user costs) are discussed in relation to the maintenance of concrete bridges. A limited number of excerpts from published reports that are related to the importance of estimating user costs when repairs of bridges are planned, and when optimized strategies......During the last two decades, important progress has been made in the life-cycle cost-benefit (LCCB) analysis of structures, especially offshore platforms, bridges and nuclear installations. Due to the large uncertainties related to the deterioration, maintenance, and benefits of such structures...

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) to guarantee safe water reuse and drinking water production--a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewettinck, T; Van Houtte, E; Geenens, D; Van Hege, K; Verstraete, W

2001-01-01

To obtain a sustainable water catchment in the dune area of the Flemish west coast, the integration of treated domestic wastewater in the existing potable water production process is planned. The hygienic hazards associated with the introduction of treated domestic wastewater into the water cycle are well recognised. Therefore, the concept of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) was used to guarantee hygienically safe drinking water production. Taking into account the literature data on the removal efficiencies of the proposed advanced treatment steps with regard to enteric viruses and protozoa and after setting high quality limits based on the recent progress in quantitative risk assessment, the critical control points (CCPs) and points of attention (POAs) were identified. Based on the HACCP analysis a specific monitoring strategy was developed which focused on the control of these CCPs and POAs.

Pseudo-dynamic source modelling with 1-point and 2-point statistics of earthquake source parameters

KAUST Repository

Song, S. G.

2013-12-24

Ground motion prediction is an essential element in seismic hazard and risk analysis. Empirical ground motion prediction approaches have been widely used in the community, but efficient simulation-based ground motion prediction methods are needed to complement empirical approaches, especially in the regions with limited data constraints. Recently, dynamic rupture modelling has been successfully adopted in physics-based source and ground motion modelling, but it is still computationally demanding and many input parameters are not well constrained by observational data. Pseudo-dynamic source modelling keeps the form of kinematic modelling with its computational efficiency, but also tries to emulate the physics of source process. In this paper, we develop a statistical framework that governs the finite-fault rupture process with 1-point and 2-point statistics of source parameters in order to quantify the variability of finite source models for future scenario events. We test this method by extracting 1-point and 2-point statistics from dynamically derived source models and simulating a number of rupture scenarios, given target 1-point and 2-point statistics. We propose a new rupture model generator for stochastic source modelling with the covariance matrix constructed from target 2-point statistics, that is, auto- and cross-correlations. Our sensitivity analysis of near-source ground motions to 1-point and 2-point statistics of source parameters provides insights into relations between statistical rupture properties and ground motions. We observe that larger standard deviation and stronger correlation produce stronger peak ground motions in general. The proposed new source modelling approach will contribute to understanding the effect of earthquake source on near-source ground motion characteristics in a more quantitative and systematic way.

Analysis of stagnation point flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph E. Paullet

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Several recent papers have investigated the two-dimensional stagnation point flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid by employing a similarity change of variable to reduce the governing PDEs to a nonlinear third order ODE boundary value problem (BVP. In these previous works, the BVP was studied numerically and several conjectures regarding the existence and behavior of the solutions were made. The purpose of this article is to mathematically verify these conjectures. We prove the existence of a solution to the BVP for all relevant values of the elasticity parameter. We also prove that this solution has monotonically increasing first derivative, thus verifying the conjecture that no ``overshoot'' of the boundary condition occurs. Uniqueness results are presented for a large range of parameter space and bounds on the skin friction coefficient are calculated.

[Introduction of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles at the flight catering food production plant].

Science.gov (United States)

Popova, A Yu; Trukhina, G M; Mikailova, O M

In the article there is considered the quality control and safety system implemented in the one of the largest flight catering food production plant for airline passengers and flying squad. The system for the control was based on the Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and developed hygienic and antiepidemic measures. There is considered the identification of hazard factors at stages of the technical process. There are presented results of the analysis data of monitoring for 6 critical control points over the five-year period. The quality control and safety system permit to decline food contamination risk during acceptance, preparation and supplying of in-flight meal. There was proved the efficiency of the implemented system. There are determined further ways of harmonization and implementation for HACCP principles in the plant.

Tuning the color point of a white LED

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adhikary, Manashee; Meretska, Maryna; Ladovrechis, K.; Fokkema, Wouter K.; Vissenberg, Gilles; Lagendijk, Ad; Ijzerman, W.L.; Vos, Willem L.

2018-01-01

White light is conveniently characterized by a color point that is represented on the color space. Color point of white LED is fixed by the design parameters (e.g. Phosphor type and concentration). When the design parameters are chosen, the color point of the white LED cannot be changed. Here, we

Coastline changes in North Bengkalis Island, Indonesia: satellite imagery analysis and observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Mubarak

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Coastal area activity on human exploitation greatly affected aquatic ecosystems. Land changes disturbed the level of soil stability, soil will be easily eroded by the flow of water, the surface tide ran off to the sea. North waters of the island of Bengkalis is a place boiling down to several rivers, including the river Jangkang and river Liung. The rivers have affected the concentration of total suspended solid (TSS in the strait waters of North Bengkalis Island. This research demonstrated water sampling by using sampling point determined by purposive sampling method mixing the layer of water depth ratio. The results based on satellite imagery data showed that TSS was quite high in the West season period until the transition period I (West to East with a large concentration value of 200 mg / L. For the lowest TSS concentration occurred in the East season i.e., between 0 - 200 mg/L. TSS concentrations that dominated in the East season ranged from 51 to 75 mg/L This value was higher than the TSS concentration of field data analysis, i.e., between 23 - 39 mg/L. Changes of coastal coastline of North Bengkalis during the last 20 years continue to change the size of the land area, with a land area of 131 ha lost.

Can fisheries-induced evolution shift reference points for fisheries management?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heino, Mikko; Baulier, Loїc; Boukal, David S.

2013-01-01

Biological reference points are important tools for fisheries management. Reference points are not static, but may change when a population's environment or the population itself changes. Fisheries-induced evolution is one mechanism that can alter population characteristics, leading to “shifting...

Euler Strut: A Mechanical Analogy for Dynamics in the Vicinity of a Critical Point

Science.gov (United States)

Bobnar, Jaka; Susman, Katarina; Parsegian, V. Adrian; Rand, Peter R.; Cepic, Mojca; Podgornik, Rudolf

2011-01-01

An anchored elastic filament (Euler strut) under an external point load applied to its free end is a simple model for a second-order phase transition. In the static case, a load greater than the critical load causes a Euler buckling instability, leading to a change in the filament's shape. The analysis of filament dynamics with an external point…

47 CFR 73.158 - Directional antenna monitoring points.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... construction or other disturbances to the measured field, an application to change the monitoring point location, including FCC Form 302-AM, is to be promptly submitted to the FCC in Washington, DC. (1) If the..., the licensee shall select a new monitoring point from the points measured in the last full proof of...

Mode analysis of heuristic behavior of searching for multimodal optimum point

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamei, K; Araki, Y; Inoue, K

1982-01-01

Describes an experimental study of a heuristic behavior of searching for the global optimum (maximum) point of a two-dimensional, multimodal, nonlinear and unknown function. First, the authors define three modes dealing with the trial purposes, called the purpose modes and show the heuristic search behaviors expressed by the purpose modes which the human subjects select in the search experiments. Second, the authors classify the heuristic search behaviors into three types according to the mode transitions and extracts eight states of searches which cause the mode transitions. Third, a model of the heuristic search behavior is composed of the eight mode transitions. The analysis of the heuristic search behaviors by use of the purpose modes plays an important role in the heuristic search techniques. 6 references.

Meta-analysis of skeletal mandibular changes during Frankel appliance treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Perillo, Letizia; Cannavale, Rosangela; Ferro, Fabrizia; Franchi, Lorenzo; Masucci, Caterina; Chiodini, Paolo; Baccetti, Tiziano

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of articles to verify the mandibular changes produced by the Fränkel-2 (FR-2) appliance during the treatment of growing patients with Class II malocclusions when compared with untreated growing Class II subjects. The literature published from January 1966 to January 2009 was reviewed with search engines. A quality analysis was performed. The effects on primary end points were calculated with random-effect models. Heterogeneity was assessed using Q statistic and investigated using study-level meta-regression. A total of nine articles were identified. The quality of the studies ranged from low to medium. Meta-analysis showed that the FR-2 was associated with enhancement of mandibular body length [0.4 mm/year 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 0.182-0.618], total mandibular length (1.069 mm/year, 95 per cent CI 0.683-1.455), and mandibular ramus height (0.654 mm/year, 95 per cent CI 0.244-1.064). A consistent heterogeneity among studies was found for all the considered linear measurements. The FR-2 appliance had a statistically significant effect on mandibular growth. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity of the FR-2 effects, the quality of studies, the differences in age, skeletal age, treatment duration, and the inconsistent initial diagnosis seem to overstate the benefits of the FR-2 appliance. An evidence-based approach to the orthodontic outcomes of FR-2 appliance is needed, by selecting and comparing groups of children with the same cephalometric characteristics with and without treatment.

A systematic analysis of the Braitenberg vehicle 2b for point-like stimulus sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rañó, Iñaki

2012-01-01

Braitenberg vehicles have been used experimentally for decades in robotics with limited empirical understanding. This paper presents the first mathematical model of the vehicle 2b, displaying so-called aggression behaviour, and analyses the possible trajectories for point-like smooth stimulus sources. This sensory-motor steering control mechanism is used to implement biologically grounded target approach, target-seeking or obstacle-avoidance behaviour. However, the analysis of the resulting model reveals that complex and unexpected trajectories can result even for point-like stimuli. We also prove how the implementation of the controller and the vehicle morphology interact to affect the behaviour of the vehicle. This work provides a better understanding of Braitenberg vehicle 2b, explains experimental results and paves the way for a formally grounded application on robotics as well as for a new way of understanding target seeking in biology. (paper)

On Recall Rate of Interest Point Detectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aanæs, Henrik; Dahl, Anders Lindbjerg; Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup

2010-01-01

in relation to the number of interest points, the recall rate as a function of camera position and light variation, and the sensitivity relative to model parameter change. The overall conclusion is that the Harris corner detector has a very high recall rate, but is sensitive to change in scale. The Hessian......In this paper we provide a method for evaluating interest point detectors independently of image descriptors. This is possible because we have compiled a unique data set enabling us to determine if common interest points are found. The data contains 60 scenes of a wide range of object types......, and for each scene we have 119 precisely located camera positions obtained from a camera mounted on an industrial robot arm. The scene surfaces have been scanned using structured light, providing precise 3D ground truth. We have investigated a number of the most popular interest point detectors. This is done...

It's all change at the visit points

CERN Multimedia

Laëtitia Pedroso

2011-01-01

58,000 people visited CERN in 2010. In spite of this success, the Organization has plans to review the installations at the various visit points with a view to making the links between them clearer and, above all, making tours of the Laboratory more spectacular.   CERN Control Centre. The permanent exhibition in the Globe of Science and Innovation, the "Universe of Particles", attracts large numbers of visitors. A high-tech venue offering an overview of CERN's research goals, tools and impact throughout the world, the Globe acts as a showcase for the Laboratory. "The Globe is an ideal place to start a tour of CERN. After experiencing a virtual experiment at the heart of the Universe, visitors are keen to find out what's behind it all, to know more about the research we do here at CERN.When it was still possible to see the LHC detectors, visitors were bowled over by their huge size. To continue to surprise them to the same extent, we are planning to reorganise the visit...

NOTE: Do acupuncture points exist?

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Xiaohui; Zhang, Xinyi; Liu, Chenglin; Dang, Ruishan; Huang, Yuying; He, Wei; Ding, Guanghong

2009-05-01

We used synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis to probe the distribution of four chemical elements in and around acupuncture points, two located in the forearm and two in the lower leg. Three of the four acupuncture points showed significantly elevated concentrations of elements Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in relation to levels in the surrounding tissue, with similar elevation ratios for Cu and Fe. The mapped distribution of these elements implies that each acupuncture point seems to be elliptical with the long axis along the meridian.

Chopped or long roughage: what do calves prefer? Using cross point analysis of double demand functions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Webb, L.E.; Bak Jensen, M.; Engel, B.; Reenen, van C.G.; Gerrits, W.J.J.; Boer, de I.J.M.; Bokkers, E.A.M.

2014-01-01

The present study aimed to quantify calves'(Bos taurus) preference for long versus chopped hay and straw, and hay versus straw, using cross point analysis of double demand functions, in a context where energy intake was not a limiting factor. Nine calves, fed milk replacer and concentrate, were

Visualizing Robustness of Critical Points for 2D Time-Varying Vector Fields

KAUST Repository

Wang, B.

2013-06-01

Analyzing critical points and their temporal evolutions plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of vector fields. A key challenge is to quantify the stability of critical points: more stable points may represent more important phenomena or vice versa. The topological notion of robustness is a tool which allows us to quantify rigorously the stability of each critical point. Intuitively, the robustness of a critical point is the minimum amount of perturbation necessary to cancel it within a local neighborhood, measured under an appropriate metric. In this paper, we introduce a new analysis and visualization framework which enables interactive exploration of robustness of critical points for both stationary and time-varying 2D vector fields. This framework allows the end-users, for the first time, to investigate how the stability of a critical point evolves over time. We show that this depends heavily on the global properties of the vector field and that structural changes can correspond to interesting behavior. We demonstrate the practicality of our theories and techniques on several datasets involving combustion and oceanic eddy simulations and obtain some key insights regarding their stable and unstable features. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Visualizing Robustness of Critical Points for 2D Time-Varying Vector Fields

KAUST Repository

Wang, B.; Rosen, P.; Skraba, P.; Bhatia, H.; Pascucci, V.

2013-01-01

Analyzing critical points and their temporal evolutions plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of vector fields. A key challenge is to quantify the stability of critical points: more stable points may represent more important phenomena or vice versa. The topological notion of robustness is a tool which allows us to quantify rigorously the stability of each critical point. Intuitively, the robustness of a critical point is the minimum amount of perturbation necessary to cancel it within a local neighborhood, measured under an appropriate metric. In this paper, we introduce a new analysis and visualization framework which enables interactive exploration of robustness of critical points for both stationary and time-varying 2D vector fields. This framework allows the end-users, for the first time, to investigate how the stability of a critical point evolves over time. We show that this depends heavily on the global properties of the vector field and that structural changes can correspond to interesting behavior. We demonstrate the practicality of our theories and techniques on several datasets involving combustion and oceanic eddy simulations and obtain some key insights regarding their stable and unstable features. © 2013 The Author(s) Computer Graphics Forum © 2013 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Recent advances in analysis and prediction of Rock Falls, Rock Slides, and Rock Avalanches using 3D point clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Abellan, A.; Carrea, D.; Jaboyedoff, M.; Riquelme, A.; Tomas, R.; Royan, M. J.; Vilaplana, J. M.; Gauvin, N.

2014-12-01

The acquisition of dense terrain information using well-established 3D techniques (e.g. LiDAR, photogrammetry) and the use of new mobile platforms (e.g. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) together with the increasingly efficient post-processing workflows for image treatment (e.g. Structure From Motion) are opening up new possibilities for analysing, modeling and predicting rock slope failures. Examples of applications at different scales ranging from the monitoring of small changes at unprecedented level of detail (e.g. sub millimeter-scale deformation under lab-scale conditions) to the detection of slope deformation at regional scale. In this communication we will show the main accomplishments of the Swiss National Foundation project "Characterizing and analysing 3D temporal slope evolution" carried out at Risk Analysis group (Univ. of Lausanne) in close collaboration with the RISKNAT and INTERES groups (Univ. of Barcelona and Univ. of Alicante, respectively). We have recently developed a series of innovative approaches for rock slope analysis using 3D point clouds, some examples include: the development of semi-automatic methodologies for the identification and extraction of rock-slope features such as discontinuities, type of material, rockfalls occurrence and deformation. Moreover, we have been improving our knowledge in progressive rupture characterization thanks to several algorithms, some examples include the computing of 3D deformation, the use of filtering techniques on permanently based TLS, the use of rock slope failure analogies at different scales (laboratory simulations, monitoring at glacier's front, etc.), the modelling of the influence of external forces such as precipitation on the acceleration of the deformation rate, etc. We have also been interested on the analysis of rock slope deformation prior to the occurrence of fragmental rockfalls and the interaction of this deformation with the spatial location of future events. In spite of these recent advances

Critical Points in Distance Learning System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Airina Savickaitė

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose – This article presents the results of distance learning system analysis, i.e. the critical elements of the distance learning system. The critical points of distance learning are a part of distance education online environment interactivity/community process model. The most important is the fact that the critical point is associated with distance learning participants. Design/methodology/approach – Comparative review of articles and analysis of distance learning module. Findings – A modern man is a lifelong learner and distance learning is a way to be a modern person. The focus on a learner and feedback is the most important thing of learning distance system. Also, attention should be paid to the lecture-appropriate knowledge and ability to convey information. Distance system adaptation is the way to improve the learner’s learning outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Different learning disciplines and learning methods may have different critical points. Practical implications – The information of analysis could be important for both lecturers and students, who studies distance education systems. There are familiar critical points which may deteriorate the quality of learning. Originality/value – The study sought to develop remote systems for applications in order to improve the quality of knowledge. Keywords: distance learning, process model, critical points. Research type: review of literature and general overview.

Exergy analysis of an adiabatic compressed air energy storage system using a cascade of phase change materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tessier, Michael J.; Floros, Michael C.; Bouzidi, Laziz; Narine, Suresh S.

2016-01-01

Adiabatic compressed air energy storage is an emerging energy storage technology with excellent power and storage capacities. Currently, efficiencies are approximately 70%, in part due to the issue of heat loss during the compression stage. An exergy analysis is presented on a novel adiabatic compressed air energy storage system design utilizing a cascade of PCMs (phase change materials) for waste heat storage and recovery. The melting temperatures and enthalpies of the PCMs were optimized for this system and were shown to be dependent on the number of PCMs, the number of compression stages, and the maximum compression ratio. Efficiencies of storage and recovery using this approach are predicted to be as high as 85%, a 15% increase over current designs which do not incorporate PCMs. - Highlights: • A compressed air energy storage plant using phase change materials is proposed. • Increasing number of phase change materials increases roundtrip exergy efficiency. • A thermodynamic model allows melting points and latent heats required to be predicted.

Analysis of payload bay magnetic fields due to dc power multipoint and single point ground configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, R. M.

1976-01-01

An analysis of magnetic fields in the Orbiter Payload Bay resulting from the present grounding configuration (structure return) was presented and the amount of improvement that would result from installing wire returns for the three dc power buses was determined. Ac and dc magnetic fields at five points in a cross-section of the bay are calculated for both grounding configurations. Y and Z components of the field at each point are derived in terms of a constant coefficient and the current amplitude of each bus. The dc loads assumed are 100 Amperes for each bus. The ac noise current used is a spectrum 6 db higher than the Orbiter equipment limit for narrowband conducted emissions. It was concluded that installing return wiring to provide a single point ground for the dc Buses in the Payload Bay would reduce the ac and dc magnetic field intensity by approximately 30 db.

Local sensitivity of per-recruit fishing mortality reference points.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadigan, N G; Wang, S

2016-12-01

We study the sensitivity of fishery management per-recruit harvest rates which may be part of a quantitative harvest strategy designed to achieve some objective for catch or population size. We use a local influence sensitivity analysis to derive equations that describe how these reference harvest rates are affected by perturbations to productivity processes. These equations give a basic theoretical understanding of sensitivity that can be used to predict what the likely impacts of future changes in productivity will be. Our results indicate that per-recruit reference harvest rates are more sensitive to perturbations when the equilibrium catch or population size per recruit, as functions of the harvest rate, have less curvature near the reference point. Overall our results suggest that per recruit reference points will, with some exceptions, usually increase if (1) growth rates increase, (2) natural mortality rates increase, or (3) fishery selectivity increases to an older age.

How “Point Blindness” Dilutes the Value of Stock Market Reports

OpenAIRE

Lupia, Arthur; Grafstrom, Cassandra; Krupnikov, Yanna; Levine, Adam Seth; MacMillan, William; McGovern, Erin

2008-01-01

The stock index “point” is a focal component of financial news reports. While much attention is paid to changes in stock index point totals, few people realize that the value of a stock index “point” varies (and has recently declined). We call this perceptual phenomenon “point blindness” and explain its threat to investors. Simple changes in media presentations of stock index information can counter point blindness. These changes are easy to implement and can help audiences make better financ...

Classification of species in the genus Penicillium by Curie point pyrolysis/mass spectrometry followed by multivariate analysis and artificial neural networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Torben; Bassani, Maria R.; Larsen, Thomas Ostenfeld

1996-01-01

different agar media, replicates of the same species grouped together. Likewise, a satisfactory classification was achieved by multivariate analysis of the data for various isolates of the cheese-associated fungi Aspergillus versicolor, P. discolor, P. roqueforti, P. solitum, P. verrucosum, P. commune and P......Curie point pyrolysis/mass spectrometry of Penicillium species was performed with 530 degrees C Curie point foils. The mass spectra were submitted to principal component analysis, canonical variates analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, producing a final dendrogram by the use of average....... palitans. However, some difficulties appeared in distinguishing the closely related species P. commune and P. palitans. Such difficulties became greater on including more isolates and limiting the analysis to five of the species. The use of back-propagation artificial neural networks, in contrast, resulted...

Growth Curve Analysis and Change-Points Detection in Extremes

KAUST Repository

Meng, Rui

2016-01-01

of salinity tolerance in plants is crucial to understanding plant growth and productivity. Because fully-automated smarthouses with conveyor systems allow non-destructive and high-throughput phenotyping of large number of plants, it is now possible to apply

Trajectories of Neighborhood Change : Spatial Patterns of Increasing Ethnic Diversity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwiers, M.D.; van Ham, M.; Manley, D.J.

Western cities are increasingly ethnically diverse and in most cities the share of ethnic minorities is growing. Studies analyzing changing ethnic geographies often limit their analysis to changes in ethnic concentrations in neighborhoods between two points in time. Such a static approach limits our

Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change in racial discrimination in hiring over time.

Science.gov (United States)

Quillian, Lincoln; Pager, Devah; Hexel, Ole; Midtbøen, Arnfinn H

2017-10-10

This study investigates change over time in the level of hiring discrimination in US labor markets. We perform a meta-analysis of every available field experiment of hiring discrimination against African Americans or Latinos ( n = 28). Together, these studies represent 55,842 applications submitted for 26,326 positions. We focus on trends since 1989 ( n = 24 studies), when field experiments became more common and improved methodologically. Since 1989, whites receive on average 36% more callbacks than African Americans, and 24% more callbacks than Latinos. We observe no change in the level of hiring discrimination against African Americans over the past 25 years, although we find modest evidence of a decline in discrimination against Latinos. Accounting for applicant education, applicant gender, study method, occupational groups, and local labor market conditions does little to alter this result. Contrary to claims of declining discrimination in American society, our estimates suggest that levels of discrimination remain largely unchanged, at least at the point of hire.

Method to Minimize the Low-Frequency Neutral-Point Voltage Oscillations With Time-Offset Injection for Neutral-Point-Clamped Inverters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Choi, Ui-Min; Blaabjerg, Frede; Lee, Kyo-Beum

2015-01-01

time of small- and medium-voltage vectors. However, if the power factor is lower, there is a limitation to eliminate neutral-point oscillations. In this case, the proposed method can be improved by changing the switching sequence properly. Additionally, a method for neutral-point voltage balancing......This paper proposes a method to reduce the low-frequency neutral-point voltage oscillations. The neutral-point voltage oscillations are considerably reduced by adding a time offset to the three-phase turn-on times. The proper time offset is simply calculated considering the phase currents and dwell...

Visualization of time series statistical data by shape analysis (GDP ratio changes among Asia countries)

Science.gov (United States)

Shirota, Yukari; Hashimoto, Takako; Fitri Sari, Riri

2018-03-01

It has been very significant to visualize time series big data. In the paper we shall discuss a new analysis method called “statistical shape analysis” or “geometry driven statistics” on time series statistical data in economics. In the paper, we analyse the agriculture, value added and industry, value added (percentage of GDP) changes from 2000 to 2010 in Asia. We handle the data as a set of landmarks on a two-dimensional image to see the deformation using the principal components. The point of the analysis method is the principal components of the given formation which are eigenvectors of its bending energy matrix. The local deformation can be expressed as the set of non-Affine transformations. The transformations give us information about the local differences between in 2000 and in 2010. Because the non-Affine transformation can be decomposed into a set of partial warps, we present the partial warps visually. The statistical shape analysis is widely used in biology but, in economics, no application can be found. In the paper, we investigate its potential to analyse the economic data.

Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Drill Point Angle and Wear on the Drilling of Woven CFRPs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norberto Feito

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the effect of the drill geometry on the drilling of woven Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer composite (CFRPs. Although different geometrical effects can be considered in drilling CFRPs, the present work focuses on the influence of point angle and wear because they are the important factors influencing hole quality and machining forces. Surface quality was evaluated in terms of delamination and superficial defects. Three different point angles were tested representative of the geometries commonly used in the industry. Two wear modes were considered, being representative of the wear patterns commonly observed when drilling CFRPs: flank wear and honed cutting edge. It was found that the crossed influence of the point angle and wear were significant to the thrust force. Delamination at the hole entry and exit showed opposite trends with the change of geometry. Also, cutting parameters were checked showing the feed’s dominant influence on surface damage.

Detecting corner points from digital curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarfraz, M.

2011-01-01

Corners in digital images give important clues for shape representation, recognition, and analysis. Since dominant information regarding shape is usually available at the corners, they provide important features for various real life applications in the disciplines like computer vision, pattern recognition, computer graphics. Corners are the robust features in the sense that they provide important information regarding objects under translation, rotation and scale change. They are also important from the view point of understanding human perception of objects. They play crucial role in decomposing or describing the digital curves. They are also used in scale space theory, image representation, stereo vision, motion tracking, image matching, building mosaics and font designing systems. If the corner points are identified properly, a shape can be represented in an efficient and compact way with sufficient accuracy. Corner detection schemes, based on their applications, can be broadly divided into two categories: binary (suitable for binary images) and gray level (suitable for gray level images). Corner detection approaches for binary images usually involve segmenting the image into regions and extracting boundaries from those regions that contain them. The techniques for gray level images can be categorized into two classes: (a) Template based and (b) gradient based. The template based techniques utilize correlation between a sub-image and a template of a given angle. A corner point is selected by finding the maximum of the correlation output. Gradient based techniques require computing curvature of an edge that passes through a neighborhood in a gray level image. Many corner detection algorithms have been proposed in the literature which can be broadly divided into two parts. One is to detect corner points from grayscale images and other relates to boundary based corner detection. This contribution mainly deals with techniques adopted for later approach

ACS Zero Point Verification

Science.gov (United States)

Dolphin, Andrew

2005-07-01

The uncertainties in the photometric zero points create a fundamental limit to the accuracy of photometry. The current state of the ACS calibration is surprisingly poor, with zero point uncertainties of 0.03 magnitudes. The reason for this is that the ACS calibrations are based primarily on semi-emprical synthetic zero points and observations of fields too crowded for accurate ground-based photometry. I propose to remedy this problem by obtaining ACS images of the omega Cen standard field with all nine broadband ACS/WFC filters. This will permit the direct determination of the ACS zero points by comparison with excellent ground-based photometry, and should reduce their uncertainties to less than 0.01 magnitudes. A second benefit is that it will facilitate the comparison of the WFPC2 and ACS photometric systems, which will be important as WFPC2 is phased out and ACS becomes HST's primary imager. Finally, three of the filters will be repeated from my Cycle 12 observations, allowing for a measurement of any change in sensitivity.

Ecohydrology and tipping points in semiarid australian rangelands

Science.gov (United States)

Saco, P. M.; Azadi, S.; Moreno de las Heras, M.; Willgoose, G. R.

2017-12-01

Semiarid landscapes are often characterised by a spatially heterogeneous vegetation cover forming mosaics of patches with dense vegetation within bare soil. This patchy vegetation cover, which is linked to the healthy function of these ecosystems, is sensitive to human disturbances that can lead to degradation. Previous work suggests that vegetation loss below a critical value can lead to a sudden decrease in landscape functionality following threshold behaviour. The decrease in vegetation cover is linked to erosion and substantial water losses by increasing landscape hydrological connectivity. We study these interactions and the possible existence of tipping points in the Mulga land bioregion, by combining remote sensing observations and results from an eco-geomorphologic model to investigate changes in ecosystem connectivity and the existence of threshold behaviour. More than 30 sites were selected along a precipitation gradient spanning a range from approximately 250 to 500 mm annual rainfall. The analysis of vegetation patterns is derived from high resolution remote sensing images (IKONOS, QuickBird, Pleiades) and MODIS NDVI, which combined with local precipitation data is used to compute rainfall use efficiency to assess the ecosystem function. A critical tipping point associated to loss of vegetation cover appears in the sites with lower annual precipitation. We found that this tipping point behaviour decreases for sites with higher rainfall. We use the model to investigate the relation between structural and functional connectivity and the emergence of threshold behaviour for selected plots along this precipitation gradient. Both observations and modelling results suggest that sites with higher rainfall are more resilient to changes in surface connectivity. The implications for ecosystem resilience and land management are discussed

Search for neutrino point sources with an all-sky autocorrelation analysis in IceCube

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turcati, Andrea; Bernhard, Anna; Coenders, Stefan [TU, Munich (Germany); Collaboration: IceCube-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic kilometre scale neutrino telescope located in the Antarctic ice. Its full-sky field of view gives unique opportunities to study the neutrino emission from the Galactic and extragalactic sky. Recently, IceCube found the first signal of astrophysical neutrinos with energies up to the PeV scale, but the origin of these particles still remains unresolved. Given the observed flux, the absence of observations of bright point-sources is explainable with the presence of numerous weak sources. This scenario can be tested using autocorrelation methods. We present here the sensitivities and discovery potentials of a two-point angular correlation analysis performed on seven years of IceCube data, taken between 2008 and 2015. The test is applied on the northern and southern skies separately, using the neutrino energy information to improve the effectiveness of the method.

Real World SharePoint 2010 Indispensable Experiences from 22 MVPs

CERN Document Server

Hillier, Scot; Bishop, Darrin; Bleeker, Todd; Bogue, Robert; Bosch, Karine; Brotto, Claudio; Buenz, Adam; Connell, Andrew; Drisgill, Randy; Lapointe, Gary; Medero, Jason; Molnar, Agnes; O'Brien, Chris; Klindt, Todd; Poelmans, Joris; Rehmani, Asif; Ross, John; Swan, Nick; Walsh, Mike; Williams, Randy; Young, Shane; Macori, Igor

2010-01-01

Proven real-world best practices from leading Microsoft SharePoint MVPsSharePoint enables Web sites to host shared workspaces and is a leading solution for Enterprise Content Management. The newest version boasts significant changes, impressive enhancements, and new features, requiring developers and administrators of all levels of experience to quickly get up to speed on the latest changes. This book is a must-have anthology of current best practices for SharePoint 2010 from 20 of the top SharePoint MVPs. They offer insider advice on everything from installation, workflow, and Web parts to bu

An Investigation of Three-point Shooting through an Analysis of NBA Player Tracking Data

OpenAIRE

Sliz, Bradley A.

2017-01-01

I address the difficult challenge of measuring the relative influence of competing basketball game strategies, and I apply my analysis to plays resulting in three-point shots. I use a glut of SportVU player tracking data from over 600 NBA games to derive custom position-based features that capture tangible game strategies from game-play data, such as teamwork, player matchups, and on-ball defender distances. Then, I demonstrate statistical methods for measuring the relative importance of any ...

Trends in temperature and dew point at the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1935-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, A. N.; Pszenny, A. A.; Fischer, E. V.

2005-05-01

Dry and wet bulb temperatures from sling psychrometer measurements taken every six hours from 1935 to 2004 at the summit of Mount Washington, located at 44 °16'N, 71 °18'W, 1914 m ASL have recently been digitized. Annual temperature has increased by 0.3°C, and annual dew point has decreased by 0.4°C over this 70-year period. Synoptic temperature has increased most in spring and winter, changing by 1.0°C and 0.5°C, respectively, while it has decreased slightly in summer and fall. Dew point has decreased in fall, summer, and winter, 0.9°C, 0.5°C, and 0.4°C respectively, and increased by 0.1°C in spring. Preliminary analysis suggests that some of the larger trends in winter and spring may be statistically significant; results of Monte Carlo simulations will be reported. Changes in dew point may be attributed to two factors. Decreasing dew points are expected if the temperature increases but the amount of water vapor present stays the same. Alternatively, lower dew points could be indicative of the presence of drier air. Other dew point climatologies of the continental United States for the second half of the century have shown mixed results, with increased dew points evident at some stations, decreased dew points at others, and no clear regional patterns.

ATP-gamma-S shifts the operating point of outer hair cell transduction towards scala tympani.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobbin, Richard P; Salt, Alec N

2005-07-01

ATP receptor agonists and antagonists alter cochlear mechanics as measured by changes in distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). Some of the effects on DPOAEs are consistent with the hypothesis that ATP affects mechano-electrical transduction and the operating point of the outer hair cells (OHCs). This hypothesis was tested by monitoring the effect of ATP-gamma-S on the operating point of the OHCs. Guinea pigs anesthetized with urethane and with sectioned middle ear muscles were used. The cochlear microphonic (CM) was recorded differentially (scala vestibuli referenced to scala tympani) across the basal turn before and after perfusion (20 min) of the perilymph compartment with artificial perilymph (AP) and ATP-gamma-S dissolved in AP. The operating point was derived from the cochlear microphonics (CM) recorded in response low frequency (200 Hz) tones at high level (106, 112 and 118 dB SPL). The analysis procedure used a Boltzmann function to simulate the CM waveform and the Boltzmann parameters were adjusted to best-fit the calculated waveform to the CM. Compared to the initial perfusion with AP, ATP-gamma-S (333 microM) enhanced peak clipping of the positive peak of the CM (that occurs during organ of Corti displacements towards scala tympani), which was in keeping with ATP-induced displacement of the transducer towards scala tympani. CM waveform analysis quantified the degree of displacement and showed that the changes were consistent with the stimulus being centered on a different region of the transducer curve. The change of operating point meant that the stimulus was applied to a region of the transducer curve where there was greater saturation of the output on excursions towards scala tympani and less saturation towards scala vestibuli. A significant degree of recovery of the operating point was observed after washing with AP. Dose response curves generated by perfusing ATP-gamma-S (333 microM) in a cumulative manner yielded an EC(50) of 19.8 micro

Case management and quality: have we reached a tipping point?

Science.gov (United States)

Dulworth, Sherrie

2006-01-01

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes a phenomenon in which a niche market or fad undergoes transformation into mainstream acceptability, resulting in widespread social change. He concludes that a "tipping point" occurs when a series of small events results in a critical mass of acceptance that produces sudden major changes.

Study on the fixed point in crustal deformation before strong earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, A.; Li, Y.; Yan, W. Mr

2017-12-01

Usually, scholars believe that the fault pre-sliding or expansion phenomenon will be observed near epicenter area before strong earthquake, but more and more observations show that the crust deformation nearby epicenter area is smallest(Zhou, 1997; Niu,2009,2012;Bilham, 2005; Amoruso et al., 2010). The theory of Fixed point t is a branch of mathematics that arises from the theory of topological transformation and has important applications in obvious model analysis. An important precursory was observed by two tilt-meter sets, installed at Wenchuan Observatory in the epicenter area, that the tilt changes were the smallest compared with the other 8 stations around them in one year before the Wenchuan earthquake. To subscribe the phenomenon, we proposed the minimum annual variation range that used as a topological transformation. The window length is 1 year, and the sliding length is 1 day. The convergence of points with minimum annual change in the 3 years before the Wenchuan earthquake is studied. And the results show that the points with minimum deformation amplitude basically converge to the epicenter region before the earthquake. The possible mechanism of fixed point of crustal deformation was explored. Concerning the fixed point of crust deformation, the liquidity of lithospheric medium and the isostasy theory are accepted by many scholars (Bott &Dean, 1973; Merer et al.1988; Molnar et al., 1975,1978; Tapponnier et al., 1976; Wang et al., 2001). To explain the fixed point of crust deformation before earthquakes, we study the plate bending model (Bai, et al., 2003). According to plate bending model and real deformation data, we have found that the earthquake rupture occurred around the extreme point of plate bending, where the velocities of displacement, tilt, strain, gravity and so on are close to zero, and the fixed points are located around the epicenter.The phenomenon of fixed point of crust deformation is different from former understandings about the

Inhibition effect of calcium hydroxide point and chlorhexidine point on root canal bacteria of necrosis teeth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andry Leonard Je

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Calcium Hydroxide point and Chlorhexidine point are new drugs for eliminating bacteria in the root canal. The points slowly and controly realease Calcium Hydroxide and Chlorhexidine into root canal. The purpose of the study was to determined the effectivity of Calcium hydroxide point (Calcium hydroxide plus point and Chlorhexidine point in eleminating the root canal bacteria of nescrosis teeth. In this study 14 subjects were divided into 2 groups. The first group was treated with Calcium hydroxide point and the second was treated with Chlorhexidine poin. The bacteriological sampling were measured with spectrofotometry. The Paired T Test analysis (before and after showed significant difference between the first and second group. The Independent T Test which analysed the effectivity of both groups had not showed significant difference. Although there was no significant difference in statistical test, the result of second group eliminate more bacteria than the first group. The present finding indicated that the use of Chlorhexidine point was better than Calcium hydroxide point in seven days period. The conclusion is Chlorhexidine point and Calcium hydroxide point as root canal medicament effectively eliminate root canal bacteria of necrosis teeth.

APPLICABILITY ANALYSIS OF CLOTH SIMULATION FILTERING ALGORITHM FOR MOBILE LIDAR POINT CLOUD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Cai

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Classifying the original point clouds into ground and non-ground points is a key step in LiDAR (light detection and ranging data post-processing. Cloth simulation filtering (CSF algorithm, which based on a physical process, has been validated to be an accurate, automatic and easy-to-use algorithm for airborne LiDAR point cloud. As a new technique of three-dimensional data collection, the mobile laser scanning (MLS has been gradually applied in various fields, such as reconstruction of digital terrain models (DTM, 3D building modeling and forest inventory and management. Compared with airborne LiDAR point cloud, there are some different features (such as point density feature, distribution feature and complexity feature for mobile LiDAR point cloud. Some filtering algorithms for airborne LiDAR data were directly used in mobile LiDAR point cloud, but it did not give satisfactory results. In this paper, we explore the ability of the CSF algorithm for mobile LiDAR point cloud. Three samples with different shape of the terrain are selected to test the performance of this algorithm, which respectively yields total errors of 0.44 %, 0.77 % and1.20 %. Additionally, large area dataset is also tested to further validate the effectiveness of this algorithm, and results show that it can quickly and accurately separate point clouds into ground and non-ground points. In summary, this algorithm is efficient and reliable for mobile LiDAR point cloud.

SCAP-82, Single Scattering, Albedo Scattering, Point-Kernel Analysis in Complex Geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Disney, R.K.; Vogtman, S.E.

1987-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: SCAP solves for radiation transport in complex geometries using the single or albedo scatter point kernel method. The program is designed to calculate the neutron or gamma ray radiation level at detector points located within or outside a complex radiation scatter source geometry or a user specified discrete scattering volume. Geometry is describable by zones bounded by intersecting quadratic surfaces within an arbitrary maximum number of boundary surfaces per zone. Anisotropic point sources are describable as pointwise energy dependent distributions of polar angles on a meridian; isotropic point sources may also be specified. The attenuation function for gamma rays is an exponential function on the primary source leg and the scatter leg with a build- up factor approximation to account for multiple scatter on the scat- ter leg. The neutron attenuation function is an exponential function using neutron removal cross sections on the primary source leg and scatter leg. Line or volumetric sources can be represented as a distribution of isotropic point sources, with un-collided line-of-sight attenuation and buildup calculated between each source point and the detector point. 2 - Method of solution: A point kernel method using an anisotropic or isotropic point source representation is used, line-of-sight material attenuation and inverse square spatial attenuation between the source point and scatter points and the scatter points and detector point is employed. A direct summation of individual point source results is obtained. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: - The SCAP program is written in complete flexible dimensioning so that no restrictions are imposed on the number of energy groups or geometric zones. The geometric zone description is restricted to zones defined by boundary surfaces defined by the general quadratic equation or one of its degenerate forms. The only restriction in the program is that the total

Changing the values of parameters on lot size reorder point model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Hung-Chi

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The Just-In-Time (JIT philosophy has received a great deal of attention. Several actions such as improving quality, reducing setup cost and shortening lead time have been recognized as effective ways to achieve the underlying goal of JIT. This paper considers the partial backorders, lot size reorder point inventory system with an imperfect production process. The objective is to simultaneously optimize the lot size, reorder point, process quality, setup cost and lead time, constrained on a service level. We assume the explicit distributional form of lead time demand is unknown but the mean and standard deviation are given. The minimax distribution free approach is utilized to solve the problem and a numerical example is provided to illustrate the results. .

Determination of Polymers Thermal Degradation by Color Change Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrés Felipe Rojas González

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Context: It has been observed that thermal degradation of thermoplastic polymers, when they are reprocessed by injection, extrusion and extrusion / injection, undergo color changes in the product, although it not has been established as this change occurs. Method: It analyzed the effect on thermal degradation caused by polymer type, processing type, polymer grade, rotation speed of the extrusion screw and number of reprocessing, which is quantified by the color change using an empirical equation, with experimental data obtained by analysis through a microcolor colorimeter. Results: It was found that the color change analysis provides information about progress of the thermal degradation and stability of thermoplastic polymers, which are undergoing to multiple reprocessing events and processes. Conclusions: It was established that this technique can be implemented as a simple and efficient measure of thermoplastic products quality control, according to their color change.

75 FR 8239 - School Food Safety Program Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles (HACCP...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-24

... (HACCP); Approval of Information Collection Request AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA. ACTION... Safety Program Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles (HACCP) was published on... must be based on the (HACCP) system established by the Secretary of Agriculture. The food safety...

Elastic-plastic adhesive contact of rough surfaces using n-point asperity model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, Prasanta; Mitra, Anirban; Saha, Kashinath

2009-01-01

This study considers an analysis of the elastic-plastic contact of rough surfaces in the presence of adhesion using an n-point asperity model. The multiple-point asperity model, developed by Hariri et al (2006 Trans ASME: J. Tribol. 128 505-14) is integrated into the elastic-plastic adhesive contact model developed by Roy Chowdhury and Ghosh (1994 Wear 174 9-19). This n-point asperity model differs from the conventional Greenwood and Williamson model (1966 Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 295 300-19) in considering the asperities not as fixed entities but as those that change through the contact process, and hence it represents the asperities in a more realistic manner. The newly defined adhesion index and plasticity index defined for the n-point asperity model are used to consider the different conditions that arise because of varying load, surface and material parameters. A comparison between the load-separation behaviour of the new model and the conventional one shows a significant difference between the two depending on combinations of mean separation, adhesion index and plasticity index.

Error analysis of dimensionless scaling experiments with multiple points using linear regression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guercan, Oe.D.; Vermare, L.; Hennequin, P.; Bourdelle, C.

2010-01-01

A general method of error estimation in the case of multiple point dimensionless scaling experiments, using linear regression and standard error propagation, is proposed. The method reduces to the previous result of Cordey (2009 Nucl. Fusion 49 052001) in the case of a two-point scan. On the other hand, if the points follow a linear trend, it explains how the estimated error decreases as more points are added to the scan. Based on the analytical expression that is derived, it is argued that for a low number of points, adding points to the ends of the scanned range, rather than the middle, results in a smaller error estimate. (letter)

[Powdered infant formulae preparation guide for hospitals based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles].

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas-Leguás, H; Rodríguez Garrido, V; Lorite Cuenca, R; Pérez-Portabella, C; Redecillas Ferreiro, S; Campins Martí, M

2009-06-01

This guide for the preparation of powdered infant formulae in hospital environments is a collaborative work between several hospital services and is based on national and European regulations, international experts meetings and the recommendations of scientific societies. This guide also uses the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles proposed by Codex Alimentarius and emphasises effective verifying measures, microbiological controls of the process and the corrective actions when monitoring indicates that a critical control point is not under control. It is a dynamic guide and specifies the evaluation procedures that allow it to be constantly adapted.

Material-point Method Analysis of Bending in Elastic Beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Søren Mikkel; Andersen, Lars

The aim of this paper is to test different types of spatial interpolation for the materialpoint method. The interpolations include quadratic elements and cubic splines. A brief introduction to the material-point method is given. Simple liner-elastic problems are tested, including the classical...... cantilevered beam problem. As shown in the paper, the use of negative shape functions is not consistent with the material-point method in its current form, necessitating other types of interpolation such as cubic splines in order to obtain smoother representations of field quantities. It is shown...

Fixed point theory in metric type spaces

CERN Document Server

Agarwal, Ravi P; O’Regan, Donal; Roldán-López-de-Hierro, Antonio Francisco

2015-01-01

Written by a team of leading experts in the field, this volume presents a self-contained account of the theory, techniques and results in metric type spaces (in particular in G-metric spaces); that is, the text approaches this important area of fixed point analysis beginning from the basic ideas of metric space topology. The text is structured so that it leads the reader from preliminaries and historical notes on metric spaces (in particular G-metric spaces) and on mappings, to Banach type contraction theorems in metric type spaces, fixed point theory in partially ordered G-metric spaces, fixed point theory for expansive mappings in metric type spaces, generalizations, present results and techniques in a very general abstract setting and framework. Fixed point theory is one of the major research areas in nonlinear analysis. This is partly due to the fact that in many real world problems fixed point theory is the basic mathematical tool used to establish the existence of solutions to problems which arise natur...

Object-Based Point Cloud Analysis of Full-Waveform Airborne Laser Scanning Data for Urban Vegetation Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Pfeifer

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Airborne laser scanning (ALS is a remote sensing technique well-suited for 3D vegetation mapping and structure characterization because the emitted laser pulses are able to penetrate small gaps in the vegetation canopy. The backscattered echoes from the foliage, woody vegetation, the terrain, and other objects are detected, leading to a cloud of points. Higher echo densities (> 20 echoes/m2 and additional classification variables from full-waveform (FWF ALS data, namely echo amplitude, echo width and information on multiple echoes from one shot, offer new possibilities in classifying the ALS point cloud. Currently FWF sensor information is hardly used for classification purposes. This contribution presents an object-based point cloud analysis (OBPA approach, combining segmentation and classification of the 3D FWF ALS points designed to detect tall vegetation in urban environments. The definition tall vegetation includes trees and shrubs, but excludes grassland and herbage. In the applied procedure FWF ALS echoes are segmented by a seeded region growing procedure. All echoes sorted descending by their surface roughness are used as seed points. Segments are grown based on echo width homogeneity. Next, segment statistics (mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation are calculated by aggregating echo features such as amplitude and surface roughness. For classification a rule base is derived automatically from a training area using a statistical classification tree. To demonstrate our method we present data of three sites with around 500,000 echoes each. The accuracy of the classified vegetation segments is evaluated for two independent validation sites. In a point-wise error assessment, where the classification is compared with manually classified 3D points, completeness and correctness better than 90% are reached for the validation sites. In comparison to many other algorithms the proposed 3D point classification works on the original

Thin-plate spline analysis of mandibular shape changes induced by functional appliances in Class II malocclusion : A long-term evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Franchi, Lorenzo; Pavoni, Chiara; Faltin, Kurt; Bigliazzi, Renato; Gazzani, Francesca; Cozza, Paola

2016-09-01

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the long-term morphological mandibular changes induced by functional treatment of Class II malocclusion with mandibular retrusion. Forty patients (20 females, 20 males) with Class II malocclusion consecutively treated with either a Bionator or an Activator followed by fixed appliances were compared with a control group of 40 subjects (19 females, 21 males) with untreated Class II malocclusion. Lateral cephalograms were available at the start of treatment (T1, mean age 9.9 years), at the end of treatment with functional appliances (T2, mean age 12.2 years), and for long-term follow-up (T3, mean age 18.3 years). Mandibular shape changes were analyzed on lateral cephalograms of the subjects in both groups via thin-plate spline (TPS) analysis. Shape differences were statistically analyzed by conducting permutation tests on Goodall F statistics. In the long term, both the treated and control groups exhibited significant longitudinal mandibular shape changes characterized by upward and forward dislocation of point Co associated with a vertical extension in the gonial region and backward dislocation of point B. Functional appliances induced mandible's significant posterior morphogenetic rotation over the short term. The treated and control groups demonstrated similar mandibular shape over the long term.

Analysis of web-based online services for GPS relative and precise point positioning techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taylan Ocalan

Full Text Available Nowadays, Global Positioning System (GPS has been used effectively in several engineering applications for the survey purposes by multiple disciplines. Web-based online services developed by several organizations; which are user friendly, unlimited and most of them are free; have become a significant alternative against the high-cost scientific and commercial software on achievement of post processing and analyzing the GPS data. When centimeter (cm or decimeter (dm level accuracies are desired, that can be obtained easily regarding different quality engineering applications through these services. In this paper, a test study was conducted at ISKI-CORS network; Istanbul-Turkey in order to figure out the accuracy analysis of the most used web based online services around the world (namely OPUS, AUSPOS, SCOUT, CSRS-PPP, GAPS, APPS, magicGNSS. These services use relative and precise point positioning (PPP solution approaches. In this test study, the coordinates of eight stations were estimated by using of both online services and Bernese 5.0 scientific GPS processing software from 24-hour GPS data set and then the coordinate differences between the online services and Bernese processing software were computed. From the evaluations, it was seen that the results for each individual differences were less than 10 mm regarding relative online service, and less than 20 mm regarding precise point positioning service. The accuracy analysis was gathered from these coordinate differences and standard deviations of the obtained coordinates from different techniques and then online services were compared to each other. The results show that the position accuracies obtained by associated online services provide high accurate solutions that may be used in many engineering applications and geodetic analysis.

Detection of uterine MMG contractions using a multiple change point estimator and the K-means cluster algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

La Rosa, Patricio S; Nehorai, Arye; Eswaran, Hari; Lowery, Curtis L; Preissl, Hubert

2008-02-01

We propose a single channel two-stage time-segment discriminator of uterine magnetomyogram (MMG) contractions during pregnancy. We assume that the preprocessed signals are piecewise stationary having distribution in a common family with a fixed number of parameters. Therefore, at the first stage, we propose a model-based segmentation procedure, which detects multiple change-points in the parameters of a piecewise constant time-varying autoregressive model using a robust formulation of the Schwarz information criterion (SIC) and a binary search approach. In particular, we propose a test statistic that depends on the SIC, derive its asymptotic distribution, and obtain closed-form optimal detection thresholds in the sense of the Neyman-Pearson criterion; therefore, we control the probability of false alarm and maximize the probability of change-point detection in each stage of the binary search algorithm. We compute and evaluate the relative energy variation [root mean squares (RMS)] and the dominant frequency component [first order zero crossing (FOZC)] in discriminating between time segments with and without contractions. The former consistently detects a time segment with contractions. Thus, at the second stage, we apply a nonsupervised K-means cluster algorithm to classify the detected time segments using the RMS values. We apply our detection algorithm to real MMG records obtained from ten patients admitted to the hospital for contractions with gestational ages between 31 and 40 weeks. We evaluate the performance of our detection algorithm in computing the detection and false alarm rate, respectively, using as a reference the patients' feedback. We also analyze the fusion of the decision signals from all the sensors as in the parallel distributed detection approach.

TMACS I/O termination point listing. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scaief, C.C. III

1994-09-13

This document provides a listing of all analog and discrete input/output (I/O) points connected to the Tank Monitor and Control System (TMACS). The list also provides other information such as the point tag name, termination location, description, drawing references and other parameters. The purpose is to define each point`s unique tag name and to cross reference the point with other associated information that may be necessary for activities such as maintenance, calibration, diagnostics, or design changes. It provides a list in one document of all I/O points that would otherwise only be available by referring to all I/O termination drawings.

High-resolution wave number spectrum using multi-point measurements in space – the Multi-point Signal Resonator (MSR technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Narita

2011-02-01

Full Text Available A new analysis method is presented that provides a high-resolution power spectrum in a broad wave number domain based on multi-point measurements. The analysis technique is referred to as the Multi-point Signal Resonator (MSR and it benefits from Capon's minimum variance method for obtaining the proper power spectral density of the signal as well as the MUSIC algorithm (Multiple Signal Classification for considerably reducing the noise part in the spectrum. The mathematical foundation of the analysis method is presented and it is applied to synthetic data as well as Cluster observations of the interplanetary magnetic field. Using the MSR technique for Cluster data we find a wave in the solar wind propagating parallel to the mean magnetic field with relatively small amplitude, which is not identified by the Capon spectrum. The Cluster data analysis shows the potential of the MSR technique for studying waves and turbulence using multi-point measurements.

The impact of OSHA recordkeeping regulation changes on occupational injury and illness trends in the US: a time-series analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Lee S; Forst, Linda

2007-07-01

The Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) logs, indicates that the number of occupational injuries and illnesses in the US has steadily declined by 35.8% between 1992-2003. However, major changes to the OSHA recordkeeping standard occurred in 1995 and 2001. The authors assessed the relation between changes in OSHA recordkeeping regulations and the trend in occupational injuries and illnesses. SOII data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for years 1992-2003 were collected. The authors assessed time series data using join-point regression models. Before the first major recordkeeping change in 1995, injuries and illnesses declined annually by 0.5%. In the period 1995-2000 the slope declined by 3.1% annually (95% CI -3.7% to -2.5%), followed by another more precipitous decline occurring in 2001-2003 (-8.3%; 95% CI -10.0% to -6.6%). When stratifying the data, the authors continued to observe significant changes occurring in 1995 and 2001. The substantial declines in the number of injuries and illnesses correspond directly with changes in OSHA recordkeeping rules. Changes in employment, productivity, OSHA enforcement activity and sampling error do not explain the large decline. Based on the baseline slope (join-point regression analysis, 1992-4), the authors expected a decline of 407 964 injuries and illnesses during the period of follow-up if no intervention occurred; they actually observed a decline of 2.4 million injuries and illnesses of which 2 million or 83% of the decline can be attributed to the change in the OSHA recordkeeping rules.

Feedwater line break accident analysis for SMART in the view point of minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim Soo Hyoung; Bae, Kyoo Hwan; Chung, Young Jong; Kim, Keung Koo

2012-01-01

KAERI and KEPCO consortium had performed standard design of SMART(System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) from 2009 to 2011 and obtained standard design approval in July 2012. To confirm the safety of SMART design, all of the safety related design basis events were analyzed. A feedwater line break (FLB) is a postulated accident and is a limiting accident for a decrease in the heat removal by the secondary system in the view point of the peak RCS pressure. It is well known that departure from nucleate boiling ratio (DNBR) increases with the increase of the system pressure for conventional nuclear power plants. But SMART has comparatively lower RCS flow rate, and there is a possibility to show different DNBR behavior depending on the system pressure. To confirm that SMART is safe in case of FLB accident, the Korean nuclear regulatory body required to perform the safety analysis in the view point of minimum DNBR (MDNBR) during the licensing review process for standard design approval (SDA) of SMART design. In this paper, the safety analysis results of the FLB accident for SMART in the view point of MDNBR is described

Feedwater line break accident analysis for SMART in the view point of minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim Soo Hyoung; Bae, Kyoo Hwan; Chung, Young Jong; Kim, Keung Koo [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

KAERI and KEPCO consortium had performed standard design of SMART(System integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) from 2009 to 2011 and obtained standard design approval in July 2012. To confirm the safety of SMART design, all of the safety related design basis events were analyzed. A feedwater line break (FLB) is a postulated accident and is a limiting accident for a decrease in the heat removal by the secondary system in the view point of the peak RCS pressure. It is well known that departure from nucleate boiling ratio (DNBR) increases with the increase of the system pressure for conventional nuclear power plants. But SMART has comparatively lower RCS flow rate, and there is a possibility to show different DNBR behavior depending on the system pressure. To confirm that SMART is safe in case of FLB accident, the Korean nuclear regulatory body required to perform the safety analysis in the view point of minimum DNBR (MDNBR) during the licensing review process for standard design approval (SDA) of SMART design. In this paper, the safety analysis results of the FLB accident for SMART in the view point of MDNBR is described.

Pressure Points in Reading Comprehension: A Quantile Multiple Regression Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Jessica

2017-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine how selected pressure points or areas of vulnerability are related to individual differences in reading comprehension and whether the importance of these pressure points varies as a function of the level of children's reading comprehension. A sample of 245 third-grade children were given an assessment battery…

Changes in the Skin Conductance Monitor as an End Point for Sympathetic Nerve Blocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gungor, Semih; Rana, Bhumika; Fields, Kara; Bae, James J; Mount, Lauren; Buschiazzo, Valeria; Storm, Hanne

2017-11-01

There is a lack of objective methods for determining the achievement of sympathetic block. This study validates the skin conductance monitor (SCM) as an end point indicator of successful sympathetic blockade as compared with traditional monitors. This interventional study included 13 patients undergoing 25 lumbar sympathetic blocks to compare time to indication of successful blockade between the SCM indices and traditional measures, clinically visible hyperemia, clinically visible engorgement of veins, subjective skin temperature difference, unilateral thermometry monitoring, bilateral comparative thermometry monitoring, and change in waveform amplitude in pulse oximetry plethysmography, within a 30-minute observation period. Differences in the SCM indices were studied pre- and postblock to validate the SCM. SCM showed substantially greater odds of indicating achievement of sympathetic block in the next moment (i.e., hazard rate) compared with all traditional measures (clinically visible hyperemia, clinically visible engorgement of veins, subjective temperature difference, unilateral thermometry monitoring, bilateral comparative thermometry monitoring, and change in waveform amplitude in pulse oximetry plethysmography; P ≤ 0.011). SCM indicated successful block for all (100%) procedures, while the traditional measures failed to indicate successful blocks in 16-84% of procedures. The SCM indices were significantly higher in preblock compared with postblock measurements (P SCM is a more reliable and rapid response indicator of a successful sympathetic blockade when compared with traditional monitors. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

PREMOR: a point reactor exposure model computer code for survey analysis of power plant performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vondy, D.R.

1979-10-01

The PREMOR computer code was written to exploit a simple, two-group point nuclear reactor power plant model for survey analysis. Up to thirteen actinides, fourteen fission products, and one lumped absorber nuclide density are followed over a reactor history. Successive feed batches are accounted for with provision for from one to twenty batches resident. The effect of exposure of each of the batches to the same neutron flux is determined

PREMOR: a point reactor exposure model computer code for survey analysis of power plant performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vondy, D.R.

1979-10-01

The PREMOR computer code was written to exploit a simple, two-group point nuclear reactor power plant model for survey analysis. Up to thirteen actinides, fourteen fission products, and one lumped absorber nuclide density are followed over a reactor history. Successive feed batches are accounted for with provision for from one to twenty batches resident. The effect of exposure of each of the batches to the same neutron flux is determined.

Extracting Loop Bounds for WCET Analysis Using the Instrumentation Point Graph

Science.gov (United States)

Betts, A.; Bernat, G.

2009-05-01

Every calculation engine proposed in the literature of Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) analysis requires upper bounds on loop iterations. Existing mechanisms to procure this information are either error prone, because they are gathered from the end-user, or limited in scope, because automatic analyses target very specific loop structures. In this paper, we present a technique that obtains bounds completely automatically for arbitrary loop structures. In particular, we show how to employ the Instrumentation Point Graph (IPG) to parse traces of execution (generated by an instrumented program) in order to extract bounds relative to any loop-nesting level. With this technique, therefore, non-rectangular dependencies between loops can be captured, allowing more accurate WCET estimates to be calculated. We demonstrate the improvement in accuracy by comparing WCET estimates computed through our HMB framework against those computed with state-of-the-art techniques.

Data Point Averaging for Computational Fluid Dynamics Data

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Jr., David (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A system and method for generating fluid flow parameter data for use in aerodynamic heating analysis. Computational fluid dynamics data is generated for a number of points in an area on a surface to be analyzed. Sub-areas corresponding to areas of the surface for which an aerodynamic heating analysis is to be performed are identified. A computer system automatically determines a sub-set of the number of points corresponding to each of the number of sub-areas and determines a value for each of the number of sub-areas using the data for the sub-set of points corresponding to each of the number of sub-areas. The value is determined as an average of the data for the sub-set of points corresponding to each of the number of sub-areas. The resulting parameter values then may be used to perform an aerodynamic heating analysis.

Electron-density critical points analysis and catastrophe theory to forecast structure instability in periodic solids.

Science.gov (United States)

Merli, Marcello; Pavese, Alessandro

2018-03-01

The critical points analysis of electron density, i.e. ρ(x), from ab initio calculations is used in combination with the catastrophe theory to show a correlation between ρ(x) topology and the appearance of instability that may lead to transformations of crystal structures, as a function of pressure/temperature. In particular, this study focuses on the evolution of coalescing non-degenerate critical points, i.e. such that ∇ρ(x c ) = 0 and λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 ≠ 0 [λ being the eigenvalues of the Hessian of ρ(x) at x c ], towards degenerate critical points, i.e. ∇ρ(x c ) = 0 and at least one λ equal to zero. The catastrophe theory formalism provides a mathematical tool to model ρ(x) in the neighbourhood of x c and allows one to rationalize the occurrence of instability in terms of electron-density topology and Gibbs energy. The phase/state transitions that TiO 2 (rutile structure), MgO (periclase structure) and Al 2 O 3 (corundum structure) undergo because of pressure and/or temperature are here discussed. An agreement of 3-5% is observed between the theoretical model and experimental pressure/temperature of transformation.

[Research on infrared radiation characteristics of skin covering two acupuncture points in the hand and forearm, NeiGuan and LaoGong points].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhen; Yu, Wenlong; Cui, Han; Shi, Huafeng; Jin, Lei

2013-06-01

In order to research the infrared radiation characteristics of the skin covering Traditional Chinese acupuncture points, which are NeiGuan in the forearm and LaoGong in the center of the palm, we detected continuously the infrared radiation spectra of the human body surface by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that firstly, the differences of the infrared radiation spectra of the human body surface were obvious between individuals. Secondly, the infrared radiation intensity of the human body surface changed with time changing. The infrared radiation intensity in two special wavelength ranges (wavelengths from 6. 79 microm to 6. 85 microm and from 13. 6 microm to 14. 0 microm) changed much more than that in other ranges obviously. Thirdly, the proportions of the infrared radiation spectra changed, which were calculated from the spectra of two different aupuncture points, were same in these two special wavelength ranges, but their magnitude changes were different. These results suggested that the infrared radiation of acupuncture points have the same biological basis, and the mechanism of the infrared radiation in these two special wavelength ranges is different from other tissue heat radiation.

Comparative performance of a modified change vector analysis in forest change detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nackaerts, Kris; Vaesen, K.; Muys, Bart; Coppin, P.

2005-01-01

Sustainable forest management requires accurate and up-to-date information, which can nowadays be obtained using digital earth observation technology. This paper introduces a modified change vector analysis (mCVA) approach and conceptually contrasts it against traditional CVA. The results of a

THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE LOOKOUT POINTS WITH A ROLE IN THE TOURISM VALORISATION OF LANDSCAPE IN THE DISTRICT OF CICEU. VIEWSHED ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra-Camelia POTRA

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The increase of the visibility of a territory, in order to highlight the potential of the landscape, seen as a resource which can ensure the performance of various social-economic activities in a territory becomes achievable by arranging lookout points. Conducting the visibility analysis of such points is a common topic in the works of territorial planning, namely in terms of valorisation of landscapes and the visual impact assessment of their characteristics. The natural and the anthropic component of the District of Ciceu work together to create a valuable resource of the landscape, which are most often surprising by the presence of pitoresque valleys preserving the territorial specificities. The present study aims, in a first phase, that by the methods and tools specific to the onsite step (observation, mapping, to identify possible locations, including vestiges and historic buildings, suitable for arranging representative lookout points to present the elements of the landscape in the District of Ciceu. In order to achieve the visibility analysis, in order to highlight the assessment potential of district’s ”landscape” from the mapped lookout points, was resorted to ViewshedAnalysys method of the ArcGIS software. The use of the mapping leads to the materialization of theresults of the different cartographic representations, useful for the landscape recovery activities. The results of the study consist in generating the visibility areas of the lookout points, development of tourist routes that integrate the lookout points mapped on-site, namely to capitalize the landscape elements of the District of Ciceu.

Molecular analysis of pancreatic cyst fluid changes clinical management.

Science.gov (United States)

Arner, David M; Corning, Brooke E; Ahmed, Ali M; Ho, Henry C; Weinbaum, Bradley J; Siddiqui, Uzma; Aslanian, Harry; Adams, Reid B; Bauer, Todd W; Wang, Andrew Y; Shami, Vanessa M; Sauer, Bryan G

2018-01-01

DNA molecular analysis has been suggested as a tool to evaluate pancreatic cysts. This study assesses whether the addition of DNA molecular analysis alters clinical management. This is a retrospective review of 46 consecutive patients who underwent EUS-FNA of pancreatic cysts with DNA molecular analysis at two major academic institutions. Cases were presented to two pancreaticobiliary surgeons first without and then with DNA molecular analysis data. The primary outcome was the frequency with which clinical management was altered with the addition of DNA molecular analysis. Forty-six patients with a mean age of 62.0 (±13.4) years and mean cyst size of 3.2 (±2.3) cm were included in the study. Cyst carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was available in 30 patients and ranged from 0.4 to 15,927 ng/mL. DNA molecular analysis was described as benign in 23 (50%), statistically indolent in 13 (28%), statistically higher risk in 9 (20%), and indeterminate in 1 (2%). Surgeon #1 changed the management in 13/46 cases (28%) and surgeon #2 changed the management in 12/46 cases (26%) with the addition of DNA molecular analysis. When organized by CEA concentration, those with an intermediate CEA (45-800 ng/mL) or without a CEA concentration had a management changed more frequently (40%) compared to all others (P molecular analysis alters the clinical management of pancreatic cystic lesions most often when CEA levels are intermediate (45-800 ng/mL) or when no CEA concentration is available. Use of DNA molecular analysis can be considered in this cohort. Further study of molecular markers in pancreatic cystic lesions is recommended.

Are your hands clean enough for point-of-care electrolyte analysis?

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Lam, Hugh S; Chan, Michael H M; Ng, Pak C; Wong, William; Cheung, Robert C K; So, Alan K W; Fok, Tai F; Lam, Christopher W K

2005-08-01

To investigate clinically significant analytical interference in point-of-care electrolyte analysis caused by contamination of blood specimens with hand disinfectant. Six different hand hygiene products were added separately to heparinised blood samples in varying amounts as contaminant. The contaminated samples were analysed by three different blood gas and electrolyte analysers for assessing interference on measured whole blood sodium and potassium concentrations. There were significant analytical interferences caused by hand hygiene product contamination that varied depending on the combination of disinfectant and analyser. Small amounts of Microshield Antibacterial Hand Gel contamination caused large increases in measured sodium concentration. Such effect was much greater compared with the other five products tested, and started to occur at much lower levels of contamination. There was a trend towards lower sodium results in blood samples contaminated with Hexol Antiseptic Lotion (Hexol), the hand hygiene product that we used initially. Apart from AiE Hand Sanitizer, all the other hand disinfectants, especially Hexol, significantly elevated the measured potassium concentration, particularly when a direct ion-selective electrode method was used for measurement. Hand disinfectant products can significantly interfere with blood electrolyte analysis. Proper precautions must be taken against contamination since the resultant errors can adversely affect the clinical management of patients.

Exposure to point-of-sale displays and changes in susceptibility to smoking: findings from a cohort study of school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanovica, Ilze; Szatkowski, Lisa; McNeill, Ann; Spanopoulos, Dionysis; Britton, John

2015-04-01

To investigate the association between frequency of visiting shops and noticing of tobacco point-of-sale (PoS) displays and the development of susceptibility to smoking, or smoking uptake, in secondary school students. Two surveys of a school based cohort study carried out in 2011 and 2012. Nottinghamshire, UK. A total of 2270 children aged 11-16 years from eight schools in Nottinghamshire. We investigated changes in susceptibility to smoking and smoking status in relation to frequency of visiting shops and noticing PoS displays and number of tobacco brands recognized, controlling for a range of potential confounders. Susceptibility to smoking was defined using a set of three questions covering intentions to try smoking, to smoke within the next year and likelihood of smoking if a best friend offered a cigarette. For the analysis we used multinomial logistic regression. Among non-susceptible never smokers, noticing PoS displays more frequently was associated independently with an increased risk of becoming susceptible to smoking [adjusted relative risk ratio (RRR) = 1.74; 99% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13-2.69], but was not associated with smoking uptake. Recognizing a higher number of brands among non-susceptible never smokers doubled the risk of becoming susceptible to smoking and of becoming a smoker, but this did not have a significant effect on transition to smoking among susceptible never smokers. Frequency of noticing tobacco PoS displays was not associated significantly with smoking uptake among those who were susceptible never smokers at baseline. Noticing tobacco point-of-sale displays more often and recognizing a higher number of tobacco brands is associated with an increased risk of becoming susceptible to smoking among adolescents in the United Kingdom, and recognizing a higher number of brands is associated positively with an increased risk of smoking uptake. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Melting point of yttria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaggs, S.R.

1977-06-01

Fourteen samples of 99.999 percent Y 2 O 3 were melted near the focus of a 250-W CO 2 laser. The average value of the observed melting point along the solid-liquid interface was 2462 +- 19 0 C. Several of these same samples were then melted in ultrahigh-purity oxygen, nitrogen, helium, or argon and in water vapor. No change in the observed temperature was detected, with the exception of a 20 0 C increase in temperature from air to helium gas. Post test examination of the sample characteristics, clarity, sphericity, and density is presented, along with composition. It is suggested that yttria is superior to alumina as a secondary melting-point standard

DETECTION OF SLOPE MOVEMENT BY COMPARING POINT CLOUDS CREATED BY SFM SOFTWARE

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K. Oda

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes movement detection method between point clouds created by SFM software, without setting any onsite georeferenced points. SfM software, like Smart3DCaputure, PhotoScan, and Pix4D, are convenient for non-professional operator of photogrammetry, because these systems require simply specification of sequence of photos and output point clouds with colour index which corresponds to the colour of original image pixel where the point is projected. SfM software can execute aerial triangulation and create dense point clouds fully automatically. This is useful when monitoring motion of unstable slopes, or loos rocks in slopes along roads or railroads. Most of existing method, however, uses mesh-based DSM for comparing point clouds before/after movement and it cannot be applied in such cases that part of slopes forms overhangs. And in some cases movement is smaller than precision of ground control points and registering two point clouds with GCP is not appropriate. Change detection method in this paper adopts CCICP (Classification and Combined ICP algorithm for registering point clouds before / after movement. The CCICP algorithm is a type of ICP (Iterative Closest Points which minimizes point-to-plane, and point-to-point distances, simultaneously, and also reject incorrect correspondences based on point classification by PCA (Principle Component Analysis. Precision test shows that CCICP method can register two point clouds up to the 1 pixel size order in original images. Ground control points set in site are useful for initial setting of two point clouds. If there are no GCPs in site of slopes, initial setting is achieved by measuring feature points as ground control points in the point clouds before movement, and creating point clouds after movement with these ground control points. When the motion is rigid transformation, in case that a loose Rock is moving in slope, motion including rotation can be analysed by executing CCICP for a

Constraining processes of landscape change with combined in situ cosmogenic 14C-10Be analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hippe, Kristina

2017-10-01

Reconstructing Quaternary landscape evolution today frequently builds upon cosmogenic-nuclide surface exposure dating. However, the study of complex surface exposure chronologies on the 102-104 years' timescale remains challenging with the commonly used long-lived radionuclides (10Be, 26Al, 36Cl). In glacial settings, key points are the inheritance of nuclides accumulated in a rock surface during a previous exposure episode and (partial) shielding of a rock surface after the main deglaciation event, e.g. during phases of glacier readvance. Combining the short-lived in situ cosmogenic 14C isotope with 10Be dating provides a valuable approach to resolve and quantify complex exposure histories and burial episodes within Lateglacial and Holocene timescales. The first studies applying the in situ14C-10Be pair have demonstrated the great benefit from in situ14C analysis for unravelling complex glacier chronologies in various glacial environments worldwide. Moreover, emerging research on in situ14C in sedimentary systems highlights the capacity of combined in situ14C-10Be analysis to quantify sediment transfer times in fluvial catchments or to constrain changes in surface erosion rates. Nevertheless, further methodological advances are needed to obtain truly routine and widely available in situ14C analysis. Future development in analytical techniques has to focus on improving the analytical reproducibility, reducing the background level and determining more accurate muonic production rates. These improvements should allow extending the field of applications for combined in situ14C-10Be analysis in Earth surface sciences and open up a number of promising applications for dating young sedimentary deposits and the quantification of recent changes in surface erosion dynamics.

Critical points in magnetic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bongaarts, A.L.M.

1975-01-01

The magnetical phase transitions of CsCoCl 3 .2H 2 O and CsCoCl 3 .2D 2 O are investigated by neutron diffraction techniques with special attention to the critical points in the phase diagrams. CsCoCl 3 .2H 2 O turned out to be a one-dimentional magnetic antiferromagnet with ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. In the vicinity of the Neel point, the critical behavior in zero magnetic field could be described as a three-dimentional long range ordering, while the fluctuations in the system are one-dimensional. In the presence of a magnetic field, the behavior of the system in the critical region of the magnetic phase diagram between the Neel temperature at zero field (3.3degK) and 1.85degK, was in good agreement with the theory. Below 1.85degK, the phase transition in a magnetic field changes into a line of triple points whose end point could be identified as a tricritical point, i.e., an intersection of three critical lines. The parameters derived from observations in the neighborhood of this tricritical point obey the scaling laws but are not in numerical agreement with theoretical predictions

Testing to fulfill HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) requirements: principles and examples.

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, I A

1997-12-01

On-farm HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) monitoring requires cost-effective, yet accurate and reproducible tests that can determine the status of cows, milk, and the dairy environment. Tests need to be field-validated, and their limitations need to be established so that appropriate screening strategies can be initiated and test results can be rationally interpreted. For infections and residues of low prevalence, tests or testing strategies that are highly specific help to minimize false-positive results and excessive costs to the dairy industry. The determination of the numbers of samples to be tested in HACCP monitoring programs depends on the specific purpose of the test and the likely prevalence of the agent or residue at the critical control point. The absence of positive samples from a herd test should not be interpreted as freedom from a particular agent or residue unless the entire herd has been tested with a test that is 100% sensitive. The current lack of field-validated tests for most of the chemical and infectious agents of concern makes it difficult to ensure that the stated goals of HACCP programs are consistently achieved.

KNOWLEDGE-BASED OBJECT DETECTION IN LASER SCANNING POINT CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Boochs

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Object identification and object processing in 3D point clouds have always posed challenges in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. In practice, this process is highly dependent on human interpretation of the scene represented by the point cloud data, as well as the set of modeling tools available for use. Such modeling algorithms are data-driven and concentrate on specific features of the objects, being accessible to numerical models. We present an approach that brings the human expert knowledge about the scene, the objects inside, and their representation by the data and the behavior of algorithms to the machine. This “understanding” enables the machine to assist human interpretation of the scene inside the point cloud. Furthermore, it allows the machine to understand possibilities and limitations of algorithms and to take this into account within the processing chain. This not only assists the researchers in defining optimal processing steps, but also provides suggestions when certain changes or new details emerge from the point cloud. Our approach benefits from the advancement in knowledge technologies within the Semantic Web framework. This advancement has provided a strong base for applications based on knowledge management. In the article we will present and describe the knowledge technologies used for our approach such as Web Ontology Language (OWL, used for formulating the knowledge base and the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL with 3D processing and topologic built-ins, aiming to combine geometrical analysis of 3D point clouds, and specialists’ knowledge of the scene and algorithmic processing.

Knowledge-Based Object Detection in Laser Scanning Point Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Boochs, F.; Karmacharya, A.; Marbs, A.

2012-07-01

Object identification and object processing in 3D point clouds have always posed challenges in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. In practice, this process is highly dependent on human interpretation of the scene represented by the point cloud data, as well as the set of modeling tools available for use. Such modeling algorithms are data-driven and concentrate on specific features of the objects, being accessible to numerical models. We present an approach that brings the human expert knowledge about the scene, the objects inside, and their representation by the data and the behavior of algorithms to the machine. This "understanding" enables the machine to assist human interpretation of the scene inside the point cloud. Furthermore, it allows the machine to understand possibilities and limitations of algorithms and to take this into account within the processing chain. This not only assists the researchers in defining optimal processing steps, but also provides suggestions when certain changes or new details emerge from the point cloud. Our approach benefits from the advancement in knowledge technologies within the Semantic Web framework. This advancement has provided a strong base for applications based on knowledge management. In the article we will present and describe the knowledge technologies used for our approach such as Web Ontology Language (OWL), used for formulating the knowledge base and the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL) with 3D processing and topologic built-ins, aiming to combine geometrical analysis of 3D point clouds, and specialists' knowledge of the scene and algorithmic processing.