College Students' Health Information Activities on Facebook: Investigating the Impacts of Health Topic Sensitivity, Information Sources, and Demographics.

Science.gov (United States)

Syn, Sue Yeon; Kim, Sung Un

2016-07-01

College students tend to lack access to health information. Because social networking sites (SNSs) are popularly adopted by college students, SNSs are considered to be good media channels for college students to obtain health-related information. This study examines the factors that influence college students' health information-seeking and -sharing activities on Facebook. An online survey was distributed to college students between the ages of 18 and 29 to determine intentions pertaining to health information activities according to the factors identified for the study. The factors included both contextual factors (such as health topic sensitivity and health information sources) as well as user factors (such as demographics). Our findings showed that college students are willing to read and post health-related information on Facebook when the health topic is not sensitive. In addition, there are clear differences in preferences between professional sources and personal sources as health information sources. It was found that most user factors, except gender, have no influence on health information activities. The impacts of SNS contexts, awareness of information sources, types of interlocutors, and privacy concerns are further discussed.

ImTK: an open source multi-center information management toolkit

Science.gov (United States)

Alaoui, Adil; Ingeholm, Mary Lou; Padh, Shilpa; Dorobantu, Mihai; Desai, Mihir; Cleary, Kevin; Mun, Seong K.

2008-03-01

The Information Management Toolkit (ImTK) Consortium is an open source initiative to develop robust, freely available tools related to the information management needs of basic, clinical, and translational research. An open source framework and agile programming methodology can enable distributed software development while an open architecture will encourage interoperability across different environments. The ISIS Center has conceptualized a prototype data sharing network that simulates a multi-center environment based on a federated data access model. This model includes the development of software tools to enable efficient exchange, sharing, management, and analysis of multimedia medical information such as clinical information, images, and bioinformatics data from multiple data sources. The envisioned ImTK data environment will include an open architecture and data model implementation that complies with existing standards such as Digital Imaging and Communications (DICOM), Health Level 7 (HL7), and the technical framework and workflow defined by the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Information Technology Infrastructure initiative, mainly the Cross Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS) specifications.

Distributed Remote Vector Gaussian Source Coding for Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahedi, Adel; Østergaard, Jan; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2014-01-01

In this paper, we consider the problem of remote vector Gaussian source coding for a wireless acoustic sensor network. Each node receives messages from multiple nodes in the network and decodes these messages using its own measurement of the sound field as side information. The node’s measurement...... and the estimates of the source resulting from decoding the received messages are then jointly encoded and transmitted to a neighboring node in the network. We show that for this distributed source coding scenario, one can encode a so-called conditional sufficient statistic of the sources instead of jointly...

Online Sources for Competitor Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Arthur

Competitor information gathering is a key aspect of business planning. Information can be collected from either published or unpublished sources. Unpublished information will often be verified based on material from published sources. Published information is more likely to be factual and includes financial, stockmarket, press, market and…

Distributed source coding of video

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Søren; Van Luong, Huynh

2015-01-01

A foundation for distributed source coding was established in the classic papers of Slepian-Wolf (SW) [1] and Wyner-Ziv (WZ) [2]. This has provided a starting point for work on Distributed Video Coding (DVC), which exploits the source statistics at the decoder side offering shifting processing...... steps, conventionally performed at the video encoder side, to the decoder side. Emerging applications such as wireless visual sensor networks and wireless video surveillance all require lightweight video encoding with high coding efficiency and error-resilience. The video data of DVC schemes differ from...... the assumptions of SW and WZ distributed coding, e.g. by being correlated in time and nonstationary. Improving the efficiency of DVC coding is challenging. This paper presents some selected techniques to address the DVC challenges. Focus is put on pin-pointing how the decoder steps are modified to provide...

17 CFR 242.603 - Distribution, consolidation, and display of information with respect to quotations for and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

..., and display of information with respect to quotations for and transactions in NMS stocks. 242.603... with respect to quotations for and transactions in NMS stocks. (a) Distribution of information. (1) Any... source, that distributes information with respect to quotations for or transactions in an NMS stock to a...

Crossing heterogeneous information sources for better analysis of health and social care data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Szirbik, NB; Pelletier, C; Chaussalet, TJ; Bos, L; Marsh, A

2005-01-01

In this paper we describe a methodology that emerged during an implementation of a health-and-social-care-oriented data repository, which consists in grouping information from heterogeneous and distributed information sources. We developed this methodology by first constructing a concrete data

Modelling Choice of Information Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agha Faisal Habib Pathan

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the significance of traveller information sources including mono-modal and multimodal websites for travel decisions. The research follows a decision paradigm developed earlier, involving an information acquisition process for travel choices, and identifies the abstract characteristics of new information sources that deserve further investigation (e.g. by incorporating these in models and studying their significance in model estimation. A Stated Preference experiment is developed and the utility functions are formulated by expanding the travellers' choice set to include different combinations of sources of information. In order to study the underlying choice mechanisms, the resulting variables are examined in models based on different behavioural strategies, including utility maximisation and minimising the regret associated with the foregone alternatives. This research confirmed that RRM (Random Regret Minimisation Theory can fruitfully be used and can provide important insights for behavioural studies. The study also analyses the properties of travel planning websites and establishes a link between travel choices and the content, provenance, design, presence of advertisements, and presentation of information. The results indicate that travellers give particular credence to governmentowned sources and put more importance on their own previous experiences than on any other single source of information. Information from multimodal websites is more influential than that on train-only websites. This in turn is more influential than information from friends, while information from coachonly websites is the least influential. A website with less search time, specific information on users' own criteria, and real time information is regarded as most attractive

Devices for obtaining information about radiation sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosswill, C.H.

1981-01-01

The invention provides a sensitive, fast, high-resolution device for obtaining information about the distribution of gamma and X-radiation sources and provides a radiation detector useful in such a device. It comprises a slit collimator with a multiplicity of slits each with slit-defining walls of material and thickness to absorb beam components impinging on them. The slits extend further in one transverse direction than the other. The detector for separately detecting beam components passing through the slits also provides data output signals. It comprises a plurality of radiation transducing portions, each at the end of a slit. A positioner changes the transverse position of the slits and radiation transducer (a photoconductor) relative to the source. Applications are in nuclear medicine and industry. Full details and preferred embodiments are given. (U.K.)

High frequency seismic signal generated by landslides on complex topographies: from point source to spatially distributed sources

Science.gov (United States)

Mangeney, A.; Kuehnert, J.; Capdeville, Y.; Durand, V.; Stutzmann, E.; Kone, E. H.; Sethi, S.

2017-12-01

During their flow along the topography, landslides generate seismic waves in a wide frequency range. These so called landquakes can be recorded at very large distances (a few hundreds of km for large landslides). The recorded signals depend on the landslide seismic source and the seismic wave propagation. If the wave propagation is well understood, the seismic signals can be inverted for the seismic source and thus can be used to get information on the landslide properties and dynamics. Analysis and modeling of long period seismic signals (10-150s) have helped in this way to discriminate between different landslide scenarios and to constrain rheological parameters (e.g. Favreau et al., 2010). This was possible as topography poorly affects wave propagation at these long periods and the landslide seismic source can be approximated as a point source. In the near-field and at higher frequencies (> 1 Hz) the spatial extent of the source has to be taken into account and the influence of the topography on the recorded seismic signal should be quantified in order to extract information on the landslide properties and dynamics. The characteristic signature of distributed sources and varying topographies is studied as a function of frequency and recording distance.The time dependent spatial distribution of the forces applied to the ground by the landslide are obtained using granular flow numerical modeling on 3D topography. The generated seismic waves are simulated using the spectral element method. The simulated seismic signal is compared to observed seismic data from rockfalls at the Dolomieu Crater of Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion).Favreau, P., Mangeney, A., Lucas, A., Crosta, G., and Bouchut, F. (2010). Numerical modeling of landquakes. Geophysical Research Letters, 37(15):1-5.

Confluence of calculational and experimental information for determination of power distribution and burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serov, I.V.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1996-01-01

A technique for the statistical confluence of any number of possibly correlated informational sources employed in reactor analysis can be used to improve the estimates of physical quantities given by the sources taken separately. The formulas of the presented technique being based on multivariate Bayesian conditioning are general and can be employed in different applications. Insight into the nature of the informational source allows different types of data associated with the source to be improved. Estimation of biases, variances and correlation coefficients for the systematic and statistical errors associated with the informational sources is reliable confluence, but pays off by providing optimal estimates. The technique of the calculational and experimental information confluence is applied to the determination of the power distribution and burnup for the research reactor HOR of the Delft University of Technology. The code system CONHOR carries out all the stages of the calculation for the HOR reactor, using an existing code for static core calculations and burnup calculations. (author)

Confluence of calculational and experimental information for determination of power distribution and burnup

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serov, I.V.; Hoogenboom, J.E. [Interuniversitair Reactor Inst., Delft (Netherlands)

1996-05-01

A technique for the statistical confluence of any number of possibly correlated informational sources employed in reactor analysis can be used to improve the estimates of physical quantities given by the sources taken separately. The formulas of the presented technique being based on multivariate Bayesian conditioning are general and can be employed in different applications. Insight into the nature of the informational source allows different types of data associated with the source to be improved. Estimation of biases, variances and correlation coefficients for the systematic and statistical errors associated with the informational sources is reliable confluence, but pays off by providing optimal estimates. The technique of the calculational and experimental information confluence is applied to the determination of the power distribution and burnup for the research reactor HOR of the Delft University of Technology. The code system CONHOR carries out all the stages of the calculation for the HOR reactor, using an existing code for static core calculations and burnup calculations. (author).

The Efficient Utilization of Open Source Information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baty, Samuel R. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Intelligence and Systems Analysis

2016-08-11

These are a set of slides on the efficient utilization of open source information. Open source information consists of a vast set of information from a variety of sources. Not only does the quantity of open source information pose a problem, the quality of such information can hinder efforts. To show this, two case studies are mentioned: Iran and North Korea, in order to see how open source information can be utilized. The huge breadth and depth of open source information can complicate an analysis, especially because open information has no guarantee of accuracy. Open source information can provide key insights either directly or indirectly: looking at supporting factors (flow of scientists, products and waste from mines, government budgets, etc.); direct factors (statements, tests, deployments). Fundamentally, it is the independent verification of information that allows for a more complete picture to be formed. Overlapping sources allow for more precise bounds on times, weights, temperatures, yields or other issues of interest in order to determine capability. Ultimately, a "good" answer almost never comes from an individual, but rather requires the utilization of a wide range of skill sets held by a team of people.

Precise Mapping Of A Spatially Distributed Radioactive Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, A.; Caras, I.; Piestum, S.; Sheli, E.; Melamud, Y.; Berant, S.; Kadmon, Y.; Tirosh, D.

1999-01-01

Spatial distribution measurement of radioactive sources is a routine task in the nuclear industry. The precision of each measurement depends upon the specific application. However, the technological edge of this precision is motivated by the production of standards for calibration. Within this definition, the most demanding field is the calibration of standards for medical equipment. In this paper, a semi-empirical method for controlling the measurement precision is demonstrated, using a relatively simple laboratory apparatus. The spatial distribution of the source radioactivity is measured as part of the quality assurance tests, during the production of flood sources. These sources are further used in calibration of medical gamma cameras. A typical flood source is a 40 x 60 cm 2 plate with an activity of 10 mCi (or more) of 57 Co isotope. The measurement set-up is based on a single NaI(Tl) scintillator with a photomultiplier tube, moving on an X Y table which scans the flood source. In this application the source is required to have a uniform activity distribution over its surface

Adaptive distributed source coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Varodayan, David; Lin, Yao-Chung; Girod, Bernd

2012-05-01

We consider distributed source coding in the presence of hidden variables that parameterize the statistical dependence among sources. We derive the Slepian-Wolf bound and devise coding algorithms for a block-candidate model of this problem. The encoder sends, in addition to syndrome bits, a portion of the source to the decoder uncoded as doping bits. The decoder uses the sum-product algorithm to simultaneously recover the source symbols and the hidden statistical dependence variables. We also develop novel techniques based on density evolution (DE) to analyze the coding algorithms. We experimentally confirm that our DE analysis closely approximates practical performance. This result allows us to efficiently optimize parameters of the algorithms. In particular, we show that the system performs close to the Slepian-Wolf bound when an appropriate doping rate is selected. We then apply our coding and analysis techniques to a reduced-reference video quality monitoring system and show a bit rate saving of about 75% compared with fixed-length coding.

Galactic distribution of X-ray burst sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewin, W.H.G.; Hoffman, J.A.; Doty, J.; Clark, G.W.; Swank, J.H.; Becker, R.H.; Pravdo, S.H.; Serlemitsos, P.J.

1977-01-01

It is stated that 18 X-ray burst sources have been observed to date, applying the following definition for these bursts - rise times of less than a few seconds, durations of seconds to minutes, and recurrence in some regular pattern. If single burst events that meet the criteria of rise time and duration, but not recurrence are included, an additional seven sources can be added. A sky map is shown indicating their positions. The sources are spread along the galactic equator and cluster near low galactic longitudes, and their distribution is different from that of the observed globular clusters. Observations based on the SAS-3 X-ray observatory studies and the Goddard X-ray Spectroscopy Experiment on OSO-9 are described. The distribution of the sources is examined and the effect of uneven sky exposure on the observed distribution is evaluated. It has been suggested that the bursts are perhaps produced by remnants of disrupted globular clusters and specifically supermassive black holes. This would imply the existence of a new class of unknown objects, and at present is merely an ad hoc method of relating the burst sources to globular clusters. (U.K.)

A general technique for confluence of calculational and experimental information with application to power distribution determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serov, I.V.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1994-01-01

Physical quantities can be obtained by utilizing different informational sources. The available information is usually associated with systematic and statistical errors. If the informational sources are utilized simultaneously, then it is possible to obtain posterior estimates of the quantities with better statistical properties than exhibited by any prior estimates. The general technique for confluence of any number possibly dependent informational sources can be developed. Insight into the nature of the informational source allows different types of data associated with the source to be improved. The formulas of the technique are presented and applied to the power distribution determination for research reactor HOR of the Delft University of Technology, employing calculational and experimental data. (authors). 5 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

Distributed power sources for Mars colonization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, George H.; Shaban, Yasser

2003-01-01

One of the fundamental needs for Mars colonization is an abundant source of energy. The total energy system will probably use a mixture of sources based on solar energy, fuel cells, and nuclear energy. Here we concentrate on the possibility of developing a distributed system employing several unique new types of nuclear energy sources, specifically small fusion devices using inertial electrostatic confinement and portable 'battery type' proton reaction cells

Distributed coding of multiview sparse sources with joint recovery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luong, Huynh Van; Deligiannis, Nikos; Forchhammer, Søren

2016-01-01

In support of applications involving multiview sources in distributed object recognition using lightweight cameras, we propose a new method for the distributed coding of sparse sources as visual descriptor histograms extracted from multiview images. The problem is challenging due to the computati...... transform (SIFT) descriptors extracted from multiview images shows that our method leads to bit-rate saving of up to 43% compared to the state-of-the-art distributed compressed sensing method with independent encoding of the sources....

Activity distribution of a cobalt-60 teletherapy source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaffray, D.A.; Munro, P.; Battista, J.J.; Fenster, A.

1991-01-01

In the course of quantifying the effect of radiation source size on the spatial resolution of portal images, a concentric ring structure in the activity distribution of a Cobalt-60 teletherapy source has been observed. The activity distribution was measured using a strip integral technique and confirmed independently by a contact radiograph of an identical but inactive source replica. These two techniques suggested that this concentric ring structure is due to the packing configuration of the small 60Co pellets that constitute the source. The source modulation transfer function (MTF) showed that this ring structure has a negligible influence on the spatial resolution of therapy images when compared to the effect of the large size of the 60Co source

Devices for obtaining information about radiation sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosswill, C.H.

1981-01-01

The invention provides a sensitive, fast high-resolution device for obtaining information about the distribution of gamma and X-radiation sources and provides a radiation detector useful in such a device. It comprises a slit collimator with a multiplicity of slits each with slit-defining walls of material and thickness to absorb beam components impinging on them. The slits extend further in one direction than the other. The detector for separately detecting beam components passing through the slits also provides data output signals. It comprises a plurality of radiation transducing portions which are not photoconductor elements each at the end of a slit. A positioner operates to change the transverse position of the slits and radiation transducing portions relative to the source, wherein each radiation transducing element is positioned within its respective slit between the slit defining walls. Full details and preferred embodiments are given. (U.K.)

Information in vague data sources

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mareš, Milan; Mesiar, Radko

2013-01-01

Roč. 49, č. 3 (2013), s. 433-445 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/11/0378 Keywords : alphabet * triangular norm * information * entropy * fuzziness * data source Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.563, year: 2013 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2013/E/mesiar-information in vague data sources.pdf

How Do Qataris Source Health Information?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sopna M Choudhury

Full Text Available Qatar is experiencing rapid population expansion with increasing demands on healthcare services for both acute and chronic conditions. Sourcing accurate information about health conditions is crucial, yet the methods used for sourcing health information in Qatar are currently unknown. Gaining a better understanding of the sources the Qatari population use to recognize and manage health and/or disease will help to develop strategies to educate individuals about existing and emerging health problems.To investigate the methods used by the Qatari population to source health information. We hypothesized that the Internet would be a key service used to access health information by the Qatari population.A researcher-led questionnaire was used to collect information from Qatari adults, aged 18-85 years. Participants were approached in shopping centers and public places in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The questionnaire was used to ascertain information concerning demographics, health status, and utilization of health care services during the past year as well as sources of health information used.Data from a total of 394 eligible participants were included. The Internet was widely used for seeking health information among the Qatari population (71.1%. A greater proportion of Qatari females (78.7% reported searching for health-related information using the Internet compared to Qatari males (60.8%. Other commonly used sources were family and friends (37.8% and Primary Health Care Centers (31.2%. Google was the most commonly used search engine (94.8%. Gender, age and education levels were all significant predictors of Internet use for heath information (P<0.001 for all predictors. Females were 2.9 times more likely than males (P<0.001 and people educated to university or college level were 3.03 times more likely (P<0.001 to use the Internet for heath information.The Internet is a widely used source to obtain health-related information by the Qatari

Microseism Source Distribution Observed from Ireland

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, David; Bean, Chris; Donne, Sarah; Le Pape, Florian; Möllhoff, Martin

2017-04-01

Ocean generated microseisms (OGM) are recorded globally with similar spectral features observed everywhere. The generation mechanism for OGM and their subsequent propagation to continental regions has led to their use as a proxy for sea-state characteristics. Also many modern seismological methods make use of OGM signals. For example, the Earth's crust and upper mantle can be imaged using ``ambient noise tomography``. For many of these methods an understanding of the source distribution is necessary to properly interpret the results. OGM recorded on near coastal seismometers are known to be related to the local ocean wavefield. However, contributions from more distant sources may also be present. This is significant for studies attempting to use OGM as a proxy for sea-state characteristics such as significant wave height. Ireland has a highly energetic ocean wave climate and is close to one of the major source regions for OGM. This provides an ideal location to study an OGM source region in detail. Here we present the source distribution observed from seismic arrays in Ireland. The region is shown to consist of several individual source areas. These source areas show some frequency dependence and generally occur at or near the continental shelf edge. We also show some preliminary results from an off-shore OBS network to the North-West of Ireland. The OBS network includes instruments on either side of the shelf and should help interpret the array observations.

Information Needs, Sources, and Information Seeking Behaviour of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This work which focused on the policy-makers/administrators as information users was carried out using hundred (100) questionnaire in order to ascertain the information needs, sources and information seeking behaviour of the administrators. The barrier to information flow to them was also identified. The study adopted a ...

Computer program for source distribution process in radiation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Kassiri, H.; Abdul Ghani, B.

2007-08-01

Computer simulation for dose distribution using Visual Basic has been done according to the arrangement and activities of Co-60 sources. This program provides dose distribution in treated products depending on the product density and desired dose. The program is useful for optimization of sources distribution during loading process. there is good agreement between calculated data for the program and experimental data.(Author)

A service-oriented distributed semantic mediator: integrating multiscale biomedical information.

Science.gov (United States)

Mora, Oscar; Engelbrecht, Gerhard; Bisbal, Jesus

2012-11-01

Biomedical research continuously generates large amounts of heterogeneous and multimodal data spread over multiple data sources. These data, if appropriately shared and exploited, could dramatically improve the research practice itself, and ultimately the quality of health care delivered. This paper presents DISMED (DIstributed Semantic MEDiator), an open source semantic mediator that provides a unified view of a federated environment of multiscale biomedical data sources. DISMED is a Web-based software application to query and retrieve information distributed over a set of registered data sources, using semantic technologies. It also offers a userfriendly interface specifically designed to simplify the usage of these technologies by non-expert users. Although the architecture of the software mediator is generic and domain independent, in the context of this paper, DISMED has been evaluated for managing biomedical environments and facilitating research with respect to the handling of scientific data distributed in multiple heterogeneous data sources. As part of this contribution, a quantitative evaluation framework has been developed. It consist of a benchmarking scenario and the definition of five realistic use-cases. This framework, created entirely with public datasets, has been used to compare the performance of DISMED against other available mediators. It is also available to the scientific community in order to evaluate progress in the domain of semantic mediation, in a systematic and comparable manner. The results show an average improvement in the execution time by DISMED of 55% compared to the second best alternative in four out of the five use-cases of the experimental evaluation.

Information Needs and Source Information of Agricultural Extension Workers in DIY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Retno Wulandari

2016-02-01

Full Text Available One of the important factors that contribute to agricultural development is information. As such agricultural extension workers that link agricultural agencies to the farmers must have adequate and up-to-date information about agricultural practices before they could inform, educate and train the farmers in method and techniques of farming. This study aims to determine the types of information needed by agricultural extension workers; to determine the sources of information used by the agricultural extension workers; and to determine the comparison between types of information with information sources used by agricultural extension workers. The present study was a descriptive study using a survey design and conducted at Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY Province. The populations of the study consists 181 agricultural extension workers divisible in the district level, namely Sleman, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul dan Bantul. Sampling procedure in this study used cluster sampling. The method for gathering data from the respondents is based on a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was to describe the characteristics of the respondents and the dependent variables of the study. As a result, most of agricultural extension workers strongly needed the innovation information in seeking information followed by extension service information and extension role information. The result of information sources used by agricultural extension worker for extension service information, innovation information and extension role information indicates that agricultural extension workers used interpersonal source. Most of them never sought information use Internet, they use radio more frequently than television and video, agricultural extension worker also used mass media as information source.

The dose distribution surrounding 192Ir and 137Cs seed sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomason, C.; Mackie, T.R.; Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI; Lindstrom, M.J.; Higgins, P.D.

1991-01-01

Dose distributions in water were measured using LiF thermoluminescent dosemeters for 192 Ir seed sources with stainless steel and with platinum encapsulation to determine the effect of differing encapsulation. Dose distribution was measured for a 137 Cs seed source. In addition, dose distributions surrounding these sources were calculated using the EGS4 Monte Carlo code and were compared to measured data. The two methods are in good agreement for all three sources. Tables are given describing dose distribution surrounding each source as a function of distance and angle. Specific dose constants were also determined from results of Monte Carlo simulation. This work confirms the use of the EGS4 Monte Carlo code in modelling 192 Ir and 137 Cs seed sources to obtain brachytherapy dose distributions. (author)

A Heuristic Approach to Distributed Generation Source Allocation for Electrical Power Distribution Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sharma

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The recent trends in electrical power distribution system operation and management are aimed at improving system conditions in order to render good service to the customer. The reforms in distribution sector have given major scope for employment of distributed generation (DG resources which will boost the system performance. This paper proposes a heuristic technique for allocation of distribution generation source in a distribution system. The allocation is determined based on overall improvement in network performance parameters like reduction in system losses, improvement in voltage stability, improvement in voltage profile. The proposed Network Performance Enhancement Index (NPEI along with the heuristic rules facilitate determination of feasible location and corresponding capacity of DG source. The developed approach is tested with different test systems to ascertain its effectiveness.

Information needs and barriers to information sources by open and distance learners: A case of Mzuzu University, Malawi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Winner D. Chawinga

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The Centre for Open and Distance Learning at Mzuzu University was established in 2006 with the aim to increase and broaden access to higher education to most Malawians who despite meeting entry requirements into higher education were not selected because of shortage of space on campus and other learning and teaching resources. Although Open and Distance Learning (ODL is hyped as a practical option for making higher education available to many people as widely reported in the literature, universities need to address several issues for it to hold its ground. Objectives: The study set out to investigate information needs and barriers to information sources by ODL students by addressing three objectives, namely information needs of ODL students, information sources of ODL students and challenges that ODL students face when seeking information for their courses of study. Method: A survey questionnaire with a mix of closed-ended and open-ended questions was distributed to 350 students to find out the information sources and challenges that the ODL students face when searching for information to accomplish their academic activities. Results: According to the findings, all 258 (100% students who answered the questionnaire need information to prepare for the end-of-semester examinations. Information sources that are used most by students include lecture notes, Internet and library books with scores of 238 (92.6%, 207 (80.5% and 199 (77.4%, respectively. Conclusion: ODL students have limited access to information materials for accomplishing their academic activities and Mzuzu University can resolve this challenge by introducing satellite information centres in the three geographical regions of Malawi.

Investigation Of Information Sources And Communication Channels ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Investigation Of Information Sources And Communication Channels In Ipm Rice ... the information accessibility of farmer groups seems as empowerment strategy. ... information sources and communication channels, in order of importance, ...

Mission informed needed information: discoverable, available sensing sources (MINI-DASS): the operators and process flows the magic rabbits must negotiate

Science.gov (United States)

Kolodny, Michael A.

2017-05-01

Today's battlefield space is extremely complex, dealing with an enemy that is neither well-defined nor well-understood. Adversaries are comprised of widely-distributed, loosely-networked groups engaging in nefarious activities. Situational understanding is needed by decision makers; understanding of adversarial capabilities and intent is essential. Information needed at any time is dependent on the mission/task at hand. Information sources potentially providing mission-relevant information are disparate and numerous; they include sensors, social networks, fusion engines, internet, etc. Management of these multi-dimensional informational sources is critical. This paper will present a new approach being undertaken to answer the challenge of enhancing battlefield understanding by optimizing the utilization of available informational sources (means) to required missions/tasks as well as determining the "goodness'" of the information acquired in meeting the capabilities needed. Requirements are usually expressed in terms of a presumed technology solution (e.g., imagery). A metaphor of the "magic rabbits" was conceived to remove presumed technology solutions from requirements by claiming the "required" technology is obsolete. Instead, intelligent "magic rabbits" are used to provide needed information. The question then becomes: "WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED THE RABBITS TO PROVIDE YOU?" This paper will describe a new approach called Mission-Informed Needed Information - Discoverable, Available Sensing Sources (MINI-DASS) that designs a process that builds information acquisition missions and determines what the "magic rabbits" need to provide in a manner that is machine understandable. Also described is the Missions and Means Framework (MMF) model used, the process flow utilized, the approach to developing an ontology of information source means and the approach for determining the value of the information acquired.

Establishment of a Practical Approach for Characterizing the Source of Particulates in Water Distribution Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seon-Ha Chae

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Water quality complaints related to particulate matter and discolored water can be troublesome for water utilities in terms of follow-up investigations and implementation of appropriate actions because particulate matter can enter from a variety of sources; moreover, physicochemical processes can affect the water quality during the purification and transportation processes. The origin of particulates can be attributed to sources such as background organic/inorganic materials from water sources, water treatment plants, water distribution pipelines that have deteriorated, and rehabilitation activities in the water distribution systems. In this study, a practical method is proposed for tracing particulate sources. The method entails collecting information related to hydraulic, water quality, and structural conditions, employing a network flow-path model, and establishing a database of physicochemical properties for tubercles and slimes. The proposed method was implemented within two city water distribution systems that were located in Korea. These applications were conducted to demonstrate the practical applicability of the method for providing solutions to customer complaints. The results of the field studies indicated that the proposed method would be feasible for investigating the sources of particulates and for preparing appropriate action plans for complaints related to particulate matter.

Consumer Trust in Information Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad Love

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Trust is essential to understanding public reaction to innovative issues. This research focuses on trust in information sources by explicating the construct of trust and testing a comprehensive model on several information sources about genetically modified foods. Results from a survey of 369 participants reveal the significance of projecting competence and the role of the environment in which a target public receives information. Perceptions of regulatory, social, business, and technical environments affect how likely individuals are to follow advice from institutions like the Food and Drug Administration and the news media. Future research should incorporate knowledge levels and personal relevance as variables likely to influence trusting relationships.

The Competition Between a Localised and Distributed Source of Buoyancy

Science.gov (United States)

Partridge, Jamie; Linden, Paul

2012-11-01

We propose a new mathematical model to study the competition between localised and distributed sources of buoyancy within a naturally ventilated filling box. The main controlling parameters in this configuration are the buoyancy fluxes of the distributed and local source, specifically their ratio Ψ. The steady state dynamics of the flow are heavily dependent on this parameter. For large Ψ, where the distributed source dominates, we find the space becomes well mixed as expected if driven by an distributed source alone. Conversely, for small Ψ we find the space reaches a stable two layer stratification. This is analogous to the classical case of a purely local source but here the lower layer is buoyant compared to the ambient, due to the constant flux of buoyancy emanating from the distributed source. The ventilation flow rate, buoyancy of the layers and also the location of the interface height, which separates the two layer stratification, are obtainable from the model. To validate the theoretical model, small scale laboratory experiments were carried out. Water was used as the working medium with buoyancy being driven directly by temperature differences. Theoretical results were compared with experimental data and overall good agreement was found. A CASE award project with Arup.

Low-Complexity Compression Algorithm for Hyperspectral Images Based on Distributed Source Coding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongjian Nian

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A low-complexity compression algorithm for hyperspectral images based on distributed source coding (DSC is proposed in this paper. The proposed distributed compression algorithm can realize both lossless and lossy compression, which is implemented by performing scalar quantization strategy on the original hyperspectral images followed by distributed lossless compression. Multilinear regression model is introduced for distributed lossless compression in order to improve the quality of side information. Optimal quantized step is determined according to the restriction of the correct DSC decoding, which makes the proposed algorithm achieve near lossless compression. Moreover, an effective rate distortion algorithm is introduced for the proposed algorithm to achieve low bit rate. Experimental results show that the compression performance of the proposed algorithm is competitive with that of the state-of-the-art compression algorithms for hyperspectral images.

Selecting and Using Information Sources: Source Preferences and Information Pathways of Israeli Library and Information Science Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bronstein, Jenny

2010-01-01

Introduction: The study investigated the source preference criteria of library and information science students for their academic and personal information needs. Method: The empirical study was based on two methods of data collection. Eighteen participants wrote a personal diary for four months in which they recorded search episodes and answered…

Formal Specification of Distributed Information Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vis, J.; Brinksma, Hendrik; de By, R.A.; de By, R.A.

The design of distributed information systems tends to be complex and therefore error-prone. However, in the field of monolithic, i.e. non-distributed, information systems much has already been achieved, and by now, the principles of their design seem to be fairly well-understood. The past decade

Hospital distribution in a metropolitan city: assessment by a geographical information system grid modelling approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwang-Soo Lee

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Grid models were used to assess urban hospital distribution in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. A geographical information system (GIS based analytical model was developed and applied to assess the situation in a metropolitan area with a population exceeding 10 million. Secondary data for this analysis were obtained from multiple sources: the Korean Statistical Information Service, the Korean Hospital Association and the Statistical Geographical Information System. A grid of cells measuring 1 × 1 km was superimposed on the city map and a set of variables related to population, economy, mobility and housing were identified and measured for each cell. Socio-demographic variables were included to reflect the characteristics of each area. Analytical models were then developed using GIS software with the number of hospitals as the dependent variable. Applying multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression models, three factors (highway and major arterial road areas; number of subway entrances; and row house areas were statistically significant in explaining the variance of hospital distribution for each cell. The overall results show that GIS is a useful tool for analysing and understanding location strategies. This approach appears a useful source of information for decision-makers concerned with the distribution of hospitals and other health care centres in a city.

Virtual shelves in a digital library: a framework for access to networked information sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, T B; Springer, G K; Mitchell, J A; Sievert, M E

1995-01-01

Develop a framework for collections-based access to networked information sources that addresses the problem of location-dependent access to information sources. This framework uses a metaphor of a virtual shelf. A virtual shelf is a general-purpose server that is dedicated to a particular information subject class. The identifier of one of these servers identifies its subject class. Location-independent call numbers are assigned to information sources. Call numbers are based on standard vocabulary codes. The call numbers are first mapped to the location-independent identifiers of virtual shelves. When access to an information resource is required, a location directory provides a second mapping of these location-independent server identifiers to actual network locations. The framework has been implemented in two different systems. One system is based on the Open System Foundation/Distributed Computing Environment and the other is based on the World Wide Web. This framework applies in new ways traditional methods of library classification and cataloging. It is compatible with two traditional styles of selecting information searching and browsing. Traditional methods may be combined with new paradigms of information searching that will be able to take advantage of the special properties of digital information. Cooperation between the library-informational science community and the informatics community can provide a means for a continuing application of the knowledge and techniques of library science to the new problems of networked information sources.

Patterns of trust in sources of health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Rob; Forbes, Sarah; Williams, John

2011-01-21

To understand the different patterns of trust that exist regarding different sources of information about health issues. Data from a large national health lifestyles survey of New Zealanders was examined using a factor analysis of trust toward 24 health information sources (HIS). Differences in trust are compared across a range of demographic variables. Factor analysis identified six different groupings of health information. Variations in trust in sources for health information are identified by age, employment status, level of education, income, sex and ethnic group. Systematic variations exist in the trust that people report with respect to different sources of health information. Understanding these variations may assist policymakers and other agencies which are responsible for planning the dissemination of health information.

Community structure informs species geographic distributions

KAUST Repository

Montesinos-Navarro, Alicia

2018-05-23

Understanding what determines species\\' geographic distributions is crucial for assessing global change threats to biodiversity. Measuring limits on distributions is usually, and necessarily, done with data at large geographic extents and coarse spatial resolution. However, survival of individuals is determined by processes that happen at small spatial scales. The relative abundance of coexisting species (i.e. \\'community structure\\') reflects assembly processes occurring at small scales, and are often available for relatively extensive areas, so could be useful for explaining species distributions. We demonstrate that Bayesian Network Inference (BNI) can overcome several challenges to including community structure into studies of species distributions, despite having been little used to date. We hypothesized that the relative abundance of coexisting species can improve predictions of species distributions. In 1570 assemblages of 68 Mediterranean woody plant species we used BNI to incorporate community structure into Species Distribution Models (SDMs), alongside environmental information. Information on species associations improved SDM predictions of community structure and species distributions moderately, though for some habitat specialists the deviance explained increased by up to 15%. We demonstrate that most species associations (95%) were positive and occurred between species with ecologically similar traits. This suggests that SDM improvement could be because species co-occurrences are a proxy for local ecological processes. Our study shows that Bayesian Networks, when interpreted carefully, can be used to include local conditions into measurements of species\\' large-scale distributions, and this information can improve the predictions of species distributions.

Strategies for satellite-based monitoring of CO2 from distributed area and point sources

Science.gov (United States)

Schwandner, Florian M.; Miller, Charles E.; Duren, Riley M.; Natraj, Vijay; Eldering, Annmarie; Gunson, Michael R.; Crisp, David

2014-05-01

and sensor provides the full range of temporal sampling needed to characterize distributed area and point source emissions. For instance, point source emission patterns will vary with source strength, wind speed and direction. Because wind speed, direction and other environmental factors change rapidly, short term variabilities should be sampled. For detailed target selection and pointing verification, important lessons have already been learned and strategies devised during JAXA's GOSAT mission (Schwandner et al, 2013). The fact that competing spatial and temporal requirements drive satellite remote sensing sampling strategies dictates a systematic, multi-factor consideration of potential solutions. Factors to consider include vista, revisit frequency, integration times, spatial resolution, and spatial coverage. No single satellite-based remote sensing solution can address this problem for all scales. It is therefore of paramount importance for the international community to develop and maintain a constellation of atmospheric CO2 monitoring satellites that complement each other in their temporal and spatial observation capabilities: Polar sun-synchronous orbits (fixed local solar time, no diurnal information) with agile pointing allow global sampling of known distributed area and point sources like megacities, power plants and volcanoes with daily to weekly temporal revisits and moderate to high spatial resolution. Extensive targeting of distributed area and point sources comes at the expense of reduced mapping or spatial coverage, and the important contextual information that comes with large-scale contiguous spatial sampling. Polar sun-synchronous orbits with push-broom swath-mapping but limited pointing agility may allow mapping of individual source plumes and their spatial variability, but will depend on fortuitous environmental conditions during the observing period. These solutions typically have longer times between revisits, limiting their ability to resolve

New information on parton distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, A.D.; Stirling, W.J.; Roberts, R.G.

1992-04-01

New data on structure functions from deep-inelastic scattering provide new information on parton distributions, particularly in the 0.01 2 data from the New Muon Collaboration (NMC) and its implications for other processes, and the evidence for SU(2) symmetry breaking in the light quark sea. We show that although good fits can be obtained with or without this symmetry breaking, more physically reasonable parton distributions are obtained if we allow d-bar > u-bar at small x. With the inclusion of the latest deep-inelastic data we find α s (M Z ) = 0.111 -0.005 +0.004 . We also show how W, Z and Drell-Yan production at p-barp colliders can give information on parton distributions. (Author)

The Impact of Source Distribution on Scalar Transport over Forested Hills

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Andrew N.; Harman, Ian N.

2015-08-01

Numerical simulations of neutral flow over a two-dimensional, isolated, forested ridge are conducted to study the effects of scalar source distribution on scalar concentrations and fluxes over forested hills. Three different constant-flux sources are considered that span a range of idealized but ecologically important source distributions: a source at the ground, one uniformly distributed through the canopy, and one decaying with depth in the canopy. A fourth source type, where the in-canopy source depends on both the wind speed and the difference in concentration between the canopy and a reference concentration on the leaf, designed to mimic deposition, is also considered. The simulations show that the topographically-induced perturbations to the scalar concentration and fluxes are quantitatively dependent on the source distribution. The net impact is a balance of different processes affecting both advection and turbulent mixing, and can be significant even for moderate topography. Sources that have significant input in the deep canopy or at the ground exhibit a larger magnitude advection and turbulent flux-divergence terms in the canopy. The flows have identical velocity fields and so the differences are entirely due to the different tracer concentration fields resulting from the different source distributions. These in-canopy differences lead to larger spatial variations in above-canopy scalar fluxes for sources near the ground compared to cases where the source is predominantly located near the canopy top. Sensitivity tests show that the most significant impacts are often seen near to or slightly downstream of the flow separation or reattachment points within the canopy flow. The qualitative similarities to previous studies using periodic hills suggest that important processes occurring over isolated and periodic hills are not fundamentally different. The work has important implications for the interpretation of flux measurements over forests, even in

Ion-source dependence of the distributions of internuclear separations in 2-MeV HeH+ beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanter, E.P.; Gemmell, D.S.; Plesser, I.; Vager, Z.

1981-01-01

Experiments involving the use of MeV molecular-ion beams have yielded new information on atomic collisions in solids. A central part of the analyses of such experiments is a knowledge of the distribution of internuclear separations contained in the incident beam. In an attempt to determine how these distributions depend on ion-source gas conditions, we have studied foil-induced dissociations of H 2+ , H 3+ , HeH + , and OH 2+ ions. Although changes of ion-source gas compositions and pressure were found to have no measurable influence on the vibrational state populations of the beams reaching our target, for HeH + we found that beams produced in our rf source were vibrationally hotter than beams produced in a duoplasmatron. This was also seen in studies of neutral fragments and transmitted molecules

Gender and Information Literacy: Evaluation of Gender Differences in a Student Survey of Information Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Arthur; Dalal, Heather A.

2017-01-01

Information literacy studies have shown that college students use a variety of information sources to perform research and commonly choose Internet sources over traditional library sources. Studies have also shown that students do not appear to understand the information quality issues concerning Internet information sources and may lack the…

Cross-checking different sources of mobility information.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxime Lenormand

Full Text Available The pervasive use of new mobile devices has allowed a better characterization in space and time of human concentrations and mobility in general. Besides its theoretical interest, describing mobility is of great importance for a number of practical applications ranging from the forecast of disease spreading to the design of new spaces in urban environments. While classical data sources, such as surveys or census, have a limited level of geographical resolution (e.g., districts, municipalities, counties are typically used or are restricted to generic workdays or weekends, the data coming from mobile devices can be precisely located both in time and space. Most previous works have used a single data source to study human mobility patterns. Here we perform instead a cross-check analysis by comparing results obtained with data collected from three different sources: Twitter, census, and cell phones. The analysis is focused on the urban areas of Barcelona and Madrid, for which data of the three types is available. We assess the correlation between the datasets on different aspects: the spatial distribution of people concentration, the temporal evolution of people density, and the mobility patterns of individuals. Our results show that the three data sources are providing comparable information. Even though the representativeness of Twitter geolocated data is lower than that of mobile phone and census data, the correlations between the population density profiles and mobility patterns detected by the three datasets are close to one in a grid with cells of 2×2 and 1×1 square kilometers. This level of correlation supports the feasibility of interchanging the three data sources at the spatio-temporal scales considered.

Brightness distribution data on 2918 radio sources at 365 MHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cotton, W.D.; Owen, F.N.; Ghigo, F.D.

1975-01-01

This paper is the second in a series describing the results of a program attempting to fit models of the brightness distribution to radio sources observed at 365 MHz with the Bandwidth Synthesis Interferometer (BSI) operated by the University of Texas Radio Astronomy Observatory. Results for a further 2918 radio sources are given. An unresolved model and three symmetric extended models with angular sizes in the range 10--70 arcsec were attempted for each radio source. In addition, for 348 sources for which other observations of brightness distribution are published, the reference to the observations and a brief description are included

The dose distribution surrounding sup 192 Ir and sup 137 Cs seed sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomason, C [Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (USA). Dept. of Medical Physics; Mackie, T R [Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (USA). Dept. of Medical Physics Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (USA). Dept. of Human Oncology; Lindstrom, M J [Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (USA). Biostatistics Center; Higgins, P D [Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH (USA). Dept. of Radiation Oncology

1991-04-01

Dose distributions in water were measured using LiF thermoluminescent dosemeters for {sup 192}Ir seed sources with stainless steel and with platinum encapsulation to determine the effect of differing encapsulation. Dose distribution was measured for a {sup 137}Cs seed source. In addition, dose distributions surrounding these sources were calculated using the EGS4 Monte Carlo code and were compared to measured data. The two methods are in good agreement for all three sources. Tables are given describing dose distribution surrounding each source as a function of distance and angle. Specific dose constants were also determined from results of Monte Carlo simulation. This work confirms the use of the EGS4 Monte Carlo code in modelling {sup 192}Ir and {sup 137}Cs seed sources to obtain brachytherapy dose distributions. (author).

Effect of source angular distribution on the evaluation of gamma-ray skyshine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheu, R.D.; Jiang, S.H. [Dept. of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua Univ., Taiwan (China); Chang, B.J.; Chen, I.J. [Division of Health Physics, Inst. of Nuclear Energy Research, Taiwan (China)

2000-03-01

The effect of the angular distribution of the equivalent point source on the analysis of the skyshine dose rates was investigated in detail. The dedicated skyshine codes SKYDOSE and McSKY were revised to include the capability of dealing with the anisotropic source. It was found that a replace of the cosine-distributed source by an isotropic source will overestimate the skyshine dose rates for large roof-subtended angles and cause underestimation for small roof-subtended angles. For building with roof shielding, however, replacing the cosine-distributed source by an isotropic source will always underestimate the skyshine dose rates. The skyshine dose rates from a volume source calculated by the dedicated skyshine code agree very well with those of the MCNP Monte Carlo calculation. (author)

Light source distribution and scattering phase function influence light transport in diffuse multi-layered media

Science.gov (United States)

Vaudelle, Fabrice; L'Huillier, Jean-Pierre; Askoura, Mohamed Lamine

2017-06-01

Red and near-Infrared light is often used as a useful diagnostic and imaging probe for highly scattering media such as biological tissues, fruits and vegetables. Part of diffusively reflected light gives interesting information related to the tissue subsurface, whereas light recorded at further distances may probe deeper into the interrogated turbid tissues. However, modelling diffusive events occurring at short source-detector distances requires to consider both the distribution of the light sources and the scattering phase functions. In this report, a modified Monte Carlo model is used to compute light transport in curved and multi-layered tissue samples which are covered with a thin and highly diffusing tissue layer. Different light source distributions (ballistic, diffuse or Lambertian) are tested with specific scattering phase functions (modified or not modified Henyey-Greenstein, Gegenbauer and Mie) to compute the amount of backscattered and transmitted light in apple and human skin structures. Comparisons between simulation results and experiments carried out with a multispectral imaging setup confirm the soundness of the theoretical strategy and may explain the role of the skin on light transport in whole and half-cut apples. Other computational results show that a Lambertian source distribution combined with a Henyey-Greenstein phase function provides a higher photon density in the stratum corneum than in the upper dermis layer. Furthermore, it is also shown that the scattering phase function may affect the shape and the magnitude of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution (BRDF) exhibited at the skin surface.

Informal sources of supervision in clinical training.

Science.gov (United States)

Farber, Barry A; Hazanov, Valery

2014-11-01

Although formal, assigned supervision is a potent source of learning and guidance for psychotherapy trainees, many beginning psychotherapists use other, informal sources of supervision or consultation for advice and support. Results of an online survey of beginning trainees (N = 146) indicate that other than their formally assigned supervisor, trainees most often consult with colleagues in their program, their own psychotherapist, and their significant other; that they're most likely to seek these other sources of help when they're feeling stuck or feel they've made a clinical mistake; that they do so because they need extra reassurance and suggestions; that they feel the advice given from these sources is helpful; and that they don't especially regret sharing this information. Several case examples are used to illustrate these points. Discussing clinical material with informal sources is, apparently, a great deal more common than typically acknowledged, and as such, has implications for training programs (including discussions of ethics) and formal supervision. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Smooth Rényi Entropy of Ergodic Quantum Information Sources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoenmakers, Berry; Tjoelker, Jilles; Tuyls, Pim; Verbitskiy, Evgeny

2007-01-01

We investigate the recently introduced notion of smooth Rényi entropy for the case of ergodic information sources, thereby generalizing previous work which concentrated mainly on i.i.d. information sources. We will actually consider ergodic quantum information sources, of which ergodic classical

Smooth Rényi entropy of ergodic quantum information sources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoenmakers, B.; Tjoelker, J.; Tuyls, P.T.; Verbitskiy, E.A.

2007-01-01

We investigate the recently introduced notion of smooth Rényi entropy for the case of ergodic information sources, thereby generalizing previous work which concentrated mainly on i.i.d. information sources. We will actually consider ergodic quantum information sources, of which ergodic classical

Grower Communication Networks: Information Sources for Organic Farmers

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Chelsi; Grossman, Julie; Warren, Sarah T.; Cubbage, Fred

2015-01-01

This article reports on a study to determine which information sources organic growers use to inform farming practices by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 organic farmers across 17 North Carolina counties. Effective information sources included: networking, agricultural organizations, universities, conferences, Extension, Web…

D-DSC: Decoding Delay-based Distributed Source Coding for Internet of Sensing Things.

Science.gov (United States)

Aktas, Metin; Kuscu, Murat; Dinc, Ergin; Akan, Ozgur B

2018-01-01

Spatial correlation between densely deployed sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network (WSN) can be exploited to reduce the power consumption through a proper source coding mechanism such as distributed source coding (DSC). In this paper, we propose the Decoding Delay-based Distributed Source Coding (D-DSC) to improve the energy efficiency of the classical DSC by employing the decoding delay concept which enables the use of the maximum correlated portion of sensor samples during the event estimation. In D-DSC, network is partitioned into clusters, where the clusterheads communicate their uncompressed samples carrying the side information, and the cluster members send their compressed samples. Sink performs joint decoding of the compressed and uncompressed samples and then reconstructs the event signal using the decoded sensor readings. Based on the observed degree of the correlation among sensor samples, the sink dynamically updates and broadcasts the varying compression rates back to the sensor nodes. Simulation results for the performance evaluation reveal that D-DSC can achieve reliable and energy-efficient event communication and estimation for practical signal detection/estimation applications having massive number of sensors towards the realization of Internet of Sensing Things (IoST).

Distributional patterns of arsenic concentrations in contaminant plumes offer clues to the source of arsenic in groundwater at landfills

Science.gov (United States)

Harte, Philip T.

2015-01-01

The distributional pattern of dissolved arsenic concentrations from landfill plumes can provide clues to the source of arsenic contamination. Under simple idealized conditions, arsenic concentrations along flow paths in aquifers proximal to a landfill will decrease under anthropogenic sources but potentially increase under in situ sources. This paper presents several conceptual distributional patterns of arsenic in groundwater based on the arsenic source under idealized conditions. An example of advanced subsurface mapping of dissolved arsenic with geophysical surveys, chemical monitoring, and redox fingerprinting is presented for a landfill site in New Hampshire with a complex flow pattern. Tools to assist in the mapping of arsenic in groundwater ultimately provide information on the source of contamination. Once an understanding of the arsenic contamination is achieved, appropriate remedial strategies can then be formulated.

Building a foundation to study distributed information behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry L. von Thaden

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The purpose of this research is to assess information behaviour as it pertains to operational teams in dynamic safety critical operations. Method. In this paper, I describe some of the problems faced by crews on modern flight decks and suggest a framework modelled on Information Science, Human Factors, and Activity Theory research to assess the distribution of information actions, namely information identification, gathering and use, by teams of users in a dynamic, safety critical environment. Analysis. By analysing the information behaviour of crews who have accidents and those who do not, researchers may be able to ascertain how they (fail to make use of essential, safety critical information in their information environment. The ultimate goal of this research is to differentiate information behaviour among the distinct outcomes. Results. This research affords the possibility to discern differences in distributed information behaviour illustrating that crews who err to the point of an accident appear to practice different distributed information behaviour than those who do not. This foundation serves to operationalise team sense-making through illustrating the social practice of information structuring within the activity of the work environment. Conclusion. . The distributed information behaviour framework provides a useful structure to study the patterning and organization of information distributed over space and time, to reach a common goal. This framework may allow researchers and investigators alike to identify critical information activity in the negotiation of meaning in high reliability safety critical work, eventually informing safer practice. This framework is applicable to other domains.

Word categorization from distributional information: frames confer more than the sum of their (Bigram) parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Mintz, Toben H; Wang, Felix Hao; Li, Jia

2014-12-01

Grammatical categories, such as noun and verb, are the building blocks of syntactic structure and the components that govern the grammatical patterns of language. However, in many languages words are not explicitly marked with their category information, hence a critical part of acquiring a language is categorizing the words. Computational analyses of child-directed speech have shown that distributional information-information about how words pattern with one another in sentences-could be a useful source of initial category information. Yet questions remain as to whether learners use this kind of information, and if so, what kinds of distributional patterns facilitate categorization. In this paper we investigated how adults exposed to an artificial language use distributional information to categorize words. We compared training situations in which target words occurred in frames (i.e., surrounded by two words that frequently co-occur) against situations in which target words occurred in simpler bigram contexts (where an immediately adjacent word provides the context for categorization). We found that learners categorized words together when they occurred in similar frame contexts, but not when they occurred in similar bigram contexts. These findings are particularly relevant because they accord with computational investigations showing that frame contexts provide accurate category information cross-linguistically. We discuss these findings in the context of prior research on distribution-based categorization and the broader implications for the role of distributional categorization in language acquisition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Specific factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Potančok, Martin; Voříšek, Jiří

2016-09-01

Healthcare facilities use a number of information system/information and communication technologies. Each healthcare facility faces a need to choose sourcing strategies most suitable to ensure provision of information system/information and communication technology services, processes and resources. Currently, it is possible to observe an expansion of sourcing possibilities in healthcare informatics, which creates new requirements for sourcing strategies. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities. The identification was based on qualitative research, namely, a case study. This study provides a set of internal and external factors with their impact levels. The findings also show that not enough attention is paid to these factors during decision-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

A Distributed User Information System

Science.gov (United States)

1990-03-01

NOE08 Department of Computer Science NOVO 8 1990 University of Maryland S College Park, MD 20742 D Abstract Current user information database technology ...Transactions on Computer Systems, May 1988. [So189] K. Sollins. A plan for internet directory services. Technical report, DDN Network Information Center...2424 A Distributed User Information System DTiC Steven D. Miller, Scott Carson, and Leo Mark DELECTE Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and

Editorial Bias in Crowd-Sourced Political Information.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua L Kalla

Full Text Available The Internet has dramatically expanded citizens' access to and ability to engage with political information. On many websites, any user can contribute and edit "crowd-sourced" information about important political figures. One of the most prominent examples of crowd-sourced information on the Internet is Wikipedia, a free and open encyclopedia created and edited entirely by users, and one of the world's most accessed websites. While previous studies of crowd-sourced information platforms have found them to be accurate, few have considered biases in what kinds of information are included. We report the results of four randomized field experiments that sought to explore what biases exist in the political articles of this collaborative website. By randomly assigning factually true but either positive or negative and cited or uncited information to the Wikipedia pages of U.S. senators, we uncover substantial evidence of an editorial bias toward positivity on Wikipedia: Negative facts are 36% more likely to be removed by Wikipedia editors than positive facts within 12 hours and 29% more likely within 3 days. Although citations substantially increase an edit's survival time, the editorial bias toward positivity is not eliminated by inclusion of a citation. We replicate this study on the Wikipedia pages of deceased as well as recently retired but living senators and find no evidence of an editorial bias in either. Our results demonstrate that crowd-sourced information is subject to an editorial bias that favors the politically active.

Editorial Bias in Crowd-Sourced Political Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalla, Joshua L; Aronow, Peter M

2015-01-01

The Internet has dramatically expanded citizens' access to and ability to engage with political information. On many websites, any user can contribute and edit "crowd-sourced" information about important political figures. One of the most prominent examples of crowd-sourced information on the Internet is Wikipedia, a free and open encyclopedia created and edited entirely by users, and one of the world's most accessed websites. While previous studies of crowd-sourced information platforms have found them to be accurate, few have considered biases in what kinds of information are included. We report the results of four randomized field experiments that sought to explore what biases exist in the political articles of this collaborative website. By randomly assigning factually true but either positive or negative and cited or uncited information to the Wikipedia pages of U.S. senators, we uncover substantial evidence of an editorial bias toward positivity on Wikipedia: Negative facts are 36% more likely to be removed by Wikipedia editors than positive facts within 12 hours and 29% more likely within 3 days. Although citations substantially increase an edit's survival time, the editorial bias toward positivity is not eliminated by inclusion of a citation. We replicate this study on the Wikipedia pages of deceased as well as recently retired but living senators and find no evidence of an editorial bias in either. Our results demonstrate that crowd-sourced information is subject to an editorial bias that favors the politically active.

Deformation due to distributed sources in micropolar thermodiffusive medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sachin Kaushal

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The general solution to the field equations in micropolar generalized thermodiffusive in the context of G-L theory is investigated by applying the Laplace and Fourier transform's as a result of various sources. An application of distributed normal forces or thermal sources or potential sources has been taken to show the utility of the problem. To get the solution in the physical form, a numerical inversion technique has been applied. The transformed components of stress, temperature distribution and chemical potential for G-L theory and CT theory has been depicted graphically and results are compared analytically to show the impact of diffusion, relaxation times and micropolarity on these quantities. Some special case of interest are also deduced from present investigation.

The effect of source credibility on consumers' perceptions of the quality of health information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Benjamin R; Romina, Sharon; Ahmed, Rukhsana; Hopson, Danielle

2006-03-01

Recent use of the Internet as a source of health information has raised concerns about consumers' ability to tell 'good' information from 'bad' information. Although consumers report that they use source credibility to judge information quality, several observational studies suggest that consumers make little use of source credibility. This study examines consumer evaluations of web pages attributed to a credible source as compared to generic web pages on measures of message quality. In spring 2005, a community-wide convenience survey was distributed in a regional hub city in Ohio, USA. 519 participants were randomly assigned one of six messages discussing lung cancer prevention: three messages each attributed to a highly credible national organization and three identical messages each attributed to a generic web page. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare each attributed message to its counterpart attributed to a generic web page on measures of trustworthiness, truthfulness, readability, and completeness. The results demonstrated that differences in attribution to a source did not have a significant effect on consumers' evaluations of the quality of the information.Conclusions. The authors offer suggestions for national organizations to promote credibility to consumers as a heuristic for choosing better online health information through the use of media co-channels to emphasize credibility.

Annual seminar on electronic sources of information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravichandra Rao, I.K.

2000-03-01

With the rapid development in IT and the emergence of Internet, a multitude of information sources are now available on electronic media. They include e-journals and other electronic publications - online databases, reference documents, newspapers, magazines, etc. In addition to these online sources, there are thousands of CD-ROM databases. The CD-ROM databases and the online sources are collectively referred to as electronic sources of information. Libraries in no part of the world can afford to ignore these sources. Emergence of these new sources has resulted into a change in the traditional library functions including collection development, acquisitions, cataloguing, user instructions, etc. It is inevitable that in the next five to ten years, special libraries may have to allocate considerable amount towards subscription of e-journals and other e-publications. The papers in this seminar volume discuss several aspects related the theme of the seminar and cover e-journals, different sources available in the Net, classification of electronic sources, online public access catalogues, and different aspects of Internet. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Environmental Information Sources on the Net.

Science.gov (United States)

Raeder, Aggi

1997-01-01

Discusses environmental information needs of business professionals and provides an annotated list of Web sites serving as information sources. Highlights include "meta sites", government, health, law, engineering, education, organizations, and environmental news, as well as selected environmental "hot topics." (AEF)

Iterative Multiview Side Information for Enhanced Reconstruction in Distributed Video Coding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Distributed video coding (DVC is a new paradigm for video compression based on the information theoretical results of Slepian and Wolf (SW and Wyner and Ziv (WZ. DVC entails low-complexity encoders as well as separate encoding of correlated video sources. This is particularly attractive for multiview camera systems in video surveillance and camera sensor network applications, where low complexity is required at the encoder. In addition, the separate encoding of the sources implies no communication between the cameras in a practical scenario. This is an advantage since communication is time and power consuming and requires complex networking. In this work, different intercamera estimation techniques for side information (SI generation are explored and compared in terms of estimating quality, complexity, and rate distortion (RD performance. Further, a technique called iterative multiview side information (IMSI is introduced, where the final SI is used in an iterative reconstruction process. The simulation results show that IMSI significantly improves the RD performance for video with significant motion and activity. Furthermore, DVC outperforms AVC/H.264 Intra for video with average and low motion but it is still inferior to the Inter No Motion and Inter Motion modes.

Y-Source Boost DC/DC Converter for Distributed Generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siwakoti, Yam P.; Loh, Poh Chiang; Blaabjerg, Frede

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a versatile Y-source boost dc/dc converter intended for distributed power generation, where high gain is often demanded. The proposed converter uses a Y-source impedance network realized with a tightly coupled three-winding inductor for high voltage boosting that is presently...

Supply and distribution for γ-ray sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Takeo

1997-01-01

Japan Atomic energy Research Institute (JAERI) is the only facility to supply and distribute radioisotopes (RI) in Japan. The γ-ray sources for medical use are 192 Ir and 169 Yb for non-destructive examination and 192 Ir, 198 Au and 153 Gd for clinical use. All of these demands in Japan are supplied with domestic products at present. Meanwhile, γ-ray sources imported are 60 Co sources for medical and industrial uses including sterilization of medical instruments, 137 Cs for irradiation to blood and 241 Am for industrial measurements. The major overseas suppliers are Nordion International Inc. and Amersham International plc. RI products on the market are divided into two groups; one is the primary products which are supplied in liquid or solid after chemical or physical treatments of radioactive materials obtained from reactor and the other is the secondary product which is a final product after various processing. Generally these secondary products are used in practice. In Japan, both of the domestic and imported products are supplied to the users via JRIA (Japan Radioisotope Association). The association participates in the sales and the distributions of the secondary products and also in the processings of the primary ones to their sealed sources. Furthermore, stable supplying systems for these products are almost established according to the half life of each nuclide only if there is no accident in the reactor. (M.N.)

How Students Evaluate Information and Sources when Searching the World Wide Web for Information

Science.gov (United States)

Walraven, Amber; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Boshuizen, Henny P. A.

2009-01-01

The World Wide Web (WWW) has become the biggest information source for students while solving information problems for school projects. Since anyone can post anything on the WWW, information is often unreliable or incomplete, and it is important to evaluate sources and information before using them. Earlier research has shown that students have…

Gas source localization and gas distribution mapping with a micro-drone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumann, Patrick P.

2013-01-01

The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is the development and validation of a VTOL-based (Vertical Take Off and Landing) micro-drone for the measurement of gas concentrations, to locate gas emission sources, and to build gas distribution maps. Gas distribution mapping and localization of a static gas source are complex tasks due to the turbulent nature of gas transport under natural conditions and becomes even more challenging when airborne. This is especially so, when using a VTOL-based micro-drone that induces disturbances through its rotors, which heavily affects gas distribution. Besides the adaptation of a micro-drone for gas concentration measurements, a novel method for the determination of the wind vector in real-time is presented. The on-board sensors for the flight control of the micro-drone provide a basis for the wind vector calculation. Furthermore, robot operating software for controlling the micro-drone autonomously is developed and used to validate the algorithms developed within this Ph.D. thesis in simulations and real-world experiments. Three biologically inspired algorithms for locating gas sources are adapted and developed for use with the micro-drone: the surge-cast algorithm (a variant of the silkworm moth algorithm), the zigzag / dung beetle algorithm, and a newly developed algorithm called ''pseudo gradient algorithm''. The latter extracts from two spatially separated measuring positions the information necessary (concentration gradient and mean wind direction) to follow a gas plume to its emission source. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated in simulations and real-world experiments. The distance overhead and the gas source localization success rate are used as main performance criteria for comparing the algorithms. Next, a new method for gas source localization (GSL) based on a particle filter (PF) is presented. Each particle represents a weighted hypothesis of the gas source position. As a first step, the PF-based GSL algorithm

Gas source localization and gas distribution mapping with a micro-drone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neumann, Patrick P.

2013-07-01

The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is the development and validation of a VTOL-based (Vertical Take Off and Landing) micro-drone for the measurement of gas concentrations, to locate gas emission sources, and to build gas distribution maps. Gas distribution mapping and localization of a static gas source are complex tasks due to the turbulent nature of gas transport under natural conditions and becomes even more challenging when airborne. This is especially so, when using a VTOL-based micro-drone that induces disturbances through its rotors, which heavily affects gas distribution. Besides the adaptation of a micro-drone for gas concentration measurements, a novel method for the determination of the wind vector in real-time is presented. The on-board sensors for the flight control of the micro-drone provide a basis for the wind vector calculation. Furthermore, robot operating software for controlling the micro-drone autonomously is developed and used to validate the algorithms developed within this Ph.D. thesis in simulations and real-world experiments. Three biologically inspired algorithms for locating gas sources are adapted and developed for use with the micro-drone: the surge-cast algorithm (a variant of the silkworm moth algorithm), the zigzag / dung beetle algorithm, and a newly developed algorithm called ''pseudo gradient algorithm''. The latter extracts from two spatially separated measuring positions the information necessary (concentration gradient and mean wind direction) to follow a gas plume to its emission source. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated in simulations and real-world experiments. The distance overhead and the gas source localization success rate are used as main performance criteria for comparing the algorithms. Next, a new method for gas source localization (GSL) based on a particle filter (PF) is presented. Each particle represents a weighted hypothesis of the gas source position. As a first step, the PF

Gas source localization and gas distribution mapping with a micro-drone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neumann, Patrick P.

2013-07-01

The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is the development and validation of a VTOL-based (Vertical Take Off and Landing) micro-drone for the measurement of gas concentrations, to locate gas emission sources, and to build gas distribution maps. Gas distribution mapping and localization of a static gas source are complex tasks due to the turbulent nature of gas transport under natural conditions and becomes even more challenging when airborne. This is especially so, when using a VTOL-based micro-drone that induces disturbances through its rotors, which heavily affects gas distribution. Besides the adaptation of a micro-drone for gas concentration measurements, a novel method for the determination of the wind vector in real-time is presented. The on-board sensors for the flight control of the micro-drone provide a basis for the wind vector calculation. Furthermore, robot operating software for controlling the micro-drone autonomously is developed and used to validate the algorithms developed within this Ph.D. thesis in simulations and real-world experiments. Three biologically inspired algorithms for locating gas sources are adapted and developed for use with the micro-drone: the surge-cast algorithm (a variant of the silkworm moth algorithm), the zigzag / dung beetle algorithm, and a newly developed algorithm called ''pseudo gradient algorithm''. The latter extracts from two spatially separated measuring positions the information necessary (concentration gradient and mean wind direction) to follow a gas plume to its emission source. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated in simulations and real-world experiments. The distance overhead and the gas source localization success rate are used as main performance criteria for comparing the algorithms. Next, a new method for gas source localization (GSL) based on a particle filter (PF) is presented. Each particle represents a weighted hypothesis of the gas source position. As a first step, the PF-based GSL algorithm

Distributed Administrative Management Information System (DAMIS).

Science.gov (United States)

Juckiewicz, Robert; Kroculick, Joseph

Columbia University's major program to distribute its central administrative data processing to its various schools and departments is described. The Distributed Administrative Management Information System (DAMIS) will link every department and school within the university via micrcomputers, terminals, and/or minicomputers to the central…

Toward better Alzheimer's research information sources for the public.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Perry W

2013-03-01

The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease calls for a new relationship between researchers and members of the public. This relationship is one that provides research information to patients and allows patients to provide ideas to researchers. One way to describe it is a "bidirectional translational relationship." Despite the numerous sources of online and offline information about Alzheimer's disease, there is no information source which currently provides this interaction. This article proposes the creation an Alzheimer's research information source dedicated to monitoring Alzheimer's research literature and providing user friendly, publicly accessible summaries of data written specifically for a lay audience. This information source should contain comprehensive, updated, user friendly, publicly available, reviews of Alzheimer's research and utilize existing online multimedia/social networking tools to provide information in useful formats that help patients, caregivers, and researchers learn rapidly from one another.

Finding legal information a guide to print and electronic sources

CERN Document Server

Pester, David

2003-01-01

Given the vast amount of legal information available, it is sometimes very difficult - and certainly very time consuming - to know where to start looking for the specific information you require. This book, covering the most up-to-date information sources (printed and electronic), helps guide the reader towards the information they need. It is an accessible and easy-to-use directory of legal information sources for librarians, lawyers, students and anyone needing legal information. The book covers mainly British and European Union law and includes general material and the main subject areas, including online and internet sources. It also lists reference material, such as legal dictionaries and directories. The book is essentially a directory of information sources, with publishing details (including ISBN), and short comments where useful. Electronic sources are mentioned where relevant, with details of scope and any limitations of coverage. Comprehensive and up-to-date (covering electronic sources and importa...

Sediment sources and their Distribution in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This work establishes sediment sources, character and their distribution in Chwaka Bay using (i) stable isotopes compositions of organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen, (ii) contents of OC, nitrogen and CaCO3, (iii) C/N ratios, (iv) distribution of sediment mean grain size and sorting, and (v) thickness of unconsolidated sediments.

Electronic information sources access and use for healthcare ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Access to and use of electronic information sources for clinical decision is the key to the attainment of health related sustainable goals. Therefore, this study was to assess Electronic Information Sources (EIS) access and use for healthcare service among hospitals of Western Oromia, Ethiopia, 2013. Materials ...

The effect of energy distribution of external source on source multiplication in fast assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karam, R.A.; Vakilian, M.

1976-02-01

The essence of this study is the effect of energy distribution of a source on the detection rate as a function of K effective in fast assemblies. This effectiveness, as a function of K was studied in a fission chamber, using the ABN cross-section set and Mach 1 code. It was found that with a source which has a fission spectrum, the reciprocal count rate versus mass relationship is linear down to K effective 0.59. For a thermal source, the linearity was never achieved. (author)

Inverse modelling of fluvial sediment connectivity identifies characteristics and spatial distribution of sediment sources in a large river network.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, R. J. P.; Bizzi, S.; Kondolf, G. M.; Rubin, Z.; Castelletti, A.

2016-12-01

Field and laboratory evidence indicates that the spatial distribution of transport in both alluvial and bedrock rivers is an adaptation to sediment supply. Sediment supply, in turn, depends on spatial distribution and properties (e.g., grain sizes and supply rates) of individual sediment sources. Analyzing the distribution of transport capacity in a river network could hence clarify the spatial distribution and properties of sediment sources. Yet, challenges include a) identifying magnitude and spatial distribution of transport capacity for each of multiple grain sizes being simultaneously transported, and b) estimating source grain sizes and supply rates, both at network scales. Herein, we approach the problem of identifying the spatial distribution of sediment sources and the resulting network sediment fluxes in a major, poorly monitored tributary (80,000 km2) of the Mekong. Therefore, we apply the CASCADE modeling framework (Schmitt et al. (2016)). CASCADE calculates transport capacities and sediment fluxes for multiple grainsizes on the network scale based on remotely-sensed morphology and modelled hydrology. CASCADE is run in an inverse Monte Carlo approach for 7500 random initializations of source grain sizes. In all runs, supply of each source is inferred from the minimum downstream transport capacity for the source grain size. Results for each realization are compared to sparse available sedimentary records. Only 1 % of initializations reproduced the sedimentary record. Results for these realizations revealed a spatial pattern in source supply rates, grain sizes, and network sediment fluxes that correlated well with map-derived patterns in lithology and river-morphology. Hence, we propose that observable river hydro-morphology contains information on upstream source properties that can be back-calculated using an inverse modeling approach. Such an approach could be coupled to more detailed models of hillslope processes in future to derive integrated models

Is This Information Source Commercially Biased? How Contradictions between Web Pages Stimulate the Consideration of Source Information

Science.gov (United States)

Kammerer, Yvonne; Kalbfell, Eva; Gerjets, Peter

2016-01-01

In two experiments we systematically examined whether contradictions between two web pages--of which one was commercially biased as stated in an "about us" section--stimulated university students' consideration of source information both during and after reading. In Experiment 1 "about us" information of the web pages was…

Harvesting Information from Heterogeneous Sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qureshi, Pir Abdul Rasool; Memon, Nasrullah; Wiil, Uffe Kock

2011-01-01

The abundance of information regarding any topic makes the Internet a very good resource. Even though searching the Internet is very easy, what remains difficult is to automate the process of information extraction from the available online information due to the lack of structure and the diversi...... with performance of our tool with respect to each format. Finally, the different potential applications of the proposed tool are discussed with special emphasis on open source intelligence....... in the sharing methods. Most of the times, information is stored in different proprietary formats, complying with different standards and protocols which makes tasks like data mining and information harvesting very difficult. In this paper, an information harvesting tool (heteroHarvest) is presented...... with objectives to address these problems by filtering the useful information and then normalizing the information in a singular non hypertext format. We also discuss state of the art tools along with the shortcomings and present the results of an analysis carried out over different heterogeneous formats along...

ERP correlates of source memory: Unitized source information increases familiarity-based retrieval

OpenAIRE

Diana, Rachel A.; Van den Boom, Wijnand; Yonelinas, Andrew P.; Ranganath, Charan

2010-01-01

Source memory tests typically require subjects to make decisions about the context in which an item was encoded and are thought to depend on recollection of details from the study episode. Although it is generally believed that familiarity does not contribute to source memory, recent behavioral studies have suggested that familiarity may also support source recognition when item and source information are integrated, or “unitized”, during study (Diana, Yonelinas, and Ranganath 2008). However,...

Collecting Information for Rating Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF): Sources of Information and Methods for Information Collection.

Science.gov (United States)

I H, Monrad Aas

2014-11-01

Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is an assessment instrument that is known worldwide. It is widely used for rating the severity of illness. Results from evaluations in psychiatry should characterize the patients. Rating of GAF is based on collected information. The aim of the study is to identify the factors involved in collecting information that is relevant for rating GAF, and gaps in knowledge where it is likely that further development would play a role for improved scoring. A literature search was conducted with a combination of thorough hand search and search in the bibliographic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews. Collection of information for rating GAF depends on two fundamental factors: the sources of information and the methods for information collection. Sources of information are patients, informants, health personnel, medical records, letters of referral and police records about violence and substance abuse. Methods for information collection include the many different types of interview - unstructured, semi-structured, structured, interviews for Axis I and II disorders, semistructured interviews for rating GAF, and interviews of informants - as well as instruments for rating symptoms and functioning, and observation. The different sources of information, and methods for collection, frequently result in inconsistencies in the information collected. The variation in collected information, and lack of a generally accepted algorithm for combining collected information, is likely to be important for rated GAF values, but there is a fundamental lack of knowledge about the degree of importance. Research to improve GAF has not reached a high level. Rated GAF values are likely to be influenced by both the sources of information used and the methods employed for information collection, but the lack of research-based information about these influences is fundamental. Further development of

Minimum-phase distribution of cosmic source brightness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gal'chenko, A.A.; Malov, I.F.; Mogil'nitskaya, L.F.; Frolov, V.A.

1984-01-01

Minimum-phase distributions of brightness (profiles) for cosmic radio sources 3C 144 (the wave lambda=21 cm), 3C 338 (lambda=3.5 m), and 3C 353 (labda=31.3 cm and 3.5 m) are obtained. A real possibility for the profile recovery from module fragments of its Fourier-image is shown

Qualitative analysis of precipiation distribution in Poland with use of different data sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Walawender

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Geographical Information Systems (GIS can be used to integrate data from different sources and in different formats to perform innovative spatial and temporal analysis. GIS can be also applied for climatic research to manage, investigate and display all kinds of weather data.

The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that GIS is a useful tool to examine and visualise precipitation distribution obtained from different data sources: ground measurements, satellite and radar data.

Three selected days (30 cases with convective rainfall situations were analysed. Firstly, scalable GRID-based approach was applied to store data from three different sources in comparable layout. Then, geoprocessing algorithm was created within ArcGIS 9.2 environment. The algorithm included: GRID definition, reclassification and raster algebra. All of the calculations and procedures were performed automatically. Finally, contingency tables and pie charts were created to show relationship between ground measurements and both satellite and radar derived data. The results were visualised on maps.

Information, Overconfidence and Trading: Do the Sources of Information Matter?

OpenAIRE

Margarida Abreu; Victor Mendes

2011-01-01

We investigate how the strength of the positive association between frequency of trading and information acquisition is dependent on investors’ self‐confidence and on the sources of information used by investors. Our results confirm that the more frequently individual investors invest in information, the more they trade in financial products. Our results also confirm previous findings that overconfident investors, who show a better than average bias, trade more frequently. In this paper, we a...

Anterior cruciate ligament injury: Identifying information sources and risk factor awareness among the general population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasuharu Nagano

Full Text Available Raising awareness on a disorder is important for its prevention and for promoting public health. However, for sports injuries like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL injury no studies have investigated the awareness on risk factors for injury and possible preventative measures in the general population. The sources of information among the population are also unclear. The purpose of the present study was to identify these aspects of public awareness about the ACL injury.A questionnaire was randomly distributed among the general population registered with a web based questionnaire supplier, to recruit 900 participants who were aware about the ACL injury. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: Question 1 asked them about their sources of information regarding the ACL injury; Question 2 asked them about the risk factors for ACL injury. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the information sources that provide a good understanding of the risk factors.The leading source of information for ACL injury was television (57.0%. However, the results of logistic regression analysis revealed that television was not an effective medium to create awareness about the risk factors, among the general population. Instead "Lecture by a coach", "Classroom session on Health", and "Newspaper" were significantly more effective in creating a good awareness of the risk factors (p < 0.001.

Sharing information among existing data sources

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley, W. R., III

1999-01-01

share crucial investigative information across jurisdictional bounds by establishing a communications infrastructure for all of its law enforcement jurisdictions. The Criminal Justice Network (CJ-Net) is a statewide TCP/IP network, dedicated to the sharing of law enforcement information. CJ-Net is managed and maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and provides open access and privileges to any criminal justice agency, including the state court and penitentiary systems. In addition to Florida, other states, such as North Carolina, are also beginning to implement common protocol communication infrastructures and architectures in order to link local jurisdictions together throughout the state. The law enforcement domain in an optimum situation for information-sharing technologies. Communication infrastructures are continually established, and as such, action is required to effectively use these networks to their full potential. Information technologies that are best suited for the law enforcement domain, must be evaluated and implemented in a cost-effective manner. Unlike the Defense Department and other large federal agencies, individual jurisdictions at both the local and state level cannot afford to expend limited resources on research and development of prototype systems. Therefore, we must identify enabling technologies that have matured in related domains and transition them into law enforcement at a minimum cost. Crucial to this measure, is the selection of the appropriate levels of information-sharing technologies to be inserted. Information-sharing technologies that are unproven or have extensive recurring costs are not suitable for this domain. Information-sharing technologies traditionally exist between two distinct polar bounds: the data warehousing approach and mediation across distributed heterogeneous data sources. These two ends of the spectrum represent extremely different philosophies in accomplishing the same goal. In the

Supplemental Information Source Document Waste Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, Craig [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Halpern, Jonathan [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wrons, Ralph [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Reiser, Anita [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mond, Michael du [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shain, Matthew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-12-01

This Supplemental Information Source Document for Waste Management was prepared in support of future analyses including those that may be performed as part of the Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (SNL/NM) Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement. This document presents information about waste management practices at SNL/NM, including definitions, inventory data, and an overview of current activities.

Use and value of information sources by parents of child psychiatric patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Adrienne; Kabashi, Arta; Guthrie, Hannah; Burket, Roger; Turner, Philip

2011-06-01

With Web 2.0, the variety of information sources for parents of paediatric psychiatric patients has increased dramatically. Information use theory suggests newer sources supplement rather than supplant traditional sources of health information. This study sought to determine the use and value of traditional and emerging sources of information and whether the subjects had access to highly valued sources of information. One hundred parents indicated the use and value of six sources of information on the child's symptoms, diagnoses and treatment. The data were analyzed to determine if significant relationships existed between type of source and the use and value of the information sources. Ninety-four percent of the subjects had access to the Internet and almost half of those reported using the Social Web. Eighty-five percent had at least one high-value information source. The psychiatrist in the clinic, the Internet and the primary care physician were the most highly used and valued sources. Use of digital information sources was greater than found in other studies of similar populations. This use appears to complement rather than supplant more traditional sources. Further studies are needed to see if the negative impact of lack of Internet access is replicated. © 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.

Online catalog access and distribution of remotely sensed information

Science.gov (United States)

Lutton, Stephen M.

1997-09-01

Remote sensing is providing voluminous data and value added information products. Electronic sensors, communication electronics, computer software, hardware, and network communications technology have matured to the point where a distributed infrastructure for remotely sensed information is a reality. The amount of remotely sensed data and information is making distributed infrastructure almost a necessity. This infrastructure provides data collection, archiving, cataloging, browsing, processing, and viewing for applications from scientific research to economic, legal, and national security decision making. The remote sensing field is entering a new exciting stage of commercial growth and expansion into the mainstream of government and business decision making. This paper overviews this new distributed infrastructure and then focuses on describing a software system for on-line catalog access and distribution of remotely sensed information.

Identifying and characterizing major emission point sources as a basis for geospatial distribution of mercury emissions inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Steenhuisen, Frits; Wilson, Simon J.

2015-07-01

Mercury is a global pollutant that poses threats to ecosystem and human health. Due to its global transport, mercury contamination is found in regions of the Earth that are remote from major emissions areas, including the Polar regions. Global anthropogenic emission inventories identify important sectors and industries responsible for emissions at a national level; however, to be useful for air transport modelling, more precise information on the locations of emission is required. This paper describes the methodology applied, and the results of work that was conducted to assign anthropogenic mercury emissions to point sources as part of geospatial mapping of the 2010 global anthropogenic mercury emissions inventory prepared by AMAP/UNEP. Major point-source emission sectors addressed in this work account for about 850 tonnes of the emissions included in the 2010 inventory. This work allocated more than 90% of these emissions to some 4600 identified point source locations, including significantly more point source locations in Africa, Asia, Australia and South America than had been identified during previous work to geospatially-distribute the 2005 global inventory. The results demonstrate the utility and the limitations of using existing, mainly public domain resources to accomplish this work. Assumptions necessary to make use of selected online resources are discussed, as are artefacts that can arise when these assumptions are applied to assign (national-sector) emissions estimates to point sources in various countries and regions. Notwithstanding the limitations of the available information, the value of this procedure over alternative methods commonly used to geo-spatially distribute emissions, such as use of 'proxy' datasets to represent emissions patterns, is illustrated. Improvements in information that would facilitate greater use of these methods in future work to assign emissions to point-sources are discussed. These include improvements to both national

Information sources and constraints under national agricultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mo

National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), one of the seven pillars of the Plan for ... sources to target to PSPs while information quality assurance is lacking and/or haphazard. .... information centers (DATICs) and the technical audit team.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Tobacco Information Seeking and Information Sources: Findings From the 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Anh B; Robinson, Joelle; O'Brien, Erin Keely; Zhao, Xiaoquan

2017-09-01

This article describes sources of health information, types of tobacco information sought, and trust in sources of tobacco information among U.S. racial/ethnic groups (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Other). Cross-sectional data (N = 3,788) from a nationally representative survey, HINTS-FDA 2015, were analyzed to examine unadjusted and adjusted associations between race/ethnicity and (a) first source of health information, (b) tobacco information seeking, and (c) trust in sources of tobacco information. Adjusted associations controlled for current tobacco product use and sociodemographic variables. Findings indicated that the Internet was the most common first source of health information while health care providers were the second most common source for all racial/ethnic groups. Tobacco-related health information seeking was more prevalent than other tobacco product information seeking. Unadjusted analyses indicated that a higher proportion of Whites sought other tobacco product information compared to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Trust was rated highest for doctors while trust for health organizations was rated second highest. Asians and Pacific Islanders had higher trust in the government compared to all other groups. Blacks had higher trust in religious organizations compared to all other groups besides Hispanics. Blacks had higher trust for tobacco companies compared to Whites and Other. Many of these differences were attenuated in adjusted analyses. This research has implications for tobacco control practice and policymaking by identifying potential dissemination strategies.

HARVESTING, INTEGRATING AND DISTRIBUTING LARGE OPEN GEOSPATIAL DATASETS USING FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Oliveira

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Federal, State and Local government agencies in the USA are investing heavily on the dissemination of Open Data sets produced by each of them. The main driver behind this thrust is to increase agencies’ transparency and accountability, as well as to improve citizens’ awareness. However, not all Open Data sets are easy to access and integrate with other Open Data sets available even from the same agency. The City and County of Denver Open Data Portal distributes several types of geospatial datasets, one of them is the city parcels information containing 224,256 records. Although this data layer contains many pieces of information it is incomplete for some custom purposes. Open-Source Software were used to first collect data from diverse City of Denver Open Data sets, then upload them to a repository in the Cloud where they were processed using a PostgreSQL installation on the Cloud and Python scripts. Our method was able to extract non-spatial information from a ‘not-ready-to-download’ source that could then be combined with the initial data set to enhance its potential use.

Distributed Source Coding Techniques for Lossless Compression of Hyperspectral Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barni Mauro

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the application of distributed source coding (DSC theory to remote sensing image compression. Although DSC exhibits a significant potential in many application fields, up till now the results obtained on real signals fall short of the theoretical bounds, and often impose additional system-level constraints. The objective of this paper is to assess the potential of DSC for lossless image compression carried out onboard a remote platform. We first provide a brief overview of DSC of correlated information sources. We then focus on onboard lossless image compression, and apply DSC techniques in order to reduce the complexity of the onboard encoder, at the expense of the decoder's, by exploiting the correlation of different bands of a hyperspectral dataset. Specifically, we propose two different compression schemes, one based on powerful binary error-correcting codes employed as source codes, and one based on simpler multilevel coset codes. The performance of both schemes is evaluated on a few AVIRIS scenes, and is compared with other state-of-the-art 2D and 3D coders. Both schemes turn out to achieve competitive compression performance, and one of them also has reduced complexity. Based on these results, we highlight the main issues that are still to be solved to further improve the performance of DSC-based remote sensing systems.

Distributed Remote Vector Gaussian Source Coding with Covariance Distortion Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahedi, Adel; Østergaard, Jan; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2014-01-01

In this paper, we consider a distributed remote source coding problem, where a sequence of observations of source vectors is available at the encoder. The problem is to specify the optimal rate for encoding the observations subject to a covariance matrix distortion constraint and in the presence...

Scalable Distributed Architectures for Information Retrieval

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lu, Zhihong

1999-01-01

.... Our distributed architectures exploit parallelism in information retrieval on a cluster of parallel IR servers using symmetric multiprocessors, and use partial collection replication and selection...

16 CFR Table 4 to Part 1512 - Relative Energy Distribution of Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Relative Energy Distribution of Sources 4... SUBSTANCES ACT REGULATIONS REQUIREMENTS FOR BICYCLES Pt. 1512, Table 4 Table 4 to Part 1512—Relative Energy Distribution of Sources Wave length (nanometers) Relative energy 380 9.79 390 12.09 400 14.71 410 17.68 420 21...

Investigation Of Information Sources And Communication Channels ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Extension of integrated pest management (IPM) as a component of sustainable agricultural development, involves empowering farmers. Facilitating the information accessibility of farmer groups seems as empowerment strategy. This strategy is based on identification of related patterns, including information sources and ...

Distributed morality in an information society.

Science.gov (United States)

Floridi, Luciano

2013-09-01

The phenomenon of distributed knowledge is well-known in epistemic logic. In this paper, a similar phenomenon in ethics, somewhat neglected so far, is investigated, namely distributed morality. The article explains the nature of distributed morality, as a feature of moral agency, and explores the implications of its occurrence in advanced information societies. In the course of the analysis, the concept of infraethics is introduced, in order to refer to the ensemble of moral enablers, which, although morally neutral per se, can significantly facilitate or hinder both positive and negative moral behaviours.

How Source Information Shapes Lay Interpretations of Science Conflicts: Interplay between Sourcing, Conflict Explanation, Source Evaluation, and Claim Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Thomm, Eva; Bromme, Rainer

2016-01-01

When laypeople read controversial scientific information in order to make a personally relevant decision, information on the source is a valuable resource with which to evaluate multiple, competing claims. Due to their bounded understanding, laypeople rely on the expertise of others and need to identify whether sources are credible. The present…

Evaluation of an Information Source Illustrated by a Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2011-01-01

It is argued that to evaluate an information source (e.g., a Wikipedia article), it is necessary to relate the content of that source to an interpretation of the state of knowledge at the research front (which is typically developing dynamically). In the research literature, there is a controversy...... about the effect of screening programs for breast cancer. This controversy is used to compare the value of Wikipedia with Encyclopedia Britannica and two Danish encyclopedias as information sources. It is argued that this method of examining information sources is preferable to other methods which have...

information source accessibility and usage as determinants

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UDS-CAPTURED

1990-04-28

Apr 28, 1990 ... accessibility and business performance of the community banks over a six-year period. The ... relationship with the banks' business performance. ..... Marketing Management ... Effects of the Information on the Business Performance of Banks. ..... 'Information sources used for strategic planning decisions.

Information Source Selection and Management Framework in Wireless Sensor Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tobgay, Sonam; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Prasad, Ramjee

2013-01-01

information source selection and management framework and presents an algorithm which selects the information source based on the information mismatch probability [1]. The sampling rate for every access is decided as per the maximum allowable power consumption limit. Index Terms-wireless sensor network...

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution with Gaussian source noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Yujie; Peng Xiang; Yang Jian; Guo Hong

2011-01-01

Source noise affects the security of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV QKD) and is difficult to analyze. We propose a model to characterize Gaussian source noise through introducing a neutral party (Fred) who induces the noise with a general unitary transformation. Without knowing Fred's exact state, we derive the security bounds for both reverse and direct reconciliations and show that the bound for reverse reconciliation is tight.

Determining the temperature and density distribution from a Z-pinch radiation source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matuska, W.; Lee, H.

1997-01-01

High temperature radiation sources exceeding one hundred eV can be produced via z-pinches using currently available pulsed power. The usual approach to compare the z-pinch simulation and experimental data is to convert the radiation output at the source, whose temperature and density distributions are computed from the 2-D MHD code, into simulated data such as a spectrometer reading. This conversion process involves a radiation transfer calculation through the axially symmetric source, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), and folding the radiation that reaches the detector with the frequency-dependent response function. In this paper the authors propose a different approach by which they can determine the temperature and density distributions of the radiation source directly from the spatially resolved spectral data. This unfolding process is reliable and unambiguous for the ideal case where LTE holds and the source is axially symmetric. In reality, imperfect LTE and axial symmetry will introduce inaccuracies into the unfolded distributions. The authors use a parameter optimization routine to find the temperature and density distributions that best fit the data. They know from their past experience that the radiation source resulting from the implosion of a thin foil does not exhibit good axial symmetry. However, recent experiments carried out at Sandia National Laboratory using multiple wire arrays were very promising to achieve reasonably good symmetry. For these experiments the method will provide a valuable diagnostic tool

Exploiting semantic linkages among multiple sources for semantic information retrieval

Science.gov (United States)

Li, JianQiang; Yang, Ji-Jiang; Liu, Chunchen; Zhao, Yu; Liu, Bo; Shi, Yuliang

2014-07-01

The vision of the Semantic Web is to build a global Web of machine-readable data to be consumed by intelligent applications. As the first step to make this vision come true, the initiative of linked open data has fostered many novel applications aimed at improving data accessibility in the public Web. Comparably, the enterprise environment is so different from the public Web that most potentially usable business information originates in an unstructured form (typically in free text), which poses a challenge for the adoption of semantic technologies in the enterprise environment. Considering that the business information in a company is highly specific and centred around a set of commonly used concepts, this paper describes a pilot study to migrate the concept of linked data into the development of a domain-specific application, i.e. the vehicle repair support system. The set of commonly used concepts, including the part name of a car and the phenomenon term on the car repairing, are employed to build the linkage between data and documents distributed among different sources, leading to the fusion of documents and data across source boundaries. Then, we describe the approaches of semantic information retrieval to consume these linkages for value creation for companies. The experiments on two real-world data sets show that the proposed approaches outperform the best baseline 6.3-10.8% and 6.4-11.1% in terms of top five and top 10 precisions, respectively. We believe that our pilot study can serve as an important reference for the development of similar semantic applications in an enterprise environment.

Advances in the use of open-source information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horak, K.; Bleakly, D.; McDaniel, M.

2013-01-01

Great advances have been made in the application of open-source information for Safeguards. However, the open-source 'ecosystem' is rapidly evolving. Recently, the combination of powerful smart-phones and the World Wide Web have led to novel developments for mapping the impact of natural and man-made disasters. Researchers are learning to harness online volunteers as citizen scientists. Online social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming accepted channels of credible information. Geo-spatially-aware applications (augmented reality applications) are capable of overlaying data upon a smart-phone's view screen. The authors review available open-source tools and technologies. These and other developments will have a significant effect on the collection, evaluation, structuring, analysis, and dissemination of safeguards-relevant information. In addition, the modern, open Internet is posing new security threats.not just viruses and their ilk, but threats based on digital traces left by browsing the open Web. The authors present a case study of the disastrous toxic flood near Devecser, Hungary in October 2010 for which we get 621,000 results for everything related to search terms, 68,000 blog posts on the topic, 43,300 images available and then give recommendations for the future use of open-source information and software tools. (authors)

Advances in the use of open-source information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horak, K.; Bleakly, D.; McDaniel, M. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2013-07-01

Great advances have been made in the application of open-source information for Safeguards. However, the open-source 'ecosystem' is rapidly evolving. Recently, the combination of powerful smart-phones and the World Wide Web have led to novel developments for mapping the impact of natural and man-made disasters. Researchers are learning to harness online volunteers as citizen scientists. Online social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming accepted channels of credible information. Geo-spatially-aware applications (augmented reality applications) are capable of overlaying data upon a smart-phone's view screen. The authors review available open-source tools and technologies. These and other developments will have a significant effect on the collection, evaluation, structuring, analysis, and dissemination of safeguards-relevant information. In addition, the modern, open Internet is posing new security threats.not just viruses and their ilk, but threats based on digital traces left by browsing the open Web. The authors present a case study of the disastrous toxic flood near Devecser, Hungary in October 2010 for which we get 621,000 results for everything related to search terms, 68,000 blog posts on the topic, 43,300 images available and then give recommendations for the future use of open-source information and software tools. (authors)

U.S. and Japanese Source Reliance for Environmental Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, John C.; And Others

1988-01-01

Examines environmental information source reliance among American and Japanese citizens. Finds that the Japanese are inclined to rely on non-mass media sources, whereas Americans exhibit greater differentiation among sources. (RS)

Radial dose distribution of 192Ir and 137Cs seed sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomason, C.; Higgins, P.

1989-01-01

The radial dose distributions in water around /sup 192/ Ir seed sources with both platinum and stainless steel encapsulation have been measured using LiF thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) for distances of 1 to 12 cm along the perpendicular bisector of the source to determine the effect of source encapsulation. Similar measurements also have been made around a /sup 137/ Cs seed source of comparable dimensions. The data were fit to a third order polynomial to obtain an empirical equation for the radial dose factor which then can be used in dosimetry. The coefficients of this equation for each of the three sources are given. The radial dose factor of the stainless steel encapsulated /sup 192/ Ir and that of the platinum encapsulated /sup 192/ Ir agree to within 2%. The radial dose distributions measured here for /sup 192/ Ir with either type of encapsulation and for /sup 137/ Cs are indistinguishable from those of other authors when considering uncertainties involved. For clinical dosimetry based on isotropic point or line source models, any of these equations may be used without significantly affecting accuracy

Source Coding for Wireless Distributed Microphones in Reverberant Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahedi, Adel

2016-01-01

. However, it comes with the price of several challenges, including the limited power and bandwidth resources for wireless transmission of audio recordings. In such a setup, we study the problem of source coding for the compression of the audio recordings before the transmission in order to reduce the power...... consumption and/or transmission bandwidth by reduction in the transmission rates. Source coding for wireless microphones in reverberant environments has several special characteristics which make it more challenging in comparison with regular audio coding. The signals which are acquired by the microphones......Modern multimedia systems are more and more shifting toward distributed and networked structures. This includes audio systems, where networks of wireless distributed microphones are replacing the traditional microphone arrays. This allows for flexibility of placement and high spatial diversity...

Use of online sources of information by dental practitioners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Funkhouser, Ellen; Agee, Bonita S; Gordan, Valeria V

2014-01-01

journals online, obtained continuing education (CDE) through online sources, rated an online source as most influential, and reported frequently using an online source for guidance. Demographics, journals read, and use of various sources of information for practice guidance in terms of frequency...

A distributed name resolution system in information centric networks

Science.gov (United States)

Elbreiki, Walid; Arlimatti, Shivaleela; Hassan, Suhaidi; Habbal, Adib; Elshaikh, Mohamed

2016-08-01

Information Centric Networks (ICN) is the new paradigm that envisages to shift the Internet away from its existing Point-to-Point architecture to a data centric, where communication is based on named hosts rather than the information stored on these hosts. Name Resolution is the center of attraction for ICN, where Named Data Objects (NDO) are used for identifying the information and guiding for routing or forwarding inside ICN. Recently, several researches use distributed NRS to overcome the problem of interest flooding, congestion and overloading. Yet the distribution of NRS is based on random distribution. How to distribute the NRS is still an important and challenging problem. In this work, we address the problem of distribution of NRS by proposing a new mechanism called Distributed Name Resolution System (DNRS), by considering the time of publishing the NDOs in the NRS. This mechanism partitions the network to distribute the workload among NRSs by increasing storage capacity. In addition, partitioning the network increases flexibility and scalability of NRS. We evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed mechanism, which achieves lesser end-to-end delay with more average throughputs compared to random distribution of NRS without disturbing the underlying routing or forwarding strategies.

Young People's Assessment of Their Sources of Information About ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper concludes that, though there are a number of sources through which young people may be receiving sexual health information, the majority of them are not satisfied with the quality of information they get from many of such sources. Key words: Parents, health workers, teachers, students, sexuality education, rural ...

Typing Style and the Use of Different Sources of Information during Typing: An Investigation Using Self-Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Rieger, Martina; Bart, Victoria K E

2016-01-01

We investigated to what extent different sources of information are used in typing on a computer keyboard. Using self-reports 10 finger typists and idiosyncratic typists estimated how much attention they pay to different sources of information during copy typing and free typing and how much they use them for error detection. 10 finger typists reported less attention to the keyboard and the fingers and more attention to the template and the screen than idiosyncratic typists. The groups did not differ in attention to touch/kinaesthesis in copy typing and free typing, but 10 finger typists reported more use of touch/kinaesthesis in error detection. This indicates that processing of tactile/kinaesthetic information may occur largely outside conscious control, as long as no errors occur. 10 finger typists reported more use of internal prediction of movement consequences for error detection than idiosyncratic typists, reflecting more precise internal models. Further in copy typing compared to free typing attention to the template is required, thus leaving less attentional capacity for other sources of information. Correlations showed that higher skilled typists, regardless of typing style, rely more on sources of information which are usually associated with 10 finger typing. One limitation of the study is that only self-reports were used. We conclude that typing task, typing proficiency, and typing style influence how attention is distributed during typing.

Guidelines for the implementation of an open source information system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doak, J.; Howell, J.A.

1995-08-01

This work was initially performed for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help with the Open Source Task of the 93 + 2 Initiative; however, the information should be of interest to anyone working with open sources. The authors cover all aspects of an open source information system (OSIS) including, for example, identifying relevant sources, understanding copyright issues, and making information available to analysts. They foresee this document as a reference point that implementors of a system could augment for their particular needs. The primary organization of this document focuses on specific aspects, or components, of an OSIS; they describe each component and often make specific recommendations for its implementation. This document also contains a section discussing the process of collecting open source data and a section containing miscellaneous information. The appendix contains a listing of various providers, producers, and databases that the authors have come across in their research.

50 CFR 424.13 - Sources of information and relevant data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Sources of information and relevant data... Sources of information and relevant data. When considering any revision of the lists, the Secretary shall..., administrative reports, maps or other graphic materials, information received from experts on the subject, and...

Preferred information sources for clinical decision making: critical care nurses' perceptions of information accessibility and usefulness.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Andrea P; West, Sandra H; Aitken, Leanne M

2011-12-01

Variability in clinical practice may result from the use of diverse information sources to guide clinical decisions. In routine clinical practice, nurses privilege information from colleagues over more formal information sources. It is not clear whether similar information-seeking behaviour is exhibited when critical care nurses make decisions about a specific clinical practice, where extensive practice variability exists alongside a developing research base. This study explored the preferred sources of information intensive care nurses used and their perceptions of the accessibility and usefulness of this information for making decisions in clinically uncertain situations specific to enteral feeding practice. An instrumental case study design, incorporating concurrent verbal protocols, Q methodology and focus groups, was used to determine intensive care nurses' perspectives of information use in the resolution of clinical uncertainty. A preference for information from colleagues to support clinical decisions was observed. People as information sources were considered most useful and most accessible in the clinical setting. Text and electronic information sources were seen as less accessible, mainly because of the time required to access the information within the documents. When faced with clinical uncertainty, obtaining information from colleagues allows information to be quickly accessed and applied within the context of a specific clinical presentation. Seeking information from others also provides opportunities for shared decision-making and potential validation of clinical judgment, although differing views may exacerbate clinical uncertainty. The social exchange of clinical information may meet the needs of nurses working in a complex, time-pressured environment but the extent of the evidence base for information passed through verbal communication is unclear. The perceived usefulness and accessibility of information is premised on the ease of use and access

Multiple sclerosis: patients’ information sources and needs on disease symptoms and management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert I Matti

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Albert I Matti1, Helen McCarl2, Pamela Klaer2, Miriam C Keane1, Celia S Chen11Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia; 2The Multiple Sclerosis Society of South Australia and Northern Territory, Klemzig, SA, AustraliaObjective: To investigate the current information sources of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS in the early stages of their disease and to identify patients’ preferred source of information. The relative amounts of information from the different sources were also compared.Methods: Participants at a newly diagnosed information session organized by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of South Australia were invited to complete a questionnaire. Participants were asked to rate on a visual analog scale how much information they had received about MS and optic neuritis from different information sources and how much information they would like to receive from each of the sources.Results: A close to ideal amount of information is being provided by the MS society and MS specialist nurses. There is a clear deficit between what information patients are currently receiving and the amount of information they actually want from various sources. Patients wish to receive significantly more information from treating general practitioners, eye specialists, neurologists, and education sessions. Patients have identified less than adequate information received on optic neuritis from all sources.Conclusion: This study noted a clear information deficit regarding MS from all sources. This information deficit is more pronounced in relation to optic neuritis and needs to be addressed in the future.Practice implications: More patient information and counselling needs to be provided to MS patients even at early stages of their disease, especially in relation to management of disease relapse.Keywords: information sources, information needs, MS patients, optic neuritis

Needs, demands and motivation in the use of sources of information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lancaster, F W [Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (United States). Graduate School of Library and Information Science

1990-05-01

For designers and managers of information services it is important to have some understanding of the factors that influence the probability that an information need will arise in the mind of some individual, that this individual will be sufficiently motivated to seek the needed information, and that he or she will select a particular information source. While our knowledge of these matters is still very far from complete, the many hundreds of ``user studies`` that have been performed have at least shed some light on them. Factors affecting the selection of a particular information source (e.g., information center or library) will include some user factors (e.g., previous experience with a source) and many source-related factors, including currency, cost, accessibility, reputation, dissemination and marketing efforts, and the format and content of the information available. Accessibility will be a major factor influencing use of an information source but this goes far beyond physical accessibility; intellectual and psychological accessibility must also be considered. This paper combines these various factors into a ``model`` of information-seeking behaviour and from this attempts to draw conclusions that may be useful in the design of future information services. 61 refs, 1 fig.

Needs, demands and motivation in the use of sources of information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, F.W.

1990-05-01

For designers and managers of information services it is important to have some understanding of the factors that influence the probability that an information need will arise in the mind of some individual, that this individual will be sufficiently motivated to seek the needed information, and that he or she will select a particular information source. While our knowledge of these matters is still very far from complete, the many hundreds of ''user studies'' that have been performed have at least shed some light on them. Factors affecting the selection of a particular information source (e.g., information center or library) will include some user factors (e.g., previous experience with a source) and many source-related factors, including currency, cost, accessibility, reputation, dissemination and marketing efforts, and the format and content of the information available. Accessibility will be a major factor influencing use of an information source but this goes far beyond physical accessibility; intellectual and psychological accessibility must also be considered. This paper combines these various factors into a ''model'' of information-seeking behaviour and from this attempts to draw conclusions that may be useful in the design of future information services. 61 refs, 1 fig

Data Aggregation System: A system for information retrieval on demand over relational and non-relational distributed data sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ball, G. [Imperial Coll., London; Kuznetsov, V. [Cornell U.; Evans, D. [Fermilab; Metson, S. [Bristol U.

2011-01-01

We present the Data Aggregation System, a system for information retrieval and aggregation from heterogenous sources of relational and non-relational data for the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment on the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The experiment currently has a number of organically-developed data sources, including front-ends to a number of different relational databases and non-database data services which do not share common data structures or APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), and cannot at this stage be readily converged. DAS provides a single interface for querying all these services, a caching layer to speed up access to expensive underlying calls and the ability to merge records from different data services pertaining to a single primary key.

Analysis of aCGH Integrating Different Sources of Information by Means of a CBR

OpenAIRE

Zato Domínguez, Carolina; de Paz Santana, Juan F.; Bajo Pérez, Javier; Corchado Rodríguez, Juan M.

2011-01-01

Knowledge management is a key element in medical environments. Arrays CGH make possible the realization of tests on patients for the detection of mutations in chromosomal regions. The detection of the regions with mutations associated to different pathologies is an important step for the selection of relevant genes, proteins or diseases. The corresponding information of the mutations and genes is distributed in dif- ferent public sources and databases, so it is necessary the use of systems th...

Information Technologies of the Distributed Applications Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safwan Al SALAIMEH

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The questions of distributed systems development based on Java RMI, EJB and J2EE technologies and tools are rated. Here is brought the comparative analysis, which determines the domain of an expedient demand of the considered information technologies as applied to the concrete distributed applications requirements.

Parents' preferred child health information sources: implications for nursing practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Keatinge, Diane

2006-01-01

To ascertain parents' preferences in sources of health information concerning their children's general health care needs, and caring for their children when they are sick. Exploratory/descriptive design. A telephone survey secured data for the study and qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Part 2 of a larger study in which Part I evaluated parents' satisfaction with a paediatric telephone triage service. One hundred of the 101 parents who were recruited for Part 1 of the study participated in Part 2, an examination of parents' preferences in information sources relating to their child's health. Parents' preferences in child health information sources varied according to the perceived severity of their child's illness. Parents frequently selected more than one item on a list of health information sources provided. In a non-urgent situation when children were sick a total of 170 selections were made by parents, with 'telephone advice line' the source most frequently selected (58, 34%), followed by general practitioner (27, 15.8%). In an emergency situation the most frequently selected information source was again 'telephone advice line' (74, n=129, 57.4%), followed by 'other' (31, n=129, 24.3%) often identified as relating to dialing '000' (Australia's emergency services number). Finally, when parents required information about the general health care needs of their child, 'other' (most frequently identified as books) was selected on 40 (n=185, 21.6%) occasions, followed by child health clinic (35, n= 185, 18.9%). Parents prefer to receive information about the health care needs of their child from another person rather than a printed or audio-visual source.

[Toxoplasmosis and Pregnancy: Reliability of Internet Sources of Information].

Science.gov (United States)

Bobić, Branko; Štajner, Tijana; Nikolić, Aleksandra; Klun, Ivana; Srbljanović, Jelena; Djurković-Djaković, Olgica

2015-01-01

Health education of women of childbearing age has been shown to be an acceptable approach to the prevention of toxoplasmosis, the most frequent congenitally transmitted parasitic infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Internet as a source of health education on toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. A group of 100 pregnant women examined in the National Reference Laboratory for Toxoplasmosis was surveyed by a questionnaire on the source of their information on toxoplasmosis. We also analyzed information offered by websites in the Serbian and Croatian languages through the Google search engine, using "toxoplasmosis" as a keyword. The 23 top websites were evaluated for comprehensiveness and accuracy of information on the impact of toxoplasmosis on the course of pregnancy, diagnosis and prevention. Having knowledge on toxoplasmosis was confirmed by 64 (64.0%) examined women, 40.6% (26/64) of whom learned about toxoplasmosis through the Internet, 48.4% from physicians, and 10.9% from friends. Increase in the degree of education was found to be associated with the probability that pregnant women would be informed via the Internet (RR=3.15, 95% CI=1.27-7.82, p=0.013). Analysis of four interactive websites (allowing users to ask questions) showed that routes of infection were the most common concern, particularly the risk presented by pet cats and dogs, followed by the diagnosis of infection (who and when should be tested, and how should the results be interpreted). Of 20 sites containing educational articles, only seven were authorized and two listed sources. Evaluation confirmed that information relevant to pregnant women was significantly more accurate than comprehensive, but no site gave both comprehensive and completely accurate information. Only four sites (20%) were good sources of information for pregnant women. Internet has proved itself as an important source of information. However, despite numerous websites, only a few offer reliable information to the

Prototyping a Distributed Information Retrieval System That Uses Statistical Ranking.

Science.gov (United States)

Harman, Donna; And Others

1991-01-01

Built using a distributed architecture, this prototype distributed information retrieval system uses statistical ranking techniques to provide better service to the end user. Distributed architecture was shown to be a feasible alternative to centralized or CD-ROM information retrieval, and user testing of the ranking methodology showed both…

Health information systems in Africa: descriptive analysis of data sources, information products and health statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Mbondji, Peter Ebongue; Kebede, Derege; Soumbey-Alley, Edoh William; Zielinski, Chris; Kouvividila, Wenceslas; Lusamba-Dikassa, Paul-Samson

2014-05-01

To identify key data sources of health information and describe their availability in countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. An analytical review on the availability and quality of health information data sources in countries; from experience, observations, literature and contributions from countries. Forty-six Member States of the WHO African Region. No participants. The state of data sources, including censuses, surveys, vital registration and health care facility-based sources. In almost all countries of the Region, there is a heavy reliance on household surveys for most indicators, with more than 121 household surveys having been conducted in the Region since 2000. Few countries have civil registration systems that permit adequate and regular tracking of mortality and causes of death. Demographic surveillance sites function in several countries, but the data generated are not integrated into the national health information system because of concerns about representativeness. Health management information systems generate considerable data, but the information is rarely used because of concerns about bias, quality and timeliness. To date, 43 countries in the Region have initiated Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response. A multitude of data sources are used to track progress towards health-related goals in the Region, with heavy reliance on household surveys for most indicators. Countries need to develop comprehensive national plans for health information that address the full range of data needs and data sources and that include provision for building national capacities for data generation, analysis, dissemination and use. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

Sources of Information as Determinants of Product and Process Innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Jaime; Salazar, Idana; Vargas, Pilar

2016-01-01

In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities) to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are opening up their innovation process and that use different information sources have a greater capacity to generate innovations. We also find that the importance of external sources of information varies depending on the type of innovation (product or process) considered. To generate process innovation, firms mainly rely on suppliers while, to generate product innovation, the main contribution is from customers. The potential simultaneity between product and process innovation is also taken into consideration. We find that the generation of both types of innovation is not independent.

Sources of Information as Determinants of Product and Process Innovation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime Gómez

Full Text Available In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are opening up their innovation process and that use different information sources have a greater capacity to generate innovations. We also find that the importance of external sources of information varies depending on the type of innovation (product or process considered. To generate process innovation, firms mainly rely on suppliers while, to generate product innovation, the main contribution is from customers. The potential simultaneity between product and process innovation is also taken into consideration. We find that the generation of both types of innovation is not independent.

Sources of Information as Determinants of Product and Process Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities) to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are opening up their innovation process and that use different information sources have a greater capacity to generate innovations. We also find that the importance of external sources of information varies depending on the type of innovation (product or process) considered. To generate process innovation, firms mainly rely on suppliers while, to generate product innovation, the main contribution is from customers. The potential simultaneity between product and process innovation is also taken into consideration. We find that the generation of both types of innovation is not independent. PMID:27035456

Number of warning information sources and decision making during tornadoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jianjun; Cong, Zhen; Liang, Daan

2015-03-01

Taking proper protective action upon receiving tornado warnings is critical to reducing casualties. With more warning information sources becoming available, how the number of such information sources affects decision making should be quantitatively investigated. To examine how the number of warning information sources affected individuals' decisions to take protective action during tornadoes. A telephone survey using random sampling was conducted in 2012 with residents in Tuscaloosa AL and Joplin MO, resulting in a working sample of 782 respondents. Both cities were struck by violent tornadoes (Enhanced Fujita Scale [EF]4 and EF5) in 2011. The analysis was conducted in 2013. Logistic regression analysis showed that relative to having only one warning information source, having two and three or more warning information sources significantly increased the odds of taking protective action in Joplin but not in Tuscaloosa; having three or more sources had a significantly stronger effect on taking protective action in Joplin than in Tuscaloosa. Having an emergency preparation plan in both cities and being white in Tuscaloosa significantly increased the odds of taking protective action, whereas being divorced in Joplin reduced these odds. Receiving warnings from more warning information sources might be more beneficial in places with less previous exposure to tornadoes and for populations with lower awareness of a potential tornado and higher probability of receiving no warnings. Emergency management agencies and public health officials should give priority to these places and populations when formulating disaster mitigation decisions and policies. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Open source intelligence: A tool to combat illicit trafficking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sjoeberg, J [Swedish Armed Forces HQ, Stockholm (Sweden)

2001-10-01

The purpose of my presentation is to provide some thoughts on Open Sources and how Open Sources can be used as tools for detecting illicit trafficking and proliferation. To fulfill this purpose I would like to deal with the following points during my presentation: What is Open Source? How can it be defined? - Different sources - Methods. Open Source information can be defined as publicly available information as well as other unclassified information that has limited public distribution or access to it. It comes in print, electronic or oral form. It can be found distributed either to the mass public by print or electronic media or to a much more limited customer base like companies, experts or specialists of some kind including the so called gray literature. Open Source information is not a single source but a multi-source. Thus, you can say that Open Sources does not say anything about the information itself, it only refers to if the information is classified or not.

Open source intelligence: A tool to combat illicit trafficking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjoeberg, J.

2001-01-01

The purpose of my presentation is to provide some thoughts on Open Sources and how Open Sources can be used as tools for detecting illicit trafficking and proliferation. To fulfill this purpose I would like to deal with the following points during my presentation: What is Open Source? How can it be defined? - Different sources - Methods. Open Source information can be defined as publicly available information as well as other unclassified information that has limited public distribution or access to it. It comes in print, electronic or oral form. It can be found distributed either to the mass public by print or electronic media or to a much more limited customer base like companies, experts or specialists of some kind including the so called gray literature. Open Source information is not a single source but a multi-source. Thus, you can say that Open Sources does not say anything about the information itself, it only refers to if the information is classified or not

The asymmetric distribution of informative face information during gender recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Fengpei; Hu, Huan; Xu, Lian; Qin, Jungang

2013-02-01

Recognition of the gender of a face is important in social interactions. In the current study, the distribution of informative facial information was systematically examined during gender judgment using two methods, Bubbles and Focus windows techniques. Two experiments found that the most informative information was around the eyes, followed by the mouth and nose. Other parts of the face contributed to the gender recognition but were less important. The left side of the face was used more during gender recognition in two experiments. These results show mainly areas around the eyes are used for gender judgment and demonstrate perceptual asymmetry with a normal (non-chimeric) face.

Quantum key distribution with an unknown and untrusted source

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yi; Qi, Bing; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2009-03-01

The security of a standard bi-directional ``plug & play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system has been an open question for a long time. This is mainly because its source is equivalently controlled by an eavesdropper, which means the source is unknown and untrusted. Qualitative discussion on this subject has been made previously. In this paper, we present the first quantitative security analysis on a general class of QKD protocols whose sources are unknown and untrusted. The securities of standard BB84 protocol, weak+vacuum decoy state protocol, and one-decoy decoy state protocol, with unknown and untrusted sources are rigorously proved. We derive rigorous lower bounds to the secure key generation rates of the above three protocols. Our numerical simulation results show that QKD with an untrusted source gives a key generation rate that is close to that with a trusted source. Our work is published in [1]. [4pt] [1] Y. Zhao, B. Qi, and H.-K. Lo, Phys. Rev. A, 77:052327 (2008).

Health information sources for different types of information used by Chinese patients with cancer and their family caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Bo; Su, Zhaohui; Liu, Yihao; Wang, Mo; Zhang, Ming

2017-08-01

Little is known about the information sources of Chinese patients with cancer and their family caregivers, yet this knowledge is critical for providing patient-centred care. To assess and compare the information sources used by Chinese patients with cancer and their family caregivers. The validated Health Information Wants Questionnaire (HIWQ) was translated and administered in March 2014. The oncology department of a general hospital in south-west China. A convenience sample of 198 individuals, including 79 patients with cancer (mean age=55.24, SD=13.80) and 119 family caregivers (mean age=46.83, SD=14.61). Ratings on the HIWQ items assessing information sources for different types of information. The interaction between information source and group was significant (F 3,576 =6.32, Pinformation than patients from the Internet. Caregivers and patients did not differ in the amount of information they obtained from doctors/nurses, interpersonal contacts or mass media. The interaction between information type and information source was significant (F 18,3456 =6.38, Pinformation of all types from doctors/nurses than from the other three sources and obtained more information from interpersonal contacts than from mass media or the Internet. The information sources of Chinese patients with cancer and their family caregivers were similar, with an important difference that caregivers obtained more online information than patients. These findings have important implications for patient care and education in China where the family typically plays a major role in the care and decision making. © 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Oral health literacy and information sources among adults in Tehran, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Sistani, M M Naghibi; Yazdani, R; Virtanen, J; Pakdaman, A; Murtomaa, H

2013-09-01

To assess oral health literacy level and oral health information of Iranian adults in Tehran, and to determine the factors related to oral health literacy. A cross-sectional population study. A random sample of 1,031 adults in Tehran, Iran. Oral health literacy was measured using an oral health adult literacy questionnaire (OHL-AQ). Variation in use of information sources by socio-economic and demographic background was estimated by odds ratios. A multiple linear regression model served to determine predictor factors of OHL-AQ scores controlling for characteristics of the subjects and number of information sources. The mean OHL-AQ score was 10.5 (sd 3.0). Women (p information were dentists (52.6%), and TV/Radio (49.5%). According to the regression model, females (p = 0.001), high educational level (p information sources (two sources p = 0.01, three sources or more p = 0.002) were the main predictor factors of OHL-AQ scores. The average oral health literacy level of Iranian adults was low. Disseminating evidence-based oral health care information from multiple sources including TV/radio, dentists, and other health professionals in different settings should improve public oral health literacy.

Information Seeking and Satisfaction with Information Sources Among Spouses of Men with Newly Diagnosed Local-Stage Prostate Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Bansal, Aasthaa; Koepl, Lisel M; Fedorenko, Catherine R; Li, Chunyu; Smith, Judith Lee; Hall, Ingrid J; Penson, David F; Ramsey, Scott D

2018-04-01

Information sources about prostate cancer treatment and outcomes are typically designed for patients. Little is known about the availability and utility of information for partners. The objectives of our study were to evaluate information sources used by partners to understand prostate cancer management options, their perceived usefulness, and the relationship between sources used and satisfaction with treatment experience. A longitudinal survey of female partners of men newly diagnosed with local-stage prostate cancer was conducted in three different geographic regions. Partners and associated patients were surveyed at baseline (after patient diagnosis but prior to receiving therapy) and at 12 months following diagnosis. Information sources included provider, literature, friends or family members, Internet websites, books, traditional media, and support groups. Utility of an information source was defined as whether the partner would recommend it to caregivers of other patients with local-stage prostate cancer. Our study cohort included 179 partner-patient pairs. At diagnosis, partners consulted an average of 4.6 information sources. Non-Hispanic white partners were more likely than others to use friends and family as an information source (OR = 2.44, 95% CI (1.04, 5.56)). More educated partners were less likely to use support groups (OR = 0.31, 95% CI (0.14, 0.71)). At 12-month follow-up, partners were less likely to recommend books (OR = 0.23, 95% CI (0.11, 0.49)) compared to baseline. Partners consulted a large number of information sources in researching treatment options for local-stage prostate cancer and the types of sources accessed varied by race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Additional resources to promote selection of high-quality non-provider information sources are warranted to enable partners to better aid patients in their treatment decision-making process.

Blind Separation of Nonstationary Sources Based on Spatial Time-Frequency Distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Yimin

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Blind source separation (BSS based on spatial time-frequency distributions (STFDs provides improved performance over blind source separation methods based on second-order statistics, when dealing with signals that are localized in the time-frequency (t-f domain. In this paper, we propose the use of STFD matrices for both whitening and recovery of the mixing matrix, which are two stages commonly required in many BSS methods, to provide robust BSS performance to noise. In addition, a simple method is proposed to select the auto- and cross-term regions of time-frequency distribution (TFD. To further improve the BSS performance, t-f grouping techniques are introduced to reduce the number of signals under consideration, and to allow the receiver array to separate more sources than the number of array sensors, provided that the sources have disjoint t-f signatures. With the use of one or more techniques proposed in this paper, improved performance of blind separation of nonstationary signals can be achieved.

Wearable Sensor Localization Considering Mixed Distributed Sources in Health Monitoring Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Liangtian; Han, Guangjie; Wang, Hao; Shu, Lei; Feng, Nanxing; Peng, Bao

2016-03-12

In health monitoring systems, the base station (BS) and the wearable sensors communicate with each other to construct a virtual multiple input and multiple output (VMIMO) system. In real applications, the signal that the BS received is a distributed source because of the scattering, reflection, diffraction and refraction in the propagation path. In this paper, a 2D direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm for incoherently-distributed (ID) and coherently-distributed (CD) sources is proposed based on multiple VMIMO systems. ID and CD sources are separated through the second-order blind identification (SOBI) algorithm. The traditional estimating signal parameters via the rotational invariance technique (ESPRIT)-based algorithm is valid only for one-dimensional (1D) DOA estimation for the ID source. By constructing the signal subspace, two rotational invariant relationships are constructed. Then, we extend the ESPRIT to estimate 2D DOAs for ID sources. For DOA estimation of CD sources, two rational invariance relationships are constructed based on the application of generalized steering vectors (GSVs). Then, the ESPRIT-based algorithm is used for estimating the eigenvalues of two rational invariance matrices, which contain the angular parameters. The expressions of azimuth and elevation for ID and CD sources have closed forms, which means that the spectrum peak searching is avoided. Therefore, compared to the traditional 2D DOA estimation algorithms, the proposed algorithm imposes significantly low computational complexity. The intersecting point of two rays, which come from two different directions measured by two uniform rectangle arrays (URA), can be regarded as the location of the biosensor (wearable sensor). Three BSs adopting the smart antenna (SA) technique cooperate with each other to locate the wearable sensors using the angulation positioning method. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Portal. Making a portal site. INIS Web Services and energy information sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonezawa, Minoru

2001-01-01

The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) provides links to useful nuclear related information sources in Internet by the name of 'INIS Web Services' and the Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) also provides links to useful energy related information sources in Internet by the name of Energy Information Source'. This paper outlines these two services. (author)

Simulated and measured neutron/gamma light output distribution for poly-energetic neutron/gamma sources

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini, S. A.; Zangian, M.; Aghabozorgi, S.

2018-03-01

In the present paper, the light output distribution due to poly-energetic neutron/gamma (neutron or gamma) source was calculated using the developed MCNPX-ESUT-PE (MCNPX-Energy engineering of Sharif University of Technology-Poly Energetic version) computational code. The simulation of light output distribution includes the modeling of the particle transport, the calculation of scintillation photons induced by charged particles, simulation of the scintillation photon transport and considering the light resolution obtained from the experiment. The developed computational code is able to simulate the light output distribution due to any neutron/gamma source. In the experimental step of the present study, the neutron-gamma discrimination based on the light output distribution was performed using the zero crossing method. As a case study, 241Am-9Be source was considered and the simulated and measured neutron/gamma light output distributions were compared. There is an acceptable agreement between the discriminated neutron/gamma light output distributions obtained from the simulation and experiment.

How do informal information sources influence women's decision-making for birth? A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Ruth A; Crozier, Kenda

2018-01-10

Women approach birth using various methods of preparation drawing from conventional healthcare providers alongside informal information sources (IIS) outside the professional healthcare context. An investigation of the forms in which these informal information sources are accessed and negotiated by women, and how these disconnected and often conflicting elements influence women's decision-making process for birth have yet to be evaluated. The level of antenatal preparedness women feel can have significant and long lasting implications on their birth experience and transition into motherhood and beyond. The aim of this study was to provide a deeper understanding of how informal information sources influence women's preparation for birth. Seven electronic databases were searched with predetermined search terms. No limitations were imposed for year of publication. English language studies using qualitative methods exploring women's experiences of informal information sources and their impact upon women's birth preparation were included, subject to a quality appraisal framework. Searches were initiated in February 2016 and completed by March 2016. Studies were synthesised using an interpretive meta-ethnographic approach. Fourteen studies were included for the final synthesis from Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States. Four main themes were identified: Menu Birth; Information Heaven/Hell; Spheres of Support; and Trust. It is evident that women do not enter pregnancy as empty vessels devoid of a conceptual framework, but rather have a pre-constructed embodied knowledge base upon which other information is superimposed. Allied to this, it is clear that informal information was sought to mitigate against the widespread experience of discordant information provided by maternity professionals. Women's access to the deluge of informal information sources in mainstream media during pregnancy have significant impact on decision making for birth. These informal

Teens Reflect on Their Sources of Contraceptive Information

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Rachel K.; Biddlecom, Ann E.; Hebert, Luciana; Mellor, Ruth

2011-01-01

Based on semistructured interviews with a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 58 U.S. high school students, this study examines teens' exposure to contraceptive information from a range of sources and the extent to which they trust this information. Teens report exposure to contraceptive information from many individuals and places, most…

Confusion-limited extragalactic source survey at 4.755 GHz. I. Source list and areal distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ledden, J.E.; Broderick, J.J.; Condon, J.J.; Brown, R.L.

1980-01-01

A confusion-limited 4.755-GHz survey covering 0.00 956 sr between right ascensions 07/sup h/05/sup m/ and 18/sup h/ near declination +35 0 has been made with the NRAO 91-m telescope. The survey found 237 sources and is complete above 15 mJy. Source counts between 15 and 100 mJy were obtained directly. The P(D) distribution was used to determine the number counts between 0.5 and 13.2 mJy, to search for anisotropy in the density of faint extragalactic sources, and to set a 99%-confidence upper limit of 1.83 mK to the rms temperature fluctuation of the 2.7-K cosmic microwave background on angular scales smaller than 7.3 arcmin. The discrete-source density, normalized to the static Euclidean slope, falls off sufficiently rapidly below 100 mJy that no new population of faint flat-spectrum sources is required to explain the 4.755-GHz source counts

How do cancer patients navigate the public information environment? Understanding patterns and motivations for movement among information sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagler, Rebekah H; Romantan, Anca; Kelly, Bridget J; Stevens, Robin S; Gray, Stacy W; Hull, Shawnika J; Ramirez, A Susana; Hornik, Robert C

2010-09-01

Little is known about how patients move among information sources to fulfill unmet needs. We interviewed 43 breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer patients. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified patterns and motivations for movement among information sources. Overall, patients reported using one source (e.g., newspaper) followed by the use of another source (e.g., Internet), and five key motivations for such cross-source movement emerged. Patients' social networks often played a central role in this movement. Understanding how patients navigate an increasingly complex information environment may help clinicians and educators to guide patients to appropriate, high-quality sources.

Development and Validation of a Standardized Tool for Prioritization of Information Sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Akwar, Holy; Kloeze, Harold; Mukhi, Shamir

2016-01-01

To validate the utility and effectiveness of a standardized tool for prioritization of information sources for early detection of diseases. The tool was developed with input from diverse public health experts garnered through survey. Ten raters used the tool to evaluate ten information sources and reliability among raters was computed. The Proc mixed procedure with random effect statement and SAS Macros were used to compute multiple raters' Fleiss Kappa agreement and Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance. Ten disparate information sources evaluated obtained the following composite scores: ProMed 91%; WAHID 90%; Eurosurv 87%; MediSys 85%; SciDaily 84%; EurekAl 83%; CSHB 78%; GermTrax 75%; Google 74%; and CBC 70%. A Fleiss Kappa agreement of 50.7% was obtained for ten information sources and 72.5% for a sub-set of five sources rated, which is substantial agreement validating the utility and effectiveness of the tool. This study validated the utility and effectiveness of a standardized criteria tool developed to prioritize information sources. The new tool was used to identify five information sources suited for use by the KIWI system in the CEZD-IIR project to improve surveillance of infectious diseases. The tool can be generalized to situations when prioritization of numerous information sources is necessary.

Anticipation in turn-taking: mechanisms and information sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Riest, Carina; Jorschick, Annett B; de Ruiter, Jan P

2015-01-01

During conversations participants alternate smoothly between speaker and hearer roles with only brief pauses and overlaps. There are two competing types of accounts about how conversationalists accomplish this: (a) the signaling approach and (b) the anticipatory ('projection') approach. We wanted to investigate, first, the relative merits of these two accounts, and second, the relative contribution of semantic and syntactic information to the timing of next turn initiation. We performed three button-press experiments using turn fragments taken from natural conversations to address the following questions: (a) Is turn-taking predominantly based on anticipation or on reaction, and (b) what is the relative contribution of semantic and syntactic information to accurate turn-taking. In our first experiment we gradually manipulated the information available for anticipation of the turn end (providing information about the turn end in advance to completely removing linguistic information). The results of our first experiment show that the distribution of the participants' estimation of turn-endings for natural turns is very similar to the distribution for pure anticipation. We conclude that listeners are indeed able to anticipate a turn-end and that this strategy is predominantly used in turn-taking. In Experiment 2 we collected purely reacted responses. We used the distributions from Experiments 1 and 2 together to estimate a new dependent variable called Reaction Anticipation Proportion. We used this variable in our third experiment where we manipulated the presence vs. absence of semantic and syntactic information by low-pass filtering open-class and closed class words in the turn. The results suggest that for turn-end anticipation, both semantic and syntactic information are needed, but that the semantic information is a more important anticipation cue than syntactic information.

21 CFR 1301.93 - Sources of information for employee checks.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... OF MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND DISPENSERS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES Employee Screening-Non-Practitioners § 1301.93 Sources of information for employee checks. DEA recommends that inquiries concerning... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sources of information for employee checks. 1301...

On Road Study of Colorado Front Range Greenhouse Gases Distribution and Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Petron, G.; Hirsch, A.; Trainer, M. K.; Karion, A.; Kofler, J.; Sweeney, C.; Andrews, A.; Kolodzey, W.; Miller, B. R.; Miller, L.; Montzka, S. A.; Kitzis, D. R.; Patrick, L.; Frost, G. J.; Ryerson, T. B.; Robers, J. M.; Tans, P.

2008-12-01

The Global Monitoring Division and Chemical Sciences Division of the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory have teamed up over the summer 2008 to experiment with a new measurement strategy to characterize greenhouse gases distribution and sources in the Colorado Front Range. Combining expertise in greenhouse gases measurements and in local to regional scales air quality study intensive campaigns, we have built the 'Hybrid Lab'. A continuous CO2 and CH4 cavity ring down spectroscopic analyzer (Picarro, Inc.), a CO gas-filter correlation instrument (Thermo Environmental, Inc.) and a continuous UV absorption ozone monitor (2B Technologies, Inc., model 202SC) have been installed securely onboard a 2006 Toyota Prius Hybrid vehicle with an inlet bringing in outside air from a few meters above the ground. To better characterize point and distributed sources, air samples were taken with a Portable Flask Package (PFP) for later multiple species analysis in the lab. A GPS unit hooked up to the ozone analyzer and another one installed on the PFP kept track of our location allowing us to map measured concentrations on the driving route using Google Earth. The Hybrid Lab went out for several drives in the vicinity of the NOAA Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) tall tower located in Erie, CO and covering areas from Boulder, Denver, Longmont, Fort Collins and Greeley. Enhancements in CO2, CO and destruction of ozone mainly reflect emissions from traffic. Methane enhancements however are clearly correlated with nearby point sources (landfill, feedlot, natural gas compressor ...) or with larger scale air masses advected from the NE Colorado, where oil and gas drilling operations are widespread. The multiple species analysis (hydrocarbons, CFCs, HFCs) of the air samples collected along the way bring insightful information about the methane sources at play. We will present results of the analysis and interpretation of the Hybrid Lab Front Range Study and conclude with perspectives

A calculation of dose distribution around 32P spherical sources and its clinical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohara, Ken; Tanaka, Yoshiaki; Nishizawa, Kunihide; Maekoshi, Hisashi

1977-01-01

In order to avoid the radiation hazard in radiation therapy of craniopharyngioma by using 32 P, it is helpful to prepare a detailed dose distribution in the vicinity of the source in the tissue. Valley's method is used for calculations. A problem of the method is pointed out and the method itself is refined numerically: it extends a region of xi where an approximate polynomial is available, and it determines an optimum degree of the polynomial as 9. Usefulness of the polynomial is examined by comparing with Berger's scaled absorbed dose distribution F(xi) and the Valley's result. The dose and dose rate distributions around uniformly distributed spherical sources are computed from the termwise integration of our polynomial of degree 9 over the range of xi from 0 to 1.7. The dose distributions calculated from the spherical surface to a point at 0.5 cm outside the source, are given, when the radii of sources are 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 1.0, and 1.5 cm respectively. The therapeutic dose for a craniopharyngioma which has a spherically shaped cyst, and the absorbed dose to the normal tissue, (oculomotor nerve), are obtained from these dose rate distributions. (auth.)

Sources of drug information and their influence on the prescribing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sources of drug information and their influence on the prescribing behaviour of doctors in a teaching hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. ... Drug information was sourced from colleagues (161, 98.8%), reference books (158, 96.9%), pharmaceutical sales representatives-PSRs (152, 93.2%), promotion materials (151, 92.6%), ...

Information source exploitation/exploration and NPD decision-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Kristina Risom

different Scandinavian companies. Data was analyzed using hierarchical regression models across decision criteria dimensions and NPD stages as well as analyzing the combination of selected information sources. Rather than forwarding one optimal search behavior for the entire NPD process, we find optimal...... information search behavior at either end of the exploitation/exploration continuum. Additionally, we find that overexploitation and overexploration is caused by managerial bias. This creates managerial misbehavior at gate decision-points of the NPD process.......The purpose of this study is to examine how the exploration/exploitation continuum is applied by decision-makers in new product gate decision-making. Specifically, we analyze at gate decision-points how the evaluation of a new product project is affected by the information source exploitation...

[Use of information sources by recently graduated physicians of Lima].

Science.gov (United States)

Mejia, Christian R; Caceres, Onice J; Vera, Claudia A; Nizama-Vía, Ayar; Curioso, Walter H; Mayta-Tristán, Percy

2014-01-01

In order to determine the use of information sources by recently graduated physicians of Lima, Peru in 2011, a survey was conducted among graduated physicians at seven universities. They were asked about the use of search engines in the health area during their year of medical internship [last year of medical school]. Regular use was defined as the source being used once a week or daily. For 490 respondents, regularly used information sources were SciELO, accessed by 173 (36.4%); PubMed 165 (34.4%); HINARI 117 (25.5%); UpToDate 98 (22.3%); Cochrane Library 94 (20.6%); LILACS 91 (19.8%); a hospital institutional library 70 (15.0%); LIPECS 39 (8.7%); and Peru BVS 42 (9.3%). Only a minority regularly accessed information sources related to health. It is necessary to improve capacity in the efficient use of various resources of scientific information in a continuous way and that reaches students and health professionals.

Crime analysis using open source information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nizamani, Sarwat; Memon, Nasrullah; Shah, Azhar Ali

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present a method of crime analysis from open source information. We employed un-supervised methods of data mining to explore the facts regarding the crimes of an area of interest. The analysis is based on well known clustering and association techniques. The results show...

Side Information and Noise Learning for Distributed Video Coding using Optical Flow and Clustering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luong, Huynh Van; Rakêt, Lars Lau; Huang, Xin

2012-01-01

Distributed video coding (DVC) is a coding paradigm which exploits the source statistics at the decoder side to reduce the complexity at the encoder. The coding efficiency of DVC critically depends on the quality of side information generation and accuracy of noise modeling. This paper considers...... Transform Domain Wyner-Ziv (TDWZ) coding and proposes using optical flow to improve side information generation and clustering to improve noise modeling. The optical flow technique is exploited at the decoder side to compensate weaknesses of block based methods, when using motion-compensation to generate...... side information frames. Clustering is introduced to capture cross band correlation and increase local adaptivity in the noise modeling. This paper also proposes techniques to learn from previously decoded (WZ) frames. Different techniques are combined by calculating a number of candidate soft side...

Quantum key distribution with entangled photon sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Xiongfeng; Fung, Chi-Hang Fred; Lo, H.-K.

2007-01-01

A parametric down-conversion (PDC) source can be used as either a triggered single-photon source or an entangled-photon source in quantum key distribution (QKD). The triggering PDC QKD has already been studied in the literature. On the other hand, a model and a post-processing protocol for the entanglement PDC QKD are still missing. We fill in this important gap by proposing such a model and a post-processing protocol for the entanglement PDC QKD. Although the PDC model is proposed to study the entanglement-based QKD, we emphasize that our generic model may also be useful for other non-QKD experiments involving a PDC source. Since an entangled PDC source is a basis-independent source, we apply Koashi and Preskill's security analysis to the entanglement PDC QKD. We also investigate the entanglement PDC QKD with two-way classical communications. We find that the recurrence scheme increases the key rate and the Gottesman-Lo protocol helps tolerate higher channel losses. By simulating a recent 144-km open-air PDC experiment, we compare three implementations: entanglement PDC QKD, triggering PDC QKD, and coherent-state QKD. The simulation result suggests that the entanglement PDC QKD can tolerate higher channel losses than the coherent-state QKD. The coherent-state QKD with decoy states is able to achieve highest key rate in the low- and medium-loss regions. By applying the Gottesman-Lo two-way post-processing protocol, the entanglement PDC QKD can tolerate up to 70 dB combined channel losses (35 dB for each channel) provided that the PDC source is placed in between Alice and Bob. After considering statistical fluctuations, the PDC setup can tolerate up to 53 dB channel losses

Sources of Information as Determinants of Product and Process Innovation

OpenAIRE

G?mez, Jaime; Salazar, Idana; Vargas, Pilar

2016-01-01

In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities) to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are ...

Encryption of covert information into multiple statistical distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatesan, R.C.

2007-01-01

A novel strategy to encrypt covert information (code) via unitary projections into the null spaces of ill-conditioned eigenstructures of multiple host statistical distributions, inferred from incomplete constraints, is presented. The host pdf's are inferred using the maximum entropy principle. The projection of the covert information is dependent upon the pdf's of the host statistical distributions. The security of the encryption/decryption strategy is based on the extreme instability of the encoding process. A self-consistent procedure to derive keys for both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography is presented. The advantages of using a multiple pdf model to achieve encryption of covert information are briefly highlighted. Numerical simulations exemplify the efficacy of the model

The Integration of Renewable Energy Sources into Electric Power Distribution Systems, Vol. II Utility Case Assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zaininger, H.W.

1994-01-01

Electric utility distribution system impacts associated with the integration of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines (WT) are considered in this project. The impacts are expected to vary from site to site according to the following characteristics: the local solar insolation and/or wind characteristics, renewable energy source penetration level, whether battery or other energy storage systems are applied, and local utility distribution design standards and planning practices. Small, distributed renewable energy sources are connected to the utility distribution system like other, similar kW- and MW-scale equipment and loads. Residential applications are expected to be connected to single-phase 120/240-V secondaries. Larger kW-scale applications may be connected to three+phase secondaries, and larger hundred-kW and y-scale applications, such as MW-scale windfarms, or PV plants, may be connected to electric utility primary systems via customer-owned primary and secondary collection systems. In any case, the installation of small, distributed renewable energy sources is expected to have a significant impact on local utility distribution primary and secondary system economics. Small, distributed renewable energy sources installed on utility distribution systems will also produce nonsite-specific utility generation system benefits such as energy and capacity displacement benefits, in addition to the local site-specific distribution system benefits. Although generation system benefits are not site-specific, they are utility-specific, and they vary significantly among utilities in different regions. In addition, transmission system benefits, environmental benefits and other benefits may apply. These benefits also vary significantly among utilities and regions. Seven utility case studies considering PV, WT, and battery storage were conducted to identify a range of potential renewable energy source distribution system applications. The

Information system for personnel work distribution in Kaunas Maironis gymnasium

OpenAIRE

Ivanauskaitė, Eglė

2005-01-01

This information technology master degree work. In this work it is made research of the task of teacher's work distribution acording to schoolchildren's individual studying plans. In this work it it analyzed the process of teacher's work distribution and their information needs. This information system was created in MS Visio surroundings and realized with MS SQL Server and VBA implements.

Information Source Characteristics and Environmental Scanning by Academic Library Managers

Science.gov (United States)

Babalhavaeji, Fahimeh; Farhadpoor, Mohammad Reza

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article examines characteristics of the external environment of library and information centres of Islamic Azad University in Iran, focusing on perceived environmental uncertainty and perceived source accessibility and quality, and their impacts on the amount of scanning and the frequency of information source use. Methods: This…

Multiple information sources and consequences of conflicting information about medicine use during pregnancy: a multinational Internet-based survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hämeen-Anttila, Katri; Nordeng, Hedvig; Kokki, Esa; Jyrkkä, Johanna; Lupattelli, Angela; Vainio, Kirsti; Enlund, Hannes

2014-02-20

A wide variety of information sources on medicines is available for pregnant women. When using multiple information sources, there is the risk that information will vary or even conflict. The objective of this multinational study was to analyze the extent to which pregnant women use multiple information sources and the consequences of conflicting information, and to investigate which maternal sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical factors were associated with these objectives. An anonymous Internet-based questionnaire was made accessible during a period of 2 months, on 1 to 4 Internet websites used by pregnant women in 5 regions (Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Americas, Australia). A total of 7092 responses were obtained (n=5090 pregnant women; n=2002 women with a child younger than 25 weeks). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used. Of the respondents who stated that they needed information, 16.16% (655/4054) used one information source and 83.69% (3393/4054) used multiple information sources. Of respondents who used more than one information source, 22.62% (759/3355) stated that the information was conflicted. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors significantly associated with experiencing conflict in medicine information included being a mother (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.11-1.58), having university (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.09-1.63) or other education (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.09-2.03), residing in Eastern Europe (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.22-1.89) or Australia (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.42-3.67), use of 3 (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04-1.60) or >4 information sources (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.49-2.23), and having ≥2 chronic diseases (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.18-1.89). Because of conflicting information, 43.61% (331/759) decided not to use medication during pregnancy, 30.30% (230/759) sought a new information source, 32.67% (248/759) chose to rely on one source and ignore the conflicting one, 25.03% (190/759) became anxious, and 2.64% (20/759) did

Information Sources and Awareness of Climate Change by Citrus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. MADUKWE

to their production. The study therefore examines the various sources of information available to farmers on climate change and their level of awareness. .... Source of Financial Capital. Bank loan. 8.1. Coop loan. 21.1. Self financed. 60.2. Mode=Self financed. Friends and Relations. 10.5. Source: Field survey, 2011.

Searching Malware and Sources of Its Distribution in the Internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. L. Protsenko

2011-09-01

Full Text Available In the article is considered for the first time developed by the author algorithm of searching malware and sources of its distribution, based on published HijackThis logs in the Internet.

Distributed Information System for Dynamic Ocean Data in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Laia; Sala, Joan; Polo, Isabel; Cases, Oscar; López, Alejandro; Jolibois, Tony; Carbou, Jérome

2014-05-01

Information systems are widely used to enable access to scientific data by different user communities. MyOcean information system is a good example of such applications in Europe. The present work describes a specific distributed information system for Ocean Numerical Model (ONM) data in the scope of the INDESO project, a project focused on Infrastructure Development of Space Oceanography in Indonesia. INDESO, as part of the Blue Revolution policy conducted by the Indonesian government for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture, presents challenging service requirements in terms of services performance, reliability, security and overall usability. Following state-of-the-art technologies on scientific data networks, this robust information system provides a high level of interoperability of services to discover, view and access INDESO dynamic ONM scientific data. The entire system is automatically updated four times a day, including dataset metadata, taking into account every new file available in the data repositories. The INDESO system architecture has been designed in great part around the extension and integration of open-source flexible and mature technologies. It involves three separate modules: web portal, dissemination gateway, and user administration. Supporting different gridded and non-gridded data, the INDESO information system features search-based data discovery, data access by temporal and spatial subset extraction, direct download and ftp, and multiple-layer visualization of datasets. A complex authorization system has been designed and applied throughout all components, in order to enable services authorization at dataset level, according to the different user profiles stated in the data policy. Finally, a web portal has been developed as the single entry point and standardized interface to all data services (discover, view, and access). Apache SOLR has been implemented as the search server, allowing faceted browsing among ocean

The occurrence and distribution of a group of organic micropollutants in Mexico City's water sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Félix-Cañedo, Thania E; Durán-Álvarez, Juan C; Jiménez-Cisneros, Blanca

2013-06-01

The occurrence and distribution of a group of 17 organic micropollutants in surface and groundwater sources from Mexico City was determined. Water samples were taken from 7 wells, 4 dams and 15 tanks where surface and groundwater are mixed and stored before distribution. Results evidenced the occurrence of seven of the target compounds in groundwater: salicylic acid, diclofenac, di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), butylbenzylphthalate (BBP), triclosan, bisphenol A (BPA) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP). In surface water, 11 target pollutants were detected: same found in groundwater as well as naproxen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen and gemfibrozil. In groundwater, concentration ranges of salicylic acid, 4-NP and DEHP, the most frequently found compounds, were 1-464, 1-47 and 19-232 ng/L, respectively; while in surface water, these ranges were 29-309, 89-655 and 75-2,282 ng/L, respectively. Eleven target compounds were detected in mixed water. Concentrations in mixed water were higher than those determined in groundwater but lower than the detected in surface water. Different to that found in ground and surface water, the pesticide 2,4-D was found in mixed water, indicating that some pollutants can reach areas where they are not originally present in the local water sources. Concentration of the organic micropollutants found in this study showed similar to lower to those reported in water sources from developed countries. This study provides information that enriches the state of the art on the occurrence of organic micropollutants in water sources worldwide, notably in megacities of developing countries. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Statistical measurement of the gamma-ray source-count distribution as a function of energy

Science.gov (United States)

Zechlin, H.-S.; Cuoco, A.; Donato, F.; Fornengo, N.; Regis, M.

2017-01-01

Photon counts statistics have recently been proven to provide a sensitive observable for characterizing gamma-ray source populations and for measuring the composition of the gamma-ray sky. In this work, we generalize the use of the standard 1-point probability distribution function (1pPDF) to decompose the high-latitude gamma-ray emission observed with Fermi-LAT into: (i) point-source contributions, (ii) the Galactic foreground contribution, and (iii) a diffuse isotropic background contribution. We analyze gamma-ray data in five adjacent energy bands between 1 and 171 GeV. We measure the source-count distribution dN/dS as a function of energy, and demonstrate that our results extend current measurements from source catalogs to the regime of so far undetected sources. Our method improves the sensitivity for resolving point-source populations by about one order of magnitude in flux. The dN/dS distribution as a function of flux is found to be compatible with a broken power law. We derive upper limits on further possible breaks as well as the angular power of unresolved sources. We discuss the composition of the gamma-ray sky and capabilities of the 1pPDF method.

Reflections on the role of open source in health information system interoperability.

Science.gov (United States)

Sfakianakis, S; Chronaki, C E; Chiarugi, F; Conforti, F; Katehakis, D G

2007-01-01

This paper reflects on the role of open source in health information system interoperability. Open source is a driving force in computer science research and the development of information systems. It facilitates the sharing of information and ideas, enables evolutionary development and open collaborative testing of code, and broadens the adoption of interoperability standards. In health care, information systems have been developed largely ad hoc following proprietary specifications and customized design. However, the wide deployment of integrated services such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs) over regional health information networks (RHINs) relies on interoperability of the underlying information systems and medical devices. This reflection is built on the experiences of the PICNIC project that developed shared software infrastructure components in open source for RHINs and the OpenECG network that offers open source components to lower the implementation cost of interoperability standards such as SCP-ECG, in electrocardiography. Open source components implementing standards and a community providing feedback from real-world use are key enablers of health care information system interoperability. Investing in open source is investing in interoperability and a vital aspect of a long term strategy towards comprehensive health services and clinical research.

Gestational weight gain information: seeking and sources among pregnant women

OpenAIRE

Willcox, Jane C.; Campbell, Karen J.; McCarthy, Elizabeth A.; Lappas, Martha; Ball, Kylie; Crawford, David; Shub, Alexis; Wilkinson, Shelley A.

2015-01-01

Background Promoting healthy gestational weight gain (GWG) is important for preventing obstetric and perinatal morbidity, along with obesity in both mother and child. Provision of GWG guidelines by health professionals predicts women meeting GWG guidelines. Research concerning women?s GWG information sources is limited. This study assessed pregnant women?s sources of GWG information and how, where and which women seek GWG information. Methods Consecutive women (n?=?1032) received a mailed que...

Source of Sex Information and Condom Use Intention among Latino Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Eversole, Jillian S.; Berglas, Nancy F.; Deardorff, Julianna; Constantine, Norman A.

2017-01-01

Adolescence is a common time for sexual initiation and information seeking about sexual health, yet little is known about how adolescents' sources of information about sex influence their sexual beliefs and behaviors. This is particularly true for Latino adolescents, whose sources of sex information and sexual behaviors are vastly understudied. A…

Resident physicians as human information systems: sources yet seekers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Ellen J; DeVoge, Justin Michael; Waggoner-Fountain, Linda A; Borowitz, Stephen M

2013-01-01

To characterize question types that residents received on overnight shifts and what information sources were used to answer them. Across 30 overnight shifts, questions asked of on-call senior residents, question askers' roles, and residents' responses were documented. External sources were noted. 158 of 397 questions (39.8%) related to the plan of care, 53 (13.4%) to medical knowledge, 48 (12.1%) to taskwork knowledge, and 44 (11.1%) to the current condition of patients. For 351 (88.4%) questions residents provided specific, direct answers or visited the patient. For 16 of these, residents modeled or completed the task. For 216 questions, residents used previous knowledge or their own clinical judgment. Residents solicited external information sources for 118 questions and only a single source for 77 (65.3%) of them. For the 118, most questions concerned either the plan of care or the patient's current condition and were asked by interns and nurses (those with direct patient care responsibilities). Resident physicians serve as an information system and they often specifically answer the question using previous knowledge or their own clinical judgment, suggesting that askers are contacting an appropriately knowledgeable person. However, they do need to access patient information such as the plan of care. They also serve an educator role and answer many knowledge-related questions. As synchronous verbal communications continue to be important pathways for information flow, informaticians need to consider the relationship between such communications and workflow in the development of healthcare support tools.

Finding a minimally informative Dirichlet prior distribution using least squares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, Dana; Atwood, Corwin

2011-01-01

In a Bayesian framework, the Dirichlet distribution is the conjugate distribution to the multinomial likelihood function, and so the analyst is required to develop a Dirichlet prior that incorporates available information. However, as it is a multiparameter distribution, choosing the Dirichlet parameters is less straightforward than choosing a prior distribution for a single parameter, such as p in the binomial distribution. In particular, one may wish to incorporate limited information into the prior, resulting in a minimally informative prior distribution that is responsive to updates with sparse data. In the case of binomial p or Poisson λ, the principle of maximum entropy can be employed to obtain a so-called constrained noninformative prior. However, even in the case of p, such a distribution cannot be written down in the form of a standard distribution (e.g., beta, gamma), and so a beta distribution is used as an approximation in the case of p. In the case of the multinomial model with parametric constraints, the approach of maximum entropy does not appear tractable. This paper presents an alternative approach, based on constrained minimization of a least-squares objective function, which leads to a minimally informative Dirichlet prior distribution. The alpha-factor model for common-cause failure, which is widely used in the United States, is the motivation for this approach, and is used to illustrate the method. In this approach to modeling common-cause failure, the alpha-factors, which are the parameters in the underlying multinomial model for common-cause failure, must be estimated from data that are often quite sparse, because common-cause failures tend to be rare, especially failures of more than two or three components, and so a prior distribution that is responsive to updates with sparse data is needed.

Information Sources and Retirement Savings of Working Women

Science.gov (United States)

Hsua, Chungwen

2016-01-01

This study examined how retirement planning information search was related to retirement savings of working women. By controlling for sociodemographic variables, the study further explored factors associated with individual information sources for retirement planning. An online survey was developed to collect data from a national population,…

Free and Open Source Management Information Systems and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

What is the impact of introducing an automated management information system within a microfinance institution or savings and credit cooperative on the employees, the clients and the business processes? The project will involve deployment of an open source management information system (Mifos Vanilla) in two ...

Sources of product information used by consumers when purchasing kitchen cabinets.

Science.gov (United States)

Geoffrey H. Donovan; David L. Nicholls; Joseph. Roos

2004-01-01

Survey data from home shows in Seattle, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska were used to determine the sources of product information used by consumers when buying kitchen cabinets. Results show that in-store sales staff are the most common source of product information, and that consumers' favorite wood species, age, and gender can influence the source of product...

Geotechnical parameter spatial distribution stochastic analysis based on multi-precision information assimilation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C.; Rubin, Y.

2014-12-01

Spatial distribution of important geotechnical parameter named compression modulus Es contributes considerably to the understanding of the underlying geological processes and the adequate assessment of the Es mechanics effects for differential settlement of large continuous structure foundation. These analyses should be derived using an assimilating approach that combines in-situ static cone penetration test (CPT) with borehole experiments. To achieve such a task, the Es distribution of stratum of silty clay in region A of China Expo Center (Shanghai) is studied using the Bayesian-maximum entropy method. This method integrates rigorously and efficiently multi-precision of different geotechnical investigations and sources of uncertainty. Single CPT samplings were modeled as a rational probability density curve by maximum entropy theory. Spatial prior multivariate probability density function (PDF) and likelihood PDF of the CPT positions were built by borehole experiments and the potential value of the prediction point, then, preceding numerical integration on the CPT probability density curves, the posterior probability density curve of the prediction point would be calculated by the Bayesian reverse interpolation framework. The results were compared between Gaussian Sequential Stochastic Simulation and Bayesian methods. The differences were also discussed between single CPT samplings of normal distribution and simulated probability density curve based on maximum entropy theory. It is shown that the study of Es spatial distributions can be improved by properly incorporating CPT sampling variation into interpolation process, whereas more informative estimations are generated by considering CPT Uncertainty for the estimation points. Calculation illustrates the significance of stochastic Es characterization in a stratum, and identifies limitations associated with inadequate geostatistical interpolation techniques. This characterization results will provide a multi

Distributed quantum computing with single photon sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beige, A.; Kwek, L.C.

2005-01-01

Full text: Distributed quantum computing requires the ability to perform nonlocal gate operations between the distant nodes (stationary qubits) of a large network. To achieve this, it has been proposed to interconvert stationary qubits with flying qubits. In contrast to this, we show that distributed quantum computing only requires the ability to encode stationary qubits into flying qubits but not the conversion of flying qubits into stationary qubits. We describe a scheme for the realization of an eventually deterministic controlled phase gate by performing measurements on pairs of flying qubits. Our scheme could be implemented with a linear optics quantum computing setup including sources for the generation of single photons on demand, linear optics elements and photon detectors. In the presence of photon loss and finite detector efficiencies, the scheme could be used to build large cluster states for one way quantum computing with a high fidelity. (author)

On distribution reduction and algorithm implementation in inconsistent ordered information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yanqin

2014-01-01

As one part of our work in ordered information systems, distribution reduction is studied in inconsistent ordered information systems (OISs). Some important properties on distribution reduction are studied and discussed. The dominance matrix is restated for reduction acquisition in dominance relations based information systems. Matrix algorithm for distribution reduction acquisition is stepped. And program is implemented by the algorithm. The approach provides an effective tool for the theoretical research and the applications for ordered information systems in practices. For more detailed and valid illustrations, cases are employed to explain and verify the algorithm and the program which shows the effectiveness of the algorithm in complicated information systems.

DIGI-vis: Distributed interactive geospatial information visualization

KAUST Repository

Ponto, Kevin

2010-03-01

Geospatial information systems provide an abundance of information for researchers and scientists. Unfortunately this type of data can usually only be analyzed a few megapixels at a time, giving researchers a very narrow view into these voluminous data sets. We propose a distributed data gathering and visualization system that allows researchers to view these data at hundreds of megapixels simultaneously. This system allows scientists to view real-time geospatial information at unprecedented levels expediting analysis, interrogation, and discovery. ©2010 IEEE.

An efficient CDMA decoder for correlated information sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Efraim, Hadar; Yacov, Nadav; Kanter, Ido; Shental, Ori

2009-01-01

We consider the detection of correlated information sources in the ubiquitous code-division multiple-access (CDMA) scheme. We propose a message-passing based scheme for detecting correlated sources directly, with no need for source coding. The detection is done simultaneously over a block of transmitted binary symbols (word). Simulation results are provided, demonstrating a substantial improvement in bit error rate in comparison with the unmodified detector and the alternative of source compression. The robustness of the error-performance improvement is shown under practical model settings, including wrong estimation of the generating Markov transition matrix and finite-length spreading codes

Open Source, Open Standards, and Health Care Information Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Recognition of the improvements in patient safety, quality of patient care, and efficiency that health care information systems have the potential to bring has led to significant investment. Globally the sale of health care information systems now represents a multibillion dollar industry. As policy makers, health care professionals, and patients, we have a responsibility to maximize the return on this investment. To this end we analyze alternative licensing and software development models, as well as the role of standards. We describe how licensing affects development. We argue for the superiority of open source licensing to promote safer, more effective health care information systems. We claim that open source licensing in health care information systems is essential to rational procurement strategy. PMID:21447469

Information sources in biomedical science and medical journalism: methodological approaches and assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, Giovanna F; Vercellesi, Luisa; Bruno, Flavia

2004-09-01

Throughout the world the public is showing increasing interest in medical and scientific subjects and journalists largely spread this information, with an important impact on knowledge and health. Clearly, therefore, the relationship between the journalist and his sources is delicate: freedom and independence of information depend on the independence and truthfulness of the sources. The new "precision journalism" holds that scientific methods should be applied to journalism, so authoritative sources are a common need for journalists and scientists. We therefore compared the individual classifications and methods of assessing of sources in biomedical science and medical journalism to try to extrapolate scientific methods of evaluation to journalism. In journalism and science terms used to classify sources of information show some similarities, but their meanings are different. In science primary and secondary classes of information, for instance, refer to the levels of processing, but in journalism to the official nature of the source itself. Scientists and journalists must both always consult as many sources as possible and check their authoritativeness, reliability, completeness, up-to-dateness and balance. In journalism, however, there are some important differences and limits: too many sources can sometimes diminish the quality of the information. The sources serve a first filter between the event and the journalist, who is not providing the reader with the fact, but with its projection. Journalists have time constraints and lack the objective criteria for searching, the specific background knowledge, and the expertise to fully assess sources. To assist in understanding the wealth of sources of information in journalism, we have prepared a checklist of items and questions. There are at least four fundamental points that a good journalist, like any scientist, should know: how to find the latest information (the sources), how to assess it (the quality and

CMP reflection imaging via interferometry of distributed subsurface sources

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, D.; Brown, L. D.; Quiros, D. A.

2015-12-01

The theoretical foundations of recovering body wave energy via seismic interferometry are well established. However in practice, such recovery remains problematic. Here, synthetic seismograms computed for subsurface sources are used to evaluate the geometrical combinations of realistic ambient source and receiver distributions that result in useful recovery of virtual body waves. This study illustrates how surface receiver arrays that span a limited distribution suite of sources, can be processed to reproduce virtual shot gathers that result in CMP gathers which can be effectively stacked with traditional normal moveout corrections. To verify the feasibility of the approach in practice, seismic recordings of 50 aftershocks following the magnitude of 5.8 Virginia earthquake occurred in August, 2011 have been processed using seismic interferometry to produce seismic reflection images of the crustal structure above and beneath the aftershock cluster. Although monotonic noise proved to be problematic by significantly reducing the number of usable recordings, the edited dataset resulted in stacked seismic sections characterized by coherent reflections that resemble those seen on a nearby conventional reflection survey. In particular, "virtual" reflections at travel times of 3 to 4 seconds suggest reflector sat approximately 7 to 12 km depth that would seem to correspond to imbricate thrust structures formed during the Appalachian orogeny. The approach described here represents a promising new means of body wave imaging of 3D structure that can be applied to a wide array of geologic and energy problems. Unlike other imaging techniques using natural sources, this technique does not require precise source locations or times. It can thus exploit aftershocks too small for conventional analyses. This method can be applied to any type of microseismic cloud, whether tectonic, volcanic or man-made.

Study on upgrade on nuclear control related open source information website

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, H. T.; Park, S. S.; Park, W. S.; Choi, Y. M.

2002-01-01

The open source information relevant to the nuclear control is regularly collected, analyzed, and published to the three web sites by the Technology Center for Nuclear Control (TCNC) of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). These web sites are world-wide, KAERI-wide, and TCNC-wide, respectively. We are to upgrade the KAERI-wide website to the access-controlled world-wide web site with some additional functionality. In this research, the current status of the three nuclear control related open source information websites managed by the TCNC was introduced and methods for upgrading the KAERI-wide open source information website and associated information security technology were reviewed

Feedback data sources that inform physician self-assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockyer, Jocelyn; Armson, Heather; Chesluk, Benjamin; Dornan, Timothy; Holmboe, Eric; Loney, Elaine; Mann, Karen; Sargeant, Joan

2011-01-01

Self-assessment is a process of interpreting data about one's performance and comparing it to explicit or implicit standards. To examine the external data sources physicians used to monitor themselves. Focus groups were conducted with physicians who participated in three practice improvement activities: a multisource feedback program; a program providing patient and chart audit data; and practice-based learning groups. We used grounded theory strategies to understand the external sources that stimulated self-assessment and how they worked. Data from seven focus groups (49 physicians) were analyzed. Physicians used information from structured programs, other educational activities, professional colleagues, and patients. Data were of varying quality, often from non-formal sources with implicit (not explicit) standards. Mandatory programs elicited variable responses, whereas data and activities the physicians selected themselves were more likely to be accepted. Physicians used the information to create a reference point against which they could weigh their performance using it variably depending on their personal interpretation of its accuracy, application, and utility. Physicians use and interpret data and standards of varying quality to inform self-assessment. Physicians may benefit from regular and routine feedback and guidance on how to seek out data for self-assessment.

Pure sources and efficient detectors for optical quantum information processing

Science.gov (United States)

Zielnicki, Kevin

Over the last sixty years, classical information theory has revolutionized the understanding of the nature of information, and how it can be quantified and manipulated. Quantum information processing extends these lessons to quantum systems, where the properties of intrinsic uncertainty and entanglement fundamentally defy classical explanation. This growing field has many potential applications, including computing, cryptography, communication, and metrology. As inherently mobile quantum particles, photons are likely to play an important role in any mature large-scale quantum information processing system. However, the available methods for producing and detecting complex multi-photon states place practical limits on the feasibility of sophisticated optical quantum information processing experiments. In a typical quantum information protocol, a source first produces an interesting or useful quantum state (or set of states), perhaps involving superposition or entanglement. Then, some manipulations are performed on this state, perhaps involving quantum logic gates which further manipulate or entangle the intial state. Finally, the state must be detected, obtaining some desired measurement result, e.g., for secure communication or computationally efficient factoring. The work presented here concerns the first and last stages of this process as they relate to photons: sources and detectors. Our work on sources is based on the need for optimized non-classical states of light delivered at high rates, particularly of single photons in a pure quantum state. We seek to better understand the properties of spontaneous parameteric downconversion (SPDC) sources of photon pairs, and in doing so, produce such an optimized source. We report an SPDC source which produces pure heralded single photons with little or no spectral filtering, allowing a significant rate enhancement. Our work on detectors is based on the need to reliably measure single-photon states. We have focused on

Effectiveness of YouTube as a Source of Medical Information on Heart Transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, He-Ming; Hu, Zhong-Kai; Zheng, Xiao-Lin; Yuan, Zhao-Shun; Xu, Zhao-Bin; Yuan, Ling-Qing; Perez, Vinicio A De Jesus; Yuan, Ke; Orcholski, Mark; Liao, Xiao-Bo

2013-11-21

In this digital era, there is a growing tendency to use the popular Internet site YouTube as a new electronic-learning (e-learning) means for continuing medical education. Heart transplantation (HTx) remains the most viable option for patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. There are plenty of freely accessible YouTube videos providing medical information about HTx. The aim of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of YouTube as an e-learning source on HTx. In order to carry out this study, YouTube was searched for videos uploaded containing surgical-related information using the four keywords: (1) "heart transplantation", (2) "cardiac transplantation", (3) "heart transplantation operation", and (4) "cardiac transplantation operation". Only videos in English (with comments or subtitles in English language) were included. Two experienced cardiac surgeons watched each video (N=1800) and classified them as useful, misleading, or recipients videos based on the HTx-relevant information. The kappa statistic was used to measure interobserver variability. Data was analyzed according to six types of YouTube characteristics including "total viewership", "duration", "source", "days since upload", "scores" given by the viewers, and specialized information contents of the videos. A total of 342/1800 (19.00%) videos had relevant information about HTx. Of these 342 videos, 215 (62.8%) videos had useful information about specialized knowledge, 7/342 (2.0%) were found to be misleading, and 120/342 (35.1%) only concerned recipients' individual issues. Useful videos had 56.09% of total viewership share (2,175,845/3,878,890), whereas misleading had 35.47% (1,375,673/3,878,890). Independent user channel videos accounted for a smaller proportion (19% in total numbers) but might have a wider impact on Web viewers, with the highest mean views/day (mean 39, SD 107) among four kinds of channels to distribute HTx-related information. You

Finding a Minimally Informative Dirichlet Prior Distribution Using Least Squares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, Dana; Atwood, Corwin

2011-01-01

In a Bayesian framework, the Dirichlet distribution is the conjugate distribution to the multinomial likelihood function, and so the analyst is required to develop a Dirichlet prior that incorporates available information. However, as it is a multiparameter distribution, choosing the Dirichlet parameters is less straight-forward than choosing a prior distribution for a single parameter, such as p in the binomial distribution. In particular, one may wish to incorporate limited information into the prior, resulting in a minimally informative prior distribution that is responsive to updates with sparse data. In the case of binomial p or Poisson, the principle of maximum entropy can be employed to obtain a so-called constrained noninformative prior. However, even in the case of p, such a distribution cannot be written down in closed form, and so an approximate beta distribution is used in the case of p. In the case of the multinomial model with parametric constraints, the approach of maximum entropy does not appear tractable. This paper presents an alternative approach, based on constrained minimization of a least-squares objective function, which leads to a minimally informative Dirichlet prior distribution. The alpha-factor model for common-cause failure, which is widely used in the United States, is the motivation for this approach, and is used to illustrate the method. In this approach to modeling common-cause failure, the alpha-factors, which are the parameters in the underlying multinomial aleatory model for common-cause failure, must be estimated from data that is often quite sparse, because common-cause failures tend to be rare, especially failures of more than two or three components, and so a prior distribution that is responsive to updates with sparse data is needed.

Scientific and technical information as a source for IAEA safeguards state evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barletta, M.; Feldman, Y.; Ferguson, M. [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

2014-07-01

The IAEA Department of Safeguards is continually working to refine its methodologies and procedures for the analysis of information relevant to the evaluation of the nuclear fuel cycle in States that have safeguards agreements with the IAEA. This analysis is required to achieve an understanding of States' nuclear-related activities against which a State's declarations are evaluated for correctness as well as completeness, and to provide credible assurances on the peaceful uses of nuclear material in the State. To achieve this end, diversification of sources and comparison for consistency among available information is essential to ensure an accurate assessment of a State's nuclear activities. Open sources of information on scientific and technical (S&T) developments and research provide the Department of Safeguards with an enhanced basis to evaluate the technical capabilities of States. These information sources are regularly and systematically assessed to provide information about industrial capabilities, patenting activities and research and development activities in States as reflected through published scientific and technical literature. Using such sources, in addition to other, long-established safeguards information sources, helps the IAEA to draw soundly-based safeguards conclusions. The utility of this category of information in terms of the State evaluation process lies primarily in the comparison with other sources of information, especially State-declared information, and in the assessment of consistency of all safeguards-relevant information regarding nuclear fuel cycle technologies and activities in a State. The current paper aims to describe the use of S&T literature, how information from different sources is consolidated, how it is analysed and how it contributes in the overall process of State evaluation in the IAEA Department of Safeguards. (author)

Distributed chemical computing using ChemStar: an open source java remote method invocation architecture applied to large scale molecular data from PubChem.

Science.gov (United States)

Karthikeyan, M; Krishnan, S; Pandey, Anil Kumar; Bender, Andreas; Tropsha, Alexander

2008-04-01

We present the application of a Java remote method invocation (RMI) based open source architecture to distributed chemical computing. This architecture was previously employed for distributed data harvesting of chemical information from the Internet via the Google application programming interface (API; ChemXtreme). Due to its open source character and its flexibility, the underlying server/client framework can be quickly adopted to virtually every computational task that can be parallelized. Here, we present the server/client communication framework as well as an application to distributed computing of chemical properties on a large scale (currently the size of PubChem; about 18 million compounds), using both the Marvin toolkit as well as the open source JOELib package. As an application, for this set of compounds, the agreement of log P and TPSA between the packages was compared. Outliers were found to be mostly non-druglike compounds and differences could usually be explained by differences in the underlying algorithms. ChemStar is the first open source distributed chemical computing environment built on Java RMI, which is also easily adaptable to user demands due to its "plug-in architecture". The complete source codes as well as calculated properties along with links to PubChem resources are available on the Internet via a graphical user interface at http://moltable.ncl.res.in/chemstar/.

Smokers' sources of e-cigarette awareness and risk information.

Science.gov (United States)

Wackowski, Olivia A; Bover Manderski, Michelle T; Delnevo, Cristine D

Few studies have explored sources of e-cigarette awareness and peoples' e-cigarette information needs, interests or behaviors. This study contributes to both domains of e-cigarette research. Results are based on a 2014 e-cigarette focused survey of 519 current smokers from a nationally representative research panel. Smokers most frequently reported seeing e-cigarettes in stores (86.4%) and used in person (83%). Many (73%) had also heard about e-cigarettes from known users, broadcast media ads (68%), other (print, online) advertisements (71.5%), and/or from the news (60.9%); sources of awareness varied by e-cigarette experience. Most smokers (59.9%) believed e-cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, a belief attributed to "common sense" (76.4%), the news (39.2%) and advertisements (37.2%). However, 79.5% felt e-cigarette safety information was important. Over one-third said they would turn to a doctor first for e-cigarette safety information, though almost a quarter said they would turn to the Internet or product packaging first. Most (59.6%) ranked doctors as the most trustworthy risk source, and 6.8% had asked a health professional about e-cigarettes. Future research should explore the content of e-cigarette information sources, their potential impact, and ways they might be strengthened or changed through regulatory and/or educational efforts.

Lessons learned from a pilot implementation of the UMLS information sources map.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, P L; Frawley, S J; Wright, L; Roderer, N K; Powsner, S M

1995-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To explore the software design issues involved in implementing an operational information sources map (ISM) knowledge base (KB) and system of navigational tools that can help medical users access network-based information sources relevant to a biomedical question. DESIGN: A pilot biomedical ISM KB and associated client-server software (ISM/Explorer) have been developed to help students, clinicians, researchers, and staff access network-based information sources, as part of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) multi-institutional Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project. The system allows the user to specify and constrain a search for a biomedical question of interest. The system then returns a list of sources matching the search. At this point the user may request 1) further information about a source, 2) that the list of sources be regrouped by different criteria to allow the user to get a better overall appreciation of the set of retrieved sources as a whole, or 3) automatic connection to a source. RESULTS: The pilot system operates in client-server mode and currently contains coded information for 121 sources. It is in routine use from approximately 40 workstations at the Yale School of Medicine. The lessons that have been learned are that: 1) it is important to make access to different versions of a source as seamless as possible, 2) achieving seamless, cross-platform access to heterogeneous sources is difficult, 3) significant differences exist between coding the subject content of an electronic information resource versus that of an article or a book, 4) customizing the ISM to multiple institutions entails significant complexities, and 5) there are many design trade-offs between specifying searches and viewing sets of retrieved sources that must be taken into consideration. CONCLUSION: An ISM KB and navigational tools have been constructed. In the process, much has been learned about the complexities of development and evaluation in this

Lessons learned from a pilot implementation of the UMLS information sources map.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, P L; Frawley, S J; Wright, L; Roderer, N K; Powsner, S M

1995-01-01

To explore the software design issues involved in implementing an operational information sources map (ISM) knowledge base (KB) and system of navigational tools that can help medical users access network-based information sources relevant to a biomedical question. A pilot biomedical ISM KB and associated client-server software (ISM/Explorer) have been developed to help students, clinicians, researchers, and staff access network-based information sources, as part of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) multi-institutional Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) project. The system allows the user to specify and constrain a search for a biomedical question of interest. The system then returns a list of sources matching the search. At this point the user may request 1) further information about a source, 2) that the list of sources be regrouped by different criteria to allow the user to get a better overall appreciation of the set of retrieved sources as a whole, or 3) automatic connection to a source. The pilot system operates in client-server mode and currently contains coded information for 121 sources. It is in routine use from approximately 40 workstations at the Yale School of Medicine. The lessons that have been learned are that: 1) it is important to make access to different versions of a source as seamless as possible, 2) achieving seamless, cross-platform access to heterogeneous sources is difficult, 3) significant differences exist between coding the subject content of an electronic information resource versus that of an article or a book, 4) customizing the ISM to multiple institutions entails significant complexities, and 5) there are many design trade-offs between specifying searches and viewing sets of retrieved sources that must be taken into consideration. An ISM KB and navigational tools have been constructed. In the process, much has been learned about the complexities of development and evaluation in this new environment, which are different

Information sources used by parents to learn about medications they are giving their children.

Science.gov (United States)

Holappa, Miina; Ahonen, Riitta; Vainio, Kirsti; Hämeen-Anttila, Katri

2012-01-01

Previous studies have indicated the use of medication by children to be dependent on the attitudes of knowledge of their parents; however, little is known about sources parents might use in driving medication use decisions. The aim of this study was to describe the information sources that parents use regarding their children's medication and their perceptions of the reliability of these information sources. This study is part of a cross-sectional population survey with a random sample of 6000 children younger than 12 years. The response rate of the questionnaire was 67%. Parents were asked about the use of information sources and their perception of reliability with a list of 16 information sources. The information sources that parents reported having used were physicians (72%), patient information leaflets (PILs) (67%), public or school health nurses (52%), and pharmacists (44%). Regardless of the child's age, physicians were the parents' most-used information source. Physicians were the most-used information source also when the child had at least 1 of the 4 most common long-term diseases among children in Finland (asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis). Parents considered physicians (50%), PILs (31%), pharmacists (27%), nurses (20%), and public or school health nurses (17%) very reliable information sources. Finnish parents seek information from health care professionals and PILs when looking for information concerning their children's medication. Furthermore, they find health care professionals and PILs to be reliable information sources. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Appendix B: Fisher, lynx, wolverine summary of distribution information

Science.gov (United States)

Mary Maj

1994-01-01

We present maps depicting distributions of fisher, lynx, and wolverine in the western United States since 1961. Comparison of past and current distributions of species can shed light on population persistence, periods of population isolation, meta-population structure, and important connecting landscapes. Information on the distribution of the American marten is not...

Distribution of Information in Ad Hoc Networks

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hassine, Wijden B

2007-01-01

.... This work contributes to this study in two specific ways. First, it provides a mathematical model that deals with the best possible site of information source nodes in a graph of infinite density...

Saudis trust and confidence in information sources about chemical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AJL

To communicate information on chemical pollution health risks effectively, policy makers must know .... opinions, and perception of environmental health risks,. (ii) know their .... information on health risks from multiple sources. Similarly when ...

Incorporation prior belief in the general path model: A comparison of information sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coble, Jamie; Hines, Wesley

2014-01-01

The general path model (GPM) is one approach for performing degradation-based, or Type III, prognostics. The GPM fits a parametric function to the collected observations of a prognostic parameter and extrapolates the fit to a failure threshold. This approach has been successfully applied to a variety of systems when a sufficient number of prognostic parameter observations are available. However, the parametric fit can suffer significantly when few data are available or the data are very noisy. In these instances, it is beneficial to include additional information to influence the fit to conform to a prior belief about the evolution of system degradation. Bayesian statistical approaches have been proposed to include prior information in the form of distributions of expected model parameters. This requires a number of run-to-failure cases with tracked prognostic parameters; these data may not be readily available for many systems. Reliability information and stressor-based (Type I and Type II, respectively) prognostic estimates can provide the necessary prior belief for the GPM. This article presents the Bayesian updating framework to include prior information in the GPM and compares the efficacy of including different information sources on two data sets.

Informal workshop on intense polarized ion sources: a summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, P.F.

1980-01-01

An Informal Workshop on Intense Polarized Ion Sources was held on March 6, 1980, at the O'Hare Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the Workshop was to discuss problems in developing higher-intensity polarized proton sources, particularly the optically-pumped source recently proposed by L.W. Anderson of the University of Wisconsin. A summary of the discussions is reported

A New Method for the 2D DOA Estimation of Coherently Distributed Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Zhou

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to develop a new technique for estimating the two- dimensional (2D direction-of-arrivals (DOAs of coherently distributed (CD sources, which can estimate effectively the central azimuth and central elevation of CD sources at the cost of less computational cost. Using the special L-shape array, a new approach for parametric estimation of CD sources is proposed. The proposed method is based on two rotational invariance relations under small angular approximation, and estimates two rotational matrices which depict the relations, using propagator technique. And then the central DOA estimations are obtained by utilizing the primary diagonal elements of two rotational matrices. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can exhibit a good performance under small angular spread and be applied to the multisource scenario where different sources may have different angular distribution shapes. Without any peak-finding search and the eigendecomposition of the high-dimensional sample covariance matrix, the proposed method has significantly reduced the computational cost compared with the existing methods, and thus is beneficial to real-time processing and engineering realization. In addition, our approach is also a robust estimator which does not depend on the angular distribution shape of CD sources.

Perceived loudness of spatially distributed sound sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Song, Woo-keun; Ellermeier, Wolfgang; Minnaar, Pauli

2005-01-01

psychoacoustic attributes into account. Therefore, a method for deriving loudness maps was developed in an earlier study [Song, Internoise2004, paper 271]. The present experiment investigates to which extent perceived loudness depends on the distribution of individual sound sources. Three loudspeakers were...... positioned 1.5 m from the centre of the listener’s head, one straight ahead, and two 10 degrees to the right and left, respectively. Six participants matched the loudness of either one, or two simultaneous sounds (narrow-band noises with 1-kHz, and 3.15-kHz centre frequencies) to a 2-kHz, 60-dB SPL narrow......-band noise placed in the frontal loudspeaker. The two sounds were either originating from the central speaker, or from the two offset loudspeakers. It turned out that the subjects perceived the noises to be softer when they were distributed in space. In addition, loudness was calculated from the recordings...

Sources of endocrine-disrupting compounds in North Carolina waterways: a geographic information systems approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sackett, Dana K.; Pow, Crystal Lee; Rubino, Matthew J.; Aday, D.D.; Cope, W. Gregory; Kullman, Seth W.; Rice, J.A.; Kwak, Thomas J.; Law, L.M.

2015-01-01

The presence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), particularly estrogenic compounds, in the environment has drawn public attention across the globe, yet a clear understanding of the extent and distribution of estrogenic EDCs in surface waters and their relationship to potential sources is lacking. The objective of the present study was to identify and examine the potential input of estrogenic EDC sources in North Carolina water bodies using a geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis approach. Existing data from state and federal agencies were used to create point and nonpoint source maps depicting the cumulative contribution of potential sources of estrogenic EDCs to North Carolina surface waters. Water was collected from 33 sites (12 associated with potential point sources, 12 associated with potential nonpoint sources, and 9 reference), to validate the predictive results of the GIS analysis. Estrogenicity (measured as 17β-estradiol equivalence) ranged from 0.06 ng/L to 56.9 ng/L. However, the majority of sites (88%) had water 17β-estradiol concentrations below 1 ng/L. Sites associated with point and nonpoint sources had significantly higher 17β-estradiol levels than reference sites. The results suggested that water 17β-estradiol was reflective of GIS predictions, confirming the relevance of landscape-level influences on water quality and validating the GIS approach to characterize such relationships.

DIGI-vis: Distributed interactive geospatial information visualization

KAUST Repository

Ponto, Kevin; Kuester, Falk

2010-01-01

data sets. We propose a distributed data gathering and visualization system that allows researchers to view these data at hundreds of megapixels simultaneously. This system allows scientists to view real-time geospatial information at unprecedented

Reconstruction of far-field tsunami amplitude distributions from earthquake sources

Science.gov (United States)

Geist, Eric L.; Parsons, Thomas E.

2016-01-01

The probability distribution of far-field tsunami amplitudes is explained in relation to the distribution of seismic moment at subduction zones. Tsunami amplitude distributions at tide gauge stations follow a similar functional form, well described by a tapered Pareto distribution that is parameterized by a power-law exponent and a corner amplitude. Distribution parameters are first established for eight tide gauge stations in the Pacific, using maximum likelihood estimation. A procedure is then developed to reconstruct the tsunami amplitude distribution that consists of four steps: (1) define the distribution of seismic moment at subduction zones; (2) establish a source-station scaling relation from regression analysis; (3) transform the seismic moment distribution to a tsunami amplitude distribution for each subduction zone; and (4) mix the transformed distribution for all subduction zones to an aggregate tsunami amplitude distribution specific to the tide gauge station. The tsunami amplitude distribution is adequately reconstructed for four tide gauge stations using globally constant seismic moment distribution parameters established in previous studies. In comparisons to empirical tsunami amplitude distributions from maximum likelihood estimation, the reconstructed distributions consistently exhibit higher corner amplitude values, implying that in most cases, the empirical catalogs are too short to include the largest amplitudes. Because the reconstructed distribution is based on a catalog of earthquakes that is much larger than the tsunami catalog, it is less susceptible to the effects of record-breaking events and more indicative of the actual distribution of tsunami amplitudes.

Distributed Collaborative Learning Communities Enabled by Information Communication Technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H.L. Alvarez (Heidi Lee)

2006-01-01

textabstractHow and why can Information Communication Technology (ICT) contribute to enhancing learning in distributed Collaborative Learning Communities (CLCs)? Drawing from relevant theories concerned with phenomenon of ICT enabled distributed collaborative learning, this book identifies gaps in

Source credibility and the effectiveness of firewise information

Science.gov (United States)

Alan D. Bright; Andrew W. Don Carlos; Jerry J. Vaske; James D. Absher

2007-01-01

Understanding how residents of the wildlandurban interface (WUI) react to information about firewise behavior can enhance efforts to communicate safety information to the public. This study explored the multiple roles of source credibility on the elaboration and impact of messages about conducting firewise behaviors in the WUI. A mail-back survey to residents of the...

On-line sources of toxicological information in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Racz, William J.; Ecobichon, Donald J.; Baril, Marc

2003-01-01

This paper will provide an overview of the on-line resources available in toxicology in Canada. It will describe a brief history of The Society of Toxicology of Canada, with reference to other societies and also provide information on education, research and other resources related to toxicology. Toxicology in Canada emerged as a distinct and vibrant discipline following the thalidomide tragedy of the 1960s. In the pharmaceutical industry and government, toxicology was readily established as an essential component of drug development and safety, and as the need for toxicologists expanded, training programs were established, usually in collaboration with departments of pharmacology. In the last two to three decades other disciplines, environmental biology, analytical chemistry and epidemiology joined the ranks of toxicology. The on-line sources of toxicology information are rapidly expanding. This article describes those sources considered by the authors to be important from a national and international perspective. The majority of these sources are professional organizations and government agencies

Autonomous Information Fading and Provision to Achieve High Response Time in Distributed Information Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xiaodong; Arfaoui, Helene; Mori, Kinji

In highly dynamic electronic commerce environment, the need for adaptability and rapid response time to information service systems has become increasingly important. In order to cope with the continuously changing conditions of service provision and utilization, Faded Information Field (FIF) has been proposed. FIF is a distributed information service system architecture, sustained by push/pull mobile agents to bring high-assurance of services through a recursive demand-oriented provision of the most popular information closer to the users to make a tradeoff between the cost of information service allocation and access. In this paper, based on the analysis of the relationship that exists among the users distribution, information provision and access time, we propose the technology for FIF design to resolve the competing requirements of users and providers to improve users' access time. In addition, to achieve dynamic load balancing with changing users preference, the autonomous information reallocation technology is proposed. We proved the effectiveness of the proposed technology through the simulation and comparison with the conventional system.

Shannon Entropy and Mutual Information for Multivariate Skew-Elliptical Distributions

KAUST Repository

Arellano-Valle, Reinaldo B.

2012-02-27

The entropy and mutual information index are important concepts developed by Shannon in the context of information theory. They have been widely studied in the case of the multivariate normal distribution. We first extend these tools to the full symmetric class of multivariate elliptical distributions and then to the more flexible families of multivariate skew-elliptical distributions. We study in detail the cases of the multivariate skew-normal and skew-t distributions. We implement our findings to the application of the optimal design of an ozone monitoring station network in Santiago de Chile. © 2012 Board of the Foundation of the Scandinavian Journal of Statistics.

Shannon Entropy and Mutual Information for Multivariate Skew-Elliptical Distributions

KAUST Repository

Arellano-Valle, Reinaldo B.; Contreras-Reyes, Javier E.; Genton, Marc G.

2012-01-01

The entropy and mutual information index are important concepts developed by Shannon in the context of information theory. They have been widely studied in the case of the multivariate normal distribution. We first extend these tools to the full symmetric class of multivariate elliptical distributions and then to the more flexible families of multivariate skew-elliptical distributions. We study in detail the cases of the multivariate skew-normal and skew-t distributions. We implement our findings to the application of the optimal design of an ozone monitoring station network in Santiago de Chile. © 2012 Board of the Foundation of the Scandinavian Journal of Statistics.

Visible light scatter as quantitative information source on milk constituents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melentiyeva, Anastasiya; Kucheryavskiy, Sergey; Bogomolov, Andrey

2012-01-01

analysis. The main task here is to extract individual quantitative information on milk fat and total protein content from spectral data. This is particularly challenging problem in the case of raw natural milk, where the fat globule sizes may essentially differ depending on source. Fig. 1. Spots of light...... designed set of raw milk samples with simultaneously varying fat, total protein and particle size distribution has been analyzed in the Vis spectral region. The feasibility of raw milk analysis by PLS regression on spectral data has been proved. The root mean-square errors below 0.10% and 0.04% for fat....... 3J&M Analytik AG, Willy-Messerschmitt-Strasse 8, 73457 Essingen, Germany. bogomolov@j-m.de Fat and protein are two major milk nutrients that are routinely analyzed in the dairy industry. Growing food quality requirements promote the dissemination of spectroscopic analysis, enabling real...

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with correlated source-light-intensity errors

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Cong; Yu, Zong-Wen; Wang, Xiang-Bin

2018-04-01

We present an analysis for measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with correlated source-light-intensity errors. Numerical results show that the results here can greatly improve the key rate especially with large intensity fluctuations and channel attenuation compared with prior results if the intensity fluctuations of different sources are correlated.

All-Source Information Acquisition and Analysis in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, Matthew; Norman, Claude

2010-01-01

All source information analysis enables proactive implementation of in-field verification activities, supports the State Evaluation process, and is essential to the IAEA's strengthened safeguards system. Information sources include State-declared nuclear material accounting and facility design information; voluntarily supplied information such as nuclear procurement data; commercial satellite imagery; open source information and information/results from design information verifications (DIVs), inspections and complementary accesses (CAs). The analysis of disparate information sources directly supports inspections, design information verifications and complementary access, and enables both more reliable cross-examination for consistency and completeness as well as in-depth investigation of possible safeguards compliance issues. Comparison of State-declared information against information on illicit nuclear procurement networks, possible trafficking in nuclear materials, and scientific and technical information on nuclear-related research and development programmes, provides complementary measures for monitoring nuclear developments and increases Agency capabilities to detect possible undeclared nuclear activities. Likewise, expert analysis of commercial satellite imagery plays a critical role for monitoring un-safeguarded sites and facilities. In sum, the combination of these measures provides early identification of possible undeclared nuclear material or activities, thus enhancing deterrence of safeguards system that is fully information driven, and increasing confidence in Safeguards conclusions. By increasing confidence that nuclear materials and technologies in States under Safeguards are used solely for peaceful purposes, information-driven safeguards will strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation system. Key assets for Agency collection, processing, expert analysis, and integration of these information sources are the Information Collection and Analysis

Boosting up quantum key distribution by learning statistics of practical single-photon sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adachi, Yoritoshi; Yamamoto, Takashi; Koashi, Masato; Imoto, Nobuyuki

2009-01-01

We propose a simple quantum-key-distribution (QKD) scheme for practical single-photon sources (SPSs), which works even with a moderate suppression of the second-order correlation g (2) of the source. The scheme utilizes a passive preparation of a decoy state by monitoring a fraction of the signal via an additional beam splitter and a detector at the sender's side to monitor photon-number splitting attacks. We show that the achievable distance increases with the precision with which the sub-Poissonian tendency is confirmed in higher photon-number distribution of the source, rather than with actual suppression of the multiphoton emission events. We present an example of the secure key generation rate in the case of a poor SPS with g (2) =0.19, in which no secure key is produced with the conventional QKD scheme, and show that learning the photon-number distribution up to several numbers is sufficient for achieving almost the same distance as that of an ideal SPS.

All-source Information Management and Integration for Improved Collective Intelligence Production

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

Intelligence (ELINT) • Open Source Intelligence ( OSINT ) • Technical Intelligence (TECHINT) These intelligence disciplines produce... intelligence , measurement and signature intelligence , signals intelligence , and open - source data, in the production of intelligence . All- source intelligence ...All- Source Information Integration and Management) R&D Project 3 All- Source Intelligence

Information-theoretic methods for estimating of complicated probability distributions

CERN Document Server

Zong, Zhi

2006-01-01

Mixing up various disciplines frequently produces something that are profound and far-reaching. Cybernetics is such an often-quoted example. Mix of information theory, statistics and computing technology proves to be very useful, which leads to the recent development of information-theory based methods for estimating complicated probability distributions. Estimating probability distribution of a random variable is the fundamental task for quite some fields besides statistics, such as reliability, probabilistic risk analysis (PSA), machine learning, pattern recognization, image processing, neur

DKIE: Open Source Information Extraction for Danish

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Derczynski, Leon; Field, Camilla Vilhelmsen; Bøgh, Kenneth Sejdenfaden

2014-01-01

Danish is a major Scandinavian language spoken daily by around six million people. However, it lacks a unified, open set of NLP tools. This demonstration will introduce DKIE, an extensible open-source toolkit for processing Danish text. We implement an information extraction architecture for Danish...

Distribution and Source Identification of Pb Contamination in industrial soil

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, M. S.

2017-12-01

INTRODUCTION Lead (Pb) is toxic element that induce neurotoxic effect to human, because competition of Pb and Ca in nerve system. Lead is classified as a chalophile element and galena (PbS) is the major mineral. Although the Pb is not an abundant element in nature, various anthropogenic source has been enhanced Pb enrichment in the environment after the Industrial Revolution. The representative anthropogenic sources are batteries, paint, mining, smelting, and combustion of fossil fuel. Isotope analysis widely used to identify the Pb contamination source. The Pb has four stable isotopes that are 208Pb, 207Pb, 206Pb, and 204Pb in natural. The Pb is stable isotope and the ratios maintain during physical and chemical fractionation. Therefore, variations of Pb isotope abundance and relative ratios could imply the certain Pb contamination source. In this study, distributions and isotope ratios of Pb in industrial soil were used to identify the Pb contamination source and dispersion pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS Soil samples were collected at depth 0­-6 m from an industrial area in Korea. The collected soil samples were dried and sieved under 2 mm. Soil pH, aqua-regia digestion and TCLP carried out using sieved soil sample. The isotope analysis was carried out to determine the abundance of Pb isotope. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The study area was developed land for promotion of industrial facilities. The study area was forest in 1980, and the satellite image show the alterations of land use with time. The variations of land use imply the possibilities of bringing in external contaminated soil. The Pb concentrations in core samples revealed higher in lower soil compare with top soil. Especially, 4 m soil sample show highest Pb concentrations that are approximately 1500 mg/kg. This result indicated that certain Pb source existed at 4 m depth. CONCLUSIONS This study investigated the distribution and source identification of Pb in industrial soil. The land use and Pb

Determining profile of dose distribution for PD-103 brachytherapy source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkay, Camgoz; Mehmet, N. Kumru; Gultekin, Yegin

2006-01-01

Full text: Brachytherapy is a particular radiotherapy for cancer treatments. By destructing cancerous cells using radiation, the treatment proceeded. When alive tissues are subject it is hazardous to study experimental. For brachytherapy sources generally are studied as theoretical using computer simulation. General concept of the treatment is to locate the radioactive source into cancerous area of related tissue. In computer studies Monte Carlo mathematical method that is in principle based on random number generations, is used. Palladium radioisotope is LDR (Low radiation Dose Rate) source. Main radioactive material was coated with titanium cylinder with 3mm length, 0.25 mm radius. There are two parts of Pd-103 in the titanium cylinder. It is impossible to investigate differential effects come from two part as experimental. Because the source dimensions are small compared with measurement distances. So there is only simulation method. In dosimetric studies it is aimed to determine absorbed dose distribution in tissue as radial and angular. In nuclear physics it is obligation to use computer based methods for researchers. Radiation studies have hazards for scientist and people interacted with radiation. When hazard exceed over recommended limits or physical conditions are not suitable (long work time, non economical experiments, inadequate sensitivity of materials etc.) it is unavoidable to simulate works and experiments before practices of scientific methods in life. In medical area, usage of radiation is required computational work for cancer treatments. Some computational studies are routine in clinics and other studies have scientific development purposes. In brachytherapy studies there are significant differences between experimental measurements and theoretical (computer based) output data. Errors of data taken from experimental studies are larger than simulation values errors. In design of a new brachytherapy source it is important to consider detailed

Use of information sources by cancer patients: results of a systematic review of the research literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalyani Ankem

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Existing findings on cancer patients' use of information sources were synthesized to 1 rank the most and least used information sources and the most helpful information sources and to 2 find the impact of patient demographics and situations on use of information sources. Method. . To synthesize results found across studies, a systematic review was conducted. Medline and CINAHL were searched to retrieve literature on cancer patients' information source use. The retrieved articles were carefully selected according to predetermined criteria, and several articles were eliminated in a systematic approach. Analysis. The twelve articles that met the criteria were systematically analysed by extracting data from articles and summarizing data for the purpose of synthesis to determine the meaning of findings on most used information sources, least used information sources, most helpful information sources, effect of patient characteristics on preference for an information source, and effect of patient situations on preference for an information source. Results. In descending order of use, health care professionals, medical pamphlets, and family and friends were most used information sources. Internet and support groups were least used. In descending order of helpfulness, books, health care professionals and medical pamphlets were found to be most helpful information sources. Younger patients used health care professionals and certain forms of written information sources more than older patients. Conclusion. . The systematic review shows that many areas of cancer patients' information source use have been either neglected or barely analysed. An in-depth understanding of cancer patients' use of information sources and the characteristics in information sources they consider to be helpful is important for developing successful interventions to better inform patients.

OSINT: A Major Source of Up-to-Date Information

OpenAIRE

Lapid, Ephraim

2016-01-01

OSINT has become a developing information collection agency throughout the modern world of intelligence. Intelligence bodies and individuals keep expanding their use of information, profiting from the various technological security and civil applications now available in cyberspace. Professional collaborations are recommended, as they would significantly enhance the filtering and processing of open-source information in this age of metadata.

Development of unfolding method to obtain pin-wise source strength distribution from PWR spent fuel assembly measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitompul, Yos Panagaman; Shin, Hee-Sung; Park, Se-Hwan; Oh, Jong Myeong; Seo, Hee; Kim, Ho Dong

2013-01-01

An unfolding method has been developed to obtain a pin-wise source strength distribution of a 14 × 14 pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel assembly. Sixteen measured gamma dose rates at 16 control rod guide tubes of an assembly are unfolded to 179 pin-wise source strengths of the assembly. The method calculates and optimizes five coefficients of the quadratic fitting function for X-Y source strength distribution, iteratively. The pin-wise source strengths are obtained at the sixth iteration, with a maximum difference between two sequential iterations of about 0.2%. The relative distribution of pin-wise source strength from the unfolding is checked using a comparison with the design code (Westinghouse APA code). The result shows that the relative distribution from the unfolding and design code is consistent within a 5% difference. The absolute value of the pin-wise source strength is also checked by reproducing the dose rates at the measurement points. The result shows that the pin-wise source strengths from the unfolding reproduce the dose rates within a 2% difference. (author)

Sources and distribution of anthropogenic radionuclides in different marine environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, E.

1997-01-01

The knowledge of the distribution in time and space radiologically important radionuclides from different sources in different marine environments is important for assessment of dose commitment following controlled or accidental releases and for detecting eventual new sources. Present sources from nuclear explosion tests, releases from nuclear facilities and the Chernobyl accident provide a tool for such studies. The different sources can be distinguished by different isotopic and radionuclide composition. Results show that radiocaesium behaves rather conservatively in the south and north Atlantic while plutonium has a residence time of about 8 years. On the other hand enhanced concentrations of plutonium in surface waters in arctic regions where vertical mixing is small and iceformation plays an important role. Significantly increased concentrations of plutonium are also found below the oxic layer in anoxic basins due to geochemical concentration. (author)

GIS Based Distributed Runoff Predictions in Variable Source Area Watersheds Employing the SCS-Curve Number

Science.gov (United States)

Steenhuis, T. S.; Mendoza, G.; Lyon, S. W.; Gerard Marchant, P.; Walter, M. T.; Schneiderman, E.

2003-04-01

Because the traditional Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) approach continues to be ubiquitously used in GIS-BASED water quality models, new application methods are needed that are consistent with variable source area (VSA) hydrological processes in the landscape. We developed within an integrated GIS modeling environment a distributed approach for applying the traditional SCS-CN equation to watersheds where VSA hydrology is a dominant process. Spatial representation of hydrologic processes is important for watershed planning because restricting potentially polluting activities from runoff source areas is fundamental to controlling non-point source pollution. The methodology presented here uses the traditional SCS-CN method to predict runoff volume and spatial extent of saturated areas and uses a topographic index to distribute runoff source areas through watersheds. The resulting distributed CN-VSA method was incorporated in an existing GWLF water quality model and applied to sub-watersheds of the Delaware basin in the Catskill Mountains region of New York State. We found that the distributed CN-VSA approach provided a physically-based method that gives realistic results for watersheds with VSA hydrology.

[Access to health information sources in Spain. how to combat "infoxication"].

Science.gov (United States)

Navas-Martin, Miguel Ángel; Albornos-Muñoz, Laura; Escandell-García, Cintia

2012-01-01

Internet has become a priceless source for finding health information for both patients and healthcare professionals. However, the universality and the abundance of information can lead to unfounded conclusions about health issues that can confuse further than clarify the health information. This aspect causes intoxication of information: infoxication. The question lies in knowing how to filter the information that is useful, accurate and relevant for our purposes. In this regard, integrative portals, such as the Biblioteca Virtual de Salud, compile information at different levels (international, national and regional), different types of resources (databases, repositories, bibliographic sources, etc.), becoming a starting point for obtaining quality information. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

the effect of current and relevant information sources on the use

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Admin

reported similar findings at Yaba College of. Technology, Lagos. However, in a ... values. In other words, current information sources resulted in the use of the library. Jam (1992) identified lack of relevant information sources to be one of the problems facing library users and has ... Bachelor's degree holders. That those with.

Sources of Strategic Information in Farm Management in Poland. Study Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacek Jaworski

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purposes: The main goal of the paper is to determine the signifcance of selected sources of strategic information, used by Polish farmers in decision making. In addition, an attempt was made to determine the factors impacting the evaluation of those sources among the traits of the farmer and his farm. Methodology: Data was gathered using the questionnaire method and analysed with standard tools of descriptive statistics. Findings: The farmers deemed personalised sources of strategic information the most important, especially agricultural advisers, input suppliers and buyers of agricultural products. From among institutional (non-personalised sources, local government and the chamber of agriculture were signifcant. Business information agencies and survey companies are the least important sources for farmers. The characteristics of the surroundings of the farm – specifcally, its geographic location and the size of settlement where it is located proved to have the widest impact on the evaluation of the sources included in the study. From among the organisational factors, only farm size has a signifcant impact. Research limitations/implications: The study was confned to a representative group of farmers in Poland. A closed list of sources of strategic information was used. Originality/value: The study results contribute to the knowledge on the functioning of Polish agriculture and may also be used in comparative studies, characterising this sector’s diversity within Europe. They can in turn contribute to properly focusing on supporting the policy of balanced agriculture development in the EU.

Coded aperture imaging of alpha source spatial distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talebitaher, Alireza; Shutler, Paul M.E.; Springham, Stuart V.; Rawat, Rajdeep S.; Lee, Paul

2012-01-01

The Coded Aperture Imaging (CAI) technique has been applied with CR-39 nuclear track detectors to image alpha particle source spatial distributions. The experimental setup comprised: a 226 Ra source of alpha particles, a laser-machined CAI mask, and CR-39 detectors, arranged inside a vacuum enclosure. Three different alpha particle source shapes were synthesized by using a linear translator to move the 226 Ra source within the vacuum enclosure. The coded mask pattern used is based on a Singer Cyclic Difference Set, with 400 pixels and 57 open square holes (representing ρ = 1/7 = 14.3% open fraction). After etching of the CR-39 detectors, the area, circularity, mean optical density and positions of all candidate tracks were measured by an automated scanning system. Appropriate criteria were used to select alpha particle tracks, and a decoding algorithm applied to the (x, y) data produced the de-coded image of the source. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) values obtained for alpha particle CAI images were found to be substantially better than those for corresponding pinhole images, although the CAI-SNR values were below the predictions of theoretical formulae. Monte Carlo simulations of CAI and pinhole imaging were performed in order to validate the theoretical SNR formulae and also our CAI decoding algorithm. There was found to be good agreement between the theoretical formulae and SNR values obtained from simulations. Possible reasons for the lower SNR obtained for the experimental CAI study are discussed.

Distributed quantum information processing via quantum dot spins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Liu; Qiong, Wang; Le-Man, Kuang; Hao-Sheng, Zeng

2010-01-01

We propose a scheme to engineer a non-local two-qubit phase gate between two remote quantum-dot spins. Along with one-qubit local operations, one can in principal perform various types of distributed quantum information processing. The scheme employs a photon with linearly polarisation interacting one after the other with two remote quantum-dot spins in cavities. Due to the optical spin selection rule, the photon obtains a Faraday rotation after the interaction process. By measuring the polarisation of the final output photon, a non-local two-qubit phase gate between the two remote quantum-dot spins is constituted. Our scheme may has very important applications in the distributed quantum information processing

Fiber optic distributed temperature sensing for fire source localization

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Miao; Tang, Yuquan; Yang, Shuang; Sigrist, Markus W.; Li, Jun; Dong, Fengzhong

2017-08-01

A method for localizing a fire source based on a distributed temperature sensor system is proposed. Two sections of optical fibers were placed orthogonally to each other as the sensing elements. A tray of alcohol was lit to act as a fire outbreak in a cabinet with an uneven ceiling to simulate a real scene of fire. Experiments were carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the method. Rather large fluctuations and systematic errors with respect to predicting the exact room coordinates of the fire source caused by the uneven ceiling were observed. Two mathematical methods (smoothing recorded temperature curves and finding temperature peak positions) to improve the prediction accuracy are presented, and the experimental results indicate that the fluctuation ranges and systematic errors are significantly reduced. The proposed scheme is simple and appears reliable enough to locate a fire source in large spaces.

A Distributed Flocking Approach for Information Stream Clustering Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Xiaohui [ORNL; Potok, Thomas E [ORNL

2006-01-01

Intelligence analysts are currently overwhelmed with the amount of information streams generated everyday. There is a lack of comprehensive tool that can real-time analyze the information streams. Document clustering analysis plays an important role in improving the accuracy of information retrieval. However, most clustering technologies can only be applied for analyzing the static document collection because they normally require a large amount of computation resource and long time to get accurate result. It is very difficult to cluster a dynamic changed text information streams on an individual computer. Our early research has resulted in a dynamic reactive flock clustering algorithm which can continually refine the clustering result and quickly react to the change of document contents. This character makes the algorithm suitable for cluster analyzing dynamic changed document information, such as text information stream. Because of the decentralized character of this algorithm, a distributed approach is a very natural way to increase the clustering speed of the algorithm. In this paper, we present a distributed multi-agent flocking approach for the text information stream clustering and discuss the decentralized architectures and communication schemes for load balance and status information synchronization in this approach.

Spatial distribution of saline water and possible sources of intrusion ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The spatial distribution of saline water and possible sources of intrusion into Lekki lagoon and transitional effects on the lacustrine ichthyofaunal characteristics were studied during March, 2006 and February, 2008. The water quality analysis indicated that, salinity has drastically increased recently in the lagoon (0.007 to ...

Open source information acquisition, analysis and integration in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barletta, M.; Zarimpas, N.; Zarucki, R.

2010-10-01

Acquisition and analysis of open source information plays an increasingly important role in the IAEA strengthened safeguards system. The Agency's focal point for open source information collection and analysis is the Division of Safeguards Information Management (SGIM) within the IAEA Department of Safeguards. In parallel with the approval of the Model Additional Protocol in 1997, a new centre of information acquisition and analysis expertise was created within SGIM. By acquiring software, developing databases, retraining existing staff and hiring new staff with diverse analytical skills, SGIM is pro actively contributing to the future implementation of information-driven safeguards in collaboration with other Divisions within the Department of Safeguards. Open source information support is now fully integrated with core safeguards processes and activities, and has become an effective tool in the work of the Department of Safeguards. This provides and overview of progress realized through the acquisition and use of open source information in several thematic areas: evaluation of additional protocol declarations; support to the State Evaluation process; in-depth investigation of safeguards issues, including assisting inspections and complementary access; research on illicit nuclear procurement networks and trafficking; and monitoring nuclear developments. Demands for open source information have steadily grown and are likely to continue to grow in the future. Coupled with the enormous growth and accessibility in the volume and sources of information, new challenges are presented, both technical and analytical. This paper discusses actions taken and future plans for multi-source and multi-disciplinary analytic integration to strengthen confidence in safeguards conclusions - especially regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities. (Author)

Detection prospects for high energy neutrino sources from the anisotropic matter distribution in the local universe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mertsch, Philipp; Rameez, Mohamed; Tamborra, Irene

2017-01-01

Constraints on the number and luminosity of the sources of the cosmic neutrinos detected by IceCube have been set by targeted searches for point sources. We set complementary constraints by using the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) catalogue, which maps the matter distribution of the local Universe....... Assuming that the distribution of the neutrino sources follows that of matter we look for correlations between `warm' spots on the IceCube skymap and the 2MRS matter distribution. Through Monte Carlo simulations of the expected number of neutrino multiplets and careful modelling of the detector performance...... (including that of IceCube-Gen2) we demonstrate that sources with local density exceeding $10^{-6} \\, \\text{Mpc}^{-3}$ and neutrino luminosity $L_{\

An efficient central DOA tracking algorithm for multiple incoherently distributed sources

Science.gov (United States)

Hassen, Sonia Ben; Samet, Abdelaziz

2015-12-01

In this paper, we develop a new tracking method for the direction of arrival (DOA) parameters assuming multiple incoherently distributed (ID) sources. The new approach is based on a simple covariance fitting optimization technique exploiting the central and noncentral moments of the source angular power densities to estimate the central DOAs. The current estimates are treated as measurements provided to the Kalman filter that model the dynamic property of directional changes for the moving sources. Then, the covariance-fitting-based algorithm and the Kalman filtering theory are combined to formulate an adaptive tracking algorithm. Our algorithm is compared to the fast approximated power iteration-total least square-estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance technique (FAPI-TLS-ESPRIT) algorithm using the TLS-ESPRIT method and the subspace updating via FAPI-algorithm. It will be shown that the proposed algorithm offers an excellent DOA tracking performance and outperforms the FAPI-TLS-ESPRIT method especially at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values. Moreover, the performances of the two methods increase as the SNR values increase. This increase is more prominent with the FAPI-TLS-ESPRIT method. However, their performances degrade when the number of sources increases. It will be also proved that our method depends on the form of the angular distribution function when tracking the central DOAs. Finally, it will be shown that the more the sources are spaced, the more the proposed method can exactly track the DOAs.

Flows and Stratification of an Enclosure Containing Both Localised and Vertically Distributed Sources of Buoyancy

Science.gov (United States)

Partridge, Jamie; Linden, Paul

2013-11-01

We examine the flows and stratification established in a naturally ventilated enclosure containing both a localised and vertically distributed source of buoyancy. The enclosure is ventilated through upper and lower openings which connect the space to an external ambient. Small scale laboratory experiments were carried out with water as the working medium and buoyancy being driven directly by temperature differences. A point source plume gave localised heating while the distributed source was driven by a controllable heater mat located in the side wall of the enclosure. The transient temperatures, as well as steady state temperature profiles, were recorded and are reported here. The temperature profiles inside the enclosure were found to be dependent on the effective opening area A*, a combination of the upper and lower openings, and the ratio of buoyancy fluxes from the distributed and localised source Ψ =Bw/Bp . Industrial CASE award with ARUP.

PhySIC_IST: cleaning source trees to infer more informative supertrees.

Science.gov (United States)

Scornavacca, Celine; Berry, Vincent; Lefort, Vincent; Douzery, Emmanuel J P; Ranwez, Vincent

2008-10-04

Supertree methods combine phylogenies with overlapping sets of taxa into a larger one. Topological conflicts frequently arise among source trees for methodological or biological reasons, such as long branch attraction, lateral gene transfers, gene duplication/loss or deep gene coalescence. When topological conflicts occur among source trees, liberal methods infer supertrees containing the most frequent alternative, while veto methods infer supertrees not contradicting any source tree, i.e. discard all conflicting resolutions. When the source trees host a significant number of topological conflicts or have a small taxon overlap, supertree methods of both kinds can propose poorly resolved, hence uninformative, supertrees. To overcome this problem, we propose to infer non-plenary supertrees, i.e. supertrees that do not necessarily contain all the taxa present in the source trees, discarding those whose position greatly differs among source trees or for which insufficient information is provided. We detail a variant of the PhySIC veto method called PhySIC_IST that can infer non-plenary supertrees. PhySIC_IST aims at inferring supertrees that satisfy the same appealing theoretical properties as with PhySIC, while being as informative as possible under this constraint. The informativeness of a supertree is estimated using a variation of the CIC (Cladistic Information Content) criterion, that takes into account both the presence of multifurcations and the absence of some taxa. Additionally, we propose a statistical preprocessing step called STC (Source Trees Correction) to correct the source trees prior to the supertree inference. STC is a liberal step that removes the parts of each source tree that significantly conflict with other source trees. Combining STC with a veto method allows an explicit trade-off between veto and liberal approaches, tuned by a single parameter.Performing large-scale simulations, we observe that STC+PhySIC_IST infers much more informative

Panchromatic spectral energy distributions of Herschel sources

Science.gov (United States)

Berta, S.; Lutz, D.; Santini, P.; Wuyts, S.; Rosario, D.; Brisbin, D.; Cooray, A.; Franceschini, A.; Gruppioni, C.; Hatziminaoglou, E.; Hwang, H. S.; Le Floc'h, E.; Magnelli, B.; Nordon, R.; Oliver, S.; Page, M. J.; Popesso, P.; Pozzetti, L.; Pozzi, F.; Riguccini, L.; Rodighiero, G.; Roseboom, I.; Scott, D.; Symeonidis, M.; Valtchanov, I.; Viero, M.; Wang, L.

2013-03-01

Combining far-infrared Herschel photometry from the PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) and Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) guaranteed time programs with ancillary datasets in the GOODS-N, GOODS-S, and COSMOS fields, it is possible to sample the 8-500 μm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies with at least 7-10 bands. Extending to the UV, optical, and near-infrared, the number of bands increases up to 43. We reproduce the distribution of galaxies in a carefully selected restframe ten colors space, based on this rich data-set, using a superposition of multivariate Gaussian modes. We use this model to classify galaxies and build median SEDs of each class, which are then fitted with a modified version of the magphys code that combines stellar light, emission from dust heated by stars and a possible warm dust contribution heated by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The color distribution of galaxies in each of the considered fields can be well described with the combination of 6-9 classes, spanning a large range of far- to near-infrared luminosity ratios, as well as different strength of the AGN contribution to bolometric luminosities. The defined Gaussian grouping is used to identify rare or odd sources. The zoology of outliers includes Herschel-detected ellipticals, very blue z ~ 1 Ly-break galaxies, quiescent spirals, and torus-dominated AGN with star formation. Out of these groups and outliers, a new template library is assembled, consisting of 32 SEDs describing the intrinsic scatter in the restframe UV-to-submm colors of infrared galaxies. This library is tested against L(IR) estimates with and without Herschel data included, and compared to eightother popular methods often adopted in the literature. When implementing Herschel photometry, these approaches produce L(IR) values consistent with each other within a median absolute deviation of 10-20%, the scatter being dominated more by fine tuning of the codes, rather than by the choice of

Production, Distribution, and Applications of Californium-252 Neutron Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balo, P.A.; Knauer, J.B.; Martin, R.C.

1999-01-01

The radioisotope 252 Cf is routinely encapsulated into compact, portable, intense neutron sources with a 2.6-year half-life. A source the size of a person's little finger can emit up to 10 11 neutrons/s. Californium-252 is used commercially as a reliable, cost-effective neutron source for prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) of coal, cement, and minerals, as well as for detection and identification of explosives, laud mines, and unexploded military ordnance. Other uses are neutron radiography, nuclear waste assays, reactor start-up sources, calibration standards, and cancer therapy. The inherent safety of source encapsulations is demonstrated by 30 years of experience and by U.S. Bureau of Mines tests of source survivability during explosions. The production and distribution center for the U. S Department of Energy (DOE) Californium Program is the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). DOE sells 252 Cf to commercial reencapsulators domestically and internationally. Sealed 252 Cf sources are also available for loan to agencies and subcontractors of the U.S. government and to universities for educational, research, and medical applications. The REDC has established the Californium User Facility (CUF) for Neutron Science to make its large inventory of 252 Cf sources available to researchers for irradiations inside uncontaminated hot cells. Experiments at the CUF include a land mine detection system, neutron damage testing of solid-state detectors, irradiation of human cancer cells for boron neutron capture therapy experiments, and irradiation of rice to induce genetic mutations

Geometric effects in alpha particle detection from distributed air sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil, L.R.; Leitao, R.M.S.; Marques, A.; Rivera, A.

1994-08-01

Geometric effects associated to detection of alpha particles from distributed air sources, as it happens in Radon and Thoron measurements, are revisited. The volume outside which no alpha particle may reach the entrance window of the detector is defined and determined analytically for rectangular and cylindrical symmetry geometries. (author). 3 figs

Usability of consumer-related information sources for design improvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thiruvenkadam, G.; Brombacher, A.C.; Lu, Y.; Ouden, den P.H.

2008-01-01

In this paper we report the findings of a study intended to assess the usability of consumer related information sources in order to improve the design processes of innovative electronic products. Specifically, an evaluation is done of the quality and content of information that would help product

On Distributions of Emission Sources and Speed-of-Sound in Proton-Proton (Proton-Antiproton Collisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Na Gao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The revised (three-source Landau hydrodynamic model is used in this paper to study the (pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton and proton-antiproton collisions at high energies. The central source is assumed to contribute with a Gaussian function which covers the rapidity distribution region as wide as possible. The target and projectile sources are assumed to emit isotropically particles in their respective rest frames. The model calculations obtained with a Monte Carlo method are fitted to the experimental data over an energy range from 0.2 to 13 TeV. The values of the squared speed-of-sound parameter in different collisions are then extracted from the width of the rapidity distributions.

Optimal planning of multiple distributed generation sources in distribution networks: A new approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AlRashidi, M.R., E-mail: malrash2002@yahoo.com [Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Technological Studies, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) (Kuwait); AlHajri, M.F., E-mail: mfalhajri@yahoo.com [Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Technological Studies, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) (Kuwait)

2011-10-15

Highlights: {yields} A new hybrid PSO for optimal DGs placement and sizing. {yields} Statistical analysis to fine tune PSO parameters. {yields} Novel constraint handling mechanism to handle different constraints types. - Abstract: An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is presented for optimal planning of multiple distributed generation sources (DG). This problem can be divided into two sub-problems: the DG optimal size (continuous optimization) and location (discrete optimization) to minimize real power losses. The proposed approach addresses the two sub-problems simultaneously using an enhanced PSO algorithm capable of handling multiple DG planning in a single run. A design of experiment is used to fine tune the proposed approach via proper analysis of PSO parameters interaction. The proposed algorithm treats the problem constraints differently by adopting a radial power flow algorithm to satisfy the equality constraints, i.e. power flows in distribution networks, while the inequality constraints are handled by making use of some of the PSO features. The proposed algorithm was tested on the practical 69-bus power distribution system. Different test cases were considered to validate the proposed approach consistency in detecting optimal or near optimal solution. Results are compared with those of Sequential Quadratic Programming.

Optimal planning of multiple distributed generation sources in distribution networks: A new approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AlRashidi, M.R.; AlHajri, M.F.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A new hybrid PSO for optimal DGs placement and sizing. → Statistical analysis to fine tune PSO parameters. → Novel constraint handling mechanism to handle different constraints types. - Abstract: An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is presented for optimal planning of multiple distributed generation sources (DG). This problem can be divided into two sub-problems: the DG optimal size (continuous optimization) and location (discrete optimization) to minimize real power losses. The proposed approach addresses the two sub-problems simultaneously using an enhanced PSO algorithm capable of handling multiple DG planning in a single run. A design of experiment is used to fine tune the proposed approach via proper analysis of PSO parameters interaction. The proposed algorithm treats the problem constraints differently by adopting a radial power flow algorithm to satisfy the equality constraints, i.e. power flows in distribution networks, while the inequality constraints are handled by making use of some of the PSO features. The proposed algorithm was tested on the practical 69-bus power distribution system. Different test cases were considered to validate the proposed approach consistency in detecting optimal or near optimal solution. Results are compared with those of Sequential Quadratic Programming.

A Survey of Information Source Preferences of Parents of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Amelia N; Kaplan, Samantha; Vardell, Emily

2017-07-01

For parents of children with an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), high quality, easily accessible information and a strong peer network can be the key to raising a happy, healthy child, and maintaining family well-being and emotional resilience. This article reports the findings of an anonymous survey examining the information source preferences for 935 parents of individuals with ASDs in North Carolina. Data indicates that parents show similar information seeking patterns across the age spectrum, that availability of information (as indicated by overall information source selection) decrease as children age. It also shows that parents rely heavily on local sources of information, preferring them to nonlocal sources (such as the internet) for many types of information.

The Value of Information in Distributed Decision Networks

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-04

formulation, and then we describe the various results at- tained. 1 Mathematical description of Distributed Decision Network un- der Information...Constraints We now define a mathematical framework for networks. Let G = (V,E) be an undirected random network (graph) drawn from a known distribution pG, 1...to any linear, combinatorial problem like shortest path optimization, and, further, so long as the original combinatorial problem can be solved in

Open source information acquisition, analysis and integration in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barletta, M.; Zarimpas, N.; Zarucki, R., E-mail: M.Barletta@iaea.or [IAEA, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna (Austria)

2010-10-15

Acquisition and analysis of open source information plays an increasingly important role in the IAEA strengthened safeguards system. The Agency's focal point for open source information collection and analysis is the Division of Safeguards Information Management (SGIM) within the IAEA Department of Safeguards. In parallel with the approval of the Model Additional Protocol in 1997, a new centre of information acquisition and analysis expertise was created within SGIM. By acquiring software, developing databases, retraining existing staff and hiring new staff with diverse analytical skills, SGIM is pro actively contributing to the future implementation of information-driven safeguards in collaboration with other Divisions within the Department of Safeguards. Open source information support is now fully integrated with core safeguards processes and activities, and has become an effective tool in the work of the Department of Safeguards. This provides and overview of progress realized through the acquisition and use of open source information in several thematic areas: evaluation of additional protocol declarations; support to the State Evaluation process; in-depth investigation of safeguards issues, including assisting inspections and complementary access; research on illicit nuclear procurement networks and trafficking; and monitoring nuclear developments. Demands for open source information have steadily grown and are likely to continue to grow in the future. Coupled with the enormous growth and accessibility in the volume and sources of information, new challenges are presented, both technical and analytical. This paper discusses actions taken and future plans for multi-source and multi-disciplinary analytic integration to strengthen confidence in safeguards conclusions - especially regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities. (Author)

The relative importance of information sources in consumers' choice of hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gooding, S K

1995-01-01

The research presented focuses on an examination of the relative importance of word-of-mouth, expert opinion, external communication, and past experience in the context of hospital choice. Past research has examined the effect of each individually and various combinations of the four sources, but not all four simultaneously. Results of the present study suggest that past experience plays a greater role in hospital choice than other information sources, including expert opinion. The strength of word-of-mouth as a source of information is also verified. The implications of this research include the following: (1) health care researchers need to incorporate word-of-mouth when investigating informations sources, and (2) local hospitals need to be aware of "negative perceptions" and strive for consumer satisfaction. Health care delivery systems incorporating consumer-based choice render these findings especially valuable as researchers and practitioners address the challenges that these evolving systems will bring.

Modelling Dynamic Forgetting in Distributed Information Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

N.F. Höning (Nicolas); M.C. Schut

2010-01-01

htmlabstractWe describe and model a new aspect in the design of distributed information systems. We build upon a previously described problem on the microlevel, which asks how quickly agents should discount (forget) their experience: If they cherish their memories, they can build their reports on

TSUNAMI INFORMATION SOURCES PART 2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L. Wiegel

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Tsunami Information Sources (Robert L. Wiegel, University of California, Berkeley, CA, UCB/HEL 2005-1, 14 December 2005, 115 pages, is available in printed format, and on a diskette. It is also available in electronic format at the Water Resources Center Archives, University of California, Berkeley, CA http:www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/tsunamis.htmland in the International Journal of The Tsunami Society, Science of Tsunami Hazards (Vol. 24, No. 2, 2006, pp 58-171 at http://www.sthjournal.org/sth6.htm.This is Part 2 of the report. It has two components. They are: 1.(Sections A and B. Sources added since the first report, and corrections to a few listed in the first report. 2.(Sections C and D. References from both the first report and this report, listed in two categories:Section C. Planning and engineering design for tsunami mitigation/protection; adjustments to the hazard; damage to structures and infrastructureSection D. Tsunami propagation nearshore; induced oscillations; runup/inundation (flooding and drawdown.

Foreign electronic information sources about environment in the Internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svrsek, L.

2005-01-01

This presentation deals with external electronic information sources (e-sources) i. e. about data bases which are formed no by users or their institutes. Data bases are compiled by producers of data which are publishing in different forms and offerer it for users by different form. In the first part of contribution e-sources are described at the first generally. In the second part, some most significant data bases about environment in on-line medium of Internet, are described in detail

Family of Quantum Sources for Improving Near Field Accuracy in Transducer Modeling by the Distributed Point Source Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Placko

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The distributed point source method, or DPSM, developed in the last decade has been used for solving various engineering problems—such as elastic and electromagnetic wave propagation, electrostatic, and fluid flow problems. Based on a semi-analytical formulation, the DPSM solution is generally built by superimposing the point source solutions or Green’s functions. However, the DPSM solution can be also obtained by superimposing elemental solutions of volume sources having some source density called the equivalent source density (ESD. In earlier works mostly point sources were used. In this paper the DPSM formulation is modified to introduce a new kind of ESD, replacing the classical single point source by a family of point sources that are referred to as quantum sources. The proposed formulation with these quantum sources do not change the dimension of the global matrix to be inverted to solve the problem when compared with the classical point source-based DPSM formulation. To assess the performance of this new formulation, the ultrasonic field generated by a circular planer transducer was compared with the classical DPSM formulation and analytical solution. The results show a significant improvement in the near field computation.

Deaf Adolescents’ Learning of Cardiovascular Health Information: Sources and Access Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Scott R.; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Hauser, Peter C.

2015-01-01

Deaf individuals have more cardiovascular risks than the general population that are believed to be related to their cardiovascular health knowledge disparities. This phenomenological study describes where 20 deaf sign language-using adolescents from Rochester, New York, many who possess many positive characteristics to support their health literacy, learn cardiovascular health information and their lived experiences accessing health information. The goal is to ultimately use this information to improve the delivery of cardiovascular health education to this population and other deaf adolescents at a higher risk for weak health literacy. Deaf bilingual researchers interviewed deaf adolescents, transcribed and coded the data, and described the findings. Five major sources of cardiovascular health information were identified including family, health education teachers, healthcare providers, printed materials, and informal sources. Despite possessing advantageous characteristics contributing to stronger health literacy, study participants described significant challenges with accessing health information from each source. They also demonstrated inconsistencies in their cardiovascular health knowledge, especially regarding heart attack, stroke, and cholesterol. These findings suggest a great need for additional public funding to research deaf adolescents’ informal health-related learning, develop accessible and culturally appropriate health surveys and health education programming, improve interpreter education, and disseminate information through social media. PMID:26048900

Social internet sites as a source of public health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, Karl; Howe, William; Dellavalle, Robert P

2009-04-01

Social media websites, such as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Second Life are rapidly emerging as popular sources of health information especially for teens and young adults. Social media marketing carries the advantages of low cost, rapid transmission through a wide community, and user interaction. Disadvantages include blind authorship, lack of source citation, and presentation of opinion as fact. Dermatologists and other health care providers should recognize the importance of social media websites and their potential usefulness for disseminating health information.

Chemotherapy and information‐seeking behaviour: characteristics of patients using mass‐media information sources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muusses, L.D.; van Weert, J.C.M.; van Dulmen, S; Jansen, extern

2011-01-01

Objective Fulfilling patients' information needs can help them cope with illness and improve their well-being. Little research has been conducted on the characteristics of patients using different information sources. This study aims to get insight into which information sources patients receiving

10 CFR 4.33 - Access to sources of information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... report and shall set forth what efforts it has made to obtain the information. ... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Access to sources of information. 4.33 Section 4.33 Energy... FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE COMMISSION Regulations Implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act...

Spatial distribution and landuse planning of informal automobile ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Spatial distribution and landuse planning of informal automobile workshops in Osogbo, ... data pertaining to the activities and other related issues of their workshops. ... The study therefore, recommends the establishment of mechanic complex, ...

Source reconstruction using phase space beam summation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graubart, Gideon.

1990-10-01

In this work, the phase-space beam summation technique (PSBS), is applied to back propagation and inverse source problems. The PSBS expresses the field as a superposition of shifted and tilted beams. This phase space spectrum of beams is matched to the source distribution via an amplitude function which expresses the local spectrum of the source function in terms of a local Fourier transform. In this work, the emphasis is on the phase space processing of the data, on the information content of this data and on the back propagation scheme. More work is still required to combine this back propagation approach in a full, multi experiment inverse scattering scheme. It is shown that the phase space distribution of the data, computed via the local spectrum transform, is localized along lines that define the local arrival direction of the wave data. We explore how the choice of the beam width affects the compactification of this distribution, and derive criteria for choosing a window that optimizes this distribution. It should be emphasized that compact distribution implies fewer beams in the back propagation scheme and therefore higher numerical efficiency and better physical insight. Furthermore it is shown how the local information property of the phase space representation can be used to improve the performance of this simple back propagation problem, in particular with regard to axial resolution; the distance to the source can be determined by back propagating only the large angle phase space beams that focus on the source. The information concerning transverse distribution of the source, on the other hand, is contained in the axial phase space region and can therefore be determined by the corresponding back propagating beams. Because of the global nature of the plane waves propagators the conventional plane wave back propagation scheme does not have the same 'focusing' property, and therefore suffers from lack of information localization and axial resolution. The

Sources of training and of information for the teachers: the situation in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marty, D.

1994-01-01

The best for an efficient communication is to stimulate the teachers' demand for information about nuclear energy. CEA, seen as the best information source for teachers, tries to apply this method (books, exhibitions, conferences, workshops). It is necessary to communicate following its legitimacy, to take into account the various sources of information, to communicate to these various sources and finally to help the citizen to detect the exaggerations of all kinds. In brief, inspire confidence

Relationship between availability of contraceptive products and pharmacists as information sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Elizabeth A; Farris, Karen B; Chrischilles, Elizabeth; Aquilino, Mary

2012-01-01

To describe the relationship between the availability and accessibility of contraceptives in Iowa pharmacies and the extent to which pharmacists act as an information source regarding contraceptives. Descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental study. Iowa in fall 2008. 282 pharmacists at Iowa community pharmacies. Cross-sectional survey. Contraceptive availability score, contraceptive accessibility score, and total access score. Regression analyses tested the relationships between the pharmacist information source score and the contraceptive availability, accessibility, and total access scores, controlling for geography, ownership, staff size, and average number of prescriptions per day. Significant positive relationships between the pharmacist information source score and product accessibility, product availability, and total access were observed. The relationship appeared to be driven primarily by product availability, and all were significantly influenced by pharmacy type. Significant negative relationships were found between product accessibility and independent/small chain pharmacies and mass merchandiser/grocery store pharmacies relative to large chain pharmacies. A significant negative relationship was found between independent/small chain pharmacies and the product availability score. Significant relationships were found between pharmacists' ability to act as sources of information for contraceptive products and the availability, accessibility, and overall access to contraceptives in the pharmacy.

[Internet as a source of information about infertility among infertile patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Talarczyk, Joanna; Hauke, Jan; Poniewaz, Marta; Serdyńska-Szuster, Monika; Pawelczyk, Leszek; Jedrzejczak, Piotr

2012-04-01

Around one million couples in Poland suffer from infertility People in reproductive age are most active Internet users. The aim of the study was to assess Internet habits of infertile patients. We checked to what extent infertile patients seek information about infertility on-line and what is their approach to the information found. 85 female patients treated for infertility for at least one year were surveyed. The anonymous questionnaire was designed by the authors of the publication. It consisted of questions related to medical history of the patients and sources of information about infertility they used. It also checked Internet activity of the patients and contained Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Chi-square test and Spearman's correlation test were used to evaluate the results. The majority of patients used Internet to find information about infertility (93%); 46% of the respondent declared Internet forums to be their main source of information about it. Patients used on-line sources of information more often than stricte medical sources. Internet influenced their relation with the physician. 64% of patients verified on-line information and treatment proposed by their doctor before using them. One third of the surveyed women claimed their knowledge about infertility comes more from the Internet than the specialist who treated them. There was a positive correlation between patients who checked diagnostic or therapeutic methods proposed by their physician with depression in BDI. Considering the great impact of Internet forums and web pages on patient approach to diagnostics and treatment of infertility there seems to be a need to create a professional Polish website and forum to provide the patients with reliable information about the disease.

Sources of Developmental Change in the Efficiency of Information Search

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggeri, Azzurra; Lombrozo, Tania; Griffiths, Thomas L.; Xu, Fei

2016-01-01

Children are active learners: they learn not only from the information people offer and the evidence they happen to observe, but by actively seeking information. However, children's information search strategies are typically less efficient than those of adults. In two studies, we isolate potential sources of developmental change in how children…

The Galactic Distribution of Massive Star Formation from the Red MSX Source Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Figura, Charles C.; Urquhart, J. S.

2013-01-01

Massive stars inject enormous amounts of energy into their environments in the form of UV radiation and molecular outflows, creating HII regions and enriching local chemistry. These effects provide feedback mechanisms that aid in regulating star formation in the region, and may trigger the formation of subsequent generations of stars. Understanding the mechanics of massive star formation presents an important key to understanding this process and its role in shaping the dynamics of galactic structure. The Red MSX Source (RMS) survey is a multi-wavelength investigation of ~1200 massive young stellar objects (MYSO) and ultra-compact HII (UCHII) regions identified from a sample of colour-selected sources from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) point source catalog and Two Micron All Sky Survey. We present a study of over 900 MYSO and UCHII regions investigated by the RMS survey. We review the methods used to determine distances, and investigate the radial galactocentric distribution of these sources in context with the observed structure of the galaxy. The distribution of MYSO and UCHII regions is found to be spatially correlated with the spiral arms and galactic bar. We examine the radial distribution of MYSOs and UCHII regions and find variations in the star formation rate between the inner and outer Galaxy and discuss the implications for star formation throughout the galactic disc.

Incorporating information from source simulations into searches for gravitational-wave bursts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady, Patrick R; Ray-Majumder, Saikat

2004-01-01

The detection of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources of gravitational waves is a realistic goal for the current generation of interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. Short duration bursts of gravitational waves from core-collapse supernovae or mergers of binary black holes may bring a wealth of astronomical and astrophysical information. The weakness of the waves and the rarity of the events urges the development of optimal methods to detect the waves. The waves from these sources are not generally known well enough to use matched filtering however; this drives the need to develop new ways to exploit source simulation information in both detection and information extraction. We present an algorithmic approach to using catalogues of gravitational-wave signals developed through numerical simulation, or otherwise, to enhance our ability to detect these waves. As more detailed simulations become available, it is straightforward to incorporate the new information into the search method. This approach may also be useful when trying to extract information from a gravitational-wave observation by allowing direct comparison between the observation and simulations

Exploring the Power of Heterogeneous Information Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

set of movies derived from two information sources: movie genres and users. The genre information may indicate that two movies that are “ animations ...are more similar than two movies one of which is an “ animation ” and one of which is a “romance” movie. Similarly, movies watched by the same set of...grown- ups ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ X1-The Lion King; X2-Toy Story; X3-Kungfu Panda ; X4-Wall-E; X5-Casablanca; X6-Titanic; X7-The Notebook kids Figure 6.2: A

Social media as a source of market information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Kubiak

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays information plays an important role in the development of companies. Information constitutes the main source of building competitive advantage allowing to make a good business decision, which leads to a company’s success on the market. Conducting marketing research makes it possible to obtain valuable information, but unfortunately this method is usually associated with the necessity of bearing high costs and in many cases research itself is conducted in an incorrect way and delivers incorrect information. We live in the age of information society, which is associated with the rapid development of the Internet and tools using the Internet allowing various forms of communication. One of such tools are social media platforms, which are usually regarded as a place for building contact networks and communication with other users. It is worth pointing out here that thanks to their popularity social media have become a place which is more and more often noticed by companies. Almost every well-known brand has its profile in the social media, allowing the users of social media portals direct contact with products, or services offered by a particular brand. Persistent popularity of social media means that they are becoming a rich source of information, both about the users – current and potential clients, but also about rivals – companies with a similar profile of activity, actively operating in social networks. The starting point for further deliberations are issues associated with the functioning of social media as a place allowing to obtain market information, which in light of the concept of market intelligence constitutes an alternative to traditional marketing research.

Distributed Learning and Information Dynamics In Networked Autonomous Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-20

problem, while balancing uncertainty, sensor information, and information about other agents. We used three variants of a warehouse task to show that a...Communication- Efficient Sparse Learning”, ICML 2014 workshop on New Learning Frameworks and Models for Big Data , December 2014. (to appear) 44. A. Bellet... data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this

Bayesian mixture models for source separation in MEG

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvetti, Daniela; Homa, Laura; Somersalo, Erkki

2011-01-01

This paper discusses the problem of imaging electromagnetic brain activity from measurements of the induced magnetic field outside the head. This imaging modality, magnetoencephalography (MEG), is known to be severely ill posed, and in order to obtain useful estimates for the activity map, complementary information needs to be used to regularize the problem. In this paper, a particular emphasis is on finding non-superficial focal sources that induce a magnetic field that may be confused with noise due to external sources and with distributed brain noise. The data are assumed to come from a mixture of a focal source and a spatially distributed possibly virtual source; hence, to differentiate between those two components, the problem is solved within a Bayesian framework, with a mixture model prior encoding the information that different sources may be concurrently active. The mixture model prior combines one density that favors strongly focal sources and another that favors spatially distributed sources, interpreted as clutter in the source estimation. Furthermore, to address the challenge of localizing deep focal sources, a novel depth sounding algorithm is suggested, and it is shown with simulated data that the method is able to distinguish between a signal arising from a deep focal source and a clutter signal. (paper)

Identification of Sparse Audio Tampering Using Distributed Source Coding and Compressive Sensing Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valenzise G

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the past few years, a large amount of techniques have been proposed to identify whether a multimedia content has been illegally tampered or not. Nevertheless, very few efforts have been devoted to identifying which kind of attack has been carried out, especially due to the large data required for this task. We propose a novel hashing scheme which exploits the paradigms of compressive sensing and distributed source coding to generate a compact hash signature, and we apply it to the case of audio content protection. The audio content provider produces a small hash signature by computing a limited number of random projections of a perceptual, time-frequency representation of the original audio stream; the audio hash is given by the syndrome bits of an LDPC code applied to the projections. At the content user side, the hash is decoded using distributed source coding tools. If the tampering is sparsifiable or compressible in some orthonormal basis or redundant dictionary, it is possible to identify the time-frequency position of the attack, with a hash size as small as 200 bits/second; the bit saving obtained by introducing distributed source coding ranges between 20% to 70%.

Deaf Adolescents' Learning of Cardiovascular Health Information: Sources and Access Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Scott R; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Hauser, Peter C

2015-10-01

Deaf individuals have more cardiovascular risks than the general population that are believed to be related to their cardiovascular health knowledge disparities. This phenomenological study describes where 20 deaf sign language-using adolescents from Rochester, New York, many who possess many positive characteristics to support their health literacy, learn cardiovascular health information and their lived experiences accessing health information. The goal is to ultimately use this information to improve the delivery of cardiovascular health education to this population and other deaf adolescents at a higher risk for weak health literacy. Deaf bilingual researchers interviewed deaf adolescents, transcribed and coded the data, and described the findings. Five major sources of cardiovascular health information were identified including family, health education teachers, healthcare providers, printed materials, and informal sources. Despite possessing advantageous characteristics contributing to stronger health literacy, study participants described significant challenges with accessing health information from each source. They also demonstrated inconsistencies in their cardiovascular health knowledge, especially regarding heart attack, stroke, and cholesterol. These findings suggest a great need for additional public funding to research deaf adolescents' informal health-related learning, develop accessible and culturally appropriate health surveys and health education programming, improve interpreter education, and disseminate information through social media. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Adolescent Health Literacy: The Importance of Credible Sources for Online Health Information

Science.gov (United States)

Ghaddar, Suad F.; Valerio, Melissa A.; Garcia, Carolyn M.; Hansen, Lucy

2012-01-01

Background: Little research has examined adolescent health literacy and its relationship with online health information sources. The purpose of this study is to explore health literacy among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent population and to investigate whether exposure to a credible source of online health information, MedlinePlus[R], is…

Health Information Sources, Perceived Vaccination Benefits, and Maintenance of Childhood Vaccination Schedules.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Juwon; Shah, Dhavan V

2018-06-05

Parental concerns over the safety or necessity of childhood vaccination have increased over the past decades. At the same time, there has been a proliferation of vaccine-related information available through a range of health information sources. This study investigates the associations between evaluations of health information sources, parental perceptions of childhood vaccination benefits, and the maintenance of vaccination schedules for their children. Specifically, this study aims to (a) incorporate social media into the battery of health information sources and (b) differentiate households with a childhood autism diagnosis and those without, given unsubstantiated but persistent concerns about vaccine safety and autism. Analyzing a sample of U.S. households, a total of 4,174 parents who have at least one child under the age of 18 were analyzed, including 138 of parents of households with a childhood autism diagnosis. Results show that the more the parents value interpersonal communication and magazines as sources of health information, the more they perceive vaccination benefits, and the more the value they put on television, the better they keep vaccination schedules up-to-date for their children. On the other hand, social media are negatively associated with their perceptions of vaccination benefits. Although parents of children diagnosed with autism are less likely to perceive vaccination benefits, no interaction effects with evaluations of health information sources are found on parental perceptions of vaccination benefits or maintenance of schedules.

Distributed retrieval practice promotes superior recall of anatomy information.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobson, John L; Perez, Jose; Linderholm, Tracy

2017-07-01

Effortful retrieval produces greater long-term recall of information when compared to studying (i.e., reading), as do learning sessions that are distributed (i.e., spaced apart) when compared to those that are massed together. Although the retrieval and distributed practice effects are well-established in the cognitive science literature, no studies have examined their additive effect with regard to learning anatomy information. The aim of this study was to determine how the benefits of retrieval practice vary with massed versus distributed learning. Participants used the following strategies to learn sets of skeletal muscle anatomy: (1) studying on three different days over a seven day period (SSSS 7,2,0 ), (2) studying and retrieving on three different days over a seven day period (SRSR 7,2,0 ), (3) studying on two different days over a two day period (SSSSSS 2,0 ), (4) studying and retrieving on two separate days over a two day period (SRSRSR 2,0 ), and (5) studying and retrieving on one day (SRx6 0 ). All strategies consisted of 12 learning phases and lasted exactly 24 minutes. Muscle information retention was assessed via free recall and using repeated measures ANOVAs. A week after learning, the recall scores were 24.72 ± 3.12, 33.88 ± 3.48, 15.51 ± 2.48, 20.72 ± 2.94, and 12.86 ± 2.05 for the SSSS 7,2,0 , SRSR 7,2,0 , SSSSSS 2,0 , STSTST 2,0 , and SRx6 0 strategies, respectively. In conclusion, the distributed strategies produced significantly better recall than the massed strategies, the retrieval-based strategies produced significantly better recall than the studying strategies, and the combination of distributed and retrieval practice generated the greatest recall of anatomy information. Anat Sci Educ 10: 339-347. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Z-Source-Inverter-Based Flexible Distributed Generation System Solution for Grid Power Quality Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Vilathgamuwa, D. M.; Loh, Poh Chiang

2009-01-01

Distributed generation (DG) systems are usually connected to the grid using power electronic converters. Power delivered from such DG sources depends on factors like energy availability and load demand. The converters used in power conversion do not operate with their full capacity all the time......-stage buck-boost inverter, recently proposed Z-source inverter (ZSI) is a good candidate for future DG systems. This paper presents a controller design for a ZSI-based DG system to improve power quality of distribution systems. The proposed control method is tested with simulation results obtained using...

AGIS: Evolution of Distributed Computing Information system for ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Anisenkov, Alexey; The ATLAS collaboration; Alandes Pradillo, Maria; Karavakis, Edward

2015-01-01

The variety of the ATLAS Computing Infrastructure requires a central information system to define the topology of computing resources and to store the different parameters and configuration data which are needed by the various ATLAS software components. The ATLAS Grid Information System is the system designed to integrate configuration and status information about resources, services and topology of the computing infrastructure used by ATLAS Distributed Computing applications and services.

Preferred Information Sources of High School Students for Community Colleges and Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Brent; Patino, Vanessa; Jackson, Gary

2004-01-01

To effectively communicate with potential students, it is important to utilize their preferred information sources. Survey data were gathered from 716 high school students who planned to attend college. There were communication source differences based on race and intent to attend two-year vs. four-year institutions. Important information sources…

Sources of information on medical geography.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullins, L S

1966-07-01

Adequate research in the peripheral field of medical geography requires familiarity with the literature of medicine, geography, and other environmentally oriented fields. The pertinent literature of the two primary disciplines, as well as that of anthropology, nutrition, and human bioclimatology, is surveyed from a bibliographical point of view. A brief review of historical sources is presented, followed by a discussion of the contemporary organizations, both international and national, active in the field. Emphasis is placed on the publishing programs and projects, maps, atlases, symposia, reports, and other literature sponsored or stimulated by these organizations. Regional bibliographical surveys for East Africa, India, and the Soviet Union are also noted. Pertinent aspects of bibliographies, indexes, abstracts, library card catalogs and accession lists, and other resources are listed, with emphasis on the various subject headings and other approaches to them. Throughout, the sources of information are approached from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary viewpoint.

Distributed Information Search and Retrieval for Astronomical Resource Discovery and Data Mining

Science.gov (United States)

Murtagh, Fionn; Guillaume, Damien

Information search and retrieval has become by nature a distributed task. We look at tools and techniques which are of importance in this area. Current technological evolution can be summarized as the growing stability and cohesiveness of distributed architectures of searchable objects. The objects themselves are more often than not multimedia, including published articles or grey literature reports, yellow page services, image data, catalogs, presentation and online display materials, and ``operations'' information such as scheduling and publicly accessible proposal information. The evolution towards distributed architectures, protocols and formats, and the direction of our own work, are focussed on in this paper.

10 CFR 32.74 - Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices containing byproduct material for medical use.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices... SPECIFIC DOMESTIC LICENSES TO MANUFACTURE OR TRANSFER CERTAIN ITEMS CONTAINING BYPRODUCT MATERIAL Generally Licensed Items § 32.74 Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices containing byproduct material for...

Probability Distribution and Deviation Information Fusion Driven Support Vector Regression Model and Its Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changhao Fan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In modeling, only information from the deviation between the output of the support vector regression (SVR model and the training sample is considered, whereas the other prior information of the training sample, such as probability distribution information, is ignored. Probabilistic distribution information describes the overall distribution of sample data in a training sample that contains different degrees of noise and potential outliers, as well as helping develop a high-accuracy model. To mine and use the probability distribution information of a training sample, a new support vector regression model that incorporates probability distribution information weight SVR (PDISVR is proposed. In the PDISVR model, the probability distribution of each sample is considered as the weight and is then introduced into the error coefficient and slack variables of SVR. Thus, the deviation and probability distribution information of the training sample are both used in the PDISVR model to eliminate the influence of noise and outliers in the training sample and to improve predictive performance. Furthermore, examples with different degrees of noise were employed to demonstrate the performance of PDISVR, which was then compared with those of three SVR-based methods. The results showed that PDISVR performs better than the three other methods.

MODELING OF TECHNICAL CHANNELS OF INFORMATION LEAKAGE AT DISTRIBUTED CONTROL OBJECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksander Vladimirovich Karpov

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The significant increase in requirements for distributed control objects’ functioning can’t be realized only at the expense of the widening and strengthening of security control measures. The first step in ensuring the information security at such objects is the analysis of the conditions of their functioning and modeling of technical channels of information leakage. The development of models of such channels is essentially the only method of complete study of their opportunities and it is pointed toward receiving quantitative assessments of the safe operation of compound objects. The evaluation data are necessary to make a decision on the degree of the information security from a leak according to the current criterion. The existing models are developed for the standard concentrated objects and allow to evaluate the level of information security from a leak on each of channels separately, what involves the significant increase in the required protective resource and time of assessment of information security on an object in general. The article deals with a logical-and-probabilistic method of a security assessment of structurally-compound objects. The model of a security leak on the distributed control objects is cited as an example. It is recommended to use a software package of an automated structurally-logistical modeling of compound systems, which allows to evaluate risk of information leakage in the loudspeaker. A possibility of information leakage by technical channels is evaluated and such differential characteristics of the safe operation of the distributed control objects as positive and negative contributions of the initiating events and conditions, which cause a leak are calculated. Purpose. The aim is a quantitative assessment of data risk, which is necessary for justifying the rational composition of organizational and technical protection measures, as well as a variant of the structure of the information security system from a

Investigating The Neutron Flux Distribution Of The Miniature Neutron Source Reactor MNSR Type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Hoang Hai; Do Quang Binh

2011-01-01

Neutron flux distribution is the important characteristic of nuclear reactor. In this article, four energy group neutron flux distributions of the miniature neutron source reactor MNSR type versus radial and axial directions are investigated in case the control rod is fully withdrawn. In addition, the effect of control rod positions on the thermal neutron flux distribution is also studied. The group constants for all reactor components are generated by the WIMSD code, and the neutron flux distributions are calculated by the CITATION code. The results show that the control rod positions only affect in the planning area for distribution in the region around the control rod. (author)

Perceived relevance and information needs regarding food topics and preferred information sources among Dutch adults: results of a quantitative consumer study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dillen, van S.M.E.; Hiddink, G.J.; Koelen, M.A.; Graaf, de C.; Woerkum, van C.M.J.

2004-01-01

Objective: For more effective nutrition communication, it is crucial to identify sources from which consumers seek information. Our purpose was to assess perceived relevance and information needs regarding food topics, and preferred information sources by means of quantitative consumer research.

Parameter estimation of multivariate multiple regression model using bayesian with non-informative Jeffreys’ prior distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Saputro, D. R. S.; Amalia, F.; Widyaningsih, P.; Affan, R. C.

2018-05-01

Bayesian method is a method that can be used to estimate the parameters of multivariate multiple regression model. Bayesian method has two distributions, there are prior and posterior distributions. Posterior distribution is influenced by the selection of prior distribution. Jeffreys’ prior distribution is a kind of Non-informative prior distribution. This prior is used when the information about parameter not available. Non-informative Jeffreys’ prior distribution is combined with the sample information resulting the posterior distribution. Posterior distribution is used to estimate the parameter. The purposes of this research is to estimate the parameters of multivariate regression model using Bayesian method with Non-informative Jeffreys’ prior distribution. Based on the results and discussion, parameter estimation of β and Σ which were obtained from expected value of random variable of marginal posterior distribution function. The marginal posterior distributions for β and Σ are multivariate normal and inverse Wishart. However, in calculation of the expected value involving integral of a function which difficult to determine the value. Therefore, approach is needed by generating of random samples according to the posterior distribution characteristics of each parameter using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Gibbs sampling algorithm.

Smokers' sources of e-cigarette awareness and risk information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivia A. Wackowski

2015-01-01

Conclusions: Future research should explore the content of e-cigarette information sources, their potential impact, and ways they might be strengthened or changed through regulatory and/or educational efforts.

Sources And Use Of Extension Information Among Maize Farmers In ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... plant spacing, fertilizer application, post-harvest processing, and storage. Recommendations on herbicides and pesticides were however, not utilized to a great extent by the respondents. Key words: Extension information, improved maize, utilization, sources of information. Journal Of Agriculture And Social Research Vol.

A practical algorithm for distribution state estimation including renewable energy sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niknam, Taher [Electronic and Electrical Department, Shiraz University of Technology, Modares Blvd., P.O. 71555-313, Shiraz (Iran); Firouzi, Bahman Bahmani [Islamic Azad University Marvdasht Branch, Marvdasht (Iran)

2009-11-15

Renewable energy is energy that is in continuous supply over time. These kinds of energy sources are divided into five principal renewable sources of energy: the sun, the wind, flowing water, biomass and heat from within the earth. According to some studies carried out by the research institutes, about 25% of the new generation will be generated by Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) in the near future. Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact of RESs on the power systems, especially on the distribution networks. This paper presents a practical Distribution State Estimation (DSE) including RESs and some practical consideration. The proposed algorithm is based on the combination of Nelder-Mead simplex search and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms, called PSO-NM. The proposed algorithm can estimate load and RES output values by Weighted Least-Square (WLS) approach. Some practical considerations are var compensators, Voltage Regulators (VRs), Under Load Tap Changer (ULTC) transformer modeling, which usually have nonlinear and discrete characteristics, and unbalanced three-phase power flow equations. The comparison results with other evolutionary optimization algorithms such as original PSO, Honey Bee Mating Optimization (HBMO), Neural Networks (NNs), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), and Genetic Algorithm (GA) for a test system demonstrate that PSO-NM is extremely effective and efficient for the DSE problems. (author)

DESIGNS MATTER: Delivering Information Sources for Tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margie A. Nolasco

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Tourism has benefits not just for travelers, but also to the local economy. Since, Bicol Region has natural and cultural attractions; it is a potential travel destination in the country. Technology in delivering information sources played vital role for the success of the tourism industry in the Region. This allows travel enthusiasts to get more information about various tourist attractions. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of delivering information sources such as web advertisement and desktop publishing for tourist promotion in the Bicol Region. Specifically, it determined the status of tourism, and identified common forms of promotions for tourism development. The study adopted mixed method of research. This method was utilized to confirm and validate findings. Interviews and focus group discussions were used to gather data from the respondents of the selected Local Government Units, Department of Tourism, Travel Agencies and Hotel Agents in the Region. Based on the findings, of the total foreign visitors in the country, only 9.14% visited Bicol Region in 2014. That is why, domestic tourist showed high percentage against foreign visitors with 25.7%. Brochures with EZ maps as most commonly used desktop publishing materials and websites and social media for web advertisement. Thus, there is a need to reevaluate promotional activities by the DOT and other agencies. Adoption suggestive features for creative desktop publishing materials and web services should be considered to increase tourist visitors in the Region.

Distribution of hadron intranuclear cascade for large distance from a source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bibin, V.L.; Kazarnovskij, M.V.; Serezhnikov, S.V.

1985-01-01

Analytical solution of the problem of three-component hadron cascade development for large distances from a source is obtained in the framework of a series of simplifying assumptions. It makes possible to understand physical mechanisms of the process studied and to obtain approximate asymptotic expressions for hadron distribution functions

Sealed Radioactive Sources. Information, Resources, and Advice for Key Groups about Preventing the Loss of Control over Sealed Radioactive Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-10-01

Among its many activities to improve the safety and security of sealed sources, the IAEA has been investigating the root causes of major accidents and incidents since the 1980's and publishes findings so that others can learn from them. There are growing concerns today about the possibility that an improperly stored source could be stolen and used for malicious purposes. To improve both safety and security, information needs to be in the hands of those whose actions and decisions can prevent a source from being lost or stolen in the first place. The IAEA developed this booklet to help improve communication with key groups about hazards that may result from the loss of control over sealed radioactive sources and measures that should be implemented to prevent such loss of control. Many people may benefit from the information contained in this booklet, particularly those working with sources and those likely to be involved if control over a source is lost; especially: officials in government agencies, first responders, medical users, industrial users and the metal recycling industry. The general public may also benefit from an understanding of the fundamentals of radiation safety. This booklet is comprised of several stand-alone chapters intended to communicate with these key groups. Various accidents that are described and information that is provided are relevant to more than one key group and therefore, some information is repeated throughout the booklet. This booklet seeks to raise awareness of the importance of the safety and security of sealed radioactive sources. However, it is not intended to be a comprehensive 'how to' guide for implementing safety and security measures for sealed radioactive sources. For more information on these measures, readers are encouraged to consult the key IAEA safety and security-related publications identified in this booklet

Distributed Systems and Applications of Information Filtering and Retrieval

CERN Document Server

Giuliani, Alessandro; Semeraro, Giovanni; DART 2012

2014-01-01

This volume focuses on new challenges in distributed Information Filtering and Retrieval. It collects invited chapters and extended research contributions from the special session on Information Filtering and Retrieval: Novel Distributed Systems and Applications (DART) of the 4th International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Information Retrieval (KDIR 2012), held in Barcelona, Spain, on 4-7 October 2012. The main focus of DART was to discuss and compare suitable novel solutions based on intelligent techniques and applied to real-world applications. The chapters of this book present a comprehensive review of related works and state of the art. Authors, both practitioners and researchers, shared their results in several topics such as "Multi-Agent Systems", "Natural Language Processing", "Automatic Advertisement", "Customer Interaction Analytics", "Opinion Mining". Contributions have been careful reviewed by experts in the area, who also gave useful suggestions to improve the quality of the volume.

Use of information sources by family physicians: a literature survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoeven, A.A.H.; Boerma, E.J.; Meyboom-de Jong, B

Analysis of the use of information sources by family physicians is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. First, analysis of the ways in which family physicians handle information may point to opportunities for improvement. Second, such efforts may lead to improvements in the

Associations between Sexually Experienced Adolescents' Sources of Information about Sex and Sexual Risk Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Secor-Turner, Molly; Sieving, Renee E.; Eisenberg, Marla E.; Skay, Carol

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe prevalent informal sources of information about sex and examine associations between informal sources of information about sex and sexual risk outcomes among sexually experienced adolescents. Work involved the secondary analysis of data from the Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide survey to monitor…

Sorting a distribution theory

CERN Document Server

Mahmoud, Hosam M

2011-01-01

A cutting-edge look at the emerging distributional theory of sorting Research on distributions associated with sorting algorithms has grown dramatically over the last few decades, spawning many exact and limiting distributions of complexity measures for many sorting algorithms. Yet much of this information has been scattered in disparate and highly specialized sources throughout the literature. In Sorting: A Distribution Theory, leading authority Hosam Mahmoud compiles, consolidates, and clarifies the large volume of available research, providing a much-needed, comprehensive treatment of the

Open source tools for the information theoretic analysis of neural data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin A. A Ince

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The recent and rapid development of open-source software tools for the analysis of neurophysiological datasets consisting of multiple simultaneous recordings of spikes, field potentials and other neural signals holds the promise for a significant advance in the standardization, transparency, quality, reproducibility and variety of techniques used to analyze neurophysiological data and integrate the information obtained at different spatial and temporal scales. In this Review we focus on recent advances in open source toolboxes for the information theoretic analysis of neural responses. We also present examples of their use to investigate the role of spike timing precision, correlations across neurons and field potential fluctuations in the encoding of sensory information. These information toolboxes, available both in Matlab and Python programming environments, hold the potential to enlarge the domain of application of information theory to neuroscience and to lead to new discoveries about how neurons encode and transmit information.

Open source tools for the information theoretic analysis of neural data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ince, Robin A A; Mazzoni, Alberto; Petersen, Rasmus S; Panzeri, Stefano

2010-01-01

The recent and rapid development of open source software tools for the analysis of neurophysiological datasets consisting of simultaneous multiple recordings of spikes, field potentials and other neural signals holds the promise for a significant advance in the standardization, transparency, quality, reproducibility and variety of techniques used to analyze neurophysiological data and for the integration of information obtained at different spatial and temporal scales. In this review we focus on recent advances in open source toolboxes for the information theoretic analysis of neural responses. We also present examples of their use to investigate the role of spike timing precision, correlations across neurons, and field potential fluctuations in the encoding of sensory information. These information toolboxes, available both in MATLAB and Python programming environments, hold the potential to enlarge the domain of application of information theory to neuroscience and to lead to new discoveries about how neurons encode and transmit information.

Information system for administrating and distributing color images through internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The information system for administrating and distributing color images through the Internet ensures the consistent replication of color images, their storage - in an on-line data base - and predictable distribution, by means of a digitally distributed flow, based on Windows platform and POD (Print On Demand technology. The consistent replication of color images inde-pendently from the parameters of the processing equipment and from the features of the programs composing the technological flow, is ensured by the standard color management sys-tem defined by ICC (International Color Consortium, which is integrated by the Windows operation system and by the POD technology. The latter minimize the noticeable differences between the colors captured, displayed or printed by various replication equipments and/or edited by various graphical applications. The system integrated web application ensures the uploading of the color images in an on-line database and their administration and distribution among the users via the Internet. For the preservation of the data expressed by the color im-ages during their transfer along a digitally distributed flow, the software application includes an original tool ensuring the accurate replication of colors on computer displays or when printing them by means of various color printers or presses. For development and use, this application employs a hardware platform based on PC support and a competitive software platform, based on: the Windows operation system, the .NET. Development medium and the C# programming language. This information system is beneficial for creators and users of color images, the success of the printed or on-line (Internet publications depending on the sizeable, predictable and accurate replication of colors employed for the visual expression of information in every activity fields of the modern society. The herein introduced information system enables all interested persons to access the

Enhancing the American Society of Clinical Oncology workforce information system with geographic distribution of oncologists and comparison of data sources for the number of practicing oncologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkwood, M Kelsey; Bruinooge, Suanna S; Goldstein, Michael A; Bajorin, Dean F; Kosty, Michael P

2014-01-01

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2007 workforce report projected US oncologist shortages by 2020. Intervening years have witnessed shifting trends in both supply and demand, demonstrating the need to capture data in a dynamic manner. The ASCO Workforce Information System (WIS) provides an infrastructure to update annually emerging characteristics of US oncologists (medical oncologists, hematologist/oncologists, and hematologists). Several possible data sources exist to capture the number of oncologists in the United States. The WIS primarily uses the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile database because it provides detailed demographics. This analysis also compares total counts of oncologists from American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certification reports, the National Provider Identifier (NPI) database, and Medicare Physician Compare data. The analysis also examines geographic distribution of oncologists by age and US population data. For each of the data sources, we pulled 2013 data. The Masterfile identified 13,409 oncologists. ABIM reported 13,757 oncologists. NPI listed 11,664 oncologists. Physician Compare identified 11,343 oncologists. Mapping of these data identifies distinct areas (primarily in central United States, Alaska, and Hawaii) that seem to lack ready access to oncologists. Efforts to survey oncologists about practice patterns will help determine if productivity and service delivery will change significantly. ASCO is committed to tracking oncologist supply and demand, as well as to providing timely analysis of strategies that will help address any shortages that may occur in specific regions or practice settings.

YouTube as a Source of Information on Ebola Virus Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Ranjan; Poudel, Dilli Ram; Karmacharya, Paras; Pathak, Amrit; Aryal, Madan Raj; Mahmood, Maryam; Donato, Anthony A

2015-07-01

The current West Africa epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD), which began from Guinea in December 2013, has been the longest and deadliest Ebola outbreak to date. With the propagation of the internet, public health officials must now compete with other official and unofficial sources of information to get their message out. This study aimed at critically appraising videos available on one popular internet video site (YouTube) as a source of information for Ebola virus disease (EVD). Videos were searched in YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) using the keyword "Ebola outbreak" from inception to November 1, 2014 with the default "relevance" filter. Only videos in English language under 10 min duration within first 10 pages of search were included. Duplicates were removed and the rest were classified as useful or misleading by two independent reviewers. Video sources were categorized by source. Inter-observer agreement was evaluated with kappa coefficient. Continuous and categorical variables were analyzed using the Student t-test and Chi-squared test, respectively. One hundred and eighteen out of 198 videos were evaluated. Thirty-one (26.27%) videos were classified as misleading and 87 (73.73%) videos were classified as useful. The kappa coefficient of agreement regarding the usefulness of the videos was 0.68 (P YouTube were characterized as useful. Although YouTube seems to generally be a useful source of information on the current outbreak, increased efforts to disseminate scientifically correct information is desired to prevent unnecessary panic among the among the general population.

Using a topographic index to distribute variable source area runoff predicted with the SCS curve-number equation

Science.gov (United States)

Lyon, Steve W.; Walter, M. Todd; Gérard-Marchant, Pierre; Steenhuis, Tammo S.

2004-10-01

Because the traditional Soil Conservation Service curve-number (SCS-CN) approach continues to be used ubiquitously in water quality models, new application methods are needed that are consistent with variable source area (VSA) hydrological processes in the landscape. We developed and tested a distributed approach for applying the traditional SCS-CN equation to watersheds where VSA hydrology is a dominant process. Predicting the location of source areas is important for watershed planning because restricting potentially polluting activities from runoff source areas is fundamental to controlling non-point-source pollution. The method presented here used the traditional SCS-CN approach to predict runoff volume and spatial extent of saturated areas and a topographic index, like that used in TOPMODEL, to distribute runoff source areas through watersheds. The resulting distributed CN-VSA method was applied to two subwatersheds of the Delaware basin in the Catskill Mountains region of New York State and one watershed in south-eastern Australia to produce runoff-probability maps. Observed saturated area locations in the watersheds agreed with the distributed CN-VSA method. Results showed good agreement with those obtained from the previously validated soil moisture routing (SMR) model. When compared with the traditional SCS-CN method, the distributed CN-VSA method predicted a similar total volume of runoff, but vastly different locations of runoff generation. Thus, the distributed CN-VSA approach provides a physically based method that is simple enough to be incorporated into water quality models, and other tools that currently use the traditional SCS-CN method, while still adhering to the principles of VSA hydrology.

A multi-agent systems approach to distributed bayesian information fusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pavlin, G.; de Oude, P.; Maris, M.; Nunnink, J.; Hood, T.

2010-01-01

This paper introduces design principles for modular Bayesian fusion systems which can (i) cope with large quantities of heterogeneous information and (ii) can adapt to changing constellations of information sources on the fly. The presented approach exploits the locality of relations in causal

Source of information on family planning among married men in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Population in Nigeria is turning into an issue that needs public alertness. Informing men on family planning services and contraceptives is extremely necessary. For this will promote more favorable attitudes and increase their involvement. This study aimed at investigating the source of family planning information for married ...

Acoustic Emission Source Location Using a Distributed Feedback Fiber Laser Rosette

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Li

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an approach for acoustic emission (AE source localization in a large marble stone using distributed feedback (DFB fiber lasers. The aim of this study is to detect damage in structures such as those found in civil applications. The directional sensitivity of DFB fiber laser is investigated by calculating location coefficient using a method of digital signal analysis. In this, autocorrelation is used to extract the location coefficient from the periodic AE signal and wavelet packet energy is calculated to get the location coefficient of a burst AE source. Normalization is processed to eliminate the influence of distance and intensity of AE source. Then a new location algorithm based on the location coefficient is presented and tested to determine the location of AE source using a Delta (Δ DFB fiber laser rosette configuration. The advantage of the proposed algorithm over the traditional methods based on fiber Bragg Grating (FBG include the capability of: having higher strain resolution for AE detection and taking into account two different types of AE source for location.

Towards an Information Model of Consistency Maintenance in Distributed Interactive Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Zhang

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A novel framework to model and explore predictive contract mechanisms in distributed interactive applications (DIAs using information theory is proposed. In our model, the entity state update scheme is modelled as an information generation, encoding, and reconstruction process. Such a perspective facilitates a quantitative measurement of state fidelity loss as a result of the distribution protocol. Results from an experimental study on a first-person shooter game are used to illustrate the utility of this measurement process. We contend that our proposed model is a starting point to reframe and analyse consistency maintenance in DIAs as a problem in distributed interactive media compression.

Detection prospects for high energy neutrino sources from the anisotropic matter distribution in the local Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mertsch, Philipp; Rameez, Mohamed; Tamborra, Irene, E-mail: mertsch@nbi.ku.dk, E-mail: mohamed.rameez@nbi.ku.dk, E-mail: tamborra@nbi.ku.dk [Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark)

2017-03-01

Constraints on the number and luminosity of the sources of the cosmic neutrinos detected by IceCube have been set by targeted searches for point sources. We set complementary constraints by using the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) catalogue, which maps the matter distribution of the local Universe. Assuming that the distribution of the neutrino sources follows that of matter, we look for correlations between ''warm'' spots on the IceCube skymap and the 2MRS matter distribution. Through Monte Carlo simulations of the expected number of neutrino multiplets and careful modelling of the detector performance (including that of IceCube-Gen2), we demonstrate that sources with local density exceeding 10{sup −6} Mpc{sup −3} and neutrino luminosity L {sub ν} ∼< 10{sup 42} erg s{sup −1} (10{sup 41} erg s{sup −1}) will be efficiently revealed by our method using IceCube (IceCube-Gen2). At low luminosities such as will be probed by IceCube-Gen2, the sensitivity of this analysis is superior to requiring statistically significant direct observation of a point source.

sources and use of extension information among maize farmers

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DR ADESOPE

SOURCES AND USE OF EXTENSION INFORMATION AMONG MAIZE ... play one role or the other toward ensuring that research-based technologies ..... alternative means of controlling weeds (e.g. hoeing), high cost of herbicides and the risk.

Temperature distribution of a simplified rotor due to a uniform heat source

Science.gov (United States)

Welzenbach, Sarah; Fischer, Tim; Meier, Felix; Werner, Ewald; kyzy, Sonun Ulan; Munz, Oliver

2018-03-01

In gas turbines, high combustion efficiency as well as operational safety are required. Thus, labyrinth seal systems with honeycomb liners are commonly used. In the case of rubbing events in the seal system, the components can be damaged due to cyclic thermal and mechanical loads. Temperature differences occurring at labyrinth seal fins during rubbing events can be determined by considering a single heat source acting periodically on the surface of a rotating cylinder. Existing literature analysing the temperature distribution on rotating cylindrical bodies due to a stationary heat source is reviewed. The temperature distribution on the circumference of a simplified labyrinth seal fin is calculated using an available and easy to implement analytical approach. A finite element model of the simplified labyrinth seal fin is created and the numerical results are compared to the analytical results. The temperature distributions calculated by the analytical and the numerical approaches coincide for low sliding velocities, while there are discrepancies of the calculated maximum temperatures for higher sliding velocities. The use of the analytical approach allows the conservative estimation of the maximum temperatures arising in labyrinth seal fins during rubbing events. At the same time, high calculation costs can be avoided.

North Slope, Alaska: Source rock distribution, richness, thermal maturity, and petroleum charge

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, K.E.; Magoon, L.B.; Bird, K.J.; Valin, Z.C.; Keller, M.A.

2006-01-01

Four key marine petroleum source rock units were identified, characterized, and mapped in the subsurface to better understand the origin and distribution of petroleum on the North Slope of Alaska. These marine source rocks, from oldest to youngest, include four intervals: (1) Middle-Upper Triassic Shublik Formation, (2) basal condensed section in the Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale, (3) Cretaceous pebble shale unit, and (4) Cretaceous Hue Shale. Well logs for more than 60 wells and total organic carbon (TOC) and Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses for 1183 samples in 125 well penetrations of the source rocks were used to map the present-day thickness of each source rock and the quantity (TOC), quality (hydrogen index), and thermal maturity (Tmax) of the organic matter. Based on assumptions related to carbon mass balance and regional distributions of TOC, the present-day source rock quantity and quality maps were used to determine the extent of fractional conversion of the kerogen to petroleum and to map the original TOC (TOCo) and the original hydrogen index (HIo) prior to thermal maturation. The quantity and quality of oil-prone organic matter in Shublik Formation source rock generally exceeded that of the other units prior to thermal maturation (commonly TOCo > 4 wt.% and HIo > 600 mg hydrocarbon/g TOC), although all are likely sources for at least some petroleum on the North Slope. We used Rock-Eval and hydrous pyrolysis methods to calculate expulsion factors and petroleum charge for each of the four source rocks in the study area. Without attempting to identify the correct methods, we conclude that calculations based on Rock-Eval pyrolysis overestimate expulsion factors and petroleum charge because low pressure and rapid removal of thermally cracked products by the carrier gas retards cross-linking and pyrobitumen formation that is otherwise favored by natural burial maturation. Expulsion factors and petroleum charge based on hydrous pyrolysis may also be high

Medical Information Sources Used by Specialists and Residents in Mashhad, Iran

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sarbaz, Masoumeh; Naderi, Hamid Reza; Aelami, Mohammad Hassan; Eslami, Saeid

2016-01-01

Background: Physicians continually need to update their knowledge to ensure appropriate decision making about patient care. Objectives: We aimed to identify and compare information sources used by specialists and residents, their reasons for choosing these sources, and the level of their confidence

Emerging Pattern in Utilizing Electronic Information Sources by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This is a detailed comparative analysis of electronic information sources (EIS) utilized by pharmacy lecturers in South-South universities in Nigeria. The purpose of this study is to analyze the extent to which EIS are utilized among pharmacy lecturers in South-South Nigeria. The aim is to explore the emerging pattern of ...

Local Information as a Resource in Distributed Quantum Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Horodecki, Michał; Horodecki, Karol; Horodecki, Paweł; Horodecki, Ryszard; Oppenheim, Jonathan; Sende, Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2003-03-01

A new paradigm for distributed quantum systems where information is a valuable resource is developed. After finding a unique measure for information, we construct a scheme for its manipulation in analogy with entanglement theory. In this scheme, instead of maximally entangled states, two parties distill local states. We show that, surprisingly, the main tools of entanglement theory are general enough to work in this opposite scheme. Up to plausible assumptions, we show that the amount of information that must be lost during the protocol of concentration of local information can be expressed as the relative entropy distance from some special set of states.

Tools for Trade Analysis and Open Source Information Monitoring for Non-proliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cojazzi, G.G.M.; Versino, C.; Wolfart, E.; Renda, G.; Janssens, W.A.M.; )

2015-01-01

The new state level approach being proposed by IAEA envisions an objective based and information driven safeguards approach utilizing all relevant information to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of safeguards. To this goal the IAEA makes also use of open source information, here broadly defined as any information that is neither classified nor proprietary. It includes, but is not limited to: media sources, government and non-governmental reports and analyzes, commercial data, and scientific/technical literature, including trade data. Within the EC support programme to IAEA, JRC has surveyed and catalogued open sources on import-export customs trade data and developed tools for supporting the use of the related databases in safeguards. The JRC software The Big Table, (TBT), supports i.a.: a) the search through a collection of reference documents relevant to trade analysis (legal/regulatory documents, technical handbooks); b) the selection of items of interests to specific verifications and c) the mapping of these items to customs commodities searchable in trade databases. In the field of open source monitoring, JRC is developing and operating a ''Nuclear Security Media Monitor'' (NSMM), which is a web-based multilingual news aggregation system that automatically collects news articles from pre-defined web sites. NSMM is a domain specific version of the general JRC-Europe Media Monitor (EMM). NSMM has been established within the EC support programme with the aim, i.e., to streamline IAEA's process of open source information monitoring. In the first part, the paper will recall the trade data sources relevant for non-proliferation and will then illustrate the main features of TBT, recently coupled with the IAEA Physical Model, and new visualization techniques applied to trade data. In the second part it will present the main aspects of the NSMM also by illustrating some of uses done at JRC. (author)

Laypeoples' preferred sources of health information on the emergency management of tooth avulsion.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Sane, Mona; Bourisly, Nibal; Almulla, Taghreed; Andersson, Lars

2011-12-01

When planning nationwide information campaigns on the emergency management of tooth avulsion, the populations' preference to different modes of information delivery should be taken into consideration. We currently lack information on that. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess laypeoples' preferred sources of information on the emergency management of tooth avulsion. This was a joint study undertaken by experts in media and experts in dental traumatology. Interview-assisted questionnaires were conducted on a sample of 579 adults from Kuwait. Subjects were asked to choose their three preferred sources of information on the emergency management of tooth avulsion. Subjects' responses and sociodemographic data were registered. The data were descriptively analyzed, and a chi-square test was used to assess the relation of the subjects' preferences to their registered demographics. The Internet, health care professionals, and TV were the three most preferred sources of information on the emergency management of tooth avulsion across all groups, regardless of the sociodemographic characteristics. Younger adults, singles and subjects with higher education significantly preferred the Internet. Older adults preferred TV. Family was a preferred source in geographic districts populated with extended families, while friends were a preferred source in geographic districts populated by expatriates. Younger people and those with higher education can be effectively targeted through the Internet, while it is more effective to target older people through TV. Information, on tooth avulsion management, given by health care professionals is preferred across all population segments. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Learning to merge search results for efficient Distributed Information Retrieval

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tjin-Kam-Jet, Kien; Hiemstra, Djoerd

2010-01-01

Merging search results from different servers is a major problem in Distributed Information Retrieval. We used Regression-SVM and Ranking-SVM which would learn a function that merges results based on information that is readily available: i.e. the ranks, titles, summaries and URLs contained in the

Exploration of Deaf People's Health Information Sources and Techniques for Information Delivery in Cape Town: A Qualitative Study for the Design and Development of a Mobile Health App.

Science.gov (United States)

Chininthorn, Prangnat; Glaser, Meryl; Tucker, William David; Diehl, Jan Carel

2016-11-11

Many cultural and linguistic Deaf people in South Africa face disparity when accessing health information because of social and language barriers. The number of certified South African Sign Language interpreters (SASLIs) is also insufficient to meet the demand of the Deaf population in the country. Our research team, in collaboration with the Deaf communities in Cape Town, devised a mobile health app called SignSupport to bridge the communication gaps in health care contexts. We consequently plan to extend our work with a Health Knowledge Transfer System (HKTS) to provide Deaf people with accessible, understandable, and accurate health information. We conducted an explorative study to prepare the groundwork for the design and development of the system. To investigate the current modes of health information distributed to Deaf people in Cape Town, identify the health information sources Deaf people prefer and their reasons, and define effective techniques for delivering understandable information to generate the groundwork for the mobile health app development with and for Deaf people. A qualitative methodology using semistructured interviews with sensitizing tools was used in a community-based codesign setting. A total of 23 Deaf people and 10 health professionals participated in this study. Inductive and deductive coding was used for the analysis. Deaf people currently have access to 4 modes of health information distribution through: Deaf and other relevant organizations, hearing health professionals, personal interactions, and the mass media. Their preferred and accessible sources are those delivering information in signed language and with communication techniques that match Deaf people's communication needs. Accessible and accurate health information can be delivered to Deaf people by 3 effective techniques: using signed language including its dialects, through health drama with its combined techniques, and accompanying the information with pictures in

The Chandra Source Catalog: X-ray Aperture Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Kashyap, Vinay; Primini, F. A.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, I. N.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E. C.; Gibbs, D. G., II; Grier, J. D.; Hain, R.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McCollough, M. L.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Rots, A. H.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) represents a reanalysis of the entire ACIS and HRC imaging observations over the 9-year Chandra mission. We describe here the method by which fluxes are measured for detected sources. Source detection is carried out on a uniform basis, using the CIAO tool wavdetect. Source fluxes are estimated post-facto using a Bayesian method that accounts for background, spatial resolution effects, and contamination from nearby sources. We use gamma-function prior distributions, which could be either non-informative, or in case there exist previous observations of the same source, strongly informative. The current implementation is however limited to non-informative priors. The resulting posterior probability density functions allow us to report the flux and a robust credible range on it.

Dose distribution and dosimetry parameters calculation of MED3633 Palladium-103 source in water phantom using MCNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mowlavi, A. A.; Binesh, A.; Moslehitabar, H.

2006-01-01

Palladium-103 ( 103 Pd) is a brachytherapy source for cancer treatment. The Monte Carlo codes are usually applied for dose distribution and effect of shieldings. Monte Carlo calculation of dose distribution in water phantom due to a MED3633 103 Pd source is presented in this work. Materials and Methods: The dose distribution around the 10 3Pd Model MED3633 located in the center of 30*30*30 m 3 water phantom cube was calculated using MCNP code by the Monte Carlo method. The percentage depth dose variation along the different axis parallel and perpendicular to the source was also calculated. Then, the isodose curves for 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% percentage depth dose and dosimetry parameters of TG-43 protocol were determined. Results: The results show that the Monte Carlo Method could calculate dose deposition in high gradient region, near the source, accurately. The isodose curves and dosimetric characteristics obtained for MED3633 103 Pd source are in good agreement with published results. Conclusion: The isodose curves of the MED3633 103 Pd source have been derived form dose calculation by MCNP code. The calculated dosimetry parameters for the source agree quite well with their Monte Carlo calculated and experimental measurement values

[Applications of GIS in biomass energy source research].

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Xian-Ming; Wang, Wu-Kui; Li, Yi-Wei; Sun, Wen-Xiang; Shi, Hai; Zhang, Da-Hong

2010-03-01

Biomass resources have the characteristics of widespread and dispersed distribution, which have close relations to the environment, climate, soil, and land use, etc. Geographic information system (GIS) has the functions of spatial analysis and the flexibility of integrating with other application models and algorithms, being of predominance to the biomass energy source research. This paper summarized the researches on the GIS applications in biomass energy source research, with the focus in the feasibility study of bioenergy development, assessment of biomass resources amount and distribution, layout of biomass exploitation and utilization, evaluation of gaseous emission from biomass burning, and biomass energy information system. Three perspectives of GIS applications in biomass energy source research were proposed, i. e., to enrich the data source, to improve the capacity on data processing and decision-support, and to generate the online proposal.

A Distributed Ledger for Supply Chain Physical Distribution Visibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haoyan Wu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Supply chains (SC span many geographies, modes and industries and involve several phases where data flows in both directions from suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, to customers. This data flow is necessary to support critical business decisions that may impact product cost and market share. Current SC information systems are unable to provide validated, pseudo real-time shipment tracking during the distribution phase. This information is available from a single source, often the carrier, and is shared with other stakeholders on an as-needed basis. This paper introduces an independent, crowd-validated, online shipment tracking framework that complements current enterprise-based SC management solutions. The proposed framework consists of a set of private distributed ledgers and a single blockchain public ledger. Each private ledger allows the private sharing of custody events among the trading partners in a given shipment. Privacy is necessary, for example, when trading high-end products or chemical and pharmaceutical products. The second type of ledger is a blockchain public ledger. It consists of the hash code of each private event in addition to monitoring events. The latter provide an independently validated immutable record of the pseudo real-time geolocation status of the shipment from a large number of sources using commuters-sourcing.

Addressing the changing sources of health information in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Alishahi Tabriz

2013-01-01

Conclusion : Although during 8 years of study radio and television remained as main source of health information but there is an increasing tendency to use internet especially in men. Policymakers should revise their broadcasting strategies based on people demand.

Public support for energy sources and related technologies: The impact of simple information provision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hobman, Elizabeth V.; Ashworth, Peta

2013-01-01

Increasing public awareness and understanding of alternative energy sources and related technologies is an essential component of informed decision-making regarding new options of generating energy for a low carbon future. The current study examined the influence of psychological factors (i.e., pro-environmental beliefs, and subjective norms) and the provision of factual information on public support for a range of energy sources and related technologies. A representative sample of 1907 Australians completed an on-line survey that measured perceptions of a range of climate change and energy issues. Results showed that support for renewables is stronger than support for traditional fossil-fuel based energy sources (i.e., coal or gas) or nuclear energy. The provision of factual information about generation cost and emissions significantly changed support ratings, particularly when cost information was provided. Regression analyses revealed that pro-environmental beliefs were significantly related to support ratings for alternative energy sources. Subjective norms, however, were the strongest positive explanatory factor, suggesting that social mechanisms may be key drivers of support for new and emerging energy sources and related technologies. - Highlights: • We examine support for a wide range of energy sources and technologies. • Support changes when information on cost and emissions is provided. • Pro-environmental beliefs and social norms positively relate to support

An Object-Oriented Information Model for Policy-based Management of Distributed Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diaz, G.; Gay, V.C.J.; Horlait, E.; Hamza, M.H.

2002-01-01

This paper presents an object-oriented information model to support a policy-based management for distributed multimedia applications. The information base contains application-level information about the users, the applications, and their profile. Our Information model is described in details and

Symmetric Blind Information Reconciliation for Quantum Key Distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiktenko, Evgeniy O.

2017-01-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a quantum-proof key-exchange scheme which is fast approaching the communication industry. An essential component in QKD is the information reconciliation step, which is used for correcting the quantum-channel noise errors. The recently suggested blind-reconciliation technique, based on low-density parity-check codes, offers remarkable prospectives for efficient information reconciliation without an a priori quantum bit error rate estimation. We suggest an improvement of the blind-information-reconciliation protocol promoting a significant increase in the efficiency of the procedure and reducing its interactivity. Finally, the proposed technique is based on introducing symmetry in operations of parties, and the consideration of results of unsuccessful belief-propagation decodings.

FDTD verification of deep-set brain tumor hyperthermia using a spherical microwave source distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunn, D. [20th Intelligence Squadron, Offutt AFB, NE (United States); Rappaport, C.M. [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Center for Electromagnetics Research; Terzuoli, A.J. Jr. [Air Force Inst. of Tech., Dayton, OH (United States). Graduate School of Engineering

1996-10-01

Although use of noninvasive microwave hyperthermia to treat cancer is problematic in many human body structures, careful selection of the source electric field distribution around the entire surface of the head can generate a tightly focused global power density maximum at the deepest point within the brain. An analytic prediction of the optimum volume field distribution in a layered concentric head model based on summing spherical harmonic modes is derived and presented. This ideal distribution is then verified using a three-dimensional finite difference time domain (TDTD) simulation with a discretized, MRI-based head model excited by the spherical source. The numerical computation gives a very similar dissipated power pattern as the analytic prediction. This study demonstrates that microwave hyperthermia can theoretically be a feasible cancer treatment modality for tumors in the head, providing a well-resolved hot-spot at depth without overheating any other healthy tissue.

A Method for the Analysis of Information Use in Source-Based Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Sormunen, Eero; Heinstrom, Jannica; Romu, Leena; Turunen, Risto

2012-01-01

Introduction: Past research on source-based writing assignments has hesitated to scrutinize how students actually use information afforded by sources. This paper introduces a method for the analysis of text transformations from sources to texts composed. The method is aimed to serve scholars in building a more detailed understanding of how…

Misleading by Omission: Rethinking the Obligation to Inform Research Subjects about Funding Sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Manson, Neil C

2017-11-15

Informed consent requirements for medical research have expanded over the past half-century. The Declaration of Helsinki now includes an explicit positive obligation to inform subjects about funding sources. This is problematic in a number of ways and seems to oblige researchers to disclose information irrelevant to most consent decisions. It is argued here that such a problematic obligation involves an "informational fallacy." The aim in the second part of the paper is to provide a better approach to making sense of how a failure to inform about funding sources wrongs subjects: by making appeals to obligations to refrain from misleading by omission. This alternative approach-grounded in a general obligation to refrain from misleading, an obligation that is independent of informed consent-provides a basis for a norm that protects subjects' interests, without the informational fallacy. The approach developed here avoids the problems identified with the currently specified general obligation to inform about funding sources. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Methods for evaluating information sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2012-01-01

The article briefly presents and discusses 12 different approaches to the evaluation of information sources (for example a Wikipedia entry or a journal article): (1) the checklist approach; (2) classical peer review; (3) modified peer review; (4) evaluation based on examining the coverage...... of controversial views; (5) evidence-based evaluation; (6) comparative studies; (7) author credentials; (8) publisher reputation; (9) journal impact factor; (10) sponsoring: tracing the influence of economic, political, and ideological interests; (11) book reviews and book reviewing; and (12) broader criteria....... Reading a text is often not a simple process. All the methods discussed here are steps on the way on learning how to read, understand, and criticize texts. According to hermeneutics it involves the subjectivity of the reader, and that subjectivity is influenced, more or less, by different theoretical...

A practical two-way system of quantum key distribution with untrusted source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ming-Juan; Liu Xiang

2011-01-01

The most severe problem of a two-way 'plug-and-play' (p and p) quantum key distribution system is that the source can be controlled by the eavesdropper. This kind of source is defined as an “untrusted source . This paper discusses the effects of the fluctuation of internal transmittance on the final key generation rate and the transmission distance. The security of the standard BB84 protocol, one-decoy state protocol, and weak+vacuum decoy state protocol, with untrusted sources and the fluctuation of internal transmittance are studied. It is shown that the one-decoy state is sensitive to the statistical fluctuation but weak+vacuum decoy state is only slightly affected by the fluctuation. It is also shown that both the maximum secure transmission distance and final key generation rate are reduced when Alice's laboratory transmittance fluctuation is considered. (general)

Greek students' knowledge and sources of information regarding sex education.

Science.gov (United States)

Matziou, V; Perdikaris, P; Petsios, K; Gymnopoulou, E; Galanis, P; Brokalaki, H

2009-09-01

Human sexuality is a complex part of life and is considered a multidimensional phenomenon. Therefore there is an increased need for adequate and comprehensive sex education, especially for teenagers and young adults. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the level of students' sexual knowledge, as well as to identify their sources of information regarding sexual life and reproduction. A cross-sectional study using a designed self-report questionnaire was performed. The study population consisted of 936 students who were attending 10 high schools and four medical schools in Attica. Data were collected after obtaining permission from the Pedagogic Institute of the Greek Ministry of Education. The main sources of students' sexual information about reproduction were friends (29.1%) and parents (24.0%), whereas school was reported by 14.3% of them. The preferred sources of information, according to students' perceptions, were sex education specialists (65.6%), followed by school (39.1%), parents (32.2%) and friends (27.7%). The importance of school, peer and parent support upon adolescents' sexual life was revealed by the results of the study. Students' knowledge level on sex topics is not satisfactory and therefore there is a need for sex education specialists and special courses regarding sex education in Greek schools.

A general algorithm for distributing information in a graph

OpenAIRE

Aji, Srinivas M.; McEliece, Robert J.

1997-01-01

We present a general “message-passing” algorithm for distributing information in a graph. This algorithm may help us to understand the approximate correctness of both the Gallager-Tanner-Wiberg algorithm, and the turbo-decoding algorithm.

[Inaccurate information about the size of the penis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: about 21 information sources].

Science.gov (United States)

Mulenga, Philippe Cilundika; Kazadi, Alex Bukasa

2016-01-01

Penis size is a huge topic of anxiety for a lot of men. Some of them are unhappy with their penis size as shown in the study conducted by Tiggemann in 2008. There are relatively few studies on erect penis size. This may reflect cultural taboos of researchers or doctors interacting with men who are in a state of sexual arousal. On the other hand, it is important for people who announce details on penis size to give the average penis size first and then sizes suggested by the researchers. We performed a cross-sectional survey in the two major urban centres of the Democratic Republic of Congo namely Kinshasa and Lubumbashi over a period of two years from May 2014 to May 2016. A total of 21 information sources constituted our sample, 8 in Kinshasa and 13 in Lubumbashi. We found it sufficient because in our culture discussing about sexual matter is rare. The parameters studied were: the nature of the source, the accuracy of the measurement method, the presence of bibliographical reference, the announced penis size. The majority of information sources used were radio or television broadcastings (23,8%); this can be explained by the fact that there are an increasing number of radio and television stations in our country and especially in large cities. With regard to accuracy of information about penis measurement method when sharing the message about penis size, our study showed that the majority of information sources did not indicate it when they announced penis size to the public (85,7%). Several sources did not report bibliographical references (57,1%). Announced data analysis on penis size showed that the average penis size was: 14 cm (28,6%), 15 cm (23,8%) and 15-20 cm (19%). All these results are intended to offer a warning to all players responsible for diffusing information on sexual health (penis size): scientific rigor consists in seeking information from reliable sources.

Forecasting an invasive species’ distribution with global distribution data, local data, and physiological information

Science.gov (United States)

Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Young, Nicholas E.; Talbert, Marian; Talbert, Colin

2018-01-01

Understanding invasive species distributions and potential invasions often requires broad‐scale information on the environmental tolerances of the species. Further, resource managers are often faced with knowing these broad‐scale relationships as well as nuanced environmental factors related to their landscape that influence where an invasive species occurs and potentially could occur. Using invasive buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris), we developed global models and local models for Saguaro National Park, Arizona, USA, based on location records and literature on physiological tolerances to environmental factors to investigate whether environmental relationships of a species at a global scale are also important at local scales. In addition to correlative models with five commonly used algorithms, we also developed a model using a priori user‐defined relationships between occurrence and environmental characteristics based on a literature review. All correlative models at both scales performed well based on statistical evaluations. The user‐defined curves closely matched those produced by the correlative models, indicating that the correlative models may be capturing mechanisms driving the distribution of buffelgrass. Given climate projections for the region, both global and local models indicate that conditions at Saguaro National Park may become more suitable for buffelgrass. Combining global and local data with correlative models and physiological information provided a holistic approach to forecasting invasive species distributions.

How Sources of Sexual Information Relate to Adolescents' Beliefs about Sex

Science.gov (United States)

Bleakley, Amy; Hennessy, Michael; Fishbein, Martin; Jordan, Amy

2009-01-01

Objectives: To examine how sources of sexual information are associated with adolescents' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about having sexual intercourse using the integrative model of behavior change. Methods: Survey data from a quota sample of 459 youth. Results: The most frequently reported sources were friends, teachers, mothers,…

Wanted: Information on the Distribution of Cultivated Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Richard A.

1970-01-01

Lack of documentation makes it very difficult to discover where species of cultivated plants may be found in the United States. Plead for compilation of "campus floras and herbarium collections. Need for a rational locator file of available plant materials. Lists and reviews present sources of information. Bibliography of campus floras. (EB)

YouTube as a patient-information source for root canal treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Nason, K; Donnelly, A; Duncan, H F

2016-12-01

To assess the content and completeness of Youtube ™ as an information source for patients undergoing root canal treatment procedures. YouTube ™ (https://www.youtube.com/) was searched for information using three relevant treatment search terms ('endodontics', 'root canal' and 'root canal treatment'). After exclusions (language, no audio, >15 min, duplicates), 20 videos per search term were selected. General video assessment included duration, ownership, views, age, likes/dislikes, target audience and video/audio quality, whilst content was analysed under six categories ('aetiology', 'anatomy', 'symptoms', 'procedure', 'postoperative course' and 'prognosis'). Content was scored for completeness level and statistically analysed using anova and post hoc Tukey's test (P YouTube ™ videos for endodontic search terms varied significantly by source and content and were generally incomplete. The danger of patient reliance on YouTube ™ is highlighted, as is the need for endodontic professionals to play an active role in directing patients towards alternative high-quality information sources. © 2015 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

CONSUMER BIOTECHNOLOGY FOOD AND NUTRITION INFORMATION SOURCES: THE TRUST FACTOR

OpenAIRE

Ekanem, Enefiok P.; Muhammad, Safdar; Tegegne, Fisseha; Singh, Surendra P.

2004-01-01

Although much has been written on consumer attitudes toward genetically modified foods, not much is known about how or where consumers get the information for the decisions they make about genetically modified foods. This paper reports on the media used by consumers in acquiring information about biotech food and nutrition issues, and examines how much trust consumers put in selected information sources. The paper also discusses how socio-economic variables affect level of trust in selected s...

Utilization Status of Electronic Information Sources (EIS) for HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tesfa

HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Specialized Teaching Hospitals of. Ethiopia, 2016. Senait Samuel Bramo. 1. , Tesfamichael Alaro Agago. 2*. OPEN ACCESS. Citation: Senait Samuel Bramo,. Tesfamichael Alaro Agago. Utilization. Status of Electronic Information Sources. (EIS) for HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment.

Renewable energy sources - rational energy use. Enterprises - suppliers - research - consultation. BINE public information. Market leaders - addresses. Erneuerbare Energiequellen - rationelle Energieverwendung. Unternehmen - Bezugsquellen - Forschung - Beratung. BINE-Buergerinformation. Marktfuehrer-Adresshandbuch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1989-01-01

The manual lists addresses and business information given by research institutes, companies, associations, groups, etc. in the field of renewable energy sources and rational energy use. It is to provide information, as comprehensive as possible to all those who have to solve problems concerning energy conservation and environmental protection. The manual is based on a detailed questionnaire distributed by BINE (Buerger-Information Neue Energietechniken, Nachwachsende Rohstoffe, Umwelt). (UA).

Assessment of source of information for polio supplementary immunization activities in 2014 and 2015, Somali, Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedada, Selamawit Yilma; Gallagher, Kathleen; Aregay, Aron Kassahun; Mohammed, Bashir; Maalin, Mohammed Adem; Hassen, Hassen Abdisemed; Ali, Yusuf Mohammed; Braka, Fiona; Kilebou, Pierre M'pele

2017-01-01

Communication is key for the successful implementation of polio vaccination campaigns. The purpose of this study is to review and analyse the sources of information utilized by caregivers during polio supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) in Somali, Ethiopia in 2014 and 2015. Data on sources of information about the polio campaign were collected post campaign from caregivers by trained data collectors as part of house to house independent monitoring. The sources of information analysed in this paper include town criers (via megaphones), health workers, religious leaders, kebele leaders (Kebele is the lowest administrative structure in Ethiopia), radio, television, text message and others. The repetition of these sources of information was analysed across years and zones for trends. Polio vaccination campaign coverage was also reviewed by year and zones within the Somali region in parallel with the major sources of information used in the respective year and zones. 57,745 responses were used for this analysis but the responses were received from polio SIAs. Zonal trends in using town criers as a major source of information in both study years remained consistent except in two zones. 87.5% of zones that reported at least 90% coverage during both study years had utilized town criers as a major source of information while the rest (12.5%) used health workers. We found that town criers were consistently the major source of information about the polio campaigns for Somali region parents and caregivers during polio immunization days held in 2014 and 2015. Health workers and kebele leaders were also important sources of information about the polio campaign for parents.

Use of and Satisfaction with Sources of Health Information among Older Internet Users and Nonusers

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, Jessica; Sharit, Joseph; Czaja, Sara

2009-01-01

Purpose: Older adults generally have an increased need for health care information. Whereas some use the Internet to look for this information, others use more traditional sources. This study gathered data from older adults to determine their health information needs, the perceived usefulness of sources of health information, and if there are…

Constructing Common Information Space across Distributed Emergency Medical Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zhan; Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Bossen, Claus

2017-01-01

This paper examines coordination and real-time information sharing across four emergency medical teams in a high-risk and distributed setting as they provide care to critically injured patients within the first hour after injury. Through multiple field studies we explored how common understanding...... of critical patient data is established across these heterogeneous teams and what coordination mechanisms are being used to support information sharing and interpretation. To analyze the data, we drew on the concept of Common Information Spaces (CIS). Our results showed that teams faced many challenges...... in achieving efficient information sharing and coordination, including difficulties in locating and assembling team members, communicating and interpreting information from the field, and accommodating differences in team goals and information needs, all while having minimal technology support. We reflect...

Multirobot autonomous landmine detection using distributed multisensor information aggregation

Science.gov (United States)

Jumadinova, Janyl; Dasgupta, Prithviraj

2012-06-01

We consider the problem of distributed sensor information fusion by multiple autonomous robots within the context of landmine detection. We assume that different landmines can be composed of different types of material and robots are equipped with different types of sensors, while each robot has only one type of landmine detection sensor on it. We introduce a novel technique that uses a market-based information aggregation mechanism called a prediction market. Each robot is provided with a software agent that uses sensory input of the robot and performs calculations of the prediction market technique. The result of the agent's calculations is a 'belief' representing the confidence of the agent in identifying the object as a landmine. The beliefs from different robots are aggregated by the market mechanism and passed on to a decision maker agent. The decision maker agent uses this aggregate belief information about a potential landmine and makes decisions about which other robots should be deployed to its location, so that the landmine can be confirmed rapidly and accurately. Our experimental results show that, for identical data distributions and settings, using our prediction market-based information aggregation technique increases the accuracy of object classification favorably as compared to two other commonly used techniques.

Multi-source feature extraction and target recognition in wireless sensor networks based on adaptive distributed wavelet compression algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Hortos, William S.

2008-04-01

Proposed distributed wavelet-based algorithms are a means to compress sensor data received at the nodes forming a wireless sensor network (WSN) by exchanging information between neighboring sensor nodes. Local collaboration among nodes compacts the measurements, yielding a reduced fused set with equivalent information at far fewer nodes. Nodes may be equipped with multiple sensor types, each capable of sensing distinct phenomena: thermal, humidity, chemical, voltage, or image signals with low or no frequency content as well as audio, seismic or video signals within defined frequency ranges. Compression of the multi-source data through wavelet-based methods, distributed at active nodes, reduces downstream processing and storage requirements along the paths to sink nodes; it also enables noise suppression and more energy-efficient query routing within the WSN. Targets are first detected by the multiple sensors; then wavelet compression and data fusion are applied to the target returns, followed by feature extraction from the reduced data; feature data are input to target recognition/classification routines; targets are tracked during their sojourns through the area monitored by the WSN. Algorithms to perform these tasks are implemented in a distributed manner, based on a partition of the WSN into clusters of nodes. In this work, a scheme of collaborative processing is applied for hierarchical data aggregation and decorrelation, based on the sensor data itself and any redundant information, enabled by a distributed, in-cluster wavelet transform with lifting that allows multiple levels of resolution. The wavelet-based compression algorithm significantly decreases RF bandwidth and other resource use in target processing tasks. Following wavelet compression, features are extracted. The objective of feature extraction is to maximize the probabilities of correct target classification based on multi-source sensor measurements, while minimizing the resource expenditures at

Texture side information generation for distributed coding of video-plus-depth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salmistraro, Matteo; Raket, Lars Lau; Zamarin, Marco

2013-01-01

We consider distributed video coding in a monoview video-plus-depth scenario, aiming at coding textures jointly with their corresponding depth stream. Distributed Video Coding (DVC) is a video coding paradigm in which the complexity is shifted from the encoder to the decoder. The Side Information...... components) is strongly correlated, so the additional depth information may be used to generate more accurate SI for the texture stream, increasing the efficiency of the system. In this paper we propose various methods for accurate texture SI generation, comparing them with other state-of-the-art solutions...

Herschel-ATLAS: Dust Temperature and Redshift Distribution of SPIRE and PACS Detected Sources Using Submillimetre Colours

Science.gov (United States)

Amblard, A.; Cooray, Asantha; Serra, P.; Temi, P.; Barton, E.; Negrello, M.; Auld, R.; Baes, M.; Baldry, I. K.; Bamford, S.;

Airports at Risk: The Impact of Information Sources on Security Decisions

OpenAIRE

Kirschenbaum, Avi; Mariani, Michele; Van Gulijk, Coen; Rapaport, Carmit; Lubasz, Sharon

2012-01-01

Security decisions in high risk organizations such as airports involve obtaining ongoing and frequent information about potential threats. Utilizing questionnaire survey data from a sample of airport\\ud employees in European Airports across the continent, we analyzed \\ud how both formal and informal sources of security information affect employee's decisions to comply with the security rules and\\ud directives. This led us to trace information network flows to assess its impact on the degree e...

Model of charge-state distributions for electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. H. Edgell

1999-12-01

Full Text Available A computer model for the ion charge-state distribution (CSD in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS plasma is presented that incorporates non-Maxwellian distribution functions, multiple atomic species, and ion confinement due to the ambipolar potential well that arises from confinement of the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR heated electrons. Atomic processes incorporated into the model include multiple ionization and multiple charge exchange with rate coefficients calculated for non-Maxwellian electron distributions. The electron distribution function is calculated using a Fokker-Planck code with an ECR heating term. This eliminates the electron temperature as an arbitrary user input. The model produces results that are a good match to CSD data from the ANL-ECRII ECRIS. Extending the model to 1D axial will also allow the model to determine the plasma and electrostatic potential profiles, further eliminating arbitrary user input to the model.

Informal Taxation.

Science.gov (United States)

Olken, Benjamin A; Singhal, Monica

2011-10-01

Informal payments are a frequently overlooked source of local public finance in developing countries. We use microdata from ten countries to establish stylized facts on the magnitude, form, and distributional implications of this "informal taxation." Informal taxation is widespread, particularly in rural areas, with substantial in-kind labor payments. The wealthy pay more, but pay less in percentage terms, and informal taxes are more regressive than formal taxes. Failing to include informal taxation underestimates household tax burdens and revenue decentralization in developing countries. We discuss various explanations for and implications of these observed stylized facts.

Exploring super-gaussianity towards robust information-theoretical time delay estimation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petsatodis, Theodoros; Talantzis, Fotios; Boukis, Christos

2013-01-01

the effect upon TDE when modeling the source signal with different speech-based distributions. An information theoretical TDE method indirectly encapsulating higher order statistics (HOS) formed the basis of this work. The underlying assumption of Gaussian distributed source has been replaced...

The distribution and use of information and communication ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study determined the distribution and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning in some faculties in the University of Ghana. Study specifically looks at the availability of ICT laboratories in the faculties, the purpose ICT is used f or as well as the challenges in its use. Survey of 300 ...

Fire Source Localization Based on Distributed Temperature Sensing by a Dual-Line Optical Fiber System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miao Sun

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We propose a method for localizing a fire source using an optical fiber distributed temperature sensor system. A section of two parallel optical fibers employed as the sensing element is installed near the ceiling of a closed room in which the fire source is located. By measuring the temperature of hot air flows, the problem of three-dimensional fire source localization is transformed to two dimensions. The method of the source location is verified with experiments using burning alcohol as fire source, and it is demonstrated that the method represents a robust and reliable technique for localizing a fire source also for long sensing ranges.

Fire Source Localization Based on Distributed Temperature Sensing by a Dual-Line Optical Fiber System.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Miao; Tang, Yuquan; Yang, Shuang; Li, Jun; Sigrist, Markus W; Dong, Fengzhong

2016-06-06

We propose a method for localizing a fire source using an optical fiber distributed temperature sensor system. A section of two parallel optical fibers employed as the sensing element is installed near the ceiling of a closed room in which the fire source is located. By measuring the temperature of hot air flows, the problem of three-dimensional fire source localization is transformed to two dimensions. The method of the source location is verified with experiments using burning alcohol as fire source, and it is demonstrated that the method represents a robust and reliable technique for localizing a fire source also for long sensing ranges.

137Cs source dose distribution using the Fricke Xylenol Gel dosimetry