On the surprising rigidity of the Pauli exclusion principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, O.W.

1989-01-01

I review recent attempts to construct a local quantum field theory of small violations of the Pauli exclusion principle and suggest a qualitative reason for the surprising rigidity of the Pauli principle. I suggest that small violations can occur in our four-dimensional world as a consequence of the compactification of a higher-dimensional theory in which the exclusion principle is exactly valid. I briefly mention a recent experiment which places a severe limit on possible violations of the exclusion principle. (orig.)

Exploring the concept of climate surprises. A review of the literature on the concept of surprise and how it is related to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glantz, M.H.; Moore, C.M.; Streets, D.G.; Bhatti, N.; Rosa, C.H.

1998-01-01

This report examines the concept of climate surprise and its implications for environmental policymaking. Although most integrated assessment models of climate change deal with average values of change, it is usually the extreme events or surprises that cause the most damage to human health and property. Current models do not help the policymaker decide how to deal with climate surprises. This report examines the literature of surprise in many aspects of human society: psychology, military, health care, humor, agriculture, etc. It draws together various ways to consider the concept of surprise and examines different taxonomies of surprise that have been proposed. In many ways, surprise is revealed to be a subjective concept, triggered by such factors as prior experience, belief system, and level of education. How policymakers have reacted to specific instances of climate change or climate surprise in the past is considered, particularly with regard to the choices they made between proactive and reactive measures. Finally, the report discusses techniques used in the current generation of assessment models and makes suggestions as to how climate surprises might be included in future models. The report concludes that some kinds of surprises are simply unpredictable, but there are several types that could in some way be anticipated and assessed, and their negative effects forestalled

Exploring the concept of climate surprises. A review of the literature on the concept of surprise and how it is related to climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glantz, M.H.; Moore, C.M. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); Streets, D.G.; Bhatti, N.; Rosa, C.H. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Decision and Information Sciences Div.; Stewart, T.R. [State Univ. of New York, Albany, NY (United States)

1998-01-01

This report examines the concept of climate surprise and its implications for environmental policymaking. Although most integrated assessment models of climate change deal with average values of change, it is usually the extreme events or surprises that cause the most damage to human health and property. Current models do not help the policymaker decide how to deal with climate surprises. This report examines the literature of surprise in many aspects of human society: psychology, military, health care, humor, agriculture, etc. It draws together various ways to consider the concept of surprise and examines different taxonomies of surprise that have been proposed. In many ways, surprise is revealed to be a subjective concept, triggered by such factors as prior experience, belief system, and level of education. How policymakers have reacted to specific instances of climate change or climate surprise in the past is considered, particularly with regard to the choices they made between proactive and reactive measures. Finally, the report discusses techniques used in the current generation of assessment models and makes suggestions as to how climate surprises might be included in future models. The report concludes that some kinds of surprises are simply unpredictable, but there are several types that could in some way be anticipated and assessed, and their negative effects forestalled.

The role of surprise in satisfaction judgements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanhamme, J.; Snelders, H.M.J.J.

2001-01-01

Empirical findings suggest that surprise plays an important role in consumer satisfaction, but there is a lack of theory to explain why this is so. The present paper provides explanations for the process through which positive (negative) surprise might enhance (reduce) consumer satisfaction. First,

Supply and demand law under limited information

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2005-01-01

We present a model for the supply-demand law with quality and limited information capability. We postulate that imperfect information permeates in almost all economic transactions to varying degrees. Through a simple model we outline a research agenda that re-examines many standard issues in economics. Our analysis shows that whereas imperfect information can be improved, it leads to new uncertainties so that the perfect information limit can never be reached. As a corollary neoclassical perf...

A Dichotomic Analysis of the Surprise Examination Paradox

OpenAIRE

Franceschi, Paul

2002-01-01

This paper presents a dichotomic analysis of the surprise examination paradox. In section 1, I analyse the surprise notion in detail. I introduce then in section 2, the distinction between a monist and dichotomic analysis of the paradox. I also present there a dichotomy leading to distinguish two basically and structurally different versions of the paradox, respectively based on a conjoint and a disjoint definition of the surprise. In section 3, I describe the solution to SEP corresponding to...

Exploration, Novelty, Surprise and Free Energy Minimisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philipp eSchwartenbeck

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews recent developments under the free energy principle that introduce a normative perspective on classical economic (utilitarian decision-making based on (active Bayesian inference. It has been suggested that the free energy principle precludes novelty and complexity, because it assumes that biological systems – like ourselves - try to minimise the long-term average of surprise to maintain their homeostasis. However, recent formulations show that minimising surprise leads naturally to concepts such as exploration and novelty bonuses. In this approach, agents infer a policy that minimises surprise by minimising the difference (or relative entropy between likely and desired outcomes, which involves both pursuing the goal-state that has the highest expected utility (often termed ‘exploitation’ and visiting a number of different goal-states (‘exploration’. Crucially, the opportunity to visit new states increases the value of the current state. Casting decision-making problems within a variational framework, therefore, predicts that our behaviour is governed by both the entropy and expected utility of future states. This dissolves any dialectic between minimising surprise and exploration or novelty seeking.

Predicting incident size from limited information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Englehardt, J.D.

1995-01-01

Predicting the size of low-probability, high-consequence natural disasters, industrial accidents, and pollutant releases is often difficult due to limitations in the availability of data on rare events and future circumstances. When incident data are available, they may be difficult to fit with a lognormal distribution. Two Bayesian probability distributions for inferring future incident-size probabilities from limited, indirect, and subjective information are proposed in this paper. The distributions are derived from Pareto distributions that are shown to fit data on different incident types and are justified theoretically. The derived distributions incorporate both inherent variability and uncertainty due to information limitations. Results were analyzed to determine the amount of data needed to predict incident-size probabilities in various situations. Information requirements for incident-size prediction using the methods were low, particularly when the population distribution had a thick tail. Use of the distributions to predict accumulated oil-spill consequences was demonstrated

A Contrast-Based Computational Model of Surprise and Its Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Macedo, Luis; Cardoso, Amílcar

2017-11-19

We review our work on a contrast-based computational model of surprise and its applications. The review is contextualized within related research from psychology, philosophy, and particularly artificial intelligence. Influenced by psychological theories of surprise, the model assumes that surprise-eliciting events initiate a series of cognitive processes that begin with the appraisal of the event as unexpected, continue with the interruption of ongoing activity and the focusing of attention on the unexpected event, and culminate in the analysis and evaluation of the event and the revision of beliefs. It is assumed that the intensity of surprise elicited by an event is a nonlinear function of the difference or contrast between the subjective probability of the event and that of the most probable alternative event (which is usually the expected event); and that the agent's behavior is partly controlled by actual and anticipated surprise. We describe applications of artificial agents that incorporate the proposed surprise model in three domains: the exploration of unknown environments, creativity, and intelligent transportation systems. These applications demonstrate the importance of surprise for decision making, active learning, creative reasoning, and selective attention. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

The Role of Surprise in Game-Based Learning for Mathematics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Pieter; van Oostendorp, Herre; ter Vrugte, Judith; Vandercruysse, Sylke; de Jong, Anthonius J.M.; Elen, Jan; De Gloria, Alessandro; Veltkamp, Remco

2016-01-01

In this paper we investigate the potential of surprise on learning with prevocational students in the domain of proportional reasoning. Surprise involves an emotional reaction, but it also serves a cognitive goal as it directs attention to explain why the surprising event occurred and to learn for

78 FR 21246 - Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for Submission of Factual Information

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2013-04-10

...-3303-01] RIN 0625-AA91 Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for Submission of Factual... Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for Submission of Factual Information, 77 FR 40534 (July 10... are: (1) Modifying the definition of factual information and modifying the time limits as described in...

A Neural Mechanism for Surprise-related Interruptions of Visuospatial Working Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wessel, Jan R

2018-01-01

Surprising perceptual events recruit a fronto-basal ganglia mechanism for inhibition, which suppresses motor activity following surprise. A recent study found that this inhibitory mechanism also disrupts the maintenance of verbal working memory (WM) after surprising tones. However, it is unclear whether this same mechanism also relates to surprise-related interruptions of non-verbal WM. We tested this hypothesis using a change-detection task, in which surprising tones impaired visuospatial WM. Participants also performed a stop-signal task (SST). We used independent component analysis and single-trial scalp-electroencephalogram to test whether the same inhibitory mechanism that reflects motor inhibition in the SST relates to surprise-related visuospatial WM decrements, as was the case for verbal WM. As expected, surprising tones elicited activity of the inhibitory mechanism, and this activity correlated strongly with the trial-by-trial level of surprise. However, unlike for verbal WM, the activity of this mechanism was unrelated to visuospatial WM accuracy. Instead, inhibition-independent activity that immediately succeeded the inhibitory mechanism was increased when visuospatial WM was disrupted. This shows that surprise-related interruptions of visuospatial WM are not effected by the same inhibitory mechanism that interrupts verbal WM, and instead provides evidence for a 2-stage model of distraction. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cloud Surprises in Moving NASA EOSDIS Applications into Amazon Web Services

Science.gov (United States)

Mclaughlin, Brett

2017-01-01

NASA ESDIS has been moving a variety of data ingest, distribution, and science data processing applications into a cloud environment over the last 2 years. As expected, there have been a number of challenges in migrating primarily on-premises applications into a cloud-based environment, related to architecture and taking advantage of cloud-based services. What was not expected is a number of issues that were beyond purely technical application re-architectures. We ran into surprising network policy limitations, billing challenges in a government-based cost model, and difficulty in obtaining certificates in an NASA security-compliant manner. On the other hand, this approach has allowed us to move a number of applications from local hosting to the cloud in a matter of hours (yes, hours!!), and our CMR application now services 95% of granule searches and an astonishing 99% of all collection searches in under a second. And most surprising of all, well, you'll just have to wait and see the realization that caught our entire team off guard!

Quantum Nonlocality and Beyond: Limits from Nonlocal Computation

Science.gov (United States)

Linden, Noah; Popescu, Sandu; Short, Anthony J.; Winter, Andreas

2007-11-01

We address the problem of “nonlocal computation,” in which separated parties must compute a function without any individual learning anything about the inputs. Surprisingly, entanglement provides no benefit over local classical strategies for such tasks, yet stronger nonlocal correlations allow perfect success. This provides intriguing insights into the limits of quantum information processing, the nature of quantum nonlocality, and the differences between quantum and stronger-than-quantum nonlocal correlations.

The Value of Surprising Findings for Research on Marketing

OpenAIRE

JS Armstrong

2004-01-01

In the work of Armstrong (Journal of Business Research, 2002), I examined empirical research on the scientific process and related these to marketing science. The findings of some studies were surprising. In this reply, I address surprising findings and other issues raised by commentators.

Radar Design to Protect Against Surprise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doerry, Armin W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-02-01

Technological and doctrinal surprise is about rendering preparations for conflict as irrelevant or ineffective . For a sensor, this means essentially rendering the sensor as irrelevant or ineffective in its ability to help determine truth. Recovery from this sort of surprise is facilitated by flexibility in our own technology and doctrine. For a sensor, this mean s flexibility in its architecture, design, tactics, and the designing organizations ' processes. - 4 - Acknowledgements This report is the result of a n unfunded research and development activity . Sandia National Laboratories is a multi - program laboratory manage d and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE - AC04 - 94AL85000.

Coding of Information in Limit Cycle Oscillators

Science.gov (United States)

Schleimer, Jan-Hendrik; Stemmler, Martin

2009-12-01

Starting from a general description of noisy limit cycle oscillators, we derive from the Fokker-Planck equations the linear response of the instantaneous oscillator frequency to a time-varying external force. We consider the time series of zero crossings of the oscillator’s phase and compute the mutual information between it and the driving force. A direct link is established between the phase response curve summarizing the oscillator dynamics and the ability of a limit cycle oscillator, such as a heart cell or neuron, to encode information in the timing of peaks in the oscillation.

Towards integrating control and information theories from information-theoretic measures to control performance limitations

CERN Document Server

Fang, Song; Ishii, Hideaki

2017-01-01

This book investigates the performance limitation issues in networked feedback systems. The fact that networked feedback systems consist of control and communication devices and systems calls for the integration of control theory and information theory. The primary contributions of this book lie in two aspects: the newly-proposed information-theoretic measures and the newly-discovered control performance limitations. We first propose a number of information notions to facilitate the analysis. Using those notions, classes of performance limitations of networked feedback systems, as well as state estimation systems, are then investigated. In general, the book presents a unique, cohesive treatment of performance limitation issues of networked feedback systems via an information-theoretic approach. This book is believed to be the first to treat the aforementioned subjects systematically and in a unified manner, offering a unique perspective differing from existing books.

Surprise as a design strategy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludden, G.D.S.; Schifferstein, H.N.J.; Hekkert, P.P.M.

2008-01-01

Imagine yourself queuing for the cashier’s desk in a supermarket. Naturally, you have picked the wrong line, the one that does not seem to move at all. Soon, you get tired of waiting. Now, how would you feel if the cashier suddenly started to sing? Many of us would be surprised and, regardless of

17 CFR 160.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

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2010-04-01

... COMMISSION PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 160.11 Limits on redisclosure... personal information from a nonaffiliated financial institution under an exception in §§ 160.14 or 160.15, your disclosure and use of that information is limited as follows: (i) You may disclose the information...

Surprising Incentive: An Instrument for Promoting Safety Performance of Construction Employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakhradin Ghasemi

2015-09-01

Conclusion: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.

12 CFR 573.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

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2010-01-01

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Dividend announcements reconsidered: Dividend changes versus dividend surprises

OpenAIRE

Andres, Christian; Betzer, André; van den Bongard, Inga; Haesner, Christian; Theissen, Erik

2012-01-01

This paper reconsiders the issue of share price reactions to dividend announcements. Previous papers rely almost exclusively on a naive dividend model in which the dividend change is used as a proxy for the dividend surprise. We use the difference between the actual dividend and the analyst consensus forecast as obtained from I/B/E/S as a proxy for the dividend surprise. Using data from Germany, we find significant share price reactions after dividend announcements. Once we control for analys...

Surprising results: HIV testing and changes in contraceptive practices among young women in Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Sennott, Christie; Yeatman, Sara

2015-01-01

This study uses eight waves of data from the population-based Tsogolo la Thanzi study (2009–2011) in rural Malawi to examine changes in young women’s contraceptive practices, including the use of condoms, non-barrier contraceptive methods, and abstinence, following positive and negative HIV tests. The analysis factors in women’s prior perceptions of their HIV status that may already be shaping their behaviour and separates surprise HIV test results from those that merely confirm what was already believed. Fixed effects logistic regression models show that HIV testing frequently affects the contraceptive practices of young Malawian women, particularly when the test yields an unexpected result. Specifically, women who are surprised to test HIV positive increase their condom use and are more likely to use condoms consistently. Following an HIV negative test (whether a surprise or expected), women increase their use of condoms and decrease their use of non-barrier contraceptives; the latter may be due to an increase in abstinence following a surprise negative result. Changes in condom use following HIV testing are robust to the inclusion of potential explanatory mechanisms including fertility preferences, relationship status, and the perception that a partner is HIV positive. The results demonstrate that both positive and negative tests can influence women’s sexual and reproductive behaviours, and emphasise the importance of conceptualizing of HIV testing as offering new information only insofar as results deviate from prior perceptions of HIV status. PMID:26160156

Charming surprise

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2011-01-01

The CP violation in charm quarks has always been thought to be extremely small. So, looking at particle decays involving matter and antimatter, the LHCb experiment has recently been surprised to observe that things might be different. Theorists are on the case.   The study of the physics of the charm quark was not in the initial plans of the LHCb experiment, whose letter “b” stands for “beauty quark”. However, already one year ago, the Collaboration decided to look into a wider spectrum of processes that involve charm quarks among other things. The LHCb trigger allows a lot of these processes to be selected, and, among them, one has recently shown interesting features. Other experiments at b-factories have already performed the same measurement but this is the first time that it has been possible to achieve such high precision, thanks to the huge amount of data provided by the very high luminosity of the LHC. “We have observed the decay modes of t...

Salience and attention in surprisal-based accounts of language processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandra eZarcone

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The notion of salience has been singled out as the explanatory factor for a diverse range oflinguistic phenomena. In particular, perceptual salience (e.g. visual salience of objects in the world,acoustic prominence of linguistic sounds and semantic-pragmatic salience (e.g. prominence ofrecently mentioned or topical referents have been shown to influence language comprehensionand production. A different line of research has sought to account for behavioral correlates ofcognitive load during comprehension as well as for certain patterns in language usage usinginformation-theoretic notions, such as surprisal. Surprisal and salience both affect languageprocessing at different levels, but the relationship between the two has not been adequatelyelucidated, and the question of whether salience can be reduced to surprisal / predictability isstill open. Our review identifies two main challenges in addressing this question: terminologicalinconsistency and lack of integration between high and low levels of representations in salience-based accounts and surprisal-based accounts. We capitalise upon work in visual cognition inorder to orient ourselves in surveying the different facets of the notion of salience in linguisticsand their relation with models of surprisal. We find that work on salience highlights aspects oflinguistic communication that models of surprisal tend to overlook, namely the role of attentionand relevance to current goals, and we argue that the Predictive Coding framework provides aunified view which can account for the role played by attention and predictability at different levelsof processing and which can clarify the interplay between low and high levels of processes andbetween predictability-driven expectation and attention-driven focus.

Viral marketing: the use of surprise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lindgreen, A.; Vanhamme, J.; Clarke, I.; Flaherty, T.B.

2005-01-01

Viral marketing involves consumers passing along a company's marketing message to their friends, family, and colleagues. This chapter reviews viral marketing campaigns and argues that the emotion of surprise often is at work and that this mechanism resembles that of word-of-mouth marketing.

16 CFR 313.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

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2010-01-01

... ACTS OF CONGRESS PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 313.11 Limits on... nonpublic personal information from a nonaffiliated financial institution under an exception in § 313.14 or 313.15 of this part, your disclosure and use of that information is limited as follows: (i) You may...

12 CFR 332.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

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2010-01-01

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12 CFR 716.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

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2010-01-01

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Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment

Science.gov (United States)

Murty, Vishnu P.; LaBar, Kevin S.; Adcock, R. Alison

2016-01-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also impacts neural and mnemonic encoding of surprising events. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants encountered perceptually unexpected events either during the pursuit of rewards or avoidance of punishments. Despite similar levels of motivation across groups, reward and punishment facilitated the processing of surprising events in different medial temporal lobe regions. Whereas during reward motivation, perceptual surprises enhanced activation in the hippocampus, during punishment motivation surprises instead enhanced activation in parahippocampal cortex. Further, we found that reward motivation facilitated hippocampal coupling with ventromedial PFC, whereas punishment motivation facilitated parahippocampal cortical coupling with orbitofrontal cortex. Behaviorally, post-scan testing revealed that reward, but not punishment, motivation resulted in greater memory selectivity for surprising events encountered during goal pursuit. Together these findings demonstrate that neuromodulatory systems engaged by anticipation of reward and punishment target separate components of the medial temporal lobe, modulating medial temporal lobe sensitivity and connectivity. Thus, reward and punishment motivation yield distinct neural contexts for learning, with distinct consequences for how surprises are incorporated into predictive mnemonic models of the environment. PMID:26854903

Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment.

Science.gov (United States)

Murty, Vishnu P; LaBar, Kevin S; Adcock, R Alison

2016-10-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also impacts neural and mnemonic encoding of surprising events. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants encountered perceptually unexpected events either during the pursuit of rewards or avoidance of punishments. Despite similar levels of motivation across groups, reward and punishment facilitated the processing of surprising events in different medial temporal lobe regions. Whereas during reward motivation, perceptual surprises enhanced activation in the hippocampus, during punishment motivation surprises instead enhanced activation in parahippocampal cortex. Further, we found that reward motivation facilitated hippocampal coupling with ventromedial PFC, whereas punishment motivation facilitated parahippocampal cortical coupling with orbitofrontal cortex. Behaviorally, post-scan testing revealed that reward, but not punishment, motivation resulted in greater memory selectivity for surprising events encountered during goal pursuit. Together these findings demonstrate that neuromodulatory systems engaged by anticipation of reward and punishment target separate components of the medial temporal lobe, modulating medial temporal lobe sensitivity and connectivity. Thus, reward and punishment motivation yield distinct neural contexts for learning, with distinct consequences for how surprises are incorporated into predictive mnemonic models of the environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of emotionally valenced eye region images on visuocortical processing of surprised faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuaixia; Li, Ping; Wang, Wei; Zhu, Xiangru; Luo, Wenbo

2018-05-01

In this study, we presented pictorial representations of happy, neutral, and fearful expressions projected in the eye regions to determine whether the eye region alone is sufficient to produce a context effect. Participants were asked to judge the valence of surprised faces that had been preceded by a picture of an eye region. Behavioral results showed that affective ratings of surprised faces were context dependent. Prime-related ERPs with presentation of happy eyes elicited a larger P1 than those for neutral and fearful eyes, likely due to the recognition advantage provided by a happy expression. Target-related ERPs showed that surprised faces in the context of fearful and happy eyes elicited dramatically larger C1 than those in the neutral context, which reflected the modulation by predictions during the earliest stages of face processing. There were larger N170 with neutral and fearful eye contexts compared to the happy context, suggesting faces were being integrated with contextual threat information. The P3 component exhibited enhanced brain activity in response to faces preceded by happy and fearful eyes compared with neutral eyes, indicating motivated attention processing may be involved at this stage. Altogether, these results indicate for the first time that the influence of isolated eye regions on the perception of surprised faces involves preferential processing at the early stages and elaborate processing at the late stages. Moreover, higher cognitive processes such as predictions and attention can modulate face processing from the earliest stages in a top-down manner. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Charming surprise

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2011-01-01

The CP violation in charm quarks has always been thought to be extremely small. So, looking at particle decays involving matter and antimatter, the LHCb experiment has recently been surprised to observe that things might be different. Theorists are on the case. The study of the physics of the charm quark was not in the initial plans of the LHCb experiment, whose letter “b” stands for “beauty quark”. However, already one year ago, the Collaboration decided to look into a wider spectrum of processes that involve charm quarks among other things. The LHCb trigger allows a lot of these processes to be selected, and, among them, one has recently shown interesting features. Other experiments at b-factories have already performed the same measurement but this is the first time that it has been possible to achieve such high precision, thanks to the huge amount of data provided by the very high luminosity of the LHC. “We have observed the decay modes of the D0, a pa...

Spatiotemporal neural characterization of prediction error valence and surprise during reward learning in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouragnan, Elsa; Queirazza, Filippo; Retzler, Chris; Mullinger, Karen J; Philiastides, Marios G

2017-07-06

Reward learning depends on accurate reward associations with potential choices. These associations can be attained with reinforcement learning mechanisms using a reward prediction error (RPE) signal (the difference between actual and expected rewards) for updating future reward expectations. Despite an extensive body of literature on the influence of RPE on learning, little has been done to investigate the potentially separate contributions of RPE valence (positive or negative) and surprise (absolute degree of deviation from expectations). Here, we coupled single-trial electroencephalography with simultaneously acquired fMRI, during a probabilistic reversal-learning task, to offer evidence of temporally overlapping but largely distinct spatial representations of RPE valence and surprise. Electrophysiological variability in RPE valence correlated with activity in regions of the human reward network promoting approach or avoidance learning. Electrophysiological variability in RPE surprise correlated primarily with activity in regions of the human attentional network controlling the speed of learning. Crucially, despite the largely separate spatial extend of these representations our EEG-informed fMRI approach uniquely revealed a linear superposition of the two RPE components in a smaller network encompassing visuo-mnemonic and reward areas. Activity in this network was further predictive of stimulus value updating indicating a comparable contribution of both signals to reward learning.

The Surprise Examination Paradox and the Second Incompleteness Theorem

OpenAIRE

Kritchman, Shira; Raz, Ran

2010-01-01

We give a new proof for Godel's second incompleteness theorem, based on Kolmogorov complexity, Chaitin's incompleteness theorem, and an argument that resembles the surprise examination paradox. We then go the other way around and suggest that the second incompleteness theorem gives a possible resolution of the surprise examination paradox. Roughly speaking, we argue that the flaw in the derivation of the paradox is that it contains a hidden assumption that one can prove the consistency of the...

Climate agreements under limited participation, asymmetric information and market imperfections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagem, Cathrine

1996-12-31

This thesis relates to climate agreements and cost efficiency by analysing the formation of a system of quota leading to distributed discharge of emissions between countries. Main fields concerned are the greenhouse effect, the political process, efficient and cost-effective climate agreements, and climate agreements under limited participation, asymmetric information and market imperfections covering fields like limited participation in climate agreements, limited participation and indirect impact on non-participating countries` emissions, limited participation and direct impact on non-participating countries` emissions under asymmetric information, and non-competitive market for tradeable quotas. 166 refs., 7 tabs.

47 CFR 64.4006 - Limitations on use of customer account information.

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2010-10-01

... Exchange Requirements § 64.4006 Limitations on use of customer account information. A carrier that receives customer account information under this section shall use such information to ensure timely and accurate... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Limitations on use of customer account...

Limitations in global information on species occurrences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carsten Meyer

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Detailed information on species distributions is crucial for answering central questions in biogeography, ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation. Millions of species occurrence records have been mobilized via international data-sharing networks, but inherent biases, gaps and uncertainties hamper broader application. In my PhD thesis, I presented the first comprehensive analyses of global patterns and drivers of these limitations across different taxonomic groups and spatial scales. Integrating 300 million occurrence records for terrestrial vertebrates and plants with comprehensive taxonomic databases, expert range maps and regional checklists, I demonstrated extensive taxonomic, geographical and temporal biases, gaps and uncertainties. I identified key socio-economic drivers of data bias across different taxonomic groups and spatial scales. The results of my dissertation provide an empirical baseline for effectively accounting for data limitations in distribution models, as well as for prioritizing and monitoring efforts to collate additional occurrence information.

Pupil size tracks perceptual content and surprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kloosterman, Niels A; Meindertsma, Thomas; van Loon, Anouk M; Lamme, Victor A F; Bonneh, Yoram S; Donner, Tobias H

2015-04-01

Changes in pupil size at constant light levels reflect the activity of neuromodulatory brainstem centers that control global brain state. These endogenously driven pupil dynamics can be synchronized with cognitive acts. For example, the pupil dilates during the spontaneous switches of perception of a constant sensory input in bistable perceptual illusions. It is unknown whether this pupil dilation only indicates the occurrence of perceptual switches, or also their content. Here, we measured pupil diameter in human subjects reporting the subjective disappearance and re-appearance of a physically constant visual target surrounded by a moving pattern ('motion-induced blindness' illusion). We show that the pupil dilates during the perceptual switches in the illusion and a stimulus-evoked 'replay' of that illusion. Critically, the switch-related pupil dilation encodes perceptual content, with larger amplitude for disappearance than re-appearance. This difference in pupil response amplitude enables prediction of the type of report (disappearance vs. re-appearance) on individual switches (receiver-operating characteristic: 61%). The amplitude difference is independent of the relative durations of target-visible and target-invisible intervals and subjects' overt behavioral report of the perceptual switches. Further, we show that pupil dilation during the replay also scales with the level of surprise about the timing of switches, but there is no evidence for an interaction between the effects of surprise and perceptual content on the pupil response. Taken together, our results suggest that pupil-linked brain systems track both the content of, and surprise about, perceptual events. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Glial heterotopia of maxilla: A clinical surprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santosh Kumar Mahalik

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Glial heterotopia is a rare congenital mass lesion which often presents as a clinical surprise. We report a case of extranasal glial heterotopia in a neonate with unusual features. The presentation, management strategy, etiopathogenesis and histopathology of the mass lesion has been reviewed.

Beyond surprise : A longitudinal study on the experience of visual-tactual incongruities in products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ludden, G.D.S.; Schifferstein, H.N.J.; Hekkert, P.

2012-01-01

When people encounter products with visual-tactual incongruities, they are likely to be surprised because the product feels different than expected. In this paper, we investigate (1) the relationship between surprise and the overall liking of the products, (2) the emotions associated with surprise,

Cloud Surprises Discovered in Moving NASA EOSDIS Applications into Amazon Web Services… and #6 Will Shock You!

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, B. D.; Pawloski, A. W.

2017-12-01

NASA ESDIS has been moving a variety of data ingest, distribution, and science data processing applications into a cloud environment over the last 2 years. As expected, there have been a number of challenges in migrating primarily on-premises applications into a cloud-based environment, related to architecture and taking advantage of cloud-based services. What was not expected is a number of issues that were beyond purely technical application re-architectures. From surprising network policy limitations, billing challenges in a government-based cost model, and obtaining certificates in an NASA security-compliant manner to working with multiple applications in a shared and resource-constrained AWS account, these have been the relevant challenges in taking advantage of a cloud model. And most surprising of all… well, you'll just have to wait and see the "gotcha" that caught our entire team off guard!

16 CFR 313.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing account number information... REGULATIONS UNDER SPECIFIC ACTS OF CONGRESS PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 313.12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on...

12 CFR 40.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

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2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing account number information... OF THE TREASURY PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 40.12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on disclosure of...

Ignorance, Vulnerability and the Occurrence of "Radical Surprises": Theoretical Reflections and Empirical Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlicke, C.

2009-04-01

By definition natural disasters always contain a moment of surprise. Their occurrence is mostly unforeseen and unexpected. They hit people unprepared, overwhelm them and expose their helplessness. Yet, there is surprisingly little known on the reasons for their being surprised. Aren't natural disasters expectable and foreseeable after all? Aren't the return rates of most hazards well known and shouldn't people be better prepared? The central question of this presentation is hence: Why do natural disasters so often radically surprise people at all (and how can we explain this being surprised)? In the first part of the presentation, it is argued that most approaches to vulnerability are not able to grasp this moment of surprise. On the contrary, they have their strength in unravelling the expectable: A person who is marginalized or even oppressed in everyday life is also vulnerable during times of crisis and stress, at least this is the central assumption of most vulnerability studies. In the second part, an understanding of vulnerability is developed, which allows taking into account such radical surprises. First, two forms of the unknown are differentiated: An area of the unknown an actor is more or less aware of (ignorance), and an area, which is not even known to be not known (nescience). The discovery of the latter is mostly associated with a "radical surprise", since it is per definition impossible to prepare for it. Second, a definition of vulnerability is proposed, which allows capturing the dynamics of surprises: People are vulnerable when they discover their nescience exceeding by definition previously established routines, stocks of knowledge and resources—in a general sense their capacities—to deal with their physical and/or social environment. This definition explicitly takes the view of different actors serious and departs from their being surprised. In the third part findings of a case study are presented, the 2002 flood in Germany. It is shown

12 CFR 216.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

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2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing account number information... GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION (REGULATION P) Limits on Disclosures § 216.12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General...

12 CFR 573.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

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2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing account number information..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 573.12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on disclosure of...

12 CFR 332.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing account number information... REGULATIONS AND STATEMENTS OF GENERAL POLICY PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 332.12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on...

Decision-making under surprise and uncertainty: Arsenic contamination of water supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Randhir, Timothy O.; Mozumder, Pallab; Halim, Nafisa

2018-05-01

With ignorance and potential surprise dominating decision making in water resources, a framework for dealing with such uncertainty is a critical need in hydrology. We operationalize the 'potential surprise' criterion proposed by Shackle, Vickers, and Katzner (SVK) to derive decision rules to manage water resources under uncertainty and ignorance. We apply this framework to managing water supply systems in Bangladesh that face severe, naturally occurring arsenic contamination. The uncertainty involved with arsenic in water supplies makes the application of conventional analysis of decision-making ineffective. Given the uncertainty and surprise involved in such cases, we find that optimal decisions tend to favor actions that avoid irreversible outcomes instead of conventional cost-effective actions. We observe that a diversification of the water supply system also emerges as a robust strategy to avert unintended outcomes of water contamination. Shallow wells had a slight higher optimal level (36%) compare to deep wells and surface treatment which had allocation levels of roughly 32% under each. The approach can be applied in a variety of other cases that involve decision making under uncertainty and surprise, a frequent situation in natural resources management.

Simple expression for the quantum Fisher information matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Šafránek, Dominik

2018-04-01

Quantum Fisher information matrix (QFIM) is a cornerstone of modern quantum metrology and quantum information geometry. Apart from optimal estimation, it finds applications in description of quantum speed limits, quantum criticality, quantum phase transitions, coherence, entanglement, and irreversibility. We derive a surprisingly simple formula for this quantity, which, unlike previously known general expression, does not require diagonalization of the density matrix, and is provably at least as efficient. With a minor modification, this formula can be used to compute QFIM for any finite-dimensional density matrix. Because of its simplicity, it could also shed more light on the quantum information geometry in general.

Surprisal analysis of Glioblastoma Multiform (GBM) microRNA dynamics unveils tumor specific phenotype.

Science.gov (United States)

Zadran, Sohila; Remacle, Francoise; Levine, Raphael

2014-01-01

Gliomablastoma multiform (GBM) is the most fatal form of all brain cancers in humans. Currently there are limited diagnostic tools for GBM detection. Here, we applied surprisal analysis, a theory grounded in thermodynamics, to unveil how biomolecule energetics, specifically a redistribution of free energy amongst microRNAs (miRNAs), results in a system deviating from a non-cancer state to the GBM cancer -specific phenotypic state. Utilizing global miRNA microarray expression data of normal and GBM patients tumors, surprisal analysis characterizes a miRNA system response capable of distinguishing GBM samples from normal tissue biopsy samples. We indicate that the miRNAs contributing to this system behavior is a disease phenotypic state specific to GBM and is therefore a unique GBM-specific thermodynamic signature. MiRNAs implicated in the regulation of stochastic signaling processes crucial in the hallmarks of human cancer, dominate this GBM-cancer phenotypic state. With this theory, we were able to distinguish with high fidelity GBM patients solely by monitoring the dynamics of miRNAs present in patients' biopsy samples. We anticipate that the GBM-specific thermodynamic signature will provide a critical translational tool in better characterizing cancer types and in the development of future therapeutics for GBM.

Regeneration limit of classical Shannon capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Sorokina, M. A.; Turitsyn, S. K.

2014-05-01

Since Shannon derived the seminal formula for the capacity of the additive linear white Gaussian noise channel, it has commonly been interpreted as the ultimate limit of error-free information transmission rate. However, the capacity above the corresponding linear channel limit can be achieved when noise is suppressed using nonlinear elements; that is, the regenerative function not available in linear systems. Regeneration is a fundamental concept that extends from biology to optical communications. All-optical regeneration of coherent signal has attracted particular attention. Surprisingly, the quantitative impact of regeneration on the Shannon capacity has remained unstudied. Here we propose a new method of designing regenerative transmission systems with capacity that is higher than the corresponding linear channel, and illustrate it by proposing application of the Fourier transform for efficient regeneration of multilevel multidimensional signals. The regenerative Shannon limit—the upper bound of regeneration efficiency—is derived.

Fine-resolution conservation planning with limited climate-change information.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Payal; Mallory, Mindy L; Ando, Amy W; Guntenspergen, Glenn R

2017-04-01

Climate-change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation-related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation-planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk-diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate-change scenarios for carrying out fine-resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk-return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate-change information and full climate-change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate-change forecasts such that the best possible risk-return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate-change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Payal; Mallory, Mindy L.; Ando , Amy W.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

2017-01-01

Climate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate‐change scenarios for carrying out fine‐resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk‐return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate‐change information and full climate‐change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate‐change forecasts such that the best possible risk‐return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate‐change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches.

Sleeping beauties in theoretical physics 26 surprising insights

CERN Document Server

Padmanabhan, Thanu

2015-01-01

This book addresses a fascinating set of questions in theoretical physics which will both entertain and enlighten all students, teachers and researchers and other physics aficionados. These range from Newtonian mechanics to quantum field theory and cover several puzzling issues that do not appear in standard textbooks. Some topics cover conceptual conundrums, the solutions to which lead to surprising insights; some correct popular misconceptions in the textbook discussion of certain topics; others illustrate deep connections between apparently unconnected domains of theoretical physics; and a few provide remarkably simple derivations of results which are not often appreciated. The connoisseur of theoretical physics will enjoy a feast of pleasant surprises skilfully prepared by an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist. Each topic is introduced with proper background discussion and special effort is taken to make the discussion self-contained, clear and comprehensible to anyone with an undergraduate e...

Application of the risk-informed methodology for APR1400 P-T limits curve

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, K.; Namgung, I. [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-01

A reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in a nuclear power plant has operational limits of pressure and temperature to prevent a potential drastic propagation of cracks due to brittle fracture. We call it a pressure-temperature limits curve (P-T limits curve). Appendix G of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section XI, provides deterministic procedures to develop the P-T limits curve for the reactor pressure vessel. Recently, an alternative risk-informed methodology has been added in the ASME Code. Risk-informed means that we can consider insights from a probabilistic risk assessment by using this methodology. This alternative methodology provides a simple procedure to develop risk-informed P-T limits for heat up, cool down, and hydrostatic test events. The risk-informed P-T limits curve is known to provide more operational flexibility, particularly for reactor pressure vessels with relatively high irradiation levels and radiation sensitive materials. In this paper, we developed both the deterministic and a risk-informed P-T limits curve for an APR1400 reactor using Appendix G of the ASME Code, Section XI and compare the results in terms of additional operational margin. (author)

The June surprises: balls, strikes, and the fog of war.

Science.gov (United States)

Fried, Charles

2013-04-01

At first, few constitutional experts took seriously the argument that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exceeded Congress's power under the commerce clause. The highly political opinions of two federal district judges - carefully chosen by challenging plaintiffs - of no particular distinction did not shake that confidence that the act was constitutional. This disdain for the challengers' arguments was only confirmed when the act was upheld by two highly respected conservative court of appeals judges in two separate circuits. But after the hostile, even mocking questioning of the government's advocate in the Supreme Court by the five Republican-appointed justices, the expectation was that the act would indeed be struck down on that ground. So it came as no surprise when the five opined the act did indeed exceed Congress's commerce clause power. But it came as a great surprise when Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the four Democrat-appointed justices, ruled that the act could be sustained as an exercise of Congress's taxing power - a ground urged by the government almost as an afterthought. It was further surprising, even shocking, that Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito not only wrote a joint opinion on the commerce clause virtually identical to that of their chief, but that in writing it they did not refer to or even acknowledge his opinion. Finally surprising was the fact that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer joined the chief in holding that aspects of the act's Medicaid expansion were unconstitutional. This essay ponders and tries to unravel some of these puzzles.

Probabilistic inference of fatigue damage propagation with limited and partial information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Min

2015-08-01

Full Text Available A general method of probabilistic fatigue damage prognostics using limited and partial information is developed. Limited and partial information refers to measurable data that are not enough or cannot directly be used to statistically identify model parameter using traditional regression analysis. In the proposed method, the prior probability distribution of model parameters is derived based on the principle of maximum entropy (MaxEnt using the limited and partial information as constraints. The posterior distribution is formulated using the principle of maximum relative entropy (MRE to perform probability updating when new information is available and reduces uncertainty in prognosis results. It is shown that the posterior distribution is equivalent to a Bayesian posterior when the new information used for updating is point measurements. A numerical quadrature interpolating method is used to calculate the asymptotic approximation for the prior distribution. Once the prior is obtained, subsequent measurement data are used to perform updating using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC simulations. Fatigue crack prognosis problems with experimental data are presented for demonstration and validation.

THE RECENCY EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jogiyanto Hartono

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study tests the joint effects of dividend and earnings information. A study of joint effects is justified for the following reasons. First, dividends and earnings are considered two of the most important signaling devices (Aharony and Swary 1980 that investors use in evaluating stock prices. Second, dividends and earnings are 'garbled' information (Ohlson 1989. Dividends and earnings may contain corroborating or disconfirming news. Third, investors may be have with memory, revising beliefs in complex ways in evaluating a sequence of information. Prior dividend studies that controlling for earnings announcement effects do not address these possibilities. Using Hogarth and Einhorn's (1992 belief-adjustment theory, this study models the behavior of investor reactions to joint dividend and earnings surprises. The theory predicts that order and timing of dividend and earnings surprises have different effects on stock returns. When dividend and earnings surprises have opposite signs (mixedevidence, the theory predicts that later surprises have a larger impact on stock returns than do earlier surprises (the recency effect hypothesis. The evidence for the recency  effect hypotheses is relatively strong. In three out of four cases of mixed evidence (positive earnings, negative earnings and positive dividend surprises, the recency effect hypotheses are supported.

How do top managers support strategic information system projects and why do they sometimes withhold this support?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonstra, A.

Top management support is an important determinant of information system project success. This is especially the case in complex and large-scale IS projects. Surprisingly, however, there is only limited reliable knowledge about the types of behavior that underlie top management support. Further,

Lost in transportation: Information measures and cognitive limits in multilayer navigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallotti, Riccardo; Porter, Mason A; Barthelemy, Marc

2016-02-01

Cities and their transportation systems become increasingly complex and multimodal as they grow, and it is natural to wonder whether it is possible to quantitatively characterize our difficulty navigating in them and whether such navigation exceeds our cognitive limits. A transition between different search strategies for navigating in metropolitan maps has been observed for large, complex metropolitan networks. This evidence suggests the existence of a limit associated with cognitive overload and caused by a large amount of information that needs to be processed. In this light, we analyzed the world's 15 largest metropolitan networks and estimated the information limit for determining a trip in a transportation system to be on the order of 8 bits. Similar to the "Dunbar number," which represents a limit to the size of an individual's friendship circle, our cognitive limit suggests that maps should not consist of more than 250 connection points to be easily readable. We also show that including connections with other transportation modes dramatically increases the information needed to navigate in multilayer transportation networks. In large cities such as New York, Paris, and Tokyo, more than 80% of the trips are above the 8-bit limit. Multimodal transportation systems in large cities have thus already exceeded human cognitive limits and, consequently, the traditional view of navigation in cities has to be revised substantially.

12 CFR 216.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... RESERVE SYSTEM PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION (REGULATION P) Limits on Disclosures § 216.11... disclose that information to a third party for marketing purposes or use that information for your own marketing purposes. (b)(1) Information you receive outside of an exception. If you receive nonpublic...

12 CFR 716.12 - Limits on sharing of account number information for marketing purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on sharing of account number information... REGULATIONS AFFECTING CREDIT UNIONS PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION Limits on Disclosures § 716.12 Limits on sharing of account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on...

Would you be surprised if this patient died?: Preliminary exploration of first and second year residents' approach to care decisions in critically ill patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armstrong John D

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background How physicians approach decision-making when caring for critically ill patients is poorly understood. This study aims to explore how residents think about prognosis and approach care decisions when caring for seriously ill, hospitalized patients. Methods Qualitative study where we conducted structured discussions with first and second year internal medicine residents (n = 8 caring for critically ill patients during Medical Intensive Care Unit Ethics and Discharge Planning Rounds. Residents were asked to respond to questions beginning with "Would you be surprised if this patient died?" Results An equal number of residents responded that they would (n = 4 or would not (n = 4 be surprised if their patient died. Reasons for being surprised included the rapid onset of an acute illness, reversible disease, improving clinical course and the patient's prior survival under similar circumstances. Residents reported no surprise with worsening clinical course. Based on the realization that their patient might die, residents cited potential changes in management that included clarifying treatment goals, improving communication with families, spending more time with patients and ordering fewer laboratory tests. Perceived or implied barriers to changes in management included limited time, competing clinical priorities, "not knowing" a patient, limited knowledge and experience, presence of diagnostic or prognostic uncertainty and unclear treatment goals. Conclusions These junior-level residents appear to rely on clinical course, among other factors, when assessing prognosis and the possibility for death in severely ill patients. Further investigation is needed to understand how these factors impact decision-making and whether perceived barriers to changes in patient management influence approaches to care.

Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment

OpenAIRE

Murty, Vishnu P.; LaBar, Kevin S.; Adcock, R. Alison

2016-01-01

Adaptive motivated behavior requires predictive internal representations of the environment, and surprising events are indications for encoding new representations of the environment. The medial temporal lobe memory system, including the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, encodes surprising events and is influenced by motivational state. Because behavior reflects the goals of an individual, we investigated whether motivational valence (i.e., pursuing rewards versus avoiding punishments) also...

Crush performance of redwood for developing design procedures for impact limiters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cramer, S.M.; Hermanson, J.C.; McMurtry, W.M.

1995-01-01

Containers for the transportation of hazardous and radioactive materials incorporate redwood in impact limiters. Redwood is an excellent energy absorber, but only the most simplistic information exists on its crush properties. Tbe stress-strain interrelationship for any wood species subject to three-dimensional stresses is largely unknown for any all stress condition and wood behavior at both high strains and high strain-rates is known only in general terms. Both stress-strain and crush failure theories have been developed based only on uniaxial load tests. The anisotropy of wood adds an additional complexity to measuring wood response and developing suitable theories to describe it. A long history of wood utilization in the building industry has led to design procedures and property information related to simple uniaxial loadings that do not inflict damage to the wood. This lack of knowledge may be surprising for a material that has a long history of engineered use, but the result is difficulty in utilizing wood in more sophisticated designs such as impact limiters. This study provides a step toward filling the information gap on wood material response for high performance applications such as impact limiters

Human Amygdala Tracks a Feature-Based Valence Signal Embedded within the Facial Expression of Surprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, M Justin; Mattek, Alison M; Bennett, Randi H; Solomon, Kimberly M; Shin, Jin; Whalen, Paul J

2017-09-27

Human amygdala function has been traditionally associated with processing the affective valence (negative vs positive) of an emotionally charged event, especially those that signal fear or threat. However, this account of human amygdala function can be explained by alternative views, which posit that the amygdala might be tuned to either (1) general emotional arousal (activation vs deactivation) or (2) specific emotion categories (fear vs happy). Delineating the pure effects of valence independent of arousal or emotion category is a challenging task, given that these variables naturally covary under many circumstances. To circumvent this issue and test the sensitivity of the human amygdala to valence values specifically, we measured the dimension of valence within the single facial expression category of surprise. Given the inherent valence ambiguity of this category, we show that surprised expression exemplars are attributed valence and arousal values that are uniquely and naturally uncorrelated. We then present fMRI data from both sexes, showing that the amygdala tracks these consensus valence values. Finally, we provide evidence that these valence values are linked to specific visual features of the mouth region, isolating the signal by which the amygdala detects this valence information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT There is an open question as to whether human amygdala function tracks the valence value of cues in the environment, as opposed to either a more general emotional arousal value or a more specific emotion category distinction. Here, we demonstrate the utility of surprised facial expressions because exemplars within this emotion category take on valence values spanning the dimension of bipolar valence (positive to negative) at a consistent level of emotional arousal. Functional neuroimaging data showed that amygdala responses tracked the valence of surprised facial expressions, unconfounded by arousal. Furthermore, a machine learning classifier identified

Linear versus non-linear structural information limit in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Aert, S.; Chen, J.H.; Van Dyck, D.

2010-01-01

A widely used performance criterion in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) is the information limit. It corresponds to the inverse of the maximum spatial object frequency that is linearly transmitted with sufficient intensity from the exit plane of the object to the image plane and is limited due to partial temporal coherence. In practice, the information limit is often measured from a diffractogram or from Young's fringes assuming a weak phase object scattering beyond the inverse of the information limit. However, for an aberration corrected electron microscope, with an information limit in the sub-angstrom range, weak phase objects are no longer applicable since they do not scatter sufficiently in this range. Therefore, one relies on more strongly scattering objects such as crystals of heavy atoms observed along a low index zone axis. In that case, dynamical scattering becomes important such that the non-linear and linear interaction may be equally important. The non-linear interaction may then set the experimental cut-off frequency observed in a diffractogram. The goal of this paper is to quantify both the linear and the non-linear information transfer in terms of closed form analytical expressions. Whereas the cut-off frequency set by the linear transfer can be directly related with the attainable resolution, information from the non-linear transfer can only be extracted using quantitative, model-based methods. In contrast to the historic definition of the information limit depending on microscope parameters only, the expressions derived in this paper explicitly incorporate their dependence on the structure parameters as well. In order to emphasize this dependence and to distinguish from the usual information limit, the expressions derived for the inverse cut-off frequencies will be referred to as the linear and non-linear structural information limit. The present findings confirm the well-known result that partial temporal coherence has

Managing Uncertainity: Soviet Views on Deception, Surprise, and Control

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hull, Andrew

1989-01-01

.... In the first two cases (deception and surprise), the emphasis is on how the Soviets seek to sow uncertainty in the minds of the enemy and how the Soviets then plan to use that uncertainty to gain military advantage...

Competition among memes in a world with limited attention

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, L.; Flammini, A.; Vespignani, A.; Menczer, F.

2012-03-01

The wide adoption of social media has increased the competition among ideas for our finite attention. We employ a parsimonious agent-based model to study whether such a competition may affect the popularity of different memes, the diversity of information we are exposed to, and the fading of our collective interests for specific topics. Agents share messages on a social network but can only pay attention to a portion of the information they receive. In the emerging dynamics of information diffusion, a few memes go viral while most do not. The predictions of our model are consistent with empirical data from Twitter, a popular microblogging platform. Surprisingly, we can explain the massive heterogeneity in the popularity and persistence of memes as deriving from a combination of the competition for our limited attention and the structure of the social network, without the need to assume different intrinsic values among ideas.

Consumption risk sharing with private information and limited enforcement

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Broer, T.; Kapička, Marek; Klein, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 23, January (2017), s. 170-190 ISSN 1094-2025 Institutional support: RVO:67985998 Keywords : consumption insurance * private information * limited enforcement Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Economic Theory Impact factor: 1.053, year: 2016

Vascular legacy: HOPE ADVANCEs to EMPA-REG and LEADER: A Surprising similarity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Kalra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recently reported cardiovascular outcome studies on empagliflozin (EMPA-REG and liraglutide (LEADER have spurred interest in this field of diabetology. This commentary compares and contrasts these studies with two equally important outcome trials conducted using blood pressure lowering agents. A comparison with MICROHOPE (using ramipril and ADVANCE (using perindopril + indapamide blood pressure arms throws up interesting facts. The degree of blood pressure lowering, dissociation between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits, and discordance between renal and retinal outcomes are surprisingly similar in these trials, conducted using disparate molecules. The time taken to achieve such benefits is similar for all drugs except empagliflozin. Such discussion helps inform rational and evidence-based choice of therapy and forms the framework for future research.

The Limitations of Quantitative Social Science for Informing Public Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Jerrim, John; de Vries, Robert

2017-01-01

Quantitative social science (QSS) has the potential to make an important contribution to public policy. However it also has a number of limitations. The aim of this paper is to explain these limitations to a non-specialist audience and to identify a number of ways in which QSS research could be improved to better inform public policy.

Consumption risk sharing with private information and limited enforcement

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Broer, T.; Kapička, Marek; Klein, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 23, January (2017), s. 170-190 ISSN 1094-2025 Institutional support: Progres-Q24 Keywords : consumption insurance * private information * limited enforcement Subject RIV: AH - Economic s OBOR OECD: Economic Theory Impact factor: 1.053, year: 2016

Effects of surprisal and locality on Danish sentence processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balling, Laura Winther; Kizach, Johannes

2017-01-01

An eye-tracking experiment in Danish investigates two dominant accounts of sentence processing: locality-based theories that predict a processing advantage for sentences where the distance between the major syntactic heads is minimized, and the surprisal theory which predicts that processing time...

Understanding the limit order book: Conditioning on trade informativeness

OpenAIRE

Beltran, Héléna; Grammig, Joachim; Menkveld, Albert J.

2005-01-01

Electronic limit order books are ubiquitous in markets today. However, theoretical models for limit order markets fail to explain the real world data well. Sandas (2001) tests the classic Glosten (1994) model for order book equilibrium and rejects it. We reconfirm this result for one of the largest European stock markets. We then relax one of the model's assumptions and allow the informational content of trades to change over time. Adapting Hasbrouck's (1991a,b) methodology to estimate time v...

17 CFR 160.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

....12 Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. 160.12 Section 160.12 Commodity and Securities Exchanges...

17 CFR 248.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Safeguarding Personal Information Limits on Disclosures § 248.11 Limits on redisclosure and reuse of... customer list from a nonaffiliated financial institution in order to provide account-processing services.... (2) Example. If you obtain a customer list from a nonaffiliated financial institution outside of the...

Visuo-spatialWorking Memory as a Limited Resource of Cognitive Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmer, Hubert D.; Münzer, Stefan; Umla-Runge, Katja

Working memory is considered a cognitive component that mainly serves two functions. It temporarily maintains information that was either perceived but is no longer present in the environment, or that was internally generated, and it supplies a work space for transforming and manipulating elements of perception and thinking. Both functions are relevant for a successful interaction with the environment and it is therefore not surprising that WM is a central topic of research in the field of general psychology. This interest is further increased by the fact that WM is seen as a limited resource that constrains cognitive performances.

Dynamic Speed Adaptation for Path Tracking Based on Curvature Information and Speed Limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Gámez Serna, Citlalli; Ruichek, Yassine

2017-06-14

A critical concern of autonomous vehicles is safety. Different approaches have tried to enhance driving safety to reduce the number of fatal crashes and severe injuries. As an example, Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems warn the driver when the vehicle exceeds the recommended speed limit. However, these systems only take into account fixed speed limits without considering factors like road geometry. In this paper, we consider road curvature with speed limits to automatically adjust vehicle's speed with the ideal one through our proposed Dynamic Speed Adaptation (DSA) method. Furthermore, 'curve analysis extraction' and 'speed limits database creation' are also part of our contribution. An algorithm that analyzes GPS information off-line identifies high curvature segments and estimates the speed for each curve. The speed limit database contains information about the different speed limit zones for each traveled path. Our DSA senses speed limits and curves of the road using GPS information and ensures smooth speed transitions between current and ideal speeds. Through experimental simulations with different control algorithms on real and simulated datasets, we prove that our method is able to significantly reduce lateral errors on sharp curves, to respect speed limits and consequently increase safety and comfort for the passenger.

Understanding the medicines information-seeking behaviour and information needs of South African long-term patients with limited literacy skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Sonal; Dowse, Ros

2015-10-01

Although much health information-seeking behaviour (HISB) research has been reported in patients with good literacy skills, little is known about HISB in patients with limited literacy skills served by under-resourced health-care systems. To investigate medicine information-seeking behaviour and information needs in patients with limited literacy. Using a question guide, four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to explore themes related to information needs, information-seeking practices and awareness of and ability to utilize information sources. Twenty-two isiXhosa-speaking long-term patients with limited formal education were recruited from a primary health-care clinic in South Africa. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. NVivo(®) was used for initial coding of transcripts. Codes were analysed, and potential themes and subthemes in the entire data set were identified and refined. The results of this study reflect a passive, disempowered patient. Poor awareness of information sources, lack of health-related knowledge and stigma contributed to a lack of information-seeking practice, thus potentially adversely influencing patient-provider interactions. Patients neither asked questions nor were encouraged to ask questions. All expressed an unmet need for information and a desire for receiving the illustrated written medicines-related information displayed in the FGDs. The main sources of information were health-care professionals, followed by family and friends. The significant level of patient disempowerment and passivity reported amongst patients underpinned their inability to actively seek information. Neither sources of information nor types of appropriate medicines information could be identified. Unmet information needs and a desire for information were reported. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Surprise and Memory as Indices of Concrete Operational Development

Science.gov (United States)

Achenbach, Thomas M.

1973-01-01

Normal and retarded children's use of color, number, length and continuous quantity as attributes of identification was assessed by presenting them with contrived changes in three properties. Surprise and correct memory responses for color preceded those to number, which preceded logical verbal responses to a conventional number-conservation task.…

A surprising palmar nevus: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana Rafiei

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Raised palmar or plantar nevus especially in white people is an unusual feature. We present an uncommon palmar compound nevus in a 26-year-old woman with a large diameter (6 mm which had a collaret-shaped margin. In histopathologic evaluation intralymphatic protrusions of nevic nests were noted. This case was surprising to us for these reasons: size, shape, location and histopathology of the lesion. Palmar nevi are usually junctional (flat and below 3 mm diameter and intra lymphatic protrusion or invasion in nevi is an extremely rare phenomenon.

Information Is Not a Virus, and Other Consequences of Human Cognitive Limits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina Lerman

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The many decisions that people make about what to pay attention to online shape the spread of information in online social networks. Due to the constraints of available time and cognitive resources, the ease of discovery strongly impacts how people allocate their attention to social media content. As a consequence, the position of information in an individual’s social feed, as well as explicit social signals about its popularity, determine whether it will be seen, and the likelihood that it will be shared with followers. Accounting for these cognitive limits simplifies mechanics of information diffusion in online social networks and explains puzzling empirical observations: (i information generally fails to spread in social media and (ii highly connected people are less likely to re-share information. Studies of information diffusion on different social media platforms reviewed here suggest that the interplay between human cognitive limits and network structure differentiates the spread of information from other social contagions, such as the spread of a virus through a population.

77 FR 50963 - Modification of Regulations Regarding the Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-23

... Modification of Regulations Regarding the Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for Submission of... proposed modification to the definition of factual information and to the time limits for the submission of... modification to the definition of factual information and to the time limits for the submission of factual...

Things may not be as expected: Surprising findings when updating ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-05-14

May 14, 2015 ... Things may not be as expected: Surprising findings when updating .... (done at the end of three months after the first review month) ..... Allen G. Getting beyond form filling: The role of institutional governance in human research ...

Estimations of expectedness and potential surprise in possibility theory

Science.gov (United States)

Prade, Henri; Yager, Ronald R.

1992-01-01

This note investigates how various ideas of 'expectedness' can be captured in the framework of possibility theory. Particularly, we are interested in trying to introduce estimates of the kind of lack of surprise expressed by people when saying 'I would not be surprised that...' before an event takes place, or by saying 'I knew it' after its realization. In possibility theory, a possibility distribution is supposed to model the relative levels of mutually exclusive alternatives in a set, or equivalently, the alternatives are assumed to be rank-ordered according to their level of possibility to take place. Four basic set-functions associated with a possibility distribution, including standard possibility and necessity measures, are discussed from the point of view of what they estimate when applied to potential events. Extensions of these estimates based on the notions of Q-projection or OWA operators are proposed when only significant parts of the possibility distribution are retained in the evaluation. The case of partially-known possibility distributions is also considered. Some potential applications are outlined.

12 CFR 40.11 - Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... own marketing purposes. (b)(1) Information a bank receives outside of an exception. If a bank receives... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information. 40.11 Section 40.11 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY PRIVACY...

An Effective Approach to Biomedical Information Extraction with Limited Training Data

Science.gov (United States)

Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha

2011-01-01

In the current millennium, extensive use of computers and the internet caused an exponential increase in information. Few research areas are as important as information extraction, which primarily involves extracting concepts and the relations between them from free text. Limitations in the size of training data, lack of lexicons and lack of…

Reliability of dynamic systems under limited information.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Field, Richard V., Jr. (.,; .); Grigoriu, Mircea

2006-09-01

A method is developed for reliability analysis of dynamic systems under limited information. The available information includes one or more samples of the system output; any known information on features of the output can be used if available. The method is based on the theory of non-Gaussian translation processes and is shown to be particularly suitable for problems of practical interest. For illustration, we apply the proposed method to a series of simple example problems and compare with results given by traditional statistical estimators in order to establish the accuracy of the method. It is demonstrated that the method delivers accurate results for the case of linear and nonlinear dynamic systems, and can be applied to analyze experimental data and/or mathematical model outputs. Two complex applications of direct interest to Sandia are also considered. First, we apply the proposed method to assess design reliability of a MEMS inertial switch. Second, we consider re-entry body (RB) component vibration response during normal re-entry, where the objective is to estimate the time-dependent probability of component failure. This last application is directly relevant to re-entry random vibration analysis at Sandia, and may provide insights on test-based and/or model-based qualification of weapon components for random vibration environments.

Investor Reaction to Market Surprises on the Istanbul Stock Exchange Investor Reaction to Market Surprises on the Istanbul Stock Exchange = İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsasında Piyasa Sürprizlerine Yatırımcı Tepkisi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaman Ömer ERZURUMLU

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the reaction of investors to the arrival of unexpected information on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The empirical results suggest that the investor reaction following unexpected news on the ISE100 is consistent with Overreaction Hypothesis especially after unfavorable market surprises. Interestingly such pattern does not exist for ISE30 index which includes more liquid and informationally efficient securities. A possible implication of this study for investors is that employing a semi contrarian investment strategy of buying losers in ISE100 may generate superior returns. Moreover, results are supportive of the last regulation change of Capital Market Board of Turkey which mandates more disclosure regarding the trading of less liquid stocks with lower market capitalization.

Automation surprise : results of a field survey of Dutch pilots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, R.J.; Hurts, Karel

2017-01-01

Automation surprise (AS) has often been associated with aviation safety incidents. Although numerous laboratory studies have been conducted, few data are available from routine flight operations. A survey among a representative sample of 200 Dutch airline pilots was used to determine the prevalence

Models of Automation Surprise: Results of a Field Survey in Aviation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert De Boer

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Automation surprises in aviation continue to be a significant safety concern and the community’s search for effective strategies to mitigate them are ongoing. The literature has offered two fundamentally divergent directions, based on different ideas about the nature of cognition and collaboration with automation. In this paper, we report the results of a field study that empirically compared and contrasted two models of automation surprises: a normative individual-cognition model and a sensemaking model based on distributed cognition. Our data prove a good fit for the sense-making model. This finding is relevant for aviation safety, since our understanding of the cognitive processes that govern human interaction with automation drive what we need to do to reduce the frequency of automation-induced events.

A Practical Approach for Parameter Identification with Limited Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeni, Lorenzo; Yang, Guangya; Tarnowski, Germán Claudio

2014-01-01

A practical parameter estimation procedure for a real excitation system is reported in this paper. The core algorithm is based on genetic algorithm (GA) which estimates the parameters of a real AC brushless excitation system with limited information about the system. Practical considerations are ...... parameters. The whole methodology is described and the estimation strategy is presented in this paper....

77 FR 40534 - Modification of Regulations Regarding the Definition of Factual Information and Time Limits for...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-10

... classification of factual information than the current definition. Currently, 19 CFR 351.301 sets forth the time... definition of factual information and the time limits for the submission of factual information; (3) modifying the definition of factual information but maintaining all time limits; and, (4) modifying the...

Information Limited Oligonucleotide Amplification Assay for Affinity-Based, Parallel Detection Studies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harish Bokkasam

Full Text Available Molecular communication systems encounter similar constraints as telecommunications. In either case, channel crosstalk at the receiver end will result in information loss that statistical analysis cannot compensate. This is because in any communication channel there is a physical limit to the amount of information that can be transmitted. We present a novel and simple modified end amplification (MEA technique to generate reduced and defined amounts of specific information in form of short fragments from an oligonucleotide source that also contains unrelated and redundant information. Our method can be a valuable tool to investigate information overflow and channel capacity in biomolecular recognition systems.

Virtual Volatility, an Elementary New Concept with Surprising Stock Market Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Prange, Richard; Silva, A. Christian

2006-03-01

Textbook investors start by predicting the future price distribution, PDF, of a candidate stock (or portfolio) at horizon T, e.g. a year hence. A (log)normal PDF with center (=drift =expected return) μT and width (=volatility) σT is often assumed on Central Limit Theorem grounds, i.e. by a random walk of daily (log)price increments δs. The standard deviation, stdev, of historical (ex post) δs `s is usually a fair predictor of the coming year's (ex ante) stdev(δs) = σdaily, but the historical mean E(δs) at best roughly limits the true, to be predicted, drift by μtrueT˜ μhistT ± σhistT. Textbooks take a PDF with σ ˜ σdaily and μ as somehow known, as if accurate predictions of μ were possible. It is elementary and presumably new to argue that an average of PDF's over a range of μ values should be taken, e.g. an average over forecasts by different analysts. We estimate that this leads to a PDF with a `virtual' volatility σ ˜ 1.3σdaily. It is indeed clear that uncertainty in the value of the expected gain parameter increases the risk of investment in that security by most measures, e. g. Sharpe's ratio μT/σT will be 30% smaller because of this effect. It is significant and surprising that there are investments which benefit from this 30% virtual increase in the volatility

The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, George A.

1994-01-01

Capacity limitations in absolute judgment tasks are discussed in relation to information theory. Information theory can provide a quantitative way of resolving questions about limitations on the amount of information we can receive and the process of recoding. (SLD)

Information and interaction Eddington, Wheeler, and the limits of knowledge

CERN Document Server

Rickles, Dean

2017-01-01

In this essay collection, leading physicists, philosophers, and historians attempt to fill the empty theoretical ground in the foundations of information and address the related question of the limits to our knowledge of the world. Over recent decades, our practical approach to information and its exploitation has radically outpaced our theoretical understanding - to such a degree that reflection on the foundations may seem futile. But it is exactly fields such as quantum information, which are shifting the boundaries of the physically possible, that make a foundational understanding of information increasingly important. One of the recurring themes of the book is the claim by Eddington and Wheeler that information involves interaction and putting agents or observers centre stage. Thus, physical reality, in their view, is shaped by the questions we choose to put to it and is built up from the information residing at its core. This is the root of Wheeler’s famous phrase “it from bit.” After reading the s...

ORMS IN SURPRISING PLACES: CLINICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myroshnychenko MS

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Helminthes are the most common human diseases, which are characterized by involvement in the pathological process of all organs and systems. In this article, the authors discuss a few cases of typical and atypical localizations for parasitic worms such as filarial and pinworms which were recovered from surprising places in the bodies of patients in Kharkiv region. This article will allow the doctors of practical health care to pay special attention to the timely prevention and diagnostics of this pathology.

Indirect reciprocity with negative assortment and limited information can promote cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brush, Eleanor; Brännström, Åke; Dieckmann, Ulf

2018-04-14

Cooperation is ubiquitous in biological and social systems, even though cooperative behavior is often costly and at risk of exploitation by non-cooperators. Several studies have demonstrated that indirect reciprocity, whereby some members of a group observe the behaviors of their peers and use this information to discriminate against previously uncooperative agents in the future, can promote prosocial behavior. Some studies have shown that differential propensities of interacting among and between different types of agents (interaction assortment) can increase the effectiveness of indirect reciprocity. No previous studies have, however, considered differential propensities of observing the behaviors of different types of agents (information assortment). Furthermore, most previous studies have assumed that discriminators possess perfect information about others and incur no costs for gathering and storing this information. Here, we (1) consider both interaction assortment and information assortment, (2) assume discriminators have limited information about others, and (3) introduce a cost for information gathering and storage, in order to understand how the ability of discriminators to stabilize cooperation is affected by these steps toward increased realism. We report the following findings. First, cooperation can persist when agents preferentially interact with agents of other types or when discriminators preferentially observe other discriminators, even when they have limited information. Second, contrary to intuition, increasing the amount of information available to discriminators can exacerbate defection. Third, introducing costs of gathering and storing information makes it more difficult for discriminators to stabilize cooperation. Our study is one of only a few studies to date that show how negative interaction assortment can promote cooperation and broadens the set of circumstances in which it is know that cooperation can be maintained. Copyright © 2018

Primary Care Practice: Uncertainty and Surprise

Science.gov (United States)

Crabtree, Benjamin F.

I will focus my comments on uncertainty and surprise in primary care practices. I am a medical anthropologist by training, and have been a full-time researcher in family medicine for close to twenty years. In this talk I want to look at primary care practices as complex systems, particularly taking the perspective of translating evidence into practice. I am going to discuss briefly the challenges we have in primary care, and in medicine in general, of translating new evidence into the everyday care of patients. To do this, I will look at two studies that we have conducted on family practices, then think about how practices can be best characterized as complex adaptive systems. Finally, I will focus on the implications of this portrayal for disseminating new knowledge into practice.

An information capacity limitation of visual short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Sewell, David K; Lilburn, Simon D; Smith, Philip L

2014-12-01

Research suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) has both an item capacity, of around 4 items, and an information capacity. We characterize the information capacity limits of VSTM using a task in which observers discriminated the orientation of a single probed item in displays consisting of 1, 2, 3, or 4 orthogonally oriented Gabor patch stimuli that were presented in noise for 50 ms, 100 ms, 150 ms, or 200 ms. The observed capacity limitations are well described by a sample-size model, which predicts invariance of ∑(i)(d'(i))² for displays of different sizes and linearity of (d'(i))² for displays of different durations. Performance was the same for simultaneous and sequentially presented displays, which implicates VSTM as the locus of the observed invariance and rules out explanations that ascribe it to divided attention or stimulus encoding. The invariance of ∑(i)(d'(i))² is predicted by the competitive interaction theory of Smith and Sewell (2013), which attributes it to the normalization of VSTM traces strengths arising from competition among stimuli entering VSTM. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

What is a surprise earthquake? The example of the 2002, San Giuliano (Italy event

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mucciarelli

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Both in scientific literature and in the mass media, some earthquakes are defined as «surprise earthquakes». Based on his own judgment, probably any geologist, seismologist or engineer may have his own list of past «surprise earthquakes». This paper tries to quantify the underlying individual perception that may lead a scientist to apply such a definition to a seismic event. The meaning is different, depending on the disciplinary approach. For geologists, the Italian database of seismogenic sources is still too incomplete to allow for a quantitative estimate of the subjective degree of belief. For seismologists, quantification is possible defining the distance between an earthquake and its closest previous neighbor. Finally, for engineers, the San Giuliano quake could not be considered a surprise, since probabilistic site hazard estimates reveal that the change before and after the earthquake is just 4%.

Analysis of physiological signals for recognition of boredom, pain, and surprise emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Eun-Hye; Park, Byoung-Jun; Park, Mi-Sook; Kim, Sang-Hyeob; Sohn, Jin-Hun

2015-06-18

The aim of the study was to examine the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise. In addition to that, it was conducted to propose approaches for emotion recognition based on physiological signals. Three emotions, boredom, pain, and surprise, are induced through the presentation of emotional stimuli and electrocardiography (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature (SKT), and photoplethysmography (PPG) as physiological signals are measured to collect a dataset from 217 participants when experiencing the emotions. Twenty-seven physiological features are extracted from the signals to classify the three emotions. The discriminant function analysis (DFA) as a statistical method, and five machine learning algorithms (linear discriminant analysis (LDA), classification and regression trees (CART), self-organizing map (SOM), Naïve Bayes algorithm, and support vector machine (SVM)) are used for classifying the emotions. The result shows that the difference of physiological responses among emotions is significant in heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL), skin conductance response (SCR), mean skin temperature (meanSKT), blood volume pulse (BVP), and pulse transit time (PTT), and the highest recognition accuracy of 84.7% is obtained by using DFA. This study demonstrates the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise and the best emotion recognizer for the classification of the three emotions by using physiological signals.

'Surprise': Outbreak of Campylobacter infection associated with chicken liver pâté at a surprise birthday party, Adelaide, Australia, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Parry, Amy; Fearnley, Emily; Denehy, Emma

2012-10-01

In July 2012, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection was investigated by the South Australian Communicable Disease Control Branch and Food Policy and Programs Branch. The initial notification identified illness at a surprise birthday party held at a restaurant on 14 July 2012. The objective of the investigation was to identify the potential source of infection and institute appropriate intervention strategies to prevent further illness. A guest list was obtained and a retrospective cohort study undertaken. A combination of paper-based and telephone questionnaires were used to collect exposure and outcome information. An environmental investigation was conducted by Food Policy and Programs Branch at the implicated premises. All 57 guests completed the questionnaire (100% response rate), and 15 met the case definition. Analysis showed a significant association between illness and consumption of chicken liver pâté (relative risk: 16.7, 95% confidence interval: 2.4-118.6). No other food or beverage served at the party was associated with illness. Three guests submitted stool samples; all were positive for Campylobacter. The environmental investigation identified that the cooking process used in the preparation of chicken liver pâté may have been inconsistent, resulting in some portions not cooked adequately to inactivate potential Campylobacter contamination. Chicken liver products are a known source of Campylobacter infection; therefore, education of food handlers remains a high priority. To better identify outbreaks among the large number of Campylobacter notifications, routine typing of Campylobacter isolates is recommended.

Teacher Supply and Demand: Surprises from Primary Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Wayne

2000-09-01

Full Text Available An investigation of primary research studies on public school teacher supply and demand revealed four surprises. Projections show that enrollments are leveling off. Relatedly, annual hiring increases should be only about two or three percent over the next few years. Results from studies of teacher attrition also yield unexpected results. Excluding retirements, only about one in 20 teachers leaves each year, and the novice teachers who quit mainly cite personal and family reasons, not job dissatisfaction. Each of these findings broadens policy makers' options for teacher supply.

Conference of “Uncertainty and Surprise: Questions on Working with the Unexpected and Unknowable”

CERN Document Server

McDaniel, Reuben R; Uncertainty and Surprise in Complex Systems : Questions on Working with the Unexpected

2005-01-01

Complexity science has been a source of new insight in physical and social systems and has demonstrated that unpredictability and surprise are fundamental aspects of the world around us. This book is the outcome of a discussion meeting of leading scholars and critical thinkers with expertise in complex systems sciences and leaders from a variety of organizations sponsored by the Prigogine Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the Plexus Institute to explore strategies for understanding uncertainty and surprise. Besides distributions to the conference it includes a key digest by the editors as well as a commentary by the late nobel laureat Ilya Prigogine, "Surprises in half of a century". The book is intended for researchers and scientists in complexity science as well as for a broad interdisciplinary audience of both practitioners and scholars. It will well serve those interested in the research issues and in the application of complexity science to physical and social systems.

Models of Automation surprise : results of a field survey in aviation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Boer, Robert; Dekker, Sidney

2017-01-01

Automation surprises in aviation continue to be a significant safety concern and the community’s search for effective strategies to mitigate them are ongoing. The literature has offered two fundamentally divergent directions, based on different ideas about the nature of cognition and collaboration

“Surprise Gift” Purchases of Small Electric Appliances: A Pilot Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Vanhamme (Joëlle); C.J.P.M. de Bont (Cees)

2005-01-01

textabstractUnderstanding decision-making processes for gifts is of strategic importance for companies selling small electrical appliances as gifts account for a large part of their sales. Among all gifts, the ones that are surprising are the most valued by recipients. However, research about

17 CFR 248.12 - Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... account number information for marketing purposes. (a) General prohibition on disclosure of account... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Limits on sharing account number information for marketing purposes. 248.12 Section 248.12 Commodity and Securities Exchanges...

76 FR 81958 - Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Limited English Proficiency...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-29

... Proposed Information Collection to OMB; Limited English Proficiency Initiative (LEPI) Program AGENCY... that support the assistance of persons with limited English proficiency in utilizing the services...: Limited English Proficiency Initiative (LEPI) Program. OMB Approval Number: 2529-0051. Form Numbers...

Limitation on the amount of accessible information in a quantum channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schumacher, B.; Westmoreland, M.; Wootters, W.K.

1996-01-01

We prove a new result limiting the amount of accessible information in a quantum channel. This generalizes Kholevo close-quote s theorem and implies it as a simple corollary. Our proof uses the strong subadditivity of the von Neumann entropy functional S(ρ) and a specific physical analysis of the measurement process. The result presented here has application in information obtained from open-quote open-quote weak close-quote close-quote measurements, such as those sometimes considered in quantum cryptography. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Effects of Common Factors on Dynamics of Stocks Traded by Investors with Limited Information Capacity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Songtao Wu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An artificial stock market with agent-based model is built to investigate effects of different information characteristics of common factors on the dynamics stock returns. Investors with limited information capacity update their beliefs based on the information they have obtained and processed and optimize portfolios based on beliefs. We find that with changing of concerned information characteristics the uncertainty of stock price returns rises and is higher than the uncertainty of intrinsic value returns. However, this increase is constrained by the limited information capacity of investors. At the same time, we also find that dependence between returns of stock prices also increased with the changing information environment. The uncertainty and dependency pertaining to prices show a positive relationship. However, the positive relationship is weakened when taking into account the features of intrinsic values, based on which prices are generated.

Risk, surprises and black swans fundamental ideas and concepts in risk assessment and risk management

CERN Document Server

Aven, Terje

2014-01-01

Risk, Surprises and Black Swans provides an in depth analysis of the risk concept with a focus on the critical link to knowledge; and the lack of knowledge, that risk and probability judgements are based on.Based on technical scientific research, this book presents a new perspective to help you understand how to assess and manage surprising, extreme events, known as 'Black Swans'. This approach looks beyond the traditional probability-based principles to offer a broader insight into the important aspects of uncertain events and in doing so explores the ways to manage them.

Carbon Dioxide: Surprising Effects on Decision Making and Neurocognitive Performance

Science.gov (United States)

James, John T.

2013-01-01

The occupants of modern submarines and the International Space Station (ISS) have much in common as far as their air quality is concerned. Air is polluted by materials offgassing, use of utility compounds, leaks of systems chemicals, and anthropogenic sources. The primary anthropogenic compound of concern to submariners and astronauts has been carbon dioxide (CO2). NASA and the US Navy rely on the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology (NRC-COT) to help formulate exposure levels to CO2 that are thought to be safe for exposures of 3-6 months. NASA calls its limits Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs). Years of experience aboard the ISS and a recent publication on deficits in decision making in ground-based subjects exposed briefly to 0.25% CO2 suggest that exposure levels that have been presumed acceptable to preserve health and performance need to be reevaluated. The current CO2 exposure limits for 3-6 months set by NASA and the UK Navy are 0.7%, and the limit for US submariners is 0.5%, although the NRC-COT recommended a 90-day level of 0.8% as safe a few years ago. NASA has set a 1000-day SMAC at 0.5% for exploration-class missions. Anecdotal experience with ISS operations approaching the current 180-day SMAC of 0.7% suggest that this limit is too high. Temporarily, NASA has limited exposures to 0.5% until further peer-reviewed data become available. In the meantime, a study published last year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (Satish U, et al. 2012) demonstrated that complexdecision- making performance is somewhat affected at 0.1% CO2 and becomes "dysfunctional" for at least half of the 9 indices of performance at concentrations approaching 0.25% CO2. The investigators used the Strategic Management Simulation (SMS) method of testing for decisionmaking ability, and the results were so surprising to the investigators that they declared that their findings need to be independently confirmed. NASA has responded to the

Numerical indications on the semiclassical limit of the flipped vertex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magliaro, Elena; Perini, Claudio; Rovelli, Carlo [Centre de Physique Theorique de Luminy , Case 907, F-13288 Marseille (France)

2008-05-07

We introduce a technique for testing the semiclassical limit of a quantum gravity vertex amplitude. The technique is based on the propagation of a semiclassical wave packet. We apply this technique to the newly introduced 'flipped' vertex in loop quantum gravity, in order to test the intertwiner dependence of the vertex. Under some drastic simplifications, we find very preliminary, but surprisingly good numerical evidence for the correct classical limit.

Some Fundamental Limits on SAW RFID Tag Information Capacity and Collision Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Richard J.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we apply results from multi-user information theory to study the limits of information capacity and collision resolution for SAW RFID tags. In particular, we derive bounds on the achievable data rate per tag as a function of fundamental parameters such as tag time-bandwidth product, tag signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and number of tags in the environment. We also discuss the implications of these bounds for tag waveform design and tag interrogation efficiency

Communication Management and Trust: Their Role in Building Resilience to "Surprises" Such As Natural Disasters, Pandemic Flu, and Terrorism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. H. Longstaff

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In times of public danger such as natural disasters and health emergencies, a country's communication systems will be some of its most important assets because access to information will make individuals and groups more resilient. Communication by those charged with dealing with the situation is often critical. We analyzed reports from a wide variety of crisis incidents and found a direct correlation between trust and an organization's preparedness and internal coordination of crisis communication and the effectiveness of its leadership. Thus, trust is one of the most important variables in effective communication management in times of "surprise."

Possibilities and limitations of information in radioisotope examination of liver function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blaha, V.; Kolinska, J.; Horak, J.

1985-01-01

The 20 years' experience is described with the use of clearance methods for radiocolloid - 198 Au, Rose Bengal- 131 I and the extraction fraction of Rose Bengal- 131 I in patients with different liver disorders. Attention is also focused on indications, interpretations, as well as on the advantages and information limits of the above-mentioned radioisotope methods. (author)

Surprises and counterexamples in real function theory

CERN Document Server

Rajwade, A R

2007-01-01

This book presents a variety of intriguing, surprising and appealing topics and nonroutine theorems in real function theory. It is a reference book to which one can turn for finding that arise while studying or teaching analysis.Chapter 1 is an introduction to algebraic, irrational and transcendental numbers and contains the Cantor ternary set. Chapter 2 contains functions with extraordinary properties; functions that are continuous at each point but differentiable at no point. Chapters 4 and intermediate value property, periodic functions, Rolle's theorem, Taylor's theorem, points of tangents. Chapter 6 discusses sequences and series. It includes the restricted harmonic series, of alternating harmonic series and some number theoretic aspects. In Chapter 7, the infinite peculiar range of convergence is studied. Appendix I deal with some specialized topics. Exercises at the end of chapters and their solutions are provided in Appendix II.This book will be useful for students and teachers alike.

Hop limited epidemic-like information spreading in mobile social networks with selfish nodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yahui; Deng, Su; Huang, Hongbin

2013-07-01

Similar to epidemics, information can be transmitted directly among users in mobile social networks. Different from epidemics, we can control the spreading process by adjusting the corresponding parameters (e.g., hop count) directly. This paper proposes a theoretical model to evaluate the performance of an epidemic-like spreading algorithm, in which the maximal hop count of the information is limited. In addition, our model can be used to evaluate the impact of users’ selfish behavior. Simulations show the accuracy of our theoretical model. Numerical results show that the information hop count can have an important impact. In addition, the impact of selfish behavior is related to the information hop count.

Hop limited epidemic-like information spreading in mobile social networks with selfish nodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Yahui; Deng, Su; Huang, Hongbin

2013-01-01

Similar to epidemics, information can be transmitted directly among users in mobile social networks. Different from epidemics, we can control the spreading process by adjusting the corresponding parameters (e.g., hop count) directly. This paper proposes a theoretical model to evaluate the performance of an epidemic-like spreading algorithm, in which the maximal hop count of the information is limited. In addition, our model can be used to evaluate the impact of users’ selfish behavior. Simulations show the accuracy of our theoretical model. Numerical results show that the information hop count can have an important impact. In addition, the impact of selfish behavior is related to the information hop count. (paper)

The Ultraviolet Surprise. Efficient Soft X-Ray High Harmonic Generation in Multiply-Ionized Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popmintchev, Dimitar; Hernandez-Garcia, Carlos; Dollar, Franklin; Mancuso, Christopher; Perez-Hernandez, Jose A.; Chen, Ming-Chang; Hankla, Amelia; Gao, Xiaohui; Shim, Bonggu; Gaeta, Alexander L.; Tarazkar, Maryam; Romanov, Dmitri A.; Levis, Robert J.; Gaffney, Jim A.; Foord, Mark; Libby, Stephen B.; Jaron-Becker, Agnieskzka; Becker, Andreas; Plaja, Luis; Muranane, Margaret M.; Kapteyn, Henry C.; Popmintchev, Tenio

2015-01-01

High-harmonic generation is a universal response of matter to strong femtosecond laser fields, coherently upconverting light to much shorter wavelengths. Optimizing the conversion of laser light into soft x-rays typically demands a trade-off between two competing factors. Reduced quantum diffusion of the radiating electron wave function results in emission from each species which is highest when a short-wavelength ultraviolet driving laser is used. But, phase matching - the constructive addition of x-ray waves from a large number of atoms - favors longer-wavelength mid-infrared lasers. We identified a regime of high-harmonic generation driven by 40-cycle ultraviolet lasers in waveguides that can generate bright beams in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum, up to photon energies of 280 electron volts. Surprisingly, the high ultraviolet refractive indices of both neutral atoms and ions enabled effective phase matching, even in a multiply ionized plasma. We observed harmonics with very narrow linewidths, while calculations show that the x-rays emerge as nearly time-bandwidt-limited pulse trains of ~100 attoseconds

Information-theoretic limitations on approximate quantum cloning and broadcasting

Science.gov (United States)

Lemm, Marius; Wilde, Mark M.

2017-07-01

We prove quantitative limitations on any approximate simultaneous cloning or broadcasting of mixed states. The results are based on information-theoretic (entropic) considerations and generalize the well-known no-cloning and no-broadcasting theorems. We also observe and exploit the fact that the universal cloning machine on the symmetric subspace of n qudits and symmetrized partial trace channels are dual to each other. This duality manifests itself both in the algebraic sense of adjointness of quantum channels and in the operational sense that a universal cloning machine can be used as an approximate recovery channel for a symmetrized partial trace channel and vice versa. The duality extends to give control of the performance of generalized universal quantum cloning machines (UQCMs) on subspaces more general than the symmetric subspace. This gives a way to quantify the usefulness of a priori information in the context of cloning. For example, we can control the performance of an antisymmetric analog of the UQCM in recovering from the loss of n -k fermionic particles.

Surprises in the suddenly-expanded infinite well

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslangul, Claude

2008-01-01

I study the time evolution of a particle prepared in the ground state of an infinite well after the latter is suddenly expanded. It turns out that the probability density |Ψ(x, t)| 2 shows up quite a surprising behaviour: for definite times, plateaux appear for which |Ψ(x, t)| 2 is constant on finite intervals for x. Elements of theoretical explanation are given by analysing the singular component of the second derivative ∂ xx Ψ(x, t). Analytical closed expressions are obtained for some specific times, which easily allow us to show that, at these times, the density organizes itself into regular patterns provided the size of the box is large enough; more, above some critical size depending on the specific time, the density patterns are independent of the expansion parameter. It is seen how the density at these times simply results from a construction game with definite rules acting on the pieces of the initial density

Informed choice in direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) websites: a content analysis of benefits, risks, and limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Singleton, Amanda; Erby, Lori Hamby; Foisie, Kathryn V; Kaphingst, Kimberly A

2012-06-01

An informed choice about health-related direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) requires knowledge of potential benefits, risks, and limitations. To understand the information that potential consumers of DTCGT services are exposed to on company websites, we conducted a content analysis of 23 health-related DTCGT websites. Results revealed that benefit statements outweighed risk and limitation statements 6 to 1. The most frequently described benefits were: 1) disease prevention, 2) consumer education, 3) personalized medical recommendations, and 4) the ability to make health decisions. Thirty-five percent of websites also presented at least one risk of testing. Seventy-eight percent of websites mentioned at least one limitation of testing. Based on this information, potential consumers might get an inaccurate picture of genetic testing which could impact their ability to make an informed decision. Practices that enhance the presentation of balanced information on DTCGT company websites should be encouraged.

17 CFR 248.10 - Limits on disclosure of nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated third parties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...: Privacy of Consumer Financial Information and Safeguarding Personal Information Limits on Disclosures... customer opens an on-line account with you and agrees to receive the notices required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section electronically, and you allow the customer to opt out by any reasonable means within...

X-rays from comets - a surprising discovery

CERN Document Server

CERN. Geneva

2000-01-01

Comets are kilometre-size aggregates of ice and dust, which remained from the formation of the solar system. It was not obvious to expect X-ray emission from such objects. Nevertheless, when comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2) was observed with the ROSAT X-ray satellite during its close approach to Earth in March 1996, bright X-ray emission from this comet was discovered. This finding triggered a search in archival ROSAT data for comets, which might have accidentally crossed the field of view during observations of unrelated targets. To increase the surprise even more, X-ray emission was detected from four additional comets, which were optically 300 to 30 000 times fainter than Hyakutake. For one of them, comet Arai (C/1991 A2), X-ray emission was even found in data which were taken six weeks before the comet was optically discovered. These findings showed that comets represent a new class of celestial X-ray sources. The subsequent detection of X-ray emission from several other comets in dedicated observations confir...

Bagpipes and Artichokes: Surprise as a Stimulus to Learning in the Elementary Music Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobi, Bonnie Schaffhauser

2016-01-01

Incorporating surprise into music instruction can stimulate student attention, curiosity, and interest. Novelty focuses attention in the reticular activating system, increasing the potential for brain memory storage. Elementary ages are ideal for introducing novel instruments, pieces, composers, or styles of music. Young children have fewer…

Information Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

34 continuously over time " through a division of labor and responsibility " integrated by INFORMATION-BASED decision process * in an environment of stress...responsibilities for learning in a particular field. This division of labor is especially true for staff members who must develop expertise in particular...likely founa a commano clima e with: - Multiple layering - Sub optimization Policy of no surprises - Lip service to feedback - Over centralization and non

75 FR 16819 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment Civil Rights Front End and Limited...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-02

... Information Collection for Public Comment Civil Rights Front End and Limited Monitoring Review AGENCY: Office... Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The...-free Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339. (Other than the HUD USER information line and...

The Omega-Infinity Limit of Single Spikes

CERN Document Server

Axenides, Minos; Linardopoulos, Georgios

A new infinite-size limit of strings in RxS2 is presented. The limit is obtained from single spike strings by letting their angular velocity omega become infinite. We derive the energy-momenta relation of omega-infinity single spikes as their linear velocity v-->1 and their angular momentum J-->1. Generally, the v-->1, J-->1 limit of single spikes is singular and has to be excluded from the spectrum and be studied separately. We discover that the dispersion relation of omega-infinity single spikes contains logarithms in the limit J-->1. This result is somewhat surprising, since the logarithmic behavior in the string spectra is typically associated with their motion in non-compact spaces such as AdS. Omega-infinity single spikes seem to completely cover the surface of the 2-sphere they occupy, so that they may essentially be viewed as some sort of "brany strings". A proof of the sphere-filling property of omega-infinity single spikes is given in the appendix.

Information Diffusion in Facebook-Like Social Networks Under Information Overload

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pei; Xing, Kai; Wang, Dapeng; Zhang, Xin; Wang, Hui

2013-07-01

Research on social networks has received remarkable attention, since many people use social networks to broadcast information and stay connected with their friends. However, due to the information overload in social networks, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to find useful information. This paper takes Facebook-like social networks into account, and models the process of information diffusion under information overload. The term view scope is introduced to model the user information-processing capability under information overload, and the average number of times a message appears in view scopes after it is generated is proposed to characterize the information diffusion efficiency. Through theoretical analysis, we find that factors such as network structure and view scope number have no impact on the information diffusion efficiency, which is a surprising result. To verify the results, we conduct simulations and provide the simulation results, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis results perfectly.

The Educational Philosophies of Mordecai Kaplan and Michael Rosenak: Surprising Similarities and Illuminating Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Schein, Jeffrey; Caplan, Eric

2014-01-01

The thoughts of Mordecai Kaplan and Michael Rosenak present surprising commonalities as well as illuminating differences. Similarities include the perception that Judaism and Jewish education are in crisis, the belief that Jewish peoplehood must include commitment to meaningful content, the need for teachers to teach from a position of…

Dynamic Evolution with Limited Learning Information on a Small-World Network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Linrong

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the dynamic evolution with limited learning information on a small-world network. In the system, the information among the interaction players is not very lucid, and the players are not allowed to inspect the profit collected by its neighbors, thus the focal player cannot choose randomly a neighbor or the wealthiest one and compare its payoff to copy its strategy. It is assumed that the information acquainted by the player declines in the form of the exponential with the geographical distance between the players, and a parameter V is introduced to denote the inspect-ability about the players. It is found that under the hospitable conditions, cooperation increases with the randomness and is inhibited by the large connectivity for the prisoner's dilemma; however, cooperation is maximal at the moderate rewiring probability and is chaos with the connectivity for the snowdrift game. For the two games, the acuminous sight is in favor of the cooperation under the hospitable conditions; whereas, the myopic eyes are advantageous to cooperation and cooperation increases with the randomness under the hostile condition. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Equilibrium 𝛽-limits in classical stellarators

Science.gov (United States)

Loizu, J.; Hudson, S. R.; Nührenberg, C.; Geiger, J.; Helander, P.

2017-12-01

A numerical investigation is carried out to understand the equilibrium -limit in a classical stellarator. The stepped-pressure equilibrium code (Hudson et al., Phys. Plasmas, vol. 19 (11), 2012) is used in order to assess whether or not magnetic islands and stochastic field-lines can emerge at high . Two modes of operation are considered: a zero-net-current stellarator and a fixed-iota stellarator. Despite the fact that relaxation is allowed (Taylor, Rev. Mod. Phys., vol. 58 (3), 1986, pp. 741-763), the former is shown to maintain good flux surfaces up to the equilibrium -limit predicted by ideal-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), above which a separatrix forms. The latter, which has no ideal equilibrium -limit, is shown to develop regions of magnetic islands and chaos at sufficiently high , thereby providing a `non-ideal -limit'. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the value of at which the Shafranov shift of the axis reaches a fraction of the minor radius follows in all cases the scaling laws predicted by ideal-MHD. We compare our results to the High-Beta-Stellarator theory of Freidberg (Ideal MHD, 2014, Cambridge University Press) and derive a new prediction for the non-ideal equilibrium -limit above which chaos emerges.

Fisher Information and the Quantum Cramér-Rao Sensitivity Limit of Continuous Measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelmark, Søren; Mølmer, Klaus

2014-01-01

Precision measurements with quantum systems rely on our ability to trace the differences between experimental signals to variations in unknown physical parameters. In this Letter we derive the Fisher information and the ensuing Cramér-Rao sensitivity limit for parameter estimation by continuous...

The Impact of a Surprise Dividend Increase on a Stocks Performance : the Analysis of Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Słoński

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The reaction of marginal investors to the announcement of a surprise dividend increase has been measured. Although field research is performed on companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the paper has important theoretical implications. Valuation theory gives many clues for the interpretation of changes in dividends. At the start of the literature review, the assumption of the irrelevance of dividends (to investment decisions is described. This assumption is the basis for up-to-date valuation procedures leading to fundamental and fair market valuation of equity (shares. The paper is designed to verify whether the market value of stock is immune to the surprise announcement of a dividend increase. This study of the effect of a surprise dividend increase gives the chance to partially isolate such an event from dividend changes based on long-term expectations. The result of the research explicitly shows that a surprise dividend increase is on average welcomed by investors (an average abnormal return of 2.24% with an associated p-value of 0.001. Abnormal returns are realized by investors when there is a surprise increase in a dividend payout. The subsample of relatively high increases in a dividend payout enables investors to gain a 3.2% return on average. The results show that valuation models should be revised to take into account a possible impact of dividend changes on investors behavior. (original abstract

Dealing with unexpected events on the flight deck : A conceptual model of startle and surprise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Landman, H.M.; Groen, E.L.; Paassen, M.M. van; Bronkhorst, A.W.; Mulder, M.

2017-01-01

Objective: A conceptual model is proposed in order to explain pilot performance in surprising and startling situations. Background: Today’s debate around loss of control following in-flight events and the implementation of upset prevention and recovery training has highlighted the importance of

Semantic relation vs. surprise: the differential effects of related and unrelated co-verbal gestures on neural encoding and subsequent recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Straube, Benjamin; Meyer, Lea; Green, Antonia; Kircher, Tilo

2014-06-03

Speech-associated gesturing leads to memory advantages for spoken sentences. However, unexpected or surprising events are also likely to be remembered. With this study we test the hypothesis that different neural mechanisms (semantic elaboration and surprise) lead to memory advantages for iconic and unrelated gestures. During fMRI-data acquisition participants were presented with video clips of an actor verbalising concrete sentences accompanied by iconic gestures (IG; e.g., circular gesture; sentence: "The man is sitting at the round table"), unrelated free gestures (FG; e.g., unrelated up down movements; same sentence) and no gestures (NG; same sentence). After scanning, recognition performance for the three conditions was tested. Videos were evaluated regarding semantic relation and surprise by a different group of participants. The semantic relationship between speech and gesture was rated higher for IG (IG>FG), whereas surprise was rated higher for FG (FG>IG). Activation of the hippocampus correlated with subsequent memory performance of both gesture conditions (IG+FG>NG). For the IG condition we found activation in the left temporal pole and middle cingulate cortex (MCC; IG>FG). In contrast, for the FG condition posterior thalamic structures (FG>IG) as well as anterior and posterior cingulate cortices were activated (FG>NG). Our behavioral and fMRI-data suggest different mechanisms for processing related and unrelated co-verbal gestures, both of them leading to enhanced memory performance. Whereas activation in MCC and left temporal pole for iconic co-verbal gestures may reflect semantic memory processes, memory enhancement for unrelated gestures relies on the surprise response, mediated by anterior/posterior cingulate cortex and thalamico-hippocampal structures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hepatobiliary fascioliasis in non-endemic zones: a surprise diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Ashish Kumar; Goenka, Mahesh Kumar; Goenka, Usha; Chakrabarti, Amrita

2013-03-01

Fascioliasis is a zoonotic infection caused by Fasciola hepatica. Because of population migration and international food trade, human fascioliasis is being an increasingly recognised entity in nonendemic zones. In most parts of Asia, hepatobiliary fascioliasis is sporadic. Human hepatobiliary infection by this trematode has two distinct phases: an acute hepatic phase and a chronic biliary phase. Hepatobiliary infection is mostly associated with intense peripheral eosinophilia. In addition to classically defined hepatic phase and biliary phase fascioliasis, some cases may have an overlap of these two phases. Chronic liver abscess formation is a rare presentation. We describe a surprise case of hepatobiliary fascioliasis who presented to us with liver abscess without intense peripheral eosinophilia, a rare presentation of human fascioliasis especially in non-endemic zones. Copyright © 2013 Arab Journal of Gastroenterology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Team play with a powerful and independent agent: operational experiences and automation surprises on the Airbus A-320

Science.gov (United States)

Sarter, N. B.; Woods, D. D.

1997-01-01

Research and operational experience have shown that one of the major problems with pilot-automation interaction is a lack of mode awareness (i.e., the current and future status and behavior of the automation). As a result, pilots sometimes experience so-called automation surprises when the automation takes an unexpected action or fails to behave as anticipated. A lack of mode awareness and automation surprises can he viewed as symptoms of a mismatch between human and machine properties and capabilities. Changes in automation design can therefore he expected to affect the likelihood and nature of problems encountered by pilots. Previous studies have focused exclusively on early generation "glass cockpit" aircraft that were designed based on a similar automation philosophy. To find out whether similar difficulties with maintaining mode awareness are encountered on more advanced aircraft, a corpus of automation surprises was gathered from pilots of the Airbus A-320, an aircraft characterized by high levels of autonomy, authority, and complexity. To understand the underlying reasons for reported breakdowns in human-automation coordination, we also asked pilots about their monitoring strategies and their experiences with and attitude toward the unique design of flight controls on this aircraft.

Surprise, Memory, and Retrospective Judgment Making: Testing Cognitive Reconstruction Theories of the Hindsight Bias Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Ash, Ivan K.

2009-01-01

Hindsight bias has been shown to be a pervasive and potentially harmful decision-making bias. A review of 4 competing cognitive reconstruction theories of hindsight bias revealed conflicting predictions about the role and effect of expectation or surprise in retrospective judgment formation. Two experiments tested these predictions examining the…

Experimental resource pulses influence social-network dynamics and the potential for information flow in tool-using crows.

Science.gov (United States)

St Clair, James J H; Burns, Zackory T; Bettaney, Elaine M; Morrissey, Michael B; Otis, Brian; Ryder, Thomas B; Fleischer, Robert C; James, Richard; Rutz, Christian

2015-11-03

Social-network dynamics have profound consequences for biological processes such as information flow, but are notoriously difficult to measure in the wild. We used novel transceiver technology to chart association patterns across 19 days in a wild population of the New Caledonian crow--a tool-using species that may socially learn, and culturally accumulate, tool-related information. To examine the causes and consequences of changing network topology, we manipulated the environmental availability of the crows' preferred tool-extracted prey, and simulated, in silico, the diffusion of information across field-recorded time-ordered networks. Here we show that network structure responds quickly to environmental change and that novel information can potentially spread rapidly within multi-family communities, especially when tool-use opportunities are plentiful. At the same time, we report surprisingly limited social contact between neighbouring crow communities. Such scale dependence in information-flow dynamics is likely to influence the evolution and maintenance of material cultures.

Once again about "The Limits to Growth" (in Russian)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen; Tarasova, Natalia P.; Mustafin, D. I.

2009-01-01

The paper analyses the critics of the pioneering and best selling report "The Limits to Growth" from 1972 by D. Meadows et.al., which outlined future global development options, with respect to population, resource depletion, food production, pollution, etc. In the paper is observed that nothing ....... Actually the report seems to be surprisingly right in its agregated analyses of future options, and in the present recognition of climtate change it would be wise to learn from the report and its updating version....

The quantum limit for information transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schiffer, M.

1990-01-01

We give two independent and rigorous derivations for the quantum bound on the information transmission rate as proposed independently Bekenstein and Bremermann, preceded by a heuristic argument showing why such a sort of bound should hold. In both approaches, information carriers are quanta of some field. The first method resembles the microcanonical approach to Statistical Mechanics where the strategy of overestimating the real number of states by relaxing the indistinguishability of quanta was adopted. The second is entirely based upon max-entropy methods. Amazingly enough, the results obtained by these physically unrelated premises turn out to be identical, namely, that the single (noiseless) channel capacity is I sub(max) E/2πh bits s sup(-1). It is further shown that, in a finite time τ no information can ever be conveyed unless the energy threshold 2 πh/τ is reached. (author)

Hillslope, river, and Mountain: some surprises in Landscape evolution (Ralph Alger Bagnold Medal Lecture)

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, G. E.

2012-04-01

Geomorphology, like the rest of geoscience, has always had two major themes: a quest to understand the earth's history and 'products' - its landscapes and seascapes - and, in parallel, a quest to understand its formative processes. This dualism is manifest in the remarkable career of R. A. Bagnold, who was inspired by landforms such as dunes, and dedicated to understanding the physical processes that shaped them. His legacy inspires us to emulate two principles at the heart of his contributions: the benefits of rooting geomorphic theory in basic physics, and the importance of understanding geomorphic systems in terms of simple equations framed around energy or force. Today, following Bagnold's footsteps, the earth-surface process community is engaged in a quest to build, test, and refine an ever-improving body of theory to describe our planet's surface and its evolution. In this lecture, I review a small sample of some of the fruits of that quest, emphasizing the value of surprises encountered along the way. The first example involves models of long-term river incision into bedrock. When the community began to grapple with how to represent this process mathematically, several different ideas emerged. Some were based on the assumption that sediment transport is the limiting factor; others assumed that hydraulic stress on rock is the key, while still others treated rivers as first-order 'reactors.' Thanks in part to advances in digital topography and numerical computing, the predictions of these models can be tested using natural-experiment case studies. Examples from the King Range, USA, the Central Apennines, Italy, and the fold-thrust belt of Taiwan, illustrate that independent knowledge of history and/or tectonics makes it possible to quantify how the rivers have responded to external forcing. Some interesting surprises emerge, such as: that the relief-uplift relationship can be highly nonlinear in a steady-state landscape because of grain-entrainment thresholds

Physics Nobel prize 2004: Surprising theory wins physics Nobel

CERN Multimedia

2004-01-01

From left to right: David Politzer, David Gross and Frank Wilczek. For their understanding of counter-intuitive aspects of the strong force, which governs quarks inside protons and neutrons, on 5 October three American physicists were awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics. David J. Gross (Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara), H. David Politzer (California Institute of Technology), and Frank Wilczek (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) made a key theoretical discovery with a surprising result: the closer quarks are together, the weaker the force - opposite to what is seen with electromagnetism and gravity. Rather, the strong force is analogous to a rubber band stretching, where the force increases as the quarks get farther apart. These physicists discovered this property of quarks, known as asymptotic freedom, in 1976. It later became a key part of the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the Standard Model, the current best theory to describe the interac...

Surprising judgments about robot drivers: Experiments on rising expectations and blaming humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Danielson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available N-Reasons is an experimental Internet survey platform designed to enhance public participation in applied ethics and policy. N-Reasons encourages individuals to generate reasons to support their judgments, and groups to converge on a common set of reasons pro and con various issues.  In the Robot Ethics Survey some of the reasons contributed surprising judgments about autonomous machines. Presented with a version of the trolley problem with an autonomous train as the agent, participants gave unexpected answers, revealing high expectations for the autonomous machine and shifting blame from the automated device to the humans in the scenario. Further experiments with a standard pair of human-only trolley problems refine these results. While showing the high expectations even when no autonomous machine is involved, human bystanders are only blamed in the machine case. A third experiment explicitly aimed at responsibility for driverless cars confirms our findings about shifting blame in the case of autonomous machine agents. We conclude methodologically that both results point to the power of an experimental survey based approach to public participation to explore surprising assumptions and judgments in applied ethics. However, both results also support using caution when interpreting survey results in ethics, demonstrating the importance of qualitative data to provide further context for evaluating judgments revealed by surveys. On the ethics side, the result about shifting blame to humans interacting with autonomous machines suggests caution about the unintended consequences of intuitive principles requiring human responsibility.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v9i1.1727

Use of limited information in a license application to construct a repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGarry, J.M. III; Echols, F.S.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide a rationale for the proposition that the Department of Energy's (DOE's) submittal of a license application (LA) for the construction of a geologic repository to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may be, and arguably must be, based on statutorily-limited site characterization data and design information. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), as amended, is the controlling statute for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a licensed geologic repository. Applicable NRC regulations for the licensing of such a repository are found for the most part in 10 C.F.R. Part 60

The Value of Change: Surprises and Insights in Stellar Evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Bildsten, Lars

2018-01-01

Astronomers with large-format cameras regularly scan the sky many times per night to detect what's changing, and telescopes in space such as Kepler and, soon, TESS obtain very accurate brightness measurements of nearly a million stars over time periods of years. These capabilities, in conjunction with theoretical and computational efforts, have yielded surprises and remarkable new insights into the internal properties of stars and how they end their lives. I will show how asteroseismology reveals the properties of the deep interiors of red giants, and highlight how astrophysical transients may be revealing unusual thermonuclear outcomes from exploding white dwarfs and the births of highly magnetic neutron stars. All the while, stellar science has been accelerated by the availability of open source tools, such as Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), and the nearly immediate availability of observational results.

Unmet information needs and limited health literacy in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients over the course of cancer treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Halbach, Sarah Maria; Ernstmann, Nicole; Kowalski, Christoph; Pfaff, Holger; Pförtner, Timo-Kolja; Wesselmann, Simone; Enders, Anna

2016-09-01

To investigate unmet information needs in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients over the course of cancer treatment and its association with health literacy. We present results from a prospective, multicenter cohort study (PIAT). Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients (N=1060) were surveyed directly after breast cancer surgery, 10 and 40 weeks later. Pooled linear regression modeling was employed analyzing changes in unmet information needs over time and its association with health literacy. Unmet information needs on side effects and medication and medical examination results and treatment options were high and increased during the first 10 weeks after breast cancer surgery. Considering health promotion and social issues, unmet information needs started high and decreased during post-treatment. Patients with limited health literacy had higher unmet information needs. Our results indicate a mismatch in information provision and breast cancer patients' information needs. Patients with limited health literacy may be at a distinct disadvantage in having their information needs met over the course of breast cancer treatment. Strategies are needed to reduce unmet information needs in breast cancer patients considering treatment-phase and health literacy and thereby enable them to better cope with their diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Puzzle of Visual Development: Behavior and Neural Limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiorpes, Lynne

2016-11-09

The development of visual function takes place over many months or years in primate infants. Visual sensitivity is very poor near birth and improves over different times courses for different visual functions. The neural mechanisms that underlie these processes are not well understood despite many decades of research. The puzzle arises because research into the factors that limit visual function in infants has found surprisingly mature neural organization and adult-like receptive field properties in very young infants. The high degree of visual plasticity that has been documented during the sensitive period in young children and animals leaves the brain vulnerable to abnormal visual experience. Abnormal visual experience during the sensitive period can lead to amblyopia, a developmental disorder of vision affecting ∼3% of children. This review provides a historical perspective on research into visual development and the disorder amblyopia. The mismatch between the status of the primary visual cortex and visual behavior, both during visual development and in amblyopia, is discussed, and several potential resolutions are considered. It seems likely that extrastriate visual areas further along the visual pathways may set important limits on visual function and show greater vulnerability to abnormal visual experience. Analyses based on multiunit, population activity may provide useful representations of the information being fed forward from primary visual cortex to extrastriate processing areas and to the motor output. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3611384-10$15.00/0.

On predicting quantal cross sections by interpolation: Surprisal analysis of j/sub z/CCS and statistical j/sub z/ results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldflam, R.; Kouri, D.J.

1976-01-01

New methods for predicting the full matrix of integral cross sections are developed by combining the surprisal analysis of Bernstein and Levine with the j/sub z/-conserving coupled states method (j/sub z/CCS) of McGuire, Kouri, and Pack and with the statistical j/sub z/ approximation (Sj/sub z/) of Kouri, Shimoni, and Heil. A variety of approaches is possible and only three are studied in the present work. These are (a) a surprisal fit of the j=0→j' column of the j/sub z/CCS cross section matrix (thereby requiring only a solution of the lambda=0 set of j/sub z/CCS equations), (b) a surprisal fit of the lambda-bar=0 Sj/sub z/ cross section matrix (again requiring solution of the lambda=0 set of j/sub z/CCS equations only), and (c) a surprisal fit of a lambda-bar not equal to 0 Sj/sub z/ submatrix (involving input cross sections for j,j'> or =lambda-bar transitions only). The last approach requires the solution of the lambda=lambda-bar set of j/sub z/CCS equations only, which requires less computation effort than the effective potential method. We explore three different choices for the prior and two-parameter (i.e., linear) and three-parameter (i.e., parabolic) fits as applied to Ar--N 2 collisions. The results are in general very encouraging and for one choice of prior give results which are within 20% of the exact j/sub z/CCS results

Metaproteomics of cellulose methanisation under thermophilic conditions reveals a surprisingly high proteolytic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Fan; Bize, Ariane; Guillot, Alain; Monnet, Véronique; Madigou, Céline; Chapleur, Olivier; Mazéas, Laurent; He, Pinjing; Bouchez, Théodore

2014-01-01

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Optimising energy recovery from this renewable but recalcitrant material is a key issue. The metaproteome expressed by thermophilic communities during cellulose anaerobic digestion was investigated in microcosms. By multiplying the analytical replicates (65 protein fractions analysed by MS/MS) and relying solely on public protein databases, more than 500 non-redundant protein functions were identified. The taxonomic community structure as inferred from the metaproteomic data set was in good overall agreement with 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing and fluorescent in situ hybridisation analyses. Numerous functions related to cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis and fermentation catalysed by bacteria related to Caldicellulosiruptor spp. and Clostridium thermocellum were retrieved, indicating their key role in the cellulose-degradation process and also suggesting their complementary action. Despite the abundance of acetate as a major fermentation product, key methanogenesis enzymes from the acetoclastic pathway were not detected. In contrast, enzymes from the hydrogenotrophic pathway affiliated to Methanothermobacter were almost exclusively identified for methanogenesis, suggesting a syntrophic acetate oxidation process coupled to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Isotopic analyses confirmed the high dominance of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Very surprising was the identification of an abundant proteolytic activity from Coprothermobacter proteolyticus strains, probably acting as scavenger and/or predator performing proteolysis and fermentation. Metaproteomics thus appeared as an efficient tool to unravel and characterise metabolic networks as well as ecological interactions during methanisation bioprocesses. More generally, metaproteomics provides direct functional insights at a limited cost, and its attractiveness should increase in the future as sequence databases are growing exponentially.

Surprise responses in the human brain demonstrate statistical learning under high concurrent cognitive demand

Science.gov (United States)

Garrido, Marta Isabel; Teng, Chee Leong James; Taylor, Jeremy Alexander; Rowe, Elise Genevieve; Mattingley, Jason Brett

2016-06-01

The ability to learn about regularities in the environment and to make predictions about future events is fundamental for adaptive behaviour. We have previously shown that people can implicitly encode statistical regularities and detect violations therein, as reflected in neuronal responses to unpredictable events that carry a unique prediction error signature. In the real world, however, learning about regularities will often occur in the context of competing cognitive demands. Here we asked whether learning of statistical regularities is modulated by concurrent cognitive load. We compared electroencephalographic metrics associated with responses to pure-tone sounds with frequencies sampled from narrow or wide Gaussian distributions. We showed that outliers evoked a larger response than those in the centre of the stimulus distribution (i.e., an effect of surprise) and that this difference was greater for physically identical outliers in the narrow than in the broad distribution. These results demonstrate an early neurophysiological marker of the brain's ability to implicitly encode complex statistical structure in the environment. Moreover, we manipulated concurrent cognitive load by having participants perform a visual working memory task while listening to these streams of sounds. We again observed greater prediction error responses in the narrower distribution under both low and high cognitive load. Furthermore, there was no reliable reduction in prediction error magnitude under high-relative to low-cognitive load. Our findings suggest that statistical learning is not a capacity limited process, and that it proceeds automatically even when cognitive resources are taxed by concurrent demands.

Topic Continuity in Informal Conversations between Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

Science.gov (United States)

Morris-Adams, Muna

2013-01-01

Topic management by non-native speakers (NNSs) during informal conversations has received comparatively little attention from researchers, and receives surprisingly little attention in second language learning and teaching. This article reports on one of the topic management strategies employed by international students during informal, social…

X rays and radioactivity: a complete surprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radvanyi, P.; Bordry, M.

1995-01-01

The discoveries of X rays and of radioactivity came as complete experimental surprises; the physicists, at that time, had no previous hint of a possible structure of atoms. It is difficult now, knowing what we know, to replace ourselves in the spirit, astonishment and questioning of these years, between 1895 and 1903. The nature of X rays was soon hypothesized, but the nature of the rays emitted by uranium, polonium and radium was much more difficult to disentangle, as they were a mixture of different types of radiations. The origin of the energy continuously released in radioactivity remained a complete mystery for a few years. The multiplicity of the radioactive substances became soon a difficult matter: what was real and what was induced ? Isotopy was still far ahead. It appeared that some radioactive substances had ''half-lifes'': were they genuine radioactive elements or was it just a transitory phenomenon ? Henri Becquerel (in 1900) and Pierre and Marie Curie (in 1902) hesitated on the correct answer. Only after Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy established that radioactivity was the transmutation of one element into another, could one understand that a solid element transformed into a gaseous element, which in turn transformed itself into a succession of solid radioactive elements. It was only in 1913 - after the discovery of the atomic nucleus -, through precise measurements of X ray spectra, that Henry Moseley showed that the number of electrons of a given atom - and the charge of its nucleus - was equal to its atomic number in the periodic table. (authors)

X rays and radioactivity: a complete surprise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radvanyi, P. [Laboratoire National Saturne, Centre d`Etudes de Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Bordry, M. [Institut du Radium, 75 - Paris (France)

1995-12-31

The discoveries of X rays and of radioactivity came as complete experimental surprises; the physicists, at that time, had no previous hint of a possible structure of atoms. It is difficult now, knowing what we know, to replace ourselves in the spirit, astonishment and questioning of these years, between 1895 and 1903. The nature of X rays was soon hypothesized, but the nature of the rays emitted by uranium, polonium and radium was much more difficult to disentangle, as they were a mixture of different types of radiations. The origin of the energy continuously released in radioactivity remained a complete mystery for a few years. The multiplicity of the radioactive substances became soon a difficult matter: what was real and what was induced ? Isotopy was still far ahead. It appeared that some radioactive substances had ``half-lifes``: were they genuine radioactive elements or was it just a transitory phenomenon ? Henri Becquerel (in 1900) and Pierre and Marie Curie (in 1902) hesitated on the correct answer. Only after Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy established that radioactivity was the transmutation of one element into another, could one understand that a solid element transformed into a gaseous element, which in turn transformed itself into a succession of solid radioactive elements. It was only in 1913 - after the discovery of the atomic nucleus -, through precise measurements of X ray spectra, that Henry Moseley showed that the number of electrons of a given atom - and the charge of its nucleus - was equal to its atomic number in the periodic table. (authors).

Cost allocation with limited information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Tind, Jørgen

This article investigates progressive development of Aumann-Shapley cost allocation in a multilevel organizational or production structure. In particular, we study a linear parametric programming setup utilizing the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition procedure. Typically cost allocation takes place after...... all activities have been performed, for example by finishing all outputs. Here the allocation is made progressively with suggestions for activities. I other words cost allocation is performed in parallel for example with a production planning process. This development does not require detailed...... information about some technical constraints in order to make the cost allocation....

Prediction, Expectation, and Surprise: Methods, Designs, and Study of a Deployed Traffic Forecasting Service

OpenAIRE

Horvitz, Eric J.; Apacible, Johnson; Sarin, Raman; Liao, Lin

2012-01-01

We present research on developing models that forecast traffic flow and congestion in the Greater Seattle area. The research has led to the deployment of a service named JamBayes, that is being actively used by over 2,500 users via smartphones and desktop versions of the system. We review the modeling effort and describe experiments probing the predictive accuracy of the models. Finally, we present research on building models that can identify current and future surprises, via efforts on mode...

Thermodynamic limits to information harvesting by sensory systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bo, Stefano; Giudice, Marco Del; Celani, Antonio

2015-01-01

In view of the relation between information and thermodynamics we investigate how much information about an external protocol can be stored in the memory of a stochastic measurement device given an energy budget. We consider a layered device with a memory component storing information about the external environment by monitoring the history of a sensory part coupled to the environment. We derive an integral fluctuation theorem for the entropy production and a measure of the information accumulated in the memory device. Its most immediate consequence is that the amount of information is bounded by the average thermodynamic entropy produced by the process. At equilibrium no entropy is produced and therefore the memory device does not add any information about the environment to the sensory component. Consequently, if the system operates at equilibrium the addition of a memory component is superfluous. Such a device can be used to model the sensing process of a cell measuring the external concentration of a chemical compound and encoding the measurement in the amount of phosphorylated cytoplasmic proteins. (paper)

Time Resolution Dependence of Information Measures for Spiking Neurons: Scaling and Universality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James P Crutchfield

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The mutual information between stimulus and spike-train response is commonly used to monitor neural coding efficiency, but neuronal computation broadly conceived requires more refined and targeted information measures of input-output joint processes. A first step towards that larger goal is todevelop information measures for individual output processes, including information generation (entropy rate, stored information (statisticalcomplexity, predictable information (excess entropy, and active information accumulation (bound information rate. We calculate these for spike trains generated by a variety of noise-driven integrate-and-fire neurons as a function of time resolution and for alternating renewal processes. We show that their time-resolution dependence reveals coarse-grained structural properties of interspike interval statistics; e.g., $tau$-entropy rates that diverge less quickly than the firing rate indicate interspike interval correlations. We also find evidence that the excess entropy and regularized statistical complexity of different types of integrate-and-fire neurons are universal in the continuous-time limit in the sense that they do not depend on mechanism details. This suggests a surprising simplicity in the spike trains generated by these model neurons. Interestingly, neurons with gamma-distributed ISIs and neurons whose spike trains are alternating renewal processes do not fall into the same universality class. These results lead to two conclusions. First, the dependence of information measures on time resolution reveals mechanistic details about spike train generation. Second, information measures can be used as model selection tools for analyzing spike train processes.

On the Use of Time-Limited Information for Maintenance Decision Support: A Predictive Approach under Maintenance Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Khoury

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with a gradually deteriorating system operating under an uncertain environment whose state is only known on a finite rolling horizon. As such, the system is subject to constraints. Maintenance actions can only be planned at imposed times called maintenance opportunities that are available on a limited visibility horizon. This system can, for example, be a commercial vehicle with a monitored critical component that can be maintained only in some specific workshops. Based on the considered system, we aim to use the monitoring data and the time-limited information for maintenance decision support in order to reduce its costs. We propose two predictive maintenance policies based, respectively, on cost and reliability criteria. Classical age-based and condition-based policies are considered as benchmarks. The performance assessment shows the value of the different types of information and the best way to use them in maintenance decision making.

Triggering radiation alarm at security checks. Patients should be informed even after diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Palumbo, Barbara; Neumann, Irmgard; Havlik, Ernst; Palumbo, Renato; Sinzinger, Helmut

2009-01-01

During the last few years an increasing number of nuclear medicine patients in various countries evoked a radiation alarm after therapeutic or diagnostic procedures, and even after passive exposure. A prospective calculation of activity retention in the patient's body is difficult due to extremely high variation of uptake and kinetics. Furthermore, different sensitivities and distances of the detectors make a prospective calculation even more difficult. In this article a number of cases are being reported, related problems are discussed and the surprisingly very limited literature reviewed. In order to minimize problems after eventually triggering alarms, we strongly recommend that each patient receives a certificate providing personal data, tracer, dose, half-life of the radionuclide, type and date of procedure applied as well as the nuclear medicine unit to contact for further information. Furthermore, a closer cooperation and exchange of information between the authorities and local nuclear medicine societies, would be welcome.

Stars Form Surprisingly Close to Milky Way's Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2005-10-01

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way has surprisingly helped spawn a new generation of stars, according to observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This novel mode of star formation may solve several mysteries about the supermassive black holes that reside at the centers of nearly all galaxies. "Massive black holes are usually known for violence and destruction," said Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and coauthor of a paper on this research in an upcoming issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. "So it's remarkable that this black hole helped create new stars, not just destroy them." Black holes have earned their fearsome reputation because any material -- including stars -- that falls within the so-called event horizon is never seen again. However, these new results indicate that the immense disks of gas known to orbit many black holes at a "safe" distance from the event horizon can help nurture the formation of new stars. Animation of Stars Forming Around Black Hole Animation of Stars Forming Around Black Hole This conclusion came from new clues that could only be revealed in X-rays. Until the latest Chandra results, astronomers have disagreed about the origin of a mysterious group of massive stars discovered by infrared astronomers to be orbiting less than a light year from the Milky Way's central black hole, a.k.a. Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*. At such close distances to Sgr A*, the standard model for star formation predicts that gas clouds from which stars form should have been ripped apart by tidal forces from the black hole. Two models to explain this puzzle have been proposed. In the disk model, the gravity of a dense disk of gas around Sgr A* offsets the tidal forces and allows stars to form; in the migration model, the stars formed in a star cluster far away from the black hole and migrated in to form the ring of massive stars. The migration scenario predicts about a

Coherence length saturation at the low temperature limit in two-dimensional hole gas

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Pujia; Fu, Hailong; Wang, Pengjie; Yang, Jixiang; Pfeiffer, L. N.; West, K. W.; Lin, Xi

2018-05-01

The plateau-plateau transition in the integer quantum Hall effect is studied in three Hall bars with different widths. The slopes of the Hall resistance as a function of magnetic field follow the scaling power law as expected in the plateau-plateau transition, and saturate at the low temperature limit. Surprisingly, the saturation temperature is irrelevant with the Hall bar size, which suggests that the saturation of the coherence length is intrinsic.

Information theory in econophysics: stock market and retirement funds

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Eugenio; Saravia, G.; Astete, J.; Díaz, J.; Erribarren, R.; Riadi, F.

2013-03-01

Information theory can help to recognize magnetic phase transitions, what can be seen as a way to recognize different regimes. This is achieved by means of zippers specifically designed to compact data in a meaningful way at is the case for compressor wlzip. In the present contribution we first apply wlzip to the Chilean stock market interpreting the compression rates for the files storing the minute variation of the IPSA indicator. Agitated days yield poor compression rates while calm days yield high compressibility. We then correlate this behavior to the value of the five retirement funds related to the Chilean economy. It is found that the covariance between the profitability of the retirement funds and the compressibility of the IPSA values of previous day is high for those funds investing in risky stocks. Surprisingly, there seems to be no great difference among the three riskier funds contrary to what could be expected from the limitations on the portfolio composition established by the laws that regulate this market.

Limited consensus around ARM information protection practices1

African Journals Online (AJOL)

KATUU, Shadrack

surrounding Information Protection (IP) has been ... compares IP and ARM information protection through .... decision-making methodology used to help ... and differing requirements of institutions into account. ARM literature is prescriptive with.

Potentials and limitations of miniaturized calorimeters for bioprocess monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Maskow, Thomas; Schubert, Torsten; Wolf, Antje; Buchholz, Friederike; Regestein, Lars; Buechs, Jochen; Mertens, Florian; Harms, Hauke; Lerchner, Johannes

2011-10-01

In theory, heat production rates are very well suited for analysing and controlling bioprocesses on different scales from a few nanolitres up to many cubic metres. Any bioconversion is accompanied by a production (exothermic) or consumption (endothermic) of heat. The heat is tightly connected with the stoichiometry of the bioprocess via the law of Hess, and its rate is connected to the kinetics of the process. Heat signals provide real-time information of bioprocesses. The combination of heat measurements with respirometry is theoretically suited for the quantification of the coupling between catabolic and anabolic reactions. Heat measurements have also practical advantages. Unlike most other biochemical sensors, thermal transducers can be mounted in a protected way that prevents fouling, thereby minimizing response drifts. Finally, calorimetry works in optically opaque solutions and does not require labelling or reactants. It is surprising to see that despite all these advantages, calorimetry has rarely been applied to monitor and control bioprocesses with intact cells in the laboratory, industrial bioreactors or ecosystems. This review article analyses the reasons for this omission, discusses the additional information calorimetry can provide in comparison with respirometry and presents miniaturization as a potential way to overcome some inherent weaknesses of conventional calorimetry. It will be discussed for which sample types and scientific question miniaturized calorimeter can be advantageously applied. A few examples from different fields of microbiological and biotechnological research will illustrate the potentials and limitations of chip calorimetry. Finally, the future of chip calorimetry is addressed in an outlook.

The influence of psychological resilience on the relation between automatic stimulus evaluation and attentional breadth for surprised faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Grol, Maud; De Raedt, Rudi

2015-01-01

The broaden-and-build theory relates positive emotions to resilience and cognitive broadening. The theory proposes that the broadening effects underly the relation between positive emotions and resilience, suggesting that resilient people can benefit more from positive emotions at the level of cognitive functioning. Research has investigated the influence of positive emotions on attentional broadening, but the stimulus in the target of attention may also influence attentional breadth, depending on affective stimulus evaluation. Surprised faces are particularly interesting as they are valence ambiguous, therefore, we investigated the relation between affective evaluation--using an affective priming task--and attentional breadth for surprised faces, and how this relation is influenced by resilience. Results show that more positive evaluations are related to more attentional broadening at high levels of resilience, while this relation is reversed at low levels. This indicates that resilient individuals can benefit more from attending to positively evaluated stimuli at the level of attentional broadening.

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.

Atom Surprise: Using Theatre in Primary Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Peleg, Ran; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet

2011-10-01

Early exposure to science may have a lifelong effect on children's attitudes towards science and their motivation to learn science in later life. Out-of-class environments can play a significant role in creating favourable attitudes, while contributing to conceptual learning. Educational science theatre is one form of an out-of-class environment, which has received little research attention. This study aims to describe affective and cognitive learning outcomes of watching such a play and to point to connections between theatrical elements and specific outcomes. "Atom Surprise" is a play portraying several concepts on the topic of matter. A mixed methods approach was adopted to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of children (grades 1-6) from two different school settings who watched the play. Data were gathered using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Analysis suggested that in both schools children's knowledge on the topic of matter increased after the play with younger children gaining more conceptual knowledge than their older peers. In the public school girls showed greater gains in conceptual knowledge than boys. No significant changes in students' general attitudes towards science were found, however, students demonstrated positive changes towards science learning. Theatrical elements that seemed to be important in children's recollection of the play were the narrative, props and stage effects, and characters. In the children's memory, science was intertwined with the theatrical elements. Nonetheless, children could distinguish well between scientific facts and the fictive narrative.

Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

2015-07-14

In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today's technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

2015-01-01

In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today’s technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

The surprising power of neighborly advice.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Daniel T; Killingsworth, Matthew A; Eyre, Rebecca N; Wilson, Timothy D

2009-03-20

Two experiments revealed that (i) people can more accurately predict their affective reactions to a future event when they know how a neighbor in their social network reacted to the event than when they know about the event itself and (ii) people do not believe this. Undergraduates made more accurate predictions about their affective reactions to a 5-minute speed date (n = 25) and to a peer evaluation (n = 88) when they knew only how another undergraduate had reacted to these events than when they had information about the events themselves. Both participants and independent judges mistakenly believed that predictions based on information about the event would be more accurate than predictions based on information about how another person had reacted to it.

Social Media as an Informant.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crawford, Justin

2016-10-01

With today’s means of communication and the billions of people across the globe using social media, it is no surprise that law enforcement intelligence operations have turned to using social media as an information collection medium. Using social media to collect information on individuals offers many benefits to law enforcement agencies but also includes certain manageable risks. There are several oversight regulations that department administrators and officers alike should be aware of. While the regulations certainly do not prevent information collection, law enforcement officers may find the constraints somewhat burdensome. This paper seeks to help identify the more prevalent issues with using social media as a virtual informant and guide agencies in a way to avoid the more common mistakes. These mistakes can lead to civil rights infringements and government oversteps by state, local and tribal officials.

Limitations of Online Information on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn G. Goldberg

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Patients with AAA face a complex decision, and knowledge of the risks and benefits of each treatment option is essential to informed decision-making. Here we assess the current information on the internet accessible to patients regarding the management of AAA. Study Design. We performed a search on Google using the keywords “abdominal aortic aneurysm” and reviewed the top 50 web sites. We focused on information related to treatment options and alternatives to treatment and the risks of each option. Results. Twenty-seven websites were included in the study. Nearly 30% of websites discussed the risk of mortality and myocardial infarction after open surgery, compared to only 7.4% for both risks after EVAR. Other complications were listed by fewer websites. Fifty-five percent of websites reported that patients had a faster recovery following EVAR, but only 18.5% mentioned the risk of reintervention after EVAR or the need for long-term surveillance with CT scans. Conclusions. While most websites included descriptive information on AAA and mentioned the potential treatment options available to patients, the discussion of the risks of open surgery and EVAR was inadequate. These results suggest that websites frequently accessed by patients lack important information regarding surgical risk.

Self-organizing weights for Internet AS-graphs and surprisingly simple routing metrics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scholz, Jan Carsten; Greiner, Martin

2011-01-01

The transport capacity of Internet-like communication networks and hence their efficiency may be improved by a factor of 5–10 through the use of highly optimized routing metrics, as demonstrated previously. The numerical determination of such routing metrics can be computationally demanding...... to an extent that prohibits both investigation of and application to very large networks. In an attempt to find a numerically less expensive way of constructing a metric with a comparable performance increase, we propose a local, self-organizing iteration scheme and find two surprisingly simple and efficient...... metrics. The new metrics have negligible computational cost and result in an approximately 5-fold performance increase, providing distinguished competitiveness with the computationally costly counterparts. They are applicable to very large networks and easy to implement in today's Internet routing...

Early unexpected diagnosis of fetal life-limiting malformation; antenatal palliative care and parental decision.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariona, Federico; Burnett, Marianne; Zoma, Melody; Blake, Janice; Khouri, Hanna

2017-11-02

Conjoined twins are an infrequent occurrence in obstetric practice. Live-conjoined twins on a late preterm triplet pregnancy is an even rarer event. The objective of this study is to emphasize the critical importance of perinatal palliative care and non-directive parental counseling, informed decision making and respect for autonomy following full disclosure of findings, fetal life-limiting diagnosis, treatment alternatives, maternal-fetal potential complications, and most likely perinatal outcomes. Early surprise prenatal diagnosis, comprehensive parental counseling, palliative care, and perinatal care of a set of conjoined twins and a singleton. Cesarean delivery of a set of conjoined twins and a singleton at 34 weeks' gestation. Immediate neonatal death of the conjoined twins, intact survival, and discharge of the singleton. Review of the database on previously reported similar cases. It is very important to utilize simple and direct language for parents to understand the grave prognosis to the pregnancy. Care alternatives in view of the maternal physical risks and psychological impact of carrying a high order abnormal multiple pregnancy, along with the possible side effects on the singleton.

Technological monitoring radar: a weak signals interpretation tool for the identification of strategic surprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adalton Ozaki

2011-07-01

Full Text Available In the current competitive scenario, marked by rapid and constant changes, it is vital that companies actively monitor the business environment, in search of signs which might anticipate changes. This study poses to propose and discuss a tool called Technological Monitoring Radar, which endeavours to address the following query: “How can a company systematically monitor the environment and capture signs that anticipate opportunities and threats concerning a particular technology?”. The literature review covers Competitive Intelligence, Technological Intelligence, Environmental Analysis and Anticipative Monitoring. Based on the critical analysis of the literature, a tool called Technological Monitoring Radar is proposed comprising five environments to be monitored (political, economical, technological, social and competition each of which with key topics for analysis. To exemplify the use of the tool, it is applied to the smartphone segment in an exclusively reflexive manner, and without the participation of a specific company. One of the suggestions for future research is precisely the application of the proposed methodology in an actual company. Despite the limitation of this being a theoretical study, the example demonstrated the tool´s applicability. The radar prove to be very useful for a company that needs to monitor the environment in search of signs of change. This study´s main contribution is to relate different fields of study (technological intelligence, environmental analysis and anticipative monitoring and different approaches to provide a practical tool that allows a manager to identify and better visualize opportunities and threats, thus avoiding strategic surprises in the technological arena.Key words: Technological monitoring. Technological intelligence. Competitive intelligence. Weak signals.

Structural limitations of learning in a crowd: communication vulnerability and information diffusion in MOOCs

Science.gov (United States)

Gillani, Nabeel; Yasseri, Taha; Eynon, Rebecca; Hjorth, Isis

2014-09-01

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) bring together a global crowd of thousands of learners for several weeks or months. In theory, the openness and scale of MOOCs can promote iterative dialogue that facilitates group cognition and knowledge construction. Using data from two successive instances of a popular business strategy MOOC, we filter observed communication patterns to arrive at the ``significant'' interaction networks between learners and use complex network analysis to explore the vulnerability and information diffusion potential of the discussion forums. We find that different discussion topics and pedagogical practices promote varying levels of 1) ``significant'' peer-to-peer engagement, 2) participant inclusiveness in dialogue, and ultimately, 3) modularity, which impacts information diffusion to prevent a truly ``global'' exchange of knowledge and learning. These results indicate the structural limitations of large-scale crowd-based learning and highlight the different ways that learners in MOOCs leverage, and learn within, social contexts. We conclude by exploring how these insights may inspire new developments in online education.

From Lithium-Ion to Sodium-Ion Batteries: Advantages, Challenges, and Surprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Nayak, Prasant Kumar; Yang, Liangtao; Brehm, Wolfgang; Adelhelm, Philipp

2018-01-02

Mobile and stationary energy storage by rechargeable batteries is a topic of broad societal and economical relevance. Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology is at the forefront of the development, but a massively growing market will likely put severe pressure on resources and supply chains. Recently, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been reconsidered with the aim of providing a lower-cost alternative that is less susceptible to resource and supply risks. On paper, the replacement of lithium by sodium in a battery seems straightforward at first, but unpredictable surprises are often found in practice. What happens when replacing lithium by sodium in electrode reactions? This review provides a state-of-the art overview on the redox behavior of materials when used as electrodes in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, respectively. Advantages and challenges related to the use of sodium instead of lithium are discussed. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Benefits and Limitations of Crowdsourced Information for Rapid Damage Assessment of Global Earthquakes

Science.gov (United States)

Bossu, R.; Landès, M.; Roussel, F.

2017-12-01

The Internet has fastened the collection of felt reports and macroseismic data after global earthquakes. At the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), where the traditional online questionnaires have been replace by thumbnail-based questionnaires, an average of half of the reports are collected within 10 minutes of an earthquake's occurrence. In regions where EMSC is well identified this goes down to 5 min. The user simply specifies the thumbnail corresponding to observed effects erasing languages barriers and improving collection via small smartphone screens. A previous study has shown that EMSC data is well correlated with "Did You Feel It" (DYFI) data and 3 independent, manually collected datasets. The efficiency and rapidity of felt report collection through thumbnail-based questionnaires does not necessarily mean that they offer a complete picture of the situation for all intensities values, especially the higher ones. There are several potential limitations. Demographics probably play a role but so might eyewitnesses' behaviors: it is probably not their priority to report when their own safety and that of their loved ones is at stake. We propose to test this hypothesis on EMSC felt reports and to extend the study to LastQuake smartphone application uses. LastQuake is a free smartphone app providing very rapid information on felt earthquakes. There are currently 210 000 active users around the world covering almost every country except for a few ones in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along with felt reports we also analyze the characteristics of LastQuake app launches. For both composite datasets created from 108 earthquakes, we analyze the rapidity of eyewitnesses' reaction and how it changes with intensity values and surmise how they reflect different types of behaviors. We will show the intrinsic limitations of crowdsourced information for rapid situation awareness. More importantly, we will show in which cases the lack of crowdsourced information could

Age Differences in Attention toward Decision-Relevant Information: Education Matters

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Cai; Isaacowitz, Derek

2011-01-01

Previous studies suggested that older adults are more likely to engage in heuristic decision-making than young adults. This study used eye tracking technique to examine young adults' and highly educated older adults' attention toward two types of decision-relevant information: heuristic cue vs. factual cues. Surprisingly, highly educated older…

Limitations and information needs for engineered nanomaterial-specific exposure estimation and scenarios: recommendations for improved reporting practices

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Katherine; van Tongeren, Martie; Christensen, Frans M.; Brouwer, Derk; Nowack, Bernd; Gottschalk, Fadri; Micheletti, Christian; Schmid, Kaspar; Gerritsen, Rianda; Aitken, Rob; Vaquero, Celina; Gkanis, Vasileios; Housiadas, Christos; de Ipiña, Jesús María López; Riediker, Michael

2012-09-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the process and challenges in building exposure scenarios for engineered nanomaterials (ENM), using an exposure scenario format similar to that used for the European Chemicals regulation (REACH). Over 60 exposure scenarios were developed based on information from publicly available sources (literature, books, and reports), publicly available exposure estimation models, occupational sampling campaign data from partnering institutions, and industrial partners regarding their own facilities. The primary focus was on carbon-based nanomaterials, nano-silver (nano-Ag) and nano-titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2), and included occupational and consumer uses of these materials with consideration of the associated environmental release. The process of building exposure scenarios illustrated the availability and limitations of existing information and exposure assessment tools for characterizing exposure to ENM, particularly as it relates to risk assessment. This article describes the gaps in the information reviewed, recommends future areas of ENM exposure research, and proposes types of information that should, at a minimum, be included when reporting the results of such research, so that the information is useful in a wider context.

Limitations and information needs for engineered nanomaterial-specific exposure estimation and scenarios: recommendations for improved reporting practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, Katherine, E-mail: katherine.clark@lkc-ltd.com [LKC (Switzerland); Tongeren, Martie van, E-mail: martie.vantongeren@iom-world.org [Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) (United Kingdom); Christensen, Frans M., E-mail: fmch@cowi.dk [COWI (Denmark); Brouwer, Derk, E-mail: dick.brouwer@tno.nl [TNO (Netherlands); Nowack, Bernd, E-mail: nowack@empa.ch; Gottschalk, Fadri, E-mail: Fadri.Gottschalk@empa.ch [EMPA-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Switzerland); Micheletti, Christian, E-mail: Christian.micheletti@gmail.com [Veneto NanoTech S.C.p.A (Italy); Schmid, Kaspar, E-mail: kasparschmid@alumni.ethz.ch [Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) (United Kingdom); Gerritsen, Rianda, E-mail: rianda.gerritsen@tno.nl [TNO (Netherlands); Aitken, Rob, E-mail: rob.aitken@iom-world.org [Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) (United Kingdom); Vaquero, Celina, E-mail: celina.vaquero@tecnalia.com [TECNALIA Research and Innovation (Spain); Gkanis, Vasileios, E-mail: v_gkanis@hotmail.com; Housiadas, Christos, E-mail: christos@ipta.demokritos.gr [National Center for Scientific Research ' Demokritos' (Greece); Ipina, Jesus Maria Lopez de, E-mail: jesus.lopezdeipina@tecnalia.com [TECNALIA Research and Innovation (Spain); Riediker, Michael, E-mail: michael.riediker@hospvd.ch [Institute for Work and Health (IST) (Switzerland)

2012-09-15

The aim of this paper is to describe the process and challenges in building exposure scenarios for engineered nanomaterials (ENM), using an exposure scenario format similar to that used for the European Chemicals regulation (REACH). Over 60 exposure scenarios were developed based on information from publicly available sources (literature, books, and reports), publicly available exposure estimation models, occupational sampling campaign data from partnering institutions, and industrial partners regarding their own facilities. The primary focus was on carbon-based nanomaterials, nano-silver (nano-Ag) and nano-titanium dioxide (nano-TiO{sub 2}), and included occupational and consumer uses of these materials with consideration of the associated environmental release. The process of building exposure scenarios illustrated the availability and limitations of existing information and exposure assessment tools for characterizing exposure to ENM, particularly as it relates to risk assessment. This article describes the gaps in the information reviewed, recommends future areas of ENM exposure research, and proposes types of information that should, at a minimum, be included when reporting the results of such research, so that the information is useful in a wider context.

Mixing-induced quantum non-Markovianity and information flow

Science.gov (United States)

Breuer, Heinz-Peter; Amato, Giulio; Vacchini, Bassano

2018-04-01

Mixing dynamical maps describing open quantum systems can lead from Markovian to non-Markovian processes. Being surprising and counter-intuitive, this result has been used as argument against characterization of non-Markovianity in terms of information exchange. Here, we demonstrate that, quite the contrary, mixing can be understood in a natural way which is fully consistent with existing theories of memory effects. In particular, we show how mixing-induced non-Markovianity can be interpreted in terms of the distinguishability of quantum states, system-environment correlations and the information flow between system and environment.

Improved hybrid information filtering based on limited time window

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Wen-Jun; Guo, Qiang; Liu, Jian-Guo

2014-12-01

Adopting the entire collecting information of users, the hybrid information filtering of heat conduction and mass diffusion (HHM) (Zhou et al., 2010) was successfully proposed to solve the apparent diversity-accuracy dilemma. Since the recent behaviors are more effective to capture the users' potential interests, we present an improved hybrid information filtering of adopting the partial recent information. We expand the time window to generate a series of training sets, each of which is treated as known information to predict the future links proven by the testing set. The experimental results on one benchmark dataset Netflix indicate that by only using approximately 31% recent rating records, the accuracy could be improved by an average of 4.22% and the diversity could be improved by 13.74%. In addition, the performance on the dataset MovieLens could be preserved by considering approximately 60% recent records. Furthermore, we find that the improved algorithm is effective to solve the cold-start problem. This work could improve the information filtering performance and shorten the computational time.

Information-theoretic analysis of rotational distributions from quantal and quasiclassical computations of reactive and nonreactive scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernstein, R.B.

1976-01-01

An information-theoretic approach to the analysis of rotational excitation cross sections was developed by Levine, Bernstein, Johnson, Procaccia, and coworkers and applied to state-to-state cross sections available from numerical computations of reactive and nonreactive scattering (for example, by Wyatt and Kuppermann and their coworkers and by Pack and Pattengill and others). The rotational surprisals are approximately linear in the energy transferred, thereby accounting for the so-called ''exponential gap law'' for rotational relaxation discovered experimentally by Polanyi, Woodall, and Ding. For the ''linear surprisal'' case the unique relation between the surprisal parameter theta/sub R/ and the first moment of the rotational energy distribution provides a link between the pattern of the rotational state distribution and those features of the potential surface which govern the average energy transfer

Limited Memory, Categorization, and Competition

OpenAIRE

Yuxin Chen; Ganesh Iyer; Amit Pazgal

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the effects of a limited consumer memory on the price competition between firms. It studies a specific aspect of memory--namely, the categorization of available price information that the consumers may need to recall for decision making. This paper analyzes competition between firms in a market with uninformed consumers who do not compare prices, informed consumers who compare prices but with limited memory, and informed consumers who have perfect memory. Consumers, aw...

Over 600 mobile base station measurements in Buenos Aires City, how far are general public limits?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguirre, Anibal; Dalmas Di Giovanni, Norberto; Garcia Diaz, Javier; Douthat, Analia; Munoz, Claudio; Saint Nom, Roxana

2008-01-01

Full text: The general public worries about non ionizing radiation (NIR), produced by mobile base station aren't new, mainly in big cities like Buenos Aires where the amount of antennas of wide communication services (mobile, data links, FM Broadcasting, TV and others), are so considerable. Buenos Aires City has 3 million inhabitants in a surface of 203 km 2 and has about 700 mobile base stations between macro and micro cells. When public demand arrived to local government authorities, the first logical step was to promote a big measurement campaign to do a radiation map of the city. This measurement campaign has been done for two measurement teams, one with CITEFA NIR specialists and the other with ITBA NIR specialists, during 6 months. Local NRI measurement guidelines established that has to be taken between 12 and 16 points around NRI source in a 50 m or 100 m radius, depending on the neighbourhood buildings features (buildings located in the centre of the city aren't the same as a quiet house district). The obtained measured values had to be compared with Argentinean exposure limits, which are the same that ICNIRP limits. With over 7500 measured points in the entire city with wide band instruments (200 kHz-40 GHz), we have started our analysis. This information has been used by local authorities to upgrade a radiation map that can be consulted on the local government internet site. We have compared the obtained values with some international general public exposure limits. From this comparison we found that over 90% of measured points were under general public ICNIRP cell phone frequency limits, but the surprise was that, about 80% of them were below Russian limits (6 V/m) that are the strictest of the world. According to the obtained results and to provide a conclusion we could say that, if in a big city with a very high NIR sources density, we find a majority of lower limits values, this situation will be better in a little town with few NIR sources. However

[Information exchange via internet--possibilities, limits, future].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmiedl, S; Geishauser, M; Klöppel, M; Biemer, E

1998-01-01

Today, the exchange of information in the Internet is dominated by the WWW and e-mail. Discussion groups like mailing lists and newsgroups also permit communication in groups. Information retrieval becomes a crucial challenge in using the Internet. In the field of medicine, three more aspects are of special importance: privacy, legal requirements, and the necessity of transferring large amounts of data. For these problems, today's Internet doesn't provide a sufficient solution yet. Future developments will not only improve the existing services, but also lead to fundamental changes in the transfer technologies: Safer data transfer is to be ensured by new encrypting software together with the planned transfer protocol IPv6. Introducing the new transfer mode ATM will lead to better and resource saving transmission. Computer, telephone and TV networks will grow together, resulting in convergence of media.

Information search in health care decision-making: a study of word-of-mouth and internet information users.

Science.gov (United States)

Snipes, Robin L; Ingram, Rhea; Jiang, Pingjun

2005-01-01

This paper investigates how individual consumers may differ in their information search behavior in health care decision-making. Results indicate that most consumers still use word-of-mouth as a primary information source for health care decisions. However, usage of the Internet is increasing. The results of this study indicate that consumers who are most likely to use the Internet for health care information are single, younger, and less educated, whereas consumers who are most likely to use word-of-mouth are middle-aged, married, with higher income and higher education. Surprisingly, no significant gender difference was found in information search behavior for health care decision-making. The results also suggest that consumers with the highest tendency to use word-of-mouth are also the lowest users of the Internet in health care decision-making. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Laser Theory for Optomechanics: Limit Cycles in the Quantum Regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niels Lörch

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Optomechanical systems can exhibit self-sustained limit cycles where the quantum state of the mechanical resonator possesses nonclassical characteristics such as a strongly negative Wigner density, as was shown recently in a numerical study by Qian et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 253601 (2012]. Here, we derive a Fokker-Planck equation describing mechanical limit cycles in the quantum regime that correctly reproduces the numerically observed nonclassical features. The derivation starts from the standard optomechanical master equation and is based on techniques borrowed from the laser theory due to Haake and Lewenstein. We compare our analytical model with numerical solutions of the master equation based on Monte Carlo simulations and find very good agreement over a wide and so far unexplored regime of system parameters. As one main conclusion, we predict negative Wigner functions to be observable even for surprisingly classical parameters, i.e., outside the single-photon strong-coupling regime, for strong cavity drive and rather large limit-cycle amplitudes. The approach taken here provides a natural starting point for further studies of quantum effects in optomechanics.

Hopf Bifurcation of a Delayed Epidemic Model with Information Variable and Limited Medical Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caijuan Yan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We consider SIR epidemic model in which population growth is subject to logistic growth in absence of disease. We get the condition for Hopf bifurcation of a delayed epidemic model with information variable and limited medical resources. By analyzing the corresponding characteristic equations, the local stability of an endemic equilibrium and a disease-free equilibrium is discussed. If the basic reproduction ratio ℛ01, we obtain sufficient conditions under which the endemic equilibrium E* of system is locally asymptotically stable. And we also have discussed the stability and direction of Hopf bifurcations. Numerical simulations are carried out to explain the mathematical conclusions.

A risk-informed basis for establishing non-fixed surface contamination limits for spent fuel transportation casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rawl, R.R.; Eckerman, K.F.; Bogard, J.S.; Cook, J.R.

2004-01-01

The current limits for non-fixed contamination on packages used to transport radioactive materials were introduced in the 1961 edition of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) transport regulations and were based on radiation protection guidance and practices in use at that time. The limits were based on exposure scenarios leading to intakes of radionuclides by inhalation and external irradiation of the hands. These considerations are collectively referred to as the Fairbairn model. Although formulated over 40 years ago, the model remains unchanged and is still the basis of current regulatory-derived limits on package non-fixed surface contamination. There can also be doses that while not resulting directly from the contamination, are strongly influenced by and attributable to transport regulatory requirements for contamination control. For example, actions necessary to comply with the current derived limits for light-water-reactor (LWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) casks can result in significant external doses to workers. This is due to the relatively high radiation levels around the loaded casks, where workers must function during the measurement of contamination levels and while decontaminating the cask. In order to optimize the total dose received due to compliance with cask contamination levels, it is necessary to take into account all the doses that vary as a result of the regulatory limit. Limits for non-fixed surface contamination on spent fuel casks should be established by using a model that considers and optimizes the appropriate exposure scenarios both in the workplace and in the public environment. A risk-informed approach is needed to ensure optimal use of personnel and material resources for SNF-based packaging operations. This paper is a summary of a study sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and performed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory that examined the dose implications for removable surface contamination limits on spent fuel

Information-Theoretic Limits on Broadband Multi-Antenna Systems in the Presence of Mutual Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Taluja, Pawandeep Singh

2011-12-01

Multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems have received considerable attention over the last decade due to their ability to provide high throughputs and mitigate multipath fading effects. While most of these benefits are obtained for ideal arrays with large separation between the antennas, practical devices are often constrained in physical dimensions. With smaller inter-element spacings, signal correlation and mutual coupling between the antennas start to degrade the system performance, thereby limiting the deployment of a large number of antennas. Various studies have proposed transceiver designs based on optimal matching networks to compensate for this loss. However, such networks are considered impractical due to their multiport structure and sensitivity to the RF bandwidth of the system. In this dissertation, we investigate two aspects of compact transceiver design. First, we consider simpler architectures that exploit coupling between the antennas, and second, we establish information-theoretic limits of broadband communication systems with closely-spaced antennas. We begin with a receiver model of a diversity antenna selection system and propose novel strategies that make use of inactive elements by virtue of mutual coupling. We then examine the limits on the matching efficiency of a single antenna system using broadband matching theory. Next, we present an extension to this theory for coupled MIMO systems to elucidate the impact of coupling on the RF bandwidth of the system, and derive optimal transceiver designs. Lastly, we summarize the main findings of this dissertation and suggest open problems for future work.

Implications for Firms with Limited Information to Take Advantage of Reference Price Effect in Competitive Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junhai Ma

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies internal reference price effects when competitive firms face reference price effects and make decisions based on partial information, where their decision-making mechanism is modeled by a dynamic adjustment process. It is shown that the evolution of this dynamic adjustment goes to stabilization if both adjustment speeds are small and the complexity of this evolution increases in adjustment speeds. It is proved that the necessary condition for flip bifurcation or Neimark-Sacker bifurcation will occur with the increase of adjustment speed in two special cases. What is more, numerical simulations show that these bifurcations do occur. Then, the impacts of parameters on stability and profits are investigated and some management insights for firms with limited information to take advantage of reference price effects are provided.

Optimizing the efficacy of multimedia consumer health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Monkman, Helen; Kushniruk, Andre W

2015-01-01

Using two or more communication methods (e.g., text, narration, pictures, animation, video) is known as multimedia. Multimedia has been used in a broad range of domains. Not surprisingly, multimedia is gaining popularity in the field of consumer health information as its benefits are being recognized. However, there is a large body of evidence in the cognitive literature that could be used to inform and optimize multimedia presentation of consumer health information. This paper outlines the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and presents the application of this model for consumer health informatics. The CTML is a valuable resource for the development and revision of consumer health information to optimize its efficacy. Current research on multimedia and consumer health information is described. Finally, the outstanding opportunities to leverage the CTML for consumer health information are discussed.

SIS - Annual Catch Limit

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Annual Catch Limit (ACL) dataset within the Species Information System (SIS) contains information and data related to management reference points and catch data.

Nitrogen critical loads using biodiversity-related critical limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Posch, Maximilian; Aherne, Julian; Hettelingh, Jean-Paul

2011-01-01

Critical loads are widely used in the effects-based assessment of emission reduction policies. While the impacts of acidification have diminished, there is increasing concern regarding the effects of nitrogen deposition on terrestrial ecosystems. In this context much attention has been focussed on empirical critical loads as well as simulations with linked geochemistry-vegetation models. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to adapt the widely used simple mass balance approach. This approach has the well-established benefit of easy regional applicability, while incorporating specified critical chemical criteria to protect specified receptors. As plant occurrence/biodiversity is related to both the nutrient and acidity status of an ecosystem, a single abiotic factor (chemical criterion) is not sufficient. Rather than an upper limit for deposition (i.e., critical load), linked nutrient nitrogen and acidity chemical criteria for plant occurrence result in an 'optimal' nitrogen and sulphur deposition envelope. - Highlights: → Mass balance critical load approaches for nutrient nitrogen remain useful. → Biodiversity-related limits are related to nutrient and acidity status. → Nutrient and acidity chemical criteria lead to optimal deposition envelopes. → Optimal loads support effects-based emission reduction policies. - Biodiversity-related critical limits lead to optimal nitrogen and sulphur deposition envelopes for plant species or species compositions.

Finding Horndeski theories with Einstein gravity limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McManus, Ryan; Lombriser, Lucas; Peñarrubia, Jorge, E-mail: ryanm@roe.ac.uk, E-mail: llo@roe.ac.uk, E-mail: jorpega@roe.ac.uk [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)

2016-11-01

The Horndeski action is the most general scalar-tensor theory with at most second-order derivatives in the equations of motion, thus evading Ostrogradsky instabilities and making it of interest when modifying gravity at large scales. To pass local tests of gravity, these modifications predominantly rely on nonlinear screening mechanisms that recover Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in regions of high density. We derive a set of conditions on the four free functions of the Horndeski action that examine whether a specific model embedded in the action possesses an Einstein gravity limit or not. For this purpose, we develop a new and surprisingly simple scaling method that identifies dominant terms in the equations of motion by considering formal limits of the couplings that enter through the new terms in the modified action. This enables us to find regimes where nonlinear terms dominate and Einstein's field equations are recovered to leading order. Together with an efficient approximation of the scalar field profile, one can then further evaluate whether these limits can be attributed to a genuine screening effect. For illustration, we apply the analysis to both a cubic galileon and a chameleon model as well as to Brans-Dicke theory. Finally, we emphasise that the scaling method also provides a natural approach for performing post-Newtonian expansions in screened regimes.

A Shocking Surprise in Stephan's Quintet

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

This false-color composite image of the Stephan's Quintet galaxy cluster clearly shows one of the largest shock waves ever seen (green arc). The wave was produced by one galaxy falling toward another at speeds of more than one million miles per hour. The image is made up of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Spain. Four of the five galaxies in this picture are involved in a violent collision, which has already stripped most of the hydrogen gas from the interiors of the galaxies. The centers of the galaxies appear as bright yellow-pink knots inside a blue haze of stars, and the galaxy producing all the turmoil, NGC7318b, is the left of two small bright regions in the middle right of the image. One galaxy, the large spiral at the bottom left of the image, is a foreground object and is not associated with the cluster. The titanic shock wave, larger than our own Milky Way galaxy, was detected by the ground-based telescope using visible-light wavelengths. It consists of hot hydrogen gas. As NGC7318b collides with gas spread throughout the cluster, atoms of hydrogen are heated in the shock wave, producing the green glow. Spitzer pointed its infrared spectrograph at the peak of this shock wave (middle of green glow) to learn more about its inner workings. This instrument breaks light apart into its basic components. Data from the instrument are referred to as spectra and are displayed as curving lines that indicate the amount of light coming at each specific wavelength. The Spitzer spectrum showed a strong infrared signature for incredibly turbulent gas made up of hydrogen molecules. This gas is caused when atoms of hydrogen rapidly pair-up to form molecules in the wake of the shock wave. Molecular hydrogen, unlike atomic hydrogen, gives off most of its energy through vibrations that emit in the infrared. This highly disturbed gas is the most turbulent molecular hydrogen ever seen. Astronomers were surprised not only by the turbulence

Pre-Proposal Assessment of Reliability for Spacecraft Docking with Limited Information

Science.gov (United States)

Brall, Aron

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of estimating the reliability of a critical system function as well as its impact on the system reliability when limited information is available. The approach addresses the basic function reliability, and then the impact of multiple attempts to accomplish the function. The dependence of subsequent attempts on prior failure to accomplish the function is also addressed. The autonomous docking of two spacecraft was the specific example that generated the inquiry, and the resultant impact on total reliability generated substantial interest in presenting the results due to the relative insensitivity of overall performance to basic function reliability and moderate degradation given sufficient attempts to try and accomplish the required goal. The application of the methodology allows proper emphasis on the characteristics that can be estimated with some knowledge, and to insulate the integrity of the design from those characteristics that can't be properly estimated with any rational value of uncertainty. The nature of NASA's missions contains a great deal of uncertainty due to the pursuit of new science or operations. This approach can be applied to any function where multiple attempts at success, with or without degradation, are allowed.

The influence of the surprising decay properties of element 108 on search experiments for new elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, S.; Armbruster, P.; Muenzenberg, G.; Reisdorf, W.; Schmidt, K.H.; Burkhard, H.G.; Hessberger, F.P.; Schoett, H.J.; Agarwal, Y.K.; Berthes, G.; Gollerthan, U.; Folger, H.; Hingmann, J.G.; Keller, J.G.; Leino, M.E.; Lemmertz, P.; Montoya, M.; Poppensieker, K.; Quint, B.; Zychor, I.

1986-01-01

Results of experiments to synthesize the heaviest elements are reported. Surprising is the high stability against fission not only of the odd and odd-odd nuclei but also of even isotopes of even elements. Alpha decay data gave an increasing stability of nuclei by shell effects up to 266 109, the heaviest known element. Theoretically, the high stability is explained by an island of nuclei with big quadrupole and hexadecapole deformations around Z=109 and N=162. Future experiments will be planned to prove the island character of these heavy nuclei. (orig.)

Genetic, epigenetic and exogenetic information in development and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Paul E

2017-10-06

The idea that development is the expression of information accumulated during evolution and that heredity is the transmission of this information is surprisingly hard to cash out in strict, scientific terms. This paper seeks to do so using the sense of information introduced by Francis Crick in his sequence hypothesis and central dogma of molecular biology. It focuses on Crick's idea of precise determination. This is analysed using an information-theoretic measure of causal specificity. This allows us to reconstruct some of Crick's claims about information in transcription and translation. Crick's approach to information has natural extensions to non-coding regions of DNA, to epigenetic marks, and to the genetic or environmental upstream causes of those epigenetic marks. Epigenetic information cannot be reduced to genetic information. The existence of biological information in epigenetic and exogenetic factors is relevant to evolution as well as to development.

AID to overcome the limitations of genomic information by introducing somatic DNA alterations.

Science.gov (United States)

Honjo, Tasuku; Muramatsu, Masamichi; Nagaoka, Hitoshi; Kinoshita, Kazuo; Shinkura, Reiko

2006-05-01

The immune system has adopted somatic DNA alterations to overcome the limitations of the genomic information. Activation induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is an essential enzyme to regulate class switch recombination (CSR), somatic hypermutation (SHM) and gene conversion (GC) of the immunoglobulin gene. AID is known to be required for DNA cleavage of S regions in CSR and V regions in SHM. However, its molecular mechanism is a focus of extensive debate. RNA editing hypothesis postulates that AID edits yet unknown mRNA, to generate specific endonucleases for CSR and SHM. By contrast, DNA deamination hypothesis assumes that AID deaminates cytosine in DNA, followed by DNA cleavage by base excision repair enzymes. We summarize the basic knowledge for molecular mechanisms for CSR and SHM and then discuss the importance of AID not only in the immune regulation but also in the genome instability.

Informational and Normative Influences in Conformity from a Neurocomputational Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Toelch, Ulf; Dolan, Raymond J

2015-10-01

We consider two distinct influences that drive conformity behaviour. Whereas informational influences facilitate adaptive and accurate responses, normative influences bias decisions to enhance social acceptance. We explore these influences from a perspective of perceptual and value-based decision-making models and apply these models to classical works on conformity. We argue that an informational account predicts a surprising tendency to conform. Moreover, we detail how normative influences fit into this framework and interact with social influences. Finally, we explore potential neuronal substrates for informational and normative influences based on a consideration of the neurobiological literature, highlighting conceptual shortcomings particularly with regard to a failure to segregate informational and normative influences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential and limitations of using soil mapping information to understand landscape hydrology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Terribile

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the following points: how can whole soil data from normally available soil mapping databases (both conventional and those integrated by digital soil mapping procedures be usefully employed in hydrology? Answering this question requires a detailed knowledge of the quality and quantity of information embedded in and behind a soil map.

To this end a description of the process of drafting soil maps was prepared (which is included in Appendix A of this paper. Then a detailed screening of content and availability of soil maps and database was performed, with the objective of an analytical evaluation of the potential and the limitations of soil data obtained through soil surveys and soil mapping. Then we reclassified the soil features according to their direct, indirect or low hydrologic relevance. During this phase, we also included information regarding whether this data was obtained by qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative methods. The analysis was performed according to two main points of concern: (i the hydrological interpretation of the soil data and (ii the quality of the estimate or measurement of the soil feature.

The interaction between pedology and hydrology processes representation was developed through the following Italian case studies with different hydropedological inputs: (i comparative land evaluation models, by means of an exhaustive itinerary from simple to complex modelling applications depending on soil data availability, (ii mapping of soil hydrological behaviour for irrigation management at the district scale, where the main hydropedological input was the application of calibrated pedo-transfer functions and the Hydrological Function Unit concept, and (iii flood event simulation in an ungauged basin, with the functional aggregation of different soil units for a simplified soil pattern.

In conclusion, we show that special care is required in handling data from soil

Illumination and the perception of remote habitat patches by whit footed mice

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick A. Zollner; Steven L. Lima

1999-01-01

Perceptual range, or the distance at which habitat 'patches' can be perceived, constrains an animal's informational window on a given landscape. If such constraints are great, they may limit successful dispersal between distant habitat patches. On dark nights, nocturnal white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, have surprisingly limited...

Growth dependence of conjugation explains limited plasmid invasion in biofilms: an individual‐based modelling study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Merkey, Brian; Lardon, Laurent; Seoane, Jose Miguel

2011-01-01

Plasmid invasion in biofilms is often surprisingly limited in spite of the close contact of cells in a biofilm. We hypothesized that this poor plasmid spread into deeper biofilm layers is caused by a dependence of conjugation on the growth rate (relative to the maximum growth rate) of the donor......, we find that invasion of a resident biofilm is indeed limited when plasmid transfer depends on growth, but not so in the absence of growth dependence. Using sensitivity analysis we also find that parameters related to timing (i.e. a lag before the transconjugant can transfer, transfer proficiency...... and scan speed) and spatial reach (EPS yield, conjugal pilus length) are more important for successful plasmid invasion than the recipients' growth rate or the probability of segregational loss. While this study identifies one factor that can limit plasmid invasion in biofilms, the new individual...

Surprises from the resolution of operator mixing in N=4 SYM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, Massimo; Rossi, Giancarlo; Stanev, Yassen S.

2004-01-01

We reexamine the problem of operator mixing in N=4 SYM. Particular attention is paid to the correct definition of composite gauge invariant local operators, which is necessary for the computation of their anomalous dimensions beyond lowest order. As an application we reconsider the case of operators with naive dimension Δ 0 =4, already studied in the literature. Stringent constraints from the resummation of logarithms in power behaviours are exploited and the role of the generalized N=4 Konishi anomaly in the mixing with operators involving fermions is discussed. A general method for the explicit (numerical) resolution of the operator mixing and the computation of anomalous dimensions is proposed. We then resolve the order g 2 mixing for the 15 (purely scalar) singlet operators of naive dimension Δ 0 =6. Rather surprisingly we find one isolated operator which has a vanishing anomalous dimension up to order g 4 , belonging to an apparently long multiplet. We also solve the order g 2 mixing for the 26 operators belonging to the representation 20' of SU(4). We find an operator with the same one-loop anomalous dimension as the Konishi multiplet

The limits of informed consent.

Science.gov (United States)

1975-09-01

The patient, a 59-year-old man, was referred to a psychiatric hospital with what appeared initially to be the signs and symptoms of mental disorder. In hospital a lesion of the brain was diagnosed and surgery was proposed to relieve the condition. The patient, however, during this and subsequent admissions to hospital, refused operation. His refusal to consent was regarded as valid as he seemed to have good insight into his condition. Finally, under section 26 of the Mental Health Act, he was treated surgically. Unfortunately the patient died six weeks later of intracranial haemorrhage. Three comments are made on this case - two by psychiatrists, Dr K Davison and Dr Ashley Robin, the other by a professor of Christian ethics, Professor F C Blackie. Both psychiatrists argue that when a patient's mind is affected by mental or organic illness to the degree that 'he cannot bring a rational and conscious mind' to the question of his treatment then the doctor, in consultation with the relatives, making clear to them the likely course of events if an operation is not performed, must take whatever is the proper course of action, in this case surgery. In this view, such an operation performed immediately the diagnosis was confirmed might not have been so complicated. Professor Blackie, commending 'the attempt to regard the patient as a responsible human being' with a 'moral right to be consulted on all aspects of treatment', questions in this patient the limits to which the appeal to reason was carried. He concludes that 'in this situation the advice and consent of the family must weigh more heavily than the statements of the patient'.

Research on the Pricing of Bundling Information Commodity%信息产品的捆绑定价问题研究

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

毛彦妮; 王刊良; 王龙伟

2003-01-01

This article studies the characteristics of low marginal cost of information commodity and points out that bundling information commodity is surprisingly profitable. After an analysis of the three factors affecting the sales income of bundling information commodity, that is, marginal cost, distribution of consumer' s valuation of bundling commodity and bundling size, a marketing strategy for bundling information commodity is proposed.

Assessing the quality of informed consent in a resource-limited setting: A cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiguba Ronald

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The process of obtaining informed consent continues to be a contentious issue in clinical and public health research carried out in resource-limited settings. We sought to evaluate this process among human research participants in randomly selected active research studies approved by the School of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University. Methods Data were collected using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires on clinic days after initial or repeat informed consent procedures for the respective clinical studies had been administered to each study participant. Results Of the 600 participants interviewed, two thirds (64.2%, 385/600 were female. Overall mean age of study participants was 37.6 (SD = 7.7 years. Amongst all participants, less than a tenth (5.9%, 35/598 reported that they were not given enough information before making a decision to participate. A similar proportion (5.7%, 34/597 reported that they had not signed a consent form prior to making a decision to participate in the study. A third (33.7%, 201/596 of the participants were not aware that they could, at any time, voluntarily withdraw participation from these studies. Participants in clinical trials were 50% less likely than those in observational studies [clinical trial vs. observational; (odds ratio, OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.35-0.78] to perceive that refusal to participate in the parent research project would affect their regular medical care. Conclusions Most of the participants signed informed consent forms and a vast majority felt that they received enough information before deciding to participate. On the contrary, several were not aware that they could voluntarily withdraw their participation. Participants in observational studies were more likely than those in clinical trials to perceive that refusal to participate in the parent study would affect their regular medical care.

Assessing the quality of informed consent in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiguba, Ronald; Kutyabami, Paul; Kiwuwa, Stephen; Katabira, Elly; Sewankambo, Nelson K

2012-08-21

The process of obtaining informed consent continues to be a contentious issue in clinical and public health research carried out in resource-limited settings. We sought to evaluate this process among human research participants in randomly selected active research studies approved by the School of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University. Data were collected using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires on clinic days after initial or repeat informed consent procedures for the respective clinical studies had been administered to each study participant. Of the 600 participants interviewed, two thirds (64.2%, 385/600) were female. Overall mean age of study participants was 37.6 (SD = 7.7) years. Amongst all participants, less than a tenth (5.9%, 35/598) reported that they were not given enough information before making a decision to participate. A similar proportion (5.7%, 34/597) reported that they had not signed a consent form prior to making a decision to participate in the study. A third (33.7%, 201/596) of the participants were not aware that they could, at any time, voluntarily withdraw participation from these studies. Participants in clinical trials were 50% less likely than those in observational studies [clinical trial vs. observational; (odds ratio, OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.35-0.78)] to perceive that refusal to participate in the parent research project would affect their regular medical care. Most of the participants signed informed consent forms and a vast majority felt that they received enough information before deciding to participate. On the contrary, several were not aware that they could voluntarily withdraw their participation. Participants in observational studies were more likely than those in clinical trials to perceive that refusal to participate in the parent study would affect their regular medical care.

Bulk-Like Electrical Properties Induced by Contact-Limited Charge Transport in Organic Diodes: Revised Space Charge Limited Current

KAUST Repository

Xu, Guangwei

2018-02-22

Charge transport governs the operation and performance of organic diodes. Illuminating the charge-transfer/transport processes across the interfaces and the bulk organic semiconductors is at the focus of intensive investigations. Traditionally, the charge transport properties of organic diodes are usually characterized by probing the current–voltage (I–V) curves of the devices. However, to unveil the landscape of the underlying potential/charge distribution, which essentially determines the I–V characteristics, still represents a major challenge. Here, the electrical potential distribution in planar organic diodes is investigated by using the scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy technique, a method that can clearly separate the contact and bulk regimes of charge transport. Interestingly, by applying to devices based on novel, high mobility organic materials, the space-charge-limited-current-like I–V curves, which are previously believed to be a result of the bulk transport, are surprisingly but unambiguously demonstrated to be caused by contact-limited conduction. A model accounting is developed for the transport properties of both the two metal/organic interfaces and the bulk. The results indicate that pure interface-dominated transport can indeed give rise to I–V curves similar to those caused by bulk transport. These findings provide a new insight into the charge injection and transport processes in organic diodes.

Calculus Limits Involving Infinity: The Role of Students' Informal Dynamic Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Steven R.

2015-01-01

Few studies on calculus limits have centred their focus on student understanding of limits at infinity or infinite limits that involve continuous functions (as opposed to discrete sequences). This study examines student understanding of these types of limits using both pure mathematics and applied-science functions and formulas. Seven calculus…

Hobby-related information-seeking behaviour of highly dedicated online museum visitors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Mette

2013-01-01

collectors and liberal arts enthusiasts. Analysis showed that the two hobby classes have distinct profiles including differences in the nature of their knowledge acquisition. Results. Across the two hobby classes, participants can be characterised as special interest museum visitors pursuing a long......-standing interest or hobby. The identified information needs were surprisingly well-defined known item needs and only few exploratory information needs were identified. Participants stressed the importance of personal channels and the social context of the hobby. Conclusions. The present study contributes...

Use of Geological, Geophysical and Geomorphological Information as support for the harmonization of the legal limits of the continental shelf between Brazil and Uruguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, L.; Villena, H.

2010-01-01

The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes the juridical and legal frameworks which the Coastal States (C S) establish their respective outer limit of the continental shelf in which will exercise sovereignty rights under the resources in the on the seabed and seabed subsurface. The base to reach the delineation of continental shelf outer limit is ruled by the application the criteria which take into consideration mainly data and pieces of information from Geology, Geophysics and Geomorphology employed both lonely or conjunction. In the current presentation were employed both data carried out by Brazilian Continental Shelf Project (Laplace) and data from public domain. As the underwater features do not follow political limits, the goal of this proposal work is to present the integration of both data and pieces of information from geological, geophysical and geomorphologic characteristics in order to reach the harmonization of the Brazil and Uruguay continental shelf outer limit nearby their Maritime Lateral Boundary

Surprisingly high specificity of the PPD skin test for M. tuberculosis infection from recent exposure in The Gambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Philip C; Brookes, Roger H; Fox, Annette; Jackson-Sillah, Dolly; Lugos, Moses D; Jeffries, David J; Donkor, Simon A; Adegbola, Richard A; McAdam, Keith P W J

2006-12-20

Options for intervention against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are limited by the diagnostic tools available. The Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) skin test is thought to be non-specific, especially in tropical settings. We compared the PPD skin test with an ELISPOT test in The Gambia. Household contacts over six months of age of sputum smear positive TB cases and community controls were recruited. They underwent a PPD skin test and an ELISPOT test for the T cell response to PPD and ESAT-6/CFP10 antigens. Responsiveness to M. tuberculosis exposure was analysed according to sleeping proximity to an index case using logistic regression. 615 household contacts and 105 community controls were recruited. All three tests assessed increased significantly in positivity with increasing M. tuberculosis exposure, the PPD skin test most dramatically (OR 15.7; 95% CI 6.6-35.3). While the PPD skin test positivity continued to trend downwards in the community with increasing distance from a known case (61.9% to 14.3%), the PPD and ESAT-6/CFP-10 ELISPOT positivity did not. The PPD skin test was more in agreement with ESAT-6/CFP-10 ELISPOT (75%, p = 0.01) than the PPD ELISPOT (53%, pPPD skin test positive increased (pPPD skin test negative decreased (pPPD skin test has surprisingly high specificity for M. tuberculosis infection from recent exposure in The Gambia. In this setting, anti-tuberculous prophylaxis in PPD skin test positive individuals should be revisited.

A Constitutive Relationship between Fatigue Limit and Microstructure in Nanostructured Bainitic Steels

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Inga; Rementeria, Rosalia; Caballero, Francisca G.; Kuntz, Matthias; Sourmail, Thomas; Kerscher, Eberhard

2016-01-01

The recently developed nanobainitic steels show high strength as well as high ductility. Although this combination seems to be promising for fatigue design, fatigue properties of nanostructured bainitic steels are often surprisingly low. To improve the fatigue behavior, an understanding of the correlation between the nanobainitic microstructure and the fatigue limit is fundamental. Therefore, our hypothesis to predict the fatigue limit was that the main function of the microstructure is not necessarily totally avoiding the initiation of a fatigue crack, but the microstructure has to increase the ability to decelerate or to stop a growing fatigue crack. Thus, the key to understanding the fatigue behavior of nanostructured bainite is to understand the role of the microstructural features that could act as barriers for growing fatigue cracks. To prove this hypothesis, we carried out fatigue tests, crack growth experiments, and correlated these results to the size of microstructural features gained from microstructural analysis by light optical microscope and EBSD-measurements. Finally, we were able to identify microstructural features that influence the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue limit of nanostructured bainitic steels. PMID:28773953

Major Limitations of Satellite images

OpenAIRE

Al-Wassai, Firouz A.; Kalyankar, N. V.

2013-01-01

Remote sensing has proven to be a powerful tool for the monitoring of the Earth surface to improve our perception of our surroundings has led to unprecedented developments in sensor and information technologies. However, technologies for effective use of the data and for extracting useful information from the data of Remote sensing are still very limited since no single sensor combines the optimal spectral, spatial and temporal resolution. This paper briefly reviews the limitations of satelli...

49 CFR Appendix B to Part 564 - Information To Be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...—Information To Be Submitted for Long Life Replaceable Light Sources of Limited Definition I. Filament or... Source that Operates With a Ballast and Rated Life of the Light Source/Ballast Combination. A. Maximum power (in watts). B. Luminous Flux (in lumens). C. Rated laboratory life of the light source/ballast...

Pseudohalide (SCN(-))-Doped MAPbI3 Perovskites: A Few Surprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Halder, Ansuman; Chulliyil, Ramya; Subbiah, Anand S; Khan, Tuhin; Chattoraj, Shyamtanu; Chowdhury, Arindam; Sarkar, Shaibal K

2015-09-03

Pseudohalide thiocyanate anion (SCN(-)) has been used as a dopant in a methylammonium lead tri-iodide (MAPbI3) framework, aiming for its use as an absorber layer for photovoltaic applications. The substitution of SCN(-) pseudohalide anion, as verified using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, results in a comprehensive effect on the optical properties of the original material. Photoluminescence measurements at room temperature reveal a significant enhancement in the emission quantum yield of MAPbI3-x(SCN)x as compared to MAPbI3, suggestive of suppression of nonradiative channels. This increased intensity is attributed to a highly edge specific emission from MAPbI3-x(SCN)x microcrystals as revealed by photoluminescence microscopy. Fluoresence lifetime imaging measurements further established contrasting carrier recombination dynamics for grain boundaries and the bulk of the doped material. Spatially resolved emission spectroscopy on individual microcrystals of MAPbI3-x(SCN)x reveals that the optical bandgap and density of states at various (local) nanodomains are also nonuniform. Surprisingly, several (local) emissive regions within MAPbI3-x(SCN)x microcrystals are found to be optically unstable under photoirradiation, and display unambiguous temporal intermittency in emission (blinking), which is extremely unusual and intriguing. We find diverse blinking behaviors for the undoped MAPbI3 crystals as well, which leads us to speculate that blinking may be a common phenomenon for most hybrid perovskite materials.

Compliance of feed limits, does not mean compliance of food limits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Raamsdonk LWD.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The carry-over of contaminants from feed to animal food products is an important aspect of the animal production chain. For a proper containment, limits for feed as well food products are fixed for a series of chemicals, e.g. dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, lead, cadmium, some chlorinated pesticides, and aflatoxin B1 (and its metabolite M1 in milk. The relationship between feed and food limits is an important issue. An ideal goal is to assure that compliance to a feed limits automatically results in compliance to food limits. In order to collect information about this relationship, several simulation models and a large database on transfer factors have been developed. An optimal choice between either a model or an application of data from the Transfer Database is based on both the knowledge level, and on the circumstances of the specific situation. To reach and validate such an optimal choice an Expert System Carry-Over is currently in development, containing four different modules: 1 the different calculation models and the Transfer Database, 2 a decision tree for choosing the optimal strategy, 3 data tables indicating knowledge levels of compound/animal/product parameters, and 4 supporting databases containing information on consumption and composition of daily diets, animal parameters, and amounts of (daily production. Calculations indicate that for dioxins compliance to feed levels does not necessarily mean that food limits are complied as well. Besides an estimation of the compliance to limits, the expert system is a tool for feed related risk assessments, and for planning of future research.

Structural Analysis of the Tobramycin and Gentamicin Clinical Resistome Reveals Limitations for Next-generation Aminoglycoside Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassenden, Angelia V; Rodionov, Dmitry; Shi, Kun; Berghuis, Albert M

2016-05-20

Widespread use and misuse of antibiotics has allowed for the selection of resistant bacteria capable of avoiding the effects of antibiotics. The primary mechanism for resistance to aminoglycosides, a broad-spectrum class of antibiotics, is through covalent enzymatic modification of the drug, waning their bactericidal effect. Tobramycin and gentamicin are two medically important aminoglycosides targeted by several different resistance factors, including aminoglycoside 2″-nucleotidyltransferase [ANT(2″)], the primary cause of aminoglycoside resistance in North America. We describe here two crystal structures of ANT(2″), each in complex with AMPCPP, Mn(2+), and either tobramycin or gentamicin. Together these structures outline ANT(2″)'s specificity for clinically used substrates. Importantly, these structures complete our structural knowledge for the set of enzymes that most frequently confer clinically observed resistance to tobramycin and gentamicin. Comparison of tobramycin and gentamicin binding to enzymes in this resistome, as well as to the intended target, the bacterial ribosome, reveals surprising diversity in observed drug-target interactions. Analysis of the diverse binding modes informs that there are limited opportunities for developing aminoglycoside analogs capable of evading resistance.

Generalized Geometric Quantum Speed Limits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Paiva Pires

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The attempt to gain a theoretical understanding of the concept of time in quantum mechanics has triggered significant progress towards the search for faster and more efficient quantum technologies. One of such advances consists in the interpretation of the time-energy uncertainty relations as lower bounds for the minimal evolution time between two distinguishable states of a quantum system, also known as quantum speed limits. We investigate how the nonuniqueness of a bona fide measure of distinguishability defined on the quantum-state space affects the quantum speed limits and can be exploited in order to derive improved bounds. Specifically, we establish an infinite family of quantum speed limits valid for unitary and nonunitary evolutions, based on an elegant information geometric formalism. Our work unifies and generalizes existing results on quantum speed limits and provides instances of novel bounds that are tighter than any established one based on the conventional quantum Fisher information. We illustrate our findings with relevant examples, demonstrating the importance of choosing different information metrics for open system dynamics, as well as clarifying the roles of classical populations versus quantum coherences, in the determination and saturation of the speed limits. Our results can find applications in the optimization and control of quantum technologies such as quantum computation and metrology, and might provide new insights in fundamental investigations of quantum thermodynamics.

Increased Access to Professional Interpreters in the Hospital Improves Informed Consent for Patients with Limited English Proficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jonathan S; Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J; Gregorich, Steven E; Crawford, Michael H; Green, Adrienne; Livaudais-Toman, Jennifer; Karliner, Leah S

2017-08-01

Language barriers disrupt communication and impede informed consent for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) undergoing healthcare procedures. Effective interventions for this disparity remain unclear. Assess the impact of a bedside interpreter phone system intervention on informed consent for patients with LEP and compare outcomes to those of English speakers. Prospective, pre-post intervention implementation study using propensity analysis. Hospitalized patients undergoing invasive procedures on the cardiovascular, general surgery or orthopedic surgery floors. Installation of dual-handset interpreter phones at every bedside enabling 24-h immediate access to professional interpreters. Primary predictor: pre- vs. post-implementation group; secondary predictor: post-implementation patients with LEP vs. English speakers. Primary outcomes: three central informed consent elements, patient-reported understanding of the (1) reasons for and (2) risks of the procedure and (3) having had all questions answered. We considered consent adequately informed when all three elements were met. We enrolled 152 Chinese- and Spanish-speaking patients with LEP (84 pre- and 68 post-implementation) and 86 English speakers. Post-implementation (vs. pre-implementation) patients with LEP were more likely to meet criteria for adequately informed consent (54% vs. 29%, p = 0.001) and, after propensity score adjustment, had significantly higher odds of adequately informed consent (AOR 2.56; 95% CI, 1.15-5.72) as well as of each consent element individually. However, compared to post-implementation English speakers, post-implementation patients with LEP had significantly lower adjusted odds of adequately informed consent (AOR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.16-0.91). A bedside interpreter phone system intervention to increase rapid access to professional interpreters was associated with improvements in patient-reported informed consent and should be considered by hospitals seeking to improve

Memory Consolidation of Attended Information Is Optional: Comment on Jiang et al. (2016)

Science.gov (United States)

Wyble, Brad; Chen, Hui

2017-01-01

Attribute amnesia is a phenomenon in which information about a stimulus that was just recently used to perform a task is poorly remembered in a surprise test (Chen & Wyble, 2015a). In a recent article by Jiang, Shupe, Swallow, and Tan (2016), this effect was replicated but with an additional priming measure that revealed some carryover memory…

The Informal Sector

OpenAIRE

Áureo de Paula; José A. Scheinkman

2007-01-01

This paper investigates the determinants of informal economic activity. We present two equilibrium models of informality and test their implications using a survey of 48,000+ small firms in Brazil. We define informality as tax avoidance; firms in the informal sector avoid tax payments but suffer other limitations. In the first model there is a single industry and informal firms face a higher cost of capital and a limitation on size. As a result informal firms are smaller and have a lower capi...

Word-of-mouth dynamics with information seeking: Information is not (only) epidemics

Science.gov (United States)

Thiriot, Samuel

2018-02-01

Word-of-mouth is known to determine the success or failure of innovations (Rogers, 2003) and facilitate the diffusion of products (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). Word-of-mouth is made of both individuals seeking out information and/or pro-actively spreading information (Gilly et al., 1998; Rogers, 2003). Information seeking is considered as a step mandatory for individuals to retrieve the expert knowledge necessary for them to understand the benefits of an innovation or decide to buy a product (Arndt, 1967; Rogers, 2003). Yet the role of information seeking in the word-of-mouth dynamics was not investigated in computational models. Here we study in which conditions word-of-mouth enables the population to retrieve the initial expertise scattered in the population. We design a computational model in which awareness and expert knowledge are both represented, and study the joint dynamics of information seeking and proactive transmission of information. Simulation experiments highlight the apparition of cascades of awareness, cascades of expertise and chains of information retrieval. We find that different strategies should be used depending on the initial proportion of expertise (disruptive innovations, incremental innovations or products belonging to well-known categories). Surprisingly, when there is too much expertise in the population prior the advertisement campaign, word-of-mouth is less efficient in the retrieval of this expertise than when less expertise is initially present. Our results suggest that information seeking plays a key role in the dynamics of word-of-mouth, which can therefore not be reduced solely to the epidemic aspect.

Autonomy, consent and responsability. Part 1: limitations of the principle of autonomy as a foundation of informed consent.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellado, J M

2016-01-01

Legal recognition of patient's rights aspired to change clinical relationship and medical lex artis. However, its implementation has been hampered by the scarcity of resources and the abundance of regulations. For several years, autonomy, consent, and responsibility have formed one of the backbones of the medical profession. However, they have sparked controversy and professional discomfort. In the first part of this article, we examine the conceptual and regulatory limitations of the principle of autonomy as the basis of informed consent. We approach the subject from philosophical, historical, legal, bioethical, deontological, and professional standpoints. In the second part, we cover the viability of informed consent in health care and its relationship with legal responsibility. Copyright © 2016 SERAM. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Quantifying navigational information: The catchment volumes of panoramic snapshots in outdoor scenes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trevor Murray

Full Text Available Panoramic views of natural environments provide visually navigating animals with two kinds of information: they define locations because image differences increase smoothly with distance from a reference location and they provide compass information, because image differences increase smoothly with rotation away from a reference orientation. The range over which a given reference image can provide navigational guidance (its 'catchment area' has to date been quantified from the perspective of walking animals by determining how image differences develop across the ground plane of natural habitats. However, to understand the information available to flying animals there is a need to characterize the 'catchment volumes' within which panoramic snapshots can provide navigational guidance. We used recently developed camera-based methods for constructing 3D models of natural environments and rendered panoramic views at defined locations within these models with the aim of mapping navigational information in three dimensions. We find that in relatively open woodland habitats, catchment volumes are surprisingly large extending for metres depending on the sensitivity of the viewer to image differences. The size and the shape of catchment volumes depend on the distance of visual features in the environment. Catchment volumes are smaller for reference images close to the ground and become larger for reference images at some distance from the ground and in more open environments. Interestingly, catchment volumes become smaller when only above horizon views are used and also when views include a 1 km distant panorama. We discuss the current limitations of mapping navigational information in natural environments and the relevance of our findings for our understanding of visual navigation in animals and autonomous robots.

Quantifying navigational information: The catchment volumes of panoramic snapshots in outdoor scenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Trevor; Zeil, Jochen

2017-01-01

Panoramic views of natural environments provide visually navigating animals with two kinds of information: they define locations because image differences increase smoothly with distance from a reference location and they provide compass information, because image differences increase smoothly with rotation away from a reference orientation. The range over which a given reference image can provide navigational guidance (its 'catchment area') has to date been quantified from the perspective of walking animals by determining how image differences develop across the ground plane of natural habitats. However, to understand the information available to flying animals there is a need to characterize the 'catchment volumes' within which panoramic snapshots can provide navigational guidance. We used recently developed camera-based methods for constructing 3D models of natural environments and rendered panoramic views at defined locations within these models with the aim of mapping navigational information in three dimensions. We find that in relatively open woodland habitats, catchment volumes are surprisingly large extending for metres depending on the sensitivity of the viewer to image differences. The size and the shape of catchment volumes depend on the distance of visual features in the environment. Catchment volumes are smaller for reference images close to the ground and become larger for reference images at some distance from the ground and in more open environments. Interestingly, catchment volumes become smaller when only above horizon views are used and also when views include a 1 km distant panorama. We discuss the current limitations of mapping navigational information in natural environments and the relevance of our findings for our understanding of visual navigation in animals and autonomous robots.

Limitations in dual-task performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pannebakker, Merel Mathilde

2009-01-01

In this thesis, the effect of information-processing overload on working-memory dependent information processing was examined using dual-task paradigms. The experiments described strengthen the importance of a functional explanation for dual-task limitations. First, it showed evidence for a unified

Information, trust and the limits of “intelligent accountability” in investment decision making: insights from the Madoff case

OpenAIRE

Stolowy, Hervé; Baker, Richard; Jeanjean, Thomas; Messner, Martin

2011-01-01

In this paper, we use the investment fraud of Bernard Madoff to inquire into the possibilities and limits of an “intelligent accountability” in the context of financial decision making. Drawing primarily upon data related to U.S. Individual investors (interviews and letters), we investigate the role of information and trust in investment decisions. We find that trust played an important role in the Madoff case. We also find that, in face-to-face encounters with the investors, Madoff successfu...

Modelling sensory limitation: the role of tree selection, memory and information transfer in bats' roost searching strategies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ireneusz Ruczyński

Full Text Available Sensory limitation plays an important role in the evolution of animal behaviour. Animals have to find objects of interest (e.g. food, shelters, predators. When sensory abilities are strongly limited, animals adjust their behaviour to maximize chances for success. Bats are nocturnal, live in complex environments, are capable of flight and must confront numerous perceptual challenges (e.g. limited sensory range, interfering clutter echoes. This makes them an excellent model for studying the role of compensating behaviours to decrease costs of finding resources. Cavity roosting bats are especially interesting because the availability of tree cavities is often limited, and their quality is vital for bats during the breeding season. From a bat's sensory point of view, cavities are difficult to detect and finding them requires time and energy. However, tree cavities are also long lasting, allowing information transfer among conspecifics. Here, we use a simple simulation model to explore the benefits of tree selection, memory and eavesdropping (compensation behaviours to searches for tree cavities by bats with short and long perception range. Our model suggests that memory and correct discrimination of tree suitability are the basic strategies decreasing the cost of roost finding, whereas perceptual range plays a minor role in this process. Additionally, eavesdropping constitutes a buffer that reduces the costs of finding new resources (such as roosts, especially when they occur in low density. We conclude that natural selection may promote different strategies of roost finding in relation to habitat conditions and cognitive skills of animals.

Modelling sensory limitation: the role of tree selection, memory and information transfer in bats' roost searching strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruczyński, Ireneusz; Bartoń, Kamil A

2012-01-01

Sensory limitation plays an important role in the evolution of animal behaviour. Animals have to find objects of interest (e.g. food, shelters, predators). When sensory abilities are strongly limited, animals adjust their behaviour to maximize chances for success. Bats are nocturnal, live in complex environments, are capable of flight and must confront numerous perceptual challenges (e.g. limited sensory range, interfering clutter echoes). This makes them an excellent model for studying the role of compensating behaviours to decrease costs of finding resources. Cavity roosting bats are especially interesting because the availability of tree cavities is often limited, and their quality is vital for bats during the breeding season. From a bat's sensory point of view, cavities are difficult to detect and finding them requires time and energy. However, tree cavities are also long lasting, allowing information transfer among conspecifics. Here, we use a simple simulation model to explore the benefits of tree selection, memory and eavesdropping (compensation behaviours) to searches for tree cavities by bats with short and long perception range. Our model suggests that memory and correct discrimination of tree suitability are the basic strategies decreasing the cost of roost finding, whereas perceptual range plays a minor role in this process. Additionally, eavesdropping constitutes a buffer that reduces the costs of finding new resources (such as roosts), especially when they occur in low density. We conclude that natural selection may promote different strategies of roost finding in relation to habitat conditions and cognitive skills of animals.

Traveler decision making under conditions of knowledge limitations and information provision

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chorus, C.G.; Walker, J.L.; Ben-akiva, M.E.; Silva, da A.N.R.; Souza, de L.C.L.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a discrete-choice based model of traveler response to information. It contributes to existing approaches in three ways: firstly, instead of focusing on either the acquisition of information or the effect of received information on travel choices, this model describes the full

A Conjecture on the Nature of Information, with a “Simple” Example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanley N. Salthe

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Here, I take the position that information is a result of interactions between observers. In order to proceed with this, I construct a simple physical example, with forces standing in for observers. That example leads me to consider the relation between investigative work and energy constraints, which in turn leads toward a surprising suggestion concerning the most general motivation for work.

Structure and Extensions of the User Information Satisfaction Construct

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clive Wrigley

1997-05-01

Full Text Available User Information Satisfaction (UIS remains one of the most important constructs in Information Systems research. This paper investigates the application of them UIS instrument across a number of key variables including respondent characteristics. Several findings emerge from a survey of 379 IS and non-IS managers: First, the UIS factors are stable and generalizable. Second, the level of satisfaction varies quite substantially when compared to prior UIS reports, although the IS product satisfaction dominates. Third, IS managers, not surprisingly, evaluate their systems significantly higher than non-IS managers, indicating the importance of stakeholders in evaluating Information Systems success. Finally, respondents evaluate their internal systems differently than their inter-organizational systems, indicating that in the IS evaluation process system type must be considered as a moderating variable.

A severe capacity limit in the consolidation of orientation information into visual short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Mark W; Miller, James R; Liu, Taosheng

2013-04-01

Previous research has suggested that two color patches can be consolidated into visual short-term memory (VSTM) via an unlimited parallel process. Here we examined whether the same unlimited-capacity parallel process occurs for two oriented grating patches. Participants viewed two gratings that were presented briefly and masked. In blocks of trials, the gratings were presented either simultaneously or sequentially. In Experiments 1 and 2, the presentation of the stimuli was followed by a location cue that indicated the grating on which to base one's response. In Experiment 1, participants responded whether the target grating was oriented clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to vertical. In Experiment 2, participants indicated whether the target grating was oriented along one of the cardinal directions (vertical or horizontal) or was obliquely oriented. Finally, in Experiment 3, the location cue was replaced with a third grating that appeared at fixation, and participants indicated whether either of the two test gratings matched this probe. Despite the fact that these responses required fairly coarse coding of the orientation information, across all methods of responding we found superior performance for sequential over simultaneous presentations. These findings suggest that the consolidation of oriented gratings into VSTM is severely limited in capacity and differs from the consolidation of color information.

Ballistic Limit Equation for Single Wall Titanium

Science.gov (United States)

Ratliff, J. M.; Christiansen, Eric L.; Bryant, C.

2009-01-01

Hypervelocity impact tests and hydrocode simulations were used to determine the ballistic limit equation (BLE) for perforation of a titanium wall, as a function of wall thickness. Two titanium alloys were considered, and separate BLEs were derived for each. Tested wall thicknesses ranged from 0.5mm to 2.0mm. The single-wall damage equation of Cour-Palais [ref. 1] was used to analyze the Ti wall's shielding effectiveness. It was concluded that the Cour-Palais single-wall equation produced a non-conservative prediction of the ballistic limit for the Ti shield. The inaccurate prediction was not a particularly surprising result; the Cour-Palais single-wall BLE contains shield material properties as parameters, but it was formulated only from tests of different aluminum alloys. Single-wall Ti shield tests were run (thicknesses of 2.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 1.0 mm, and 0.5 mm) on Ti 15-3-3-3 material custom cut from rod stock. Hypervelocity impact (HVI) tests were used to establish the failure threshold empirically, using the additional constraint that the damage scales with impact energy, as was indicated by hydrocode simulations. The criterion for shield failure was defined as no detached spall from the shield back surface during HVI. Based on the test results, which confirmed an approximately energy-dependent shield effectiveness, the Cour-Palais equation was modified.

A Constitutive Relationship between Fatigue Limit and Microstructure in Nanostructured Bainitic Steels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inga Mueller

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The recently developed nanobainitic steels show high strength as well as high ductility. Although this combination seems to be promising for fatigue design, fatigue properties of nanostructured bainitic steels are often surprisingly low. To improve the fatigue behavior, an understanding of the correlation between the nanobainitic microstructure and the fatigue limit is fundamental. Therefore, our hypothesis to predict the fatigue limit was that the main function of the microstructure is not necessarily totally avoiding the initiation of a fatigue crack, but the microstructure has to increase the ability to decelerate or to stop a growing fatigue crack. Thus, the key to understanding the fatigue behavior of nanostructured bainite is to understand the role of the microstructural features that could act as barriers for growing fatigue cracks. To prove this hypothesis, we carried out fatigue tests, crack growth experiments, and correlated these results to the size of microstructural features gained from microstructural analysis by light optical microscope and EBSD-measurements. Finally, we were able to identify microstructural features that influence the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue limit of nanostructured bainitic steels.

Limitations of Human Visual Working Memory

OpenAIRE

Wesenick, Maria-Barbara

2004-01-01

The present empirical study investigates limitations of human visual working memory (VWM). The experiments of the present work involve the experimental paradigm of change detection using simple geometrical objects in the form of rectangles of different colour, length, and orientation. It can be shown, that a limited performance in the temporary storage of visual information has multiple sources. Limitations of VWM can be attributed to a limited capacity or a limited duration, but also to limi...

Office gossip: a surprising source of liability.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Robert E

2003-01-01

Rumors and gossip are inevitable ingredients of work life. Within limits, they may have some beneficial functions. Still, practitioners and managers must be aware of the dangers inherent in defamation of character and harassment. This article defines workplace comments and activities that should be avoided and the employer's legal liability when situations get out of hand. It also outlines the manager's responsibilities and lists privacy rights that are codified by state and federal laws.

Photon-Limited Information in High Resolution Laser Ranging

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-28

received photon ( bpp ) as a metric. This project emphasizes the use of non-brief-pulse transmit waveforms and in particular Frequency Modulated... bpp ) as a metric. This project emphasizes the use of non-brief-pulse transmit waveforms and in particular Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW...Theoretical and experimental Photon Information Efficieny (PIE) as a function of mean signal photoelectron level measured in bit per photon ( bpp

Deconstructing Civil Society Actors and Functions: On the Limitations of International Frameworks for Fragile States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Datzberger

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Over the past three decades, there has been a steady increase of funds by the international community to support civil society organizations (CSOs in fragile states. Surprisingly, this growing attention has not strengthened local civil society landscapes in a way that it would lead to processes of social transformation. On the contrary, civic freedom and space is shrinking around the globe. In analyzing prominent international aid-effectiveness frameworks and donor strategies towards civil society, this paper will put forward one central argument. The way in which civil society actors and functions are currently appropriated threatens deep-rooted social transformation thereby impeding processes of structural and political change—necessary for the transition from conflict to sustainable peace. In delineating, how actors and functional approaches informed peacebuilding and development policy and practice, their strengths and limitations will be examined. Doing so, we draw on different case studies and examples from the literature. We find that existing frameworks for fragile states operate on a presumed model of a public sphere and civil society that may or may not exist. Such an approach disregards an organic formation of a civil society landscape thereby impeding processes of structural, social, and political change in times of fragility.

Are there limits to respect for autonomy in bioethics?

Science.gov (United States)

de Roubaix, Malcolm

2008-06-01

I discuss the significance of respect for personal autonomy in bioethics with reference to its practical expression: rational informed patient choice. The question is whether, given the apparent practical limitations to this notion, bioethical autonomy should be seen as an absolute. After a historical review of informed consent and its development, I discuss the requirements for informed consent. Some inherent tensions are evaluated, as is the applicability of the notion that in order to be legitimate, autonomy should do some ethical work. Limits to the notion of informed consent are explored with reference to six examples: the right of women to reproductive autonomy; the autonomy of legally minor Jehovah's Witnesses; autonomy in cosmetic surgery; inappropriate treatment; autonomy and human medical research, and euthanasia and other end-of-life options. The discussion is within a South African framework with reference to other jurisdictions and decisions where appropriate. I conclude that whilst some unusual instances of limitation of bioethical informed consent might be ethically justifiable, the arguments presented point to the opposite: the unfounded limitation of informed consent.

How to read and write mechanical information in DNA molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Schiessel, Helmut

In this talk I will show that DNA molecules contain another layer of information on top of the classical genetic information. This different type of information is of mechanical nature and guides the folding of DNA molecules inside cells. With the help of a new Monte Carlo technique, the Mutation Monte Carlo method, we demonstrate that the two layers of information can be multiplexed (as one can have two phone conversations on the same wire). For instance, we can guide on top of genes with single base-pair precision the packaging of DNA into nucleosomes. Finally, we study the mechanical properties of DNA molecules belonging to organisms all across the tree of life. From this we learn that in multicellular organisms the stiffness of DNA around transcription start sites differs dramatically from that of unicellular life. The reason for this difference is surprising.

Probing Critical Point Energies of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: Surprising Indirect Gap of Single Layer WSe 2

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Chendong; Chen, Yuxuan; Johnson, Amber; Li, Ming-yang; Li, Lain-Jong; Mende, Patrick C.; Feenstra, Randall M.; Shih, Chih Kang

2015-01-01

By using a comprehensive form of scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we have revealed detailed quasi-particle electronic structures in transition metal dichalcogenides, including the quasi-particle gaps, critical point energy locations, and their origins in the Brillouin zones. We show that single layer WSe surprisingly has an indirect quasi-particle gap with the conduction band minimum located at the Q-point (instead of K), albeit the two states are nearly degenerate. We have further observed rich quasi-particle electronic structures of transition metal dichalcogenides as a function of atomic structures and spin-orbit couplings. Such a local probe for detailed electronic structures in conduction and valence bands will be ideal to investigate how electronic structures of transition metal dichalcogenides are influenced by variations of local environment.

Probing Critical Point Energies of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: Surprising Indirect Gap of Single Layer WSe 2

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Chendong

2015-09-21

By using a comprehensive form of scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we have revealed detailed quasi-particle electronic structures in transition metal dichalcogenides, including the quasi-particle gaps, critical point energy locations, and their origins in the Brillouin zones. We show that single layer WSe surprisingly has an indirect quasi-particle gap with the conduction band minimum located at the Q-point (instead of K), albeit the two states are nearly degenerate. We have further observed rich quasi-particle electronic structures of transition metal dichalcogenides as a function of atomic structures and spin-orbit couplings. Such a local probe for detailed electronic structures in conduction and valence bands will be ideal to investigate how electronic structures of transition metal dichalcogenides are influenced by variations of local environment.

Limited Income and Resources

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Information for those with limited income and resources (those who may qualify for or already have the Low Income Subsidy to lower their prescription drug coverage...

Detection limits for nanoparticles in solution with classical turbidity spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Le Blevennec, G.

2013-09-01

Detection of nanoparticles in solution is required to manage safety and environmental problems. Spectral transmission turbidity method has now been known for a long time. It is derived from the Mie Theory and can be applied to any number of spheres, randomly distributed and separated by large distance compared to wavelength. Here, we describe a method for determination of size, distribution and concentration of nanoparticles in solution using UV-Vis transmission measurements. The method combines Mie and Beer Lambert computation integrated in a best fit approximation. In a first step, a validation of the approach is completed on silver nanoparticles solution. Verification of results is realized with Transmission Electronic Microscopy measurements for size distribution and an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for concentration. In view of the good agreement obtained, a second step of work focuses on how to manage the concentration to be the most accurate on the size distribution. Those efficient conditions are determined by simple computation. As we are dealing with nanoparticles, one of the key points is to know what the size limits reachable are with that kind of approach based on classical electromagnetism. In taking into account the transmission spectrometer accuracy limit we determine for several types of materials, metals, dielectrics, semiconductors the particle size limit detectable by such a turbidity method. These surprising results are situated at the quantum physics frontier.

What are the ultimate limits to computational techniques: verifier theory and unverifiability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yampolskiy, Roman V

2017-01-01

Despite significant developments in proof theory, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the concept of proof verifiers. In particular, the mathematical community may be interested in studying different types of proof verifiers (people, programs, oracles, communities, superintelligences) as mathematical objects. Such an effort could reveal their properties, their powers and limitations (particularly in human mathematicians), minimum and maximum complexity, as well as self-verification and self-reference issues. We propose an initial classification system for verifiers and provide some rudimentary analysis of solved and open problems in this important domain. Our main contribution is a formal introduction of the notion of unverifiability, for which the paper could serve as a general citation in domains of theorem proving, as well as software and AI verification. (invited comment)

What are the ultimate limits to computational techniques: verifier theory and unverifiability

Science.gov (United States)

Yampolskiy, Roman V.

2017-09-01

Despite significant developments in proof theory, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the concept of proof verifiers. In particular, the mathematical community may be interested in studying different types of proof verifiers (people, programs, oracles, communities, superintelligences) as mathematical objects. Such an effort could reveal their properties, their powers and limitations (particularly in human mathematicians), minimum and maximum complexity, as well as self-verification and self-reference issues. We propose an initial classification system for verifiers and provide some rudimentary analysis of solved and open problems in this important domain. Our main contribution is a formal introduction of the notion of unverifiability, for which the paper could serve as a general citation in domains of theorem proving, as well as software and AI verification.

Using information and communication technology (ICT) to the maximum: learning and teaching biology with limited digital technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Van Rooy, Wilhelmina S.

2012-04-01

Background: The ubiquity, availability and exponential growth of digital information and communication technology (ICT) creates unique opportunities for learning and teaching in the senior secondary school biology curriculum. Digital technologies make it possible for emerging disciplinary knowledge and understanding of biological processes previously too small, large, slow or fast to be taught. Indeed, much of bioscience can now be effectively taught via digital technology, since its representational and symbolic forms are in digital formats. Purpose: This paper is part of a larger Australian study dealing with the technologies and modalities of learning biology in secondary schools. Sample: The classroom practices of three experienced biology teachers, working in a range of NSW secondary schools, are compared and contrasted to illustrate how the challenges of limited technologies are confronted to seamlessly integrate what is available into a number of molecular genetics lessons to enhance student learning. Design and method: The data are qualitative and the analysis is based on video classroom observations and semi-structured teacher interviews. Results: Findings indicate that if professional development opportunities are provided where the pedagogy of learning and teaching of both the relevant biology and its digital representations are available, then teachers see the immediate pedagogic benefit to student learning. In particular, teachers use ICT for challenging genetic concepts despite limited computer hardware and software availability. Conclusion: Experienced teachers incorporate ICT, however limited, in order to improve the quality of student learning.

A conceptual geochemical model of the geothermal system at Surprise Valley, CA

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Andrew P. G.; Ferguson, Colin; Cantwell, Carolyn A.; Zierenberg, Robert A.; McClain, James; Spycher, Nicolas; Dobson, Patrick

2018-03-01

Characterizing the geothermal system at Surprise Valley (SV), northeastern California, is important for determining the sustainability of the energy resource, and mitigating hazards associated with hydrothermal eruptions that last occurred in 1951. Previous geochemical studies of the area attempted to reconcile different hot spring compositions on the western and eastern sides of the valley using scenarios of dilution, equilibration at low temperatures, surface evaporation, and differences in rock type along flow paths. These models were primarily supported using classical geothermometry methods, and generally assumed that fluids in the Lake City mud volcano area on the western side of the valley best reflect the composition of a deep geothermal fluid. In this contribution, we address controls on hot spring compositions using a different suite of geochemical tools, including optimized multicomponent geochemistry (GeoT) models, hot spring fluid major and trace element measurements, mineralogical observations, and stable isotope measurements of hot spring fluids and precipitated carbonates. We synthesize the results into a conceptual geochemical model of the Surprise Valley geothermal system, and show that high-temperature (quartz, Na/K, Na/K/Ca) classical geothermometers fail to predict maximum subsurface temperatures because fluids re-equilibrated at progressively lower temperatures during outflow, including in the Lake City area. We propose a model where hot spring fluids originate as a mixture between a deep thermal brine and modern meteoric fluids, with a seasonally variable mixing ratio. The deep brine has deuterium values at least 3 to 4‰ lighter than any known groundwater or high-elevation snow previously measured in and adjacent to SV, suggesting it was recharged during the Pleistocene when meteoric fluids had lower deuterium values. The deuterium values and compositional characteristics of the deep brine have only been identified in thermal springs and

Temporal maps and informativeness in associative learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Balsam, Peter D; Gallistel, C Randy

2009-02-01

Neurobiological research on learning assumes that temporal contiguity is essential for association formation, but what constitutes temporal contiguity has never been specified. We review evidence that learning depends, instead, on learning a temporal map. Temporal relations between events are encoded even from single experiences. The speed with which an anticipatory response emerges is proportional to the informativeness of the encoded relation between a predictive stimulus or event and the event it predicts. This principle yields a quantitative account of the heretofore undefined, but theoretically crucial, concept of temporal pairing, an account in quantitative accord with surprising experimental findings. The same principle explains the basic results in the cue competition literature, which motivated the Rescorla-Wagner model and most other contemporary models of associative learning. The essential feature of a memory mechanism in this account is its ability to encode quantitative information.

Curiosity and reward: Valence predicts choice and information prediction errors enhance learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Marvin, Caroline B; Shohamy, Daphna

2016-03-01

Curiosity drives many of our daily pursuits and interactions; yet, we know surprisingly little about how it works. Here, we harness an idea implied in many conceptualizations of curiosity: that information has value in and of itself. Reframing curiosity as the motivation to obtain reward-where the reward is information-allows one to leverage major advances in theoretical and computational mechanisms of reward-motivated learning. We provide new evidence supporting 2 predictions that emerge from this framework. First, we find an asymmetric effect of positive versus negative information, with positive information enhancing both curiosity and long-term memory for information. Second, we find that it is not the absolute value of information that drives learning but, rather, the gap between the reward expected and reward received, an "information prediction error." These results support the idea that information functions as a reward, much like money or food, guiding choices and driving learning in systematic ways. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Resilience to Surprises through Communicative Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Evan. Goldstein

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Resilience thinkers share an interest in collaborative deliberation with communicative planners, who aim to accommodate different forms of knowledge and styles of reasoning to promote social learning and yield creative and equitable agreements. Members of both fields attended a symposium at Virginia Tech in late 2008, where communicative planners considered how social-ecological resilience informed new possibilities for planning practice beyond disaster mitigation and response. In turn, communicative planners offered resilience scholars ideas about how collaboration could accomplish more than enhance rational decision making of the commons. Through these exchanges, the symposium fostered ideas about collaborative governance and the critical role of expertise in fostering communicative resilience.

Finite element limit analysis based plastic limit pressure solutions for cracked pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shim, Do Jun; Huh, Nam Su; Kim, Yun Jae; Kim, Young Jin

2002-01-01

Based on detailed FE limit analyses, the present paper provides tractable approximations for plastic limit pressure solutions for axial through-wall cracked pipe; axial (inner) surface cracked pipe; circumferential through-wall cracked pipe; and circumferential (inner) surface cracked pipe. Comparisons with existing analytical and empirical solutions show a large discrepancy in circumferential short through-wall cracks and in surface cracks (both axial and circumferential). Being based on detailed 3-D FE limit analysis, the present solutions are believed to be the most accurate, and thus to be valuable information not only for plastic collapse analysis of pressurised piping but also for estimating non-linear fracture mechanics parameters based on the reference stress approach

Cerebral metastasis masquerading as cerebritis: A case of misguiding history and radiological surprise!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashish Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Cerebral metastases usually have a characteristic radiological appearance. They can be differentiated rather easily from any infective etiology. Similarly, positive medical history also guides the neurosurgeon towards the possible diagnosis and adds to the diagnostic armamentarium. However, occasionally, similarities on imaging may be encountered where even history could lead us in the wrong direction and tends to bias the clinician. We report a case of a 40-year-old female with a history of mastoidectomy for otitis media presenting to us with a space occupying lesion in the right parietal region, which was thought pre-operatively as an abscess along with the cerebritis. Surprisingly, the histopathology proved it to be a metastatic adenocarcinoma. Hence, a ring enhancing lesion may be a high grade neoplasm/metastasis/abscess, significant gyral enhancement; a feature of cerebritis is not linked with a neoplastic etiology more often. This may lead to delayed diagnosis, incorrect prognostication and treatment in patients having coincidental suggestive history of infection. We review the literature and highlight the key points helping to differentiate an infective from a neoplastic pathology which may look similar at times.

The Limits of Exercise Physiology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gabriel, Brendan M; Zierath, Juleen R

2017-01-01

Many of the established positive health benefits of exercise have been documented by historical discoveries in the field of exercise physiology. These investigations often assess limits: the limits of performance, or the limits of exercise-induced health benefits. Indeed, several key findings have...... been informed by studying highly trained athletes, in addition to healthy or unhealthy people. Recent progress has been made in regard to skeletal muscle metabolism and personalized exercise regimes. In this perspective, we review some of the historical milestones of exercise physiology, discuss how...

Limits on reliable information flows through stochastic populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Boczkowski, Lucas; Natale, Emanuele; Feinerman, Ofer; Korman, Amos

2018-06-06

Biological systems can share and collectively process information to yield emergent effects, despite inherent noise in communication. While man-made systems often employ intricate structural solutions to overcome noise, the structure of many biological systems is more amorphous. It is not well understood how communication noise may affect the computational repertoire of such groups. To approach this question we consider the basic collective task of rumor spreading, in which information from few knowledgeable sources must reliably flow into the rest of the population. We study the effect of communication noise on the ability of groups that lack stable structures to efficiently solve this task. We present an impossibility result which strongly restricts reliable rumor spreading in such groups. Namely, we prove that, in the presence of even moderate levels of noise that affect all facets of the communication, no scheme can significantly outperform the trivial one in which agents have to wait until directly interacting with the sources-a process which requires linear time in the population size. Our results imply that in order to achieve efficient rumor spread a system must exhibit either some degree of structural stability or, alternatively, some facet of the communication which is immune to noise. We then corroborate this claim by providing new analyses of experimental data regarding recruitment in Cataglyphis niger desert ants. Finally, in light of our theoretical results, we discuss strategies to overcome noise in other biological systems.

Defining the limits of homology modeling in information-driven protein docking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garcia Lopes Maia Rodrigues, João; Melquiond, A S J; Karaca, E; Trellet, M; van Dijk, M; van Zundert, G C P; Schmitz, C; de Vries, S J; Bordogna, A; Bonati, L; Kastritis, P L; Bonvin, Alexandre M J J; Garcia Lopes Maia Rodrigues, João

2013-01-01

Information-driven docking is currently one of the most successful approaches to obtain structural models of protein interactions as demonstrated in the latest round of CAPRI. While various experimental and computational techniques can be used to retrieve information about the binding mode, the

Cognitive reserve in young and old healthy subjects: differences and similarities in a testing-the-limits paradigm with DSST.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josef Zihl

Full Text Available Cognitive reserve (CR is understood as capacity to cope with challenging conditions, e.g. after brain injury or in states of brain dysfunction, or age-related cognitive decline. CR in elderly subjects has attracted much research interest, but differences between healthy older and younger subjects have not been addressed in detail hitherto. Usually, one-time standard individual assessments are used to characterise CR. Here we observe CR as individual improvement in cognitive performance (gain in a complex testing-the-limits paradigm, the digit symbol substitution test (DSST, with 10 repeated measurements, in 140 younger (20-30 yrs and 140 older (57-74 yrs healthy subjects. In addition, we assessed attention, memory and executive function, and mood and personality traits as potential influence factors for CR. We found that both, younger and older subjects showed significant gains, which were significantly correlated with speed of information processing, verbal short-term memory and visual problem solving in the older group only. Gender, personality traits and mood did not significantly influence gains in either group. Surprisingly about half of the older subjects performed at the level of the younger group, suggesting that interindividual differences in CR are possibly age-independent. We propose that these findings may also be understood as indication that one-time standard individual measurements do not allow assessment of CR, and that the use of DSST in a testing-the-limits paradigm is a valuable assessment method for CR in young and elderly subjects.

Information-entropic stability bound for compact objects: Application to Q-balls and the Chandrasekhar limit of polytropes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gleiser, Marcelo, E-mail: mgleiser@dartmouth.edu; Sowinski, Damian, E-mail: Damian.Sowinski.GR@dartmouth.edu

2013-11-25

Spatially-bound objects across diverse length and energy scales are characterized by a binding energy. We propose that their spatial structure is mathematically encoded as information in their momentum modes and described by a measure known as configurational entropy (CE) [1]. Investigating solitonic Q-balls and stars with a polytropic equation of state P=Kρ{sup γ}, we show that objects with large binding energy have low CE, whereas those at the brink of instability (zero binding energy) have near maximal CE. In particular, we use the CE to find the critical charge allowing for classically stable Q-balls and the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarfs (γ=4/3) with an accuracy of a few percent.

Virtual harm reduction efforts for Internet gambling: effects of deposit limits on actual Internet sports gambling behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Broda, Anja; LaPlante, Debi A; Nelson, Sarah E; LaBrie, Richard A; Bosworth, Leslie B; Shaffer, Howard J

2008-08-06

In an attempt to reduce harm related to gambling problems, an Internet sports betting service provider, bwin Interactive Entertainment, AG (bwin), imposes limits on the amount of money that users can deposit into their online gambling accounts. We examined the effects of these limits on gambling behavior. We compared (1) gambling behavior of those who exceeded deposit limits with those who did not, and (2) gambling behavior before and after exceeding deposit limits. We analyzed 2 years of the actual sports gambling behavior records of 47000 subscribers to bwin. Only 160 (0.3%) exceeded deposit limits at least once. Gamblers who exceeded deposit limits evidenced higher average number of bets per active betting day and higher average size of bets than gamblers who did not exceed deposit limits. Comparing the gambling behavior before and after exceeding deposit limits revealed slightly more unfavorable gambling behavior after exceeding deposit limits. Our findings indicate that Internet gamblers who exceed deposit limits constitute a group of bettors willing to take high risks; yet, surprisingly, they appear to do this rather successfully because their percentage of losses is lower than others in the sample. However, some of these gamblers exhibit some poor outcomes. Deposit limits might be necessary harm reduction measures to prevent the loss of extremely large amounts of money and cases of bankruptcy. We discuss how these limits might be modified based on our findings.

Virtual harm reduction efforts for Internet gambling: effects of deposit limits on actual Internet sports gambling behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Sarah E

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In an attempt to reduce harm related to gambling problems, an Internet sports betting service provider, bwin Interactive Entertainment, AG (bwin, imposes limits on the amount of money that users can deposit into their online gambling accounts. We examined the effects of these limits on gambling behavior. Methods We compared (1 gambling behavior of those who exceeded deposit limits with those who did not, and (2 gambling behavior before and after exceeding deposit limits. We analyzed 2 years of the actual sports gambling behavior records of 47000 subscribers to bwin. Results Only 160 (0.3% exceeded deposit limits at least once. Gamblers who exceeded deposit limits evidenced higher average number of bets per active betting day and higher average size of bets than gamblers who did not exceed deposit limits. Comparing the gambling behavior before and after exceeding deposit limits revealed slightly more unfavorable gambling behavior after exceeding deposit limits. Conclusion Our findings indicate that Internet gamblers who exceed deposit limits constitute a group of bettors willing to take high risks; yet, surprisingly, they appear to do this rather successfully because their percentage of losses is lower than others in the sample. However, some of these gamblers exhibit some poor outcomes. Deposit limits might be necessary harm reduction measures to prevent the loss of extremely large amounts of money and cases of bankruptcy. We discuss how these limits might be modified based on our findings.

Criteria for selecting measures of plant information with application to nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiguchi, T.; Sheridan, T.B.

1979-01-01

Criteria for selecting from alternative measures of plant information have been derived by information theory and the expected-value model of decision theory. Two criteria derived by information theory are minimum ''uncertainty'' of judgement of plant states, and maximum ''surprise'' of human operators. Two criteria derived by decision theory are maximum expected reward to operators, and maximum ratio of the maximum and next-to-maximum expected rewards. These four criteria have been evaluated experimentally in application to human monitoring problems of three ''plants'': an abstract laboratory exercise, a small research reactor, and a conventional nuclear power plant (high-fidelity training simulator). The results show that the criteria derived by decision theory are superior to the others from the viewpoint of correct rate of human subjects' judgement

Information-Limited Parallel Processing in Difficult Heterogeneous Covert Visual Search

Science.gov (United States)

Dosher, Barbara Anne; Han, Songmei; Lu, Zhong-Lin

2010-01-01

Difficult visual search is often attributed to time-limited serial attention operations, although neural computations in the early visual system are parallel. Using probabilistic search models (Dosher, Han, & Lu, 2004) and a full time-course analysis of the dynamics of covert visual search, we distinguish unlimited capacity parallel versus serial…

Physical activity limits the effects of age and Alzheimer's disease on postural control.

Science.gov (United States)

Debove, Lola; Bru, Noelle; Couderc, Martine; Noé, Frederic; Paillard, Thierry

2017-09-01

The aim was to study the possible influence of physical activity on the postural performance of subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The postural performance (i.e. surface area of the center of foot pressure displacement) of 3 groups was compared: Alzheimer active group (AA), Alzheimer non-active group (ANA) and healthy non-active group (HNA). The AA group's postural performance was superior to that of the ANA and HNA groups. AD disturbed postural performance but participation in regular physical activity made it possible to limit the disturbing effects of AD to a surprising extent, since the postural performance of active AD subjects was also superior to that of healthy subjects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Informing social work practice through research with parent caregivers of a child with a life-limiting illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Cadell, Susan; Kennedy, Kimberly; Hemsworth, David

2012-01-01

Pediatric palliative care is an evolving field of practice in social work. As such, research plays a critical role in informing best social work practices in this area. For parents, caring for a child with a life-limiting illness (LLI) is a stressful experience that compounds the usual challenges of parenting. The negative aspects of caring for a child with an LLI are well documented. In the face of such adversity, parent caregivers can also experience positive changes caring for children with even the most serious conditions. This article presents results from a research study of posttraumatic growth in parents who are caring for a child with a LLI. Using mixed methods, two overarching themes were prominent in both the quantitative and qualitative data. The first describes stress related to financial burden associated with caregiving. The second theme concerns the posttraumatic growth experienced by the parent caregivers. The quantitative and qualitative data have been woven together to underscore issues and parental perspectives related to these two themes. This provides a unique and important platform for parent caregivers' experiences that can inform the work of social workers and other pediatric palliative care professionals.

The Informal Sector, Third Version

OpenAIRE

Aureo de Paula; Jose A. Scheinkman

2007-01-01

This paper investigates the determinants of informal economic activity. We present two equilibrium models of informality and test their implications using a survey of 48,000+ small firms in Brazil. We define informality as tax avoidance; firms in the informal sector avoid tax payments but suffer other limitations. In the first model there is a single industry and informal firms face a higher cost of capital and a limitation on size. As a result informal firms are smaller and have a lower capi...

The Informal Sector, Second Version

OpenAIRE

Aureo de Paula; Jose A. Scheinkman

2007-01-01

This paper investigates the determinants of informal economic activity. We present two equilibrium models of informality and test their implications using a survey of 48,000+ small firms in Brazil. We define informality as tax avoidance; firms in the informal sector avoid tax payments but suffer other limitations. In the first model there is a single industry and informal firms face a higher cost of capital and a limitation on size. As a result informal firms are smaller and have a lower capi...

INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Dynamic Evolution with Limited Learning Information on a Small-World Network

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Lin-Rong

2010-09-01

This paper investigates the dynamic evolution with limited learning information on a small-world network. In the system, the information among the interaction players is not very lucid, and the players are not allowed to inspect the profit collected by its neighbors, thus the focal player cannot choose randomly a neighbor or the wealthiest one and compare its payoff to copy its strategy. It is assumed that the information acquainted by the player declines in the form of the exponential with the geographical distance between the players, and a parameter V is introduced to denote the inspect-ability about the players. It is found that under the hospitable conditions, cooperation increases with the randomness and is inhibited by the large connectivity for the prisoner's dilemma; however, cooperation is maximal at the moderate rewiring probability and is chaos with the connectivity for the snowdrift game. For the two games, the acuminous sight is in favor of the cooperation under the hospitable conditions; whereas, the myopic eyes are advantageous to cooperation and cooperation increases with the randomness under the hostile condition.

Age differences in attention toward decision-relevant information: education matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Cai; Isaacowitz, Derek

2011-01-01

Previous studies suggested that older adults are more likely to engage in heuristic decision-making than young adults. This study used eye tracking technique to examine young adults' and highly educated older adults' attention toward two types of decision-relevant information: heuristic cue vs. factual cues. Surprisingly, highly educated older adults showed the reversed age pattern-they looked more toward factual cues than did young adults. This age difference disappeared after controlling for educational level. Additionally, education correlated with attentional pattern to decision-relevant information. We interpret this finding as an indication of the power of education: education may modify what are thought to be "typical" age differences in decision-making, and education may influence young and older people's decision-making via different paths.

The mass limit of white dwarfs with strong magnetic fields in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen De-Hua; Liu He-Lei; Zhang Xiang-Dong

2014-01-01

Recently, U. Das and B. Mukhopadhyay proposed that the Chandrasekhar limit of a white dwarf could reach a new high level (2.58M⊙) if a superstrong magnetic field were considered (Das U and Mukhopadhyay B 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 071102), where the structure of the strongly magnetized white dwarf (SMWD) is calculated in the framework of Newtonian theory (NT). As the SMWD has a far smaller size, in contrast with the usual expectation, we found that there is an obvious general relativistic effect (GRE) in the SMWD. For example, for the SMWD with a one Landau level system, the super-Chandrasekhar mass limit in general relativity (GR) is approximately 16.5% lower than that in NT. More interestingly, the maximal mass of the white dwarf will be first increased when the magnetic field strength keeps on increasing and reaches the maximal value M = 2.48M⊙ with B D = 391.5. Then if we further increase the magnetic fields, surprisingly, the maximal mass of the white dwarf will decrease when one takes the GRE into account. (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

Talking Points: Women's Information Needs for Informed Decision-Making About Noninvasive Prenatal Testing for Down Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Dane, Aimée C; Peterson, Madelyn; Miller, Yvette D

2018-03-17

Adequate knowledge is a vital component of informed decision-making; however, we do not know what information women value when making decisions about noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT). The current study aimed to identify women's information needs for decision-making about NIPT as a first-tier, non-contingent test with out-of-pocket expense and, in turn, inform best practice by specifying the information that should be prioritized when providing pre-test counseling to women in a time-limited scenario or space-limited decision support tool. We asked women (N = 242) in Australia to indicate the importance of knowing 24 information items when making a decision about NIPT and to choose two information items they would most value. Our findings suggest that women value having complete information when making decisions about NIPT. Information about the accuracy of NIPT and the pros and cons of NIPT compared to other screening and invasive tests were perceived to be most important. The findings of this study can be used to maximize the usefulness of time-limited discussions or space-limited decision support tools, but should not be routinely relied upon as a replacement for provision of full and tailored information when feasible.

When Information Improves Information Security

Science.gov (United States)

Grossklags, Jens; Johnson, Benjamin; Christin, Nicolas

This paper presents a formal, quantitative evaluation of the impact of bounded-rational security decision-making subject to limited information and externalities. We investigate a mixed economy of an individual rational expert and several naïve near-sighted agents. We further model three canonical types of negative externalities (weakest-link, best shot and total effort), and study the impact of two information regimes on the threat level agents are facing.

‘Surprise’: Outbreak of Campylobacter infection associated with chicken liver pâté at a surprise birthday party, Adelaide, Australia, 2012

OpenAIRE

Emma Denehy; Amy Parry; Emily Fearnley

2012-01-01

Objective: In July 2012, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection was investigated by the South Australian Communicable Disease Control Branch and Food Policy and Programs Branch. The initial notification identified illness at a surprise birthday party held at a restaurant on 14 July 2012. The objective of the investigation was to identify the potential source of infection and institute appropriate intervention strategies to prevent further illness.Methods: A guest list was obtained and a retro...

Treating the Information and Communication Technologies in the Offshore Outsourcing Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perunovic, Zoran; Christoffersen, Mads

2006-01-01

A qualitative research, based on 12 in-depth interviews within 12 companies has been conducted in order to explore information and communication technologies’ (ICT) utilisation in outsourcing. Three groups of companies regarding the consideration of ICT in the pre-transition phase, and ICT......’s contribution to achieving competitive advantages during the post-transition phase of the outsourcing process have been identified: techno-nerds, anachronists, and indifferents. We have profiled those companies regarding the barriers, enablers, expectation and surprises they have encountered while utilising ICT...... in outsourcing....

Achieving Child Friendly Justice through Child Friendly Methods: Let’s Start with the Right to Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen Stalford

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Making the justice process ‘child friendly’ is a key priority for the children’s rights community. An abundance of commentary has been produced by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to highlight how justice proceedings can be made more accessible for children and, in 2010, the Council of Europe issued its comprehensive ‘Guidelines on Child Friendly Justice’. Despite these efforts, children remain ill-informed, not just about the nature of justice proceedings in which they may be implicated, but about the very existence and scope of their rights and how to enforce them. Despite unequivocal acknowledgement that the availability and accessibility of information is the crucial starting point in a children’s rights-based approach to dispensing justice, there has been surprisingly little attempt to scrutinise the availability, quality and accessibility of information about laws and policies affecting children. This article takes a closer look at what, exactly, ‘child friendly’ information means in practice. In doing so, we argue that attempts to develop child friendly information have yet to progress beyond adult-driven, largely tokenistic and superficial re-branding exercises. As such, efforts to develop child friendly resources are often of limited value in empowering young people to develop their legal literacy and realise their rights in practice. We reflect on our attempt to develop an explicitly children’s rights-based approach to the development of child friendly resources with a view to enhancing their purchase. This took place in the context of a pilot project, commissioned by the Council of Europe in June 2014, to create a child friendly version of their Child Friendly Justice Guidelines.

LQG Control of Networked Control Systems with Limited Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qing-Quan Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG control problems for multi-input multioutput (MIMO, linear time-invariant (LTI systems, where the sensors and controllers are geographically separated and connected via a digital communication channel with limited data rates. An observer-based, quantized state feedback control scheme is employed in order to achieve the minimum data rate for mean square stabilization of the unstable plant. An explicit expression is presented to state the tradeoff between the LQ cost and the data rate. Sufficient conditions on the data rate for mean square stabilization are derived. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Surprise: Dwarf Galaxy Harbors Supermassive Black Hole

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

The surprising discovery of a supermassive black hole in a small nearby galaxy has given astronomers a tantalizing look at how black holes and galaxies may have grown in the early history of the Universe. Finding a black hole a million times more massive than the Sun in a star-forming dwarf galaxy is a strong indication that supermassive black holes formed before the buildup of galaxies, the astronomers said. The galaxy, called Henize 2-10, 30 million light-years from Earth, has been studied for years, and is forming stars very rapidly. Irregularly shaped and about 3,000 light-years across (compared to 100,000 for our own Milky Way), it resembles what scientists think were some of the first galaxies to form in the early Universe. "This galaxy gives us important clues about a very early phase of galaxy evolution that has not been observed before," said Amy Reines, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia. Supermassive black holes lie at the cores of all "full-sized" galaxies. In the nearby Universe, there is a direct relationship -- a constant ratio -- between the masses of the black holes and that of the central "bulges" of the galaxies, leading them to conclude that the black holes and bulges affected each others' growth. Two years ago, an international team of astronomers found that black holes in young galaxies in the early Universe were more massive than this ratio would indicate. This, they said, was strong evidence that black holes developed before their surrounding galaxies. "Now, we have found a dwarf galaxy with no bulge at all, yet it has a supermassive black hole. This greatly strengthens the case for the black holes developing first, before the galaxy's bulge is formed," Reines said. Reines, along with Gregory Sivakoff and Kelsey Johnson of the University of Virginia and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and Crystal Brogan of the NRAO, observed Henize 2-10 with the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope and

Inter-Firm Information Sharing in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: a call for timely but limited access to customer information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Busing

2001-11-01

Full Text Available Current trends in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP suggest that supply chain management and tight control over scheduling jobs within the supply chain are key tactical planning issues. Modern ERP software packages, in conjunction with the World Wide Web, allow for automated exchange of information within a company and also between two or more companies (i.e., conveyance of customer information to suppliers of parts and components for the purposes of effective planning and control. While ease of information exchange between a customer and supplier is increasingly critical to the success of modern-day planning and control efforts, the issue of information security is also a very real concern. Suppliers can benefit from gaining access to a customer's dispatch list and material requirements plan (MRP in order to determine real-time priority of jobs in queue at various work centers within their own organization. Other customer information, however, should remain secure and unavailable to supplier firms for competitive reasons such as threat of forward integration. This paper presents a previously tested priority-sequencing rule that explicitly considers downstream shop conditions in determining which job to run next The rule proves to perform well on mean flow time and lateness as well as on variability of these measures. The rule is extended here to incorporate the case where a downstream work center is outside official corporate boundaries. With the call for free exchange of information comes the threat of other, perhaps proprietary, information being accessed by vendors or others outside the official corporate boundaries. The paper will propose information that should be freely exchanged between customers and suppliers and information that should remain secure. Finally, practical measures to manage access to web-enabled ERP information will be proposed.

Determination and Interpretation of Characteristic Limits for Radioactivity Measurements: Decision Threshhold, Detection Limit and Limits of the Confidence Interval

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Since 2004, the environment programme of the IAEA has included activities aimed at developing a set of procedures for analytical measurements of radionuclides in food and the environment. Reliable, comparable and fit for purpose results are essential for any analytical measurement. Guidelines and national and international standards for laboratory practices to fulfil quality assurance requirements are extremely important when performing such measurements. The guidelines and standards should be comprehensive, clearly formulated and readily available to both the analyst and the customer. ISO 11929:2010 is the international standard on the determination of the characteristic limits (decision threshold, detection limit and limits of the confidence interval) for measuring ionizing radiation. For nuclear analytical laboratories involved in the measurement of radioactivity in food and the environment, robust determination of the characteristic limits of radioanalytical techniques is essential with regard to national and international regulations on permitted levels of radioactivity. However, characteristic limits defined in ISO 11929:2010 are complex, and the correct application of the standard in laboratories requires a full understanding of various concepts. This publication provides additional information to Member States in the understanding of the terminology, definitions and concepts in ISO 11929:2010, thus facilitating its implementation in Member State laboratories.

Nuclear Structure at the Limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazarewicz, W.

1998-01-01

One of the frontiers of todays nuclear science is the journey to the limits of atomic charge and nuclear mass, of neutron-to-proton ratio, and of angular momentum. The tour to the limits is not only a quest for new, exciting phenomena, but the new data are expected, as well, to bring qualitatively new information about the fundamental properties of the nucleonic many-body system, the nature of the nuclear interaction, and nucleonic correlations at various energy-distance scales. In this series of lectures, current developments in nuclear structure at the limits are discussed from a theoretical perspective, mainly concentrating on medium-mass and heavy nuclei

Limits to the Fraction of High-energy Photon Emitting Gamma-Ray Bursts

Science.gov (United States)

Akerlof, Carl W.; Zheng, WeiKang

2013-02-01

After almost four years of operation, the two instruments on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have shown that the number of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with high-energy photon emission above 100 MeV cannot exceed roughly 9% of the total number of all such events, at least at the present detection limits. In a recent paper, we found that GRBs with photons detected in the Large Area Telescope have a surprisingly broad distribution with respect to the observed event photon number. Extrapolation of our empirical fit to numbers of photons below our previous detection limit suggests that the overall rate of such low flux events could be estimated by standard image co-adding techniques. In this case, we have taken advantage of the excellent angular resolution of the Swift mission to provide accurate reference points for 79 GRB events which have eluded any previous correlations with high-energy photons. We find a small but significant signal in the co-added field. Guided by the extrapolated power-law fit previously obtained for the number distribution of GRBs with higher fluxes, the data suggest that only a small fraction of GRBs are sources of high-energy photons.

LIMITS TO THE FRACTION OF HIGH-ENERGY PHOTON EMITTING GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akerlof, Carl W.; Zheng, WeiKang

2013-01-01

After almost four years of operation, the two instruments on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have shown that the number of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with high-energy photon emission above 100 MeV cannot exceed roughly 9% of the total number of all such events, at least at the present detection limits. In a recent paper, we found that GRBs with photons detected in the Large Area Telescope have a surprisingly broad distribution with respect to the observed event photon number. Extrapolation of our empirical fit to numbers of photons below our previous detection limit suggests that the overall rate of such low flux events could be estimated by standard image co-adding techniques. In this case, we have taken advantage of the excellent angular resolution of the Swift mission to provide accurate reference points for 79 GRB events which have eluded any previous correlations with high-energy photons. We find a small but significant signal in the co-added field. Guided by the extrapolated power-law fit previously obtained for the number distribution of GRBs with higher fluxes, the data suggest that only a small fraction of GRBs are sources of high-energy photons.

Limitations in dual-task performance

OpenAIRE

Pannebakker, Merel Mathilde

2009-01-01

In this thesis, the effect of information-processing overload on working-memory dependent information processing was examined using dual-task paradigms. The experiments described strengthen the importance of a functional explanation for dual-task limitations. First, it showed evidence for a unified coding medium (as put forward in the theory of event coding; Hommel, Müsseler, Aschersleben, & Prinz, 2001) in which features, operations and responses are available and can influence each other. A...

The capacity to transmit classical information via black holes

Science.gov (United States)

Adami, Christoph; Ver Steeg, Greg

2013-03-01

One of the most vexing problems in theoretical physics is the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity. According to an argument originally by Hawking, a black hole must destroy any information that is incident on it because the only radiation that a black hole releases during its evaporation (the Hawking radiation) is precisely thermal. Surprisingly, this claim has never been investigated within a quantum information-theoretic framework, where the black hole is treated as a quantum channel to transmit classical information. We calculate the capacity of the quantum black hole channel to transmit classical information (the Holevo capacity) within curved-space quantum field theory, and show that the information carried by late-time particles sent into a black hole can be recovered with arbitrary accuracy, from the signature left behind by the stimulated emission of radiation that must accompany any absorption event. We also show that this stimulated emission turns the black hole into an almost-optimal quantum cloning machine, where the violation of the no-cloning theorem is ensured by the noise provided by the Hawking radiation. Thus, rather than threatening the consistency of theoretical physics, Hawking radiation manages to save it instead.

[Fall from height--surprising autopsy diagnosis in primarily unclear initial situations].

Science.gov (United States)

Schyma, Christian; Doberentz, Elke; Madea, Burkhard

2012-01-01

External post-mortem examination and first police assessments are often not consistent with subsequent autopsy results. This is all the more surprising the more serious the injuries found at autopsy are. Such discrepancies result especially from an absence of gross external injuries, as demonstrated by four examples. A 42-year-old, externally uninjured male was found at night time in a helpless condition in the street and died in spite of resuscitation. Autopsy showed severe polytrauma with traumatic brain injury and lesions of the thoracic and abdominal organs. A jump from the third floor was identified as the cause. At dawn, a twenty-year-old male was found dead on the grounds of the adjacent house. Because of the blood-covered head the police assumed a traumatic head injury by strike impact. The external examination revealed only abrasions on the forehead and to a minor extent on the back. At autopsy a midfacial fracture, a trauma of the thorax and abdomen and fractures of the spine and pelvis were detected. Afterwards investigations showed that the man, intoxicated by alcohol, had fallen from the flat roof of a multistoried house. A 77-year-old man was found unconscious on his terrace at day time; a cerebral seizure was assumed. He was transferred to emergency care where he died. The corpse was externally inconspicuous. Autopsy revealed serious traumatic injuries of the brain, thorax, abdomen and pelvis, which could be explained by a fall from the balcony. A 47-year-old homeless person without any external injuries was found dead in a barn. An alcohol intoxication was assumed. At autopsy severe injuries of the brain and cervical spine were found which were the result of a fall from a height of 5 m. On the basis of an external post-mortem examination alone gross blunt force trauma cannot be reliably excluded.

Embracing the quantum limit in silicon computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, John J L; McCamey, Dane R; Eriksson, Mark A; Lyon, Stephen A

2011-11-16

Quantum computers hold the promise of massive performance enhancements across a range of applications, from cryptography and databases to revolutionary scientific simulation tools. Such computers would make use of the same quantum mechanical phenomena that pose limitations on the continued shrinking of conventional information processing devices. Many of the key requirements for quantum computing differ markedly from those of conventional computers. However, silicon, which plays a central part in conventional information processing, has many properties that make it a superb platform around which to build a quantum computer. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

The genome of Pelobacter carbinolicus reveals surprising metabolic capabilities and physiological features

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aklujkar, Muktak [University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Haveman, Shelley [University of Massachusetts, Amherst; DiDonatoJr, Raymond [University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Chertkov, Olga [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Han, Cliff [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Land, Miriam L [ORNL; Brown, Peter [University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Lovley, Derek [University of Massachusetts, Amherst

2012-01-01

Background: The bacterium Pelobacter carbinolicus is able to grow by fermentation, syntrophic hydrogen/formate transfer, or electron transfer to sulfur from short-chain alcohols, hydrogen or formate; it does not oxidize acetate and is not known to ferment any sugars or grow autotrophically. The genome of P. carbinolicus was sequenced in order to understand its metabolic capabilities and physiological features in comparison with its relatives, acetate-oxidizing Geobacter species. Results: Pathways were predicted for catabolism of known substrates: 2,3-butanediol, acetoin, glycerol, 1,2-ethanediol, ethanolamine, choline and ethanol. Multiple isozymes of 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase, ATP synthase and [FeFe]-hydrogenase were differentiated and assigned roles according to their structural properties and genomic contexts. The absence of asparagine synthetase and the presence of a mutant tRNA for asparagine encoded among RNA-active enzymes suggest that P. carbinolicus may make asparaginyl-tRNA in a novel way. Catabolic glutamate dehydrogenases were discovered, implying that the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle can function catabolically. A phosphotransferase system for uptake of sugars was discovered, along with enzymes that function in 2,3-butanediol production. Pyruvate: ferredoxin/flavodoxin oxidoreductase was identified as a potential bottleneck in both the supply of oxaloacetate for oxidation of acetate by the TCA cycle and the connection of glycolysis to production of ethanol. The P. carbinolicus genome was found to encode autotransporters and various appendages, including three proteins with similarity to the geopilin of electroconductive nanowires. Conclusions: Several surprising metabolic capabilities and physiological features were predicted from the genome of P. carbinolicus, suggesting that it is more versatile than anticipated.

Critical Success Factors for Limited Service Hotels in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Wong, Chee Keng

2015-01-01

Critical success factors were used originally in Information technology areas when it was first introduced but has since been applied generically in other industries. This study explores the critical success factors for limited service hotels in Malaysia from both customer and hotel operator/ business owners’ perspective. The literature presents information from tourism in general and in Malaysia, definition of limited service hotels and its relevance to the hospitality industry in Malaysia, ...

Maximizing the information transfer in a quantum-limited light-scattering system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lading, Lars; Jørgensen, Thomas Martini

1990-01-01

A quantum-limited light-scattering system is considered. The spatial configuration that maximizes a given figure of merit is investigated, assuming that the emitted light has Poisson photon statistics. A specific system for measuring the velocity of a small particle is considered as an example. A...

Toward an Economy of Information for Organizations in a Limited-Growth Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Harvey K.

Information overload, technological change, and financial problems combine with a possible moratorium on growth to increase the need for more rational, systematic, and quantified approaches to information activities in organizations. For communication managers who wish to develop more cost-effective and user-responsive programs, one possible…

Spatial soil information in South Africa: Situational analysis, limitations and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garry Paterson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Soil information is vital for a range of purposes; however, soils vary greatly over short distances, making accurate soil data difficult to obtain. Soil surveys were first carried out in the 1920s, and the first national soil map was produced in 1940. Several regional studies were done in the 1960s, with the national Land Type Survey completed in 2002. Subsequently, the transfer of soil data to digital format has allowed a wide range of interpretations, but many data are still not freely available as they are held by a number of different bodies. The need for soil data is rapidly expanding to a range of fields, including health, food security, hydrological modelling and climate change. Fortunately, advances have been made in fields such as digital soil mapping, which enables the soil surveyors to address the need. The South African Soil Science fraternity will have to adapt to the changing environment in order to comply with the growing demands for data. At a recent Soil Information Workshop, soil scientists from government, academia and industry met to concentrate efforts in meeting the current and future soil data needs. The priorities identified included: interdisciplinary collaboration; expansion of the current national soil database with advanced data acquisition, manipulation, interpretation and countrywide dissemination facilities; and policy and human capital development in newly emerging soil science and environmental fields. It is hoped that soil information can play a critical role in the establishment of a national Natural Agricultural Information System.

Accessibility Limits Recall from Visual Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Rajsic, Jason; Swan, Garrett; Wilson, Daryl E.; Pratt, Jay

2017-01-01

In this article, we demonstrate limitations of accessibility of information in visual working memory (VWM). Recently, cued-recall has been used to estimate the fidelity of information in VWM, where the feature of a cued object is reproduced from memory (Bays, Catalao, & Husain, 2009; Wilken & Ma, 2004; Zhang & Luck, 2008). Response…

Are Students Keeping Up with the E-Book Evolution? Are E-Books Keeping Up with Students' Evolving Needs? Distance Students and E-Book Usage, a Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Brahme, Maria; Gabriel, Lizette

2012-01-01

Electronic books are evolving at a dizzying pace, challenging academic librarians to keep patrons informed about the growing number of features of these resources and their various and varied limitations. It sometimes seems as if students are pleasantly surprised by the ease with which electronic books are accessible as often as they are…

The History of the Limits to Growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen; Ragnarsdóttir, Kristín Vala; Peet, John

2010-01-01

report. A closer look at the critiques reveals, however, the most of it had no basis in the report, which so far have turned out to be surprisingly correct in it aggregated analyses. Recent awareness of the climate problems, combined with a worldwide financial crisis, have made the report's methodology...

Information Technology, Type II Classroom Integration, and the Limited Infrastructure in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Maddux, Cleborne D.; Johnson D. Lamont

2006-01-01

In this second special issue on Type II applications of information technology in education, the focus is on classroom integration. This editorial explores some possible explanations for the fact that information technology in schools has not fulfilled its considerable potential. One reason may be that individualized instruction is not part of the…

An adult learner's learning style should inform but not limit educational choices

Science.gov (United States)

Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

2018-02-01

Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering students' learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion - which remains hypothetical - on why the use of learning styles measures continues to be popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists) as well as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators' quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.

The Limits of Exercise Physiology: From Performance to Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Brendan M; Zierath, Juleen R

2017-05-02

Many of the established positive health benefits of exercise have been documented by historical discoveries in the field of exercise physiology. These investigations often assess limits: the limits of performance, or the limits of exercise-induced health benefits. Indeed, several key findings have been informed by studying highly trained athletes, in addition to healthy or unhealthy people. Recent progress has been made in regard to skeletal muscle metabolism and personalized exercise regimes. In this perspective, we review some of the historical milestones of exercise physiology, discuss how these inform contemporary knowledge, and speculate on future questions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contribution of time-of-flight information to limited-angle positron tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macdonald, B.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Tam, K.C.

1981-10-01

Limited-angle emission tomography was investigated using a two-dimensional phantom to generate positron events simulating a camera with two opposed parallel position-sensitive detectors collecting data within a 90 0 cone. The data, backprojected onto lines passing through the phantom volume, is used with a matrix reconstruction method to provide two-dimensional images. Image quality was measured using the standard deviation of the reconstructions with respect to the original phantom. The application of Phillips-Twomey smoothing to the deconvolution matrices has substantially improved the original reconstructions, a factor of 1.9 in signal to noise ratio, giving S/N = 3.4 for a phantom having an average of 150 events/pixel. Using photon time-of-flight to restrict the reconstruction volume a further considerable improvement is made. When the time-of-flight limited the contributing volume to 4 lines out of 11 the improvement was another factor of 1.9 giving S/N = 6.0 for the same phantom. Comparable increases in signal to noise ratios are expected for three-dimensional reconstructions

Estimation of snowfall limit for the Kashmir Valley, Indian Himalayas, with TRMM PR Bright Band information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Schauwecker

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Knowing the height of the snowfall limit during precipitation events is crucial for better understanding a number of hydro-climatic processes, for instance glacier-climate interactions or runoff from high mountain catchments. However, knowledge on heights of the phase change during precipitation events is limited by the small number of meteorological measurements available at high altitudes, such as the Himalayas. The bright band (BB of satellite based radar data may be a promising proxy for the snow/rain transition during particular stratiform precipitation events over high mountain regions. The BB is a horizontal layer of stronger radar reflectivity caused by the melting of hydrometeors at the level where solid precipitation turns into rain. Here, we present BB heights detected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR 2A23 algorithm over a mountainous area. To assess the performance of BB heights, we have compared a 17‑year data set of BB estimations of the TRMM PR with radiosonde observations and meteorological station data from Srinagar, Kashmir Valley, India. During March to November, the BB lies mostly about 200 to 800 m below the freezing level (FL recorded by radiosondes. The correlation between BB and FL heights extrapolated from a ground-based station is smaller and depends on the timing of the air temperature measurement – an important finding for applying extrapolation techniques in data sparse regions. Further on, we found a strong seasonal and monthly variability of the BB height, e.g. extending in summer months from about 2700 m to almost 6000 m asl. Comparison with near surface rain intensity from the TRMM PR product 2A25 indicates that – during intense monsoonal summer precipitation events – the BB height is concentrated between about 3500 and 4000 m asl. We can conclude that TRMM PR BB data deliver valuable complementary information for regional or seasonal variability

Negative ratings play a positive role in information filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Wei; Zhu, Yu-Xiao; Lü, Linyuan; Zhou, Tao

2011-11-01

The explosive growth of information asks for advanced information filtering techniques to solve the so-called information overload problem. A promising way is the recommender system which analyzes the historical records of users’ activities and accordingly provides personalized recommendations. Most recommender systems can be represented by user-object bipartite networks where users can evaluate and vote for objects, and ratings such as “dislike” and “I hate it” are treated straightforwardly as negative factors or are completely ignored in traditional approaches. Applying a local diffusion algorithm on three benchmark data sets, MovieLens, Netflix and Amazon, our study arrives at a very surprising result, namely the negative ratings may play a positive role especially for very sparse data sets. In-depth analysis at the microscopic level indicates that the negative ratings from less active users to less popular objects could probably have positive impacts on the recommendations, while the ones connecting active users and popular objects mostly should be treated negatively. We finally outline the significant relevance of our results to the two long-term challenges in information filtering: the sparsity problem and the cold-start problem.

Risk analyses in nuclear engineerig, their value in terms of information, and their limits in terms of applicability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heuser, F.W.

1983-01-01

This contribution first briefly explains the main pillars of the deterministic safety concept as developed in nuclear engineering, and some basic ideas on risk analyses in general. This is followed by an outline of the methodology and main purposes of risk analyses. The German Risk Study is taken as an example to discuss selected aspects with regard to information value and limits of risk analyses. The main conclusions state that risk analyses are a valuable instrument for quantitative safety evaluation, leading to a better understanding of safety problems and their prevention, and allowing a comparative assessment of various safety measures. They furthermore allow a refined evaluation of a variety of accident parameters and other impacts determining the risk emanating from accidents. The current state of the art in this sector still leaves numerous uncertainties so that risk analyses yield information for assessments rather than for definite predictions. However, the urge for quantifying the lack of knowledge leads to a better and more precise determination of the gaps still to be filled up by researchers and engineers. Thus risk analyses are a useful help in defining suitable approaches and setting up standards, showing the tasks to be fulfilled in safety research in general. (orig./HSCH) [de

Age Differences in Information Use While Making Decisions: Resource Limitations or Processing Differences?

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs-Lawson, Joy M; Schumacher, Mitzi M; Wackerbarth, Sarah B

2016-09-20

Recent research on the decision-making abilities of older adults has shown that they use less information than young adults. One explanation ascribes this age difference to reductions in cognitive abilities with age. The article includes three experimental studies that focused on determining the conditions in which older and young adults would display dissimilar information processing characteristics. Findings from Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that older adults are not necessarily at greater disadvantage than young adults in decision contexts that demand more information processing resources. Findings from Study 3 indicated that older adults when faced with decisions that require greater processing are likely to use a strategy that reduces the amount of information needed, whereas younger adults rely on strategies that utilize more resources. Combined the findings indicate that older adults change their decision-making strategies based on the context and information provided. Furthermore, support is provided for processing difference. © The Author(s) 2016.

Effect of Temperature Shock and Inventory Surprises on Natural Gas and Heating Oil Futures Returns

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, John Wei-Shan; Lin, Chien-Yu

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of temperature shock on both near-month and far-month natural gas and heating oil futures returns by extending the weather and storage models of the previous study. Several notable findings from the empirical studies are presented. First, the expected temperature shock significantly and positively affects both the near-month and far-month natural gas and heating oil futures returns. Next, significant temperature shock has effect on both the conditional mean and volatility of natural gas and heating oil prices. The results indicate that expected inventory surprises significantly and negatively affects the far-month natural gas futures returns. Moreover, volatility of natural gas futures returns is higher on Thursdays and that of near-month heating oil futures returns is higher on Wednesdays than other days. Finally, it is found that storage announcement for natural gas significantly affects near-month and far-month natural gas futures returns. Furthermore, both natural gas and heating oil futures returns are affected more by the weighted average temperature reported by multiple weather reporting stations than that reported by a single weather reporting station. PMID:25133233

Informal Mentoring

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Daniel

2017-01-01

A best practice regarding annual employee performance evaluations is that there should be no surprises. Issues regarding a person's performance should be addressed as they occur throughout the year. This has been the approach of the author when evaluating staff performance. However, this practice did not prepare the author to manage his surprise…

The surprisingly small but increasing role of international agricultural trade on the European Union’s dependence on mineral phosphorus fertiliser

Science.gov (United States)

Nesme, Thomas; Roques, Solène; Metson, Geneviève S.; Bennett, Elena M.

2016-02-01

Phosphorus (P) is subject to global management challenges due to its importance to both food security and water quality. The European Union (EU) has promoted policies to limit fertiliser over-application and protect water quality for more than 20 years, helping to reduce European P use. Over this time period, the EU has, however, become more reliant on imported agricultural products. These imported products require fertiliser to be used in distant countries to grow crops that will ultimately feed European people and livestock. As such, these imports represent a displacement of European P demand, possibly allowing Europe to decrease its apparent P footprint by moving P use to locations outside the EU. We investigated the effect of EU imports on the European P fertiliser footprint to better understand whether the EU’s decrease in fertiliser use over time resulted from P demand being ‘outsourced’ to other countries or whether it truly represented a decline in P demand. To do this, we quantified the ‘virtual P flow’ defined as the amount of mineral P fertiliser applied to agricultural soils in non-EU countries to support agricultural product imports to the EU. We found that the EU imported a virtual P flow of 0.55 Tg P/yr in 1995 that, surprisingly, decreased to 0.50 Tg P/yr in 2009. These results were contrary to our hypothesis that trade increases would be used to help the EU reduce its domestic P fertiliser use by outsourcing its P footprint abroad. Still, the contribution of virtual P flows to the total P footprint of the EU has increased by 40% from 1995 to 2009 due to a dramatic decrease in domestic P fertiliser use in Europe: in 1995, virtual P was equivalent to 32% of the P used as fertiliser domestically to support domestic consumption but jumped to 53% in 2009. Soybean and palm tree products from South America and South East Asia contributed most to the virtual P flow. These results demonstrate that, although policies in the EU have successfully

Applying geographic information systems to support strategic environmental assessment: Opportunities and limitations in the context of Irish land-use plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, Ainhoa; Gilmer, Alan; Foley, Ronan; Sweeney, John; Fry, John

2011-01-01

The strengthening of spatial database infrastructures, further promoted by the INSPIRE Directive adopted in 2007, has led to an increased use of spatial data in planning and decision-making. Given that land-use plans are intrinsically spatial, such evidence and approaches can significantly benefit plan-making. A spatial framework could especially support the specific Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) aspects of the plan-making process. Spatial tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are particularly well-placed to support the environmental integration sought in SEA by providing evidence through the spatial assessment of multiple environmental datasets. Moreover, GIS bring the opportunity to augment conventional assessment techniques (e.g. matrix-based assessments) by acting as visual mediators of spatial knowledge and by providing an effective tool for the spatial and temporal analysis of environmental impacts. This paper presents a GIS-based approach to SEA (GISEA), and analyses the above premise by evaluating the barriers, limitations, opportunities and benefits of its implementation. The GISEA approach has been applied to seven development plans of differing scales in the Republic of Ireland. The results of the case studies revealed that current issues in SEA (e.g. restricted time-frames and institutional arrangements) condition the implementation of a GIS-based approach. Moreover, GIS expertise, data accessibility and quality remain limiting factors to an effective GIS application in SEA. However, the results also confirmed that GIS have the potential to increase the objectivity and accuracy of the assessment, enhance both the understanding of environmental and planning considerations and the delivery of information, and, therefore, help to improve the effectiveness of SEA practice.

Hydrocortisone accelerates the decay of iconic memory traces: on the modulation of executive and stimulus-driven constituents of sensory information maintenance.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Robert; Weckesser, Lisa J; Smolka, Michael N; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Plessow, Franziska

2015-03-01

A substantial amount of research documents the impact of glucocorticoids on higher-order cognitive functioning. By contrast, surprisingly little is known about the susceptibility of basic sensory processes to glucocorticoid exposure given that the glucocorticoid receptor density in the human visual cortex exceeds those observed in prefrontal and most hippocampal brain regions. As executive tasks also rely on these sensory processes, the present study investigates the impact of glucocorticoid exposure on different performance parameters characterizing the maintenance and transfer of sensory information from iconic memory (IM; the sensory buffer of the visual system) to working memory (WM). Using a crossover factorial design, we administered one out of three doses of hydrocortisone (0.06, 0.12, or 0.24mg/kg bodyweight) and a placebo to 18 healthy young men. Thereafter participants performed a partial report task, which was used to assess their individual ability to process sensory information. Blood samples were concurrently drawn to determine free and total cortisol concentrations. The compiled pharmacokinetic and psychophysical data demonstrates that free cortisol specifically accelerated the decay of sensory information (r=0.46) without significantly affecting the selective information transfer from IM to WM or the capacity limit of WM. Specifically, nonparametric regression revealed a sigmoid dose-response relationship between free cortisol levels during the testing period and the IM decay rates. Our findings highlight that glucocorticoid exposure may not only impact on the recruitment of top-down control for an active maintenance of sensory information, but alter their passive (stimulus-driven) maintenance thereby changing the availability of information prior to subsequent executive processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling the role of information and limited optimal treatment on disease prevalence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anuj; Srivastava, Prashant K; Takeuchi, Yasuhiro

2017-02-07

Disease outbreaks induce behavioural changes in healthy individuals to avoid contracting infection. We first propose a compartmental model which accounts for the effect of individual's behavioural response due to information of the disease prevalence. It is assumed that the information is growing as a function of infective population density that saturates at higher density of infective population and depends on active educational and social programmes. Model analysis has been performed and the global stability of equilibrium points is established. Further, choosing the treatment (a pharmaceutical intervention) and the effect of information (a non-pharmaceutical intervention) as controls, an optimal control problem is formulated to minimize the cost and disease fatality. In the cost functional, the nonlinear effect of controls is accounted. Analytical characterization of optimal control paths is done with the help of Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Numerical findings suggest that if only control via information is used, it is effective and economical for early phase of disease spread whereas treatment works well for long term control except for initial phase. Furthermore, we observe that the effect of information induced behavioural response plays a crucial role in the absence of pharmaceutical control. Moreover, comprehensive use of both the control interventions is more effective than any single applied control policy and it reduces the number of infective individuals and minimizes the economic cost generated from disease burden and applied controls. Thus, the combined effect of both the control policies is found more economical during the entire epidemic period whereas the implementation of a single policy is not found economically viable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Some Citizens Are Ill Informed and Lack Basic Knowledge of Politics. Should We Limit Their Right to Vote?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria CERNAT

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This article tries to examine some of the anti-democratic messages that appeared in social media during the Romanian presidential campaign of 2014. My hypothesis is that the idea of limiting the right to vote gained the sympathy of the middle class – highly trained and remunerated individuals as a result of those messages disseminated during the 2014 presidential campaign. Namely, for the first time the electoral messages did not targeted only a political candidate but also his voters who were supposedly old, poor, ill-informed, dependent of social aid and prone to sacrifice their political power for material benefits. In the first part of my article I shall focus on the way the new media are shaping the political competition trying to find out whether these media are indeed alternative media fostering rational political debate and encouraging political engagement. In the second part of my article I shall focus on some of the onlineanti-democratic messages that were distributed during the first and the second round of the presidential elections. In the third part of the article I shall present the result of an empirical research composed of the semi-structured interviews I conducted having as subjects people working in the IT field. The theme of my interviews was the possibility of limitation of the right to vote.

Usage of Online European Union Information Resources 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Joyce

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years there has been an explosion of online European Union information resources available to researchers. However, little research into how researchers are accessing and using these resources has been carried out.. The aim of the research which informs this report was to take the first step to begin to rectify this issue. An online survey was conducted, using University of Bristol’s BOS software to which 145 people replied. The survey found that researchers considered themselves proficient at using online services. Surprisingly only 46.4% used them every day though. The Europa website was the most used but also paradoxically the most criticised for problems with search, navigation and transparency. Journals were the next most popular type of resource. Other top services included search engines, news sites and email lists. Web 2.0 has yet to be taken up widely by our sample of researchers, with few individuals having or using blogs or social networking software. The report also highlights that while some researchers are happy with EU online services, many are concerned about poor navigation and the design of websites, bias of information and the increasing abundance of passwords necessary to access multiple information resources.

Maximal quantum Fisher information matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yu; Yuan, Haidong

2017-01-01

We study the existence of the maximal quantum Fisher information matrix in the multi-parameter quantum estimation, which bounds the ultimate precision limit. We show that when the maximal quantum Fisher information matrix exists, it can be directly obtained from the underlying dynamics. Examples are then provided to demonstrate the usefulness of the maximal quantum Fisher information matrix by deriving various trade-off relations in multi-parameter quantum estimation and obtaining the bounds for the scalings of the precision limit. (paper)

Limit of quantitation in atomic spectrometry: An unambiguous concept?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mermet, Jean-Michel

2008-01-01

This document presents a tutorial description of several concepts and definitions of limits of quantitation, such as the so-called 10 s, the RSD net , the method limit, the lower limit of the calibration graph and the uncertainty approaches. Use, advantages, limitations and complexity of the various approaches are illustrated with some examples taken from atomic spectrometry, using ICP-AES, ICP-MS and LIBS. Information that can be deduced from the calibration graph is emphasized

Derived limits for surface contamination

CERN Document Server

Wrixon, A D; Linsley, G S; White, D F

1979-01-01

Derived limits (DLs) for surface contamination were first established for use in the nuclear energy industry where a wide variety of radionuclides is encountered. They were later used in factories, hospitals, and universities, where the radionuclides used are normally fewer in number, either known or readily identifiable, and often of low toxicity. In these situations the current limits are frequently over-restrictive. This report describes a reassessment of the values in the light of more recent information on the possible pathways of exposure and the dose equivalent limits given in ICRP Publication 26. The reassessment is prompted also by the introduction of SI units. The results of the reassessment are used to produce a classification of DLs for all radionuclides for active and inactive area surfaces and for skin.

Summit surprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, N

1994-01-01

A New Delhi Population Summit, organized by the Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Science Academy, was convened with representation of 120 (only 10% women) scientists from 50 countries and about 12 disciplines and 43 national scientific academies. Despite the common assumption that scientists never agree, a 3000 word statement was signed by 50 prominent national figures and supported by 25 professional papers on diverse subjects. The statement proclaimed that stable world population and "prodigious planning efforts" are required for dealing with global social, economic, and environmental problems. The target should be zero population growth by the next generation. The statement, although containing many uncompromising assertions, was not as strong as a statement by the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences released last year: that, in the future, science and technology may not be able to prevent "irreversible degradation of the environment and continued poverty," and that the capacity to sustain life on the planet may be permanently jeopardized. The Delhi statement was backed by professional papers highlighting several important issues. Dr Mahmoud Fathalla of the Rockefeller Foundation claimed that the 500,000 annual maternal deaths worldwide, of which perhaps 33% are due to "coathanger" abortions, are given far less attention than a one-day political event of 500 deaths would receive. Although biologically women have been given a greater survival advantage, which is associated with their reproductive capacity, socially disadvantaged females are relegated to low status. There is poorer nutrition and overall health care for females, female infanticide, and female fetuses are increasingly aborted in China, India, and other countries. The sex ratio in developed countries is 95-97 males to every 100 females, but in developing Asian countries the ratio is 105 males to 100 females. There are reports of 60-100 million missing females. The human species 12,000 years ago had a population of 6 million, a life expectancy of 20 years, and a doubling time of 8000 years; high birth rates were important for preservation of the species. Profertility attitudes are still prevalent today. Insufficient funds go to contraceptive research.

The Most Distant Mature Galaxy Cluster - Young, but surprisingly grown-up

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

Astronomers have used an armada of telescopes on the ground and in space, including the Very Large Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile to discover and measure the distance to the most remote mature cluster of galaxies yet found. Although this cluster is seen when the Universe was less than one quarter of its current age it looks surprisingly similar to galaxy clusters in the current Universe. "We have measured the distance to the most distant mature cluster of galaxies ever found", says the lead author of the study in which the observations from ESO's VLT have been used, Raphael Gobat (CEA, Paris). "The surprising thing is that when we look closely at this galaxy cluster it doesn't look young - many of the galaxies have settled down and don't resemble the usual star-forming galaxies seen in the early Universe." Clusters of galaxies are the largest structures in the Universe that are held together by gravity. Astronomers expect these clusters to grow through time and hence that massive clusters would be rare in the early Universe. Although even more distant clusters have been seen, they appear to be young clusters in the process of formation and are not settled mature systems. The international team of astronomers used the powerful VIMOS and FORS2 instruments on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) to measure the distances to some of the blobs in a curious patch of very faint red objects first observed with the Spitzer space telescope. This grouping, named CL J1449+0856 [1], had all the hallmarks of being a very remote cluster of galaxies [2]. The results showed that we are indeed seeing a galaxy cluster as it was when the Universe was about three billion years old - less than one quarter of its current age [3]. Once the team knew the distance to this very rare object they looked carefully at the component galaxies using both the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes, including the VLT. They found evidence suggesting that most of the

Surprises from a Deep ASCA Spectrum of the Broad Absorption Line Quasar PHL 5200

Science.gov (United States)

Mathur, Smita; Matt, G.; Green, P. J.; Elvis, M.; Singh, K. P.

2002-01-01

We present a deep (approx. 85 ks) ASCA observation of the prototype broad absorption line quasar (BALQSO) PHL 5200. This is the best X-ray spectrum of a BALQSO yet. We find the following: (1) The source is not intrinsically X-ray weak. (2) The line-of-sight absorption is very strong, with N(sub H) = 5 x 10(exp 23)/sq cm. (3) The absorber does not cover the source completely; the covering fraction is approx. 90%. This is consistent with the large optical polarization observed in this source, implying multiple lines of sight. The most surprising result of this observation is that (4) the spectrum of this BALQSO is not exactly similar to other radio-quiet quasars. The hard X-ray spectrum of PHL 5200 is steep, with the power-law spectral index alpha approx. 1.5. This is similar to the steepest hard X-ray slopes observed so far. At low redshifts, such steep slopes are observed in narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, believed to be accreting at a high Eddington rate. This observation strengthens the analogy between BALQSOs and NLS1 galaxies and supports the hypothesis that BALQSOs represent an early evolutionary state of quasars. It is well accepted that the orientation to the line of sight determines the appearance of a quasar: age seems to play a significant role as well.

Information Presentation in Decision and Risk Analysis: Answered, Partly Answered, and Unanswered Questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, L Robin; Wang, Yitong

2017-06-01

For the last 30 years, researchers in risk analysis, decision analysis, and economics have consistently proven that decisionmakers employ different processes for evaluating and combining anticipated and actual losses, gains, delays, and surprises. Although rational models generally prescribe a consistent response, people's heuristic processes will sometimes lead them to be inconsistent in the way they respond to information presented in theoretically equivalent ways. We point out several promising future research directions by listing and detailing a series of answered, partly answered, and unanswered questions. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

A bottom-up model of spatial attention predicts human error patterns in rapid scene recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Einhäuser, Wolfgang; Mundhenk, T Nathan; Baldi, Pierre; Koch, Christof; Itti, Laurent

2007-07-20

Humans demonstrate a peculiar ability to detect complex targets in rapidly presented natural scenes. Recent studies suggest that (nearly) no focal attention is required for overall performance in such tasks. Little is known, however, of how detection performance varies from trial to trial and which stages in the processing hierarchy limit performance: bottom-up visual processing (attentional selection and/or recognition) or top-down factors (e.g., decision-making, memory, or alertness fluctuations)? To investigate the relative contribution of these factors, eight human observers performed an animal detection task in natural scenes presented at 20 Hz. Trial-by-trial performance was highly consistent across observers, far exceeding the prediction of independent errors. This consistency demonstrates that performance is not primarily limited by idiosyncratic factors but by visual processing. Two statistical stimulus properties, contrast variation in the target image and the information-theoretical measure of "surprise" in adjacent images, predict performance on a trial-by-trial basis. These measures are tightly related to spatial attention, demonstrating that spatial attention and rapid target detection share common mechanisms. To isolate the causal contribution of the surprise measure, eight additional observers performed the animal detection task in sequences that were reordered versions of those all subjects had correctly recognized in the first experiment. Reordering increased surprise before and/or after the target while keeping the target and distractors themselves unchanged. Surprise enhancement impaired target detection in all observers. Consequently, and contrary to several previously published findings, our results demonstrate that attentional limitations, rather than target recognition alone, affect the detection of targets in rapidly presented visual sequences.

Radiation risk perception and public information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boggs-Mayes, C.J.

1988-01-01

We as Health Physicists face what, at many times, appears to be a hopeless task. The task simply stated is informing the public about the risks (or lack thereof) of radiation. Unfortunately, the public has perceived radiation risks to be much greater than they actually are. An example of this problem is shown in a paper by Arthur C. Upton. Three groups of people -- the League of Women Voters, students, and Business and Professional Club members -- were asked to rank 30 sources of risk according to their contribution to the number of deaths in the United States. Not surprisingly, they ranked nuclear power much higher and medical x-rays much lower than the actual values. In addition to the perception problem, we are faced with another hurdle: health physicists as communicators. Members of the Health Physics Society (HPS) found that the communication styles of most health physicists appear to be dissimilar to those of the general public. These authors administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to the HPS Baltimore-Washington Chapter. This test, a standardized test for psychological type developed by Isabel Myers, ask questions that provide a quantitative measure of our natural preferences in four areas. Assume that you as a health physicist have the necessary skills to communicate information about radiation to the public. Health physicists do nothing with these tools. Most people involved in radiation protection do not get involved with public information activies. What I will attempt to do is heighten your interest in such activities. I will share information about public information activities in which I have been involved and give you suggestions for sources of information and materials. 2 refs., 1 tab

Surprisingly high substrate specificities observed in complex biofilms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nierychlo, Marta; Kindaichi, Tomonori; Kragelund, Caroline

The behavior of microorganisms in natural ecosystems (e.g. biofilms) differs significantly from laboratory studies. In nature microorganisms experience alternating periods of surplus nutrients, nutrient-limitation, and starvation. Literature data suggests that to survive and compete successfully......, microorganisms can regulate their metabolism expressing wide range of uptake and catabolic systems. However, ecophysiological studies of natural biofilms indicate that bacteria are very specialized in their choice of substrate, so even minor changes in substrate composition can affect the community composition...... by selection for different specialized species. We hypothesized that bacteria growing in natural environment express strongly conserved substrate specificity which is independent on short-term (few hours) variations in growth conditions. In this study, biofilm from Aalborg wastewater treatment plant was used...

Neurological Limitations of Aircraft Operations: Human Performance Implications (les Limitations neurologiques des operations aeriennes: les Consequences pour les performances des equipages).

Science.gov (United States)

1996-04-01

Progetto Napping. Raven Press; New York; 221-246. MORFEO: inversione acuta in laboratorio del ciclo 27. Akerstedt T, Torsvall L, Gillberg M (1989) Shift...inversione acuta in laboratorio del ciclo sonno-veglia estimation, in consideration of the "surprise" paradigm dopo assunzione diurna di Temazepam (TMZ) e

Unveiling the mystery of visual information processing in human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamant, Emanuel

2008-08-15

It is generally accepted that human vision is an extremely powerful information processing system that facilitates our interaction with the surrounding world. However, despite extended and extensive research efforts, which encompass many exploration fields, the underlying fundamentals and operational principles of visual information processing in human brain remain unknown. We still are unable to figure out where and how along the path from eyes to the cortex the sensory input perceived by the retina is converted into a meaningful object representation, which can be consciously manipulated by the brain. Studying the vast literature considering the various aspects of brain information processing, I was surprised to learn that the respected scholarly discussion is totally indifferent to the basic keynote question: "What is information?" in general or "What is visual information?" in particular. In the old days, it was assumed that any scientific research approach has first to define its basic departure points. Why was it overlooked in brain information processing research remains a conundrum. In this paper, I am trying to find a remedy for this bizarre situation. I propose an uncommon definition of "information", which can be derived from Kolmogorov's Complexity Theory and Chaitin's notion of Algorithmic Information. Embracing this new definition leads to an inevitable revision of traditional dogmas that shape the state of the art of brain information processing research. I hope this revision would better serve the challenging goal of human visual information processing modeling.

Old Star's "Rebirth" Gives Astronomers Surprises

Science.gov (United States)

2005-04-01

Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope are taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch an old star suddenly stir back into new activity after coming to the end of its normal life. Their surprising results have forced them to change their ideas of how such an old, white dwarf star can re-ignite its nuclear furnace for one final blast of energy. Sakurai's Object Radio/Optical Images of Sakurai's Object: Color image shows nebula ejected thousands of years ago. Contours indicate radio emission. Inset is Hubble Space Telescope image, with contours indicating radio emission; this inset shows just the central part of the region. CREDIT: Hajduk et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF, ESO, StSci, NASA Computer simulations had predicted a series of events that would follow such a re-ignition of fusion reactions, but the star didn't follow the script -- events moved 100 times more quickly than the simulations predicted. "We've now produced a new theoretical model of how this process works, and the VLA observations have provided the first evidence supporting our new model," said Albert Zijlstra, of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Zijlstra and his colleagues presented their findings in the April 8 issue of the journal Science. The astronomers studied a star known as V4334 Sgr, in the constellation Sagittarius. It is better known as "Sakurai's Object," after Japanese amateur astronomer Yukio Sakurai, who discovered it on February 20, 1996, when it suddenly burst into new brightness. At first, astronomers thought the outburst was a common nova explosion, but further study showed that Sakurai's Object was anything but common. The star is an old white dwarf that had run out of hydrogen fuel for nuclear fusion reactions in its core. Astronomers believe that some such stars can undergo a final burst of fusion in a shell of helium that surrounds a core of heavier nuclei such as carbon and oxygen. However, the

The limits of racial prejudice

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Kevin

2013-01-01

The racial segregation of romantic networks has been documented by social scientists for generations. However, because of limitations in available data, we still have a surprisingly basic idea of the extent to which this pattern is generated by actual interpersonal prejudice as opposed to structural constraints on meeting opportunities, how severe this prejudice is, and the circumstances under which it can be reduced. I analyzed a network of messages sent and received among 126,134 users of a popular online dating site over a 2.5-mo period. As in face-to-face interaction, online exchanges are structured heavily by race. Even when controlling for regional differences in meeting opportunities, site users—especially minority site users—disproportionately message other users from the same racial background. However, this high degree of self-segregation peaks at the first stage of contact. First, users from all racial backgrounds are equally likely or more likely to cross a racial boundary when reciprocating than when initiating romantic interest. Second, users who receive a cross-race message initiate more new interracial exchanges in the future than they would have otherwise. This effect varies by gender, racial background, and site experience; is specific to the racial background of the original sender; requires that the recipient replied to the original message; and diminishes after a week. In contrast to prior research on relationship outcomes, these findings shed light on the complex interactional dynamics that—under certain circumstances—may amplify the effects of racial boundary crossing and foster greater interracial mixing. PMID:24191008

Performance Limits of Energy Harvesting Communications under Imperfect Channel State Information

KAUST Repository

Zenaidi, Mohamed Ridah; Rezki, Zouheir; Tembine, Hamidou; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

to mobility and environmental changes. In this work, we consider the problem of power allocation taking into account the energy arrivals over time and the degree of channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitter, in order to maximize

Performance limits of energy harvesting communications under imperfect channel state information

KAUST Repository

Zenaidi, Mohamed Ridha; Rezki, Zouheir; Tembine, Hamidou; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

to mobility and environmental changes. In this paper, we consider the problem of power allocation taking into account the energy arrivals over time and the degree of channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitter, in order to maximize

Opportunities and limitations for using new media and mobile phones to expand access to sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescent girls and young women in six Nigerian states.

Science.gov (United States)

Akinfaderin-Agarau, Fadekem; Chirtau, Manre; Ekponimo, Sylvia; Power, Samantha

2012-06-01

Reproductive health problems are a challenge affecting young people in Nigeria. Education as a Vaccine (EVA) implements the My Question and Answer Service, using mobile phones to provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. Use of the service by adolescent girls and young women is low. Focus group discussions were held with 726 females to assess their access to mobile phones, as well as the barriers and limitations to the use of their phones to seek SRH information and services. Results demonstrate high mobile phone access but limited use of phones to access SRH information and services. Barriers to use of these services include cost of service for young female clients, request for socio-demographic information that could break anonymity, poor marketing and publicity, socio-cultural beliefs and expectations of young girls, individual personality and beliefs, as well as infrastructural/network quality. It is therefore recommended that these barriers be adequately addressed to increase the potential use of mobile phone for providing adolescent and young girls with SRH information and services. In addition, further initiatives and research are needed to explore the potentials of social media in meeting this need.

Statistical guidelines for planning a limited drilling program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, K.

1988-06-01

Site characterization for potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in south-central Nevada will include the construction of a limited number of new drill holes to depths below the repository horizon from which information about the properties of the surrounding and underlying tuffs can be obtained. Quantitative techniques to estimate the amount of information to be gained from a proposed drilling plan are developed. These estimates are to be compared with economic costs and with risk analysis requirements for the potential repository. In some cases the existing data, although extremely limited, are sufficient for preliminary application of these methods. 33 refs., 19 figs., 3 tabs

Interpretation of the extreme physical information principle in terms of shift information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vstovsky, G.V.

1995-01-01

It is shown that Fisher information (FI) can be considered as a limiting case of a related form of Kullback information---a shift information (SI). The compatibility of the use of SI with a basic physical principle of uncertainty is demonstrated. The scope of FI based theory is extended to the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation

SURPRISINGLY WEAK MAGNETISM ON YOUNG ACCRETING BROWN DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiners, A.; Basri, G.; Christensen, U. R.

2009-01-01

We have measured the surface magnetic flux on four accreting young brown dwarfs and one nonaccreting young very low mass (VLM) star utilizing high-resolution spectra of absorption lines of the FeH molecule. A magnetic field of 1-2 kG had been proposed for one of the brown dwarfs, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) J1207334-393254, because of its similarities to higher mass T Tauri stars as manifested in accretion and the presence of a jet. We do not find clear evidence for a kilogauss field in any of our young brown dwarfs but do find a 2 kG field on the young VLM star. Our 3σ upper limit for the magnetic flux in 2MASS J1207334-393254 just reaches 1 kG. We estimate the magnetic field required for accretion in young brown dwarfs given the observed rotations, and find that fields of only a few hundred gauss are sufficient for magnetospheric accretion. This predicted value is less than our observed upper limit. We conclude that magnetic fields in young brown dwarfs are a factor of 5 or more lower than in young stars of about one solar mass, and in older stars with spectral types similar to our young brown dwarfs. It is interesting that, during the first few million years, the fields scale down with mass in line with what is needed for magnetospheric accretion, yet no such scaling is observed at later ages within the same effective temperature range. This scaling is opposite to the trend in rotation, with shorter rotation periods for very young accreting brown dwarfs compared with accreting solar-mass objects (and very low Rossby numbers in all cases). We speculate that in young objects a deeper intrinsic connection may exist between magnetospheric accretion and magnetic field strength, or that magnetic field generation in brown dwarfs may be less efficient than in stars. Neither of these currently has an easy physical explanation.

New approaches in mathematical biology: Information theory and molecular machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, T.

1995-01-01

My research uses classical information theory to study genetic systems. Information theory was founded by Claude Shannon in the 1940's and has had an enormous impact on communications engineering and computer sciences. Shannon found a way to measure information. This measure can be used to precisely characterize the sequence conservation at nucleic-acid binding sites. The resulting methods, by completely replacing the use of ''consensus sequences'', provide better models for molecular biologists. An excess of conservation led us to do experimental work on bacteriophage T7 promoters and the F plasmid IncD repeats. The wonderful fidelity of telephone communications and compact disk (CD) music can be traced directly to Shannon's channel capacity theorem. When rederived for molecular biology, this theorem explains the surprising precision of many molecular events. Through connections with the Second Law of Thermodyanmics and Maxwell's Demon, this approach also has implications for the development of technology at the molecular level. Discussions of these topics are held on the internet news group bionet.info-theo. (author). (Abstract only)

‘Surprise’: Outbreak of Campylobacter infection associated with chicken liver pâté at a surprise birthday party, Adelaide, Australia, 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma Denehy

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: In July 2012, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection was investigated by the South Australian Communicable Disease Control Branch and Food Policy and Programs Branch. The initial notification identified illness at a surprise birthday party held at a restaurant on 14 July 2012. The objective of the investigation was to identify the potential source of infection and institute appropriate intervention strategies to prevent further illness.Methods: A guest list was obtained and a retrospective cohort study undertaken. A combination of paper-based and telephone questionnaires were used to collect exposure and outcome information. An environmental investigation was conducted by Food Policy and Programs Branch at the implicated premises.Results: All 57 guests completed the questionnaire (100% response rate, and 15 met the case definition. Analysis showed a significant association between illness and consumption of chicken liver pâté (relative risk: 16.7, 95% confidence interval: 2.4–118.6. No other food or beverage served at the party was associated with illness. Three guests submitted stool samples; all were positive for Campylobacter. The environmental investigation identified that the cooking process used in the preparation of chicken liver pâté may have been inconsistent, resulting in some portions not cooked adequately to inactivate potential Campylobacter contamination.Discussion: Chicken liver products are a known source of Campylobacter infection; therefore, education of food handlers remains a high priority. To better identify outbreaks among the large number of Campylobacter notifications, routine typing of Campylobacter isolates is recommended.

‘Surprise’: Outbreak of Campylobacter infection associated with chicken liver pâté at a surprise birthday party, Adelaide, Australia, 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Fearnley, Emily; Denehy, Emma

2012-01-01

Objective In July 2012, an outbreak of Campylobacter infection was investigated by the South Australian Communicable Disease Control Branch and Food Policy and Programs Branch. The initial notification identified illness at a surprise birthday party held at a restaurant on 14 July 2012. The objective of the investigation was to identify the potential source of infection and institute appropriate intervention strategies to prevent further illness. Methods A guest list was obtained and a retrospective cohort study undertaken. A combination of paper-based and telephone questionnaires were used to collect exposure and outcome information. An environmental investigation was conducted by Food Policy and Programs Branch at the implicated premises. Results All 57 guests completed the questionnaire (100% response rate), and 15 met the case definition. Analysis showed a significant association between illness and consumption of chicken liver pâté (relative risk: 16.7, 95% confidence interval: 2.4–118.6). No other food or beverage served at the party was associated with illness. Three guests submitted stool samples; all were positive for Campylobacter. The environmental investigation identified that the cooking process used in the preparation of chicken liver pâté may have been inconsistent, resulting in some portions not cooked adequately to inactivate potential Campylobacter contamination. Discussion Chicken liver products are a known source of Campylobacter infection; therefore, education of food handlers remains a high priority. To better identify outbreaks among the large number of Campylobacter notifications, routine typing of Campylobacter isolates is recommended. PMID:23908933

Wave theory of information

CERN Document Server

Franceschetti, Massimo

2017-01-01

Understand the relationship between information theory and the physics of wave propagation with this expert guide. Balancing fundamental theory with engineering applications, it describes the mechanism and limits for the representation and communication of information using electromagnetic waves. Information-theoretic laws relating functional approximation and quantum uncertainty principles to entropy, capacity, mutual information, rate distortion, and degrees of freedom of band-limited radiation are derived and explained. Both stochastic and deterministic approaches are explored, and applications for sensing and signal reconstruction, wireless communication, and networks of multiple transmitters and receivers are reviewed. With end-of-chapter exercises and suggestions for further reading enabling in-depth understanding of key concepts, it is the ideal resource for researchers and graduate students in electrical engineering, physics and applied mathematics looking for a fresh perspective on classical informat...

Closed-loop multiple antenna aided wireless communications using limited feedback

OpenAIRE

Yang, Du

2010-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to study the design of closed-loop multiple antenna aided wireless communications relying on limited feedback. Multiple antennas may be employed either/both at the transmitter or/and at the receiver, here the latter periodically feeds back some information about the time-varying wireless channel using a limited number of bits. Furthermore, the transmitter then pre-processes the signals to be transmitted according to the received feedback information. This closed-loop...

Protecting posted genes: social networking and the limits of GINA.

Science.gov (United States)

Soo-Jin Lee, Sandra; Borgelt, Emily

2014-01-01

The combination of decreased genotyping costs and prolific social media use is fueling a personal genetic testing industry in which consumers purchase and interact with genetic risk information online. Consumers and their genetic risk profiles are protected in some respects by the 2008 federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which forbids the discriminatory use of genetic information by employers and health insurers; however, practical and technical limitations undermine its enforceability, given the everyday practices of online social networking and its impact on the workplace. In the Web 2.0 era, employers in most states can legally search about job candidates and employees online, probing social networking sites for personal information that might bear on hiring and employment decisions. We examine GINA's protections for online sharing of genetic information as well as its limitations, and propose policy recommendations to address current gaps that leave employees' genetic information vulnerable in a Web-based world.

Beyond interests and institutions: US health policy reform and the surprising silence of big business.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyrl, Marc E

2014-02-01

Interest-based arguments do not provide satisfying explanations for the surprising reticence of major US employers to take a more active role in the debate surrounding the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through focused comparison with the Bismarckian systems of France and Germany, on the one hand, and with the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, on the other, this article concludes that while institutional elements do account for some of the observed behavior of big business, a necessary complement to this is a fuller understanding of the historically determined legitimating ideology of US firms. From the era of the "corporate commonwealth," US business inherited the principles of private welfare provision and of resistance to any expansion of government control. Once complementary, these principles are now mutually exclusive: employer-provided health insurance increasingly is possible only at the cost of ever-increasing government subsidy and regulation. Paralyzed by the uncertainty that followed from this clash of legitimate ideas, major employers found themselves unable to take a coherent and unified stand for or against the law. As a consequence, they failed either to oppose it successfully or to secure modifications to it that would have been useful to them.

EDUCATION IN GLOBAL INFORMATION-COMMUNICATION AND ANTHROPOGENIC ENVIRONMENT: NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey F. Sergeev

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article answers the question of how to use global anthropogenic environments in order to create effective educational environment. We demonstrate both technological and didactic abilities and limits of modern environment-based technologies, and provide a new approach to the educational environment creation. 

Long-term seasonal nutrient limiting patterns at Meiliang Bay in a large, shallow and subtropical Lake Taihu, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Ye

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Lake Taihu has undergone severe eutrophication in the past three decades, and harmful cyanobacteria blooms occur nearly every year in Meiliang Bay at the north end of the lake. To elucidate the potential relationship between seasonal nutrient limitation and phytoplankton proliferation, a 20-year (1991-2012 time series of nutrient limitation in Meiliang Bay was analyzed for deviations between trophic state index (TSI parameters. Results showed that patterns of nutrient limitation in Meiliang Bay were distinctly seasonal, where phytoplankton growth was generally phosphorus (P-limited in winter and spring, but nitrogen (N-limited mainly occurred in summer and fall. This general pattern, however, shifted into N limitation across the four seasons during the mid-1990s because a rapid increase in industrialization led to a significant rise in the input of N and P from inflowing tributaries. The initial patterns were restored by environmental regulation in the end of 1990s, including the Zero Actions plan. Using routine monitoring data, a generalised additive model (GAM with time and deviations between trophic state indexes for nitrogen and phosphorus (TSIN-TSIP as explanatory variables was used to explore which nutrient was responsible for limitation of phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (Chl-a in different seasons. Surprisingly, the model revealed a weak N limitation (TSIN-TSIP = -10 corresponded to peak values of Chl-a in summer-autumn season, which is probably because the phytoplankton community is co-limited by N & P during the period. The shift of nutrition limitation during winter-spring would partially explain high values of Chl-a throughout 1996. This study suggests that seasonal patterns of nutrient limitation must be considered to develop effective management measures to control cyanobacterial blooms.

Consumer information or direct product experience? Alternative information policies and their effects on consumer acceptance of GM foods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scholderer, Joachim

an informed purchase decision. Unfortunately, things are not that simple. Previous research has shown that Europeans already hold firm negative attitudes to GM foods. These attitudes are not based on risk-benefit evaluations of particular products. Rather, they seem to be a function of consumers? general......) consumers can be given the opportunity to evaluate GM products on the basis of direct experience, i.e. after the products have been launched. The first approach represents the transparency/precaution policy that was actually adopted in Europe, whilst the second one was dismissed after confrontations arose...... between different stakeholder groups in connection with Nestle's "Butterfinger" launch in 1998. Both approaches would have to compete against a strong network of pre-existing consumer attitudes, but surprisingly, neither of them has ever been experimentally tested on a broad scale. Two experiments...

Hole-hole correlations in the U=∞ limit of the Hubbard model and the stability of the Nagaoka state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, M.W.; Zotos, X.

1993-01-01

We use exact diagonalization in order to study the infinite-U limit of the two-dimensional Hubbard model. As well as looking at single-particle correlations, such as n kσ =left-angle c kσ † c kσ right-angle, we also study N-particle correlation functions, which compare the relative positions of all the particles in different models. In particular we study 16- and 18-site clusters and compare the charge correlations in the Hubbard model with those of spinless fermions and hard-core bosons. We find that although low densities of holes favor a ''locally ferromagnetic'' fermionic description, the correlations at larger densities resemble those of pure hard-core bosons surprisingly well

Are seismic hazard assessment errors and earthquake surprises unavoidable?

Science.gov (United States)

Kossobokov, Vladimir

2013-04-01

Why earthquake occurrences bring us so many surprises? The answer seems evident if we review the relationships that are commonly used to assess seismic hazard. The time-span of physically reliable Seismic History is yet a small portion of a rupture recurrence cycle at an earthquake-prone site, which makes premature any kind of reliable probabilistic statements about narrowly localized seismic hazard. Moreover, seismic evidences accumulated to-date demonstrate clearly that most of the empirical relations commonly accepted in the early history of instrumental seismology can be proved erroneous when testing statistical significance is applied. Seismic events, including mega-earthquakes, cluster displaying behaviors that are far from independent or periodic. Their distribution in space is possibly fractal, definitely, far from uniform even in a single segment of a fault zone. Such a situation contradicts generally accepted assumptions used for analytically tractable or computer simulations and complicates design of reliable methodologies for realistic earthquake hazard assessment, as well as search and definition of precursory behaviors to be used for forecast/prediction purposes. As a result, the conclusions drawn from such simulations and analyses can MISLEAD TO SCIENTIFICALLY GROUNDLESS APPLICATION, which is unwise and extremely dangerous in assessing expected societal risks and losses. For example, a systematic comparison of the GSHAP peak ground acceleration estimates with those related to actual strong earthquakes, unfortunately, discloses gross inadequacy of this "probabilistic" product, which appears UNACCEPTABLE FOR ANY KIND OF RESPONSIBLE SEISMIC RISK EVALUATION AND KNOWLEDGEABLE DISASTER PREVENTION. The self-evident shortcomings and failures of GSHAP appeals to all earthquake scientists and engineers for an urgent revision of the global seismic hazard maps from the first principles including background methodologies involved, such that there becomes: (a) a

Why Do So Few Consumers Use Health Care Quality Report Cards? A Framework for Understanding the Limited Consumer Impact of Comparative Quality Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhandari, Neeraj; Scanlon, Dennis P; Shi, Yunfeng; Smith, Rachel A

2018-05-01

Despite growing investment in producing and releasing comparative provider quality information (CQI), consumer use of CQI has remained poor. We offer a framework to interpret and synthesize the existing literature's diverse approaches to explaining the CQI's low appeal for consumers. Our framework cautions CQI stakeholders against forming unrealistic expectations of pervasive consumer use and suggests that they focus their efforts more narrowly on consumers who may find CQI more salient for choosing providers. We review the consumer impact of stakeholder efforts to apply the burgeoning knowledge of consumers' cognitive limitations to the design and dissemination of the new generation of report cards; we conclude that while it is too limited to draw firm conclusions, early evidence suggests consumers are responding to the novel design and dissemination strategies. We find that consumers continue to have difficulty accessing reliable report cards, while the media remains underused in the dissemination of report cards.

Non-Discriminatory Assessment: Formal and Informal Assessment of Limited English Proficient Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Mares, Sharon

PEOPLE (Pruebas de Expresion Oral y Percepcion de la Lengua Espanol) was developed as a test to help distinguish between a language difference and a language deficit in non English proficient (NEP) and limited English proficient (LEP) elementary Hispanic students. PEOPLE was developed, pilot tested in 14 school districts in Los Angeles County with…

Nitrogen and carbon limitation of planktonic primary production and phytoplankton–bacterioplankton coupling in ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorrell, Brian K; Safi, Karl; Hawes, Ian

2013-01-01

We compared planktonic primary and secondary production across twenty meltwater ponds on the surface of the McMurdo Ice Shelf in January 2007, including some ponds with basal brines created by meromictic stratification. Primary production ranged from 1.07 to 65.72 mgC m −3 h −1 in surface waters. In stratified ponds primary production was always more than ten times higher in basal brines than in the corresponding mixolimnion. Regression tree analysis (r 2 = 0.80) identified inorganic nitrogen (as NH 4 + ) as the main factor limiting planktonic primary production. However, there was also evidence of inorganic carbon co-limitation of photosynthesis in some of the more oligotrophic waters. Neither C nor N limited carbon fixation at [NH 4 –N] > 50 mg m −3 , with photoinhibition the factor most likely limiting photosynthesis under such conditions. Primary production was the only factor significantly correlated to bacterial production and the relationship (r 2 = 0.56) was non-linear. Nitrogen limitation and tight coupling of planktonic primary and bacterial production is surprising in these ponds, as all have large pools of dissolved organic carbon (1.2–260 g m −3 ) and organic nitrogen (all >130 mg m −3 ). The dissolved pools of organic carbon and nitrogen appear to be recalcitrant and bacterial production to be constrained by limited release of labile organics from phytoplankton. (letter)

19 CFR 351.301 - Time limits for submission of factual information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... in questionnaire responses, publicly available information to value factors in nonmarket economy... scheduled date of the final determination. (5) [Reserved] (6) Green light and Green box claims. (i) In... status under section 771(5B),(C), or (D) of the Act (“green light subsidies”) or under section 771(5B)(F...

Spatiotemporal noise covariance estimation from limited empirical magnetoencephalographic data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Sung C; Plis, Sergey M; Ranken, Doug M; Schmidt, David M

2006-01-01

The performance of parametric magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) source localization approaches can be degraded by the use of poor background noise covariance estimates. In general, estimation of the noise covariance for spatiotemporal analysis is difficult mainly due to the limited noise information available. Furthermore, its estimation requires a large amount of storage and a one-time but very large (and sometimes intractable) calculation or its inverse. To overcome these difficulties, noise covariance models consisting of one pair or a sum of multi-pairs of Kronecker products of spatial covariance and temporal covariance have been proposed. However, these approaches cannot be applied when the noise information is very limited, i.e., the amount of noise information is less than the degrees of freedom of the noise covariance models. A common example of this is when only averaged noise data are available for a limited prestimulus region (typically at most a few hundred milliseconds duration). For such cases, a diagonal spatiotemporal noise covariance model consisting of sensor variances with no spatial or temporal correlation has been the common choice for spatiotemporal analysis. In this work, we propose a different noise covariance model which consists of diagonal spatial noise covariance and Toeplitz temporal noise covariance. It can easily be estimated from limited noise information, and no time-consuming optimization and data-processing are required. Thus, it can be used as an alternative choice when one-pair or multi-pair noise covariance models cannot be estimated due to lack of noise information. To verify its capability we used Bayesian inference dipole analysis and a number of simulated and empirical datasets. We compared this covariance model with other existing covariance models such as conventional diagonal covariance, one-pair and multi-pair noise covariance models, when noise information is sufficient to estimate them. We

The Economics of Information: A Classroom Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Netusil, Noelwah R.; Haupert, Michael

1995-01-01

Describes an economics class experiment where students ranked the quality of baked pies according to limited information. The limited sets of information included brand name and packaging only, price only, advertising only, word-of-mouth, and taste test. Discusses signals of quality and consumer decisions. (MJP)

Approaching neurological diseases to reduce mobility limitations in older persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauretani, Fulvio; Ceda, Gian Paolo; Pelliccioni, Pio; Ruffini, Livia; Nardelli, Anna; Cherubini, Antonio; Maggio, Marcello

2014-01-01

The rapidly increasing elderly population poses a major challenge for future health-care systems. Neurological diseases in older persons are particularly common and coexist with other clinical conditions. This is not surprising given that, for example, even patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD) could have relevant extrapyramidal signs at the moment of the diagnosis with motor signs having more negative prognostic value. Longitudinal studies conducted on Parkinson Disease (PD) showed that, after 20 years, dementia is not only present in almost all survivors but is also the main factor influencing nursing home admission. Recently, it has been reported the importance of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA: comprehensive evaluation of cognition, depressive symptoms, mobility and functional assessment) as a tool reducing morbidity in frail older patients admitted to any acute hospital unit. The CGA should be considered as a technological device, for physicians who take care of older persons affected by overlapping neurological diseases. CGA is an extraordinary and cost effective instrument even in patients with advanced neurological diseases where allows to collect valuable information for an effective plan of management.

Harnessing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to enable community-oriented primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Bazemore, Andrew; Phillips, Robert L; Miyoshi, Thomas

2010-01-01

Despite growing acceptance and implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) in the public health arena, its utility for clinical population management and coordination by leaders in a primary care clinical health setting has been neither fully realized nor evaluated. In a primary care network of clinics charged with caring for vulnerable urban communities, we used GIS to (1) integrate and analyze clinical (practice management) data and population (census) data and (2) generate distribution, service area, and population penetration maps of those clinics. We then conducted qualitative evaluation of the responses of primary care clinic leaders, administrators, and community board members to analytic mapping of their clinic and regional population data. Practice management data were extracted, geocoded, and mapped to reveal variation between actual clinical service areas and the medically underserved areas for which these clinics received funding, which was surprising to center leaders. In addition, population penetration analyses were performed to depict patterns of utilization. Qualitative assessments of staff response to the process of mapping clinical and population data revealed enthusiastic engagement in the process, which led to enhanced community comprehension, new ideas about data use, and an array of applications to improve their clinical revenue. However, they also revealed barriers to further adoption, including time, expense, and technical expertise, which could limit the use of GIS and mapping unless economies of scale across clinics, the use of web technology, and the availability of dynamic mapping tools could be realized. Analytic mapping was enthusiastically received and practically applied in the primary care setting, and was readily comprehended by clinic leaders for innovative purposes. This is a tool of particular relevance amid primary care safety-net expansion and increased funding of health information technology diffusion in these

Quantum remnants in the classical limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowalski, A.M.; Plastino, A.

2016-01-01

We analyze here the common features of two dynamical regimes: a quantum and a classical one. We deal with a well known semi-classic system in its route towards the classical limit, together with its purely classic counterpart. We wish to ascertain i) whether some quantum remnants can be found in the classical limit and ii) the details of the quantum-classic transition. The so-called mutual information is the appropriate quantifier for this task. Additionally, we study the Bandt–Pompe's symbolic patterns that characterize dynamical time series (representative of the semi-classical system under scrutiny) in their evolution towards the classical limit. - Highlights: • We investigate the classical limit (CL) of a well known semi classical model. • The study is made by reference to the Bandt Pompe symbolic approach. • The number and type of associated symbols changes as one proceeds towards the CL. • We ascertain which symbols pertaining to the quantum zone remain in the CL.

Quantum remnants in the classical limit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kowalski, A.M., E-mail: kowalski@fisica.unlp.edu.ar [Instituto de Física (IFLP-CCT-Conicet), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, C.C. 727, 1900 La Plata (Argentina); Comision de Investigaciones Científicas (CIC) (Argentina); Plastino, A., E-mail: plastino@fisica.unlp.edu.ar [Instituto de Física (IFLP-CCT-Conicet), Universidad Nacional de La Plata, C.C. 727, 1900 La Plata (Argentina); Argentina' s National Research Council (CONICET) (Argentina); SThAR, EPFL Innovation Park, Lausanne (Switzerland)

2016-09-16

We analyze here the common features of two dynamical regimes: a quantum and a classical one. We deal with a well known semi-classic system in its route towards the classical limit, together with its purely classic counterpart. We wish to ascertain i) whether some quantum remnants can be found in the classical limit and ii) the details of the quantum-classic transition. The so-called mutual information is the appropriate quantifier for this task. Additionally, we study the Bandt–Pompe's symbolic patterns that characterize dynamical time series (representative of the semi-classical system under scrutiny) in their evolution towards the classical limit. - Highlights: • We investigate the classical limit (CL) of a well known semi classical model. • The study is made by reference to the Bandt Pompe symbolic approach. • The number and type of associated symbols changes as one proceeds towards the CL. • We ascertain which symbols pertaining to the quantum zone remain in the CL.

Implementation of an Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, James R; Ritter, Melody J

2011-01-01

During the administration of anesthesia, the anesthesia provider has historically created a paper record, charted manually, that included extensive patient care-related data (vital signs, other parameters, etc) and commentaries. DocuSys, a proprietary anesthesia information management system (AIMS), creates an electronic version of the anesthesia record and provides additional information. It electronically captures data from clinical monitors and other sources, including scheduling applications and laboratory computers. The AIMS facilitates chart entries such as drug doses and case narratives. Benefits of an AIMS include improved legibility of the anesthesia record and greater efficiency in documentation efforts. Use of the AIMS assists the practitioner with decision support logic, such as the timing of antibiotic administration and the inclusion of legally required documentation. Upon case completion, the AIMS data are immediately available to other information systems, such as billing and medical records. Data can be made available from a single case or, more important, from thousands of cases to analyze variables such as efficiency of services, adherence to best practices, patient outcomes, and clinical research. The AIMS was deployed at the main campus of the Ochsner Health System on March 26, 2009. In this article, we discuss the issues involved in the AIMS implementation process: the successes, surprises, and continued challenges.

19 CFR 207.7 - Limited disclosure of certain business proprietary information under administrative protective...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... corresponding information about a competitor (pricing, product design, etc.). (4) Forms and determinations. (i... information pursuant to this paragraph, the authorized applicant need not file a new application in the final...

PA2 Satisfaction with information received: perceptions of the patient and the informal caregiver.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawber, R; Armour, K; Carter, C; Ferry, P; Meystre, C

2015-04-01

Provision of information to patients and families is a priority of palliative care. Lack of information on symptoms, treatment and disease progress adversely affects patients' and caregivers' abilities to self manage and participate in decision making and care. Qualitative reports of end of life care suggest caregivers seek more information than patients. Ignorance of this need may hamper health promotion strategies and limitation of patient and caregiver morbidity during end of life and bereavement processes. To compare satisfaction of dying patients with information given; to proxy satisfaction estimates on the patient's behalf. Prospective study comparing assessment of satisfaction with information received by nurse, informal caregiver and dying patient (>64 years) in hospital. Assessments made within 24 h, using patient and caregiver versions of the palliative outcome scale (POS). weighted kappa for agreement between proxy and patient. Informal caregivers overestimate dissatisfaction with level of information given compared to patients. Weighted kappa patient versus ICG 0.187 (slight agreement), n = 50. The disparity between patient and proxy information satisfaction reflects the complexity of participatory strategies to limit morbidity at the end of life. Proxy over- estimation of patient dissatisfaction with information received may reflect the caregivers own dissatisfaction. As death approaches, caregivers require more information than patients, their burden increases and they become the interpreter of patient symptoms. Ignorance may lead to overestimation of symptoms, early breakdown of social care, and unplanned admission, risking death other than in the patients preferred place. Meeting caregiver information needs may reduce caregiver burden and improve proxy assessments, reducing patient and caregiver morbidity. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Samaru Journal of Information Studies

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Samaru Journal of Information Studies addresses issues in the field of library science, information science and related fields including but not limited to, ... Information generation, access and utilization by rural dwellers for sustainable community development in Kwara State, Nigeria · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL ...

City Limits, 2004, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This is a graphical polygon dataset depicting the polygon boundaries of the incorporated city limits of Baton Rouge, Baker, and Zachary within East Baton Rouge...

The Influence of Company Size on Accounting Information: Evidence in Large Caps and Small Caps Companies Listed on BM&FBovespa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Yukari Yokoyama

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, the relation between accounting information aspects and the capitalization level o companies listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange was investigated, classified as Large Caps or Small Caps, companies with larger and smaller capitalization, respectively, between 2010 and 2012. Three accounting information measures were addressed: informativeness, conservatism and relevance, through the application of Easton and Harris’ (1991 models of earnings informativeness, Basu’s (1997 model of conditional conservatism and the value relevance model, based on Ohlson (1995. The results appointed that, although the Large Caps present a higher level of conservatism, their accounting figures were less informative and more relevant when compared to the Large Caps companies. Due to the greater production of private information (predisclosure surrounding larger companies, the market would tend to respond less strongly or surprised to the publication of these companies’ accounting information, while the lack of anticipated information would make the effect of disclosing these figures more preponderant for the Small Caps companies.

Some limitations of public sequence data for phylogenetic inference (in plants).

Science.gov (United States)

Hinchliff, Cody E; Smith, Stephen Andrew

2014-01-01

The GenBank database contains essentially all of the nucleotide sequence data generated for published molecular systematic studies, but for the majority of taxa these data remain sparse. GenBank has value for phylogenetic methods that leverage data-mining and rapidly improving computational methods, but the limits imposed by the sparse structure of the data are not well understood. Here we present a tree representing 13,093 land plant genera--an estimated 80% of extant plant diversity--to illustrate the potential of public sequence data for broad phylogenetic inference in plants, and we explore the limits to inference imposed by the structure of these data using theoretical foundations from phylogenetic data decisiveness. We find that despite very high levels of missing data (over 96%), the present data retain the potential to inform over 86.3% of all possible phylogenetic relationships. Most of these relationships, however, are informed by small amounts of data--approximately half are informed by fewer than four loci, and more than 99% are informed by fewer than fifteen. We also apply an information theoretic measure of branch support to assess the strength of phylogenetic signal in the data, revealing many poorly supported branches concentrated near the tips of the tree, where data are sparse and the limiting effects of this sparseness are stronger. We argue that limits to phylogenetic inference and signal imposed by low data coverage may pose significant challenges for comprehensive phylogenetic inference at the species level. Computational requirements provide additional limits for large reconstructions, but these may be overcome by methodological advances, whereas insufficient data coverage can only be remedied by additional sampling effort. We conclude that public databases have exceptional value for modern systematics and evolutionary biology, and that a continued emphasis on expanding taxonomic and genomic coverage will play a critical role in developing

Merging Methods to Manage Uncertainty: Combining Simulation Modeling and Scenario Planning to Inform Resource Management Under Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, B. W.; Schuurman, G. W.; Symstad, A.; Fisichelli, N. A.; Frid, L.

2017-12-01

Managing natural resources in this era of anthropogenic climate change is fraught with uncertainties around how ecosystems will respond to management actions and a changing climate. Scenario planning (oftentimes implemented as a qualitative, participatory exercise for exploring multiple possible futures) is a valuable tool for addressing this challenge. However, this approach may face limits in resolving responses of complex systems to altered climate and management conditions, and may not provide the scientific credibility that managers often require to support actions that depart from current practice. Quantitative information on projected climate changes and ecological responses is rapidly growing and evolving, but this information is often not at a scale or in a form that is `actionable' for resource managers. We describe a project that sought to create usable information for resource managers in the northern Great Plains by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, researchers, resource managers, and climate adaptation specialists co-produced a simulation model in conjunction with scenario planning workshops to inform natural resource management in southwest South Dakota. Scenario planning for a wide range of resources facilitated open-minded thinking about a set of divergent and challenging, yet relevant and plausible, climate scenarios and management alternatives that could be implemented in the simulation. With stakeholder input throughout the process, we built a simulation of key vegetation types, grazing, exotic plants, fire, and the effects of climate and management on rangeland productivity and composition. By simulating multiple land management jurisdictions, climate scenarios, and management alternatives, the model highlighted important tradeoffs between herd sizes and vegetation composition, and between the short- versus long-term costs of invasive species management. It also identified impactful uncertainties related to the

Information and technology: A coexistence without limits, a beginning with no apparent ending

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reisman, D.J. [Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States)

1990-12-31

A variety of issues must be addressed in development of software for information resources. One is accessibility and use of information. Another is that to properly design, abstract, index, and do quality control on a database requires the effort of well-trained and knowledgeable personnel as well as substantial financial resources. Transferring data to other locations has inherent difficulties, including those related to incompatibility. The main issue in developing health risk assessment databases is the needs of the user.

7 CFR 1400.204 - Limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships..., limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, and other similar legal entities. (a) A limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, corporation...

Explanatory models of health and disease: surprises from within the former Soviet Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana I Andreeva

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Extract The review of anthropological theories as applied to public health by Jennifer J. Carroll (Carroll, 2013 published in this issue of TCPHEE made me recollect my first and most surprising discoveries of how differently same things can be understood in different parts of the world. Probably less unexpectedly, these impressions concern substance abuse and addiction behaviors, similarly to many examples deployed by Jennifer J. Carroll. The first of these events happened soon after the break-up of the Soviet Union when some of the most active people from the West rushed to discover what was going on behind the opening iron curtain. A director of an addiction clinic, who had just come into contact with a Dutch counterpart, invited me to join the collaboration and the innovation process he planned to launch. Being a participant of the exchange program started within this collaboration, I had an opportunity to discover how addictive behaviors were understood and explained in books (English, 1961; Kooyman, 1992; Viorst, 1986 recommended by the colleagues in the Netherlands and, as I could observe with my own eyes, addressed in everyday practice. This was a jaw-dropping contrast to what I learnt at the soviet medical university and some post-graduate courses, where all the diseases related to alcohol, tobacco, or drug abuse were considered predominantly a result of the substance intake. In the Soviet discourse, the intake itself was understood as 'willful and deliberate' or immoral behavior which, in some cases, was to be rectified in prison-like treatment facilities. In the West, quite oppositely, substance abuse was seen rather as a consequence of a constellation of life-course adversities thoroughly considered by developmental psychology. This approach was obviously deeply ingrained in how practitioners diagnosed and treated their patients.

A surprisingly simple correlation between the classical and quantum structural networks in liquid water

Science.gov (United States)

Hamm, Peter; Fanourgakis, George S.; Xantheas, Sotiris S.

2017-08-01

Nuclear quantum effects in liquid water have profound implications for several of its macroscopic properties related to the structure, dynamics, spectroscopy, and transport. Although several of water's macroscopic properties can be reproduced by classical descriptions of the nuclei using interaction potentials effectively parameterized for a narrow range of its phase diagram, a proper account of the nuclear quantum effects is required to ensure that the underlying molecular interactions are transferable across a wide temperature range covering different regions of that diagram. When performing an analysis of the hydrogen-bonded structural networks in liquid water resulting from the classical (class) and quantum (qm) descriptions of the nuclei with two interaction potentials that are at the two opposite ends of the range in describing quantum effects, namely the flexible, pair-wise additive q-TIP4P/F, and the flexible, polarizable TTM3-F, we found that the (class) and (qm) results can be superimposed over the temperature range T = 250-350 K using a surprisingly simple, linear scaling of the two temperatures according to T(qm) = α T(class) + ΔT, where α = 0.99 and ΔT = -6 K for q-TIP4P/F and α = 1.24 and ΔT = -64 K for TTM3-F. This simple relationship suggests that the structural networks resulting from the quantum and classical treatment of the nuclei with those two very different interaction potentials are essentially similar to each other over this extended temperature range once a model-dependent linear temperature scaling law is applied.

Gulf Canada Resources Limited 1998 annual report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

A review of operations in 1998 and financial information from Gulf Canada Resources Limited is provided to keep shareholders abreast of company performance. Gulf Canada Resources Limited explores for, develops, produces and markets conventional and synthetic crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. In 1998, the company's main operating centres were in western Canada (where it owns a nine per cent interest in the Syncrude Joint Venture), Indonesia, the North Sea and Australia. The report summarizes the company's energy resource activities, presents a detailed review of operations, and provides consolidated financial statements, and common share information. Although Gulf Canada Resources sold $ 1.2 billion worth of non-producing assets during the year, year end proved reserves of 838 million barrels of oil equivalent were less than ten per cent lower than a year earlier, reflecting reserve additions of 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. tabs., figs

Fundamental energy limits of SET-based Brownian NAND and half-adder circuits. Preliminary findings from a physical-information-theoretic methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Ercan, İlke; Suyabatmaz, Enes

2018-06-01

The saturation in the efficiency and performance scaling of conventional electronic technologies brings about the development of novel computational paradigms. Brownian circuits are among the promising alternatives that can exploit fluctuations to increase the efficiency of information processing in nanocomputing. A Brownian cellular automaton, where signals propagate randomly and are driven by local transition rules, can be made computationally universal by embedding arbitrary asynchronous circuits on it. One of the potential realizations of such circuits is via single electron tunneling (SET) devices since SET technology enable simulation of noise and fluctuations in a fashion similar to Brownian search. In this paper, we perform a physical-information-theoretic analysis on the efficiency limitations in a Brownian NAND and half-adder circuits implemented using SET technology. The method we employed here establishes a solid ground that enables studying computational and physical features of this emerging technology on an equal footing, and yield fundamental lower bounds that provide valuable insights into how far its efficiency can be improved in principle. In order to provide a basis for comparison, we also analyze a NAND gate and half-adder circuit implemented in complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology to show how the fundamental bound of the Brownian circuit compares against a conventional paradigm.

On Assisting a Visual-Facial Affect Recognition System with Keyboard-Stroke Pattern Information

Science.gov (United States)

Stathopoulou, I.-O.; Alepis, E.; Tsihrintzis, G. A.; Virvou, M.

Towards realizing a multimodal affect recognition system, we are considering the advantages of assisting a visual-facial expression recognition system with keyboard-stroke pattern information. Our work is based on the assumption that the visual-facial and keyboard modalities are complementary to each other and that their combination can significantly improve the accuracy in affective user models. Specifically, we present and discuss the development and evaluation process of two corresponding affect recognition subsystems, with emphasis on the recognition of 6 basic emotional states, namely happiness, sadness, surprise, anger and disgust as well as the emotion-less state which we refer to as neutral. We find that emotion recognition by the visual-facial modality can be aided greatly by keyboard-stroke pattern information and the combination of the two modalities can lead to better results towards building a multimodal affect recognition system.

SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE SENSOR: AIS SENSOR THAT INTELLIGENTLY RE-TRANSMITS MEANINGFUL INFORMATION DERIVED FROM RAWAIS DATA IN NETWORK LIMITED AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. G. V. Meyer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available AIS is a transponder based, anti-collision system used by the majority of ocean traffic. Ships regularly transmit their identity, position and speed. The information used to populate the AIS fields come from ship based sensors, such as GPS, and user populated fields, such as the vessels name and MMSI number. These fields are susceptible to spoofing and can be changed to hide the identity or location of a vessel. This is often done to disguise the vessel as a different class to avoid inspections or to enter a protected area without raising alarms. The AIS system has found great utility in monitoring global shipping trends and traffic but this was never intended when the protocol was designed. Docked vessels still transmit messages regularly that contain no new information. These, and other redundant messages, are still transmitted and stored. In situations where a sensor is remote and has limited access to the Internet this can become costly. The Smart-AIS sensor records all incoming messages locally and makes a decision on whether the message is of special interest or not. Messages of interest are re-transmitted to an external AIS database.

EPA Enforcement and Compliance History Online: ICIS-NPDES Limit

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Limits data set for Clean Water Act permitted...

76 FR 70975 - Petition Requesting Exception From Lead Content Limits

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-16

... information provided, to http://www.regulations.gov . Do not submit confidential business information, trade... of divisions: Scale Models and Dyersville Die Cast (``petitioner''), submitted a petition requesting an exception from the lead content limit of 100 ppm under section 101(b) of the CPSIA for its die...

Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Foreign Students in University of Delhi: A Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K P Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information needs and information seeking behavior of foreign students. A survey method was used for the undertaken study. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire, self-administered to 120 foreign students (60 males & 60 females with 88 (47 males & 41 females returns. The research is limited to post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. foreign students in University of Delhi. It was found that post-graduate students need information regarding their program of study while research scholars need information for writing research articles and for doing their research work. Most of them seek information through the internet. Research scholars used electronic resources such as databases, e-journals and e-theses and dissertations. 88.6% of the respondents also use books for seeking information. Their use of the library is limited with complaints about library staff and too few computer terminals. The present study will be helpful in designing new systems and services for the foreign students so that their information needs can be fulfilled easily. Further, findings of the study indicate that how the library professionals should assist foreign students to accomplish their information needs.

DAIDS: a Distributed, Agent-based Information Dissemination System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pete Haglich

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The Distributed Agent-Based Information Dissemination System (DAIDS concept was motivated by the need to share information among the members of a military tactical team in an atmosphere of extremely limited or intermittent bandwidth. The DAIDS approach recognizes that in many cases communications limitations will preclude the complete sharing of all tactical information between the members of the tactical team. Communications may be limited by obstructions to the line of sight between platforms; electronic warfare; or environmental conditions, or just contention from other users of that bandwidth. Since it may not be possible to achieve a complete information exchange, it is important to prioritize transmissions so the most critical information from the standpoint of the recipient is disseminated first. The challenge is to be able to determine which elements of information are the most important to each teammate. The key innovation of the DAIDS concept is the use of software proxy agents to represent the information needs of the recipient of the information. The DAIDS approach uses these proxy agents to evaluate the content of a message in accordance with the context and information needs of the recipient platform (the agent's principal and prioritize the message for dissemination. In our research we implemented this approach and demonstrated that it provides nearly a reduction in transmission times for critical tactical reports by up to a factor of 30 under severe bandwidth limitations.

IsoStar: A library of information about nonbonded interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Bruno, Ian J.; Cole, Jason C.; Lommerse, Jos P. M.; Rowland, R. Scott; Taylor, Robin; Verdonk, Marcel L.

1997-11-01

Crystallographic and theoretical (ab initio) data on intermolecular nonbondedinteractions have been gathered together in a computerised library('IsoStar`). The library contains information about the nonbonded contactsformed by some 250 chemical groupings. The data can be displayed visually andused to aid protein-ligand docking or the identification of bioisostericreplacements. Data from the library show that there is great variability inthe geometrical preferences of different types of hydrogen bonds, although ingeneral there is a tendency for H-bonds to form along lone-pair directions.The H-bond acceptor abilities of oxygen and sulphur atoms are highly dependenton intramolecular environments. The nonbonded contacts formed by manyhydrophobic groups show surprisingly strong directional preferences. Manyunusual nonbonded interactions are to be found in the library and are ofpotential value for designing novel biologically active molecules.

Informal information for web-based engineering catalogues

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Richard D.; Culley, Stephen J.; Hicks, Ben J.

2001-10-01

Success is highly dependent on the ability of a company to efficiently produce optimal designs. In order to achieve this companies must minimize time to market and possess the ability to make fully informed decisions at the early phase of the design process. Such decisions may include the choice of component and suppliers, as well as cost and maintenance considerations. Computer modeling and electronic catalogues are becoming the preferred medium for the selection and design of mechanical components. In utilizing these techniques, the designer demands the capability to identify, evaluate and select mechanical components both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative decisions generally encompass performance data included in the formal catalogue representation. It is in the area of qualitative decisions that the use of what the authors call 'Informal Information' is of crucial importance. Thus, 'Informal Information' must often be incorporated into the selection process and selection systems. This would enable more informed decisions to be made quicker, without the need for information retrieval via discussion with colleagues in the design environment. This paper provides an overview of the use of electronic information in the design of mechanical systems, including a discussion of limitations of current technology. The importance of Informal Information is discussed and the requirements for association with web based electronic catalogues are developed. This system is based on a flexible XML schema and enables the storage, classification and recall of Informal Information packets. Furthermore, a strategy for the inclusion of Informal Information is proposed, and an example case is used to illustrate the benefits.

Surpresa refrativa pós-facoemulsificação em distrofia corneana posterior amorfa Post-phacoemulsification refractive surprise in a posterior amorphous corneal dystrophy patient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuliano de Oliveira Freitas

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Relato de um caso de surpresa refracional pós-operatória não pretendida em paciente portador de distrofia corneana posterior amorfa submetida à facoemulsificação. A provável causa do erro, bem como a conduta tomada a partir do reconhecimento da mesma, são discutidas neste relato.One case of post-phacoemulsification refractive surprise in a posterior amorphous corneal dystrophy patient is reported herein. Its likely causative factor, as well as our approach once it was recognized are discussed in this report.

Quantum limits to information about states for finite dimensional Hilbert space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, K.R.W.

1990-01-01

A refined bound for the correlation information of an N-trial apparatus is developed via an heuristic argument for Hilbert spaces of arbitrary finite dimensionality. Conditional upon the proof of an easily motivated inequality it was possible to find the optimal apparatus for large ensemble quantum Inference, thereby solving the asymptotic optimal state determination problem. In this way an alternative inferential uncertainty principle, is defined which is then contrasted with the usual Heisenberg uncertainty principle. 6 refs

Inference of topology and the nature of synapses, and the flow of information in neuronal networks

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, F. S.; Lameu, E. L.; Iarosz, K. C.; Protachevicz, P. R.; Caldas, I. L.; Viana, R. L.; Macau, E. E. N.; Batista, A. M.; Baptista, M. S.

2018-02-01

The characterization of neuronal connectivity is one of the most important matters in neuroscience. In this work, we show that a recently proposed informational quantity, the causal mutual information, employed with an appropriate methodology, can be used not only to correctly infer the direction of the underlying physical synapses, but also to identify their excitatory or inhibitory nature, considering easy to handle and measure bivariate time series. The success of our approach relies on a surprising property found in neuronal networks by which nonadjacent neurons do "understand" each other (positive mutual information), however, this exchange of information is not capable of causing effect (zero transfer entropy). Remarkably, inhibitory connections, responsible for enhancing synchronization, transfer more information than excitatory connections, known to enhance entropy in the network. We also demonstrate that our methodology can be used to correctly infer directionality of synapses even in the presence of dynamic and observational Gaussian noise, and is also successful in providing the effective directionality of intermodular connectivity, when only mean fields can be measured.

Open Platform for Limit Protection with Carefree Maneuver Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Jeram, Geoffrey J.

2004-01-01

This Open Platform for Limit Protection guides the open design of maneuver limit protection systems in general, and manned, rotorcraft, aerospace applications in particular. The platform uses three stages of limit protection modules: limit cue creation, limit cue arbitration, and control system interface. A common set of limit cue modules provides commands that can include constraints, alerts, transfer functions, and friction. An arbitration module selects the "best" limit protection cues and distributes them to the most appropriate control path interface. This platform adopts a holistic approach to limit protection whereby it considers all potential interface points, including the pilot's visual, aural, and tactile displays; and automatic command restraint shaping for autonomous limit protection. For each functional module, this thesis guides the control system designer through the design choices and information interfaces among the modules. Limit cue module design choices include type of prediction, prediction mechanism, method of critical control calculation, and type of limit cue. Special consideration is given to the nature of the limit, particularly the level of knowledge about it, and the ramifications for limit protection design, especially with respect to intelligent control methods such as fuzzy inference systems and neural networks.

Evaluation of concentration limits of radionuclides produced by accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibata, Tokushi; Ohkubo, Tohru; Uwamino, Yoshitomo; Iwai, Satoshi; Satoh, Osamu; Rintsu, Yukoh; Fukumoto, Toshiharu.

1992-01-01

This report describes the evaluation of concentration limits of 78 radionuclides typically produced by accelerator facilities and not listed in ICRP Pub. 30. The evaluation method and system have been developed in the present study. The evaluated values were compared with tremendously severe concentration limits given in the Annex Table 2 of the Science and Technology Agency Notification No. 15 which describes the concentration limits of the nuclides of which concentration limits are not given in the Annex Table 1 of the Agency Notification No. 15. The results show that two to nine order larger limits should be used. The new limits rationalize greatly the internal exposure control and the design of accelerator facilities. Simple and convenient techniques are also discussed for finding concentration limits of very-short-lived nuclides without knowing detail information about the nuclides such as decay scheme and metabolic data. (author)

Time-limited effects of emotional arousal on item and source memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Sun, Bukuan

2015-01-01

Two experiments investigated the time-limited effects of emotional arousal on consolidation of item and source memory. In Experiment 1, participants memorized words (items) and the corresponding speakers (sources) and then took an immediate free recall test. Then they watched a neutral, positive, or negative video 5, 35, or 50 min after learning, and 24 hours later they took surprise memory tests. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that (a) a reality monitoring task was used; (b) elicitation delays of 5, 30, and 45 min were used; and (c) delayed memory tests were given 60 min after learning. Both experiments showed that, regardless of elicitation delay, emotional arousal did not enhance item recall memory. Second, both experiments showed that negative arousal enhanced delayed item recognition memory only at the medium elicitation delay, but not in the shorter or longer delays. Positive arousal enhanced performance only in Experiment 1. Third, regardless of elicitation delay, emotional arousal had little effect on source memory. These findings have implications for theories of emotion and memory, suggesting that emotion effects are contingent upon the nature of the memory task and elicitation delay.

The Cognitive Limits to Economic Cluster Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael C. Carrol

2012-01-01

Full Text Available There has been increasing interest in the social dimensions of economic clusters. The literature now includes select examples of social network analysis plus an extensive discussion of learning regions. Unfortunately, much of this work treats the network as the primary unit of analysis. It may be that network attributes such as density, centrality, and power are primarily dependent on human limitations and not instituted factors. In other words, a human’s limited ability to process information may be a better determinant of cluster success than economic or network theory. The purpose of this paper is to highlight human limits in cluster formation. To do this, we draw on recent developments in the cognitive psychology and communications literatures. We explain that many of the factors that lead to underperforming cluster policies are the result of a human’s inability to develop and sustain a large number of social interactions. Any cluster policy must be cognizant of such limitations and carefully address these limits in the formation of the initial strategy.

Photosystem II cycle activity and alternative electron transport in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum under dynamic light conditions and nitrogen limitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Heiko; Jakob, Torsten; Lavaud, Johann; Wilhelm, Christian

2016-05-01

Alternative electron sinks are an important regulatory mechanism to dissipate excessively absorbed light energy particularly under fast changing dynamic light conditions. In diatoms, the cyclic electron transport (CET) around Photosystem II (PS II) is an alternative electron transport pathway (AET) that contributes to avoidance of overexcitation under high light illumination. The combination of nitrogen limitation and high-intensity irradiance regularly occurs under natural conditions and is expected to force the imbalance between light absorption and the metabolic use of light energy. The present study demonstrates that under N limitation, the amount of AET and the activity of CETPSII in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum were increased. Thereby, the activity of CETPSII was linearly correlated with the amount of AET rates. It is concluded that CETPSII significantly contributes to AET in P. tricornutum. Surprisingly, CETPSII was found to be activated already at the end of the dark period under N-limited conditions. This coincided with a significantly increased degree of reduction of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool. The analysis of the macromolecular composition of cells of P. tricornutum under N-limited conditions revealed a carbon allocation in favor of carbohydrates during the light period and their degradation during the dark phase. A possible linkage between the activity of CETPSII and degree of reduction of the PQ pool on the one side and the macromolecular changes on the other is discussed.

76 FR 31800 - Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited Model DHC-3 (Otter) Airplanes

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-02

... Airworthiness Directives; Viking Air Limited Model DHC-3 (Otter) Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation... INFORMATION: Discussion Recent analysis by the FAA on the Viking Air Limited Model DHC-3 (Otter) airplanes... new airworthiness directive (AD): 2011-12-02 Viking Aircraft Limited: Amendment 39-16709; Docket No...

Modern Sedimentation along the SE Bangladesh Coast Reveal Surprisingly Low Accumulation Rates

Science.gov (United States)

McHugh, C.; Mustaque, S.; Mondal, D. R.; Akhter, S. H.; Iqbal, M.

2016-12-01

Recent sediments recovered along the SE coast of Bangladesh, from Teknaf to Cox's Bazar and drainage basin analyses reveal sediment sources and very low sedimentation rates of 1mm/year. These low rates are surprisingly low given that this coast is adjacent to the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta with a yearly discharge of 1GT. The Teknaf anticline (elevation 200 m), part of the western Burma fold-thrust belt dominates the topography extending across and along the Teknaf peninsula. It is thought to have begun evolving since the Miocene (Alam et al. 2003 & Allen et al. 2008). Presently the anticline foothills on the west are flanked by uplifted terraces, the youngest linked to coseismic displacement during the 1762 earthquake (Mondal et al. 2015), and a narrow beach 60-200 m in width. Petrography, semi-quantitative bulk mineralogy and SEM/EDX analyses were conducted on sediments recovered along the west coast from 1-4 m deep trenches and three 4-8 m deep drill holes. GIS mapping of drainage basins and quartz-feldspar-lithic (QFL) ternary plots based on grain counting show mixing of sediments from multiple sources: Himalayan provenance of metamorphic and igneous origin (garnet-mostly almandine, tourmaline, rutile, kyanite, zircon, sillimanite and clinopyroxene) similar to Uddin et al. (2007); Brahmaputra provenance of igneous and metamorphic origin (amphibole, epidote, plagioclase 40% Na and 60% Ca, apatite, ilmenite, magnetite, Cr-spinel and garnet-mostly grossular,) as indicated by Garzanti et al. (2010) & Rahman et al. (2016) and Burmese sources (cassiterite and wolframite) (Zaw 1990 & Searle et al. 2007). Low sedimentation rates are the result of two main factors: 1. Strong longshore currents from the south-east that interact with high tidal ranges as evidenced by the morphology of sand waves and ridge and runnel landforms along the beach. 2. Streams draining the Teknaf anticline are dry during the winter and during summer monsoon rains, the sediments bypass the narrow

Obligation of the radiologist to obtain informed consent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narr, H

1983-06-01

The hazards involved in radiological examinations, especially with contrast media containing iodine, have led to the following postulations: Anamnesis must be thorough and detailed, especially with a view to allergic reactions and other contra-indications. If severe or lethal affections are suspected, preliminary examinations are necessary in those cases where sufficiently reliable findings are not available. Preliminary testing and reaction prophylaxis should be carried out if necessary. The same applies to general premedication. The information talk as well as the operative procedure must be carried out by the responsible attending physician. Only those contrast media should be applied that are commonly used and well-tested. Contrast media must not be injected for test purposes. Special mention must be made of complications that will surprise the non-expert patient, complications that may lead to incidents requiring treatment, and complications that may be fatal. Information is necessary if severe and long-term damage may occur. Information even on hardly possible and infrequent complications is particularly necessary in those cases where the diagnostic intervention does not justify hopes of healing or even saving the patient. As far as particularly hazardous methods of examination are concerned, it may be better, especially with patients of advanced age, not to carry out any such examination unless there is a vital or absolute indication.

Black Holes: Eliminating Information or Illuminating New Physics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumanta Chakraborty

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Black holes, initially thought of as very interesting mathematical and geometric solutions of general relativity, over time, have come up with surprises and challenges for modern physics. In modern times, they have started to test our confidence in the fundamental understanding of nature. The most serious charge on the black holes is that they eat up information, never to release and subsequently erase it. This goes absolutely against the sacred principles of all other branches of fundamental sciences. This realization has shaken the very base of foundational concepts, both in quantum theory and gravity, which we always took for granted. Attempts to get rid of of this charge, have led us to crossroads with concepts, hold dearly in quantum theory. The sphere of black hole’s tussle with quantum theory has readily and steadily grown, from the advent of the Hawking radiation some four decades back, into domain of quantum information theory in modern times, most aptly, recently put in the form of the firewall puzzle. Do black holes really indicate something sinister about their existence or do they really point towards the troubles of ignoring the fundamental issues, our modern theories are seemingly plagued with? In this review, we focus on issues pertaining to black hole evaporation, the development of the information loss paradox, its recent formulation, the leading debates and promising directions in the community.

Spatial But Not Oculomotor Information Biases Perceptual Memory: Evidence From Face Perception and Cognitive Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Wantz, Andrea L; Lobmaier, Janek S; Mast, Fred W; Senn, Walter

2017-08-01

Recent research put forward the hypothesis that eye movements are integrated in memory representations and are reactivated when later recalled. However, "looking back to nothing" during recall might be a consequence of spatial memory retrieval. Here, we aimed at distinguishing between the effect of spatial and oculomotor information on perceptual memory. Participants' task was to judge whether a morph looked rather like the first or second previously presented face. Crucially, faces and morphs were presented in a way that the morph reactivated oculomotor and/or spatial information associated with one of the previously encoded faces. Perceptual face memory was largely influenced by these manipulations. We considered a simple computational model with an excellent match (4.3% error) that expresses these biases as a linear combination of recency, saccade, and location. Surprisingly, saccades did not play a role. The results suggest that spatial and temporal rather than oculomotor information biases perceptual face memory. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Bargaining power and information in SME lending

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Grunert (Jens); L. Norden (Lars)

2012-01-01

textabstractSmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are informationally opaque and bank dependent. In SME lending, banks largely rely on soft information, because the scale and scope of hard information are limited. We analyze whether and how hard and soft information affects the borrower's

Tree Leaf Shadows to the Sun's Density: A Surprising Route

Science.gov (United States)

Mallmann, A. James

2013-01-01

Rays of sunlight that strike raindrops produce rainbows that provide information about the spectrum of sunlight. Rays of sunlight that strike airborne ice crystals produce halos, sun pillars, and many other patterns of light and color in the sky. Analysis of those patterns makes it possible to determine the types and orientations of the ice…

INTEGRATION OF SPATIAL INFORMATION WITH COLOR FOR CONTENT RETRIEVAL OF REMOTE SENSING IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bikesh Kumar Singh

2010-08-01

Full Text Available There is rapid increase in image databases of remote sensing images due to image satellites with high resolution, commercial applications of remote sensing & high available bandwidth in last few years. The problem of content-based image retrieval (CBIR of remotely sensed images presents a major challenge not only because of the surprisingly increasing volume of images acquired from a wide range of sensors but also because of the complexity of images themselves. In this paper, a software system for content-based retrieval of remote sensing images using RGB and HSV color spaces is presented. Further, we also compare our results with spatiogram based content retrieval which integrates spatial information along with color histogram. Experimental results show that the integration of spatial information in color improves the image analysis of remote sensing data. In general, retrievals in HSV color space showed better performance than in RGB color space.

Opportunities and Limitations for Using New Media and Mobile ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Opportunities and Limitations for Using New Media and Mobile Phones to Expand Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Six Nigerian States.

The behavioral ecology of a cognitive constraint: limited attention

OpenAIRE

Colin W. Clark; Reuven Dukas

2003-01-01

Limited attention may constrain animal behavior in situations in which the rate of relevant information exceeds the threshold processing capacity of the brain. In the present study, we examine why attention is limited by quantifying how attention affects the ubiquitous problem of balancing foraging and antipredator activity. We analyze how a given attentional capacity affects feeding requirements, the optimal attentional focus during predator scanning, and the probability of detecting predato...

A framework for ensuring a balanced accounting of the impact of antimicrobial stewardship interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Toma, Madalina; Davey, Peter G; Marwick, Charis A; Guthrie, Bruce

2017-12-01

Drawing on a Cochrane systematic review, this paper examines the relatively limited range of outcomes measured in published evaluations of antimicrobial stewardship interventions (ASIs) in hospitals. We describe a structured framework for considering the range of consequences that ASIs can have, in terms of their desirability and the extent to which they were expected when planning an ASI: expected, desirable consequences (intervention goals); expected, undesirable consequences (intervention trade-offs); unexpected, undesirable consequences (unpleasant surprises); and unexpected, desirable consequences (pleasant surprises). Of 49 randomized controlled trials identified by the Cochrane review, 28 (57%) pre-specified increased length of stay and/or mortality as potential trade-offs of ASI, with measurement intended to provide reassurance about safety. In actuality, some studies found unexpected decreases in length of stay (a pleasant surprise). In contrast, only 11 (10%) of 110 interrupted time series studies included any information about unintended consequences, with 10 examining unexpected, undesirable outcomes (unpleasant surprises) using case-control, qualitative or cohort designs. Overall, a large proportion of the ASIs reported in the literature only assess impact on their targeted process goals-antimicrobial prescribing-with limited examination of other potential outcomes, including microbial and clinical outcomes. Achieving a balanced accounting of the impact of an ASI requires careful consideration of expected undesirable effects (potential trade-offs) from the outset, and more consideration of unexpected effects after implementation (both pleasant and unpleasant surprises, although the latter will often be more important). The proposed framework supports the systematic consideration of all types of consequences of improvement before and after implementation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for

Annual limits on intake of radionuclides by workers based on the 1990 recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The Commission's new radiation protection recommendations (ICRP, 1991) were developed to take into account new biological information related to the detriment associated with radiation exposures and supersede earlier recommendations in Publication 26 (ICRP, 1977). Adoption of the recommendations necessitates a revision in the Commission's secondary limits contained in Publication 30, Parts 1-4 (ICRP, 1979a, 1980, 1981b, 1988). In order to permit immediate application of these new recommendations, new values of the Annual Limits on Intake (ALIs) which incorporate the new dose limits, radiation weighting factors, and tissue weighting factors and the metabolic and biokinetic information from Publication 30 have been calculated. Presented here are secondary limits for the 1990 Recommendations based on the dosimetric data assembled during the preparation of Publication 30. (author)

Inform: Efficient Information-Theoretic Analysis of Collective Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas G. Moore

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The study of collective behavior has traditionally relied on a variety of different methodological tools ranging from more theoretical methods such as population or game-theoretic models to empirical ones like Monte Carlo or multi-agent simulations. An approach that is increasingly being explored is the use of information theory as a methodological framework to study the flow of information and the statistical properties of collectives of interacting agents. While a few general purpose toolkits exist, most of the existing software for information theoretic analysis of collective systems is limited in scope. We introduce Inform, an open-source framework for efficient information theoretic analysis that exploits the computational power of a C library while simplifying its use through a variety of wrappers for common higher-level scripting languages. We focus on two such wrappers here: PyInform (Python and rinform (R. Inform and its wrappers are cross-platform and general-purpose. They include classical information-theoretic measures, measures of information dynamics and information-based methods to study the statistical behavior of collective systems, and expose a lower-level API that allow users to construct measures of their own. We describe the architecture of the Inform framework, study its computational efficiency and use it to analyze three different case studies of collective behavior: biochemical information storage in regenerating planaria, nest-site selection in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus, and collective decision making in multi-agent simulations.

Superhuman AI for heads-up no-limit poker: Libratus beats top professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Noam; Sandholm, Tuomas

2018-01-26

No-limit Texas hold'em is the most popular form of poker. Despite artificial intelligence (AI) successes in perfect-information games, the private information and massive game tree have made no-limit poker difficult to tackle. We present Libratus, an AI that, in a 120,000-hand competition, defeated four top human specialist professionals in heads-up no-limit Texas hold'em, the leading benchmark and long-standing challenge problem in imperfect-information game solving. Our game-theoretic approach features application-independent techniques: an algorithm for computing a blueprint for the overall strategy, an algorithm that fleshes out the details of the strategy for subgames that are reached during play, and a self-improver algorithm that fixes potential weaknesses that opponents have identified in the blueprint strategy. Copyright © 2018, The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Towards a characterization of information automation systems on the flight deck

Science.gov (United States)

Dudley, Rachel Feddersen

This thesis summarizes research to investigate the characteristics that define information automation systems used on aircraft flight decks and the significant impacts that these characteristics have on pilot performance. Major accomplishments of the work include the development of a set of characteristics that describe information automation systems on the flight deck and an experiment designed to study a subset of these characteristics. Information automation systems on the flight deck are responsible for the collection, processing, analysis, and presentation of data to the flightcrew. These systems pose human factors issues and challenges that must be considered by designers of these systems. Based on a previously developed formal definition of information automation for aircraft flight deck systems, an analysis process was developed and conducted to reach a refined set of information automation characteristics. In this work, characteristics are defined as a set of properties or attributes that describe an information automation system's operation or behavior, which can be used to identify and assess potential human factors issues. Hypotheses were formed for a subset of the characteristics: Automation Visibility, Information Quality, and Display Complexity. An experimental investigation was developed to measure performance impacts related to these characteristics, which showed mixed results of expected and surprising findings, with many interactions. A set of recommendations were then developed based on the experimental observations. Ensuring that the right information is presented to pilots at the right time and in the appropriate manner is the job of flight deck system designers. This work provides a foundation for developing recommendations and guidelines specific to information automation on the flight deck with the goal of improving the design and evaluation of information automation systems before they are implemented.

77 FR 49485 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-16

.... This design is intended to limit burden while maximizing the supervisory information produced from the... other for-profit. Estimated Number of Respondents: 20. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 9,600 hours. The...

Problems and limitation in diagnosis with computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohtomo, Eiichi

1985-01-01

The development and explosion of computed tomography (CT) machines have forced a revolution in the diagnosis of nervous diseases, making it very easy to detect cerebrovascular disorders, cerebral atrophy, and ventricular dilation. However, as much information on various brain diseases has been available by CT, diagnostic problems and limitations of CT have becoming evident. This paper outlines CT problems and limitations in diagnosing cerebrovascular disorders, cerebral tumors, inflammation, head trauma, and cerebral atrophy; and discusses their relation to adults and elderly people. (Namekawa, K.)

Comment on "Dynamic shifts of limited working memory resources in human vision".

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Nelson; Rouder, Jeffrey N

2009-02-13

Bays and Husain (Reports, 8 August 2008, p. 851) reported that human working memory, the limited information currently in mind, reflects resources distributed across all items in an array. In an alternative interpretation, memory is limited to several well-represented items. We argue that this item-limit model fits the extant data better than the distributed-resources model and is more interpretable theoretically.

A post-genomic surprise. The molecular reinscription of race in science, law and medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Duster, Troy

2015-03-01

The completion of the first draft of the Human Genome Map in 2000 was widely heralded as the promise and future of genetics-based medicines and therapies - so much so that pundits began referring to the new century as 'The Century of Genetics'. Moreover, definitive assertions about the overwhelming similarities of all humans' DNA (99.9 per cent) by the leaders of the Human Genome Project were trumpeted as the end of racial thinking about racial taxonomies of human genetic differences. But the first decade of the new century brought unwelcomed surprises. First, gene therapies turned out to be far more complicated than any had anticipated - and instead the pharmaceutical industry turned to a focus on drugs that might be 'related' to population differences based upon genetic markers. While the language of 'personalized medicine' dominated this frame, research on racially and ethnically designated populations differential responsiveness to drugs dominated the empirical work in the field. Ancestry testing and 'admixture research' would play an important role in a new kind of molecular reification of racial categories. Moreover, the capacity of the super-computer to map differences reverberated into personal identification that would affect both the criminal justice system and forensic science, and generate new levels of concern about personal privacy. Social scientists in general, and sociologists in particular, have been caught short by these developments - relying mainly on assertions that racial categories are socially constructed, regionally and historically contingent, and politically arbitrary. While these assertions are true, the imprimatur of scientific legitimacy has shifted the burden, since now 'admixture research' can claim that its results get at the 'reality' of human differentiation, not the admittedly flawed social constructions of racial categories. Yet what was missing from this framing of the problem: 'admixture research' is itself based upon socially

Securing information display by use of visual cryptography.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Hirotsugu; Hayasaki, Yoshio; Nishida, Nobuo

2003-09-01

We propose a secure display technique based on visual cryptography. The proposed technique ensures the security of visual information. The display employs a decoding mask based on visual cryptography. Without the decoding mask, the displayed information cannot be viewed. The viewing zone is limited by the decoding mask so that only one person can view the information. We have developed a set of encryption codes to maintain the designed viewing zone and have demonstrated a display that provides a limited viewing zone.

Surprising quantum bounces

CERN Document Server

Nesvizhevsky, Valery

2015-01-01

This unique book demonstrates the undivided unity and infinite diversity of quantum mechanics using a single phenomenon: quantum bounces of ultra-cold particles. Various examples of such "quantum bounces" are: gravitational quantum states of ultra-cold neutrons (the first observed quantum states of matter in a gravitational field), the neutron whispering gallery (an observed matter-wave analog of the whispering gallery effect well known in acoustics and for electromagnetic waves), and gravitational and whispering gallery states for anti-matter atoms that remain to be observed. These quantum states are an invaluable tool in the search for additional fundamental short-range forces, for exploring the gravitational interaction and quantum effects of gravity, for probing physics beyond the standard model, and for furthering studies into the foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum optics, and surface science.

More Supernova Surprises

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-24

originated in South America. E veryone appreciates the beauty of dai- sies, chrysanthemums, and sunfl ow- ers, and many of us enjoy eating lettuce ...few fossils. On page 1621 of this issue, Barreda et al. ( 1) describe an unusually well-preserved new fossil that sheds light on the history of

Surprising radiation detectors

CERN Document Server

Fleischer, Robert

2003-01-01

Radiation doses received by the human body can be measured indirectly and retrospectively by counting the tracks left by particles in ordinary objects like pair of spectacles, glassware, compact disks...This method has been successfully applied to determine neutron radiation doses received 50 years ago on the Hiroshima site. Neutrons themselves do not leave tracks in bulk matter but glass contains atoms of uranium that may fission when hurt by a neutron, the recoil of the fission fragments generates a track that is detectable. The most difficult is to find adequate glass items and to evaluate the radiation shield they benefited at their initial place. The same method has been used to determine the radiation dose due to the pile-up of radon in houses. In that case the tracks left by alpha particles due to the radioactive decay of polonium-210 have been counted on the superficial layer of the window panes. Other materials like polycarbonate plastics have been used to determine the radiation dose due to heavy io...

Information-theoretic signatures of biodiversity in the barcoding gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Valmir C

2018-08-14

Analyzing the information content of DNA, though holding the promise to help quantify how the processes of evolution have led to information gain throughout the ages, has remained an elusive goal. Paradoxically, one of the main reasons for this has been precisely the great diversity of life on the planet: if on the one hand this diversity is a rich source of data for information-content analysis, on the other hand there is so much variation as to make the task unmanageable. During the past decade or so, however, succinct fragments of the COI mitochondrial gene, which is present in all animal phyla and in a few others, have been shown to be useful for species identification through DNA barcoding. A few million such fragments are now publicly available through the BOLD systems initiative, thus providing an unprecedented opportunity for relatively comprehensive information-theoretic analyses of DNA to be attempted. Here we show how a generalized form of total correlation can yield distinctive information-theoretic descriptors of the phyla represented in those fragments. In order to illustrate the potential of this analysis to provide new insight into the evolution of species, we performed principal component analysis on standardized versions of the said descriptors for 23 phyla. Surprisingly, we found that, though based solely on the species represented in the data, the first principal component correlates strongly with the natural logarithm of the number of all known living species for those phyla. The new descriptors thus constitute clear information-theoretic signatures of the processes whereby evolution has given rise to current biodiversity, which suggests their potential usefulness in further related studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Market Segmentation for Information Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Halperin, Michael

1981-01-01

Discusses the advantages and limitations of market segmentation as strategy for the marketing of information services made available by nonprofit organizations, particularly libraries. Market segmentation is defined, a market grid for libraries is described, and the segmentation of information services is outlined. A 16-item reference list is…

GA-4/GA-9 honeycomb impact limiter tests and analytical model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koploy, M.A.; Taylor, C.S.

1991-01-01

General Atomics (GA) has a test program underway to obtain data on the behavior of a honeycomb impact limiter. The program includes testing of small samples to obtain basic information, as well as testing of complete 1/4-scale impact limiters to obtain load-versus-deflection curves for different crush orientations. GA has used the test results to aid in the development of an analytical model to predict the impact limiter loads. The results also helped optimize the design of the impact limiters for the GA-4 and GA-9 Casks

Using stochastic language models (SLM) to map lexical, syntactic, and phonological information processing in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopopolo, Alessandro; Frank, Stefan L; van den Bosch, Antal; Willems, Roel M

2017-01-01

Language comprehension involves the simultaneous processing of information at the phonological, syntactic, and lexical level. We track these three distinct streams of information in the brain by using stochastic measures derived from computational language models to detect neural correlates of phoneme, part-of-speech, and word processing in an fMRI experiment. Probabilistic language models have proven to be useful tools for studying how language is processed as a sequence of symbols unfolding in time. Conditional probabilities between sequences of words are at the basis of probabilistic measures such as surprisal and perplexity which have been successfully used as predictors of several behavioural and neural correlates of sentence processing. Here we computed perplexity from sequences of words and their parts of speech, and their phonemic transcriptions. Brain activity time-locked to each word is regressed on the three model-derived measures. We observe that the brain keeps track of the statistical structure of lexical, syntactic and phonological information in distinct areas.

Information management for decommissioning projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LeClair, A.N.; Lemire, D.S.

2011-01-01

This paper explores the importance of records and information management for decommissioning projects. Key decommissioning information and elements of a sound information management strategy are identified. Various knowledge management strategies and tools are discussed as opportunities for leveraging decommissioning information. The paper also examines the implementation of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's (AECL) strategy for the long term preservation of decommissioning information, and its initiatives in leveraging of information with the application of several knowledge management strategies and tools. The implementation of AECL's strategy illustrates common as well as unique information and knowledge management challenges and opportunities for decommissioning projects. (author)

Comprehensive review of the literature on institutional controls to limit land use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-08-01

A literature search was conducted to identify case studies that would provide a basis for establishing the effective duration of institutional controls to limit land use and to identify the attributes that contribute to their effectiveness. The literature on a variety of active and passive institutional controls to limit land use on government lands and on private lands adjacent to government lands was reviewed. No case studies and little detailed information were found concerning the periods for which the institutional controls remained effective over the long-term or the aspects of the controls that contributed to their effectiveness in limiting land use. The information available in the literature is discussed and an extensive bibliography and recommendations regarding future work are provided. (author)

Comprehensive review of the literature on institutional controls to limit land use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-08-01

A literature search was conducted to identify case studies that would provide a basis for establishing the effective duration of institutional controls to limit land use and to identify the attributes that contribute to their effectiveness. The literature on a variety of active and passive institutional controls to limit land use on government lands and on private lands adjacent to government lands was reviewed. No case studies and little detailed information were found concerning the periods for which the institutional controls remained effective over the long-term or the aspects of the controls that contributed to their effectiveness in limiting land use. The information available in the literature is discussed and an extensive bibliography and recommendations regarding future work are provided. (author).

Measuring cancer patients’ reasons for their information preference: construction of the Considerations Concerning Cancer Information (CCCI) questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ter Hoeven, C.L.; Zandbelt, L.C.; Fransen, S.; de Haes, H.; Oort, F.; Geijsen, D.; Koning, C.; Smets, E.

2011-01-01

Objectives: This paper describes the further development and psychometric properties of an instrument to measure cancer patients' reasons to want complete or limited information: the Considerations Concerning Cancer Information questionnaire (CCCI). Understanding cancer patients' reasons to want

Measuring cancer patients' reasons for their information preference: construction of the Considerations Concerning Cancer Information (CCCI) questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ter Hoeven, Claartje L.; Zandbelt, Linda C.; Fransen, Sanne; de Haes, Hanneke; Oort, Frans; Geijsen, Debby; Koning, Caro; Smets, Ellen

2011-01-01

Objectives: This paper describes the further development and psychometric properties of an instrument to measure cancer patients' reasons to want complete or limited information: the Considerations Concerning Cancer Information questionnaire (CCCI). Understanding cancer patients' reasons to want

An information system that knits the whole company together

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendryx, M.

1997-01-01

During the 1980s, as the economics of the natural gas industry weathered some fairly heavy changes, local distribution companies (LDCs) had to keep pace, with new products and new ways of doing business, or get left behind. The competition for the big industrial and commercial customers became intense, prompting new ventures such as pipeline capacity leases and special industrial sales programs. The transportation business emerged as important in its own right, as profit margins from gas sales shrank; novel provisions in gas purchase contracts became the norm. But in many cases, it was the LDCs' information systems that didn't keep pace. With business innovations sprouting up like mushrooms, it was hardly surprising that many of the computer applications backing them up emerged as stand-alone operations, designed solely for the business function of one area or department. At Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. the unfortunate consequences of so many new applications separated from one another began to pile up. As the numbers of pipeline-capacity lease and transportation customers continued to expand, the manual effort needed to take care of the requisite paperwork became nearly overwhelming. The paper describes the development of the information system and its operation

China: A Problem of Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, R. F.

1981-01-01

Using as examples the questions of size of the primary school population and size and qualifications of the teaching force, the author illustrates certain difficulties in obtaining an informed picture of the school system in the People's Republic of China, plus the nature and limitations of available information sources. (Author/SJL)

Efficient network disintegration under incomplete information: the comic effect of link prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Suo-Yi; Wu, Jun; Lü, Linyuan; Li, Meng-Jun; Lu, Xin

2016-01-01

The study of network disintegration has attracted much attention due to its wide applications, including suppressing the epidemic spreading, destabilizing terrorist network, preventing financial contagion, controlling the rumor diffusion and perturbing cancer networks. The crux of this matter is to find the critical nodes whose removal will lead to network collapse. This paper studies the disintegration of networks with incomplete link information. An effective method is proposed to find the critical nodes by the assistance of link prediction techniques. Extensive experiments in both synthetic and real networks suggest that, by using link prediction method to recover partial missing links in advance, the method can largely improve the network disintegration performance. Besides, to our surprise, we find that when the size of missing information is relatively small, our method even outperforms than the results based on complete information. We refer to this phenomenon as the “comic effect” of link prediction, which means that the network is reshaped through the addition of some links that identified by link prediction algorithms, and the reshaped network is like an exaggerated but characteristic comic of the original one, where the important parts are emphasized. PMID:26960247

Intralaminar and medial thalamic influence on cortical synchrony, information transmission and cognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuri B Saalmann

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The intralaminar and medial thalamic nuclei are part of the higher-order thalamus, which receives little sensory input, and instead forms extensive cortico-thalamo-cortical pathways. The large mediodorsal thalamic nucleus predominantly connects with the prefrontal cortex, the adjacent intralaminar nuclei connect with fronto-parietal cortex, and the midline thalamic nuclei connect with medial prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe. Taking into account this connectivity pattern, it is not surprising that the intralaminar and medial thalamus has been implicated in a variety of cognitive functions, including memory processing, attention and orienting, as well as reward-based behavior. This review addresses how the intralaminar and medial thalamus may regulate information transmission in cortical circuits. A key neural mechanism may involve intralaminar and medial thalamic neurons modulating the degree of synchrony between different groups of cortical neurons according to behavioral demands. Such a thalamic-mediated synchronization mechanism may give rise to large-scale integration of information across multiple cortical circuits, consequently influencing the level of arousal and consciousness. Overall, the growing evidence supports a general role for the higher-order thalamus in the control of cortical information transmission and cognitive processing.

Efficient network disintegration under incomplete information: the comic effect of link prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Suo-Yi; Wu, Jun; Lü, Linyuan; Li, Meng-Jun; Lu, Xin

2016-03-01

The study of network disintegration has attracted much attention due to its wide applications, including suppressing the epidemic spreading, destabilizing terrorist network, preventing financial contagion, controlling the rumor diffusion and perturbing cancer networks. The crux of this matter is to find the critical nodes whose removal will lead to network collapse. This paper studies the disintegration of networks with incomplete link information. An effective method is proposed to find the critical nodes by the assistance of link prediction techniques. Extensive experiments in both synthetic and real networks suggest that, by using link prediction method to recover partial missing links in advance, the method can largely improve the network disintegration performance. Besides, to our surprise, we find that when the size of missing information is relatively small, our method even outperforms than the results based on complete information. We refer to this phenomenon as the “comic effect” of link prediction, which means that the network is reshaped through the addition of some links that identified by link prediction algorithms, and the reshaped network is like an exaggerated but characteristic comic of the original one, where the important parts are emphasized.

Determination and assessment of the concentration limits to be used in SR-Can

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duro, L; Grive, M; Cera, E; Gaona, X; Domenech, C; Bruno, J [Enviros Spain S.L., Barcelona (Spain)

2006-12-15

This report presents the results for solubility limit calculations for the SR-Can assessment. It has been organized into five chapters that constitute the core of the report, supported by several appendices containing additional and supporting information. The updated thermodynamic database used to conduct the solubility calculations has been issued as a separate report. The near field system for which the concentration limits of the radionuclides are assessed and the scenarios selected by SKB to calculate the solubility limits are thoroughly described. Several sources of information have been used to support the calculated solubility limits. In particular results from selected spent fuel dissolution experiments and natural analogue data are discussed to introduce the proper perspective to the results from the thermodynamic calculations. In addition, the main conceptual and numerical uncertainties associated to the assessment of the concentration limits of each element are numerically evaluated and discussed. Equilibrium calculations have been conducted to select the solubility limiting solid phase for each element. Furthermore a sensitivity analysis of parameters of interest for each element is presented and the impact of the uncertainties identified on the solubility of each element quantified. The results are presented in a series of tables containing the calculated solubility for each radionuclide under the reference conditions. Finally concentration limits that are recommended result from the expert judgement built-up around the various sources of information together with the quantification of radionuclide solubility data and their associated uncertainties. The results are compared to previous solubility limits determination performed by SKB in SR 97, as well as the recommended values from other HLNW management organisations.

Determination and assessment of the concentration limits to be used in SR-Can

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duro, L.; Grive, M.; Cera, E.; Gaona, X.; Domenech, C.; Bruno, J.

2006-12-01

This report presents the results for solubility limit calculations for the SR-Can assessment. It has been organized into five chapters that constitute the core of the report, supported by several appendices containing additional and supporting information. The updated thermodynamic database used to conduct the solubility calculations has been issued as a separate report. The near field system for which the concentration limits of the radionuclides are assessed and the scenarios selected by SKB to calculate the solubility limits are thoroughly described. Several sources of information have been used to support the calculated solubility limits. In particular results from selected spent fuel dissolution experiments and natural analogue data are discussed to introduce the proper perspective to the results from the thermodynamic calculations. In addition, the main conceptual and numerical uncertainties associated to the assessment of the concentration limits of each element are numerically evaluated and discussed. Equilibrium calculations have been conducted to select the solubility limiting solid phase for each element. Furthermore a sensitivity analysis of parameters of interest for each element is presented and the impact of the uncertainties identified on the solubility of each element quantified. The results are presented in a series of tables containing the calculated solubility for each radionuclide under the reference conditions. Finally concentration limits that are recommended result from the expert judgement built-up around the various sources of information together with the quantification of radionuclide solubility data and their associated uncertainties. The results are compared to previous solubility limits determination performed by SKB in SR 97, as well as the recommended values from other HLNW management organisations

Seeking surprise : rethinking monitoring for collective learning in rural resource management

OpenAIRE

Guijt, I.M.

2008-01-01

Commonsense says that monitoring systems should be able to provide feedback that can help correct ineffective actions. But practice shows that when dealing with complex rural development issues that involve collaborative action by a changing configuration of stakeholders, monitoring practice often falls short of its potential. In this thesis, I describe my search to understand why practice is so limited and what might be needed to design monitoring processes that foster learning in concerted ...

Fundamental limits to imaging resolution for focused ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orloff, J.; Swanson, L.W.; Utlaut, M.

1996-01-01

This article investigates the limitations on the formation of focused ion beam images from secondary electrons. We use the notion of the information content of an image to account for the effects of resolution, contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio and show that there is a competition between the rate at which small features are sputtered away by the primary beam and the rate of collection of secondary electrons. We find that for small features, sputtering is the limit to imaging resolution, and that for extended small features (e.g., layered structures), rearrangement, redeposition, and differential sputtering rates may limit the resolution in some cases. copyright 1996 American Vacuum Society

Practical low dose limits for passive personal dosemeters and the implications for uncertainties close to the limit of detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilvin, P. J.; Perks, C. A.

2011-01-01

Recent years have seen the increasing use of passive dosemeters that have high sensitivities and, in laboratory conditions, detection limits of <10 μSv. However, in real operational use the detection limits will be markedly higher, because a large fraction of the accrued dose will be due to natural background, and this must be subtracted in order to obtain the desired occupational dose. No matter how well known the natural background is, the measurement uncertainty on doses of a few tens of microsieverts will be large. Individual monitoring services need to recognise this and manage the expectations of their clients by providing sufficient information. (authors)

Consumers' various and surprising responses to direct-to-consumer advertisements in magazine print.

Science.gov (United States)

Arney, Jennifer; Street, Richard L; Naik, Aanand D

2013-01-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is ubiquitous in media outlets, but little is known about the ways in which consumers' values, needs, beliefs, and biases influence the perceived meaning and value of DTCA. This article aims to identify the taxonomy of readership categories that reflect the complexity of how health care consumers interact with DTCA, with particular focus on individuals' perceptions of print DTCA in popular magazines. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 18 male and female magazine readers and 18 male and female prescription medication users aged 18-71 years. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with consumers about their attentiveness, motivations, perceived value, and behavioral responses to DTCA were conducted. The analyses were guided by principles of grounded theory analysis; four categories that vary in consumers' attentiveness, motivations, perceived value, and behavioral responses to DTCA were identified. Two categories - the lay physician and the informed shopper - see value in information from DTCA and are likely to seek medical care based on the information. One category - the voyeur - reads DTCA, but is not likely to approach a clinician regarding advertised information. The fourth category - the evader - ignores DTCA and is not likely to approach a clinician with DTCA information. Responses to DTCA vary considerably among consumers, and physicians should view patients' understanding and response to DTCA within the context of their health-related needs. Patients' comments related to DTCA may be used as an opportunity to engage and understand patients' perspectives about illness and medication use. Clinicians may use information about these categories to facilitate shared understanding and improve communication within the doctor-patient relationship.

Consumers’ various and surprising responses to direct-to-consumer advertisements in magazine print

Science.gov (United States)

Arney, Jennifer; Street, Richard L; Naik, Aanand D

2013-01-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is ubiquitous in media outlets, but little is known about the ways in which consumers’ values, needs, beliefs, and biases influence the perceived meaning and value of DTCA. This article aims to identify the taxonomy of readership categories that reflect the complexity of how health care consumers interact with DTCA, with particular focus on individuals’ perceptions of print DTCA in popular magazines. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 18 male and female magazine readers and 18 male and female prescription medication users aged 18–71 years. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with consumers about their attentiveness, motivations, perceived value, and behavioral responses to DTCA were conducted. The analyses were guided by principles of grounded theory analysis; four categories that vary in consumers’ attentiveness, motivations, perceived value, and behavioral responses to DTCA were identified. Two categories – the lay physician and the informed shopper – see value in information from DTCA and are likely to seek medical care based on the information. One category – the voyeur – reads DTCA, but is not likely to approach a clinician regarding advertised information. The fourth category – the evader – ignores DTCA and is not likely to approach a clinician with DTCA information. Responses to DTCA vary considerably among consumers, and physicians should view patients’ understanding and response to DTCA within the context of their health-related needs. Patients’ comments related to DTCA may be used as an opportunity to engage and understand patients’ perspectives about illness and medication use. Clinicians may use information about these categories to facilitate shared understanding and improve communication within the doctor–patient relationship. PMID:23378746

Using attribute amnesia to test the limits of hyper-binding and associative deficits in working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick-Huhn, John M; Chen, Hui; Wyble, Bradley P; Dennis, Nancy A

2018-02-01

Previous work has shown mixed evidence regarding age-related deficits for binding in working memory. The current study used the newly developed attribute amnesia effect (H. Chen & Wyble, 2015a) to test the associative-deficit hypothesis during working memory and to probe whether hyper-binding extends to include binding of de-selected information. In studies of attribute amnesia, participants use target attributes (e.g., identity, color) to demonstrate near ceiling levels of reporting of a second target attribute (e.g., location) across a series of trials (H. Chen & Wyble, 2015a, 2016). Yet, despite having just processed the target-defining attribute, they have difficulty reporting it on a surprise trial. This effect provides several predictions for associative binding in aging. The associative-deficit hypothesis predicts age-related decline on the surprise trial, whereas an extension of hyper-binding predicts age-related increase in performance in older adults. In Experiment 1, when working memory load was low, older adults demonstrated attribute amnesia equal to that found in younger adults. When load increased in Experiment 2, older adults again demonstrated attribute amnesia as well as an age deficit for reporting target attributes. In lieu of spontaneous binding, results suggest that expectancy plays a critical role in older adults' propensity to encode and bind target attributes in working memory. Results further suggest that expectancy alone is not enough for older adults to form bound representations when task demands are high. Taken together results revealed a boundary condition of hyper-binding and further provided conditional support for the associative-deficit hypothesis in working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

APPLIED OPTICS. Overcoming Kerr-induced capacity limit in optical fiber transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Temprana, E; Myslivets, E; Kuo, B P-P; Liu, L; Ataie, V; Alic, N; Radic, S

2015-06-26

Nonlinear optical response of silica imposes a fundamental limit on the information transfer capacity in optical fibers. Communication beyond this limit requires higher signal power and suppression of nonlinear distortions to prevent irreversible information loss. The nonlinear interaction in silica is a deterministic phenomenon that can, in principle, be completely reversed. However, attempts to remove the effects of nonlinear propagation have led to only modest improvements, and the precise physical mechanism preventing nonlinear cancellation remains unknown. We demonstrate that optical carrier stability plays a critical role in canceling Kerr-induced distortions and that nonlinear wave interaction in silica can be substantially reverted if optical carriers possess a sufficient degree of mutual coherence. These measurements indicate that fiber information capacity can be notably increased over previous estimates. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The voice conveys specific emotions: Evidence from vocal burst displays

OpenAIRE

Simon-Thomas, E.; Keltner, D.; Sauter, D.; Sinicropi-Yao, L.; Abramson, A.

2009-01-01

Studies of emotion signaling inform claims about the taxonomic structure, evolutionary origins, and physiological correlates of emotions. Emotion vocalization research has tended to focus on a limited set of emotions: anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise, happiness, and for the voice, also tenderness. Here, we examine how well brief vocal bursts can communicate 22 different emotions: 9 negative (Study 1) and 13 positive (Study 2), and whether prototypical vocal bursts convey emotions more ...

SOCIAL MEDIA INTELLIGENCE: OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Liviu IVAN

2015-09-01

Full Text Available An important part of the reform of the intelligence community is felt in the opening linked with the widening spectrum of methods and spaces which can be used to collect and analyse dates and information. One of these methods that produce large mutations in the system is connected to the world of social media which proves to be a huge source of information. Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT, the newest member of the family INT's, is undoubtedly a separate domain, a practice rooted in the work of the intelligence community. This paper proposes a general characterization of the most important aspects of Social Media Intelligence, a brand new way for the intelligence community to collect and analyse information for national security purposes (but not only in the context of the current global challenges. Moreover, the work is focused in identifying the further limitations and opportunities of this practice in the upcoming decade.

Working memory representations persist in the face of unexpected task alterations.

Science.gov (United States)

Swan, Garrett; Wyble, Brad; Chen, Hui

2017-07-01

It is well known that information can be held in memory while performing other tasks concurrently, such as remembering a color or number during a separate visual search task. However, it is not clear what happens to stored information in the face of unexpected tasks, such as the surprise questions that are often used in experiments related to inattentional and change blindness. Does the unpredicted shift in task context cause memory representations to be cleared in anticipation of new information? To answer this question, we ran two experiments where the task unexpectedly switched partway through the experiment with a surprise question. Half of the participants were asked to report the same attribute (Exp. 1 = Identity, Exp. 2 = Color) of a target stimulus in both presurprise and postsurprise trials, while for the other half, the reported attribute switched from identity to color (Exp. 1) or vice versa (Exp. 2). Importantly, all participants had to read an unexpected set of instructions and respond differently on the surprise trial. Accuracy on the surprise trial was higher for the same-attribute groups than the different-attribute groups. Furthermore, there was no difference in reaction time on the surprise trial between the two groups. These results suggest that information participants expected to report can survive an encounter with an unexpected task. The implication is that failures to report information on a surprise trial in many experiments reflect genuine differences in memory encoding, rather than forgetting or overwriting induced by the surprise question.

Limits to Arbitrage in Sovereign Bonds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pelizzon, Loriana; Subrahmanyam, Marti G.; Tomio, Davide

the recent Euro-zone sovereign bond crisis and, surprisingly, find that: (i) even though the futures market leads the cash market in price discovery, the cash market leads the futures market in liquidity discovery, i.e., the willingness of market makers to trade (measured by market depth and bid-ask spread......), and (ii) the liquidity in the cash market, and not in the futures market, has a significant impact on the basis between the price of the futures contract and that of the cash bond that is cheapest to deliver. However, the interventions of the European Central Bank (ECB), during the Euro-zone crisis, had...

Information properties of morphologically complex words modulate brain activity during word reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakala, Tero; Hultén, Annika; Lehtonen, Minna; Lagus, Krista; Salmelin, Riitta

2018-06-01

Neuroimaging studies of the reading process point to functionally distinct stages in word recognition. Yet, current understanding of the operations linked to those various stages is mainly descriptive in nature. Approaches developed in the field of computational linguistics may offer a more quantitative approach for understanding brain dynamics. Our aim was to evaluate whether a statistical model of morphology, with well-defined computational principles, can capture the neural dynamics of reading, using the concept of surprisal from information theory as the common measure. The Morfessor model, created for unsupervised discovery of morphemes, is based on the minimum description length principle and attempts to find optimal units of representation for complex words. In a word recognition task, we correlated brain responses to word surprisal values derived from Morfessor and from other psycholinguistic variables that have been linked with various levels of linguistic abstraction. The magnetoencephalography data analysis focused on spatially, temporally and functionally distinct components of cortical activation observed in reading tasks. The early occipital and occipito-temporal responses were correlated with parameters relating to visual complexity and orthographic properties, whereas the later bilateral superior temporal activation was correlated with whole-word based and morphological models. The results show that the word processing costs estimated by the statistical Morfessor model are relevant for brain dynamics of reading during late processing stages. © 2018 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Time series analysis in astronomy: Limits and potentialities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vio, R.; Kristensen, N.R.; Madsen, Henrik

2005-01-01

In this paper we consider the problem of the limits concerning the physical information that can be extracted from the analysis of one or more time series ( light curves) typical of astrophysical objects. On the basis of theoretical considerations and numerical simulations, we show that with no a...

Limited aperture effects on ultrasonic image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kogan, V.G.; Rose, J.H.

1985-01-01

In the inverse Born approximation the shape of a weak scatterer can be determined from a knowledge of the backscattered ultrasonic amplitude for all directions of incidence and all frequencies. Two questions are considered. First, what information on the scatterer shape is preserved and what is degraded if the scattering data are available only within a limited set of incident directions (limited aperture). This problem is addressed for a spherical weakly scattering uniform flaw. It is shown that the problem of a general uniform ellipsoidal flaw can be reduced to the spherical case by a scale transformation; however, the apertures in these two cases must be related by the same transformation. Second, limited aperture and finite bandwidth Born inversions were performed for strongly scattering flaws (voids and cracks) using numerically generated scattering amplitudes. These inversions were then compared with the weak scattering analytic results, which show many common features

Experiences in limiting radiation exposure to the embryo/fetus in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.J.

1991-01-01

This paper presents the results of a survey of operating nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel fabrication facilities in the US. The survey obtained information on the number of women radiation workers in those plants over the last ten years and the number of workers potentially exposed to radiation while pregnant. Information on plant exposure limits for pregnant workers practiced at these plants and whether these limits comply with NCRP guidance and proposed NRC regulatory limits will also be presented. The discussion will include the effects of unions, labor arbitration, and legal actions on these policies. The unique problems of fuel manufacturers in addressing the proposed NRC regulations for embryo/fetus exposure will also be presented

Climate limits across space and time on European forest structure

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, A. L. S.; Neumann, M.; Hasenauer, H.

2017-12-01

The impact climate has on forests has been extensively studied. However, the large scale effect climate has on forest structures, such as average diameters, heights and basal area are understudied in a spatially explicit manner. The limits, tipping points and thresholds that climate places on forest structures dictate the services a forest may provide, the vulnerability of a forest to mortality and the potential value of the timber there within. The majority of current research either investigates climate impacts on forest pools and fluxes, on a tree physiological scale or on case studies that are used to extrapolate results and potential impacts. A spatially explicit study on how climate affects forest structure over a large region would give valuable information to stakeholders who are more concerned with ecosystem services that cannot be described by pools and fluxes but require spatially explicit information - such as biodiversity, habitat suitability, and market values. In this study, we quantified the limits that climate (maximum, minimum temperature and precipitation) places on 3 forest structures, diameter at breast height, height, and basal area throughout Europe. Our results show clear climatic zones of high and low upper limits for each forest structure variable studied. We also spatially analyzed how climate restricts the potential bio-physical upper limits and creates tipping points of each forest structure variable and which climate factors are most limiting. Further, we demonstrated how the climate change has affected 8 individual forests across Europe and then the continent as a whole. We find that diameter, height and basal area are limited by climate in different ways and that areas may have high upper limits in one structure and low upper limits in another limitted by different climate variables. We also found that even though individual forests may have increased their potential upper limit forest structure values, European forests as a whole

Value-Added Taxes, Chain Effects, and Informality

OpenAIRE

Áureo de Paula; Jose A. Scheinkman

2010-01-01

This paper investigates determinants of informal economic activity. We present an equilibrium model of informality and test its implications using a survey of 48,000+ small firms in Brazil. We define informality as tax avoidance; firms in the informal sector avoid tax payments but suffer other limitations. A novel theoretical contribution in this model is the role of value added taxes in transmitting informality. It predicts that the informality of a firm is correlated to the informality of f...

Conceptual models of information processing

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, L. J.

1983-01-01

The conceptual information processing issues are examined. Human information processing is defined as an active cognitive process that is analogous to a system. It is the flow and transformation of information within a human. The human is viewed as an active information seeker who is constantly receiving, processing, and acting upon the surrounding environmental stimuli. Human information processing models are conceptual representations of cognitive behaviors. Models of information processing are useful in representing the different theoretical positions and in attempting to define the limits and capabilities of human memory. It is concluded that an understanding of conceptual human information processing models and their applications to systems design leads to a better human factors approach.

From fundamental limits to radioprotection practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, P.; Chassany, J.

1980-01-01

The individual dose limits fixed by present French legislation for different categories of people refer to dose equivalents received by or delivered to the whole body or to certain tissues or organs over given periods of time. The values concerning personnel engaged directly in work under radiations are summed up in a table. These are the limits which radioprotection authorities must impose, while ensuring that exposure levels are kept as low as possible. With the means available in practical radioprotection it is not possible to measure dose equivalents directly, but information may be obtained on dose rates, absorbed doses, particle fluxes, activities per unit volume and per surface area. An interpretation of these measurements is necessary if an efficient supervision of worker exposure is to be achieved [fr

Fundamental limits of radio interferometers: calibration and source parameter estimation

OpenAIRE

Trott, Cathryn M.; Wayth, Randall B.; Tingay, Steven J.

2012-01-01

We use information theory to derive fundamental limits on the capacity to calibrate next-generation radio interferometers, and measure parameters of point sources for instrument calibration, point source subtraction, and data deconvolution. We demonstrate the implications of these fundamental limits, with particular reference to estimation of the 21cm Epoch of Reionization power spectrum with next-generation low-frequency instruments (e.g., the Murchison Widefield Array -- MWA, Precision Arra...

Hot nuclei, limiting temperatures and excitation energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peter, J.

1986-09-01

Hot fusion nuclei are produced in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies (20-100 MeV/U). Information on the maximum excitation energy per nucleon -and temperatures- indicated by the experimental data is compared to the predictions of static and dynamical calculations. Temperatures around 5-6 MeV are reached and seem to be the limit of formation of thermally equilibrated fusion nuclei

A theoretical study of impurity production at limiters in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitcher, C.S.; Matthews, G.F.; Goodall, D.H.J.; McCracken, G.M.; Stangeby, P.C.

1988-01-01

The spatial distribution of neutral impurity emissions around graphite limiters in the DITE tokamak is investigated using a Monte Carlo neutral transport code based on physical sputtering. The Monte Carlo code results are compared with experiments for the CI distributions observed toroidally around the probe limiter and radially around the fixed limiter. The comparison between code and experiment demonstrates the ability of camera observations and Langmuir probe measurements to provide detailed information on the production of impurities at limiters. From the Monte Carlo simulation it is shown that the toroidal distribution of impurity emission is determined mainly by the geometry of the limiter and the radial variation of the sputtering yield, while the radial distribution is sensitive mainly to the sputtered atom velocity distribution and the rate coefficients for ionization and excitation

A randomised controlled trial of time limited CBT informed psychological therapy for anxiety in bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Steven; McGrath, Elly; Hampshire, Kay; Owen, Rebecca; Riste, Lisa; Roberts, Chris; Davies, Linda; Mayes, Debbie

2013-02-15

Anxiety comorbidity is common in bipolar disorder and is associated with worse treatment outcomes, greater risk of self harm, suicide and substance misuse. To date however there have been no psychological interventions specifically designed to address this problem. The primary objective of this trial is to establish the acceptability and feasibility of a new integrated intervention for anxiety in bipolar disorder designed in collaboration with individuals with personal experience of both problems. Single blind randomised controlled trials to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a time limited CBT informed psychological intervention for anxiety in bipolar disorder (AIBD) compared with treatment as usual. Participants will be recruited from across the North West of England from specialist mental health services and through primary care and self referral. The primary outcome of the study is the feasibility and acceptability of AIBD assessed by recruitment to target and retention to follow-up, as well as absence of untoward incidents associated with AIBD. We will also estimate the effect size of the impact of the intervention on anxiety and mood outcomes, as well as calculate preliminary estimates of cost-effectiveness and investigate potential mechanisms for this (stigma, self appraisal and stability of social rhythms). This is the first trial of an integrated intervention for anxiety in bipolar disorder. It is of interest to researchers involved in the development of new therapies for bipolar disorder as well as indicating the wider potential for evaluating approaches to the treatment of comorbidity in severe mental illness.

Integrating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with Hydrological Modelling – Applicability and Limitations

OpenAIRE

Rajesh VijayKumar Kherde; Dr. Priyadarshi. H. Sawant

2013-01-01

The evolution of Geographic information systems (GIS) facilitated the use digital terrain data for topography based hydrological modelling. The use of spatial data for hydrological modelling emerged from the great capability of GIS tools to store and handle the data associated hydro-morphology of the basin. These models utilize the spatially variable terrain data for converting rainfall into surface runoff.Manual map manipulation has always posed difficulty in analysing and designing large sc...

Analysis of operational, institutional and international limitations for alternative fuel vehicles and technologies: Means/methods for implementing changes. [Public fleet groups--information needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-07-01

This project focused upon the development of an approach to assist public fleet managers in evaluating the characteristics and availability of alternative fuels (AF's) and alternative fuel vehicles (AFV's) that will serve as possible replacements for vehicles currently serving the needs of various public entities. Also of concern were the institutional/international limitations for alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles. The City of Detroit and other public agencies in the Detroit area were the particular focus for the activities. As the development and initial stages of use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles proceeds, there will be an increasing need to provide information and guidance to decision-makers regarding differences in requirements and features of these fuels and vehicles. There wig be true differences in requirements for servicing, managing, and regulating. There will also be misunderstanding and misperception. There have been volumes of data collected on AFV'S, and as technology is improved, new data is constantly added. There are not, however, condensed and effective sources of information for public vehicle fleet managers on vehicle and equipment sources, characteristics, performance, costs, and environmental benefits. While theoretical modeling of public fleet requirements has been done, there do not seem to be readily available practical''. There is a need to provide the best possible information and means to minimize the problems for introducing the effective use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles.

Shot-Noise Limited Time-Encoded Raman Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Karpf

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Raman scattering, an inelastic scattering mechanism, provides information about molecular excitation energies and can be used to identify chemical compounds. Albeit being a powerful analysis tool, especially for label-free biomedical imaging with molecular contrast, it suffers from inherently low signal levels. This practical limitation can be overcome by nonlinear enhancement techniques like stimulated Raman scattering (SRS. In SRS, an additional light source stimulates the Raman scattering process. This can lead to orders of magnitude increase in signal levels and hence faster acquisition in biomedical imaging. However, achieving a broad spectral coverage in SRS is technically challenging and the signal is no longer background-free, as either stimulated Raman gain (SRG or loss (SRL is measured, turning a sensitivity limit into a dynamic range limit. Thus, the signal has to be isolated from the laser background light, requiring elaborate methods for minimizing detection noise. Here, we analyze the detection sensitivity of a shot-noise limited broadband stimulated time-encoded Raman (TICO-Raman system in detail. In time-encoded Raman, a wavelength-swept Fourier domain mode locking (FDML laser covers a broad range of Raman transition energies while allowing a dual-balanced detection for lowering the detection noise to the fundamental shot-noise limit.

Optimization of information properties of NAA with respect to information content and profitability of results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obrusnik, I.; Eckschlager, K.

1986-01-01

Information properties of analytical results together with other important parameters especially economic ones can be used for the optimization of analytical procedures. Therefore, we have proposed a computational technique for the optimization of multielement neutron activation analysis (NAA) based on the information content and profitability. The optimization starts with the prediction of the γ-ray spectra to be expected during analysis under given experimental conditions (sample size, irradiation, decay and counting times etc.) and with the calculation of detection and determination limits. In the next step, the information contents for the determination of particular elements and for the simultaneous determination of element groups are computed. The information content depends or is closely connected with such properties of the method as selectivity, snesitivity, precision, accuracy and, as in the other cases of trace analysis, also with the detection limit. Then, the information profitability (IP) taking into account the information content and relevance (appreciation of specific information according to its contribution to the solution of a given problem) together wit economic aspects can be calculated. This function can be used for the optimization of a particular NAA procedure, for the mutual comparison of different variants of NAA and also for the comparison with other analytical methods. The use of information profitability for the optimization of NAA is shown on a practical example of the INAA analysis of urban particulate matter SRN 1648 produced by NBS (USA). (author)

A Central Capacity Limit to the Simultaneous Storage of Visual and Auditory Arrays in Working Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Saults, J. Scott; Cowan, Nelson

2007-01-01

If working memory is limited by central capacity (e.g., the focus of attention; N. Cowan, 2001), then storage limits for information in a single modality should apply also to the simultaneous storage of information from different modalities. The authors investigated this by combining a visual-array comparison task with a novel auditory-array…