Sample records for agriculture network information

  1. Agricultural trade networks and patterns of economic development.

    PubMed

    Shutters, Shade T; Muneepeerakul, Rachata

    2012-01-01

    International trade networks are manifestations of a complex combination of diverse underlying factors, both natural and social. Here we apply social network analytics to the international trade network of agricultural products to better understand the nature of this network and its relation to patterns of international development. Using a network tool known as triadic analysis we develop triad significance profiles for a series of agricultural commodities traded among countries. Results reveal a novel network "superfamily" combining properties of biological information processing networks and human social networks. To better understand this unique network signature, we examine in more detail the degree and triadic distributions within the trade network by country and commodity. Our results show that countries fall into two very distinct classes based on their triadic frequencies. Roughly 165 countries fall into one class while 18, all highly isolated with respect to international agricultural trade, fall into the other. Only Vietnam stands out as a unique case. Finally, we show that as a country becomes less isolated with respect to number of trading partners, the country's triadic signature follows a predictable trajectory that may correspond to a trajectory of development.

  2. Agricultural Trade Networks and Patterns of Economic Development

    PubMed Central

    Shutters, Shade T.; Muneepeerakul, Rachata

    2012-01-01

    International trade networks are manifestations of a complex combination of diverse underlying factors, both natural and social. Here we apply social network analytics to the international trade network of agricultural products to better understand the nature of this network and its relation to patterns of international development. Using a network tool known as triadic analysis we develop triad significance profiles for a series of agricultural commodities traded among countries. Results reveal a novel network “superfamily” combining properties of biological information processing networks and human social networks. To better understand this unique network signature, we examine in more detail the degree and triadic distributions within the trade network by country and commodity. Our results show that countries fall into two very distinct classes based on their triadic frequencies. Roughly 165 countries fall into one class while 18, all highly isolated with respect to international agricultural trade, fall into the other. Only Vietnam stands out as a unique case. Finally, we show that as a country becomes less isolated with respect to number of trading partners, the country's triadic signature follows a predictable trajectory that may correspond to a trajectory of development. PMID:22768310

  3. Networked Learning for Agricultural Extension: A Framework for Analysis and Two Cases

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Nick; Bennett, John McLean; Starasts, Ann

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This paper presents economic and pedagogical motivations for adopting information and communications technology (ICT)- mediated learning networks in agricultural education and extension. It proposes a framework for networked learning in agricultural extension and contributes a theoretical and case-based rationale for adopting the…

  4. Multipath for Agricultural and Rural Information Services in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ge, Ningning; Zang, Zhiyuan; Gao, Lingwang; Shi, Qiang; Li, Jie; Xing, Chunlin; Shen, Zuorui

    Internet cannot provide perfect information services for farmers in rural regions in China, because farmers in rural regions can hardly access the internet by now. But the wide coverage of mobile signal, telephone line, and television network, etc. gave us a chance to solve the problem. The integrated pest management platform of Northern fruit trees were developed based on the integrated technology, which can integrate the internet, mobile and fixed-line telephone network, and television network, to provide integrated pest management(IPM) information services for farmers in rural regions in E-mail, telephone-voice, short message, voice mail, videoconference or other format, to users' telephone, cell phone, personal computer, personal digital assistant(PDA), television, etc. alternatively. The architecture and the functions of the system were introduced in the paper. The system can manage the field monitoring data of agricultural pests, deal with enquiries to provide the necessary information to farmers accessing the interactive voice response(IVR) in the system with the experts on-line or off-line, and issue the early warnings about the fruit tree pests when it is necessary according to analysis on the monitoring data about the pests of fruit trees in variety of ways including SMS, fax, voice and intersystem e-mail.The system provides a platform and a new pattern for agricultural technology extension with a high coverage rate of agricultural technology in rural regions, and it can solve the problem of agriculture information service 'last kilometer' in China. The effectiveness of the system was certified.

  5. Study on an agricultural environment monitoring server system using Wireless Sensor Networks.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Jeonghwan; Shin, Changsun; Yoe, Hyun

    2010-01-01

    This paper proposes an agricultural environment monitoring server system for monitoring information concerning an outdoors agricultural production environment utilizing Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology. The proposed agricultural environment monitoring server system collects environmental and soil information on the outdoors through WSN-based environmental and soil sensors, collects image information through CCTVs, and collects location information using GPS modules. This collected information is converted into a database through the agricultural environment monitoring server consisting of a sensor manager, which manages information collected from the WSN sensors, an image information manager, which manages image information collected from CCTVs, and a GPS manager, which processes location information of the agricultural environment monitoring server system, and provides it to producers. In addition, a solar cell-based power supply is implemented for the server system so that it could be used in agricultural environments with insufficient power infrastructure. This agricultural environment monitoring server system could even monitor the environmental information on the outdoors remotely, and it could be expected that the use of such a system could contribute to increasing crop yields and improving quality in the agricultural field by supporting the decision making of crop producers through analysis of the collected information.

  6. NABIC marker database: A molecular markers information network of agricultural crops.

    PubMed

    Kim, Chang-Kug; Seol, Young-Joo; Lee, Dong-Jun; Jeong, In-Seon; Yoon, Ung-Han; Lee, Gang-Seob; Hahn, Jang-Ho; Park, Dong-Suk

    2013-01-01

    In 2013, National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) reconstructs a molecular marker database for useful genetic resources. The web-based marker database consists of three major functional categories: map viewer, RSN marker and gene annotation. It provides 7250 marker locations, 3301 RSN marker property, 3280 molecular marker annotation information in agricultural plants. The individual molecular marker provides information such as marker name, expressed sequence tag number, gene definition and general marker information. This updated marker-based database provides useful information through a user-friendly web interface that assisted in tracing any new structures of the chromosomes and gene positional functions using specific molecular markers. The database is available for free at http://nabic.rda.go.kr/gere/rice/molecularMarkers/

  7. Sectoral network on occupational health and safety in agriculture to support enterprises and family farms in Estonia.

    PubMed

    Kurppa, Kari; Tammaru, Eva; Kempinen, Marina; Rünkla, Ester; Sõrra, Jaan; Lehtinen, Suvi

    2006-01-01

    A sectoral network on occupational health and safety in agriculture has been established in Estonia as part of a project that provided support for Estonian accession into European Union. Participating organizations represent farmers' unions at county level, agricultural enterprises, workers' representatives, universities and agricultural expert institutions, and government agencies. The purpose is to provide a shared infrastructure that combines information and other capacities of several organizations and provides a platform for dialogue and co-operation in order to make a greater impact with available resources. The network has a decentralized architecture and is technically managed by an institutionalized secretariat. The network's task forces have compiled a network directory, summarised the capacities and interests of member organizations, made an inventory of existing information and training materials, developed an overall strategy for information management, established an information repository on the Internet, prepared promotional materials, and devised a protocol for agricultural walk-though assessment. A profile on occupational health and safety in Estonian agriculture has been compiled with a rapid assessment approach that collected both quantitative and qualitative information from secondary sources (statistics, documents) and from focus group discussions. The profile is used as an instrument for taking occupational health and safety needs in agriculture into discussion on political arena.

  8. Information for Agricultural Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaungamno, E. E.

    This paper describes the major international agricultural information services, sources, and systems; outlines the existing information situation in Tanzania as it relates to problems of agricultural development; and reviews the improvements in information provision resources required to support the process of agricultural development in Tanzania.…

  9. Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks for Precision Agriculture: A Review.

    PubMed

    Jawad, Haider Mahmood; Nordin, Rosdiadee; Gharghan, Sadik Kamel; Jawad, Aqeel Mahmood; Ismail, Mahamod

    2017-08-03

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be used in agriculture to provide farmers with a large amount of information. Precision agriculture (PA) is a management strategy that employs information technology to improve quality and production. Utilizing wireless sensor technologies and management tools can lead to a highly effective, green agriculture. Based on PA management, the same routine to a crop regardless of site environments can be avoided. From several perspectives, field management can improve PA, including the provision of adequate nutrients for crops and the wastage of pesticides for the effective control of weeds, pests, and diseases. This review outlines the recent applications of WSNs in agriculture research as well as classifies and compares various wireless communication protocols, the taxonomy of energy-efficient and energy harvesting techniques for WSNs that can be used in agricultural monitoring systems, and comparison between early research works on agriculture-based WSNs. The challenges and limitations of WSNs in the agricultural domain are explored, and several power reduction and agricultural management techniques for long-term monitoring are highlighted. These approaches may also increase the number of opportunities for processing Internet of Things (IoT) data.

  10. Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks for Precision Agriculture: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Jawad, Haider Mahmood; Nordin, Rosdiadee; Gharghan, Sadik Kamel; Jawad, Aqeel Mahmood

    2017-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be used in agriculture to provide farmers with a large amount of information. Precision agriculture (PA) is a management strategy that employs information technology to improve quality and production. Utilizing wireless sensor technologies and management tools can lead to a highly effective, green agriculture. Based on PA management, the same routine to a crop regardless of site environments can be avoided. From several perspectives, field management can improve PA, including the provision of adequate nutrients for crops and the wastage of pesticides for the effective control of weeds, pests, and diseases. This review outlines the recent applications of WSNs in agriculture research as well as classifies and compares various wireless communication protocols, the taxonomy of energy-efficient and energy harvesting techniques for WSNs that can be used in agricultural monitoring systems, and comparison between early research works on agriculture-based WSNs. The challenges and limitations of WSNs in the agricultural domain are explored, and several power reduction and agricultural management techniques for long-term monitoring are highlighted. These approaches may also increase the number of opportunities for processing Internet of Things (IoT) data. PMID:28771214

  11. Multi-Domain SDN Survivability for Agricultural Wireless Sensor Networks

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Tao; Yan, Siyu; Yang, Fan; Liu, Jiang

    2016-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been widely applied in agriculture field; meanwhile, the advent of multi-domain software-defined networks (SDNs) have improved the wireless resource utilization rate and strengthened network management. In recent times, multi-domain SDNs have been applied to agricultural sensor networks, namely multi-domain software-defined wireless sensor networks (SDWSNs). However, when the SDNs controlling agriculture networks suddenly become unavailable, whether intra-domain or inter-domain, sensor network communication is abnormal because of the loss of control. Moreover, there are controller and switch info-updating problems even if the controller becomes available again. To resolve these problems, this paper proposes a new approach based on an Open vSwitch extension for multi-domain SDWSNs, which can enhance agriculture network survivability and stability. We achieved this by designing a connection-state mechanism, a communication mechanism on both L2 and L3, and an info-updating mechanism based on Open vSwitch. The experimental results show that, whether it is agricultural inter-domain or intra-domain during the controller failure period, the sensor switches can enter failure recovery mode as soon as possible so that the sensor network keeps a stable throughput, a short failure recovery time below 300 ms, and low packet loss. Further, the domain can smoothly control the domain network again once the controller becomes available. This approach based on an Open vSwitch extension can enhance the survivability and stability of multi-domain SDWSNs in precision agriculture. PMID:27827971

  12. Multi-Domain SDN Survivability for Agricultural Wireless Sensor Networks.

    PubMed

    Huang, Tao; Yan, Siyu; Yang, Fan; Liu, Jiang

    2016-11-06

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been widely applied in agriculture field; meanwhile, the advent of multi-domain software-defined networks (SDNs) have improved the wireless resource utilization rate and strengthened network management. In recent times, multi-domain SDNs have been applied to agricultural sensor networks, namely multi-domain software-defined wireless sensor networks (SDWSNs). However, when the SDNs controlling agriculture networks suddenly become unavailable, whether intra-domain or inter-domain, sensor network communication is abnormal because of the loss of control. Moreover, there are controller and switch info-updating problems even if the controller becomes available again. To resolve these problems, this paper proposes a new approach based on an Open vSwitch extension for multi-domain SDWSNs, which can enhance agriculture network survivability and stability. We achieved this by designing a connection-state mechanism, a communication mechanism on both L2 and L3, and an info-updating mechanism based on Open vSwitch. The experimental results show that, whether it is agricultural inter-domain or intra-domain during the controller failure period, the sensor switches can enter failure recovery mode as soon as possible so that the sensor network keeps a stable throughput, a short failure recovery time below 300 ms, and low packet loss. Further, the domain can smoothly control the domain network again once the controller becomes available. This approach based on an Open vSwitch extension can enhance the survivability and stability of multi-domain SDWSNs in precision agriculture.

  13. Utilization of Live Localized Weather Information for Sustainable Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, J.; Usher, J.

    2010-09-01

    Authors: Jim Anderson VP, Global Network and Business Development WeatherBug® Professional Jeremy Usher Managing Director, Europe WeatherBug® Professional Localized, real-time weather information is vital for day-to-day agronomic management of all crops. The challenge for agriculture is twofold in that local and timely weather data is not often available for producers and farmers, and it is not integrated into decision-support tools they require. Many of the traditional sources of weather information are not sufficient for agricultural applications because of the long distances between weather stations, meaning the data is not always applicable for on-farm decision making processes. The second constraint with traditional weather information is the timeliness of the data. Most delivery systems are designed on a one-hour time step, whereas many decisions in agriculture are based on minute-by-minute weather conditions. This is especially true for decisions surrounding chemical and fertilizer application and frost events. This presentation will outline how the creation of an agricultural mesonet (weather network) can enable producers and farmers with live, local weather information from weather stations installed in farm/field locations. The live weather information collected from each weather station is integrated into a web-enabled decision support tool, supporting numerous on-farm agronomic activities such as pest management, or dealing with heavy rainfall and frost events. Agronomic models can be used to assess the potential of disease pressure, enhance the farmer's abilities to time pesticide applications, or assess conditions contributing to yield and quality fluctuations. Farmers and industry stakeholders may also view quality-assured historical weather variables at any location. This serves as a record-management tool for viewing previously uncharted agronomic weather events in graph or table form. This set of weather tools is unique and provides a

  14. Grower Communication Networks: Information Sources for Organic Farmers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

    2015-01-01

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

  15. Developing Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform Using Internet of Things: Application in Precision Agriculture.

    PubMed

    Ferrández-Pastor, Francisco Javier; García-Chamizo, Juan Manuel; Nieto-Hidalgo, Mario; Mora-Pascual, Jerónimo; Mora-Martínez, José

    2016-07-22

    The application of Information Technologies into Precision Agriculture methods has clear benefits. Precision Agriculture optimises production efficiency, increases quality, minimises environmental impact and reduces the use of resources (energy, water); however, there are different barriers that have delayed its wide development. Some of these main barriers are expensive equipment, the difficulty to operate and maintain and the standard for sensor networks are still under development. Nowadays, new technological development in embedded devices (hardware and communication protocols), the evolution of Internet technologies (Internet of Things) and ubiquitous computing (Ubiquitous Sensor Networks) allow developing less expensive systems, easier to control, install and maintain, using standard protocols with low-power consumption. This work develops and test a low-cost sensor/actuator network platform, based in Internet of Things, integrating machine-to-machine and human-machine-interface protocols. Edge computing uses this multi-protocol approach to develop control processes on Precision Agriculture scenarios. A greenhouse with hydroponic crop production was developed and tested using Ubiquitous Sensor Network monitoring and edge control on Internet of Things paradigm. The experimental results showed that the Internet technologies and Smart Object Communication Patterns can be combined to encourage development of Precision Agriculture. They demonstrated added benefits (cost, energy, smart developing, acceptance by agricultural specialists) when a project is launched.

  16. Developing Ubiquitous Sensor Network Platform Using Internet of Things: Application in Precision Agriculture

    PubMed Central

    Ferrández-Pastor, Francisco Javier; García-Chamizo, Juan Manuel; Nieto-Hidalgo, Mario; Mora-Pascual, Jerónimo; Mora-Martínez, José

    2016-01-01

    The application of Information Technologies into Precision Agriculture methods has clear benefits. Precision Agriculture optimises production efficiency, increases quality, minimises environmental impact and reduces the use of resources (energy, water); however, there are different barriers that have delayed its wide development. Some of these main barriers are expensive equipment, the difficulty to operate and maintain and the standard for sensor networks are still under development. Nowadays, new technological development in embedded devices (hardware and communication protocols), the evolution of Internet technologies (Internet of Things) and ubiquitous computing (Ubiquitous Sensor Networks) allow developing less expensive systems, easier to control, install and maintain, using standard protocols with low-power consumption. This work develops and test a low-cost sensor/actuator network platform, based in Internet of Things, integrating machine-to-machine and human-machine-interface protocols. Edge computing uses this multi-protocol approach to develop control processes on Precision Agriculture scenarios. A greenhouse with hydroponic crop production was developed and tested using Ubiquitous Sensor Network monitoring and edge control on Internet of Things paradigm. The experimental results showed that the Internet technologies and Smart Object Communication Patterns can be combined to encourage development of Precision Agriculture. They demonstrated added benefits (cost, energy, smart developing, acceptance by agricultural specialists) when a project is launched. PMID:27455265

  17. Shaping Collective Functions in Privatized Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems: The Positioning and Embedding of a Network Broker in the Dutch Dairy Sector

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klerkx, Laurens; Leeuwis, Cees

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines new organizational arrangements that have emerged in the context of a privatized extension system. It investigates the positioning and embedding of a network broker aimed at enhancing interaction in the privatized agricultural knowledge and information system (AKIS), to assess whether tensions reported in other sectors also…

  18. Learning as Issue Framing in Agricultural Innovation Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tisenkopfs, Talis; Kunda, Ilona; Šumane, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Networks are increasingly viewed as entities of learning and innovation in agriculture. In this article we explore learning as issue framing in two agricultural innovation networks. Design/methodology/approach: We combine frame analysis and social learning theories to analyse the processes and factors contributing to frame convergence and…

  19. Food and Agriculture Organization: A Clearinghouse for Agricultural Information.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joling, Carole

    1989-01-01

    Describes the functions of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is an international clearinghouse for agricultural information. The discussion focuses on the information formats provided by the agency and the dissemination channels used for FAO information. Lists of finding aids for FAO materials and libraries…

  20. Data Entities and Information System Matrix for Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Budi Santoso, Halim; Delima, Rosa

    2018-03-01

    Integrated Agriculture Information System is a system that is developed to process data, information, and knowledge in Agriculture sector. Integrated Agriculture Information System brings valuable information for farmers: (1) Fertilizer price; (2) Agriculture technique and practise; (3) Pest management; (4) Cultivation; (5) Irrigation; (6) Post harvest processing; (7) Innovation in agriculture processing. Integrated Agriculture Information System contains 9 subsystems. To bring an integrated information to the user and stakeholder, it needs an integrated database approach. Thus, researchers describes data entity and its matrix relate to subsystem in Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS). As a result, there are 47 data entities as entities in single and integrated database.

  1. Comparison of Online Agricultural Information Services.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reneau, Fred; Patterson, Richard

    1984-01-01

    Outlines major online agricultural information services--agricultural databases, databases with agricultural services, educational databases in agriculture--noting services provided, access to the database, and costs. Benefits of online agricultural database sources (availability of agricultural marketing, weather, commodity prices, management…

  2. The Virtual Research and Extension Communication Network (VRECN): An Interactive Learning and Communication Network for Research and Extension Personnel. Concept Paper for the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Don

    A Virtual Research and Extension Communication Network (VRECN) is a set of networked electronic tools facilitating improvement in communication processes and information sharing among stakeholders involved in agricultural development. In developing countries, research and extension personnel within a ministry of agriculture, in consultation and…

  3. Implementation of Wireless Sensor Networks Based Pig Farm Integrated Management System in Ubiquitous Agricultural Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hwang, Jeonghwan; Lee, Jiwoong; Lee, Hochul; Yoe, Hyun

    The wireless sensor networks (WSN) technology based on low power consumption is one of the important technologies in the realization of ubiquitous society. When the technology would be applied to the agricultural field, it can give big change in the existing agricultural environment such as livestock growth environment, cultivation and harvest of agricultural crops. This research paper proposes the 'Pig Farm Integrated Management System' based on WSN technology, which will establish the ubiquitous agricultural environment and improve the productivity of pig-raising farmers. The proposed system has WSN environmental sensors and CCTV at inside/outside of pig farm. These devices collect the growth-environment related information of pigs, such as luminosity, temperature, humidity and CO2 status. The system collects and monitors the environmental information and video information of pig farm. In addition to the remote-control and monitoring of the pig farm facilities, this system realizes the most optimum pig-raising environment based on the growth environmental data accumulated for a long time.

  4. U.S.-State Agricultural Data. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 512.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Womack, Letricia M.; Traub, Larry G.

    This report presents agricultural information for each state and the United States as a whole for the years 1981-1985. Included are data on population, land use, agricultural production, farm income, value of assets on farms, and selected characteristics of farms. The primary data sources are the "1982 Census of Agriculture," the…

  5. Flue gas desulfurization gypsum agricultural network alabama (cotton)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) is an excellent source of gypsum (CaSO4•2H2O) that can be beneficially used in agriculture. Research was conducted as part of the Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum Agricultural Network program sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute in collaboration wi...

  6. U.S.-State Agricultural Data. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 501.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Womack, Letricia M.; And Others

    This report presents agricultural information for each of the 50 states and the United States. Data are provided on population, land use, agricultural production, farm income, value of assets on farms, and selected characteristics of farms, such as size, tenure, and farm organization. Primary data sources are the 1982 Census of Agriculture and the…

  7. Who Talks to Whom in Malawi's Agricultural Research Information Network?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mapila, Mariam A. T. J.; Yauney, Jason; Thangata, Paul; Droppelmann, Klaus; Mazunda, John

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The sector-wide approach currently dominates as the strategy for developing the agricultural sector of many African countries. Although recognised that collaborative agricultural research is vital in ensuring success of sector-wide agricultural development strategies; there have been few efforts to understand the dynamics of national…

  8. Stochastic and deterministic models for agricultural production networks.

    PubMed

    Bai, P; Banks, H T; Dediu, S; Govan, A Y; Last, M; Lloyd, A L; Nguyen, H K; Olufsen, M S; Rempala, G; Slenning, B D

    2007-07-01

    An approach to modeling the impact of disturbances in an agricultural production network is presented. A stochastic model and its approximate deterministic model for averages over sample paths of the stochastic system are developed. Simulations, sensitivity and generalized sensitivity analyses are given. Finally, it is shown how diseases may be introduced into the network and corresponding simulations are discussed.

  9. Operationalizing an "Information Ecosystem" to support information management work of the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    As data collection ramps up across the LTAR Network, the “information ecosystem” (Kaplan et al. 2016 and Nardi and O’Day, 1999) must support three domains of sustainable agriculture, and data flow needs to be operationalized. Approaches to prioritizing, designing, and developing shared cyberinfrastr...

  10. Evaluating strategies for sustainable intensification of US agriculture through the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spiegal, S.; Bestelmeyer, B. T.; Archer, D. W.; Augustine, D. J.; Boughton, E. H.; Boughton, R. K.; Cavigelli, M. A.; Clark, P. E.; Derner, J. D.; Duncan, E. W.; Hapeman, C. J.; Harmel, R. D.; Heilman, P.; Holly, M. A.; Huggins, D. R.; King, K.; Kleinman, P. J. A.; Liebig, M. A.; Locke, M. A.; McCarty, G. W.; Millar, N.; Mirsky, S. B.; Moorman, T. B.; Pierson, F. B.; Rigby, J. R.; Robertson, G. P.; Steiner, J. L.; Strickland, T. C.; Swain, H. M.; Wienhold, B. J.; Wulfhorst, J. D.; Yost, M. A.; Walthall, C. L.

    2018-03-01

    Sustainable intensification is an emerging model for agriculture designed to reconcile accelerating global demand for agricultural products with long-term environmental stewardship. Defined here as increasing agricultural production while maintaining or improving environmental quality, sustainable intensification hinges upon decision-making by agricultural producers, consumers, and policy-makers. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network was established to inform these decisions. Here we introduce the LTAR Common Experiment, through which scientists and partnering producers in US croplands, rangelands, and pasturelands are conducting 21 independent but coordinated experiments. Each local effort compares the outcomes of a predominant, conventional production system in the region (‘business as usual’) with a system hypothesized to advance sustainable intensification (‘aspirational’). Following the logic of a conceptual model of interactions between agriculture, economics, society, and the environment, we identified commonalities among the 21 experiments in terms of (a) concerns about business-as-usual production, (b) ‘aspirational outcomes’ motivating research into alternatives, (c) strategies for achieving the outcomes, (d) practices that support the strategies, and (e) relationships between practice outreach and adoption. Network-wide, concerns about business as usual include the costs of inputs, opportunities lost to uniform management approaches, and vulnerability to accelerating environmental changes. Motivated by environmental, economic, and societal outcomes, scientists and partnering producers are investigating 15 practices in aspirational treatments to sustainably intensify agriculture, from crop diversification to ecological restoration. Collectively, the aspirational treatments reveal four general strategies for sustainable intensification: (1) reducing reliance on inputs through ecological intensification, (2) diversifying management

  11. Information network architectures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murray, N. D.

    1985-01-01

    Graphs, charts, diagrams and outlines of information relative to information network architectures for advanced aerospace missions, such as the Space Station, are presented. Local area information networks are considered a likely technology solution. The principle needs for the network are listed.

  12. The Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem Research (LTAR) Network: A New In-Situ Data Network For Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walbridge, M. R.

    2014-12-01

    Agriculture in the 21st Century faces significant challenges due to increases in the demand for agricultural products from a global population expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050, changes in land use that are reducing the area of arable land worldwide, and the uncertainties associated with increasing climate variability and change. There is broad agreement that meeting these challenges will require significant changes in agro-ecosystem management at the landscape scale. In 2012, the USDA/ARS announced the reorganization of 10 existing benchmark watersheds, experimental ranges, and research farms into a Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network. Earlier this year, the LTAR network expanded to 18 sites, including 3 led by land grant universities and/or private foundations. The central question addressed by the LTAR network is, "How do we sustain or enhance productivity, profitability, and ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems and agricultural landscapes"? All 18 LTAR sites possess rich historical databases that extend up to 100 years into the past. However as LTAR moves forward, the focus is on collecting a core set of common measurements over the next 30-50 years that can be used to draw inferences regarding the nature of agricultural sustainability and how it varies across regional and continental-scale gradients. As such, LTAR is part long-term research network and part observatory network. Rather than focusing on a single site, each LTAR has developed regional partnerships that allow it to address agro-ecosystem function in the large basins and eco-climatic zones that underpin regional food production systems. Partners include other long-term in-situ data networks (e.g., Ameriflux, CZO, GRACEnet, LTER, NEON). 'Next steps' include designing and implementing a cross-site experiment addressing LTAR's central question.

  13. Service Oriented Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks in Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sawant, S. A.; Adinarayana, J.; Durbha, S. S.; Tripathy, A. K.; Sudharsan, D.

    2012-08-01

    Rapid advances in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for agricultural applications has provided a platform for better decision making for crop planning and management, particularly in precision agriculture aspects. Due to the ever-increasing spread of WSNs there is a need for standards, i.e. a set of specifications and encodings to bring multiple sensor networks on common platform. Distributed sensor systems when brought together can facilitate better decision making in agricultural domain. The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) through Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) provides guidelines for semantic and syntactic standardization of sensor networks. In this work two distributed sensing systems (Agrisens and FieldServer) were selected to implement OGC SWE standards through a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach. Online interoperable data processing was developed through SWE components such as Sensor Model Language (SensorML) and Sensor Observation Service (SOS). An integrated web client was developed to visualize the sensor observations and measurements that enables the retrieval of crop water resources availability and requirements in a systematic manner for both the sensing devices. Further, the client has also the ability to operate in an interoperable manner with any other OGC standardized WSN systems. The study of WSN systems has shown that there is need to augment the operations / processing capabilities of SOS in order to understand about collected sensor data and implement the modelling services. Also, the very low cost availability of WSN systems in future, it is possible to implement the OGC standardized SWE framework for agricultural applications with open source software tools.

  14. Beyond the edge: Linking agricultural landscapes, stream networks, and best management practices

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kreiling, Rebecca M.; Thoms, Martin C.; Richardson, William B.

    2018-01-01

    Despite much research and investment into understanding and managing nutrients across agricultural landscapes, nutrient runoff to freshwater ecosystems is still a major concern. We argue there is currently a disconnect between the management of watershed surfaces (agricultural landscape) and river networks (riverine landscape). These landscapes are commonly managed separately, but there is limited cohesiveness between agricultural landscape-focused research and river science, despite similar end goals. Interdisciplinary research into stream networks that drain agricultural landscapes is expanding but is fraught with problems. Conceptual frameworks are useful tools to order phenomena, reveal patterns and processes, and in interdisciplinary river science, enable the joining of multiple areas of understanding into a single conceptual–empirical structure. We present a framework for the interdisciplinary study and management of agricultural and riverine landscapes. The framework includes components of an ecosystems approach to the study of catchment–stream networks, resilience thinking, and strategic adaptive management. Application of the framework is illustrated through a study of the Fox Basin in Wisconsin, USA. To fully realize the goal of nutrient reduction in the basin, we suggest that greater emphasis is needed on where best management practices (BMPs) are used within the spatial context of the combined watershed–stream network system, including BMPs within the river channel. Targeted placement of BMPs throughout the riverine landscape would increase the overall buffering capacity of the system to nutrient runoff and thus its resilience to current and future disturbances.

  15. Building SDN-Based Agricultural Vehicular Sensor Networks Based on Extended Open vSwitch

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Tao; Yan, Siyu; Yang, Fan; Pan, Tian; Liu, Jiang

    2016-01-01

    Software-defined vehicular sensor networks in agriculture, such as autonomous vehicle navigation based on wireless multi-sensor networks, can lead to more efficient precision agriculture. In SDN-based vehicle sensor networks, the data plane is simplified and becomes more efficient by introducing a centralized controller. However, in a wireless environment, the main controller node may leave the sensor network due to the dynamic topology change or the unstable wireless signal, leaving the rest of network devices without control, e.g., a sensor node as a switch may forward packets according to stale rules until the controller updates the flow table entries. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel SDN-based vehicular sensor networks architecture which can minimize the performance penalty of controller connection loss. We achieve this by designing a connection state detection and self-learning mechanism. We build prototypes based on extended Open vSwitch and Ryu. The experimental results show that the recovery time from controller connection loss is under 100 ms and it keeps rule updating in real time with a stable throughput. This architecture enhances the survivability and stability of SDN-based vehicular sensor networks in precision agriculture. PMID:26797616

  16. Building SDN-Based Agricultural Vehicular Sensor Networks Based on Extended Open vSwitch.

    PubMed

    Huang, Tao; Yan, Siyu; Yang, Fan; Pan, Tian; Liu, Jiang

    2016-01-19

    Software-defined vehicular sensor networks in agriculture, such as autonomous vehicle navigation based on wireless multi-sensor networks, can lead to more efficient precision agriculture. In SDN-based vehicle sensor networks, the data plane is simplified and becomes more efficient by introducing a centralized controller. However, in a wireless environment, the main controller node may leave the sensor network due to the dynamic topology change or the unstable wireless signal, leaving the rest of network devices without control, e.g., a sensor node as a switch may forward packets according to stale rules until the controller updates the flow table entries. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel SDN-based vehicular sensor networks architecture which can minimize the performance penalty of controller connection loss. We achieve this by designing a connection state detection and self-learning mechanism. We build prototypes based on extended Open vSwitch and Ryu. The experimental results show that the recovery time from controller connection loss is under 100 ms and it keeps rule updating in real time with a stable throughput. This architecture enhances the survivability and stability of SDN-based vehicular sensor networks in precision agriculture.

  17. Where Do Agricultural Producers Get Safety and Health Information?

    PubMed

    Chiu, Sophia; Cheyney, Marsha; Ramirez, Marizen; Gerr, Fred

    2015-01-01

    There is little empirical guidance regarding communication sources and channels used and trusted by agricultural producers. The goal of this study was to characterize frequency of use and levels of trust in agricultural safety and health information sources and channels accessed by agricultural producers. A sample of 195 agricultural producers was surveyed at county fairs in Iowa. Information was collected about the frequency of use and level of trust in 14 information sources and channels. Associations between age, gender, and education level and use and trust of each information source or channel were estimated using logistic regression. The sample consisted of 72% men with a mean age of 50.1 (SD = 15.6) years. Newspaper and magazine articles were the most commonly used agricultural safety and health information source or channel; 77% (n = 140) of respondents reporting using them at least monthly. Among those reporting monthly or more frequent use, 75% reported trusting mostly or completely, compared with 58% using and 49% trusting the Internet. High levels of use and trust of newspaper and magazine articles did not vary significantly by age, gender, or education level. Age in the highest tertile (57-83 years) was marginally associated with lower odds of using, as well as using and trusting, all the information sources and channels studied except for medical clinics (use only: odds ratio [OR], 3.51, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-15.64; use and trust: OR, 5.90, 95% CI, 0.91-38.42). These findings suggest that traditional media may be more effective than digital media for delivering agricultural safety and health information to agricultural producers. Medical clinics may be an untapped venue for communicating with older agricultural producers.

  18. MAGGnet: An international network to foster mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gases

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Research networks provide a framework for review, synthesis, and systematic testing of theories by multiple scientists across international borders critical for addressing global-scale issues. In 2012, a greenhouse gas (GHG) research network referred to as MAGGnet (Managing Agricultural Greenhouse ...

  19. Evaporation over a Heterogeneous Mixed Savanna-Agricultural Catchment using a Distributed Wireless Sensor Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ceperley, N. C.; Mande, T.; Barrenetxea, G.; Vetterli, M.; Yacouba, H.; Repetti, A.; Parlange, M. B.

    2010-12-01

    Small scale rain fed agriculture is the primary livelihood for a large part of the population of Burkina Faso. Regional climate change means that this population is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Additionally, as natural savanna is converted for agriculture, hydrological systems are observed to become less stable as infiltration is decreased and rapid runoff is increased to the detriment of crop productivity, downstream populations and local water sources. The majority of the Singou River Basin, located in South East Burkina Faso is managed by hunting reserves, geared to maintaining high populations of wild game; however, residents surrounding the protected areas have been forced to intensify agriculture that has resulted in soil degradation as well as increases in the frequency and severity of flooding and droughts. Agroforestry, or planting trees in cultivated fields, has been proposed as a solution to help buffer these negative consequences, however the specific hydrologic behavior of the watershed land cover is unknown. We have installed a distributed sensor network of 17 Sensorscope wireless meteorological stations. These stations are dispersed across cultivated rice and millet fields, natural savanna, fallow fields, and around agroforestry fields. Sensorscope routes data through the network of stations to be delivered by a GPRS connection to a main server. This multi hop network allows data to be gathered over a large area and quickly adapts to changes in station performance. Data are available in real time via a website that can be accessed by a mobile phone. The stations are powered autonomously by small photovoltaic panels. This deployment is the first time that these meteorological stations have been used on the African continent. Initial calibration with measures from 2 eddy covariance stations allows us to calculate the energy balance at each of the Sensorscope stations. Thus, we can observe variation in evaporation over the various land cover in the

  20. Modeling the effect of social networks on adoption of multifunctional agriculture.

    PubMed

    Manson, Steven M; Jordan, Nicholas R; Nelson, Kristen C; Brummel, Rachel F

    2016-01-01

    Rotational grazing (RG) has attracted much attention as a cornerstone of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) in animal systems, potentially capable of producing a range of goods and services of value to diverse stakeholders in agricultural landscapes and rural communities, as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these benefits, global adoption of MFA has been uneven, with some places seeing active participation, while others have seen limited growth. Recent conceptual models of MFA emphasize the potential for bottom-up processes and linkages among social and environmental systems to promote multifunctionality. Social networks are critical to these explanations but how and why these networks matter is unclear. We investigated fifty-three farms in three states in the United States (New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania) and developed a stylized model of social networks and systemic change in the dairy farming system. We found that social networks are important to RG adoption but their impact is contingent on social and spatial factors. Effects of networks on farmer decision making differ according to whether they comprise weak-tie relationships, which bridge across disparate people and organizations, or strong-tie relationships, which are shared by groups in which members are well known to one another. RG adoption is also dependent on features of the social landscape including the number of dairy households, the probability of neighboring farmers sharing strong ties, and the role of space in how networks are formed. The model replicates features of real-world adoption of RG practices in the Eastern US and illustrates pathways toward greater multifunctionality in the dairy landscape. Such models are likely to be of heuristic value in network-focused strategies for agricultural development.

  1. Modeling the effect of social networks on adoption of multifunctional agriculture

    PubMed Central

    Manson, Steven M.; Jordan, Nicholas R.; Nelson, Kristen C.; Brummel, Rachel F.

    2014-01-01

    Rotational grazing (RG) has attracted much attention as a cornerstone of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) in animal systems, potentially capable of producing a range of goods and services of value to diverse stakeholders in agricultural landscapes and rural communities, as well as broader societal benefits. Despite these benefits, global adoption of MFA has been uneven, with some places seeing active participation, while others have seen limited growth. Recent conceptual models of MFA emphasize the potential for bottom-up processes and linkages among social and environmental systems to promote multifunctionality. Social networks are critical to these explanations but how and why these networks matter is unclear. We investigated fifty-three farms in three states in the United States (New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania) and developed a stylized model of social networks and systemic change in the dairy farming system. We found that social networks are important to RG adoption but their impact is contingent on social and spatial factors. Effects of networks on farmer decision making differ according to whether they comprise weak-tie relationships, which bridge across disparate people and organizations, or strong-tie relationships, which are shared by groups in which members are well known to one another. RG adoption is also dependent on features of the social landscape including the number of dairy households, the probability of neighboring farmers sharing strong ties, and the role of space in how networks are formed. The model replicates features of real-world adoption of RG practices in the Eastern US and illustrates pathways toward greater multifunctionality in the dairy landscape. Such models are likely to be of heuristic value in network-focused strategies for agricultural development. PMID:26744579

  2. Establishing Networks to Lever Investments in Developing Capacity for Agricultural Monitoring: A GEOGLAM Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitcraft, A. K.; Becker-Reshef, I.

    2016-12-01

    Since 2011, the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) Initiative has been working to strengthen the international community's capacity to use Earth observation (EO) data to derive timely, accurate, and transparent information on agriculture. A key component of GEOGLAM is the development of individual and institutional capacity for EO-based agricultural monitoring at multiple scales, from national to regional to global, in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Despite the fact that the need for enhancing capacity is frequently acknowledged, there is little formal or informal literature documenting best practices for developing and implementing comprehensive capacity development strategies around Earth observations knowledge sharing. As a result, many projects and activities develop knowledge-sharing strategies on an ad hoc basis, and may be missing out on levering lessons, techniques, and toolsets already developed. In the past year, GEOGLAM has aimed to spur relationships and collaborations with capacity development initiatives and networks, toward sharing and documenting strategies and tactical experiences in this domain. This presentation will provide some perspective on challenges and opportunities encountered so far, from the GEOGLAM perspective, with the goal of continued dialogue and coordination with other session participants.

  3. Preferred Methods for Delivery of Technological Information by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service: Opinions of Agricultural Producers Who Use Extension Information.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, John G.; Mustian, R. David

    The findings of a questionnaire survey of 702 North Carolina agricultural producers indicated that communication methods historically used by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service for information dissemination are accepted by state farmers and continue to be popular. Information delivery methods most frequently preferred are…

  4. An ontology-based collaborative service framework for agricultural information

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In recent years, China has developed modern agriculture energetically. An effective information framework is an important way to provide farms with agricultural information services and improve farmer's production technology and their income. The mountain areas in central China are dominated by agri...

  5. Wireless in-situ Sensor Network for Agriculture and Water Monitoring on a River Basin Scale in Southern Finland: Evaluation from a Data User’s Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Kotamäki, Niina; Thessler, Sirpa; Koskiaho, Jari; Hannukkala, Asko O.; Huitu, Hanna; Huttula, Timo; Havento, Jukka; Järvenpää, Markku

    2009-01-01

    Sensor networks are increasingly being implemented for environmental monitoring and agriculture to provide spatially accurate and continuous environmental information and (near) real-time applications. These networks provide a large amount of data which poses challenges for ensuring data quality and extracting relevant information. In the present paper we describe a river basin scale wireless sensor network for agriculture and water monitoring. The network, called SoilWeather, is unique and the first of this type in Finland. The performance of the network is assessed from the user and maintainer perspectives, concentrating on data quality, network maintenance and applications. The results showed that the SoilWeather network has been functioning in a relatively reliable way, but also that the maintenance and data quality assurance by automatic algorithms and calibration samples requires a lot of effort, especially in continuous water monitoring over large areas. We see great benefits on sensor networks enabling continuous, real-time monitoring, while data quality control and maintenance efforts highlight the need for tight collaboration between sensor and sensor network owners to decrease costs and increase the quality of the sensor data in large scale applications. PMID:22574050

  6. Energy for agriculture. A computerized information retrieval system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stout, B.A.; Myers, C.A.

    Energy may come from the sun or the earth or be the product of plant materials or agricultural wastes. Whatever its source, energy is indispensable to our way of life, beginning with the production, processing, and distribution of abundant, high quality food and fiber supplies. This specialized bibliography on the subject of energy for agriculture contains 2613 citations to the literature for 1973 through May 1979. Originally issued by Michigan State University (MSU), it is being reprinted and distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The literature citations will be incorporated into AGRICOLA (Agricultural On-Line Access), the comprehensive bibliographic datamore » base maintained by Technical Information Systems (TIS), a component of USDA's Science and Education Administration (SEA). The citations and the listing of research projects will be combined with other relevant references to provide a continuously updated source of information on energy programs in the agricultural field. No abstracts are included.« less

  7. Challenges of agricultural monitoring: integration of the Open Farm Management Information System into GEOSS and Digital Earth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Řezník, T.; Kepka, M.; Charvát, K.; Charvát, K., Jr.; Horáková, S.; Lukas, V.

    2016-04-01

    From a global perspective, agriculture is the single largest user of freshwater resources, each country using an average of 70% of all its surface water supplies. An essential proportion of agricultural water is recycled back to surface water and/or groundwater. Agriculture and water pollution is therefore the subject of (inter)national legislation, such as the Clean Water Act in the United States of America, the European Water Framework Directive, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution. Regular monitoring by means of sensor networks is needed in order to provide evidence of water pollution in agriculture. This paper describes the benefits of, and open issues stemming from, regular sensor monitoring provided by an Open Farm Management Information System. Emphasis is placed on descriptions of the processes and functionalities available to users, the underlying open data model, and definitions of open and lightweight application programming interfaces for the efficient management of collected (spatial) data. The presented Open Farm Management Information System has already been successfully registered under Phase 8 of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Architecture Implementation Pilot in order to support the wide variety of demands that are primarily aimed at agriculture pollution monitoring. The final part of the paper deals with the integration of the Open Farm Management Information System into the Digital Earth framework.

  8. Design of System Scheme and Operationmechanism on Agricultural Science &Technology Information Service System `110'

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Yongchang; Hu, Zhiquan; Xiao, Bilin; Li, Quanxin

    Agricultural science & technology information service system ‘110’ (ASTISS-110), connected through unitary telephone hotline as well as multipurpose service of the network, television and video etc, is one of the most characteristic content of the Chinese rural informatization. ASTISS-110 is a low cost and high efficiency way to make the agricultural science & technology achievements extension and achieve the combination of science & technology with farmers in the rural area. This paper would primary focus on the ASTISS-110 foundation and system principle. On basis of its main functions and system objectives, we put forward the combination of the ‘Sky- Land-People’ technical solution, and analyze the management operation mechanism from commonweal service, enterprise management and commercialization operation.

  9. Developing a New Wireless Sensor Network Platform and Its Application in Precision Agriculture

    PubMed Central

    Aquino-Santos, Raúl; González-Potes, Apolinar; Edwards-Block, Arthur; Virgen-Ortiz, Raúl Alejandro

    2011-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks are gaining greater attention from the research community and industrial professionals because these small pieces of “smart dust” offer great advantages due to their small size, low power consumption, easy integration and support for “green” applications. Green applications are considered a hot topic in intelligent environments, ubiquitous and pervasive computing. This work evaluates a new wireless sensor network platform and its application in precision agriculture, including its embedded operating system and its routing algorithm. To validate the technological platform and the embedded operating system, two different routing strategies were compared: hierarchical and flat. Both of these routing algorithms were tested in a small-scale network applied to a watermelon field. However, we strongly believe that this technological platform can be also applied to precision agriculture because it incorporates a modified version of LORA-CBF, a wireless location-based routing algorithm that uses cluster-based flooding. Cluster-based flooding addresses the scalability concerns of wireless sensor networks, while the modified LORA-CBF routing algorithm includes a metric to monitor residual battery energy. Furthermore, results show that the modified version of LORA-CBF functions well with both the flat and hierarchical algorithms, although it functions better with the flat algorithm in a small-scale agricultural network. PMID:22346622

  10. Developing a new wireless sensor network platform and its application in precision agriculture.

    PubMed

    Aquino-Santos, Raúl; González-Potes, Apolinar; Edwards-Block, Arthur; Virgen-Ortiz, Raúl Alejandro

    2011-01-01

    Wireless sensor networks are gaining greater attention from the research community and industrial professionals because these small pieces of "smart dust" offer great advantages due to their small size, low power consumption, easy integration and support for "green" applications. Green applications are considered a hot topic in intelligent environments, ubiquitous and pervasive computing. This work evaluates a new wireless sensor network platform and its application in precision agriculture, including its embedded operating system and its routing algorithm. To validate the technological platform and the embedded operating system, two different routing strategies were compared: hierarchical and flat. Both of these routing algorithms were tested in a small-scale network applied to a watermelon field. However, we strongly believe that this technological platform can be also applied to precision agriculture because it incorporates a modified version of LORA-CBF, a wireless location-based routing algorithm that uses cluster-based flooding. Cluster-based flooding addresses the scalability concerns of wireless sensor networks, while the modified LORA-CBF routing algorithm includes a metric to monitor residual battery energy. Furthermore, results show that the modified version of LORA-CBF functions well with both the flat and hierarchical algorithms, although it functions better with the flat algorithm in a small-scale agricultural network.

  11. Precision agriculture and information technology

    Treesearch

    Daniel L. Schmoldt

    2001-01-01

    As everyone knows, knowledge (along with its less-sophisticated sibling, information) is power. For a long time, detailed knowledge (in agriculture) has been generally inaccessible or was prohibitively expensive to acquire. Advances in electronics, communications, and software over the past several decades have removed those earlier impediments. Inexpensive sensors and...

  12. NUOnet, a Data Network Initiative Led by the USDA Agricultural Research Service

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The USDA Agricultural Research Service is launching a new effort to gather and use big data to solve agricultural issues that face our nation. The Nutrient Use and Outcome network (NUOnet) is a part of this effort. NUOnet invites members of the Tri-Societies to contribute to the NUOnet vision of “...

  13. The integrated web service and genome database for agricultural plants with biotechnology information.

    PubMed

    Kim, Changkug; Park, Dongsuk; Seol, Youngjoo; Hahn, Jangho

    2011-01-01

    The National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) constructed an agricultural biology-based infrastructure and developed a Web based relational database for agricultural plants with biotechnology information. The NABIC has concentrated on functional genomics of major agricultural plants, building an integrated biotechnology database for agro-biotech information that focuses on genomics of major agricultural resources. This genome database provides annotated genome information from 1,039,823 records mapped to rice, Arabidopsis, and Chinese cabbage.

  14. The integrated web service and genome database for agricultural plants with biotechnology information

    PubMed Central

    Kim, ChangKug; Park, DongSuk; Seol, YoungJoo; Hahn, JangHo

    2011-01-01

    The National Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (NABIC) constructed an agricultural biology-based infrastructure and developed a Web based relational database for agricultural plants with biotechnology information. The NABIC has concentrated on functional genomics of major agricultural plants, building an integrated biotechnology database for agro-biotech information that focuses on genomics of major agricultural resources. This genome database provides annotated genome information from 1,039,823 records mapped to rice, Arabidopsis, and Chinese cabbage. PMID:21887015

  15. Information Network Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mahon, F. V.

    The International Bureau of Education (IBE) and Unesco, together with their member states, are faced with the task of implementing a proposed network--the International Network for Educational Information (INED)--for the better use of information resources for educational development. This review of issues that need to be considered in the…

  16. Texas Agricultural Science Teachers' Attitudes toward Information Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Ryan; Williams, Robert

    2012-01-01

    The researchers sought to find the Agricultural Science teachers' attitude toward five innovations (Computer-Aided Design, Record Books, E-Mail Career Development Event Registration, and World Wide Web) of information technology. The population for this study consisted of all 333 secondary Agricultural science teachers from Texas FFA Areas V and…

  17. The Global Invasive Species Information Network: contributing to GEO Task BI-07-01b

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Graham, J.; Morisette, J. T.; Simpson, A.

    2009-12-01

    Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten biodiversity and exert a tremendous cost on society for IAS prevention and eradication. They endanger natural ecosystem functioning and seriously impact biodiversity and agricultural production. The task definition for the GEO task BI-07-01b: Invasive Species Monitoring System is to characterize, monitor, and predict changes in the distribution of invasive species. This includes characterizing the current requirements and capacity for invasive species monitoring and developing strategies for implementing cross-search functionality among existing online invasive species information systems from around the globe. The Task is being coordinated by members of the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN) and their partners. Information on GISIN and a prototype of the network is available at www.gisin.org. This talk will report on the current status of GISIN and review how researchers can either contribute to or utilize data from this network.

  18. Congenital Heart Information Network

    MedlinePlus

    ... heart defects. Important Notice The Congenital Heart Information Network website is temporarily out of service. Please join ... and Uwe Baemayr for The Congenital Heart Information Network Exempt organization under Section 501(c)3. Copyright © ...

  19. Innovations in information management to enhance agriculture: A research perspective

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Information management should be the cornerstone for innovative agricultural systems; however, the challenge remains on how to utilize all of the components to enhance agriculture. The enhancement of agriculture is often considered from only a yield perspective. This is an important factor and effo...

  20. a Study on the Document Information Service of the National Agricultural Library for Agricultural Sci-Tech Innovation in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Qian; Meng, Xianxue

    This paper presents the significant function of the Chinese National Agricultural Library (CNAL) in the agricultural sci-tech innovation system in China, analyses the development of collection and service in the CNAL, explores the challenge towards sustain and develop information services for the agricultural sci-tech research and innovation, at last proposes the strategy for sci-tech document information service development.

  1. Agricultural land cover mapping in the context of a geographically referenced digital information system. [Carroll, Macon, and Gentry Counties, Missouri

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stoner, E. R.

    1982-01-01

    The introduction of soil map information to the land cover mapping process can improve discrimination of land cover types and reduce confusion among crop types that may be caused by soil-specific management practices and background reflectance characteristics. Multiple dates of LANDSAT MSS digital were analyzed for three study areas in northern Missouri to produce cover types for major agricultural land cover classes. Digital data bases were then developed by adding ancillary data such as digitized soil and transportation network information to the LANDSAT-derived cover type map. Procedures were developed to manipulate the data base parameters to extract information applicable to user requirements. An agricultural information system combining such data can be used to determine the productive capacity of land to grow crops, fertilizer needs, chemical weed control rates, irrigation suitability, and trafficability of soil for planting.

  2. Information transmission on hybrid networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Rongbin; Cui, Wei; Pu, Cunlai; Li, Jie; Ji, Bo; Gakis, Konstantinos; Pardalos, Panos M.

    2018-01-01

    Many real-world communication networks often have hybrid nature with both fixed nodes and moving modes, such as the mobile phone networks mainly composed of fixed base stations and mobile phones. In this paper, we discuss the information transmission process on the hybrid networks with both fixed and mobile nodes. The fixed nodes (base stations) are connected as a spatial lattice on the plane forming the information-carrying backbone, while the mobile nodes (users), which are the sources and destinations of information packets, connect to their current nearest fixed nodes respectively to deliver and receive information packets. We observe the phase transition of traffic load in the hybrid network when the packet generation rate goes from below and then above a critical value, which measures the network capacity of packets delivery. We obtain the optimal speed of moving nodes leading to the maximum network capacity. We further improve the network capacity by rewiring the fixed nodes and by considering the current load of fixed nodes during packets transmission. Our purpose is to optimize the network capacity of hybrid networks from the perspective of network science, and provide some insights for the construction of future communication infrastructures.

  3. Agricultural science in the wild: a social network analysis of farmer knowledge exchange.

    PubMed

    Wood, Brennon A; Blair, Hugh T; Gray, David I; Kemp, Peter D; Kenyon, Paul R; Morris, Steve T; Sewell, Alison M

    2014-01-01

    Responding to demands for transformed farming practices requires new forms of knowledge. Given their scale and complexity, agricultural problems can no longer be solved by linear transfers in which technology developed by specialists passes to farmers by way of extension intermediaries. Recent research on alternative approaches has focused on the innovation systems formed by interactions between heterogeneous actors. Rather than linear transfer, systems theory highlights network facilitation as a specialized function. This paper contributes to our understanding of such facilitation by investigating the networks in which farmers discuss science. We report findings based on the study of a pastoral farming experiment collaboratively undertaken by a group of 17 farmers and five scientists. Analysis of prior contact and alter sharing between the group's members indicates strongly tied and decentralized networks. Farmer knowledge exchanges about the experiment have been investigated using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Network surveys identified who the farmers contacted for knowledge before the study began and who they had talked to about the experiment by 18 months later. Open-ended interviews collected farmer statements about their most valuable contacts and these statements have been thematically analysed. The network analysis shows that farmers talked about the experiment with 192 people, most of whom were fellow farmers. Farmers with densely tied and occupationally homogeneous contacts grew their networks more than did farmers with contacts that are loosely tied and diverse. Thematic analysis reveals three general principles: farmers value knowledge delivered by persons rather than roles, privilege farming experience, and develop knowledge with empiricist rather than rationalist techniques. Taken together, these findings suggest that farmers deliberate about science in intensive and durable networks that have significant implications for theorizing

  4. Agricultural Science in the Wild: A Social Network Analysis of Farmer Knowledge Exchange

    PubMed Central

    Wood, Brennon A.; Blair, Hugh T.; Gray, David I.; Kemp, Peter D.; Kenyon, Paul R.; Morris, Steve T.; Sewell, Alison M.

    2014-01-01

    Responding to demands for transformed farming practices requires new forms of knowledge. Given their scale and complexity, agricultural problems can no longer be solved by linear transfers in which technology developed by specialists passes to farmers by way of extension intermediaries. Recent research on alternative approaches has focused on the innovation systems formed by interactions between heterogeneous actors. Rather than linear transfer, systems theory highlights network facilitation as a specialized function. This paper contributes to our understanding of such facilitation by investigating the networks in which farmers discuss science. We report findings based on the study of a pastoral farming experiment collaboratively undertaken by a group of 17 farmers and five scientists. Analysis of prior contact and alter sharing between the group’s members indicates strongly tied and decentralized networks. Farmer knowledge exchanges about the experiment have been investigated using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Network surveys identified who the farmers contacted for knowledge before the study began and who they had talked to about the experiment by 18 months later. Open-ended interviews collected farmer statements about their most valuable contacts and these statements have been thematically analysed. The network analysis shows that farmers talked about the experiment with 192 people, most of whom were fellow farmers. Farmers with densely tied and occupationally homogeneous contacts grew their networks more than did farmers with contacts that are loosely tied and diverse. Thematic analysis reveals three general principles: farmers value knowledge delivered by persons rather than roles, privilege farming experience, and develop knowledge with empiricist rather than rationalist techniques. Taken together, these findings suggest that farmers deliberate about science in intensive and durable networks that have significant implications for

  5. A Community Information Network.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Consumers' Association of Canada, Ottawa (Ontario).

    The possibility of creating in Canada a non-profit community information network (a set of linked data banks containing information for use by the general public) should be explored. A network to link together a set of data banks containing information for general public use would have the following merits: (1) By its effect on household…

  6. Research for the Cable Layout Way of the Bypass Operation System in Agricultural Power Supply Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niu, Jie; Li, Jinliang; Zou, Dehua; Yang, Qi; Li, Xu; Yan, Yu; Li, Tang

    2017-05-01

    Non-blackout working of agricultural power supply network is significant to shorten the outage time, decrease the outage loss, and improve the supply reliability and safety. It is impossible to hang the wire rope first and then suspend the cable because of the poor bearing ability of the pole in agricultural power supply network. A kind of new cable arrangement way, its matching tools and the flexible cable that can bear the tension by itself are needed to be put forward and developed. It is necessary to calculate the electric field intensity of the flexible cable to verify that the electric field intensity meets the insulation demand. In this new design, the fiber layer is added into the flexible cable and its maximum tension force is measured to reach to 4000 N. Based on the features of live working in the agricultural power supply network, the new layout way of the cable is proposed; the matching tools and the new flexible cable that can bear the tension by itself are developed as well in this paper. All of the research achievements can give references for the live working of the agricultural power supply network.

  7. Changes in Information Systems in Czech Agriculture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Slavik, Milan

    2004-01-01

    A study carried out in 1998 (reported in the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 2003) of the information systems used by farmers in the Czech Republic to access information and advice was repeated in 2003. The research aim was to assess whether, and how, the systems had changed during these five years. The perceived importance of 10…

  8. Network inference using informative priors

    PubMed Central

    Mukherjee, Sach; Speed, Terence P.

    2008-01-01

    Recent years have seen much interest in the study of systems characterized by multiple interacting components. A class of statistical models called graphical models, in which graphs are used to represent probabilistic relationships between variables, provides a framework for formal inference regarding such systems. In many settings, the object of inference is the network structure itself. This problem of “network inference” is well known to be a challenging one. However, in scientific settings there is very often existing information regarding network connectivity. A natural idea then is to take account of such information during inference. This article addresses the question of incorporating prior information into network inference. We focus on directed models called Bayesian networks, and use Markov chain Monte Carlo to draw samples from posterior distributions over network structures. We introduce prior distributions on graphs capable of capturing information regarding network features including edges, classes of edges, degree distributions, and sparsity. We illustrate our approach in the context of systems biology, applying our methods to network inference in cancer signaling. PMID:18799736

  9. Network inference using informative priors.

    PubMed

    Mukherjee, Sach; Speed, Terence P

    2008-09-23

    Recent years have seen much interest in the study of systems characterized by multiple interacting components. A class of statistical models called graphical models, in which graphs are used to represent probabilistic relationships between variables, provides a framework for formal inference regarding such systems. In many settings, the object of inference is the network structure itself. This problem of "network inference" is well known to be a challenging one. However, in scientific settings there is very often existing information regarding network connectivity. A natural idea then is to take account of such information during inference. This article addresses the question of incorporating prior information into network inference. We focus on directed models called Bayesian networks, and use Markov chain Monte Carlo to draw samples from posterior distributions over network structures. We introduce prior distributions on graphs capable of capturing information regarding network features including edges, classes of edges, degree distributions, and sparsity. We illustrate our approach in the context of systems biology, applying our methods to network inference in cancer signaling.

  10. Why Do Information Gaps Persist in African Smallholder Agriculture? Perspectives from Farmers Lacking Exposure to Conservation Agriculture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Brendan; Llewellyn, Rick; Nuberg, Ian

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: To explore why substantial agricultural information gaps persist in African smallholder farming communities and how to reduce them. Design/methodology/approach: Using conservation agriculture (CA) as a case study, we deeply explore with 29 smallholder farmers why they are yet to obtain sufficient information to enable practice evaluation.…

  11. Information Diffusion in Facebook-Like Social Networks Under Information Overload

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  12. Dynamic information routing in complex networks

    PubMed Central

    Kirst, Christoph; Timme, Marc; Battaglia, Demian

    2016-01-01

    Flexible information routing fundamentally underlies the function of many biological and artificial networks. Yet, how such systems may specifically communicate and dynamically route information is not well understood. Here we identify a generic mechanism to route information on top of collective dynamical reference states in complex networks. Switching between collective dynamics induces flexible reorganization of information sharing and routing patterns, as quantified by delayed mutual information and transfer entropy measures between activities of a network's units. We demonstrate the power of this mechanism specifically for oscillatory dynamics and analyse how individual unit properties, the network topology and external inputs co-act to systematically organize information routing. For multi-scale, modular architectures, we resolve routing patterns at all levels. Interestingly, local interventions within one sub-network may remotely determine nonlocal network-wide communication. These results help understanding and designing information routing patterns across systems where collective dynamics co-occurs with a communication function. PMID:27067257

  13. Multimedia Information Networks in Social Media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Liangliang; Qi, Guojun; Tsai, Shen-Fu; Tsai, Min-Hsuan; Pozo, Andrey Del; Huang, Thomas S.; Zhang, Xuemei; Lim, Suk Hwan

    The popularity of personal digital cameras and online photo/video sharing community has lead to an explosion of multimedia information. Unlike traditional multimedia data, many new multimedia datasets are organized in a structural way, incorporating rich information such as semantic ontology, social interaction, community media, geographical maps, in addition to the multimedia contents by themselves. Studies of such structured multimedia data have resulted in a new research area, which is referred to as Multimedia Information Networks. Multimedia information networks are closely related to social networks, but especially focus on understanding the topics and semantics of the multimedia files in the context of network structure. This chapter reviews different categories of recent systems related to multimedia information networks, summarizes the popular inference methods used in recent works, and discusses the applications related to multimedia information networks. We also discuss a wide range of topics including public datasets, related industrial systems, and potential future research directions in this field.

  14. 77 FR 67329 - Information Collection: Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-09

    ... Information Collection: Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA... Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978. DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by... online instructions for submitting comments. Mail: Lesa A. Johnson, Agricultural Foreign Investment...

  15. How Did the Information Flow in the #AlphaGo Hashtag Network? A Social Network Analysis of the Large-Scale Information Network on Twitter.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jinyoung

    2017-12-01

    As it becomes common for Internet users to use hashtags when posting and searching information on social media, it is important to understand who builds a hashtag network and how information is circulated within the network. This article focused on unlocking the potential of the #AlphaGo hashtag network by addressing the following questions. First, the current study examined whether traditional opinion leadership (i.e., the influentials hypothesis) or grassroot participation by the public (i.e., the interpersonal hypothesis) drove dissemination of information in the hashtag network. Second, several unique patterns of information distribution by key users were identified. Finally, the association between attributes of key users who exerted great influence on information distribution (i.e., the number of followers and follows) and their central status in the network was tested. To answer the proffered research questions, a social network analysis was conducted using a large-scale hashtag network data set from Twitter (n = 21,870). The results showed that the leading actors in the network were actively receiving information from their followers rather than serving as intermediaries between the original information sources and the public. Moreover, the leading actors played several roles (i.e., conversation starters, influencers, and active engagers) in the network. Furthermore, the number of their follows and followers were significantly associated with their central status in the hashtag network. Based on the results, the current research explained how the information was exchanged in the hashtag network by proposing the reciprocal model of information flow.

  16. Radio/antenna mounting system for wireless networking under row-crop agriculture conditions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Interest in and deployment of wireless monitoring systems is increasing in many diverse environments, including row-crop agricultural fields. While many studies have been undertaken to evaluate various aspects of wireless monitoring and networking, such as electronic hardware components, data-colle...

  17. Diffusion of Technical Agricultural Information in Chile.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Marion Ray

    This study examined current thought concerning the role of mass communication in economic development in developing nations; analyzed existing efforts to diffuse agricultural technology in Chile; assessed the effectiveness of various approaches; and tested the effects (primarily on knowledge levels) of an experimental technical information service…

  18. Information cascade on networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hisakado, Masato; Mori, Shintaro

    2016-05-01

    In this paper, we discuss a voting model by considering three different kinds of networks: a random graph, the Barabási-Albert (BA) model, and a fitness model. A voting model represents the way in which public perceptions are conveyed to voters. Our voting model is constructed by using two types of voters-herders and independents-and two candidates. Independents conduct voting based on their fundamental values; on the other hand, herders base their voting on the number of previous votes. Hence, herders vote for the majority candidates and obtain information relating to previous votes from their networks. We discuss the difference between the phases on which the networks depend. Two kinds of phase transitions, an information cascade transition and a super-normal transition, were identified. The first of these is a transition between a state in which most voters make the correct choices and a state in which most of them are wrong. The second is a transition of convergence speed. The information cascade transition prevails when herder effects are stronger than the super-normal transition. In the BA and fitness models, the critical point of the information cascade transition is the same as that of the random network model. However, the critical point of the super-normal transition disappears when these two models are used. In conclusion, the influence of networks is shown to only affect the convergence speed and not the information cascade transition. We are therefore able to conclude that the influence of hubs on voters' perceptions is limited.

  19. The transfer and transformation of collective network information in gene-matched networks.

    PubMed

    Kitsukawa, Takashi; Yagi, Takeshi

    2015-10-09

    Networks, such as the human society network, social and professional networks, and biological system networks, contain vast amounts of information. Information signals in networks are distributed over nodes and transmitted through intricately wired links, making the transfer and transformation of such information difficult to follow. Here we introduce a novel method for describing network information and its transfer using a model network, the Gene-matched network (GMN), in which nodes (neurons) possess attributes (genes). In the GMN, nodes are connected according to their expression of common genes. Because neurons have multiple genes, the GMN is cluster-rich. We show that, in the GMN, information transfer and transformation were controlled systematically, according to the activity level of the network. Furthermore, information transfer and transformation could be traced numerically with a vector using genes expressed in the activated neurons, the active-gene array, which was used to assess the relative activity among overlapping neuronal groups. Interestingly, this coding style closely resembles the cell-assembly neural coding theory. The method introduced here could be applied to many real-world networks, since many systems, including human society and various biological systems, can be represented as a network of this type.

  20. Information Assurance in Wireless Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kabara, Joseph; Krishnamurthy, Prashant; Tipper, David

    2001-09-01

    Emerging wireless networks will contain a hybrid infrastructure based on fixed, mobile and ad hoc topologies and technologies. In such a dynamic architecture, we define information assurance as the provisions for both information security and information availability. The implications of this definition are that the wireless network architecture must (a) provide sufficient security measures, (b) be survivable under node or link attack or failure and (c) be designed such that sufficient capacity remains for all critical services (and preferably most other services) in the event of attack or component failure. We have begun a research project to investigate the provision of information assurance for wireless networks viz. survivability, security and availability and here discuss the issues and challenges therein.

  1. Scaling theory for information networks.

    PubMed

    Moses, Melanie E; Forrest, Stephanie; Davis, Alan L; Lodder, Mike A; Brown, James H

    2008-12-06

    Networks distribute energy, materials and information to the components of a variety of natural and human-engineered systems, including organisms, brains, the Internet and microprocessors. Distribution networks enable the integrated and coordinated functioning of these systems, and they also constrain their design. The similar hierarchical branching networks observed in organisms and microprocessors are striking, given that the structure of organisms has evolved via natural selection, while microprocessors are designed by engineers. Metabolic scaling theory (MST) shows that the rate at which networks deliver energy to an organism is proportional to its mass raised to the 3/4 power. We show that computational systems are also characterized by nonlinear network scaling and use MST principles to characterize how information networks scale, focusing on how MST predicts properties of clock distribution networks in microprocessors. The MST equations are modified to account for variation in the size and density of transistors and terminal wires in microprocessors. Based on the scaling of the clock distribution network, we predict a set of trade-offs and performance properties that scale with chip size and the number of transistors. However, there are systematic deviations between power requirements on microprocessors and predictions derived directly from MST. These deviations are addressed by augmenting the model to account for decentralized flow in some microprocessor networks (e.g. in logic networks). More generally, we hypothesize a set of constraints between the size, power and performance of networked information systems including transistors on chips, hosts on the Internet and neurons in the brain.

  2. Exploring network operations for data and information networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, Bing; Su, Jing; Ma, Fei; Wang, Xiaomin; Zhao, Xiyang; Yao, Ming

    2017-01-01

    Barabási and Albert, in 1999, formulated scale-free models based on some real networks: World-Wide Web, Internet, metabolic and protein networks, language or sexual networks. Scale-free networks not only appear around us, but also have high qualities in the world. As known, high quality information networks can transfer feasibly and efficiently data, clearly, their topological structures are very important for data safety. We build up network operations for constructing large scale of dynamic networks from smaller scale of network models having good property and high quality. We focus on the simplest operators to formulate complex operations, and are interesting on the closeness of operations to desired network properties.

  3. Agriculture: Agriculture and Air Quality

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Information on air emissions from agricultural practices, types of agricultural burning, air programs that may apply to agriculture, reporting requirements, and links to state and other federal air-quality information.

  4. Use of qualitative and quantitative information in neural networks for assessing agricultural chemical contamination of domestic wells

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mishra, A.; Ray, C.; Kolpin, D.W.

    2004-01-01

    A neural network analysis of agrichemical occurrence in groundwater was conducted using data from a pilot study of 192 small-diameter drilled and driven wells and 115 dug and bored wells in Illinois, a regional reconnaissance network of 303 wells across 12 Midwestern states, and a study of 687 domestic wells across Iowa. Potential factors contributing to well contamination (e.g., depth to aquifer material, well depth, and distance to cropland) were investigated. These contributing factors were available in either numeric (actual or categorical) or descriptive (yes or no) format. A method was devised to use the numeric and descriptive values simultaneously. Training of the network was conducted using a standard backpropagation algorithm. Approximately 15% of the data was used for testing. Analysis indicated that training error was quite low for most data. Testing results indicated that it was possible to predict the contamination potential of a well with pesticides. However, predicting the actual level of contamination was more difficult. For pesticide occurrence in drilled and driven wells, the network predictions were good. The performance of the network was poorer for predicting nitrate occurrence in dug and bored wells. Although the data set for Iowa was large, the prediction ability of the trained network was poor, due to descriptive or categorical input parameters, compared with smaller data sets such as that for Illinois, which contained more numeric information.

  5. An information dimension of weighted complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, Tao; Jiang, Wen

    2018-07-01

    The fractal and self-similarity are important properties in complex networks. Information dimension is a useful dimension for complex networks to reveal these properties. In this paper, an information dimension is proposed for weighted complex networks. Based on the box-covering algorithm for weighted complex networks (BCANw), the proposed method can deal with the weighted complex networks which appear frequently in the real-world, and it can get the influence of the number of nodes in each box on the information dimension. To show the wide scope of information dimension, some applications are illustrated, indicating that the proposed method is effective and feasible.

  6. Computer-Based Information Networks: Selected Examples.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardesty, Larry

    The history, purpose, and operation of six computer-based information networks are described in general and nontechnical terms. In the introduction the many definitions of an information network are explored. Ohio College Library Center's network (OCLC) is the first example. OCLC began in 1963, and since early 1973 has been extending its services…

  7. Optimal Information Processing in Biochemical Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiggins, Chris

    2012-02-01

    A variety of experimental results over the past decades provide examples of near-optimal information processing in biological networks, including in biochemical and transcriptional regulatory networks. Computing information-theoretic quantities requires first choosing or computing the joint probability distribution describing multiple nodes in such a network --- for example, representing the probability distribution of finding an integer copy number of each of two interacting reactants or gene products while respecting the `intrinsic' small copy number noise constraining information transmission at the scale of the cell. I'll given an overview of some recent analytic and numerical work facilitating calculation of such joint distributions and the associated information, which in turn makes possible numerical optimization of information flow in models of noisy regulatory and biochemical networks. Illustrating cases include quantification of form-function relations, ideal design of regulatory cascades, and response to oscillatory driving.

  8. Information Transfer and the Adoption of Agricultural Innovations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Longo, Rose Mary Juliano

    1990-01-01

    Data collected in the Federal District of Brazil were analyzed in terms of information transfer through mass media and interpersonal communication and how they influence farmers in the Federal District of Brazil in their decisions to adopt agricultural innovations. (42 references) (EAM)

  9. Informing agricultural management - The challenge of modelling grassland phenology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Calanca, Pierluigi

    2017-04-01

    Grasslands represent roughly 70% of the agricultural land worldwide, are the backbone of animal husbandry and contribute substantially to agricultural income. At the farm scale a proper management of meadows and pastures is necessary to attain a balance between forage production and consumption. A good hold on grassland phenology is of paramount importance in this context, because forage quantity and quality critically depend on the developmental stage of the sward. Traditionally, empirical rules have been used to advise farmers in this respect. Yet the provision of supporting information for decision making would clearly benefit from dedicated tools that integrate reliable models of grassland phenology. As with annual crops, in process-based models grassland phenology is usually described as a linear function of so-called growing degree days, whereby data from field trials and monitoring networks are used to calibrate the relevant parameters. It is shown in this contribution that while the approach can provide reasonable estimates of key developmental stages in an average sense, it fails to account for the variability observed in managed grasslands across sites and years, in particular concerning the start of the growing season. The analysis rests on recent data from western Switzerland, which serve as a benchmark for simulations carried out with grassland models of increasing complexity. Reasons for an unsatisfactory model performance and possibilities to improve current models are discussed, including the necessity to better account for species composition, late season management decisions, as well as plant physiological processes taking place during the winter season. The need to compile existing, and collect new data doe managed grasslands is also stressed.

  10. Information Networks in Biomedicine

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Millard, William L.

    1975-01-01

    Describes current biomedical information networks, focusing on those with an educational function, and elaborates on the problems encountered in planning, implementing, utilizing and evaluating such networks. Journal of Biocommunication, T. Banks, Educ. TV-431N, U. of Calif., San Francisco 94143. Subscription Rates: individuals and libraries,…

  11. Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Office of Technology Assessment.

    The use of information networks for business and government is expanding enormously. Government use of networks features prominently in plans to make government more efficient, effective, and responsive. But the transformation brought about by the networking also raises new concerns for the security and privacy of networked information. This…

  12. Assortativeness and information in scale-free networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piraveenan, M.; Prokopenko, M.; Zomaya, A. Y.

    2009-02-01

    We analyze Shannon information of scale-free networks in terms of their assortativeness, and identify classes of networks according to the dependency of the joint remaining degree distribution on the assortativeness. We conjecture that these classes comprise minimalistic and maximalistic networks in terms of Shannon information. For the studied classes, the information is shown to depend non-linearly on the absolute value of the assortativeness, with the dominant term of the relationship being a power-law. We exemplify this dependency using a range of real-world networks. Optimization of scale-free networks according to information they contain depends on the landscape of parameters’ search-space, and we identify two regions of interest: a slope region and a stability region. In the slope region, there is more freedom to generate and evaluate candidate networks since the information content can be changed easily by modifying only the assortativeness, while even a small change in the power-law’s scaling exponent brings a reward in a higher rate of information change. This feature may explain why the exponents of real-world scale-free networks are within a certain range, defined by the slope and stability regions.

  13. Long-Term Network Experiments and Interdisciplinary Campaigns Conducted by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goodrich, D. C.; Kustas, W. P.; Cosh, M. H.; Moran, S. M.; Marks, D. G.; Jackson, T. J.; Bosch, D. D.; Rango, A.; Seyfried, M. S.; Scott, R. L.; Prueger, J. H.; Starks, P. J.; Walbridge, M. R.

    2014-12-01

    The USDA-Agricultural Research Service has led, or been integrally involved in, a myriad of interdisciplinary field campaigns in a wide range of locations both nationally and internationally. Many of the shorter campaigns were anchored over the existing national network of ARS Experimental Watersheds and Rangelands. These long-term outdoor laboratories provided a critical knowledge base for designing the campaigns as well as historical data, hydrologic and meteorological infrastructure coupled with shop, laboratory, and visiting scientist facilities. This strong outdoor laboratory base enabled cost-efficient campaigns informed by historical context, local knowledge, and detailed existing watershed characterization. These long-term experimental facilities have also enabled much longer term lower intensity experiments, observing and building an understanding of both seasonal and inter-annual biosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere interactions across a wide range of conditions. A sampling of these experiments include MONSOON'90, SGP97, SGP99, Washita'92, Washita'94, SMEX02-05 and JORNEX series of experiments, SALSA, CLASIC and longer-term efforts over the ARS Little Washita, Walnut Gulch, Little River, Reynolds Creek, and OPE3 Experimental Watersheds. This presentation will review some of the highlights and key findings of these campaigns and long-term efforts including the inclusion of many of the experimental watersheds and ranges in the Long-Term Agro-ecosystems Research (LTAR) network. The LTAR network also contains several locations that are also part of other observational networks including the CZO, LTER, and NEON networks. Lessons learned will also be provided for scientists initiating their participation in large-scale, multi-site interdisciplinary science.

  14. Measurement of agricultural parameters using wireless sensor network (WSN)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guaña-Moya, Javier; Sánchez-Almeida, Tarquino; Salgado-Reyes, Nelson

    2018-04-01

    The technological advances have allowed to create new applications in telecommunications, applying low power and reduced costs in their equipment, thus achieving the evolution of new wireless networks or also denominated Wireless Sensor Network. These technologies allow the generation of measurements and analysis of environmental parameter data and soil. Precision agriculture requires parameters for the improvement of production, obtained through WSN technologies. This research analyzes the climatic requirements and soil parameters in a rose plantation in a greenhouse at an altitude of 3,100 meters above sea level. In the present investigation, maximum parameters were obtained in the production of roses, which are in the optimum range of production, whereas the minimum parameters of temperature, humidity and luminosity, evidenced that these parameters can damage the plants, since temperatures less than 10 °C slow down the growth of the plant and allow the proliferation of diseases and fungi.

  15. An Interoperable, Agricultural Information System Based on Satellite Remote Sensing Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Teng, William; Chiu, Long; Doraiswamy, Paul; Kempler, Steven; Liu, Zhong; Pham, Long; Rui, Hualan

    2005-01-01

    Monitoring global agricultural crop conditions during the growing season and estimating potential seasonal production are critically important for market development of US. agricultural products and for global food security. The Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GES DISC DAAC) is developing an Agricultural Information System (AIS), evolved from an existing TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS), which will operationally provide satellite remote sensing data products (e.g., rainfall) and services. The data products will include crop condition and yield prediction maps, generated from a crop growth model with satellite data inputs, in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The AIS will enable the remote, interoperable access to distributed data, by using the GrADS-DODS Server (GDS) and by being compliant with Open GIS Consortium standards. Users will be able to download individual files, perform interactive online analysis, as well as receive operational data flows. AIS outputs will be integrated into existing operational decision support systems for global crop monitoring, such as those of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and the U.N. World Food Program.

  16. Implementation of AN Agricultural Environmental Information System (aeis) for the Sanjiang Plain, Ne-China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Q.; Brocks, S.; Lenz-Wiedemann, V.; Miao, Y.; Jiang, R.; Chen, X.; Zhang, F.; Bareth, G.

    2012-07-01

    The Sino-German Project between the China Agricultural University and the University of Cologne, Germany, focuses on regional agro-ecosystem modelling. One major focus of the cooperation activity is the establishment of joint rice field experiment research in Jiansanjiang, located in the Sanjiang Plain (Heilongjiang Province, north-eastern part of China), to investigate the different agricultural practices and their impact on yield and environment. An additional task is to set-up an Agricultural Environmental Information System (AEIS) for the Sanjiang Plain (SJP), which covers more than 100 000 km2. Research groups from Geography (e.g. GIS & Remote Sensing) and Plant Nutrition (e.g. Precision Agriculture) are involved in the project. The major aim of the AEIS for the SJP is to provide information about (i) agriculture in the region, (ii) the impact of agricultural practices on the environment, and (iii) simulation scenarios for sustainable strategies. Consequently, the AEIS for the SJP provides information for decision support and therefore could be regarded as a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), too. The investigation of agricultural and environmental issues has a spatial context, which requires the management, handling, and analysis of spatial data. The use of GIS enables the capture, storage, analysis and presentation of spatial data. Therefore, GIS is the major tool for the set-up of the AEIS for the SJP. This contribution presents the results of linking agricultural statistics with GIS to provide information about agriculture in the SJP and discusses the benefits of this method as well as the integration of methods to produce new data.

  17. Agriculture and Water Quality. Issues in Agricultural Policy. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 548.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crowder, Bradley M.; And Others

    Agriculture generates byproducts that may contribute to the contamination of the United States' water supply. Any effective regulations to ban or restrict agricultural chemical or land use practices in order to improve water quality will affect the farm economy. Some farmers will benefit; some will not. Most agricultural pollutants reach surface…

  18. Interactions between Niche and Regime: An Analysis of Learning and Innovation Networks for Sustainable Agriculture across Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ingram, Julie; Maye, Damian; Kirwan, James; Curry, Nigel; Kubinakova, Katarina

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to reveal, and contribute to an understanding of, the processes that connect learning and innovation networks in sustainable agriculture to elements of the mainstream agricultural regime. Drawing on the innovations and transition literature, the paper frames the analysis around niche-regime interaction using the notion of…

  19. Information Network Model Query Processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Xiaopu

    Information Networking Model (INM) [31] is a novel database model for real world objects and relationships management. It naturally and directly supports various kinds of static and dynamic relationships between objects. In INM, objects are networked through various natural and complex relationships. INM Query Language (INM-QL) [30] is designed to explore such information network, retrieve information about schema, instance, their attributes, relationships, and context-dependent information, and process query results in the user specified form. INM database management system has been implemented using Berkeley DB, and it supports INM-QL. This thesis is mainly focused on the implementation of the subsystem that is able to effectively and efficiently process INM-QL. The subsystem provides a lexical and syntactical analyzer of INM-QL, and it is able to choose appropriate evaluation strategies and index mechanism to process queries in INM-QL without the user's intervention. It also uses intermediate result structure to hold intermediate query result and other helping structures to reduce complexity of query processing.

  20. Using geomorphological variables to predict the spatial distribution of plant species in agricultural drainage networks.

    PubMed

    Rudi, Gabrielle; Bailly, Jean-Stéphane; Vinatier, Fabrice

    2018-01-01

    To optimize ecosystem services provided by agricultural drainage networks (ditches) in headwater catchments, we need to manage the spatial distribution of plant species living in these networks. Geomorphological variables have been shown to be important predictors of plant distribution in other ecosystems because they control the water regime, the sediment deposition rates and the sun exposure in the ditches. Whether such variables may be used to predict plant distribution in agricultural drainage networks is unknown. We collected presence and absence data for 10 herbaceous plant species in a subset of a network of drainage ditches (35 km long) within a Mediterranean agricultural catchment. We simulated their spatial distribution with GLM and Maxent model using geomorphological variables and distance to natural lands and roads. Models were validated using k-fold cross-validation. We then compared the mean Area Under the Curve (AUC) values obtained for each model and other metrics issued from the confusion matrices between observed and predicted variables. Based on the results of all metrics, the models were efficient at predicting the distribution of seven species out of ten, confirming the relevance of geomorphological variables and distance to natural lands and roads to explain the occurrence of plant species in this Mediterranean catchment. In particular, the importance of the landscape geomorphological variables, ie the importance of the geomorphological features encompassing a broad environment around the ditch, has been highlighted. This suggests that agro-ecological measures for managing ecosystem services provided by ditch plants should focus on the control of the hydrological and sedimentological connectivity at the catchment scale. For example, the density of the ditch network could be modified or the spatial distribution of vegetative filter strips used for sediment trapping could be optimized. In addition, the vegetative filter strips could constitute

  1. The Influence of Information Technology Access on Agricultural Research in Nigeria.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jimba, Samuel Wodi; Atinmo, Morayo Ibironke

    2000-01-01

    Examines the relationship between accessibility to information technology and research publications among users of agricultural libraries in Nigeria. Discusses results of a questionnaire that investigated the use of electronic information resources and considers the effects of information technology and globalization on the economies of developing…

  2. The Role of the National Agricultural Library.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howard, Joseph H.

    1989-01-01

    Describes the role, users, collections and services of the National Agricultural Library. Some of the services discussed include a machine readable bibliographic database, an international interlibrary loan system, programs to develop library networks and cooperative cataloging, and the development and use of information technologies such as laser…

  3. Designing a Model for Integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Iranian Agricultural Research System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharifzadeh, Aboulqasem; Abdollahzadeh, Gholam Hossein; Sharifi, Mahnoosh

    2009-01-01

    Capacity Development is needed in the Iranian Agricultural System. Integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the agricultural research system is an appropriate capacity development mechanism. The appropriate application of ICTs and information such as a National Agricultural Information System requires a systemically…

  4. Results and Interpretations from a Survey on Agriculturally Related Weather Information.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weiss, A.; Robb, J. G.

    1986-01-01

    A survey Of "top" wheat farmers in 12 counties in western Nebraska was undertaken to help guide future research and extension programs (in agricultural meteorology and economics) in the region. One hundred forty-two farmers (59 percent of those receiving questionnaires) responded to the survey. Of the respondents, 42 percent own or are considering purchasing a personal computer; the vast majority of farmers own a rain gage and some form of temperature- measuring device; the respondents were moderately familiar with an existing Automated Weather Data Network in Nebraska; commercial and NOAA weather radio and commercial television are the main sources of weather data and information. short-term weather forecasts (1 day and 3-5 days) are most important to overall farm planning; respondents considered market and cost-of-production information and more-accurate weather forecasts most important in better management of their farm operations; the risk factors that impacted farm net income were economic followed by weather factors and marketing decisions; and most farmers would be willing to forward contract before the crop was half developed if good projections of crop status and yield could be made. A major constraint to preharvest forward contracting from some of the farmers' perspective appears to be variability in yield due to hail.

  5. Distributed Data Networks That Support Public Health Information Needs.

    PubMed

    Tabano, David C; Cole, Elizabeth; Holve, Erin; Davidson, Arthur J

    Data networks, consisting of pooled electronic health data assets from health care providers serving different patient populations, promote data sharing, population and disease monitoring, and methods to assess interventions. Better understanding of data networks, and their capacity to support public health objectives, will help foster partnerships, expand resources, and grow learning health systems. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 key informants across the United States, identified as network stakeholders based on their respective experience in advancing health information technology and network functionality. Key informants were asked about their experience with and infrastructure used to develop data networks, including each network's utility to identify and characterize populations, usage, and sustainability. Among 11 identified data networks representing hundreds of thousands of patients, key informants described aggregated health care clinical data contributing to population health measures. Key informant interview responses were thematically grouped to illustrate how networks support public health, including (1) infrastructure and information sharing; (2) population health measures; and (3) network sustainability. Collaboration between clinical data networks and public health entities presents an opportunity to leverage infrastructure investments to support public health. Data networks can provide resources to enhance population health information and infrastructure.

  6. Generic, network schema agnostic sparse tensor factorization for single-pass clustering of heterogeneous information networks

    PubMed Central

    Meng, Qinggang; Deng, Su; Huang, Hongbin; Wu, Yahui; Badii, Atta

    2017-01-01

    Heterogeneous information networks (e.g. bibliographic networks and social media networks) that consist of multiple interconnected objects are ubiquitous. Clustering analysis is an effective method to understand the semantic information and interpretable structure of the heterogeneous information networks, and it has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. However, most studies assume that heterogeneous information networks usually follow some simple schemas, such as bi-typed networks or star network schema, and they can only cluster one type of object in the network each time. In this paper, a novel clustering framework is proposed based on sparse tensor factorization for heterogeneous information networks, which can cluster multiple types of objects simultaneously in a single pass without any network schema information. The types of objects and the relations between them in the heterogeneous information networks are modeled as a sparse tensor. The clustering issue is modeled as an optimization problem, which is similar to the well-known Tucker decomposition. Then, an Alternating Least Squares (ALS) algorithm and a feasible initialization method are proposed to solve the optimization problem. Based on the tensor factorization, we simultaneously partition different types of objects into different clusters. The experimental results on both synthetic and real-world datasets have demonstrated that our proposed clustering framework, STFClus, can model heterogeneous information networks efficiently and can outperform state-of-the-art clustering algorithms as a generally applicable single-pass clustering method for heterogeneous network which is network schema agnostic. PMID:28245222

  7. Generic, network schema agnostic sparse tensor factorization for single-pass clustering of heterogeneous information networks.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jibing; Meng, Qinggang; Deng, Su; Huang, Hongbin; Wu, Yahui; Badii, Atta

    2017-01-01

    Heterogeneous information networks (e.g. bibliographic networks and social media networks) that consist of multiple interconnected objects are ubiquitous. Clustering analysis is an effective method to understand the semantic information and interpretable structure of the heterogeneous information networks, and it has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. However, most studies assume that heterogeneous information networks usually follow some simple schemas, such as bi-typed networks or star network schema, and they can only cluster one type of object in the network each time. In this paper, a novel clustering framework is proposed based on sparse tensor factorization for heterogeneous information networks, which can cluster multiple types of objects simultaneously in a single pass without any network schema information. The types of objects and the relations between them in the heterogeneous information networks are modeled as a sparse tensor. The clustering issue is modeled as an optimization problem, which is similar to the well-known Tucker decomposition. Then, an Alternating Least Squares (ALS) algorithm and a feasible initialization method are proposed to solve the optimization problem. Based on the tensor factorization, we simultaneously partition different types of objects into different clusters. The experimental results on both synthetic and real-world datasets have demonstrated that our proposed clustering framework, STFClus, can model heterogeneous information networks efficiently and can outperform state-of-the-art clustering algorithms as a generally applicable single-pass clustering method for heterogeneous network which is network schema agnostic.

  8. Analysis And Assistant Planning System Ofregional Agricultural Economic Inform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Jie; Zhang, Junfeng

    For the common problems existed in regional development and planning, we try to design a decision support system for assisting regional agricultural development and alignment as a decision-making tool for local government and decision maker. The analysis methods of forecast, comparative advantage, liner programming and statistical analysis are adopted. According to comparative advantage theory, the regional advantage can be determined by calculating and comparing yield advantage index (YAI), Scale advantage index (SAI), Complicated advantage index (CAI). Combining with GIS, agricultural data are presented as a form of graph such as area, bar and pie to uncover the principle and trend for decision-making which can't be found in data table. This system provides assistant decisions for agricultural structure adjustment, agro-forestry development and planning, and can be integrated to information technologies such as RS, AI and so on.

  9. A security architecture for health information networks.

    PubMed

    Kailar, Rajashekar; Muralidhar, Vinod

    2007-10-11

    Health information network security needs to balance exacting security controls with practicality, and ease of implementation in today's healthcare enterprise. Recent work on 'nationwide health information network' architectures has sought to share highly confidential data over insecure networks such as the Internet. Using basic patterns of health network data flow and trust models to support secure communication between network nodes, we abstract network security requirements to a core set to enable secure inter-network data sharing. We propose a minimum set of security controls that can be implemented without needing major new technologies, but yet realize network security and privacy goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability. This framework combines a set of technology mechanisms with environmental controls, and is shown to be sufficient to counter commonly encountered network security threats adequately.

  10. Web-based information system design of agricultural management towards self-sufficiency local food in North Aceh

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salahuddin; Husaini; Anwar

    2018-01-01

    The agricultural sector, especially food crops and horticulture, is one of the sectors driving regional economic pillars in Aceh Utara Regency of Aceh Province. Some agricultural products and food crops that become excellent products in North Aceh regency are: rice, corn, peanuts, long beans, cassava and soybeans. The Local Government of North Aceh Regency has not been optimal in empowering and maximizing the potential of agriculture resources. One of the obstacles is caused by the North Aceh Regency Government does not have an adequate database and web information system/GIS (Geographic Information System) for data management of agricultural centre in North Aceh Regency. This research is expected to assist local government of North Aceh Regency in managing agriculture sector to realize local food independence the region in supporting national food security program. The method in this research is using waterfall method for designing and making information system by conducting sequential process starting from data collection stage, requirement analysis, design, coding, testing and implementation system. The result of this research is a web-based information system for the management of agriculture superior agricultural product centre in North Aceh. This application provides information mapping the location of agricultural superior product producers and mapping of potential locations for the development of certain commodities in North Aceh Regency region in realizing food self-sufficiency in the region.

  11. Extracting information from multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iacovacci, Jacopo; Bianconi, Ginestra

    2016-06-01

    Multiplex networks are generalized network structures that are able to describe networks in which the same set of nodes are connected by links that have different connotations. Multiplex networks are ubiquitous since they describe social, financial, engineering, and biological networks as well. Extending our ability to analyze complex networks to multiplex network structures increases greatly the level of information that is possible to extract from big data. For these reasons, characterizing the centrality of nodes in multiplex networks and finding new ways to solve challenging inference problems defined on multiplex networks are fundamental questions of network science. In this paper, we discuss the relevance of the Multiplex PageRank algorithm for measuring the centrality of nodes in multilayer networks and we characterize the utility of the recently introduced indicator function Θ ˜ S for describing their mesoscale organization and community structure. As working examples for studying these measures, we consider three multiplex network datasets coming for social science.

  12. How multiple social networks affect user awareness: The information diffusion process in multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Weihua; Tang, Shaoting; Fang, Wenyi; Guo, Quantong; Zhang, Xiao; Zheng, Zhiming

    2015-10-01

    The information diffusion process in single complex networks has been extensively studied, especially for modeling the spreading activities in online social networks. However, individuals usually use multiple social networks at the same time, and can share the information they have learned from one social network to another. This phenomenon gives rise to a new diffusion process on multiplex networks with more than one network layer. In this paper we account for this multiplex network spreading by proposing a model of information diffusion in two-layer multiplex networks. We develop a theoretical framework using bond percolation and cascading failure to describe the intralayer and interlayer diffusion. This allows us to obtain analytical solutions for the fraction of informed individuals as a function of transmissibility T and the interlayer transmission rate θ . Simulation results show that interaction between layers can greatly enhance the information diffusion process. And explosive diffusion can occur even if the transmissibility of the focal layer is under the critical threshold, due to interlayer transmission.

  13. Building a Unified Information Network.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avram, Henriette D.

    1988-01-01

    Discusses cooperative efforts between research organizations and libraries to create a national information network. Topics discussed include the Linked System Project (LSP); technical processing versus reference and research functions; Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model; the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET); and…

  14. The Network Information Management System (NIMS) in the Deep Space Network

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wales, K. J.

    1983-01-01

    In an effort to better manage enormous amounts of administrative, engineering, and management data that is distributed worldwide, a study was conducted which identified the need for a network support system. The Network Information Management System (NIMS) will provide the Deep Space Network with the tools to provide an easily accessible source of valid information to support management activities and provide a more cost-effective method of acquiring, maintaining, and retrieval data.

  15. Mission Networks: An Evolution in Information Sharing

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-20

    Publication 6-0 Joint Communications System states that the Global Information Grid ( GIG ) composed of the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN...of the GIG while the other branches of the United States Government (USG) such as the Department of State (DoS) utilize the ’.gov’ sub-network of...the GIG . The result is that unless the DOD has a ’need to know’ it will never have access to the DOS information that resides on the ’.gov’ sub-network

  16. Students' Informal Peer Feedback Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Headington, Rita

    2018-01-01

    The nature and significance of students' informal peer feedback networks is an under-explored area. This paper offers the findings of a longitudinal investigation of the informal peer feedback networks of a cohort of student teachers [n = 105] across the three years of a UK primary education degree programme. It tracked the dynamic nature of these…

  17. Optimal control of epidemic information dissemination over networks.

    PubMed

    Chen, Pin-Yu; Cheng, Shin-Ming; Chen, Kwang-Cheng

    2014-12-01

    Information dissemination control is of crucial importance to facilitate reliable and efficient data delivery, especially in networks consisting of time-varying links or heterogeneous links. Since the abstraction of information dissemination much resembles the spread of epidemics, epidemic models are utilized to characterize the collective dynamics of information dissemination over networks. From a systematic point of view, we aim to explore the optimal control policy for information dissemination given that the control capability is a function of its distribution time, which is a more realistic model in many applications. The main contributions of this paper are to provide an analytically tractable model for information dissemination over networks, to solve the optimal control signal distribution time for minimizing the accumulated network cost via dynamic programming, and to establish a parametric plug-in model for information dissemination control. In particular, we evaluate its performance in mobile and generalized social networks as typical examples.

  18. A Security Architecture for Health Information Networks

    PubMed Central

    Kailar, Rajashekar

    2007-01-01

    Health information network security needs to balance exacting security controls with practicality, and ease of implementation in today’s healthcare enterprise. Recent work on ‘nationwide health information network’ architectures has sought to share highly confidential data over insecure networks such as the Internet. Using basic patterns of health network data flow and trust models to support secure communication between network nodes, we abstract network security requirements to a core set to enable secure inter-network data sharing. We propose a minimum set of security controls that can be implemented without needing major new technologies, but yet realize network security and privacy goals of confidentiality, integrity and availability. This framework combines a set of technology mechanisms with environmental controls, and is shown to be sufficient to counter commonly encountered network security threats adequately. PMID:18693862

  19. New scaling relation for information transfer in biological networks

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Hyunju; Davies, Paul; Walker, Sara Imari

    2015-01-01

    We quantify characteristics of the informational architecture of two representative biological networks: the Boolean network model for the cell-cycle regulatory network of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Davidich et al. 2008 PLoS ONE 3, e1672 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001672)) and that of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Li et al. 2004 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 4781–4786 (doi:10.1073/pnas.0305937101)). We compare our results for these biological networks with the same analysis performed on ensembles of two different types of random networks: Erdös–Rényi and scale-free. We show that both biological networks share features in common that are not shared by either random network ensemble. In particular, the biological networks in our study process more information than the random networks on average. Both biological networks also exhibit a scaling relation in information transferred between nodes that distinguishes them from random, where the biological networks stand out as distinct even when compared with random networks that share important topological properties, such as degree distribution, with the biological network. We show that the most biologically distinct regime of this scaling relation is associated with a subset of control nodes that regulate the dynamics and function of each respective biological network. Information processing in biological networks is therefore interpreted as an emergent property of topology (causal structure) and dynamics (function). Our results demonstrate quantitatively how the informational architecture of biologically evolved networks can distinguish them from other classes of network architecture that do not share the same informational properties. PMID:26701883

  20. Essential elements of online information networks on invasive alien species

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Simpson, A.; Sellers, E.; Grosse, A.; Xie, Y.

    2006-01-01

    In order to be effective, information must be placed in the proper context and organized in a manner that is logical and (preferably) standardized. Recently, invasive alien species (IAS) scientists have begun to create online networks to share their information concerning IAS prevention and control. At a special networking session at the Beijing International Symposium on Biological Invasions, an online Eastern Asia-North American IAS Information Network (EA-NA Network) was proposed. To prepare for the development of this network, and to provide models for other regional collaborations, we compare four examples of global, regional, and national online IAS information networks: the Global Invasive Species Information Network, the Invasives Information Network of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network, the Chinese Species Information System, and the Invasive Species Information Node of the US National Biological Information Infrastructure. We conclude that IAS networks require a common goal, dedicated leaders, effective communication, and broad endorsement, in order to obtain sustainable, long-term funding and long-term stability. They need to start small, use the experience of other networks, partner with others, and showcase benefits. Global integration and synergy among invasive species networks will succeed with contributions from both the top-down and the bottom-up. ?? 2006 Springer.

  1. Informal networks: the company behind the chart.

    PubMed

    Krackhardt, D; Hanson, J R

    1993-01-01

    A glance at an organizational chart can show who's the boss and who reports to whom. But this formal chart won't reveal which people confer on technical matters or discuss office politics over lunch. Much of the real work in any company gets done through this informal organization with its complex networks of relationships that cross functions and divisions. According to consultants David Krackhardt and Jeffrey Hanson, managers can harness the true power in their companies by diagramming three types of networks: the advice network, which reveals the people to whom others turn to get work done; the trust network, which uncovers who shares delicate information; and the communication network, which shows who talks about work-related matters. Using employee questionnaires, managers can generate network maps that will get to the root of many organizational problems. When a task force in a computer company, for example, was not achieving its goals, the CEO turned to network maps to find out why. He discovered that the task force leader was central in the advice network but marginal in the trust network. Task force members did not believe he would look out for their interests, so the CEO used the trust map to find someone to share responsibility for the group. And when a bank manager saw in the network map that there was little communication between tellers and supervisors, he looked for ways to foster interaction among employees of all levels. As companies continue to flatten and rely on teams, managers must rely less on their authority and more on understanding these informal networks. Managers who can use maps to identify, leverage, and revamp informal networks will have the key to success.

  2. Proposal of optical farming: development of several optical sensing instruments for agricultural use

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saito, Y.; Kobayashi, K.

    2013-05-01

    We propose the use of "Optical Farming," which is the leading application of all types of optical technologies, in agriculture and agriculture-related industries. This paper focuses on the optical sensing instruments named "Agriserver," "Agrigadget" and "LIFS Monitor" developed in our laboratory. They are considered major factors in utilizing Optical Farming. Agriserver is a sensor network system that uses the Internet to collect information on agricultural products growing in fields. Agrigadget contains several optical devices, such as a smartphone-based spectroscopic device and a hand framing camera. LIFS Monitor is an advanced monitoring instrument that makes it possible to obtain physiological information of living plants. They are strongly associated with information communication technology. Their field and data usage performance in agricultural industries are reported.

  3. Noise enhances information transfer in hierarchical networks.

    PubMed

    Czaplicka, Agnieszka; Holyst, Janusz A; Sloot, Peter M A

    2013-01-01

    We study the influence of noise on information transmission in the form of packages shipped between nodes of hierarchical networks. Numerical simulations are performed for artificial tree networks, scale-free Ravasz-Barabási networks as well for a real network formed by email addresses of former Enron employees. Two types of noise are considered. One is related to packet dynamics and is responsible for a random part of packets paths. The second one originates from random changes in initial network topology. We find that the information transfer can be enhanced by the noise. The system possesses optimal performance when both kinds of noise are tuned to specific values, this corresponds to the Stochastic Resonance phenomenon. There is a non-trivial synergy present for both noisy components. We found also that hierarchical networks built of nodes of various degrees are more efficient in information transfer than trees with a fixed branching factor.

  4. Noise enhances information transfer in hierarchical networks

    PubMed Central

    Czaplicka, Agnieszka; Holyst, Janusz A.; Sloot, Peter M. A.

    2013-01-01

    We study the influence of noise on information transmission in the form of packages shipped between nodes of hierarchical networks. Numerical simulations are performed for artificial tree networks, scale-free Ravasz-Barabási networks as well for a real network formed by email addresses of former Enron employees. Two types of noise are considered. One is related to packet dynamics and is responsible for a random part of packets paths. The second one originates from random changes in initial network topology. We find that the information transfer can be enhanced by the noise. The system possesses optimal performance when both kinds of noise are tuned to specific values, this corresponds to the Stochastic Resonance phenomenon. There is a non-trivial synergy present for both noisy components. We found also that hierarchical networks built of nodes of various degrees are more efficient in information transfer than trees with a fixed branching factor. PMID:23390574

  5. Predicting Information Flows in Network Traffic.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinich, Melvin J.; Molyneux, Robert E.

    2003-01-01

    Discusses information flow in networks and predicting network traffic and describes a study that uses time series analysis on a day's worth of Internet log data. Examines nonlinearity and traffic invariants, and suggests that prediction of network traffic may not be possible with current techniques. (Author/LRW)

  6. Data Processing: Status of Agriculture's Electronic Dissemination of Information System. Fact Sheet for the Chairman, Subcommittee on Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    General Accounting Office, Washington, DC.

    Written in response to a request to review the implementation of the Department of Agriculture's Electronic Dissemination of Information (EDI) system, this fact sheet discusses the performance of the contractor operating the system and the role of EDI in the Department of Agriculture's overall public dissemination activities. A letter from the…

  7. WATERSHED INFORMATION NETWORK

    EPA Science Inventory

    Resource Purpose:The Watershed Information Network is a set of about 30 web pages that are organized by topic. These pages access existing databases like the American Heritage Rivers Services database and Surf Your Watershed. WIN in itself has no data or data sets.
    L...

  8. Using geomorphological variables to predict the spatial distribution of plant species in agricultural drainage networks

    PubMed Central

    Bailly, Jean-Stéphane; Vinatier, Fabrice

    2018-01-01

    To optimize ecosystem services provided by agricultural drainage networks (ditches) in headwater catchments, we need to manage the spatial distribution of plant species living in these networks. Geomorphological variables have been shown to be important predictors of plant distribution in other ecosystems because they control the water regime, the sediment deposition rates and the sun exposure in the ditches. Whether such variables may be used to predict plant distribution in agricultural drainage networks is unknown. We collected presence and absence data for 10 herbaceous plant species in a subset of a network of drainage ditches (35 km long) within a Mediterranean agricultural catchment. We simulated their spatial distribution with GLM and Maxent model using geomorphological variables and distance to natural lands and roads. Models were validated using k-fold cross-validation. We then compared the mean Area Under the Curve (AUC) values obtained for each model and other metrics issued from the confusion matrices between observed and predicted variables. Based on the results of all metrics, the models were efficient at predicting the distribution of seven species out of ten, confirming the relevance of geomorphological variables and distance to natural lands and roads to explain the occurrence of plant species in this Mediterranean catchment. In particular, the importance of the landscape geomorphological variables, ie the importance of the geomorphological features encompassing a broad environment around the ditch, has been highlighted. This suggests that agro-ecological measures for managing ecosystem services provided by ditch plants should focus on the control of the hydrological and sedimentological connectivity at the catchment scale. For example, the density of the ditch network could be modified or the spatial distribution of vegetative filter strips used for sediment trapping could be optimized. In addition, the vegetative filter strips could constitute

  9. Research on invulnerability of equipment support information network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Xiao; Liu, Bin; Zhong, Qigen; Cao, Zhiyi

    2013-03-01

    In this paper, the entity composition of equipment support information network is studied, and the network abstract model is built. The influence factors of the invulnerability of equipment support information network are analyzed, and the invulnerability capabilities under random attack are analyzed. According to the centrality theory, the materiality evaluation centralities of the nodes are given, and the invulnerability capabilities under selective attack are analyzed. Finally, the reasons that restrict the invulnerability of equipment support information network are summarized, and the modified principles and methods are given.

  10. Optimal multi-community network modularity for information diffusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Jiaocan; Du, Ruping; Zheng, Yingying; Liu, Dong

    2016-02-01

    Studies demonstrate that community structure plays an important role in information spreading recently. In this paper, we investigate the impact of multi-community structure on information diffusion with linear threshold model. We utilize extended GN network that contains four communities and analyze dynamic behaviors of information that spreads on it. And we discover the optimal multi-community network modularity for information diffusion based on the social reinforcement. Results show that, within the appropriate range, multi-community structure will facilitate information diffusion instead of hindering it, which accords with the results derived from two-community network.

  11. 76 FR 67750 - Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0107] Homeland Security Information Network... Information Network Advisory Committee. SUMMARY: The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that the renewal of the Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC) is necessary and in the...

  12. Quantification of biophysical adaptation benefits from Climate-Smart Agriculture using a Bayesian Belief Network.

    PubMed

    de Nijs, Patrick J; Berry, Nicholas J; Wells, Geoff J; Reay, Dave S

    2014-10-20

    The need for smallholder farmers to adapt their practices to a changing climate is well recognised, particularly in Africa. The cost of adapting to climate change in Africa is estimated to be $20 to $30 billion per year, but the total amount pledged to finance adaptation falls significantly short of this requirement. The difficulty of assessing and monitoring when adaptation is achieved is one of the key barriers to the disbursement of performance-based adaptation finance. To demonstrate the potential of Bayesian Belief Networks for describing the impacts of specific activities on climate change resilience, we developed a simple model that incorporates climate projections, local environmental data, information from peer-reviewed literature and expert opinion to account for the adaptation benefits derived from Climate-Smart Agriculture activities in Malawi. This novel approach allows assessment of vulnerability to climate change under different land use activities and can be used to identify appropriate adaptation strategies and to quantify biophysical adaptation benefits from activities that are implemented. We suggest that multiple-indicator Bayesian Belief Network approaches can provide insights into adaptation planning for a wide range of applications and, if further explored, could be part of a set of important catalysts for the expansion of adaptation finance.

  13. Quantification of biophysical adaptation benefits from Climate-Smart Agriculture using a Bayesian Belief Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Nijs, Patrick J.; Berry, Nicholas J.; Wells, Geoff J.; Reay, Dave S.

    2014-10-01

    The need for smallholder farmers to adapt their practices to a changing climate is well recognised, particularly in Africa. The cost of adapting to climate change in Africa is estimated to be $20 to $30 billion per year, but the total amount pledged to finance adaptation falls significantly short of this requirement. The difficulty of assessing and monitoring when adaptation is achieved is one of the key barriers to the disbursement of performance-based adaptation finance. To demonstrate the potential of Bayesian Belief Networks for describing the impacts of specific activities on climate change resilience, we developed a simple model that incorporates climate projections, local environmental data, information from peer-reviewed literature and expert opinion to account for the adaptation benefits derived from Climate-Smart Agriculture activities in Malawi. This novel approach allows assessment of vulnerability to climate change under different land use activities and can be used to identify appropriate adaptation strategies and to quantify biophysical adaptation benefits from activities that are implemented. We suggest that multiple-indicator Bayesian Belief Network approaches can provide insights into adaptation planning for a wide range of applications and, if further explored, could be part of a set of important catalysts for the expansion of adaptation finance.

  14. Information Network on Rural Development (INRD), Bangladesh.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wanasundra, Leelangi

    1994-01-01

    Discusses information networking in Bangladesh and describes the formation of the Information Network on Rural Development (INRD) which was initiated by the Center on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). Organization, membership, activities, participation, and finance are examined. (four references) (LRW)

  15. An information spreading model based on online social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Tao; He, Juanjuan; Wang, Xiaoxia

    2018-01-01

    Online social platforms are very popular in recent years. In addition to spreading information, users could review or collect information on online social platforms. According to the information spreading rules of online social network, a new information spreading model, namely IRCSS model, is proposed in this paper. It includes sharing mechanism, reviewing mechanism, collecting mechanism and stifling mechanism. Mean-field equations are derived to describe the dynamics of the IRCSS model. Moreover, the steady states of reviewers, collectors and stiflers and the effects of parameters on the peak values of reviewers, collectors and sharers are analyzed. Finally, numerical simulations are performed on different networks. Results show that collecting mechanism and reviewing mechanism, as well as the connectivity of the network, make information travel wider and faster, and compared to WS network and ER network, the speed of reviewing, sharing and collecting information is fastest on BA network.

  16. Searching Information Sources in Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-06-14

    SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: During the course of this project, we made significant progresses in multiple directions of the information detection...result on information source detection on non-tree networks; (2) The development of information source localization algorithms to detect multiple... information sources. The algorithms have provable performance guarantees and outperform existing algorithms in 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 4. TITLE AND

  17. Agriculture: About EPA's National Agriculture Center

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA's National Agriculture Center (Ag Center), with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture, serves growers, livestock producers, other agribusinesses, and agricultural information/education providers.

  18. Improving information filtering via network manipulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Fuguo; Zeng, An

    2012-12-01

    The recommender system is a very promising way to address the problem of overabundant information for online users. Although the information filtering for the online commercial systems has received much attention recently, almost all of the previous works are dedicated to design new algorithms and consider the user-item bipartite networks as given and constant information. However, many problems for recommender systems such as the cold-start problem (i.e., low recommendation accuracy for the small-degree items) are actually due to the limitation of the underlying user-item bipartite networks. In this letter, we propose a strategy to enhance the performance of the already existing recommendation algorithms by directly manipulating the user-item bipartite networks, namely adding some virtual connections to the networks. Numerical analyses on two benchmark data sets, MovieLens and Netflix, show that our method can remarkably improves the recommendation performance. Specifically, it not only improves the recommendations accuracy (especially for the small-degree items), but also helps the recommender systems generate more diverse and novel recommendations.

  19. Understanding the Information Needs of Academic Scholars in Agricultural and Biological Sciences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuruppu, Pali U.; Gruber, Anne Marie

    2006-01-01

    This study investigates the information needs of faculty and graduate students in agricultural and biological sciences. Qualitative research methods, interviews and focus groups, were used to examine what types of information these scholars need for their research, teaching and learning, how they seek that information, and perceptions. The…

  20. Humans reclaimed lands in NorthEastern Italy and artificial drainage networks: effects of 30 years of Agricultural Surface Water Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sofia, Giulia; Pizzulli, Federica; Tarolli, Paolo

    2017-04-01

    Agriculture and land-use management has changed drastically in Italy since the end of the Second World War, driven by local but also European agricultural policies. As a result of these changes in farming practices and land use, many drainage networks have changed producing a greater exposure to flooding with a broad range of impacts on society, also because of climate inputs coupling with the human drivers. This study focuses on two main points: which kind of land use and farming changes have been observed in the most recent years ( 30 years)? How do these changes interact with climate and soil conditions? An open challenge to understand how these changes influence the watershed response, is, in fact, to understand if rainfall characteristics and climate have a synergistic effect, if their interaction matters, or to understand what element has the greatest influence on the watershed response connected to agricultural changes. The work is based on a simple model of water infiltration due to soil properties, and a connected evaluation of the distributed surface water storage offered by artificial drainage networks in a study area in Veneto (north-eastern Italy). The analysis shows that economic changes control the development of agro-industrial landscapes, with effects on the hydrological response. However, these changes deeply interact with antecedent soil conditions and climate characteristics. Intense and irregular rainfall events and events with a high recurrence should be expected to be the most critical. The presented outcomes highlight the importance of understanding how agricultural practices can be the driver of or can be used to avoid, or at least mitigate, flooding. The proposed methods can be valuable tools in evaluating the costs and benefits of the management of water in agriculture to inform better policy decision-making. References Sofia G, Tarolli P. 2017. Hydrological Response to 30 years of Agricultural Surface Water Management. Land 6 (1): 3 DOI

  1. Application of Convolutional Neural Network in Classification of High Resolution Agricultural Remote Sensing Images

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, C.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, H.

    2017-09-01

    With the rapid development of Precision Agriculture (PA) promoted by high-resolution remote sensing, it makes significant sense in management and estimation of agriculture through crop classification of high-resolution remote sensing image. Due to the complex and fragmentation of the features and the surroundings in the circumstance of high-resolution, the accuracy of the traditional classification methods has not been able to meet the standard of agricultural problems. In this case, this paper proposed a classification method for high-resolution agricultural remote sensing images based on convolution neural networks(CNN). For training, a large number of training samples were produced by panchromatic images of GF-1 high-resolution satellite of China. In the experiment, through training and testing on the CNN under the toolbox of deep learning by MATLAB, the crop classification finally got the correct rate of 99.66 % after the gradual optimization of adjusting parameter during training. Through improving the accuracy of image classification and image recognition, the applications of CNN provide a reference value for the field of remote sensing in PA.

  2. Bayesian Networks to Compare Pest Control Interventions on Commodities Along Agricultural Production Chains.

    PubMed

    Holt, J; Leach, A W; Johnson, S; Tu, D M; Nhu, D T; Anh, N T; Quinlan, M M; Whittle, P J L; Mengersen, K; Mumford, J D

    2018-02-01

    The production of an agricultural commodity involves a sequence of processes: planting/growing, harvesting, sorting/grading, postharvest treatment, packing, and exporting. A Bayesian network has been developed to represent the level of potential infestation of an agricultural commodity by a specified pest along an agricultural production chain. It reflects the dependency of this infestation on the predicted level of pest challenge, the anticipated susceptibility of the commodity to the pest, the level of impact from pest control measures as designed, and any variation from that due to uncertainty in measure efficacy. The objective of this Bayesian network is to facilitate agreement between national governments of the exporters and importers on a set of phytosanitary measures to meet specific phytosanitary measure requirements to achieve target levels of protection against regulated pests. The model can be used to compare the performance of different combinations of measures under different scenarios of pest challenge, making use of available measure performance data. A case study is presented using a model developed for a fruit fly pest on dragon fruit in Vietnam; the model parameters and results are illustrative and do not imply a particular level of fruit fly infestation of these exports; rather, they provide the most likely, alternative, or worst-case scenarios of the impact of measures. As a means to facilitate agreement for trade, the model provides a framework to support communication between exporters and importers about any differences in perceptions of the risk reduction achieved by pest control measures deployed during the commodity production chain. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

  3. IMNN: Information Maximizing Neural Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Charnock, Tom; Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin D.

    2018-04-01

    This software trains artificial neural networks to find non-linear functionals of data that maximize Fisher information: information maximizing neural networks (IMNNs). As compressing large data sets vastly simplifies both frequentist and Bayesian inference, important information may be inadvertently missed. Likelihood-free inference based on automatically derived IMNN summaries produces summaries that are good approximations to sufficient statistics. IMNNs are robustly capable of automatically finding optimal, non-linear summaries of the data even in cases where linear compression fails: inferring the variance of Gaussian signal in the presence of noise, inferring cosmological parameters from mock simulations of the Lyman-α forest in quasar spectra, and inferring frequency-domain parameters from LISA-like detections of gravitational waveforms. In this final case, the IMNN summary outperforms linear data compression by avoiding the introduction of spurious likelihood maxima.

  4. Blending local scale information for developing agricultural resilience in Ethiopia

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Funk, Christopher C.; Husak, Gregory; Mahiny, A.S; Eilerts, Gary; Rowland, James

    2013-01-01

    This brief article looks at the intersection of climate, land cover/land use, and population trends in the world's most food insecure country, Ethiopia. As a result of warming in the Indian and Western Pacific oceans, Ethiopia has experienced substantial drying over the past 20 years. We intersect the spatial pattern of this drying with high resolution climatologies, maps of agricultural expansion, population data, and socioeconomic livelihoods information to suggest that the coincidence of drying and agricultural expansion in south-central Ethiopia is likely adversely affecting a densely populated region with high levels of poverty and low wage levels.

  5. Information Networks and Education: An Analytic Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pritchard, Roger

    This literature review presents a broad and overall perspective on the various kinds of information networks that will be useful to educators in developing nations. There are five sections to the essay. The first section cites and briefly describes the literature dealing with library, information, and computer networks. Sections two and three…

  6. A National Scale Sustainable Agriculture Matrix of Indicators to Inform Policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davidson, E. A.; Zhang, X.

    2017-12-01

    sustainability of agriculture production, which is at the center of Water-Energy-Food nexus, but also provide timely information to help guide evolving national policies regarding agriculture, trade, environment, and national security.

  7. Hodge Decomposition of Information Flow on Small-World Networks.

    PubMed

    Haruna, Taichi; Fujiki, Yuuya

    2016-01-01

    We investigate the influence of the small-world topology on the composition of information flow on networks. By appealing to the combinatorial Hodge theory, we decompose information flow generated by random threshold networks on the Watts-Strogatz model into three components: gradient, harmonic and curl flows. The harmonic and curl flows represent globally circular and locally circular components, respectively. The Watts-Strogatz model bridges the two extreme network topologies, a lattice network and a random network, by a single parameter that is the probability of random rewiring. The small-world topology is realized within a certain range between them. By numerical simulation we found that as networks become more random the ratio of harmonic flow to the total magnitude of information flow increases whereas the ratio of curl flow decreases. Furthermore, both quantities are significantly enhanced from the level when only network structure is considered for the network close to a random network and a lattice network, respectively. Finally, the sum of these two ratios takes its maximum value within the small-world region. These findings suggest that the dynamical information counterpart of global integration and that of local segregation are the harmonic flow and the curl flow, respectively, and that a part of the small-world region is dominated by internal circulation of information flow.

  8. Workplace Learning in Informal Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milligan, Colin; Littlejohn, Allison; Margaryan, Anoush

    2014-01-01

    Learning does not stop when an individual leaves formal education, but becomes increasingly informal, and deeply embedded within other activities such as work. This article describes the challenges of informal learning in knowledge intensive industries, highlighting the important role of personal learning networks. The article argues that…

  9. Developing Visualization Techniques for Semantics-based Information Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keller, Richard M.; Hall, David R.

    2003-01-01

    Information systems incorporating complex network structured information spaces with a semantic underpinning - such as hypermedia networks, semantic networks, topic maps, and concept maps - are being deployed to solve some of NASA s critical information management problems. This paper describes some of the human interaction and navigation problems associated with complex semantic information spaces and describes a set of new visual interface approaches to address these problems. A key strategy is to leverage semantic knowledge represented within these information spaces to construct abstractions and views that will be meaningful to the human user. Human-computer interaction methodologies will guide the development and evaluation of these approaches, which will benefit deployed NASA systems and also apply to information systems based on the emerging Semantic Web.

  10. Enhancing continental-scale understanding of agriculture: Integrating the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) with existing research networks to address global change.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, G.

    2015-12-01

    Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence of interest in the sustainability of the world's food system and its contributions to feeding the world's population as well as to ensuring environmental sustainability of the planet. The elements of this grand challenge are by now well known. Analysis of agricultural sustainability is made more challenging by the fact that the local responses to these global drivers of change are extremely variable in space and time due to the biophysical and geopolitical heterogeneity across the United States, and the world. Utilizing research networks allows the scientific community to leverage existing knowledge, models and data to develop a framework for understanding the interplay between global change drivers, regional, and continental sustainability of US agriculture. For example, well-established instrumented and calibrated research networks will allow for the examination of the potential tradeoffs between: 1) crop production, 2) land use and carbon emissions and sequestration, 3) groundwater depletion, and 4) nitrogen dynamics. NEON represents a major investment in scientific infrastructure in support of ecological research at a continental scale and is intended to address multiple ecological grand challenges. NEON will collect data from automated sensors and sample organisms and ecological variables in 20 eco-climatic domains. We will provide examples of how NEON's full potential can be realized when these data are combined with long term experimental results and other sensor networks [e.g., Ameriflux, Fluxnet, the Long-term Ecological Research Program (LTER), the Long-term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR)], Critical Zone Observatory (CZO).

  11. Information flow in the auditory cortical network

    PubMed Central

    Hackett, Troy A.

    2011-01-01

    Auditory processing in the cerebral cortex is comprised of an interconnected network of auditory and auditory-related areas distributed throughout the forebrain. The nexus of auditory activity is located in temporal cortex among several specialized areas, or fields, that receive dense inputs from the medial geniculate complex. These areas are collectively referred to as auditory cortex. Auditory activity is extended beyond auditory cortex via connections with auditory-related areas elsewhere in the cortex. Within this network, information flows between areas to and from countless targets, but in a manner that is characterized by orderly regional, areal and laminar patterns. These patterns reflect some of the structural constraints that passively govern the flow of information at all levels of the network. In addition, the exchange of information within these circuits is dynamically regulated by intrinsic neurochemical properties of projecting neurons and their targets. This article begins with an overview of the principal circuits and how each is related to information flow along major axes of the network. The discussion then turns to a description of neurochemical gradients along these axes, highlighting recent work on glutamate transporters in the thalamocortical projections to auditory cortex. The article concludes with a brief discussion of relevant neurophysiological findings as they relate to structural gradients in the network. PMID:20116421

  12. Discovery of Information Diffusion Process in Social Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Kwanho; Jung, Jae-Yoon; Park, Jonghun

    Information diffusion analysis in social networks is of significance since it enables us to deeply understand dynamic social interactions among users. In this paper, we introduce approaches to discovering information diffusion process in social networks based on process mining. Process mining techniques are applied from three perspectives: social network analysis, process discovery and community recognition. We then present experimental results by using a real-life social network data. The proposed techniques are expected to employ as new analytical tools in online social networks such as blog and wikis for company marketers, politicians, news reporters and online writers.

  13. Management of ATM-based networks supporting multimedia medical information systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitman, Robert A.; Blaine, G. James; Fritz, Kevin; Goodgold, Ken; Heisinger, Patrick

    1997-05-01

    Medical information systems are acquiring the ability to collect and deliver many different types of medical information. In support of the increased network demands necessitated by these expanded capabilities, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) based networks are being deployed in medical care systems. While ATM supplies a much greater line rate than currently deployed networks, the management and standards surrounding ATM are yet to mature. This paper explores the management and control issues surrounding an ATM network supporting medical information systems, and examines how management impacts network performance and robustness. A multivendor ATM network at the BJC Health System/Washington University and the applications using the network are discussed. Performance information for specific applications is presented and analyzed. Network management's influence on application reliability is outlined. The information collected is used to show how ATM network standards and management tools influence network reliability and performance. Performance of current applications using the ATM network is discussed. Special attention is given to issues encountered in implementation of hypertext transfer protocol over ATM internet protocol (IP) communications. A classical IP ATM implementation yields greater than twenty percent higher network performance over LANE. Maximum performance for a host's suite of applications can be obtained by establishing multiple individually engineered IP links through its ATM network connection.

  14. Network information security in a phase III Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS).

    PubMed

    Shea, S; Sengupta, S; Crosswell, A; Clayton, P D

    1992-01-01

    The developing Integrated Academic Information System (IAIMS) at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center provides data sharing links between two separate corporate entities, namely Columbia University Medical School and The Presbyterian Hospital, using a network-based architecture. Multiple database servers with heterogeneous user authentication protocols are linked to this network. "One-stop information shopping" implies one log-on procedure per session, not separate log-on and log-off procedures for each server or application used during a session. These circumstances provide challenges at the policy and technical levels to data security at the network level and insuring smooth information access for end users of these network-based services. Five activities being conducted as part of our security project are described: (1) policy development; (2) an authentication server for the network; (3) Kerberos as a tool for providing mutual authentication, encryption, and time stamping of authentication messages; (4) a prototype interface using Kerberos services to authenticate users accessing a network database server; and (5) a Kerberized electronic signature.

  15. Sailor: Maryland's Online Public Information Network. Sailor Network Assessment Final Report: Findings and Future Sailor Network Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bertot, John Carlo; McClure, Charles R.

    This report describes the results of an assessment of Sailor, Maryland's Online Public Information Network, which provides statewide Internet connection to 100% of Maryland public libraries. The concept of a "statewide networked environment" includes information services, products, hardware and software, telecommunications…

  16. 78 FR 17418 - Rural Health Information Technology Network Development Grant

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-21

    ... Information Technology Network Development Grant AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA...-competitive replacement award under the Rural Health Information Technology Network Development Grant (RHITND... relinquishing its fiduciary responsibilities for the Rural Health Information Technology Network Development...

  17. Coordination sequences and information spreading in small-world networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrero, Carlos P.

    2002-10-01

    We study the spread of information in small-world networks generated from different d-dimensional regular lattices, with d=1, 2, and 3. With this purpose, we analyze by numerical simulations the behavior of the coordination sequence, e.g., the average number of sites C(n) that can be reached from a given node of the network in n steps along its bonds. For sufficiently large networks, we find an asymptotic behavior C(n)~ρn, with a constant ρ that depends on the network dimension d and on the rewiring probability p (which measures the disorder strength of a given network). A simple model of information spreading in these networks is studied, assuming that only a fraction q of the network sites are active. The number of active nodes reached in n steps has an asymptotic form λn, λ being a constant that depends on p and q, as well as on the dimension d of the underlying lattice. The information spreading presents two different regimes depending on the value of λ: For λ>1 the information propagates along the whole system, and for λ<1 the spreading is damped and the information remains confined in a limited region of the network. We discuss the connection of these results with site percolation in small-world networks.

  18. Agricultural Science Teachers' Barriers, Roles, and Information Source Preferences for Teaching Biotechnology Topics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mowen, Diana L.; Wingenbach, Gary J.; Roberts, T. Grady; Harlin, Julie F.

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine barriers, roles, and information source preferences for teaching agricultural biotechnology topics. Agricultural science teachers were described primarily as 37 year-old males who had taught for 12 years, had bachelor's degrees, and had lived or worked on a farm or ranch. Equipment was perceived as the…

  19. Enabling Controlling Complex Networks with Local Topological Information.

    PubMed

    Li, Guoqi; Deng, Lei; Xiao, Gaoxi; Tang, Pei; Wen, Changyun; Hu, Wuhua; Pei, Jing; Shi, Luping; Stanley, H Eugene

    2018-03-15

    Complex networks characterize the nature of internal/external interactions in real-world systems including social, economic, biological, ecological, and technological networks. Two issues keep as obstacles to fulfilling control of large-scale networks: structural controllability which describes the ability to guide a dynamical system from any initial state to any desired final state in finite time, with a suitable choice of inputs; and optimal control, which is a typical control approach to minimize the cost for driving the network to a predefined state with a given number of control inputs. For large complex networks without global information of network topology, both problems remain essentially open. Here we combine graph theory and control theory for tackling the two problems in one go, using only local network topology information. For the structural controllability problem, a distributed local-game matching method is proposed, where every node plays a simple Bayesian game with local information and local interactions with adjacent nodes, ensuring a suboptimal solution at a linear complexity. Starring from any structural controllability solution, a minimizing longest control path method can efficiently reach a good solution for the optimal control in large networks. Our results provide solutions for distributed complex network control and demonstrate a way to link the structural controllability and optimal control together.

  20. Using agricultural practices information for multiscale environmental assessment of phosphorus risk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matos Moreira, Mariana; Lemercier, Blandine; Michot, Didier; Dupas, Rémi; Gascuel-Odoux, Chantal

    2015-04-01

    Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. In intensively farmed areas, excessive applications of animal manure and mineral P fertilizers to soils have raised both economic and ecological concerns. P accumulation in agricultural soils leads to increased P losses to surface waterbodies contributing to eutrophication. Increasing soil P content over time in agricultural soils is often correlated with agricultural practices; in Brittany (NW France), an intensive livestock farming region, soil P content is well correlated with animal density (Lemercier et al.,2008). Thus, a better understanding of the factors controlling P distribution is required to enable environmental assessment of P risk. The aim of this study was to understand spatial distribution of extractable (Olsen method) and total P contents and its controlling factors at the catchment scale in order to predict P contents at regional scale (Brittany). Data on soil morphology, soil tests (including P status, particles size, organic carbon…) for 198 punctual positions, crops succession since 20 years, agricultural systems, field and animal manure management were obtained on a well-characterized catchment (ORE Agrhys, 10 km²). A multivariate analysis with mixed quantitative variables and factors and a digital soil mapping approach were performed to identify variables playing a significant role in soil total and extractable P contents and distribution. Spatial analysis was performed by means of the Cubist model, a decision tree-based algorithm. Different scenarios were assessed, considering various panels of predictive variables: soil data, terrain attributes derived from digital elevation model, gamma-ray spectrometry (from airborne geophysical survey) and agricultural practices information. In the research catchment, mean extractable and total P content were 140.0 ± 63.4 mg/kg and 2862.7 ± 773.0 mg/kg, respectively. Organic and mineral P inputs, P balance, soil pH, and Al contents were

  1. 78 FR 7797 - Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2013-0005] Homeland Security Information Network... Committee Meeting. SUMMARY: The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSIN AC) will meet... received by the (Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee), go to http://www.regulations...

  2. Modeling of information diffusion in Twitter-like social networks under information overload.

    PubMed

    Li, Pei; Li, Wei; Wang, Hui; Zhang, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Due to the existence of information overload in social networks, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to find useful information according to their interests. This paper takes Twitter-like social networks into account and proposes models to characterize the process of information diffusion under information overload. Users are classified into different types according to their in-degrees and out-degrees, and user behaviors are generalized into two categories: generating and forwarding. 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 by a given type user is adopted to characterize the information diffusion efficiency, which is calculated theoretically. To verify the accuracy of theoretical analysis results, we conduct simulations and provide the simulation results, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis results perfectly. These results are of importance to understand the diffusion dynamics in social networks, and this analysis framework can be extended to consider more realistic situations.

  3. Modeling of Information Diffusion in Twitter-Like Social Networks under Information Overload

    PubMed Central

    Li, Wei

    2014-01-01

    Due to the existence of information overload in social networks, it becomes increasingly difficult for users to find useful information according to their interests. This paper takes Twitter-like social networks into account and proposes models to characterize the process of information diffusion under information overload. Users are classified into different types according to their in-degrees and out-degrees, and user behaviors are generalized into two categories: generating and forwarding. 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 by a given type user is adopted to characterize the information diffusion efficiency, which is calculated theoretically. To verify the accuracy of theoretical analysis results, we conduct simulations and provide the simulation results, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis results perfectly. These results are of importance to understand the diffusion dynamics in social networks, and this analysis framework can be extended to consider more realistic situations. PMID:24795541

  4. The Role of Networks of Practice and Webs of Influencers on Farmers' Engagement with and Learning about Agricultural Innovations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oreszczyn, Sue; Lane, Andy; Carr, Susan

    2010-01-01

    Drawing on the UK research project, "Farmers' understandings of GM crops within local communities", this paper considers the application of the concepts of communities of practice and networks of practice in the agricultural context. A brief review of theories about communities of practice and networks of practice is given and some of…

  5. Information transfer in community structured multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solé Ribalta, Albert; Granell, Clara; Gómez, Sergio; Arenas, Alex

    2015-08-01

    The study of complex networks that account for different types of interactions has become a subject of interest in the last few years, specially because its representational power in the description of users interactions in diverse online social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). The mathematical description of these interacting networks has been coined under the name of multilayer networks, where each layer accounts for a type of interaction. It has been shown that diffusive processes on top of these networks present a phenomenology that cannot be explained by the naive superposition of single layer diffusive phenomena but require the whole structure of interconnected layers. Nevertheless, the description of diffusive phenomena on multilayer networks has obviated the fact that social networks have strong mesoscopic structure represented by different communities of individuals driven by common interests, or any other social aspect. In this work, we study the transfer of information in multilayer networks with community structure. The final goal is to understand and quantify, if the existence of well-defined community structure at the level of individual layers, together with the multilayer structure of the whole network, enhances or deteriorates the diffusion of packets of information.

  6. Agricultural biotechnology and its contribution to the global knowledge economy.

    PubMed

    Aerni, Philipp

    2007-01-01

    The theory of neoclassical welfare economics largely shaped international and national agricultural policies during the Cold War period. It treated technology as an exogenous factor that could boost agricultural productivity but not necessarily sustainable agriculture. New growth theory, the economic theory of the new knowledge economy, treats technological change as endogenous and argues that intangible assets such as human capital and knowledge are the drivers of sustainable economic development. In this context, the combined use of agricultural biotechnology and information technology has a great potential, not just to boost economic growth but also to empower people in developing countries and improve the sustainable management of natural resources. This article outlines the major ideas behind new growth theory and explains why agricultural economists and agricultural policy-makers still tend to stick to old welfare economics. Finally, the article uses the case of the Cassava Biotechnology Network (CBN) to illustrate an example of how new growth theory can be applied in the fight against poverty. CBN is a successful interdisciplinary crop research network that makes use of the new knowledge economy to produce new goods that empower the poor and improve the productivity and nutritional quality of cassava. It shows that the potential benefits of agricultural biotechnology go far beyond the already known productivity increases and pesticide use reductions of existing GM crops.

  7. Spectral Entropies as Information-Theoretic Tools for Complex Network Comparison

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Domenico, Manlio; Biamonte, Jacob

    2016-10-01

    Any physical system can be viewed from the perspective that information is implicitly represented in its state. However, the quantification of this information when it comes to complex networks has remained largely elusive. In this work, we use techniques inspired by quantum statistical mechanics to define an entropy measure for complex networks and to develop a set of information-theoretic tools, based on network spectral properties, such as Rényi q entropy, generalized Kullback-Leibler and Jensen-Shannon divergences, the latter allowing us to define a natural distance measure between complex networks. First, we show that by minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence between an observed network and a parametric network model, inference of model parameter(s) by means of maximum-likelihood estimation can be achieved and model selection can be performed with appropriate information criteria. Second, we show that the information-theoretic metric quantifies the distance between pairs of networks and we can use it, for instance, to cluster the layers of a multilayer system. By applying this framework to networks corresponding to sites of the human microbiome, we perform hierarchical cluster analysis and recover with high accuracy existing community-based associations. Our results imply that spectral-based statistical inference in complex networks results in demonstrably superior performance as well as a conceptual backbone, filling a gap towards a network information theory.

  8. Self-Organized Information Processing in Neuronal Networks: Replacing Layers in Deep Networks by Dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kirst, Christoph

    It is astonishing how the sub-parts of a brain co-act to produce coherent behavior. What are mechanism that coordinate information processing and communication and how can those be changed flexibly in order to cope with variable contexts? Here we show that when information is encoded in the deviations around a collective dynamical reference state of a recurrent network the propagation of these fluctuations is strongly dependent on precisely this underlying reference. Information here 'surfs' on top of the collective dynamics and switching between states enables fast and flexible rerouting of information. This in turn affects local processing and consequently changes in the global reference dynamics that re-regulate the distribution of information. This provides a generic mechanism for self-organized information processing as we demonstrate with an oscillatory Hopfield network that performs contextual pattern recognition. Deep neural networks have proven to be very successful recently. Here we show that generating information channels via collective reference dynamics can effectively compress a deep multi-layer architecture into a single layer making this mechanism a promising candidate for the organization of information processing in biological neuronal networks.

  9. The Social Side of Information Networking.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, James E.

    1997-01-01

    Explores the social issues, including manners, security, crime (fraud), and social control associated with information networking, with emphasis on the Internet. Also addresses the influence of cellular phones, the Internet and other information technologies on society. (GR)

  10. A novel approach to characterize information radiation in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xiaoyang; Wang, Ying; Zhu, Lin; Li, Chao

    2016-06-01

    The traditional research of information dissemination is mostly based on the virus spreading model that the information is being spread by probability, which does not match very well to the reality, because the information that we receive is always more or less than what was sent. In order to quantitatively describe variations in the amount of information during the spreading process, this article proposes a safety information radiation model on the basis of communication theory, combining with relevant theories of complex networks. This model comprehensively considers the various influence factors when safety information radiates in the network, and introduces some concepts from the communication theory perspective, such as the radiation gain function, receiving gain function, information retaining capacity and information second reception capacity, to describe the safety information radiation process between nodes and dynamically investigate the states of network nodes. On a micro level, this article analyzes the influence of various initial conditions and parameters on safety information radiation through the new model simulation. The simulation reveals that this novel approach can reflect the variation of safety information quantity of each node in the complex network, and the scale-free network has better ;radiation explosive power;, while the small-world network has better ;radiation staying power;. The results also show that it is efficient to improve the overall performance of network security by selecting nodes with high degrees as the information source, refining and simplifying the information, increasing the information second reception capacity and decreasing the noises. In a word, this article lays the foundation for further research on the interactions of information and energy between internal components within complex systems.

  11. Tufts academic health information network: concept and scenario.

    PubMed

    Stearns, N S

    1986-04-01

    Tufts University School of Medicine's new health sciences education building, the Arthur M. Sackler Center for Health Communications, will house a modern medical library and computer center, classrooms, auditoria, and media facilities. The building will also serve as the center for an information and communication network linking the medical school and adjacent New England Medical Center, Tufts' primary teaching hospital, with Tufts Associated Teaching Hospitals throughout New England. Ultimately, the Tufts network will join other gateway networks, information resource facilities, health care institutions, and medical schools throughout the world. The center and the network are intended to facilitate and improve the education of health professionals, the delivery of health care to patients, the conduct of research, and the implementation of administrative management approaches that should provide more efficient utilization of resources and save dollars. A model and scenario show how health care delivery and health care education are integrated through better use of information transfer technologies by health information specialists, practitioners, and educators.

  12. Tufts academic health information network: concept and scenario.

    PubMed Central

    Stearns, N S

    1986-01-01

    Tufts University School of Medicine's new health sciences education building, the Arthur M. Sackler Center for Health Communications, will house a modern medical library and computer center, classrooms, auditoria, and media facilities. The building will also serve as the center for an information and communication network linking the medical school and adjacent New England Medical Center, Tufts' primary teaching hospital, with Tufts Associated Teaching Hospitals throughout New England. Ultimately, the Tufts network will join other gateway networks, information resource facilities, health care institutions, and medical schools throughout the world. The center and the network are intended to facilitate and improve the education of health professionals, the delivery of health care to patients, the conduct of research, and the implementation of administrative management approaches that should provide more efficient utilization of resources and save dollars. A model and scenario show how health care delivery and health care education are integrated through better use of information transfer technologies by health information specialists, practitioners, and educators. PMID:3708191

  13. Agricultural SWOT analysis and wisdom agriculture design of chengdu

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qian; Chen, Xiangyu; Du, Shaoming; Yin, Guowei; Yu, Feng; Liu, Guicai; Gong, Jin; Han, Fujun

    2017-08-01

    According to the status of agricultural information, this paper analyzed the advantages, opportunities and challenges of developing wisdom agriculture in Chengdu. By analyzed the local characteristics of Chengdu agriculture, the construction program of Chengdu wisdom agriculture was designed, which was based on the existing agricultural informatization. The positioning and development theme of Chengdu agriculture is leisure agriculture, urban agriculture and quality agriculture.

  14. Network Information System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    1996-05-01

    The Network Information System (NWIS) was initially implemented in May 1996 as a system in which computing devices could be recorded so that unique names could be generated for each device. Since then the system has grown to be an enterprise wide information system which is integrated with other systems to provide the seamless flow of data through the enterprise. The system Iracks data for two main entities: people and computing devices. The following are the type of functions performed by NWIS for these two entities: People Provides source information to the enterprise person data repository for select contractors andmore » visitors Generates and tracks unique usernames and Unix user IDs for every individual granted cyber access Tracks accounts for centrally managed computing resources, and monitors and controls the reauthorization of the accounts in accordance with the DOE mandated interval Computing Devices Generates unique names for all computing devices registered in the system Tracks the following information for each computing device: manufacturer, make, model, Sandia property number, vendor serial number, operating system and operating system version, owner, device location, amount of memory, amount of disk space, and level of support provided for the machine Tracks the hardware address for network cards Tracks the P address registered to computing devices along with the canonical and alias names for each address Updates the Dynamic Domain Name Service (DDNS) for canonical and alias names Creates the configuration files for DHCP to control the DHCP ranges and allow access to only properly registered computers Tracks and monitors classified security plans for stand-alone computers Tracks the configuration requirements used to setup the machine Tracks the roles people have on machines (system administrator, administrative access, user, etc...) Allows systems administrators to track changes made on the machine (both hardware and software) Generates an

  15. Running a network on a shoestring: the Global Invasive Species Information Network

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Simpson, Annie; Graham, James J; Newman, Gregory J.; Bargeron, Chuck T.

    2015-01-01

    The Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN) was conceptualized in 2004 to aggregate and disseminate invasive species data in a standardized way. A decade later the GISIN community has implemented a data portal and three of six GISIN data aggregation models in the GISIN data exchange Protocol, including invasive species status information, resource URLs, and occurrence data. The portal is based on a protocol developed by representatives from 15 countries and 27 organizations of the global invasive species information management community. The GISIN has 19 data providers sharing 34,343 species status records, 1,693,073 occurrences, and 15,601 resource URLs. While the GISIN's goal is to be global, much of its data and funding are provided by the United States. Several initiatives use the GISIN as their information backbone, such as the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) and the North American Invasive Species Network (NAISN). Here we share several success stories and organizational challenges that remain.

  16. International School Health Network: an informal network for advocacy and knowledge exchange.

    PubMed

    McCall, Douglas S; Rootman, Irving; Bayley, Dale

    2005-01-01

    In Canada, researchers, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations have re-conceptualized the school setting as being an ecological entity, linked to parallel ecologies of the homes and the community it serves. The school, public health and other systems that seek to deliver programs in that setting are open, loosely coupled and bureaucratic. This reconceived view of the school as a setting for health promotion leads to an emphasis on building organizational, system, professional and community capacity. One of the most effective ways of building such capacities when resources are scarce is to invest in a variety of formal and informal networks that can sustain themselves with little or no external resources. A number of recognised researchers from the health and education sectors have emphasized this systems-based approach and the need to build supportive, small-scale networks or learning communities. In recent health promotion research, networking at various levels, across sectors and within communities is viewed as a key strategy within new, more effective health promotion strategies. In education, the notion of networking for educational change has been described as "learning communities" for continuous school improvement. The authors suggest that this strategy of networking be used at the international level to address several global challenges: There is no single, convenient way to obtain basic information about the status and nature of national and state/provincial school health programs around the world. There is no global research agenda in school health promotion, despite the obvious value of sharing such research and knowledge. There is no global mechanism to facilitate the development of common or shared tools for surveillance of child/youth health and monitoring of school health policies and programs, despite the excellent work being done in individual countries and by the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. There is no international

  17. Extracting spatial information from networks with low-order eigenvectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cucuringu, Mihai; Blondel, Vincent D.; Van Dooren, Paul

    2013-03-01

    We consider the problem of inferring meaningful spatial information in networks from incomplete information on the connection intensity between the nodes of the network. We consider two spatially distributed networks: a population migration flow network within the US, and a network of mobile phone calls between cities in Belgium. For both networks we use the eigenvectors of the Laplacian matrix constructed from the link intensities to obtain informative visualizations and capture natural geographical subdivisions. We observe that some low-order eigenvectors localize very well and seem to reveal small geographically cohesive regions that match remarkably well with political and administrative boundaries. We discuss possible explanations for this observation by describing diffusion maps and localized eigenfunctions. In addition, we discuss a possible connection with the weighted graph cut problem, and provide numerical evidence supporting the idea that lower-order eigenvectors point out local cuts in the network. However, we do not provide a formal and rigorous justification for our observations.

  18. Information Use by PhD Students in Agriculture and Biology: A Dissertation Citation Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuruppu, Pali U.; Moore, Debra C.

    2008-01-01

    This article reports the findings of a study conducted to examine the types of information used by graduate students in the fields of biological and agricultural sciences at Iowa State University (ISU). The citations of doctoral dissertations submitted in nine agriculture and biological science subject fields (crop production and physiology;…

  19. National Agricultural Library | United States Department of Agriculture

    Science.gov Websites

    Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag | USDA.gov | Agricultural Research Service | Plain Language | FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Information

  20. Stimulus information stored in lasting active and hidden network states is destroyed by network bursts

    PubMed Central

    Dranias, Mark R.; Westover, M. Brandon; Cash, Sidney; VanDongen, Antonius M. J.

    2015-01-01

    In both humans and animals brief synchronizing bursts of epileptiform activity known as interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) can, even in the absence of overt seizures, cause transient cognitive impairments (TCI) that include problems with perception or short-term memory. While no evidence from single units is available, it has been assumed that IEDs destroy information represented in neuronal networks. Cultured neuronal networks are a model for generic cortical microcircuits, and their spontaneous activity is characterized by the presence of synchronized network bursts (SNBs), which share a number of properties with IEDs, including the high degree of synchronization and their spontaneous occurrence in the absence of an external stimulus. As a model approach to understanding the processes underlying IEDs, optogenetic stimulation and multielectrode array (MEA) recordings of cultured neuronal networks were used to study whether stimulus information represented in these networks survives SNBs. When such networks are optically stimulated they encode and maintain stimulus information for as long as one second. Experiments involved recording the network response to a single stimulus and trials where two different stimuli were presented sequentially, akin to a paired pulse trial. We broke the sequential stimulus trials into encoding, delay and readout phases and found that regardless of which phase the SNB occurs, stimulus-specific information was impaired. SNBs were observed to increase the mean network firing rate, but this did not translate monotonically into increases in network entropy. It was found that the more excitable a network, the more stereotyped its response was during a network burst. These measurements speak to whether SNBs are capable of transmitting information in addition to blocking it. These results are consistent with previous reports and provide baseline predictions concerning the neural mechanisms by which IEDs might cause TCI. PMID:25755638

  1. Sustainable intensification of U.S. agriculture: Aspirations and barriers in the regional agroecosystems of the LTAR network

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The sustainable intensification of agriculture in the United States will require major shifts in producer decision-making, markets, and public policies. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network is working to better understand how these shifts may be accomplished. Through a common experime...

  2. Florida Information Resource Network.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Francis C.

    1986-01-01

    The Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN) is an effort by the Florida education community and the Florida Legislature to provide an electronic link among all agencies, institutions, and schools in the public education system. The communications link, perhaps one of the most advanced in the nation, has three purposes: (1) to provide equal…

  3. Development and Preliminary Application of Multi-channel Agricultural Science and Technology Consulting Service U Disk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, W. S.; Luo, C. S.; Wei, Q. F.; Zheng, Y. M.; Cao, C. Z.

    2017-12-01

    To deal with the “last kilometer” problem during the agricultural science and technology information service, the USB flash disk “Zixuntong”, which integrated five major consulting channels, i.e., telephone consultation, mutual video, message consultation, online customer service and QQ group was developed on the bases of capital experts and date resources. Since the products have the computer and telephone USB interface and are combined with localized information resources, users can obtain useful information on any terminal without the restriction of network. Meanwhile, the cartoon appearance make it friendly and attractive to people. The USB flash disk was used to provide agricultural expert consulting services and obtained a good preliminary application achievement. Finally, we concluded the creative application of USB flash disk in agricultural consulting services and prospected the future development direction of agricultural mobile consultation.

  4. Mutual information-based LPI optimisation for radar network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Chenguang; Zhou, Jianjiang; Wang, Fei; Chen, Jun

    2015-07-01

    Radar network can offer significant performance improvement for target detection and information extraction employing spatial diversity. For a fixed number of radars, the achievable mutual information (MI) for estimating the target parameters may extend beyond a predefined threshold with full power transmission. In this paper, an effective low probability of intercept (LPI) optimisation algorithm is presented to improve LPI performance for radar network. Based on radar network system model, we first provide Schleher intercept factor for radar network as an optimisation metric for LPI performance. Then, a novel LPI optimisation algorithm is presented, where for a predefined MI threshold, Schleher intercept factor for radar network is minimised by optimising the transmission power allocation among radars in the network such that the enhanced LPI performance for radar network can be achieved. The genetic algorithm based on nonlinear programming (GA-NP) is employed to solve the resulting nonconvex and nonlinear optimisation problem. Some simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is valuable and effective to improve the LPI performance for radar network.

  5. Research on Information Sharing Mechanism of Network Organization Based on Evolutionary Game

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Lin; Liu, Gaozhi

    2018-02-01

    This article first elaborates the concept and effect of network organization, and the ability to share information is analyzed, secondly introduces the evolutionary game theory, network organization for information sharing all kinds of limitations, establishes the evolutionary game model, analyzes the dynamic evolution of network organization of information sharing, through reasoning and evolution. The network information sharing by the initial state and two sides of the game payoff matrix of excess profits and information is the information sharing of cost and risk sharing are the influence of network organization node information sharing decision.

  6. 78 FR 34665 - Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC); Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [DHS-2013-0037] Homeland Security Information Network Advisory... Committee Meeting. SUMMARY: The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC) will meet... posted beforehand at this link: http://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-information-network-advisory...

  7. Information Exchange Between Resilient and High-Threat Networks: Techniques for Threat Mitigation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-11-01

    Information Exchange between Resilient and High-Threat Networks : Techniques for Threat Mitigation Tim Dean and Graham Wyatt QinetiQ...SUMMARY High resilience military networks frequently have requirements for exchange of information with networks of low assurance, including networks of...assured, two-way, information flow between high resilience networks and other networks of unknown threat. The techniques include conventional and

  8. Compartmentalized metabolic network reconstruction of microbial communities to determine the effect of agricultural intervention on soils

    PubMed Central

    Álvarez-Yela, Astrid Catalina; Gómez-Cano, Fabio; Zambrano, María Mercedes; Husserl, Johana; Danies, Giovanna; Restrepo, Silvia; González-Barrios, Andrés Fernando

    2017-01-01

    Soil microbial communities are responsible for a wide range of ecological processes and have an important economic impact in agriculture. Determining the metabolic processes performed by microbial communities is crucial for understanding and managing ecosystem properties. Metagenomic approaches allow the elucidation of the main metabolic processes that determine the performance of microbial communities under different environmental conditions and perturbations. Here we present the first compartmentalized metabolic reconstruction at a metagenomics scale of a microbial ecosystem. This systematic approach conceives a meta-organism without boundaries between individual organisms and allows the in silico evaluation of the effect of agricultural intervention on soils at a metagenomics level. To characterize the microbial ecosystems, topological properties, taxonomic and metabolic profiles, as well as a Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) were considered. Furthermore, topological and optimization algorithms were implemented to carry out the curation of the models, to ensure the continuity of the fluxes between the metabolic pathways, and to confirm the metabolite exchange between subcellular compartments. The proposed models provide specific information about ecosystems that are generally overlooked in non-compartmentalized or non-curated networks, like the influence of transport reactions in the metabolic processes, especially the important effect on mitochondrial processes, as well as provide more accurate results of the fluxes used to optimize the metabolic processes within the microbial community. PMID:28767679

  9. Collaborative Catchment-Scale Water Quality Management using Integrated Wireless Sensor Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zia, Huma; Harris, Nick; Merrett, Geoff

    2013-04-01

    Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, United Kingdom Summary The challenge of improving water quality (WQ) is a growing global concern [1]. Poor WQ is mainly attributed to poor water management and outdated agricultural activities. We propose that collaborative sensor networks spread across an entire catchment can allow cooperation among individual activities for integrated WQ monitoring and management. We show that sharing information on critical parameters among networks of water bodies and farms can enable identification and quantification of the contaminant sources, enabling better decision making for agricultural practices and thereby reducing contaminants fluxes. Motivation and results Nutrient losses from land to water have accelerated due to agricultural and urban pursuits [2]. In many cases, the application of fertiliser can be reduced by 30-50% without any loss of yield [3]. Thus information about nutrient levels and trends around the farm can improve agricultural practices and thereby reduce water contamination. The use of sensor networks for monitoring WQ in a catchment is in its infancy, but more applications are being tested [4]. However, these are focussed on local requirements and are mostly limited to water bodies. They have yet to explore the use of this technology for catchment-scale monitoring and management decisions, in an autonomous and dynamic manner. For effective and integrated WQ management, we propose a system that utilises local monitoring networks across a catchment, with provision for collaborative information sharing. This system of networks shares information about critical events, such as rain or flooding. Higher-level applications make use of this information to inform decisions about nutrient management, improving the quality of monitoring through the provision of richer datasets of catchment information to local networks. In the full paper, we present example scenarios and analyse how the benefits of

  10. Social Networking in an Agricultural Research Center: Using Data to Enhance Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Cramer, Mary E; Araz, Ozgur M; Wendl, Mary J

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to present a case study of one midwestern Agricultural Center (Ag Center) that used social network analysis (SNA) to (1) evaluate its collaborations with extramural stakeholders and (2) strategically plan for extending outreach for goal achievement. An evaluation team developed a data collection instrument based on SNA principles. It was administered to the Ag Center's intramural stakeholders (N = 9), who were asked to identify the key extramural stakeholders with whom they had collaborated within the previous 12 months. Additional questions about each extramural stakeholder helped to categorize them according to SNA network measures for degree of centrality, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality. Findings showed the Ag Center had N = 305 extramural stakeholders. Most of these were other researchers and did not represent the diverse group of stakeholders that the Ag Center had targeted for engagement. Only a few of the intramural stakeholders had national or international connections. Findings were used to improve and diversify connections in order to leverage the Ag Center's expertise and ability to translate research into new best practices and policies. The SNA case study has implications for other evaluators and project directors looking for methodologies that can monitor networks in large science consortia and help leaders plan for translating research into practice and policies by networking with those who can influence such change.

  11. Relay-based information broadcast in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Zhongyan; Han, Zeyu; Tang, Wallace K. S.; Lin, Dong

    2018-04-01

    Information broadcast (IB) is a critical process in complex network, usually accomplished by flooding mechanism. Although flooding is simple and no prior topological information is required, it consumes a lot of transmission overhead. Another extreme is the tree-based broadcast (TB), for which information is disseminated via a spanning tree. It achieves the minimal transmission overhead but the maintenance of spanning tree for every node is an obvious obstacle for implementation. Motivated by the success of scale-free network models for real-world networks, in this paper, we investigate the issues in IB by considering an alternative solution in-between these two extremes. A novel relay-based broadcast (RB) mechanism is proposed by employing a subset of nodes as relays. Information is firstly forwarded to one of these relays and then re-disseminated to others through the spanning tree whose root is the relay. This mechanism provides a trade-off solution between flooding and TB. On one hand, it saves up a lot of transmission overhead as compared to flooding; on the other hand, it costs much less resource for maintenance than TB as only a few spanning trees are needed. Based on two major criteria, namely the transmission overhead and the convergence time, the effectiveness of RB is confirmed. The impacts of relay assignment and network structures on performance are also studied in this work.

  12. Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

    2016-06-01

    Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks.

  13. Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security.

    PubMed

    Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

    2016-06-03

    Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks.

  14. Resistance and Security Index of Networks: Structural Information Perspective of Network Security

    PubMed Central

    Li, Angsheng; Hu, Qifu; Liu, Jun; Pan, Yicheng

    2016-01-01

    Recently, Li and Pan defined the metric of the K-dimensional structure entropy of a structured noisy dataset G to be the information that controls the formation of the K-dimensional structure of G that is evolved by the rules, order and laws of G, excluding the random variations that occur in G. Here, we propose the notion of resistance of networks based on the one- and two-dimensional structural information of graphs. Given a graph G, we define the resistance of G, written , as the greatest overall number of bits required to determine the code of the module that is accessible via random walks with stationary distribution in G, from which the random walks cannot escape. We show that the resistance of networks follows the resistance law of networks, that is, for a network G, the resistance of G is , where and are the one- and two-dimensional structure entropies of G, respectively. Based on the resistance law, we define the security index of a network G to be the normalised resistance of G, that is, . We show that the resistance and security index are both well-defined measures for the security of the networks. PMID:27255783

  15. Survey of the World Agricultural Documentation Services, Draft; Prepared on Behalf of the FAO Panel of Experts on "AGRIS" (International Information System for the Agricultural Sciences and Technology).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buntrock, H.

    The purpose of the survey was: (1) to evaluate existing agricultural information services and (2) to propose possible frameworks for an improved world-wide agricultural information service. The principal statistical results of the survey are summarized in the following figures which are based on data collected in nearly all instances for the year…

  16. Enhancing topology adaptation in information-sharing social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cimini, Giulio; Chen, Duanbing; Medo, Matúš; Lü, Linyuan; Zhang, Yi-Cheng; Zhou, Tao

    2012-04-01

    The advent of the Internet and World Wide Web has led to unprecedent growth of the information available. People usually face the information overload by following a limited number of sources which best fit their interests. It has thus become important to address issues like who gets followed and how to allow people to discover new and better information sources. In this paper we conduct an empirical analysis of different online social networking sites and draw inspiration from its results to present different source selection strategies in an adaptive model for social recommendation. We show that local search rules which enhance the typical topological features of real social communities give rise to network configurations that are globally optimal. These rules create networks which are effective in information diffusion and resemble structures resulting from real social systems.

  17. Analysis of Computer Network Information Based on "Big Data"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Tianli

    2017-11-01

    With the development of the current era, computer network and large data gradually become part of the people's life, people use the computer to provide convenience for their own life, but at the same time there are many network information problems has to pay attention. This paper analyzes the information security of computer network based on "big data" analysis, and puts forward some solutions.

  18. A hybrid Bayesian network approach for trade-offs between environmental flows and agricultural water using dynamic discretization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Jie; Gui, Dongwei; Lei, Jiaqiang; Sun, Huaiwei; Zeng, Fanjiang; Feng, Xinlong

    2017-12-01

    Agriculture and the eco-environment are increasingly competing for water. The extension of intensive farmland for ensuring food security has resulted in excessive water exploitation by agriculture. Consequently, this has led to a lack of water supply in natural ecosystems. This paper proposes a trade-off framework to coordinate the water-use conflict between agriculture and the eco-environment, based on economic compensation for irrigation stakeholders. A hybrid Bayesian network (HBN) is developed to implement the framework, including: (a) agricultural water shortage assessments after meeting environmental flows; (b) water-use tradeoff analysis between agricultural irrigation and environmental flows using the HBN; and (c) quantification of the agricultural economic compensation for different irrigation stakeholders. The constructed HBN is computed by dynamic discretization, which is a more robust and accurate propagation algorithm than general static discretization. A case study of the Qira oasis area in Northwest China demonstrates that the water trade-off based on economic compensation depends on the available water supply and environmental flows at different levels. Agricultural irrigation water extracted for grain crops should be preferentially guaranteed to ensure food security, in spite of higher economic compensation in other cash crops' irrigation for water coordination. Updating water-saving engineering and adopting drip irrigation technology in agricultural facilities after satisfying environmental flows would greatly relieve agricultural water shortage and save the economic compensation for different irrigation stakeholders. The approach in this study can be easily applied in water-stressed areas worldwide for dealing with water competition.

  19. The Value of Information in Distributed Decision Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-04

    formulation, and then we describe the various results at- tained. 1 Mathematical description of Distributed Decision Network un- der Information...Constraints We now define a mathematical framework for networks. Let G = (V,E) be an undirected random network (graph) drawn from a known distribution pG, 1

  20. An integrated multimedia medical information network system.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, K; Makino, J; Sasagawa, N; Nagira, M

    1998-01-01

    An integrated multimedia medical information network system at Shimane Medical university has been developed to organize medical information generated from each section and provide information services useful for education, research and clinical practice. The report describes the outline of our system. It is designed to serve as a distributed database for electronic medical records and images. We are developing the MML engine that is to be linked to the world wide web (WWW) network system. To the users, this system will present an integrated multimedia representation of the patient records, providing access to both the image and text-based data required for an effective clinical decision making and medical education.

  1. Child Rights Information Network Newsletter, 1996.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Purbrick, Becky, Ed.

    1996-01-01

    These two newsletter issues communicate activities of the newly formed Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) and report on emerging information resources and activities concerning children and child rights. The January 1996 issue describes the history of CRIN, provides updates on the activities of projects linked to CRIN, and summarizes…

  2. Child Rights Information Network Newsletter, 1997.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Purbrick, Becky, Ed.

    1997-01-01

    These three newsletter issues communicate activities of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) and report on information resources and worldwide activities concerning children and child rights. The January 1997 issue profiles CRIN members in Costa Rica, Tanzania, Germany, and Switzerland; and provides updates on the activities of projects…

  3. Multi-Modal Traveler Information System - Information Clearinghouse Final Network

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-07-23

    This Working Paper will summarize the lessons learned from the initial implementation of the Information Clearinghouse and outline the proposed configuration and functional capabilities of the Final Network. In addition, all new users added since Mar...

  4. Competition between Homophily and Information Entropy Maximization in Social Networks

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Jichang; Liang, Xiao; Xu, Ke

    2015-01-01

    In social networks, it is conventionally thought that two individuals with more overlapped friends tend to establish a new friendship, which could be stated as homophily breeding new connections. While the recent hypothesis of maximum information entropy is presented as the possible origin of effective navigation in small-world networks. We find there exists a competition between information entropy maximization and homophily in local structure through both theoretical and experimental analysis. This competition suggests that a newly built relationship between two individuals with more common friends would lead to less information entropy gain for them. We demonstrate that in the evolution of the social network, both of the two assumptions coexist. The rule of maximum information entropy produces weak ties in the network, while the law of homophily makes the network highly clustered locally and the individuals would obtain strong and trust ties. A toy model is also presented to demonstrate the competition and evaluate the roles of different rules in the evolution of real networks. Our findings could shed light on the social network modeling from a new perspective. PMID:26334994

  5. Agriculture

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The EPA Agriculture Resource Directory offers comprehensive, easy-to-understand information about environmental stewardship on farms and ranches; commonsense, flexible approaches that are both environmentally protective and agriculturally sound.

  6. Maximally informative pairwise interactions in networks

    PubMed Central

    Fitzgerald, Jeffrey D.; Sharpee, Tatyana O.

    2010-01-01

    Several types of biological networks have recently been shown to be accurately described by a maximum entropy model with pairwise interactions, also known as the Ising model. Here we present an approach for finding the optimal mappings between input signals and network states that allow the network to convey the maximal information about input signals drawn from a given distribution. This mapping also produces a set of linear equations for calculating the optimal Ising-model coupling constants, as well as geometric properties that indicate the applicability of the pairwise Ising model. We show that the optimal pairwise interactions are on average zero for Gaussian and uniformly distributed inputs, whereas they are nonzero for inputs approximating those in natural environments. These nonzero network interactions are predicted to increase in strength as the noise in the response functions of each network node increases. This approach also suggests ways for how interactions with unmeasured parts of the network can be inferred from the parameters of response functions for the measured network nodes. PMID:19905153

  7. Design of surface-water data networks for regional information

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Moss, Marshall E.; Gilroy, E.J.; Tasker, Gary D.; Karlinger, M.R.

    1982-01-01

    This report describes a technique, Network Analysis of Regional Information (NARI), and the existing computer procedures that have been developed for the specification of the regional information-cost relation for several statistical parameters of streamflow. The measure of information used is the true standard error of estimate of a regional logarithmic regression. The cost is a function of the number of stations at which hydrologic data are collected and the number of years for which the data are collected. The technique can be used to obtain either (1) a minimum cost network that will attain a prespecified accuracy and reliability or (2) a network that maximizes information given a set of budgetary and time constraints.

  8. 77 FR 28625 - Comment Request for Information Collection for the Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-15

    ...The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the expiration date (November 30, 2012) for ETA Forms 790 and 795 to November 30, 2015, and revisions made to ETA Form 790, with respect to the collection of information on the recruitment of agricultural workers. In situations where an adequate supply of workers does not exist locally, agricultural employers must use the Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Order, ETA Form 790, to list the job opening with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) for recruiting temporary agricultural workers. The Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Memorandum, ETA Form 795, is used by SWAs to extend job orders beyond their jurisdictions, give notice of action on a clearance order, request additional information, amend the order, report results, and accept or reject the extended job order. No changes were made to the ETA Form 795.

  9. A DNA network as an information processing system.

    PubMed

    Santini, Cristina Costa; Bath, Jonathan; Turberfield, Andrew J; Tyrrell, Andy M

    2012-01-01

    Biomolecular systems that can process information are sought for computational applications, because of their potential for parallelism and miniaturization and because their biocompatibility also makes them suitable for future biomedical applications. DNA has been used to design machines, motors, finite automata, logic gates, reaction networks and logic programs, amongst many other structures and dynamic behaviours. Here we design and program a synthetic DNA network to implement computational paradigms abstracted from cellular regulatory networks. These show information processing properties that are desirable in artificial, engineered molecular systems, including robustness of the output in relation to different sources of variation. We show the results of numerical simulations of the dynamic behaviour of the network and preliminary experimental analysis of its main components.

  10. Models, Entropy and Information of Temporal Social Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Kun; Karsai, Márton; Bianconi, Ginestra

    Temporal social networks are characterized by heterogeneous duration of contacts, which can either follow a power-law distribution, such as in face-to-face interactions, or a Weibull distribution, such as in mobile-phone communication. Here we model the dynamics of face-to-face interaction and mobile phone communication by a reinforcement dynamics, which explains the data observed in these different types of social interactions. We quantify the information encoded in the dynamics of these networks by the entropy of temporal networks. Finally, we show evidence that human dynamics is able to modulate the information present in social network dynamics when it follows circadian rhythms and when it is interfacing with a new technology such as the mobile-phone communication technology.

  11. A regional monitoring network to investigate the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in near-surface aquifers of the midcontinental USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kolpin, D.W.; Goolsby, D.A.

    1995-01-01

    Previous state and national surveys conducted in the mid-continental USA have produced a wide range in results regarding the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in groundwater. At least some of these differences can be attributed to inconsistencies between the surveys, such as different analytical reporting limits. The US Geological Survey has designed a sampling network that is geographically and hydrogeologically representative of near-surface aquifers in the corn- and soybean-producing region of the midcontinental USA. More than 800 water quality samples have been collected from the network since 1991. Six of the seven most frequently detected compounds from this study were herbicide metabolites. A direct relation was determined between tritium content to herbicide and nitrate contamination. The unconsolidated aquifers sampled were found to be more susceptible to herbicide and nitrate contamination than the bedrock aquifers. Knowledge of the regional occurrence and distribution of agricultural chemicals acquired through the study of data collected at network sites will assist policy makers and planners with decisions regarding the protection of drinking-water supplies.

  12. Blending Formal and Informal Learning Networks for Online Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Czerkawski, Betül C.

    2016-01-01

    With the emergence of social software and the advance of web-based technologies, online learning networks provide invaluable opportunities for learning, whether formal or informal. Unlike top-down, instructor-centered, and carefully planned formal learning settings, informal learning networks offer more bottom-up, student-centered participatory…

  13. Information transmission and signal permutation in active flow networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woodhouse, Francis G.; Fawcett, Joanna B.; Dunkel, Jörn

    2018-03-01

    Recent experiments show that both natural and artificial microswimmers in narrow channel-like geometries will self-organise to form steady, directed flows. This suggests that networks of flowing active matter could function as novel autonomous microfluidic devices. However, little is known about how information propagates through these far-from-equilibrium systems. Through a mathematical analogy with spin-ice vertex models, we investigate here the input–output characteristics of generic incompressible active flow networks (AFNs). Our analysis shows that information transport through an AFN is inherently different from conventional pressure or voltage driven networks. Active flows on hexagonal arrays preserve input information over longer distances than their passive counterparts and are highly sensitive to bulk topological defects, whose presence can be inferred from marginal input–output distributions alone. This sensitivity further allows controlled permutations on parallel inputs, revealing an unexpected link between active matter and group theory that can guide new microfluidic mixing strategies facilitated by active matter and aid the design of generic autonomous information transport networks.

  14. Exploring a social network for sharing information about pain.

    PubMed

    Alvarez, Ana Graziela; Dal Sasso, Grace T Marcon

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of study was to evaluate the opinion of users about the experience of sharing information about pain in a social network. An electronic survey study was conducted from September to November/2009. Nine participants assessed the social network through of an electronic questionnaire. positive aspects (easy access, organized information, interactivity, encourages the sharing of information, learning opportunity). The sharing of information contributes to the development of a collective intelligence based on exchanging experiences and knowledge sharing.

  15. Assessing the Robustness of Graph Statistics for Network Analysis Under Incomplete Information

    DTIC Science & Technology

    strategy for dismantling these networks based on their network structure. However, these strategies typically assume complete information about the...combat them with missing information . This thesis analyzes the performance of a variety of network statistics in the context of incomplete information by...leveraging simulation to remove nodes and edges from networks and evaluating the effect this missing information has on our ability to accurately

  16. Information jet: Handling noisy big data from weakly disconnected network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aurongzeb, Deeder

    Sudden aggregation (information jet) of large amount of data is ubiquitous around connected social networks, driven by sudden interacting and non-interacting events, network security threat attacks, online sales channel etc. Clustering of information jet based on time series analysis and graph theory is not new but little work is done to connect them with particle jet statistics. We show pre-clustering based on context can element soft network or network of information which is critical to minimize time to calculate results from noisy big data. We show difference between, stochastic gradient boosting and time series-graph clustering. For disconnected higher dimensional information jet, we use Kallenberg representation theorem (Kallenberg, 2005, arXiv:1401.1137) to identify and eliminate jet similarities from dense or sparse graph.

  17. Incorporating profile information in community detection for online social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, W.; Yeung, K. H.

    2014-07-01

    Community structure is an important feature in the study of complex networks. It is because nodes of the same community may have similar properties. In this paper we extend two popular community detection methods to partition online social networks. In our extended methods, the profile information of users is used for partitioning. We apply the extended methods in several sample networks of Facebook. Compared with the original methods, the community structures we obtain have higher modularity. Our results indicate that users' profile information is consistent with the community structure of their friendship network to some extent. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to discuss how profile information can be used to improve community detection in online social networks.

  18. Enabling information management systems in tactical network environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carvalho, Marco; Uszok, Andrzej; Suri, Niranjan; Bradshaw, Jeffrey M.; Ceccio, Philip J.; Hanna, James P.; Sinclair, Asher

    2009-05-01

    Net-Centric Information Management (IM) and sharing in tactical environments promises to revolutionize forward command and control capabilities by providing ubiquitous shared situational awareness to the warfighter. This vision can be realized by leveraging the tactical and Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) which provide the underlying communications infrastructure, but, significant technical challenges remain. Enabling information management in these highly dynamic environments will require multiple support services and protocols which are affected by, and highly dependent on, the underlying capabilities and dynamics of the tactical network infrastructure. In this paper we investigate, discuss, and evaluate the effects of realistic tactical and mobile communications network environments on mission-critical information management systems. We motivate our discussion by introducing the Advanced Information Management System (AIMS) which is targeted for deployment in tactical sensor systems. We present some operational requirements for AIMS and highlight how critical IM support services such as discovery, transport, federation, and Quality of Service (QoS) management are necessary to meet these requirements. Our goal is to provide a qualitative analysis of the impact of underlying assumptions of availability and performance of some of the critical services supporting tactical information management. We will also propose and describe a number of technologies and capabilities that have been developed to address these challenges, providing alternative approaches for transport, service discovery, and federation services for tactical networks.

  19. Using Bayesian networks to support decision-focused information retrieval

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lehner, P.; Elsaesser, C.; Seligman, L.

    This paper has described an approach to controlling the process of pulling data/information from distributed data bases in a way that is specific to a persons specific decision making context. Our prototype implementation of this approach uses a knowledge-based planner to generate a plan, an automatically constructed Bayesian network to evaluate the plan, specialized processing of the network to derive key information items that would substantially impact the evaluation of the plan (e.g., determine that replanning is needed), automated construction of Standing Requests for Information (SRIs) which are automated functions that monitor changes and trends in distributed data base thatmore » are relevant to the key information items. This emphasis of this paper is on how Bayesian networks are used.« less

  20. The Role of the Australian Open Learning Information Network.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bishop, Robin; And Others

    Three documents are presented which describe the Australian Open Learning Information Network (AOLIN)--a national, independent, and self-supporting network of educational researchers with a common interest in the use of information technology for open and distance education--and discuss two evaluative studies undertaken by the organization. The…

  1. Geosciences Information Network (GIN): A modular, distributed, interoperable data network for the geosciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allison, M.; Gundersen, L. C.; Richard, S. M.; Dickinson, T. L.

    2008-12-01

    A coalition of the state geological surveys (AASG), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and partners will receive NSF funding over 3 years under the INTEROP solicitation to start building the Geoscience Information Network (www.geoinformatics.info/gin) a distributed, interoperable data network. The GIN project will develop standardized services to link existing and in-progress components using a few standards and protocols, and work with data providers to implement these services. The key components of this network are 1) catalog system(s) for data discovery; 2) service definitions for interfaces for searching catalogs and accessing resources; 3) shared interchange formats to encode information for transmission (e.g. various XML markup languages); 4) data providers that publish information using standardized services defined by the network; and 5) client applications adapted to use information resources provided by the network. The GIN will integrate and use catalog resources that currently exist or are in development. We are working with the USGS National Geologic Map Database's existing map catalog, with the USGS National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program, which is developing a metadata catalog (National Digital Catalog) for geoscience information resource discovery, and with the GEON catalog. Existing interchange formats will be used, such as GeoSciML, ChemML, and Open Geospatial Consortium sensor, observation and measurement MLs. Client application development will be fostered by collaboration with industry and academic partners. The GIN project will focus on the remaining aspects of the system -- service definitions and assistance to data providers to implement the services and bring content online - and on system integration of the modules. Initial formal collaborators include the OneGeology-Europe consortium of 27 nations that is building a comparable network under the EU INSPIRE initiative, GEON, Earthchem, and GIS software company ESRI

  2. Information Filtering on Coupled Social Networks

    PubMed Central

    Nie, Da-Cheng; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Zhou, Jun-Lin; Fu, Yan; Zhang, Kui

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, based on the coupled social networks (CSN), we propose a hybrid algorithm to nonlinearly integrate both social and behavior information of online users. Filtering algorithm, based on the coupled social networks, considers the effects of both social similarity and personalized preference. Experimental results based on two real datasets, Epinions and Friendfeed, show that the hybrid pattern can not only provide more accurate recommendations, but also enlarge the recommendation coverage while adopting global metric. Further empirical analyses demonstrate that the mutual reinforcement and rich-club phenomenon can also be found in coupled social networks where the identical individuals occupy the core position of the online system. This work may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the structure and function of coupled social networks. PMID:25003525

  3. Information filtering on coupled social networks.

    PubMed

    Nie, Da-Cheng; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Zhou, Jun-Lin; Fu, Yan; Zhang, Kui

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, based on the coupled social networks (CSN), we propose a hybrid algorithm to nonlinearly integrate both social and behavior information of online users. Filtering algorithm, based on the coupled social networks, considers the effects of both social similarity and personalized preference. Experimental results based on two real datasets, Epinions and Friendfeed, show that the hybrid pattern can not only provide more accurate recommendations, but also enlarge the recommendation coverage while adopting global metric. Further empirical analyses demonstrate that the mutual reinforcement and rich-club phenomenon can also be found in coupled social networks where the identical individuals occupy the core position of the online system. This work may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the structure and function of coupled social networks.

  4. A 10-Year Assessment of Information and Communication Technology Tasks Required in Undergraduate Agriculture Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edgar, Leslie D.; Johnson, Donald M.; Cox, Casandra

    2012-01-01

    This study sought to assess required information and communication technology (ICT) tasks in selected undergraduate agriculture courses in a land-grant university during a 10-year period. Selected agriculture faculty members in the fall 1999 (n = 63), 2004 (n = 55), and 2009 (n = 64) semesters were surveyed to determine the ICT tasks they required…

  5. Network marketing with bounded rationality and partial information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiet, Hoang Anh Tuan; Kim, Beom Jun

    2008-08-01

    Network marketing has been proposed and used as a way to spread the product information to consumers through social connections. We extend the previous game model of the network marketing on a small-world tree network and propose two games: In the first model with the bounded rationality, each consumer makes purchase decision stochastically, while in the second model, consumers get only partial information due to the finite length of social connections. Via extensive numerical simulations, we find that as the rationality is enhanced not only the consumer surplus but also the firm’s profit is increased. The implication of our results is also discussed.

  6. Integrating a Microcomputer for Agriculture Data and Telecommunications into the Agriculture Classroom. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Northeast Arkansas Educational Cooperative, Strawberry.

    A program was conducted to integrate computer technology into agriculture classrooms in 25 secondary schools and 4 universities in Arkansas. State-of-the-art technology from the AgriData Network of Milwaukee was used. The AgriData Network includes the Ag Ed Network, which offers more than 800 "live textbook" lessons with current…

  7. The system of technical diagnostics of the industrial safety information network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Repp, P. V.

    2017-01-01

    This research is devoted to problems of safety of the industrial information network. Basic sub-networks, ensuring reliable operation of the elements of the industrial Automatic Process Control System, were identified. The core tasks of technical diagnostics of industrial information safety were presented. The structure of the technical diagnostics system of the information safety was proposed. It includes two parts: a generator of cyber-attacks and the virtual model of the enterprise information network. The virtual model was obtained by scanning a real enterprise network. A new classification of cyber-attacks was proposed. This classification enables one to design an efficient generator of cyber-attacks sets for testing the virtual modes of the industrial information network. The numerical method of the Monte Carlo (with LPτ - sequences of Sobol), and Markov chain was considered as the design method for the cyber-attacks generation algorithm. The proposed system also includes a diagnostic analyzer, performing expert functions. As an integrative quantitative indicator of the network reliability the stability factor (Kstab) was selected. This factor is determined by the weight of sets of cyber-attacks, identifying the vulnerability of the network. The weight depends on the frequency and complexity of cyber-attacks, the degree of damage, complexity of remediation. The proposed Kstab is an effective integral quantitative measure of the information network reliability.

  8. Information Systems at Enterprise. Design of Secure Network of Enterprise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saigushev, N. Y.; Mikhailova, U. V.; Vedeneeva, O. A.; Tsaran, A. A.

    2018-05-01

    No enterprise and company can do without designing its own corporate network in today's information society. It accelerates and facilitates the work of employees at any level, but contains a big threat to confidential information of the company. In addition to the data theft attackers, there are plenty of information threats posed by modern malware effects. In this regard, the computational security of corporate networks is an important component of modern information technologies of computer security for any enterprise. This article says about the design of the protected corporate network of the enterprise that provides the computers on the network access to the Internet, as well interoperability with the branch. The access speed to the Internet at a high level is provided through the use of high-speed access channels and load balancing between devices. The security of the designed network is performed through the use of VLAN technology as well as access lists and AAA server.

  9. 78 FR 71631 - Committee Name: Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-29

    ... Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC) AGENCY: Operation Coordination and Planning/Office of Chief.... SUMMARY: The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Council (HSINAC) will meet December 17, 2013... , Phone: 202-343-4212. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory...

  10. INfORM: Inference of NetwOrk Response Modules.

    PubMed

    Marwah, Veer Singh; Kinaret, Pia Anneli Sofia; Serra, Angela; Scala, Giovanni; Lauerma, Antti; Fortino, Vittorio; Greco, Dario

    2018-06-15

    Detecting and interpreting responsive modules from gene expression data by using network-based approaches is a common but laborious task. It often requires the application of several computational methods implemented in different software packages, forcing biologists to compile complex analytical pipelines. Here we introduce INfORM (Inference of NetwOrk Response Modules), an R shiny application that enables non-expert users to detect, evaluate and select gene modules with high statistical and biological significance. INfORM is a comprehensive tool for the identification of biologically meaningful response modules from consensus gene networks inferred by using multiple algorithms. It is accessible through an intuitive graphical user interface allowing for a level of abstraction from the computational steps. INfORM is freely available for academic use at https://github.com/Greco-Lab/INfORM. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  11. Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Agricultural Science and Extension Teachers in Abuja, Nigeria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alabi, Olugbenga Omotayo

    2016-01-01

    This study examined adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by agricultural science and extension teachers in Abuja, Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives are to: identify the background and demographic characteristics of agricultural science and extension teachers in the study area; examine the factors influencing adoption…

  12. Securing Information with Complex Optical Encryption Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-08-11

    Network Security, Network Vulnerability , Multi-dimentional Processing, optoelectronic devices 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION... optoelectronic devices and systems should be analyzed before the retrieval, any hostile hacker will need to possess multi-disciplinary scientific...sophisticated optoelectronic principles and systems where he/she needs to process the information. However, in the military applications, most military

  13. 47 CFR 64.2011 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.2011 Section 64.2011 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2011 Notification of customer proprietary network information security...

  14. 47 CFR 64.2011 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.2011 Section 64.2011 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2011 Notification of customer proprietary network information security...

  15. 47 CFR 64.2011 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2011 Notification of customer proprietary network information security... 47 Telecommunication 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.2011 Section 64.2011 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION...

  16. 47 CFR 64.5111 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Proprietary Network Information. § 64.5111 Notification of customer proprietary network information security... 47 Telecommunication 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.5111 Section 64.5111 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION...

  17. 47 CFR 64.5111 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Proprietary Network Information. § 64.5111 Notification of customer proprietary network information security... 47 Telecommunication 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.5111 Section 64.5111 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION...

  18. 47 CFR 64.2011 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2011 Notification of customer proprietary network information security... 47 Telecommunication 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.2011 Section 64.2011 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION...

  19. 47 CFR 64.2011 - Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2011 Notification of customer proprietary network information security... 47 Telecommunication 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Notification of customer proprietary network information security breaches. 64.2011 Section 64.2011 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION...

  20. Social networks predict selective observation and information spread in ravens

    PubMed Central

    Rubenstein, Daniel I.; Bugnyar, Thomas; Hoppitt, William; Mikus, Nace; Schwab, Christine

    2016-01-01

    Animals are predicted to selectively observe and learn from the conspecifics with whom they share social connections. Yet, hardly anything is known about the role of different connections in observation and learning. To address the relationships between social connections, observation and learning, we investigated transmission of information in two raven (Corvus corax) groups. First, we quantified social connections in each group by constructing networks on affiliative interactions, aggressive interactions and proximity. We then seeded novel information by training one group member on a novel task and allowing others to observe. In each group, an observation network based on who observed whose task-solving behaviour was strongly correlated with networks based on affiliative interactions and proximity. Ravens with high social centrality (strength, eigenvector, information centrality) in the affiliative interaction network were also central in the observation network, possibly as a result of solving the task sooner. Network-based diffusion analysis revealed that the order that ravens first solved the task was best predicted by connections in the affiliative interaction network in a group of subadult ravens, and by social rank and kinship (which influenced affiliative interactions) in a group of juvenile ravens. Our results demonstrate that not all social connections are equally effective at predicting the patterns of selective observation and information transmission. PMID:27493780

  1. Minimum energy information fusion in sensor networks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chapline, G

    1999-05-11

    In this paper we consider how to organize the sharing of information in a distributed network of sensors and data processors so as to provide explanations for sensor readings with minimal expenditure of energy. We point out that the Minimum Description Length principle provides an approach to information fusion that is more naturally suited to energy minimization than traditional Bayesian approaches. In addition we show that for networks consisting of a large number of identical sensors Kohonen self-organization provides an exact solution to the problem of combing the sensor outputs into minimal description length explanations.

  2. Financial Performance of Specialized Cotton Farms. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 538.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahearn, Mary; And Others

    This United States Department of Agriculture summary report focuses on the revenues, costs, and finances of specialized cotton farms in 1986. The report also provides general information on all farms producing cotton. The data on which the report is based are from the 1986 Farm Costs and Returns Survey. Some of the conclusions drawn from the study…

  3. The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    MedlinePlus

    ... Javascript on. Feature: Reducing Childhood Obesity The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) Past Issues / Spring - Summer 2010 ... overweight children, here are tips from the Weight-control Information Network (WIN), an information service of the ...

  4. Scalable Hierarchical Network Management System for Displaying Network Information in Three Dimensions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    George, Jude (Inventor); Schlecht, Leslie (Inventor); McCabe, James D. (Inventor); LeKashman, John Jr. (Inventor)

    1998-01-01

    A network management system has SNMP agents distributed at one or more sites, an input output module at each site, and a server module located at a selected site for communicating with input output modules, each of which is configured for both SNMP and HNMP communications. The server module is configured exclusively for HNMP communications, and it communicates with each input output module according to the HNMP. Non-iconified, informationally complete views are provided of network elements to aid in network management.

  5. Information Retrieval on social network: An Adaptive Proof

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elveny, M.; Syah, R.; Elfida, M.; Nasution, M. K. M.

    2018-01-01

    Information Retrieval has become one of the areas for studying to get the trusty information, with which the recall and precision become the measurement form that represents it. Nevertheless, development in certain scientific fields make it possible to improve the performance of the Information Retrieval. In this case, through social networks whereby the role of social actor degrees plays a role. This is an implication of the query in which co-occurrence becomes an indication of social networks. An adaptive approach we use by involving this query in sequence to a stand-alone query, it has proven the relationship among them.

  6. Extension of analog network coding in wireless information exchange

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Cheng; Huang, Jiaqing

    2012-01-01

    Ever since the concept of analog network coding(ANC) was put forward by S.Katti, much attention has been focused on how to utilize analog network coding to take advantage of wireless interference, which used to be considered generally harmful, to improve throughput performance. Previously, only the case of two nodes that need to exchange information has been fully discussed while the issue of extending analog network coding to more than three nodes remains undeveloped. In this paper, we propose a practical transmission scheme to extend analog network coding to more than two nodes that need to exchange information among themselves. We start with the case of three nodes that need to exchange information and demonstrate that through utilizing our algorithm, the throughput can achieve 33% and 20% increase compared with that of traditional transmission scheduling and digital network coding, respectively. Then, we generalize the algorithm so that it can fit for occasions with any number of nodes. We also discuss some technical issues and throughput analysis as well as the bit error rate.

  7. Tackling Information Asymmetry in Networks: A New Entropy-Based Ranking Index

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barucca, Paolo; Caldarelli, Guido; Squartini, Tiziano

    2018-06-01

    Information is a valuable asset in socio-economic systems, a significant part of which is entailed into the network of connections between agents. The different interlinkages patterns that agents establish may, in fact, lead to asymmetries in the knowledge of the network structure; since this entails a different ability of quantifying relevant, systemic properties (e.g. the risk of contagion in a network of liabilities), agents capable of providing a better estimation of (otherwise) inaccessible network properties, ultimately have a competitive advantage. In this paper, we address the issue of quantifying the information asymmetry of nodes: to this aim, we define a novel index—InfoRank—intended to rank nodes according to their information content. In order to do so, each node ego-network is enforced as a constraint of an entropy-maximization problem and the subsequent uncertainty reduction is used to quantify the node-specific accessible information. We, then, test the performance of our ranking procedure in terms of reconstruction accuracy and show that it outperforms other centrality measures in identifying the "most informative" nodes. Finally, we discuss the socio-economic implications of network information asymmetry.

  8. Interspecific social networks promote information transmission in wild songbirds.

    PubMed

    Farine, Damien R; Aplin, Lucy M; Sheldon, Ben C; Hoppitt, William

    2015-03-22

    Understanding the functional links between social structure and population processes is a central aim of evolutionary ecology. Multiple types of interactions can be represented by networks drawn for the same population, such as kinship, dominance or affiliative networks, but the relative importance of alternative networks in modulating population processes may not be clear. We illustrate this problem, and a solution, by developing a framework for testing the importance of different types of association in facilitating the transmission of information. We apply this framework to experimental data from wild songbirds that form mixed-species flocks, recording the arrival (patch discovery) of individuals to novel foraging sites. We tested whether intraspecific and interspecific social networks predicted the spread of information about novel food sites, and found that both contributed to transmission. The likelihood of acquiring information per unit of connection to knowledgeable individuals increased 22-fold for conspecifics, and 12-fold for heterospecifics. We also found that species varied in how much information they produced, suggesting that some species play a keystone role in winter foraging flocks. More generally, these analyses demonstrate that this method provides a powerful approach, using social networks to quantify the relative transmission rates across different social relationships.

  9. College Students' Nutrition Information Networks.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hertzler, Ann A.; Frary, Robert B.

    1995-01-01

    Use of nutrition information networks (consumer market, media, authority, family, and high school classes), food choices, fat practices, and nutrient intake were rated by 179 male and 300 female undergraduates. Family was an important influence; media and consumer market influenced fat practices, especially for women. No source was used very…

  10. Effective network inference through multivariate information transfer estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dahlqvist, Carl-Henrik; Gnabo, Jean-Yves

    2018-06-01

    Network representation has steadily gained in popularity over the past decades. In many disciplines such as finance, genetics, neuroscience or human travel to cite a few, the network may not directly be observable and needs to be inferred from time-series data, leading to the issue of separating direct interactions between two entities forming the network from indirect interactions coming through its remaining part. Drawing on recent contributions proposing strategies to deal with this problem such as the so-called "global silencing" approach of Barzel and Barabasi or "network deconvolution" of Feizi et al. (2013), we propose a novel methodology to infer an effective network structure from multivariate conditional information transfers. Its core principal is to test the information transfer between two nodes through a step-wise approach by conditioning the transfer for each pair on a specific set of relevant nodes as identified by our algorithm from the rest of the network. The methodology is model free and can be applied to high-dimensional networks with both inter-lag and intra-lag relationships. It outperforms state-of-the-art approaches for eliminating the redundancies and more generally retrieving simulated artificial networks in our Monte-Carlo experiments. We apply the method to stock market data at different frequencies (15 min, 1 h, 1 day) to retrieve the network of US largest financial institutions and then document how bank's centrality measurements relate to bank's systemic vulnerability.

  11. Contextualizing Wetlands Within a River Network to Assess Nitrate Removal and Inform Watershed Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Czuba, Jonathan A.; Hansen, Amy T.; Foufoula-Georgiou, Efi; Finlay, Jacques C.

    2018-02-01

    Aquatic nitrate removal depends on interactions throughout an interconnected network of lakes, wetlands, and river channels. Herein, we present a network-based model that quantifies nitrate-nitrogen and organic carbon concentrations through a wetland-river network and estimates nitrate export from the watershed. This model dynamically accounts for multiple competing limitations on nitrate removal, explicitly incorporates wetlands in the network, and captures hierarchical network effects and spatial interactions. We apply the model to the Le Sueur Basin, a data-rich 2,880 km2 agricultural landscape in southern Minnesota and validate the model using synoptic field measurements during June for years 2013-2015. Using the model, we show that the overall limits to nitrate removal rate via denitrification shift between nitrate concentration, organic carbon availability, and residence time depending on discharge, characteristics of the waterbody, and location in the network. Our model results show that the spatial context of wetland restorations is an important but often overlooked factor because nonlinearities in the system, e.g., deriving from switching of resource limitation on denitrification rate, can lead to unexpected changes in downstream biogeochemistry. Our results demonstrate that reduction of watershed-scale nitrate concentrations and downstream loads in the Le Sueur Basin can be most effectively achieved by increasing water residence time (by slowing the flow) rather than by increasing organic carbon concentrations (which may limit denitrification). This framework can be used toward assessing where and how to restore wetlands for reducing nitrate concentrations and loads from agricultural watersheds.

  12. Towards the understanding of network information processing in biology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Vijay

    Living organisms perform incredibly well in detecting a signal present in the environment. This information processing is achieved near optimally and quite reliably, even though the sources of signals are highly variable and complex. The work in the last few decades has given us a fair understanding of how individual signal processing units like neurons and cell receptors process signals, but the principles of collective information processing on biological networks are far from clear. Information processing in biological networks, like the brain, metabolic circuits, cellular-signaling circuits, etc., involves complex interactions among a large number of units (neurons, receptors). The combinatorially large number of states such a system can exist in makes it impossible to study these systems from the first principles, starting from the interactions between the basic units. The principles of collective information processing on such complex networks can be identified using coarse graining approaches. This could provide insights into the organization and function of complex biological networks. Here I study models of biological networks using continuum dynamics, renormalization, maximum likelihood estimation and information theory. Such coarse graining approaches identify features that are essential for certain processes performed by underlying biological networks. We find that long-range connections in the brain allow for global scale feature detection in a signal. These also suppress the noise and remove any gaps present in the signal. Hierarchical organization with long-range connections leads to large-scale connectivity at low synapse numbers. Time delays can be utilized to separate a mixture of signals with temporal scales. Our observations indicate that the rules in multivariate signal processing are quite different from traditional single unit signal processing.

  13. Optimal Learning Paths in Information Networks

    PubMed Central

    Rodi, G. C.; Loreto, V.; Servedio, V. D. P.; Tria, F.

    2015-01-01

    Each sphere of knowledge and information could be depicted as a complex mesh of correlated items. By properly exploiting these connections, innovative and more efficient navigation strategies could be defined, possibly leading to a faster learning process and an enduring retention of information. In this work we investigate how the topological structure embedding the items to be learned can affect the efficiency of the learning dynamics. To this end we introduce a general class of algorithms that simulate the exploration of knowledge/information networks standing on well-established findings on educational scheduling, namely the spacing and lag effects. While constructing their learning schedules, individuals move along connections, periodically revisiting some concepts, and sometimes jumping on very distant ones. In order to investigate the effect of networked information structures on the proposed learning dynamics we focused both on synthetic and real-world graphs such as subsections of Wikipedia and word-association graphs. We highlight the existence of optimal topological structures for the simulated learning dynamics whose efficiency is affected by the balance between hubs and the least connected items. Interestingly, the real-world graphs we considered lead naturally to almost optimal learning performances. PMID:26030508

  14. A quantitative approach to measure road network information based on edge diversity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Xun; Zhang, Hong; Lan, Tian; Cao, Weiwei; He, Jing

    2015-12-01

    The measure of map information has been one of the key issues in assessing cartographic quality and map generalization algorithms. It is also important for developing efficient approaches to transfer geospatial information. Road network is the most common linear object in real world. Approximately describe road network information will benefit road map generalization, navigation map production and urban planning. Most of current approaches focused on node diversities and supposed that all the edges are the same, which is inconsistent to real-life condition, and thus show limitations in measuring network information. As real-life traffic flow are directed and of different quantities, the original undirected vector road map was first converted to a directed topographic connectivity map. Then in consideration of preferential attachment in complex network study and rich-club phenomenon in social network, the from and to weights of each edge are assigned. The from weight of a given edge is defined as the connectivity of its end node to the sum of the connectivities of all the neighbors of the from nodes of the edge. After getting the from and to weights of each edge, edge information, node information and the whole network structure information entropies could be obtained based on information theory. The approach has been applied to several 1 square mile road network samples. Results show that information entropies based on edge diversities could successfully describe the structural differences of road networks. This approach is a complementarity to current map information measurements, and can be extended to measure other kinds of geographical objects.

  15. Urban occupational structures as information networks: The effect on network density of increasing number of occupations.

    PubMed

    Shutters, Shade T; Lobo, José; Muneepeerakul, Rachata; Strumsky, Deborah; Mellander, Charlotta; Brachert, Matthias; Farinha, Teresa; Bettencourt, Luis M A

    2018-01-01

    Urban economies are composed of diverse activities, embodied in labor occupations, which depend on one another to produce goods and services. Yet little is known about how the nature and intensity of these interdependences change as cities increase in population size and economic complexity. Understanding the relationship between occupational interdependencies and the number of occupations defining an urban economy is relevant because interdependence within a networked system has implications for system resilience and for how easily can the structure of the network be modified. Here, we represent the interdependencies among occupations in a city as a non-spatial information network, where the strengths of interdependence between pairs of occupations determine the strengths of the links in the network. Using those quantified link strengths we calculate a single metric of interdependence-or connectedness-which is equivalent to the density of a city's weighted occupational network. We then examine urban systems in six industrialized countries, analyzing how the density of urban occupational networks changes with network size, measured as the number of unique occupations present in an urban workforce. We find that in all six countries, density, or economic interdependence, increases superlinearly with the number of distinct occupations. Because connections among occupations represent flows of information, we provide evidence that connectivity scales superlinearly with network size in information networks.

  16. Urban occupational structures as information networks: The effect on network density of increasing number of occupations

    PubMed Central

    Lobo, José; Muneepeerakul, Rachata; Strumsky, Deborah; Mellander, Charlotta; Brachert, Matthias; Farinha, Teresa; Bettencourt, Luis M. A.

    2018-01-01

    Urban economies are composed of diverse activities, embodied in labor occupations, which depend on one another to produce goods and services. Yet little is known about how the nature and intensity of these interdependences change as cities increase in population size and economic complexity. Understanding the relationship between occupational interdependencies and the number of occupations defining an urban economy is relevant because interdependence within a networked system has implications for system resilience and for how easily can the structure of the network be modified. Here, we represent the interdependencies among occupations in a city as a non-spatial information network, where the strengths of interdependence between pairs of occupations determine the strengths of the links in the network. Using those quantified link strengths we calculate a single metric of interdependence–or connectedness–which is equivalent to the density of a city’s weighted occupational network. We then examine urban systems in six industrialized countries, analyzing how the density of urban occupational networks changes with network size, measured as the number of unique occupations present in an urban workforce. We find that in all six countries, density, or economic interdependence, increases superlinearly with the number of distinct occupations. Because connections among occupations represent flows of information, we provide evidence that connectivity scales superlinearly with network size in information networks. PMID:29734354

  17. Searching LOGIN, the Local Government Information Network.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jack, Robert F.

    1984-01-01

    Describes a computer-based information retrieval and electronic messaging system produced by Control Data Corporation now being used by government agencies and other organizations. Background of Local Government Information Network (LOGIN), database structure, types of LOGIN units, searching LOGIN (intersect, display, and list commands), and how…

  18. Medical libraries, bioinformatics, and networked information: a coming convergence?

    PubMed

    Lynch, C

    1999-10-01

    Libraries will be changed by technological and social developments that are fueled by information technology, bioinformatics, and networked information. Libraries in highly focused settings such as the health sciences are at a pivotal point in their development as the synthesis of historically diverse and independent information sources transforms health care institutions. Boundaries are breaking down between published literature and research data, between research databases and clinical patient data, and between consumer health information and professional literature. This paper focuses on the dynamics that are occurring with networked information sources and the roles that libraries will need to play in the world of medical informatics in the early twenty-first century.

  19. Expanding the informational chemistries of life: peptide/RNA networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taran, Olga; Chen, Chenrui; Omosun, Tolulope O.; Hsieh, Ming-Chien; Rha, Allisandra; Goodwin, Jay T.; Mehta, Anil K.; Grover, Martha A.; Lynn, David G.

    2017-11-01

    The RNA world hypothesis simplifies the complex biopolymer networks underlining the informational and metabolic needs of living systems to a single biopolymer scaffold. This simplification requires abiotic reaction cascades for the construction of RNA, and this chemistry remains the subject of active research. Here, we explore a complementary approach involving the design of dynamic peptide networks capable of amplifying encoded chemical information and setting the stage for mutualistic associations with RNA. Peptide conformational networks are known to be capable of evolution in disease states and of co-opting metal ions, aromatic heterocycles and lipids to extend their emergent behaviours. The coexistence and association of dynamic peptide and RNA networks appear to have driven the emergence of higher-order informational systems in biology that are not available to either scaffold independently, and such mutualistic interdependence poses critical questions regarding the search for life across our Solar System and beyond. This article is part of the themed issue 'Reconceptualizing the origins of life'.

  20. Information flow in a network of dispersed signalers-receivers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halupka, Konrad

    2017-11-01

    I consider a stochastic model of multi-agent communication in regular network. The model describes how dispersed animals exchange information. Each agent can initiate and transfer the signal to its nearest neighbors, who may pass it farther. For an external observer of busy networks, signaling activity may appear random, even though information flow actually thrives. Only when signal initiation and transfer are at low levels do spatiotemporal autocorrelations emerge as clumping signaling activity in space and pink noise time series. Under such conditions, the costs of signaling are moderate, but the signaler can reach a large audience. I propose that real-world networks of dispersed signalers-receivers may self-organize into this state and the flow of information maintains their integrity.

  1. Information transfer network of global market indices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Yup; Kim, Jinho; Yook, Soon-Hyung

    2015-07-01

    We study the topological properties of the information transfer networks (ITN) of the global financial market indices for six different periods. ITN is a directed weighted network, in which the direction and weight are determined by the transfer entropy between market indices. By applying the threshold method, it is found that ITN undergoes a crossover from the complete graph to a small-world (SW) network. SW regime of ITN for a global crisis is found to be much more enhanced than that for ordinary periods. Furthermore, when ITN is in SW regime, the average clustering coefficient is found to be synchronized with average volatility of markets. We also compare the results with the topological properties of correlation networks.

  2. Leadership in Groups: Social Networks and Perceptions of Formal and Informal Leaders

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-03-01

    LEADERSHIP IN GROUPS: SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PERCEPTIONS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEADERS THESIS...01 LEADERSHIP IN GROUPS: SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PERCEPTIONS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEADERS THESIS Presented to the Faculty...DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED. AFIT/GSS/ENV/06M-01 LEADERSHIP IN GROUPS: SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PERCEPTIONS OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEADERS

  3. Reverse Engineering Cellular Networks with Information Theoretic Methods

    PubMed Central

    Villaverde, Alejandro F.; Ross, John; Banga, Julio R.

    2013-01-01

    Building mathematical models of cellular networks lies at the core of systems biology. It involves, among other tasks, the reconstruction of the structure of interactions between molecular components, which is known as network inference or reverse engineering. Information theory can help in the goal of extracting as much information as possible from the available data. A large number of methods founded on these concepts have been proposed in the literature, not only in biology journals, but in a wide range of areas. Their critical comparison is difficult due to the different focuses and the adoption of different terminologies. Here we attempt to review some of the existing information theoretic methodologies for network inference, and clarify their differences. While some of these methods have achieved notable success, many challenges remain, among which we can mention dealing with incomplete measurements, noisy data, counterintuitive behaviour emerging from nonlinear relations or feedback loops, and computational burden of dealing with large data sets. PMID:24709703

  4. A multivariate extension of mutual information for growing neural networks.

    PubMed

    Ball, Kenneth R; Grant, Christopher; Mundy, William R; Shafer, Timothy J

    2017-11-01

    Recordings of neural network activity in vitro are increasingly being used to assess the development of neural network activity and the effects of drugs, chemicals and disease states on neural network function. The high-content nature of the data derived from such recordings can be used to infer effects of compounds or disease states on a variety of important neural functions, including network synchrony. Historically, synchrony of networks in vitro has been assessed either by determination of correlation coefficients (e.g. Pearson's correlation), by statistics estimated from cross-correlation histograms between pairs of active electrodes, and/or by pairwise mutual information and related measures. The present study examines the application of Normalized Multiinformation (NMI) as a scalar measure of shared information content in a multivariate network that is robust with respect to changes in network size. Theoretical simulations are designed to investigate NMI as a measure of complexity and synchrony in a developing network relative to several alternative approaches. The NMI approach is applied to these simulations and also to data collected during exposure of in vitro neural networks to neuroactive compounds during the first 12 days in vitro, and compared to other common measures, including correlation coefficients and mean firing rates of neurons. NMI is shown to be more sensitive to developmental effects than first order synchronous and nonsynchronous measures of network complexity. Finally, NMI is a scalar measure of global (rather than pairwise) mutual information in a multivariate network, and hence relies on less assumptions for cross-network comparisons than historical approaches. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. A Spatial Data Model Desing For The Management Of Agricultural Data (Farmer, Agricultural Land And Agricultural Production)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taşkanat, Talha; İbrahim İnan, Halil

    2016-04-01

    Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has been conducted many projects such as Agricultural Sector Integrated Management Information System, Agriculture Information System, Agricultural Production Registry System and Farmer Registry System by the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock and the Turkish Statistical Institute in order to establish and manage better agricultural policy and produce better agricultural statistics in Turkey. Yet, it has not been carried out any study for the structuring of a system which can meet the requirements of different institutions and organizations that need similar agricultural data. It has been tried to meet required data only within the frame of the legal regulations from present systems. Whereas the developments in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and standardization, and Turkey National GIS enterprise in this context necessitate to meet the demands of organizations that use the similar data commonly and to act in terms of a data model logic. In this study, 38 institutions or organization which produce and use agricultural data were detected, that and thanks to survey and interviews undertaken, their needs were tried to be determined. In this study which is financially supported by TUBITAK, it was worked out relationship between farmer, agricultural land and agricultural production data and all of the institutions and organizations in Turkey and in this context, it was worked upon the best detailed and effective possible data model. In the model design, UML which provides object-oriented design was used. In the data model, for the management of spatial data, sub-parcel data model was used. Thanks to this data model, declared and undeclared areas can be detected spatially, and thus declarations can be associated to sub-parcels. Within this framework, it will be able to developed agricultural policies as a result of acquiring more extensive, accurate, spatially manageable and easily updatable farmer and

  6. BOULDER AREA SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION NETWORK (BASIN)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The primary goal of the Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network (BASIN) is to help citizens make meaningful connections between environmental data and their day-to-day activities and facilitate involvement in public policy development. Objectives include:

      ...

    • Child Rights Information Network Newsletter, 2000-2002.

      ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

      Khan, Andrea, Ed.; Greenwood, Laura, Ed.

      These five newsletter issues communicate activities of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) and report on information resources and world-wide activities concerning children and child rights. The March 2000 issue focuses on children's right to education, assessing the matter form a range of differing perspectives, at international and…

    • Effects of individual popularity on information spreading in complex networks

      NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

      Gao, Lei; Li, Ruiqi; Shu, Panpan; Wang, Wei; Gao, Hui; Cai, Shimin

      2018-01-01

      In real world, human activities often exhibit preferential selection mechanism based on the popularity of individuals. However, this mechanism is seldom taken into account by previous studies about spreading dynamics on networks. Thus in this work, an information spreading model is proposed by considering the preferential selection based on individuals' current popularity, which is defined as the number of individuals' cumulative contacts with informed neighbors. A mean-field theory is developed to analyze the spreading model. Through systematically studying the information spreading dynamics on uncorrelated configuration networks as well as real-world networks, we find that the popularity preference has great impacts on the information spreading. On the one hand, the information spreading is facilitated, i.e., a larger final prevalence of information and a smaller outbreak threshold, if nodes with low popularity are preferentially selected. In this situation, the effective contacts between informed nodes and susceptible nodes are increased, and nodes almost have uniform probabilities of obtaining the information. On the other hand, if nodes with high popularity are preferentially selected, the final prevalence of information is reduced, the outbreak threshold is increased, and even the information cannot outbreak. In addition, the heterogeneity of the degree distribution and the structure of real-world networks do not qualitatively affect the results. Our research can provide some theoretical supports for the promotion of spreading such as information, health related behaviors, and new products, etc.

    • Testing of information condensation in a model reverberating spiking neural network.

      PubMed

      Vidybida, Alexander

      2011-06-01

      Information about external world is delivered to the brain in the form of structured in time spike trains. During further processing in higher areas, information is subjected to a certain condensation process, which results in formation of abstract conceptual images of external world, apparently, represented as certain uniform spiking activity partially independent on the input spike trains details. Possible physical mechanism of condensation at the level of individual neuron was discussed recently. In a reverberating spiking neural network, due to this mechanism the dynamics should settle down to the same uniform/ periodic activity in response to a set of various inputs. Since the same periodic activity may correspond to different input spike trains, we interpret this as possible candidate for information condensation mechanism in a network. Our purpose is to test this possibility in a network model consisting of five fully connected neurons, particularly, the influence of geometric size of the network, on its ability to condense information. Dynamics of 20 spiking neural networks of different geometric sizes are modelled by means of computer simulation. Each network was propelled into reverberating dynamics by applying various initial input spike trains. We run the dynamics until it becomes periodic. The Shannon's formula is used to calculate the amount of information in any input spike train and in any periodic state found. As a result, we obtain explicit estimate of the degree of information condensation in the networks, and conclude that it depends strongly on the net's geometric size.

    • Suppressing disease spreading by using information diffusion on multiplex networks.

      PubMed

      Wang, Wei; Liu, Quan-Hui; Cai, Shi-Min; Tang, Ming; Braunstein, Lidia A; Stanley, H Eugene

      2016-07-06

      Although there is always an interplay between the dynamics of information diffusion and disease spreading, the empirical research on the systemic coevolution mechanisms connecting these two spreading dynamics is still lacking. Here we investigate the coevolution mechanisms and dynamics between information and disease spreading by utilizing real data and a proposed spreading model on multiplex network. Our empirical analysis finds asymmetrical interactions between the information and disease spreading dynamics. Our results obtained from both the theoretical framework and extensive stochastic numerical simulations suggest that an information outbreak can be triggered in a communication network by its own spreading dynamics or by a disease outbreak on a contact network, but that the disease threshold is not affected by information spreading. Our key finding is that there is an optimal information transmission rate that markedly suppresses the disease spreading. We find that the time evolution of the dynamics in the proposed model qualitatively agrees with the real-world spreading processes at the optimal information transmission rate.

    • Technical research aspect of the Pan-Pacific Information Network using satellite

      NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

      Iida, Takashi; Morikawa, Hisashi; Noguchi, Shoichi

      The Pan-Pacific Information Network would provide an important new mechanism for education, research, health service, emergency communication, and cultural exchange. The paper discusses the technical research items related to the Pan-Pacific Information Network, reviews small earth-station systems, and considers the system configuration pointed to the network in the Asia/Pacific region.

    • Protecting Personal Information on Social Networking Sites

      ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

      Gallant, David T.

      2011-01-01

      Almost everyone uses social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Since Facebook is the most popular site in the history of the Internet, this article will focus on how one can protect his/her personal information and how that extends to protecting the private information of others.

    • Information Technology for Agricultural America. Prepared for the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture, 97th Congress, 2d Session. Committee Print.

      ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

      Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Congressional Research Service.

      This summary of the combined Hearing and Workshop on Applications of Computer-Based Information Systems and Services in Agriculture (May 19-20, 1982) offers an overview of the ways in which information technology--computers, telecommunications, microforms, word processing, video and audio devices--may be utilized by American farmers and ranchers.…

    • Reentry Orientation and Alumni Networking in U.S. Colleges and Universities with Agriculture and Natural Resources Programs. Survey Report.

      ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

      Huntsberger, Paul E.

      This report presents results of a survey of U.S. postsecondary institutions with agriculture and natural resources programs, concerning institutional support for reentry orientation and alumni networking programs. Reentry orientation" involves programs that help international students become aware of the adjustment aspects of returning home,…

    • Social Networking among Library and Information Science Undergraduate Students

      ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

      Alakpodia, Onome Norah

      2015-01-01

      The purpose of this study was to examine social networking use among Library and Information Science students of the Delta State University, Abraka. In this study, students completed a questionnaire which assessed their familiarity with social networking sites, the purpose for which they use social networking site and their most preferred sites to…

    • National information network and database system of hazardous waste management in China

      DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

      Ma Hongchang

      1996-12-31

      Industries in China generate large volumes of hazardous waste, which makes it essential for the nation to pay more attention to hazardous waste management. National laws and regulations, waste surveys, and manifest tracking and permission systems have been initiated. Some centralized hazardous waste disposal facilities are under construction. China`s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has also obtained valuable information on hazardous waste management from developed countries. To effectively share this information with local environmental protection bureaus, NEPA developed a national information network and database system for hazardous waste management. This information network will have such functions as information collection, inquiry,more » and connection. The long-term objective is to establish and develop a national and local hazardous waste management information network. This network will significantly help decision makers and researchers because it will be easy to obtain information (e.g., experiences of developed countries in hazardous waste management) to enhance hazardous waste management in China. The information network consists of five parts: technology consulting, import-export management, regulation inquiry, waste survey, and literature inquiry.« less

    • [Research on Zhejiang blood information network and management system].

      PubMed

      Yan, Li-Xing; Xu, Yan; Meng, Zhong-Hua; Kong, Chang-Hong; Wang, Jian-Min; Jin, Zhen-Liang; Wu, Shi-Ding; Chen, Chang-Shui; Luo, Ling-Fei

      2007-02-01

      This research was aimed to develop the first level blood information centralized database and real time communication network at a province area in China. Multiple technology like local area network database separate operation, real time data concentration and distribution mechanism, allopatric backup, and optical fiber virtual private network (VPN) were used. As a result, the blood information centralized database and management system were successfully constructed, which covers all the Zhejiang province, and the real time exchange of blood data was realised. In conclusion, its implementation promote volunteer blood donation and ensure the blood safety in Zhejiang, especially strengthen the quick response to public health emergency. This project lays the first stone of centralized test and allotment among blood banks in Zhejiang, and can serve as a reference of contemporary blood bank information systems in China.

    • Temporal Information Partitioning Networks (TIPNets): A process network approach to infer ecohydrologic shifts

      NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

      Goodwell, Allison E.; Kumar, Praveen

      2017-07-01

      In an ecohydrologic system, components of atmospheric, vegetation, and root-soil subsystems participate in forcing and feedback interactions at varying time scales and intensities. The structure of this network of complex interactions varies in terms of connectivity, strength, and time scale due to perturbations or changing conditions such as rainfall, drought, or land use. However, characterization of these interactions is difficult due to multivariate and weak dependencies in the presence of noise, nonlinearities, and limited data. We introduce a framework for Temporal Information Partitioning Networks (TIPNets), in which time-series variables are viewed as nodes, and lagged multivariate mutual information measures are links. These links are partitioned into synergistic, unique, and redundant information components, where synergy is information provided only jointly, unique information is only provided by a single source, and redundancy is overlapping information. We construct TIPNets from 1 min weather station data over several hour time windows. From a comparison of dry, wet, and rainy conditions, we find that information strengths increase when solar radiation and surface moisture are present, and surface moisture and wind variability are redundant and synergistic influences, respectively. Over a growing season, network trends reveal patterns that vary with vegetation and rainfall patterns. The framework presented here enables us to interpret process connectivity in a multivariate context, which can lead to better inference of behavioral shifts due to perturbations in ecohydrologic systems. This work contributes to more holistic characterizations of system behavior, and can benefit a wide variety of studies of complex systems.

    • An AgMIP framework for improved agricultural representation in integrated assessment models

      NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

      Ruane, Alex C.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Asseng, Senthold; Boote, Kenneth J.; Elliott, Joshua; Ewert, Frank; Jones, James W.; Martre, Pierre; McDermid, Sonali P.; Müller, Christoph; Snyder, Abigail; Thorburn, Peter J.

      2017-12-01

      Integrated assessment models (IAMs) hold great potential to assess how future agricultural systems will be shaped by socioeconomic development, technological innovation, and changing climate conditions. By coupling with climate and crop model emulators, IAMs have the potential to resolve important agricultural feedback loops and identify unintended consequences of socioeconomic development for agricultural systems. Here we propose a framework to develop robust representation of agricultural system responses within IAMs, linking downstream applications with model development and the coordinated evaluation of key climate responses from local to global scales. We survey the strengths and weaknesses of protocol-based assessments linked to the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), each utilizing multiple sites and models to evaluate crop response to core climate changes including shifts in carbon dioxide concentration, temperature, and water availability, with some studies further exploring how climate responses are affected by nitrogen levels and adaptation in farm systems. Site-based studies with carefully calibrated models encompass the largest number of activities; however they are limited in their ability to capture the full range of global agricultural system diversity. Representative site networks provide more targeted response information than broadly-sampled networks, with limitations stemming from difficulties in covering the diversity of farming systems. Global gridded crop models provide comprehensive coverage, although with large challenges for calibration and quality control of inputs. Diversity in climate responses underscores that crop model emulators must distinguish between regions and farming system while recognizing model uncertainty. Finally, to bridge the gap between bottom-up and top-down approaches we recommend the deployment of a hybrid climate response system employing a representative network of sites to bias

    • Diffusion processes of fragmentary information on scale-free networks

      NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

      Li, Xun; Cao, Lang

      2016-05-01

      Compartmental models of diffusion over contact networks have proven representative of real-life propagation phenomena among interacting individuals. However, there is a broad class of collective spreading mechanisms departing from compartmental representations, including those for diffusive objects capable of fragmentation and transmission unnecessarily as a whole. Here, we consider a continuous-state susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model as an ideal limit-case of diffusion processes of fragmentary information on networks, where individuals possess fractions of the information content and update them by selectively exchanging messages with partners in the vicinity. Specifically, we incorporate local information, such as neighbors' node degrees and carried contents, into the individual partner choice, and examine the roles of a variety of such strategies in the information diffusion process, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Our method provides an effective and flexible route of modulating continuous-state diffusion dynamics on networks and has potential in a wide array of practical applications.

  1. Information dynamics of brain-heart physiological networks during sleep

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Faes, L.; Nollo, G.; Jurysta, F.; Marinazzo, D.

    2014-10-01

    This study proposes an integrated approach, framed in the emerging fields of network physiology and information dynamics, for the quantitative analysis of brain-heart interaction networks during sleep. With this approach, the time series of cardiac vagal autonomic activity and brain wave activities measured respectively as the normalized high frequency component of heart rate variability and the EEG power in the δ, θ, α, σ, and β bands, are considered as realizations of the stochastic processes describing the dynamics of the heart system and of different brain sub-systems. Entropy-based measures are exploited to quantify the predictive information carried by each (sub)system, and to dissect this information into a part actively stored in the system and a part transferred to it from the other connected systems. The application of this approach to polysomnographic recordings of ten healthy subjects led us to identify a structured network of sleep brain-brain and brain-heart interactions, with the node described by the β EEG power acting as a hub which conveys the largest amount of information flowing between the heart and brain nodes. This network was found to be sustained mostly by the transitions across different sleep stages, as the information transfer was weaker during specific stages than during the whole night, and vanished progressively when moving from light sleep to deep sleep and to REM sleep.

  2. Agricultural Education from a Knowledge Systems Perspective: From Teaching to Facilitating Joint Inquiry and Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engel, Paul G. H.; van den Bor, Wout

    1995-01-01

    Application of a knowledge and information systems perspective shows how agricultural innovation can be enhanced through networking. In the Netherlands, a number of alternative systems of inquiry and learning are infused with this perspective: participatory technology development, participatory rural appraisal, soft systems methodology, and rapid…

  3. [Study on network architecture of a tele-medical information sharing platform].

    PubMed

    Pan, Lin; Yu, Lun; Chen, Jin-xiong

    2006-07-01

    In the article,a plan of network construction which satisfies the demand of applications for a telemedical information sharing platform is proposed. We choice network access plans in view of user actual situation, through the analysis of the service demand and many kinds of network access technologies. Hospital servers that locate in LAN link sharing platform with node servers, should separate from the broadband network of sharing platform in order to ensure the security of the internal hospital network and the administration management. We use the VPN technology to realize the safe transmission of information in the platform network. Preliminary experiments have proved the plan is practicable.

  4. 77 FR 33229 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; National Resource Network

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-05

    ... Information Collection: Comment Request; National Resource Network AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary... information: Title of Proposal: National Resource Network. OMB Control Number, if applicable: None... and reporting information related to the proposed National Resource Network. The U.S. Department of...

  5. Information recall using relative spike timing in a spiking neural network.

    PubMed

    Sterne, Philip

    2012-08-01

    We present a neural network that is capable of completing and correcting a spiking pattern given only a partial, noisy version. It operates in continuous time and represents information using the relative timing of individual spikes. The network is capable of correcting and recalling multiple patterns simultaneously. We analyze the network's performance in terms of information recall. We explore two measures of the capacity of the network: one that values the accurate recall of individual spike times and another that values only the presence or absence of complete patterns. Both measures of information are found to scale linearly in both the number of neurons and the period of the patterns, suggesting these are natural measures of network information. We show a smooth transition from encodings that provide precise spike times to flexible encodings that can encode many scenes. This makes it plausible that many diverse tasks could be learned with such an encoding.

  6. Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-02

    types). There are a number of search tree run parameters which must be set depending on the experimental setting. A pilot study was run to identify...Unlimited Final Report: Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report...Final Report: Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion Report Title The University at Buffalo (UB) Center for Multisource

  7. 77 FR 24225 - Information Collection Approval; Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens in the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration Information Collection Approval; Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens in the United States AGENCY: Employment and Training... the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment of H-2B Aliens in the United States; Final Rule. See 77 FR...

  8. From Camels to Computers: The Realities of Increasing the Flow of Agricultural Information in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Attaullah; Johnson, Jane S.

    1991-01-01

    Outlines the various steps involved in the process of modernizing the information storage and retrieval systems within the library of the Northwest Frontier Province Agricultural University (NWFP AU) in Peshawar, Pakistan. Implementation of services for faculty, students, and provincial agricultural scientists is discussed, and staff training is…

  9. Information loss method to measure node similarity in networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yongli; Luo, Peng; Wu, Chong

    2014-09-01

    Similarity measurement for the network node has been paid increasing attention in the field of statistical physics. In this paper, we propose an entropy-based information loss method to measure the node similarity. The whole model is established based on this idea that less information loss is caused by seeing two more similar nodes as the same. The proposed new method has relatively low algorithm complexity, making it less time-consuming and more efficient to deal with the large scale real-world network. In order to clarify its availability and accuracy, this new approach was compared with some other selected approaches on two artificial examples and synthetic networks. Furthermore, the proposed method is also successfully applied to predict the network evolution and predict the unknown nodes' attributions in the two application examples.

  10. Time-Ordered Networks Reveal Limitations to Information Flow in Ant Colonies

    PubMed Central

    Blonder, Benjamin; Dornhaus, Anna

    2011-01-01

    Background An important function of many complex networks is to inhibit or promote the transmission of disease, resources, or information between individuals. However, little is known about how the temporal dynamics of individual-level interactions affect these networks and constrain their function. Ant colonies are a model comparative system for understanding general principles linking individual-level interactions to network-level functions because interactions among individuals enable integration of multiple sources of information to collectively make decisions, and allocate tasks and resources. Methodology/Findings Here we show how the temporal and spatial dynamics of such individual interactions provide upper bounds to rates of colony-level information flow in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus. We develop a general framework for analyzing dynamic networks and a mathematical model that predicts how information flow scales with individual mobility and group size. Conclusions/Significance Using thousands of time-stamped interactions between uniquely marked ants in four colonies of a range of sizes, we demonstrate that observed maximum rates of information flow are always slower than predicted, and are constrained by regulation of individual mobility and contact rate. By accounting for the ordering and timing of interactions, we can resolve important difficulties with network sampling frequency and duration, enabling a broader understanding of interaction network functioning across systems and scales. PMID:21625450

  11. Optimal Network Modularity for Information Diffusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nematzadeh, Azadeh; Ferrara, Emilio; Flammini, Alessandro; Ahn, Yong-Yeol

    2014-08-01

    We investigate the impact of community structure on information diffusion with the linear threshold model. Our results demonstrate that modular structure may have counterintuitive effects on information diffusion when social reinforcement is present. We show that strong communities can facilitate global diffusion by enhancing local, intracommunity spreading. Using both analytic approaches and numerical simulations, we demonstrate the existence of an optimal network modularity, where global diffusion requires the minimal number of early adopters.

  12. Privacy policy analysis for health information networks and regional health information organizations.

    PubMed

    Noblin, Alice M

    2007-01-01

    Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) are forming in response to President George W. Bush's 2004 mandate that medical information be made available electronically to facilitate continuity of care. Privacy concerns are a deterrent to widespread acceptance of RHIOs. The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 provides some guidelines for privacy protection. However, most states have stricter guidelines, causing difficulty when RHIOs form across these jurisdictions. This article compares several RHIOs including their privacy policies where available. In addition, studies were reviewed considering privacy concerns of people in the United States and elsewhere. Surveys reveal that Americans are concerned about the privacy of their personal health information and ultimately feel it is the role of the government to provide protection. The purpose of this article is to look at the privacy issues and recommend a policy that may help to resolve some of the concerns of both providers and patients. Policy research and action are needed to move the National Health Information Network toward reality. Efforts to provide consistency in privacy laws are a necessary early step to facilitate the construction and maintenance of RHIOs and the National Health Information Network.

  13. Application of wireless networks-peer-to-peer information sharing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    ellappan, Vijayan; chaki, suchismita; kumar, avn

    2017-11-01

    Peer to Peer communications and its applications have gotten to be ordinary construction modelling in the wired network environment. But then, they have not been successfully adjusted with the wireless environment. Unlike the traditional client-server framework, in a P2P framework, each node can play the role of client as well as server simultaneously and exchange data or information with others. We aim to design an application which can adapt to the wireless ad-hoc networks. Peer to Peer communication can help people to share their files (information, image, audio, video and so on) and communicate with each other without relying on a particular network infrastructure or limited data usage. Here there is a central server with the help of which, the peers will have the capability to get the information about the other peers in the network. Indeed, even without the Internet, devices have the potential to allow users to connect and communicate in a special way through short range remote protocols such Wi-Fi.

  14. 47 CFR 64.2005 - Use of customer proprietary network information without customer approval.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of customer proprietary network information without customer approval. 64.2005 Section 64.2005 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2005 Use of customer proprietary network information without customer...

  15. 47 CFR 64.2008 - Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2008 Section 64.2008 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2008 Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information...

  16. 47 CFR 64.2005 - Use of customer proprietary network information without customer approval.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Use of customer proprietary network information without customer approval. 64.2005 Section 64.2005 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2005 Use of customer proprietary network information without customer...

  17. 47 CFR 64.2008 - Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2008 Section 64.2008 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2008 Notice required for use of customer proprietary network information...

  18. National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety

    MedlinePlus

    ... Network Grain Safety Model Policy: Youth Employment in Agriculture Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines North American Guidelines for ... Sept. 20 Teaching fall and electrical safety in agriculture: free webinar, Sept. 13 Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines ...

  19. Conceptual Framework for Developing a Diabetes Information Network.

    PubMed

    Riazi, Hossein; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Larijani, Bagher; Shahmoradi, Leila

    2016-06-01

    To provide a conceptual framework for managing diabetic patient care, and creating an information network for clinical research. A wide range of information technology (IT) based interventions such as distance learning, diabetes registries, personal or electronic health record systems, clinical information systems, and clinical decision support systems have so far been used in supporting diabetic care. Previous studies demonstrated that IT could improve diabetes care at its different aspects. There is however no comprehensive conceptual framework that defines how different IT applications can support diverse aspects of this care. Therefore, a conceptual framework that combines different IT solutions into a wide information network for improving care processes and for research purposes is widely lacking. In this study we describe the theoretical underpin of a big project aiming at building a wide diabetic information network namely DIANET. A literature review and a survey of national programs and existing regulations for diabetes management was conducted in order to define different aspects of diabetic care that should be supported by IT solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study. In addition to the results of a previous systematic literature review, two brainstorming and three expert panel sessions were conducted to identify requirements of a comprehensive information technology solution. Based on these inputs, the requirements for creating a diabetes information network were identified and used to create a questionnaire based on 9-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was finalized after removing some items based on calculated content validity ratio and content validity index coefficients. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was also calculated (αTotal= 0.98, P<0.05, CI=0.95). The final questionnaire was containing 45 items. It was sent to 13 clinicians at two diabetes clinics of endocrine and metabolism research

  20. Computer network access to scientific information systems for minority universities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, Valerie L.; Wakim, Nagi T.

    1993-08-01

    The evolution of computer networking technology has lead to the establishment of a massive networking infrastructure which interconnects various types of computing resources at many government, academic, and corporate institutions. A large segment of this infrastructure has been developed to facilitate information exchange and resource sharing within the scientific community. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports both the development and the application of computer networks which provide its community with access to many valuable multi-disciplinary scientific information systems and on-line databases. Recognizing the need to extend the benefits of this advanced networking technology to the under-represented community, the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) in the Space Data and Computing Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center has developed the Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network (MU-SPIN) Program: a major networking and education initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Universities (MUs). In this paper, we will briefly explain the various components of the MU-SPIN Program while highlighting how, by providing access to scientific information systems and on-line data, it promotes a higher level of collaboration among faculty and students and NASA scientists.

  1. Comparison of Agricultural Drought Indicators over West Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Husak, G. J.; Turner, W.; McNally, A.; Shukla, S.; Funk, C. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors critical environmental variables that impact food production in developing countries, including over 30 countries in Africa. Much of this work focuses on the identification of agricultural drought using remotely sensed and modeled estimates of conditions. These variables estimate precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, water availability for crops and soil moisture - among others - at a critical time, or accumulated over intervals within the season. Frequently, these variables are used in a "convergence of evidence" approach to identify the location and severity of agricultural drought over a region. While much work has gone into identifying and calculating these key indicators, little attention has been given to the relationships between these variables. This work explores the relationship between four key agricultural drought indicators over West Africa to determine the extent to which they are providing unique information and also to expose where certain variables may not be adding independent information to the identification of agricultural drought and the potential for food insecurity. These variables investigated in this study are the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI) and modeled soil moisture (SM) from the FEWSNET Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS). We look at 35 years of data (1982-2016) over West Africa and identify the primary growing season for the region, then compare the four variables above during this prime season. Because the computational costs of calculating these different indicators varies, we seek to identify where products that are less cost/data intensive adequately capture the same information as the more intensive indicators. The outcome highlights where particular products are most useful for the identification of agricultural drought over the region.

  2. Information flow in layered networks of non-monotonic units

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schittler Neves, Fabio; Martim Schubert, Benno; Erichsen, Rubem, Jr.

    2015-07-01

    Layered neural networks are feedforward structures that yield robust parallel and distributed pattern recognition. Even though much attention has been paid to pattern retrieval properties in such systems, many aspects of their dynamics are not yet well characterized or understood. In this work we study, at different temperatures, the memory activity and information flows through layered networks in which the elements are the simplest binary odd non-monotonic function. Our results show that, considering a standard Hebbian learning approach, the network information content has its maximum always at the monotonic limit, even though the maximum memory capacity can be found at non-monotonic values for small enough temperatures. Furthermore, we show that such systems exhibit rich macroscopic dynamics, including not only fixed point solutions of its iterative map, but also cyclic and chaotic attractors that also carry information.

  3. 7 CFR 1738.212 - Network design.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 11 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Network design. 1738.212 Section 1738.212 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... the proposed network infrastructure; (4) A description of measurable service metrics and target...

  4. 7 CFR 1738.212 - Network design.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 11 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Network design. 1738.212 Section 1738.212 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... the proposed network infrastructure; (4) A description of measurable service metrics and target...

  5. 7 CFR 1738.212 - Network design.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 11 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Network design. 1738.212 Section 1738.212 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... the proposed network infrastructure; (4) A description of measurable service metrics and target...

  6. Information theory-based decision support system for integrated design of multivariable hydrometric networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keum, Jongho; Coulibaly, Paulin

    2017-07-01

    Adequate and accurate hydrologic information from optimal hydrometric networks is an essential part of effective water resources management. Although the key hydrologic processes in the water cycle are interconnected, hydrometric networks (e.g., streamflow, precipitation, groundwater level) have been routinely designed individually. A decision support framework is proposed for integrated design of multivariable hydrometric networks. The proposed method is applied to design optimal precipitation and streamflow networks simultaneously. The epsilon-dominance hierarchical Bayesian optimization algorithm was combined with Shannon entropy of information theory to design and evaluate hydrometric networks. Specifically, the joint entropy from the combined networks was maximized to provide the most information, and the total correlation was minimized to reduce redundant information. To further optimize the efficiency between the networks, they were designed by maximizing the conditional entropy of the streamflow network given the information of the precipitation network. Compared to the traditional individual variable design approach, the integrated multivariable design method was able to determine more efficient optimal networks by avoiding the redundant stations. Additionally, four quantization cases were compared to evaluate their effects on the entropy calculations and the determination of the optimal networks. The evaluation results indicate that the quantization methods should be selected after careful consideration for each design problem since the station rankings and the optimal networks can change accordingly.

  7. MIDER: network inference with mutual information distance and entropy reduction.

    PubMed

    Villaverde, Alejandro F; Ross, John; Morán, Federico; Banga, Julio R

    2014-01-01

    The prediction of links among variables from a given dataset is a task referred to as network inference or reverse engineering. It is an open problem in bioinformatics and systems biology, as well as in other areas of science. Information theory, which uses concepts such as mutual information, provides a rigorous framework for addressing it. While a number of information-theoretic methods are already available, most of them focus on a particular type of problem, introducing assumptions that limit their generality. Furthermore, many of these methods lack a publicly available implementation. Here we present MIDER, a method for inferring network structures with information theoretic concepts. It consists of two steps: first, it provides a representation of the network in which the distance among nodes indicates their statistical closeness. Second, it refines the prediction of the existing links to distinguish between direct and indirect interactions and to assign directionality. The method accepts as input time-series data related to some quantitative features of the network nodes (such as e.g. concentrations, if the nodes are chemical species). It takes into account time delays between variables, and allows choosing among several definitions and normalizations of mutual information. It is general purpose: it may be applied to any type of network, cellular or otherwise. A Matlab implementation including source code and data is freely available (http://www.iim.csic.es/~gingproc/mider.html). The performance of MIDER has been evaluated on seven different benchmark problems that cover the main types of cellular networks, including metabolic, gene regulatory, and signaling. Comparisons with state of the art information-theoretic methods have demonstrated the competitive performance of MIDER, as well as its versatility. Its use does not demand any a priori knowledge from the user; the default settings and the adaptive nature of the method provide good results for a wide

  8. Effects of rewiring strategies on information spreading in complex dynamic networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ally, Abdulla F.; Zhang, Ning

    2018-04-01

    Recent advances in networks and communication services have attracted much interest to understand information spreading in social networks. Consequently, numerous studies have been devoted to provide effective and accurate models for mimicking information spreading. However, knowledge on how to spread information faster and more widely remains a contentious issue. Yet, most existing works are based on static networks which limit the reality of dynamism of entities that participate in information spreading. Using the SIR epidemic model, this study explores and compares effects of two rewiring models (Fermi-Dirac and Linear functions) on information spreading in scale free and small world networks. Our results show that for all the rewiring strategies, the spreading influence replenishes with time but stabilizes in a steady state at later time-steps. This means that information spreading takes-off during the initial spreading steps, after which the spreading prevalence settles toward its equilibrium, with majority of the population having recovered and thus, no longer affecting the spreading. Meanwhile, rewiring strategy based on Fermi-Dirac distribution function in one way or another impedes the spreading process, however, the structure of the networks mimic the spreading, even with a low spreading rate. The worst case can be when the spreading rate is extremely small. The results emphasize that despite a big role of such networks in mimicking the spreading, the role of the parameters cannot be simply ignored. Apparently, the probability of giant degree neighbors being informed grows much faster with the rewiring strategy of linear function compared to that of Fermi-Dirac distribution function. Clearly, rewiring model based on linear function generates the fastest spreading across the networks. Therefore, if we are interested in speeding up the spreading process in stochastic modeling, linear function may play a pivotal role.

  9. 32 CFR 2001.50 - Telecommunications automated information systems and network security.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... and network security. 2001.50 Section 2001.50 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense INFORMATION SECURITY OVERSIGHT OFFICE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION CLASSIFIED... network security. Each agency head shall ensure that classified information electronically accessed...

  10. 32 CFR 2001.50 - Telecommunications automated information systems and network security.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... and network security. 2001.50 Section 2001.50 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense INFORMATION SECURITY OVERSIGHT OFFICE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION CLASSIFIED... network security. Each agency head shall ensure that classified information electronically accessed...

  11. 32 CFR 2001.50 - Telecommunications automated information systems and network security.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... and network security. 2001.50 Section 2001.50 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense INFORMATION SECURITY OVERSIGHT OFFICE, NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION CLASSIFIED... network security. Each agency head shall ensure that classified information electronically accessed...

  12. Information diffusion in structured online social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Pei; Zhang, Yini; Qiao, Fengcai; Wang, Hui

    2015-05-01

    Nowadays, due to the word-of-mouth effect, online social networks have been considered to be efficient approaches to conduct viral marketing, which makes it of great importance to understand the diffusion dynamics in online social networks. However, most research on diffusion dynamics in epidemiology and existing social networks cannot be applied directly to characterize online social networks. In this paper, we propose models to characterize the information diffusion in structured online social networks with push-based forwarding mechanism. We introduce the term user influence to characterize the average number of times that messages are browsed which is incurred by a given type user generating a message, and study the diffusion threshold, above which the user influence of generating a message will approach infinity. We conduct simulations and provide the simulation results, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis results perfectly. These results are of use in understanding the diffusion dynamics in online social networks and also critical for advertisers in viral marketing who want to estimate the user influence before posting an advertisement.

  13. 1986 Agricultural Chartbook. Agriculture Handbook No. 663.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

    This book contains 310 charts, tables, and graphs containing statistical information about agriculture-related commodities and services, primarily in the United States, in 1986. The book is organized in seven sections that cover the following topics: (1) the farm (farm income, farm population, farm workers, food and fiber system, agriculture and…

  14. Structural Conditions for Collaboration and Learning in Innovation Networks: Using an Innovation System Performance Lens to Analyse Agricultural Knowledge Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hermans, Frans; Klerkx, Laurens; Roep, Dirk

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: We investigate how the structural conditions of eight different European agricultural innovation systems can facilitate or hinder collaboration and social learning in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Methodology: We have adapted the Innovation System Failure Matrix to investigate the main barriers and enablers eight countries…

  15. Identifying influential nodes in complex networks: A node information dimension approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bian, Tian; Deng, Yong

    2018-04-01

    In the field of complex networks, how to identify influential nodes is a significant issue in analyzing the structure of a network. In the existing method proposed to identify influential nodes based on the local dimension, the global structure information in complex networks is not taken into consideration. In this paper, a node information dimension is proposed by synthesizing the local dimensions at different topological distance scales. A case study of the Netscience network is used to illustrate the efficiency and practicability of the proposed method.

  16. The Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Preparedness Initiative

    PubMed Central

    Loonsk, John W.; McGarvey, Sunanda R.; Conn, Laura A.; Johnson, Jennifer

    2006-01-01

    The Public Health Information Network (PHIN) Preparedness initiative strives to implement, on an accelerated pace, a consistent national network of information systems that will support public health in being prepared for public health emergencies. Using the principles and practices of the broader PHIN initiative, PHIN Preparedness concentrates in the short term on ensuring that all public health jurisdictions have, or have access to, systems to accomplish known preparedness functions. The PHIN Preparedness initiative defines functional requirements, technical standards and specifications, and a process to achieve consistency and interconnectedness of preparedness systems across public health. PMID:16221945

  17. Detection and assessment of flood susceptible irrigation networks in Licab, Nueva Ecija, Philippines using LiDAR DTM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alberto, R. T.; Hernando, P. J. C.; Tagaca, R. C.; Celestino, A. B.; Palado, G. C.; Camaso, E. E.; Damian, G. B.

    2017-09-01

    Climate change has wide-ranging effects on the environment and socio-economic and related sectors which includes water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal zones and biodiversity. Farmers are under pressure to the changing weather and increasing unpredictable water supply. Because of rainfall deficiencies, artificial application of water has been made through irrigation. Irrigation is a basic determinant of agriculture because its inadequacies are the most powerful constraints on the increase of agricultural production. Irrigation networks are permanent and temporary conduits that supply water to agricultural areas from an irrigation source. Detection of irrigation networks using LiDAR DTM, and flood susceptible assessment of irrigation networks could give baseline information on the development and management of sustainable agriculture. Map Gully Depth (MGD) in Whitebox GAT was used to generate the potential irrigation networks. The extracted MGD was overlaid in ArcGIS as guide in the digitization of potential irrigation networks. A flood hazard map was also used to identify the flood susceptible irrigation networks in the study area. The study was assessed through field validation of points which were generated using random sampling method. Results of the study showed that most of the detected irrigation networks have low to moderate susceptibility to flooding while the rest have high susceptibility to flooding which is due to shifting weather. These irrigation networks may cause flood when it overflows that could also bring huge damage to rice and other agricultural areas.

  18. A novel information cascade model in online social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tong, Chao; He, Wenbo; Niu, Jianwei; Xie, Zhongyu

    2016-02-01

    The spread and diffusion of information has become one of the hot issues in today's social network analysis. To analyze the spread of online social network information and the attribute of cascade, in this paper, we discuss the spread of two kinds of users' decisions for city-wide activities, namely the "want to take part in the activity" and "be interested in the activity", based on the users' attention in "DouBan" and the data of the city-wide activities. We analyze the characteristics of the activity-decision's spread in these aspects: the scale and scope of the cascade subgraph, the structure characteristic of the cascade subgraph, the topological attribute of spread tree, and the occurrence frequency of cascade subgraph. On this basis, we propose a new information spread model. Based on the classical independent diffusion model, we introduce three mechanisms, equal probability, similarity of nodes, and popularity of nodes, which can generate and affect the spread of information. Besides, by conducting the experiments in six different kinds of network data set, we compare the effects of three mechanisms above mentioned, totally six specific factors, on the spread of information, and put forward that the node's popularity plays an important role in the information spread.

  19. Efficacy of Indexing and Abstracting Services for the Dissemination of Agricultural Information Resources in the Institure for Agricultural Research Library, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gabriel, KASA, M.

    2012-10-01

    The efficacy of Indexing and Abstracting service for effective organization, storage and retrieval of information resources for agricultural research in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria necessitated examining the situation in Agricultural Library, Institute for Agricultural Research, Samaru. The study examines the processes, awareness and problems militating against the effective exploitation of the indexing and abstracting services in the Agricultural library established in 1975. The study was conducted ex post facto, data collected span from 2006 ñ 2010. Total sample sizes of 752 patrons and 20,236 intellectually indexed and abstracted resources were involved in the study. Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed that a total of 644 articles were indexed and abstracted, 35% of these was done in 2010. Results for awareness show 452 (60.11%) to be aware in 2008. A total 584 articles were indexed and abstracted from which 167 (28.59%) was retrieved in 2006. Patrons, 270 (35.90%) attributed the poor use of the service to assumption it is a referral unit. The hypothesis testing revealed that there is significant association between articles indexed and abstracted with information consulted by patrons (?2cal,100.31>?2tab,9.488) at 5% level of probability and df, 4. In conclusion, enormous documents on Nigerian agriculture are indexed and abstracted in the unit, implying that the service is desirous and consistent. The study recommends that the unit should explore the use of modern technology, employ a permanent subject specialist, train and retrain the unit staff as well as intensify it general orientation campaigns to focus on awareness and use of the indexing and abstracting services.

  20. Estimating User Influence in Online Social Networks Subject to Information Overload

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Pei; Sun, Yunchuan; Chen, Yingwen; Tian, Zhi

    2014-11-01

    Online social networks have attracted remarkable attention since they provide various approaches for hundreds of millions of people to stay connected with their friends. Due to the existence of information overload, the research on diffusion dynamics in epidemiology cannot be adopted directly to that in online social networks. In this paper, we consider diffusion dynamics in online social networks subject to information overload, and model the information-processing process of a user by a queue with a batch arrival and a finite buffer. We use the average number of times a message is processed after it is generated by a given user to characterize the user influence, which is then estimated through theoretical analysis for a given network. We validate the accuracy of our estimation by simulations, and apply the results to study the impacts of different factors on the user influence. Among the observations, we find that the impact of network size on the user influence is marginal while the user influence decreases with assortativity due to information overload, which is particularly interesting.

  1. Graphs for information security control in software defined networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grusho, Alexander A.; Abaev, Pavel O.; Shorgin, Sergey Ya.; Timonina, Elena E.

    2017-07-01

    Information security control in software defined networks (SDN) is connected with execution of the security policy rules regulating information accesses and protection against distribution of the malicious code and harmful influences. The paper offers a representation of a security policy in the form of hierarchical structure which in case of distribution of resources for the solution of tasks defines graphs of admissible interactions in a networks. These graphs define commutation tables of switches via the SDN controller.

  2. Quantum demultiplexer of quantum parameter-estimation information in quantum networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Yanqing; Huang, Yumeng; Wu, Yinzhong; Hao, Xiang

    2018-05-01

    The quantum demultiplexer is constructed by a series of unitary operators and multipartite entangled states. It is used to realize information broadcasting from an input node to multiple output nodes in quantum networks. The scheme of quantum network communication with respect to phase estimation is put forward through the demultiplexer subjected to amplitude damping noises. The generalized partial measurements can be applied to protect the transferring efficiency from environmental noises in the protocol. It is found out that there are some optimal coherent states which can be prepared to enhance the transmission of phase estimation. The dynamics of state fidelity and quantum Fisher information are investigated to evaluate the feasibility of the network communication. While the state fidelity deteriorates rapidly, the quantum Fisher information can be enhanced to a maximum value and then decreases slowly. The memory effect of the environment induces the oscillations of fidelity and quantum Fisher information. The adjustment of the strength of partial measurements is helpful to increase quantum Fisher information.

  3. An experimental study of the Online Information Paradox: Does en-route information improve road network performance?

    PubMed

    Wijayaratna, Kasun P; Dixit, Vinayak V; Denant-Boemont, Laurent; Waller, S Travis

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the empirical presence of a theoretical transportation paradox, defined as the "Online Information Paradox" (OIP). The paradox suggests that, for certain road networks, the provision of online information deteriorate travel conditions for all users of that network relative to the situation where no online information is provided to users. The analytical presence of the paradox was derived for a specific network structure by using two equilibrium models, the first being the Expected User Equilibrium (EUE) solution (no information scenario) and the other being the User Equilibrium with Recourse (UER) solution (with information scenario). An incentivised computerised route choice game was designed using the concepts of experimental economics and administered in a controlled laboratory environment to investigate the physical presence of the paradox. Aggregate statistics of path flows and Total System Travel Costs (TSTC) were used to compare the experimental results with the theoretical findings. A total of 12 groups of 12 participants completed the experiment and the OIP and the occurrence of the OIP being significant was observed in 11 of the 12 cases. Though information increased travel costs for users on average, it reduced the volatility of travel costs experienced in the no information scenario indicating that information can achieve a more reliable system. Further replications of similar experiments and more importantly field based identification of the phenomena will force transport professionals to be aware of the emergence of the paradox. In addition, studies such as this emphasise the need for the adoption of adaptive traffic assignment techniques to appropriately model the acquisition of information on a road network.

  4. Polarity-specific high-level information propagation in neural networks.

    PubMed

    Lin, Yen-Nan; Chang, Po-Yen; Hsiao, Pao-Yueh; Lo, Chung-Chuan

    2014-01-01

    Analyzing the connectome of a nervous system provides valuable information about the functions of its subsystems. Although much has been learned about the architectures of neural networks in various organisms by applying analytical tools developed for general networks, two distinct and functionally important properties of neural networks are often overlooked. First, neural networks are endowed with polarity at the circuit level: Information enters a neural network at input neurons, propagates through interneurons, and leaves via output neurons. Second, many functions of nervous systems are implemented by signal propagation through high-level pathways involving multiple and often recurrent connections rather than by the shortest paths between nodes. In the present study, we analyzed two neural networks: the somatic nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and the partial central complex network of Drosophila, in light of these properties. Specifically, we quantified high-level propagation in the vertical and horizontal directions: the former characterizes how signals propagate from specific input nodes to specific output nodes and the latter characterizes how a signal from a specific input node is shared by all output nodes. We found that the two neural networks are characterized by very efficient vertical and horizontal propagation. In comparison, classic small-world networks show a trade-off between vertical and horizontal propagation; increasing the rewiring probability improves the efficiency of horizontal propagation but worsens the efficiency of vertical propagation. Our result provides insights into how the complex functions of natural neural networks may arise from a design that allows them to efficiently transform and combine input signals.

  5. Polarity-specific high-level information propagation in neural networks

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Yen-Nan; Chang, Po-Yen; Hsiao, Pao-Yueh; Lo, Chung-Chuan

    2014-01-01

    Analyzing the connectome of a nervous system provides valuable information about the functions of its subsystems. Although much has been learned about the architectures of neural networks in various organisms by applying analytical tools developed for general networks, two distinct and functionally important properties of neural networks are often overlooked. First, neural networks are endowed with polarity at the circuit level: Information enters a neural network at input neurons, propagates through interneurons, and leaves via output neurons. Second, many functions of nervous systems are implemented by signal propagation through high-level pathways involving multiple and often recurrent connections rather than by the shortest paths between nodes. In the present study, we analyzed two neural networks: the somatic nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and the partial central complex network of Drosophila, in light of these properties. Specifically, we quantified high-level propagation in the vertical and horizontal directions: the former characterizes how signals propagate from specific input nodes to specific output nodes and the latter characterizes how a signal from a specific input node is shared by all output nodes. We found that the two neural networks are characterized by very efficient vertical and horizontal propagation. In comparison, classic small-world networks show a trade-off between vertical and horizontal propagation; increasing the rewiring probability improves the efficiency of horizontal propagation but worsens the efficiency of vertical propagation. Our result provides insights into how the complex functions of natural neural networks may arise from a design that allows them to efficiently transform and combine input signals. PMID:24672472

  6. Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming climate information into usable tools to support Midwestern agricultural production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prokopy, L. S.; Widhalm, M.

    2014-12-01

    There is a close connection between weather and climate patterns and successful agricultural production. Therefore, incorporating climate information into farm management is likely to reduce the risk of economic losses and increase profitability. While weather and climate information is becoming ever more abundant and accessible, the use of such information in the agricultural community remains limited. Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming Climate Variability and Change Information for Cereal Crop Producers is a USDA-NIFA funded research and extension project focused on improving the use of climate information for agricultural production in the Midwestern United States by developing user-driven decision tools and training resources. The U2U team is a diverse and uniquely qualified group of climatologists, crop modelers, agronomists, and social scientists from 9 Midwestern universities and two NOAA Regional Climate Centers. Together, we strive to help producers make better long-term plans on what, when and where to plant and also how to manage crops for maximum yields and minimum environmental damage. To ensure relevance and usability of U2U products, our social science team is using a number of techniques including surveys and focus groups to integrate stakeholder interests, needs, and concerns into all aspects of U2U research. It is through this coupling of physical and social science disciplines that we strive to transform existing climate information into actionable knowledge.

  7. 32 CFR 2001.50 - Telecommunications automated information systems and network security.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Telecommunications automated information systems and network security. 2001.50 Section 2001.50 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National... network security. Each agency head shall ensure that classified information electronically accessed...

  8. 32 CFR 2001.50 - Telecommunications automated information systems and network security.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Telecommunications automated information systems and network security. 2001.50 Section 2001.50 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National... network security. Each agency head shall ensure that classified information electronically accessed...

  9. Information and material flows in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Helbing, Dirk; Armbruster, Dieter; Mikhailov, Alexander S.; Lefeber, Erjen

    2006-04-01

    In this special issue, an overview of the Thematic Institute (TI) on Information and Material Flows in Complex Systems is given. The TI was carried out within EXYSTENCE, the first EU Network of Excellence in the area of complex systems. Its motivation, research approach and subjects are presented here. Among the various methods used are many-particle and statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, as well as complex systems, network and control theory. The contributions are relevant for complex systems as diverse as vehicle and data traffic in networks, logistics, production, and material flows in biological systems. The key disciplines involved are socio-, econo-, traffic- and bio-physics, and a new research area that could be called “biologistics”.

  10. Telecommunications Information Network: A Model for On-Demand Transfer of Medical Information. Annual Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lorenzi, Nancy M.; And Others

    This report describes and evaluates the first year of a demonstration project to develop an on-demand telecommunications network linking four remote hospitals in southwestern Ohio to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Telecommunications Information Network (TIN) is designed to allow health care professionals at those hospitals to…

  11. Description of a method to support public health information management: organizational network analysis

    PubMed Central

    Merrill, Jacqueline; Bakken, Suzanne; Rockoff, Maxine; Gebbie, Kristine; Carley, Kathleen

    2007-01-01

    In this case study we describe a method that has potential to provide systematic support for public health information management. Public health agencies depend on specialized information that travels throughout an organization via communication networks among employees. Interactions that occur within these networks are poorly understood and are generally unmanaged. We applied organizational network analysis, a method for studying communication networks, to assess the method’s utility to support decision making for public health managers, and to determine what links existed between information use and agency processes. Data on communication links among a health department’s staff was obtained via survey with a 93% response rate, and analyzed using Organizational Risk Analyzer (ORA) software. The findings described the structure of information flow in the department’s communication networks. The analysis succeeded in providing insights into organizational processes which informed public health managers’ strategies to address problems and to take advantage of network strengths. PMID:17098480

  12. Networked Information: Finding What's Out There.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lynch, Clifford A.

    1997-01-01

    Clifford A. Lynch, developer of MELVYL and former director of library automation at the University of California, is now executive director for the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). This interview discusses Lynch's background, MELVYL, the Web and the role of libraries and librarians, community and collaborative filtering, the library of…

  13. Maximizing Information Diffusion in the Cyber-physical Integrated Network

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Hongliang; Lv, Shaohe; Jiao, Xianlong; Wang, Xiaodong; Liu, Juan

    2015-01-01

    Nowadays, our living environment has been embedded with smart objects, such as smart sensors, smart watches and smart phones. They make cyberspace and physical space integrated by their abundant abilities of sensing, communication and computation, forming a cyber-physical integrated network. In order to maximize information diffusion in such a network, a group of objects are selected as the forwarding points. To optimize the selection, a minimum connected dominating set (CDS) strategy is adopted. However, existing approaches focus on minimizing the size of the CDS, neglecting an important factor: the weight of links. In this paper, we propose a distributed maximizing the probability of information diffusion (DMPID) algorithm in the cyber-physical integrated network. Unlike previous approaches that only consider the size of CDS selection, DMPID also considers the information spread probability that depends on the weight of links. To weaken the effects of excessively-weighted links, we also present an optimization strategy that can properly balance the two factors. The results of extensive simulation show that DMPID can nearly double the information diffusion probability, while keeping a reasonable size of selection with low overhead in different distributed networks. PMID:26569254

  14. Networking Sensors for Information Dominance - Joint Signal Processing and Communication Design

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-01-01

    2012 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE NETWORKING SENSORS FOR INFORMATION DOMINANCE - JOINT SIGNAL PROCESSING AND COMMUNICATION DESIGN, Final Report for FA9550...Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18 298-102 Public A AFRL-OSR-VA-TR-2012-0729 NETWORKING SENSORS FOR INFORMATION DOMINANCE - JOINT

  15. Analyzing complex networks evolution through Information Theory quantifiers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carpi, Laura C.; Rosso, Osvaldo A.; Saco, Patricia M.; Ravetti, Martín Gómez

    2011-01-01

    A methodology to analyze dynamical changes in complex networks based on Information Theory quantifiers is proposed. The square root of the Jensen-Shannon divergence, a measure of dissimilarity between two probability distributions, and the MPR Statistical Complexity are used to quantify states in the network evolution process. Three cases are analyzed, the Watts-Strogatz model, a gene network during the progression of Alzheimer's disease and a climate network for the Tropical Pacific region to study the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamic. We find that the proposed quantifiers are able not only to capture changes in the dynamics of the processes but also to quantify and compare states in their evolution.

  16. Digital Networked Information Society and Public Health: Problems and Promises of Networked Health Communication of Lay Publics.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jeong-Nam

    2018-01-01

    This special issue of Health Communication compiles 10 articles to laud the promise and yet confront the problems in the digital networked information society related to public health. We present this anthology of symphony and cacophony of lay individuals' communicative actions in a digital networked information society. The collection of problems and promise of the new digital world may be a cornerstone joining two worlds-pre- and postdigital network society-and we hope this special issue will help better shape our future states of public health.

  17. Topology for efficient information dissemination in ad-hoc networking

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jennings, E.; Okino, C. M.

    2002-01-01

    In this paper, we explore the information dissemination problem in ad-hoc wirless networks. First, we analyze the probability of successful broadcast, assuming: the nodes are uniformly distributed, the available area has a lower bould relative to the total number of nodes, and there is zero knowledge of the overall topology of the network. By showing that the probability of such events is small, we are motivated to extract good graph topologies to minimize the overall transmissions. Three algorithms are used to generate topologies of the network with guaranteed connectivity. These are the minimum radius graph, the relative neighborhood graph and the minimum spanning tree. Our simulation shows that the relative neighborhood graph has certain good graph properties, which makes it suitable for efficient information dissemination.

  18. Quality of Information Approach to Improving Source Selection in Tactical Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-02-01

    consider the performance of this process based on metrics relating to quality of information: accuracy, timeliness, completeness and reliability. These...that are indicators of that the network is meeting these quality requirements. We study effective data rate, social distance, link integrity and the...utility of information as metrics within a multi-genre network to determine the quality of information of its available sources. This paper proposes a

  19. An experimental study of the Online Information Paradox: Does en-route information improve road network performance?

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the empirical presence of a theoretical transportation paradox, defined as the “Online Information Paradox” (OIP). The paradox suggests that, for certain road networks, the provision of online information deteriorate travel conditions for all users of that network relative to the situation where no online information is provided to users. The analytical presence of the paradox was derived for a specific network structure by using two equilibrium models, the first being the Expected User Equilibrium (EUE) solution (no information scenario) and the other being the User Equilibrium with Recourse (UER) solution (with information scenario). An incentivised computerised route choice game was designed using the concepts of experimental economics and administered in a controlled laboratory environment to investigate the physical presence of the paradox. Aggregate statistics of path flows and Total System Travel Costs (TSTC) were used to compare the experimental results with the theoretical findings. A total of 12 groups of 12 participants completed the experiment and the OIP and the occurrence of the OIP being significant was observed in 11 of the 12 cases. Though information increased travel costs for users on average, it reduced the volatility of travel costs experienced in the no information scenario indicating that information can achieve a more reliable system. Further replications of similar experiments and more importantly field based identification of the phenomena will force transport professionals to be aware of the emergence of the paradox. In addition, studies such as this emphasise the need for the adoption of adaptive traffic assignment techniques to appropriately model the acquisition of information on a road network. PMID:28902854

  20. An AgMIP framework for improved agricultural representation in integrated assessment models

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ruane, Alex C.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Asseng, Senthold

    Integrated assessment models (IAMs) hold great potential to assess how future agricultural systems will be shaped by socioeconomic development, technological innovation, and changing climate conditions. By coupling with climate and crop model emulators, IAMs have the potential to resolve important agricultural feedback loops and identify unintended consequences of socioeconomic development for agricultural systems. Here we propose a framework to develop robust representation of agricultural system responses within IAMs, linking downstream applications with model development and the coordinated evaluation of key climate responses from local to global scales. We survey the strengths and weaknesses of protocol-based assessments linked to the Agriculturalmore » Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), each utilizing multiple sites and models to evaluate crop response to core climate changes including shifts in carbon dioxide concentration, temperature, and water availability, with some studies further exploring how climate responses are affected by nitrogen levels and adaptation in farm systems. Site-based studies with carefully calibrated models encompass the largest number of activities; however they are limited in their ability to capture the full range of global agricultural system diversity. Representative site networks provide more targeted response information than broadly-sampled networks, with limitations stemming from difficulties in covering the diversity of farming systems. Global gridded crop models provide comprehensive coverage, although with large challenges for calibration and quality control of inputs. Diversity in climate responses underscores that crop model emulators must distinguish between regions and farming system while recognizing model uncertainty. Finally, to bridge the gap between bottom-up and top-down approaches we recommend the deployment of a hybrid climate response system employing a representative network of sites to

  1. Networked Information Resources. SPEC Kit 253.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bleiler, Richard, Comp.; Plum, Terry, Comp.

    1999-01-01

    This SPEC Kit, published six times per year, examines how Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries have structured themselves to identify networked information resources in the market, to evaluate them for purchase, to make purchasing decisions, to publicize them, and to assess their continued utility. In the summer of 1999, the survey…

  2. Efficient network disintegration under incomplete information: the comic effect of link prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  3. Efficient network disintegration under incomplete information: the comic effect of link prediction.

    PubMed

    Tan, Suo-Yi; Wu, Jun; Lü, Linyuan; Li, Meng-Jun; Lu, Xin

    2016-03-10

    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.

  4. Efficient network disintegration under incomplete information: the comic effect of link prediction

    PubMed Central

    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

  5. Experiences with using information and communication technology to build a multi-municipal support network for informal carers.

    PubMed

    Torp, Steffen; Bing-Jonsson, Pia C; Hanson, Elizabeth

    2013-09-01

    This multi-municipal intervention study explored whether informal carers of frail older people and disabled children living at home made use of information and communication technology (ICT) to gain knowledge about caring and to form informal support networks, thereby improving their health. Seventy-nine informal carers accessed web-based information about caring and an e-based discussion forum via their personal computers. They were able to maintain contact with each other using a web camera and via normal group meetings. After the first 12 months, 17 informal carers participated in focus group interviews and completed a short questionnaire. Four staff members were also interviewed. Participant carers who had prior experiences with a similar ICT-based support network reported greater satisfaction and more extensive use of the network than did participants with no such prior experience. It seems that infrequent usage of the service may be explained by too few other carers to identify with and inappropriate recruitment procedures. Nevertheless, carers of disabled children reported that the intervention had resulted in improved services across the participant municipalities. To achieve optimal effects of an ICT-based support network due attention must be given to recruitment processes and social environment building for which care practitioners require training and support.

  6. Mission Command in the Age of Network-Enabled Operations: Social Network Analysis of Information Sharing and Situation Awareness.

    PubMed

    Buchler, Norbou; Fitzhugh, Sean M; Marusich, Laura R; Ungvarsky, Diane M; Lebiere, Christian; Gonzalez, Cleotilde

    2016-01-01

    A common assumption in organizations is that information sharing improves situation awareness and ultimately organizational effectiveness. The sheer volume and rapid pace of information and communications received and readily accessible through computer networks, however, can overwhelm individuals, resulting in data overload from a combination of diverse data sources, multiple data formats, and large data volumes. The current conceptual framework of network enabled operations (NEO) posits that robust networking and information sharing act as a positive feedback loop resulting in greater situation awareness and mission effectiveness in military operations (Alberts and Garstka, 2004). We test this assumption in a large-scale, 2-week military training exercise. We conducted a social network analysis of email communications among the multi-echelon Mission Command staff (one Division and two sub-ordinate Brigades) and assessed the situational awareness of every individual. Results from our exponential random graph models challenge the aforementioned assumption, as increased email output was associated with lower individual situation awareness. It emerged that higher situation awareness was associated with a lower probability of out-ties, so that broadly sending many messages decreased the likelihood of attaining situation awareness. This challenges the hypothesis that increased information sharing improves situation awareness, at least for those doing the bulk of the sharing. In addition, we observed two trends that reflect a compartmentalizing of networked information sharing as email links were more commonly formed among members of the command staff with both similar functions and levels of situation awareness, than between two individuals with dissimilar functions and levels of situation awareness; both those findings can be interpreted to reflect effects of homophily. Our results have major implications that challenge the current conceptual framework of NEO. In

  7. Mission Command in the Age of Network-Enabled Operations: Social Network Analysis of Information Sharing and Situation Awareness

    PubMed Central

    Buchler, Norbou; Fitzhugh, Sean M.; Marusich, Laura R.; Ungvarsky, Diane M.; Lebiere, Christian; Gonzalez, Cleotilde

    2016-01-01

    A common assumption in organizations is that information sharing improves situation awareness and ultimately organizational effectiveness. The sheer volume and rapid pace of information and communications received and readily accessible through computer networks, however, can overwhelm individuals, resulting in data overload from a combination of diverse data sources, multiple data formats, and large data volumes. The current conceptual framework of network enabled operations (NEO) posits that robust networking and information sharing act as a positive feedback loop resulting in greater situation awareness and mission effectiveness in military operations (Alberts and Garstka, 2004). We test this assumption in a large-scale, 2-week military training exercise. We conducted a social network analysis of email communications among the multi-echelon Mission Command staff (one Division and two sub-ordinate Brigades) and assessed the situational awareness of every individual. Results from our exponential random graph models challenge the aforementioned assumption, as increased email output was associated with lower individual situation awareness. It emerged that higher situation awareness was associated with a lower probability of out-ties, so that broadly sending many messages decreased the likelihood of attaining situation awareness. This challenges the hypothesis that increased information sharing improves situation awareness, at least for those doing the bulk of the sharing. In addition, we observed two trends that reflect a compartmentalizing of networked information sharing as email links were more commonly formed among members of the command staff with both similar functions and levels of situation awareness, than between two individuals with dissimilar functions and levels of situation awareness; both those findings can be interpreted to reflect effects of homophily. Our results have major implications that challenge the current conceptual framework of NEO. In

  8. On-Line Learning Technologies: Networking in the Classroom. Rural, Small Schools Network Information Exchange No. 16, Summer 1994.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast & Islands, Andover, MA.

    This packet includes reprints of articles and other information concerning the use of computer networks in small, rural schools. Computer networks can minimize isolation; develop stronger links to the community; access reference information from remote sources; and create professional and academic exchanges for teachers, administrators, and…

  9. Information exchange networks for chronic illness care in primary care practices: an observational study

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Information exchange networks for chronic illness care may influence the uptake of innovations in patient care. Valid and feasible methods are needed to document and analyse information exchange networks in healthcare settings. This observational study aimed to examine the usefulness of methods to study information exchange networks in primary care practices, related to chronic heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods The study was linked to a quality improvement project in the Netherlands. All health professionals in the practices were asked to complete a short questionnaire that documented their information exchange relations. Feasibility was determined in terms of response rates and reliability in terms of reciprocity of reports of receiving and providing information. For each practice, a number of network characteristics were derived for each of the chronic conditions. Results Ten of the 21 practices in the quality improvement project agreed to participate in this network study. The response rates were high in all but one of the participating practices. For the analysis, we used data from 67 health professionals from eight practices. The agreement between receiving and providing information was, on average, 65.6%. The values for density, centralization, hierarchy, and overlap of the information exchange networks showed substantial variation between the practices as well as between the chronic conditions. The most central individual in the information exchange network could be a nurse or a physician. Conclusions Further research is needed to refine the measure of information networks and to test the impact of network characteristics on the uptake of innovations. PMID:20205758

  10. Deep Space Network information system architecture study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beswick, C. A.; Markley, R. W. (Editor); Atkinson, D. J.; Cooper, L. P.; Tausworthe, R. C.; Masline, R. C.; Jenkins, J. S.; Crowe, R. A.; Thomas, J. L.; Stoloff, M. J.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe an architecture for the Deep Space Network (DSN) information system in the years 2000-2010 and to provide guidelines for its evolution during the 1990s. The study scope is defined to be from the front-end areas at the antennas to the end users (spacecraft teams, principal investigators, archival storage systems, and non-NASA partners). The architectural vision provides guidance for major DSN implementation efforts during the next decade. A strong motivation for the study is an expected dramatic improvement in information-systems technologies, such as the following: computer processing, automation technology (including knowledge-based systems), networking and data transport, software and hardware engineering, and human-interface technology. The proposed Ground Information System has the following major features: unified architecture from the front-end area to the end user; open-systems standards to achieve interoperability; DSN production of level 0 data; delivery of level 0 data from the Deep Space Communications Complex, if desired; dedicated telemetry processors for each receiver; security against unauthorized access and errors; and highly automated monitor and control.

  11. 47 CFR 64.2009 - Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2009 Section 64.2009 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2009 Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network...

  12. 47 CFR 64.2007 - Approval required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Approval required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2007 Section 64.2007 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2007 Approval required for use of customer proprietary network...

  13. 47 CFR 64.2007 - Approval required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Approval required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2007 Section 64.2007 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2007 Approval required for use of customer proprietary network...

  14. 47 CFR 64.2009 - Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network information. 64.2009 Section 64.2009 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2009 Safeguards required for use of customer proprietary network...

  15. 47 CFR 64.2010 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information. 64.2010 Section 64.2010 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION... Proprietary Network Information § 64.2010 Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network...

  16. Smooth information flow in temperature climate network reflects mass transport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hlinka, Jaroslav; Jajcay, Nikola; Hartman, David; Paluš, Milan

    2017-03-01

    A directed climate network is constructed by Granger causality analysis of air temperature time series from a regular grid covering the whole Earth. Using winner-takes-all network thresholding approach, a structure of a smooth information flow is revealed, hidden to previous studies. The relevance of this observation is confirmed by comparison with the air mass transfer defined by the wind field. Their close relation illustrates that although the information transferred due to the causal influence is not a physical quantity, the information transfer is tied to the transfer of mass and energy.

  17. Group Centric Networking: Addressing Information Sharing Requirements at the Tactical Edge

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-10

    gateways are typically used to translate information from one network to another. The challenge with gateways is to understand what information...should be relayed from one network to another (with different message formats and technologies) and what platform should perform the gateway function such...information centric paradigm in that GCN does not specify what constitutes a group ID. Group IDs can be mapped to named data objects, content identifiers

  18. Exploring Agricultural Drainage's Influence on Wetland and ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Artificial agricultural drainage (i.e. surface ditches or subsurface tile) is an important agricultural management tool. Artificial drainage allows for timely fieldwork and adequate root aeration, resulting in greater crop yields for farmers. This practice is widespread throughout many regions of the United States and the network of artificial drainage is especially extensive in flat, poorly-drained regions like the glaciated Midwest. While beneficial for crop yields, agricultural drains often empty into streams within the natural drainage system. The increased network connectivity may lead to greater contributing area for watersheds, altered hydrology and increased conveyance of pollutants into natural water bodies. While studies and models at broader scales have implicated artificial drainage as an important driver of hydrological shifts and eutrophication, the actual spatial extent of artificial drainage is poorly known. Consequently, metrics of wetland and watershed connectivity within agricultural regions often fail to explicitly include artificial drainage. We use recent agricultural census data, soil drainage data, and land cover data to create estimates of potential agricultural drainage across the United States. We estimate that agricultural drainage in the US is greater than 31 million hectares and is concentrated in the upper Midwest Corn Belt, covering greater than 50% of available land for 114 counties. Estimated drainage values for numerous countie

  19. Part mutual information for quantifying direct associations in networks.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Juan; Zhou, Yiwei; Zhang, Xiujun; Chen, Luonan

    2016-05-03

    Quantitatively identifying direct dependencies between variables is an important task in data analysis, in particular for reconstructing various types of networks and causal relations in science and engineering. One of the most widely used criteria is partial correlation, but it can only measure linearly direct association and miss nonlinear associations. However, based on conditional independence, conditional mutual information (CMI) is able to quantify nonlinearly direct relationships among variables from the observed data, superior to linear measures, but suffers from a serious problem of underestimation, in particular for those variables with tight associations in a network, which severely limits its applications. In this work, we propose a new concept, "partial independence," with a new measure, "part mutual information" (PMI), which not only can overcome the problem of CMI but also retains the quantification properties of both mutual information (MI) and CMI. Specifically, we first defined PMI to measure nonlinearly direct dependencies between variables and then derived its relations with MI and CMI. Finally, we used a number of simulated data as benchmark examples to numerically demonstrate PMI features and further real gene expression data from Escherichia coli and yeast to reconstruct gene regulatory networks, which all validated the advantages of PMI for accurately quantifying nonlinearly direct associations in networks.

  20. Sources and Uses of Weather Information for Agricultural Decision Makers.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McNew, Kevin P.; Mapp, Harry P.; Duchon, Claude E.; Merritt, Earl S.

    1991-04-01

    Numerous studies have examined the importance of weather information to farmers and ranchers across the U.S. This study is focused on the kinds of weather information received by farmers and ranchers, the sources of that information, and its use in production and marketing decisions. Our results are based on a survey of 292 producers from the principal agricultural areas of Oklahoma. Producers were classified into five categories related to their source of income from crop and livestock sales.Among temperature, precipitation, relative humility, and wind speed, temperature information was most widely received. Forecast lengths of highest interest were 24-h and 5-day forecasts. Precipitation information was used by many respondents for planting and harvesting decisions. Weather data and forecasts seem to be of greater value to diversified crop and livestock operators than specialized crop and livestock, perhaps due to more frequent timing decisions. Relative humility and wind information appear to be important especially during specific times of the growing season, for example, at harvest time and time of pesticide application. Television is the primary source of weather information for more than 60% of the producers.It appears that there may be a role for both public and private entities in transforming weather data and forecasts into recommendations to crop and livestock producers. Further research is needed to determine the potential value of weather information for alternative production, marketing and livestock decisions, different categories of producers, and different geographic regions.

  1. Chaotic, informational and synchronous behaviour of multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baptista, M. S.; Szmoski, R. M.; Pereira, R. F.; Pinto, S. E. De Souza

    2016-03-01

    The understanding of the relationship between topology and behaviour in interconnected networks would allow to charac- terise and predict behaviour in many real complex networks since both are usually not simultaneously known. Most previous studies have focused on the relationship between topology and synchronisation. In this work, we provide analytical formulas that shows how topology drives complex behaviour: chaos, information, and weak or strong synchronisation; in multiplex net- works with constant Jacobian. We also study this relationship numerically in multiplex networks of Hindmarsh-Rose neurons. Whereas behaviour in the analytically tractable network is a direct but not trivial consequence of the spectra of eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix, where behaviour may strongly depend on the break of symmetry in the topology of interconnections, in Hindmarsh-Rose neural networks the nonlinear nature of the chemical synapses breaks the elegant mathematical connec- tion between the spectra of eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix and the behaviour of the network, creating networks whose behaviour strongly depends on the nature (chemical or electrical) of the inter synapses.

  2. Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DeCIDE) Network

    Cancer.gov

    The Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness Network is a network of research centers that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality created to conduct practical studies about health care items and services.

  3. Intrusion-Tolerant Location Information Services in Intelligent Vehicular Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Gongjun; Yang, Weiming; Shaner, Earl F.; Rawat, Danda B.

    Intelligent Vehicular Networks, known as Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Roadside wireless communications (also called Vehicular Ad hoc Networks), are revolutionizing our daily driving with better safety and more infortainment. Most, if not all, applications will depend on accurate location information. Thus, it is of importance to provide intrusion-tolerant location information services. In this paper, we describe an adaptive algorithm that detects and filters the false location information injected by intruders. Given a noisy environment of mobile vehicles, the algorithm estimates the high resolution location of a vehicle by refining low resolution location input. We also investigate results of simulations and evaluate the quality of the intrusion-tolerant location service.

  4. Agroclimate.Org: Tools and Information for a Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Southeast USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fraisse, C.

    2014-12-01

    AgroClimate (http://agroclimate.org) is a web-based system developed to help the agricultural industry in the southeastern USA reduce risks associated with climate variability and change. It includes climate related information and dynamic application tools that interact with a climate and crop database system. Information available includes climate monitoring and forecasts combined with information about crop management practices that help increase the resiliency of the agricultural industry in the region. Recently we have included smartphone apps in the AgroClimate suite of tools, including irrigation management and crop disease alert systems. Decision support tools available in AgroClimate include: (a) Climate risk: expected (probabilistic) and historical climate information and freeze risk; (b) Crop yield risk: expected yield based on soil type, planting date, and basic management practices for selected commodities and historical county yield databases; (c) Crop diseases: disease risk monitoring and forecasting for strawberry and citrus; (d) Crop development: monitoring and forecasting of growing degree-days and chill accumulation; (e) Drought: monitoring and forecasting of selected drought indices, (f) Footprints: Carbon and water footprint calculators. The system also provides background information about the main drivers of climate variability and basic information about climate change in the Southeast USA. AgroClimate has been widely used as an educational tool by the Cooperative Extension Services in the region and also by producers. It is now being replicated internationally with version implemented in Mozambique and Paraguay.

  5. Estimating topological properties of weighted networks from limited information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gabrielli, Andrea; Cimini, Giulio; Garlaschelli, Diego; Squartini, Angelo

    A typical problem met when studying complex systems is the limited information available on their topology, which hinders our understanding of their structural and dynamical properties. A paramount example is provided by financial networks, whose data are privacy protected. Yet, the estimation of systemic risk strongly depends on the detailed structure of the interbank network. The resulting challenge is that of using aggregate information to statistically reconstruct a network and correctly predict its higher-order properties. Standard approaches either generate unrealistically dense networks, or fail to reproduce the observed topology by assigning homogeneous link weights. Here we develop a reconstruction method, based on statistical mechanics concepts, that exploits the empirical link density in a highly non-trivial way. Technically, our approach consists in the preliminary estimation of node degrees from empirical node strengths and link density, followed by a maximum-entropy inference based on a combination of empirical strengths and estimated degrees. Our method is successfully tested on the international trade network and the interbank money market, and represents a valuable tool for gaining insights on privacy-protected or partially accessible systems. Acknoweledgement to ``Growthcom'' ICT - EC project (Grant No: 611272) and ``Crisislab'' Italian Project.

  6. Building the capacity of Extension educators to address climate change and agricultural sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pathak, T. B.; Doll, J. E.

    2016-12-01

    It is evident that changes in climate will adversely impact various sectors including agriculture and natural resources worldwide. Increased temperatures, longer than normal growing seasons, more frequent extreme weather events, decreased winter snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and vulnerability to pest are some of the examples of changes and impacts documented in the literature. According to the IPCC 2007, mainstreaming` climate change issues into decision-making is an important aspect for sustainability. Due to the lack of locally and regionally focused educational programs, it becomes difficult for people to translate the science into meaningful actions. One of the strengths of the Cooperative Extension system is that it is one of the most trusted sources of science-based information that is locally relevant. In order to utilize strong network of Cooperative Extension system, we implemented a project to provide regionally tailored climate change and sustainable agriculture professional development for Cooperative Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) educators in 12 states in north central US. We conducted these activities: 1) creation and dissemination of a Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture Resource Handbook and a curriculum and 2) two climate change and sustainable agriculture workshops. In general, this project resulted in improved ability of Cooperative Extension academics to respond to climate change questions with science-based information. Several workshop attendees also integrated information provided to them through resource handbook and curriculum into their existing programming. In the long-term, we hope these programs will result in educators and farmers making informed choices and recommendations that lead to sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change.

  7. Information Systems and Networks for Technology Transfer. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Page, John; Szentivanyi, Tibor

    Results of a survey of the information resources available in industrialized countries which might be used in a United Nations technology transfer program for developing countries are presented. Information systems and networks, organized information collections of a scientific and technical character, and the machinery used to disseminate this…

  8. Gravity effects on information filtering and network evolving.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jin-Hu; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Chen, Lingjiao; Liu, Chuang; Yang, Chengcheng; Wang, Xueqi

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, based on the gravity principle of classical physics, we propose a tunable gravity-based model, which considers tag usage pattern to weigh both the mass and distance of network nodes. We then apply this model in solving the problems of information filtering and network evolving. Experimental results on two real-world data sets, Del.icio.us and MovieLens, show that it can not only enhance the algorithmic performance, but can also better characterize the properties of real networks. This work may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the effect of gravity model.

  9. Gravity Effects on Information Filtering and Network Evolving

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Jin-Hu; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Chen, Lingjiao; Liu, Chuang; Yang, Chengcheng; Wang, Xueqi

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, based on the gravity principle of classical physics, we propose a tunable gravity-based model, which considers tag usage pattern to weigh both the mass and distance of network nodes. We then apply this model in solving the problems of information filtering and network evolving. Experimental results on two real-world data sets, Del.icio.us and MovieLens, show that it can not only enhance the algorithmic performance, but can also better characterize the properties of real networks. This work may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the effect of gravity model. PMID:24622162

  10. Teaching through Fiber-Optics Telecommunications Technology: Possibilities and Priorities for Agriculture.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Greg; Doerfert, David L.

    The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the usefulness of an interactive communications network for agricultural education at the secondary level. The Iowa Communications Network (ICN) is a two-way full motion fiber optics telecommunications system capable of linking secondary agricultural departments throughout Iowa. The…

  11. Network information improves cancer outcome prediction.

    PubMed

    Roy, Janine; Winter, Christof; Isik, Zerrin; Schroeder, Michael

    2014-07-01

    Disease progression in cancer can vary substantially between patients. Yet, patients often receive the same treatment. Recently, there has been much work on predicting disease progression and patient outcome variables from gene expression in order to personalize treatment options. Despite first diagnostic kits in the market, there are open problems such as the choice of random gene signatures or noisy expression data. One approach to deal with these two problems employs protein-protein interaction networks and ranks genes using the random surfer model of Google's PageRank algorithm. In this work, we created a benchmark dataset collection comprising 25 cancer outcome prediction datasets from literature and systematically evaluated the use of networks and a PageRank derivative, NetRank, for signature identification. We show that the NetRank performs significantly better than classical methods such as fold change or t-test. Despite an order of magnitude difference in network size, a regulatory and protein-protein interaction network perform equally well. Experimental evaluation on cancer outcome prediction in all of the 25 underlying datasets suggests that the network-based methodology identifies highly overlapping signatures over all cancer types, in contrast to classical methods that fail to identify highly common gene sets across the same cancer types. Integration of network information into gene expression analysis allows the identification of more reliable and accurate biomarkers and provides a deeper understanding of processes occurring in cancer development and progression. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Social adaptation in multi-agent model of linguistic categorization is affected by network information flow

    PubMed Central

    Denkiewicz, Michał; Barański, Juliusz; Wróblewski, Przemysław; Rączaszek-Leonardi, Joanna; Plewczynski, Dariusz

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores how information flow properties of a network affect the formation of categories shared between individuals, who are communicating through that network. Our work is based on the established multi-agent model of the emergence of linguistic categories grounded in external environment. We study how network information propagation efficiency and the direction of information flow affect categorization by performing simulations with idealized network topologies optimizing certain network centrality measures. We measure dynamic social adaptation when either network topology or environment is subject to change during the experiment, and the system has to adapt to new conditions. We find that both decentralized network topology efficient in information propagation and the presence of central authority (information flow from the center to peripheries) are beneficial for the formation of global agreement between agents. Systems with central authority cope well with network topology change, but are less robust in the case of environment change. These findings help to understand which network properties affect processes of social adaptation. They are important to inform the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of centralized systems. PMID:28809957

  13. Social adaptation in multi-agent model of linguistic categorization is affected by network information flow.

    PubMed

    Zubek, Julian; Denkiewicz, Michał; Barański, Juliusz; Wróblewski, Przemysław; Rączaszek-Leonardi, Joanna; Plewczynski, Dariusz

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores how information flow properties of a network affect the formation of categories shared between individuals, who are communicating through that network. Our work is based on the established multi-agent model of the emergence of linguistic categories grounded in external environment. We study how network information propagation efficiency and the direction of information flow affect categorization by performing simulations with idealized network topologies optimizing certain network centrality measures. We measure dynamic social adaptation when either network topology or environment is subject to change during the experiment, and the system has to adapt to new conditions. We find that both decentralized network topology efficient in information propagation and the presence of central authority (information flow from the center to peripheries) are beneficial for the formation of global agreement between agents. Systems with central authority cope well with network topology change, but are less robust in the case of environment change. These findings help to understand which network properties affect processes of social adaptation. They are important to inform the debate on the advantages and disadvantages of centralized systems.

  14. Information Dissemination of Public Health Emergency on Social Networks and Intelligent Computation

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Hongzhi; Mao, Huajuan; Hu, Xiaohua; Hu, Feng; Sun, Xuemin; Jing, Zaiping; Duan, Yunsuo

    2015-01-01

    Due to the extensive social influence, public health emergency has attracted great attention in today's society. The booming social network is becoming a main information dissemination platform of those events and caused high concerns in emergency management, among which a good prediction of information dissemination in social networks is necessary for estimating the event's social impacts and making a proper strategy. However, information dissemination is largely affected by complex interactive activities and group behaviors in social network; the existing methods and models are limited to achieve a satisfactory prediction result due to the open changeable social connections and uncertain information processing behaviors. ACP (artificial societies, computational experiments, and parallel execution) provides an effective way to simulate the real situation. In order to obtain better information dissemination prediction in social networks, this paper proposes an intelligent computation method under the framework of TDF (Theory-Data-Feedback) based on ACP simulation system which was successfully applied to the analysis of A (H1N1) Flu emergency. PMID:26609303

  15. Information Dissemination of Public Health Emergency on Social Networks and Intelligent Computation.

    PubMed

    Hu, Hongzhi; Mao, Huajuan; Hu, Xiaohua; Hu, Feng; Sun, Xuemin; Jing, Zaiping; Duan, Yunsuo

    2015-01-01

    Due to the extensive social influence, public health emergency has attracted great attention in today's society. The booming social network is becoming a main information dissemination platform of those events and caused high concerns in emergency management, among which a good prediction of information dissemination in social networks is necessary for estimating the event's social impacts and making a proper strategy. However, information dissemination is largely affected by complex interactive activities and group behaviors in social network; the existing methods and models are limited to achieve a satisfactory prediction result due to the open changeable social connections and uncertain information processing behaviors. ACP (artificial societies, computational experiments, and parallel execution) provides an effective way to simulate the real situation. In order to obtain better information dissemination prediction in social networks, this paper proposes an intelligent computation method under the framework of TDF (Theory-Data-Feedback) based on ACP simulation system which was successfully applied to the analysis of A (H1N1) Flu emergency.

  16. Identifying populations potentially exposed to agricultural pesticides using remote sensing and a Geographic Information System

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ward, M.H.; Nuckols, J.R.; Weigel, S. J.; Cantor, K.P.; Miller, Roger S.

    2000-01-01

    Pesticides used in agriculture may cause adverse health effects among the population living near agricultural areas. However, identifying the populations most likely to be exposed is difficult. We conducted a feasibility study to determine whether satellite imagery could be used to reconstruct historical crop patterns. We used historical Farm Service Agency records as a source of ground reference data to classify a late summer 1984 satellite image into crop species in a three-county area in south central Nebraska. Residences from a population-based epidemiologic study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were located on the crop maps using a geographic information system (GIS). Corn, soybeans, sorghum, and alfalfa were the major crops grown in the study area. Eighty-five percent of residences could be located, and of these 22% had one of the four major crops within 500 m of the residence, an intermediate distance for the range of drift effects from pesticides applied in agriculture. We determined the proximity of residences to specific crop species and calculated crop-specific probabilities of pesticide use based on available data. This feasibility study demonstrated that remote sensing data and historical records on crop location can be used to create historical crop maps. The crop pesticides that were likely to have been applied can be estimated when information about crop-specific pesticide use is available. Using a GIS, zones of potential exposure to agricultural pesticides and proximity measures can be determined for residences in a study.

  17. Iterative Neighbour-Information Gathering for Ranking Nodes in Complex Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Shuang; Wang, Pei; Lü, Jinhu

    2017-01-01

    Designing node influence ranking algorithms can provide insights into network dynamics, functions and structures. Increasingly evidences reveal that node’s spreading ability largely depends on its neighbours. We introduce an iterative neighbourinformation gathering (Ing) process with three parameters, including a transformation matrix, a priori information and an iteration time. The Ing process iteratively combines priori information from neighbours via the transformation matrix, and iteratively assigns an Ing score to each node to evaluate its influence. The algorithm appropriates for any types of networks, and includes some traditional centralities as special cases, such as degree, semi-local, LeaderRank. The Ing process converges in strongly connected networks with speed relying on the first two largest eigenvalues of the transformation matrix. Interestingly, the eigenvector centrality corresponds to a limit case of the algorithm. By comparing with eight renowned centralities, simulations of susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) model on real-world networks reveal that the Ing can offer more exact rankings, even without a priori information. We also observe that an optimal iteration time is always in existence to realize best characterizing of node influence. The proposed algorithms bridge the gaps among some existing measures, and may have potential applications in infectious disease control, designing of optimal information spreading strategies.

  18. North American networking activities on non-wood forest products by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

    Treesearch

    Paul Vantomme

    2001-01-01

    FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is the largest autonomous agency within the United Nations system dealing with agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and related disciplines. FAO provides a neutral forum for policy dialogue, a source of information and knowledge, technical assistance, and advice to 180 member countries. Technical...

  19. Modeling information diffusion in time-varying community networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Xuelian; Zhao, Narisa

    2017-12-01

    Social networks are rarely static, and they typically have time-varying network topologies. A great number of studies have modeled temporal networks and explored social contagion processes within these models; however, few of these studies have considered community structure variations. In this paper, we present a study of how the time-varying property of a modular structure influences the information dissemination. First, we propose a continuous-time Markov model of information diffusion where two parameters, mobility rate and community attractiveness, are introduced to address the time-varying nature of the community structure. The basic reproduction number is derived, and the accuracy of this model is evaluated by comparing the simulation and theoretical results. Furthermore, numerical results illustrate that generally both the mobility rate and community attractiveness significantly promote the information diffusion process, especially in the initial outbreak stage. Moreover, the strength of this promotion effect is much stronger when the modularity is higher. Counterintuitively, it is found that when all communities have the same attractiveness, social mobility no longer accelerates the diffusion process. In addition, we show that the local spreading in the advantage group has been greatly enhanced due to the agglomeration effect caused by the social mobility and community attractiveness difference, which thus increases the global spreading.

  20. Data update in a land information network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mullin, Robin C.

    1988-01-01

    The on-going update of data exchanged in a land information network is examined. In the past, major developments have been undertaken to enable the exchange of data between land information systems. A model of a land information network and the data update process have been developed. Based on these, a functional description of the database and software to perform data updating is presented. A prototype of the data update process was implemented using the ARC/INFO geographic information system. This was used to test four approaches to data updating, i.e., bulk, block, incremental, and alert updates. A bulk update is performed by replacing a complete file with an updated file. A block update requires that the data set be partitioned into blocks. When an update occurs, only the blocks which are affected need to be transferred. An incremental update approach records each feature which is added or deleted and transmits only the features needed to update the copy of the file. An alert is a marker indicating that an update has occurred. It can be placed in a file to warn a user that if he is active in an area containing markers, updated data is available. The four approaches have been tested using a cadastral data set.

  1. DELIVERING TIMELY ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TO YOUR COMMUNITY: THE BOULDER AREA SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION NETWORK: OTHER

    EPA Science Inventory

    NRMRL-CIN-1577 Petersen*, D., Barber, L., Dilworth, G, Fiebelkorn, T., McCaffrey, M., Murphy, S., Rudkin, C., Scott, D., and Waterman, J. Delivering Timely Environmental Information to your Community: The Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network. EPA/625/C-01/010. The Te...

  2. A Systems Approach to Agricultural Biosecurity.

    PubMed

    Anand, Manish

    This article highlights the importance of systems approaches in addressing agricultural biosecurity threats. On the basis of documentary analysis and stakeholder interaction, a brief survey of agricultural biosecurity threats and vulnerabilities from global and Indian perspectives is provided, followed by an exploration of technological and institutional capabilities. Finally, a perspective on the agricultural disease diagnostic networks is provided, drawing instances from global developments. Technical barriers to agroterrorism are lower than those to human-targeted bioterrorism, and the sector is unique as even a very small disease outbreak could prompt international export restrictions. Key vulnerabilities in the agriculture sector stem from, among others, the structure of agricultural production; insufficient monitoring, surveillance, and controls systems at the borders and in the food chain; inefficient systems for reporting unusual occurrences and outbreaks of disease; and lack of sufficiently trained human resources capable of recognizing or treating transboundary pathogens and diseases. An assessment of technology and institutions pertaining to crop and animal protection management suggests certain gaps. Investment in developing new technologies for civilian application in agriculture, as well as for legitimate actions pertaining to defense, detection, protection, and prophylaxis, and in upgrading laboratory facilities can increase the agricultural sector's level of preparedness for outbreaks. To address potential threats and vulnerabilities of agroterrorism effectively requires the development of a comprehensive strategy and a combined, interagency approach, ideally on an international level. It is proposed that a systems-oriented approach for developing knowledge and innovation networks and strengthening skills and capacities would enable a more resilient agricultural biosecurity system.

  3. Georgia Interactive Network--GaIN--for Medical Information. Final Grant Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rankin, Jocelyn A.

    This report describes the development of the Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information (GaIN), a project initially funded by a three-year (1983-1986) National Library of Medicine resource project grant. Designed to serve as a model network to transmit information via computer directly to health professionals, GaIN now operates through a…

  4. Are Social Networking Websites Educational? Information Capsule. Volume 0909

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blazer, Christie

    2009-01-01

    More and more school districts across the country are joining social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. This Information Capsule discusses the frequency with which school districts are using social networking sites, how districts are using the sites, and potential drawbacks associated with their use. Issues for districts to consider…

  5. Integrating Information Networks for Collective Planetary Stewardship

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tiwari, A.

    2016-12-01

    Responsible behaviour resulting from climate literacy in global environmental movement is limited to policy and planning institutions in the Global South, while remaining absent for ends-user. Thus, planetary stewardship exists only at earth system boundaries where pressures sink to the local scale while ethics remains afloat. Existing citizen participation is restricted within policy spheres, appearing synonymous to enforcements in social psychology. Much, accounted reason is that existing information mechanisms operate mostly through linear exchanges between institutions and users, therefore reinforcing only hierarchical relationships. This study discloses such relationships that contribute to broad networking gaps through information demand assessment of stakeholders in a dozen development projects based in South Asia. Two parameters widely used for this purpose are: a. Feedback: Ends-user feedback to improve consumption literacy of climate sensitive resources (through consumption displays, billing, advisory services ecolabelling, sensors) and, b. Institutional Policy: Rewarding punishing to enforce desired behaviour (subsidies, taxation). Research answered: 1. Who gets the information (Equity in Information Distribution)? As existing information publishing mechanisms are designed by and for analysts, 2. How information translates to climate action Transparency of Execution)? Findings suggested that climate goals manifested in economic policy, than environmental policy, have potential clear short-term benefits and costs, and coincide with people's economic goals Also grassroots roles for responsible behaviour are empowered with presence of end user information. Barier free climate communication process and decision making is ensured among multiplicity of stakeholders with often conflicting perspectives. Research finds significance where collaboration among information networks can better translate regional policies into local action for climate adaptation and

  6. Information spreading on mobile communication networks: A new model that incorporates human behaviors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ren, Fei; Li, Sai-Ping; Liu, Chuang

    2017-03-01

    Recently, there is a growing interest in the modeling and simulation based on real social networks among researchers in multi-disciplines. Using an empirical social network constructed from the calling records of a Chinese mobile service provider, we here propose a new model to simulate the information spreading process. This model takes into account two important ingredients that exist in real human behaviors: information prevalence and preferential spreading. The fraction of informed nodes when the system reaches an asymptotically stable state is primarily determined by information prevalence, and the heterogeneity of link weights would slow down the information diffusion. Moreover, the sizes of blind clusters which consist of connected uninformed nodes show a power-law distribution, and these uninformed nodes correspond to a particular portion of nodes which are located at special positions in the network, namely at the edges of large clusters or inside the clusters connected through weak links. Since the simulations are performed on a real world network, the results should be useful in the understanding of the influences of social network structures and human behaviors on information propagation.

  7. Can Climate Information be relevant to decision making for Agriculture on the 1-10 year timescale? Case studies from southern Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujisawa, Mariko

    2016-04-01

    Climate forecasts have been developed to assist decision making in sectors averse to, and affected by, climate risks, and agriculture is one of those. In agriculture and food security, climate information is now used on a range of timescales, from days (weather), months (seasonal outlooks) to decades (climate change scenarios). Former researchers have shown that when seasonal climate forecast information was provided to farmers prior to decision making, farmers adapted by changing their choice of planting seeds and timing or area planted. However, it is not always clear that the end-users' needs for climate information are met and there might be a large gap between information supplied and needed. It has been pointed out that even when forecasts were available, they were often not utilized by farmers and extension services because of lack of trust in the forecast or the forecasts did not reach the targeted farmers. Many studies have focused on the use of either seasonal forecasts or longer term climate change prediction, but little research has been done on the medium term, that is, 1 to 10 year future climate information. The agriculture and food system sector is one potential user of medium term information, as land use policy and cropping systems selection may fall into this time scale and may affect farmers' decision making process. Assuming that reliable information is provided and it is utilized by farmers for decision making, it might contribute to resilient farming and indeed to longer term food security. To this end, we try to determine the effect of medium term climate information on farmers' strategic decision making process. We explored the end-users' needs for climate information and especially the possible role of medium term information in agricultural system, by conducting interview surveys with farmers and agricultural experts. In this study, the cases of apple production in South Africa, maize production in Malawi and rice production in Tanzania

  8. Agriculture: Land Use

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Land Use and agriculture. Information about land use restrictions and incentive programs.Agricultural operations sometimes involve activities regulated by laws designed to protect water supplies, threatened or endangered plants and animals, or wetlands.

  9. Instrumentation for Scientific Computing in Neural Networks, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Applied Mathematics.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-10-01

    include Security Classification) Instrumentation for scientific computing in neural networks, information science, artificial intelligence, and...instrumentation grant to purchase equipment for support of research in neural networks, information science, artificail intellignece , and applied mathematics...in Neural Networks, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Applied Mathematics Contract AFOSR 86-0282 Principal Investigator: Stephen

  10. Strategies on the Implementation of China's Logistics Information Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Yahui; Li, Wei; Guo, Xuwen

    The economic globalization and trend of e-commerce network have determined that the logistics industry will be rapidly developed in the 21st century. In order to achieve the optimal allocation of resources, a worldwide rapid and sound customer service system should be established. The establishment of a corresponding modern logistics system is the inevitable choice of this requirement. It is also the inevitable choice for the development of modern logistics industry in China. The perfect combination of modern logistics and information network can better promote the development of the logistics industry. Through the analysis of Status of Logistics Industry in China, this paper summed up the domestic logistics enterprise logistics information system in the building of some common problems. According to logistics information systems planning methods and principles set out logistics information system to optimize the management model.

  11. Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality: State of the science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aneja, Viney P.; Blunden, Jessica; Roelle, Paul A.; Schlesinger, William H.; Knighton, Raymond; Niyogi, Dev; Gilliam, Wendell; Jennings, Greg; Duke, Clifford S.

    The first Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality: State of the Science was held at the Bolger Center in Potomac, Maryland from 4 to 8 June 2006. This international conference assembled approximately 350 people representing 25 nations from 5 continents, with disciplines ranging from atmospheric chemistry to soil science. The workshop was designed as an open forum in which participants could openly exchange the most current knowledge and learn about numerous international perspectives regarding agricultural air quality. Participants represented many stakeholder groups concerned with the growing need to assess agricultural impacts on the atmosphere and to develop beneficial policies to improve air quality. The workshop focused on identifying methods to improve emissions inventories and best management practices for agriculture. Workshop participants also made recommendations for technological and methodological improvements in current emissions measurement and modeling practices. The workshop commenced with a session on agricultural emissions and was followed by international perspectives from the United States, Europe, Australia, India, and South America. This paper summarizes the findings and issues of the workshop and articulates future research needs. These needs were identified in three general areas: (1) improvement of emissions measurement; (2) development of appropriate emission factors; and (3) implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to minimize negative environmental impacts. Improvements in the appropriate measurements will inform decisions regarding US farming practices. A need was demonstrated for a national/international network to monitor atmospheric emissions from agriculture and their subsequent depositions to surrounding areas. Information collected through such a program may be used to assess model performance and could be critical for evaluating any future regulatory policies or BMPs. The workshop concluded that efforts to maximize

  12. 75 FR 57521 - Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program: Draft NITRD 2010...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-21

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD...) for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD). ACTION: Notice, request.... SUMMARY: With this notice, the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology...

  13. MIDER: Network Inference with Mutual Information Distance and Entropy Reduction

    PubMed Central

    Villaverde, Alejandro F.; Ross, John; Morán, Federico; Banga, Julio R.

    2014-01-01

    The prediction of links among variables from a given dataset is a task referred to as network inference or reverse engineering. It is an open problem in bioinformatics and systems biology, as well as in other areas of science. Information theory, which uses concepts such as mutual information, provides a rigorous framework for addressing it. While a number of information-theoretic methods are already available, most of them focus on a particular type of problem, introducing assumptions that limit their generality. Furthermore, many of these methods lack a publicly available implementation. Here we present MIDER, a method for inferring network structures with information theoretic concepts. It consists of two steps: first, it provides a representation of the network in which the distance among nodes indicates their statistical closeness. Second, it refines the prediction of the existing links to distinguish between direct and indirect interactions and to assign directionality. The method accepts as input time-series data related to some quantitative features of the network nodes (such as e.g. concentrations, if the nodes are chemical species). It takes into account time delays between variables, and allows choosing among several definitions and normalizations of mutual information. It is general purpose: it may be applied to any type of network, cellular or otherwise. A Matlab implementation including source code and data is freely available (http://www.iim.csic.es/~gingproc/mider.html). The performance of MIDER has been evaluated on seven different benchmark problems that cover the main types of cellular networks, including metabolic, gene regulatory, and signaling. Comparisons with state of the art information–theoretic methods have demonstrated the competitive performance of MIDER, as well as its versatility. Its use does not demand any a priori knowledge from the user; the default settings and the adaptive nature of the method provide good results for a wide

  14. Advanced information processing system: Input/output network management software

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nagle, Gail; Alger, Linda; Kemp, Alexander

    1988-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to provide the software requirements and specifications for the Input/Output Network Management Services for the Advanced Information Processing System. This introduction and overview section is provided to briefly outline the overall architecture and software requirements of the AIPS system before discussing the details of the design requirements and specifications of the AIPS I/O Network Management software. A brief overview of the AIPS architecture followed by a more detailed description of the network architecture.

  15. The use of network theory to model disparate ship design information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rigterink, Douglas; Piks, Rebecca; Singer, David J.

    2014-06-01

    This paper introduces the use of network theory to model and analyze disparate ship design information. This work will focus on a ship's distributed systems and their intra- and intersystem structures and interactions. The three system to be analyzed are: a passageway system, an electrical system, and a fire fighting system. These systems will be analyzed individually using common network metrics to glean information regarding their structures and attributes. The systems will also be subjected to community detection algorithms both separately and as a multiplex network to compare their similarities, differences, and interactions. Network theory will be shown to be useful in the early design stage due to its simplicity and ability to model any shipboard system.

  16. Salience network engagement with the detection of morally laden information

    PubMed Central

    Gurvit, Hakan; Spreng, R. Nathan

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Moral cognition is associated with activation of the default network, regions implicated in mentalizing about one’s own actions or the intentions of others. Yet little is known about the initial detection of moral information. We examined the neural correlates of moral processing during a narrative completion task, which included an implicit moral salience manipulation. During fMRI scanning, participants read a brief vignette and selected the most semantically congruent sentence from two options to complete the narrative. The options were immoral, moral or neutral statements. RT was fastest for the selection of neutral statements and slowest for immoral statements. Neuroimaging analyses revealed that responses involving morally laden content engaged default and executive control network brain regions including medial and rostral prefrontal cortex, and core regions of the salience network, including anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate. Immoral vs moral conditions additionally engaged the salience network. These results implicate the salience network in the detection of moral information, which may modulate downstream default and frontal control network interactions in the service of complex moral reasoning and decision-making processes. These findings suggest that moral cognition involves both bottom-up and top-down attentional processes, mediated by discrete large-scale brain networks and their interactions. PMID:28338944

  17. Network model of human aging: Frailty limits and information measures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farrell, Spencer G.; Mitnitski, Arnold B.; Rockwood, Kenneth; Rutenberg, Andrew D.

    2016-11-01

    Aging is associated with the accumulation of damage throughout a persons life. Individual health can be assessed by the Frailty Index (FI). The FI is calculated simply as the proportion f of accumulated age-related deficits relative to the total, leading to a theoretical maximum of f ≤1 . Observational studies have generally reported a much more stringent bound, with f ≤fmax<1 . The value of fmax in observational studies appears to be nonuniversal, but fmax≈0.7 is often reported. A previously developed network model of individual aging was unable to recover fmax<1 while retaining the other observed phenomenology of increasing f and mortality rates with age. We have developed a computationally accelerated network model that also allows us to tune the scale-free network exponent α . The network exponent α significantly affects the growth of mortality rates with age. However, we are only able to recover fmax by also introducing a deficit sensitivity parameter 1 -q , which is equivalent to a false-negative rate q . Our value of q =0.3 is comparable to finite sensitivities of age-related deficits with respect to mortality that are often reported in the literature. In light of nonzero q , we use mutual information I to provide a nonparametric measure of the predictive value of the FI with respect to individual mortality. We find that I is only modestly degraded by q <1 , and this degradation is mitigated when increasing number of deficits are included in the FI. We also find that the information spectrum, i.e., the mutual information of individual deficits versus connectivity, has an approximately power-law dependence that depends on the network exponent α . Mutual information I is therefore a useful tool for characterizing the network topology of aging populations.

  18. Review of research to inform California’s climate scoping plan: Agriculture and working lands

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Agriculture in California contributes 8 percent of the State’s GHG emissions while generating over $50 billion in direct and over $100 billion in related economic activity. To inform the State’s policy and program strategy to meet climate targets, we review recent research on practices that can redu...

  19. Profile: the Philippine Population Information Network.

    PubMed

    1991-06-01

    The profile of Philippine Population Information Network (POPIN) is described in this article as having changed management structure from the Population Center Foundation to the Government's Population Commission, Information Management and Research Division (IMRD) in 1989. This restructuring resulted in the transfer in 1990 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development to the Office of the President. POPIN also serves Asia/Pacific POPIN. POPCOM makes policy and coordinates and monitors population activities. POPIN's goal is to improve the flow and utilization of population information nationwide. The National Population Library was moved in 1989 to the POPCOM Central Office Building and became the Philippine Information Center. The collection includes 6000 books, 400 research reports, and 4000 other documents (brochures, reprints, conference materials, and so on); 42 video tapes about the Philippine population program and a cassette player are available. In 1989, 14 regional centers were set up in POPCOM regional offices and designated Regional Population Information Centers. There are also school-based information centers operating as satellite information centers. The Regional and school-based centers serve the purpose of providing technical information through collection development, cataloguing, classification, storage and retrieval, and circulation. The target users are policy makers, government and private research agencies, researchers, and faculty and students. Publications developed and produced by the Center include the 3rd Supplement of the Union Catalogue of Population Literature, the 1987-88 Annotated Bibliography of Philippine Population Literature (PPL), the forthcoming 1989-90 edition of the Annotated Bibliography of PPL, and a biyearly newsletter, POPINEWS. Microcomputers have been acquired for the Regional Centers, with the idea of computerizing POPIN. Computer upgrading is also being done within the IMRD to provide POPLINE CD

  20. Phenotypic assortment in wild primate networks: implications for the dissemination of information.

    PubMed

    Carter, Alecia J; Lee, Alexander E G; Marshall, Harry H; Ticó, Miquel Torrents; Cowlishaw, Guy

    2015-05-01

    Individuals' access to social information can depend on their social network. Homophily-a preference to associate with similar phenotypes-may cause assortment within social networks that could preclude information transfer from individuals who generate information to those who would benefit from acquiring it. Thus, understanding phenotypic assortment may lead to a greater understanding of the factors that could limit the transfer of information between individuals. We tested whether there was assortment in wild baboon (Papio ursinus) networks, using data collected from two troops over 6 years for six phenotypic traits-boldness, age, dominance rank, sex and the propensity to generate/exploit information-using two methods for defining a connection between individuals-time spent in proximity and grooming. Our analysis indicated that assortment was more common in grooming than proximity networks. In general, there was homophily for boldness, age, rank and the propensity to both generate and exploit information, but heterophily for sex. However, there was considerable variability both between troops and years. The patterns of homophily we observed for these phenotypes may impede information transfer between them. However, the inconsistency in the strength of assortment between troops and years suggests that the limitations to information flow may be quite variable.

  1. Criteria of Effectiveness for Network Delivery of Citizens Information through Libraries. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Ching-chih; Hernon, Peter

    This two-part publication reports on a study of consumer information delivery by library and non-library networks, which involved an extensive literature review, a telephone survey of 620 library networks, the development of an assessment model for the effectiveness of network information delivery, the development of an in-depth guide for…

  2. Estimating topological properties of weighted networks from limited information.

    PubMed

    Cimini, Giulio; Squartini, Tiziano; Gabrielli, Andrea; Garlaschelli, Diego

    2015-10-01

    A problem typically encountered when studying complex systems is the limitedness of the information available on their topology, which hinders our understanding of their structure and of the dynamical processes taking place on them. A paramount example is provided by financial networks, whose data are privacy protected: Banks publicly disclose only their aggregate exposure towards other banks, keeping individual exposures towards each single bank secret. Yet, the estimation of systemic risk strongly depends on the detailed structure of the interbank network. The resulting challenge is that of using aggregate information to statistically reconstruct a network and correctly predict its higher-order properties. Standard approaches either generate unrealistically dense networks, or fail to reproduce the observed topology by assigning homogeneous link weights. Here, we develop a reconstruction method, based on statistical mechanics concepts, that makes use of the empirical link density in a highly nontrivial way. Technically, our approach consists in the preliminary estimation of node degrees from empirical node strengths and link density, followed by a maximum-entropy inference based on a combination of empirical strengths and estimated degrees. Our method is successfully tested on the international trade network and the interbank money market, and represents a valuable tool for gaining insights on privacy-protected or partially accessible systems.

  3. Estimating topological properties of weighted networks from limited information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cimini, Giulio; Squartini, Tiziano; Gabrielli, Andrea; Garlaschelli, Diego

    2015-10-01

    A problem typically encountered when studying complex systems is the limitedness of the information available on their topology, which hinders our understanding of their structure and of the dynamical processes taking place on them. A paramount example is provided by financial networks, whose data are privacy protected: Banks publicly disclose only their aggregate exposure towards other banks, keeping individual exposures towards each single bank secret. Yet, the estimation of systemic risk strongly depends on the detailed structure of the interbank network. The resulting challenge is that of using aggregate information to statistically reconstruct a network and correctly predict its higher-order properties. Standard approaches either generate unrealistically dense networks, or fail to reproduce the observed topology by assigning homogeneous link weights. Here, we develop a reconstruction method, based on statistical mechanics concepts, that makes use of the empirical link density in a highly nontrivial way. Technically, our approach consists in the preliminary estimation of node degrees from empirical node strengths and link density, followed by a maximum-entropy inference based on a combination of empirical strengths and estimated degrees. Our method is successfully tested on the international trade network and the interbank money market, and represents a valuable tool for gaining insights on privacy-protected or partially accessible systems.

  4. 47 CFR 51.335 - Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information. 51.335 Section 51.335 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED... Carriers § 51.335 Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information. (a) If an incumbent...

  5. 47 CFR 51.335 - Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information. 51.335 Section 51.335 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED... Carriers § 51.335 Notice of network changes: Confidential or proprietary information. (a) If an incumbent...

  6. Towards Device-Independent Information Processing on General Quantum Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Ciarán M.; Hoban, Matty J.

    2018-01-01

    The violation of certain Bell inequalities allows for device-independent information processing secure against nonsignaling eavesdroppers. However, this only holds for the Bell network, in which two or more agents perform local measurements on a single shared source of entanglement. To overcome the practical constraints that entangled systems can only be transmitted over relatively short distances, large-scale multisource networks have been employed. Do there exist analogs of Bell inequalities for such networks, whose violation is a resource for device independence? In this Letter, the violation of recently derived polynomial Bell inequalities will be shown to allow for device independence on multisource networks, secure against nonsignaling eavesdroppers.

  7. Towards Device-Independent Information Processing on General Quantum Networks.

    PubMed

    Lee, Ciarán M; Hoban, Matty J

    2018-01-12

    The violation of certain Bell inequalities allows for device-independent information processing secure against nonsignaling eavesdroppers. However, this only holds for the Bell network, in which two or more agents perform local measurements on a single shared source of entanglement. To overcome the practical constraints that entangled systems can only be transmitted over relatively short distances, large-scale multisource networks have been employed. Do there exist analogs of Bell inequalities for such networks, whose violation is a resource for device independence? In this Letter, the violation of recently derived polynomial Bell inequalities will be shown to allow for device independence on multisource networks, secure against nonsignaling eavesdroppers.

  8. Information-Theoretic Performance Analysis of Sensor Networks via Markov Modeling of Time Series Data.

    PubMed

    Li, Yue; Jha, Devesh K; Ray, Asok; Wettergren, Thomas A; Yue Li; Jha, Devesh K; Ray, Asok; Wettergren, Thomas A; Wettergren, Thomas A; Li, Yue; Ray, Asok; Jha, Devesh K

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents information-theoretic performance analysis of passive sensor networks for detection of moving targets. The proposed method falls largely under the category of data-level information fusion in sensor networks. To this end, a measure of information contribution for sensors is formulated in a symbolic dynamics framework. The network information state is approximately represented as the largest principal component of the time series collected across the network. To quantify each sensor's contribution for generation of the information content, Markov machine models as well as x-Markov (pronounced as cross-Markov) machine models, conditioned on the network information state, are constructed; the difference between the conditional entropies of these machines is then treated as an approximate measure of information contribution by the respective sensors. The x-Markov models represent the conditional temporal statistics given the network information state. The proposed method has been validated on experimental data collected from a local area network of passive sensors for target detection, where the statistical characteristics of environmental disturbances are similar to those of the target signal in the sense of time scale and texture. A distinctive feature of the proposed algorithm is that the network decisions are independent of the behavior and identity of the individual sensors, which is desirable from computational perspectives. Results are presented to demonstrate the proposed method's efficacy to correctly identify the presence of a target with very low false-alarm rates. The performance of the underlying algorithm is compared with that of a recent data-driven, feature-level information fusion algorithm. It is shown that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other algorithm.

  9. User account | National Agricultural Library

    Science.gov Websites

    Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag | Agricultural Research Service | Plain Language | FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Information Quality | Privacy

  10. Information spread in networks: Games, optimal control, and stabilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khanafer, Ali

    This thesis focuses on designing efficient mechanisms for controlling information spread in networks. We consider two models for information spread. The first one is the well-known distributed averaging dynamics. The second model is a nonlinear one that describes virus spread in computer and biological networks. We seek to design optimal, robust, and stabilizing controllers under practical constraints. For distributed averaging networks, we study the interaction between a network designer and an adversary. We consider two types of attacks on the network. In Attack-I, the adversary strategically disconnects a set of links to prevent the nodes from reaching consensus. Meanwhile, the network designer assists the nodes in reaching consensus by changing the weights of a limited number of links in the network. We formulate two problems to describe this competition where the order in which the players act is reversed in the two problems. Although the canonical equations provided by the Pontryagin's Maximum Principle (MP) seem to be intractable, we provide an alternative characterization for the optimal strategies that makes connection to potential theory. Further, we provide a sufficient condition for the existence of a saddle-point equilibrium (SPE) for the underlying zero-sum game. In Attack-II, the designer and the adversary are both capable of altering the measurements of all nodes in the network by injecting global signals. We impose two constraints on both players: a power constraint and an energy constraint. We assume that the available energy to each player is not sufficient to operate at maximum power throughout the horizon of the game. We show the existence of an SPE and derive the optimal strategies in closed form for this attack scenario. As an alternative to the "network designer vs. adversary" framework, we investigate the possibility of stabilizing unknown network diffusion processes using a distributed mechanism, where the uncertainty is due to an attack

  11. Optimal information dissemination strategy to promote preventive behaviors in multilayer epidemic networks.

    PubMed

    Shakeri, Heman; Sahneh, Faryad Darabi; Scoglio, Caterina; Poggi-Corradini, Pietro; Preciado, Victor M

    2015-06-01

    Launching a prevention campaign to contain the spread of infection requires substantial financial investments; therefore, a trade-off exists between suppressing the epidemic and containing costs. Information exchange among individuals can occur as physical contacts (e.g., word of mouth, gatherings), which provide inherent possibilities of disease transmission, and non-physical contacts (e.g., email, social networks), through which information can be transmitted but the infection cannot be transmitted. Contact network (CN) incorporates physical contacts, and the information dissemination network (IDN) represents non-physical contacts, thereby generating a multilayer network structure. Inherent differences between these two layers cause alerting through CN to be more effective but more expensive than IDN. The constraint for an epidemic to die out derived from a nonlinear Perron-Frobenius problem that was transformed into a semi-definite matrix inequality and served as a constraint for a convex optimization problem. This method guarantees a dying-out epidemic by choosing the best nodes for adopting preventive behaviors with minimum monetary resources. Various numerical simulations with network models and a real-world social network validate our method.

  12. Animals & Livestock | National Agricultural Library

    Science.gov Websites

    Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag (maps, tables, graphs), Agricultural Products html National Animal Nutrition Program (NANP) Feed | Agricultural Research Service | Plain Language | FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Information Quality | Privacy

  13. Why common carrier and network neutrality principles apply to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NWHIN).

    PubMed

    Gaynor, Mark; Lenert, Leslie; Wilson, Kristin D; Bradner, Scott

    2014-01-01

    The Office of the National Coordinator will be defining the architecture of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NWHIN) together with the proposed HealtheWay public/private partnership as a development and funding strategy. There are a number of open questions--for example, what is the best way to realize the benefits of health information exchange? How valuable are regional health information organizations in comparison with a more direct approach? What is the role of the carriers in delivering this service? The NWHIN is to exist for the public good, and thus shares many traits of the common law notion of 'common carriage' or 'public calling,' the modern term for which is network neutrality. Recent policy debates in Congress and resulting potential regulation have implications for key stakeholders within healthcare that use or provide services, and for those who exchange information. To date, there has been little policy debate or discussion about the implications of a neutral NWHIN. This paper frames the discussion for future policy debate in healthcare by providing a brief education and summary of the modern version of common carriage, of the key stakeholder positions in healthcare, and of the potential implications of the network neutrality debate within healthcare.

  14. Why common carrier and network neutrality principles apply to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NWHIN)

    PubMed Central

    Gaynor, Mark; Lenert, Leslie; Wilson, Kristin D; Bradner, Scott

    2014-01-01

    The Office of the National Coordinator will be defining the architecture of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NWHIN) together with the proposed HealtheWay public/private partnership as a development and funding strategy. There are a number of open questions—for example, what is the best way to realize the benefits of health information exchange? How valuable are regional health information organizations in comparison with a more direct approach? What is the role of the carriers in delivering this service? The NWHIN is to exist for the public good, and thus shares many traits of the common law notion of ‘common carriage’ or ‘public calling,’ the modern term for which is network neutrality. Recent policy debates in Congress and resulting potential regulation have implications for key stakeholders within healthcare that use or provide services, and for those who exchange information. To date, there has been little policy debate or discussion about the implications of a neutral NWHIN. This paper frames the discussion for future policy debate in healthcare by providing a brief education and summary of the modern version of common carriage, of the key stakeholder positions in healthcare, and of the potential implications of the network neutrality debate within healthcare. PMID:23837992

  15. Informal Training in Staff Networks to Support Dissemination of Health Promotion Programs

    PubMed Central

    Ramanadhan, Shoba; Wiecha, Jean L.; Gortmaker, Steven L.; Emmons, Karen M.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

    2011-01-01

    Purpose To study informal skill transfer via staff networks as a complement to formal training among afterschool childcare providers implementing a health promotion program. Design Cross-sectional, sociometric network analysis. Setting Boston Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) afterschool programs implementing the iPLAY program. Participants All 91 staff members at 20 sites were eligible; 80 completed the survey (88% response rate). Measures At the network level, network density measured system-level connectedness. At the staff level, the independent variable was out degree, the number of individuals to whom respondents noted a program-related connection. The dependent variable was skill gains, the number of key implementation skills gained from the network. Analysis We mapped the staff program-related social network. We utilized multiple linear regression to estimate the relationship between out degree and skill gains, and we adjusted for clustering of staff in sites. Results Most staff (77%) reported gaining at least one skill from the network, but only 2% of potential network connections were established. The regression model showed that out degree (i.e., number of program-related contacts) was significantly associated with skill gains (β = .48, p < .01) independent of other variables. Conclusion Informal skill transfer in staff networks may be a useful complement to formal training for implementation of health promotion programs, but informal skill transfer was likely underutilized in this network. Future research employing longitudinal and/or multisite data should examine these findings in greater detail. PMID:20809826

  16. In-House Communication Support System Based on the Information Propagation Model Utilizes Social Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takeuchi, Susumu; Teranishi, Yuuichi; Harumoto, Kaname; Shimojo, Shinji

    Almost all companies are now utilizing computer networks to support speedier and more effective in-house information-sharing and communication. However, existing systems are designed to support communications only within the same department. Therefore, in our research, we propose an in-house communication support system which is based on the “Information Propagation Model (IPM).” The IPM is proposed to realize word-of-mouth communication in a social network, and to support information-sharing on the network. By applying the system in a real company, we found that information could be exchanged between different and unrelated departments, and such exchanges of information could help to build new relationships between the users who are apart on the social network.

  17. Optimization of rainfall networks using information entropy and temporal variability analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wenqi; Wang, Dong; Singh, Vijay P.; Wang, Yuankun; Wu, Jichun; Wang, Lachun; Zou, Xinqing; Liu, Jiufu; Zou, Ying; He, Ruimin

    2018-04-01

    Rainfall networks are the most direct sources of precipitation data and their optimization and evaluation are essential and important. Information entropy can not only represent the uncertainty of rainfall distribution but can also reflect the correlation and information transmission between rainfall stations. Using entropy this study performs optimization of rainfall networks that are of similar size located in two big cities in China, Shanghai (in Yangtze River basin) and Xi'an (in Yellow River basin), with respect to temporal variability analysis. Through an easy-to-implement greedy ranking algorithm based on the criterion called, Maximum Information Minimum Redundancy (MIMR), stations of the networks in the two areas (each area is further divided into two subareas) are ranked during sliding inter-annual series and under different meteorological conditions. It is found that observation series with different starting days affect the ranking, alluding to the temporal variability during network evaluation. We propose a dynamic network evaluation framework for considering temporal variability, which ranks stations under different starting days with a fixed time window (1-year, 2-year, and 5-year). Therefore, we can identify rainfall stations which are temporarily of importance or redundancy and provide some useful suggestions for decision makers. The proposed framework can serve as a supplement for the primary MIMR optimization approach. In addition, during different periods (wet season or dry season) the optimal network from MIMR exhibits differences in entropy values and the optimal network from wet season tended to produce higher entropy values. Differences in spatial distribution of the optimal networks suggest that optimizing the rainfall network for changing meteorological conditions may be more recommended.

  18. Controllability of social networks and the strategic use of random information.

    PubMed

    Cremonini, Marco; Casamassima, Francesca

    2017-01-01

    This work is aimed at studying realistic social control strategies for social networks based on the introduction of random information into the state of selected driver agents. Deliberately exposing selected agents to random information is a technique already experimented in recommender systems or search engines, and represents one of the few options for influencing the behavior of a social context that could be accepted as ethical, could be fully disclosed to members, and does not involve the use of force or of deception. Our research is based on a model of knowledge diffusion applied to a time-varying adaptive network and considers two well-known strategies for influencing social contexts: One is the selection of few influencers for manipulating their actions in order to drive the whole network to a certain behavior; the other, instead, drives the network behavior acting on the state of a large subset of ordinary, scarcely influencing users. The two approaches have been studied in terms of network and diffusion effects. The network effect is analyzed through the changes induced on network average degree and clustering coefficient, while the diffusion effect is based on two ad hoc metrics which are defined to measure the degree of knowledge diffusion and skill level, as well as the polarization of agent interests. The results, obtained through simulations on synthetic networks, show a rich dynamics and strong effects on the communication structure and on the distribution of knowledge and skills. These findings support our hypothesis that the strategic use of random information could represent a realistic approach to social network controllability, and that with both strategies, in principle, the control effect could be remarkable.

  19. 75 FR 44800 - Notice of Meeting of the Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee, Tuesday...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Notice of Meeting of the Homeland Security Information Network... Security. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory... (Pub. L. 92-463). The mission of the Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee is to...

  20. Analysis of road development and associated agricultural land use change.

    PubMed

    Alphan, Hakan

    2017-12-05

    Development of road network is one of the strongest drivers of habitat fragmentation. It interferes with ecological processes that are based on material and energy flows between landscape patches. Therefore, changes in temporal patterns of roads may be regarded as important landscape-level environmental indicators. The aim of this study is to analyze road development and associated agricultural land use change near the town of Erdemli located in the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The study area has witnessed an unprecedented development of agriculture since the 2000s. This process has resulted with the expansion of the road network. Associations between agricultural expansion and road development were investigated. High-resolution satellite images of 2004 and 2015 were used to analyze spatial and temporal dimensions of change. Satellite images were classified using a binary approach, in which land areas were labeled as either "agriculture" or "non-agriculture." Road networks were digitized manually. The study area was divided into 23 sublandscapes using a regular grid with 1-km cell spacing. Percentage of landscape (PL) for agriculture and road density (RD) metrics were calculated for the earlier (2004) and later (2015) years. Metric calculations were performed separately for each of the 23 sublandscapes in order to understand spatial diversity of agriculture and road density. Study results showed that both RD and PL exhibited similar increasing trends between 2004 and 2015.

  1. African Universities Tackle the Continent's Agricultural Crisis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindow, Megan

    2009-01-01

    Pests, population growth, and depleted soil have wreaked havoc on agriculture in Africa, so universities across the continent are rethinking how they teach the topic. Some African universities have been building their own networks and pooling their limited resources to train more agricultural scientists and improve their responsiveness to the…

  2. OASIS: Prototyping Graphical Interfaces to Networked Information.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buckland, Michael K.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Describes the latest modifications being made to OASIS, a front-end enhancement to the University of California's MELVYL online union catalog. Highlights include the X Windows interface; multiple database searching to act as an information network; Lisp implementation for flexible data representation; and OASIS commands and features to help…

  3. Creating Possible Selves: Information Disclosure Behaviour on Social Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bronstein, Jenny

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: This study investigates the creation of alternative identities or possible selves on social networks by examining self-presentation and self-disclosure as elements of the information disclosure behaviour of Facebook users. Method. An online questionnaire was distributed amongst library and information science students at Bar-Ilan…

  4. Research on the development and preliminary application of Beijing agricultural sci-tech service hotline WebApp in agricultural consulting services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Weishui; Luo, Changshou; Zheng, Yaming; Wei, Qingfeng; Cao, Chengzhong

    2017-09-01

    To deal with the “last kilometer” problem during the agricultural science and technology information service, we analyzed the feasibility, necessity and advantages of WebApp applied to agricultural information service and discussed the modes of WebApp used in agricultural information service based on the requirements analysis and the function of WebApp. To overcome the existing App’s defects of difficult installation and weak compatibility between the mobile operating systems, the Beijing Agricultural Sci-tech Service Hotline WebApp was developed based on the HTML and JAVA technology. The WebApp has greater compatibility and simpler operation than the Native App, what’s more, it can be linked to the WeChat public platform making it spread easily and run directly without setup process. The WebApp was used to provide agricultural expert consulting services and agriculture information push, obtained a good preliminary application achievement. Finally, we concluded the creative application of WebApp in agricultural consulting services and prospected the development of WebApp in agricultural information service.

  5. Incorporating prior information into differential network analysis using non-paranormal graphical models.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiao-Fei; Ou-Yang, Le; Yan, Hong

    2017-08-15

    Understanding how gene regulatory networks change under different cellular states is important for revealing insights into network dynamics. Gaussian graphical models, which assume that the data follow a joint normal distribution, have been used recently to infer differential networks. However, the distributions of the omics data are non-normal in general. Furthermore, although much biological knowledge (or prior information) has been accumulated, most existing methods ignore the valuable prior information. Therefore, new statistical methods are needed to relax the normality assumption and make full use of prior information. We propose a new differential network analysis method to address the above challenges. Instead of using Gaussian graphical models, we employ a non-paranormal graphical model that can relax the normality assumption. We develop a principled model to take into account the following prior information: (i) a differential edge less likely exists between two genes that do not participate together in the same pathway; (ii) changes in the networks are driven by certain regulator genes that are perturbed across different cellular states and (iii) the differential networks estimated from multi-view gene expression data likely share common structures. Simulation studies demonstrate that our method outperforms other graphical model-based algorithms. We apply our method to identify the differential networks between platinum-sensitive and platinum-resistant ovarian tumors, and the differential networks between the proneural and mesenchymal subtypes of glioblastoma. Hub nodes in the estimated differential networks rediscover known cancer-related regulator genes and contain interesting predictions. The source code is at https://github.com/Zhangxf-ccnu/pDNA. szuouyl@gmail.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  6. Agricultural Work Force Households: How Much Do They Depend on Farming? Background for Agricultural Policy. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 547.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cox, E. Jane; Oliveira, Victor J.

    According to data from the 1985 Agricultural Work Force Survey, over 13.5 million of the 17.6 million agricultural work force household members (77 percent) lived in households headed by a farm worker. Some farm workers worked on the farm as their primary job, whereas others primarily worked off the farm. Farm work was an occasional form of…

  7. Architectural Design for the Global Legal Information Network

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kalpakis, Konstantinos

    1999-01-01

    In this report, we provide a summary of our activities regarding the goals, requirements analysis, design, and prototype implementation for the Global Legal Information Network, a joint effort between the Law Library of Congress and NASA.

  8. Information Exchange and Information Disclosure in Social Networking Web Sites: Mediating Role of Trust

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mital, Monika; Israel, D.; Agarwal, Shailja

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of trust on the relationship between the type of information exchange (IE) and information disclosure (ID) on social networking web sites (SNWs). Design/methodology/approach: Constructs were developed for type of IE and trust. To understand the mediating role of trust a…

  9. Trends in multi-pollutant emissions from a technology-linked inventory for India: II. Residential, agricultural and informal industry sectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pandey, Apoorva; Sadavarte, Pankaj; Rao, Anand B.; Venkataraman, Chandra

    2014-12-01

    Dispersed traditional combustion technologies, characterized by inefficient combustion and significant emissions, are widely used in residential cooking and "informal industries" including brick production, food and agricultural product processing operations like drying and cooking operations related to sugarcane juice, milk, food-grain, jute, silk, tea and coffee. In addition, seasonal agricultural residue burning in field is a discontinuous source of significant emissions. Here we estimate fuel consumption in these sectors and agricultural residue burned using detailed technology divisions and survey-based primary data for 2010 and projected between 1996 and 2015. In the residential sector, a decline in the fraction of solid biomass users for cooking from 79% in 1996 to 65% in 2010 was offset by a growing population, leading to a nearly constant population of solid biomass users, with a corresponding increase in the population of LPG users. Emissions from agriculture followed the growth in agricultural production and diesel use by tractors and pumps. Trends in emissions from the informal industries sector followed those in coal combustion in brick kilns. Residential biomass cooking stoves were the largest contributors to emissions of PM2.5, OC, CO, NMVOC and CH4. Highest emitting technologies of BC were residential kerosene wick lamps. Emissions of SO2 were largely from coal combustion in Bull's trench kilns and other brick manufacturing technologies. Diesel use in tractors was the major source of NOx emissions. Uncertainties in emission estimates were principally from highly uncertain emission factors, particularly for technologies in the informal industries.

  10. Information processing in echo state networks at the edge of chaos.

    PubMed

    Boedecker, Joschka; Obst, Oliver; Lizier, Joseph T; Mayer, N Michael; Asada, Minoru

    2012-09-01

    We investigate information processing in randomly connected recurrent neural networks. It has been shown previously that the computational capabilities of these networks are maximized when the recurrent layer is close to the border between a stable and an unstable dynamics regime, the so called edge of chaos. The reasons, however, for this maximized performance are not completely understood. We adopt an information-theoretical framework and are for the first time able to quantify the computational capabilities between elements of these networks directly as they undergo the phase transition to chaos. Specifically, we present evidence that both information transfer and storage in the recurrent layer are maximized close to this phase transition, providing an explanation for why guiding the recurrent layer toward the edge of chaos is computationally useful. As a consequence, our study suggests self-organized ways of improving performance in recurrent neural networks, driven by input data. Moreover, the networks we study share important features with biological systems such as feedback connections and online computation on input streams. A key example is the cerebral cortex, which was shown to also operate close to the edge of chaos. Consequently, the behavior of model systems as studied here is likely to shed light on reasons why biological systems are tuned into this specific regime.

  11. Libraries in the Global, National, and Local Networked Information Infrastructure.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McClure, Charles R.

    This paper explores the challenges and opportunities facing libraries as they evolve into the electronic networked environment, and looks at options for libraries in the year 2000 and beyond. The internationally networked environment has fundamentally changed the way in which people acquire and use information resources and services. The paper…

  12. Spreading dynamics of an e-commerce preferential information model on scale-free networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Chen; Li, Tao; Guan, Zhi-Hong; Wang, Yuanmei; Liu, Xiongding

    2017-02-01

    In order to study the influence of the preferential degree and the heterogeneity of underlying networks on the spread of preferential e-commerce information, we propose a novel susceptible-infected-beneficial model based on scale-free networks. The spreading dynamics of the preferential information are analyzed in detail using the mean-field theory. We determine the basic reproductive number and equilibria. The theoretical analysis indicates that the basic reproductive number depends mainly on the preferential degree and the topology of the underlying networks. We prove the global stability of the information-elimination equilibrium. The permanence of preferential information and the global attractivity of the information-prevailing equilibrium are also studied in detail. Some numerical simulations are presented to verify the theoretical results.

  13. Profiles of innovators in a semi-arid smallholder agricultural environment in south west Zimbabwe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mutsvangwa-Sammie, Eness P.; Manzungu, Emmanuel; Siziba, Shephard

    2017-08-01

    Innovations are regarded as critical to improving the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of African agriculture. However, few efforts have been directed at understanding 'agricultural innovators', especially among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa who face low agricultural productivity and widespread food insecurity. This paper investigates the profile of innovators from a local perspective in a semi-arid smallholder farming area in south-west Zimbabwe. The paper is based on data collected from key informant interviews and a household questionnaire survey administered to 239 households from Gwanda and Insiza districts between 2013 and 2014. Qualities or attributes of an innovator (which constitute the profile of an innovator) identified by key informants included: resource endowment; social networks; education; and enthusiasm (passionate and hardworking). The attributes were used in a logit regression model to estimate the probability of the 239 households exhibiting the attributes of an innovator. Social networks and resource endowment, as depicted by amount of land cultivated, were found to significantly influence the probability of an individual being an innovator. Interestingly, the common attributes of education or belonging to an innovation platform used by extension and development agents, were found not to influence the probability of one being an innovator. The paper concludes that understanding local perceptions of innovators, which is based on appreciation of the socio-economic and biophysical circumstances, should be used to identify a 'basket' of context specific innovations that have potential to address the diverse needs of rural households farming households.

  14. A Study of Agricultural Job Tasks and Implications for Curriculum Development in Agriculture and Agriculture Related Occupations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawaii State Dept. of Education, Honolulu. Office of Instructional Services.

    The study, based on a survey of agricultural industry in Hawaii, was conducted to obtain current job task information to be used as the basis for curriculum improvement in agricultural technology and ornamental horticulture. It determines the kinds and frequency of job skills and the importance of the accompanying knowledge required. A checklist…

  15. Modelling of information diffusion on social networks with applications to WeChat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Liang; Qu, Bo; Chen, Bin; Hanjalic, Alan; Wang, Huijuan

    2018-04-01

    Traces of user activities recorded in online social networks open new possibilities to systematically understand the information diffusion process on social networks. From the online social network WeChat, we collected a large number of information cascade trees, each of which tells the spreading trajectory of a message/information such as which user creates the information and which users view or forward the information shared by which neighbours. In this work, we propose two heterogeneous non-linear models, one for the topologies of the information cascade trees and the other for the stochastic process of information diffusion on a social network. Both models are validated by the WeChat data in reproducing and explaining key features of cascade trees. Specifically, we apply the Random Recursive Tree (RRT) to model the growth of cascade trees. The RRT model could capture key features, i.e. the average path length and degree variance of a cascade tree in relation to the number of nodes (size) of the tree. Its single identified parameter quantifies the relative depth or broadness of the cascade trees and indicates that information propagates via a star-like broadcasting or viral-like hop by hop spreading. The RRT model explains the appearance of hubs, thus a possibly smaller average path length as the cascade size increases, as observed in WeChat. We further propose the stochastic Susceptible View Forward Removed (SVFR) model to depict the dynamic user behaviour including creating, viewing, forwarding and ignoring a message on a given social network. Beside the average path length and degree variance of the cascade trees in relation to their sizes, the SVFR model could further explain the power-law cascade size distribution in WeChat and unravel that a user with a large number of friends may actually have a smaller probability to read a message (s)he receives due to limited attention.

  16. Pesticide Health and Safety Challenges Facing Informal Sector Workers: A Case of Small-scale Agricultural Workers in Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Ngowi, Aiwerasia; Mrema, Ezra; Kishinhi, Stephen

    2016-08-01

    The Tanzania informal sector is growing fast, with precarious working conditions and particular hazards for women and children in agriculture. Hazardous agricultural chemicals including pesticides are mostly imported and have been used for many years. Despite the role played by pesticides in food security and vector control, these chemicals are responsible for acute and chronic illnesses among communities. The availability of obsolete persistent organic pesticides on the open market indicates existence of an inadequate regulatory system. People who get injured or ill in the agriculture sector in Tanzania receive health services in primary health care facilities where professionals have little or no knowledge of pesticides. We are presenting the pesticide health and safety challenges faced by small-scale farmers who fall in the informal sector. Achievements that have been made by the government and other players to reduce and prevent pesticide exposures and poisoning are also outlined. © The Author(s) 2016.

  17. A Comparison of Geographic Information Systems, Complex Networks, and Other Models for Analyzing Transportation Network Topologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Alexandrov, Natalia (Technical Monitor); Kuby, Michael; Tierney, Sean; Roberts, Tyler; Upchurch, Christopher

    2005-01-01

    This report reviews six classes of models that are used for studying transportation network topologies. The report is motivated by two main questions. First, what can the "new science" of complex networks (scale-free, small-world networks) contribute to our understanding of transport network structure, compared to more traditional methods? Second, how can geographic information systems (GIS) contribute to studying transport networks? The report defines terms that can be used to classify different kinds of models by their function, composition, mechanism, spatial and temporal dimensions, certainty, linearity, and resolution. Six broad classes of models for analyzing transport network topologies are then explored: GIS; static graph theory; complex networks; mathematical programming; simulation; and agent-based modeling. Each class of models is defined and classified according to the attributes introduced earlier. The paper identifies some typical types of research questions about network structure that have been addressed by each class of model in the literature.

  18. Health information multitype library reference referral networking: panacea for the '90s.

    PubMed

    Teplitskaia, H

    1998-07-01

    Librarians are exploring new approaches to information sharing to cope with a rapidly changing environment dominated by budget cuts, information explosion, and globalization of the economy, science, and culture. In 1990, the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences (UIC LHS) initiated a pilot project aimed at establishing an effective balance between state-of-the-art information technology and traditional library methods and promoting cooperation among health information professionals by establishing the Health Information Referral Network (HIRN) in the state of Illinois. HIRN's background and development, Internet home page, and networking techniques reviewed in this paper are applicable to multitype libraries and information centers interested in improving information use and the referral process.

  19. Health information multitype library reference referral networking: panacea for the '90s.

    PubMed Central

    Teplitskaia, H

    1998-01-01

    Librarians are exploring new approaches to information sharing to cope with a rapidly changing environment dominated by budget cuts, information explosion, and globalization of the economy, science, and culture. In 1990, the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences (UIC LHS) initiated a pilot project aimed at establishing an effective balance between state-of-the-art information technology and traditional library methods and promoting cooperation among health information professionals by establishing the Health Information Referral Network (HIRN) in the state of Illinois. HIRN's background and development, Internet home page, and networking techniques reviewed in this paper are applicable to multitype libraries and information centers interested in improving information use and the referral process. PMID:9681171

  20. The African American Student Network: An Informal Networking Group as a Therapeutic Intervention for Black College Students on a Predominantly White Campus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grier-Reed, Tabitha

    2013-01-01

    Informal support networks as opposed to formal mental health counseling may represent a culture-specific, indigenous style of coping for Black college students. Using the African American Student Network (or as students refer to it AFAM), this article comments on the potential of an informal networking group as a culturally sensitive therapeutic…

  1. Information processing by networks of quantum decision makers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yukalov, V. I.; Yukalova, E. P.; Sornette, D.

    2018-02-01

    We suggest a model of a multi-agent society of decision makers taking decisions being based on two criteria, one is the utility of the prospects and the other is the attractiveness of the considered prospects. The model is the generalization of quantum decision theory, developed earlier for single decision makers realizing one-step decisions, in two principal aspects. First, several decision makers are considered simultaneously, who interact with each other through information exchange. Second, a multistep procedure is treated, when the agents exchange information many times. Several decision makers exchanging information and forming their judgment, using quantum rules, form a kind of a quantum information network, where collective decisions develop in time as a result of information exchange. In addition to characterizing collective decisions that arise in human societies, such networks can describe dynamical processes occurring in artificial quantum intelligence composed of several parts or in a cluster of quantum computers. The practical usage of the theory is illustrated on the dynamic disjunction effect for which three quantitative predictions are made: (i) the probabilistic behavior of decision makers at the initial stage of the process is described; (ii) the decrease of the difference between the initial prospect probabilities and the related utility factors is proved; (iii) the existence of a common consensus after multiple exchange of information is predicted. The predicted numerical values are in very good agreement with empirical data.

  2. Accessibility and Integrity of Networked Information Collections. Background Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lynch, Clifford A.

    This paper considers questions related to the integrity and accessibility of new electronic information resources. It begins with a review of recent developments in networked information resources and the tools to identify, navigate, and use such resources. An overview is then given of the issues involved in access and integrity questions. Links…

  3. Agricultural Technology Opportunities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    North Carolina State Board of Education, Raleigh. Agricultural Technology Education Section.

    Agricultural education programs available through North Carolina's newly created system of industrial education center, technical institutes, and community colleges are described. The information is for use by administrators, and teachers of adult agricultural courses and counselors of high school dropouts and graduates. It describes the need for…

  4. Maximizing information exchange between complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    West, Bruce J.; Geneston, Elvis L.; Grigolini, Paolo

    2008-10-01

    modern research overarching all of the traditional scientific disciplines. The transportation networks of planes, highways and railroads; the economic networks of global finance and stock markets; the social networks of terrorism, governments, businesses and churches; the physical networks of telephones, the Internet, earthquakes and global warming and the biological networks of gene regulation, the human body, clusters of neurons and food webs, share a number of apparently universal properties as the networks become increasingly complex. Ubiquitous aspects of such complex networks are the appearance of non-stationary and non-ergodic statistical processes and inverse power-law statistical distributions. Herein we review the traditional dynamical and phase-space methods for modeling such networks as their complexity increases and focus on the limitations of these procedures in explaining complex networks. Of course we will not be able to review the entire nascent field of network science, so we limit ourselves to a review of how certain complexity barriers have been surmounted using newly applied theoretical concepts such as aging, renewal, non-ergodic statistics and the fractional calculus. One emphasis of this review is information transport between complex networks, which requires a fundamental change in perception that we express as a transition from the familiar stochastic resonance to the new concept of complexity matching.

  5. Information Spread of Emergency Events: Path Searching on Social Networks

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Hongzhi; Wu, Tunan

    2014-01-01

    Emergency has attracted global attentions of government and the public, and it will easily trigger a series of serious social problems if it is not supervised effectively in the dissemination process. In the Internet world, people communicate with each other and form various virtual communities based on social networks, which lead to a complex and fast information spread pattern of emergency events. This paper collects Internet data based on data acquisition and topic detection technology, analyzes the process of information spread on social networks, describes the diffusions and impacts of that information from the perspective of random graph, and finally seeks the key paths through an improved IBF algorithm. Application cases have shown that this algorithm can search the shortest spread paths efficiently, which may help us to guide and control the information dissemination of emergency events on early warning. PMID:24600323

  6. Information spread of emergency events: path searching on social networks.

    PubMed

    Dai, Weihui; Hu, Hongzhi; Wu, Tunan; Dai, Yonghui

    2014-01-01

    Emergency has attracted global attentions of government and the public, and it will easily trigger a series of serious social problems if it is not supervised effectively in the dissemination process. In the Internet world, people communicate with each other and form various virtual communities based on social networks, which lead to a complex and fast information spread pattern of emergency events. This paper collects Internet data based on data acquisition and topic detection technology, analyzes the process of information spread on social networks, describes the diffusions and impacts of that information from the perspective of random graph, and finally seeks the key paths through an improved IBF algorithm. Application cases have shown that this algorithm can search the shortest spread paths efficiently, which may help us to guide and control the information dissemination of emergency events on early warning.

  7. DELIVERING TIMELY ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TO YOUR COMMUNITY: THE BOULDER AREA SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION NETWORK

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Technology Transfer and Support Division of the EPA Office of Research and Development's (ORD's) National Risk Management Laboratory in conjunction with the Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network (BASIN) has developed a "how-to" handbook to allow other community orga...

  8. A proposed concept for a crustal dynamics information management network

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lohman, G. M.; Renfrow, J. T.

    1980-01-01

    The findings of a requirements and feasibility analysis of the present and potential producers, users, and repositories of space-derived geodetic information are summarized. A proposed concept is presented for a crustal dynamics information management network that would apply state of the art concepts of information management technology to meet the expanding needs of the producers, users, and archivists of this geodetic information.

  9. Information theory in systems biology. Part I: Gene regulatory and metabolic networks.

    PubMed

    Mousavian, Zaynab; Kavousi, Kaveh; Masoudi-Nejad, Ali

    2016-03-01

    "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", was published in 1948 by Claude Shannon to establish a framework that is now known as information theory. In recent decades, information theory has gained much attention in the area of systems biology. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of those contributions that have applied information theory in inferring or understanding of biological systems. Based on the type of system components and the interactions between them, we classify the biological systems into 4 main classes: gene regulatory, metabolic, protein-protein interaction and signaling networks. In the first part of this review, we attempt to introduce most of the existing studies on two types of biological networks, including gene regulatory and metabolic networks, which are founded on the concepts of information theory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Shifts in the architecture of the Nationwide Health Information Network.

    PubMed

    Lenert, Leslie; Sundwall, David; Lenert, Michael Edward

    2012-01-01

    In the midst of a US $30 billion USD investment in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) and electronic health records systems, a significant change in the architecture of the NwHIN is taking place. Prior to 2010, the focus of information exchange in the NwHIN was the Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO). Since 2010, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has been sponsoring policies that promote an internet-like architecture that encourages point to-point information exchange and private health information exchange networks. The net effect of these activities is to undercut the limited business model for RHIOs, decreasing the likelihood of their success, while making the NwHIN dependent on nascent technologies for community level functions such as record locator services. These changes may impact the health of patients and communities. Independent, scientifically focused debate is needed on the wisdom of ONC's proposed changes in its strategy for the NwHIN.

  11. Informed walks: whispering hints to gene hunters inside networks' jungle.

    PubMed

    Bourdakou, Marilena M; Spyrou, George M

    2017-10-11

    Systemic approaches offer a different point of view on the analysis of several types of molecular associations as well as on the identification of specific gene communities in several cancer types. However, due to lack of sufficient data needed to construct networks based on experimental evidence, statistical gene co-expression networks are widely used instead. Many efforts have been made to exploit the information hidden in these networks. However, these approaches still need to capitalize comprehensively the prior knowledge encrypted into molecular pathway associations and improve their efficiency regarding the discovery of both exclusive subnetworks as candidate biomarkers and conserved subnetworks that may uncover common origins of several cancer types. In this study we present the development of the Informed Walks model based on random walks that incorporate information from molecular pathways to mine candidate genes and gene-gene links. The proposed model has been applied to TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) datasets from seven different cancer types, exploring the reconstructed co-expression networks of the whole set of genes and driving to highlighted sub-networks for each cancer type. In the sequel, we elucidated the impact of each subnetwork on the indication of underlying exclusive and common molecular mechanisms as well as on the short-listing of drugs that have the potential to suppress the corresponding cancer type through a drug-repurposing pipeline. We have developed a method of gene subnetwork highlighting based on prior knowledge, capable to give fruitful insights regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms and valuable input to drug-repurposing pipelines for a variety of cancer types.

  12. Fuzzy-information-based robustness of interconnected networks against attacks and failures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Qian; Zhu, Zhiliang; Wang, Yifan; Yu, Hai

    2016-09-01

    Cascading failure is fatal in applications and its investigation is essential and therefore became a focal topic in the field of complex networks in the last decade. In this paper, a cascading failure model is established for interconnected networks and the associated data-packet transport problem is discussed. A distinguished feature of the new model is its utilization of fuzzy information in resisting uncertain failures and malicious attacks. We numerically find that the giant component of the network after failures increases with tolerance parameter for any coupling preference and attacking ambiguity. Moreover, considering the effect of the coupling probability on the robustness of the networks, we find that the robustness of the assortative coupling and random coupling of the network model increases with the coupling probability. However, for disassortative coupling, there exists a critical phenomenon for coupling probability. In addition, a critical value that attacking information accuracy affects the network robustness is observed. Finally, as a practical example, the interconnected AS-level Internet in South Korea and Japan is analyzed. The actual data validates the theoretical model and analytic results. This paper thus provides some guidelines for preventing cascading failures in the design of architecture and optimization of real-world interconnected networks.

  13. Intrinsic Neuronal Properties Switch the Mode of Information Transmission in Networks

    PubMed Central

    Gjorgjieva, Julijana; Mease, Rebecca A.; Moody, William J.; Fairhall, Adrienne L.

    2014-01-01

    Diverse ion channels and their dynamics endow single neurons with complex biophysical properties. These properties determine the heterogeneity of cell types that make up the brain, as constituents of neural circuits tuned to perform highly specific computations. How do biophysical properties of single neurons impact network function? We study a set of biophysical properties that emerge in cortical neurons during the first week of development, eventually allowing these neurons to adaptively scale the gain of their response to the amplitude of the fluctuations they encounter. During the same time period, these same neurons participate in large-scale waves of spontaneously generated electrical activity. We investigate the potential role of experimentally observed changes in intrinsic neuronal properties in determining the ability of cortical networks to propagate waves of activity. We show that such changes can strongly affect the ability of multi-layered feedforward networks to represent and transmit information on multiple timescales. With properties modeled on those observed at early stages of development, neurons are relatively insensitive to rapid fluctuations and tend to fire synchronously in response to wave-like events of large amplitude. Following developmental changes in voltage-dependent conductances, these same neurons become efficient encoders of fast input fluctuations over few layers, but lose the ability to transmit slower, population-wide input variations across many layers. Depending on the neurons' intrinsic properties, noise plays different roles in modulating neuronal input-output curves, which can dramatically impact network transmission. The developmental change in intrinsic properties supports a transformation of a networks function from the propagation of network-wide information to one in which computations are scaled to local activity. This work underscores the significance of simple changes in conductance parameters in governing how neurons

  14. "TIS": An Intelligent Gateway Computer for Information and Modeling Networks. Overview.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hampel, Viktor E.; And Others

    TIS (Technology Information System) is being used at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to develop software for Intelligent Gateway Computers (IGC) suitable for the prototyping of advanced, integrated information networks. Dedicated to information management, TIS leads the user to available information resources, on TIS or…

  15. Hierarchical mutual information for the comparison of hierarchical community structures in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perotti, Juan Ignacio; Tessone, Claudio Juan; Caldarelli, Guido

    2015-12-01

    The quest for a quantitative characterization of community and modular structure of complex networks produced a variety of methods and algorithms to classify different networks. However, it is not clear if such methods provide consistent, robust, and meaningful results when considering hierarchies as a whole. Part of the problem is the lack of a similarity measure for the comparison of hierarchical community structures. In this work we give a contribution by introducing the hierarchical mutual information, which is a generalization of the traditional mutual information and makes it possible to compare hierarchical partitions and hierarchical community structures. The normalized version of the hierarchical mutual information should behave analogously to the traditional normalized mutual information. Here the correct behavior of the hierarchical mutual information is corroborated on an extensive battery of numerical experiments. The experiments are performed on artificial hierarchies and on the hierarchical community structure of artificial and empirical networks. Furthermore, the experiments illustrate some of the practical applications of the hierarchical mutual information, namely the comparison of different community detection methods and the study of the consistency, robustness, and temporal evolution of the hierarchical modular structure of networks.

  16. Information need in local government and online network system ; LOGON

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ohta, Masanori

    Local Authorities Systems DEvelopment Center started the trial operation of LOcal Government information service On-line Network system (LOGON) in April of 1988. Considering the background of LOGON construction this paper introduces the present status of informationalization in municipalities and needs to network systems as well as information centers based on results of various types of research. It also compares database systems with communication by personal computers, both of which are typical communication forms, and investigates necessary functions of LOGON. The actual system functions, services and operation of LOGON and some problems occurred in the trial are discussed.

  17. Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada.

    PubMed

    Yousefi-Nooraie, Reza; Dobbins, Maureen; Brouwers, Melissa; Wakefield, Patricia

    2012-05-16

    Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming Communities of Practice, and potential internal knowledge brokers.

  18. Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. Methods The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. Results The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. Conclusions The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming Communities of Practice, and

  19. Satellite image processing for precision agriculture and agroindustry using convolutional neural network and genetic algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Firdaus; Arkeman, Y.; Buono, A.; Hermadi, I.

    2017-01-01

    Translating satellite imagery to a useful data for decision making during this time are usually done manually by human. In this research, we are going to translate satellite imagery by using artificial intelligence method specifically using convolutional neural network and genetic algorithm to become a useful data for decision making, especially for precision agriculture and agroindustry. In this research, we are focused on how to made a sustainable land use planning with 3 objectives. The first is maximizing economic factor. Second is minimizing CO2 emission and the last is minimizing land degradation. Results show that by using artificial intelligence method, can produced a good pareto optimum solutions in a short time.

  20. Informing Lake Erie agriculture nutrient management via scenario evaluation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Scavia, Donald; Kalcic, Margaret; Muenich, Rebecca Logsdon; Aloysius, Noel; Arnold, Jeffrey; Boles, Chelsie; Confesor, Remegio; DePinto, Joseph; Gildow, Marie; Martin, Jay; Read, Jennifer; Redder, Todd; Robertson, Dale M.; Sowa, Scott P.; Wang, Yu-Chen; White, Michael; Yen, Haw

    2016-01-01

    Therefore, the overall goal of this study was to identify potential options for agricultural management to reduce phosphorus loads and lessen future HABs in Lake Erie. We applied multiple watershed models to test the ability of a series of land management scenarios, developed in consultation with agricultural and environmental stakeholders, to reach the proposed targets. 

  1. A Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) of Routing Protocol for Agricultural Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPAL).

    PubMed

    Chen, Yibo; Chanet, Jean-Pierre; Hou, Kun-Mean; Shi, Hongling; de Sousa, Gil

    2015-08-10

    In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL), which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this context, as an important role of IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can utilize RPL to design efficient routing protocols for a specific application to increase the ubiquity of networks with resource-constrained WSN nodes that are low-cost and easy to deploy. In this article, our work starts with the description of Agricultural Low-power and Lossy Networks (A-LLNs) complying with the LLN framework, and to clarify the requirements of this application-oriented routing solution. After a brief review of existing optimization techniques for RPL, our contribution is dedicated to a Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) that can adapt RPL to the environmental monitoring of A-LLNs, through combining energy-aware, reliability-aware, robustness-aware and resource-aware contexts according to the composite routing metrics approach. The correct behavior of this enhanced RPL version (RPAL) was verified by performance evaluations on both simulation and field tests. The obtained experimental results confirm that SCAOF can deliver the desired advantages on network lifetime extension, and high reliability and efficiency in different simulation scenarios and hardware testbeds.

  2. A Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) of Routing Protocol for Agricultural Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPAL)

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Yibo; Chanet, Jean-Pierre; Hou, Kun-Mean; Shi, Hongling; de Sousa, Gil

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL), which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this context, as an important role of IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can utilize RPL to design efficient routing protocols for a specific application to increase the ubiquity of networks with resource-constrained WSN nodes that are low-cost and easy to deploy. In this article, our work starts with the description of Agricultural Low-power and Lossy Networks (A-LLNs) complying with the LLN framework, and to clarify the requirements of this application-oriented routing solution. After a brief review of existing optimization techniques for RPL, our contribution is dedicated to a Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) that can adapt RPL to the environmental monitoring of A-LLNs, through combining energy-aware, reliability-aware, robustness-aware and resource-aware contexts according to the composite routing metrics approach. The correct behavior of this enhanced RPL version (RPAL) was verified by performance evaluations on both simulation and field tests. The obtained experimental results confirm that SCAOF can deliver the desired advantages on network lifetime extension, and high reliability and efficiency in different simulation scenarios and hardware testbeds. PMID:26266411

  3. Exploring information transmission in gene networks using stochastic simulation and machine learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Kyemyung; Prüstel, Thorsten; Lu, Yong; Narayanan, Manikandan; Martins, Andrew; Tsang, John

    How gene regulatory networks operate robustly despite environmental fluctuations and biochemical noise is a fundamental question in biology. Mathematically the stochastic dynamics of a gene regulatory network can be modeled using chemical master equation (CME), but nonlinearity and other challenges render analytical solutions of CMEs difficult to attain. While approaches of approximation and stochastic simulation have been devised for simple models, obtaining a more global picture of a system's behaviors in high-dimensional parameter space without simplifying the system substantially remains a major challenge. Here we present a new framework for understanding and predicting the behaviors of gene regulatory networks in the context of information transmission among genes. Our approach uses stochastic simulation of the network followed by machine learning of the mapping between model parameters and network phenotypes such as information transmission behavior. We also devised ways to visualize high-dimensional phase spaces in intuitive and informative manners. We applied our approach to several gene regulatory circuit motifs, including both feedback and feedforward loops, to reveal underexplored aspects of their operational behaviors. This work is supported by the Intramural Program of NIAID/NIH.

  4. Development of stock correlation networks using mutual information and financial big data.

    PubMed

    Guo, Xue; Zhang, Hu; Tian, Tianhai

    2018-01-01

    Stock correlation networks use stock price data to explore the relationship between different stocks listed in the stock market. Currently this relationship is dominantly measured by the Pearson correlation coefficient. However, financial data suggest that nonlinear relationships may exist in the stock prices of different shares. To address this issue, this work uses mutual information to characterize the nonlinear relationship between stocks. Using 280 stocks traded at the Shanghai Stocks Exchange in China during the period of 2014-2016, we first compare the effectiveness of the correlation coefficient and mutual information for measuring stock relationships. Based on these two measures, we then develop two stock networks using the Minimum Spanning Tree method and study the topological properties of these networks, including degree, path length and the power-law distribution. The relationship network based on mutual information has a better distribution of the degree and larger value of the power-law distribution than those using the correlation coefficient. Numerical results show that mutual information is a more effective approach than the correlation coefficient to measure the stock relationship in a stock market that may undergo large fluctuations of stock prices.

  5. Development of stock correlation networks using mutual information and financial big data

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Xue; Zhang, Hu

    2018-01-01

    Stock correlation networks use stock price data to explore the relationship between different stocks listed in the stock market. Currently this relationship is dominantly measured by the Pearson correlation coefficient. However, financial data suggest that nonlinear relationships may exist in the stock prices of different shares. To address this issue, this work uses mutual information to characterize the nonlinear relationship between stocks. Using 280 stocks traded at the Shanghai Stocks Exchange in China during the period of 2014-2016, we first compare the effectiveness of the correlation coefficient and mutual information for measuring stock relationships. Based on these two measures, we then develop two stock networks using the Minimum Spanning Tree method and study the topological properties of these networks, including degree, path length and the power-law distribution. The relationship network based on mutual information has a better distribution of the degree and larger value of the power-law distribution than those using the correlation coefficient. Numerical results show that mutual information is a more effective approach than the correlation coefficient to measure the stock relationship in a stock market that may undergo large fluctuations of stock prices. PMID:29668715

  6. Mandatory Production Controls. Issues in Agricultural Policy. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 520.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

    Mandatory restrictions on agricultural production continue to be suggested as an alternative policy for reducing price-depressing surplus production, increasing farm income, and cutting farm program costs. A mandatory production control program (MPCP) can be implemented through two methods: (1) acreage allotments, which restrict individual farmers…

  7. 75 FR 55360 - Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program: Draft NITRD 2010...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-10

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD... Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD). ACTION: Notice, request for public comment. FOR..., the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development...

  8. Bandwidth Optimization On Design Of Visual Display Information System Based Networking At Politeknik Negeri Bali

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sudiartha, IKG; Catur Bawa, IGNB

    2018-01-01

    Information can not be separated from the social life of the community, especially in the world of education. One of the information fields is academic calendar information, activity agenda, announcement and campus activity news. In line with technological developments, text-based information is becoming obsolete. For that need creativity to present information more quickly, accurately and interesting by exploiting the development of digital technology and internet. In this paper will be developed applications for the provision of information in the form of visual display, applied to computer network system with multimedia applications. Network-based applications provide ease in updating data through internet services, attractive presentations with multimedia support. The application “Networking Visual Display Information Unit” can be used as a medium that provides information services for students and academic employee more interesting and ease in updating information than the bulletin board. The information presented in the form of Running Text, Latest Information, Agenda, Academic Calendar and Video provide an interesting presentation and in line with technological developments at the Politeknik Negeri Bali. Through this research is expected to create software “Networking Visual Display Information Unit” with optimal bandwidth usage by combining local data sources and data through the network. This research produces visual display design with optimal bandwidth usage and application in the form of supporting software.

  9. CVISN business case (commercial vehicle information systems and networks)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2007-10-15

    The objective was to evaluate economic justifications and institutional issues affecting motor carriers and State transportation agencies regarding the deployment of CVISN technologies. CVISN (Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks) incl...

  10. Prediction of agriculture derived groundwater nitrate distribution in North China Plain with GIS-based BPNN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, M. X.; Liu, G. D.; Wu, W. L.; Bao, Y. H.; Liu, W. N.

    2006-07-01

    In recent years, nitrate contamination of groundwater has become a growing concern for people in rural areas in North China Plain (NCP) where groundwater is used as drinking water. The objective of this study was to simulate agriculture derived groundwater nitrate pollution patterns with artificial neural network (ANN), which has been proved to be an effective tool for prediction in many branches of hydrology when data are not sufficient to understand the physical process of the systems but relative accurate predictions is needed. In our study, a back propagation neural network (BPNN) was developed to simulate spatial distribution of NO3-N concentrations in groundwater with land use information and site-specific hydrogeological properties in Huantai County, a typical agriculture dominated region of NCP. Geographic information system (GIS) tools were used in preparing and processing input-output vectors data for the BPNN. The circular buffer zones centered on the sampling wells were designated so as to consider the nitrate contamination of groundwater due to neighboring field. The result showed that the GIS-based BPNN simulated groundwater NO3-N concentration efficiently and captured the general trend of groundwater nitrate pollution patterns. The optimal result was obtained with a learning rate of 0.02, a 4-7-1 architecture and a buffer zone radius of 400 m. Nitrogen budget combined with GIS-based BPNN can serve as a cost-effective tool for prediction and management of groundwater nitrate pollution in an agriculture dominated regions in North China Plain.

  11. Ditch network sustains functional connectivity and influences patterns of gene flow in an intensive agricultural landscape

    PubMed Central

    Favre-Bac, L; Mony, C; Ernoult, A; Burel, F; Arnaud, J-F

    2016-01-01

    In intensive agricultural landscapes, plant species previously relying on semi-natural habitats may persist as metapopulations within landscape linear elements. Maintenance of populations' connectivity through pollen and seed dispersal is a key factor in species persistence in the face of substantial habitat loss. The goals of this study were to investigate the potential corridor role of ditches and to identify the landscape components that significantly impact patterns of gene flow among remnant populations. Using microsatellite loci, we explored the spatial genetic structure of two hydrochorous wetland plants exhibiting contrasting local abundance and different habitat requirements: the rare and regionally protected Oenanthe aquatica and the more commonly distributed Lycopus europaeus, in an 83 km2 agricultural lowland located in northern France. Both species exhibited a significant spatial genetic structure, along with substantial levels of genetic differentiation, especially for L. europaeus, which also expressed high levels of inbreeding. Isolation-by-distance analysis revealed enhanced gene flow along ditches, indicating their key role in effective seed and pollen dispersal. Our data also suggested that the configuration of the ditch network and the landscape elements significantly affected population genetic structure, with (i) species-specific scale effects on the genetic neighborhood and (ii) detrimental impact of human ditch management on genetic diversity, especially for O. aquatica. Altogether, these findings highlighted the key role of ditches in the maintenance of plant biodiversity in intensive agricultural landscapes with few remnant wetland habitats. PMID:26486611

  12. Nature-Inspired Dissemination of Information in P2P Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guéret, Christophe

    After having first been used as a means to publish content, the Web is now widely used as a social tool for sharing information. It is an easy task to subscribe to a social network, join one of the Web-based communities according to some personal interests and start to share content with all the people who do the same. It is easy once you solve two basic problems: select the network to join (go to hi5, facebook, myspace,…? join all of them?) and find/pick up the right communities (i.e., find a strict label to match non-strict centers of interest). An error of appreciation would result in getting too much of useless/non-relevant information. This chapter provides a study on the dissemination of information within groups of people and aim at answering one question: can we find an effortless way of sharing information on the Web? Ideally, such a solution would require neither the definition of a profile nor the selection of communities to join. Publishing information should also not be the result of an active decision but be performed in an automatic way. A nature-inspired framework is introduced as an answer to this question. This framework features artificial ants taking care of the dissemination of information items within the network. Centers of interest of the users are reflected by artificial pheromones laid down on connections between peers. Another part of the framework uses those pheromone trails to detect shared interests and creates communities.

  13. Network security system for health and medical information using smart IC card

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kanai, Yoichi; Yachida, Masuyoshi; Yoshikawa, Hiroharu; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki

    1998-07-01

    A new network security protocol that uses smart IC cards has been designed to assure the integrity and privacy of medical information in communication over a non-secure network. Secure communication software has been implemented as a library based on this protocol, which is called the Integrated Secure Communication Layer (ISCL), and has been incorporated into information systems of the National Cancer Center Hospitals and the Health Service Center of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Both systems have succeeded in communicating digital medical information securely.

  14. Effective monitoring of agriculture: a response.

    PubMed

    Sachs, Jeffrey D; Remans, Roseline; Smukler, Sean M; Winowiecki, Leigh; Andelman, Sandy J; Cassman, Kenneth G; Castle, David; DeFries, Ruth; Denning, Glenn; Fanzo, Jessica; Jackson, Louise E; Leemans, Rik; Lehmann, Johannes; Milder, Jeffrey C; Naeem, Shahid; Nziguheba, Generose; Palm, Cheryl A; Pingali, Prabhu L; Reganold, John P; Richter, Daniel D; Scherr, Sara J; Sircely, Jason; Sullivan, Clare; Tomich, Thomas P; Sanchez, Pedro A

    2012-03-01

    The development of effective agricultural monitoring networks is essential to track, anticipate and manage changes in the social, economic and environmental aspects of agriculture. We welcome the perspective of Lindenmayer and Likens (J. Environ. Monit., 2011, 13, 1559) as published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring on our earlier paper, "Monitoring the World's Agriculture" (Sachs et al., Nature, 2010, 466, 558-560). In this response, we address their three main critiques labeled as 'the passive approach', 'the problem with uniform metrics' and 'the problem with composite metrics'. We expand on specific research questions at the core of the network design, on the distinction between key universal and site-specific metrics to detect change over time and across scales, and on the need for composite metrics in decision-making. We believe that simultaneously measuring indicators of the three pillars of sustainability (environmentally sound, social responsible and economically viable) in an effectively integrated monitoring system will ultimately allow scientists and land managers alike to find solutions to the most pressing problems facing global food security. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

  15. [Linking: relationships between health professionals in the informal health networks].

    PubMed

    Sarradon-Eck, A; Vega, A; Faure, M; Humbert-Gaudart, A; Lustman, M

    2008-07-01

    During the last years, the french health system has been developing formal health networks. So, it was necessary to study informal health networks as networks. More precisely, we studied the nature of relationships between various stakeholders around general practionners wich are commonly considering as the stakeholder of the health system private sector. Fieldwork (ethnography based on direct observations and interviews) was conducted between October 2002 and april 2004, in the South-East of France. Ten monographs of general practioner's offices were achieved in a rural area; then, we achieved fieldwork of the informal health networks identified. There is a cultural frame wich is common to all private professionals. This frame includes a triple ideal (teamwork built up the hospital model, independance, and an relational approach with patients). This frame does not square with the real practices. In fact, regulation mechanisms preserve the balance of relashionships between professionnal groups, by restricting/promoting exchanges and complex alliance strategies. These mecanisms include: (1) a few professionnal's rule as disponibility (to the patients and to the professionnals), as communication about patient, as patient's reference, as obligation to communicate between professionals; (2) some constraints such as territory superposition and competition with other professional groups; (3) some needs for: rileiving (of emotions and worries connected to work), sharing (decisions, responsabilities), of delegation (medical treatment, practices), protection against social and legal risk through the creation of trust relationships. These trust relationships are based on several logics (affinity, solidarity, similarity). The study shows the major place of the patient who is often the main organizer of his network, and even though he makes an important structuring work between medical staff, and an information transfer (on his diagnosis, on his

  16. Value of information analysis for groundwater quality monitoring network design Case study: Eocene Aquifer, Palestine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khader, A.; McKee, M.

    2010-12-01

    Value of information (VOI) analysis evaluates the benefit of collecting additional information to reduce or eliminate uncertainty in a specific decision-making context. It makes explicit any expected potential losses from errors in decision making due to uncertainty and identifies the “best” information collection strategy as one that leads to the greatest expected net benefit to the decision-maker. This study investigates the willingness to pay for groundwater quality monitoring in the Eocene Aquifer, Palestine, which is an unconfined aquifer located in the northern part of the West Bank. The aquifer is being used by 128,000 Palestinians to fulfill domestic and agricultural demands. The study takes into account the consequences of pollution and the options the decision maker might face. Since nitrate is the major pollutant in the aquifer, the consequences of nitrate pollution were analyzed, which mainly consists of the possibility of methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome). In this case, the value of monitoring was compared to the costs of treating for methemoglobinemia or the costs of other options like water treatment, using bottled water or importing water from outside the aquifer. And finally, an optimal monitoring network that takes into account the uncertainties in recharge (climate), aquifer properties (hydraulic conductivity), pollutant chemical reaction (decay factor), and the value of monitoring is designed by utilizing a sparse Bayesian modeling algorithm called a relevance vector machine.

  17. A spatial exploration of informal trail networks within Great Falls Park, VA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wimpey, Jeremy; Marion, Jeffrey L.

    2011-01-01

    Informal (visitor-created) trails represent a threat to the natural resources of protected natural areas around the globe. These trails can remove vegetation, displace wildlife, alter hydrology, alter habitat, spread invasive species, and fragment landscapes. This study examines informal and formal trails within Great Falls Park, VA, a sub-unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, managed by the U.S. National Park Service. This study sought to answer three specific questions: 1) Are the physical characteristics and topographic alignments of informal trails significantly different from formal trails, 2) Can landscape fragmentation metrics be used to summarize the relative impacts of formal and informal trail networks on a protected natural area? and 3) What can we learn from examining the spatial distribution of the informal trails within protected natural areas? Statistical comparisons between formal and informal trails in this park indicate that informal trails have less sustainable topographic alignments than their formal counterparts. Spatial summaries of the lineal and areal extent and fragmentation associated with the trail networks by park management zones compare park management goals to the assessed attributes. Hot spot analyses highlight areas of high trail density within the park and findings provide insights regarding potential causes for development of dense informal trail networks.

  18. Spatially dynamic recurrent information flow across long-range dorsal motor network encodes selective motor goals.

    PubMed

    Yoo, Peter E; Hagan, Maureen A; John, Sam E; Opie, Nicholas L; Ordidge, Roger J; O'Brien, Terence J; Oxley, Thomas J; Moffat, Bradford A; Wong, Yan T

    2018-06-01

    Performing voluntary movements involves many regions of the brain, but it is unknown how they work together to plan and execute specific movements. We recorded high-resolution ultra-high-field blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal during a cued ankle-dorsiflexion task. The spatiotemporal dynamics and the patterns of task-relevant information flow across the dorsal motor network were investigated. We show that task-relevant information appears and decays earlier in the higher order areas of the dorsal motor network then in the primary motor cortex. Furthermore, the results show that task-relevant information is encoded in general initially, and then selective goals are subsequently encoded in specifics subregions across the network. Importantly, the patterns of recurrent information flow across the network vary across different subregions depending on the goal. Recurrent information flow was observed across all higher order areas of the dorsal motor network in the subregions encoding for the current goal. In contrast, only the top-down information flow from the supplementary motor cortex to the frontoparietal regions, with weakened recurrent information flow between the frontoparietal regions and bottom-up information flow from the frontoparietal regions to the supplementary cortex were observed in the subregions encoding for the opposing goal. We conclude that selective motor goal encoding and execution rely on goal-dependent differences in subregional recurrent information flow patterns across the long-range dorsal motor network areas that exhibit graded functional specialization. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. An information model for a virtual private optical network (OVPN) using virtual routers (VRs)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vo, Viet Minh Nhat

    2002-05-01

    This paper describes a virtual private optical network architecture (Optical VPN - OVPN) based on virtual router (VR). It improves over architectures suggested for virtual private networks by using virtual routers with optical networks. The new things in this architecture are necessary changes to adapt to devices and protocols used in optical networks. This paper also presents information models for the OVPN: at the architecture level and at the service level. These are extensions to the DEN (directory enable network) and CIM (Common Information Model) for OVPNs using VRs. The goal is to propose a common management model using policies.

  20. A Comparison of Selected Bibliographic Database Subject Overlap for Agricultural Information

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ritchie, Stephanie M.; Young, Lauren M.; Sigman, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    Agricultural researchers and science librarians must understand which research literature databases provide the most comprehensive coverage of agricultural subjects to support their inquiries. Once the domain of a few specialized databases, agricultural research literature is now covered by broad, multidisciplinary databases. The purpose of this…

  1. The impact of multiple information on coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, Yaohui; Yan, Zhijun

    2018-02-01

    Growing interest has emerged in the study of the interplay between awareness and epidemics in multiplex networks. However, previous studies on this issue usually assume that all aware individuals take the same level of precautions, ignoring individual heterogeneity. In this paper, we investigate the coupled awareness-epidemic dynamics in multiplex networks considering individual heterogeneity. Here, the precaution levels are heterogeneous and depend on three types of information: contact information and local and global prevalence information. The results show that contact-based precautions can decrease the epidemic prevalence and augment the epidemic threshold, but prevalence-based precautions, regardless of local or global information, can only decrease the epidemic prevalence. Moreover, unlike previous studies in single-layer networks, we do not find a greater impact of local prevalence information on the epidemic prevalence compared to global prevalence information. In addition, we find that the altruistic behaviors of infected individuals can effectively suppress epidemic spreading, especially when the level of contact-based precaution is high.

  2. Influence maximization based on partial network structure information: A comparative analysis on seed selection heuristics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erkol, Şirag; Yücel, Gönenç

    In this study, the problem of seed selection is investigated. This problem is mainly treated as an optimization problem, which is proved to be NP-hard. There are several heuristic approaches in the literature which mostly use algorithmic heuristics. These approaches mainly focus on the trade-off between computational complexity and accuracy. Although the accuracy of algorithmic heuristics are high, they also have high computational complexity. Furthermore, in the literature, it is generally assumed that complete information on the structure and features of a network is available, which is not the case in most of the times. For the study, a simulation model is constructed, which is capable of creating networks, performing seed selection heuristics, and simulating diffusion models. Novel metric-based seed selection heuristics that rely only on partial information are proposed and tested using the simulation model. These heuristics use local information available from nodes in the synthetically created networks. The performances of heuristics are comparatively analyzed on three different network types. The results clearly show that the performance of a heuristic depends on the structure of a network. A heuristic to be used should be selected after investigating the properties of the network at hand. More importantly, the approach of partial information provided promising results. In certain cases, selection heuristics that rely only on partial network information perform very close to similar heuristics that require complete network data.

  3. Towards a new generation of agricultural system data, models and knowledge products: Information and communication technology.

    PubMed

    Janssen, Sander J C; Porter, Cheryl H; Moore, Andrew D; Athanasiadis, Ioannis N; Foster, Ian; Jones, James W; Antle, John M

    2017-07-01

    Agricultural modeling has long suffered from fragmentation in model implementation. Many models are developed, there is much redundancy, models are often poorly coupled, model component re-use is rare, and it is frequently difficult to apply models to generate real solutions for the agricultural sector. To improve this situation, we argue that an open, self-sustained, and committed community is required to co-develop agricultural models and associated data and tools as a common resource. Such a community can benefit from recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT). We examine how such developments can be leveraged to design and implement the next generation of data, models, and decision support tools for agricultural production systems. Our objective is to assess relevant technologies for their maturity, expected development, and potential to benefit the agricultural modeling community. The technologies considered encompass methods for collaborative development and for involving stakeholders and users in development in a transdisciplinary manner. Our qualitative evaluation suggests that as an overall research challenge, the interoperability of data sources, modular granular open models, reference data sets for applications and specific user requirements analysis methodologies need to be addressed to allow agricultural modeling to enter in the big data era. This will enable much higher analytical capacities and the integrated use of new data sources. Overall agricultural systems modeling needs to rapidly adopt and absorb state-of-the-art data and ICT technologies with a focus on the needs of beneficiaries and on facilitating those who develop applications of their models. This adoption requires the widespread uptake of a set of best practices as standard operating procedures.

  4. The commercial vehicle information systems and networks program, 2013.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-04-01

    The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) grant program supports the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations (FMCSAs) safety mission by providing grant funds to States to: : Improve safety and productivity of moto...

  5. The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Network program, 2012.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-03-01

    The Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and : Networks (CVISN) program supports that safety : mission by providing grant funds to States for: : Improving safety and productivity of motor : carriers, commercial motor vehicles : (CMVs), and thei...

  6. Network complexity as a measure of information processing across resting-state networks: evidence from the Human Connectome Project

    PubMed Central

    McDonough, Ian M.; Nashiro, Kaoru

    2014-01-01

    An emerging field of research focused on fluctuations in brain signals has provided evidence that the complexity of those signals, as measured by entropy, conveys important information about network dynamics (e.g., local and distributed processing). While much research has focused on how neural complexity differs in populations with different age groups or clinical disorders, substantially less research has focused on the basic understanding of neural complexity in populations with young and healthy brain states. The present study used resting-state fMRI data from the Human Connectome Project (Van Essen et al., 2013) to test the extent that neural complexity in the BOLD signal, as measured by multiscale entropy (1) would differ from random noise, (2) would differ between four major resting-state networks previously associated with higher-order cognition, and (3) would be associated with the strength and extent of functional connectivity—a complementary method of estimating information processing. We found that complexity in the BOLD signal exhibited different patterns of complexity from white, pink, and red noise and that neural complexity was differentially expressed between resting-state networks, including the default mode, cingulo-opercular, left and right frontoparietal networks. Lastly, neural complexity across all networks was negatively associated with functional connectivity at fine scales, but was positively associated with functional connectivity at coarse scales. The present study is the first to characterize neural complexity in BOLD signals at a high temporal resolution and across different networks and might help clarify the inconsistencies between neural complexity and functional connectivity, thus informing the mechanisms underlying neural complexity. PMID:24959130

  7. Retrieving and routing quantum information in a quantum network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sazim, S.; Chiranjeevi, V.; Chakrabarty, I.; Srinathan, K.

    2015-12-01

    In extant quantum secret sharing protocols, once the secret is shared in a quantum network ( qnet) it cannot be retrieved, even if the dealer wishes that his/her secret no longer be available in the network. For instance, if the dealer is part of the two qnets, say {{Q}}_1 and {{Q}}_2 and he/she subsequently finds that {{Q}}_2 is more reliable than {{Q}}_1, he/she may wish to transfer all her secrets from {{Q}}_1 to {{Q}}_2. Known protocols are inadequate to address such a revocation. In this work we address this problem by designing a protocol that enables the source/dealer to bring back the information shared in the network, if desired. Unlike classical revocation, the no-cloning theorem automatically ensures that the secret is no longer shared in the network. The implications of our results are multi-fold. One interesting implication of our technique is the possibility of routing qubits in asynchronous qnets. By asynchrony we mean that the requisite data/resources are intermittently available (but not necessarily simultaneously) in the qnet. For example, we show that a source S can send quantum information to a destination R even though (a) S and R share no quantum resource, (b) R's identity is unknown to S at the time of sending the message, but is subsequently decided, (c) S herself can be R at a later date and/or in a different location to bequeath her information (`backed-up' in the qnet) and (d) importantly, the path chosen for routing the secret may hit a dead end due to resource constraints, congestion, etc., (therefore the information needs to be back-tracked and sent along an alternate path). Another implication of our technique is the possibility of using insecure resources. For instance, if the quantum memory within an organization is insufficient, it may safely store (using our protocol) its private information with a neighboring organization without (a) revealing critical data to the host and (b) losing control over retrieving the data. Putting the

  8. Networks as Policy Instruments for Innovation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beers, Pieter J.; Geerling-Eiff, Florentien

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of facilitated networks to other policy instruments for agricultural innovation. Design/ methodology/ approach: In an exploratory study of the Dutch agricultural policy context, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten experts on networks and innovation. Policy…

  9. Maximum likelihood: Extracting unbiased information from complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garlaschelli, Diego; Loffredo, Maria I.

    2008-07-01

    The choice of free parameters in network models is subjective, since it depends on what topological properties are being monitored. However, we show that the maximum likelihood (ML) principle indicates a unique, statistically rigorous parameter choice, associated with a well-defined topological feature. We then find that, if the ML condition is incompatible with the built-in parameter choice, network models turn out to be intrinsically ill defined or biased. To overcome this problem, we construct a class of safely unbiased models. We also propose an extension of these results that leads to the fascinating possibility to extract, only from topological data, the “hidden variables” underlying network organization, making them “no longer hidden.” We test our method on World Trade Web data, where we recover the empirical gross domestic product using only topological information.

  10. Protecting against cyber threats in networked information systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ertoz, Levent; Lazarevic, Aleksandar; Eilertson, Eric; Tan, Pang-Ning; Dokas, Paul; Kumar, Vipin; Srivastava, Jaideep

    2003-07-01

    This paper provides an overview of our efforts in detecting cyber attacks in networked information systems. Traditional signature based techniques for detecting cyber attacks can only detect previously known intrusions and are useless against novel attacks and emerging threats. Our current research at the University of Minnesota is focused on developing data mining techniques to automatically detect attacks against computer networks and systems. This research is being conducted as a part of MINDS (Minnesota Intrusion Detection System) project at the University of Minnesota. Experimental results on live network traffic at the University of Minnesota show that the new techniques show great promise in detecting novel intrusions. In particular, during the past few months our techniques have been successful in automatically identifying several novel intrusions that could not be detected using state-of-the-art tools such as SNORT.

  11. Automated analysis of information processing, kinetic independence and modular architecture in biochemical networks using MIDIA.

    PubMed

    Bowsher, Clive G

    2011-02-15

    Understanding the encoding and propagation of information by biochemical reaction networks and the relationship of such information processing properties to modular network structure is of fundamental importance in the study of cell signalling and regulation. However, a rigorous, automated approach for general biochemical networks has not been available, and high-throughput analysis has therefore been out of reach. Modularization Identification by Dynamic Independence Algorithms (MIDIA) is a user-friendly, extensible R package that performs automated analysis of how information is processed by biochemical networks. An important component is the algorithm's ability to identify exact network decompositions based on both the mass action kinetics and informational properties of the network. These modularizations are visualized using a tree structure from which important dynamic conditional independence properties can be directly read. Only partial stoichiometric information needs to be used as input to MIDIA, and neither simulations nor knowledge of rate parameters are required. When applied to a signalling network, for example, the method identifies the routes and species involved in the sequential propagation of information between its multiple inputs and outputs. These routes correspond to the relevant paths in the tree structure and may be further visualized using the Input-Output Path Matrix tool. MIDIA remains computationally feasible for the largest network reconstructions currently available and is straightforward to use with models written in Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML). The package is distributed under the GNU General Public License and is available, together with a link to browsable Supplementary Material, at http://code.google.com/p/midia. Further information is at www.maths.bris.ac.uk/~macgb/Software.html.

  12. Strategies To Promote Agricultural Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1992

    The purpose of the agricultural literacy effort has been to produce informed citizens able to participate more fully in the establishment of policies that support a highly competitive agricultural industry in this country and abroad. In their article titled, "Position Statement on Agricultural Literacy," Russell, McCracken, and Miller…

  13. Automatic physical inference with information maximizing neural networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Charnock, Tom; Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin D.

    2018-04-01

    Compressing large data sets to a manageable number of summaries that are informative about the underlying parameters vastly simplifies both frequentist and Bayesian inference. When only simulations are available, these summaries are typically chosen heuristically, so they may inadvertently miss important information. We introduce a simulation-based machine learning technique that trains artificial neural networks to find nonlinear functionals of data that maximize Fisher information: information maximizing neural networks (IMNNs). In test cases where the posterior can be derived exactly, likelihood-free inference based on automatically derived IMNN summaries produces nearly exact posteriors, showing that these summaries are good approximations to sufficient statistics. In a series of numerical examples of increasing complexity and astrophysical relevance we show that IMNNs are robustly capable of automatically finding optimal, nonlinear summaries of the data even in cases where linear compression fails: inferring the variance of Gaussian signal in the presence of noise, inferring cosmological parameters from mock simulations of the Lyman-α forest in quasar spectra, and inferring frequency-domain parameters from LISA-like detections of gravitational waveforms. In this final case, the IMNN summary outperforms linear data compression by avoiding the introduction of spurious likelihood maxima. We anticipate that the automatic physical inference method described in this paper will be essential to obtain both accurate and precise cosmological parameter estimates from complex and large astronomical data sets, including those from LSST and Euclid.

  14. Humanitarian Information Management Network Effectiveness: An Analysis at the Organizational and Network Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ngamassi Tchouakeu, Louis-Marie

    2011-01-01

    Massive international response to humanitarian crises such as the South Asian Tsunami in 2004, the Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010 highlights the importance of humanitarian inter-organizational collaboration networks, especially in information management and exchange. Despite more than a decade old call for more research…

  15. Lewis Information Network (LINK): Background and overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schulte, Roger R.

    1987-01-01

    The NASA Lewis Research Center supports many research facilities with many isolated buildings, including wind tunnels, test cells, and research laboratories. These facilities are all located on a 350 acre campus adjacent to the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. The function of NASA-Lewis is to do basic and applied research in all areas of aeronautics, fluid mechanics, materials and structures, space propulsion, and energy systems. These functions require a great variety of remote high speed, high volume data communications for computing and interactive graphic capabilities. In addition, new requirements for local distribution of intercenter video teleconferencing and data communications via satellite have developed. To address these and future communications requirements for the next 15 yrs, a project team was organized to design and implement a new high speed communication system that would handle both data and video information in a common lab-wide Local Area Network. The project team selected cable television broadband coaxial cable technology as the communications medium and first installation of in-ground cable began in the summer of 1980. The Lewis Information Network (LINK) became operational in August 1982 and has become the backbone of all data communications and video.

  16. Is "the perfect model" really needed? - Analysis of the quality level of climate information necessary for supporting adaptation in agriculture and forestry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gálos, Borbála; Ostler, Wolf-Uwe; Csáki, Péter; Bidló, András; Panferov, Oleg

    2016-04-01

    Recent results of climate science (e.g. IPCC AR5, 2013) and statements of climate policy (e.g. Paris Agreement) confirm that climate change is an ongoing issue. The consequences will be noticeable for a long time even if the 2 Degree goal is reached. Therefore, action plans are necessary for adaptation and mitigation on national and international level. Forestry and agriculture are especially threatened by the probable increase of the frequency and/or intensity of climate extremes. Severe impacts of recurrent droughts/heat waves that were observed in the last decades in the sensitive and vulnerable ecosystems and regions are very likely to occur with increasing probability throughout the 21st century. For the adequate climate impact assessments, for adaptation strategies as well as for supporting decisions in the above mentioned sectors the reliable information on the long-term climate tendencies and on ecosystem responses are required. Here are the two major problems: on the one hand the information on current climate and future climate developments are highly uncertain. On the other hand, due to limited knowledge on ecosystem responses, it is difficult to define how certain or accurate the provided climate data should be for the plausible application in agricultural/forestry research and practice. Considering agriculture and forestry, our research is focusing on the following questions: • What is the climate information demand of practice and impact research in the two sectors? • What quality level of climate information is necessary for adaptation support? • How does the accuracy of climate input affect the results of the climate impact assessments? The agriculture and forestry operate at two very different time scales and have a different reaction times and adaptation capacities. Agriculture requires short-term information on current conditions and short-/medium-term weather forecast. To assess the degree of information accuracy required by practical

  17. Information theory in systems biology. Part II: protein-protein interaction and signaling networks.

    PubMed

    Mousavian, Zaynab; Díaz, José; Masoudi-Nejad, Ali

    2016-03-01

    By the development of information theory in 1948 by Claude Shannon to address the problems in the field of data storage and data communication over (noisy) communication channel, it has been successfully applied in many other research areas such as bioinformatics and systems biology. In this manuscript, we attempt to review some of the existing literatures in systems biology, which are using the information theory measures in their calculations. As we have reviewed most of the existing information-theoretic methods in gene regulatory and metabolic networks in the first part of the review, so in the second part of our study, the application of information theory in other types of biological networks including protein-protein interaction and signaling networks will be surveyed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Capacity in Earth Observations for Agricultural Monitoring: The GEOGLAM Experience

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitcraft, A. K.; Di Bella, C. M.; Becker Reshef, I.; Deshayes, M.; Justice, C. O.

    2015-12-01

    Since 2011, the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) Initiative has been working to strengthen the international community's capacity to use Earth observation (EO) data to derive timely, accurate, and transparent information on agriculture, with the goals of reducing market volatility and promoting food security. GEOGLAM aims to develop capacity for EO-based agricultural monitoring at multiple scales, from national to regional to global. This is accomplished through training workshops, developing and transferring of best-practices, establishing networks of broad and sustainable institutional support, and designing or adapting tools and methodologies to fit localized contexts. Over the past four years, capacity development activities in the context of GEOGLAM have spanned all agriculture-containing continents, with much more work to be done, particularly in the domains of promoting access to large, computationally-costly datasets. This talk will detail GEOGLAM's experiences, challenges, and opportunities surrounding building international collaboration, ensuring institutional buy-in, and developing sustainable programs.

  19. Occurrence of maize detritus and a transgenic insecticidal protein (Cry1Ab) within the stream network of an agricultural landscape

    PubMed Central

    Tank, Jennifer L.; Rosi-Marshall, Emma J.; Royer, Todd V.; Whiles, Matt R.; Griffiths, Natalie A.; Frauendorf, Therese C.; Treering, David J.

    2010-01-01

    Widespread planting of maize throughout the agricultural Midwest may result in detritus entering adjacent stream ecosystems, and 63% of the 2009 US maize crop was genetically modified to express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. Six months after harvest, we conducted a synoptic survey of 217 stream sites in Indiana to determine the extent of maize detritus and presence of Cry1Ab protein in the stream network. We found that 86% of stream sites contained maize leaves, cobs, husks, and/or stalks in the active stream channel. We also detected Cry1Ab protein in stream-channel maize at 13% of sites and in the water column at 23% of sites. We found that 82% of stream sites were adjacent to maize fields, and Geographical Information Systems analyses indicated that 100% of sites containing Cry1Ab-positive detritus in the active stream channel had maize planted within 500 m during the previous crop year. Maize detritus likely enters streams throughout the Corn Belt; using US Department of Agriculture land cover data, we estimate that 91% of the 256,446 km of streams/rivers in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana are located within 500 m of a maize field. Maize detritus is common in low-gradient stream channels in northwestern Indiana, and Cry1Ab proteins persist in maize leaves and can be measured in the water column even 6 mo after harvest. Hence, maize detritus, and associated Cry1Ab proteins, are widely distributed and persistent in the headwater streams of a Corn Belt landscape. PMID:20876106

  20. Occurrence of maize detritus and a transgenic insecticidal protein (Cry1Ab) within the stream network of an agricultural landscape.

    PubMed

    Tank, Jennifer L; Rosi-Marshall, Emma J; Royer, Todd V; Whiles, Matt R; Griffiths, Natalie A; Frauendorf, Therese C; Treering, David J

    2010-10-12

    Widespread planting of maize throughout the agricultural Midwest may result in detritus entering adjacent stream ecosystems, and 63% of the 2009 US maize crop was genetically modified to express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. Six months after harvest, we conducted a synoptic survey of 217 stream sites in Indiana to determine the extent of maize detritus and presence of Cry1Ab protein in the stream network. We found that 86% of stream sites contained maize leaves, cobs, husks, and/or stalks in the active stream channel. We also detected Cry1Ab protein in stream-channel maize at 13% of sites and in the water column at 23% of sites. We found that 82% of stream sites were adjacent to maize fields, and Geographical Information Systems analyses indicated that 100% of sites containing Cry1Ab-positive detritus in the active stream channel had maize planted within 500 m during the previous crop year. Maize detritus likely enters streams throughout the Corn Belt; using US Department of Agriculture land cover data, we estimate that 91% of the 256,446 km of streams/rivers in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana are located within 500 m of a maize field. Maize detritus is common in low-gradient stream channels in northwestern Indiana, and Cry1Ab proteins persist in maize leaves and can be measured in the water column even 6 mo after harvest. Hence, maize detritus, and associated Cry1Ab proteins, are widely distributed and persistent in the headwater streams of a Corn Belt landscape.