Accelerated Dimension-Independent Adaptive Metropolis

DOE PAGES

Chen, Yuxin; Keyes, David E.; Law, Kody J.; ...

2016-10-27

This work describes improvements from algorithmic and architectural means to black-box Bayesian inference over high-dimensional parameter spaces. The well-known adaptive Metropolis (AM) algorithm [33] is extended herein to scale asymptotically uniformly with respect to the underlying parameter dimension for Gaussian targets, by respecting the variance of the target. The resulting algorithm, referred to as the dimension-independent adaptive Metropolis (DIAM) algorithm, also shows improved performance with respect to adaptive Metropolis on non-Gaussian targets. This algorithm is further improved, and the possibility of probing high-dimensional (with dimension d 1000) targets is enabled, via GPU-accelerated numerical libraries and periodically synchronized concurrent chains (justimore » ed a posteriori). Asymptotically in dimension, this GPU implementation exhibits a factor of four improvement versus a competitive CPU-based Intel MKL parallel version alone. Strong scaling to concurrent chains is exhibited, through a combination of longer time per sample batch (weak scaling) and yet fewer necessary samples to convergence. The algorithm performance is illustrated on several Gaussian and non-Gaussian target examples, in which the dimension may be in excess of one thousand.« less

Accelerated Dimension-Independent Adaptive Metropolis

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

Chen, Yuxin; Keyes, David E.; Law, Kody J.

This work describes improvements from algorithmic and architectural means to black-box Bayesian inference over high-dimensional parameter spaces. The well-known adaptive Metropolis (AM) algorithm [33] is extended herein to scale asymptotically uniformly with respect to the underlying parameter dimension for Gaussian targets, by respecting the variance of the target. The resulting algorithm, referred to as the dimension-independent adaptive Metropolis (DIAM) algorithm, also shows improved performance with respect to adaptive Metropolis on non-Gaussian targets. This algorithm is further improved, and the possibility of probing high-dimensional (with dimension d 1000) targets is enabled, via GPU-accelerated numerical libraries and periodically synchronized concurrent chains (justimore » ed a posteriori). Asymptotically in dimension, this GPU implementation exhibits a factor of four improvement versus a competitive CPU-based Intel MKL parallel version alone. Strong scaling to concurrent chains is exhibited, through a combination of longer time per sample batch (weak scaling) and yet fewer necessary samples to convergence. The algorithm performance is illustrated on several Gaussian and non-Gaussian target examples, in which the dimension may be in excess of one thousand.« less

The socio-economic dimension of flood risk assessment: insights of KULTURisk framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giupponi, Carlo; Gain, Animesh; Mojtahed, Vahid; Balbi, Stefano

2013-04-01

The approaches for vulnerability and risk assessment have found different and often contrasting solutions by various schools of thought. The two most prominent communities in this field are: climate change adaptation (CCA), and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Although those communities have usually in common the aim of reducing socio-economic vulnerability and risk to natural hazards, they have usually referred to different definitions and conceptualizations. For example, the DRR community has always driven more emphasis on the concept of risk and vulnerability is considered as a physical/environmental input for the quantification of risk, while the CCA research stream, mainly under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), considered vulnerability as an output deriving from social conditions and processes such as adaptation or maladaptation. Recently, with the publication of the IPCC Special Report on extreme events and disasters (IPCC-SREX), the notions of vulnerability and risk are somehow integrated in order to jointly consider both climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. The IPCC-SREX indeed is expected to significantly contribute to find common language and methodological approaches across disciplines and, therefore, the opportunity emerges for proposing new operational solutions, consistent with the most recent evolution of concepts and terminology. Based on the development of the IPCC Report, the KULTURisk project developed an operational framework to support integrated assessment and decision support through the combination of contributions from diverse disciplinary knowledge, with emphasis on the social and economic dimensions. KIRAF (KULTURisk Integrated Risk Assessment Framework) is specifically aimed at comprehensively evaluate the benefits of risk mitigation measures with consideration of the dynamic context deriving from the consideration of climatic changes and their effects on natural disasters, within the policy framework of climate change adaptation (CCA). Three main innovations are proposed with respect to the current state of the art: (1) to include the social capacities of reducing risk, (2) to go beyond the estimation direct tangible costs, and (3) to provide an operational solution for decision support to assess risks, impacts and the benefits of plausible risk reduction measures, compatible with both the DRR and the CCA literatures. As stated above, the proposed framework is the inclusion of social capacities (adaptive and coping capacities) in the process of translating risk into a comprehensive cost matrix considering not only direct tangible costs (damages), but also the three other components deriving from the combination of tangible/intangible and direct/indirect costs. The proposed KIRAF approach is thus expected to provide: 1) an operational basis for multidisciplinary integration; 2) a flexible reference to deal with heterogeneous case studies and potentially various types of hazards; and 3) a means to support the assessment of alternative risk prevention measures including consideration of social and cultural dimensions.

Effective dimension reduction for sparse functional data

PubMed Central

YAO, F.; LEI, E.; WU, Y.

2015-01-01

Summary We propose a method of effective dimension reduction for functional data, emphasizing the sparse design where one observes only a few noisy and irregular measurements for some or all of the subjects. The proposed method borrows strength across the entire sample and provides a way to characterize the effective dimension reduction space, via functional cumulative slicing. Our theoretical study reveals a bias-variance trade-off associated with the regularizing truncation and decaying structures of the predictor process and the effective dimension reduction space. A simulation study and an application illustrate the superior finite-sample performance of the method. PMID:26566293

Development of an Adaptive Learning System with Multiple Perspectives based on Students' Learning Styles and Cognitive Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Tzu-Chi; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Yang, Stephen Jen-Hwa

2013-01-01

In this study, an adaptive learning system is developed by taking multiple dimensions of personalized features into account. A personalized presentation module is proposed for developing adaptive learning systems based on the field dependent/independent cognitive style model and the eight dimensions of Felder-Silverman's learning style. An…

Adaptive capacity indicators to assess sustainability of urban water systems - Current application.

PubMed

Spiller, Marc

2016-11-01

Sustainability is commonly assessed along environmental, societal, economic and technological dimensions. A crucial aspect of sustainability is that inter-generational equality must be ensured. This requires that sustainability is attained in the here and now as well as into the future. Therefore, what is perceived as 'sustainable' changes as a function of societal opinion and technological and scientific progress. A concept that describes the ability of systems to change is adaptive capacity. Literature suggests that the ability of systems to adapt is an integral part of sustainable development. This paper demonstrates that indicators measuring adaptive capacity are underrepresented in current urban water sustainability studies. Furthermore, it is discussed under which sustainability dimensions adaptive capacity indicators are lacking and why. Of the >90 indicators analysed, only nine are adaptive capacity indicators, of which six are socio-cultural, two technological, one economical and none environmental. This infrequent use of adaptive capacity indicators in sustainability assessments led to the conclusion that the challenge of dynamic and uncertain urban water systems is, with the exception of the socio-cultural dimension, not yet sufficiently reflected in the application of urban water sustainability indicators. This raises concerns about the progress towards urban water systems that can transform as a response variation and change. Therefore, research should focus on developing methods and indicators that can define, evaluate and quantify adaptive capacity under the economic, environmental and technical dimension of sustainability. Furthermore, it should be evaluated whether sustainability frameworks that focus on the control processes of urban water systems are more suitable for measuring adaptive capacity, than the assessments along environmental, economic, socio-cultural and technological dimensions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Face Adaptation Effects: Reviewing the Impact of Adapting Information, Time, and Transfer

PubMed Central

Strobach, Tilo; Carbon, Claus-Christian

2013-01-01

The ability to adapt is essential to live and survive in an ever-changing environment such as the human ecosystem. Here we review the literature on adaptation effects of face stimuli to give an overview of existing findings in this area, highlight gaps in its research literature, initiate new directions in face adaptation research, and help to design future adaptation studies. Furthermore, this review should lead to better understanding of the processing characteristics as well as the mental representations of face-relevant information. The review systematizes studies at a behavioral level in respect of a framework which includes three dimensions representing the major characteristics of studies in this field of research. These dimensions comprise (1) the specificity of adapting face information, e.g., identity, gender, or age aspects of the material to be adapted to (2) aspects of timing (e.g., the sustainability of adaptation effects) and (3) transfer relations between face images presented during adaptation and adaptation tests (e.g., images of the same or different identities). The review concludes with options for how to combine findings across different dimensions to demonstrate the relevance of our framework for future studies. PMID:23760550

Two-dimensional adaptation in the auditory forebrain

PubMed Central

Nagel, Katherine I.; Doupe, Allison J.

2011-01-01

Sensory neurons exhibit two universal properties: sensitivity to multiple stimulus dimensions, and adaptation to stimulus statistics. How adaptation affects encoding along primary dimensions is well characterized for most sensory pathways, but if and how it affects secondary dimensions is less clear. We studied these effects for neurons in the avian equivalent of primary auditory cortex, responding to temporally modulated sounds. We showed that the firing rate of single neurons in field L was affected by at least two components of the time-varying sound log-amplitude. When overall sound amplitude was low, neural responses were based on nonlinear combinations of the mean log-amplitude and its rate of change (first time differential). At high mean sound amplitude, the two relevant stimulus features became the first and second time derivatives of the sound log-amplitude. Thus a strikingly systematic relationship between dimensions was conserved across changes in stimulus intensity, whereby one of the relevant dimensions approximated the time differential of the other dimension. In contrast to stimulus mean, increases in stimulus variance did not change relevant dimensions, but selectively increased the contribution of the second dimension to neural firing, illustrating a new adaptive behavior enabled by multidimensional encoding. Finally, we demonstrated theoretically that inclusion of time differentials as additional stimulus features, as seen so prominently in the single-neuron responses studied here, is a useful strategy for encoding naturalistic stimuli, because it can lower the necessary sampling rate while maintaining the robustness of stimulus reconstruction to correlated noise. PMID:21753019

Confirmatory factor analysis of Post-Occupancy Evaluation Model (POEM) for sustainable neighborhood development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaman, R.; Thadaniti, S.; Abdullah, J.; Ahmad, N.; Ishak, N. M.

2018-02-01

The sustainable urban development growth in the ASEAN region has accelerated tremendously. More demand on the sustainable development has led to bigger market driven certified green neighborhood and buildings. However, there is a lack of post-occupancy evaluation study conducted in assessing the end-users perspective on the certified sustainable neighborhood development. This paper aims to investigate the end-users point of view on sustainable dimension pillar (SDP) adaptation based on environment dimension, social dimension and economic dimension using Post-Occupancy Evaluation Model (POEM) framework. The research methodology employed stakeholders-Inclusion Approach survey questionnaires in order to obtained the sustainable dimensional adaptation score. The results show that there is sustainable dimension gap in POEM evaluation, hence, suggested the pre- occupancy criteria did not fulfill the SDP adaptation and pre-occupancy criteria and variables if differ from post-occupancy criteria and variables.

Continuity of care from the perspective of users.

PubMed

Mendes, Felismina Rosa P; Gemito, Maria Laurência G Parreirinha; Caldeira, Ermelinda do Carmo; Serra, Isaura da Conceição; Casas-Novas, Maria Vitória

2017-03-01

Continuity of care, in addition to ensuring improvement of the quality of care, contributes to the reduction of health costs. The objective of this study was to analyse the continuity of care in health units in the municipality of Évora (south of Portugal), from the perspective of users. This is across-sectional, exploratory and descriptive study with a quantitative approach, with a sample consisting of 342 users of health units. The instrument was a questionnaire adapted from English and Spanish studies. The results show that elements of continuity were identified in the different dimensions of the continuity of care - relational, management, information and some items of flexible continuity. Longitudinal continuity has the lowest values in nursing care. In conclusion, what stands out positively, and in its different dimensions, is relational continuity, in which most users recommend their family doctor and nurse to family and friends, and flexible continuity, which translates into reduced waiting times to be attended by a doctor or nurse and access to care. What stands out negatively is the weak involvement of the user in care by health professionals, in the dimensions of relational continuity.

The Analysis of Dimensionality Reduction Techniques in Cryptographic Object Code Classification

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

Jason L. Wright; Milos Manic

2010-05-01

This paper compares the application of three different dimension reduction techniques to the problem of locating cryptography in compiled object code. A simple classi?er is used to compare dimension reduction via sorted covariance, principal component analysis, and correlation-based feature subset selection. The analysis concentrates on the classi?cation accuracy as the number of dimensions is increased.

A Review on Dimension Reduction

PubMed Central

Ma, Yanyuan; Zhu, Liping

2013-01-01

Summary Summarizing the effect of many covariates through a few linear combinations is an effective way of reducing covariate dimension and is the backbone of (sufficient) dimension reduction. Because the replacement of high-dimensional covariates by low-dimensional linear combinations is performed with a minimum assumption on the specific regression form, it enjoys attractive advantages as well as encounters unique challenges in comparison with the variable selection approach. We review the current literature of dimension reduction with an emphasis on the two most popular models, where the dimension reduction affects the conditional distribution and the conditional mean, respectively. We discuss various estimation and inference procedures in different levels of detail, with the intention of focusing on their underneath idea instead of technicalities. We also discuss some unsolved problems in this area for potential future research. PMID:23794782

Higher rates of sex evolve during adaptation to more complex environments

PubMed Central

Luijckx, Pepijn; Ho, Eddie Ka Ho; Gasim, Majid; Chen, Suyang; Stanic, Andrijana; Yanchus, Connor; Kim, Yun Seong; Agrawal, Aneil F.

2017-01-01

A leading hypothesis for the evolutionary maintenance of sexual reproduction proposes that sex is advantageous because it facilitates adaptation. Changes in the environment stimulate adaptation but not all changes are equivalent; a change may occur along one or multiple environmental dimensions. In two evolution experiments with the facultatively sexual rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, we test how environmental complexity affects the evolution of sex by adapting replicate populations to various environments that differ from the original along one, two, or three environmental dimensions. Three different estimates of fitness (growth, lifetime reproduction, and population density) confirmed that populations adapted to their new environment. Growth measures revealed an intriguing cost of complex adaptations: populations that adapted to more complex environments lost greater amounts of fitness in the original environment. Furthermore, both experiments showed that B. calyciflorus became more sexual when adapting to a greater number of environmental dimensions. Common garden experiments confirmed that observed changes in sex were heritable. As environments in nature are inherently complex these findings help explain why sex is maintained in natural populations. PMID:28053226

Higher rates of sex evolve during adaptation to more complex environments.

PubMed

Luijckx, Pepijn; Ho, Eddie Ka Ho; Gasim, Majid; Chen, Suyang; Stanic, Andrijana; Yanchus, Connor; Kim, Yun Seong; Agrawal, Aneil F

2017-01-17

A leading hypothesis for the evolutionary maintenance of sexual reproduction proposes that sex is advantageous because it facilitates adaptation. Changes in the environment stimulate adaptation but not all changes are equivalent; a change may occur along one or multiple environmental dimensions. In two evolution experiments with the facultatively sexual rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, we test how environmental complexity affects the evolution of sex by adapting replicate populations to various environments that differ from the original along one, two, or three environmental dimensions. Three different estimates of fitness (growth, lifetime reproduction, and population density) confirmed that populations adapted to their new environment. Growth measures revealed an intriguing cost of complex adaptations: populations that adapted to more complex environments lost greater amounts of fitness in the original environment. Furthermore, both experiments showed that B. calyciflorus became more sexual when adapting to a greater number of environmental dimensions. Common garden experiments confirmed that observed changes in sex were heritable. As environments in nature are inherently complex these findings help explain why sex is maintained in natural populations.

Methodological and hermeneutic reduction - a study of Finnish multiple-birth families.

PubMed

Heinonen, Kristiina

2015-07-01

To describe reduction as a method in methodological and hermeneutic reduction and the hermeneutic circle using van Manen's principles, with the empirical example of the lifeworlds of multiple-birth families in Finland. Reduction involves several levels that can be distinguished for their methodological usefulness. Researchers can use reduction in different ways and dimensions for their methodological needs. Open interviews with public health nurses, family care workers and parents of twins. The systematic literature and knowledge review shows there were no articles on multiple-birth families that used van Manen's method. This paper presents reduction as a method that uses the hermeneutic circle. The lifeworlds of multiple-birth families consist of three core themes: 'A state of constant vigilance'; 'Ensuring that they can continue to cope'; and 'Opportunities to share with other people'. Reduction allows us to perform deep phenomenological-hermeneutic research and understand people's lifeworlds. It helps to keep research stages separate but also enables a consolidated view. Social care and healthcare professionals have to hear parents' voices better to comprehensively understand their situation; they also need further tools and training to be able to empower parents of twins. The many variations in adapting reduction mean its use can be very complex and confusing. This paper adds to the discussion of phenomenology, hermeneutic study and reduction.

On the Use of Adaptive Instructional Images Based on the Sequential-Global Dimension of the Felder-Silverman Learning Style Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filippidis, Stavros K.; Tsoukalas, Ioannis A.

2009-01-01

An adaptive educational system that uses adaptive presentation is presented. In this system fragments of different images present the same content and the system can choose the one most relevant to the user based on the sequential-global dimension of Felder-Silverman's learning style theory. In order to retrieve the learning style of each student…

Neuroanatomical profiles of alexithymia dimensions and subtypes.

PubMed

Goerlich-Dobre, Katharina Sophia; Votinov, Mikhail; Habel, Ute; Pripfl, Juergen; Lamm, Claus

2015-10-01

Alexithymia, a major risk factor for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, has been recognized to comprise two dimensions, a cognitive dimension (difficulties identifying, analyzing, and verbalizing feelings) and an affective one (difficulties emotionalizing and fantasizing). Based on these dimensions, the existence of four distinct alexithymia subtypes has been proposed, but never empirically tested. In this study, 125 participants were assigned to four groups corresponding to the proposed alexithymia subtypes: Type I (impairment on both dimensions), Type II (impairment on the cognitive, but not the affective dimension), Type III (impairment on the affective, but not the cognitive dimension), and Lexithymics (no impairment on either dimension). By means of voxel-based morphometry, associations of the alexithymia dimensions and subtypes with gray and white matter volumes were analyzed. Type I and Type II alexithymia were characterized by gray matter volume reductions in the left amygdala and the thalamus. The cognitive dimension was further linked to volume reductions in the right amygdala, left posterior insula, precuneus, caudate, hippocampus, and parahippocampus. Type III alexithymia was marked by volume reduction in the MCC only, and the affective dimension was further characterized by larger sgACC volume. Moreover, individuals with the intermediate alexithymia Types II and III showed gray matter volume reductions in distinct regions, and had larger corpus callosum volumes compared to Lexithymics. These results substantiate the notion of a differential impact of the cognitive and affective alexithymia dimensions on brain morphology and provide evidence for separable neuroanatomical representations of the different alexithymia subtypes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Visual adaptation of the perception of "life": animacy is a basic perceptual dimension of faces.

PubMed

Koldewyn, Kami; Hanus, Patricia; Balas, Benjamin

2014-08-01

One critical component of understanding another's mind is the perception of "life" in a face. However, little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying this perception of animacy. Here, using a visual adaptation paradigm, we ask whether face animacy is (1) a basic dimension of face perception and (2) supported by a common neural mechanism across distinct face categories defined by age and species. Observers rated the perceived animacy of adult human faces before and after adaptation to (1) adult faces, (2) child faces, and (3) dog faces. When testing the perception of animacy in human faces, we found significant adaptation to both adult and child faces, but not dog faces. We did, however, find significant adaptation when morphed dog images and dog adaptors were used. Thus, animacy perception in faces appears to be a basic dimension of face perception that is species specific but not constrained by age categories.

Convergence of an hp-Adaptive Finite Element Strategy in Two and Three Space-Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bürg, Markus; Dörfler, Willy

2010-09-01

We show convergence of an automatic hp-adaptive refinement strategy for the finite element method on the elliptic boundary value problem. The strategy is a generalization of a refinement strategy proposed for one-dimensional situations to problems in two and three space-dimensions.

The Adaptability of Career Decision-Making Profiles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadassi, Reuma; Gati, Itamar; Dayan, Amira

2012-01-01

The Career Decision-Making Profiles questionnaire (CDMP; Gati, Landman, Davidovitch, Asulin-Peretz, & Gadassi, 2010) uses a new model for characterizing the way individuals make decisions based on the simultaneous use of 11 dimensions. The present study investigated which pole of each dimension is more adaptive. Using the data of 383 young…

Gross motor function in children with spastic Cerebral Palsy and Cerebral Visual Impairment: A comparison between outcomes of the original and the Cerebral Visual Impairment adapted Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88-CVI).

PubMed

Salavati, M; Rameckers, E A A; Waninge, A; Krijnen, W P; Steenbergen, B; van der Schans, C P

2017-01-01

To investigate whether the adapted version of the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) results in higher scores. This is most likely to be a reflection of their gross motor function, however it may be the result of a better comprehension of the instruction of the adapted version. The scores of the original and adapted GMFM-88 were compared in the same group of children (n=21 boys and n=16 girls), mean (SD) age 113 (30) months with CP and CVI, within a time span of two weeks. A paediatric physical therapist familiar with the child assessed both tests in random order. The GMFCS level, mental development and age at testing were also collected. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare two different measurements (the original and adapted GMFM-88) on a single sample, (the same child with CP and CVI; p<0.05). The comparison between scores on the original and adapted GMFM-88 in all children with CP and CVI showed a positive difference in percentage score on at least one of the five dimensions and positive percentage scores for the two versions differed on all five dimensions for fourteen children. For six children a difference was seen in four dimensions and in 10 children difference was present in three dimensions (GMFM dimension A, B& C or C, D & E) (p<0.001). The adapted GMFM-88 provides a better estimate of gross motor function per se in children with CP and CVI that is not adversely impacted bytheir visual problems. On the basis of these findings, we recommend using the adapted GMFM-88 to measure gross motor functioning in children with CP and CVI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire - Short Version (PSDQ) for use in Brazil.

PubMed

Oliveira, Thaís D; Costa, Danielle de S; Albuquerque, Maicon R; Malloy-Diniz, Leandro F; Miranda, Débora M; de Paula, Jonas J

2018-06-11

The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) is used worldwide to assess three styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive) and seven dimensions of parenting. In this study, we adapted the short version of the PSDQ for use in Brazil and investigated its validity and reliability. Participants were 451 mothers of children aged 3 to 18 years, though sample size varied with analyses. The translation and adaptation of the PSDQ followed a rigorous methodological approach. Then, we investigated the content, criterion, and construct validity of the adapted instrument. The scale content validity index (S-CVI) was considered adequate (0.97). There was evidence of internal validity, with the PSDQ dimensions showing strong correlations with their higher-order parenting styles. Confirmatory factor analysis endorsed the three-factor, second-order solution (i.e., three styles consisting of seven dimensions). The PSDQ showed convergent validity with the validated Brazilian version of the Parenting Styles Inventory (Inventário de Estilos Parentais - IEP), as well as external validity, as it was associated with several instruments measuring sociodemographic and behavioral/emotional-problem variables. The PSDQ is an effective and reliable psychometric instrument to assess childrearing strategies according to Baumrind's model of parenting styles.

Sustainable dimension adaptation measure in green township assessment criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaman, R.; Thadaniti, S.; Ahmad, N.; Halil, F. M.; Nasir, N. M.

2018-05-01

Urbanized areas are typically the most significant sources of environmental degradation, thus, an urban assessment criteria tools aiming at equally adapted sustainability dimensions need to be firmly embedded in benchmarking planning and design framework and upon occupancy. The need for integral systematic rating is recognized in order to evaluate the performance of sustainable neighborhood and to promote sustainable urban development. In this study, Green Building Index Township Assessment Criteria (GBI-TAC) will be measure on holistic sustainable dimension pillar (SDP) adaptation in order to assess and redefine the current sustainability assessment criteria for future sustainable neighborhood development (SND). The objective of the research is to find-out whether the current GBI-TAC and its variables fulfilled the holistic SDP adaptations towards sustainable neighborhood development in Malaysia. The stakeholder-inclusion approached is used in this research in order to gather professional’s stakeholders’ opinions regarding the SDP adaptations for sustainable neighborhood development. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS AMOS22 Structural Equation Modelling. The findings suggested an adaptation gap of SDP in current GBI-TAC even though all core-criteria supported SDP adaptation, hence lead to further review and refinement for future Neighborhood Assessment Criteria in Malaysia.

Community Capitals as Community Resilience to Climate Change: Conceptual Connections.

PubMed

Kais, Shaikh Mohammad; Islam, Md Saidul

2016-12-06

In the last few decades, disaster risk reduction programs and climate initiatives across the globe have focused largely on the intimate connections between vulnerability, recovery, adaptation, and coping mechanisms. Recent focus, however, is increasingly paid to community resilience. Community, placed at the intersection between the household and national levels of social organization, is crucial in addressing economic, social, or environmental disturbances disrupting human security. Resilience measures a community's capability of bouncing back-restoring the original pre-disaster state, as well as bouncing forward-the capacity to cope with emerging post-disaster situations and changes. Both the 'bouncing back' and 'moving forward' properties of a community are shaped and reshaped by internal and external shocks such as climate threats, the community's resilience dimensions, and the intensity of economic, social, and other community capitals. This article reviews (1) the concept of resilience in relation to climate change and vulnerability; and (2) emerging perspectives on community-level impacts of climate change, resilience dimensions, and community capitals. It argues that overall resilience of a place-based community is located at the intersection of the community's resilience dimensions, community capitals, and the level of climate disruptions.

Community Capitals as Community Resilience to Climate Change: Conceptual Connections

PubMed Central

Kais, Shaikh Mohammad; Islam, Md Saidul

2016-01-01

In the last few decades, disaster risk reduction programs and climate initiatives across the globe have focused largely on the intimate connections between vulnerability, recovery, adaptation, and coping mechanisms. Recent focus, however, is increasingly paid to community resilience. Community, placed at the intersection between the household and national levels of social organization, is crucial in addressing economic, social, or environmental disturbances disrupting human security. Resilience measures a community’s capability of bouncing back—restoring the original pre-disaster state, as well as bouncing forward—the capacity to cope with emerging post-disaster situations and changes. Both the ‘bouncing back’ and ‘moving forward’ properties of a community are shaped and reshaped by internal and external shocks such as climate threats, the community’s resilience dimensions, and the intensity of economic, social, and other community capitals. This article reviews (1) the concept of resilience in relation to climate change and vulnerability; and (2) emerging perspectives on community-level impacts of climate change, resilience dimensions, and community capitals. It argues that overall resilience of a place-based community is located at the intersection of the community’s resilience dimensions, community capitals, and the level of climate disruptions. PMID:27929448

Technological Adoption and Organizational Adaptation: Developing a Model for Human Resource Management in an International Business Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gattiker, Urs E.

A model of technological training has two dimensions: level of cultural stability and employee's level of cognitive ability. Each dimension has two variables. The variables of cultural stability are (1) technological adoption and organizational adaptation and (2) structure of work and work processes. For cognitive ability, the variables are…

Exploration, Sampling, And Reconstruction of Free Energy Surfaces with Gaussian Process Regression.

PubMed

Mones, Letif; Bernstein, Noam; Csányi, Gábor

2016-10-11

Practical free energy reconstruction algorithms involve three separate tasks: biasing, measuring some observable, and finally reconstructing the free energy surface from those measurements. In more than one dimension, adaptive schemes make it possible to explore only relatively low lying regions of the landscape by progressively building up the bias toward the negative of the free energy surface so that free energy barriers are eliminated. Most schemes use the final bias as their best estimate of the free energy surface. We show that large gains in computational efficiency, as measured by the reduction of time to solution, can be obtained by separating the bias used for dynamics from the final free energy reconstruction itself. We find that biasing with metadynamics, measuring a free energy gradient estimator, and reconstructing using Gaussian process regression can give an order of magnitude reduction in computational cost.

Triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles of seven asteroids from Lick Observatory adaptive optics images, and of Ceres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drummond, Jack; Christou, Julian

2008-10-01

Seven main belt asteroids, 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, 4 Vesta, 16 Psyche, 87 Sylvia, 324 Bamberga, and 707 Interamnia, were imaged with the adaptive optics system on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory in the near infrared, and their triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles have been determined with parametric blind deconvolution. In addition, the dimensions and pole for 1 Ceres are derived from resolved images at multiple epochs, even though it is an oblate spheroid.

Exploring the Dimensionality of Ethnic Minority Adaptation in Britain: An Analysis across Ethnic and Generational Lines

PubMed Central

Lessard-Phillips, Laurence

2015-01-01

In this article I explore the dimensionality of the long-term experiences of the main ethnic minority groups (their adaptation) in Britain. Using recent British data, I apply factor analysis to uncover the underlying number of factors behind variables deemed to be representative of the adaptation experience within the literature. I then attempt to assess the groupings of adaptation present in the data, to see whether a typology of adaptation exists (i.e. whether adaptation in different dimensions can be concomitant with others). The analyses provide an empirical evidence base to reflect on: (1) the extent of group differences in the adaptation process, which may cut across ethnic and generational lines; and (2) whether the uncovered dimensions of adaptation match existing theoretical views and empirical evidence. Results suggest that adaptation should be regarded as a multi-dimensional phenomenon where clear typologies of adaptation based on specific trade-offs (mostly cultural) appear to exist. PMID:28502998

Cluster Correspondence Analysis.

PubMed

van de Velden, M; D'Enza, A Iodice; Palumbo, F

2017-03-01

A method is proposed that combines dimension reduction and cluster analysis for categorical data by simultaneously assigning individuals to clusters and optimal scaling values to categories in such a way that a single between variance maximization objective is achieved. In a unified framework, a brief review of alternative methods is provided and we show that the proposed method is equivalent to GROUPALS applied to categorical data. Performance of the methods is appraised by means of a simulation study. The results of the joint dimension reduction and clustering methods are compared with the so-called tandem approach, a sequential analysis of dimension reduction followed by cluster analysis. The tandem approach is conjectured to perform worse when variables are added that are unrelated to the cluster structure. Our simulation study confirms this conjecture. Moreover, the results of the simulation study indicate that the proposed method also consistently outperforms alternative joint dimension reduction and clustering methods.

Dimension reduction techniques for the integrative analysis of multi-omics data

PubMed Central

Zeleznik, Oana A.; Thallinger, Gerhard G.; Kuster, Bernhard; Gholami, Amin M.

2016-01-01

State-of-the-art next-generation sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics and other high-throughput ‘omics' technologies enable the efficient generation of large experimental data sets. These data may yield unprecedented knowledge about molecular pathways in cells and their role in disease. Dimension reduction approaches have been widely used in exploratory analysis of single omics data sets. This review will focus on dimension reduction approaches for simultaneous exploratory analyses of multiple data sets. These methods extract the linear relationships that best explain the correlated structure across data sets, the variability both within and between variables (or observations) and may highlight data issues such as batch effects or outliers. We explore dimension reduction techniques as one of the emerging approaches for data integration, and how these can be applied to increase our understanding of biological systems in normal physiological function and disease. PMID:26969681

Modeling Adaptive Educational Methods with IMS Learning Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Specht, Marcus; Burgos, Daniel

2007-01-01

The paper describes a classification system for adaptive methods developed in the area of adaptive educational hypermedia based on four dimensions: What components of the educational system are adapted? To what features of the user and the current context does the system adapt? Why does the system adapt? How does the system get the necessary…

A sparse grid based method for generative dimensionality reduction of high-dimensional data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohn, Bastian; Garcke, Jochen; Griebel, Michael

2016-03-01

Generative dimensionality reduction methods play an important role in machine learning applications because they construct an explicit mapping from a low-dimensional space to the high-dimensional data space. We discuss a general framework to describe generative dimensionality reduction methods, where the main focus lies on a regularized principal manifold learning variant. Since most generative dimensionality reduction algorithms exploit the representer theorem for reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, their computational costs grow at least quadratically in the number n of data. Instead, we introduce a grid-based discretization approach which automatically scales just linearly in n. To circumvent the curse of dimensionality of full tensor product grids, we use the concept of sparse grids. Furthermore, in real-world applications, some embedding directions are usually more important than others and it is reasonable to refine the underlying discretization space only in these directions. To this end, we employ a dimension-adaptive algorithm which is based on the ANOVA (analysis of variance) decomposition of a function. In particular, the reconstruction error is used to measure the quality of an embedding. As an application, the study of large simulation data from an engineering application in the automotive industry (car crash simulation) is performed.

Joint Research on Scatterometry and AFM Wafer Metrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodermann, Bernd; Buhr, Egbert; Danzebrink, Hans-Ulrich; Bär, Markus; Scholze, Frank; Krumrey, Michael; Wurm, Matthias; Klapetek, Petr; Hansen, Poul-Erik; Korpelainen, Virpi; van Veghel, Marijn; Yacoot, Andrew; Siitonen, Samuli; El Gawhary, Omar; Burger, Sven; Saastamoinen, Toni

2011-11-01

Supported by the European Commission and EURAMET, a consortium of 10 participants from national metrology institutes, universities and companies has started a joint research project with the aim of overcoming current challenges in optical scatterometry for traceable linewidth metrology. Both experimental and modelling methods will be enhanced and different methods will be compared with each other and with specially adapted atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurement systems in measurement comparisons. Additionally novel methods for sophisticated data analysis will be developed and investigated to reach significant reductions of the measurement uncertainties in critical dimension (CD) metrology. One final goal will be the realisation of a wafer based reference standard material for calibration of scatterometers.

Evidence for pitch chroma mapping in human auditory cortex.

PubMed

Briley, Paul M; Breakey, Charlotte; Krumbholz, Katrin

2013-11-01

Some areas in auditory cortex respond preferentially to sounds that elicit pitch, such as musical sounds or voiced speech. This study used human electroencephalography (EEG) with an adaptation paradigm to investigate how pitch is represented within these areas and, in particular, whether the representation reflects the physical or perceptual dimensions of pitch. Physically, pitch corresponds to a single monotonic dimension: the repetition rate of the stimulus waveform. Perceptually, however, pitch has to be described with 2 dimensions, a monotonic, "pitch height," and a cyclical, "pitch chroma," dimension, to account for the similarity of the cycle of notes (c, d, e, etc.) across different octaves. The EEG adaptation effect mirrored the cyclicality of the pitch chroma dimension, suggesting that auditory cortex contains a representation of pitch chroma. Source analysis indicated that the centroid of this pitch chroma representation lies somewhat anterior and lateral to primary auditory cortex.

Evidence for Pitch Chroma Mapping in Human Auditory Cortex

PubMed Central

Briley, Paul M.; Breakey, Charlotte; Krumbholz, Katrin

2013-01-01

Some areas in auditory cortex respond preferentially to sounds that elicit pitch, such as musical sounds or voiced speech. This study used human electroencephalography (EEG) with an adaptation paradigm to investigate how pitch is represented within these areas and, in particular, whether the representation reflects the physical or perceptual dimensions of pitch. Physically, pitch corresponds to a single monotonic dimension: the repetition rate of the stimulus waveform. Perceptually, however, pitch has to be described with 2 dimensions, a monotonic, “pitch height,” and a cyclical, “pitch chroma,” dimension, to account for the similarity of the cycle of notes (c, d, e, etc.) across different octaves. The EEG adaptation effect mirrored the cyclicality of the pitch chroma dimension, suggesting that auditory cortex contains a representation of pitch chroma. Source analysis indicated that the centroid of this pitch chroma representation lies somewhat anterior and lateral to primary auditory cortex. PMID:22918980

Space-time adaptive solution of inverse problems with the discrete adjoint method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexe, Mihai; Sandu, Adrian

2014-08-01

This paper develops a framework for the construction and analysis of discrete adjoint sensitivities in the context of time dependent, adaptive grid, adaptive step models. Discrete adjoints are attractive in practice since they can be generated with low effort using automatic differentiation. However, this approach brings several important challenges. The space-time adjoint of the forward numerical scheme may be inconsistent with the continuous adjoint equations. A reduction in accuracy of the discrete adjoint sensitivities may appear due to the inter-grid transfer operators. Moreover, the optimization algorithm may need to accommodate state and gradient vectors whose dimensions change between iterations. This work shows that several of these potential issues can be avoided through a multi-level optimization strategy using discontinuous Galerkin (DG) hp-adaptive discretizations paired with Runge-Kutta (RK) time integration. We extend the concept of dual (adjoint) consistency to space-time RK-DG discretizations, which are then shown to be well suited for the adaptive solution of time-dependent inverse problems. Furthermore, we prove that DG mesh transfer operators on general meshes are also dual consistent. This allows the simultaneous derivation of the discrete adjoint for both the numerical solver and the mesh transfer logic with an automatic code generation mechanism such as algorithmic differentiation (AD), potentially speeding up development of large-scale simulation codes. The theoretical analysis is supported by numerical results reported for a two-dimensional non-stationary inverse problem.

[Adaptation to effort in patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency; study by post-exercise Doppler echocardiography, comparative results with a control population].

PubMed

Pouillart, F; Perchet, H; Duval-Moulin, A M; Heintz, J F; Hittinger, L; Brun, P; Castaigne, A; Dubois-Randé, J L

1995-04-01

Adaptation to exercise was studied by post-exercise Doppler echocardiography in patients with chronic cardiac failure and an apparently healthy control population matched for age. This post-exercise Doppler echocardiographic method initially introduced for the detection of myocardial ischaemia has already been validated in normal subjects for the analysis of haemodynamic changes caused by exercise providing the data is recorded in the first 5 minutes following recovery in the recumbent position. Eleven patients with chronic cardiac failure in NYHA classes II or III with a mean age of 54 +/- 11 years and 6 controls (mean age: 46 +/- 9 years) were investigated. The patients had been stabilised for at least 3 months with a vasodilator and diuretic therapy: the control subjects had no medication. After bicycle ergometry performed to 70% of maximum capacity, the subjects were positioned in the left lateral recumbent position. Doppler echocardiography was then performed in the immediate recovery phase. When compared to the control population, the patients with cardiac failure had a reduced chronotropic reserve, a smaller increase in the parameters of myocardial contractility (maximal aortic velocity, maximal aortic acceleration and left ventricular fractional shortening) without an increase in left ventricular end diastolic dimensions in subjects with severe dilatation under basal conditions (left ventricular end diastolic dimension 69 +/- 3 mm). This result suggests the absence of a Frank-Starling effect. The lack of adaptation of the peripheral vascular system was demonstrated by the lack of reduction of left ventricular end systolic stress, already greatly increased at rest (176 vs 77 +/- 10 g/cm2 for patients, compared with controls; p < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Is the sky the limit? On the expansion threshold of a species' range.

PubMed

Polechová, Jitka

2018-06-15

More than 100 years after Grigg's influential analysis of species' borders, the causes of limits to species' ranges still represent a puzzle that has never been understood with clarity. The topic has become especially important recently as many scientists have become interested in the potential for species' ranges to shift in response to climate change-and yet nearly all of those studies fail to recognise or incorporate evolutionary genetics in a way that relates to theoretical developments. I show that range margins can be understood based on just two measurable parameters: (i) the fitness cost of dispersal-a measure of environmental heterogeneity-and (ii) the strength of genetic drift, which reduces genetic diversity. Together, these two parameters define an 'expansion threshold': adaptation fails when genetic drift reduces genetic diversity below that required for adaptation to a heterogeneous environment. When the key parameters drop below this expansion threshold locally, a sharp range margin forms. When they drop below this threshold throughout the species' range, adaptation collapses everywhere, resulting in either extinction or formation of a fragmented metapopulation. Because the effects of dispersal differ fundamentally with dimension, the second parameter-the strength of genetic drift-is qualitatively different compared to a linear habitat. In two-dimensional habitats, genetic drift becomes effectively independent of selection. It decreases with 'neighbourhood size'-the number of individuals accessible by dispersal within one generation. Moreover, in contrast to earlier predictions, which neglected evolution of genetic variance and/or stochasticity in two dimensions, dispersal into small marginal populations aids adaptation. This is because the reduction of both genetic and demographic stochasticity has a stronger effect than the cost of dispersal through increased maladaptation. The expansion threshold thus provides a novel, theoretically justified, and testable prediction for formation of the range margin and collapse of the species' range.

Restoration of dimensional reduction in the random-field Ising model at five dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fytas, Nikolaos G.; Martín-Mayor, Víctor; Picco, Marco; Sourlas, Nicolas

2017-04-01

The random-field Ising model is one of the few disordered systems where the perturbative renormalization group can be carried out to all orders of perturbation theory. This analysis predicts dimensional reduction, i.e., that the critical properties of the random-field Ising model in D dimensions are identical to those of the pure Ising ferromagnet in D -2 dimensions. It is well known that dimensional reduction is not true in three dimensions, thus invalidating the perturbative renormalization group prediction. Here, we report high-precision numerical simulations of the 5D random-field Ising model at zero temperature. We illustrate universality by comparing different probability distributions for the random fields. We compute all the relevant critical exponents (including the critical slowing down exponent for the ground-state finding algorithm), as well as several other renormalization-group invariants. The estimated values of the critical exponents of the 5D random-field Ising model are statistically compatible to those of the pure 3D Ising ferromagnet. These results support the restoration of dimensional reduction at D =5 . We thus conclude that the failure of the perturbative renormalization group is a low-dimensional phenomenon. We close our contribution by comparing universal quantities for the random-field problem at dimensions 3 ≤D <6 to their values in the pure Ising model at D -2 dimensions, and we provide a clear verification of the Rushbrooke equality at all studied dimensions.

Restoration of dimensional reduction in the random-field Ising model at five dimensions.

PubMed

Fytas, Nikolaos G; Martín-Mayor, Víctor; Picco, Marco; Sourlas, Nicolas

2017-04-01

The random-field Ising model is one of the few disordered systems where the perturbative renormalization group can be carried out to all orders of perturbation theory. This analysis predicts dimensional reduction, i.e., that the critical properties of the random-field Ising model in D dimensions are identical to those of the pure Ising ferromagnet in D-2 dimensions. It is well known that dimensional reduction is not true in three dimensions, thus invalidating the perturbative renormalization group prediction. Here, we report high-precision numerical simulations of the 5D random-field Ising model at zero temperature. We illustrate universality by comparing different probability distributions for the random fields. We compute all the relevant critical exponents (including the critical slowing down exponent for the ground-state finding algorithm), as well as several other renormalization-group invariants. The estimated values of the critical exponents of the 5D random-field Ising model are statistically compatible to those of the pure 3D Ising ferromagnet. These results support the restoration of dimensional reduction at D=5. We thus conclude that the failure of the perturbative renormalization group is a low-dimensional phenomenon. We close our contribution by comparing universal quantities for the random-field problem at dimensions 3≤D<6 to their values in the pure Ising model at D-2 dimensions, and we provide a clear verification of the Rushbrooke equality at all studied dimensions.

Simulation of multivariate stationary stochastic processes using dimension-reduction representation methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhangjun; Liu, Zenghui; Peng, Yongbo

2018-03-01

In view of the Fourier-Stieltjes integral formula of multivariate stationary stochastic processes, a unified formulation accommodating spectral representation method (SRM) and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is deduced. By introducing random functions as constraints correlating the orthogonal random variables involved in the unified formulation, the dimension-reduction spectral representation method (DR-SRM) and the dimension-reduction proper orthogonal decomposition (DR-POD) are addressed. The proposed schemes are capable of representing the multivariate stationary stochastic process with a few elementary random variables, bypassing the challenges of high-dimensional random variables inherent in the conventional Monte Carlo methods. In order to accelerate the numerical simulation, the technique of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is integrated with the proposed schemes. For illustrative purposes, the simulation of horizontal wind velocity field along the deck of a large-span bridge is proceeded using the proposed methods containing 2 and 3 elementary random variables. Numerical simulation reveals the usefulness of the dimension-reduction representation methods.

Prediction With Dimension Reduction of Multiple Molecular Data Sources for Patient Survival.

PubMed

Kaplan, Adam; Lock, Eric F

2017-01-01

Predictive modeling from high-dimensional genomic data is often preceded by a dimension reduction step, such as principal component analysis (PCA). However, the application of PCA is not straightforward for multisource data, wherein multiple sources of 'omics data measure different but related biological components. In this article, we use recent advances in the dimension reduction of multisource data for predictive modeling. In particular, we apply exploratory results from Joint and Individual Variation Explained (JIVE), an extension of PCA for multisource data, for prediction of differing response types. We conduct illustrative simulations to illustrate the practical advantages and interpretability of our approach. As an application example, we consider predicting survival for patients with glioblastoma multiforme from 3 data sources measuring messenger RNA expression, microRNA expression, and DNA methylation. We also introduce a method to estimate JIVE scores for new samples that were not used in the initial dimension reduction and study its theoretical properties; this method is implemented in the R package R.JIVE on CRAN, in the function jive.predict.

Societal transformation and adaptation necessary to manage dynamics in flood hazard and risk mitigation (TRANS-ADAPT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Sven; Thaler, Thomas; Bonnefond, Mathieu; Clarke, Darren; Driessen, Peter; Hegger, Dries; Gatien-Tournat, Amandine; Gralepois, Mathilde; Fournier, Marie; Mees, Heleen; Murphy, Conor; Servain-Courant, Sylvie

2015-04-01

Facing the challenges of climate change, this project aims to analyse and to evaluate the multiple use of flood alleviation schemes with respect to social transformation in communities exposed to flood hazards in Europe. The overall goals are: (1) the identification of indicators and parameters necessary for strategies to increase societal resilience, (2) an analysis of the institutional settings needed for societal transformation, and (3) perspectives of changing divisions of responsibilities between public and private actors necessary to arrive at more resilient societies. This proposal assesses societal transformations from the perspective of changing divisions of responsibilities between public and private actors necessary to arrive at more resilient societies. Yet each risk mitigation measure is built on a narrative of exchanges and relations between people and therefore may condition the outputs. As such, governance is done by people interacting and defining risk mitigation measures as well as climate change adaptation are therefore simultaneously both outcomes of, and productive to, public and private responsibilities. Building off current knowledge this project will focus on different dimensions of adaptation and mitigation strategies based on social, economic and institutional incentives and settings, centring on the linkages between these different dimensions and complementing existing flood risk governance arrangements. The policy dimension of adaptation, predominantly decisions on the societal admissible level of vulnerability and risk, will be evaluated by a human-environment interaction approach using multiple methods and the assessment of social capacities of stakeholders across scales. As such, the challenges of adaptation to flood risk will be tackled by converting scientific frameworks into practical assessment and policy advice. In addressing the relationship between these dimensions of adaptation on different temporal and spatial scales, this project is both scientifically innovative and policy relevant, thereby supporting climate policy needs in Europe towards a concept of risk governance. Key words: climate change adaptation; transformation; flood risk management; resilience; vulnerability; innovative bottom-up developments; multifunctional use

Classification of small lesions on dynamic breast MRI: Integrating dimension reduction and out-of-sample extension into CADx methodology

PubMed Central

Nagarajan, Mahesh B.; Huber, Markus B.; Schlossbauer, Thomas; Leinsinger, Gerda; Krol, Andrzej; Wismüller, Axel

2014-01-01

Objective While dimension reduction has been previously explored in computer aided diagnosis (CADx) as an alternative to feature selection, previous implementations of its integration into CADx do not ensure strict separation between training and test data required for the machine learning task. This compromises the integrity of the independent test set, which serves as the basis for evaluating classifier performance. Methods and Materials We propose, implement and evaluate an improved CADx methodology where strict separation is maintained. This is achieved by subjecting the training data alone to dimension reduction; the test data is subsequently processed with out-of-sample extension methods. Our approach is demonstrated in the research context of classifying small diagnostically challenging lesions annotated on dynamic breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. The lesions were dynamically characterized through topological feature vectors derived from Minkowski functionals. These feature vectors were then subject to dimension reduction with different linear and non-linear algorithms applied in conjunction with out-of-sample extension techniques. This was followed by classification through supervised learning with support vector regression. Area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) was evaluated as the metric of classifier performance. Results Of the feature vectors investigated, the best performance was observed with Minkowski functional ’perimeter’ while comparable performance was observed with ’area’. Of the dimension reduction algorithms tested with ’perimeter’, the best performance was observed with Sammon’s mapping (0.84 ± 0.10) while comparable performance was achieved with exploratory observation machine (0.82 ± 0.09) and principal component analysis (0.80 ± 0.10). Conclusions The results reported in this study with the proposed CADx methodology present a significant improvement over previous results reported with such small lesions on dynamic breast MRI. In particular, non-linear algorithms for dimension reduction exhibited better classification performance than linear approaches, when integrated into our CADx methodology. We also note that while dimension reduction techniques may not necessarily provide an improvement in classification performance over feature selection, they do allow for a higher degree of feature compaction. PMID:24355697

Relationships between body dimensions, body weight, age, gender, breed and echocardiographic dimensions in young endurance horses.

PubMed

Trachsel, D S; Giraudet, A; Maso, D; Hervé, G; Hauri, D D; Barrey, E; Robert, C

2016-10-10

The heart's physiological adaptation to aerobic training leads to an increase in heart chamber size, and is referred to as the Athlete's heart. However, heart dimensions are also related to body weight (BWT), body size, growth and (in some species) breed. There are few published data on the relationships between heart dimensions and growth or aerobic training in Arabian and Arabian-related endurance horses. Therefore the objective of the present study was to describe the influence of body dimensions (body length (BL), thoracic circumference (TC), withers height (WH)), BWT, age, gender, breed (purebred Arabians, part-bred Arabians, Anglo-Arabians, and Others) and the initiation of endurance training on echocardiographic measurements in competition-fit endurance horses aged 4 to 6 years. Most left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) dimensions increased with age, whereas LA and LV functional indices did not. Although there was no gender difference for LV dimensions, females had larger LA dimensions. In terms of breed, Anglo-Arabians had the largest LV dimensions. Regression models indicated that the included explanatory factors had a weak influence on heart dimensions. Age, body dimensions, breed and gender showed the most consistent influence on LA dimensions, whereas BWT, breed and kilometres covered in competition showed the most consistent influence on LV dimensions. The increase in echocardiographic dimensions with age indicates on-going growth in our population of 4 to 6 year-old horses. We also observed small changes associated with the initiation of endurance training. Morphometric dimensions had a greater influence on LA dimensions, whereas LV dimensions were also influenced (albeit weakly) by parameters associated with exercise intensity. These results may therefore reflect early adaptations linked to the initiation of endurance training.

An estimating equation approach to dimension reduction for longitudinal data

PubMed Central

Xu, Kelin; Guo, Wensheng; Xiong, Momiao; Zhu, Liping; Jin, Li

2016-01-01

Sufficient dimension reduction has been extensively explored in the context of independent and identically distributed data. In this article we generalize sufficient dimension reduction to longitudinal data and propose an estimating equation approach to estimating the central mean subspace. The proposed method accounts for the covariance structure within each subject and improves estimation efficiency when the covariance structure is correctly specified. Even if the covariance structure is misspecified, our estimator remains consistent. In addition, our method relaxes distributional assumptions on the covariates and is doubly robust. To determine the structural dimension of the central mean subspace, we propose a Bayesian-type information criterion. We show that the estimated structural dimension is consistent and that the estimated basis directions are root-\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document} }{}$n$\\end{document} consistent, asymptotically normal and locally efficient. Simulations and an analysis of the Framingham Heart Study data confirm the effectiveness of our approach. PMID:27017956

Maternal pelvic dimensions and neonatal size: Implications for growth plasticity in early life as adaptation.

PubMed

Wells, Jonathan C K; Figueiroa, José N; Alves, Joao G

2017-01-01

Patterns of fetal growth predict non-communicable disease risk in adult life, but fetal growth variability appears to have a relatively weak association with maternal nutritional dynamics during pregnancy. This challenges the interpretation of fetal growth variability as 'adaptation'. We hypothesized that associations of maternal size and nutritional status with neonatal size are mediated by the dimensions of the maternal pelvis. We analysed data on maternal height, body mass index (BMI) and pelvic dimensions (conjugate, inter-spinous and inter-cristal diameters) and neonatal gestational age, weight, length, thorax girth and head girth ( n = 224). Multiple regression analysis was used to identify independent maternal predictors of neonatal size, and the mediating role of neonatal head girth in these associations. Pelvic dimensions displaced maternal BMI as a predictor of birth weight, explaining 11.6% of the variance. Maternal conjugate and inter-spinous diameters predicted neonatal length, thorax girth and head girth, whereas inter-cristal diameter only predicted neonatal length. Associations of pelvic dimensions with birth length, but not birth weight, were mediated by neonatal head girth. Pelvic dimensions predicted neonatal size better than maternal BMI, and these associations were mostly independent of maternal height. Sensitivity of fetal growth to pelvic dimensions reduces the risk of cephalo-pelvic disproportion, potentially a strong selective pressure during secular trends in height. Selection on fetal adaptation to relatively inflexible components of maternal phenotype, rather than directly to external ecological conditions, may help explain high levels of growth plasticity during late fetal life and early infancy.

TEMPERAMENT, FAMILY ENVIRONMENT, AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN WITH NEW-ONSET SEIZURES

PubMed Central

Baum, Katherine T.; Byars, Anna W.; deGrauw, Ton J.; Johnson, Cynthia S.; Perkins, Susan M.; Dunn, David W.; Bates, John E.; Austin, Joan K.

2007-01-01

Children with epilepsy, even those with new-onset seizures, exhibit relatively high rates of behavior problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among early temperament, family adaptive resources, and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures. Our major goal was to test whether family adaptive resources moderated the relationship between early temperament dimensions and current behavior problems in 287 children with new-onset seizures. Two of the three temperament dimensions (difficultness and resistance to control) were positively correlated with total, internalizing, and externalizing behavior problems (all p < 0.0001). The third temperament dimension, unadaptability, was positively correlated with total and internalizing problems (p < 0.01). Family adaptive resources moderated the relationships between temperament and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at school. Children with a difficult early temperament who live in a family environment with low family mastery are at the greatest risk for behavior problems. PMID:17267291

SU-E-J-81: Adaptive Radiotherapy for IMRT Head & Neck Patient in AKUH

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

Yousuf, A; Qureshi, B; Qadir, A

2015-06-15

Purpose: In this study we proposed Adaptive radiotherapy for IMRT patients which will brought an additional dimension to the management of patients with H&N cancer in Aga Khan University Hospital. Methods: In this study 5 Head and Neck (H&N) patients plan where selected, who’s Re-CT were done during the course of their treatment, they were simulated with IMRT technique to learn the consequence of anatomical changes that may occur during the treatment, as they are more dramatic changes can occur as compare to conventional treatment. All the organ at risk were drawn according RTOG guidelines and doses were checked asmore » per NCCN guidelines. Results: The reduction in size of Planning target volume (PTV) is more than 20% in all the cases which leads to 3 to 5 % overdose to normal tissues and Organ at Risk. Conclusion: Through this study we would like to emphasis the importance of Adaptive Radiotherapy practice in all IMRT (H&N) patients, although prospective studies are required with larger sample sizes to address the safety and the clinical effect of such approaches on patient outcome, also one need to develop protocols before implementation of this technique in practice.« less

Reliability of the modified Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) for children with both Spastic Cerebral Palsy and Cerebral Visual Impairment: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Salavati, M; Krijnen, W P; Rameckers, E A A; Looijestijn, P L; Maathuis, C G B; van der Schans, C P; Steenbergen, B

2015-01-01

The aims of this study were to adapt the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) and to determine the test-retest and interobserver reliability of the adapted version. Sixteen paediatric physical therapists familiar with CVI participated in the adaptation process. The Delphi method was used to gain consensus among a panel of experts. Seventy-seven children with CP and CVI (44 boys and 33 girls, aged between 50 and 144 months) participated in this study. To assess test-retest and interobserver reliability, the GMFM-88 was administered twice within three weeks (Mean=9 days, SD=6 days) by trained paediatric physical therapists, one of whom was familiar with the child and one who wasn't. Percentages of identical scores, Cronbach's alphas and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were computed for each dimension level. All experts agreed on the proposed adaptations of the GMFM-88 for children with CP and CVI. Test-retest reliability ICCs for dimension scores were between 0.94 and 1.00, mean percentages of identical scores between 29 and 71, and interobserver reliability ICCs of the adapted GMFM-88 were 0.99-1.00 for dimension scores. Mean percentages of identical scores varied between 53 and 91. Test-retest and interobserver reliability of the GMFM-88-CVI for children with CP and CVI was excellent. Internal consistency of dimension scores lay between 0.97 and 1.00. The psychometric properties of the adapted GMFM-88 for children with CP and CVI are reliable and comparable to the original GMFM-88. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New Trends in Television Consumption.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richeri, Giuseppe

A phenomenon which tends to transform the function and methods of traditional television consumption is the gradual reduction of its "mass" dimensions, which tend to disappear for an increasing share of the audience. This reduction of the mass dimension ranges from fragmentation of the audience to its segmentation, and, in the most…

Kaluza-Klein cosmology from five-dimensional Lovelock-Cartan theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo-Felisola, Oscar; Corral, Cristóbal; del Pino, Simón; Ramírez, Francisca

2016-12-01

We study the Kaluza-Klein dimensional reduction of the Lovelock-Cartan theory in five-dimensional spacetime, with a compact dimension of S1 topology. We find cosmological solutions of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker class in the reduced spacetime. The torsion and the fields arising from the dimensional reduction induce a nonvanishing energy-momentum tensor in four dimensions. We find solutions describing expanding, contracting, and bouncing universes. The model shows a dynamical compactification of the extra dimension in some regions of the parameter space.

Construct Validation of a Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Test for Fatigue in Rheumatoid Arthritis

PubMed Central

Nikolaus, Stephanie; Bode, Christina; Taal, Erik; Vonkeman, Harald E.; Glas, Cees A. W.; van de Laar, Mart A. F. J.

2015-01-01

Objective Multidimensional computerized adaptive testing enables precise measurements of patient-reported outcomes at an individual level across different dimensions. This study examined the construct validity of a multidimensional computerized adaptive test (CAT) for fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods The ‘CAT Fatigue RA’ was constructed based on a previously calibrated item bank. It contains 196 items and three dimensions: ‘severity’, ‘impact’ and ‘variability’ of fatigue. The CAT was administered to 166 patients with RA. They also completed a traditional, multidimensional fatigue questionnaire (BRAF-MDQ) and the SF-36 in order to examine the CAT’s construct validity. A priori criterion for construct validity was that 75% of the correlations between the CAT dimensions and the subscales of the other questionnaires were as expected. Furthermore, comprehensive use of the item bank, measurement precision and score distribution were investigated. Results The a priori criterion for construct validity was supported for two of the three CAT dimensions (severity and impact but not for variability). For severity and impact, 87% of the correlations with the subscales of the well-established questionnaires were as expected but for variability, 53% of the hypothesised relations were found. Eighty-nine percent of the items were selected between one and 137 times for CAT administrations. Measurement precision was excellent for the severity and impact dimensions, with more than 90% of the CAT administrations reaching a standard error below 0.32. The variability dimension showed good measurement precision with 90% of the CAT administrations reaching a standard error below 0.44. No floor- or ceiling-effects were found for the three dimensions. Conclusion The CAT Fatigue RA showed good construct validity and excellent measurement precision on the dimensions severity and impact. The dimension variability had less ideal measurement characteristics, pointing to the need to recalibrate the CAT item bank with a two-dimensional model, solely consisting of severity and impact. PMID:26710104

Adaptive Discontinuous Galerkin Methods in Multiwavelets Bases

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

Archibald, Richard K; Fann, George I; Shelton Jr, William Allison

2011-01-01

We use a multiwavelet basis with the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method to produce a multi-scale DG method. We apply this Multiwavelet DG method to convection and convection-diffusion problems in multiple dimensions. Merging the DG method with multiwavelets allows the adaptivity in the DG method to be resolved through manipulation of multiwavelet coefficients rather than grid manipulation. Additionally, the Multiwavelet DG method is tested on non-linear equations in one dimension and on the cubed sphere.

Wavelet packets for multi- and hyper-spectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedetto, J. J.; Czaja, W.; Ehler, M.; Flake, C.; Hirn, M.

2010-01-01

State of the art dimension reduction and classification schemes in multi- and hyper-spectral imaging rely primarily on the information contained in the spectral component. To better capture the joint spatial and spectral data distribution we combine the Wavelet Packet Transform with the linear dimension reduction method of Principal Component Analysis. Each spectral band is decomposed by means of the Wavelet Packet Transform and we consider a joint entropy across all the spectral bands as a tool to exploit the spatial information. Dimension reduction is then applied to the Wavelet Packets coefficients. We present examples of this technique for hyper-spectral satellite imaging. We also investigate the role of various shrinkage techniques to model non-linearity in our approach.

Model Order Reduction Algorithm for Estimating the Absorption Spectrum

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

Van Beeumen, Roel; Williams-Young, David B.; Kasper, Joseph M.

The ab initio description of the spectral interior of the absorption spectrum poses both a theoretical and computational challenge for modern electronic structure theory. Due to the often spectrally dense character of this domain in the quantum propagator’s eigenspectrum for medium-to-large sized systems, traditional approaches based on the partial diagonalization of the propagator often encounter oscillatory and stagnating convergence. Electronic structure methods which solve the molecular response problem through the solution of spectrally shifted linear systems, such as the complex polarization propagator, offer an alternative approach which is agnostic to the underlying spectral density or domain location. This generality comesmore » at a seemingly high computational cost associated with solving a large linear system for each spectral shift in some discretization of the spectral domain of interest. In this work, we present a novel, adaptive solution to this high computational overhead based on model order reduction techniques via interpolation. Model order reduction reduces the computational complexity of mathematical models and is ubiquitous in the simulation of dynamical systems and control theory. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in the ab initio prediction of X-ray absorption spectra is demonstrated using a test set of challenging water clusters which are spectrally dense in the neighborhood of the oxygen K-edge. On the basis of a single, user defined tolerance we automatically determine the order of the reduced models and approximate the absorption spectrum up to the given tolerance. We also illustrate that, for the systems studied, the automatically determined model order increases logarithmically with the problem dimension, compared to a linear increase of the number of eigenvalues within the energy window. Furthermore, we observed that the computational cost of the proposed algorithm only scales quadratically with respect to the problem dimension.« less

Modeling gravity-dependent plasticity of the angular vestibuloocular reflex with a physiologically based neural network.

PubMed

Xiang, Yongqing; Yakushin, Sergei B; Cohen, Bernard; Raphan, Theodore

2006-12-01

A neural network model was developed to explain the gravity-dependent properties of gain adaptation of the angular vestibuloocular reflex (aVOR). Gain changes are maximal at the head orientation where the gain is adapted and decrease as the head is tilted away from that position and can be described by the sum of gravity-independent and gravity-dependent components. The adaptation process was modeled by modifying the weights and bias values of a three-dimensional physiologically based neural network of canal-otolith-convergent neurons that drive the aVOR. Model parameters were trained using experimental vertical aVOR gain values. The learning rule aimed to reduce the error between eye velocities obtained from experimental gain values and model output in the position of adaptation. Although the model was trained only at specific head positions, the model predicted the experimental data at all head positions in three dimensions. Altering the relative learning rates of the weights and bias improved the model-data fits. Model predictions in three dimensions compared favorably with those of a double-sinusoid function, which is a fit that minimized the mean square error at every head position and served as the standard by which we compared the model predictions. The model supports the hypothesis that gravity-dependent adaptation of the aVOR is realized in three dimensions by a direct otolith input to canal-otolith neurons, whose canal sensitivities are adapted by the visual-vestibular mismatch. The adaptation is tuned by how the weights from otolith input to the canal-otolith-convergent neurons are adapted for a given head orientation.

Coasts under multiple stresses: lessons learned from ARSTISTICC's eight coastal study sites.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanderlinden, J. P.; Berman, M.; Chouinard, O.; Kane, A.; Nikulkina, I.; Ragueneau, O.; Thomson, T. K.; Baztan, J.; Cordier, M.; Curry, T.; Da Cunha, C.; Gaye, N.; Huctin, J. M.; Kennedy, G.; Kofinas, G.; Maze, C.; Quensiere, J.; Raimonet, M.; Remvikos, Y.; Seck, A.; Surette, C.; Zhu, Z.

2016-12-01

The "Adaptation Research a Transdisciplinary community and policy centered approach" (ARTisticc) project has as goal to apply innovative standardized transdisciplinary art and science integrative approaches to foster robust, socially, culturally and scientifically, community centered adaptation to climate change. Fieldwork has been implemented in coastal communities in France (Brest, Britany), Senegal (Mbour, Petite Côte), India (Kochi, Kerala and Kanyakumari, Tamil nadu), Russia (Tiksi, Yakutia), Greenland (Uummannaq), the United States (Wainwright, Alaska), and Canada (Cocagne and Grande Digue, New Bunswick). It involved transdisciplinary teams of scientists, community members and artists. Preliminary results of the project will be presented. These pertain to two dimensions: a substantive dimension, i.e. better understanding of the role of knowledge and knowledge systems in adaptation, and a procedural dimension, i.e. better understanding of the implementation of transdisciplinary approaches to adaptation science. On the substantive front we will focus on presenting how, within such a high diversity of contexts, regularities were identifiable and why these are relevant to policy making. We are focusing this analysis on: scale, agents involved in the adaptation dynamics, dominant paradigm that are being mobilized and the drivers and enablers of local actions - all in relationship with knowledge use. These specifics are engaged in an interplay that calls for attention before any local level actions can be implemented. On the procedural front we will highlight the challenges, discovered along the way, of dovetailing science and art as a way to better apprehend and share the knowledge base on adaptation to climate change. What is the role of science, as perceived by local communities? What is the role of art? Can the joint implementation of both facilitate or hinder an adaptation process? The answer to these questions is again conditional to the nature of the teams that are involved and to local narratives and historical dimension that may allow for the joint practice of art and science.

Patterns in Authoring of Adaptive Educational Hypermedia: A Taxonomy of Learning Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Elizabeth; Cristea, Alexandra; Stewart, Craig; Brailsford, Tim

2005-01-01

This paper describes the use of adaptation patterns in the task of formulating standards for adaptive educational hypermedia (AEH) systems that is currently under investigation by the EU ADAPT project. Within this project, design dimensions for high granularity patterns have been established. In this paper we focus on detailing lower granularity…

Dimension reduction method for SPH equations

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

Tartakovsky, Alexandre M.; Scheibe, Timothy D.

2011-08-26

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics model of a complex multiscale processe often results in a system of ODEs with an enormous number of unknowns. Furthermore, a time integration of the SPH equations usually requires time steps that are smaller than the observation time by many orders of magnitude. A direct solution of these ODEs can be extremely expensive. Here we propose a novel dimension reduction method that gives an approximate solution of the SPH ODEs and provides an accurate prediction of the average behavior of the modeled system. The method consists of two main elements. First, effective equationss for evolution of averagemore » variables (e.g. average velocity, concentration and mass of a mineral precipitate) are obtained by averaging the SPH ODEs over the entire computational domain. These effective ODEs contain non-local terms in the form of volume integrals of functions of the SPH variables. Second, a computational closure is used to close the system of the effective equations. The computational closure is achieved via short bursts of the SPH model. The dimension reduction model is used to simulate flow and transport with mixing controlled reactions and mineral precipitation. An SPH model is used model transport at the porescale. Good agreement between direct solutions of the SPH equations and solutions obtained with the dimension reduction method for different boundary conditions confirms the accuracy and computational efficiency of the dimension reduction model. The method significantly accelerates SPH simulations, while providing accurate approximation of the solution and accurate prediction of the average behavior of the system.« less

Formation of dominant mode by evolution in biological systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Chikara; Kaneko, Kunihiko

2018-04-01

A reduction in high-dimensional phenotypic states to a few degrees of freedom is essential to understand biological systems. Here, we show evolutionary robustness causes such reduction which restricts possible phenotypic changes in response to a variety of environmental conditions. First, global protein expression changes in Escherichia coli after various environmental perturbations were shown to be proportional across components, across different types of environmental conditions. To examine if such dimension reduction is a result of evolution, we analyzed a cell model—with a huge number of components, that reproduces itself via a catalytic reaction network—and confirmed that common proportionality in the concentrations of all components is shaped through evolutionary processes. We found that the changes in concentration across all components in response to environmental and evolutionary changes are constrained to the changes along a one-dimensional major axis, within a huge-dimensional state space. On the basis of these observations, we propose a theory in which such constraints in phenotypic changes are achieved both by evolutionary robustness and plasticity and formulate this proposition in terms of dynamical systems. Accordingly, broad experimental and numerical results on phenotypic changes caused by evolution and adaptation are coherently explained.

Utility of the temperament and character inventory (TCI) in outcome prediction of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding: preliminary report.

PubMed

De Panfilis, Chiara; Cero, Sara; Torre, Mariateresa; Salvatore, Paola; Dall'Aglio, Elisabetta; Adorni, Aristodemo; Maggini, Carlo

2006-07-01

Research about personality factors involved in successful outcome after bariatric surgery has led to contrasting results. The reasons for such discrepancies may include the lack of assessment of adaptive personality traits and of psychiatric co-morbidity, which may limit the reliability of personality findings. This study aimed to provide exploratory data regarding preoperative personality dimensions and weight loss prediction 1 year after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Both normal and deviant personality patterns were assessed by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Moreover, co-morbid psychiatric disturbances were evaluated both categorically and dimensionally. 65 morbidly obese subjects applying for LAGB were evaluated preoperatively by means of the TCI, standardized diagnostic interview, rating scales and questionnaires to assess co-morbid psychopathology. After intake screening, 35 subjects (mean age 41.2, mean BMI 45.5) were accepted for and underwent LAGB. BMI reduction 1 year following LAGB was used as an outcome measure and entered as a dependent variable in a stepwise multiple regression analysis. TCI scores, presence and severity of eating, depressive and anxiety disorders, sex, age, level of education and BMI at baseline were tested as independent variables. Preoperative TCI 'Persistence' scores explained >40% of variance of BMI reduction 1 year following LAGB, irrespective of preoperative BMI, age, gender, educational level, psychiatric co-morbidity, psychopathology severity and other temperament and character features. Some personality dimensions, as measured by the TCI, may be involved in successful weight control after LAGB.

The Development of Adaptive Expertise in Biotransport

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Taylor; Petrosino, Anthony J.; Rivale, Stephanie; Diller, Kenneth R.

2006-01-01

This chapter describes a model for continuous development of adaptive expertise, including growth along the dimensions of innovation and knowledge, examined in the context of a biotransport course in biomedical engineering. Students improved on both knowledge and innovation, moving along a continuum toward adaptive expertise. (Contains 5 figures.)

International Students' Culture Learning and Cultural Adaptation in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

An, Ran; Chiang, Shiao-Yun

2015-01-01

This article examines international students' cultural adaptation at a major national university in China. A survey was designed to measure international students' adaptation to the Chinese sociocultural and educational environments in terms of five dimensions: (1) cultural empathy, (2) open-mindedness, (3) emotional stability, (4) social…

[Study of adaptation and validation of the Practice environment scale of the nursing work index for the Portuguese reality].

PubMed

Ferreira, Maria Regina Sardinheiro do Céu Furtado; Martins, José Joaquim Penedos Amendoeira

2014-08-01

Testing the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. A descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study, for the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the psychometric properties of the scale. The study participants were 236 nurses from two hospitals in the regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. The 0.92 Cronbach's alpha was obtained for overall reliability and support of a five-dimension structure. The excellent quality of adjustment of analysis confirms the validity of the adapted version to hospital care settings, although there was no total coincidence of items in the five dimensions

Adaptation to the edge of chaos in a self-starting Kerr-lens mode-locked laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, C. C.; Lin, J. H.; Hsieh, W. F.

2009-08-01

We experimentally and numerically demonstrated that self-focusing acts as a slow-varying control parameter that suppresses the transient chaos to reach a stable mode-locking (ML) state in a self-starting Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser without external modulation and feedback control. Based on Fox-Li’s approach, including the self-focusing effect, the theoretical simulation reveals that the self-focusing effect is responsible for the self-adaptation. The self-adaptation occurs at the boundary between the chaotic and continuous output regions in which the laser system begins with a transient chaotic state with fractal correlation dimension, and then evolves with reducing dimension into the stable ML state.

The brief family relationship scale: a brief measure of the relationship dimension in family functioning.

PubMed

Fok, Carlotta Ching Ting; Allen, James; Henry, David

2014-02-01

The Relationship dimension of the Family Environment Scale, which consists of the Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict subscales, measures a person's perception of the quality of his or her family relationship functioning. This study investigates an adaptation of the Relationship dimension of the Family Environment Scale for Alaska Native youth. The authors tested the adapted measure, the Brief Family Relationship Scale, for psychometric properties and internal structure with 284 12- to 18-year-old predominately Yup'ik Eskimo Alaska Native adolescents from rural, remote communities. This non-Western cultural group is hypothesized to display higher levels of collectivism traditionally organized around an extended kinship family structure. Results demonstrate a subset of the adapted items function satisfactorily, a three-response alternative format provided meaningful information, and the subscale's underlying structure is best described through three distinct first-order factors, organized under one higher order factor. Convergent and discriminant validity of the Brief Family Relationship Scale was assessed through correlational analysis.

Inactivation of Heat Adapted and Chlorine Adapted Listeria Monocytogenes ATCC 7644 on Tomatoes Using Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate, Levulinic Acid and Sodium Hypochlorite Solution.

PubMed

Ijabadeniyi, Oluwatosin Ademola; Mnyandu, Elizabeth

2017-04-13

The effectiveness of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), sodium hypochlorite solution and levulinic acid in reducing the survival of heat adapted and chlorine adapted Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644 was evaluated. The results against heat adapted L. monocytognes revealed that sodium hypochlorite solution was the least effective, achieving log reduction of 2.75, 2.94 and 3.97 log colony forming unit (CFU)/mL for 1, 3 and 5 minutes, respectively. SDS was able to achieve 8 log reduction for both heat adapted and chlorine adapted bacteria. When used against chlorine adapted L. monocytogenes sodium hypochlorite solution achieved log reduction of 2.76, 2.93 and 3.65 log CFU/mL for 1, 3 and 5 minutes, respectively. Using levulinic acid on heat adapted bacteria achieved log reduction of 3.07, 2.78 and 4.97 log CFU/mL for 1, 3, 5 minutes, respectively. On chlorine adapted bacteria levulinic acid achieved log reduction of 2.77, 3.07 and 5.21 log CFU/mL for 1, 3 and 5 minutes, respectively. Using a mixture of 0.05% SDS and 0.5% levulinic acid on heat adapted bacteria achieved log reduction of 3.13, 3.32 and 4.79 log CFU/mL for 1, 3 and 5 minutes while on chlorine adapted bacteria it achieved 3.20, 3.33 and 5.66 log CFU/mL, respectively. Increasing contact time also increased log reduction for both test pathogens. A storage period of up to 72 hours resulted in progressive log reduction for both test pathogens. Results also revealed that there was a significant difference (P≤0.05) among contact times, storage times and sanitizers. Findings from this study can be used to select suitable sanitizers and contact times for heat and chlorine adapted L. monocytogenes in the fresh produce industry.

The self as a mediator between personality and adjustment.

PubMed

Graziano, W G; Jensen-Campbell, L A; Finch, J F

1997-08-01

The self can be conceptualized as a mediating agent that translates personality into situated goal-directed activities and adaptation. This research used a level-of-analysis approach to link personality dimensions (Level I) to self-systems (Level II) and to teacher ratings of adjustment in African American, Mexican American, and European American students (N = 317). The authors hypothesized that links among aspects of self-esteem and teacher ratings of adjustment would be domain specific, and those links to dimensions of the 5-factor model would reflects the domain specificity. Structural equation modeling corroborated hypotheses about domain specificity in links between adjustment and 5-factor dimensions. Results were discussed in terms of levels of analysis for personality structure, personality development, and age-related adaptations to social contexts.

DIMENSION-BASED STATISTICAL LEARNING OF VOWELS

PubMed Central

Liu, Ran; Holt, Lori L.

2015-01-01

Speech perception depends on long-term representations that reflect regularities of the native language. However, listeners rapidly adapt when speech acoustics deviate from these regularities due to talker idiosyncrasies such as foreign accents and dialects. To better understand these dual aspects of speech perception, we probe native English listeners’ baseline perceptual weighting of two acoustic dimensions (spectral quality and vowel duration) towards vowel categorization and examine how they subsequently adapt to an “artificial accent” that deviates from English norms in the correlation between the two dimensions. At baseline, listeners rely relatively more on spectral quality than vowel duration to signal vowel category, but duration nonetheless contributes. Upon encountering an “artificial accent” in which the spectral-duration correlation is perturbed relative to English language norms, listeners rapidly down-weight reliance on duration. Listeners exhibit this type of short-term statistical learning even in the context of nonwords, confirming that lexical information is not necessary to this form of adaptive plasticity in speech perception. Moreover, learning generalizes to both novel lexical contexts and acoustically-distinct altered voices. These findings are discussed in the context of a mechanistic proposal for how supervised learning may contribute to this type of adaptive plasticity in speech perception. PMID:26280268

Dimension Reduction of Multivariable Optical Emission Spectrometer Datasets for Industrial Plasma Processes

PubMed Central

Yang, Jie; McArdle, Conor; Daniels, Stephen

2014-01-01

A new data dimension-reduction method, called Internal Information Redundancy Reduction (IIRR), is proposed for application to Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) datasets obtained from industrial plasma processes. For example in a semiconductor manufacturing environment, real-time spectral emission data is potentially very useful for inferring information about critical process parameters such as wafer etch rates, however, the relationship between the spectral sensor data gathered over the duration of an etching process step and the target process output parameters is complex. OES sensor data has high dimensionality (fine wavelength resolution is required in spectral emission measurements in order to capture data on all chemical species involved in plasma reactions) and full spectrum samples are taken at frequent time points, so that dynamic process changes can be captured. To maximise the utility of the gathered dataset, it is essential that information redundancy is minimised, but with the important requirement that the resulting reduced dataset remains in a form that is amenable to direct interpretation of the physical process. To meet this requirement and to achieve a high reduction in dimension with little information loss, the IIRR method proposed in this paper operates directly in the original variable space, identifying peak wavelength emissions and the correlative relationships between them. A new statistic, Mean Determination Ratio (MDR), is proposed to quantify the information loss after dimension reduction and the effectiveness of IIRR is demonstrated using an actual semiconductor manufacturing dataset. As an example of the application of IIRR in process monitoring/control, we also show how etch rates can be accurately predicted from IIRR dimension-reduced spectral data. PMID:24451453

Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Measurement and Policy Issues. OECD Development Centre Working Paper No. 246

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klasen, Stephan

2005-01-01

The aim of this Working Paper is to broaden the debate on "pro-poor growth". An exclusive focus on the income dimension of poverty has neglected the non-income dimensions. After an examination of prominent views on the linkages between economic growth, inequality, and poverty reduction this paper discusses the proper definition and…

Intelligent Control of a Sensor-Actuator System via Kernelized Least-Squares Policy Iteration

PubMed Central

Liu, Bo; Chen, Sanfeng; Li, Shuai; Liang, Yongsheng

2012-01-01

In this paper a new framework, called Compressive Kernelized Reinforcement Learning (CKRL), for computing near-optimal policies in sequential decision making with uncertainty is proposed via incorporating the non-adaptive data-independent Random Projections and nonparametric Kernelized Least-squares Policy Iteration (KLSPI). Random Projections are a fast, non-adaptive dimensionality reduction framework in which high-dimensionality data is projected onto a random lower-dimension subspace via spherically random rotation and coordination sampling. KLSPI introduce kernel trick into the LSPI framework for Reinforcement Learning, often achieving faster convergence and providing automatic feature selection via various kernel sparsification approaches. In this approach, policies are computed in a low-dimensional subspace generated by projecting the high-dimensional features onto a set of random basis. We first show how Random Projections constitute an efficient sparsification technique and how our method often converges faster than regular LSPI, while at lower computational costs. Theoretical foundation underlying this approach is a fast approximation of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). Finally, simulation results are exhibited on benchmark MDP domains, which confirm gains both in computation time and in performance in large feature spaces. PMID:22736969

Building human resilience: the role of public health preparedness and response as an adaptation to climate change.

PubMed

Keim, Mark E

2008-11-01

Global climate change will increase the probability of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, drought, wildfire, cyclones, and heavy precipitation that could cause floods and landslides. Such events create significant public health needs that can exceed local capacity to respond, resulting in excess morbidity or mortality and in the declaration of disasters. Human vulnerability to any disaster is a complex phenomenon with social, economic, health, and cultural dimensions. Vulnerability to natural disasters has two sides: the degree of exposure to dangerous hazards (susceptibility) and the capacity to cope with or recover from disaster consequences (resilience). Vulnerability reduction programs reduce susceptibility and increase resilience. Susceptibility to disasters is reduced largely by prevention and mitigation of emergencies. Emergency preparedness and response and recovery activities--including those that address climate change--increase disaster resilience. Because adaptation must occur at the community level, local public health agencies are uniquely placed to build human resilience to climate-related disasters. This article discusses the role of public health in reducing human vulnerability to climate change within the context of select examples for emergency preparedness and response.

Integration of adaptive guided filtering, deep feature learning, and edge-detection techniques for hyperspectral image classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Xiaoqing; Zhao, Chunhui; Gao, Bing

2017-11-01

The integration of an edge-preserving filtering technique in the classification of a hyperspectral image (HSI) has been proven effective in enhancing classification performance. This paper proposes an ensemble strategy for HSI classification using an edge-preserving filter along with a deep learning model and edge detection. First, an adaptive guided filter is applied to the original HSI to reduce the noise in degraded images and to extract powerful spectral-spatial features. Second, the extracted features are fed as input to a stacked sparse autoencoder to adaptively exploit more invariant and deep feature representations; then, a random forest classifier is applied to fine-tune the entire pretrained network and determine the classification output. Third, a Prewitt compass operator is further performed on the HSI to extract the edges of the first principal component after dimension reduction. Moreover, the regional growth rule is applied to the resulting edge logical image to determine the local region for each unlabeled pixel. Finally, the categories of the corresponding neighborhood samples are determined in the original classification map; then, the major voting mechanism is implemented to generate the final output. Extensive experiments proved that the proposed method achieves competitive performance compared with several traditional approaches.

Word Recognition Reflects Dimension-Based Statistical Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Idemaru, Kaori; Holt, Lori L.

2011-01-01

Speech processing requires sensitivity to long-term regularities of the native language yet demands listeners to flexibly adapt to perturbations that arise from talker idiosyncrasies such as nonnative accent. The present experiments investigate whether listeners exhibit "dimension-based statistical learning" of correlations between acoustic…

Adaptive capacity of fishing communities at marine protected areas: a case study from the Colombian Pacific.

PubMed

Moreno-Sánchez, Rocío del Pilar; Maldonado, Jorge Higinio

2013-12-01

Departing from a theoretical methodology, we estimate empirically an index of adaptive capacity (IAC) of a fishing community to the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). We carried out household surveys, designed to obtain information for indicators and sub-indicators, and calculated the IAC. Moreover, we performed a sensitivity analysis to check for robustness of the results. Our findings show that, despite being located between two MPAs, the fishing community of Bazán in the Colombian Pacific is highly vulnerable and that the socioeconomic dimension of the IAC constitutes the most binding dimension for building adaptive capacity. Bazán is characterized by extreme poverty, high dependence on resources, and lack of basic public infrastructure. Notwithstanding, social capital and local awareness about ecological conditions may act as enhancers of adaptive capacity. The establishment of MPAs should consider the development of strategies to confer adaptive capacity to local communities highly dependent on resource extraction.

Developmental evidence for obstetric adaptation of the human female pelvis.

PubMed

Huseynov, Alik; Zollikofer, Christoph P E; Coudyzer, Walter; Gascho, Dominic; Kellenberger, Christian; Hinzpeter, Ricarda; Ponce de León, Marcia S

2016-05-10

The bony pelvis of adult humans exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, which is traditionally interpreted in the framework of the "obstetrical dilemma" hypothesis: Giving birth to large-brained/large-bodied babies requires a wide pelvis, whereas efficient bipedal locomotion requires a narrow pelvis. This hypothesis has been challenged recently on biomechanical, metabolic, and biocultural grounds, so that it remains unclear which factors are responsible for sex-specific differences in adult pelvic morphology. Here we address this issue from a developmental perspective. We use methods of biomedical imaging and geometric morphometrics to analyze changes in pelvic morphology from late fetal stages to adulthood in a known-age/known-sex forensic/clinical sample. Results show that, until puberty, female and male pelves exhibit only moderate sexual dimorphism and follow largely similar developmental trajectories. With the onset of puberty, however, the female trajectory diverges substantially from the common course, resulting in rapid expansion of obstetrically relevant pelvic dimensions up to the age of 25-30 y. From 40 y onward females resume a mode of pelvic development similar to males, resulting in significant reduction of obstetric dimensions. This complex developmental trajectory is likely linked to the pubertal rise and premenopausal fall of estradiol levels and results in the obstetrically most adequate pelvic morphology during the time of maximum female fertility. The evidence that hormones mediate female pelvic development and morphology supports the view that solutions of the obstetrical dilemma depend not only on selection and adaptation but also on developmental plasticity as a response to ecological/nutritional factors during a female's lifetime.

Developmental evidence for obstetric adaptation of the human female pelvis

PubMed Central

Huseynov, Alik; Zollikofer, Christoph P. E.; Coudyzer, Walter; Gascho, Dominic; Kellenberger, Christian; Hinzpeter, Ricarda; Ponce de León, Marcia S.

2016-01-01

The bony pelvis of adult humans exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, which is traditionally interpreted in the framework of the “obstetrical dilemma” hypothesis: Giving birth to large-brained/large-bodied babies requires a wide pelvis, whereas efficient bipedal locomotion requires a narrow pelvis. This hypothesis has been challenged recently on biomechanical, metabolic, and biocultural grounds, so that it remains unclear which factors are responsible for sex-specific differences in adult pelvic morphology. Here we address this issue from a developmental perspective. We use methods of biomedical imaging and geometric morphometrics to analyze changes in pelvic morphology from late fetal stages to adulthood in a known-age/known-sex forensic/clinical sample. Results show that, until puberty, female and male pelves exhibit only moderate sexual dimorphism and follow largely similar developmental trajectories. With the onset of puberty, however, the female trajectory diverges substantially from the common course, resulting in rapid expansion of obstetrically relevant pelvic dimensions up to the age of 25–30 y. From 40 y onward females resume a mode of pelvic development similar to males, resulting in significant reduction of obstetric dimensions. This complex developmental trajectory is likely linked to the pubertal rise and premenopausal fall of estradiol levels and results in the obstetrically most adequate pelvic morphology during the time of maximum female fertility. The evidence that hormones mediate female pelvic development and morphology supports the view that solutions of the obstetrical dilemma depend not only on selection and adaptation but also on developmental plasticity as a response to ecological/nutritional factors during a female’s lifetime. PMID:27114515

QUEST+: A general multidimensional Bayesian adaptive psychometric method.

PubMed

Watson, Andrew B

2017-03-01

QUEST+ is a Bayesian adaptive psychometric testing method that allows an arbitrary number of stimulus dimensions, psychometric function parameters, and trial outcomes. It is a generalization and extension of the original QUEST procedure and incorporates many subsequent developments in the area of parametric adaptive testing. With a single procedure, it is possible to implement a wide variety of experimental designs, including conventional threshold measurement; measurement of psychometric function parameters, such as slope and lapse; estimation of the contrast sensitivity function; measurement of increment threshold functions; measurement of noise-masking functions; Thurstone scale estimation using pair comparisons; and categorical ratings on linear and circular stimulus dimensions. QUEST+ provides a general method to accelerate data collection in many areas of cognitive and perceptual science.

Parallel Adaptive Simulation of Detonation Waves Using a Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory Scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMahon, Sean

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a code that could be used to develop a better understanding of the physics of detonation waves. First, a detonation was simulated in one dimension using ZND theory. Then, using the 1D solution as an initial condition, a detonation was simulated in two dimensions using a weighted essentially non-oscillatory scheme on an adaptive mesh with the smallest lengthscales being equal to 2-3 flamelet lengths. The code development in linking Chemkin for chemical kinetics to the adaptive mesh refinement flow solver was completed. The detonation evolved in a way that, qualitatively, matched the experimental observations, however, the simulation was unable to progress past the formation of the triple point.

Wavelet domain image restoration with adaptive edge-preserving regularization.

PubMed

Belge, M; Kilmer, M E; Miller, E L

2000-01-01

In this paper, we consider a wavelet based edge-preserving regularization scheme for use in linear image restoration problems. Our efforts build on a collection of mathematical results indicating that wavelets are especially useful for representing functions that contain discontinuities (i.e., edges in two dimensions or jumps in one dimension). We interpret the resulting theory in a statistical signal processing framework and obtain a highly flexible framework for adapting the degree of regularization to the local structure of the underlying image. In particular, we are able to adapt quite easily to scale-varying and orientation-varying features in the image while simultaneously retaining the edge preservation properties of the regularizer. We demonstrate a half-quadratic algorithm for obtaining the restorations from observed data.

Symmetry Breaking Analysis of Prism Adaptation's Latent Aftereffect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frank, Till D.; Blau, Julia J. C.; Turvey, Michael T.

2012-01-01

The effect of prism adaptation on movement is typically reduced when the movement at test (prisms off) differs on some dimension from the movement at training (prisms on). Some adaptation is latent, however, and only revealed through further testing in which the movement at training is fully reinstated. Applying a nonlinear attractor dynamic model…

Assessing Adaptive Functioning in Preschoolers Referred for Diagnosis of Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milne, Susan; McDonald, Jenny

2015-01-01

Adaptive function is an essential dimension in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions in young children, assisting in determining the pattern of intellectual function and the amount and type of support required. Yet, little information is available on the accuracy of currently used adaptive function assessments for preschool children. This…

Organisational Culture and Values and the Adaptation of Academic Units in Australian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Zilwa, Deanna

2007-01-01

This study explores connections between the organisational culture and values of academic units in Australian universities and their efforts to adapt to external environmental pressures. It integrates empirical findings from case studies with theories of organisational culture and values and adaptation. It identifies seven dimensions of academic…

Identifying Early Childhood Personality Dimensions Using the California Child Q-Set and Prospective Associations With Behavioral and Psychosocial Development.

PubMed

Wilson, Sylia; Schalet, Benjamin D; Hicks, Brian M; Zucker, Robert A

2013-08-01

The present study used an empirical, "bottom-up" approach to delineate the structure of the California Child Q-Set (CCQ), a comprehensive set of personality descriptors, in a sample of 373 preschool-aged children. This approach yielded two broad trait dimensions, Adaptive Socialization (emotional stability, compliance, intelligence) and Anxious Inhibition (emotional/behavioral introversion). Results demonstrate the value of using empirical derivation to investigate the structure of personality in young children, speak to the importance of early-evident personality traits for adaptive development, and are consistent with a growing body of evidence indicating that personality structure in young children is similar, but not identical to, that in adults, suggesting a model of broad personality dimensions in childhood that evolve into narrower traits in adulthood.

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale in a French-Speaking Swiss Sample: Psychometric Properties and Relationships to Personality and Work Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rossier, Jerome; Zecca, Gregory; Stauffer, Sarah D.; Maggiori, Christian; Dauwalder, Jean-Pierre

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in a French-speaking Swiss sample and its relationship with personality dimensions and work engagement. The heterogeneous sample of 391 participants (M[subscript age] = 39.59, SD = 12.30) completed the CAAS-International and a short version…

Adaptive Quadrature for Item Response Models. Research Report. ETS RR-06-29

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haberman, Shelby J.

2006-01-01

Adaptive quadrature is applied to marginal maximum likelihood estimation for item response models with normal ability distributions. Even in one dimension, significant gains in speed and accuracy of computation may be achieved.

Architecture for Adaptive Intelligent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayes-Roth, Barbara

1993-01-01

We identify a class of niches to be occupied by 'adaptive intelligent systems (AISs)'. In contrast with niches occupied by typical AI agents, AIS niches present situations that vary dynamically along several key dimensions: different combinations of required tasks, different configurations of available resources, contextual conditions ranging from benign to stressful, and different performance criteria. We present a small class hierarchy of AIS niches that exhibit these dimensions of variability and describe a particular AIS niche, ICU (intensive care unit) patient monitoring, which we use for illustration throughout the paper. We have designed and implemented an agent architecture that supports all of different kinds of adaptation by exploiting a single underlying theoretical concept: An agent dynamically constructs explicit control plans to guide its choices among situation-triggered behaviors. We illustrate the architecture and its support for adaptation with examples from Guardian, an experimental agent for ICU monitoring.

Vocational Maturity and Self Concepts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helbing, Hans

The relationship between separate dimensions of vocational maturity and different self-concept and identity variables were examined. Subjects were Dutch students, age 14-18 years. The vocational maturity dimensions were measured by Dutch adaptations of American vocational maturity scales. Instruments for self-concept and identity measurement were…

Embedding Dimension Selection for Adaptive Singular Spectrum Analysis of EEG Signal.

PubMed

Xu, Shanzhi; Hu, Hai; Ji, Linhong; Wang, Peng

2018-02-26

The recorded electroencephalography (EEG) signal is often contaminated with different kinds of artifacts and noise. Singular spectrum analysis (SSA) is a powerful tool for extracting the brain rhythm from a noisy EEG signal. By analyzing the frequency characteristics of the reconstructed component (RC) and the change rate in the trace of the Toeplitz matrix, it is demonstrated that the embedding dimension is related to the frequency bandwidth of each reconstructed component, in consistence with the component mixing in the singular value decomposition step. A method for selecting the embedding dimension is thereby proposed and verified by simulated EEG signal based on the Markov Process Amplitude (MPA) EEG Model. Real EEG signal is also collected from the experimental subjects under both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. The experimental results show that based on the embedding dimension selection method, the alpha rhythm can be extracted from the real EEG signal by the adaptive SSA, which can be effectively utilized to distinguish between the eyes-open and eyes-closed states.

A New Socio-technical Model for Studying Health Information Technology in Complex Adaptive Healthcare Systems

PubMed Central

Sittig, Dean F.; Singh, Hardeep

2011-01-01

Conceptual models have been developed to address challenges inherent in studying health information technology (HIT). This manuscript introduces an 8-dimensional model specifically designed to address the socio-technical challenges involved in design, development, implementation, use, and evaluation of HIT within complex adaptive healthcare systems. The 8 dimensions are not independent, sequential, or hierarchical, but rather are interdependent and interrelated concepts similar to compositions of other complex adaptive systems. Hardware and software computing infrastructure refers to equipment and software used to power, support, and operate clinical applications and devices. Clinical content refers to textual or numeric data and images that constitute the “language” of clinical applications. The human computer interface includes all aspects of the computer that users can see, touch, or hear as they interact with it. People refers to everyone who interacts in some way with the system, from developer to end-user, including potential patient-users. Workflow and communication are the processes or steps involved in assuring that patient care tasks are carried out effectively. Two additional dimensions of the model are internal organizational features (e.g., policies, procedures, and culture) and external rules and regulations, both of which may facilitate or constrain many aspects of the preceding dimensions. The final dimension is measurement and monitoring, which refers to the process of measuring and evaluating both intended and unintended consequences of HIT implementation and use. We illustrate how our model has been successfully applied in real-world complex adaptive settings to understand and improve HIT applications at various stages of development and implementation. PMID:20959322

A new sociotechnical model for studying health information technology in complex adaptive healthcare systems.

PubMed

Sittig, Dean F; Singh, Hardeep

2010-10-01

Conceptual models have been developed to address challenges inherent in studying health information technology (HIT). This manuscript introduces an eight-dimensional model specifically designed to address the sociotechnical challenges involved in design, development, implementation, use and evaluation of HIT within complex adaptive healthcare systems. The eight dimensions are not independent, sequential or hierarchical, but rather are interdependent and inter-related concepts similar to compositions of other complex adaptive systems. Hardware and software computing infrastructure refers to equipment and software used to power, support and operate clinical applications and devices. Clinical content refers to textual or numeric data and images that constitute the 'language' of clinical applications. The human--computer interface includes all aspects of the computer that users can see, touch or hear as they interact with it. People refers to everyone who interacts in some way with the system, from developer to end user, including potential patient-users. Workflow and communication are the processes or steps involved in ensuring that patient care tasks are carried out effectively. Two additional dimensions of the model are internal organisational features (eg, policies, procedures and culture) and external rules and regulations, both of which may facilitate or constrain many aspects of the preceding dimensions. The final dimension is measurement and monitoring, which refers to the process of measuring and evaluating both intended and unintended consequences of HIT implementation and use. We illustrate how our model has been successfully applied in real-world complex adaptive settings to understand and improve HIT applications at various stages of development and implementation.

Tensor sufficient dimension reduction

PubMed Central

Zhong, Wenxuan; Xing, Xin; Suslick, Kenneth

2015-01-01

Tensor is a multiway array. With the rapid development of science and technology in the past decades, large amount of tensor observations are routinely collected, processed, and stored in many scientific researches and commercial activities nowadays. The colorimetric sensor array (CSA) data is such an example. Driven by the need to address data analysis challenges that arise in CSA data, we propose a tensor dimension reduction model, a model assuming the nonlinear dependence between a response and a projection of all the tensor predictors. The tensor dimension reduction models are estimated in a sequential iterative fashion. The proposed method is applied to a CSA data collected for 150 pathogenic bacteria coming from 10 bacterial species and 14 bacteria from one control species. Empirical performance demonstrates that our proposed method can greatly improve the sensitivity and specificity of the CSA technique. PMID:26594304

Adaptation and learning: characteristic time scales of performance dynamics.

PubMed

Newell, Karl M; Mayer-Kress, Gottfried; Hong, S Lee; Liu, Yeou-Teh

2009-12-01

A multiple time scales landscape model is presented that reveals structures of performance dynamics that were not resolved in the traditional power law analysis of motor learning. It shows the co-existence of separate processes during and between practice sessions that evolve in two independent dimensions characterized by time scales that differ by about an order of magnitude. Performance along the slow persistent dimension of learning improves often as much and sometimes more during rest (memory consolidation and/or insight generation processes) than during a practice session itself. In contrast, the process characterized by the fast, transient dimension of adaptation reverses direction between practice sessions, thereby significantly degrading performance at the beginning of the next practice session (warm-up decrement). The theoretical model fits qualitatively and quantitatively the data from Snoddy's [Snoddy, G. S. (1926). Learning and stability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 10, 1-36] classic learning study of mirror tracing and other averaged and individual data sets, and provides a new account of the processes of change in adaptation and learning. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptation to walking with an exoskeleton that assists ankle extension.

PubMed

Galle, S; Malcolm, P; Derave, W; De Clercq, D

2013-07-01

The goal of this study was to investigate adaptation to walking with bilateral ankle-foot exoskeletons with kinematic control that assisted ankle extension during push-off. We hypothesized that subjects would show a neuromotor and metabolic adaptation during a 24min walking trial with a powered exoskeleton. Nine female subjects walked on a treadmill at 1.36±0.04ms(-1) during 24min with a powered exoskeleton and 4min with an unpowered exoskeleton. Subjects showed a metabolic adaptation after 18.5±5.0min, followed by an adapted period. Metabolic cost, electromyography and kinematics were compared between the unpowered condition, the beginning of the adaptation and the adapted period. In the beginning of the adaptation (4min), a reduction in metabolic cost of 9% was found compared to the unpowered condition. This reduction was accompanied by reduced muscular activity in the plantarflexor muscles, as the powered exoskeleton delivered part of the necessary ankle extension moment. During the adaptation this metabolic reduction further increased to 16%, notwithstanding a constant exoskeleton assistance. This increased reduction is the result of a neuromotor adaptation in which subjects adapt to walking with the exoskeleton, thereby reducing muscular activity in all leg muscles. Because of the fast adaptation and the significant reductions in metabolic cost we want to highlight the potential of an ankle-foot exoskeleton with kinematic control that assists ankle extension during push-off. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LPV Modeling of a Flexible Wing Aircraft Using Modal Alignment and Adaptive Gridding Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Al-Jiboory, Ali Khudhair; Zhu, Guoming; Swei, Sean Shan-Min; Su, Weihua; Nguyen, Nhan T.

2017-01-01

One of the earliest approaches in gain-scheduling control is the gridding based approach, in which a set of local linear time-invariant models are obtained at various gridded points corresponding to the varying parameters within the flight envelop. In order to ensure smooth and effective Linear Parameter-Varying control, aligning all the flexible modes within each local model and maintaining small number of representative local models over the gridded parameter space are crucial. In addition, since the flexible structural models tend to have large dimensions, a tractable model reduction process is necessary. In this paper, the notion of s-shifted H2- and H Infinity-norm are introduced and used as a metric to measure the model mismatch. A new modal alignment algorithm is developed which utilizes the defined metric for aligning all the local models over the entire gridded parameter space. Furthermore, an Adaptive Grid Step Size Determination algorithm is developed to minimize the number of local models required to represent the gridded parameter space. For model reduction, we propose to utilize the concept of Composite Modal Cost Analysis, through which the collective contribution of each flexible mode is computed and ranked. Therefore, a reduced-order model is constructed by retaining only those modes with significant contribution. The NASA Generic Transport Model operating at various flight speeds is studied for verification purpose, and the analysis and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach.

Use and Acceptability of Writing Adaptations for Students with Disabilities: Survey of Grade 3-8 Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Troia, Gary A.; Graham, Steve

2017-01-01

One hundred forty-one teachers in grades 3-8 indicated how frequently they made 24 writing instructional adaptations for students with disabilities. They also rated the acceptability of each of the 24 adaptations on three dimensions: effectiveness, effort needed to implement, and implementation knowledge. Teachers reported making 16 different…

Assessment of Primary Site Response in Children With High-Risk Neuroblastoma: An International Multicenter Study

PubMed Central

McHugh, Kieran; Naranjo, Arlene; Van Ryn, Collin; Kirby, Chaim; Brock, Penelope; Lyons, Karen A.; States, Lisa J.; Rojas, Yesenia; Miller, Alexandra; Volchenboum, Sam L.; Simon, Thorsten; Krug, Barbara; Sarnacki, Sabine; Valteau-Couanet, Dominique; von Schweinitz, Dietrich; Kammer, Birgit; Granata, Claudio; Pio, Luca; Park, Julie R.; Nuchtern, Jed

2016-01-01

Purpose The International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria (INRC) require serial measurements of primary tumors in three dimensions, whereas the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) require measurement in one dimension. This study was conducted to identify the preferred method of primary tumor response assessment for use in revised INRC. Patients and Methods Patients younger than 20 years with high-risk neuroblastoma were eligible if they were diagnosed between 2000 and 2012 and if three primary tumor measurements (antero-posterior, width, cranio-caudal) were recorded at least twice before resection. Responses were defined as ≥ 30% reduction in longest dimension as per RECIST, ≥ 50% reduction in volume as per INRC, or ≥ 65% reduction in volume. Results Three-year event-free survival for all patients (N = 229) was 44% and overall survival was 58%. The sensitivity of both volume response measures (ability to detect responses in patients who survived) exceeded the sensitivity of the single dimension measure, but the specificity of all response measures (ability to identify lack of response in patients who later died) was low. In multivariable analyses, none of the response measures studied was predictive of outcome, and none was predictive of the extent of resection. Conclusion None of the methods of primary tumor response assessment was predictive of outcome. Measurement of three dimensions followed by calculation of resultant volume is more complex than measurement of a single dimension. Primary tumor response in children with high-risk neuroblastoma should therefore be evaluated in accordance with RECIST criteria, using the single longest dimension. PMID:26755515

Boosted Kaluza-Klein magnetic monopole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashemi, S. Sedigheh; Riazi, Nematollah

2018-06-01

We consider a Kaluza-Klein vacuum solution which is closely related to the Gross-Perry-Sorkin (GPS) magnetic monopole. The solution can be obtained from the Euclidean Taub-NUT solution with an extra compact fifth spatial dimension within the formalism of Kaluza-Klein reduction. We study its physical properties as appearing in (3 + 1) spacetime dimensions, which turns out to be a static magnetic monopole. We then boost the GPS magnetic monopole along the extra dimension, and perform the Kaluza-Klein reduction. The resulting four-dimensional spacetime is a rotating stationary system, with both electric and magnetic fields. In fact, after the boost the magnetic monopole turns into a string connected to a dyon.

Measuring service quality and its relationship to future consumer behavior.

PubMed

Headley, D E; Miller, S J

1993-01-01

The authors adapt the SERVQUAL scale for medical care services and examine it for reliability, dimensionality, and validity in a primary care clinic setting. In addition, they explore the possibility of a link between perceived service quality--and its various dimensions--and a patient's future intent to complain, compliment, repeat purchase, and switch providers. Findings from 159 matched-pair responses indicate that the SERVQUAL scale can be adapted reliably to a clinic setting and that the dimensions of reliability, dependability, and empathy are most predictive of a patient's intent to complain, compliment, repeat purchase, and switch providers.

Differentiating adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism on the MMPI-2 and MIPS revised.

PubMed

Rice, Kenneth G; Stuart, Jennifer

2010-03-01

Although conceptualizations of perfectionism have emphasized adaptive as well as maladaptive expressions of the construct, how these different dimensions or types of perfectionists might be reflected in comprehensive personality assessment instruments is unknown. An initial sample of 267 university students completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 2001), Millon Index of Personality Styles Revised (MIPS-R; Millon, 2004), and Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (Slaney, Mobley, Trippi, Ashby, & Johnson, 1996). Analyses indicated that dimensions and types of perfectionism were associated, in expected directions, with select scores on the MMPI-2 and MIPS-R.

Job stress in young physicians with an emphasis on the work-home interface: a nine-year, nationwide and longitudinal study of its course and predictors.

PubMed

Røvik, Jan Ole; Tyssen, Reidar; Hem, Erlend; Gude, Tore; Ekeberg, Oivind; Moum, Torbjørn; Vaglum, Per

2007-10-01

Although physicians are known to experience more stress than other workers, knowledge is lacking on the course of stress from a longitudinal perspective. This study explored the course of and contributors to, different dimensions of early career job-stress among physicians by means of a nationwide mail survey, with a particular emphasis on stress relating to the work-home interference. All physicians graduating from all four Norwegian universities in 1993 / 94 (N=631), responded during their final year of medical school (N=522), during their internship (N=402), in their 4th postgraduate year (N=422), and in their 10th postgraduate year (N=390). The mean observation period was 9.2 yr (SD=0.5). The main outcomes were job stress dimensions derived from an established job stress questionnaire (Cooper / Tyssen), with emphasis placed on dimensions of the work-home interference. Stress relating to the work-home interference increased during the observation period for both genders (repeated measures: beta=0.06, p<0.05), whereas stress relating to emotional pressure, time pressure, and fear of complaints and criticism, decreased. Stress relating to the work-home interference increased during their early career, mainly due to a lack of adaptive reduction in work hours and an increased number of children. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and lack of support from one's partner and colleagues, appeared to be predictive of this stress.

Identifying Early Childhood Personality Dimensions Using the California Child Q-Set and Prospective Associations With Behavioral and Psychosocial Development

PubMed Central

Wilson, Sylia; Schalet, Benjamin D.; Hicks, Brian M.; Zucker, Robert A.

2013-01-01

The present study used an empirical, “bottom-up” approach to delineate the structure of the California Child Q-Set (CCQ), a comprehensive set of personality descriptors, in a sample of 373 preschool-aged children. This approach yielded two broad trait dimensions, Adaptive Socialization (emotional stability, compliance, intelligence) and Anxious Inhibition (emotional/behavioral introversion). Results demonstrate the value of using empirical derivation to investigate the structure of personality in young children, speak to the importance of early-evident personality traits for adaptive development, and are consistent with a growing body of evidence indicating that personality structure in young children is similar, but not identical to, that in adults, suggesting a model of broad personality dimensions in childhood that evolve into narrower traits in adulthood. PMID:24223448

Active Subspace Methods for Data-Intensive Inverse Problems

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

Wang, Qiqi

2017-04-27

The project has developed theory and computational tools to exploit active subspaces to reduce the dimension in statistical calibration problems. This dimension reduction enables MCMC methods to calibrate otherwise intractable models. The same theoretical and computational tools can also reduce the measurement dimension for calibration problems that use large stores of data.

Dimensional reduction as a method to obtain dual theories for massive spin two in arbitrary dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoudeir, A.; Montemayor, R.; Urrutia, Luis F.

2008-09-01

Using the parent Lagrangian method together with a dimensional reduction from D to (D-1) dimensions, we construct dual theories for massive spin two fields in arbitrary dimensions in terms of a mixed symmetry tensor TA[A1A2…AD-2]. Our starting point is the well-studied massless parent action in dimension D. The resulting massive Stueckelberg-like parent actions in (D-1) dimensions inherit all the gauge symmetries of the original massless action and can be gauge fixed in two alternative ways, yielding the possibility of having a parent action with either a symmetric or a nonsymmetric Fierz-Pauli field eAB. Even though the dual sector in terms of the standard spin two field includes only the symmetrical part e{AB} in both cases, these two possibilities yield different results in terms of the alternative dual field TA[A1A2…AD-2]. In particular, the nonsymmetric case reproduces the Freund-Curtright action as the dual to the massive spin two field action in four dimensions.

Randomized controlled trial on the effects of CCTV training on quality of life, depression, and adaptation to vision loss.

PubMed

Burggraaff, Marloes C; van Nispen, Ruth M A; Knol, Dirk L; Ringens, Peter J; van Rens, Ger H M B

2012-06-14

In addition to performance-based measures, vision-related quality of life (QOL) and other subjective measures of psychosocial functioning are considered important outcomes of training in the visually impaired. In a multicenter, masked, randomized controlled trial, subjective effects of training in the use of closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) were investigated. Patients (n = 122) were randomized either to a treatment group that received usual delivery instructions from the supplier combined with concise outpatient training, or to a control group that received delivery instructions only. Subjective outcomes were the low vision quality-of-life questionnaire (LVQOL), EuroQOL 5 dimensions, adaptation to age-related vision loss (AVL), and the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression scales. Linear mixed models were used to investigate treatment effects. Differential effects of patient characteristics were studied by implementing higher order interactions into the models. From baseline to follow-up, all patients perceived significantly less problems on the reading and fine work dimension (-28.8 points; P < 0.001) and the adaptation dimension (-4.67 points; P = 0.04) of the LVQOL. However, no treatment effect was found based on the intention-to-treat analysis. This study demonstrated the effect of receiving and using a CCTV on two vision-related QOL dimensions; however, outpatient training in the use of CCTVs had no additional value. (trialregister.nl number, NTR1031.).

Time-lagged autoencoders: Deep learning of slow collective variables for molecular kinetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehmeyer, Christoph; Noé, Frank

2018-06-01

Inspired by the success of deep learning techniques in the physical and chemical sciences, we apply a modification of an autoencoder type deep neural network to the task of dimension reduction of molecular dynamics data. We can show that our time-lagged autoencoder reliably finds low-dimensional embeddings for high-dimensional feature spaces which capture the slow dynamics of the underlying stochastic processes—beyond the capabilities of linear dimension reduction techniques.

Coordination of physiological and structural traits in Amazon forest trees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patiño, S.; Fyllas, N. M.; Baker, T. R.; Paiva, R.; Quesada, C. A.; Santos, A. J. B.; Schwarz, M.; Ter Steege, H.; Phillips, O. L.; Lloyd, J.

2012-02-01

Many plant traits covary in a non-random manner reflecting interdependencies associated with "ecological strategy" dimensions. To understand how plants integrate their structural and physiological investments, data on leaf and leaflet size and the ratio of leaf area to sapwood area (ΦLS) obtained for 1020 individual trees (encompassing 661 species) located in 52 tropical forest plots across the Amazon Basin were incorporated into an analysis utilising existing data on species maximum height (Hmax), seed size, leaf mass per unit area (MA), foliar nutrients and δ13C, and branch xylem density (ρx). Utilising a common principal components approach allowing eigenvalues to vary between two soil fertility dependent species groups, five taxonomically controlled trait dimensions were identified. The first involves primarily cations, foliar carbon and MA and is associated with differences in foliar construction costs. The second relates to some components of the classic "leaf economic spectrum", but with increased individual leaf areas and a higher ΦLS newly identified components for tropical tree species. The third relates primarily to increasing Hmax and hence variations in light acquisition strategy involving greater MA, reductions in ΦLS and less negative δ13C. Although these first three dimensions were more important for species from high fertility sites the final two dimensions were more important for low fertility species and were associated with variations linked to reproductive and shade tolerance strategies. Environmental conditions influenced structural traits with ρx of individual species decreasing with increased soil fertility and higher temperatures. This soil fertility response appears to be synchronised with increases in foliar nutrient concentrations and reductions in foliar [C]. Leaf and leaflet area and ΦLS were less responsive to the environment than ρx. Thus, although genetically determined foliar traits such as those associated with leaf construction costs coordinate independently of structural characteristics such as maximum height, others such as the classical "leaf economic spectrum" covary with structural traits such as leaf size and ΦLS. Coordinated structural and physiological adaptions are also associated with light acquisition/shade tolerance strategies with several traits such as MA and [C] being significant components of more than one ecological strategy dimension. This is argued to be a consequence of a range of different potential underlying causes for any observed variation in such "ambiguous" traits. Environmental effects on structural and physiological characteristics are also coordinated but in a different way to the gamut of linkages associated with genotypic differences.

Attachment, emotion regulation, and adaptation to breast cancer: assessment of a mediational hypothesis.

PubMed

Ávila, Marisa; Brandão, Tânia; Teixeira, Joana; Coimbra, Joaquim Luis; Matos, Paula Mena

2015-11-01

This study examines the links between attachment, adaptation to breast cancer, and the mediating role played by emotional regulation processes. Participants were 127 women with breast cancer recruited in two public hospitals of Porto and at the Portuguese Cancer League. Women completed measures of attachment, quality of life, and emotion regulation. Path models were used to examine the associations between the constructs and to test the mediational hypotheses. Significant associations were found between attachment and adaptation. Dimensions of emotion regulation totally or partially mediated the associations between attachment and adaptation outcomes. Attachment security effects on interpersonal relations were totally mediated by communicating emotions. Also, attachment anxiety effect on physical well-being was totally mediated by rumination. Attachment avoidance effects on psychological outcomes were totally mediated by emotional control and partially mediated by communicating emotions for the case of interpersonal relations. This study highlights the importance of addressing emotional regulation jointly with attachment to deepen the comprehension of the relational processes implicated in adaptation to breast cancer. Results supported a mediational hypothesis, presenting emotional regulation processes as relevant dimensions for the understanding of attachment associations with adaptation to breast cancer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Model of Psychological Well-Being among International Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shafaei, Azadeh; Nejati, Mehran; Abd Razak, Nordin

2018-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationship between acculturation attitude (i.e. adjustment and attachment attitudes) and individuals' psychological adaptation (i.e. life satisfaction, depression and self-esteem). Additionally, the relationship between the dimensions of psychological adaptation with psychological well-being and their mediation…

Developing Culture-Adaptive Competency Through Experiences with Expressive Avatars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silverglate, Daniel S.; Sims, Edward M.; Glover, Gerald; Friedman, Harris

2012-01-01

Modern Warfighters often find themselves in a variety of non-combat roles such as negotiator, peacekeeper, reconstruction, and disaster relief. They are expected to perform these roles within a culture alien to their own. Each individual they encounter brings their own set of values to the interaction that must be understood and reconciled. To navigate the human terrain of these complex interactions, the Warfighter must not only consider the specifics of the target culture, but also identify the stakeholders, recognize the influencing cultural dimensions, and adapt to the situation to achieve the best possible outcome. Vcom3D is using game-based scenarios to develop culturally adaptive competency. The avatars that represent the stakeholders must be able to portray culturally accurate behavior, display complex emotion, and communicate through verbal and non-verbal cues. This paper will discuss the use of emerging game technologies to better simulate human behavior in cross-cultural dilemmas. Nomenclature: culture, adaptive, values, cultural values dimensions, dilemmas, virtual humans, non-verbal communications

Evaluating the Ability of Heart Rate and EEG to Control Alertness during Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freeman, Fred

2002-01-01

The major focus of the present proposal was to examine psychophysiological indices that show promise for invoking different modes of automation in an adaptive automation system. With the increased use of automation in today's work environment, people's roles in the work place are being redefined from that of active participant to one of passive monitor. Although the introduction of automated systems has a number of benefits, there are also a number of disadvantages regarding worker performance. Byrne and Parasuraman have argued for the use of psychophysiological measures in the development and the implementation of adaptive automation. While performance based, model based, and psychophysiologically based adaptive automation systems have been studied, the combined use of several psychophysiological measures has never been investigated. Such a combination provides the advantage of real time evaluation of the state of the subject in two relevant dimensions and offers a more realistic approach to the implementation of adaptive automation compared to the use of either dimension by itself.

Social, occupational and cultural adaptation in Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolas, Michel; Bishop, Sheryl; Weiss, Karine; Gaudino, Marvin

2016-07-01

Life in isolated and confined environments (ICEs, e.g., polar stations, submarine or space missions), is subject to important constraints which can generate psychosociological impaired outcomes. This study investigated psychological, social, occupational and cultural variables which are among the most important determinants in adaptation to a one-year wintering in Antarctica with 13 international participants. Our findings confirm and give further insight into the role of social (Cohesiveness, Social Support) and occupational (Implementation / Preparedness, Counterproductive Activity, Decision Latitude and Psychological Job Demands) dimensions of adaptation to ICE environments. Relationships between various social and occupational dimensions studies reflected detrimental effects ranging from decrements in cohesiveness, social support and work performance which differed across professional status and multicultural factors. These psychosocial issues have important implications for pre-mission selection and training, monitoring and support of crews during the mission and post-mission readaptation. Operational recommendations are suggested to improve adaptation, success and well-being for long-term ICE missions, e.g., to Mars and beyond.

On the connection between multigrid and cyclic reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merriam, M. L.

1984-01-01

A technique is shown whereby it is possible to relate a particular multigrid process to cyclic reduction using purely mathematical arguments. This technique suggest methods for solving Poisson's equation in 1-, 2-, or 3-dimensions with Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions. In one dimension the method is exact and, in fact, reduces to cyclic reduction. This provides a valuable reference point for understanding multigrid techniques. The particular multigrid process analyzed is referred to here as Approximate Cyclic Reduction (ACR) and is one of a class known as Multigrid Reduction methods in the literature. It involves one approximation with a known error term. It is possible to relate the error term in this approximation with certain eigenvector components of the error. These are sharply reduced in amplitude by classical relaxation techniques. The approximation can thus be made a very good one.

Dimension Reduction With Extreme Learning Machine.

PubMed

Kasun, Liyanaarachchi Lekamalage Chamara; Yang, Yan; Huang, Guang-Bin; Zhang, Zhengyou

2016-08-01

Data may often contain noise or irrelevant information, which negatively affect the generalization capability of machine learning algorithms. The objective of dimension reduction algorithms, such as principal component analysis (PCA), non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), random projection (RP), and auto-encoder (AE), is to reduce the noise or irrelevant information of the data. The features of PCA (eigenvectors) and linear AE are not able to represent data as parts (e.g. nose in a face image). On the other hand, NMF and non-linear AE are maimed by slow learning speed and RP only represents a subspace of original data. This paper introduces a dimension reduction framework which to some extend represents data as parts, has fast learning speed, and learns the between-class scatter subspace. To this end, this paper investigates a linear and non-linear dimension reduction framework referred to as extreme learning machine AE (ELM-AE) and sparse ELM-AE (SELM-AE). In contrast to tied weight AE, the hidden neurons in ELM-AE and SELM-AE need not be tuned, and their parameters (e.g, input weights in additive neurons) are initialized using orthogonal and sparse random weights, respectively. Experimental results on USPS handwritten digit recognition data set, CIFAR-10 object recognition, and NORB object recognition data set show the efficacy of linear and non-linear ELM-AE and SELM-AE in terms of discriminative capability, sparsity, training time, and normalized mean square error.

Plant-pollinator interactions under climate change: The use of spatial and temporal transplants.

PubMed

Morton, Eva M; Rafferty, Nicole E

2017-06-01

Climate change is affecting both the timing of life history events and the spatial distributions of many species, including plants and pollinators. Shifts in phenology and range affect not only individual plant and pollinator species but also interactions among them, with possible negative consequences for both parties due to unfavorable abiotic conditions or mismatches caused by differences in shift magnitude or direction. Ultimately, population extinctions and reductions in pollination services could occur as a result of these climate change-induced shifts, or plants and pollinators could be buffered by plastic or genetic responses or novel interactions. Either scenario will likely involve altered selection pressures, making an understanding of plasticity and local adaptation in space and time especially important. In this review, we discuss two methods for studying plant-pollinator interactions under climate change: spatial and temporal transplants, both of which offer insight into whether plants and pollinators will be able to adapt to novel conditions. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and the future possibilities for this area of study. We advocate for consideration of how joint shifts in both dimensions might affect plant-pollinator interactions and point to key insights that can be gained with experimental transplants.

Translation, Cross-cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Farsi Version of NIH Task Force's Recommended Multidimensional Minimal Dataset for Research on Chronic Low Back Pain.

PubMed

Noormohammadpour, Pardis; Tavana, Bahareh; Mansournia, Mohammad Ali; Zeinalizadeh, Mehdi; Mirzashahi, Babak; Rostami, Mohsen; Kordi, Ramin

2018-05-01

Translation and cultural adaptation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Task Force's minimal dataset. The purpose of this study was to evaluate validity and reliability of the Farsi version of NIH Task Force's recommended multidimensional minimal dataset for research on chronic low back pain (CLBP). Considering the high treatment cost of CLBP and its increasing prevalence, NIH Pain Consortium developed research standards (including recommendations for definitions, a minimum dataset, and outcomes' report) for studies regarding CLBP. Application of these recommendations could standardize research and improve comparability of different studies in CLBP. This study has three phases: translation of dataset into Farsi and its cultural adaptation, assessment of pre-final version of dataset's comprehensibility via a pilot study, and investigation of the reliability and validity of final version of translated dataset. Subjects were 250 patients with CLBP. Test-retest reliability, content validity, and convergent validity (correlations among different dimensions of dataset and Farsi versions of Oswestry Disability Index, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory-II) were assessed. The Farsi version demonstrated good/excellent convergent validity (the correlation coefficient between impact dimension and ODI was r = 0.75 [P < 0.001], between impact dimension and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire was r = 0.80 [P < 0.001], and between psychological dimension and BDI was r = 0.62 [P < 0.001]). The test-retest reliability was also strong (intraclass correlation coefficient value ranged between 0.70 and 0.95) and the internal consistency was good/excellent (Chronbach's alpha coefficients' value for two main dimensions including impact dimension and psychological dimension were 0.91 and 0.82 [P < 0.001], respectively). In addition, its face validity and content validity were acceptable. The Farsi version of minimal dataset for research on CLBP is a reliable and valid instrument for data gathering in patients with CLBP. This minimum dataset can be a step toward standardization of research regarding CLBP. 3.

Zn-metalloprotease sequences in extremophiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holden, T.; Dehipawala, S.; Golebiewska, U.; Cheung, E.; Tremberger, G., Jr.; Williams, E.; Schneider, P.; Gadura, N.; Lieberman, D.; Cheung, T.

2010-09-01

The Zn-metalloprotease family contains conserved amino acid structures such that the nucleotide fluctuation at the DNA level would exhibit correlated randomness as described by fractal dimension. A nucleotide sequence fractal dimension can be calculated from a numerical series consisting of the atomic numbers of each nucleotide. The structure's vibration modes can also be studied using a Gaussian Network Model. The vibration measure and fractal dimension values form a two-dimensional plot with a standard vector metric that can be used for comparison of structures. The preference for amino acid usage in extremophiles may suppress nucleotide fluctuations that could be analyzed in terms of fractal dimension and Shannon entropy. A protein level cold adaptation study of the thermolysin Zn-metalloprotease family using molecular dynamics simulation was reported recently and our results show that the associated nucleotide fluctuation suppression is consistent with a regression pattern generated from the sequences's fractal dimension and entropy values (R-square { 0.98, N =5). It was observed that cold adaptation selected for high entropy and low fractal dimension values. Extension to the Archaemetzincin M54 family in extremophiles reveals a similar regression pattern (R-square = 0.98, N = 6). It was observed that the metalloprotease sequences of extremely halophilic organisms possess high fractal dimension and low entropy values as compared with non-halophiles. The zinc atom is usually bonded to the histidine residue, which shows limited levels of vibration in the Gaussian Network Model. The variability of the fractal dimension and entropy for a given protein structure suggests that extremophiles would have evolved after mesophiles, consistent with the bias usage of non-prebiotic amino acids by extremophiles. It may be argued that extremophiles have the capacity to offer extinction protection during drastic changes in astrobiological environments.

Adaptive Delta Management: cultural aspects of dealing with uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timmermans, Jos; Haasnoot, Marjolijn; Hermans, Leon; Kwakkel, Jan

2016-04-01

Deltas are generally recognized as vulnerable to climate change and therefore a salient topic in adaptation science. Deltas are also highly dynamic systems viewed from physical (erosion, sedimentation, subsidence), social (demographic), economic (trade), infrastructures (transport, energy, metropolization) and cultural (multi-ethnic) perspectives. This multi-faceted dynamic character of delta areas warrants the emergence of a branch of applied adaptation science, Adaptive Delta Management, which explicitly focuses on climate adaptation of such highly dynamic and deeply uncertain systems. The application of Adaptive Delta Management in the Dutch Delta Program and its active international dissemination by Dutch professionals results in the rapid dissemination of Adaptive Delta Management to deltas worldwide. This global dissemination raises concerns among professionals in delta management on its applicability in deltas with cultural conditions and historical developments quite different from those found in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom where the practices now labelled as Adaptive Delta Management first emerged. This research develops an approach and gives a first analysis of the interaction between the characteristics of different approaches in Adaptive Delta Management and their alignment with the cultural conditions encountered in various delta's globally. In this analysis, first different management theories underlying approaches to Adaptive Delta Management as encountered in both scientific and professional publications are identified and characterized on three dimensions: The characteristics dimensions used are: orientation on today, orientation on the future, and decision making (Timmermans, 2015). The different underlying management theories encountered are policy analysis, strategic management, transition management, and adaptive management. These four management theories underlying different approaches in Adaptive Delta Management are connected to Hofstede's (1983) cultural dimensions, of which uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation are of particular relevance for our analysis. Our conclusions comment on the suitability of approaches in Adaptive Delta Management rooted in different management theories are more suitable for specific delta countries than others. The most striking conclusion is the unsuitability of rational policy analytic approaches for The Netherlands. Although surprising this conclusion finds some support in the process dominated approach taken in the Dutch Delta Program. In addition, the divergence between Vietnam, Bangladesh and Myanmar, all located in South East Asia, is striking. References Hofstede, G. (1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of international business studies, 75-89. Jos Timmermans, Marjolijn Haasnoot, Leon Hermans, Jan Kwakkel, Martine Rutten and Wil Thissen (2015). Adaptive Delta Management: Roots and Branches, IAHR The Hague 2015.

Organizational Adaptative Behavior: The Complex Perspective of Individuals-Tasks Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jiang; Sun, Duoyong; Hu, Bin; Zhang, Yu

Organizations with different organizational structures have different organizational behaviors when responding environmental changes. In this paper, we use a computational model to examine organizational adaptation on four dimensions: Agility, Robustness, Resilience, and Survivability. We analyze the dynamics of organizational adaptation by a simulation study from a complex perspective of the interaction between tasks and individuals in a sales enterprise. The simulation studies in different scenarios show that more flexible communication between employees and less hierarchy level with the suitable centralization can improve organizational adaptation.

The Role of Language-Game in Sociocultural Adaptation: Russian Students in France

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sablina, Svetlana; Kopiatina, Olga

2013-01-01

Higher educational institutions throughout the world are involved in communication with each other, exchanging instructional ideas and practices, as well as exchanging students through a number of international mobility programs. This paper examines sociocultural adaptation of international students with special attention to the dimensions of…

Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Testing for Indonesia Junior High School Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuo, Bor-Chen; Daud, Muslem; Yang, Chih-Wei

2015-01-01

This paper describes a curriculum-based multidimensional computerized adaptive test that was developed for Indonesia junior high school Biology. In adherence to the Indonesian curriculum of different Biology dimensions, 300 items was constructed, and then tested to 2238 students. A multidimensional random coefficients multinomial logit model was…

The Career Futures Inventory-Revised: Measuring Dimensions of Career Adaptability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rottinghaus, Patrick J.; Buelow, Kristine L.; Matyja, Anna; Schneider, Madalyn R.

2012-01-01

This study reports the development and initial validation of the "Career Futures Inventory-Revised" (CFI-R) in two large samples of university students. The 28-item CFI-R assesses aspects of career adaptability, including positive career planning attitudes, general outcome expectations, and components of Parsons' tripartite model and…

Social Adaptation of New Immigrant Students: Cultural Scripts, Roles, and Symbolic Interactionism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ukasoanya, Grace

2014-01-01

It is important that counselors understand the socio-cultural dimensions of social adaptation among immigrant students. While many psychological theories could provide suitable frameworks for examining these, in this article, I argue that symbolic interactionism could provide an additional valuable framework for (a) exploring the intersections of…

Adaptive Perfectionism, Maladaptive Perfectionism and Statistics Anxiety in Graduate Psychology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Comerchero, Victoria; Fortugno, Dominick

2013-01-01

The current study examined if correlations between statistics anxiety and dimensions of perfectionism (adaptive and maladaptive) were present amongst a sample of psychology graduate students (N = 96). Results demonstrated that scores on the APS-R Discrepancy scale, corresponding to maladaptive perfectionism, correlated with higher levels of…

Archetypal analysis of diverse Pseudomonas aeruginosa transcriptomes reveals adaptation in cystic fibrosis airways

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Analysis of global gene expression by DNA microarrays is widely used in experimental molecular biology. However, the complexity of such high-dimensional data sets makes it difficult to fully understand the underlying biological features present in the data. The aim of this study is to introduce a method for DNA microarray analysis that provides an intuitive interpretation of data through dimension reduction and pattern recognition. We present the first “Archetypal Analysis” of global gene expression. The analysis is based on microarray data from five integrated studies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the airways of cystic fibrosis patients. Results Our analysis clustered samples into distinct groups with comprehensible characteristics since the archetypes representing the individual groups are closely related to samples present in the data set. Significant changes in gene expression between different groups identified adaptive changes of the bacteria residing in the cystic fibrosis lung. The analysis suggests a similar gene expression pattern between isolates with a high mutation rate (hypermutators) despite accumulation of different mutations for these isolates. This suggests positive selection in the cystic fibrosis lung environment, and changes in gene expression for these isolates are therefore most likely related to adaptation of the bacteria. Conclusions Archetypal analysis succeeded in identifying adaptive changes of P. aeruginosa. The combination of clustering and matrix factorization made it possible to reveal minor similarities among different groups of data, which other analytical methods failed to identify. We suggest that this analysis could be used to supplement current methods used to analyze DNA microarray data. PMID:24059747

WE-G-BRD-08: Motion Analysis for Rectal Cancer: Implications for Adaptive Radiotherapy On the MR-Linac

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

Kleijnen, J; Asselen, B van; Burbach, M

2015-06-15

Purpose: Purpose of this study is to find the optimal trade-off between adaptation interval and margin reduction and to define the implications of motion for rectal cancer boost radiotherapy on a MR-linac. Methods: Daily MRI scans were acquired of 16 patients, diagnosed with rectal cancer, prior to each radiotherapy fraction in one week (N=76). Each scan session consisted of T2-weighted and three 2D sagittal cine-MRI, at begin (t=0 min), middle (t=9:30 min) and end (t=18:00 min) of scan session, for 1 minute at 2 Hz temporal resolution. Tumor and clinical target volume (CTV) were delineated on each T2-weighted scan andmore » transferred to each cine-MRI. The start frame of the begin scan was used as reference and registered to frames at time-points 15, 30 and 60 seconds, 9:30 and 18:00 minutes and 1, 2, 3 and 4 days later. Per time-point, motion of delineated voxels was evaluated using the deformation vector fields of the registrations and the 95th percentile distance (dist95%) was calculated as measure of motion. Per time-point, the distance that includes 90% of all cases was taken as estimate of required planning target volume (PTV)-margin. Results: Highest motion reduction is observed going from 9:30 minutes to 60 seconds. We observe a reduction in margin estimates from 10.6 to 2.7 mm and 16.1 to 4.6 mm for tumor and CTV, respectively, when adapting every 60 seconds compared to not adapting treatment. A 75% and 71% reduction, respectively. Further reduction in adaptation time-interval yields only marginal motion reduction. For adaptation intervals longer than 18:00 minutes only small motion reductions are observed. Conclusion: The optimal adaptation interval for adaptive rectal cancer (boost) treatments on a MR-linac is 60 seconds. This results in substantial smaller PTV-margin estimates. Adaptation intervals of 18:00 minutes and higher, show little improvement in motion reduction.« less

[Self-judgment of personality traits and cognitive dimensions of the self].

PubMed

Horiuchi, T

1996-12-01

When people make a judgment as to whether a trait describes themselves or not, cognitive structure about the self must play an important role. Cognitive dimensions are a characteristic of such cognitive structure. The present study examined whether a self-referent information processing was mediated by cognitive dimensions of the self. For the purpose, Klein, Loftus, and Burton's task facilitation paradigm (1989) was adapted, which consisted of performing in succession two tasks, initial and target, for each trait adjective used. Experiment 1, which examined the evaluative dimension, showed that an evaluative processing in the target task was facilitated when the initial task was self-referent. Experiment 2, which examined six dimensions, showed that processing of the relevant dimension in the target task was facilitated when the initial task was self-referent. These results suggest that a self-referent information processing is mediated by cognitive dimensions of the self.

How can everyday practical knowledge be understood with inspiration from philosophy?

PubMed

Lykkeslet, Else; Gjengedal, Eva

2006-04-01

Many nursing scholars are inspired by philosophy when investigating phenomena within nursing. This paper focuses on the everyday practical knowledge of nurses. Based on an empirical project carried out in a surgical ward the authors make an attempt, with help from philosophy, at identifying and conceptualizing elements of knowledge in everyday practice. With reference to texts by Heidegger and Wittgenstein the authors investigate two dimensions of nursing knowledge: a dimension of doing and a dimension of being. These dimensions are further developed and concretized in the paper. The doing dimension is emphasized through the concepts of adapting and exploring. The being dimension has its basis in being understanding and being connected. These two dimensions constitute a form of knowledge which is mobile and flexible. This knowledge is in place in everyday situations and it works where it is supposed to work.

Continuous Adaptive Population Reduction (CAPR) for Differential Evolution Optimization.

PubMed

Wong, Ieong; Liu, Wenjia; Ho, Chih-Ming; Ding, Xianting

2017-06-01

Differential evolution (DE) has been applied extensively in drug combination optimization studies in the past decade. It allows for identification of desired drug combinations with minimal experimental effort. This article proposes an adaptive population-sizing method for the DE algorithm. Our new method presents improvements in terms of efficiency and convergence over the original DE algorithm and constant stepwise population reduction-based DE algorithm, which would lead to a reduced number of cells and animals required to identify an optimal drug combination. The method continuously adjusts the reduction of the population size in accordance with the stage of the optimization process. Our adaptive scheme limits the population reduction to occur only at the exploitation stage. We believe that continuously adjusting for a more effective population size during the evolutionary process is the major reason for the significant improvement in the convergence speed of the DE algorithm. The performance of the method is evaluated through a set of unimodal and multimodal benchmark functions. In combining with self-adaptive schemes for mutation and crossover constants, this adaptive population reduction method can help shed light on the future direction of a completely parameter tune-free self-adaptive DE algorithm.

Reduction of Large Dynamical Systems by Minimization of Evolution Rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Girimaji, Sharath S.

1999-01-01

Reduction of a large system of equations to a lower-dimensional system of similar dynamics is investigated. For dynamical systems with disparate timescales, a criterion for determining redundant dimensions and a general reduction method based on the minimization of evolution rate are proposed.

Adaptive EMG noise reduction in ECG signals using noise level approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marouf, Mohamed; Saranovac, Lazar

2017-12-01

In this paper the usage of noise level approximation for adaptive Electromyogram (EMG) noise reduction in the Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is introduced. To achieve the adequate adaptiveness, a translation-invariant noise level approximation is employed. The approximation is done in the form of a guiding signal extracted as an estimation of the signal quality vs. EMG noise. The noise reduction framework is based on a bank of low pass filters. So, the adaptive noise reduction is achieved by selecting the appropriate filter with respect to the guiding signal aiming to obtain the best trade-off between the signal distortion caused by filtering and the signal readability. For the evaluation purposes; both real EMG and artificial noises are used. The tested ECG signals are from the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database Directory, while both real and artificial records of EMG noise are added and used in the evaluation process. Firstly, comparison with state of the art methods is conducted to verify the performance of the proposed approach in terms of noise cancellation while preserving the QRS complex waves. Additionally, the signal to noise ratio improvement after the adaptive noise reduction is computed and presented for the proposed method. Finally, the impact of adaptive noise reduction method on QRS complexes detection was studied. The tested signals are delineated using a state of the art method, and the QRS detection improvement for different SNR is presented.

Classification of molecular structure images by using ANN, RF, LBP, HOG, and size reduction methods for early stomach cancer detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aytaç Korkmaz, Sevcan; Binol, Hamidullah

2018-03-01

Patients who die from stomach cancer are still present. Early diagnosis is crucial in reducing the mortality rate of cancer patients. Therefore, computer aided methods have been developed for early detection in this article. Stomach cancer images were obtained from Fırat University Medical Faculty Pathology Department. The Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features of these images are calculated. At the same time, Sammon mapping, Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (SNE), Isomap, Classical multidimensional scaling (MDS), Local Linear Embedding (LLE), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), and Laplacian Eigenmaps methods are used for dimensional the reduction of the features. The high dimension of these features has been reduced to lower dimensions using dimensional reduction methods. Artificial neural networks (ANN) and Random Forest (RF) classifiers were used to classify stomach cancer images with these new lower feature sizes. New medical systems have developed to measure the effects of these dimensions by obtaining features in different dimensional with dimensional reduction methods. When all the methods developed are compared, it has been found that the best accuracy results are obtained with LBP_MDS_ANN and LBP_LLE_ANN methods.

Sequential updating of multimodal hydrogeologic parameter fields using localization and clustering techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Alexander Y.; Morris, Alan P.; Mohanty, Sitakanta

2009-07-01

Estimated parameter distributions in groundwater models may contain significant uncertainties because of data insufficiency. Therefore, adaptive uncertainty reduction strategies are needed to continuously improve model accuracy by fusing new observations. In recent years, various ensemble Kalman filters have been introduced as viable tools for updating high-dimensional model parameters. However, their usefulness is largely limited by the inherent assumption of Gaussian error statistics. Hydraulic conductivity distributions in alluvial aquifers, for example, are usually non-Gaussian as a result of complex depositional and diagenetic processes. In this study, we combine an ensemble Kalman filter with grid-based localization and a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) clustering techniques for updating high-dimensional, multimodal parameter distributions via dynamic data assimilation. We introduce innovative strategies (e.g., block updating and dimension reduction) to effectively reduce the computational costs associated with these modified ensemble Kalman filter schemes. The developed data assimilation schemes are demonstrated numerically for identifying the multimodal heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity distributions in a binary facies alluvial aquifer. Our results show that localization and GMM clustering are very promising techniques for assimilating high-dimensional, multimodal parameter distributions, and they outperform the corresponding global ensemble Kalman filter analysis scheme in all scenarios considered.

Nation-building policies in Timor-Leste: disaster risk reduction, including climate change adaptation.

PubMed

Mercer, Jessica; Kelman, Ilan; do Rosario, Francisco; de Deus de Jesus Lima, Abilio; da Silva, Augusto; Beloff, Anna-Maija; McClean, Alex

2014-10-01

Few studies have explored the relationships between nation-building, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Focusing on small island developing states, this paper examines nation-building in Timor-Leste, a small island developing state that recently achieved independence. Nation-building in Timor-Leste is explored in the context of disaster risk reduction, which necessarily includes climate change adaptation. The study presents a synopsis of Timor-Leste's history and its nation-building efforts as well as an overview of the state of knowledge of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation. It also offers an analysis of significant gaps and challenges in terms of vertical and horizontal governance, large donor presence, data availability and the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for nation-building in Timor-Leste. Relevant and applicable lessons are provided from other small island developing states to assist Timor-Leste in identifying its own trajectory out of underdevelopment while it builds on existing strengths. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

Effect of Roy's Adaptation Model-Guided Education on Coping Strategies of the Veterans with Lower Extremities Amputation: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Farsi, Zahra; Azarmi, Somayeh

2016-04-01

Any defect in the extremities of the body can affect different life aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Roy's adaptation model-guided education on coping strategies of the veterans with lower extremities amputation. In a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, 60 veterans with lower extremities amputation referring to Kowsar Orthotics and Prosthetics Center of Veterans Clinic in Tehran, Iran were recruited using convenience method and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups in 2013-2014. Lazarus and Folkman coping strategies questionnaire was used to collect the data. After completing the questionnaires in both groups, maladaptive behaviours were determined in the intervention group and an education program based on Roy's adaptation model was implemented. After 2 months, both groups completed the questionnaires again. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Independent T-test showed that the score of the dimensions of coping strategies did not have a statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the pre-intervention stage (P>0.05). This test showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups in the post-intervention stage in terms of the scores of different dimensions of coping strategies (P>0.05), except in dimensions of social support seeking and positive appraisal (P>0.05). The findings of this research indicated that the Roy's adaptation model-guided education improved the majority of coping strategies in veterans with lower extremities amputation. It is recommended that further interventions based on Roy's adaptation model should be performed to improve the coping of the veterans with lower extremities amputation. IRCT2014081118763N1.

Chaotic behavior of renal sympathetic nerve activity: effect of baroreceptor denervation and cardiac failure.

PubMed

DiBona, G F; Jones, S Y; Sawin, L L

2000-09-01

Nonlinear dynamic analysis was used to examine the chaotic behavior of renal sympathetic nerve activity in conscious rats subjected to either complete baroreceptor denervation (sinoaortic and cardiac baroreceptor denervation) or induction of congestive heart failure (CHF). The peak interval sequence of synchronized renal sympathetic nerve discharge was extracted and used for analysis. In control rats, this yielded a system whose correlation dimension converged to a low value over the embedding dimension range of 10-15 and whose greatest Lyapunov exponent was positive. Complete baroreceptor denervation was associated with a decrease in the correlation dimension of the system (before 2.65 +/- 0.27, after 1.64 +/- 0.17; P < 0.01) and a reduction in chaotic behavior (greatest Lyapunov exponent: 0.201 +/- 0.008 bits/data point before, 0.177 +/- 0.004 bits/data point after, P < 0.02). CHF, a state characterized by impaired sinoaortic and cardiac baroreceptor regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity, was associated with a similar decrease in the correlation dimension (control 3.41 +/- 0.23, CHF 2.62 +/- 0.26; P < 0.01) and a reduction in chaotic behavior (greatest Lyapunov exponent: 0.205 +/- 0.048 bits/data point control, 0.136 +/- 0.033 bits/data point CHF, P < 0.02). These results indicate that removal of sinoaortic and cardiac baroreceptor regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity, occurring either physiologically or pathophysiologically, is associated with a decrease in the correlation dimensions of the system and a reduction in chaotic behavior.

The Impact of Symptom Dimensions on Outcome for Exposure and Ritual Prevention Therapy in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

PubMed Central

Williams, Monnica T.; Farris, Samantha G.; Turkheimer, Eric N.; Franklin, Martin E.; Simpson, H. Blair; Liebowitz, Michael; Foa, Edna B.

2014-01-01

Objective Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe condition with varied symptom presentations. The behavioral treatment with the most empirical support is exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP). This study examined the impact of symptom dimensions on EX/RP outcomes in OCD patients. Method The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to determine primary symptoms for each participant. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 238 patients identified five dimensions: contamination/cleaning, doubts about harm/checking, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, and unacceptable/taboo thoughts (including religious/moral and somatic obsessions among others). A linear regression was conducted on those who had received EX/RP (n = 87) to examine whether scores on the five symptom dimensions predicted post-treatment Y-BOCS scores, accounting for pre-treatment Y-BOCS scores. Results The average reduction in Y-BOCS score was 43.0%, however the regression indicated that unacceptable/taboo thoughts (β = .27, p = .02) and hoarding dimensions (β = .23, p = .04) were associated with significantly poorer EX/RP treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients endorsing religious/moral obsessions, somatic concerns, and hoarding obsessions showed significantly smaller reductions in Y-BOCS severity scores. Conclusions EX/RP was effective for all symptom dimensions, however it was less effective for unacceptable/taboo thoughts and hoarding than for other dimensions. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed. PMID:24983796

The impact of symptom dimensions on outcome for exposure and ritual prevention therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Williams, Monnica T; Farris, Samantha G; Turkheimer, Eric N; Franklin, Martin E; Simpson, H Blair; Liebowitz, Michael; Foa, Edna B

2014-08-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe condition with varied symptom presentations. The behavioral treatment with the most empirical support is exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP). This study examined the impact of symptom dimensions on EX/RP outcomes in OCD patients. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to determine primary symptoms for each participant. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 238 patients identified five dimensions: contamination/cleaning, doubts about harm/checking, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, and unacceptable/taboo thoughts (including religious/moral and somatic obsessions among others). A linear regression was conducted on those who had received EX/RP (n=87) to examine whether scores on the five symptom dimensions predicted post-treatment Y-BOCS scores, accounting for pre-treatment Y-BOCS scores. The average reduction in Y-BOCS score was 43.0%, however the regression indicated that unacceptable/taboo thoughts (β=.27, p=.02) and hoarding dimensions (β=.23, p=.04) were associated with significantly poorer EX/RP treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients endorsing religious/moral obsessions, somatic concerns, and hoarding obsessions showed significantly smaller reductions in Y-BOCS severity scores. EX/RP was effective for all symptom dimensions, however it was less effective for unacceptable/taboo thoughts and hoarding than for other dimensions. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Middle School Improvement and Reform: Development and Validation of a School-Level Assessment of Climate, Cultural Pluralism, and School Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brand, Stephen; Felner, Robert; Shim, Minsuk; Seitsinger, Anne; Dumas, Thaddeus

2003-01-01

Examines the structure of perceived school climate and the relationship of climate dimensions to adaptation of students who attend middle-grade-level schools. The climate scales exhibited a stable dimensional structure, high levels of internal consistency, and moderate levels of stability. Ratings of multiple climate dimensions were associated…

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire in the Korean Business Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Ji Hoon; Chermack, Thomas J.

2008-01-01

The primary purpose of this research is to adapt the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire developed by Watkins and Marsick, and examine its validity and reliability in a Korean context. Although the concept of the learning organization is well established, there has not been rigorous validation of the application of the…

The Moral Dimension of Lifelong Learning: Giddens, Taylor, and the "Reflexive Project of the Self"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhao, Kang; Biesta, Gert

2012-01-01

A key aspect of contemporary lifelong learning theory, policy, and practice is the idea that, because of rapid changes in contemporary societies, there is a constant need for individuals to learn new knowledge and skills in order to adapt themselves to changing conditions. There is, therefore, an increased emphasis on the personal dimension of…

A New Method for Calibrating Perceptual Salience across Dimensions in Infants: The Case of Color vs. Luminance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaldy, Zsuzsa; Blaser, Erik A.; Leslie, Alan M.

2006-01-01

We report a new method for calibrating differences in perceptual salience across feature dimensions, in infants. The problem of inter-dimensional salience arises in many areas of infant studies, but a general method for addressing the problem has not previously been described. Our method is based on a preferential looking paradigm, adapted to…

Problem Articulation and the Processes of Assistance: An Activity Theoretic View of Mediation in Game Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Lynda D.; Gutierrez, Kris D.

2007-01-01

In this article, we study a local adaptation of the Fifth Dimension [Cole, M. (1996). "Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] known as Las Redes (i.e., Networks of Collaboration in the Fifth Dimension) to examine how the multiple activity systems of Las Redes, e.g. the undergraduate course and…

Modeling Family Adaptation to Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raspa, Melissa; Bailey, Donald, Jr.; Bann, Carla; Bishop, Ellen

2014-01-01

Using data from a survey of 1,099 families who have a child with Fragile X syndrome, we examined adaptation across 7 dimensions of family life: parenting knowledge, social support, social life, financial impact, well-being, quality of life, and overall impact. Results illustrate that although families report a high quality of life, they struggle…

Understanding the Art and Science of Implementation in the SAAF Efficacy Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkel, Cady; Murry, Velma McBride; Roulston, Kathryn J.; Brody, Gene H.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of considering both fidelity and adaptation in assessing the implementation of evidence-based programs. Design/methodology/approach: The current study employs a multi-method strategy to understand two dimensions of implementation (fidelity and adaptation) in the Strong African…

Adaptive E-Learning Environments: Research Dimensions and Technological Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Bitonto, Pierpaolo; Roselli, Teresa; Rossano, Veronica; Sinatra, Maria

2013-01-01

One of the most closely investigated topics in e-learning research has always been the effectiveness of adaptive learning environments. The technological evolutions that have dramatically changed the educational world in the last six decades have allowed ever more advanced and smarter solutions to be proposed. The focus of this paper is to depict…

Heuristic Constraint Management Methods in Multidimensional Adaptive Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Born, Sebastian; Frey, Andreas

2017-01-01

Although multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT) has been proven to be highly advantageous with regard to measurement efficiency when several highly correlated dimensions are measured, there are few operational assessments that use MAT. This may be due to issues of constraint management, which is more complex in MAT than it is in unidimensional…

Anisotropic adaptive mesh generation in two dimensions for CFD

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

Borouchaki, H.; Castro-Diaz, M.J.; George, P.L.

This paper describes the extension of the classical Delaunay method in the case where anisotropic meshes are required such as in CFD when the modelized physic is strongly directional. The way in which such a mesh generation method can be incorporated in an adaptative loop of CFD as well as the case of multicriterium adaptation are discussed. Several concrete application examples are provided to illustrate the capabilities of the proposed method.

Temperament and Sensory Features of Children with Autism

PubMed Central

Brock, Matthew E.; Freuler, Ashley; Baranek, Grace T.; Watson, Linda R.; Poe, Michele D.; Sabatino, Antoinette

2012-01-01

Purpose This study sought to characterize temperament traits in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ages 3–7 years old, and to determine the potential association between temperament and sensory features in ASD. Individual differences in sensory processing may form the basis for aspects of temperament and personality, and aberrations in sensory processing may inform why some temperamental traits are characteristic of specific clinical populations. Methods Nine dimensions of temperament from the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (McDevitt & Carey, 1996) were compared among groups of children with ASD (n = 54), developmentally delayed (DD; n = 33), and the original normative sample of typically developing children (Carey & McDevitt, 1978; n = 350) using an ANOVA to determine the extent to which groups differed in their temperament profiles. The hypothesized overlap between three dimensional constructs of sensory features (hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsivness, and seeking) and the nine dimensions of temperament was analyzed in children with ASD using regression analyses. Results The ASD group displayed temperament scores distinct from norms for typically developing children on most dimensions of temperament (activity, rhythmicity, adaptability, approach, distractibility, intensity, persistence, and threshold) but differed from the DD group on only two dimensions (approach and distractibility). Analyses of associations between sensory constructs and temperament dimensions found that sensory hyporesponsiveness was associated with slowness to adapt, low reactivity, and low distractibility; a combination of increased sensory features (across all three patterns) was associated with increased withdrawal and more negative mood. Conclusions Although most dimensions of temperament distinguished children with ASD as a group, not all dimensions appear equally associated with sensory response patterns. Shared mechanisms underlying sensory responsiveness, temperament, and social withdrawal may be fruitful to explore in future studies. PMID:22366913

Optimization of Selected Remote Sensing Algorithms for Embedded NVIDIA Kepler GPU Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riha, Lubomir; Le Moigne, Jacqueline; El-Ghazawi, Tarek

2015-01-01

This paper evaluates the potential of embedded Graphic Processing Units in the Nvidias Tegra K1 for onboard processing. The performance is compared to a general purpose multi-core CPU and full fledge GPU accelerator. This study uses two algorithms: Wavelet Spectral Dimension Reduction of Hyperspectral Imagery and Automated Cloud-Cover Assessment (ACCA) Algorithm. Tegra K1 achieved 51 for ACCA algorithm and 20 for the dimension reduction algorithm, as compared to the performance of the high-end 8-core server Intel Xeon CPU with 13.5 times higher power consumption.

The Role of Rigidity in Adaptive and Maladaptive Families Assessed by FACES IV: The Points of View of Adolescents.

PubMed

Everri, Marina; Mancini, Tiziana; Fruggeri, Laura

Previous studies using Olson's Circumplex Model and FACES IV, the self-report assessing family functioning, did not clarify the role of rigidity, a dimension of this model. Rigidity emerged as ambiguous: it was considered either as a functional or as a dysfunctional dimension. Building upon the results of previous studies, we provided a contribution intended to disambiguate the role of rigidity considering adolescents' perceptions and using a non-a priori classification analysis. 320 Italian adolescents (13-21 years) participated in this study and responded to a questionnaire containing scales of the study variables. A latent class analysis was performed to identify the association of rigidity with the other dimensions of Olson's model and with indicators of adaptive family functioning in adolescence: parental monitoring and family satisfaction. We found six clusters corresponding to family typologies and having different levels of functioning. Rigidity emerged as adaptive in the typologies named rigidly balanced and flexibly oscillating; it was associated with positive dimensions of family functioning, i.e. flexibility, cohesion, parental monitoring, and high levels of family satisfaction. Differently, when rigidity was associated with disengagement, low cohesion and flexibility, and lack of parental supervision, emerged as maladaptive. This was the case of two typologies: the rigidly disengaged and the chaotically disengaged. Adolescents of these families reported the lowest levels of satisfaction. In the two last typologies, the flexibly chaotic and the cohesively disorganized, rigidity indicated a mid-range functionality as these families were characterized by emotional connectedness but lack of containment. Clinical implications are discussed.

Multidisciplinary design optimization for sonic boom mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozcer, Isik A.

Automated, parallelized, time-efficient surface definition and grid generation and flow simulation methods are developed for sharp and accurate sonic boom signal computation in three dimensions in the near and mid-field of an aircraft using Euler/Full-Potential unstructured/structured computational fluid dynamics. The full-potential mid-field sonic boom prediction code is an accurate and efficient solver featuring automated grid generation, grid adaptation and shock fitting, and parallel processing. This program quickly marches the solution using a single nonlinear equation for large distances that cannot be covered with Euler solvers due to large memory and long computational time requirements. The solver takes into account variations in temperature and pressure with altitude. The far-field signal prediction is handled using the classical linear Thomas Waveform Parameter Method where the switching altitude from the nonlinear to linear prediction is determined by convergence of the ground signal pressure impulse value. This altitude is determined as r/L ≈ 10 from the source for a simple lifting wing, and r/L ≈ 40 for a real complex aircraft. Unstructured grid adaptation and shock fitting methodology developed for the near-field analysis employs an Hessian based anisotropic grid adaptation based on error equidistribution. A special field scalar is formulated to be used in the computation of the Hessian based error metric which enhances significantly the adaptation scheme for shocks. The entire cross-flow of a complex aircraft is resolved with high fidelity using only 500,000 grid nodes after only about 10 solution/adaptation cycles. Shock fitting is accomplished using Roe's Flux-Difference Splitting scheme which is an approximate Riemann type solver and by proper alignment of the cell faces with respect to shock surfaces. Simple to complex real aircraft geometries are handled with no user-interference required making the simulation methods suitable tools for product design. The simulation tools are used to optimize three geometries for sonic boom mitigation. The first is a simple axisymmetric shape to be used as a generic nose component, the second is a delta wing with lift, and the third is a real aircraft with nose and wing optimization. The objectives are to minimize the pressure impulse or the peak pressure in the sonic boom signal, while keeping the drag penalty under feasible limits. The design parameters for the meridian profile of the nose shape are the lengths and the half-cone angles of the linear segments that make up the profile. The design parameters for the lifting wing are the dihedral angle, angle of attack, non-linear span-wise twist and camber distribution. The test-bed aircraft is the modified F-5E aircraft built by Northrop Grumman, designated the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator. This aircraft is fitted with an optimized axisymmetric nose, and the wings are optimized to demonstrate optimization for sonic boom mitigation for a real aircraft. The final results predict 42% reduction in bow shock strength, 17% reduction in peak Deltap, 22% reduction in pressure impulse, 10% reduction in foot print size, 24% reduction in inviscid drag, and no loss in lift for the optimized aircraft. Optimization is carried out using response surface methodology, and the design matrices are determined using standard DoE techniques for quadratic response modeling.

Long-term immigrant adaptation: eight-year follow-up study among immigrants from Russia and Estonia living in Finland.

PubMed

Jasinskaja-Lahti, Inga

2008-02-01

This study was a longitudinal investigation of the three different dimensions of long-term immigrant adaptation (i.e., psychological, sociocultural, and socioeconomic adaptation) and the relationships between them in an 8-year follow-up with panel data. The 282 respondents were immigrants in Finland, born between 1961 and 1976, coming from the former Soviet Union. The results suggest that the adaptation of these immigrants has developed favourably. In 8 years, the respondents had improved their Finnish language skills and their position in the labour market. No differences were observed in their levels of psychological well-being between the two assessments. Of the three adaptation dimensions assessed, sociocultural adaptation, measured as proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Finnish, turned out to be the most significant predictor of the two other long-term outcomes of immigrant adaptation (i.e., socioeconomic and psychological). In particular, the better the initial command of the Finnish language, the better were their socioeconomic and psychological adaptation outcomes after 8 years of residence. These results demonstrate the importance of parallel and longitudinal assessments of the different outcomes of immigrant adaptation in order to address which particular dimensions of adaptation are most critical in the beginning of acculturation in terms of determining positive development and long-term immigrant adaptation. This study was supported by City of Helsinki Urban Facts. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Anniina Lahtinen and Riku Perhoniemi in the data collection, and in addition, Riku Perhoniemi for the preliminary data analysis, and advice on the Amos analyses. Cette étude longitudinale a examiné trois différentes dimensions de l'adaptation à long-terme de l'immigré (i.e., adaptation psychologique, socio-culturelle et socio-économique) et de la relation entre elles dans un suivi de 8 ans avec des données de panel. Les 282 répondants étaient des immigrés en Finland provenant de l'ancienne Union Soviétique nés entre 1961 et 1976. Les résultats suggèrent que l'adaptation de ces immigrants s'est développée favorablement. En huit ans, les répondants avaient amélioré leurs habiletés en finlandais sur le marché de travail. Aucune différence n'a été observée dans leurs niveaux de bien-être psychologique entre les deux évaluations. Parmi les trois dimensions de l'adaptation évaluées, l'adaptation socio-culturelle telle que mesurée par la capacité de comprendre, de parler, de lire et d'écrire le finlandais s'est avérée être le prédicteur le plus significatif des deux autres résultats à long-terme de l'adaptation de l'immigré (i.e., socio-économique et psychologique). Particulièrement, meilleure avait été la connaissance initiale du finlandais, meilleurs étaient leurs résultats de l'adaptation socio-économiques et psychologiques après 8 ans de résidence. Ces résultats démontrent l'importance des évaluations parallèles et longitudinales de différents résultats de l'adaptation de l'immigré pour mieux étudier quelles dimensions particulières de l'adaptation sont les plus critiques au début de l'acculturation en matière de la détermination du développement positif et de l'adaptation à long-terme de l'immigré. El estudio consistió en una investigación longitudinal sobre tres diferentes dimensiones de adaptación de inmigrantes a largo plazo (i.e. adaptación psicológica, sociocultural, socioeconómica) y la relación entre ellas en 8 años de seguimiento con los datos de grupo. Los 282 encuestados fueron inmigrantes en Finlandia procedentes de los países de la antigua Union Sovietica, nacidos entre 1961 y 1976. Los resultados sugieren que la adaptación de estos inmigrantes se desarrolló favorablemente. En ocho años, los encuestados han mejorado sus conocimientos del idioma finlandes y su posición en el mercado laboral. No se observó ningunas diferencias en su nivel del bienestar psicológico entre las dos evaluaciones. Entre las tres dimesiones de adaptación que fueron evaluadas, adaptación sociocultural, medida como aptitud de comprensión, habla, lectura y escritura en finlandes fue el predictor más significante de los resultados en otras dimensiones de adaptación de los inmigrantes a largo plazo (i.e. socioeconómica y psicológica). Particularmente, cuando mejor era el dominio inicial del idioma finlandes, mejores eran los resultados de adaptación socioeconómica y psicológica después de 8 años de residencia. Estos estudios demuestran la importancia de la evaluación en paralelo y longitudinal de diferentes resultados de adaptación de los inmigrantes para saber cuáles particulares dimensiónes de adaptación son las más críticas en el principio de aculturación para determinar el desarrollo.

Singular spectrum analysis in nonlinear dynamics, with applications to paleoclimatic time series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vautard, R.; Ghil, M.

1989-01-01

Two dimensions of a dynamical system given by experimental time series are distinguished. Statistical dimension gives a theoretical upper bound for the minimal number of degrees of freedom required to describe the attractor up to the accuracy of the data, taking into account sampling and noise problems. The dynamical dimension is the intrinsic dimension of the attractor and does not depend on the quality of the data. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) provides estimates of the statistical dimension. SSA also describes the main physical phenomena reflected by the data. It gives adaptive spectral filters associated with the dominant oscillations of the system and clarifies the noise characteristics of the data. SSA is applied to four paleoclimatic records. The principal climatic oscillations and the regime changes in their amplitude are detected. About 10 degrees of freedom are statistically significant in the data. Large noise and insufficient sample length do not allow reliable estimates of the dynamical dimension.

Adaptation of health care for migrants: whose responsibility?

PubMed

Dauvrin, Marie; Lorant, Vincent

2014-07-08

In a context of increasing ethnic diversity, culturally competent strategies have been recommended to improve care quality and access to health care for ethnic minorities and migrants; their implementation by health professionals, however, has remained patchy. Most programs of cultural competence assume that health professionals accept that they have a responsibility to adapt to migrants, but this assumption has often remained at the level of theory. In this paper, we surveyed health professionals' views on their responsibility to adapt. Five hundred-and-sixty-nine health professionals from twenty-four inpatient and outpatient health services were selected according to their geographic location. All health care professionals were requested to complete a questionnaire about who should adapt to ethnic diversity: health professionals or patients. After a factorial analysis to identify the underlying responsibility dimensions, we performed a multilevel regression model in order to investigate individual and service covariates of responsibility attribution. Three dimensions emerged from the factor analysis: responsibility for the adaptation of communication, responsibility for the adaptation to the negotiation of values, and responsibility for the adaptation to health beliefs. Our results showed that the sense of responsibility for the adaptation of health care depended on the nature of the adaptation required: when the adaptation directly concerned communication with the patient, health professionals declared that they should be the ones to adapt; in relation to cultural preferences, however, the responsibility felt on the patient's shoulders. Most respondents were unclear in relation to adaptation to health beliefs. Regression indicated that being Belgian, not being a physician, and working in a primary-care service were associated with placing the burden of responsibility on the patient. Health care professionals do not consider it to be their responsibility to adapt to ethnic diversity. If health professionals do not feel a responsibility to adapt, they are less likely to be involved in culturally competent health care.

Adaptation of health care for migrants: whose responsibility?

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In a context of increasing ethnic diversity, culturally competent strategies have been recommended to improve care quality and access to health care for ethnic minorities and migrants; their implementation by health professionals, however, has remained patchy. Most programs of cultural competence assume that health professionals accept that they have a responsibility to adapt to migrants, but this assumption has often remained at the level of theory. In this paper, we surveyed health professionals’ views on their responsibility to adapt. Methods Five hundred-and-sixty-nine health professionals from twenty-four inpatient and outpatient health services were selected according to their geographic location. All health care professionals were requested to complete a questionnaire about who should adapt to ethnic diversity: health professionals or patients. After a factorial analysis to identify the underlying responsibility dimensions, we performed a multilevel regression model in order to investigate individual and service covariates of responsibility attribution. Results Three dimensions emerged from the factor analysis: responsibility for the adaptation of communication, responsibility for the adaptation to the negotiation of values, and responsibility for the adaptation to health beliefs. Our results showed that the sense of responsibility for the adaptation of health care depended on the nature of the adaptation required: when the adaptation directly concerned communication with the patient, health professionals declared that they should be the ones to adapt; in relation to cultural preferences, however, the responsibility felt on the patient’s shoulders. Most respondents were unclear in relation to adaptation to health beliefs. Regression indicated that being Belgian, not being a physician, and working in a primary-care service were associated with placing the burden of responsibility on the patient. Conclusions Health care professionals do not consider it to be their responsibility to adapt to ethnic diversity. If health professionals do not feel a responsibility to adapt, they are less likely to be involved in culturally competent health care. PMID:25005021

Apparatus and method to inject a reductant into an exhaust gas feedstream

DOEpatents

Viola, Michael B [Macomb Township, MI

2009-09-22

An exhaust aftertreatment system for an internal combustion engine is provided including an apparatus and method to inject a reductant into the exhaust gas feedstream. Included is a fuel metering device adapted to inject reductant into the exhaust gas feedstream and a controllable pressure regulating device. A control module is operatively connected to the reductant metering device and the controllable pressure regulating device, and, adapted to effect flow of reductant into the exhaust gas feedstream over a controllable flow range.

Perfectionism and Bulimic Symptoms in African American College Women: Dimensions of Perfectionism and Their Interactions with Perceived Weight Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bardone-Cone, Anna M.; Weishuhn, Amanda S.; Boyd, Clarissa A.

2009-01-01

This study had 2 primary aims: (a) to examine the unique relations between maladaptive and adaptive dimensions of perfectionism and bulimic symptoms and (b) to test an interactive model of perfectionism and perceived weight status for bulimic symptoms in a sample of African American female undergraduates. The sample consisted of 97 women at Time 1…

Quantum probability, choice in large worlds, and the statistical structure of reality.

PubMed

Ross, Don; Ladyman, James

2013-06-01

Classical probability models of incentive response are inadequate in "large worlds," where the dimensions of relative risk and the dimensions of similarity in outcome comparisons typically differ. Quantum probability models for choice in large worlds may be motivated pragmatically - there is no third theory - or metaphysically: statistical processing in the brain adapts to the true scale-relative structure of the universe.

Cultural dimensions of risk perceptions: A case study on cross-strait driftage pollution in a coastal area of Taiwan.

PubMed

Chiang, Yi-Chang; Chang, Han-Pi

2018-01-15

Constant exploitations of the ocean render numerous present challenges as the ocean is linked to human development. The study focused on cross-strait driftage pollution that poses a great threat to coastal environment under climate change. Several hundred packs of herbicides drifting across the Taiwan Strait were discovered along the coastline of Guanyin District of Taiwan. We compared risk perceptions of the local ethnic groups, Hakka and Fulao, residing in a coastal area of Taiwan and exposed to the herbicide coastal incident under climate change. It is of concern that society's response to every dimension of global climate change is mediated by culture. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) cause-effect framework was applied in semi-structured interviews to explore coastal sensitivity and human adaptability. As a result, we indicated that despite the presence of two ethnic groups in the same place exposed to the incident they presented very different risk perceptions on both environmental degradation (ED) and adaptive capacity (AC) due to cultural values. We argued that the herbicide coastal incident involved people's risk perceptions and subsequently influenced their opinions and attitudes towards environmental problems. We concluded that the ethnic trait contributed to adaptive behaviors during environmental change. Culturally appropriate adaptations appeared to enhance risk perceptions and adaptation actions, suggesting a need for more rigorous cultural adaptation guidelines towards climate resilience when designing adaptation interventions for different ethnic groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive dimensions of health research among indigenous Siberians.

PubMed

Snodgrass, J Josh; Sorensen, Mark V; Tarskaia, Larissa A; Leonard, William R

2007-01-01

Present evidence suggests that modern humans were the first hominid species to successfully colonize high-latitude environments (> or =55 degrees N). Given evidence for a recent (<200,000 years) lower latitude naissance of modern humans, the global dispersal and successful settlement of arctic and subarctic regions represent an unprecedented adaptive shift. This adaptive shift, which included cultural, behavioral, and biological dimensions, allowed human populations to cope with the myriad environmental stressors encountered in circumpolar regions. Although unique morphological and physiological adaptations among contemporary northern residents have been recognized for decades, human biologists are only now beginning to consider whether biological adaptations to regional environmental conditions influence health changes associated with economic modernization and lifestyle change. Recent studies have documented basal metabolic rates (BMRs) among indigenous Siberian populations that are systematically elevated compared to lower latitude groups; this metabolic elevation apparently is a physiological adaptation to cold stress experienced in the circumpolar environment. Important health implications of metabolic adaptation are suggested by research with the Yakut (Sakha), Evenki, and Buriat of Siberia. BMR is significantly positively correlated with blood pressure, independently of body size, body composition, and various potentially confounding variables (e.g., age and smoking). Further, this research has documented a significant negative association between BMR and LDL cholesterol, which remains after controlling for potential confounders; this suggests that high metabolic turnover among indigenous Siberians has a protective effect with regard to plasma lipid levels. These results underscore the importance of incorporating an evolutionary approach into health research among northern populations.

Facial First Impressions Across Culture: Data-Driven Modeling of Chinese and British Perceivers' Unconstrained Facial Impressions.

PubMed

Sutherland, Clare A M; Liu, Xizi; Zhang, Lingshan; Chu, Yingtung; Oldmeadow, Julian A; Young, Andrew W

2018-04-01

People form first impressions from facial appearance rapidly, and these impressions can have considerable social and economic consequences. Three dimensions can explain Western perceivers' impressions of Caucasian faces: approachability, youthful-attractiveness, and dominance. Impressions along these dimensions are theorized to be based on adaptive cues to threat detection or sexual selection, making it likely that they are universal. We tested whether the same dimensions of facial impressions emerge across culture by building data-driven models of first impressions of Asian and Caucasian faces derived from Chinese and British perceivers' unconstrained judgments. We then cross-validated the dimensions with computer-generated average images. We found strong evidence for common approachability and youthful-attractiveness dimensions across perceiver and face race, with some evidence of a third dimension akin to capability. The models explained ~75% of the variance in facial impressions. In general, the findings demonstrate substantial cross-cultural agreement in facial impressions, especially on the most salient dimensions.

Children's Conscience during Toddler and Preschool Years, Moral Self, and a Competent, Adaptive Developmental Trajectory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kochanska, Grazyna; Koenig, Jamie L.; Barry, Robin A.; Kim, Sanghag; Yoon, Jeung Eun

2010-01-01

We investigated whether children's robust conscience, formed during early family socialization, promotes their future adaptive and competent functioning in expanded ecologies. We assessed two dimensions of conscience in young children (N = 100) at 25, 38, and 52 months in scripted laboratory contexts: internalization of their mothers' and fathers'…

Assessment of Study Abroad Outcomes in Chinese as a Second Language: Gains in Cross-Cultural Adaptability, Language Contact and Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taguchi, Naoko; Xiao, Feng; Li, Shuai

2016-01-01

Participants were 109 American college students studying Chinese in a study-abroad programme in Beijing. Following Kelley and Meyer, intercultural competence was defined as cross-cultural adaptability involving four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity and personal autonomy) and was measured with a survey. A…

Sequential Modulations in a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Simon Task: Is There ERP Evidence for Feature Integration Effects?

PubMed Central

Hoppe, Katharina; Küper, Kristina; Wascher, Edmund

2017-01-01

In the Simon task, participants respond faster when the task-irrelevant stimulus position and the response position are corresponding, for example on the same side, compared to when they have a non-corresponding relation. Interestingly, this Simon effect is reduced after non-corresponding trials. Such sequential effects can be explained in terms of a more focused processing of the relevant stimulus dimension due to increased cognitive control, which transfers from the previous non-corresponding trial (conflict adaptation effects). Alternatively, sequential modulations of the Simon effect can also be due to the degree of trial-to-trial repetitions and alternations of task features, which is confounded with the correspondence sequence (feature integration effects). In the present study, we used a spatially two-dimensional Simon task with vertical response keys to examine the contribution of adaptive cognitive control and feature integration processes to the sequential modulation of the Simon effect. The two-dimensional Simon task creates correspondences in the vertical as well as in the horizontal dimension. A trial-by-trial alternation of the spatial dimension, for example from a vertical to a horizontal stimulus presentation, generates a subset containing no complete repetitions of task features, but only complete alternations and partial repetitions, which are equally distributed over all correspondence sequences. In line with the assumed feature integration effects, we found sequential modulations of the Simon effect only when the spatial dimension repeated. At least for the horizontal dimension, this pattern was confirmed by the parietal P3b, an event-related potential that is assumed to reflect stimulus–response link processes. Contrary to conflict adaptation effects, cognitive control, measured by the fronto-central N2 component of the EEG, was not sequentially modulated. Overall, our data provide behavioral as well as electrophysiological evidence for feature integration effects contributing to sequential modulations of the Simon effect. PMID:28713305

Sequential Modulations in a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Simon Task: Is There ERP Evidence for Feature Integration Effects?

PubMed

Hoppe, Katharina; Küper, Kristina; Wascher, Edmund

2017-01-01

In the Simon task, participants respond faster when the task-irrelevant stimulus position and the response position are corresponding, for example on the same side, compared to when they have a non-corresponding relation. Interestingly, this Simon effect is reduced after non-corresponding trials. Such sequential effects can be explained in terms of a more focused processing of the relevant stimulus dimension due to increased cognitive control, which transfers from the previous non-corresponding trial (conflict adaptation effects). Alternatively, sequential modulations of the Simon effect can also be due to the degree of trial-to-trial repetitions and alternations of task features, which is confounded with the correspondence sequence (feature integration effects). In the present study, we used a spatially two-dimensional Simon task with vertical response keys to examine the contribution of adaptive cognitive control and feature integration processes to the sequential modulation of the Simon effect. The two-dimensional Simon task creates correspondences in the vertical as well as in the horizontal dimension. A trial-by-trial alternation of the spatial dimension, for example from a vertical to a horizontal stimulus presentation, generates a subset containing no complete repetitions of task features, but only complete alternations and partial repetitions, which are equally distributed over all correspondence sequences. In line with the assumed feature integration effects, we found sequential modulations of the Simon effect only when the spatial dimension repeated. At least for the horizontal dimension, this pattern was confirmed by the parietal P3b, an event-related potential that is assumed to reflect stimulus-response link processes. Contrary to conflict adaptation effects, cognitive control, measured by the fronto-central N2 component of the EEG, was not sequentially modulated. Overall, our data provide behavioral as well as electrophysiological evidence for feature integration effects contributing to sequential modulations of the Simon effect.

Results of an Integrative Analysis: A Call for Contextualizing HIV and AIDS Clinical Practice Guidelines to Support Evidence-Based Practice.

PubMed

Edwards, Nancy; Kahwa, Eulalia; Hoogeveen, Katie

2017-12-01

Practice guidelines aim to improve the standard of care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Successfully implementing guidelines requires tailoring them to populations served and to social and organizational influences on care. To examine dimensions of context, which nurses and midwives described as having a significant impact on their care of patients living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Jamaica and to determine whether HIV/AIDS guidelines include adaptations congruent with these dimensions of context. Two sets of data were used. The first came from a qualitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected nurses, midwives, and nurse managers from 21 districts in four study countries. A coding framework was iteratively developed and themes inductively identified. Context dimensions were derived from these themes. A second data set of published guidelines for HIV/AIDS care was then assembled. Guidelines were identified through Google and PubMed searches. Using a deductive integrative analysis approach, text related to context dimensions was extracted from guidelines and categorized into problem and strategy statements. Ninety-six individuals participated in qualitative interviews. Four discrete dimensions of context were identified: health workforce adequacy, workplace exposure risk, workplace consequences for nurses living with HIV/AIDS, and the intersection of work and family life. Guidelines most often acknowledged health human resource constraints and presented mitigation strategies to offset them, and least often discussed workplace consequences and the intersections of family and work life. Guidelines should more consistently acknowledge diverse implementation contexts, propose how recommendations can be adapted to these realities, and suggest what role frontline healthcare providers have in realizing the structural changes necessary for healthier work environments and better patient care. Guideline recommendations should include more explicit advice on adapting their recommendations to different care conditions. © 2017 The Authors. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Sigma Theta Tau International The Honor Society of Nursing.

New Dimensions for the Multicultural Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gay, Richard

2011-01-01

For the past sixteen years, the Five Dimensions of Multicultural Education, as proposed by James A. Banks (1995), have been accepted in many circles as the primary conceptual framework used in teaching multicultural education courses: content integration, the knowledge construction process, prejudice reduction, an equity pedagogy and an empowering…

Vulnerability of Thai rice production to simultaneous climate and socioeconomic changes: a double exposure analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangpenchan, R.

2011-12-01

This research explores the vulnerability of Thai rice production to simultaneous exposure by climate and socioeconomic change -- so-called "double exposure." Both processes influence Thailand's rice production system, but the vulnerabilities associated with their interactions are unknown. To understand this double exposure, I adopts a mixed-method, qualitative-quantitative analytical approach consisting of three phases of analysis involving a Vulnerability Scoping Diagram, a Principal Component Analysis, and the EPIC crop model using proxy datasets collected from secondary data sources at provincial scales.The first and second phases identify key variables representing each of the three dimensions of vulnerability -- exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicating that the greatest vulnerability in the rice production system occurs in households and areas with high exposure to climate change, high sensitivity to climate and socioeconomic stress, and low adaptive capacity. In the third phase, the EPIC crop model simulates rice yields associated with future climate change projected by CSIRO and MIROC climate models. Climate change-only scenarios project the decrease in yields by 10% from the current productivity during 2016-2025 and 30% during 2045-2054. Scenarios applying both climate change and improved technology and management practices show that a 50% increase in rice production is possible, but requires strong collaboration between sectors to advance agricultural research and technology and requires strong adaptive capacity in the rice production system characterized by well-developed social capital, social networks, financial capacity, and infrastructure and household mobility at the local scale. The vulnerability assessment and climate and crop adaptation simulations used here provide useful information to decision makers developing vulnerability reduction plans in the face of concurrent climate and socioeconomic change.

A general soft label based linear discriminant analysis for semi-supervised dimensionality reduction.

PubMed

Zhao, Mingbo; Zhang, Zhao; Chow, Tommy W S; Li, Bing

2014-07-01

Dealing with high-dimensional data has always been a major problem in research of pattern recognition and machine learning, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) is one of the most popular methods for dimension reduction. However, it only uses labeled samples while neglecting unlabeled samples, which are abundant and can be easily obtained in the real world. In this paper, we propose a new dimension reduction method, called "SL-LDA", by using unlabeled samples to enhance the performance of LDA. The new method first propagates label information from the labeled set to the unlabeled set via a label propagation process, where the predicted labels of unlabeled samples, called "soft labels", can be obtained. It then incorporates the soft labels into the construction of scatter matrixes to find a transformed matrix for dimension reduction. In this way, the proposed method can preserve more discriminative information, which is preferable when solving the classification problem. We further propose an efficient approach for solving SL-LDA under a least squares framework, and a flexible method of SL-LDA (FSL-LDA) to better cope with datasets sampled from a nonlinear manifold. Extensive simulations are carried out on several datasets, and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fear of Fear and Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology over the Course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia in Japan.

PubMed

Ogawa, S; Kondo, M; Ino, K; Ii, T; Imai, R; Furukawa, T A; Akechi, T

2017-12-01

To examine the relationship of fear of fear and broad dimensions of psychopathology in panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy in Japan. A total of 177 Japanese patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were treated with group cognitive behavioural therapy between 2001 and 2015. We examined associations between the change scores in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire or Body Sensations Questionnaire and the changes in subscales of Symptom Checklist-90 Revised during cognitive behavioural therapy controlling the change in panic disorder severity using multiple regression analysis. Reduction in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire score was related to a decrease in all Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) subscale scores. Reduction in Body Sensations Questionnaire score was associated with a decrease in anxiety. Reduction in Panic Disorder Severity Scale score was not related to any SCL-90-R subscale changes. Changes in fear of fear, especially maladaptive cognitions, may predict broad dimensions of psychopathology reductions in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy. For the sake of improving a broader range of psychiatric symptoms in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia, more attention to maladaptive cognition changes during cognitive behavioural therapy is warranted.

Structured Ordinary Least Squares: A Sufficient Dimension Reduction approach for regressions with partitioned predictors and heterogeneous units.

PubMed

Liu, Yang; Chiaromonte, Francesca; Li, Bing

2017-06-01

In many scientific and engineering fields, advanced experimental and computing technologies are producing data that are not just high dimensional, but also internally structured. For instance, statistical units may have heterogeneous origins from distinct studies or subpopulations, and features may be naturally partitioned based on experimental platforms generating them, or on information available about their roles in a given phenomenon. In a regression analysis, exploiting this known structure in the predictor dimension reduction stage that precedes modeling can be an effective way to integrate diverse data. To pursue this, we propose a novel Sufficient Dimension Reduction (SDR) approach that we call structured Ordinary Least Squares (sOLS). This combines ideas from existing SDR literature to merge reductions performed within groups of samples and/or predictors. In particular, it leads to a version of OLS for grouped predictors that requires far less computation than recently proposed groupwise SDR procedures, and provides an informal yet effective variable selection tool in these settings. We demonstrate the performance of sOLS by simulation and present a first application to genomic data. The R package "sSDR," publicly available on CRAN, includes all procedures necessary to implement the sOLS approach. © 2016, The International Biometric Society.

Organizing symmetry-protected topological phases by layering and symmetry reduction: A minimalist perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Charles Zhaoxi; Alexandradinata, A.

2018-03-01

It is demonstrated that fermionic/bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases across different dimensions and symmetry classes can be organized using geometric constructions that increase dimensions and symmetry-reduction maps that change symmetry groups. Specifically, it is shown that the interacting classifications of SPT phases with and without glide symmetry fit into a short exact sequence, so that the classification with glide is constrained to be a direct sum of cyclic groups of order 2 or 4. Applied to fermionic SPT phases in the Wigner-Dyson class AII, this implies that the complete interacting classification in the presence of glide is Z4⊕Z2⊕Z2 in three dimensions. In particular, the hourglass-fermion phase recently realized in the band insulator KHgSb must be robust to interactions. Generalizations to spatiotemporal glide symmetries are discussed.

The governance dimensions of water security: a review.

PubMed

Bakker, Karen; Morinville, Cynthia

2013-11-13

Water governance is critical to water security, and to the long-term sustainability of the Earth's freshwater systems. This review examines recent debates regarding the governance dimensions of water security, including adaptive governance, polycentric governance, social learning and multi-level governance. The analysis emphasizes the political and institutional dimensions of water governance, and explores the relevance of social power-an overlooked yet important aspect of the water security debate. In addition, the review explores the intersection and potential synergies between water governance perspectives and risk-based approaches to water security, and offers critiques and suggestions for further research questions and agendas.

Data Assimilation Methods on a Non-conservative Adaptive Mesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guider, Colin Thomas; Rabatel, Matthias; Carrassi, Alberto; Jones, Christopher K. R. T.

2017-04-01

Adaptive mesh methods are used to model a wide variety of physical phenomena. Some of these models, in particular those of sea ice movement, are particularly interesting in that they use a remeshing process to remove and insert mesh points at various points in their evolution. This presents a challenge in developing compatible data assimilation schemes, as the dimension of the state space we wish to estimate can change over time when these remeshings occur. In this work, we first describe a remeshing scheme for an adaptive mesh in one dimension. We then develop advanced data assimilation methods that are appropriate for such a moving and remeshed grid. We hope to extend these techniques to two-dimensional models, like the Lagrangian sea ice model neXtSIM te{ns}. \\bibitem{ns} P. Rampal, S. Bouillon, E. Ólason, and M. Morlighem. ne{X}t{SIM}: a new {L}agrangian sea ice model. {The Cryosphere}, 10 (3): 1055-1073, 2016.

Selection towards different adaptive optima drove the early diversification of locomotor phenotypes in the radiation of Neotropical geophagine cichlids.

PubMed

Astudillo-Clavijo, Viviana; Arbour, Jessica H; López-Fernández, Hernán

2015-05-01

Simpson envisaged a conceptual model of adaptive radiation in which lineages diversify into "adaptive zones" within a macroevolutionary adaptive landscape. However, only a handful of studies have empirically investigated this adaptive landscape and its consequences for our interpretation of the underlying mechanisms of phenotypic evolution. In fish radiations the evolution of locomotor phenotypes may represent an important dimension of ecomorphological diversification given the implications of locomotion for feeding and habitat use. Neotropical geophagine cichlids represent a newly identified adaptive radiation and provide a useful system for studying patterns of locomotor diversification and the implications of selective constraints on phenotypic divergence in general. We use multivariate ordination, models of phenotypic evolution and posterior predictive approaches to investigate the macroevolutionary adaptive landscape and test for evidence of early divergence of locomotor phenotypes in Geophagini. The evolution of locomotor phenotypes was characterized by selection towards at least two distinct adaptive peaks and the early divergence of modern morphological disparity. One adaptive peak included the benthic and epibenthic invertivores and was characterized by fishes with deep, laterally compressed bodies that optimize precise, slow-swimming manoeuvres. The second adaptive peak resulted from a shift in adaptive optima in the species-rich ram-feeding/rheophilic Crenicichla-Teleocichla clade and was characterized by species with streamlined bodies that optimize fast starts and rapid manoeuvres. Evolutionary models and posterior predictive approaches favoured an early shift to a new adaptive peak over decreasing rates of evolution as the underlying process driving the early divergence of locomotor phenotypes. The influence of multiple adaptive peaks on the divergence of locomotor phenotypes in Geophagini is compatible with the expectations of an ecologically driven adaptive radiation. This study confirms that the diversification of locomotor phenotypes represents an important dimension of phenotypic evolution in the geophagine adaptive radiation. It also suggests that the commonly observed early burst of phenotypic evolution during adaptive radiations may be better explained by the concentration of shifts to new adaptive peaks deep in the phylogeny rather than overall decreasing rates of evolution.

A modified theoretical framework to assess implementation fidelity of adaptive public health interventions.

PubMed

Pérez, Dennis; Van der Stuyft, Patrick; Zabala, Maríadel Carmen; Castro, Marta; Lefèvre, Pierre

2016-07-08

One of the major debates in implementation research turns around fidelity and adaptation. Fidelity is the degree to which an intervention is implemented as intended by its developers. It is meant to ensure that the intervention maintains its intended effects. Adaptation is the process of implementers or users bringing changes to the original design of an intervention. Depending on the nature of the modifications brought, adaptation could either be potentially positive or could carry the risk of threatening the theoretical basis of the intervention, resulting in a negative effect on expected outcomes. Adaptive interventions are those for which adaptation is allowed or even encouraged. Classical fidelity dimensions and conceptual frameworks do not address the issue of how to adapt an intervention while still maintaining its effectiveness. We support the idea that fidelity and adaptation co-exist and that adaptations can impact either positively or negatively on the intervention's effectiveness. For adaptive interventions, research should answer the question how an adequate fidelity-adaptation balance can be reached. One way to address this issue is by looking systematically at the aspects of an intervention that are being adapted. We conducted fidelity research on the implementation of an empowerment strategy for dengue prevention in Cuba. In view of the adaptive nature of the strategy, we anticipated that the classical fidelity dimensions would be of limited use for assessing adaptations. The typology we used in the assessment-implemented, not-implemented, modified, or added components of the strategy-also had limitations. It did not allow us to answer the question which of the modifications introduced in the strategy contributed to or distracted from outcomes. We confronted our empirical research with existing literature on fidelity, and as a result, considered that the framework for implementation fidelity proposed by Carroll et al. in 2007 could potentially meet our concerns. We propose modifications to the framework to assess both fidelity and adaptation. The modified Carroll et al.'s framework we propose may permit a comprehensive assessment of the implementation fidelity-adaptation balance required when implementing adaptive interventions, but more empirical research is needed to validate it.

Burnout among healthcare workers at L'Aquila: its prevalence and associated factors.

PubMed

Mattei, Antonella; Fiasca, Fabiana; Mazzei, Mariachiara; Abbossida, Vincenzo; Bianchini, Valeria

2017-12-01

Burnout, which is now recognized as a real problem in terms of its negative outcome on healthcare efficiency, is a stress condition that can be increased by exposure to natural disasters, such as the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. This study aims to evaluate burnout syndrome, its associated risk factors and stress levels, and the individual coping strategies among healthcare professionals at L'Aquila General Hospital. A cross-sectional study of 190 healthcare workers was conducted. There was a questionnaire for the collection of the socio-demographic, occupational and anamnestic data, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the General Health Questionnaire-12 items (GHQ-12) and the Brief COPE were used. The burnout dimensions showed high scores in Emotional Exhaustion (38.95%), in Depersonalization (23.68%) and in lack of Personal Accomplishment (23.16%), along with the presence of moderate to high levels of distress (54.21%). In addition to factors already known to be associated with burnout (job perception and high levels of distress) exposure to an earthquake emerged as a factor independently associated with the syndrome. Adaptive coping strategies such as religiosity showed a significant and negative relationship with burnout. Our research highlights the need for interventions directed at a reduction in workload and work-stressors and an improvement of adaptive coping strategies, especially in a post-disaster workplace.

Plant–pollinator interactions under climate change: The use of spatial and temporal transplants1

PubMed Central

Morton, Eva M.; Rafferty, Nicole E.

2017-01-01

Climate change is affecting both the timing of life history events and the spatial distributions of many species, including plants and pollinators. Shifts in phenology and range affect not only individual plant and pollinator species but also interactions among them, with possible negative consequences for both parties due to unfavorable abiotic conditions or mismatches caused by differences in shift magnitude or direction. Ultimately, population extinctions and reductions in pollination services could occur as a result of these climate change–induced shifts, or plants and pollinators could be buffered by plastic or genetic responses or novel interactions. Either scenario will likely involve altered selection pressures, making an understanding of plasticity and local adaptation in space and time especially important. In this review, we discuss two methods for studying plant–pollinator interactions under climate change: spatial and temporal transplants, both of which offer insight into whether plants and pollinators will be able to adapt to novel conditions. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and the future possibilities for this area of study. We advocate for consideration of how joint shifts in both dimensions might affect plant–pollinator interactions and point to key insights that can be gained with experimental transplants. PMID:28690930

The attractor dimension of solar decimetric radio pulsations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurths, J.; Benz, A. O.; Aschwanden, M. J.

1991-01-01

The temporal characteristics of decimetric pulsations and related radio emissions during solar flares are analyzed using statistical methods recently developed for nonlinear dynamic systems. The results of the analysis is consistent with earlier reports on low-dimensional attractors of such events and yield a quantitative description of their temporal characteristics and hidden order. The estimated dimensions of typical decimetric pulsations are generally in the range of 3.0 + or - 0.5. Quasi-periodic oscillations and sudden reductions may have dimensions as low as 2. Pulsations of decimetric type IV continua have typically a dimension of about 4.

MADNESS: A Multiresolution, Adaptive Numerical Environment for Scientific Simulation

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

Harrison, Robert J.; Beylkin, Gregory; Bischoff, Florian A.

2016-01-01

MADNESS (multiresolution adaptive numerical environment for scientific simulation) is a high-level software environment for solving integral and differential equations in many dimensions that uses adaptive and fast harmonic analysis methods with guaranteed precision based on multiresolution analysis and separated representations. Underpinning the numerical capabilities is a powerful petascale parallel programming environment that aims to increase both programmer productivity and code scalability. This paper describes the features and capabilities of MADNESS and briefly discusses some current applications in chemistry and several areas of physics.

Innovation Process Design: A Change Management and Innovation Dimension Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peisl, Thomas; Reger, Veronika; Schmied, Juergen

The authors propose an innovative approach to the management of innovation integrating business, process, and maturity dimensions. Core element of the concept is the adaptation of ISO/IEC 15504 to the innovation process including 14 innovation drivers. Two managerial models are applied to conceptualize and visualize the respective innovation strategies, the Balanced Scorecard and a Barriers in Change Processes Model. An illustrative case study shows a practical implementation process.

14 Years longitudinal evaluation of clinical information systems acceptance: The HEGP case.

PubMed

Hadji, Brahim; Martin, Guillaume; Dupuis, Isabelle; Campoy, Eric; Degoulet, Patrice

2016-02-01

Meaningful use and end-user satisfaction are two major components of the success of a clinical information system (CIS). The purpose of this study was to longitudinally measure and analyze the CIS use and satisfaction determinants in a multi-professional group at the Georges Pompidou university hospital (HEGP) in Paris. From the different evaluation surveys performed at HEGP, three periods were considered corresponding to 4, 8 and over 10 years after the first CIS deployment in 2000, respectively. Six acceptance dimensions were considered: CIS quality (CISQ), facilitating conditions (FC), perceived usefulness (PU), confirmation of expectations (CE), use, and global satisfaction (GS). Relationships between these constructs were tested through multiple regressions analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). Responses were obtained from 298, 332, and 448 users for the three periods considered. CIS acceptance dimensions progressively and significantly increased over time. Significant differences between professions were observed with an initial low PU among medical staff. In the early deployment phase, GS appeared to be determined by CIS use, CISQ and PU (R(2)=.53 in SEM). In the very late post-adoption phase, GS was strongly determined by CISQ, CE, and PU (R(2)=.86 in SEM) and was no longer associated with CIS use. Acceptance models should be adapted to the phase of deployment of a CIS and integrate end-users' individual characteristics. Progressive reduction over time of the positive relationships between CIS use and satisfaction could possibly be considered as a maturity indicator of CIS deployment. These observations validate the introduction in post-adoption models of a continuance intention dimension. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pain vulnerability and DNA methyltransferase 3a involved in the affective dimension of chronic pain

PubMed Central

Wang, Wei; Li, Caiyue; Cai, Youqing; Pan, Zhizhong Z

2017-01-01

Chronic pain with comorbid emotional disorders is a prevalent neurological disease in patients under various pathological conditions, yet patients show considerable difference in their vulnerability to developing chronic pain. Understanding the neurobiological basis underlying this pain vulnerability is essential to develop targeted therapies of higher efficiency in pain treatment of precision medicine. However, this pain vulnerability has not been addressed in preclinical pain research in animals to date. In this study, we investigated individual variance in both sensory and affective/emotional dimensions of pain behaviors in response to chronic neuropathic pain condition in a mouse model of chronic pain. We found that mice displayed considerably diverse sensitivities in the chronic pain-induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors of affective pain. Importantly, the mouse group that was more vulnerable to developing anxiety was also more vulnerable to developing depressive behavior under the chronic pain condition. In contrast, there was relatively much less variance in individual responses in the sensory dimension of pain sensitization. Molecular analysis revealed that those mice vulnerable to developing the emotional disorders showed a significant reduction in the protein level of DNA methyltransferase 3a in the emotion-processing central nucleus of the amygdala. In addition, social stress also revealed significant individual variance in anxiety behavior in mice. These findings suggest that individual pain vulnerability may be inherent mostly in the emotional/affective component of chronic pain and remain consistent in different aspects of negative emotion, in which adaptive changes in the function of DNA methyltransferase 3a for DNA methylation in central amygdala may play an important role. This may open a new avenue of basic research into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying pain vulnerability. PMID:28849714

Integrating Adaptability into Special Operations Forces Intermediate Level Education

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-10-01

This model is based on the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), which states that learning occurs by the transfer of experience into knowledge ( Kolb ...Report 529. Arlington, VA. Kolb , D.A., Boyatzis, R.E., & Mainemelis, C. (2000). Experiential Learning Theory : Previous research and new dimensions. In...adaptive thinking materials. Integrating this information will provide some continuity among concepts for instruction. Experiential Learning Model

Assessment of the coordination of integrated health service delivery networks by the primary health care: COPAS questionnaire validation in the Brazilian context.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Ludmila Barbosa Bandeira; Dos Santos, Claudia Benedita; Goyatá, Sueli Leiko Takamatsu; Popolin, Marcela Paschoal; Yamamura, Mellina; Deon, Keila Christiane; Lapão, Luis Miguel Veles; Santos Neto, Marcelino; Uchoa, Severina Alice da Costa; Arcêncio, Ricardo Alexandre

2015-07-22

Health systems organized as networks and coordinated by the Primary Health Care (PHC) may contribute to the improvement of clinical care, sanitary conditions, satisfaction of patients and reduction of local budget expenditures. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate a questionnaire - COPAS - to assess the coordination of Integrated Health Service Delivery Networks by the Primary Health Care. A cross sectional approach was used. The population was pooled from Family Health Strategy healthcare professionals, of the Alfenas region (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Data collection was performed from August to October 2013. The results were checked for the presence of floor and ceiling effects and the internal consistency measured through Cronbach alpha. Construct validity was verified through convergent and discriminant values following Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) analysis. Floor and ceiling effects were absent. The internal consistency of the instrument was satisfactory; as was the convergent validity, with a few correlations lower then 0.30. The discriminant validity values of the majority of items, with respect to their own dimension, were found to be higher or significantly higher than their correlations with the dimensions to which they did not belong. The results showed that the COPAS instrument has satisfactory initial psychometric properties and may be used by healthcare managers and workers to assess the PHC coordination performance within the Integrated Health Service Delivery Network.

Dechlorination of pentachlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid in anaerobic freshwater sediments

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

Bryant, F.O.; Rogers, J.E.

1990-02-01

Pentachlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid were transformed by microbial reductive dechlorination in freshwater, anaerobic sediments from such diverse locations as Georgia, Florida, New York and the Soviet Union. The reductive dechlorination process involves removal of a chlorine and replacement with a hydrogen. Sediments previously adapted to dechlorinate dichlorophenols were found to mediate dechlorination at much faster rates than unadapted sediments. Pentachlorophenol dechlorination in dichlorophenol-adapted sediments generated tetra-, tri-, di-, and monochlorophenol and phenol. Concentrations of pentachlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid up to 100 ppm were dechlorinated by adapted sediments. Reductive dechlorination of PCP, 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T was regionmore » specific for chlorine removal as determined by the dichlorophenol isomer used to adapt the sediment. Sediment adapted to 2,4-dichlorophenol preferentially removed chlorines from the ortho position; whereas sediment adapted to 3,4-dichlorophenol preferentially removed chlorines from the para position.« less

The Mechanisms Underlying Changes in Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology During Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder.

PubMed

Ogawa, Sei; Imai, Risa; Suzuki, Masako; Furukawa, Toshi A; Akechi, Tatsuo

2017-12-01

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients commonly have broad dimensions of psychopathology. This study investigated the relationship between a wide range of psychopathology and attention or cognitions during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD. We treated 96 SAD patients with group CBT. Using multiple regression analysis, we examined the associations between the changes in broad dimensions of psychopathology and the changes in self-focused attention or maladaptive cognitions in the course of CBT. The reduction in self-focused attention was related to the decreases in somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, phobic anxiety, and global severity index. The reduction in maladaptive cognitions was associated with decreases in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and global severity index. The present study suggests that changes in self-focused attention and maladaptive cognitions may predict broad dimensions of psychopathology changes in SAD patients over the course of CBT. For the purpose of improving a wide range of psychiatric symptoms with SAD patients in CBT, it may be useful to decrease self-focus attention and maladaptive cognitions.

Adaptive Vibration Reduction Controls for a Cryocooler With a Passive Balancer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopasakis, George; Cairelli, James E.; Traylor, Ryan M.

2001-01-01

In this paper an adaptive vibration reduction control (AVRC) design is described for a Stirling cryocooler combined with a passive balancer. The AVRC design was based on a mass-spring model of the cooler and balancer, and the AVRC algorithm described in this paper was based on an adaptive binary search. Results are shown comparing the baseline uncontrolled cooler with no balancer, the cooler with the balancer, and, finally, the cooler with the balancer and the AVRC. The comparison shows that it may be possible to meet stringent vibration reduction requirements without an active balancer.

Automatic control of the preload in adaptive friction drives of chemical production machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balakin, P. D.

2017-08-01

Being based on the principle of providing the systems with adaptation property to the real parameters and operational condition, the energy effective mechanical system constructed on the base of friction gear with automated preload is offered and this allows keeping mechanical efficiency value adequate transforming drive path to in the terms of multimode operation. This is achieved by integrated control loop, operating on the basis of the laws of motion with the energy of the main power flow by changing automatically the kinematic dimension of the section and, hence, the value of preload in the friction contact. The given ratios of forces and deformations in the control loop are required at the stage of conceptual design to determine design dimensions of power transmission elements with new properties.

On an adaptive preconditioned Crank-Nicolson MCMC algorithm for infinite dimensional Bayesian inference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Zixi; Yao, Zhewei; Li, Jinglai

2017-03-01

Many scientific and engineering problems require to perform Bayesian inference for unknowns of infinite dimension. In such problems, many standard Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms become arbitrary slow under the mesh refinement, which is referred to as being dimension dependent. To this end, a family of dimensional independent MCMC algorithms, known as the preconditioned Crank-Nicolson (pCN) methods, were proposed to sample the infinite dimensional parameters. In this work we develop an adaptive version of the pCN algorithm, where the covariance operator of the proposal distribution is adjusted based on sampling history to improve the simulation efficiency. We show that the proposed algorithm satisfies an important ergodicity condition under some mild assumptions. Finally we provide numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.

The Correlation Fractal Dimension of Complex Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xingyuan; Liu, Zhenzhen; Wang, Mogei

2013-05-01

The fractality of complex networks is studied by estimating the correlation dimensions of the networks. Comparing with the previous algorithms of estimating the box dimension, our algorithm achieves a significant reduction in time complexity. For four benchmark cases tested, that is, the Escherichia coli (E. Coli) metabolic network, the Homo sapiens protein interaction network (H. Sapiens PIN), the Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein interaction network (S. Cerevisiae PIN) and the World Wide Web (WWW), experiments are provided to demonstrate the validity of our algorithm.

[Construct validity of the Medical Outcomes Study's social support scale adapted to Portuguese in the Pró-Saúde Study].

PubMed

Griep, Rosane Harter; Chor, Dóra; Faerstein, Eduardo; Werneck, Guilherme L; Lopes, Cláudia S

2005-01-01

This paper evaluates the construct validity of the Medical Outcomes Study's social support scale adapted to Portuguese, when utilized in a cohort study among non-faculty civil servants at a university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Pró-Saúde Study). Baseline data were obtained in 1999, when 4,030 participants (92.0% of those eligible) completed a multidimensional self-administered questionnaire at the workplace. From the original scale's five social support dimensions, factor analysis of the data extracted only three dimensions: positive social interaction/affective support; emotional/information support; and material support. We estimated associations between social support dimensions and socio-demographic, health, and well being-related characteristics. We confirmed the hypotheses that less isolated individuals, those with better self-rated health, those who reported more participation in group activities, and those with no evidence of common mental disorders reported better perception of social support. In conclusion, we found good evidence for a high construct validity of this scale, supporting its use in future analyses in the Pró-Saúde Study and in similar population groups.

Leaf economics and hydraulic traits are decoupled in five species-rich tropical-subtropical forests.

PubMed

Li, Le; McCormack, M Luke; Ma, Chengen; Kong, Deliang; Zhang, Qian; Chen, Xiaoyong; Zeng, Hui; Niinemets, Ülo; Guo, Dali

2015-09-01

Leaf economics and hydraulic traits are critical to leaf photosynthesis, yet it is debated whether these two sets of traits vary in a fully coordinated manner or there is room for independent variation. Here, we tested the relationship between leaf economics traits, including leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf dry mass per area, and leaf hydraulic traits including stomatal density and vein density in five tropical-subtropical forests. Surprisingly, these two suites of traits were statistically decoupled. This decoupling suggests that independent trait dimensions exist within a leaf, with leaf economics dimension corresponding to light capture and tissue longevity, and the hydraulic dimension to water-use and leaf temperature maintenance. Clearly, leaf economics and hydraulic traits can vary independently, thus allowing for more possible plant trait combinations. Compared with a single trait dimension, multiple trait dimensions may better enable species adaptations to multifarious niche dimensions, promote diverse plant strategies and facilitate species coexistence. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

A Novel Hybrid Dimension Reduction Technique for Undersized High Dimensional Gene Expression Data Sets Using Information Complexity Criterion for Cancer Classification

PubMed Central

Pamukçu, Esra; Bozdogan, Hamparsum; Çalık, Sinan

2015-01-01

Gene expression data typically are large, complex, and highly noisy. Their dimension is high with several thousand genes (i.e., features) but with only a limited number of observations (i.e., samples). Although the classical principal component analysis (PCA) method is widely used as a first standard step in dimension reduction and in supervised and unsupervised classification, it suffers from several shortcomings in the case of data sets involving undersized samples, since the sample covariance matrix degenerates and becomes singular. In this paper we address these limitations within the context of probabilistic PCA (PPCA) by introducing and developing a new and novel approach using maximum entropy covariance matrix and its hybridized smoothed covariance estimators. To reduce the dimensionality of the data and to choose the number of probabilistic PCs (PPCs) to be retained, we further introduce and develop celebrated Akaike's information criterion (AIC), consistent Akaike's information criterion (CAIC), and the information theoretic measure of complexity (ICOMP) criterion of Bozdogan. Six publicly available undersized benchmark data sets were analyzed to show the utility, flexibility, and versatility of our approach with hybridized smoothed covariance matrix estimators, which do not degenerate to perform the PPCA to reduce the dimension and to carry out supervised classification of cancer groups in high dimensions. PMID:25838836

Think Locally, Act Globally! Linking Local and Global Communities through Democracy and Environment. Hands-On! Developing Active Learning Modules on the Human Dimensions of Global Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowler, Lorraine

Designed so that it can be adapted to a wide range of student abilities and institutional settings, this learning module on the human dimensions of global change seeks to: actively engage students in problem solving, challenge them to think critically, invite them to participate in the process of scientific inquiry, and involve them in cooperative…

Sparse-grid, reduced-basis Bayesian inversion: Nonaffine-parametric nonlinear equations

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

Chen, Peng, E-mail: peng@ices.utexas.edu; Schwab, Christoph, E-mail: christoph.schwab@sam.math.ethz.ch

2016-07-01

We extend the reduced basis (RB) accelerated Bayesian inversion methods for affine-parametric, linear operator equations which are considered in [16,17] to non-affine, nonlinear parametric operator equations. We generalize the analysis of sparsity of parametric forward solution maps in [20] and of Bayesian inversion in [48,49] to the fully discrete setting, including Petrov–Galerkin high-fidelity (“HiFi”) discretization of the forward maps. We develop adaptive, stochastic collocation based reduction methods for the efficient computation of reduced bases on the parametric solution manifold. The nonaffinity and nonlinearity with respect to (w.r.t.) the distributed, uncertain parameters and the unknown solution is collocated; specifically, by themore » so-called Empirical Interpolation Method (EIM). For the corresponding Bayesian inversion problems, computational efficiency is enhanced in two ways: first, expectations w.r.t. the posterior are computed by adaptive quadratures with dimension-independent convergence rates proposed in [49]; the present work generalizes [49] to account for the impact of the PG discretization in the forward maps on the convergence rates of the Quantities of Interest (QoI for short). Second, we propose to perform the Bayesian estimation only w.r.t. a parsimonious, RB approximation of the posterior density. Based on the approximation results in [49], the infinite-dimensional parametric, deterministic forward map and operator admit N-term RB and EIM approximations which converge at rates which depend only on the sparsity of the parametric forward map. In several numerical experiments, the proposed algorithms exhibit dimension-independent convergence rates which equal, at least, the currently known rate estimates for N-term approximation. We propose to accelerate Bayesian estimation by first offline construction of reduced basis surrogates of the Bayesian posterior density. The parsimonious surrogates can then be employed for online data assimilation and for Bayesian estimation. They also open a perspective for optimal experimental design.« less

Identification of seedling cabbages and weeds using hyperspectral imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Target detectionis one of research focues for precision chemical application. This study developed a method to identify seedling cabbages and weeds using hyperspectral spectral imaging. In processing the image data, with ENVI software, after dimension reduction, noise reduction, de-correlation for h...

Multidimensional Adaptation in MAS Organizations.

PubMed

Alberola, Juan M; Julian, Vicente; Garcia-Fornes, Ana

2013-04-01

Organization adaptation requires determining the consequences of applying changes not only in terms of the benefits provided but also measuring the adaptation costs as well as the impact that these changes have on all of the components of the organization. In this paper, we provide an approach for adaptation in multiagent systems based on a multidimensional transition deliberation mechanism (MTDM). This approach considers transitions in multiple dimensions and is aimed at obtaining the adaptation with the highest potential for improvement in utility based on the costs of adaptation. The approach provides an accurate measurement of the impact of the adaptation since it determines the organization that is to be transitioned to as well as the changes required to carry out this transition. We show an example of adaptation in a service provider network environment in order to demonstrate that the measurement of the adaptation consequences taken by the MTDM improves the organization performance more than the other approaches.

Measuring individual work performance: identifying and selecting indicators.

PubMed

Koopmans, Linda; Bernaards, Claire M; Hildebrandt, Vincent H; de Vet, Henrica C W; van der Beek, Allard J

2014-01-01

Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions. This study was designed to (1) identify indicators for each dimension, (2) select the most relevant indicators, and (3) determine the relative weight of each dimension in ratings of work performance. IWP indicators were identified from multiple research disciplines, via literature, existing questionnaires, and expert interviews. Subsequently, experts selected the most relevant indicators per dimension and scored the relative weight of each dimension in ratings of IWP. In total, 128 unique indicators were identified. Twenty-three of these indicators were selected by experts as most relevant for measuring IWP. Task performance determined 36% of the work performance rating, while the other three dimensions respectively determined 22%, 20% and 21% of the rating. Notable consensus was found on relevant indicators of IWP, reducing the number from 128 to 23 relevant indicators. This provides an important step towards the development of a standardized, generic and short measurement instrument for assessing IWP.

Validating the ACE Model for Evaluating Student Performance Using a Teaching-Learning Process Based on Computational Modeling Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Louzada, Alexandre Neves; Elia, Marcos da Fonseca; Sampaio, Fábio Ferrentini; Vidal, Andre Luiz Pestana

2014-01-01

The aim of this work is to adapt and test, in a Brazilian public school, the ACE model proposed by Borkulo for evaluating student performance as a teaching-learning process based on computational modeling systems. The ACE model is based on different types of reasoning involving three dimensions. In addition to adapting the model and introducing…

The fundamentals of adaptive grid movement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eiseman, Peter R.

1990-01-01

Basic grid point movement schemes are studied. The schemes are referred to as adaptive grids. Weight functions and equidistribution in one dimension are treated. The specification of coefficients in the linear weight, attraction to a given grid or a curve, and evolutionary forces are considered. Curve by curve and finite volume methods are described. The temporal coupling of partial differential equations solvers and grid generators was discussed.

Correlation Dimension Estimates of Global and Local Temperature Data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiang

1995-11-01

The author has attempted to detect the presence of low-dimensional deterministic chaos in temperature data by estimating the correlation dimension with the Hill estimate that has been recently developed by Mikosch and Wang. There is no convincing evidence of low dimensionality with either global dataset (Southern Hemisphere monthly average temperatures from 1858 to 1984) or local temperature dataset (daily minimums at Auckland, New Zealand). Any apparent reduction in the dimension estimates appears to be due large1y, if not entirely, to effects of statistical bias, but neither is it a purely random stochastic process. The dimension of the climatic attractor may be significantly larger than 10.

The effect of peer support groups on family adaptation from the perspective of wives of war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Vagharseyyedin, Seyyed Abolfazl; Gholami, Mojtaba; Hajihoseini, Morteza; Esmaeili, Aliakbar

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of peer group support on family adaptation of wives of war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this randomized controlled trial, 80 wives of war veterans with PTSD were incorporated, and selected participants were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups (n = 40 per group). The intervention group was divided into four subgroups, with each participating in eight weekly based 1.5-hr peer support group sessions and the control group received no intervention. Demographics form and Family Adaptation Scale (FAS) developed by Antonovsky and Sourani (1988) were applied. The total mean scores of family adaptation increased significantly more in the intervention group than in the control group (p = .033). Furthermore, the time × group interaction effects were significant for internal family fit (p = .013) and a combination of both family fit and family community fit (p = .020) dimensions. Nonetheless family fit dimensions mean scores had no significant increase in the intervention group than the control group over time (p = .948). Peer support group can be a useful tool for health care professionals to enhance family adaptation in spouses of war veterans with PTSD. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adaptation in Collaborative Governance Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emerson, Kirk; Gerlak, Andrea K.

2014-10-01

Adaptation and the adaptive capacity of human and environmental systems have been of central concern to natural and social science scholars, many of whom characterize and promote the need for collaborative cross-boundary systems that are seen as flexible and adaptive by definition. Researchers who study collaborative governance systems in the public administration, planning and policy literature have paid less attention to adaptive capacity specifically and institutional adaptation in general. This paper bridges the two literatures and finds four common dimensions of capacity, including structural arrangements, leadership, knowledge and learning, and resources. In this paper, we focus on institutional adaptation in the context of collaborative governance regimes and try to clarify and distinguish collaborative capacity from adaptive capacity and their contributions to adaptive action. We posit further that collaborative capacities generate associated adaptive capacities thereby enabling institutional adaptation within collaborative governance regimes. We develop these distinctions and linkages between collaborative and adaptive capacities with the help of an illustrative case study in watershed management within the National Estuary Program.

Comparative Analysis of Haar and Daubechies Wavelet for Hyper Spectral Image Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharif, I.; Khare, S.

2014-11-01

With the number of channels in the hundreds instead of in the tens Hyper spectral imagery possesses much richer spectral information than multispectral imagery. The increased dimensionality of such Hyper spectral data provides a challenge to the current technique for analyzing data. Conventional classification methods may not be useful without dimension reduction pre-processing. So dimension reduction has become a significant part of Hyper spectral image processing. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the efficacy of Haar and Daubechies wavelets for dimensionality reduction in achieving image classification. Spectral data reduction using Wavelet Decomposition could be useful because it preserves the distinction among spectral signatures. Daubechies wavelets optimally capture the polynomial trends while Haar wavelet is discontinuous and resembles a step function. The performance of these wavelets are compared in terms of classification accuracy and time complexity. This paper shows that wavelet reduction has more separate classes and yields better or comparable classification accuracy. In the context of the dimensionality reduction algorithm, it is found that the performance of classification of Daubechies wavelets is better as compared to Haar wavelet while Daubechies takes more time compare to Haar wavelet. The experimental results demonstrate the classification system consistently provides over 84% classification accuracy.

Evaluation of a dimension-reduction-based statistical technique for Temperature, Water Vapour and Ozone retrievals from IASI radiances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amato, Umberto; Antoniadis, Anestis; De Feis, Italia; Masiello, Guido; Matricardi, Marco; Serio, Carmine

2009-03-01

Remote sensing of atmosphere is changing rapidly thanks to the development of high spectral resolution infrared space-borne sensors. The aim is to provide more and more accurate information on the lower atmosphere, as requested by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to improve reliability and time span of weather forecasts plus Earth's monitoring. In this paper we show the results we have obtained on a set of Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) observations using a new statistical strategy based on dimension reduction. Retrievals have been compared to time-space colocated ECMWF analysis for temperature, water vapor and ozone.

Fractal structures and fractal functions as disease indicators

USGS Publications Warehouse

Escos, J.M; Alados, C.L.; Emlen, J.M.

1995-01-01

Developmental instability is an early indicator of stress, and has been used to monitor the impacts of human disturbance on natural ecosystems. Here we investigate the use of different measures of developmental instability on two species, green peppers (Capsicum annuum), a plant, and Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica), an animal. For green peppers we compared the variance in allometric relationship between control plants, and a treatment group infected with the tomato spotted wilt virus. The results show that infected plants have a greater variance about the allometric regression line than the control plants. We also observed a reduction in complexity of branch structure in green pepper with a viral infection. Box-counting fractal dimension of branch architecture declined under stress infection. We also tested the reduction in complexity of behavioral patterns under stress situations in Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica). Fractal dimension of head-lift frequency distribution measures predator detection efficiency. This dimension decreased under stressful conditions, such as advanced pregnancy and parasitic infection. Feeding distribution activities reflect food searching efficiency. Power spectral analysis proves to be the most powerful tool for character- izing fractal behavior, revealing a reduction in complexity of time distribution activity under parasitic infection.

Shape component analysis: structure-preserving dimension reduction on biological shape spaces.

PubMed

Lee, Hao-Chih; Liao, Tao; Zhang, Yongjie Jessica; Yang, Ge

2016-03-01

Quantitative shape analysis is required by a wide range of biological studies across diverse scales, ranging from molecules to cells and organisms. In particular, high-throughput and systems-level studies of biological structures and functions have started to produce large volumes of complex high-dimensional shape data. Analysis and understanding of high-dimensional biological shape data require dimension-reduction techniques. We have developed a technique for non-linear dimension reduction of 2D and 3D biological shape representations on their Riemannian spaces. A key feature of this technique is that it preserves distances between different shapes in an embedded low-dimensional shape space. We demonstrate an application of this technique by combining it with non-linear mean-shift clustering on the Riemannian spaces for unsupervised clustering of shapes of cellular organelles and proteins. Source code and data for reproducing results of this article are freely available at https://github.com/ccdlcmu/shape_component_analysis_Matlab The implementation was made in MATLAB and supported on MS Windows, Linux and Mac OS. geyang@andrew.cmu.edu. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Improving multi-objective reservoir operation optimization with sensitivity-informed dimension reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, J.; Zhang, C.; Fu, G.; Li, Y.; Zhou, H.

2015-08-01

This study investigates the effectiveness of a sensitivity-informed method for multi-objective operation of reservoir systems, which uses global sensitivity analysis as a screening tool to reduce computational demands. Sobol's method is used to screen insensitive decision variables and guide the formulation of the optimization problems with a significantly reduced number of decision variables. This sensitivity-informed method dramatically reduces the computational demands required for attaining high-quality approximations of optimal trade-off relationships between conflicting design objectives. The search results obtained from the reduced complexity multi-objective reservoir operation problems are then used to pre-condition the full search of the original optimization problem. In two case studies, the Dahuofang reservoir and the inter-basin multi-reservoir system in Liaoning province, China, sensitivity analysis results show that reservoir performance is strongly controlled by a small proportion of decision variables. Sensitivity-informed dimension reduction and pre-conditioning are evaluated in their ability to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of multi-objective evolutionary optimization. Overall, this study illustrates the efficiency and effectiveness of the sensitivity-informed method and the use of global sensitivity analysis to inform dimension reduction of optimization problems when solving complex multi-objective reservoir operation problems.

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

Aliev, Alikram N.; Cebeci, Hakan; Dereli, Tekin

We present an exact solution describing a stationary and axisymmetric object with electromagnetic and dilaton fields. The solution generalizes the usual Kerr-Taub-NUT (Newman-Unti-Tamburino) spacetime in general relativity and is obtained by boosting this spacetime in the fifth dimension and performing a Kaluza-Klein reduction to four dimensions. We also discuss the physical parameters of this solution and calculate its gyromagnetic ratio.

Old Tails and New Trails in High Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halevy, Avner

2013-01-01

We discuss the motivation for dimension reduction in the context of the modern data revolution and introduce a key result in this field, the Johnson-Lindenstrauss flattening lemma. Then we leap into high-dimensional space for a glimpse of the phenomenon called concentration of measure, and use it to sketch a proof of the lemma. We end by tying…

Adaptation of handwriting size under distorted visual feedback in patients with Parkinson's disease and elderly and young controls

PubMed Central

Teulings, H; Contreras-Vidal, J; Stelmach, G; Adler, C

2002-01-01

Objective: The ability to use visual feedback to control handwriting size was compared in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), elderly people, and young adults to better understand factors playing a part in parkinsonian micrographia. Methods: The participants wrote sequences of eight cursive l loops with visual target sizes of 0.5 and 2 cm on a flat panel display digitiser which both recorded and displayed the pen movements. In the pre-exposure and postexposure conditions, the display digitiser showed the actual pen trace in real time and real size. In the distortion exposure conditions, the gain of the vertical dimension of the visual feedback was either reduced to 70% or enlarged to 140%. Results: The young controls showed a gradual visuomotor adaptation that compensated for the visual feedback distortions during the exposure conditions. They also showed significant after effects during the postexposure conditions. The elderly controls marginally corrected for the size distortions and showed small after effects. The patients with PD, however, showed no trial by trial adaptations or after effects but instead, a progressive amplification of the distortion effect in each individual trial. Conclusion: The young controls used visual feedback to update their visuomotor map. The elderly controls seemed to make little use of visual feedback. The patients with Parkinson's disease rely on the visual feedback of previous or of ongoing strokes to programme subsequent strokes. This recursive feedback may play a part in the progressive reductions in handwriting size found in parkinsonian micrographia. PMID:11861687

A principled dimension-reduction method for the population density approach to modeling networks of neurons with synaptic dynamics.

PubMed

Ly, Cheng

2013-10-01

The population density approach to neural network modeling has been utilized in a variety of contexts. The idea is to group many similar noisy neurons into populations and track the probability density function for each population that encompasses the proportion of neurons with a particular state rather than simulating individual neurons (i.e., Monte Carlo). It is commonly used for both analytic insight and as a time-saving computational tool. The main shortcoming of this method is that when realistic attributes are incorporated in the underlying neuron model, the dimension of the probability density function increases, leading to intractable equations or, at best, computationally intensive simulations. Thus, developing principled dimension-reduction methods is essential for the robustness of these powerful methods. As a more pragmatic tool, it would be of great value for the larger theoretical neuroscience community. For exposition of this method, we consider a single uncoupled population of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons receiving external excitatory synaptic input only. We present a dimension-reduction method that reduces a two-dimensional partial differential-integral equation to a computationally efficient one-dimensional system and gives qualitatively accurate results in both the steady-state and nonequilibrium regimes. The method, termed modified mean-field method, is based entirely on the governing equations and not on any auxiliary variables or parameters, and it does not require fine-tuning. The principles of the modified mean-field method have potential applicability to more realistic (i.e., higher-dimensional) neural networks.

An adaptive interpolation scheme for molecular potential energy surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowalewski, Markus; Larsson, Elisabeth; Heryudono, Alfa

2016-08-01

The calculation of potential energy surfaces for quantum dynamics can be a time consuming task—especially when a high level of theory for the electronic structure calculation is required. We propose an adaptive interpolation algorithm based on polyharmonic splines combined with a partition of unity approach. The adaptive node refinement allows to greatly reduce the number of sample points by employing a local error estimate. The algorithm and its scaling behavior are evaluated for a model function in 2, 3, and 4 dimensions. The developed algorithm allows for a more rapid and reliable interpolation of a potential energy surface within a given accuracy compared to the non-adaptive version.

An Efficient Adaptive Angle-Doppler Compensation Approach for Non-Sidelooking Airborne Radar STAP

PubMed Central

Shen, Mingwei; Yu, Jia; Wu, Di; Zhu, Daiyin

2015-01-01

In this study, the effects of non-sidelooking airborne radar clutter dispersion on space-time adaptive processing (STAP) is considered, and an efficient adaptive angle-Doppler compensation (EAADC) approach is proposed to improve the clutter suppression performance. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the reduced-dimension sparse reconstruction (RDSR) technique is introduced into the angle-Doppler spectrum estimation to extract the required parameters for compensating the clutter spectral center misalignment. Simulation results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are presented. PMID:26053755

MADNESS: A Multiresolution, Adaptive Numerical Environment for Scientific Simulation

DOE PAGES

Harrison, Robert J.; Beylkin, Gregory; Bischoff, Florian A.; ...

2016-01-01

We present MADNESS (multiresolution adaptive numerical environment for scientific simulation) that is a high-level software environment for solving integral and differential equations in many dimensions that uses adaptive and fast harmonic analysis methods with guaranteed precision that are based on multiresolution analysis and separated representations. Underpinning the numerical capabilities is a powerful petascale parallel programming environment that aims to increase both programmer productivity and code scalability. This paper describes the features and capabilities of MADNESS and briefly discusses some current applications in chemistry and several areas of physics.

Emergent "Quantum" Theory in Complex Adaptive Systems.

PubMed

Minic, Djordje; Pajevic, Sinisa

2016-04-30

Motivated by the question of stability, in this letter we argue that an effective quantum-like theory can emerge in complex adaptive systems. In the concrete example of stochastic Lotka-Volterra dynamics, the relevant effective "Planck constant" associated with such emergent "quantum" theory has the dimensions of the square of the unit of time. Such an emergent quantum-like theory has inherently non-classical stability as well as coherent properties that are not, in principle, endangered by thermal fluctuations and therefore might be of crucial importance in complex adaptive systems.

Emergent “Quantum” Theory in Complex Adaptive Systems

PubMed Central

Minic, Djordje; Pajevic, Sinisa

2017-01-01

Motivated by the question of stability, in this letter we argue that an effective quantum-like theory can emerge in complex adaptive systems. In the concrete example of stochastic Lotka-Volterra dynamics, the relevant effective “Planck constant” associated with such emergent “quantum” theory has the dimensions of the square of the unit of time. Such an emergent quantum-like theory has inherently non-classical stability as well as coherent properties that are not, in principle, endangered by thermal fluctuations and therefore might be of crucial importance in complex adaptive systems. PMID:28890591

Low dimensional temporal organization of spontaneous eye blinks in adults with developmental disabilities and stereotyped movement disorder.

PubMed

Lee, Mei-Hua; Bodfish, James W; Lewis, Mark H; Newell, Karl M

2010-01-01

This study investigated the mean rate and time-dependent sequential organization of spontaneous eye blinks in adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and individuals from this group who were additionally categorized with stereotypic movement disorder (IDD+SMD). The mean blink rate was lower in the IDD+SMD group than the IDD group and both of these groups had a lower blink rate than a contrast group of healthy adults. In the IDD group the n to n+1 sequential organization over time of the eye-blink durations showed a stronger compensatory organization than the contrast group suggesting decreased complexity/dimensionality of eye-blink behavior. Very low blink rate (and thus insufficient time series data) precluded analysis of time-dependent sequential properties in the IDD+SMD group. These findings support the hypothesis that both IDD and SMD are associated with a reduction in the dimension and adaptability of movement behavior and that this may serve as a risk factor for the expression of abnormal movements.

Integrating dimension reduction and out-of-sample extension in automated classification of ex vivo human patellar cartilage on phase contrast X-ray computed tomography.

PubMed

Nagarajan, Mahesh B; Coan, Paola; Huber, Markus B; Diemoz, Paul C; Wismüller, Axel

2015-01-01

Phase contrast X-ray computed tomography (PCI-CT) has been demonstrated as a novel imaging technique that can visualize human cartilage with high spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast. Different textural approaches have been previously investigated for characterizing chondrocyte organization on PCI-CT to enable classification of healthy and osteoarthritic cartilage. However, the large size of feature sets extracted in such studies motivates an investigation into algorithmic feature reduction for computing efficient feature representations without compromising their discriminatory power. For this purpose, geometrical feature sets derived from the scaling index method (SIM) were extracted from 1392 volumes of interest (VOI) annotated on PCI-CT images of ex vivo human patellar cartilage specimens. The extracted feature sets were subject to linear and non-linear dimension reduction techniques as well as feature selection based on evaluation of mutual information criteria. The reduced feature set was subsequently used in a machine learning task with support vector regression to classify VOIs as healthy or osteoarthritic; classification performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Our results show that the classification performance achieved by 9-D SIM-derived geometric feature sets (AUC: 0.96 ± 0.02) can be maintained with 2-D representations computed from both dimension reduction and feature selection (AUC values as high as 0.97 ± 0.02). Thus, such feature reduction techniques can offer a high degree of compaction to large feature sets extracted from PCI-CT images while maintaining their ability to characterize the underlying chondrocyte patterns.

Evaluating the Benefits of Adaptation of Critical Infrastructures to Hydrometeorological Risks.

PubMed

Thacker, Scott; Kelly, Scott; Pant, Raghav; Hall, Jim W

2018-01-01

Infrastructure adaptation measures provide a practical way to reduce the risk from extreme hydrometeorological hazards, such as floods and windstorms. The benefit of adapting infrastructure assets is evaluated as the reduction in risk relative to the "do nothing" case. However, evaluating the full benefits of risk reduction is challenging because of the complexity of the systems, the scarcity of data, and the uncertainty of future climatic changes. We address this challenge by integrating methods from the study of climate adaptation, infrastructure systems, and complex networks. In doing so, we outline an infrastructure risk assessment that incorporates interdependence, user demands, and potential failure-related economic losses. Individual infrastructure assets are intersected with probabilistic hazard maps to calculate expected annual damages. Protection measure costs are integrated to calculate risk reduction and associated discounted benefits, which are used to explore the business case for investment in adaptation. A demonstration of the methodology is provided for flood protection of major electricity substations in England and Wales. We conclude that the ongoing adaptation program for major electricity assets is highly cost beneficial. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination

PubMed Central

Stringer, Kate; Kerpelman, Jennifer; Skorikov, Vladimir

2011-01-01

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making precede career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development. PMID:21804641

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination.

PubMed

Stringer, Kate; Kerpelman, Jennifer; Skorikov, Vladimir

2011-08-01

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making precede career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development.

Fluctuations in epidemic modeling - disease extinction and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Ira

2009-03-01

The analysis of infectious disease fluctuations has recently seen an increasing rise in the use of new tools and models from stochastic dynamics and statistical physics. Examples arise in modeling fluctuations of multi-strain diseases, in modeling adaptive social behavior and its impact on disease fluctuations, and in the analysis of disease extinction in finite population models. Proper stochastic model reduction [1] allows one to predict unobserved fluctuations from observed data in multi-strain models [2]. Degree alteration and power law behavior is predicted in adaptive network epidemic models [3,4]. And extinction rates derived from large fluctuation theory exhibit scaling with respect to distance to the bifurcation point of disease onset with an unusual exponent [5]. In addition to outbreak prediction, another main goal of epidemic modeling is one of eliminating the disease to extinction through various control mechanisms, such as vaccine implementation or quarantine. In this talk, a description will be presented of the fluctuational behavior of several epidemic models and their extinction rates. A general framework and analysis of the effect of non-Gaussian control actuations which enhance the rate to disease extinction will be described. In particular, in it is shown that even in the presence of a small Poisson distributed vaccination program, there is an exponentially enhanced rate to disease extinction. These ideas may lead to improved methods of controlling disease where random vaccinations are prevalent. [4pt] Recent papers:[0pt] [1] E. Forgoston and I. B. Schwartz, ``Escape Rates in a Stochastic Environment with Multiple Scales,'' arXiv:0809.1345 2008.[0pt] [2] L. B. Shaw, L. Billings, I. B. Schwartz, ``Using dimension reduction to improve outbreak predictability of multi-strain diseases,'' J. Math. Bio. 55, 1 2007.[0pt] [3] L. B. Shaw and I. B. Schwartz, ``Fluctuating epidemics on adaptive networks,'' Physical Review E 77, 066101 2008.[0pt] [4] L. B. Shaw and I. B. Schwartz, ``Noise induced dynamics in adaptivenetworks with applications to epidemiology,'' arXiv:0807.3455 2008.[0pt] [5] M. I. Dykman, I. B. Schwartz, A. S. Landsman, ``Disease Extinction in the Presence of Random Vaccination,'' Phys. Rev. Letts. 101, 078101 2008.

Mapping human dimensions of climate change research in the Canadian Arctic.

PubMed

Ford, James D; Bolton, Kenyon; Shirley, Jamal; Pearce, Tristan; Tremblay, Martin; Westlake, Michael

2012-12-01

This study maps current understanding and research trends on the human dimensions of climate change (HDCC) in the eastern and central Canadian Arctic. Developing a systematic literature review methodology, 117 peer reviewed articles are identified and examined using quantitative and qualitative methods. The research highlights the rapid expansion of HDCC studies over the last decade. Early scholarship was dominated by work documenting Inuit observations of climate change, with research employing vulnerability concepts and terminology now common. Adaptation studies which seek to identify and evaluate opportunities to reduce vulnerability to climate change and take advantage of new opportunities remain in their infancy. Over the last 5 years there has been an increase social science-led research, with many studies employing key principles of community-based research. We currently have baseline understanding of climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the region, but key gaps are evident. Future research needs to target significant geographic disparities in understanding, consider risks and opportunities posed by climate change outside of the subsistence hunting sector, complement case study research with regional analyses, and focus on identifying and characterizing sustainable and feasible adaptation interventions.

Spanish-Language Adaptation of Morgeson and Humphrey's Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ).

PubMed

Fernández Ríos, Manuel; Ramírez Vielma, Raúl G; Sánchez García, José Carlos; Bargsted Aravena, Mariana; Polo Vargas, Jean David; Ruiz Díaz, Miguel Ángel

2017-06-09

Since work organizations became the subject of scientific research, how to operationalize and measure dimensions of work design has been an issue, mainly due to concerns about internal consistency and factor structure. In response, Morgeson and Humphrey (2006) built the Work Design Questionnaire -WDQ-, an instrument that identifies and measures these dimensions in different work and organizational contexts. This paper presents the instruent's adaptation into Spanish using reliability and validity analysis and drawing on a sample of 1035 Spanish workers who hold various jobs in an array of occupational categories. The total instrument's internal consistency was Cronbach's alpha of .92 and the various scales' reliability ranged from .70 to .96, except for three dimensions. There was initially a difference in the comparative fit of the two versions' factor structures, but the model with 21 work characteristics (motivational -task and knowledge-, social, and work context) showed the highest goodness of fit of the various models tested, confirming previous results from the U.S. version as well as adaptations into other languages and contexts. CFA results indicated goodness of fit of factor configurations corresponding to each of the four major categories of work characteristics, with CFI and TLI around .90, as well as SRMR and RMSEA below .08. Thus it brings to the table a reliable, valid measure of work design with clear potential applications in research as well as professional practice, applications that could improve working conditions, boost productivity, and generate more personal and professional development opportunities for workers.

Benefits of adaptive radiation therapy in lung cancer as a function of replanning frequency

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

Dial, Christian; Weiss, Elisabeth; Hugo, Geoffrey D., E-mail: gdhugo@vcu.edu

Purpose: To quantify the potential benefit associated with daily replanning in lung cancer in terms of normal tissue dose sparing and to characterize the tradeoff between adaptive benefit and replanning frequency. Methods: A set of synthetic images and contours, derived from weekly active breathing control images of 12 patients who underwent radiation therapy treatment for nonsmall cell lung cancer, is generated for each fraction of treatment using principal component analysis in a way that preserves temporal anatomical trends (e.g., tumor regression). Daily synthetic images and contours are used to simulate four different treatment scenarios: (1) a “no-adapt” scenario that simulatesmore » delivery of an initial plan throughout treatment, (2) a “midadapt” scenario that implements a single replan for fraction 18, (3) a “weekly adapt” scenario that simulates weekly adaptations, and (4) a “full-adapt” scenario that simulates daily replanning. An initial intensity modulated radiation therapy plan is created for each patient and replanning is carried out in an automated fashion by reoptimizing beam apertures and weights. Dose is calculated on each image and accumulated to the first in the series using deformable mappings utilized in synthetic image creation for comparison between simulated treatments. Results: Target coverage was maintained and cord tolerance was not exceeded for any of the adaptive simulations. Average reductions in mean lung dose (MLD) and volume of lung receiving 20 Gy or more (V20{sub lung}) were 65 ± 49 cGy (p = 0.000 01) and 1.1% ± 1.2% (p = 0.0006), respectively, for all patients. The largest reduction in MLD for a single patient was 162 cGy, which allowed an isotoxic escalation of the target dose of 1668 cGy. Average reductions in cord max dose, mean esophageal dose (MED), dose received by 66% of the heart (D66{sub heart}), and dose received by 33% of the heart (D33{sub heart}), were 158 ± 280, 117 ± 121, 37 ± 77, and 99 ± 120 cGy, respectively. Average incremental reductions in MLD for the midadapt, weekly adapt, and full-adapt treatments were 38, 18, and 8 cGy, respectively. Incremental reductions in MED for the same treatments were 57, 37, and 23 cGy. Reductions in MLD and MED for the full-adapt treatment were correlated with the absolute decrease in the planning target volume (r = 0.34 and r = 0.26). Conclusions: Adaptive radiation therapy for lung cancer yields clinically relevant reductions in normal tissue doses for frequencies of adaptation ranging from a single replan up to daily replanning. Increased frequencies of adaptation result in additional benefit while magnitude of benefit decreases.« less

Diffusion maps for high-dimensional single-cell analysis of differentiation data.

PubMed

Haghverdi, Laleh; Buettner, Florian; Theis, Fabian J

2015-09-15

Single-cell technologies have recently gained popularity in cellular differentiation studies regarding their ability to resolve potential heterogeneities in cell populations. Analyzing such high-dimensional single-cell data has its own statistical and computational challenges. Popular multivariate approaches are based on data normalization, followed by dimension reduction and clustering to identify subgroups. However, in the case of cellular differentiation, we would not expect clear clusters to be present but instead expect the cells to follow continuous branching lineages. Here, we propose the use of diffusion maps to deal with the problem of defining differentiation trajectories. We adapt this method to single-cell data by adequate choice of kernel width and inclusion of uncertainties or missing measurement values, which enables the establishment of a pseudotemporal ordering of single cells in a high-dimensional gene expression space. We expect this output to reflect cell differentiation trajectories, where the data originates from intrinsic diffusion-like dynamics. Starting from a pluripotent stage, cells move smoothly within the transcriptional landscape towards more differentiated states with some stochasticity along their path. We demonstrate the robustness of our method with respect to extrinsic noise (e.g. measurement noise) and sampling density heterogeneities on simulated toy data as well as two single-cell quantitative polymerase chain reaction datasets (i.e. mouse haematopoietic stem cells and mouse embryonic stem cells) and an RNA-Seq data of human pre-implantation embryos. We show that diffusion maps perform considerably better than Principal Component Analysis and are advantageous over other techniques for non-linear dimension reduction such as t-distributed Stochastic Neighbour Embedding for preserving the global structures and pseudotemporal ordering of cells. The Matlab implementation of diffusion maps for single-cell data is available at https://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/icb/single-cell-diffusion-map. fbuettner.phys@gmail.com, fabian.theis@helmholtz-muenchen.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Detecting the subtle shape differences in hemodynamic responses at the group level

PubMed Central

Chen, Gang; Saad, Ziad S.; Adleman, Nancy E.; Leibenluft, Ellen; Cox, Robert W.

2015-01-01

The nature of the hemodynamic response (HDR) is still not fully understood due to the multifaceted processes involved. Aside from the overall amplitude, the response may vary across cognitive states, tasks, brain regions, and subjects with respect to characteristics such as rise and fall speed, peak duration, undershoot shape, and overall duration. Here we demonstrate that the fixed-shape (FSM) or adjusted-shape (ASM) methods may fail to detect some shape subtleties (e.g., speed of rise or recovery, or undershoot). In contrast, the estimated-shape method (ESM) through multiple basis functions can provide the opportunity to identify some subtle shape differences and achieve higher statistical power at both individual and group levels. Previously, some dimension reduction approaches focused on the peak magnitude, or made inferences based on the area under the curve (AUC) or interaction, which can lead to potential misidentifications. By adopting a generic framework of multivariate modeling (MVM), we showcase a hybrid approach that is validated by simulations and real data. With the whole HDR shape integrity maintained as input at the group level, the approach allows the investigator to substantiate these more nuanced effects through the unique HDR shape features. Unlike the few analyses that were limited to main effect, two- or three-way interactions, we extend the modeling approach to an inclusive platform that is more adaptable than the conventional GLM. With multiple effect estimates from ESM for each condition, linear mixed-effects (LME) modeling should be used at the group level when there is only one group of subjects without any other explanatory variables. Under other situations, an approximate approach through dimension reduction within the MVM framework can be adopted to achieve a practical equipoise among representation, false positive control, statistical power, and modeling flexibility. The associated program 3dMVM is publicly available as part of the AFNI suite. PMID:26578853

Social science at the wildland-urban interface: a compendium of research results to create fire-adapted communities

Treesearch

Eric Toman; Melanie Stidham; Sarah McCaffrey; Bruce Shindler

2013-01-01

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has been conducted on the human dimensions of wildland fire. As this research has matured, there has been a recognition of the need to examine the full body of resulting literature to synthesize disparate findings and identify lessons learned across studies. These lessons can then be applied to fostering fire-adapted...

Collaborative Adaptation Planning for Water Security: Preliminary Lessons, Challenges, and the Way Forward for Maipo Basin Adaptation Plan, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vicuna, S.; Scott, C. A.; Bonelli, S.; Bustos, E.; Meza, F. J.

2014-12-01

The Maipo basin holds 40% of Chile's total population and almost half of the country's Gross Domestic Product. The basin is located in the semiarid central region of the country and, aside from the typical pressures of growth in developing country basins, the Maipo river faces climate change impacts associated with a reduction in total runoff and changes in its seasonality. Surface water is the main water source for human settlements and economic activities including agriculture. In 2012 we started a research project to create a climate variability and climate change adaptation plan for the basin. The pillars of the plan are co-produced by researchers and a Scenario Building Team (SBT) with membership of relevant water and land use stakeholders (including from civil society, public and private sectors) in the basin. Following similar experiences in other regions in the world that have faced the challenges of dealing with long term planning under uncertainty, the project has divided the task of developing the plan into a series of interconnected elements. A critical first component is to work on the desired vision(s) of the basin for the future. In this regards, the "water security" concept has been chosen as a framework that accommodates all objectives of the SBT members. Understanding and quantifying the uncertainties that could affect the future water security of the basin is another critical aspect of the plan. Near and long term climate scenarios are one dimension of these uncertainties that are combined with base development uncertainties such as urban growth scenarios. A third component constructs the models/tools that allows the assessment of impacts on water security that could arise under these scenarios. The final critical component relates to the development of the adaptation measures that could avoid the negative impacts and/or capture the potential opportunities. After two years in the development of the adaptation plan a series of results has been achieved in all critical components that are presented here. The success in the process now poses a series of new challenges, most importantly: how to implement and monitor the evolution of the adaptation process.

A Meta-Analysis of Local Climate Change Adaptation Actions ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Local governments are beginning to take steps to address the consequences of climate change, such as sea level rise and heat events. However, we do not have a clear understanding of what local governments are doing -- the extent to which they expect climate change to affect their community, the types of actions they have in place to address climate change, and the resources at their disposal for implementation. Several studies have been conducted by academics, non-governmental organizations, and public agencies to assess the status of local climate change adaptation. This project collates the findings from dozens of such studies to conduct a meta-analysis of local climate change adaptation actions. The studies will be characterized along several dimensions, including (a) methods used, (b) timing and geographic scope, (c) topics covered, (d) types of adaptation actions identified, (e) implementation status, and (f) public engagement and environmental justice dimensions considered. The poster presents the project's rationale and approach and some illustrative findings from early analyses. [Note: The document being reviewed is an abstract in which a poster is being proposed. The poster will enter clearance if the abstract is accepted] The purpose of this poster is to present the research framework and approaches I am developing for my ORISE postdoctoral project, and to get feedback on early analyses.

Inflation from extra dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, Janna J.

1995-02-01

A gravity-driven inflation is shown to arise from a simple higher-dimensional universe. In vacuum, the shear of n > 1 contracting dimensions is able to inflate the remaining three spatial dimensions. Said another way, the expansion of the 3-volume is accelerated by the contraction of the n-volume. Upon dimensional reduction, the theory is equivalent to a four-dimensional cosmology with a dynamical Planck mass. A connection can therefore be made to recent examples of inflation powered by a dilaton kinetic energy. Unfortunately, the graceful exit problem encountered in dilaton cosmologies will haunt this cosmology as well.

Development of Elderly Quality of Life Index – Eqoli: Item Reduction and Distribution into Dimensions

PubMed Central

Paschoal, Sérgio Márcio Pacheco; Filho, Wilson Jacob; Litvoc, Júlio

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE To describe item reduction and its distribution into dimensions in the construction process of a quality of life evaluation instrument for the elderly. METHODS The sampling method was chosen by convenience through quotas, with selection of elderly subjects from four programs to achieve heterogeneity in the “health status”, “functional capacity”, “gender”, and “age” variables. The Clinical Impact Method was used, consisting of the spontaneous and elicited selection by the respondents of relevant items to the construct Quality of Life in Old Age from a previously elaborated item pool. The respondents rated each item’s importance using a 5-point Likert scale. The product of the proportion of elderly selecting the item as relevant (frequency) and the mean importance score they attributed to it (importance) represented the overall impact of that item in their quality of life (impact). The items were ordered according to their impact scores and the top 46 scoring items were grouped in dimensions by three experts. A review of the negative items was performed. RESULTS One hundred and ninety three people (122 women and 71 men) were interviewed. Experts distributed the 46 items into eight dimensions. Closely related items were grouped and dimensions not reaching the minimum expected number of items received additional items resulting in eight dimensions and 43 items. DISCUSSION The sample was heterogeneous and similar to what was expected. The dimensions and items demonstrated the multidimensionality of the construct. The Clinical Impact Method was appropriate to construct the instrument, which was named Elderly Quality of Life Index - EQoLI. An accuracy process will be examined in the future. PMID:18438571

Farmers' Perceived Risks of Climate Change and Influencing Factors: A Study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Dang, Hoa; Li, Elton; Nuberg, Ian; Bruwer, Johan

2014-08-01

Many countries are confronting climate change that threatens agricultural production and farmers' lives. Farmers' perceived risks of climate change and factors influencing those perceived risks are critical to their adaptive behavior and well-planned adaptation strategies. However, there is limited understanding of these issues. In this paper, we attempt to quantitatively measure farmers' perceived risks of climate change and explore the influences of risk experience, information, belief in climate change, and trust in public adaptation to those perceived risks. Data are from structured interviews with 598 farmers in the Mekong Delta. The study shows that perceived risks to production, physical health, and income dimensions receive greater priority while farmers pay less attention to risks to happiness and social relationships. Experiences of the events that can be attributed to climate change increase farmers' perceived risks. Information variables can increase or decrease perceived risks, depending on the sources of information. Farmers who believe that climate change is actually happening and influencing their family's lives, perceive higher risks in most dimensions. Farmers who think that climate change is not their concern but the government's, perceive lower risks to physical health, finance, and production. As to trust in public adaptation, farmers who believe that public adaptive measures are well co-ordinated, perceive lower risks to production and psychology. Interestingly, those who believe that the disaster warning system is working well, perceive higher risks to finance, production, and social relationships. Further attention is suggested for the quality, timing, and channels of information about climate change and adaptation.

Vulnerability assessment including tangible and intangible components in the index composition: An Amazon case study of flooding and flash flooding.

PubMed

Andrade, Milena Marília Nogueira de; Szlafsztein, Claudio Fabian

2018-07-15

The vulnerability of cities and communities in the Amazon to flooding and flash flooding is increasing. The effects of extreme events on populations vary across landscapes, causing vulnerability to differ spatially. Traditional vulnerability studies in Brazil and across the world have used the vulnerability index for the country and, more recently, municipality scales. The vulnerability dimensions are exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. For each of these dimensions, there is a group of indicators that constitutes a vulnerability index using quantitative data. Several vulnerability assessments have used sensitivity and exposure analyses and, recently, adaptive capacity has been considered. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) analysis allows spatial regional modeling using quantitative vulnerability indicators. This paper presents a local-scale vulnerability assessment in an urban Amazonian area, Santarém City, using interdisciplinary methods. Data for exposure and sensitivity were gathered by remote sensing and census data, respectively. However, adaptive capacity refers to local capacities, whether infrastructural or not, and the latter were gathered by qualitative participatory methods. For the mixed data used to study adaptive capacity, we consider tangible components for countable infrastructure that can cope with hazards, and intangible components that reflect social activities based on risk perceptions and collective action. The results indicate that over 80% of the area is highly or moderately vulnerable to flooding and flash flooding. Exposure and adaptive capacity were determinants of the results. Lower values of adaptive capacity play a significant role in vulnerability enhancement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Farmers' perceived risks of climate change and influencing factors: a study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

PubMed

Le Dang, Hoa; Li, Elton; Nuberg, Ian; Bruwer, Johan

2014-08-01

Many countries are confronting climate change that threatens agricultural production and farmers' lives. Farmers' perceived risks of climate change and factors influencing those perceived risks are critical to their adaptive behavior and well-planned adaptation strategies. However, there is limited understanding of these issues. In this paper, we attempt to quantitatively measure farmers' perceived risks of climate change and explore the influences of risk experience, information, belief in climate change, and trust in public adaptation to those perceived risks. Data are from structured interviews with 598 farmers in the Mekong Delta. The study shows that perceived risks to production, physical health, and income dimensions receive greater priority while farmers pay less attention to risks to happiness and social relationships. Experiences of the events that can be attributed to climate change increase farmers' perceived risks. Information variables can increase or decrease perceived risks, depending on the sources of information. Farmers who believe that climate change is actually happening and influencing their family's lives, perceive higher risks in most dimensions. Farmers who think that climate change is not their concern but the government's, perceive lower risks to physical health, finance, and production. As to trust in public adaptation, farmers who believe that public adaptive measures are well co-ordinated, perceive lower risks to production and psychology. Interestingly, those who believe that the disaster warning system is working well, perceive higher risks to finance, production, and social relationships. Further attention is suggested for the quality, timing, and channels of information about climate change and adaptation.

Critical behavior and dimension crossover of pion superfluidity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ziyue; Zhuang, Pengfei

2016-09-01

We investigate the critical behavior of pion superfluidity in the framework of the functional renormalization group (FRG). By solving the flow equations in the SU(2) linear sigma model at finite temperature and isospin density, and making comparison with the fixed point analysis of a general O (N ) system with continuous dimension, we find that the pion superfluidity is a second order phase transition subject to an O (2 ) universality class with a dimension crossover from dc=4 to dc=3 . This phenomenon provides a concrete example of dimension reduction in thermal field theory. The large-N expansion gives a temperature independent critical exponent β and agrees with the FRG result only at zero temperature.

Spatiotemporal Interpolation for Environmental Modelling

PubMed Central

Susanto, Ferry; de Souza, Paulo; He, Jing

2016-01-01

A variation of the reduction-based approach to spatiotemporal interpolation (STI), in which time is treated independently from the spatial dimensions, is proposed in this paper. We reviewed and compared three widely-used spatial interpolation techniques: ordinary kriging, inverse distance weighting and the triangular irregular network. We also proposed a new distribution-based distance weighting (DDW) spatial interpolation method. In this study, we utilised one year of Tasmania’s South Esk Hydrology model developed by CSIRO. Root mean squared error statistical methods were performed for performance evaluations. Our results show that the proposed reduction approach is superior to the extension approach to STI. However, the proposed DDW provides little benefit compared to the conventional inverse distance weighting (IDW) method. We suggest that the improved IDW technique, with the reduction approach used for the temporal dimension, is the optimal combination for large-scale spatiotemporal interpolation within environmental modelling applications. PMID:27509497

Dimension Reduction of Hyperspectral Data on Beowulf Clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

El-Ghazawi, Tarek

2000-01-01

Traditional remote sensing instruments are multispectral, where observations are collected at a few different spectral bands. Recently, many hyperspectral instruments, that can collect observations at hundreds of bands, have been operation. Furthermore, there have been ongoing research efforts on ultraspectral instruments that can produce observations at thousands of spectral bands. While these remote sensing technology developments hold a great promise for new findings in the area of Earth and space science, they present many challenges. These include the need for faster processing of such increased data volumes, and methods for data reduction. Dimension Reduction is a spectral transformation, which is used widely in remote sensing, is the Principal Components Analysis (PCA). In light of the growing number of spectral channels of modern instruments, the paper reports on the development of a parallel PCA and its implementation on two Beowulf cluster configurations, on with fast Ethernet switch and the other is with a Myrinet interconnection.

Automatic Black-Box Model Order Reduction using Radial Basis Functions

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

Stephanson, M B; Lee, J F; White, D A

Finite elements methods have long made use of model order reduction (MOR), particularly in the context of fast freqeucny sweeps. In this paper, we discuss a black-box MOR technique, applicable to a many solution methods and not restricted only to spectral responses. We also discuss automated methods for generating a reduced order model that meets a given error tolerance. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and wide applicability of the method. With the advent of improved computing hardware and numerous fast solution techniques, the field of computational electromagnetics are progressed rapidly in terms of the size and complexity of problems thatmore » can be solved. Numerous applications, however, require the solution of a problem for many different configurations, including optimization, parameter exploration, and uncertainly quantification, where the parameters that may be changed include frequency, material properties, geometric dimensions, etc. In such cases, thousands of solutions may be needed, so solve times of even a few minutes can be burdensome. Model order reduction (MOR) may alleviate this difficulty by creating a small model that can be evaluated quickly. Many MOR techniques have been applied to electromagnetic problems over the past few decades, particularly in the context of fast frequency sweeps. Recent works have extended these methods to allow more than one parameter and to allow the parameters to represent material and geometric properties. There are still limitations with these methods, however. First, they almost always assume that the finite element method is used to solve the problem, so that the system matrix is a known function of the parameters. Second, although some authors have presented adaptive methods (e.g., [2]), the order of the model is often determined before the MOR process begins, with little insight about what order is actually needed to reach the desired accuracy. Finally, it not clear how to efficiently extend most methods to the multiparameter case. This paper address the above shortcomings be developing a method that uses a block-box approach to the solution method, is adaptive, and is easily extensible to many parameters.« less

The Bargmann-Wigner equations in spherical space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKeon, D. G. C.; Sherry, T. N.

2006-01-01

The Bargmann-Wigner formalism is adapted to spherical surfaces embedded in three to eleven dimensions. This is demonstrated to generate wave equations in spherical space for a variety of antisymmetric tensor fields. Some of these equations are gauge invariant for particular values of the parameters characterizing them. For spheres embedded in three, four, and five dimensions, this gauge invariance can be generalized so as to become non-Abelian. This non-Abelian gauge invariance is shown to be a property of second-order models for two index antisymmetric tensor fields in any number of dimensions. The O(3) model is quantized and the two-point function is shown to vanish at the one-loop order.

[Temperament of children with vocal fold nodules].

PubMed

Wei, Youhua; Wang, Zhinan; Xu, Zhongqiang; Chen, Ping; Hao, Lili

2009-11-01

To examine the temperament of children with vocal fold nodules. To compare the temperament dimension and temperamental types of 42 children with vocal fold nodules with 46 vocally normal children, using Chinese children's Temperament Problem Screening system (CCTPSs). The children with vocal fold nodules differed significantly from the comparison group in their temperament dimension's adaptability, intensity of reaction, mood value, persistency and temperamental types. There are more difficult and slow-to-warm-up children in patients with vocal fold nodules than vocally normal children.

Motion Coordination and Adaptation Using Deception and Human Interactions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-18

evolves an interface (front) by embedding it as a hyper - surface in a higher dimension, where time is the augmented dimension. Automatic handling of...the open- loop system trajectories. The results are depicted in Fig. 32. From the shape of the value function in Fig. 32(b) it is seen that the value is...estimate of the value function only over the area of the state space visited by the sampled (open- loop ) trajectories. In that sense, the areas not

Iterative design of one- and two-dimensional FIR digital filters. [Finite duration Impulse Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suk, M.; Choi, K.; Algazi, V. R.

1976-01-01

The paper describes a new iterative technique for designing FIR (finite duration impulse response) digital filters using a frequency weighted least squares approximation. The technique is as easy to implement (via FFT) and as effective in two dimensions as in one dimension, and there are virtually no limitations on the class of filter frequency spectra approximated. An adaptive adjustment of the frequency weight to achieve other types of design approximation such as Chebyshev type design is discussed.

Understanding the facet formation mechanisms of Si thin-film solidification through three-dimensional phase-field modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, G. Y.; Lan, C. W.

2017-09-01

Adaptive phase field modeling is used in order to model the formation mechanism of a silicon faceted interface in three dimensions. We investigate the faceting condition for equilibrium shapes and dynamic situations. In this study, we propose a new anisotropic function of surface energy for the phase-field simulations in three-dimension, and negative stiffness is further considered. The morphological evolutions are presented and compare well with experimental findings. The growth mechanism is further discussed.

Truncated Painlevé expansion: Tanh-traveling wave solutions and reduction of sine-Poisson equation to a quadrature for stationary and nonstationary three-dimensional collisionless cold plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, R. S.; El-Kalaawy, O. H.

2006-10-01

The relativistic nonlinear self-consistent equations for a collisionless cold plasma with stationary ions [R. S. Ibrahim, IMA J. Appl. Math. 68, 523 (2003)] are extended to 3 and 3+1 dimensions. The resulting system of equations is reduced to the sine-Poisson equation. The truncated Painlevé expansion and reduction of the partial differential equation to a quadrature problem (RQ method) are described and applied to obtain the traveling wave solutions of the sine-Poisson equation for stationary and nonstationary equations in 3 and 3+1 dimensions describing the charge-density equilibrium configuration model.

Stable swarming using adaptive long-range interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorbonos, Dan; Gov, Nir S.

2017-04-01

Sensory mechanisms in biology, from cells to humans, have the property of adaptivity, whereby the response produced by the sensor is adapted to the overall amplitude of the signal, reducing the sensitivity in the presence of strong stimulus, while increasing it when it is weak. This property is inherently energy consuming and a manifestation of the nonequilibrium nature of living organisms. We explore here how adaptivity affects the effective forces that organisms feel due to others in the context of a uniform swarm, in both two and three dimensions. The interactions between the individuals are taken to be attractive and long-range and of power-law form. We find that the effects of adaptivity inside the swarm are dramatic, where the effective forces decrease (or remain constant) with increasing swarm density. Linear stability analysis demonstrates how this property prevents collapse (Jeans instability), when the forces are adaptive. Adaptivity therefore endows swarms with a natural mechanism for self-stabilization.

Flood risk perception and adaptation capacity: a contribution to the socio-hydrology debate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Sven; Karagiorgos, Konstantinos; Kitikidou, Kyriaki; Maris, Fotios; Paparrizos, Spyridon; Thaler, Thomas

2017-04-01

Dealing with flood hazard and risk requires approaches rooted both in natural and social sciences, which provided the nexus for the ongoing debate on socio-hydrology. Various combinations of non-structural and structural flood risk reduction options are available to communities. Focusing on flood risk and the information associated with it, developing risk management plans is required but often overlooking public perception of a threat. The perception of risk varies in many different ways, especially between the authorities and the affected public. It is because of this disconnection that many risk management plans concerning floods have failed in the past. This paper examines the private adaptation capacity and willingness with respect to flooding in two different catchments in Greece prone to multiple flood events during the last 20 years. Two studies (East Attica and Evros) were carried out, comprised of a survey questionnaire of 155 and 157 individuals, from a peri-urban (East Attica) and a rural (Evros) area, respectively, and they focused on those vulnerable to periodical (rural area) and flash floods (peri-urban area). Based on the comparisons drawn from these responses, and identifying key issues to be addressed when flood risk management plans are implemented, improvements are being recommended for the social dimension surrounding such implementation. As such, the paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on human-environment interaction in socio-hydrology.

Flood risk perception and adaptation capacity: a contribution to the socio-hydrology debate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Sven; Karagiorgos, Konstantinos; Kitikidou, Kyriaki; Maris, Fotios; Paparrizos, Spyridon; Thaler, Thomas

2017-06-01

Dealing with flood hazard and risk requires approaches rooted in both natural and social sciences, which provided the nexus for the ongoing debate on socio-hydrology. Various combinations of non-structural and structural flood risk reduction options are available to communities. Focusing on flood risk and the information associated with it, developing risk management plans is required but often overlooks public perception of a threat. The perception of risk varies in many different ways, especially between the authorities and the affected public. It is because of this disconnection that many risk management plans concerning floods have failed in the past. This paper examines the private adaptation capacity and willingness with respect to flooding in two different catchments in Greece prone to multiple flood events during the last 20 years. Two studies (East Attica and Evros) were carried out, comprised of a survey questionnaire of 155 and 157 individuals, from a peri-urban (East Attica) and a rural (Evros) area, respectively, and they focused on those vulnerable to periodic (rural area) and flash floods (peri-urban area). Based on the comparisons drawn from these responses, and identifying key issues to be addressed when flood risk management plans are implemented, improvements are being recommended for the social dimension surrounding such implementation. As such, the paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on human-environment interaction in socio-hydrology.

Cultural specificity of emotional overinvolvement: a systematic review.

PubMed

Singh, Swaran P; Harley, Kath; Suhail, Kausar

2013-03-01

Understanding cross-cultural aspects of emotional overinvolvement (EOI) on psychosis outcomes is important for ensuring cultural appropriateness of family interventions. This systematic review explores whether EOI has similar impact in different cultural groups and whether the same norms can be used to measure EOI across cultures. Thirty-four studies were found that have investigated the impact of EOI on outcomes across cultures or culturally adapted EOI measures. The relationship between high EOI and poor outcome is inconsistent across cultures. Attempts to improve predictive ability by post hoc adjustment of EOI norms have had varied success. Few studies have attempted a priori adaptations or development of culture-specific norms. Methodological differences such as use of different expressed emotions (EE) measures and varying definitions of relapse across studies may explain a lack of EOI outcome relationship across cultures. However, our findings suggest that the construct and measurement of EOI itself are culture-specific. EOI may not necessarily be detrimental in all cultures. The effect of high EOI may be moderated by the unexplored dimension of warmth and high levels of mutual interdependence in kin relationships. Researchers should reevaluate the prevailing concepts of the impact of family relations on the course and outcome of psychotic disorders, specifically focusing on the protective aspects of family involvement. Clinically, family interventions based on EE reduction should take cultural differences into account when treating families from different ethnocultural groups.

A dimension reduction strategy for improving the efficiency of computer-aided detection for CT colonography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Bowen; Zhang, Guopeng; Wang, Huafeng; Zhu, Wei; Liang, Zhengrong

2013-02-01

Various types of features, e.g., geometric features, texture features, projection features etc., have been introduced for polyp detection and differentiation tasks via computer aided detection and diagnosis (CAD) for computed tomography colonography (CTC). Although these features together cover more information of the data, some of them are statistically highly-related to others, which made the feature set redundant and burdened the computation task of CAD. In this paper, we proposed a new dimension reduction method which combines hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis (PCA) for false positives (FPs) reduction task. First, we group all the features based on their similarity using hierarchical clustering, and then PCA is employed within each group. Different numbers of principal components are selected from each group to form the final feature set. Support vector machine is used to perform the classification. The results show that when three principal components were chosen from each group we can achieve an area under the curve of receiver operating characteristics of 0.905, which is as high as the original dataset. Meanwhile, the computation time is reduced by 70% and the feature set size is reduce by 77%. It can be concluded that the proposed method captures the most important information of the feature set and the classification accuracy is not affected after the dimension reduction. The result is promising and further investigation, such as automatically threshold setting, are worthwhile and are under progress.

Characterization of branch complexity by fractal analyses and detect plant functional adaptations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alados, C.L.; Escos, J.; Emlen, J.M.; Freeman, D.C.

1999-01-01

The comparison between complexity in the sense of space occupancy (box-counting fractal dimension Dc and information dimension DI ) and heterogeneity in the sense of space distribution (average evenness index and evenness variation coefficient JCV) were investigated in mathematical fractal objects and natural branch ¯ J structures. In general, increased fractal dimension was paired with low heterogeneity. Comparisons between branch architecture in Anthyllis cytisoides under different slope exposure and grazing impact revealed that branches were more complex and more homogeneously distributed for plants on northern exposures than southern, while grazing had no impact during a wet year. Developmental instability was also investigated by the statistical noise of the allometric relation between internode length and node order. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that fractal dimension of branch structure can be used to analyze the structural organization of plants, especially if we consider not only fractal dimension but also shoot distribution within the canopy (lacunarity). These indexes together with developmental instability analyses are good indicators of growth responses to the environment.

Evaluating the dimensionality of first grade written composition

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Folsom, Jessica S.; Greulich, Luana; Puranik, Cynthia

2013-01-01

Purpose We examined dimensions of written composition using multiple evaluative approaches such as an adapted 6+1 trait scoring, syntactic complexity measures, and productivity measures. We further examined unique relations of oral language and literacy skills to the identified dimensions of written composition. Method A large sample of first grade students (N = 527) was assessed on their language, reading, spelling, letter writing automaticity, and writing in the spring. Data were analyzed using a latent variable approach including confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results The seven traits in the 6+1 trait system were best described as two constructs: substantive quality, and spelling and writing conventions. When the other evaluation procedures such as productivity and syntactic complexity indicators were included, four dimensions emerged: substantive quality, productivity, syntactic complexity, and spelling and writing conventions. Language and literacy predictors were differentially related to each dimension in written composition. Conclusions These four dimensions may be a useful guideline for evaluating developing beginning writer’s compositions. PMID:24687472

An adaptive interpolation scheme for molecular potential energy surfaces

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

Kowalewski, Markus, E-mail: mkowalew@uci.edu; Larsson, Elisabeth; Heryudono, Alfa

The calculation of potential energy surfaces for quantum dynamics can be a time consuming task—especially when a high level of theory for the electronic structure calculation is required. We propose an adaptive interpolation algorithm based on polyharmonic splines combined with a partition of unity approach. The adaptive node refinement allows to greatly reduce the number of sample points by employing a local error estimate. The algorithm and its scaling behavior are evaluated for a model function in 2, 3, and 4 dimensions. The developed algorithm allows for a more rapid and reliable interpolation of a potential energy surface within amore » given accuracy compared to the non-adaptive version.« less

Reduction theorems for optimal unambiguous state discrimination of density matrices

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

Raynal, Philippe; Luetkenhaus, Norbert; Enk, Steven J. van

2003-08-01

We present reduction theorems for the problem of optimal unambiguous state discrimination of two general density matrices. We show that this problem can be reduced to that of two density matrices that have the same rank n and are described in a Hilbert space of dimensions 2n. We also show how to use the reduction theorems to discriminate unambiguously between N mixed states (N{>=}2)

The staircase method: integrals for periodic reductions of integrable lattice equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Kamp, Peter H.; Quispel, G. R. W.

2010-11-01

We show, in full generality, that the staircase method (Papageorgiou et al 1990 Phys. Lett. A 147 106-14, Quispel et al 1991 Physica A 173 243-66) provides integrals for mappings, and correspondences, obtained as traveling wave reductions of (systems of) integrable partial difference equations. We apply the staircase method to a variety of equations, including the Korteweg-De Vries equation, the five-point Bruschi-Calogero-Droghei equation, the quotient-difference (QD)-algorithm and the Boussinesq system. We show that, in all these cases, if the staircase method provides r integrals for an n-dimensional mapping, with 2r, then one can introduce q <= 2r variables, which reduce the dimension of the mapping from n to q. These dimension-reducing variables are obtained as joint invariants of k-symmetries of the mappings. Our results support the idea that often the staircase method provides sufficiently many integrals for the periodic reductions of integrable lattice equations to be completely integrable. We also study reductions on other quad-graphs than the regular {\\ Z}^2 lattice, and we prove linear growth of the multi-valuedness of iterates of high-dimensional correspondences obtained as reductions of the QD-algorithm.

Adaptive mesh refinement for time-domain electromagnetics using vector finite elements :a feasibility study.

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

Turner, C. David; Kotulski, Joseph Daniel; Pasik, Michael Francis

This report investigates the feasibility of applying Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) techniques to a vector finite element formulation for the wave equation in three dimensions. Possible error estimators are considered first. Next, approaches for refining tetrahedral elements are reviewed. AMR capabilities within the Nevada framework are then evaluated. We summarize our conclusions on the feasibility of AMR for time-domain vector finite elements and identify a path forward.

Blind adaptive equalization of polarization-switched QPSK modulation.

PubMed

Millar, David S; Savory, Seb J

2011-04-25

Coherent detection in combination with digital signal processing has recently enabled significant progress in the capacity of optical communications systems. This improvement has enabled detection of optimum constellations for optical signals in four dimensions. In this paper, we propose and investigate an algorithm for the blind adaptive equalization of one such modulation format: polarization-switched quaternary phase shift keying (PS-QPSK). The proposed algorithm, which includes both blind initialization and adaptation of the equalizer, is found to be insensitive to the input polarization state and demonstrates highly robust convergence in the presence of PDL, DGD and polarization rotation.

Stability and error estimation for Component Adaptive Grid methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliger, Joseph; Zhu, Xiaolei

1994-01-01

Component adaptive grid (CAG) methods for solving hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDE's) are discussed in this paper. Applying recent stability results for a class of numerical methods on uniform grids. The convergence of these methods for linear problems on component adaptive grids is established here. Furthermore, the computational error can be estimated on CAG's using the stability results. Using these estimates, the error can be controlled on CAG's. Thus, the solution can be computed efficiently on CAG's within a given error tolerance. Computational results for time dependent linear problems in one and two space dimensions are presented.

Livelihood resilience in the face of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, Thomas; Lewis, David; Wrathall, David; Bronen, Robin; Cradock-Henry, Nick; Huq, Saleemul; Lawless, Chris; Nawrotzki, Raphael; Prasad, Vivek; Rahman, Md. Ashiqur; Alaniz, Ryan; King, Katherine; McNamara, Karen; Nadiruzzaman, Md.; Henly-Shepard, Sarah; Thomalla, Frank

2015-01-01

The resilience concept requires greater attention to human livelihoods if it is to address the limits to adaptation strategies and the development needs of the planet's poorest and most vulnerable people. Although the concept of resilience is increasingly informing research and policy, its transfer from ecological theory to social systems leads to weak engagement with normative, social and political dimensions of climate change adaptation. A livelihood perspective helps to strengthen resilience thinking by placing greater emphasis on human needs and their agency, empowerment and human rights, and considering adaptive livelihood systems in the context of wider transformational changes.

QUADRO: A SUPERVISED DIMENSION REDUCTION METHOD VIA RAYLEIGH QUOTIENT OPTIMIZATION.

PubMed

Fan, Jianqing; Ke, Zheng Tracy; Liu, Han; Xia, Lucy

We propose a novel Rayleigh quotient based sparse quadratic dimension reduction method-named QUADRO (Quadratic Dimension Reduction via Rayleigh Optimization)-for analyzing high-dimensional data. Unlike in the linear setting where Rayleigh quotient optimization coincides with classification, these two problems are very different under nonlinear settings. In this paper, we clarify this difference and show that Rayleigh quotient optimization may be of independent scientific interests. One major challenge of Rayleigh quotient optimization is that the variance of quadratic statistics involves all fourth cross-moments of predictors, which are infeasible to compute for high-dimensional applications and may accumulate too many stochastic errors. This issue is resolved by considering a family of elliptical models. Moreover, for heavy-tail distributions, robust estimates of mean vectors and covariance matrices are employed to guarantee uniform convergence in estimating non-polynomially many parameters, even though only the fourth moments are assumed. Methodologically, QUADRO is based on elliptical models which allow us to formulate the Rayleigh quotient maximization as a convex optimization problem. Computationally, we propose an efficient linearized augmented Lagrangian method to solve the constrained optimization problem. Theoretically, we provide explicit rates of convergence in terms of Rayleigh quotient under both Gaussian and general elliptical models. Thorough numerical results on both synthetic and real datasets are also provided to back up our theoretical results.

Partial Least Squares for Discrimination in fMRI Data

PubMed Central

Andersen, Anders H.; Rayens, William S.; Liu, Yushu; Smith, Charles D.

2011-01-01

Multivariate methods for discrimination were used in the comparison of brain activation patterns between groups of cognitively normal women who are at either high or low Alzheimer's disease risk based on family history and apolipoprotein-E4 status. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was preceded by dimension reduction using either principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS), or a new oriented partial least squares (OrPLS) method. The aim was to identify a spatial pattern of functionally connected brain regions that was differentially expressed by the risk groups and yielded optimal classification accuracy. Multivariate dimension reduction is required prior to LDA when the data contains more feature variables than there are observations on individual subjects. Whereas PCA has been commonly used to identify covariance patterns in neuroimaging data, this approach only identifies gross variability and is not capable of distinguishing among-groups from within-groups variability. PLS and OrPLS provide a more focused dimension reduction by incorporating information on class structure and therefore lead to more parsimonious models for discrimination. Performance was evaluated in terms of the cross-validated misclassification rates. The results support the potential of using fMRI as an imaging biomarker or diagnostic tool to discriminate individuals with disease or high risk. PMID:22227352

The Equivalence of Information-Theoretic and Likelihood-Based Methods for Neural Dimensionality Reduction

PubMed Central

Williamson, Ross S.; Sahani, Maneesh; Pillow, Jonathan W.

2015-01-01

Stimulus dimensionality-reduction methods in neuroscience seek to identify a low-dimensional space of stimulus features that affect a neuron’s probability of spiking. One popular method, known as maximally informative dimensions (MID), uses an information-theoretic quantity known as “single-spike information” to identify this space. Here we examine MID from a model-based perspective. We show that MID is a maximum-likelihood estimator for the parameters of a linear-nonlinear-Poisson (LNP) model, and that the empirical single-spike information corresponds to the normalized log-likelihood under a Poisson model. This equivalence implies that MID does not necessarily find maximally informative stimulus dimensions when spiking is not well described as Poisson. We provide several examples to illustrate this shortcoming, and derive a lower bound on the information lost when spiking is Bernoulli in discrete time bins. To overcome this limitation, we introduce model-based dimensionality reduction methods for neurons with non-Poisson firing statistics, and show that they can be framed equivalently in likelihood-based or information-theoretic terms. Finally, we show how to overcome practical limitations on the number of stimulus dimensions that MID can estimate by constraining the form of the non-parametric nonlinearity in an LNP model. We illustrate these methods with simulations and data from primate visual cortex. PMID:25831448

Nuclear patterns of human breast cancer cells during apoptosis: characterisation by fractal dimension and co-occurrence matrix statistics.

PubMed

Losa, Gabriele A; Castelli, Christian

2005-11-01

An analytical strategy combining fractal geometry and grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) statistics was devised to investigate ultrastructural changes in oestrogen-insensitive SK-BR3 human breast cancer cells undergoing apoptosis in vitro. Apoptosis was induced by 1 microM calcimycin (A23187 Ca(2+) ionophore) and assessed by measuring conventional cellular parameters during the culture period. SK-BR3 cells entered the early stage of apoptosis within 24 h of treatment with calcimycin, which induced detectable changes in nuclear components, as documented by increased values of most GLCM parameters and by the general reduction of the fractal dimensions. In these affected cells, morphonuclear traits were accompanied by the reduction of distinct gangliosides and loss of unidentifiable glycolipid molecules at the cell surface. All these changes were shown to be involved in apoptosis before the detection of conventional markers, which were only measurable during the active phases of apoptotic cell death. In overtly apoptotic cells treated with 1 microM calcimycin for 72 h, most nuclear components underwent dramatic ultrastructural changes, including marginalisation and condensation of chromatin, as reflected in a significant reduction of their fractal dimensions. Hence, both fractal and GLCM analyses confirm that the morphological reorganisation of nuclei, attributable to a loss of structural complexity, occurs early in apoptosis.

Synthetic dimensions for cold atoms from shaking a harmonic trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, Hannah M.; Ozawa, Tomoki; Goldman, Nathan

2017-02-01

We introduce a simple scheme to implement synthetic dimensions in ultracold atomic gases, which only requires two basic and ubiquitous ingredients: the harmonic trap, which confines the atoms, combined with a periodic shaking. In our approach, standard harmonic oscillator eigenstates are reinterpreted as lattice sites along a synthetic dimension, while the coupling between these lattice sites is controlled by the applied time modulation. The phase of this modulation enters as a complex hopping phase, leading straightforwardly to an artificial magnetic field upon adding a second dimension. We show that this artificial gauge field has important consequences, such as the counterintuitive reduction of average energy under resonant driving, or the realization of quantum Hall physics. Our approach offers significant advantages over previous implementations of synthetic dimensions, providing an intriguing route towards higher-dimensional topological physics and strongly-correlated states.

Integrating Dimension Reduction and Out-of-Sample Extension in Automated Classification of Ex Vivo Human Patellar Cartilage on Phase Contrast X-Ray Computed Tomography

PubMed Central

Nagarajan, Mahesh B.; Coan, Paola; Huber, Markus B.; Diemoz, Paul C.; Wismüller, Axel

2015-01-01

Phase contrast X-ray computed tomography (PCI-CT) has been demonstrated as a novel imaging technique that can visualize human cartilage with high spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast. Different textural approaches have been previously investigated for characterizing chondrocyte organization on PCI-CT to enable classification of healthy and osteoarthritic cartilage. However, the large size of feature sets extracted in such studies motivates an investigation into algorithmic feature reduction for computing efficient feature representations without compromising their discriminatory power. For this purpose, geometrical feature sets derived from the scaling index method (SIM) were extracted from 1392 volumes of interest (VOI) annotated on PCI-CT images of ex vivo human patellar cartilage specimens. The extracted feature sets were subject to linear and non-linear dimension reduction techniques as well as feature selection based on evaluation of mutual information criteria. The reduced feature set was subsequently used in a machine learning task with support vector regression to classify VOIs as healthy or osteoarthritic; classification performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Our results show that the classification performance achieved by 9-D SIM-derived geometric feature sets (AUC: 0.96 ± 0.02) can be maintained with 2-D representations computed from both dimension reduction and feature selection (AUC values as high as 0.97 ± 0.02). Thus, such feature reduction techniques can offer a high degree of compaction to large feature sets extracted from PCI-CT images while maintaining their ability to characterize the underlying chondrocyte patterns. PMID:25710875

ADART: an adaptive algebraic reconstruction algorithm for discrete tomography.

PubMed

Maestre-Deusto, F Javier; Scavello, Giovanni; Pizarro, Joaquín; Galindo, Pedro L

2011-08-01

In this paper we suggest an algorithm based on the Discrete Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (DART) which is capable of computing high quality reconstructions from substantially fewer projections than required for conventional continuous tomography. Adaptive DART (ADART) goes a step further than DART on the reduction of the number of unknowns of the associated linear system achieving a significant reduction in the pixel error rate of reconstructed objects. The proposed methodology automatically adapts the border definition criterion at each iteration, resulting in a reduction of the number of pixels belonging to the border, and consequently of the number of unknowns in the general algebraic reconstruction linear system to be solved, being this reduction specially important at the final stage of the iterative process. Experimental results show that reconstruction errors are considerably reduced using ADART when compared to original DART, both in clean and noisy environments.

Effects of secondary loudspeaker properties on broadband feedforward active duct noise control.

PubMed

Chan, Yum-Ji; Huang, Lixi; Lam, James

2013-07-01

Dependence of the performance of feedforward active duct noise control on secondary loudspeaker parameters is investigated. Noise reduction performance can be improved if the force factor of the secondary loudspeaker is higher. For example, broadband noise reduction improvement up to 1.6 dB is predicted by increasing the force factor by 50%. In addition, a secondary loudspeaker with a larger force factor was found to have quicker convergence in the adaptive algorithm in experiment. In simulations, noise reduction is improved in using an adaptive algorithm by using a secondary loudspeaker with a heavier moving mass. It is predicted that an extra broadband noise reduction of more than 7 dB can be gained using an adaptive filter if the force factor, moving mass and coil inductance of a commercially available loudspeaker are doubled. Methods to increase the force factor beyond those of commercially available loudspeakers are proposed.

Effect of adapted physical activity sessions in the hospital on health-related quality of life for children with cancer: a cross-over randomized trial.

PubMed

Speyer, Elodie; Herbinet, Aline; Vuillemin, Anne; Briançon, Serge; Chastagner, Pascal

2010-12-01

To assess the efficacy of adapted physical activity (APA) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of hospitalized children and adolescents with cancer between 9 and 18 years of age. A two-sequence, four-period cross-over study, Activités Physiques en Oncologie Pédiatrique (APOP), compared hospital stay with APA sessions versus hospital stay without APA sessions on children's HRQoL. Children and parents completed the child and parent forms, respectively, of a HRQoL questionnaire, the Child Health Questionnaire, on the last day of hospitalization. We used mixed linear regression to determine the effect of treatment, of treatment order and whether response to previous treatment influenced HRQoL. Thirty children were included (mean age 13.6 ± 2.9 years; 18 males). Cross-over analysis revealed no effect of period or interaction between APA and period. HRQoL was higher when children practiced than did not practice APA during their hospitalization, as reported by both children and parents, for the dimensions physical functioning (P < 0.0001), role/social-physical (P = 0.001), self-esteem (P < 0.0001), and mental health (P < 0.0001). In addition, APA had a significant effect on the behavior dimension (P = 0.01), as reported by children, and on the bodily pain dimension (P = 0.0004), as reported by parents. The highest significant difference in scores between with and without APA was observed for the self-esteem dimension (P < 0.0001) for both children and parents. APA during hospitalization for children with cancer was associated with better HRQoL for most of the HRQoL psychological and physical dimensions. Whether this effect is specific for children with cancer should be explored.

Personality Dimensions of Gifted and Talented Junior High Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenblatt, Howard S.; And Others

1980-01-01

Compared to a peer group of average abilities, gifted and talented junior high school students appeared more outgoing, participating, insightful, fast-learning, intellectually adaptable, conscientious, persistent, and moralistic, thus indicating significant between-group differences. (SB)

Motivation and engagement in music and sport: testing a multidimensional framework in diverse performance settings.

PubMed

Martin, Andrew J

2008-02-01

The present study assessed the application of a multidimensional model of motivation and engagement (the Motivation and Engagement Wheel) and its accompanying instrumentation (the Motivation and Engagement Scale) to the music and sport domains. Participants were 463 young classical musicians (N=224) and sportspeople (N=239). In both music and sport samples, the data confirmed the good fit of the four hypothesized higher-order dimensions and their 11 first-order dimensions: adaptive cognitions (self-efficacy, valuing, mastery orientation), adaptive behaviors (planning, task management, persistence), impeding/maladaptive cognitions (uncertain control, anxiety, failure avoidance), and maladaptive behaviors (self-handicapping, disengagement). Multigroup tests of factor invariance showed that in terms of underlying motivational constructs and the composition of and relationships among these constructs, key subsamples are not substantially different. Moreover-and of particular relevance to issues around the generalizability of the framework-the factor structure for music and sport samples was predominantly invariant.

Correlations for Adolescent Resilience Scale with big five personality traits.

PubMed

Nakaya, Motoyuki; Oshio, Atsushi; Kaneko, Hitoshi

2006-06-01

Currently, individuals tend to encounter many unavoidable, painful events and hardships in the process of growth and development. To lead one's life adapting to these social conditions, it is necessary to maintain one's mental health even while experiencing challenging events; in other words, resilience is required. This study of 130 undergraduates focused on the Adolescent Resilience Scale which assesses capacity for successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances and examined correlations with scores on the Big Five Personality Inventory. A significant negative correlation of -.59 (p<.001) was noted for scores on the Adolescent Resilience Scale and the Neuroticism dimension of the Big Five Personality Inventory, accounting for 35% of the variance, and positive values with the Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness dimensions (rs= .37, .40, .48, accounting for 14, 16, and 18% of the variance, respectively. Personalities of adolescents who have psychological traits leading to resilience may be partially predicted using these results.

[Incorporation and adaptation of the postmodern belief system].

PubMed

Garzón Pérez, Adela

2012-01-01

Every society develops a particular system of beliefs that summarizes its vision of socio-political organization, culture and interpersonal relationships. Each of these three basic dimensions has different forms, depending on the spatial and temporal context of societies. The belief system of the service societies is characterized by a democratic vision of social and political organization, rejection of radical social changes and high levels of interpersonal trust. This paper empirically examines the incorporation and adaptation of the postmodern belief system in a sample of university students. The participants belong to a country that is slowly integrating into the service societies. We used a scale of postmodernity to analyze the incorporation of the postmodern belief system. The results indicate that there is a peculiar combination of the three basic dimensions of the postmodern belief system, where the postmodern conceptions of culture and social relationships have lower acceptance.

The Environmental Dimensions of Migration

PubMed Central

Hunter, Lori M.; Luna, Jessie K.; Norton, Rachel M.

2017-01-01

Research on the environmental dimensions of human migration has made important strides in recent years. However, findings have been spread across multiple disciplines with wide ranging methodologies and limited theoretical development. This article reviews key findings of the field and identifies future directions for sociological research. We contend that the field has moved beyond linear environmental “push” theories towards a greater integration of context, including micro-, meso-, and macro-level interactions. We highlight findings that migration is often a household strategy to diversify risk (NELM), interacting with household composition, individual characteristics, social networks, and historical, political and economic contexts. We highlight promising developments in the field, including the recognition that migration is a long-standing form of environmental adaptation and yet only one among many forms of adaptation. Finally, we argue that sociologists could contribute significantly to migration-environment inquiry through attention to issues of inequality, perceptions, and agency vis-à-vis structure. PMID:29861536

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Innsbruck Health Dimensions Questionnaire for Neurosurgical Patients (IHD-NS).

PubMed

Santos, Camila Batista dos; Carvalho, Simone Carneiro Ahualli de; Silva, Maria Fernanda Gouveia da; Fuentes, Daniel; Santana, Pedro Augusto; Furlan, André Beer; Aguiar, Paulo Henrique Pires de

2008-09-01

The goal of this study was to accomplish the cross-cultural adaptation of a quality of life instrument, specific for neurosurgical patients, called Innsbruck Health Dimensions Questionnaire for Neurosurgical Patients (IHD-NS). Thirty patients participated in this study, male and female, all having been submitted to brain tumor surgery more than twelve months before, and whose ages ranged from 26 to 66. After the process of translation/back translation and the elaboration of the Brazilian version of the instrument, the patients were assessed and reassessed within a one-month period. Statistical analyses evinced the preservation of the internal consistency, high agreement levels and highly significant intra-class correlation, allowing for the belief in the quality and reliability of the Portuguese version, named Questionário de Dimensões de Saúde para Pacientes Neurocirúrgicos de Innsbruck--DSI (NC).

The Challenge of Universal Primary Education: Strategies for Achieving the International Development Targets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department for International Development, London (England).

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty in sites in developing and transition countries around the world. This paper focuses on the education dimension of poverty reduction, and specifically the attainment of the International…

Thermodynamic properties of triangle-well fluids in two dimensions: MC and MD simulations.

PubMed

Reyes, Yuri; Bárcenas, Mariana; Odriozola, Gerardo; Orea, Pedro

2016-11-07

With the aim of providing complementary data of the thermodynamics properties of the triangular well potential, the vapor/liquid phase diagrams for such potential with different interaction ranges were calculated in two dimensions by Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations; also, the vapor/liquid interfacial tension was calculated. As reported for other interaction potentials, it was observed that the reduction of the dimensionality makes the phase diagram to shrink. Finally, with the aid of reported data for the same potential in three dimensions, it was observed that this potential does not follow the principle of corresponding states.

Perception Evolution Network Based on Cognition Deepening Model--Adapting to the Emergence of New Sensory Receptor.

PubMed

Xing, Youlu; Shen, Furao; Zhao, Jinxi

2016-03-01

The proposed perception evolution network (PEN) is a biologically inspired neural network model for unsupervised learning and online incremental learning. It is able to automatically learn suitable prototypes from learning data in an incremental way, and it does not require the predefined prototype number or the predefined similarity threshold. Meanwhile, being more advanced than the existing unsupervised neural network model, PEN permits the emergence of a new dimension of perception in the perception field of the network. When a new dimension of perception is introduced, PEN is able to integrate the new dimensional sensory inputs with the learned prototypes, i.e., the prototypes are mapped to a high-dimensional space, which consists of both the original dimension and the new dimension of the sensory inputs. In the experiment, artificial data and real-world data are used to test the proposed PEN, and the results show that PEN can work effectively.

Attachment style and adjustment to divorce.

PubMed

Yárnoz-Yaben, Sagrario

2010-05-01

Divorce is becoming increasingly widespread in Europe. In this study, I present an analysis of the role played by attachment style (secure, dismissing, preoccupied and fearful, plus the dimensions of anxiety and avoidance) in the adaptation to divorce. Participants comprised divorced parents (N = 40) from a medium-sized city in the Basque Country. The results reveal a lower proportion of people with secure attachment in the sample group of divorcees. Attachment style and dependence (emotional and instrumental) are closely related. I have also found associations between measures that showed a poor adjustment to divorce and the preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Adjustment is related to a dismissing attachment style and to the avoidance dimension. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that secure attachment and the avoidance dimension predict adjustment to divorce and positive affectivity while preoccupied attachment and the anxiety dimension predicted negative affectivity. Implications for research and interventions with divorcees are discussed.

An investigation of predictors of successful aging in the workplace among Hong Kong Chinese older workers.

PubMed

Cheung, Francis; Wu, Anise M S

2012-03-01

We examined associations between successful aging in the workplace (adaptability and health, positive relationship, occupational growth, personal security, and continuous focus on goals) and two major factors of work stressors (work family conflict and discrimination against older workers) and coping resources (perceived organizational support, supportive human resource policies, and social support from friends and family) among Chinese older workers in Hong Kong. Furthermore, we also examined whether coping resources moderate the negative effect derived from work stressors on successful aging. A total of 242 Chinese full-time workers aged 40 years or above were recruited in a self-administered questionnaire survey study in Hong Kong. Hierarchical regression results showed that family-to-work conflict was significantly related to successful aging, except the dimension of personal security. Work-to-family conflict and discrimination, however, were not related to successful aging in the workplace. In terms of coping resources, perceived organizational support was related to all dimensions of successful aging in the workplace. We also found that training and development was a significant correlate of occupational growth. Social support from friends and family was positively related to three successful aging dimensions, including adaptability and health, personal security and continuous focus on goals. Finally, when facing discrimination in the workplace, support from organizations and from friends and family were particularly important for old-older workers (aged 55 years or above) to achieve better adaptability and health. Perceived organizational support and social support from friends and family were important correlates of successful aging in the workplace. Limitation and recommendations for organizational intervention were discussed.

Left ventricular mechanics in humans with high aerobic fitness: adaptation independent of structural remodelling, arterial haemodynamics and heart rate

PubMed Central

Stöhr, Eric J; McDonnell, Barry; Thompson, Jane; Stone, Keeron; Bull, Tom; Houston, Rory; Cockcroft, John; Shave, Rob

2012-01-01

Individuals with high aerobic fitness have lower systolic left ventricular strain, rotation and twist (‘left ventricular (LV) mechanics’) at rest, suggesting a beneficial reduction in LV myofibre stress and more efficient systolic function. However, the mechanisms responsible for this functional adaptation are not known and the influence of aerobic fitness on LV mechanics during dynamic exercise has never been studied. We assessed LV mechanics, LV wall thickness and dimensions, central augmentation index (AIx), aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), blood pressure and heart rate in 28 males (age: 21 ± 2 years SD) with a consistent physical activity level (no change >6 months). Individuals were examined at rest and during exercise (40% peak exercise capacity) and separated post hoc into a moderate and high aerobic fitness group (: 49 ± 5 and 63 ± 7 ml kg−1 min−1, respectively, P < 0.0001). At rest and during exercise, there were no significant differences in gross LV structure, AIx, blood pressure or heart rate (P > 0.05). However, for the same AIx, the high group had significantly lower LV apical rotation (P = 0.002) and LV twist (P = 0.003) while basal rotation and strain indices did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). We conclude that young males with high aerobic fitness have lower LV apical rotation at rest and during submaximal exercise that can occur without changes in gross LV structure, arterial haemodynamics or heart rate. The findings suggest a previously unknown type of physiological adaptation of the left ventricle that may have important implications for exercise training in older individuals and patient populations in which exercise training has previously failed to show clear benefits for LV function. PMID:22431336

Optimal spatio-temporal filter for the reduction of crosstalk in surface electromyogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mesin, Luca

2018-02-01

Objective. Crosstalk can pose limitations to the applications of surface electromyogram (EMG). Its reduction can help in the identification of the activity of specific muscles. The selectivity of different spatial filters was tested in the literature both in simulations and experiments: their performances are affected by many factors (e.g. anatomy, conduction properties of the tissues and dimension/location of the electrodes); moreover, they reduce crosstalk by decreasing the detection volume, recording data that represent only the activity of a small portion of the muscle of interest. In this study, an alternative idea is proposed, based on a spatio-temporal filter. Approach. An adaptive method is applied, which filters both in time and among different channels, providing a signal that maximally preserves the energy of the EMG of interest and discards that of nearby muscles (increasing the signal to crosstalk ratio, SCR). Main results. Tests with simulations and experimental data show an average increase of the SCR of about 2 dB with respect to the single or double differential data processed by the filter. This allows to reduce the bias induced by crosstalk in conduction velocity and force estimation. Significance. The method can be applied to few channels, so that it is useful in applicative studies (e.g. clinics, gate analysis, rehabilitation protocols with EMG biofeedback and prosthesis control) where limited and not selective information is usually available.

Negative life events and school adjustment among Chinese nursing students: The mediating role of psychological capital.

PubMed

Liu, Chunqin; Zhao, Yuanyuan; Tian, Xiaohong; Zou, Guiyuan; Li, Ping

2015-06-01

Adjustment difficulties of college students are common and their school adjustment has gained wide concern in recent years. Negative life events and psychological capital (PsyCap) have been associated with school adjustment. However, the potential impact of negative life events on PsyCap, and whether PsyCap mediates the relationship between negative life events and school adjustment among nursing students have not been studied. To investigate the relationship among negative life events, PsyCap, and school adjustment among five-year vocational high school nursing students in China and the mediating role of PsyCap between negative life events and school adjustment. A cross-sectional survey design was conducted. 643 five-year vocational high school nursing students were recruited from three public high vocational colleges in Shandong of China. Adolescent Self-Rating Life Event Checklist (ASLEC), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire for Adolescent Students scale (PCQAS), and the Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS) were used in this study. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the mediating role of PsyCap. Negative life events were negatively associated with the dimensions of school adjustment (interpersonal relationship adaptation, learning adaptation, campus life adaptation, career adaptation, emotional adaptation, self-adaptation, and degree of satisfaction). PsyCap was positively associated with the dimensions of school adjustment and negatively associated with negative life events. PsyCap partially mediated the relationship between negative life events and school adjustment. Negative life events may increase the risk of school maladjustment in individuals with low PsyCap. Interventions designed to increase nursing students' PsyCap might buffer the stress of adverse life events, and thereby, enhance students' positive adjustment to school. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Engine Technologies for Aviation CO2 Emissions Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mercer, Carolyn R.; Haller, William J.; Tong, Michael T.

2006-01-01

Adaptive turbine engine technologies are assessed for their potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from commercial air transports.Technologies including inlet, fan, and compressor flow control, compressor stall control, blade clearance control, combustion control, active bearings and enabling technologies such as active materials and wireless sensors are discussed. The method of systems assessment is described, including strengths and weaknesses of the approach. Performance benefit estimates are presented for each technology, with a summary of potential emissions reduction possible from the development of new, adaptively controlled engine components.

Mechanical spin bearings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranish, John M. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A spin bearing assembly including, a pair of mutually opposing complementary bearing support members having mutually spaced apart bearing support surfaces which may be, for example, bearing races and a set of spin bearings located therebetween. Each spin bearing includes a pair of end faces, a central rotational axis passing through the end faces, a waist region substantially mid-way between the end faces and having a first thickness dimension, and discrete side surface regions located between the waist region and the end faces and having a second thickness dimension different from the first thickness dimension of the waist region and wherein the side surface regions further have respective curvilinear contact surfaces adapted to provide a plurality of bearing contact points on the bearing support members.

In-shoe plantar pressure measurements for the evaluation and adaptation of foot orthoses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A proof of concept study.

PubMed

Tenten-Diepenmaat, Marloes; Dekker, Joost; Steenbergen, Menno; Huybrechts, Elleke; Roorda, Leo D; van Schaardenburg, Dirkjan; Bus, Sicco A; van der Leeden, Marike

2016-03-01

Improving foot orthoses (FOs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using in-shoe plantar pressure measurements seems promising. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (1) the outcome on plantar pressure distribution of FOs that were adapted using in-shoe plantar pressure measurements according to a protocol and (2) the protocol feasibility. Forty-five RA patients with foot problems were included in this observational proof-of concept study. FOs were custom-made by a podiatrist according to usual care. Regions of Interest (ROIs) for plantar pressure reduction were selected. According to a protocol, usual care FOs were evaluated using in-shoe plantar pressure measurements and, if necessary, adapted. Plantar pressure-time integrals at the ROIs were compared between the following conditions: (1) no-FO versus usual care FO and (2) usual care FO versus adapted FO. Semi-structured interviews were held with patients and podiatrists to evaluate the feasibility of the protocol. Adapted FOs were developed in 70% of the patients. In these patients, usual care FOs showed a mean 9% reduction in pressure-time integral at forefoot ROIs compared to no-FOs (p=0.01). FO adaptation led to an additional mean 3% reduction in pressure-time integral (p=0.05). The protocol was considered feasible by patients. Podiatrists considered the protocol more useful to achieve individual rather than general treatment goals. A final protocol was proposed. Using in-shoe plantar pressure measurements for adapting foot orthoses for patients with RA leads to a small additional plantar pressure reduction in the forefoot. Further research on the clinical relevance of this outcome is required. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Locally linear embedding: dimension reduction of massive protostellar spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, J. L.; Lumsden, S. L.

2016-09-01

We present the results of the application of locally linear embedding (LLE) to reduce the dimensionality of dereddened and continuum subtracted near-infrared spectra using a combination of models and real spectra of massive protostars selected from the Red MSX Source survey data base. A brief comparison is also made with two other dimension reduction techniques; principal component analysis (PCA) and Isomap using the same set of spectra as well as a more advanced form of LLE, Hessian locally linear embedding. We find that whilst LLE certainly has its limitations, it significantly outperforms both PCA and Isomap in classification of spectra based on the presence/absence of emission lines and provides a valuable tool for classification and analysis of large spectral data sets.

General solution of a cosmological model induced from higher dimensions using a kinematical constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akarsu, Özgür; Dereli, Tekin; Katırcı, Nihan; Sheftel, Mikhail B.

2015-05-01

In a recent study Akarsu and Dereli (Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 45:1211, 2013) discussed the dynamical reduction of a higher dimensional cosmological model which is augmented by a kinematical constraint characterized by a single real parameter, correlating and controlling the expansion of both the external (physical) and internal spaces. In that paper explicit solutions were found only for the case of three dimensional internal space (). Here we derive a general solution of the system using Lie group symmetry properties, in parametric form for arbitrary number of internal dimensions. We also investigate the dynamical reduction of the model as a function of cosmic time for various values of and generate parametric plots to discuss cosmologically relevant results.

A Reduced Dimension Static, Linearized Kalman Filter and Smoother

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fukumori, I.

1995-01-01

An approximate Kalman filter and smoother, based on approximations of the state estimation error covariance matrix, is described. Approximations include a reduction of the effective state dimension, use of a static asymptotic error limit, and a time-invariant linearization of the dynamic model for error integration. The approximations lead to dramatic computational savings in applying estimation theory to large complex systems. Examples of use come from TOPEX/POSEIDON.

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

PubMed Central

Morton, Lois Wright; Hobbs, Jon

2015-01-01

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers’ trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management). PMID:25983336

Brain gray matter phenotypes across the psychosis dimension

PubMed Central

Ivleva, Elena I.; Bidesi, Anup S.; Thomas, Binu P.; Meda, Shashwath A.; Francis, Alan; Moates, Amanda F.; Witte, Bradley; Keshavan, Matcheri S.; Tamminga, Carol A.

2013-01-01

This study sought to examine whole brain and regional gray matter (GM) phenotypes across the schizophrenia (SZ)–bipolar disorder psychosis dimension using voxel-based morphometry (VBM 8.0 with DARTEL segmentation/normalization) and semi-automated regional parcellation, FreeSurfer (FS 4.3.1/64 bit). 3T T1 MPRAGE images were acquired from 19 volunteers with schizophrenia (SZ), 16 with schizoaffective disorder (SAD), 17 with psychotic bipolar I disorder (BD-P) and 10 healthy controls (HC). Contrasted with HC, SZ showed extensive cortical GM reductions, most pronounced in fronto-temporal regions; SAD had GM reductions overlapping with SZ, albeit less extensive; and BD-P demonstrated no GM differences from HC. Within the psychosis dimension, BD-P showed larger volumes in fronto-temporal and other cortical/subcortical regions compared with SZ, whereas SAD showed intermediate GM volumes. The two volumetric methodologies, VBM and FS, revealed highly overlapping results for cortical GM, but partially divergent results for subcortical volumes (basal ganglia, amygdala). Overall, these findings suggest that individuals across the psychosis dimension show both overlapping and unique GM phenotypes: decreased GM, predominantly in fronto-temporal regions, is characteristic of SZ but not of psychotic BD-P, whereas SAD display GM deficits overlapping with SZ, albeit less extensive. PMID:23177922

Brain gray matter phenotypes across the psychosis dimension.

PubMed

Ivleva, Elena I; Bidesi, Anup S; Thomas, Binu P; Meda, Shashwath A; Francis, Alan; Moates, Amanda F; Witte, Bradley; Keshavan, Matcheri S; Tamminga, Carol A

2012-10-30

This study sought to examine whole brain and regional gray matter (GM) phenotypes across the schizophrenia (SZ)-bipolar disorder psychosis dimension using voxel-based morphometry (VBM 8.0 with DARTEL segmentation/normalization) and semi-automated regional parcellation, FreeSurfer (FS 4.3.1/64 bit). 3T T1 MPRAGE images were acquired from 19 volunteers with schizophrenia (SZ), 16 with schizoaffective disorder (SAD), 17 with psychotic bipolar I disorder (BD-P) and 10 healthy controls (HC). Contrasted with HC, SZ showed extensive cortical GM reductions, most pronounced in fronto-temporal regions; SAD had GM reductions overlapping with SZ, albeit less extensive; and BD-P demonstrated no GM differences from HC. Within the psychosis dimension, BD-P showed larger volumes in fronto-temporal and other cortical/subcortical regions compared with SZ, whereas SAD showed intermediate GM volumes. The two volumetric methodologies, VBM and FS, revealed highly overlapping results for cortical GM, but partially divergent results for subcortical volumes (basal ganglia, amygdala). Overall, these findings suggest that individuals across the psychosis dimension show both overlapping and unique GM phenotypes: decreased GM, predominantly in fronto-temporal regions, is characteristic of SZ but not of psychotic BD-P, whereas SAD display GM deficits overlapping with SZ, albeit less extensive. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

An adaptive cubature formula for efficient reliability assessment of nonlinear structural dynamic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jun; Kong, Fan

2018-05-01

Extreme value distribution (EVD) evaluation is a critical topic in reliability analysis of nonlinear structural dynamic systems. In this paper, a new method is proposed to obtain the EVD. The maximum entropy method (MEM) with fractional moments as constraints is employed to derive the entire range of EVD. Then, an adaptive cubature formula is proposed for fractional moments assessment involved in MEM, which is closely related to the efficiency and accuracy for reliability analysis. Three point sets, which include a total of 2d2 + 1 integration points in the dimension d, are generated in the proposed formula. In this regard, the efficiency of the proposed formula is ensured. Besides, a "free" parameter is introduced, which makes the proposed formula adaptive with the dimension. The "free" parameter is determined by arranging one point set adjacent to the boundary of the hyper-sphere which contains the bulk of total probability. In this regard, the tail distribution may be better reproduced and the fractional moments could be evaluated with accuracy. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a ten-storey shear frame structure under seismic excitations, which exhibits strong nonlinearity. The numerical results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.

Adaptive unstructured triangular mesh generation and flow solvers for the Navier-Stokes equations at high Reynolds number

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashford, Gregory A.; Powell, Kenneth G.

1995-01-01

A method for generating high quality unstructured triangular grids for high Reynolds number Navier-Stokes calculations about complex geometries is described. Careful attention is paid in the mesh generation process to resolving efficiently the disparate length scales which arise in these flows. First the surface mesh is constructed in a way which ensures that the geometry is faithfully represented. The volume mesh generation then proceeds in two phases thus allowing the viscous and inviscid regions of the flow to be meshed optimally. A solution-adaptive remeshing procedure which allows the mesh to adapt itself to flow features is also described. The procedure for tracking wakes and refinement criteria appropriate for shock detection are described. Although at present it has only been implemented in two dimensions, the grid generation process has been designed with the extension to three dimensions in mind. An implicit, higher-order, upwind method is also presented for computing compressible turbulent flows on these meshes. Two recently developed one-equation turbulence models have been implemented to simulate the effects of the fluid turbulence. Results for flow about a RAE 2822 airfoil and a Douglas three-element airfoil are presented which clearly show the improved resolution obtainable.

Psychological Adaptation to Extreme Environments: Effects of Team Composition on Individual Adaptation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, J.; Hysong, S. J.; Lugg, D. J.; Harm, D. L.

1999-01-01

This study is part of an ongoing program of research examining the psychological effects of isolation and confinement on individual adaptation, productivity and group relations in Antarctic winter personnel. This environment is used as an analogue for long-duration space mission scenarios, such as a space station sojourn, or a mission to Mars. Earlier results from this and other environments have demonstrated that: (1) most changes in psychological well-being are event-related and of relatively short duration; and (2) the greatest problem facing most individuals is interpersonal conflict. Content analysis of responses to open-ended questions has identified the numerous enjoyable aspects of Antarctic living, and confirmed that many of the problems reported were interpersonal in nature, and that problems varied significantly by station. Current work is exploring the effects of team assignment on the self-reported psychological changes and self-evaluations of members of isolated teams. This work includes identifying the dimensions by which subjects determine how well they are functioning. These dimensions (e.g., work, social life, internal emotional state) appear to play an important role in how subjects evaluate many aspects of life in isolation.

Characteristics of Empathy in young people measured by the Spanish validation of the Basic Empathy Scale.

PubMed

Villadangos, Manuel; Errasti, José; Amigo, Isaac; Jolliffe, Darrick; García-Cueto, Eduardo

2016-08-01

Empathy is a personality feature that can play a major role in predicting the emotional and social functioning of adolescents (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006). Recent research confirms the existence of two fundamental dimensions embedded within this construct, Affective Empathy (experiencing a congruent emotional response with another person) and Cognitive Empathy (understanding rationally the emotions of another person). The Basic Empathy Scale (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006) is an up-to-date instrument which has been reported to satisfactorily measure these two dimensions. We used a sample of 752 adolescents (339 males, 413 females) aged 14-25 who completed the Spanish adaptation of BES. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Spanish adaptation of the scale had the same bi-factorial structure as the original (CFI = .93). This adaptation also showed both satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient > .92) and discriminant and convergent validity with regard to measurements of Narcissism, Psychoticism and Agreeableness. Females were found to have higher scores than males both in Affective and Cognitive Empathy. Both subscales show a direct significant correlation with age. The evidence suggested that this revised scale possessed good psychometric properties for evaluating empathy in Spanish young people.

Childhood Depression: Relation to Adaptive, Clinical and Predictor Variables

PubMed Central

Garaigordobil, Maite; Bernarás, Elena; Jaureguizar, Joana; Machimbarrena, Juan M.

2017-01-01

The study had two goals: (1) to explore the relations between self-assessed childhood depression and other adaptive and clinical variables (2) to identify predictor variables of childhood depression. Participants were 420 students aged 7–10 years old (53.3% boys, 46.7% girls). Results revealed: (1) positive correlations between depression and clinical maladjustment, school maladjustment, emotional symptoms, internalizing and externalizing problems, problem behaviors, emotional reactivity, and childhood stress; and (2) negative correlations between depression and personal adaptation, global self-concept, social skills, and resilience (sense of competence and affiliation). Linear regression analysis including the global dimensions revealed 4 predictors of childhood depression that explained 50.6% of the variance: high clinical maladjustment, low global self-concept, high level of stress, and poor social skills. However, upon introducing the sub-dimensions, 9 predictor variables emerged that explained 56.4% of the variance: many internalizing problems, low family self-concept, high anxiety, low responsibility, low personal self-assessment, high social stress, few aggressive behaviors toward peers, many health/psychosomatic problems, and external locus of control. The discussion addresses the importance of implementing prevention programs for childhood depression at early ages. PMID:28572787

Continuous spin representations from group contraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Abu M.; Ramond, Pierre

2005-05-01

We consider how the continuous spin representation (CSR) of the Poincaré group in four dimensions can be generated by dimensional reduction. The analysis uses the front-form little group in five dimensions, which must yield the Euclidean group E(2), the little group of the CSR. We consider two cases, one is the single spin massless representation of the Poincaré group in five dimensions, the other is the infinite component Majorana equation, which describes an infinite tower of massive states in five dimensions. In the first case, the double singular limit j, R →∞, with j /R fixed, where R is the Kaluza-Klein radius of the fifth dimension, and j is the spin of the particle in five dimensions, yields the CSR in four dimensions. It amounts to the Inönü-Wigner contraction, with the inverse Kaluza-Klein radius as contraction parameter. In the second case, the CSR appears only by taking a triple singular limit, where an internal coordinate of the Majorana theory goes to infinity, while leaving its ratio to the Kaluza-Klein radius fixed.

Compensation for the signal processing characteristics of ultrasound B-mode scanners in adaptive speckle reduction.

PubMed

Crawford, D C; Bell, D S; Bamber, J C

1993-01-01

A systematic method to compensate for nonlinear amplification of individual ultrasound B-scanners has been investigated in order to optimise performance of an adaptive speckle reduction (ASR) filter for a wide range of clinical ultrasonic imaging equipment. Three potential methods have been investigated: (1) a method involving an appropriate selection of the speckle recognition feature was successful when the scanner signal processing executes simple logarithmic compressions; (2) an inverse transform (decompression) of the B-mode image was effective in correcting for the measured characteristics of image data compression when the algorithm was implemented in full floating point arithmetic; (3) characterising the behaviour of the statistical speckle recognition feature under conditions of speckle noise was found to be the method of choice for implementation of the adaptive speckle reduction algorithm in limited precision integer arithmetic. In this example, the statistical features of variance and mean were investigated. The third method may be implemented on commercially available fast image processing hardware and is also better suited for transfer into dedicated hardware to facilitate real-time adaptive speckle reduction. A systematic method is described for obtaining ASR calibration data from B-mode images of a speckle producing phantom.

Should the parameters of a BCI translation algorithm be continually adapted?

PubMed

McFarland, Dennis J; Sarnacki, William A; Wolpaw, Jonathan R

2011-07-15

People with or without motor disabilities can learn to control sensorimotor rhythms (SMRs) recorded from the scalp to move a computer cursor in one or more dimensions or can use the P300 event-related potential as a control signal to make discrete selections. Data collected from individuals using an SMR-based or P300-based BCI were evaluated offline to estimate the impact on performance of continually adapting the parameters of the translation algorithm during BCI operation. The performance of the SMR-based BCI was enhanced by adaptive updating of the feature weights or adaptive normalization of the features. In contrast, P300 performance did not benefit from either of these procedures. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discharge of monkey nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis neurons changes during saccade adaptation.

PubMed

Takeichi, N; Kaneko, C R S; Fuchs, A F

2005-09-01

Saccade accuracy is maintained by adaptive mechanisms that continually modify saccade amplitude to reduce dysmetria. Previous studies suggest that adaptation occurs upstream of the caudal fastigial nucleus (CFN), the output of the oculomotor cerebellar vermis but downstream from the superior colliculus (SC). The nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) is a major source of afferents to both the oculomotor vermis and the CFN and in turn receives direct input from the SC. Here we examine the activity of NRTP neurons in four rhesus monkeys during behaviorally induced changes in saccade amplitude to assess whether their discharge might reveal adaptation mechanisms that mediate changes in saccade amplitude. During amplitude decrease adaptation (average, 22%), the gradual reduction of saccade amplitude was accompanied by an increase in the number of spikes in the burst of 19/34 neurons (56%) and no change for 15 neurons (44%). For the neurons that increased their discharge, the additional spikes were added at the beginning of the saccadic burst and adaptation also delayed the peak-firing rate in some neurons. Moreover, after amplitude reduction, the movement fields changed shape in all 15 open field neurons tested. Our data show that saccadic amplitude reduction affects the number of spikes in the burst of more than half of NRTP neurons tested, primarily by increasing burst duration not frequency. Therefore adaptive changes in saccade amplitude are reflected already at a major input to the oculomotor cerebellum.

The action of the (free) [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] theory in six spacetime dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henneaux, Marc; Lekeu, Victor; Matulich, Javier; Prohazka, Stefan

2018-06-01

The action of the free [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] theory in six spacetime dimensions is explicitly constructed. The variables of the variational principle are prepotentials adapted to the self-duality conditions on the fields. The (3, 1) supersymmetry variations are given and the invariance of the action is verified. The action is first-order in time derivatives. It is also Poincaré invariant but not manifestly so, just like the Hamiltonian action of more familiar relativistic field theories.

The role of emotion regulation in predicting personality dimensions.

PubMed

Borges, Lauren M; Naugle, Amy E

2017-11-01

Dimensional models of personality have been widely acknowledged in the field as alternatives to a trait-based system of nomenclature. While the importance of dimensional models has been established, less is known about the constructs underlying these personality dimensions. Emotion regulation is one such potential construct. The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between personality dimensions and emotion regulation. More specifically, the predictive capacity of emotion regulation in accounting for personality dimensions and symptoms on the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality-2 above and beyond a measure of general distress was evaluated. Emotion regulation was found to be predictive of most personality dimensions and symptoms of most personality disorders. Consistent with hypotheses, emotion regulation variables associated with undercontrol of emotions were most predictive of traits associated with Cluster B personality disorders whereas Cluster A and C traits were most associated with emotion regulation related to overcontrol of emotions. These findings provide preliminary evidence that some personality dimensions never assessed in relation to emotion regulation are strongly predicted by emotion regulation variables. Thus, the present study facilitates an initial step in understanding the relationship between personality dimensions and a multidimensional model of emotion regulation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing farmers' community readiness towards the enhancement of natural enemy population in rice fields in Malacca

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fairuz, K.; Idris, A. G.; Syahrizan, S.; Hatijah, K.

2018-04-01

Malacca has committed to be a green technology state by the year 2020. Agriculture is one of the main industries that have been highlighted to achieve this goal especially rice farming activities. Some limitations for this issue have restricted the accomplishment of the plan including pesticide usage among rice farmers. The use of chemicals in rice field need to be reduced significantly in order to support the goal. One of the indicators to the successfulness of pesticide reduction is the increasing numbers of natural enemies' species abundance and population in the rice field. Natural enemies were important to regulate pest populations in rice field naturally. Farmers' readiness to participate in this issue is very important to ensure the successfulness. The level of readiness of farmers' community will determine whether they are ready or not to execute the plan. Unfortunately, such information in rice farmers' community was not properly measured. Thus this study was aimed to assess the readiness level of rice farmers' community to change in order to enhance natural enemies in their rice field. This study was adapting the CR model as its theoretical framework. Three rice farming area in Malacca were involved in this study namely, Jasin, Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah. Questionnaires were used as major instrument and were randomly distributed to 224 farmers. Data collected were tested for their reliability, significance and level of readiness. Knowledge of issue, knowledge of effort and resources dimensions were found influencing the readiness dimension significantly, whilst the attitude and leadership dimensions were not. Generally, the level of readiness for farmers' community in Malacca was found in the sixth or initial stage, where some of them initially have started to practice a few related activities to enhance the natural enemies' population in their rice field. Continuous support and assistant from the leaders and local authorities are crucially needed in order to sustain and improve the farmers' community level of readiness.

Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Optimized body composition provides a competitive advantage in a variety of sports. Weight reduction is common among athletes aiming to improve their strength-to-mass ratio, locomotive efficiency, or aesthetic appearance. Energy restriction is accompanied by changes in circulating hormones, mitochondrial efficiency, and energy expenditure that serve to minimize the energy deficit, attenuate weight loss, and promote weight regain. The current article reviews the metabolic adaptations observed with weight reduction and provides recommendations for successful weight reduction and long term reduced-weight maintenance in athletes. PMID:24571926

Evaluation of macrozone dimensions by ultrasound and EBSD techniques

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

Moreau, Andre, E-mail: Andre.Moreau@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca; Toubal, Lotfi; Ecole de technologie superieure, 1100, rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada H3C 1K3

2013-01-15

Titanium alloys are known to have texture heterogeneities, i.e. regions much larger than the grain dimensions, where the local orientation distribution of the grains differs from one region to the next. The electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) technique is the method of choice to characterize these macro regions, which are called macrozones. Qualitatively, the images obtained by EBSD show that these macrozones may be larger or smaller, elongated or equiaxed. However, often no well-defined boundaries are observed between the macrozones and it is very hard to obtain objective and quantitative estimates of the macrozone dimensions from these data. In the presentmore » work, we present a novel, non-destructive ultrasonic technique that provides objective and quantitative characteristic dimensions of the macrozones. The obtained dimensions are based on the spatial autocorrelation function of fluctuations in the sound velocity. Thus, a pragmatic definition of macrozone dimensions naturally arises from the ultrasonic measurement. This paper has three objectives: 1) to disclose the novel, non-destructive ultrasonic technique to measure macrozone dimensions, 2) to propose a quantitative and objective definition of macrozone dimensions adapted to and arising from the ultrasonic measurement, and which is also applicable to the orientation data obtained by EBSD, and 3) to compare the macrozone dimensions obtained using the two techniques on two samples of the near-alpha titanium alloy IMI834. In addition, it was observed that macrozones may present a semi-periodical arrangement. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Discloses a novel, ultrasonic NDT technique to measure macrozone dimensions Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Proposes a quantitative and objective definition of macrozone dimensions Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Compares macrozone dimensions obtained using EBSD and ultrasonics on 2 Ti samples Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Observes that macrozones may have a semi-periodical arrangement.« less

NeatMap--non-clustering heat map alternatives in R.

PubMed

Rajaram, Satwik; Oono, Yoshi

2010-01-22

The clustered heat map is the most popular means of visualizing genomic data. It compactly displays a large amount of data in an intuitive format that facilitates the detection of hidden structures and relations in the data. However, it is hampered by its use of cluster analysis which does not always respect the intrinsic relations in the data, often requiring non-standardized reordering of rows/columns to be performed post-clustering. This sometimes leads to uninformative and/or misleading conclusions. Often it is more informative to use dimension-reduction algorithms (such as Principal Component Analysis and Multi-Dimensional Scaling) which respect the topology inherent in the data. Yet, despite their proven utility in the analysis of biological data, they are not as widely used. This is at least partially due to the lack of user-friendly visualization methods with the visceral impact of the heat map. NeatMap is an R package designed to meet this need. NeatMap offers a variety of novel plots (in 2 and 3 dimensions) to be used in conjunction with these dimension-reduction techniques. Like the heat map, but unlike traditional displays of such results, it allows the entire dataset to be displayed while visualizing relations between elements. It also allows superimposition of cluster analysis results for mutual validation. NeatMap is shown to be more informative than the traditional heat map with the help of two well-known microarray datasets. NeatMap thus preserves many of the strengths of the clustered heat map while addressing some of its deficiencies. It is hoped that NeatMap will spur the adoption of non-clustering dimension-reduction algorithms.

Light-dependent governance of cell shape dimensions in cyanobacteria.

PubMed

Montgomery, Beronda L

2015-01-01

The regulation of cellular dimension is important for the function and survival of cells. Cellular dimensions, such as size and shape, are regulated throughout the life cycle of bacteria and can be adapted in response to environmental changes to fine-tune cellular fitness. Cell size and shape are generally coordinated with cell growth and division. Cytoskeletal regulation of cell shape and cell wall biosynthesis and/or deposition occurs in a range of organisms. Photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, particularly exhibit light-dependent regulation of morphogenes and generation of reactive oxygen species and other signals that can impact cellular dimensions. Environmental signals initiate adjustments of cellular dimensions, which may be vitally important for optimizing resource acquisition and utilization or for coupling the cellular dimensions with the regulation of subcellular organization to maintain optimal metabolism. Although the involvement of cytoskeletal components in the regulation of cell shape is widely accepted, the signaling factors that regulate cytoskeletal and other distinct components involved in cell shape control, particularly in response to changes in external light cues, remain to be fully elucidated. In this review, factors impacting the inter-coordination of growth and division, the relationship between the regulation of cellular dimensions and central carbon metabolism, and consideration of the effects of specific environment signals, primarily light, on cell dimensions in cyanobacteria will be discussed. Current knowledge about the molecular bases of the light-dependent regulation of cellular dimensions and cell shape in cyanobacteria will be highlighted.

Comparison between cylindrical and prismatic lithium-ion cell costs using a process based cost model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciez, Rebecca E.; Whitacre, J. F.

2017-02-01

The relative size and age of the US electric vehicle market means that a few vehicles are able to drive market-wide trends in the battery chemistries and cell formats on the road today. Three lithium-ion chemistries account for nearly all of the storage capacity, and half of the cells are cylindrical. However, no specific model exists to examine the costs of manufacturing these cylindrical cells. Here we present a process-based cost model tailored to the cylindrical lithium-ion cells currently used in the EV market. We examine the costs for varied cell dimensions, electrode thicknesses, chemistries, and production volumes. Although cost savings are possible from increasing cell dimensions and electrode thicknesses, economies of scale have already been reached, and future cost reductions from increased production volumes are minimal. Prismatic cells, which are able to further capitalize on the cost reduction from larger formats, can offer further reductions than those possible for cylindrical cells.

The human dimensions of energy use in buildings: A review

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

D'Oca, Simona; Hong, Tianzhen; Langevin, Jared

The “human dimensions” of energy use in buildings refer to the energy-related behaviors of key stakeholders that affect energy use over the building life cycle. Stakeholders include building designers, operators, managers, engineers, occupants, industry, vendors, and policymakers, who directly or indirectly influence the acts of designing, constructing, living, operating, managing, and regulating the built environments, from individual building up to the urban scale. Among factors driving high-performance buildings, human dimensions play a role that is as significant as that of technological advances. However, this factor is not well understood, and, as a result, human dimensions are often ignored or simplifiedmore » by stakeholders. This work presents a review of the literature on human dimensions of building energy use to assess the state-of-the-art in this topic area. The paper highlights research needs for fully integrating human dimensions into the building design and operation processes with the goal of reducing energy use in buildings while enhancing occupant comfort and productivity. This research focuses on identifying key needs for each stakeholder involved in a building's life cycle and takes an interdisciplinary focus that spans the fields of architecture and engineering design, sociology, data science, energy policy, codes, and standards to provide targeted insights. Greater understanding of the human dimensions of energy use has several potential benefits including reductions in operating cost for building owners; enhanced comfort conditions and productivity for building occupants; more effective building energy management and automation systems for building operators and energy managers; and the integration of more accurate control logic into the next generation of human-in-the-loop technologies. The review concludes by summarizing recommendations for policy makers and industry stakeholders for developing codes, standards, and technologies that can leverage the human dimensions of energy use to reliably predict and achieve energy use reductions in the residential and commercial buildings sectors.« less

The human dimensions of energy use in buildings: A review

DOE PAGES

D'Oca, Simona; Hong, Tianzhen; Langevin, Jared

2017-08-19

The “human dimensions” of energy use in buildings refer to the energy-related behaviors of key stakeholders that affect energy use over the building life cycle. Stakeholders include building designers, operators, managers, engineers, occupants, industry, vendors, and policymakers, who directly or indirectly influence the acts of designing, constructing, living, operating, managing, and regulating the built environments, from individual building up to the urban scale. Among factors driving high-performance buildings, human dimensions play a role that is as significant as that of technological advances. However, this factor is not well understood, and, as a result, human dimensions are often ignored or simplifiedmore » by stakeholders. This work presents a review of the literature on human dimensions of building energy use to assess the state-of-the-art in this topic area. The paper highlights research needs for fully integrating human dimensions into the building design and operation processes with the goal of reducing energy use in buildings while enhancing occupant comfort and productivity. This research focuses on identifying key needs for each stakeholder involved in a building's life cycle and takes an interdisciplinary focus that spans the fields of architecture and engineering design, sociology, data science, energy policy, codes, and standards to provide targeted insights. Greater understanding of the human dimensions of energy use has several potential benefits including reductions in operating cost for building owners; enhanced comfort conditions and productivity for building occupants; more effective building energy management and automation systems for building operators and energy managers; and the integration of more accurate control logic into the next generation of human-in-the-loop technologies. The review concludes by summarizing recommendations for policy makers and industry stakeholders for developing codes, standards, and technologies that can leverage the human dimensions of energy use to reliably predict and achieve energy use reductions in the residential and commercial buildings sectors.« less

Relational approach in managing construction project safety: a social capital perspective.

PubMed

Koh, Tas Yong; Rowlinson, Steve

2012-09-01

Existing initiatives in the management of construction project safety are largely based on normative compliance and error prevention, a risk management approach. Although advantageous, these approaches are not wholly successful in further lowering accident rates. A major limitation lies with the approaches' lack of emphasis on the social and team processes inherent in construction project settings. We advance the enquiry by invoking the concept of social capital and project organisational processes, and their impacts on project safety performance. Because social capital is a primordial concept and affects project participants' interactions, its impact on project safety performance is hypothesised to be indirect, i.e. the impact of social capital on safety performance is mediated by organisational processes in adaptation and cooperation. A questionnaire survey was conducted within Hong Kong construction industry to test the hypotheses. 376 usable responses were received and used for analyses. The results reveal that, while the structural dimension is not significant, the mediational thesis is generally supported with the cognitive and relational dimensions affecting project participants' adaptation and cooperation, and the latter two processes affect safety performance. However, the cognitive dimension also directly affects safety performance. The implications of these results for project safety management are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-extraction mesio-distal gap reduction assessment by confocal laser scanning microscopy - a clinical 3-month follow-up study.

PubMed

García-Herraiz, Ariadna; Silvestre, Francisco Javier; Leiva-García, Rafael; Crespo-Abril, Fortunato; García-Antón, José

2017-05-01

The aim of this 3-month follow-up study is to quantify the reduction in the mesio-distal gap dimension (MDGD) that occurs after tooth extraction through image analysis of three-dimensional images obtained with the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) technique. Following tooth extraction, impressions of 79 patients 1 month and 72 patients 3 months after tooth extraction were obtained. Cast models were processed by CLSM, and MDGD changes between time points were measured. The mean mesio-distal gap reduction 1 month after tooth extraction was 343.4 μm and 3 months after tooth extraction was 672.3 μm. The daily mean gap reduction rate during the first term (between baseline and 1 month post-extraction measurements) was 10.3 μm/day and during the second term (between 1 and 3 months) was 5.4 μm/day. The mesio-distal gap reduction is higher during the first month following the extraction and continues in time, but to a lesser extent. When the inter-dental contacts were absent, the mesio-distal gap reduction is lower. When a molar tooth is extracted or the distal tooth to the edentulous space does not occlude with an antagonist, the mesio-distal gap reduction is larger. The consideration of mesio-distal gap dimension changes can help improve dental treatment planning. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spectral Data Reduction via Wavelet Decomposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaewpijit, S.; LeMoigne, J.; El-Ghazawi, T.; Rood, Richard (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The greatest advantage gained from hyperspectral imagery is that narrow spectral features can be used to give more information about materials than was previously possible with broad-band multispectral imagery. For many applications, the new larger data volumes from such hyperspectral sensors, however, present a challenge for traditional processing techniques. For example, the actual identification of each ground surface pixel by its corresponding reflecting spectral signature is still one of the most difficult challenges in the exploitation of this advanced technology, because of the immense volume of data collected. Therefore, conventional classification methods require a preprocessing step of dimension reduction to conquer the so-called "curse of dimensionality." Spectral data reduction using wavelet decomposition could be useful, as it does not only reduce the data volume, but also preserves the distinctions between spectral signatures. This characteristic is related to the intrinsic property of wavelet transforms that preserves high- and low-frequency features during the signal decomposition, therefore preserving peaks and valleys found in typical spectra. When comparing to the most widespread dimension reduction technique, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and looking at the same level of compression rate, we show that Wavelet Reduction yields better classification accuracy, for hyperspectral data processed with a conventional supervised classification such as a maximum likelihood method.

High-resolution retinal imaging using adaptive optics and Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography

DOEpatents

Olivier, Scot S.; Werner, John S.; Zawadzki, Robert J.; Laut, Sophie P.; Jones, Steven M.

2010-09-07

This invention permits retinal images to be acquired at high speed and with unprecedented resolution in three dimensions (4.times.4.times.6 .mu.m). The instrument achieves high lateral resolution by using adaptive optics to correct optical aberrations of the human eye in real time. High axial resolution and high speed are made possible by the use of Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. Using this system, we have demonstrated the ability to image microscopic blood vessels and the cone photoreceptor mosaic.

Adaptation of LASCA method for diagnostics of malignant tumours in laboratory animals

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

Ul'yanov, S S; Laskavyi, V N; Glova, Alina B

The LASCA method is adapted for diagnostics of malignant neoplasms in laboratory animals. Tumours are studied in mice of Balb/c inbred line after inoculation of cells of syngeneic myeloma cell line Sp.2/0 Ag.8. The appropriateness of using the tLASCA method in tumour investigations is substantiated; its advantages in comparison with the sLASCA method are demonstrated. It is found that the most informative characteristic, indicating the presence of a tumour, is the fractal dimension of LASCA images.

QUADRO: A SUPERVISED DIMENSION REDUCTION METHOD VIA RAYLEIGH QUOTIENT OPTIMIZATION

PubMed Central

Fan, Jianqing; Ke, Zheng Tracy; Liu, Han; Xia, Lucy

2016-01-01

We propose a novel Rayleigh quotient based sparse quadratic dimension reduction method—named QUADRO (Quadratic Dimension Reduction via Rayleigh Optimization)—for analyzing high-dimensional data. Unlike in the linear setting where Rayleigh quotient optimization coincides with classification, these two problems are very different under nonlinear settings. In this paper, we clarify this difference and show that Rayleigh quotient optimization may be of independent scientific interests. One major challenge of Rayleigh quotient optimization is that the variance of quadratic statistics involves all fourth cross-moments of predictors, which are infeasible to compute for high-dimensional applications and may accumulate too many stochastic errors. This issue is resolved by considering a family of elliptical models. Moreover, for heavy-tail distributions, robust estimates of mean vectors and covariance matrices are employed to guarantee uniform convergence in estimating non-polynomially many parameters, even though only the fourth moments are assumed. Methodologically, QUADRO is based on elliptical models which allow us to formulate the Rayleigh quotient maximization as a convex optimization problem. Computationally, we propose an efficient linearized augmented Lagrangian method to solve the constrained optimization problem. Theoretically, we provide explicit rates of convergence in terms of Rayleigh quotient under both Gaussian and general elliptical models. Thorough numerical results on both synthetic and real datasets are also provided to back up our theoretical results. PMID:26778864

A dimension reduction method for flood compensation operation of multi-reservoir system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, B.; Wu, S.; Fan, Z.

2017-12-01

Multiple reservoirs cooperation compensation operations coping with uncontrolled flood play vital role in real-time flood mitigation. This paper come up with a reservoir flood compensation operation index (ResFCOI), which formed by elements of flood control storage, flood inflow volume, flood transmission time and cooperation operations period, then establish a flood cooperation compensation operations model of multi-reservoir system, according to the ResFCOI to determine a computational order of each reservoir, and lastly the differential evolution algorithm is implemented for computing single reservoir flood compensation optimization in turn, so that a dimension reduction method is formed to reduce computational complexity. Shiguan River Basin with two large reservoirs and an extensive uncontrolled flood area, is used as a case study, results show that (a) reservoirs' flood discharges and the uncontrolled flood are superimposed at Jiangjiaji Station, while the formed flood peak flow is as small as possible; (b) cooperation compensation operations slightly increase in usage of flood storage capacity in reservoirs, when comparing to rule-based operations; (c) it takes 50 seconds in average when computing a cooperation compensation operations scheme. The dimension reduction method to guide flood compensation operations of multi-reservoir system, can make each reservoir adjust its flood discharge strategy dynamically according to the uncontrolled flood magnitude and pattern, so as to mitigate the downstream flood disaster.

Data Reduction Algorithm Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorization with Nonlinear Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sembiring, Pasukat

2017-12-01

Processing ofdata with very large dimensions has been a hot topic in recent decades. Various techniques have been proposed in order to execute the desired information or structure. Non- Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) based on non-negatives data has become one of the popular methods for shrinking dimensions. The main strength of this method is non-negative object, the object model by a combination of some basic non-negative parts, so as to provide a physical interpretation of the object construction. The NMF is a dimension reduction method thathasbeen used widely for numerous applications including computer vision,text mining, pattern recognitions,and bioinformatics. Mathematical formulation for NMF did not appear as a convex optimization problem and various types of algorithms have been proposed to solve the problem. The Framework of Alternative Nonnegative Least Square(ANLS) are the coordinates of the block formulation approaches that have been proven reliable theoretically and empirically efficient. This paper proposes a new algorithm to solve NMF problem based on the framework of ANLS.This algorithm inherits the convergenceproperty of the ANLS framework to nonlinear constraints NMF formulations.

Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction-V Versus Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction: Impact on Dose Reduction and Image Quality in Body Computed Tomography.

PubMed

Gatti, Marco; Marchisio, Filippo; Fronda, Marco; Rampado, Osvaldo; Faletti, Riccardo; Bergamasco, Laura; Ropolo, Roberto; Fonio, Paolo

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact on dose reduction and image quality of the new iterative reconstruction technique: adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR-V). Fifty consecutive oncologic patients acted as case controls undergoing during their follow-up a computed tomography scan both with ASIR and ASIR-V. Each study was analyzed in a double-blinded fashion by 2 radiologists. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses of image quality were conducted. Computed tomography scanner radiation output was 38% (29%-45%) lower (P < 0.0001) for the ASIR-V examinations than for the ASIR ones. The quantitative image noise was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) for ASIR-V. Adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V had a higher performance for the subjective image noise (P = 0.01 for 5 mm and P = 0.009 for 1.25 mm), the other parameters (image sharpness, diagnostic acceptability, and overall image quality) being similar (P > 0.05). Adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V is a new iterative reconstruction technique that has the potential to provide image quality equal to or greater than ASIR, with a dose reduction around 40%.

The Mobility Decision. 1990 Wheelchair Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henke, Cliff

1990-01-01

This article presents tips for parents shopping for wheelchairs for children with special mobility needs. Manual versus power chairs, dimensions, maneuverability, weight, transportability, durability, adaptability, maximum/minimum speeds, battery life (for power chairs), climbing angle, and other features are discussed. Factors to consider in…

Shape control of an adaptive wing for transonic drag reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, Fred; Van Nostrand, William C.

1995-05-01

Theory and experiments to control the static shape of flexible structures by employing internal translational actuators are summarized and plants to extend the work to adaptive wings are presented. Significant reductions in the shock-induced drag are achievable during transonic- cruise by small adaptive modifications to the wing cross-sectional profile. Actuators are employed as truss elements of active ribs to deform the wing cross section. An adaptive-rib model was constructed, and experiments validated the shape-control theory. Plans for future development under an ARPA/AFWAL contract include payoff assessments of the method on an actual aircraft, the development of inchworm TERFENOL-D actuators, and the development of a method to optimize the wing cross-sectional shapes by direct-drag measurements.

Face adaptation aftereffects reveal anterior medial temporal cortex role in high level category representation.

PubMed

Furl, N; van Rijsbergen, N J; Treves, A; Dolan, R J

2007-08-01

Previous studies have shown reductions of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal in response to repetition of specific visual stimuli. We examined how adaptation affects the neural responses associated with categorization behavior, using face adaptation aftereffects. Adaptation to a given facial category biases categorization towards non-adapted facial categories in response to presentation of ambiguous morphs. We explored a hypothesis, posed by recent psychophysical studies, that these adaptation-induced categorizations are mediated by activity in relatively advanced stages within the occipitotemporal visual processing stream. Replicating these studies, we find that adaptation to a facial expression heightens perception of non-adapted expressions. Using comparable behavioral methods, we also show that adaptation to a specific identity heightens perception of a second identity in morph faces. We show both expression and identity effects to be associated with heightened anterior medial temporal lobe activity, specifically when perceiving the non-adapted category. These regions, incorporating bilateral anterior ventral rhinal cortices, perirhinal cortex and left anterior hippocampus are regions previously implicated in high-level visual perception. These categorization effects were not evident in fusiform or occipital gyri, although activity in these regions was reduced to repeated faces. The findings suggest that adaptation-induced perception is mediated by activity in regions downstream to those showing reductions due to stimulus repetition.

Dwarf planet Ceres: Ellipsoid dimensions and rotational pole from Keck and VLT adaptive optics images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drummond, J. D.; Carry, B.; Merline, W. J.; Dumas, C.; Hammel, H.; Erard, S.; Conrad, A.; Tamblyn, P.; Chapman, C. R.

2014-07-01

The dwarf planet (1) Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, is the target of the NASA Dawn mission, and we seek a comprehensive description of the spin-axis orientation and dimensions of Ceres in order to support the early science operations at the rendezvous in 2015. We have obtained high-angular resolution images using adaptive optics cameras at the W.M. Keck Observatory and the ESO VLT over ten dates between 2001 and 2010, confirming that the shape of Ceres is well described by an oblate spheroid. We derive equatorial and polar diameters of 967 ± 10 km and 892 ± 10 km, respectively, for a model that includes fading of brightness towards the terminator, presumably linked to limb darkening. These dimensions lie between values derived from a previous analysis of a subset of these images obtained at Keck by Carry et al. (Carry et al. [2008]. Astron. Astrophys. 478 (4), 235-244) and a study of Hubble Space Telescope observations (Thomas et al. [2005]. Nature 437, 224-226). Although the dimensions are 1-2% smaller than those found from the HST, the oblateness is similar. We find the spin-vector coordinates of Ceres to lie at (287°, +64°) in equatorial EQJ2000 reference frame (346°, +82° in ecliptic ECJ2000 coordinates), yielding a small obliquity of 3°. While this is in agreement with the aforementioned studies, we have improved the accuracy of the pole determination, which we set at a 3° radius.

destiny: diffusion maps for large-scale single-cell data in R.

PubMed

Angerer, Philipp; Haghverdi, Laleh; Büttner, Maren; Theis, Fabian J; Marr, Carsten; Buettner, Florian

2016-04-15

: Diffusion maps are a spectral method for non-linear dimension reduction and have recently been adapted for the visualization of single-cell expression data. Here we present destiny, an efficient R implementation of the diffusion map algorithm. Our package includes a single-cell specific noise model allowing for missing and censored values. In contrast to previous implementations, we further present an efficient nearest-neighbour approximation that allows for the processing of hundreds of thousands of cells and a functionality for projecting new data on existing diffusion maps. We exemplarily apply destiny to a recent time-resolved mass cytometry dataset of cellular reprogramming. destiny is an open-source R/Bioconductor package "bioconductor.org/packages/destiny" also available at www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/icb/destiny A detailed vignette describing functions and workflows is provided with the package. carsten.marr@helmholtz-muenchen.de or f.buettner@helmholtz-muenchen.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Terahertz solid immersion microscopy for sub-wavelength-resolution imaging of biological objects and tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernomyrdin, Nikita V.; Kucheryavenko, Anna S.; Malakhov, Kirill M.; Schadko, Alexander O.; Komandin, Gennady A.; Lebedev, Sergey P.; Dolganova, Irina N.; Kurlov, Vladimir N.; Lavrukhin, Denis V.; Ponomarev, Dmitry S.; Yurchenko, Stanislav O.; Tuchin, Valery V.; Zaytsev, Kirill I.

2018-04-01

We have developed a method of terahertz (THz) solid immersion microscopy for imaging of biological objects and tissues. It relies on the solid immersion lens (SIL) employing the THz beam focusing into the evanescent-field volume and allowing strong reduction in the dimensions of the THz beam caustic. By solving the problems of the sample handling at the focal plane and raster scanning of its surface with the focused THz beam, the THz SIL microscopy has been adapted for imaging of soft tissues. We have assembled an experimental setup based on a backward-wave oscillator, as a continuous-wave source operating at the wavelength of λ = 500 μm, and a Golay cell, as a detector of the THz wave intensity. By imaging of the razor blade, we have demonstrated advanced 0.2λ-resolution of the proposed THz SIL configuration. Using the experimental setup, we have performed THz imaging of a mint leaf revealing its sub-wavelength features. The observed results highlight a potential of the THz SIL microscopy in biomedical applications of THz science and technology.

Zonnic®: a new player in an old field.

PubMed

Gong, Min; Dunbar, Michael S; Setodji, Claude; Shadel, William G

2017-09-06

The tobacco industry is continually evolving to adapt to increasing tobacco control pressure and regulation, and to cater to consumer preferences. Recently, RJ Reynolds rolled-out a nicotine-containing gum, Zonnic®, which is marketed as a smoking cessation and reduction product and is sold at convenience stores at a lower price and in a smaller quantity than existing brands sold at pharmacies. The introduction of Zonnic® products is a critical first step in tobacco industry's involvement in the NRT market and a serious indication of the evolving tobacco and nicotine-delivery industry and environment. It is likely that this trend will continue and spread, and as such, have a significant impact at multiple dimensions, including consumer perceptions and behavior, tobacco and NRT industry business strategy, and regulation and policy. In this special communication, we present an overview of the current marketing strategy for Zonnic®, discuss its potential impacts at the market level and at the level of the individual consumer, and suggest research and policy priorities based on the magnitude and urgency of the impacts.

Low Dimensional Temporal Organization of Spontaneous Eye Blinks in Adults with Developmental Disabilities and Stereotyped Movement Disorder

PubMed Central

Lee, Mei-Hua; Bodfish, James W.; Lewis, Mark H.; Newell, Karl M.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the mean rate and time-dependent sequential organization of spontaneous eye blinks in adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and individuals from this group that were additionally categorized with stereotypic movement disorder (IDD+SMD). The mean blink rate was lower in the IDD+SMD group than the IDD group and both of these groups had a lower blink rate than a contrast group of healthy adults. In the IDD group the n to n+1 sequential organization over time of the eye blink durations showed a stronger compensatory organization than the contrast group suggesting decreased complexity/dimensionality of eye-blink behavior. Very low blink rate (and thus insufficient time series data) precluded analysis of time-dependent sequential properties in the IDD+SMD group. These findings support the hypothesis that both IDD and SMD are associated with a reduction in the dimension and adaptability of movement behavior and that this may serve as a risk factor for the expression of abnormal movements. PMID:19819672

Universal and integrable nonlinear evolution systems of equations in 2+1 dimensions

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

Maccari, A.

1997-08-01

Integrable systems of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) are obtained from integrable equations in 2+1 dimensions, by means of a reduction method of broad applicability based on Fourier expansion and spatio{endash}temporal rescalings, which is asymptotically exact in the limit of weak nonlinearity. The integrability by the spectral transform is explicitly demonstrated, because the corresponding Lax pairs have been derived, applying the same reduction method to the Lax pair of the initial equation. These systems of nonlinear PDEs are likely to be of applicative relevance and have a {open_quotes}universal{close_quotes} character, inasmuch as they may be derived from a very large classmore » of nonlinear evolution equations with a linear dispersive part. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Body Awareness: Construct and Self-Report Measures

PubMed Central

Mehling, Wolf E.; Gopisetty, Viranjini; Daubenmier, Jennifer; Price, Cynthia J.; Hecht, Frederick M.; Stewart, Anita

2009-01-01

Objectives Heightened body awareness can be adaptive and maladaptive. Improving body awareness has been suggested as an approach for treating patients with conditions such as chronic pain, obesity and post-traumatic stress disorder. We assessed the psychometric quality of selected self-report measures and examined their items for underlying definitions of the construct. Data sources PubMed, PsychINFO, HaPI, Embase, Digital Dissertations Database. Review methods Abstracts were screened; potentially relevant instruments were obtained and systematically reviewed. Instruments were excluded if they exclusively measured anxiety, covered emotions without related physical sensations, used observer ratings only, or were unobtainable. We restricted our study to the proprioceptive and interoceptive channels of body awareness. The psychometric properties of each scale were rated using a structured evaluation according to the method of McDowell. Following a working definition of the multi-dimensional construct, an inter-disciplinary team systematically examined the items of existing body awareness instruments, identified the dimensions queried and used an iterative qualitative process to refine the dimensions of the construct. Results From 1,825 abstracts, 39 instruments were screened. 12 were included for psychometric evaluation. Only two were rated as high standard for reliability, four for validity. Four domains of body awareness with 11 sub-domains emerged. Neither a single nor a compilation of several instruments covered all dimensions. Key domains that might potentially differentiate adaptive and maladaptive aspects of body awareness were missing in the reviewed instruments. Conclusion Existing self-report instruments do not address important domains of the construct of body awareness, are unable to discern between adaptive and maladaptive aspects of body awareness, or exhibit other psychometric limitations. Restricting the construct to its proprio- and interoceptive channels, we explore the current understanding of the multi-dimensional construct and suggest next steps for further research. PMID:19440300

TEMPERAMENTAL ADAPTABILITY, PERSISTENCE, AND REGULARITY: PARENTAL RATINGS OF NORWEGIAN INFANTS AGED 6 TO 12 MONTHS, WITH SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR PREVENTIVE PRACTICE.

PubMed

Olafsen, Kåre S; Ulvund, Stein Erik; Torgersen, Anne Mari; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Smith, Lars; Moe, Vibeke

2018-03-01

There is a need for standardized measures of infant temperament to strengthen current practices in prevention and early intervention. The present study provides Norwegian data on the Cameron-Rice Infant Temperament Questionnaire (CRITQ; J.R. Cameron & D.C. Rice, 1986a), which comprises 46 items and is used within a U.S. health maintenance organization. The CRITQ was filled out by mothers and fathers at 6 and again at 12 months as part of a longitudinal study of mental health during the first years of life (the "Little in Norway" study, N = 1,041 families enrolled; V. Moe & L. Smith, 2010). Results showed that internal consistencies were comparable with U.S. The temperament dimensions of persistence, adaptability, and regularity had acceptable or close-to-acceptable reliabilities in the U.S. study as well as in this study, and also were unifactorial in confirmatory factor analysis. These dimensions are the focus in this article. Findings concerning parents' differential ratings of their infants on the three dimensions are reported, as is the stability of parents' ratings of temperament from 6 to 12 months. In addition, results on the relation between temperament and parenting stress are presented. The study suggests that temperamental adaptability, persistence, and regularity may be relevant when assessing infant behavior, and may be applied in systematic prevention trials for families with infants. The inclusion of concepts related to individual differences in response tendencies and regulatory efforts may broaden the understanding of parent-infant transactions, and thus enrich prevention and sensitizing interventions with the aim of assisting infants' development. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Changing times, changing stories: Generational differences in climate change perspectives from four remote indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herman-Mercer, Nicole M.; Matkin, Elli; Laituri, Melinda J.; Toohey, Ryan C; Massey, Maggie; Elder, Kelly; Schuster, Paul F.; Mutter, Edda A.

2016-01-01

Indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities currently are facing a myriad of social and environmental changes. In response to these changes, studies concerning indigenous knowledge (IK) and climate change vulnerability, resiliency, and adaptation have increased dramatically in recent years. Risks to lives and livelihoods are often the focus of adaptation research; however, the cultural dimensions of climate change are equally important because cultural dimensions inform perceptions of risk. Furthermore, many Arctic and Subarctic IK climate change studies document observations of change and knowledge of the elders and older generations in a community, but few include the perspectives of the younger population. These observations by elders and older generations form a historical baseline record of weather and climate observations in these regions. However, many indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities are composed of primarily younger residents. We focused on the differences in the cultural dimensions of climate change found between young adults and elders. We outlined the findings from interviews conducted in four indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska. The findings revealed that (1) intergenerational observations of change were common among interview participants in all four communities, (2) older generations observed more overall change than younger generations interviewed by us, and (3) how change was perceived varied between generations. We defined “observations” as the specific examples of environmental and weather change that were described, whereas “perceptions” referred to the manner in which these observations of change were understood and contextualized by the interview participants. Understanding the differences in generational observations and perceptions of change are key issues in the development of climate change adaptation strategies.

Sustainable development through a gendered lens: climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

PubMed

Lewis, Nancy D

2016-03-01

The UN General Assembly has just adopted the post 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda articulated in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving the SDGs will be furthered by the closer integration of the climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) agendas. Gender provides us a valuable portal for considering this integration. Acknowledging that gender relaters to both women and men and that men and women experience climate variability and disasters differently, in this paper the role of women in both CCA and DRR is explored, shifting the focus from women as vulnerable victims to women as critical agents for change with respect to climate change mitigation and adaptation and reduction of disaster risks. Appropriately targeted interventions can also empower women and contribute to more just and inclusive sustainable development.

Catalan speakers' perception of word stress in unaccented contexts.

PubMed

Ortega-Llebaria, Marta; del Mar Vanrell, Maria; Prieto, Pilar

2010-01-01

In unaccented contexts, formant frequency differences related to vowel reduction constitute a consistent cue to word stress in English, whereas in languages such as Spanish that have no systematic vowel reduction, stress perception is based on duration and intensity cues. This article examines the perception of word stress by speakers of Central Catalan, in which, due to its vowel reduction patterns, words either alternate stressed open vowels with unstressed mid-central vowels as in English or contain no vowel quality cues to stress, as in Spanish. Results show that Catalan listeners perceive stress based mainly on duration cues in both word types. Other cues pattern together with duration to make stress perception more robust. However, no single cue is absolutely necessary and trading effects compensate for a lack of differentiation in one dimension by changes in another dimension. In particular, speakers identify longer mid-central vowels as more stressed than shorter open vowels. These results and those obtained in other stress-accent languages provide cumulative evidence that word stress is perceived independently of pitch accents by relying on a set of cues with trading effects so that no single cue, including formant frequency differences related to vowel reduction, is absolutely necessary for stress perception.

Thermal Inactivation of Desiccation-Adapted Salmonella spp. in Aged Chicken Litter

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhao; Diao, Junshu; Dharmasena, Muthu; Ionita, Claudia; Rieck, James

2013-01-01

Thermal inactivation of desiccation-adapted Salmonella spp. in aged chicken litter was investigated in comparison with that in a nonadapted control to examine potential cross-tolerance of desiccation-adapted cells to heat treatment. A mixture of four Salmonella serovars was inoculated into the finished compost with 20, 30, 40, and 50% moisture contents for a 24-h desiccation adaptation. Afterwards, the compost with desiccation-adapted cells was inoculated into the aged chicken litter with the same moisture content for heat treatments at 70, 75, 80, 85, and 150°C. Recovery media were used to allow heat-injured cells to resuscitate. A 5-log reduction in the number of the desiccation-adapted cells in aged chicken litter with a 20% moisture content required >6, >6, ∼4 to 5, and ∼3 to 4 h of exposure at 70, 75, 80, and 85°C, respectively. As a comparison, a 5-log reduction in the number of nonadapted control cells in the same chicken litter was achieved within ∼1.5 to 2, ∼1 to 1.5, ∼0.5 to 1, and <0.5 h at 70, 75, 80, and 85°C, respectively. The exposure time required to obtain a 5-log reduction in the number of desiccation-adapted cells gradually became shorter as temperature and moisture content were increased. At 150°C, desiccation-adapted Salmonella cells survived for 50 min in chicken litter with a 20% moisture content, whereas control cells were detectable by enrichment for only 10 min. Our results demonstrated that the thermal resistance of Salmonella in aged chicken litter was increased significantly when the cells were adapted to desiccation. This study also validated the effectiveness of thermal processing being used for producing chicken litter free of Salmonella contamination. PMID:24014540

Thermal inactivation of desiccation-adapted Salmonella spp. in aged chicken litter.

PubMed

Chen, Zhao; Diao, Junshu; Dharmasena, Muthu; Ionita, Claudia; Jiang, Xiuping; Rieck, James

2013-11-01

Thermal inactivation of desiccation-adapted Salmonella spp. in aged chicken litter was investigated in comparison with that in a nonadapted control to examine potential cross-tolerance of desiccation-adapted cells to heat treatment. A mixture of four Salmonella serovars was inoculated into the finished compost with 20, 30, 40, and 50% moisture contents for a 24-h desiccation adaptation. Afterwards, the compost with desiccation-adapted cells was inoculated into the aged chicken litter with the same moisture content for heat treatments at 70, 75, 80, 85, and 150°C. Recovery media were used to allow heat-injured cells to resuscitate. A 5-log reduction in the number of the desiccation-adapted cells in aged chicken litter with a 20% moisture content required >6, >6, ∼4 to 5, and ∼3 to 4 h of exposure at 70, 75, 80, and 85°C, respectively. As a comparison, a 5-log reduction in the number of nonadapted control cells in the same chicken litter was achieved within ∼1.5 to 2, ∼1 to 1.5, ∼0.5 to 1, and <0.5 h at 70, 75, 80, and 85°C, respectively. The exposure time required to obtain a 5-log reduction in the number of desiccation-adapted cells gradually became shorter as temperature and moisture content were increased. At 150°C, desiccation-adapted Salmonella cells survived for 50 min in chicken litter with a 20% moisture content, whereas control cells were detectable by enrichment for only 10 min. Our results demonstrated that the thermal resistance of Salmonella in aged chicken litter was increased significantly when the cells were adapted to desiccation. This study also validated the effectiveness of thermal processing being used for producing chicken litter free of Salmonella contamination.

[Strategies for successful weight reduction - focus on energy balance].

PubMed

Weck, M; Bornstein, S R; Barthel, A; Blüher, M

2012-10-01

The prevalence of obesity and related health problems is increasing worldwide and also in Germany. It is well known that substantial and sustained weight loss is difficult to accomplish. Therefore, a variety of studies has been performed in order to specify causes for weight gain and create hypotheses for better treatment options. Key factors of this problem are an adaptation of energy metabolism, especially resting metabolic rate (RMR), non-exercise thermogenesis and diet induced thermogenesis. The extremely high failure rate (> 80%) to keep the reduced weight after successful weight loss is due to adaptation processes of the body to maintain body energy stores. This so called "adaptive thermogenesis" is defined as a smaller than predicted change of energy expenditure in response to changes in energy balance. Adaptive thermogenesis appears to be a major reason for weight regain. The foremost objective of weight-loss programs is the reduction in body fat. However, a concomitant decline in lean tissue can frequently be observed. Since lean body mass (LBM) represents a key determinant of RMR it follows that a decrease in lean tissue could counteract the progress of weight loss. Therefore, with respect to long-term effectiveness of weight reduction programs, the loss of fat mass while maintaining LBM and RMR seems desirable. In this paper we will discuss the mechanisms of adaptive thermogenesis and develop therapeutic strategies with respect to avoiding weight regain successful weight reduction. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Numerical relativity for D dimensional axially symmetric space-times: Formalism and code tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zilhão, Miguel; Witek, Helvi; Sperhake, Ulrich; Cardoso, Vitor; Gualtieri, Leonardo; Herdeiro, Carlos; Nerozzi, Andrea

2010-04-01

The numerical evolution of Einstein’s field equations in a generic background has the potential to answer a variety of important questions in physics: from applications to the gauge-gravity duality, to modeling black hole production in TeV gravity scenarios, to analysis of the stability of exact solutions, and to tests of cosmic censorship. In order to investigate these questions, we extend numerical relativity to more general space-times than those investigated hitherto, by developing a framework to study the numerical evolution of D dimensional vacuum space-times with an SO(D-2) isometry group for D≥5, or SO(D-3) for D≥6. Performing a dimensional reduction on a (D-4) sphere, the D dimensional vacuum Einstein equations are rewritten as a 3+1 dimensional system with source terms, and presented in the Baumgarte, Shapiro, Shibata, and Nakamura formulation. This allows the use of existing 3+1 dimensional numerical codes with small adaptations. Brill-Lindquist initial data are constructed in D dimensions and a procedure to match them to our 3+1 dimensional evolution equations is given. We have implemented our framework by adapting the Lean code and perform a variety of simulations of nonspinning black hole space-times. Specifically, we present a modified moving puncture gauge, which facilitates long-term stable simulations in D=5. We further demonstrate the internal consistency of the code by studying convergence and comparing numerical versus analytic results in the case of geodesic slicing for D=5, 6.

ACCELERATED FITTING OF STELLAR SPECTRA

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

Ting, Yuan-Sen; Conroy, Charlie; Rix, Hans-Walter

2016-07-20

Stellar spectra are often modeled and fitted by interpolating within a rectilinear grid of synthetic spectra to derive the stars’ labels: stellar parameters and elemental abundances. However, the number of synthetic spectra needed for a rectilinear grid grows exponentially with the label space dimensions, precluding the simultaneous and self-consistent fitting of more than a few elemental abundances. Shortcuts such as fitting subsets of labels separately can introduce unknown systematics and do not produce correct error covariances in the derived labels. In this paper we present a new approach—Convex Hull Adaptive Tessellation (chat)—which includes several new ideas for inexpensively generating amore » sufficient stellar synthetic library, using linear algebra and the concept of an adaptive, data-driven grid. A convex hull approximates the region where the data lie in the label space. A variety of tests with mock data sets demonstrate that chat can reduce the number of required synthetic model calculations by three orders of magnitude in an eight-dimensional label space. The reduction will be even larger for higher dimensional label spaces. In chat the computational effort increases only linearly with the number of labels that are fit simultaneously. Around each of these grid points in the label space an approximate synthetic spectrum can be generated through linear expansion using a set of “gradient spectra” that represent flux derivatives at every wavelength point with respect to all labels. These techniques provide new opportunities to fit the full stellar spectra from large surveys with 15–30 labels simultaneously.« less

Review of Adaptive Programmable Materials and Their Bioapplications.

PubMed

Fan, Xiaoshan; Chung, Jing Yang; Lim, Yong Xiang; Li, Zibiao; Loh, Xian Jun

2016-12-14

Adaptive programmable materials have attracted increasing attention due to their high functionality, autonomous behavior, encapsulation, and site-specific confinement capabilities in various applications. Compared to conventional materials, adaptive programmable materials possess unique single-material architecture that can maintain, respond, and change their shapes and dimensions when they are subjected to surrounding environment changes, such as alternation in temperature, pH, and ionic strength. In this review, the most-recent advances in the design strategies of adaptive programmable materials are presented with respect to different types of architectural polymers, including stimuli-responsive polymers and shape-memory polymers. The diverse functions of these sophisticated materials and their significance in therapeutic agent delivery systems are also summarized in this review. Finally, the challenges for facile fabrication of these materials and future prospective are also discussed.

Discharge of Monkey Nucleus Reticularis Tegmenti Pontis Neurons Changes During Saccade Adaptation

PubMed Central

Takeichi, N.; Kaneko, C.R.S.; Fuchs, A. F.

2006-01-01

Saccade accuracy is maintained by adaptive mechanisms that continually modify saccade amplitude to reduce dysmetria. Previous studies suggest that adaptation occurs upstream of the caudal fastigial nucleus (CFN), the output of the oculomotor cerebellar vermis but downstream from the superior colliculus (SC). The nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) is a major source of afferents to both the oculomotor vermis and the CFN and in turn receives direct input from the SC. Here we examine the activity of NRTP neurons in four rhesus monkeys during behaviorally induced changes in saccade amplitude to assess whether their discharge might reveal adaptation mechanisms that mediate changes in saccade amplitude. During amplitude decrease adaptation (average, 22%), the gradual reduction of saccade amplitude was accompanied by an increase in the number of spikes in the burst of 19/34 neurons (56%) and no change for 15 neurons (44%). For the neurons that increased their discharge, the additional spikes were added at the beginning of the saccadic burst and adaptation also delayed the peak-firing rate in some neurons. Moreover, after amplitude reduction, the movement fields changed shape in all 15 open field neurons tested. Our data show that saccadic amplitude reduction affects the number of spikes in the burst of more than half of NRTP neurons tested, primarily by increasing burst duration not frequency. Therefore adaptive changes in saccade amplitude are reflected already at a major input to the oculomotor cerebellum. PMID:15917328

Adaptation of the Levee Erosional Equivalence Method for the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

ER D C/ CH L TR -1 1- 3 Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction R& D Program Adaptation of the Levee Erosional Equivalence Method for the...of vertical wall [-] γw Specific weight of water [kN/m3] γβ Reduction factor for influence of angle of wave attack [-] θ Landward-side levee ...stress multiplied by the flow velocity. Thus, from Equation (4) stream power has the form ERDC/CHL TR-11-3 9 S o D D dW P τ u ρ f u u ρ f u dt

Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale for Colombian Nursing Professionals.

PubMed

Herrero-Hahn, Raquel; Rojas, Juan Guillermo; Ospina-Díaz, Juan Manuel; Montoya-Juárez, Rafael; Restrepo-Medrano, Juan Carlos; Hueso-Montoro, César

2017-03-01

The level of cultural self-efficacy indicates the degree of confidence nursing professionals possess for their ability to provide culturally competent care. Cultural adaptation and validation of the Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale was performed for nursing professionals in Colombia. A scale validation study was conducted. Cultural adaptation and validation of the Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale was performed using a sample of 190 nurses in Colombia, between September 2013 and April 2014. This sample was chosen via systematic random sampling from a finite population. The scale was culturally adapted. Cronbach's alpha for the revised scale was .978. Factor analysis revealed the existence of six factors grouped in three dimensions that explained 68% of the variance. The results demonstrated that the version of the Cultural Self-Efficacy Scale adapted to the Colombian context is a valid and reliable instrument for determining the level of cultural self-efficacy of nursing professionals.

Modeling Complex Chemical Systems: Problems and Solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dijk, Jan

2016-09-01

Non-equilibrium plasmas in complex gas mixtures are at the heart of numerous contemporary technologies. They typically contain dozens to hundreds of species, involved in hundreds to thousands of reactions. Chemists and physicists have always been interested in what are now called chemical reduction techniques (CRT's). The idea of such CRT's is that they reduce the number of species that need to be considered explicitly without compromising the validity of the model. This is usually achieved on the basis of an analysis of the reaction time scales of the system under study, which identifies species that are in partial equilibrium after a given time span. The first such CRT that has been widely used in plasma physics was developed in the 1960's and resulted in the concept of effective ionization and recombination rates. It was later generalized to systems in which multiple levels are effected by transport. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in tools for chemical reduction and reaction pathway analysis. An example of the latter is the PumpKin tool. Another trend is that techniques that have previously been developed in other fields of science are adapted as to be able to handle the plasma state of matter. Examples are the Intrinsic Low Dimension Manifold (ILDM) method and its derivatives, which originate from combustion engineering, and the general-purpose Principle Component Analysis (PCA) technique. In this contribution we will provide an overview of the most common reduction techniques, then critically assess the pros and cons of the methods that have gained most popularity in recent years. Examples will be provided for plasmas in argon and carbon dioxide.

The SCUBA Data Reduction Pipeline: ORAC-DR at the JCMT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenness, Tim; Economou, Frossie

The ORAC data reduction pipeline, developed for UKIRT, has been designed to be a completely general approach to writing data reduction pipelines. This generality has enabled the JCMT to adapt the system for use with SCUBA with minimal development time using the existing SCUBA data reduction algorithms (Surf).

Understanding Farmer Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: The Roles of Trust in Sources of Climate Information, Climate Change Beliefs, and Perceived Risk.

PubMed

Arbuckle, J Gordon; Morton, Lois Wright; Hobbs, Jon

2015-02-01

Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change and a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Farmers face pressures to adjust agricultural systems to make them more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather (adaptation) and reduce GHG production (mitigation). This research examines relationships between Iowa farmers' trust in environmental or agricultural interest groups as sources of climate information, climate change beliefs, perceived climate risks to agriculture, and support for adaptation and mitigation responses. Results indicate that beliefs varied with trust, and beliefs in turn had a significant direct effect on perceived risks from climate change. Support for adaptation varied with perceived risks, while attitudes toward GHG reduction (mitigation) were associated predominantly with variation in beliefs. Most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but few endorsed GHG reduction, suggesting that outreach should focus on interventions that have adaptive and mitigative properties (e.g., reduced tillage, improved fertilizer management).

Walking adaptability after a stroke and its assessment in clinical settings.

PubMed

Balasubramanian, Chitralakshmi K; Clark, David J; Fox, Emily J

2014-01-01

Control of walking has been described by a tripartite model consisting of stepping, equilibrium, and adaptability. This review focuses on walking adaptability, which is defined as the ability to modify walking to meet task goals and environmental demands. Walking adaptability is crucial to safe ambulation in the home and community environments and is often severely compromised after a stroke. Yet quantification of walking adaptability after stroke has received relatively little attention in the clinical setting. The objectives of this review were to examine the conceptual challenges for clinical measurement of walking adaptability and summarize the current state of clinical assessment for walking adaptability. We created nine domains of walking adaptability from dimensions of community mobility to address the conceptual challenges in measurement and reviewed performance-based clinical assessments of walking to determine if the assessments measure walking adaptability in these domains. Our literature review suggests the lack of a comprehensive well-tested clinical assessment tool for measuring walking adaptability. Accordingly, recommendations for the development of a comprehensive clinical assessment of walking adaptability after stroke have been presented. Such a clinical assessment will be essential for gauging recovery of walking adaptability with rehabilitation and for motivating novel strategies to enhance recovery of walking adaptability after stroke.

Walking Adaptability after a Stroke and Its Assessment in Clinical Settings

PubMed Central

Balasubramanian, Chitralakshmi K.; Clark, David J.; Fox, Emily J.

2014-01-01

Control of walking has been described by a tripartite model consisting of stepping, equilibrium, and adaptability. This review focuses on walking adaptability, which is defined as the ability to modify walking to meet task goals and environmental demands. Walking adaptability is crucial to safe ambulation in the home and community environments and is often severely compromised after a stroke. Yet quantification of walking adaptability after stroke has received relatively little attention in the clinical setting. The objectives of this review were to examine the conceptual challenges for clinical measurement of walking adaptability and summarize the current state of clinical assessment for walking adaptability. We created nine domains of walking adaptability from dimensions of community mobility to address the conceptual challenges in measurement and reviewed performance-based clinical assessments of walking to determine if the assessments measure walking adaptability in these domains. Our literature review suggests the lack of a comprehensive well-tested clinical assessment tool for measuring walking adaptability. Accordingly, recommendations for the development of a comprehensive clinical assessment of walking adaptability after stroke have been presented. Such a clinical assessment will be essential for gauging recovery of walking adaptability with rehabilitation and for motivating novel strategies to enhance recovery of walking adaptability after stroke. PMID:25254140

Cultural Dimensions of Learning: Addressing the Challenges of Multicultural Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parrish, Patrick; Linder-VanBerschot, Jennifer A.

2010-01-01

The growing multicultural nature of education and training environments makes it critical that instructors and instructional designers, especially those working in online learning environments, develop skills to deliver culturally sensitive and culturally adaptive instruction. This article explores research into cultural differences to identify…

Application of Avco data analysis and prediction techniques (ADAPT) to prediction of sunspot activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, H. E.; Amato, R. A.

1972-01-01

The results are presented of the application of Avco Data Analysis and Prediction Techniques (ADAPT) to derivation of new algorithms for the prediction of future sunspot activity. The ADAPT derived algorithms show a factor of 2 to 3 reduction in the expected 2-sigma errors in the estimates of the 81-day running average of the Zurich sunspot numbers. The report presents: (1) the best estimates for sunspot cycles 20 and 21, (2) a comparison of the ADAPT performance with conventional techniques, and (3) specific approaches to further reduction in the errors of estimated sunspot activity and to recovery of earlier sunspot historical data. The ADAPT programs are used both to derive regression algorithm for prediction of the entire 11-year sunspot cycle from the preceding two cycles and to derive extrapolation algorithms for extrapolating a given sunspot cycle based on any available portion of the cycle.

Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography by adaptive total variation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Tong; Shi, Yaoyao; Liu, Youwen; He, Chongjun

2015-12-01

An adaptive total variation method based on the combination of speckle statistics and total variation restoration is proposed and developed for reducing speckle noise in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. The statistical distribution of the speckle noise in OCT image is investigated and measured. With the measured parameters such as the mean value and variance of the speckle noise, the OCT image is restored by the adaptive total variation restoration method. The adaptive total variation restoration algorithm was applied to the OCT images of a volunteer's hand skin, which showed effective speckle noise reduction and image quality improvement. For image quality comparison, the commonly used median filtering method was also applied to the same images to reduce the speckle noise. The measured results demonstrate the superior performance of the adaptive total variation restoration method in terms of image signal-to-noise ratio, equivalent number of looks, contrast-to-noise ratio, and mean square error.

Assessing Continuous Quality Improvement in Public Health: Adapting Lessons from Healthcare.

PubMed

Price, Alex; Schwartz, Robert; Cohen, Joanna; Manson, Heather; Scott, Fran

2017-02-01

Evidence of the effect of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in public health and valid tools to judge that such effects are not fully formed. The objective was to adapt and apply Shortell et al.'s (1998) four dimensions of CQI in an examination of a public health accountability and performance management initiative in Ontario, Canada. In total, 24 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with informants from public health units and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. A web survey of public health managers in the province was also carried out. A mix of facilitators and barriers was identified. Leadership and organizational cultures, conducive to CQI success were evident. However, limitations in performance measurement and managerial discretion were key barriers. The four dimensions of CQI provided insight into both facilitators and barriers of CQI adoption in public health. Future research should compare the outcomes of public health CQI initiatives to the framework's stated facilitators and barriers. Copyright © 2017 Longwoods Publishing.

A Moving Mesh Finite Element Algorithm for Singular Problems in Two and Three Space Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ruo; Tang, Tao; Zhang, Pingwen

2002-04-01

A framework for adaptive meshes based on the Hamilton-Schoen-Yau theory was proposed by Dvinsky. In a recent work (2001, J. Comput. Phys.170, 562-588), we extended Dvinsky's method to provide an efficient moving mesh algorithm which compared favorably with the previously proposed schemes in terms of simplicity and reliability. In this work, we will further extend the moving mesh methods based on harmonic maps to deal with mesh adaptation in three space dimensions. In obtaining the variational mesh, we will solve an optimization problem with some appropriate constraints, which is in contrast to the traditional method of solving the Euler-Lagrange equation directly. The key idea of this approach is to update the interior and boundary grids simultaneously, rather than considering them separately. Application of the proposed moving mesh scheme is illustrated with some two- and three-dimensional problems with large solution gradients. The numerical experiments show that our methods can accurately resolve detail features of singular problems in 3D.

A Fast and Robust Beamspace Adaptive Beamformer for Medical Ultrasound Imaging.

PubMed

Mohades Deylami, Ali; Mohammadzadeh Asl, Babak

2017-06-01

Minimum variance beamformer (MVB) increases the resolution and contrast of medical ultrasound imaging compared with nonadaptive beamformers. These advantages come at the expense of high computational complexity that prevents this adaptive beamformer to be applied in a real-time imaging system. A new beamspace (BS) based on discrete cosine transform is proposed in which the medical ultrasound signals can be represented with less dimensions compared with the standard BS. This is because of symmetric beampattern of the beams in the proposed BS compared with the asymmetric ones in the standard BS. This lets us decrease the dimensions of data to two, so a high complex algorithm, such as the MVB, can be applied faster in this BS. The results indicated that by keeping only two beams, the MVB in the proposed BS provides very similar resolution and also better contrast compared with the standard MVB (SMVB) with only 0.44% of needed flops. Also, this beamformer is more robust against sound speed estimation errors than the SMVB.

[Development of an instrument for the surveillance of quality indicators in specialized training in Preventive Medicine and Public Health].

PubMed

Gil-Borrelli, Christian Carlo; Latasa, Pello; Reques, Laura; Alemán, Guadalupe

2015-01-01

This study describes the process of developing an instrument intended for use in assessing satisfaction with the quality of training in preventive medicine and public health for resident physicians. To develop this instrument, the National Survey of Satisfaction with Medical Residency was adapted by an expert panel consisting of 23 resident physicians in preventive medicine and public health belonging to 9 autonomous communities in Spain. The adaptation of the survey to the specialty rotations included new dimensions and items and was evaluated with a 5-point Likert scale. The most important dimensions were planning and the achievement of specific objectives, supervision, delegation of responsibilities, resources and work environment, personal assessment, encouragement, support, and whether the rotation resulted in a publication or research project, etc. The development and utilization of this tool will enable future trainees in preventive medicine and public health to make an informed choice about their training itineraries. Copyright © 2015 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Assessing Continuous Quality Improvement in Public Health: Adapting Lessons from Healthcare

PubMed Central

Schwartz, Robert; Cohen, Joanna; Manson, Heather; Scott, Fran

2017-01-01

Context: Evidence of the effect of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in public health and valid tools to judge that such effects are not fully formed. Objective: The objective was to adapt and apply Shortell et al.'s (1998) four dimensions of CQI in an examination of a public health accountability and performance management initiative in Ontario, Canada. Methods: In total, 24 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with informants from public health units and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. A web survey of public health managers in the province was also carried out. Results: A mix of facilitators and barriers was identified. Leadership and organizational cultures, conducive to CQI success were evident. However, limitations in performance measurement and managerial discretion were key barriers. Conclusion: The four dimensions of CQI provided insight into both facilitators and barriers of CQI adoption in public health. Future research should compare the outcomes of public health CQI initiatives to the framework's stated facilitators and barriers. PMID:28277203

Engineering healthcare as a service system.

PubMed

Tien, James M; Goldschmidt-Clermont, Pascal J

2010-01-01

Engineering has and will continue to have a critical impact on healthcare; the application of technology-based techniques to biological problems can be defined to be technobiology applications. This paper is primarily focused on applying the technobiology approach of systems engineering to the development of a healthcare service system that is both integrated and adaptive. In general, healthcare services are carried out with knowledge-intensive agents or components which work together as providers and consumers to create or co-produce value. Indeed, the engineering design of a healthcare system must recognize the fact that it is actually a complex integration of human-centered activities that is increasingly dependent on information technology and knowledge. Like any service system, healthcare can be considered to be a combination or recombination of three essential components - people (characterized by behaviors, values, knowledge, etc.), processes (characterized by collaboration, customization, etc.) and products (characterized by software, hardware, infrastructures, etc.). Thus, a healthcare system is an integrated and adaptive set of people, processes and products. It is, in essence, a system of systems which objectives are to enhance its efficiency (leading to greater interdependency) and effectiveness (leading to improved health). Integration occurs over the physical, temporal, organizational and functional dimensions, while adaptation occurs over the monitoring, feedback, cybernetic and learning dimensions. In sum, such service systems as healthcare are indeed complex, especially due to the uncertainties associated with the human-centered aspects of these systems. Moreover, the system complexities can only be dealt with methods that enhance system integration and adaptation.

Beyond allostatic load: rethinking the role of stress in regulating human development.

PubMed

Ellis, Bruce J; Del Giudice, Marco

2014-02-01

How do exposures to stress affect biobehavioral development and, through it, psychiatric and biomedical disorder? In the health sciences, the allostatic load model provides a widely accepted answer to this question: stress responses, while essential for survival, have negative long-term effects that promote illness. Thus, the benefits of mounting repeated biological responses to threat are traded off against costs to mental and physical health. The adaptive calibration model, an evolutionary-developmental theory of stress-health relations, extends this logic by conceptualizing these trade-offs as decision nodes in allocation of resources. Each decision node influences the next in a chain of resource allocations that become instantiated in the regulatory parameters of stress response systems. Over development, these parameters filter and embed information about key dimensions of environmental stress and support, mediating the organism's openness to environmental inputs, and function to regulate life history strategies to match those dimensions. Drawing on the adaptive calibration model, we propose that consideration of biological fitness trade-offs, as delineated by life history theory, is needed to more fully explain the complex relations between developmental exposures to stress, stress responsivity, behavioral strategies, and health. We conclude that the adaptive calibration model and allostatic load model are only partially complementary and, in some cases, support different approaches to intervention. In the long run, the field may be better served by a model informed by life history theory that addresses the adaptive role of stress response systems in regulating alternative developmental pathways.

A novel fusion method of improved adaptive LTP and two-directional two-dimensional PCA for face feature extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yuan; Wang, Bo-yu; Zhang, Yi; Zhao, Li-ming

2018-03-01

In this paper, under different illuminations and random noises, focusing on the local texture feature's defects of a face image that cannot be completely described because the threshold of local ternary pattern (LTP) cannot be calculated adaptively, a local three-value model of improved adaptive local ternary pattern (IALTP) is proposed. Firstly, the difference function between the center pixel and the neighborhood pixel weight is established to obtain the statistical characteristics of the central pixel and the neighborhood pixel. Secondly, the adaptively gradient descent iterative function is established to calculate the difference coefficient which is defined to be the threshold of the IALTP operator. Finally, the mean and standard deviation of the pixel weight of the local region are used as the coding mode of IALTP. In order to reflect the overall properties of the face and reduce the dimension of features, the two-directional two-dimensional PCA ((2D)2PCA) is adopted. The IALTP is used to extract local texture features of eyes and mouth area. After combining the global features and local features, the fusion features (IALTP+) are obtained. The experimental results on the Extended Yale B and AR standard face databases indicate that under different illuminations and random noises, the algorithm proposed in this paper is more robust than others, and the feature's dimension is smaller. The shortest running time reaches 0.329 6 s, and the highest recognition rate reaches 97.39%.

Linear dimension reduction and Bayes classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decell, H. P., Jr.; Odell, P. L.; Coberly, W. A.

1978-01-01

An explicit expression for a compression matrix T of smallest possible left dimension K consistent with preserving the n variate normal Bayes assignment of X to a given one of a finite number of populations and the K variate Bayes assignment of TX to that population was developed. The Bayes population assignment of X and TX were shown to be equivalent for a compression matrix T explicitly calculated as a function of the means and covariances of the given populations.

Neural Network Machine Learning and Dimension Reduction for Data Visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liles, Charles A.

2014-01-01

Neural network machine learning in computer science is a continuously developing field of study. Although neural network models have been developed which can accurately predict a numeric value or nominal classification, a general purpose method for constructing neural network architecture has yet to be developed. Computer scientists are often forced to rely on a trial-and-error process of developing and improving accurate neural network models. In many cases, models are constructed from a large number of input parameters. Understanding which input parameters have the greatest impact on the prediction of the model is often difficult to surmise, especially when the number of input variables is very high. This challenge is often labeled the "curse of dimensionality" in scientific fields. However, techniques exist for reducing the dimensionality of problems to just two dimensions. Once a problem's dimensions have been mapped to two dimensions, it can be easily plotted and understood by humans. The ability to visualize a multi-dimensional dataset can provide a means of identifying which input variables have the highest effect on determining a nominal or numeric output. Identifying these variables can provide a better means of training neural network models; models can be more easily and quickly trained using only input variables which appear to affect the outcome variable. The purpose of this project is to explore varying means of training neural networks and to utilize dimensional reduction for visualizing and understanding complex datasets.

The Relation between Perceived Social Support and Anxiety in Patients under Hemodialysis.

PubMed

Davaridolatabadi, Elham; Abdeyazdan, Gholamhossein

2016-03-01

The increase in the number of patients under hemodialysis treatment is a universal problem. With regard to the fact that there have been few social-psychological studies conducted on patients under hemodialysis treatment, the current study was conducted to investigate anxiety and perceived social support and the relation between them among these patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 126 patients under hemodialysis treatment in Isfahan in 2012. After randomly selecting a hospital with a hemodialysis ward, purposive sampling was conducted. Data collection tools included state-trait anxiety and perceived social support inventory. The data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Among the participants, 68.3% received average perceived social support. In addition, perceiving the tangible dimension of support was lower compared to other dimensions (Mean 40.02). Level of trait and state anxiety (65 and 67.5%) of over half of the participants was average. There was in inverse relationship between state and trait anxiety and total perceived social support and emotional and information dimensions (r = -0.340, r = -0.229). State and trait anxiety had the highest relation with emotional and information dimension of social support, respectively. Patients under hemodialysis treatment suffer from numerous psychological and social problems. Low awareness and emotional problems result in the increase of anxiety and reduction of perceived social support. Reduction of social support has negative effect on treatment outcomes.

Factors associated with changes in vaginal length and diameter during pelvic radiotherapy for cervical cancer.

PubMed

Martins, Jumara; Vaz, Ana Francisca; Grion, Regina Celia; Esteves, Sérgio Carlos Barros; Costa-Paiva, Lúcia; Baccaro, Luiz Francisco

2017-12-01

This study reports the incidence and factors associated with vaginal stenosis and changes in vaginal dimensions after pelvic radiotherapy for cervical cancer. A descriptive longitudinal study with 139 women with cervical cancer was conducted from January 2013 to November 2015. The outcome variables were vaginal stenosis assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v3.0) and changes in vaginal diameter and length after the end of radiotherapy. Independent variables were the characteristics of the neoplasm, clinical and sociodemographic data. Bivariate analysis was carried out using χ 2 , Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney's test. Multiple analysis was carried out using Poisson regression and a generalized linear model. Most women (50.4%) had stage IIIB tumors. According to CTCAE v3.0 scale, 30.2% had no stenosis, 69.1% had grade 1 and 0.7% had grade 2 stenosis after radiotherapy. Regarding changes in vaginal measures, the mean variation in diameter was - 0.6 (± 1.7) mm and the mean variation in length was - 0.6 (± 1.3) cm. In the final statistical model, having tumoral invasion of the vaginal walls (coefficient + 0.73, p < 0.01) and diabetes (coefficient + 1.16; p < 0.01) were associated with lower vaginal stenosis and lower reduction of vaginal dimensions. Advanced clinical stage (coefficient + 1.44; p = 0.02) and receiving brachytherapy/teletherapy (coefficient - 1.17, p < 0.01) were associated with higher reduction of vaginal dimensions. Most women had mild vaginal stenosis with slight reductions in both diameter and length of the vaginal canal. Women with tumoral invasion of the vagina have an increase in vaginal length soon after radiotherapy due to a reduction in tumoral volume.

Measurement of the dimensions of food insecurity in developed countries: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Ashby, Stephanie; Kleve, Suzanne; McKechnie, Rebecca; Palermo, Claire

2016-11-01

Food insecurity is a salient health issue comprised of four dimensions - food access, availability, utilization and stability over time. The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic literature review to identify all multi-item tools that measure food insecurity and explore which of the dimensions they assess. Five databases were searched (CENTRAL, CINAHL plus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, TRIP) for studies published in English since 1999. Inclusion criteria included human studies using multi-item tools to measure food security and studies conducted in developed countries. Manuscripts describing the US Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey Module, that measures 'food access', were excluded due to wide acceptance of the validity and reliability of this instrument. Two authors extracted data and assessed the quality of the included studies. Data were summarized against the dimensions of food insecurity. A systematic review of the literature. The majority of tools were developed in the USA and had been used in different age groups and cultures. Eight multi-item tools were identified. All of the tools assessed the 'food access' dimension and two partially assessed the dimensions 'food utilization' and 'stability over time', respectively. 'Food availability' was not assessed by existing tools. Current tools available for measuring food insecurity are subjective, limited in scope, with a majority assessing only one dimension of food insecurity (access). To more accurately assess the true burden of food insecurity, tools should be adapted or developed to assess all four dimensions of food insecurity.

Symptom dimensions of affective disorders in migraine patients.

PubMed

Louter, M A; Pijpers, J A; Wardenaar, K J; van Zwet, E W; van Hemert, A M; Zitman, F G; Ferrari, M D; Penninx, B W; Terwindt, G M

2015-11-01

A strong association has been established between migraine and depression. However, this is the first study to differentiate in a large sample of migraine patients for symptom dimensions of the affective disorder spectrum. Migraine patients (n=3174) from the LUMINA (Leiden University Medical Centre Migraine Neuro-analysis Program) study and patients with current psychopathology (n=1129), past psychopathology (n=477), and healthy controls (n=561) from the NESDA (Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety) study, were compared for three symptom dimensions of depression and anxiety. The dimensions -lack of positive affect (depression specific); negative affect (nonspecific); and somatic arousal (anxiety specific)- were assessed by a shortened adaptation of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ-D30). Within the migraine group, the association with migraine specific determinants was established. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted. Migraine patients differed significantly (p<0.001) from healthy controls for all three dimensions: Cohen's d effect sizes were 0.37 for lack of positive affect, 0.68 for negative affect, and 0.75 for somatic arousal. For the lack of positive affect and negative affect dimensions, migraine patients were predominantly similar to the past psychopathology group. For the somatic arousal dimension, migraine patients scores were more comparable with the current psychopathology group. Migraine specific determinants for high scores on all dimensions were high frequency of attacks and cutaneous allodynia during attacks. This study shows that affective symptoms in migraine patients are especially associated with the somatic arousal component. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the French translation-adaptation of the impact of cancer questionnaire version 2 (IOCv2) in a breast cancer survivor population.

PubMed

Blanchin, Myriam; Dauchy, Sarah; Cano, Alejandra; Brédart, Anne; Aaronson, Neil K; Hardouin, Jean-Benoit

2015-07-29

The Impact of Cancer version 2 (IOCv2) was designed to assess the physical and psychosocial health experience of cancer survivors through its positive and negative impacts. Although the IOCv2 is available in English and Dutch, it has not yet been validated for use in French-speaking populations. The current study was undertaken to provide a comprehensive assessment of the reliability and validity of the French language version of the IOCv2 in a sample of breast cancer survivors. An adapted French version of the IOCv2 as well as demographic and medical information were completed by 243 women to validate the factor structure divergent/divergent validities and reliability. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating the IOCv2 scales with measures from the SF-12, PostTraumatic Growth Inventory and Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory. The French version of the IOCv2 supports the structure of the original version, with four positive impact dimensions and four negative impact dimensions. This result was suggested by the good fit of the confirmatory factor analysis and the adequate reliability revealed by Cronbach's alpha coefficients and other psychometric indices. The concurrent validity analysis revealed patterns of association between IOCv2 scale scores and other measures. Unlike the original version, a structure with a Positive Impact domain consisting in the IOCv2 positive dimensions and a Negative Impact domain consisting in the negative ones has not been clearly evidenced in this study. The limited practical use of the conditional dimensions Employment Concerns and Relationship Concerns, whether the patient is partnered or not, did not make possible to provide evidence of validity and reliability of these dimensions as the subsets of sample to work with were not large enough. The scores of these conditional dimensions have to be used with full knowledge of the facts of this limitation of the study. Integrating IOCv2 into studies will contribute to evaluate the psychosocial health experience of the growing population of cancer survivors, enabling better understanding of the multi-dimensional impact of cancer.

A User's Guide to AMR1D: An Instructional Adaptive Mesh Refinement Code for Unstructured Grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deFainchtein, Rosalinda

1996-01-01

This report documents the code AMR1D, which is currently posted on the World Wide Web (http://sdcd.gsfc.nasa.gov/ESS/exchange/contrib/de-fainchtein/adaptive _mesh_refinement.html). AMR1D is a one-dimensional finite element fluid-dynamics solver, capable of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). It was written as an instructional tool for AMR on unstructured mesh codes. It is meant to illustrate the minimum requirements for AMR on more than one dimension. For that purpose, it uses the same type of data structure that would be necessary on a two-dimensional AMR code (loosely following the algorithm described by Lohner).

[Adaptation of Child's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory for a Spanish population].

PubMed

Samper, Paula; Cortés, María Teresa; Mestre, Vicenta; Nácher, María José; Tur, Ana María

2006-05-01

This study presented an adaptation in Spanish of the Child's Reports of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) . The CRPBI is an instrument that allows us to assess family discipline perceived by children in the relation with their mothers and with their fathers. It's considered a good instrument to assess the perceptions that children have of parent behavior. The Spanish adaptation has been carried out with a sample of 1,274 Spanish adolescents (males and females) from different educational centers of the Valencian Community (13-18 years). The results show that affect, support and control are the main dimensions in the perceived child rearing styles of parents in our population.

Successfully Adapting to Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, James R.

1989-01-01

Describes methods used to successfully adapt to reductions in budget allocations in the University of Utah's Instructional Media Services Department. Three main areas of concern are addressed: morale and staff development; adapting to change in the areas of funding, control, media priorities, and technology; and planning for the future. (LRW)

Association of Focal Radiation Dose Adjusted on Cross Sections with Subsolid Nodule Visibility and Quantification on Computed Tomography Images Using AIDR 3D: Comparison Among Scanning at 84, 42, and 7 mAs.

PubMed

Nagatani, Yukihiro; Moriya, Hiroshi; Noma, Satoshi; Sato, Shigetaka; Tsukagoshi, Shinsuke; Yamashiro, Tsuneo; Koyama, Mitsuhiro; Tomiyama, Noriyuki; Ono, Yoshiharu; Murayama, Sadayuki; Murata, Kiyoshi

2018-05-04

The objectives of this study were to compare the visibility and quantification of subsolid nodules (SSNs) on computed tomography (CT) using adaptive iterative dose reduction using three-dimensional processing between 7 and 42 mAs and to assess the association of size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) with relative measured value change between 7 and 84 mAs (RMVC 7-84 ) and relative measured value change between 42 and 84 mAs (RMVC 42-84 ). As a Japanese multicenter research project (Area-detector Computed Tomography for the Investigation of Thoracic Diseases [ACTIve] study), 50 subjects underwent chest CT with 120 kV, 0.35 second per location and three tube currents: 240 mA (84 mAs), 120 mA (42 mAs), and 20 mA (7 mAs). Axial CT images were reconstructed using adaptive iterative dose reduction using three-dimensional processing. SSN visibility was assessed with three grades (1, obscure, to 3, definitely visible) using CT at 84 mAs as reference standard and compared between 7 and 42 mAs using t test. Dimension, mean CT density, and particular SSDE to the nodular center of 71 SSNs and volume of 58 SSNs (diameter >5 mm) were measured. Measured values (MVs) were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests among CTs at three doses. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to assess the association of SSDE with RMVC 7-84 : 100 × (MV at 7 mAs - MV at 84 mAs)/MV at 84 mAs and RMVC 42-84 . SSN visibilities were similar between 7 and 42 mAs (2.76 ± 0.45 vs 2.78 ± 0.40) (P = .67). For larger SSNs (>8 mm), MVs were similar among CTs at three doses (P > .05). For smaller SSNs (<8 mm), dimensions and volumes on CT at 7 mAs were larger and the mean CT density was smaller than 42 and 84 mAs, and SSDE had mild negative correlations with RMVC 7-84 (P < .05). Comparable quantification was demonstrated irrespective of doses for larger SSNs. For smaller SSNs, nodular exaggerating effect associated with decreased SSDE on CT at 7 mAs compared to 84 mAs could result in comparable visibilities to CT at 42 mAs. Copyright © 2018 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Power adaptive multi-filter carrierless amplitude and phase access scheme for visible light communication network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wei; Huang, Zhitong; Li, Haoyue; Ji, Yuefeng

2018-04-01

Visible light communication (VLC) is a promising candidate for short-range broadband access due to its integration of advantages for both optical communication and wireless communication, whereas multi-user access is a key problem because of the intra-cell and inter-cell interferences. In addition, the non-flat channel effect results in higher losses for users in high frequency bands, which leads to unfair qualities. To solve those issues, we propose a power adaptive multi-filter carrierless amplitude and phase access (PA-MF-CAPA) scheme, and in the first step of this scheme, the MF-CAPA scheme utilizing multiple filters as different CAP dimensions is used to realize multi-user access. The character of orthogonality among the filters in different dimensions can mitigate the effect of intra-cell and inter-cell interferences. Moreover, the MF-CAPA scheme provides different channels modulated on the same frequency bands, which further increases the transmission rate. Then, the power adaptive procedure based on MF-CAPA scheme is presented to realize quality fairness. As demonstrated in our experiments, the MF-CAPA scheme yields an improved throughput compared with multi-band CAP access scheme, and the PA-MF-CAPA scheme enhances the quality fairness and further improves the throughput compared with the MF-CAPA scheme.

Spanish adaptation of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance.

PubMed

Expósito, Francisca; Herrera, Antonio; Valor-Segura, Inmaculada; Herrera, M Carmen; Lozano, Luis M

2014-01-01

Sexual harassment is among the most serious forms of gender violence, and what all violent acts have in common are the many myths associated with them. Three studies were conducted to adapt a Spanish version of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance (ISHMA) scale, which assesses myths about sexual harassment. The first study aimed to, for the first time, present psychometric data on the Spanish version of the ISHMA. The participants were 339 college students. After adapting the items and measuring their content validity, we examined the test's dimensional structure, statistically analyzed the items, and determined the instrument's reliability (α = .91 for the total scale and between .77 and .84 for the different dimensions). Study 2 involved 326 adult participants from the general population and its objective was to evaluate the scale's dimensional structure through confirmatory factor analysis (χ2 143 = 244.860, p < .001; GFI = .952; CFI = .958; RMSEA = .034 [.026 - .041]). The third study was conducted in order to measure convergent validity in both students and adults from the general population. Differences by gender were found in all dimensions being the females' means higher than males (Cohen´s d between .38 and .62). Our findings suggest the Spanish version of the ISHMA is a useful instrument to study myths about sexual harassment.

[Adaptation and psychometric proprieties study for the Portuguese version of the Adolescent Coping Scale - Escala de Coping para Adolescentes].

PubMed

Guerreiro, Diogo Frasquilho; Cruz, Diana; Figueira, Maria Luísa; Sampaio, Daniel

2014-01-01

Coping is a psychological process that prompts the individual to adapt to stressful situations. The Adolescent Coping Scale is a widely used research and clinical tool. This study aimed to develop a Portuguese version of the Adolescent Coping Scale and to analyze the strategies and coping styles of young people in our sample. An anonymous questionnaire comprising the Adolescent Coping Scale was submitted and replied by 1 713 students (56% female, from 12 to 20 years, average age 16) The validity study of the scale included: principal component and reliability analysis; confirmatory analysis using structural equation modelling Subsequently, a gender comparison of both the strategies and the coping styles was conducted through independent samples t tests. The final structure of the Adolescent Coping Scale adaptation retained 70 items assessing 16 coping strategies grouped into three major styles. The scales showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha values between 0.63. and 0.86, with the exception of one dimension that as shown a value of 0.55) and the confirmatory model showed a good fit (goodness of fit index values between 0.94 e 0.96). Two coping strategies were eliminated on statistical grounds (insufficient saturations of items in the corresponding dimensions). We found that the style of coping focused on problem solving is the most used by youths from our sample, in both sexes. Females had higher mean values in non-productive coping style and reference to others. This adapted version has high similarity with the original scale, with expectable minor changes, given that coping is influenced by cultural, geographical and socio-economic variables. The present study represents an important part of the validation protocol Portuguese Adolescent Coping Scale, including its linguistic adaptation and its internal consistency and factor structure studies.

The validation of a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for assessing health-related quality of life in children and adolescents in a clinical sample: study design, methods and first results of the Kids-CAT study.

PubMed

Barthel, D; Otto, C; Nolte, S; Meyrose, A-K; Fischer, F; Devine, J; Walter, O; Mierke, A; Fischer, K I; Thyen, U; Klein, M; Ankermann, T; Rose, M; Ravens-Sieberer, U

2017-05-01

Recently, we developed a computer-adaptive test (CAT) for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and adolescents: the Kids-CAT. It measures five generic HRQoL dimensions. The aims of this article were (1) to present the study design and (2) to investigate its psychometric properties in a clinical setting. The Kids-CAT study is a longitudinal prospective study with eight measurements over one year at two University Medical Centers in Germany. For validating the Kids-CAT, 270 consecutive 7- to 17-year-old patients with asthma (n = 52), diabetes (n = 182) or juvenile arthritis (n = 36) answered well-established HRQoL instruments (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL), KIDSCREEN-27) and scales measuring related constructs (e.g., social support, self-efficacy). Measurement precision, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity were investigated. The mean standard error of measurement ranged between .38 and .49 for the five dimensions, which equals a reliability between .86 and .76, respectively. The Kids-CAT measured most reliably in the lower HRQoL range. Convergent validity was supported by moderate to high correlations of the Kids-CAT dimensions with corresponding PedsQL dimensions ranging between .52 and .72. A lower correlation was found between the social dimensions of both instruments. Discriminant validity was confirmed by lower correlations with non-corresponding subscales of the PedsQL. The Kids-CAT measures pediatric HRQoL reliably, particularly in lower areas of HRQoL. Its test-retest reliability should be re-investigated in future studies. The validity of the instrument was demonstrated. Overall, results suggest that the Kids-CAT is a promising candidate for detecting psychosocial needs in chronically ill children.

Multiple Concurrent Visual-Motor Mappings: Implications for Models of Adaptation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, H. A.; Welch, Robert B.

1994-01-01

Previous research on adaptation to visual-motor rearrangement suggests that the central nervous system represents accurately only 1 visual-motor mapping at a time. This idea was examined in 3 experiments where subjects tracked a moving target under repeated alternations between 2 initially interfering mappings (the 'normal' mapping characteristic of computer input devices and a 108' rotation of the normal mapping). Alternation between the 2 mappings led to significant reduction in error under the rotated mapping and significant reduction in the adaptation aftereffect ordinarily caused by switching between mappings. Color as a discriminative cue, interference versus decay in adaptation aftereffect, and intermanual transfer were also examined. The results reveal a capacity for multiple concurrent visual-motor mappings, possibly controlled by a parametric process near the motor output stage of processing.

Effect of vergence adaptation on convergence-accommodation: model simulations.

PubMed

Sreenivasan, Vidhyapriya; Bobier, William R; Irving, Elizabeth L; Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan

2009-10-01

Several theoretical control models depict the adaptation effects observed in the accommodation and vergence mechanisms of the human visual system. Two current quantitative models differ in their approach of defining adaptation and in identifying the effect of controller adaptation on their respective cross-links between the vergence and accommodative systems. Here, we compare the simulation results of these adaptation models with empirical data obtained from emmetropic adults when they performed sustained near task through + 2D lens addition. The results of our experimental study showed an initial increase in exophoria (a divergent open-loop vergence position) and convergence-accommodation (CA) when viewing through +2D lenses. Prolonged fixation through the near addition lenses initiated vergence adaptation, which reduced the lens-induced exophoria and resulted in a concurrent reduction of CA. Both models showed good agreement with empirical measures of vergence adaptation. However, only one model predicted the experimental time course of reduction in CA. The pattern of our empirical results seem to be best described by the adaptation model that indicates the total vergence response to be a sum of two controllers, phasic and tonic, with the output of phasic controller providing input to the cross-link interactions.

Space-time least-squares Petrov-Galerkin projection in nonlinear model reduction.

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

Choi, Youngsoo; Carlberg, Kevin Thomas

Our work proposes a space-time least-squares Petrov-Galerkin (ST-LSPG) projection method for model reduction of nonlinear dynamical systems. In contrast to typical nonlinear model-reduction methods that first apply Petrov-Galerkin projection in the spatial dimension and subsequently apply time integration to numerically resolve the resulting low-dimensional dynamical system, the proposed method applies projection in space and time simultaneously. To accomplish this, the method first introduces a low-dimensional space-time trial subspace, which can be obtained by computing tensor decompositions of state-snapshot data. The method then computes discrete-optimal approximations in this space-time trial subspace by minimizing the residual arising after time discretization over allmore » space and time in a weighted ℓ 2-norm. This norm can be de ned to enable complexity reduction (i.e., hyper-reduction) in time, which leads to space-time collocation and space-time GNAT variants of the ST-LSPG method. Advantages of the approach relative to typical spatial-projection-based nonlinear model reduction methods such as Galerkin projection and least-squares Petrov-Galerkin projection include: (1) a reduction of both the spatial and temporal dimensions of the dynamical system, (2) the removal of spurious temporal modes (e.g., unstable growth) from the state space, and (3) error bounds that exhibit slower growth in time. Numerical examples performed on model problems in fluid dynamics demonstrate the ability of the method to generate orders-of-magnitude computational savings relative to spatial-projection-based reduced-order models without sacrificing accuracy.« less

The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation

PubMed Central

Ferrario, Filippo; Beck, Michael W.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Micheli, Fiorenza; Shepard, Christine C.; Airoldi, Laura

2014-01-01

The world’s coastal zones are experiencing rapid development and an increase in storms and flooding. These hazards put coastal communities at heightened risk, which may increase with habitat loss. Here we analyse globally the role and cost effectiveness of coral reefs in risk reduction. Meta-analyses reveal that coral reefs provide substantial protection against natural hazards by reducing wave energy by an average of 97%. Reef crests alone dissipate most of this energy (86%). There are 100 million or more people who may receive risk reduction benefits from reefs or bear hazard mitigation and adaptation costs if reefs are degraded. We show that coral reefs can provide comparable wave attenuation benefits to artificial defences such as breakwaters, and reef defences can be enhanced cost effectively. Reefs face growing threats yet there is opportunity to guide adaptation and hazard mitigation investments towards reef restoration to strengthen this first line of coastal defence. PMID:24825660

The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation.

PubMed

Ferrario, Filippo; Beck, Michael W; Storlazzi, Curt D; Micheli, Fiorenza; Shepard, Christine C; Airoldi, Laura

2014-05-13

The world's coastal zones are experiencing rapid development and an increase in storms and flooding. These hazards put coastal communities at heightened risk, which may increase with habitat loss. Here we analyse globally the role and cost effectiveness of coral reefs in risk reduction. Meta-analyses reveal that coral reefs provide substantial protection against natural hazards by reducing wave energy by an average of 97%. Reef crests alone dissipate most of this energy (86%). There are 100 million or more people who may receive risk reduction benefits from reefs or bear hazard mitigation and adaptation costs if reefs are degraded. We show that coral reefs can provide comparable wave attenuation benefits to artificial defences such as breakwaters, and reef defences can be enhanced cost effectively. Reefs face growing threats yet there is opportunity to guide adaptation and hazard mitigation investments towards reef restoration to strengthen this first line of coastal defence.

The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ferrario, Filippo; Beck, Michael W.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Micheli, Fiorenza; Shepard, Christine C.; Airoldi, Laura

2014-01-01

The world’s coastal zones are experiencing rapid development and an increase in storms and flooding. These hazards put coastal communities at heightened risk, which may increase with habitat loss. Here we analyse globally the role and cost effectiveness of coral reefs in risk reduction. Meta-analyses reveal that coral reefs provide substantial protection against natural hazards by reducing wave energy by an average of 97%. Reef crests alone dissipate most of this energy (86%). There are 100 million or more people who may receive risk reduction benefits from reefs or bear hazard mitigation and adaptation costs if reefs are degraded. We show that coral reefs can provide comparable wave attenuation benefits to artificial defences such as breakwaters, and reef defences can be enhanced cost effectively. Reefs face growing threats yet there is opportunity to guide adaptation and hazard mitigation investments towards reef restoration to strengthen this first line of coastal defence.

The Technological Dimension of Educational Technology in Europe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitriadis, Yannis

2012-01-01

This article describes some of the main technological trends and issues of the European landscape of research and innovation in educational technology. Although several innovative technologies (tools, architectures, platforms, or approaches) emerge, such as intelligent support to personalization, collaboration or adaptation in mobile, game-based,…

Components of Self-Regulated Learning; Implications for School Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mih, Codruta; Mih, Viorel

2010-01-01

Self-regulated school learning behavior includes the activation of a relatively large number of psychological dimensions. Among the most important self-regulation constructs that influence school learning are: learning goals, personal self-efficacy, metacognition and test-anxiety. The adaptive functioning of these is associated with high…

Adaptation to flood risk: Results of international paired flood event studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreibich, Heidi; Di Baldassarre, Giuliano; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Aerts, Jeroen C. J. H.; Apel, Heiko; Aronica, Giuseppe T.; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Bouwer, Laurens M.; Bubeck, Philip; Caloiero, Tommaso; Chinh, Do T.; Cortès, Maria; Gain, Animesh K.; Giampá, Vincenzo; Kuhlicke, Christian; Kundzewicz, Zbigniew W.; Llasat, Maria Carmen; Mârd, Johanna; Matczak, Piotr; Mazzoleni, Maurizio; Molinari, Daniela; Dung, Nguyen V.; Petrucci, Olga; Schröter, Kai; Slager, Kymo; Thieken, Annegret H.; Ward, Philip J.; Merz, Bruno

2017-10-01

As flood impacts are increasing in large parts of the world, understanding the primary drivers of changes in risk is essential for effective adaptation. To gain more knowledge on the basis of empirical case studies, we analyze eight paired floods, that is, consecutive flood events that occurred in the same region, with the second flood causing significantly lower damage. These success stories of risk reduction were selected across different socioeconomic and hydro-climatic contexts. The potential of societies to adapt is uncovered by describing triggered societal changes, as well as formal measures and spontaneous processes that reduced flood risk. This novel approach has the potential to build the basis for an international data collection and analysis effort to better understand and attribute changes in risk due to hydrological extremes in the framework of the IAHSs Panta Rhei initiative. Across all case studies, we find that lower damage caused by the second event was mainly due to significant reductions in vulnerability, for example, via raised risk awareness, preparedness, and improvements of organizational emergency management. Thus, vulnerability reduction plays an essential role for successful adaptation. Our work shows that there is a high potential to adapt, but there remains the challenge to stimulate measures that reduce vulnerability and risk in periods in which extreme events do not occur.

Solving delay differential equations in S-ADAPT by method of steps.

PubMed

Bauer, Robert J; Mo, Gary; Krzyzanski, Wojciech

2013-09-01

S-ADAPT is a version of the ADAPT program that contains additional simulation and optimization abilities such as parametric population analysis. S-ADAPT utilizes LSODA to solve ordinary differential equations (ODEs), an algorithm designed for large dimension non-stiff and stiff problems. However, S-ADAPT does not have a solver for delay differential equations (DDEs). Our objective was to implement in S-ADAPT a DDE solver using the methods of steps. The method of steps allows one to solve virtually any DDE system by transforming it to an ODE system. The solver was validated for scalar linear DDEs with one delay and bolus and infusion inputs for which explicit analytic solutions were derived. Solutions of nonlinear DDE problems coded in S-ADAPT were validated by comparing them with ones obtained by the MATLAB DDE solver dde23. The estimation of parameters was tested on the MATLB simulated population pharmacodynamics data. The comparison of S-ADAPT generated solutions for DDE problems with the explicit solutions as well as MATLAB produced solutions which agreed to at least 7 significant digits. The population parameter estimates from using importance sampling expectation-maximization in S-ADAPT agreed with ones used to generate the data. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Reducing particle dimensions of chunkwood.

Treesearch

Robert C. Radcliffe

1990-01-01

Presents and compares the chunkwood sizes obtainable with the USDA Forest Service prototype wood chunker using four different blade configurations, and the results of further chunkwood reduction with three methods totally separate from the chunking process.

Repeated exposure to immobilization or two different footshock intensities reveals differential adaptation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

PubMed

Rabasa, Cristina; Muñoz-Abellán, Cristina; Daviu, Núria; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2011-05-03

Factors involved in adaptation to repeated stress are not well-characterized. For instance, acute footshock (FS) of high intensity appears to be less severe than immobilization (IMO) in light of the speed of post-stress recovery of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other physiological variables. However, repeated exposure to IMO consistently resulted in reduction of the HPA response to the same stressor (adaptation), whereas failure to adapt has been usually reported after FS. Thus, in the present work we directly compared the activation of HPA axis and other physiological changes in response to both acute and repeated exposure to IMO and two intensities of FS (medium and high) in adult male rats. Control rats were exposed to the FS boxes but they did not receive shocks. Daily repeated exposure to IMO resulted in significant adaptation of the overall ACTH and corticosterone responses to the stressor. Such a reduction was also observed with repeated exposure to FS boxes and FS-medium, whereas repeated exposure to FS-high only resulted in a small reduction of the corticosterone response during the post-stress period. This suggests that some properties of FS-high make adaptation to it difficult. Interestingly, overall changes in food intake and body weight gain throughout the week of exposure to the stressors reveal a greater impact of IMO than FS-high, indicating that factors other than the intensity of a stressor, at least when evaluated in function of the above physiological variables, can influence HPA adaptation. Since FS exposure is likely to cause more pain than IMO, activation of nociceptive signals above a certain level may negatively affect HPA adaptation to repeated stressors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Model-based reinforcement learning with dimension reduction.

PubMed

Tangkaratt, Voot; Morimoto, Jun; Sugiyama, Masashi

2016-12-01

The goal of reinforcement learning is to learn an optimal policy which controls an agent to acquire the maximum cumulative reward. The model-based reinforcement learning approach learns a transition model of the environment from data, and then derives the optimal policy using the transition model. However, learning an accurate transition model in high-dimensional environments requires a large amount of data which is difficult to obtain. To overcome this difficulty, in this paper, we propose to combine model-based reinforcement learning with the recently developed least-squares conditional entropy (LSCE) method, which simultaneously performs transition model estimation and dimension reduction. We also further extend the proposed method to imitation learning scenarios. The experimental results show that policy search combined with LSCE performs well for high-dimensional control tasks including real humanoid robot control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparisons of non-Gaussian statistical models in DNA methylation analysis.

PubMed

Ma, Zhanyu; Teschendorff, Andrew E; Yu, Hong; Taghia, Jalil; Guo, Jun

2014-06-16

As a key regulatory mechanism of gene expression, DNA methylation patterns are widely altered in many complex genetic diseases, including cancer. DNA methylation is naturally quantified by bounded support data; therefore, it is non-Gaussian distributed. In order to capture such properties, we introduce some non-Gaussian statistical models to perform dimension reduction on DNA methylation data. Afterwards, non-Gaussian statistical model-based unsupervised clustering strategies are applied to cluster the data. Comparisons and analysis of different dimension reduction strategies and unsupervised clustering methods are presented. Experimental results show that the non-Gaussian statistical model-based methods are superior to the conventional Gaussian distribution-based method. They are meaningful tools for DNA methylation analysis. Moreover, among several non-Gaussian methods, the one that captures the bounded nature of DNA methylation data reveals the best clustering performance.

Comparisons of Non-Gaussian Statistical Models in DNA Methylation Analysis

PubMed Central

Ma, Zhanyu; Teschendorff, Andrew E.; Yu, Hong; Taghia, Jalil; Guo, Jun

2014-01-01

As a key regulatory mechanism of gene expression, DNA methylation patterns are widely altered in many complex genetic diseases, including cancer. DNA methylation is naturally quantified by bounded support data; therefore, it is non-Gaussian distributed. In order to capture such properties, we introduce some non-Gaussian statistical models to perform dimension reduction on DNA methylation data. Afterwards, non-Gaussian statistical model-based unsupervised clustering strategies are applied to cluster the data. Comparisons and analysis of different dimension reduction strategies and unsupervised clustering methods are presented. Experimental results show that the non-Gaussian statistical model-based methods are superior to the conventional Gaussian distribution-based method. They are meaningful tools for DNA methylation analysis. Moreover, among several non-Gaussian methods, the one that captures the bounded nature of DNA methylation data reveals the best clustering performance. PMID:24937687

A Conceptual Model for Multidimensional Analysis of Documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravat, Franck; Teste, Olivier; Tournier, Ronan; Zurlfluh, Gilles

Data warehousing and OLAP are mainly used for the analysis of transactional data. Nowadays, with the evolution of Internet, and the development of semi-structured data exchange format (such as XML), it is possible to consider entire fragments of data such as documents as analysis sources. As a consequence, an adapted multidimensional analysis framework needs to be provided. In this paper, we introduce an OLAP multidimensional conceptual model without facts. This model is based on the unique concept of dimensions and is adapted for multidimensional document analysis. We also provide a set of manipulation operations.

Continuum Vlasov Simulation in Four Phase-space Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, B. I.; Banks, J. W.; Berger, R. L.; Hittinger, J. A.; Brunner, S.

2010-11-01

In the VALHALLA project, we are developing scalable algorithms for the continuum solution of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations in two spatial and two velocity dimensions. We use fourth-order temporal and spatial discretizations of the conservative form of the equations and a finite-volume representation to enable adaptive mesh refinement and nonlinear oscillation control [1]. The code has been implemented with and without adaptive mesh refinement, and with electromagnetic and electrostatic field solvers. A goal is to study the efficacy of continuum Vlasov simulations in four phase-space dimensions for laser-plasma interactions. We have verified the code in examples such as the two-stream instability, the weak beam-plasma instability, Landau damping, electron plasma waves with electron trapping and nonlinear frequency shifts [2]^ extended from 1D to 2D propagation, and light wave propagation.^ We will report progress on code development, computational methods, and physics applications. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by LLNL under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344. This work was funded by the Lab. Dir. Res. and Dev. Prog. at LLNL under project tracking code 08-ERD-031. [1] J.W. Banks and J.A.F. Hittinger, to appear in IEEE Trans. Plas. Sci. (Sept., 2010). [2] G.J. Morales and T.M. O'Neil, Phys. Rev. Lett. 28,417 (1972); R. L. Dewar, Phys. Fluids 15,712 (1972).

Relationship of drug-addicted patients' personality disorders to social problem-solving changes during the rehabilitation process.

PubMed

Kolesnikova, Jelena; Miezitis, Solveiga; Osis, Guntars

2013-08-01

Drug-addicted patients exhibit various personality disorders that interfere with their adaptation to society, as well as their ability to participate in the rehabilitation process. The Latvian Rehabilitation Programme for drug addicts includes social problem-solving training to help patients reintegrate into society. However, the role of personality disorders has not been investigated in relation to this process. The aim of the study is to assess whether personality disorders predict changes in dimensions of social problem-solving after 6 months of rehabilitation for drug-addicted patients. The sample of this study consists of 31 drug-addicted patients from the Latvian rehabilitation centres aged 21-35 (females 21%, males 79%). Two inventories are used: the Social Problem-Solving Inventory--Revised (SPSI-R) and Millon(TM) Clinical Multiaxial Inventory--III (MCMI-III) adapted into Russian. Results of the study indicated that some MCMI-III personality disorders (Schizoid and Histrionic) negatively predicted SPSI-R Positive problem orientation, and narcissistic disorder positively predicted SPSI-R Avoidance style after 6 months in the Latvian Rehabilitation Programme. The other personality disorders did not predict social problem-solving dimensions. The results of the study suggest that some personality disorders are related to changes in social problem-solving dimensions for drug-addicted patients. Hence, it is important to consider the implications of particular personality disorders to facilitate the implementation of social problem-solving rehabilitation programmes.

The diversity of gendered adaptation strategies to climate change of Indian farmers: A feminist intersectional approach.

PubMed

Ravera, Federica; Martín-López, Berta; Pascual, Unai; Drucker, Adam

2016-12-01

This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change.

The adaptive problems of female teenage refugees and their behavioral adjustment methods for coping

PubMed Central

Mhaidat, Fatin

2016-01-01

This study aimed at identifying the levels of adaptive problems among teenage female refugees in the government schools and explored the behavioral methods that were used to cope with the problems. The sample was composed of 220 Syrian female students (seventh to first secondary grades) enrolled at government schools within the Zarqa Directorate and who came to Jordan due to the war conditions in their home country. The study used the scale of adaptive problems that consists of four dimensions (depression, anger and hostility, low self-esteem, and feeling insecure) and a questionnaire of the behavioral adjustment methods for dealing with the problem of asylum. The results indicated that the Syrian teenage female refugees suffer a moderate degree of adaptation problems, and the positive adjustment methods they have used are more than the negatives. PMID:27175098

Effects of perfectionism and exercise on disordered eating in college students.

PubMed

Paulson, Lauren R; Rutledge, Patricia C

2014-01-01

This study examined two dimensions of perfectionism (Standards and Discrepancy), two aspects of exercise (cardiovascular and strength), and the interaction of these variables as predictors of disordered eating in female and male college students. Recruited participants (N=314; n=204 women) completed self-report measures of disordered eating (Eating Attitudes Test), perfectionism (Almost Perfect Scale-Revised; Standards and Discrepancy subscales), and exercise (strength and cardiovascular). Among women, there was a significant three-way interaction between the two dimensions of perfectionism (Standards and Discrepancy) and cardiovascular exercise. Also among women, there was a significant two-way interaction between the Standards dimension and strength exercise and between the Discrepancy dimension and strength exercise. There were no significant main effects or interactions among men. We found some support for the hypotheses that adaptive perfectionism (higher Standards coupled with lower Discrepancy) is a protective factor for disordered eating and that maladaptive perfectionism (higher Standards coupled with higher Discrepancy) is a risk factor, although, only among women who engaged in lower, but not higher, levels of cardiovascular exercise. The findings also suggest that it may be beneficial to consider dimensions of perfectionism and exercise separately when studying disordered eating. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human dimension in scientific models in high-mountain climate change and risk projects: Peruvian-Swiss experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vicuña, Luis; Jurt, Christine; Minan, Fiorella; Huggel, Christian

2014-05-01

Models in a range of scientific disciplines are increasingly seen as indispensable for successful adaptation. Governments as well as international organizations and cooperations put their efforts in basing their adaptation projects on scientific results. Thereby, it is critical that scientific models are first put into the particular context in which they will be applied. This paper addresses the experience of the project 'Glaciers 513- Climate change adaptation and disaster risk management for glacier retreat in the Andes' conducted in the districts of Carhuaz (Ancash region) and Santa Teresa (Cusco region) in Peru. The Peruvian and the Swiss governments put their joint efforts in an adaptation project in the context of climate change and the retreat of the glaciers. The project is led by a consortium of Care Peru and the University of Zurich with additional Swiss partners and its principal aim is to improve the capacity for integral adaptation and reduce the risk of disasters from glaciers and high-mountain areas, and effects of climate change, particularly in the regions of Cusco and Ancash. The paper shows how the so called "human dimension" on the one hand, and models from a range of disciplines, including climatology, glaciology, and hydrology on the other hand, were conceptualized and perceived by the different actors involved in the project. Important aspects have been, among others, the role of local knowledge including ancestral knowledge, demographic information, socio-economic indicators as well as the social, political and cultural framework and the historical background. Here we analyze the role and context of local knowledge and the historical background. The analysis of the implications of the differences and similarities of the perceptions of a range of actors contributes to the discussion about how, and to what extent scientific models can be contextualized, what kind of information can be helpful for the contextualization and how it can be obtained. The results, thus, should contribute to more concerted, locally based and accepted risk and adaptation measures.

Mild hypodontia is associated with smaller tooth dimensions and cusp numbers than in controls.

PubMed

Kerekes-Máthé, Bernadette; Brook, Alan H; Mártha, Krisztina; Székely, Melinda; Smith, Richard N

2015-09-01

The associations seen clinically between variations in tooth number, size and shape reflect the repetitive genetic interactions occurring between the epithelium and mesenchyme during the initiation and morphogenetic stages of the Complex Adaptive System that is dental development. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relationship further by comparing multiple crown parameters, including cusp numbers, between patients with mild hypodontia and controls in a Romanian sample. Digital images of dental casts of the permanent dentition from 28 patients with mild hypodontia and 28 controls were used. Measurements from the vestibular and occlusal surfaces were performed using a 2D image analysis method and cusps, including the Carabelli trait, were counted. Two-way analysis of variance was performed. The dimensions of the mild hypodontia group had smaller values than the controls, with many measurements being significantly different (significance values varied from p=0.049 to p=0.001). The most affected regions were the upper and lower anterior region in both sexes. Mesio-distal, bucco-lingual and occlusal area and perimeter dimensions were affected. Females from the hypodontia group had significantly less tricuspidated lower premolars when compared with the control group. Carabelli cusps were present in the hypodontia group less frequently, the difference being highly significant (p=0.0002) in women. The hypodontia patients presented with reduced crown dimensions and shape compared with controls. This is the first published study to demonstrate smaller cusp numbers in patients with hypodontia than in controls. The findings are compatible with a model of dental development as a Complex Adaptive System incorporating associations between tooth number, size and shape. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

University Graduates' Employability, Employment Status, and Job Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

González-Romá, Vicente; Gamboa, Juan Pablo; Peiró, José M.

2018-01-01

We investigated whether a set of indicators of the employability dimensions proposed by Fugate, Kinicki, and Asforth (i.e., career identity, personal adaptability, and human and social capital) are related to university graduates' employment status and five indicators of the quality of their jobs (pay, hierarchical level, vertical and horizontal…

The Family Environment and Achievement of Deaf Students: A Discriminant Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodner-Johnson, Barbara

1986-01-01

Parental responses (N=125) to scaled items in home interviews were factor analyzed and family environment dimensions were employed as predictor variables. Parents of proficient readers were characterized as adapted to their children's deafness, involved in the deaf community, and permissive rather than overprotective. High achievers had parents…

Pedagogical Digital Competence--Between Values, Knowledge and Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

From, Jorgen

2017-01-01

The fact that the education provided by universities and university colleges is becoming ever more digitalized has resulted in new challenges for university teachers in providing high-quality teaching and adapting to the needs of changing student populations. Digitalization has increasingly introduced a new dimension in teachers' pedagogical…

Hong Kong Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching, 16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakhoul, Liz, Ed.; And Others

1993-01-01

Articles and reports in this issue include the following: "Co-text or No Text: A Study of an Adapted Cloze Technique" (Dave Coniam); "Small-Corpora Concordancing in ESL Teaching and Learning" (Bruce K.C. Ma); "Interdisciplinary Dimensions of Debate" (S. Byron, L. Goldstein, D. Murphy, E. Roberts); "Can English…

The Impact of Cultural Dimensions on Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez-Rey, Pilar; Barbera, Elena; Fernández-Navarro, Francisco

2016-01-01

Due to the increasingly multicultural nature of e-learning environments, it is critical that instructors and instructional designers be aware of the importance of cultural factors in education and that they deliver culturally adaptive instruction. The main challenge of this paper is identifying the critical success factors for multicultural online…

Gender Representation in EFL Textbooks in Saudi Arabia: A Fair Deal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulaimani, Amjjad

2017-01-01

This study explores gender representation in an international English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbook that has been specifically adapted for the Saudi Arabian context. It aims to investigate gender frequencies in conversations in three dimensions: gender relations, subject positions, and contents. The quantitative data were analysed using…

Science priorities for the human dimensions of global change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The topics covered include the following: defining research needs; understanding land use change; improving policy analysis -- research on the decision-making process; designing policy instruments and institutions to address energy-related environmental problems; assessing impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to global changes; and understanding population dynamics and global change.

Impact of Learning Organization Culture on Performance in Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ponnuswamy, Indra; Manohar, Hansa Lysander

2016-01-01

In this paper, an adapted version of the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) was employed to investigate the perception of academic staff on learning organization culture in Indian higher education institutions. The questionnaire was sent to 700 faculty members of different universities using a non-probability purposive…

An Evolutionary Analysis of Learned Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hullinger, Richard A.; Kruschke, John K.; Todd, Peter M.

2015-01-01

Humans and many other species selectively attend to stimuli or stimulus dimensions--but why should an animal constrain information input in this way? To investigate the adaptive functions of attention, we used a genetic algorithm to evolve simple connectionist networks that had to make categorization decisions in a variety of environmental…

Maternal Goal Factors in Adaptive and Maladaptive Childhood Perfectionism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchinson, Amy Joy; Yates, Gregory C. R.

2008-01-01

In this project, 72 middle school students responded to a questionnaire tapping three aspects of perfectionism: self-striving, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and concern for mistakes. Their mothers completed a questionnaire assessing goal expression along three dimensions defined as direct expectations (e.g., "I set high standards for my…

Adapting Vocational Psychology To Cope with Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hesketh, Beryl

2001-01-01

The interdisciplinary tradition of vocational psychology is a strength, but it has been slow to respond to technology. Strategic issues to be addressed include implications of human genome research, inclusion of goal setting and metacognition in career development, virtual work organizations, and time as an important dimension of career research.…

Contemporary Culture: A Model for Teaching a Culture's Heritage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Tom

Current approaches to teaching culture which have adapted the anthropological model to contemporary life situations can serve as a guide to the organization of traditional civilization course material, from which exercises can be developed. Culture instruction should incorporate a cross-cultural dimension, be authentically contemporary, and be…

Androgynous Vs. Traditional Sex Roles in the Light of Biographical Variables.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berzins, Juris I.; Wetter, Robert E.

Recent theory and research concerning sex roles have viewed masculinity and femininity as separate and independent dimensions of desirable human functioning, denoting dominant-instrumental and nurturant-expressive domains of behavior, respectively. Androgynous self-definitions may also provide greater adaptive advantages for members of both sexes.…

Behaviour Profile of Hungarian Adolescent Outpatients with a Dual Diagnosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinya, Elek; Csorba, Janos; Suli, Agota; Grosz, Zsofia

2012-01-01

The behaviour dimensions of 244 Hungarian adolescent psychiatric outpatients with a dual diagnosis (intellectual disability and psychiatric diagnosis) were examined by means of the adapted version of the Behaviour Problem Inventory (BPI, Rojahn, Matson, Lott, Esbensen, & Smalls, 2001). Four IQ subgroups were created: borderline, mild, moderate…

Associations between Individual and Family Level Characteristics and Parenting Practices in Incarcerated African American Fathers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Modecki, Kathryn L.; Wilson, Melvin N.

2009-01-01

We investigated the reported parenting practices of fifty incarcerated African American fathers. Fathers were interviewed using hypothetical vignettes adapted from the Parenting Dimensions Inventory (PDI) and received scores on two parenting practices: responsive and restrictive. Father's individual level (education and length of time spent…

Supersymmetric electric-magnetic duality in D =3 +3 and D =5 +5 dimensions as foundation of self-dual supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishino, Hitoshi; Rajpoot, Subhash

2016-05-01

We present electric-magnetic (EM)-duality formulations for non-Abelian gauge groups with N =1 supersymmetry in D =3 +3 and 5 +5 space-time dimensions. We show that these systems generate self-dual N =1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SDSYM) theory in D =2 +2 . For a N =2 supersymmetric EM-dual system in D =3 +3 , we have the Yang-Mills multiplet (Aμ I,λA I) and a Hodge-dual multiplet (Bμν ρ I,χA I) , with an auxiliary tensors Cμν ρ σ I and Kμ ν. Here, I is the adjoint index, while A is for the doublet of S p (1 ). The EM-duality conditions are Fμν I=(1 /4 !)ɛμν ρ σ τ λGρσ τ λ I with its superpartner duality condition λA I=-χA I . Upon appropriate dimensional reduction, this system generates SDSYM in D =2 +2 . This system is further generalized to D =5 +5 with the EM-duality condition Fμν I=(1 /8 !)ɛμν ρ1⋯ρ8Gρ1⋯ρ8 I with its superpartner condition λI=-χI . Upon appropriate dimensional reduction, this theory also generates SDSYM in D =2 +2 . As long as we maintain Lorentz covariance, D =5 +5 dimensions seems to be the maximal space-time dimensions that generate SDSYM in D =2 +2 . Namely, EM-dual system in D =5 +5 serves as the Master Theory of all supersymmetric integrable models in dimensions 1 ≤D ≤3 .

Resolution enhancement in in vivo NMR spectroscopy: detection of intermolecular zero-quantum coherences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faber, Cornelius; Pracht, Eberhard; Haase, Axel

2003-04-01

Intermolecular zero-quantum coherences are insensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneities. For this reason we have applied the HOMOGENIZED sequence [Vathyam et al., Science 272 (1996) 92] to phantoms containing metabolites at low concentrations, phantoms with air inclusions, an intact grape, and the head of a rat in vivo at 750 MHz. In the 1H-spectra, the water signal is efficiently suppressed and line broadening due to susceptibility gradients is effectively removed along the indirectly detected dimension. We have obtained a 1H-spectrum of a 2.5 mM solution of γ-aminobutyric acid in 12 min scan time. In the phantom with air inclusions a reduction of line widths from 0.48 ppm in the direct dimension to 0.07 ppm in the indirect dimension was observed, while in a deshimmed grape the reduction was from 1.4 to 0.07 ppm. In a spectrum of the grape we were able to resolve glucose resonances at 0.3 ppm from the water in 6 min scan time. J-coupling information was partly retained. In the in vivo spectra of the rat brain five major metabolites were observed.

Decoding-Accuracy-Based Sequential Dimensionality Reduction of Spatio-Temporal Neural Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Funamizu, Akihiro; Kanzaki, Ryohei; Takahashi, Hirokazu

Performance of a brain machine interface (BMI) critically depends on selection of input data because information embedded in the neural activities is highly redundant. In addition, properly selected input data with a reduced dimension leads to improvement of decoding generalization ability and decrease of computational efforts, both of which are significant advantages for the clinical applications. In the present paper, we propose an algorithm of sequential dimensionality reduction (SDR) that effectively extracts motor/sensory related spatio-temporal neural activities. The algorithm gradually reduces input data dimension by dropping neural data spatio-temporally so as not to undermine the decoding accuracy as far as possible. Support vector machine (SVM) was used as the decoder, and tone-induced neural activities in rat auditory cortices were decoded into the test tone frequencies. SDR reduced the input data dimension to a quarter and significantly improved the accuracy of decoding of novel data. Moreover, spatio-temporal neural activity patterns selected by SDR resulted in significantly higher accuracy than high spike rate patterns or conventionally used spatial patterns. These results suggest that the proposed algorithm can improve the generalization ability and decrease the computational effort of decoding.

Generation Algorithm of Discrete Line in Multi-Dimensional Grids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, L.; Ben, J.; Li, Y.; Wang, R.

2017-09-01

Discrete Global Grids System (DGGS) is a kind of digital multi-resolution earth reference model, in terms of structure, it is conducive to the geographical spatial big data integration and mining. Vector is one of the important types of spatial data, only by discretization, can it be applied in grids system to make process and analysis. Based on the some constraint conditions, this paper put forward a strict definition of discrete lines, building a mathematic model of the discrete lines by base vectors combination method. Transforming mesh discrete lines issue in n-dimensional grids into the issue of optimal deviated path in n-minus-one dimension using hyperplane, which, therefore realizing dimension reduction process in the expression of mesh discrete lines. On this basis, we designed a simple and efficient algorithm for dimension reduction and generation of the discrete lines. The experimental results show that our algorithm not only can be applied in the two-dimensional rectangular grid, also can be applied in the two-dimensional hexagonal grid and the three-dimensional cubic grid. Meanwhile, when our algorithm is applied in two-dimensional rectangular grid, it can get a discrete line which is more similar to the line in the Euclidean space.

Dimensions of the scala tympani in the human and cat with reference to cochlear implants.

PubMed

Hatsushika, S; Shepherd, R K; Tong, Y C; Clark, G M; Funasaka, S

1990-11-01

The width, height, and cross-sectional area of the scala tympani in both the human and cat were measured to provide dimensional information relevant to the design of scala tympani electrode arrays. Both the height and width of the human scala tympani decreased rapidly within the first 1.5 mm from the round window. Thereafter, they exhibit a gradual reduction in their dimension with increasing distance from the round window. The cross-sectional area of the human scala tympani reflects the changes observed in both the height and width. In contrast, the cat scala tympani exhibits a rapid decrease in its dimensions over the first 6 to 8 mm from the round window. However, beyond this point the cat scala tympani also exhibits a more gradual decrease in its dimensions. Finally, the width of the scala tympani, in both human and cat, is consistently greater than the height.

An error bound for a discrete reduced order model of a linear multivariable system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Al-Saggaf, Ubaid M.; Franklin, Gene F.

1987-01-01

The design of feasible controllers for high dimension multivariable systems can be greatly aided by a method of model reduction. In order for the design based on the order reduction to include a guarantee of stability, it is sufficient to have a bound on the model error. Previous work has provided such a bound for continuous-time systems for algorithms based on balancing. In this note an L-infinity bound is derived for model error for a method of order reduction of discrete linear multivariable systems based on balancing.

Noise reduction and image enhancement using a hardware implementation of artificial neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

David, Robert; Williams, Erin; de Tremiolles, Ghislain; Tannhof, Pascal

1999-03-01

In this paper, we present a neural based solution developed for noise reduction and image enhancement using the ZISC, an IBM hardware processor which implements the Restricted Coulomb Energy algorithm and the K-Nearest Neighbor algorithm. Artificial neural networks present the advantages of processing time reduction in comparison with classical models, adaptability, and the weighted property of pattern learning. The goal of the developed application is image enhancement in order to restore old movies (noise reduction, focus correction, etc.), to improve digital television images, or to treat images which require adaptive processing (medical images, spatial images, special effects, etc.). Image results show a quantitative improvement over the noisy image as well as the efficiency of this system. Further enhancements are being examined to improve the output of the system.

Beyond Reduction: Climate Change Adaptation Planning for Universities and Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Rochelle; Fisher, Erica; McKenzie, Kyle

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline a unique six-step process for the inclusion of climate change adaption goals and strategies in a University Climate Change Plan. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method approach was used to gather data on campus climate change vulnerabilities and adaption strategies. A literature review…

Analyzing the Generality of Conflict Adaptation Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funes, Maria Jesus; Lupianez, Juan; Humphreys, Glyn

2010-01-01

Conflict adaptation effects refer to the reduction of interference when the incongruent stimulus occurs immediately after an incongruent trial, compared with when it occurs after a congruent trial. The present study analyzes the key conditions that lead to adaptation effects that are specific to the type of conflict involved versus those that are…

Non-Cognitive Personality Assessment and Risk of Injuries Among Army Trainees.

PubMed

Oetting, Alexis A; Garvin, Nadia U; Boivin, Michael R; Cowan, David N

2017-03-01

Low levels of pre-accession physical fitness and activity are risk factors for stress fractures and other overuse musculoskeletal injuries among military trainees. One dimension in the Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System (TAPAS), a non-cognitive personality test given to Army applicants, specifically assesses propensity to engage in physical activity. This dimension may serve as a surrogate measure for activity or fitness. The study examines the associations between TAPAS dimension scores and risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Fifteen TAPAS dimension scores for 15,082 U.S. Army trainees entering military service in 2010 were provided by the U.S. Army Research Institute for Social and Behavioral Sciences. During 2013-2015, the associations between TAPAS dimension scores (as a continuous variable) and injuries in the first 6 months of service were evaluated using logistic regression, with the measure of association being the OR. The TAPAS physical conditioning dimension was associated with musculoskeletal injuries and stress fractures among both men (musculoskeletal injury, OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.79, 0.86; stress fracture, OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.57, 0.80) and women (musculoskeletal injury, OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.70, 0.85; stress fracture, OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.43, 082). No other dimensions were both significantly and consistently associated with either injury. The TAPAS physical conditioning dimension is a strong predictor of musculoskeletal injury and stress fracture among male and female U.S. Army trainees, and may serve as a pre-accession screen for self-reported physical activity. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Measuring teamwork in primary care: Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data.

PubMed

Brown, Judith Belle; Ryan, Bridget L; Thorpe, Cathy; Markle, Emma K R; Hutchison, Brian; Glazier, Richard H

2015-09-01

This article describes the triangulation of qualitative dimensions, reflecting high functioning teams, with the results of standardized teamwork measures. The study used a mixed methods design using qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess teamwork in 19 Family Health Teams in Ontario, Canada. This article describes dimensions from the qualitative phase using grounded theory to explore the issues and challenges to teamwork. Two quantitative measures were used in the study, the Team Climate Inventory (TCI) and the Providing Effective Resources and Knowledge (PERK) scale. For the triangulation analysis, the mean scores of these measures were compared with the qualitatively derived ratings for the dimensions. The final sample for the qualitative component was 107 participants. The qualitative analysis identified 9 dimensions related to high team functioning such as common philosophy, scope of practice, conflict resolution, change management, leadership, and team evolution. From these dimensions, teams were categorized numerically as high, moderate, or low functioning. Three hundred seventeen team members completed the survey measures. Mean site scores for the TCI and PERK were 3.87 and 3.88, respectively (of 5). The TCI was associated will all dimensions except for team location, space allocation, and executive director leadership. The PERK was associated with all dimensions except team location. Data triangulation provided qualitative and quantitative evidence of what constitutes teamwork. Leadership was pivotal in forging a common philosophy and encouraging team collaboration. Teams used conflict resolution strategies and adapted to the changes they encountered. These dimensions advanced the team's evolution toward a high functioning team. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Necessary Contributions of Human Frontal Lobe Subregions to Reward Learning in a Dynamic, Multidimensional Environment.

PubMed

Vaidya, Avinash R; Fellows, Lesley K

2016-09-21

Real-world decisions are typically made between options that vary along multiple dimensions, requiring prioritization of the important dimensions to support optimal choice. Learning in this setting depends on attributing decision outcomes to the dimensions with predictive relevance rather than to dimensions that are irrelevant and nonpredictive. This attribution problem is computationally challenging, and likely requires an interplay between selective attention and reward learning. Both these processes have been separately linked to the prefrontal cortex, but little is known about how they combine to support learning the reward value of multidimensional stimuli. Here, we examined the necessary contributions of frontal lobe subregions in attributing feedback to relevant and irrelevant dimensions on a trial-by-trial basis in humans. Patients with focal frontal lobe damage completed a demanding reward learning task where options varied on three dimensions, only one of which predicted reward. Participants with left lateral frontal lobe damage attributed rewards to irrelevant dimensions, rather than the relevant dimension. Damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe also impaired learning about the relevant dimension, but did not increase reward attribution to irrelevant dimensions. The results argue for distinct roles for these two regions in learning the value of multidimensional decision options under dynamic conditions, with the lateral frontal lobe required for selecting the relevant dimension to associate with reward, and the ventromedial frontal lobe required to learn the reward association itself. The real world is complex and multidimensional; how do we attribute rewards to predictive features when surrounded by competing cues? Here, we tested the critical involvement of human frontal lobe subregions in a probabilistic, multidimensional learning environment, asking whether focal lesions affected trial-by-trial attribution of feedback to relevant and irrelevant dimensions. The left lateral frontal lobe was required for filtering option dimensions to allow appropriate feedback attribution, while the ventromedial frontal lobe was necessary for learning the value of features in the relevant dimension. These findings argue that selective attention and associative learning processes mediated by anatomically distinct frontal lobe subregions are both critical for adaptive choice in more complex, ecologically valid settings. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/369843-16$15.00/0.

Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

PubMed

Reser, Joseph P; Swim, Janet K

2011-01-01

This article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of "climate change" as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting process with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the human dimensions of global environmental change can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided that identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial aspects of adaptation that have been neglected in the arena of climate change science. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social "psychological adaptation" processes that powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change.

Recreational music-making: an integrative group intervention for reducing burnout and improving mood states in first year associate degree nursing students: insights and economic impact.

PubMed

Bittman, Barry B; Snyder, Cherie; Bruhn, Karl T; Liebfreid, Fran; Stevens, Christine K; Westengard, James; Umbach, Paul O

2004-01-01

The challenges of providing exemplary undergraduate nursing education cannot be underestimated in an era when burnout and negative mood states predictably lead to alarming rates of academic as well as career attrition. While the multi-dimensional nature of this complex issue has been extensively elucidated, few rational strategies exist to reverse a disheartening trend recognizable early in the educational process that subsequently threatens to undermine the future viability of quality healthcare. This controlled prospective crossover study examined the impact of a 6-session Recreational Music-making (RMM) protocol on burnout and mood dimensions as well as Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) in first year associate level nursing students. A total of 75 first year associate degree nursing students from Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) participated in a 6-session RMM protocol focusing on group support and stress reduction utilizing a specific group drumming protocol. Burnout and mood dimensions were assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Profile of Mood States respectively. Statistically significant reductions of multiple burnout and mood dimensions as well as TMD scores were noted. Potential annual cost savings for the typical associate degree nursing program (16,800 dollars) and acute care hospital (322,000 dollars) were projected by an independent economic analysis firm. A cost-effective 6-session RMM protocol reduces burnout and mood dimensions as well as TMD in associate degree nursing students.

Dimensional assessment of self- and interpersonal functioning in adolescents: implications for DSM-5's general definition of personality disorder.

PubMed

DeFife, Jared A; Goldberg, Melissa; Westen, Drew

2015-04-01

Central to the proposed DSM-5 general definition of personality disorder (PD) are features of self- and interpersonal functioning. The Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G) is a coding system that assesses eight dimensions of self- and relational experience that can be applied to narrative data or used by clinically experienced observers to quantify observations of patients in ongoing psychotherapy. This study aims to evaluate the relationship of SCORS-G dimensions to personality pathology in adolescents and their incremental validity for predicting multiple domains of adaptive functioning. A total of 294 randomly sampled doctoral-level clinical psychologists and psychiatrists described an adolescent patient in their care based on all available data. Individual SCORS-G variables demonstrated medium-to-large effect size differences for PD versus non-PD identified adolescents (d = .49-1.05). A summary SCORS-Composite rating was significantly related to composite measurements of global adaptive functioning (r = .66), school functioning (r = .47), externalizing behavior (r = -.49), and prior psychiatric history (r = -.31). The SCORS-Composite significantly predicted variance in domains of adaptive functioning above and beyond age and DSM-IV PD diagnosis (ΔR(2)s = .07-.32). As applied to adolescents, the SCORS-G offers a framework for a clinically meaningful and empirically sound dimensional assessment of self- and other representations and interpersonal functioning capacities. Our findings support the inclusion of self- and interpersonal capacities in the DSM-5 general definition of personality disorder as an improvement to existing PD diagnosis for capturing varied domains of adaptive functioning and psychopathology.

Adaptation of the ESPA29 Parental Socialization Styles Scale to the Basque language: evidence of validity.

PubMed

López-Jáuregui, Alicia; Oliden, Paula Elosua

2009-11-01

The aim of this study is to adapt the ESPA29 scale of parental socialization styles in adolescence to the Basque language. The study of its psychometric properties is based on the search for evidence of internal and external validity. The first focuses on the assessment of the dimensionality of the scale by means of exploratory factor analysis. The relationship between the dimensions of parental socialization styles and gender and age guarantee the external validity of the scale. The study of the equivalence of the adapted and original versions is based on the comparisons of the reliability coefficients and on factor congruence. The results allow us to conclude the equivalence of the two scales.

Translation, Adaptation, and Preliminary Validation of the Female Sexual Function Index into Spanish (Colombia).

PubMed

Vallejo-Medina, Pablo; Pérez-Durán, Claudia; Saavedra-Roa, Alejandro

2018-04-01

The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) subjectively explores the dimensions of female sexual functioning. This research undertook to adapt and validate the FSFI to Spanish language in a Colombian sample. To this effect, this study was conducted in two steps, namely: (1) cultural adaptation of the scale with the collaboration of seven experts; and (2) preliminary validation of the scale in a sample of 925 participants. Reliability indices were appropriate in this sample, and external validity in relation to other measures showed significant relationships. Findings suggest that the FSFI is reliable and valid in Spanish for a Colombian population. Further research is needed to establish the test-retest reliability and discriminant validity of this Spanish version.

An improved adaptive weighting function method for State Estimation in Power Systems with VSC-MTDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Kun; Yang, Xiaonan; Lang, Yansheng; Song, Xuri; Wang, Minkun; Luo, Yadi; Wu, Lingyun; Liu, Peng

2017-04-01

This paper presents an effective approach for state estimation in power systems that include multi-terminal voltage source converter based high voltage direct current (VSC-MTDC), called improved adaptive weighting function method. The proposed approach is simplified in which the VSC-MTDC system is solved followed by the AC system. Because the new state estimation method only changes the weight and keeps the matrix dimension unchanged. Accurate and fast convergence of AC/DC system can be realized by adaptive weight function method. This method also provides the technical support for the simulation analysis and accurate regulation of AC/DC system. Both the oretical analysis and numerical tests verify practicability, validity and convergence of new method.

Fast and Adaptive Sparse Precision Matrix Estimation in High Dimensions

PubMed Central

Liu, Weidong; Luo, Xi

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a new method for estimating sparse precision matrices in the high dimensional setting. It has been popular to study fast computation and adaptive procedures for this problem. We propose a novel approach, called Sparse Column-wise Inverse Operator, to address these two issues. We analyze an adaptive procedure based on cross validation, and establish its convergence rate under the Frobenius norm. The convergence rates under other matrix norms are also established. This method also enjoys the advantage of fast computation for large-scale problems, via a coordinate descent algorithm. Numerical merits are illustrated using both simulated and real datasets. In particular, it performs favorably on an HIV brain tissue dataset and an ADHD resting-state fMRI dataset. PMID:25750463

A two-stage adaptive stochastic collocation method on nested sparse grids for multiphase flow in randomly heterogeneous porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Qinzhuo; Zhang, Dongxiao; Tchelepi, Hamdi

2017-02-01

A new computational method is proposed for efficient uncertainty quantification of multiphase flow in porous media with stochastic permeability. For pressure estimation, it combines the dimension-adaptive stochastic collocation method on Smolyak sparse grids and the Kronrod-Patterson-Hermite nested quadrature formulas. For saturation estimation, an additional stage is developed, in which the pressure and velocity samples are first generated by the sparse grid interpolation and then substituted into the transport equation to solve for the saturation samples, to address the low regularity problem of the saturation. Numerical examples are presented for multiphase flow with stochastic permeability fields to demonstrate accuracy and efficiency of the proposed two-stage adaptive stochastic collocation method on nested sparse grids.

Religion and the Psychotherapeutic Relationship: Transferential and Countertransferential Dimensions

PubMed Central

Abernethy, Alexis D.; Lancia, Joseph J.

1998-01-01

The salience of religion in society and health care has received increased attention. Recent developments in psychiatry reflect a broader view of religion that includes an appreciation of its adaptive and maladaptive dimensions. An examination of religious counter- transferential and transferential reactions provides a framework for examining religious themes. Case examples illustrate the following critical factors that increase therapists' skill in working with religious themes: 1) monitoring the therapist's own attitude toward religious content, 2) attending to religious content, 3) seeking consultation, and 4) using religious content in interpretations. (The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research 1998; 7:281–289) PMID:9752639

Science-policy interface in transformative adaptive flood risk management - decision-making in Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thaler, Thomas; Attems, Marie-Sophie; Rauter, Magdalena; Fuchs, Sven

2016-04-01

Facing the challenges of climate change, this paper aims to analyse and to evaluate the multiple use of flood alleviation schemes with respect to social transformation in communities exposed to flood hazards in Europe. The overall goals are: (1) the identification of indicators and parameters necessary for strategies to increase societal resilience, (2) an analysis of the institutional settings needed for societal transformation, and (3) perspectives of changing divisions of responsibilities between public and private actors necessary to arrive at more resilient societies. As such, governance is done by people interacting and defining risk mitigation measures as well as climate change adaptation are therefore simultaneously both outcomes of, and productive to, public and private responsibilities. Building off current knowledge this paper focussed on different dimensions of adaptation and mitigation strategies based on social, economic and institutional incentives and settings, centring on the linkages between these different dimensions and complementing existing flood risk governance arrangements. As such, the challenges of adaptation to flood risk will be tackled by converting scientific frameworks into practical assessment and policy advice. This paper used the Formative Scenario Analysis (FSA) as a method to construct well-defined sets of assumptions to gain insight into a system and its potential future development, based on qualitatively assessed impact factors and rated quantitative relations between these factors, such as impact and consistency analysis. The purpose of this approach was to develop scenarios, where participations develop their own strategies how to implement a transformative adaptation strategy in flood risk management. In particular, the interaction between researcher, the public and policy makers was analysed. Challenges and limitations were assessed, such as benefits on costs of adaptation measures, for the implementation of visions to develop bottom-up community actions in flood risk adaptation. The workshops delivered a case- and stakeholder-specific preference matrix which allowed us to elaborate on the relative differences in preferences between stakeholder groups also to determine economically and socially feasible measures. The workshops ended with developing a strategy and working plan how to start bottom-up initiatives in the respective communities with focus on questions of responsibility for encouraging and supporting bottom-up actions and needed resources.

Integrating social capacity into risk reduction strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneiderbauer, S.; Pedoth, L.; Zebisch, M.

2012-04-01

The reduction of risk to impacts from external stresses and shocks is an important task in communities worldwide at all government levels and independent of the development status. The importance of building social capacity as part of risk reduction strategies is increasingly recognized. However, there is space for improvement to incorporate related activities into a holistic risk governance approach. Starting point for such enhancements is to promote and improve assessments of what is called 'sensitivity' or 'adaptive capacity' in the climate change community and what is named 'vulnerability' or 'resilience' in the hazard risk community. Challenging issues that need to be tackled in this context are the integration of concepts and method as well as the fusion of data. Against this background we introduce a method to assess regional adaptive capacity to climate change focusing on mountain areas accounting for sector specific problems. By considering three levels of specificity as base for the selection of most appropriate indicators the study results have the potential to support decision making regarding most appropriate adaptation actions. Advantages and shortcomings of certain aspects of adaptive capacity assessment in general and of the proposed method in particular are presented.

Environmentally-controlled Microtensile Testing of Mechanically-adaptive Polymer Nanocomposites for ex vivo Characterization

PubMed Central

Hess, Allison E.; Potter, Kelsey A.; Tyler, Dustin J.; Zorman, Christian A.; Capadona, Jeffrey R.

2013-01-01

Implantable microdevices are gaining significant attention for several biomedical applications1-4. Such devices have been made from a range of materials, each offering its own advantages and shortcomings5,6. Most prominently, due to the microscale device dimensions, a high modulus is required to facilitate implantation into living tissue. Conversely, the stiffness of the device should match the surrounding tissue to minimize induced local strain7-9. Therefore, we recently developed a new class of bio-inspired materials to meet these requirements by responding to environmental stimuli with a change in mechanical properties10-14. Specifically, our poly(vinyl acetate)-based nanocomposite (PVAc-NC) displays a reduction in stiffness when exposed to water and elevated temperatures (e.g. body temperature). Unfortunately, few methods exist to quantify the stiffness of materials in vivo15, and mechanical testing outside of the physiological environment often requires large samples inappropriate for implantation. Further, stimuli-responsive materials may quickly recover their initial stiffness after explantation. Therefore, we have developed a method by which the mechanical properties of implanted microsamples can be measured ex vivo, with simulated physiological conditions maintained using moisture and temperature control13,16,17. To this end, a custom microtensile tester was designed to accommodate microscale samples13,17 with widely-varying Young's moduli (range of 10 MPa to 5 GPa). As our interests are in the application of PVAc-NC as a biologically-adaptable neural probe substrate, a tool capable of mechanical characterization of samples at the microscale was necessary. This tool was adapted to provide humidity and temperature control, which minimized sample drying and cooling17. As a result, the mechanical characteristics of the explanted sample closely reflect those of the sample just prior to explantation. The overall goal of this method is to quantitatively assess the in vivo mechanical properties, specifically the Young's modulus, of stimuli-responsive, mechanically-adaptive polymer-based materials. This is accomplished by first establishing the environmental conditions that will minimize a change in sample mechanical properties after explantation without contributing to a reduction in stiffness independent of that resulting from implantation. Samples are then prepared for implantation, handling, and testing (Figure 1A). Each sample is implanted into the cerebral cortex of rats, which is represented here as an explanted rat brain, for a specified duration (Figure 1B). At this point, the sample is explanted and immediately loaded into the microtensile tester, and then subjected to tensile testing (Figure 1C). Subsequent data analysis provides insight into the mechanical behavior of these innovative materials in the environment of the cerebral cortex. PMID:23995288

Hurricane Sandy: Caught in the eye of the storm and a city's adaptation response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orton, P. M.; Horton, R. M.; Blumberg, A. F.; Rosenzweig, C.; Solecki, W.; Bader, D.

2015-12-01

The NOAA RISA program has funded the seven-institution Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN) for the past five years to serve stakeholder needs in assessing and managing risks from climate variability and change. When Hurricane Sandy struck, we were in an ideal position, making flood forecasts and communicating NOAA forecasts to the public with dozens of media placements, translating the poorly understood flood forecasts into human dimensions. In 2013 and 2015, by request of New York City (NYC), we worked through the NYC Panel on Climate Change to deliver updated climate risk assessment reports, to be used in the post-Sandy rebuilding and resiliency efforts. These utilized innovative methodologies for probabilistic local and regional sea level change projections, and contrasted methods of dynamic versus (the more common) static flood mapping. We participated in a federal-academic partnership that developed a Sea Level Tool for Sandy Recovery that integrates CCRUN sea level rise projections with policy-relevant FEMA flood maps, and now several updated flood maps and coastal flood mapping tools (NOAA, FEMA, and USACE) incorporate our projections. For the adaptation response, we helped develop NYC's $20 billion flood adaptation plan, and we were on a winning team under the Housing and Urban Development Rebuild By Design (RBD) competition, a few of the many opportunities that arose with negligible additional funding and which CCRUN funds supported. Our work at times disrupted standard lines of thinking, but NYC showed an openness to altering course. In one case we showed that an NYC plan of wetland restoration in Jamaica Bay would provide no reduction in flooding unless deep-dredged channels circumventing them were shallowed or narrowed. In another, the lead author's RBD team challenged the notion at one location that levees were the solution to accelerating sea level rise, developing a plan to use ecological breakwaters and layered components of physical and social resilience. CCRUN has succeeded in winning another five years of RISA funding, and this will enable us to continue our climate risk and adaptation work for the entire Urban Northeast.

A Rolling Element Bearing Fault Diagnosis Approach Based on Multifractal Theory and Gray Relation Theory

PubMed Central

Li, Jingchao; Cao, Yunpeng; Ying, Yulong; Li, Shuying

2016-01-01

Bearing failure is one of the dominant causes of failure and breakdowns in rotating machinery, leading to huge economic loss. Aiming at the nonstationary and nonlinear characteristics of bearing vibration signals as well as the complexity of condition-indicating information distribution in the signals, a novel rolling element bearing fault diagnosis method based on multifractal theory and gray relation theory was proposed in the paper. Firstly, a generalized multifractal dimension algorithm was developed to extract the characteristic vectors of fault features from the bearing vibration signals, which can offer more meaningful and distinguishing information reflecting different bearing health status in comparison with conventional single fractal dimension. After feature extraction by multifractal dimensions, an adaptive gray relation algorithm was applied to implement an automated bearing fault pattern recognition. The experimental results show that the proposed method can identify various bearing fault types as well as severities effectively and accurately. PMID:28036329

[A new questionnaire for the assessment of parental health literacy].

PubMed

Gács, Zsófia; Berend, Katalin; Csanádi, Gábor; Csizmady, Adrienne

2015-10-18

Parental health literacy is an important factor of pediatric health. Although it is thorougly studied in other countries, neither proper definition, nor adequate tool for its measurement exists in Hungarian. The aim of this work was to define the dimensions of parental health literacy and to introduce a questionnaire for its measurement. Opinions of parents, pediatric nurses and pediatricians on parental health literacy were used to establish the definition and basic components. Based on these and previously standardized tests a new questionnaire was developed. Four dimensions of parental health literacy were formulated such as knowledge, functional literacy, self-confidence and motivation. The new questionnaire assesses all four dimension through eight topics. This is the first culturally adapted definition and test of parental health literacy in Hungarian. With its application the efficacy of both primary care services and health education may be improved and the correlation between parental health literacy and pediatric health may be properly studied.

Nonperturbative renormalization group study of the stochastic Navier-Stokes equation.

PubMed

Mejía-Monasterio, Carlos; Muratore-Ginanneschi, Paolo

2012-07-01

We study the renormalization group flow of the average action of the stochastic Navier-Stokes equation with power-law forcing. Using Galilean invariance, we introduce a nonperturbative approximation adapted to the zero-frequency sector of the theory in the parametric range of the Hölder exponent 4-2ε of the forcing where real-space local interactions are relevant. In any spatial dimension d, we observe the convergence of the resulting renormalization group flow to a unique fixed point which yields a kinetic energy spectrum scaling in agreement with canonical dimension analysis. Kolmogorov's -5/3 law is, thus, recovered for ε = 2 as also predicted by perturbative renormalization. At variance with the perturbative prediction, the -5/3 law emerges in the presence of a saturation in the ε dependence of the scaling dimension of the eddy diffusivity at ε = 3/2 when, according to perturbative renormalization, the velocity field becomes infrared relevant.

Conforming and nonconforming personality and stress coping styles in combat athletes.

PubMed

Bernacka, Ryszarda Ewa; Sawicki, Bogusław; Mazurek-Kusiak, Anna; Hawlena, Joanna

2016-06-01

The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the personality dimension of conformism/nonconformism was a predictor of stress coping styles in athletes training combat sports, and to present the characteristics of this personality dimension in the context of the competitors' adaptive/innovative sport performance. Scores of 346 males practising combat sports such as kick boxing, MMA, thai boxing, boxing and wrestling were analyzed. The participants completed the Creative Behaviour Questionnaire (KANH III) measuring the conformity/nonconformity personality dimension and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) measuring stress coping styles. The comparative analyses were conducted only for the groups of conformists and nonconformists. Differences in stress coping styles between conformists and nonconformists training combat sports were found as nonconformists tended to prefer the task-oriented coping style. Conclusively, a higher rate of nonconformity was associated with increasingly frequent occurrence of task-oriented coping and decreasingly frequent emotion-oriented coping.

A Rolling Element Bearing Fault Diagnosis Approach Based on Multifractal Theory and Gray Relation Theory.

PubMed

Li, Jingchao; Cao, Yunpeng; Ying, Yulong; Li, Shuying

2016-01-01

Bearing failure is one of the dominant causes of failure and breakdowns in rotating machinery, leading to huge economic loss. Aiming at the nonstationary and nonlinear characteristics of bearing vibration signals as well as the complexity of condition-indicating information distribution in the signals, a novel rolling element bearing fault diagnosis method based on multifractal theory and gray relation theory was proposed in the paper. Firstly, a generalized multifractal dimension algorithm was developed to extract the characteristic vectors of fault features from the bearing vibration signals, which can offer more meaningful and distinguishing information reflecting different bearing health status in comparison with conventional single fractal dimension. After feature extraction by multifractal dimensions, an adaptive gray relation algorithm was applied to implement an automated bearing fault pattern recognition. The experimental results show that the proposed method can identify various bearing fault types as well as severities effectively and accurately.

z -Weyl gravity in higher dimensions

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

Moon, Taeyoon; Oh, Phillial, E-mail: dpproject@skku.edu, E-mail: ploh@skku.edu

We consider higher dimensional gravity in which the four dimensional spacetime and extra dimensions are not treated on an equal footing. The anisotropy is implemented in the ADM decomposition of higher dimensional metric by requiring the foliation preserving diffeomorphism invariance adapted to the extra dimensions, thus keeping the general covariance only for the four dimensional spacetime. The conformally invariant gravity can be constructed with an extra (Weyl) scalar field and a real parameter z which describes the degree of anisotropy of conformal transformation between the spacetime and extra dimensional metrics. In the zero mode effective 4D action, it reduces tomore » four-dimensional scalar-tensor theory coupled with nonlinear sigma model described by extra dimensional metrics. There are no restrictions on the value of z at the classical level and possible applications to the cosmological constant problem with a specific choice of z are discussed.« less

Conforming and nonconforming personality and stress coping styles in combat athletes

PubMed Central

Sawicki, Bogusław; Mazurek-Kusiak, Anna; Hawlena, Joanna

2016-01-01

Abstract The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the personality dimension of conformism/nonconformism was a predictor of stress coping styles in athletes training combat sports, and to present the characteristics of this personality dimension in the context of the competitors’ adaptive/innovative sport performance. Scores of 346 males practising combat sports such as kick boxing, MMA, thai boxing, boxing and wrestling were analyzed. The participants completed the Creative Behaviour Questionnaire (KANH III) measuring the conformity/nonconformity personality dimension and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) measuring stress coping styles. The comparative analyses were conducted only for the groups of conformists and nonconformists. Differences in stress coping styles between conformists and nonconformists training combat sports were found as nonconformists tended to prefer the task-oriented coping style. Conclusively, a higher rate of nonconformity was associated with increasingly frequent occurrence of task-oriented coping and decreasingly frequent emotion-oriented coping. PMID:28149386

Development and Climate Change: A Mainstreaming Approach for Assessing Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Adaptation Measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halsnæs, Kirsten; Trærup, Sara

2009-05-01

The paper introduces the so-called climate change mainstreaming approach, where vulnerability and adaptation measures are assessed in the context of general development policy objectives. The approach is based on the application of a limited set of indicators. These indicators are selected as representatives of focal development policy objectives, and a stepwise approach for addressing climate change impacts, development linkages, and the economic, social and environmental dimensions related to vulnerability and adaptation are introduced. Within this context it is illustrated using three case studies how development policy indicators in practice can be used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation measures based on three case studies, namely a road project in flood prone areas of Mozambique, rainwater harvesting in the agricultural sector in Tanzania and malaria protection in Tanzania. The conclusions of the paper confirm that climate risks can be reduced at relatively low costs, but the uncertainty is still remaining about some of the wider development impacts of implementing climate change adaptation measures.

Development and climate change: a mainstreaming approach for assessing economic, social, and environmental impacts of adaptation measures.

PubMed

Halsnaes, Kirsten; Traerup, Sara

2009-05-01

The paper introduces the so-called climate change mainstreaming approach, where vulnerability and adaptation measures are assessed in the context of general development policy objectives. The approach is based on the application of a limited set of indicators. These indicators are selected as representatives of focal development policy objectives, and a stepwise approach for addressing climate change impacts, development linkages, and the economic, social and environmental dimensions related to vulnerability and adaptation are introduced. Within this context it is illustrated using three case studies how development policy indicators in practice can be used to assess climate change impacts and adaptation measures based on three case studies, namely a road project in flood prone areas of Mozambique, rainwater harvesting in the agricultural sector in Tanzania and malaria protection in Tanzania. The conclusions of the paper confirm that climate risks can be reduced at relatively low costs, but the uncertainty is still remaining about some of the wider development impacts of implementing climate change adaptation measures.

Understanding adaptive capacity and capacity to innovate in social-ecological systems: Applying a gender lens.

PubMed

Cohen, Philippa J; Lawless, Sarah; Dyer, Michelle; Morgan, Miranda; Saeni, Enly; Teioli, Helen; Kantor, Paula

2016-12-01

Development policy increasingly focuses on building capacities to respond to change (adaptation), and to drive change (innovation). Few studies, however, focus specifically on the social and gender differentiation of capacities to adapt and innovate. We address this gap using a qualitative study in three communities in Solomon Islands; a developing country, where rural livelihoods and well-being are tightly tied to agriculture and fisheries. We find the five dimensions of capacity to adapt and to innovate (i.e. assets, flexibility, learning, social organisation, agency) to be mutually dependant. For example, limits to education, physical mobility and agency meant that women and youth, particularly, felt it was difficult to establish relations with external agencies to access technical support or new information important for innovating or adapting. Willingness to bear risk and to challenge social norms hindered both women's and men's capacity to innovate, albeit to differing degrees. Our findings are of value to those aspiring for equitable improvements to well-being within dynamic and diverse social-ecological systems.

The development and validation of static and adaptive screeners to measure the severity of panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Sunderland, Matthew; Batterham, Philip J; Calear, Alison L; Carragher, Natacha

2017-12-01

A series of static and adaptive screeners for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder (SAD), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) were developed and compared using data-driven methods to facilitate the measurement of each disorder in community samples. Data comprised 3175 respondents for the development sample and 3755 respondents for the validation sample, recruited independently using Facebook advertising. Item Response Theory (IRT) was utilized to develop static continuous screeners and to simulate computerized adaptive algorithms. The screeners consisted of a small subset of items from each bank (79% reduction in items for panic disorder, 85% reduction in items for SAD, and 84% reduction in items for OCD) that provided similar scores (r = 0.88-0.96). Both static and adaptive screeners were valid with respect to existing scales that purportedly measure similar constructs (r > 0.70 for panic disorder, r > 0.76 for SAD, and r > 0.68 for OCD). The adaptive scales were able to maintain a higher level of precision in comparison to the static scales and evidenced slightly higher concordance with scores generated by the full item banks. The screeners for panic disorder, SAD, and OCD could be used as a flexible approach to measure and monitor the severity of psychopathology in tailored treatment protocols. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quality of physical therapy from a patient's perspective; factor analysis on web-based survey data revealed three dimensions on patient experiences with physical therapy.

PubMed

Scholte, Marijn; Calsbeek, Hilly; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria W G; Braspenning, Jozé

2014-06-18

Assessing quality of care from the patient's perspective has changed from patient satisfaction to the more general term patient experience, as satisfaction measures turned out to be less discriminative due to high scores. Literature describes four to ten dimensions of patient experience, tailored to specific conditions or types of care. Given the administrative burden on patients, less dimensions and items could increase feasibility. Ten dimensions of patient experiences with physical therapy (PT) were proposed in the Netherlands in a consensus-based process with patients, physical therapists, health insurers, and policy makers. The aim of this paper is to detect the number of dimensions from data of a field study using factor analysis at item level. A web-based survey yielded data of 2,221 patients from 52 PT practices on 41 items. Principal component factor analysis at item level was used to assess the proposed distinction between the ten dimensions. Factor analysis revealed two dimensions: 'personal interaction' and 'practice organisation'. The dimension 'patient reported outcome' was artificially established. The three dimensions 'personal interaction' (14 items) (median(practice level) = 91.1; IQR = 2.4), 'practice organisation' (9 items) (median(practice level) = 88.9; IQR = 6.0) and 'outcome' (3 items) (median(practice level) = 80.6; IQR = 19.5) reduced the number of dimensions from ten to three and the number of items by more than a third. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions and achieved an item reduction of more than a third. It is a relevant step in the development process of a quality measurement tool to reduce respondent burden, increase clarity, and promote feasibility.

Assessing the Multiple Dimensions of Engagement to Characterize Learning: A Neurophysiological Perspective

PubMed Central

Charland, Patrick; Léger, Pierre-Majorique; Sénécal, Sylvain; Courtemanche, François; Mercier, Julien; Skelling, Yannick; Labonté-Lemoyne, Elise

2015-01-01

In a recent theoretical synthesis on the concept of engagement, Fredricks, Blumenfeld and Paris1 defined engagement by its multiple dimensions: behavioral, emotional and cognitive. They observed that individual types of engagement had not been studied in conjunction, and little information was available about interactions or synergy between the dimensions; consequently, more studies would contribute to creating finely tuned teaching interventions. Benefiting from the recent technological advances in neurosciences, this paper presents a recently developed methodology to gather and synchronize data on multidimensional engagement during learning tasks. The technique involves the collection of (a) electroencephalography, (b) electrodermal, (c) eye-tracking, and (d) facial emotion recognition data on four different computers. This led to synchronization issues for data collected from multiple sources. Post synchronization in specialized integration software gives researchers a better understanding of the dynamics between the multiple dimensions of engagement. For curriculum developers, these data could provide informed guidelines for achieving better instruction/learning efficiency. This technique also opens up possibilities in the field of brain-computer interactions, where adaptive learning or assessment environments could be developed. PMID:26167712

How distinct is the coding of face identity and expression? Evidence for some common dimensions in face space.

PubMed

Rhodes, Gillian; Pond, Stephen; Burton, Nichola; Kloth, Nadine; Jeffery, Linda; Bell, Jason; Ewing, Louise; Calder, Andrew J; Palermo, Romina

2015-09-01

Traditional models of face perception emphasize distinct routes for processing face identity and expression. These models have been highly influential in guiding neural and behavioural research on the mechanisms of face perception. However, it is becoming clear that specialised brain areas for coding identity and expression may respond to both attributes and that identity and expression perception can interact. Here we use perceptual aftereffects to demonstrate the existence of dimensions in perceptual face space that code both identity and expression, further challenging the traditional view. Specifically, we find a significant positive association between face identity aftereffects and expression aftereffects, which dissociates from other face (gaze) and non-face (tilt) aftereffects. Importantly, individual variation in the adaptive calibration of these common dimensions significantly predicts ability to recognize both identity and expression. These results highlight the role of common dimensions in our ability to recognize identity and expression, and show why the high-level visual processing of these attributes is not entirely distinct. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Planning for the Human Dimensions of Oil Spills and Spill Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webler, Thomas; Lord, Fabienne

2010-04-01

Oil spill contingency planners need an improved approach to understanding and planning for the human dimensions of oil spills. Drawing on existing literature in social impact assessment, natural hazards, human ecology, adaptive management, global change and sustainability, we develop an integrative approach to understanding and portraying the human dimensions impacts of stressors associated with oil spill events. Our approach is based on three fundamental conclusions that are drawn from this literature review. First, it is productive to acknowledge that, while stressors can produce human impacts directly, they mainly affect intermediary processes and changes to these processes produce human impacts. Second, causal chain modeling taken from hazard management literature provides a means to document how oil spill stressors change processes and produce human impacts. Third, concepts from the global change literature on vulnerability enrich causal models in ways that make more obvious how management interventions lessen hazards and mitigate associated harm. Using examples from recent spill events, we illustrate how these conclusions can be used to diagrammatically portray the human dimensions of oil spills.

A self-adaptive-grid method with application to airfoil flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakahashi, K.; Deiwert, G. S.

1985-01-01

A self-adaptive-grid method is described that is suitable for multidimensional steady and unsteady computations. Based on variational principles, a spring analogy is used to redistribute grid points in an optimal sense to reduce the overall solution error. User-specified parameters, denoting both maximum and minimum permissible grid spacings, are used to define the all-important constants, thereby minimizing the empiricism and making the method self-adaptive. Operator splitting and one-sided controls for orthogonality and smoothness are used to make the method practical, robust, and efficient. Examples are included for both steady and unsteady viscous flow computations about airfoils in two dimensions, as well as for a steady inviscid flow computation and a one-dimensional case. These examples illustrate the precise control the user has with the self-adaptive method and demonstrate a significant improvement in accuracy and quality of the solutions.

Parallel Adaptive Mesh Refinement Library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mac-Neice, Peter; Olson, Kevin

2005-01-01

Parallel Adaptive Mesh Refinement Library (PARAMESH) is a package of Fortran 90 subroutines designed to provide a computer programmer with an easy route to extension of (1) a previously written serial code that uses a logically Cartesian structured mesh into (2) a parallel code with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). Alternatively, in its simplest use, and with minimal effort, PARAMESH can operate as a domain-decomposition tool for users who want to parallelize their serial codes but who do not wish to utilize adaptivity. The package builds a hierarchy of sub-grids to cover the computational domain of a given application program, with spatial resolution varying to satisfy the demands of the application. The sub-grid blocks form the nodes of a tree data structure (a quad-tree in two or an oct-tree in three dimensions). Each grid block has a logically Cartesian mesh. The package supports one-, two- and three-dimensional models.

An adaptive gridless methodology in one dimension

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

Snyder, N.T.; Hailey, C.E.

1996-09-01

Gridless numerical analysis offers great potential for accurately solving for flow about complex geometries or moving boundary problems. Because gridless methods do not require point connection, the mesh cannot twist or distort. The gridless method utilizes a Taylor series about each point to obtain the unknown derivative terms from the current field variable estimates. The governing equation is then numerically integrated to determine the field variables for the next iteration. Effects of point spacing and Taylor series order on accuracy are studied, and they follow similar trends of traditional numerical techniques. Introducing adaption by point movement using a spring analogymore » allows the solution method to track a moving boundary. The adaptive gridless method models linear, nonlinear, steady, and transient problems. Comparison with known analytic solutions is given for these examples. Although point movement adaption does not provide a significant increase in accuracy, it helps capture important features and provides an improved solution.« less

Exploring multicollinearity using a random matrix theory approach.

PubMed

Feher, Kristen; Whelan, James; Müller, Samuel

2012-01-01

Clustering of gene expression data is often done with the latent aim of dimension reduction, by finding groups of genes that have a common response to potentially unknown stimuli. However, what is poorly understood to date is the behaviour of a low dimensional signal embedded in high dimensions. This paper introduces a multicollinear model which is based on random matrix theory results, and shows potential for the characterisation of a gene cluster's correlation matrix. This model projects a one dimensional signal into many dimensions and is based on the spiked covariance model, but rather characterises the behaviour of the corresponding correlation matrix. The eigenspectrum of the correlation matrix is empirically examined by simulation, under the addition of noise to the original signal. The simulation results are then used to propose a dimension estimation procedure of clusters from data. Moreover, the simulation results warn against considering pairwise correlations in isolation, as the model provides a mechanism whereby a pair of genes with `low' correlation may simply be due to the interaction of high dimension and noise. Instead, collective information about all the variables is given by the eigenspectrum.

The Auditory Verbal Learning Test (Rey AVLT): An Arabic Version

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharoni, Varda; Natur, Nazeh

2014-01-01

The goals of this study were to adapt the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) into Arabic, to compare recall functioning among age groups (6:0 to 17:11), and to compare gender differences on various memory dimensions (immediate and delayed recall, learning rate, recognition, proactive interferences, and retroactive interferences). This…

Research and the Young Child in India: Shifting from Alienation to Adaptability Using an Expanded Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaudhary, Nandita; Pillai, Punya

2016-01-01

Conventional psychological research has focused primarily on intrapersonal dimensions of human activity, often evading shared knowledge, interpersonal perspective-taking, and collective beliefs. The ideology of individualism and the 'embryonic fallacy' are largely responsible for the focus on the individual as an isolated entity. Most available…

The Impact of College Experiences on Conventional Career Logic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baumgardner, Steve R.

1976-01-01

The factors students consider in choosing a college major were scaled on an analytic-intuitive dimension. Differences in thinking orientation were found to be associated with students's sex, area of study, and year in school. Overall, the apparent lack of explicit rationality in student educational decisions appears to be adaptive. (Author)

Children's Strategies for Solving Two- and Three-Dimensional Combinatorial Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

English, Lyn D.

1993-01-01

Investigated strategies that 7- to 12-year-old children (n=96) spontaneously applied in solving novel combinatorial problems. With experience in solving two-dimensional problems, children were able to refine their strategies and adapt them to three dimensions. Results on some problems indicated significant effects of age. (Contains 32 references.)…

Adaptation of the PERMA Well-Being Scale into Turkish: Validity and Reliability Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayse, Eliüsük Bülbül

2018-01-01

Seligman's "well-being scale" PERMA evaluates people's level of well-being in five dimensions: P: Positive and Negative emotions, E: Engagement, R: Relationships, M: Meaning, A: Accomplishment, N: Negative Emotion and H: Health. This scale measures a person's level of well being using five components. The measurement scale developed…

The Influence of Proactive Socialization Behaviors and Team Socialization on Individual Performance in the Team

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennaforte, Antoine

2016-01-01

On the basis of the role and the social exchange theories, this research investigated the direct and indirect antecedents of three dimensions of team performance (proficiency, adaptivity, proactivity) developed through cooperative education. The theoretical model examined how proactive socialization behaviors led to team socialization and team…

Exploring Dimensions of Personal and Organizational Efficacy Motivation: A Study of Teachers, Social Workers, and University Faculty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loup, Karen S.; Clarke, James; Ellett, Chad D.; Rugutt, John

This paper presents the results of instrument development and adaptation efforts associated with conceptualizing and investigating self and organizational efficacies in terms of motivation toward achievement of organizational goals in schools, child welfare agencies, and higher education institutions. Results of initial conceptual development of a…

Screening for Adaptability to Military Service. Final Report for Period July 1974-April 1975.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guinn, Nancy; And Others

A sample of 15,252 basic airmen were administered the History Opinion Inventory (HOI) during basic military training. This 100-item self-report inventory was designed to tap dimensions of school adjustment, family stability, social orientation, emotional stability, bodily complaints, motivations and expectations for achievement, and response…

Clinical Diagnostic and Sociocultural Dimensions of Deliberate Self-Harm in Mumbai, India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkar, Shubhangi R.; Dawani, Varsha; Weiss, Mitchell G.

2006-01-01

Patients' accounts complement psychiatric assessment of deliberate self-harm (DSH). In this study we examined psychiatric disorders, and sociocultural and cross-cultural features of DSH. SCID diagnostic interviews and a locally adapted EMIC interview were used to study 196 patients after DSH at a general hospital in Mumbai, India. Major depression…

Generation of unstructured grids and Euler solutions for complex geometries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loehner, Rainald; Parikh, Paresh; Salas, Manuel D.

1989-01-01

Algorithms are described for the generation and adaptation of unstructured grids in two and three dimensions, as well as Euler solvers for unstructured grids. The main purpose is to demonstrate how unstructured grids may be employed advantageously for the economic simulation of both geometrically as well as physically complex flow fields.

Measuring Service Quality in Higher Education: A South African Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Paul

2014-01-01

The goal of this paper is to report on the SERVQUAL gap which causes unsuccessful service delivery at a University of Technology in South Africa. Using a quantitative research design, the study adopts a SERVQUAL model adapted to a tertiary environment containing five dimensions of service quality (tangibles, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, and…

Teacher Efficacy: A Study of Construct Dimensions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guskey, Thomas R.; Passaro, Perry

The structure of a concept generally labeled "teacher efficacy" is examined. A sample of 342 prospective and experienced teachers was administered an efficacy questionnaire adapted from the research of S. Gibson and M. H. Dembo (1984). Factor analytic procedures with varimax rotation were used to generate a 2-factor solution that accounted for 32…

The role of prescribed burn associations in the application of prescribed fires in rangeland ecosystems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although the ecological thresholds for restoring fire-adapted ecosystems back to their original state are better understood than in the past, the key hurdle to reintroducing historical fire regimes at landscape scales is a social one. The objectives of this study were to assess the human dimensions ...

Adapting a Matrix Organizational Structure to the College of Dentistry at the University of Kentucky.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nash, David A.; And Others

1989-01-01

The application of a matrix organization to the dental school by superimposing the four dimensions of the college's mission (patient care, education, research, and faculty development) is described, the problems and advantages of the reorganization are examined, and changes facilitated by it are discussed. (MSE)

Latent variable models for gene-environment interactions in longitudinal studies with multiple correlated exposures.

PubMed

Tao, Yebin; Sánchez, Brisa N; Mukherjee, Bhramar

2015-03-30

Many existing cohort studies designed to investigate health effects of environmental exposures also collect data on genetic markers. The Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants project, for instance, has been genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms on candidate genes involved in mental and nutrient metabolism and also in potentially shared metabolic pathways with the environmental exposures. Given the longitudinal nature of these cohort studies, rich exposure and outcome data are available to address novel questions regarding gene-environment interaction (G × E). Latent variable (LV) models have been effectively used for dimension reduction, helping with multiple testing and multicollinearity issues in the presence of correlated multivariate exposures and outcomes. In this paper, we first propose a modeling strategy, based on LV models, to examine the association between repeated outcome measures (e.g., child weight) and a set of correlated exposure biomarkers (e.g., prenatal lead exposure). We then construct novel tests for G × E effects within the LV framework to examine effect modification of outcome-exposure association by genetic factors (e.g., the hemochromatosis gene). We consider two scenarios: one allowing dependence of the LV models on genes and the other assuming independence between the LV models and genes. We combine the two sets of estimates by shrinkage estimation to trade off bias and efficiency in a data-adaptive way. Using simulations, we evaluate the properties of the shrinkage estimates, and in particular, we demonstrate the need for this data-adaptive shrinkage given repeated outcome measures, exposure measures possibly repeated and time-varying gene-environment association. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Color machine vision system for process control in the ceramics industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penaranda Marques, Jose A.; Briones, Leoncio; Florez, Julian

1997-08-01

This paper is focused on the design of a machine vision system to solve a problem found in the manufacturing process of high quality polished porcelain tiles. This consists of sorting the tiles according to the criteria 'same appearance to the human eye' or in other words, by color and visual texture. In 1994 this problem was tackled and led to a prototype which became fully operational at production scale in a manufacturing plant, named Porcelanatto, S.A. The system has evolved and has been adapted to meet the particular needs of this manufacturing company. Among the main issues that have been improved, it is worth pointing out: (1) improvement to discern subtle variations in color or texture, which are the main features of the visual appearance; (2) inspection time reduction, as a result of algorithm optimization and the increasing computing power. Thus, 100 percent of the production can be inspected, reaching a maximum of 120 tiles/sec.; (3) adaptation to the different types and models of tiles manufactured. The tiles vary not only in their visible patterns but also in dimensions, formats, thickness and allowances. In this sense, one major problem has been reaching an optimal compromise: The system must be sensitive enough to discern subtle variations in color, but at the same time insensitive thickness variations in the tiles. The following parts have been used to build the system: RGB color line scan camera, 12 bits per channel, PCI frame grabber, PC, fiber optic based illumination and the algorithm which will be explained in section 4.

Supporting Teachers to Automatically Build Accessible Pedagogical Resources: The APEINTA Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iglesias, Ana; Moreno, Lourdes; Jiménez, Javier

Most of the universities in Europe have started their process of adaptation towards a common educational space according to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The social dimension of the Bologna Process is a constituent part of the EHEA and it is a necessary condition for the attractiveness and competitiveness of the EHEA. Two of the main features of the social dimension are the equal access for all the students and the lifelong learning. One of the main problems of the adaptation process to the EHEA is that the teachers have no previous references and models to develop new pedagogical experiences accessible to all the students, nevertheless of their abilities, capabilities or accessibility characteristics. The APEINTA project presented in this paper can be used as a helpful tool for teachers in order to cope with the teaching demands of EHEA, helping the teachers to automatically build accessible pedagogical resources even when the teachers are not accessibility experts. This educational project has been successfully used in 2009 in two different degrees at the Carlos III University of Madrid: Computer Science and Library and Information Science.

Test anxiety, perfectionism, goal orientation, and academic performance.

PubMed

Eum, KoUn; Rice, Kenneth G

2011-03-01

Dimensions of perfectionism and goal orientation have been reported to have differential relationships with test anxiety. However, the degree of inter-relationship between different dimensions of perfectionism, the 2 × 2 model of goal orientations proposed by Elliot and McGregor, cognitive test anxiety, and academic performance indicators is not known. Based on data from 134 university students, we conducted correlation and regression analyses to test associations between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, four types of goal orientations, cognitive test anxiety, and two indicators of academic performance: proximal cognitive performance on a word list recall test and distal academic performance in terms of grade point average. Cognitive test anxiety was inversely associated with both performance indicators, and positively associated with maladaptive perfectionism and avoidance goal orientations. Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism accounted for significant variance in cognitive test anxiety after controlling for approach and avoidance goal orientations. Overall, nearly 50% of the variance in cognitive test anxiety could be attributed to gender, goal orientations, and perfectionism. Results suggested that students who are highly test anxious are likely to be women who endorse avoidance goal orientations and are maladaptively perfectionistic.

3D printed phantoms of retinal photoreceptor cells for evaluating adaptive optics imaging modalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kedia, Nikita; Liu, Zhuolin; Sochol, Ryan; Hammer, Daniel X.; Agrawal, Anant

2018-02-01

Adaptive optics-enabled optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO) devices can resolve retinal cones and rods in three dimensions. To evaluate the improved resolution of AO-OCT and AO-SLO, a phantom that mimics retinal anatomy at the cellular level is required. We used a two-photon polymerization approach to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) photoreceptor phantoms modeled on the central foveal cones. By using a femtosecond laser to selectively photocure precise locations within a liquid-based photoresist via two-photon absorption, we produced high-resolution phantoms with μm-level dimensions similar to true anatomy. In this work, we present two phantoms to evaluate the resolution limits of an AO imaging system: one that models only the outer segments of the photoreceptor cells at varying retinal eccentricities and another that contains anatomically relevant features of the full-length photoreceptor. With these phantoms we are able to quantitatively estimate transverse resolution of an AO system and produce images that are comparable to those found in the human retina.