Medicines discarded in household garbage: analysis of a pharmaceutical waste sample in Vienna

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Objectives To analyze a sample of pharmaceutical waste drawn from household garbage in Vienna, with the aim to learn whether and which medicines end up unused in normal household waste. Methods We obtained a pharmaceutical waste sample from the Vienna Municipal Waste Department. This was drawn by their staff in a representative search in October and November 2009. We did a manual investigation of the sample which contained packs and loose blisters, excluded medical devices and traced loose blisters back to medicines packs. We reported information on the prescription status, origin, therapeutic group, dose form, contents and expiry date. We performed descriptive statistics for the total data set and for sub-groups (e.g. items still containing some of original content). Results In total, 152 packs were identified, of which the majority was prescription-only medicines (74%). Cardiovascular medicines accounted for the highest share (24%). 87% of the packs were in oral form. 95% of the packs had not expired. 14.5% of the total data set contained contents but the range of content left in the packs varied. Results on the packs with contents differed from the total: the shares of Over-the Counter medicines (36%), of medicines of the respiratory system (18%) and of the musculo-skeletal system (18%), for dermal use (23%) and of expired medicines (19%) were higher compared to the full data set. Conclusions The study showed that some medicines end up unused or partially used in normal household garbage in Vienna. Our results did not confirm speculations about a high percentage of unused medicines improperly discarded. There is room for improved patient information and counseling to enhance medication adherence and a proper discharge of medicines. PMID:25848546

Medicines discarded in household garbage: analysis of a pharmaceutical waste sample in Vienna.

PubMed

Vogler, Sabine; Leopold, Christine; Zuidberg, Christel; Habl, Claudia

2014-01-01

To analyze a sample of pharmaceutical waste drawn from household garbage in Vienna, with the aim to learn whether and which medicines end up unused in normal household waste. We obtained a pharmaceutical waste sample from the Vienna Municipal Waste Department. This was drawn by their staff in a representative search in October and November 2009. We did a manual investigation of the sample which contained packs and loose blisters, excluded medical devices and traced loose blisters back to medicines packs. We reported information on the prescription status, origin, therapeutic group, dose form, contents and expiry date. We performed descriptive statistics for the total data set and for sub-groups (e.g. items still containing some of original content). In total, 152 packs were identified, of which the majority was prescription-only medicines (74%). Cardiovascular medicines accounted for the highest share (24%). 87% of the packs were in oral form. 95% of the packs had not expired. 14.5% of the total data set contained contents but the range of content left in the packs varied. Results on the packs with contents differed from the total: the shares of Over-the Counter medicines (36%), of medicines of the respiratory system (18%) and of the musculo-skeletal system (18%), for dermal use (23%) and of expired medicines (19%) were higher compared to the full data set. The study showed that some medicines end up unused or partially used in normal household garbage in Vienna. Our results did not confirm speculations about a high percentage of unused medicines improperly discarded. There is room for improved patient information and counseling to enhance medication adherence and a proper discharge of medicines.

Rtop - an R package for interpolation along the stream network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skøien, J. O.

2009-04-01

Rtop - an R package for interpolation along the stream network Geostatistical methods have been used to a limited extent for estimation along stream networks, with a few exceptions(Gottschalk, 1993; Gottschalk, et al., 2006; Sauquet, et al., 2000; Skøien, et al., 2006). Interpolation of runoff characteristics are more complicated than the traditional random variables estimated by geostatistical methods, as the measurements have a more complicated support, and many catchments are nested. Skøien et al. (2006) presented the model Top-kriging which takes these effects into account for interpolation of stream flow characteristics (exemplified by the 100 year flood). The method has here been implemented as a package in the statistical environment R (R Development Core Team, 2004). Taking advantage of the existing methods in R for working with spatial objects, and the extensive possibilities for visualizing the result, this makes it considerably easier to apply the method on new data sets, in comparison to earlier implementation of the method. Gottschalk, L. 1993. Interpolation of runoff applying objective methods. Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics, 7, 269-281. Gottschalk, L., I. Krasovskaia, E. Leblois, and E. Sauquet. 2006. Mapping mean and variance of runoff in a river basin. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 469-484. R Development Core Team. 2004. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Sauquet, E., L. Gottschalk, and E. Leblois. 2000. Mapping average annual runoff: a hierarchical approach applying a stochastic interpolation scheme. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 45 (6), 799-815. Skøien, J. O., R. Merz, and G. Blöschl. 2006. Top-kriging - geostatistics on stream networks. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 277-287.

Examination of anonymous canine faecal samples provides data on endoparasite prevalence rates in dogs for comparative studies.

PubMed

Hinney, Barbara; Gottwald, Michaela; Moser, Jasmine; Reicher, Bianca; Schäfer, Bhavapriya Jasmin; Schaper, Roland; Joachim, Anja; Künzel, Frank

2017-10-15

Several endoparasites of dogs cannot only be detrimental to their primary host but might also represent a threat to human health because of their zoonotic potential. Due to their high dog population densities, metropolitan areas can be highly endemic for such parasites. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of endoparasites in dogs in the Austrian capital of Vienna by examining a representative number of canine faecal samples and to compare the prevalences with two neighbouring peri-urban and rural regions. In addition we analysed whether the density of dog populations and cleanliness of dog zones correlated with parasite occurrence. We collected 1001 anonymous faecal samples from 55 dog zones from all 23 districts of the federal state of Vienna, as well as 480 faecal samples from the Mödling district and Wolkersdorf with a peri-urban and rural character, respectively. Faeces were examined by flotation and by Baermann technique. Additionally we evaluated 292 Viennese, 102 peri-urban and 50 rural samples for Giardia and Cryptosporidium by GiardiaFASTest ® and CryptoFASTest ® . Samples from "clean" dog zones were compared to samples from "dirty" zones. The infection rate of Toxocara was surprisingly low, ranging from 0.6% to 1.9%. Trichuris was the most frequent helminth (1.8-7.5%) and Giardia the most frequent protozoan (4.0-10.8%). Ancylostomatidae, Crenosoma, Capillaria, Taeniidae, Cystoisospora and Sarcocystis were found in 1.8-2.2%, 0-0.9%, 0-0.9%, 0-0.6%, 0.3-3.1% and 0-0.6% of the samples, respectively. Samples from "dirty" dog zones in Vienna showed a significantly higher rate of parasites overall (p=0.003) and of Trichuris (p=0.048) compared to samples from "clean" dog zones. There were no statistically significant differences in densely vs. less densely populated areas of Vienna. Samples from the rural region of Wolkersdorf had significantly higher overall parasite, Trichuris and Cystoisospora prevalences than the peri-urban Mödling district and Vienna (p=0.000-0.039), while samples from the Mödling district had a significantly higher Giardia, Crenosoma and Capillaria prevalence than those from Vienna (p=0.002-0.047). Parasite excretion is dynamic and representative sampling and monitoring are necessary for parasite surveillance. Dog owners should be informed about the zoonotic risk and encouraged to remove dog faeces and dispose of them properly to reduce the infection risk for both other dogs and humans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Probabilistic Nowcasting of Low-Visibility Procedure States at Vienna International Airport During Cold Season

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kneringer, Philipp; Dietz, Sebastian J.; Mayr, Georg J.; Zeileis, Achim

2018-04-01

Airport operations are sensitive to visibility conditions. Low-visibility events may lead to capacity reduction, delays and economic losses. Different levels of low-visibility procedures (lvp) are enacted to ensure aviation safety. A nowcast of the probabilities for each of the lvp categories helps decision makers to optimally schedule their operations. An ordered logistic regression (OLR) model is used to forecast these probabilities directly. It is applied to cold season forecasts at Vienna International Airport for lead times of 30-min out to 2 h. Model inputs are standard meteorological measurements. The skill of the forecasts is accessed by the ranked probability score. OLR outperforms persistence, which is a strong contender at the shortest lead times. The ranked probability score of the OLR is even better than the one of nowcasts from human forecasters. The OLR-based nowcasting system is computationally fast and can be updated instantaneously when new data become available.

Water: from the source to the treatment plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baude, I.; Marquet, V.

2012-04-01

Isabelle BAUDE isa.baude@free.fr Lycee français de Vienne Liechtensteinstrasse 37AVienna As a physics and chemistry teacher, I have worked on water from the source to the treatment plant with 27 pupils between 14 and 15 years old enrolled in the option "Science and laboratory". The objectives of this option are to interest students in science, to introduce them to practical methods of laboratory analyses, and let them use computer technology. Teaching takes place every two weeks and lasts 1.5 hours. The theme of water is a common project with the biology and geology teacher, Mrs. Virginie Marquet. Lesson 1: Introduction: The water in Vienna The pupils have to consider why the water is so important in Vienna (history, economy etc.) and where tap water comes from. Activities: Brainstorming about where and why we use water every day and why the water is different in Vienna. Lesson 2: Objectives of the session: What are the differences between mineral waters? Activities: Compare water from different origins (France: Evian, Vittel, Contrex. Austria: Vöslauer, Juvina, Gasteiner and tap water from Vienna) by tasting and finding the main ions they contain. Testing ions: Calcium, magnesium, sulphate, chloride, sodium, and potassium Lesson 3: Objectives of the session: Build a hydrometer Activities: Producing a range of calibration solutions, build and calibrate the hydrometer with different salt-water solutions. Measure the density of the Dead Sea's water and other mineral waters. Lesson 4: Objectives of the session: How does a fountain work? Activities: Construction of a fountain as Heron of Alexandria with simple equipment and try to understand the hydrostatic principles. Lesson 5: Objectives of the session: Study of the physical processes of water treatment (decantation, filtration, screening) Activities: Build a natural filter with sand, stone, carbon, and cotton wool. Retrieve the filtered water to test it during lesson 7. Lesson 6: Visit of the biggest treatment plant of Europe in Vienna. Lesson 7: Objectives of the session: Water Quality Monitoring: Biochemical Oxygen Demand (chemical analysis) in common with my colleague.

Evaluation of Quality Production Parameters and Mating Behavior of Novel Genetic Sexing Strains of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

PubMed Central

Haq, Ihsan ul; Wornayporn, Viwat; Ahmad, Sohel; Sto Tomas, Ulysses; Dammalage, Thilakasiri; Gembinsky, Keke; Franz, Gerald; Cáceres, Carlos; Vreysen, Marc J. B.

2016-01-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most important pest of fruits and vegetables in tropical and subtropical countries. The sterile insect technique (SIT) as a component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) approaches is being used for the successful management of this pest. VIENNA 8 is a genetic sexing strain (GSS) that has a white pupae (wp) and temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation, the latter killing all female embryos when eggs are exposed to high temperatures (34°C). The use of this GSS permits production and the release of only males which has increased the cost effectiveness of the SIT several fold for this pest. An efficient method of identification of recaptured sterile males can further increase the cost effectiveness of the SIT for this pest. Therefore, VIENNA 8-Sergeant2 (Sr2) strain and the transgenic strain VIENNA 8–1260 having visible markers were constructed. All three strains were evaluated for egg production, egg hatch, and egg sterility parameters under semi mass-rearing conditions and mating competitiveness in field cages. VIENNA 8–1260 females produced significantly fewer eggs as compared with the two other strains, which produced similar numbers of eggs. However, egg hatch of all strains was similar. Egg hatch of eggs produced by untreated females that had mated with adult males that had been irradiated with 100 Gy as pupae 2 days before emergence, was different for the three strains, i.e., egg hatch of 0.63%, 0.77%, 0.89% for VIENNA 8, VIENNA 8–1260, and VIENNA 8-Sr2, respectively. Differences in male mating competitiveness of the three strains against wild-type males were gradually reduced with successive generations under semi mass-rearing conditions. However, VIENNA 8 males adapted faster to laboratory conditions as compared with VIENNA 8-Sr2 and VIENNA 8–1260 males with respect to mating competitiveness. VIENNA 8 males of the F10 generation were equally competitive with wild-type males, whereas the mating competitiveness of VIENNA 8-Sr2 and VIENNA 8–1260 males was similar but lower as compared with wild-type males. Males from all three strains copulated earlier than wild-type males. Results are discussed in relation with the potential benefits of incorporating novel strains for more effective SIT application. PMID:27336737

Association factor analysis between osteoporosis with cerebral artery disease: The STROBE study.

PubMed

Jin, Eun-Sun; Jeong, Je Hoon; Lee, Bora; Im, Soo Bin

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical association factors between osteoporosis and cerebral artery disease in Korean population. Two hundred nineteen postmenopausal women and men undergoing cerebral computed tomography angiography were enrolled in this study to evaluate the cerebral artery disease by cross-sectional study. Cerebral artery disease was diagnosed if there was narrowing of 50% higher diameter in one or more cerebral vessel artery or presence of vascular calcification. History of osteoporotic fracture was assessed using medical record, and radiographic data such as simple radiography, MRI, and bone scan. Bone mineral density was checked by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. We reviewed clinical characteristics in all patients and also performed subgroup analysis for total or extracranial/ intracranial cerebral artery disease group retrospectively. We performed statistical analysis by means of chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and Student's t-test or Wilcoxon's rank sum test for continuous variables. We also used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the factors associated with the prevalence of cerebral artery disease. A two-tailed p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. All statistical analyses were performed using R (version 3.1.3; The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) and SPSS (version 14.0; SPSS, Inc, Chicago, Ill, USA). Of the 219 patients, 142 had cerebral artery disease. All vertebral fracture was observed in 29 (13.24%) patients. There was significant difference in hip fracture according to the presence or absence of cerebral artery disease. In logistic regression analysis, osteoporotic hip fracture was significantly associated with extracranial cerebral artery disease after adjusting for multiple risk factors. Females with osteoporotic hip fracture were associated with total calcified cerebral artery disease. Some clinical factors such as age, hypertension, and osteoporotic hip fracture, smoking history and anti-osteoporosis drug use were associated with cerebral artery disease.

A MATLAB®-based program for 3D visualization of stratigraphic setting and subsidence evolution of sedimentary basins: example application to the Vienna Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Eun Young; Novotny, Johannes; Wagreich, Michael

2015-04-01

In recent years, 3D visualization of sedimentary basins has become increasingly popular. Stratigraphic and structural mapping is highly important to understand the internal setting of sedimentary basins. And subsequent subsidence analysis provides significant insights for basin evolution. This study focused on developing a simple and user-friendly program which allows geologists to analyze and model sedimentary basin data. The developed program is aimed at stratigraphic and subsidence modelling of sedimentary basins from wells or stratigraphic profile data. This program is mainly based on two numerical methods; surface interpolation and subsidence analysis. For surface visualization four different interpolation techniques (Linear, Natural, Cubic Spline, and Thin-Plate Spline) are provided in this program. The subsidence analysis consists of decompaction and backstripping techniques. The numerical methods are computed in MATLAB® which is a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment used extensively in academic, research, and industrial fields. This program consists of five main processing steps; 1) setup (study area and stratigraphic units), 2) loading of well data, 3) stratigraphic modelling (depth distribution and isopach plots), 4) subsidence parameter input, and 5) subsidence modelling (subsided depth and subsidence rate plots). The graphical user interface intuitively guides users through all process stages and provides tools to analyse and export the results. Interpolation and subsidence results are cached to minimize redundant computations and improve the interactivity of the program. All 2D and 3D visualizations are created by using MATLAB plotting functions, which enables users to fine-tune the visualization results using the full range of available plot options in MATLAB. All functions of this program are illustrated with a case study of Miocene sediments in the Vienna Basin. The basin is an ideal place to test this program, because sufficient data is available to analyse and model stratigraphic setting and subsidence evolution of the basin. The study area covers approximately 1200 km2 including 110 data points in the central part of the Vienna Basin.

Process control charts in infection prevention: Make it simple to make it happen.

PubMed

Wiemken, Timothy L; Furmanek, Stephen P; Carrico, Ruth M; Mattingly, William A; Persaud, Annuradha K; Guinn, Brian E; Kelley, Robert R; Ramirez, Julio A

2017-03-01

Quality improvement is central to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs. Challenges may occur when applying quality improvement methodologies like process control charts, often due to the limited exposure of typical IPs. Because of this, our team created an open-source database with a process control chart generator for IPC programs. The objectives of this report are to outline the development of the application and demonstrate application using simulated data. We used Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap Consortium, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN), R (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria), and R Studio Shiny (R Foundation for Statistical Computing) to create an open source data collection system with automated process control chart generation. We used simulated data to test and visualize both in-control and out-of-control processes for commonly used metrics in IPC programs. The R code for implementing the control charts and Shiny application can be found on our Web site (https://github.com/ul-research-support/spcapp). Screen captures of the workflow and simulated data indicating both common cause and special cause variation are provided. Process control charts can be easily developed based on individual facility needs using freely available software. Through providing our work free to all interested parties, we hope that others will be able to harness the power and ease of use of the application for improving the quality of care and patient safety in their facilities. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Clinician-Centered Evaluation of the Usability of AHLTA and Automated Clinical Practice Guidelines at TAMC

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

gathering has been rescheduled to November 14, 2009, in San Francisco, at the AMIA Conference location. August 14, 2009, SOADEX provided a draft system...Bethesda. MD, USA d Core Unit for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria • Department of Nursing . lnha University...scheduled. Insook Cho, PhD, RN Associate Professor, Maternity Nursing & Nursing Informat- ics, lnha University, Younghyun-dong, Nam-gu, Jncheon, South

Implementation and Research on the Operational Use of the Mesoscale Prediction Model COAMPS in Poland

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-30

COAMPS model. Bogumil Jakubiak, University of Warsaw – participated in EGU General Assembly , Vienna Austria 15-20 April 2007 giving one oral and two...conditional forecast (background) error probability density function using an ensemble of the model forecast to generate background error statistics...COAMPS system on ICM machines at Warsaw University for the purpose of providing operational support to the general public using the ICM meteorological

Advances in Statistical and Deterministic Modeling of Wind-Driven Seas

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

Zakharov. Scales of nonlinear relaxation and balance of wind- driven seas. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 13, EGU2011-2042, 2011. EGU General ...Dyachenko A. “On canonical equation for water waves” at General Assembly 2011 of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria, 03 – 08 April...scattering and equilibrium ranges in wind- generated waves with application to spectrometry, J. Geoph. Res., 92, 49715029, 1987. [3] Hsiao S.V. and

Vienna FORTRAN: A FORTRAN language extension for distributed memory multiprocessors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Barbara; Mehrotra, Piyush; Zima, Hans

1991-01-01

Exploiting the performance potential of distributed memory machines requires a careful distribution of data across the processors. Vienna FORTRAN is a language extension of FORTRAN which provides the user with a wide range of facilities for such mapping of data structures. However, programs in Vienna FORTRAN are written using global data references. Thus, the user has the advantage of a shared memory programming paradigm while explicitly controlling the placement of data. The basic features of Vienna FORTRAN are presented along with a set of examples illustrating the use of these features.

Programming in Vienna Fortran

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Barbara; Mehrotra, Piyush; Zima, Hans

1992-01-01

Exploiting the full performance potential of distributed memory machines requires a careful distribution of data across the processors. Vienna Fortran is a language extension of Fortran which provides the user with a wide range of facilities for such mapping of data structures. In contrast to current programming practice, programs in Vienna Fortran are written using global data references. Thus, the user has the advantages of a shared memory programming paradigm while explicitly controlling the data distribution. In this paper, we present the language features of Vienna Fortran for FORTRAN 77, together with examples illustrating the use of these features.

Report on the 2011 Critical Assessment of Function Annotation (CAFA) meeting

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

Friedberg, Iddo

2015-01-21

The Critical Assessment of Function Annotation meeting was held July 14-15, 2011 at the Austria Conference Center in Vienna, Austria. There were 73 registered delegates at the meeting. We thank the DOE for this award. It helped us organize and support a scientific meeting AFP 2011 as a special interest group (SIG) meeting associated with the ISMB 2011 conference. The conference was held in Vienna, Austria, in July 2011. The AFP SIG was held on July 15-16, 2011 (immediately preceding the conference). The meeting consisted of two components, the first being a series of talks (invited and contributed) and discussionmore » sections dedicated to protein function research, with an emphasis on the theory and practice of computational methods utilized in functional annotation. The second component provided a large-scale assessment of computational methods through participation in the Critical Assessment of Functional Annotation (CAFA). The meeting was exciting and, based on feedback, quite successful. There were 73 registered participants. The schedule was only slightly different from the one proposed, due to two cancellations. Dr. Olga Troyanskaya has canceled and we invited Dr. David Jones instead. Similarly, instead of Dr. Richard Roberts, Dr. Simon Kasif gave a closing keynote. The remaining invited speakers were Janet Thornton (EBI) and Amos Bairoch (University of Geneva).« less

Consistency of different tropospheric models and mapping functions for precise GNSS processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graffigna, Victoria; Hernández-Pajares, Manuel; García-Rigo, Alberto; Gende, Mauricio

2017-04-01

The TOmographic Model of the IONospheric electron content (TOMION) software implements a simultaneous precise geodetic and ionospheric modeling, which can be used to test new approaches for real-time precise GNSS modeling (positioning, ionospheric and tropospheric delays, clock errors, among others). In this work, the software is used to estimate the Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD) emulating real time and its performance is evaluated through a comparative analysis with a built-in GIPSY estimation and IGS final troposphere product, exemplified in a two-day experiment performed in East Australia. Furthermore, the troposphere mapping function was upgraded from Niell to Vienna approach. On a first scenario, only forward processing was activated and the coordinates of the Wide Area GNSS network were loosely constrained, without fixing the carrier phase ambiguities, for both reference and rover receivers. On a second one, precise point positioning (PPP) was implemented, iterating for a fixed coordinates set for the second day. Comparisons between TOMION, IGS and GIPSY estimates have been performed and for the first one, IGS clocks and orbits were considered. The agreement with GIPSY results seems to be 10 times better than with the IGS final ZTD product, despite having considered IGS products for the computations. Hence, the subsequent analysis was carried out with respect to the GIPSY computations. The estimates show a typical bias of 2cm for the first strategy and of 7mm for PPP, in the worst cases. Moreover, Vienna mapping function showed in general a fairly better agreement than Niell one for both strategies. The RMS values' were found to be around 1cm for all studied situations, with a slightly fitter performance for the Niell one. Further improvement could be achieved for such estimations with coefficients for the Vienna mapping function calculated from raytracing as well as integrating meteorological comparative parameters.

Types and Characteristics of Data for Geomagnetic Field Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langel, R. A. (Editor); Baldwin, R. T. (Editor)

1992-01-01

Given here is material submitted at a symposium convened on Friday, August 23, 1991, at the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) held in Vienna, Austria. Models of the geomagnetic field are only as good as the data upon which they are based, and depend upon correct understanding of data characteristics such as accuracy, correlations, systematic errors, and general statistical properties. This symposium was intended to expose and illuminate these data characteristics.

Computing diffuse fraction of global horizontal solar radiation: A model comparison.

PubMed

Dervishi, Sokol; Mahdavi, Ardeshir

2012-06-01

For simulation-based prediction of buildings' energy use or expected gains from building-integrated solar energy systems, information on both direct and diffuse component of solar radiation is necessary. Available measured data are, however, typically restricted to global horizontal irradiance. There have been thus many efforts in the past to develop algorithms for the derivation of the diffuse fraction of solar irradiance. In this context, the present paper compares eight models for estimating diffuse fraction of irradiance based on a database of measured irradiance from Vienna, Austria. These models generally involve mathematical formulations with multiple coefficients whose values are typically valid for a specific location. Subsequent to a first comparison of these eight models, three better performing models were selected for a more detailed analysis. Thereby, the coefficients of the models were modified to account for Vienna data. The results suggest that some models can provide relatively reliable estimations of the diffuse fractions of the global irradiance. The calibration procedure could only slightly improve the models' performance.

The Requirement for Vocational Skills in the Engineering Industry in the Areas of Modena and Vienna. Synthesis Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatti, Mario; Mereu, Maria Grazia; Tagliaferro, Claudio; Markowitsch, Jorg; Neuberger, Robert

Requirements for vocational skills in the engineering industry in Modena, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, were studied. In Modena, employees of a representative sample of 90 small, medium, and large firms in the mechanical processing, agricultural machinery, and sports car manufacturing sectors were interviewed. In Vienna, data were collected through…

Vienna Fortran - A Language Specification. Version 1.1

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

other computer archi- tectures is the fact that the memory is physically distributed among the processors; the time required to access a non-local...datum may be an order of magnitude higher than the time taken to access locally stored data. This has important consequences for program efficiency. In...machine in many aspects. It is tedious, time -consuming and error prone. It has led to particularly slow software development cycles and, in consequence

Automatic adjustment of astrochronologic correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeeden, Christian; Kaboth, Stefanie; Hilgen, Frederik; Laskar, Jacques

2017-04-01

Here we present an algorithm for the automated adjustment and optimisation of correlations between proxy data and an orbital tuning target (or similar datasets as e.g. ice models) for the R environment (R Development Core Team 2008), building on the 'astrochron' package (Meyers et al.2014). The basis of this approach is an initial tuning on orbital (precession, obliquity, eccentricity) scale. We use filters of orbital frequency ranges related to e.g. precession, obliquity or eccentricity of data and compare these filters to an ensemble of target data, which may consist of e.g. different combinations of obliquity and precession, different phases of precession and obliquity, a mix of orbital and other data (e.g. ice models), or different orbital solutions. This approach allows for the identification of an ideal mix of precession and obliquity to be used as tuning target. In addition, the uncertainty related to different tuning tie points (and also precession- and obliquity contributions of the tuning target) can easily be assessed. Our message is to suggest an initial tuning and then obtain a reproducible tuned time scale, avoiding arbitrary chosen tie points and replacing these by automatically chosen ones, representing filter maxima (or minima). We present and discuss the above outlined approach and apply it to artificial and geological data. Artificial data are assessed to find optimal filter settings; real datasets are used to demonstrate the possibilities of such an approach. References: Meyers, S.R. (2014). Astrochron: An R Package for Astrochronology. http://cran.r-project.org/package=astrochron R Development Core Team (2008). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org.

Selected Cognitive Abilities in Elite Youth Soccer Players

PubMed Central

Baláková, Veronika; Boschek, Petr; Skalíková, Lucie

2015-01-01

The identification of talent in soccer is critical to various programs. Although many research findings have been presented, there have been only a few attempts to assess their validity. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between talent and achievement variables in the Vienna Test System. The participants were 91 Czech soccer players, representing four youth soccer teams, who were born in the year 2000. These boys were divided into two groups according to their coaches’ assessments using a TALENT questionnaire. A two-factor model (component 1: “kinetic finesse”; component 2: “mental strength”) was designed to interpret the responses of the coaches on the questionnaire. The Vienna Test System was used to determine the level of players’ cognitive abilities. In total, the subjects performed seven tests in the following order: Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), a reaction test (RT), a determination test (DT), a visual pursuit test (LVT), a Corsi Block-Tapping Test (CORSI), a time/movement anticipation test (ZBA), and a peripheral perception test (PP). To analyze the relationship between talent and achievement variables within the Vienna Test System, correlation analyses were performed. The results revealed that the talented group attained significantly better results on only 1 of the 16 variables, which was ZBA2: movement anticipation - deviation of movement median (r = .217, p = .019). A comparison of the two talent components showed that component 1 (“kinetic finesse”) was a more significant factor than component 2 (“mental strength”). Although we observed statistically significant correlations, their actual significance remains questionable; thus, further research is required. PMID:26839627

The ViennaRNA web services.

PubMed

Gruber, Andreas R; Bernhart, Stephan H; Lorenz, Ronny

2015-01-01

The ViennaRNA package is a widely used collection of programs for thermodynamic RNA secondary structure prediction. Over the years, many additional tools have been developed building on the core programs of the package to also address issues related to noncoding RNA detection, RNA folding kinetics, or efficient sequence design considering RNA-RNA hybridizations. The ViennaRNA web services provide easy and user-friendly web access to these tools. This chapter describes how to use this online platform to perform tasks such as prediction of minimum free energy structures, prediction of RNA-RNA hybrids, or noncoding RNA detection. The ViennaRNA web services can be used free of charge and can be accessed via http://rna.tbi.univie.ac.at.

Circle of influence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Andrew

2018-04-01

The founder of the Vienna Circle – a polymathic and influential group of intellectuals dedicated to the philosophy of science from the late 1920s until the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938 – was German philosopher and physicist Moritz Schlick. Karl Sigmund's latest book – Exact Thinking in Demented Times: the Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science – tells the story of the Vienna Circle's ideas and personalities.

MAX-DOAS measurements of NO2 column densities in Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreier, Stefan; Weihs, Philipp; Peters, Enno; Richter, Andreas; Ostendorf, Mareike; Schönhardt, Anja; Burrows, John P.; Schmalwieser, Alois

2017-04-01

In the VINDOBONA (VIenna horizontal aNd vertical Distribution OBservations Of Nitrogen dioxide and Aerosols) project, two Multi AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) systems will be set up at two different locations and altitudes in Vienna, Austria. After comparison measurements in Bremen, Germany, and Cabauw, The Netherlands, the first of the two MAX-DOAS instruments was set up at the University of Veterinary Medicine in the northeastern part of Vienna in December 2016. The instrument performs spectral measurements of visible scattered sunlight at defined horizontal and vertical viewing directions. From these measurements, column densities of NO2 and aerosols are derived by applying the DOAS analysis. First preliminary results are presented. The second MAX-DOAS instrument will be set up in April/May 2017 at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in the northwestern part of Vienna. Once these two instruments are measuring simultaneously, small campaigns including car DOAS zenith-sky and tower DOAS off-axis measurements are planned. The main emphasis of this project will be on the installation and operation of two MAX-DOAS instruments, the improvement of tropospheric NO2 and aerosol retrieval, and the characterization of the horizontal, vertical, and temporal variations of tropospheric NO2 and aerosols in Vienna, Austria.

Composite-Grid Techniques and Adaptive Mesh Refinement in Computational Fluid Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

years of hard work. During that period an estimated 410 gallons of strong coffee has flowed under the bridge. It has been with the support of this...thank Peter James Coffee Company for the continuous supply of Vienna Roast . I should also thank my advisor, Joel Ferziger, for getting me started on my...variation confined to some rather narrow zones in the field. These zones (boundary layers, shocks, etc.) cause problems during numerical solution of

Open Space between Residential Buildings as a Factor of Sustainable Development - Case Studies in Brno (Czech Republic) and Vienna (Austria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilnarová, Pavla; Wittmann, Maxmilian

2017-12-01

The characteristics of open spaces between residential buildings have, as authors suppose, an impact on the sustainable development of urban areas. Spatial arrangement and accessibility of these spaces, the type and height of surrounding buildings, the quantity and character of greenery, and many more characteristics influence the quality of environment, and the quality of life of local residents. These and further characteristics of the open spaces between residential buildings influence the ecological stability of the area, its hygienic qualities, the intensity and way of using by various social groups, and also the prices of real estates. These qualities indicate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban area. The proposed research methodology assessed specific indicators of sustainability within a range from 0 to 10 points. 5 points correspond to the general standard in the area, 0 points indicate degradation, and 10 points indicate the highest contribution to sustainable development. Observation methods, questionnaire survey, statistical analyses, and methods of measurement were used to determine the values of the given indicators. The paper analyses the impact of the open spaces between residential buildings on sustainability via the case studies performed in the Central European cities of Brno, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria. Two forms of residential urban structures in the City of Brno in the Czech Republic were selected for the analysis: the closed courtyards in the urban block from the 19th century and the open spaces in the housing estates constructed under socialism in the 20th century. The question is, if the different forms of spaces between residential buildings influence the sustainability of urban area and satisfaction of inhabitants in different ways. A complementary case study in Vienna indicates that inhabitants of a housing estate in Vienna, as well as inhabitants of housing estates in Brno, highly appreciate the meaning of large green open spaces between buildings. The paper presents results of basic research. The results indicate that the sustainability of open housing estate forms is higher than the authors expected.

Use of Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analysis to Distinguish Between Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Sources of VOCs - CSIA Protocol for Vapor Intrusion Investigations

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

Analyzer TCE Trichloroethene USEPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency V- PDB Vienna - Pee Dee Belemnite V-SMOW Vienna – Standard Mean Ocean Water ... PDB ) for carbon, Standard Mean Ocean Chloride (SMOC) for chlorine, and Vienna-Standard Mean Ocean Water (V-SMOW) for hydrogen. CSIA Protocol for...7 3.3 INDOOR AIR SAMPLING LOCATIONS ............................................................ 8 3.4 COLLECTION OF WATER SAMPLES

Vienna-Chicago: the cultural transformation of the model system of the un-opposed molar.

PubMed

Luan, Xianghong; Diekwisch, Thomas G H

2007-08-01

The discussion over the roles of genes and environment on the phenotypical specification of organisms has held a central role in science philosophy since the late 19(th) century and has re-emerged in today's debate over genetic determinism and developmental plasticity. In fin-de-siecle Vienna, this debate coincided with a philosophical debate over empiricism/materialism versus idealism/vitalism. Turn-of-the-century Vienna's highly interdisciplinary environment was also the birthplace for the model system of the un-opposed molar. The un-opposed molar system features new tissue formation at the roots of teeth and tooth drift once opposing teeth are lost. The un-opposed molar model system was revived by a group of Viennese scientists who left Vienna during the Nazi period to address Vienna's questions about evolution and heredity and about genes and environment in Chicago's post-WWII scientific exile community. Here we are using the colorful history of the un-opposed molar to investigate the role of culture and method in the scientific evolution of a model system. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interview with Heribert Hirt.

PubMed

Hirt, Heribert

2016-01-01

As a son of an engineer who traveled widely during his career, Heribert Hirt began his life in the exotic country of Iran, before receiving his high-school education in Germany and then studying biochemistry at the University of Cape Town and then later at the University of Vienna, from where he received his PhD in 1987. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Vienna, Oxford, and Wageningen, before starting his own group at the University of Vienna in 1993. It was also in Vienna that he became professor of genetics in 1997, followed by vice-director of the Gregor Mendel Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, and later head of the Plant Molecular Biology Department of the University of Vienna. In 2007, he decided that it was time for new challenges and accepted an appointment in France to direct the Paris-based INRA-CNRS Plant Genomics Institute for the following 7 years. In 2014, Heribert embarked on yet another challenge by accepting the role to head up the Center for Desert Agriculture at King Abdullah University of Sciences and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data files for ab initio calculations of the lattice parameter and elastic stiffness coefficients of bcc Fe with solutes

DOE PAGES

Fellinger, Michael R.; Hector, Jr., Louis G.; Trinkle, Dallas R.

2016-11-29

Here, we present computed datasets on changes in the lattice parameter and elastic stiffness coefficients of BCC Fe due to substitutional Al, B, Cu, Mn, and Si solutes, and octahedral interstitial C and N solutes. The data is calculated using the methodology based on density functional theory (DFT). All the DFT calculations were performed using the Vienna Ab initio Simulations Package (VASP). The data is stored in the NIST dSpace repository.

Vienna Special Analysis Center Annual Report 2012

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm, Johannes; Boehm, Sigrid; Krasna, Hana; Madzak, Matthias; Nilsson, Tobias; Plank, Lucia; Raposo, Virginia; Schuh, Harald; Soja, Benedikt; Sun Jing;

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

Mattsson, Ann E.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) based Equation of State (EOS) construction is a prominent part of Sandia’s capabilities to support engineering sciences. This capability is based on augmenting experimental data with information gained from computational investigations, especially in those parts of the phase space where experimental data is hard, dangerous, or expensive to obtain. A key part of the success of the Sandia approach is the fundamental science work supporting the computational capability. Not only does this work enhance the capability to perform highly accurate calculations but it also provides crucial insight into the limitations of the computational tools, providing highmore » confidence in the results even where results cannot be, or have not yet been, validated by experimental data. This report concerns the key ingredient of projector augmented-wave (PAW) potentials for use in pseudo-potential computational codes. Using the tools discussed in SAND2012-7389 we assess the standard Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP) PAWs for Molybdenum.« less

A GPU accelerated and error-controlled solver for the unbounded Poisson equation in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Exl, Lukas

2017-12-01

An efficient solver for the three dimensional free-space Poisson equation is presented. The underlying numerical method is based on finite Fourier series approximation. While the error of all involved approximations can be fully controlled, the overall computation error is driven by the convergence of the finite Fourier series of the density. For smooth and fast-decaying densities the proposed method will be spectrally accurate. The method scales with O(N log N) operations, where N is the total number of discretization points in the Cartesian grid. The majority of the computational costs come from fast Fourier transforms (FFT), which makes it ideal for GPU computation. Several numerical computations on CPU and GPU validate the method and show efficiency and convergence behavior. Tests are performed using the Vienna Scientific Cluster 3 (VSC3). A free MATLAB implementation for CPU and GPU is provided to the interested community.

2017 ISCB Overton Prize: Christoph Bock

PubMed Central

Fogg, Christiana N.; Kovats, Diane E.; Berger, Bonnie

2017-01-01

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) each year recognizes the achievements of an early to mid-career scientist with the Overton Prize. This prize honors the untimely death of Dr. G. Christian Overton, an admired computational biologist and founding ISCB Board member. Winners of the Overton Prize are independent investigators who are in the early to middle phases of their careers and are selected because of their significant contributions to computational biology through research, teaching, and service. ISCB is pleased to recognize Dr. Christoph Bock, Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria, as the 2017 winner of the Overton Prize. Bock will be presenting a keynote presentation at the 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology/European Conference on Computational Biology (ISMB/ECCB) in Prague, Czech Republic being held during July 21-25, 2017. PMID:28713546

2017 ISCB Overton Prize: Christoph Bock.

PubMed

Fogg, Christiana N; Kovats, Diane E; Berger, Bonnie

2017-01-01

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) each year recognizes the achievements of an early to mid-career scientist with the Overton Prize. This prize honors the untimely death of Dr. G. Christian Overton, an admired computational biologist and founding ISCB Board member. Winners of the Overton Prize are independent investigators who are in the early to middle phases of their careers and are selected because of their significant contributions to computational biology through research, teaching, and service. ISCB is pleased to recognize Dr. Christoph Bock, Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria, as the 2017 winner of the Overton Prize. Bock will be presenting a keynote presentation at the 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology/European Conference on Computational Biology (ISMB/ECCB) in Prague, Czech Republic being held during July 21-25, 2017.

Status and Plans for the Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software (VieVS 3.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gruber, Jakob; Böhm, Johannes; Böhm, Sigrid; Girdiuk, Anastasiia; Hellerschmied, Andreas; Hofmeister, Armin; Krásná, Hana; Kwak, Younghee; Landskron, Daniel; Madzak, Matthias; Mayer, David; McCallum, Jamie; Plank, Lucia; Schartner, Matthias; Shabala, Stas; Teke, Kamil; Sun, Jing

2017-04-01

The Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software (VieVS) is a geodetic analysis software developed and maintained at Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) with contributions from groups all over the world. It is used for both academic purposes in university courses as well as for providing Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) analysis results to the geodetic community. Written in a modular structure in Matlab, VieVS offers easy access to the source code and the possibility to adapt the programs for particular purposes. The new version 3.0, released in early 2017, includes several new features, e.g., improved scheduling capabilities for observing quasars and satellites. This poster gives an overview of all VLBI-related activities in Vienna and provides an outlook to future plans concerning the Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software (VieVS).

Closing the natural cycles - using biowaste compost in organic farming in Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erhart, Eva; Rogalski, Wojciech; Maurer, Ludwig; Hartl, Wilfried

2014-05-01

One of the basic principles of organic farming - that organic management should fit the cycles and ecological balances in nature - is put into practice in Vienna on a large scale. In Vienna, compost produced from separately collected biowaste and greenwaste is used on more than 1000 ha of organic farmland. These municipally owned farms are managed organically, but are stockless, like the vast majority of farms in the region. The apparent need for a substitute for animal manure triggered the development of an innovative biowaste management. Together with the Municipal Department 48 responsible for waste management, which was keen for the reduction of residual waste, the Municipal Department 49 - Forestry Office and Urban Agriculture and Bio Forschung Austria developed Vienna's biowaste management model. Organic household wastes and greenwastes are source-separated by the urban population and collected in a closely monitored system to ensure high compost quality. A composting plant was constructed which today produces a total of 43000 t compost per year in a monitored open windrow process. The quality of the compost produced conforms to the EU regulation 834/2007. A large part of the compost is used as organic fertilizer on the organic farmland in Vienna, and the remainder is used in arable farming and in viticulture in the region around Vienna and for substrate production. Vienna`s biowaste management-model is operating successfully since the 1980s and has gained international recognition in form of the Best Practice-Award of the United Nations Development Programme. In order to assess the effects of biowaste compost fertilization on crop yield and on the environment, a field experiment was set up near Vienna in 1992, which is now one of the longest standing compost experiments in Europe. The results showed, that the yields increased for 7 - 10 % with compost fertilization compared to the unfertilized control and the nitrogen recovery by crops was between 4 and 6 % of the total nitrogen applied in the compost treatments. Phosphorus and potassium supply with compost fertilization was approximately as high as with mineral fertilization. The humus content of the soil increased in the compost treatments, indicating that organic carbon applied via compost was stored in the soil. Regarding total heavy metal contents and available heavy metal fractions in soil and heavy metal contents in crops, fertilization with biowaste compost at rates allowed by organic farming rules gave no cause for concern. Nitrogen leaching to the groundwater as determined using ceramic suction cups was not increased with compost fertilization as compared to mineral fertilization.

Dynamic data distributions in Vienna Fortran

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Barbara; Mehrotra, Piyush; Moritsch, Hans; Zima, Hans

1993-01-01

Vienna Fortran is a machine-independent language extension of Fortran, which is based upon the Single-Program-Multiple-Data (SPMD) paradigm and allows the user to write programs for distributed-memory systems using global addresses. The language features focus mainly on the issue of distributing data across virtual processor structures. Those features of Vienna Fortran that allow the data distributions of arrays to change dynamically, depending on runtime conditions are discussed. The relevant language features are discussed, their implementation is outlined, and how they may be used in applications is described.

[Rokitansky and the Vienna Medical School--from the philosophy of nature to natural science].

PubMed

Sedivy, Roland

2004-10-01

On February 19th 2004 we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Carl Rokitansky's birth. Together with Morgagni and Virchow, Rokitansky paved the way for the development of modern pathology. In addition, he was the co-founder of the so-called Second Vienna Medical School. Rokitansky represents a personality on the threshold of the change in medicine from a phenomenological-dominated philosophy to an evidence-based science. This jubilee essay aims at outlining this development particularly with regard to the Vienna Medical School before and after Rokitansky.

[Albert Reder Ritter von Schellmann (1826-1904)].

PubMed

Schmidt, G; Holubar, K

1990-01-01

Albert Reder von Schellmann (1826-1904) was an important syphilidologist of the Vienna Medical School in the second half of the nineteenth century. He went in for the dualistic concept of the origin of syphilis and ulcer caused by soft chancre. In 1870 - Reder became head of a third dermato-syphilidologic department in the "Josephinum" in Vienna, where military surgeons got their medical education. At the same time the two full professorships of dermatosyphilidology in the Vienna General Hospital were held by Ferdinand von Hebra (1816-1880) and Carl Ludwig Sigmund von Ilanor (1810-1883).

Comparison of atmospheric new particle formation events in three Central European cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Németh, Zoltán; Rosati, Bernadette; Zíková, Naděžda; Salma, Imre; Bozó, László; Dameto de España, Carmen; Schwarz, Jaroslav; Ždímal, Vladimír; Wonaschütz, Anna

2018-04-01

Simultaneous particle number size distribution measurements were performed in the urban environment of Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, three Central European cities located within 450 km of each other. The measurement days from the continuous, 2-year long campaign were classified for new particle formation (NPF) events using an adapted classification scheme for urban sites. The total numbers of NPF event days were 152 for Budapest, 69 for Vienna, and 143 for Prague. There were 12 days when new particle formation took place at all three sites; 11 out of these 12 days were in spring and in summer. There were only 2 (Budapest-Vienna), 19 (Budapest-Prague), and 19 (Vienna-Prague) nucleation days, when NPF did not occur on the third site. The main difference was related to source and sink terms of gas-phase sulphuric acid. Air mass origin and back-trajectories did not show any substantial influence on the atmospheric nucleation phenomena. The relative contribution of particles from NPF with respect to regional aerosol to the particles originating from all sources was expressed as nucleation strength factor. The overall mean nucleation strength factors were 1.58, 1.54, and 2.01 for Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, respectively, and showed diurnal and seasonal variations. The monthly mean NSF varied from 1.2 to 3.2 in Budapest, from 0.7 to 1.9 in Vienna, and from 1.0 to 2.3 in Prague. This implies that the new particle formation in cities is a significant source of ultrafine (UF) particles, and the amount of them is comparable to the directly emitted UF particles.

[Josephinism in medicine: the General Hospital in Vienna and the "Narrenturm" (insane asylum)].

PubMed

Sablik, K

1991-01-01

The spirit of enlightened absolutism was realized through the personal engagement of Emperor Joseph II in the foundation of the Vienna General Hospital, the asylum for the insane called "Narrenturm" and the maternity home.

Local anaesthesia through the action of cocaine, the oral mucosa and the Vienna group.

PubMed

López-Valverde, A; de Vicente, J; Martínez-Domínguez, L; de Diego, R Gómez

2014-07-11

Local anaesthesia through the action of cocaine was introduced in Europe by the Vienna group, which includeed Freud, Koller and Königstein. Before using the alkaloid in animal or human experimentation all these scientists tested it on their oral mucosa - so-called self-experimentation. Some of them with different pathologies (that is, in the case of Freud), eventually became addicted to the alkaloid. Here we attempt to describe the people forming the so-called 'Vienna group', their social milieu, their experiences and internal disputes within the setting of a revolutionary discovery of the times.

[Suicide and suicide prevention in Vienna from 1938 to 1945].

PubMed

Sonneck, Gernot; Hirnsperger, Hans; Mundschütz, Reinhard

2012-01-01

Beginning with the inception of suicide prevention in interwar Vienna, the paper illustrates how the high number of counselling centres contrasted with a discourse of selection. Despite the fact that suicide rates proved extremely high, suicide prevention declined in importance between 1934 and 1945. Suicide was increasingly attributed to the weak and the inferior. The massive threat to Vienna's Jewish population and the high suicide rates among Viennese Jews are also outlined. The paper concludes with a synopsis of V. E. Frankl's activities in the field of suicide prevention at the Rothschild Hospital as well as the concentration camp in Theresienstadt.

[The First School of Vienna and Samuel Hahnemann's pharmaceutical techniques].

PubMed

Gantenbein, U L

2000-01-01

The First or Elder Vienna School of Medicine was initiated by Gerard van Swieten, the famous pupil of Herman Boerhaave. The aim of this school was to put medicine on new scientific foundations-promoting unprejudiced clinical observation, botanical and chemical research, and the introduction of simple but powerful remedies. One of the products of this school was Anton Störck (1731-1803), appointed Director of Austrian public health and medical education by Empress Maria Theresia. Following the tradition of the Vienna School, Störck was the first scientist to systematically test the effects of so-called poisonous plants (e.g., hemlock, henbane, meadow saffron). Discovering new therapeutic properties in previously dreaded plants, Störck used himself as a subject in experiments to determine tolerable dose levels. As a result of his investigations, Störck was able to successfully treat his patients using the drugs he discovered. Samuel Hahnemann's later writings, including his "Organon", show that he was considerably influenced by Störck's ideas. In fact, Hahnemann's clinical teacher at Vienna was a follower of Störck, Joseph Quarin. Hahnemann's elaborate system of validating homeopath material can be seen as a development and refinement of the techniques he learned in Vienna.

Rtop - an R package for interpolation along the stream network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skøien, J. O.; Laaha, G.; Koffler, D.; Blöschl, G.; Pebesma, E.; Parajka, J.; Viglione, A.

2012-04-01

Geostatistical methods have a long tradition within analysis of data that can be conceptualized as simple point data, such as soil properties, or for regular blocks, such as mining data. However, these methods have been used to a limited extent for estimation along stream networks. A few exceptions are given by (Gottschalk 1993, Sauquet et al. 2000, Gottschalk et al. 2006, Skøien et al. 2006), and an overview by Laaha and Blöschl (2011). Interpolation of runoff characteristics are more complicated than the traditional random variables estimated by geostatistical methods, as the measurements have a more complicated support, and many catchments are nested. Skøien et al. (2006) presented the model Top-kriging which takes these effects into account for interpolation of stream flow characteristics (exemplified by the 100 year flood). The method has here been implemented as a package in the open source statistical environment R (R Development Core Team 2011). Taking advantage of the existing methods in R for working with spatial objects, and the extensive possibilities for visualizing the result, this makes it considerably easier to apply the method on new data sets, in comparison to earlier implementation of the method. In addition to user feedback, the package has also been tested by colleagues whose only responsibility has been to search for bugs, inconsistencies and shortcomings of the documentation. The last part is often the part that gets the least attention in small open source projects, and we have solved this by acknowledging their effects as co-authors. The model will soon be uploaded to CRAN, but is in the meantime also available from R-forge and can be installed by: > install.packages("rtop", repos="http://R-Forge.R-project.org") Gottschalk, L., 1993. Interpolation of runoff applying objective methods. Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics, 7, 269-281. Gottschalk, L., Krasovskaia, I., Leblois, E. & Sauquet, E., 2006. Mapping mean and variance of runoff in a river basin. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 469-484. Laaha, G. & Blöschl, G. 2011. Geostatistics on river networks - a reviewed. EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria. R Development Core Team, 2011. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria, ISBN 3-900051-07-0. Sauquet, E., Gottschalk, L. & Leblois, E., 2000. Mapping average annual runoff: A hierarchical approach applying a stochastic interpolation scheme. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 45 (6), 799-815. Skøien, J.O., Merz, R. & Blöschl, G., 2006. Top-kriging - geostatistics on stream networks. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 277-287.

The Fischa-Dagnitz spring, Southern Vienna Basin: a multi tracer time series study re-assessing earlier conceptual assumptions.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suckow, Axel; Gerber, Christoph; Kralik, Martin; Sültenfuss, Jürgen; Purtschert, Roland

2013-04-01

The gravel aquifer of the Southern Vienna Basin is a very important backup drinking water resource for the city of Vienna. A discharge location, the Fischa-Dagnitz spring in the Southern Vienna Basin, Austria, was re-investigated in 2011, five years after the gas exchange tracer test published in (Stolp et al., 2010), and sampled for stable isotopes 18O/2H, tritium, 3He, SF6 and 85Kr (Gerber et al., 2012). Additionally, new tritium time series data (Davis et al., 1967), previously not considered in Stolp et al. (2010), were included. These show a higher and earlier tritium peak of >300 TU in 1965 in the discharge of the Fischa-Dagnitz spring as compared to 221 TU in 1972 considered in Stolp et al. (2010). The new 3He, SF6 and 85Kr gas tracer data from 2011 confirm the earlier finding for 3He of Stolp et al. (2010) and indicate a more recent equilibration with the atmosphere than the water bound tracers 18O, 2H and tritium. A new modelling attempt using the Lumpy code (Suckow, 2012) confirmed the discrepancy between the tritium data and the gaseous tracers 3He, SF6 and 85Kr. No steady-state combination of local recharge (represented by an exponential model) and Schwarza river infiltration flowing through the gravel aquifer (represented by a parallel dispersion model) can equally well explain both the tritium time series and the gas tracer results. A revised conceptual model proposes that a pinching of the aquifer at unconformities in the gravel body or a fault zone known in the gravel body forces groundwater along the flow path closer to the surface and exposes it to the atmosphere. This would tend to reset the "dating" clock for the gaseous tracers 3He, SF6 and 85Kr, which can equilibrate quickly with the atmosphere, but not for tritium, which marks the transport behaviour of the water itself. These findings are of importance also for other multi-tracer assessments of groundwater movement in phreatic aquifer systems. References: Davis, G.H., Payne, B.R., Dincer, T., Florkowski, T., Gattinger, T., 1967. Seasonal Variations in the Tritium Content of Groundwaters of the Vienna Basin, Austria, Isotope Hydrology 1967. IAEA, Vienna, Austria, IAEA, Vienna, Austria, pp. 451-473. Gerber, C., Purtschert, R., Kralik, M., Humer, F., Sültenfuss, J., Darling, G.W., Gooddy, D., 2012. Suitability and potential of environmental tracers for base-flow determination in streams: EGU2012-14066, EGU 12. European Geosciences Union, Vienna Stolp, B.J., Solomon, D.K., Suckow, A., Vitvar, T., Rank, D., Aggarwal, P.K., Han, L.-F., 2010. Age dating base flow at springs and gaining streams using helium-3 and tritium: Fischa-Dagnitz system, southern Vienna Basin, Austria. Water Resources Research 46. Suckow, A., 2012. Lumpy - an interactive Lumped Parameter Modeling code based on MS Access and MS Excel., EGU 12. European Geosciences Union, Vienna

Prevalence differences of patients in vegetative state in The Netherlands and Vienna, Austria: a comparison of values and ethics.

PubMed

Beljaars, Daniëlle E A; Valckx, Wilhelmina J A R M; Stepan, Christoph; Donis, Johann; Lavrijsen, Jan C M

2015-01-01

Little is known about prevalence of persistent vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and comparisons between countries. The aim of this column was to explore reasons for the comparable count of patients in vegetative state found in prevalence studies in nursing homes in 1 European country (Netherlands) compared with a single European city (Vienna, Austria). The column is based on a literature review of vegetative state in The Netherlands and Vienna in the period 2007-2008, in the context of professional interactions with families and physicians of patients in vegetative state. In addition, in both countries, families and physicians were interviewed to illustrate views. Comparable between the 2 settings are the population characteristics and the definition of, and criteria, for vegetative state. A difference can be found in the development of authoritative policy guidelines in the Netherlands, after public debates and jurisdiction, which did not exist in Vienna at the time. There also seem to be different societal values concerning rehabilitation and end-of-life decisions for patients in vegetative state. The most important explanation for the vegetative state prevalence differences between the Netherlands and Vienna can be found in the different societal values about patients in vegetative state and their treatment and rehabilitation. In the Netherlands, life prolonging medical treatment, including artificial nutrition and hydration, is considered futile and can be withdrawn if there is no prospect of recovery. In Vienna, however, patients in vegetative state are regarded as severely disabled and in need of long-term rehabilitation and social reintegration. There is no end-of-life discussion in this context.

Italy-Japan agreement and discrepancies in diagnosis of superficial gastric lesions.

PubMed

Vindigni, Carla; Marini, Mario; Cevenini, Gabriele; Raffaella Ambrosio, Maria; Onorati, Monica; Frosini, Giorgio; Gotoda, Takuji; Taniguchi, Hirokazu; Tosi, Piero

2010-01-01

The agreement between Italian and Japanese endoscopists and pathologists on endoscopic and histopathological diagnoses of superficial gastric lesions is verified with the use of Paris and Vienna classifications. The correlations between Paris endoscopic types and Vienna histopathological categories is high in both the independent Italian and Japanese evaluations. However, the agreement between Italian and Japanese endoscopists is moderate due to the difficult evaluation of the height of the lesions, in particular when they are mixed. The agreement on the size of the lesions is fairly good. The probability of the same allocation to the Vienna categories of a single case is 87 per cent, disagreements remaining in dysplasia grading, between dysplasia, not only high-grade but also low-grade, and in situ carcinoma, and on cancer invasion of the lamina propria. The results indicate that use of the Paris and Vienna classifications has reduced the discrepancies between Western and Japanese endoscopists and pathologists in the diagnosis of these lesions.

[Measures to reduce costs for prescriptions in Vienna--preliminary analysis].

PubMed

Tönies, Hans

2009-01-01

To increase the rate of prescriptions for generic drugs in Vienna an information campaign was started in 2004 and quality circles for prescribing doctors were organized. Since the result of this initiative is not yet known publicly this report aims to present a preliminary analysis. The prescription statements kindly provided by the health insurance fund of Vienna could be analysed. Data from the Chamber of Viennese Physicians were used for compiling a report about the quality circles. A total of 17 quality circles with an average of 15 participants were formed; they met four times yearly. Participants were paid for their attendance. The rate of prescribed generic drugs in Vienna has continuously improved, with the major increase in the first year of the activities. In the year 2006 a rate of over 40% generic prescriptions was reached by 80% of general practitioners. This cooperation between the health insurance fund and doctors apparently resulted in both an increase in the rate of generic drugs prescribed and in a good acceptance among physicians.

Vienna University Observatory and Bruno Thüring (German Title: Die Wiener Universitätssternwarte und Bruno Thüring )

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerschbaum, Franz; Posch, Thomas; Lackner, Karin

We investigate Bruno Thüring's political attitude during the time of National Socialism, based on material from the Vienna Observatory archive, and on statements by his contemporaries. The contribution focuses on the filling of astronomy positions in Vienna, and also on the expulsion of Kasimir Graff. A central role is played by Wilhelm Führer, Obersturmführer der Waffen-SS (Senior Storm Leader of the Armed Protection Squad) and chief civil servant in the Reich science ministry. The transcription of an original letter of 1939 by Führer, addressed to Thüring, is given.

Using 3D computer simulations to enhance ophthalmic training.

PubMed

Glittenberg, C; Binder, S

2006-01-01

To develop more effective methods of demonstrating and teaching complex topics in ophthalmology with the use of computer aided three-dimensional (3D) animation and interactive multimedia technologies. We created 3D animations and interactive computer programmes demonstrating the neuroophthalmological nature of the oculomotor system, including the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of the extra-ocular eye muscles and the oculomotor cranial nerves, as well as pupillary symptoms of neurological diseases. At the University of Vienna we compared their teaching effectiveness to conventional teaching methods in a comparative study involving 100 medical students, a multiple choice exam and a survey. The comparative study showed that our students achieved significantly better test results (80%) than the control group (63%) (diff. = 17 +/- 5%, p = 0.004). The survey showed a positive reaction to the software and a strong preference to have more subjects and techniques demonstrated in this fashion. Three-dimensional computer animation technology can significantly increase the quality and efficiency of the education and demonstration of complex topics in ophthalmology.

31 CFR Appendix N to Subpart C of... - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., Post Office Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. 3. Requests for amendments of records. Initial determinations... Request, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Post Office Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. 4. Verification of... an accounting of disclosures, must satisfy one of the following identification requirements before...

Improvement of Tidal Analysis Results by a Priori Rain Fall Modelling at the Vienna and Membach stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meurers, B.; van Camp, M.; Petermans, T.

2005-12-01

We investigate how far tidal analysis results can be improved when a rain fall admittance model is applied on the superconducting gravity (SG) data. For that purpose both Vienna and Membach data have been analysed with and without a priori rain fall correction. In Membach the residual drop for most events (80%) can be explained by the rain water load, while in Vienna only 50% of all events fit the model in detail. In the other cases the Newtonian effect of vertical air mass redistribution (vertical density variation without air pressure change), predominantly connected with high vertical convection activity, e.g. thunderstorms, plays an essential role: short-term atmospheric signals show up steep gravity residual decreases of a few nms-2 within 10 - 60 min, well correlated with outdoor air temperature in most cases. However, even in those cases the water load model is able to explain the dominating part of the residual drop especially during heavy rain fall. In Vienna more than 110 events have been detected over 10 years. 84% of them are associated with heavy rain starting at or up to 10 min later than the residual drop while the rest (16%) shows no or only little rainfall. The magnitude of the gravity drop depends on the total amount of rainfall accumulated during the meteorological event. Step like signals deteriorate the frequency spectrum estimates. This even holds for tidal analysis. As the drops are of physical origin, they should not be eliminated blindly but corrected using water load modeling constrained by high temporal resolution (1 min) rain data. 3D modeling of the water mass load due to a rain event is based on the following assumptions: (1) Rain water intrudes into the uppermost soil layer (close to the topography surface) and remains there at least until rain has stopped. This is justified for a period of some hours after the rainfall as evapotranspiration is not yet effective. (2) No run-off except of sealed areas or building roofs, where water can not intrude into the soil but will drain off into the sewage water system instead. (3) Rainfall is equal everywhere in the station surroundings. (4) No surface deformation due to the water mass load Correcting for rain fall effects reduces by about 10% the standard deviation of the residuals after tidal parameter adjustment. Amplitude factor changes are in the order of 10-3 or less, phase lags change by 10-3 to 10-2: statistically, these variations are not significant as they lie within the error bars. However, it is worth noting that the amplitude factors of tidal constituents with high amplitude (O1, P1, K1) and even Ψ1 and Φ1 show similar variations in Vienna and Membach. Generally the tidal parameter variation is less in the SD than in the D band.

An evaluation of clinical treatment of convergence insufficiency for children with reading difficulties.

PubMed

Dusek, Wolfgang A; Pierscionek, Barbara K; McClelland, Julie F

2011-08-11

The present study investigates two different treatment options for convergence insufficiency CI for a group of children with reading difficulties referred by educational institutes to a specialist eye clinic in Vienna. One hundred and thirty four subjects (aged 7-14 years) with reading difficulties were referred from an educational institute in Vienna, Austria for visual assessment. Each child was given either 8Δ base-in reading spectacles (n=51) or computerised home vision therapy (HTS) (n=51). Thirty two participants refused all treatment offered (clinical control group). A full visual assessment including reading speed and accuracy were conducted pre- and post-treatment. Factorial analyses demonstrated statistically significant changes between results obtained for visits 1 and 2 for total reading time, reading error score, amplitude of accommodation and binocular accommodative facility (within subjects effects) (p<0.05). Significant differences were also demonstrated between treatment groups for total reading time, reading error score and binocular accommodative facility (between subjects effects) (p<0.05). Reading difficulties with no apparent intellectual or psychological foundation may be due to a binocular vision anomaly such as convergence insufficiency. Both the HTS and prismatic correction are highly effective treatment options for convergence insufficiency. Prismatic correction can be considered an effective alternative to HTS.

Rotational stability of 2 intraocular lenses with an identical design and different materials.

PubMed

Draschl, Petra; Hirnschall, Nino; Luft, Nikolaus; Schuschitz, Sandra; Wiesinger, Jörg; Rigal, Karl; Findl, Oliver

2017-02-01

To evaluate the rotational stability of nontoric intraocular lenses (IOLs) of the same design and different materials. Vienna Institute for Research in Ocular Surgery, Department of Ophthalmology, Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria. Prospective randomized case series. This study included cataract patients with a corneal astigmatism of less than 1.75 diopters measured with the IOLMaster 500. Each patient received a hydrophilic IOL (Pod Ay 26P) in 1 eye and a hydrophobic IOL (Podeye) in the other eye. One hour and 3 months postoperatively, retroillumination photographs were taken to assess rotational stability of the IOLs. In addition, autorefraction, subjective refraction, and Purkinje meter measurements were performed at the 3-month follow-up. Eighty eyes of 40 patients were included in this study. Three months postoperatively, the IOL rotation within the first 3 months was 2.4 degrees ± 1.85 (SD) in the hydrophilic IOL group and 1.6 ± 1.61 degrees in the hydrophobic IOL group. This difference was statistically significant (P = .016). The hydrophobic IOL was rotationally more stable than the hydrophilic IOL, although both IOLs provided good capsular bag stability. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

22 CFR 4.1 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false General. 4.1 Section 4.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE GENERAL NOTIFICATION OF FOREIGN OFFICIAL STATUS § 4.1 General. In accordance with Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Article 24 of the Vienna Convention on...

Verification of forecast ensembles in complex terrain including observation uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorninger, Manfred; Kloiber, Simon

2017-04-01

Traditionally, verification means to verify a forecast (ensemble) with the truth represented by observations. The observation errors are quite often neglected arguing that they are small when compared to the forecast error. In this study as part of the MesoVICT (Mesoscale Verification Inter-comparison over Complex Terrain) project it will be shown, that observation errors have to be taken into account for verification purposes. The observation uncertainty is estimated from the VERA (Vienna Enhanced Resolution Analysis) and represented via two analysis ensembles which are compared to the forecast ensemble. For the whole study results from COSMO-LEPS provided by Arpae-SIMC Emilia-Romagna are used as forecast ensemble. The time period covers the MesoVICT core case from 20-22 June 2007. In a first step, all ensembles are investigated concerning their distribution. Several tests have been executed (Kolmogorov-Smirnov-Test, Finkelstein-Schafer Test, Chi-Square Test etc.) showing no exact mathematical distribution. So the main focus is on non-parametric statistics (e.g. Kernel density estimation, Boxplots etc.) and also the deviation between "forced" normal distributed data and the kernel density estimations. In a next step the observational deviations due to the analysis ensembles are analysed. In a first approach scores are multiple times calculated with every single ensemble member from the analysis ensemble regarded as "true" observation. The results are presented as boxplots for the different scores and parameters. Additionally, the bootstrapping method is also applied to the ensembles. These possible approaches to incorporating observational uncertainty into the computation of statistics will be discussed in the talk.

Improved Detection of Local Earthquakes in the Vienna Basin (Austria), using Subspace Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apoloner, Maria-Theresia; Caffagni, Enrico; Bokelmann, Götz

2016-04-01

The Vienna Basin in Eastern Austria is densely populated and highly-developed; it is also a region of low to moderate seismicity, yet the seismological network coverage is relatively sparse. This demands improving our capability of earthquake detection by testing new methods, enlarging the existing local earthquake catalogue. This contributes to imaging tectonic fault zones for better understanding seismic hazard, also through improved earthquake statistics (b-value, magnitude of completeness). Detection of low-magnitude earthquakes or events for which the highest amplitudes slightly exceed the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), may be possible by using standard methods like the short-term over long-term average (STA/LTA). However, due to sparse network coverage and high background noise, such a technique may not detect all potentially recoverable events. Yet, earthquakes originating from the same source region and relatively close to each other, should be characterized by similarity in seismic waveforms, at a given station. Therefore, waveform similarity can be exploited by using specific techniques such as correlation-template based (also known as matched filtering) or subspace detection methods (based on the subspace theory). Matching techniques basically require a reference or template event, usually characterized by high waveform coherence in the array receivers, and high SNR, which is cross-correlated with the continuous data. Instead, subspace detection methods overcome in principle the necessity of defining template events as single events, but use a subspace extracted from multiple events. This approach theoretically should be more robust in detecting signals that exhibit a strong variability (e.g. because of source or magnitude). In this study we scan the continuous data recorded in the Vienna Basin with a subspace detector to identify additional events. This will allow us to estimate the increase of the seismicity rate in the local earthquake catalogue, therefore providing an evaluation of network performance and efficiency of the method.

Modelling highly variable environmental factors to assess potential microbial respiration in complex floodplain landscapes

PubMed Central

Tritthart, Michael; Welti, Nina; Bondar-Kunze, Elisabeth; Pinay, Gilles; Hein, Thomas; Habersack, Helmut

2011-01-01

The hydrological exchange conditions strongly determine the biogeochemical dynamics in river systems. More specifically, the connectivity of surface waters between main channels and floodplains is directly controlling the delivery of organic matter and nutrients into the floodplains, where biogeochemical processes recycle them with high rates of activity. Hence, an in-depth understanding of the connectivity patterns between main channel and floodplains is important for the modelling of potential gas emissions in floodplain landscapes. A modelling framework that combines steady-state hydrodynamic simulations with long-term discharge hydrographs was developed to calculate water depths as well as statistical probabilities and event durations for every node of a computation mesh being connected to the main river. The modelling framework was applied to two study sites in the floodplains of the Austrian Danube River, East of Vienna. Validation of modelled flood events showed good agreement with gauge readings. Together with measured sediment properties, results of the validated connectivity model were used as basis for a predictive model yielding patterns of potential microbial respiration based on the best fit between characteristics of a number of sampling sites and the corresponding modelled parameters. Hot spots of potential microbial respiration were found in areas of lower connectivity if connected during higher discharges and areas of high water depths. PMID:27667961

How and why to achieve greater objectivity in taxonomy, exemplified by a fossil ostracod (Amplocypris abscissa) from the Miocene Lake Pannon

PubMed Central

Danielopol, Dan L.; Gross, Martin; Harzhauser, Mathias; Minati, Klaus; Piller, Werner E.

2017-01-01

A project on fossil ostracods from Hennersdorf (Vienna Basin, Middle Pannonian “E” stage) documents the non-marine ostracod Amplocypris abscissa (Reuss 1850) as a polymorphic taxon. The high morphological variability of the valves belonging to this species and its geographic distribution in the Lake Pannon point to a widely spread fossil taxon. This traditional view emerges from the fact that A. abscissa displays few homologous “landmarks” (morphological reference points) which makes it difficult to compare morphotypes within and among populations. The present contribution offers arguments for the need of objective criteria when describing ostracods with few visible morphological traits. It is demonstrated that using a composite algorithmic approach which combines information implemented in the computer programme MORPHOMATICA for different variables, measured on interval and ratio scales, is able to define morphological traits objectively. The data analysed with multivariate statistics are further used for diagnostic profiles of clearly delineated morphotypes. The potential taxonomic value of three morphotypes here identified for Amplocypris abscissa is discussed. It is argued that this taxon represents a phylogenetic lineage within which a cluster of species with discrete morphological traits exists. Finally, it is proposed to apply similar algorithms for the necessary revision of the whole group of Amplocypris species from Lake Pannon. PMID:28090196

Assessing natural direct and indirect effects through multiple pathways.

PubMed

Lange, Theis; Rasmussen, Mette; Thygesen, Lau Caspar

2014-02-15

Within the fields of epidemiology, interventions research and social sciences researchers are often faced with the challenge of decomposing the effect of an exposure into different causal pathways working through defined mediator variables. The goal of such analyses is often to understand the mechanisms of the system or to suggest possible interventions. The case of a single mediator, thus implying only 2 causal pathways (direct and indirect) from exposure to outcome, has been extensively studied. By using the framework of counterfactual variables, researchers have established theoretical properties and developed powerful tools. However, in practical problems, it is not uncommon to have several distinct causal pathways from exposure to outcome operating through different mediators. In this article, we suggest a widely applicable approach to quantifying and ranking different causal pathways. The approach is an extension of the natural effect models proposed by Lange et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2012;176(3):190-195). By allowing the analysis of distinct multiple pathways, the suggested approach adds to the capabilities of modern mediation techniques. Furthermore, the approach can be implemented using standard software, and we have included with this article implementation examples using R (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) and Stata software (StataCorp LP, College Station, Texas).

76 FR 6650 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Birth of the Modern...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-07

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7317] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Birth of the Modern: Style and Identity in Vienna 1900'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the... that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``Birth of the Modern: Style and Identity in Vienna...

The Vienna Frailty Questionnaire for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities--Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brehmer-Rinderer, Barbara; Zeilinger, Elisabeth Lucia; Radaljevic, Ana; Weber, Germain

2013-01-01

Frailty is a theoretical concept used to track individual age-related declines. Persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) often present with pre-existing deficits that would be considered frailty markers in the general population. The previously developed Vienna Frailty Questionnaire for Persons with ID (VFQ-ID) was aimed at assessing frailty in…

9 CFR 319.180 - Frankfurter, frank, furter, hotdog, weiner, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst and similar cooked... poultry meat and/or Mechanically Separated (Kind of Poultry) without skin and without kidneys and sex... accordance with the provisions of § 381.118 of this chapter. (b) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener...

9 CFR 319.180 - Frankfurter, frank, furter, hotdog, weiner, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst and similar cooked... poultry meat and/or Mechanically Separated (Kind of Poultry) without skin and without kidneys and sex... accordance with the provisions of § 381.118 of this chapter. (b) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener...

9 CFR 319.180 - Frankfurter, frank, furter, hotdog, weiner, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst and similar cooked... poultry meat and/or Mechanically Separated (Kind of Poultry) without skin and without kidneys and sex... accordance with the provisions of § 381.118 of this chapter. (b) Frankfurter, frank, furter, hot-dog, wiener...

Evaluation of the Vienna APL corrections using reprocessed GNSS series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steigenberger, P.; Dach, R.

2011-12-01

The Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics of the Vienna University of Technology recently started an operational service to provide non-tidal atmospheric pressure loading (APL) corrections. As the series is based on European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) pressure data, it is fully consistent with the Vienna Mapping Function 1 (VMF1) atmospheric delay correction model for microwave measurements. Whereas VMF1 is widely used for, e.g., observations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), applying APL corrections is not yet a standard nowadays. The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) - a joint venture between the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB, Bern, Switzerland), the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo, Wabern, Switzerland), the Federal Office for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany), and the Insitute for Astronomical and Physical Geodesy, TU Muenchen (IAPG, Munich, Germany) - uses a recently generated series of reprocessed multi-GNSS data (considering GPS and GLONASS) to evaluate the APL corrections provided by the Vienna group. The results are also used to investigate the propagation of the APL effect in GNSS-derived results if no corrections are applied.

Status and plans for the future of the Vienna VLBI Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madzak, Matthias; Böhm, Johannes; Böhm, Sigrid; Girdiuk, Anastasiia; Hellerschmied, Andreas; Hofmeister, Armin; Krasna, Hana; Kwak, Younghee; Landskron, Daniel; Mayer, David; McCallum, Jamie; Plank, Lucia; Schönberger, Caroline; Shabala, Stanislav; Sun, Jing; Teke, Kamil

2016-04-01

The Vienna VLBI Software (VieVS) is a VLBI analysis software developed and maintained at Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) since 2008 with contributions from groups all over the world. It is used for both academic purposes in university courses as well as for providing VLBI analysis results to the geodetic community. Written in a modular structure in Matlab, VieVS offers easy access to the source code and the possibility to adapt the programs for particular purposes. The new version 2.3, released in December 2015, includes several new parameters to be estimated in the global solution, such as tidal ERP variation coefficients. The graphical user interface was slightly modified for an improved user functionality and, e.g., the possibility of deriving baseline length repeatabilities. The scheduling of satellite observations was refined, the simulator newly includes the effect of source structure which can also be corrected for in the analysis. This poster gives an overview of all VLBI-related activities in Vienna and provides an outlook to future plans concerning the Vienna VLBI Software.

Leveraging Past and Current Measurements to Probabilistically Nowcast Low Visibility Procedures at an Airport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayr, G. J.; Kneringer, P.; Dietz, S. J.; Zeileis, A.

2016-12-01

Low visibility or low cloud ceiling reduce the capacity of airports by requiring special low visibility procedures (LVP) for incoming/departing aircraft. Probabilistic forecasts when such procedures will become necessary help to mitigate delays and economic losses.We compare the performance of probabilistic nowcasts with two statistical methods: ordered logistic regression, and trees and random forests. These models harness historic and current meteorological measurements in the vicinity of the airport and LVP states, and incorporate diurnal and seasonal climatological information via generalized additive models (GAM). The methods are applied at Vienna International Airport (Austria). The performance is benchmarked against climatology, persistence and human forecasters.

Estimation of the sustainable geothermal potential of Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tissen, Carolin; Benz, Susanne A.; Keck, Christiane A.; Bayer, Peter; Blum, Philipp

2017-04-01

Regarding the limited availability of fossil fuels and the absolute necessity to reduce CO2 emissions in order to mitigate the worldwide climate change, renewable resources and new energy systems are required to provide sustainable energy for the future. Shallow geothermal energy holds a huge untapped potential especially for heating and hot water, which represent up to 50% of the global energy demand. Previous studies quantified the capacity of shallow geothermal energy for closed and open systems in cities such as Vienna, London (Westminster) and Ludwigsburg in Germany. In the present study, these approaches are combined and also include the anthropogenic heat input by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. The objective of the present study is therefore to estimate the sustainable geothermal potential of Vienna. Furthermore, the amount of energy demand for heating and hot water that can be supplied by open and closed geothermal systems will be determined. The UHI effect in Vienna is reflected in higher ground water temperatures within the city centre (14 ˚ C to 18 ˚ C) in comparison to lower ones in rural areas (10 ˚ C to 13 ˚ C). A preliminary estimation of the anthropogenic heat flow into the ground water caused by elevated basement temperatures and land surface temperatures is 3,5 × 108 kWh/a. This additional heat flow leads to a total geothermal potential which is 2.5 times larger than the estimated annual energy demand for heating and hot water in Vienna.

An Analytical Comparison of the Opinions of Physicians Working in Emergency and Trauma Surgery Departments at Tabriz and Vienna Medical Universities Regarding Family Presence during Resuscitation.

PubMed

Soleimanpour, Hassan; Behringer, Wilhelm; Tabrizi, Jafar Sadegh; Sarahrudi, Kambiz; Golzari, Samad E J; Hajdu, Stefan; Rasouli, Maryam; Nikakhtar, Mehdi; Mehdizadeh Esfanjani, Robab

2015-01-01

The present study evaluated the opinions of physicians working in the emergency and trauma surgery departments of Vienna Medical University, in Austria, and Tabriz Medical University, in Iran, regarding the presence of patients' relatives during resuscitation. In a descriptive-analytical study, the data obtained from questionnaires that had been distributed randomly to 40 specialists and residents at each of the participating universities were analyzed. The questionnaire consisted of two sections aimed at capturing the participants' demographic data, the participants' opinions regarding their support for the family's presence during resuscitation, and the multiple potential factors affecting the participants' attitudes, including health beliefs, triggers that could facilitate the procedure, self-efficacy, intellectual norms, and perceived behavioral control. The questionnaire also included a direct question (Question 16) on whether the participants approved of family presence. Each question could be answered using a Likert-type scale. The results showed that the mean scores for Question 16 were 4.31 ± 0.64 and 3.57 ± 1.31 for participants at Vienna and Tabriz universities, respectively. Moreover, physicians at Vienna University disapproved of the presence of patients' families during resuscitation to a higher extent than did those at Tabriz University (P = 0.018). Of the studied prognostic factors affecting the perspectives of Vienna Medical University's physicians, health beliefs (P = 0.000; B = 1.146), triggers (P = 0.000; B = 1.050), and norms (P = 0.000; B = 0.714) were found to be significant. Moreover, of the studied prognostic factors affecting the perspectives of Tabriz Medical University's physicians, health beliefs (P = 0.000; B = 0.875), triggers (P = 0.000; B = 1.11), self-efficacy (P = 0.001; B = 0.5), and perceived behavioral control (P = 0.03; B = 0.713) were significant. Most physicians at Vienna and Tabriz Medical universities were not open towards family members' presence during resuscitation.

Wet tropospheric delays forecast based on Vienna Mapping Function time series analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rzepecka, Zofia; Kalita, Jakub

2016-04-01

It is well known that the dry part of the zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) is much easier to model than the wet part (ZTW). The aim of the research is applying stochastic modeling and prediction of ZTW using time series analysis tools. Application of time series analysis enables closer understanding of ZTW behavior as well as short-term prediction of future ZTW values. The ZTW data used for the studies were obtained from the GGOS service hold by Vienna technical University. The resolution of the data is six hours. ZTW for the years 2010 -2013 were adopted for the study. The International GNSS Service (IGS) permanent stations LAMA and GOPE, located in mid-latitudes, were admitted for the investigations. Initially the seasonal part was separated and modeled using periodic signals and frequency analysis. The prominent annual and semi-annual signals were removed using sines and consines functions. The autocorrelation of the resulting signal is significant for several days (20-30 samples). The residuals of this fitting were further analyzed and modeled with ARIMA processes. For both the stations optimal ARMA processes based on several criterions were obtained. On this basis predicted ZTW values were computed for one day ahead, leaving the white process residuals. Accuracy of the prediction can be estimated at about 3 cm.

Vienna in the Early Twentieth Century: The Cultural Response to Modernization. Curriculum Units, NEH Institute, Summer 1993.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oregon Univ., Eugene.

These curriculum units were developed by participants in the National Endowment for the Humanities seminar at the University of Oregon in 1993. The lessons include: (1) "Schule, Freunde, Liebe: Wien um die Jahrhundertwende (School, Friends, Love: Vienna at the Turn of the Century)" (Linda Hansen; Glenn Tetterton-Opheim); (2) "Kultur…

Tree of Life: Gustav with Gusto

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sterling, Joan

2010-01-01

Gustav Klimt was born in Vienna in 1862. At age 14, he received a scholarship to the Vienna Public Art School. After graduating, he painted realistic portraits and later began to paint landscapes. Klimt was best known for creating a style known as Art Nouveau, in answer to the Industrial Revolution of the early 20th century. Art Nouveau was a…

The Relationships between Paranormal Belief, Creationism, Intelligent Design and Evolution at Secondary Schools in Vienna (Austria)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eder, Erich; Turic, Katharina; Milasowszky, Norbert; Van Adzin, Katherine; Hergovich, Andreas

2011-01-01

The present study is the first to investigate the relationships between a multiple set of paranormal beliefs and the acceptance of evolution, creationism, and intelligent design, respectively, in Europe. Using a questionnaire, 2,129 students at secondary schools in Vienna (Austria) answered the 26 statements of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale…

A uniform approach for programming distributed heterogeneous computing systems

PubMed Central

Grasso, Ivan; Pellegrini, Simone; Cosenza, Biagio; Fahringer, Thomas

2014-01-01

Large-scale compute clusters of heterogeneous nodes equipped with multi-core CPUs and GPUs are getting increasingly popular in the scientific community. However, such systems require a combination of different programming paradigms making application development very challenging. In this article we introduce libWater, a library-based extension of the OpenCL programming model that simplifies the development of heterogeneous distributed applications. libWater consists of a simple interface, which is a transparent abstraction of the underlying distributed architecture, offering advanced features such as inter-context and inter-node device synchronization. It provides a runtime system which tracks dependency information enforced by event synchronization to dynamically build a DAG of commands, on which we automatically apply two optimizations: collective communication pattern detection and device-host-device copy removal. We assess libWater’s performance in three compute clusters available from the Vienna Scientific Cluster, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the University of Innsbruck, demonstrating improved performance and scaling with different test applications and configurations. PMID:25844015

A uniform approach for programming distributed heterogeneous computing systems.

PubMed

Grasso, Ivan; Pellegrini, Simone; Cosenza, Biagio; Fahringer, Thomas

2014-12-01

Large-scale compute clusters of heterogeneous nodes equipped with multi-core CPUs and GPUs are getting increasingly popular in the scientific community. However, such systems require a combination of different programming paradigms making application development very challenging. In this article we introduce libWater, a library-based extension of the OpenCL programming model that simplifies the development of heterogeneous distributed applications. libWater consists of a simple interface, which is a transparent abstraction of the underlying distributed architecture, offering advanced features such as inter-context and inter-node device synchronization. It provides a runtime system which tracks dependency information enforced by event synchronization to dynamically build a DAG of commands, on which we automatically apply two optimizations: collective communication pattern detection and device-host-device copy removal. We assess libWater's performance in three compute clusters available from the Vienna Scientific Cluster, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the University of Innsbruck, demonstrating improved performance and scaling with different test applications and configurations.

Austrian Teachers and Their Education since 1945. Bulletin, 1957, No. 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahey, Helen C.

1954-01-01

During the academic year 1955-1956 Dr. Helen C. Lahey, Professor of Education at City College of the City of New York, New York, served as Fulbright guest professor at the Pedagogical Seminar in the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna Dr. Lahey was granted permission for research in the archives and library…

Mineral Resources in Mobile Phones: A Case Study of Boston and Vienna Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bookhagen, Britta; Koeberl, Christian; Juang, Linda; DeRosa, Donald A.

2017-01-01

As part of an outreach initiative by the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, an interdisciplinary educational module was developed to teach students about sustainability through the lens of mineral resources used to produce mobile phones. The overall goal of the module is to provide teachers of different subjects with a multifaceted tool to…

Viktor Lowenfeld: Portrait of a Young Art Teacher in Vienna in the 1930s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leshnoff, Susan K.

2013-01-01

Viktor Lowenfeld (1903-1960), one of the most influential art educators of the 20th century and author of "Creative and Mental Growth" (1947, 1952, 1957), barely talked or wrote about his early teaching experiences at the Chajes Realgymnasium, a secondary school for Jewish youth in Vienna, where he taught art and math for 14 years before…

Exploration of time-course combinations of outcome scales for use in a global test of stroke recovery.

PubMed

Goldie, Fraser C; Fulton, Rachael L; Dawson, Jesse; Bluhmki, Erich; Lees, Kennedy R

2014-08-01

Clinical trials for acute ischemic stroke treatment require large numbers of participants and are expensive to conduct. Methods that enhance statistical power are therefore desirable. We explored whether this can be achieved by a measure incorporating both early and late measures of outcome (e.g. seven-day NIH Stroke Scale combined with 90-day modified Rankin scale). We analyzed sensitivity to treatment effect, using proportional odds logistic regression for ordinal scales and generalized estimating equation method for global outcomes, with all analyses adjusted for baseline severity and age. We ran simulations to assess relations between sample size and power for ordinal scales and corresponding global outcomes. We used R version 2·12·1 (R Development Core Team. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) for simulations and SAS 9·2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) for all other analyses. Each scale considered for combination was sensitive to treatment effect in isolation. The mRS90 and NIHSS90 had adjusted odds ratio of 1·56 and 1·62, respectively. Adjusted odds ratio for global outcomes of the combination of mRS90 with NIHSS7 and NIHSS90 with NIHSS7 were 1·69 and 1·73, respectively. The smallest sample sizes required to generate statistical power ≥80% for mRS90, NIHSS7, and global outcomes of mRS90 and NIHSS7 combined and NIHSS90 and NIHSS7 combined were 500, 490, 400, and 380, respectively. When data concerning both early and late outcomes are combined into a global measure, there is increased sensitivity to treatment effect compared with solitary ordinal scales. This delivers a 20% reduction in required sample size at 80% power. Combining early with late outcomes merits further consideration. © 2013 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2013 World Stroke Organization.

Regional subsidence history and 3D visualization with MATLAB of the Vienna Basin, central Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, E.; Novotny, J.; Wagreich, M.

2013-12-01

This study reconstructed the subsidence history by the backstripping and 3D visualization techniques, to understand tectonic evolution of the Neogene Vienna Basin. The backstripping removes the compaction effect of sediment loading and quantifies the tectonic subsidence. The amount of decompaction was calculated by porosity-depth relationships evaluated from seismic velocity data acquired from two boreholes. About 100 wells have been investigated to quantify the subsidence history of the Vienna Basin. The wells have been sorted into 10 groups; N1-4 in the northern part, C1-4 in the central part and L1-2 in the northernmost and easternmost parts, based on their position within the same block bordered by major faults. To visualize 3D subsidence maps, the wells were arranged to a set of 3D points based on their map location (x, y) and depths (z1, z2, z3 ...). The division of the stratigraphic column and age range was arranged based on the Central Paratethys regional Stages. In this study, MATLAB, a numerical computing environment, was used to calculate the TPS interpolation function. The Thin-Plate Spline (TPS) can be employed to reconstruct a smooth surface from a set of 3D points. The basic physical model of the TPS is based on the bending behavior of a thin metal sheet that is constrained only by a sparse set of fixed points. In the Lower Miocene, 3D subsidence maps show strong evidence that the pre-Neogene basement of the Vienna Basin was subsiding along borders of the Alpine-Carpathian nappes. This subsidence event is represented by a piggy-back basin developed on top of the NW-ward moving thrust sheets. In the late Lower Miocene, Group C and N display a typical subsidence pattern for the pull-apart basin with a very high subsidence event (0.2 - 1.0 km/Ma). After the event, Group N shows remarkably decreasing subsidence, following the thin-skinned extension which was regarded as the extension model of the Vienna Basin in the literature. But the subsidence in Group C decreases gradually, which demonstrates a trend of increasing thermal subsidence during the Middle to Upper Miocene. The traditional model cannot explain the thermal subsidence observed in the central part. This study supports a non-uniform extension model changing from the thin-skinned extension in the northern part to the thick-skinned extension in the central part. And 3D subsidence maps propose the existence of a decoupling between lithospheric and crustal extensions along the Steinberg Fault. Group L shows very different subsidence trends compared to Group C and N. In this Group a subsidence halt occurred in the late Lower Miocene. After the halt, Group L1 shows small tectonic and subsidence events. Some former studies presented that the area of Group L1 uplifted during the early Middle Miocene. It can be concluded that the missing sediments were eroded by the local uplift. But the subsidence of Group L2 stopped completely. It suggests that Group L2 was not influenced by the extension of the strike-slip fault system.

The Vienna Stroke Registry--objectives and methodology. The Vienna Stroke Study Group.

PubMed

2001-02-15

The Vienna Stroke Registry (VSR) comprises nine neurological departments of Vienna and was established in 1998. This article describes the objectives and methodology of the VSR. The goals of the VSR are as follows: (1) to document the quality (structure, process, outcome) of medical services and to construct a database which can be used for future adjustment of medical services in Vienna (early stroke intervention, concept of stroke units, rehabilitation services); (2) to guide educational programs; (3) to adjust or establish algorithms for clinical decision making and to analyze predictors of outcome; (4) to document changes in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies over time; (5) to formulate hypotheses about the etiology, pathophysiology, clinical course, and outcome of stroke. Since October 1998 all patients with the presumed diagnosis of a transitory ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke who had been admitted to one of the participating centers within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms were included in the VSR. All patients are prospectively documented according to standardized detailed protocols. The collected data refer to demographic parameters; medical, particularly, vascular history; vascular risk factors; laboratory and technical investigations (including cerebrovascular, cardiological, and neuroradiological findings); details of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment; factors influencing the time from the onset of symptoms to hospital admission and the start of therapy; clinical and etiological classification according to pre-specified criteria; neurological and functional impairment at specified time points; structured follow-up investigations at 3, 12, and 24 months after the event. Until September 2000, 2300 patients had been included in the VSR. The target number of 3500 patients will be achieved in the second half of 2001. A baseline description of the VSR population will be given separately.

Additive homeopathy in cancer patients: Retrospective survival data from a homeopathic outpatient unit at the Medical University of Vienna.

PubMed

Gaertner, Katharina; Müllner, Michael; Friehs, Helmut; Schuster, Ernst; Marosi, Christine; Muchitsch, Ilse; Frass, Michael; Kaye, Alan David

2014-04-01

Current literature suggests a positive influence of additive classical homeopathy on global health and well-being in cancer patients. Besides encouraging case reports, there is little if any research on long-term survival of patients who obtain homeopathic care during cancer treatment. Data from cancer patients who had undergone homeopathic treatment complementary to conventional anti-cancer treatment at the Outpatient Unit for Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria, were collected, described and a retrospective subgroup-analysis with regard to survival time was performed. Patient inclusion criteria were at least three homeopathic consultations, fatal prognosis of disease, quantitative and qualitative description of patient characteristics, and survival time. In four years, a total of 538 patients were recorded to have visited the Outpatient Unit Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases, Medical University Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Vienna, Austria. 62.8% of them were women, and nearly 20% had breast cancer. From the 53.7% (n=287) who had undergone at least three homeopathic consultations within four years, 18.7% (n=54) fulfilled inclusion criteria for survival analysis. The surveyed neoplasms were glioblastoma, lung, cholangiocellular and pancreatic carcinomas, metastasized sarcoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Median overall survival was compared to expert expectations of survival outcomes by specific cancer type and was prolonged across observed cancer entities (p<0.001). Extended survival time in this sample of cancer patients with fatal prognosis but additive homeopathic treatment is interesting. However, findings are based on a small sample, and with only limited data available about patient and treatment characteristics. The relationship between homeopathic treatment and survival time requires prospective investigation in larger samples possibly using matched-pair control analysis or randomized trials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Band 3 nullVIENNA , a novel homozygous SLC4A1 p.Ser477X variant causing severe hemolytic anemia, dyserythropoiesis and complete distal renal tubular acidosis.

PubMed

Kager, Leo; Bruce, Lesley J; Zeitlhofer, Petra; Flatt, Joanna F; Maia, Tabita M; Ribeiro, M Leticia; Fahrner, Bernhard; Fritsch, Gerhard; Boztug, Kaan; Haas, Oskar A

2017-03-01

We describe the second patient with anionic exchanger 1/band 3 null phenotype (band 3 null VIENNA ), which was caused by a novel nonsense mutation c.1430C>A (p.Ser477X) in exon 12 of SLC4A1. We also update on the previous band 3 null COIMBRA patient, thereby elucidating the physiological implications of total loss of AE1/band 3. Besides transfusion-dependent severe hemolytic anemia and complete distal renal tubular acidosis, dyserythropoiesis was identified in the band 3 null VIENNA patient, suggesting a role for band 3 in erythropoiesis. Moreover, we also, for the first time, report that long-term survival is possible in band 3 null patients. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of the new intermediate complex atmospheric research (ICAR) model with the WRF model in a mesoscale catchment in Central Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Härer, Stefan; Bernhardt, Matthias; Gutmann, Ethan; Bauer, Hans-Stefan; Schulz, Karsten

2017-04-01

Until recently, a large gap existed in the atmospheric downscaling strategies. On the one hand, computationally efficient statistical approaches are widely used, on the other hand, dynamic but CPU-intensive numeric atmospheric models like the weather research and forecast (WRF) model exist. The intermediate complex atmospheric research (ICAR) model developed at NCAR (Boulder, Colorado, USA) addresses this gap by combining the strengths of both approaches: the process-based structure of a dynamic model and its applicability in a changing climate as well as the speed of a parsimonious modelling approach which facilitates the modelling of ensembles and a straightforward way to test new parametrization schemes as well as various input data sources. However, the ICAR model has not been tested in Europe and on slightly undulated terrain yet. This study now evaluates for the first time the ICAR model to WRF model runs in Central Europe comparing a complete year of model results in the mesoscale Attert catchment (Luxembourg). In addition to these modelling results, we also describe the first implementation of ICAR on an Intel Phi architecture and consequently perform speed tests between the Vienna cluster, a standard workstation and the use of an Intel Phi coprocessor. Finally, the study gives an outlook on sensitivity studies using slightly different input data sources.

A catalogue of the type and figured fossil decapod crustaceans in the collections of the Geological Survey of Austria in Vienna

PubMed Central

Hyžný, Matúš; Zorn, Irene

2017-01-01

The present catalogue lists and figures the type and figured material of fossil decapod crustaceans housed in the collections of the Geological Survey of Austria in Vienna. Specimens previously believed to be lost were relocated. Lectotypes and paralectotypes are chosen herein for 11 species. Taxonomic affinity of taxa originally described in open nomenclature is discussed. PMID:28255177

"Eurotrain for Training." Proceedings of a European Congress on Continuing Education and Training (4th, Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; Prague, Czechoslovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria, October 5-9, 1992).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisser, Ulrike, Ed.; Grootings, Peter, Ed.

1992-01-01

A "travelling" congress was conducted in five European cities (Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, and Vienna) to promote a mutual exchange of views between east and west. The participants stressed the growing European Community interest in current examples of cooperation with neighbors in central and eastern Europe. In addition to…

USSR Report. International Affairs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-13

ORGANIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (UEO) THE WORKING CLASS § THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD (UWC) PEOPLES OF ASIA & AFRICA (UAA) MILITARY HISTORY JOURNAL...and beyond. He said that the documents from the European Conference in Helsinki and the Madrid meeting have given an important stimulus to the work ...commission’s activity with the work of the Vienna meeting deserved all-round support, he said. "It is important that the Vienna followup meeting make

Multiscale Dynamics and Information in Data Collection and Assimilation for Environmental Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-30

elsewhere such as: prepared in cooperation with; translation of; report supersedes; old edition number, etc. 14. ABSTRACT. A brief (approximately 200...involves the derivative of a stochastic path, which is obtained using Malliavin calculus . 4 DISTRIBUTION A: Distribution approved for public release...predictability, 8th European Nonlinear Oscillations Conference, The Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria, July 06 – 11, 2014. [11] Lingala N

An integrative concept for visitor monitoring in a heavily used conservation area in the vicinity of a large city: the Danube Floodplains National Park, Vienna

Treesearch

Arne Amberger; Christiane Brandenburg; Andreas Muhar

2002-01-01

The Danube Floodplains National Park, Vienna, Austria is used predominantly by the Viennese population for daily recreation purposes. Different methods were applied for the monitoring of visitor activities in the National Park (long-term video monitoring, short-term visitor observation, interviews and route registration). The results show that only a combination of...

Attitudes towards suicide among medical students: comparison between Madras (India) and Vienna (Austria).

PubMed

Etzersdorfer, E; Vijayakumar, L; Schöny, W; Grausgruber, A; Sonneck, G

1998-03-01

Attitudes towards suicide among medical students in Madras (India) and Vienna (Austria) were compared using the SUIATT questionnaire by Diekstra and Kerkhof (1989). Results show a very restrictive attitude in Madras, rejecting the right to commit suicide, nearly always judging suicide as a cowardly act, and rejecting the idea of assisted suicide. On the other hand, in Vienna a more permissive attitude was found. It is interpreted that the Indian pattern comes close to a "medical" or "disease model", with stronger emphasis on mental illness, impulsiveness and emotional aspects, whereas the Viennese pattern reflects a "theoretical", "rational model", concentrating on cognitive factors and minimizing the influence of mental illness, emotional difficulties and restrictions related to suicidal behaviour. This pattern may be influenced by the public discussion on assisted suicide and the right to die in Europe in the last decade. Possible relations to the risk for actual suicidal behaviour are discussed using respective answers concerning previous suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The answers concerning suicidal ideation seem to be strongly influenced by the different attitude patterns: only 16.8% reported previous suicidal ideation in Madras, compared to 51.5% in Vienna, whereas the percentage of reported suicide attempts is equal in both centres (5.9%:4.9%).

Exploring the modeling of spatiotemporal variations in ambient air pollution within the land use regression framework: Estimation of PM10 concentrations on a daily basis.

PubMed

Alam, Md Saniul; McNabola, Aonghus

2015-05-01

Estimation of daily average exposure to PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter<10 μm) using the available fixed-site monitoring stations (FSMs) in a city poses a great challenge. This is because typically FSMs are limited in number when considering the spatial representativeness of their measurements and also because statistical models of citywide exposure have yet to be explored in this context. This paper deals with the later aspect of this challenge and extends the widely used land use regression (LUR) approach to deal with temporal changes in air pollution and the influence of transboundary air pollution on short-term variations in PM10. Using the concept of multiple linear regression (MLR) modeling, the average daily concentrations of PM10 in two European cities, Vienna and Dublin, were modeled. Models were initially developed using the standard MLR approach in Vienna using the most recently available data. Efforts were subsequently made to (i) assess the stability of model predictions over time; (ii) explores the applicability of nonparametric regression (NPR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to deal with the nonlinearity of input variables. The predictive performance of the MLR models of the both cities was demonstrated to be stable over time and to produce similar results. However, NPR and ANN were found to have more improvement in the predictive performance in both cities. Using ANN produced the highest result, with daily PM10 exposure predicted at R2=66% for Vienna and 51% for Dublin. In addition, two new predictor variables were also assessed for the Dublin model. The variables representing transboundary air pollution and peak traffic count were found to account for 6.5% and 12.7% of the variation in average daily PM10 concentration. The variable representing transboundary air pollution that was derived from air mass history (from back-trajectory analysis) and population density has demonstrated a positive impact on model performance. The implications of this research would suggest that it is possible to produce a model of ambient air quality on a citywide scale using the readily available data. Most European cities typically have a limited FSM network with average daily concentrations of air pollutants as well as available meteorological, traffic, and land-use data. This research highlights that using these data in combination with advanced statistical techniques such as NPR or ANNs will produce reasonably accurate predictions of ambient air quality across a city, including temporal variations. Therefore, this approach reduces the need for additional measurement data to supplement existing historical records and enables a lower-cost method of air pollution model development for practitioners and policy makers.

First observations of fertilized eggs and preleptocephalus larvae of Rhinomuraena quaesita in the Vienna Zoo.

PubMed

Preininger, D; Halbauer, R; Bartsch, V; Weissenbacher, A

2015-01-01

For the first time worldwide, fertilized eggs of ribbon eels (Rhinomuraena quaesita) hatched into feeding preleptocephali and could be kept alive for a period of seven days in the Vienna Zoo. The study reports on husbandry, behavioral observations and dimensions of eggs and preleptocephalus larvae. Furthermore, body color variations of ribbon eels in captivity do not reflect its sex or sexual maturity. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Karl Schwarzschild's investigations of `out-of-focus photometry' between 1897 and 1899 at Kuffner Observatory in Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habison, Peter

From 1897 to 1899 Karl Schwarzschild worked at the Kuffner Observatory in Vienna. During these years he developed new measuring techniques in the field of photographic photometry, where he studied particularly the quantitative determination of the departure from the reciprocity law during photographic exposure. This paper concentrates on Schwarzschild's early work in this field and gives an overview of his important Viennese years.

Ethnic cartography and politics in Vienna, 1918-1945.

PubMed

Svatek, Petra

2018-03-01

In Vienna, the close of the First World War and the period of the peace negotiations in Paris saw an enormous boom of ethnic-geographic research approaches and ethnic map-making. This process continued with the appointment of the Viennese geographer Hugo Hassinger (1877-1952) to the chair of human geography at the University of Vienna in 1931 and intensified with the establishment of the South East German Research Association and the National Socialist takeover in March 1938. But did the initiatives to create ethnic maps originate with politicians and authorities, or did they come from the scientists themselves? This article argues that scientists embarked upon ethnic geographies on their own initiative. Although political institutions used scientists and their resources for their own, political ends (ethnographic maps served as an important source for the National Socialists in their operations for ethnic consolidation), scientists also mobilized resources from the political sphere for career and disciplinary purposes.

The pre-Anschluss Vienna School of Medicine - the physicians: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857-1940) and Karel Wenckebach (1864-1940).

PubMed

Shaw, Lily Bzl; Shaw, Robert A

2016-05-01

Three physicians are discussed. Sigmund Freud, probably the best-known member of the Vienna School of Medicine, was the path-breaking pioneer in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Julius Wagner-Jauregg was a psychiatrist who discovered the link between iodine deficiency and goitre and also developed malaria therapy to treat progressive paralysis caused by syphilis for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Karel Wenckebach, the pioneering Dutch cardiologist, is best known for the Wenckebach block. After the Anschluss, fate dealt very different hands to these three physicians. Freud fled to London where he soon died. Wagner-Jauregg, who had some pan-Germanic sympathies as well as views on eugenics, left a controversial legacy. The Dutch cardiologist Wenckebach died in Vienna shortly after his homeland had been invaded in 1940 by that of his hosts. © IMechE 2014.

Can we still stop the migration of physicians from Austria? : An evaluation of clinical internships by students of the Medical University of Vienna.

PubMed

Seitz, Tamara; Turk, Bela R; Löffler-Stastka, Henriette

2017-01-01

The increasing emigration of graduates of the Medical University of Vienna presents a serious problem. This study examined students' evaluation of clinical rotations, their self-rated performance, and where they felt the most deficits exist. Medical students answered an online questionnaire surveying the following aspects: an evaluation of their internship; supervision; integration in the team and improvement of field-specific knowledge; the qualities of taking a patient's medical history by empathy; patient-centeredness; structure; target orientation; and the ability to integrate field-specific knowledge into anamnesis. The data collected indicate that rotations in Austria, especially in Vienna, were evaluated significantly worse than those abroad. Particularly the lack of supervision and integration in the team were criticized. These data stress a dire need for the reform of curricular structures during clinical rotation in the latter years of medical education.

Gender, politics, and radioactivity research in interwar Vienna: the case of the Institute for Radium Research.

PubMed

Rentetzi, Maria

2004-09-01

This essay explores the significance of political and ideological context as well as experimental culture for the participation of women in radioactivity research. It argues that the politics of Red Vienna and the culture of radioactivity research specific to the Viennese setting encouraged exceptional gender politics within the Institute for Radium Research in the interwar years. The essay further attempts to provide an alternative approach to narratives that concentrate on personal dispositions and stereotypical images of women in science to explain the disproportionately large number of women in radioactivity research. Instead, the emphasis here is on the institutional context in which women involved themselves in radioactivity in interwar Vienna. This approach places greater importance on contingencies of time and place and highlights the significance of the cultural and political context in a historical study while at the same time shedding light on the interrelation between scientific practices and gender.

Terrestrial reference frame solution with the Vienna VLBI Software VieVS and implication of tropospheric gradient estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spicakova, H.; Plank, L.; Nilsson, T.; Böhm, J.; Schuh, H.

2011-07-01

The Vienna VLBI Software (VieVS) has been developed at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at TU Vienna since 2008. In this presentation, we present the module Vie_glob which is the part of VieVS that allows the parameter estimation from multiple VLBI sessions in a so-called global solution. We focus on the determination of the terrestrial reference frame (TRF) using all suitable VLBI sessions since 1984. We compare different analysis options like the choice of loading corrections or of one of the models for the tropospheric delays. The effect of atmosphere loading corrections on station heights if neglected at observation level will be shown. Time series of station positions (using a previously determined TRF as a priori values) are presented and compared to other estimates of site positions from individual IVS (International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry) Analysis Centers.

Semmelweis and the aetiology of puerperal sepsis 160 years on: an historical review

PubMed Central

NOAKES, T. D.; BORRESEN, J.; HEW-BUTLER, T.; LAMBERT, M. I.; JORDAAN, E.

2008-01-01

SUMMARY It is generally accepted that Professor Ignaz Semmelweis was the first to identify the mode of transmission of puerperal sepsis. However no appropriate statistical analysis of Semmelweis's data supporting his theory has been reported. Mean annual percent maternal mortality rates for the Allgemeines Krankenhaus and Dublin Maternity Hospitals (1784–1858) were analysed. The introduction of pathological anatomy at the Allgemeines Krankenhaus in 1823 was associated with increased mortality. After 1840 maternal mortality was higher in Clinic 1 which was staffed by male obstetricians and medical students who, unlike the midwives in Clinic 2, attended autopsies. The introduction of chlorine washing of the male clinicians’ hands in Clinic 1 by Semmelweis in 1847 reduced mortality, whereas the cessation of handwashing after Semmelweis left Vienna in 1850 was associated with increased mortality. This statistical analysis supports Semmelweis's hypothesis that ‘the cadaveric particles adhering to the hand had … caused the preponderant mortality in the first Clinic’. PMID:17553179

Comparison of three commercial IgG and IgM ELISA kits for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies.

PubMed

Ackermann-Gäumann, Rahel; Tritten, Marie-Lise; Hassan, Mona; Lienhard, Reto

2018-05-01

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is endemic in many parts of Europe and Asia. The diagnosis of this disease is essentially based on the demonstration of specific antibodies. For reasons of simplicity, automatization and quick availability of test results, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are the method of choice for serological diagnosis of TBE. Here, we evaluated three commercially available anti-TBEV IgG and IgM ELISAs using 251 serum samples: the SERION ELISA classic FSME Virus/TBE Virus IgG and IgM kit (Virion\\Serion), the RIDASCREEN ® FSME/TBE IgG and IgM kit (R-Biopharm), and the anti-FSME/TBE virus ELISA "Vienna" IgG/anti-FSME/TBE virus ELISA IgM kit (Euroimmun). In total, discrepant test results for IgG and/or IgM were observed for 37/251 (14.7 %) of tested samples; differences were statistically significant. Reference values defined by serum neutralization test (SNT, n = 25) or results provided by EQA organizers (n = 2) were established for a subset of samples. In relation to these values, false-positive results were observed mainly for Euroimmun Vienna IgG and RIDASCREEN IgG, whereas false-negative results were primarily observed for Virion\\Serion IgG and RIDASCREEN IgM kits. In routine diagnostics, specificity problems are of major relevance and may be addressed by analyzing the respective samples using SNT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Computer literacy and attitudes towards e-learning among first year medical students

PubMed Central

Link, Thomas Michael; Marz, Richard

2006-01-01

Background At the Medical University of Vienna, most information for students is available only online. In 2005, an e-learning project was initiated and there are plans to introduce a learning management system. In this study, we estimate the level of students' computer skills, the number of students having difficulty with e-learning, and the number of students opposed to e-learning. Methods The study was conducted in an introductory course on computer-based and web-based training (CBT/WBT). Students were asked to fill out a questionnaire online that covered a wide range of relevant attitudes and experiences. Results While the great majority of students possess sufficient computer skills and acknowledge the advantages of interactive and multimedia-enhanced learning material, a small percentage lacks basic computer skills and/or is very skeptical about e-learning. There is also a consistently significant albeit weak gender difference in available computer infrastructure and Internet access. As for student attitudes toward e-learning, we found that age, computer use, and previous exposure to computers are more important than gender. A sizable number of students, 12% of the total, make little or no use of existing e-learning offerings. Conclusion Many students would benefit from a basic introduction to computers and to the relevant computer-based resources of the university. Given to the wide range of computer skills among students, a single computer course for all students would not be useful nor would it be accepted. Special measures should be taken to prevent students who lack computer skills from being disadvantaged or from developing computer-hostile attitudes. PMID:16784524

Computer literacy and attitudes towards e-learning among first year medical students.

PubMed

Link, Thomas Michael; Marz, Richard

2006-06-19

At the Medical University of Vienna, most information for students is available only online. In 2005, an e-learning project was initiated and there are plans to introduce a learning management system. In this study, we estimate the level of students' computer skills, the number of students having difficulty with e-learning, and the number of students opposed to e-learning. The study was conducted in an introductory course on computer-based and web-based training (CBT/WBT). Students were asked to fill out a questionnaire online that covered a wide range of relevant attitudes and experiences. While the great majority of students possess sufficient computer skills and acknowledge the advantages of interactive and multimedia-enhanced learning material, a small percentage lacks basic computer skills and/or is very skeptical about e-learning. There is also a consistently significant albeit weak gender difference in available computer infrastructure and Internet access. As for student attitudes toward e-learning, we found that age, computer use, and previous exposure to computers are more important than gender. A sizable number of students, 12% of the total, make little or no use of existing e-learning offerings. Many students would benefit from a basic introduction to computers and to the relevant computer-based resources of the university. Given to the wide range of computer skills among students, a single computer course for all students would not be useful nor would it be accepted. Special measures should be taken to prevent students who lack computer skills from being disadvantaged or from developing computer-hostile attitudes.

Fine-grained parallel RNAalifold algorithm for RNA secondary structure prediction on FPGA

PubMed Central

Xia, Fei; Dou, Yong; Zhou, Xingming; Yang, Xuejun; Xu, Jiaqing; Zhang, Yang

2009-01-01

Background In the field of RNA secondary structure prediction, the RNAalifold algorithm is one of the most popular methods using free energy minimization. However, general-purpose computers including parallel computers or multi-core computers exhibit parallel efficiency of no more than 50%. Field Programmable Gate-Array (FPGA) chips provide a new approach to accelerate RNAalifold by exploiting fine-grained custom design. Results RNAalifold shows complicated data dependences, in which the dependence distance is variable, and the dependence direction is also across two dimensions. We propose a systolic array structure including one master Processing Element (PE) and multiple slave PEs for fine grain hardware implementation on FPGA. We exploit data reuse schemes to reduce the need to load energy matrices from external memory. We also propose several methods to reduce energy table parameter size by 80%. Conclusion To our knowledge, our implementation with 16 PEs is the only FPGA accelerator implementing the complete RNAalifold algorithm. The experimental results show a factor of 12.2 speedup over the RNAalifold (ViennaPackage – 1.6.5) software for a group of aligned RNA sequences with 2981-residue running on a Personal Computer (PC) platform with Pentium 4 2.6 GHz CPU. PMID:19208138

Modelling reduction of urban heat load in Vienna by modifying surface properties of roofs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Žuvela-Aloise, Maja; Andre, Konrad; Schwaiger, Hannes; Bird, David Neil; Gallaun, Heinz

2018-02-01

The study examines the potential of urban roofs to reduce the urban heat island (UHI) effect by changing their reflectivity and implementing vegetation (green roofs) using the example of the City of Vienna. The urban modelling simulations are performed based on high-resolution orography and land use data, climatological observations, surface albedo values from satellite imagery and registry of the green roof potential in Vienna. The modelling results show that a moderate increase in reflectivity of roofs (up to 0.45) reduces the mean summer temperatures in the densely built-up environment by approximately 0.25 °C. Applying high reflectivity materials (roof albedo up to 0.7) leads to average cooling in densely built-up area of approximately 0.5 °C. The green roofs yield a heat load reduction in similar order of magnitude as the high reflectivity materials. However, only 45 % of roof area in Vienna is suitable for greening and the green roof potential mostly applies to industrial areas in city outskirts and is therefore not sufficient for substantial reduction of the UHI effect, particularly in the city centre which has the highest heat load. The strongest cooling effect can be achieved by combining the green roofs with high reflectivity materials. In this case, using 50 or 100 % of the green roof potential and applying high reflectivity materials on the remaining surfaces have a similar cooling effect.

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and their relevance as disease vectors in the city of Vienna, Austria.

PubMed

Lebl, Karin; Zittra, Carina; Silbermayr, Katja; Obwaller, Adelheid; Berer, Dominik; Brugger, Katharina; Walter, Melanie; Pinior, Beate; Fuehrer, Hans-Peter; Rubel, Franz

2015-02-01

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are important vectors for a wide range of pathogenic organisms. As large parts of the human population in developed countries live in cities, the occurrence of vector-borne diseases in urban areas is of particular interest for epidemiologists and public health authorities. In this study, we investigated the mosquito occurrence in the city of Vienna, Austria, in order to estimate the risk of transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquitoes were captured using different sampling techniques at 17 sites in the city of Vienna. Species belonging to the Culex pipiens complex (78.8 %) were most abundant, followed by Coquillettidia richiardii (10.2 %), Anopheles plumbeus (5.4 %), Aedes vexans (3.8 %), and Ochlerotatus sticticus (0.7 %). Individuals of the Cx. pipiens complex were found at 80.2 % of the trap sites, while 58.8 % of the trap sites were positive for Cq. richiardii and Ae. vexans. Oc. sticticus was captured at 35.3 % of the sites, and An. plumbeus only at 23.5 % of the trap sites. Cx. pipiens complex is known to be a potent vector and pathogens like West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), Tahyna virus (TAHV), Sindbis virus (SINV), Plasmodium sp., and Dirofilaria repens can be transmitted by this species. Cq. richiardii is a known vector species for Batai virus (BATV), SINV, TAHV, and WNV, while Ae. vexans can transmit TAHV, USUV, WNV, and Dirofilaria repens. An. plumbeus and Oc. sticticus seem to play only a minor role in the transmission of vector-borne diseases in Vienna. WNV, which is already wide-spread in Europe, is likely to be the highest threat in Vienna as it can be transmitted by several of the most common species, has already been shown to pose a higher risk in cities, and has the possibility to cause severe illness.

[Johann van Beethoven (1776-1848)].

PubMed

Eikermann, Erika

2012-01-01

The article about the life and achievements of the apothecary Johann van Beethoven, the younger brother of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, depicts a vivid picture of life in the 18th, 19t century. Research on archived original documents in Bonn, Vienna and Linz on the Danube made it possible to reveal details about the relationship inside this famous family and describes the hurdles of life of a successful apothecary. In 1776 Johann van Beethoven was born as the fourth child of the Beethoven family, a family of Bonner musicians. In 1790 he began his apprenticeship to become an apothecary at the Bonner "Hofapotheke". Towards the end of 1795 he moved to join his older brothers Ludwig and Karl in Vienna. During his time there he worked as a "subject" in various Viennese pharmacies. However in 1808 he purchased the pharmacy "Zur Goldenen Krone" in Linz on the Danube. His new pharmacy flourished, supplying first the Napoleonic occupation troops, and later the Austrian Military with medicines and field dressing/bandage materials. When in 1812 he married his Housekeeper, his Brother Ludwig opposed harshly, on reasons of social status and on moral grounds. Four years later, in 1816 Johann sold the pharmacy in Linz and founded a new pharmacy in Urfahr, on the opposite bank of the Danube. In 1819 he became a squire (or landowner), when he purchased a manor estate in Gneixendorf, near Krems on the Danube. In spite of his numerous duties as an apothecary and squire, Johann was frequently resident in Vienna, supporting his brother both emotionally and pharmaceutically. At the end of his life Johann sold both his pharmacy and the Gneixendorf estate, and spent his last years as a private gentleman living a dazzling lifestyle in Vienna. He died on January 12th 1848 and was buried in Vienna's "Waldmüllerpark".

Computer assisted data analysis in intensive care: the ICDEV project--development of a scientific database system for intensive care (Intensive Care Data Evaluation Project).

PubMed

Metnitz, P G; Laback, P; Popow, C; Laback, O; Lenz, K; Hiesmayr, M

1995-01-01

Patient Data Management Systems (PDMS) for ICUs collect, present and store clinical data. Various intentions make analysis of those digitally stored data desirable, such as quality control or scientific purposes. The aim of the Intensive Care Data Evaluation project (ICDEV), was to provide a database tool for the analysis of data recorded at various ICUs at the University Clinics of Vienna. General Hospital of Vienna, with two different PDMSs used: CareVue 9000 (Hewlett Packard, Andover, USA) at two ICUs (one medical ICU and one neonatal ICU) and PICIS Chart+ (PICIS, Paris, France) at one Cardiothoracic ICU. CONCEPT AND METHODS: Clinically oriented analysis of the data collected in a PDMS at an ICU was the beginning of the development. After defining the database structure we established a client-server based database system under Microsoft Windows NI and developed a user friendly data quering application using Microsoft Visual C++ and Visual Basic; ICDEV was successfully installed at three different ICUs, adjustment to the different PDMS configurations were done within a few days. The database structure developed by us enables a powerful query concept representing an 'EXPERT QUESTION COMPILER' which may help to answer almost any clinical questions. Several program modules facilitate queries at the patient, group and unit level. Results from ICDEV-queries are automatically transferred to Microsoft Excel for display (in form of configurable tables and graphs) and further processing. The ICDEV concept is configurable for adjustment to different intensive care information systems and can be used to support computerized quality control. However, as long as there exists no sufficient artifact recognition or data validation software for automatically recorded patient data, the reliability of these data and their usage for computer assisted quality control remain unclear and should be further studied.

Advantage of three dimensional animated teaching over traditional surgical videos for teaching ophthalmic surgery: a randomised study.

PubMed

Prinz, A; Bolz, M; Findl, O

2005-11-01

Owing to the complex topographical aspects of ophthalmic surgery, teaching with conventional surgical videos has led to a poor understanding among medical students. A novel multimedia three dimensional (3D) computer animated program, called "Ophthalmic Operation Vienna" has been developed, where surgical videos are accompanied by 3D animated sequences of all surgical steps for five operations. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of 3D animations on the understanding of cataract and glaucoma surgery among medical students. Set in the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Ophthalmology, 172 students were randomised into two groups: a 3D group (n=90), that saw the 3D animations and video sequences, and a control group (n=82), that saw only the surgical videos. The narrated text was identical for both groups. After the presentation, students were questioned and tested using multiple choice questions. Students in the 3D group found the interactive multimedia teaching methods to be a valuable supplement to the conventional surgical videos. The 3D group outperformed the control group not only in topographical understanding by 16% (p<0.0001), but also in theoretical understanding by 7% (p<0.003). Women in the 3D group gained most by 19% over the control group (p<0.0001). The use of 3D animations lead to a better understanding of difficult surgical topics among medical students, especially for female users. Gender related benefits of using multimedia should be further explored.

Critical appraisal of the Vienna consensus: performance indicators for assisted reproductive technology laboratories.

PubMed

Lopez-Regalado, María Luisa; Martínez-Granados, Luis; González-Utor, Antonio; Ortiz, Nereyda; Iglesias, Miriam; Ardoy, Manuel; Castilla, Jose A

2018-05-24

The Vienna consensus, based on the recommendations of an expert panel, has identified 19 performance indicators for assisted reproductive technology (ART) laboratories. Two levels of reference values are established for these performance indicators: competence and benchmark. For over 10 years, the Spanish embryology association (ASEBIR) has participated in the definition and design of ART performance indicators, seeking to establish specific guidelines for ART laboratories to enhance quality, safety and patient welfare. Four years ago, ASEBIR took part in an initiative by AENOR, the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification, to develop a national standard in this field (UNE 17900:2013 System of quality management for assisted reproduction laboratories), extending the former requirements, based on ISO 9001, to include performance indicators. Considering the experience acquired, we discuss various aspects of the Vienna consensus and consider certain discrepancies in performance indicators between the consensus and UNE 179007:2013, and analyse the definitions, methodology and reference values used. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics, organized by the High Energy and Particle Physics Division of the European Physical Society, is a major international conference that reviews biennially since 1971 the state of our knowledge of the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions. The latest conferences in this series were held in Stockholm, Grenoble, Krakow, Manchester, Lisbon, and Aachen. Jointly organized by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna, the Vienna University of Technology, and the Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the 23rd edition of this conference took place in Vienna, Austria. Among the topics covered were Accelerators, Astroparticle Physics, Cosmology and Gravitation, Detector R&D and Data Handling, Education and Outreach, Flavour Physics and Fundamental Symmetries, Heavy Ion Physics, Higgs and New Physics, Neutrino Physics, Non-Perturbative Field Theory and String Theory, QCD and Hadronic Physics, as well as Top and Electroweak Physics.

Vienna - Chicago

PubMed Central

Luan, Xianghong; Diekwisch, Thomas G.H.

2009-01-01

The discussion over the roles of genes and environment on the phenotypical specification of organisms has held a central role in science philosophy since the late 19th century and has re-emerged in today’s debate over genetic determinism and developmental plasticity. In fin-de-siecle Vienna, this debate coincided with a philosophical debate over empiricism/materialism versus idealism/vitalism. Turn-of-the-century Vienna’s highly interdisciplinary environment was also the birthplace for the model system of the unopposed molar. The un-opposed molar system features new tissue formation at the roots of teeth and tooth drift once opposing teeth are lost. The un-opposed molar model system was revived by a group of Viennese scientists that left Vienna during the Nazi period to address Vienna’s questions about evolution and heredity and about genes and environment in Chicago’s post-WWII scientific exile community. Here we are using the colorful history of the un-opposed molar to investigate the role of culture and method in the scientific evolution of a model system. PMID:17621674

Habilitations as a bottleneck? A retrospective analysis of gender differences at the Medical University of Vienna.

PubMed

Steinböck, Sandra; Reichel, Eva; Pichler, Susanna; Gutiérrez-Lobos, Karin

2016-04-01

The share of female physicians who drop out of a university career increases disproportionately with every career step. In this project, we analysed careers at the Medical University of Vienna (formerly the Medical Faculty at the University of Vienna) in the time span from 1992 to 2012 to explore the particular role of habilitations as a potential obstacle for women striving to pursue a career in science. To gain both a macro- and micro-view of the phenomenon of habilitations, a descriptive analysis of the data found in the archive of the Medical University of Vienna was carried out as a first step. Building on these results, structured interviews with the female physicians who were involved in the habilitation procedures at that time were conducted. While hardly any gender-based differences or discrimination can be reported for the habilitation procedures themselves, the research clearly reveals that the disparity in habilitations by men and women is a manifestation of unequal access to informal networks, differences regarding integration in the scientific community and available time resources. It is unlikely that the rising number of women completing doctoral studies in the field of medicine will automatically lead to a harmonisation of habilitation numbers. The analysis of existing gender-based differences with regard to habilitations in the field of medicine shows that they result from multiple processes that are subtle and relatively resistant to change.

Middle and late Badenian palaeoenvironments in the northern Vienna Basin and their potential link to the Badenian Salinity Crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harzhauser, Mathias; Grunert, Patrick; Mandic, Oleg; Lukeneder, Petra; Gallardo, Ángela García; Neubauer, Thomas A.; Carnevale, Giorgio; Landau, Bernard M.; Sauer, Roman; Strauss, Philipp

2018-04-01

Hydrocarbon exploration in the Bernhardsthal and Bernhardsthal-Sued oil fields documents an up to 2000 m thick succession of middle and upper Badenian deposits in this part of the northern Vienna Basin (Austria). Based on palaeontological analyses of core-samples, well-log data and seismic surveys we propose an integrated stratigraphy and describe the depositional environments. As the middle/late Badenian boundary is correlated with the Langhian/Serravallian boundary, the cores capture the crucial phase of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. The middle Badenian starts with a major transgression leading to outer neritic to upper bathyal conditions in the northern Vienna Basin, indicated by Bathysiphon-assemblages and glass-sponges. A strong palaeo-relief and rapid synsedimentary subsidence accentuated sedimentation during this phase. The middle/late Badenian boundary coincides with a major drop of relative sea level by about 200 m, resulting in a rapid shift from deeper marine depositional environments to coastal and freshwater swamps. In coeval marine settings, a more than 100 m thick unit of anhydrite-bearing clay formed. This is the first evidence of evaporite precipitation during the Badenian Salinity Crisis in the Vienna Basin. Shallow lagoonal environments with diverse and fully marine mollusc and fish assemblages were established during the subsequent late Badenian re-flooding. In composition, the mollusc fauna differs considerably from older ones and is characterized by the sudden appearance of species with eastern Paratethyan affinities.

Stranded in Vienna: Wilhelm Ebert (1871-1916) (German Title: Gestrandet in Wien: Wilhelm Ebert (1871-1916))

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnell, Anneliese

2011-08-01

Wilhelm Ebert, born 1871 in Leipzig, did study astronomy for a short time in Geneva and afterwards in Munich where he finished his PhD. He spent most of his scientific life in France, working on problems of latitude determination and celestial mechanics, mostly at the Bureau des Longitudes in Paris. He was member of the Astronomische Gesellschaft. Probably he used some of the regular meetings of the AG to introduce his work to German astronomers - for a rather short time he worked at the observatories of Kiel, Straßburg and Greifswald. In Greifswald he qualified for giving university lectures and he started to collect astronomical instruments to establish an observatory. M. Loewy, at that time director of Paris observatory, asked him to come back to France, first he had a position at Nice Observatory and shortly afterwards in Paris again. In 1909 he decided to live in Vienna, once more he applied for the qualification of giving university lectures; this time the procedure was easy going. He announced quite a lot of courses but nobody knows if they really took place. From February 1915 until his death in November 1916 he stayed in a psychiatric hospital in Vienna suffering from a disease which was uncurable at that time. His wife tried to get some information about his death in 1937. Already at that time he was unknown to the members of Vienna Observatory.

Extraterrestrial vestibular research, a new partial field of medical research into the human vestibular apparatus.

PubMed

Pichler, H J

1967-01-01

The first otologic professorial chair in the world was established by Politzer in Vienna as long ago as 1861. In 1914 an assistant of the 1st Vienna Ear Clinic with Politzer as its head, Barany, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his fundamental investigations into the organ of equilibration and for his discovery of the caloric sensitivity of the semicircular canals. Since that time Barany is regarded as the founder of the physiology of the vestibular apparatus. During the period 1959 to 1963 a new conception of fundamental research into the vestibule was demanded and elaborated in Vienna with the postulate that, in all theoretical deliberations and practical experience, one should take into consideration that our experiments into the vestibule do not take place on a static platform but rather on a diversely moving one, namely the surface of the earth. This led to new findings in the field of research into the otolith apparatus. In 1962 it was discovered that the gravitation of the sun at the distance of earth-sun represents a supraliminal stimulus, namely both in the aphelion as well as in the perihelion position of the earth. In 1965 it was suggested in Vienna that a new branch of research into the vestibule should be established on an international level, the so-called extraterrestrial vestibular research. The importance of this new branch of research is discussed for all problems of orientation of human beings in space.

Scaling Law of Urban Ride Sharing.

PubMed

Tachet, R; Sagarra, O; Santi, P; Resta, G; Szell, M; Strogatz, S H; Ratti, C

2017-03-06

Sharing rides could drastically improve the efficiency of car and taxi transportation. Unleashing such potential, however, requires understanding how urban parameters affect the fraction of individual trips that can be shared, a quantity that we call shareability. Using data on millions of taxi trips in New York City, San Francisco, Singapore, and Vienna, we compute the shareability curves for each city, and find that a natural rescaling collapses them onto a single, universal curve. We explain this scaling law theoretically with a simple model that predicts the potential for ride sharing in any city, using a few basic urban quantities and no adjustable parameters. Accurate extrapolations of this type will help planners, transportation companies, and society at large to shape a sustainable path for urban growth.

Ledipasvir + Sofosbuvir for Liver Transplant Recipients With Recurrent Hepatitis C: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Liao, H-T; Tan, P; Huang, J-W; Yuan, K-F

2017-10-01

Studies focusing on the efficacy and safety of ledipasvir (LDV) + sofosbuvir (SOF) therapy in liver transplant (LT) recipients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence are still limited. Therefore, the aim of our work was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate outcome data of LDV + SOF therapy in LT recipients. Multiple databases were systematically searched for eligible studies. We included studies reporting sustained virological response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) and treatment-related adverse events (AEs) in LT recipients treated with LDV + SOF ± ribavirin (RBV) for HCV recurrence. All statistical analyses were conducted by using R version 3.3.1 (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Twelve studies with a total of 994 LT recipients were included, most of which were diagnosed with HCV genotype 1 infection. The overall SVR12 reached 96.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 94.9%-97.5%) and no significant heterogeneity was observed (Q statistic = 10.63, P = .47; I 2  = 0%). No difference was found in SVR12 between treatments for 12 weeks and 24 weeks (P = .18). Patients treated with LDV + SOF + RBV (n = 525) exhibited an SVR12 rate of 95.1% (95% CI 92.8%-96.6%), which showed no difference from the findings in the LDV + SOF treatment group (n = 314) with an SVR12 reaching 94.9% (95% CI 91.5%-97.0%; P = .92). There was a tendency for a higher SVR12 in patients without cirrhosis than those with cirrhosis (P < .05). The most common AEs were listed as following: anemia 41.9% (n = 203 of 484), fatigue 39.1% (n = 207 of 530), headache 24.2% (n = 128 of 530), nausea 21.9% (n = 106 of 484), and diarrhea 19.0% (n = 92 of 484). LDV + SOF-based treatment is highly effective and well tolerated in LT recipients with HCV reinfection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Migration background is associated with caries in Viennese school children, even if parents have received a higher education.

PubMed

Cvikl, Barbara; Haubenberger-Praml, Gertraud; Drabo, Petra; Hagmann, Michael; Gruber, Reinhard; Moritz, Andreas; Nell, Andrea

2014-05-09

A low level of education and the migration background of parents are associated with the development of caries in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a higher educational level of parents can overcome risks for the development of caries in immigrants in Vienna, Austria. The educational level of the parents, the school type, and the caries status of 736 randomly selected twelve-year-old children with and without migration background was determined in this cross sectional study. In children attending school in Vienna the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was determined. For statistical analysis, a mixed negative-binomial-model was used. The caries status of the children with migration background was significantly worse compared to that of the native Viennese population. A significant interaction was found between migration background and the educational level of the parents (p = 0.045). No interaction was found between the school type and either the migration background (p = 0.220) or the education level of the parents (p = 0.08). In parents with a higher scholarly education level, migration background (p < 0.01) and school type (p = 0.018) showed an association with DMFT values. In parents with a low education level, however, migration background and school type had no significant association with DMFT values. These data indicate that children with a migration background are at higher risk to acquire caries than other Viennese children, even when the parents have received a higher education.

Migration background is associated with caries in Viennese school children, even if parents have received a higher education

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background A low level of education and the migration background of parents are associated with the development of caries in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a higher educational level of parents can overcome risks for the development of caries in immigrants in Vienna, Austria. Methods The educational level of the parents, the school type, and the caries status of 736 randomly selected twelve-year-old children with and without migration background was determined in this cross sectional study. In children attending school in Vienna the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was determined. For statistical analysis, a mixed negative-binomial-model was used. Results The caries status of the children with migration background was significantly worse compared to that of the native Viennese population. A significant interaction was found between migration background and the educational level of the parents (p = 0.045). No interaction was found between the school type and either the migration background (p = 0.220) or the education level of the parents (p = 0.08). In parents with a higher scholarly education level, migration background (p < 0.01) and school type (p = 0.018) showed an association with DMFT values. In parents with a low education level, however, migration background and school type had no significant association with DMFT values. Conclusion These data indicate that children with a migration background are at higher risk to acquire caries than other Viennese children, even when the parents have received a higher education. PMID:24886105

[Uprising in the faculty. On the rhetorical function of 'therapeutic nihilism' in traditional medicine in Vienna].

PubMed

Wiesemann, C

1993-01-01

It has been a long tradition to quote from Joseph Dietl's 'manifesto' of therapeutic nihilism from 1845 to illustrate the perils of medical extremism. But Dietl's claim for medicine as a natural science cannot fully be understood without considering the social and political circumstances the developing New Vienna School had to face. The professionalization of Viennese academic medicine was opposed by the forces of restaurative absolutism and, in particular, the traditional preponderance of medical practitioners who played a major role in the medical faculty.

[From Comte to Carnap. Marcel Boll and the introduction of the Vienna Circle in France].

PubMed

Schöttler, Peter

2015-01-01

The issue of the introduction of viennese "scientific philosophy" in France appears to be resolved. However, the rediscovery of the positivist physicist Marcel Boll (1886-1971), who was the first-well before Louis Rougier-to draw the French public's attention to the works of Schlick, Frank, and Carnap, obliges us to rethink the passage from traditional positivism to neo-positivism during the 1920s and 1930s. The French reception of the Vienna circle can be dated earlier than accepted and is more profound than usualy assumed.

Proceedings of the European ISTVS Conference (6th) , OVK Symposium (4th), On ’Off Road Vehicles in Theory and Practice’ , Held at Vienna, Austria on 28-30 September 1994 in Vienna, Austria. Volume 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-30

The Commander-in-Chief of the British troops, General Sir Peter de la Billiere, reported that each vehicle of the Tenth Transport Regiment covered 400...Simulation des Reifenprofileinflusses fuir die Gelaindebeweglichkeit von Fahrzeugen C. W. FERVERS IKK-University of German Armed Forces Hamburg, Germany...of the Process) 731 Experimentelle und theoretische Analyse kohaisiven Erdreichs beim Verschiebevorgang (Optimierung des Vorganges) A. JARZEBOWSKI, J

Impact of different detachment topographies on pull-apart basin evolution - analog modelling and computer visualisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoprich, M.; Decker, K.; Grasemann, B.; Sokoutis, D.; Willingshofer, E.

2009-04-01

Former analog modeling on pull-apart basins dealt with different sidestep geometries, the symmetry and ratio between velocities of moving blocks, the ratio between ductile base and model thickness, the ratio between fault stepover and model thickness and their influence on basin evolution. In all these models the pull-apart basin is deformed over an even detachment. The Vienna basin, however, is considered a classical thin-skinned pull-apart with a rather peculiar basement structure. Deformation and basin evolution are believed to be limited to the brittle upper crust above the Alpine-Carpathian floor thrust. The latter is not a planar detachment surface, but has a ramp-shaped topography draping the underlying former passive continental margin. In order to estimate the effects of this special geometry, nine experiments were accomplished and the resulting structures were compared with the Vienna basin. The key parameters for the models (fault and basin geometry, detachment depth and topography) were inferred from a 3D GoCad model of the natural Vienna basin, which was compiled from seismic, wells and geological cross sections. The experiments were scaled 1:100.000 ("Ramberg-scaling" for brittle rheology) and built of quartz sand (300 µm grain size). An average depth of 6 km (6 cm) was calculated for the basal detachment, distances between the bounding strike-slip faults of 40 km (40 cm) and a finite length of the natural basin of 200 km were estimated (initial model length: 100 cm). The following parameters were changed through the experimental process: (1) syntectonic sedimentation; (2) the stepover angle between bounding strike slip faults and basal velocity discontinuity; (3) moving of one or both fault blocks (producing an asymmetrical or symmetrical basin); (4) inclination of the basal detachment surface by 5°; (6) installation of 2 and 3 ramp systems at the detachment; (7) simulation of a ductile detachment through a 0.4 cm thick PDMS layer at the basin floor. The surface of the model was photographed after each deformation increment through the experiment. Pictures of serial cross sections cut through the models in their final state every 4 cm were also taken and interpreted. The formation of en-echelon normal faults with relay ramps is observed in all models. These faults are arranged in an acute angle to the basin borders, according to a Riedel-geometry. In the case of an asymmetric basin they emerge within the non-moving fault block. Substantial differences between the models are the number, the distance and the angle of these Riedel faults, the length of the bounding strike-slip faults and the cross basin symmetry. A flat detachment produces straight fault traces, whereas inclined detachments (or inclined ramps) lead to "bending" of the normal faults, rollover and growth strata thickening towards the faults. Positions and the sizes of depocenters also vary, with depocenters preferably developing above ramp-flat-transitions. Depocenter thicknesses increase with ramp heights. A similar relation apparently exists in the natural Vienna basin, which shows ramp-like structures in the detachment just underneath large faults like the Steinberg normal fault and the associated depocenters. The 3-ramp-model also reveals segmentation of the basin above the lowermost ramp. The evolving structure is comparable to the Wiener Neustadt sub-basin in the southern part of the Vienna basin, which is underlain by a topographical high of the detachment. Cross sections through the ductile model show a strong disintergration into a horst-and-graben basin. The thin silicon putty base influences the overlying strata in a way that the basin - unlike the "dry" sand models - becomes very flat and shallow. The top view shows an irregular basin shape and no rhombohedral geometry, which characterises the Vienna basin. The ductile base also leads to a symmetrical distribution of deformation on both fault blocks, even though only one fault block is moved. The stepover angle, the influence of gravitation in a ramp or inclined system and the strain accomodation by a viscous silicone layer can be summarized as factors controlling the characteristics of the models.

Isochron burial dating of the Haslau terrace of the Danube (Vienna Basin) and interlaboratory comparison of sample preparation in Vienna and Budapest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger, Zsófia; Neuhuber, Stephanie; Decker, Kurt; Braucher, Régis; Fiebig, Marcus; Braun, Mihály; Lachner, Johannes; Aster Team

2017-04-01

In the Vienna Basin, terraces to the South of the Danube form a staircase with altitudes ranging between 25 and 130 m above current water level. The terrace system has been strongly dissected by faults related to the sinistral movement of the Vienna Basin Transform Fault System [1, 2]. Although each fault block displays a slightly different succession of terraces, fault-related vertical displacements south of the Danube have not yet been quantified. To better understand the Quaternary terrace sequence and its displacement along a fault segment south of the Danube, the isochron burial dating method [3] based on the 26Al and 10Be cosmogenic nuclide pair has been used on a terrace at Haslau an der Donau (˜40 m above river level). This terrace is locally the lowest of a staircase of a total of 6 different levels. Based on geomorphological mapping, its age was considered to be Middle Pleistocene [4]. The sample set consisted of several quartzite cobbles taken from two sedimentary units (5.5 m and 11.8 m depth) separated by an erosional hiatus of unknown duration. Six cobbles were selected for inter-laboratory comparison and processed at both the Cosmogenic Nuclide Sample Preparation Laboratory at Vienna and at Budapest [5]. AMS measurements were performed at the French national facility ASTER (CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence) and at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA). Initially, the obtained results show that the 10Be and 26Al concentrations calculated from the subsamples processed independently using different extraction schemes at both laboratories overlap within error for all subsamples but one, whose 26Al concentrations were significantly different. The low 26Al concentration measured in one Budapest sample probably resulted from Al having been trapped within the insoluble residues observed after evaporation to dryness. A modification of the sample processing allows overcoming this difficulty while treating for the following sample set. The results demonstrate that the laboratory background is safe for in-situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al extraction at both Vienna and Budapest laboratories and that the different geochemical digestion and purification schemes applied by the two laboratories for the extraction of 10Be and 26Al lead to similar results. A preliminary (not corrected) isochron burial age of ˜2.4 Ma was calculated for the higher sedimentary unit of the Haslau terrace on the basis of the slope of the isochron. This age is significantly older than the Middle Pleistocene age previously estimated. Further age determinations are nevertheless necessary to decide whether this preliminary age is accurate or not. Thanks to OTKA PD83610, OMAA 90öu17; LP2012-27/2012. INSU/CNRS, the ANR through the program "EQUIPEX Investissement d'Avenir" and IRD. References: [1] Decker et al., 2005. QSR 24, 307-322. [2] Salcher et al., 2012. Tectonics 31, 1-20. [3] Balco and Rovey, 2008. AJS 908, 1083-1114 [4] Fuchs and Grill, 1984. Geologische Karte von Wien und Umgebung (1:200.000) [5] http://www.geochem.hu/kozmogen/Lab_en.html

A comparison of large 18th-century floods on Danube: Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiss, Andrea; Parajka, Juraj

2013-04-01

The documentation of historic floods can help in better understanding of factors that might cause and contribute to large and extreme flood events. In particular, the analysis of historic floods provides information about flood seasonality, its changes and anthropogenic impacts on river flood regime which in some cases strongly influenced flood behaviour. The main objective of the present contribution is to document large and medium size flood events on Danube in Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest in the 18th century. In the present study, based on contemporary documentary evidence, for each of the three towns a five-scaled flood index series is developed to describe the magnitude and intensity of flood events. According to this classification, the 100-year flood event was characterised by the index value 5, while great destructive floods - depending on their extension, destructivity and further impacts - received the values 4 and 3, respectively. Less significant but still harmful flood events were classified as No. 2, and floods without further specification remained in the lowest category (No. 1). Beside classification issues, seasonality and flood frequency differences between the three towns are as well discussed. The results indicate that a greater number of flood events took place in the last decades of the century, but only a few flood events of the same magnitude are documented simultaneously in all three towns. And whereas in 1775 no winter flood event was reported in Vienna, an important ice jam flood was documented in Bratislava, and a catastrophic ice jam flood event, greatest of the century, occurred in Budapest. In 1787 autumn the greatest flood event of the century occurred in Vienna, while hardly any flood waves were observed at Budapest. While in Vienna, summer (and partly autumn) floods had great importance, in Budapest a large number of ice jam floods were documented. In some cases the differences are likely caused by different hydrometeorological and morphological conditions, but the importance of human impact (e.g. different types and levels of flood protection in the towns, large-scale changes of land use in the catchment area) have to be as well emphasised.

Computer games and fine motor skills.

PubMed

Borecki, Lukasz; Tolstych, Katarzyna; Pokorski, Mieczyslaw

2013-01-01

The study seeks to determine the influence of computer games on fine motor skills in young adults, an area of incomplete understanding and verification. We hypothesized that computer gaming could have a positive influence on basic motor skills, such as precision, aiming, speed, dexterity, or tremor. We examined 30 habitual game users (F/M - 3/27; age range 20-25 years) of the highly interactive game Counter Strike, in which players impersonate soldiers on a battlefield, and 30 age- and gender-matched subjects who declared never to play games. Selected tests from the Vienna Test System were used to assess fine motor skills and tremor. The results demonstrate that the game users scored appreciably better than the control subjects in all tests employed. In particular, the players did significantly better in the precision of arm-hand movements, as expressed by a lower time of errors, 1.6 ± 0.6 vs. 2.8 ± 0.6 s, a lower error rate, 13.6 ± 0.3 vs. 20.4 ± 2.2, and a shorter total time of performing a task, 14.6 ± 2.9 vs. 32.1 ± 4.5 s in non-players, respectively; p < 0.001 all. The findings demonstrate a positive influence of computer games on psychomotor functioning. We submit that playing computer games may be a useful training tool to increase fine motor skills and movement coordination.

Van Swieten and the renaissance of the Vienna Medical School.

PubMed

Kidd, M; Modlin, I M

2001-04-01

The period until 1745 found the Viennese medical system languishing far behind advances made in other major European centers. This chaotic situation was reversed by the foresight and breadth of vision of the Empress Maria Theresa, who initiated considerable reform in Austria by actively recruiting the best minds of the time to reduce the intellectual and technologic differences. Her ability to entice one of Boerhaave's most eminent pupils, Gerard van Swieten, to leave Leiden for Vienna, particularly benefited the Vienna Medical School. In 1745 van Swieten assumed responsibility for reconfiguration of the patronage and nepotism-ridden medical system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a first task, he swiftly expunged the influence of the Jesuits and other religious orders from medicine and established formal training and examinations, transforming the medical discipline into a meritocracy. Excelling as a physician and an innovative teacher, he also established a close personal relationship with the Empress and became her medical confidante. To a large part, the success of this first great Viennese medical school was owed to de Haen, who left Leiden to implement Boerhaave's method of clinical teaching. As a result of these innovations and with considerable support from the Empress, the University of Vienna, particularly its medical school, within a few decades achieved recognition throughout Europe as a seat of learning and scholarship. Van Swieten would not be remembered today if his contribution had been only scholarly or scientific achievements. He propelled Austrian medicine to a level commensurate with that of other European states of the day by 27 years of dedicated and industrious service.

Implications of the Vienna Integrated Model of Art Perception for art-based interventions in clinical populations: Comment on "Move me, astonish me... delight my eyes and brain: The Vienna Integrated Model of top-down and bottom-up processes in Art Perception (VIMAP) and corresponding affective, evaluative, and neurophysiological correlates" by Matthew Pelowski et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taruffi, Liila; Koelsch, Stefan

2017-07-01

Pelowski et al. present a holistic framework within which the multiple processes underlying art viewing can be systematically organized [1]. The proposed model integrates a broad range of dynamic mechanisms, which can effectively account for empirical as well as humanistic perspectives on art perception. Particularly challenging is the final section of the article, where the authors draw a correspondence between behavioral and cognitive components and brain structures (as well as networks). Here, we comment on the implications of the Vienna Integrated Model of Art Perception for art therapy in clinical populations, particularly focusing on (1) expanding Pelowski et al.'s considerations of the Default Mode Network (DMN) into discussion of its relevance to mental diseases, and (2) elaborating on empathic resonance in aesthetic contexts and the capacity of art to build up empathic skills.

Circulatory Shock. Volume 34. Number 1. May 1991. International Conference on Shock (2nd), Meeting of European Shock Society (5th), Annual Meeting of the Shock Society (USA) (14th), Vienna Shock Form (3rd) Held in Vienna, Austria on 2-6 June 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-06

OCTADECENOATE, AS A BURN TOXIN Takayuki Ozawa, Mika Hayakawa, Kazuhiro Kosaka, Satoru Sugiyama, Kazuhisa Yokoo, Hisashi Aoyama, and Yohei Izawa Department...shock. 41 CARDIOPULMONARY HEMODYNAMIC AND PERIPHERAL CIRCULATORY RESPONSES IN SHOCK T. Muteki, N. Kaku. T. Fukushige, I. Kohno and T. Hiraki Department...Tadashi, 242 Machleidt, Werner, 213 Ozawa, Takayuki , 11 Kawarada, Yoshifumi, 442 Mackie, D.P., 348 Ozawa, Kazue, 268 Keser, Claudia, 380 Maitra, Subir R

An ab-initio study of mechanical, dynamical and electronic properties of MgEu intermetallic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S. Ramesh; Jaiganesh, G.; Jayalakshmi, V.

2018-04-01

The theoretical investigation on the mechanical, dynamical and electronic properties of MgEu in CsCl-type structure has been carried out through the ab-initio calculations within the framework of the density functional theory and the density functional perturbation theory. For the purpose, Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package and Phonopy packages were used. Our calculated ground-state properties of MgEu are in good agreement with other available results. Our computed elastic constants and phonon spectrum results suggest that MgEu is mechanically and dynamically stable up to 5 GPa. The thermodynamic quantities as a function of temperatures are also reported and discussed. The band structure, density of states and charge density also calculated to understand the electronic properties of MgEu.

A feast of visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2008-12-01

Strength through structure The visualization and assessment of inner human bone structures can provide better predictions of fracture risk due to osteoporosis. Using micro-computed tomography (µCT), Christoph Räth from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and colleagues based in Munich, Vienna and Salzburg have shown how complex lattice-shaped bone structures can be visualized. The structures were quantified by calculating certain "texture measures" that yield new information about the stability of the bone. A 3D visualization showing the variation with orientation of one of the texture measures for four different bone specimens (from left to right) is shown above. Such analyses may help us to improve our understanding of disease and drug-induced changes in bone structure (C Räth et al. 2008 New J. Phys. 10 125010).

Re-analysis of survival data of cancer patients utilizing additive homeopathy.

PubMed

Gleiss, Andreas; Frass, Michael; Gaertner, Katharina

2016-08-01

In this short communication we present a re-analysis of homeopathic patient data in comparison to control patient data from the same Outpatient´s Unit "Homeopathy in malignant diseases" of the Medical University of Vienna. In this analysis we took account of a probable immortal time bias. For patients suffering from advanced stages of cancer and surviving the first 6 or 12 months after diagnosis, respectively, the results show that utilizing homeopathy gives a statistically significant (p<0.001) advantage over control patients regarding survival time. In conclusion, bearing in mind all limitations, the results of this retrospective study suggest that patients with advanced stages of cancer might benefit from additional homeopathic treatment until a survival time of up to 12 months after diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computer-Assisted Instruction in Statistics. Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, William W.

A paper given at a conference on statistical computation discussed teaching statistics with computers. It concluded that computer-assisted instruction is most appropriately employed in the numerical demonstration of statistical concepts, and for statistical laboratory instruction. The student thus learns simultaneously about the use of computers…

Computer and Software Use in Teaching the Beginning Statistics Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartz, Albert E.; Sabolik, Marisa A.

2001-01-01

Surveys the extent of computer usage in the beginning statistics course and the variety of statistics software used. Finds that 69% of the psychology departments used computers in beginning statistics courses and 90% used computer-assisted data analysis in statistics or other courses. (CMK)

Cryopreservation of Embryos of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata Vienna 8 Genetic Sexing Strain

PubMed Central

Augustinos, Antonios A.; Rajamohan, Arun; Kyritsis, Georgios A.; Zacharopoulou, Antigone; Haq, Ihsan ul; Targovska, Asya; Caceres, Carlos; Bourtzis, Kostas; Abd-Alla, Adly M. M.

2016-01-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the most serious pests of fruit crops world-wide. During the last decades, area-wide pest management (AW-IPM) approaches with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component have been used to control populations of this pest in an effective and environment-friendly manner. The development of genetic sexing strains (GSS), such as the Vienna 8 strain, has been played a major role in increasing the efficacy and reducing the cost of SIT programs. However, mass rearing, extensive inbreeding, possible bottleneck phenomena and hitch-hiking effects might pose major risks for deterioration and loss of important genetic characteristics of domesticated insect. In the present study, we present a modified procedure to cryopreserve the embryos of the medfly Vienna 8 GSS based on vitrification and used this strain as insect model to assess the impact of the cryopreservation process on the genetic structure of the cryopreserved insects. Forty-eight hours old embryos, incubated at 24°C, were found to be the most suitable developmental stage for cryopreservation treatment for high production of acceptable hatch rate (38%). Our data suggest the absence of any negative impact of the cryopreservation process on egg hatch rate, pupation rates, adult emergence rates and stability of the temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) character on two established cryopreserved lines (flies emerged from cryopreserved embryos), named V8-118 and V8-228. Taken together, our study provides an optimized procedure to cryopreserve the medfly Vienna 8 GSS and documents the absence of any negative impact on the genetic structure and quality of the strain. Benefits and sceneries for utilization of this technology to support operational SIT projects are discussed in this paper. PMID:27537351

Cryopreservation of Embryos of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata Vienna 8 Genetic Sexing Strain.

PubMed

Augustinos, Antonios A; Rajamohan, Arun; Kyritsis, Georgios A; Zacharopoulou, Antigone; Haq, Ihsan Ul; Targovska, Asya; Caceres, Carlos; Bourtzis, Kostas; Abd-Alla, Adly M M

2016-01-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the most serious pests of fruit crops world-wide. During the last decades, area-wide pest management (AW-IPM) approaches with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component have been used to control populations of this pest in an effective and environment-friendly manner. The development of genetic sexing strains (GSS), such as the Vienna 8 strain, has been played a major role in increasing the efficacy and reducing the cost of SIT programs. However, mass rearing, extensive inbreeding, possible bottleneck phenomena and hitch-hiking effects might pose major risks for deterioration and loss of important genetic characteristics of domesticated insect. In the present study, we present a modified procedure to cryopreserve the embryos of the medfly Vienna 8 GSS based on vitrification and used this strain as insect model to assess the impact of the cryopreservation process on the genetic structure of the cryopreserved insects. Forty-eight hours old embryos, incubated at 24°C, were found to be the most suitable developmental stage for cryopreservation treatment for high production of acceptable hatch rate (38%). Our data suggest the absence of any negative impact of the cryopreservation process on egg hatch rate, pupation rates, adult emergence rates and stability of the temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) character on two established cryopreserved lines (flies emerged from cryopreserved embryos), named V8-118 and V8-228. Taken together, our study provides an optimized procedure to cryopreserve the medfly Vienna 8 GSS and documents the absence of any negative impact on the genetic structure and quality of the strain. Benefits and sceneries for utilization of this technology to support operational SIT projects are discussed in this paper.

Changes in Crohn's disease phenotype over time in the Chinese population: validation of the Montreal classification system.

PubMed

Chow, Dorothy K L; Leong, Rupert W L; Lai, Larry H; Wong, Grace L H; Leung, Wai-Keung; Chan, Francis K L; Sung, Joseph J Y

2008-04-01

Phenotypic evolution of Crohn's disease occurs in whites but has never been described in other populations. The Montreal classification may describe phenotypes more precisely. The aim of this study was to validate the Montreal classification through a longitudinal sensitivity analysis in detecting phenotypic variation compared to the Vienna classification. This was a retrospective longitudinal study of consecutive Chinese Crohn's disease patients. All cases were classified by the Montreal classification and the Vienna classification for behavior and location. The evolution of these characteristics and the need for surgery were evaluated. A total of 109 patients were recruited (median follow-up: 4 years, range: 6 months-18 years). Crohn's disease behavior changed 3 years after diagnosis (P = 0.025), with an increase in stricturing and penetrating phenotypes, as determined by the Montreal classification, but was only detected by the Vienna classification after 5 years (P = 0.015). Disease location remained stable on follow-up in both classifications. Thirty-four patients (31%) underwent major surgery during the follow-up period with the stricturing [P = 0.002; hazard ratio (HR): 3.3; 95% CI: 1.5-7.0] and penetrating (P = 0.03; HR: 5.8; 95% CI: 1.2-28.2) phenotypes according to the Montreal classification associated with the need for major surgery. In contrast, colonic disease was protective against a major operation (P = 0.02; HR: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.08-0.8). This is the first study demonstrating phenotypic evolution of Crohn's disease in a nonwhite population. The Montreal classification is more sensitive to behavior phenotypic changes than is the Vienna classification after excluding perianal disease from the penetrating disease category and was useful in predicting course and the need for surgery.

Determination of 17O-excess of terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals with respect to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW).

PubMed

Tanaka, Ryoji; Nakamura, Eizo

2013-01-30

Oxygen triple isotope compositions give key information for understanding physical processes during isotopic fractionation between the geo-, hydro-, bio-, and atmosphere. For detailed discussion of these topics, it is necessary to determine precise (17)O-excess values of terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals with respect to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW). Water was fluorinated in an electrically heated Ni-metal tube into which water and BrF(5) were loaded for the quantitative extraction of oxygen. Silicate/oxide minerals were fluorinated by heating with a CO(2) laser in an atmosphere of BrF(5). The extracted oxygen was purified and isotope ratios of the oxygen triple isotope compositions were determined using a Finnigan MAT253 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The oxygen triple isotope compositions of meteoric water and terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals fall on statistically distinguishable fractionation lines, defined as [ln(δ(17)O + 1) = λln(δ(18) O + 1) + Δ], where λ and Δ correspond to the slope and intercept, respectively. The fractionation line for meteoric water has λ = 0.5285 ± 0.0005 and Δ = 0.03 ± 0.02‰ and for terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals has λ = 0.5270 ± 0.0005 and Δ = -0.070 ± 0.005‰, at the 95% confidence limit. All the analyzed terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals including internationally accepted reference materials (NBS-28, UWG-2, and San Carlos olivine) have a negative (17)O-excess with respect to VSMOW. We propose that it is necessary to specify if the determined δ(17)O values of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples are expressed as the difference from VSMOW or the terrestrial silicate mineral-corrected value. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bluetongue Disease Risk Assessment Based on Observed and Projected Culicoides obsoletus spp. Vector Densities

PubMed Central

Brugger, Katharina; Rubel, Franz

2013-01-01

Bluetongue is an arboviral disease of ruminants causing significant economic losses. Our risk assessment is based on the epidemiological key parameter, the basic reproduction number. It is defined as the number of secondary cases caused by one primary case in a fully susceptible host population, in which values greater than one indicate the possibility, i.e., the risk, for a major disease outbreak. In the course of the Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) outbreak in Europe in 2006 we developed such a risk assessment for the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria. Basic reproduction numbers were calculated using a well-known formula for vector-borne diseases considering the population densities of hosts (cattle and small ruminants) and vectors (biting midges of the Culicoides obsoletus spp.) as well as temperature dependent rates. The latter comprise the biting and mortality rate of midges as well as the reciprocal of the extrinsic incubation period. Most important, but generally unknown, is the spatio-temporal distribution of the vector density. Therefore, we established a continuously operating daily monitoring to quantify the seasonal cycle of the vector population by a statistical model. We used cross-correlation maps and Poisson regression to describe vector densities by environmental temperature and precipitation. Our results comprise time series of observed and simulated Culicoides obsoletus spp. counts as well as basic reproduction numbers for the period 2009–2011. For a spatio-temporal risk assessment we projected our results from the location of Vienna to the entire region of Austria. We compiled both daily maps of vector densities and the basic reproduction numbers, respectively. Basic reproduction numbers above one were generally found between June and August except in the mountainous regions of the Alps. The highest values coincide with the locations of confirmed BTV cases. PMID:23560090

``Heavy-water Lattice and Heavy-Quark''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maksoed, Ssi, Wh-

Refer to Birgitt Roettger-Roessler: ``Feelings at the Margins'', 2014 retrieved the Vienna, 2006 UNIDO Research Programme: Combating Marginalization and Poverty through Industrial Development/COMPID. Also from Vienna, on Feb 18-22, 1963 reported Technical Report Series 20 about ``Heavy Water Lattice''. Failed to relates scale-invariant properties of public-Debt growth to convergence in perturbation theory, sought JH Field: ``Convergence & Gauge Dependence Properties:..''. Furthers, in GP Lepage: ``On the Viabilities of Lattice Perturbation Theory'', 1992 stated: ``in terms of physical quantities, like the heavy-quark potential, greatly enhanced the predictive power of lattice perturbation theory''. Acknowledgements to HE. Mr. H. TUK SETYOHADI, Jl. Sriwijaya Raya 3, South-Jakarta, INDONESIA.

Geodynamics in Modular Course System at Vienna High School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitzl-Reinbacher, Robert

2017-04-01

In Austria there are currently some major reforms concerning high school education underway. At our school, the Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium Draschestrasse, a school belonging to the Vienna Bilingual Schooling branch, we have developed a course system in which pupils can select courses and determine individually which areas of study they want to focus on. Specially devised courses have been developed which fit within the framework of natural and applied sciences but go beyond the basic curriculum in physics. Geodynamics is the title of one of these courses, with an emphasis on weather, climate and geodynamic processes of the earth's crust. The course „The restless earth" deals specifically with plate tectonics, vulcanism, formation of mountains and processes such as ocean currents and the physics involved. Apart from theoretical basics we use manifold media and approaches concerning visualization: graphics, map data taken from Google Maps, satellite pictures, and others. The knowledge acquired in this course is broadened and consolidated by means of excursions to the Vienna Natural History Museum where additional instructional materials and visual aids are on display. Based on this experience pupils are requested to hold presentations (individually or in groups) at the end of the course.

EGNOS Tran Solutions for River Information Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jandrisits, Marko; de Mateo Garcia, Juan Carlos; Abwerzger, Gunther

2005-03-01

Within the ESA Advanced Research Telecommunications program ARTES-5, the project GALEWAT (Galileo and EGNOS for Waterway Transport) aims at introducing EGNOS into River Information Systems (RIS) through the Automatic Identification System (AIS).The GALEWAT project is carried out by a consortium composed by via donau (Austria), responsible for the overall project coordination and the operations in Vienna; Kongsberg Seatex AS (Norway), mainly responsible for the ship and shore equipment provision and installation; TeleConsult Austria (Austria), responsible for the geodetic reference system and performance evaluation of the tests, and INOV (Portugal), responsible for software development, i.e. performance monitor software and web interface for the external segment.During the definition phase, the system architecture and user equipment have been defined, in line with standards and international recommendations. The activity is currently in its implementation phase. Three demo sites are targeted: Vienna (Austria), Lisbon (Portugal) and Constanta (Romania) in order to illustrate the system in different environments (river navigation, harbour approach, open sea). The objective of this paper is to present the results of the tests and demo trials that took place based on the EGNOS signals during the last quarter of 2004 in Vienna.

A short history of neurosciences in Austria.

PubMed

Jellinger, K A

2006-03-01

Based on internal medicine and psychiatry and in close connection with pathology, the neurosciences in Austria began to develop in the 18(th) century, e.g. with the description of inflammation of the central nervous system by J. P. Franck (1745-1823) and the "phrenology" by F. J. Gall (1745-1823). Under the influence of the great pathologist C. Rokitansky (1804-1878), the tripode of the Vienna neurology - L. Türck (1810-1868), as initiator, Th. v. Meynert (1833-1892) the activator, and H. Obersteiner (1847-1922) as the founder of the Vienna Neurological Institute, presented basic contributions to the morphology and pathology of the nervous system. At the end of the 19(th) and in the early 20(th) century, they were followed by important publications by S. Fred (aphasia), C. Redlich (tabes dorsalis), F. Sträussler (CNS syphilis), A. Spitzer (fiber anatomy of the brain), P. Schilder (diffuse sclerosis), R. Barany (Nobel price for physiology and medicine 1914), J. Wagner v. Jauregg (Nobel price for medicine, 1927), O. Loewi (Nobel Price for Physiology and Medicine together with Sir H. Dale, 1936), A. Schüller (histiocytosis X), C. v. Economo (encephalitis lethargica and cytoarchitectonics of the human cerebral cortex), E. Pollak (Wilson disease), E. Gamper (mesencephalic subject), J. Gerstmann (Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome and Gerstmann parietal syndrome), H. Hoff with L. Schönbauer (brain tumors and surgery), and others. Major research institutions were the departments of psychiatry I and II at the University of Vienna School of Medicine (foundation 1870), unification 1911, separation into departments of neurology, psychiatry and neuropsychiatry of children and adolescents in 1971), the Obersteiner Institute in Vienna (foundation 1882, separation 1993), the university departments at Graz and Innsbruck, both founded in 1891, and other laboratories, where renouned clinicans and neuroscientists, like O. Marburg, H. Hoff, O. Pötzl, O. Kauders, F. Seitelberger, H. Tschabitscher, K. Weingarten, H. Reisner,W. Birkmayer, H. Petsche, F. Gerstenbrand, H. Bernheimer, H. W. Heiss, H. Lassmann, W. Poewe, L. Deecke, and many of their associates produced important contributions to wide areas of modern neurosciences. Important for the future are the foundation of the Institute of Brain Research at Vienna Medical University and of the Austrian Society of Neurology which will give further impact for the future progress of neuroscience research in Austria and its integration into the international science community.

Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and "race hygiene" in Nazi-era Vienna.

PubMed

Czech, Herwig

2018-01-01

Hans Asperger (1906-1980) first designated a group of children with distinct psychological characteristics as 'autistic psychopaths' in 1938, several years before Leo Kanner's famous 1943 paper on autism. In 1944, Asperger published a comprehensive study on the topic (submitted to Vienna University in 1942 as his postdoctoral thesis), which would only find international acknowledgement in the 1980s. From then on, the eponym 'Asperger's syndrome' increasingly gained currency in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the conceptualization of the condition. At the time, the fact that Asperger had spent pivotal years of his career in Nazi Vienna caused some controversy regarding his potential ties to National Socialism and its race hygiene policies. Documentary evidence was scarce, however, and over time a narrative of Asperger as an active opponent of National Socialism took hold. The main goal of this paper is to re-evaluate this narrative, which is based to a large extent on statements made by Asperger himself and on a small segment of his published work. Drawing on a vast array of contemporary publications and previously unexplored archival documents (including Asperger's personnel files and the clinical assessments he wrote on his patients), this paper offers a critical examination of Asperger's life, politics, and career before and during the Nazi period in Austria. Asperger managed to accommodate himself to the Nazi regime and was rewarded for his affirmations of loyalty with career opportunities. He joined several organizations affiliated with the NSDAP (although not the Nazi party itself), publicly legitimized race hygiene policies including forced sterilizations and, on several occasions, actively cooperated with the child 'euthanasia' program. The language he employed to diagnose his patients was often remarkably harsh (even in comparison with assessments written by the staff at Vienna's notorious Spiegelgrund 'euthanasia' institution), belying the notion that he tried to protect the children under his care by embellishing their diagnoses. The narrative of Asperger as a principled opponent of National Socialism and a courageous defender of his patients against Nazi 'euthanasia' and other race hygiene measures does not hold up in the face of the historical evidence. What emerges is a much more problematic role played by this pioneer of autism research. Future use of the eponym should reflect the troubling context of its origins in Nazi-era Vienna.

NIMROD: A computational laboratory for studying nonlinear fusion magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sovinec, C. R.; Gianakon, T. A.; Held, E. D.; Kruger, S. E.; Schnack, D. D.

2003-05-01

Nonlinear numerical studies of macroscopic modes in a variety of magnetic fusion experiments are made possible by the flexible high-order accurate spatial representation and semi-implicit time advance in the NIMROD simulation code [A. H. Glasser et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 41, A747 (1999)]. Simulation of a resistive magnetohydrodynamics mode in a shaped toroidal tokamak equilibrium demonstrates computation with disparate time scales, simulations of discharge 87009 in the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1986 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] confirm an analytic scaling for the temporal evolution of an ideal mode subject to plasma-β increasing beyond marginality, and a spherical torus simulation demonstrates nonlinear free-boundary capabilities. A comparison of numerical results on magnetic relaxation finds the n=1 mode and flux amplification in spheromaks to be very closely related to the m=1 dynamo modes and magnetic reversal in reversed-field pinch configurations. Advances in local and nonlocal closure relations developed for modeling kinetic effects in fluid simulation are also described.

On fully three-dimensional resistive wall mode and feedback stabilization computations

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

Strumberger, E.; Merkel, P.; Sempf, M.

2008-05-15

Resistive walls, located close to the plasma boundary, reduce the growth rates of external kink modes to resistive time scales. For such slowly growing resistive wall modes, the stabilization by an active feedback system becomes feasible. The fully three-dimensional stability code STARWALL, and the feedback optimization code OPTIM have been developed [P. Merkel and M. Sempf, 21st IAEA Fusion Energy Conference 2006, Chengdu, China (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 2006, paper TH/P3-8] to compute the growth rates of resistive wall modes in the presence of nonaxisymmetric, multiply connected wall structures and to model the active feedback stabilization of these modes.more » In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the codes and to study the effect of the toroidal mode coupling caused by multiply connected wall structures, the codes are applied to test equilibria using the resistive wall structures currently under debate for ITER [M. Shimada et al., Nucl. Fusion 47, S1 (2007)] and ASDEX Upgrade [W. Koeppendoerfer et al., Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Fusion Technology, London, 1990 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991), Vol. 1, p. 208].« less

Learning through social interaction in game technology.

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

Waern, Annika; Raybourn, Elaine Marie

2005-05-01

The present ITSE journal special issue on 'Learning About Social Interaction through Gaming' is the result of an invitation to the attendees of a one-day workshop on 'Social Learning Through Gaming' co-organized by the guest editors and held at the Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) conference on April 26, 2004 in Vienna, Austria. CHI is one of the premiere conferences on human-computer interaction. CHI 2004 attracted hundreds of delegates from all over the world. The CHI workshop program results from a competitive selection process. The Social Learning through Gaming workshop was filled to capacity and attended by approximately 25more » participants from Europe and North America who submitted position papers that were refereed and selected for participation based on the relevancy and innovativeness of the research. The participants came together to share research on play, learning, games, interactive technologies, and what playing and designing games can teach us about social behaviors. The present special issue focuses on learning about social aspects through gaming: learning to socialize through games and learning games through social behavior.« less

Implications from palaeoseismological investigations at the Markgrafneusiedl Fault (Vienna Basin, Austria) for seismic hazard assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintersberger, Esther; Decker, Kurt; Lomax, Johanna; Lüthgens, Christopher

2018-02-01

Intraplate regions characterized by low rates of seismicity are challenging for seismic hazard assessment, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, evaluation of historic earthquake catalogues may not reveal all active faults that contribute to regional seismic hazard. Secondly, slip rate determination is limited by sparse geomorphic preservation of slowly moving faults. In the Vienna Basin (Austria), moderate historical seismicity (Imax, obs / Mmax, obs = 8/5.2) concentrates along the left-lateral strike-slip Vienna Basin Transfer Fault (VBTF). In contrast, several normal faults branching out from the VBTF show neither historical nor instrumental earthquake records, although geomorphological data indicate Quaternary displacement along those faults. Here, located about 15 km outside of Vienna, the Austrian capital, we present a palaeoseismological dataset of three trenches that cross one of these splay faults, the Markgrafneusiedl Fault (MF), in order to evaluate its seismic potential. Comparing the observations of the different trenches, we found evidence for five to six surface-breaking earthquakes during the last 120 kyr, with the youngest event occurring at around 14 ka. The derived surface displacements lead to magnitude estimates ranging between 6.2 ± 0.5 and 6.8 ± 0.4. Data can be interpreted by two possible slip models, with slip model 1 showing more regular recurrence intervals of about 20-25 kyr between the earthquakes with M ≥ 6.5 and slip model 2 indicating that such earthquakes cluster in two time intervals in the last 120 kyr. Direct correlation between trenches favours slip model 2 as the more plausible option. Trench observations also show that structural and sedimentological records of strong earthquakes with small surface offset have only low preservation potential. Therefore, the earthquake frequency for magnitudes between 6 and 6.5 cannot be constrained by the trenching records. Vertical slip rates of 0.02-0.05 mm a-1 derived from the trenches compare well to geomorphically derived slip rates of 0.02-0.09 mm a-1. Magnitude estimates from fault dimensions suggest that the largest earthquakes observed in the trenches activated the entire fault surface of the MF including the basal detachment that links the normal fault with the VBTF. The most important implications of these palaeoseismological results for seismic hazard assessment are as follows. (1) The MF is an active seismic source, capable of rupturing the surface despite the lack of historical earthquakes. (2) The MF is kinematically and geologically equivalent to a number of other splay faults of the VBTF. It is reasonable to assume that these faults are potential sources of large earthquakes as well. The frequency of strong earthquakes near Vienna is therefore expected to be significantly higher than the earthquake frequency reconstructed for the MF alone. (3) Although rare events, the potential for earthquake magnitudes equal or greater than M = 7.0 in the Vienna Basin should be considered in seismic hazard studies.

Effects of racing games on risky driving behaviour, and the significance of personality and physiological data.

PubMed

Deng, Mingming; Chan, Alan H S; Wu, Feng; Wang, Jun

2015-08-01

Racing games have emerged as top-selling products in the video and computer game industry. The effect of playing racing games on the inclination of gamers to take risks has been investigated. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment 1, the impact of personality traits on the effects of playing racing games on risk-taking inclination was examined. The Vienna Test System, which includes the Eysenck Personality Profile Test and the Vienna Risk-Taking Test, was used to measure risk-taking inclination and risk-taking while driving. Experiment 2 was designed and conducted to analyse the effects of different intensity levels of car racing games on risk-taking inclination, and to study the relationship between physiological data and risk-taking inclination. Physiological data on skin conductance, heart rate and blood pressure were measured with the NeuroDyne System. Participants playing a racing game were more inclined to take risks in critical road traffic situations than those playing a neutral game. The adventurousness dimension of the Eysenck Personality Profile Test correlated significantly positively with risk-taking inclination. More importantly, the effect of the intensity level of a racing game on risk-taking inclination was significant. The higher the intensity level of the racing game, the higher the risk-taking inclination while driving. The effect of intensity level of the racing game on skin conductance was significantly positive. Skin conductance correlated significantly positively with risk-taking inclination. The effect of playing racing games on risk-taking inclination is linked to personality and physiological data. Some recommendations are proposed as a result of this study for racing game management. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Determination of regional Euler pole parameters for Eastern Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umnig, Elke; Weber, Robert; Schartner, Matthias; Brueckl, Ewald

2017-04-01

The horizontal motion of lithospheric plates can be described as rotations around a rotation axes through the Earth's center. The two possible points where this axes intersects the surface of the Earth are called Euler poles. The rotation is expressed by the Euler parameters in terms of angular velocities together with the latitude and longitude of the Euler pole. Euler parameters were calculated from GPS data for a study area in Eastern Austria. The observation network is located along the Mur-Mürz Valley and the Vienna Basin. This zone is part of the Vienna Transfer Fault, which is the major fault system between the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians. The project ALPAACT (seismological and geodetic monitoring of ALpine-PAnnonian ACtive Tectonics) investigated intra plate tectonic movements within the Austrian part in order to estimate the seismic hazard. Precise site coordinate time series established from processing 5 years of GPS observations are available for the regional network spanning the years from 2010.0 to 2015.0. Station velocities with respect to the global reference frame ITRF2008 have been computed for 23 sites. The common Euler vector was estimated on base of a subset of reliable site velocities, for stations directly located within the area of interest. In a further step a geokinematic interpretation shall be carried out. Therefore site motions with respect to the Eurasian Plate are requested. To obtain this motion field different variants are conceivable. In a simple approach the mean ITRF2008 velocity of IGS site GRAZ can be adopted as Eurasian rotational velocity. An improved alternative is to calculate site-specific velocity differences between the Euler rotation and the individual site velocities. In this poster presentation the Euler parameters, the residual motion field as well as first geokinematic interpretation results are presented.

West Nile virus lineage 2 infection in a blood donor from Vienna, Austria, August 2014.

PubMed

Jungbauer, C; Hourfar, M K; Stiasny, K; Aberle, S W; Cadar, D; Schmidt-Chanasit, J; Mayr, W R

2015-03-01

Eastern Austria is neighbouring regions with ongoing West Nile virus (WNV) transmissions. Three human WNV infections had been diagnosed during the past decade in Austria. The Austrian Red Cross Blood Service (ARC-BS) started a first voluntary screening for WNV in blood donors from Eastern Austria by Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) in June 2014. This is also the most extensive WNV surveillance programme in humans in Austria so far. In August 2014, one autochthonous WNV infection was detected in a blood donor from Vienna. By now, one in 67,800 whole blood donations was found to be positive for WNV RNA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[The history of the institutionalization of medical psychology in Austria].

PubMed

Hirnsperger, Hans; Mundschütz, Reinhard; Sonneck, Gernot

2011-01-01

Beginning with Freudian psychoanalysis and the Zürich school of psychiatry, which in the early 20th century were the first to call for studies in medical psychology at universities, the article traces the path to the institutionalization of medical psychology in Austria especially in Vienna. Particular attention is devoted to the Academic Society for Medical Psychology (Akademischer Verein für Medizinische Psychologie) which held lectures and courses at the University of Vienna from 1926 to 1938. The Society can thus be viewed as a predecessor of the foundation of the institutes for medical psychology and psychotherapeutic clinics, starting in the late 1960s and continuing into the early 1980s.

Loss of Ductility Caused by AlN Precipitation in Hadfield Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radis, Rene; Schlacher, Christian; Kozeschnik, Ernst; Mayr, Peter; Enzinger, Norbert; Schröttner, Hartmuth; Sommitsch, Christof

2012-04-01

Two modified X120Mn12 Hadfield steels, differing in the amount of the alloying elements Al and N, are analyzed with respect to AlN precipitation and its effects on ductility. Charpy impact tests are performed, demonstrating the loss of ductility in the one grade containing a high density of AlN precipitates. The characterization of the precipitates is carried out by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). Depending on chemical composition, primary and secondary AlN precipitates are detected on prior austenite grain boundaries and within the bulk volume. The experimental observations are confirmed by thermokinetic simulations, using the software package MatCalc (Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria).

A portable infrasound generator.

PubMed

Park, Joseph; Robertson, James

2009-04-01

The rotary subwoofer is a novel low frequency transducer capable of efficiently generating infrasound from a compact source. A field-deployable version of this device may find application as a calibration source for infrasound arrays of the International Monitoring System (IMS) [(2001). The Global Verification Regime and the International Monitoring System (CTBTO Preparatory Commission Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria)]. A prototype tested at the IMS infrasound array I59US demonstrated the ability to insonify all elements of the array from a standoff distance of 3.8 km. Signal-to-noise ratios of continuous wave signals ranged from 5 to 15 dB, indicating the utility of this source to transmit controllable infrasound signals over distances of 5 km.

Scientific analysis of a calcified object from a post-medieval burial in Vienna, Austria.

PubMed

Binder, Michaela; Berner, Margit; Krause, Heike; Kucera, Matthias; Patzak, Beatrix

2016-09-01

Calcifications commonly occur in association with soft tissue inflammation. However, they are not often discussed in palaeopathological literature, frequently due to problems of identification and diagnosis. We present a calcified object (40×27×27cm) found with a middle-aged male from a post-medieval cemetery in Vienna. It was not recognized during excavation, thus its anatomical location within the body remains unknown. The object was subject to X-ray, SEM and CT scanning and compared to historic pathological objects held in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna. Two of closest resemblance, a thyroid adenoma and goitre were subject to similar analytical techniques for comparison. Despite similarities between all objects, the structure of the object most closely conforms to a thyroid tumor. Nevertheless, due to similar pathophysiological pathways and biochemical composition of calcified soft tissue, a secure identification outside of its anatomical context is not possible. The research further highlights the fact that recognition of such objects during excavation is crucial for a more conclusive diagnosis. Historic medical records indicate that they were common and might therefore be expected to frequently occur in cemeteries. Consequently, an increasing the dataset of calcifications would also aid in extending the knowledge about diseases in past human populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geology of the Vienna Mineralized Area, Blaine and Camas Counties, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mahoney, J. Brian; Horn, Michael C.

2005-01-01

The Vienna mineralized area of south-central Idaho was an important silver-lead-producing district in the late 1800s and has intermittently produced lead, silver, zinc, copper, and gold since that time. The district is underlain by biotite granodiorite of the Cretaceous Idaho batholith, and all mineral deposits are hosted by the biotite granodiorite. The granodiorite intrudes Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Sun Valley Group, is overlain by rocks of the Eocene Challis Volcanic Group, and is cut by numerous northeast-trending Eocene faults and dikes. Two mineralogically and texturally distinct vein types are present in a northwest- and east-trending conjugate shear-zone system. The shear zones postdate granodiorite emplacement and joint formation, but predate Eocene fault and dike formation. Ribbon veins consist of alternating bands of massive vein quartz and silver-sulfide (proustite and pyrargyrite) mineral stringers. The ribbon veins were sheared and brecciated during multiple phases of injection of mineralizing fluids. A quartz-sericite-pyrite-galena vein system was subsequently emplaced in the brecciated shear zones. Both vein systems are believed to be the product of mesothermal, multiphase mineralization. K-Ar dating of shear-zone sericite indicates that sericitization occurred at 80.7?2.8 Ma; thus mineralization in the Vienna mineralized area probably is Late Cretaceous in age.

Forecast Vienna Mapping Functions 1 for real-time analysis of space geodetic observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, J.; Kouba, J.; Schuh, H.

2009-05-01

The Vienna Mapping Functions 1 (VMF1) as provided by the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics (IGG) at the Vienna University of Technology are the most accurate mapping functions for the troposphere delays that are available globally and for the entire history of space geodetic observations. So far, the VMF1 coefficients have been released with a time delay of almost two days; however, many scientific applications require their availability in near real-time, e.g. the Ultra Rapid solutions of the International GNSS Service (IGS) or the analysis of the Intensive sessions of the International VLBI Service (IVS). Here we present coefficients of the VMF1 as well as the hydrostatic and wet zenith delays that have been determined from forecasting data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and provided on global grids. The comparison with parameters derived from ECMWF analysis data shows that the agreement is at the 1 mm level in terms of station height, and that the differences are larger for the wet mapping functions than for the hydrostatic mapping functions and the hydrostatic zenith delays. These new products (VMF1-FC and hydrostatic zenith delays from forecast data) can be used in real-time analysis of geodetic data without significant loss of accuracy.

Computer Aided Statistics Instruction Protocol (CASIP) Restructuring Undergraduate Statistics in Psychology: An Integration of Computers into Instruction and Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rah, Ki-Young; Scuello, Michael

As a result of the development of two computer statistics laboratories in the psychology department at New York's Brooklyn College, a project was undertaken to develop and implement computer program modules in undergraduate and graduate statistics courses. Rather than use the technology to merely make course presentations more exciting, the…

Implementation and evaluation of an efficient secure computation system using ‘R’ for healthcare statistics

PubMed Central

Chida, Koji; Morohashi, Gembu; Fuji, Hitoshi; Magata, Fumihiko; Fujimura, Akiko; Hamada, Koki; Ikarashi, Dai; Yamamoto, Ryuichi

2014-01-01

Background and objective While the secondary use of medical data has gained attention, its adoption has been constrained due to protection of patient privacy. Making medical data secure by de-identification can be problematic, especially when the data concerns rare diseases. We require rigorous security management measures. Materials and methods Using secure computation, an approach from cryptography, our system can compute various statistics over encrypted medical records without decrypting them. An issue of secure computation is that the amount of processing time required is immense. We implemented a system that securely computes healthcare statistics from the statistical computing software ‘R’ by effectively combining secret-sharing-based secure computation with original computation. Results Testing confirmed that our system could correctly complete computation of average and unbiased variance of approximately 50 000 records of dummy insurance claim data in a little over a second. Computation including conditional expressions and/or comparison of values, for example, t test and median, could also be correctly completed in several tens of seconds to a few minutes. Discussion If medical records are simply encrypted, the risk of leaks exists because decryption is usually required during statistical analysis. Our system possesses high-level security because medical records remain in encrypted state even during statistical analysis. Also, our system can securely compute some basic statistics with conditional expressions using ‘R’ that works interactively while secure computation protocols generally require a significant amount of processing time. Conclusions We propose a secure statistical analysis system using ‘R’ for medical data that effectively integrates secret-sharing-based secure computation and original computation. PMID:24763677

Implementation and evaluation of an efficient secure computation system using 'R' for healthcare statistics.

PubMed

Chida, Koji; Morohashi, Gembu; Fuji, Hitoshi; Magata, Fumihiko; Fujimura, Akiko; Hamada, Koki; Ikarashi, Dai; Yamamoto, Ryuichi

2014-10-01

While the secondary use of medical data has gained attention, its adoption has been constrained due to protection of patient privacy. Making medical data secure by de-identification can be problematic, especially when the data concerns rare diseases. We require rigorous security management measures. Using secure computation, an approach from cryptography, our system can compute various statistics over encrypted medical records without decrypting them. An issue of secure computation is that the amount of processing time required is immense. We implemented a system that securely computes healthcare statistics from the statistical computing software 'R' by effectively combining secret-sharing-based secure computation with original computation. Testing confirmed that our system could correctly complete computation of average and unbiased variance of approximately 50,000 records of dummy insurance claim data in a little over a second. Computation including conditional expressions and/or comparison of values, for example, t test and median, could also be correctly completed in several tens of seconds to a few minutes. If medical records are simply encrypted, the risk of leaks exists because decryption is usually required during statistical analysis. Our system possesses high-level security because medical records remain in encrypted state even during statistical analysis. Also, our system can securely compute some basic statistics with conditional expressions using 'R' that works interactively while secure computation protocols generally require a significant amount of processing time. We propose a secure statistical analysis system using 'R' for medical data that effectively integrates secret-sharing-based secure computation and original computation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Cost efficient CFD simulations: Proper selection of domain partitioning strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haddadi, Bahram; Jordan, Christian; Harasek, Michael

2017-10-01

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of the most powerful simulation methods, which is used for temporally and spatially resolved solutions of fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, etc. One of the challenges of Computational Fluid Dynamics is the extreme hardware demand. Nowadays super-computers (e.g. High Performance Computing, HPC) featuring multiple CPU cores are applied for solving-the simulation domain is split into partitions for each core. Some of the different methods for partitioning are investigated in this paper. As a practical example, a new open source based solver was utilized for simulating packed bed adsorption, a common separation method within the field of thermal process engineering. Adsorption can for example be applied for removal of trace gases from a gas stream or pure gases production like Hydrogen. For comparing the performance of the partitioning methods, a 60 million cell mesh for a packed bed of spherical adsorbents was created; one second of the adsorption process was simulated. Different partitioning methods available in OpenFOAM® (Scotch, Simple, and Hierarchical) have been used with different numbers of sub-domains. The effect of the different methods and number of processor cores on the simulation speedup and also energy consumption were investigated for two different hardware infrastructures (Vienna Scientific Clusters VSC 2 and VSC 3). As a general recommendation an optimum number of cells per processor core was calculated. Optimized simulation speed, lower energy consumption and consequently the cost effects are reported here.

A software architecture for multidisciplinary applications: Integrating task and data parallelism

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Barbara; Mehrotra, Piyush; Vanrosendale, John; Zima, Hans

1994-01-01

Data parallel languages such as Vienna Fortran and HPF can be successfully applied to a wide range of numerical applications. However, many advanced scientific and engineering applications are of a multidisciplinary and heterogeneous nature and thus do not fit well into the data parallel paradigm. In this paper we present new Fortran 90 language extensions to fill this gap. Tasks can be spawned as asynchronous activities in a homogeneous or heterogeneous computing environment; they interact by sharing access to Shared Data Abstractions (SDA's). SDA's are an extension of Fortran 90 modules, representing a pool of common data, together with a set of Methods for controlled access to these data and a mechanism for providing persistent storage. Our language supports the integration of data and task parallelism as well as nested task parallelism and thus can be used to express multidisciplinary applications in a natural and efficient way.

Seasonal station variations in the Vienna VLBI terrestrial reference frame VieTRF16a

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krásná, Hana; Böhm, Johannes; Madzak, Matthias

2017-04-01

The special analysis center of the International Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) at TU Wien (VIE) routinely analyses the VLBI measurements and estimates its own Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) solutions. We present our latest solution VieTRF16a (1979.0 - 2016.5) computed with the software VieVS version 3.0. Several recent updates of the software have been applied, e.g., the estimation of annual and semi-annual station variations as global parameters. The VieTRF16a is determined in the form of the conventional model (station position and its linear velocity) simultaneously with the celestial reference frame and Earth orientation parameters. In this work, we concentrate on the seasonal station variations in the residual time series and compare our TRF with the three combined TRF solutions ITRF2014, DTRF2014 and JTRF2014.

Implicit solvation model for density-functional study of nanocrystal surfaces and reaction pathways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathew, Kiran; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Letchworth-Weaver, Kendra; Arias, T. A.; Hennig, Richard G.

2014-02-01

Solid-liquid interfaces are at the heart of many modern-day technologies and provide a challenge to many materials simulation methods. A realistic first-principles computational study of such systems entails the inclusion of solvent effects. In this work, we implement an implicit solvation model that has a firm theoretical foundation into the widely used density-functional code Vienna ab initio Software Package. The implicit solvation model follows the framework of joint density functional theory. We describe the framework, our algorithm and implementation, and benchmarks for small molecular systems. We apply the solvation model to study the surface energies of different facets of semiconducting and metallic nanocrystals and the SN2 reaction pathway. We find that solvation reduces the surface energies of the nanocrystals, especially for the semiconducting ones and increases the energy barrier of the SN2 reaction.

The ENCCA-WP7/EuroSarc/EEC/PROVABES/EURAMOS 3rd European Bone Sarcoma Networking Meeting/Joint Workshop of EU Bone Sarcoma Translational Research Networks; Vienna, Austria, September 24-25, 2015. Workshop Report.

PubMed

Kager, Leo; Whelan, Jeremy; Dirksen, Uta; Hassan, Bass; Anninga, Jakob; Bennister, Lindsey; Bovée, Judith V M G; Brennan, Bernadette; Broto, Javier M; Brugières, Laurence; Cleton-Jansen, Anne-Marie; Copland, Christopher; Dutour, Aurélie; Fagioli, Franca; Ferrari, Stefano; Fiocco, Marta; Fleuren, Emmy; Gaspar, Nathalie; Gelderblom, Hans; Gerrand, Craig; Gerß, Joachim; Gonzato, Ornella; van der Graaf, Winette; Hecker-Nolting, Stefanie; Herrero-Martín, David; Klco-Brosius, Stephanie; Kovar, Heinrich; Ladenstein, Ruth; Lancia, Carlo; LeDeley, Marie-Cecile; McCabe, Martin G; Metzler, Markus; Myklebost, Ola; Nathrath, Michaela; Picci, Piero; Potratz, Jenny; Redini, Françoise; Richter, Günther H S; Reinke, Denise; Rutkowski, Piotr; Scotlandi, Katia; Strauss, Sandra; Thomas, David; Tirado, Oscar M; Tirode, Franck; Vassal, Gilles; Bielack, Stefan S

2016-01-01

This report summarizes the results of the 3rd Joint ENCCA-WP7, EuroSarc, EEC, PROVABES, and EURAMOS European Bone Sarcoma Network Meeting, which was held at the Children's Cancer Research Institute in Vienna, Austria on September 24-25, 2015. The joint bone sarcoma network meetings bring together European bone sarcoma researchers to present and discuss current knowledge on bone sarcoma biology, genetics, immunology, as well as results from preclinical investigations and clinical trials, to generate novel hypotheses for collaborative biological and clinical investigations. The ultimate goal is to further improve therapy and outcome in patients with bone sarcomas.

Thin-section microscopy of decayed crystalline marble from the garden sculptures of Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna

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

Weber, J.; Beseler, S.; Sterflinger, K.

2007-11-15

Sterzing marble, a crystalline white marble used in the late-Baroque garden sculptures of Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, was studied by means of thin-section and scanning electron microscopy in order to obtain a better understanding of its surface decay caused by atmospheric weathering. Following the classification of distinct phenomena of deterioration by visual on-site inspection, the microstructural features including surface erosion, micro-cracking, soiling, black crust formation, and microbiological infestation are exemplified by microscopical images and are briefly discussed. The results proved useful for evaluating and understanding the various types of marble decay for creating a safer basis for establishing the proceduralmore » principles aimed at conservation and maintenance of the sculptures.« less

Status report on the establishment of the CTBTO IMS infrasound network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Thomas L.

2005-04-01

Steady progress has been made in the establishment of the CTBTO IMS infrasound monitoring network. To date 86% of the site surveys for 60 infrasound stations in the network have been completed, 50% of the stations are transmitting continuous data to Vienna, and 40% of the stations have been certified. While the global distribution pattern of infrasound stations transmitting data to Vienna is still disperse, regional networks begin to form in North and South America as well as in the Australian and South African regions. This presentation will focus on an overview of recent progress made in the establishment of the global infrasound network, and also present some of the challenges and difficulties encountered in this program.

CAPSAS: Computer Assisted Program for the Selection of Appropriate Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shermis, Mark D.; Albert, Susan L.

A computer-assisted program has been developed for the selection of statistics or statistical techniques by both students and researchers. Based on Andrews, Klem, Davidson, O'Malley and Rodgers "A Guide for Selecting Statistical Techniques for Analyzing Social Science Data," this FORTRAN-compiled interactive computer program was…

Computer programs for computing particle-size statistics of fluvial sediments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, H.H.; Hubbell, D.W.

1986-01-01

Two versions of computer programs for inputing data and computing particle-size statistics of fluvial sediments are presented. The FORTRAN 77 language versions are for use on the Prime computer, and the BASIC language versions are for use on microcomputers. The size-statistics program compute Inman, Trask , and Folk statistical parameters from phi values and sizes determined for 10 specified percent-finer values from inputed size and percent-finer data. The program also determines the percentage gravel, sand, silt, and clay, and the Meyer-Peter effective diameter. Documentation and listings for both versions of the programs are included. (Author 's abstract)

Sequence-controlled RNA self-processing: computational design, biochemical analysis, and visualization by AFM

PubMed Central

Petkovic, Sonja; Badelt, Stefan; Flamm, Christoph; Delcea, Mihaela

2015-01-01

Reversible chemistry allowing for assembly and disassembly of molecular entities is important for biological self-organization. Thus, ribozymes that support both cleavage and formation of phosphodiester bonds may have contributed to the emergence of functional diversity and increasing complexity of regulatory RNAs in early life. We have previously engineered a variant of the hairpin ribozyme that shows how ribozymes may have circularized or extended their own length by forming concatemers. Using the Vienna RNA package, we now optimized this hairpin ribozyme variant and selected four different RNA sequences that were expected to circularize more efficiently or form longer concatemers upon transcription. (Two-dimensional) PAGE analysis confirms that (i) all four selected ribozymes are catalytically active and (ii) high yields of cyclic species are obtained. AFM imaging in combination with RNA structure prediction enabled us to calculate the distributions of monomers and self-concatenated dimers and trimers. Our results show that computationally optimized molecules do form reasonable amounts of trimers, which has not been observed for the original system so far, and we demonstrate that the combination of theoretical prediction, biochemical and physical analysis is a promising approach toward accurate prediction of ribozyme behavior and design of ribozymes with predefined functions. PMID:25999318

CSEWG

Science.gov Websites

Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) Nuclear Reaction Data Centers, NRDC (IAEA Vienna) EMPIRE , Nuclear Reaction Model Code Atlas of Neutron Resonances The Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG

Computers as an Instrument for Data Analysis. Technical Report No. 11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muller, Mervin E.

A review of statistical data analysis involving computers as a multi-dimensional problem provides the perspective for consideration of the use of computers in statistical analysis and the problems associated with large data files. An overall description of STATJOB, a particular system for doing statistical data analysis on a digital computer,…

Development and implementation of a real-time control strategy for the sewer system of the city of Vienna.

PubMed

Fuchs, L; Beeneken, T

2005-01-01

The paper describes the realization of a real-time control for the Vienna sewer system. The project is scheduled for completion for 2004. The 3.5 year project comprises all planning stages starting with the recording of data up to the planning of measuring and controlling units. The concrete steps of the planning stages are explained. A measuring system including 25 rainfall measurements, 40 flow measurements and 20 water level measurements is implemented as an online system. This measuring system is designed to achieve two objectives, on the one hand the real-time control and on the other hand the calibration of the model that is used for the hydrodynamic sewer system simulation. The approx. 53,000 pipes have served to generate a coarse network of no more than approx. 2600 pipes. The area data were derived with high accuracy from available aerial photograph interpretations. With simulation runs of a rule-based control software the system operation was examined. A self-learning system will improve the rule basis. A forecasting model that uses weather observation radar will additionally influence the controlling decisions. The findings from the investigations are immediately considered in the planning of measuring and control units. The simulated results for the first phase of implementation, which demonstrate the benefit of RTC for the Vienna sewer system, are explained.

[The attempts at drug therapy of cancer by Anton Störck (1731-1803). History of experimental pharmacology in the old Vienna Medical School].

PubMed

Schweppe, K W; Probst, C

1982-03-15

The essay deals with the development of medical research in Vienna - especially the development of therapeutic drugs. This progress is related to the philosophical, historical, and political background of the enlightened absolutism and the reformatory efforts of van Swieten during the regency of Maria Theresia in Austria. Anton Störck's research on hemlock (Conium maculatum) is used as an example. The method of Störck's research-work is described. Furthermore it is demonstrated to what extent Störck's data, deduced from empirical examinations, are integrated in the official medical system, i.e. Boerhaave's iatromechanic system. Finally the attempt is made to correlate these processes of medical history with the scientific-historical model of Thomas Kuhn.

The Impact of International Scientific Teams on Investigations of Yugoslavian Meteorites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolomejceva-Jovanovic, L.

2008-10-01

Investigations of scientific heritage is very important for every country. The evidence concerning the meteorites which have fallen upon the territory of former Yugoslavia can be a nice example. The samples of Yugoslav meteorites can be found in the biggest world museums of natural history (in Washington, Moscow, Vienna, Paris, Budapest, Berlin, Prague and London). In such a way scientists engaged in the area of meteorites, cosmochemistry, cosmic mineralogy, astrochemistry, astrophysics and other multidisciplinary scientific branches have the possibility to study these meteorites. The huge impact on the study of Yugoslav meteorites is given by international teams from Institute of Physics (Belgrade), Joint Institute for Nuclear Investigations (Dubna, Russia), Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria), Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry (Moscow, Russia) and Museum of Natural History (Belgrade).

Representing the sublime in the VIMAP and empirical aesthetics: Reviving Edmund Burke's A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. Comment on "Move me, astonish me... delight my eyes and brain: The Vienna Integrated Model of top-down and bottom-up processes in Art Perception (VIMAP) and corresponding affective, evaluative, and neurophysiological correlates" by Matthew Pelowski et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hur, Y.-J.; McManus, I. C.

2017-07-01

This commentary considers the role of the sublime in the Vienna Integrated Model of Art Perception (VIMAP; Pelowski, Markey, Forster, Gerger, & Leder [17]), and suggest that it is not precisely conceptualised in the model. In part that reflects different views and usages of the sublime in the literature, and here it is recommended that Burke's [2] view of the sublime is used as a primary framework for empirical research on the sublime.

Geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids from the PACMANUS, Northeast Pual and Vienna Woods hydrothermal fields, Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reeves, Eoghan P.; Seewald, Jeffrey S.; Saccocia, Peter; Bach, Wolfgang; Craddock, Paul R.; Shanks, Wayne C.; Sylva, Sean P.; Walsh, Emily; Pichler, Thomas; Rosner, Martin

2011-01-01

Processes controlling the composition of seafloor hydrothermal fluids in silicic back-arc or near-arc crustal settings remain poorly constrained despite growing evidence for extensive magmatic-hydrothermal activity in such environments. We conducted a survey of vent fluid compositions from two contrasting sites in the Manus back-arc basin, Papua New Guinea, to examine the influence of variations in host rock composition and magmatic inputs (both a function of arc proximity) on hydrothermal fluid chemistry. Fluid samples were collected from felsic-hosted hydrothermal vent fields located on Pual Ridge (PACMANUS and Northeast (NE) Pual) near the active New Britain Arc and a basalt-hosted vent field (Vienna Woods) located farther from the arc on the Manus Spreading Center. Vienna Woods fluids were characterized by relatively uniform endmember temperatures (273-285 degrees C) and major element compositions, low dissolved CO2 concentrations (4.4 mmol/kg) and high measured pH (4.2-4.9 at 25 degrees C). Temperatures and compositions were highly variable at PACMANUS/NE Pual and a large, newly discovered vent area (Fenway) was observed to be vigorously venting boiling (358 degrees C) fluid. All PACMANUS fluids are characterized by negative delta DH2O values, in contrast to positive values at Vienna Woods, suggesting substantial magmatic water input to circulating fluids at Pual Ridge. Low measured pH (25 degrees C) values (~2.6-2.7), high endmember CO2 (up to 274 mmol/kg) and negative delta 34SH2S values (down to -2.7 permille) in some vent fluids are also consistent with degassing of acid-volatile species from evolved magma. Dissolved CO2 at PACMANUS is more enriched in 13C (-4.1 permille to -2.3 permille) than Vienna Woods (-5.2 permille to -5.7 permille), suggesting a contribution of slab-derived carbon. The mobile elements (e.g. Li, K, Rb, Cs and B) are also greatly enriched in PACMANUS fluids reflecting increased abundances in the crust there relative to the Manus Spreading Center. Variations in alkali and dissolved gas abundances with Cl at PACMANUS and NE Pual suggest that phase separation has affected fluid chemistry despite the low temperatures of many vents. In further contrast to Vienna Woods, substantial modification of PACMANUS/NE Pual fluids has taken place as a result of seawater ingress into the upflow zone. Consistently high measured Mg concentrations as well as trends of increasingly non-conservative SO4 behavior, decreasing endmember Ca/Cl and Sr/Cl ratios with increased Mg indicate extensive subsurface anhydrite deposition is occurring as a result of subsurface seawater entrainment. Decreased pH and endmember Fe/Mn ratios in higher Mg fluids indicate that the associated mixing/cooling gives rise to sulfide deposition and secondary acidity production. Several low temperature (< or = 80 degrees C) fluids at PACMANUS/NE Pual also show evidence for anhydrite dissolution and water-rock interaction (fixation of B) subsequent to seawater entrainment. Hence, the evolution of fluid compositions at Pual Ridge reflects the cumulative effects of water/rock interaction, admixing and reaction of fluids exsolved from silicic magma, phase separation/segregation and seawater ingress into upflow zones.

Urban prevalence of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in public lavatories and on shoe soles of facility patrons in the European capital city Vienna.

PubMed

Schoder, D; Schmalwieser, A; Szakmary-Brändle, K; Stessl, B; Wagner, M

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in urban public lavatories and on shoe soles of facility patrons in a European capital city. More than 91% of all municipal public lavatories in Vienna close to public hubs were included in this study. Overall, 373 swab samples of public lavatories and shoes of facility patrons were enriched, according to ISO 11290-1. Listeria monocytogenes isolates were subtyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. A total of 24 samples were positive for Listeria spp., yielding an overall prevalence of 6.4% (24/373). Listeria monocytogenes was found in 2.1% (8/373) of all samples. Swabs from lavatories in parks, container lavatories and lavatories at markets had the highest prevalences of 20.7% (6/29), 20% (2/10) and 12.5% (1/8) Listeria spp., respectively. These detection rates were statistically significantly higher than those associated with lavatories in shopping centres (P = 0.003, P = 0.002, P = 0.02) and at public transport locations (P = 0.0004, P = 0.005, P = 0.02). Shoes sampled at Christmas markets showed the highest Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes prevalences of 80% (4/5) and 40% (2/5), respectively. With regard to shoe type, Listeria spp. detection rates were 14.3% (3/21; winter boots), 13.3% (2/15; hiking boots), sport shoes (5.9%; 2/34) and brogues (5.1%; 4/79). No Listeria spp. were found on shoe soles that had smooth treads (0/76), while Listeria spp. were detected on 19.5% (8/41) of medium depth tread shoe types and on 9.4% (3/32) of deep tread shoes. These data suggest that soil environment is still one of the most important reservoirs for the foodborne pathogen L. monocytogenes. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Risk Factors for De Novo Malignancies in Women After Kidney Transplantation: A Multicenter Transversal Study.

PubMed

Helmy, Samir; Marschalek, Julian; Bader, Yvonne; Koch, Marianne; Schmidt, Alice; Kanzler, Marina; Gyoeri, Georg; Polterauer, Stephan; Reinthaller, Alexander; Grimm, Christoph

2016-06-01

Transplantation results in a 5-time elevated risk for a variety of malignancies (Kaposi sarcoma, skin, liver, lung, gastrointestinal cancer). A patient's risk for malignancies could be of particular interest for the follow-up programs of patients and risk adaption after kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to identify independent risk factors for de novo malignancies in women after renal transplantation. This is a multicenter transversal study, conducted at the Medical University of Vienna and Hospital Rudolfstiftung, Vienna, Austria. We included female kidney graft recipients who were transplanted between 1980 and 2012 and followed-up at our institutions (N = 280). Clinical data of patients were extracted from hospital charts and electronic patient files. Patients were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire regarding their medical history, history of transplantation, and malignant diseases. Detailed information about present and past immunosuppressive regimens, rejection episodes and therapies, renal graft function, and information about primary disease was obtained. Diagnostic work-up and/or surgical exploration was performed if any presence of malignancy was suspected during routine follow-up. Histological specimens were obtained from all patients. the presence of de novo malignancy after kidney transplantation. Two hundred sixty-two women were included for statistical analysis. Median (interquartile range) follow-up period after transplantation was 101.1 (27.3-190.7) months. Thirty-two patients (12.2%) developed a malignancy: dermatologic malignancies (5.7%), breast cancer (3.4%), cervical cancer (0.8%), lung cancer (0.4%), gastrointestinal malignancies (1.5%), vulvar cancer (0.4%), and unclassified malignancies (1.9%). Median (interquartile range) time to malignancy after transplantation was 185.9 (92.0-257.6) months. Cumulative cancer rates were 4.9% (1 year), 14.4% (3 years), 16.4% (5 years), and 21.8% (10 years). Second transplantations were identified as independent risk factor for development of malignancy after transplantation. Long-term risk of developing a malignancy after kidney transplantation is high, which might justify a follow-up of more than 10 years.

Statistics Online Computational Resource for Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinov, Ivo D.; Christou, Nicolas

2009-01-01

The Statistics Online Computational Resource (http://www.SOCR.ucla.edu) provides one of the largest collections of free Internet-based resources for probability and statistics education. SOCR develops, validates and disseminates two core types of materials--instructional resources and computational libraries. (Contains 2 figures.)

Travelogue--a newcomer encounters statistics and the computer.

PubMed

Bruce, Peter

2011-11-01

Computer-intensive methods have revolutionized statistics, giving rise to new areas of analysis and expertise in predictive analytics, image processing, pattern recognition, machine learning, genomic analysis, and more. Interest naturally centers on the new capabilities the computer allows the analyst to bring to the table. This article, instead, focuses on the account of how computer-based resampling methods, with their relative simplicity and transparency, enticed one individual, untutored in statistics or mathematics, on a long journey into learning statistics, then teaching it, then starting an education institution.

Validation of an Improved Computer-Assisted Technique for Mining Free-Text Electronic Medical Records.

PubMed

Duz, Marco; Marshall, John F; Parkin, Tim

2017-06-29

The use of electronic medical records (EMRs) offers opportunity for clinical epidemiological research. With large EMR databases, automated analysis processes are necessary but require thorough validation before they can be routinely used. The aim of this study was to validate a computer-assisted technique using commercially available content analysis software (SimStat-WordStat v.6 (SS/WS), Provalis Research) for mining free-text EMRs. The dataset used for the validation process included life-long EMRs from 335 patients (17,563 rows of data), selected at random from a larger dataset (141,543 patients, ~2.6 million rows of data) and obtained from 10 equine veterinary practices in the United Kingdom. The ability of the computer-assisted technique to detect rows of data (cases) of colic, renal failure, right dorsal colitis, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in the population was compared with manual classification. The first step of the computer-assisted analysis process was the definition of inclusion dictionaries to identify cases, including terms identifying a condition of interest. Words in inclusion dictionaries were selected from the list of all words in the dataset obtained in SS/WS. The second step consisted of defining an exclusion dictionary, including combinations of words to remove cases erroneously classified by the inclusion dictionary alone. The third step was the definition of a reinclusion dictionary to reinclude cases that had been erroneously classified by the exclusion dictionary. Finally, cases obtained by the exclusion dictionary were removed from cases obtained by the inclusion dictionary, and cases from the reinclusion dictionary were subsequently reincluded using Rv3.0.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Manual analysis was performed as a separate process by a single experienced clinician reading through the dataset once and classifying each row of data based on the interpretation of the free-text notes. Validation was performed by comparison of the computer-assisted method with manual analysis, which was used as the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive values (NPVs), positive predictive values (PPVs), and F values of the computer-assisted process were calculated by comparing them with the manual classification. Lowest sensitivity, specificity, PPVs, NPVs, and F values were 99.82% (1128/1130), 99.88% (16410/16429), 94.6% (223/239), 100.00% (16410/16412), and 99.0% (100×2×0.983×0.998/[0.983+0.998]), respectively. The computer-assisted process required few seconds to run, although an estimated 30 h were required for dictionary creation. Manual classification required approximately 80 man-hours. The critical step in this work is the creation of accurate and inclusive dictionaries to ensure that no potential cases are missed. It is significantly easier to remove false positive terms from a SS/WS selected subset of a large database than search that original database for potential false negatives. The benefits of using this method are proportional to the size of the dataset to be analyzed. ©Marco Duz, John F Marshall, Tim Parkin. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 29.06.2017.

Validation of an Improved Computer-Assisted Technique for Mining Free-Text Electronic Medical Records

PubMed Central

Marshall, John F; Parkin, Tim

2017-01-01

Background The use of electronic medical records (EMRs) offers opportunity for clinical epidemiological research. With large EMR databases, automated analysis processes are necessary but require thorough validation before they can be routinely used. Objective The aim of this study was to validate a computer-assisted technique using commercially available content analysis software (SimStat-WordStat v.6 (SS/WS), Provalis Research) for mining free-text EMRs. Methods The dataset used for the validation process included life-long EMRs from 335 patients (17,563 rows of data), selected at random from a larger dataset (141,543 patients, ~2.6 million rows of data) and obtained from 10 equine veterinary practices in the United Kingdom. The ability of the computer-assisted technique to detect rows of data (cases) of colic, renal failure, right dorsal colitis, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in the population was compared with manual classification. The first step of the computer-assisted analysis process was the definition of inclusion dictionaries to identify cases, including terms identifying a condition of interest. Words in inclusion dictionaries were selected from the list of all words in the dataset obtained in SS/WS. The second step consisted of defining an exclusion dictionary, including combinations of words to remove cases erroneously classified by the inclusion dictionary alone. The third step was the definition of a reinclusion dictionary to reinclude cases that had been erroneously classified by the exclusion dictionary. Finally, cases obtained by the exclusion dictionary were removed from cases obtained by the inclusion dictionary, and cases from the reinclusion dictionary were subsequently reincluded using Rv3.0.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Manual analysis was performed as a separate process by a single experienced clinician reading through the dataset once and classifying each row of data based on the interpretation of the free-text notes. Validation was performed by comparison of the computer-assisted method with manual analysis, which was used as the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive values (NPVs), positive predictive values (PPVs), and F values of the computer-assisted process were calculated by comparing them with the manual classification. Results Lowest sensitivity, specificity, PPVs, NPVs, and F values were 99.82% (1128/1130), 99.88% (16410/16429), 94.6% (223/239), 100.00% (16410/16412), and 99.0% (100×2×0.983×0.998/[0.983+0.998]), respectively. The computer-assisted process required few seconds to run, although an estimated 30 h were required for dictionary creation. Manual classification required approximately 80 man-hours. Conclusions The critical step in this work is the creation of accurate and inclusive dictionaries to ensure that no potential cases are missed. It is significantly easier to remove false positive terms from a SS/WS selected subset of a large database than search that original database for potential false negatives. The benefits of using this method are proportional to the size of the dataset to be analyzed. PMID:28663163

Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This volume contains extended abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the conference on Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond, July 9-12, 2000, in Vienna, Austria.

[Effect of supervised exercise training on walking speed, claudication distance and quality of life in peripheral arterial disease].

PubMed

Wenkstetten-Holub, Alfa; Kandioler-Honetz, Elisabeth; Kraus, Ingrid; Müller, Rudolf; Kurz, Robert Wolfgang

2012-08-01

Aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of supervised exercise training for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) on walking speed, claudication distance and quality of life. Ninety-four patients in stage IIa/IIb according to Fontaine underwent a six-month exercise training at the Center for Outpatient Rehabilitation Vienna (ZAW). Walking speed and Absolute Claudication Distance (ACD) improved significantly (p < 0,001 and p = 0,007 respectively). Increase of the Initial Claudication Distance (ICD) did not reach statistical significance (p = 0,14). Quality of life, as assessed by the questionnaire "PLC" manifested no significant change. The exercise training achieved considerable effects on walking speed and claudication distance. Despite these improvements, patient's quality of life revealed no relevant change. This outcome could be explained by the fact that aspects of physical functioning relevant to patients with claudicatio intermittens may be underrepresented in the PLC-questionnaire core module.

Nitrogen-isotopes and multi-parameter sewage water test for identification of nitrate sources: Groundwater body Marchfeld East of Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kralik, Martin

2017-04-01

The application of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate allows, under favourable circumstances, to identify potential sources such as precipitation, chemical fertilisers and manure or sewage water. Without any additional tracer, the source distinction of nitrate from manure or sewage water is still difficult. Even the application of boron isotopes can in some cases not avoid ambiguous interpretation. Therefore, the Environment Agency Austria developed a new multi parametrical indicator test to allow the identification and quantification of pollution by domestic sewage water. The test analyses 8 substances well known to occur in sewage water: Acesulfame and sucralose (two artificial, calorie-free sweeteners), benzotriazole and tolyltriazole (two industrial chemicals/corrosion inhibitors), metoprolol, sotalol, carbamazepine and the metabolite 10,11-Dihydro-10,11-dihydroxycarbamazepine (pharmaceuticals) [1]. These substances are polar and degradation in the aquatic system by microbiological processes is not documented. These 8 Substances do not occur naturally which make them ideal tracers. The test can detect wastewater in the analysed water sample down to 0.1 %. This ideal coupling of these analytic tests helps to identify the nitrogen sources in the groundwater body Marchfeld East of Vienna to a high confidence level. In addition, the results allow a reasonable quantification of nitrogen sources from different types of fertilizers as well as sewage water contributions close to villages and in wells recharged by bank filtration. Recent investigations of groundwater in selected wells in Marchfeld [2] indicated a clear nitrogen contribution by wastewater leakages (sewers or septic tanks) to the total nitrogen budget. However, this contribution is shrinking and the main source comes still from agricultural activities. [1] Humer, F.; Weiss, S.; Reinnicke, S.; Clara, M.; Grath, J.; Windhofer, G. (2013): Multi parametrical indicator test for urban wastewater influence. EGU General Assembly 2013, held 7-12 April, 2013 in Vienna, Austria, id. EGU2013-5332, EGU2013-5332. [2] Kralik, M.; Humer, F. & Grath, J. (2008): Pilotprojekt Grundwasseralter: Herkunftsanalyse von Nitrat mittels Stickstoff-, Sauerstoff-, Schwefel und Kohlenstoffisotopen. 57 S.2, Environment Agency Austria/Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Vienna.

Selected Streamflow Statistics for Streamgaging Stations in Delaware, 2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ries, Kernell G.

2004-01-01

Flow-duration and low-flow frequency statistics were calculated for 15 streamgaging stations in Delaware, in cooperation with the Delaware Geological Survey. The flow-duration statistics include the 1-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-, 90-, 95-, 98-, and 99-percent duration discharges. The low-flow frequency statistics include the average discharges for 1, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days that recur, on average, once in 1.01, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 years. The statistics were computed using U.S. Geological Survey computer programs that can be downloaded from the World Wide Web at no cost. The computer programs automate standard U.S. Geological Survey methods for computing the statistics. Documentation is provided at the Web sites for the individual programs. The computed statistics are presented in tabular format on a separate page for each station, along with the station name, station number, the location, the period of record, and remarks.

Resampling: A Marriage of Computers and Statistics. ERIC/TM Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudner, Lawrence M.; Shafer, Mary Morello

Advances in computer technology are making it possible for educational researchers to use simpler statistical methods to address a wide range of questions with smaller data sets and fewer, and less restrictive, assumptions. This digest introduces computationally intensive statistics, collectively called resampling techniques. Resampling is a…

Experimental Mathematics and Computational Statistics

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

Bailey, David H.; Borwein, Jonathan M.

2009-04-30

The field of statistics has long been noted for techniques to detect patterns and regularities in numerical data. In this article we explore connections between statistics and the emerging field of 'experimental mathematics'. These includes both applications of experimental mathematics in statistics, as well as statistical methods applied to computational mathematics.

Computation of the Molenaar Sijtsma Statistic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andries van der Ark, L.

The Molenaar Sijtsma statistic is an estimate of the reliability of a test score. In some special cases, computation of the Molenaar Sijtsma statistic requires provisional measures. These provisional measures have not been fully described in the literature, and we show that they have not been implemented in the software. We describe the required provisional measures as to allow the computation of the Molenaar Sijtsma statistic for all data sets.

PREFACE: Selected contributions from the 3rd Theory Meets Industry International Workshop, TMI2009 (Nagoya, Japan, 11-13 November 2009) Selected contributions from the 3rd Theory Meets Industry International Workshop, TMI2009 (Nagoya, Japan, 11-13 November 2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Isao; Hafner, Jürgen; Wimmer, Erich; Asahi, Ryoji

2010-09-01

The structures, physicochemical and thermodynamic properties of materials are becoming increasingly amenable to treatment by first-principles (ab initio) quantum mechanical simulations. Calculations containing a few hundred atoms are now routine, thanks to improvements in computer technology and computational techniques. Schemes to determine electronic structures more accurately and to treat more complex systems continue to be developed. A growing number of scientists and engineers are becoming aware of the power of these approaches. By applying these new computational tools, materials science and technology is expected to enter a new era of accelerated progress and efficiency. In 1998 the first workshop entitled 'Theory Meets Industry' (TMI) was held at the Vienna University of Technology. The aim of the workshop was to direct the potential of the ab initio simulation codes developed in academia towards the necessities arising from industrial research. Over the next decade, significant advances in ab initio methodology and its application to academic and industrial research were achieved. It was thus considered timely to hold a second TMI workshop in 2007, again in Vienna. The contributions from academia concentrated on a wide range of new developments in ab initio simulations, as well as on applications at the forefront of materials research. Speakers from the industrial sector also emphasized the progress made in successfully applying ab initiotechniques to key areas of modern technology. The proceedings were published in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter as a special issue (volume 20, number 6, 2008), which was included in the 'Top papers 2008 showcase' of that journal. Following the notable success of the first two workshops, it was decided that the third TMI workshop would be held outside Europe. Holding the workshop in Japan was intended to increase awareness of theoretical materials science and foster further international collaboration in this field. Lectures and poster presentations were thus solicited from leading international academic and industrial researchers. The large audience that attended responded to the high quality of the talks with pertinent questions and lively discussions. The third workshop, TMI2009, was held over three days from 11-13 November, 2009, at the Nagoya International Center, Nagoya, Japan. Invited talks were given by 23 speakers from 9 countries from both the academic and industry sectors. The speakers were Ryoji Asahi (Toyota Central R&D Labs, Japan), Tomas Bucko (University of Vienna, Austria), Gábor Csányi (University of Cambridge, UK), Alessandro De Vita (King's College London, UK), Bernard Delley (Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland), Christophe Domain (EDF, France), George Fitzgerald (Accelrys, USA), Takeo Fujiwara (University of Tokyo, Japan), Jürgen Hafner (University of Vienna, Austria), Masaya Ishida (Sumitomo Chemicals, Japan), Werner Janse Van Rensburg (Sasol Technology, South Africa), Masanori Kohyama (AIST, Japan), Takao Kotani (Tottori University, Japan), Georg Kresse (University of Vienna, Austria), Katsuyuki Matsunaga (Kyoto University, Japan), Stefan Müller (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany), Shin-ichiro Nakamura (Mitsubishi Chemicals, Japan), Fumiyasu Oba (Kyoto University, Japan), Tamio Oguchi (Hiroshima University, Japan), Pascal Raybaud (IFP, France), Isao Tanaka (Kyoto University/JFCC, Japan), Göran Wahnström (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), and Erich Wimmer (Materials Design Inc., USA). There were 40 poster presentations in total. The workshop was attended by approximately 120 participants with approximately 50 per cent from industry. The invited talks covered advances in ab initio solid-state calculations and their practical use in industry. Presentations outlining the progress made in treating large and complex systems, as well as more accurate and efficient calculation methods, were given from the theory side. Examples of the use of ab initiocalculations for research and development of a wide variety of materials were presented from the application side. These included materials for fuel cells, solar cells, lithium batteries, heterogeneous catalysts, oxide semiconductors, bioceramics, light-emitting devices, and many others. It is clear that the gap between theory and application is becoming ever narrower, and collaboration between industry and academia is now de rigueur. Some researchers in industry use ab initio tools every day as part of their research and development activities. The language gap between industry and theory is also narrowing, as shown by the active discussions between presenters and audience. TMI2009 was a satellite meeting of the 2nd International Symposium on Advanced Microscopy and Theoretical Calculations (AMTC2), held from 24-26 June, 2010, in Nagoya, Japan. The AMTC series of meetings was organized to commemorate the establishment of the Nanostructures Research Laboratory (NSRL) at the Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC), and as a daughter event of EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan. We would like to express our thanks to all the staff of the NSRL who helped run the workshop and contributed immeasurably to its success. Financial support for the workshop from the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas 'Nano Materials Science for Atomic-Scale Modification' from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology (MEXT) and Psi-k Network is also gratefully acknowledged. All submitted papers in this special issue were reviewed in order to meet the high standards of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. We are grateful to the many anonymous referees who made this possible. Last but not least, we would also like to thank all invited and poster contributors (especially those who accepted the burden of writing a full paper), and the Institute of Physics for their help in the preparation of this special issue.

National Blood Clot Alliance

MedlinePlus

... Dec Faces of Blood Clots Follow Us On Twitter Tweets by @StopTheClot Contact Info Phone: 703.935. ... 255 Vienna, VA 22182 more info Follow us Twitter Facebook Google Plus Email YouTube Pinterest Instagram DISCLAIMER ...

China demonstrates intercontinental quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnston, Hamish

2017-11-01

A quantum cryptography key has been shared between Beijing and Vienna using a satellite - allowing the presidents of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Austrian Academy of Sciences to communicate via a secure video link.

40 CFR 82.24 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for class II controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... contrary to provisions of the Vienna Convention on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Montreal... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) PROTECTION OF STRATOSPHERIC OZONE Production and...

40 CFR 82.24 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for class II controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... contrary to provisions of the Vienna Convention on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Montreal... PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) PROTECTION OF STRATOSPHERIC OZONE Production and...

Mother, melancholia, and humor in Erik H. Erikson's earliest writings.

PubMed

Capps, Donald

2008-09-01

Erik H. Erikson wrote three articles when he was in his late-twenties and an up-and-coming member of the psychoanalytic community in Vienna. At the time he wrote these articles, he was in a training psychoanalysis with Anna Freud, teaching at the Heitzing School in Vienna, and learning the Montessori method of teaching. These articles focus on the loss of primary narcissism and the development of the superego (or punitive conscience) in early childhood, especially through the child's conflict with maternal authority. They support the idea that melancholia, with its internalized rage against the mother, is the inevitable outcome of the loss of primary narcissism. I note, however, that the third of these articles makes a case for the restorative role of humor, especially when Freud's view that humor is a function of the superego is taken into account.

Which brain networks related to art perception are we talking about?. Comment on "Move me, astonish me…" delight my eyes and brain: The Vienna Integrated Model of top-down and bottom-up processes in Art Perception (VIMAP) and corresponding affective, evaluative, and neurophysiological correlates; by Matthew Pelowski et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayala, Francisco J.; Cela-Conde, Camilo J.

2017-07-01

The proposal by the Vienna Integrated Model of Art Perception (Pelowski et al., [4]; VIMAP, hereafter) is a valuable and much needed attempt to summarize and understand the cognitive processes underlying art perception. Very important in their model is, as expected, to ascertain the psychological and brain processes correlated with the perception of beauty in art works. In this commentary we'll focus exclusively on the consideration of VIMAP's section 5, ;Model stages and corresponding areas of the brain.; We'll examine the evidence advanced by VIMAP in the section about brain networks related to the perception of art.

Youth suicide risk factors and attitudes in New York and Vienna: a cross-cultural comparison.

PubMed

Dervic, Kanita; Gould, Madelyn S; Lenz, Gerhard; Kleinman, Marjorie; Akkaya-Kalayci, Tuerkan; Velting, Drew; Sonneck, Gernot; Friedrich, Max H

2006-10-01

The prevalence of suicide risk factors and attitudes about suicide and help-seeking among New York and Viennese adolescents were compared in order to explore possible cross-cultural differences. Viennese adolescents exhibited higher rates of depressive symptomatology than their New York counterparts and had more first-hand experience with suicidal peers. More attribution of suicide to mental illness was reported in Vienna; yet Viennese youth were less likely than New York adolescents to recognize the seriousness of suicide threats. Help-seeking patterns of Viennese adolescents were influenced by their setting a high value on confidentiality. These cross-cultural differences may reflect the limited exposure of Austrian youth to school-based suicide prevention programs. The findings highlight the need of taking the sociocultural context into consideration in the planning of youth suicide prevention strategies.

New Training and Diagnostic Stategies to Counteract Muscle and Bone Loss in Microgravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talla, R.; Adamcik, G.; Barta, N.; Kozlovskaya, I. B.; Tschan, H.; Bachl, N.; Angeli, T.

2013-02-01

The Multifunctional Dynamometer for Application in Space (MDS) is a cooperation between the Vienna University of Technology, the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow and the University of Vienna to prevent the deterioration of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system under the influence of microgravity. It is considered that the loading intensity might be crucial to support certain physiological parameters. The MDS offers a variety of exercises with the main focus on sites which are most affected by atrophy and is able to generate high training forces by using an electrical motor. Moreover the usage of the electrical motor enables different training modes for each exercise. A comprehensive analysis, including isokinetic and isometric tests provides the monitoring of the progress and compliance of the users. The MDS was implemented in the MARS 500 project.

[Stabilizing the social and health status of drug dependent patients with methadone. Long-term maintainance therapy--Vienna results].

PubMed

Loimer, N; Werner, E; Hollerer, E; Pfersmann, V; Schmid-Siegel, B; Presslich, O

1991-01-01

On September 25th, 1987 methadone was legalized in Austria for therapeutic use in drug addiction treatment in case of: 1. Long-term drug addiction with intravenous application of the drug, and several unsuccessful withdrawal therapies and/or 2. opiate addiction through intravenous application of the drug along with an existing HIV-1 infection. Since than, 291 patients were treated with methadone at the drug-dependency outpatient clinic of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Vienna. In 1990, 96 patients treated for more than one year were investigated using a standardized questionnaire. The image in which crime, prostitution, poverty, ill health all merge was broken by this decriminalization. Methadone treatment offers a first step toward social rehabilitation for drug addicts who have been living as criminals on the fringe of society.

Lower Miocene plant assemblage with coastal-marsh herbaceous monocots from the Vienna Basin (Slovakia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvaček, Zlatko; Teodoridis, Vasilis; Kováčová, Marianna; Schlögl, Ján; Sitár, Viliam

2014-06-01

A new plant assemblage of Cerová-Lieskové from Lower Miocene (Karpatian) deposits in the Vienna Basin (western Slovakia) is preserved in a relatively deep, upper-slope marine environment. Depositional conditions with high sedimentation rates allowed exceptional preservation of plant remains. The plant assemblage consists of (1) conifers represented by foliage of Pinus hepios and Tetraclinis salicornioides, a seed cone of Pinus cf. ornata, and by pollen of the Cupressaceae, Pinaceae, Pinus sp. and Cathaya sp., and (2) angiosperms represented by Cinnamomum polymorphum, Platanus neptuni, Potamogeton sp. and lauroid foliage, by pollen of Liquidambar sp., Engelhardia sp. and Craigia sp., and in particular by infructescences (so far interpreted as belonging to cereal ears). We validate genus and species assignments of the infructescences: they belong to Palaeotriticum Sitár, including P. mockii Sitár and P. carpaticum Sitár, and probably represent herbaceous monocots that inhabited coastal marshes, similar to the living grass Spartina. Similar infructescences occur in the Lower and Middle Miocene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep (Slup in Moravia), Tunjice Hills (Žale in Slovenia), and probably also in the Swiss Molasse (Lausanne). This plant assemblage demonstrates that the paleovegetation was represented by evergreen woodland with pines and grasses in undergrowth, similar to vegetation inhabiting coastal brackish marshes today. It also indicates subtropical climatic conditions in the Vienna Basin (central Paratethys), similar to those implied by other coeval plant assemblages from Central Europe

Cultures of death and politics of corpse supply: anatomy in Vienna, 1848-1914.

PubMed

Buklijas, Tatjana

2008-01-01

Nineteenth-century Vienna is well known to medical historians as a leading center of medical research and education, offering easy access to patients and corpses to students from all over the world. The author seeks to explain how this enviable supply of cadavers was achieved, why it provoked so little opposition at a time when Britain and the United States saw widespread protests against dissection, and how it was threatened from mid-century onward. To understand permissive Viennese attitudes, we need to place them in a longue durée history of death and dissection and to pay close attention to the city's political geography as it was transformed into a major imperial capital. The tolerant stance of the Roman Catholic Church, strong links to Southern Europe, and the weak position of individuals in the absolutist state all contributed to an idiosyncratic anatomical culture. But as the fame of the Vienna medical school peaked in the later 1800s, the increased demand created by rising numbers of students combined with intensified interdisciplinary competition to produce a shortfall that professors found increasingly difficult to meet. Around 1900, new religious groups and mass political parties challenged long-standing anatomical practice by refusing to supply cadavers and making dissection into an instrument of political struggle. This study of the material preconditions for anatomy at one of Europe's most influential medical schools provides a contrast to the dominant Anglo-American histories of death and dissection.

Difficulties in health care for female Turkish immigrants with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study in Vienna.

PubMed

Biyikli Gültekin, Elif

2017-05-01

According to studies, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DMT2) is more commonly encountered among Turkish immigrants than resident populations in Europe and Turkish people living in Turkey. Within this context this study focused on female Turkish immigrants with DMT2 who are living in Vienna. The purpose of this study was to determine the needs, expectations, special conditions and cultural characteristics of Turkish women with DMT2 by gathering information about their own perceptions about DMT2, difficulties encountered during the diagnosis, treatment and their experiences living with the disease. A qualitative phenomenological design was utilized with a sample of 13 participants recruited from the Turkish mosques in Vienna. The interview guide, which included semi-structured questions, was based on previous studies conducted on DMT2 and immigration. Interviews were transcribed verbally from tape recordings, translated into German and each statement paraphrased for further analysis. The interviews indicated participants' degree of knowledge about DMT2 and was the most significant factor affecting approaches to the disease. The most important difficulty for the participants was the re-organization of nutritional habits to DMT2 because of the Turkish cuisine culture. The results of this study can be utilized by the health care providers to gain an understanding of Turkish immigrants and DMT2. Thus, it will enable them to adapt their health care and education to meet the needs of this population better.

Enabling Energy-Awareness in the Semantic 3d City Model of Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agugiaro, G.

2016-09-01

This paper presents and discusses the first results regarding selection, analysis, preparation and eventual integration of a number of energy-related datasets, chosen in order to enrich a CityGML-based semantic 3D city model of Vienna. CityGML is an international standard conceived specifically as information and data model for semantic city models at urban and territorial scale. The still-in-development Energy Application Domain Extension (ADE) is a CityGML extension conceived to specifically model, manage and store energy-related features and attributes for buildings. The work presented in this paper is embedded within the European Marie-Curie ITN project "CINERGY, Smart cities with sustainable energy systems", which aims, among the rest, at developing urban decision making and operational optimisation software tools to minimise non-renewable energy use in cities. Given the scope and scale of the project, it is therefore vital to set up a common, unique and spatio-semantically coherent urban data model to be used as information hub for all applications being developed. This paper reports about the experiences done so far, it describes the test area in Vienna, Austria, and the available data sources, it shows and exemplifies the main data integration issues, the strategies developed to solve them in order to obtain the enriched 3D city model. The first results as well as some comments about their quality and limitations are presented, together with the discussion regarding the next steps and some planned improvements.

An efficient method for the prediction of deleterious multiple-point mutations in the secondary structure of RNAs using suboptimal folding solutions

PubMed Central

Churkin, Alexander; Barash, Danny

2008-01-01

Background RNAmute is an interactive Java application which, given an RNA sequence, calculates the secondary structure of all single point mutations and organizes them into categories according to their similarity to the predicted structure of the wild type. The secondary structure predictions are performed using the Vienna RNA package. A more efficient implementation of RNAmute is needed, however, to extend from the case of single point mutations to the general case of multiple point mutations, which may often be desired for computational predictions alongside mutagenesis experiments. But analyzing multiple point mutations, a process that requires traversing all possible mutations, becomes highly expensive since the running time is O(nm) for a sequence of length n with m-point mutations. Using Vienna's RNAsubopt, we present a method that selects only those mutations, based on stability considerations, which are likely to be conformational rearranging. The approach is best examined using the dot plot representation for RNA secondary structure. Results Using RNAsubopt, the suboptimal solutions for a given wild-type sequence are calculated once. Then, specific mutations are selected that are most likely to cause a conformational rearrangement. For an RNA sequence of about 100 nts and 3-point mutations (n = 100, m = 3), for example, the proposed method reduces the running time from several hours or even days to several minutes, thus enabling the practical application of RNAmute to the analysis of multiple-point mutations. Conclusion A highly efficient addition to RNAmute that is as user friendly as the original application but that facilitates the practical analysis of multiple-point mutations is presented. Such an extension can now be exploited prior to site-directed mutagenesis experiments by virologists, for example, who investigate the change of function in an RNA virus via mutations that disrupt important motifs in its secondary structure. A complete explanation of the application, called MultiRNAmute, is available at [1]. PMID:18445289

QMRAcatch - faecal microbial quality of water resources in a river-floodplain area affected by urban sources and recreational visitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derx, Julia; Schijven, Jack; Sommer, Regina; Kirschner, Alexander; Farnleitner, Andreas H.; Blaschke, Alfred Paul

2016-04-01

QMRAcatch, a tool to simulate microbial water quality including infection risk assessment, was previously developed and successfully tested at a Danube river site (Schijven et al. 2015). In the tool concentrations of target faecal microorganisms and viruses (TMVs) are computed at a point of interest (PI) along the main river and the floodplain river at daily intervals for a one year period. Even though faecal microbial pathogen concentrations in water resources are usually below the sample limit of detection, this does not ensure, that the water quality complies with a certain required health based target. The aim of this study was therefore to improve the predictability of relevant human pathogenic viruses, i.e. enterovirus and norovirus, in the studied river/floodplain area. This was done by following an innovative calibration strategy based on human-associated microbial source tracking (MST) marker data which were determined following the HF183 TaqMan assay (Green et al. 2011). The MST marker is strongly associated with human faeces and communal sewage, occurring there in numbers by several magnitudes higher than for human enteric pathogens (Mayer et al 2015). The calibrated tool was then evaluated with measured enterovirus concentrations at the PI and in the floodplain river. In the simulation tool the discharges of 5 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were considered with point discharges along a 200 km reach of the Danube river. The MST marker and target virus concentrations at the PI at a certain day were computed based on the concentrations of the previous day, plus the wastewater concentrations times the WWTP discharge divided by the river discharge. A ratio of the river width was also considered, over which the MST marker and virus particles have fully mixed with river water. In the tool, the excrements from recreational visitors frequenting the floodplain area every day were assumed to be homogeneously distributed in the area. A binomial distributed probability was considered that people practice open defecation in the floodplain area, including a viral prevalence. The release rate and runoff coefficient, defined here as ratios of daily rainfall amounts, were assumed the same for the MST marker and target viruses, and everywhere the same in the floodplain area. They may differ for different years, however, because climatic and hydrologic conditions can change. The model parameter uncertainties were considered in the tool within a Monte-Carlo framework. Random numbers were drawn from preselected statistical probability distributions e.g. of the faecal MST marker concentrations, for each year-day, iterated 10000 times. The calibrated tool was shown to predict enterovirus concentrations in the Danube river and the floodplain river within the right order of magnitude, when comparing the mean, 95th percentiles and the shape parameters of the Gamma distributions of measured and simulated concentrations over a year. With the calibrated tool, the required target virus reductions from the river Danube and the floodplain river water to produce safe drinking water were estimated. Low and high contamination scenarios (i.e. 5 log10 to no wastewater treatment, small to large percentage of visitors that practice open defecation, low to high viral prevalence) were investigated for guiding robust treatment design criteria of water supplies. This paper was supported by FWF (Vienna Doctoral Program on Water Resource Systems W1219-N22) and the GWRS project (Vienna Water) as part of the "(New) Danube-Lower Lobau Network Project" funded by the Government of Austria and Vienna, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (LE 07-13). References Green, H. C., Haugland, R. A., Varma, M., Millen, H. T., Borchardt, M. A., Field, K. G., Walters, W. A., Knight, R., Sivaganesan, M., Kelty, C.A., Shanks, O.C. 2014. Improved HF183 quantitative real-time PCR assay for characterization of human fecal pollution in ambient surface water samples. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 80: 3086-3094. Mayer, R.E., Bofill-Mas, S., Egle, L., Reischer, G.H., Schade, M., Fernandez-Cassi, X, Fuchs, W., Mach, R. L., Lindner, G., Kirschner, A., Gaisbauer, M., Piringer, H., Blaschke, A.P., Girones, R., Zessner, M., Sommer, R., Farnleitner, A.H. 2015. Occurrence of human-associated Bacteroidetes genetic source tracking markers in raw and treated wastewater of municipal and domestic origin and comparison to standard and alternative indicators of faecal pollution, Water Research 90: 265-276. Schijven, J., Derx, J., de Roda Husman, A. M., Blaschke, A. P., Farnleitner, A. H. 2015. QMRAcatch: Microbial quality simulation of water resources including infection risk assessment. J.Environ.Qual. 44, 1491-1502

Selecting Summary Statistics in Approximate Bayesian Computation for Calibrating Stochastic Models

PubMed Central

Burr, Tom

2013-01-01

Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) is an approach for using measurement data to calibrate stochastic computer models, which are common in biology applications. ABC is becoming the “go-to” option when the data and/or parameter dimension is large because it relies on user-chosen summary statistics rather than the full data and is therefore computationally feasible. One technical challenge with ABC is that the quality of the approximation to the posterior distribution of model parameters depends on the user-chosen summary statistics. In this paper, the user requirement to choose effective summary statistics in order to accurately estimate the posterior distribution of model parameters is investigated and illustrated by example, using a model and corresponding real data of mitochondrial DNA population dynamics. We show that for some choices of summary statistics, the posterior distribution of model parameters is closely approximated and for other choices of summary statistics, the posterior distribution is not closely approximated. A strategy to choose effective summary statistics is suggested in cases where the stochastic computer model can be run at many trial parameter settings, as in the example. PMID:24288668

Selecting summary statistics in approximate Bayesian computation for calibrating stochastic models.

PubMed

Burr, Tom; Skurikhin, Alexei

2013-01-01

Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) is an approach for using measurement data to calibrate stochastic computer models, which are common in biology applications. ABC is becoming the "go-to" option when the data and/or parameter dimension is large because it relies on user-chosen summary statistics rather than the full data and is therefore computationally feasible. One technical challenge with ABC is that the quality of the approximation to the posterior distribution of model parameters depends on the user-chosen summary statistics. In this paper, the user requirement to choose effective summary statistics in order to accurately estimate the posterior distribution of model parameters is investigated and illustrated by example, using a model and corresponding real data of mitochondrial DNA population dynamics. We show that for some choices of summary statistics, the posterior distribution of model parameters is closely approximated and for other choices of summary statistics, the posterior distribution is not closely approximated. A strategy to choose effective summary statistics is suggested in cases where the stochastic computer model can be run at many trial parameter settings, as in the example.

World Wide Web and Internet: applications for radiologists.

PubMed

Wunderbaldinger, P; Schima, W; Turetschek, K; Helbich, T H; Bankier, A A; Herold, C J

1999-01-01

Global exchange of information is one of the major sources of scientific progress in medicine. For management of the rapidly growing body of medical information, computers and their applications have become an indispensable scientific tool. Approximately 36 million computer users are part of a worldwide network called the Internet or "information highway" and have created a new infrastructure to promote rapid and efficient access to medical, and thus also to radiological, information. With the establishment of the World Wide Web (WWW) by a consortium of computer users who used a standardized, nonproprietary syntax termed HyperText Markup Language (HTML) for composing documents, it has become possible to provide interactive multimedia presentations to a wide audience. The extensive use of images in radiology makes education, worldwide consultation (review) and scientific presentation via the Internet a major beneficiary of this technical development. This is possible, since both information (text) as well as medical images can be transported via the Internet. Presently, the Internet offers an extensive database for radiologists. Since many radiologists and physicians have to be considered "Internet novices" and, hence, cannot yet avail themselves of the broad spectrum of the Internet, the aim of this article is to present a general introduction to the WWW/Internet and its applications for radiologists. All Internet sites mentioned in this article can be found at the following Internet address: http://www.univie.ac. at/radio/radio.html (Department of Radiology, University of Vienna)

Vertical facial height and its correlation with facial width and depth: Three dimensional cone beam computed tomography evaluation based on dry skulls.

PubMed

Wang, Ming Feng; Otsuka, Takero; Akimoto, Susumu; Sato, Sadao

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate how vertical facial height correlates with mandibular plane angle, facial width and depth from a three dimensional (3D) viewing angle. In this study 3D cephalometric landmarks were identified and measurements from 43 randomly selected cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of dry skulls from the Weisbach collection of Vienna Natural History Museum were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficients of facial height measurements and mandibular plane angle and the correlation coefficients of height-width and height-depth were calculated, respectively. The mandibular plane angle (MP-SN) significantly correlated with ramus height (Co-Go) and posterior facial height (PFH) but not with anterior lower face height (ALFH) or anterior total face height (ATFH). The ALFH and ATFH showed significant correlation with anterior cranial base length (S-N), whereas PFH showed significant correlation with the mandible (S-B) and maxilla (S-A) anteroposterior position. High or low mandibular plane angle might not necessarily be accompanied by long or short anterior face height, respectively. The PFH rather than AFH is assumed to play a key role in the vertical facial type whereas AFH seems to undergo relatively intrinsic growth.

On computations of variance, covariance and correlation for interval data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishida, Masako

2017-02-01

In many practical situations, the data on which statistical analysis is to be performed is only known with interval uncertainty. Different combinations of values from the interval data usually lead to different values of variance, covariance, and correlation. Hence, it is desirable to compute the endpoints of possible values of these statistics. This problem is, however, NP-hard in general. This paper shows that the problem of computing the endpoints of possible values of these statistics can be rewritten as the problem of computing skewed structured singular values ν, for which there exist feasible (polynomial-time) algorithms that compute reasonably tight bounds in most practical cases. This allows one to find tight intervals of the aforementioned statistics for interval data.

Finite-beta equilibria for Wendelstein 7-X configurations using the Princeton Iterative Equilibrium Solver code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arndt, S.; Merkel, P.; Monticello, D. A.; Reiman, A. H.

1999-04-01

Fixed- and free-boundary equilibria for Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) [W. Lotz et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1990 (Proc. 13th Int. Conf. Washington, DC, 1990), (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1991), Vol. 2, p. 603] configurations are calculated using the Princeton Iterative Equilibrium Solver (PIES) [A. H. Reiman et al., Comput. Phys. Commun., 43, 157 (1986)] to deal with magnetic islands and stochastic regions. Usually, these W7-X configurations require a large number of iterations for PIES convergence. Here, two methods have been successfully tested in an attempt to decrease the number of iterations needed for convergence. First, periodic sequences of different blending parameters are used. Second, the initial guess is vastly improved by using results of the Variational Moments Equilibrium Code (VMEC) [S. P. Hirshmann et al., Phys. Fluids 26, 3553 (1983)]. Use of these two methods have allowed verification of the Hamada condition and tendency of "self-healing" of islands has been observed.

Metamodels for Computer-Based Engineering Design: Survey and Recommendations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, Timothy W.; Peplinski, Jesse; Koch, Patrick N.; Allen, Janet K.

1997-01-01

The use of statistical techniques to build approximations of expensive computer analysis codes pervades much of todays engineering design. These statistical approximations, or metamodels, are used to replace the actual expensive computer analyses, facilitating multidisciplinary, multiobjective optimization and concept exploration. In this paper we review several of these techniques including design of experiments, response surface methodology, Taguchi methods, neural networks, inductive learning, and kriging. We survey their existing application in engineering design and then address the dangers of applying traditional statistical techniques to approximate deterministic computer analysis codes. We conclude with recommendations for the appropriate use of statistical approximation techniques in given situations and how common pitfalls can be avoided.

Application of microarray analysis on computer cluster and cloud platforms.

PubMed

Bernau, C; Boulesteix, A-L; Knaus, J

2013-01-01

Analysis of recent high-dimensional biological data tends to be computationally intensive as many common approaches such as resampling or permutation tests require the basic statistical analysis to be repeated many times. A crucial advantage of these methods is that they can be easily parallelized due to the computational independence of the resampling or permutation iterations, which has induced many statistics departments to establish their own computer clusters. An alternative is to rent computing resources in the cloud, e.g. at Amazon Web Services. In this article we analyze whether a selection of statistical projects, recently implemented at our department, can be efficiently realized on these cloud resources. Moreover, we illustrate an opportunity to combine computer cluster and cloud resources. In order to compare the efficiency of computer cluster and cloud implementations and their respective parallelizations we use microarray analysis procedures and compare their runtimes on the different platforms. Amazon Web Services provide various instance types which meet the particular needs of the different statistical projects we analyzed in this paper. Moreover, the network capacity is sufficient and the parallelization is comparable in efficiency to standard computer cluster implementations. Our results suggest that many statistical projects can be efficiently realized on cloud resources. It is important to mention, however, that workflows can change substantially as a result of a shift from computer cluster to cloud computing.

78 FR 59662 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-27

... Partners II, LLC, Solar Partners VIII, LLC, Sun City Project LLC, Vienna Power LLC. Description: Notice of... between Desert Sunlight 250, 300, and Holdings to be effective 10/1/2013. Filed Date: 9/19/13. Accession...

Cloud-free resolution element statistics program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liley, B.; Martin, C. D.

1971-01-01

Computer program computes number of cloud-free elements in field-of-view and percentage of total field-of-view occupied by clouds. Human error is eliminated by using visual estimation to compute cloud statistics from aerial photographs.

Generation of ELGA-compatible radiology reports from the Vienna Hospital Association's EHR system.

PubMed

Haider, Jasmin; Hölzl, Konrad; Toth, Herlinde; Duftschmid, Georg

2014-01-01

In the course of setting up the upcoming Austrian national shared EHR system ELGA, adaptors will have to be implemented for the local EHR systems of all participating healthcare providers. These adaptors must be able to transform EHR data from the internal format of the particular local EHR system to the specified format of the ELGA document types and vice versa. In the course of an ongoing diploma thesis we are currently developing a transformation application that shall allow the generation of ELGA-compatible radiology reports from the local EHR system of the Vienna Hospital Association. Up to now a first prototype has been developed that was tested with six radiology reports. It generates technically valid ELGA radiology reports apart from two errors yielded by the ELGA online validator that rather seem to be bugs of the validator. A medical validation of the reports remains to be done.

Vienna SAC-SOS: Analysis of the European VLBI Sessions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, C. T.; Pavetich, P.; Nilsson, T.; Böhm, J.; Schuh, H.

2012-12-01

The Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics (IGG) of the Vienna University of Technology as an IVS Special Analysis Center for Specific Observing Sessions (SAC-SOS) has analyzed the European VLBI sessions using the software VieVS. Between 1990 and 2011, 115 sessions have been carried out. The analyzed baselines have lengths ranging from approximately 445 to 4580 km, and they show good repeatabilities, apart from the ones containing station Simeiz. The station velocities have also been investigated. The stations situated in the stable part of Europe have not shown significant relative movements w.r.t. Wettzell, whereas the stations located in the northern areas have the largest vertical motions as a result of the post glacial isostatic rebound of the zone. The stations placed in Italy, around the Black Sea, in Siberia, and near the Arctic Circle show the largest relative horizontal motions because they belong to different geodynamical units.

Composition of the essential oils from Peucedanum cervaria and P. alsaticum growing wild in the urban area of Vienna (Austria).

PubMed

Chizzola, Remigius

2012-11-01

The composition of the essential oil from the different above ground plant parts of Peucedanum cervaria and P. alsaticum (Apiaceae) collected in the urban area of Vienna has been studied. P. cervaria fruits and inflorescences had 1.5 and 1.8% essential oil, respectively. All the oils of P. cervaria were dominated by monoterpenes, with the main components being beta-pinene (7-58%), alpha-pinene (7-22%), sabinene (up to 22%), and beta-phellandrene with limonene (6-21%). P. alsaticum fruits afforded 0.3-0.4% essential oil. These oils were made up mainly by alpha-pinene (11-40%), sabinene (16-34%) and beta-phellandrene (12-31%). Stems and leaves produced only very small amounts of essential oil (< 0.05%). Besides monoterpenes, these oils contained also E-nerolidol (5-22%), spathulenol (up to 18%), dodecanal (up to 7.5%) and caryophyllene oxide (up to 7%).

Comment on the International Atomic Energy Agency Report on the Advisory Group Meeting on Stable Isotope Reference Samples for Geochemical and Hydrological Investigation, Vienna, Austria, September 19-21, 1983

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coplen, T.B.; Friedman, Irving; O'Neil, J.R.

1984-01-01

According to U.S. Geological Survey records, a report prepared by R. Gonfiantini summarizing the findings and recommendations of the 1983 Advisory Group Meeting on Stable Isotope Reference Samples for Geochemical and Hydrologic Investigations held in Vienna does not accurately represent the consultants ' consensus on three important points. The consultants (1) recommended no value for the C02-H20 oxygen isotope fractionation factor, not the cited value of 1.04115, (2) adopted a value of 1.0309 rather than 1.03086 to relate the PDB and SMOW scales, and (3) adopted a firm 180 value of -2.20% for NBS-19 on the PDB scale rather than agreeing that this would be a tentative value subject to modification when more measurements in selected laboratories are available. (USGS)

Estimation of Geodetic and Geodynamical Parameters with VieVS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spicakova, Hana; Bohm, Johannes; Bohm, Sigrid; Nilsson, tobias; Pany, Andrea; Plank, Lucia; Teke, Kamil; Schuh, Harald

2010-01-01

Since 2008 the VLBI group at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at TU Vienna has focused on the development of a new VLBI data analysis software called VieVS (Vienna VLBI Software). One part of the program, currently under development, is a unit for parameter estimation in so-called global solutions, where the connection of the single sessions is done by stacking at the normal equation level. We can determine time independent geodynamical parameters such as Love and Shida numbers of the solid Earth tides. Apart from the estimation of the constant nominal values of Love and Shida numbers for the second degree of the tidal potential, it is possible to determine frequency dependent values in the diurnal band together with the resonance frequency of Free Core Nutation. In this paper we show first results obtained from the 24-hour IVS R1 and R4 sessions.

["The aim is familiarity with the infant". Work and research in the Jackson Nursery (Vienna 1937/38)].

PubMed

Krivanek, Roman

2014-01-01

The "Jackson Nursery", existing from February 1937 until March 1938, was directed by Anna Freud and financed by Edith Jackson and Dorothy Burlingham. It took care of infants from the poorest strata of Vienna and also gave material support to their families. On the other hand, it was a training institution for psychoanalysts, offering the opportunity of observing children during their first two years, e. g. their feeding habits and social sense. In addition, the Jackson Nursery was a place for research where psychoanalytic theories of infantile development were checked against the findings of direct observation. The work started here was then continued by A. Freud and D. Burlingham on a larger scale in their War Nurseries.--This paper examines the many-sided activities in the nursery mainly on the basis of unpu blished archival documents.

On viewer motivation, unit of analysis, and the VIMAP. Comment on "Move me, astonish me ... delight my eyes and brain: The Vienna Integrated Model of top-down and bottom-up processes in Art Perception (VIMAP) and corresponding affective, evaluative, and neurophysiological correlates" by Matthew Pelowski et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinio, Pablo P. L.

2017-07-01

The Vienna Integrated Model of Art Perception (VIMAP; [5]) is the most comprehensive model of the art experience today. The model incorporates bottom-up and top-down cognitive processes and accounts for different outcomes of the art experience, such as aesthetic evaluations, emotions, and physiological and neurological responses to art. In their presentation of the model, Pelowski et al. also present hypotheses that are amenable to empirical testing. These features make the VIMAP an ambitious model that attempts to explain how meaningful, complex, and profound aspects of the art experience come about, which is a significant extension of previous models of the art experience (e.g., [1-3,10]), and which gives the VIMAP good explanatory power.

Next generation vaccines.

PubMed

Riedmann, Eva M

2011-07-01

In February this year, about 100 delegates gathered for three days in Vienna (Austria) for the Next Generation Vaccines conference. The meeting held in the Vienna Hilton Hotel from 23rd-25th February 2011 had a strong focus on biotech and industry. The conference organizer Jacob Fleming managed to put together a versatile program ranging from the future generation of vaccines to manufacturing, vaccine distribution and delivery, to regulatory and public health issues. Carefully selected top industry experts presented first-hand experience and shared solutions for overcoming the latest challenges in the field of vaccinology. The program also included several case study presentations on novel vaccine candidates in different stages of development. An interactive pre-conference workshop as well as interactive panel discussions during the meeting allowed all delegates to gain new knowledge and become involved in lively discussions on timely, interesting and sometimes controversial topics related to vaccines.

Small and medium power reactors 1987

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1987-12-01

This TECDOC follows the publication of TECDOC-347: Small and Medium Power Reactors (SMPR) Project Initiation Study, Phase 1, published in 1985 and TECDOC-376: Small and Medium Power Reactors 1985 published in 1986. It is mainly intended for decision makers in Developing Member States interested in embarking on a nuclear power program. It consists of two parts: (1) guidelines for the introduction of small and medium power reactors in developing countries. These Guidelines were established during the Advisory Group Meeting held in Vienna from 11 to 15 May 1987. Their purpose is to review key aspects relating to the introduction of small and medium power reactors in developing countries; (2) up-dated information on SMPR Concepts Contributed by Supplier Industries. According to the recommendations of the Second Technical Committee Meeting on SMPRs held in Vienna in March 1985, this part contains the up-dated information formerly published in Annex 1 of the above mentioned TECDOC-347.

[Pasteur's rabies vaccination: 130 years ago successfully started in Vienna, however officially rejected].

PubMed

Flamm, Heinz

2015-08-01

The Viennese surgeon Emerich Ullmann who was trained in rabies vaccination by Pasteur personally started his activity in Vienna on 28.6.1886 vaccinating persons of Austria-Hungary been bitten by rabid animals. Whereas Prof. v.Frisch of the other surgical clinic who also had visited Pasteur carried out animal experiments which urged him to disapprove Pasteur's human rabies vaccination. Ullmann vaccinated with great success but soon there appeared obstructions in Viennese medical journals and hateful discussions in the Austrian Parliament against Pasteur and Ullmann. These facts blocked the necessary financial subvention of Ullmann's self financed vaccinations and resulted in their interruption. After a mass infection of rabies in the Bukowina in 1891 the Supreme Sanitary Board formed an Epidemiologic Committee which recommended the establishment of a vaccination unit in an Austrian hospital. In July 1894 the Vaccination Unit was opened in the Viennese hospital Rudolfstiftung, where Emerich Ullmann carried out the rabies vaccinations.

Manifold parametrization of the left ventricle for a statistical modelling of its complete anatomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil, D.; Garcia-Barnes, J.; Hernández-Sabate, A.; Marti, E.

2010-03-01

Distortion of Left Ventricle (LV) external anatomy is related to some dysfunctions, such as hypertrophy. The architecture of myocardial fibers determines LV electromechanical activation patterns as well as mechanics. Thus, their joined modelling would allow the design of specific interventions (such as peacemaker implantation and LV remodelling) and therapies (such as resynchronization). On one hand, accurate modelling of external anatomy requires either a dense sampling or a continuous infinite dimensional approach, which requires non-Euclidean statistics. On the other hand, computation of fiber models requires statistics on Riemannian spaces. Most approaches compute separate statistical models for external anatomy and fibers architecture. In this work we propose a general mathematical framework based on differential geometry concepts for computing a statistical model including, both, external and fiber anatomy. Our framework provides a continuous approach to external anatomy supporting standard statistics. We also provide a straightforward formula for the computation of the Riemannian fiber statistics. We have applied our methodology to the computation of complete anatomical atlas of canine hearts from diffusion tensor studies. The orientation of fibers over the average external geometry agrees with the segmental description of orientations reported in the literature.

75 FR 28294 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-PXI Systems...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-20

... Instruments GmbH, Landshut-Altdorf, GERMANY; Keithly Instruments, Solon, OH; Elektrobit Austria GmbH, Vienna, AUSTRIA; DiagnoSYS Systems Ltd., Hampshire, UNITED KINGDOM; and Elma Electronic Inc., Fremont, CA, have...

Water: from the source to the treatment plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marquet, V.; Baude, I.

2012-04-01

As a biology and geology teacher, I have worked on water, from the source to the treatment plant, with pupils between 14 and 15 years old. Lesson 1. Introduction, the water in Vienna Aim: The pupils have to consider why the water is so important in Vienna (history, economy etc.) Activities: Brainstorming about where and why we use water every day and why the water is different in Vienna. Lesson 2. Soil, rock and water Aim: Permeability/ impermeability of the different layers of earth Activities: The pupils have measure the permeability and porosity of different stones: granite, clay, sand, carbonate and basalt. Lesson 3. Relationship between water's ion composition and the stone's mineralogy Aim: Each water source has the same ion composition as the soil where the water comes from. Activities: Comparison between the stone's mineralogy and ions in water. They had a diagram with the ions of granite, clay, sand, carbonate and basalt and the label of different water. They had to make hypotheses about the type of soil where the water came from. They verified this with a geology map of France and Austria. They have to make a profile of the area where the water comes from. They had to confirm or reject their hypothesis. Lesson 4 .Water-catchment and reservoir rocks Aim: Construction of a confined aquifer and artesian well Activities: With sand, clay and a basin, they have to model a confined aquifer and make an artesian well, using what they have learned in lesson 2. Lesson 5. Organic material breakdown and it's affect on the oxygen levels in an aquatic ecosystem Aim: Evaluate the relationship between oxygen levels and the amount of organic matter in an aquatic ecosystem. Explain the relationship between oxygen levels, bacteria and the breakdown of organic matter using an indicator solution. Activities: Put 5 ml of a different water sample in each tube with 20 drops of methylene blue. Observe the tubes after 1 month. Lesson 6. Visit to the biggest water treatment plant in Europe in Vienna Lesson 7 Water Quality Monitoring: Biochemical Oxygen Demand Aim: Measure the quantity of oxygen used by microorganisms in the oxidation of organic matter for different water; downstream and upstream of polluting refuse, after addition of glucose, milk or humus in the water. Activities: After dissolution of the different samples of water they measure the dissolved oxygen with the Winkler Method.

Soil awareness raising - activities in schools and for the general public in Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Sigbert; Birli, Barbara; Schwarz, Sigrid; Tulipan, Monika; Berthold, Helene; Englisch, Michael; Foldal, Cecilie

2017-04-01

Too few people know just how important soil really is and how to manage it properly. This is why a number of activities have been launched by the Austrian Soil Science Society and its members to provide basic soil information to "non-soil experts" promoting the various services soil provides for society and raising awareness as to what each individual can do to protect and manage soil. Environment Agency Austria and Umweltdachverband [1] have developed teaching material based on the principles of "Education for Sustainable Development". These booklets provide basic knowledge about soil combined with appealing and creative tasks. These tasks were developed to fit into biology or geography courses as well as into other courses such as mathematics, language training, chemistry, history, informatics, etc. Pupils and students may actively explore soil properties, soil formation, soil functions and soil organisms in the course of workshops (called "Boden macht Schule") in schools and in kindergartens [2],[3]. Key elements are the identification of soil animals, creative tasks and experiments appropriate to the pupils' age showing soiĺs ability to clean and retain water. The workshops for kindergartens revolve around feeling the soil texture, exploring soil biota and drawing. A special challenge for students is the Soil Orientation Run, a combination of physical effort, testing onés own soil knowledge and cooperating as a team. At the Vienna Zzoo many people get in touch with soil and its properties during the Vienna species conservation days. 2017 a new soil trail with 13 boards will open in Vienna, focusing on the genesis, geology, biology and important functions of the Viennese urban soil. A team of 10 scientists worked on the implementation of this soil trail which will raise soil awareness of the citizens and visitors of Vienna. The Soil Awareness Guide as a tool of the Austrian Soil Platform shows activities and materials to raise awareness in Austria. Due to these activities up to now several thousand people were able to get an idea of the importance of soil for our life. By asking children to discuss these topics with their parents, we hope to reach also todaýs decision makers and land users while teaching those of tomorrow. Footnotes: [1] http://www.umweltdachverband.at/ [2] https://bodenschutz.wordpress.com/ [3] http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/umweltsituation/boden/schule/

Some Experience with Interactive Computing in Teaching Introductory Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diegert, Carl

Students in two biostatistics courses at the Cornell Medical College and in a course in applications of computer science given in Cornell's School of Industrial Engineering were given access to an interactive package of computer programs enabling them to perform statistical analysis without the burden of hand computation. After a general…

Challenges of Big Data Analysis.

PubMed

Fan, Jianqing; Han, Fang; Liu, Han

2014-06-01

Big Data bring new opportunities to modern society and challenges to data scientists. On one hand, Big Data hold great promises for discovering subtle population patterns and heterogeneities that are not possible with small-scale data. On the other hand, the massive sample size and high dimensionality of Big Data introduce unique computational and statistical challenges, including scalability and storage bottleneck, noise accumulation, spurious correlation, incidental endogeneity, and measurement errors. These challenges are distinguished and require new computational and statistical paradigm. This article gives overviews on the salient features of Big Data and how these features impact on paradigm change on statistical and computational methods as well as computing architectures. We also provide various new perspectives on the Big Data analysis and computation. In particular, we emphasize on the viability of the sparsest solution in high-confidence set and point out that exogeneous assumptions in most statistical methods for Big Data can not be validated due to incidental endogeneity. They can lead to wrong statistical inferences and consequently wrong scientific conclusions.

Challenges of Big Data Analysis

PubMed Central

Fan, Jianqing; Han, Fang; Liu, Han

2014-01-01

Big Data bring new opportunities to modern society and challenges to data scientists. On one hand, Big Data hold great promises for discovering subtle population patterns and heterogeneities that are not possible with small-scale data. On the other hand, the massive sample size and high dimensionality of Big Data introduce unique computational and statistical challenges, including scalability and storage bottleneck, noise accumulation, spurious correlation, incidental endogeneity, and measurement errors. These challenges are distinguished and require new computational and statistical paradigm. This article gives overviews on the salient features of Big Data and how these features impact on paradigm change on statistical and computational methods as well as computing architectures. We also provide various new perspectives on the Big Data analysis and computation. In particular, we emphasize on the viability of the sparsest solution in high-confidence set and point out that exogeneous assumptions in most statistical methods for Big Data can not be validated due to incidental endogeneity. They can lead to wrong statistical inferences and consequently wrong scientific conclusions. PMID:25419469

Workshop in computational molecular biology, April 15, 1991--April 14, 1994

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

Tavare, S.

Funds from this award were used to the Workshop in Computational Molecular Biology, `91 Symposium entitled Interface: Computing Science and Statistics, Seattle, Washington, April 21, 1991; the Workshop in Statistical Issues in Molecular Biology held at Stanford, California, August 8, 1993; and the Session on Population Genetics a part of the 56th Annual Meeting, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, San Francisco, California, August 9, 1993.

Detecting Genomic Clustering of Risk Variants from Sequence Data: Cases vs. Controls

PubMed Central

Schaid, Daniel J.; Sinnwell, Jason P.; McDonnell, Shannon K.; Thibodeau, Stephen N.

2013-01-01

As the ability to measure dense genetic markers approaches the limit of the DNA sequence itself, taking advantage of possible clustering of genetic variants in, and around, a gene would benefit genetic association analyses, and likely provide biological insights. The greatest benefit might be realized when multiple rare variants cluster in a functional region. Several statistical tests have been developed, one of which is based on the popular Kulldorff scan statistic for spatial clustering of disease. We extended another popular spatial clustering method – Tango’s statistic – to genomic sequence data. An advantage of Tango’s method is that it is rapid to compute, and when single test statistic is computed, its distribution is well approximated by a scaled chi-square distribution, making computation of p-values very rapid. We compared the Type-I error rates and power of several clustering statistics, as well as the omnibus sequence kernel association test (SKAT). Although our version of Tango’s statistic, which we call “Kernel Distance” statistic, took approximately half the time to compute than the Kulldorff scan statistic, it had slightly less power than the scan statistic. Our results showed that the Ionita-Laza version of Kulldorff’s scan statistic had the greatest power over a range of clustering scenarios. PMID:23842950

Computation of statistical secondary structure of nucleic acids.

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, K; Kitamura, Y; Yoshikura, H

1984-01-01

This paper presents a computer analysis of statistical secondary structure of nucleic acids. For a given single stranded nucleic acid, we generated "structure map" which included all the annealing structures in the sequence. The map was transformed into "energy map" by rough approximation; here, the energy level of every pairing structure consisting of more than 2 successive nucleic acid pairs was calculated. By using the "energy map", the probability of occurrence of each annealed structure was computed, i.e., the structure was computed statistically. The basis of computation was the 8-queen problem in the chess game. The validity of our computer programme was checked by computing tRNA structure which has been well established. Successful application of this programme to small nuclear RNAs of various origins is demonstrated. PMID:6198622

Rtop - an R package for interpolation of data with a variable spatial support - examples from river networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olav Skøien, Jon; Laaha, Gregor; Koffler, Daniel; Blöschl, Günter; Pebesma, Edzer; Parajka, Juraj; Viglione, Alberto

2013-04-01

Geostatistical methods have been applied only to a limited extent for spatial interpolation in applications where the observations have an irregular support, such as runoff characteristics or population health data. Several studies have shown the potential of such methods (Gottschalk 1993, Sauquet et al. 2000, Gottschalk et al. 2006, Skøien et al. 2006, Goovaerts 2008), but these developments have so far not led to easily accessible, versatile, easy to apply and open source software. Based on the top-kriging approach suggested by Skøien et al. (2006), we will here present the package rtop, which has been implemented in the statistical environment R (R Core Team 2012). Taking advantage of the existing methods in R for analysis of spatial objects (Bivand et al. 2008), and the extensive possibilities for visualizing the results, rtop makes it easy to apply geostatistical interpolation methods when observations have a non-point spatial support. Although the package is flexible regarding data input, the main application so far has been for interpolation along river networks. We will present some examples showing how the package can easily be used for such interpolation. The model will soon be uploaded to CRAN, but is in the meantime also available from R-forge and can be installed by: > install.packages("rtop", repos="http://R-Forge.R-project.org") Bivand, R.S., Pebesma, E.J. & Gómez-Rubio, V., 2008. Applied spatial data analysis with r: Springer. Goovaerts, P., 2008. Kriging and semivariogram deconvolution in the presence of irregular geographical units. Mathematical Geosciences, 40 (1), 101-128. Gottschalk, L., 1993. Interpolation of runoff applying objective methods. Stochastic Hydrology and Hydraulics, 7, 269-281. Gottschalk, L., Krasovskaia, I., Leblois, E. & Sauquet, E., 2006. Mapping mean and variance of runoff in a river basin. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 469-484. R Core Team, 2012. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria, ISBN 3-900051-07-0. Sauquet, E., Gottschalk, L. & Leblois, E., 2000. Mapping average annual runoff: A hierarchical approach applying a stochastic interpolation scheme. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 45 (6), 799-815. Skøien, J.O., Merz, R. & Blöschl, G., 2006. Top-kriging - geostatistics on stream networks. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 277-287.

CHRIS: Hazardous Chemical Data

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-10-01

CPLORD-O-TOLUICIfE FAST RED Z& BASE = ’-1-ITRCAMILINE FERMENTAITION ALCOH!OL - ETHYL ALCOHOL FERMENTATION AMYL ALCOHCL -ISCANYL ALCOJIGI FERMENTATION BUTYL...ACID ETHYLENEDIAMINE IETRACETIC ACID VIC-H-XYLENOL XYLENOL VIENNA GREEN COPPER ACETOARSE1ITE VILRATHANE 4300 -CIPHENYLETHAME01ISOCYANATE (MDIl VINEGAR

CSF analysis

MedlinePlus

... A, Sancesario GM, Esposito Z, et al. Plasmin system of Alzheimer's disease: CSF analysis. J Neural Transm (Vienna) . ... urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is ...

Subject-enabled analytics model on measurement statistics in health risk expert system for public health informatics.

PubMed

Chung, Chi-Jung; Kuo, Yu-Chen; Hsieh, Yun-Yu; Li, Tsai-Chung; Lin, Cheng-Chieh; Liang, Wen-Miin; Liao, Li-Na; Li, Chia-Ing; Lin, Hsueh-Chun

2017-11-01

This study applied open source technology to establish a subject-enabled analytics model that can enhance measurement statistics of case studies with the public health data in cloud computing. The infrastructure of the proposed model comprises three domains: 1) the health measurement data warehouse (HMDW) for the case study repository, 2) the self-developed modules of online health risk information statistics (HRIStat) for cloud computing, and 3) the prototype of a Web-based process automation system in statistics (PASIS) for the health risk assessment of case studies with subject-enabled evaluation. The system design employed freeware including Java applications, MySQL, and R packages to drive a health risk expert system (HRES). In the design, the HRIStat modules enforce the typical analytics methods for biomedical statistics, and the PASIS interfaces enable process automation of the HRES for cloud computing. The Web-based model supports both modes, step-by-step analysis and auto-computing process, respectively for preliminary evaluation and real time computation. The proposed model was evaluated by computing prior researches in relation to the epidemiological measurement of diseases that were caused by either heavy metal exposures in the environment or clinical complications in hospital. The simulation validity was approved by the commercial statistics software. The model was installed in a stand-alone computer and in a cloud-server workstation to verify computing performance for a data amount of more than 230K sets. Both setups reached efficiency of about 10 5 sets per second. The Web-based PASIS interface can be used for cloud computing, and the HRIStat module can be flexibly expanded with advanced subjects for measurement statistics. The analytics procedure of the HRES prototype is capable of providing assessment criteria prior to estimating the potential risk to public health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Instruction of Statistics via Computer-Based Tools: Effects on Statistics' Anxiety, Attitude, and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciftci, S. Koza; Karadag, Engin; Akdal, Pinar

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of statistics instruction using computer-based tools, on statistics anxiety, attitude, and achievement. This study was designed as quasi-experimental research and the pattern used was a matched pre-test/post-test with control group design. Data was collected using three scales: a Statistics…

An 'electronic' extramural course in epidemiology and medical statistics.

PubMed

Ostbye, T

1989-03-01

This article describes an extramural university course in epidemiology and medical statistics taught using a computer conferencing system, microcomputers and data communications. Computer conferencing was shown to be a powerful, yet quite easily mastered, vehicle for distance education. It allows health personnel unable to attend regular classes due to geographical or time constraints, to take part in an interactive learning environment at low cost. This overcomes part of the intellectual and social isolation associated with traditional correspondence courses. Teaching of epidemiology and medical statistics is well suited to computer conferencing, even if the asynchronicity of the medium makes discussion of the most complex statistical concepts a little cumbersome. Computer conferencing may also prove to be a useful tool for teaching other medical and health related subjects.

SWToolbox: A surface-water tool-box for statistical analysis of streamflow time series

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kiang, Julie E.; Flynn, Kate; Zhai, Tong; Hummel, Paul; Granato, Gregory

2018-03-07

This report is a user guide for the low-flow analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) computer program. The software combines functionality from two software programs—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SWSTAT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DFLOW. Both of these programs have been used primarily for computation of critical low-flow statistics. The main analysis methods are the computation of hydrologic frequency statistics such as the 7-day minimum flow that occurs on average only once every 10 years (7Q10), computation of design flows including biologically based flows, and computation of flow-duration curves and duration hydrographs. Other annual, monthly, and seasonal statistics can also be computed. The interface facilitates retrieval of streamflow discharge data from the USGS National Water Information System and outputs text reports for a record of the analysis. Tools for graphing data and screening tests are available to assist the analyst in conducting the analysis.

On the Use of Statistics in Design and the Implications for Deterministic Computer Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, Timothy W.; Peplinski, Jesse; Koch, Patrick N.; Allen, Janet K.

1997-01-01

Perhaps the most prevalent use of statistics in engineering design is through Taguchi's parameter and robust design -- using orthogonal arrays to compute signal-to-noise ratios in a process of design improvement. In our view, however, there is an equally exciting use of statistics in design that could become just as prevalent: it is the concept of metamodeling whereby statistical models are built to approximate detailed computer analysis codes. Although computers continue to get faster, analysis codes always seem to keep pace so that their computational time remains non-trivial. Through metamodeling, approximations of these codes are built that are orders of magnitude cheaper to run. These metamodels can then be linked to optimization routines for fast analysis, or they can serve as a bridge for integrating analysis codes across different domains. In this paper we first review metamodeling techniques that encompass design of experiments, response surface methodology, Taguchi methods, neural networks, inductive learning, and kriging. We discuss their existing applications in engineering design and then address the dangers of applying traditional statistical techniques to approximate deterministic computer analysis codes. We conclude with recommendations for the appropriate use of metamodeling techniques in given situations and how common pitfalls can be avoided.

Language-specific skills in intercultural healthcare communication: Comparing perceived preparedness and skills in nurses' first and second languages.

PubMed

Gasiorek, Jessica; van de Poel, Kris

2018-02-01

Interactions between people from different cultures are becoming increasingly commonplace in contemporary healthcare settings. To date, most research evaluating cross-cultural preparedness has assumed that medical professionals are speaking their first language (L1). However, as healthcare workers are increasingly mobile and patient populations are increasingly diverse, more and more interactions are likely to occur in a professional's non-native language (L2). This study assessed and compared nurses' perceived cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness in their interactions with patients from other cultures when speaking both their L1 and L2. The goal of this project was to inform the creation of a communication skills training program. Nurses reported their perceived cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness (scales adapted from Park et al., 2009) in their L1 and L2 via an online questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed among nurses working in Vienna, Austria, through the Vienna Hospital Association (VHA). Nurses and nurses-in-training working in VHA hospitals participated. Most participants who provided demographic information were currently nurses (n=179) with an average of 16.88years (SD=11.50) of professional experience (range: 0-40); n=40 were nurses-in-training with an average of 2.13years (SD=0.88) of experience (range: 1-5). Descriptive statistics for each cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness (in each language) are reported; comparisons between L1 and L2 responses were also conducted. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify predictors of preparedness and L1/L2 skillfulness. Nurses reported feeling significantly less confident in their skills when working in an L2, across a range of culture-related issues. Having had previous communication skills training predicted (better) self-reported L2 skillfulness, although it did not predict L1 skillfulness. These results indicate that there is a language-specific component to cross-cultural skillfulness. Thus, there is a need for language-specific skills training to address L2 skill deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lower urinary tract symptoms and urinary incontinence in a geriatric cohort - a population-based analysis.

PubMed

Wehrberger, Clemens; Madersbacher, Stephan; Jungwirth, Susanne; Fischer, Peter; Tragl, Karl-Heinz

2012-11-01

To assess prevalence and severity of lower urinary tract function in 85-year-old men and women. Little is known on the prevalence of lower urinary tract dysfunction in this geriatric age group, which is now the fastest growing sector of the population worldwide. The Vienna Trans-Danube Aging study (VITA) is a longitudinal, population-based study initiated in 2000 that included men/women aged 75 years living in a well-defined area in Vienna. The main purpose of the VITA study was to identify risk factors for incident Alzheimer's disease. All study participants alive in 2010 were contacted by mail to complete a detailed questionnaire on various aspects of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and urinary incontinence (UI). The response rate was 68%, resulting in a total of 262 questionnaires available for analysis (men n= 96; women n= 166). All study participants were 85 years of age. Urinary incontinence defined as any involuntary loss during the past 4 weeks was reported by 24% of men and 35% of women (P= 0.04). Stress UI was more frequent in women (39%) than in men (14%, P < 0.01), the difference for urge UI (women 35%, men 25%) was on the border of statistical significance (P= 0.05). Only four individuals (1.5%) needed permanent catheterization. Urgency (women 56%, men 54%) and daytime frequency (women 70%, men 74%) were equally distributed (P > 0.05). Nocturia more often than twice was more prevalent in men (69%) than in women (49%) (P= 0.02). Overactive bladder, according to International Continence Society criteria, was present in 55% of women and 50% of men. No difference regarding quality of life impairment as the result of LUTS and UI was noticed between sexes. A few co-morbidities were identified to correlate with UI and storage symptoms. These data provide insights into the prevalence and severity of LUTS and UI in individuals in their eighties, to our knowledge the largest population-based study in this age group. Demographic changes in upcoming decades underline the importance of a thorough understanding of lower urinary tract dysfunction in a geriatric population. © 2012 BJU INTERNATIONAL.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuh, S.; Handler, G.

2009-03-01

The Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting 2008 (JENAM 2008) was held from September 8-12, 2008 in Vienna, Austria, as the joint meeting of the Austrian Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ÖGAA), the Astronomische Gesellschaft (AG), and the European Astronomical Society (EAS). It hosted nine symposia under the overall topic ''New Challenges To European Astronomy''. This special volume of Communications in Asteroseismology holds the proceedings of the JENAM 2008 Symposium No 4: ''Asteroseismology and Stellar Evolution''. The Asteroseismology and Stellar Evolution Symposium has been generously sponsored by the ÖGAA, by the HELAS Forum (an activity of the European Helio- and Asteroseismology Network, initiative funded by the European Commission since April 1st, 2006, as a Co-ordination Action under its Sixth Framework Programme, FP6), and by the Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien (Magistratsabteilung 7). The Symposium program was put together by the Scientific Organizing Committee consisting of Conny Aerts (University of Leuven, Belgium), Annie Baglin (Observatoire de Paris, France), Wolfgang Glatzel (University of Göttingen, Germany), Gerald Handler (University of Vienna, Austria, Co-convener), Uli Heber (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany), Katrien Kolenberg (University of Vienna, Austria), Suzanna Randall (European Southern Observatory) and Sonja Schuh (University of Göttingen, Germany, Convener). Out of a total of 60 oral and poster contributions, 15 contributed talks were selected for presentation during the three half-day session program, with ample time for questions and discussion. There also was an opportunity to introduce the poster contributions during 2-min oral presentations. The scientific topics covered diverse object classes divided into Stochastically excited pulsators (main sequence, red giants, AGB supergiants), Heat-driven pulsators along the main sequence, and Compact pulsators, as well as additional topics that we have summarized as contributions on Eruptive variable and binary stars, and contributions presenting Methods and tools. The three session topics were introduced by two invited review speakers per field. In the first session, Jadwiga Daszynska-Daszkiewicz summarized current ''Challenges for stellar pulsation and evolution theory'', and Konstanze Zwintz reported ''A preliminary glimpse on CoRoT results and expectations'' (for Eric Michel), together giving an overview of the observational and theoretical status of the field. Anne Thoul and Oleg Kochukhov presented the state of the art in ''Asteroseismology of B stars'' and ''Asteroseismology of chemically peculiar stars'', respectively, in the second session, highlighting the hot issues in understanding and interpreting the pulsational behaviour of these groups. The stellar evolution aspect was given special consideration in ''Asteroseismology and Evolution of EHB stars'' by Roy Østensen and ''Asteroseismology and evolution of GW Vir stars'' by Pierre-Oliver Quirion in the concluding third session. A dedicated audience (on average 45 participants in each session), the excellent speakers, and our colleague Patrick Lenz who acted as the friendly and competent technician made this Symposium a highly interesting, enjoyable and successful event. We would like to thank all speakers, poster authors, and participants for coming to Vienna, the SOC and the referees for their work, the local organizers at Vienna for providing all the necessary infrastructure, and all sponsors for having made possible this event and the proceedings at hand.

Automated retinal fovea type distinction in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography of retinal vein occlusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jing; Waldstein, Sebastian M.; Gerendas, Bianca S.; Langs, Georg; Simader, Christian; Schmidt-Erfurth, Ursula

2015-03-01

Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) is a non-invasive modality for acquiring high- resolution, three-dimensional (3D) cross-sectional volumetric images of the retina and the subretinal layers. SD-OCT also allows the detailed imaging of retinal pathology, aiding clinicians in the diagnosis of sight degrading diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Disease diagnosis, assessment, and treatment will require a patient to undergo multiple OCT scans, possibly using multiple scanners, to accurately and precisely gauge disease activity, progression and treatment success. However, cross-vendor imaging and patient movement may result in poor scan spatial correlation potentially leading to incorrect diagnosis or treatment analysis. The retinal fovea is the location of the highest visual acuity and is present in all patients, thus it is critical to vision and highly suitable for use as a primary landmark for cross-vendor/cross-patient registration for precise comparison of disease states. However, the location of the fovea in diseased eyes is extremely challenging to locate due to varying appearance and the presence of retinal layer destroying pathology. Thus categorising and detecting the fovea type is an important prior stage to automatically computing the fovea position. Presented here is an automated cross-vendor method for fovea distinction in 3D SD-OCT scans of patients suffering from RVO, categorising scans into three distinct types. OCT scans are preprocessed by motion correction and noise filing followed by segmentation using a kernel graph-cut approach. A statistically derived mask is applied to the resulting scan creating an ROI around the probable fovea location from which the uppermost retinal surface is delineated. For a normal appearance retina, minimisation to zero thickness is computed using the top two retinal surfaces. 3D local minima detection and layer thickness analysis are used to differentiate between the remaining two fovea types. Validation employs ground truth fovea types identified by clinical experts at the Vienna Reading Center (VRC). The results presented here are intended to show the feasibility of this method for the accurate and reproducible distinction of retinal fovea types from multiple vendor 3D SD-OCT scans of patients suffering from RVO, and for use in fovea position detection systems as a landmark for intra- and cross-vendor 3D OCT registration.

Deciphering the Landauer-Büttiker Transmission Function from Single Molecule Break Junction Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reuter, Matthew; Tschudi, Stephen

When investigating the electrical response properties of molecules, experiments often measure conductance whereas computation predicts transmission probabilities. Although the Landauer-Büttiker theory relates the two in the limit of coherent scattering through the molecule, a direct comparison between experiment and computation can still be difficult. Experimental data (specifically that from break junctions) is statistical and computational results are deterministic. Many studies compare the most probable experimental conductance with computation, but such an analysis discards almost all of the experimental statistics. In this work we develop tools to decipher the Landauer-Büttiker transmission function directly from experimental statistics and then apply them to enable a fairer comparison between experimental and computational results.

Estimating Neutral Atmosphere Drivers using a Physical Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-30

Araujo-Pradere, M. Fedrizzi, 2007, Memory effects in the ionosphere storm response. EGU General Assembly , Vienna, Austria Codrescu, M., T.J. Fuller...Strickland, D, 2007: Application of thermospheric general circulation models for space weather operations. J. Adv. Space Res., edited by Schmidtke

SOCR: Statistics Online Computational Resource

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinov, Ivo D.

2006-01-01

The need for hands-on computer laboratory experience in undergraduate and graduate statistics education has been firmly established in the past decade. As a result a number of attempts have been undertaken to develop novel approaches for problem-driven statistical thinking, data analysis and result interpretation. In this paper we describe an…

Statistical Learning of Phonetic Categories: Insights from a Computational Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMurray, Bob; Aslin, Richard N.; Toscano, Joseph C.

2009-01-01

Recent evidence (Maye, Werker & Gerken, 2002) suggests that statistical learning may be an important mechanism for the acquisition of phonetic categories in the infant's native language. We examined the sufficiency of this hypothesis and its implications for development by implementing a statistical learning mechanism in a computational model…

Formation of edema and fluid shifts during a long-haul flight.

PubMed

Mittermayr, Markus; Fries, Dietmar; Innerhofer, Petra; Schobersberger, Beatrix; Klingler, Anton; Partsch, Hugo; Fischbach, Uwe; Gunga, Hanns-Christian; Koralewski, Eberhard; Kirsch, Karl; Schobersberger, Wolfgang

2003-01-01

More than 1.5 billion passengers travel by aircraft every year. Leg edema, as a sign of venous stasis, is a well-known problem among passengers during and after long-haul flights. Until now, no studies have been done on the development of leg edema and fluid shifts under real flight conditions. The aim of our study was to evaluate edema formation in the leg and to investigate possible fluid shifts to the interstitial space under real flight conditions. Twenty participants, 10 without risk and 10 with moderate risk for venous thrombosis, were selected. They flew from Vienna to Washington, flight time 9 h, and returned 2 days later. Investigations were done 48 h before the flight, between the fifth and eighth flight hour on board to Washington and back to Vienna, immediately after arrival in Vienna, and 1 and 3 days after arrival. Plethysmographic measurements were carried out using an optoelectronic scanner system (Perometer). Thickness of the skin was measured at the forehead and in front of the tibia. There were no differences in all measurements between both groups. The volume of the leg increased from 8242 +/- 1420 mL to 8496 +/- 1474 mL after the flight (p <.001). Volume accumulation was distributed to the lower leg as well as to the thigh. Skin thickness in front of the tibia increased significantly during the flight (p <.05), and remained elevated 1 day after arrival. We have demonstrated that long-haul flights induce significant fluid accumulation in the lower extremity, involving the lower leg and thigh. This increase in tissue thickness was maintained for some days after the flights.

Urban land for a growing city at the banks of a moving river: Vienna's spread into the Danube island Unterer Werd from the late 17th to the beginning of the 20th century.

PubMed

Haidvogl, Gertrud; Guthyne-Horvath, Marianna; Gierlinger, Sylvia; Hohensinner, Severin; Sonnlechner, Christoph

In the relation between urban development and the Viennese Danube different periods can be identified from the late 17th to the early 20th century. These periods were strongly intertwined with both the history of the river and the history of the city. Urban expansion into the floodplains is demonstrated in this paper by investigating the island Unterer Werd, next to the city centre. In the late 17th century the fluvial dynamic still hampered urban development on the island. First measures to stabilise the river banks and to protect buildings from floods were taken soon thereafter, but the majority of practices aimed at mitigating the risks and impacts of the frequent floods: inundation was a part of the arrangement and the main target was to minimise the potential impacts. This practice also prevailed after the 1830s, when urban expansion began to move into the north and northwest of the island and the Danube floodplains were considered an important land resource for the growing city. In connection with new technologies and available means to channelise the river, the relationship between Vienna and the Danube changed fundamentally. Urban development in the riverine landscape gained new momentum. This process was initiated before the Great Danube Regulation from 1870 to 1875 was completed, the rate of growth accelerated after 1875. The last decades of the 19th century mark a turning point in the urban development of Vienna, with expanding urban areas becoming dependent upon a well functioning and maintained flood protection system.

PREFACE: EUCAS '05: The 7th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (Vienna University of Technology, Austria, 11 15 September 2005)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donaldson, Gordon; Weber, Harald W.; Sauerzopf, Franz M.

2006-03-01

This issue of Superconductor Science and Technology contains the plenary and invited papers presented at the 7th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS '05) that was held at the Vienna University of Technology from 11-15 September 2005. All those contributed papers that were submitted to the Conference Proceedings will be published in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The scientific aims of EUCAS '05 followed the tradition established at the preceding conferences in Göttingen, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Sitges (Barcelona), Lyngby (Copenhagen) and finally Sorrento (Napoli). The focus was placed on the interplay between the most recent developments in superconductor research and the positioning of applications of superconductivity in the marketplace. Although initially founded as an exchange forum mainly for European scientists, it has gradually developed into a truly international meeting with significant attendance from the Far East and the United States. The Vienna conference attracted 813 participants in the scientific programme and 90 accompanying persons. 59% of all participants came from Europe, 31% from the Far East, 6% from the United States and Canada as well as 4% from other nations worldwide. 27 companies presented their latest developments in the field. 32 plenary and invited lectures highlighted the state-of-the-art in the areas of materials, large-scale as well as small-scale applications; 625 contributed papers (among them 556 posters) demonstrated the broad range of exciting activities in all research areas of our field. EUCAS '05 spread a lot of optimism and enthusiasm for this fascinating field of research and for its well established technological potential, especially among the numerous young researchers attending this conference. We are grateful to all those who participated in the meeting and contributed to its success.

SOCR: Statistics Online Computational Resource

PubMed Central

Dinov, Ivo D.

2011-01-01

The need for hands-on computer laboratory experience in undergraduate and graduate statistics education has been firmly established in the past decade. As a result a number of attempts have been undertaken to develop novel approaches for problem-driven statistical thinking, data analysis and result interpretation. In this paper we describe an integrated educational web-based framework for: interactive distribution modeling, virtual online probability experimentation, statistical data analysis, visualization and integration. Following years of experience in statistical teaching at all college levels using established licensed statistical software packages, like STATA, S-PLUS, R, SPSS, SAS, Systat, etc., we have attempted to engineer a new statistics education environment, the Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR). This resource performs many of the standard types of statistical analysis, much like other classical tools. In addition, it is designed in a plug-in object-oriented architecture and is completely platform independent, web-based, interactive, extensible and secure. Over the past 4 years we have tested, fine-tuned and reanalyzed the SOCR framework in many of our undergraduate and graduate probability and statistics courses and have evidence that SOCR resources build student’s intuition and enhance their learning. PMID:21451741

Computer Assisted Problem Solving in an Introductory Statistics Course. Technical Report No. 56.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Thomas H.; And Others

The computer assisted problem solving system (CAPS) described in this booklet administered "homework" problem sets designed to develop students' computational, estimation, and procedural skills. These skills were related to important concepts in an introductory statistics course. CAPS generated unique data, judged student performance,…

Statistics or How to Know Your Onions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Anne S.

1986-01-01

Using calculators (and computers) to develop an understanding and appreciation of statistical ideas is advocated. Manual computation as a prerequisite for developing concepts is negated through several examples. (MNS)

Finite-data-size study on practical universal blind quantum computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qiang; Li, Qiong

2018-07-01

The universal blind quantum computation with weak coherent pulses protocol is a practical scheme to allow a client to delegate a computation to a remote server while the computation hidden. However, in the practical protocol, a finite data size will influence the preparation efficiency in the remote blind qubit state preparation (RBSP). In this paper, a modified RBSP protocol with two decoy states is studied in the finite data size. The issue of its statistical fluctuations is analyzed thoroughly. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that two-decoy-state case with statistical fluctuation is closer to the asymptotic case than the one-decoy-state case with statistical fluctuation. Particularly, the two-decoy-state protocol can achieve a longer communication distance than the one-decoy-state case in this statistical fluctuation situation.

ISMB/ECCB 2009 Stockholm

PubMed Central

Sagot, Marie-France; McKay, B.J. Morrison; Myers, Gene

2009-01-01

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB; http://www.iscb.org) presents the Seventeenth Annual International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB), organized jointly with the Eighth Annual European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB; http://bioinf.mpi-inf.mpg.de/conferences/eccb/eccb.htm), in Stockholm, Sweden, 27 June to 2 July 2009. The organizers are putting the finishing touches on the year's premier computational biology conference, with an expected attendance of 1400 computer scientists, mathematicians, statisticians, biologists and scientists from other disciplines related to and reliant on this multi-disciplinary science. ISMB/ECCB 2009 (http://www.iscb.org/ismbeccb2009/) follows the framework introduced at the ISMB/ECCB 2007 (http://www.iscb.org/ismbeccb2007/) in Vienna, and further refined at the ISMB 2008 (http://www.iscb.org/ismb2008/) in Toronto; a framework developed to specifically encourage increased participation from often under-represented disciplines at conferences on computational biology. During the main ISMB conference dates of 29 June to 2 July, keynote talks from highly regarded scientists, including ISCB Award winners, are the featured presentations that bring all attendees together twice a day. The remainder of each day offers a carefully balanced selection of parallel sessions to choose from: proceedings papers, special sessions on emerging topics, highlights of the past year's published research, special interest group meetings, technology demonstrations, workshops and several unique sessions of value to the broad audience of students, faculty and industry researchers. Several hundred posters displayed for the duration of the conference has become a standard of the ISMB and ECCB conference series, and an extensive commercial exhibition showcases the latest bioinformatics publications, software, hardware and services available on the market today. The main conference is preceded by 2 days of Special Interest Group (SIG) and Satellite meetings running in parallel to the fifth Student Council Symposium on 27 June, and in parallel to Tutorials on 28 June. All scientific sessions take place at the Stockholmsmässan/Stockholm International Fairs conference and exposition facility. Contact: bj@iscb.org PMID:19447790

Knowledge and utilization of computer-software for statistics among Nigerian dentists.

PubMed

Chukwuneke, F N; Anyanechi, C E; Obiakor, A O; Amobi, O; Onyejiaka, N; Alamba, I

2013-01-01

The use of computer soft ware for generation of statistic analysis has transformed health information and data to simplest form in the areas of access, storage, retrieval and analysis in the field of research. This survey therefore was carried out to assess the level of knowledge and utilization of computer software for statistical analysis among dental researchers in eastern Nigeria. Questionnaires on the use of computer software for statistical analysis were randomly distributed to 65 practicing dental surgeons of above 5 years experience in the tertiary academic hospitals in eastern Nigeria. The focus was on: years of clinical experience; research work experience; knowledge and application of computer generated software for data processing and stastistical analysis. Sixty-two (62/65; 95.4%) of these questionnaires were returned anonymously, which were used in our data analysis. Twenty-nine (29/62; 46.8%) respondents fall within those with 5-10 years of clinical experience out of which none has completed the specialist training programme. Practitioners with above 10 years clinical experiences were 33 (33/62; 53.2%) out of which 15 (15/33; 45.5%) are specialists representing 24.2% (15/62) of the total number of respondents. All the 15 specialists are actively involved in research activities and only five (5/15; 33.3%) can utilize software statistical analysis unaided. This study has i dentified poor utilization of computer software for statistic analysis among dental researchers in eastern Nigeria. This is strongly associated with lack of exposure on the use of these software early enough especially during the undergraduate training. This call for introduction of computer training programme in dental curriculum to enable practitioners develops the attitude of using computer software for their research.

Effect of different tropospheric mapping functions on the TRF, CRF and position time-series estimated from VLBI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tesmer, Volker; Boehm, Johannes; Heinkelmann, Robert; Schuh, Harald

2007-06-01

This paper compares estimated terrestrial reference frames (TRF) and celestial reference frames (CRF) as well as position time-series in terms of systematic differences, scale, annual signals and station position repeatabilities using four different tropospheric mapping functions (MF): The NMF (Niell Mapping Function) and the recently developed GMF (Global Mapping Function) consist of easy-to-handle stand-alone formulae, whereas the IMF (Isobaric Mapping Function) and the VMF1 (Vienna Mapping Function 1) are determined from numerical weather models. All computations were performed at the Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut (DGFI) using the OCCAM 6.1 and DOGS-CS software packages for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) data from 1984 until 2005. While it turned out that CRF estimates only slightly depend on the MF used, showing small systematic effects up to 0.025 mas, some station heights of the computed TRF change by up to 13 mm. The best agreement was achieved for the VMF1 and GMF results concerning the TRFs, and for the VMF1 and IMF results concerning scale variations and position time-series. The amplitudes of the annual periodical signals in the time-series of estimated heights differ by up to 5 mm. The best precision in terms of station height repeatability is found for the VMF1, which is 5 7% better than for the other MFs.

BasinVis 1.0: A MATLAB®-based program for sedimentary basin subsidence analysis and visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Eun Young; Novotny, Johannes; Wagreich, Michael

2016-06-01

Stratigraphic and structural mapping is important to understand the internal structure of sedimentary basins. Subsidence analysis provides significant insights for basin evolution. We designed a new software package to process and visualize stratigraphic setting and subsidence evolution of sedimentary basins from well data. BasinVis 1.0 is implemented in MATLAB®, a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment, and employs two numerical methods: interpolation and subsidence analysis. Five different interpolation methods (linear, natural, cubic spline, Kriging, and thin-plate spline) are provided in this program for surface modeling. The subsidence analysis consists of decompaction and backstripping techniques. BasinVis 1.0 incorporates five main processing steps; (1) setup (study area and stratigraphic units), (2) loading well data, (3) stratigraphic setting visualization, (4) subsidence parameter input, and (5) subsidence analysis and visualization. For in-depth analysis, our software provides cross-section and dip-slip fault backstripping tools. The graphical user interface guides users through the workflow and provides tools to analyze and export the results. Interpolation and subsidence results are cached to minimize redundant computations and improve the interactivity of the program. All 2D and 3D visualizations are created by using MATLAB plotting functions, which enables users to fine-tune the results using the full range of available plot options in MATLAB. We demonstrate all functions in a case study of Miocene sediment in the central Vienna Basin.

Computer-Based Readability Testing of Information Booklets for German Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Keinki, Christian; Zowalla, Richard; Pobiruchin, Monika; Huebner, Jutta; Wiesner, Martin

2018-04-12

Understandable health information is essential for treatment adherence and improved health outcomes. For readability testing, several instruments analyze the complexity of sentence structures, e.g., Flesch-Reading Ease (FRE) or Vienna-Formula (WSTF). Moreover, the vocabulary is of high relevance for readers. The aim of this study is to investigate the agreement of sentence structure and vocabulary-based (SVM) instruments. A total of 52 freely available German patient information booklets on cancer were collected from the Internet. The mean understandability level L was computed for 51 booklets. The resulting values of FRE, WSTF, and SVM were assessed pairwise for agreement with Bland-Altman plots and two-sided, paired t tests. For the pairwise comparison, the mean L values are L FRE  = 6.81, L WSTF  = 7.39, L SVM  = 5.09. The sentence structure-based metrics gave significantly different scores (P < 0.001) for all assessed booklets, confirmed by the Bland-Altman analysis. The study findings suggest that vocabulary-based instruments cannot be interchanged with FRE/WSTF. However, both analytical aspects should be considered and checked by authors to linguistically refine texts with respect to the individual target group. Authors of health information can be supported by automated readability analysis. Health professionals can benefit by direct booklet comparisons allowing for time-effective selection of suitable booklets for patients.

76 FR 60113 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Masters of Venice...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-28

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7616] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Masters of Venice: Renaissance Paintings of Passion and Power from Kunsthistorisches Museum...: Renaissance Paintings of Passion and Power from Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna,'' imported from abroad for...

The U.S./IAEA Workshop on Software Sustainability for Safeguards Instrumentation

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

Pepper S. E.; .; Worrall, L.

2014-08-08

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, the U.S. Department of State, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized a a workshop on the subject of ”Software Sustainability for Safeguards Instrumentation.” The workshop was held at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna, Austria, May 6-8, 2014. The workshop participants included software and hardware experts from national laboratories, industry, government, and IAEA member states who were specially selected by the workshop organizers based on their experience with software that is developed for the control and operation of safeguards instrumentation. The workshop included presentations, to orient the participantsmore » to the IAEA Department of Safeguards software activities related to instrumentation data collection and processing, and case studies that were designed to inspire discussion of software development, use, maintenance, and upgrades in breakout sessions and to result in recommendations for effective software practices and management. This report summarizes the results of the workshop.« less

The personal and scientific feud between Ernst Brücke and Josef Hyrtl.

PubMed

Wiest, Gerald; Baloh, Robert W

2006-06-01

To describe the events surrounding the personal and professional feud between Josef Hyrtl and Ernst Brücke and its impact on early investigations into the function of the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Published data in scientific journals and news media, documents at the Vienna Institute for the History of Medicine, published personal letters, and an interview with Brücke's great-grandson, Dr. Thomas Brücke. Although Hyrtl was instrumental in recruiting Brücke to the University of Vienna, the two professors soon became embroiled in a feud that persisted throughout their academic careers. The difference in approach of these two giants in their field is well illustrated by their views on the function of the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Based on their shape, Hyrtl concluded that they were important for directional hearing, whereas based on animal experiments, Brücke concluded that they were sense organs for equilibrium.

MDS-Multifunctional Dynamometer for Application in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamcik, G.; Barta, N.; Talla, R.; Angeli, T.; Kozlovskaya, I. B.; Grigoriev, A. I.; Tschan, H.; Bachl, N.

2008-06-01

The project MDS (Multifunctional Dynamometer for Application in Space) is an international collaboration of the University of Vienna (Faculty of Sport Science, Department of Sport and Exercise Physiology), the Russian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Biomedical Problems) and the Technical University of Vienna (Institute for Engineering Design and Logistics Engineering) with the aim to develop a training and diagnostic device that counteracts the muscle and bone loss during long term space flights. Due to the scientific results of the last years research in space medicine, it is well known, that the muscles and bones of the lower extremities and the trunk are most affected by the atrophy. Based on this knowledge a various number of resistance exercises can be done in order to train the muscles of these parts of the body and to increase the efficiency of the training by intra- and intermuscular coordination. The resisting power for the training is provided by an electric motor, thereby force, position and speed of the training can be well-regulated for different training modes.

The effects of bilastine compared with cetirizine, fexofenadine, and placebo on allergen-induced nasal and ocular symptoms in patients exposed to aeroallergen in the Vienna Challenge Chamber.

PubMed

Horak, Friedrich; Zieglmayer, Petra; Zieglmayer, René; Lemell, Patrick

2010-05-01

This double-blind cross-over study compared the potential of bilastine, cetirizine, and fexofenadine to relieve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Seventy-five allergic volunteers were challenged with grass pollen in the Vienna Challenge Chamber (VCC) on two consecutive days of allergen provocation; 6 h on day 1 and 4 h day 2. Bilastine 20 mg, cetirizine 10 mg, fexofenadine 120 mg, or placebo were taken orally 2 h after the start of provocation on day 1 only. Total nasal symptom scores, the global symptom scores, nasal secretions, and eye symptoms were assessed on both day 1 and day 2. Bilastine had a rapid onset of action, within 1 h, and a long duration of action, greater than 26 h. Cetirizine was similar. Fexofenadine was similar on day 1 but less effective on day 2, indicating a shorter duration of action. Bilastine, like cetirizine and fexofenadine, was safe and well tolerated in this study.

"Wenn die Erde bebt", an educational public exhibition in Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parithusta, Rizkita; Brueckl, Ewald; Heuer, Rudolf; Mitterbauer, Ulrike

2010-05-01

Natural disasters can cause the loss of human lives, an economic crisis and also the loss of irreplaceable cultural heritage. Earthquakes can mean instantaneous destruction without warning, causing extensive and often irreparable damage to our heritage. An exhibition with the title "Wenn die Erde bebt" (i.e. "When the Earth shakes") which was held at the Natural History Museum, Vienna; in an effort to introduce understanding, awareness, and preparedness to the public, facing earthquake phenomenon. The exhibition compiled and classified examples of large earthquakes and introduces into the basic principles of seismology. It further addresses earthquake impact and how to live with earthquakes, giving access to the most suitable procedure of safety education. The idea of the exhibition is communicated by the means of posters, videos, and physical models which support the understanding of seismometry, elastic rebound theory and earthquake resistant construction. The exhibition is an Austrian contribution to IYPE - International Year of Planet Earth and is now on tour through Austria.

Comparison of two confocal micro-XRF spectrometers with different design aspects

PubMed Central

Smolek, S; Nakazawa, T; Tabe, A; Nakano, K; Tsuji, K; Streli, C; Wobrauschek, P

2014-01-01

Two different confocal micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometers have been developed and installed at Osaka City University and the Vienna University of Technology Atominstitut. The Osaka City University system is a high resolution spectrometer operating in air. The Vienna University of Technology Atominstitut spectrometer has a lower spatial resolution but is optimized for light element detection and operates under vacuum condition. The performance of both spectrometers was compared. In order to characterize the spatial resolution, a set of nine specially prepared single element thin film reference samples (500 nm in thickness, Al, Ti, Cr, Fe Ni, Cu, Zr, Mo, and Au) was used. Lower limits of detection were determined using the National Institute of Standards and Technology standard reference material glass standard 1412. A paint layer sample (cultural heritage application) and paint on automotive steel samples were analyzed with both instruments. The depth profile information was acquired by scanning the sample perpendicular to the surface. © 2013 The Authors. X-Ray Spectrometry published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:26430286

Comparison of two confocal micro-XRF spectrometers with different design aspects.

PubMed

Smolek, S; Nakazawa, T; Tabe, A; Nakano, K; Tsuji, K; Streli, C; Wobrauschek, P

2014-03-01

Two different confocal micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometers have been developed and installed at Osaka City University and the Vienna University of Technology Atominstitut. The Osaka City University system is a high resolution spectrometer operating in air. The Vienna University of Technology Atominstitut spectrometer has a lower spatial resolution but is optimized for light element detection and operates under vacuum condition. The performance of both spectrometers was compared. In order to characterize the spatial resolution, a set of nine specially prepared single element thin film reference samples (500 nm in thickness, Al, Ti, Cr, Fe Ni, Cu, Zr, Mo, and Au) was used. Lower limits of detection were determined using the National Institute of Standards and Technology standard reference material glass standard 1412. A paint layer sample (cultural heritage application) and paint on automotive steel samples were analyzed with both instruments. The depth profile information was acquired by scanning the sample perpendicular to the surface. © 2013 The Authors. X-Ray Spectrometry published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stable Isotope Measurements of Martian Atmospheric CO2 at the Phoenix Landing Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niles, Paul B.; Boynton, William V.; Hoffman, John H.; Ming, Douglas W.; Hamara, Dave

2010-09-01

Carbon dioxide is a primary component of the martian atmosphere and reacts readily with water and silicate rocks. Thus, the stable isotopic composition of CO2 can reveal much about the history of volatiles on the planet. The Mars Phoenix spacecraft measurements of carbon isotopes [referenced to the Vienna Pee Dee belemnite (VPDB)] [δ13CVPDB = -2.5 ± 4.3 per mil (‰)] and oxygen isotopes [referenced to the Vienna standard mean ocean water (VSMOW)] (δ18OVSMOW = 31.0 ± 5.7‰), reported here, indicate that CO2 is heavily influenced by modern volcanic degassing and equilibration with liquid water. When combined with data from the martian meteorites, a general model can be constructed that constrains the history of water, volcanism, atmospheric evolution, and weathering on Mars. This suggests that low-temperature water-rock interaction has been dominant throughout martian history, carbonate formation is active and ongoing, and recent volcanic degassing has played a substantial role in the composition of the modern atmosphere.

SMIL and SVG in teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eidenberger, Horst

2003-12-01

This paper describes how the web standards Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) are used in teaching at the Vienna University of Technology. SMIL and SVG are used in courses on multimedia authoring. Didactically, the goal is to teach students how to use media objects and timing concepts to build interactive media applications. Additionally, SMIL is applied to generate multimedia content from a database using a content management system. The paper gives background information on the SMIL and SVG standards and sketches how teaching multimedia is organized at the Vienna University of Technology. Courses from the summer term 2003 are described and illustrated in two case studies. General design problems of SMIL-based presentations are modelled as patterns. Additionally, suggestions for improvement in the standards are given and shortcomings of existing user agents are summarized. Our conclusion is that SMIL and SVG are very well suited for teaching multimedia. Currently, the main problem is that all existing SMIL players lack some properties desired for teaching applications (stability, correctness, etc.).

Education, Enlightenment and Positivism: The Vienna Circle's Scientific World-Conception Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uebel, Thomase.

The scientific world-conception is properly understood as an enlightenment philosophy only if the current reassessment of the historical Vienna Circle(as opposed to the caricature still prevalent in the popular philosophical imagination) is once more extended to comprehend not only its thorough-going epistemological anti-foundationalism, but also the voluntarist point of its ethical`non-cognitivism'. That is to say, the scientific world-conception is properly understood as the opposite of village positivism only if it is recognized that it has an `other' and that the scientific world-conception was meant by its proponents to perform its enlightenment work only in conjunction with that other of scientific reason - ethical will and willing. Scientific reason cannot determine all there is to determine, it cannot determine the will. In this sense, there was, pace village positivism, more than scientific reason dreamt of. Scientific reason was not made absolute: rather, its (self-) clarification was required if a satisfactory view of its place in `life' was to be attained.

Feyerabend's 'The concept of intelligibility in modern physics' (1948).

PubMed

Kuby, Daniel

2016-06-01

This essay introduces the transcription and translation of Paul Feyerabend's Der Begriff der Verständlichkeit in der modernen Physik [The concept of intelligibility in modern physics] (1948), which is an early essay written by Paul Feyerabend in 1948 on the topic of intelligibility (Verständlichkeit) and visualizability (Anschaulichkeit) of physical theories. The existence of such essay was likely. It is listed in his bibliography as his first publication. Yet the content of the essay was unknown, as no original or copy is extant in Feyerabend's Nachlass and no known published version was available to the community-until now. The essay has both historical and philosophical interest: it is, as far as our current knowledge goes, Feyerabend's earliest extant publication. It documents Feyerabend's philosophical interest as a physicist-to-be, in what he himself called his "positivist" phase; and it gives a rare if fragmentary insight into the early discussions of the 'Third Vienna Circle' and, more generally, the philosophical culture of discussion in Vienna. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vienna international summer school on experimental and clinical oncology for medical students: an Austrian cancer education project.

PubMed

Fromm-Haidenberger, Sabine; Pohl, Gudrun; Widder, Joachim; Kren, Gerhard; Fitzal, Florian; Bartsch, Rupert; de Vries, Jakob; Zielinski, Christoph; Pötter, Richard

2010-03-01

The "International Summer School on Experimental and Clinical Oncology for Medical Students" is organised at the Medical University of Vienna to teach a multidisciplinary approach to oncology to medical students in the final phase of their studies. The program includes biology, diagnosis, clinical and psycho-oncology. Lectures are given by medical, radiation and surgical oncologists. Teaching includes case reports, poster presentations and role-play. As part of the organising committee, Austrian students organise a social program. Since 1999, six courses have been held (147 students from 19 countries). Students recorded high satisfaction with organisation, scientific content and topic range. Case presentations, poster presentations and role-play were very useful. Early criticism that the program was too intense (long lectures and little interaction) has been answered. The summer school has a high degree of acceptance and is a very useful tool to teach medical students about oncology and approaching a cancer patient.

Constraints on Statistical Computations at 10 Months of Age: The Use of Phonological Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez-Gomez, Nayeli; Nazzi, Thierry

2015-01-01

Recently, several studies have argued that infants capitalize on the statistical properties of natural languages to acquire the linguistic structure of their native language, but the kinds of constraints which apply to statistical computations remain largely unknown. Here we explored French-learning infants' perceptual preference for…

Explorations in Statistics: The Analysis of Ratios and Normalized Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran-Everett, Douglas

2013-01-01

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This ninth installment of "Explorations in Statistics" explores the analysis of ratios and normalized--or standardized--data. As researchers, we compute a ratio--a numerator divided by a denominator--to compute a…

"Using Power Tables to Compute Statistical Power in Multilevel Experimental Designs"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konstantopoulos, Spyros

2009-01-01

Power computations for one-level experimental designs that assume simple random samples are greatly facilitated by power tables such as those presented in Cohen's book about statistical power analysis. However, in education and the social sciences experimental designs have naturally nested structures and multilevel models are needed to compute the…

A Computer-Assisted Instruction in Teaching Abstract Statistics to Public Affairs Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozturk, Ali Osman

2012-01-01

This article attempts to demonstrate the applicability of a computer-assisted instruction supported with simulated data in teaching abstract statistical concepts to political science and public affairs students in an introductory research methods course. The software is called the Elaboration Model Computer Exercise (EMCE) in that it takes a great…

75 FR 79035 - Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories; Supplier's Declaration of Conformity

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

... statistic, however, covers only a narrow subset of ICT equipment, and excludes laptop computers and computer... between 2003 and March of 2009 shows a total of 60 product recalls, including laptop computers, scanners..., statistical or similar data and studies, of a credible nature, supporting any claims made by commenters.'' (73...

Comparative Analysis Between Computed and Conventional Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Techniques.

PubMed

Araújo, Gabriela Madeira; Barbalho, Jimmy Charles Melo; Dias, Tasiana Guedes de Souza; Santos, Thiago de Santana; Vasconcellos, Ricardo José de Holanda; de Morais, Hécio Henrique Araújo

2015-11-01

The aim of this randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was to compare the computed and conventional inferior alveolar nerve block techniques in symmetrically positioned inferior third molars. Both computed and conventional anesthetic techniques were performed in 29 healthy patients (58 surgeries) aged between 18 and 40 years. The anesthetic of choice was 2% lidocaine with 1: 200,000 epinephrine. The Visual Analogue Scale assessed the pain variable after anesthetic infiltration. Patient satisfaction was evaluated using the Likert Scale. Heart and respiratory rates, mean time to perform technique, and the need for additional anesthesia were also evaluated. Pain variable means were higher for the conventional technique as compared with computed, 3.45 ± 2.73 and 2.86 ± 1.96, respectively, but no statistically significant differences were found (P > 0.05). Patient satisfaction showed no statistically significant differences. The average computed technique runtime and the conventional were 3.85 and 1.61 minutes, respectively, showing statistically significant differences (P <0.001). The computed anesthetic technique showed lower mean pain perception, but did not show statistically significant differences when contrasted to the conventional technique.

Great Computational Intelligence in the Formal Sciences via Analogical Reasoning

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-08

computational harnessing of traditional mathematical statistics (as e.g. covered in Hogg, Craig & McKean 2005) is used to power statistical learning techniques...AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2017-0099 Great Computational Intelligence in the Formal Sciences via Analogical Reasoning Selmer Bringsjord RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC...08-05-2017 2. REPORT TYPE Final Performance 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 15 Oct 2011 to 31 Dec 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Great Computational

Methods and apparatuses for information analysis on shared and distributed computing systems

DOEpatents

Bohn, Shawn J [Richland, WA; Krishnan, Manoj Kumar [Richland, WA; Cowley, Wendy E [Richland, WA; Nieplocha, Jarek [Richland, WA

2011-02-22

Apparatuses and computer-implemented methods for analyzing, on shared and distributed computing systems, information comprising one or more documents are disclosed according to some aspects. In one embodiment, information analysis can comprise distributing one or more distinct sets of documents among each of a plurality of processes, wherein each process performs operations on a distinct set of documents substantially in parallel with other processes. Operations by each process can further comprise computing term statistics for terms contained in each distinct set of documents, thereby generating a local set of term statistics for each distinct set of documents. Still further, operations by each process can comprise contributing the local sets of term statistics to a global set of term statistics, and participating in generating a major term set from an assigned portion of a global vocabulary.

Interview with Dr. Hugo Partsch (by Jose Antonio Olivencia).

PubMed

Partsch, Hugo

2002-03-01

Is it necessary to write an introduction for a man whose name is familiar to every phlebologist and angiologist, and who is currently the President of the International Union of Phlebology? (Figure 1) The list of Professor Hugo Partsch's publications (more than 360) and his memberships in scientific committees and advisory boards would fill several pages. In the early 1970s I was reading, with great interest, his articles in "VASA," and several of them have become part of my basic medical knowledge. In all these years, the flow of numerous publications has not diminished, now covering the entire spectrum of angiology. Just by looking to his enormous scientific production, the average reader would probably picture the author as a "typical textbook scientist" caught in a strange world consisting of vessels, either too wide or too narrow. Anyone who has met Hugo Partsch will agree that the contrary is true. It must be assumed that most readers have already seen him as a regular guest speaker at international meetings. It is still a mystery to me how he finds time for all his scientific work, at the same time overseeing the University Clinic in Vienna and traveling from one Congress to the next. Readers will know him as a highly respected scientist, as a fair and diplomatic discussant that speaks several languages, and last but not least, an untiring skier and dancer. Hugo Partsch has helped to bring European Angiology to the United States, and using his broad knowledge and Viennese charm, to merge the diverse studies and interests of phlebology, angiology, lymphology and dermatology.He was born in Vienna in 1938 where he completed all of his studies. He graduated in 1962 and served three years as a resident in southern Austria. In 1965 he continued his residency at the Wilhelmine Spital; at this hospital he would become the head of the dermatological department in 1987. Starting his training in dermatology in 1966, he became a senior registrar in 1970. He acquired the Venia Legendi in 1978 and received the title of Professor of Dermatology at the University of Vienna in 1985. He is the father of three children and has four grandchildren. One could simply define Hugo Partsch as Professor of Dermatology in Vienna. But he is the only dermatologist, to my knowledge, having done so much in the fields of thrombosis, lymphology, peripheral neuropathies, phlebology and angiology in general.

Sigmund Freud and money.

PubMed

Warner, S L

1989-01-01

I have tried to clarify Sigmund Freud's attitude toward money during the different time periods of his life. Most biographers have written that Freud was born into a poor family that later was elevated to the socioeconomic middle class in Vienna. This traditional viewpoint can be supported by various of Freud's letters and writings. A very different viewpoint has been proposed by the well-known American economist, Peter Drucker. As has been noted, his parents knew the Freud family in Vienna where Drucker actually met Freud. Drucker contends that Freud unconsciously misrepresented his parents' financial situation by creating the myth that they lived in poverty. Furthermore, Freud also developed another myth that it was because of the strong anti-Semitism in Vienna that he was so delayed in being appointed a professor of psychiatry. Drucker points out that the majority of the Viennese physicians were Jewish and that Freud's becoming a professor did not entail a delay and was not affected by any anti-Semitism in Vienna. Another area of conflict between Freud and the other Viennese physicians was Freud's refusal to treat any of his psychoanalytic patients without a fee. Freud believed that treating a patient in analysis for free created a transference-countertransference problem that might doom the treatment to failure. Freud's transference explanation for not taking on charity patients did not satisfy many of his Viennese physician colleagues. They believed that Freud was given an opportunity to accept their traditional standards and turned it down. In their eyes, Freud rejected them, they did not reject him. The same reasoning applied to the Viennese physicians' request for some scientific proof of the efficacy of psychoanalysis. Freud could only provide them with anecdotal or testimonial evidence to support psychoanalytic treatment. This placed psychoanalysis in the category of a belief system and not a scientific treatment. Drucker explains Freud's "obsession" with having lived in poverty as a manifestation of his "poorhouse neurosis." According to Drucker this syndrome was frequently found among Viennese during the last quarter of the 19th century. It was an irrational and deep-seated fear that an individual and his family were on the verge of being placed in the poorhouse because they lacked any funds. Freud does not specifically mention his having this irrational fear or obsession, but he made several statements quoted here indicating such a dread. At a recent psychoanalytic meeting I asked Freud scholar John Gedo of Chicago if he thought Freud experienced a "poorhouse neurosis."(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A statistical package for computing time and frequency domain analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brownlow, J.

1978-01-01

The spectrum analysis (SPA) program is a general purpose digital computer program designed to aid in data analysis. The program does time and frequency domain statistical analyses as well as some preanalysis data preparation. The capabilities of the SPA program include linear trend removal and/or digital filtering of data, plotting and/or listing of both filtered and unfiltered data, time domain statistical characterization of data, and frequency domain statistical characterization of data.

Pattern statistics on Markov chains and sensitivity to parameter estimation

PubMed Central

Nuel, Grégory

2006-01-01

Background: In order to compute pattern statistics in computational biology a Markov model is commonly used to take into account the sequence composition. Usually its parameter must be estimated. The aim of this paper is to determine how sensitive these statistics are to parameter estimation, and what are the consequences of this variability on pattern studies (finding the most over-represented words in a genome, the most significant common words to a set of sequences,...). Results: In the particular case where pattern statistics (overlap counting only) computed through binomial approximations we use the delta-method to give an explicit expression of σ, the standard deviation of a pattern statistic. This result is validated using simulations and a simple pattern study is also considered. Conclusion: We establish that the use of high order Markov model could easily lead to major mistakes due to the high sensitivity of pattern statistics to parameter estimation. PMID:17044916

Pattern statistics on Markov chains and sensitivity to parameter estimation.

PubMed

Nuel, Grégory

2006-10-17

In order to compute pattern statistics in computational biology a Markov model is commonly used to take into account the sequence composition. Usually its parameter must be estimated. The aim of this paper is to determine how sensitive these statistics are to parameter estimation, and what are the consequences of this variability on pattern studies (finding the most over-represented words in a genome, the most significant common words to a set of sequences,...). In the particular case where pattern statistics (overlap counting only) computed through binomial approximations we use the delta-method to give an explicit expression of sigma, the standard deviation of a pattern statistic. This result is validated using simulations and a simple pattern study is also considered. We establish that the use of high order Markov model could easily lead to major mistakes due to the high sensitivity of pattern statistics to parameter estimation.

Statistical Methodologies to Integrate Experimental and Computational Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, P. A.; Johnson, R. T.; Montgomery, D. C.

2008-01-01

Development of advanced algorithms for simulating engine flow paths requires the integration of fundamental experiments with the validation of enhanced mathematical models. In this paper, we provide an overview of statistical methods to strategically and efficiently conduct experiments and computational model refinement. Moreover, the integration of experimental and computational research efforts is emphasized. With a statistical engineering perspective, scientific and engineering expertise is combined with statistical sciences to gain deeper insights into experimental phenomenon and code development performance; supporting the overall research objectives. The particular statistical methods discussed are design of experiments, response surface methodology, and uncertainty analysis and planning. Their application is illustrated with a coaxial free jet experiment and a turbulence model refinement investigation. Our goal is to provide an overview, focusing on concepts rather than practice, to demonstrate the benefits of using statistical methods in research and development, thereby encouraging their broader and more systematic application.

Statistical Surrogate Modeling of Atmospheric Dispersion Events Using Bayesian Adaptive Splines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francom, D.; Sansó, B.; Bulaevskaya, V.; Lucas, D. D.

2016-12-01

Uncertainty in the inputs of complex computer models, including atmospheric dispersion and transport codes, is often assessed via statistical surrogate models. Surrogate models are computationally efficient statistical approximations of expensive computer models that enable uncertainty analysis. We introduce Bayesian adaptive spline methods for producing surrogate models that capture the major spatiotemporal patterns of the parent model, while satisfying all the necessities of flexibility, accuracy and computational feasibility. We present novel methodological and computational approaches motivated by a controlled atmospheric tracer release experiment conducted at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California. Traditional methods for building statistical surrogate models often do not scale well to experiments with large amounts of data. Our approach is well suited to experiments involving large numbers of model inputs, large numbers of simulations, and functional output for each simulation. Our approach allows us to perform global sensitivity analysis with ease. We also present an approach to calibration of simulators using field data.

Attitudes toward Advanced and Multivariate Statistics When Using Computers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Robert L.; McCallister, Corliss Jean

This study investigated the attitudes toward statistics of graduate students who studied advanced statistics in a course in which the focus of instruction was the use of a computer program in class. The use of the program made it possible to provide an individualized, self-paced, student-centered, and activity-based course. The three sections…

Sets, Probability and Statistics: The Mathematics of Life Insurance. [Computer Program.] Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, James M.; And Others

The materials described here represent the conversion of a highly popular student workbook "Sets, Probability and Statistics: The Mathematics of Life Insurance" into a computer program. The program is designed to familiarize students with the concepts of sets, probability, and statistics, and to provide practice using real life examples. It also…

Goodman and Kruskal's TAU-B Statistics: A Fortran-77 Subroutine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Kenneth J.; Mielke, Paul W., Jr.

1986-01-01

An algorithm and associated FORTRAN-77 computer subroutine are described for computing Goodman and Kruskal's tau-b statistic along with the associated nonasymptotic probability value under the null hypothesis tau=O. (Author)

Photoinduced dynamics to photoluminescence in Ln3+ (Ln = Ce, Pr) doped β-NaYF4 nanocrystals computed in basis of non-collinear spin DFT with spin-orbit coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yulun; Vogel, Dayton J.; Inerbaev, Talgat M.; May, P. Stanley; Berry, Mary T.; Kilin, Dmitri S.

2018-03-01

In this work, non-collinear spin DFT + U approaches with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) are applied to Ln3+ doped β-NaYF4 (Ln = Ce, Pr) nanocrystals in Vienna ab initio Simulation Package taking into account unpaired spin configurations using the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof functional in a plane wave basis set. The calculated absorption spectra from non-collinear spin DFT + U approaches are compared with that from spin-polarised DFT + U approaches. The spectral difference indicates the importance of spin-flip transitions of Ln3+ ions. Suite of codes for nonadiabatic dynamics has been developed for 2-component spinor orbitals. On-the-fly nonadiabatic coupling calculations provide transition probabilities facilitated by nuclear motion. Relaxation rates of electrons and holes are calculated using Redfield theory in the reduced density matrix formalism cast in the basis of non-collinear spin DFT + U with SOC. The emission spectra are calculated using the time-integrated method along the excited state trajectories based on nonadiabatic couplings.

Zn(x)Cd(1-x)Se nanomultipods with tunable band gaps: synthesis and first-principles calculations.

PubMed

Wei, Hao; Su, Yanjie; Han, Ziyi; Li, Tongtong; Ren, Xinglong; Yang, Zhi; Wei, Liangming; Cong, Fengsong; Zhang, Yafei

2013-06-14

In this paper, we demonstrate that ZnxCd1-xSe nanomultipods can be synthesized via a facile and nontoxic solution-based method. Interesting aspects of composition, morphology and optical properties were deeply explored. The value of Zn/(Zn+Cd) could be altered across the entire range from 0.08 to 0.86 by varying the ratio of cation precursor contents. The band gap energy could be linearly tuned from 1.88 to 2.48 eV with respect to the value of Zn/(Zn+Cd). The experiment also showed that oleylamine played a dominant role in the formation of multipod structure. A possible growth mechanism was further suggested. First-principles calculations of band gap energy and density of states in the Vienna ab initio simulation package code were performed to verify the experimental variation tendency of the band gap. Computational results indicated that dissimilarities of electronic band structures and orbital constitutions determined the tunable band gap of the as-synthesized nanomultipod, which might be promising for versatile applications in relevant areas of solar cells, biomedicine, sensors, catalysts and so on.

On fully three-dimensional resistive wall mode and feedback stabilization computationsa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strumberger, E.; Merkel, P.; Sempf, M.; Günter, S.

2008-05-01

Resistive walls, located close to the plasma boundary, reduce the growth rates of external kink modes to resistive time scales. For such slowly growing resistive wall modes, the stabilization by an active feedback system becomes feasible. The fully three-dimensional stability code STARWALL, and the feedback optimization code OPTIM have been developed [P. Merkel and M. Sempf, 21st IAEA Fusion Energy Conference 2006, Chengdu, China (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 2006, paper TH/P3-8] to compute the growth rates of resistive wall modes in the presence of nonaxisymmetric, multiply connected wall structures and to model the active feedback stabilization of these modes. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the codes and to study the effect of the toroidal mode coupling caused by multiply connected wall structures, the codes are applied to test equilibria using the resistive wall structures currently under debate for ITER [M. Shimada et al., Nucl. Fusion 47, S1 (2007)] and ASDEX Upgrade [W. Köppendörfer et al., Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Fusion Technology, London, 1990 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991), Vol. 1, p. 208].

Thermal-neutron capture gamma-rays. Volume 2

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

Tuli, J.K.

1997-05-01

The energy and photon intensity of gamma rays as seen in thermal-neutron capture are presented ordered by Z, A of target nuclei. All gamma-rays with intensity of {ge}2% of the strongest transition are included. The strongest transition is indicated in each case. Where the target nuclide mass number is indicated as nat the natural target was used. The gamma energies given are in keV. The gamma intensities given are relative to 100 for the strongest transition. All data for A > 44 are taken from Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File (4/97), a computer file of evaluated nuclear structure data maintainedmore » by the National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, on behalf of the Nuclear Structure and Decay and Decay Data network, coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. These data are published in Nuclear Data Sheets, Academic Press, San Diego, CA. The data for A {le} 44 is taken from ``Prompt Gamma Rays from Thermal-Neutron Capture,`` M.A. Lone, R.A. Leavitt, D.A. Harrison, Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 26, 511 (1981).« less

Gyrokinetic global three-dimensional simulations of linear ion-temperature-gradient modes in Wendelstein 7-X

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kornilov, V.; Kleiber, R.; Hatzky, R.; Villard, L.; Jost, G.

2004-06-01

Using a global approach for solving an ion gyrokinetic model in three-dimensional geometry the linear stability and structure of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) modes in the configuration of the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) [G. Grieger et al., in Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1990 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1991), Vol. 3, p. 525.] is studied. The time evolution of electrostatic perturbations is solved as an initial value problem with a particle-in-cell δf method. The vacuum magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium is calculated by the code VMEC [S. P. Hirshman and D. K. Lee, Comput. Phys. Commun. 39, 161 (1986)]. In this work the most unstable ITG mode in W7-X is presented. This mode has a pronounced ballooning-type structure; however, it is not tokamak-like. A driving mechanism analysis using the energy transfer shows that the contribution of curvature effects is non-negligible. The growth rate and the mixing-length estimate for transport are compared with those for ITG modes found in axisymmetric geometries.

Sources of computer self-efficacy: The relationship to outcome expectations, computer anxiety, and intention to use computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoine, Marilyn V.

2011-12-01

The purpose of this research was to extend earlier research on sources of selfefficacy (Lent, Lopez, & Biechke, 1991; Usher & Pajares, 2009) to the information technology domain. The principal investigator examined how Bandura's (1977) sources of self-efficacy information---mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states---shape computer self-efficacy beliefs and influence the decision to use or not use computers. The study took place at a mid-sized Historically Black College or University in the South. A convenience sample of 105 undergraduates was drawn from students enrolled in multiple sections of two introductory computer courses. There were 67 females and 38 males. This research was a correlational study of the following variables: sources of computer self-efficacy, general computer self-efficacy, outcome expectations, computer anxiety, and intention to use computers. The principal investigator administered a survey questionnaire containing 52 Likert items to measure the major study variables. Additionally, the survey instrument collected demographic variables such as gender, age, race, intended major, classification, technology use, technology adoption category, and whether the student owns a computer. The results reveal the following: (1) Mastery experience and verbal persuasion had statistically significant relationships to general computer self-efficacy, while vicarious experience and physiological states had non-significant relationships. Mastery experience had the strongest correlation to general computer self-efficacy. (2) All of the sources of computer self-efficacy had statistically significant relationships to personal outcome expectations. Vicarious experience had the strongest correlation to personal outcome expectations. (3) All of the sources of self-efficacy had statistically significant relationships to performance outcome expectations. Vicarious experience had the strongest correlation to performance outcome expectations. (4) Mastery experience and physiological states had statistically significant relationships to computer anxiety, while vicarious experience and verbal persuasion had non-significant relationships. Physiological states had the strongest correlation to computer anxiety. (5) Mastery experience, vicarious experience, and physiological states had statistically significant relationships to intention to use computers, while verbal persuasion had a non-significant relationship. Mastery experience had the strongest correlation to intention to use computers. Gender-related findings indicate that females reported higher average mastery experience, vicarious experience, physiological states, and intention to use computers than males. Females reported lower average general computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, verbal persuasion, personal outcome expectations, and performance outcome expectations than males. The results of this study can be used to develop strategies for increasing general computer self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and intention to use computers. The results can also be used to develop strategies for reducing computer anxiety.

Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Theory meets Industry (Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute (ESI), Vienna, Austria, 12-14 June 2007).

PubMed

Hafner, Jürgen

2008-02-13

The development of modern materials science has led to a growing need to understand the phenomena determining the properties of materials on an atomistic level. As the behavior of atoms and electrons is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, accurate and efficient techniques for solving the basic quantum-mechanical equations for very complex many-atom, many-electron systems are required. The development of density-functional theory (DFT) represents a decisive step forwards in our efforts to develop tools for ab initio atomistic simulations of complex materials, preparing the way towards computational materials design. The development of these ab initio simulation methods, whose aim is to model processes in materials by solving the coupled Newtonian equations of motion of the atoms and the Schrödinger equation for the electrons from first principles without any other input than the atomic numbers of the constituents, is part of fundamental research. Hence, for a long time the development and application of DFT methods has been a domain of academic research. Only during the past decade, based on the development of increasingly sophisticated codes and better computer performance, has the impact of DFT-based simulation methods has spread from academia to industry. New opportunities are opening for innovative materials research across physics, chemistry, surface science and nanotechnology extending even to earth sciences and molecular biology. In 1998 we organized, at the Vienna University of Technology, a first workshop entitled 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Industry and Basic Sciences' (short title 'Theory meets Industry') to celebrate the start of the European Science Foundation (ESF) research program 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Elucidating the Complex Atomistic Behavior of Solids and Surfaces', known as the Ψ(k)-network. At this workshop, researchers from academia presented recent results in the development of ab initio simulation methods and their application to key areas of condensed matter physics. Researchers from industry mainly focused on challenges arising from applied industrial research; contributions describing successful applications of DFT techniques to industrial problems were more scarce. Progress during the last decade has been very fast. The ESF research program has been renewed under the much bolder title 'Towards Computational Materials Design' and is now approaching the end of this second funding period. Due to the development of accurate, efficient and stable software packages for ab initio simulations, DFT-based techniques are now routinely used in many industrial laboratories worldwide. It was therefore considered timely to organize a second 'Theory meets Industry' workshop. The meeting took place between 12-14 June 2007 at the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute (ESI) for Mathematical Physics in Vienna (Austria). It was sponsored by the Universität Wien through the VASP (Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Program) project, the Center for Computational Materials Science Vienna, the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute and the ESF Program 'Towards Computational Materials Design'. The program of the workshop was decided by an international advisory board consisting of Ryoji Asahi (Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratory), Risto Nieminen (Helsinki University of Technology), Herve Toulhoat (Institut Français du Pétrole), Erich Wimmer (Materials Design Inc.), Chris Wolverton (Ford Motor Co. and Northwestern University) and Jürgen Hafner (Universität Wien). The 35 invited talks presented at the meeting were divided equally between researchers from academia and from industry. The contributions from academia concentrated on a wide range of new developments in DFT and post-DFT simulations (with contributions from the developers of leading software packages for ab initio simulations), as well as on applications in front-line materials research. In contrast to the first workshop nine years ago, all industrial speakers presented results of extensive ab initio studies in key areas of modern technology, concentrating on catalysis and chemical processing, information technologies, automotive engineering and energy. The proceedings assemble full papers summarizing 23 of the invited talks, abstracts of the remaining invited talks and abstracts of all the poster contributions. It is complemented by a conference summary written by Erich Wimmer. Erich is certainly excellently qualified for this task, because for many years he has played the role of mediator between academia and industry. I shall not anticipate his summary here, but I think that it is fair to say that tremendous progress has been made since the first workshop. Ab initio DFT simulations are now a well established tool for industrial research and, due to the availability of cheap high-performance server clusters, their use is no longer the reserve of large corporate laboratories equipped with supercomputers, but are also accessible to medium-sized enterprises. The basic methodology is still developed by the leading academic research groups. These groups urgently need support from funding agencies and/or industry not only for the basic code development, but also to bring their research codes up to industrial standards of programming, stability, user-friendliness and documentation. The fundamental challenge to theory, however, remains the same: more accurate total energies, application to larger and even more complex systems, and access to new materials properties. Responding to these challenges will require substantial effort at various levels. Achieving greatly improved accuracy of calculated total energies demands an improved description of electronic exchange and correlation. Possible routes (hybrid functionals for solids, dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), many-body perturbation theory (GW), quantum Monte-Carlo) have been presented at this meeting. Access to larger systems could be realized either by codes achieving O (N)-scaling or by adopting a strategy of multi-scale simulations. At least two different O (N)-codes have been discussed at the workshop. But even if these approaches allow ab initio calculations to be performed for ten times as many atoms as before, in terms of linear dimensions, the accessible systems size increases only by a factor of two. Therefore, multi-scale simulations strategies remain a very important issue. Access to new materials properties requires adding new routines to the basic codes. Again, this meeting has highlighted important new developments: evolutionary crystal structure predictions, transport properties of semiconductors and insulators, and calculations of free-energy reaction barriers to name only a few. The task of providing a full 'tool-box' of routines for fast and efficient calculation of many different materials properties evidently exceeds the capacity of a single group of developers. Here, collaboration is necessary between the developers of the basic DFT codes and the expert users of these codes pushing the application of the methodology to new frontiers. Again, it will be important to bring the newly developed routines into a stable, well documented form and to make them accessible to a wide range of users, both in academia and industry. Supporting these efforts is also a challenge to industry. The academic research needs industry's support in many ways. Industry has to make governmental and funding agencies aware of the vital role of our research for future technological development-and a very persuasive way to do that is to invest directly into leading academic groups. As the workshop organizer and editor of the proceedings, I would like to thank all contributors (especially those who accepted the burden of writing a full paper), the members of the Advisory Board for helping to organize such a good program, and the Institute of Physics for their help in the preparation of the proceedings.

FOREWORD: Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Theory meets Industry (Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute (ESI), Vienna, Austria, 12 14 June 2007)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hafner, Jürgen

2008-02-01

The development of modern materials science has led to a growing need to understand the phenomena determining the properties of materials on an atomistic level. As the behavior of atoms and electrons is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, accurate and efficient techniques for solving the basic quantum-mechanical equations for very complex many-atom, many-electron systems are required. The development of density-functional theory (DFT) represents a decisive step forwards in our efforts to develop tools for ab initio atomistic simulations of complex materials, preparing the way towards computational materials design. The development of these ab initio simulation methods, whose aim is to model processes in materials by solving the coupled Newtonian equations of motion of the atoms and the Schrödinger equation for the electrons from first principles without any other input than the atomic numbers of the constituents, is part of fundamental research. Hence, for a long time the development and application of DFT methods has been a domain of academic research. Only during the past decade, based on the development of increasingly sophisticated codes and better computer performance, has the impact of DFT-based simulation methods has spread from academia to industry. New opportunities are opening for innovative materials research across physics, chemistry, surface science and nanotechnology extending even to earth sciences and molecular biology. In 1998 we organized, at the Vienna University of Technology, a first workshop entitled 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Industry and Basic Sciences' (short title 'Theory meets Industry') to celebrate the start of the European Science Foundation (ESF) research program 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Elucidating the Complex Atomistic Behavior of Solids and Surfaces', known as the Ψk-network. At this workshop, researchers from academia presented recent results in the development of ab initio simulation methods and their application to key areas of condensed matter physics. Researchers from industry mainly focused on challenges arising from applied industrial research; contributions describing successful applications of DFT techniques to industrial problems were more scarce. Progress during the last decade has been very fast. The ESF research program has been renewed under the much bolder title 'Towards Computational Materials Design' and is now approaching the end of this second funding period. Due to the development of accurate, efficient and stable software packages for ab initio simulations, DFT-based techniques are now routinely used in many industrial laboratories worldwide. It was therefore considered timely to organize a second 'Theory meets Industry' workshop. The meeting took place between 12-14 June 2007 at the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute (ESI) for Mathematical Physics in Vienna (Austria). It was sponsored by the Universität Wien through the VASP (Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Program) project, the Center for Computational Materials Science Vienna, the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute and the ESF Program 'Towards Computational Materials Design'. The program of the workshop was decided by an international advisory board consisting of Ryoji Asahi (Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratory), Risto Nieminen (Helsinki University of Technology), Herve Toulhoat (Institut Français du Pétrole), Erich Wimmer (Materials Design Inc.), Chris Wolverton (Ford Motor Co. and Northwestern University) and Jürgen Hafner (Universität Wien). The 35 invited talks presented at the meeting were divided equally between researchers from academia and from industry. The contributions from academia concentrated on a wide range of new developments in DFT and post-DFT simulations (with contributions from the developers of leading software packages for ab initio simulations), as well as on applications in front-line materials research. In contrast to the first workshop nine years ago, all industrial speakers presented results of extensive ab initio studies in key areas of modern technology, concentrating on catalysis and chemical processing, information technologies, automotive engineering and energy. The proceedings assemble full papers summarizing 23 of the invited talks, abstracts of the remaining invited talks and abstracts of all the poster contributions. It is complemented by a conference summary written by Erich Wimmer. Erich is certainly excellently qualified for this task, because for many years he has played the role of mediator between academia and industry. I shall not anticipate his summary here, but I think that it is fair to say that tremendous progress has been made since the first workshop. Ab initio DFT simulations are now a well established tool for industrial research and, due to the availability of cheap high-performance server clusters, their use is no longer the reserve of large corporate laboratories equipped with supercomputers, but are also accessible to medium-sized enterprises. The basic methodology is still developed by the leading academic research groups. These groups urgently need support from funding agencies and/or industry not only for the basic code development, but also to bring their research codes up to industrial standards of programming, stability, user-friendliness and documentation. The fundamental challenge to theory, however, remains the same: more accurate total energies, application to larger and even more complex systems, and access to new materials properties. Responding to these challenges will require substantial effort at various levels. Achieving greatly improved accuracy of calculated total energies demands an improved description of electronic exchange and correlation. Possible routes (hybrid functionals for solids, dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), many-body perturbation theory (GW), quantum Monte-Carlo) have been presented at this meeting. Access to larger systems could be realized either by codes achieving O (N)-scaling or by adopting a strategy of multi-scale simulations. At least two different O (N)-codes have been discussed at the workshop. But even if these approaches allow ab initio calculations to be performed for ten times as many atoms as before, in terms of linear dimensions, the accessible systems size increases only by a factor of two. Therefore, multi-scale simulations strategies remain a very important issue. Access to new materials properties requires adding new routines to the basic codes. Again, this meeting has highlighted important new developments: evolutionary crystal structure predictions, transport properties of semiconductors and insulators, and calculations of free-energy reaction barriers to name only a few. The task of providing a full 'tool-box' of routines for fast and efficient calculation of many different materials properties evidently exceeds the capacity of a single group of developers. Here, collaboration is necessary between the developers of the basic DFT codes and the expert users of these codes pushing the application of the methodology to new frontiers. Again, it will be important to bring the newly developed routines into a stable, well documented form and to make them accessible to a wide range of users, both in academia and industry. Supporting these efforts is also a challenge to industry. The academic research needs industry's support in many ways. Industry has to make governmental and funding agencies aware of the vital role of our research for future technological development—and a very persuasive way to do that is to invest directly into leading academic groups. As the workshop organizer and editor of the proceedings, I would like to thank all contributors (especially those who accepted the burden of writing a full paper), the members of the Advisory Board for helping to organize such a good program, and the Institute of Physics for their help in the preparation of the proceedings.

Computing Inter-Rater Reliability for Observational Data: An Overview and Tutorial

PubMed Central

Hallgren, Kevin A.

2012-01-01

Many research designs require the assessment of inter-rater reliability (IRR) to demonstrate consistency among observational ratings provided by multiple coders. However, many studies use incorrect statistical procedures, fail to fully report the information necessary to interpret their results, or do not address how IRR affects the power of their subsequent analyses for hypothesis testing. This paper provides an overview of methodological issues related to the assessment of IRR with a focus on study design, selection of appropriate statistics, and the computation, interpretation, and reporting of some commonly-used IRR statistics. Computational examples include SPSS and R syntax for computing Cohen’s kappa and intra-class correlations to assess IRR. PMID:22833776

Irish Literature in Austria.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faerber, Gerda

After a brief description of some historical and cultural interchanges between Ireland and Austria, the paper examines Irish fiction that has been translated into German and Irish plays that have been performed in Vienna over the past 25 years. The paper also describes German translations of Irish children's fiction, including classics like…

Status of Muslim Immigrants' Children with Learning Difficulties in Vienna

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohsin, M. Naeem; Shabbir, Muhammad; Saeed, Wizra; Mohsin, M. Saleem

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to know the status of Muslim immigrants' children with learning difficulties and importance of parents' involvement for the education whose children are with learning difficulties, and the factors responsible for the learning difficulties among immigrants' children. There were 81 immigrant children with learning…

76 FR 47569 - Combined Notice of Filings #2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-05

... LLC, NRG Energy Center Paxton LLC, NRG New Jersey Energy Sales LLC, NRG Power Marketing LLC, NRG..., Vienna Power LLC, NRG Power Marketing, LLC, NRG Energy, Inc. Description: NRG Power Marketing LLC, et al...-recertification] listed above, do not institute a proceeding regarding qualifying facility status. A notice of...

Cooperative Market Research Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carels, Peter; McCullough, Lynette

A pilot project was developed in which the Advertising and Market Research Center of the Vienna School of Economics and Business in Austria and the German Department as well as the Marketing Department of Miami University in Ohio are working together to collect market research data and formulate a market entry strategy for Roemerquelle, an…

The Use of COCOON in Teaching Silviculture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vacik, Harald; Wolfslehner, Bernhard; Spork, Josef; Kortschak, Ernst

2006-01-01

At the Institute of Silviculture at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, students learn to cross-link ecological, socio-economic and technical knowledge of maintaining, regenerating, tending and utilizing forests in a sustainable way. They learn complex concepts and processes most successfully when they are…

78 FR 65764 - Information Collection Proposed Renewal Without Change; Comment Request; Anti-Money Laundering...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-01

... Renewal Without Change; Comment Request; Anti-Money Laundering Programs; Due Diligence Programs for... policies, procedures, and controls reasonably designed to detect and report money laundering through... Enforcement Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183, Attention: Comments on Anti-Money Laundering Program and...

Preservation and Conservation and Their Teaching: The Methodology of Vienna '86.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallejo, Rosa M.

This paper discusses a seminar on the Teaching of Conservation and Preservation Management for Librarians, Archivists, and Information Scientists, which was organized jointly by the FID (Federation Internationale de Documentation), the ICA (International Council of Archives), and IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) and held in…

Alternative Locations for School Buildings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earthman, Glen I.

1999-01-01

School systems in urbanized or built-up areas have difficulties locating suitable sites for new buildings. Examples of the use of space in alternative locations include the Parkway Program in Philadelphia; the Work Place School in Alberta, Canada; the Metropolitan Learning Alliance in Minnesota; and the Schoolhouse Boat in Vienna, Austria. (MLF)

Transdisciplinary Learning and Teaching as Answers to Urban Sustainability Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biberhofer, Petra; Rammel, Christian

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to explain the relevance of science-society interfaces and their potential for higher education institutions to engage stakeholders in supporting sustainable change in cities, via the transdisciplinary learning and teaching approach of the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development Vienna.…

75 FR 47346 - Proposed Renewal Without Change; Comment Request; Anti-Money Laundering Programs; Special Due...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-05

...; Comment Request; Anti-Money Laundering Programs; Special Due Diligence Programs for Certain Foreign... reasonably designed to detect and report money laundering through correspondent accounts and private banking..., P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183, Attention: Comments on Anti-Money Laundering Program and Special Due...

76 FR 77251 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Manufacturers...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-12

... Production Act of 1993--Manufacturers Standardization Society Notice is hereby given that, on November 7....C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), Manufacturers Standardization Society (``MSS'') has filed written... development organization is: Manufacturers Standardization Society, Vienna, VA. The nature and scope of MSS's...

Society News: Workshop helps new GJI authors; Free eBook for schools; EGU awards medal; AGU elects Fellow; Support your Society; New Fellows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-04-01

Early-career researchers and postgraduates are invited to attend an Author Workshop at the 2012 European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna. The following were elected Fellows of the Society on 10 February 2012:

When Personal and Political Processes Meet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swenson, Gay Leah

1987-01-01

Reports and critiques the Rust workshop conducted in 1985 in Vienna, Austria. Provides an analysis of the challenges to the person-centered approach as applied to international tension reduction. Concludes with issues for further exploration and a declaration for an ongoing program in person-centered approaches in international relations. (BR)

International Tension-Reduction Through the Person-Centered Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Lawrence N.

1987-01-01

Evaluates the Rust Conference held in 1985 in Vienna, Austria. Explains that the workshop topic, "Central American Challenge," was used as an experimental application of the person-centered approach to conflict resolution in an international context. Concludes by admitting limitations and expresses optimism that this approach can be used…

The Role of Magmatic Volatile Input, Near-surface Seawater Entrainment and Sulfide Deposition in Regulating Metal Concentrations Within Manus Basin Hydrothermal Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craddock, P. R.; Tivey, M. K.; Seewald, J. S.; Rouxel, O.; Bach, W.

2007-12-01

Analyses of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Cd, Co and Sb in vent fluid samples from four hydrothermal systems in the Manus back-arc basin, Papua New Guinea, were carried out by ICP-MS. Vienna Woods is located on the well- defined, basalt-dominated Manus Spreading Center, while the other systems are hosted in felsic volcanics on the Pual Ridge (PACMANUS), within a caldera (DESMOS), and on volcanic cones (SuSu Knolls). Metal concentrations were coupled with other fluid data (pH, SO4, Ca, H2S) to discriminate effects of deep- seated water-rock reaction and magmatic volatile input from near surface seawater entrainment, mixing, and consequent mineral precipitation and metal remobilization. Both magmatic volatile input (e.g. SO2, HCl, HF) and sulfide precipitation can increase fluid acidity and thus affect the aqueous mobility of metals. At Vienna Woods, 280°C end-member (Mg = 0) fluids have high pH (>4.2) and low metal contents (Fe <160 uM, Cu <10 uM, Zn <40 uM) relative to most mid-ocean ridge (MOR) vent fluids. The high pH and lack of evidence for magmatic volatile input are consistent with fluid compositions regulated by subsurface seawater- basalt/andesite reactions. Despite low aqueous Zn concentrations, Zn-rich (wurtzite-lined) chimneys are common at Vienna Woods active vents, reflecting deposition from fluids characterized by low Fe and Cu and high pH. At PACMANUS, black smoker fluids (T >300°C, pH ~ 2.7) are enriched in sulfide-forming metals by an order of magnitude relative to Vienna Woods fluids. Enrichments at PACMANUS reflect efficient leaching of metals at low pH, with the lower pH likely a result of input of magmatic volatiles. In addition, some vents fluids show clear evidence for seawater entrainment, subsurface precipitation of Cu-Fe-sulfides and preferential remobilization of Zn-sulfides (lower T, non-zero Mg, lower Fe, Cu, H2S and pH (2.3-2.4), but higher Zn, Pb, Cd and Ag, compared to black smokers). The higher metal concentrations and lower pH of fluids from PACMANUS versus Vienna Woods are reflected in chimney deposit compositions with Zn-poor sulfide linings composed of Cu-Fe-sulfides and As-Sb-sulfosalts in high T and lower T vents, respectively. At DESMOS caldera, fluid data suggest extensive magmatic volatile input (e.g. pH <1.5, elevated F and SO4) but lesser reaction with the basement felsic rocks (low Li, Rb, Mn). Sampled "acid-sulfate" fluids are low temperature (T ~180°C) with Mg >46 mM, and very high concentrations of some metals for these Mg concentrations (Fe >5 mM, Zn >50 - 400 uM). At SuSu Knolls, vent fluid compositions similar to those at both PACMANUS and DESMOS are observed. Smoker fluids have high but variable metal concentrations of similar magnitude to PACMANUS. Acid-sulfate fluids from North Su have low pH (<2), non-zero Mg (>40 mM), and high Fe and Zn concentrations, similar to DESMOS fluids. At SuSu Knolls, fluid compositions reflect either high temperature water-rock reaction (smoker fluids) or magmatic volatile input (acid-sulfate fluids). As at PACMANUS, chimney deposits that correspond to venting fluids are Cu-Fe-As-Sb-rich and Zn-poor, likely reflecting deposition from low pH, high Cu and Fe fluids.

Isochron burial dating of Danube terraces in the course of an interlaboratory comparison on sample preparation in Vienna and Budapest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuhuber, Stephanie; Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger, Zsófia; Decker, Kurt; Braucher, Regis; Fiebig, Markus; Braun, Mihály; Häuselmann, Philipp; Aster Team

2016-04-01

The Neogene development of the Vienna Basin's tectonic history is well-documented in seismic sections and hydrocarbon wells. The late Neogene to Quaternary history is less well preserved due to a gap in the sediment record starting from the Late Pannonian due to a large-scale uplift during a phase of basin inversion [1]. Quaternary sediments in the Vienna Basin form prominent Pleistocene terraces north and south of the Danube's recent floodplain. The Danube's course currently shifts to the south where it erodes into its own gravel terraces that were presumably accumulated during the Pliocene and Early to Middle Pleistocene. North of the Danube, a wide alluvial plain has developed with one prominent Middle Quaternary terrace level 17-25 m above the river (Gänserndorf and Schlosshof Terraces). The most recent tectonic events related to the sinistral movement of the Vienna Basin transform fault system are recorded north of the Danube by faulted terrace segments that were identified by paleoseismological trenching in combination with OSL [2]. In contrast, terraces south of the Danube form a staircase with altitudes ranging between 25 and 130 m above todays water level. The terraces in the south have also been strongly dissected by faults [3], each fault block preserved a slightly different succession of terraces. The fault-related vertical displacements south of the Danube have not yet been quantified. To better understand the Quaternary terrace sequence and its displacement in the southern zone, we use the cosmogenic nuclide pair of 26Al and 10Be for isochron burial dating of a Danube terrace at Haslau an der Donau (~40 m above river level). This terrace is locally the lowest of a staircase of a total of 6 different levels. Based on published geomorphological works, the expected age is Middle Pleistocene. The isochron burial dating method is therefore well-suited to date this sedimentary setting due to the presence of large individual clasts that share the same post-depositional history, but have different pre-exposure and transport histories [4]. The sandy gravel of the Haslau terrace was sampled in an active gravel pit. At this location, two major sedimentary units are separated by an erosional hiatus of unknown duration. The upper sequence was sampled at 5.5 m depth and the lower one was sampled at 11.8 m depth. From both depths six quartzite or quartz-bearing cobbles were taken together with a bulk sample from the matrix for isochron burial duration determination. Five samples were split after crushing and sieving and were processed at both the Cosmogenic Nuclide Sample Preparation Laboratory at Vienna and at Budapest (http://www.geochem.hu/kozmogen/Lab_en.html), in order to assess and compare the sample processing preocedures of these recently operating sample preparation laboratories. AMS measurements were performed at the French national facility ASTER (CEREGE (Aix-en-Provence, France). Thanks to OTKA PD83610, NKM-96/2014, NKM-31/2015; OMAA 90öu17; LP2012-27/2012. INSU/CNRS, the ANR through the program "EQUIPEX Investissement d'Avenir", IRD and CEA. [1] Decker et al., 2005. QSR 24, 307-322 [2] Hintersberger et al, 2013, EGU2013-12755 [3] Salcher et al. 2012. Tectonics, 31, TC3004, doi:10.1029/2011TC002979 [4] Balco and Rovey, 2008. AJS 908, 1083-1114 [5] Fuchs and Grill, 1984, Geologische Gebietskarte der Republik Österreich 1:200 000 Wien und Umgebung

Identification of natural images and computer-generated graphics based on statistical and textural features.

PubMed

Peng, Fei; Li, Jiao-ting; Long, Min

2015-03-01

To discriminate the acquisition pipelines of digital images, a novel scheme for the identification of natural images and computer-generated graphics is proposed based on statistical and textural features. First, the differences between them are investigated from the view of statistics and texture, and 31 dimensions of feature are acquired for identification. Then, LIBSVM is used for the classification. Finally, the experimental results are presented. The results show that it can achieve an identification accuracy of 97.89% for computer-generated graphics, and an identification accuracy of 97.75% for natural images. The analyses also demonstrate the proposed method has excellent performance, compared with some existing methods based only on statistical features or other features. The method has a great potential to be implemented for the identification of natural images and computer-generated graphics. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Using Interactive Simulations in Assessment: The Use of Computer-Based Interactive Simulations in the Assessment of Statistical Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, David L.

2010-01-01

Interactive computer-based simulations have been applied in several contexts to teach statistical concepts in university level courses. In this report, the use of interactive simulations as part of summative assessment in a statistics course is described. Students accessed the simulations via the web and completed questions relating to the…

A Didactic Experience of Statistical Analysis for the Determination of Glycine in a Nonaqueous Medium Using ANOVA and a Computer Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos-Delgado, M. J.; Larrea-Tarruella, L.

2004-01-01

The back-titration methods are compared statistically to establish glycine in a nonaqueous medium of acetic acid. Important variations in the mean values of glycine are observed due to the interaction effects between the analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique and a statistical study through a computer software.

Attitudes and Achievement in Introductory Psychological Statistics Classes: Traditional versus Computer-Supported Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gratz, Zandra S.; And Others

A study was conducted at a large, state-supported college in the Northeast to establish a mechanism by which a popular software package, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), could be used in psychology program statistics courses in such a way that no prior computer expertise would be needed on the part of the faculty or the…

For the Love of Statistics: Appreciating and Learning to Apply Experimental Analysis and Statistics through Computer Programming Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mascaró, Maite; Sacristán, Ana Isabel; Rufino, Marta M.

2016-01-01

For the past 4 years, we have been involved in a project that aims to enhance the teaching and learning of experimental analysis and statistics, of environmental and biological sciences students, through computational programming activities (using R code). In this project, through an iterative design, we have developed sequences of R-code-based…

The effect of statistical noise on IMRT plan quality and convergence for MC-based and MC-correction-based optimized treatment plans.

PubMed

Siebers, Jeffrey V

2008-04-04

Monte Carlo (MC) is rarely used for IMRT plan optimization outside of research centres due to the extensive computational resources or long computation times required to complete the process. Time can be reduced by degrading the statistical precision of the MC dose calculation used within the optimization loop. However, this eventually introduces optimization convergence errors (OCEs). This study determines the statistical noise levels tolerated during MC-IMRT optimization under the condition that the optimized plan has OCEs <100 cGy (1.5% of the prescription dose) for MC-optimized IMRT treatment plans.Seven-field prostate IMRT treatment plans for 10 prostate patients are used in this study. Pre-optimization is performed for deliverable beams with a pencil-beam (PB) dose algorithm. Further deliverable-based optimization proceeds using: (1) MC-based optimization, where dose is recomputed with MC after each intensity update or (2) a once-corrected (OC) MC-hybrid optimization, where a MC dose computation defines beam-by-beam dose correction matrices that are used during a PB-based optimization. Optimizations are performed with nominal per beam MC statistical precisions of 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 20%. Following optimizer convergence, beams are re-computed with MC using 2% per beam nominal statistical precision and the 2 PTV and 10 OAR dose indices used in the optimization objective function are tallied. For both the MC-optimization and OC-optimization methods, statistical equivalence tests found that OCEs are less than 1.5% of the prescription dose for plans optimized with nominal statistical uncertainties of up to 10% per beam. The achieved statistical uncertainty in the patient for the 10% per beam simulations from the combination of the 7 beams is ~3% with respect to maximum dose for voxels with D>0.5D(max). The MC dose computation time for the OC-optimization is only 6.2 minutes on a single 3 Ghz processor with results clinically equivalent to high precision MC computations.

Computer Managed Instruction: An Application in Teaching Introductory Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Walter W.

1985-01-01

This paper describes a computer managed instruction package for teaching introductory or advanced statistics. The instructional package is described and anecdotal information concerning its performance and student responses to its use over two semesters are given. (Author/BL)

Two Computer Programs for the Statistical Evaluation of a Weighted Linear Composite.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sands, William A.

1978-01-01

Two computer programs (one batch, one interactive) are designed to provide statistics for a weighted linear combination of several component variables. Both programs provide mean, variance, standard deviation, and a validity coefficient. (Author/JKS)

airGRteaching: an R-package designed for teaching hydrology with lumped hydrological models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thirel, Guillaume; Delaigue, Olivier; Coron, Laurent; Andréassian, Vazken; Brigode, Pierre

2017-04-01

Lumped hydrological models are useful and convenient tools for research, engineering and educational purposes. They propose catchment-scale representations of the precipitation-discharge relationship. Thanks to their limited data requirements, they can be easily implemented and run. With such models, it is possible to simulate a number of hydrological key processes over the catchment with limited structural and parametric complexity, typically evapotranspiration, runoff, underground losses, etc. The Hydrology Group at Irstea (Antony) has been developing a suite of rainfall-runoff models over the past 30 years. This resulted in a suite of models running at different time steps (from hourly to annual) applicable for various issues including water balance estimation, forecasting, simulation of impacts and scenario testing. Recently, Irstea has developed an easy-to-use R-package (R Core Team, 2016), called airGR (Coron et al., 2016, 2017), to make these models widely available. Although its initial target public was hydrological modellers, the package is already used for educational purposes. Indeed, simple models allow for rapidly visualising the effects of parameterizations and model components on flows hydrographs. In order to avoid the difficulties that students may have when manipulating R and datasets, we developed (Delaigue and Coron, 2016): - Three simplified functions to prepare data, calibrate a model and run a simulation - Simplified and dynamic plot functions - A shiny (Chang et al., 2016) interface that connects this R-package to a browser-based visualisation tool. On this interface, the students can use different hydrological models (including the possibility to use a snow-accounting model), manually modify their parameters and automatically calibrate their parameters with diverse objective functions. One of the visualisation tabs of the interface includes observed precipitation and temperature, simulated snowpack (if any), observed and simulated discharges, which are updated immediately (a calibration only needs a couple of seconds or less, a simulation is almost immediate). In addition, time series of internal variables, live-visualisation of internal variables evolution and performance statistics are provided. This interface allows for hands-on exercises that can include for instance the analysis by students of: - The effects of each parameter and model components on simulated discharge - The effects of objective functions based on high flows- or low flows-focused criteria on simulated discharge - The seasonality of the model components. References Winston Chang, Joe Cheng, JJ Allaire, Yihui Xie and Jonathan McPherson (2016). shiny: Web Application Framework for R. R package version 0.13.2. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=shiny Coron L., Thirel G., Perrin C., Delaigue O., Andréassian V., airGR: a suite of lumped hydrological models in an R-package, Environmental Modelling and software, 2017, submitted. Coron, L., Perrin, C. and Michel, C. (2016). airGR: Suite of GR hydrological models for precipitation-runoff modelling. R package version 1.0.3. https://webgr.irstea.fr/airGR/?lang=en. Olivier Delaigue and Laurent Coron (2016). airGRteaching: Tools to simplify the use of the airGR hydrological package by students. R package version 0.0.1. https://webgr.irstea.fr/airGR/?lang=en R Core Team (2016). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.

Coupling R and PHREEQC: an interactive and extensible environment for efficient programming of geochemical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Lucia, Marco; Kühn, Michael

2013-04-01

PHREEQC [1] is a widely used non-interactive open source software for speciation, batch-reactions, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical caclulations. It represents the tool of choice for many researchers and practicioners for a broad set of geochemical problems, underground CO2 storage among others. Its open source nature, the flexibility to program arbitrary kinetic laws for the chemical reactions, as well as a thorough implementation of the Pitzer formalism explain its success and longevity. However, its non-interactive architecture make it cumbersome to couple PHREEQC to transport programs to achieve reactive transport simulations [2], but also to overcome the limitations of PHREEQC itself regarding the setup of large numbers of simulations - for example exploring wide ranges of conditions - and the graphical evaluation of the results. This has been the main motivation leading to the development of an interface with the high level language and environment for statistical computing and graphics GNU R [3]. The interface consists of minor modifications in PHREEQC's C source code, only affecting data I/O, plus on the R side a bunch of helper functions used to setup the simulations - basically automated manipulation of PHREEQC's input files, which are text files - and to collect and visualize the results. The most relevant subset of PHREEQC's capabilities and features are fully usable through the interface. Illustratory examples for the utility of this programmable interface were given in the framework of the research project this developement originated from: CLEAN [4], a project investigating the feasibility of enhanced gas recovery combined with CO2 storage. This interface allowed us to successfully and easily manipulate, compare and refit chemical databases, perform sensitivity analysis by combinatory variations of parameters, and all that in an environment which is both scriptable and interactive, with all results directly available for further manipulations and visualization in a powerful high level language, and benefiting from an enormous amount of third-party open source R extensions. The possibility to rapidly prototype complex algorithms involving geochemical modelling is in our opinion a huge advantage. A demonstration is given by the successful evaluation of a strategy to reduce the CPU-time needed to perform reactive transport simulations in a sequential coupling scheme. The idea is the "reduction" of the number of actual chemical simulations to perform at every time step, by searching for "duplicates" of each chemical simulations in the grid: such comparison involves typically a huge number of elements (one chemical simulation for grid element for time step) and a quite large number of variables (concentrations and mineral abundances). However, through the straightforward implementation of the prototype algorithm through the R/PHREEQC interface, we found out that the scan is extremely cost-effective in terms of CPU-time and typically allows a relevant speedup for simulations starting from a homogeneous or zone-homogeneous state. This speedup can even greatily exceed that of parallelization in some favorable but not unfrequent case. This feature should therefore be implemented in reactive transport simulators. References [1] Parkhurst D, Appelo C (1999) Users guide to PHREEQC (version 2). Tech. rep, U.S. Geological Survey. [2] Beyer C, Li D, De Lucia M, Kühn M, Bauer S (2012): Modelling CO2-induced fluid-rock interactions in the Altensalzwedel gas reservoir. Part II: coupled reactive transport simulation. Environ. Earth Sci., 67, 2, 573-588. [3] R Core Team (2012) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org/. [4] Kühn M, Münch U (2012) CLEAN: CO2 Large-Scale Enhanced Gas Recovery. GEOTECHNOLOGIEN Science Report No. 19. Series: Advanced. Technologies in Earth Sciences, 199 p, ISBN 978-3-642-31676-0.

Covariance approximation for fast and accurate computation of channelized Hotelling observer statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonetto, P.; Qi, Jinyi; Leahy, R. M.

2000-08-01

Describes a method for computing linear observer statistics for maximum a posteriori (MAP) reconstructions of PET images. The method is based on a theoretical approximation for the mean and covariance of MAP reconstructions. In particular, the authors derive here a closed form for the channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) statistic applied to 2D MAP images. The theoretical analysis models both the Poission statistics of PET data and the inhomogeneity of tracer uptake. The authors show reasonably good correspondence between these theoretical results and Monte Carlo studies. The accuracy and low computational cost of the approximation allow the authors to analyze the observer performance over a wide range of operating conditions and parameter settings for the MAP reconstruction algorithm.

PREFACE: 9th World Congress on Computational Mechanics and 4th Asian Pacific Congress on Computational Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalili, N.; Valliappan, S.; Li, Q.; Russell, A.

2010-07-01

The use for mathematical models of natural phenomena has underpinned science and engineering for centuries, but until the advent of modern computers and computational methods, the full utility of most of these models remained outside the reach of the engineering communities. Since World War II, advances in computational methods have transformed the way engineering and science is undertaken throughout the world. Today, theories of mechanics of solids and fluids, electromagnetism, heat transfer, plasma physics, and other scientific disciplines are implemented through computational methods in engineering analysis, design, manufacturing, and in studying broad classes of physical phenomena. The discipline concerned with the application of computational methods is now a key area of research, education, and application throughout the world. In the early 1980's, the International Association for Computational Mechanics (IACM) was founded to promote activities related to computational mechanics and has made impressive progress. The most important scientific event of IACM is the World Congress on Computational Mechanics. The first was held in Austin (USA) in 1986 and then in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1990, Chiba (Japan) in 1994, Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1998, Vienna (Austria) in 2002, Beijing (China) in 2004, Los Angeles (USA) in 2006 and Venice, Italy; in 2008. The 9th World Congress on Computational Mechanics is held in conjunction with the 4th Asian Pacific Congress on Computational Mechanics under the auspices of Australian Association for Computational Mechanics (AACM), Asian Pacific Association for Computational Mechanics (APACM) and International Association for Computational Mechanics (IACM). The 1st Asian Pacific Congress was in Sydney (Australia) in 2001, then in Beijing (China) in 2004 and Kyoto (Japan) in 2007. The WCCM/APCOM 2010 publications consist of a printed book of abstracts given to delegates, along with 247 full length peer reviewed papers published with free access online in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. The editors acknowledge the help of the paper reviewers in maintaining a high standard of assessment and the co-operation of the authors in complying with the requirements of the editors and the reviewers. We also would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Local Organising Committee and the International Scientific Committee for helping make WCCM/APCOM 2010 a successful event. We also thank The University of New South Wales, The University of Newcastle, the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety (CIES), IACM, APCAM, AACM for their financial support, along with the United States Association for Computational Mechanics for the Travel Awards made available. N. Khalili S. Valliappan Q. Li A. Russell 19 July 2010 Sydney, Australia

10 CFR 431.173 - Requirements applicable to all manufacturers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Provisions for Commercial Heating, Ventilating, Air-Conditioning and... is based on engineering or statistical analysis, computer simulation or modeling, or other analytic... method or methods used; (B) The mathematical model, the engineering or statistical analysis, computer...

Computation of large-scale statistics in decaying isotropic turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chasnov, Jeffrey R.

1993-01-01

We have performed large-eddy simulations of decaying isotropic turbulence to test the prediction of self-similar decay of the energy spectrum and to compute the decay exponents of the kinetic energy. In general, good agreement between the simulation results and the assumption of self-similarity were obtained. However, the statistics of the simulations were insufficient to compute the value of gamma which corrects the decay exponent when the spectrum follows a k(exp 4) wave number behavior near k = 0. To obtain good statistics, it was found necessary to average over a large ensemble of turbulent flows.

Statistical fingerprinting for malware detection and classification

DOEpatents

Prowell, Stacy J.; Rathgeb, Christopher T.

2015-09-15

A system detects malware in a computing architecture with an unknown pedigree. The system includes a first computing device having a known pedigree and operating free of malware. The first computing device executes a series of instrumented functions that, when executed, provide a statistical baseline that is representative of the time it takes the software application to run on a computing device having a known pedigree. A second computing device executes a second series of instrumented functions that, when executed, provides an actual time that is representative of the time the known software application runs on the second computing device. The system detects malware when there is a difference in execution times between the first and the second computing devices.

Statistical mechanics of complex neural systems and high dimensional data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Advani, Madhu; Lahiri, Subhaneil; Ganguli, Surya

2013-03-01

Recent experimental advances in neuroscience have opened new vistas into the immense complexity of neuronal networks. This proliferation of data challenges us on two parallel fronts. First, how can we form adequate theoretical frameworks for understanding how dynamical network processes cooperate across widely disparate spatiotemporal scales to solve important computational problems? Second, how can we extract meaningful models of neuronal systems from high dimensional datasets? To aid in these challenges, we give a pedagogical review of a collection of ideas and theoretical methods arising at the intersection of statistical physics, computer science and neurobiology. We introduce the interrelated replica and cavity methods, which originated in statistical physics as powerful ways to quantitatively analyze large highly heterogeneous systems of many interacting degrees of freedom. We also introduce the closely related notion of message passing in graphical models, which originated in computer science as a distributed algorithm capable of solving large inference and optimization problems involving many coupled variables. We then show how both the statistical physics and computer science perspectives can be applied in a wide diversity of contexts to problems arising in theoretical neuroscience and data analysis. Along the way we discuss spin glasses, learning theory, illusions of structure in noise, random matrices, dimensionality reduction and compressed sensing, all within the unified formalism of the replica method. Moreover, we review recent conceptual connections between message passing in graphical models, and neural computation and learning. Overall, these ideas illustrate how statistical physics and computer science might provide a lens through which we can uncover emergent computational functions buried deep within the dynamical complexities of neuronal networks.

Do-it-yourself statistics: A computer-assisted likelihood approach to analysis of data from genetic crosses.

PubMed Central

Robbins, L G

2000-01-01

Graduate school programs in genetics have become so full that courses in statistics have often been eliminated. In addition, typical introductory statistics courses for the "statistics user" rather than the nascent statistician are laden with methods for analysis of measured variables while genetic data are most often discrete numbers. These courses are often seen by students and genetics professors alike as largely irrelevant cookbook courses. The powerful methods of likelihood analysis, although commonly employed in human genetics, are much less often used in other areas of genetics, even though current computational tools make this approach readily accessible. This article introduces the MLIKELY.PAS computer program and the logic of do-it-yourself maximum-likelihood statistics. The program itself, course materials, and expanded discussions of some examples that are only summarized here are available at http://www.unisi. it/ricerca/dip/bio_evol/sitomlikely/mlikely.h tml. PMID:10628965

Infant Statistical Learning

PubMed Central

Saffran, Jenny R.; Kirkham, Natasha Z.

2017-01-01

Perception involves making sense of a dynamic, multimodal environment. In the absence of mechanisms capable of exploiting the statistical patterns in the natural world, infants would face an insurmountable computational problem. Infant statistical learning mechanisms facilitate the detection of structure. These abilities allow the infant to compute across elements in their environmental input, extracting patterns for further processing and subsequent learning. In this selective review, we summarize findings that show that statistical learning is both a broad and flexible mechanism (supporting learning from different modalities across many different content areas) and input specific (shifting computations depending on the type of input and goal of learning). We suggest that statistical learning not only provides a framework for studying language development and object knowledge in constrained laboratory settings, but also allows researchers to tackle real-world problems, such as multilingualism, the role of ever-changing learning environments, and differential developmental trajectories. PMID:28793812

Computing the Expected Cost of an Appointment Schedule for Statistically Identical Customers with Probabilistic Service Times

PubMed Central

Dietz, Dennis C.

2014-01-01

A cogent method is presented for computing the expected cost of an appointment schedule where customers are statistically identical, the service time distribution has known mean and variance, and customer no-shows occur with time-dependent probability. The approach is computationally efficient and can be easily implemented to evaluate candidate schedules within a schedule optimization algorithm. PMID:24605070

A Modeling Framework for Optimal Computational Resource Allocation Estimation: Considering the Trade-offs between Physical Resolutions, Uncertainty and Computational Costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moslehi, M.; de Barros, F.; Rajagopal, R.

2014-12-01

Hydrogeological models that represent flow and transport in subsurface domains are usually large-scale with excessive computational complexity and uncertain characteristics. Uncertainty quantification for predicting flow and transport in heterogeneous formations often entails utilizing a numerical Monte Carlo framework, which repeatedly simulates the model according to a random field representing hydrogeological characteristics of the field. The physical resolution (e.g. grid resolution associated with the physical space) for the simulation is customarily chosen based on recommendations in the literature, independent of the number of Monte Carlo realizations. This practice may lead to either excessive computational burden or inaccurate solutions. We propose an optimization-based methodology that considers the trade-off between the following conflicting objectives: time associated with computational costs, statistical convergence of the model predictions and physical errors corresponding to numerical grid resolution. In this research, we optimally allocate computational resources by developing a modeling framework for the overall error based on a joint statistical and numerical analysis and optimizing the error model subject to a given computational constraint. The derived expression for the overall error explicitly takes into account the joint dependence between the discretization error of the physical space and the statistical error associated with Monte Carlo realizations. The accuracy of the proposed framework is verified in this study by applying it to several computationally extensive examples. Having this framework at hand aims hydrogeologists to achieve the optimum physical and statistical resolutions to minimize the error with a given computational budget. Moreover, the influence of the available computational resources and the geometric properties of the contaminant source zone on the optimum resolutions are investigated. We conclude that the computational cost associated with optimal allocation can be substantially reduced compared with prevalent recommendations in the literature.

Bayesian models: A statistical primer for ecologists

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hobbs, N. Thompson; Hooten, Mevin B.

2015-01-01

Bayesian modeling has become an indispensable tool for ecological research because it is uniquely suited to deal with complexity in a statistically coherent way. This textbook provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the latest Bayesian methods—in language ecologists can understand. Unlike other books on the subject, this one emphasizes the principles behind the computations, giving ecologists a big-picture understanding of how to implement this powerful statistical approach.Bayesian Models is an essential primer for non-statisticians. It begins with a definition of probability and develops a step-by-step sequence of connected ideas, including basic distribution theory, network diagrams, hierarchical models, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and inference from single and multiple models. This unique book places less emphasis on computer coding, favoring instead a concise presentation of the mathematical statistics needed to understand how and why Bayesian analysis works. It also explains how to write out properly formulated hierarchical Bayesian models and use them in computing, research papers, and proposals.This primer enables ecologists to understand the statistical principles behind Bayesian modeling and apply them to research, teaching, policy, and management.Presents the mathematical and statistical foundations of Bayesian modeling in language accessible to non-statisticiansCovers basic distribution theory, network diagrams, hierarchical models, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and moreDeemphasizes computer coding in favor of basic principlesExplains how to write out properly factored statistical expressions representing Bayesian models

Apostle of Freedom: Alfred Adler and His British Disciples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirsch, Pam

2005-01-01

The psychology of Alfred Adler is traditionally considered to be one of the three so-called in-depth or psychoanalytic therapies, the other two being the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. This article demonstrates that Adler's Individual Psychology was especially influential on teachers in Vienna between the two world wars. There…

49 CFR 195.3 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Fittings Industry, Inc. (MSS), 127 Park Street, NE., Vienna, VA 22180. 5. American Society for Testing and...)) §§ 195.205(b)(1); 195.432(b). (12) API Standard 1104, “Welding of Pipelines and Related Facilities” (20th....307(e). (7) 2007 ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX: “Qualification Standard for Welding...

Kissed by Klimt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ragsdale, Adrienne

2011-01-01

Bright, shining gold, so daring and intense. Patterns reflecting the spirit of the portrait's subject, wisps of a look that intrigue the viewer. Something sultry in the eye, something shimmering on the lip... these are the works of Gustav Klimt. Klimt was Vienna's golden boy of painting. Through his use of pattern and the mosaic qualities in his…

Summary and Agreement Statement of the First International Conference on Concussion in Sport, Vienna 2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aubry, Mark; Cantu, Robert; Dvorak, Jiri; Graf-Baumann, Toni; Johnston, Karen; Kelly, James; Lovell, Mark; McCrory, Paul; Meeuwisse, Willem; Schamasch, Patrick

2002-01-01

An international group of concussion experts met in 2001 to discuss the most recent research and findings and to establish guidelines for clinical practice. They addressed such issues as epidemiology, basic and clinical science, grading systems, cognitive assessment, new research methods, protective equipment, management, prevention, and long-term…

Wittgenstein as Exile: A Philosophical Topography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Michael A.

2008-01-01

This paper argues that Wittgenstein considered himself an exile and indeed was a self-imposed exile from his native Vienna; that this condition of exile is important for understanding Wittgenstein the man and his philosophy; and that exile as a condition has become both a central characteristic condition of late modernity (as much as alienation…

75 FR 20597 - Radio Broadcasting Services; AM or FM Proposals To Change the Community of License

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-20

... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Radio Broadcasting Services; AM or FM Proposals To Change the... applicants filed AM or FM proposals to change the community of license: COCHISE BROADCASTING LLC, Station... WETZ-FM, Facility ID 18534, BPH- 20100329AFI, From NEW MARTINSVILLE, WV, To VIENNA, WV; LOUT, JAMES M...

Military Post Office Mail Distribution Scheme (MPOMDS)

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

VIENNA) 09667-0001 AMERICAN EMBASSY BELGIUM (BRUSSELS) 34032-0001 AMERICAN EMBASSY BOLIVIA (LA PAZ) 34030-0001 AMERICAN EMBASSY BRAZIL (BRASILA) 34033...1801 3 INF DIV, NCO ACADEMY 09036- 2018 3 INF, REPL DET 09701-1815 3 MATERIAL MAINT CMD 09182-1823 3 MED BN 09164-3443 3 MED DET 09164-3433 3 MED DET

Communication Instruction in a Mature Institutional Partnership: An Examination of Evolving Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Martha Wetterhall; Hardy, Samuel B., IV

2005-01-01

Since 1994, the University of South Carolina at Columbia and the Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) have offered a joint master's degree in international business. Communication instruction was initially a stable component of the program, with a week-long course at the beginning and a…

Oligoarthritis caused by Borrelia bavariensis, Austria, 2014.

PubMed

Markowicz, Mateusz; Ladstatter, Stefan; Schotta, Anna M; Reiter, Michael; Pomberger, Gerhard; Stanek, Gerold

2015-06-01

A case of Lyme oligoarthritis occurred in an 11-year-old boy in Vienna, Austria. DNA of Borrelia bavariensis was detected by PCR in 2 aspirates obtained from different joints. Complete recovery was achieved after a 4-week course with amoxicillin. Lyme arthritis must be considered in patients from Europe who have persisting joint effusions.

Detente and the European Force Reduction Negotiations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopmann, P. Terrence

The paper discusses and analyzes negotiations between the Warsaw Pact and NATO nations to reduce military forces in Central Europe. These negotations have taken place in Vienna since 1973. Material is organized in three major sections. Section I offers a general survey of the political and strategic context within which the negotiations have taken…

[Billroth and Brahms: personal encounter of medicine and music].

PubMed

Hadaschik, B A; Hadaschik, E N; Hohenfellner, M

2012-02-01

Theodor Billroth and Johannes Brahms shared a decades long personal friendship. The music-loving Billroth influenced the work of the famous composer and in turn Brahms also left traces within Billroth's lifetime achievements. To shed light on the close relationship of medicine and music, this manuscript describes both Billroth's life and surgical career as they were influenced and stimulated by his close friendship to Brahms.Theodor Billroth and Johannes Brahms first met in 1865 in Zurich, Switzerland. After Billroth accepted the chair of surgery at the University of Vienna in 1867, Brahms moved to Vienna in 1869. During the following years, Billroth analyzed most of Brahms' compositions prior to publication. Similar to his effective way of teaching medical students and assistants, Billroth stimulated Brahms to publish many of his later compositions. Brahms on the other hand supported Billroth in writing his essay"Who is musical?". Furthermore, music helped Billroth to cope with the demanding working life of a surgeon.Music and surgery share both structural and emotional analogies. While both professions require meticulous techniques, personal interaction is a prerequisite for success. "Science and art scoop from the same well."

The First Case(s) of Botulism in Vienna in 21 Years: A Case Report.

PubMed

Vossen, Matthias Gerhard; Gattringer, Klaus-Bernhard; Wenisch, Judith; Khalifeh, Neda; Koreny, Maria; Spertini, Verena; Allerberger, Franz; Graninger, Wolfgang; Kornschober, Christian; Lagler, Heimo; Reitner, Andreas; Sycha, Thomas; Thalhammer, Florian

2012-01-01

We describe two linked cases of botulinum toxin intoxication to provide the clinician with a better idea about how botulism cases may present since early diagnosis and treatment are crucial in botulism. Botulinum toxin is the strongest neurotoxin known. We review the available literature, the compiled clinical data, and observations. After a slow onset of clinical signs a married couple living in Vienna presented with dysphagia, difficulties in accommodation, inability to sweat, urinary and stool retention, dizziness, and nausea. They suffered intoxication with botulinum toxin type B. Botulism is a rarely occurring disease in Austria. In the last 21 years there were only twelve reported cases. Both patients went to a general practitioner as well as several specialists before they were sent to and correctly diagnosed at our outpatient department. To avoid long delays between intoxication and diagnosis we think it is crucial to advert to the complex symptoms a nonsevere intoxication with botulinum toxin can produce, especially since intoxications have become rare occurrences in the industrialized societies due to the high quality of industrial food production.

The First Case(s) of Botulism in Vienna in 21 Years: A Case Report

PubMed Central

Vossen, Matthias Gerhard; Gattringer, Klaus-Bernhard; Wenisch, Judith; Khalifeh, Neda; Koreny, Maria; Spertini, Verena; Allerberger, Franz; Graninger, Wolfgang; Kornschober, Christian; Lagler, Heimo; Reitner, Andreas; Sycha, Thomas; Thalhammer, Florian

2012-01-01

We describe two linked cases of botulinum toxin intoxication to provide the clinician with a better idea about how botulism cases may present since early diagnosis and treatment are crucial in botulism. Botulinum toxin is the strongest neurotoxin known. Methods: We review the available literature, the compiled clinical data, and observations. Results: After a slow onset of clinical signs a married couple living in Vienna presented with dysphagia, difficulties in accommodation, inability to sweat, urinary and stool retention, dizziness, and nausea. They suffered intoxication with botulinum toxin type B. Botulism is a rarely occurring disease in Austria. In the last 21 years there were only twelve reported cases. Conclusion: Both patients went to a general practitioner as well as several specialists before they were sent to and correctly diagnosed at our outpatient department. To avoid long delays between intoxication and diagnosis we think it is crucial to advert to the complex symptoms a nonsevere intoxication with botulinum toxin can produce, especially since intoxications have become rare occurrences in the industrialized societies due to the high quality of industrial food production. PMID:22779015

A report from the European Association for the Study of the Liver's 50th International Liver Congress (April 22-26 - Vienna, Austria).

PubMed

Rabasseda, X

2015-04-01

While Vienna's Prater park offers a varied selection of options, from theme parks to lush gardens and prairies to enjoy the sun, the nearby Messe Wien convention center was the focus of attention in April 2015 for all the scientists, researchers and clinicians interested in viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma and a variety of other liver diseases. Treatments and potential new therapeutic strategies for these hepatopathies were discussed during the 50th International Liver Congress organized by the European Association for the Study of the Liver. Echoing epidemiological facts and a high social interest for hepatitis C virus infection, new findings with investigational and potential new therapies for the disease centered much of the attention at the conference. Nevertheless, new research was also reported related to potential improvements in how other liver diseases, particularly hepatitis B virus infection, hepatocellular carcinoma and a range of inflammatory and immune-mediated liver diseases, including rare hereditary diseases that should never be forgotten. Copyright 2015 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

Global health and social responsibility: a pilot project of the Medical University of Vienna in eastern Ethiopia.

PubMed

Lagler, Heimo; Vargha, Regina; Wagner, Oswald; Seidler, Horst; Ramharter, Michael

2010-02-01

The Medical University of Vienna and the eastern Ethiopian town of Gedamaytu have established a development collaboration with the aim of improving healthcare for the local population. A health survey of the study region was conducted by the university in February 2009 with the purpose of assessing the burden and spectrum of disease, and to evaluate the potential for improvement of healthcare and plan for future targeted health interventions. The most prevalent diseases in pediatric patients were found to be disorders of the respiratory system, febrile conditions and diarrhea. Adult patients suffered most frequently from disorders of the respiratory system, chronic pain, gastric discomfort and febrile conditions. De-worming was offered to all patients in the course of the survey. The anthropometric evaluation of patient data showed a high rate of growth retardation in children below the age of 5 years. Based on these data and on interviews with the local healthcare personnel, healthcare programs and interventions are discussed with the aim of further improving healthcare provision for the population of Gedamaytu.

Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software (VieVS) for Geodesy and Astrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böhm, Johannes; Böhm, Sigrid; Boisits, Janina; Girdiuk, Anastasiia; Gruber, Jakob; Hellerschmied, Andreas; Krásná, Hana; Landskron, Daniel; Madzak, Matthias; Mayer, David; McCallum, Jamie; McCallum, Lucia; Schartner, Matthias; Teke, Kamil

2018-04-01

The Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software (VieVS) is state-of-the-art Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) analysis software for geodesy and astrometry. VieVS has been developed at Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien) since 2008, where it is used for research purposes and for teaching space geodetic techniques. In the past decade, it has been successfully applied on Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations for the determination of celestial and terrestrial reference frames as well as for the estimation of celestial pole offsets, universal Time (UT1-UTC), and polar motion based on least-squares adjustment. Furthermore, VieVS is equipped with tools for scheduling and simulating VLBI observations to extragalactic radio sources as well as to satellites and spacecraft, features which proved to be very useful for a variety of applications. VieVS is now available as version 3.0 and we do provide the software to all interested persons and institutions. A wiki with more information about VieVS is available at http://vievswiki.geo.tuwien.ac.at/.

IAVCEI meets at IUGG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heiken, Grant

Although distant from erupting volcanos, the Vienna meeting of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior attracted about 100 volcanologists with promise of technical exchange, music, and good food. In all fairness, turnout was small due to the highly successful IAVCEI meetings held in the last 2 years at Santa Fe, N.Mex., and Mainz, Germany, and the excellent meeting held the following week in Naples, Italy, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Vesuvius Observatory. IAVCEI met during the 20th General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics held in August. For IAVCEI, the most important discussions held during the Vienna meeting concerned the association's future with the IUGG. Over the last 10 years, there has been great excitement and a burgeoning attendance at IAVCEI meetings but poor attendance at IUGG general assemblies. Many volcanologists perceive IUGG as an indifferent bureaucracy with little concern for IAVCEI. On this basis, members of IAVCEI proposed that their association become independent. However, the decision has been made to stay with IUGG because of the potential for interdisciplinary meetings with other associations.

Franz Kafka, Sigmund Freud and Markus Hajek. A connection in life and death.

PubMed

Diamant, H

1998-08-21

When Sigmund Freud was taken ill in 1923 with a malignant tumor of his right upper jaw he was initially treated by the famous Viennese rhino-laryngologist, Professor Markus Hajek. One year later, Franz Kafka, who was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis which had spread to the larynx, was likewise placed under the care of this distinguished specialist. Neither of the encounters proved beneficial from the professional point of view and both well-known patients received remarkably poor attentions in keeping with the general autocratic attitude by clinical chiefs of the time in Vienna. Franz Kafka was terminally ill when he came to Hajek and no treatment was yet available for the disabling and painful laryngeal complication of his advanced tuberculosis. He died about a month after leaving Hajek's ward in Vienna. Sigmund Freud required repeated subsequent operations on his jaw and the insertion of a prothesis. Hajek had handed Freud over to Hans Pichler for further care and it was entirely due to the skill of this extremely competent and empathetic maxilliary surgeon that Freud lived for another 16 years, working to almost full capacity.

Ensuring Positiveness of the Scaled Difference Chi-square Test Statistic.

PubMed

Satorra, Albert; Bentler, Peter M

2010-06-01

A scaled difference test statistic [Formula: see text] that can be computed from standard software of structural equation models (SEM) by hand calculations was proposed in Satorra and Bentler (2001). The statistic [Formula: see text] is asymptotically equivalent to the scaled difference test statistic T̄(d) introduced in Satorra (2000), which requires more involved computations beyond standard output of SEM software. The test statistic [Formula: see text] has been widely used in practice, but in some applications it is negative due to negativity of its associated scaling correction. Using the implicit function theorem, this note develops an improved scaling correction leading to a new scaled difference statistic T̄(d) that avoids negative chi-square values.

Application of the Linux cluster for exhaustive window haplotype analysis using the FBAT and Unphased programs.

PubMed

Mishima, Hiroyuki; Lidral, Andrew C; Ni, Jun

2008-05-28

Genetic association studies have been used to map disease-causing genes. A newly introduced statistical method, called exhaustive haplotype association study, analyzes genetic information consisting of different numbers and combinations of DNA sequence variations along a chromosome. Such studies involve a large number of statistical calculations and subsequently high computing power. It is possible to develop parallel algorithms and codes to perform the calculations on a high performance computing (HPC) system. However, most existing commonly-used statistic packages for genetic studies are non-parallel versions. Alternatively, one may use the cutting-edge technology of grid computing and its packages to conduct non-parallel genetic statistical packages on a centralized HPC system or distributed computing systems. In this paper, we report the utilization of a queuing scheduler built on the Grid Engine and run on a Rocks Linux cluster for our genetic statistical studies. Analysis of both consecutive and combinational window haplotypes was conducted by the FBAT (Laird et al., 2000) and Unphased (Dudbridge, 2003) programs. The dataset consisted of 26 loci from 277 extended families (1484 persons). Using the Rocks Linux cluster with 22 compute-nodes, FBAT jobs performed about 14.4-15.9 times faster, while Unphased jobs performed 1.1-18.6 times faster compared to the accumulated computation duration. Execution of exhaustive haplotype analysis using non-parallel software packages on a Linux-based system is an effective and efficient approach in terms of cost and performance.

Application of the Linux cluster for exhaustive window haplotype analysis using the FBAT and Unphased programs

PubMed Central

Mishima, Hiroyuki; Lidral, Andrew C; Ni, Jun

2008-01-01

Background Genetic association studies have been used to map disease-causing genes. A newly introduced statistical method, called exhaustive haplotype association study, analyzes genetic information consisting of different numbers and combinations of DNA sequence variations along a chromosome. Such studies involve a large number of statistical calculations and subsequently high computing power. It is possible to develop parallel algorithms and codes to perform the calculations on a high performance computing (HPC) system. However, most existing commonly-used statistic packages for genetic studies are non-parallel versions. Alternatively, one may use the cutting-edge technology of grid computing and its packages to conduct non-parallel genetic statistical packages on a centralized HPC system or distributed computing systems. In this paper, we report the utilization of a queuing scheduler built on the Grid Engine and run on a Rocks Linux cluster for our genetic statistical studies. Results Analysis of both consecutive and combinational window haplotypes was conducted by the FBAT (Laird et al., 2000) and Unphased (Dudbridge, 2003) programs. The dataset consisted of 26 loci from 277 extended families (1484 persons). Using the Rocks Linux cluster with 22 compute-nodes, FBAT jobs performed about 14.4–15.9 times faster, while Unphased jobs performed 1.1–18.6 times faster compared to the accumulated computation duration. Conclusion Execution of exhaustive haplotype analysis using non-parallel software packages on a Linux-based system is an effective and efficient approach in terms of cost and performance. PMID:18541045

Seismic activity prediction using computational intelligence techniques in northern Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asim, Khawaja M.; Awais, Muhammad; Martínez-Álvarez, F.; Iqbal, Talat

2017-10-01

Earthquake prediction study is carried out for the region of northern Pakistan. The prediction methodology includes interdisciplinary interaction of seismology and computational intelligence. Eight seismic parameters are computed based upon the past earthquakes. Predictive ability of these eight seismic parameters is evaluated in terms of information gain, which leads to the selection of six parameters to be used in prediction. Multiple computationally intelligent models have been developed for earthquake prediction using selected seismic parameters. These models include feed-forward neural network, recurrent neural network, random forest, multi layer perceptron, radial basis neural network, and support vector machine. The performance of every prediction model is evaluated and McNemar's statistical test is applied to observe the statistical significance of computational methodologies. Feed-forward neural network shows statistically significant predictions along with accuracy of 75% and positive predictive value of 78% in context of northern Pakistan.

Honors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anonymous

2012-05-01

A number of AGU members were honored during the European Geosciences Union's (EGU) General Assembly, held on 22-27 April in Vienna. EGU Union awards were presented to the following people: Vincent Courtillot, University of Paris Diderot, France, received the 2012 Arthur Holmes Medal and EGU honorary membership for seminal contributions to geomagnetism and the geodynamics of mantle hot spots.Michael Ghil, University of California, Los Angeles, and École Normale Supérieure, France, received the 2012 Alfred Wegener Medal and EGU honorary membership for his leading contributions to theoretical climate dynamics; his innovative observational studies involving model assimilation of satellite data in meteorology, oceanography, and space physics; the breadth of his interdisciplinary studies, including macroeconomics; and his extensive supervision and mentoring of scores of graduate and postdoctoral students. Robin Clarke, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, received the 2012 Alexander von Humboldt Medal for fundamental contributions in statistical analysis and modeling of hydrological processes.Angioletta Coradini, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofsica, Italy, received the 2012 Jean Dominique Cassini Medal and EGU honorary membership in recognition of her important and wide range of work in planetary sciences and solar system formation and for her leading role in the development of space infrared instrumentation for planetary exploration.

Resettling the Thoughts of Ernst Mach and the Vienna Circle in Europe: The Cases of Finland and Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siemsen, Hayo; Siemsen, Karl Hayo

2009-04-01

Although it is generally assumed that the thoughts of Ernst Mach and the scientific fields he influenced (in this case psychophysics and Gestalt psychology) emigrated from Europe during Second World War they apparently survived in Finland, influencing the Finnish education system. The following article evaluates this relationship and its implications from a historical and an empirical perspective. In empirical studies comparing the education systems of different countries, such as PISA, the Finns are in general regarded as being very successful with their school system. Does this apparent success have anything to do with a Machian influence? Our current research has so far revealed that the Finns have gone through an independent cultural development in two specific aspects: in the idea of the development of the individual personality (Snellman) and in a specific phenomenalism (developed primarily by Eino Kaila, in which Kaila was heavily influenced in this by Ernst Mach). The result can be regarded as a nation-wide “Experiment”, the empirical evaluation of which can be found partly in the statistics of the PISA Studies, especially the evaluation of Finland in relation to other countries.

Honors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-05-01

A number of AGU members were honored during the European Geosciences Union's (EGU) General Assembly, held on 22-27 April in Vienna. EGU Union awards were presented to the following people: Vincent Courtillot, University of Paris Diderot, France, received the 2012 Arthur Holmes Medal and EGU honorary membership for seminal contributions to geomagnetism and the geodynamics of mantle hot spots. Michael Ghil, University of California, Los Angeles, and École Normale Supérieure, France, received the 2012 Alfred Wegener Medal and EGU honorary membership for his leading contributions to theoretical climate dynamics; his innovative observational studies involving model assimilation of satellite data in meteorology, oceanography, and space physics; the breadth of his interdisciplinary studies, including macroeconomics; and his extensive supervision and mentoring of scores of graduate and postdoctoral students. Robin Clarke, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, received the 2012 Alexander von Humboldt Medal for fundamental contributions in statistical analysis and modeling of hydrological processes. Angioletta Coradini, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofsica, Italy, received the 2012 Jean Dominique Cassini Medal and EGU honorary membership in recognition of her important and wide range of work in planetary sciences and solar system formation and for her leading role in the development of space infrared instrumentation for planetary exploration.

BCM: toolkit for Bayesian analysis of Computational Models using samplers.

PubMed

Thijssen, Bram; Dijkstra, Tjeerd M H; Heskes, Tom; Wessels, Lodewyk F A

2016-10-21

Computational models in biology are characterized by a large degree of uncertainty. This uncertainty can be analyzed with Bayesian statistics, however, the sampling algorithms that are frequently used for calculating Bayesian statistical estimates are computationally demanding, and each algorithm has unique advantages and disadvantages. It is typically unclear, before starting an analysis, which algorithm will perform well on a given computational model. We present BCM, a toolkit for the Bayesian analysis of Computational Models using samplers. It provides efficient, multithreaded implementations of eleven algorithms for sampling from posterior probability distributions and for calculating marginal likelihoods. BCM includes tools to simplify the process of model specification and scripts for visualizing the results. The flexible architecture allows it to be used on diverse types of biological computational models. In an example inference task using a model of the cell cycle based on ordinary differential equations, BCM is significantly more efficient than existing software packages, allowing more challenging inference problems to be solved. BCM represents an efficient one-stop-shop for computational modelers wishing to use sampler-based Bayesian statistics.

Numerical solutions for patterns statistics on Markov chains.

PubMed

Nuel, Gregory

2006-01-01

We propose here a review of the methods available to compute pattern statistics on text generated by a Markov source. Theoretical, but also numerical aspects are detailed for a wide range of techniques (exact, Gaussian, large deviations, binomial and compound Poisson). The SPatt package (Statistics for Pattern, free software available at http://stat.genopole.cnrs.fr/spatt) implementing all these methods is then used to compare all these approaches in terms of computational time and reliability in the most complete pattern statistics benchmark available at the present time.

10 CFR 431.445 - Determination of small electric motor efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... statistical analysis, computer simulation or modeling, or other analytic evaluation of performance data. (3... statistical analysis, computer simulation or modeling, and other analytic evaluation of performance data on.... (ii) If requested by the Department, the manufacturer shall conduct simulations to predict the...

10 CFR Appendix II to Part 504 - Fuel Price Computation

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 504—Fuel Price Computation (a) Introduction. This appendix provides the equations and parameters... inflation indices must follow standard statistical procedures and must be fully documented within the... the weighted average fuel price must follow standard statistical procedures and be fully documented...

Home-Based Functional Electrical Stimulation for Long-Term Denervated Human Muscle: History, Basics, Results and Perspectives of the Vienna Rehabilitation Strategy

PubMed Central

Kern, Helmut

2014-01-01

We will here discuss the following points related to Home-based Functional Electrical Stimulation (h-b FES) as treatment for patients with permanently denervated muscles in their legs: 1. Upper (UMN) and lower motor neuron (LMN) damage to the lower spinal cord; 2. Muscle atrophy/hypertrophy versus processes of degeneration, regeneration, and recovery; 3. Recovery of twitch- and tetanic-contractility by h-b FES; 4. Clinical effects of h-b FES using the protocol of the “Vienna School”; 5. Limitations and perspectives. Arguments in favor of using the Vienna protocol include: 1. Increased muscle size in both legs; 2. Improved tetanic force production after 3-5 months of percutaneous stimulation using long stimulus pulses (> 100 msec) of high amplitude (> 80 mAmp), tolerated only in patients with no pain sensibility; 3. Histological and electron microscopic evidence that two years of h-b FES return muscle fibers to a state typical of two weeks denervated muscles with respect to atrophy, disrupted myofibrillar structure, and disorganized Excitation-Contraction Coupling (E-CC) structures; 4. The excitability never recovers to that typical of normal or reinnervated muscles where pulses less than 1 msec in duration and 25 mAmp in intensity excite axons and thereby muscle fibres. It is important to motivate these patients for chronic stimulation throughout life, preferably standing up against the load of the body weight rather than sitting. Only younger and low weight patients can expect to be able to stand-up and do some steps more or less independently. Some patients like to maintain the h-b FES training for decades. Limitations of the procedure are obvious, in part related to the use of multiple, large surface electrodes and the amount of time patients are willing to use for such muscle training. PMID:26913127

A slight recovery of soils from Acid Rain over the last three decades is not reflected in the macro nutrition of beech (Fagus sylvatica) at 97 forest stands of the Vienna Woods✰

PubMed Central

Berger, Pétra; Lindebner, Leopold

2016-01-01

Rigorous studies of recovery from soil acidification are rare. Hence, we resampled 97 old-growth beech stands in the Vienna Woods. This study exploits an extensive data set of soil (infiltration zone of stemflow and between trees area at different soil depths) and foliar chemistry from three decades ago. It was hypothesized that declining acidic deposition is reflected in soil and foliar chemistry. Top soil pH within the stemflow area increased significantly by 0.6 units in both H2O and KCl extracts from 1984 to 2012. Exchangeable Ca and Mg increased markedly in the stemflow area and to a lower extent in the top soil of the between trees area. Trends of declining base cations in the lower top soil were probably caused by mobilization of organic S and associated leaching with high amounts of sulfate. Contents of C, N and S decreased markedly in the stemflow area from 1984 to 2012, suggesting that mineralization rates of organic matter increased due to more favorable soil conditions. It is concluded that the top soil will continue to recover from acidic deposition. However, in the between trees areas and especially in deeper soil horizons recovery may be highly delayed. The beech trees of the Vienna Woods showed no sign of recovery from acidification although S deposition levels decreased. Release of historic S even increased foliar S contents. Base cation levels in the foliage declined but are still adequate for beech trees. Increasing N/nutrient ratios over time were considered not the result of marginally higher N foliar contents in 2012 but of diminishing nutrient uptake due to the decrease in ion concentration in soil solution. The mean foliar N/P ratio already increased to the alarming value of 31. Further nutritional imbalances will predispose trees to vitality loss. PMID:27344089

26Al - 10Be cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial dating in combination with luminescence dating of two Danube terraces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuhuber, Stephanie; Braumann, Sandra; Lüthgens, Christopher; Fiebig, Markus; Häuselmann, Philipp; Schäfer, Jörg

2016-04-01

The Quaternary sediment record in the Vienna Basin is influenced by two main factors: (1) the tectonic development of a pull apart basin along a sinistral strike slip fault system between the Eastern Alps and the West Carpathians and by (2) strongly varying sediment supply during the Plio- and Pleistocene. From the Late Pannonian (8.8 Ma) onward a large-scale regional uplift (Decker et al., 2005) controls terrace formation in the Vienna Basin. The main sediment supply into the Vienna Basin originates from the Danube, and subordinately from tributaries to the south such as Piesting, Fischa, Leitha and from the north by the river March. Today the Danube forms a large floodplain that is bordered to the north by one large Pleistocene terrace, the Gänserndorf Terrace that is situated 17 m above todays water level. Farther to the east a smaller terrace, the Schlosshof Terrace, reaches 25 m above todays water level. These terrace levels are tilted by movement of underlying blocks (Peresson, 2006). Both, the Schlosshof and Gänserndorf terraces consist of successions of up to 2 m thick gravel beds with intercalated sand layers or -lenses that may locally reach thicknesses up to 0.8 m. At each terrace one gavel pit was selected to calculate the time of terrace deposition by luminescence dating in combination with 26Al/10Be cosmogenic nuclide isochrone dating (Balco and Rovery, 2008). Five quartz stones from the base of each terrace were physically and chemically processed to obtain Al and Be oxides for Acceleration Mass Spectrometry. Sand samples for luminescence dating were taken above the cosmogenic nuclide samples from the closest suitable sand body. Decker et al., 2005. QSR 24, 307-322 Peresson, 2006 Geologie der österreichischen Bundesländer Niederösterreich 255-258 Balco and Rovey, 2008. AJS 908, 1083-1114 Thanks to FWF P 23138-N19, OMAA 90öu17

Determination of apparent coupling factors for adhesive bonded acrylic plates using SEAL approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pankaj, Achuthan. C.; Shivaprasad, M. V.; Murigendrappa, S. M.

2018-04-01

Apparent coupling loss factors (CLF) and velocity responses has been computed for two lap joined adhesive bonded plates using finite element and experimental statistical energy analysis like approach. A finite element model of the plates has been created using ANSYS software. The statistical energy parameters have been computed using the velocity responses obtained from a harmonic forced excitation analysis. Experiments have been carried out for two different cases of adhesive bonded joints and the results have been compared with the apparent coupling factors and velocity responses obtained from finite element analysis. The results obtained from the studies signify the importance of modeling of adhesive bonded joints in computation of the apparent coupling factors and its further use in computation of energies and velocity responses using statistical energy analysis like approach.

An exploration of advanced X-divertor scenarios on ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Covele, B.; Valanju, P.; Kotschenreuther, M.; Mahajan, S.

2014-07-01

It is found that the X-divertor (XD) configuration (Kotschenreuther et al 2004 Proc. 20th Int. Conf. on Fusion Energy (Vilamoura, Portugal, 2004) (Vienna: IAEA) CD-ROM file [IC/P6-43] www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/physics/fec/fec2004/datasets/index.html, Kotschenreuther et al 2006 Proc. 21st Int. Conf. on Fusion Energy 2006 (Chengdu, China, 2006) (Vienna: IAEA), CD-ROM file [IC/P7-12] www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/physics/FEC/FEC2006/html/index.htm, Kotschenreuther et al 2007 Phys. Plasmas 14 072502) can be made with the conventional poloidal field (PF) coil set on ITER (Tomabechi et al and Team 1991 Nucl. Fusion 31 1135), where all PF coils are outside the TF coils. Starting from the standard divertor, a sequence of desirable XD configurations are possible where the PF currents are below the present maximum design limits on ITER, and where the baseline divertor cassette is used. This opens the possibility that the XD could be tested and used to assist in high-power operation on ITER, but some further issues need examination. Note that the increased major radius of the super-X-divertor (Kotschenreuther et al 2007 Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 53 11, Valanju et al 2009 Phys. Plasmas 16 5, Kotschenreuther et al 2010 Nucl. Fusion 50 035003, Valanju et al 2010 Fusion Eng. Des. 85 46) is not a feature of the XD geometry. In addition, we present an XD configuration for K-DEMO (Kim et al 2013 Fusion Eng. Des. 88 123) to demonstrate that it is also possible to attain the XD configuration in advanced tokamak reactors with all PF coils outside the TF coils. The results given here for the XD are far more encouraging than recent calculations by Lackner and Zohm (2012 Fusion Sci. Technol. 63 43) for the Snowflake (Ryutov 2007 Phys. Plasmas 14 064502, Ryutov et al 2008 Phys. Plasmas 15 092501), where the required high PF currents represent a major technological challenge. The magnetic field structure in the outboard divertor SOL (Kotschenreuther 2013 Phys. Plasmas 20 102507) in the recently created XD configurations reproduces what was presented in the earlier XD papers (Kotschenreuther et al 2004 Proc. 20th Int. Conf. on Fusion Energy (Vilamoura, Portugal, 2004) (Vienna: IAEA) CD-ROM file [IC/P6-43] www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/physics/fec/fec2004/datasets/index.html, Kotschenreuther et al 2006 Proc. 21st Int. Conf. on Fusion Energy 2006 (Chengdu, China, 2006) (Vienna: IAEA) CD-ROM file [IC/P7-12] www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/physics/FEC/FEC2006/html/index.htm, Kotschenreuther et al 2007 Phys. Plasmas 14 072502). Consequently, the same advantages accrue, but no close-in PF coils are employed.

A Combined Approach to Measure Micropollutant Behaviour during Riverbank Filtration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Driezum, Inge; Saracevic, Ernis; Derx, Julia; Kirschner, Alexander; Sommer, Regina; Farnleitner, Andreas; Blaschke, Alfred Paul

2016-04-01

Riverbank filtration (RBF) systems are widely used as natural treatment process. The advantages of RBF over surface water abstraction are the elimination of for example suspended solids, biodegradable compounds (like specific micropollutants), bacteria and viruses (Hiscock and Grischek, 2002). However, in contrast to its importance, remarkably less is known on the respective external (e.g. industrial or municipal sewage) and the internal (e.g. wildlife and agricultural influence) sources of contaminants, the environmental availability and fate of the various hazardous substances, and its potential transport during soil and aquifer passage. The goal of this study is to get an insight in the behaviour of various micropollutants and microbial indicators during riverbank filtration. Field measurements were combined with numerical modelling approaches. The study area comprises an alluvial backwater and floodplain area downstream of Vienna. The river is highly dynamic, with discharges ranging from 900 m3/s during low flow to 11000 m3/s during flood events. Samples were taken in several monitoring wells along a transect extending from the river towards a backwater river in the floodplain. Three of the piezometers were situated in the first 20 meters away from the river in order to obtain information about micropollutant behaviour close to the river. A total of 9 different micropollutants were analysed in grab samples taken under different river flow conditions (n=33). Following enrichment using SPE, analysis was performed using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Faecal indicators (E. coli and enterococci) and bacterial spores were enumerated in sample volumes of 1 L each using cultivation based methods (ISO 16649-1, ISO 7899-2:2000 and ISO 6222). The analysis showed that some compounds, e.g. ibuprofen and diclofenac, were only found in the river. These compounds were already degraded in the first ten meters away from the river. Analysis of carbamazepine however showed just a slight decrease in concentrations from the river towards the backwater river. Indicator bacteria showed a clear decrease already along the first meters. In the samples taken from the monitoring groundwater wells and abstraction well, faecal indicators were not detected in sample volumes of 1 L each. A combined approach using field measurements and a 3D groundwater transport model proved to be a suitable method to determine the behaviour of various micropollutants and faecal indicators. References Hiscock, K. M. and Grischek, T. (2002) Attenuation of groundwater pollution by bank filtration. Journal of Hydrology, 266(3-4), 139-144. Acknowledgements This paper was supported by FWF (Vienna Doctoral Program on Water Resource Systems W1219-N22) and the GWRS project (Vienna Water) as part of the "(New) Danube-Lower Lobau Network Project" funded by the Government of Austria and Vienna, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (LE 07-13).

The changing landscape of astrostatistics and astroinformatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feigelson, Eric D.

2017-06-01

The history and current status of the cross-disciplinary fields of astrostatistics and astroinformatics are reviewed. Astronomers need a wide range of statistical methods for both data reduction and science analysis. With the proliferation of high-throughput telescopes, efficient large scale computational methods are also becoming essential. However, astronomers receive only weak training in these fields during their formal education. Interest in the fields is rapidly growing with conferences organized by scholarly societies, textbooks and tutorial workshops, and research studies pushing the frontiers of methodology. R, the premier language of statistical computing, can provide an important software environment for the incorporation of advanced statistical and computational methodology into the astronomical community.

External audit on the clinical practice and medical decision-making at the departments of radiotherapy in Budapest and Vienna.

PubMed

Esik, O; Seitz, W; Lövey, J; Knocke, T H; Gaudi, I; Németh, G; Pötter, R

1999-04-01

To present an example of how to study and analyze the clinical practice and the quality of medical decision-making under daily routine working conditions in a radiotherapy department, with the aims of detecting deficiencies and improving the quality of patient care. Two departments, each with a divisional organization structure and an established internal audit system, the University Clinic of Radiotherapy and Radiobiology in Vienna (Austria), and the Department of Radiotherapy at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest (Hungary), conducted common external audits. The descriptive parameters of the external audit provided information on the auditing (auditor and serial number of the audit), the cohorts (diagnosis, referring institution, serial number and intention of radiotherapy) and the staff responsible for the treatment (division and physician). During the ongoing external audits, the qualifying parameters were (1) the sound foundation of the indication of radiotherapy, (2) conformity to the institution protocol (3), the adequacy of the choice of radiation equipment, (4) the appropriateness of the treatment plan, and the correspondence of the latter with (5) the simulation and (6) verification films. Various degrees of deviation from the treatment principles were defined and scored on the basis of the concept of Horiot et al. (Horiot JC, Schueren van der E. Johansson KA, Bernier J, Bartelink H. The program of quality assurance of the EORTC radiotherapy group. A historical overview. Radiother. Oncol. 1993,29:81-84), with some modifications. The action was regarded as adequate (score 1) in the event of no deviation or only a small deviation with presumably no alteration of the desired end-result of the treatment. A deviation adversely influencing the result of the therapy was considered a major deviation (score 3). Cases involving a minor deviation (score 2) were those only slightly affecting the therapeutic end-results, with effects between those of cases with scores 1 and 3. Non-performance of the necessary radiotherapeutic procedures was penalized by the highest score of 4. Statistical evaluation was performed with the BMDP software package, using variance analysis. Bimonthly audits (six with a duration of 4-6 h in each institution) were carried out by three auditors from the evaluating departments; they reviewed a total of 452 cases in Department A, and 265 cases in Department B. Despite the comparable staffing and instrumental conditions, a markedly higher number (1.5 times) of new cases were treated in Department A, but with a lower quality of radiotherapy, as adequate values of qualifying parameters (1-6) were more frequent for the cases treated in Department B (85.3%, 94%, 83.4%, 28.3%, 41.9% and 81.1%) than for those in Department A (67%, 83.4%, 87.8%, 26.1%, 33.2% and 17.7%). The responsible division (including staff and instrumentation), the responsible physician and the type of the disease each exerted a highly significant effect on the quality level of the treatment. Statistical analysis revealed a positive influence of the curative (relative to the palliative/symptomatic) intention of the treatment on the level of quality, but the effect of the first radiotherapy (relative to the second or further one) was statistically significant in only one department. At the same time, the quality parameters did not vary with the referring institution, the auditing person or the serial number of the audit. The external audit relating to the provision of radiotherapeutic care proved feasible with the basic conformity and compliance of the staff and resulted in valuable information to take correction measures.

GPU-computing in econophysics and statistical physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preis, T.

2011-03-01

A recent trend in computer science and related fields is general purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPUs), which can yield impressive performance. With multiple cores connected by high memory bandwidth, today's GPUs offer resources for non-graphics parallel processing. This article provides a brief introduction into the field of GPU computing and includes examples. In particular computationally expensive analyses employed in financial market context are coded on a graphics card architecture which leads to a significant reduction of computing time. In order to demonstrate the wide range of possible applications, a standard model in statistical physics - the Ising model - is ported to a graphics card architecture as well, resulting in large speedup values.

Statistical energy analysis computer program, user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trudell, R. W.; Yano, L. I.

1981-01-01

A high frequency random vibration analysis, (statistical energy analysis (SEA) method) is examined. The SEA method accomplishes high frequency prediction of arbitrary structural configurations. A general SEA computer program is described. A summary of SEA theory, example problems of SEA program application, and complete program listing are presented.

76 FR 11195 - Request for Nominations of Members To Serve on the Census Scientific Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-01

..., econometrics, cognitive psychology, and computer science as they pertain to the full range of Census Bureau... technical expertise from the following disciplines: demography, economics, geography, psychology, statistics..., psychology, statistics, survey methodology, social and behavioral sciences, Information Technology, computing...

Computer program uses Monte Carlo techniques for statistical system performance analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wohl, D. P.

1967-01-01

Computer program with Monte Carlo sampling techniques determines the effect of a component part of a unit upon the overall system performance. It utilizes the full statistics of the disturbances and misalignments of each component to provide unbiased results through simulated random sampling.

ParallABEL: an R library for generalized parallelization of genome-wide association studies.

PubMed

Sangket, Unitsa; Mahasirimongkol, Surakameth; Chantratita, Wasun; Tandayya, Pichaya; Aulchenko, Yurii S

2010-04-29

Genome-Wide Association (GWA) analysis is a powerful method for identifying loci associated with complex traits and drug response. Parts of GWA analyses, especially those involving thousands of individuals and consuming hours to months, will benefit from parallel computation. It is arduous acquiring the necessary programming skills to correctly partition and distribute data, control and monitor tasks on clustered computers, and merge output files. Most components of GWA analysis can be divided into four groups based on the types of input data and statistical outputs. The first group contains statistics computed for a particular Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), or trait, such as SNP characterization statistics or association test statistics. The input data of this group includes the SNPs/traits. The second group concerns statistics characterizing an individual in a study, for example, the summary statistics of genotype quality for each sample. The input data of this group includes individuals. The third group consists of pair-wise statistics derived from analyses between each pair of individuals in the study, for example genome-wide identity-by-state or genomic kinship analyses. The input data of this group includes pairs of SNPs/traits. The final group concerns pair-wise statistics derived for pairs of SNPs, such as the linkage disequilibrium characterisation. The input data of this group includes pairs of individuals. We developed the ParallABEL library, which utilizes the Rmpi library, to parallelize these four types of computations. ParallABEL library is not only aimed at GenABEL, but may also be employed to parallelize various GWA packages in R. The data set from the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC) includes 2,062 individuals with 545,080, SNPs' genotyping, was used to measure ParallABEL performance. Almost perfect speed-up was achieved for many types of analyses. For example, the computing time for the identity-by-state matrix was linearly reduced from approximately eight hours to one hour when ParallABEL employed eight processors. Executing genome-wide association analysis using the ParallABEL library on a computer cluster is an effective way to boost performance, and simplify the parallelization of GWA studies. ParallABEL is a user-friendly parallelization of GenABEL.

Overview of the SAMSI year-long program on Statistical, Mathematical and Computational Methods for Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jogesh Babu, G.

2017-01-01

A year-long research (Aug 2016- May 2017) program on `Statistical, Mathematical and Computational Methods for Astronomy (ASTRO)’ is well under way at Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), a National Science Foundation research institute in Research Triangle Park, NC. This program has brought together astronomers, computer scientists, applied mathematicians and statisticians. The main aims of this program are: to foster cross-disciplinary activities; to accelerate the adoption of modern statistical and mathematical tools into modern astronomy; and to develop new tools needed for important astronomical research problems. The program provides multiple avenues for cross-disciplinary interactions, including several workshops, long-term visitors, and regular teleconferences, so participants can continue collaborations, even if they can only spend limited time in residence at SAMSI. The main program is organized around five working groups:i) Uncertainty Quantification and Astrophysical Emulationii) Synoptic Time Domain Surveysiii) Multivariate and Irregularly Sampled Time Seriesiv) Astrophysical Populationsv) Statistics, computation, and modeling in cosmology.A brief description of each of the work under way by these groups will be given. Overlaps among various working groups will also be highlighted. How the wider astronomy community can both participate and benefit from the activities, will be briefly mentioned.

The development of spheroidal bodies theory for proto-planetary dynamics problem solving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krot, A. M.

2007-08-01

There is not a full statistical equilibrium in a gas-dust proto-planetary cloud because of long relaxation time for proto-planet formation in own gravitational field. This protoplanetary system behavior can be described by Jeans equation in partial derivations relatively a distribution function. The problem for finding a general solution of Jeans equation is connected directly with an analytical expression for potential of gravitational field. Thus, the determination of gravitational potential is the main problem of statistical dynamics for proto-planetary system. The work shows this task of protoplanetary dynamics can be solved on the basis of spheroidal bodies theory [1]-[4]. Within the framework of this theory, cosmological bodies have fuzzy outlines and are represented by means of spheroidal forms. The proposed theory follows from the conception for forming a spheroidal body as a proto-planet from dust-like nebula; it permits to derive the form of distribution functions for an immovable spheroidal body [1],[2] and rotating one [3],[4] as well as their density masses (gravitational potentials and strengths) and also to find the distribution function of specific angular momentum for the rotating spheroidal body [4]. References: [1] A.M.Krot, Achievement in Modern Radioelectronics, 1996, no.8, pp.66-81 (in Russian). [2] A.M.Krot, Proc. SPIE's 13thAnnual Intern.Symp. "AeroSense", Orlando, Florida, USA, 1999, vol.3710, pp.1248-1259. [3] A.M.Krot, Proc. 35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Paris, France, 2004, Abstract A-00162. [4] A.Krot, Proc. EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 2006, Geophys. Res. Abstracts, vol.8, A-00216; SRef-ID: 1607-7962/gra/.

Probability distributions of molecular observables computed from Markov models. II. Uncertainties in observables and their time-evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chodera, John D.; Noé, Frank

2010-09-01

Discrete-state Markov (or master equation) models provide a useful simplified representation for characterizing the long-time statistical evolution of biomolecules in a manner that allows direct comparison with experiments as well as the elucidation of mechanistic pathways for an inherently stochastic process. A vital part of meaningful comparison with experiment is the characterization of the statistical uncertainty in the predicted experimental measurement, which may take the form of an equilibrium measurement of some spectroscopic signal, the time-evolution of this signal following a perturbation, or the observation of some statistic (such as the correlation function) of the equilibrium dynamics of a single molecule. Without meaningful error bars (which arise from both approximation and statistical error), there is no way to determine whether the deviations between model and experiment are statistically meaningful. Previous work has demonstrated that a Bayesian method that enforces microscopic reversibility can be used to characterize the statistical component of correlated uncertainties in state-to-state transition probabilities (and functions thereof) for a model inferred from molecular simulation data. Here, we extend this approach to include the uncertainty in observables that are functions of molecular conformation (such as surrogate spectroscopic signals) characterizing each state, permitting the full statistical uncertainty in computed spectroscopic experiments to be assessed. We test the approach in a simple model system to demonstrate that the computed uncertainties provide a useful indicator of statistical variation, and then apply it to the computation of the fluorescence autocorrelation function measured for a dye-labeled peptide previously studied by both experiment and simulation.

Accelerating statistical image reconstruction algorithms for fan-beam x-ray CT using cloud computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Somesh; Rao, A. Ravishankar; Sheinin, Vadim

2011-03-01

Statistical image reconstruction algorithms potentially offer many advantages to x-ray computed tomography (CT), e.g. lower radiation dose. But, their adoption in practical CT scanners requires extra computation power, which is traditionally provided by incorporating additional computing hardware (e.g. CPU-clusters, GPUs, FPGAs etc.) into a scanner. An alternative solution is to access the required computation power over the internet from a cloud computing service, which is orders-of-magnitude more cost-effective. This is because users only pay a small pay-as-you-go fee for the computation resources used (i.e. CPU time, storage etc.), and completely avoid purchase, maintenance and upgrade costs. In this paper, we investigate the benefits and shortcomings of using cloud computing for statistical image reconstruction. We parallelized the most time-consuming parts of our application, the forward and back projectors, using MapReduce, the standard parallelization library on clouds. From preliminary investigations, we found that a large speedup is possible at a very low cost. But, communication overheads inside MapReduce can limit the maximum speedup, and a better MapReduce implementation might become necessary in the future. All the experiments for this paper, including development and testing, were completed on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for less than $20.

A weighted generalized score statistic for comparison of predictive values of diagnostic tests.

PubMed

Kosinski, Andrzej S

2013-03-15

Positive and negative predictive values are important measures of a medical diagnostic test performance. We consider testing equality of two positive or two negative predictive values within a paired design in which all patients receive two diagnostic tests. The existing statistical tests for testing equality of predictive values are either Wald tests based on the multinomial distribution or the empirical Wald and generalized score tests within the generalized estimating equations (GEE) framework. As presented in the literature, these test statistics have considerably complex formulas without clear intuitive insight. We propose their re-formulations that are mathematically equivalent but algebraically simple and intuitive. As is clearly seen with a new re-formulation we presented, the generalized score statistic does not always reduce to the commonly used score statistic in the independent samples case. To alleviate this, we introduce a weighted generalized score (WGS) test statistic that incorporates empirical covariance matrix with newly proposed weights. This statistic is simple to compute, always reduces to the score statistic in the independent samples situation, and preserves type I error better than the other statistics as demonstrated by simulations. Thus, we believe that the proposed WGS statistic is the preferred statistic for testing equality of two predictive values and for corresponding sample size computations. The new formulas of the Wald statistics may be useful for easy computation of confidence intervals for difference of predictive values. The introduced concepts have potential to lead to development of the WGS test statistic in a general GEE setting. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A weighted generalized score statistic for comparison of predictive values of diagnostic tests

PubMed Central

Kosinski, Andrzej S.

2013-01-01

Positive and negative predictive values are important measures of a medical diagnostic test performance. We consider testing equality of two positive or two negative predictive values within a paired design in which all patients receive two diagnostic tests. The existing statistical tests for testing equality of predictive values are either Wald tests based on the multinomial distribution or the empirical Wald and generalized score tests within the generalized estimating equations (GEE) framework. As presented in the literature, these test statistics have considerably complex formulas without clear intuitive insight. We propose their re-formulations which are mathematically equivalent but algebraically simple and intuitive. As is clearly seen with a new re-formulation we present, the generalized score statistic does not always reduce to the commonly used score statistic in the independent samples case. To alleviate this, we introduce a weighted generalized score (WGS) test statistic which incorporates empirical covariance matrix with newly proposed weights. This statistic is simple to compute, it always reduces to the score statistic in the independent samples situation, and it preserves type I error better than the other statistics as demonstrated by simulations. Thus, we believe the proposed WGS statistic is the preferred statistic for testing equality of two predictive values and for corresponding sample size computations. The new formulas of the Wald statistics may be useful for easy computation of confidence intervals for difference of predictive values. The introduced concepts have potential to lead to development of the weighted generalized score test statistic in a general GEE setting. PMID:22912343

Statistical Compression for Climate Model Output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammerling, D.; Guinness, J.; Soh, Y. J.

2017-12-01

Numerical climate model simulations run at high spatial and temporal resolutions generate massive quantities of data. As our computing capabilities continue to increase, storing all of the data is not sustainable, and thus is it important to develop methods for representing the full datasets by smaller compressed versions. We propose a statistical compression and decompression algorithm based on storing a set of summary statistics as well as a statistical model describing the conditional distribution of the full dataset given the summary statistics. We decompress the data by computing conditional expectations and conditional simulations from the model given the summary statistics. Conditional expectations represent our best estimate of the original data but are subject to oversmoothing in space and time. Conditional simulations introduce realistic small-scale noise so that the decompressed fields are neither too smooth nor too rough compared with the original data. Considerable attention is paid to accurately modeling the original dataset-one year of daily mean temperature data-particularly with regard to the inherent spatial nonstationarity in global fields, and to determining the statistics to be stored, so that the variation in the original data can be closely captured, while allowing for fast decompression and conditional emulation on modest computers.

Algorithm for computing descriptive statistics for very large data sets and the exa-scale era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beekman, Izaak

2017-11-01

An algorithm for Single-point, Parallel, Online, Converging Statistics (SPOCS) is presented. It is suited for in situ analysis that traditionally would be relegated to post-processing, and can be used to monitor the statistical convergence and estimate the error/residual in the quantity-useful for uncertainty quantification too. Today, data may be generated at an overwhelming rate by numerical simulations and proliferating sensing apparatuses in experiments and engineering applications. Monitoring descriptive statistics in real time lets costly computations and experiments be gracefully aborted if an error has occurred, and monitoring the level of statistical convergence allows them to be run for the shortest amount of time required to obtain good results. This algorithm extends work by Pébay (Sandia Report SAND2008-6212). Pébay's algorithms are recast into a converging delta formulation, with provably favorable properties. The mean, variance, covariances and arbitrary higher order statistical moments are computed in one pass. The algorithm is tested using Sillero, Jiménez, & Moser's (2013, 2014) publicly available UPM high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer data set, demonstrating numerical robustness, efficiency and other favorable properties.

Soldier Decision-Making for Allocation of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Assets

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

Judgments; also called Algoritmic or Statistical Judgements Computer Science , Psychology, and Statistics Actuarial or algorithmic...Jan. 2011. [17] R. M. Dawes, D. Faust, and P. E. Meehl, “Clinical versus Actuarial Judgment,” Science , vol. 243, no. 4899, pp. 1668–1674, 1989. [18...School of Computer Science

The Longitudinal Study of Computer Simulation in Learning Statistics for Hospitality College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Ching-Hsu

2014-01-01

The class quasi-experiment was conducted to determine whether using computer simulation teaching strategy enhanced student understanding of statistics concepts for students enrolled in an introductory course. One hundred and ninety-three sophomores in hospitality management department were invited as participants in this two-year longitudinal…

Computational Inquiry in Introductory Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toews, Carl

2017-01-01

Inquiry-based pedagogies have a strong presence in proof-based undergraduate mathematics courses, but can be difficult to implement in courses that are large, procedural, or highly computational. An introductory course in statistics would thus seem an unlikely candidate for an inquiry-based approach, as these courses typically steer well clear of…

Study of Magnetic Reconnection

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

and disruptions in the Tosca tokamak, Nuclear Fusion 19, 115-119, 1979. 9. Stenzel, R. L., W. Gekelman and N. Wild, Magnetic field line reconnection...Acknowledgments. The authors gratefully acknowledge the techni- plasma diffusion due to polycliromatic fluctuations, Nucl. Fussion , cal support and...sans collisions, in: Proceedings of the Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna

NORSAR Basic Seismological Research

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-29

AZ 85721 Prof. Christopher H. Scholz Dr. William Wortman Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Mission Research Corporation of Columbia University 735...Reston, VA 22091 Mr. William J. Best Prof. Robert W. Clayton 907 Westwood Drive Seismological Laboratory Vienna, VA 22180 Division of Geological...Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91125 Dr. N. Biswas Prof. F. A. Dahlen Geophysical Institute Geological and Geophysical

[3-dimensional models of actual or simulated cesarean sections].

PubMed

Patzak, B; Schaller, A

2001-01-01

Following upon an etymological and historical introduction, this report refers to two three-dimensional wax models of Caesarean sections, which have recently been acquired by the Pathological-anatomical Federal Museum in Vienna. Information is given on origin, dating and kind of production; questions of indication and operation technique, and--when in doubt--obduction technique, are being considered.

U.S. National Report to International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics 1987-1990; Proceedings of the IUGG General Assembly, 20th, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 11-24, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shea, Margaret A. (Editor)

1991-01-01

An authoritative record of contributions of geophysical research in the U.S. during 1987-1990 is reported. Major areas of research include atmospheric sciences, geodesy, hydrology, planetology, geomagnetism, paleomagnetism, volcanology, geochemistry, petrology, oceanography, seismology, tectonophysics, and solar-planetary relations.

Differential Effects of Intelligence, Perceptual Speed and Age on Growth in Attentional Speed and Accuracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhammer, Frank; Rauch, Wolfgang A.; Schweizer, Karl; Moosbrugger, Helfried

2010-01-01

The study investigates the effects of intelligence, perceptual speed and age on intraindividual growth in attentional speed and attentional accuracy over the course of a 6-minute testing session. A sample of 193 subjects completed the Advanced Progressive Matrices and the Vienna Matrices Test representing intelligence, the tests Alertness and…

40 CFR 82.13 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for class I controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... petition is contrary to other provisions in the Vienna Convention or the Montreal Protocol; (D) If the..., by the producer and or by other U.S. companies, to a Party to the Protocol that will be transformed... to the Protocol that will be used solely for quarantine and preshipment applications and therefore...

40 CFR 82.13 - Recordkeeping and reporting requirements for class I controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... petition is contrary to other provisions in the Vienna Convention or the Montreal Protocol; (D) If the..., by the producer and or by other U.S. companies, to a Party to the Protocol that will be transformed... to the Protocol that will be used solely for quarantine and preshipment applications and therefore...

76 FR 57799 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposal That Electronic Filing of Bank Secrecy Act...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-16

... be inspected, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., in the FinCEN reading room in Vienna, VA. Persons wishing... submission; faster routing of information to law enforcement; greater data security and privacy compared with... suspicious activity report (SAR) was filed; Feedback reports to filers; Faster receipt for money services...

Source Water Identification and Chemical Typing for Nitrogen at the Kissimmee River, Pool C, Florida--Preliminary Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

and the mass-spectrometric measurement techniques, in J.R. Gat and R. Gonfiantini, eds., Stable isotope hydrology: Deuterium and oxygen-18 in the water ... cycle , chap. 4, p. 35-84, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. Heaton, T.H.E., 1986, Isotopic studies of nitrogen pollution in the

Focus on Higher Education in Europe 2010: The Impact of the Bologna Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosier, David; Dalferth, Simon; Parveva, Teodora

2010-01-01

This 2010 edition of the "Focus" report has been prepared for the European Ministerial Conference in Budapest/Vienna, 11-12 March 2010, that officially launches the European Higher Education Area. The report has been developed as a fully collaborative exercise between the Eurydice Network and the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG), with the…

Cryopreservation of embryos of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata Vienna 8 Genetic Sexing Strain

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the most serious pests of fruit crops world-wide. During the last decades, area-wide pest management (AW-IPM) approaches with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component have been used to control populations of this pest in an effective and e...

77 FR 58607 - U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL)-Online Dispute...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-21

... International Law (ACPIL)--Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Study Group The Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser... UNCITRAL ODR Working Group, scheduled for November 5-9 in Vienna, and will specifically address security issues relating to the use of the ODR Rules, including measures to address the risk of fraud involving...

The Vertical Oscillations of Coupled Magnets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kewei, Li; Jiahuang, Lin; Yang, Kang Zi; Liang, Samuel Yee Wei; Juan, Jeremias Wong Say

2011-01-01

The International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) is a worldwide, annual competition for high school students. This paper is adapted from the winning solution to Problem 14, Magnetic Spring, as presented in the final round of the 23rd IYPT in Vienna, Austria. Two magnets were arranged on top of each other on a common axis. One was fixed, while…

Computationally efficient statistical differential equation modeling using homogenization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hooten, Mevin B.; Garlick, Martha J.; Powell, James A.

2013-01-01

Statistical models using partial differential equations (PDEs) to describe dynamically evolving natural systems are appearing in the scientific literature with some regularity in recent years. Often such studies seek to characterize the dynamics of temporal or spatio-temporal phenomena such as invasive species, consumer-resource interactions, community evolution, and resource selection. Specifically, in the spatial setting, data are often available at varying spatial and temporal scales. Additionally, the necessary numerical integration of a PDE may be computationally infeasible over the spatial support of interest. We present an approach to impose computationally advantageous changes of support in statistical implementations of PDE models and demonstrate its utility through simulation using a form of PDE known as “ecological diffusion.” We also apply a statistical ecological diffusion model to a data set involving the spread of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in Idaho, USA.

Sparse approximation of currents for statistics on curves and surfaces.

PubMed

Durrleman, Stanley; Pennec, Xavier; Trouvé, Alain; Ayache, Nicholas

2008-01-01

Computing, processing, visualizing statistics on shapes like curves or surfaces is a real challenge with many applications ranging from medical image analysis to computational geometry. Modelling such geometrical primitives with currents avoids feature-based approach as well as point-correspondence method. This framework has been proved to be powerful to register brain surfaces or to measure geometrical invariants. However, if the state-of-the-art methods perform efficiently pairwise registrations, new numerical schemes are required to process groupwise statistics due to an increasing complexity when the size of the database is growing. Statistics such as mean and principal modes of a set of shapes often have a heavy and highly redundant representation. We propose therefore to find an adapted basis on which mean and principal modes have a sparse decomposition. Besides the computational improvement, this sparse representation offers a way to visualize and interpret statistics on currents. Experiments show the relevance of the approach on 34 sets of 70 sulcal lines and on 50 sets of 10 meshes of deep brain structures.

Non-homogeneous updates for the iterative coordinate descent algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zhou; Thibault, Jean-Baptiste; Bouman, Charles A.; Sauer, Ken D.; Hsieh, Jiang

2007-02-01

Statistical reconstruction methods show great promise for improving resolution, and reducing noise and artifacts in helical X-ray CT. In fact, statistical reconstruction seems to be particularly valuable in maintaining reconstructed image quality when the dosage is low and the noise is therefore high. However, high computational cost and long reconstruction times remain as a barrier to the use of statistical reconstruction in practical applications. Among the various iterative methods that have been studied for statistical reconstruction, iterative coordinate descent (ICD) has been found to have relatively low overall computational requirements due to its fast convergence. This paper presents a novel method for further speeding the convergence of the ICD algorithm, and therefore reducing the overall reconstruction time for statistical reconstruction. The method, which we call nonhomogeneous iterative coordinate descent (NH-ICD) uses spatially non-homogeneous updates to speed convergence by focusing computation where it is most needed. Experimental results with real data indicate that the method speeds reconstruction by roughly a factor of two for typical 3D multi-slice geometries.

Stan: Statistical inference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stan Development Team

2018-01-01

Stan facilitates statistical inference at the frontiers of applied statistics and provides both a modeling language for specifying complex statistical models and a library of statistical algorithms for computing inferences with those models. These components are exposed through interfaces in environments such as R, Python, and the command line.

Statistical Reference Datasets

National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

Statistical Reference Datasets (Web, free access)   The Statistical Reference Datasets is also supported by the Standard Reference Data Program. The purpose of this project is to improve the accuracy of statistical software by providing reference datasets with certified computational results that enable the objective evaluation of statistical software.

Low-flow analysis and selected flow statistics representative of 1930-2002 for streamflow-gaging stations in or near West Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiley, Jeffrey B.

2006-01-01

Five time periods between 1930 and 2002 are identified as having distinct patterns of annual minimum daily mean flows (minimum flows). Average minimum flows increased around 1970 at many streamflow-gaging stations in West Virginia. Before 1930, however, there might have been a period of minimum flows greater than any period identified between 1930 and 2002. The effects of climate variability are probably the principal causes of the differences among the five time periods. Comparisons of selected streamflow statistics are made between values computed for the five identified time periods and values computed for the 1930-2002 interval for 15 streamflow-gaging stations. The average difference between statistics computed for the five time periods and the 1930-2002 interval decreases with increasing magnitude of the low-flow statistic. The greatest individual-station absolute difference was 582.5 percent greater for the 7-day 10-year low flow computed for 1970-1979 compared to the value computed for 1930-2002. The hydrologically based low flows indicate approximately equal or smaller absolute differences than biologically based low flows. The average 1-day 3-year biologically based low flow (1B3) and 4-day 3-year biologically based low flow (4B3) are less than the average 1-day 10-year hydrologically based low flow (1Q10) and 7-day 10-year hydrologic-based low flow (7Q10) respectively, and range between 28.5 percent less and 13.6 percent greater. Seasonally, the average difference between low-flow statistics computed for the five time periods and 1930-2002 is not consistent between magnitudes of low-flow statistics, and the greatest difference is for the summer (July 1-September 30) and fall (October 1-December 31) for the same time period as the greatest difference determined in the annual analysis. The greatest average difference between 1B3 and 4B3 compared to 1Q10 and 7Q10, respectively, is in the spring (April 1-June 30), ranging between 11.6 and 102.3 percent greater. Statistics computed for the individual station's record period may not represent the statistics computed for the period 1930 to 2002 because (1) station records are available predominantly after about 1970 when minimum flows were greater than the average between 1930 and 2002 and (2) some short-term station records are mostly during dry periods, whereas others are mostly during wet periods. A criterion-based sampling of the individual station's record periods at stations was taken to reduce the effects of statistics computed for the entire record periods not representing the statistics computed for 1930-2002. The criterion used to sample the entire record periods is based on a comparison between the regional minimum flows and the minimum flows at the stations. Criterion-based sampling of the available record periods was superior to record-extension techniques for this study because more stations were selected and areal distribution of stations was more widespread. Principal component and correlation analyses of the minimum flows at 20 stations in or near West Virginia identify three regions of the State encompassing stations with similar patterns of minimum flows: the Lower Appalachian Plateaus, the Upper Appalachian Plateaus, and the Eastern Panhandle. All record periods of 10 years or greater between 1930 and 2002 where the average of the regional minimum flows are nearly equal to the average for 1930-2002 are determined as representative of 1930-2002. Selected statistics are presented for the longest representative record period that matches the record period for 77 stations in West Virginia and 40 stations near West Virginia. These statistics can be used to develop equations for estimating flow in ungaged stream locations.

Connes distance function on fuzzy sphere and the connection between geometry and statistics

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

Devi, Yendrembam Chaoba, E-mail: chaoba@bose.res.in; Chakraborty, Biswajit, E-mail: biswajit@bose.res.in; Prajapat, Shivraj, E-mail: shraprajapat@gmail.com

An algorithm to compute Connes spectral distance, adaptable to the Hilbert-Schmidt operatorial formulation of non-commutative quantum mechanics, was developed earlier by introducing the appropriate spectral triple and used to compute infinitesimal distances in the Moyal plane, revealing a deep connection between geometry and statistics. In this paper, using the same algorithm, the Connes spectral distance has been calculated in the Hilbert-Schmidt operatorial formulation for the fuzzy sphere whose spatial coordinates satisfy the su(2) algebra. This has been computed for both the discrete and the Perelemov’s SU(2) coherent state. Here also, we get a connection between geometry and statistics which ismore » shown by computing the infinitesimal distance between mixed states on the quantum Hilbert space of a particular fuzzy sphere, indexed by n ∈ ℤ/2.« less

Enhancing interest in statistics among computer science students using computer tool entrepreneur role play

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Judi, Hairulliza Mohamad; Sahari @ Ashari, Noraidah; Eksan, Zanaton Hj

2017-04-01

Previous research in Malaysia indicates that there is a problem regarding attitude towards statistics among students. They didn't show positive attitude in affective, cognitive, capability, value, interest and effort aspects although did well in difficulty. This issue should be given substantial attention because students' attitude towards statistics may give impacts on the teaching and learning process of the subject. Teaching statistics using role play is an appropriate attempt to improve attitudes to statistics, to enhance the learning of statistical techniques and statistical thinking, and to increase generic skills. The objectives of the paper are to give an overview on role play in statistics learning and to access the effect of these activities on students' attitude and learning in action research framework. The computer tool entrepreneur role play is conducted in a two-hour tutorial class session of first year students in Faculty of Information Sciences and Technology (FTSM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, enrolled in Probability and Statistics course. The results show that most students feel that they have enjoyable and great time in the role play. Furthermore, benefits and disadvantages from role play activities were highlighted to complete the review. Role play is expected to serve as an important activities that take into account students' experience, emotions and responses to provide useful information on how to modify student's thinking or behavior to improve learning.

Spectrally-Temporally Adapted Spectrally Modulated Spectrally Encoded (SMSE) Waveform Design for Coexistent CR-Based SDR Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

uses all available resources in some optimized manner. By further exploiting the design flexibility and computational efficiency of Orthogonal Frequency...in the following sections. 3.2.1 Estimation of PU Signal Statistics. The Estimate PU Signal Statis- tics function of Fig 3.4 is used to compute the...consecutive PU transmissions, and 4) the probability of transitioning from one transmission state to another. These statistics are then used to compute the

Entropy, pricing and productivity of pumped-storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakatsanis, Georgios; Tyralis, Hristos; Tzouka, Katerina

2016-04-01

Pumped-storage constitutes today a mature method of bulk electricity storage in the form of hydropower. This bulk electricity storability upgrades the economic value of hydropower as it may mitigate -or even neutralize- stochastic effects deriving from various geophysical and socioeconomic factors, which produce numerous load balance inefficiencies due to increased uncertainty. Pumped-storage further holds a key role for unifying intermittent renewable (i.e. wind, solar) units with controllable non-renewable (i.e. nuclear, coal) fuel electricity generation plants into integrated energy systems. We develop a set of indicators for the measurement of performance of pumped-storage, in terms of the latter's energy and financial contribution to the energy system. More specifically, we use the concept of entropy in order to examine: (1) the statistical features -and correlations- of the energy system's intermittent components and (2) the statistical features of electricity demand prediction deviations. In this way, the macroeconomics of pumped-storage emerges naturally from its statistical features (Karakatsanis et al. 2014). In addition, these findings are combined to actual daily loads. Hence, not only the amount of energy harvested from the pumped-storage component is expected to be important, but the harvesting time as well, as the intraday price of electricity varies significantly. Additionally, the structure of the pumped-storage market proves to be a significant factor as well for the system's energy and financial performance (Paine et al. 2014). According to the above, we aim at postulating a set of general rules on the productivity of pumped-storage for (integrated) energy systems. Keywords: pumped-storage, storability, economic value of hydropower, stochastic effects, uncertainty, energy systems, entropy, intraday electricity price, productivity References 1. Karakatsanis, Georgios et al. (2014), Entropy, pricing and macroeconomics of pumped-storage systems, Vienna, Austria, April 27 - May 2 2014, "The Face of the Earth - Process and Form", European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2. Paine, Nathan et al. (2014), Why market rules matter: Optimizing pumped hydroelectric storage when compensation rules differ, Energy Economics 46, 10-19

Running R Statistical Computing Environment Software on the Peregrine

Science.gov Websites

for the development of new statistical methodologies and enjoys a large user base. Please consult the distribution details. Natural language support but running in an English locale R is a collaborative project programming paradigms to better leverage modern HPC systems. The CRAN task view for High Performance Computing

Computer-Based Instruction in Statistical Inference; Final Report. Technical Memorandum (TM Series).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenbaum, J.; And Others

A two-year investigation into the development of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for the improvement of undergraduate training in statistics was undertaken. The first year was largely devoted to designing PLANIT (Programming LANguage for Interactive Teaching) which reduces, or completely eliminates, the need an author of CAI lessons would…

Formal Operations and Learning Style Predict Success in Statistics and Computer Science Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudak, Mary A.; Anderson, David E.

1990-01-01

Studies 94 undergraduate students in introductory statistics and computer science courses. Applies Formal Operations Reasoning Test (FORT) and Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (LSI). Finds that substantial numbers of students have not achieved the formal operation level of cognitive maturity. Emphasizes need to examine students learning style and…

Reproducible Computing: a new Technology for Statistics Education and Educational Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessa, Patrick

2009-05-01

This paper explains how the R Framework (http://www.wessa.net) and a newly developed Compendium Platform (http://www.freestatistics.org) allow us to create, use, and maintain documents that contain empirical research results which can be recomputed and reused in derived work. It is illustrated that this technological innovation can be used to create educational applications that can be shown to support effective learning of statistics and associated analytical skills. It is explained how a Compendium can be created by anyone, without the need to understand the technicalities of scientific word processing (L style="font-variant: small-caps">ATEX) or statistical computing (R code). The proposed Reproducible Computing system allows educational researchers to objectively measure key aspects of the actual learning process based on individual and constructivist activities such as: peer review, collaboration in research, computational experimentation, etc. The system was implemented and tested in three statistics courses in which the use of Compendia was used to create an interactive e-learning environment that simulated the real-world process of empirical scientific research.

Distinguishing humans from computers in the game of go: A complex network approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coquidé, C.; Georgeot, B.; Giraud, O.

2017-08-01

We compare complex networks built from the game of go and obtained from databases of human-played games with those obtained from computer-played games. Our investigations show that statistical features of the human-based networks and the computer-based networks differ, and that these differences can be statistically significant on a relatively small number of games using specific estimators. We show that the deterministic or stochastic nature of the computer algorithm playing the game can also be distinguished from these quantities. This can be seen as a tool to implement a Turing-like test for go simulators.

What's statistical about learning? Insights from modelling statistical learning as a set of memory processes

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Statistical learning has been studied in a variety of different tasks, including word segmentation, object identification, category learning, artificial grammar learning and serial reaction time tasks (e.g. Saffran et al. 1996 Science 274, 1926–1928; Orban et al. 2008 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105, 2745–2750; Thiessen & Yee 2010 Child Development 81, 1287–1303; Saffran 2002 Journal of Memory and Language 47, 172–196; Misyak & Christiansen 2012 Language Learning 62, 302–331). The difference among these tasks raises questions about whether they all depend on the same kinds of underlying processes and computations, or whether they are tapping into different underlying mechanisms. Prior theoretical approaches to statistical learning have often tried to explain or model learning in a single task. However, in many cases these approaches appear inadequate to explain performance in multiple tasks. For example, explaining word segmentation via the computation of sequential statistics (such as transitional probability) provides little insight into the nature of sensitivity to regularities among simultaneously presented features. In this article, we will present a formal computational approach that we believe is a good candidate to provide a unifying framework to explore and explain learning in a wide variety of statistical learning tasks. This framework suggests that statistical learning arises from a set of processes that are inherent in memory systems, including activation, interference, integration of information and forgetting (e.g. Perruchet & Vinter 1998 Journal of Memory and Language 39, 246–263; Thiessen et al. 2013 Psychological Bulletin 139, 792–814). From this perspective, statistical learning does not involve explicit computation of statistics, but rather the extraction of elements of the input into memory traces, and subsequent integration across those memory traces that emphasize consistent information (Thiessen and Pavlik 2013 Cognitive Science 37, 310–343). This article is part of the themed issue ‘New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences'. PMID:27872374

What's statistical about learning? Insights from modelling statistical learning as a set of memory processes.

PubMed

Thiessen, Erik D

2017-01-05

Statistical learning has been studied in a variety of different tasks, including word segmentation, object identification, category learning, artificial grammar learning and serial reaction time tasks (e.g. Saffran et al. 1996 Science 274: , 1926-1928; Orban et al. 2008 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105: , 2745-2750; Thiessen & Yee 2010 Child Development 81: , 1287-1303; Saffran 2002 Journal of Memory and Language 47: , 172-196; Misyak & Christiansen 2012 Language Learning 62: , 302-331). The difference among these tasks raises questions about whether they all depend on the same kinds of underlying processes and computations, or whether they are tapping into different underlying mechanisms. Prior theoretical approaches to statistical learning have often tried to explain or model learning in a single task. However, in many cases these approaches appear inadequate to explain performance in multiple tasks. For example, explaining word segmentation via the computation of sequential statistics (such as transitional probability) provides little insight into the nature of sensitivity to regularities among simultaneously presented features. In this article, we will present a formal computational approach that we believe is a good candidate to provide a unifying framework to explore and explain learning in a wide variety of statistical learning tasks. This framework suggests that statistical learning arises from a set of processes that are inherent in memory systems, including activation, interference, integration of information and forgetting (e.g. Perruchet & Vinter 1998 Journal of Memory and Language 39: , 246-263; Thiessen et al. 2013 Psychological Bulletin 139: , 792-814). From this perspective, statistical learning does not involve explicit computation of statistics, but rather the extraction of elements of the input into memory traces, and subsequent integration across those memory traces that emphasize consistent information (Thiessen and Pavlik 2013 Cognitive Science 37: , 310-343).This article is part of the themed issue 'New frontiers for statistical learning in the cognitive sciences'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Analysis and meta-analysis of single-case designs with a standardized mean difference statistic: a primer and applications.

PubMed

Shadish, William R; Hedges, Larry V; Pustejovsky, James E

2014-04-01

This article presents a d-statistic for single-case designs that is in the same metric as the d-statistic used in between-subjects designs such as randomized experiments and offers some reasons why such a statistic would be useful in SCD research. The d has a formal statistical development, is accompanied by appropriate power analyses, and can be estimated using user-friendly SPSS macros. We discuss both advantages and disadvantages of d compared to other approaches such as previous d-statistics, overlap statistics, and multilevel modeling. It requires at least three cases for computation and assumes normally distributed outcomes and stationarity, assumptions that are discussed in some detail. We also show how to test these assumptions. The core of the article then demonstrates in depth how to compute d for one study, including estimation of the autocorrelation and the ratio of between case variance to total variance (between case plus within case variance), how to compute power using a macro, and how to use the d to conduct a meta-analysis of studies using single-case designs in the free program R, including syntax in an appendix. This syntax includes how to read data, compute fixed and random effect average effect sizes, prepare a forest plot and a cumulative meta-analysis, estimate various influence statistics to identify studies contributing to heterogeneity and effect size, and do various kinds of publication bias analyses. This d may prove useful for both the analysis and meta-analysis of data from SCDs. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical modelling of river morphodynamics: Latest developments and remaining challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siviglia, Annunziato; Crosato, Alessandra

2016-07-01

Numerical morphodynamic models provide scientific frameworks for advancing our understanding of river systems. The research on involved topics is an important and socially relevant undertaking regarding our environment. Nowadays numerical models are used for different purposes, from answering questions about basic morphodynamic research to managing complex river engineering problems. Due to increasing computer power and the development of advanced numerical techniques, morphodynamic models are now more and more used to predict the bed patterns evolution to a broad spectrum of spatial and temporal scales. The development and the success of application of such models are based upon a wide range of disciplines from applied mathematics for the numerical solution of the equations to geomorphology for the physical interpretation of the results. In this light we organized this special issue (SI) soliciting multidisciplinary contributions which encompass any aspect needed for the development and applications of such models. Most of the papers in the SI stem from contributions to session HS9.5/GM7.11 on numerical modelling and experiments in river morphodynamics at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly held in Vienna, April 27th to May 2nd 2014.

Development of a questionnaire for quantitative assessment in the field of health and human rights.

PubMed

Wildner, Manfred; Fischer, Richela; Brunner, Anne

2002-11-01

We hypothesize that a human rights framework would be able to analyse central health-related societal issues within important settings like the work place, the family or the health care system. Our study goal was the development and population-based evaluation of a questionnaire for assessment of the perceived human rights status. A questionnaire (HR-14) was developed from the guiding principles of international human rights legislation. For its psychometric evaluation, computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted in four cities in Europe (Munich, Dresden, Vienna and Bern). Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.76. Factor analysis supported the concept of human rights as indivisible and interdependent. Extracted factors were consistent with the preliminary settings of family and friends, health care system and community at large, and a supplementary setting workplace. Perceived human rights status was associated with physical function, mental/emotional health, age, study region, general health and employment status. We conclude that it is possible to develop a human rights questionnaire with good psychometric properties. Measurement of the perceived human rights status of populations and population groups may contribute to health policies sensitive to human rights.

Summary of workshop 'Theory Meets Industry'—the impact of ab initio solid state calculations on industrial materials research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer, E.

2008-02-01

A workshop, 'Theory Meets Industry', was held on 12-14 June 2007 in Vienna, Austria, attended by a well balanced number of academic and industrial scientists from America, Europe, and Japan. The focus was on advances in ab initio solid state calculations and their practical use in industry. The theoretical papers addressed three dominant themes, namely (i) more accurate total energies and electronic excitations, (ii) more complex systems, and (iii) more diverse and accurate materials properties. Hybrid functionals give some improvements in energies, but encounter difficulties for metallic systems. Quantum Monte Carlo methods are progressing, but no clear breakthrough is on the horizon. Progress in order-N methods is steady, as is the case for efficient methods for exploring complex energy hypersurfaces and large numbers of structural configurations. The industrial applications were dominated by materials issues in energy conversion systems, the quest for hydrogen storage materials, improvements of electronic and optical properties of microelectronic and display materials, and the simulation of reactions on heterogeneous catalysts. The workshop is a clear testimony that ab initio computations have become an industrial practice with increasingly recognized impact.

Precision instrument placement using a 4-DOF robot with integrated fiducials for minimally invasive interventions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenzel, Roland; Lin, Ralph; Cheng, Peng; Kronreif, Gernot; Kornfeld, Martin; Lindisch, David; Wood, Bradford J.; Viswanathan, Anand; Cleary, Kevin

2007-03-01

Minimally invasive procedures are increasingly attractive to patients and medical personnel because they can reduce operative trauma, recovery times, and overall costs. However, during these procedures, the physician has a very limited view of the interventional field and the exact position of surgical instruments. We present an image-guided platform for precision placement of surgical instruments based upon a small four degree-of-freedom robot (B-RobII; ARC Seibersdorf Research GmbH, Vienna, Austria). This platform includes a custom instrument guide with an integrated spiral fiducial pattern as the robot's end-effector, and it uses intra-operative computed tomography (CT) to register the robot to the patient directly before the intervention. The physician can then use a graphical user interface (GUI) to select a path for percutaneous access, and the robot will automatically align the instrument guide along this path. Potential anatomical targets include the liver, kidney, prostate, and spine. This paper describes the robotic platform, workflow, software, and algorithms used by the system. To demonstrate the algorithmic accuracy and suitability of the custom instrument guide, we also present results from experiments as well as estimates of the maximum error between target and instrument tip.

Finite-beta equilibria for Wendelstein 7-X configurations using the Princeton Iterative Equilibrium Solver code

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

Arndt, S.; Merkel, P.; Monticello, D.A.

Fixed- and free-boundary equilibria for Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) [W. Lotz {ital et al.}, {ital Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1990} (Proc. 13th Int. Conf. Washington, DC, 1990), (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1991), Vol. 2, p. 603] configurations are calculated using the Princeton Iterative Equilibrium Solver (PIES) [A. H. Reiman {ital et al.}, Comput. Phys. Commun., {bold 43}, 157 (1986)] to deal with magnetic islands and stochastic regions. Usually, these W7-X configurations require a large number of iterations for PIES convergence. Here, two methods have been successfully tested in an attempt to decrease the number of iterations neededmore » for convergence. First, periodic sequences of different blending parameters are used. Second, the initial guess is vastly improved by using results of the Variational Moments Equilibrium Code (VMEC) [S. P. Hirshmann {ital et al.}, Phys. Fluids {bold 26}, 3553 (1983)]. Use of these two methods have allowed verification of the Hamada condition and tendency of {open_quotes}self-healing{close_quotes} of islands has been observed. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Why Don't All Professors Use Computers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drew, David Eli

1989-01-01

Discusses the adoption of computer technology at universities and examines reasons why some professors don't use computers. Topics discussed include computer applications, including artificial intelligence, social science research, statistical analysis, and cooperative research; appropriateness of the technology for the task; the Computer Aptitude…

Trend analysis and selected summary statistics of annual mean streamflow for 38 selected long-term U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Texas, water years 1916-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Asquith, William H.; Barbie, Dana L.

2014-01-01

Selected summary statistics (L-moments) and estimates of respective sampling variances were computed for the 35 streamgages lacking statistically significant trends. From the L-moments and estimated sampling variances, weighted means or regional values were computed for each L-moment. An example application is included demonstrating how the L-moments could be used to evaluate the magnitude and frequency of annual mean streamflow.

Bayesian networks and statistical analysis application to analyze the diagnostic test accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orzechowski, P.; Makal, Jaroslaw; Onisko, A.

2005-02-01

The computer aided BPH diagnosis system based on Bayesian network is described in the paper. First result are compared to a given statistical method. Different statistical methods are used successfully in medicine for years. However, the undoubted advantages of probabilistic methods make them useful in application in newly created systems which are frequent in medicine, but do not have full and competent knowledge. The article presents advantages of the computer aided BPH diagnosis system in clinical practice for urologists.

A model and variance reduction method for computing statistical outputs of stochastic elliptic partial differential equations

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

Vidal-Codina, F., E-mail: fvidal@mit.edu; Nguyen, N.C., E-mail: cuongng@mit.edu; Giles, M.B., E-mail: mike.giles@maths.ox.ac.uk

We present a model and variance reduction method for the fast and reliable computation of statistical outputs of stochastic elliptic partial differential equations. Our method consists of three main ingredients: (1) the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) discretization of elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs), which allows us to obtain high-order accurate solutions of the governing PDE; (2) the reduced basis method for a new HDG discretization of the underlying PDE to enable real-time solution of the parameterized PDE in the presence of stochastic parameters; and (3) a multilevel variance reduction method that exploits the statistical correlation among the different reduced basismore » approximations and the high-fidelity HDG discretization to accelerate the convergence of the Monte Carlo simulations. The multilevel variance reduction method provides efficient computation of the statistical outputs by shifting most of the computational burden from the high-fidelity HDG approximation to the reduced basis approximations. Furthermore, we develop a posteriori error estimates for our approximations of the statistical outputs. Based on these error estimates, we propose an algorithm for optimally choosing both the dimensions of the reduced basis approximations and the sizes of Monte Carlo samples to achieve a given error tolerance. We provide numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.« less

Computational and Statistical Models: A Comparison for Policy Modeling of Childhood Obesity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mabry, Patricia L.; Hammond, Ross; Ip, Edward Hak-Sing; Huang, Terry T.-K.

As systems science methodologies have begun to emerge as a set of innovative approaches to address complex problems in behavioral, social science, and public health research, some apparent conflicts with traditional statistical methodologies for public health have arisen. Computational modeling is an approach set in context that integrates diverse sources of data to test the plausibility of working hypotheses and to elicit novel ones. Statistical models are reductionist approaches geared towards proving the null hypothesis. While these two approaches may seem contrary to each other, we propose that they are in fact complementary and can be used jointly to advance solutions to complex problems. Outputs from statistical models can be fed into computational models, and outputs from computational models can lead to further empirical data collection and statistical models. Together, this presents an iterative process that refines the models and contributes to a greater understanding of the problem and its potential solutions. The purpose of this panel is to foster communication and understanding between statistical and computational modelers. Our goal is to shed light on the differences between the approaches and convey what kinds of research inquiries each one is best for addressing and how they can serve complementary (and synergistic) roles in the research process, to mutual benefit. For each approach the panel will cover the relevant "assumptions" and how the differences in what is assumed can foster misunderstandings. The interpretations of the results from each approach will be compared and contrasted and the limitations for each approach will be delineated. We will use illustrative examples from CompMod, the Comparative Modeling Network for Childhood Obesity Policy. The panel will also incorporate interactive discussions with the audience on the issues raised here.

Detection and Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Spike Patterns in Massively Parallel Spike Train Data with SPADE.

PubMed

Quaglio, Pietro; Yegenoglu, Alper; Torre, Emiliano; Endres, Dominik M; Grün, Sonja

2017-01-01

Repeated, precise sequences of spikes are largely considered a signature of activation of cell assemblies. These repeated sequences are commonly known under the name of spatio-temporal patterns (STPs). STPs are hypothesized to play a role in the communication of information in the computational process operated by the cerebral cortex. A variety of statistical methods for the detection of STPs have been developed and applied to electrophysiological recordings, but such methods scale poorly with the current size of available parallel spike train recordings (more than 100 neurons). In this work, we introduce a novel method capable of overcoming the computational and statistical limits of existing analysis techniques in detecting repeating STPs within massively parallel spike trains (MPST). We employ advanced data mining techniques to efficiently extract repeating sequences of spikes from the data. Then, we introduce and compare two alternative approaches to distinguish statistically significant patterns from chance sequences. The first approach uses a measure known as conceptual stability, of which we investigate a computationally cheap approximation for applications to such large data sets. The second approach is based on the evaluation of pattern statistical significance. In particular, we provide an extension to STPs of a method we recently introduced for the evaluation of statistical significance of synchronous spike patterns. The performance of the two approaches is evaluated in terms of computational load and statistical power on a variety of artificial data sets that replicate specific features of experimental data. Both methods provide an effective and robust procedure for detection of STPs in MPST data. The method based on significance evaluation shows the best overall performance, although at a higher computational cost. We name the novel procedure the spatio-temporal Spike PAttern Detection and Evaluation (SPADE) analysis.

Detection and Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Spike Patterns in Massively Parallel Spike Train Data with SPADE

PubMed Central

Quaglio, Pietro; Yegenoglu, Alper; Torre, Emiliano; Endres, Dominik M.; Grün, Sonja

2017-01-01

Repeated, precise sequences of spikes are largely considered a signature of activation of cell assemblies. These repeated sequences are commonly known under the name of spatio-temporal patterns (STPs). STPs are hypothesized to play a role in the communication of information in the computational process operated by the cerebral cortex. A variety of statistical methods for the detection of STPs have been developed and applied to electrophysiological recordings, but such methods scale poorly with the current size of available parallel spike train recordings (more than 100 neurons). In this work, we introduce a novel method capable of overcoming the computational and statistical limits of existing analysis techniques in detecting repeating STPs within massively parallel spike trains (MPST). We employ advanced data mining techniques to efficiently extract repeating sequences of spikes from the data. Then, we introduce and compare two alternative approaches to distinguish statistically significant patterns from chance sequences. The first approach uses a measure known as conceptual stability, of which we investigate a computationally cheap approximation for applications to such large data sets. The second approach is based on the evaluation of pattern statistical significance. In particular, we provide an extension to STPs of a method we recently introduced for the evaluation of statistical significance of synchronous spike patterns. The performance of the two approaches is evaluated in terms of computational load and statistical power on a variety of artificial data sets that replicate specific features of experimental data. Both methods provide an effective and robust procedure for detection of STPs in MPST data. The method based on significance evaluation shows the best overall performance, although at a higher computational cost. We name the novel procedure the spatio-temporal Spike PAttern Detection and Evaluation (SPADE) analysis. PMID:28596729

DISTMIX: direct imputation of summary statistics for unmeasured SNPs from mixed ethnicity cohorts.

PubMed

Lee, Donghyung; Bigdeli, T Bernard; Williamson, Vernell S; Vladimirov, Vladimir I; Riley, Brien P; Fanous, Ayman H; Bacanu, Silviu-Alin

2015-10-01

To increase the signal resolution for large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies, genotypes at unmeasured single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are commonly imputed using large multi-ethnic reference panels. However, the ever increasing size and ethnic diversity of both reference panels and cohorts makes genotype imputation computationally challenging for moderately sized computer clusters. Moreover, genotype imputation requires subject-level genetic data, which unlike summary statistics provided by virtually all studies, is not publicly available. While there are much less demanding methods which avoid the genotype imputation step by directly imputing SNP statistics, e.g. Directly Imputing summary STatistics (DIST) proposed by our group, their implicit assumptions make them applicable only to ethnically homogeneous cohorts. To decrease computational and access requirements for the analysis of cosmopolitan cohorts, we propose DISTMIX, which extends DIST capabilities to the analysis of mixed ethnicity cohorts. The method uses a relevant reference panel to directly impute unmeasured SNP statistics based only on statistics at measured SNPs and estimated/user-specified ethnic proportions. Simulations show that the proposed method adequately controls the Type I error rates. The 1000 Genomes panel imputation of summary statistics from the ethnically diverse Psychiatric Genetic Consortium Schizophrenia Phase 2 suggests that, when compared to genotype imputation methods, DISTMIX offers comparable imputation accuracy for only a fraction of computational resources. DISTMIX software, its reference population data, and usage examples are publicly available at http://code.google.com/p/distmix. dlee4@vcu.edu Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Influence of Computational Drop Representation in LES of a Droplet-Laden Mixing Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bellan, Josette; Radhakrishnan, Senthilkumaran

2013-01-01

Multiphase turbulent flows are encountered in many practical applications including turbine engines or natural phenomena involving particle dispersion. Numerical computations of multiphase turbulent flows are important because they provide a cheaper alternative to performing experiments during an engine design process or because they can provide predictions of pollutant dispersion, etc. Two-phase flows contain millions and sometimes billions of particles. For flows with volumetrically dilute particle loading, the most accurate method of numerically simulating the flow is based on direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the governing equations in which all scales of the flow including the small scales that are responsible for the overwhelming amount of dissipation are resolved. DNS, however, requires high computational cost and cannot be used in engineering design applications where iterations among several design conditions are necessary. Because of high computational cost, numerical simulations of such flows cannot track all these drops. The objective of this work is to quantify the influence of the number of computational drops and grid spacing on the accuracy of predicted flow statistics, and to possibly identify the minimum number, or, if not possible, the optimal number of computational drops that provide minimal error in flow prediction. For this purpose, several Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of a mixing layer with evaporating drops have been performed by using coarse, medium, and fine grid spacings and computational drops, rather than physical drops. To define computational drops, an integer NR is introduced that represents the ratio of the number of existing physical drops to the desired number of computational drops; for example, if NR=8, this means that a computational drop represents 8 physical drops in the flow field. The desired number of computational drops is determined by the available computational resources; the larger NR is, the less computationally intensive is the simulation. A set of first order and second order flow statistics, and of drop statistics are extracted from LES predictions and are compared to results obtained by filtering a DNS database. First order statistics such as Favre averaged stream-wise velocity, Favre averaged vapor mass fraction, and the drop stream-wise velocity, are predicted accurately independent of the number of computational drops and grid spacing. Second order flow statistics depend both on the number of computational drops and on grid spacing. The scalar variance and turbulent vapor flux are predicted accurately by the fine mesh LES only when NR is less than 32, and by the coarse mesh LES reasonably accurately for all NR values. This is attributed to the fact that when the grid spacing is coarsened, the number of drops in a computational cell must not be significantly lower than that in the DNS.

Pedagogical Utilization and Assessment of the Statistic Online Computational Resource in Introductory Probability and Statistics Courses.

PubMed

Dinov, Ivo D; Sanchez, Juana; Christou, Nicolas

2008-01-01

Technology-based instruction represents a new recent pedagogical paradigm that is rooted in the realization that new generations are much more comfortable with, and excited about, new technologies. The rapid technological advancement over the past decade has fueled an enormous demand for the integration of modern networking, informational and computational tools with classical pedagogical instruments. Consequently, teaching with technology typically involves utilizing a variety of IT and multimedia resources for online learning, course management, electronic course materials, and novel tools of communication, engagement, experimental, critical thinking and assessment.The NSF-funded Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR) provides a number of interactive tools for enhancing instruction in various undergraduate and graduate courses in probability and statistics. These resources include online instructional materials, statistical calculators, interactive graphical user interfaces, computational and simulation applets, tools for data analysis and visualization. The tools provided as part of SOCR include conceptual simulations and statistical computing interfaces, which are designed to bridge between the introductory and the more advanced computational and applied probability and statistics courses. In this manuscript, we describe our designs for utilizing SOCR technology in instruction in a recent study. In addition, present the results of the effectiveness of using SOCR tools at two different course intensity levels on three outcome measures: exam scores, student satisfaction and choice of technology to complete assignments. Learning styles assessment was completed at baseline. We have used three very different designs for three different undergraduate classes. Each course included a treatment group, using the SOCR resources, and a control group, using classical instruction techniques. Our findings include marginal effects of the SOCR treatment per individual classes; however, pooling the results across all courses and sections, SOCR effects on the treatment groups were exceptionally robust and significant. Coupling these findings with a clear decrease in the variance of the quantitative examination measures in the treatment groups indicates that employing technology, like SOCR, in a sound pedagogical and scientific manner enhances overall the students' understanding and suggests better long-term knowledge retention.

Pedagogical Utilization and Assessment of the Statistic Online Computational Resource in Introductory Probability and Statistics Courses

PubMed Central

Dinov, Ivo D.; Sanchez, Juana; Christou, Nicolas

2009-01-01

Technology-based instruction represents a new recent pedagogical paradigm that is rooted in the realization that new generations are much more comfortable with, and excited about, new technologies. The rapid technological advancement over the past decade has fueled an enormous demand for the integration of modern networking, informational and computational tools with classical pedagogical instruments. Consequently, teaching with technology typically involves utilizing a variety of IT and multimedia resources for online learning, course management, electronic course materials, and novel tools of communication, engagement, experimental, critical thinking and assessment. The NSF-funded Statistics Online Computational Resource (SOCR) provides a number of interactive tools for enhancing instruction in various undergraduate and graduate courses in probability and statistics. These resources include online instructional materials, statistical calculators, interactive graphical user interfaces, computational and simulation applets, tools for data analysis and visualization. The tools provided as part of SOCR include conceptual simulations and statistical computing interfaces, which are designed to bridge between the introductory and the more advanced computational and applied probability and statistics courses. In this manuscript, we describe our designs for utilizing SOCR technology in instruction in a recent study. In addition, present the results of the effectiveness of using SOCR tools at two different course intensity levels on three outcome measures: exam scores, student satisfaction and choice of technology to complete assignments. Learning styles assessment was completed at baseline. We have used three very different designs for three different undergraduate classes. Each course included a treatment group, using the SOCR resources, and a control group, using classical instruction techniques. Our findings include marginal effects of the SOCR treatment per individual classes; however, pooling the results across all courses and sections, SOCR effects on the treatment groups were exceptionally robust and significant. Coupling these findings with a clear decrease in the variance of the quantitative examination measures in the treatment groups indicates that employing technology, like SOCR, in a sound pedagogical and scientific manner enhances overall the students’ understanding and suggests better long-term knowledge retention. PMID:19750185

A computational visual saliency model based on statistics and machine learning.

PubMed

Lin, Ru-Je; Lin, Wei-Song

2014-08-01

Identifying the type of stimuli that attracts human visual attention has been an appealing topic for scientists for many years. In particular, marking the salient regions in images is useful for both psychologists and many computer vision applications. In this paper, we propose a computational approach for producing saliency maps using statistics and machine learning methods. Based on four assumptions, three properties (Feature-Prior, Position-Prior, and Feature-Distribution) can be derived and combined by a simple intersection operation to obtain a saliency map. These properties are implemented by a similarity computation, support vector regression (SVR) technique, statistical analysis of training samples, and information theory using low-level features. This technique is able to learn the preferences of human visual behavior while simultaneously considering feature uniqueness. Experimental results show that our approach performs better in predicting human visual attention regions than 12 other models in two test databases. © 2014 ARVO.

Process air quality data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, C. M.; Hogge, J. E.

1978-01-01

Air quality sampling was conducted. Data for air quality parameters, recorded on written forms, punched cards or magnetic tape, are available for 1972 through 1975. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate several daily statistical measures of location, (2) plot time histories of data or the calculated daily statistics, (3) calculate simple correlation coefficients, and (4) plot scatter diagrams. Computer software was developed for processing air quality data to include time series analysis and goodness of fit tests. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate a larger number of daily statistical measures of location, and a number of daily monthly and yearly measures of location, dispersion, skewness and kurtosis, (2) decompose the extended time series model and (3) perform some goodness of fit tests. The computer program is described, documented and illustrated by examples. Recommendations are made for continuation of the development of research on processing air quality data.

Computing maximum-likelihood estimates for parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Donato, David I.

2012-01-01

This report presents the mathematical expressions and the computational techniques required to compute maximum-likelihood estimates for the parameters of the National Descriptive Model of Mercury in Fish (NDMMF), a statistical model used to predict the concentration of methylmercury in fish tissue. The expressions and techniques reported here were prepared to support the development of custom software capable of computing NDMMF parameter estimates more quickly and using less computer memory than is currently possible with available general-purpose statistical software. Computation of maximum-likelihood estimates for the NDMMF by numerical solution of a system of simultaneous equations through repeated Newton-Raphson iterations is described. This report explains the derivation of the mathematical expressions required for computational parameter estimation in sufficient detail to facilitate future derivations for any revised versions of the NDMMF that may be developed.

Symposium on the Interface: Computing Science and Statistics (20th). Theme: Computationally Intensive Methods in Statistics Held in Reston, Virginia on April 20-23, 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-20

34 William A. Link, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center "Increasing reliability of multiversion fault-tolerant software design by modulation," Junryo 3... Multiversion lault-Tolerant Software Design by Modularization Junryo Miyashita Department of Computer Science California state University at san Bernardino Fault...They shall beE refered to as " multiversion fault-tolerant software design". Onel problem of developing multi-versions of a program is the high cost

Statistical Literacy as a Function of Online versus Hybrid Course Delivery Format for an Introductory Graduate Statistics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahs-Vaughn, Debbie L.; Acquaye, Hannah; Griffith, Matthew D.; Jo, Hang; Matthews, Ken; Acharya, Parul

2017-01-01

Statistical literacy refers to understanding fundamental statistical concepts. Assessment of statistical literacy can take the forms of tasks that require students to identify, translate, compute, read, and interpret data. In addition, statistical instruction can take many forms encompassing course delivery format such as face-to-face, hybrid,…

Machine-learning-based calving prediction from activity, lying, and ruminating behaviors in dairy cattle.

PubMed

Borchers, M R; Chang, Y M; Proudfoot, K L; Wadsworth, B A; Stone, A E; Bewley, J M

2017-07-01

The objective of this study was to use automated activity, lying, and rumination monitors to characterize prepartum behavior and predict calving in dairy cattle. Data were collected from 20 primiparous and 33 multiparous Holstein dairy cattle from September 2011 to May 2013 at the University of Kentucky Coldstream Dairy. The HR Tag (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) automatically collected neck activity and rumination data in 2-h increments. The IceQube (IceRobotics Ltd., South Queensferry, United Kingdom) automatically collected number of steps, lying time, standing time, number of transitions from standing to lying (lying bouts), and total motion, summed in 15-min increments. IceQube data were summed in 2-h increments to match HR Tag data. All behavioral data were collected for 14 d before the predicted calving date. Retrospective data analysis was performed using mixed linear models to examine behavioral changes by day in the 14 d before calving. Bihourly behavioral differences from baseline values over the 14 d before calving were also evaluated using mixed linear models. Changes in daily rumination time, total motion, lying time, and lying bouts occurred in the 14 d before calving. In the bihourly analysis, extreme values for all behaviors occurred in the final 24 h, indicating that the monitored behaviors may be useful in calving prediction. To determine whether technologies were useful at predicting calving, random forest, linear discriminant analysis, and neural network machine-learning techniques were constructed and implemented using R version 3.1.0 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). These methods were used on variables from each technology and all combined variables from both technologies. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies at the daily level yielded 100.0% sensitivity and 86.8% specificity. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies in bihourly increments was used to identify 2-h periods in the 8 h before calving with 82.8% sensitivity and 80.4% specificity. Changes in behavior and machine-learning alerts indicate that commercially marketed behavioral monitors may have calving prediction potential. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, USSR: Life Sciences.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-06-29

tested included kohlrabi, cauliflower , Brussels sprouts, and red and white cabbages. Results indicated that Savoy cabbage retained the highest water...variations in radioactive substance retention were noted. The highest levels were found in cauliflower , along with Vienna Early Savoy cabbage...conchae, larynx and the external ear . Coagulation by the Nd:YAG laser was attained with fiber optics with infiltrating anesthesia in the case of

9 CFR 319.180 - Frankfurter, frank, furter, hotdog, weiner, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... smoked. The finished products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat. Water or ice, or both, may be... contain no more than 40 percent of a combination of fat and added water. These sausage products may... poultry products ingredients. The finished products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat. Water or...

9 CFR 319.180 - Frankfurter, frank, furter, hotdog, weiner, vienna, bologna, garlic bologna, knockwurst, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... smoked. The finished products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat. Water or ice, or both, may be... contain no more than 40 percent of a combination of fat and added water. These sausage products may... poultry products ingredients. The finished products shall not contain more than 30 percent fat. Water or...

Examples of seismic modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pamyatnykh, A. A.

2008-12-01

Findings of a few recent asteroseismic studies of the main sequence pulsating stars, as per- formed in Wojciech Dziembowski’s group in Warsaw and in Michel Breger’s group in Vienna, are briefly presented and discussed. The selected objects are three hybrid pulsators ν Eridani, 12 Lacertae and γ Pegasi, which show both β Cephei and SPB type modes, and the δ Scuti type star 44 Tauri.

The "Matchbox School" (1927-1932): Anna Freud and the Idea of a "Psychoanalytically Informed Education"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midgley, Nick

2008-01-01

Of all the applications of psychoanalysis to various fields, perhaps none has been as important--or as fraught--as the application of psychoanalytic insights to education. This paper re-constructs some of the early debates around psychoanalysis and pedagogy that Anna Freud engaged with during the 1920s in Vienna, when the whole question of what…

164. HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD SUMMER RECORDING TEAM, 1992. LEFT ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

164. HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD SUMMER RECORDING TEAM, 1992. LEFT TO RIGHT: JOE ELLIOTT, PHOTOGRAPHER; VIRGINIA BRUMBACK, ARCHITECT; DAVE EVE, HISTORIAN (ICOMOS, IRONBRIDGE INSTITUTE, ENGLAND); BOB ARZYWACZ, PROJECT SUPERVISOR; LEE ANN JACKSON, ARCHITECT; AND ALBERT AFLENZER, ICOMOS ARCHITECT (TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, VIENNA, AUSTRIA). - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

Rotation and magnetic activity of the Hertzsprung-gap giant 31 Comae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strassmeier, K. G.; Granzer, T.; Kopf, M.; Weber, M.; Küker, M.; Reegen, P.; Rice, J. B.; Matthews, J. M.; Kuschnig, R.; Rowe, J. F.; Guenther, D. B.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Rucinski, S. M.; Sasselov, D.; Weiss, W. W.

2010-09-01

Context. The single rapidly-rotating G0 giant 31 Comae has been a puzzle because of the absence of photometric variability despite its strong chromospheric and coronal emissions. As a Hertzsprung-gap giant, it is expected to be at the stage of rearranging its moment of inertia, hence likely also its dynamo action, which could possibly be linked with its missing photospheric activity. Aims: Our aim is to detect photospheric activity, obtain the rotation period, and use it for a first Doppler image of the star's surface. Its morphology could be related to the evolutionary status. Methods: We carried out high-precision, white-light photometry with the MOST satellite, ground-based Strömgren photometry with automated telescopes, and high-resolution optical echelle spectroscopy with the new STELLA robotic facility. Results: The MOST data reveal, for the first time, light variations with a full amplitude of 5 mmag and an average photometric period of 6.80 ± 0.06 days. Radial-velocity variations with a full amplitude of 270 m s-1 and a period of 6.76 ± 0.02 days were detected from our STELLA spectra, which we also interpret as due to stellar rotation. The two-year constancy of the average radial velocity of +0.10 ± 0.33 km s-1 confirms the star's single status, as well as the membership in the cluster Melotte 111. A spectrum synthesis gives Teff = 5660 ± 42 K, log g = 3.51 ± 0.09, and [Fe/H] = -0.15 ± 0.03, which together with the revised Hipparcos distance, suggests a mass of 2.6 ± 0.1 M_⊙ and an age of ≈540 Myr. The surface lithium abundance is measured to be nearly primordial. A detection of a strong He i absorption line indicates nonradiative heating processes in the atmosphere. Our Doppler images show a large, asymmetric polar spot, cooler than Teff by ≈1600 K, and several small low-to-mid latitude features that are warmer by ≈300-400 K and are possibly of chromospheric origin. We computed the convective turnover time for 31 Com as a function of depth and found on average τC ≈ 5 days. Conclusions: 31 Com appears to be just at the onset of rapid magnetic braking and Li dilution because its age almost exactly coincides with the predicted onset of envelope convection. That we recover a big polar starspot despite the Rossby number being larger than unity, and thus no efficient (envelope) dynamo is expected, leads us to conclude that 31 Com still harbors a fossil predominantly poloidal magnetic field. However, the increasing convective envelope may have just started an interface dynamo that now is the source of the warm surface features and the corresponding UV and X-ray emission. Based on data obtained with the MOST satellite, a Canadian Space Agency mission, operated jointly by Dynacon, Inc., and the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia, with assistance from the University of Vienna; the STELLA robotic telescope in Tenerife, an AIP facility jointly operated by AIP and IAC, and the Vienna Automatic Photoelectric Telescopes in Arizona, jointly operated by the University of Vienna and AIP.Full Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/520/A52

Irene K. Fischer (1907-2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, Foster; Chovitz, Bernard; Fischer, Michael M. J.

2010-05-01

Irene Kaminka Fischer, a prominent geodesist whose career spanned the years 1952-1977, died on 22 October 2009 at the age of 102 at an assisted living facility in Brighton, Mass. Born in Vienna, Austria, on 27 July 1907, Irene grew up there; graduating with a degree in mathematics from the Vienna Institute of Technology; and met and married her husband, Eric, a noted geographer. In 1939, the Fischers fled Nazi Austria, first to Palestine, and by 1941 had relocated to the United States. During the next 11 years, Irene worked at various jobs, as well as playing the role of mother to her son and daughter. But when her daughter was ready for college, she began to look for a position that would fully utilize her considerable talents in mathematics. She found a perfect fit at her husband's federal agency, the U.S. Army Map Service (AMS). Her entire career in geodesy was spent with that organization and its successors (currently the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)). Hired as a mathematician, she eventually was promoted to chief of the Geoid Branch in the Geodesy Division. She retained that position until her retirement in 1977.

Ghost shrimps (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae) as producers of an Upper Miocene trace fossil association from sublittoral deposits of Lake Pannon (Vienna Basin, Slovakia)

PubMed Central

Hyžný, Matúš; Šimo, Vladimír; Starek, Dušan

2015-01-01

Numerous trace fossils are described from the Late Miocene sediments of the Bzenec Formation exposed at the Gbely section (the Vienna Basin, Slovakia). During deposition of the sediments the area was part of the large, long-lived brackish to freshwater Lake Pannon. Most of the trace fossils are attributed herein to Egbellichnus jordidegiberti igen et ispec. nov. and are interpreted as burrows produced by decapod crustaceans, specifically by a ghost shrimp of the family Callianassidae. This interpretation is based on two independent lines of evidence: environmental requirements of large bioturbators and the burrow morphology itself. The new ichnotaxon is distinguished from other related ichnotaxa by a combination of typically inclined (roughly at an angle of 45°) cylindrical burrows, absence of lining, and tunnels making loops or bends at approximately right angles. The burrow systems at Gbely document the survival of ghost shrimp long after the closure of all seaways and the origin of Lake Pannon. As today, no ghost shrimp are known from long-lived brackish lakes. Egbellichnus from Gbely is the only, although indirect, record of ghost shrimp from a brackish lake environment reported so far. PMID:26089575

How to Pinpoint Energy-Inefficient Buildings? AN Approach Based on the 3d City Model of Vienna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skarbal, B.; Peters-Anders, J.; Faizan Malik, A.; Agugiaro, G.

2017-09-01

This paper describes a methodology to assess the energy performance of residential buildings starting from the semantic 3D city model of Vienna. Space heating, domestic hot water and electricity demand are taken into account. The paper deals with aspects related to urban data modelling, with particular attention to the energy-related topics, and with issues related to interactive data exploration/visualisation and management from a plugin-free web-browser, e.g. based on Cesium, a WebGL virtual globe and map engine. While providing references to existing previous works, only some general and introductory information is given about the data collection, harmonisation and integration process necessary to create the CityGML-based 3D city model, which serves as the central information hub for the different applications developed and described more in detail in this paper. The work aims, among the rest, at developing urban decision making and operational optimisation software tools to minimise non-renewable energy use in cities. The results obtained so far, as well as some comments about their quality and limitations, are presented, together with the discussion regarding the next steps and some planned improvements.

Controlling and culturing diversity: experimental zoology before World War II and Vienna's Biologische Versuchsanstalt.

PubMed

Logan, Cheryl A; Brauckmann, Sabine

2015-04-01

Founded in Vienna in 1903, the Institute for Experimental Biology pioneered the application of experimental methods to living organisms maintained for sustained periods in captivity. Its Director, the zoologist Hans Przibram, oversaw until 1938, the attempt to integrate ontogeny with studies of inheritance using precise and controlled measurements of the impact of environmental influences on the emergence of form and function. In the early years, these efforts paralleled and even fostered the emergence of experimental biology in America. But fate intervened. Though the Institute served an international community, most of its resident scientists and staff were of Jewish ancestry. Well before the Nazis entered Austria in 1938, these men and women were being fired and driven out; some, including Przibram, were eventually killed. We describe the unprecedented facilities built and the topics addressed by the several departments that made up this Institute, stressing those most relevant to the establishment and success of the Journal of Experimental Zoology, which was founded just a year later. The Institute's diaspora left an important legacy in North America, perhaps best embodied by the career of the developmental neuroscientist Paul Weiss. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Manpower requirements for medical doctors in psychiatric departments of community hospitals--bottom-up calculation for the psychiatric department of Donauspital in Vienna].

PubMed

Fischer, Peter; Hanak, Sören; Wally, Beate; Aigner, Martin

2016-03-01

Clinical psychiatry changed dramatically in the past 30 years. Clinical challenges are very different from those in old mental hospitals. Psychotherapy and sociotherapy are effective but very time-consuming parts of treatments of nearly every psychiatric disorder. Planning of staff resources based on the German "Psychiatrie Personalverordnung" does not match with modern quality requirements. As a result, the standards of evidence-based treatment cannot be offered to severely mentally ill inpatients. We carried out a buttom-up calculation of medical staffing for the concrete patients considering diagnosis, and length of stay of the psychiatric department of the Danube hospital in Vienna 2013 and 2014. This is an 80 bed unit responsible for an area of 250,000 inhabitants, providing about 1100 admissions each year. The calculated yearly sum of working hours for medical doctors in the particular department was 39,527. When considering a net working-time of 80%, the actual number of medical staff should be at least doubled to allow psychiatric treatment according to current guidelines. Severely ill psychiatric patients seem to be undertreated because of low staffing of psychiatric departments.

Influence of drinking water and diet on the stable-hydrogen isotope ratios of animal tissues

PubMed Central

Hobson, Keith A.; Atwell, Lisa; Wassenaar, Leonard I.

1999-01-01

Despite considerable interest in using stable-hydrogen isotope ratio (δD) measurements in ecological research, it was previously unknown whether hydrogen derived from drinking water, in addition to that derived from diet, contributed to the nonexchangeable hydrogen in animal tissues. We raised four experimental groups of quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) from hatch on two isotopically distinct diets (mean nonexchangeable δD: −146 and −60‰, Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water Standard) and drinking waters (mean δD: −130 and +196‰, Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water Standard). Here we show that both dietary and drinking water hydrogen are incorporated into nonexchangeable hydrogen in both metabolically active (i.e., muscle, liver, blood, fat) and inactive (i.e., feather, nail) tissues. Approximately 20% of hydrogen in metabolically active quail tissues and 26–32% of feathers and nail was derived from drinking water. Our findings suggest environmental interpretations of δD values from modern and fossil animal tissues may need to account for potentially large isotopic differences between drinking water and food and require a good understanding of the physiological ecology of study organisms. PMID:10393937

Plant maintenance and advanced reactors issue, 2008

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

Agnihotri, Newal

The focus of the September-October issue is on plant maintenance and advanced reactors. Major articles/reports in this issue include: Technologies of national importance, by Tsutomu Ohkubo, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan; Modeling and simulation advances brighten future nuclear power, by Hussein Khalil, Argonne National Laboratory, Energy and desalination projects, by Ratan Kumar Sinha, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India; A plant with simplified design, by John Higgins, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy; A forward thinking design, by Ray Ganthner, AREVA; A passively safe design, by Ed Cummins, Westinghouse Electric Company; A market-ready design, by Ken Petrunik, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Canada;more » Generation IV Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, by Jacques Bouchard, French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, France, and Ralph Bennett, Idaho National Laboratory; Innovative reactor designs, a report by IAEA, Vienna, Austria; Guidance for new vendors, by John Nakoski, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Road map for future energy, by John Cleveland, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria; and, Vermont's largest source of electricity, by Tyler Lamberts, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. The Industry Innovation article is titled Intelligent monitoring technology, by Chris Demars, Exelon Nuclear.« less

Christian Andreas Doppler--the man and his legacy.

PubMed

Coman, I M

2005-01-01

Reminding the life and legacy of the Austrian Scientist who discovered the famous 'Doppler Effect'. C.A. Doppler was born the 29th of November 1803 in Salzburg. After studies in Linz and Vienna, he graduated in mathematics, became assistant at the University and later worked as a professor in Prague. Back to Vienna, he was appointed as professor at the Polytechnic School and --in 1850--as first director of the new Institute of Physics. C.A. Doppler did publish on magnetism, electricity, optics, and astronomy. He remains in the history of science due to the discovery presented (May 25, 1842) at the Royal Bohemian Society of Science entitled "On the colored light of the double stars and certain other stars of the heavens"; the paper described (applied to light) the shift of frequency which bears nowadays his name. The theory was later experimentally proven and--extended for any electromagnetic and acoustic waves--got myriads if applications in astronomy, physics, aviation, meteorology, and health science. Satomura in Japan (1955) published it's first ultrasound vascular application--with successive achievements in the next decades. Doppler ultrasonagraphy became the main noninvasive instrument for functional assesment of heart and vessels.

Surgery and national identity in late nineteenth-century Vienna

PubMed Central

Buklijas, Tatjana

2008-01-01

For historians of medicine, the professor Theodor Billroth of the University of Vienna was the leading European surgeon of late nineteenth century and the personification of intervention by organ or body part removal. For social and political historians, he was a German nationalist whose book on medical education heralded the rise of anti-Semitism in the Austrian public sphere. This article brings together and critically reassesses these two hitherto separate accounts to show how, in a period of dramatic social and political change, Viennese surgery split into two camps. One, headed by Billroth, was characterized by an alliance with the German educational model, German nationalism leading to racial anti-Semitism and an experimental approach to the construction of surgical procedure, which heavily relied on the methods of pathological physiology. The other, which followed a long Austrian tradition, stood for a clinically-oriented and strictly organized medical education that catered to an ethnically and socially diverse population and, simultaneously, for an anatomically oriented surgery, largely of the locomotor apparatus. This study shows how, in a major centre of medical education and capital of a multiethnic empire, surgical and national identities were forged together. PMID:18053931

[Mór Károlyi was born 150 years ago].

PubMed

Labádi, Lajos

2015-01-01

Dr. Mór Károlyi was born in Szentes (County Csongrád, South-East Hungary) in 1865 in a Jewish family. His original name was Móric Czukkermann--the name was changed to Mór Károlyi in 1883. Károlyi got his medical degree in 1889 at the Budapest Medical University. During his studies he was the student of József Arkövy, the founder of the Hungarian scientific dentistry. Károlyi later practised in Vienna from 1893 up to 1938. His main lines were the etiology of the diseases of the parodontal area and prosthetics. Thanks to his special method of treating traumatic parodontal diseases he made an international reputation. In 1932 he won the membership of the International Academy of Odontology (Buenos Aires). One of his etiological discoveries is still called Károlyi-effect in international terminology. After the so called Anschluss, Károlyi had to escape from Vienna. In 1938 he settled back to his native city, Szentes. In 1944, being a Jew he was first internated, then deported to Theresienstadt. He died a few days after the liberation of the camp, 17th May 1945.

Tables of square-law signal detection statistics for Hann spectra with 50 percent overlap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deans, Stanley R.; Cullers, D. Kent

1991-01-01

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, currently being planned by NASA, will require that an enormous amount of data be analyzed in real time by special purpose hardware. It is expected that overlapped Hann data windows will play an important role in this analysis. In order to understand the statistical implication of this approach, it has been necessary to compute detection statistics for overlapped Hann spectra. Tables of signal detection statistics are given for false alarm rates from 10(exp -14) to 10(exp -1) and signal detection probabilities from 0.50 to 0.99; the number of computed spectra ranges from 4 to 2000.

ParallABEL: an R library for generalized parallelization of genome-wide association studies

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Genome-Wide Association (GWA) analysis is a powerful method for identifying loci associated with complex traits and drug response. Parts of GWA analyses, especially those involving thousands of individuals and consuming hours to months, will benefit from parallel computation. It is arduous acquiring the necessary programming skills to correctly partition and distribute data, control and monitor tasks on clustered computers, and merge output files. Results Most components of GWA analysis can be divided into four groups based on the types of input data and statistical outputs. The first group contains statistics computed for a particular Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), or trait, such as SNP characterization statistics or association test statistics. The input data of this group includes the SNPs/traits. The second group concerns statistics characterizing an individual in a study, for example, the summary statistics of genotype quality for each sample. The input data of this group includes individuals. The third group consists of pair-wise statistics derived from analyses between each pair of individuals in the study, for example genome-wide identity-by-state or genomic kinship analyses. The input data of this group includes pairs of SNPs/traits. The final group concerns pair-wise statistics derived for pairs of SNPs, such as the linkage disequilibrium characterisation. The input data of this group includes pairs of individuals. We developed the ParallABEL library, which utilizes the Rmpi library, to parallelize these four types of computations. ParallABEL library is not only aimed at GenABEL, but may also be employed to parallelize various GWA packages in R. The data set from the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC) includes 2,062 individuals with 545,080, SNPs' genotyping, was used to measure ParallABEL performance. Almost perfect speed-up was achieved for many types of analyses. For example, the computing time for the identity-by-state matrix was linearly reduced from approximately eight hours to one hour when ParallABEL employed eight processors. Conclusions Executing genome-wide association analysis using the ParallABEL library on a computer cluster is an effective way to boost performance, and simplify the parallelization of GWA studies. ParallABEL is a user-friendly parallelization of GenABEL. PMID:20429914

Testing for nonlinearity in time series: The method of surrogate data

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

Theiler, J.; Galdrikian, B.; Longtin, A.

1991-01-01

We describe a statistical approach for identifying nonlinearity in time series; in particular, we want to avoid claims of chaos when simpler models (such as linearly correlated noise) can explain the data. The method requires a careful statement of the null hypothesis which characterizes a candidate linear process, the generation of an ensemble of surrogate'' data sets which are similar to the original time series but consistent with the null hypothesis, and the computation of a discriminating statistic for the original and for each of the surrogate data sets. The idea is to test the original time series against themore » null hypothesis by checking whether the discriminating statistic computed for the original time series differs significantly from the statistics computed for each of the surrogate sets. We present algorithms for generating surrogate data under various null hypotheses, and we show the results of numerical experiments on artificial data using correlation dimension, Lyapunov exponent, and forecasting error as discriminating statistics. Finally, we consider a number of experimental time series -- including sunspots, electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, and fluid convection -- and evaluate the statistical significance of the evidence for nonlinear structure in each case. 56 refs., 8 figs.« less

Students' Perceptions of Computer-Based Learning Environments, Their Attitude towards Business Statistics, and Their Academic Achievement: Implications from a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, ThuyUyen H.; Charity, Ian; Robson, Andrew

2016-01-01

This study investigates students' perceptions of computer-based learning environments, their attitude towards business statistics, and their academic achievement in higher education. Guided by learning environments concepts and attitudinal theory, a theoretical model was proposed with two instruments, one for measuring the learning environment and…

System Analysis for the Huntsville Operation Support Center, Distributed Computer System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingels, F. M.; Massey, D.

1985-01-01

HOSC as a distributed computing system, is responsible for data acquisition and analysis during Space Shuttle operations. HOSC also provides computing services for Marshall Space Flight Center's nonmission activities. As mission and nonmission activities change, so do the support functions of HOSC change, demonstrating the need for some method of simulating activity at HOSC in various configurations. The simulation developed in this work primarily models the HYPERchannel network. The model simulates the activity of a steady state network, reporting statistics such as, transmitted bits, collision statistics, frame sequences transmitted, and average message delay. These statistics are used to evaluate such performance indicators as throughout, utilization, and delay. Thus the overall performance of the network is evaluated, as well as predicting possible overload conditions.

The relationship between venture capital investment and macro economic variables via statistical computation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aygunes, Gunes

2017-07-01

The objective of this paper is to survey and determine the macroeconomic factors affecting the level of venture capital (VC) investments in a country. The literary depends on venture capitalists' quality and countries' venture capital investments. The aim of this paper is to give relationship between venture capital investment and macro economic variables via statistical computation method. We investigate the countries and macro economic variables. By using statistical computation method, we derive correlation between venture capital investments and macro economic variables. According to method of logistic regression model (logit regression or logit model), macro economic variables are correlated with each other in three group. Venture capitalists regard correlations as a indicator. Finally, we give correlation matrix of our results.

StreamStats in Oklahoma - Drainage-Basin Characteristics and Peak-Flow Frequency Statistics for Ungaged Streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, S. Jerrod; Esralew, Rachel A.

2010-01-01

The USGS Streamflow Statistics (StreamStats) Program was created to make geographic information systems-based estimation of streamflow statistics easier, faster, and more consistent than previously used manual techniques. The StreamStats user interface is a map-based internet application that allows users to easily obtain streamflow statistics, basin characteristics, and other information for user-selected U.S. Geological Survey data-collection stations and ungaged sites of interest. The application relies on the data collected at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, computer aided computations of drainage-basin characteristics, and published regression equations for several geographic regions comprising the United States. The StreamStats application interface allows the user to (1) obtain information on features in selected map layers, (2) delineate drainage basins for ungaged sites, (3) download drainage-basin polygons to a shapefile, (4) compute selected basin characteristics for delineated drainage basins, (5) estimate selected streamflow statistics for ungaged points on a stream, (6) print map views, (7) retrieve information for U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, and (8) get help on using StreamStats. StreamStats was designed for national application, with each state, territory, or group of states responsible for creating unique geospatial datasets and regression equations to compute selected streamflow statistics. With the cooperation of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, StreamStats has been implemented for Oklahoma and is available at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/streamstats/. The Oklahoma StreamStats application covers 69 processed hydrologic units and most of the state of Oklahoma. Basin characteristics available for computation include contributing drainage area, contributing drainage area that is unregulated by Natural Resources Conservation Service floodwater retarding structures, mean-annual precipitation at the drainage-basin outlet for the period 1961-1990, 10-85 channel slope (slope between points located at 10 percent and 85 percent of the longest flow-path length upstream from the outlet), and percent impervious area. The Oklahoma StreamStats application interacts with the National Streamflow Statistics database, which contains the peak-flow regression equations in a previously published report. Fourteen peak-flow (flood) frequency statistics are available for computation in the Oklahoma StreamStats application. These statistics include the peak flow at 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year recurrence intervals for rural, unregulated streams; and the peak flow at 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year recurrence intervals for rural streams that are regulated by Natural Resources Conservation Service floodwater retarding structures. Basin characteristics and streamflow statistics cannot be computed for locations in playa basins (mostly in the Oklahoma Panhandle) and along main stems of the largest river systems in the state, namely the Arkansas, Canadian, Cimarron, Neosho, Red, and Verdigris Rivers, because parts of the drainage areas extend outside of the processed hydrologic units.

Computed statistics at streamgages, and methods for estimating low-flow frequency statistics and development of regional regression equations for estimating low-flow frequency statistics at ungaged locations in Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Southard, Rodney E.

2013-01-01

The weather and precipitation patterns in Missouri vary considerably from year to year. In 2008, the statewide average rainfall was 57.34 inches and in 2012, the statewide average rainfall was 30.64 inches. This variability in precipitation and resulting streamflow in Missouri underlies the necessity for water managers and users to have reliable streamflow statistics and a means to compute select statistics at ungaged locations for a better understanding of water availability. Knowledge of surface-water availability is dependent on the streamflow data that have been collected and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey for more than 100 years at approximately 350 streamgages throughout Missouri. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, computed streamflow statistics at streamgages through the 2010 water year, defined periods of drought and defined methods to estimate streamflow statistics at ungaged locations, and developed regional regression equations to compute selected streamflow statistics at ungaged locations. Streamflow statistics and flow durations were computed for 532 streamgages in Missouri and in neighboring States of Missouri. For streamgages with more than 10 years of record, Kendall’s tau was computed to evaluate for trends in streamflow data. If trends were detected, the variable length method was used to define the period of no trend. Water years were removed from the dataset from the beginning of the record for a streamgage until no trend was detected. Low-flow frequency statistics were then computed for the entire period of record and for the period of no trend if 10 or more years of record were available for each analysis. Three methods are presented for computing selected streamflow statistics at ungaged locations. The first method uses power curve equations developed for 28 selected streams in Missouri and neighboring States that have multiple streamgages on the same streams. Statistical estimates on one of these streams can be calculated at an ungaged location that has a drainage area that is between 40 percent of the drainage area of the farthest upstream streamgage and within 150 percent of the drainage area of the farthest downstream streamgage along the stream of interest. The second method may be used on any stream with a streamgage that has operated for 10 years or longer and for which anthropogenic effects have not changed the low-flow characteristics at the ungaged location since collection of the streamflow data. A ratio of drainage area of the stream at the ungaged location to the drainage area of the stream at the streamgage was computed to estimate the statistic at the ungaged location. The range of applicability is between 40- and 150-percent of the drainage area of the streamgage, and the ungaged location must be located on the same stream as the streamgage. The third method uses regional regression equations to estimate selected low-flow frequency statistics for unregulated streams in Missouri. This report presents regression equations to estimate frequency statistics for the 10-year recurrence interval and for the N-day durations of 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 30, and 60 days. Basin and climatic characteristics were computed using geographic information system software and digital geospatial data. A total of 35 characteristics were computed for use in preliminary statewide and regional regression analyses based on existing digital geospatial data and previous studies. Spatial analyses for geographical bias in the predictive accuracy of the regional regression equations defined three low-flow regions with the State representing the three major physiographic provinces in Missouri. Region 1 includes the Central Lowlands, Region 2 includes the Ozark Plateaus, and Region 3 includes the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. A total of 207 streamgages were used in the regression analyses for the regional equations. Of the 207 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages, 77 were located in Region 1, 120 were located in Region 2, and 10 were located in Region 3. Streamgages located outside of Missouri were selected to extend the range of data used for the independent variables in the regression analyses. Streamgages included in the regression analyses had 10 or more years of record and were considered to be affected minimally by anthropogenic activities or trends. Regional regression analyses identified three characteristics as statistically significant for the development of regional equations. For Region 1, drainage area, longest flow path, and streamflow-variability index were statistically significant. The range in the standard error of estimate for Region 1 is 79.6 to 94.2 percent. For Region 2, drainage area and streamflow variability index were statistically significant, and the range in the standard error of estimate is 48.2 to 72.1 percent. For Region 3, drainage area and streamflow-variability index also were statistically significant with a range in the standard error of estimate of 48.1 to 96.2 percent. Limitations on the use of estimating low-flow frequency statistics at ungaged locations are dependent on the method used. The first method outlined for use in Missouri, power curve equations, were developed to estimate the selected statistics for ungaged locations on 28 selected streams with multiple streamgages located on the same stream. A second method uses a drainage-area ratio to compute statistics at an ungaged location using data from a single streamgage on the same stream with 10 or more years of record. Ungaged locations on these streams may use the ratio of the drainage area at an ungaged location to the drainage area at a streamgage location to scale the selected statistic value from the streamgage location to the ungaged location. This method can be used if the drainage area of the ungaged location is within 40 to 150 percent of the streamgage drainage area. The third method is the use of the regional regression equations. The limits for the use of these equations are based on the ranges of the characteristics used as independent variables and that streams must be affected minimally by anthropogenic activities.

Teaching the Meaning of Statistical Techniques with Microcomputer Simulation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Motoko Y.; And Others

Students in an introductory statistics course are often preoccupied with learning the computational routines of specific summary statistics and thereby fail to develop an understanding of the meaning of those statistics or their conceptual basis. To help students develop a better understanding of the meaning of three frequently used statistics,…

Ethics in Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenard, Christopher; McCarthy, Sally; Mills, Terence

2014-01-01

There are many different aspects of statistics. Statistics involves mathematics, computing, and applications to almost every field of endeavour. Each aspect provides an opportunity to spark someone's interest in the subject. In this paper we discuss some ethical aspects of statistics, and describe how an introduction to ethics has been…

A blind hierarchical coherent search for gravitational-wave signals from coalescing compact binaries in a network of interferometric detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, Sukanta; Dayanga, Thilina; Ghosh, Shaon; Talukder, Dipongkar

2011-07-01

We describe a hierarchical data analysis pipeline for coherently searching for gravitational-wave signals from non-spinning compact binary coalescences (CBCs) in the data of multiple earth-based detectors. This search assumes no prior information on the sky position of the source or the time of occurrence of its transient signals and, hence, is termed 'blind'. The pipeline computes the coherent network search statistic that is optimal in stationary, Gaussian noise. More importantly, it allows for the computation of a suite of alternative multi-detector coherent search statistics and signal-based discriminators that can improve the performance of CBC searches in real data, which can be both non-stationary and non-Gaussian. Also, unlike the coincident multi-detector search statistics that have been employed so far, the coherent statistics are different in the sense that they check for the consistency of the signal amplitudes and phases in the different detectors with their different orientations and with the signal arrival times in them. Since the computation of coherent statistics entails searching in the sky, it is more expensive than that of the coincident statistics that do not require it. To reduce computational costs, the first stage of the hierarchical pipeline constructs coincidences of triggers from the multiple interferometers, by requiring their proximity in time and component masses. The second stage follows up on these coincident triggers by computing the coherent statistics. Here, we compare the performances of this hierarchical pipeline with and without the second (or coherent) stage in Gaussian noise. Although introducing hierarchy can be expected to cause some degradation in the detection efficiency compared to that of a single-stage coherent pipeline, nevertheless it improves the computational speed of the search considerably. The two main results of this work are as follows: (1) the performance of the hierarchical coherent pipeline on Gaussian data is shown to be better than the pipeline with just the coincident stage; (2) the three-site network of LIGO detectors, in Hanford and Livingston (USA), and Virgo detector in Cascina (Italy) cannot resolve the polarization of waves arriving from certain parts of the sky. This can cause the three-site coherent statistic at those sky positions to become singular. Regularized versions of the statistic can avoid that problem, but can be expected to be sub-optimal. The aforementioned improvement in the pipeline's performance due to the coherent stage is in spite of this handicap.